Chapter Text
Rey dropped her keys into the bowl, took off her bag, coat, and winter boots and sighed in exhaustion. Her day had been chock full of last-minute tasks – she wanted to tie all the loose ends before taking a well-deserved prolonged vacation with her family. Career was important, but not as important as her beloved husband and their precious baby girl.
There was no doubt now that Rey had drawn a lucky straw in life. She had a family that cherished and adored her, good loyal friends, and work she loved. Her life was great after she met Ben, but now that they had Evie, their own little holiday miracle, her happiness was complete.
Speaking of that – it was oddly quiet. Usually their baby girl, a little ball of energy, rushed out to meet her parents, Niney hot on her heels, but today the house was silent. Curious. Had Ben managed to tire her out already? Was their little one dozing? Or were they watching movies? Her huge broody husband had taken surprisingly well to Disney princesses, to Rey’s endless delight. He, a veritable behemoth of a man, would patiently remind Evie the verses of Let It Go when she mixed up her words time and time again, making everyone around swoon. Ben was amazing like that.
Quietly, Rey padded toward the living room in hopes of sneaking in on her family, but then she heard voices from the kitchen. So that’s where they were. Interesting. The door was half-open, giving her a perfect view of her husband and their little princess bent over a table covered in an assortment of ingredients. Despite the fact that Evie was wearing an apron, no doubt snatched from the expensive custom-made Belle costume Grandma Leia got for her, she had some flour on her clothes already. Some of it also covered her little freckled nose and even dusted her luscious dark locks. Ben wasn’t looking much better, although he usually was a very neat cook. It seemed he had let Evie measure the ingredients, him not being able to say no to his girls ever. God, Rey loved him so much.
“Daddy, will they be as good as Mommy’s?” their daughter asked with worry, biting her plump bottom lip.
“No one bakes as well as Mommy, sweetheart,” Ben answered without hesitation. “But our cookies will be as good as your grandmother’s.”
Evie pursed her pouty lips in thought. “Grandma Leia’s cookies are good,” she benevolently decided.
“I know,” he chuckled. “Look, I’m going to put the butter into the food processor and you can add the sugar. OK, Stardust?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Rey smiled to herself at the sweet scene. Their daughter was a Big Girl already and enjoyed being able to complete tasks on her own. She was quite independent, just like her mother Ben would say. Rey disagreed. To her Evie was all him – his gorgeous locks, his puppy dog eyes, his plush lips, his soft inquisitive nature. Admittedly, Evie also had freckles and a pert little nose just like her mother; a little bit of both in one adorable package. And adored she was. Some could even say spoiled, but Rey would personally deal with those in a swift and harsh manner. Their baby girl deserved all the love and affection her parents lacked as kids.
“Will you add molasses, sweetheart?” Ben asked his daughter softly.
“Uhuh.” With an adorable look of concentration, Evie started to pour the viscous liquid into the sugar and butter mix. Her father helped her to get the remnants out of the cup, then cracked one egg into the bowl. The food processor did the rest of the job.
“Is it done, Daddy? Can I try it?” Evie asked impatiently, making Ben laugh.
“Not yet. We must add flour, but before that we have to put in the spices, OK?”
Their baby girl sighed reluctantly. “OK.” She was so adorable when impatient.
Ben carefully opened the first pack, showing her the contents. “This is ginger. Smells good, right?”
Evie put her nose in a little too deep and sneezed loudly. Rey just couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. Immediately both her daughter and husband snapped their heads toward her with identical happy smiles.
“Mommy!”
“Sweetheart!”
Ben helped Evie jump down from the stool she was standing on and the little girl cannonballed herself at her mother. Rey caught her easily, kissing her messy cheek.
“Hello, pumpkin. How was your day?”
“Daddy’s teaching me how to bake cookies,” Evie reported excitedly. “They are yummy, but Daddy won’t let me try them yet,” she pouted a little.
“All in due time, Princess,” Ben smiled at their daughter. He carefully leaned over her to plant a kiss on Rey’s lips. Seven years of marriage and they still haven’t had their fill of each other. “You’re early today,” he remarked.
“Worked extra hard all morning,” Rey smirked. “I wanted to spend more time with the two of you.”
Her husband looked at her with concern. “Your boss OK with that? I know you hoped for that promotion.”
She shrugged, unperturbed. “I don’t want my job to steal me away from my family, no matter how much I love it. And honestly, I think that position has way more administrative duties than I was led to believe.” Rey loved being an engineer in a small company, loved brainstorming and tinkering, but she didn’t really enjoy the administrative part at all. The more she thought about it, the more Rey suspected she’d be more content where she was now.
“Whatever makes you happy,” Ben said in that sweet way of his. Her dear adorable husband, always putting her needs first. Never pressuring her into anything, never calling the shots. They said marriage suffocated talented women. That was a lie. Being married had only helped her spread her wings.
“You make me happy,” Rey answered honestly, something she told him again and again. It wasn’t a secret how she felt nor how much Ben loved hearing it. His eyes sparkled with joy when she leaned to kiss him and….
“Mommy! Cookies!”
And of course Evie wouldn’t have it. Their precious girl had her priorities straight – food first, fun later. Her parents laughed heartily at her antics.
“Of course, little one.”
Rey carried her daughter to deposit her on the stool so that they both could watch as Ben added ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and a pinch of salt into the flour, then slowly stirred it into the wet ingredients.
“Is it done yet?” Evie asked impatiently.
Ben shared an amused look with Rey.
“Let Daddy mix it properly. You don’t want lumps in your cookies.”
“Only if they are chocolate,” their baby girl responded seriously. She had a sweet tooth and a bad one, too.
“No chocolate in this batch,” Rey explained gently. Evie sighed, disappointed. “But this one will have icing.”
“I love icing! Can we bake it already?”
“The dough should go into the fridge first.”
The girl whined. “But it’s so long!”
“Good things come to those who wait,” Ben teased her.
“We can watch movies in the meantime,” Rey supplied coyly.
Evie’s face lit up.
“Yes! Mommy is so smart!”
“Don’t I know it,” he said fondly, sending a look full of adoration Rey’s way. Her heart predictably skipped a beat. She prayed it would never stop doing that.
With the cookie dough finally wrapped and in the fridge, the family cuddled on the couch watching Home Alone, Niney dozing off at their feet. Occasionally Ben and Rey would sneak a kiss or peck Evie’s chubby cheek or messy curls. They never denied their little girl a second of affection, doing their best to raise her with the knowledge that she was loved unconditionally. No matter what, they would always be there for her, just like they should.
After the movie, Ben removed the dough and rolled it out to the enjoyment of his wife, who really, really liked watching him work. Those arms wielding a rolling pin.… She was still a woman, after all.
Evie got full reign over the cookie cutters, picking the shapes and their order to her liking.
“We need nine reindeers, Daddy,” she insisted seriously, “it’s important!”
Of course he’d never deny her. If his daughter deemed something important, so be it.
In the meantime, Rey prepared the icing and candy for the decoration. She knew how much their baby girl enjoyed the process and would lie if she said she didn’t like it, too.
As the first batch of cookies was out of the oven, she showed Evie how to frost them.
“Just hold the bag like this and squeeze a little. Just like that! You’re doing so well!”
Her sweet girl smiled proudly. Ben looked twice as proud at that.
“My Princess is all grown up,” he joked.
Evie pursed her lips in a perfect imitation of her father.
“I’m a big girl, Daddy.”
Ben exchanged a soft look with Rey.
“Of course you are, Stardust.”
The cookies turned out to be delicious. They were also decorated a bit on the abstract side, but no one really complained. They were theirs, therefore perfect.
After dinner and maybe a couple of cookies too many they managed to wrangle Evie into her bed, the little girl insisting she must meet Santa herself, no matter that she was dead on her feet. It took quite a bit of negotiation to do so, a granddaughter of Leia Organa was not one to argue with.
Sleep claimed her soon after good night kisses, leaving the parents to breathe in relief. Asleep, Evie was so tiny and innocent that Rey’s heart squeezed in the best possible way.
“She’s still so little,” she whispered to Ben in awe. He absentmindedly caressed the bare patch of skin between her top and pants, as he held his wife in his embrace.
“I think she’s growing too fast,” he whispered back. “I feel like I’ll blink and suddenly she’ll be getting married, or receiving a Nobel Prize or getting inaugurated as the first female President. I wish I could stop time.”
Rey knew what he meant, she thought about it a lot lately. It was some elusive yearning just out of reach so that she couldn’t pinpoint it until now. But here, with her beloved husband and their baby girl she suddenly saw the future, just the shape of it, but solid and clear.
“I want another,” Rey found herself saying.
Ben frowned confusedly. “Cookie?”
“No, a baby. I want another kid.”
She watched her husband’s expression grow slack.
“You want another kid,” he said incredulously, his tone reverent and soft.
“Yes, don’t you?”
“What about your promotion?”
Rey shrugged, smiling a little. “It might come to pass. It might not. Right now I want only you, Evie and…”
“Another baby,” Ben finished for her, awed. “Are you sure?”
“Are you?” she asked. “Do you want more kids?”
Like she didn’t know the answer to that question.
He nodded eagerly, his eyes bright. “Two, three, a dozen – as many as you want.”
Rey giggled. “Maybe not a dozen.”
“Twins run in the family,” Ben argued, excited. “Maybe triplets.”
“Easy there, tiger,” she laughed. “We haven’t even started yet.”
It was like a lightbulb lit over his head.
“Sweetheart,” he asked lowly, “why haven’t we started yet, hm?”
Despite herself, Rey shivered and allowed him to guide her out of the nursery.
“I think we’re practicing often enough,” she murmured as her husband’s hands travelled over her body.
“Practice makes perfect,” Ben crooned into her ear, making goosebumps travel down her spine in anticipation.
“Our daughter is perfect,” she pointed out.
“See?” he wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully. “I’m right.”
Rey burst out laughing. How could she be so lucky to get this silly adorable gorgeous loving man all for herself? She just loved him so much.
Sensing his opening in her distraction, Ben unexpectedly scooped her into a bridal carry and moved to the bedroom at a much faster pace.
Somewhere a clock struck midnight. It was Christmas already, but Rey didn’t care. She already had the best gift she could wish for.