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Ben Solo was the first to wake that next morning, sitting up so he could watch his wife sleep. Watching their little girl kick was most entertaining, as long as it didn’t wake Rey up. Their baby was active, but of course she would be. Ben didn’t like to think about the Force that must be coursing through the child’s veins, but he knew it was there, more so than in himself or Rey, and that was as fascinating as it was terrifying.
He thought about the name she had mentioned in passing: Ava. He liked that name. It had no attachments to anyone they knew, and it didn’t stand for something that the girl would have to live up to.
Still watching Rey, he sat in still and silence at how delicate she looked. She would hate to be called ‘delicate’ to her face, so he would imagine it here: his wife looked dainty, and he liked it. He liked thinking that he had something to protect, though, in the back of his mind, he wondered if it had always been the other way around. Actually, he knew it had been.
She turned onto her side, toward him, holding her stomach, touching it lovingly. She smiled gently as she rubbed her belly, as if the flesh of her stomach wasn’t sitting between her own fingers and the baby’s. I will protect you both with my life, he thought. He thought back to his days away from his family, his days as Kylo Ren, and he said a silent prayer for the blessing that was Rey, for pulling him out of there.
Leaving Rey in the bed, he got up and walked toward the kitchen, in deep need of caf. “Hey, kiddo.”
Ben jumped, his eyes becoming wide. “Mom! What are you doing here?!”
Leia was sitting at the kitchen table, with a mug from her place, no doubt walking over. “I wanted to see if Rey was alright since you left the party early last night, and you weren’t up, so I decided to stick around.”
“How did you get in here?” he asked as he went to the caf pot.
“Rey gave me the combination.” Leia watched her son move around the kitchen, something she never thought she’d see, but Rey had changed all of that. “I’ve only been here for five minutes, so calm down.” He nodded, hands on his hips. “She feeling okay? I came to check on her, really.”
“I think you can blame me for her not feeling well.” Leia rolled her eyes as Ben sat across from her, letting the caf brew.
“You did get her pregnant,” she mused, taking a sip from her mug.
“Not that, mom!” he laughed, running a hand through his already sleep-mussed hair. “I helped her pick out shoes last night, and I picked out ones I thought were…” Ben looked away from his mother, “well, I forgot about comfort being an issue.” Leia nodded, smirking.
“And she’s swollen, especially her feet, and she’s carrying your baby morning, noon, and night. Yeah, Ben, the heels might have not been the best touch.” He rolled his eyes, nodding in agreement. “Is she feeling better?”
Is she? he thought to himself, trying not to smirk. “I think so. She’s still asleep.” Ben stood and walked toward the caf pot, finally brewed, pouring himself a mug. “She said that a lot of people were asking what we were going to name her.”
Leia smiled, with a bit of guilt. “I might have told a few people that I was going to have a granddaughter. You can’t blame me for being excited.”
Ben sat back down across from her. “No one’s angry with you mom. Rey thought it was cute, thinks it’s cute that you’re excited.”
“Do you have a name yet?” she asked her son.
“Rey likes ‘Ava’, but she hasn’t said much except that she likes that name.” He thought about the name ‘Ava’… he liked it, too. “You’re the first that would know the name once we officially pick it, though.”
“Well, I’m glad,” she replied, reaching across the table for her son.
They both turned when they heard Rey walk in, groaning. “Hey, you two,” she whispered, tired.
Ben stood up, walking toward her. “You okay?” Leia liked watching them together.
“Still tired. Still sore. What’s new?” Rey said as she walked toward the table. “Good morning, General.”
“Good morning, Rey,” Leia replied, smiling gently. “Feeling better?”
“Aside from how I sound right now, yes,” Rey answered, sitting down next to Ben’s seat. “Ben, can you get me a glass of water, please?”
“Sure,” he said, smiling over at his wife. She’d put on a robe over her pretty nightgown, her hair in perfect waves, like she’d never slept on it. “And your vitamins.”
“I don’t know if I can hold them down.” Rey’s stomach hadn’t been handling things the best for the past few weeks, but it was worth a shot. She looked over at Leia, “Is it hard to imagine him having a baby, since he is your baby?”
Leia gave her daughter-in-law a warm look, “It’s a blessing.” Rey nodded in agreement, watching Ben get her vitamins out.
“Mom, is anyone using the cottage on Spira right now?” Ben asked out of the blue.
“No, why?” He looked over at his wife, who had yet to catch on.
“I thought I might take Rey there for a little while before the baby,” he said as he sat back down, handing Rey her water and vitamins.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Leia said, looking at the young couple.
“That’s really not necessary,” Rey said, taking a drink, her voice instantly sounding less sick.
“It would have to be soon. Dr. Tych doesn’t want her traveling the last two months.” Leia nodded, and Rey looked at them both.
“Have you been planning this?” she asked, pushing her hair to the side.
“I hear your thoughts, you know, just as you like to point out, you hear mine, too," Ben replied, smirking. "You were thinking about Spira last night in the show-“
“Ben!” She hit him in the arm playfully, her cheeks reddening as she looked over at his mother.
“It’s alright, Rey. They don’t know when to keep quiet, do they?” Rey and Leia nodded ‘no’ to each other. “The cottage is available if you would like to use it for a while.”
“Great. I needed to check with you first, to see if I’m needed for strategy right now. I figured I could take a while off. Rey can’t do much with training younglings right now since the baby’s using up a lot of her energy.”
Rey placed a hand on her belly, “She’s kicking right now, by the way.”
“She’s always kicking.” Ben watched as his mother got up from her chair, walking around to their side of the table.
“Can I feel?” she asked.
“Of course!” Rey exclaimed, taking his mother’s hand and placing it directly where the baby was kicking, right around her navel.
Leia’s face lit up when she felt the baby. “No wonder you’re always tired.”
“She was pretty calm last night, but I think that’s because she felt sorry for me in those shoes,” Rey joked, beaming down at her belly.
“Rey. Vitamins. Now,” Ben said, pushing them toward her.
“Yes, Dr. Solo,” she replied sarcastically, pushing the tiniest vitamin in her mouth, taking a drink, swallowing down the pill. “Ugh, those are terrible.”
Leia watched her growing family, happy to watch it happen. She never thought that she’d ever be so lucky, especially after all that had happened. “You two, I’m going to head out. Ben, whenever you want to leave for Spira, go for it.” Smiling at the two, she walked toward the exit. “I’ll see you both shortly, I suppose.”
“You live next door, how could you not?” Ben replied.
“Ben!” Rey hit him in the arm again, playfully.
“Rey, I’ve said this before, but you really are perfect for him.”
Ben and Rey cleaned up what little needed to be, before walking back to the bedroom, crawling back into the bed. She tried to stretch but was frustrated to find that she couldn’t, and Ben watched in amusement. “Not funny.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” he said as he fell back down onto the pillows. “What hurts?”
“My legs.” She looked up at him, and he knew why. “Don’t be angry with yourself. We didn’t know, and I’m guessing it’s largely due to the heels.”
“Still my fault,” Ben reminded her as he pulled the covers off of her, ready to massage her legs and feet. “You alright with a rub down?”
“When have I ever said no to that?” They smiled at each other and he went down to her legs.
“Should I start at the feet or thighs?” She pointed to her feet, settling into the pillows further.
“Sorry I can’t see you,” she said as she looked at her massive bump.
“I like what’s between us,” Ben reminded her, causing warmth to spread throughout her body – a warmth of contentment. “Sleep okay?”
“Very well,” she mused, looking at the ceiling. “You?”
“Very, very well.” Ben’s reply caused her to smirk. “I watched her kick this morning. I don’t know how you sleep through it.”
“I’ve become accustomed to her assaults, I suppose.” Rey put a hand on her belly. “We have to start making efforts to talk to her, Ben. She knows our voices. I read it could be a comfort for her to hear us speak directly to her more often.” She sighed at his hands on her feet. “That’s fabulous.”
“Good.” He looked down at her feet, feeling how smooth they were – someone had just worked on them, for sure. The first time he’d touched her feet was a year after the final battle, a few months before their wedding. That was two years ago now. Time had really flown. It felt like yesterday since she had cooked that big dinner, worn that gorgeous yellow dress, looked at him as she poured him a glass of wine and said ‘I’m pregnant.’ He could barely finish eating for wanting her so terribly. Worst of all is he had ‘felt’ that she might be, but didn’t say anything… he wanted to hear it from her first.
“If we’re going to talk to her, we might need a name,” he suggested as he rubbed her arch.
“It’s so much responsibility, naming a human,” Rey observed, looking at her belly.
“You liked Ava, I liked Ava,” he suggested to her.
“Ava Solo.” Rey whispered it over and over, imagining what their baby would look like. She had an image in her mind: the spitting image of her father.
“You think she’ll look like me? Poor kid,” he said, trying to laugh.
Rey sat up slowly, looking at him, shaking her head. “Poor kid? How can you say that?”
“My ears, my nose… the hair’s the only good trait.” Ben obliged Rey, coming up to her when she reached out for him.
“I think you’re very attractive,” she whispered before she kissed him quickly. “I like everything about your face.”
“I like your face, too,” he replied before kissing her again, forcing her down into the sheets. They wrapped their arms around each other as they kissed, as if they weren’t sure when they’d get this opportunity again. Her belly sat against his flat stomach, and he jumped at the sensation of their little girl’s kick.
“Ava, don’t kick daddy,” she whispered, pulling her face away from his, laughing lightly.
“Ava,” he whispered back, looking into Rey’s eyes.
“Ava.” Rey and Ben kissed again, more hungrily. “Round two?”
“Round two.”