Ben wakes up the next morning with Rey curled against him. Padmé actually only woke up twice during the night, and neither time for more than thirty minutes.
She opens her eyes when Ben approaches her crib, reaching her chubby arms up for him. She wants me.
Ben swallows and reaches down, picking her up. She gurgles and Ben checks her mouth. The small white tooth is starting to protrude more prominently.
"C'mere." Ben grabs a small jar of small grains. He pours a few of them on the floor, setting Padmé down. He eats one. Padmé reaches for one, crushing it with her fingers.
"No." Ben smiles and picks one up, trying to put it in her mouth. Padmé wrinkles her nose and jerks away.
Dammit.
"Here," Ben says, levitating several of them with the Force. Padmé's eyes widen and she follows the floating grains. Ben drops one in her small palm. She puts it in her mouth.
Yes. "Good girl," Ben croons as his daughter gums on the grain. "You wanted to do it yourself, didn't you?"
She's gonna be just like Rey, Ben thinks.
"Are you Force feeding my child?" Rey asks sleepily.
"I'm using the Force to manipulate her into thinking grains are interesting enough to chew on," Ben reports, levitating a few more.
Rey laughs and slips down onto the floor.
"Sleep well?" Ben asks her.
She nods. "No nightmares."
"Good." He watches Padmé take another one.
You ruin everyone. Your mother's life. Rey's tormented by Snoke because of you. You'll ruin Padmé's.
No. Rey loves him. Mother loves him. Father loves him.
"Don't do that to yourself," Rey says. "Did you have nightmares? Because I know you do, too."
"Not last night," Ben admits, grateful to Rey for flaying him open again. He can't hide from her. He doesn't want to.
"Hey!" Someone pounds on their door. Rey snatches the baby as Ben hurries over.
"Hey," Lando greets them. "You need to come. Right now."
"Is it Luke and Finn? And Poe?"
Lando nods.
"Shit." Ben scrambles to get dressed and races out the door with Rey beside him. The Resistance gathers in a room.
"They were supposed to check in last night," Mother reports. "They didn't, and we can't reach them."
Chewie moans.
"It is a hostile planet, presumably," Ackbar reminds them.
"They were supposed to land away from civilization and avoid detection—"
"Yeah, but they weren't supposed to stay incognito," retorts Major Ematt. "We should send a team to investigate."
"Rey should go," Jess Pava puts in. "She's got the Force. They might need that."
Chewie grumbles and puts his hand on Rey's shoulder. If she goes, I go.
"I can go with her," Ben suggests, knowing what the response will be and not giving a damn. He doesn't want Rey to have to do this by herself. "I have the Force, too."
"Yeah, we're aware," snaps another resistance member.
"Seriously, he hasn't done anything in a year, minus that one incident where he tried to rescue Rey on his own," Snap says. "Why don't we trust him?"
"Hey, I even fought him on that occasion," Jess says. "He's not Kylo Ren. I trust him."
Ben gapes at her.
"Well, I don't," counters Shiv.
"I can watch Padmé," Leia suggests. "I'd love to spend time with my grandchild."
YOU ARE READING
•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•
Fanfiction*WRITTEN PRE-TROS, POST TLJ* When a ship crashes near the Resistance base, Finn and Poe are shocked to discover Kylo Ren. What does he want? And where is Rey? And as for Kylo, he must decide how much he can trust them with what he knows about Snoke...
