~ Love Lives On ~ TRoS Alternate Ending

Chapter Four: Holding Hands

"So how far along does it say you are?" Ben asked nervously, standing up as he saw Rey come out of the bathroom. She held the small test in her hand.

"Two and a half months, apparently," she said exasperated as she walked over to their bed and plopped down on it. "That really doesn't make sense," she continued. "That would mean that I was carrying this child when we defeated Palpatine. I should have miscarried! There's no way that the baby would have survived that."

Two and a half months. Ben tried to think. If there really was no physical explanation, Ben wondered if the old legend about his grandfather's immaculate conception could really be true. He had always assumed Shmi Skywalker, although an honorable woman, had been raped by a cruel master and that the story she had told to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn all those years ago was her own way of coping with a very painful reality. And then there was the more pressing question: how could the baby have survived Rey's death?

"You didn't get rid of those old Jedi texts when we buried the sabers, did you?" Ben asked. "What in the world could that possibly have to do with-" Rey began, angry and then, "Oh my gosh," she said in a hushed voice. "Ben, you don't think..." she faltered, realizing where he was going.

"It would make sense. The texts don't explain how it happens, just that when the Force is highly concentrated in one place, it can spontaneously create a new life."

"No. That's talking about simple life; plants and stuff, not people, not me!" Rey countered.

"Not necessarily. If it happened to my great-grandmother, it could happen to you," Ben said.

"No," she insisted.

"Rey," Ben said gently, the look in his eyes calmly asking her to at least consider the possibility.

With a frustrated huff, she protested, "Well that still doesn't explain how the baby survived."

Now they were both stumped and sat in silence for a long time, thinking.

"Do you think you would have, like, felt anything, if it really did happen like that?" Ben finally asked.

"N-..." Rey almost immediately shot that suggestion down, but something stopped her. She started to think. Two and a half months. What was going on two and a half months ago? She retraced her steps. She and Ben had been married for three weeks, defeated Palpatine four weeks ago. That was one month. Before that, she was with the Resistance, helping set up their new base, which had taken roughly four weeks. That was two months. Before that, she and Ben had defeated Snoke and the Praetorian guards, and almost right before that-

"The force bonds," Rey said under her breath, "two and a half months ago is when we started experiencing the force bonds."

"The force bonds? What do they have to do with this?"

"The hut. After I came out of the mirror cave. When we touched hands." Rey said. She looked at Ben but he was still confused.

"The Jedi texts say that rarely and spontaneously, the force creates new life when it's highly concentrated, which it certainly was and is between us. When we touched hands... well, I didn't just see your future, Ben, I saw ours. We had twins, a boy, and a girl. The girl had your eyes and your hair, and the boy had my nose and my smile. And I didn't just see it, I... I felt it. I felt this energy, this strength stirring within me. But it wasn't for me, it's like it was within me. I didn't even give it a second thought but..."

"You felt life," Ben said. "What you just described to me, that's the same thing I felt when you kissed me on Exegol."

Rey's eyes widened. She saw it all in perfect clarity now.

"Ben, when we touched hands that day, the force created new life from both of us. And that's why they survived my death, because they're your babies too. When you gave your life force over to me to bring me back, it healed me and our two babies," she said, processing.

"Two?" Ben said astonished, not sure if he believed her explanation was possible.

"Two," Rey said, "And they're ours. I'm sure of it. My force vision, the fact that I felt that life stirring in me because of you... with you... " she searched his face, but Ben was still unconvinced.

Taking Ben's hand, Rey placed it on her abdomen and covered it with her own. "Reach out, Ben. Listen."

He shook his head in disbelief but closed his eyes anyways, reaching out through the force, sensing the life around him. It began as an uncontained murmur, a hum all throughout the galaxy. Willing it to focus in, Ben drew in a breath slowly. The murmur narrowed to their house and the life all around it. Taking another deep breath, Ben heard the murmur change into a rhythmic heartbeat. Rey's. Then another. His. Then faintly, gradually, two more. And he didn't just sense them, he felt them. Two, distinct heartbeats pulsed up through his hand and radiated through his arm. His eyes snapped open in surprise and he looked at Rey. "Two," he said, eyes growing moist and voice thick with emotion. "And they're ours," he nodded, "I can feel it."

Ben cupped Rey's face in his hands and planted a firm kiss on her mouth.

"We're gonna be parents!" Ben laughed, scooping Rey up in his arms and spinning her around. Rey let out a squeal, Ben continuing to spin them around and around.

After a few seconds, Rey's smile faded.

"Ben, Ben put me down!" she said weakly but with an urgency in her tone.

Puzzled, Ben stopped spinning and set her down gently. As soon as her feet hit the ground she bolted for the bathroom. Ben followed her and saw her leaning over the toilet. He walked over to her and held her hair back, rubbing her back.

"Since when do you get motion sick?" he asked.

Rey let out a sardonic laugh. "Being pregnant tends to do that to you."

"Oh boy," he chuckled. "Look's like I've got a lot to learn."

"We both do Ben," Rey said as she shifted to sit criss-cross beside Ben on the bathroom floor. "We both do," she sighed, patting his leg and resting her head on his shoulder.

Author's Note: I know this is not canonically correct since TROS happened a year after TLJ but I had this idea/wrote this story before I knew that sooo...  just roll with it! :) Also I would love to hear feedback (critiques, suggestions, etc.) on this story! Feel free to message me!