Star Wars Episode X: The Shroud of The Dark Side

Chapter 11:Ben Solo

Ben woke up in the morning and rolled over to check on Rey. She was deep in sleep, which was good since she hasn't really been able to sleep since the fight with Darth Caedus. It had been a long few months. They had struggled with getting Rey back to full health, she still wasn't. They struggled with the news of triplets, after Darth Caedus had taunted Rey with that news both of them had gone to see a doctor on Tatooine who did some tests and confirmed that they were going to have three babies. Ben had restarted the moisture farm that Luke's aunt and uncle used to run to try and make some extra money. So far it was running well but that plus Rey's salary from the Republic still might not be enough for three kids. Along with that, Yuuzhan Vong attacks were common now along the galaxy. Nothing huge, but raids. No sign of Darth Caedus however. He would stay hidden, but the warmaster Tsavong Lah would appear from time to time. Anytime he appeared, it pretty much was a guarantee that the Yuuzhan Vong would win the battle. Rey had stayed home the past 3 months, with a mostly healed Finn taking the responsibilities of the Grand Master. The scar across his face that cut from one side of his chin, through his mouth and up to the eye was deeper than Ben's was and looked more painful.

"Ben..." Rey weakly called for him. Ben turned around and noticed she was standing at the doorway holding the door frame for support.

"Hey hey, what are you doing?" Ben walked over and held her up.

"I wanted to see where you went. I thought you left." Rey leaned on him trembling.

She was having nightmares all of the time and had told Ben many of them included him falling back to the dark side and leaving her, or the Yuuzhan Vong and Darth Caedus killing them both and taking their children.

"I'm not leaving you. I'm gonna help you back to bed and make some food." Ben carried her back to the bed and tucked her in. Ben sighed, and went to the kitchen and toasted some bread and made rice. By the time he put it on a plate and got her a glass of water, Rey was already back asleep. He put the tray beside her and walked outside to tinker with the X-wing that was out there. He hadn't spent much time out there before a ship landed. Ben pulled out from underneath the X-wing and watched Poe jump out of his own X-wing. Poe walked over to greet him.

"Hey, how's Rey doing?" Poe asked.

"Um, better. She's asleep right now." Ben answered. Poe nodded. They stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Do you. Wanna come in?" Ben asked.

"Uh, sure. I guess I have a bit of time." Poe responded awkwardly. They walked into the house and Ben made them some more food and they sat down. Neither of them said anything while they ate and it was probably the most awkward meal that Ben has ever had. Rey walked out of the room and sat down next to Ben. She leaned on him. Ben looked at her face and saw nothing but sadness. Ben kissed the top of her head and let her take the rest of the food he had on his plate. It was good to see that she was eating, so Ben had no problem letting her eat her found and his. Poe smiled and then looked down.

"I should probably go. Thanks for the food." Poe nodded and left.

Ben coughed and Rey flinched.

He didn't know what happened that day but whatever it was ruined her. He was pretty frustrated that he wasn't there to help her. Next time something came up he would run to help. Even if it meant getting arrested he would be there for her. Ben gently got up from the table and led Rey to the bathroom. He washed her face and then his own. He looked up and Rey was looking at the ground. She had one hand on the sink and one hand on her stomach. She had said very little the past 3 months and it was starting to worry him. They went back to the bed and Ben decided to try and get her to talk today.

"The farm is going well. We should have enough money for everything we need." Ben told her, smiling.

"That's good." Rey responded and gave a half smile. It was better than nothing. For the rest of the day Rey made good progress, they went on a walk and worked on the moisture farm. They ended the day by meditating. Things got a bit better, but Ben knew they still had a ways to go. Ben started to think that part of the trauma wasn't about Rey being injured but her fear about the babies being injured. He decided he was going to work over the next week to make sure she could be back in shape. But Rey probably wouldn't be joining the Jedi order again until after the babies were born. Ben called Finn and told him what he thought. Finn nodded and left. He wasn't doing great either. Ben had a lot of respect for Finn. He took on the roles of a leader and was dealing with healing just like Rey was. Ben had a side mission while he helped her heal.

Find Darth Caedus.