The Force of the Dyad

• Takonada •

After their horrifying ordeal in the Sith cave, Ben and Rey no longer felt comfortable staying on Ahch-To. They searched their ship's planet database, trying to decide on their next destination.

Going back to Naboo was an option; but Rey preferred to see more of the galaxy first before settling down. Ben didn't mind where they went, as long as it was secure, and not too busy. He wanted to avoid excessive attention to Rey for her safety. Rey wanted greenery, life, blue oceans and friendly natives. One by one they knocked planets off their list, and it was getting harder and harder to pick a place.

"Wait, go back!" Rey exclaimed as Kylo swiped past one beautiful planet, swirled with green and blue. It was part of a nine planet system in the Milky Way, named "Earth". Their interest peaked, they read the planet stats. "No, no, that won't do." Kylo finally said with dissatisfaction. "It says here the planet is full of violent predators, and hostile, unintelligent life forms... the Neanderthal race.... whew, they haven't even discovered electricity yet." Rey heaved a deep sighed, frustrated as they continued their search.

"Buuuut, I mean, who knows, we could maybe check it out if you want too..." Ben mused, trying to appease her. He HATED seeing her frustrated. "No, no darling, the bloody solar system is a desolate wasteland, LIGHTYEARS away from modern civilization," Rey interrupted him, a slight scowl resting on her brow, dismissing the thought altogether with an impatient wave of her hand. Noticing Ben's concerned eyes upon her face, she relaxed and smiled apologetically, "I've just been feeling abnormally exhausted after our ordeal. Since the morning we arrived in Ahch-To actually..."

"It was probably all the stairs we climbed to get to the top, combined with all the, ahem, 'exercise' you and I had in the cabin," Ben slyly remarked. Rey grinned, and throwing the planet database tablet to the side, flung herself in his arms.

•••

At long last, they narrowed down their planet tour picks to two... to the sweeping, boggy fields and farmlands of the reclusive planet Lah'mu, or to the beautiful lush forests and lakes of the more exciting Takodana. Where to go first? Rey was leaning towards the latter... even Ben's heart beat faster as he recalled the first time he had ever seen Rey, in the forest of that planet. And Rey loved looking back at that memory NOW... it sent a shiver down her spine, the knowledge that she had been bridal carried by her soulmate into his private ship, the day of their first meeting.

"Let's go there Ben!" Rey cried, a sparkle in her eyes. "I'm just... hesitant," Ben slowly replied... "so many stragglers and dodgy characters frequent the palace..." he glanced down at Rey thoughtfully, "yet, the planet DOES have easy access to the hyperspace routes. And the opposite side of the planet is much more remote, with quaint, lazy villages, occupied mostly with the locals. I believe there are some ancient ruins with Jedi history sprinkled here and there, that might be worth exploring." Rey listened to her husband with admiration. He knew so much, and had travelled to so many places, his knowledge of the galaxies and planets seemed endless.

Finally, they agreed to give Takodana a try. Relieved at having made a decision, they started to prepare the ship.

"Ouch!" Rey suddenly exclaimed. A sharp, jagged rock sticking out of the cabin wall had cut clean through her leggings, into the skin of her thigh. She hadn't seen it, over the pack and folded cloak she had been carrying. Before she could do so much as glance down, Ben was by her side. He had dropped what he was carrying at the very instant of her cry and sprinted over.

"What happened sweetheart, are you ok?" Ben said worriedly, sitting her down and thoroughly checking over her leg. "It's not deep Ben, don't worry it doesn't hurt that much, I've had worse." Ben shook his head, concerned but calm, "No Rey, this needs attention. We'll need to visit a medical center." None of Rey's protests had any effect on Ben, but soon she was grateful for his concern and assistance. He carried her aboard the Ewok, cleaned the wound and wrapped it up in a sterile bandage. Despite his worry over Rey's safety, he was focused and his hands were steady.

He tried to heal her, by transferring life force to her leg, but found he was no longer able too, now he was stuck in force form. What life force he did have, he needed and was bound to him. Frustrated, he asked Rey to try, even though she didn't think it would be possible to force heal her own self; she wasn't strong enough for THAT. Manipulating raw medichlorians with the force to create spontaneous healing in HERSELF, was leaning more towards the realm of occult Sith accomplishments. She shivered with disgust as she remembered Palpatine, "alive" after all those years.

"Get some rest," Ben gently commanded her, noticing her drowsy expression. "I'll finish loading up and get us on our way." Rey willingly obeyed him, leaning back into the cushions behind her; and soon after take off, she fell into a deep slumber.

•••

A couple of days later, they approached Takodana. Ben had carried her into the cockpit so she could feast her eyes upon the greenery before her. The attention was totally unnecessary in Rey's opinion, however much she enjoyed being held in Ben's arms; she was tired yes, but her leg felt fine except for the soreness of the actual cut. However the wound already seemed to be healing and it didn't look like stitches were needed. But Ben persisted, and prevented her from using her leg as much as possible. Ben decided to land at the palace of Maz Kanata; first to get a medical check for Rey's leg, then to get consult Maz on the best sites to take Rey during their planet tour.

"REY AND BEN SOLO!" Maz bellowed from across the room. In his dark hooded cloak, Ben had been counting on anonymity... he had forgotten Maz's dislike of anything unless it was out in the open, despite being quite cryptic where her own self was concerned. But the large room was mostly empty, a few quiet stragglers lounged around in corners, minding their own business.

Ben set Rey down, as Maz rushed over and eyed them with her large round glasses, then hemmed and hawed for a few moments. Finally she grabbed them each by a hand. "Welcome back Ben Solo! It's been years!" she dryly observed. "You've changed quite a bit since I've last seen YOU... as a little boy. Our dark friend is quite gone I see! And Rey!" She reaches up and grabbed her face in her hands to pull her closer. "Child, you are positively glowing. And you are here for the medical center?"

"Umm, yes, how did you know...? We're here first of all for Rey's leg..." Ben answered. "Her leg, aha yes of course her leg." Maz crooned mysteriously. "Certainly the leg. Follow me, this way!" Ben easily lifted Rey in his arms again much to her chagrin, and they followed Maz down a corridor into a quiet, clean white medical room. Maz activated a medical droid, which buzzed over, taking Rey's vitals and examining her.

"Ben, this is completely unnecessary, I'm perfectly fine!" Rey protested. She felt they were all making too big of a fuss, and she didn't like to be a bother. Ben somehow knew what she was thinking, and he kissed her forehead tenderly. "Hush Rey, I know you're all right, I just want to make 100% sure. And you aren't a bother to anyone!"

The droid finished its evaluation of Rey, and rolled before them to give the diagnosis. "Madam Rey's leg wound is healing nicely," the metallic voice droned, "however we will apply some ointment to speed up the process. And don't worry about the baby; it's still early, but the pregnancy is proceeding just as expected."

Ben and Rey both froze in shock, completely and utterly speechless, staring at the droid. After an eternity they turned to each other, mouths hanging open, and breathlessly gasped at the same moment, "BABY?!?!"

In the back of the room, Maz Kanata laughed and laughed.

... to be continued.