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              Rey’s phone buzzed with an incoming text message, and as she was elbow-deep in her thesis research, she ignored it.

              But then it buzzed again.  And again.

              She sighed and unearthed it from beneath a precariously-stacked pile of binders and textbooks, and winced when a few of them slid off the table and crashed to the floor.

              Rey frowned.  What she’d thought were texts had been a phone call, and then a text from her foster sister that read simply, Call me.

              She sighed.  Jessika was going to ask her about Thanksgiving, and Rey had already decided she wasn’t going.  It would be too awkward; Jessika’s new husband’s family was going to join them, and Rey hadn’t gotten on well with them when they’d met at the wedding a few months ago.

              But she did owe her an answer, and it was probably best to rip off the bandaid.  So she called.

              “I found something of yours,” Jessika said without preamble.

              “Really?”  Jessika’s parents had died the year before, and Jessika had inherited their house and decided to move into it after she got married.  Rey had gone over for a few weeks in the summer and helped her clear it out, and she’d taken the few belongings she’d left there and wanted to keep, and told Jessika she could donate or trash the rest of them.  “I thought I took everything.”

              “This was with Dad’s papers,” Jessika said.  “Your fostering papers.  I have those for you too, when you get here.”

              So that was how it was going to be.  “Listen, Jessika – ”

              “It’s a picture,” Jessika interrupted her.  “Of you as a little kid.”

              She paused.

              “Let me text a picture of it to you.”  A minute later, her phone buzzed.  Rey put her on speakerphone and opened the text.

              Being a picture of a picture, it wasn’t great quality, and the picture itself was pretty old.  It was of a couple on the beach.  Behind them was a somewhat battered and vagabond UV bus, only half in the frame.

              The woman wore a yellow bikini with an unbuttoned long-sleeve shirt thrown over it.  She had curly red hair past her shoulders and a big smile.  Her face was turned slightly to the side, focused on the other people in the photograph.

              The man wore a ridiculously loud tropical-patterned shirt and a pair of board shorts.  Unlike the woman, he was looking directly at the camera, a big, happy smile on his face.  His hair was blond and a little shaggy.  They both looked like they were in their early twenties.

              Between them, clutching one hand of each of them, was a little girl probably around two or three years old.  She was laughing, her reddish-brown hair in pigtails, and she wore a yellow tank bikini.

              “Are you still there?” Jessika asked.

              “Yeah,” Rey said, and cleared her throat.  “This was with your dad’s things?”

              “Yes,” Jessika said.

              Rey knew when she was beaten.  “Okay,” she said.  “I’ll be there tomorrow.”

*

              It was dark by the time Rey pulled up the driveway.  She sat there for a minute and stared up at it.  A perfect McMansion, white with black shutters, two stories with a circle drive and impeccably manicured lawn.  She couldn’t see it, but there was a pool in the back, along with a short strip of grass and a dock on the canal.  Every house on the street was the same, variations in color and what random trees were planted in the front yard.  Perfect.  Wealthy.  Cold.

              Rey put her car in park and chastised herself.  The Pavas might not have been warm, but they’d taken her in and mostly treated her like family, at least in the only way they knew how.  And they’d bought her a car when she went to college, which had been a huge help.  So what if they’d paid for Jessika’s schooling and Rey had been left to scramble for scholarships and loans?  Jessika was their real daughter.  Rey got more than she could’ve expected anyway.

              The door opened before Rey even hit the porch, and Jessika stood there, framed by the glow of the lights behind her.

              “There you are!  I was wondering how long it would take you,” she said.  “Come on, it’s hot out there.”  She ushered Rey inside and shut the door.

              Rey looked around the foyer.  It was mostly the same, though they’d decided to bring out the Christmas decorations early this year.  Typically Mrs. Pava didn’t pull them out until Black Friday.

              “Sorry it’s such a mess,” Jessika said, and Rey followed her down into the kitchen.  It wasn’t even the slightest bit messy.  The television in the living room was on, a news program, and she said hi briefly to Snap, Jessika’s husband.  He nodded distractedly, looking at his tablet, probably still working.

              “No problem,” Rey said.  “You should see my apartment.”

              “Yeah,” Jessika said.  “How’s school going?  You’re, what, in your last year?”

              “Finishing my master’s,” Rey said.  “I’ll be done next spring, as long as I stay on track.”

              “Right,” Jessika said.  “Psychology?”

              “Teaching,” Rey reminded her gently.

              “Yeah, right, sorry,” Jessika said.  “I forgot.”

              They had this conversation every few months.  “So my picture,” Rey prompted.

              “Yeah,” Jessika said.  She opened up a manilla envelope sitting on the counter and plucked out the photo.  Rey had to restrain herself from ripping it out of her hands.  “We were going through a bunch of boxes in Dad’s study, and Snap asked me who these people were.  I didn’t know for sure, but I thought the girl looked like you.  She’s got that hideous teddy bear.”

              “Yeah,” Rey said softly, now looking at the photo in person, able to see the details a bit clearer now.  The colors were a little faded, but she could see that what she’d thought was a weird blob at her feet was actually her teddy bear.  Teddy looked far better than she’d ever remembered.  The Teddy that currently sat on her bed was missing an eye and had been stitched together a few times so his stuffing didn’t leak out.

              “There’s writing on the back of it too,” Jessika said, and Rey eagerly flipped it over.  It was a note, like someone had turned the photo into a postcard.

              To L –

              I know I’ve been gone too long.  I’m sorry for everything I put you through and I hope you can forgive me one day.  But I’ll be coming home for Christmas and bringing a few surprises with me.  (Like you couldn’t already tell!)

              Love, L

              “I figure you’re maybe two or three years old?” Jessika said.

              “Three,” she said.  The date above the note was 10/05/1995.  Rey touched the woman’s face, and then the man’s.  The woman had Rey’s same and tanned complexion.  “Did you see anything else?”

              “No other pictures,” Jessika said.

              Rey flipped it over and read the message again.  The pen had pressed hard, the ink slightly smeared.  She touched the words and wished she could go back in time and touch the person who’d written them.  The handwriting was a bit scratchy and looked more masculine than feminine.  Her eyes filled with tears.

              She was touching something that her parents had touched.

              “I wonder why they never showed me,” Rey said.

              “It was in a box of official documents,” Jessika said.  “I kept the stuff about your fostering, but I think you have all of them already.”  She tapped the manilla envelope.

              “Yeah, but I’ll take them,” Rey said.  “Thanks.”  She turned her eyes back to the message, and the address.  “Alderaan.”

              Jessika snorted delicately.  “Maybe that’s why they never took you up there,” she said.  Rey smiled a little; the picture was taken on a sunny beach day.

              They didn’t get much more chance to talk, as Snap’s family chose that moment to arrive.  Rey took her things and the envelope and retreated up to her childhood room after saying a quick hello, and was able to use the excuse of working on her thesis and studying so she didn’t have to interact with them all that much over the course of the weekend.  Snap’s family was always polite, but they always looked at her as if she were some kind of charity case.  Not a real member of the family, just the grubby little orphan that Reverend and Mrs. Pava had taken in and provided for out of the kindness of their hearts.

              She left on Saturday morning, begging off that she had study groups, and was back at school by eleven.  She needed to map out her plan for finals and coordinate with her study group, but the lure of the photograph was too much.

              She fired up her laptop and searched for the address.  To her surprise, it popped up with a webpage for a bed and breakfast in Alderaan, called Organa House.  The front page of the website showed a gorgeous Victorian style house.  A banner across the top said they were number one in the Parade of Lights for three years running.

              She clicked the “About Us” tab and read that Organa House had been a private home until sometime in the eighties, when Bail and Padme Organa decided it was too much house.  It was owned now by their daughter, Leia Organa.  Rey clicked greedily through all of the pictures, looking for either the blond man or the redheaded woman, but saw no one who resembled them, even aged up twenty years.  Leia Organa was a lovely woman who looked like she was in her early fifties, with dark hair shot through with just a touch of silver.  One picture showed what looked like a summer barbeque.  Leia was standing next to a tall, sandy-haired man holding a pair of tongs, the pair of them surrounded by a group, and they were all laughing.

              Rey looked down at the picture again.  To L, it said.  Had the message been intended for Leia Organa?  The staff webpage didn’t list anyone else whose name started with an L.  This would’ve been more than twenty years ago, but if her parents had owned it, and she owned it now, she more than likely had lived there during that time.

              She grabbed her phone and dialed, getting almost to the last number before she set it back down.  What was she supposed to say?  ‘Hi, I found a postcard that maybe has your name on it and I think you know my parents’?

              Rey slumped back in her chair.  Her phone alarm went off, alerting her that she needed to pack up and meet her study group.  She closed the webpage and packed her laptop into its sleeve, and told herself she needed to concentrate on her finals, and she could deal with the rest of it later.

              Five hours later found her back in the same spot, staring at the webpage again.  She had her calendar app open on her phone and was hovering over the ‘booking’ page.  Her last day interning was on December seventeenth.  It was a good twenty-hour drive to Alderaan.  And she’d probably have to drive; she’d need a car to get around.

              Was she really thinking about doing this?  Driving up to a random city she’d never been to, on the off chance it might give her a lead on her parents?

              Yes, she decided, and clicked on the booking link.  The alternative was another stuffy, pretentious Christmas dinner with Jessika and her husband and their extended families.  She’d probably just spend the whole time in her old room, feeling sorry for herself.  Would it be that much worse to have Christmas alone?  At least then she’d be doing something.  She could have her very own Hallmark Channel Christmas adventure!

              The booking link gave her an error message when she put in the dates, and a pop up bubble instructed her to call.  She checked the time; it was just now five-thirty, so someone might still be there.  She called.

              “Thank you for calling Organa House, this is Kaydel, how can I help you?”

              “Hi,” Rey said.  “I was trying to book but the website gave me an error message?”

              “What days were you trying to book?” Kaydel asked.

              “December eighteenth through the twenty-sixth,” Rey said.

              “Oh,” Kaydel said.  “That’s why.  We’re full up for that time period, I’m sorry.”

              “Really?”  She was crushed.

              “Yeah,” Kaydel said.  “We’re actually closed for the last couple of weeks of the year because of the Parade of Lights and other stuff.”

              “Oh,” Rey said.  She should’ve realized that places like that probably were booked up for months in advance.

              “If you’ve got your heart set on Alderaan, though, I can recommend some other places to call,” Kaydel offered.

              “Okay,” Rey said.  “Yeah, thanks.”  Kaydel gave her the telephone numbers for a few other bed and breakfasts and a hotel that she said was the only one worth staying in.  Rey thanked her and hung up, and started checking them out.  She struck out with the bed and breakfasts, but the hotel had a vacancy and the price was right.  The pictures on the website looked a little run down but not terrible, and it was close to the downtown area where the historic bed and breakfasts were.

              “I’m trusting you, Kaydel,” she muttered as she hit Enter and decided her fate.

*

              In the end, Rey decided to fly.

              The airport was a good half hour from Alderaan, but the website for her hotel said that there were shuttles and taxis that would make the drive.  Apparently the city was very popular as a vacation destination, and especially during the holidays.  Her hotel was on their Main Street, and everything she read indicated that the downtown area was very walkable.

              And there was the matter of driving in the snow.

              Rey had never seen snow in her whole life.  She didn’t even understand what snow chains were, and after doing a little research and reading about black ice decided it was best to leave that to the experts.

              The next two weeks passed in a blaze of glittery holiday projects for tiny hands, caffeine, and meetings with her thesis supervisor, and it wasn’t until the day before she was due to leave that she realized she had no clothes that would work for the weather.

              Rey packed all of her jeans and long sleeved shirts, the warmest sweatshirts and nightclothes she had, and was forced to buy a peacoat and a pair of warm boots.  She winced a bit at the prices but was glad at least most of the department stores were running their holiday sales.

              “So you’re really going up there,” Jessika said.

              “Yeah.”  Rey had her on speakerphone as she crammed the last few items into her suitcase and sorted through her toiletries.

              “I mean, we don’t know anything about it,” Jessika said, and sounded strangely concerned.  “I know you want to find out about your parents, but – ”  She hesitated.  “I would hate to see you disappointed.”

              Rey paused.  From Jessika, such emotion was akin to grabbing her in a hug and bursting into tears.  “I’ll be okay,” she said.

              “Well, keep in touch, text me when you get there,” she said, her voice going back to its usual briskness.  “And remember that you’re always welcome here, if you change your mind.”

              “Thanks,” Rey said.

              “And I upgraded your flight,” she added.

              Rey gaped at her phone.  Jessika had asked for her itinerary the week before, but she’d assumed it was just to keep track of her comings and goings.

              She heard her foster sister sniff.  “Well, I can’t imagine you’d be comfortable in economy for seven hours,” she said.

              “You didn’t have to do that,” Rey said.  “I would’ve been fine.”

              “Well,” Jessika said.  “Merry Christmas.”

              “Merry Christmas,” Rey said.

*

              Rey shivered while she waited for her luggage at Alderaan International.  She’d worn a heavy sweatshirt on the plane and packed her peacoat, thinking to pull it out of her suitcase the moment she arrived, but she hadn’t thought about how long it would take to come around on the carriage.

              Thankfully, on the next turn, she spotted her suitcase and grabbed it, hurriedly opening it and pulling out her coat.

              It was still cold, she thought as she joined the crowd headed toward the entryway.  She hadn’t thought about a hat.  Or gloves.

              Problems for later, she told herself.  She was sure she’d find some.  Probably the entire state was sponsored by the yarn and knitting industry.  Maybe they just gave them away free to anyone who looked like an idiot from Jakku.

              The wait for a cab took forever, and by the time they were pulling up to her hotel it was already full dark.  Rey paid and hauled her suitcase up and stuffed her other hand in her pocket and hoped she wouldn’t end up frostbit before the day was over.

              She checked in and collapsed on the bed after turning the heat up full blast.  She’d had thoughts about taking a walk around, perhaps seeing Organa House at least and getting the lay of the land, but she was too cold and wiped out from travel to even think about it.

              Rey pulled her phone out and texted Jessika to let her know she’d landed and gotten to her hotel.  She set her phone aside, knowing it would likely be a couple of hours before she got a reply, and looked around her room.

              It was small but tidy, with a single king-sized bed and a small table and chair.  There was a closet and a dresser, so she heaved herself up and started sorting through her things.  She hadn’t brought anything nice enough to hang except for the peacoat, and she stood her boots up under it.

              The table had some brochures about activities around town, and a flyer for the Parade of Lights, which started in a few days.  Rey read through it and found that all of the bed and breakfasts along Main Street were on the historic registry, and they went all out with holiday decorations.  They sold tickets for the tours.  It was a contest, and the winner was announced at the annual Christmas Eve party at City Hall, and the prize was they were allowed to select which charity the proceeds from the ticket sales went to.

              Her stomach grumbled, and she debated on the merits of the smushed granola bar she’d stuffed into her purse that morning before dismissing the idea.  The hotel had a limited room service menu, but if it meant she wouldn’t have to go out again she’d deal with it.

              She ordered soup, because it would be hot, and finished unpacking while she waited for it.  She watched some local television and scrolled through the Organa House website again, though she’d long memorized the pictures.

              She fell asleep with surprising ease despite the butterflies in her stomach.  Before she drifted off, she looked at the picture, propped against the lamp on the nightstand, and whispered goodnight to them too.

*

              December in Alderaan was cold.

              Rey thought she could deal with cold, but her blood was apparently far too thin and she was shivering even in her coat and boots.  She lazed in bed for a few hours, feeling not only the drain from yesterday’s travel and sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, but also the decompression for the last few weeks.  By the time she wandered out in search of coffee, it was past lunchtime, but luckily they still had some leftover from the continental breakfast.  One of the check in guys recommended a shop just down the street she could try for some additional warm clothing, so Rey finished her coffee, shoved her hands back in her pockets, and braved the chill.

              The streets were busy and she disappeared into the crowd till she got to the intersection that the clerk had mentioned.

              “Finn’s Finery,” she read, and wondered if it was going to be like those shops Mrs. Pava used to like so much, with leggings and tunics that no one under the age of fifty would probably wear, and costume jewelry and accessories that always seemed more expensive than they looked.  Or possibly some kind of tourist store, where everything was plastered with the city’s name and cost ten times what it was worth.

              Still, she was too cold to turn back now, so she pushed open the door.

              A bell tinkled, and she was slowly enveloped in blessed warmth.

              “Be right out!” came a voice from somewhere in the back.  Contrary to what she’d expected, the shop was clean lines and no frills, and most of the clothing looked more like what you’d find in a department store.  Rey drifted over to a rack that held comfy-looking sweaters and leafed through it.

              “Hi,” a voice behind her said, and she turned to see a good-looking dark-skinned guy with a broad smile.

              “Hi,” Rey said, a smile instantly curving her lips.

              “You look cold,” he said, and she laughed.

              “I wasn’t quite prepared for the weather,” she said.

              He scoffed teasingly, and she already loved him.  “Well, obviously.  You’re not wearing a hat, and I’m going to assume you don’t have any gloves in your pockets either.”

              “Guilty,” she admitted, and he motioned for her to follow him.  They ended up close to the cashpoint, where there was a rack of cozy scarves and some gloves.

              “Start here,” he advised, and she looked through her choices, blanching slightly at the prices.  “Where are you from?”

              “Jakku,” she said, and he laughed.

              “Damn.  What brings you all the way up here?” he asked.  “Visiting family for the holidays?”

              It was just a question, she told herself.  “Something like that,” she said, and was glad he didn’t press.  They chatted a bit idly for a few minutes till she found a soft gray scarf made of some material that didn’t feel itchy, and matching gloves.  The peacoat she’d bought was red, so she thought something neutral was probably her best bet.

              “Anything else?” Finn asked.  “What are your plans while you’re here?”

              “Sightseeing, mostly,” she said.  “I wanted to see the Parade of Lights.”

              “Oh, it’s great,” he said enthusiastically.  “The whole downtown gets into it too, a lot of the businesses stay open late.  You’ll love it.”

              “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it,” Rey said as she examined a pair of jeans that had fleece lining.

              “Those are amazing,” Finn said.  “I have about ten pair.  I live in them from October to March.”

              “I had no idea it was going to be this cold,” she confessed.

              “Welcome to Alderaan,” he said with a laugh, and plonked a gray hat on top of her head.

              A couple of hours later, Rey had acquired a scarf, gloves, and the hat, along with two pair of fleece-lined jeans, a couple of thermal long sleeve T-shirts, and a red cowl-necked sweater that she thought she might be able to get away with in January in Jakku.  She even let Finn talk her into trying on a gorgeous green velvet cocktail dress, but begged off from buying it even though it was the prettiest thing she’d ever worn, explaining she didn’t think she’d have any fancy parties to attend while she was there.  She left with her bag of goods, already wearing her new gloves, hat, scarf, and a pair of the jeans.

              It was easier to admire the street now that she was warmer; to marvel at the coffee shop with a walk-up window that had been decorated with winding candy canes and garland, and the old fashioned streetlights adorned with wreaths.  The air was scented with pine from the Christmas tree stand behind her.

              Her bag was kind of heavy, so she went back to the hotel and stashed it in her room, then ventured back out toward the historic area where a lot of the bed and breakfasts were.  She walked for a few minutes, admiring all of the outside decorations.  There were some still getting ready, and she could see people moving back and forth between trucks, carrying power tools or boxes of decorations.

              The next house was the one she was looking for.

              She looked at it from across the street.  Organa House.  There was a dusting of snow on the steps leading up to the front doors, and the pillars were wound with greenery and bright red bows.  It looked like a Christmas card.

              Were the answers she’d been wanting her entire life waiting for her inside?

              She slipped her hand in her purse and felt the cardboard she’d used to protect the photograph.  Courage.  She could do this.

              Unfortunately, when she’d finally plucked up the courage to cross the street, she found the doors were locked.  She knocked and tried to peek through the frosted glass, but there was no answer.

              Dejectedly, she walked back down the steps to the sidewalk and nearly walked into someone.

              “Sorry,” she said.

              “That’s all right,” the man said.  She looked up and saw it was an older man with eyes so big and protruding they almost looked fishlike.  “All those bed and breakfasts are closed for the next few days.”

              “Yeah, but I was hoping…”  She shook her head.  “Just wanted to look around a little bit.”

              “Well, the Parade of Lights starts in two days,” he said.

              “Oh,” Rey said, and fell into step with him.  “I was really hoping to see inside, like, sooner.”

              He shook his head.  “Nobody gets in or out of those places except workers and employees,” he said.  “Not since last year, when the Tiures tried to send spies out to see what everyone was doing.”  He squinted at her a little suspiciously.

              “Oh,” Rey said.  “Well, I’m definitely not a spy.”

              He shrugged and seemed to decide to take her word for it.  “Well, the tickets are only ten dollars,” he said.  “You can buy them at the city center.”

              “Okay,” Rey said, though it wasn’t entirely what she’d had in mind.  “Great, thanks for your help.”

              “No problem,” the man said, and continued down the street.  Rey stepped to the side and watched everyone go by.  They all moved like they had places to be, while her sole reason for being here was quite literally locked in her face.  She pulled her phone out and tried calling, but no one answered.

              They were probably all pretty busy, she reasoned.  It would be kind of rude to interrupt them at this point.

              Her stomach grumbled, and she decided her next step would be dinner.  Then she’d buy a ticket to the Parade of Lights and regroup.  Rey wandered the street a bit, trying to decide if a restaurant was worth the trouble, when she caught sight of a place called Maz’s Cantina.  The sign was a stylized pirate boat, and she took it for a sign and walked in.

              It was early enough that they weren’t really busy, and she was delighted by the beach theme.  Behind the bar were all kinds of nautical decorations, wheels and nets and fake port windows.  The walls were a sand color and the chairs and tables all looked like wicker and bamboo, and though the music piped through the speakers was recognizably Christmas music, it was distinctly island-themed, with lots of steel drums.

              Rey made her way to the bar and hopped up onto a stool.  The bartender was a petite older woman with thick, Coke-bottle glasses and hair pulled back in a tight bun.

              “Can I order food here?” Rey asked.

              “Sure thing, dearie,” the woman said.  She handed her a laminated menu.  “There’s holiday drinks on the back.”

              “Thanks,” Rey said, and perused her choices.  She flipped the menu over to see the holiday drinks.  As she looked, she felt someone sit down beside her.

              She glanced over and her first impression was big.

              The guy was built like a fridge, and so obviously tall and broad that the barstool seemed almost comically small in comparison to him.  He had shaggy black hair that almost brushed his shoulders, pale skin, and a prominent nose, and he was deliberately facing the bar, not looking at her.  A quick check told her there were several empty seats, so he’d chosen to sit beside her.

              “Hi,” she said.

              He swiveled the barstool toward her and nearly upended it.  “Hey,” he said once he’d righted himself.

              “Very smooth,” she said.

              “Can we pretend that didn’t happen?” he asked.

              “I don’t think so,” she said, but took pity on him.  “I’m Rey.”

              “Ben,” he said.  “And a klutz.  So, Rey, what brings you to Alderaan’s only island-themed bar and restaurant?”

              “Well, they have holiday drinks here,” Rey said.  Ben made a face.

              “Ugh,” he said.

              “Not a fan of Christmas?” she asked.

              “Oh, I love Christmas,” he said.  “I’ve just had my daily allotment of peppermint eggnog whatnot.”

              “Well, I wouldn’t want you to turn into a gingerbread cookie or something,” she said.  He laughed and she ordered a peppermint martini.  He asked the bartender for whiskey, some brand she recognized only because it was Snap’s favorite.

              “So, Ben,” Rey said.  “Come here often?”

              “Actually, yes,” he said.  “And you?”

              “I have never been here before,” Rey said.  “First timer.”

              “Well, if you like lamb, I recommend the lambchops,” he said.  “They’re locally raised and pasture fed.  The mac and cheese is fantastic too.”

              She eyed him suspiciously.  “Do you own this restaurant, Ben?” she asked.

              He laughed.  “No, just like I said, I come here a lot.”

              “One peppermint martini, and one whiskey, extra grinchy,” the bartender said as she dropped off their drinks.  Rey laughed at the look on his face.

              “She told you,” she said.

              He shook his head and grinned.  “Nah, I’ve known Maz since I was a kid,” he said.  “She just likes to give me a hard time.”  He sipped his drink and Rey tried hers.

              “I would’ve thought the menu would be more like, beach themed,” she said.

              “The salmon is good, or so I’m told,” he said.  “Caught on Lake Aldera.  I just don’t like salmon.  Or fish in general.”

              “Well, I don’t want anything really heavy,” she said.  She ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with the mac and cheese on the side, and Ben got a burger.

              “So what do you do, when you aren’t promoting this restaurant?” Rey asked.

              “I’m a lawyer,” he said.

              “Really,” she said.

              “Yeah,” he said.  “Have my own practice just down the street.  Solo Legal Group.”

              “Oh,” she said.  “You must be really busy, if it’s just you.”

              “Nope, it’s just my name,” he said.  “Ben Solo, for all your Solo legal needs.”

              “Oh,” she said, and winced.  “How often do you make that joke?”

              His grin was sheepish.  “Not often,” he hedged, and she smirked.  “So, what about you?”

              “I’m a student,” she said.  “Early childhood education.  I want to be a teacher.”

              “That’s awesome,” he said.  They talked for a few more minutes and then their food arrived.  Feeling festive, she ordered another peppermint martini, and he asked for another whiskey.

              They ate mostly in silence; Rey might’ve spent the last six or seven years both food and housing secure, but some old habits die hard, and she always had a hard time maintaining her table manners when food was in front of her.

              Ben, at least, didn’t seem put off by her impression of a feral animal.  “So you said you’re in school,” he said.  “Where do you go? University of Alderaan?”

              She swallowed the last bite of her mac and cheese.  “Uh, no,” she said.  “I’m a student at Jakku College.”

              He blinked.  “Doing a distance learning program?” he asked.

              “Nope,” she said.  “I’m just visiting here.”

              “Wow,” he said.  “That’s – ”

              “It’s very cold here,” she said, and he laughed.

              Ben declined a third glass of whiskey, and Rey deliberated on a third drink but decided against it.  She wasn’t a big drinker anyway, and already feeling the effects of the alcohol a little.

              She went to the bathroom and came back to find Ben standing by their stools.  The restaurant was a lot busier now, and so noisy she couldn’t hear the music.

              “Ready?” he asked.

              “Don’t we have to pay?” she asked.

              “I got it.”  When she protested, he waved a hand.

              “Thank you,” she said.  They made their way outside, and Rey buttoned her coat and pulled out her gloves.

              “Most people from warmer climates forget the gloves and hat,” Ben said.

              She laughed and watched her breath puff out in a white cloud.  It was much quieter outside, though there was still a respectable amount of foot traffic.  “I did,” she said.  “I had to buy these earlier.”  She turned to look up at him.  “So what now, Grinch?”

              They walked through the small park at the city center, and Rey marveled at the dusting of snow on everything and the pretty Christmas trees till she got cold, and Ben walked her back to her hotel.  They lingered outside.

              “Thanks for dinner,” Rey said.  Ben’s eyes dropped from her eyes to her lips.

              “You’re so pretty,” he said, and she stumbled a little closer.  It was cold, but he was warm, especially when he opened his coat and cuddled her against his chest and wrapped it around them both as best he could.

              “Yeah?  Well, you aren’t half bad yourself,” she said breathlessly, and peered up at him.  The angles of his face were softened by the shadows from the streetlights, and his eyes looked almost black.

              “I really want to kiss you,” he said, and bent down closer to her.

              “What are you waiting for?” she whispered.

              The kiss was searing, hot, made her head spin a little.  She slumped against him, let him hold her up as he kissed and kissed her.

              They finally broke away, panting.  His lips were reddened and swollen, and her cheeks felt flushed.  She wondered if she looked just as debauched.

              “I don’t want to let you go,” he murmured.

              “Then don’t,” she said.  “Come up with me.”

Chapter Text

              Rey fumbled with her hotel key, Ben plastered against her back, hands roving and squeezing, lips hot on her neck.

              “Trouble, baby?” he murmured, and cupped one of her breasts.  His hand was so huge that it covered the entire thing, and her nipple hardened.

              “No,” she said, and finally managed to get the door open, and they stumbled inside.

              “It’s really hot in here,” Ben muttered.  She laughed.

              “It’s freezing out there,” she countered.

              “Oh, yeah?  Hothouse flower needs the tropics?” he teased.  She pushed him onto the bed and crawled on top of him.

              “It’s like I’m sinking,” he said, and she laughed.  “Why so many blankets and pillows?”

              “Insulation,” she said.  “It’s the best way to sleep.”

              “Oh really?  I thought that was sharing body heat,” he said.  He grabbed her around the waist and flipped them.  She hurriedly kicked off her shoes when he kissed her, hands wandering, deftly stripping her of her shirt and peeling off her jeans as she ripped off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants.  He shimmied out of them, eyes full of dark promise when he looked at her.  He kissed down her neck, lingering at her breasts till they were tight and aching, and then slowly kissed down her stomach till he got to her panties.

              Breathing heavily, she watched him peel them down as he settled between her thighs.  He looked up at her briefly, one thumb resting at the top of her thatch of hair, rubbing back and forth gently.

              She thought he’d maybe start slow, perhaps lick her, maybe play a finger against her slit, tease at her clit.  But he dove in, tongue sinking into her as his fingers thrust inside, rubbing along her walls as his tongue swept confidently up and down until he reached her clit.

              Rey cried out, fingers buried in his hair as he sucked and used his fingers to expertly roll her clit, pinching ever so slightly.  She whined and writhed against him as he slipped his tongue through her folds.  He grabbed her ass and hauled her closer, spread her thighs wider around him as he ate her out.

              “Ben,” she whined.  “Ben – ”

              He pulled back and she let out a mournful noise that ordinarily would’ve embarrassed her.

              “You’re so hot, Rey,” he whispered.  One of his hands slid from her ass to her thigh and caressed, and she was hot and dizzy with the knowledge of how big his hand was against her, how it covered so much of her thigh.

              Rey was a tall woman, but Ben made her feel downright dainty and fragile.  She’d had no idea what a turn on that would be.

              His hand slid up toward her cunt, and then his fingers expertly circled her clit.  She twisted beneath him, panting, desperate for her release.

              Then he brought his hand down hard, fingers slapping against her clit and sending a spark of pain through her.  Gasping, shocked, she looked up at his intense dark eyes.

              He did it again, slapped down on her blood-engorged, oversensitive clit, and she cried out as the pain bloomed into pleasure.

              “Fuck,” he said raggedly.  “Fuck, baby, you love that, don’t you?”

              Unable to speak, she nodded frantically.

              “Knew you were fucking perfect the second I saw you,” he groaned.  He smacked her in quick succession.

              Slap-slap-slap-slap-slap

              “Ben,” she gasped, fire twisting in her gut and her groin.  “I can’t – I can’t – ”

              “You can,” he said thickly, and he brought his hand down one last time.

She screamed, her orgasm overwhelming her, body shaking from the intensity of her release.  When she came back to herself, Ben was hovering over her.  He looked unhinged, ruined, sweaty and black-eyed, chin still glistening slightly from her arousal.

              “Tell me I can fuck you,” he said.  “Please.”  She heard an obscene slapping noise and looked down to see he was stroking himself.  Her eyes widened.

              “You think that thing’s gonna fit inside of me?” she croaked.  “You’re nuts.”

              “I’ll make it fit,” he said.  “I’ll make you feel so good, baby…”  He trailed off on a groan and threw his head back when she reached down and grasped him, judged his girth and length with her hand.  He pulsed when she gripped him, and his entire body shuddered, practically collapsing on top of her.

              “You got a condom?” she asked.  He frowned and blinked a couple of times, and she had to repeat the question.  He dodged for his pants and riffled through his pockets.

              “Fuck,” he said.

              “What?”  She sat up.  “You don’t have one?  What kind of hookup do you think I’m running here?”

              “It wasn’t like I was expecting this.  And I bet you don’t have one either,” he pointed out, still looking through his wallet.  “I mean, I’m clean, but I wouldn’t expect you to – ah ha!”  He pulled a small foil package from the folds of his wallet and held it up triumphantly.

              “It’s not expired, is it?” she asked as he crawled back onto the bed.  He frowned and squinted at the package.

              “Says it’s good till next year,” he said, and held it out to her.  She took the package and verified that.

              “Okay then,” she said.  “What are you waiting for?”

              He fumbled with the wrapper till she took it from him.  She had never felt so powerful as when she rolled the condom down his massive shaft and watched his eyes roll back, felt his cock twitch desperately against her hand.  She pumped him experimentally a few times till he pulled her hand away.

              “No,” he said, his voice almost a whine.  “Gonna make me come.”

              She let him take control, let him push her back down onto the bed.  He pressed up against her entrance and looked at her, a question in his eyes.

              “Do it,” she whispered.  “I can take it.”

              He rammed all the way inside of her, and she let out a choked-off scream.  She was wet and relaxed from the orgasm he’d already given her, but he was huge, and she felt like he was going to rip her in two.

              “God, baby,” he groaned.  “Nothing’s ever felt so good.  So – fucking – tight.”  He thrust hard on each word, making room for himself, and she mewled, split in two, loving the burn when his cock dragged against her walls.  “You’re so fucking perfect, baby.  Gonna dream about this sweet pussy.”

              He rolled them again, and she was on top.  She stretched languidly above him and then reached back and grabbed one of the blankets to drape over her shoulders.  “What?” she asked at his look.  “It’s cold!”

              They both laughed.  “Can’t have that,” he murmured, and leaned up to kiss her.  Rey was absolutely fascinated by the way the muscles in his stomach tensed and flexed when he moved.  He was an absolute beast, and she wondered how many hours a day he worked out to maintain his godlike physique.

              She started a rolling motion, placed her hands against his chest to push him back down to the bed.  She looked down at him and watched his eyes glaze over with pleasure.  “Yeah, baby,” he grunted, and cupped her hips to assist but didn’t direct her movements.  “Take what you want.”

              She pushed herself up and dropped down a few times, moving slightly to find the best angle.  After the first couple of times, he lifted her up higher.  Deciding that two could play that game, she let herself bounce harder, relishing the feel of him inside of her.  He was huge, bigger than any guy she’d ever been with, and she was a little worried he’d rip her in two.  But then he hauled her against his hips, and his cock hit a spot deep inside of her that made her cry out and clamp down on him.

              “Ben, Ben,” she chanted, lost in sensation.  Her body felt like a single live nerve.  He took over lifting her and letting her drop back down onto his cock.  Each time, her pleasure rose higher, and she clenched around him harder.  He groaned but didn’t let up, rolled his hips and rubbed a thumb against her clit.  She cried out, screaming her pleasure as she shuddered around him.

              He twisted them again, and took over as she came down from her high, thrusting disjointedly as he squeezed one of her breasts and buried his face against her neck, almost whimpering when he came, jerking against her, buried to the hilt.

              “God,” he choked when he collapsed on top of her.  Usually she would’ve complained about his weight, but she felt too languid and blissed out to care.  She mumbled her agreement and buried her face against his neck, breathing in the scent of sweat and sex and Ben as she drifted off to sleep.

*

              “Hey, sweetheart.”

              Rey mumbled and curled in on herself.  She grumbled when a cold hand touched her shoulder.

              “I have to go to work.”

              “What time is’t?” she muttered, blinking sleepily.  It was still almost all dark.

              “Early,” he said.  “Can I meet you for dinner tonight?”

              “Sure,” she said, eyes drifting shut already.

              “Seven,” she thought she heard him say.  “Maz’s.”

              She woke a few hours later to bright sunshine and confusion.  She was bundled up with her blankets and pillows surrounding her like a fort.  She wiggled her toes and realized she was wearing socks, which she didn’t remember putting on last night.

              One hand reached out and spread over the vacant part of the bed.

              Had it been a dream?

              No; the ache between her thighs told her that her night of passion had been very real.  She vaguely remembered him saying he had to leave, and asking her about dinner.

              Rey sat up, blinking, and spied a piece of paper tucked under her phone.

              I wasn’t sure if you’d remember, so I thought I should leave you a note.  Dinner tonight, seven, Maz’s.  Meet me there?

              He signed it with an XO and then his phone number.

              She grinned and added him to her contacts, and a look at the clock told her it was nine-thirty.  Perfectly acceptable texting time.

              Good morning, Ben.

              A few minutes later, Is this my pretty little Sunflower?  Curling in on yourself in all the cold?

              She smiled to herself.  Someone covered me with blankets and got me some socks.  I’m toasty warm.

              You’re welcome.  What are your plans for the day?

              Well, if I can bring myself to leave my warm little cave, I thought I’d do some sightseeing.  And then maybe have dinner with this guy I met.

              Yeah?  Anyone I know?

              Possibly.  Tall, dark, and grinchy?

              She got a laughing-crying emoji back.  Don’t knock us grinches.

              She laughed and sent him every Christmas-themed emoji she could find.

              She got back a tongue-sticking-out emoji and a couple of minutes after that, I have meetings and court all day.  But I’ll see you tonight?

              Yeah.  If I don’t freeze to death.

              If you aren’t there I’ll alert the authorities.

              She grinned and fell back against her pillows.  She allowed herself a few minutes to bask in her very own Hallmark-Channel-approved Christmas romance.

              Well, maybe not so Hallmark, when she considered what they’d been doing the night before.  But then, they’d probably just do a “fade to black” or share a PG kiss outside the bar and then he’d walk her back to her hotel.

              Come to think of it, Hallmark style was probably the best way to communicate all of this to Jessika, too.

              Rey got out of bed and winced, muscles protesting a little – Ben was huge, and he hadn’t exactly been gentle – and got herself into the shower.  She dressed in her new fleece-lined jeans and one of the long sleeved thermals, checked to make sure she had her room key, and ventured out for the day.

              She went by Organa House and found it was still closed, and she tried calling again but no one picked up, so she resigned herself to waiting till the Parade of Lights to get a glimpse inside and hopefully find some way to start a conversation.

              Then she spent the rest of the day playing tourist.  She visited the kitschy cute antique shops in the historic district and drooled over an antique sewing table turned writing desk.  To comfort herself because she couldn’t buy the desk, she bought a random variety of things that caught her eye, trinkets and jewelry and the like.  She got hot chocolate with a peppermint stick and wandered the holiday festival that had cropped up downtown.  She took the trolley tour that Ben had recommended.

              She stopped for lunch at a fancy café that the trolley tour guide had said gave a percentage discount if they mentioned the tour.

              While she was eating and trying to decide what to do next, she saw a couple of men enter the shop.  They were talking loudly.

              “Every year,” one of them grumbled.  “Every single goddamned year, we get snaked by that conniving bitch.”

              Rey’s eyes widened and it seemed that everyone else stopped what they were doing and turned toward the men.

              They both bellied up to the bar, clearly oblivious that they had everyone’s attention.  “Whiskey,” the second man said.  “I need a drink.”  While they waited, they continued their conversation.  It seemed that whoever the conniving bitch was, she’d supposedly stolen an entire pallet’s worth of fresh greenery out from under them.

              Rey’s eyebrows went up.  Perhaps this was the spying and underhanded behavior that the older man she’d talked to the day before had referred to?  The first man’s rant continued, accusing this unnamed woman and her family of the worst kind of behavior.  By the time he’d run out of air, Rey had learned that these people were a devil worshipping mafia who strangled innocents, bullied the townsfolk, possibly consumed the blood of their enemies, and worst of all, had no appreciation for the true spirit of Christmas.

              “Oh, come off it, Jeb,” said a man sitting at the table next to Rey’s.  “You’re just mad she offered more money for it.”

              The man called Jeb turned around.  When he saw the man who’d spoken, his eyes widened.  “You!” he howled, and pointed at the other man.  “You went back on our deal!”

              The man rolled his eyes.  “We’ve done business long enough, you know there’s no deal till you sign on the dotted line,” he said.

              Jeb lowered his shoulders and stamped one of his feet, looking as if he were a bull about to charge.  “I’ll get you, Calrissian!”

              Rey yelped when Jeb rushed by, ruffling her hair.  The man called Calrissian stood up and slammed the heel of his hand into one of Jeb’s shoulders.

              Jeb reeled back and fell onto Rey’s table.  She jumped up, narrowly avoided her drink upending into her lap, and snatched up her purse before Jeb fell on that too.

              Jeb’s friend came and helped him up, and everyone else went back to their lunches.  Rey gaped at them all; was this really such a common occurrence?

              Apparently it was.  The man behind the bar told Jeb and his friend to get out and that they were banned again, and then came out with a roll of paper towels and a small trash can toward Rey’s table.

              “Sorry about that,” he said.  “The Tiures just like stirring up trouble.”

              “How many times have you banned them?” Rey asked as she put on her coat.

              “Once a year, about this time,” the man said as he started to mop up the liquid that had spilled from table to floor.  “Actually, usually it’s earlier.  I thought he’d make it through the whole season, but I guess that thing with Leia Organa just set him off.”

              “Organa?” Rey asked.  Leia Organa was the conniving, blood worshipping Christmas mafia murderess?  Her head whipped around to see if Mr. Calrissian was still there, but he’d already left.

              The guy nodded.  “Yeah, they’ve won the Parade of Lights the last three years, and the Tiures are mad about it,” he said vaguely.  “They own the place across the street from Organa House – The Khetanna.  They came in second last year and Jeb’s been grumbling about it ever since.”

              Rey shook off the weirdness, tossed her trash, and left the shop.  She went back to the Christmas tree lot to see if she could find Mr. Calrissian, but he’d already closed up shop and the place was deserted.

              She wandered a bit more, took pictures of the decorations, the snow, of herself flanked by the mountain range in the distance.  She seriously considered going to back to Finn’s Finery and buying the cocktail dress for her dinner with Ben.

              But he’d said Maz’s, and what she’d seen hadn’t indicated any kind of dress code.  She didn’t want to look awkward or try-hard, so when she went back to her hotel room to freshen up she kept the jeans but put on her new red sweater.  She turned her ponytail into a messy bun, put on some eyeliner, and debated briefly between red and nude lipstick before reasoning the nude was a better choice for eating dinner and other activities.

              Rey texted Jessika a brief update, and Jessika responded that she should make sure she got herself a thicker moisturizer so that her skin didn’t go crepey in all the cold.  Rey shook her head and headed out.  She entered Maz’s cheerful tropics themed restaurant at seven on the dot.

              Ben was waiting for her by the entrance, and the goofy smile on his face made her smile too, and they stood there for a minute just grinning at each other.

              “Ah-hem.”  Rey started to see the same bartender from the night before looking between them skeptically.  “Are you two planning to eat, or just look at each other all night?  You’re causing a traffic jam in my bar.”

              “Sorry, Maz,” Ben muttered.

              She gave him an indulgent smile.  “I saved your table,” she said.  Ben mumbled thanks and then led Rey toward the back of the restaurant, into a different room that was a little quieter without the noise and rush of the bar being so close.

              “Why do I get this feeling that when she said your table, she meant you always sit here, rather than you reserved a table?” Rey asked as they sat down.  This room had a kind of under the sea vibe, with walls painted with foamy blues and murals of schools of fish.

              “Hey, I told you I was born and raised here,” Ben said.  Their waiter came by and they ordered drinks, Rey taking great pleasure in ordering another peppermint martini, to Ben’s visible disgust.

              “So what did you do today?” he asked.  “Did you do the trolley tour?”

              “Yes,” she said.  “And I had lunch at a place called Esley’s, and there was a fight about Christmas decorations.  Like, an actual fight.  You guys take this Parade of Lights thing really seriously.”

              “Yeah,” Ben said.  “Let me guess – the Tiures?”

              “Yes,” she said.  “He was yelling about some of you guys being a Christmas blood mafia or something.”

              Ben laughed.  “That’s a new one,” he said.  “So what else did you do?”

              “Well,” Rey said, a bit disappointed that he wasn’t more interested in the Christmas mafia.  “There was a holiday market downtown, so I wandered around there, and poked through the antique stores.”

              “Find anything good?”

              “Yes,” she said.  “There was an amazing sewing desk that someone had remade into a regular writing desk at a place called Holdo’s, but it was way outside my price range.  And I have no idea how I’d get it back home.”

              “Right,” he said, and his smile flickered.  “So when do you go back?”

              “My flight is the day after Christmas,” she said.  “Late morning.”

              “Hmm.”  They fell silent when their waiter came back and served their drinks, and Ben said to give them a few more minutes to look at the menu.

              “Do you even need to look at the menu to know what you want?” Rey asked as the waiter walked away.

              He grinned.  “No,” he said.

              “So what should I order, then?” she asked.

              “Probably the chili, or maybe the soup,” he teased.  “It’ll keep you warm.”

              Rey laughed and then realized that, if Ben had lived in Alderaan his whole life, he likely knew the Organas, or at least knew of them.

              “So,” she said, at the same time he did.  They both laughed.

              “Go ahead,” she said.

              “Okay,” he said.  “So, you never did tell me what you came all the way up here for.  Visiting family?”

              Well, if ever there was an opening.  “I’m looking for someone,” she said.

              “Oh, really?  Who?  An ex-boyfriend who didn’t appreciate peppermint enough?”

              She laughed at his teasing smile and pulled the picture from her purse, carefully tucked between two pieces of cardboard.  She handed it to him.

              He took it and looked at it for a second, then seemed to shake himself and looked closer.  Rey held her breath.

              He looked back up at her and his expression seemed closed off.  “Why are you looking for them?”

              “I’m pretty sure they’re my parents,” she said.  He went pale and looked like he was going to throw up.  “Are you all right?”

              “This man,” he said finally.  “His name’s Luke Organa.”

              “You know him?” Rey asked excitedly.

              He laughed bitterly.  “Yeah,” he said, and handed it back to her.  “He’s my uncle.”

Chapter Text

              “You’re kidding,” Rey said, staring at him and waiting for him to laugh and shout ‘April Fool’!

              Except, of course, April wasn’t for another four months, and the ill expression on his face didn’t change.  “You have no idea how much I wish I was,” he said.

              “Like, when you say uncle, you mean he’s married to your mom or dad’s sibling, right?” she asked desperately.

              “Nope,” he said, and popped the p hard.  “He’s my mother’s twin brother.”

              “Oh.”  They stared at each other for a minute, and she was certain that the expression of horror on his face was mirrored on hers.  “But maybe you were adopted?” she tried.

              “Definitely not,” he said.

              She sat back in her chair and wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or cry.  Of course the first guy she’d been attracted to in forever was probably her cousin.  Obviously that would happen.

              “So what you’re saying,” she said.  “Is that we’re possibly related.”

              “Maybe,” he said.

              The waiter came by to ask for their orders.

              “I’m not really hungry anymore,” she said.

              “Me either,” Ben said.  He pulled out his wallet and tossed some cash on the table.  He downed the rest of his whiskey in a single swallow as he stood up.  They left the restaurant and Rey tucked the photograph of doom back into her purse, as it had caused enough trouble for one day.  “So,” she said tentatively.  “Um…”

              “I bailed on dinner with my parents to meet you tonight,” he said abruptly.  “I’ll take you to meet them.  C’mon, let’s go.”

              “Right now?”  Rey scrambled to follow.  He was much taller than she, and his long-legged stride had her practically jogging to keep up.

              “No time like the present,” he said briskly.  “Uncle Luke’s not in town, but Mom might know something.”

              “Okay,” she said, and followed him down the street to Organa House.  It was lit up now, but Rey didn’t get the chance to appreciate the decorations, because Ben barreled up the steps and pulled out a key to open the door.

              The foyer was gleaming hardwood and pale, milky beige-pink walls.  In front of them was a large staircase.  To the left was a check-in area, currently unmanned.  To the right was a sitting room with a massive fireplace and mismatched couches and chairs.  There was a huge tree looming beside the fireplace, decorated in red, green, and gold.  There was a grouping of three smaller trees in the foyer off by the staircase, these decorated in silver with sumptuous ribbons and beads.

              “Mom?” Ben called.

              A few minutes later, a woman came down the staircase.  It was Leia Organa, the Christmas mafia matriarch herself; Rey recognized her from the pictures on the website.  She wore jeans and a green sweater, and her hair was up in a crown braid.  “Benji?  I thought you had plans tonight,” she said.

              “Plans change,” he said, and accepted a hug from her.  Leia then noticed her.

              “Hi,” Rey said, and gave her an awkward finger-wave, because what else was she going to do?

              “Hello,” Leia said.  Then, to her son, “I didn’t know you were bringing a friend, Ben.  We already ate, but there are plenty of leftovers if you’re hungry.”

              “Ben?”

              A man came down the stairs; this was Leia’s unnamed spouse, and now that she could see them both in person, clearly Ben’s father.  They had the same height and build, the same nose.

              “Hey, Dad,” Ben said.  “Is anyone else here?”

              “It’s just us tonight,” Leia said.  “Your sister decided to go out with some friends, and everyone else won’t be here till tomorrow.”

              “Good,” Ben said.  “We need to talk.  Why don’t we sit down?”

              “Is everything all right?”  A frown furrowed Leia’s brow as she ushered them toward the sitting area.

              “So, this is Rey,” Ben said.  “I met her, um…earlier today.  And she’s got something she wants to ask you.”

              Ben’s father smirked as he sank down into the seat beside his wife.  “For your hand?” he asked.

              “No,” Ben bit out, then sighed.  “Show her, Rey.”

              Rey looked between the friendly but confused faces of Ben’s parents, to Ben himself, who looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but there.  She drew the photo out of her purse and handed it to Leia.

              Leia smiled sort of vacantly and took the photograph from her, but her eyes widened when she looked at it.

              “Turn it over,” Rey said.

              She flipped it over and Rey watched her eyes scan the message.  She gasped and turned it back around.  Tenderly touched her brother’s face, frozen in a smile.

              “Where did you find this?” she asked softly.

              “My foster sister found it with some papers,” Rey said.  Leia’s questioning eyes shot to her.  Ben’s eyes, she noticed suddenly – dark and expressive and framed with long lashes.  “The little girl is me.”

              Leia put a hand to her mouth, eyes darting between the photograph and Rey’s face.  She seemed to understand the question Rey was asking.

              “I…”

              Ben’s dad leaned over her shoulder and looked at the picture, then at Rey.  “This would’ve been, what?  1994?”

              Rey shook her head.  “It’s dated October of 1995.”

              He let out a long breath.  Leia was still staring at the picture, transfixed.

              “We lost touch with Luke,” Ben’s dad said.  “For a long time.  He’d been deployed during the Rebellion, and when he got back…”  He shook his head.  “He wasn’t the same.  Couldn’t sit still, paranoid about everything.  Refused to get help.  Finally drove off one day in his old VW bus.  That would’ve been – I think either 1991 or 1992?  It was in the spring.  We didn’t see or talk to him again for years.”

              “He looks so healthy and happy,” Leia whispered.

              Ben scowled.  “Like he deserves it,” he said.

              “Ben,” Leia said chidingly.

              “What?”  Ben looked almost mutinous.  “He abandoned you, and now it looks like he probably abandoned Rey and her mom too.”

              “I don’t know what happened to my parents,” Rey said.  “I know that my mother died in a car accident when I was three.  I requested a copy of my birth certificate but there’s no one listed for the father.”

              “What was your mother’s name?” Leia asked softly.

              Rey shrugged.  “It says Mara Jade,” she said.  “But I did a lot of checking and it appears to have been some kind of alias.  I don’t know what her real name was.”

              “If Luke was with your mom, it seems strange that she’d leave him off the birth certificate,” Ben’s dad said.

              Leia looked troubled.  “He never mentioned having a daughter,” she said.  “But he never talks about those years at all.”

              “And I don’t know if they are my parents,” Rey said.  “I mean, I can assume, but I don’t know.  This is all I have.”

              Leia looked at her for a long minute, as though she was trying to search her soul.  “I’m sorry, dear,” she said finally.  “I have no idea.  That was a time period in his life that he didn’t keep in touch.  The war was hard for him, you see, and he spent a few years kind of…drifting.”

              “Started calling himself Skywalker,” Ben muttered.  Rey looked at him curiously and Leia sighed.

              “Skywalker was our birth father’s name,” she explained.  “He left our mother when we were very young, and when she remarried her husband adopted us both.  I thought he’d left all those years ago to try to find him, honestly, but like I said, he never talked about it.”

              Rey was disappointed.  “Ben said he doesn’t live here,” she said.  “But does he live in town?  Could you – ”

              “No,” Leia said, and looked apologetic.  “I mean, yes, he does live in town, but he’s gone for the next few weeks.  Some kind of meditation retreat on Ahch-To.”

              “Oh,” Rey said, and felt the wind deflate from her sails.

              “The retreat is pretty remote and communications aren’t good,” Leia continued.  “No cell service, either.  Otherwise I’d call him immediately.”

              “Thanks,” Rey said.  All wasn’t lost; sure, she couldn’t meet her dad today or even while she was there, but she had a connection now.  “So I guess neither of you knew my mom either.”

              “No,” Leia said.  “Han?”

              At least now Ben’s dad had a name.  Han leaned over his wife’s shoulder to look at the picture.  He glanced at Rey again, and then the photo.  “Well, you’re definitely related to her, whoever she is,” he said.  “But I have no idea.  Maybe Chuck will know.”

              “Chuck?” Rey asked.

              Leia brightened.  “Oh yes,” she said.  “He and Luke were – what do they call it?  They were in the service together, brothers at arms sort of thing.  He might know.”

              “Does he live in town?”  Rey didn’t want to seem too eager, but she’d never felt so close to cracking these secrets.

              “No, but he’ll be here tomorrow, visiting for the holidays,” Leia said.  Rey gently took the picture back.  For a second it almost seemed like Leia wasn’t going to let it go, but she relented and Rey tucked it back in its cardboard protection.  Leia gave her a weak smile.  “Why don’t you come by tomorrow for dinner?”

              “Oh,” Rey said.  She wanted to meet this Chuck guy, but she didn’t want to make a huge production of a dinner.  “I mean, I’d hate to impose.”

              “Nonsense,” Leia said.  “You’ve just told me that you’re probably my niece.  As far as I’m concerned, that makes you family.  And family comes home for Christmas.  Right, Benji?”

              “Right,” Ben grunted.  Rey winced.

              “Then it’s settled,” Leia said, and clapped her hands together.  “Oh, this is so wonderful.  It’s been years since we’ve had a big family Christmas.”

              “Who else is coming?” Rey asked with trepidation.

              “Poe and his fiancé,” she said, listing off names as though Rey was supposed to know who these people were.  “Lando and Jannah have their own family thing, but they might come by for dinner one night.  Not Amilyn, though – her nephew’s family is going up to Hoth for skiing and she’s decided to join them, but – oh Ben, did you speak with Armitage?”

              “Yeah,” Ben said, and slouched over to them, expression indicating he would rather be force fed bantha shit than still be having this conversation.  “He and Rose will be here too.”

              Leia’s smile became even toothier.  “I can’t wait to get my hands on that baby,” she said.

              Han snorted.  “As if you haven’t seen her almost every day since she’s been born,” he said.

              “You have a really big family,” Rey said.

              “Mostly they’re friends who became family,” Leia said.  “But I’ve always thought that’s the best kind.”

              “Are they all staying here?” Rey asked.

              “Yes,” Leia said.  “It’s one of the reasons we closed for the last two weeks of December.”  Her eyes widened.  “We have extra rooms,” she said.  “If you’d like to move into one of them?”

              “Mom,” Ben said.  “Don’t crowd her.”

              “I’m not,” Leia protested.  “I just thought – ”

              “Thank you,” Rey broke in.  “But I’m fine where I am.”  She managed a smile.  “It’s close enough to walk.”  The cuckoo clock on the wall chimed the hour.  “Speaking of.  I should probably get back before it gets too late.”

              “Right,” Ben said.  “I’ll walk you to your hotel.”

              “Oh, that’s so sweet of you, Ben,” Leia said.  “Oh, and you’re probably cousins, how exciting!”

              “Yeah,” Ben mumbled.  “Awesome.”

              “Super,” Rey said.  “Um, do you want me to bring anything tomorrow?”

              “Just you,” Leia said.  Then it was a flurry of hugs and they finally got out the door.

              “Wow,” Rey said as they walked down the steps.

              “She’s a lot,” Ben said as he shrugged into his coat.

              “She’s nice,” Rey said.  “So, I’m sorry about that.”

              Ben shrugged.  “No big deal,” he said.  “Like she said, it’s a lot of people, but I’m sure you’ll get along with everyone.”

              They turned down the street toward Rey’s hotel.  “So, was she just being nice, and I should really bring something?” she asked.

              He huffed a laugh.  “She would’ve given you a list if she wanted something,” he said.  “Trust me.  But if you really want to bring something, bring a bottle of wine.  She always thinks we don’t have enough.”

              “Okay,” she said.  They walked in silence for a few minutes.  Rey watched the way the lights strung up on the poles reflected off the snow.  “I’ve never seen snow,” she blurted.

              “Really?”

              “Before coming here,” she clarified.  “I’ve lived in Jakku for as long as I can remember.  When I was twelve, I was placed with the Pavas.  One year, I convinced Jessika to go to the beach and we made snowmen out of sand, and sand angels, stuff like that.  We got so much sand in our hair and bathing suits.  Took forever to wash it out.”  She laughed.  “Her parents were so mad at us, but it was fun.”

              “It must not have been very easy,” he said hesitantly.  “Growing up like that.”

              “Yeah,” she said, though she didn’t want to think about a lot of it.  “I mean, for a long time I was in a group home, and then I went through, like, three placements before I was placed with the Pavas.  Every Christmas I’d tell Santa that all I wanted was for them to adopt me.”  She tore her eyes away from the snow drifts and looked over at Ben, who was watching her intently.  “But that never happened.”

              “I’m sorry,” he said somberly.

              “Well.”  She shook her head.  “Here’s me.”  She gestured unnecessarily to the hotel.  “Thanks for walking me back.”

              “No problem,” he said.

              “So I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

              His smile faded.  “Yeah,” he said.  “Tomorrow.”

*

              Rey tossed and turned that night.  Jessika had texted to ask her if she’d gotten anywhere about her picture, but she didn’t know what to say.

              Yeah, I may have possibly, maybe, had a one night stand with my cousin.

              Jessika would probably turn to stone if Rey texted her that.

              She eventually fell asleep and had weird dreams about fishing out of the back of a VW van, and then being in bed with Ben and having a cadre of police burst in to arrest them for their wicked, incestuous ways.

              Rey groggily blinked her eyes open around ten the next morning and decided to admit defeat and wallow a bit.  She had a plan, after all, a bona fide invitation to dinner and to hopefully pick Chuck’s brain.  And besides, the last time she’d decided to do something fun and spontaneous, she’d had sex with her possible cousin, so maybe hiding under the bedcovers wasn’t the worst thing she could do.

              She had a text from an unknown number, but when she read it she realized it was Finn from the other day, which confused her for a second until she remembered that he’d asked her for it the day before.  He said he wanted to make sure her Jakkuvian self hadn’t frozen into a single lump of ice.  She giggled and texted back that she was all good thanks to his recommendations, and a few minutes later he asked if she was free to meet up for coffee.

              She pondered but sent a regretful no, and asked for a raincheck.  She didn’t think she could face the outside world just yet.

              She showered and ordered room service again, and then googled Luke Organa.  The only result was a dead link to a profile on the Organa House website, so she tried Luke Skywalker.  This led her to what appeared to be some kind of survivalist’s blog.

              Curious, Rey clicked on the link.  It was ancient and she was surprised it was still up and running; the format was ’90s Geocities, and it appeared to only be accessible because the internet archiving system had stored it for some reason.

              There were only three entries.  One was a guide to wild plants that were edible that devolved into a discussion of the best places to find psychotropic mushrooms.  The second was a do-it-yourself guide to living in small spaces, such as a car or a van, that waxed poetic about the total freedom of being off the grid.  The third was a rant about a particular campsite in southern Chandrila and how the manager of the site was a tool for ‘the Man.’

              Rey grimaced.  Luke Organa or Skywalker or whatever he was calling himself these days was apparently a paranoid hippie who’d been born twenty years too late.  The date stamps all indicated they were written in a three-month period in early 1995.  Her heartbeat quickened, and she read through the posts again, hoping for any clue that he was traveling with a woman and a little girl, but there was nothing.

              She flopped back onto the bed, a little frustrated.  Everything seemed so close and yet so far away.

              Realistically she knew that she’d already gotten more information than she could’ve hoped for.  She now knew her probable father’s name, after all.  And that twenty years ago, he’d been a hippie who lived in his car.

              God.  Did that make her a hippie, too?  Was she going to have to start wearing tie-dye and centering her chakras and join a drum circle or something?

              Rey momentarily indulged in a fantasy of telling Jessika she was going to introduce her to Rey’s culture, and dragging her to one of those horrible fire-dancing drum-circle things that happened on the beach during the summer.

              Her thoughts became dreams as she drifted into a nap, then woke with a start an hour later.  A look at her phone told her she needed to start getting ready, and she debated on what to wear.  She’d already worn her new red sweater, so she chose a black V-neck sweater.  It was a little thin, having been bought for Jakku’s far more mild winters, but she thought that since they were mostly going to be inside it would be okay.  At least, she hoped.

              She put on some makeup and had to start the whole process over when she stabbed herself in the eye with her mascara wand and her eye started running.  She texted Jessika that she was having dinner with the Organa family, and Jessika texted back good luck.  She grabbed her things and left the hotel.

              The clerk at the front desk helpfully pointed her in the direction of the nearest wine store.  They were having a tasting, but Rey managed to get in and out fairly quickly with a moderately-priced red that the salesperson had assured her would go with just about any meal.  She threw the bag away outside the shop and stuffed the receipt down at the bottom of her purse.

              She had ten minutes to get to Organa House, so she ambled down the streets, feet feeling more and more like lead the closer she got.

              You wanted answers, she told herself sternly.  You can’t chicken out just because you might not like them.

              Sooner than she would’ve liked, she was standing in front of the huge front doors of Organa House.  She rang the bell and shifted on the porch while she waited, but unlike the last time she’d knocked on the door, she saw someone coming closer through the frosted glass, and then the door opened.

              “Rey!  Oh, sweetie, it’s so nice to see you!”  Leia Organa pulled her into a firm hug that had Rey nearly flailing.

              Leia was a few inches shorter than she, but was a force of nature to contend with.  Before Rey registered what was happening, she’d been pulled into the house, bottle of wine taken – “oh, you shouldn’t have, but we can always use more” – coat pulled off and hung on a coatrack, and deposited in the same sitting room from the night before with Han, Ben, and a third man she didn’t recognize.

              “I’ll be right back,” Leia said, and Rey managed a smile and an awkward wave.

              Han, at least, was friendly; the new man looked at her somewhat suspiciously, but it was at least better than Ben, who wouldn’t look at her at all.

              “Here we go.”  Leia had returned and handed Rey a mug of mulled wine, which she took gratefully.  It had a cartoonish picture of Rudolph on it that made her smile.  “Rey, you met Han last night, and this is our friend Chuck.  Chuck, this is Rey, and we asked her to come early tonight because she wanted to talk to you.”

              Chuck looked at Han, who nodded, and then back at Rey.  “Why?”  It wasn’t exactly unfriendly, but it wasn’t all that welcoming either.  She suddenly felt a little stupid.

              “Well,” she said, and fumbled for her purse.  Leia took the mug back from her, and she was able to open the clasp and draw out the picture.  Somewhat hesitantly, she handed it to him.

              He took it and she watched surprise register over his features.

              “Where did you get this?” he asked.

              “It’s mine,” Rey said.  “The little girl is me.”

              Chuck stared down at it and appeared deep in thought.  Then he looked over at her.  “You’re what?  Nineteen?”  Beside her, Ben made a strange wheezing noise.

              “Twenty-three,” Rey said.  “My foster parents died last year, and their daughter found it with their papers and gave it to me.”

              “Early nineties,” Chuck mused.  He flipped it over and read the note, then looked back at the picture.  “I lost touch with Luke, for a long time.  From right after we were both discharged till late ninety-six.”

              Rey’s heart sank.  “And he never said – anything?”

              Chuck shook his head.  “Sorry, kid,” he said, and handed it back to her.  “He doesn’t talk a lot about those times he went wandering.”

              “Oh,” Rey said.  She put it back in its cardboard protection and then put it in her purse.  Leia handed her back her mug, and she took a long, fortifying gulp.

              “Well, you’ll be able to ask him yourself in a few days,” she said.

              Rey almost choked.  “What?”

              “He called earlier,” she said.  “His retreat was cancelled because the guide came down with E. coli from a bad batch of blue milk.”

              “Gross,” Ben muttered, barely looking up from his phone.

              “Yes,” Leia said.  “But in any event, he’ll be back on Christmas Eve.”

              Rey bit her lip, almost afraid to feel the elation coursing through her system.  “Did you say anything?” she asked.

              “No,” Leia said.  She looked apologetic.  “I thought it was something best discussed in person.”

              Ben snorted.  “You mean, you don’t want to give him a reason to not show up,” he said.

              “Benjamin,” Leia said sharply, and Ben suddenly seemed to realize what he’d said.

              “Sorry,” he said, and cast her an apologetic look.  Well, at least he’d finally acknowledged her presence.

              “It’s fine,” Rey said softly.

              “So,” Han said.  “We didn’t get much of a chance to talk last night.  Ben mentioned you were in school, Rey.  What are you studying?”

              Tension sufficiently diffused, Rey talked about her studies and her hopes to teach elementary school.  It turned out that Chuck was a fan of the Jakku Scavengers, and he warmed up considerably as they talked about the football program and his thoughts on the search for a new head coach.

              While they talked, people began to trickle in, and Rey was glad to see that they were all mostly dressed casually.  First was Kaydel, Han and Leia’s daughter, and the best way Rey could describe her was effervescent.  She had apparently been filled in on everything and plopped down excitedly beside Rey.  They were nearly the same age, with Kaydel just being a year younger and recently graduated from the University of Alderaan’s hospitality management program.  She talked excitedly about the Parade of Lights, how she hadn’t realized how much work was going to go into it.

              “It’s worth it, though,” she said, and looked around the room proudly.  “We’ll give you a secret tour later on after dinner.”

              “I’d like that,” Rey said, and meant it.

              Poe, an extremely handsome guy with dark curly hair, was next, and Rey was surprised when her helper from the day before walked in on his arm.

              “Sunflower!” Finn said.

              “Hey,” Rey said.

              “You two know each other?” Ben asked.

              “I found this little beach baby wandering around in the parka section,” Finn said, and slung a companionable arm around her shoulders.  “Helped her find some things to last her through the next few days so she doesn’t shrivel up and freeze under all this snow.”

              “Fleece jeans?” Kaydel asked.

              “I bought two pair,” Rey said, and they all laughed.

              Next was a redheaded man and a petite, dark-haired woman carrying a baby.  Armitage and Rose, she remembered from Leia’s remarks the night before.  Armitage wore a suit, but he’d taken off the jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves, and Rose wore a very cozy-looking red tracksuit.  They both seemed to think she was a friend of Finn’s, and Rey didn’t bother to correct them.  She hadn’t thought about how they might explain her presence at their family dinner.

              “Lando called and said he and Jannah won’t be able to make it tonight,” Han said.  Rose had handed the baby off to Leia, who was cooing down at the sleepy girl.

              “Aren’t you the most precious?  Yes you are,” Leia said, and looked over to where Rose had sat down beside Kaydel.  “She’s just so sweet, I can barely stand it.”

              “We’ve been lucky so far,” Rose said.  “She’s been sleeping really good.  I’m thinking we’ll probably be in for a rude awakening in a few weeks.”

              “How long are you off from the city?” Kaydel asked.

              “Till the end of February,” Rose said.

              Armitage scoffed.  “They’ve already been texting her,” he said.

              “It’s the Parade of Lights,” Rose said.  To Rey, who looked at her curiously, she explained, “I work for the city, in the Community Development department.  We’re in charge of organizing the Parade of Lights.”

              “And there are plenty of people who can handle it while you’re on leave,” Armitage said.

              “Well, you’ll get plenty of relaxation time here,” Kaydel said quickly, apparently curtailing an argument.  “Mom probably isn’t going to put Paige down any time soon.”

              “I think she bought out the entire Babies R Us,” Han added.  “Hope you guys have at least one extra room at your house to turn into Paige’s toy room.”

              “What?  She’s the closest I’ve got to a grandchild,” Leia said.

              “Oh no,” Kaydel stage-whispered.  “It’s time for the conversation.”

              “I’m not getting any younger,” Ben said dramatically.

              “Don’t you think it’s time you settled down?” Kaydel added.

              “Won’t you think of her poor nerves?” Han chimed in.

              “All of you can laugh as much as you like,” Leia said, as the rest of the room snickered at their antics.  “There’s nothing wrong with me wanting some more little ones to love.  Maybe I’ll have better luck with Rey.”

              There was silence, and suddenly all eyes turned to her.

              Rey lowered her now empty mug and wished she had more.  “Um,” she said.

Chapter Text

              “I am so sorry,” Leia said.

              “It’s all right,” Rey said.  “It’s not like it was going to stay a secret.”

              “Yes, well, I still shouldn’t have blurted it out like that,” Leia said.

              Dinner was over, and she, Leia, and Kaydel were in the kitchen handling the clean up.  Han and Chuck had vanished with a bottle of whiskey, Rose had reclaimed Paige and took her up to put her to bed, and Leia had shooed the boys out after Poe tried to help by dumping grease into the sink.

              Leia’s idea of “cleaning up” was to vaguely rinse everything, and then chuck it all into the industrial washer in the B&B kitchen, so Rey didn’t complain about only the girls being required to clean up.

              Kaydel grinned as she shut the washer.  “What did you think of your first Organa-Solo dinner experience?”

              “It was really nice,” Rey said.  “I mean, all the questions were a lot.  But there was so much love in that room.”

              “Yeah,” Kaydel said.  “We’re pretty lucky.”

              Rose entered the kitchen, holding a baby monitor.  “She’s asleep,” she said.

              “Good,” Leia said.  She pulled a bottle out of the refrigerator, and Kaydel produced four champagne flutes.

              “Too bad the boys didn’t stay to help clean up,” she said cheerfully.  “They’re missing the really good stuff here.”

              Rey goggled at the label on the bottle.  “Is that Toniray?”

              “One of the last three bottles I have from this winery,” Leia said, and popped the cork.  “Cheers.”  She poured the bubbly teal liquid into the glasses.

              “For that, I’ll pump and dump,” Rose said, and accepted her flute.

              “What are we toasting?” Rey asked.

              Leia smiled.  “You,” she said.  “Welcome to the family, Rey.”

              Rey was so startled that she nearly dropped her champagne flute, and Leia, Kaydel, and Rose all gently clinked their glasses against hers.

              “But – I mean, we aren’t sure – ”

              “I know my brother fairly well,” Leia said.  “And he would not have talked about bringing you home for Christmas if you were just some strangers he met on the beach.  Either you’re his child, or he loved you like one.  Either way, you’re ours now.”

              “And Mom did include you in the embarrassing kid discussion,” Kaydel said.  “Rose used to get it, too.”

              “I’ll wear you all down eventually,” Leia said with a smirk.

              Rey laughed.  “I – thank you,” she said shyly.  “I’m really – I didn’t expect much, when I came up here.  So this is – it’s a lot.  But nice.”  She tried the wine, which was sweet and a little fruity, a little decadent.  “I bet this goes well with chocolate,” she said.

              “Oh, that reminds me!”  Leia set her glass down and went back to the fridge, and returned with a large slice of chocolate cake.  Rose grabbed some forks, and they dug in.

              “This is so good,” Rey said around a mouthful.  “I could probably eat this whole thing by myself.”

              There were appreciative noises as they all savored the cake.  Rey found that the Toniray did elevate the taste of the chocolate.

              “This is from my parents’ winery,” Leia said as she refilled their glasses and set the now-empty bottle on the counter.  “They owned it before Luke and I were born, and when my mother was married to my birth father.  Naberrie Winery made the finest Toniray in Alderaan.”  She looked at her glass a little wistfully.

              “What happened?” Rey asked.

              “My birth father’s paranoia, mostly,” Leia said.  “My mother managed the business side of things, but they hired a new manager to take over when they decided to start a family.  Mother had to spend a lot of her time with this new manager, training him, and Anakin – my birth father – decided they must’ve been having an affair.  It only got worse when she got pregnant.  He accused her of having brought on the new manager because she’d fallen in love with him, and that the babies were actually his, and not my birth father’s.”

              “That’s awful,” Rey said softly.  “Your poor mom.”  Leia nodded.

              “Eventually, he – well, he attacked her in a jealous rage,” she said.  “She ended up being all right, but when he realized what he’d done, he just up and left.  Vanished off the face of the earth.  Too ashamed, I think, to deal with the consequences of his actions.”  She drained her glass.  “Ironically, my mother did end up falling in love with the man they’d hired, Bail Organa.  They sold the winery when his parents died and they inherited this house.  You can still buy Toniray under the Amidala label, but it just isn’t the same.”

              “Wow,” Rey said.  “Do you know what happened to him?  Your birth father?”

              She shook her head.  “When Luke left, back after the Rebellion, I thought he was going to look for him,” she said.  “But I guess he didn’t, or maybe he did, but he never said.”

              “Well, at least your dad – your adoptive dad – was there for your mom,” Rey said.  Leia nodded, and turned a thoughtful gaze on Rey.

              “You know, you sort of look like her,” she said.  “My mother.  I hadn’t noticed, but in certain lighting I can see her in you.”

              “Really?”  Rey’s stomach turned over.  She wasn’t sure if she was pleased by this information or not.

              “Yes.  There’s a portrait, come with me.”  She hooked an arm through Rey’s and led her out into the large sitting room off the foyer.  Above the fireplace was an actual, honest-to-God portrait of a man and a woman, dressed in formal wedding clothing.  The man wore a tuxedo, and the woman wore a gorgeous white lace dress with a dramatic capped veil.  Tendrils of brown hair escaped to curl around her face, and her deep brown eyes sparkled with happiness.  Leia’s eyes, and Ben’s and Kaydel’s eyes.

              Rey looked at the beautiful woman and thought, perhaps, there might be something of a resemblance, but Leia was right; it wasn’t anything you’d notice at first glance.  “I see it a little.  But I think she was much prettier than I am,” Rey said.

              “I think you’re prettier,” Kaydel said from behind them.  “But don’t let Grandma Padme’s ghost know that I said that.”

              They all laughed and walked back to the kitchen, where Rose was putting the plate the cake had been on in the washer.  Leia gathered up the rest of their glasses and she and Kaydel quickly hand washed and dried them.  “Well,” Leia said.  “There was something I remembered, Rey.  I don’t know if it means anything, but I thought I’d mention it.”

              “Yes?” Rey asked.

              “I got a phone call from Luke, years ago,” she said.  “In the spring, or maybe close to summer?  No one was home so he’d left a message.  When I called back, though, the number was a pay phone.”

              “What did he say?” Rey asked eagerly.

              “It was very rushed – he said he needed help, that he was in some kind of trouble, but he didn’t say what.”

              “But he didn’t say anything about me – or about a kid?  Or my mom?” Rey asked.

              She shook her head.  “It might not have been related,” she said.  “He was always…but I remembered it last night before I went to bed and I wanted to mention it.”

              “When was it?  Do you remember the year?”

              She thought for a minute.  “I guess it might’ve been 1996?  I think so,” she said.  “He came home in 1997, so it would’ve been before that.”

              “I was placed in a group home in 1996,” Rey said.  “In the summer.  I remember because it was my birthday.”

              “Hmm.”  Leia pursed her lips.  “Well, like I said, it may have been meaningless.  I know he…”  She trailed off.  “I know that Chuck helped him get into a rehab program sometime around then.  Chuck didn’t mention it earlier because he thinks we don’t know.”

              “Oh,” Rey said a little awkwardly.  “Well…I mean, I grew up in foster care.  It’s not like I thought my parents would’ve been perfect.”

              “And I have some things of Luke’s,” Leia said.  “Nothing personal, but some old papers and military stuff, photos and things.  It’s a bit late for me to drag all that out tonight, but if you want to come by tomorrow, before the Parade, I can do that?”

              “Yeah,” she said eagerly.  “Yeah, if it’s not too much trouble.”

              “Of course it’s not.”  Leia smiled at her – a strange, tender smile that Rey didn’t know how to interpret.  “Well, you girls can stay up as late as you want, but I need to get some sleep.”  They all said goodnight, and Rey was about to bow out as well, but then Kaydel latched onto her arm.

              “We promised you a little tour,” she said.

              “Oh yeah,” she said.  “Well…maybe just a few more minutes.”

              The three of them walked up to the second floor and Kaydel pointed out some of the decorating elements that Rey hadn’t seen yet.  The theme was the Twelve Days of Christmas, and they’d gone for a Victorian look, with all the rooms done in dark glam rather than bright Christmas cheer.

              “I love it.  I can’t wait to see it all for the Parade of Lights,” Rey said.

              Rose brightened.  “It’s going to be so much fun.  Since you’ll already be here, we can all walk together too.”

              “Oh, that would be great,” Rey said.  “You all don’t need to be here?”

              Rose shook her head.  “Leia and Han will be here, and Kaydel,” she said.  “But Leia likes us to scope out the competition.  And we can drag Ben along with us too.”

              “Yeah,” Rey said.  “I guess.  If he’s not busy.”

              Rose looked at her like she was crazy.  “No one is busy tomorrow night,” she said.  “When I say everyone comes out for the Parade of Lights, I mean everyone.  It’s going to be crowded.  The market and all the downtown shops will be open, and there’s the big display in the park too.”

              “Okay, cool,” Rey said, already dreading spending more time with Ben in close quarters.  “That sounds great.”

*

              Kaydel and Rose suggested Rey come by the house a few hours before the Parade of Lights started.

              “That’ll give you a chance to take a look at all the stuff Mom has of Uncle Luke’s,” Kaydel said.  “And she’ll probably drag out some old albums too, just to warn you.”

              So Rey headed over to Organa House at noon the next day, after a quick stopover at the holiday market, where she agonized over buying gifts for the Organa-Solos and finally just bought way more than she needed and reasoned she’d figure out what to give everyone later.

              She was waylaid on the porch by one of the workers who was setting things up outside, and who apparently thought she might be a spy or something.  She was almost afraid he was going to call the police until Leia came out and rescued her.

              “You guys take this really seriously,” Rey said as Leia ushered her into the house and took her coat.

              “Well, we caught one of the Tiures a few nights ago, trying to peek into the windows,” she said.  “He claimed he was looking for his dog, but I don’t think any of them own a dog.”

              “Wow,” Rey said.  “You didn’t, like, use him to send them a message or something?  I heard Jeb Tiure say you were the Christmas mafia.”

              Leia laughed.  “We’re more civilized than that, dear,” she said.  “Well.  I got out everything I could find.”  She led Rey into an office, and Rey was momentarily distracted by several corkboards on one side of the room, all crammed with pictures of some of the other houses, and people standing around them.  A few of the shots were angled so you could see into the windows.  Notes surrounded them, things she didn’t quite understand, arrows pointing at things, names of what looked like delivery companies.

              “Yeah, you’re totally not a Christmas mafia,” Rey said, and turned back to Leia.

              “Don’t be silly, it’s just good business to keep your eye on the competition,” Leia said breezily.  “Come here, sit down.”  She gestured toward a large couch near the fireplace on the opposite wall.  The coffee table in front of it held a cardboard banker’s box, and two thick, old fashioned looking photo albums.  “Some pictures from when we were kids, and the box was under the bed in the room Luke usually stays in when he’s here.”

              “Oh,” Rey said as she sat down.  “I don’t want to go through his private things or anything.”

              Leia apparently didn’t share Rey’s reticence.  “Well, if it wanted it private, he would’ve kept it at home and not here,” she reasoned.

In the box, they found a manilla envelope stuffed with Luke’s military paperwork, and a few handwritten letters that were from a man named Ben Kenobi, who Leia said had been Luke’s commanding officer before he’d been dishonorably discharged.  They were all written in some kind of code.

              “A lot of what Luke did was classified,” Leia said when Rey asked her if she knew why.

              There was also a metal box about the size of a shoebox, which neither of them could open, so Rey set it aside.  Then, they turned to the albums, and they spent a couple of hours looking at pictures of when Leia and Luke had been kids, though there were a few with a moody teenaged Luke, and a surprisingly goth-looking Leia.

              “It was a phase,” Leia said when Rey gleefully pointed it out.  Leia ended up pulling out a few more albums, and they looked through her wedding album, and then a bunch of pictures of when Ben and Kaydel were little.  Rey was particularly enchanted by a picture from when Ben was about two or three.  He was standing on a bed, with Leia sitting in front of him.  Ben’s little face was screwed up in concentration, his fingers frozen in the act of separating out his mother’s hair to braid it.  Leia had glanced at the camera and was laughing.

              “He looks so serious,” Rey said.

              “Benji was always a very serious boy,” Leia said.  Her expression was fond.  “I used to joke that I had one child who took everything seriously, and one who took nothing seriously.”  As if to illustrate that point, the next page had a picture of a five-year-old Kaydel, wearing a pink princess dress and posing dramatically, and a teenaged Ben in the background, wearing all black and looking extremely grumpy.

              The clock cuckooed the time.  “Oh my, it’s three already?” Leia said.  She stood up.  “It’ll be starting soon.”

              “Do you need help?” Rey asked, and started to rise, but Leia waved her off.

              “No, not at all,” she said.  “I’m sure there are other things in that box you want to look at, we just got distracted.  You’re meeting at four, right?”

              “Yes,” Rey said.

              “Then you have plenty of time,” Leia said.  “Let me know if you need anything.”

              “Thanks,” Rey said.

              After Leia left the room, she looked through the box again.  There were a couple of notebooks stuffed in the bottom.  One was written in that inexplicable code, the other mostly blank except for a few pencil sketches of the beach, and what looked like that same bus from the picture she had.

              She turned another page and dropped the notebook in shock.

              Hesitantly, she picked it up again, and looked at the page.

              It was her.

              The sketch was surprisingly detailed and lifelike; she was sitting in a man’s – in Luke’s – lap, a look of sleepy contentment on her little face.  A wind blew a few curly wisps of her hair over her forehead.  She was much younger here than in the picture, maybe a year old.

              Unable to deal with the sudden emotions that rose up inside of her, she set it aside and picked up the metal box.  She frowned.  It was a safe of some kind, and required an eight-digit passcode.  She tried a couple of random configurations of numbers, then got frustrated and tried to pry it open.

              “What are you doing?”

              She dropped the box.  “Hey,” she said awkwardly as Ben walked in.  “Your mom had some of your uncle’s stuff.  I was trying to open it.”

              Ben rounded the couch and sat down beside her.  “Knowing my uncle, it’s probably got some kind of failsafe on it,” he said.  “Like, it’ll explode if you put in the password wrong enough times.”  He looked at it thoughtfully.  “We could try drilling it open.  Dad’s got a bunch of power tools in the garage.”

              “No thanks,” Rey said.  She pushed it aside and knocked the sketchbook off the coffee table.  Ben bent over to pick it up, and it fell open on the sketch.

              “Wow,” Ben said after a minute.  “Where’d you find this?”

              Rey blinked rapidly against the sudden burning in her eyes.  “Um, your mom found it,” she said.  “All this stuff.  Said it was stuff under your uncle’s bed.”

              Ben glanced up at her, an amused expression on his face.  “Yeah, sounds like her,” he said.  “Nothing was sacred when I was a kid.  I had to hide my weed at Poe’s house.  Fucker used to smoke it all too.  Called it a tax.”  He tried to hand her the sketchbook, then set it on the table when she didn’t take it.  “So that’s you and uh…”  He trailed off a little awkwardly, and she felt herself grimace.

              “Yeah,” Rey said.  “She showed me some pictures of you too.  Your ears were so cute,” she teased.

              He grimaced.  “I bet there’s lots of embarrassing baby pictures of you…”  He trailed off, and suddenly they were back to awkwardness again.

              She cleared her throat.  “So, the Parade of Lights is tonight.”  Truly, she was the world’s best conversationalist.

              “Yeah,” Ben said.  “Should be fun.”  He sounded as if he’d rather have his wisdom teeth removed without anesthesia.

              “Look,” Rey said.  “I don’t have to come.  I can make some excuse, if you’d rather.”

              He looked surprised.  “No – no, it’s okay,” he said.  “I mean, I don’t want to be the reason you wouldn’t stay.”

              “Well, they’re your family,” she said, and then grimaced.  “You know what I mean.”  She hesitated.  “You didn’t, like…tell anyone, did you?”

              “No,” he said after a pause, in a tone of voice that made her think he’d taken a full-page ad out in the Aldera Examiner.  “Of course not.”

              “Okay,” she said.  “Great.”

              “Yeah,” he said.  “Great.”

*

              Ben wandered out a few minutes later with a poorly-crafted excuse, and Rey spent a few more minutes looking through the pictures.  She lingered on a few at the very end of the first album, of Luke in his military uniform.  There was another man with him, who Rey assumed was his commanding officer, based on both his age and his uniform.  There were even a few pictures of a younger Chuck, who looked just as serious and stoic as he was now.

              When she heard the clock chime four, she stacked all the albums back up and then put Luke’s belongings back in the box, still feeling mildly guilty for going through them, even if Leia said it was fine.

              She ventured out into the main area of the house and took a few minutes to admire the theme that Leia and Kaydel had put together; she loved the dark, almost goth and pseudo-Victorian glam.  There was a massive, professional-looking gingerbread house on the check in desk, a scaled down replica of Organa House frosted in white with red and green accents, surrounded by fields of gumdrops and peppermint sticks.

              She pulled on her coat and left the house, somewhat surprised at how packed the streets already were.  From her vantage point, she could see Armitage over the crowd and made her way to where he and Rose waited on the sidewalk.

              “Hey,” Rose said cheerfully.  She was bundled up in a heavy parka that was partly open, and Rey saw that she was wearing one of those sling carriers and baby Paige was nestled against her chest, dressed in what appeared to be an adorable and warm-looking reindeer onesie, complete with an antler-adorned hood.

              “Hi,” Rey said.  Armitage nodded.

              “Did you bring your ticket?” Rose asked.  Rey nodded and held up the paper she’d printed from the hotel’s business lounge that morning.  “Great.  They’ll check us off as we go through each house, and it also entitles you to free mulled wine or cider.”

              “Are we ready?” Rey asked.  “Where is everyone else?”

              “Ben’s on his way,” Armitage said, and looked at his phone.  “He said he had to run home, and he just texted and that he’s running a few minutes late.”

              “What about Poe and Finn?” Rey asked.

              “Right here, Sunflower.”  An arm draped around her shoulders and she looked over to see them both grinning at her.  Poe already had his cup of mulled wine.

              “Wow, they give you a lot,” Rey said.

              “Oh yeah,” Poe said.  “A few years ago they tried to cut costs and gave everybody these little paper cups that were almost as small as shot glasses.  People practically rioted.”

              She laughed.

              “Well, why don’t we get ours why we’re waiting for Ben?” Rose suggested.  They maneuvered over to the stand and waited in line, which moved pretty quickly for how many people were there.  They all got the mulled wine except for Rose, who opted for the nonalcoholic cider.  By the time they got back, Ben was waiting with Poe.

              “I think we should end with Organa House, don’t you?” Rose said.

              “Yeah, sure,” Rey said.  “That way we can tell Leia what everyone else looks like.”

              “I like how you think,” Rose said.  They started with the house next to Organa House, and the barriers made it so that they had to walk two in a line, and Rey ended up next to Ben.

              The first few houses were nice, but nothing spectacular, and the fourth had opted for a Chrismukkah theme and did all of their decorations in silver and blue, even using floodlights with colored gels.

              “This is really nice,” Rey said.

              “Yeah,” Ben agreed.  “The Yodas do something similar every year, and it’s always great.  First one that looks like decent competition.”

              Rey lingered in one room that had a baby grand piano.  There was a menorah set up on the piano, and the tree beside it trailed long knotted silver and blue ribbons, with a light in the center of each knot.

              “Rey?”

              She looked up at Ben and realized she’d been holding up the line.  “Sorry,” she muttered, and hurried to catch up.  People had started to go around her, and she didn’t see the rest of their party.

              “Hey, it’s fine,” Ben said.  “You don’t have to rush.  We can catch up with them.”

              “No, I’ve seen enough,” Rey said, slightly panicked at the thought of being alone with him – or at least, alone in the sense that they were surrounded by other people.

              They crossed the street for the next house, and met back up with the rest of their group.  She didn’t miss the look that Poe shot Ben, and suddenly realized that obviously they all knew what had happened between them.  She wanted to sink into the ground and vanish forever.

              “We thought you might’ve gotten lost,” Rose said.

              “No,” Rey said.  “I was just a little slow.  Ben was nice enough to wait so I’d be able to find you guys.”

              "Is that what they’re calling it?” Finn muttered.

              “Next house,” Ben said.  “Come on.”

              This house had done a poorly executed Babes in Toyland theme, or at least that’s what Rey thought it was supposed to be.  They had overflowing toy chests everywhere, but the main decorations seemed to be a collection of porcelain dolls.  They were everywhere, in every room.  On the mantels.  Grouped on dressers.  Having tea at tiny tables in a playroom.

              “Yikes,” Poe said when they saw a particularly troubling set up with dolls on chairs and beds, all facing the doorway, as though waiting for them to enter.

              Rose covered baby Paige’s eyes.  “I’m good here,” she said.  “Everyone else?”

              “Not a huge fan of dolls,” Rey said.

              “I might have nightmares,” Finn added.

              They declined to go up to the second floor and left the house quickly and made their way to the next one.

              “The Tiures,” Ben said.

              “I met one of them a few days ago,” Rey said.  “Jeb?  He doesn’t like you guys very much.  Said you were a Christmas blood drinking mafia.”

              “Well, that’s a new one,” Poe said.

              “He was mad at someone because they sold a bunch of greenery to Leia,” she said.  “I don’t think he likes her very much.”

              “No,” Poe said cheerfully.  “The Tiures have come in second the last five years in a row.  He’s probably getting desperate.”

              “Isn’t it just that they get to donate to whatever charity they want?” Rey asked.  “It’s just supposed to be fun, right?  Why would they care so much about it?”

              “Bragging rights,” Finn said.  “And the winner always ends up being the most popular B&B for people to visit over the next year, too.”  They fell silent as they stepped into the house.

              “Dammit,” Ben muttered.

              It was a winter wonderland.  The large, open foyer was transformed into a false skating rink, surrounded by drifts of sparkling snow.  The staircase leading up to the second floor was looped with garlands of green and holly, a white runner carpet that mimicked snow running up the middle of it.

              “Well, who cares about ice skating – oh my God, are those working streetlights?” Rey asked, catching sight of some electric lamps that lined a hall made to look like a cobblestone-paved sidewalk.

              Rose frowned.  “There’s no way they came up with this on their own,” she said.

              “Is that a problem?”  They walked through another room that was made over into a snowy meadow, complete with half-finished and whole snowmen.

              Ben snorted behind her.  “Parade of Lights is amateurs only,” he said.  “To keep everything fair.  The B&Bs are supposed to do their designs themselves.  You can hire workers to set stuff up, but you can’t hire a design agency or professional decorator.”

              “Oh,” Rey said.  They went through the rest of the house in silence, and when they got back to Organa House, Leia looked crestfallen at their glum faces.

              “Who?” she asked once the event was over and the crowds had disbursed.

              “The Tiures,” Rey said.  Leia cursed.  “But Rose thinks they had help.”

              “I can’t see them coming up with that design on their own,” Rose said when Leia and Han turned toward her expectantly.  “It’s way too cohesive, and it’s way outside the norm for what they’ve done in the past.”

              “Really,” Kaydel said.  She looked over at her mother, and Rey saw identical gleams in their eyes, and was reminded of Jeb Tiure’s claims that the Organas were a Christmas mafia.

              “I’m on it,” Han said mildly, and pulled out his phone.  Whoever he called answered, and he walked away, talking quietly.

              “Okay,” Kaydel said, grinning toothily.  “Who wants eggnog?”

Chapter Text

              “You want me to stalk and then steal from your ex-girlfriend?” Rey asked doubtfully.

              It was the next day, and Rey had been comfortably slouched on the sofa between Rose and Kaydel, eating pieces of the gingerbread house and watching Hallmark movies.

              Ben had ruined the comfy vibe she had going by pushing aside the remains of the gingerbread house and sitting on the coffeetable in front of them, blocking their view of the television.

              “Bazine is an interior designer,” he said.  “And Dad says Lando saw her having lunch with Jeb Tiure several times over the last couple of months.”

              “You think she was the one who helped them?” Rose asked.  Kaydel grabbed the remote and turned off the television.  Rey sighed and reached around Ben to pry off another piece of the house.

              “She’s the best interior designer in the city.  And I mean, if you were going to cheat, might as well go to someone with a proven track record of cheating, right?” Ben asked.

              Kaydel cackled and peeled off the house’s chimney.  “Benji’s still bitter,” she said.

              “I’m not,” Ben said as fluttery jealousy bloomed in Rey’s stomach.  She set her piece of the roof aside.

              “And what exactly are we going to be doing?” Rey asked.  “You want to break into her office, try to hack her email?”

              “That’s a good idea,” Rose said.

              “You can’t use anything obtained illegally as evidence,” Poe chimed in from where he and Finn were sharing Han’s giant recliner.  “It’s fruit of the poisonous tree.”

              “We’re not going to court,” Kaydel said.  “If we figure out they cheated, it doesn’t matter how we found out.  We’ll go to the city and show it to them.”  According to Kaydel, whoever Han had talked to said that, if they could get evidence that the Tiures had hired professional assistance, they would be disqualified.  Since they’d appeared to be the toughest competition for Organa House, that would clear the way for them to take the prize for the fourth year running.

              “No one’s breaking and entering anything,” Ben said.

              “Well, you’re no fun,” Rose pouted, and flopped back against the couch.

              “We don’t need to,” Ben added.  “We just need to steal her phone.  She’ll probably have texts and emails on there.”

              “Alderaan is a two party consent state,” Poe muttered.

              “Again, not planning on taking this to actual court,” Kaydel shot back.

              “It’s all right, babe,” Finn said soothingly.  “We all know you’re the best at legal procedure.”

              “We just need to distract her long enough for Rey to swipe her phone, and then find the texts and emails,” Ben said.

              “What’re you kids up to?” Han asked from the doorway.

              “We’re going to steal Bazine Netal’s cell phone to prove she worked with the Tiures on their display,” Kaydel said.

              “Okay, cool,” said Han.  “I’ll update the princess.”

              Rey watched him walk away with narrowed eyes.  “Mafia,” she whispered.

              “What?” Ben asked.

              “Nothing,” Rey said.  “Why does it have to be me who does the actual criming?”

              “Technically what we’re doing right now is a conspiracy, which is also a crime – ”

              Ben threw a pillow at Poe.  “You’re the only one she doesn’t know,” he said.  “She wouldn’t suspect you.”

              Kaydel pulled her phone out.  “I still follow her Instagram,” she said.  “Let’s see what she’s been posting about.”

              Rey leaned over to look and was somewhat disheartened to find that Bazine Netal was stunningly gorgeous.  Kaydel flipped through her recent posts quickly, mostly Christmas decorations in various places, interspersed with random interiors of houses that she’d likely decorated in an elegant, austere style.

              “She’s not going to post anything incriminating on social media,” Poe said.

              “Yeah, but according to this, she always has Sunday brunch at Esley’s,” Kaydel said.

              “Oh, that’s perfect,” Finn said.  “We can steal the phone and have mimosas!”

              “They have the best eggs benedict,” Rose added.  “They use smoked salmon instead of Canadian bacon, and instead of English muffins they use these hash brown cakes they make in house.  It’s stupid good.”

              “I do love smoked salmon,” Rey said.

              “And crepes,” Poe said.  “They do the most amazing strawberry cheesecake crepes.  Ooh, and those orange cranberry cruffins!”

              “You know, they do cranberry mimosas in December,” Kaydel said as she put her phone back down.  “Sounds disgusting, but they’re so good.”

              “Focus, people,” Ben said.  “First we have to figure out how to get her phone away from her without her noticing.”

              “And then we have mimosas,” Finn said.

              “And cruffins,” Poe added.

              “Armie,” Rose said brightly when her husband entered the room, looking down at his phone as he walked.  “You want to plan with us?”

              “Absolutely not,” he said without looking up.  “Someone needs to maintain clean hands so they can defend you after you’ve all been arrested.”

              “Spoilsport,” Kaydel called after his retreating back.

*

              They spent the rest of the day planning their attack; Leia came in at one point and gave them blueprints of Esley’s, which Rey thought was a little bit overkill but also made her feel like Sandra Bullock in Ocean’s Eight, so she didn’t say anything.

              “I mean, it’s pretty simple,” Kaydel said as she sat back away from the table.  “We just need to distract her long enough to swipe her phone without her knowing, and then find the evidence and get it back to her before she realizes it’s gone.  She’ll probably put it on the table while she’s eating, but just in case she doesn’t, Finn will pretend to be a waiter so he can get close and figure out where it is in her purse.”

              “Won’t she recognize him, though?” Rey asked.  “If she and Ben used to date?”

              “That was before I met Poe,” Finn said.  “She’s seen me around and she shops at the store sometimes, but she probably has no idea I know all of you.”

              “Then, Rose and I will come over and say hi to distract her,” Kaydel continued.  “Bazine loves babies, so she’ll coo all over Paige in her Christmas outfit, and that should give Rey enough time to swipe her phone.”

              “I can’t believe you’re dragging our daughter into your life of crime,” Armitage muttered.  He’d been coaxed into their little planning party because he was told that otherwise he wouldn’t get to eat dinner, and Rose was curled up on his lap.

              “Gotta start her early, that way she won’t make stupid mistakes later on,” Rose said, and stuffed a piece of gingerbread house into his mouth.  Rey almost wanted to laugh at how resentfully he chewed.

              “So once Rey’s got the phone, she’ll go back to the bathrooms.”  Here, Kaydel traced the blueprint, following the route Rey would take.  “Then, you’ll pull the fire alarm, to buy Poe time to use his ill-gotten youthful skills to break into it and find the emails and texts, and send them to himself.  Then, he’ll delete all the evidence and give the phone back to Rey, and Rey will put it under the table so that Bazine will think she dropped it when she comes back in.”  She looked up at them and grinned.  “See?  Simple!”

              It was pretty simple.  Originally Kaydel had crafted a plan with a fake toy drive for a morning radio show and Poe in a Santa suit that somehow ended with Bazine wrapped in several yards of glittery wrapping paper, but Rose reminded her that they had less than twelve hours, so they’d come up with an alternative.

              “Why doesn’t Ben have to do anything?” Poe complained.

              “Because if she sees him, they’ll just fight,” Kaydel said.

              “But that could be a great distraction,” Rey offered.

              “I wouldn’t fight with her,” Ben protested.

              “Dude,” Poe said.  “It’s been two years and you still say she cheated on you.”

              “She did,” Ben said.  “We were still trying to work everything out – ”

              “Maybe we should have Ben go in,” Kaydel said.  “He might distract her more than Paige.”

              “No, that’s a bad idea,” Poe said.  “Two minutes and she’ll get so pissed that she walks out.  Or she’ll bring Vic, and he and Ben will get into an actual fight.”

              “Or,” Armitage said, voice rising above everyone else’s.  “She’ll just give the evidence to us.”

              “What?” Rose asked.

              Armitage was looking at his phone.  “Bazine is willing to hand over everything we’re asking for if we put in a good word for her with Jannah, for next year’s city display,” he said.

              They all stared at him.

              “That’s what you’ve been doing on your phone?” Rose asked.  “I thought you were working.”

              “Technically, it was a lot of work,” he said.  “I negotiated her down from making Ben stand up in front of everyone at the Christmas Eve ceremony and admitting he’s a whiny little bitch and that they were broken up when she started seeing Vicrul.”  When Ben looked outraged and opened his mouth to protest, he added, “Her words, not mine.”

              “Oh,” Kaydel said, her voice small.  “I guess…yeah.  That works too.”

              “Can we still get mimosas?” Finn asked.

              “But we worked so hard on the plan,” Rey said, feeling strangely let down.  “We had the blueprints and everything!”

              “I can ask if she’ll let you steal it off her phone tomorrow anyway,” Armitage offered.

              “That’s not as fun,” Rose complained as Han and Leia entered the room.

              “What’s wrong?” Leia asked, surveying their downtrodden expressions.

              “Armie got Bazine to agree to give us the texts and emails proving she helped the Tiures,” Rose said sadly.

              “Why is that bad?” Leia asked.

              “We had a really good plan,” Rey said.  “Probably none of us would’ve been arrested.  We worked all day on it.”

              “Hux negotiated with her, and she’ll give us what we need to crush the Tiures, so long as we get her an in for next year’s city Christmas display,” Ben said.

              “That’s all she wants?” Han asked.

              “She doesn’t want to be blackballed by the other B&Bs, and she’s pissed that Jeb only paid her half of what they agreed on,” Armitage said.

              “I see,” Leia said.  “Good work, Armitage.  Let her know we’ll do it.”

              Armitage texted, and a few minutes later, he said, “She’s emailing everything to me now.”  Rey felt a little like it was already Christmas morning, or perhaps something else she’d been looking forward to, as they all waited, breathless with anticipation, for him to open his email.

              “I’ve got it,” he said, and she watched him scan through whatever he was looking at.  “The whole thread, it goes back to January.  The entire conversation, pictures, everything.”  He held his phone out to Leia, and she took it and scrolled, eyes moving rapidly over the screen.  Finally, she looked up.      

              “Han,” she said, her eyes steely.  “I need you to make a call.”

              “Sure thing, princess,” he said.  Rey watched them, fascinated.

              “You guys really are a Christmas mafia, aren’t you?”

              “Kid,” said Han as he drew his phone from his pocket.  “If I’ve learned anything in all my years, it’s this: never cross the princess.”

*

              To celebrate, Leia ordered Sunday brunch from Esley’s, including the makings of a veritable vat of their festive cranberry mimosas.

              “Oh my God, you were so right,” Rey mumbled around a mouthful of hollandaise-drenched smoked salmon.  “This shouldn’t be legal.”

              “Told you,” Rose said.  She hadn’t entirely forgiven Armitage, so was beside him rather than on his lap, and she had a plate of crepes balanced on her knees.  Kaydel was sitting on Rey’s other side, and her plate was heaped with a variety of cruffins, including the famous cranberry orange ones, and the three of them were sharing the plates between them.  Finn and Poe had reconvened to Han’s recliner, and Finn was feeding bits of cruffin to him, while Ben was sprawled out in front of the big Christmas tree, plate of goodies and mug of coffee in front of him.

              “Just make sure you’re all done celebrating by five,” Leia said, though she was smiling.  “Our meeting is tomorrow morning, and I want everyone sharp for that.”

              Rey had never had a morning like this one; instead of sitting around the dining table they’d set it up like a buffet, and were gathered in the living room around the television.  Leia had turned on all the trees, and Han had started a fire.

              “This is so fun,” Rey said as they settled in with fresh mimosas to watch Christmas Vacation.

              “It would’ve been even more fun if we’d gotten to do our original plan,” Rose mumbled.  She’d switched over to water and had Paige snuggled on her chest.

              “I’m sorry I didn’t want my wife to be arrested right before Christmas,” Armitage said dryly.  He’d been relegated to the floor, Rose’s feet resting on his shoulders.

              “You have no faith in my stealth abilities,” Rose said.

              As the day went on, people went in and out of the living room.  Rose and Armitage took Paige up for her nap and never came back.  Finn had to go open the shop for a few hours, and Poe went with him to grab some files from his office.  Han and Leia joined them to watch a couple of movies, but then Chuck came down and he and Han vanished into Han’s workshop.  Eventually it was just Leia, Rey, and Kaydel, who had long since fallen asleep clutching the last cruffin, watching the live action remake of The Grinch.

              “How are you enjoying your first Organa-Solo Christmas?” Leia asked softly.

              “It’s amazing,” Rey said.  “I’ve never had a Christmas like this before.”

              Leia was quiet for a minute.  “Was your foster family…unkind?”  The words were spoken in a way that made Rey think something would be Done About It if she answered in the affirmative.

              “No,” she said, speaking slowly so she didn’t slur her words too much.  “They were good people, and they made sure I was taken care of.  I went through a bunch of placements when I was little, including an orphanage that got raided…”  She shook her head, pushing her time at Plutt’s Place out of her head.

              Leia made a tsking sound and shook her head.  “I’ll be having a serious talk with my brother,” she said quietly.  “I don’t know if he’ll have an excuse good enough for me to forgive him for letting you go.”

              She shrugged uncomfortably.  “It was mostly okay,” she said, even though, until the Pavas, it really wasn’t.  But none of that had been Leia’s fault.

              “But if he’d brought you home, you would’ve been ours.”  Leia looked horribly distressed suddenly.  “We could’ve protected you.  I can’t imagine what you went through, but I know you shouldn’t have had to.  Not when you had a family waiting for you, even if we didn’t know it.”

              Rey’s eyes welled.  “Well, the Pavas weren’t exactly loving, but they took me in and made sure that I was fed and clothed and went to good schools.  It was more than I could’ve asked for.”

              “You shouldn’t have had to ask for anything,” Ben said behind them, and she twisted slightly to see him in the doorway.  His eyes on her were soft and a little sad, and Rey suddenly wanted to cry.

              “Well, you’re home now, and that’s all that matters,” Leia said.  She stood up and pressed a quick kiss to Rey’s forehead.  “I need to see about dinner.”

              Ben snorted as he entered the room.  “I don’t think anyone’s going to eat dinner, Mom,” he said.  Rey blearily watched Leia glance toward the dining room, where the remnants of their brunch feast still sat, and smile ruefully.

              “Maybe just some sandwiches,” she said.  She kissed her son’s cheek and left the room.

              “How you feeling, champ?” Ben asked as he rounded the couch to sit beside her.

              “Better than Kaydel,” she said with a giggle.  Kaydel grunted in her sleep and turned over, and Ben quickly rescued her cruffin before it thumped onto the rug.

              “She was right, too,” Rey said, and set her empty flute on the coffee table beside Kaydel’s last cruffin.  “They sound disgusting, but they’re amazing.”

              “How many of those have you had?” Ben asked.

              “I dunno,” she said.  “Two, I think?  Four?”

              “Maybe four in the last hour,” Ben said.  She snickered.

              “Well, I had lots of help from your sister,” she said.  She leaned her head back against the armrest of the chair.  “You’re sideways.”

              “And you’re drunk,” Ben said.  “C’mon, let me help you up.”  The world tilted a little when she tried to stand, and she ended up smushed against his chest.  She felt him chuckle and she rubbed her face against the warmth of his flannel shirt.

              “Come on, one foot in front of the other,” he said, and looped an arm around her waist when she staggered.

              “I really didn’t have that many,” she said.  They reached the stairs, and she tried twice to put her foot on the first step until he huffed in annoyance and scooped her up into his arms.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder, breathed in the scent of his cologne.

              “No, but you probably didn’t eat that much today either,” Ben said.  He sounded amused.  “Welcome to the Organa-Solo household.  Drinking is a competitive sport for us.  Hopefully your hangover tomorrow isn’t that bad.”

              “I don’t get hangovers,” she said indignantly.

              “We’ll see,” he said.  He shifted her slightly and opened a door, then kicked it shut behind him.

              “I really like you, Ben,” she said wistfully.  “I’m really sad that we’re probably related.”

              He laid her down on the bed gently.  “I really like you too, Rey,” he said quietly.

              “I wish you could kiss me,” she whispered.

              He sat down beside her.  “I wish I could kiss you, too,” he said.

              She grasped his shirt and hauled herself to sitting.  “I’m not sorry that we had sex,” she said.  “It was really, really good.  Even if we are related.”  She dipped her hands beneath his flannel and tried to pull him a little closer.

              He chuckled.  “I’m not sorry either,” he said.  “I’m only sorry we didn’t get to do more of it.”  When her hands ran up his back, she felt him shiver, and he groaned.  “Rey,” he whispered.  “We can’t.”

              She nodded and slowly focused on his intense expression.  “If we’re not related,” she said.  “We’re going to have so much sex.”

              “I’ll hold you to that,” he said, and kissed her forehead.  “Get some rest, sweetheart.”

              “G’night, Ben,” she whispered, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

*

              Rey felt a little like she’d been called to the principal’s office.

              The principal in this case being Jannah Calrissian, Mayor of Alderaan and daughter of Lando Calrissian of Calrissian Christmas Couture, who had arrived a few minutes before and was holding court in Leia’s office.

              When Rey had woken up the first time, mouth dry and head pounding, eyes seared from the faint light coming in around the window blinds, she’d found a large bottle of still-cold water and a couple of Advil on the nightstand.  She had downed them gratefully, and gone back to sleep.  When she woke a couple hours later, she felt almost normal.

              Everyone else was annoyingly perky when she ventured downstairs for breakfast, except for Kaydel, who looked even worse than Rey felt.

              After some good-natured ribbing, she dragged herself back upstairs and showered, and dressed in some borrowed clothes from Kaydel.  Leia told her she didn’t need to be there for the meeting, but from Rose’s amused expression, she knew that she’d be teased if she went back to bed.

              Ben, she noted, was back to ignoring her, and studiously avoided her eyes whenever she looked at him.

              So now she sat in Han and Leia’s office-slash-planning space, along with Armitage, Leia, Han, Ben, Poe, and Rose.  Kaydel had taken the option to go back to bed, and Finn had had to go and open his store.  Curiously, all of the pictures and notes that had been on the corkboards had been taken down, and they now held innocuous brochures and other random photographs.

              Jannah Calrissian was younger than she’d thought the mayor of a place as big as Alderaan would be, and had the kind of no-nonsense attitude that Rey had always associated with teachers and librarians.  She was leaned back in Leia’s chair, eyes thoughtful, lips pursed, as Armitage explained what he’d learned from Bazine the day before.  Rey thought it was probably smart that they left out the parts about their big plan to steal Bazine’s phone.  It was probably not all that relevant to the discussion.

              “And Ms. Netal is willing to corroborate your story?” she asked once Armitage had fallen silent.

              “Yes,” he said.  “And we have all the texts and emails as well.  I forwarded them to you this morning.”

              “Well,” Jannah said.  She looked back at the computer screen, where she was obviously reading through Bazine’s email string with Jeb Tiure.  “I do think this is enough to disqualify the Tiures from this year’s competition.”  She looked up at them suspiciously.  “You didn’t plan this with her, did you?”

              “Of course not,” Ben said.  “You know she wouldn’t do me any favors.”

              Jannah grinned, her stern façade melting away.  “No, she wouldn’t,” she said.

              “All she wants is to be considered for next year’s city display,” Armitage said.  “And the park as well.”

              “That’s doable.  She’s the best in town.  The only reason I had taken her off our list in the first place was because she cheated on Ben,” Jannah said.

              “Thank you,” Ben said.  “I knew you were my favorite relative for a reason.”

              “Well,” Jannah said, and stood up.  “I need to get back to City Hall.  I’ll have someone contact the Tiures and let them know they’ve been disqualified.  Best to get that out of the way, rather than completely humiliate them at the ceremony tomorrow night.”

              Leia looked like she would be happy to humiliate them, but shrugged.  “Thank you, Jannah,” she said.

              Jannah smiled.  “No, problem, auntie,” she said.  “See you guys tomorrow night, then.”

              Rey’s stomach lurched in a way that had nothing to do with her lingering hangover.

              Tomorrow.  Christmas Eve.  When Luke was supposed to arrive.

              “Rey,” Leia said after Jannah and her minions had left.  “Why don’t you go get your things and move into that room?  You’re here more often than you aren’t, and there’s no reason you should be paying for that hotel room for the next few days.”

              Rey smiled despite the anxiety that was coursing through her system.  “I guess that makes sense,” she said.  “I’ll run over there and get my stuff, then, if you’re sure it’s okay.”

              “I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t,” Leia said.

              “I’ll come with you,” Rose said.  Rey waited while she got her diaper bag together and stepped into the complicated sling contraption that allowed her to carry Paige while also being hands-free, and then they left the house.

              “I don’t think I’d ever get used to the cold,” Rey confessed as she tugged her scarf tighter around her neck and jammed her hat lower on her head.

              Rose laughed.  “Eh, we’ll thicken your blood up in no time,” she said.  They wove their way through the crowds and came upon the bustling Christmas market.

              “Do you mind if we stop?” Rey asked.  “I need to get something for Ben.  He’s the only one I don’t have anything for.”  She’d managed to get everyone else at least something small, so it would stick out like a sore thumb if she didn’t have anything for him.

              “Oh, you’re so sweet, you didn’t need to buy us anything,” Rose said as they walked through the booths.

              “Well, I wouldn’t feel good about staying for Christmas and then not having anything for anyone,” Rey said.

              Rose glanced at her.  “So how are you doing?” she asked.  “Nervous about meeting Luke?”

              “Yeah,” she admitted, and they stopped by a booth that had hand-knitted items.  She considered a beanie but then rejected the idea, and they moved on.

              “Luke’s a decent enough guy,” Rose said.  “I don’t know him very well, though.  He’s a bit of a hermit, keeps to himself.  Leia’s always coaxing him to join in the family stuff, but he’s there less often than he isn’t.”

              They paused at a booth that had leather goods, purses and journals and the like.  “Ben would probably like this,” Rose offered, and showed Rey a gorgeous hand-tooled leather portfolio.  When she opened it, she saw that there was a slot for a notepad and pens, and a small pocket that she assumed could hold business cards.

              “It is nice,” Rey said.  It was black leather, soft and supple, with a hand-picked, subtle damask design on the front.  “Would he use it, though?”

              “Oh yeah,” Rose said.  “Ben’s old school.  Takes all his court notes on a legal pad instead of an iPad, like a civilized person.”

              Rey blanched slightly at the price, but reasoned she was saving money by checking out of the hotel a few days early anyway, so decided to get it.

              “I need wrapping paper too,” Rey said.

              “Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty back at the house,” Rose said as they made their way out of the market.  They stopped and bought hot chocolate, and then headed the short distance to Rey’s hotel.

              “So Luke’s not much of a people person?” she asked.

              Rose shrugged and bounced Paige a little when she woke up and started to whine.  “Like I said, I don’t know him very well,” she said.  “He’s always polite, but pretty distant.  Leia says that the war was really hard on him.”

              Rey tried to reconcile the image of a distant old hermit with the carefree-looking young man in her photograph.  But then, that had been just a snapshot in time.  Who knew what he was really like?

              She remembered those old blog posts she’d found and grimaced.

              “Too hot?” Rose asked.

              “What?”

              “The hot chocolate,” Rose said.  “You made a face.  Is it too hot for you?”

              “Oh, no,” she said.  “It’s fine.”  She juggled her packages and pulled out her hotel key, and they entered to blessed warmth.

              “Good God, it’s like a sauna in here,” Rose said.

              Rey stripped her coat off and tossed it on the bed.  “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

              “So,” Rose said while Rey unloaded the small chest of drawers and dumped everything haphazardly into her suitcase.  “Let’s talk about Ben.”

              Rey froze.  “Why?”  At Rose’s look, she sighed.  “I didn’t know, okay?”

              “I know,” Rose said soothingly.

              “How do you know?  Did he really tell everybody?” she demanded.

              “More like they figured it out,” Rose said.  “Apparently, he wasn’t subtle about how much he likes you.  Finn put the pieces together.  And it’s just the boys who know.  And me, because Armie can’t keep a secret.”

              Rey groaned and faceplanted onto the bed.  “It’s terrible,” she said.  “I thought it was going to be my Hallmark Christmas romance for real.  But I ended up in a bad V.C. Andrews remake instead.”  She rolled over and looked up at Rose pitifully.

              “It’s not that bad.  And how did you guys figure it out?” Rose asked curiously.

              “Well, we met for dinner the night…y’know, after,” she said.  “We got talking, he asked why I was here, and then I showed him my picture.  And he said Luke is his uncle.”

              “Damn,” Rose said.  Rey stood back up and started tossing stuff into her suitcase.  “What are you guys going to do?”

              Rey raked a hand through her hair.  “Well, judging by our very short history, I’m going to say he’s going to ignore me, possibly for the rest of the trip.”

              “Ah,” said Rose, and nodded wisely.  “The old avoidance technique.  Worked like a charm for me and Armie.”

              “It did?”

              “No,” said Rose.  “We talked to each other about our problems, like adults.”

              “Well, was one of your problems finding out you might be related?”

              “You know what, you’ve got me there,” Rose said.  “But still.  This isn’t going to go away.  If you’re really Luke’s daughter, you’re going to be a part of the family forever.  Hell, if I know Leia, you’ll be part of the family regardless.  You need to talk to him.”

              Rey cringed at the memory of her drunken confession.  “I tried,” she said.  “We both decided that if we’re not related, we’re going to have a lot of sex.”

              “That’s the spirit,” Rose said, and toasted her with her hot chocolate.

              Rey finished packing up her suitcase, then did a quick run through to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.  Then they went back downstairs to check out.

              The clerk seemed a little annoyed that Rey was leaving early and gave her a bit of a hard time, until Rose mentioned she was Leia Organa’s long-lost niece.  Then, she quickly cancelled Rey’s last two days, wished them both Merry Christmas, and said it would probably take a few days for her refund to process on her credit card because of the holiday.

              “Are people afraid of Leia?” Rey asked as they walked away from the desk.

              “No, why would they be?” Rose asked as they exited the hotel.  “So, want to stop and get lunch?  We could stop at Esley’s, have some more mimosas?”

              Rey groaned.  “I’m good,” she said, and Rose laughed.

*

              Rey woke up on Christmas Eve to pounding on her door.

              “Okay,” she grunted, and rolled over.  The bed was a queen rather than a king, and she almost rolled off of it before she remembered she’d taken Leia up on her offer of the empty room for the rest of her trip.  She grumbled and heaved herself out of bed and stumbled to the door.

              Finn, Rose, and Kaydel were waiting for her, all annoyingly bright eyed for what had to be about seven in the morning.

              “Merry Christmas Eve,” Kaydel said.

              She frowned at them, and Finn laughed.  “Get dressed, Sunflower,” he said.

              “The sun’s not up,” she complained.

              “It’s almost up,” Rose said.  “I’ve been up for an hour already.”

              “Yeah, because you decided to have a baby.  Like a…baby-haver,” she muttered.

              “Wow, note to self: Rey’s not all that quick before coffee,” Rose said with a grin.

              “Come on, let’s go,” Kaydel said, and ushered her back into the room.  “We’ve got big plans today.”

              Rey grumbled as the three of them went through her things and tossed some clothes at her.  “I thought we were just going to eat cookies and watch movies today,” she said.

              “Plans change,” Finn said.  “Luke will be here tonight.”

              Her stomach flipped over.  “Yeah, that’s why I thought we were doing a chill day,” she said.

              “We can chill at the spa,” Rose said.  “And you can eat cookies later.  Come on, hurry up, our appointments are in twenty minutes.”

              Rey stared and let the shirt she was holding fall to the ground.  “The spa?”

              “Hair, nails, facial, massage, steam room, the works,” Kaydel said happily.

              She looked at their grinning faces, still not computing.  “But – ”

              “Sunflower,” Finn said.  “We’re going to make sure you look absolutely stunning tonight.”

              So much warmth bloomed inside of her at their words.  “Thanks,” she whispered.

              “I mean, it’s also sort of a gift for ourselves,” Kaydel said.  “So get dressed!  You’ve got five minutes.”

              The spa day was exactly what she’d needed, and Finn had practically had to drag her out of the sauna room when their appointments were over.  She and Kaydel admired their matching glittery green nails the whole way home.  Rose had opted for deep red, and they’d all gotten their toenails painted blue with snowflakes airbrushed on, even Finn.

              When they got back, Leia and Han were already dressed and mostly ready to go, even though the party wasn’t for a couple of hours.  Rey eyed Leia’s fancy dress and Han’s suit, suddenly uneasy.

              “I don’t have anything to wear,” she said.  “I didn’t realize it was a fancy party.”

              “I’m sure I’ve got something you can borrow,” Kaydel said dismissively.

              “Or you could check your closet,” Finn said.

              “Oh yeah,” Rose said.  “You should definitely check your closet first.”  Somewhat bewildered by their excited smiles, Rey went back upstairs to her room, and found the closet door open.  The gorgeous green velvet cocktail dress from Finn’s store was hanging inside.

              “Finn,” she said, and touched the velvet.  “I told you this was too much, I can’t afford it.”

              “Well then, it’s a good thing I’m giving it to you,” he said.

              She turned to face him, shocked.  “What?”

              He smiled fondly.  “I told you this morning, we’re going to make sure you look absolutely stunning when you finally meet your dad,” he said.  “Merry Christmas, Sunflower.”

              “Thanks, guys,” she whispered, eyes burning.  Finn pulled her into a hug, and then Kaydel joined in, and she oofed at tiny Rose jumping onto her back.

              She spent a full forty-five minutes doing her makeup, and then dressed and met everyone down in the living room.  Leia was off to the side of the room, talking quietly on the phone.

              Ben drew up beside her.  “You look beautiful,” he said quietly.

              “Thank you.”  She played with her phone, and answered Jessika’s text to let her know she was supposed to meet her likely father that evening.

              Jessika texted back good luck, and said that Alderaanian law apparently would allow her to inherit from Luke if he was her birth father, even if he wasn’t listed on her birth certificate.

              Rey frowned.

              Are you planning on killing him?

              A couple of minutes later, Jessika responded.

              It’s just good sense to be prepared for all outcomes, she wrote.

              Rey shook her head and grinned.  She had the sudden thought that Jessika and Leia would probably get along really well.

              She stuck her phone back in her purse and pulled out her picture, and then wrung her hands and fidgeted until Finn put an arm around her shoulders.

              “Stop it.  You’re making me nervous,” he said, and she huffed a short laugh as Leia hung up.

              “He’ll be here in ten minutes,” she said.

              All conversation stopped, and Rey suddenly felt self-conscious as they all looked at her.

              Finn glanced at Poe, then gave her shoulder a squeeze.  “Why don’t Poe and I, and Rose and Hux, head over to the city center?” he suggested.  “We’ll save you good seats, and the rest of you can head over when Luke gets here.”

              Rey mouthed thank you to him, and the four of them filed out, Rose and Poe giving her hugs on their way.

              “Whatever happens, it’s going to be okay,” Rose whispered.  Rey hugged her back tight.

              After they’d gone, she paced back and forth in the living room and resumed wringing her hands.

              “What if he doesn’t like me?” she asked Ben.  “What if that note was a bad joke or something?  What if – ”

              The doorbell rang, and her stomach lurched.  She whirled and marched to the doorway, Ben at her heels, to see Leia open the door and a man step inside.

              Luke Skywalker was shorter than she’d thought he’d be; her mom must’ve been diminutive for him to have towered over her in the photo.  His hair was a shaggy mess of blond and gray that nearly hit his shoulders, he wore an old gray overcoat, and his expression looked tired.     

              “It’s so good to see you,” Leia said, and hugged her brother.  He and Han clasped arms and Chuck wrapped him in a big bear hug.  Rey smiled to see the easy camaraderie they had with each other.

              Luke stepped back from them and his eyes fell on Ben, and then Rey.  An odd, fleeting expression crossed them; confusion, maybe?

              Leia hurried over and grasped Rey’s hand, pulled her forward.  “Luke,” she said.  “This is Rey.  She’s been wanting to meet you.”

              “Oh really?”  She smiled weakly.

              “Yeah,” she said.  “I…”  She looked helplessly at Leia, then took a deep breath.  “I found something of yours.”  She handed him the photograph, a little bent and curled now from her hands clutching it so tight.

              He looked at it and it was like his expression dimmed and closed off.  “Where the hell did you get this?” he demanded.

Chapter Text

              It could’ve been worse, Rey reasoned.

              Of course, it was already pretty bad.  Luke had been shouting, and then Ben shouted, and Leia and Han and Kaydel joined in, voices overlapping until it was nothing but a cacophony.  Rey slunk into a corner and tried to make herself as small as possible, until finally Chuck waded in and yelled at everyone to be quiet.

              Rey watched, tears in her eyes, as Luke stormed upstairs, not even once looking in her direction.

              But nobody accused her of lying, or kicked her out.  So there was that, at least.

              Kaydel steered her to a couch in the living room and plopped her down.  A few minutes later, Leia bustled in, all motherly concern, and Rey’s eyes overfilled.

              “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Leia murmured, and wrapped her arms around her.  “He’ll come around.”

              There were new footsteps, and she heard Han say, “Chuck’s gone up to talk to him.”

              “Good,” Leia said.  “Okay, that’s – good.”

              A mug of mulled wine was pressed into her hands.  Her mug, or at least the one she’d started to think of as hers, with the cheery Rudolph with his bright red nose.  She looked up as Ben sank down beside her.

              She took a shaky sip of Leia’s recipe and wondered if she now was going to have to give all of this up.  Luke was their family, after all; they might be upset at his reaction, but in the end, they’d only known her about a week.  Why would they side with a virtual stranger?

              Her eyes traveled over the richly decorated sitting room and the people now looking at her with concern.  This house, this family, bright and loud and messy and wonderful, and she’d allowed herself to hope that it might be where she belonged.

              She pressed the mug back into Ben’s hands.  “I should go,” she muttered, and stood up.

              “No,” said Han firmly.

              “But – ”

              “Rey.”  It was Leia who spoke this time, and her tone brooked no argument.  “You are our guest.  And it’s clear that my brother knows exactly who you are.”  She grimaced.  “And I’m not going to let his temper tantrum ruin our Christmas Eve.”

              Rey fidgeted.  “I’m sorry, I can’t.  I have to – ”  She rushed out of the room.

              She ran through the hall and the foyer, and didn’t even stop to grab her coat.  She flung open the door and started to run, weaving in and out of everyone walking by on their way to City Hall, not even sure where she was going.  She barely felt the cold as her legs pumped and her chest started to burn, and her eyes overfilled.  Finally, she slowed, bent over clutching her side, sobbing so hard she couldn’t see.

              “Rey!”

              She dashed the tears from her cheeks and looked back to see Ben running after her.  She watched him dumbly until he was in front of her, and warm arms came around her.

              “He hates me,” she sobbed against his chest.

              “Well, then fuck him,” Ben whispered.  She felt him envelope her against him, wrap his coat around them both, and she began to shiver from the cold.  Ben made soft shushing sounds and rocked her back and forth as if she were a child.  She knew they had to be making a complete spectacle of themselves, but she didn’t care.

              It felt like forever before her tears finally started to run dry.  She wiped her eyes self-consciously, knowing that all her carefully applied eye makeup was probably running down her face now.

              “It’s going to be all right, Rey,” Ben murmured.  She shook her head.

              “I should just go home,” she whispered.  Then she let out a laugh.  “I left my purse and all my stuff at your mom’s, though.”

              “You want me to go get it?” Ben asked.  “Or we can just go back and lock ourselves in your room, not talk to anyone.  Watch all those shitty Hallmark movies you love so much.  I’ll sneak up some of Mom’s mulled wine.  Have our own little Christmas celebration.”

              “I really thought this place could be home for me,” she whispered, new tears gathering in her eyes.  She felt Ben’s arms tighten around her, and the press of his lips against the top of her head.

              “It still can be,” he whispered.

              “But Luke – ”

              “Hey,” Ben said.  “It’s not about him.  It’s about you.  You tell me what you need and I’ll make it happen.”

              “I don’t know,” she whispered.  “I don’t know what I should do.”

              “Okay, sweetheart,” Ben said quietly after a minute.  “Why don’t we go back?  I’ll let everyone know to head out to the ceremony.  We’ll be alone.  You can decide what to do then.”

              Slowly, she nodded against his chest.  She felt him guide her, and then there was the chime of a little bell, and the air was suddenly several degrees warmer.

              She looked out from the shelter of his winter coat.  They were in a nearly deserted coffee shop with a single barista behind the counter, wiping down the outside of the pastry case.

              “I’m about to close up,” she said.

              “We just need a couple of minutes,” Ben said.  The girl seemed to accept that, and Ben steered Rey to a table and took out his phone.

              “Maybe he’s not my dad,” Rey said dully while he texted.  “Maybe he thought he was, and my mom was some kind of con artist who lied to him.”

              “It doesn’t matter,” Ben said.  “Anything your parents did – whoever they are – isn’t on you.  And he should be adult enough to know that.”

              She watched the barista expertly wrap up the cakes and pastries in the case for a minute.  “I need to use the bathroom,” she said.  He glanced up and nodded toward the back of the shop, and she escaped.

              Once inside, she took stock and grimaced at the eyeliner and mascara that had created rivers down her cheeks.  She splashed water on her face and ripped off a paper towel to clean up the mess.  The front of her pretty dress was also stained wet from her tears, and she hoped it wasn’t ruined.

              She scrubbed her face with the paper towels and finally looked human again, even if her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying.

              Reluctantly, she left the relatively safe space and ventured back out to the front of the coffee shop, where Ben was standing, waiting beside the barista, who’d taken off her apron and was holding a set of keys.

              “Sorry,” she mumbled to the girl, embarrassed.  The girl shrugged.

              “It’s been dead tonight anyway,” she said as she flipped on the alarm system and locked the doors.  “Not sure why we were even open.”  The barista headed toward her car and Ben wrapped her in his coat.  She looked up at him.

              “But you’ll be cold,” she said.  He shook his head.

              “I’m fine,” he said.  “You’re the one who needs to be buried in blankets and layers to keep alive.”

              She huffed a laugh at his joke and wanted to cry again.  They walked back to Organa House in silence, the streets now deserted, everyone having gotten themselves to where they needed to go.  Leia had clearly abided by Ben’s text, because when they arrived back, it was quiet, and everyone had vanished.  He herded her into the library.

              It was dark and cool in here.  The fireplace was cold, but the mantel was trimmed with garland and ribbons.  Someone had plugged in the lights on the trees that flanked it, so the room glowed with soft white light.

              Rey stared at the trees until her vision blurred, feeling scooped out and hollow.  Whatever she’d thought her reception from Luke would be, it hadn’t been that.  Her hands clenched and unclenched into fists, and she dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands, trying not to cry again.

              Maybe he’d hated her mother.  Maybe he’d hated her.  Just because she had a picture with them all smiling and happy didn’t mean he hadn’t grown to hate them both.  Maybe she hadn’t been what he’d imagined his child would be, hadn’t lived up to whatever standards he’d had.

              Why else would he have let her vanish into the system when he was alive and well and seemingly able to take care of a child?

              A throat cleared behind them, and Rey turned to see Luke in the doorway.  He was holding the metal box she hadn’t been able to open.  “Can I come in?”

              Ben made a noise like a growl and stepped forward menacingly.

              “It’s okay,” Rey said quietly.  Ben glanced at her, then back at his uncle.

              “If you upset her again,” he said threateningly, then looked at her.  “I’ll be right outside.”  She nodded, and he shoulder checked his uncle on his way out the door.

              Rey watched Luke warily as he entered the room and shut the door behind him.  They stared at each other for a minute.

              “Why don’t we sit,” Luke finally said, and gestured to the couch.  Rey nodded a little jerkily and sank down into the soft cushions of the couch.

              He sat on the other side of the couch, looking down the box in his lap rather than at her.

              “I apologize, for earlier,” he said.  “It’s not every day that you’re reminded of the worst thing that ever happened to you.”

              Rey’s heart sank.  “Sorry I wasn’t everything you imagined I’d be,” she whispered.

              “No,” he said, and looked at her.  She was bowled over by the unimaginable sadness in his eyes.  “No.  You…”  He shook his head.  “You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Freya.”

              Rey’s eyes filled again, both at the sentiment and her full name, which none of them knew, not even Ben or Leia.  “But then why – ”

              “Why did you grow up in the system?”  Luke’s smile was wry, but his words dripped with self-loathing.  “That, my dear, was entirely my fault.”

              Rey bit her lip and looked down at her lap.  “So you are my father,” she said.

              Luke was quiet for a minute.  “No,” he said finally.  When she looked at him in surprise, he said, “Perhaps I should start at the beginning.”

              She nodded.  “Yeah,” she said.

              “Your father – your real father – he was…”  He hesitated.  “I’m assuming you know I was in the military?”  When she nodded, he continued, “When I…left here, that summer, I had gotten a letter from my old commanding officer, Ben Kenobi, telling me he was dying of cancer and asking me to look after his daughter, who was about to have a baby.”

              “Mara,” Rey whispered.

              He shook his head.  “There was…this may be difficult for you to hear,” he said.

              “It can’t be worse than anything I’ve imagined,” Rey said, and he smiled sadly.

              “During the Rebellion, Chuck and I were part of an elite group of soldiers they called Jedi,” Luke said.  “A lot of this is classified, but what I can say is that we were tasked with infiltrating Exegol.”

              “Spies,” Rey said.

              He nodded.  “We’d gotten word that a high-ranking Exegolian officer wanted to defect,” he said.  “Ben and I were the ones tasked with getting him to a safe house, but…”  He trailed off.  “Again, a lot of this is classified.  But the safe house ended up being compromised, and we had to arrange for fast alternate housing, and rather than just dropping him off with a handler, we needed to stay with him.”

              “Okay,” Rey said, wondering what this had to do with her.

              “It was only supposed to be for a few days, till we figured something else out and could get him in front of the right people for debriefing.  But then word came down that there were Exegolian spies in our own ranks, and we didn’t know who to trust.  And then Ben got word that his daughter – your mother – was in danger.  One of the spies for Exegol had given out Ben’s information, and they planned to use her as leverage to get the officer released.  We managed to get her out, and brought her back to the safe house with us.”  Luke paused.  “I was called back, and as I understand it, the officer and your mother…got to know each other.”

              Rey felt her throat move, tried to say something, but nothing came out.

              “There was an attempt to extract your father from military custody,” Luke said.  “There was a lot of confusion about the whole thing.  I don’t know if he was playing double agent, or if it was another spy for Exegol in our ranks – it hardly matters.  But he was killed in the ensuing shoot out, and Mira and Ben barely managed to get away with their lives.

              “They got off the grid – someone implicated Ben as the traitor, and with Mira pregnant…they were worried what would happen if anyone found out about you, and who your father was.  So Ben didn’t fight it, even though it meant he’d lost his pension and rank and would’ve gone to prison if anybody ever found him.  They changed their names and hid out in Hyperkarn, where you were born.  Ben got sick pretty quickly after that.  I was too late, and he’d died…”  He trailed off again, a faraway look in his eyes, clearly revisiting those old memories.  “To make things easy for all of us we told everyone I was your father.”

              Rey nodded, still digesting everything.  “I don’t have a lot of stuff from my…file,” she said.  “But I know that my mom died in a car accident, in 1995.”

              He nodded.  “Yes,” he said hoarsely.  “After…well, after Ben died, we left Hyperkarn, lived mostly off the grid, hotels, campsites, stuff like that.  I had a little money, and Mira had some stuff we pawned.  It was only supposed to be for a little while, till we regrouped and figured out what to do.  And after awhile, she and I…well.  I didn’t expect to fall in love with her.”  He sat back and cleared his throat.  “We talked about coming here a few times, but I was still so paranoid.  I couldn’t get past everything that happened, and I saw potential enemies in everyone.”  He looked away from her.  “I thought I was protecting you both.”  He shook his head.  “Eventually, though, she got through to me.”

              “The note you wrote,” Rey whispered.  He nodded, and pulled her picture from his pocket.

              “This was in Jakku,” he said.  “We’d stopped there for a few days, so you could play in the ocean.  And Mira – she wanted you to have a stable home, since you were getting close to school age.  I’d burned a lot of bridges with my sister, but for your sake, I was willing to grovel.  So I wrote that note and was going to send it, and we were going to come home.”  His sudden smile was bittersweet.  “Mira and I were even talking about getting married.”

              “What happened?” Rey asked.

              “The accident,” he said, his voice thick.  “Wet pavement, drunk driver – all I remember is headlights flashing toward us.  Then I woke up in the hospital.  I’d needed surgery.  There was a cop there, and he told me that Mira was gone.  You were all right, a little banged up but nothing serious.  I told them I was your father, and I thought that would be enough, but the cops had found a little bit of spice in my van.”  He looked ashamed.  “We didn’t, not a lot – bad habit I had a hard time kicking.  I had found it was easy to keep a little bit and tell myself it was there if I needed it.  It was Mira’s idea, and for some reason, it helped.”  He shrugged.  “Of course, the authorities didn’t see it that way.  I tested clean for everything, but they still were going to put you in the system.”

              She swallowed, hard.  “I – ”

              “I tried,” he said, and she looked at him, his eyes so full of pain that she winced.  “I did.  I fought to get you back.  But I was a hippie without a steady job who lived in his car – not exactly the kind of person you’d trust a kid with.  So I got a job.  I found an apartment.  I submitted to regular drug testing.  And they let me have you for a few months.”  He smiled then, a bit wistfully.  “Some of the best months of my life.”

              “What happened?” she asked.

              “I had a bad turn,” he said grimly.  “Bad flashbacks, bad dreams…missed work one day, missed picking you up at the babysitter’s.  Would’ve still been okay, I could’ve gotten past it, but the social worker picked that day for a surprise visit.”  He shook his head, expression one of self-loathing.  “She took you away the next day.  I called my sister, was ready to grovel, but she didn’t answer, and then…”  He shook his head bitterly.  “Let’s just say I proved to myself why I shouldn’t have had custody of a kid.  By the time I got clean again, there was no way I was getting you back.  So I tucked my tail between my legs and came home, like a coward.”  He sniffed, and she saw that his eyes were red and gleamed with unshed tears.

              “Leia said you called her,” she whispered.  “You left her a message, but when she tried to call you back it was a pay phone.”

              “Yes,” Luke said.  “After, though…I called Chuck.  He helped me get into a program.”  He shook his head.  “I was so fucking stupid.  I should never have left you, but I was convinced you’d be better off without me and all my baggage.”  He wiped at his eyes, then looked down at the box in his lap.

              “This is yours,” he said, and handed it to her.  He pressed the keypad numbers in sequence, 0-6-2-3-1-9-9-2.

              “That’s my birthday,” she whispered.

              Luke smiled.  “I know,” he said, and she managed a small smile through her tears as she lifted the top.

              She gasped.  It was stuffed full of photographs, all of her, all somewhat weathered around the edges, as though someone looked through them a lot.

              Pictures from the hospital when she’d been born, her tiny body swaddled in a soft pink blanket, her exhausted mother smiling elatedly at the camera.  An older man she recognized from Leia’s photos as Ben Kenobi hugging her against his chest.  Her first bath, her big eyes bugged out as water touched her forehead.  Her cradled by her mother, reaching for a long lock of her red hair.

              On and on they went.  Her splayed on her belly on a blanket, a determined expression on her tiny face as she reached for something off camera.  Wearing a ladybug costume, cuddled in her mother’s arms, holding up a little bag of candy triumphantly in her tiny fist.  Her first steps, held steady by a much younger, far less burdened-looking Luke.  The three of them curled up in bed, the angle strange and awkward, likely taken by either Luke or her mother, Rey caught mid-laugh, pushed up by her arms on Luke’s chest.  Fishing out of the back of Luke’s van, wearing a giant pair of sunglasses and an impish grin.  Playing in the ocean, making and demolishing sandcastles, wearing that little tank bikini from the picture that had started all of this.

              “I’ve never…”  Her voice broke and she cleared her throat.  It was her sad reality, that she had almost no pictures of herself.  Her social worker had tried, she’d looked and asked and encouraged her foster placements to take them, but most of them didn’t, seeing her as a temporary member of the family whose existence didn’t need to be recorded.  It had always made Rey feel a little rootless, as though she’d sprung up fully formed as a four-year-old in Plutt’s custody.  She had hated those days in school when teachers would blithely ask students to bring in old pictures of themselves and their family to create collages, always having had to use magazines and pretend.  But here was proof positive in her hands that she had a history, that she had been wanted and loved.  “I don’t have any pictures of myself from when I was little.  This is…incredible.”  She looked over at him to see him looking at her with so much love that it put a lump in her throat.  “Thank you,” she whispered.

              He cleared his throat.  “I’ll leave,” he said quietly.  She looked at him in surprise, and he continued, “You aren’t my daughter.  I lost that privilege a long time ago.  But my family is yours now, and…I want you to be happy.  I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

              “No,” she said, and shook her head.  “This is…I mean, it’s a lot.  And I don’t know if I’m really okay.  But…”  She looked at him tentatively, shocked by the sudden hope in his eyes.  “I’d like to get to know you.”

              “Anything,” Luke said quietly.  “I’ll take anything you’re willing to give me, Freya.”

*

              Rey stepped out of the library, head spinning from everything she’d learned.

              Luke wasn’t her father, and yet he kind of was.  Her grandfather had loved her so much he’d let his reputation be tarnished on the off chance that revealing the truth might’ve harmed her.  Her mother had loved and wanted her, had wanted her to have a good, stable family life.

              She spared a brief thought for her birth father, wondered who he’d been.  Wondered if she even wanted to know.  High-ranking Exegolian officer didn’t indicate anything good.

              And yet, he’d wanted to get out.  Maybe he hadn’t been so bad.

              Maybe someday Luke would tell her more about him.

              In the back of her mind, she’d always kind of assumed her parents had been junkies, who’d maybe abandoned her when she got too difficult, or they got bored pretending happy family.  Maybe they’d even sold her for a fix.

              But no.  She reeled a little from the tragedy of it all, uncertain where they’d go from here.  Maybe Luke would decide it was too much, that her being here and all those memories were more than he could handle.

              The corner of the metal box bit into her hand when she clenched it, and she looked down at it.

              All those photos.  The corners and sides worn down over the years.

              He looked at them a lot.

              She took a deep breath and new tears welled in her eyes.

              She’d give him a chance.  It was what she’d been hoping for her entire life, after all.

              Rey walked down the hall back toward the foyer.  The house was still dark and quiet, so everyone had to still be at the City Hall Christmas celebration.

              She wondered how it was going, whether Organa House would be triumphant for the fourth year running.

              “So.”

              Rey jumped and quickly wiped at her eyes.  She turned to see Ben lounging casually against the wall.  He frowned when he saw her expression, and turned toward the library.

              “I’ll kill him,” he said coldly.

              “No!”  She grabbed his arm and stopped him.  “No, Ben.  He was…it was good.  We talked.”

              He looked at her suspiciously.  “Really?”

              “Yeah,” she said.  “Really.  I’m…well, I’m not okay, but I think I will be.  Eventually.”

              He blew out a long breath.  “Okay,” he said.  “So, uh…I guess I can guess the verdict?”

              She frowned until she realized his meaning, and almost wanted to laugh.  “No,” she said.  “He isn’t my father.”      

              He looked tense.  “You’re sure?”

              “Positive,” she said, and he let out a huge woosh of breath and sagged against the wall.

              “Thank God,” he said.  “Well – mmuph!”  Rey had leapt into his arms and kissed him hard.

              “We have several days to make up for,” she whispered when they broke apart.

              “Are you sure?” he asked, even as his hands got a better grip on her rump and pulled her closer.  “You don’t want to talk about everything?”

              “No,” she said.  “I mean, yes.  Eventually.  But right now – no.”  She pressed her lips against the hollow of his throat, and nibbled a little.

              “Okay,” Ben said, and carried her up the stairs and into his room.  As he walked by the mantle, she set her box of pictures on it.

              “I’ll show you later,” she said when he looked at it curiously, and then she kissed him.

              He tossed her back onto the bed and she watched in bemusement as he grabbed the TV remote.

              “What are you doing?” she asked.

              He flipped it on and scrolled through some apps, then found whatever he was looking for.  “Setting the mood,” he said, as a Yule Log fireplace appeared on the screen, and the soft sounds of Christmas music filled the room.

              She laughed softly and he tossed the remote onto the nightstand.  An almost predatory look came into his eyes.

              Slowly, her smile faded, and she scooted back onto the bed toward his pillows, heart accelerating in excitement.

              “You can’t mess up the dress,” she said.  “It’s Finn’s.”

              He sighed in mock-irritation.  “Then take it off,” he said.

              She stood up and eyed him a little uncertainly as he flopped back onto the bed, taking her space.  Then she slipped off her shoes and carefully set them at the foot of the bed, and then unzipped the dress.  She went to shrug it off.

              “No,” he said.  “Slow.  I want to watch.”

              Excitement pooled in her belly as she turned to face him fully, watched him spread out against the pillows like a king, arms tucked behind his head, eyes intent and hungry on her.  A thrill went through her when she looked between his splayed thighs and saw the thickening bulge there.

              Slow, she let one shoulder fall down her upper arm.  The sleeve was a bell sleeve, so it easily slipped all the way off.  She tossed him a coy look as she did the same with the second sleeve, but turned around before she let the top of the dress fall, and giggled at his frustrated growl.

              She felt his eyes burning into her back as she watched the Yule Log and fiddled with the waistline of the dress, shaking it down onto her hip and pulling it back up, teasing him.

              “You know, nothing’s sexier than Bing Crosby,” she said.

              “Noted,” he bit out, and she glanced over her shoulder and smiled.  He was palming himself, jaw clenched, and so she took pity on him and let the dress slide down her hips and reveal her red lacy bikini underwear.

              “Festive,” he said, his voice low.  She gracefully stepped out of it and then bent over to pick it up off the floor.

              “Rey,” he groaned, and she arched her back and took her time standing back up, even let him see a flash of sideboob.  She gently shook the dress out and checked the nap of the velvet.  The neckline seemed fine as well, so hopefully her earlier tears hadn’t ruined it.

              She pushed that thought out of her mind and walked toward the closet.

              “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

              “I have to hang it up,” she said innocently, and grinned to herself when she heard his growl of frustration.  Slowly, ever so slowly, she pranced to his closet and opened it, then made a show of looking for an empty hangar.  “You know, for a man who doesn’t live with his mother, you certainly keep a lot of things here.”

              Finally, she located a hangar, and carefully hung up Finn’s beautiful dress, then zipped the back and set the hangar between two white button down shirts.

              She screeched when arms grabbed her from behind and lifted her up, laughing as he carried her back across the room and tossed her on the bed.  Her laugh became a moan when he hooked two fingers through the gusset of her panties, pulled them aside, and then descended on her.

              “Ben,” she gasped.  “Oh, Ben…”  She reached down and gripped his hair, pulled him toward her clit.  She felt him smile, and his fingers joined his tongue, thumb circling and pressing hard in rhythm.  He thrust two fingers into her and crooked them.

              “God, oh fuck,” she whined, suddenly barreling toward an orgasm she thought would build slower.  She squirmed against him, tried to get away; she wanted this to last.

              “Come,” he snarled, and pressed his thumb hard against her clit at the same time he rubbed his fingers against her G-spot.

              She screamed, body shaking, and if she’d been coherent she would’ve worried she might break his nose with how violently her body jerked against him as her pleasure crashed over her.

              When she came back, breathing heavily, he was still between her thighs, a look of deep satisfaction on his face.

              “Please tell me you locked the door,” she said.

              “Oh, absolutely,” he said, and crawled up her body to kiss her, tongue thrusting deep.  She helped him pull off his shirt and pants, pulled down his boxers.  They both groaned when his heavy arousal pressed up against her thigh, smearing wetness there.

              “Condoms, Ben,” she panted, his mouth now at her breast, tongue flicking at her nipple.  His hips thrust up against her and his cock slid against her clit.  She whined and did her best to focus, and gripped the back of his head.  It took a couple of tries before she could pry him away from her breast.

              “Ben,” she said, and his hips rolled again, the thick head of his cock pressing an inch inside of her.  “Condoms.”

              Slowly, coherence returned to his face.  “Fuck,” he grunted, and pulled away from her.  He fumbled toward the nightstand and then produced a brand-new looking box from the drawer.

              “I bought a box of them that afternoon, before, uh…”  He trailed off and the tips of his ears went red.  She giggled.

              “I’m glad,” she said.  She snatched the box from him and opened it, took one of the foil packages out.  Working together, they got it open and rolled down his shaft, and remembering how much he’d liked it, she pumped her hand up and down a few times.

              “Rey,” he groaned, and pushed her back down onto the bed, loomed over her and notched his cock at her entrance.  He pulled her close and kissed her while he slowly pushed inside.  She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer, smiled when he kissed her again, slow and sweet.

              Then it was a rush of their bodies dancing together, him thrusting and her clenching when his almost impossible thickness filled her.  And again, like their first time, he rolled them over so she was on top of him.

              “Ride me,” he said, eyes roving over her body in excitement.  “Wanna see those pretty tits bounce.”

              She rolled her hips, head falling back in pleasure as his cock hit deeper inside of her than before.  He bent his knees behind her, supporting her a little.  His hands closed over her hips and he thrust hard.

              “You’re so big,” she gasped.  “Oh my God, you’re huge.”

              “Fucking wet for me, baby,” he grunted as their bodies rocked against each other.  “Goddamn.  I can feel your sweet little pussy gushing all around me.”

              “Ben,” she sobbed brokenly.  She fell forward and he rolled them again, took control, thumbed her clit.

              “Come all over my cock, sweetheart,” he rasped.  “Need to feel you squeezing me…oh, oh fuck…”

              “Ben,” she cried out as she reached her peak, “oh, yes, Ben, yes!”  She felt him throbbing inside of her and grabbed his ass, pulled him even tighter against her as he moaned and collapsed on top of her.

              They laid together for a little while, Ben’s hands tracing curlicues and other symbols on her hip and side, her hand buried in his hair, curling and uncurling strands around her fingers idly.

              “We’re gonna do that a lot more times,” she whispered, and he chuckled, a warm puff of air against her neck.  Slowly, he pulled away from her, and she grimaced at the sudden rush of cool air.  She heard him remove the condom and then pad toward the bathroom, and she pawed his covers back.  When he returned, he grinned at how she’d buried herself under them.

              “I turned the fireplace on,” he said.  She frowned and grunted, and he laughed when he joined her in her warm cave and she flinched away from him.

              “Cold,” she whined.

              “Warm me up, then,” he murmured.  Gradually, his skin lost its chill, and she let him wrap his arms around her.  She laid there against him in a semi-slumbering daze, just enjoying the feel of him against her, the soft strain of music from the television.  Ben reached over and flipped a switch on something on the nightstand, and slowly the bed beneath her warmed up.

              “You have a heated mattress pad?” she demanded.  “I don’t have one of those!”  He laughed.

              “What a shame,” he murmured.  “Maybe you’ll have to move in with me here.”

              She smiled and they fell silent again, and Rey watched the scene on the television change from a crackling fireplace to a wider shot, showing the fireplace and a cozy, decorated room, complete with tree and stockings on the mantle.

              “I don’t know how much I’m allowed to tell you,” she said finally.  She felt him still, but didn’t look at him.  “Because a lot of what Luke told me is apparently classified.  But he was going to marry my mom.  He wasn’t my father, but he kind of was, too.  I lived with him for a few months after my mom died.”

              Slowly, the story poured out, at least as much as Rey thought she could tell, and Ben was quiet, asking only a few questions.  She cried again, a little, and then again when he fetched her box and she showed him all of her pictures.

              “He loved you a lot,” Ben said quietly.

              “I think so,” she agreed.  “I told him I want to get to know him, at least.”

              Ben set her box on the nightstand and pulled her close, and she curled against his chest, ready at last to sleep.

              “Hey,” Ben murmured, and roused her from her half-slumber.  He pressed a kiss against her lips.  “It’s after midnight.”

              She glanced over at the television, which was still playing the Yule Log.  “So it is,” she whispered.  “Merry Christmas, Ben.”

              “Merry Christmas, baby,” he said.

Chapter Text

              Christmas morning was only a little awkward.

              Rey came down to the kitchen to find Kaydel and Rose, who both looked at her with near-identical expressions of long suffering irritation on their faces.

              “So Ben and I aren’t related,” Rey said brightly.

              “Ugh, we know,” Rose muttered.

              “Pretty sure the entire house knows,” Kaydel added as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

              “Were we that loud?” Rey asked, suddenly nervous about facing everyone else.

              “Let’s just say I never needed to know all the stuff I now know about my brother’s anatomy,” Kaydel muttered.  “You’ve put me off sex.  Maybe permanently.”

              It turned out they had, in fact, been pretty loud, and those who hadn’t heard them had gotten an earful from those who had, so Rey ran back upstairs and made Ben come down with her so she wouldn’t have to face everyone alone.

              Luke had a strange look on his face when they sheepishly entered the living room, almost as if he wanted to say something but knew he shouldn’t.  Rey saw Han tip a generous portion of whiskey into his coffee, and Leia took the mug from him and drank deeply.

              “Times like this I wish I could drink,” Luke grunted.

              “So, Rey,” Finn said brightly.  “How’s things?”

              “Yeah,” Poe added.  “Like how’s things with Ben’s giant – oof!”  He wheezed and doubled over, Finn having elbowed him at the same time Armitage kicked him in the back.

              They all looked at each other for a minute, and then broke into laughter.  When they’d calmed, Ben had taken a spot in the only chair left by the tree, and pulled Rey into his lap.

              “You guys weren’t – like, the whole time, right?” Kaydel asked.

              “No!” she and Ben said together.

              “Well,” Leia said, and handed Han’s mug back to him.  “I suppose we should have at least one thing to celebrate today.”

              “Oh no,” Rey said.  “Who?”

              “The Yodas,” Han answered her, and Leia scowled.

              “Oh, the ones with the blue and white Chrismukkah theme?  I really liked…I mean, it was awful,” Rey said hurriedly at Leia’s glare.  “Really, really bad.”

              “Terrible,” Ben said solemnly, and Rose and Poe broke into laughter.

              “Well, we had to be unseated eventually,” Kaydel said pragmatically.  “At least it wasn’t the Tiures.”  Leia said nothing, but the look on her face told Rey that there’d be plenty of pictures of the Yodas’ B&B on her corkboard next year.

              “What happened with them anyway?” Rey asked curiously.  “Did they even show up?”

              “No,” Leia said, and a bit of smugness crossed her face.  “I suppose it was satisfying, at least, that everyone knew what happened.”

              “I thought Jannah was going to let them know privately,” Ben said.

              “Your mother may have said something,” Han said.  “Somewhat loudly, to Mr. Ackbar.”

              Ben groaned.  “That old man is basically gossip central,” he said for Rey’s benefit.

              “What can I say?” Leia asked with a smirk.  “Slip of the tongue.”

              Poe, wearing a Santa hat, acted as Santa’s elf, and started to pass gifts out.  Rey was extremely glad she’d bought things for everyone as the pile of gifts beside her grew.

              “Oh, dear, you shouldn’t have…you’re our guest, we didn’t expect anything,” Leia said when she unwrapped the lovely pair of earrings Rey had found for her at the holiday market.  “Though I suppose you can start calling me Aunt Leia if you wanted…or Mom,” she added teasingly.

              “Mom,” Ben said, and looked mortified.

              “You may think I’m old, but my ears still work, Benji,” she said.  “You best treat our Rey right.”

              “Don’t worry,” he said, and put a possessive arm around her.  “I will.”

              The bulk of the unwrapping was done by Rose and Armitage, as Han’s earlier words about Leia having bought out a Babies R Us had apparently not been hyperbole.

              “Really, you shouldn’t have,” Rose kept saying as they opened box after box of toys, games, books, and clothes.

              “Well, I have to spoil my only grandchild, don’t I?” Leia asked, with pointed looks at both Ben and Kaydel.

              Poe cleared his throat.  “About that,” he said, and all eyes went to him.  He ran a hand through his hair.  “Finn and I are starting the adoption process.”

              “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Leia said.

              “Yeah,” Finn said.  His smile was broad.  “So hopefully by next Christmas, there’ll be another member of the family.”

              “Another baby,” Leia exulted.

              “Actually,” Poe said.  He glanced at Rey, and then Finn.  “We were thinking about an older child.  Everyone wants babies, and they’re great – but we thought, there are so many kids who need good homes.”

              Rey nodded.  “I think that’s great,” she said softly.  She felt Ben’s arms tighten around her.

              “We have appointments to meet with an agency in January,” Finn said.  “If everything goes well and we find a good match, we’ll be able to start fostering maybe as early as February, and if that goes well, then start the adoption process.”

              “Well, I can’t wait to meet them,” Leia whispered, and Rey could practically see visions of grandchildren dancing in her eyes.

              They finally got through the rest of Paige’s presents, and Han started breakfast while everyone else continued to exchange gifts.  They took a break for pancakes and hash brown casserole, then returned to the living room with fresh mugs of coffee and eggnog.

              To Rey’s surprise, Leia handed her an envelope as they settled back in.

              “So our gift is a little different,” Leia said as she sat down beside Han.  “I know that your flight is leaving tomorrow.  But we went ahead and paid to change it to the day after New Year’s.”

              “Really?” Rey asked, and glanced between the two of them.

              Han winked at her.  “The princess wasn’t about to let you go so quick,” he said.

              “Oh, that’s amazing,” Rey said.  “Thank you both so much.”  She got up and hugged them both.

              Ben seemed surprised and touched by her gift.

              “Rose helped a lot,” Rey said, a little embarrassed by how effusively he thanked her.

              “Well, I think all that’s left is Ben’s gift to Rey,” Finn said.

              “I mean, it sounded like he gave it to her last night – ”

              “Thank you, Poe,” Luke said, and Rey felt herself blush as everyone laughed.  Ben stood up and tugged on her hand, and she rose and followed him to a large, blanket-covered item on the other side of the tree.

              “What’s this?” she asked.

              “I don’t know, you should probably take a look,” Ben said.  Rey grinned and pulled the blanket off to reveal the antique converted writing desk she’d drooled over several days before.

              She looked over at him in shock.  “How did you even know which one it was?” she asked.

              Ben grinned.  “When she gets back, I’ll introduce you to my auntie Amilyn Holdo,” he said.  Rey laughed.

              “But where will I keep it?  I can’t take this on the plane,” she said.

              “I know just the place,” he said.

*

              The rest of the holiday passed incredibly fast, and before she knew it, she was waiting at Alderaan International for her flight to be called.

              “You have everything you need?” Leia asked as she hugged her.

              “Yes, thank you,” she said.

              “And you’ll call when you get there,” she said as they broke apart.

              “Of course.”

              Han hugged her, and then she met Luke’s eyes.

              She and Luke had spent some time together over the last week, just like Rey had wanted.  They had talked, and Rey had a feeling that any relationship they might be able to forge would be hard won.  While intellectually Rey could understand the circumstances that led to her being put in foster care, and even to an extent sympathize with them, she couldn’t help the lingering anger and resentment that bubbled up.

              They’d fought, and they’d cried, and they’d decided that they should take things slow.  She brought up memories and emotions that he had suppressed for years, but with her encouragement and Leia’s assistance, he’d agreed to start seeing a therapist.  They’d made tentative plans for him to come see her for a weekend in March, and Rey hoped that by then he’d be in a place where they could talk more.

              “Travel safe,” he said gruffly.  Their embrace was shorter than hers had been with Leia or Han, but he held her tight and she thought it was the best either of them could manage at the moment.

              “Well,” Han said.  He glanced at Ben, then his wife.  “We should probably head back to the car.  Traffic, and all.”

              “Traffic?  What are you – oh,” Leia said.  “Yes.  Traffic.  Luke, come on.”

              “But – ”  Han hooked an arm through Luke’s and dragged him back with them.

              “Have a great flight, Rey!” he called.

              Rey waved and laughed, then turned back to Ben.

              “I thought they’d never leave,” Ben said, and wrapped his arms around her.  She leaned against his chest.

              “I wish I didn’t have to go,” she whispered.

              “It’s not forever,” Ben said, though he sounded about as happy as she felt.  “And I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

              She nodded.  After dinner on Christmas, they’d taken her new writing desk to his apartment.  It was supposed to have been just a quick drop off, but they’d ended up staying the whole night, and the day.

              Ben’s apartment wasn’t what she’d been expecting, but when he asked her what she had expected, she hadn’t had a good answer for him.

              “I don’t know, maybe more chrome?” she said.  He’d guffawed a laugh.  “Something a bit more sleek and modern?”

              The apartment was a small, cozy two-bedroom located above his law practice downtown.  It was Ben’s place, so everything was in its place and it was neat as a pin, but she hadn’t expected the comfortable, slightly older furniture in his living room, or the elaborately-carved bedroom set she’d gotten to see after they settled her new desk in his living room.

              Correction: after Ben had maneuvered it around, and she’d sat back and stared, open-mouthed, at his biceps.

              “My dad,” he said when she traced the patterns and grooves on the poles.  “He made it for me when I passed the bar exam.”

              “It’s amazing,” she marveled.  “I had no idea he was so talented.”

              Ben snorted.  “What, you thought he spent all his time in his workshop drinking whiskey?”

              “I mean,” Rey said.  “Maybe?”

              “Last year, Kaydel set up a website for him,” he said.  “He doesn’t know how to use it, so Finn usually tells him what people are ordering and what to make, and Kaydel handles shipping and costs.”

              “Very nice,” Rey said.  She slipped her shoes off.

              “Yeah, at first he grumbled about having to make stuff the way people asked, but he really does – ”

              “Ben?”

              “Yeah?”

              She pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him.  “Stop talking about your dad,” she said.

              They’d hidden out at his apartment for the next day and a half, sort of playing at cohabitating and talking about how they’d handle their relationship once she went back to Jakku.

              Rey worried that they were moving too fast.  She wondered what would happen if they ended up imploding, if they couldn’t do the long distance thing, or if maybe Bazine broke up with Vicrul and wanted him back.

              He’d laughed.

              “The first time I saw you, I knew you were a forever kind of girl,” he said.

              “I don’t know what that means,” she said.

              “It means, you aren’t the kind of girl that a guy takes out once or twice and then forgets to call,” he said.  “You’re the kind of girl that a guy wants to keep forever.”

              They’d finally gone back to Organa House when Leia called and threatened to send a search party for them, and spent the last few of days there with everyone.  They’d planned to spend New Year’s Eve at Ben’s, but then she’d been tricked into a drinking game by Poe, and so they’d stayed.

              Rey had to admit she didn’t hate it, though she did want time alone with Ben.  But she’d come to Alderaan hoping to find her family, and now that she’d done it, she wanted to spend as much time with them as she could.

              Jessika had actually called her after Rey had texted to tell her what she’d discovered about her family, and they’d had a long, surprisingly emotional conversation, with Jessika revealing she was going to start seeing a therapist and Rey promising that she still saw her as her sister.

              “You don’t have to go back,” Ben murmured as her flight was called for boarding.  “We can turn around.  Go home.”

              This was another conversation they’d had.  Ben really didn’t want her to leave, even for a little while.  And even though Rey felt the same, she wanted to finish her degree, be able to get a real job when she came home to Alderaan.

              “You know I need to go,” Rey whispered.  “And it won’t be too much longer.”

              “Yeah,” Ben mumbled as he let her go.  “Just a hundred and fifty-seven days.”

              “I mean, we went way longer before we met,” Rey said.  “And it’s really more like twenty days.”  They had already mapped out a plan for Rey’s last semester, and one or the other of them would be flying back and forth once a month for long weekends.  And while Rey knew that she’d be so busy that the time would fly by, that didn’t make it any easier to let go of him and walk onto the plane.

              “Twenty-one days,” Ben whispered.  “I guess I can live with that.”  He held her hand till they were too far apart, and Rey kept looking at him until she’d rounded the gateway and he was out of sight.

*

              “Why is it so hot?” Han complained.

              “That’s Jakku for you,” Rey said.  “It’s actually not that bad yet.  Just wait till July.”

              “No thanks,” Finn said.  They were all sprawled out in the hotel suite that Han and Leia had booked, air conditioner turned on high and practically roaring.  Her graduation had been that morning, and they’d all flown down for the occasion.

              “I thought we were going to the beach,” Temiri, Finn and Poe’s son, complained.  He was seven years old and a bit of a challenge, rife with the same kind of abandonment issues Rey had had, but Finn and Poe had proven up and able to the task, and slowly but surely, Temiri was integrating into the family.

              “We are,” Rey said.  “We’re just waiting for Jessika and Snap.”

              “Ah, yes,” Luke said, and grimaced.  “Wonderful.”

              Luke had met Jessika the night before.

              It hadn’t gone well.

              Jessika’s therapist had encouraged her to be more demonstrative and open with her emotions, and apparently she’d taken those words to heart.  She’d blistered Luke’s ears for allowing Rey to grow up like she had, and hadn’t been impressed when Rey had added that, if not for her going into foster care, she never would’ve met Jessika.

              “That’s not relevant,” she’d sniffed.

              She and Luke had agreed to an uneasy détente, and Rey thought that it had likely worked only because Luke had allowed Jessika’s tirade without biting back at all.

              “She’s right,” he’d said.

              Jessika called a few minutes later, and Rey went down to the lobby to meet them.

              “Please be nice,” she said as they rode the elevator up.

              “I make no promises,” Jessika said primly, and rested her hands on her seven-months-pregnant belly.  “I’m pregnant, you know.  Everyone knows that pregnant women are irrational.”

              Rey rolled her eyes and Snap snickered, but Jessika was polite with Luke when they entered the suite.

              “How are you feeling, dear?” Leia asked, and gave Jessika a hug.  Rey’s thought that the two of them would get along had proven true, and Leia had all but adopted the Pava-Wexleys when she’d come to visit Rey in April.  Jessika had seemed somewhat bewildered by the whirlwind that was Leia Organa-Solo, but Rey knew they communicated fairly regularly.

              Ben had snarked that it helped that Jessika came with a ready-made grandchild, and Leia had smacked him.

              “Well, now that everyone’s here,” Ben said, and stood up.  Rey looked at him curiously; he looked oddly nervous, and Leia had leaned forward in her seat, a look of excited anticipation on her face.

              “Rey,” he said.  “When I met you, I knew you were the kind of girl I’d want to keep forever.”

              Cousin-fuc…fudger,” Poe muttered with a sidelong glance at his son, and Rose snickered.  Six-month-old Paige shrieked in delight and bounced on her mother’s knee.

              “I know we haven’t been together for very long,” he continued, and Rey’s heart went into her throat.

              “Ben,” she breathed.

              “But I never want to wake up without you ever again,” he said.  He pulled a box out of his pocket and got down on one knee.  “Will you marry me?”

              “I mean, it’s a solid five out of ten proposal, Rey,” Hux said.

              “I’d say yes,” said Finn.

              “What the fudge,” Poe said, head whipped around at his husband, as everyone snickered.  Ben opened the box and revealed a gorgeous diamond ring set in platinum, a geometric emerald cut stone flanked by graduated smaller emerald-cut baguettes.

              “Oh my God, Ben,” Rey said, and dropped to her knees in front of him.  “It’s beautiful.”

              “One of Grandma Padme’s,” Ben said.  He pulled the ring from the box with slightly shaking fingers, and slipped it on her finger.

              “It fits perfect,” she marveled.

              “Well, I may have had some help with that,” he confessed.

              “You didn’t really think I needed to have all those rings sized and cleaned, did you?” Jessika asked.  “My fingers haven’t swollen up that much.”  Rey laughed.

              “I have so many of my mother’s rings, if this one doesn’t suit,” Leia said, and looked between her and Ben anxiously, as if she thought Rey might refuse because she didn’t like the ring.  “But Benji thought this one was – ”

              “It’s perfect,” Rey said.  She turned and looked at Ben.  “I love it.”

              “So is that a yes, then?” he asked.

              “Yes,” she said.  “Yes, I will marry you.  Yes!”  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him enthusiastically.

              “Does this mean we can’t go to the beach?” Temiri asked.

              Everyone laughed.

*

              “You look beautiful,” Bazine said, looking up from her iPad.

              “Mostly due to your recommendations,” Rey said.  She fluffed out the long skirt of her dress, cool white with embroidered silver and pale blue snowflakes on the skirt and train.  “Do you think the makeup artist used too much eyeliner?”

              “Nope, it’s just the right amount,” Rose said.

              “I can call her back, make her redo it,” Bazine offered.  “But I agree with Rose.”

              Bazine Netal had been a rather pleasant surprise for Rey.  She was not only stunningly gorgeous but also pretty nice, and in addition to being Alderaan’s go-to interior designer she also planned weddings.  Ben had half-heartedly protested their using his ex to plan their wedding, and Rey was pretty sure that Bazine had gleefully price gouged them.  But she’d also pulled together the winter wonderland of Rey’s dreams, and Ben could afford it, so she didn’t flinch too much at the price tag.

              “Yup,” Kaydel said.  “What do you think, Jessika?”

              “It’s unanimous,” Jessika said, and shifted baby Tallie onto her hip.  “Just the right amount of eyeliner.”

              Rey played with a tendril of her hair self-consciously.  “I know I’m being crazy,” she said.  “I just want everything to be perfect.”

              “That’s what you hired me for,” Bazine said.  “Now: bridesmaids and maid of honor, are we ready?”

              “We’re just missing one person,” Kaydel said.  She hurried over to the side table, where the smaller bouquets waited with Rey’s winter wonderland creation of snowdrops, white roses, and blue pansies.

              Kaydel and Rose were in icy pale blue with silver touches, while Jessika wore silver with touches of icy pale blue.  Originally, Rey had wanted each of them to wear different dresses, just in the same coloring, but it turned out that Kaydel and Rose had preferred the same dress style, and as Jessika was maid of honor, it would make sense for her dress to look a little different.

              She and Ben had decided on the winter solstice for their wedding.  It was close to the anniversary of their first date, and also close to Christmas but not so close that it interfered with anything important, like the Parade of Lights.

              As happy as Leia was that they were getting married, Rey thought that she never would’ve forgiven them if their wedding had interfered with the Parade of Lights.

              It also worked well that it fell during the winter break for Alderaan Elementary, so she hadn’t had to ask for any time off during her first six months of employment.

              There was a knock on the door, and Rose opened it.

              Luke stepped in.  “There’s a pretty impatient groom out there,” he said.  His eyes swept over the girls and landed on Rey.

              “We were just waiting for you,” Rose said.

              “Places, ladies,” Bazine said, and held her hands out to Jessika.  “Give me this beauty, and I’ll make sure she gets back to her dad.”  Tallie went willingly enough to Bazine, who cooed over her adorable little snowflake outfit.  Everyone filed out, leaving Rey alone with Luke.

              “You look so beautiful,” he said.

              “Thank you,” she said.

              It had been an extremely long road, but she and Luke had gotten to a place that Rey thought was pretty good.  She’d started seeing a therapist as well, and Dr. Phasma had helped her see that her lingering resentments were holding her back from moving on.

              “You have to decide what’s more important,” Dr. Phasma had said during one of their first sessions.  “Do you want to have a relationship with him, or do you want to hold onto all that old anger?”

              “I don’t know if I can forgive him,” Rey had said.

              “Well, you’re the only person who can decide to do that,” Dr. Phasma had said.  “But sometimes, forgiveness is for you as much as it is for the other person.  Hate can turn into acid inside of you, and it could eat you alive.”

              Ultimately, after a lot of soul searching, and a few joint sessions with Luke and Dr. Phasma, Rey had bid goodbye to the sad, lonely little girl she’d been, and forgiven Luke for what had happened to her.  They had had a particularly bad session one day where she’d unloaded everything on him, things she’d only ever told Ben about her time at Plutt’s.  But as bad as it had been, Rey had felt a little better after, letting her inner neglected child vent her spleen at the only parental figure available to her.

              “I don’t have something old,” she confessed to Luke.  “You know, the whole old, new, borrowed, blue?  That’s all I’m missing.  I guess Padme’s ring is old, but I don’t know if that counts, since it’s not new old for the wedding, you know?”

              “I have just the thing,” he said, and pulled a small box from his pocket.  He opened it to reveal a pair of pretty, teardrop-shaped pearl earrings.

              “Your mother’s,” he said, and helped her put them on, swapped them out for the plain silver hoops she’d been wearing.  “I should’ve given them to you months ago, but they were the last thing I had left of her.  She would’ve wanted you to have them.”

              Rey touched the dangling pearls reverently.

              “It was the only thing she never wanted to pawn,” he said, and she let out a startled laugh.  “They belonged to her mother, and she always said they would be yours one day.”

              “Don’t make me cry,” Rey begged.  “The makeup artist spent forever on this eyeliner!”

              They both laughed.

              “Are you ready?” he asked once they’d sobered.

              “I’ve been ready,” she said.  “You’ll have to hold me back from running down the aisle.”

              Luke led her out into the anteroom outside Organa House’s conservatory, where she and Ben had decided to have their ceremony.  Neither one of them was particularly religious, and the conservatory was both large enough to hold their guests and had big windows that looked out at the back grounds, which were currently buried in two feet of snow and lit up with twinkle lights that Rose and Kaydel had strung through trees and trellises under Bazine’s exacting eye.  From their little alcove, Rey watched first Kaydel and Finn, then Rose and Hux, and finally Jessika and Poe walk down the aisle.

              The strains of an instrumental version of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” began, and everyone stood and turned toward where she stood.

              “Don’t trip,” Luke whispered, and she laughed.

              Later, Rey would appreciate that the photographer had captured that exact moment.  In fact, Rey would appreciate that the photographer and videographer had done such a good job capturing the ceremony in general, because when she stepped onto the aisle, all she saw was Ben.

              The people around her vanished, the music receded, and her entire world narrowed to the distance between them.  She barely even noticed the pressure of Luke’s arm through hers, and was annoyed at the slow, almost mincing gait that she was forced into.

              Finally, an eternity later, she stood before the man she loved, unable to suppress an ear-splitting grin.  She barely waited for Luke to hand her off and kiss her cheek, and then she was in Ben’s arms, ridiculously massive bouquet shoved back into Jessika’s hands.

              “At last,” he murmured, his smile so wide she could see his dimples and slightly crooked tooth.

              “I suppose I don’t have to ask if there are any objections,” Lor San Tekka, an old family friend of the Organas and ordained minister specifically for this evening, joked.

              “Nope,” Ben said.  He wrapped his arms around Rey and pulled her close.  “Hurry up.  I want to kiss my wife.”

              “I do,” Rey said quickly, and the audience laughed, and Lor started the ceremony.  It was far too long for Rey’s tastes, though she didn’t hear a single word of it except for when she and Ben exchanged their vows, promising to love, honor, and cherish each other, till death did they part.

              “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Lor said after an age.  “You may kiss your bride.”

              They smiled at each other, caught in a moment, suspended in time.

              “Aren’t Aunt Rey and Uncle Ben cousins?” Temiri suddenly cried out in the silence.

              “That’s a story for another day, squirt,” Ben said as the audience all laughed.  Then they all faded away again as Ben’s lips captured hers.

              Love.  Family.  Future.

              She’d come up to Alderaan in the hopes of finding all of those things, but she’d gotten so much more than she ever could have imagined.

              “I love you so much,” she whispered as they broke apart.

              “Not more than I love you,” he breathed.

              “Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Organa Solo!”