'Others were a part of my journey but you were always my Destination.' Words by Jen
The house just didn't seem the same without Maz laughing at some funny joke Anakin told her or scolding Darth for something trivial like stealing a extra piece of bacon at breakfast.
It was too quiet. Too empty without her there to give out well meaning advice or the sound of her knitting needles click clacking together , making a lucky person a blanket or scarf.
She was a wonderful grandmother and they all missed her terribly. But they all knew she'd be back very soon.
Rey visited Maz every day while she convalesced in the hospital. They talked about the children and her work, but then the conversation turned to the man they were deceiving...Ben.
"Are you going to tell him, Rey? You can't carry this burden on your shoulders forever. He need to know where he came from and and who he really is and then he can decide himself if he wants to stay."
The mood in the hospital room changed from pleasant to somber. Rey felt overwhelming guilt for this continuous deception, but she could not deny her feelings any longer.
She wanted this charade to last forever and she was willingly to deceive herself in the process.
"Ben got me the most amazing bedroom set for our anniversary. How he found out about the anniversary I can't imagine."
Maz just smiled serenely to herself and said with a twinkle in her eye, " I can't imagine either. But now you both will be more comfortable and he won't have to sleep on the couch. It will be like you are truly husband and wife."
Fooling him even further.
Rey felt a guilty twinge in her heart. Maz knew right from wrong but she was playing Cupid, perpetuating the deception.
Rey couldn't get mad at her meddling match making now. At the beginning this whole thing was about getting what she could out of a rude , obnoxious jerk . Now it had turned out so differently.
She was living the lie she vowed she would not let happen.
She had not in a million years thought that she'd actually fall in love with him. It was as if when he bumped his head , not only did it give him amnesia, but totally changed who he was as well.
It hadn't occurred to her that it was her that had caused the miraculous change in him.
It had happened so fast... to quickly for her brain to catch up to what was occurring. She wasn't expecting to see a different man than the one who propositioned her on the yacht.
But she felt the instant connection when she first saw him at the hospital. He was still grumpy and obnoxious but his Alpha scent told her things only her heart understood.
He had changed for the better. This is what he needed . He needed her.
And now it was out of her control.
It felt good and dizzying and bittersweet.
She had noticed the curve of his smile when he watched Padme' learning to walk, she became aware of the deep amber color of his eyes when looking down into her face. And she had known at that moment that she was the luckiest woman in the world or totally screwed if she denied what she felt.
But that didn't make acceptable what she had done to him. He deserved to know who he really was and where he came from.
Just not yet.....
######
On the day his 'mother' came home , Ben helped Maz carefully out of the truck like she was a fragile china doll. He wanted to carry her indoors but she refused , saying she could manage just fine ' thank you kindly, just the same."
The boys had made a gigantic 'Welcome Home' sign with red paint , (being careful not to spill, but dripped paint on the floor anyway)and hung it out by the front door so it would be the first thing Maz would see when she saw the house.
They also pinky promised that they would clean up after themselves after cake and ice cream and be as quiet as little mice when the welcome home party was over.
Their father promised that if they could keep up their end of the bargain, he would take the whole family to the beach when their grandmother felt up to it.
The magical day arrived when Maz declared she was feeling ship shape and Bristol fashion and didn't want to stay indoors another minute.
"I'd like to go to a spot where we can have a picnic and the boys can run off some of their boyish energy." She declared to Ben.
Rey knew just the spot. It was a place where they could build sand castles and play frisbee. The view of the ocean was beautiful and they could ,watch boats passing by on their way to the marina.
Ben had become an excellent cook , delighting the women's taste buds with grilled steaks and marinated shrimp and the boys noshed on hot dogs and burgers.
After lunch the boys ran down to the beach to dig for shells and Maz took up her knitting needles and began to knit an enormous blanket ,using the softest of yarn, for Ben and Rey's king sized bed.
Padme' gurgled and squirmed to be set free. "Come on little one. Let's practice your walking."
Rey knelt down on the ground and placed the tiny toddler in front of her. Ben also knelt down a few steps away from the little girl and held out his arms to catch her .
Padme's adorable little face lit up with joy as she saw her daddy beckoning her to come closer. She looked so much like her beautiful mother except for the tufts of reddish brown hair blowing in the breeze and the afternoon sun catching its golden highlights.
The scene was so tender as Padme' took her first tentative steps towards Ben. Two more and she was in his waiting arms.
He picked her up and spun her around. The little girl squealed in delight.
Rey felt another pang of bittersweet regret as she watched her baby girl bonding with a man that wasn't her biological father but more of a father than her real one ever would be.
Her real father had left her when she told him she was pregnant and the last she heard, he had turned to a life of crime and debauchery. It was better this way. He would have pulled her into that sordid life and she would have never recovered.
The hot tears that came unexpected to her eyes were furiously wiped away with the back of her hand as she forced a smile on her face .
Her Alpha noticed her mood swings and looked at her in concern. "Rey, are you feeling alright, sweetheart?"
Ben could definitely tell her scent was stronger and more tangy then usual. She had been snappish this morning over breakfast and then behaved like a clingy koala all afternoon. Could it mean?....
She smiled more convincingly ,taking the child from Ben's arms , then studied her shoes to hide her embarrassment.
She looked up at him after regaining her composure and then felt it slip away. It was replaced with an overwhelming desire to kiss him and kiss him ... and maybe kiss him some more.
He stood before her tall and strong, with a halo of the setting sun beaming through his hair.
He resembled a Greek God. All golden eyes and alabaster skin.
He held her gaze, staring back like he could read her thoughts just by looking at her. A feeling of overwhelming protectiveness enveloped Ben.
Mine... said a clear and unmistakable voice. His inner Alpha voice telling him it was high time to claim her as his lifelong mate.
Just then the precious moment was broken when Anakin's yelling came from down by the beach.
"Look at that big ship! I've never seen one that big before. Wow!"
Like a vacuum in space ,everything went silent as Ben and Rey turned in unison to look at the ship that was passing by.
She hadn't seen it in nearly two months but it was all too familiar. It caused her blood to turn to ice in her veins and her heart to pound violently in her chest.
She recognized that yacht. It was his yacht.
The Bazine.
Had they come back to look for him? Had his people finally decided to come claim him and rip him away from her?
Possibly forever?
No , she'd hide him away in a dark and deep cave, or secret him away in a basement. They couldn't have him . Never! She'd rip out anyone's throat and drink their blood if they tried to take him away.
She tried to conceal her frantic , panicked expression from Ben . Her head wiped around to see his reaction .
He was looking straight at it too. A blank, unconcerned look on his face.
Then.... Something.
A glimmer of recognition. It was fleeting but there just the same. A frown creased his brow as he continued to look at the passing ship.
His mind was whirling and popping with images of a high society party. Laughing and drinking and women.
And a scent.
There was plenty of aromas going on in the room but above the sickening scent of marijuana and luxurious perfume came a sweet and heady smell, like strawberry shortcake and cream.
It had called to him.
But then it was gone. His brain pounded with pain from the sudden onslaught of memories. Why would that yacht cause such a reaction?
Was his memory returning? He needed to get out of there.
"I don't feel so well Rey. Can you drive home?" He asked . They packed up and we're on their way home.
But they didn't get very far when suddenly flashing lights of a police car pulled them over.
In the back seat Maz muttered, " I have a very bad feeling about this."