Poe and Finn looked at each other in confusion. Finn looked slightly disgusted. Rose was looking upon them with a jaw dropped and eyes full of happy surprise. "Did they just marry each other!" she asked. No one answered Rose nodded. "They did. So romantic!"
Finn scrunched up his nose. "No, they didn't have any witnesses."
Poe stood up, his mind obviously distant. "We were the witnesses, idiot." He pointed at the hologram with his entire hand. "I feel like I should not have seen that."
Rose smiled and squeezed Finn's shoulders. "So romantic. At least we know that we can trust Ben."
"What are we gonna do about him?" Finn asked. "Can we trust him?"
Poe shrugged. "Rey told me what happened. He saved us all as much a Rey did. He is a hero of the Resistance. I already cleared his name. And I trust Rey's judgement. I trust a Jedi's judgment. Finn, you are not going to fight this. Take it as it comes."
Finn frowned. "Let's go talk to them." Poe shook his head.
"We'll head down to the rooms and wait for them to wake up. I'm quite sure they have more time in the hospital."
They followed Poe outside the room where they asked for a medical update.
"The female can be discharged today. No physical activities until the bruises are healed. They will be sent home with medications for the pain. The male will need to continue antibiotics for the prosthetic to take and to avoid infection in his abdomen. He will also need physical therapy for his legs, and he had the option to have the prosthetic covered in touch-sensitive skin. In our databanks, it is fairly often for Jedi to refuse the realistic look and feel of a normal leg. If that is the case, the male can be released today under the care of another."
Rose smiled and pointed at Rey. "That's his wife in there, she'll watch them."
"Wife?"the droid asked. "Do you have names? We can finally update their medical records."
"Jedi Masters Ben and Rey Skywalker," Rose told them.
"Home planets?"
"Rey is from Jakku in the Outer Rim," Finn answered.
Poe said, "Ben was born on Chandrila," he revealed.
"Years?"
"5 ABY, I believe?" Poe guessed
The droid turned to Finn. "And the female?"
"15."
"Thank you. You may see them shortly. You will be notified when they awaken."
They went and sat. Finn looked at Poe funny. "How do you know so much about Ben?"
"I was Leia's best friend when Han was gone. We would talk for hours. I probably know more about Ben than Ben himself," Poe revealed. Finn noticed that he was telling the truth, but not all of it. "She used to show me baby pictures and tell all these stories. Most of them were adventurous he and Han had. It seemed like she was a little jealous that Ben was a daddy's boy. She loved him with all her heart."
Poe looked down at his hands and rubbed his palms. "Leia was my best friend, Finn. And I can tell how much you hate the idea of Ben name being clean, but I have to give him and chance. For Leia. She died, reaching out to him one last time. And it worked. Her sacrifice won't be for nothing. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt, and you should to, Finn. For Leia."
Finn didn't say anything. "You not telling the whole thing. You knew Ben too," Finn prodded. Poe sighed.
"We were the only kids on base. Our parents were always busy. Too busy for us. I grew up with him like my brother," Poe admitted holding his hands up.
Rose smiled and stepped in front of Finn. She was good at that. Lightening tough situations. "What are some embarrassing things that we should know?"
Poe smiled. "He was really into calligraphy. He is a very good artist. I've seen things he's done. Very impressive. He didn't like to show anyone. Um... he was such a big baby that Leia was in labor for five days. Again... huge daddy's boy. Followed him around like a puppy. Like to wear his boots and impersonate him. He and I stowed away on the Falcon more than once in smuggling missions."
Rose smiled and turned to Finn. "See? More than a mask."
Finn still frowned. "I still don't trust him."
Poe shrugged. "Fine. You don't have too. I certainly don't. But I'm giving him a chance."
They waited a while without speaking. It was about an hour before the awoke again. The droid led them in. Rey was sitting at the edge of the bed and Ben was sitting on in the bed, staring at the absence of his leg. He seemed to be very sad about it. Poe noticed that they looked a lot healthier Thant he last time the had seen them. The droids has already taken all the life sustaining tubes off them. The black bruises that they studied over the hologram had retreated a lot. Their cheeks were fuller. The cuts they had on their faces were healed. But they were much thinner and their muscles had deteriorated quite a bit.
Upon seeing them, Rey started to get up, but she found she was too weak not to ease into it. Finn moved to catch her, but only Ben was close enough. He caught her by the arm and said "Take it easy." She looked back at him and smiled. "Thanks."
"A suggestion to both of you would be to ease into physical activities. It will take a while to regain strength from being dormant for so long," the droid said. Rey ignored the droid and regained her balance and strode across the room to wrap her arms around Poe, and then Finn, holding them all three. "Thank goddess you all are alright."
"You're the one that almost died," Finn told her as he pulled away. Rey laughed, "I did die. So did Ben. But we're here now."
Poe brows kneaded together. "How? Like the serpent?"
Rey smiled. "Something like that."
"How long have we been here?" Ben asked the droid.
"You were injured during the battle of Exegal, 8 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days ago. You suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns from lightening, deep laceration and internal bruising of your lower abdomen, and a shattered leg. For reasons were could not explain, though your injuries could have been fatal. You were lucky. You did not have enough life to support anything more than a comatose state. Brain activity was at an minimum, but enough to say you were, indeed salvageable. Your external burns were treated with ointment, and the internal ones were left to heal. Your abdomen laceration was decontaminated and healed. Your leg was unsalvageable. Your femur, and from the knee down is completely mechanical. There is extreme bruising on your chest that we have no explanation for, but it is healing. You may be discharged today if you choose not to cover your prosthetic with skin detail. You will have to continue a short term of physical therapy and continue to take antibiotics. You have the option of pain killers."
Ben eyed the droid long and hard. "I'll pass on the skin detail. What medical center is this?"
"Coruscant Core Medical Center."
His brows furrowed and he turned to Poe. "Coruscant?"
Poe nodded. "The home of the Republic."
Ben nodded slowly. "Republic..."
"Master Skywalker, are you taking the pain killer option?" the droid asked.
Ben nodded. "Yes," he answered, but he made a double take. "Did you say Master Skywalker."
"It is your name isn't it?" the droid asked. "Master Ben Skywalker. Human, age 30 years, male." Ben, confused, looked over at Rey. "What's her name?"
"Your wife, Jedi Master Rey Skywalker."
Both of them turned to Poe, confused.
Poe winced bashfully. "When you awoke, your reactions to each other were to be studied. The situation was still very unknown. Ben's name has been cleared, but we had to make sure he was not a threat."
"How much did you hear?" Ben asked.
"Enough for you both to have witnesses to be legally married. It can be taken back."
"Don't," Rey said quickly, shooting a look to Ben. He was a bit surprised, but an accidental wedding ceremony was not such a bad thing. He looked back to Poe. "There were some personal things that happened. I feel that was an invasion of privacy," he said with raised eyebrows. Poe winced and nodded.
"Yeah, it totally was. I am very sorry about that. But it has aimed you some trust. And made some commitments for you, Master Jedi. So... I suppose it was not so bad that I saw. Also, you poked around quite a bit in my head not too long ago."
"Who else saw?" Rey asked firmly. Regretfully, Poe pointed back at Finn and Rose. Rose smiled and waved and Finn showed her his teeth in regret. "Oops." Finn said.
"Alright then," Poe said with a nod, changing the subject. "You guys are discharged—"
"Master Rey, Skywalker. Female, human 20 years of age. Deep contusions on—"
"What are my options," Rey interrupted.
"Pain medication is optional." He informed.
"I'll take it."
"Discharge instructions for Master Jedi, Rey Skywalker: take pain medication as required; no physical activity until chest contusion is painless. Master Jedi, Ben Skywalker: physical therapy with prosthetic provided by med droid that will be provided to you. Take pain medication as required and antibiotics as instructed. You must have another care taker at your home until you have completed your physical therapy. This includes a fellow human, or a protocol droid. No physical activities until chest confusion improves and physical therapy is completed."
"Can we go now?" Ben asked.
"Yes. Your outpatient care will be provided at the lobby. Happy healing. Rise slowly," the droid took a pair of crutches from the wall and handed them to Ben. He eyes them distastefuly. "Would you prefer a wheelchairc, Master?"
Ben stuck his nose up at that idea and took the crutches.
"You'll be back to normal in no time, "Rey promised him as she walked slowly around the bed and helped him to his only foot.
They left the medical facility on the shuttle Poe had brought. Rey and Ben immediately downed a few of the pain killers.
"This is weird," Ben said after a long silence.
"Thank you!" Finn breathed. "So weird."
"Are you guys just fine with this? My name is actually cleared? You're not taking me to executed?"
"Your Leia's son," Poe reminded. "She died in hope you would be redeemed. You will or so help me God."
Ben nodded slowly. "So where are we going."
"I've prepared a home for you until the Jedi temple is rebuilt. There you can wash the hospital off you and put on some of you own clothes. Then we'll explain everything to you."
"Thank you, Poe," Rey said, genuinely. He smiled. "It's fine. Your two obviously took a hard hit."
They arrived at the top of on of the living duplexes and touched down o the landing pad. The apartment was enormous. Too big for only two people, Ben observed. The living space was a wide open area, open to the air of the upper atmosphere that was very pleasant. A breezed flowed through. The seating area was arranged in a circular formation. There were massive columns surrounding the room that were accompanied by drapes of peach and plum. The floor's intricate designs interested Ben.
"We live in this?" Rey asked. Poe laughed.
"Yeah... not too shabby, is it? It used to belong to a senator from Naboo before the fall of the Republic. We had some of her old things put together as a cool little thing to look at if you'd like too. She had quite an interesting life."
Ben nodded. He didn't have to be told who lived here. He sensed it as soon as he entered. All the furniture was a soft cream to match the walls and floors of the apartment that were accentuated with gold and bronze. There was a golden fountain that bubbled on the marble floor. There was a large archway to the right where Ben could see a set of stairs, and another in the center that lead to an indoor sitting space.
"We put you in the senator complex so you'd be closer to us and the Jedi Temple Ruins. It is being rebuilt. It was the first order of business upon arriving," Poe explained. "The veranda's mouth was constantly guarded by a particle and energy shield. You can't fall off it and it it won't rain in here."
Rey was amazed by the home. She bounced around the wide open space, touching the drapes and sticking her fingers in the fountain. It made Ben smile. "He had lived in an apartment like this on Coruscant with his mother, and an even bigger home on Chandrila. At the Jedi temple, he was comfortable. He had friends and a good time. He had his own choices along with the structure of Jedi training. When he was with the first order, he didn't really live. He worked, retired to his chambers to eat and sleep, and woke up to work again. This would be better.
On either side of the sitting room, transparisteel doors could retract to allow passage onto the small open-air balconies which overlooked the Senate District. Small tables were dotted with carefully placed art brought in from around the galaxy. Leading out of the sitting room were two hallways which led into the private chambers.
One antechamber was the bedchamber. With a broad window on one side, the chamber was notably less defended then most Senators of importance; a simple bed sat at the center of the room, while a low table was situated just in front of it. A Tarka-Null original sat on a small podium in one corner of the room. Opposite the window was a closet, through which was a staircase leading back out onto the veranda. From that room was a closet that had a staircase that led to the veranda. Every room had a way to get to the veranda.
There was a bathchamber connected to the bedchamber. There was a second bedchamber connected to a bath chamber. There was also a large kitchen and dining space.
They hurried to their chambers where everything had been moved in for the most part. Rey and Ben were provided with different sets of Jedi robes which they donned after their showers. Ben hated the sound of the metal foot on the floor. He was thankful when he could strap the boot on. He felt more and more in tune with the force as he moved around and the feeling of the leg seemed to get better. He left the crutches on the bed and walked out into the living space slowly, still afraid to put to much weight on it.
"Shouldn't you take your crutches?" Finn asked. Ben shrugged.
"I'm figuring it out."
"The robes suit you guys," Rose added with a a smile.
"Thanks," said Rey. She turned to Ben. "Can you feel your senses returning? With the Force?"
"Definitely."
Rey took his hand and draped it over her shoulder, acting as a crutch. She knew he needed one and was too hardness to use the one provided.