Chapter 13: Epilogue

Summary:

The end is sometimes just the beginning. The conclusion to Amygdala. Lots and lots of fluffiness :)

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The sound of the Suzuki V-Strom's twin engines became higher pitched as the driver revved it into the upper digits, the suspension system giving mild protest to the weight of the two passengers as they bounced along the dirt road. Rey wrapped her gauzy skirt underneath her tanned legs as she hugged Kylo through the twists and turns of the mountainous countryside.

It wasn't yet noon, but they had already been up for over seven hours. Earlier that morning, they had summited Volcan Mustafar, a dormant volcano engulfed in the clouds. After ascending over several thousand feet, they reached the top, high above the tree line with a vast view over the mountainous island and the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Rey laughed as she snapped a selfie of them at the peak, the wind whipping through their hair and the brightness of the morning sun forcing at least one of them to squint in most of the pictures. Kylo's hair was almost as unruly as hers, even as he attempted to tie it back. But she was finally successful, a perfect shot of the two of them together, with the clouds and the craggy, striated peaks below and the wide expanse of the island surrounding them.

She had posted it on Instagram as soon as they descended back into civilization, and delighted as she received the first "like" from Finn and Poe.

She smiled as she read Finn's comment.

She looked up at Kylo as he bent over her shoulder to see what was pleasing her so. "We have to see Finn and Poe as soon as we get back to New York," she told him.

He nodded in agreement, kissing her on top of her head as he hugged her from behind. "I can't wait to meet Kira."

Finn and Poe had originally planned to accompany Rey and Kylo on their trip but canceled after receiving word that their adoption was about to go through. The couple's time was now dedicated to domestic bliss and to being doting parents to their baby girl.

Kylo and Rey shed their layers of clothing as the weather warmed at the lower altitude. Rey's stomach growled. She leaned over to Kylo, trying to yell above the noise of the motorcycle's engine.

"Can we stop somewhere to get something to eat?!"

Kylo smiled beneath his helmet. Some things never changed.

They pulled up to a roadside stand for a quick bite, knowing they still had a long journey ahead. The restaurant looked to be less than one hundred squared feet in total and was decorated in bright red and blue colors. Spartan chairs and a chalkboard sign in sat in front, their colored letters spelling out the menu for the day. They were in the valley now, vegetation and farmland surrounding them, framed by the green mountains in the distance. Chickens dotted the roadside, scavenging for kitchen scraps as well as for insects and seed, oblivious to their destiny.

Rey ordered a coconut water, delighting as the proprietor hacked off the top of the pipa and stuck a straw in its soft flesh. The drink was slightly sweet and cool, refreshing her parched throat. Kylo opted for a frosty mug of Imperial beer, and they dove into a platter of rice and beans and pork rinds flavored with yucca and lime. Rey's hunger had abated somewhat as their main dishes arrived, tamales colorados and a chicken and onion stew. She sighed as the tender pieces of chicken fell apart in her mouth, mixing with the tangy, thick green sauce of onions and tomatillos.

Rey startled as her phone chirped. Kylo's phone, as usual, was powered off as he refused to be disturbed during this portion of their trip.

She took a look at the text, from Poe.

"Kylo," she said, her voice hesitant. "Snoke's dead."

Kylo looked past Rey, his breathing stilled for a second upon hearing the news. It was several years since he had any contact with the man.

-o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o-

Kylo stood in front of Snoke's door, collecting his thoughts before entering. He had asked for this appointment with Snoke.

He had been waiting for this moment for months.

Kylo had returned to Arkanis full time that January following his accident. The two months prior had been busy ones, not only with regards to his recuperation. Given television's desire for feel-good moments during the Thanksgiving season, he found his name suddenly splashed through the local papers and morning news shows. The mother of the boy whose life he had saved was more than eager to share her side of the story, singing Kylo's praises as she made her rounds.

Snoke, of course, had also seen an opportunity to use the public's current interest in Kylo to showcase the quality and character of a model Arkanis physician. Kylo had allowed Snoke to prostitute his name and likeness in order to heighten the hospital's profile, but he also began to introduce Rey and the team at Republic into the conversations, crediting them with his recovery. The press and public were fascinated by Rey, the beautiful physician who seemed to have captured his heart, and it wasn't soon after that she and Kylo became the new "it" couple. Finn had teased them mercilessly as they began appearing on the gossip rags, the striking couple's pictures plastered next to headlines such as "Rey: Pregnant with Kylo's baby!" or "Kylo: Saved by Love!"

Now he stood outside the heavy wood door, the man who had previously controlled his future on the other side. Kylo raised his hand and knocked.

Snoke opened the door, waving him in. "Come in, my boy," he smiled. It was almost genuine. It was probably the closest that Snoke felt to caring about anyone besides himself.

Snoke gave Kylo a pat on the shoulder, walking around his desk to take a seat in front of him. Kylo's positive media exposure had been good business for Arkanis, indeed.

Snoke leaned forward, speaking first. "How is everything going with the DOH?"

"Very well, sir," Kylo replied. Kylo had been working to establish traffic safety and head injury prevention programs for New York City schools following his accident, efforts which did not go by unnoticed by the mayor's office and the Department of Health. "In fact, they have now asked me to assist them in looking into quality of care and other community-based initiatives."

"Good, good," nodded Snoke. Kylo's sudden altruistic streak could continue to keep them politically tied in a most positive way.

"You know, Dr. Ren, I've been thinking. Hux really has his hands full with the concussion project. Perhaps the scale is too large, requiring co-lead investigators. If you have the time and interest given all your other projects, that is."

Kylo took a deep breath. He steeled himself for what he was about to say

"Dr. Snoke. I appreciate the offer. However, the reason I wanted to speak with you today is that I've been offered a position, at Republic and within the board of the Department of Health. After giving it much thought, it is a position that I have accepted.

"I am here to offer my resignation from Arkanis."

Snoke looked apoplectic. His anger was fueled by the fact that he was completely caught off guard by the announcement.

"Republic? That pitiful, run down institution?" he hissed. "That hospital is a joke, Kylo! It's constantly fighting to stay afloat. It's nothing but a training ground for residents in an antiquated facility, with no research to speak of and a burnt out faculty, deficient in all ways possible!"

He looked disgusted. "It caters to population filled with uneducated, non-compliant and uninsured patients."

Kylo looked back, undeterred. "Yes, it is all those things. For now. But that's why they have asked me to join. To help them develop the programs to make them one of the best public hospitals in the country."

Snoke stood, trembling in his rage. "This is foolhardy and rash, Kylo Ren, even for you. You will be throwing away your entire career, everything that you have worked for!"

Kylo answered, with a calmness and certitude he didn't realize he had. "I have spent many years of my life trying to be the best, to be the most successful. I don't need Arkanis to continue to do groundbreaking research. I have enough money of my own to be comfortable regardless of where I practice. I am at the stage of my life where I want to provide quality care to those who really need it, and to help others access that level of care too."

Snoke realized he couldn't sway Kylo with his arguments and resorted to threats, barely able to get out his words, spittle coming out of his mouth with each bitter sound.

"I-will-destroy you! Have you forgotten about your past behaviors? Your aggressive outbursts? Your assault on Hux? Your inappropriate behavior with Dr. Kenobi as her supervisor?"

Kylo nearly laughed at Snoke's pathetic attempt to blackmail him. "If I remember, Dr. Snoke, you had appeared on a number of news shows with me, and with Rey by my side, waxing poetic about my character. For you to attack my relationship with her, or to bring up a gentleman's disagreement with Hux half a year after the fact would look petty and unprofessional, especially given the timing of my new appointment with the DOH."

Kylo allowed himself a feeling of self-satisfaction as he watched the anger play across Snoke's face. The thing that Snoke was so very good at, which had served him his purposes in the past-creating media connections and spreading his agenda through the outlets at his disposal-now tied his hands.

Snoke was furious as he felt history repeating itself. Just as he had lost Anakin thirty years ago, he was about to lose his hold on his grandson as well. A sadness and a strange feeling of loss mixed with his wrath.

"You ungrateful...after all of the things I've done for you? The years I have spent supporting you, when you were nothing but a lonely and friendless boy? Have all your years at Arkanis, all my efforts, meant nothing to you?"

He sneered, his eyes narrowed in hate. "You have no loyalty. You are nothing, just like the rest of your family!" He was practically screaming the words.

Kylo watched him, stone faced. "I am giving you my two month's notice, because I do care about Arkanis and many of the people here. And I am giving you my two month's notice despite all the horrible things that I've allowed you to do to me in the past."

Kylo stood, looking back once more at the defeated man before leaving.

"And your comment about my family? I'll take that as a compliment."

Maz watched Kylo fondly as he exited Snoke's office. If she heard the screaming in the minutes before, she made no mention of it.

There was a great fondness in her voice as she spoke her next words. "I wish you well, Kylo. I've known you for so many years. I am happy that you are moving on."

She smiled at him wisely. "You and Rey, hmm? I've always known that she was a very wonderful, special girl."

Kylo smiled back. He was going to miss Maz terribly. "That, she is, Maz. It just took me a little longer to realize it than you."

-o- -o- -o- -o- -o- -o-

Kylo tried to search his feelings upon hearing of Snoke's passing, looking for anger, sadness, pleasure, or a lack of forgiveness upon hearing the news. The man had been a large part of his life for over fifteen years, and for all his manipulative and vindictive ways, made Kylo the person he was today. As large of a role as Snoke had played in Kylo's earlier life, he had later become irrelevant. Kylo found that he didn't experience any of those expected emotions upon hearing of Snoke's passing. He had moved beyond those things. He accepted it as the way things were.

As it was, he and Rey were on a timetable, heading to a small rural airport to take them on the last leg of their journey. Kylo had volunteered to perform a tumor resection on a pediatric patient who lived in a remote village on a neighboring island.

Kylo gently squeezed Rey's hand, letting her know that they needed to leave. He paid for lunch, leaving a generous tip and they hopped back on the bike. He had one more stop to make before they reached the airport.

He had thought about this day, his heart bursting with eagerness as they drove through the valley and headed towards the coast. There was one small mountain range left on their route before the rivers started draining into the ocean basin, and Poe had informed him of a magical spot that Kylo wanted to share with Rey.

He parked the bike as they entered through a lush canopy of trees. She was overwhelmed by the melodic sounds of birds, their songs punctuated occasionally by the screeching of howler monkeys. Kylo held Rey's hand as they traversed a small manmade trail which led to a beautiful waterfall, its cool waters cascading down a wall of sheer granite. Despite the beauty, he knew they only had a mere fifteen minutes to spend in this paradise before they had to get back on the road again.

They sat by the edge of the slippery rocks, the rushing water from the falls disturbing the calmness of the pool of water underneath. Rey tentatively dipped her feet in. It was cold, but not overly so, the currents and eddies massaging the sore muscles in her legs. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to rest just a bit, when she heard Kylo move next to her, pulling out something from his backpack.

She opened her eyes. His face was close to hers, smiling, his eyes a warm amber in the light.

Kylo brought his hand up to her face. It was the same move he made during her first night on call at Arkanis five years ago, the night they shared his dinner. He rubbed his thumb gently over her cheeks, feeling the softness of her skin under the roughness of his hand as she leaned into his touch.

The sun was dappled, filtered through the leaves of the forest. Its rays highlighted the gold tones in her sun-kissed hair, the blush in her cheeks, the pink of her lips. Even with her hair escaping from the confines of her hastily tied bun, slightly dampened from the humidity, he had never seen her look more beautiful.

He lowered himself to the ground, prostrating himself in front of her, her breath catching as he held out a small box.

She felt herself shaking as his steady hands opened the lid. A beautiful ring sat in the center, a single emerald cut canary diamond surrounded by a setting of white diamonds, the color of the sun and the stars.

Kylo's eyes never wavered from her face.

"Rey. Five years ago, I thought that being a successful surgeon and the future head of Arkanis would have been everything I needed to feel fulfilled. Then I met you, and my life was turned upside down.

"It was five years ago that you showed me that there was so much more to life. You showed me that fear is not a way of living. You taught me how to love, not only myself, but how to give that love to another.

"You give me joy. You make me a better person. And as amazing as the last five years have been, I can't wait to see what the next fifty will bring. And there is no one that I'd rather spend those years with than you."

He took a deep breath, his heart full, fighting the emotions which caused his voice to waver slightly.

"Rey, you are my everything. Will you marry me?"

"Yes." Rey lowered herself down, throwing her arms around him, punctuating her response with kisses. "Yes, yes, yes!"

He pulled away slightly in order to bring her left arm in front of her, slipping the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly, the beams of light glinting off the diamonds matching the one within her.

"It's beautiful, Kylo," she breathed.

He kissed her hungrily, his lips pressing on hers, insistent. She tilted her head slightly and parted her lips as his tongue pressed forward. She sighed as he tasted her, deepening their kiss, his hand reaching behind the nape of her neck to pull her closer to him. She responded by loosening his hair from the strap tying it back, letting his waves fall over his face.

A feeling of possessiveness mixed with happiness at the knowledge that she had accepted his proposal. Mine, he thought, forever and ever. Us. Desire flared in him, and he slipped his hand under the strap of her sundress, lowering it slowly and exposing her tanned breast. He rubbed her nipple between his forefingers, feeling it pebble and peak as she gasped into his mouth, and he brought his lips down and suckled it, surrounding it with his warmth, the humidity of the air mixing with the cold spray misting from the waterfall and the wetness of his mouth. He wished for more time, as he would have made love to her right then and there. Instead, he made it a promise of things to come.

He pulled away reluctantly and held her to him as they gazed at the tableau in front of them, a mini Eden. Neither wanted to break the spell, so they waited a brief minute, reveling in their happiness and fighting the hands of time before standing and walking back to the roadway.

They drove along the coast, the bike now humming as the road became smoother. They felt and tasted the saltwater breeze of the ocean as the forest faded into the background, the sky changing from a bright blue to a pinkish orange with the setting sun. They soon came to a clearing, a small rural airport with a short and narrowed landing strip visible in the distance.

As the approached, the saw the Cessna Citation X jet sitting on the runway, "Médecins Sans Frontières" painted in red on its side. There were two figures waiting for them on the tarmac. The woman was older but still beautiful, her hair pulled into a chignon, her face full of hope and a mother's pride. The male had a well-worn leather jacket, still dashing with rakish good looks despite the graying of his hair, a roguish grin on his face. The woman's eyes lifted, her lips trembling slightly as she saw the couple pull up, her hand lifted to her heart while holding tight to her husband's hand.

Kylo and Rey dismounted from the bike. Rey gave him an encouraging smile as they clasped hands, walking together towards the plane, towards his parents.

Kylo, she thought. It didn't matter the name. He had finally reconciled his past, Ben and Kylo finally becoming one.

Kylo was finally at peace. With Rey at his side, he was finally whole.

He was finally home.