Author's Note: Not even going to try to predict chapter numbers this time, especially because I'm not entirely sure where this one is going! Follow on to Connections and UnwantedSilence – this will make more sense if you read those first.

Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

"General, what do you think?" Poe leans over the map table they have set up in command, looking at Leia. He just explained to her the proposal he and Rey came up with, the idea of going to Yavin 4 to see if they can salvage anything useful.

They actually thought of it several weeks ago, but they waited to bring it up until their numbers here expanded. Recent recruiting efforts and pleas for help have swelled their numbers, and they've also been able to collect a few more fighters in addition to the TIE fighter he and Rey stole.

Leia lifts an eyebrow at him. "It's not a bad idea, but why do you need to be the one to go, Commander? You know we need you here, especially for training the new pilots."

Rey stands back, listening to the exchange. Much to Poe's consternation, the general officially named him her second in command (just as Rey had predicted she would) two weeks ago. Even with that, she has allowed him to retain leadership of the pilots, and she doesn't require him to stay at command. Rey has an idea of what Leia is doing. Poe wanted to sell this on merit, but Rey encouraged him to be honest with Leia – he wants to go see his father, to check on him and to have Rey meet him. Leia wants him to be straight with her. Rey can feel it.

She bumps Poe with her mind, thinking, "Flyboy, she sees right through you. Tell her the truth."

Poe sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Leia, I want – no, I kind of need to go see Dad. I haven't seen him in nearly three years. This is a chance to see what we can find at the old base, but also to let Rey go check out the Force tree and…meet Dad. Which is really important to me, him meeting her, I mean."

Leia is silent for a moment, observing him. Then she smiles and shakes her head. "Now see, Commander? That wasn't so hard. You have a go. Take Chewie, Rose, and Finn with you, but you take your new X-Wing, too, just in case you run into trouble."

Rey chuckles behind him, and he turns and shoots her a grumpy look. "Don't say it, Beautiful."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Flyboy." She smirks. "Actually, yes, I would. I told you so."

He rolls his eyes and turns back to Leia, who mirrors Rey's smirk. "And tell Kes I said hello."

"Yes ma'am." He salutes, respectfully for once. "Thank you, Leia."

She shoos him away with her hand, but he can feel affection from her, something that still surprises him. Just to see if he can do it, he pushes a wave of affection back towards her. She must get it, because she smiles and shakes her head. "Go, Poe. Be careful."

The next morning, while the others are loading up the Falcon, getting ready to make the trip to Yavin, he's doing a final check on his new X-Wing, freshly painted black and now configured to his liking. He and Rey spent hours here in the hangar trying to get the ship up to his standards, which are admittedly somewhat high, especially knowing he'll be flying on a four-day round trip through hyperspace.

The trip to Yavin will take a while, as they have to get from one edge of the Outer Rim, where they are now, to the opposite end. They've calculated that it will be a couple of days to get there. They plan to be gone a week, ten days at the most, but just in case something happens and the Resistance has to move again, Poe has a cloaked binary beacon similar to the one Rey and Leia used last time; Leia has its partner. They'll be able to find their way back to the Resistance, no matter what.

Poe decided not to call ahead to his dad – he doesn't want him to worry if they're delayed. And his dad would definitely worry about that. That's just his dad. Poe smiles. He can't wait to see him; it has been far too long, and he misses the hell out of him. He also is anxious for his dad to meet Rey. He knows that the minute he sees his mom's ring on Rey (even if on her right hand), his dad will know what it means.

While he and Rey have only been together for a few months now, he can no longer picture his life without her. It scares him, but it is a reality he has no desire to change. Satisfied that he has everything in the cockpit of his X-Wing, he climbs down the ladder. He feels Rey approaching, so he doesn't jump when she wraps her arms around him from behind. She presses herself to his back, a little awkward through his flight suit, and murmurs, "I have no desire to change it either, you know?"

He looks over his shoulder at her. "I do know."

She shoots him a playful grin and releases him to poke him in the side. "Except that you're too old for me." He laughs and shakes his head at what has now become a running joke between them.

Even with the laughter, he picks up on some tension from Rey. "What's wrong, Beautiful?"

"It's going to be a long couple of days for you. We can spell you, you know? I can fly your X-Wing, and so can Finn." He's been training them both, Finn more than Rey, who picked it up in minutes, on how to fly the small crafts.

He nods. "If we can find a safe place to put down briefly, we'll see. But it's not my first multi-day trip in an X-Wing, Rey. I'll be fine." Her tension doesn't really dissipate, and he pushes, "But that's not what's wrong."

She chews her bottom lip and wraps her arms around her torso protectively. "What if your dad doesn't like me? All kidding aside, what if he thinks I'm too young for you? Or what if he thinks you being with someone so clearly targeted by Kylo Ren is too dangerous?"

He hugs her to him. "Rey, on that last part, while his approval matters to me, I'm a grown man, and I'm the one who gets to decide what's too dangerous and what's not." He pulls back a little, catching her eyes with his. "And on that first part, he won't just like you, he'll love you, if only because you make me happy." He smirks then, "And honestly, he'll probably just say something like, 'hope you can keep up with her' on the age thing, if he even comments at all, you know?"

She snorts and nods, still chewing her lip but relaxing in his arms. She leans up and presses a kiss to his lips. When they separate, he presses his forehead to hers and she mumbles, "I'm going to miss you. Miss this."

"Me too, Beautiful, but we can practice connecting while in hyperspace." He pulls back and kisses her forehead before stepping back from her. She raises an eyebrow at him, and he laughs. "You know what I mean, Rey."

"And did you bring some small things to move around, things to practice with?" She shakes off the last of her anxiety to just focus on him. As promised, in addition to working with him on blocking mental invasions off, she's also trying to teach him to channel the Force, to use it to move things, direct power.

"I did." He grins. He values their work on their connection and his ability to block people out more highly, but the moving things around with his head is more fun. He hasn't had much success yet, but he did manage to knock a glass off a table in a moment of frustration about it not working. She'd laughed at that, noting that the ability at least is there, he just needs to learn to tap into it. It's not like with her or even Leia, a natural inclination, but it's there.

She picks up on the sentiment about it being more fun, rolling her eyes. "Good. The meditation you need to do to help you focus will probably be good for you in the X-Wing anyway."

He cups her cheek in his palm. "I really am going to be fine, Rey. I promise."

"I know. I just feel bad that you'll be on your own."

BB-8 rolls up, beeping out an objection. She crouches down and pats the little droid on the head. "Apologies, little one. You're right. He'll have you."

Poe chuckles as the droid rolls towards the X-Wing to get loaded in. "Must be careful not to offend the one who keeps me safely in hyperspace when I try to sleep."

"Point taken," Rey replies with a fond smile. The affection they both have for the little astromech is slightly embarrassing.

Chewie calls to them from the ramp of the Falcon, telling them that it's time to go. Rey waves an acknowledgement, then turns and hugs Poe again. He squeezes her tight and releases her. "See you on the other side, Beautiful. And don't worry about Dad. He will love you as much as I do."

She reaches out to squeeze his hand, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Safe flying."

"You too."

She turns and heads for the Falcon, and he watches her go. As the Falcon's ramp closes, he turns and climbs up into his X-Wing, which BB-8 already has started up. "Ready to go, Buddy?"

BB-8 beeps out an affirmative, and Poe closes the hatch and smoothly pulls his X-Wing into the air. In moments, he's zipping up out of the atmosphere, the Falcon close behind him. He and Rey aren't certain that they'll be able to mentally connect through hyperspace, but since they're taking exactly the same route and speed, she thinks they might. He doesn't like the idea that they might not, so he believes her.

He can easily admit to himself that it's going to be a long two days if they can't. BB-8's presence notwithstanding, he's gotten used to having her in his head. Even in their separate ships, he can still feel and hear her. Just because he knows he still can connect, he thinks, "Love you, Beautiful."

Seconds later, he hears, "Love you too, Flyboy," in his head.

He grins, tapping on his comm as he clears the atmosphere. He shakes his head and turns serious. "Falcon, Base, this is Black Leader. Preparing to jump." Out of habit, he slips into his regular parlance while he gets his small ship ready. It's part of how he gets into the right mindset for the long flight ahead.

As command gives them clearance and a good-bye, in the cockpit of the Falcon, Chewie, Rose, and Finn all give Rey funny looks. She shakes her head at them and says, "Copy, Black Leader. We're ready when you are." She watches as his small ship jumps, and she follows. When they're moving, she turns off the comm and explains, "It's habit. He needed to get in the right headspace. He's going to be on his own for two days, and he needs to treat it like a mission."

They all fall silent, and Rose finally says, "I never thought of that." She looks at Rey. "Will he be all right on his own? Can he hear you at all through hyperspace?"

Rey gives her friend a weak smile. "He'll be fine, but we hope so. I'm going to go to my bunk and try." She looks at Chewie. "Chewie, can you take her?" Chewie calls out agreement and motions to Rey to go. With a grateful look, she leaves.

Sitting in his X-Wing, Poe is already bored. He told Rey he can handle it, and that's the truth. That doesn't mean it's fun, though. The hardest part of these long rides through hyperspace is keeping his overly-active mind occupied. Here, there is little to respond to or even pay attention to, and it can get downright mind-numbing, a sensation he doesn't like.

There are a few odds and ends sitting around in the cockpit, and he looks at them. He's not ready right now to settle in and meditate, to try to get in the right frame of mind for working with the Force. He wants to try, but right now, he just wants to see if he can hear Rey. He's almost sure she's there at the edge of his mind, but it's not as easy or natural as usual.

He closes his eyes, wondering if Rey is trying to reach out yet. It's easy for him to open his mind to her now, so instead of trying to connect, he just relaxes and focuses on her and on removing any mental barriers. He's a little worried that the tickle at the edge of his consciousness is her trying as opposed to just her usual presence. That worry disappears a moment later. "Poe, are you there?" The voice, her voice, sounds in his head as opposed to over the comm.

He exhales in relief, thinking back, "Here, Beautiful. Can you hear me?"

The soft feeling amps up to the usual buzz, and he grins as she thinks back, "I can! I didn't really think this would work through hyperspace!"

His relief at being able to feel and hear her is palpable, and she feels it clearly. Her worry returns, and he feels that. "Beautiful," he thinks, "I'm fine. It was just going to be a long, boring two days without anyone to talk to easily."

After that, they spend the next few hours going back and forth. Most of their "conversation" is him telling her stories about growing up on Yavin 4, both from before and after his mom died. She tells him about some of her life on Jakku, about her AT-AT house, her Rebellion pilot helmet, and how she built her staff herself. She also gives him detail on her first meeting with Finn, and he is outraged at the notion of her calling the Falcon "garbage." Some of the exchange is words, but other parts are sharing actual visual memories.

Eventually, Finn comes to knock on her door, asking if she wants any food. Reluctantly, she says yes, as she's definitely hungry. Poe thinks, "It's all right, Beautiful. I'm really fine. Knowing we can connect makes it a lot easier. Go spend some time with the others. I'll sit here and try to move stuff around or something."

She laughs at that and thinks, "Just don't accidentally eject BB-8 or anything."

He chuckles and thinks back, "Noted. Will do my best."

"I'll check on you later, Flyboy." He feels a wave of wistfulness from her with her last thought. He then feels her presence slip back to a buzz, but this time it's not as faint as before. Maybe she's doing it on purpose, maybe not, but he appreciates it either way.

They go back and forth like that again a few hours later, and he works on meditating in between. Before he can move things around or channel the Force in any way, he knows he needs to learn to settle his mind without assistance, in particular without Rey holding his hand. He loves her and needs her close, but the truth is that this short span apart is probably good for them. They've learned to manage their bond when they're together, but they need to manage being apart, too.

It's essentially what would be night at this point, so he closes his eyes, intending to try to sleep. He lets BB-8 know, and BB-8 beeps out an acknowledgement. As he settles in, he bumps out a thought to Rey. "Going to try to grab some sleep, Beautiful."

Rey is settled into the pilot's seat on the Falcon. She's alone save for a porg snuggled into her lap, as she just convinced Chewie, Rose, and Finn to all take a break. Chewie promised to be back in a few hours. She thinks back, "All right, Flyboy. It's just me and the porgs over here. Got the others to go get some sleep."

"You need to sleep too, Rey." She can feel a wave of concern along with his thought.

"I know, and I promise I will. I've just taken more time to myself today, talking to you. I thought it was their turn to step away. Chewie will spell me in a few hours." She thinks it with a wave of appreciation back to him.

He sends back a goodnight and unhooks his seat harness to actually change position and curl up a little in his seat. The other hard part of these long trips is simply the inability to move around a lot. Biological stuff can be handled, but just moving, activity, it's nothing. He closes his eyes, the buzz of Rey in his head lulling him to sleep.

The next day brings more of the same, with him spending time trying to bump the objects on the dash in his X-Wing around. He does so with some success, but his mind is so bored with the monotony that he has challenges with his focus. That notwithstanding, he's gratified and honestly surprised when he is able to make some things move around, even if only slightly. Rey cheers him on mentally, and that makes him grin at the small achievements.

About forty hours into the approximately forty-seven-hour trip, however, cabin fever sets in for him, making him manage to mentally get short with Rey when she badgers him about sleeping more. He slept for several hours the first night, but he's been restless ever since. He has to apologize mentally and then tell her that this is normal for him for this kind of trip. He's not used to having someone hover, and he's trying to manage it as gracefully as he can.

They tried to find a place to take a break, but the scans they ran the few times they dropped out of hyperspace made them unwilling to set down anywhere. It's disheartening to see the First Order shadow growing over so much of the Outer Rim.

On the Falcon, Rey is sitting on her bunk, thinking about Poe. She puts up a thin barrier in her mind, still letting him feel her but not letting him hear her actual thoughts. She knows he does the same with her sometimes, though his tends to be a more natural move than it is for her. She ponders that – maybe her ease with the Force makes her more inclined to openness with him, whereas his more limited connection to the Force combined with his experience with Kylo Ren makes him default to a position of self-defense.

She feels bad for pestering him about sleep earlier; she sometimes forgets that he has fairly long tenure as a pilot in both the Republic fleet and now with the Resistance. Her innate desire to protect him can make her not think about things as well as she should. She knows he isn't upset with her, just as she isn't upset with him, but she also knows that she needs to get better at letting him manage himself – he did mostly fine at that for years before meeting her, and she needs to allow him the space he needs sometimes.

Trust is hard for her. She knows that. And yet, despite her years of solitude, she has absolute trust in Chewie, Rose, Finn, Leia, and Poe most of all. She would trust him with anything – and she chides herself, because she knows that the one place she hasn't shown that trust is in how he takes care of himself. All she wants is for him to be safe, and she does have to spend a fair amount of energy on managing her constant desire to push him out of harm's way.

She curls up in her bed, trying to sleep. When it doesn't come, she takes down her mental wall and reaches out to him. "Poe? You there?"

It takes a moment, then she feels a wave of tension from him. "I'm here, Beautiful." Despite the tension she feels, she can tell it's about being ready to be out of his X-Wing, not about her.

Even so, she thinks, "I'm sorry about earlier. I don't ever want you to feel like I'm smothering you."

She gets silence for a moment, but then he thinks, "Beautiful, please tell me you haven't been sitting there worrying about that. Is that why you were gone for a while?" She blushes, and he can feel her embarrassment. When she doesn't answer, he thinks, "It's fine, Rey. You weren't out of line. You just give a damn about me. I'm just on edge because I'm ready to get out of this ship – something you won't hear me say often. I should have warned you that I get like this on this kind of trip."

She doesn't respond, but he feels her embarrassment wane again. After a moment, she thinks, "I should have known. I know you and your head. I should have known how restless you'd get." She pauses in her thoughts before he hears a faint, "I'm not good at this yet," in his head.

He doesn't have to ask her to explain – he knows she means relationships like theirs. He thinks back, "Beautiful, I'm not either. Regardless of people looking to me and caring about me, this is different. We are different. We're going to stumble now and then, and that's all right. I'm only going to worry if we don't talk about it when we do."

He can feel her relaxing, and it helps him do the same. He knows he won't sleep much more, but he'll be glad if she does. Faintly again, he hears, "Can you tell me more about growing up on Yavin 4?"

He smiles and thinks, "Bedtime stories, then?" She doesn't respond, just sends a warm wave his way, so he starts pushing some quiet memories her way. He keeps going until he's sure she's asleep, and he dozes himself. It's quiet for the next few hours, but a good kind of quiet – peaceful quiet.

Not long after she wakes up again, BB-8 gives him the truly happy news that they're getting close to Yavin. After about fifteen minutes, he drops out of hyperspace, the Falcon doing so moments later. He starts bouncing his legs as much as he can so that he gets some circulation going in them again after the long ride.

When he clears the planet itself, he sees the fourth moon, his home, and he's almost overwhelmed by the feeling it brings. Rey clearly feels his emotion, and he can feel her surprise at it. They're now up on comms, and he just says, "It's been a long time, you know?" very softly. He clears his throat, going on, "Any signs of ships or First Order activity?" According to his last conversation with his dad, the First Order has largely ignored the small settlement on Yavin 4, but they want to scan anyway.

"Nothing at all, Poe," Rose pipes up.

"Great." He smiles. He can't wait to see the look on his dad's face when they land. "Chewie, do you remember where you used to park when you were here after the war? I think that area is still probably clear. I'll get a look at it when I set down by Dad's house, so I can let you know if you need to go somewhere else."

Chewie responds affirmatively, and Rey asks, "How far is it from your father's house?"

He begins to descend into the atmosphere of the moon, grinning at the familiarity of it. "A short walk, three minutes if you're going slow." He gets close to the part of the moon where his dad lives, and he sees the clearing he referenced. "It's still clear, Chewie."

He laughs a moment later when Finn asks, "Is it as hot and humid as it looks from here?"

"Humid, absolutely. It's a jungle, Finn. But no, it's the cool season, so it shouldn't be too hot." He sees his dad's house, and his heart jumps to his throat.

Rey must sense him getting choked up, so she thinks, "Go home, Flyboy. We'll see you in a few minutes."

He swallows hard against the lump in his throat and replies, "Setting down, Falcon. See you all soon."

With that, he gently lands his X-Wing about thirty or forty meters from his dad's small house, the house he grew up in. As he does, he sees his dad come out, looking up at first in surprise, and then with a huge smile blooming on his face. "BB-8, can you shut her down?"

The little droid beeps out happily, starting the shutdown sequence before Poe can finish his question. He opens his hatch and sees his dad hurrying over. Poe drops his ladder and, shaking his legs slightly to try to ward off the likely inevitable pins and needles that are coming, he climbs down. He drops his helmet on the ground, closing the last few meters separating him from his dad quickly, and seconds later, he's wrapped up in a hug.

He's not sure his dad has ever held him as tight as he is right now, and he finds himself tearing up. He whispers, "I've really missed you, Dad."

His father loosens his grip, stepping back a half-step. Poe gets a good look at him, and he's happy to see that he looks nearly the same. More salt in his hair than last time, but it's still almost as black as Poe's own hair, but stick straight as always. Poe's curls and waves came from his mom. He's slight, but he always was. His dark eyes have a sheen of tears just like Poe's do, and Poe knows that the half-hearted punch that lands on his upper arm a moment later is his dad's attempt to be strong. "Why the kriff didn't you tell me you were coming, and why are you alone? Is that safe?"

BB-8 drops out of the X-Wing, rolling up and beeping at Kes, who rolls his eyes. "Yes, BB-8, I know he has you. I meant why is he here without back-up?"

Poe steps back, picking up his helmet from where he dropped it. "Dad, I'm not…"

"What the hell? Is that Chewbacca?" Kes's eyes widen as he interrupts.

Poe turns, and he sees Chewie, Finn, Rose, and Rey emerge from the jungle at the edge of his dad's land. "Yes, Dad. I came with perfectly adequate back-up."

When the small group gets to the X-Wing, Chewie surprises Kes with a hug, calling out that he's happy to see him. Kes surprises Poe by responding, "It's good to see you too, Chewie."

Poe gapes at his dad. "You understand him?"

Kes rolls his eyes again. "Enough to get by. Why? Don't you?"

He raises an eyebrow at Poe, and Rey laughs out loud. She can't help herself, blurting out, "Leia said you look like your mom, but just now? You look like your father! You do that same eyebrow thing all the time."

Looking back at his son, Kes grins. Poe just shakes his head and points to Rose and Finn, introducing them. Finally, Poe beckons Rey over to him, and he can feel her start to get nervous again. Nonetheless, she comes over to him, holding out her right hand to shake Kes's hand. "I'm Rey."

Understanding crosses Kes's face, and he takes her hand. He's startled to feel a ring there with a design he distinctly remembers. Still holding Rey's hand, he turns it over using his own hand, and he sucks in a breath at the sight of Shara's ring. Poe blinks, realizing that his dad figured things out faster than Poe expected him to. "Dad…"

Kes shakes his head, waving his free hand at Poe. "Hush, Poe. I want to talk to this young woman here. Miss Rey, let me show you around the place. If my son gave you that ring you have on, I need to get to know you, and I also need to find out how he managed to convince a woman as young and gorgeous as you that he's worth your time." He grins rakishly, and pulls Rey by the hand towards the house.

She shoots Poe a panicked look, but he just thinks at her, "Go with it, Beautiful. I probably told you that he's almost as protective as you are, but I didn't tell you that he can be as pushy as Leia."

Out loud, she admonishes him, "Some warning would have been nice, you know?"

"Behave, Dad!" Poe yells after his father, making Finn, Rose, and Chewie laugh. Despite himself, Poe grins, trailing behind Rey and his father. It's good to be home.