A/N: Hi all! Sorry about the long wait since the last update. I am graduating from college in a few months and this semester has been crazy, but I'm hoping to be more regular. Don't forget to rate and review!

May the force be with you!

~Rae

Chapter 2: The Council

Within the temple, the raucous din of the recreation yard faded. In the inner sanctum, the halls were quiet, kept cool by the earthen adobe walls. Finn and Kaydel had met up with Rose near the entryway. After they made their greetings, they walked together down the long corridor that led to the council room.

The council room was small and open, with a skylight window that let in the dusky twilight. Finn, Kaydel, and Rose chatted and joked as they approached the door, but stopped at the sound of the voices within.

"I just think it's better for them not to be involved," a man's voice asserted.

"We can't hide here forever," a woman responded gently. "The galaxy needs to see what we've done here, to see the Balance...the reconstruction needs us. Your mother would have wanted-"

"Don't-" the man began, cutting himself off. "Don't talk about my mother."

"Okay then," the woman responded huffily. "I want to be involved. I want to help. There is so much we could do to help-"

"You think I don't care about the Reconstruction?" the man said, anger entering his voice. "I do! That's why - that's why we aren't involved. It's better that we stay here."

Finn, Rose, and Kaydel glanced at each other uncomfortably, not wanting to interrupt. The message they had to share was important, but their friends had often had this argument before, and interrupting might make it worse.

"It's better for everyone that we stay here," the man said definitively, in an attempt to end the conversation.

A moment of silence passed. Finn thought about opening the door, but they started talking again.

"You're afraid," the woman said. "You're afraid that they won't trust you, that they'll look at you and only see the past."

"Don't read my- get out of my head!"

"I'm not reading your thoughts," she said, laughing. "I just know you."

"I know." His voice softened, and he laughed too.

Finn took the opportunity to knock on the door before entering the room. Pushing the door open, the three former rebels entered the council room. Ben and Rey Skywalker were sitting together on a chaise. When Rey saw Finn, she jumped up and hugged him tightly.

"Finn!" she said warmly. "Welcome back!"

"Thanks," Finn replied.

"How was your trip?"

"Great, actually," Finn replied excitedly. "I have four new students for the Academy."

"That's good," Ben said. "The more, the better."

"Kaydel, do you have any news from the Interplanetary Union?" Rey asked.

"Yes, actually," Kaydel said. "I received a transmission from the Union's diplomatic consulate. They are planning on sending several delegates here to Yavin IV from the aligned systems, including General Dameron."

"Poe is coming?" Finn and Rey said in unison, looking excited.

"Who authorized this visit?" Ben asked, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"It's time, Ben," Rey said. "I told Kaydel to reach out to them. I figured if some of them came here, to see the Academy, they would get to see what we have been doing-"

"I didn't agree to this," Ben said.

"I know. That's why I didn't ask you," Rey said. "It's been ten years. If not now, then when?"

Ben fell silent, and Rey took his silence for agreement.

"It's been so long," Rey said. "I haven't seen Poe since-"

"Since before Exegol," Ben said.

No one except for Ben and Rey themselves knew exactly what had happened on Exegol. Finn knew that it had something to do with their bond in the Force, but at the time, it wasn't his place to ask. Finn and Rey had always been close, but there were some things that she kept to herself. After the Resistance had secured their victory, Ben and Rey had both disappeared. It was almost a year before they returned. The Resistance had begun the long process of rebuilding democracy in the galaxy. When they finally returned, both of them were changed. Some, like Finn and the others who had come with them to Yavin IV, we're able to accept when Rey told them that Ben had overcome his past. Others, like General Poe Dameron, didn't believe that it was possible, that Kylo Ren was dead.

"He said he'd never come," Rose said.

"Something must have changed his mind," Finn replied.

Kaydel and Rey continued discussing the details of the transmission, but the rest of them sat wondering at the news. The room was cast in a soft orange glow from the sunset coming through the skylight.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

"Get back here! Good heavens! You are not permitted to enter the council room," C-3P0's voice called from the hallway to no avail. Two kids bounded into the room, running towards Finn. Not missing a beat, Finn caught them both up into a hug.

"Uncle Finn, you're home!" the little boy said.

"We missed you," the little girl added.

"Pax. Hope," Rey said sternly. "What have I told you about coming in here during council meetings?"

"I warned them, Lady Rey. I repeated your expectations clearly, but they ignored me," C-3P0 complained, miffed.

The twins ignored their mother's gaze, clinging to Finn. The little girl looked over at her father.

"Daddy, we wanted to see Uncle Finn," Hope said, pouting. The girl's black hair had at one point been styled into two buns on either side of her head but through a day's worth of play, most of her curls had broken free. She squirmed down from Finn's arms and bounded over to Ben's side. "We just wanted to say hi, because we missed him."

Ben took Hope's little hand in his own.

"We are all glad Uncle Finn is home," Ben said, smiling at Finn. Looking down at Hope, he continued, "But you need to apologize to your mother."

"Sorry, Mommy," Hope said petulantly.

"Both of you," Ben said, eyeing Pax.

"Sorry, Mommy," Pax echoed.

Rey's expression softened, and she smiled at them. "Come along, it's dinnertime. You two can sit next to Uncle Finn during dinner. I'm sure he has lots to tell you about his trip."

With that, Hope giggled and Pax shouted, "Float me!" to which Finn laughed and said, "If you insist…"

Using the Force to hover the twins a few feet off the ground, he grinned and immediately flipped them upside down.

"Hey!" Pax shouted, squirming, his brown hair blocking his view.. "Let us go!"

The adults laughed as Finn lowered the twins to the ground.

"Come on, then," he said. "There's some new students that I'd like you to meet."

The group left the room and started walking towards the dining hall. As the twins dragged Finn along and Rose and Kaydel discussed the upcoming delegations, Rey and Ben hung back.

"I bet it was her idea to break the rule," Rey said. "She just does what she wants without thinking about the consequences."

"She gets it from her mother," Ben quipped, taking his wife's hand.

"I had to give the delegation a chance to see what we've been doing. They won't be here for long, but they have a right to know," Rey explained. "I'm sorry I went behind your back. But I did what I had to."

"I know," Ben said. He reached back and closed the door on the council room door. The matter was closed, for the time being. Rey leaned into him as they walked, watching their children pull Finn toward the dining hall. Suddenly, she stopped walking and pulled Ben into a quick kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For all of this," she said, motioning to their friends, and their children. "For us. For them. For…"

"For family," he replied.

"For family," she repeated, and kissed him again. They had everything they needed.