The next day, they all decided to go iceskating again. This time Hux joined them along with his lady friend, Phasma, a knight who was stationed at their castle.

Ben sat in the snow watching them skate happily together. He had always been jealous over them. Hux seemed to have everything so wonderful, he had a girlfriend, his father had come to visit him for Christmas. But Ben was left alone.

He turned to look at Rey as he heard her giggling. She and Temiri were skating together, spinning around on the ice and attempting to keep their balance. He smiled affectionately as he watched them, and for the first time he found himself wishing that they really were his wife and his son. He had never wanted to get married or have children...until now.

Rey turned to see him smiling at her. She smiled shyly in return.

Rey and Temiri both giggled as they started to wobble. Temiri laughed, but soon his laughter was replaced by a coughing fit.

Ben stood and quickly skated over to him.

Rey knelt down in front of him. "Are you okay, Temiri?"

Ben touched his forehead. "He's burning up. He needs a doctor."

Rey nodded.

Ben quickly pulled his skates off, then lifted the boy into his arms.

"Uncle Luke, we have to get back. Temiri isn't feeling well," Ben told him.

"Yes, of course," Luke replied.

Hux looked over at them, concerned.

"Let's get you out of the cold," Ben told Temiri. Then he carried him into the castle.

Ben took Temiri to his room and gently laid him in his bed.

"Finn, send for the doctor as quickly as you can," he told him.

Finn nodded, then ran off to get the doctor.

Rey sat on the bed beside Temiri, gently tucking him in. She passed him the teddy bear that their parents had given him. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

Ben came in and sat beside her. "How is he?"

"Not well," she whispered.

"Is this what you needed the money for?" he asked, gently.

She nodded. "He's been sick since the first snowfall. I was going to use the rest to buy us a place to live. But Temiri's health comes first."

Ben reached over and timidly caressed her cheek. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"You don't have to, he's my responsibility," she said.

"I'm claiming to be his father, that makes him my responsibility until you leave."

Rey looked at him a bit surprised. "Thank you."

"I'm happy to help, he's a good kid. I'm sorry again for what I said, you've done a wonderful job of raising him."

"I wish I could spend more time with him."

Ben nodded. "You will. I'll make sure that things are better for both of you after all of this."

"Thank you," she whispered.

~*~

Rey came out of Temiri's room to find Ben sitting with his uncle and Hux in the sitting room.

"What did the doctor say...sweetheart?" he asked.

"He said that Temiri needs to get some rest, and not go outside for a few days. He gave me some medicine to give Temiri twice a day."

Ben came over to her, and wrapped his arms around her. "Is he going to be okay?"

Rey nodded.

Ben heaved a sigh of relief. "I've been praying for him."

Rey smiled up at him. "Me too." She looked down at the way he was holding her. Was he just doing that for show in front of his uncle? She couldn't allow herself to get too close to him, she didn't want to have a broken heart when they went their separate ways.

"I'm glad he's okay," Luke said. "I'm sorry for suggesting that we go iceskating."

"No, no, he's been playing in the snow every day. He's probably been sick for a while," Rey answered, knowing that it was probably more from sleeping on the cold ground and being malnourished than going iceskating.

Luke nodded. "I hope he gets well in time for Christmas."

Rey nodded. "The doctor said that he'll be well enough to go outside again in three days, if he gets plenty of rest, stays warm and takes his medicine."

"Then we'll make sure that he does," Ben said, hugging Rey again.

She looked at him and nodded, but felt a little uncomfortable by how much he was holding her suddenly. But she had agreed to pretend to be his wife, his uncle would probably get suspicious if they never hugged. And if she was honest, she really needed a hug right now.

She returned the hug and leaned on his shoulder. It was nice to be hugged by someone taller than her, it made her feel secure like when she was little and her parents hugged her. At the time she'd thought that they would never leave her, but now she knew better than to trust anyone else.