Chapter 24

Leia and Han lay facing each other on the small bunk in the quarters Leia had been assigned on the Freedom after the destruction of Home One. Despite their happiness at theimmediately impending nuptials, it had been a difficult afternoon for them both, starting with Leia's first look at the Falcon as they boarded a shuttle back to the fleet.

She felt her legs give way when she saw the ship. It truly had been a miracle that Han and Chewie made it back. Laser and ion burns scarred the aft half of the ship; heat panels were missing everywhere, and the whole ship somehow looked at if its durasteel frame had buckled.

"Oh Gods…"she whispered. "We'll get it fixed. The Alliance will repair it – it was damaged in our fight. I promise you, Han, even if we have to replace every piece of durasteel, you will fly the Falcon again."

She'd expected Han to look as sick as she felt about the destruction of his ship, but that wasn't what she saw when she looked in his eyes. She saw acceptance.

He shrugged. "If she can be repaired, that'd be great. If not…she brought me back to you. If that's the last thing she ever does, I'm okay with that."

After they arrived at her quarters, Leia had insisted on checking the injury she knew Han was trying to hide. The flashburn was bad, very bad, despite Chewie's ministrations. She'd nearly insisted Han go to the medunit and get himself put into a bacta tank. He looked up at her a little shame-facedly.

"Leia, after the carbonite, there's no way I'm going to be able to let them lower me conscious into a bacta tank without me goin' half crazy from fear and flashbacks," he mumbled quietly.

He'd never told her truly how much that experience still impacted him. She knew he'd joined her in having horrible nightmares, but this was new information, so she silently kissed his forehead, found that she still had one large bactapad remaining in her ops bag, and wrapped it around his chest. Only then did she extricate from him a promise that if the wound wasn't substantially better by morning, they'd go to the medunit and she'd demand they use a bactatub instead of a bacta tank, no matter how much the medics balked at the increased expense.

Then they lay down with their arms around each other, and they told each other about what had happened in the battle. Leia wept bitterly as she related having to leave the little boy on the war-ravaged street, about Jax Cantos dying in her arms, and, worst of all, about Essag's attempts to use Han's presumed death and promises of his resurrection to turn her to the Dark Side, and how he'd almost succeeded.

"You know you were right, though, Leia, don't you?" Han said. "Even if I were dead, and even if he could do what he said, you were right."

"Part of me just worried that I was throwing away your chance to live to prove myself good."

"No." Han had said, his voice turning harsh. "That's exactly what that bastard wanted you to feel. Leia, It wouldn't be easy, but I could figure out a way to live with it, eventually, if you died to save me. I could have figured out a way to keep living someday if I'd come back here and found that you died in the battle. What I'd never, ever be able to live with is if you lost what makes you the woman you are so I could live on. Never, Leia. It would have killed me a second time for sure."

She nodded, still miserable at the dark memories that were flooding back into her conscious mind after so many years of repression.

"Let it out, Leia," he whispered at she wept in his arms. "Let it all out. You've had to be far too strong for far too long."

She cried for longer than she thought possible as Han's arms encircled her, providing her a safe place to give herself over to the pain. Finally, she felt as if she were cried out.

"I'm afraid you're marrying a woman who's broken, Han."

"We've fought in a war. We're all a little bit broken. And the worst of that war fell on you."

"When I thought I'd lost you," she said, "it was like all the wounds that I'd stitched up so quickly tore wide open. I'm not sure how to close them again."

"You never gave them time to heal."

"There never WAS time," she said, dully.

"I'm not criticizing. The war ain't over, but we're not going to have to be on the front lines of every battle any more. There's gonna be a government now, and a lot more people to fight. You're right; there never was time before, but maybe now there is."

"Yes, now there may be time, and I don't know if I can face it all."

Han chuckled softly. "I know you better than you know yourself, Princess. It's gonna hurt like hell, but you can face it. And for as long as I live, you won't have to face any of it alone. Not ever."

A fresh round of tears sprang to her eyes and threatened to spill over. "Dammit," she laughed, starting to be embarrassed by herself.

"It's okay," Han pulled her closer to him, careful not to put any pressure on her surgical site. "I got your back, Princess. Always."

She lay silently against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He was willing to stay right there forever, but after a few minutes, he forced himself to look at his chrono.

"We should get ready or we're going to miss our own wedding."

Leia nodded, but she didn't move. "Han, there's one more thing. I need to know what you think about something." She bit her lip as she heard his heart speed up a tick. "I asked Luke to train me in the ways of the Force…you hate that, don't you?"

"I hate it a lot more if you're planning on being celibate like they were—well, like I thought they were supposed to be," he smiled, but his eyes were troubled as he stood up slowly.

She picked up a pillow and smacked him with it. "Actually…I did tell Luke I'd follow the Old Ways. I better make it clear that I was lying about that."

"Yeah," Han said, raising an eyebrow jokingly. "You better. Or I will."

She smiled, but returned to the serious subject at hand. "I don't need to be a Jedi, but after everything, I don't think I can go on totally untrained. I don't think it's safe. For me or for you."

Han nodded.

"You agree?" she said, surprised.

They really were going to be late if they didn't get moving. But even more, he didn't want her to read all the conflicting emotions on his face. He sat back down on the edge of the bed, looking away from her.

"Leia, I don't know that I should have a vote here. I just decided this Force thing was completely real today," he said, but she saw that his shoulders were slumped.

She stood up and walked around the bed, putting her arms round his neck. "Hey…of course you get a vote. You're going to be my husband in under an hour. This isn't only about me anymore. It's about us both."

Han looked down and shook his head.

"You really, really hate this idea, don't you?"

"I hate every single fiber of the idea," Han admitted. "But not for the reasons you think. I hate that we live in a galaxy where you're gonna have to spend too much of your life keepin' your eyes open for danger, and that I'm not always gonna be able to protect you. But when I think about what Luke did today…" he shook his head, still trying to believe what Luke had done, "if a bad guy has powers like that, I'm not gonna be much use in the end. I'm gonna get beat every time, like I was by Vader on Bespin. So yeah, I hate it, because I can't be your protector when you come face-to-face with those guys. But I also want Luke to teach you everything he possibly can so you stay safe. If that means my wife turns out to be the first married Jedi in the history of the galaxy…so be it."

Leia nodded. "Okay."

"Promise me one thing, though," Han continued. "The Jedi – I don't know a whole lot about them, but I do know that they seemed to spend a lot of time lookin' for trouble. I feel like trouble's done a good enough job of findin' us without us going lookin' for it. I'm tired of it, Leia. So promise me that you won't go lookin'."

Leia smiled. "I promise, Han."

"Then I guess we should go do this thing, Your Highnessness," Han smiled.

"Nothing in the galaxy would make me happier, flyboy."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later, Han and Leia arrived at the door of the small meditation room on the Freedomto see their friends and colleagues – Luke, Chewie, Lando, Rieekan, Madine, Adria Pier, Wedge Antilles and various others – waiting for them. Han had changed into a formal Alliance uniform borrowed, sans the cape, from Lando, because he figured that in the near future Leia might get a lot of flak for marrying him. The uniform would quietly remind everyone inclined to give her a hard time that she'd married a general and Alliance war hero, not the petty criminal he used to be. Besides, all of his own clothes were back on the Falcon, reeking of smoke and compressor fluid.

He hoped he looked the figure of respectability, although he was starting to get a little concerned that the last stimshot might wear off before he got through his vows. He didn't relish the idea of falling into a uniformed, snoring lump on the floor at his own wedding, but Leia had made a convincing argument that a fourth stimshot in two days could make his heart literally explode at their wedding, when all she could handle was the figurative.

Despite the circles under Leia's eyes, and the fact that that they both knew she was injured and weary, Han thought she looked, as always, beautiful. She had let her hair down; it fell in cascading waves to her waist, and it was all Han could do not to run his hands through it. She wore a white dress that she'd found hidden in a closet before they'd left the Alderaanian Consulate. It reminded Han of the gown she'd worn at the medals ceremony after he and Luke blew up the Death Star. It also hung a bit too loosely on her tiny frame, but a few weeks of Han's cooking should solve that problem.

"I still don't have a ring," Han realized.

"And I'm still not in this for jewelry," Leia replied with a smile.

Han looked around the room. Their friends had tried to beautify it, turning off the overhead luminators in favor of many flickering candles. Combined with the large viewport looking out at the stars behind the altar, the utilitarian little room was somewhat transformed. Still…

"This isn't what you deserve," Han said. "You should have flowers and a gown and a cathedral—"

Leia tightened her grip on his hand. "The only thing I want and need at my wedding his standing next to me right now."

"But…"

"Then in ten years, we can do this again, with flowers and a gown and a minister and an alpine meadow filled with flowers. Because in ten years, I will love you just as much as I do today, and even more," she said.

He kissed her hand. "So will I. And I want you to hold me to that meadow."

They saw Mon Mothma entering. Han exhaled with relief; he'd been a little concerned that Mon had changed his mind about him, but she took her place on the small altar and nodded to them. Their moment had come.

"Besides," Leia said as they started to walk down the aisle, "Maybe in ten years, the Republic will have a uniform in a color that actually suits you," her eyes twinkled as she smiled at her jab.

"Hey!" Han squawked, laughing back because they both knew she was right. Tan and dusty blue were not his best look.

Watching his sister and his best friend sharing a private joke as they walked down the aisle and knelt facing each other in front of Mon, Luke smiled. He hadn't been sure what he would sense in them at their wedding ceremony. He didn't need the Force to sense their exhaustion, he just had to look at their faces. He sensed love, of course. Happiness. But what he sensed most was a feeling he hadn't expected: certainty. A calm certainty that they belonged bound for life and that, whatever their future may hold, they would face it together seemed to surround the couple. Luke had heard of nervous brides and of grooms who took off at the last minute due to cold feet, but at this marriage ceremony, there wasn't a smidgeon of doubt to be found. Luke felt a small twinge of pain…he'd never felt anything close to what they felt for each other. He desperately wanted to, someday.

Mon began with the short introductory invocation favored by Corellians before she moved on to the vows. Han and Leia joined hands, her left in his left, her right in his right, their arms intertwined in the ancient Alderaanian symbol of oneness. Mon turned to Leia and smiled.

"Leia of the House Organa of Alderaan, I ask you to speak your vows to your intended in the presence of your witnesses and friends."

Leia found her voice shaky with emotion as she began. "Before these our witnesses I promise myself to you as your wife. I will bear with you our sorrows and celebrate with you our joys, be your guide in darkness and your shelter from the sun, encourage you with a friend's devotion, cherish you with a lover's adoration, and travel as your constant companion on all the journeys of our shared life. I give myself to you alone, and will love, respect and treasure you, as your partner and your spouse, for as long as we both shall live."

She squeezed Han's hands, as she looked at him, a happy tear rolling down her cheek. He gently brushed it away before taking her hands again.

"And you, Han Solo of Corellia, I likewise ask you to speak your vows to your intended in the presence of your witnesses and friends."

"Before these our witnesses I promise myself to you as your husband. I will bear with you our sorrows and celebrate with you our joys, be your guide in darkness…"

Han hesitated. Thinking of his blindness during his rescue on Tatooine, there was something he needed to add, "…as you have already been mine…and your shelter from the sun, encourage you with a friend's devotion, cherish you with a lover's adoration, and travel as your constant companion on all the journeys of our shared life. I give myself to you alone, and will love, respect and treasure you, as your partner and your spouse, for as long as we both shall live."

The vows complete, Leia smiled at Han, her eyes sparkling with happiness. His beaming smile back at her took her breath away.

Mon continued, reading the final seal of matrimony. "As you have so promised, I thus ordain. You are joined as one, husband and wife, two become one, for the rest of the days of your life. Han Solo, Leia Organa, I declare you to be wed."

She had barely finished the seal before Leia was in Han's arms.

"My wife…" he whispered as leaned toward her.

"My husband…" she replied just before their lips met.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leia stuck close to Han during the small congratulatory reception. Not only did she want to stay as close to him for as long as she possibly could, but she was also a little concerned that he was well into overtime on his stimshot and would soon have difficulty putting one foot in front of the other.

"I'm still not sure whether I should kiss you or kill you, Lando," Han said, reflecting on the missing sensor array.

**Please do neither** Chewie requested.

Lando shook his head. "It wasn't just the array. There's a holo tape you should see in the datacomputer—"

"I'm pretty sure that's one holo I'm never going to want to watch," Han replied, taking a sip of the Corellian brandy that Chewie had somehow managed to get a hold of in the last few hours.

Leia turned to look for Luke and saw him at the viewport, staring out into space. He looked so alone. Han seemed to be managing, and Chewie was right there with him, so she let go of Han's hand and walked over to Luke, touching his arm.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing," he said, shaking his head.

"No, it's not nothing. And you'd better tell me now, before Han passes out from exhaustion or because he suddenly realizes how painful that flashburn actually is."

Luke laughed. "He's not feeling any pain right now. He may be the happiest man in the galaxy at the moment."

"And when it comes to Han, I may be the happiest woman. Everything else, though…" she shrugged. She still had no plan for how to tell Mon, but Mon had just asked Leia to stop by Mon's new office on Coruscant soon to pick up something that may relate to their conversation in the medunit. It was all too much to think about at the moment.

"I've been wanting someone – Yoda, Ben, Father – to appear and guide me so I can understand what comes next. But there's no one. Only me. Maybe it's because the task they raised me for is complete." Luke laughed wistfully. "You think I can just go back to being a moisture farmer on Tatooine?"

Leia considered her response carefully. "Luke, the Jedi you knew – Ben and Yoda – they were living in a galaxy that had become blinded by darkness. They were desperately grasping for the light – and that light, Luke, is you."

"But like you said, there will always be dark."

"Yes. Which is why we need a light as bright and as unfiltered as yours so badly. And why I still want to be trained, as much as is possible," she paused, knowing that she was about to take a big step toward committing herself to Luke's future. She seemed to be full of commitments today. "I'll help you, Luke. Whatever form you want the Jedi, or light-side Force users, or whatever you decide, to take, let me be a part of it. Let me be your sounding board. Don't try to go it alone, ok?"

Luke smiled. She had no idea how much he had needed to hear her say that.

"Thank you, Leia. I won't take you as a 'padawan', because I'm no Master, and I'm not even sure that I'll train Jedi, but I will train you. If for no other reason than your crazy swordsmanship skills."

Luke's smile grew wide as Han joined them. Han had seen them deep in conversation again, and that usually signaled bad news.

"What's the matter, kid?" Han asked Luke.

Leia could see that Han was starting to fade. He was barely managing to keep his eyes open.

"Oh, just trying to figure out my place in the galaxy," Luke said.

"That all?"

"Yeah, just minor stuff. Trivia, really." Luke laughed.

"Han, I think we need to get you home before Chewie has to carry you," Leia observed.

"Yeah, probably right," Han agreed, yawning. "But you're getting THE LOOK, kid."

"I noticed," Luke parried. He was indeed getting THE LOOK from Leia.

She ignored them both. She figured she'd be doing a lot of that over the next fifty years. "Luke. Whatever path you choose, I'm sure of one thing: you weren't meant to be alone. Don't accept the Old Ways just because you think you should. Oh, and about those Old Ways: in case it wasn't totally obvious, I'm out."

Luke looked at his sister and Han. Two people who had seemed so mismatched, but their match had made them immeasurably happy, giving Leia the courage not to fall to the Dark Side because, even in the face of tremendous suffering, she would not turn away from love.

Yes, Luke thought. That attachment rule needs to be consigned to history.

"I promise. I'm out too, Leia."

"Good. Because I invited Adria Pier for a reason." She took Luke's hand as she rested her head on Han's chest.

The last of the Jedi will you be…Luke remembered Yoda's words again as the three orphans, now family, looked out at the stars.

Yes, he would be the last of the old Jedi. He would also be the first of something new. And with that thought, Luke Skywalker felt the light, and he felt the dark. He also felt something he'd never sensed before.

He felt the Force at peace.