AN: I love Luke and Vader stories and thought that Leia deserved one too with the galaxy's #1 dad. So here is my contribution to the Star Wars fandom with a father / daughter AU.

Summary: After Luke leaves on a mission with his squadron,Leia decides she should do the same to help get her head off Han and the horrible nightmares she's been having. Her mission, however, doesn't quite go as planned when they fall under attack and Vader shows up. During the Rebels attempted escape, Leia is horribly injured and would be left for dead if the Dark Lord himself hadn't saved her. She was just to be used as bait for his son, but after a startlingly discovery, Lord Vader by no means plans on letting her go.

Disclaimer: Surprise! I don't own Star Wars! Say wha? Yeah, crazy stuff, I know. All rights go to George Lucas and Disney.

Chapter I

Leia gasped out another silent scream, the contaminated air burning her from the inside out. It seeped into the pores of her skin, melting it. When she tried to look for help, there was only a blinding brightness. She was blind.

Lava seeped closer and kissed the tips of her fingers, catching them ablaze in brilliant white flares. She struggled to shift away, withered and thrashed to escape the white fire. But they clung to her flammable flesh, crawling upwards and leaving black, scorched trails in their wake. Her skin withered and singed and Leia became overwhelmed with the need to vomit at the repulsive smell.

The smell of her burning alive.

The smell cleared her head, if for a pitiable moment, and she realized that a forgotten limb wasn't in flames and burning how the rest of her was. Her arms were scorched black and limp, like the dried out wick of a candle. Her chest swelled and would soon burst from the heat then collapse in on itself, like a poor bird that was prepared for a feast. Her left leg still burned, the noise as sickening as it hissed and sizzled constantly. But her right leg…it was completely numb to a point.

With the remaining intact muscles in her neck and upper back, she shifted to catch a glimpse of her lower body. She blinked past the heat and blinding flames, trying to focus with what was left of her charred eyesight to her right leg.

A large, dark mass filled her narrow vision at a distance far too close at where she rested. She squinted, confused until realization engulfed her hungrier than the flames. She reeled from the sight, only to remain pinned to where she had fallen.

A chunk of stone sat securely against her lower thigh, severing the joining flesh and bone of where her femur met her kneecap. Her right leg was gone, a fat stump of what it had been. Forgotten under the intense pain of the flames. Her neck muscles gave way and she sunk back into the warm ash, silently screaming for no one's ears while the flames consumed her.

Leia lurched upwards from the bed, her mouth still agape from where her nightmare had left her off. The moist bed sheets clung to her sticky skin, prolonging the impression of being smothered to death in flames. She fought at them anxiously, clawing them off and ripping herself free from the suffocating sensation.

She kicked sheets to the foot of the bed and tried to catch her breath. She was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't get herself to stop. The room was hot, a poor reminder of humid air of where she had been in her dream. Red light shown from her bedside onto her arm, displaying her pale flesh in a red hue. She made herself stare at it, forcing her brain to accept that she wasn't on fire nor had she ever been.

She was fine.

Leia sighed and wiped a shaky hand across her forehead, silently relieved to feel liquid where there had once been a trail of ash and flame. The fire wasn't there; it had never been there. Her right leg was still intact. She wiggled her toes. Yes, still intact. It was just a horrible dream and nothing more. When was the last time she a nightmare? Leia searched her memories until the answer leaped out at her.

Hoth, right before they were attacked and forced to retreat. It didn't make sense to her at the time, the events befuddling and unfamiliar to her. But that had all changed on Bespin, and the pieces sank into places she hadn't even known were laid out. The orange lights that shown from the floor, a box of golden limbs, halls of white and a man in blue.

Leia curled in on herself, resting her head atop her knees as she recalled the rest and what it led up to. A monster in black, following and watching them from ever corner, a secret deal being stuck, an ambitious man waiting in the shadows, and then there was Han. He was the only one who she could see clearly in the dream. They embraced, and as she went to pull away she noticed he wouldn't let go. Stuck against his chest and wrapped in his arms, she was forced to stare up into his face. She'd been horrified with what she saw, the face of the man she loved twisted in pain, frozen with his mouth agape midway through scream.

She hadn't told anyone about that nightmare as she simply dismissed it as it got in the way of her work. It had been nothing but a horrible dream at the time. But after Bespin she hadn't been so sure. Her mind touched at the idea of it being a vision but she discarded the notion. She wasn't like Luke, who was a Jedi like his father.

Leia hadn't been the only one seriously affected after Bespin. Sweet, wanna be Hero like his father, Luke. Her heart still ached for him. The way he mumbled and groaned in pain as he clutched the seared lump of where his right hand once was, before Vader took that from him too.

Vader.

That no-good Sith monster. That machine had taken everything from her. Everything. The thought of him made Leia feel like she was on fire all over again but for a complete different reason. She was angry. Furious. And there was little next to nothing she could do about it at the moment. Loosing Han to the bounty hunter ate at her every day, Luke had become a shell of what he once was and the Alliance was low on just about everything. Crew, supplies, ships, usable information that could be used against the Empire…

The Alliance was in shambles and Leia didn't feel much different and the only two people who could help her were either frozen in carbonite or not mentally all there.

Leia stood and walked to the fresher on the far end of the room where a glowing green light helped guide the way. The lights turned on automatically at the movement and she stopped at the sight of herself in the mirror. To put it simply she looked like a mess. Her brown hair had come loose from its bun and was skewered in all directions, even sticking to her face.

She brushed the wild strands away from her eyes, her fingers softly trailing over the ghostly complexion of her skin. She knew she was pale but this…her fingers stopped on her cheeks that were usually rosy. She took a deep breath and leant against the wall, shivering the sudden coolness.

Her dream still plagued her, constantly waiting to be acknowledged on the outskirts of her mind like it was important and shouldn't be tossed away. But if it was just a dream then shouldn't it?

Or was it an insight of what was to come, giving flashes of images like the ones she received before Bespin.

Was it just a nightmare or something more?

The sound of shuffling broke her of her impractical pondering. Leia turned her head towards the entryway, the interior lighting reflecting of mended gold plating.

"You're up early, See-Threepio. Feeling recharged?"

She winced at the sound of her voice, it rasped as though she'd been shouting all night, which she might have.

She turned to face See-Threepio who was now standing at the doorway, his glowing eyes scanning the small room inquisitively before settling on her.

"I'm feeling quite revitalized, your highness. Thank you for concern on my well-being. Might I ask you the same? Your night, that is," the protocol droid asked, his head tilting down at her, as if trying to study her features.

For a moment Leia wondered if See-Threepio had been woken to the sound of her screaming in her sleep, which she wasn't certain truly happened or not. Her throat seemed to testify that she had.

"Do I not look alright?" she asked. She leaned off the wall and crossed her arms across her chest, ignoring the squirming feeling in her stomach at his reply. "What is it? You can tell me, Threepio."

See-Threepio's head snapped back as if shocked and he made an unsure noise. Leia watched him, nervously waiting to hear the confession that she was dreading. He moved forward and lightly gestured an arm toward her.

"Last night it appeared you were experiencing quite an eventful sleep, milady. More than once I was powered up in the assumption that something had gone terribly wrong while I was offline." Treepio sounded near frantic at the recollection of when he thought there was danger. Typical of the droid. "There was never any danger, or at least my sensors appeared there not to be so, as it was just the two of us in the room. But each time I would awaken to find you…screaming."

It felt as though the floor shifted from beneath her and Leia found herself leaning back on the wall again. She knew she had been, her sore throat was proof of that. But she didn't want to have anyone else know, especially someone who could never figuratively keep his mouth shut.

She moved quickly, making her vision swim for a moment before it caught up. See-Threepio was just as startled at her sudden movement and jerked back, his arms lifting up in surprise. Leia was in his metal face the next second.

"Threepio, I'm counting on you so you better listen up." Leia muttered lowly. She pointed a finger up at him, which his head snapped to as he muttered an 'oh my'.

"Promise me that you won't tell a soul about what happened last night. This can't be getting out because a lot of people depend on me and I cannot have them thinking I can't handle the responsibly of my position."

See-Threepio looked nervously at her pointed finger then back to her. "I understand, your highness, but," he faltered. "what about master Skywalker? Surely you trust that your secret will remain safe with him? I believe he is quite trustworthy, and dare I even say that Artoo is rather dependable at times."

Leia sighed. In truth she wanted to speak to someone about it but Luke wasn't in the right set of mind either at the moment. After Bespin he changed and Leia had countless times tried to reach out to him, convince him that he could confide what ever was bothering him with her. But each time he pulled away and insisted he was fine, which she knew he most certainly was not.

She wanted to tell Luke, she really did, but she couldn't add that extra stress on him when he was hauling so many of the Alliances' already. She would tell him eventually, but only when the time was right for them both.

"I do trust Luke, more than anyone, but this is rather personal and I'm not ready to share it just yet. You understand that, don't you Threepio?"

The protocol droid was silent for a moment before he did a slow nod. "If that is what you believe is best, your highness." he paused, his gold eyes beaming on at her. "Though I do hope you reach out to someone about it soon for it to be fixed. Might I suggest the base's medical staff? I'm sure they can come up with some sort of remedy for your predicament."

Leia rolled her eyes at that. She couldn't imagine having to explain to the Alliance medic about her night terrors and how they might possibly be foreshadowing a future soon to come. They'd either deem her far too stressed out or on the verge of mental insanity. If she let See-Threepio come along and explain all what he's witnessed in that over dramatic fashion of his then they might actually think her to be.

"I don't think its something a prescription can fix, Threepio," she smiled faintly at him. "but thanks. I promise to tell someone about it soon."

None the wiser the gold protocol perked up. "Glad to hear it, your highness!" he said then waddled back into the room. He wasn't away for five seconds before he came scurrying back. Leia had been deciding whether to close the door on him or not before he reached her. He did before she could decide.

"Princess! Your comlink is alerting you to a call and I think it possibly may be urgent!" his metallic hand reached out and exposed her comlink. She snatched it and took a step away.

"Thanks."

"You're most very wel-"

He didn't get to finish. She closed the door before he could. Leia stared at the small device in wonderment. It was early according to the standard timezone of the planet where they were currently scouting out on. No one should be calling her unless it was like what Threepio had said, it was something urgent.

She accepted the call while she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to get her reflection to add up with the strong, false voice that whoever was calling her was about to hear.

Leia tried not to make eye contact with the image of the young woman who was following in step with her to her right. Out of the corner of her eye she swore she saw them trying to catch a glimpse. Leia ignored it and kept moving, her boots clicking loudly on the stone flooring in the empty corridor.

Everyone was still asleep and Leia envied them. There was nothing more she wanted than a decent nights rest without startling nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat. She was tired of these nightmares or visions or whatever they were. She needed a break but the Galaxy seemed to think otherwise.

She paused at the silver doors that would lead her into the conference room where everyone was waiting on her. A guard stood on watch to her left next to the entrance but she ignored him. But the girl watching her couldn't be ignored. She had to confront her.

Her brown eyes appeared tired, stressed. Dark bags hung under her eyes from countless sleepless night. She looked pale, to put it nicely, like she hadn't seen sunlight in days. Her hair was dark brown and appeared hastily braided while the strands were still wet as though she just hopped out of the fresher. Her outfit was clean and neat and Leia was proud that she was at least able to find something that looked presentable about her.

Leia stood there staring at her reflection for some time before the guard to her left shifted uncomfortably and politely grunted. She snapped from her trance and faced him, nodding that she was ready to enter. He didn't say anything as he swiped his card and the doors opened before her.

Mon Mothma was at the head of the table, Ackbar to her right, as they seemed to be in hushed discussion. The rest of the room full of high Allaince members seemed to be conversing amongst their own, that is until Princess Leia entered the room. Slowly the noise level seemed to dip as their eyes one by one turned to her. She put on a neutral expression, not making eye contact with anyone as she strode towards her usual seat.

In wasn't until she was seated that she lifted her stare and immediately she found herself trapped in Luke's blue gaze. She stared for a moment, transfixed, as she scurried to find an answer as to how Luke obtained the level of clearance to be emitted into this meeting. He attended briefings as Commander of the Rouge Squadron before an assault, but this was new.

Her heart fluttered in her chest when he didn't break eye contact. In fact, he looked as though he were trying to figure out something, like something was amiss. She frowned, if Luke felt that she was distressed about something then he would have to come and find her later on and ask.

She was not submitting to his Jedi trick and let him read her emotions. If he wanted to know what was wrong then he was just going to have to ask her like a normal person, damnit.

With that new resolve she looked away, but not without giving him a disapproving glare first. She hoped peeved and annoyed were reaching his Jedi senses from his side of the table.

"Welcome, Princess," Admiral Ackbar greeted first. "Thank you for arriving as quickly as you have. I know this is a peculiar hour for a meeting but I believe we were left with little choice."

"Hardly an odd hour on my part, I've been up for quite some time now." She nodded in greeting as he did to her. Almost immediately after her words Leia felt Luke's gaze shoot back to her. She swallowed and fought the urge to meet his. "I presume that everyone here has been authorized to be in the know of this meetings classified material? That is, if it's as eminent as you've stressed over the invitation report?"

If it were possible to read Luke's emotions then she was sure she felt him extremely confused with her curt attitude and if not a little hurt by it.

The Mon Calamari's large, expressive eyes snapped to Luke in that instant. Good. Then he got the hint of whom she was speaking about. He cleared his throat and nodded, trying not to look again at the X-Wing pilot.

"I can guarantee that all who sit here before us now have been given special authorized permission, as they are beneficial in what lays before us, Princess." He paused, as if waiting to see if she would object to his statement, which she did not so he went on.

"If some of you recall our alley Commander Sato, leader of the Phoenix Squadron, then you know how important he is our cause. He was on a mission of obtaining an Imperial defect and bringing them to our ranks before the planet's Imperial Governor got wind of it and foiled the plan."

Leia looked to Mothma who seemed just as determined as Ackbar. Too determined. It was almost as if she was straining to put forth all her concentration on what he was saying and not look at anyone in particular. If Leia knew any better she would guess that Mothma was avoiding making eye contact with someone in the room and she had a good feeling about who that was.

Ackbar pushed a button on a held hand device and above the center of the table a blue holoprojection of a planet lit up. Leia's eyes fell on the small, blue Star Destroyers that floated around it. A blockade. Her heart constricted as the realization behind Luke's random clearance to being in the meeting clicked. He was most definitely an important person in this meeting.

Oh Luke, what have you agreed to?

"An Imperial blockade has been patrolling the planet Lothal's orbit for the past thirteen standard hours." The Calamari continued on. "As far as we know, Commander Sato is still stuck somewhere on the surface with his squadron and the defect. It is only a matter of time before they are captured and we lose both an important alley and possible valuable information against the Empire."

"You plan on causing a diversion." Leia said, speaking more to herself out loud. Several heads turned towards her with the same assumption. Ackbar nodded.

"A window for the Commander to escape. Precisely."

Leia took a deep breath as she tried to keep her posture regal and not show how nervous she felt. "That is, if they're able to brake orbit. I would imagine that the skies would be filled with TIE's ready to intercept them."

General Rieekan, who appeared quite content in his chair next to Mothma, spoke up. "Oh, its no doubt that the skies would be littered with them. It's our hope that our diversion disrupts their scanners and confuse them long enough for Sato's team to break by undetected, we hope."

"You hope?" Leia mocked in bewilderment and arched an eyebrow. "Do you not have faith in your own plan, General Rieekan? Is this entire mission based on a feeble hope and crossed fingers? Have you not thought of the lives of our pilots that you're putting on the line for this precarious plan of yours?"

The room fell into a hushed silence. The air grew thick and heavy with the unsaid thoughts and emotions of the other council members. General Rieekan was still before a slow, almost pleased grin stretched onto his face. "Actually," he said drolly. "The honors weren't mine, Princess."

It was then that Mothma turned to her. "The plan was originally mine, Princess Leia."

Leia blinked in shock. Mothma? It had been Mothma's plan to send one of their own squadron's to help the ones stuck on Lothal? To practically send them to their guaranteed demises?

"I've already agreed to it, your highness." Luke spoke up and Leia's eyes snapped to him. Her stare must've been intense because Luke gave way easily and sifted almost regretfully in his seat. Good. She wanted him to know she was upset with him and his reckless decision-making.

"You'll be up against an entire fleet of Star Destroyer's without any further backup," She raised her voice. The other council members were staring at her but she didn't care. She needed Luke to see how serious of a situation he'd just agreed to assert himself into, even if it meant calling him out in front of the council. "And more could possibly show up. What if Vader were to? What then?"

Luke's blue eyes seemed to widen at that. His lips left slightly agape as he just stared at her. Fear and…something else, swam rapidly over his expression before he slowly shook his head as if to clear it.

Ackbar cut in then. "We have reports that Vader is currently occupying Imperial Center with his fleet there. Even if he did hear of our assault on the blockade, our pilots will be long gone before he has time to set coordinates to make the jump."

She looked back at Luke who seemed to visibly relax back into his seat at the information. She knew it had been wrong to bring up Vader but she was desperate to convince Luke to stay. She couldn't lose him too.

"You see Le-Princess," Luke hastily corrected himself. He always spoke formal to her in front of others. "My team will be in and out before anymore Imperial reinforcements arrive. We can do this, my team and I. I know that we can."

It seemed as though the whole council turned their gaze on her, holding their breaths to see if she'd continue to resist or finally give in. Her word alone didn't matter anyway in the end, but she wasn't going to sit by without giving her opinion and making a reasonable argument.

Stubbornness won over and she nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak in case other fine chose of words made their way out. Luke looked just as pleased as Ackbar that she complied and decided not to continue arguing. She knew Luke would've gotten lost in her words if she made it more political than battle strategizing anyway.

The rest of the meeting went just how she had dreaded and Luke had hoped, less political and more plan of action based. She made sure to watch Luke throughout the entire meeting, study every little detail of his face and look for signs of nervousness or regret. If she had then she would've jumped in, but unfortunately he seemed just as determined to follow the mission through, or at least appear that way before the council so they could take him more seriously.

After the meeting concluded and people were organizing their things, Leia didn't spare an extra moment of her time and made her way for the exit. Faintly she could hear Mothma call after her but she didn't let that disrupt her stride. She needed to get back to her room and cool down. Her head was swimming with the loss of Han, her still fresh nightmare and now the fact that Luke was being thrown into a battle where the odds were stacked against with several tons of Star Destroyers.

She'd just rounded the corner that led to her room at the end of the hall when she felt someone latch onto her wrist. She spun around so quick with her fist raised to fight them off that if the person hadn't had inhuman speed then she would've punched them square in the face. It was a good thing Luke was a Jedi. That possibly saved him from a black eye and that would've been awkward to explain, especially after their little dispute in the conference room.

Yes, most definitely a good thing she didn't hit him.

Luke looked stunned at her, his eyes wide before he slowly let go of her wrist and his calm mask returned. "Are you alright? Lately you've been really stressed out and back at the meeting-"

"Oh wow, you really are a Jedi, aren't you? Good job figuring that one out, Luke." She snapped and yanked her other wrist free and stepped back. "How could you? How could you just agree to leave and go on some suicidal mission like some Force-sacred hero? And don't even think about bringing up the Death Star."

"Leia…" He looked horribly guilty all of a sudden.

Oh, Luke…

Force, why did he always have to appear so distraught and take the blame when it's never his fault? He was too good for any of this and didn't deserve what the galaxy has thrown at him and taken from him all at the same time.

"If there's a chance at rescuing those other pilots then I gotta take it. And that Imperial defect? Think of how that could benefit us, Leia. We can't let this pass us by without fighting for it. Yeah, it's really risky, but it's also the right thing to do, so trust me on this."

She didn't say anything and moved forward. Luke seemed to know before she did the action because he opened his arms and wrapped them comfortingly around her. She inhaled the scent of her dear friend and almost laughed at how he pretty much smelt like interior of his X-Wing. A trademark of all the Alliance's pilots.

"You know I won't be alone out there. And if things get tough," she felt him shrug as he held her. "Then we blast off. We're a distraction, not an escort."

Little did he know did any of that help comfort her. She was still tempted to plead with him to stay but that'd be selfish of her. Those Rebels needed help and the Alliance could really use any information offered to get the upper hand over the Empire after Hoth.

Her nightmare flashed in her mind and she clung to Luke tighter. If it hadn't been her burning alive but Luke in her place…she most likely would've locked him in the fresher in her bedroom to keep him from going. She couldn't ever risk losing Luke too.

He was all she had left in the entire Galaxy. He was her only true friend and what she considered family.

"I promise I'll come back, Leia." He said soothingly as he consolingly rubbed her back repeatedly. She just clung to him harder, not daring to release him in case fate took him from her too. "I won't leave you behind. I promise."

Bespin flashed in her mind.

"I love you."

"I know."

AN:

Sorry for any mistakes. I'll go over this again soon. Reviews would be greatly appreciated to keep this baby rolling.