This story contains characters and draws upon situations created by George Lucas. This story is purely for the enjoyment of the reader and the author, and no money is being exchanged. Feel free to pass this story on to anyone, and to use the situations in anything you may write. --Stacy Galler, December 1996 Understanding Time: Immediatly after the Battle of Endor They had all returned: Lando, Wedge, Admiral Ackbar, and finally, Luke. They were all here, and safe, and the party was in full swing. The Ewok music pounded triumphantly through the forest as comrades and old friends related new stories that were destined to become bedtime stories for grandchildren in another forty years. Han and Leia, exhausted from the day's events, just sat, snuggled together, in a corner of one of the Ewok huts and watched the activities of the others, happy just to be close to one another. Before long, the music lulled them into a deep, sound sleep. Leia came hazily awake, and it took her a few moments to realize that she'd even been asleep. She was lying more or less on top of Han, who was lying half on his side, half on his back on the bench they had been sitting on before they'd fallen asleep, and Han had an arm thrown around her. She could hear him snoring, rather obnoxiously. She glanced at her chrono; the last time she had been aware of was a little over three hours ago. She lifted her head a little; the revelry had died; there were still some whispers here and there; some movement, but the music was gone, and many others were snoring along with Han. Leia was suddenly very restless; her head buzzed. The fatigue she had felt earlier was gone. What was left in its place was a dizzying sense of all that had happened in the past day: the Emperor and Darth Vader's deaths, the destruction of the Death Star, Luke telling her she was his sister, and.... She shook her head, and disentangled herself from Han's arms, somehow managing not to wake him up. She stepped out into the cool night air, drawing a long inhalation into her lungs, instantly feeling a little better. Her head still spun though, and her chest was full; it felt as if there were a great weight pressing on her ribcage. She started to walk, absently, not knowing where she was going, hoping that it would clear her head. Leia just followed her feet; down walkways, past ancient trees, through foliage that crunched softly beneath her feet. Before long, she found Luke sitting under a tree with his back very straight and his eyes closed. Leia wasn't sure whether he was asleep or not; you could never quite tell these things with Luke. She stopped a few feet from him, regarding him silently. She stood there for a long few moments trying to decide whether to interrupt his.... whatever it was he was doing. Before she could, however, Luke opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I didn't...wake you, did I?" she asked. Luke shook his head. "I haven't been able to sleep. I've gone through two Jedi relaxation exercises, to no avail. My head is just too full." Leia smiled more to herself than at him, "Yours too?" Luke shrugged marginally. "A lot has happened in these past few days." Leia sat down next to Luke and rested her back against the tree. She suddenly felt drained again, but not sleepy. There was too much to ask; too much to say. Luke settled against the tree himself. For a long moment they just sat there in silence, considering what to do; how to begin. Suddenly, at the same time, they blurted: "Luke, there's so much I..." "Leia, I must tell you..." They laughed uncomfortably, and Leia nodded in Luke's direction. "You first." Luke shook his head, "No, you. I insist." Leia blew her breath out. She got up and started to pace restlessly. She hoped that acting out her disquiet physically would help her clear the noise in her brain. "So much has happened in the past few days. I'm just trying to get it all straight in my head." "Begin at the beginning," Luke advised. Leia drew in a long preparatory breath, and began at what seemed a logical place. "If someone had told me a month ago that the Emperor would be dead soon and that I'd learn about my past, I would have said that was wishful thinking." She paused, and then went on quietly, "And if they'd have told me that it would all happen in the same day, I would have laughed in their face." She sat down again, facing Luke. "And now I have to figure out where to go and what to do." Luke reached out and stroked her hand in a gesture of comfort, "That's not a decision you have to make immediately, Leia." "No, but it has to be made soon, while the Empire is still reeling from this shock." She lowered her head, looked into her hands, feeling the silence envelop her. A soft breeze tugged at her loose hair, and she reached up and brushed a few strands from her face. Luke watched her hands form into tight, hard fists. But he just regarded her quietly, trying to read her jumbled thoughts. He wanted so much to help her make peace with all that had happened. Her mood softened after a little while, and her fists with it. She looked up, an incredulous grin gracing her features. "A brother, huh? Whoever would have thought?" Luke nodded, "A twin brother." The surprise registered immediately on Leia's face. "How... how did you come to know all of this?" "Ben told me," he stated matter-of-factly. The anger welled up in Leia, and Luke felt it rise up as a wall between them; between all he was trying to do. "Obi-wan? You've known all this for two and a half years and you haven't told me until now?!" "Leia." Luke put a calming hand on his sister's shoulder. "I can communicate with him through the Force. I only found out about our being related shortly before we met at the rendezvous. I wanted to wait until the right moment." Leia let her anger go with a breath, and the wall crumbled. Of course. Things had been so busy lately, and this wasn't something you tossed off in casual conversation. "I'm sorry." She searched his face for a moment, looking for strength. "And Vader your...our..." She trailed off. Suddenly, Leia felt cold. It was if all the fervor and idealism and honor she had held so dear had been sucked from her. A sour, burning pit formed in her stomach. This wasn't true; it couldn't be true. This man... this _monster_ that had tortured her mercilessly; causing her more physical pain than she had endured before or since. This _creature_ that had stood by and let Tarkin destroy her world. This _beast_ that had been willing to kill the only man she had ever loved, just when she was beginning to realize it, and had taken him from her all the same. This _fiend_ that had mutilated and nearly killed, on more than one occasion, the best friend she had ever had; her _brother_, in every sense of the word. This _devil_ was his...their... her... Her adrenalin rushed as the gateway to her emotions that she had been holding shut so she could get through the mission suddenly surged open. She jumped to her feet, ran several meters away until her heart had used up the extra energy. From the bottom of her soul, she screamed the only possible truth into the night; "NO!" The sound ripped through the stillness of the sylvan night, the echoes seeming to go on forever. Luke rushed to his sister's trembling side, holding her, trying to comfort her. "Leia, Leia, look at me." He shook her gently, turned her face to his with a gentle hand. "I denied it for a long time after I found out too." He whispered to her fervently, but gently. "It is hard to accept, but we have to. It's our destiny." "I hardly call 3 days a long time," Leia replied bitterly, still shaking. Luke shook his head. "No. I've known for about six months. Shortly after Han was frozen, I had that duel with Vader, where I lost my hand, remember?" He looked at her earnestly, hoping she was understanding; believing. She nodded. "He told me during that fight." "Oh, Luke..." Her features softened. She hugged him, and drew a deep breath. "It's just that... this is so ironic. This isn't real life.. this is some opera libretto." She shook her head and plunged on fervently, still not willing to believe. "I just can't accept the fact that the person we have spent our entire adult lives fighting to defeat; the most evil man I have ever known, is our _father_." Luke released her shoulders and took her hands, as if to see if she could support herself with just his words. "See, but that's just it, Leia, and talking to Ben the other day made that all clear to me." He squeezed her hands. "Darth Vader isn't our father. The man that became Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, is. And Anakin Skywalker was a good man, Leia, strong in the Light side of the Force. It's his heritage that we carry. And it's that heritage that predestined us to cause his downfall, and to bring him back to the light." Luke; his gaze became glassy; faraway. "And I did." Leia looked at him quizzically, not understanding. He plunged on. "Just before he died, he renounced the Dark Side; he became Anakin Skywalker again. He told me to tell you that I was right; there was good in him." Leia looked at him with wide eyes, listening intently, finally beginning to accept the truth. "I brought his body back here to Endor and burned it on a funeral pyre. There's nothing left of Darth Vader anymore, Leia. Not even that awful armor that kept him alive all those years. And Anakin Skywalker is one with the Force." Leia shook her head; the picture was still murky. Her mind reeled with implications. "How...when did he find out?" Her lip trembled; she started to shake beneath Luke's fingers. "He couldn't have known when he captured me aboard the first Death Star....if he had I wouldn't be here now...he wouldn't have toyed with me the way he did; he would have killed me outright." She shook her head; she was starting to become frantic; her voice raced and became ragged, as she repeated the question that had started her loss of control. "How could he have known?" Before answering, Luke pulled her back into his embrace, and sent a few calming thoughts to her. She stopped trembling, but her breath was labored beneath his arms. "I'm not sure," he finally whispered into her hair. He stroked her silken mane to calm her further. He felt his own emotions begin to slip as exasperation and desperation began to set in as his desire to have her be at peace with this seemed farther out of reach. "For a Jedi there is only peace," he reminded himself. "Patience." He cleared his throat and went on. "Maybe it was my name...Skywalker's not all that common, and that combined with my Force abilities..." He trailed off. "But I do know this: he didn't know about you until..." his voice caught; he was unsure he was willing to admit this, but decided it could only make things better, for himself, as well as Leia. He drew a breath. "Until my thoughts...my desire to protect you...betrayed you in that final battle." Leia had calmed somewhat by then, and she looked up at him with eyes full of emotion. "No, Luke. You could never betray me by caring about me." She reached up and gently ran her fingers over his cheek, this time comforting him. But she could feel that he was holding back. "There's more though. You're not telling me all of it." Luke sighed, and squared his shoulders. Maybe telling all of it would make it all right for him as well as for her. "Apparently, when Anakin turned, he did not know that our mother was pregnant. Ben knew that any children he might have would be a threat to him, and to the Emperor, and he also knew that they knew it, so they sent our mother off into hiding, and separated us as soon as we were born. I was sent to live with Ben's brother, and you with a good friend of Ben's. Apparently, shortly after Ben found out we were on the way, he went and tried to turn Vader back. They fought, and Vader fell into a molten pit, which is why he had to wear all that life support." He shrugged. "That's all I know." Leia heaved a great sigh, and turned and paced a step away, her mind and heart full, but calmer now. "I always knew I was adopted." She whispered as much to the trees as she did to Luke. "But I always thought it was because my real mother had been ill; she died when I was so young...I never knew anything about my true father, and never really thought about it; I was so comfortable in the thought that Bail and Jiselle Organa were my parents." Luke swallowed. The puzzle was coming together; maybe if they both laid all their pieces out, the picture would make sense. "What do you remember about our mother?" Leia turned and looked at him, and shrugged marginally. "Nothing concrete." Her eyes glazed over, and she spoke with a faraway voice, "She always smelled of Cargacian Night Flowers; a sweet, floral, earthy smell. She had long, silky hair..." She absently ran her fingers through her own. "She liked to tickle me. She had such a gentle voice... she'd always sing me to sleep at night..." She began to hum a sad, sweet lullaby, but quickly trailed off as the tears came. Luke moved to hold her. For a long few moments, she just let her tears flow, letting them cleanse her soul. Luke reached out with the Force, searching time and space and Leia's mind for an image of her - their - mother. "She was...very much like you," he said after he'd caught a glimpse or two of her. He stroked Leia's hair again; it seemed to calm her. "Strong, beautiful, brave, smart, sensitive. She even looked a lot like you." Leia looked up at him. It seemed at every moment he came up with a new surprise. "I thought you knew nothing about her." "The Force reveals many things." Leia seemed to accept that. She took a deep breath, and plunged on, as if finishing the story would make it all right. "And then she died. Before I even knew her. I was maybe...two; if that. I really didn't understand, but I was so close to my "foster" parents already that the change wasn't that drastic. After a while, I didn't think about her anymore, and never asked any questions. And no one at court did either, at least not that I heard. I heard some whisperings about my mother being sterile and that's why they adopted me. Whether that was the truth or it was a fabrication to keep me safe, I don't know. It certainly makes more sense in this context." She sniffled. "I should have asked more questions. I'm sure they would have told me the truth." Luke squeezed her. "You had a family that loved you; you were safe and well cared for. You had no reason to." Leia shrugged. "Maybe." She was silent for a long moment. She rested in the arms of her brother, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest. This seemed so...primal. She knew that this was the first sound her forming ears had heard. A quiet peace spread over her soul. She drew a deep breath, and looked up. "Hey, the sun is coming up." Luke looked. "Sure enough." He put an arm around his sister's shoulders. "Let's go see what those Ewoks serve for breakfast. I'm starved." They arrived back at the village, to the smell of meat cooking, and the clank and crunch of equipment. Han gathered the pair of them up in his arms in one big embrace. "Hey kids, what have you two been up to?" Leia smiled, "Talking." The trio went and ate breakfast in relative silence, just happy to be back together again. Lando came and joined them toward the end, slapping Luke on the back and kissing Leia's cheek. After they'd eaten, Han rubbed his hands on his pants, and remarked to Lando, "Well, I guess I'd better go see what you did to my ship." He started to stand. "Uh..." Lando started, jumping up in front of Han. "Why don't you take Leia and to find a nice little spot in the forest and take the day off? I'll make sure the Falcon's taken care of." Han looked at him skeptically. "There's a lot to do today, Lando. We've got to pack up camp and..." "I'll look after that. It'll take several days before we get off this rock anyway, so why don't you enjoy the time while you've got it? If anybody asks any questions, I'll be responsible. I am a general now, you know." Han glanced at Leia, who shrugged. Han sighed. "Okay, but I'm taking a commlink with me. You call me at the first sign of anything, you got that?" Lando mock saluted. "Yes sir." Han took Leia's hand, and, after packing some rations and a commlink, they strolled off into the forest... After a short walk, they found a nice clearing with just the right mixture of sun and shade. After settling in under a tree, Han gathered Leia up in his arms and kissed her warmly. He held her close, and whispered into her ear, "I woke up this morning and you were gone. Where'd you go?" "I had to clear my head," she murmured back. "I went for a walk, and wound up talking to Luke." "Yeah, about Luke," he pushed her away a little bit. "What is this about his being your brother? How come I haven't heard about this before?" Leia placed a hand on his shoulder, hopefully to keep him from getting angry. "Because I didn't know before." Han looked at her totally puzzled. Leia sighed. "You knew I was adopted, didn't you?" Han shook his head. He didn't know where she was going with this. "It was pretty common knowledge, at least on Alderaan." Han scowled. "Well, I didn't know about it." Leia shrugged, hoping to make light of it. "It wasn't a big deal. The court and the people accepted me, and after I was about 7, there wasn't too much said about it." "Did you know?" Han asked, sincerely interested. She nodded. "Oh, yes. I have... vague memories of my natural mother." "But not of Luke?" She shook her head. "No. Apparently, we were separated when we were born." He furrowed his brow, digesting that. "You're twins?" Leia smiled awkwardly. "Did I leave that part out? I'm sorry." Han looked at her for a long moment. This got stranger and stranger the more he found out about it. "Why?" Leia heaved a sigh, and stammered. She had hoped she wouldn't have to go into this. The fear that had gripped her before threatened to come back. "To...to protect us from our natural father." Han looked at her with questioning eyes, shaking his head marginally, understanding less and less. "Wh... why...?" Leia turned away, unsure she could say the words. Her breathing became labored, and the words stuck in her throat. "Because..." She swallowed. Her fear was becoming palpable again. "Because he was..." The rhythm of her breath increased. She felt all her muscles tighten. She seemed to shrink. "He was..." She wrapped her arms around herself; she was beginning to feel sick. "He was..." Han gripped her shoulders from behind her, to steady her. "Who was he, Leia?" Leia's head spun; she leaned against Han for support. Her throat was tight; her voice box wasn't functioning. "Vader," she finally managed to whisper. "He was Vader." "What?" Han said, suddenly unsure of what to think. He was repelled by the fact that this person might be the spawn of the one being in the universe he hated the most, but at the same time his heart ached for her; he knew her; he loved her, and no matter her parentage, she was still Leia, the woman he loved. She was sobbing now, and he wrapped his arms around her, to comfort her. "Is that what all that business with Luke was about the night before last?" She nodded against his shoulder. She cried for a minute or so longer, letting her pain flow out with her tears. She looked up, brushing her tears from her face. "I'm sorry I lied to you; well it wasn't a total lie, I _was_ worried that Luke wouldn't come back, but..." She heaved a heavy sigh, and proceeded to tell Han all that Luke had told her about Anakin Skywalker, and how he had turned before he had known his wife was pregnant, and how his children would be a threat to him, and so they were kept well hidden. And how Luke had turned Vader back from the Dark Side, and had brought his body back to Endor to be burned. She let it flow from her. Telling the story, the truth, to Han, helped heal her somewhat. When she had finished, she bit her lip, looked up into Han's eyes and asked, "So, do you still love me?" He smiled that lopsided grin of his. "Why would I not?" "Well, being the daughter of Vader and all..." He took her hands in his. "Leia, you said it yourself, you're not the daughter of Vader, you're the daughter of the man who became Vader. There's a big difference." He smiled again. "And even if there wasn't, you're you, and you don't have any control over who your parents are. I love you for what you are, not what your genes say." She smiled at him and hugged him close. He had just moved to kiss her again when his commlink beeped. "Aw, Great Gods of the Manasassi," he groaned as he flipped the device on. "What?" A squeaky voice answered. "General Solo, Mon Mothma requests that Princess Leia contact her as soon as possible." "About what?" Han demanded. "Something about an Imperial probe, sir. That's all I know." Han sighed. "Very well then. She'll do it soon. Solo out." He tossed the commlink to Leia and climbed to his feet. "Here, call Mon Mothma. There's somthin' I wanna do quick. I'll be back soon." He smooched her. "Han....?" "Just stay put, I'll be back soon." He bounded off into the forest. Leia shrugged and flipped on the commlink. "Princess Leia Organa to Mon Mothma...what is this about an Imperial probe...?"