My brother commented that he thought, at the start, Poe was Han and Leia's. I ran with it. Tenses are a mess, and there's a little Poe/Finn.

Not The Last

When Poe didn't make the rendezvous, all Leia could think was: I have to tell Han our son is missing.

It wasn't the first time, and she desperately hoped it wouldn't be the last.

Of course Poe comes back, even before she could get a reply to her first message. His tale of a missing droid and a daring rescue from enemy clutches struck her with deja vu. As did his silence on that was done to him in enemy hands. She would talk with him about that later.

First, they have a droid to catch, and she has a renegade Stormtrooper to thank. She idly wonders how tall this 'Finn' is.

Han somehow managed to beat her to the punch. He had been on his way to Jakku after he got her message, planning on doing his own search and rescue. There he had run smack into the middle of everything, and even managed to get the Falcon back.

When things like that happened, sometimes Leia wondered if the Force simply orchestrated all their lives and if her decisions even mattered. (of course they did)

She thought they had finally come out ahead when Han told her about the missing girl, and about seeing Ben.

Mostly, Leia missed her brother, but a lot of the time, like now, she wanted to strangle him for not sticking around to deal with his son.

"I've met the General and Captain Solo already."

Leia can't help but smile at the confusion in Finn's voice. Han shoots her a look, and all she can do is shake her head. She can't control who their boy brings home to meet the parents.

"I know. But mom gave dad a medal after he rescued her from the Death Star, so..."

"If I remember correctly," Leia muttered under her breath. "There were a few other people there."

"Yeah, but-"

She cut Han off. "And I had to do a fair amount of rescuing myself."

He pouts at that.

Finn and Poe are close enough to them now that she can see the confusion giving way to dawning realization on the ex-Stormtroopers face.

"You should know," she spoke loud enough that her voice caught their attention. Poe just grinned, while Finn looked a little terrified at being addressed personally. "That medals are given out after the battle."

They had a girl to find and a base to destroy. Maybe time and the universe were circular.

The grate under her was hard and cold, and the edge of the temporary walkway dug into Leia's thighs as she hung her legs over the edge. She paid those feelings little mind, resting against the familiar warmth of Han's side. Only when his arm around her shoulders shifted did she open her eyes.

Poe dropped down to sit beside his parents, looking up at the night sky.

"Your boy will be alright."

Poe just nodded at Han's statement. Finn was still with them, after so many had already been lost. Leia shuddered at the destruction wrought by Star Killer base, mind forcing the old memory of Alderaan to the forefront of her thoughts. Han rubbed his hand down her arm, mistaking it for a reaction to the cold.

Wars had casualties, but she had hoped the scale of the last fight against the Empire would not be reached again. Entire families were destroyed or torn apart, but planets... planets should be safe. Poe's parents had died fighting against the Death Star so that such power would not be wielded in the universe again.

Taking him in after the war had been second nature to Han and Leia. She felt her guardianship of his life was only going marginally better than her attempted stewardship of the galaxy. They still needed to talk about what happened during his capture.

"I was thinking." Poe drummed his fingers against the metal walkway. "That I could go with you, to see Uncle Luke."

Leia wanted him to. Being far away on a distant planet seemed the only way to keep him safe.

"Sorry, kid." Han reached out with his free arm to pull Poe against his side. "I need you here to keep an eye on your mother. You know the kind of trouble she gets into."

Leia prodded his side hard enough to make him wince. Poe laughed and she couldn't help but smile at the sound. As much as she wanted them both safe, there truly was no such place. Not with the First Order still functioning, and having at least one of them at her side would soothe her as much as it worried her. It was a fair trade, in her mind.

They watched the stars together, not for the first time, and Leia desperately hoped, not for the last.