A/N: So, after I wrote A Reason to Resist, I just started writing and somehow came up with this. It could be considered something similar to a short prequel. If you don't know who Luke's visitor is and you want to be surprised, I would suggest reading chapter two first. I hope you enjoy, and a big thank you to everyone who reviewed or favorited A Reason to Resist!

O0o

She had heard- no, demanded- every last detail from Rey. And from the words that were spoken to the brush of Han's fingers against his son's cheek, Rey had told her everything.

She couldn't process everything, so the familiar rules that had once governed her as Alderaanian royalty were what put words in her mouth. She simply thanked Rey- the same way she would have politely thanked a server for handing her a drink- and left to find a place where she could be alone. She typically couldn't walk from one end of the base to the other without being mobbed by subordinates asking questions or seeking her approval, but today they must have seen the numbness in her face. They left her alone, all except for a young pilot who was hopeless at reading body language and had a trivial question about… something. Whatever it was, it was cut off by Rey's brisk footsteps. Out of the corner of her eye, Leia saw the girl grab the pilot's arm and tug him aside. His eyes widened, and he nodded in agreement with whatever Rey had whispered in his ear.

Leia continued to her rooms, now aware of the reason for the sudden, welcome privacy. Rey was trailing protectively behind her, frowning and gesturing at anyone who, either out of ignorance or audacity, tried to approach the General. For a moment, Leia's numb heart felt a prickle of warmth at the girl's thoughtfulness.

By the time Leia reached her room and turned to thank her self- appointed escort, Rey's distinctive triple buns had already vanished among the heads of the numerous Resistance personnel.

Leia locked the door and sank into a chair. It was her favorite, most comfortable chair, but even it was sending an ache through her back and shoulders. She rubbed her back absently, her thoughts busy with the more consuming pain of loss. It seemed that since the time of her birth she had been in the spotlight. First a princess, then a senator, now a general. To the public, she had always had to exude an air of strength, courage, and calm. Even when her planet- her home, her parents, her friends- had been destroyed in seconds while she watched. Even when she found out things about her past and her family that scared and horrified her. Even when she had felt lost and small in a tumultuous galaxy.

With Han, it had been different. With Han, she had been able to let down her defenses. For a few moments on Endor, she had been able to lay aside her duties and facade of perfect calm while he had held her. She missed the warmth of his arms. She missed the smell of his clothes after he had been working on the Falcon. She even missed the nicknames that he had persisted in calling her long after their marriage, simply from force of habit, although they had become endearing when spoken with fondness and his crooked, heart-warming grin. Force, she missed him. They had so wasted so many years apart- Years that could never be recovered.

The shrinking of the gap between them and the resurfacing of old trust had manifested itself again as he had held her before he had left. Before he had left to win back their son, to find Ben somewhere inside Kylo Ren.

Rey had described vividly the moment when Han had told Kylo Ren to take off his helmet, so he could see the face of his son. From the description of his face, Leia had been able to paint a picture of the features she had once known so well: the wide puppy eyes he had used to plead for treats when he was small, the fluffy, wavy black hair that Han had always ruffled. It had been the face of Ben Solo, not that of a hooded, masked Kylo Ren. And thus it had been that it hadn't been Kylo who had killed Han: It had been Ben. They were now one and the same.

Tears streamed down Leia's cheeks, and she didn't bother to swipe them away. If only she had a lightsaber, then no furniture in the room would be left standing… She had loved Ben, she had kept believing in him even after everyone else had given up hope, and she had sent Han to retrieve him without ever considering that his own son would hurt him. She had been wrong, and now her Han was gone. As was her son. Her chest tightened with sudden anger.

"I have no son," she hissed into the silence of her room. Immediately, her heart reproached her. No, you have a son. Love was the cure for Darth Vader, love that would not relent until he had acknowledged it: It can be for Ben, too. Han believed that, and so do you. Even now.

Leia let out a shuddering breath and wiped her cheeks, which were wet with tears and sweat. Everyone else had given up on Ben: Not one of them, not even the idealistic and devoted Rey, currently believed that Ben could be brought back. Well, she would do what she had always done: Rebel against their expectations, and hope. She would hope and love Ben until she died, even if she never saw her son turn from-

The squeezing in her chest and the shortness of breath she had previously attributed to her sobs suddenly clenched her chest in its grip. She gasped for air, suddenly sagging weakly against the chair. Her head lolled weakly against the back in a way that scrunched her neck uncomfortably against the back of the chair, but the pain consumed too much of her strength, sapping any will or strength to move…

It was just a few minutes later that the door flew open, hitting the wall with a bang. It was Rey, looking panicked and almost as out of breath as Leia herself. In dismay, the girl flung herself to her knees at Leia's feet and gently took her hand. "What's wrong, General? The Force, I felt it, I- What can I do?" Ray stopped, took a deep breath, and said much more calmly, "It'll be all right, General. I'll get Major Kalonia on the comlink. Please, tell me what hurts."

"I can't breathe," Leia panted. "And my chest hurts. Earlier it was my back."

Rey thumbed on the comlink and spoke to the doctor, relaying Leia's symptoms. "Sounds like a heart attack," crackled the doctor's voice. "Where are you? I'm coming right away."

Right away took too long. With all the chaos and the wounded patients on her hands, one of which included a Wookie they had had to drug in order to get anywhere near his injury, the doctor didn't arrive until it was too late.

Rey helped Leia move to the bed and sat beside it, holding the General's hand. The Force told her that Leia would not survive, and despite her almost instinctive affection for Leia, she wished someone else was here in her place. She had known Leia for such a short time- although deeply, from the connection that had instantly formed between them in the Force- and the General deserved all the friends and family in the Galaxy to be at her side.

"Rey," Leia said, squeezing her hand. "Rey?"

"Yes, I'm here," Rey whispered. Slightly awkwardly, she reached up and brushed loose strands of hair away from Leia's face.

Leia reached up with a weak finger and touched Rey's cheek. "Don't worry about me. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

Rey smiled through her tears. "The Force is strong in your family."

Leia smiled back, the words apparently stirring a sweet memory. "And yours," she whispered, but Rey had no time to question what she had meant. The General's eyes were glazing over, her words fading into a breathless sigh that sounded like Han's name.

Rey suddenly felt desperate to do something, anything, for Leia: For Han's sake, for Leia's, and for her own. Her family had left her, but she had found another, with all the warmth, loyalty, and heart she had dreamed of: Now, they were being ripped away from her, too, one by one. Chewie and Finn lay wounded in the medical facility, Han was dead, and at any moment Leia was going to join him. "General, what can I do?" she sobbed.

A few hours later, a patched-up but determined Wookie and an even more determined Rey were flying to Ahch-To. Leia's last words echoed in the girl's heart: "Bring Luke back, Rey. Bring him home."