A/N: I do not own Star Wars. I am merely playing with some of the characters.


1

What a piece of junk, Luke thought to himself as he eyed the gray Honda civic sitting at the end of a long and unimpressive line. The salesman had been talking it up for the past ten minutes but all Luke saw was a rust bucket that would be lucky to get him to the nearest town. He tried to plaster a smile on his face as he tore his gaze from the car to the salesman, but he didn't think he'd managed to make it convincing, judging from the man's wince.

"I know it's old, but it's a very reliable car. The couple who traded it kept it quite maintained. Why don't you give it a test run?"

Luke shrugged and returned his gaze to the car. "How many miles does it have?"

The man hesitated for a moment before answering softly, "About two hundred thousand, but…"

Luke cut him off with a laugh. "Is that all?"

"…she runs like she just got out of the factory yesterday, and I promise you she is quite the bargain," the man finished as though Luke hadn't interrupted him.

"I suppose for ten thousand, I'm not going to do much better," Luke quipped, more to himself than the salesman, but the man answered him anyway.

"If I were you, I wouldn't need to think about it."

That earned the man a quick rebuffing look from Luke, though he fought back the retort that was fighting its way up his windpipe. "I'll take it."

"You…yes, very good, sir! Why don't we go inside and I'll begin the paperwork."

Luke nodded his acquiescence and followed the man inside the small office. He wasn't surprised to find he was the only customer inside apart from a middle-aged couple sitting in the nearest cubicle with a young boy sitting on the floor by his mother's feet. He was playing what looked like a very enticing game on his tablet. Luke was instantly reminded of his sister and her family, which of course caused him to look away. Any thought of Leia instantly sent a guilty wave through his entire body.

He spent the next hour going over every boring detail that came with buying a car. He was disappointed to learn that buying used did not allow him to escape the hassle of negotiating price and dealing with credit checks. His credit was the main reason he'd been forced to go to the used car dealership in the first place. Well, that and his utter lack caring. All he needed was a car that would take him to his sister's and back again. Other than that he was perfectly happy to spend the next ten years back at his home again.

By the time the paperwork was finally finished and Luke drove off the lot in his new/old Honda civic, he wanted nothing more than to return to his hermit lifestyle and never venture out again. But of course he couldn't do that. He'd made a promise and he needed to fulfill it.

As he drove onto the highway and proceeded west toward his hometown of Coruscant, he had to admit that the car drove like it had been built only the previous year. It was one of the smoothest cars he'd ever driven. It didn't make any clunks or moans and groans while going over a bump in the road or if he made a sharp turn. He could have driven it the entire way to his sister's without it giving him the slightest problem.

Luke would have if he wasn't so tired. By the time the sun set and his eyes burned from watching the road all day, he felt as though he were liable to pass out if he didn't get his body on a bed soon. He pulled off the highway and found himself right outside a cheap motel that proudly advertised vacancies.

He wasted no time pulling in to the nearly empty lot and quickly got out of the car. As he walked up to the door of the lobby, he noticed what appeared to be a young woman sitting on the sidewalk just outside the door to the nearest room. Her legs were stretched out in front of her and she was chowing down on what appeared to be a sandwich from a vending machine. She was shivering in what passed for a jacket but it didn't seem to bother her as she wolfed down the sandwich.

Luke turned away from her and entered the lobby. As he paid for his room for the night, he glanced out the window to see if the woman was still there, but he could see that she was gone. She probably finished her dinner and had gone back in her room for the night. Luke shrugged it off and tried not to dwell on her anymore.

As he drove to the back of the building to his room, he did not see any more of the woman. He was fine with that. After he entered his room he took a quick shower, dressing in the same clothes he'd had on, then laid in his bed and turned the television on, though he ended up not needing to because he'd fallen asleep before the program he'd decided to watch had ended.

By the time he woke the next morning, the sun was shining brightly through his window and Luke knew he'd overslept.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he shot out of bed and grabbed the large black trash bag that served as his suitcase. He threw the door open so forcefully that it slammed against the wall to the room beside his and left a small crack. He heard angry voices coming from inside the room but he didn't have time to pacify his temporary neighbors. He fumbled in the pockets of his jeans for the keys to the car, cursing again as they eluded him. A minute later he was in the car and driving much faster than he should have back to the lobby.

He waited impatiently for the young couple in front of him to finish checking out, thinking to himself that it was taking much longer than it should be. By the time it was his turn he was in a thoroughly bad mood. He made as little small talk with the chatty attendant as possible, knowing that anything that came out of his mouth was bound to be rude and unnecessary. He paid for the one night then hightailed it back outside.

Luke felt better once he was inside his car. He thrust the key into the ignition, heard it start, put the car into reverse and began to back out of his spot when movement out of the corner of his rearview mirror caught his attention.

The young woman he'd seen sitting on the sidewalk the previous night was in what appeared to be a heated argument with a large older man. Only now that the sun was up and he got a better look, he could tell that it would be more accurate to call her a girl. She didn't look a day over sixteen. She was yelling at the man, though her words were indecipherable due to the distance. Like Luke, she was also in the clothes he'd seen her in before, only calling them clothes was generous. Her gray t-shirt was ripped in one of the shoulders and there were dark patches that could only be dirt. Her jeans hung loosely from her waist and the material in both knees were ripped. He knew that in some cases this was a fashion choice and not due to a ratty condition, but he knew that in this girl's case it was a case of being old and ratty. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun on top of her head, and it could do with a good washing, but none of that was what struck Luke.

It was the look in her eyes. Even watching the scene play out from the rearview mirror, Luke could see the anger and desperation in her dark eyes and was reminded of the last person he wanted to think about. It was like being stabbed in the heart by the world's sharpest knife. He blinked and tore his gaze away from the girl and her companion, and was about to put the car in drive when it happened.

The girl screamed, and when he looked again in the rearview mirror to see what happened, he saw the girl crumpled in a heap on the street, the large old man towering over her. He kicked her twice in the side and was about to kick her head when Luke found himself out of the car before he could fully register what he was doing.

"Hey!" He yelled, wincing at the hoarseness in his voice. "Leave her alone!"

The man froze, his leg lifted inches from the girl's head.

"I'll call the police if you don't get out of here right now!" Luke called, digging around in his pocket for good measure.

The man's foot lowered back to the ground and he turned to leave, though not before yelling, "You wouldn't be doing her any favors."

And he was gone before anything else could be said.

The girl didn't get up right away. Luke watched her for a moment, hoping that she would get up and follow her companion's example and run away so that he could be removed from any responsibility. But she didn't move.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked after what felt like an eternity had passed. He reluctantly took a step in her direction. He repeated his question when she still did not move and continued to inch his way toward her.

When he was no more than a few feet from her, he saw that she was trembling. He suppressed a sigh, knowing he was the worst person on the planet for thinking that the condition of this girl and the awful circumstances she was in was inconveniencing him. She'd just been attacked, and he was more worried about his timetable than her welfare.

"Miss? Can I do anything for you? Call someone?"

Luke was taken aback when the girl raised her head to glare at him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, and Luke was surprised even further when he heard her English accent. She managed to pull herself to her feet after a few clumsy minutes. Luke tried to help her a few times but she brushed him off wordlessly. Eventually he gave up and stepped back to give her space.

She limped and favored one foot, but she managed to stand on her own. Luke watched her for a moment then turned to look at the car. He really needed to get going. He was going to be late enough as it was, and knew how Leia would be if he missed…

"Go." The girl's voice broke through his internal debate.

"Excuse me?"

She nodded at the car, her gaze falling on the open driver's side door. "Don't let me keep you. If you've got somewhere to be, go."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine." She started to limp away, and Luke noticed she was doing a very good job of pretending as though she wasn't in incredible pain.

"Is there someone I can call? Where are your parents?" Honestly, Luke had no idea why he wasn't heeding the girl's advice and getting in his car. If anyone saw the two of them together they might get the wrong idea and think he was responsible for her injuries.

"That's a good question. I wish I knew," the girl snapped. "Now are you going to go or not?"

Luke shrugged. He didn't have to deal with this girl. If she said she was fine, she was fine. She certainly wasn't his responsibility.

"Yes. Sorry to have bothered you." He got back in his car and drove away before he could think any more about her or what he'd just witnessed.

As he drove off the motel property, he thought he would feel better once the girl was out of sight. He was surprised when a gnawing feeling crept into the pit of his stomach and only grew larger with every mile he put between himself and the girl who clearly needed help.

"Damn it," he muttered as he made a sharp turn to exit the highway, causing the driver he'd just cut off to blare his horn. Luke barely registered it as he made his way back to the motel.

I'll drop her off at the nearest hospital. She'll get the help she needs and she can officially be out of my hair, he thought to himself as he pulled back into the motel parking lot.

Luke didn't know if he was surprised or annoyed when he found the girl back on the sidewalk, picking at a scab on her knee through the hole in her jeans. He pulled up to her, half expecting her to make a run for it before he remembered that she could barely stand. She wasn't going anywhere.

He rolled down the window of the passenger side window and called out to her, "Get in."

She eyed him warily. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Luke shrugged. "You can't. But I did just chase away the guy who gave you those injuries. I promise I'm not going to try anything funny. I just want to take you to a hospital, and you'll never see me again."

She still didn't look convinced. She drew her legs up to her chest and tried not to let him see the pain that simple act brought her.

"It's either that or I call someone to come pick you up. Surely someone out there is missing you?"

When she didn't reply he sighed again and got out of the car. This caused her to pull herself agonizingly to her feet, though she didn't try to run. He opened the passenger door and held it open for her. "A hospital. That's all."

She glared at him before turning her attention to the car. He could tell she was thinking about it. He was about to open his mouth and repeat his offer one more time when she whispered, "That's all?"

"Scout's honor." He held up the boy scout salute he'd learned as a kid and was surprised when the corners of the girl's lips lifted just slightly in the ghost of a smile.

"Okay."

And that was how Luke found himself an unexpected companion.