Author's Note - Hey, guys! You blew me away with the reviews for last chapter! PLEASE keep it up! And here's the next chapter! Featuring all of the Luke reunions, a bit of backstory on Rey, and the reveal of what giving Finn Taylor's blood did. :) I'll be beginning work on the next chapter once this one is posted, so the more you review, and the quicker you do so, the sooner it'll be posted! :)
- Artessy-echo - IKR! NGL, I teared up writing Kylo and Taylor's bit. :( So glad to hear you're still loving the story though!
- Avenger-Ally - Well, Taylor was going to go with him, until she and Kylo were separated, and she saw Finn and Rey.
- BloodMoonWanes - It broke mine too. :( And I do have plans to have flashbacks in future chapters. :)
- Guest - Same here! :(
- Kim - Thank you so much! And here you go, Luke and Taylor's reunion. :)
- littlenerd - Well, here you go, my friend! :) Don't be afraid to get specific in your reviews. :)
- Taylorluvssam - Thank you! Glad to hear it! :)
- animechick247 - Haha! It's funny you say that, because I always think that Kylo and Taylor's relationship is kind of what Anakin and Padme's would have been if she'd been alive while he was Darth Vader. :) They will see each other again and, yes, their love always brings them together. :)
- Guest - Yes, Han's death is so heartbreaking. :( Glad you're enjoying the story!
- MedievalWarriorPrincess - Sweetie, I don't even know what to say to you. Your reviews are beyond perfect and I'm so glad to hear you love my story so much! :)
Taylor didn't know how long she'd been climbing, what was only moments felt like hours, and she knew it was not necessarily because of the mountain, but more the fact that she was on her way to see her Father, whom she hadn't seen in years.
When she finally reached the top, which was covered in lush green grass, unlike the completely stone section she'd just got through, her heart lept, at the sight of someone standing several feet away, near the cliff's edge, back to her, hidden beneath a cloak.
"Father?" Taylor called out.
The person slowly turned, it was a man, and his head was bowed down a bit, before he lifted it, and a wave of relief washed over Taylor, at the sight of her Father's face, aged, but still handsome. He soon raised his hands, one Human, and the other robotic, to remove the hood of his cloak, and lay it down on his shoulders.
Luke Skywalker gazed upon his daughter, for the first time in 10 years. She was all grown up. She'd gone from a beautiful teenage girl, to a breathtakingly gorgeous and stunning young woman, whom he could feel the power coming off of in waves.
"I knew you would come," he said, a gentle smile alighting his aged, handsome face, before he held out his arms to her.
Taylor's blue-green, gold flecked orbs filled with tears, and she laughed softly in happiness at his words, before dropping her bag to the ground, then rushing forward, her arms going around Luke's neck, while his wrapped around her waist.
"Oh," Luke breathed, his eyes closing, as he held his daughter, who buried her beautiful face in the crook of his neck. "My beautiful, sweet, precious baby girl. I have missed you. . . so much."
"Father," Taylor sobbed into his shoulder. "I found you. I finally found you."
Luke could feel tears of his own filling his eyes, as happiness, love, and relief flooded every inch of him, as it did Taylor. They renewed their grasps on each other, Luke soon lifting his non robotic hand to cradle the back of Taylor's dark silky head, and the two merely held one another on the cliff's edge for what felt like hours.
"Han's jacket looks good on you," Luke said, watching Taylor fetch her bag.
She sighed sadly at his words, turning to face him, as she straightened up from grabbing her pack.
"You know he's dead," said Taylor. "Don't you?"
Luke nodded, unable to describe the pain it caused him to know his best friend was gone. "Yes, I do. I felt it."
Taylor slung the strap of her bag up onto her slender shoulder, then walked over to her Father, reaching inside of it as she did so. She grasped his lightsaber, and pulled it free, where she offered it to him.
Luke looked down at the item she held out to him, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of it.
"Leia was supposed to keep that from you," he said with a soft sigh.
"She did," Taylor responded. "Until it started calling out to me in the night. That's how I found it." She further held the lightsaber out to him. "Take it."
"I can't," Luke said, with a gentle shake of her head, before he reached out to cup Taylor's hand from beneath, and lift it up to herself. "It's yours now."
"Father," sighed Taylor, as he urged the lightsaber back to her. "Please. You need a weapon for the journey home."
Luke walked back over to the cliff's edge and stood with his back to her, resembling how she'd found him, minus the hood being up on his head. Her heart sank as she watched him.
"Father," Taylor said, lowering the hand holding the lightsaber, and slowly taking a few steps closer to him. "You are coming home, aren't you?"
"I don't know if I can, my Angel," Luke responded, with a sad sigh.
"You have to!" Taylor exclaimed, her Father calling her 'Angel' didn't fully register in her mind as it should. It was something he always called her when she was younger, and now she understood why. "Father, do you even realize what's happened?"
Luke turned to face his daughter, his hands clasped in front of himself, one hand holding the wrist of the other limb.
"Uncle Han is dead! Ben killed him!" Taylor saw her Father visibly flinch at the mention of Leia's son. "I saw it! And, when it happened, I. . ." She trailed off. "Snoke told me about my Mother. Father, is it true? Was she an Angel? Am I?"
Luke paused for a moment once more, before nodding, his heart aching at the knowledge that Taylor had awoken her other abilities, and he wasn't there with her, as well as the memories of the woman he loved her words brought to him.
"Yes," he said. "You are."
Taylor's eyes slipped closed and she took a step back away from her Father. When she opened her blue-green, gold flecked orbs, she gazed at Luke with a furrowed brow.
"I killed people," she breathed. "Stormtroopers. And you weren't there. You never told me about what I was capable of. You just left. I needed my Father and you just left me!"
Taylor's eyes flashed scarlet red once, as her anger toward Luke rose. He stepped forward, lifting his hands to lovingly cup her beautiful face in them.
"I'm so sorry, Taylor," said Luke. "I didn't know what else to do. Han and Leia, they. . . They trusted me with their son, the one they named after my Mentor. To train him. I thought I could do it. Erase the memory of Darth Vader from our family, create a new Generation of Jedi. But I failed. And my Nephew, the man who'd captured my daughter's heart, turned against us, slaughtered our friends. I couldn't look at my sister and the man I considered a brother, knowing I'd failed them, knowing I'd possibly created another Dark Lord like my Father. I didn't want them to see me that way. I didn't want you to see me that way."
Both Luke and Taylor's eyes filled with tears, at the man spoke, soon beginning to affectionately stroke his daughter's silky golden cheeks with his thumbs, as he did so.
"You are the love of my life, Taylor," Luke went on. "You are my child, my chosen, the greatest thing to ever happen to me."
"Then please don't leave me again, Father," responded Taylor, lifting her free hand to grasp one of his wrists. "Don't leave us again."
Luke and Taylor were silent for a moment, before the man shook her head. "I won't." He gazed into her eyes, as his daughter nearly collapsed to her knees from the relief his mere two words caused her, and he moved one hand to touch her lush brown tresses. "And I promise you, I will repair all that was broken."
Taylor couldn't find any words to say, so she did the only thing she could, and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck, one hand still holding the lightsaber.
Luke wrapped his own arms around her and held her tight, closing his eyes once more, as he allowed himself to fully enjoy the feeling of his baby girl back with him, safe in his embrace, after all of these years.
"It's good to see you too, my friend," Luke said to Chewie, as the Wookie hugged him aboard the Falcon.
They'd gotten on board, taken off, and Chewie had set the ship's course, then put it on auto pilot, so he could join the reunions with Luke, more happy to see the man now that he's lost Han.
Taylor smiled softly, as she watched from the doorway of the room, having gone to make her Father something to drink.
Chewie softly roared a few words, when he and Luke parted, before the Wookie sent Taylor some as well, then headed off to the cockpit.
R2 had already greeted Luke, so BB-8 rolled up to him last, beeping happily at the man.
"I've missed you as well, little one," Luke replied to his daughter's droid, reaching out with his robotic hand to pat him on his head. "Thank you for looking after my little one all these years." He looked over with sparkling eyes at Taylor at this.
"She more took care of me," BB-8 responded, before rolling off, causing Luke to chuckle softly.
Taylor walked over to Luke, as he settled down in one of the chairs, gazing around in wonder at the familiar ship.
"Here," she said, offering him the drink, and he took it.
"Thank you," Luke responded.
"It must feel strange," Taylor went on, perching herself nearby to her Father, not wanting to be even a few feet from him now that she had him back. "Being back aboard the Falcon."
Luke nodded, taking a sip from the drink she had prepared him, before cradling the cup in both hands. "It is. You have no idea how much it is, my Angel."
"Father," Taylor began, after a moment of silence. "Did Obi-Wan ever have a child?"
Luke gazed with a furrowed brow at his daughter for a moment, before responding. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I met this girl," Taylor explained. "On Jakku. She can access the Force. And Uncle Han took us to see Maz Kanata, and she had Obi-Wan's lightsaber." She paused, then went on. "Father, it called out to her."
Luke set his drink aside, then rose to his feet, appearing to be deep in thought, as he paced a bit.
"Is her name Rey?" he asked, suddenly coming to a halt, and looking over at Taylor.
Her eyes widened and she pushed off of the table she'd been leaning on. "Yes! It's true then? She's related to Obi-Wan?"
Luke sighed softly, gesturing Taylor to come sit with him at the table that held the Dejarik game, which she did, the two settling down, where the man turned to his daughter.
"When you were around 6 years old, a woman came to see us," Luke began. "She brought with her a baby, a girl. She said the child was meant to be a Jedi. She'd been told by the baby's Father that his Father had been Obi-Wan Kenobi, told about him by his Mother. The child's name was Rey."
"What happened to her parents? To her Grandmother?" Taylor inquired.
"The Mother left, leaving Rey with us to be trained when she was old enough, she said the child's Father was dead, as was his Mother," Luke went on. "It was a mystery we never truly solved. And I have no idea how Maz Kanata came upon Obi-Wan's lightsaber. The last time I saw it. . ." he sighed sadly. "Was when Darth Vader killed him on the Death Star."
"If Rey was under our care, then how she'd end up on Jakku?" asked Taylor. "And why don't I remember her?"
"Before I left, I took Rey to a friend on Jakku, to be looked after," Luke explained. "We were very early in her training, so I'd hoped she wouldn't remember any of it."
"Father, why don't I remember her?" Taylor demanded to know. "Did you take away my memories of her?"
Luke shook his head. "No, my Angel. I wanted you to find her when you both were old enough. You loved each other, you were like sisters. Whoever took your memory of her, it wasn't me."
Taylor sighed softly. Who would have taken her memories of Rey? Rey was young enough to explain why she didn't really remember Taylor, only being left behind by what she assumed was her family on Jakku, and, for all intents and purposes, the Skywalkers were her family.
"But you still separated us," Taylor realized. "As Obi-Wan and Master Yoda did you and Aunt Leia."
"I didn't want to, Taylor," Luke responded. "Believe me, I didn't. But I knew, if you and Rey grew up together, your powers combined would make you an easy target for the First Order, and they'd find the two of you, take you away."
Sighing softly, Taylor leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and burying her beautiful face in her slender hands.
Luke leaned forward as well, placing his robotic hand on her back, which he gently rubbed, while his still flesh and bone limb came to rest on her nearest knee.
"I know that I will never be able to make up for all of the things that I have done," he said. "But I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life trying."
Taylor lifted her dark silky head, looking over at Luke, whom she smiled softly at. "You're wrong, Father. You being here now, coming home with me, it's everything to me."
Luke smiled softly back at his daughter, before using his hold on her to gently pull her to him, as he leaned back in his seat, and Taylor happily went with him, laying her head on his shoulder, and her one hand on his chest, while he continued lovingly stroking her hair with his robotic limb, and used his Human hand to rub her upper arm, clad in Han's leather jacket.
They sat there in comfortable silence, Luke occasionally kissing Taylor's forehead, or inhaling a deep breath of her scent, noticing, after a few moments, that she had drifted off to sleep into his arms, and his heart swelled with such joy and love, he was sure it would burst within his chest. He was holding his daughter, his baby girl, as she slumbered, for the first time in more than ten years.
Once they arrived back on D'Qar, Chewie and Taylor landed the Millennium Falcon. Luke stood behind them in the cockpit as they did so, smiling in pride of his daughter's ability to fly the legendary ship.
"Han taught you how to fly," he said. "I knew he would."
Taylor looked up at her Father, sending him a soft smile in return. "Actually, a friend of mine, Poe, he's the best Pilot in the Resistance, perhaps even in the Galaxy. He taught me most of what I know about ships and flying."
"Is this Poe your boyfriend?" Luke inquired with a quirked brow.
"No!" Taylor exclaimed. "Gosh, why does everybody ask that?"
Chewie spoke up with his explanation on the subject, and Taylor sent him a look, while Luke chuckled softly.
"Oh, hush, you," Taylor said to the Wookie.
Luke offered his daughter his robotic hand, as they powered down the Falcon, and she took it, accepting his help in rising from her seat, while Chewie lowered the ramp, everyone gathering outside to greet them.
"Nervous?" asked Taylor, as the two joined BB-8 and R2.
"I was more confident blowing up the Death Star," Luke responded, causing Taylor to giggle.
Leia was at the front of the gathering of the Resistance, Poe and Rey flagging her on either side, while C-3PO stood next to the latter.
The droids came out first, R2 going over to greet C-3PO, followed by Chewie, before Luke and Taylor emerged, and the Resistance erupted in cheers at the sight of the pair, though particularly Luke.
Leia's heart skipped a beat, while the breath caught in the back of her throat, at the sight of her beloved twin brother. He was older, as was she, but he was still handsome, as she was still beautiful.
"Luke," she breathed.
Luke saw her then, and his reaction to her was the same. His beautiful twin sister, so strong and brave, more so than he, he often found himself believing.
"Leia," he replied.
Taylor smiled, moving off to hug Poe and Rey, while Luke approached Leia.
"Leia," Luke repeated, as he and his sister came to a halt in front of each other. He wanted to say something, he wanted to apologize for everything, but he couldn't for the life of him think of how to start.
Leia seemed to be on the same page, which wasn't a surprise, as they are twins, so she merely shook her head, and held up a hand to him.
"It's all right," she said. "You're here now. That's all that matters." Breathing a gentle sigh, she went on. "Oh, Luke. I've been lost without you."
Luke's eyes filled with tears once more, and he merely nodded his head at her, before breathing in a shuddered breath. "I have too. Leia. . . I'm so sorry."
The twins closed the distance between one another and wrapped their arms around each other, hugging tightly, both in tears.
Taylor smiled from where she stood in between Poe and Rey, all three with their arms around one another's waists.
Rey grabbed Taylor's hand before her friend could get a word in and began to excitedly drag her down into the base.
"Rey, what's going on?" asked Taylor. "Slow down!"
"You've gotta see this!" Rey exclaimed, her face lit up with the most brilliant smile Taylor had ever seen. "Come on! Hurry!"
"You're going to pull my arm out of the socket!" Taylor laughed.
Rey led her through the base and down into the Medical Bay, which she all but shoved Taylor through the door of.
"Rey, what has gotten into-?" Taylor began to say, but her voice trailed off, as her blue-green, gold flecked orbs fell upon what she wanted her to see. "Finn."
The man was awake, and sitting up on his bed, still in his hospital garb, while a few medics looked over him, speaking to each other in disbelief, as they shared their test results on him.
"Finn?" Taylor spoke up, moving toward him.
He looked over at the sound of her voice and an expression of happiness came over his handsome face.
"Taylor!" he exclaimed, and she watched with a shocked gaze as he jumped off of the bed, then ran over to her, wrapping her up in his arms. "Rey told me you'd gone to get your Father. I was so worried."
Taylor's blue-green, gold flecked orbs were wide, as she found herself being hugged tightly by Finn, before she recovered from her shock enough to lift her arms to embrace him in return.
"I can't believe it," she breathed, using her hands to feel all over his back, making sure he was real, and checking for any sign of the lightsaber burn along his spine, but there was nothing. "You're awake. You're. . . You're healed."
Taylor pulled back from their hug in order to more fully check over Finn herself, pushing aside the collar of his hospital gown to look at his shoulder, which was completely healed too.
"Taylor," Finn said, grasping her upper arms in his hands, and lowering his voice, as the medics were still in the room. "Rey said she gave me your blood. That you told her to before you left. How'd you know it'd work?"
"I-I-I didn't," Taylor stuttered. "Snoke told me a bunch of things about Angels and one of the stories was that their blood can heal wounds."
"You saved my life," breathed Finn in awe and amazement, before he pulled Taylor into another hug. "Thank you."
Taylor couldn't think of anything to say, so she merely lifted her hands to embrace him in return once more, sharing a look with Rey over his shoulder, as she did so.
That night, everyone gathered outside for a celebration, to celebrate Luke's return and the destruction of the Starkiller. Also, to celebrate the life of Han Solo, and the lives of the Resistance fighters who'd died destroying the Starkiller.
Taylor watched from the sidelines, her Father was currently helping a group erect a bonfire, and Finn was among those building it. She still couldn't get over his recovery, which was caused by her blood.
Luke had met everybody and was going to talk to Rey in private after the party.
The children of the base ran around outside as well, playing, giggling, chasing fireflies, blissfully ignorant of what was truly going in the Galaxy, aside from the poor few who's parents had been lost in battles, including the most recent one with the Starkiller.
Taylor watched them with her arms crossed over her chest and a bright smile on her beautiful face. She loved children, always had, even when she was one herself, and she seemed to have a special gift with them, which is why it was so heartbreaking for her to think that she would probably never be a Mother. Ben was the only man she ever considered having a child, or children, with.
Poe looked over from the bonfire, a smile on his handsome face, as Luke patted him on his back, and saw Taylor observing the children of the Resistance. Excusing himself from the group, he jogged over to her, something Luke watched, smiling softly himself at the sight of the man heading over to his daughter.
"Hey," Poe said, once he reached her, before quirking a dark brow at her. "You okay?"
Taylor nodded, sending him a soft smile. "Yeah." She gently shook her dark silky head, as she shifted her eyes onto Luke. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to having my Father back though." Looking at Poe, she smiled softly again, at the look on his face, while he too gazed at Luke. "Does he live up to the stories?"
"Yeah, he does," Poe responded with a laugh, going on, more seriously, after the pair fell silent. "So, are you going to tell me how Finn is up and around, completely healed?"
"It's a long story," Taylor sighed. "Things that have to do with my Mother."
"Something happened on the Starkiller, didn't it?" Poe asked, going on when Taylor sighed again. "I know something did. You've been different ever since you came back. What happened? Did he do something to you?"
"No," Taylor exclaimed. It was the first time she'd thought about Kylo Ren since heading off to find her Father. "Snoke told me about my Mother, things that my Father confirmed were true on the way back here. She was an Angel and so I am too. And there's a lot I can do that I don't know about." She inhaled a deep breath, before going on. "When he killed my Uncle, something happened to me. I released this energy, this blast of power, and it killed nearly two dozen Stormtroopers."
Poe gazed in shock down at Taylor, as she went into her explanation. The Angel part he could believe. She was easily the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, Human and otherwise. But he'd never heard of the Angels having such great powers, aside from their stunning physical nature.
"Had it happened before I met Finn, maybe it wouldn't bother me so much," Taylor went on. "But knowing him, knowing they're not just some mindless Clone army under those helmets, knowing they're people taken from their families. . ."
"Hey," Poe said, moving his large hands, and grasping her slender upper arms, using the hold to turn her to face him. "I know you, Taylor. You would never hurt anyone unless you had to. If you hadn't taken out those Stormtroopers, they'd have more than likely killed Finn, Rey, Chewie, maybe even you."
"Ben never would've let them hurt me," Taylor responded. "He wanted me to go with him, you know."
Poe gazed down at her in surprise at her revelation about Kylo Ren. The man killed his own Father, her Uncle, then had the nerve to ask her to go with him?
"And I was going to," Taylor went on, furthering Poe's shock. "He offered me his hand and I took it. But you must've blown up the weapon not long before, as the Earth cracked between us, separating us, so I made the choice to stay with Finn and Rey."
"Because you're a good person, Taylor," Poe said, gazing firmly into her eyes. "They needed you and you stayed with them. And now you get to be with your Father again." He lifted a hand and gestured over at Luke. "And, because you came home, you saved Finn's life."
Taylor looked over at Finn, he and Rey were playfully fighting over how to stack a pile of logs C-3PO had brought them, and she laughed softly at the sight of her two friends.
"You're where you belong, Taylor," Poe went on. "You're home. With the people who love you."
Taylor lifted her blue-green, gold flecked orbs to Poe's handsome face, and smiled softly up at him, before stepping forward, where she slipped her arms beneath his, and wrapped them around his midsection, resting her head on his muscled upper chest and shoulder.
Poe smiled himself, and wrapped his arms around her in return, leaning his lightly scruffy cheek against the side of her dark silky head.
After the festivities were over, Poe walked Taylor back to her room, BB-8 rolling along behind them. Luke had gone to talk to Rey, but planned on seeing his daughter again before retiring for the night.
"Did you have fun?" Poe asked.
"Yes, I did," responded Taylor, with the first genuine smile on her beautiful face in a long time.
"Good," nodded Poe.
They soon arrived at her door, and Poe reached out to open it, before shifting his attention onto Taylor once more.
"Well," he said with a shy smile. "I guess this is goodnight."
"I guess it is," Taylor replied, her blue-green, gold flecked orbs sparkling.
The two stood in silence for a few seconds, before Taylor leaned up, and captured Poe's lips in a kiss, lifting a slender hand to cup one side of his handsome face, as she did so.
Poe was surprised, but didn't argue, allowing his eyes to slip closed, while one of his hands went to her waist, and the other mirrored her actions on him by cradling a side of her beautiful face, as he kissed her in return.
Pulling back, Taylor sent Poe a last smile and sparkling eyed look. "Goodnight, Poe."
"Goodnight, Taylor," he responded, barely containing the brilliant grin that begged to be set free across his handsome face.
Taylor stepped into her room, turning to face Poe, as she hit the button on the key pad inside, and the pair locked eyes, before the door closed.
BB-8 beeped questioningly at Taylor, as she moved over to her bed, lifting her hands to shed Han's leather jacket.
"I don't know why I did it," she responded, laying her Uncle's coat down on the foot of her bed, before sitting on its edge, as BB-8 rolled over to her. "I guess maybe because, for the first time in years, I had a good night, so I wanted a goodnight kiss."
BB-8 beeped something, then rolled over to prepare to go into sleep mode. Taylor watched him with a soft smile, and she was just reaching down to pull off her boots, when her mind suddenly filled with a voice, not an angry one, but one clearly calling out to her in need.
"Taylor," it said, and she knew immediately who it was.
"Ben," Taylor breathed.