Will of the Force

by The Thief's Locket

Willow, a girl from our world with Asperger's syndrome, suddenly finds herself in a galaxy far, far away. Thrown into a war against the Empire after a fated meeting, what is to become of her? She didn't ask for this, however the Force works in mysterious ways she's told, but for good or bad? When fantasy becomes reality, can Willow cope with war, aliens and the dark side? Luke/OC

11. Whispers in the Night

Hi everyone, welcome back. Again sorry about the delay, I lost access to the chapter for a while so could write and once again, life as been hectic.

AkiieLoo - Yes, Will is annoying at times, that is rather the point. Forgive me haha. Will does have a character arc, it's happening slowly at the moment, but things will kick off very soon. I'm merely laying the foundations of her flaws and room to grow. I apologies if it isn't always interesting and my updating schedule is a mess but I didn't just want to skip through and just do the royal medal ceremony and bam next film when I could do in-between moments and and build relationships. A New Hope all takes place in less than a week, Will wouldn't be use to everyone yet. She autistic and stubborn as hell! It's very hard for her especially with prior bullying. I didn't intend to write Leia as mean towards Will, it was more, in my head anyway, polar opposite personalities clashing and Will catching Leia at private moments and running her mouth without thinking. I will take your feedback and hope to please. Thank you :)

Imagine Person - Will does have her own troubled background. And you're going to have to see when Will and Vader meet, sooner or later ;)

As always, sorry for any spelling, grammar mistakes.

Chapter 11 Whispers in the Night

Will didn't know where she was when consciousness slowly greeted her. She heard faint metallic sounds to her right. She stirred and something or someone to her left moved closer.

"Mum?" Will whispered hoarsely.

There was a pause.

"No. Luke."

Will blearily opened her eyes; Luke's face swam into focus. She quickly closed her eyes and groaned, how embarrassing.

Why does this keep happening?

She heard Luke chuckle and cracked an eye open.

"I said that out loud didn't I?" Will whispered, opening her other eye.

Luke nodded; the corner of his mouth quirked then his expression morphed into a frown. "The med droid said you fainting was likely due to low blood sugar, they're running other tests as well." Luke cocked his head at her.

Ah.

"I can't eat the food," Will croaked, making a disgusted face at the thought.

Luke doesn't look any happier, his frown deepened. "You need to eat." he chided, annoyed and concerned.

Will sits up slightly, giving Luke a proper glance over. He was back to wearing his royal ceremony outfit – that damn yellow jacket! Last Will remembers seeing him, before she fainted, he was wearing a bright orange flight suit, they certainly liked bright colours around here…

Leia!

Will jolts as she remembered. Leia left. On a secret mission, Luke was ordered to stop her escape.

"Leia," she breathed, "Did you stop her? Bring her back?"

Was Leia angry right now? Being rebuked by High Command?

Luke's gaze dropped and his shoulders slumped in an expression of defeat. Will felt surprise wash over her. No?

"She tricked us," Luke stated. At Will's clear interest on the matter, Luke explained further. "We caught up to her ship, we thought she'd given up and surrendered when they released part of what we thought was the hyperdrive after presumed damage with colliding with Wedge's ship, so we backed off, but it was a decoy and they jumped to lightspeed."

"Impressive." Will murmured.

Luke rolled his eyes, "That's what Han said."

The doctor came in, briefly halting any further conversation, upon seeing Will's awakened state, he smiled pleasantly. "Nice to see you again." he greeted.

"Is it?" Will grumbled.

"Yes, perhaps it's not good to see you so soon again." he raised his brow at the young girl. "In the mist of evacuation, no less. Or was this your way of getting out of duty." he joked lightly.

"How to do feel Willow?"

"Awful." she said honestly. She felt nausea and her head ached.

Will grimaced. Luke stood by the wall, watching silently as Will was quizzed by the doctor, she was glancing over at him every now and then with a pleading look.

"While you're also here, I need you to fill out this," The doctor turned his attention to Luke, in his hand were two tablet devices that reminded Will of IPads. "Medical data."

Luke took the tablets, glancing at Will for a second. "And Willow?" he deduced, judging the fact he was given two.

"Yes." The doctor confirmed. "Whenever you can get the time, in the mist of chaos, or before the Empire prepare their counter attack."

Luke smiled politely at his joke. "Got it."

"As much detail you can, and we can schedule vaccinations and I need to give you both repress shots."

Luke blushed when he mentioned 'repress shots.' Will was confused over what that meant and catching Luke's reaction made her curious and nervous.

"What?" Will asked.

"Alliance policy." The doctor clarified, mistaking Will's reaction. "Especially with pilots," he added with a pointed glance at Luke. "I can administer it now, preferably." he asked.

Luke coughed, blushing harder. "Sure." he mumbled.

Luke came up to Will's bedside and placed the devices on her lap. She picked up one, curiously eyeing it. Her attention however was soon elsewhere when Luke shrugged off his jacket, revealing his tight black V neck shirt.

"What's a repress shot?" she whispered.

Luke glanced at Will. "Oh," he smiled awkwardly at her. "Birth control."

"Oh." Will breathed, wide eyed. She watched as the med droid produced two needles, both slightly varied, one for Luke, a different one for Will. That made her wonder, how good was reproductive health care or health care in general this universe? They can clone people! Give people robotic limbs.

The med droid was preparing the shot as Luke rolled up the long sleeve of his right arm, and Will was distracted again. His arm looked strong, not jacked, not yet, but strong from his farm labour.

Luke was given his shot and then it was Will's turn. She was slightly reluctant, suddenly afraid maybe she could have a bad reaction to this strange space medicine, although she mentally reminded herself, she's had no bad experience so far with bacta. Should she even be getting one when she felt like death right now? Will offered her non injured bacta healing arm.

A blood sample was taken from her and Luke, and Will didn't understand why that was necessary.

She was delighted when the doctor removed the patch and declared her arm healed. Her skin was slightly pink and tender but assured it would fade with little to no scaring. Luke stayed with her, despite it deemed unnecessary.

After the doctor pried the little information Will was currently willing to give upfront about her background, diet, drinking habits and unwillingness to eat, thus putting herself in this position. The doctor stated the change in her environment could lead to her being more prone to sickness. She was also rebuked for drinking on an empty stomach. Will wanted the bed to swallow her up.

Will was put on a rations diet. Told she should build up to rich food, the doctor's words. The med droid handed her a chip. Will inspected the little metallic object. It was smooth black, rectangle in shape with a strange symbol on it.

"That has your information, show it next time you're in the mess hall, they'll accommodate your needs." The doctor explained.

"So, this is my prescription?" Will mused, turning the little USB like device in her hands.

When Will was eventually cleared Luke marched her straight down to the mess hall. The hall was set up like a school cafeteria, although few Rebels were scattered upon the tables. Luke informed her most Rebels were working towards the evacuation process or out in their ships already scouting for new potential bases. The Empire is planning an attack. They only had a limited number of days on Yavin and currently sitting in the mess hall with Luke sitting opposite, with a tray full of carefully selected grey coloured vacuum-packed rations, felt absurd.

How could anyone eat at a time like this?

Luke pushed the tray across the table to Will, handing her chip back. Will felt her stomach churn. A hand covered her brow as she pitifully groaned.

The rations were near tasteless, but at least that meant Will could stomach it, and she hoped she could keep it in her stomach and not vomit the contents all over the floor. They were apparently packed with all the vital nutrients she needed, and they were mainly designed for space travel.

Luke shook his head as she ate, giving the rations a disgusted side eye. How she could endure that and not real food.

Luke was fiddling with his IPad like device.

"What are they called?" Will asked.

"Datapads." Luke replied.

"We have something similar to that back home." she commented. "Not as advanced though. Can you help me fill out mine?"

"Of course." Luke said.

Will bit her lip, looking down at her 'food'. She has a lot to learn about this galaxy, she thinks as she carefully takes small mouthfuls of a ration's bar. She pretends she's eating a chocolate bar. She already misses the taste of chocolate.

XXX

The day passed both slowly and quickly. Luke was clearly worried over Leia and her whereabouts; she could tell by the crease of his brow; his mind was partly distracted. However, the rest of his mind was busy aiding the moving process. Will was written off by the doctor's order not to work for the day, which meant Will had nothing to do and was frustrated. She was bored and on edge, imagining at any point the temple might crumble around her in an attack. Luke was annoyingly what Will would describe as babysitting her, after her fainting act he was keeping a close eye on her, observing if she were eating her scheduled ration meals. Perhaps his worry over Leia played a part in his behaviour now, although Luke always seemed to care overly about his friends.

Han was helping, sort of. He did a lot of complaining, mainly about needing to leave and pay Jabba the Hutt his debt. He was all talk, no bark as they say back in Will's world. Or whatever the saying was.

When Luke was preoccupied at his station, dismantling and transporting, Will slipped away and headed to the barracks. The barracks were empty, perfect, Will thought. Finally, some peace and quiet, and most importantly, away from people. Since waking up in this universe, Will hasn't had time really for herself. There is nothing Will loves more than relaxing and being left alone in her bedroom; the empty barracks are the closest level of comfort she could enjoy for now. She was so confused and scared back in Luke's homestead when she realised what happened to her, she didn't enjoy being left alone the first night in that spare room.

Will lay on her bunk, datapad held up in front of her face. She carefully turned it front to back, side to side. Her grip slipped and the corner of the datapad smacked her in the eye. Will groaned, sitting up and rubbing her sore eye. Luckily, no one was here to see that. She spent a good five minutes locating the button to turn the device on.

The black screen cracked to life; a Rebel Alliance symbol appeared centre as the tablet loaded up. The symbol disappeared and the screen briefly went blank again before Will's eyes were greeted with a display page. She intently viewed the information, trying to make head or tail of it. She tapped on an icon and it brought up another page.

Will blinked and the information on screen glitched and suddenly the letters weren't in English. Will blinked several times, thinking it was a trick of the light, holding the datapad further away. The change in angle did nothing. All the information was in some weird form of alien language!

"What?" Will said out loud, utterly confused.

Will closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them again and peeked at the screen, the information was back to normal. English. Will stared at the screen. She could see it was English again, she could read it. Odd. Did that all happen in her head? She placed the datapad on the bed slowly and turned it off. Will sat still, contemplating to the silence of the room. She glanced at the doorway, no one was about, she was alone. She glanced back at the device. Will was a little spooked. Maybe she needed an eye test.

Will left her datapad on the bunk, deciding to leave and forget about it until Luke helped her fill it out.

XXX

She toyed with one of the controls on the dashboard as the system flashed to life. The screen projected an image of space with a selection of modes and training course options to play. Will giggled quietly, she felt like a kid in an arcade. She was seated in a X-Wing flight simulator. This was how they helped trained beginner Rebel pilots, Will mused, to her though, it simply looked like an amazing game. The simulator was designed like the cramped space of cockpit of an X-Wing, but with an added seat, presumably for an instructor to sit and direct the learner. It had no sides, so it was easy to step into, but an enclosed roof that gave some form of privacy, and for Will, another place to hide! She had initially curled up inside the flight simulator without realising what it was.

Will fumbled around with the controls. There were so many buttons, tiny lights on or flashing - the slightly dark cramped space made the screen's glare hurt her eyes. She couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it must be to be in a real X-Wing for hours.

There'd better be a manual to show her what buttons to press…

Will moved the joystick and selected a training mode, set on easy. Will 'died' in around ten seconds. She tried again. She managed half a minute franticly pressing several buttons before she collided with an asteroid. The third time she did slightly better as she focused on steering her way around the field but got knocked off track by clusters of smaller asteroids, forcing her to restart. The fourth time, she somehow did worse and died in five seconds.

Will growled and slammed a hand against the dashboard in anger. She immediately groaned in pain, flexing her left hand.

"That must be a new record."

Will jumped in her seat at the voice, banging her head on the roof. The laughter that followed informed her it was Han. Will glared, pressing her lips firmly together, holding back a string of profanities she wished to aim at the smuggler.

"What do you want?" Will asked as nonchalant as she could manage, gaze pointedly glued to the screen.

"Who says I want anything?" Han frowned. "Are you always this uptight?" he said, taking in the girl's shift in demeanour. He leaned casually against the side of the simulator, slouching over.

Will glanced at Han for the first time, his head to one side he steadily watched her. She felt uncomfortable. She didn't know what to say, what to talk about around Han, what to talk about with him.

"I don't know what you mean." Will replied at last. It was true, she didn't know exactly what he meant.

"Now, sister,"

Will hated his use of the word.

"I know you do. What's your beef?" Han slipped into the other seat, and Will unconsciously leaned to the side further away from him. Acutely aware of the space, or lack of, between them.

"Beef?" Will said, confused.

Han's mouth quirked at the clearly flustered, and dare he think, adorably so, naïve kid who needed to be taught a thing or two. No wonder Luke and she got along, he thought, they were the same.

"Problem." he rephrased. She was naïve and as awkward as a lumbering Bantha but she was prickled with spikes, unlike Luke, who was easy going and open, Will had a durasteel edge underneath the soft surface.

Will cocked her head, staring at him blankly.

Han resisted rolling his eyes. "I get you don't like me – "

"I don't dislike you." said Will.

Han made a face, "Could've fooled me, kid." Will looked like she was about to flee at any second. "C'mon, why won't you talk to me then?"

Will squinted at Han. "I don't know what to say."

"You get all flustered around me, is that it?" Han grinned suddenly.

Will felt her cheeks warm. "No! What? I don't know what you're on about. I just don't have anything to say to you."

"You have lots to say to Luke though," Han went on, still grinning. It was easy to press Will's buttons.

Will shrugged, glancing out the side of the simulator briefly, checking if anyone was around. "Luke is…nice." she said lamely. She mentally berated herself, she had tried to say something better than that, words like kind or understanding. Luke was easier to talk to, but then he rescued her in the first place.

"I am nice." Han proclaimed.

Will raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's really going on with you and Luke?" Han asked suddenly. "I get he rescued you on Tatooine, but I don't get the rest."

Will was afraid of this question. Now that Han had finally probed for her story, Will struggled to find the words to articulate her situation. It was like being back on the Falcon, under scrutiny, explaining to Obi-Wan all over again. How much did Luke explain to Han? Clearly not a lot after she left that previous conversation.

If she could go through explaining it to Obi-Wan, she can explain it to Han, and Leia, if she comes back anytime soon. She's going to be stuck here a while, Will sighed.

"Luke promised to help me get home." said Will.

Han's brow furrowed. "How so?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know." she said awkwardly.

"What you mean you don't know? Do you need passage to your system, is that it?"

Will thought for a moment. "Yes, I suppose that's the best phrase for it."

Han looked at her as if she were crazy, "Why are you waiting on him?" he asked. At Will's bewildered expression at his remark, he continued, "Surely it would be quicker to hire a pilot to arrange passage? Heck, I could take you."

"I trust Luke." Will stated.

Han ran a hand across his jaw. "Kid, I dunno if you've noticed, but Luke's joined and ready to die for this Rebellion, and he's in no hurry to leave it. You and I both don't have any desire to stay here long term."

"It's not so simple. I can't leave even if I wanted to." Will whispered, looking at him with those sad green eyes.

Han stared at her. "Alright, kid, I think you need to go from the top here." he blew an exasperated breath.

A flush spread across Will's pale cheeks as she timidly began retelling her story from the start. She told him of Luke finding her unconscious in the desert with no memory, of anything, from a world so far out. Han, to his credit, seemed to listen, follow, consider her words whilst his expression gave nothing away on his feelings over the matter. When Will mentioned Ben Kenobi and his words in the Force playing a role in Will's circumstances, Han scoffed at the notion. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly still somewhat unconvinced over idea. Will didn't blame him.

"I still think that's a pile of nonsense, kid, from a strange old fossil," he had muttered. "Don't let it fill your head."

The conversation teetered off not long after. They sat in a pressing silence for a few moments until Han cleared his throat.

"Hey, tell you what sister, I'll show you a thing or two on this," he said, already handling the controls.

Will looked up at him with surprise. "Can you fly an X-Wing?" she found herself asking. The idea of Han Solo flying anything other than the Falcon felt absurd.

"Of course I can fly one!" Han barked, offended. "I'm a great pilot, I can fly anything!"

"Are you really going to teach me?" Will said in awe.

"What does it look like?" Han cocked an eyebrow at her. "Only a few basics, for now. Let's not get ahead here, I'm not making any promises," he said as he beckoned for Will to grab hold of the joystick.

Will eagerly awaited the test mode to load.

"Besides, maybe you might pick something up and they might not stick you in sanitation."

"What?" Will said sharply.

XXX

Leia had not returned by the end of the day.

The Rebellion carried on, although to say many of the higher ups from what Luke managed to overhear, were very displeased. The princess had a bounty placed on her head by the Empire, going out and leaving base without disclosing her whereabouts was viewed foolish and dangerous.

Will wondered if Leia would return before the Rebellion leaves Yavin Four. She had no knowledge of exactly what happens after A New Hope. Of course, Leia will return, she's a main character in this fantasy turned real life story. There are two more films. However, Will can't help but dwell on the idea of the plot suddenly changing. Perhaps her presence disrupts the timeline and things change. Or perhaps Will watched too much Doctor Who back home causing over imagination.

She could not settle. Since Luke blew up the Death Star, since the party, the medal ceremony, Will was on edge. 'What happens next?' a constant chant in her head. She barely ate as it was, her appetite was pushed to the side during the adventuring with Luke to rescue Leia, but then it ached, and still, she couldn't eat. Will was used to going long periods of time without eating but was having a hard time managing new foods and set structures with her rigid eating behaviour.

Luke noticed Will was zoning out where she sat on the edge of her bunk. She hadn't changed clothes or moved in the past while. The barrack was near full of pilots, Will being the odd one out. Wedge had returned from a mission and had flopped into his bunk opposite, his head barely hitting the pillow before falling asleep instantly. Luke had briefly debated if he should remove the man's boots, he'd probably not wake up, but decided to let him slumber on.

Luke jumped down the ladder and plonked himself next to Will, she barely reacted, which was unusual for her. Normally any sudden movement, especially into her personal space prompted a negative reaction.

Luke eyed her for a moment. He nudged her gently with his shoulder. "Hey," he whispered.

Finally, Will responded. She jumped slightly in surprise. There it is Luke thought. She looked at him like he'd grown two heads.

"Hello." Will replied.

"What you are thinking about?" Luke asked.

"Oh, nothing." said Will.

Luke didn't believe her. "You sure?"

"I was just daydreaming. Sometimes I zone out, sorry." Will smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, I'd better get changed." With that, Will got up and left for the changing area without another word, leaving Luke to wonder.

What am I going to do with her? Luke shook his head, finding her abrupt nature somewhat amusing.

XXX

Will couldn't sleep. She pressed the pillow as hard as she could with both hands over her ears, but it was no use, she could not block out the sound of snoring. Will gritted her teeth, screwing her eyes tightly shut, a near silent growl of frustration left her lips.

Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!

Will mentally screamed.

Why can't they be quiet?

Will was sensitive to sounds. Snoring, heaving breathing, chewing loudly, clicking, she could go on. She needed quiet; she needed her own space. Will tossed and turned.

She was a typical light sleeper. She had practically fallen unconscious after the party, so tired, so hungry, drunk; she had gone out like a light. Didn't dream. Tonight, however, was a different story. She struggled to fall asleep. Always on the cusp of sleep but jolted back by vivid images. The image of her mother appeared for a flashing beat in her mind's eyes, her voice calling her name, so loud Will jumped. More scattered images, family members gone and present, theirs voices calling. She thinks she imagined an island, an island surrounded by a vast ocean that reminded her strangely of home.

Will trashed her legs on the bed before sitting up. She tried to control her breathing. She looked around the darkened room. Most beds near full, some pilots still out on missions. Will glanced at the snoring man near the back, he wasn't the only one snoring, but he was the biggest offender. Loud and obnoxious, the type of wheezing sound that made Will wondered if he'd suddenly stop breathing in his sleep. In this moment she found she didn't mind if he did.

It was a horrid thought, but the sound triggered her, made Will angry. An intense, uncontrollable anger she couldn't explain. She's always been like this. Will felt angry hot tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She just wanted to sleep. She just wanted to smother the man to death with her pillow!

At each passing moment Will was forced to listen to the gasping wheezing she felt her insides boil. Will heard the bunk above her creak as Luke shifted in his sleep.

"Twenty-four Banthas…I've lost one!" Luke murmured.

Will froze, momentarily perplexed by the sound of Luke's voice. What the hell was he talking about? Wasn't he asleep? Will so was startled by his words that she started to laugh silently.

Does Luke talk in his sleep or was this a one off occurrence? Twenty-four Banthas she mused.

After a few moments of calming down her amusement faded when a loud snore wrenched it way through the air. Will let out an audible whine of frustration before attempting to smother herself with her own pillow.

Half an hour later, Will wasn't sure, all she knew was that she couldn't sleep. She glanced around the room, everyone else was asleep, Luke was shifting about a lot. Will quietly got up and peeked up at his bunk, Luke was facing away from her, but he appeared to be sleeping. Good. She grabbed her thin blanket and pillow and tiptoed out of the barrack room and dumped her stuff on the cold stone floor way on the opposite side of the chamber. She lay there, freezing, jumping at any small sound, afraid of the idea of getting caught sleeping outside on the floor. She hoped no one was on patrol. She made a mental note to ensure she woke up and moved back into the barrack room and to her bunk before everyone else woke up and finds her like this.

Sometime later Will was finally drifting off to sleep, that was until a someone touched her face. Will gasped, practically scrambling back on her hands. Her heart was pounding.

Will squinted to see Luke crouching before her, hand outstretched between them, an alarmed, sheepish expression on his face.

"Luke?!" Will said, breathing heavily. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Luke swallowed, scrambling for an answer. "I couldn't sleep." he whispered.

Will didn't respond, she stared at him as she caught her breath again, feeling her heartbeat slow.

"Err, I noticed your bunk was empty, and you didn't return after a while. I sensed something odd…" Luke trailed off, "Why are you sleeping out here?" he then blurted.

"I couldn't sleep." Will said blankly. They both just stared at each other for a moment. "In there." she added.

Luke's head tilted in confusion. "Why? What's the matter?"

Will averted her gaze, hoping it was dark enough not to see her blushing. "I couldn't stand –"

Luke frowned, unable to pick up Will's mumbling. "Couldn't stand what?" He angled his head closer to hear her better. Tired, but inquisitive blue eyes peering sideways at her.

Will sighed, "Couldn't stand that man's snoring!" she said angrily.

"Oh." said Luke.

Will's embarrassment morphed into frustration. "I can't stand sleeping in rooms with other people. I like the quiet. I need quiet to sleep. Snoring and other noises just makes me," she held up her hands, flexing them like she was trying to grab something. "Just makes me!" Will repeated, hands forming into tight fists that she squeezed hard enough until they shook, conveying her emotions in a way she couldn't with words. She let out a frustrated growl, lowering her hands.

"Willow?" Luke said, shuffling closer, reaching out towards her.

Will wiped at her eyes furiously the second she realised they were watery, refusing the angry tears to spill down her cheeks, to allow Luke to see. Will felt ashamed of herself, hating how her body worked against her. She tried to shrug off Luke's hand, but he only backed off for a second before he rested his hand more firmly on her shoulder.

"Go away!" Will whined, voice cracking. Ducking her head, a hand over her face. She attempted to push Luke away, but he resisted, leaning in against her hand. She bunched his night shirt in her fingers.

"Will?" Luke said her name gently, "Will it's okay." he said, concern coloured his tone, he reaches his other hand and touches her cheek. "It's alright."

No, it's not! I hate it here. I want to go home. I want to curl up in my own bed, I want to sleep!

"No," Will moaned. She hated the sound her voice. Pathetic. She sniffed, lowering her hand from her eyes to grab at Luke's hand and push it away. She ended up squeezing his hand tightly in hers, not sure if she wanted to cause him pain. She let go of her grip on his shirt and grabbed his other hand, attempting the same vice grip. Why she was doing it, she didn't fully know.

The moment Will let go, Luke leaned in and pulled her closer, pulling his hand from under hers on her shoulder and taking it in his, threading their fingers gently together. Will immediately squeezed his hand again. Still resisting, pushing slightly. It was rather painful. Luke wouldn't lie, but he held still, ignoring the pain for the moment.

"It's just me," Luke said. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?"

"Leave me alone." Will said, but there was no force behind the words, the fight was gone. She was tired. She breathed heavily; all she could hear was her own panting breathes. Her grip loosened and Luke's face relaxed as he could feel his fingers again.

Will wanted the comfort but it felt wrong. She hated it, made her feel weird. But she wanted something. "Luke." she said.

"I'm here." he answered.

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired and I can't – There's nothing wrong. Please…You should have left me alone."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," Luke said, looking guilty. "But I wanted to know if you're okay."

"I'm just being weak. I don't know what came over me." Will shook her head. She's having an unexpected emotion. Maybe emotional outburst was a better description.

"Willow," Luke said firmly, "It's okay to cry. Whatever it is, I'm here to talk, if you want."

Luke watched her carefully. He was unwilling to leave her in such a state, but if Will wouldn't talk then he couldn't do much more than offer his word. He did feel guilty, perhaps if he never disturbed her…

"I'll leave if you want me to," Luke said evenly, his reluctance was obvious in his tone. It seemed he couldn't keep his emotions at bay even when he tried. "As long as you'll be okay."

Luke waited another moment, but Will didn't speak, nor look at him. He sighed, slowly getting up.

His hands slipped away from hers and Will felt an urge to stop him, call out to him not to leave her. She felt conflicted, she wanted to be left to pitifully lay on the freezing floor, but part of her was screaming to be heard.

"I can't stand it." Will whispered. She heard Luke's footfalls stop. Will risked a look at him. Worry clouded his features, she looked away again. She carefully tried to gather her thoughts, form them into words that could describe the ache in her chest. "I'm not use to this. People."

Luke approached her, slowly, silently, he sat down cross legged on the floor before her. Patiently waiting for her to say more.

"I don't know if I can do this." Will said after a moment. Luke opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind and closed it. She was grateful not to be rushed. Will twisted her fingers together, Luke's eyes dart occasionally between her face and her restless fidgeting.

"I like my own space. My bedroom back home was the only place that I felt safe. Mine. Being around so many people…Meeting so many since you found me has been overwhelming." She paused, biting the inside of her cheek as she thought. "My life was…my life," Will made a face, she didn't notice Luke's frown of puzzlement at her general statement. "But I had my routine."

Luke raised his eyebrows curiously when Will smiled lightly, it was an odd smile, not one of mirth but the whimsical look in her eyes suggested she was reflecting on a memory.

Sure enough, Will spoke, "I remember once when my dad told me I couldn't get a pet cat, he said I couldn't get one because my lifestyle wasn't suited to give it attention. He said 'I've never seen someone with as much of a structured lifestyle like you. You have a whole routine, everything figured out,' that I 'lived in my own head'." Will took a breath, blinking to clear her vision of watery mist. "That I lived in my own little world…now I am in a world…I can't do this." she whispered sadly.

Luke wanted to hold her, reach over and touch her. He didn't know how she would react, but he found himself instinctively reaching over before he could remember better. Will started, looking at him with an expression of mild alarm and uncertainty. She eyed his hand, watching intently as he took hers in his. Will stared at their joined hands, and Luke thought for a second, she was going to yank hers away, or squeeze his in a death grip again for trying.

"I'm not use to so many people either," Luke told her. "Back on Tatooine, you know how it was, stuck on the farm. It's a lot to get used to. Everything has changed so fast, but I believe you can do it, we can."

"It's all right for you, you saved the day, you've fitted in perfectly." As you're meant to. "I'm useless at everything."

"You're not, what type of talk is that?" Luke scowled lightly.

"Luke, I couldn't even fill out that datapad thingy never mind fire a blaster properly." Will said deadpanned. Luke couldn't kid her. He was just being nice to spare her feelings.

Luke's brow creased for a second before he remembered. "Oh, I forget, we were meant to fill those out." he murmured almost to himself. "I told you I'd help fill it out, and that I'd help with anything you need to know." Luke reassured her.

Will sniffed again, ducking her head once more. It was going to take a lot to convince her it seemed.

"I heard Han was teaching you a few tricks on the flight simulator," Luke stated, trying a different approach. "Well, how'd that go?" he asked, he was genuinely curious.

"Well, he did a lot of boasting that he's one of the best pilots around here." Will said quietly. Luke chuckled at her response. "Yeah, his boasts were true. He is one of the best that I know."

Will looked up at him with a small smile.

"Is that so?" said Luke, feigning offence. Although the prideful part of Luke stirred at her statement.

"Well, there is this other guy, blew up a Death Star, he's pretty good, but without Han coming in, probably would have died." she teased, with a watery hiccup.

Luke bowed his head, humming, "True." he conceded, flashing a grin. "I only just did most of the work." he joked.

"Han said you did good, for a first attempt with no previous experience," Luke said, bringing the conversation back to the point he wanted to make. He hoped his words would encourage Will. "He said you're a quick learner, like me," Luke added with a grin.

"I don't see myself as a pilot," Will's eyes widen in alarm at the thought. The idea of flying an X-Wing was appealing, a childhood dream, but the image of going into battle and getting blown up, was a less an appealing thought. "We were only doing basics. I can't even drive back home."

"You just need to apply yourself Willow," Luke stated, "That's what I mean. You won't be useless if you try. You've got me, and now you've got Han helping you too."

"I'm guessing neither of us is getting to sleep anytime soon." Will sniffed, attempting a smile.

Luke smiled sympathetically at her, squeezing her hand briefly in comfort.

Will glanced at their hands, "Okay, you can let go now."

Luke sheepishly withdrew his hand. "Remember what I've said now," he reiterated, as he could see Will close off from him again before his eyes.

Just when Will thought their conversation was at its end Luke spoke up again. Typical. She rather liked the content silence they created. "You can make your own routine? Give yourself more time." he suggested.

Will bit back a less than nice remark. "Maybe." she settled on the word, too tired to argue. Routine was important to her; her own space was. He didn't understand. "I'll try."

Luke beamed at her before stifling a yawn.

"Why can't you sleep?" Will asked, feeling now annoyingly wide awake.

"Oh," Luke shrugged slightly, "I guess I'm too cold."

Will momentarily forgot Luke's desert background, and she looked at him for a split second like he was mad. Sure, the ground Will lay on was chill, the old stones emulated the cold, but the beds were sufficing.

"If you're cold now, wait until you get to Ho-" Will cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath, that did nothing but help rouse Luke's attention.

Will mentally smacked herself for her near slip up. She shouldn't know about Hoth.

Luke's eyes snapped to hers, narrowing questioningly at her kneejerk reaction. "Wait until what?" Luke cocked his head, "Get to where?" he asked innocently.

Will shook her head, "No, um, no. Nowhere." she muttered hastily. "Wait until…you step outside! It's colder out there."

Smooth, Willow, smooth, the little voice in her head supplied sarcastically.

There was an awkward pause as Luke stared at her funny. He was about to agree with her statement until Will hastily beat him to the punch.

"Don't you have a poncho? Wear that as an extra layer." she suggested.

Luke nodded slowly and Will encouraged him to go get it. Will sighed and flopped back on the floor, watching him pad away. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and curled into a ball. She wondered if Luke would come back or if he would be sensible and retreat to his bunk. Will shivered, it was cold out here. She wondered how Luke must have felt. He must be really cold. He mentioned being cold on the Falcon, yet to Will, his hands felt warm.

Bless, Will thought, wait until he actually gets to Hoth, he'll probably collapse the moment his feet touch the snowy surface. How would she cope she wondered? She hoped she'd be gone by that time. But what if she is not?

Will looked up at the sound of Luke returning. She saw he was indeed wearing his brown poncho, and, in his hand, he held something. Will sat up. Luke slid down and rest against the wall beside her, drawing his knees to his chest.

Will saw that he was holding the datapads, she eyed him curiously. "I thought since we both can't sleep; we could fill these out."

"Sure," said Will, mimicking Luke's stance and took her datapad.

Luke and Will talked softly into the night as they filled out theirs medical datapads. Will was getting the hang of the device. Thankfully, it seemed this galaxy still used universal symbols to represent information. But something was still bothering Will.

"Luke? What language are we speaking?" Will asked.

Luke paused, he glanced up at her. "Galactic Basic."

"I'm speaking another language?" Will breathed.

Luke blinked. "No, you're speaking Basic." he said slowly.

"No, I'm speaking English." Will said.

Will mirrored his perplexed look.

Oh my god! Is this some sort of Doctor Who translation happening? Where he hears his language, I hear mine?

"You're speaking Basic," Luke laughed then, "Do they call it English where you come from?"

"Probably," Will fumbled with this new information.

Luke gave her a once over, eyeing Will and the datapad. "Are you having difficultly reading?" he asked tentatively.

"No!" Will snapped before Luke could say more on the matter. No, she was not illiterate! She just had a blip. "Just, some terms of words are a bit beyond me."

Conversation was a little stifled but resumed to their amical chatter after a while.

"I'm just leaving most of the information blank." Will mumbled to herself. "I don't see the point of putting my parent's names down…least it's optional."

"You mentioned your mother when you woke up," Luke said quietly. Will paused. "What was her name?"

Will frowned, not expecting that question. "Dorothea."

Luke smiled softy, and for some reason that pulled at Will's heart. Empathy, the little voice in her head, whispered.

"And your father?"

"James." Will said. "Why are you asking?"

Luke's smile slowly faded, and he shook his head a fraction, staring unseeing at the device in Will's hand. "I don't know their names. My parents. They never told me." he whispered.

Will felt a pang of emotion in her chest. Poor Luke. She knew. She knew their names! She could tell him, oh how in this moment she wished nothing more than to tell him and wipe the sad look off his face. But if she did, he wouldn't be sad, no he'd look instead at her oddly, and he'd question her on how she knew.

Will bit her bottom lip, debating with herself. "Did you ever ask them?"

Luke sighed and shrugged. "They never liked talking about my parents, especially my uncle. Any conversation was always, I don't know, cut short. Aunt Beru told me once when I was very young, that my mother died when I was born. That was all she knew."

Luke glanced at her with those big, sad blue eyes. "I never questioned it. I felt – "

"Luke," Will whispered. Hesitantly, she raised her hand, hovering just next to his upper arm. Unsure, if it was the right form of action. Physically, or any form of comfort was not Will's area. "I hope you don't feel guilty about it."

"I don't think about it anymore. I can't remember it much now." Luke said, "Uncle Owen never told me how my father died, only that he was a navigator, now I know that wasn't true," Luke said, grimacing, and so did Will, but not for the same reason. "I imagined sometimes that he was still alive, that we would go on adventures, travel across the stars."

Will inched her hand closer and brushed her fingers against his poncho covered shoulder, she gave him a comforting squeeze. That's what people do, right? She thought. It felt so weird. She's done this before, he seemed to appreciate it last time.

Luke reached up and placed his left hand over hers. Will tensed. He tapped his index finger, acknowledging and reciprocated her gesture. His hand was warm over hers, and Will had to fight down the urge to yank her hand away for the sensation made her want to set her hand on fire!

Warmth and tingles.

Luke's been lied to all his life, about his parents, his sister, Obi-Wan concealed most of the truth to spare his feelings, and now Will is lying to him too. She wasn't a good friend. Will felt wrong, this was wrong, to comfort him, and yet be part of the lies.

Will's breath hitched as Luke tilted his head and rested it over their hands. Warmth and tingles. His hair tickled her skin. She was stunned fascinated by his messy locks. It looked soft and shiny. Will could smell the scent of it. Luke stayed like that, and Will wondered if his neck hurt with the angle, or if she could get her hand back.

"I don't know what became of Vader," Luke said the Dark Lord's name venomously, "If he was on the Death Star… the rumours say otherwise." Luke paused as he took a breath, seemingly composing himself. He stared at Will with a determined glare, "I will make him pay!"

Will was taken aback, and neither said anything for a time after that.

XXX

Will was slowly nodding off. She started yawning more and more, Luke's words going in and out of her ear. Will found her head lolling on Luke's shoulder before she jerked herself up. Luke chuckled tiredly.

"Sorry," Will mumbled. The datapads lay on the floor, discarded, finished. Luke leaned in closer, huddling for warmth.

"It's okay," Luke yawned loudly. "We should head back in." Will mumbled something that sounded like 'go on'. "You can't sleep out here. It's cold and someone will catch you."

"…Wake up early before someone does," Will murmured, eyes closed. She felt herself sag into Luke's side.

"No, you won't," said Luke. "Willow?" His breath ghosted over the top of her head.

"Hmm?"

"You're totally not drooling over my shoulder?" His voice sounded amused.

Will shot up, blinking furiously, "No, no, I'm not! I don't do that." she rambled.

"Sure," Luke humoured her. Will was already dozing off again.

Luke moved to pick Will up, and when she didn't react, he hoist her into his arms. Her arms lay limp at her sides, her head rested in the crook of his neck. She was fast asleep. Luke security tightened his arm around the back of her thighs as he bent down and with the other hand, awkwardly gathered her blanket and pillow.

Luke placed her back on her bunk, careful not to wake her. Pulling her blanket over her form, Luke climbed up the ladder to bed, still wearing his poncho as he pulled the cover over himself.

XXX

Leia had not returned by the end of the second day.

Evacuation was still underway. The Empire were still gathering resources and fighters after their loss and were hastily constructing a blockade around the system of Yavin to trap the Rebels, however small ships were able to escape the blockade. The main portion of Alliance Fleet was not on Yavin and were already working on staging a diversion to attempt to break the blockade. And somewhere in the depths of space, among the stars, Rebel pilots held off reinforcements. Will hoped that Luke would not be sent out in his X-Wing to battle.

Will was tasked with aiding the moving process. She shouldn't complain, people were risking their lives, but boy, her body ached after the manual labour. The sound of blaster fire was a constant drumming noise outside the Great Temple, the distinct roar of TIEs flying overhead.

Will still felt her ears ringing when she went fitfully to her bunk. Luke's presence in the one above the only source of comfort. He was safe, for now.

XXX

In the mess hall Will ate her breakfast ration bar, silently watching Luke and the other pilots chat. Will sat hunched over in her seat in the middle of the table, feeling uncomfortably trapped between two men. She always sat at the same chair which was at the edge of the table but today someone else took her spot. That annoyed her. It wasn't Will's spot, she didn't have a right to be annoyed, but she chose a spot on the first day and decided it was routine. Luke usually sat anywhere and today sat opposite Will. Luke had a habit of scoffing his food like it was about to suddenly disappear on him. They had limited mealtimes, but Luke's act of inhaling his food was a source of teasing among the group.

Luke laughed any remarks of his Tatooine background off his shoulders, anyway, he was very much hero worshiped. Will on the other hand, preferred to keep her background a secret but that didn't stop the comments.

Even Luke didn't know how Will could willingly ate that stuff daily and enjoy it.

"Oh, a rations diet?" A man said, making a disgusted face at the 'food' Will ate. "Where do you come from?"

That started a whole conversation that thankfully derailed from Will to what was the most disgusting thing you had to eat to survive. The things they described had Will's imagination spinning.

"My mother's cooking," one man joked that earned a big laugh.

Will was eyeing a particularly big chunk of brownish meat on Luke's fork. Luke offered her a bit, holding his fork out, Will looked at it apprehensively. Luke playfully wiggled the forked meat portion until she agreed.

She chewed and gagged at the taste, it was stringy and slimly on the outside. The textures were all wrong in her mouth.

Will shook her head at Luke, swallowing and shuddering.

"I didn't know the Rebellion took in babies," the bowl cut haired pilot that Will had never liked the looked of, whispered loud enough for her to hear. Rue, Will had learnt his name was. Always had a sour expression on him.

Rue looked down upon Will with contempt.

Will's smile fell and she awkwardly glanced at Luke, who appeared just as surprised at the comment. Will kept her head down the rest of breakfast. Luke didn't say anything, he stared Rue down and the man went back to his food.

XXX

Luke was increasingly becoming more worried for Leia, although he tried not to show it. He preferred to keep himself busy. Will caught Luke attempting to meditate at one point, in a moment of peace. He hoped to connect to Ben, hear his voice, like he did before he blew up the Death Star. He had no success. When Luke had opened his eyes despondently, he didn't appear surprised at Will standing before him. He could, however, feel something. What, Luke later reflected to Will, he didn't know.

XXX

Zak, the grounded Rebel pilot Will had befriended, had his arm sling removed, he was cleared for flight. He was going on a scouting mission. Will stood by as he made last minute preparations to his ship.

"Be safe," Will said. She rather liked Zak.

"I'll try." he flashed her a smile.

"When will you return?"

"Err, hopefully we'd have moved base, if not, a few days." he grunted, adjusting something in the cockpit.

Will worried her bottom lip as Zak finished his work and slid down the ladder, coming over to her.

"Um, may the Force be with you!" Will said.

Zak laughed, "You too."

There was a moment where Will didn't know what to do, does she say more? Pat in the shoulder?

"Come here," Zak said, coming to the decision himself. Will stiffened as she was pulled in into a hug that involved her neck to stain, then she felt her feet lift off the ground. Will squealed as Zak easily held her by her underarms, like she was five years old.

Will gripped his forearms, staring down at him accusingly, "What are you doing, put me down?!" Will squeaked.

The sound of somebody pointedly clearing their throat made Zak and Will freeze and simultaneously turned their heads.

Luke stood before them, watching the scene with interest. Zak put Will down.

"Hi Luke," Will greeted him. "Oh Zak! This is Luke."

"It's an honour to meet you, Skywalker." Zak said.

Luke glanced up at Zak, "Please, call me Luke." he said, a little timid. Will found the height difference between the two men hilarious. They shook hands before Zak turned back to Will.

"See you, little one." Zak bid goodbye.

Will made a face at the 'little one' endearment, giving him her best scowl that threatened to morph into a worried expression. "See ya." Will waved him goodbye, for now.

Will watched Zak's small fighter lift off and sore through the hanger opening, up into the sky before disappearing.

"So, that's Zak." Luke stated the obvious.

Will turned back to Luke, "Yes," she answered.

Luke nodded, and Will wondered what he was thinking. "You seem fond of him." he commented.

They started walking through the hanger together. Will shrugged. "He's nice. Though he seems fond of teasing my height. Lankly bastard."

Luke chuckled, "You are small."

"Hey! I'm perfectly normal height for a woman! I'm taller than Leia!"

"By about an inch." Luke replied.

"Still taller!" Will paused in her step. "Anyway, you're one to talk, you're small, for a man." Will teased him, not forgetting his remark he made about how funny she looked in his clothes.

Will craned her neck and leaned up on her tiptoes to lean into Luke's face with a smug smile. She's only joking him.

Luke's lips curled into a smirk as he looked down at Will, "Still taller than you," he breathed.

"Yeah, bet you love that, but I saw the way you looked at Zak! He picked me up like a doll."

"Anyone can pick you up," Luke quirked an eyebrow at her. Luke suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up a few inches. "See?"

Will squirmed, bending away in his grasp. He grinned at her. "Let me go!" Luke jolted her and Will chackled despite herself. "Okay, I can't breathe with your arms around me, put me down." Obediently Luke set her down on her feet. Catching her breath, Will poked a finger to his chest, "Zak lifted me higher with ease!" Will had to have the last word, before scrambling away.

Luke chased after her until he managed to catch her. The pair's antics caught the gazes of several close by Rebels, most ignored the two teenagers. Luke ducked and wraps his arms around her legs, lifting Will up higher than she was comfortable. She yelled at him as she had a death grip on his hair and shoulder.

"Skywalker! Lynch! Back to your stations!"

XXX

Leia had not returned by the end of the third day.

Will was disturbed by weird dreams again. She was running through the Death Star again, getting shot at. She dreamed of an island again, surrounded by ocean. It's an empty place, little stone huts the only mark of inhabitants of long ago, but the same strange feeling of reminding her of home lingers.

The scene changes. The voice of old Ben called her name as she walks through the Yavin's empty base, but she wasn't fully aware of it, his voice whispered lightly through the stone walls.

"Will…These are your first steps…Will…"

She reaches the hanger, there is peaceful silence, only for the sound of the jungle, then the unmistakable sound of a TIE screeching and Will feels a deep sense of dread fill her as one suddenly appeared flying towards her. It fires several shots and Will wakes in a panic before it hits her.

Will tosses and turns until she hears Luke mumbling incoherently in his sleep an undisclosed amount of time later. When Luke wakes sharply, Will feels a sudden sharp sensation jolt through her veins, a cold dread, a flare of anger that wasn't her own that makes her freeze.

Wedge, half asleep, hearing Luke, whispers from the other side if he's okay.

Luke dismisses the other man's concern in a hoarse whisper. Will stays still and pretends to be asleep. She's not the only one with nightmares as she listens to Luke slowly calm down and slowly, she does too. However, tightness in her chest lingers.

XXX

"Again?"

Will groaned as Luke padded bare foot towards her, coming to a stop where she lay again pitifully on the cold floor outside the far end to the barrack rooms.

Luke sat down by her head, peering down.

Will peeked up to see Luke's upside-down face over her vision. "Why are you out here?" Will croaked, exhaustion evident.

"Couldn't sleep." Luke answered.

"Again," Will retorted. Luke grimaced. "Nightmare?"

Luke looked away for a second, he nodded minutely. "What about you?" he asked.

"Just weird dreams," Will pondered, "But still can't sleep in a room with others."

"You're cold," Luke noted, wrapping his poncho tighter around his shoulders.

"You're cold." Will countered, sitting up. Looks like another late night for the both of them. "What are the chances I could get a room of my own?"

"Maybe when we move base." Luke said.

Will sighed. Even then, unlikely, due to the number of Rebels, potential size of the new base, and she likely wouldn't have the authority to request a private room.

"You can't keep sleeping out here," Luke sighed.

"Doesn't matter, neither of us can sleep anyway." Will grumbled, rubbing her eyes. Luke sighed quietly.

Will for once decided to start conversation, hoping she'd eventually fall asleep like previous nights. "When do you think Leia will come back?" she asked.

"I don't know. I like to hope soon. I can't imagine she'd abandon the Rebellion like that." Luke mused.

Will hummed in agreement. "I'm sure she's alright. You're very worried about her? She's Leia, from what I know of her, I'm sure she's handling herself fine."

Luke nodded. "I know she can," he said firmly. He'd only known Leia for a short amount of time, but Luke had complete faith in the princess. "Doesn't stop me from worrying over her."

Will pondered to herself, staring unseeing at a spot beyond Luke. "Leia's quite terrifying, I wouldn't worry about her…" More who counters her in her on the wrong side.

Luke laughed and Will shushed him in case they woke someone up. The temple walls echoed voices, best to keep their volume down.

"What? She can be scary. Shut up!" Will aggressively shushing Luke however caused the pair of them to break into fits of giggles. Neither knew what so was funny, perhaps it was the late time of night and their exhausted minds that made it funny.

"I'd be more scared of you, than her." Luke joked. Will glared and shoved him.

They idly whispered into the night, and conversation turned to Luke retelling a story from his childhood on the farm.

Will yawned silently, feeling Luke's voice flowing in one ear and out the other.

"…You know, it was nice having someone my age around," Luke said, looking at her.

Will blinked the heaviness out of her eyes, perking up slightly, "Huh?" she said dumbly.

At Luke's bashful smile, Will was curious. "I was saying," Luke began before hesitating again. Will silently waited. "That…it was nice having you around on the farm, someone my age I could talk to," Luke bit his lip, soft blue orbs gazing at her imploringly. "I imagined, what it would have been like to have a sibling."

"What?" Will said. That was not something she was expecting to hear. "…You thought of me…as a sister?" Will said slowly, eyes narrowed.

Luke's embarrassment grew at her reaction. "I mean, kind of," he considered backtracking his statement, "I mean it was nice that's all. It was a thought."

Realising her reaction, Will corrected herself. "It's okay," she awkwardly patted Luke on the arm. "I get it."

Giving Luke's famous history with his actual sister, Will didn't know how to feel about Luke considering her, however brief, like a sister.

"You're my friend," Will said, beaming at him. She never considered her childhood hero as a brother, but a friend she wished she had. It was surreal now, that she could say those words to the real Luke Skywalker.

Luke returned her smile, "You're mine too."

Will's smile grew and she made an adorable face.

"How old are you?" Luke suddenly asked.

"Eighteen."

"I'm nineteen." Luke's gaze wandered her face, taking in her appearance.

I know, Will thought. There was a content silence that fell between.

"How's your Force training going? Learn much more." Will decided to ask. She was nervous to ask because she knew the answer.

Luke sighed, "No, I haven't really had any time. Sorry Willow. To be honest, I don't really know where to start. Ben's not here anymore, I haven't heard his voice since. It's going to take a while." He looked at her apologetically.

Will lowered her head dejectedly. She thought so.

"Have you remembered anything more?" Luke said.

"No, I don't remember a thing." she murmured.

Will toyed with her fingers, picking at her nails. Sister, the thought played across her mind.

"I had siblings," Will admitted, glancing at Luke briefly.

"How many?" Luke asked after Will didn't say anything. She was frowning with an expression Luke didn't like.

"Two," Will answered, staring off into the darkness, "Two brothers."

"You miss them." Luke stated.

"Yes, and no." Will said flatly. Luke frowned at her. "I miss one of them, I don't get along with the other."

"Why?"

"Because we just never got along as much. Having siblings isn't always nice." Will bit out.

Luke shook his head, "He's still your brother," he said. "You still love him."

Will shrugged, a pained expression on her face.

Luke couldn't understand the thought. "I'm sure you do."

"What do you know?" Will regretted the words the moment she said them. "I'm sorry."

At his hurt expression, Will expected him to leave. She's made things awkward.

"I'm sorry, it just a touchy subject."

"Yeah." Luke whispered, looking at his feet.

"I hate that I do still love him," Will glanced at him, the words were hard to admit.

Luke looked up and meet her gaze, a quizzical question in his eyes.

"I don't want to talk about him, but he moved away some time ago, so I haven't seen him for a year anyway." she sniffed.

Will looked at Luke, "I think you'd make…you'd have made a great brother." she smiled at him.

Luke smiled softly.

"You remind me of him actually," Will cocked her head in thought. She didn't consider Luke a brother figure to her, but he shared certain traits. "My brother, the one I like obviously. Blue eyes, blond hair, kind." she listed off.

Luke hummed, appreciating the compliment.

"His name was Enda. And you know what his middle name was?"

Luke shook his head.

"Luke," Will laughed, a watery laugh. "Enda Luke."

"Nice name," Luke said.

"I miss Enda."

Luke placed a hand on her shoulder and Will tensed.

"But you will get back to him, one day." Luke reaffirmed her.

Will shook her head. "No."

Luke frowned; he opened his mouth to speak but Will cut him off.

"He's dead." Will said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Luke exclaimed in surprise. His brow raised high into his messy bangs, mouth falling open. For a moment he couldn't work out anything to say in response.

"It's okay," Will hastily interjected.

"I'm so sorry, Willow." Luke said sincerely.

"It's okay," she repeated, smiling self-consciously, "It was a year ago."

"Still," Luke swallowed, "Are you okay?" he asked tentatively. He didn't think a loss of a sibling you were close to, was something you got over in a year.

Will shrugged. "Yeah," she said in a tone like she didn't understand why he would ask such a question.

"May I ask how?" Luke asked carefully, "If you don't want to, I completely understand." he added.

"He killed himself," Will fidgeted with the end of Luke's poncho, "I found him."

Luke felt a crushing feeling in his chest. A numb sensation in his brain as he tried to process the thought. His vision flashes to the moment he saw his aunt and uncle's smouldering remains. He remembered how stunned he was he couldn't even cry or make a sound. How he took that anger with him and let it drive him. Fuelling his passion to rescue the princess, help blow up the Death Star. At the thought of Leia, Luke imagines how he would react if she ever…he shoos the thought away. He doesn't know why he thought about it, but he knows it's something he never wants to happen.

Luke squeezed Will's shoulder in comfort, and he feels the phantom pain in his chest flare again. Grief. His – hers? Flashes of emotions, warring underneath the surface. Luke feels unbalanced even though he's sitting, he stared at Will.

"I'm okay now." Will said.

It was a lie. A lie to herself. Luke knew with sudden certainty. Will was sitting there, quietly, still, save for the flexing and shake in her hands that he doubted was from just the cold. Yet, Luke had felt as if she had been screaming. Perhaps he was confusing himself.

Will eyed Luke as he wrapped his arm completely around her shoulders, tucking her into his side.

Will made an angry noise. "I don't need a hug. You know how I feel about hugs."

"I'm cold," Luke defended. "And you're cold."

"Go be cold in your bunk." Will moaned, the heaviness in her eyelids threatening to close them. She shouldn't have told Luke, she thinks.

Luke withdrew himself, feeling disappointed. But he won't push her any further. He respected her limits. Although that didn't mean he wasn't curious.

"Why don't you like…hugs?"

"Ask me again some other time." Will sighed.

"Why?" He sounded like a child.

Too much in one night…Will thinks tiredly.

"Because then, I might explain it." Was all she said.

"You're impossible." Luke said, but not unkindly.

XXX

Leia returned to base alone on the fourth day since the Royal Medal Ceremony. Evacuation was still underway, but time was nearly upon them. Imperials were storming the jungle. They just needed to be held off a little longer. Will was in the middle of destroying a data terminal so that the Empire couldn't extract any key information on the Rebel Alliance when Threepio came hobbling over to inform her of Leia's return.

Luke and Han had cornered Leia after she was done with the generals and Mon Montha and demanded to hear all about her secret mission.

Will, Luke, Han, Chewie and Leia sat together in an empty room away from the rest of the Rebellion as Leia retold her adventure to save the surviving Alderaanians, she helped smuggle her people right under the Empire's nose, and how Evaan was now their Queen.

"So, she's not coming back?" Will spoke up.

"No, Will." Leia confirmed. "Scary yellow eyed lady is not coming back, don't worry."

Luke and Han glanced at Will with mirror expressions of confusion.

Will turned red.

"What?" Luke said, making a scrunched-up face.

Leia shook her head, laughing lightly. "Nothing."

Chewbacca made a low, questioning grunt at Han, who shrugged in response. "Beats me." he mumbled.

"I couldn't abandon the Rebellion," Leia continued, serious once more. "No matter how much I wanted to stay, my place is here."

"I knew you would never leave us." Luke said confidently. Smiling at her. Leia returned his gesture of faith.

When Leia mentioned that Darth Vader was still alive, Will instinctively glanced at Luke. The boy stiffened where he sat, his right hand twitched almost reflexively. Luke's jaw set, his gaze downwards for a moment before he looked back to Leia, then his eyes caught Will's in a steely gaze. Will was the first to look away.

XXX

"Leia, can I ask you something?"

Leia glanced over her shoulder to see Will still present.

The others had left a while ago. Luke had to go back to his station and command several pilots to scope the area for Imperials troops had been spotted descending to the surface. Han and Chewie had left the base to prepare and go on a mission to the planet of Cyrkon. Will suspected one of the reasons Han agreed to take the mission for the Rebellion was so he to get off planet and do what he normally did. Smuggle. Although this time he was smuggling a person, which technically meant a rescue mission, but Leia used the word smuggle to make Han feel better.

"You just did." Leia replied.

"Funny," Will said deadpanned, "Listen, I want to ask you a favour, it's for Luke." she jumped straight into her request.

At the mention of Luke, Leia's interest piped. "What is it?"

"Well, he mentioned he doesn't have a lot of information on his parents. See he was raised by his aunt and uncle, they didn't know much," she rambled, breezing through the details. "He doesn't know their names."

Leia's face softens at Will's words.

"Obi-Wan said he knew Luke's father. That he was a Jedi Knight, and they were friends. And you knew about Obi-Wan so I was wondering," Will paused to catch her breath, "If you'd be able to get any information, his first name really. For Luke."

Leia was silent for a moment and Will waited awkwardly. Surely Leia was the right person to ask. Her adoptive father told her stories of Obi-Wan. It was slightly weird asking Leia to unknowingly find information on her birth father.

"The Empire wiped most of the information of the Jedis after they fell," Leia said slowly, "Any data records about them would be hard to come by and hidden."

Will looked at her feet.

"But I'll see what I can do."

Will looked back at Leia, a hopeful expression lit up her face. "Thank you. Thanks so much. Luke will appreciate it!"

Leia smiled softly, tiredly. She nodded.

"Oh!"

Leia turned back again.

"I'm glad your mission was successful and that you found some peace." Will said.

Leia watched the girl walk away with a smile on her face before she could formulate a response. That was the first time Leia has seen Will genuinely smile, she pondered thoughtfully.

XXX

There was shouting and blaster fire. Will clamped her hands over her ears and ducked behind the archway. Imperials were attacking. Marching into the temple. The last reminding ships were preparing to take flight. Several Rebel fighters ran past Will and manned the hanger entrance.

Will couldn't breathe. She tried to stay calm. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, her ears ringing. She needed to get out. This was the day. The Empire was going to storm the temple, the Rebellion had to make haste.

"Willow! Willow!"

Will didn't hear the urgent voice shouting her name until a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Will yelled in fright, attempting to escape their grip.

"Willow!" It was Luke's voice. Will was spun around and faced with Luke. "It's me." he said.

Will breathed out in relief, she gave herself a moment to calm down. The world around her felt like it was about to fall on top of her. Everything was too much.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." Luke said urgently. He grounded her to reality. He let go and took her hand in a tight hold as he led her through the base.

Leia came running with Han hot on her heels. "We need to get on transport," Leia yelled over the sound of invasion. "Captain Solo, your ship!"

Han stepped out from behind Leia. "Chewie's already on the ship. She's on the far side from the temple, we have to make a run for it." he warned.

"The path should be clear. We have troops ready. We can hold them off for a little longer. Enough time for the rest of the Rebellion to flee." Leia said.

Han led the way, followed by Leia, then Luke and Will in tow.

"Wait for me!" Threepio cried. "Wait for me!"

Artoo whistled and sped after the group.

"Hurry, Goldenrod!" Han barked.

"Come on Artoo." Luke beckoned. Artoo let out a series of beeps.

XXX

"Punch it Chewie!" Han ordered.

The Millennium Falcon soared into the air and beyond the atmosphere of Yavin's fourth moon.