Ben was almost five when one of his nightmares came true. He had nightmares often, especially if one or both of his parents were away. As he got older, it became easier for him to explain his dreams. Many of them were about the 'bad man in the mask' hurting his father with a lightsaber, but none of his nightmares had ever come true.

One night he woke with a start, covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. He hadn't screamed, but he'd wanted to. It was as if the terror had grasped his throat so he couldn't make a sound.

He didn't want to wake his mother. He'd woken up screaming every night since his father had left for the Western Reaches a week ago. Each night he'd had his usual recurring dream, with the man in the mask. But this night was different. He'd dreamt that his father was locked in a cold, dark cell, hurt badly and all alone.

Ben closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. His uncle had taught him to centre himself in the Force, and he could now do it quite quickly. He reached out for his father, hoping that finding him safe would calm him as it usually did. At first, he had trouble finding him, and when he did, he'd slipped out of bed and run down the hall into his parents' room before he had time to process what he'd seen.

"Mama!" He shouted, climbing up onto the bed and shaking her awake.

"Another dream, baby? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," she said groggily, starting to pull him to her.

"No no no. He's hurt," he said, tugging on her arm. "Daddy's hurt."

Leia sighed and tried to pull him close. "It was just a dream, love. Daddy's okay."

Ben started to cry, pushing away from her. "He's not okay, he's not! Find him, Mama. He's hurt!"

He finally let Leia pull him to her chest as she closed her eyes and tried to reach out. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again, trying to stay calm. "Tell me what you saw," she said, holding him tightly.

"He's hurt and by hisself," Ben said desperately. "And he's cold. Daddy hates being cold."

Leia nodded. "Wait here," she said, although she knew he probably wouldn't. She tucked him into the bed and hurried to her study to get her communicator. She quickly got in contact with Crix Madine, who had coordinated Han's mission. "Crix, have you heard from Han?" She demanded as soon as she established contact.

She heard him sigh. "We lost contact with him almost twenty-four hours ago. We're looking."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She snapped.

"Senator, you're not part of this mission. And we only contact a soldier's family if there's been an abduction, or… or a confirmed death. We've had no confirmation of anything."

Leia felt Ben at her side, and she pulled him close. "My son had a… a vision. Ben, can you explain what you saw?" She asked, kneeling down so Ben could talk into the communicator.

Ben took a shaky breath. "Daddy was… hurt. He was in a dark room. There was nobody else there. He's cold," he said, holding onto Leia's hand. "It's hard for Daddy to stay warm, 'cause of the carbonite."

"You need to go in and evacuate him, Crix," Leia said firmly.

"Leia," he said gently. "We can't use the word of your five-year-old to endanger a mission we've been planning for a year. Han knew the danger he was putting himself in-"

"Just find him," Leia snapped, abruptly ending the call and picking Ben up. "We need to get some sleep, little one. Daddy will be home soon."

"Daddy is lost," Ben said miserably, clinging to her.

"We'll find him."

Within an hour, the New Republic had received word from the group of Imperial sympathisers Han had been tasked to infiltrate. They were requesting a ransom and favours within the new senate in exchange for the safe return of Han Solo.

It fell to a committee made up of Crix Madine, Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, and Leia to make the decision. Leia left Ben with Chewie while she spent two days straight at the Senate building, gradually finding it harder and harder to remain detached.

They sent a weak counter-offer, while simultaneously putting together a squadron to go in and rescue Han. Chewie, distraught that he'd let Han go on his own in the first place, and convinced that if he'd been there Han would be safe, insisted on accompanying the squad, and Leia didn't put up a single argument about that.

The rescue operation went relatively smoothly, although Leia's counter-offer had been taken as a slight, and left Han significantly worse for wear. He could barely hold consciousness as they pulled him from his cell and half-dragged, half-carried him to the ship. Leia had explicitly instructed that short of a life-threatening medical emergency, he was to be brought directly to her.

She already knew how bad he was anyway. Ben had been beside himself for the entire two days since his first dream. He barely slept, and when he did he was plagued with graphic visions of his father being beaten or tortured. Leia would hold him tightly to her, occasionally reaching out to check on Han, but never being greeted with anything as vivid as Ben was describing. Sometimes he would even have visions when he was awake. He'd be sitting in front of the holo, trying to distract himself, or playing with his model ships, or using Leia's datapad to draw pictures, and images would flood his mind. His father tied up, his father bleeding, his father spitting in the faces of his captors and refusing to give them anything they wanted.

One morning, after a series of violent visions assaulted him while he tried to watch his favourite holo programme, Ben climbed into Leia's lap. She was so used to it by this point that she didn't even stop reading the report she was examining on her datapad. She just pulled him close, starting to gently rock him, kissing the top of his head. "Daddy is still being brave," Ben whispered. "He won't tell them what they're asking. He even said some swear words to them,' he said, managing a tiny smirk.

Leia couldn't help but smile either, brushing Ben's hair back from his face. "Your Daddy is very brave. What are they asking him?"

Ben shrugged. "I didn't hear. They were just saying, 'Tell us', and calling him mean names."

"He'll be okay, Ben. He'll come back to us. Did I ever tell you about when we were on Hoth and Uncle Luke went missing?"

Ben shook his head and settled in her lap for the story.

"Well, your Dad was worried about Luke, because it was getting late and dark outside. On Hoth, we all had to be back at the base before it got dark because it was so cold. It could make you very sick. And there were monsters at night time too. So Daddy decided that he'd better go look for Luke-"

Ben frowned. "That's not very sensible," he said. Sensible was his new favourite word after his schoolteacher had called him 'conscientious and sensible', and he'd taken to telling Han that everything he did wasn't very sensible. He was usually right.

"Well you know your Daddy isn't usually very sensible, love. So he went out, and we had to shut the doors to the base to keep us warm. And Daddy and Luke were gone all night, and in the morning we found them and they were just fine. He'll be just fine this time too."

Ben sighed, unconvinced, and closed his eyes, curling up in her lap.

Luke came to stay with them after the first night, and spent most of his time trying to teach Ben to ground himself after a vision. He had tried meditating with the small boy, but that only resulted in the both of them being violently connected to what was going on wherever Han was. It left Luke gasping and Ben sobbing.

"His mind is just so strong," Luke told Leia, his voice quiet as they sat on the sofa, Ben bundled up in her arms like an infant. He'd finally fallen asleep after hours of her rocking and singing to him, telling him stories and stroking his hair.

"Can't you teach him to shut it out?"

"I have," Luke sighed. "But he's so small. And he's worried about Han. I think part of him wants to see it. At least if he sees it, he knows he's still alive."

"It's because of this dream he keeps having," Leia said.

"Where Han…" Luke's voice trailed off.

"Where Han gets killed by a Sith in a mask. Do you think…" She took a deep breath and glanced at Ben to make sure he was still asleep. "Do you think it's the future?"

Luke closed his eyes for a moment. "It could be. But if it is, it's only a future. The future is constantly moving. You can't make judgements based on these visions. That's what he has to learn."

It was raining heavily the night they brought Han home. Ben sat up all night, sitting on the floor, staring out of their living room window so he could see the landing platform. He didn't move or speak. Leia waited up with him, knowing he and his father would need her once Han was home.

Luke went back to his own apartment to give them space. They wouldn't need his help anyway. If all went to plan and Han was relatively stable, Chewie was bringing him home on the Falcon. He and Leia were the only two beings in the galaxy Han ever really let help him. Luke would just be in the way.

The Falcon docked on their landing platform and Chewie helped Han down the boarding ramp. Ben had run out the door and over to his father before Leia could catch him. Han chuckled and shrugged off the help he was getting. "Hey kid. Y'alright?" He asked, trying to sound light as Leia came out to meet them. She could see, even from a distance, in the dark and pelting rain, that he was badly hurt. His face was swollen and bruised, and a gash below his left eye bled down his cheek.

"Thanks, Chewie," she said softly. She grabbed Han around the waist and he slumped into her. "Let's get you inside."

Chewie slung his arm around Han's other side and supported most of his weight, Han's feet were practically dragging on the floor as they made it inside.

"Daddy, you were hurt and I saw it," Ben said, running along beside them as they stepped out of the rain. They got him to the master bedroom and lowered him onto the bed, turning the lights on to look at him properly. Ben clambered up onto the bed and curled into his father's side. Han winced but pulled him close.

"We're okay here, Chewie," Han said softly. "Thanks."

Chewie nodded, reaching out to ruffle Han's hair, then Ben's, and growled at Leia to come get him if Han started being difficult, before heading to his own room.

Han's once-crisp white shirt was filthy and stained with blood. His right eye was swollen shut, the entire side of his face bruised beyond recognition. Han held Ben so he couldn't look up at his face. When Leia moved to unbutton his shirt, Han shook his head and nodded at Ben, mouthing, "Wait 'till he's asleep."

Leia nodded and sighed, going to the bathroom to find some bacta spray. She filled a bowl with warm water and gathered some cloths to clean him up with. When she got back, Ben was asleep, his tiny body curled up even tighter against Han's side. The smuggler smiled. "Can I clean you up now, hotshot?" She asked, sitting beside him on the bed.

Han nodded and gently moved Ben away from him slightly, unbuttoning his shirt. His chest was covered in bruises and welts. Leia reached for his hand, closing her eyes for a moment. "It'll heal. I'm alright, princess. Just tired."

"Is that so?" She started to gently clean him off, wiping him down with the cloth first, then spraying him heavily with bacta.

"What did he mean?" Han asked softly while she worked on cleaning a deep cut on his abdomen.

"When?" She asked, a little preoccupied.

"When he said he saw it."

Leia sighed and pulled her hands away from him. "He had a nightmare. About you."

"These guys didn't have masks. Or lightsabers," Han said.

Leia shook her head. "It was a different nightmare. He saw where you were. He saw that you were hurt and alone."

Han frowned. "Can't Luke do something about this? He's a little kid."

Leia sighed. "He's trying. He's taught Ben to calm himself after it happens."

"Yeah, well, it needs to stop happening at all. I…" he pushed her hands away from him. "I just wanna sleep."

Leia nodded, putting the medical equipment on her nightstand and laying down beside him. "I wish I could just keep both of you right here," she whispered as Han fell asleep.

Ben was five the first time he saw his father truly frightened.

Leia pressed her fingers into her temples, rubbing in rough circles. Han had this… technique that made her headaches go away but she could never quite manage it herself.

She shook her head, hoping that would clear it a little, and focused her eyes back on her monitor. Her fingers hung poised over her keyboard, and she had just inched towards making some headway with her work when a tiny, raspy voice said, "Mama," from the doorway.

Leia looked up, breathing deeply through her irritation. "What is it, honey? How was your nap?" He never napped anymore. But he'd been exhausted and fallen asleep in front of the holo. Leia had thanked the Goddess for an hour of quiet, wrapped a blanket around him and hurried into her office to work.

"Um… I feel yucky," Ben said softly, crossing the room and clambering up into her lap.

Now she looked at him properly, she wasn't surprised. His eyes were bloodshot, a flush sat high on his cheeks, and his hair was wet with sweat.

"Oh, sweetheart, you're burning up," she said softly, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Does anything hurt?"

"Everything," he said dramatically.

"I'm sorry, darling boy," she said, pulling him into her arms as she stood up. "Let's get you some medicine, okay? And do you feel like a bath?"

Ben shrugged and grumbled. "Want Daddy."

"Daddy will be home soon," Leia said gently, carrying him into the kitchen and sitting him on the counter. "Does your throat hurt?" She asked, rummaging around for some medicine with one hand and holding a thermoscanner to his chest with the other.

"Yeah," Ben said. "Hurts like it's sharp inside."

"Here, baby, drink this for me," she said, handing him a medicine cup.

Ben winced and took the cup from her, drinking the medicine and sticking his tongue out. "Yucky and hurts."

Leia kissed his forehead and rubbed his back. "I know. But it'll help you feel better."

Ben leaned forward to rest his head on her shoulder.

"Let's get you in the bath, little one." Leia sighed, carefully scooping him into her arms, wishing he wasn't so long and gangly, and carrying him to the bathroom. She got the water running and sat him on the edge of the tub, undressing him and settling him in the water.

"I don't like it," Ben said softly.

"I know," Leia said, gently running water over his hair. "Here's your Mon Cala guys," she said as she handed him some action figures.

Ben took the toys and splashed them in the water half-heartedly, looking up with a small smile when he heard the front door open and Han call for them down the hall.

"In here, Han!" Leia called back, starting to run soap through Ben's hair.

"Bit early for bathtime ain't it?" Han said cheerfully as he stepped into the room, the smirk vanishing from his face when he saw Ben. "Honey, he's got a fever," he said quickly, crossing the room and kneeling beside the tub. He pressed a hand to Ben's cheek and paled, clenching his jaw.

"It's okay, it's just a virus," Leia said gently. "He's had some medicine and we're getting him cooled down."

"Has he seen a medic?" Han asked, sitting back on his heels.

"He's okay, Han. He's been sick like this before," she said, a little impatiently. Although now she thought about it, Ben hadn't been sick like this in years, and the last time he was, Han had been off-world. She sighed. "If he's still sick tomorrow we'll take him to the med-centre."

Han clenched his jaw. "He just looks like…"

"I know," Leia nodded, realisation suddenly dawning on her. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "But he's been immunised for Corellian Fever, love."

Han nodded. "I know," he said tightly. "Does your throat hurt, big guy?"

Ben nodded miserably and reached his arms up to Han. "Daddy."

"Let's get you dry, huh?" Han said, grabbing a towel and quickly drying Ben off before pulling him into his arms, the towel wrapped around him. "I've gotcha. You're okay."

"Take him to our bed," Leia said quietly, kissing Han's shoulder on the way past him as she went to collect some pyjamas. When she made it to their bedroom, Han was getting Ben to drink some water. He helped get him dressed and tucked him into bed, touching a hand to his forehead again.

"You took his temperature?" Han asked.

Leia nodded and gave his back a small, comforting rub on her way past him. She climbed into bed beside their small son and pulled him to her.

"Daddy, why are you scared?" Ben asked, frowning and reaching for him.

"I…" Han sighed, laying down beside him. "I'm not scared. I just don't like it when you're sick."

Ben gave him a dubious look and snuggled into Leia's chest. "Mama… can't you fix it?" He sniffled. "It's yucky and Daddy is scared."

"Oh my love," Leia sighed as Ben started to cry. "I'm so sorry that you're sick. Mama's going to be right here until you're feeling better. We've got you, okay?"

Ben swallowed, winced, and tried his best to stop crying, rubbing at his cheeks.

"Hey," Han said softly, taking his hands. "You have a cry if you need to, Ben."

The small boy cried himself to sleep. Exhausted, and sweating from holding his hot body close, Leia carefully tucked him into bed and sat up. "I hate him crying," she said softly.

Han sighed. "It's better than holding it all in. He's… real emotional."

Leia pushed Ben's sweaty hair back from his forehead.

"I hate him bein' sick," Han mumbled, touching Ben's cheek again.

"I know. I do too. But you just have to remember that we can give him the medicine and the help and the comfort that he needs. He isn't sick and all alone." She reached over Ben and cupped Han's cheek. "Your Ma was a child herself. She wasn't equipped to look after you and that wasn't her fault. But we can look after our boy, okay?"

Han clenched his jaw. "Okay. But if he's still sick tomorrow…"

"Then we take him to medical," Leia nodded. "I promise."

Ben was five and a half when he learned to pilot the Falcon. As soon as he had control over his little hands, Han had been teaching him the different aspects of piloting - he'd been able to boot the engine up since he was three years old. Ben learned quickly. They supposed a combination of Skywalker and Solo blood was always going to create a crack pilot. And he was that, even at five.

Han sat him in the pilot's seat, a series of boxes and cushions piled under him so he could see out the front of the cockpit. He was close enough to be able to intervene quickly if something went wrong, but far enough away that Ben didn't feel he was hovering. Chewie co-piloted. One Solo or the other didn't make much difference to him, only that Ben was significantly more likely to take notice of his advice.

They were flying to visit Luke and the site he'd found for his Jedi temple. Leia had been travelling to and from the isolated planet for months now, training for a few weeks at a time before travelling back to Chandrilla. Ben's nightmares had been slowly becoming worse, and he rarely slept in his own bed at night. Sleeping huddled between his parents didn't do much to stop the nightmares from coming. But they were always awake and ready to hold him when he woke up from them.

Ben took off and flew out of Chandrila perfectly. Han had to help him a little to calculate for the jump to lightspeed, but Ben loaded the coordinates in himself and, just to show off, used the Force to activate the controls.

"Ben Solo," Leia scolded once they were safely travelling through hyperspace. "Luke has told you not to waste your energy on things like that."

"But why?" Ben asked. "I can't reach them on my own."

"Well then maybe you're not old enough to fly," she said quickly, looking at Han.

Han pulled a face. "I was flying at his age, and he's much better than I was."

"Well excuse me if I don't want the two of you to have similar childhoods," Leia snapped.

Han fell quiet at that, turning to look at the navicomputer.

"Am I gonna do lightsaber practice again?" Ben asked, twisting around in his seat to look at Leia.

"Not this time, Ben. When you're older."

"But why? I did it last time. Uncle Luke said I was real good," he said, trying to pull his headset off but getting it tangled in his unruly black hair.

Han sighed and helped him untangle the headset, pushing the hair back from his small face. "Because I don't want you practicing with a weapon just now," he said, knowing without looking up that Leia was watching him.

They'd spent an hour yelling at each other about it the night before. Leia had pushed and pushed, thinking Han's problems were about their son having Jedi training in the first place. Finally, he'd snapped, and told her that he'd been taught to use a blaster at the age of eight as part of an escape attempt a group of older slave children had roped him into. They'd been caught and punished, but he'd shot and killed one of his slaver's henchmen. She knew that you never forgot your first kill, regardless of the circumstances, and couldn't imagine how much worse it would be if you were only a child at the time.

Leia still felt that a lightsaber was different and Luke insisted it was an important part of Jedi training, but Han wouldn't budge and she couldn't blame him. She had a number of her own hangups she couldn't let go of. So she'd told Luke he was to focus on Ben's Force abilities on this trip.

Ben huffed some more before settling in his seat to watch out the front of the cockpit. Within minutes, he was asleep.

"I know Luke thinks it's important," Han said quietly, watching their small son sleep. "He's just so little."

Worried they were going to start shouting again, Chewbacca got up from his seat and left the cockpit.

Leia nodded and took his hands in her own. "He is. A lightsaber is different to a blaster though, Han."

"It's more dangerous, you mean," he said gruffly.

Leia kissed his hands. "Jedi only use their weapons for defence. Never for attack."

Han looked over at Ben's sleeping form. "Killing someone is still killing someone, Leia. Even if they tried to kill you first."

"I know," Leia said. And she did. But as much as she wanted their little boy to stay a little boy forever, they lived in a galaxy still reeling from decades of war. Conflicts and clashes and skirmishes across the galaxy cropped up daily. A Jedi force would be such a valuable asset, and their son was already so powerful.

"I just wanna keep him safe," Han said quietly.

"Me too," Leia said, reaching up to run her hand through his hair. "We'll be okay."

Han nodded silently and let go of her hand, turning to look over the charts again.

Ben was still asleep when they reached the system, and Han had to carefully lift him from the pilot's seat so he could help Chewie land.

The five-year-old finally woke up as Han carried him down the boarding ramp. He fussed about missing out on the landing before seeing Luke crossing the grounds towards them. He grinned and wriggled until Han put him down so he could run to Luke and hug him around the knees. "I flewed us here, Uncle Luke, I really did! Just like my Dad!"

Luke smiled and hugged him back, waving to the others. "You ready to see the temple, Ben?" He asked, taking Ben's hand and starting to walk.

"Uh-huh!" He said excitedly. "What's a temple?"

Luke laughed. "It's where we're going to train Jedi. You're going to live here and I'm going to teach you. You're going to be a Jedi," he told him.

Ben froze in his tracks and looked back at his parents. "Right now?" He asked, starting to panic.

Leia noticed first and hurried over to them. "What's wrong, Ben?"

The small boy let go of Luke and pressed himself into his mother. "Not right now, Ben. When you're bigger," Luke said.

Leia sighed and picked Ben up while Han glared at her brother. She knew Luke hadn't meant to upset Ben. Truthfully, he didn't know the boy very well, and Ben's separation anxiety had worsened significantly in the last couple of months.

"Mama," Ben said softly, holding onto her. "I'm not gonna be a Jedi. I'm gonna help Daddy fly the Falcon."

"Baby," Leia sighed, holding him close. "You know those special things you can do with that big brain of yours? You know how you can move things, and see things?"

He nodded, wrapping his fingers around her braid to soothe himself.

"And you know how sometimes, when you're mad, you accidentally break things with those powers you have?"

Ben flushed with shame and nodded again.

"Well, when you're much bigger, we think it would be a good idea for you to come here and learn with Uncle Luke about how to control those powers. So you don't keep using them by mistake, just because you're cross."

Ben listened carefully, and looked at Han over her shoulder. "Daddy doesn't think that's a good idea," he said softly.

Han's frown deepened and Leia sighed. "Ben, we've talked about this, you can't go into people's heads without asking," she said firmly.

"But it's so easy," he whined, resting his head on her shoulder. "And you and Daddy don't say things sometimes. It's more faster to just have a look."

Leia shook her head. "No, love. You need to ask, and if the person says no, then you can't do it. You can't just take whatever you want."

"Okay, Mama. But you're not listening. I'm not gonna be a Jedi, I'm gonna be a pilot with Dad."

Leia kissed his forehead. "You don't have to be a Jedi. But you do need to have some training. Uncle Luke is helping me train too. So I can learn control. The Force is good for lots of things. Even being a pilot."

"Does Daddy have the Force?"

Han shook his head. "Nope. Daddy's just an excellent pilot and a crack shot by nature," he said with a cheesy wink that made Ben smile.

Ben was six when he asked for a baby sister. "Dad?" He said, putting his toy X-Wing on the floor and peering down into the maintenance pit his father was working in. Han looked up at him, grease smudged across his cheek from where he'd rubbed it with a grimy hand.

"Yeah?" Han asked, studying Ben's face to make sure he wasn't asking something urgent or alarming before going back to his work.

"You know Luke at my school?"

Han grunted. There were about seven kids called Luke in Ben's class, all named after the hero of the Rebellion.

Ben pressed on. "His Mommy has a baby sister in her tummy."

"That's nice," Han said, wondering where this was going.

"Does Mama have a baby in her tummy?" Ben asked, laying down on his stomach to look into the pit.

"No, kid, she doesn't," Han said, looking up at him. "We'd tell you if she did."

"Is she gonna get one?"

Han hesitated. "I don't think so, Ben. Why? Do you want another baby in the house? Babies are kinda loud," Han said, going back to his work.

Ben shrugged. "Maybe. Could I play with it?"

"Uh… I guess. I dunno, kid. I never had any brothers or sisters."

"Why not?"

Han paused again. He really didn't want to be getting into a conversation about his childhood right now. "I just didn't," he said eventually.

"But Mom had Uncle Luke. He's her brother." Ben said.

"Uh… uh-huh," Han said noncommittally.

"Well I want a baby sister too," Ben said, rolling onto his back and lazily using the Force to levitate his X-Wing around the hold. "Like, 'member when Mama did have my sister in her tummy but she didn't get borned?"

"Watch you don't crash that thing," Han grunted. "I do remember. That was real hard for Mama, and her doctor said it wasn't a good idea for her to have another baby. And anyway, your Ma and I wanna make sure we can give you the… help you need. A new baby would take up a lot of our time."

Ben frowned and carefully landed his toy on the ground. "You mean I'm too much trouble already?"

"No," Han said firmly. "I mean we wanna be able to be right there for you when you have a bad dream or a big question or somethin' like that, and if we had another kid then sometimes we might be too busy with them to help you right when you needed it."

"It was sad when that baby died," Ben said thoughtfully.

"Uh-huh, it was sad," Han said, straightening up slightly. "Will you hand me that?" he asked, pointing at a tool. Ben grabbed it and handed it over. "And I don't really know if I can handle that again, Ben. I'm perfectly happy just with you. And so is your Mom. We've talked about it a lot, you know."

Ben nodded, thinking some more. "I don't want Mama to get sick just so there's another baby. Maybe Uncle Luke can have a baby instead."

Han laughed. "Why don't you tell him that, kid?"