Ben was six and a half when he got into his first fight. He'd been enjoying school. He'd taken quickly to reading and writing, and the socialisation did wonders for his confidence. He had a handful of little friends who followed him around and spent most weekends wreaking havoc aboard the Falcon.

But there was a boy at school, one of the many Lukes, who seemed to bother Ben sometimes. Han and Leia had brushed it off as a little harmless childhood animosity, mild complaints now and then didn't seem like much of a problem, and they decided it was good for Ben to learn conflict resolution.

So when Leia's comm buzzed in the middle of a trade negotiation, the school's ident showing on the tiny screen, she was more than a little concerned, and quickly excused herself from the meeting.

"This is Leia Organa," she answered, standing out in the hallway, anxiously fiddling with her braids.

"Senator Organa, this is Headmistress Cyssire calling regarding your son Ben."

"Oh," Leia said. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not, Senator. Ben's been fighting."

"Fighting," Leia said dumbly. "He… are you sure? My Ben?"

"Senator, with all due respect, it surely can't surprise you that the son of an ex-con is getting into playground scraps."

Leia stiffened, frowning deeply and gripping the communicator tightly. "I beg your pardon?"

"I apologise," the headmistress said quickly. "I only make note of it because Ben's father is unlike many of the other children's fathers and this may be causing dissension among them."

"I don't see how that should be Ben's problem."

"Either way, he has been fighting and he needs to be collected."

"Fine," Leia snapped. "Someone will be there soon." She shut off the connection and bit her lip, taking a few deep breaths to quell her anger.

They'd chosen Ben's school for its reputation. Leia had balked at the tuition fees, but Han had been adamant that he would pay for his son to receive the best education available. It became clear on Ben's first day that the other parents, and most of the teachers, seemed to believe that Ben was only there because of Leia's influence and money. Ben had remained blissfully ignorant of the way the other fathers talked about Han, and his teachers' obvious distaste when his father came to pick him up, but it was surely only a matter of time before he wised up.

Leia weighed up her options. Sending Han to collect him had the possibility of making things worse, he was hardly the most tactful being she knew and likely wouldn't take well to Ben being sent home. But Luke was off-world at the Jedi Temple, and Chewie had taken a trip to Kashyyyk and wouldn't be back for a week.

She peeked through the window to the conference room and saw the Rodian delegates fidgeting impatiently. Han it was.

He answered quickly. "You okay, sweetheart, I thought you had that big meeting right now?"

"I'm fine. I need you to go pick Ben up from school, he's been fighting."

Han paused for a moment. "Fighting?"

"Yes, and they're sending him home. Can you go and pick him up without making a scene, please?"

She heard Han sigh. "I don't make scenes. I can hardly help the way they look at me when I go in that place."

"I know, honey, I just mean I need you to go in there and get Ben and leave. I've already spoken with the principal and I want to organise a meeting with her next week when everything's settled down."

"I got it. Is he hurt?" Han asked.

Leia paused. She hadn't thought to ask. "I… I don't think so. They didn't say…"

"Well that's okay then. I'm leaving now, I'll let you know when we get home. I'll talk to him, I don't want him fightin'."

"I'm sure it's nothing, Han. Kids fight in the playground at school sometimes, and Ben's very… emotional."

Han grunted. "I'll call you when we're home."

Han strolled through the front gates of the school and made his way into the main office building at the entrance. Ben was sitting in the foyer on a chair too large for him, his hands clasped nervously in his lap, staring at his feet. "Hey, kid," Han said gently, going over to him and rubbing his shoulder.

Ben bit his lip and looked up at Han. He had a little swelling below his left eye and on his lower lip. Han clenched his jaw.

"Captain Solo," the headmistress said as she stepped out from her office.

"General," Han corrected.

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's General Solo. Not Captain. Leia asked me to come pick Ben up."

"I'd like to speak a little with you first, General," she said firmly.

Han hesitated for a second. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to take Ben home right now, I can see he's hurt. We do want to have a meeting with you about this. Maybe we can set up a time next week."

Headmistress Cyssire folded her arms. "I need to discuss your son's suspension from this school, General Solo, I don't particularly wish to do it out here in front of him."

Han frowned and nodded. "Has he been seen by a medic?"

"We call them nurses around here, General. He has. He's been offered ice."

"Okay. I won't be long, bud, okay?" he asked, touching Ben's cheek until the small boy looked up at him and gave him a nod.

Han straightened himself up and self-consciously ran a hand through his hair, hoping it would tidy it a bit. He was immensely thankful he'd been down at the shipyards in uniform today. The headmistress led him into her office and sat behind a large desk, pointing to the chair in front of it. He felt almost naked in this situation without Leia beside him, as if he were the one in trouble.

"You didn't tell my wife he was suspended," Han said.

"I wanted to discuss it in person. We've decided a one week suspension is appropriate for this sort of behaviour."

"Was he provoked?" Han asked.

"You would ask that," she said scathingly. "There was an argument at break-time and your child was the first to initiate physical violence."

Han nodded and took a deep breath. "I don't see that there's much to discuss. We'll keep him home for the week, that's fine." He stood up, a little hesitantly, and made his way to the door.

"It's only to be expected," the headmistress said quietly.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Han asked, turning back around.

"Well, sir, I imagine you've gotten into a number of fistfights yourself. Ben is likely emulating behaviour he's witnessed himself."

"I've never fought in front of my son, and I never will. We're leaving now, we'll see you next week." He left the room as calmly as he could manage and gently took Ben's hand. "Ready to go home, big guy?"

Ben gave him a shy smile and nodded, clambering down from the seat and looking anxiously down towards the Headmistress' office. "Was she mean to you, Dad?"

Han laughed. "You don't need to worry about her, Ben. Your Ma's gonna set her straight next week."

"So," Han said once Ben had put a huge scoop of ice cream in his mouth. "You gonna tell me what happened?"

Ben gave him a withering look that looked so much like his mother, Han was almost scared. "You're bribing me?" he asked once he'd swallowed.

Han looked affronted. "How do you know what bribing is?"

Ben stared him down.

"I'm not bribing you, your mouth looked sore and you've had a bad day so I got you ice cream. But you're gonna have to tell us what happened."

"I don't want to tell you," Ben said quickly. "I'll talk to Mom."

Han frowned. "Kid, you can tell me anything, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know it. But I don't want to tell you this. I wanna tell Mom."

"Well… Will you tell me who you were fighting with?"

Ben shrugged. "Just one of the Lukes, Dad. I only hit him one time. He wasn't hurt."

"It looks like he hurt you though. S'it the same Luke that's been bothering you a bit?"

"Uh-huh," Ben said, shrugging again. "It's okay, Dad. I can handle myself."

"Yeah, I know you can," Han sighed. "But you don't have to. You've got a lot of people who wanna help. You're not on your own."

Ben took another mouthful of his ice cream and looked up at Han, frowning slightly. "The bad voice told me to hit Luke, Dad," he whispered. "I didn't even want to but I did 'cause the bad voice said so."

Han reached over and rubbed his back. "Sometimes when you're mad it's hard not to hit. I get that. Maybe you can talk to your uncle about ways to help yourself stop that."

"Have you ever hit someone?" he asked, sliding over slightly on the bench so he was pressed against Han's side.

"Course," Han laughed, wrapping an arm around Ben's shoulders. "When I was a kid… I used to get mad a lot, and I used to fight a lot. See this scar?" he said, holding his arm up to show Ben a thin scar on the outside of his wrist.

Ben nodded. "Did you get it fighting?"

"Uh-huh. I shouldn't have been fightin' but the other kid took my food portion and I was hungry. But he had a vibroblade and he cut me."

"He was a bad guy," Ben said confidently

Han shrugged. "Not really. We were just fighting. He was hungry and I had food and I looked small enough for him to take me. But I fought back. I used to fight all the time."

"'Cause you're brave," Ben smiled.

"No. Cause I'm stupid and I'm hot-headed."

Ben frowned and thought for a few moments. "Am I?"

Han shook his head and brushed Ben's hair back from his face. "Nah. You're real smart, just like your Mom. This was just a one-off thing, I bet."

"Daddy said you didn't want to talk to him about what happened," Leia said as she tucked Ben into bed, his hair still damp and curly from the long bath he'd taken after dinner.

Ben bit his lip and peered past her to make sure Han wasn't hovering in the hallway. "Luke was sayin' mean things about Dad. That's why I got mad."

Leia sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, taking Ben's hands. "What things was he saying?"

"I don't wanna say them, Ma," Ben said softly, rubbing his face and starting to talk anyway, the tension seeping from his body as he told her. "Mean things about where Dad came from, and what jobs he had before he was a General and…" he sniffled and rubbed his face again. Leia pulled him close. "Their dads never had to… do anything to get their jobs. They just… got them from their dads and my Dad… has to always try real hard and I know people say mean things about him on the holo."

"I know, sweetheart, it's not fair," Leia said gently, running her fingers through his hair while she tried to think of a way to explain it. "A lot of the kids from your school come from very… old families, who've lived on Chandrila forever and ever and who've always run things before and had lots of money. And their families don't like it when people like your Dad, who came from nothing and fought so so hard to be something, get to go to the same parties and the same schools as they do."

"But… My Daddy is better than all their dads," Ben said stubbornly. "Luke's dad wanted the Empire to win, Ma. Luke told me. He said…'' A few stray tears slipped unbidden from Ben's eyes and slid down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away and sighed. "He said his dad said he wishes Daddy died at Endor. He said he should have 'cause he's rebel scum. That's why I hit him. I was so mad."

"Oh, love," Leia sighed. "That's a horrible thing for him to have said."

"He said something about you too but I don't know what it means."

Leia smiled knowingly and kissed the top of Ben's head. "Did he call me the Smuggler's Whore? The Fallen Princess?"

"The first one," Ben said. "What does it mean?"

Leia sighed. "'Whore' isn't a nice word to use. It's… It just means that people think I shouldn't be married to your Dad because I'm a Princess and he used to be a smuggler. But I want you to remember that what they say doesn't bother me, okay? I can handle some kids saying mean things about me. I've handled lots of grown-ups calling me mean things, that's for sure."

"I bet it bothers Dad," Ben said.

Leia chuckled and held him a little closer. "Dad is very protective of the people he loves. It's one of the reasons I love him so much."

"Me too," Ben said quietly. "Daddy said I don't have to go back to school for a week."

"You're suspended for a week," Leia nodded. "Hitting is still wrong even if you were provoked. But I know you already know that."

Ben nodded. "Did Daddy tell you about the voice?"

"He did. He told me the voice told you to hit Luke and you did even though you didn't want to. We're going to give Uncle Luke a call tomorrow to see if he can help, okay?"

Ben frowned. "He can't help. The voice has always been there and Uncle Luke can't get him out," he said bitterly.

Leia bit her lip, holding him so he couldn't look up and see her stricken face. "We're going to do everything we can to help you, little love. I promise."

Ben was seven when he first used the Force to hurt somebody. Han had been dispatched by the New Republic Special Forces Unit to break into a suspected settlement of the Imperial remnant hidden in the city of Coronet. Ben had been begging Han to take him with him for over a week as he was putting the mission together. He'd been told 'no' by Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Crix Madine, Luke via holo, four different soldiers who would be going on the mission, their culinary droid BX-778, and Leia's personal assistant Mari.

But the day Han was due to leave, Ben was still nagging. He got up while it was still dark outside and dressed for travel. He struggled for a while with the laces on his combat boots before climbing up into his wardrobe to grab his jacket, just like his Dad's. He hurried into his parents' room where they were both still sleeping, Han snoring softly, Leia tucked into his side and holding onto him.

"Dad!" Ben shouted cheerfully, climbing up onto the bed and crawling to lie next to his father, shaking his shoulder while Han grunted and groaned and tried to wake up.

"What the hell, kid?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes and pulling Ben to lie down with him in the hopes that it would win him a bit more sleep. "What time is it?"

Ben wriggled as Han pulled him down. "Time to go on our mission, Dad."

"Ben," Han groaned. "You're not coming with me. You've been told a hundred times. Stop asking."

"But why? I can help you fly. And I can fight off the bad guys, too," he said as Leia woke up too. "You needa get up, Mom. Dad and me are going soon."

"You are not going anywhere," Leia said firmly, pulling Ben to her. "You need to stay here and look after me, hm?"

Ben squirmed out of her grip and climbed off the bed, glaring at them both. "It's not fair," he said, stamping his foot dramatically.

"Baby, go and get changed out of your travel clothes, you're going to come with me to the office today."

"No!" Ben screamed, his temper quickly rising. "I'm going with Dad and you can't stop me!"

"Ben," Leia said firmly, getting out of bed and putting her hands on her hips.

Ben pouted and stared at his feet.

"Look at me," Leia said.

He thought for a few moments before looking up to meet her eyes.

"You have got to control your anger. What has Master Luke told you?"

Ben ground his teeth. "Anger leads to hate and aggression, and that leads to the dark side," he parroted, still pouting as Han tried to sneak out of bed to get ready to leave.

Leia nodded and held Ben's shoulders. "It's okay to not be happy about it. But you can't lash out."

He shrugged her hands from his shoulders. "I didn't lash out, I only shouted. Why aren't I allowed? You and Dad shout all the time!" He yelled, glaring at Han as he got dressed into his travelling gear.

"Ben," Leia said, grabbing him by the shoulders again, a little more firmly this time so he couldn't shake her off. "You have got to calm down."

"No!" Ben shouted. "I'm going with Dad! I don't wanna stay here!"

Leia pulled him to look her in the eyes. "Ben. You are not going," she said, so firmly that it finally seemed to go through his head.

His lower lip trembled for a moment and he clenched his hands into fists, looking over at Han, now dressed and watching him. Ben squeezed his eyes shut and screamed, reaching both hands out towards Han.

His father flew backwards, hitting the wall behind him hard. His head hit the wall, then the floor as he fell in a heap.

"Ben!" Leia shouted as she ran over to Han, trying to roll him onto his back.

Ben stared at his hands in horror, tears running down his cheeks. "I didn't mean to!" He cried, joining Leia at Han's side.

Han's head was bleeding just above his temple where he'd hit the wall, and his chest suddenly felt very tight. Stabbing pain ran across his ribs as Leia sat him up.

"Daddy!" Ben sobbed, throwing himself at Han, who barely caught him, holding him close and wincing. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to. I was just mad. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Han said, his voice tight as Ben clung to him.

"Han, you can't travel like this," Leia said softly.

"I'm fine," he said, starting to stand up once Ben finally let go of him. "We can't reschedule this."

Leia sighed. "Ben, go to your room. I need to patch Dad up and then we'll talk about this, okay?"

Ben trembled, tears still running down his cheeks, and nodded stiffly, moving off to his bedroom. They heard his door shut and stared at each other for a few moments.

Leia moved first, going into the 'fresher to get a first aid kit. "Let me see your chest," she said firmly as she came back into the room. Han had moved himself to sit on the edge of the bed, and was holding a hand to his bleeding head.

Han gingerly pulled his jacket off and unbuttoned his shirt. "It's not bad," he lied as Leia put the medkit down to look him over. His chest was already swelling and starting to redden on one side.

"Your ribs are broken, Han, and it's on your bad side where they… From Bespin." That side of his body had been achy and stiff ever since he'd had his ribs kicked in by Vader's stormtroopers and then frozen without healing for 9 months. "You can't go. I'm sorry," she said softly. "You need to see a medic." She gently pressed a cloth to the gash on his head and started to clean up the blood. "They'll have to go without you."

Han clenched his jaw, sitting still while she worked on his head. "I just need a bacta patch, I'll be fine."

Leia opened her mouth to keep arguing, but stopped when they suddenly heard crashing sounds coming from Ben's room. "Stay here," she said, quickly standing up and hurrying off to Ben's room. The crashing intensified as Leia made her way down the hall and opened the boy's bedroom door. "Ben!"

It looked as if an explosive had gone off in the middle of his room. His chest of drawers lay shattered on the floor, clothes and toys spilling out in heaps. His toy box was broken as well, the lid ripped off and the sides kicked in. He was levitating a shelf above his head which he'd ripped out of the wall, about to throw it to the ground as well.

"Ben, stop," Leia said firmly, going over to him.

"It's me!" He screamed, throwing the shelf on the ground, destroying the model ships he'd built with his father that had adorned the top of it.

"What do you mean?" Leia said, trying to control her own fear and taking a few steps towards him as he looked around the room for something else to break.

"I'm the bad man that hurts Dad! From my dream!" He yelled before crumpling into Leia's arms in sobs.

"No you're not," Leia said firmly, picking him up, something she hadn't done in over a year, he was so tall now. She held him as tightly to her chest as she could, gently rocking.

"That's why he doesn't want me to train with a lightsaber," Ben said miserably, rubbing his eyes and letting his mother hold him.

"No it isn't, kid," Han said from the doorway as he carefully made his way over to them, his shirt back on. He took Ben into his own arms despite the pain in his chest. "I just want you to stay my little boy forever, that's all. But that's probably pretty stupid, huh?" He said, holding Ben so he could see his face and pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I'm not little," Ben said softly, sniffling and clinging to Han's shirt. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

"I know you are. You didn't mean it, right?"

Ben nodded. "Only for a second."

Han paused for a moment. "You meant it for a second?"

The small boy nodded again, pressing his face into Han's shoulder.

"Ben," Leia said gently, resting her hand on his back. "Can you tell me exactly what you thought before it happened? What did you want to do? Because you used your hands," she said. That was what had worried her. Normally when he used the Force accidentally, he didn't use his hands, it just emanated out of him without his permission.

"I was mad," Ben said quietly, still clutching Han's shirt in his fist. "I wanted Daddy to take me with him on his trip."

Leia nodded. "And when we told you 'no', what happened then?"

"Dad was getting ready without me. That made me more madder," he tried to explain. "And I… I wanted to hurt him," he whispered.

Han frowned but didn't let go of his son.

"Only for a tiny second," Ben said. "But then it just happened."

Leia rubbed his back, giving Han a worried look over the top of Ben's head. "So, when you put your hands out, you did that to hurt Daddy with them?"

Ben stayed quiet for a few moments, trembling slightly, before nodding. "I know it's me in my dream, Mama," he sniffled. "I don't wanna hurt Dad anymore."

The trio stood in silence until Ben stopped crying and his little body relaxed slightly. Han was in agony from standing up holding him for so long, and eventually Leia led him over to Ben's small bed. "Buddy, we need to get Uncle Luke's help with this," Han said, and Leia snapped her head up to look at him. "This is out of my league. But… I'll never not love you. You hear me?"

Ben sniffled and looked up at Han's face. "Can I look in your head, Dad?"

Han thought for a moment before nodding. Ben reached out and placed his small hand on Han's cheek, closing his eyes. Ben breathed deeply for a few moments, concentrating hard before pulling his hand away and burrowing further into Han's hold. "What'd you see?" Han asked.

Ben rubbed his eyes. "Daddy, you're afraid of me."

Han frowned and shook his head. "No. I'm afraid for you. It's not the same thing," he said quickly, pulling back slightly so he could rest his forehead on his son's. "Ben, you… you have these powers that I'll never be able to understand. And I can't help you with it. That's what scares me. Not you. You're my boy. And I love you, and I'll always love you. No matter what. Did you see that in there too?"

The small boy nodded and held onto Han. "Daddy, do you have to go now?"

Han sighed and shook his head. "Nah. I think you two need me here," he said softly, holding Ben tightly as Leia kissed his temple.

"I'll contact Crix," she said softly, leaving the two of them and heading into her office.

Leia sent a quick message to Madine explaining that Han had been injured in an accident and wouldn't be able to command the mission. She knew there'd be questions later. Han would normally have to be half-dead to turn down a mission. But Leia had more pressing concerns. She tried to comm Luke, and eventually he answered her signals. She turned the holo on so she could see him.

"What's wrong?" He asked quickly when he saw her.

"It's Ben," she said quietly. She could hear her boys making their way into the kitchen for breakfast. Han was talking about cooking some Marrovian bacon and Ben was starting to chatter to him, still sniffling a little. "He… he was mad. And he lashed out at Han. With the Force," she said.

Luke paused for a moment. "Is Han hurt?"

Leia nodded. "He's okay. But he is hurt. Ben threw him into a wall. He said he meant to do it. Just for a second, he wanted to hurt him. But he was devastated afterwards. Luke, I can't help him with this."

"You might want to talk to Han about starting Ben's formal training sooner than we'd planned," he said quietly.

"I can't do that to him, Luke. To either of them. I can't send Ben away. He's not ready."

Luke sighed. "Jedi training is all-encompassing, Leia. They normally start as infants."

"We agreed we wouldn't be doing that, Luke. Ben can barely cope when I go into the office for the day, and if Han is away from home at all he has… the nightmares. That's the other thing."

"What other thing?"

Leia closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. "I've told you about the dream he has…"

Luke nodded. "The bad guy in a mask who hurts Han."

"With a lightsaber," Leia nodded. "Today Ben said it was him. That he's the man in the mask."

Luke frowned. "It's just a nightmare, Leia."

"What if it isn't? He's had visions before. And he… they're inseparable, I never would have imagined he'd hurt Han before today."

He sighed, looking away from her for a few moments. "I'll come to you. I'll teach him there. But it's not the way it's supposed to be done, I… He needs intensive help, Leia."

"We don't have a choice, Luke. We can't send him away. Han would never forgive me," she said, fiddling nervously with her hands. "And I want Ben here so I can protect him."

"I'll be there tomorrow," Luke said. "Try to keep him calm until then. He has so much power. He's dangerous if he's angry or afraid."

Leia sighed. She'd known this for years but hadn't been able to admit it to herself. "See you soon."

She closed the comm line and made her way out to the kitchen. Han gave her a cocky smile and set three plates of food on the table. "Sit down, Your Highness. Breakfast is served. Caf? I'm having some," he said as Ben clambered up into his own seat.

"Please," she nodded, pushing Ben's hair out of his eyes and Han bustled around the kitchen, his movements stiff. "Everything's going to be okay, Ben. Everything."

Ben nodded, his hair falling forward again as soon as Leia moved her hand away. "Kay," he mumbled, pushing the food around on his plate with his fork.

"Come on, bud, you love this breakfast."

"'M not hungry," Ben grumbled.

"I mean, me neither, kid," Han said, covering one side of his mouth with his hand as if he were telling a secret. "But your Mom doesn't like it when we don't eat and I don't wanna make her mad," he said conspiratorially. "She's kinda scary when she's mad, huh?"

Ben couldn't help giggling, some colour returning to his cheeks as he looked at Leia.

"So eat up," Leia said with mock firmness, taking a few bites herself. "Uncle Luke's going to fly in to work with you, love," she said, trying to sound casual.

Ben frowned again and put his fork down. "You're sending me away," he said, his hands trembling.

"No we're not," Han said quickly. "We're just gettin' you the help you need."

Leia nodded. "Luke's going to stay here and work with you. That's all. I told him you're not ready to go away to the Temple."

"We're not ready either," Han added. "We want you here." He glanced at Leia, making a quick decision before taking Ben's hand. "Listen to me. I wanna tell you something."

Ben tilted his head curiously, swivelling slightly on his seat to face Han.

Han sighed, clenching his jaw and taking a deep breath before he started to speak. "You know how… How it's hard for me to talk about my Mom and Dad?"

Ben nodded and squeezed Han's hand. "'Cause your Mommy died."

Han nodded. "Yeah and… My Dad never wanted to be my Dad. He was never very nice to me. He hurt me sometimes, and I…" he stopped for a moment, steeling himself a little. Leia reached across to rub his shoulder. "When my Ma died, Dad sent me away because he didn't want me. He never wanted me. And I never thought I'd get to be someone's Dad, but then I did, and it's… I want you right here with me forever, Ben. And I never want you to feel like I don't want you, like I'm sending you away. I will never do that. Never."

Ben rubbed his nose and carefully climbed into Han's lap, pressing his face into his chest. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Daddy."

"I know you are. It's okay," Han murmured, kissing the top of his head.

"Where did your Dad send you to?" Ben asked, looking up at him.

Han bit his lip and looked over at Leia, who nodded. "He sold me," he said. "To someone who... bought kids to work for him."

Ben thought about that for a moment. "That's why you didn't go to school?"

"Uh-huh. I worked instead."

"Was he nice to you?" Ben asked. "The man who bought you?"

"Ah… Not really," Han said. "But I got away from him after a couple years. It's okay. I'm just sayin', I know how it feels when you get sent away and that's never gonna happen here. Not in my family."

Ben let Han hold him, eager for the reassuring warmth of his chest, the movement of his breath. "Daddy?" he eventually asked, his voice soft. "How did you know how to be a good Daddy when your Dad was bad?"

Han paused for a moment. "You… think I'm a good Daddy?"

Ben nodded earnestly. "Uh-huh. 'Cause um… When I'm worried or scared I know you're right here," he said, patting Han's chest.

Han smiled and held him close. "Well… truth is, kid, I don't know how to be a good Dad. I just love you. That's all."

"So… your Dad didn't love you?"

Leia frowned and reached for Han's hand. He gave her a short shake of his head and a small, tight smile. "No, he didn't. But that doesn't matter now. I have my own family."

"And we love you," Ben said seriously. "Right, Ma?"

Leia nodded and nudged Han's cheek playfully with her knuckles. "That's right, hotshot."