She didn't know why he had come. He spent almost the entire trip over claiming he knew all the tricks. He worked with scammers as a kid and nothing got past him.

"People will believe anything when they're desperate."

Luke said it was something that he wanted to do. He didn't sound irritated. He was used to Han's grumbling and didn't take any of it as a personal insult. Insisted there was no harm in trying and maybe something would come of it.

"Yeah, something will come of it all right. But nothing good for you." Han barely looked at them as he spoke. He was scanning the streets as they walked. Making sure every being kept their distance. "Used to pick the pockets of the poor saps caught up the mystic."

Leia didn't react as well as Luke. She argued with Han, telling him he wasn't needed on this excursion. They were fine on their own. She was there to support Luke and Han's negativity wasn't going to help anyone.

The fight then slipped into a back and forth, spoken in harsh whispers so they didn't attract too much attention. He stuck close to her side, occasionally leaning down to emphasize his point. Thinking anyone could reach the dearly departed, as he put it, was bunk. Questioning if she was gullible enough to fall for it.

"I don't know!" She said that louder than intended. Luke turned around to check on her and she nodded to let him know she was fine. "But not knowing isn't the same as not true."

She noticed Han's eyes moving between her and Luke, noting their quick exchange.

"Thought you'd have more sense, Princess." He put a hand on her back to steer her around some debris on the street. "There's plenty of truth but it's what you see in front of you. No mystery. Anyone tells you they can see beyond this is looking in your wallet and that's it."

He was such an ass. She hated his I've seen some shit, Princess routine. She knew he'd had a hard life and she couldn't imagine what his childhood was like but that was because he didn't reveal anything. Just occasionally dropped lines like I used to pick pockets while street psychics scammed the grief-stricken. He thought he was being enigmatic but he was fucking annoying.

"Why is it so impossible for you to consider there might be more to this universe than what you see?" She kept her voice regulated, trying not to sound too angry. But her diction, every syllable capped with a crisp click of her tongue, gave her away. "Your inability to see beyond your own severe limitations should surprise me. However, there's very little about you that is surprising."

"Listen, Sweetheart." He was so close their arms brushed against each other as they walked. "Some of us don't got the time to wonder about the other realms. We got enough trouble getting through this one."

"And some of us prefer to believe that not everyone is lost. Whatever realm they may or may not be in."

She saw the flash in his eyes. The regret. Knowing he went too far. But he didn't say anything. Didn't apologize. So she didn't feel the need to start playing nice either.

"Though I could stand it if a few others managed to get lost."

"Guys." Luke stopped short in front of them and turned around. "I really don't need either of you to come with me."

Leia felt her cheeks flush red. She hated it when Luke acted like the responsible adult. She hated it even more that he felt the need to act like that around her and Han a lot lately. To be fair, though, she had been more stressed than usual as they prepared to move to a base on Hoth. A planet that promised isolation but also hypothermia.

"I'm doing this because Dobbs said this woman had a lot of Force talk in her reading. Maybe she can contact my father or Ben. Maybe it's a scam, But I want to try and I don't need this energy going in."

"I'm sorry." See? She could apologize. Even if she wasn't the one causing the problem. "I'm here to support you."

They all started moving again. She felt certain Han would mock her saying I'm here to support you so she didn't look at him. She could ignore plenty if she had to.

The shop smelled strongly of incense and herbs that Leia didn't recognize. The shelves were crowded with stones and crystals. Tinctures promising good health and a calm mind. Luke talked to the young woman behind the counter, who then slipped through a curtain into the back, as Leia walked around the store.

Han stayed near the door, getting a sense of the room. She knew he was assessing exits and places to hide if blasters started firing. He took stock of everyone there, if they were carrying weapons, if they were also taking stock of him.

She realized how often she relied on Han to perform this task. She could focus on other things while he ensured they had an escape route when everything went to hell. He drove her insane much of the time but they were a good team.

The young woman stepped back into the shop and waved a hand toward them.

"She said all of you should come back."

Luke shrugged, smiling at her and Han before passing through the curtain. He had forgotten they were irritating him. He had already moved on. Han held a hand out, indicating she should go first. His hand went to his blaster as he followed.

She didn't know what she expected from a storefront psychic, or medium, or whatever she called herself, but Leia didn't guess she would look like a grandmother pulled from her kitchen duties. The older woman was short and plump and wore a headscarf covering her grey hair. She took off her apron, placing it on the back of her chair, as she sat down at the table. Luke sat across from her and Leia took a chair a little to the side. Han, once again, stayed close to the door, leaning up against the wall.

Luke was about to speak but the woman held up a hand indicating silence. She closed her eyes and remained perfectly still. They all ignored Han's snicker. When the woman's eyes shot open again, Leia almost jumped.

"Much has come into the room with you." She didn't look at any of them but kept her gaze toward the ceiling. "Many voices and spirits cling to you."

Leia took a deep breath to stifle her own snicker. This was perhaps more than she expected. She glanced at Luke to see his reaction. He was almost squirming in his chair, anxious to speak.

"Your aura is strong." She nodded at Luke this time then turned to Leia. "And yours."

It was Alderaan. She carried that shadow with her everywhere she went. And all the beings lost during the Rebellion. Beings she essentially sent to their death. She lowered her eyes because she didn't want to risk the woman looking at her directly.

But she felt eyes on her. Turned back to see Han watching her. His gaze was soft, concerned, and she gave him the smallest of nods.

"Do you have any questions?" The woman placed her hands palm down on the table in front of her. Kept her eyes closed and head tilted back. "Anything you want to ask the spirit world?"

"I'm wondering about my father." The words spilled out of Luke's mouth in a rush. "Is it possible to contact him? He should be… He should be easy to contact."

He glanced quickly at Leia. They had a long conversation before leaving the ship about him not mentioning the Force until the woman did.

"Your father?" She opened her eyes to stare at Luke. "No. He's not here."

"Oh, okay." Luke shifted in his chair again. "There's also a friend I was wondering about."

"No." Her voice was sharp. "They're not here. It's not time."

"Not time for what?" Luke looked at Leia then back at the woman. "To talk to them?"

"What do you want?" The woman looked behind Luke. Locked eyes with Han. "Why are you here?"

Han didn't move an inch, didn't look surprised or startled that she was addressing him directly, but Leia knew that look. He was ready to spring.

"Just watching out for a friend."

Leia thought the woman gave a small smile, an almost challenge accepted expression, before closing her eyes again.

There was a sudden chill in the room. Leia suspected a vent was opened, something to provide more atmosphere for the reading. She hated that Han might be right about this one. It seemed very unlikely they would encounter a genuine window to dead Jedi or loved ones here. Not that she would admit it, of course. She would never give the Captain that satisfaction. Besides she wanted Luke to find what he needed and knew that might include unconventional means. Han simply wanted to prove himself right.

Leia jumped at the sound of a loud rap. They all did. Strangely, though, she noticed they all looked in different directions. Like they all heard a different point of origin. The woman remained perfectly still, eyes closed, hands on table.

"She's here."

"Who?" Luke's hands were on his knees. He was listening, waiting for a signal.

A second rap sounded.

"She never left."

"Left where? Left who?"

Leia noticed the slight smile again. Wondered if the woman knew she was being closely observed or assumed they were too busy reacting to the raps and looking around the room.

Another rap, louder, from the opposite side. The woman definitely smiled with that one. Nodded.

"It took her some time to find you. You were lost for some time."

Luke looked at Leia with wide eyes. She shrugged in reply, admitting she had no idea.

A series of raps followed. They were moving around the room. She couldn't interpret a pattern, the volume was up and down. They sounded like someone checking a wall, knocking and listening for a hollow or solid sound.

The room was getting chillier. Leia realized there was no breeze so no vent. It was coming in from all sides.

"You move around too much." The woman laughed. "But a mother will always find you."

"Mother?" Luke sat up straighter. "My mother was a Jedi, too?"

The woman scowled, still refusing to open her eyes.

"Not everything is about the Force, boy." She moved her hands over the table in circles. "Already told you they said you aren't ready yet."

"For the Force? But I've already started training."

"Luke!" Leia hissed. He was excited, and confused, but he needed to be careful. They didn't know if this woman reported anything to the Imperials.

There was something else in the room. Someone. Leia was sure if it. She remembered when she was about four and a great-uncle died. The family had gathered for the funeral and Leia was surprised when her uncle sat down beside her. Her parents said he was gone, never coming back, but there he was smiling at her.

Tell everyone I am okay, Little Leia. He looked younger than the last time she saw him. Happier. They will believe it if it comes from you.

When she told her mother, Breha said it was an honor he appeared to her and she shouldn't be afraid. She wasn't. It was a warm experience, welcoming, and she was disappointed that he never visited her again. No one else did either. And after a few years she forgot all about it. Until now.

"You need patience." The woman was irritated by Luke's distractions. "Your time will come."

"But my mother is here? Can you ask her name?"

The rapping found its rhythm. A beat that bounced from one side to the other. Whatever was in the room stopped beside Leia. Whoever. She needed to admit it was a person. Or was at one point. She could sense a shape, human, standing next to her.

Whoever it was leaned in. Leia felt a breath she knew wasn't there. A hand brushed down her cheek and along her jaw.

"She's curious about you."

Leia felt the hand graze past her shoulder and down her upper arm. Despite the temperature in the room, the touch was warm.

"How are you doing this?"

The woman grinned, assuming Leia was talking to her.

"Spirits need a vessel." Her hands were still moving in circles on the table top. "It's not about being Force-sensitive. It's not the energy that surrounds us." Leia realized the woman's hands were moving in time with the knocking. "Specific beings want to make contact and they can't do it on their own."

Leia didn't know why but she wasn't afraid. She knew this being, entity, spirit, meant no harm. Knew it was somehow trying to introduce itself. She tried focusing her eyes, hoping the spirit would materialize. She wanted to see a face. Make eye contact. The spirit wasn't familiar—she knew it wasn't Breha—but also not a stranger. If it was Luke's mother, maybe that was the connection. Perhaps she recognized Luke in it.

"She thinks you should cut your hair." The woman laughed like she and the spirit shared a good joke. "She remembers it when you were young. It was lighter. Soft."

Leia reached out and took Luke's hand. She wondered if Luke could feel the spirit, too. He never met his mother but maybe he remembered that ghostly touch through his hair when he was little. She had vague memories of her own birth mother, a feeling of intense love and sadness, and it was possible Luke remembered something similar.

"She's sorry." The woman's head fell back. "She's sorry that she left you with him."

The rapping increased and Leia sensed a rising panic around her. The woman let out a low moan. Guttural and pain filled.

"She didn't know." The woman's hands moved faster across the tabletop. "It was already too late. She couldn't do anything."

Leia looked at Luke when he squeezed her hand and he mouthed, what's happening. She didn't acknowledge his question, turning back to the woman. Ten minutes ago she would've been hard-pressed to admit any of this was real and now she wished she knew some way to sooth a restless spirit.

Nothing in the room changed. The holos on the wall stayed in place. The woman's apron still hung from the back of a chair. But Leia could sense things swirling around her.

"She tried to contact you but you couldn't hear." The woman was speaking quickly. Leia could see her eyes moving, darting from side to side, behind closed lids. "You wouldn't listen. Then she lost you."

Leia thought she heard another voice, a muffled moan or crying. She didn't know if it was coming from the woman or inside her own head.

"It's okay." It was a whisper. Barely a breath passing Leia's lips. She didn't know where to direct her voice and hoped the spirit could hear her. "Everything is okay. I swear. He's okay."

For a brief second, Leia thought the wind was knocked out of her. A warmth, like stepping into sunlight from the shade, passed through her body. A rush from back to front. It was exhilarating and slightly scary. She thought she could smell a perfume, or maybe it was spices. She let out her breath, slowly, not wanting to lose the sensation too quickly.

She turned quickly to look at Luke, who was craning his neck from one side to the other. He was trying to catch whatever had passed by.

"You see her, too."

The woman's eyes were open and she was staring at Han. She had a look of pride and triumph. His eyes were locked on something behind the woman. When he realized everyone in the room was looking at him, he shook his head and growled.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"You know." The woman stopped moving her hands. The knocking ceased. "She wants you to listen."

"This is bullshit." He was trying to not look behind the woman but couldn't resist, though Leia felt certain the spirit was gone. "Don't know what you're up to but this is bullshit."

"You said." The woman leaned back in her chair.

Han turned to Leia. His eyes were searching, wanting to know what she experienced, maybe trying to validate or understand what just happened. When he saw her and Luke's hands still clasped together his eyes went dark. He pushed himself off the wall and pointed at the woman.

"You're just throwing shit at people and hoping something sticks."

"I don't know." Luke turned in his chair to look at him as Leia pulled her hand back. "Some of that felt very specific."

"Great! The farm boy's now an expert in seances, too."

"C'mon, you have to admit…"

"She's messing with your head. Knows you're desperate for info so deflects to something else. Probably about to reel you back in with a message from your father any second now."

"Han, I felt something, too." She was trying to be gentle because she knew he was upset.

"Oh, yeah? What exactly were you feeling, Sweetheart? Getting some haunted house scares so you can snuggle with your boyfriend?"

She jumped up and spun toward him. "This is what I get for trying to be nice."

"Not sure where the being nice to me part fits in but I'm done here."

He was gone, the door swinging shut behind him, and Luke and Leia were left staring at each other, confused by everything that had just happened.

"I'm still going to charge you for the full half-hour." The woman stood up. She straightened the scarf on her head with both hands. "You can pay my granddaughter on your way out."

She picked her apron up and disappeared through another door.

He was waiting for them outside. Even though he was angry, maybe embarrassed, Han refused to leave them in a neighborhood he considered dangerous. He watched her approach, trying for a neutral expression but couldn't completely hide his hurt.

"Luke's paying."

She knew he wasn't mad at her but he was angry. Confused and stuck.

"I could feel her in there." She stood close in front of him. Told herself they needed to make room on the crowded street. She didn't want to be overheard. "Your mother."

He looked down at her and didn't break his gaze. Didn't speak. Didn't call the woman a fraud again. Or accuse Leia of being gullible.

"I could feel her close. I swear she touched my cheek."

Han listened to her. Knew she had no reason to lie. She wasn't trying to trick him. He shifted his gaze to her hands, then neck and ears, taking her in inch-by-inch. He grazed the back of his hand down her cheek and along her jaw barely making contact, following the same pattern as the ghostly entity.

She wanted to ask him if he had seen it happen. If his mother had done the same thing to him. But she couldn't. She didn't have the breath to push the words out as his hand moved along her neck and shoulder, down her arm. The smallest of smiles raised the corners of his mouth and Leia felt that stepping into sunlight warmth throughout her body again.

"So, what did you think?"

Luke was suddenly beside them. He was ready to talk it all out. Go through every detail.

"I'm not sure what to think." She stepped away from Han. Felt her cheeks flush again. "It was lot to take in."

"We need to get moving." Han nodded down the street. "We're easy targets just standing here."

This time, it was her and Luke in front as Han walked a few paces behind. She nodded politely as Luke talked but her mind was elsewhere. Wondering how many other spirits might be keeping pace with them as they walked. Knowing Han was watching her every move. Remembering the warmth of his touch along her arm. An entity she had yet to identify.

A/N:

This is my first attempt at writing and posting a prompt/challenge for a HanLeiaCelebration. I always enjoy everyone else's stories so thought I would give it a shot. Please let me know if I didn't tag things correctly.

Note: the knocking/rapping during the séance was taken from the Fox Sisters (Margaret and Catherine), spiritualists/mediums from late-19th century New York. Spirits communicated with them through raps/knocks (they were accused of 'cracking' their toes to make the sound) and they were very popular-even playing large concert halls. There's a great book-Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism by Barbara Weisberg-if you're intersted.