Camie had lived on the farm long enough now that she did not need for her alarm to go off to start her day. Today- as on so many days- her hand automatically reached out for Fixer's side of the bed. She sighed as her fingers touched the pillow. He wasn't there.

He would never be there.

She rose off the bed and padded into her refresher. She slipped on her eye-patch. She had styled her hair to minimize exposure to her burns. She smiled slightly to herself; she could almost fool herself into believing that she was still the girl that she had been before the land speeder accident.

Almost.

She sighed again. She had promised Luke and his friends breakfast. Then she would have go check the line and see how well the Vaporators were working. Working by herself she could not run as many as Owen Lars had, but she was meeting the minimum requirement to be considered a functioning moisture farm. She just had to do that one more year and then the farm would be legally hers free and clear.

I'm going to do it, Fixer. I promise you I'm going to do it. For the both of us.

She walked into the kitchen and began preparing a simple meal. She had enough blue milk for everyone, and she could provide grain cakes and some scrambled krayt eggs. There were even some dried bantha strips she could feed the Wookie if he required meat. She'd have to skimp on her own meals a few days after they left, but she'd made do with less before.

"Hello."

The woman, Leia. The Princess. She leaned against the door and watched her.

"I just brewed some caf," Leia told her motioning towards the counter. "Help yourself."

"I didn't have any caf." Camie frowned at her.

"We brought some with us. Lando can't live without his morning caf."

Caf was expensive- far beyond her own budget. Still, she allowed herself to pour a small cup. She took a drink. "It's very good. Thank you."

"Your welcome." Leia smiled again. She was about Camie's age. "We owe you for allowing us to stay here."

"Where are the others?" Camie asked her.

"Chewie is still sleeping. Lando left early this morning to get into position for his role in the plan. Luke is taking a walk around the farm."

"Figures. Wormie spent years telling us he was going to leave Tatooine behind and never look back, and the first place he heads to when he gets back is this farm."

"He said he grew up here."

"He was raised by his aunt and uncle." Camie poured the grain batter into the pan. They weren't as sweet as she would have liked, but her parents couldn't afford to spare her any honey right now. "We grew up together."

"Were you … close?" Was that jealousy or interest? Camie wasn't sure. Leia was very good at controlling her expression.

"We grew up together. Biggs. Wormie. Fixer. Me." Camie smiled and finished off her caf. "Better times. Happier times. Not that we knew it then."

"Why do you call him Wormie?"

Camie chuckled. "He'd kill me if I told you everything. Let's just say that it involves a bantha dung heap and my parents hydroponic gardens."

Leia smiled slightly. "Your parents are still alive?" This time Camie is sure she can see an undertone of longing in Leia's eyes.

"Yes. They run one of the hydroponic gardens. They buy all the water that I can provide them, and more besides. They're doing pretty well now."

"Why aren't you staying with them? It can't be that easy to live by yourself like this."

Camie flipped some cakes onto the plate. "I have one more year of homesteading. Once that's over, the farm is mine free and clear." She sighed. "Fixer and I were going to use it as our grubstake- sell it, and use the proceeds to set up our own repair shop. Fixer was teaching me tech work. Since he's … gone, I've been taking remote classes. By the time the year is up, I'll have my license and I'll be able to go to Mos Eisley and get a job at the space port."

"Is it worth living alone out here for that?"

"I don't have much choice. Fixer and I poured all our credits into our claim on the farm. Every spare credit my parents have right now goes towards paying for my sister's schooling off world." Camie smiled. "She's a bright girl. She's worth it."

"And you aren't?" Leia reached out towards her. "You're more than a pretty face, Camie. That's obvious to me. And to Luke."

Camie laughed. "I doubt that. Biggs used to call me dumb- and that was probably the nicest thing he had to say about me. Wormie- Luke- never contradicted him."

Leia winced.

"Luke's a good guy, but when he looked at me he saw the same thing every other boy did." Camie smiled. "I'm not dumb, Princess-"

"No one said you were. And call me Leia- please."

"Leia then." She nodded and handed a plate to Leia and brought the pitcher of blue milk out. "I'm not dumb, Leia, but I'm no genius either. I can stretch rations to feed a family of six on rations for two. I can grow grain in a hydroponic garden using soil even my father said was useless. Fixer said I had the makings of a decent mechanic and technician. I'm a Tatooine girl, and all I ever expected- or wanted, really- was to find a good man and raise a family. I found the good man, but he's gone now."

"You're still young," Leia said gently. "In time you'll meet someone else-"

"No." Camie sighed. "I can't have kids now."

"In time-"

"I can't have kids, Leia." Camie lifted the lower half of her shirt, exposing the scars on her stomach. "They saved my life, but not- I can't have kids any longer. When a young man marries on Tatooine, he expects to have children to take over for him when he's not able to do the job any longer. I can't give anyone that."

"Your burns- they can be healed, Camie. Bacta can do so much-"

"Not on Tatooine. Not for someone without any credits. I can't afford to go offworld for treatment." She smiled ruefully. "So I can't be a farmer's wife any longer, and I'm not pretty enough any longer to be some rich man's trophy- if there were any around. Not even a Hutt would want me now." She lowered her shirt. "I'm going to earn this farm. Finish my schooling. And open that shop. It's not a bad life, Leia."

"I believe you will." Leia smiled at her.

"So my turn to ask the questions now," Camie told her as they sat down. "You and Luke- are you close?"

"We're friends."

"That's what he said last night. But you two look at each other-"

Leia poured some of her blue milk into her caf and took a drink. "We … we care for each other. When we first met, I felt drawn to him. But somehow … somehow it never turned into romance." She took another sip. "The man we're here to rescue-"

"Yes. Luke's friend?"

"He- I -" Leia faltered.

"You're in love with him." Camie smiled.

"He's a smuggler. An unrepentant scoundrel. And yet … he's one of the bravest men I know. We were on Hoth- an ice world. Luke didn't report back in. Everyone believed that it would be certain death for anyone to go looking for him, but Han knew that Luke wouldn't last the night without help. He went out to get him. I thought I was going to lose both of them-"

"But you didn't."

"No." Leia sighed again. "We … we didn't have enough time. Han was captured by the Empire- and turned over to Bobba Fett. He was frozen in carbonite and Bobba took him to Jabba to collect the bounty Jabba placed on his head."

"He must mean a lot to you."

"Chewie owes him a life debt. In a manner of speaking, so does Luke. Lando … Lando betrayed Han."

"He betrayed you and yet you trust him to help you save this Han?" Camie raised her eyebrow.

"He had good intentions," Leia admitted. "He ran Cloud City on Bespin. He was trying to protect his city and people. He should have known that Darth Vader would never keep his word."

"Darth Vader?" Camie tried to fight off the fear. Even on Tatooine they had heard of Darth Vader.

"Darth Vader. Luke fought him in Bespin. He lost his hand and light saber- he was lucky he didn't lose his life." Leia looked away. "He's hiding something from me. He hasn't been the same since he fought Vader."

"I'm not surprised." Camie sighed. "So it's true then- Luke's with the Rebellion?"

"He fired the shot that destroyed the Emperor's Deathstar. He's the closest thing we have to a Jedi Knight- He's putting off finishing his training until Han's saved."

"He pulled my rifle out of my hands just by holding his hand out. It's hard to believe that the boy I grew up with is some kind of space magician." Camie finished her milk. She looked longingly at the pot of caf, but then shook her head. "I should get to work. I'll clean up when I get back."

"Have another cup," Leia urged her.

"I can't afford to get addicted. Thanks, though. I'll need my rifle. Do you know where Luke left it?"

"In the garage."

"All right. Thank you."

"Do you want some company?"

Camie shook her head, looking at Leia's relatively pale features. And she wasn't properly dressed for Tatooine's climate. "You're not used to Tatooine here. You won't be able to save anyone if you get sun stroke. It was nice speaking to you. I don't get a chance to talk to anyone my own age very often."

"I enjoyed it as well." Leia smiled. "Once Han is saved, I'd like to come back and say goodbye if that's all right with you."

Camie didn't allow her doubts as to the probability that Leia would rescue her man show on her face."I'd like that. Now I have to get to work."

"Be careful, Camie."

"I always am." Camie smiled at the other woman and then walked into the garage and picked up her rifle. She kept her working Vaporators close to the farm. She would check the PH readings on the cistern and make sure the Vaporators were in working order. Probably by the time she got back, Leia and the Wookie would be gone. It was the safer thing for her, but she couldn't deny that she was going to miss having company again.

This is your real life, Camie. The sooner that Luke and his friends are gone the sooner you can get back to leading the only life you can …

She stepped outside of the garage. She knew that Leia would have found the heat to be blistering already, but for Tatooine it was a comparatively cool morning. Going to be a good day. I hope.

Luke Skywalker was working on the balkiest Vaporator that Camie owned. One of the suns had already risen, but just as he finished the second one rose as well.

Luke stood up and shaded his eyes as he glanced up.

"Sunrise on Tatooine," he said softly. "There's nothing quite like it. I never thought I would miss it when I left, but it always feels wrong when I only see one sun in the sky."

He looked so much like the Luke she had known before- so naive, so earnest- that she couldn't resist hugging him. "Welcome home, Luke. I missed you."

And much to her surprise, Camie realized that she had.

Author's Note: Not much here that most people don't know. Camie was Fixer's girlfriend in the deleted scenes from ANH. It was later established that they married. Fixer dying is something I came up with for this story. In TLJ novelization, Luke had a dream of Camie where she left Fixer for him and they grew old together. Hence the inspiration for this story.