A/N: *Warning* Major Character Death in this one.

Timeframe: A long, long, long time post-ROTJ.

Waiting

Luke Skywalker hobbled into the large room. The sound of his cane clicking against the marbled floor and the slow, stuttered shuffle of his steps reminding him of Yoda and a little hut on Dagobah all those years ago.

"Uncle Luke!" A chorus of voices greeted him and he could feel the somber mood of the room swell perceptibly with tentative joy and relief.

Luke ambled across the room, making his way towards a closed door. He was hugged and kissed along the way and he ended the journey face-to-face with a man that he had once held in his arms and cradled lovingly.

"Uncle Luke," the man said, encasing Luke's hand between his own. "She's been waiting for you."

Luke smiled sadly. "I know."

The door was opened and Luke stepped inside. The room was large and airy. Dappled daylight poured in through opened windows and scattered across the floor as the breeze danced with the gauzy curtains and the tall trees out in the yard. He made his way over to the bed and stood alongside of it. Leia Solo, his twin, lay beneath the coverlet looking pale and frail with sickness and old age. His chest constricted painfully and tears pricked at his blue eyes. He did not move, did not say anything, sensing her through their bond, knowing that she was aware that he was there.

A weak smile crawled across her lips, lighting up her pale face as large brown eyes finally fluttered opened to meet with his own. "You came," she said, reaching her hand out to him unsteadily.

He took her hand and held it within his own. It was cool and fragile and although his own strength wasn't what it used to be, he was afraid to squeeze her too tightly lest he would break her. "Of course I did," he replied.

She shut her eyes as if the few words she had spoken had exhausted her. "Thank you," she breathed with a gratitude that did not match the favor that had been done.

"There's no need," he said, watching her. Her eyes remained closed and she looked peaceful, seeming to have fallen asleep. His gaze traveled across the large bed. A bed that he had admonished generations of Solo children for jumping upon. A bed that looked very empty with only the one lone occupant lying within it.

Leia opened her eyes and smiled up at him with renewed strength. "I waited for you," she confessed.

Luke swallowed and the tears burned and choked at his throat. "I know."

She squeezed his hand, deceptively strong as she had always been. "I'm ready," she told him. "And..." She closed her eyes, the wrinkles on her face smoothing out with contentment. "He's waiting for me," she whispered.

Luke looked to the empty side of the bed, felt the tug that was his best friend - tenacious and sure. "I know," he replied and couldn't stop the tears from breaking free this time.

"Thank you for coming for me," she said, not opening her eyes.

Luke saw himself rushing into a detention cell, throwing off a white helmet. I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you. The hand that he held in his own was becoming colder and the light in the room quivered. He sat down, his knees giving out on him. "You rescued me, too, Leia," he whispered. "You rescued me, too."

That part of him that was his other half, his twin, fluttered and twisted inside of his chest. Shared memories flashed freely now, decades of happiness and grief, of life and love, of good times and bad. That part of her inside of him pulsated and thrummed before exploding, throwing warmth out in all directions making his limbs feel heavy and full. Light filled the room, eclipsing the sunlight from outside. Luke could feel the heat on his face, like standing beneath the sky of his childhood home with his chin upturned to the suns.

And then... Like a cloud scudding across the horizon, the light subsided, the warmth cooled. And she was gone.

Luke released a choked sob and let the tears flow freely now, let his nose run like a child's. In the wake of her departure the ache inside of his chest began to slowly release, the weightiness began to relent, the remainder of the explosion flared gently with love and where she had always been she still was, not leaving him empty but solidly settling in there - static now. There would be no more new memories, no more good times or bad.

Luke leaned over to place his lips near his sister's ear. Watched his tears roll down his nose and disappear within the curtain of her grey hair. "I won't be far behind you, Leia," he promised, shutting his eyes in his own kind of contentment. He saw her standing in the distance dressed all in white, saw a tall familiar figure with his hand wrapped around her waist. "Wait for me, both of you," he whispered. "I'll be there soon."