Here is the final chapter. Thank you everyone for reading, thank you for the reviews! :)

I will be back next week with Dark Matters, an AU that begins the night after Han saves Luke on Hoth. It takes a completely different path from ESB, and is very dark and in some ways disturbing. It is unlike anything I have written before and I hope you will check it out :)

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In the comfortable familiarity of Han's cabin, Leia felt a little more like herself. She had changed out of the dress the Ewoks had given her and was wearing Han's shirt and nothing else. It had become her favorite form of attire.

She shouldn't have doubted Han. But, she had been so overwhelmed and horrified. Everything she thought she knew had been turned inside out. Everything had changed. And yet, for Han, nothing had changed. He didn't see her as the offspring of a monster. He only saw her as the woman he loved. And for that, she was grateful.

The door slid open and there he was, tall and handsome, a smile twisting his lips. She eyed the bottle in his hand. He held two small glasses in the other. Leia stood to meet him.

"I thought maybe you could use something stronger than berry wine," he explained. He put the two glasses down on the bedside table and looked at the bottle. He snapped his fingers. "Forgot the bottle opener." He gestured in the other direction. "Can you get my multitool?"

Leia crossed the small expanse of the cabin and opened Han's storage compartment. She pushed aside the messy contents and as she searched for the multitool, she happened upon the sparkly blue and green necklace she had found during the trip to Bespin. She had forgotten all about it.

"Find it?"

Leia pushed it aside, found the tool, and closed the compartment. She handed Han the tool but her thoughts remained on the necklace. As Han opened the bottle of Corellian whiskey, she wondered why it bothered her so much. Of course there were women in Han's past. Just look at him! Leia thought. It wasn't so much that there were women…it was that an unsentimental man like Han Solo had to have quite an attachment to hold onto such a keepsake.

He handed her a glass then quickly downed the contents of his own. Leia took a small sip of hers and shuddered at the taste, as she always did. Han put his glass down and placed a warm hand across her cheek.

"You're quiet. What are you thinkin'?"

A most un-Han-like question, Leia mused, a tiny smile tugging her lips. During the trip to Bespin, things between them were up in the air, uncertain. She had no right to jealousy. She had no claim on him and therefor, no right to question his past.

Did she have that right now? She still knew barely anything about his life before she met him. He still guarded his past with the tenacity of a tree-varknor'r guarding its nuts.

She took a deep breath, looked away then returned to meet his expectant gaze. "Can I ask you something?" she asked hesitantly.

Leia saw the cautious haze cloud his eyes. "Sure."

She faltered a moment, downed her whiskey with a grimace, and thought, 'What the hell?' She placed her glass on the table and returned to Han's storage compartment. She opened it and turned to Han, her hands twisting together.

Han looked confused and wary. "What? What's going on?"

"Han, I know there have been a lot of women in your past…"

His expression grew more bewildered. "What does that matter?"

Leia felt suddenly foolish. "I know it's ridiculous to be jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"I can't stop wondering…so I'm just going to ask and put an end to it."

"Put an end to what?"

Leia could see he was growing impatient. She reached down, retrieved the glittering necklace and held it in view. Her cheeks tinged pink. "Who did this belong to?" she asked softly.

For a moment, Han just stared dumbly. Then he began to chuckle softly.

Leia frowned. "What's so funny?" She arched an eyebrow.

Now, he laughed in earnest, came forward, and took the necklace from Leia's hands. He held it up to her and the blue and green gems sparkled brightly in the dim light of the cabin.

"This," Han stated with a wide grin, "belongs to you."

She shook her head, becoming annoyed with his teasing. "It is most definitely not mine."

"Oh, it definitely is." He smirked.

"All right," she nodded, her cheeks beginning to color in genuine anger. "You want to let me in on the joke?"

She could see him trying to suppress a grin and failing miserably. "Sweetheart, I bought this for you."

"For me?" His words did not penetrate.

"Yes. On Ord Mantell. At the market place." He waited while she processed this information.

Leia gaped at the necklace and suddenly remembered why it had seemed so familiar when she first found it.

Han stepped closer, opened the clasp on the necklace, and placed it around Leia's neck. He stepped back and appraised her.

"I knew it would look beautiful on you," he said quietly.

Leia was effectively stunned. "I…I can't believe you bought this for me." She touched the necklace with one hand. "On Ord Mantell. Before…anything."

Han pulled her into his arms. "Yeah, well. I guess I loved you then. I just didn't wanna know it." He smiled and his eyes were full of emotion.

"You continue to surprise me," she said softly. She touched the necklace again. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," he whispered.

They got lost in each other's eyes for a long moment.

"I feel so silly," Leia finally admitted.

"Why?"

"For being jealous. And for no reason."

"Well, a good-looking scoundrel like me does turn a lot of heads," he said smugly. Before she could respond, he added, "But you never need to be jealous. I'm a one Princess scoundrel these days."

She grinned playfully. "Well, that's good to hear. I imagine you'll still turn a lot of heads."

"Of course," he shrugged. "Especially when they notice the gorgeous woman on my arm." His eyes twinkled before he gently kissed her.

Leia fingered the necklace at her throat, still amazed. "Why didn't you give it to me sooner?"

Han sighed. "I wanted to give it to you that night on the beach. But then you got mad and things got weird."

She remembered that night all too well. Her feelings for Han had started to become difficult to ignore.

"Then, after Boba Fett…hell, you were even madder an' I knew I had to leave. So, I threw it in there." He gestured to the storage compartment. "And I forgot about it."

Leia mused at the way things turned out. "I was looking for something on the way to Bespin and I found the necklace. I wondered who it had belonged to and why you'd kept it. But I didn't feel I had the right to ask you about it."

Han's chin raised in a smug gesture. "And you were jealous."

"And, yes, I was jealous." She gave a small shrug of resignation.

His egotistical grin was maddening and she playfully smacked him in the ribs. "You don't need to look so pleased."

"Hey, after three years thinking you didn't care, let me enjoy the moment."

She gave him a small smile. "I always cared. I just wanted to kill you half the time."

"Only half?"

"It depended on the day," she said sweetly.

He laughed low in his throat and Leia found the sound masculine and very sexy. She raised up on her tip toes and kissed him quickly on the lips. Han lifted her up, his arms around her waist, and carried her to the bed. He lowered her gently to the bunk and laid beside her, head in hand, simply looking at her.

She traced the scar on his chin with a finger, feeling so lucky to be able to do so. "You're the only thing the Empire hasn't taken from me."

"Thing?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Her lips curved upwards. "You know what I mean," she said softly. Her thoughts were bittersweet. "First they took my family, my home planet, all the people I loved." She felt tears well in her eyes but did not surrender to them. "They took my freedom and my entire life." Her eyes remained on Han's scar, avoiding his stare. "Then there was you and I felt whole again for the first time in so long."

Leia felt his arm go around her and pull her closer. She was thankful that he said nothing and simply allowed her to talk. A single tear escaped her lashes and she ignored it.

"Then the Empire took you too, but I got you back." She smiled to herself. "Now they've taken my identity, my sense of self, but I still have you."

His hand came up to gently brush the moisture from her cheek. "Sweetheart, they can't take your sense of self unless you let them."

She met his eyes and saw her pain mirrored there. "Perhaps," she replied quietly. She was suddenly overwhelmed by love for the man at her side. "I don't think I could get through this without you, Han."

She could read in his eyes how affected he was by her words.

"You could, but you don't have to," he told her in his most serious tone. "Don't let this define you. 'Cause it doesn't. And if you let it, they win. And I know you won't let them win."

The scoundrel was appealing to her stubbornness. She knew it, but still it worked. He had sparked the tiniest defiant streak in her. He knew her far too well.

"Besides," he added conversationally. But, he paused and his tone sobered, and the green flecks in his hazel eyes turned dark and golden, and Leia thought they had never looked more beautiful. "Now, you can have a new family."

A veil of heartfelt emotions washed over Leia and Han's words reverberated through her. As their eyes locked and held, the moment was frozen in time and understanding flowed between them.

And Leia had never known another moment quite like it, when two hearts truly became one.

END