A/N: So, if you don't know, I am writing this story concurrently with a story called The Long Way Home. Basically the plot is what if Luke was in The Force Awakens? The Long Way Home directly continues the story of Definitions of Home and thus some of these chapters will have small flash-forwards to the events of that story.

Starting with this chapter, I intend to operate on a 3 to 1 chapter ratio between Definitions and Long Way. Before I write another chapter of Long Way, I will write three chapters of Definitions. I highly recommend reading the two stories in this order as a lot of chapters of Definitions scarily line up with the events of Long Way (I decided on this schedule after already planning out all 100 of the stories of Definitions.) So if you haven't done so yet, please go read the first two chapters of Long Way and watch how these two stories play off each other.

Definitions of Home

Part Three

Rebels Reunited

10 ABY

It took a tragedy to bring them back together; the death of a mutual friend.

The First Order had been a threat growing in the shadows for many years. Using her power as the Senator of Coruscant, Leia had desperately tried to get the Republic to take action. Unfortunately, she only found herself screaming into a void. They would wave off her concerns about the kidnapping of children as a police matter, and say they would consider asking the Jedi for additional help if they found any leads. But every time Leia found and made them aware of a lead, they would tell her to stop bothering them and occasionally threatened to arrest her for interfering in a criminal investigation.

No one wanted another war, so it was easier to dismiss Leia as an alarmist than admit there was a problem. Child after child was taken and Leia was powerless to do anything about it.

And then the death of Shara Bey changed everything.

The First Order's attack on the colony of Yavin IV was a clear political move. Yavin IV was the site of the Rebellion's first great victory. To strike the retired Rebels would prove to the Galaxy how great a threat the First Order was.

The objective was the same as always: steal children under the age of five to be trained as the First Order's future army. Shara's son, Poe, was eight and therefore not at risk, but that didn't mean Shara was willing to stand down and let other children be taken.

Shara's murder was not the first committed in one of the First Order's attacks, but what made it different was that it was the first caught on Holo. No one knew who released the Holo of Shara's death to the public, and her widower, Kes Dameron was furious when it was. A number of cease and desist orders were sent to every media outlet, but it was too late: the public had seen it all.

They had all seen how many of the citizens of Yavin IV had tried to fight off the First Order. They had all seen when the Stormtrooper in charge – a woman referred to as PH-5177 or "Phasma" – announced what would later become the historical declaration that "any resistance will be met with proper force." They had all seen when Shara boldly announced that she would continue to resist. And they had all seen when every present member of the First Order opened fire on Shara.

The public was outraged, and every Senator was flooded with complaints about the First Order. An emergency session of the Senate was called so they could figure out how to deal with the issue, but first they allowed for Shara's funeral to happen so that she may have been peacefully laid to rest.

Since Shara's death had become so public, in order to maintain privacy for his family, Kes was forced to limit permitted attendants to a list.

Two of the names on that list?

Luke Skywalker and Felicity Rhiaon.

"Kes," Luke greeted after the service. "I am so sorry for your loss. Shara was a great woman."

"Thank you for your sympathies, Master Skywalker," Kes nodded respectfully, with an arm around Poe's shoulder. "Poe, what do we say?"

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Poe's head was hung and he stared at the floor with puffy red eyes. The boy was barely keeping it together.

Luke gently smiled; he remembered how hard it had been to keep it together himself when he lost his aunt and uncle (though no one would have blamed him if he had broken down after discovering their smoldering skeletons). At least Poe had had the luxury of not personally witnessing his mother's murder.

A thought suddenly occurred to Luke. He looked to Kes inquisitively, and when their eyes met, Luke gave a short glance to Poe.

Kes nodded in understanding and then leaned in to whisper to Luke, "Poe hasn't seen the footage, but I did tell him what happened."

"Good," Luke replied. "It's not right to keep secrets like that, but there's no need to traumatize him."

"What's going to happen to the First Order?" Poe suddenly asked.

The men looked surprised at the question.

"We're not sure yet," Luke answered. "The Senate is going to hold a meeting to come up with an answer."

"But they're going to fight back, right?" Poe pushed.

"I sure hope so," Kes muttered.

"When I grow up, I'm going to be a pilot like Mom, and stop things like this from happening," Poe passionately announced. "I'm going to be the best pilot there ever was!"

"Quite bold to make such a statement to Luke Skywalker himself," a feminine voice interrupted.

Luke turned to see a vaguely familiar looking woman approaching the group.

"Felicity," Kes greeted.

"Kes," Felicity Rhiaon gave him a brief hug. "I am so sorry about Shara. She was a good friend."

"Thank you." Kes looked down at Poe, "Have you met our son?"

"Not yet." Felicity knelt down and held out her hand for Poe to shake, "Poe? I'm Felicity Rhiaon. I was friends with your mother in the Rebellion."

"Nice to meet you," Poe shook her hand, looking mildly surprised. "So, you're not going to hug me?"

"We're strangers. Why would I hug you?" Felicity posed kindly.

Poe shrugged, "I don't know. Almost everyone today has. Most without even telling me who they were. One woman even tried to kiss me on the lips. I think she was a friend of my grandmother's, but she never even gave me her name."

Felicity laughed, "Don't worry, Poe. I've been the mourner of attention at enough funerals to know how to deal with people. Don't hug anyone unless they initiate it, and introduce yourself as well as your connection to the person being mourned."

"Yeah," Poe nodded. "It's weird, the people I don't know seem to never introduce themselves, and the people I do know, still introduce themselves. And no one's even asked me if I want a hug. Although…"

Poe paused to take a look at Felicity.

"You can hug me anytime you want," Poe slyly said.

The adults burst out laughing.

"Oh, Kes, this one's going to be a charmer," Felicity tousled Poe's hair as she rose to her feet. "It looks like Skywalker isn't the only one who needs to look out in a few years."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Luke grinned. "I can't let my title of best pilot slip away so easily. It's Miss Rhiaon, right?"

"Felicity. Miss Rhiaon. Rogue One. Whatever you prefer, Skywalker," Felicity shook Luke's hand. "Or is it, Luke?"

Luke grinned, "Whatever you prefer, Rhiaon."

"Kes!"

The group looked up to see Kes' father-in-law, Parek Bey, approaching.

"Sorry for interrupting," Parek said, "but Kes, we need to settle things with the funeral director."

"Of course," Kes nodded. "Luke, Felicity, thank you for joining us. Come on, Poe."

Luke and Felicity bid the family goodbye as Parek and Kes led Poe away.

"Cute kid," Felicity said.

"He is a character," Luke laughed. "So, you knew Shara?"

"She was the one who retrieved Diego and I after we stole the plans to the Death Star. We became friends, and she piloted me to a lot of my recruitment missions."

"You needed a pilot?"

Felicity looked away awkwardly, "I… Can't fly ships. At least not well."

Luke frowned, "I thought it was a requirement of all Rebels."

"It's a long and rather personal story, but Bail Organa made an exception when he recruited me. Besides, I do know the bare minimum, just don't ask me to land a ship unless you want flames and extensive property damage."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, you knew Shara too? Or are you here because you're well… Luke freaking Skywalker and can pretty much freely attend any Rebellion affiliated event you want?"

Luke chuckled, "As true as that may be, I actually did know Shara. In fact, her last mission with the Rebellion was helping me track down a Force Sensitive tree."

Felicity raised a brow, "A Force Sensitive tree? You're joking right?"

"Why would I joke about that?"

"Come on!" Felicity laughed. "It's hard enough to believe in the Force on its own, but now you're asking me to believe there are trees that are 'one with the Force?'"

Luke then recalled Felicity's speech at the Celebration of the Battle of Yavin, "You don't believe in the Force?"

"I believe it to an extent," Felicity admitted. "I believe you personally can sense people's emotions and move things with your mind, but the whole destiny aspect is where you lose me. There's no mystical force that decides my fate, and if there is – after everything its taken from me – I want nothing to do with it."

Luke sensed the pain behind her words, but as she was still barely more than a stranger to him, he felt it inappropriate to push any further.

"I respect your opinion," Luke replied. "You're not the first person to say that to me, and you certainly won't be the last. In fact, even my brother-in-law, Han, used to believe that."

"Speaking of your family, do you have any idea what Leia's going to say at the Senate meeting? She won't answer my questions, and I want my office to be prepared."

"You're a Senator?"

"Senate Emissary," Felicity corrected. "Hence why I'm not exactly in the loop to Leia's plans."

A Senate Emissary was basically a fancy way of saying Republic Recruiter. Felicity's job was to act as a messenger and representative of the Republic to other planets that were not members. She would try to convince them to join and mediated the negotiations between the Senate and potential member taking a neutral stance on the Senate and working in the favor of the potential member.

"A lot of planets have been contacting us because of this incident," Felicity told Luke. "They want to be protected from the First Order."

"That's good."

"It is, but I just wish that they had come to us for different reasons," Felicity sighed. "More for, you know, actually believing in the good of the New Republic?"

Luke smiled, "And I wish most of my students didn't come to me because they want to play with lightsabers. If only the universe was perfect."

The pair laughed together only to be stopped short when they noticed the dirty looks they were getting.

"Sorry," Felicity playfully winced as she and Luke withheld smiles and sent apologetic looks to the people around them. "We probably shouldn't laugh at a funeral."

"I'm sure Shara wouldn't have minded." Luke's face suddenly grew serious, "Felicity? I don't mean to pry but… did you see the Holo?"

Felicity looked guilty, "The first part. I shut it off when the Troopers readied to fire. What about you?"

"I chose not to view it," Luke replied. "Out of respect."

"It's not that I didn't want to respect her," Felicity insisted. "I just… I sort of have a thing about last words. I always hope that a person is allowed to make their peace if their life is taken unfairly. I wanted to see if she got that dignity."

"And did she?"

Felicity grinned, "She did. Rather good final words too."

"What were they?"

"The troops told her 'any resistance will be met with proper force' and she told them 'any force will be met with proper resistance.' Then she took out about five troopers before they overwhelmed her. I… didn't watch anymore after that."

"Any force will be met with proper resistance," Luke smiled, gently shaking his head. "Pretty good final words. But to answer your earlier question, I don't know what Leia is planning on doing. Truth be told, I'm not sure that even Leia knows what she'll do."

"Well, she's pretty good at winging that sort of thing," Felicity said with a shrug.

Luke looked a little confused, "Are you… close to Leia? You keep calling her casually by her name. I know you transmitted the Death Star plans to her, but I don't remember Leia ever talking about you."

Felicity smirked, "Well, that's a wonderful thing to hear that she doesn't ever discuss our friendship. No, we're not close, but we used to be before the First Death Star. Bail Organa hired me to be what he called her personal assistant when she first started working in politics at thirteen. Though, to be honest I wasn't so much a personal assistant. Senator Bail Organa described the position as something like the Handmaiden of a Queen of Naboo. Leia was really obsessed with this one politician at the time – someone called Amidala – and Bail thought it might be handy to have someone roughly her age around."

"So what exactly was your job then?"

"I like to describe it as one third bodyguard, one third babysitter, and one third salaried friend. Of course, I found out years later that Bail hired me specifically because he knew my father was a technician on the Death Star and was using me as a way to keep on eye him. But bygones."

Luke grinned at Felicity and couldn't help but wonder why Leia had never mentioned Felicity to him. He understood that people drifted apart and got too busy to socialize, but there was something about the beautiful, charming woman before him that made Luke resent Leia not introducing them sooner. Felicity seemed like she could be a nice friend to have around.

"Oh," Felicity's eyes caught something over Luke's shoulder. "Looks like my ride is waving me down. I think I have to go."

"Really?" Luke looked back to see Diego Nalto waving to Felicity. "That's too bad. It was nice talking to you."

"Likewise," Felicity gave that smile Luke remembered liking. "Maybe we could go for a drink sometime."

"That'd be nice."

Felicity's smile faltered as she looked back at Diego, and she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Felicity called across the room, completely forgetting she was in the middle of a wake. She turned back to Luke, "Can you tell Leia to contact me? It'd be nice to catch up. And if you guys need anything to deal with this First Order situation, she has my number. I'd love to help."

"I'll be sure to let her know."

"Thank you."

"Anytime," Luke smiled, remembering the phrase they had exchanged at the celebration they had met at.

"Likewise," Felicity grinned, clearly recalling the memory. "Well, since I'm so fond of last words, let mine be this: it's always a pleasure to bump into you, Luke. Even if the circumstances aren't the best."

"I find the same joy in meeting you," Luke grinned. She gestured behind Felicity toward the exasperated Diego, "Now, I think you better go before Nalto has an aneurysm."

"I told him to put more money in the parking meter," Felicity laughed as she walked away.

Luke couldn't help but watch as she left. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about that strange, beautiful girl with the affinity for final words.

Years later, Luke would realize that it was the same feeling he got the first time he met Han and Leia: the feeling of meeting someone who was destined to forever play a major part in your life. But unlike meeting his best friend or long lost twin sister, the feeling was more intense. Though it would take Luke some time to figure it out, he had finally met the woman who would be his wife, the mother of his child, and his partner.

He had met his soulmate.

Luke found himself thinking again of Felicity as he watched from the sidelines as Leia addressed the Senate. He and Han watched in boredom as Ben sat in his father's lap and struggled to stay awake. None of the men in the family ever had quite the passion for politics Leia did.

Luke had relied Felicity's message to Leia, and it had been met with an offhanded remark by Leia to her assistant to find some free day for the women to have lunch. Other than that, Felicity Rhiaon had not factored at all into Luke Skywalker's life.

Instead he had been busy helping Leia prepare for her Senate meeting where she would make one of the biggest announcements of her career. It was an announcement that had been inspired by one simple sentence. A sentence that had been originally relayed to him by Felicity Rhiaon.

"Any force will be met with proper resistance. These are the words Shara Bey died for," Leia declared to the Senate. "And that is what we must fight for. I know that none of us wish for another war, but that is exactly what we will get if we continue to do nothing. We must not be passive. We must be like Shara Bey and resist this force that threatens our safety. But I will not allow history to declare that we opened war on this First Order: we must stay on the defense. Therefore, I propose we set up a taskforce. A Resistance if you will. I have leads on the whereabouts of this First Order, and I can secure resources to lead this taskforce. I require nothing of the Republic other than permission for this Resistance to operate."

"Permission for what? A group of vigilantes to take the law into their own hands and lead us headfirst into a war?" Senator Kush of Ryloth sneered.

"The objectives of this Resistance is not to open war," Leia replied coolly. "They are to set up a registry of all kidnapping victims, recover the stolen children in low key undercover operations, and come to the defense of any place the First Order raids. My brother, Jedi Grandmaster Luke Skywalker has consented for the trained adult members of the Jedi Order to assist us so the Republic does not have to sacrifice military resources for our operations. All additional personnel and materials will come through volunteers and donations. You have been provided with a list of over one hundred signatures, promising to offer their various services should this taskforce to permitted to exist. Many of those offering military services, you will note, are war heroes of the Rebel Alliance, and highly trained in combat."

There was a buzz of conversations as the list popped up on the screens of each Senator's pod. The New Republic Senate Chamber had been modelled after that of the Old Republic. This meant that Leia's pod floating in the center of the room forced her to watch as everyone flicked through the names on their screens and scrutinize her work.

"Senators," Leia continued. "I ask you to take a moment. Many of us have children of our own. Many of us have nieces, and nephews, and friends with children. We all know of a young child in our life. Senators, think of how you would feel for that child to be stolen from your life. To be brainwashed under the propaganda of this First Order, and made into soldiers for a corrupt ideology that we have fought so hard to bring an end to. Imagine how it would feel to know you would lose your life trying to save that child, and no one would lift a finger to bring them home. This Resistance is not about reigniting the war of our past, but preventing the war of our future. You must vote in favor of this taskforce for our freedom, our protection, and above all, our children."

"Congratulations, General Organa," Han winked at Leia as the family walked down the hallways of the Senate building after the meeting. "You are now the military head of your very own Resistance."

"Only by five votes," Leia shook her head. "I can't believe so many people still don't want to do a thing about this."

"They're afraid of it, Leia," Luke replied. "Give them some time to warm to it. They'll come to see the good this will do."

"Mom, are you really a General?" Ben asked. "Like an actual military commander?"

"You bet so, Kid," Han ruffled his son's hair. "General Organa. Though I would have preferred them calling you General Organa Solo."

"And I'd prefer you call yourself Han Organa Solo, but that's not happening anytime soon," Leia smirked.

"I think they wanted to differentiate between you and Han," Luke pointed out. "There's already a General Solo, a General Organa Solo might have confused people."

"Tell that to anyone named General Antilles," Leia laughed.

"Wow," Ben said in wonderment, "my mom is a General. That means almost everyone in my family is a commanding officer. General Solo, General Organa, General Skywalker-"

"Actually Luke only ever made Commander," Han elbowed Luke playfully. "Decided he needed to dedicate more time to magic tricks."

"For the last time, Han," Luke rolled his eyes. "Using the Force isn't a magic trick."

"Oh, I know. I just like how much it bugs you when I call it one."

Luke groaned and looked over at Leia, "Why do we keep Han around, again?"

"I don't know," Leia smiled and wrapped an arm around Han's waist. "I think he's kind of cute."

"I am that," Han kissed Leia.

"Ugh!" Ben groaned. "Can you not? And I wasn't talking about Uncle Luke. Grandfather Anakin was a General in the Clone Wars."

An awkward silence hung in the air as the adults looked at each other, hoping someone else would speak.

"Uh… yes," Leia cleared her throat and slowly withdrew her arm from around Han. "Yes, he was. But you know who else was? My real father, Bail Organa, and the man that you were named after, Ben Kenobi."

Ben rolled his eyes, "Why do you always change the subject to them when I want to talk about Grandfather?"

"Because Grandfather was a sociopath who murdered children?" Han muttered earning a swat from Leia.

"We just want to make sure you understand that Grandfather wasn't the best person for you to look up to," Luke explained, leaving Han and Leia to their antics. "Now Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars may not have been the best man, but I don't think there's a lot of harm in you wanting to talk about him at that specific time. Just remember, Ben, just because he redeemed himself and saved my life doesn't mean we can approve of everything he did. Do you understand?"

Ben reluctantly nodded, "I understand."

"Good," Luke gave Ben a pat on the shoulder. "Now how about when we get home we can practice your lightsaber stances and I tell you a few stories about Grandfather?"

"Deal!" Ben grinned.

Luke smiled and looked over at Leia.

"Thank you," Leia whispered.

Without a thought he replied, "Anytime."

That one word set the image of a certain hazel eyed brunette into Luke's thoughts.

He had a funny feeling that he was going to see her again very soon.

"Thanks," Luke smiled at his sister as she handed him the stack of dishes while he and Ben set the table for dinner. He was halfway to the table when he noticed that he was holding five plates, "Uh, Leia? I think you grabbed one too many."

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Leia said as she pulled a dish from the oven. "We're having a guest."

Luke and Ben shared an apprehensive look and Artoo let out a beep from the corner. "Guest" usually meant foreign dignitary leading to an awkward dinner involving a lot of political talk and Han causing some sort of incident when his best behaviour turned cynical. Thankfully, Han was out at the hanger that hosted the Falcon doing some last minute repairs before dinner (which the family was always grateful to allow him to do because it meant he got clean up duty after dinner.) If Han had been in the room for Leia's announcement it would have been nothing but complaining and attempted bartering until the guest arrived.

"Knock it off," Leia shot the boys a look as she checked over Threepio's work on dessert. "There's no need for looking like you dread some impending doom. It's a friendly visit, not a political meeting."

Luke nudged Ben to prompt him to resume setting the table, "Who did you invite?"

As if on cue the apartment door buzzed.

Leia wiped her hands on a dish table, and tapped Threepio's back to signal she was passing him. She crossed to the door and opened it with a grin to reveal a brunette woman clutching a bottle of wine.

"Fliss," Leia greeted her friend with a hug. "It's been far too long."

"It's good to see you too, Leia." Felicity held up the bottle she was clutching, "I brought wine. It's Alderiaan and a pretty good vintage… I think."

"Thank you." Leia took the bottle and peered at the label. "Wait a minute. Did my father and I give this to you for your twenty-first birthday?"

"Maybe," Felicity smirked. "Sorry, I'm not a wine drinker. But don't worry, I looked into it, a ten-year-old bottle of wine from that vineyard isn't poisonous. Doesn't age that well, but it won't kill you."

"Well, I can always give it to Lando," Leia shrugged, urging Felicity into the apartment. "He'll drink anything. Boys, this is Felicity Rhiaon. Fliss, this is my son, Ben and you know my brother, Luke?"

"We've run into each other a few times," Felicity grinned, shaking Luke's hand. "Luke, it's always good to see you."

"Likewise," Luke replied looking over Felicity. She was wearing a simple black dress and heels, and for the first time, Luke saw what her hair looked like down. Her straight brown hair fell a little past her shoulders and appeared to be very soft. As nice as her hair looked up, Luke definitely favored it down. "You look great this evening."

"Thank you," Felicity replied.

"Anytime," Luke gave her a quick wink.

Felicity grinned at him, "So are you all ready for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Luke frowned.

"Felicity's one of the volunteers for the first Resistance mission," Leia explained as she and Ben began to carry the dishes to the table. Threepio had taken Felicity's coat to the closet while Artoo had wheeled himself over to plug into a charge port. "As capable as you and Han are, I thought the two of you could use a little backup."

"Oh right, the mission," Luke remembered.

Leia had already secured a lead on one of the facilities where the kidnapped children were, and Han was taking the Falcon there first thing in the morning. Leia wanted to prove to the Senate as quickly as possible how effective her taskforce would be.

"Yeah, I meant to ask you," Felicity said, "I know that people have promised equipment, but considering we haven't been approved for even twenty-four hours yet, do I have to bring anything?"

"Just proper clothes and maybe some extra weapons," Leia took her usual seat leaving a spot on each side of her for Han and Luke. "I've got everything else handled. Han's just checking over the Falcon as we speak. Maybe if he would hurry up, we could finally have dinner"

"Here," Luke pulled out the chair of his usual spot. "Have my seat."

"Thanks," Felicity smiled as Luke pushed her in and took the seat next to her. "Been a while since a man pushed in my chair for me. So how many weapons would you recommend? I haven't been on a military mission for a while. I mean that's not to say I haven't gotten in trouble every once in a while, but I'm sort of rusty on the planning area."

"Well, I usually take maybe two blasters and my lightsaber," Luke used the Force to put back down the bread roll Ben was floating towards him as they waited for Han to join them. "It all depends on how you use your weapons I suppose."

"Gunner taught me the best thing in this case would be drop and fire. No use in fiddling with your gas cartridge or power cell when you could just pull out another weapon. He usually said ten would do the trick… though I don't actually own ten blasters."

"How many do you have?"

"Uh…" Felicity thought hard. "Leia this is a governmental operation, correct?"

"Correct," Leia nodded.

"Ok, I can probably use my work blaster in that case, but better check with my boss," Felicity thought aloud. "Let's see, personal, work issue, the one in my bedside drawer…"

Felicity caught Luke's look.

"I'm a single female who lives alone on Coruscant," Felicity hastily explained. "Better safe than sorry. So, that's three, though I could probably borrow two from my coworkers who are here on Hosnian Prime right now. The rest are on Coruscant or some mission. I guess I could scrounge up maybe five."

"You could borrow the four I own if you wanted to drop and fire," Luke offered. "Though please don't actually drop them."

"You own four? And you looked at me funny for keeping one in my bedside drawer," Felicity teased. "Wait, if I take all of your blasters, won't that leave you weaponless?"

"I'll have my lightsaber to protect myself."

Felicity raised an eyebrow, "In other words, you're dead."

"You might want to ask everyone on Jabba's sail barge how ineffective I am with a lightsaber."

"You do know I have no idea who Jabba is or what happened on his sail barge? Do you get completely overtaken? Or did you get lucky with your laser sword and kill everyone on board?"

Luke narrowed his eyes slightly unsure if she was mocking him or just teasing him, "It's not a laser sword, it's a lightsaber. An elegant weapon from a more civilized age."

Something in Felicity's face changed. If Luke struggled to tell if there was humor behind her words before, he could tell they were now gone completely.

"There's nothing civilized about a lightsaber," Felicity muttered looking down.

Luke could feel the difference in the Force. The shields in the back of Felicity's mind had shot up, and the aura around her had darkened. Something about lightsabers had set off her defenses.

They sat for a minute in silence, Felicity staring at her plate to avoid eye contact with everyone. The tension in the room was so thick that nobody noticed when Han walked through the door.

Felicity finally spoke, "If you're still offering those blasters, Skywalker, I'll take them. You can enjoy your little glow stick of death all you want, but to me there's nothing better than a good blaster at my side."

"A good blaster at your side?" Han's eyebrows lifted at the girl as he recalled once saying something similar. "Sweetheart, I have no idea who you are, or what you're doing in my house, but I think I like you."

"Thanks," Felicity dryly said.

"Anytime," Luke found himself muttering.

"Finally! We can eat!" Ben exclaimed as Han took the seat next to him. With a challenging smirk, Ben made eye contact with Luke and deliberately used the Force to call the bread roll back to his plate.

Luke shook his head.

"Since we're on the topic," Han said as everyone began piling food on their plates. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

"Han, this is Felicity Rhiaon," Leia introduced. "She's an old friend of mine who will be joining you on your trip tomorrow. We've been meaning to catch up for a while so I invited her to dinner."

"Oh, good," Han replied. "I thought she was another one of Luke's girlfriends."

Luke choked on his glass of water.

"Han!" Leia swatted his arm.

"What? He goes through them so quickly, I can't keep track sometimes."

"I don't go through girlfriends quickly!" Luke objected.

"Luke, we've had cans of soup in our cupboard longer than some of your relationships."

Felicity snickered, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. She cleared her throat and put on her best false innocence look as she caught Luke's scowling glare.

"Yep, definitely like her. Good sense of humour," Han raised his glass at Felicity. "And I'm definitely stealing that glow stick of death thing. Actually, you want to hear funny? Ask Luke why his last girlfriend broke up with him. That's pretty funny."

"Han, please don't do this," Luke begged.

"What happened?" Felicity could help but ask.

Luke let out a heavy sigh, he knew if he didn't tell her that Han would.

"My last girlfriend, Crystal broke up with me because…" Luke cringed, "… she couldn't stand Threepio."

Felicity burst out laughing, "Your girlfriend dumped you because of your droid?"

"Oh, like you've never had an embarrassing breakup! I bet you have a few horror stories of your own."

"Yeah," Felicity grinned. "But you're never going to hear them."

"Wanna bet?"

As Luke and Felicity settled into a comfortable routine of teasing and playful laughter, Han couldn't help but watch them with a hint of suspicion. He had been around Luke long enough to recognize when Luke took a liking to someone, and Luke was definitely starting to like Felicity.

Han used the pretense of refilling Leia's glass to lean over and mutter to her, "I know what you're doing."

Leia looked confused.

"What am I doing?" Leia whispered back.

"Come on," Han nodded to Luke and Felicity. "I'm not stupid. People don't just randomly invite childhood friends over for dinner. You're playing matchmaker."

"Matchmaker?" Leia had to hold herself back from exclaiming. "No, I'm not! What? You think I invited her over for Luke?"

"Is the Falcon the fastest ship in the galaxy? Don't feel bad. Your plan seems to be working."

"Han, you're insane."

"Yeah, but I'm still right. Look," Han pointed at the pair.

As Luke described some story from the days of the Rebellion, Felicity was barely touching her food. She was laughing hard to the story and lightly gripping Luke's forearm.

Leia's eyes narrowed.

"I don't… I don't think anything's going to happen," Leia herself didn't sound confident in her words.

"Yeah, and you never thought anything would happen with us," Han pointed out. "Now we've got a six-year-old kid who's trying to use the Force to get into dessert. Knock it off, Ben!"

Leia frowned as she watched Luke refill Felicity's glass for her. Leia hadn't seen Felicity smiling that brightly in years. She had entertained the thought that Luke and Felicity could be friends but something more? Leia liked Felicity well enough but Leia wasn't certain if she trusted Felicity enough to pursue her brother. In addition to her natural sisterly tendency to believe no one was good enough for Luke, Leia also knew a few things about Felicity that set off alarm bells.

There was just no way a romantic relationship between Felicity Rhiaon and Luke Skywalker could end in anything but disaster.

Taking a sip of her water, Leia watched Felicity and Luke over the rim of her glass. Felicity was turned away portioning more salad onto her plate, but Luke couldn't take his eyes off Felicity as his trademark adorably goofy grin was plastered across his face.

Leia would definitely have to keep a close eye on this for sure.

If Han was convinced by dinner that Luke had finally found "the one," walking into the cockpit of the Falcon the next day set it in stone. Luke was sitting in the co-pilot's seat as Felicity stood behind him deep in conversation with Luke.

"It just gets everywhere," Luke was in the middle of saying to Felicity.

"I know," Felicity laughed. "I swear, it's been ten years and I'm still finding it in my clothing. But you know, that's not even the worst part about desert living-"

"I'm sorry," Han loudly interrupted. "Are you two talking about sand?"

"Not sand," Luke quickly corrected as his face reddened. "Desert living. Apparently Felicity actually lived on a desert planet called Jakku for about a month. I was just comparing it to Tatooine."

"Jakku?" Han raised an eyebrow. "That junkyard?"

"It wasn't exactly by choice," Felicity answered. "Anyways, what I was saying was that sand isn't the worst part of desert living: it's the hunger. Water wasn't too bad an issue on Jakku, but food portions were the literal currency."

"That's so odd. On Tatooine it was the opposite, enough food but no water."

Han couldn't believe he was actually hearing two people legitimately fascinated by a conversation comparing desert planets.

"Okay, if you two are done being… strange," Han took a long pause as he shot a judgemental look at each of them, "there's some kids we're going to go rescue. Fliss, can I call you Fliss?"

"Sure," Felicity shrugged.

"Fliss, you better go strap in in the back with the others," Han ordered. "Luke, you're my co-pilot. We're going to go pick up Chewie on Kashyyyk and then head to the Meridian System. And, Fliss? Leia told me about your… luck with ships… Don't touch anything."

"Aye, aye, Captain. Let me know when we can move about freely. Skywalker here thinks he can beat me at dejarik," Felicity winked at Luke and exited the cockpit.

"Hey, do you know how many times I've played?" Luke got out of his seat and called after her from the door. "Your credit chip is mine, Rhiaon!"

Luke grinned to himself and turned back to his seat. He was surprised to see Han staring at his with an eyebrow raised.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Nothing," Han said. "Help me put in the coordinates."

"Kashyyyk's number one on the list of favorite routes, right?" Luke sat down in the co-pilot seat and started working.

"That's right," Han pressed a few buttons.

The men sat in silence as they readied the ship for takeoff.

"Hey, Luke?"

"Yeah, Han?"

"Marry that girl."

Luke just looked at Han like he was crazy.

Coming Up Next Chapter…

Aggressive Negotiations

When negotiating the joining of Zygerria into the New Republic, Queen Thali learns of Felicity's friendship with Luke Skywalker. Hoping to have found a bartering chip, Felicity calls in a favor to get Luke to come with her to Zygerria. But a forgotten incident from the Clone Wars complicates things and the duo must find a way off the planet before they're sold into slavery.

"I should have known it was a trap the second they specifically asked for Luke Skywalker to come."

"Hey, don't look at me; this is my father's fault. I can't believe it, six years he's been dead, and he's still causing me problems."

"At least for once it's Anakin they're angry at, and not Vader."