Thanks to some of the best therapy his wife could provide, Han awakened the next morning feeling fantastic. He was also going to bring his family back to the pawn shop to see if he could meet the old woman. Since they were headed that way anyway, Han suggested they leave the resort for breakfast, going to one of the more local diners for a genuine, greasy breakfast instead of the more upscale offerings at their hotel. They were not disappointed.
Han didn't know what to expect as they approached the shop. He held Jaina and Anakin's hands as they walked in, Leia behind them with Jacen. Han grinned when he saw the woman from the day before. "Welcome back," she said with a smile.
"Is she here?" Han asked without hesitation. He needed to thank this woman for helping him all those years ago and for giving him back his memories.
The woman nodded. "She's in the back office. It would probably be best if you came to see her there. She's not doing too badly today, but I thought you'd want some privacy."
"Thanks," Han said as he walked forward, then suddenly stopped, remembering he had completely forgotten to introduce his family. "I'm sorry, this is my family. My wife, Leia."
Leia walked forward and shook the woman's hand and said, "It's nice to meet you."
"And these are our kids, Jacen, Jaina and Anakin. Guys this is…" Han trailed off, embarrassed at the sudden realization that he had never gotten this woman's name.
She simply smiled and said, "Villie."
"Right," Han said. "And I'm-"
"I know who you are, Captain Solo. I know how you and your wife helped defeat the Empire."
Han felt his face reddening. He was never a fan of being recognized. "So does your mom know that, too?"
She shook her head. "No, she wouldn't know a thing about it anyway and we never knew that the boy she mentioned in the story grew up to be you. Why don't you come back and see her?"
They all walked toward the office, and the door opened to a very old woman dressed in a brown cloak, similar to that of a Jedi, but not quite. She was seated in a large armchair, reading a datapad. "Mother," Villie said. "There's someone here I think you'll be happy to see."
The woman looked up, her eyes almost vacant, the deep blue of them looking almost cloudy as she tried to discern the sight in front of her. She looked at Han first, then the rest of the family. Jaina and Anakin had moved close enough to Han that they were almost hiding behind their father's legs. Jacen was still in good view next to Leia, and the woman looked down at him, then back at Han, and he could almost see the light bulb going off in her head.
"It is you," she said with a smile. "I kept it safe for you, young man."
Han held the necklace up and showed it to her. "Yes, you did. I don't know how to thank you."
"No need for thanks. It was not a difficult task."
"Either way," Han replied, "thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."
She smiled at him and looked again at the rest of the Solos. "Is this your family?"
Han nodded and introduced them all. "Your son looks like you."
Han turned and looked at Jacen, who was smiling up at him proudly. "Yeah, I guess he does."
"Wait," she said. "I have something for you." The woman took great effort to stand up and moved to an old set of drawers in the corner of the room, sifting through as Han looked at Villie who simply shrugged at him.
Finally, she found what she was looking for as she turned and extended a bony hand that held a holocube. Her thumb activated the image and she held it out to Han, who took it without a word and looked at it.
He saw a young boy, scrawny, a little dirty, his brown hair messy and a bit longer than most boys his age. He was smiling crookedly, holding a cookie in his hand that he suspected the woman had given him. Han saw the resemblance to Jacen and he felt his throat tighten and his eyes water. He had never seen a holo of himself as a child. It wasn't necessarily a time he wanted commemorated in such a way, but this image was of one of the few, simple, happy times he had.
He did not recall the specific moment in which it was taken, but he did remember when this nice woman would occasionally give Han a cookie to go with the credits she'd use to buy whatever he was selling that day. It was one of the rare instances from the early years of his life in which an adult had done anything nice for him.
"What is it, Han?" he heard his wife ask from behind him and he simply held his hand out for Leia to see. Seeing the image and the look on Han's face, she knew exactly what she was looking at. Smiling at him, she responded, "I knew you had to have been adorable."
He laughed and heard Jaina excitedly by his side. "Lemme see. What is it?"
Leia bent down so all of her children could get a closer look. "This is your daddy when he was a little boy."
"He looks like Jacen," Anakin said.
"No way," Jacen interjected. "I have a much better haircut."
"All right, all right," Han said, taking the holocube back and holding it out to the woman.
She shook her head. "I have no need for it anymore, young man. You keep it."
Han said sincerely, "Thank you. I appreciate it."
She nodded and said, "You're welcome. Your mother would be proud of you," she said as she looked at the rest of his family.
Han felt his heart beat a little faster, wondering if this woman knew more than he thought she did. "Did you know my mother?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I just know that any mother would be proud of you."
Han felt his throat tighten again and felt Leia's hand encircle his and give it a gentle squeeze. While this meeting did not answer all of the questions Han had about his past, it had at least given him some insight as to where the necklace had come from and left him wondering uncharacteristically if some divine intervention had placed Jacen alone in that corridor to meet this woman and set off the unearthing of Han's lost memories.
As though a switch was thrown, Han saw the old woman's eyes become more vacant again, and acting like there was nobody else in the room, she turned and looked at her daughter. "I'm tired. Is it time to go to bed yet?"
The woman shook her head slowly, visibly frustrated. "We have guests, Mother."
The old woman looked back at Han and his family. "Oh, guests. How lovely. Who might you all be?"
Han had heard about when older people's memories started to go but he had not witnessed it firsthand. He hoped not to suffer that ailment in his old age. Villie walked towards Han. "It's all right, Mother. They were just leaving."
Han felt a twinge of sadness that this poor woman was going through such a thing. But all he could do was say a simple, "Thank you again," before walking out the door as she smiled at them.