Help Me Understand

A Beloved Son

"You have a hole in your leg!"

You squirmed and tried to get out of his grip, tugging on his sleeve. "Yes I do," you replied. "And if you don't put me down, I'm going to put a hole in your leg."

Poe stopped walking but kept you tightly held against him as you continued wriggling and trying to roll out of his arms. "You need medical attention," he muttered, looking down at you with wide eyes.

You huffed, seeing the genuine worry in his expression."The bandage you put on will hold up for now," you replied, your voice softening.

He didn't budge, his eyes still swimming with worry. You sighed loudly and grabbed his collar. "Alright, I'll make a deal with you," you said. "You take me to the General right now and I'll let you carry me, and after that, I will go to the medical wing."

A beat. "Fine," he grumbled, starting to walk again.

You laughed slightly seeing his pouty expression. His face softened and he smiled at you, using the hand that was under your knees to pinch you slightly.

"You know," he said, "I distinctly remember doing this with some girl on Coruscant a while ago."

"Yeah, I think I remember that too," you replied with a smile.

"I missed you kid," he said, holding you tighter.

"I missed you too," you replied, flicking his chest playfully.

You'd missed him terribly. Thought of him every day, thought of seeing him again, thought of getting to hug him again. And now, you were literally in his arms, experiencing the very thing you'd been thinking of since you last saw him.

And all you could think about was Ben.

It made you sick. You were in the arms of your closest friend, a man that risked his life to get you back from the First Order, and yet your mind kept wandering back to the man that had taken you away from Poe in the first place.

He had acted like a completely different person back in the hangar. He acted like the man he was when he first captured you.

Cruel, emotionless, a monster.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Poe stopped walking and carefully set you down. He kept an arm around your shoulder, keeping you steady.

He wasn't going to say anything but he knew you were still lightheaded and not in the best shape right now. And you needed a little bit of physical support whether you wanted to admit it or not.

The General was standing in front of you, hands clasped in front of her, a gentle smile on her face. Just the sight of her was enough to make you tear up.

She wasn't alone, though. On her right was an older man and next to him was a big, fluffy Wookie.

Your eyes widened when you realized who the man was.

"You're Han Solo," you whispered.

"I used to be," he grumbled. His tone was sour, but the twitch of a smile on his lips betrayed him.

Of course you knew who he was and knew he was married to General Organa, but you'd never actually seen him. He was somewhat of a myth to you, a legend even.

The Wookie behind him suddenly growled.

"And this is Chewie," Han added. You nodded at Chewie, the fur ball making a noise of approval.

You turned back to Han and Leia, tears pricking your eyes as you did. You were looking at a broken, incomplete family, missing an estranged son.

A beloved son.