Din spots the Falcon landing and moves to wait at the bottom of the ramp. He watches as Chewie walks down the ramp carrying Finn, the girl, Rey, behind him. He looks at the ramp, but doesn't see Pandora following them. Chewie sets Finn down with the medics, then growls sadly and motions towards the ship.
Din walks up the ramp and approaches the bunks, where he spots Pandora laying down and facing the wall. He sits on the edge of the bed and rests his hand on her arm. She turns and launches herself into his arms, crying into his neck.
"Breathe, Dora." He whispers, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her, cradling her to his chest like he did when she was a kid. He continues soothing her as she cries, until she eventually falls asleep from exhaustion.
Din stands, careful not to wake her and walks down the ramp, spotting Chewie and Cordelia hugging each other tightly as they cry. He approaches and Cordelia pulls away when she spots her daughter. She brushes the hair from Pandora's face and gently wipes her tears away before kissing her forehead.
"Take her to her room. I'll go get Rhys." She tells Din. He nods and leans down for a Keldabe Kiss before carrying Pandora towards her room. As he approaches, he spots Poe leaning against the wall outside her door.
"Is she okay?" Poe asks when they reach him.
"She's just sleeping." Din assures, opening the door and gently laying Pandora in her bed. He covers her with the blanket and kisses her forehead before turning to face Poe. "Cordelia and Rhys should be here any minute. Do you want to join us?"
Poe nods, his eyes not leaving Pandora as he moves across the room and sits on the couch. Din takes a seat at the end of the bed and sighs. The two sit in silence, processing recent events, until Cordelia and Rhys enter.
Rhys takes a seat in the chair across from Poe while Cordelia moves to sit next to Din. He wraps his arm around her, and she leans into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.
"How's Finn?" Poe asks Rhys. He sighs and rubs his face before leaning back in his seat.
"We've got him stabilized. He'll recover, we just don't know when he'll wake." He answers.
"How are you feeling, Rhys?" He asks, reaching over to pat his leg where it rests on the coffee table between them.
"Honestly, I just feel numb. So much happened that it doesn't feel real yet." Rhys replies.
"I know how you feel." Pandora says, making the whole group look at her, not having realized she'd woken up.
"How are you feeling, Ad'ika?" Cordelia asks, resting her hand on Pandora's leg. She smiles at her mother and shrugs.
"Can we not focus on feelings right now?" She asks.
"Of course. Why don't we all tell our favorite story of Han." Din suggests.
"My favorite story was when he destroyed the fort that Dora and I built in his living room. We decided to sleep in there rather than the guest room with Mom and Dad. Uncle Han decided to get a midnight snack and didn't bother to turn any lights on. He ended up getting caught in the blankets and falling through our fort, almost crushing us. He spent the next morning helping us rebuild it though." Rhys says. The group laughs at his story, and Din clears his throat.
"My favorite memory was when we first brought you, Rhys, to their house. Your sister was a toddler and wouldn't listen to anyone but your mom. So, Leia and Delia took the older kids outside so that Han and Chewie could meet you without them interrupting and trying to steal the attention away from you. I handed you over to Han and you started laughing, so he started to play with you, tossing you into the air before catching you. It must've upset your stomach because you spit up in his face. The rest of our visit he refused to play with you, scared you'd do it again. Luckily he was over it by our next visit and he spent the whole week playing with the both of you." He explains. Rhys rolls his eyes as the others laugh.
"One time, Uncle Han took me out on the Falcon, and he let me fly the ship for a few minutes. He must've stopped paying attention to what I was doing at some point because I almost crashed and killed us. He made me promise not to tell you, Mom. Oops, I guess I just did." Pandora tells them. She stands from her bed and moves to the wall where she has the pictures of her family pinned. "Sorry." She says, running her finger over the picture of her uncle. She moves and sits on the couch next to Poe.
"My favorite memory happened before either of you were born, though I was pregnant with you at the time, Pandora. On one of our visits, Han told me that the man who had tricked me and sent me to the Niktos had sent him a message asking Han to meet him at a cantina. Of course, he went, although he brought me along without telling Tamu. Han convinced him to take a walk and he brough him to the clearing where I was waiting. Han roughed him up a little before threatening to do a lot more damage if he went anywhere near his baby sister or her family ever again..." Cordelia says. She trails off as she begins to cry.
Din pulls her onto his lap and wraps his arms around her. She buries her face in his neck, holding tightly onto him. He runs his fingers through her hair, whispering comforting words to her. Rhys looks away from his parents, hoping one day he could have someone to comfort him. He's flooded with thoughts of a certain ex-stormtrooper away as he imagines his future.
Pandora eyes her parents, tears filling her eyes at her mother's sadness. Seeing this, Poe rests his hand on her shoulder. She turns and throws her arms around him, resting her head on his chest as she begins to cry. Poe wraps his arms around her, rubbing her back as she lets her emotions out.
The family stays together for quite a while, each taking time to let their emotions free before taking time to collect themselves before they leave the room.
***
R2 activates the map and BB-8 rolls forward, inspecting it. He rolls back towards Poe and beeps.
"Yeah. All right, Buddy. Hold on." Poe tells him, stepping away to grab the piece of the map he got from Lor San Tekka. He places it into BB-8 who rolls forward, projecting his piece to fit inside the gap in the larger map.
"The map, it is complete." 3PO exclaims.
"Luke." Leia says. Pandora smiles and steps up next to her aunt, taking her hand and squeezing it. Leia smiles and pulls Pandora into a hug, kissing the top of her head. Cordelia joins the hug, squeezing Pandora between them.
"Why are they always hugging?" Rhys complains. Din chuckles and pulls Rhys into a hug.
"It's okay to admit you want a hug of your own." He teases, ruffling his son's hair. He rolls his eyes and pushes away.
"I only want a hug from one person." He replies, crossing his arms.
"Your boyfriend, Finn?" Pandora and Poe taunt.
"Stop. Both of you." He scolds. Din grabs Rhys' shoulder and turns him to face him.
"Who is this Finn, and why haven't I met him? He'll need my approval before you can go out. I'm not going to let another jerk break your heart." Din says. Rhys glares at Pandora and Poe as Cordelia joins them, cupping his face and tilting his head so he looks at her.
"Although your father could have worded it better, we're just looking out for you. If you want to date Finn, you don't have to get our approval. We would like to meet him, though." She says.
He groans and walks away, muttering under his breath that he can't wait to get his revenge on Poe and Pandora. They laugh as they watch him storm away and Cordelia turns to them with a glare.
"Pandora, stop teasing your brother so much." She scolds.
"But-" She argues.
"No. He's more sensitive about his feelings than you are, stop taking advantage of that." Cordelia says.
"Don't worry. She can't punish me if I continue teasing him enough for both of us." Poe attempts to whisper to Pandora. Cordelia rolls her eyes, having heard him clearly.
"I have enough dirt on both of you bury you six feet under. Do you really want to continue this discussion?" She threatens.
"No, we're good!" Pandora says quickly, grabbing Poe and dragging him away. Din chuckles, wrapping his arm around Cordelia as they watch them run away.
"I love our kids, but they are exhausting." She tells him.
"Even as adults?" He asks.
"Especially as adults." She replies.
YOU ARE READING
Pandora's Box
FanfictionDin and Cordelia Djarin have already had their adventures throughout the galaxy, and now it's time for their children to have their own. Following Pandora and Rhys Djarin as they fight with the Resistance against the First Order.
