Chapter Text
Lando woke slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the uncomfortable bright lights. He felt exhausted but quickly he found his exhaustion was replaced by fear. He didn’t know where he was or what was going on. Most alarmingly, he didn’t know who he was. Why couldn’t he remember? He could feel his heart beating furiously in his chest, panic flooded through him, clouding his mind. Everything was blank, he couldn’t remember a single thing about who he was or what had happened. It was terrifying. He felt utterly lost.
In an attempt to calm himself before the terror overtook him completely, he focused on his surroundings, trying to distract himself by concentrating on what he did know. Lando noted that he had a painful headache, that he was lying down on a bed of some sort, in a clean, white room, and that a man was sitting next to him. The man was young, handsome, with blonde hair, in his late twenties or early thirties, and he was staring at him with a worried expresssion on his face. The man seemed to have kind eyes, which eased Lando’s anxiety a tiny bit and so he decided that he wasn’t in any immmediate danger.
Just as he was about to ask what was happening and where he was, the man reached forward, gently taking Lando’s hand in his own. Despite his fear, he let the man hold his hand, curious to see where this would lead.
“Lando?” The man asked quietly, an sense of urgency in his voice.
Lando? He couldn't recognise the word, but if he had to guess, it sounded like a name. Was it his name?
"Lando?" The man asked again. Clearly, it was his name. "Can you speak?"
Could he? He didn't know, but he decided to try.
——-
“What-…what’s happened?” Lando asked, his voice cracking, his throat was sore, and his eyes darting around the room.
“Your ship crashed. You were injured.” Luke spoke quietly but firmly, although there was a slight tremor in his voice when he said the word 'injured'.
“My-….I don’t remember.” Lando looked scared at his inability to remember anything.
“It’s ok. You’re ok. Apart from a bump to the head and some memory loss.” Luke tried to soothe him but he could tell that Lando was worried. He didn't know if he was saying the right thing but he felt desperate to try and allievate Lando's worries if he could.
“Oh.” This didn’t seem to provide him much comfort. He looked around the room and then back at Luke. “And you are?”
“Luke.” Even though he knew it was unlikely that Lando would immediately regain his memory, he still found himself disappointed that Lando hadn't recognised him.
“Luke?” Lando questioned, as though trying out the name for the first time.
“Luke Skywalker. I’m….a friend.” He hadn't thought too much about what he would say when Lando woke up, but 'friend' seemed the simplest way to describe who he was.
“Oh.” Lando kept staring at him.
"Your friend." Luke felt the need to clarify, wanting Lando to know that he was safe.
——-
A friend, Lando thought. That was good, he supposed, at least he wasn’t alone. But as nice as Luke seemed, Lando still felt that horrible sense of unease and he didn’t like the fact that he had to trust someone else to tell him things that he should know. Still, he let Luke hold his hand, it was comforting to feel some sort of connection to another person.
Just as he was about to ask Luke more about his accident, another man entered. He was dressed in white, and he had a serious expression on his face.
“Good to see you awake, Baron-Administrator Calrissian.” He remarked, as he checked the holopad next to the bed, tapping it quickly.
Lando frowned at the strange way he had been addressed, the title was a bit of a mouthful. Baron-Administrator? What did that mean? It sounded important. He glanced at Luke, who gave him a small, kind smile and gently squeezed his hand.
“I should have said.” Luke shook his head in frustration. “Sorry. Your full name is Lando Calrissian. You’re a Baron-Administrator of a place called Cloud City on the planet Bespin.”
“That’s....” Lando trailed off, unsure as to how to react to this information. So, he had an important job, that was interesting, but he couldn’t really deal with that right now. It seemed easier to focus first on something simpler, like his full name. “Lando Calrissian?” He murmured, testing out the name. “I like it. I think.”
“It’s a great name.” Luke gave him another one of those kind smiles again. Lando found that there was something comforting in those smiles, something that made him feel safe.
“So, how are you feeling, Baron-Administrator?” The medic asked, causing Lando to look away from Luke.
“I feel....tired, my head hurts, and I don’t remember anything. All in all, not great.” Lando replied, closing his eyes briefly, in frustration.
“We can give you some medication that should ease your pain, as for the memory loss. Well, that’s amnesia.”
“Amnesia.” Lando repeated, the word sounded cold and clinical. “How long will it last?”
“Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say at this point. It could be days, weeks, months, or longer.”
Longer?! Lando took a deep breath as he tried to imagine living like this for the foreseeable future. It felt unfathomable. He was lost for words.
“The best thing to do is to surround yourself with familiar people, places, and things. The more you are exposed to aspects of your life, the more likely it is your memory will return. For most people, it comes back quickly.”
“Most people?” Luke questioned.
“Yes. There are, of course, extreme cases where the memory never returns. But try not to focus on that right now. It’s early days.”
Lando didn’t know how he could be expected to do anything but focus on that but he would try. He wanted to remember who he was so badly, he would have to try and ignore the fear that his memory would never return. He knew he needed to be brave, now matter how much he wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep. He looked at Luke, this stranger, his friend, who was by his bedside, and he knew he would have help.
“So, what happens now?” Lando questioned.