TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Several days had passed since Luke had visited with Han and Leia and stole their thunder via the Force. Neither had heard from him. Leia knew he'd be on Coruscant for a few more days, but so far, he'd made no attempt to reach out to them. Leia's sense was that he was embarrassed; Luke was not someone who did things out of spite. But she had hoped that things would have worked themselves by now, and it saddened her a little.
Before that, she and Han had only spoken of parenting in general terms but now they were talking in specifics. Both of them, they realized, had been denied a childhood, Han having been abandoned and Leia forced into adult roles before she truly felt ready. They were not going to deny their own kids one, and a happy one at that. Their being Force sensitive was not going to dictate their family life.
They were aware of the dangers; being a public figure, Leia had had her life threatened twice, but they had a group of Drednoughts who provided security for them and were capable of making themselves virtually invisible as to not raise questions from the complex's other occupants, who regarded their celebrity inhabitants simply as neighbors and friends. The kids in the complex played with each other and went to school in the neighborhood, and that was the life Han and Leia wanted them to experience.
Han had comm'd her earlier to ask what she wanted for dinner, but Leia realized that she'd agreed to have dinner with the minister of agriculture from the fifth planet of the Corellian system. She asked Han if he'd like to meet a fellow Corellian but he said no, there was a smashball game on and he'd rather pass. Han usually did pass unless someone he knew and liked would be joining them, and Han did not give his friendship cheaply.
Leia grabbed her datapad and headed off to yet another of the million meetings a day she attended, but this had been one she called, to discuss business in general but to tend to a specific matter as well: she was going to reveal her pregnancy. She was pretty sure some of her colleagues were not going to be pleased, but there were ones that would be sincerely happy for her and Han. She hoped they would represent the majority.
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Han had returned from his least favorite part of the work he did: classroom work with trainees. Han taught the calculus of flight. It wasn't that he disliked the subject; it was one of his favorites, then and now. The part that annoyed him the most was that the job was more tiring than he'd imagined. He'd felt less tired after a two week suicide run to the Outer Rim. Tomorrow, they'd be doing some training for crash landing into water, which was more fun for Han and for the kids as well.
He was annoyed that Leia had another dinner she had to attend; they were frequent occurrences. He knew it was part of her job, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
The Corellian Drednoughts were playing The Tatooine Glop Monsters tonight, and when Luke was in town for it, they'd watch the game together, gloating when their teams scored, yelling at the refs, and complaining about the players. This was usually done with significant quantities of Alderaanian ale.
Things hadn't gone well a few days earlier. Luke had dropped by to offer the couple his congratulations on their expected twins, but he'd miscalculated how upset it would make Han. Leia understood even if she was annoyed, but in addition to not making real friends easily, he didn't forgive easily, either.
The truth was, he kind of missed the kid, who was seeming to avoid them. Luke had a good heart; he was clumsy and clueless at times, but he didn't say things to make anyone angry.
Maybe I oughta ask the kid over for the game, he thought. His anger had cooled, and Luke was not just a brother in law but a friend. Han thought Luke might hang up on him, but he was willing to risk it.
He picked up his comm and punched in Luke's code.
"Han?" Luke seemed surprised to hear from him. "Listen, I'm - "
"Oh, shut up and come over and see if we can figure out who's really the worst team in the league," Han said gruffly.
Luke was a bit surprised, but smiled and said, "Sure. Be glad to. Want me to pick up anything on the way?"
"Another suitcase of Alderaanian ale. We're gonna need it."
"See you shortly. And Han?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Just bring the ale and no one gets hurt."
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"I think we've covered every aspect here," Leia announced to the ministers around the conference table. "Now I have some news of a more personal nature."
There were some surprised expressions; Leia did not discuss her personal life in any great detail on the job. But this was one where, if people weren't already suspicious, they'd figure it out soon enough.
Leia stood up and took a deep breath. "Han and I are expecting."
There were some glares, one of which was from Mon Mothma, and a few others were in her camp, but everyone else seemed very happy for her and offered congratulations and good wishes.
"How far along are you?" Riekkan asked her. He'd been among the more salutatory of those present.
"They're due in five months. And I say 'they're' because we're having twins."
The meeting adjourned, and nearly everyone headed for the restaurant to enjoy cocktails before dinner.
"We need to talk," Mon Mothma said to Leia. "My office, now."
When Mon Mothma had turned her back to Leia, Leia rolled her eyes.
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"Thanks for coming by. Leia's at yet another endless dinner meeting," Han said, popping the suitcase into the cooler. "Want some traladon stew? It's leftovers but it's good leftovers."
"Sure. It's not as if I ever learned to cook," Luke said. "We have some good ones at the Praexium, though, so I'm no longer living on flatbread and dried protein."
"Leia's telling everyone at work today about the twins," Han informed Luke as he put the stew in the warmer. "Dying to hear how that goes over with Mon Mothma," he said wryly.
"Mon Mothma comes off like a monster, but she's really not," Luke said to Han. "She's lost a lot of friends on her watch, including the guy she was going to marry. I think she tries not to get too attached to anyone these days."
"Fine. But she pisses me off."
"I sort of figured you'd never talk to me again," Luke said.
"Well, okay, junior, you did steal my sunshine there for a moment. But it's not a big deal. Pretty soon even people we don't know are gonna see it for themselves and we won't have to say a thing." Han grinned.
"Thanks."
"How's Mara?"
"Busy."
"No happiness tonight for the Jedi," Han said teasingly.
"Might be if my team wins," Luke said, smiling. "Bookmakers give the Glop Monsters the edge."
"If either team plays decently, that'll be a first," Han said. "So whaddya say, kid? What's the point spread for the loss?"
"Last time neither team scored," Luke pointed out. "But I put a ten point loss to the Dreds in the last period."
"Fifty credits says you're on." Han began laughing.
"Uh, am I missing something here?" Luke asked.
"I'm just finding it amusing that I have a Jedi Knight in my kitchen with a hot girlfriend, gambling, of all things. Don't get me wrong. I like it. You were kind of a pain when you were so serious all the time. I thought the Jedi were supposed to be like priests."
"Celibacy doesn't work too well. We're changing things," Luke assured him. "Humanizing it. I know we disagree on a lot of points, but it was you and my sister who made me realize that far from our human desires debasing us, it makes us stronger, keeps us centered."
"Obi-Wan must be spinning in his grave."
"More like grinning in the light. I think Ben would approve."
"Well, unless he's betting, he's not going to tonight's game." Both men laughed, the tension between them having been dissolved.
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"Leia, I'm very upset," Mon Mothma said to her.
"And why is that?" Leia asked.
"I would think that as your boss, I would be entitled to the news first."
"It has nothing to do with one's title or rank. I wanted everyone to know."
"If the twins are due in five months' time, everyone's going to know very soon. But you of all people should realize that your leaving to have children - "
"I'm not leaving. I'm taking a few months off. I do intend to do my job."
"Leia, things are in a very delicate balance right now. You're needed here." Mon Mothma shook her head. "This comes at a very inopportune time."
"I think that if you wait for the perfect time to have children, you'll never have them," Leia answered simply.
"Some times would be better than others. Who's going to do your work in your absence? And even when you come back, who's going to travel in your stead? You clearly have not thought this out."
"We want a family. We're trying to create a better life for everyone in this galaxy. I think that starts at home. If you'll excuse me, I'll be going now. See you at dinner."
I don't care how pissed off she is, Leia said to herself. It's just too bad I can't have a cocktail.
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The Corellians were pleasant at dinner, but Leia was done long before the meeting broke up. She wanted to get back home to Han, who sometimes expressed frustration with the workday running late. He knew it was part of the job, but Leia understood his occasional complaints. She didn't much like it, either.
She hoped Han wouldn't choose tonight to grumble. She wasn't in the mood.
She let herself in and to her surprise, Han and Luke were yelling at the refs over a call, Han saying that the call was legit and Luke saying it wasn't. They were being loud and somewhat drunk, but Leia found herself smiling.
"Don't say hello or anything!" Leia said, her tone droll, but she was filled with relief. Apparently Han and Luke had decided it was stupid to keep being angry.
"Hi sweetheart, sorry, just hating on the refs!" Han called.
"That was a bogus call!" Luke called out. "Hey Leia, how are you?"
"I'm fine. I'm just fine. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm exhausted."
After she had vanished into the bedroom and the commercials came on, Luke turned to Han. "You need me to leave now?" Luke asked.
"Fuck no. We're watching this game till the bloody end!" Han announced.
"Any chance we can get Leia interested in smashball?"
"Why?"
"Maybe she'd want to enjoy the game with us."
"Luke, let me explain something. Even the most happily married guy in the galaxy - and that would be me - needs some man time. If you ever decide to make Mara a permanent addition to your life, you'll know what I mean."
Leia overheard them as she headed to the bathroom.
She smiled and said to herself, looks as if 'man time' is back, and she thanked whatever gods made it possible for her to belong to the best family ever there was.