Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Star Wars—That's George Lucas. But it seems he approves of Fanfic so that's what this is!

Title: Faith – Vignette

Author: Cka3ka

Chapter 1 of 2

Leia Organa Solo sat quietly in a plush black leather chair as she gazed out of her Coruscant office at the lights of the planet's endless skyline. It was already late in the evening and she should have been finishing up her work so that she could go home to her husband and children. Yet, she couldn't seem to concentrate for some reason. Thoughts of her husband and their relationship continuously disrupted her focus.

It had been years since her adventures with Luke and Han. Years since Han Solo had whisked her away to Darthomir and asked her to marry him. Afterwards, they had begun a life together that seemed to have been out of a holodrama. Who would have expected or even dreamed that a former Senator and Chief of State of the New Republic could marry a smuggler? Granted Han had been a hero of the Republic, but still he was a nobody from the fringes of society while she had come from the highest circles. The Force works in mysterious ways, she thought ruefully to herself.

She couldn't help but reminisce of the times they had spent trekking through the forests of Endor, or of Darthomir, or of the countless number of other adventures that had nearly cost them their lives. As terrifying as those times were, Leia looked back at them fondly. She and her husband had been through so much together that they had forged a bond between them that was stronger than durasteel. Or was it? Lately, Leia felt that the two of them had been growing apart. It wasn't anything tangible yet, but it seemed that the intense passion that had burned like the fires of a young star in the past was beginning to dim. That she still loved him was not in doubt, but the intensity of that love had begun to abate. She had seen this with many other couples in the past. Senators and other members of high society with seemingly perfect marriages would always begin to fall apart with time. Soon mistresses or lovers appeared. Divorces frequently followed. However, it never occurred to Leia that it could possibly happen with her and Han. Not with all that they had been through. Yet, the warnings signs were there.

Work had been keeping her busy for the last few months. It was a rarity that she had any time to spend with her family and when she did much of that was spent with her children rather than her husband. She'd never thought anything of it until she had come home the previous night to have dinner with her family. At first there didn't seem to be anything unusual. The kids had been ecstatic to see her and Han hadn't mentioned the fact that she was late. They'd just had dinner and talked about the happenings of their ordinary day. Han hadn't even spoken much; it had been mainly the kids filling most of the conversation. And that was what galled her. In days past, he would have made some snide comment like, "Thanks for gracing us with your presence tonight your worship," whenever she was late. She'd make some fiery retort and they'd argue for a little while before settling down and going to bed. Now it seemed he was indifferent and that frightened her. The last thing she ever wanted was to see indifference in the eyes of the man she loved.

Tears were beginning to fill her eyes as the knot of pain intensified in her chest. The rebellion and the New Republic had demanded so much from her. She had made so many sacrifices including that of her childhood. She was determined to see it succeed and she knew that her work was essential in stabilizing the government, but in doing so was she sacrificing her family life? She didn't even want to think about that. Taking a few deep breaths, Leia brought her emotions under control. Han would understand, she thought to herself. He had to understand, after all he had given up so much for the Republic as well and moreover he loved her. Convincing herself of that, Leia brought the datapad back into her hand and began to look over some more documents.

Han Solo sat in his family's luxury apartment quietly nursing a Corellian brandy while he read over some reports. He still held the rank of General and that required that he actually do some work. Granted him looking over military documents at his family residence broke about a dozen New Republic regulations, but he could give a rat's rear about that. Someone had to spend time with the kids. Winter was a great help, but it was his and Leia's own responsibility to take care of them. If only Leia could see… An inhuman screech prevented Solo from pursuing any bitter thoughts about his wife.

"Master Anakin! Master Jacen! Mistress Jaina… please no!"

Han shot out of the seat and strode down the hallway to see what was going on. As he entered one of the bedrooms he saw Jacen and Jaina holding Threepio down by the arms and legs. One arm and two legs to be exact. Apparently his youngest son, Anakin had already detached one of Threepio's arms already. At the moment Anakin had Threepio's chest covering open and was preparing to operate.

"Hey, HEY!" he shouted to get their attention. "What do you guys think you are doing?"

Immediately the three children jumped up and away from Threepio. They quickly glanced at each other and Han knew they were communicating via the force to straighten out their stories.

"Threepio was helping us play ER (Emergency Room), Dad," said young Anakin Solo quickly. He shifted from one foot to another nervously. The two older kids nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… Anakin's the surgeon and Jaina's the trauma nurse," added Jacen with a smile. He pointed to Threepio and then added, "Threepio's a speeder accident victim that needs operation."

"Did you ask Threepio if he wanted to help you guys play?" asked Han with a cocked eyebrow. He knew that the kids weren't telling him the whole truth, if any of it. The terrible threesome had been pulling capers since they were toddlers and he was sure that Anakin was reprogramming Threepio to do something for them. He didn't know what, but he knew it definitely wasn't good.

"They most certainly did not," answered Threepio before the children could say anything. "I was proceeding to do routine cleaning when suddenly I was pulled away by an invisible force into this room. I was then knocked off my feet and the young masters and mistress proceeded to attempt to repr…" Without warning he shut off.
Han just stood there blinking. The kids were smart, he'd give them that. After all they were his. Silencing the victim before he got to talking was disturbing though. He'd have to talk to Luke about starting their training. He caught himself. He hadn't even thought about talking to Leia and that disturbed him more than the kids' actions.

"Dad?" asked Jaina after the silence stretched. "Are you alright?"

Han shook his head. "Yeah… I'm fine. Now put goldenrod back together and don't change anything." He boggled at his own words. He should have wanted nothing more than to have Threepio's personality altered. "I'm getting too old for this," he finally said with a sigh. "Get ready for bed when you are done with him."

The kids looked a bit evasive and seemed to be coming up with a new scheme, but a stern look from Han dissuaded them. Satisfied that they weren't going to try anything, Han left the room to get back to his work. Plopping down on his chair he downed his brandy and then poured himself a double. Shaking his head in mild disbelief at his children's actions, he began to start reading only to find that he couldn't concentrate. He glanced at the chrono and saw that it was already approaching 9:00. Han couldn't help but feel a bit lonely.

He hated being here on Coruscant. Perhaps if he could go gambling or do something FUN once in a while he'd warm up to it. However, being the husband of the New Republic's darling princess put limitations on that. It wouldn't do for him to end up in some tabloid. Leia had enough to deal with as it was without him giving her more headaches. He had no friends. Rogue Squadron was out on patrol somewhere; Luke was on Yavin IV; Chewie was with his family; Lando was up to no good somewhere in the galaxy as usual. He had no desire to deal with the 'acceptable' crowd. Most of them were toadies and sycophants that he despised with a passion. All in all, except for his kids, Han Solo was pretty miserable and it was getting worse the less he saw his wife.

The ringing of the door chime surprised him and he wondered who it could be. Standing, he went and opened the door to find Winter standing there looking exhausted.

"Winter," he greeted amicably. "What're you doing here?" He moved aside so that she could enter.

"Don't ask… it's been a long, long day," she replied seeing his look of concern as she stepped in. "I came to drop these documents off for Leia. They are of a sensitive nature so I wanted to make sure that she got them without any middlemen seeing them."

Han shut the door behind Winter and took the datacard from her. "Would it be a problem
if I looked in on the children quickly, Han?" asked Winter.

"No problem at all. They should be in bed already. If they aren't let me know and I'll put some of that famous Solo discipline into them," answered Han as he sat down in front of his data reader again. Winter simply chuckled in response and then went to say hello to the twins and Anakin.

Ten minutes or so later she came back with a smile on her face. "Is Solo discipline synonymous with bribery?" she asked curiously.

"Why do you ask?" replied Han, putting down the data reader.

"They seemed to be quite enthusiastic when I mentioned it. Most children that I know don't look forward to being disciplined."

Han just chuckled. "Yeah… I usually make them work on the Falcon for a while. Anakin and Jaina love it. Jacen isn't that enthusiastic about it as they are but he enjoys it too." He poured himself another drink and then looked up at Winter. "You want a drink?"

"Absolutely. It's been a very long day. I've been running all over Coruscant doing errands for your wife." Winter sat down on the couch and gratefully accepted the glass of brandy that Han brought over for her. She sniffed at the contents of the glass then laughed to herself softly. "I should have known… do you drink anything else besides brandy?"

"You look like you need something with a bite and there's nothing like Corellian brandy for that," replied Han. He raised his glass in a salute which she returned and the two of them downed the contents. Immediately he refilled their glasses.

"So… I hear you've got an admirer…" started Han.

"Is it so known already?" gasped Winter as she shook her head in disappointment. "Pilots, what can you expect from them."

"Nah… It's just that the Rogues are a quick bunch and with Corran around there's no way you can keep a secret. I'm sure Tycho kept his mouth shut."

Winter chuckled. "I always find it amusing how quickly men band together in defense of one another on issues relating to women." Feeling tired and sore, she reached up and began to massage her own shoulders.

"Well we have to cover for each other. We'd like to keep our heads on our necks after all." Seeing the state of exhaustion that Winter was in he said, "here let me help you with that." Standing up he came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Slowly he began to kneed the tired muscles with strength at first and then as they loosened, softly.

"Ahh… the famous Solo hands," whispered Winter as she began to feel the stress of the day vanish. "I've definitely heard good things about these. I see Leia hasn't exaggerated at all. This feels wonderful, Han."

"Yeah… well give me about 10 minutes and then you can stay here in the guest bedroom if you'd like. You'll be feeling like new tomorrow."

"That would be more convenient. I am truly too tired to make it all the way back home. Thank you for the offer," replied Winter. "Where is Leia, Han? Shouldn't she be home by now?"

"She's probably still at the office. I'm not really sure though. She comes home late these days," answered Han. He couldn't help but let some of the resentment slip through.
Winter's sharp hearing didn't miss the tone. She'd known the Solos for many years now. Han could play a Sabacc face perfectly in most situations but never when it concerned his wife. She was well aware of the problems of the Solo household. Leia hadn't confided anything in her yet, but she wasn't blind.

"You need to speak to her Han. I'm sure she'll agree with you that she needs to spend more time here at home," soothed Winter.

"I've tried… but we just end up arguing and I'm just tired of it. She doesn't take me seriously enough to listen to me."

"That's not true Han. She respects you a lot, but she's torn between the New Republic and her family. She devoted everything to the rebellion and sacrificed so much for it. It's not easy to abandon something you've worked all your life for. I'm sure you understand. You risked your life for the rebellion as well."

Han was silent for a few moments. "I hate to burst your bubble Winter, but I didn't fight in the rebellion for the cause. Well I did, but not as much as I fought for my friends, Luke and especially Leia."

"I see." Winter didn't make any other comment as she digested this piece of information that Han had revealed.

"Yeah… I know it's a bit shallow," he said to fill the silence. "But you know for some of us there isn't that big of a difference between the New Republic and the Empire. Don't get me wrong the Republic is light years better but it's still a bunch of the same bureaucrats running the show."

"I understand your feelings Han… and I feel the same som…" Before she could finish her sentence she heard a gasp in the room. She turned her head to see Leia standing there with a look of fury and utter betrayal.

Han heard the gasp at the same time as Winter. He was about to turn and greet his wife when he realized that his current situation was a bit more intimate than he had intended. He hadn't even noticed that during their conversation that he had drifted closer to Winter and that her head was now resting comfortably against his chest. What had been strictly platonic at first now seemed quite intimate. Realization dawned on him and his hands shot away from Winter as if she were a krayt dragon. Of course that only made him look more guilty.

"Leia, honey. It's not what it looks like," he stammered in a very non Han Solo but very 'lame male excuse' kind of way.

"I'm sure it isn't. You… you… son of a bantha! How could you?" Not waiting for an answer she turned and slammed the door behind her.

It only took a moment for Han to compose himself and collect his thoughts rationally. He turned and said to Winter, "Stay here… I'll deal with this."

"Han…"

"No arguments, I don't need any right now." Not saying another word Han rushed out the door. Looking around he saw the doors of the lift close.

"Leia, wait!" he shouted, but already knew that there was no chance of that happening. He ran to the lift lobby and waited impatiently for another one to arrive. Come on Come on… I'm Han Solo damn it. I'm the luckiest guy in the world… where the hell is my luck right now.

When the lift doors opened, Han dashed out of the lift and he was out the doors of the building frantically looking for Leia. Not seeing her he turned to the door guard. "Did you see my wife run out of here?" he asked frantically. His voice was laced with worry and urgency and the door guard gulped in response.

"Uhh sir… I saw Madam Solo come out looking quite distraught…"

"Which way did she go?" he demanded.

"Sir… she was…"

"I didn't ask you what she was looking like… I asked you which way did she GO?" he shouted at the man. "If you don't tell me in five seconds, I'll…."

"She went right and looked like she was headed towards the former Imperial Palace," said the door man quickly.

"Thanks," said Han as he turned and ran off in that direction. Han Solo had a reputation and sometimes he was glad for it.