AN:This will be a two part-er! Part one is the funnier, slightly less sentimental of the two. Shout out to Reading Writing Watching for being my amazing beta reader! With that, onward!

"What are we even doin' here, Leia? Your last day was today and this speech isn't even important anyways." He wouldn't have accompanied her if he wasn't worried sick that she'd go into labor any second, even though the doctors were pretty sure she had at least another two weeks.

"Because, Han, today is my last day and it's not over yet. I promise you, tomorrow, I will stay in bed all day and make you wait on me hand and foot. This won't take more than a few hours, I don't feel like cooking and I really don't feel like eating any more Corellian stew. Besides, we're already here, the hard part is done. And of course this is important or they wouldn't be having it." She snapped. He swallowed several burning retorts, knowing from unfortunate experience that ticking off a very-mad-and-pregnant-Leia Organa-Solo was a bad, bad idea.

"Yes, dear," He agreed complacently as the elevator doors slid open. He put his hand to her back to steady her as they walked into the crowded entrance hall. Leia usually liked to mill around at these things, but Han steered her straight towards their assigned table right away and she didn't argue. After helping her into her place, he went after some drinks.

When he returned to the table, she had one hand pressed into her swollen belly and the muscles in her jaw were working like she was trying to chew something that Luke had cooked. Her free hand was balled into a white-knuckled fist and her eyes were fixed on her watch.

"Sweetheart? What's wrong?" He asked, quickly setting the drinks down and pulling his chair close to hers. He put one arm around her and covered her fist with his other hand, bowing his head close to hers. She relaxed her hand and jaw after a moment. "I thought you said that the contraction you had at home wasn't a real one."

"Well, there's nothing to say that this wasn't also a false contraction; I've been having them on and off like this for the past three days. Or, hey, maybe I'm in labor." She joked, reaching for the lemonade Han had brought for her. She glanced at the terrified expression on his face. "Only kidding." He shot her a look that fell somewhere between 'sarcastic grin' and 'inwardly terrified'. "I'm fine, really," she soothed, patting his hand awkwardly. He straightened up and slid his chair back just slightly from hers, reaching for his brandy and downing it in one go.

The hall began to fill with people and they were joined soon after by General Rieekan and some ambassadors from who-the-hells-even-cared-anymore. Leia conversed politely with the arrivals, but all Han could hear was his blood rushing through his ears.

The first course was served, and just as Han's heartbeat was getting back to normal, he felt Leia's hand on his leg, squeezing for all she was worth. His eyes darted to her face. The other hand had a firm grip on her fork. She took a deep breath a moment later and released her death grip.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Startled, Han turned to the other side. A waiter knelt next to him.

"What?"

"The food, sir. Is it not to your liking?" Han glanced at the practically untouched salad on his plate and then around at the nearly-empty plates around the table.

"No, no. It's just fine. Not…too hungry, I guess." He said, leaning back so the waiter could take his plate. "Are you alright?" He hissed to Leia.

"Well, let's just say it's a good thing my maternity leave starts tomorrow, because I have a feeling this baby will be here by then." She whispered back. Han felt all the color go from his face at that remark.

"I think I need another glass of this ale. Solo, you need a refill on that brandy?" Rieekan said amicably from around the table.

"Yes, please." He said quickly. "Actually, no. No." Not if my kriffing wife is going into kriffing labor. Son of a sith lord, Solo. He vaguely heard Leia ask Rieekan to get her a glass of water.

Rieekan seemed to not notice Han's sheer panic and headed off towards the bar with a few of the ambassadors in tow.

"Okay, sweetheart, let's go." He said, standing.

"Go where?"

"Where? To the grocery store, Leia. You're gonna have our baby and we're going to the store. Where the hells do you think we're going?"

"Han, it's going to be a while. They're more than 20 minutes apart and hardly lasting 25 seconds. We might as well stay here. If we go to Medical now, we're just going to be sitting in a tiny little room for hours. Now sit down. We have three more courses and the speech to get through yet." She replied. If he'd been thinking straight, he'd have picked her up and carried her. Even with the added weight of pregnancy, it would have been no trouble to sweep her into his arms and walk out. But for some stupid reason, his go-to response when panicked now was listen to Leia, she knows what she's doing.

She didn't have another one until they were nearly through with the soup. The next one came about halfway through the entrée. Another came just as they were clearing up the plates and getting settled for the speaker.

To someone who hadn't studied every inch of Leia Organa up close, it would have appeared that she was experiencing absolutely no discomfort at all, a calm air settling about her. However, Han had studied her, and even if he hadn't been able to read the pain in her posture and eyes, he would have guessed something was up from the vice-like hold she took on the nearest part of his body she could get her hands on: his knee, his thigh, his elbow, his hand.

If Han had had any intention of listening to the speaker, it was completely gone now. He was analyzing every motion Leia made, every breath she took. There were two contractions during the speech and finally, General Rieekan leaned up to whisper in Han's ear.

"Is everything alright, Solo? You keep grimacing. Something in the soup disagree with you?"

"No, no. 'M fine." Han choked as Leia dug the pads of her finger into his leg. He glanced at his watch. It had only been 8 minutes since the last one, they were lasting for about 30 seconds now. He clapped briefly when everyone else began to, but quickly returned his arm to its station around her shoulders. The lights came back up and the waiters swarmed in to serve the dessert. Leia declined any and Han ate all of two bites of cheesecake. One more contraction.

Finally, finally, the host for the evening stepped up to thank everyone for coming and people began to stand up and leave.

"I am probably going to regret asking you this, but do you want to go home, or is it time for Medical?" Han asked quietly as Rieekan said goodbye to the ambassadors.

"Actually, that closet over there might be our best option at the moment." She said. He balked and she began laughing. "I'm teasing, hotshot." She giggled. He blew out the breath he'd been holding.

Han practically had to pick Leia up out of the chair. When she was finally upright, he wrapped his arm around her possessively, supporting as much of her weight as possible without making it obvious to the other guests.

"I don't think we should go back to the apartment." She said though gritted teeth. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he hailed a hovercab.

"Coruscant Medical. Now." Han instructed the driver as soon as the door was closed behind them. Her contractions were coming in earnest now, less than 5 minutes apart. She didn't bother trying to hide the pain anymore, cringing outwardly and groaning into his shoulder as another wave swept over her. "Almost there, sweetheart. You're doing great." He whispered into her hair, placing a few kisses on the crown of her head.

"My hair…" She gasped. "Take the pins out." He began quickly fumbling for the pins. In short order, her hair was tumbling down her back and he was shoving a handful of pins into his jacket pocket. In between contractions, she quickly braided it and swiped some of her make up off with the never-used handkerchief in Han's jacket pocket.

As soon as the cab was stopped, Han handed the driver a handful of credit chips that would cover their fare as well as reward him for his speed. Everything after that was a whirlwind, and the next thing Han knew, he was watching as Leia was wheeled off down the hall to get looked over.

"Han!" He turned quickly at the sound of Luke's voice.

"Kid. Thank the stars. How'd you know?"

"She called upon me. And even if she hadn't I would have sensed it eventually. He's anxious to arrive." Han had little patience for his brother-in-law's cryptic ramblings tonight. "Here. She asked me to go by your apartment and get her bag and something for you. I wasn't really sure what you'd want, so I just grabbed the clothes off your bed."

"Great, kid. Thanks." He grabbed his clothes and ducked into the men's 'fresher to change out of his suit. Leia would probably rail him later for not hanging it properly, but that didn't really matter now. When he reemerged a moment later, Luke was speaking with a doctor.

"You must be Mr. Solo. Come with me, your wife's water just broke." The man said. He vaguely remembered Leia saying something about broken waters and the relationship between that and contractions and the birth, but he couldn't think straight anymore. "Come on back. She's just about ready." By 'ready', Han assumed the doctor meant 'dressed' or 'in bed' or 'examined'.

But he didn't.

AN: Please R&R! I love to get your feedback (why do you think I post on Sundays? So reviews come on Monday!) Look for part two on Wednesday!