Title: Kingdom of Heaven

Author: Miana

Characters: Bail Organa, Leia Organa

Notes: Set when Leia's 5 years old.

Disclaimer: Lucas owns it all.

The evenings on Alderaan had always provided a safe haven to Bail Organa. They were the only time he truly had time to himself and time with his family. His wife had even less free time than he; from dawn to dusk, Breha rarely had a moment when she was not meeting with her Council, an ambassador, town leaders, or neighboring dignitaries. She would retire for the evening an exhausted soul, always trying to hide her fatigue as her daughter immediately rushed to tell her about her day.

Their little Leia had indeed grown up. After her arrival five years earlier, Bail witnessed the transformation of the small child who was barely larger than his forearm into a small curious ball of energy. With dark brown hair, wide eyes, and a vein of mischief in her, Leia had added quite a few grey hairs to her father's head. She was very intelligent; Bail was surprised as how quickly she learned and adapted to her environment. She did have a bit of a temper, but had thankfully grown out of the tantrum age and instead resolved to pouting.

Bail regretted how little time he actually could spend with his daughter. With the Empire causing more harm than good, Bail was often working or away on Coruscant to argue in the Senate. The elected body held little power anymore, however the Emperor dared not dissolve it. The man was too smart to do so; if he got rid of the Senate, he would lose many star systems' alliance and cooperation.

Between work in the senate and work on Alderaan, Bail had little time for anything anymore.

Especially since Breha fell ill.

Bail had been called home from Coruscant frantically by one of Breha's handmaidens. The queen had collapsed on her way to a meeting with two Ambassadors from Metellos. Her senior advisor was sent to apologize to the Ambassadors while Breha had been rushed to her room and a medic called for. When Bail arrived home several days later, she was still in bed.

He had hid his emotions when he saw his wife. Her face was strikingly pale and her eyes had lost some of their hue. She tried to shake it off as a passing cold, yet Bail could see through the lie. Something was wrong.

With the queen ill, Bail had taken charge of the planet, meeting with his wife's advisors each morning and even having to make several public announcements to the planet about his wife's condition. On top of his own workload, his wife's soon began piling up as well. He spent his nights working while caring for his wife. After several weeks, the lack of sleep had begun to take a toll on him. He finally had to hand his duties as a senator to the former Senator of Alderaan, Bail Antilles. While being free of that workload, his wife's fading health did little to alleviate his stress.

After a month, the medics finally confirmed the one thing that Bail had dreaded; Breha could possibly not recover. Whatever was afflicting her body had spread in her lungs, causing her violent coughing fits and high fevers. Her body was fighting it, but was losing. For Leia's sake, neither of her parents told her. Breha would sweetly tell their daughter that she would be fine, yet Bail could see it was breaking her heart to do so.

Leia, however, took it upon herself to look after her mother. When she was not with her tutor, she was with her mother, often reading to her, combing her mother's hair, or telling made-up stories of princesses of distant lands and heroic stories of Jedi Knights.

While their daughter kept her mother company, Bail worked late into the nights. The farmers on the far side of the planet were experiencing a drought and requesting aid. The merchants wanted to lower taxes. Senator Antilles needed the Queen's permission to try to push a new bill forward in the Senate. It seemed an unending list of tasks for Bail to finish, and it was already late.

"Poppa?"

Bail blinked several times then looked up from his desk at the voice. Leia stood in the doorway, holding her light pink night robe closed with one hand and resting the other on the doorway. Bail motioned for her to enter, Leia shuffling in her slippers toward him. "It's late, Poppa. You should sleep."

Bail turned an eye to the chrono. It was far later than he thought. He forced a smile at Leia. "That it is. I'm going to finish this last thing and go to bed." He eyed his daughter's face. Leia was biting her lower lip and avoiding his eyes by looking down at his desk. Bail craned his head to try to meet his gaze. "What is it, Angel?"

"I was wondering," Leia fumbled, slowly raising her eyes. "When people die, where do they go?"

Bail felt a lump rise in his throat. It was a question he had been asking himself every day since his wife grew ill. Though their religion on Alderaan held that there was an everlasting resting place for the soul in the heavens, Bail's own beliefs had been shaken. If there really was a higher being, they would not have let this happen to his wife.

Pushing his own worries aside, he tried to force a smile. "Well honey, when someone dies, their soul floats into the sky. They go up to the kingdom of heaven, where all the good people in the universe live and wait until we join them."

Leia frowned. "All they do is wait for us? That sounds boring."

Bail chuckled. "They keep busy watching over us. When they die, it's their job to watch over those they love."

Confusion crossed Leia's eyes. "So grandma and grandpa can see us?"

"That's right," Bail said, looking up at the ceiling. "We can't see them, but they're there."

Leia looked up at the ceiling. "Would Momma go up to heaven and watch over me?"

Bail felt his throat tighten. "Momma's going to get better," he said, his voice cracking slightly. If he said it enough, perhaps he would start to believe it as well.

A pair of deep brown eyed met his gaze. "I know she will. I mean… eventually."

Bail's heart broke at her gaze. Leia knew. Something in her eyes told him that Leia knew her mother was dying. How she at such a young age could comprehend such a thing was puzzling to him, yet Leia never ceased to amaze him. However, for her sake, he had to stay strong and try to make her believe that Breha would be all right. He had to make himself believe she would live.

"Of course, Angel," he answered with a smile. "Do you want to sleep with us tonight?"

Leia nodded her head silently.

Bail pulled his daughter close to him and kissed her forehead. "I'll be along shortly. I expect you to be asleep when I get there, though. It's way past your bedtime."

Leia made a face as her father pulled back from kissing her. "How come you don't have a bedtime?"

Bail chuckled. "I promise you, Leia, when you are older, you can make your own bedtime." He playfully swatted her behind and scooted her toward the door. "Good night, Angel."

"Good night, Poppa." When Leia was gone, Bail sighed and turned back to his work. He could put in one or two more hours, he supposed.

"Poppa? Poppa?" Bail awake to the sound of his daughter's voice. He was still in his office and sunlight was pouring in through the windows; he had fallen asleep while working. He looked down at Leia's face, finding it somewhat fearful and numb. "I'm sorry, Angel. I must have fallen asleep." Leia didn't say anything for a moment but Bail could tell something was bothering her. "Leia, what's the matter?"

"Momma won't wake up."