These characters don't belong to me; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit.
This is my first story so be kind. I'm not a writer and I don't pretend to be one. This was just locked in my head for a while. The title sucks, I have no clue of what to call it.
Things Lost, Things Found
Bail Organa was in shock when he received the message that the Tantive IV was captured by the Imperials over the desert planet of Tatooine. He refused to believe that all on board were dead. 'Not my Leia,' he said to himself. He loved his daughter more than life itself. He knew that she was strong and hoped she was alright. He did not know how but he knew deep down inside that she was alive and that he had to find her.
Within a few hours Bail had his personal ship readied and he was making the jump to Tatooine. He had to make his way to Obi wan Kenobi's refuge. After several days of travel he was able to locate his old friend's hut. It was deserted and by the look of things Obi wan had left with only the essentials. He also noted the tracks of an Astromech droid. Leia had been successful in getting her message to the old Jedi. He hoped that he would find them at the palace in Aldera when he returned.
Bail made his way back to Mos Eisley and entered a bar. As he entered he noticed that the entire place's eyes were on the Holonet. He directed his gaze to the latest bunch of propaganda that the Empire was feeding the masses.
"…The Empire had discovered evidence that the planet of Alderaan has been secretly sending funds to aid the Rebellion against them. Under the authority of Lord Vader the planet was destroyed. Emperor Palpatine said in a statement, 'Let this be a warning to any other systems who dare to aid the Rebel's plight to destroy our wonderful empire, they shall suffer the same fate.' In other news…"
Bail dropped to his knees. Alderaan was gone. His world destroyed.
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Three years later…
Princess Leia Organa sat down on the bed in the captain's quarters on the Millennium Falcon. They had just gotten Luke stabilized. This was the first opportunity she had to herself since they had fled Bespin. She tried to hold back the tears but could not. In the past three years she had lost so much, more than a weaker individual would be able to handle. First she had lost her home along with her entire family and many of her childhood friends, and now Han. 'Han,' she thought. The man she loved, he was her best friend, her protector, and her lover. Was it just a few short days ago that she had been laying in this very bed, wrapped in his strong arms? She lay down on the bed that they had shared. 'I've lost everything,' she thought, 'I've failed everyone, including you.' She did not want to go on without Han in her life. Sure he was not the knight in shining armor that she had dreamt of as a child, but he had saved her in more ways than she could remember.
Leia sat in the chair with her knees pulled up to her chest. She did not want to be there. She just wanted to crawl back into her bed in her quarters and forget everything else. Mon Mothma, General Rieekan, and several other leaders of the rebellion tried to get her to speak about the five weeks that she had disappeared with Captain Solo. Leia refused to talk about the ordeal. She did not think that she owed anyone an explanation. She only fed them the basics: the hyper-drive motivator was shot and it took five weeks to arrive at a safe port, which turned out not to be as safe as he thought it would.
The door to the conference room slid open. 'Great', she thought, 'someone else to stare at me and ask me a bunch of stupid questions, I wish they'd just leave me alone.'
"Ah, you're here…good." Rieekan look at the man who just walked through the door. Leia did not budge…she did not care who came through the door, she simply was not going to talk about it. "Leia, I know that you have lost a great many things these past few years, but in your absence life has given us a gift."
Leia felt the hand on her shoulder. She glanced slowly to see the owner of the unwanted touch, ready to push it off. Her eyes widened when she saw the owner of the hand. "Daddy?" She found herself in her father's arms not wanting to let go. "Is this real? Are you really here?"
"Yes my angel, I'm here."
"How is this possible? I've missed you. I-I thought you were dead." A million questions ran through her head.
Rieekan, Mothma, and rest of the council excused themselves from the room. They knew that they needed time alone together and that if anyone could get the info they needed about the whereabouts of Captain Solo, Bail would get it out of her.
"Daddy, how are you here? I thought that you were killed when Alderaan was destroyed."
"When I received the news that the Tantive IV had sent out a distress signal and that all on board was dead, I refused to believe that you were gone. I left Alderaan and hurried to Tatooine to see if I could find information about where you were at."Bail explained. "I learned of Alderaan's destruction there. I knew I had to meet with the Rebels as soon as possible, but when I went to their last known base I found that they were gone. I followed every lead that I could for the last three years to find them and you. When I arrived here they told me that you were missing in action."
"Han tried to get me to the transports, but we were blocked. He got me off of Hoth on his personal ship."
"Han?"
"Captain Solo."
"Ah yes, General Rieekan has spoken very highly of him. I'd very much like to meet this Captain Solo for saving my precious daughter's life."
Leia bowed her head, tears threatening to fall again.
"Sweetheart, tell me, what happened."
"When we left Hoth we came under fire. We then found that the hyper-drive was blown. We thought we were done for. Han then flew into the nearby asteroid field...I thought he was crazy, but we were lucky to find a hiding place for a few hours to make a few repairs."
"He sounds like a great pilot to be able to navigate an asteroid field."
Leia smiled at her father. "He was - is the best there is." She looked at her father for a moment then continued, "So we tried to do what repairs that we could. There was no way that we could fix the hyper-dive, the motivator was shot and Han didn't have a spare. So we decided to wait for the Imperials to give up. The ship was then attacked by mynocks, we left the ship to clear them off of the ship when we discovered that we weren't in a cave but the mouth of a space slug. So we were back in the fire of the Imperials. Han had the most ingenious idea to attach his ship to one of the destroyers making us undetectable. "In a way, Leia had begun to feel a little better telling her story. It felt good to tell her father about it. "Han had known that it was Imperial protocol to dump their trash before jumping to hyperspace, so when they released their garbage, we detached and floated away with the rest of the garbage. As soon as they jumped, Han started the engine and we flew off to the nearest safe system."
"I can see why Rieekan trusted Captain Solo to take care of you on many missions; he seems to be a very smart man." He looked at his daughter and it seemed that every time she said his name or heard his compliments towards Captain Solo, she seemed to brighten. Surely she had some kind of crush on this man. It would be highly unlikely that he would get such a confession out of her. "Continue, sweetheart."
"Well, Han decided that the best bet would be for us to go to Bespin. Han had a friend there, Lando Calrissian."
"The gentleman that brought you here, correct?"
"Yes. Anyway, since the hyper-drive was broken, we had to travel at sublight speed. It took us five weeks but it was the closest safe place. Once we reached Bespin I had such an uneasy feeling. I felt like something bad was going to happen."
"Was the trip there ok? Nothing happened?"
"It was completely uneventful, nothing important happened." Leia did not want to talk about what had happened those five weeks, how she finally admitted to herself and Han that she was in love with him, how she had given herself to him, and slept in his bed every night the last three weeks of the trip. No she could not tell her father that. From the look on her face, Bail could tell something had happened but he could not place it, but something had happened to her on that trip that she was not willing to tell.
"So nothing happened?"
"Nothing," was her reply. Leia then gave her father a look that said 'back off.' She was not about to talk about her love life aboard the Millennium Falcon especially with her father. Bail seemed to get the message, but he now had figured that she might have had feelings for this spacer. He had a pretty good idea, but he was not going to push. His beloved daughter was an adult now and was capable of making her own decisions, even if it did involve some spacer with a questionable past. He just hoped she did not get in too deep with him. "Anyway, when we arrived in Bespin I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen." Leia lowered her head, ready to cry again. "And it did."
A few tears escaped Leia's eyes; her father put his arms around her. "Its ok sweetheart, it's ok. Continue when you're ready." They sat like that for a few moments. Leia then found the strength to continue.
"At first things seemed normal, except that C-3PO had disappeared, and nobody seemed to know what happened to him. I kept telling Han that I didn't feel right there. Chewie then found 3PO in a scrap heap torn to pieces; he looked like he was hit with a blaster. Before we had time to react, Lando came to our suite – err my suite," Leia blushed at her obvious slip; looking at her father she met his uneasy grin. "He came to the suite to invite us for refreshments. It went all downhill from there. Lando told us that he had just made a deal to keep the Empire out of his city for good, when he opened the door to the banquet room," Leia took a deep breath, "Vader was on the other side waiting for us."
Leia started sobbing at the memory of what happened next. Her father gathered her up in his arms and rocked her like he did when she was a small child. He knew that whatever it was, it must have been bad, and with Vader having something to do with it, it would have been ten times as bad. "Shhh, Leia it's ok, you don't have to tell me anything else, shhh baby you're ok."
"No Daddy, I have to tell you. It needs to be told." She took another deep breath. "He tortured him, Daddy, he tortured him and he made me watch. He never asked any questions. He made him hurt, I hear his screams in my nightmares. I thought he was going to kill him in front of me. I screamed to make him stop, but it only made it worse."
"Did they hurt you?"
"Physically, no. But to be forced to watch the man that I-. "Leia stopped, she was not ready to confess to her father her feelings.
Bail pulled his daughter back into another hug. "Leia, are you in love with Captain Solo?" All Leia could do is nod. "If we can we'll do what we can to bring him back to you. What happened after the torture?"
"We were put in a holding cell. Lando came in and told us that it wasn't us that Vader was interested in. That he was looking for Luke, and that we were the bait to bring him to that monster."
"Luke, he's the young man that required the medical treatment when you arrived?" Bail knew exactly who the young man was and why Vader wanted him, but she had made no indication that she knew of her true relationship to the young man. And it seemed from what she had told him that Vader was unaware his relation to Leia, and he hoped he never found out. If Vader knew that she was his biological daughter, he would pursue her the way he was pursuing Skywalker.
"Yes, and I don't know why. Luke is just an innocent kid, a farm boy, nobody significant. I don't know why Vader wants him." Leia looked at her father and from the look on his face he seemed to know something but she decided to continue her story. "After a while in the hold, we were taken to a room that was used for carbon freezing, it was odd that Han was the only one they put in binders. They froze him, Daddy, they put him in carbonite and handed him over to a bounty hunter."
"Did he survive?"
"Yes, he's in hibernation. It was the most difficult thing I had to witness, to see him lowered into that chamber, it just killed me. To have him taken away from me like that…" Leia put her head into her hands and started to sob uncontrollably. All Bail could do is hold her daughter. He knew all too well how it felt to lose someone that you cared about like that. While he was comforting his daughter, the door to the room slid open.
"I'm sorry to bother you sir, your highness, but Commander Skywalker is awake and would like to see you miss." The messenger turned on his heels and left.
Leia then stood up and composed herself the best she could. "Are you ok sweetheart?"
"Yes," putting her leadership face back on, "I have to make sure Luke is alright." She then headed out the door. "You coming, Daddy, I think Luke should meet you. He'll be glad that you're alive."
Bail watched Leia as she ran to Luke's arms. He could not believe it. They were together again. Padme's children had found each other. But it seemed that they still did not know the truth. He contemplated on telling them, but decided that this probably was not the time, that time could come later. Bail looked up when he heard her calling to him. He shook Luke's good hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you Commander Skywalker. You are a brave young man."
Lando and Chewie came in shortly after, "Princess, Chewie and I will be leaving tomorrow to rescue Han, and hopefully we can intercept that bounty hunter before he deliver's him to Jabba. If not then it's going to much more difficult. But I swear to you, I will make it up to you even if I have to die trying to rescue him."
Chewie barked something at Leia.
"Thank you, both of you." She smiled at them. Looking at her father, "Chewie, Lando, I'd like to introduce you to my father."
"Sir, it's a pleasure"
Leia blushed at what Chewie said.
"What did he say?" He really was not amazed that his daughter could understand such a complicated language so well, she was fluent in several languages and learning new languages always had come naturally to her.
"He told you that you raised an amazing woman." Leia blushed again.
"Yes I am very proud of her." Bail put his arm around his daughter. "Very proud."
The next day, when Chewie and Lando were taking off, Bail stood in the back of the medic ward as he watched the twins arm in arm watching their friends take off to rescue his daughter's love. From what Rieekan told him about Han and Leia's relationship, he knew that Leia would be in good hands with the ex-smuggler. He wondered when or if he should tell Luke and Leia of their relationship, but he feared that with Vader still out there and after Luke that if he knew that Leia was also his child that she would be put in more danger than she already has put herself in. The twins seemed to have a deep connection that almost twenty years separated from each other could not sever. Lost in his thoughts, he felt her wrap her arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and pulled her into a tight embrace. "They'll find him…."
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It had been two months since Lando and Chewie had left for Tatooine. Leia was slowly getting back in to her old routine; however, she did not work herself to death like she had in the past. Han had always told her that she worked too hard. She had been seeing a therapist to help her with the grief of losing Han. The therapist had told her that it might be helpful for her to keep a journal and write letters to him. At first she thought it was a silly idea, but one day she picked up her datapad and just typed away. Half of the time she was not even aware of what she was writing. If someone had read it, they would have just found a bunch of jumbled thoughts and found it very confusing. The therapist was right; she did feel better.
One day she found herself in the gym, watching Luke doing his Jedi routines. She was amazed at all the things he could do. Since Bespin she felt a connection with him. She loved him, but not in the same way that she loved Han; she loved Luke as if he were her brother. "Have you heard from Lando and Chewie recently?" She asked.
"Last report was that Boba Fett still hasn't arrived, but Lando has disguised himself as a guard in Jabba's palace. So when they do arrive, we'll know immediately."
"This is maddening, why is he taking so long? What if they're lost?" Luke could feel the anger radiating off of Leia. He figured as much that she had some kind of latent sensitivity to the Force. How else would he have been able to connect with her when he was hanging from the weather vane at Bespin? If she was indeed sensitive to the Force, it would be dangerous to allow her anger and if Vader knew of her sensitivity, he would pursue her like he had with him. "I just can't take it anymore! Luke, this is so unfair. Just when I thought I would have a future, someone who loved me the way I love him, he gets taken away from me."
"Leia," Luke said calmly, in hopes it would take away some of her anger, "you know Lando and Chewie will never give up on him. As soon as Boba Fett arrives, we'll know, and we'll start planning our mission to bring him home to you."
Leia stood up from her perch to hug Luke but was overcome with dizziness. Luke caught her before she could hit the floor. "Whoa, Leia, are you ok?" He had not noticed until then that she was looking pretty pale.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just haven't eaten much today." She looked at Luke who had a look on his face that was not entirely convinced that that was why she almost passed out. "I'm fine. I swear. "
Leia left the gym to head to her quarters. Truthfully she was not fine. For the past week or so she had been feeling slightly sick. Many of the pilots had come down with some sort of flu lately, so she figured that she must have contracted it from them. She entered her quarters and lay down on her bed. She needed a nap; 'Yes a nap will do me good.' She soon fell into a deep sleep.
She had no idea how long she had been asleep but when she awoke, she found her father sitting at the foot of her bed. "Hello, sleepyhead, you missed this afternoon's meeting. Are you feeling alright?"
As she was about to answer, she got the sudden feeling that she needed to rush to the 'fresher immediately. With as little that she ate in the recent days, she wondered where the contents of her stomach had come from. She felt her father rubbing her back and holding her hair back. He helped her to the sink so she could rinse her mouth out and then helped her back to her bed. "Well that answered my question, you're not feeling alright. Have you been by the Medcenter?"
"No, I," she put her hand to her mouth like she felt she would throw up again, but the feeling passed, "I think I just got whatever the pilots have been passing around."
"I think we should take you by there just to make sure." Bail knew it would take an act of the gods to get Leia to the Medcenter. She was never very cooperative when it came to doctors and what little he had learned of her detainment on the Death Star it would probably make it ten times more difficult.
"No, Daddy, really I'm fine. I just need to rest." Leia got up to get herself a glass of water, but soon found herself in her father's arms after she nearly passed out again.
Leia woke unaware of her surroundings. Obviously she was in the Medcenter. How she got there, she could not recall. Her eyes widened at the site of the IV needle in her hand and instantly she began to grab at it. She suddenly felt her hands being restrained by some unknown force.
"Leia relax." She heard Luke say. "You need that."
"Sweetheart, it'll be ok. You're dehydrated." She heard her father.
She soon gave up fighting against the invisible force but did not really relax. "What happened?"
"Leia, sweetheart, you passed out." Bail ran his hand through her hair. He still could not believe what the med-droid had told him a little under an hour ago. She was right in her assumption that she had a touch of the flu that had been circulating through the Alliance's pilots, but there was something else causing her sickness. Had this been some other place or time he would have been embarrassed by the scandal of his unmarried daughter, royal princess of Alderaan, being pregnant by someone who was not exactly the suitor that he would have chosen for her; but under the circumstances, and the way he knew her daughter felt about the absent spacer, he viewed the baby as a gift from the gods. He rounded her bed and sat at her feet. He placed his hand on her knee. "Leia, sweetheart." He paused, drew a deep breath, "You're pregnant."
"Pregnant!?" Leia suddenly felt very light-headed. She could not think. 'I'm pregnant, with Han's baby. I'm pregnant with Han's baby.' She kept repeating to herself. She was overwhelmed by emotions and suddenly began to sob. She felt Luke's arms around her shoulders.
"It's ok Leia. You'll get through this. You're strong, you always have been. Everything is going to be alright."
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Nearly six months had passed since she received the shocking news that she was carrying Han's baby. Leia was getting herself for the days meetings; she paused in front of the mirror to look at her pregnant form. She had not really gained a lot of weight but she felt like a bantha. 'What would Han think; would he still find me beautiful?' Her thoughts were interrupted by her door sliding open. It was Luke, and by the look on his face, he had good news.
"Han's at Jabba's!" He gave Leia a big hug. "Chewie just contacted me. He's still locked in the carbonite. It seems that Jabba likes his new decoration and has no plans of releasing him."
"Oh gods, I can't believe it! I'm finally going to get him back. When can we leave?" She felt a kick from the baby and from the look on Luke's face; she suddenly remembered that she was in no condition to go on a rescue mission. "I want to be there when he comes out of hibernation, but I guess I'll have to miss out on this."
"Leia, planning a rescue mission can take several weeks. If you really want to be there for him, we can hold the rescue off until after the baby is born. Like I said, Jabba has no plans of letting Han out of the carbonite."
Leia really wanted Han back as soon as possible, however, she also wanted to be the first thing he saw, the first thing he heard when he was released from his prison. She also realized that Lando and Chewie knew nothing of the child she was carrying, nobody outside of the rebel base did. Chewie would expect Leia to be there. "I supposed it won't hurt to wait until after the baby is here when we execute the plan. It'll also give us plenty of time to make sure we get it completely right."
Leia handed her son to her father. She knew that he would be completely safe with him. It was hard for her to fight the tears; she did not want to be separated from the month old infant. Her body had recovered very well and she was almost as thin as she was before her pregnancy. She gave her son a kiss on the forehead and gave her father a hug before boarding her transport. "I'll make contact when I reach the rendezvous point with Luke." Luke had left two weeks prior to go over the plans of the rescue with Lando and Chewie.
When she arrived at the Mos Eisley spaceport she went over the instructions that Luke had given her before his departure. She would board a transport to Anchorhead where he would be waiting on her. She was sweltering under the heavy wool cape he told her to wear. 'Couldn't he find something more comfortable for a disguise?' It seemed forever had passed by before she felt someone grab her arm. Under his own cape, she could see his smile. "Let's go."
They arrived soon after at Ben Kenobi's former settlement. Leia was suddenly pulled into the home by two huge furry arms. "I missed you too, Chewie!" He warbled something at her. "I'm doing well." He warbled something else. Luke had obviously told him about the baby. "The baby is perfect. Looks exactly like Han."
The next morning she found herself in the clothes of the bounty hunter, Boushh. 'Once again couldn't Luke find me a more comfortable disguise?' This was only her second day in the heat of the twin suns and she felt as she had already lost another 5 Kg. They knew that Jabba would not go for the bargain that they had sent the droids to execute, so Leia along with Chewie headed to the palace. She would turn Chewie over to Jabba so that she can gain entrance and release Han from the carbonite. Hopefully this would go well and they would not need part three of the plan. Lando, who had been disguised as a guard in Jabba's place for months would then release Chewie and they would leave the desert planet for good.
Of course her part of the plan did not go well, and now she was in a very humiliating situation. The last princess of Alderaan was chained to Jabba's throne by the neck in barely any clothes in Jabba's sailbarge looking out the window at the man she loved and her friends. She felt it was hopeless, she would watch them die and be Jabba's slave for the rest of her life. Her thoughts turned to her son. Because of her selfishness of wanting to be part of Han's rescue, she just deprived him of both of his parents.
The Force was with them. She had watched Luke catapult himself onto the sail barge in a one man battle. Han was hanging off the side of the skiff trying to pull Lando back up on it and Chewie had a hold of Han's ankles. She took her opportunity and had killed Jabba with the very chain that held her captive. R2 sawed through her chain and she made her way to the top side of the barge. Luke instructed her to point the large gun at the deck. Now she was in the arms of the man she loved flying toward their hiding place. His eyesight still was not good, but when he put his arms around her he wondered what in the world she was wearing, or rather not wearing.
Once on board the Millennium Falcon she led him to the medbay and ran the scanner over him. Other than the bad eyesight and bruises from his torture all those months ago, he was perfectly fine. "I told you, your worship, I'm perfectly fine." He then pulled her to his lap and began kissing her. She could tell by his arousal exactly what he was thinking of doing. "Now I think we should make up for all this lost time." To him these past months had not happened. It felt like it was just the day after their ordeal on Bespin. It had only been just over a month since she had given birth to their son, the son that he still did not know about. While she was physically able to go on this rescue mission, that region of her body was not cleared for that kind of activity. With reluctance she stopped him.
"Han, we can't."
"Why not?" He breathed into her neck, sucking on one of her earlobes.
"We have to talk. It's important that we do." She slid off his lap and led him to his cabin. She took a seat next to him on the bunk. She took a deep breath; she really did not know where to begin.
"So, what do we need to talk about?" He was afraid that she was going to tell him that it was over between them. He was shocked when they told him how long he was in hibernation, long enough for to find someone new. He knew he would die if she told him that they couldn't be together anymore. Before Leia, he never would have thought that he'd wanted to be in a serious relationship. For the first time in his life he wanted to settle down (if that was possible with the war) get married and have a shipful of children.
"Han, I love you almost more than anything in this galaxy."
"Almost? Look sweetheart…"He was cut off.
"Han, let me finish before you get angry. You're only going to feel like an ass jumping to conclusions."
"Sorry."
"Like I said, I love you almost more than anything, but there is a new man in my life." She could tell from his expression his anger was rising again. She put her hand on his face "His name is Raymus, for my my mother's brother and at his last weigh in he was 3.6 Kg of pure joy." Han was giving her such a strange look as if he was still trying to process the information. Leia smiled at him. "You're a father, Han." She gave him a soft kiss.
"I'm a father? Wow, I can't believe it. "Han was beside himself. He pulled Leia onto his lap and began kissing her, "I love you, gods Leia, you have no idea how much I love you." He could see his future and it was looking back at him with dark brown eyes.
"There's something else." After hearing the bombshell that he was a father, what else could she throw at him? "My father, Bail, survived the destruction of Alderaan." He was suddenly worried. He knew that there was no way that he would be the best choice for Leia in her father's eyes. He had a questionable past and just as questionable future. He was afraid that her father did not approve of the relationship, that he had told her to end it with him. Han would fight this; there would be no way that he would be sent away. Away from Leia and his newly discovered son. Hell no, there was no way that he was going to be forced away from his newly discovered family. He was going to be the father that he never had.
Leia sensed his distress. "Han, my father knows all about your past and I'm going to tell you what I told him. I am an adult and I am capable of making my own decisions. I love you and nothing is going to change that. You are who I chose."
"And your father is ok with that?"
"Well at first, he thought it was just a crush, not real love. That I was young and naïve, but when he found out that I was pregnant, he knew it was much more serious than he was at first willing to believe."
"Well it probably was hard to face the fact that his only daughter had grown up and chose someone who the last time he saw her she herself would have never given a second thought." Leia cuddled into him.
"I'm glad that I gave you that second thought."
"Me too."
When the Millennium Falcon landed at the docking bay, Leia lead Han down the ramp to her father who was waiting with their son for their arrival at the base. She gave her father a hug and looked at the sleeping baby in his grandfather's arms. She took the baby and proceeded with the introductions. "Father, this is Han Solo, the man that I love and father of my child. Han, this is my father, Bail Organa"
The two men shook hands, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Han. My daughter has told me so much about you."
"Only good things I hope." Bail Chuckled.
"And Han, it is my pleasure to introduce you to your son, Raymus Solo." The five-week old baby opened his eyes as he was handed to his father. He curled his tiny hand around his father's large finger and Han was in love. No power in the galaxy could wipe the grin off of Han's face. He bent down and kissed Leia's forehead. "He looks exactly like you."
"Nah, Leia, he looks more like you."
Bail had heard from General Rieekan and most of the members of the Rogue squadron about their famous word battles, and he sensed one was about to start. He put one arm around his daughter and the other around Han's shoulder. "He looks like both of you." Han and Leia smiled at each other. "And I'm sensing that this little family will probably want some time alone together, so why don't you three head to your quarters."
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It had been a week since they had returned. Han had just left the Medcenter with a full clear on his health. His eyes were back to 20/20. He was making his way back to his and Leia's quarters when he was stopped by Mon Mothma. "Captain Solo, can I speak with you for a few moments?"
"Sure." Now there were few people that Han Solo was afraid of, but he positively feared this woman. What he had done to this woman to make her dislike him so much, he did not know. "Just so you know I don't want to be delayed too long. I promised the princess that I'd be back as soon as my check up was through. I know you're aware that she has a meeting to be getting to, and someone needs to watch the baby."
"It will not take long. Follow me to my office." When he entered the office he was surprised to find all of the higher ups in her office, including his future father-in-law.
Putting his hands up in surrender, "I give up what did I do?"
"Relax, son, you're not in trouble." Bail assured him. "We've actually have gathered here to ask something of you."
General Rieekan. "For the past four years you have been a valuable asset to the alliance. You have aided our men in several victories, yet you refused to join us."
"I'm sure everyone knows the reason I didn't join, with my debt to Jabba the Hutt I couldn't make that commitment and that it really was a certain princess was the reason I hung around as long as I did."
Mon Mothma continued, "Yes well, now that you are clear of that debt, we would like to offer you a commission in the Alliance once again, as a General no less."
"General?"
"Yes you certainly have proved your worth these years, we'd like you to command a strike team. We recently found that the Empire is building another Death Star, and we could use your piloting skills to lead the team to destroy it."
Han mulled over what Mon Mothma was asking him to do. Take command over the entire strike fleet. While he was honored that he would be a general, but he really only had a duty to two people on board this ship, Leia and Raymus. Going against a Death Star would be like suicide. If he had been asked the same thing four years ago, he'd go for it, and then he had nothing to lose. Now he had everything to lose. He knew that everyone was waiting on his reply. "Well I'll gratefully accept the commission as General, as for the mission I would have to decline. If it wasn't for Leia and the baby, I would do it. It's my duty to them that I don't go into any suicide missions."
Bail knew that Han would decline the mission. He was glad that his mind was in the right place, with his daughter and grandson. "Might I suggest that General Solo take the team on the moon to disable the shield?" While it was still a dangerous mission, Han had a better chance of coming back.
Mon looked at Han, "Well General Solo, would you be interested in taking command of the ground crew?"
Leia sat next to Han in the command room. They were going over the mission to Endor. She was surprised that her fiancé had just been made a general. 'Why hadn't he told me? That man is full of surprises.' She knew there was no other place she wanted to be than to be part the command crew. A few moments later Luke Skywalker had returned she gave him a hug. He had a look on his face, one that said he needed to talk to her about something. When she asked about it he told her to ask him later.
Bail held his grandson as his mother and father bid the tiny boy farewell. This would be the hardest part of the mission for both Leia and Han, leaving their boy behind. In the two weeks since he had returned, Han, had grown attached to his son. His biggest regret was that he was absent during Leia's pregnancy. He knew that there was a chance that one or both of them might not come back. He wanted to tell Leia that he did not want her to join the command crew, she should stay here and take care of their son; however, he knew that she would have fought him and no matter what he said she would still be fighting next to him. Raymus was in good hands with Bail Organa. Han knew that if something did happen to either one of them, that Bail would give the boy the best life possible. They boarded the stolen Imperial ship and soon were off to the forest moon.
Leia sat next to Han as Threepio told the Ewoks their story. It had been a busy day and tomorrow morning they would be in battle. She was slightly amused when they were made honorary members of the tribe. She saw Luke leave the hut and heard his voice in her head 'Leia, I need to talk to you.' She slipped out behind him and found him on the bridge.
As Luke walked away, she could not believe what she had been told. Vader was Luke's father and he was going to face him. Luke was her brother, her twin, which meant…she wanted to vomit. That monster could not be her biological father. It was impossible, but deep down she knew it to be true. What would Han think; would he break off their engagement and abandon her and their son? Would he not want anything to do with the daughter and grandson of such evil? No sooner than Luke had disappeared into the shadows, Han was there. All that she wanted was for him to hold her. He was a little angry that she would confide in Luke but not him. Did the woman that he love harbor feelings for the Jedi? What could she tell Luke that she could not tell him? Han did as he was told and just held Leia. He wanted to hold her for the rest of his life.
Han had just put the final touches on the makeshift bandage on Leia's blaster wound when the Death Star exploded in the sky above them. Sensing that Leia was worried about the young Jedi, he assured her that he was not on that thing when it blew. Of course she knew it; she had felt him leave it. Han knew it; she was in love with him. Of course she was in love with him, he was who was there for her during her entire pregnancy, for the birth of their child. Why would she not fall in love with him? Why did she insist on stinging him along if she desired Luke?
"It's not like that at all, he's my brother." He heard her say. Brother? All these years he was right in his assumption that they were probably secret siblings, it had been no coincidence that they shared the same birthday. That had to be what they were talking about last night. He was elated. Leia was his and would always be just his. He could not wait to start planning the wedding; he could not wait to have more children with her. Who knew, Han Solo, wanted to be a family man.
A few days had passed since their victory at Endor. Han had just been released from another long meeting. He knew this was he would hate about taking a commission with the Alliance; he would lose his freedom of coming and going as he pleased. He entered their quarters, hoping that Leia was finished with her endless meetings. He found her in the darkened quarters holding their son rocking him in the rocking chair that Chewie and the Ewoks had built her; she looked as if she had been crying.
"Sweetheart, everything ok?"
"No." She hugged the baby closer to her. "I have something to tell you. I don't want to tell you, because I'm afraid of how you're going to react. But it's something that I have to tell you, if we're going to have any kind of future together."
Have any kind of future together? What the hell did she mean by that? Leia rose from the chair, crossed the room and placed the sleeping baby in his crib. She stepped in front of Han, placed her hand on his cheek and drew him down into a kiss. "I love you Han, but you need to know this."
She led him to sit down on the bed. She sat next to him. "Han, in finding out that Luke is my twin brother I also found out the identity of my biological father. Bail knew his identity my entire life but hid the fact of who he was to protect me. It was also why Luke and I were separated at birth."
"Why would you and Luke need to be protected from your biological father? Why would he want to harm two innocent babies?"
"Han, Luke and my father was a Jedi Knight by the name of Anakin Skywalker." She took several deep breaths. Han put his arms around Leia.
"I've heard of him. He was a great hero of The Clone Wars. If I were you, I'd be proud to know that my father was a great hero." Leia held tight to Han's shirt, and began to heavily sob. What had he said that was wrong? Her father was a great hero and she was ashamed of that. Why?
"Anakin Skywalker was a fallen Jedi. In his later years, he was no hero. He murdered innocent people. He was also the reason my mother died minutes after giving birth to Luke and me. He tortured me on the first Death Star, he sealed you in carbonite." Han held onto Leia tighter. There was no way.
Her father could not possibly be…he began to feel sick to his stomach as the realization began to hit him.
"Vader, he became Vader." There she said it. It was out, Han now knew. She watched Han's jaw drop. He ran his hand through his hair. He got up from the bed. He wanted to hit something. Yell, scream, and throw things. He paced around the room like a caged animal. There was no way, someone as perfect as Leia had come from that monster. He was not thinking clearly he needed some air, he needed to get out. He felt the urge to escape, jump on the Falcon and leave. No, he could not do that. Could Leia turn in to that? Or his son, no not him it sickened Han to think that his own flesh and blood was the grandson of that monster. Leia is a good person. He turned to look at Leia who was still sitting on the bed, her head was down buried in her hands and she was sobbing. He felt sorry for her. Sorry for the way he reacted. If this was this hard for him to swallow, he could not think how hard it was for Leia to live with this. This was why she did not want to tell him this. She knew news like this could make him leave. Han sat back on the bed; he pulled Leia to his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. He would not leave her, he knew it would destroy her.
"I love you." And he meant it. "It doesn't matter who your biological father is, he's not the one that raised you, and he didn't make you who you are." Han lifted her chin and began to kiss her; he laid her down on the bed and they made love.
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Han could not remember when he had been more nervous in his life. He stood at the end of a long aisle Chewie and Luke stood next to him, his best men. Luke was holding Raymus, who was holding the pillow that had the rings attached to it (well Luke was using the Force to keep it from falling). He watched Leia, escorted by her father Bail Organa, walk down the aisle towards him. He caught his breath. She never looked more radiant. He took her hand as Bail gave her away to him. This was the beginning of his life. Han Solo was settling down. With the exchange of their vows she became his wife. Now that he had his wife he was ready to start working on that shipful of children. They already had one perfect four month old son and in about seven and a half months they would welcome a daughter to their family.
For Han and Leia, their lives could not get better.
The End.