This is my first attempt to write any kind of story since 2008 and this is my first attempt to write a Star Wars story. Out of my very few stories this I think is the longest one I've done. I've had this one shot stuck in my head and it wouldn't go away so I had to at least attempt to write it. I have some slight anxiety finally posting it so hopefully it's not horrible, I'm actually a little proud of this.
For the record the only Star Wars knowledge I have are the movies. I did do the best resource I could do and I tried to get all the Star Wars terms somewhat right. This could be Ben or not it's up to the reader. Again for the record I don't have kids, I've never been pregnant the only experience I have is having a niece and nephew. And again I did the best research that I could.
There is no beta, I edited it the best that I could. The flashbacks are in italics.
I do hope some people get enjoyment out of it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I do not claim to own Star Wars or any of the characters
Han looked down into the brown eyes identical to the woman that was softly sleeping a few inches from him. He wasn't sure what time or even day it was at this point. As much as Leia told him to try and get some sleep earlier he only nodded off when Leia had which wasn't offend or long. His arms were aching but wasn't ready to put his newborn son down in the cradle was set between his chair and Leia's bed.
"You were definitely a surprise to me and your mom." Han said in a low, soft voice trying not to wake Leia. "We never really talked about having kids. Marriage wasn't even on my radar until I met your mom, and even then that thought definitely wasn't on either of our minds. But that's a story for a different time." Han said with a small smirk. He continued looking down at his son who was looking around the best he could until he stopped on Han.
"I never really had a family growing up. The closest thing I had was a giant fuzzball that followed me around." Han joked. "No, your uncle Chewie is one of the most loyalties, big-hearted Wookies you'll ever meet. But it was basically just me and him until your uncle Luke and mom came bursting into my life." Han paused. "They were one of the best things that happened to me. And so are you." He said looking into those deep brown eyes.
Leia had purposely stayed late at work the night before to ensure that Han would be in bed sleeping by the time she got home. She just wasn't ready to talk to him about the news she had received earlier in the day. It wasn't a total surprise, deep down she had known but she wasn't ready to admit it until she got the positive results back. She'd tell Han in the morning but she needed a little bit longer to process it.
She woke up the next morning to empty sheets next to her and the smell of Caf flowing throughout the apartment. Leia got out of bed and pulled on her robe, sliding the door open Leia slowly made her way to the kitchen where the main source of the smell was coming from. Taking a slow deep breath Leia entered the kitchen to see Han leaning against the counter next to the caf maker with a mug to his lips taking a sip of the hot liquid.
"Morning." Leia said trying to keep her voice calm as she walked over to the small Island in the middle of the kitchen and leaned against it so she was facing Han.
Han put his mug down beside him before looking up at Leia with a smile on his face. "Morning Princess." It took Han a moment to take in that Leia was still in her robe and not dressed for the day. "No work today?"
Leia shook her head. "I took the day off."
Han's eyebrows went up in surprised. "And to think I didn't think you knew what a day off was." He teased. "Cafe?" Han asked turning around to grab a mug from the cabinet. He knew her routine by memory at this point.
"No."
"Alert the media, Leia Organa is taking a day off and doesn't want Caf? Something must be wrong." Han said chuckling at his own joke as he stopped what he was doing and closed the cabinet.
"Leia Organa-Solo." Leia corrected with a weak smile.
"Right." Han said still loving the sound of his last name on her. He turned around and looked back at Leia. He could see the nervous expression on her face.
"Leia what's wrong?"
She opened her mouth but then closed it.
"Leia..." Han started.
"I'm pregnant." She interrupted.
Han didn't say anything, he just looked at Leia in shock. He opened his mouth and tried to form a word but nothing came out. Instead, he focused back on Leia who's expression went from nervous to scared. The seconds ticked by without either one of them saying anything.
"I know we just got married and for once our lives are somewhat normal..." Leia rambled on breaking the silence.
Han broke out of his trance once he heard Leia start talking. He started to walk the short distance over to where Leia was.
"But I also know that we never really talked about having kids..."
"Leia."
"And I'm not sure that me having kids would be the best idea..."
"Leia." Han said again stopping in front of her.
"What if it turns out to be like Vad..." She continued on and ignoring Han.
"Leia." Han said louder trying to get her attention.
Leia stopped mid-sentence and looked up at Han.
"It won't." He said firmly. Han placed his hands on either side of her face and slowly started to stroke her cheeks with his thumbs.
"I'm scared Han but I want this baby." Leia said as her eyes started to well up. Even though she was scared to death, the moment Leia found out she was pregnant she felt so much love flowing through her and felt like she was meant to have this baby.
Han didn't say anything he just pulled Leia into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. Of course Han was nervous about becoming a father, the thought had never entered his mind. Then again he never thought about marriage before meeting Leia, she had changed everything for him.
Han felt his son starting to wiggle beneath the blanket he was wrapped in. "You did a lot of that when you were in your mom's stomach." Han noted. He couldn't help but think about the first time he actually felt the baby kick and move inside Leia's stomach.
Han wasn't sure what time it was, he just knew it was late. Everything in the apartment was silent except for Leia's soft breathing. He looked over at her and smiled, even though she would never admit it he knew the pregnancy was taking a lot out of her. His smile got even bigger when he looked down at her middle. She was about six months pregnant at this point and her baby bump was growing at a steady pace.
Trying to get some sleep Han laid behind Leia and placed his hand across Leia's growing bump. It started to become a habit once she started to show, any chance he got Han's hand was on her stomach. He had done it even more ever since Leia had felt the baby's first full kick about a month ago.
Han closed his eyes and started to doze off when he felt it, a swift kick to his hand. His eyes shot open, it took him a moment to realize what it was. Slowly leaning up on his elbow, careful not to wake Leia, he looked down to where his hand was and slowly rubbed Leia's bump. After a few seconds, Han felt movement below his hand. Suddenly he felt fingers running through the back of his head.
"Did you feel him?" He heard a tired voice softly ask.
Han looked up to see a tired Leia looking back at him.
"Yeah." He said with a big smile on his face. "Did I wake you?" Han asked feeling slightly guilty.
'"No." Leia said shaking her head lightly. "He usually wakes me up when he kicks."
Han nodded as he looked back down to her stomach and then back up to Leia. "Go back to sleep sweetheart."
Leia just nodded, moved her arm back to her side, and closed her eyes.
Han looked back down to where his hand was and continued to smile. "Let your mom sleep, little man." He quietly said as he put his hand under Leia's sleep shirt and softly rubbed her stomach. Han took his hand out from under her shirt and carefully laid down behind Leia again. Taking Leia's hand that was laying on her side he laced their fingers together and brought it to her front. "I love you. Both of you." Han whispered before he fell into a deep sleep.
Han watched as the newborn opened his mouth a little and stuck his tongue in and out while making little-grunting noises in the process.
Han looked up and over at Leia who was still sleeping. "Your mom is stubborn, I had to convince her to just get some sleep. She's bossy, and controlling." He smirking as he looked back down at his son, who was staring back at him like he was retaining all this information even though Han knew that wasn't possible. "But that's why I love her."
"And you seem to have that same stubbornness, for a while there we thought you weren't going to come out." Han joked thinking about everything that had happened about a day ago, if not longer.
The entire apartment was quiet as Han walked around trying to stay busy. Leia's contractions had started before the sun even rose and Han had been on edge ever since. As the day wore on the contractions got worse and closer together but Leia tried to stay as calm as she could even though she had already snapped at Han twice that day claiming that he was hovering. She had told him to go and do something on the Falcon, saying 'tthat hunk of junk probably needed something fixed.' But Han quickly shot down that idea.
It had just gotten completely dark out and Leia was in the nursery making sure everything was in place for when they brought their baby home. She was over by the crib when she felt his presence before he came behind her and wrapped both of his hands around his shirt that Leia had taken over when her stomach started to grow and now covered her full term stomach. Leia smiled as she put her hands over his and ran both of them up and down her stomach.
"Just making sure everything is in place." She said in a soft voice.
"Of course you are." He said with a smirk as he kissed the top of her head.
Neither of them said anything, there was just a comfortable silence between them before Han felt Leia tense up and take a deep breath. She took her hands off her stomach and grabbed the top of the crib while leaning forward a little. Leia squeezed her eyes shut and let out a small groan. "Breathe." Han said softly as he took his hands off her stomach and started to run the heels of his hands up and down her lower back. He started doing this at some point during her pregnancy, mostly at night while they were in bed when her back was really hurting her.
Leia slowly exhaled, took another deep breath, and exhaled again. When the contraction was over she leaned back into Han's embrace. She took his hands and guided them back to the front of her stomach to resume the position they had been in moments before. She closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of Han's running his hands on her stomach.
"Are you ready for this?" Han asked quietly trying to keep the peaceful mood.
"Pushing another human out of me? No." Leia said with a small, tired smile as she opened her eyes and turning her head so she could look at him. "Meeting our son? Yes." She said looking into his eyes. Leia looked into his eyes without saying anything for a moment. "I think it's time to go."
Han's heart rate picked up when he heard those words, the reality of him becoming a father sometime soon was starting to set in. Not trusting his voice Han leaned forward, just enough to give Leia a small kiss on the lips. "Let's go meet our son."
Time was starting to blend together for Han, but he wasn't paying much attention to that. His main focus was on Leia now. Her water had broken and her contractions were on top of each other and she refused to take any kind of pain relievers that were offered to her. She was laying on her side, gripping the rail of the hospital bed, eyes squeezed shut while she dealt with an intense contraction.
Han was sitting in the chair right next to the bed so he could be eye level with her. "You're doing so good." He said as he put his hand on the back of the simple braid that Leia had wrapped into a bun on the back of her head. When it was over Leia let go of the rail and laid on her back trying to catch her breath.
"You can have my hand next time. That's what it's here for." Han said trying to keep the mood as light as possible.
Leia shook her head with a tired smile. "No, I'm saving that for when it's time to push."
Han laugh as he stood up and leaned over her so he could plant a kiss on her forehead. He looked down and into her eyes as he brought one of his hands up to cup her face. "You're doing so good sweetheart." He repeated.
Leia stayed true to her word, once she started pushing she held onto Han's hand. The gown she had on was off her shoulders and was just covering her breasts and some of her stomach. She was covered with sweat from her head to her toes. "The heads out." Leia heard the doctor say as she leaned back on the bed. She caught her breath just in time for her to push again. Leia leaned forward again and push.
"Prince..." The doctor started to say.
"For the last time, it's Leia." Leia groaned out in the middle of pushing.
"Leia, you need to push harder. One more big push."
"I'm trying." Leia said before letting go of Han's hand and laying back on the bed. She closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the ceiling. She swallowed a lump that formed in her throat.
"Look at me, Leia." Han said cupping her face and gently turned it so she'd have to look at him. When Leia opened her eyes he could see how exhausted she was. "I know you're exhausted and I can't image what you're going through but you can do this. I know you can. You're one of the strongest people in this Galaxy. One more big push, you can do this. Okay?" Not being able to form any words Leia just nodded. "Good." Han said with an encouraging smile as he offered his hand once more. Leia grabbed his hand, leaned forward and, squeezed her eyes shut as she pushed with every ounce of energy she had left.
Han watched as Leia laid back and that's when he heard it, his son's first cry. He watched as the doctor held the baby so Leia could see him. "Baby boy." The nurse said as she placed the crying newborn on Leia's chest and placed a blanket on the baby's back. Leia's hands went instantly to the baby's back. "Hey you." Leia said as her voice cracked. Han put his hand next to Leia's head as he leaned over to look at his son. "Welcome to the Galaxy." He said placing his hand on the newborn's full head of hair.
"It's okay, it's okay." Leia said trying to soothe the crying newborn. The baby continued crying before slowly calming down and peeking its eyes open to look at Leia. Just as the newborn had calmed down the nurse came over and picked him up from Leia's chest to get him cleaned up. "Captain Solo." One of the other nurses said. Han looked up to see that the nurse was offering him a pair of scissors. Standing up and with a steady hand Han cut the umbilical cord where he was instructed to. He watched as the nurses quickly took the baby away to get him cleaned and wrapped up. Han turned back to Leia and smiled at this amazing women. He leaned back down putting his weight on his elbow so he could be face to face to Leia.
"You did it. I'm so proud of you." Han said softly as he pushed some loose strains of sweaty hair off her face. "Thank you for giving me a family." He said with thick emotion in his voice.
Leia smiled as tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks. "I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too." He whispered back before leaning forward and giving her a soft kiss.
"Baby boy Solo." Han heard from Leia's other side. He looked up to see his son wrapped in a standard hospital blanket and a light blue cap on. He moved so Leia had enough room to take the baby. Leia cradled the baby naturally like she had done it countless time before. "You were worth it. You were worth every minute of it." She whispered looking down at her son.
Han looked at his son just like Leia had when she was holding him. "I know your mom is going to be great at this whole parenting thing, she's great at everything she does. She doesn't even have to try, but me?" Han paused for a second. "You just need to have patience with me, I'll get there though. I promise." He said with a small smirk. He could see the newborn's eyes fighting to stay awake. "I'll be quiet now so you can sleep, you had a long day." Han said before leaning his head down and placing a small kiss on the baby's head. "I love you." Han carefully stood up and gently placed the baby down in the cradle.
"You're going to be an amazing father don't worry." A tired voice said from the bed.
Han looked up and saw an exhausted Leia looking back at him with a small smile on her face. His smile got bigger, which he didn't think was possible. He had everything he never knew he wanted.