Kahna's Entrance
The door to the medical recovery room slowly slid open when Han punched in the code. He stepped cautiously into the small, white room. Han nearly cringed at the thought of the functions of various machines scattered about the room. He remembered seeing some of these in his childhood and even having to be the victim of the care of a few. The smell of disinfectant was strong in the air, yet somehow the room felt comfortable and welcoming. Perhaps it was the smiling face watching him invitingly from across the room.
"Over here, Han!" chimed Leia quietly from her seat on the bed. Her smile complemented her lightweight, white, ankle-length dress and beautiful hairstyle. Around her neck she wore a golden necklace sporting a heart with her name engraved on it – a wedding gift from C-3PO and R2-D2. She smiled up at her husband. "So?" she inquired eagerly.
Han smiled lovingly. "We're parents!" he whispered ecstatically. He shifted his gaze from his wife's overjoyed face to the bundle she cradled so gently in her arms. She leaned down and kissed the sleeping baby on the forehead.
"If her face wasn't exposed, one would think you were kissing a pile of blankets!" Han chuckled. He leaned down and kissed the baby on the forehead, assuming that was the way you welcome the baby into the family upon adoption.
Just then, Luke stepped into the room. "Congratulations," he smiled. He was relieved to see his friends' smiling faces. "Guess I'm an uncle now!" He shook his head, still smiling.
Han beamed, smiling from ear to ear. Unable to contain his excitement, he rushed up to Luke and issued him a great big hug. "Sorry," he apologized, still smiling, as he backed away from the stunned Jedi before him. "I'm just so happy I…" his facial expression changed to one of urgency, "gotta go!" He rushed out the door and headed for the 'fresher. Luke and Leia giggled.
Leia looked up respectfully at her twin brother. "Would you like to hold her?" she asked Luke, offering him the bundle.
Luke took the baby carefully. "What's her name?" he wondered aloud.
Leia shook her head. "I can't think of a good name for her." Her smile faded. "I'll bet our mother would have the perfect name. It's too bad she and our father couldn't be here for this."
Luke saw her eyes clouding up with tears. Holding the baby in his left arm, he draped his right arm around her shoulders. They stood there like that, gazing at the sleeping child for several long moments.
All of a sudden, the baby opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the recovery bed. Luke and Leia followed her gaze to the bed, where they saw what they thought they'd never see. There, sitting on the bed, were the spirits of Padmé and Anakin Skywalker.
Leia was terrified of the sight of her parents, but at the same time, she was relieved. "Mom! Dad!" She grinned. She wanted to run up and hug them, but something held her back. She knew Luke felt exactly the same, and that he, too, felt held back. Leia was on the verge of tears when it came to her. She had a name for her baby! She would've screamed it out right then and there, but she knew that the other four people in the room knew it just as well as she did: Kahna. Everyone was smiling, including Kahna, as love filled the room. Anakin draped his arm around his wife, overjoyed to finally have the whole family together. All four adults smiled warmly at the baby, but when Luke and Leia looked up, their parents were gone. They both felt strangely peaceful, so they knew that their parents' visit had been real.
When the baby started crying, Luke returned her to her mother, who rocked her gently as she hummed a soft lullaby. Kahna slowly fell asleep and was placed in her pink handmade crib. The crib sat by the bed, where Luke had fallen asleep. "Guess my lullabies don't just work on Kahna," she commented to her husband as he entered the room.
Han was shocked. His face bore a disgusted expression. "You named our kid without me?" His facial expression faded back into one of compassion and understanding. "That's – it – I love it. Kahna," he smiled, scooping Leia up in his arms. He spun her around, her face joyful. As he set her back down, they embraced in a long kiss. Finally, Leia broke away, hearing her baby's hungry cry.
This cry woke Luke, who was curious about Kahna. "You found her where again?" he asked Leia.
Leia looked as concerned as she felt as she fed the baby her bottle. "A Rebel soldier found her out in the middle of nowhere near an adult-sized skeleton, probably her mother. They were on the ice planet Hoth."
Luke cringed. "Ooh. Her mother – probably eaten by one of those Wampa creatures. You don't suppose she was on the Dark Side, do you? This could be dangerous! Who knows who Kahna really is!" Luke was pacing the room now and was breaking a sweat. "For all we know, she could be—"
"Luke!" Leia calmly cut her brother off. She knew that rambling on and on like that would only increase the burden of his worries. She frowned as he shook his head, exiting the room.
"I just need some rest," the weary Jedi sighed as the door slid shut.
Leia sighed in frustration. Adopting this baby was supposed to be a wonderful thing to celebrate, not another chore to stress out over. Yet she couldn't help but smile as she watched Kahna gulp down her formula, ounce by ounce.
"It's so nice to see you so happy, princess!" Han grinned, placing a hand on Leia's shoulder.
Leia shrugged it off with a chuckle. "Stop it! I stepped down from that position to live happily ever after with you!" she reminded him.
"I'll have to admit – that was a big sacrifice you made," Han agreed.
"For you," Leia added.
"For me," her spouse repeated. "Yet I haven't made a single one for you!" Han shook his head as he walked towards the door.
Leia, feeling fairly guilty, stopped him. "Sure you did!" she shot back. This stopped Han in his tracks. "You nearly got yourself killed on several occasions, for me; and you completely changed your way of life. That was even before we met! Now, if that isn't a sacrifice, I don't know what is!" At that moment, she realized how truly she appreciated everything Han had done for her. Her eyes filled with tears as she stood there, looking into his eyes as he looked into hers. She felt his arms wrap around her and pull her close. She rested her head on his shoulder and they just stood there like that for a long time. All the while, the baby just lay there in her mother's arms, ingesting her baby formula. When she was done, she fell asleep right there in the warmth between her mother and father.