NOT WITHOUT YOU BY MY SIDE

The transport ship entered the atmosphere of Coruscant and proceeded towards its landing pad.

Leia sighed with relief. The transport she'd been on was luxurious by Alliance standards, but nothing would feel better than walking to the pickup area and seeing Han, Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin all waiting for her in the speeder.

At least the unrest had been quelled and military muscle had not been required, for which she was extremely grateful. All parties had been open to talking and negotiating with each other, and that was a rarity.

Coruscant was in the midst of its summer heat, but at least it was dry heat. The planet she'd just been on had a tropical rain forest climate. The humidity had been stultifying. And the insects, large and small, reminded Leia that she really didn't like bugs very much. She and her delegation took precautions, but apparently one had gotten through to her. It was a small bite, but it itched furiously. She'd put some bacta on it when she arrived home, she told herself, hoping that the maddening itch would cease. She wasn't sure how she'd gotten it; it hadn't been there when she'd woken up, but the last two hours had been maddening. She'd tried to be discreet, what with her skirt ankle length, but it was getting harder to hide it.

Han was there with the kids, and Leia momentarily forgot the angry itch on her leg. The kids showered her with kisses and hugs, and Han gave her a kiss that was close to publicly unacceptable. There'd been a time when Leia might have worried about it, but that seemed to be several lifetimes ago.

"I missed you, Mommy!" Three and a half year old Anakin said sweetly.

"We missed you, too!" Jacen spoke for both himself and his sister.

"I missed all of you so much," Leia said happily.

"Can we stop for ice dots?" Jacen pleaded.

"Let's get your mom home first, and maybe later we can get some," Han told him.

"But I'm hungry!" Jacen protested.

"Dinner'll be ready pretty soon," Han told his older son. "And your mom needs to relax. She's been real busy."

"Besides, Daddy made traladon stew," Jaina informed her. Leia loved Han's trademark traladon stew; it reminded her of comfort food from Alderaan. The twins loved it. Anakin, on the other hand, would only eat pasta. He was averse to nearly everything else. He'd drink milk and eat a couple fruits, but that encompassed his entire diet. Their pediatrician droid assured Han and Leia that he'd be fine, that children frequently showed this kind of fussiness, but Anakin's parents still worried that he'd never keep a girl's interest once his food preferences were known to her.

The traffic was, as usual, thick on Coruscant. It was the end of the workday for many, and they poured into monorails, hover taxis and limos, and speeders. Leia leaned over several times to scratch her leg.

"You okay?" Han asked her.

"It's fine. Probably a bug bite."

"Gotta be careful with those," Han told her. "Some of those critters are nasty."

"We all used repellant and our rooms were treated," Leia let him know. "And I didn't see any in my room. I'll put some bacta on it and that should take care of it once and for all. And I'm looking forward to eating the stew. It's going to be delicious after what passed for food on this trip."

"Mommy, are you gonna stay home tomorrow?" Jaina asked her mother.

"I have to go in for part of the day, but after that, I'll be home and we can have fun," Leia promised her.

"Are you gonna read 'Little Lost Bantha Cub'?" Anakin asked plaintively.

"Of course," Leia assured him. "At bedtime."

"Can we stay up late?" Jaina pleaded.

Leia looked at Han, then back at the children. "We'll see."

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Threepio greeted the family as the entered the apartment. "Mistress Leia, it's so good to see you!" He said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Threepio. I hope all has been well," she said to him.

"Oh, it certainly has!" He turned to Han. "Captain, if you'll not be needing me, I believe I will take my leave for the evening."

"You're leaving?" Leia asked, surprised.

"I'll be back later, of course," Threepio promised.

.

Leia was about to ask him where he was going, but stopped. How many places could a droid go, anyway? "Have a nice evening."

"Thank you, Mistress Leia. Captain, do you need anything done before I leave?"

"We've got it covered. Thanks."

Han and Leia looked at one another as if to say, is it possible that Threepio has actual circuits that allow...emotions?

Han spoke first. "Whatever it is, it's probably on a need to know basis and I don't need to know."

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Dinner, baths and bedtime stories completed, children hugged and kissed and tucked into bed, and Leia was herself ready to hit the pillows, but the temptations of her very sexy and handsome husband were too much too resist.

Once she and Han were basking in the afterglow, she was, despite two applications each of bacta and a cream specifically designated for treating itching, the bite on her leg was annoying her more than ever.

"This bite is making me crazy," Leia said, trying not to sound as if she were complaining.

"I might have some Zoprex. It'll at least let you get some sleep," Han offered. He kept two small supplies; one on the ship and one at home. Han looked at the lower part of her shin. "You gotta stop scratching that thing. It's getting bigger."

"I know, I know. I've just never had a bite as annoying as this one."

Han went to the kitchen for some water and then to the 'fresher for the medicine. Leia was small and he figured that one tablet would be more than enough. He'd taken two on rare occasions and they kicked his butt for a day afterwards.

"Here you go, Princess," Han said to her. She gulped down the tablet and water and the two curled up again in bed, Han spooning her, his arm draped lazily over her stomach, until they were fast asleep.

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The chrono, of course, blared much too soon for either Han or Leia's tastes, but there were kids to get ready for day camp and work that needed doing. There were swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen that had to be packed for each child, lunches to be made, showers to take and hair to arrange. Inevitably, no one could find his or her shoes or the shirt they wanted to wear under their camp shirts, giving the name of their group and the first name of each child. The shirts were huge, which was why the kids wanted their own shirts underneath. Neither Leia nor Han saw the logic of their decision but figured it wasn't worth wasting any breath on.

Leia got up slowly; the effects of the Zoprex had hit her hard, and she knew from experience to rise slowly, first to a sitting position, then standing up. Han was out in the kitchen feeding the kids their cereal and milk and she could smell kaf brewing. She was going to need a lot of kaf in order to wade through the small mountain of reports she needed to file.

She'd noticed the itching had stopped. Once the Zoprex wore off, that might change. She hoped not. As she shed her shorts and T shirt and stepped into the shower, she noticed how red it looked. Well, she had scratched it a lot. She'd put bacta over it again when she was done showering.

Leia intended it to be strictly a 'recording day.' Her plan was to take the kids to day camp, lock herself in her office, and pick the kids back up as soon as possible. Any crisis would just have to wait.

As a touch of irony, she decided to wear a T shirt Han had given her last Winter Fete. It read, 'Let Me Drop Everything and Work on YOUR problem.' She laid it on the bed as she headed for the water shower.