THE BIRTHDAY FROM HELL

Chapter 2

Finally, Han and Chewie landed on their designated pad on Coruscant. Han likened it to free parking, something that was rare in much of the galaxy. He'd seen a lot of it the last two weeks and was thoroughly finished. He'd even passed up a side stop at Mos Eisley, something he rarely did. Despite the delays due to the Falcon behaving like a high maintenance lady (which she was), Han was determined to be home by Leia's birthday.

He'd gotten there with only seven hours to spare. But it was seven more.

{I'll get her ready}, Chewie said to Han. Chewie was headed for his home planet to be at Lumpy's crossbow ceremony. Lumpy was now old enough to have his own; it was a very important rite of passage on Kashyyyk, essentially saying that the young one was a man, at least in terms of hunting. Chewie would be gone for two weeks. Han had flight trainees but there were no runs during that time; Chewie would take the Falcon. Chewie had offered to take a transport but it would have taken three or four times as long to get home, and Han insisted that he take his ship.

"Thanks, pal."

{You look awful}.

"You're not exactly alluring yourself," Han retorted.

{You're sick}.

"I am not. I just need some sleep." The truth was, Han was extremely tired and had something of a headache, although this wasn't unusual after a long run. He had sick babies and Leia didn't look well on their last comm. He might not get any sleep tonight, but Leia was going to get some if it killed him.

The way he was feeling right now, it might.

"Not a scratch, y'hear?" Han said to Chewie.

{Get outta here, cub}, Chewie rumbled at Han.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving!" Han raised his hands in self defense.

Since he was going to be away for so long, he'd taken a transport and left the speeder with Leia. Someday, he said to himself, we've gotta get another one. Of course, that begged the question: where were they going to park it? Their complex allowed one speeder or other vehicle per apartment. Traffic on Coruscant was generally insane, worse at commute times but never what one could call navigable.

Han grabbed one of the local transports on the monorail that went very close to their apartment complex. Me and 50 thousand of my most intimate friends, he grumbled to himself as he grabbed a strap and hung on. There was plenty of snifflng and sneezing and coughing surrounding him. It had been that way while on the Outer Rim, and now it was taking Coruscant by storm.

Han remembered having the Corellian tanamen fever when he was about fifteen. Dewlanna had cared for him. She had been the only one who cared if he lived or died, and images of her now swam before his eyes.

If only she were here, Han thought. She'd have loved Leia and the kids. She'd have taken good care of all of them. Dewlanna was the closest thing he'd ever had to a mother. She would have loved being a 'grandmother.'

We could use one about now, Han mumbled to himself as he stepped off after what seemed to be about an 80 kilometer ride. In truth, it was one-tenth of that. He stepped off the platform, his travel pack slung over one shoulder, his headache worsening with every step.

He'd soon be home, in their apartment where every square inch of space had been overtaken by toys and baby gear. More than a few times he'd tripped over the entire zoo of stuffed animals; everyone seemed to think Jaina, Jacen and Anakin didn't have enough, so more animals were constantly being added. Han wouldn't have been surprised if there were replicas of every creature in the galaxy.

He was looking forward to being in Leia's arms again, to hugging his three kids, to sleeping in a comfortable bed. He was so tired, so very, very tired...

Any hopes he had of getting any sleep were dashed as he stepped into the apartment, the sound of three crying babies and a frazzled Leia.

He headed over to where Leia was trying to comfort Jacen as she screamed his lungs out. Jaina and Anakin were crying but somewhat less loudly.

"Welcome home," Leia said, kissing him quickly. Han noticed immediately that her voice was nearly gone, and that her temperature, noticeable from her lips, was warmer than usual. Her voice was thin and raspy.

"I guess I should try to calm these guys down, shouldn't I?" Han said, grabbing a baby in each arm.

So this is parenthood, he said to himself.

"Tell me again why I wanted little Solos," he said to Leia, punctuated by a hard cough.

"Tell me again why I agreed to it."