Aftermath

by Let-The-Wookiee-Win

Loss can do strange things to a man, even to a man such as Han Solo. But losing Chewie, Han's truest and dearest friend, at Sernpidal, is only the beginning. With his finger firmly pressed to the self-destruct button, Han risks losing far more than just his one, true friend. (Still rubbish at summaries!)

3. Chapter 3

The following morning brought another argument between mother and daughter.

Despite Leia's appeal for her to not start anything, Jaina demanded to know why her Father had been banished especially after he had made every effort to make his peace the night before.

Leia tried to explain that sometimes, a simple 'sorry' just wasn't enough to make everything all right.

She was tired and facing another exhausting day of talks and negotiations. She was neither in the mood nor prepared to hear how much she was ruining her daughter's life. Or how much Jaina hated her. Nor that if Leia was responsible for destroying her family, Jaina would never, ever, forgive her.

But there, the words were spoken and unable to be retracted.

Jaina slammed out of the apartment, leaving Leia to wonder if perhaps her family really was broken and beyond repair.

Leaning on the ship's bulkhead, Jaina Solo arched her back into Jagged Fel as his arms tightened around her waist and he deepened their kiss.

"Get a room you two!" Cordu Wilde commented, turning from his seat and leering at them.

"It's a shame what jealously does to a man." Jag commented, smiling and not taking his eyes from Jaina's.

"Jealous? Me? She's not my type." Cordu scoffed.

"Oh?" Jaina traced a finger along Jag's jawline. "Too hot for you to handle?"

"Nah!" Cordu grinned. "I like a woman. Not a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaina's head snapped toward Cordu.

"Take no notice of him Jaina, he's just trying to bait you." Jag cautioned.

"Well, you haven't done it yet have you sweetie?" Cordu crossed an ankle over his knee. "And I like a woman who knows where it all goes, not to mention how to make it feel like it belonged there all the time."

"Like a whore you mean?" Jaina asked, teasingly. "I could talk to my Dad, see if he could pick you up something 'special' on one of his runs if you like."

Jag couldn't stifle a laugh.

"Sure he wouldn't mind sharing?" Cordu teased right back.

"What did you say?" Jaina pushed Jag aside to front up to Wilde.

"I think you heard me plain enough. Word is he's not getting any at home and since Han Solo ain't the kind of guy to go without, I'm guessing he must be getting it some place else."

"Say that again." Jaina growled through her teeth.

"I said your father is a lying, cheating, Hutt loving..." Cordu didn't get chance to finish his tirade before he heard the familiar snap-hiss of Jaina's lightsaber.

Cordu laughed. "What you gonna do sweetie, run me through with your blade. And how would Uncle Lukie like that?"

"He'd be disappointed, to say the least." Luke cut in behind them all.

Jaina shut down her lightsaber and she, Jag and Cordu stood to attention side by side before Luke.

"Anybody care to tell me what's going on here?" Luke asked. "Jaina?"

"Nothing Sir." She replied. "Just...high jinx I guess."

"Cordu?" Luke studied the young man. "Do you concur?"

"Absolutely Sir." Cordu said nodding. "Just high jinx Sir."

"And I suppose you have nothing to add either, do you Fel?" Luke asked.

"Nothing at all Sir." Jag confirmed.

Luke looked from Jaina to Cordu to Jag and back along the line.

"Save your high jinx for after hours if you would please." Luke advised. "Jaina, my office when you're finished up here."

"Sir." Jaina agreed, watching her Uncle leave.

"You think he's gonna give you Hell?" Jag directed his question to Jaina, stepping forward as he watched Luke go.

"Possibly." Jaina replied. "But not nearly as much Hell as I'm gonna give Cordu if he doesn't get his filthy hand off of my ass."

"Was that yours, sweetie?" Cordu turned and retook his seat. "Thought it was Jag I was feeling up."

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Luke finished reading the flimsie before him, placed it neatly in his tray and looked up at his niece standing to attention on the other side of the desk.

"Is this about this afternoon?" She asked nervously.

"Why, have you something to add?" Luke queried.

"No..." She answered trying to gauge his reaction.

He didn't respond for what felt like a lifetime and Jaina had the distinct feeling he was gauging her also.

"I've been asked for a volunteer to pilot a Refugee Council representative to the Duro System."

"Me?" Her eyes widened and sparkled.

"Mara is the volunteer." He corrected as her eagerness dimmed. "However, we both felt the journey would benefit from a co-pilot."

"Me?" She asked again, her eyes twinkling.

"If you think you can handle the extra flying hours." He told her.

"Can I ever!" Her grin widened.

"And if you can tell me what this afternoon was really about." He continued.

Her grin faded and she swallowed.

"Just high jinx Sir, like we already told you." She repeated.

"Hmmm." He considered her response. "Loyalty can be admirable. If sometimes misplaced. Was it Cordu or Jag?"

"Cordu or Jag what?" She asked.

"Causing whatever it was that resulted in you drawing your lightsaber." His eyes searched hers.

"Neither Uncle Luke. It was just high jinx." She told him again.

"Hmmm." He said again and sat back. "You leave at 0400 hours. Don't be late. Mara abhors tardiness."

"Thank you Uncle Luke. I won't let you down." She grinned again.

"Thank your Aunt Mara. It was she who suggested you for this assignment." Luke sat forward and picked up another flimsie.

"I'll be sure to thank her." She said. "Can't wait to tell Mom."

"Your Mother already knows." He said, not taking his eyes from the flimsie. "She's the Refugee Council representative."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Outside the shuttle's cockpit Leia quietly listened to the light laughter and easy conversation her daughter so readily shared with her Aunt Mara and felt the merest pang of regret. Although her heart soared at hearing Jaina talk so openly, it served as a further reminder that her own relationship with her child was sadly lacking.

"So, you think this boy's pretty special huh?" Mara asked.

"He's not a boy Aunt Mara. He's a man." Jaina corrected.

"Oh. Sorry." Mara apologised. "You think this man's pretty special?"

"I know he is. And when I get back..." Jaina lowered her voice. "We're doing it."

"Doing what honey?" Mara asked before realisation dawned. "Oh...that. Oh. Okay. If you're sure."

"Not you too!" Jaina moaned.

"If you think you're ready..." Mara said.

"I fly with Rogue. I'm a Jedi. Why wouldn't I be ready?" Jaina queried.

"You're piloting skills are worthy of Rogue, true. But you're not yet a fully trained Jedi. And, you know, neither of those things mean that you're ready to enter into a sexual relationship, especially with a boy...a man, you've only known for a matter of months." Mara pointed out.

Jaina didn't answer her, just kept her eyes on the forward viewport.

"Sometimes..." Mara continued, also looking forward. "It takes at least as much strength and maturity to wait as it does to submit to one's feelings. If not more."

"You mean like you and Uncle Luke?" Jaina asked, eyeing her Aunt.

"Sort of. But I was thinking more like your Mother and Father." Mara told her. "How your Uncle tells it, it was obvious to just about everyone that they had feelings for one another. But it was something like three years before they acted upon them."

"Because she was scared." Jaina said. "I'm not."

"Your Mother had lost so much. The father she loved so dearly. Her home. Her World and all her people. Friends in the Alliance. I can understand why she would be reluctant to let another into her heart after all that loss." Mara explained.

"I...I never thought of it like that before." Jaina whispered. "I just thought she was some spoilt, repressed Princess."

"No one who wields a blaster the way your Mother does, is repressed! No, I think it took a lot of courage to deny her feelings at a time when it would have been so easy to accept a little comfort..."

Mara leaned forward, grasping the console for support.

"Aunt Mara? What is it, what's wrong?" Jaina placed a hand on her Aunt's shoulder.

"Nothing sweetie. Just a twinge." Mara told her. "But, I do feel kind of tired suddenly. Do you think you can handle her on your own for a little while?"

"Sure I can. You want me to get someone to help you to your bunk?" Jaina asked, still concerned.

"I'll be fine." Mara said reassuringly and rising from her seat. "You call me when we arrive at the approach to Duro."

"Yes Ma'am." Jaina confirmed and watched as her Aunt gathered her strength and left the cockpit.

Trying not to stumble, Mara made her way to the small cabin she had been allocated to share with her sister-in-law and sank gratefully into her soft cot. Breathing deeply, she allowed the Force to envelope her and began a self examination. Gently probing deep inside herself, Mara searched for the cause of her lethargy. The Yuuzhan Vong administered infection that had so ravaged her had been held at bay for long enough now that she had started to dare to believe it had been eradicated. Could she have been wrong, could it merely have lain dormant awaiting an inappropriate moment to reappear.

Detecting no apparent infiltration of her cells, she relaxed and lay back on the cot. Perhaps it was just a twinge. Perhaps she was merely tired. It had been a while since she'd been allowed to exert herself like that. Maybe in her excitement, she had just overdone sitting in the pilot's chair.

"You can come in out of the shadows now Leia. I'm fine." Mara spoke to her sister-in-law outside.

"No point in trying to hide from you is there?" Leia commented, entering the cabin and sitting on the cot opposite Mara's.

"You could count to a million and I'd still find you in a heartbeat!" Mara boasted.

"Hmm. No wonder the kids wouldn't play hide and seek with you." Leia frowned.

"They were too busy taunting their father with that game." Mara laughed. "He was so easy to set up! Remember when Anakin hid on the ledge? I thought Han was going to have a seizure."

"Well, kids do that to you." Leia told her. "Scare you witless when they're small and scare you shitless when they get older."

"Leia Organa Solo! Did you just use a profanity?" Mara looked shocked.

"What can I tell you, I'm feeling reckless." Leia grinned, before taking on a more sombre tone. "You sure you're all right?"

"Has Luke asked you to watch over me?" Mara asked. "Because if he did, so help me..."

"No, of course not!" Leia lied. "It's just, I heard you talking with Jaina. Thanks for the ego boost by the way."

"You're welcome." Mara nodded.

"And then I heard you ask for a time out." Leia continued, chewing her lip.

"Yeah, he asked you to watch over me." Mara accepted.

"He's just concerned for you Mara." Leia explained. "You've been so very ill."

"I know. I'm the one carrying the ticking time bomb around with me." Mara snapped.

Leia looked away, feeling like this was yet another conversation she was not handling very well.

"I'm sorry Leia." Mara covered her eyes with her arm. "I'm just tired, I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Understandable." Leia smiled. "I'll go. Let you rest."

"No." Mara reached out a hand. "Stay. Tell me what it was like when you had Jaina and Jacen."

"You're not..." Leia's eyes flitted from Mara's face to her abdomen and back.

"No." Mara laughed again. "More's the pity. But it doesn't mean we've given up all hope."

Mara studied Leia's surprised expression.

"What?" She asked. "You think Luke and I only spend our free time on Jedi calming techniques and hand to hand combat?"

"It's just..." Leia puzzled over how to phrase the obvious.

"Is it that neither one of us are getting any younger?" Mara asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No. Well... Yes. Actually." Leia sighed.

"Luke said you were dead set against having children when you and Han first married."

"There was a little more to it than that Mara. I'd learned that my biological father was none other than the Empire's tyrant Darth Vader." Leia replied.

"Anakin Skywalker." Mara corrected.

"Semantics." Leia countered. "The point is, I just couldn't risk being the one to bring another Sith into the Galaxy."

"So what changed your mind?" Mara asked.

"Han. Mostly. I guess. He kept trying to talk me into having kids and I kept telling him that it wasn't going to happen. Then, after we were married we went on a mission to Tatooine. And while we were there, I discovered that Anakin hadn't been born evil. He'd been a boy, just like any other boy. He'd had dreams, ambitions, ideals. I don't suppose I'll ever know what it was that set him on the path to the Dark Side, but I do know being a normal boy in a normal family with normal, loving parents wasn't it."

"Define normal." Mara challenged.

"You know what I mean." Leia chided, then leaned forward. "Mara nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, prepares you for how you feel when you hold that tiny bundle for the first time. It's like...like...everything you've ever wanted or desired or longed for all rolled up into one. And it's yours, all yours, to hold and to love and to be everything to. Until he or she...or they...decide they don't need you any more, at least."

"Jaina still needs you. Even if she pretends not to." Mara said.

"Jaina and I have been growing apart for years." Leia told her, shaking her head. "She was always more Han's than mine."

"You're wrong." Now it was Mara's turn to shake her head. "She needs you now more than ever before. This thing with Jag, it's too much for her right now."

"And I'm supposed to tell her that?" Leia raised her eyebrows. "That is not going to help."

"You should talk to her." Mara suggested.

"I try. But she resists me at every opportunity." Leia answered.

"Try again." Mara settled back into her cot and closed her eyes.

"At least you didn't say to try harder!" Leia reflected on the words spoken by both Han and Jaina.

Sensing Mara needed to rest, Leia left the cabin and made her way back to the cockpit.

"Mind if I join you Captain?" Leia asked her daughter.

"I'm not the Captain." Jaina eyed her. "And shouldn't you be reading something really important ready for when we get to Duro?"

"Probably." Leia said lightly. "But I'd rather sit here with you."

Jaina exhaled deeply and very audibly.

"So..." Leia started. "You and Jag..."

"We're not sleeping together. So you don't have to tell me to stop." Jaina said.

"I wasn't going to." Leia said defensively.

"Good. Because I wouldn't, even if you did." Jaina devoted unnecessary attention to her control panel.

"First love is always difficult." Leia continued.

"Mom. Please!" Jaina cocked her head to one side.

"We've all been there." Leia told her.

"Look, Mom, no offence but you have no idea what you're talking about." Jaina scoffed.

"I was twelve I think when I met Raal Panteer. I remember sneaking out of the Royal Palace to swim with him in the Reflecting Pools of Aldera." Leia smiled at the memory. "He was the first boy to kiss me, but it didn't last. And the following year I fell for Jahan Cross, well for about a week I think. Then my father started preparing me for my political career and there wasn't much time for the opposite sex. Until your Father and Uncle Luke rescued me from the Death Star, of course. Little by little I realised I was falling in love. Not the feelings I'd had for Raal or Jahan, this was something much, much deeper. Trouble was, back then, I didn't know if it was Luke or Han I was falling in love with! And then there was Prince Denid, Prince Xizor, Boba Fett and Prince Isolder..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up a little." Jaina looked at her mother open-mouthed. "Denid, Xizor and Fett?"

"I met Denid undertaking a mission to help him claim his Throne on Velmor. It didn't last, but I did have to pretend to be his betrothed. Xizor was a Falleen, he was leader of the Black Sun, a criminal syndicate, I'd approached for assistance. Falleens exude strong pheromones which he used to try to seduce me."

"How hard did he try?" Jaina asked shocked.

"Let's put it like this, if Chewie hadn't alerted me to his plan, then he probably would have succeeded. Though, I'm not sure that really counts seeing as I would have been under the influence of a chemical substance. And thinking about it now, you can't really count Boba Fett either." Leia justified. "Jabba offered me to him the night after I was captured, but he wasn't interested. Not his type I guess. And you know about Isolder."

Jaina just stared at her Mother.

"Mom." Jaina asked after a while. "What was it like...the first time? Did it hurt? They say it hurts. And that you bleed too. Do you bleed too?"

Leia looked around as though checking for eavesdroppers and leaned over to squeeze her daughter's knee.

"It's different for everybody sweetheart." She said. "For me, it hurt a little but only for a moment. And yes, there was a little blood but really it was only a very tiny drop. Your Father was so very gentle, so patient. Of course, he was also pretty experienced so he knew how to make it feel good for me."

"Has he ever..." Jaina chewed her lip, wondering if she should ask.

"Ever what honey?" Leia pressed, glad to be having any conversation with her child even if it was intensely intimate.

"Has he ever..." She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Used his mouth?"

"There's not much your Father hasn't used." Leia smiled and lowered her voice also. "I remember, we were hosting a particularly uninspiring cocktail party maybe ten months after we married. Han had his hand down the back of my shimmersilk pants the whole time we were shaking hands with the 200 or so guests. And another time, while attending an intimate dinner with Mon Mothma and your Uncle Luke and Lando among others, from across the table he slid his foot under my skirt and aroused me with his big toe! Mon Mothma thought I was having convulsions."

They both laughed.

"But mostly we had normal, run of the mill, every day kind of sex. It'd start with one of us giving the other 'the look', the one that asked the question, and the other would provide the answer." Leia looked a little puzzled. "Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got a 'not tonight sweetheart' from your Father."

They both laughed again.

"Well, Dad's a Corellian. They're known for their staying power." Jaina quipped.

"And he's certainly lived up to the reputation." Leia grinned and they laughed again before an alarm sounded breaking the peace that had broken out between them.

"You want to know the best part?" Leia asked, vacating her seat. "I always loved 'after', best of all. When we'd just lie together in one another's arms. Hearing each other's heartbeat, feeling the warmth of the other's skin. Knowing that no matter what happened, even if it all fell apart and we ended up on the other side of the Galaxy with someone else, no one would ever feel the same way to you. That you shared a uniqueness only you enjoyed. And only you understood."

"Coming up on Duro." Jaina commented. "I better call Aunt Mara. But Mom...thanks. You've been a great help."

Jaina's eyes met her Mother's and both felt the gentle brush of the Force from the other.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

It took all of Leia's negotiating skills, most of her patience and a full five months before she managed to secure one of Duro's uninhabited planets as a temporary base for refugees fleeing the Yuuzhan Vong.

In those five months, she had spoken with Jaina six times, Luke five, Mara four, Jacen three, Anakin twice and Han, just once.

Her heart ached for her family and for the early days of her marriage. Though busy with her role as first Senator, then Minister and later Chief of State, Leia had never been more happy or felt more at home than in those years when her children were small and her husband was by her side. And at times it felt as though those days had passed forever.

The Yuuzhan Vong had repeatedly knocked out communication relay stations making planet to planet contact immensely difficult and person to person direct contact virtually impossible.

Leia's single conversation with Han had, ironically, taken place purely by accident. Right place, right time, was how Han had described it.

Leia, looking more tired than he thought he had ever seen her before, asked for his assistance in locating a transport which had been despatched to Duro Base One but failed to arrive.

"Well, I dunno Ley." He'd teased, stroking his newly grown beard. "I got a business to run here ya know."

"I'm not a woman to beg Han." She'd told him solemnly. "But Jaina's on that transport."

The news had hit Han like a photon torpedo.

"I'm already plotting co-ordinates." He'd said and signed off even before the relief had time to sweep across Leia's face and throughout her soul. She had sat back, reassured that someone at least had finally heard her appeal and was mobilising a search. Her comfort greater for knowing that someone was Han.

Following the route the transport would have taken from Coruscant to Duro, as well as calculating all it's possible trajectories, took the Millennium Falcon's navicomputer a while to determine. Too long a while in the opinion of her highly agitated Captain, but when it finally came through, Han's fingers flew across the Falcon's panel directing the ship from one position to another and another until he finally saw the transport cruiser adrift and floating in space.

His stomach flipped as his sensors showed damage throughout the ship, life support negligible and crew apparently unresponsive. Something quite catastrophic clearly happened here and whilst his interest may have been piqued, all that mattered right now was getting survivors off the ship, onto the Falcon and to safety.

"You picking up anything?" He asked Jacen.

"No life signs on board. But there are escape pods missing." Jacen read from his instrument panels.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Han said, reading the same panel for himself. "So, where'd they go?"

"Scans are detecting a small planetoid..." Jacen's brow furrowed. "It's not much, but it could support life."

"Could?" Han asked him pointedly.

Jacen knew what his father was asking of him. Knew it went against his principles. Knew that his sister's future...her life even, might depend upon it. And he made a decision.

Reaching out with the Force, he probed the ship and it's surrounding area. He felt her signature, followed it's path and reported his findings.

"I can't be sure..." He said tentatively. "But, I think I can feel her..."

"You think?" Han asked sharply.

"Dad..."

"This is your sister Jacen. You think I care about your damned struggle with the Force!" Han growled.

"I was going to say that I think I can feel her close by. Just not on the ship any more. It's not like I can follow her every move Dad. But I can feel something that's like a trace of her." Jacen told him.

"And?" Han pressed.

"And...she's down on that planetoid. I'm pretty sure of it." Jacen said.

"Okay." Han said, though sounding sceptical. "Take us down kid."

Following the Falcon's scans and Jacen's instincts they set down in a clearing and quickly located the escape pods. Most appeared to be walking wounded, but a couple were in need of urgent medical assistance.

"She's got a broken arm, multiple rib fractures..." Jacen advised, his fingers splayed across a woman's torso. He looked up at his father with concern. "And her pelvis is crushed. We need to get her to a medical facility. Fast."

"Okay kid." Han assured him and watched as Jacen turned his face searchingly toward one of the pods. "What?"

"Jaina..." Jacen whispered.

"Where?" Han scanned the area. "I don't see her."

Then he did. Stumbling around the side of one of the escape pods she tripped and, loudly uttering a Corellian curse, hit the ground with her knees. Five long strides and Han was kneeling beside her and pulling her into the safety of his arms.

"Jaina! Thank the stars you're all right." He held her close, kissing the top of her head over and over.

"Dad!" Jacen shouted. "We gotta get this woman outta here. Now!"

"Get the walking wounded to the Falcon while Jace and I move..." Han started to rise and realised Jaina wasn't following. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I...I can't see Dad." She told him as he dropped back to his knees and, tilting her face to his, now noticed the twin stars reflected in her eyes.

"What happened?" He asked her.

"A blinding flash." She said, her lips imitating his grin. "Literally as well as figuratively! Took out all the controls as well as my eyesight. I think it's only temporary, but..."

"Okay. Come with me." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, helping her to her feet and led her over to where Jacen crouched beside his patient.

"You stay here with Jace, I'll get everyone on board." He gently pushed her to the ground beside her brother before moving to gather as many passengers as he could.

"What happened to you?" Jacen asked.

"Would you believe a blinding flash?" Jaina quipped.

The twins chatted together whilst their father settled the dozen or so technical staff on board the Falcon before returning to his eldest children.

"How's she doing?" Han asked indicating injured scientist.

"She's lost consciousness, which is probably no bad thing since it's gonna hurt like Hell when we move her. But, all things considered, she's not too bad." Jacen answered.

"And our remaining patient?" Han nodded toward Jaina.

"Well, her eyes might be out of action for a while. But her mouth still works just fine." Jacen grinned.

"So do her Jedi reflexes, so just watch what you're saying about me!" She countered.

Jacen made a 'see' expression at his father.

"I saw that!" Jaina hissed. "Well...sensed it at least."

"Take Jaina up to the cockpit and get her strapped in." Han told Jacen. "And I'll get this little lady to a medical bunk."

Jacen lifted Jaina's arm over his shoulder to guide her to the ship.

"I can strap myself in, thank you." Jaina complained.

"Bet you wouldn't be saying that if it was Jag about to tie you to a chair." Jacen muttered.

"Shows what you know." She answered him in a hushed tone. "Jag and I have an understanding."

"No nookie in the cockpit?" He teased.

"No nookie, period." She replied.

"Seriously?" Jacen exclaimed as they climbed the boarding ramp. "Boy, either he's in love or he's getting it some place else."

"Come on you two, less chatter. Let's just get out of here, shall we?" Han grumbled, catching up with them, his patient cradled in his arms.

"He's not 'getting it some place else' as you so eloquently put it." Jaina told her brother as he led her to the cockpit and deposited her in one of the aft chairs. "I told you, we have an understanding."

"If you say so." Jacen shrugged and started the warm up procedure while Jaina applied her straps.

"I do. So drop it!" She snapped.

"Drop what?" Han asked, clambering into the pilot's chair.

"Jaina's sleeping arrangements." Jacen teased.

I'm going to kill you! Jaina thought at Jacen.

"That horny kid still chasing after you?" Han growled.

"Co-ordinates are set." Jacen told his father.

"Punch it!" Han told Jacen.

With consummate skill, father and son lifted the Falcon into the atmosphere and on it's way to Base One. Once the ship was safely on it's course, Han asked Jacen to sit with their patient and invited Jaina to take the co-pilot's seat. Taking her hand, he helped her negotiate her way into the seat.

"You didn't answer me. Jagged Fel still on the scene?" He asked.

"Actually. Jag and I have agreed to cool it for a while." She replied.

"Can't say I'm disappointed."

"It's only temporary Dad." She insisted. "We simply feel we're not quite ready for that next step just yet. And besides, it's difficult to find time...logistically speaking. One or the other of us is away on one mission or another. There's just no time to be together right now."

"Yeah. I remember how that can be." Han said, recalling the beginnings of his relationship with Leia.

"Dad. Can I ask you something?" She said nervously.

"Depends on how much it's gonna cost me!" He replied.

"What was the best part?" She asked.

"Best part of what, sweetie?" He asked, puzzled.

"With Mom." She said, turning unseeing eyes toward him. "You know...intimately speaking."

Han's lips twitched into a soft smile.

"Intimately speaking..." He thought back to their first encounter; to hot, frantic couplings; to slow, sensuous love making; to their Wedding night; to their First Anniversary; to their last, or at least the last one they had shared together and then a cloud obscured his view. Their last Anniversary had been spent apart. Because of him...

"Dad?" Jaina pressed.

He took a breath and swung his chair to face her. "Don't tell your Mom, 'cos I think she always thought I was in my element during. But between you and me, I always liked after best of all. She'd snuggle up in my arms. I'd feel her heart beating against my chest, her soft skin beneath my hands." He let out a quiet laugh. "Her hair used to tickle my face, which was lucky 'cos I always, but always, fell asleep right after. And sometimes she liked to, well you know, go again."

"Dad! Seriously, that's just a little too much information." Jaina's brow furrowed.

"You asked." He shrugged and returned to his instrument panel.

"Have you spoken with her yet?" Jaina asked.

"Sure I have." He replied flippantly. "How else do you think I knew to come looking for you."

"That's not what I meant Dad and you know it."

"I do have a business to run, you know." He countered.

"When we get to Duro, you talk to her." Jaina turned away from her father, her eyes stinging as she blinked back tears.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day I got to take orders from my seventeen year old!" Han grumbled under his breath and tried not to smile.

For the remainder of their journey to Base One Jaina talked her father through the events leading up to the order to abandon ship. Han listened, questioned where he felt appropriate and helped her get her thoughts into a proper order before she had to face a debrief planet-side.

Once they had safely landed, his seriously injured patient was immediately transferred to the Medical Facility while Han arranged for the rest of his passengers to receive medical evaluation before being dispatched to their appointed locations.

"Okay sweetheart." Han said finally to Jaina. "Let's get you to Medical."

"I don't think so." She scoffed.

Just like her Mother! He thought.

"Well, I do." He insisted and took her hand to guide her from the Falcon.

"Dad! I can find my own way." She told him.

"I'm sure you can. But I'm still taking you." His deep voice echoed through the now still Falcon.

"Jace can escort me." She persisted. "Then you can go find Mom for that talk you owe her."

"I can find your Mom after you've seen a specialist." He was equally persistent.

"I told you, it's only temporary blindness." Jaina insisted. "I'm a Jedi, I know these things."

At the bottom of the ramp, Han drew to a halt pulling Jaina to a stop before him and tilting her face up to his.

"Now you listen to me young lady, I'm taking you to Medical for a full diagnostic. And if they recommend you follow a treatment regime then you will follow that treatment regime. You hear me?" He said firmly.

"Loud and clear, Sir." She replied.

A light laugh drew his attention and looking across the Hangar he caught sight of Leia, head still swathed in a white scarf, a datapad clutched to her chest.

She was talking with someone obscured by the crates surrounding her and she again tossed her head back and laughed.

"You should go to her." Jaina whispered.

"You just don't want me taking you to Medical." He accused.

"I can take Jaina." Jacen offered following them down the ramp and receiving a disapproving scowl from his sister.

"I dunno. She looks kinda busy..." Han commented, shaking his head while not taking his eyes from his wife.

Leia's attention moved to her datapad and after a shrug of her shoulders, an arm extended to indicate all the crates and boxes. Then her companion stepped out from his hiding place.

"I might have known." Han hissed.

Isolder eased his way around Leia and pointed first at one crate and then another, his hand resting lightly against her back.

"If he doesn't take his slimy, good-for-nothing hand off my wife's ass..." Han growled.

"That's her back Dad." Jacen pointed out.

"Near enough!" Han snarled.

Abruptly, Isolder turned and caught sight of the Solos across the Hangar. Han watched him lean down and speak into Leia's ear, not taking his eyes from the group.

Then Han watched as Leia turned, a beaming smile spreading across her face before she broke into a run across the Hangar to meet them.

"Jaina, thank the stars!" Leia exclaimed and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. "They promised to let me know when you arrived. Honestly! I'm supposed to be the Administrator here and I'm always the last to know anything."

Leia reached out a hand to Jacen who responded by grasping it firmly.

"We only just got here, really." Han explained.

"I was so worried..." She started, holding Jaina at arms length and studying her, a frown creasing her brow. "Jaina?"

"It's only temporary." Jaina said as much to convince herself as anyone else.

"What...what happened?" Leia looked from Jaina to Han.

"I was just about to get her to Medical for a full check up." Han said, circling Jaina's shoulders with his arm.

"Actually." Jaina interjected. "Jacen was going to take me to Medical, so that you and Mom could catch up, remember?"

Han scowled as Jacen linked his arm through Jaina's.

"Through the exit, head right..." Leia began, indicating the way.

"It's okay Mom, I know where Medical is." Jacen smiled. "I went with the casualties."

"Casualties?" Leia turned a worried face up to Han as Jacen and Jaina started on their way.

"One casualty." Han reported. "The others were just in shock, mild mostly."

"I ought to go to them." Leia said, considering.

"Well, don't let me keep you. I can see that you've got your hands full here." Han sighed.

"Oh Han...I didn't mean..." Leia softened her expression, laid her hand against his chest and rose on tip-toes to kiss his cheek lightly. "Thank you. Thank you for answering my call. And thank you for rescuing Jaina."

"Princesses are my speciality, you should know that by now." He flashed her his lopsided grin.

"So, what's with the facial hair?" She asked.

"You like it?" He queried, his hand roaming his bearded cheek.

"It's...Different." She licked her lips, tasting his beard on them. The she flipped her scarf from her head and let it fall to her shoulders revealing a neat coiffure.

"Nice." He grinned.

"You like it?" She asked coyly.

"It's certainly growing..." He answered, admiring the chestnut hair now shadowing the nape of her neck.

"Another six months of steady growth and I'll be able to braid it." She said, replacing her scarf carefully about her head. "Well, some of it at least."

"Six months after that, I'll be able to un-braid it." He added cockily and looked away as she blushed.

"So, what's he doing here?" Han asked, nudging his chin in Isolder's direction.

"Since he is funding all of this, I felt it would be churlish to refuse him entry." Leia told him.

"I presume you mean entry as in 'landing' and not entry as in 'access all areas'." He raised an eyebrow so she would get his meaning.

"Han, please don't do this again. Not now." She appealed. "The Hapes Consortium have been kind enough to fund seeding, housing, staffing, not to mention medical supplies and facilities to accommodate millions of refugees displaced by the Yuuzhan Vong."

"And what do they want in return, is he still sniffing round you?" Han growled.

"If he was, the answer would be the same as it was before." She assured him. Her datapad beeped and she glared at it's readout.

"Now what!" She sighed. "Look, I have to go sort out some bureaucratic pain in the rear. Meet me at Medical say, one standard hour?"

He nodded his agreement and she reached up to gently stroke his bearded cheek.

"Different." She repeated with a light smile. "Definitely different."

He watched her hurry off, muttering to herself as she went. Twenty years, three kids and she still had the cutest damned ass...

Which made him remember their arrival and the sight of Prince Isolder of the Hapes Consortium getting warmed up and ready to strike. And he decided maybe it was time to remind Isolder of his place in the scheme of things.

Purposefully, Han strode across the Hangar to where Isolder continued to survey the array of crates of supplies.

"Well, well, well." Isolder planted his hands on his hips. "If it isn't the errant husband. Or, is it the mighty Wookiee, Chewbacca, returned from the great beyond?"

"Funny." Han sneered.

"What's funny is you thinking she'd wait for you." Isolder taunted.

"I know she has." Han retaliated.

"Don't you just love that birthmark she has on her lower back." Isolder goaded.

"It's a matter of public record. You could have easily read it on the Holonet." Han responded.

"You may have noticed, I like to rest my hand against it." Isolder continued with a shrug. "I just can't help myself." He stepped forward to stand directly in front of Han, his eyes bright with mischief. "And every time I do, I imagine that we are alone. Again. And naked. And that I'm caressing it with my fingers and my mouth and my..."

Han grabbed Isolder by the collar of his far too expensive shirt and pulled his face up to his own.

"Now I know you're lying. That might be your dirty, perverted little fantasy but Leia's still a married woman. And she takes her vows very seriously." He growled through his teeth.

Isolder's lips curled into a sneer and he pulled himself free, straightening his attire.

"And yet, you still feel the need to use violence in order to make your point." Isolder continued to straighten his clothing. "You really are a most predictable man."

"Why don't you go home Isolder?" Han queried. "Go back to that wife of yours and try to make a success of your marriage instead of trying to ruin mine."

"I don't think I need marriage counselling from you! You, who walked out on your wife and children not once, but twice I seem to recall."

"I aint walked out on nobody." Han spat.

"Oh?" Isolder perched himself against a crate. "That's not how Jaina tells it."

"What are you talking about? What's Jaina got to do with any of this?" Han demanded.

"Your daughter has been most accommodating in keeping me apprised of the situation in the Solo household. Most accommodating indeed." Isolder picked at a fleck of dirt beneath a nail. "Your youngest Son, Anakin, is stuck on Yavin IV where resident Jedi Masters are continuing with his training whilst your brother-in-law, the redoubtable Grand Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, leads and trains, among others, Rogue Squadron on Coruscant in preparation for Yuuzhan Vong attacks. Jaina has been flying with Rogue for a little over a year whilst her Mother, the effervescent, Leia Organa Solo, has been tasked with establishing this colony housing refugees from the incursions inflicted by the Vong to date. Meanwhile, Jaina's twin brother Jacen has been acting as your co-pilot and chaperone during your sabbatical from being Mr Organa Solo and whilst you attempt to build a career as a...a what...transport chief?" Isolder queried.

"I prefer Special Courier." Han told him.

"Special Courier it is then." Isolder conceded and smiled. "She's a lovely girl, Jaina. Once one gets to know her."

"You better not be suggesting what it sounds like you're suggesting!" Han hissed.

"My, my. We are touchy aren't we." Isolder scoffed. "Don't worry her honour is perfectly safe, I have no interest in teenage girls. I have one of my own remember and I know how much of a handful they can be."

"All right Isolder, cards on the table. Just what is it you want?" Han challenged.

Isolder rose from his perch, straightening his clothes.

"Isn't that obvious? The same thing I've wanted for the last twenty years. Only you won't let her go!" Isolder answered. "So, here's the thing. I don't want you to do this for me, I want you to do it for Leia. If you love her, then do whatever it takes to make things right and get on with your lives. And if you don't, then leave her for good. So that she can be with someone who does."

"Fine." Han said. "I'll do just that."

"Leave her?" Isolder smiled.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Han answered. "Right now, I'm going to see how my beautiful daughter's getting on in Medical."

With that he turned on his heels and strode across the Hangar.

Corellians! Isolder thought and considered his next course of action.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

With freshly applied dressing pads to her eyes and drops to be administered hourly, Jaina was released into her Mother's care just as Han arrived at the Medical Facility.

"So, how's our little Princess?" He asked with a cock-eyed smile.

"Incredibly lucky." Leia sighed.

"It's only temporary. Just like I said." Jaina crowed.

"Luckily!" Leia added. "If she hadn't received medical attention when she did...Oh Han, I don't know what would have happened."

"You're being overly dramatic Mother!" Jaina snapped.

"I call it caring." Han chipped in.

"Thank you Han." Leia looked up at him in surprise and delight as he shrugged away any embarrassment.

"Could we..." Han gently tugged Leia aside and whispered. "Could we go somewhere to talk?"

Leia considered a moment; a dozen or more flimsies demanded her attention, at least four of her scientists required reminding that their workload was no greater than any one else's and there was still the issue of the supply crates that needed moving to their appointed destinations.

But her husband wanted to talk.

And to talk to her.

It had taken him a long time and now that he was ready, how could she deny him.

"Of course." She replied, with a light smile. "I'm afraid I don't have any spare quarters available and since the Falcon is hardly in the most sanitary of conditions..."

"Hey!" Han scowled. "You calling my best girl dirty?"

"No." Leia corrected. "I'm saying it's greasy and it's oily and it would be all too easy for some of it's lubricants to get in and infect Jaina's eyes."

"Her lubricants." Han leaned down toward Leia. "The Falcon's a she. And she doesn't take too kindly to being disrespected."

"You sure it's only her that doesn't like it?" Leia smirked and Han grinned back.

"So, are we going or what?" Jaina asked, arms crossed in annoyance over her chest.

"To my rooms, yes." Leia said. "It's not much. Part office, part sleep facility, part mess hall."

"Sounds charming." Jaina complained.

"It'll be snug, but I think we can all squeeze in." Leia said.

"There's no need for that. Jace and I can bunk on the Falcon, same as always. Can't we son?" Han offered.

"Of course." Leia's heart sank. "If that's what you'd prefer."

"You're dumping me with her?" Jaina exclaimed.

"I'm not dumping you with anyone." Han frowned. "And don't talk that way about your Mother."

"I think it'd be great!" Jacen spoke up. "Like that camping trip we all went on."

"We were six, Jacen." Jaina grumbled. "And while you went fishing with Dad, I got hives."

"Well unless your Mother's got bedbugs, I don't think you need worry about itching this time round." Han said, steering his daughter toward the door. "Let's just get out of the nice Doctors' way and head over to Leia's, shall we?"

Once there, Leia arranged for an investigator to join them to hear Jaina's explanation of the events leading up to her order to abandon the transport.

Han had been unhappy that she had to be interviewed straight from Medical and made his feelings known to all, but Leia stood her ground.

"Hasn't the kid been through enough!" He exclaimed.

"You know the rules Han, debrief has to be as soon as can be suitably arranged." She replied.

"And a good night's sleep was out of the question?" He pressed.

"As soon as 'suitably arranged' doesn't mean or 'after a good nights sleep'." She countered angrily.

"Well...I still think she should have had some rest first." He grumbled.

"Meanwhile, I have a transport cruiser just floating out there in space waiting for some low life salvage hunter or mercenary to come along and liberate it of anything useful." Leia stated. "If it hasn't already been stripped bare by pirates!"

"You mean, by someone just like me." He commented.

"Well... When you put it like that..." She gave him a cheeky smirk. "Yes. Someone exactly like you."

"You know, Jacen and I could go salvage it for you." He offered. "For our standard fee."

Leia's mouth dropped open in astonishment.

"Or, you could show me around this complex of yours and maybe we could come to a mutually acceptable arrangement." He suggested. "Besides, I'd really like to see what it is you're achieving here. And you kids won't miss us for an hour or two will you?"

"Take your time." Jacen said.

"Yeah, we won't wait up!" Jaina grinned.

Han threw his daughter a scowl and followed Leia out of the quarters.

"Why don't you go and explore too?" Jaina asked her brother.

"You trying to get rid of me?" He queried.

"I don't need to have eyes to know these rooms are too small for four grown ups to spend more than a couple of hours together before one of us draws our lightsaber and takes out the others." She said flatly. "So I'm actually doing us all a favour by suggesting you go out, leaving me to fall into a healing trance thereby speeding up my recovery and getting off this Hell pit and back to what is actually a life."

"You know Jaina, sometimes you are just so full of poodoo!" He cursed.

"Let me know if you find anything interesting." She sighed, lying back on the small sofa. "You know what, don't bother. I can't imagine there's anything even remotely interesting on this half dead rock!"

Jacen stuck his tongue out at her and used a hand gesture to suggest she do something physically impossible with herself before thundering out of the quarters himself.

"I saw that too little brother." She said, throwing an arm over her forehead. "And Mom's gonna have a kriffing bantha when I tell her!"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Got it! I knew I still had one in here somewhere." Han returned to the Holochess table on the Falcon where Leia sat patiently waiting for him. "Alderaanian Emera Wine. Last bottle."

He placed the bottle on the table before her as proof.

"Are we celebrating?" Leia asked.

"Aw come on Ley." He slid in beside her. "Live a little would ya!"

"Han. I really don't have time for this." She sighed. "I have a mountain of paperwork..."

"Yeah, I know." He rose, grabbed a couple of cups and returned to the table. "You said so about a dozen times on the way over here."

"I thought you wanted to see the complex." She argued.

"For which you were very happy to spare the time." He popped the cork and filled their cups with wine. "So what's the problem if we swap tramping around the refugee camps for sitting here, sharing a little wine and enjoying each others company. It's been long enough in coming."

"Which is hardly the fault of the refugees, who are relying on my administration to get their lives back on track." Leia said, wishing she hadn't the moment the words were out of her mouth.

"I guess I asked for that." He accepted.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "You didn't. I'm sorry, Han."

She held her cup up for him to chink.

"To...new beginnings." She offered.

"New beginnings." He agreed and tipped his cup to hers before they both took a sip of wine.

Leia tried her best, but after three unsuccessful attempts to swallow spit the wine back in her cup.

"It's corked." She announced.

"Is that what that Goddamn awful taste is?" Han pulled a face. "I thought that was what really expensive wine was supposed to taste like."

"Well, at least the thought was there." She smiled and relaxed into his shoulder.

"Ooh! I just thought of something." He said, jumping up.

"What?" She queried.

"Come on, I'll show you." He beckoned for her to follow, holding out a hand for her to take.

"Now what?" She asked, puzzled. "Where are you taking me? If this is another kidnap attempt Han, your timing couldn't be worse!"

Allowing herself to be tugged through the Falcon's maze, Leia found herself in the Falcon's circuitry bay.

"What?" She asked, looking up at Han with a puzzled smile and a raised shoulder.

"Don't you remember?" He grinned down at her, taking her right hand and rubbing it gently. "It's where you first admitted you thought I was all right. When I wasn't being a scoundrel at least."

"I asked you to stop because my hands were dirty from welding that stupid valve." She said, nodding at the memory. "But for the record, I was not trembling!"

"Your body was shaking so hard, I thought you were having an orgasm without me!" He smirked, backing her into the bulkhead.

"Well, I was not afraid of you." She insisted, aware that his left arm had crept around her waist and his right was braced to the bulkhead behind her.

"Yes you were." His face neared hers, just as it had all those years before. "I think you were afraid of your feelings for me. And, I think you were afraid that if you let yourself feel that way for me you'd just get hurt."

"I happened to like nice men." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I was then, and still am now, nice men." He grinned down at her and drew closer still. "Didn't you ever wonder, where this would have gone if it hadn't been for Goldenrod interrupting us?"

"I imagined your plan had been to get me into that flea pit you called your bunk and have your wicked way with me before boasting about your latest conquest with at least half of the Alliance's pilots. So, no. I tried not to think too deeply about it." She answered.

"So cynical." Then his lips were on hers. Every bit as soft and tender as their first kiss, his lips first brushed, then pressed, then parted so slightly as to be almost imperceptible save for the tingle it caused to shiver down her spine.

Leia closed her eyes and fell into the kiss, let it's warmth radiate throughout her body and touch her soul.

No other man ever had, ever would, or ever could alight such passion inside her. Her breath caught in her throat, the sound of her heart pounded in her ears and parts of her burned with an ache she had long since thought forgotten.

Leaning into the kiss, pressing herself to her husband's body, she wanted this feeling to never end. Her hands were on his chest, fingering the fabric of his shirt.

His hands clutched her to him tightly and in his head he knew exactly where he was going with this. Then he felt something tap his shoulder.

And tap again.

"Dad?" Jacen asked.

Breaking the kiss Han straightened and turned enough for Jacen to see his mother, lipstick smudged and cheeks flushing furiously.

"Mom!" Jacen looked from his father to his mother and back again, a nervous smile crossing his face. "Oops!"

"Oops indeed!" Han said.

"I saw the ramp down and thought someone was stealing from us." Jacen tried to explain.

"Son, who in their right mind would want to break into this heap? Even your Mom's refugees can't be that desperate." Han suggested.

"I..er..I..might..um..leave you two..to..er..it. You know...whatever..it..was.." Jacen stammered and backed quickly away.

"You know, if he hadn't been a twin, I'd swear he was somebody else's kid." Han grumbled, shaking his head and watching his son leave before turning back to his wife. "Now, where were we."

"Perhaps, we should be getting back too." Leia said. "I really do have a lot of work to get through."

"Yeah. Perhaps you're right." Han sighed with irritation.

"Out of interest..." Leia started, slipping past him and making for the exit ramp. "Were you hoping this little trip down memory lane might lead to great break-up sex or great make-up sex?"

"Nah." He said, following her down the ramp. "I just hoped to get you into that flea pit I call a bunk and have my wicked way with you so I could brag about it with Rogue. You have no idea how much kudos bagging a Princess gets you!"

They both laughed and Leia tried not to show how much she was enjoying watching her husband's movements as he closed and secured the Falcon's ramp.

"Are you perving on me Princess?" Han teased.

"I just happened to be glancing in your general direction, that's all." She replied, innocently.

"You were drinking me in like a fine wine!" He drawled, leaning an arm on the Falcon's hull.

"Don't flatter yourself flyboy!" She laughed and started to head toward the Hangar exit.

"Out of interest..." He said, catching her up and gently taking her elbow. "What d'you know about break-up sex?"

"Our daughter flies with Rogue. Every other day, one of the pilots is having break-up sex with somebody. A Mother gets to hear these things." Leia explained as they walked.

"And..er..also out of interest, you think it would have been great sex huh?" He said into her ear, an eyebrow raised in query.

"You ever heard me complain?" She asked.

"So...er...just out of interest, if I had asked the question would the answer have been yes?" He queried.

Leia just smiled.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Jaina's breathing regulated.

Her eyes closed.

She allowed the Force to penetrate her being, seek out her imperfections and tend to her damaged retinal nerves.

She was relaxed. She was at peace.

Probably the most peaceful she had been in any number of weeks, maybe even months.

To her annoyance, that peace was shattered by the doorchime sounding.

Rising, she recognised the physical signature of Prince Isolder awaiting entry.

"Mom's not here." She told him, palming the door open.

"May I wait for her?" Isolder asked.

"Sure." She said, stepping aside. "But I don't know how long she'll be. She's off making out with Dad some place."

"Oh?" Isolder tried his best to hide his disappointment. "They are reconciled?"

"I'm not sure if I'd say that, Mom's really good at masking her feelings." Jaina led the way to the seating area. "But Dad's just a riot of testosterone at the moment and I haven't felt that from him in a long time."

"Well, I'm very happy for them." Isolder said and sat beside Jaina. "How are you feeling now?"

"I feel like I look, a complete nerfherder!" She complained.

"You have to keep the pads on permanently?" He asked, trying not to smile.

"Worse!" She moaned and reached for her medical bag. "Care to help me with my drops?"

"Why not. How hard can it be?" He answered.

"Two drops in the corner of each eye." She told him and peeled the pads off her eyes. "Then you're in for a real treat."

"Can't wait." He quipped, taking the bottle.

Jaina leaned her head back against the back of the sofa and relaxed as Isolder stood to her side and as requested released two drops of fluid into her eyes. He replaced the bottle lid as she blinked several times to move the fluid around her eyes.

"How does that feel?" He asked.

"Better, actually." She said, still blinking. "Last time it stung pretty bad."

"Well, we can't have that." Isolder soothed. "Let me look at you."

He tilted her face to the light. Cupping her face, he moved it gently to the left and the right so the light filled her face. "They do look quite sore still. Should I replace the pads for you?"

"Oh no." She said, sounding appalled. "I get to wear these!"

Jaina held up a pair of dark goggles.

"Oh!" Isolder laughed. "How very...I'm sorry, I simply can't think of a word."

Jaina laughed.

"Hideous. Will that do?" She asked.

"Perhaps." Still holding her face, he leaned forward and kissed first one then the other eye drawing a gasp from her. "I probably shouldn't have done that. But, you have such very beautiful eyes Jaina and I hate to think of you having to keep them covered."

"It's only temporary." She said, her voice trembling.

Taking the goggles, Isolder looped them around her face to cover her eyes.

"I have enjoyed our times together immensely Jaina." He told her. "I hope my actions won't have an adverse effect."

"Can't see why it would. You haven't done anything improper." She said, feeling his hands slide away from her face.

"I'm glad." He straightened. "But perhaps I should go. I can catch up with your Mother tomorrow."

"You don't have to." Jaina insisted. "Please. Can't we just sit and talk?"

"I don't wish to make you feel awkward." He suggested.

"I don't feel awkward at all." She confirmed.

"You're...sure?" He checked.

"I'm seventeen. I'm hardly a stranger to kisses, Your Highness." Jaina blushed.

Just like her Mother. Isolder thought.

"I thought we had an understanding." He said, gently drawing the back of her hand to his lips. "You don't call me Your Highness and I won't call you Your Highness either."

"Agreed." She blushed again. "Isolder."

"So, tell me how things are between you and...Jagged...was it?" He asked.

"Everything's fine." She reported, relaxing into the sofa. "We don't see very much of each other because of our duties, but that's to be expected."

"It's sad though, when a relationship starts to falter." Isolder stated, studying her face and body language.

"Our relationship isn't faltering. It's just that logistically it's hard for us to get together so often."

"Oh..." He stammered. "I...I'm sorry. I thought he...take no notice, I must have been mistaken."

"Mistaken about what?" She queried.

"Oh nothing." He dismissed with a wave of his hand. "My mistake. Ignore me."

"No." Jaina turned towards him. "Tell me what you mean."

"There's a Twi'lek pilot in Rogue, Tok...Tog...Tot?" He started.

"Tottie?" Jaina snapped.

"That's it, Tottie. Blue skin...Seductive eyes...Lekku down to her naval..." He continued.

"I know what she looks like." Jaina spat. "She dangles those lekku tentacles of hers like they're a pair of breasts! What about her?"

"Well, as I say, I'm sure I'm mistaken." He watched the pink of her cheeks redden. "I think...that is I thought, that they had been seen out together."

"Out?" She said through gritted teeth.

"A meal, I think, and..." He continued watching her face. "And...I really don't think I should..."

"And what?" Jaina stuck out her chin, defiantly.

"And he was seen leaving her quarters quite late...or early, depending on your point of view." He told her. "Of course, it may all be quite innocent."

"That loathsome harlot has had her squinty little eyes on Jag for months!" Jaina snarled. "I bet...I bet she just couldn't wait for me to be out of the picture for a little while..."

"Oh my poor, sweet one!" Isolder reached around to pull her into his comforting embrace. "I'm sure, it's nothing more than a huge mistake."

"I should have guessed when he agreed so readily to our cooling things." She said, between deep breaths.

"He did that?" Isolder half smiled. "The Son of a Sith!"

He scooted ever so slightly nearer, drawing her closer to him.

"He's just a boy." Isolder soothed. "He has no idea how to treat a woman."

"Don't you mean a girl." Jaina said, sniffing back tears she refused to shed and lifting her face to his. "I'm just a seventeen year old girl. A stupid seventeen year old girl who should have known better than to place her trust in a...a..."

"Scoundrel?" Isolder repeated.

"I was going to say twenty year old." She sniffed again, smiled and laughed lightly as she pulled the goggles from her head.

"There, that's better." Isolder smiled at her, then his face grew serious and he slowly moved closer, his lips capturing hers in an intense kiss. When he finally broke the kiss he could have sworn she was staring right at him.

"Should I go?" He asked breathlessly.

"I...I...er...I...don't know." Jaina breathed. "Are...are you mocking me?"

"No! No, of course not." Isolder took her face in his hands. "Jaina...I...I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I desire you."

"Isolder." Jaina interrupted.

"No, Jaina, I have to say this. I know there's an age gap..." His hands felt cool against the heat of her face.

"Isolder." She repeated.

"And I also know your parents are probably not going to approve..." His hands felt soft against her skin.

"Isolder!" She persisted.

"And yes I know, I am still married even if in name only..." He continued.

"Isolder!" She clamped a hand over his mouth. "Will you please just shut up. And kiss me again."

Her hand left his mouth, slid behind his head and pulled his face toward hers.

Isolder smiled to himself.

Maybe the seed planted by Solo hadn't been such a bad one after all. He thought as he felt her tug his face to hers.

Their lips pressed together briefly before parting to allow their tongues to taste one another's. Sliding his arm around her back he pulled her to him at the same time guiding her backwards onto the sofa. He could feel her chest rising and falling against him as his mouth moved across her jawline to her earlobe, then down to her throat.

His fingers deftly unsnapping the clips keeping her jumpsuit closed. As each clip opened, his lips nipped at the soft flesh revealed until enough had been unclipped for him to ease the suit aside exposing her left breast ensconced inside a soft, cream lace camisole.

His hand lightly cupped her breast, his thumb rotating across her nipple, watching as it rose and hardened at his touch.

He could feel her fingers entwine in his hair and he smiled again as he lowered his mouth to suckle her breast through it's lace covering.

Jaina gasped and sighed Isolder's name, her back arching toward him urging him to continue. The tip of his tongue flicking across her nipple was replaced by the rough drag of his tongue then the sharp nibble of his teeth before he finally let the bud plop from his lips and he moved to smother her mouth with his.

Her moans matching his groans as her hand untangled itself from his hair to cover the hand at her breast and guide it lower to her aching loins.

Isolder abruptly broke the kiss and pulled away from her.

"Stars Jaina!" He gasped and pushed himself away from her. "What are we doing? What must you think of me?"

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, breathlessly.

"You!" He exclaimed. "Oh my sweet angel, of course not."

He rose from the sofa, straightening his clothes, clearing his throat and slowly pacing. "But that should not have happened. I have never lost control like that before. Not ever."

Jaina pulled her pilot's jumpsuit across her chest, covering herself, embarrassed.

"I don't understand." She said in genuine confusion and drew her legs up to her chest.

Isolder moved to sit beside her again and gently grasped her shoulders.

"I am so sorry Jaina. I did not mean for any of this to happen." He assured her. "I want you Jaina. And I have to have you. But not here. Not like this. Not with the knowledge that your parents could walk through the door at any moment."

"I...I don't know..." She stammered. "I...I feel so confused."

"Of course you do." He agreed. "Of course you do. In one breath I'm telling you of your paramour's infidelity and in the next that I aim to replace him in your affections."

His hands moved from her shoulders to cup her burning cheeks.

"But Jaina, my feelings for you are as real as the earth and sky." He told her. "My marriage to Teneniel Djo is over. And when I return to Hapes I will petition for an annulment."

"So...so...what are you saying..." She asked, puzzled.

"I'm saying that we must think. Think about how best to move forward." He scratched his chin, nodding to himself. "Your parents will not be happy about us. Not after my pursuit of your Mother all those years ago."

"They don't have to know." Jaina told him.

"I can't...I won't ask you to lie." He said.

"Who's lying." She replied. "If they don't ask about you, then I won't tell them anything."

"No Jaina. I can't ask you to do that..." He started.

"Except you're not asking, I'm offering. Starting right now." She interrupted. "Did Mom know you were stopping by to see her?"

"I don't recall advising her of such, no." He replied.

"So, you were never here." She smiled at him. "I never saw you. You never saw me. We never did this..."

She leaned forward and kissed him fully on the lips.

"It's somewhere to start." She said.

"And the rest will come with time." He assured her.

"How long a time?" She queried. "Only five minutes ago..."

"Patience, my beautiful one." He teasingly pinched her chin, his eyes roaming her seventeen year old curves.

She's eager. Far too eager. He thought.

"Jaina. I need to ask you something and I need you to be honest with me." He looked at her, a seriousness to his face that made him look far too intense. "Have you done this before?"

"This?" She asked, a nerve twitching in her eye. "Yes."

"Jaina...?" His eyes probed hers intently.

"This, yes." She told him honestly. "All the way? No."

Isolder exhaled. How far was he prepared to push this.

"Have you any idea..." He shook his head. "The pressure...and the privilege."

"Are you angry with me?" She asked.

"I want you Jaina." He whispered. "That has not changed just because your experience thus far has been limited. And I promise you, I will make it an experience not just to remember but one to cherish. But for now, I should go."

He kissed her gently and left, checking that he was unobserved as he went.

Jaina, meanwhile, showered and dressed casually before slipping again into a healing trance. Her eyesight was without doubt improving, the darkness had been replaced by light and the shapes, although indistinct, were beginning to form if she concentrated hard enough.

Jacen arrived at the quarters while Jaina was still in her trance.

Han arrived a little after with a bag of produce and the intention of cooking dinner for his family.

By the time Leia walked through her door, dinner had been over a long time ago and the quarters were in darkness and eerily calm.

Leaning over her desk, she frowned at the array of messages placed there and wondered how many could wait until morning.

"You're awfully late." Han said, causing her to jump. Even though his voice was hushed, it still startled her. "Sorry," He added. "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't frighten me." She told him, squinting across to the room to where he lay slouched on the sofa. "It's just been so long since I came back to someone other than Threepio. Where is Threepio by the way?"

"He wouldn't take the hint. So I asked him to watch over the kids then I shut him down." Han told her.

"Where are the kids?" She asked, shaking her head.

"I figured since neither one of us is as lithe as we were twenty years ago, we were never gonna both fit on that cot you've been sleeping on. So I got the kids to top an' tail on the cot and thought we could spoon over here on the sofa." He patted the cushion and, even in the darkened room, clearly waggled his eyebrows at her. "Unless of course you want to sleep on top?"

"Don't push it flyboy!" She said crossing the room, slipping off her shoes, sinking onto the sofa with her back to him and sighing. "The kids okay?"

"Well, you know." He slipped his arm beneath her head. "They fussed about sharing the cot 'til I pointed out they'd shared a womb for the best part of nine months so a couple of nights on your cot shouldn't..."

Her head felt weighty on his arm and her soft breathing had deepened indicating she was falling asleep already.

"Hey." He spoke into her ear.

"Hmmm?" She murmured.

"Hey!" He said a little louder.

"What?" She asked through a sigh.

"You remember the first time we slept like this?" He asked, his deep voice reverberating through her back.

"Are you kidding?" She snuggled against his arm. "I'm so tired, I can't even remember who you are."

"You were pretty tired then too." He whispered. "And you kept complaining I was putting my hands where they had no place being."

"Then they probably were." She mumbled and snuggled her head against his arm.

"I think you secretly enjoyed it." He teased.

"I think if you don't pipe down I'm going to kill you." She said.

"I'm just saying..." He started.

"Seriously!" She turned her head toward him. "I will stab you through the heart with my lightsaber if you don't quit it and let me get some sleep."

They settled comfortably against one another, a smile threatening to broaden into a grin on Han's face.

"That had better not be what I think it is in the small of my back Han Solo!" Leia threatened. "Or so help me..."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Leia stood at the small kitchen counter, eyes still closed as she breathed in the aroma of her hot mug of strong caf.

Han had felt her slip from his side.

He'd watched her silently cross to what must surely be the smallest kitchenette in existence, smaller even than the Falcon's. Then watched as she'd checked her messages before brewing herself some caf and lean against the counter trying to find the strength to lift the cup to her lips.

As quietly as he could, not wishing to disturb her, he rose from the sofa and moved in behind her to softly wrap his arms around her waist.

"You look dead on your feet." He whispered in her ear.

"We lost three communication relays over night." She told him, leaning back into his warm embrace. "Which means there'll be another Yuuzhan Vong incursion sometime soon. Which also means there'll be another influx of refugees."

"How can I help?" He asked, slowly turning her to face him.

"It's a kind offer..." She said, shaking her head.

"I mean it." A crooked smile spreading across his face. "How can I help?"

"You could replace me in the meeting I have with a group of egotistical scientists, so I don't have to be the one to tell them they need to redouble their efforts to ensure there's enough food for everyone." She smiled.

"Okay you're right, you're on your own." He quipped.

"Thanks." Irony laced her voice.

Han perched himself against a bench and tugged her to stand between his legs, their faces now level.

"Seriously. I want to help." He said.

"You...um...sure you don't have somewhere...you know...somewhere else that you need to be?" She asked.

"Well..." He started, his eyes rolling skyward in thought. "There was this really great sabaac game..."

"Ahuh!" She nodded.

He reached out and took her small hands in his.

"Ley..." He started again.

"Han, really, thank you for the offer but..." She interrupted.

"No! Leia, I have to say this." He held her hands tightly and exhaled. "Leia, I'm not going to insult you by asking you to forgive me."

"Oh Han..." Leia tried once more to interject.

"Leia, please, just let me do this." He waited and watched as she silently nodded her head, then repeated. "I'm not going to insult you by asking you to forgive me. And I know it will take more than just one night spooned together on a sofa to apologise for everything I've done and said." He hurried on before she could stop him. "And I also know all the flowers and all the chocolates and all the expensive meals in all the expensive restaurants on every planet in every Galaxy there is, could never make up for everything I've done."

"You know that for a fact huh?" She arched her eyebrow at her husband.

"My point..." He ignored her jibe. "Is that I could take you to every fancy restaurant, buy you fresh flowers every day and fill you with chocolates, it could never be enough to erase the past twelve months."

"You forgot expensive jewellery." She grinned. "You know how easily swayed I am at the sight of a sparkling diamond."

"Hey, I'm being serious here." He said and sounding serious.

"I'm sorry." She apologised. "Go on."

"Leia, I cannot conceive a future without you in my life." He spoke softly. "I repeat, I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. I doubt you ever could even if I asked. But I need to know if there is even a small chance for us. Because if there is, then I will do everything, everything I can to put things right. And if there isn't...then all I want is for you to be happy. If happy is with someone else, then he's a damn lucky guy."

His mouth turned up into his trademark crooked grin.

"Do you remember what you said to me before you left that first time?" She asked him, stepping closer to him.

"I remember." He said sadly.

"You told me I was just a piece of ass to you." She removed her hands from his as his head fell to his chest in shame. "And I felt like something inside had died."

"Leia...I..." He shook his head not knowing what to say.

"Am I still just a piece of ass to you?" She asked.

"Hell sweetheart, you never were! You know that. I was stupid. I was grieving. And I was drunk." He said trying to appeal to her. "I'm not trying to make excuses. I was a stupid, drunk, grieving asshole and nobody knows that better than I do."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Leia said.

He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers settling on his beard and scratching at his chin.

"Chew...Chewie's death hit me hard. I never should have pushed you or the kids away. I know that now. And if I could turn back the chrono I would." He swallowed.

Leia reached out and took his hand, drawing it to her face and turning his palm to her lips where she planted a soft kiss to his flesh.

"I remember pushing you away after Alderaan." She closed her eyes as his hand cupped her cheek. "Although, in my defence I thought you were just trying to get me into bed back then."

"You were probably right." He grinned. "Although in my defence, I had probably already fallen in love with you by then too."

"But you just kept coming back for more." She nuzzled his hand, warm against her cheek.

"Did I mention that I had probably already fallen in love with you by then." His arm slipped around her waist.

"My point being, I don't think I would have gotten through those times if it hadn't been for you." She allowed him to hold her tighter. "Know what that means?"

"Is it that you had fallen in love with me by then also?" He suggested.

"It means that everybody needs somebody sometime. It took me a long time to realise it, but you had enough faith to stick by me. And just so you know..." She fell into the envelope of his embrace and tilted her face up to his. "I have enough faith to stick by you."

It was subtle, but Leia felt it...a slight shift in the Force. And though she didn't want to presume too much, part of her felt like this was a turning point. And that they were finally going to be all right.

"For as long as it takes." She added in a whisper as his lips pressed to hers.

Their kiss was as sweet as any they had ever shared.

Tender and loving.

Passionate and fiery.

And when they eventually parted for breath, each looked at the other with renewed love and affection.

"Are you two making out in the kitchen?" Jaina asked from behind them. "That is so unhygienic!"

With a tired look on her face, Jaina wilted into a chair.

"Sleep well honey?" Han teased and received a playful slap from Leia for his trouble.

"I know he's my twin, but seriously, does he have to snore so loudly?" Her head flopped back. "It was like sleeping with Chewie!"

Leia felt Han stiffen in her arms and with a gentle squeeze suggested he rustle up a little breakfast while she talked to their daughter.

"You taking advantage of me in the kitchen?" He whispered in her ear. "That is so unhygienic!"

Leia batted at him again as she slipped from his arms and joined Jaina, sitting across from her in the small living area.

"How's the eyesight?" Leia asked.

"Well I could see you two clear enough." She said accusingly. "I told you it was only temporary."

"I'm glad. Maybe your Dad could take you by Medical later, just for a check up." Leia licked her lips nervously.

"You didn't want to talk to me about my eyesight though." Jaina said quizzically. "You're nervous."

"I'm not nervous." Her mother lied, licking her lips again.

"Yes you are." Jaina persisted. "I can feel you trembling through the Force."

"I know how that feels." Han scoffed. "Only I got to feel it through a snowsuit."

He winked at Leia as he delved into her refrigeration unit.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Leia cast a wary eye over her husband. "Something delicate."

"Oh, don't mind me." He called. "I'm just trying to make breakfast for four from food for one!"

"Okay. What did I do?" Jaina asked, arms quickly folding across her chest.

"It's about Isolder." Leia said quietly, mouthing the name.

"Wha...what about him?" Jaina's arms unfolding just as quickly.

"He told me..." Leia eyed Han again. "He told me about his coming here yesterday."

"He told you about that?" Jaina frowned.

"And I thought we should talk about it." Leia continued.

"He stopped by. So what?" Jaina challenged.

"So..." Leia took a deep breath, searching for the right words. "He said he was a little embarrassed."

"Why be embarrassed, it was no biggy!" Jaina shrugged.

"No biggy?" Leia licked her lips again and leaned towards her daughter. "He's a lot older than you. And, he's a married man."

"In name only." Jaina countered.

"In name..." Leia sighed. "How would you like it if some pretty girl your age started flirting with your father?"

"Pretty girls my age stopped flirting with Dad a long time ago!" Jaina replied, eyes rolling.

"Look. I just think you should be aware that he felt uncomfortable with how things turned out yesterday and he wanted me to talk to you about it." Leia explained.

"Hold on." Jaina's eyes narrowed. "He asked you to talk to me?"

"Well. No, not exactly." Leia said. "He told me he was worried that you may have developed a bit of a crush on him and I offered..."

"A crush!" Jaina exploded and jumped to her feet.

"Who's got a crush?" Han asked, dropping his pretence at disinterest and joining them in the living area.

"Jaina, I don't think..." Leia started.

"If anyone's got a crush, it's him!" Jaina replied angrily.

"Who him?" Han interjected.

"Isolder." Jaina spat.

"He still got the hots for your Mom?" Han growled.

"Han, please!" Leia frowned in his direction.

"No. He's moved onto the more nubile member of the family." Jaina emulated his growl. "That means me Dad!"

"He's done what!" Han asked, a calm anger to his voice.

"He hasn't moved onto anybody." Leia insisted. "He's still married to Teneniel Djo. I know they've had their problems, but he assures me that they're working through them."

"He told me his marriage was over. And he told me he was going to petition for an annulment when he returned to Hapes." Jaina reported.

"That's not going to happen honey." Leia advised. "The Queen Mother would never allow it."

"Jaina, how come you think he's got a crush on you sweetheart?" Han asked, puzzled.

"Just..." She shrugged. "I just do."

"Han, I told Isolder I would deal with this." Leia told him.

"Good for you sweetheart. But I'm still asking our daughter why it is she thinks your ex-lover has a crush on her." Han answered back.

"Why must you continually call him that?" Leia snapped. "Isolder and I were never lovers. And you know that Han."

"Whatever." He dismissed. "Jaina, I asked you a question."

"It's just that...well...he's been really attentive." She answered.

"Ahuh." Han said, clearly waiting for more

"And...well...he just seemed...you know...interested. In me." She added.

"Are you sure that's how it happened Jaina?" Leia asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Han responded, planting his hands on his hips.

"Isolder stopped by my office last night just as I was about to leave and explained exactly what happened here." Leia sighed.

"He did?" Jaina looked aghast.

"Yes." Leia persisted. "That's what he was embarrassed about. What were you thinking?"

"Me?" Jaina's eyes were all but on stalks.

"Yes you." Leia glared at her. "Isolder told me that he came here with some papers for me and you virtually seduced him."

"I..." Jaina's mouth dropped open.

"Jaina?" Han looked to his daughter for explanation.

"No." She answered. "That's just not true."

"So Isolder's lying?" Leia challenged.

"Yes." Jaina answered flatly.

"That's good enough for me." Han stated.

"Well it isn't good enough for me!" Leia turned her glare on Han.

"Why are you taking his side over our own daughter's?" He demanded.

"I'm not trying to take anybody's side over anybody else's." She responded. "But ask yourself this, why would Isolder lie?"

"Because he can. Because he knows it will only serve to drive a wedge between us. Because he's a low down dirty rotten Sithspawn Hutt masquerading in Prince's clothing. Should I go on?" He glared back at Leia. "And ask yourself this, just why would Jaina lie?"

"Well I don't know Han." Leia replied sarcastically. "Maybe because she was caught with her proverbial pants down and didn't want her father thinking ill of her. Not that he ever would. Meanwhile, a man I knew for five minutes twenty years ago is constantly referred to as my 'ex-lover'! And you know something else Han? There are times when I wish we had slept together, because at least then you'd have reason to act so bitter instead of just sounding like a paranoid Nerfherder!"

"Will you two just stop it!" Jaina shouted, looking between her parents. "You wanna know what happened yesterday, fine I'll tell you. Isolder did come here, while you were both out. We got talking and he...not me...he kissed me. He told me he'd heard that Jag had moved on. He told me that I was beautiful. He told me that he desired me. And then he...not me Mother...he seduced me. Then he got all weird and pulled away and left. That's what happened. Regardless of what he may have told you. That's the truth."

She was breathing heavily, her lower lip trembling.

"Why would he lie?" Leia asked her daughter quietly.

"I don't know Mom." She answered equally quietly. "Maybe because he thought I might brag about him coming onto me. Maybe because he knew it would drive a wedge between you and Dad. Or maybe because he was caught with his proverbial pants down and didn't want you to think ill of him. Not that you ever would. And not because you harbour any romantic feelings for him either, but just because sometimes you only see the good in people. And some people can take advantage of you when you do that."

"Makes sense." Han shrugged and gave Leia a crooked grin. "If you think about it."

"When did our seventeen-year-old get so wise?" Leia sighed.

"Must be down to good parenting." Jaina smiled.

"Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?" Han held three fingers in front of Jaina's eyes.

"Seven." She quipped.

Han pulled her into his arms and ruffled her hair.

"Dad!" She complained.

"I'll get you to Medical and assuming they discharge you, how about I get you back to Coruscant for dinner?" He asked her. "I know this really great place, serves the best nerf steaks outside of our apartment."

Leia's heart sank. Just when she thought they were turning a corner together.

"Whaddaya say Princess?" He grinned.

Leia's face, her eyes, her heart, her whole being lit up on realising it was her he was asking. Then instantly deflated.

"I can't." She said sadly. "I'm the Administrator here. I can't just up and leave."

"Why not?" Jaina pressed. "You're allowed a vacation aren't you?"

"I have responsibilities." Leia continued. "I just can't abandon them at a moment's notice."

"Tell them it's a family emergency." Jaina persisted. "We could all have dinner together and then when I rejoin Rogue tomorrow, Dad could bring you back."

Leia's eyes sparkled with temptation.

"That's a lot of fuel honey, I couldn't ask your father..." Leia started.

"Then don't." Han stated. "Tell them you're leaving."

"Did you not just hear me?" Leia queried. "Administrator...responsibilities...can't abandon them..."

"I heard our daughter suggest we go home. As a family." He said. "For the first time in a very long time. So tell them you quit. You've got a deputy don't you? Let them run the place."

Leia considered before shaking her head.

"I...I can't...just...quit..."

"Responsibilities, huh." Han said flatly.

"Yes. Actually." Leia answered sharply.

"Well. I guess you can't let those poor refugees down." He stared her down. "At the expense of your family."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Leia glared angrily at him again. "When you have never had a responsibility in your life."

"You're right. You know something. You...Are...Right." Han threw his hands up in the air. "So, I'm gonna go get the son I have no responsibility for and the daughter I have no responsibility for and go back to the apartment on Coruscant, which coincidentally I also have no responsibility for. But the good news is we're gonna fly back in the Falcon which, you'll be thrilled to know, I am responsible for. Actually."

He stalked off to the small bedroom where Jacen seemingly somehow through the raised voices still slept.

"Great going Mom!" Jaina hissed.

"I didn't mean..." Leia started.

"Save it Mom." Jaina sighed and bounced back onto the sofa. "For someone who cares!"

Leia followed Han into the little bedroom.

"Jacen. Could you wait with your sister in the other room, I need a word with your father." She said.

"You gonna shout some more? 'Cos, I didn't get much sleep last night for Jaina snoring and I'm real tired." He grumbled.

"Just go Jacen." She told him.

"What?" Han asked when Jacen was gone. "You thought of some other way to emasculate me?"

"I'm sorry Han. I didn't mean what I said." She apologised.

"You know." He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his pants. "I understand I messed up. And I will spend every day for the rest of my life apologising if that's what you want. But the thing is, I don't think that is what you want. Not really. Because then, you'd have to concede a little ground. We'd be back to being equals again. And I think you kinda like being superior to me. In fact, I think you kinda like being superior to everybody."

"That simply isn't true." She said.

"Isn't it?" He raised his eyebrows in query. "You could have simply asked Jaina what happened yesterday, but no, you accuse her of trying to seduce Isolder."

"He came to me and said that he was worried they were getting too close. That Jaina was developing a crush on him." She explained. "He said that he and you had already had words over her and he was concerned what you might do if you thought there was something more intimate going on between them. And then when, as he told me, she came onto him he was terrified you would believe him responsible and potentially cause a scene."

"You could still have asked her." He insisted. "You know something, nobody is more scared of the day she walks through our door with the man on her arm that she loves more than she loves me. Nobody. But when that day comes, I know she'll tell us honestly about it. Because that's how we brought her up. To be honest with us."

Leia sighed and rubbed at her temples.

"I feel like..." She thought carefully. "I feel like our lives are slipping away from us. And I'm a little scared Han. More than a little scared if I'm truthful. I want so badly for us to be all right again."

"Then come back with us." He reached out and gently grasped her arms. "I've already said this but I'll say it again, I'll apologise for what I've done every damn day if that's what you want. Come back with us, at least meet me half way here."

"And what if it doesn't work? What if we don't work?" She asked, her voice appealing to him. "I know you tell me it wasn't my fault, but I had to stand by and watch while they took my family, my people, my whole World from me. You know that's why I was scared to let you into my heart. Because I couldn't bear to love something, to love someone, only to have them taken from me too. You saw what I was like back then, I can't go back there. I cant! At least here, I know I'm doing some good. I know I'm achieving something. I can control this. First the Alliance and then the New Republic gave me a home and a reason for living when I was a refugee. I have to do this, I have to return the favour. You see that, don't you?"

"I see someone who has given and given and given the past twenty, twenty five years of her life. And I see a family that will not survive as a family if you go on giving and giving and never taking anything back." He said softly and pulled her gently into his embrace, holding her lightly in his arms. "Come back, and we will make it work. Stay here, and it's over for us. You know that. There'll be no way back."

He didn't wait to hear her answer. After kissing her forehead, he headed back into the living quarters and indicated for Jacen and Jaina to follow him.

Slowly Leia emerged from the small bedroom, her gaze refusing to meet his.

He nodded his acknowledgement and palmed the door open, Jacen following.

"You're not coming." Jaina stated and again Leia refused to look. "I hate you!" Jaina hissed.

The words didn't sting, it wasn't anything Leia hadn't heard before. But what shook Leia to the core was when Jaina added. "And I wish you were dead!" Before hurrying out the door to catch up with her father.

Leia sat. Deathly white and motionless.

I wish you were dead.

And from the tone of her voice, Jaina had meant it.

Mother and daughter had, as was so often the case with mothers and daughters, shared an uneasy relationship over the years. But nothing could have prepared Leia to hear that from her child.

I wish you were dead.

Leia stared at the still open door. Considered. Then decided.