AN: Thanks as always for reviewing!

"The Chaperones"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 3

Han probably would have liked to sleep through the rest of the shuttle ride, but he'd had caf now, which made that virtually impossible. He did try closing his eyes, but that did nothing to block out the child chatter. The holofilm kept playing despite the fact that no one could hear it and no one seemed to be paying any attention to it whatsoever. Han had tried to have a few conversations with Jaina, but they had to repeat themselves over and over because of how difficult it was to hear each other. Even the snacks were for the children and not the adults, although Jaina did sneak Han a few of her chips.

But finally the shuttle emerged from hyperspace over that dusty tan planet known as Tatooine and the kids started shouting in excitement, adding to Han's headache.

"All right, younglings, settle down!" Ms. Tano was saying. "After we land, we'll be checking into our hotel and then we're going to the zoo - aren't you excited?"

"YEAH!" the children all shouted in unison, making Han's headache multiply.

"I knew you would be," Ms. Tano squealed. "Now remember, everyone needs their safety harnesses fastened before we can land!"

"Yes, Ms. Tano," the kids said in unison.

Han was beginning to hope the teacher would supply the chaperones with painkillers.

. . .

Of course the children had to line up before anyone could enter the hotel and of course it had to be a straight and quiet line even though it was scalding hot outside. Only a few minutes after getting off the shuttle, Han was sweating so hard that he wondered if his face would melt and a few of the kids were still talking, which meant they still couldn't go inside.

"Come ON," Ms. Tano was saying, "I know we're all roasting here, but we CAN'T go inside until everyone's quiet!"

Han rubbed his sleeve over his forehead in an attempt to wipe off the sweat, but all it got him was a wet sleeve. It would be a miracle if he didn't die of heat exhaustion before this trip was over.

"I'm hot!" Anakin wailed.

"We're all hot, Ani," said Ms. Tano, smiling at him but keeping her voice firm, "but we can't go inside until everyone's quiet."

After what felt like hours, Ms. Tano finally declared that the line was straight and quiet enough to go inside even though a couple of children were still talking. Han guessed that the heat was finally getting to her too.

. . .

While Ms. Tano checked them in, the quicker children and chaperones took seats in the lobby's chairs and benches, but those quickly filled up and the remaining people had to either keep standing or sit on the floor - and Leia and Han were both in that latter group. They awkwardly lowered themselves onto the stone floor, their legs sticking out in front of them.

"Han!" Tad squealed, leaping off of the bench and rushing up to the pilot, leaping to the floor right in front of him. "So we're finally here, huh? Hey, when we go to the zoo I'll get a souvineer and you can autograph it!"

Han sighed. "Look kid, don't you have enough autographs yet?"

"But you're amazing!" Tad said. "You're my hero!" He gave that creepy grin again. "Say, can you teach me how to fly a ship through asteroids?"

"What?" Han exclaimed. "Ain't you a bit young for that?"

"Not now," said Tad. "When I'm older."

Han sighed. "I'll think about it."

"All right everyone, I need your attention!" Ms. Tano's voice interrupted, causing everyone to look up at her and see that she was carrying a stack of papers. "I have here a list of what rooms everyone will be staying in and who they will be rooming with." She started passing out the papers to the parents and children. "There will be four to each room - one chaperone with three younglings, sorted out by gender."

Sorted out by gender. Which meant Han and Leia would have separate rooms. Great, Han thought. Just great.

"As you will see," Ms. Tano continued, "we tried to pair up the chaperones with their children as much as possible, since we know you want to have a good time with your little ones. We've also tried to put siblings together as much as possible. When you get to your rooms, you'll find that your luggage has already been brought in, so get yourselves settled in and then we can go to the zoo."

"Ugh," Leia exclaimed when she recieved her copy of the sheet.

"What?" said Han.

"Well I've got Jaina with me," said Leia, "but I've also got Kai and Allura."

"That crying girl at our breakfast table and her big sister?"

"Yes," groaned Leia.

"Well good luck with that," said Han, looking down at his own sheet and seeing that he would be rooming with Jacen, Anakin . . . and Tad.

With that he sprung to his feet and ran after the teacher. "Hey!" he called.

"Yes?" said Ms. Tano.

"It says here that I'm sharin' a room with this kid Tad."

Ms. Tano glanced at his sheet and nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Well why?"

Ms. Tano shrugged. "His parents aren't here and he specifically asked to room with you, so I thought why not?"

"Why not?" said Han. "Because that kid's crazy, that's why not!"

"Oh come on," said Ms. Tano. "He's one of the brightest students in his class and he always writes wonderful papers - all of them about you, in fact."

"And you don't think that's a teeny bit too obsessive?" asked Han.

"No, why would I?"

Han took a deep breath before speaking so he wouldn't slap himself. "Look, at breakfast the kid wanted me to autograph his pancakes."

"Awww, that's so cute!" said Ms. Tano. "You guys will have so much fun together!"

Han growled.

. . .

"Okay," Leia said as she entered the assigned hotel room with Jaina, Kai, and Allura, "here's our home-sweet-home for the trip." She couldn't help but groan when she saw that the room had only two double beds, a tiny table with two chairs, an adjacent refresher, and very little room to walk around anything.

"This is it?" said Allura. "My room at home is bigger than this!"

Leia sighed. "Well whether you like it or not, this is where we're staying, so you might as well make the best of it." She sat down on one of the beds. "Now since Jaina's my daughter, I think it's logical that she and I share a bed and Kai and Allura share the other bed."

"What?" Kai and Allura exclaimed at the same time.

"She snores!" Allura cried, pointing at Kai.

"She kicks!" Kai cried, pointing at Allura.

"Then I certainly don't want to share a bed with either of you!" said Jaina, sitting next to her mother. "You heard my mom - I'm sleeping with her."

"Yes, thank you Jaina," said Leia, clearing her throat before she continued. "Now so long as we have to live together, I think we should set a few ground rules. Rule Number One: No fighting."

"How come you get to make the rules?" Kai exclaimed.

"Well because I'm the adult, that's obvious," said Leia.

"But you're a snitch!" shouted Kai. "I don't have to take any orders from a snitch!"

"Rule Number Two," Leia said in her loud, firm voice, "No name calling!"

"When we get home I'm gonna tell my mom about what a snitch you are!" Kai yelled.

Leia flew to her feet. "All right, you just broke Rule Two, so you need to be punished."

"You can't punish me!" Kai screamed. "You're not my teacher!"

"Well I'm in charge of this room," said Leia, pointing to the corner, "and I'm telling you to stand in the corner for a time-out."

Kai snarled at her. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"She's right!" said Allura, folding her arms. "You're not our teacher!"

"Do you two want to go to the zoo or not?" said Leia. "I can send Jaina to go with the class and stay here with you two, you know."

"Then I'll tell on you!" said Kai. "I'll snitch on you like how you snitched on me!"

"Go ahead!" Leia was trying to keep her voice from raising its volume but it was becoming more difficult with every word Kai said. "Ms. Tano put me in charge of this room, not you. If she hears that you're not listening to me, you'll get into trouble."

"So you're gonna snitch on me again?" Kai exclaimed.

"AND STOP SAYING THE WORD SNITCH!" Leia shouted, having to breathe several times afterward to get her composure back.

Jaina tugged on her mother's shirt. "Mom, calm down. Remember what Uncle Luke says - use the Force to calm yourself."

Leia breathed in again. "Yeah, well I dare Uncle Luke to deal with these kids."

. . .

Meanwhile, when Han, Jacen, Anakin, and Tad checked into their room, Han flopped down on one of the beds, wishing he wouldn't have to get up for hours.

"Okay, two beds and four of us," Jacen was saying. "So who sleeps with who?"

"I get to sleep with Han!" Tad squealed, leaping onto the bed next to Han, making the mattress creak loudly.

Han immediately sat up, dodging Tad's attempt to hug him. "Now wait a minute Tad, don'cha think my own kids should have the first shot at sleepin' with me?"

"But they get to be with you all the time," said Tad. "I don't."

"Yeah well they're my kids and you're not," said Han. He looked up at his sons. "Jacen, Anakin, which one of you wants to share a bed with your dad?"

Jacen shrugged. "It's okay Dad, Tad can sleep with you."

"Yeah," said Anakin. "He's right, we get to be with you all the time and he doesn't. Besides . . ." He grabbed Jacen's arm. ". . . I wanna share a bed with my big brother!"

"YAY!" said Tad, diving on Han and throwing his arms around him. "Thanks guys, you're the best!"

Han sighed, frantically trying to think his way out of this. "Look kid, you don't wanna sleep with me, trust me."

"Why not?" said Tad, that creepy grin back on his face.

"Uh . . . I snore."

"I don't care."

"I . . . toss and turn - I might squish you."

"THE Han Solo squishing me? COOL!"

"I . . . drink, you don't wanna smell alcohol all night."

"That's okay, you won't be allowed to drink during this trip anyway."

By now Jacen and Anakin were giggling loudly. "Looks like you're stuck with him, Dad," Jacen said through his giggles.

Han rolled his eyes.