It was late when the call came through from Dodonna on her personal comm line. The Chionians had been efficient in their response, and were in touch as rapidly with Republic officials as cross-galactic communications allowed. Unfortunately, Ambassador Ravitch and one of the gunners had died on impact; Han, his copilot, and the second gunner were all unconscious and critical.

She'd been packing a bag so she could leave as soon as she got word, but Dodonna stopped her.

"Han is critical but stabilizing, as is Winfeth. Tulven is already working on coordinating their transport back to Chandrila once they're both stable. They're not sure Ixia is going to make it, so Droct is staying with her on Chio."

"How soon?"

"It's going to take a day or two for them to stabilize, and arrange appropriate medical transport. It'll give them both time for additional treatment and stabilization before travel, too. But he'll be back before you could make it there, if that's your thinking."

She sighed, resting her forehead on her palm. "Thank you, Jan. I am working from home tomorrow, but I'll be at the afternoon Council meeting to present the diplomatic responses. We can't let Ravitch's death go unanswered."

"If I find out more before then, you'll be the first to know. Take care."

Jaina was already asleep. Leia knew sleep would not be likely to find her tonight, and she sat at her desk, staring at the dark screen of her computer terminal for a long time. It was very late before she took herself to bed, to their bed, and trusted herself enough to open herself up to the Force, and reach out for Han.

She knew his presence even better than Jaina, better than Luke, even though it was nowhere near as strong as theirs. It was a recognition borne of nearly a decade together, of love and comfort and knowing him almost as well as she knew herself. But he was so faint, and so far away that it taxed skills she didn't practice often enough.

He was there though, at the periphery of her perception. She could just sense him, the sharp edge of his pain, so all-encompassing. It was a test of her skill to try reaching out, so far, to send an idea of love and comfort to him. She was fairly certain her effort was in vain, but the attempt heartened her, just sensing him eased her anxiety. Tomorrow-and every day until he returned-she would make time to reach out to him again, and reach out to Luke for guidance on doing more.

And tomorrow she would also reach out to Chewie, who she was certain would want to curtail his visit home to Kashyyyk to see Han. He would want his friend at his side, she was sure, if for no other reason than that Han would want someone here to support her. Tasks for the following day were already adding up.

So much to do, so much to worry about, and so little inclination to sleep. Dimming the lights further, she lay back, tried to regulate her breathing, and eventually drifted into a fitful, restless slumber.

In the morning, there were a slew of messages awaiting her. Blessedly one of them was an actual medical report on Han's condition, which she was able to read before Jaina woke. The situation was dire but not immediately life-threatening. The fractures and cuts she didn't concern herself with; those she knew might not be pleasant but could be healed. What worried her was his unconscious, unresponsive state. Those injuries were harder to predict the outcomes of, to know what kind of damage had been done. Currently, there was too much swelling in his brain to know.

She knew she would have to tell Jaina this morning, and let her stay home from primary with her if she wanted. Leia might prefer if she stayed home, just to have her nearby. In her mind, she tumbled over the known facts, sorting out what to tell their daughter; she'd decided to have the conversation first thing. She steeled herself as she went to awaken her daughter.

That she was waking her was not unusual, though it was more often Han than Leia, as she frequently had early meetings that had her in the office before the young girl needed to be up. But she loved their mornings together, as it was often the sign of a day off work and the chance to prepare something elaborate for breakfast. That was not the case today, as she felt it unlikely either of them would be in the mood for pancakes.

"Morning sleepyhead."

Jaina twisted deeper into the covers, burying herself. Leia sat on the edge of the bed, and took a deep breath before giving the blanket a tug.

"We need to have a little talk this morning, Jai."

"I don't wanna. Wanna sleep." She sounded so like Han as she rolled over again, smushing her face into the pillow.

"You can go back to sleep after we talk, if you want to." She doubted it would be the case, and as Jaina rolled over and squinted at her, she had the feeling the girl didn't either.

With a huff, Jaina flopped over onto her back and stared up at her mother. "I'm awake."

"Thank you." Leia took a deep breath, and as she did so, she saw Jaina eyes flicker with awareness of her mother's turbulent emotional state, and suddenly looked more alert. "You know your dad has been away on a mission to help train beings who live in Wild Space how to fly better."

Jaina nodded, solemn, listening. In that moment, she looked older than her six years.

"Last night we found out that there was an accident. Han was flying the command shuttle, and it crashed. He's hurt."

Jaina nodded again, eyes wide, but looking past Leia, beyond the room. It was quiet for a minute between them.

"He's asleep." She sounded so sure, so calm, calmer than Leia expected or felt herself.

"He's unconscious. You can sense him?" Leia was curious; she and Luke had done some basic training with Jaina, and she tried to practice simple skills with her, but they'd decided not to push her and allow her talents to develop naturally. Her inclinations had seemed more empathetic like Leia's, rather than the physical talents manifested by Luke.

"Yes. I can always find Daddy and you. And Uncle Luke."

That felt immensely reassuring, and Leia allowed herself to relax just a bit. "I'm glad you can always find us when you need us. Can he feel you?" That might have been asking too much of a child, but she was curious and hopeful; she knew Han could feel her, when she wanted him to.

Jaina shrugged a bit, shifting the blankets around her. "Think so. Only a little though, he's no good with the Force."

That made her laugh a little, for the first time in what felt like ages, though it had probably just been yesterday morning. "No he's not, but he likes seeing you use it. Remember how much he liked you flying that model of the Falcon around the living room?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Is he in medical?"

"He is. Not here though. On a moon called Chio."

"When's he coming home? I miss him."

"I miss him too. We're working to arrange a medical transport home for him. He'll be back here soon, but probably still in the med center."

"When's soon? Maybe I can tell him."

"I don't know yet. We'll probably find out later today. Do you want to stay home with me today, so you can try to tell him when we know?"

"Yes please."

"Do you want to go back to sleep now, or come have breakfast with me?"

Jaina bit her lip, then nodded. "Breakfast."

Leia hugged her just a little tighter than usual as she got out of bed, and said a little prayer of thanks to the goddess for the resilience of children. She hoped for a bit of that resilience herself, today.

It was nearly lunchtime before another official update arrived, but it was a positive one. Both Han and his copilot, Winfeth, had been declared stable, and Tulven had arranged a medical transport for the following morning. They would be home in six days. It seemed interminable, but at least it was something positive to carry her through the afternoon council meeting. Tulven would be conferencing in to provide a debriefing on what had led up to the skirmish and crash, which might provide some answers, and hopefully a clearer path forwards in responding to the incident. At this point, it was still being referred to as an "accident" in official reports, and the press was just starting to dig into it, slow in their response to news from so far away; the story would blow up once they realized who had been involved, and that an ambassador had been killed.

Jaina had sighed dramatically at the news that her father would not be returning for six days, and flung herself down on the couch. But then she looked over at her mother and announced, "I'll tell him we're waiting for him. Maybe he can wake up and fly the ship faster. He always gets home faster than he says."

She got the same distant look Leia often got when using the Force, and she came to sit next to her daughter on the couch, waiting. Eventually, Jaina blinked, then frowned.

"What's wrong, Jai?"

Jaina sat up and scooted closer to her mother. "I can feel him, and he's asleep. But I don't think he can hear me."

Leia wrapped her arm around her daughter. "He has a head injury, and he's unconscious, which is different than just asleep. So it might feel like he can't hear you, but you know he's there, and that he's coming back. You can reach out to him any time while he's on his way home. He'd like that."

She just bit her lip and nodded, looking thoughtful.

"I have to go to Council. Do you want to come to my office and visit with Esih while I'm there?"

It seemed so routine, packing them up to go to her offices. It took less now than it had when she was younger; there were fewer distractions required now that Jaina had started reading and drawing, which could be entertained with a single datapad. The girl also enjoyed carrying her own small bag-"just like yours, Mama!"-so Leia had only her own briefcase to carry, and her daughter's hand to hold. In the coming days, she knew she would be taking a great deal of comfort in that small hand.

All reports during the medical transport back from Chio were the same-stable but unconscious. There was no change in Han's condition, and while he was monitored, no additional efforts were made to alter that status. It had frustrated Jaina, this inability to connect in a reassuring way to her father; it had worried Leia on a deeper level, knowing that every day that passed where he remained unconscious was a greater chance of some deeper issue, some significant damage.

She debated over whether to take Jaina to the medical center on the night of Han's return. On one hand, she understood how badly the girl wanted to see her father, but on the other, Leia wanted to be able to have a frank discussion with the doctors about his status, and process her feelings alone. There would be tests to discuss, care plans to consider, perhaps difficult choices to make.

Ultimately, she decided to leave Jaina at home for his arrival at the medical center. Only the presence of Chewbacca there to keep her company and watch over her was enough to prevent a full-fledged tantrum. But she also seemed to sense her mother's distress as much as she'd been able to discern her father's presence, so with a tearful hug, she'd watched Leia leave for the med center.

She'd wanted to meet his return flight at the port, but the patient transfer was being made in low orbit and then shuttling both men directly down to the med center. Reluctantly, she waited at the trauma ward, using every meditative skill Luke had ever taught her to calm her jangling nerves and to feel his presence as he was gradually moved closer to her. Over the last week she'd become more keenly aware of his presence in the Force than ever, taking what small solace she could in knowing he was there, even if he lacked the usual vibrancy and passion she'd always sensed from him.

The doctors assessed him first upon his arrival, then briefed her, before she was allowed in to see him, which did not alleviate her worry. Vitals were normalized, cranial swelling had decreased. Brain scans and other tests would be run first thing in the morning. But his unconsciousness continued, as it had since his initial rescue.

When she finally got to Han's room, Leia was glad she'd made the choice to leave their daughter at home. Alone with his pale, unresponsive form, tangled with IV lines and oxygen tubes and bandages, she sank into the bedside chair and let her tears fall, a week's worth of love and worry finally spilling over. She had struggled all week to control her emotions, remaining strong publicly as the government responded to the incident, and at home so as not alarm an increasingly anxious Jaina. Now that he was here with her again, she allowed herself the tears, gave herself the safe space with him that he always gave her.

He was back, yes, and stable, but the doctors would have no more answers until they ran more advanced testing tomorrow. The reassurances of medical professionals that sometimes the body just needed time to heal itself fell on deaf ears; she couldn't shake the feeling that something more was wrong.

She'd delegated her work to several assistant secretaries for the next week, her schedule cleared so that she could spend every moment possible here with him. A plan had already been worked out with Chewie, so that one of them would always be here with him, keeping him company. Leia leaned forward in the chair by his bed, resting her head on the mattress near his hip, and taking his bandaged hand in her own. At least he was back with her once more, and she finally felt as if she was doing something, even if right now it was as simple as being here for him.