Han awoke when he noticed the light peering through his eyelids, feeling as though it had been a while since he had slept so soundly. Then he remembered why when he realized he was lying on his side with his arms wrapped tightly around Leia while he thought fondly of the night before. He took her hand and played with her fingers absently until he felt her stir and he moved in to kiss the spot right behind her ear. "Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered.

"Mmm… good morning, Han." She lay still for a moment and then turned in his arms just enough to look up at him with a smile on her face and a gleam in her eye. "And happy birthday." Placing her hand on his cheek, she pulled him into a kiss.

"Thanks. Doesn't seem fair to get another one without having to wait a year but I don't mind being a little younger."

"I guess it makes you a little less of an old man," Leia teased.

Han propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at her mischievous face. "I'll show you who's an old man," he said before rolling on top of her.

He had barely even begun proving his point before he heard a young voice calling from the next room. "Mom?"

Han groaned in frustration and reluctantly rolled onto his back. "I guess it'll have to wait, Han. But let's just be glad that they prefer yelling for us to actually coming in to get us."

Leia rose from the bed and tied a robe around her waist. "Hey," Han said, "we need to get ouf of here in about an hour to make that boat, all right?"

"Not a problem. I'll get them ready, you just go shower."

Right on schedule, the Solos made it to the marina to catch their boat ride. Han had booked a scenic ride on a moderate sized party cruiser boat that usually went out with about twenty-five passengers and included some food, drinks and even the option to do some fishing, which Han thought the kids might like. For him, he just liked the idea of cruising along the ocean. One thing you never got with space travel was the chance to feel the wind on your face.

They arrived at the harbor and embarked on the boxy-looking white boat that Han decided was a bit bigger than the Falcon, with a covered area in the middle and a wooden deck that went all the way around. The captain steered from another compartment at the highest point of the ship. It was explained that the cruise would take them north, to where the colder waters were prominent since that was where they might find some of the larger fish even if it would be much too cold for swimming. But while the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly, the air was pleasantly mild.

The children seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the excursion and Leia also had a smile on her face. Han, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it for very long as the rise and fall of the ocean swells started to do a number on his stomach.

The first mate had taken his kids and a few from other families up to the front of the boat to explain some of the sea life to them while Han had stayed back, leaning against the railing and wondering if his face was turning green. Leia, unaffected, came over to check on him after having gotten herself a drink. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I think so. I mean, it'll pass, right?"

"The man flies through asteroid fields and can make his ship go in any direction at incredible speeds without blinking and yet he gets seasick."

"Trust me, I'm as disappointed as you are."

"Well, I'm going to go check on the kids and then I'll see if maybe they have something onboard we can give you to make the nausea go away, all right?" Her hand was rubbing his back soothingly, but it wasn't helping much.

"Thanks, honey," he said before she walked away. Being a generally healthy person, his stomach didn't often feel like this. In fact, it hadn't felt like this since the last time he drank too much, which at this point was at least a couple of years ago.

Most of the other passengers had moved to the inside where the food was. The thought of any of that food only made him feel sicker as he felt intense jealousy of how the other passengers on the vessel were having no troubles with the boat's gentle rising and falling on the water. And rising and falling and rising and…

He ran to the railing on the side of the boat, leaned over and promptly lost his breakfast, and likely some of dinner and lunch the day before. Thinking for a moment that he was finally feeling better, he suddenly saw something fall towards the water and, horrified, realized that it was his mother's necklace falling out of his pocket.

Without thinking, he immediately dove in after it, hitting the water hard and holding off the incredible urge to gasp at the shock of the cold water. This was certainly not like the beach the other day. Ignoring the cold and any part of his mind that told him what he was doing probably wasn't the smartest choice, he swam downward as he searched for the only connection to his lost mother he had.

His eyes caught on the gold reflecting the sun as the necklace slowly sank towards the depths of the ocean, and he kicked frantically as he swam further and further down. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was alarmed at the desperation he felt of losing an inanimate object. But it had sparked the first memory of his mother he'd had since he was a young child, and he feared if it was lost again he'd never get her back, either.

Fortunately, it appeared that fully clothed grown men sank quicker than small pieces of jewelry and relief washed over him as he grasped it tightly in his fist. Not wanting to worry about dropping it, he quickly got it around his neck and then turned to head towards the surface.

He had gone deeper than he'd thought and the cold was starting to take over as he felt his limbs stiffen. His lungs were desperate for air as he started to swim back to the surface.

Leia had gone and found the children having a wonderful time fishing. She couldn't understand why really, as so far there hadn't been any fish involved. She had also procured a couple of anti-seasickness pills and a fizzy drink to help soothe Han's volatile stomach. Hopefully he would not have to spend his birthday throwing up.

As she walked back toward the aft deck where she had left her husband, she was confused when she did not see him. Maybe he had run to the bathroom? But she would've come across him.

"Han?"

Just a little bit further and he'd be there. He could see the boat still drifting above him, wondering what kind of idiot they'd think him for jumping off the boat in his clothes to rescue a necklace that was hardly worth anything as far as credits went. But its sentimental value was priceless. He couldn't decide if that was more embarrassing or maybe pretending that he'd fallen when he leaned over to vomit.

He felt a desperate urge to inhale as he moved upward, reflexive spasms of his throat telling him that his lungs needed air that he couldn't give them yet. The cold of the water started to penetrate him down to his core, stinging his skin as he felt as though he might hyperventilate, fighting to keep from taking a deep breath.

His depth perception must've been off, because the surface of the water was much further away than he'd initially thought. He could see the sun shining down through the water, the boat seeming to get further instead of closer, sort of like the end of a rainbow you couldn't quite get to.

He kept moving higher and higher, but as his arms reached to break the still-too-far surface, and his reflex to breathe became too great. His mouth opened, and he inhaled…

"Have you seen my husband?" Leia asked a few of the other passengers who shook their heads. "Han?" She ran around the entire deck and something told her she needed to look in the water. As she peered over the railing near where she'd left him, she saw a dark figure not far below the surface. "Han!" she screamed. "Help, my husband is drowning!" she yelled before diving down after him. The cold of the water made her chest constrict as she fought the urge to breathe. Han was only about two meters below the surface, and she dove down and extended her hand to him, expecting him to reach up, but he wasn't moving, just sort of drifting. She slipped an arm under his and pulled his limp body to the surface as quickly as she could.

Once her face was out of the water she gasped for breath, pulling Han's head up so his face was out of the water, waiting to see him open his mouth for air. Another crewman on the ship had jumped in after them, holding up a floatation device that they used to pull his lifeless body out of the icy water.

They had him on the deck and Leia leaned down to feel for his breath, finding there was none. She checked for his pulse, but felt nothing.