On the way home from long and largely unsuccessful day with Vanech, Luke stopped by Leia and Han's apartment to report his misgivings. Leia came out of her home office to hear it while Han poured him a drink at the wet bar.

"I can't trust him until I know what motivates him," Luke reported sadly. "I think he lost someone, but he won't let me in on the details. That man wants revenge. And until we know who and why," he eyed Leia and shook his head.

"Well it can't be revenge against us," Han noted. "The Alliance never did anything to him."

Luke shrugged a hand from the bar. "Yeah, but until you know what's he's after, you really want to trust your infiltration team on his word alone about the layout? You want to trust the success of this entire advance on his word?"

Han shrugged his eyebrows. It was a good point.

Leia looked equally grave and absently rubbed her little swelling belly.

Luke sighed his promise. "I'll keep working on him. Even if it comes at the last minute, it'll help. But I'm not going to try until I know what he's after."

Leia nodded with severity and turned away. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Sure."

The two men watched her disappear into the hallway and resume her after-work work.

Luke thumbed over his shoulder. "Is she okay?"

Han waved the woman off. "She's like this before every one of 'em. She's not going to relax until it's over."

"What about the baby?"

Han rested his hip against the back of the wet bar. "I make her get frequent check-ups at med lab. And I catch her meditating once in a while. She'll be fine."

Luke nodded, but worried.

"I'm going to surprise her with four days on Naboo when it's all over. Get her out there in the grass with the waterfalls and no one around for miles." While it all may have sounded romantic, Han smiled as he brought his drink to his lips. "I'm going to play a whole lotta solitaire while she sleeps."

They laughed together, but Luke brought his face back up with a question. "How are you doing it?"

"Do what?"

"Planning that, without her knowing about it."

"Well," Han thumbed over his shoulder, "you see how absorbed she is right now. If she wasn't, she'd know about it before I even thought it up."

"You can't surprise her?"

"Most of the time, no." Han shrugged, then looked at Luke . . . and squinted devilishly. "Why do you ask?"

Bashful, Luke looked down at his own drink.

Han settled both elbows on the bar across from him. His voice was an order. "Talk."

Luke lowered his voice to nearly a whisper. "Well . . . I have an idea. It's just an idea. And it needs a lot of detail to consider, but—

Han nearly laughed at him. "Goddammit, Junior, quit bullshitting me and talk."

Luke raised his face with a whine. "Every time it crosses my mind she's knows I'm up to something. I can't even—

The words stopped in his throat. He closed his eyes and shook his head, dropping his face to the bar again.

"It sounds to me like you need a secret accomplice," Han instructed.

"Naw, I appreciate that, but not on this one." He smiled distantly at his drink. "This is bigger than four days on Naboo. And it's going to have to wait until after the big thing anyway."

Han shrugged it off a little too easily and pushed back to his feet. "Alright. Let me know if you change your mind. I can be quite handy for covert operations."

Luke smiled, thankful, and nodded that this was true, but his eyes fell on nothing to stare overwhelmed at his own idea.

And Han watched him, grinning secretly how much the kid was dwelling over it, but he waved Luke away. "Go home. Get some sleep."

Luke nodded somberly and bid him good night.

Hours later, Han walked into Leia's home office, stopped directly in front of her desk, and looked dramatically at his chrono. "Times up."

"Just a few more minutes," she tried to say.

"Nope," Han pressed his mouth and shook his head. He locked his knees and slid his hands into his pockets. He stared at her with the threat that he was going to stay there and distract the crap out of her to the point where she couldn't get anything else done anyway.

Leia slumped a sigh, but her mouth grinned, and she climbed up from the desk chair in obedience.

"You hungry?" Han said as he shut down the lights and closed the door behind her.

"No, I'm fine. I ate more of that blackish strudel than I should've." She led the way down the wide hall and Han followed her all the way into the bedroom. As he shut that door too, Leia sat down on the foot of the ivory bed and sighed with stress.

Han moved to the windows and thumbed the blinds. "If I ask you something, can you keep it a secret?"

Leia blinked out of her daze. She looked at his back like he was insane. What secrets hadn't they kept already?

Han turned and strolled over, gesturing with both hands. "Like a big secret? Bigger than this thing we've got coming up. And probably harder to keep too."

Leia's back was straight now. Her mouth parted with concern. "What?"

Han sat down on the foot of the bed beside her, turned a little, and gestured again. "I don't know if maybe I'm Force sensitive too or if I've just been around Junior long enough to read the kid's mind—

Leia threatened an uncertain smile. "What?"

Han angled his head the other way and thought how to word it. "Luke wants to surprise Kess with something, and he's having trouble planning it out because she can sense him, but he won't tell me what it is."

Leia dropped her face and smiled at her lap. She shrugged a brow and nodded that that would be a problem amongst Jedi.

Han continued with a gentle cringe. "I want to help him out, but I don't want to plant ideas in his head."

"When did that ever stop you before?"

"This is big." Han stretched a half smile with intensity. "Bigger than sex in the circuitry bay."

Now that Leia's mind was on softer and gentler things, she breathed easy and smiled easier. "What did you have in mind?"

"I know a guy who can 'smuggle' me out one of those Tatooiney bone things."

She lifted her chin. "Yeah, I saw the way he was looking at the other one during dinner the other day. But I can't tell if he's decided it or just still considering it."

"I think he's decided it and just stuck on how to get it done."

Her eyes drifted into history.

Han nudged her. "You okay with Kess as a sister-in-law?"

"Yes, of course." Leia blinked. "I saw it coming a long time ago. I just didn't think he knew it yet."

"Well, if they're doing it in the circuitry bay, I say it's coming along pretty well."

Leia dropped her chin to her chest and heckled. "He was so lonely for so long. I was really getting worried about him. It's nice to see him happy."

"After this thing, we're going to be distracted with a ton of work to put the Afterwards together. And we'll be farther from Tatooine, which will make it more difficult to get his hands on one without her suspecting it." He spread a hand. "He admitted she senses it every time it crosses his mind. And he's going to have to spend time carving the thing anyway, right? So," he shrugged.

Leia absorbed all this and looked over. "How fast can you get it?"

Han blinked back. "Only as long as it takes to ship it. You think I should do it?"

"Yeah." She said distantly, but nodded more, and smiled more. "Yeah, I do. Give it to him right before we leave. It'll give him a chance to think it through without her around."

Han nodded and patted her knee with a firm slap. "As your Highnessness commands." He got up and began getting ready for bed.

Leia didn't move just yet, "And when you give it to him—

Han paused his movement and glanced.

She smiled more, "Make sure he knows it's from both of us."

His eyes smiled to the statement that would make, and he nodded obedience. "Yes, Master."