Simon sat with his elbows propped up against the bar, and sipped at his drink with smug satisfaction. It was all so perfect. He would get all the details settled sometime this afternoon, and then that sandtrader could be on his way to Tatooine by nightfall.

The bounty hunter idea was really foolproof. Simon was surprised that he hadn't thought of it sooner. Now it seemed so obvious. Hand the smuggler over to one of those greedy space scums and no one would ever be the wiser. No one would ever know that he was involved. After all, it was a pretty well known fact that Solo had a price on his head that would have every hunter in the far reaches of the galaxy drooling. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before he got picked up. It was too be expected, really.

This was going to work.

Of course Simon wasn't really looking foward to the next wave of grief that would inevitably hit his wife. It was hard enough trying to get her through it the first time. And she would probably blame him anyway, Simon thought bitterly. She would have no proof of course, but she would find a way to turn it around on him. //The ingrateful little..// And after all he had done for her. All the love and attention he had showered on her over the years. Just so it could slide right off her. It was as if the princess were coated in some kind of protective cover that prevented him from getting through to her. From getting close. No, he thought with irriation, apparently you had to be a third class smuggler to be able to do that.

Simon could feel his back stiffen as he thought of Han Solo. It turned his stomach the way the princess had stuck him up on a pedestal over the years. Like he was some squeaky clean saint instead of a dirty ex-pirate. His wife really needed to develop more discriminating tastes. It was almost embarrassing. Simon shook his head in disgust and took another angry sip of his drink. She was probably crawling all over the smuggler as this very moment. //Disgusting.//

Simon set down his glass with a resounding 'clink' and wiped his mouth angerly with the back of his hand. Let her have her fun, he thought snidely. //Get her final kicks.// Simon could rest easy knowing that the space pilot's days were numbered.

The man broke out of his bitter revere and turned his head to scope out the cantina. He suddenly felt very bored. He had all afternoon to get a ship for Malcolm, that would be no problem. What he really needed was some excitement. Simon blew out a resigned sigh. He couldn't very well go home. Solo was probably there. //What nerve.// Going to see his wife in his home. The man had no class. Simon didn't consider his own numerous flings to be nearly as bad. After all, at least he always had the courtesy to have them somewhere else. He never flaunted them. Simon clenched his jaw in anger.. And he would certainly never parade those women around in front of Bailey.

//Bailey.//

And for the first time that morning, Leia's husband felt a flash of guilt pinch his heart. //Poor Bailey.// Simon was going to be destroying this boy's biological father, and for that he almost did feel terrible. But really, he reasoned, it was for the child's own good. Simon was sincere in his belief that Solo would inevitably leave the boy in the long run. He was only playing the concerned stepfather by saving the child from more grief down the road. It was better this way. Someday Bailey would understand. Someday, if the boy ever found out what he had done, he might even thank him.

Simon smiled and he felt his guilt lift for the moment. The man looked around the room and suddenly his eyes caught on Solo's admirer from earlier. She was back at the end of the bar, sipping at another drink and tapping her fingers impatiently. The young woman looked bored. Restless. Simon stood up from his stool and signalled the barmaid for a couple more drinks. //Well, well, well,// he thought smugly. Simon was pretty sure he could give her some excitement.

And with that in mind, the man picked up the two new drinks and confidentally made his way to the end of the bar.

********

Bailey sat at the table, his legs swinging back and forth in excitement. He still couldn't believe it. The boy eyed the man in awe. Here he was sitting across from his real life daddy. And the pilot was actually eating breakfast with them.

//Wow.//

Bailey couldn't help but gape openly at him. He found every move the smuggler made to be positively fascinating. And Bailey tried to notice everything. Like the way his daddy ripped the breakfast rolls in half before buttering them. And that the pilot liked to drink juice in the morning, but not the red kind. He preferred the purple. Bailey decided to drink some of that this morning too. The boy was also intrigued with how his daddy liked to sprinkle extra spices on almost everything he ate. The space pilot peppered his plate so thoroughly that his food almost changed color. Now that was pretty impressive. Bailey wanted his food to be like that too. But when he asked the pilot to pass some of the hot spices down to him, his mother raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look. "Are you sure you want to eat it like that?" She asked.

Bailey just shrugged casually, he didn't want his daddy to think that this was any big deal to him. The boy wanted to be a tough guy too. "Yeah," he said lightly, "I always like my food hot."

Leia stifled a knowing smile as she watched her son sprinkle a generous portion of spices onto his plate. But her amusement turned to mild concern when she saw how thoroughly the boy was covering his food. "Bailey," she warned cautiously, "I think that might be a bit much."

"No, it's not," the child stubbornly insisted, "I know what I'm doing." He set down the spice container with a 'clink'. //Perfect// he had thought with pleased satisfaction. Now his food looked just like the pilot's. He dug his fork into the pile on his plate and took his first bite, oblivious to the anticipatory stares of his parents. Upon his first taste, Bailey instantly regretted not listening to his mother. //Yuck!//

The boy's face momentarily twisted into such a comical expression of disgust that Han had to turn away to stifle a chuckle of amusement. "How'd they taste?" The smuggler couldn't resist asking from behind his hand.

Bailey recovered quickly, and immediately forced an enthusiastic smile onto his face. "Mmmmmm," he said lightly, even as the fiery food caused tears to well up in his eyes, "that was really..um...good." The boy practically choked over the words. Bailey reached for his glass of juice and greedily gulped it down.

Han's brow rose in amusement. With a straight face like that, he mused, he bet that his boy would also make a fine sabacc player one day. He turned toward the princess with a knowing smile, but suddenly thought twice about sharing that bit of info with her. She might not exactly get the same kick out of the prospect as he did. Han instead turned back to the boy, who was now poking at his food suspiciously and studying it with a wary eye. "What's the matter," he asked the child jokingly, "don't like it?"

Bailey looked up at him with wide-eyed innocence. "No, I love it." The boy patted his stomach dramatically, "I'm just really full. Wow."

The smuggler threw Leia a knowing look of amusement. He then turned back to Bailey and gave him a crooked smile, "you know," he said in his most impressed voice, "I was never able to eat food like that until I was at least ten."

Bailey looked up at him with dubious awe, "really?"

Han nodded, "yeah. At least that. Maybe I was twelve." The smuggler leaned foward and in a conspiratorial whisper added, "you know, I always liked a little cereal and milk myself."

The boy's eyes widened, "me too!" His voice was filled with surprised relief.

"Yeah?" Han could feel Leia's gaze on him and hastily added, "with a little something healthy too, of course. Like fruit or something."

Bailey nodded eagerly, "uh huh! That's what I always have."

The smuggler leaned back in his seat and raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Really?"

The boy lept out of his seat enthusiastically. "Yeah, I always!" Bailey made his way excitedly over to the cupboards. "Look, I'll make a bowl right now and show you."

"Good idea," Han said agreeably and he was pleased when he noticed Leia smiling over at him. She reached under the table for his hand. She gave it a quick squeeze and whispered, "look at that. He already adores you." Han gave her a small embarrassed grin and Leia had to raise an eyebrow at his apparent shyness. "Captain Solo, I don't actually detect some modesty in you, do I?"

Han shrugged casually, "in me? Not a chance, sweetheart." He gave her a quick wink, and Leia rolled her eyes in amusement. Her hand was still resting comfortingly over his and she was hesitant to pull it away. But she knew she had to before Bailey came back and saw it. This whole situation had to be confusing enough for the boy, the last thing Leia wanted to do was complicate it further.

The princess gave Han an apologetic smile and then reluctantly returned her hand to her lap. The smuggler nodded his head in understanding, and then turned to greet the boy has he walked back towards the table. "Did you fix yourself something that fast?"

But Bailey was actually approaching the princess with an empty whiskey bottle in his hand. "You put Simon's bottles in the wrong trash container, Momma." He exclaimed innocently. He held it up to her, "see? This was in the wrong place."

Leia bit her lip and shot Han a quick look of mortification. The smuggler averted his eyes, conscious of her discomfort. Leia jumped out of her seat and grabbed the bottle out of Bailey's hand. "Oops, my mistake," she said hurriedly. The princess made her way over to the trash units, her back stiff with embarrassment. In her rush when Han was at the door earlier, she must of dumped all of Simon's trash in the wrong place.

//Great// she thought with resignation. Han already thought low enough of Simon, now he was going to think that she had also married herself off to some fall down drunk. And the thought of him having that impression mortified the princess. She didn't want Han to think that she would just let their son be raised by just *anybody*. True, Simon was in a bit of a rut at the moment, but he had always been a good father. She had done her best by their son, she really had. Leia didn't want Han believing that she was some horribly irresponsible mother.

The princess cringed as she heard the boy explain to the smuggler, "there's a whole bunch of bottles in there. Simon must have had a party."

Leia could feel her cheeks redden as she bent over the trash and pulled out the last of her husband's ale glasses. "There was no party," she said defensively, "this is all from several nights, Bail."

Bailey gave her a curious look, "there wasn't a party?"

"No." The princess straightened. She forced a casual smile, "there was no party."

"Oh," the boy tugged on his lip thoughtfully and Leia made her way back to the table. Bailey still didn't look convinced. Finally he asked, his voice loud and innocent, "then why did Simon sleep in his clothes last night?"

The princess winced inwardly at the question, and out of the corner of her eye she was aware of Han fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat. Leia bit her lip before considering her answer. The boy must've gotten up in the night and seen his stepfather sleeping on the couch. Now she felt even further humiliated, although she couldn't pin point exactly why. After all, Han of all people, was probably thrilled at this bit of information. But still, it bothered her that he now would know what a complete failure her marriage was. Leia cleared her throat and tried to brush these negative thoughts away. "He just fell asleep watching the HoloNet, honey."

"He sure does that a lot."

The princess nodded absently and she sat back down at the table. "Yes, he does," she said evenly, shooting Han another quick glance.

The smuggler was scratching his neck thoughtfully, his head turned away. Apparently he felt as awkward about this as she did. "Leia," he began carefully, " maybe I should-"

The sudden buzzing of the front door cut him off. //Simon.// Han stiffened and his gaze darted to the hallway and nervously back to the princess. He expected to see her panicked stare looking back at him. But Leia was sitting there perfectly calm, her forehead resting against her hand. "Bailey, go let Uncle Luke in, please." There was a resignation in her tone.

"He's here?" Bailey asked in surprise, voicing Han's same question.

"Yes," Leia said still looking forlornly down at the table. "Get the door for me, sweetie, would you?"

The boy nodded and then turned to scamper towards the door. Leia rubbed her forehead tiredly, she still felt embarrassed about the whole Simon situation and suddenly didn't know what to say to Han. She felt like she needed to explain something, but she couldn't find the words. The princess bit her lip with uncertainty, and turned her gaze back up to the smuggler. "Han, I-" She was stopped by the tense expression on the corellian's face. Leia wrinkled her brow in confusion, "what's wrong?"

Han looked at her, his eyes questioning. "What if it's not Luke? Should I leave?"

The princess smiled and reached over and put her hand on his arm, "don't worry. Really, I know it's him."

The smuggler looked at her, his expression baffled. "But how can you-"

"-Han!" A friendly voice suddenly greeted him from the doorway, interrupting Solo mid-thought.

The correllian jumped up from his seat in pleasant surprise and as he turned to see Luke Skywalker enter into the kitchen his face lit up in excitement. "Kid!" Han walked over to the young man and slapped him affectionately on the shoulder. "Wow, look at you," Solo grinned broadly, "I almost wouldn't recognize you!"

Luke returned the smuggler's smile, "it's so good to finally see you again." He shot his sister a quick meaningful glance and then looked back up at Han. "We all missed you," he said, "very much."

The pilot nodded in understanding, and suddenly noticed that the knot in his throat was returning. "Yeah," he finally replied. "Well, I'm glad to be back." Han cocked the corner of his mouth in good humor, and peaked over the young man's shoulder. "Say," he said lightly, "you wouldn't happen to have dragged along that tall furball with you, did ya?"

Luke shook his head, his eyes sparkling with amusement. It was amazing to be talking to his friend like this again, after so many years. But looking at the tall corellian, it suddenly felt to the Jedi that no time had passed at all. It could have almost been only yesterday that the two men had said good-bye in that snowy hangar on Hoth. And then Luke realized with a start, that for Han it actually did feel like that. What an incredible adjustment this must be for him. Luke's gaze flickered briefly over to his sister and then to Bailey who stood right below him. //What an incredible adjustment for all of them.//

And it was then that the Jedi felt a sudden rush of cold wash over him. A freezing tidal wave of fear and hate. It was fleeting--not more than a flash--and then it was gone. But it was enough. And Luke had felt it, as clearly as if it had occurred over a period of hours as opposed to a few mere seconds. //Something's wrong.// Luke looked up to see Han staring down at him, his brow wrinkled in concern. "You okay, kid?"

The Jedi nodded numbly and risked a quick glance over at his sister. Her expression mirrored Han's, but she didn't say anything. There was a little more knowledge in her eyes, but it was just enough to tell him that she didn't want to know anymore.

"I'm fine," Luke replied softly. Then, noticing the smuggler's grim expression, he added a little more cheerfully, "really. Sorry about that, I just sort of dazed off for a second there."

Han forced a casual grin on his face, "hey, that's okay. I do that all the time too." He turned to the princess and gave her a knowing smirk, "especially when the princess used to give me those long and boring 'the rebellion really needs you' lectures."

Leia snapped her head towards Han, her mouth agape in mock idignation. Her discomfort over Luke momentarily forgotten. "Hey," she exclaimed, batting the smuggler on the arm, "so that's why I never seemed to get through to you. You weren't even paying attention!"

Han's smirk widened, "oh don't worry, I always had Chewie nudge me awake for the really important parts." Leia shook her head in exasperation and Han's expression suddenly sobered and he raised a curious eyebrow, "but where is the big guy, anyway?"

Leia opened her mouth to answer, but Han was suddenly distracted by an insistant tugging on his arm. He looked down to see Bailey gazing eagerly up at him. "He's working on the falcon," the boy explained, "the hyperdrive's busted."

The smuggler cocked an eyebrow, "the hyperdrive?" He shook his head in amused disbelief, "well it's good to see that some things haven't changed."

Leia smiled knowingly at his remark. "We should really go down and see Chewie," she added, "he would really want to know about you."

Han nodded. "Yeah," he said gravely. The smuggler turned to Luke, "you're gonna come down with us, right?"

Luke looked toward the pilot in confusion. He had been lost in his thoughts again, the dark ripple in the force once again playing over in his mind. The Jedi quickly regained his bearings and gave Han a weak smile. "Sure," he said with forced cheer, pushing the cold memory from his mind. "Wouldn't miss it."

But even as Luke smiled broadly, and attempted to immerse himself in the happiness of the occasion, he found it almost impossible to fully enjoy himself. The Jedi just couldn't dismiss the dread he felt building at the base of his thoughts. //Something was definitely going to happen.//

And all Luke could pinpoint with any certainty was that it was bad.

Real bad.