Han had watched her open-mouthed as she went to the kitchen, poured herself another stim tea and then calmly sat and scrolled through her personal messages.
"That's it?" He asked, without moving. "No negotiation, just 'I'm not going'?"
"We have an appointment with Jorj's tutor in a half hour." Leia said, pointing to her padd. "She's coming here so you might want to smarten up a little."
Han scratched at the stubble on his chin.
She's biding her time. Waiting for Miss Fizz to leave then she'll let me have it. Probably like a blaster bolt, right between the eyes. Hesurmised.
"Tick tock!" She glared.
Strike the blaster, Han thought, make that a lightsabre. Right through the heart!
A frown creased his brow.
"You think that's it? You think we're done?" He pushed to his feet, snarling as he swept past her en route to the 'fresher. "No! You don't get to say 'I'm not going' and that's it! We are not done Leia. Not done at all."
Leia continued to scroll through her messages until he was gone. Once she heard the splash of the shower, she placed an encrypted call to Jaina and exhaled slowly.
It had been an age since she had seen Han that excited, outside the bedroom at least; since she'd heard the anticipation in his voice.
"Hey Mom! How's the happy wanderer this morning?" Jaina's beaming smile, cheered Leia's spirits.
"With his Aunt Winter, under strict instructions not to think he's out of the woods yet." She replied.
"Don't be too hard on him Mom. The way I heard it, he was already really upset." Jaina offered.
"Miss Fizz'll be here shortly to talk us through her rescue plan." Leia said.
"Is that why you're looking so...constipated?" Jaina arched her eyebrow at her mother.
"No." Leia looked embarrassed. "That would be your father."
"What's he done this time?" Jaina sighed.
"It's what he wants to do." Leia explained, elaborating on his plan to move away from Coruscant to be a racing promoter, trainer or sponsor with Leia as his second.
"Well, great." Jaina shrugged. "Dad's passion has always been flying. Sounds like he could have maybe found his niche."
"I said I wouldn't go." Leia said.
"You what?" Jaina exclaimed.
"How can he even think of leaving when you and your brother need us so much here?" Leia pleaded.
"Seriously Mom? You're using Jacen and me as your excuse?" Jaina responded.
"You have a new baby." Leia argued.
"Who's thriving. And this very minute, having been fed and burped, is now being changed by her father." Jaina pointed out.
"And your brother has his problems." Leia continued.
"Jacen's got himself a real strong, stable girl in Tilly. Trust me Mom, she is not going to let him go off track. And neither will I." Jaina shook her head.
"When he said it..." Leia rubbed at a worry frown. "I thought he was happy..."
"He is happy Mom. He just wants a taste of adventure." Jaina suggested.
"But racing! At his age!" Leia mewled.
The water had stopped, Han would emerge soon enough prepared for combat.
"I have to go." Leia said. "But we'll talk again later, after Miss Fizz has left."
"Square it with him Mom. If you don't, you'll regret it. Solo-Fel out." Jaina closed the channel before Leia could answer.
Leia sat looking at the darkened screen and listening to the sounds of her husband as he banged around their bedroom and reminded herself, not that she needed reminding, how much he had sacrificed over the years for her.
By the time Han padded back into the living area Jorj's personal teacher, Miss Fizz, had arrived and was settling herself in a chair opposite the sofa where Leia was already seated.
Han noted the stern expression on Leia's face and chose another chair, angled between the two females.
"Captain, Mrs Solo, I can't tell you how very sorry I and the entire School are over this unfortunate incident." Miss Fizz started.
"The boys who teased my son, are they still in school?" Leia asked.
"One has already been removed by his parents. The other, we are working with to relocate in order to get Jorj back into class just as soon as we possibly can." Miss Fizz replied.
"I'm sorry, but that won't be happening." Leia stated.
"I...I assure you Mrs Solo, we take our zero policy on bullying very seriously." Miss Fizz added, her eyes flitting from Leia to Han and back again. "This was an isolated incident, one which I'm sure has had a deeply traumatic effect on you personally, as well as being terribly unsettling for Jorj."
"We believed him to have been kidnapped!" Leia scowled. "Held against his will and subjected to who knew what abominations!"
"I do understand. Truly." Miss Fizz countered.
It was obvious her role here was as a mediator, probably in an attempt to prevent a lawsuit.
"No. I don't think you do." Leia argued. "Jorj has come so far in the face of adversity and for you to sit here and pretend you care..."
"Ma'am...if I may..." Miss Fizz interrupted. "We're both of us playing a part here."
Han tried to hide his snigger behind his hand and received a glower from Leia for his trouble.
"Riva." Miss Fizz introduced herself and smiled. "Han and Leia isn't it? Why don't we start this conversation again? What happened to Jorj, should never have happened. His reaction was unexpected and unplanned for. The whole incident has been a wake up call to the school but also to me personally."
"You?" Han asked.
"Jorj is a lovely child to work with." Riva's smile broadened. "He's inquisitive and hard working, a constant joy. I was unaware of his teasing because I was too focussed on Jorj's abilities, his past achievements and his future successes."
"Isn't that what we pay you for?" Leia asked, acidly.
"Ley!" Han admonished. "Let her speak."
Leia bristled, though at Han not at Riva Fizz.
"Your fees fund a number of things. Your son's board and lodging; his padds and reading material; sports equipment; transport to and from school when required in addition to his everyday lessons and access to tutors." Riva offered.
"I've read the brochure." Leia smiled sweetly.
"I'm not trying to sell you the dream." Riva said.
"Good. Because you missed the chapter on child neglect." Leia's smile remained unchanged.
"You must excuse my wife, she didn't get a lot of sleep last night. And not in a good way." Han winked and grinned his characteristic grin.
"The Board of Governors are considering a range of sweeping changes in the wake of what's happened." Riva went on. "The boys' removal from our school is just the first. I have been transferred to another class. One with...'less challenging'...pupils."
"They've bumped you!" Han said, astonished.
"Officially, I've been reassigned." Riva corrected.
"They can't do that!" Leia exclaimed as Han moved to sit beside her. "Jorj is crazy about you. I mean completely besotted! You're all he talks about."
"I'm aware Jorj has developed a slight crush." Riva blushed. "And please don't take this the wrong way because nothing improper would ever happen, but I find him quite enchanting in return."
"He'll be devastated to know you're teaching another class." Leia added.
"What difference does it make, if we're not sending him back?" Han asked, raising an eyebrow at Leia.
"That wasn't a serious threat. You know it wasn't. I was just angry that those two boys were still in school and Jorj wasn't." Leia argued.
"Those changes the Board of Governors are discussing, they'd like to have your input also. That's why I was asked to come here, to suggest a meeting. Here, or at the school or another, neutral, venue and at your convenience of course." Riva said.
"Who'll be his teacher now?" Leia asked, ignoring the suggestion.
"Miss Drako." Riva answered.
"Drako the Dragon?" Han gasped. "Leia's right, we're not sending him back!"
"I feel like he's being punished for not doing something wrong!" Leia contradicted her earlier chastisement of her son.
Han felt now was not a good time to point that out and opted to place a supportive arm around her shoulders instead.
"It's so unfair on him. He was doing so well and I hold you accountable for his development." Leia said to Riva.
"That's a charge I'm happy to respond to." Riva smiled again and Han could see why Jorj was so fond of her.
A repeated rat-a-tat-tatting at the door announced their six year old was home. His eyes shone at the sight of his teacher, sitting in their living quarters, then he turned shy before Riva Fizz took her leave and Winter was thanked again for her unwavering support.
Then Han and Leia and Jorj spent much of the day consumed by their own thoughts until after dinner, when Jorj climbed onto his mother's lap to cuddle up to her.
"I'm sorry Mama." He whispered in her ear.
"Sorry for what Jorj?" She asked, a hand caressing his back.
"For making you mad at me." He sniffled, fighting to hold onto his emotions.
Leia's heart broke every time she heard her son cry and she pulled him tightly into her arms.
"Mama's not mad at you Jorj. She's not." She insisted and wished she could be sure he understood.
There were things Jorj knew without explanation and others, he simply could not grasp. He was only six, of course, and Leia remembered all too well how her own father would scold her for escaping her Aunts or her Governess to stroll the City streets unescorted. She couldn't see the dangers he could; didn't appreciate the evil that could befall the vulnerable.
Han, resplendent in the apron he'd had since before the twins had been born, came to her rescue.
"Jorj, buddy. You remember when Jacen played that trick on you and hid Hoo?" Han asked, perching beside his wife and son.
Hoo was a stone Jorj had seen fit to name and add to his already extensive collection of stones.
Sniffing, Jorj nodded and looked to his father for more.
"You remember how upset you were when you thought he was lost forever?" Han asked.
Jorj nodded again, swiping a sleeve across his nose.
"Well that's how Mama and Papa felt when we didn't know where you were." Han reached out to add his own hand caressing Jorj's back. "We were so scared we might never see you again or that you might get hurt and we'd never know."
Jorj sniffed again, seeming to comprehend what his father was saying.
"I won't do it again. I promise." Jorj finally offered.
"That's my boy." Han grinned and ruffled his boy's hair lovingly.
"Pa-pa!" Jorj moaned. "I'm not a baby!"
Han and Leia exchanged a brief amused look.
"No, you're not." Han agreed. "You're our big man now that you're an Uncle."
"Lei smells of poodoo." Jorj declared.
"She does not." Leia said, suppressing a laugh.
"She does sometimes Ley." Han agreed, earning a roaring laugh from Jorj.
"I think it's about time this little fella got ready for bed." Leia said, tickling Jorj's ribs.
The boy laughed harder, rocking in an attempt to escape his mother's fingers.
"Come on junior." Han hoisted Jorj into his arms. "Always wise to keep Mama happy, because if Mama aint happy nobody's happy."
Leia heard Han's jibe, prepared to react but chose not to.
She watched him carry their son through to the 'fresher and heard his words repeat over and over in her head.
And then she rose and headed into her bedroom.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Han had hoped to find Leia still seated in the living area, that she wasn't gave rise to two possibilities. She was feeling frisky, which after their conversation of that morning seemed unlikely. Or that she was mad at him. Which, after their conversation of that morning, seemed more than likely.
He hung his apron back in the kitchen and poured himself a healthy glass of whiskey, then another together with a second glass, both of which he carried through to the bedroom.
Leia's eyes tracked him through the mirror in her dresser as he entered the room.
He placed one glass his side of the bed and circled to her side, planting her glass beside her on the dresser.
"He asleep?" She asked.
"If I'd had to read 'The Little Lost Bantha Cub' one more time, I'd have been asleep." Han replied, padding back to his side of the bed and pulling his shirt from his pants waistband.
"He does love that story." Leia mused.
"I've had twenty years of reading it Ley." Han sighed, tossing his shirt in the general direction of the clothing recycling unit. "I could live with one of our kids hating it."
"Perhaps it's the way you read it." She suggested, not for the first time admiring the line of his hips as pants followed shirt close to the recycling. "You add...character...to the creatures."
"Don't think I don't know you're perving on me sweetheart." He said sliding lean, muscled legs into soft, comfortable sleep pants.
He turned to look at her, tilting his glass in her direction and swallowing a mouthful of the liquor.
"I hate it when we fight." She admitted, saluting his glass with her own and sipping at it's contents.
"No you don't. You love it every bit as much as I do." He said, with a grin. "It's what reminds you we're both still alive."
"He is asleep then?" Leia checked.
"Like the proverbial baby." He confirmed.
"Good. Because I really don't want us to be disturbed." She replied.
Han tried not to show too much enthusiasm as he emptied his glass, climbed into bed and bunched the pillows behind his back.
Leia ran her brush through her hair twice more before slipping between the sheets beside her husband.
"Lights to dusk setting." Leia commanded and the lighting obeyed, sinking to a quarter level.
Han held an arm wide and patted his chest. Scooping her hair over her shoulder, Leia moved to nestle against him.
Han wrapped her in his embrace, felt her fingers tease his chest hair and her leg fall naturally across his thigh to lie between his legs.
He kissed her forehead, her fingers circling and brushing his nipple.
"Han? Can we talk?" She asked.
Keep doing that sweetheart, Han thought. And I'll tell you anything!
Han derived enormous pleasure from the way Leia's fingers flirted with this particular erogenous zone of his. He especially liked that she knew exactly the effect it had on him and could almost certainly feel the heat from his genitals against the knee she had pressed to them.
"Sure thing babe, what's on your mind?" He enquired.
"You need to ask?" She queried. "I want to talk about our future."
"Talk? Or argue?" He questioned.
"You remember the night of your 'speeder accident?" She asked.
"Yeah." He shifted uncomfortably, his pelvis always ached whenever he was reminded of the crash.
"Things went a little crazy for a while after that." She said, her hand caressing his abs. "But I'd made a decision that night, something I'd been thinking about for a time and finally been able to give voice to."
"What kind of decision?" He queried, the heat in his abdomen cooling.
Leia pushed herself upright and leaned on one arm.
"I'm going back to the Senate." She announced.
"What the Hell for? Didn't those guys suck enough of the life outta you last time?" He demanded.
"I didn't leave because I wanted to, I left because I had no choice." She reminded him.
"You were a nerf's eyelash away from death or have you forgotten that?" He growled.
"I left with things undone." She tried to reason.
"You were leaving anyway! You'd made up your mind to come back with me, remember?" He reminded her.
"I know." She said, trying to calm him with the light touch of a soft hand against his forearm. "I've been asking myself what I would have done once we'd gotten back to Coruscant. And the truth is, I would have returned to the Senate and sought a role here. Then, after the Vong attack, I had other, more pressing, matters to worry about."
"So...you knew this at the time of the crash and you decide now to tell me?" He queried.
"You were in the hospital." She pointed out. "So was Jarik. We had Tenel Ka's Wedding. Then there was Mara. And Jacen. The time just didn't seem right."
"But now does?" He asked.
"I'm not the only one to have been thinking about making a change to our circumstances." She countered, accusingly.
"But mine included both of us!" He argued. "Robes of Office never interested me and never will, you know that. I hated being called your 'consort'. It was like I wasn't a person in my own right, just your chance to poke at the establishment. At least with my idea we'd both be having some fun."
"Fun? Watching you race and praying you didn't get splattered against an asteroid, you call that fun?" She answered back.
"You love the rush same as me." He said. "Besides, I wouldn't be racing. I mean, I might have to test the circuit but that's all. It wouldn't be under race conditions."
"We're never going to see eye-to-eye on this, are we?" She asked softly.
"I'm not a politician." Han shrugged.
"And I'm not...what is it you are?" She goaded with a playful smile.
"Best you'll ever have!" He responded, equally playfully, then launched himself at her and rolled her until he had her pinned to the bed.
"We could make this work." She said, looking into his grey-green eyes for confirmation.
"Sure we could." He readily agreed. "It'd be like when we were first married. I'd be off, doing my thing and come back once in a while to remind you of what you're missing."
His lopsided grin brought a flutter to the pit of her stomach.
"I like waking up beside you." She admitted.
"I like waking up inside you. But I aint as young as I used to be honey and my stamina levels could use the rest. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder." His eyes searched her face for approval.
"So they say." She nodded.
"So what is it we're saying?" He asked.
"That we have different agendas I guess." She answered. "That we both have paths we want, or need to follow. Just not together this time."
He released his hold and rolled off her to lie flat on his back on the bed.
"Doesn't have to be for ever." She added, rolling onto her side to lean on an arm and study his face.
"We're not splitting up or anything, just taking a little time out." He said, hoping he sounded convincing.
"To see things from a new perspective." She added, hoping she sounded optimistic as she dropped down onto her back.
"Or maybe better appreciate what we left behind." Han suggested, pushing to an elbow to lean over her. "I'll always love you Leia. You know that, don't you?"
"This is just something you need to get out of your system." She said, reaching up to comb her fingers through his ever-unruly hair.