As always, thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! Enjoy!
He was happy when the doorbell rang and it was Mon. That way Leia could get out of the room and leave him to power through the rest of his breakfast without her chill to dampen it.
"I didn't expect you back so soon," he heard Leia's muffled voice from the entrance.
Mon answered. "It works best for me to fit this in before going into my first meeting."
The voices seemed to move towards the living space. "I hate to cause an additional burden on you."
"Nonsense, Leia. Your success is our success, so we must do whatever is best for you right now, okay?"
They were still talking, but the voices became indistinguishable as they moved deeper into the apartment. Rayah had taken to babbling to herself as Chewie brushed her hair back with his claws. It made the man smile. Everything that little girl did seemed to make him smile.
When his last bite was fully chewed and swallowed, he stood up, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and took both his clean plate and Leia's half clean plate to the sink.
"I guess we better see what they're talkin' about," Han reluctantly decided on.
Chewie let him lead out of the kitchen and around the corner into the living space where the voices grew louder once again.
"Chewbacca, Han," Mon greeted from the same chair she sat in last night, wearing almost the exact same thing. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
The Wookie replied, returning the sentiments as he shifted Rayah to rest further up on his chest. Han nodded the same and took a comfortable standing position behind the chair Leia was in.
"I'm glad you're both here." Mon jumped right back into business. "I'm sure Leia and Han have many questions Chewbacca and I can help straighten out together."
Yeah, Han had tons of questions. Only he couldn't think of any right now.
But, completely in character, Leia had hers at the forefront of her mind and in meticulous order.
She began right away. "Thank you both. Yes, there's so much I…" Her head turned to make sure Han was actually in the room. "We don't know at this point."
Mon gestured her hand forward. "Please."
Her static politician's 'I care' face was seemingly permanently plastered on from years of practice. It made Han uncomfortable. He was always uncomfortable when faced with authority. And this was the highest level of authority in the galaxy, here in his living room. She seemed nice enough, and Leia liked her, and he trusted Leia. So he let his crossed arms move down as his hands rested on his belt.
"Rayah's caretaker?" Leia asked, head spinning to both Mon and Chewie. "Do we employ a droid?"
[You did for her early years.] Chewie answered, then he hesitated before continuing. [Let's just say, events happened, droids were compromised, and you felt she would be better cared for in a daycare setting with children to interact with.]
Droids were compromised? Han didn't like the sound of that. He felt his head nod in approval of future Han and Leia's judgement to do away with them.
"And we had chosen a center?" It was a statement she asked as a question.
Mon spoke up. "I had suggested the Senatorial child care arrangements. The center is in the back of the Capitol building."
From his view in back of Leia, he watched her head nod. "That sounds convenient. It's a good center?"
"It is," the chancellor nodded emphatically. "It's directly across from where Senators have the offices, including yourself."
"I say we go with that. Han?"
He looked down to see Leia's turned head, her eyes looking for direction from him. His first thought was to ask why his opinion mattered. According to her earlier hostility, he didn't need to inform her about his activities, so why should she seek out his opinion?
But this was about Rayah, THEIR daughter. Of course he needed to have an opinion. But his opinion came extremely uninformed.
"Uh…" He shrugged his shoulders as his lips pressed together. "Yeah, that's okay."
He could almost see Leia mentally check that off of her list as she turned only halfway back to Mon. "And Han's work. Can you tell us more about that?"
Oh yeah, that was a good question and one he should have thought to ask.
Mon was happy to oblige. "Like I said last night. General Solo is on the targeted small scale operations team. It's relatively selective about its missions and can involve simple surveillance to distanced targeted strikes."
He listened, head bobbing as he took this in. The prominent words in his mind were 'small scale' and 'distanced targeting.' That didn't seem to align with the Han Solo he understood himself to be.
Chewie must have read his mind. [You requested to be taken off the front lines shortly before Rayah was born.]
That made sense. It also proved what he hoped, future Han Solo was responsible. More responsible than who he felt he was right now.
"You report to General Rieekan," Mon continued with a gleam in her eyes. "A familiar name I hope."
"Yeah." Of course it was. He just checked in with General Rieekan on Hoth yesterday. But apparently four years and a whole war happened between now and then. "Glad to hear he made it out alright."
Mon had certainly come through on her follow ups from last night's conversation. "He's aware you're unavailable right now and has been told you will get back in touch with him when you are ready to resume your duties."
That sounded okay. He didn't respond, but he nodded in recognition.
Leia now fully turned herself back to Mon. "Were you able to get in touch with Luke?"
"Nothing from him yet. I will let you know as soon as he makes contact."
Mon's last word was drowned out by Rayah's wiggling screech as she raised both her arms over the Wookie's head and kicked her legs to get down.
[If you'll excuse us,] Chewie growled as he bent over to set the girl down, instead taking her tiny hand in his big paw. [She's stronger than she looks and she needs to get dressed.]
"Of course," Leia pressed her lips together in a nod. Her eye catching every movement of the girl as Chewie led her back towards the hallway and around the corner. "Thank you Chewie."
Han watched as Leia's focus lingered on the retreating forms for longer than necessary before she turned back to Mon, her business face once again prominent.
"I found my work holopad last night and started catching up…"
Leia's words sped up, like that was the least impressive thing she could have done.
Mon, however, looked surprised as her eyebrows rose. "My, my."
"I started with what looked like the most immediate efforts, including Nar Shaddaa, Nexus Ortai, and the Alderaanian Flotilla. I have questions on all three."
Han finally had something in common with the chancellor. They both stared with shock, awe, and worry at the Princess sitting with her perfectly prim composure. How she had time and energy to do all that, he didn't know. And in the middle of a personal crisis like having amnesia…
The more Han thought about it the more it actually started to make sense to him. Leia was a worker, a dogged determined worker. She was a pro at avoiding personal matters and dodging emotions with facts and action plans. This time was no different. He was the same way, to an extent. Only he had reached his dodging limit back on Hoth when he confronted her in the passage way. He was ready to put all his cards on the table, ready to be vulnerable with her if it meant she could reciprocate those feelings.
But she wasn't ready yet. Maybe she would never be ready. He let that thought pass as he heaved a frustrated exhale.
"Where should we begin?"
"Yeah, hey," Han spoke up as his hand went to scratch his head, still damp from his morning 'fresher. "I'll let you two work on runnin' the galaxy. Okay, I'm gonna go…" His thumb jutted towards the only other place to go in the apartment, back down the central hallway.
Leia turned to him, her eyes blinking once before nodding. "Okay, fine."
He took a step backwards. "I'll be… back there, somewhere."
Leia's lip curled up on one side as her eyebrows creased. Apparently, his exit was not as smoothly delivered as it could have been. He didn't let that deter his yen to get out of there. If there was one thing he did not need right now, it was political talk.
Instead, he found himself in the presence of much more lively company.
"Dada-DA-dada!"
Her toothy grin exploded just as her legs made their quick move, waddling over to the newest person in the room.
He didn't know who was smiling more, the kid or him. "Hey, Rayah!" He leaned down as she lifted her arms to be scooped up. He thought he could get used to a greeting like this every time he entered the room.
She settled happily on his hip. His hands shuffled around a little before he felt that she was most secure and comfortable with a hand under her bottom and one around her back. She was so little, he was 70% confident he could hold her in one arm. But he wasn't ready to try that yet.
She brought the blanket he saw her holding last night with her, a tight fist clutching the clearly well loved green fabric.
"Do I have any nicknames for her?" Han asked, his eyes never leaving his bundle.
[Of course you do!] Chewie insisted as he pushed some things around in the closet. [But I'm not going to tell you any of them. You'll have to think of some on your own.]
"Mini-Leia is the only one I can think of right now." Gods, she was an exact copy of the Princess. Thinking of Leia brought his euphoria back down and his concern up. "Anything happen to Leia this mornin'?"
The Wookie didn't answer right away. He pretended he was busy looking for something, but Han thought he was stalling for some reason. [Rayah got fussy in her arms and I think she felt… inadequate.]
Inadequate? Leia? Those words didn't belong in the same breath.
He looked back to the giggly girl in his arms who was currently contenting herself with the top button on his shirt, her fingers pressing into it and then trying to pull it. "She seems okay now."
[You're still good with her.] Now Chewie did stand at his full height to turn to his friend, skepticism in his voice. [I wasn't sure…]
Han was't offended. Hell, he never thought the Han Solo he knew would be comfortable around younglings. He had hoped he might be adequate if, and that was a big if, he would ever be a father. But Hoth Han had other priorities, mainly self preservation with a side of pursuing a certain Princess.
"Have I really changed that much in four years?"
[No, not in the ways that matter.] The Wookie's paws raised as he listed attributes. [You're still messy, loud, sloppy…]
"Yeah, yeah. Remind me not to come to you for an atta-boy."
[But you grew up, too.] His tune changed. [You're less reckless, more responsible… and you let some more people see past that cocky exterior.]
"What cocky exterior?" Said the man in his cocky exterior.
Ignoring the joke, he continued. [Leia and Rayah have been good for you and you've been good for them.]
The first part of that statement he could easily believe. But the latter… that's something he wouldn't let himself believe yet.
"Can I pick out her clothes?"
That idea gave him a minor thrill, so he appreciated Chewie's amused, [Go on, cub.]
He switched places with the Wookie, taking his position in the closet where, by the light of day, he saw the true rainbow of options he had. There were a variety of shirts and dresses hanging. In the bottom half, there were folded things, mostly pants.
With all the care he could actively plan for, he balanced the girl on his hip with one hand supporting her so he could use the other one in his search. Chewie had done it no sweat, so he could too. Probably.
He spied a pair of dark blue pants that looked stretchy and comfortable. Then he searched over the top racks for something else. There were a few fun shirts he could have chosen, but he picked an indigo one that looked like the same shade Leia was wearing today. It was a long one and would probably come to her knees, but he liked the shiny gold trim on the top of the scoop neckline and the trim on the hem of the sleeves.
"Look good?"
He turned back to the most senior at picking out kids clothes in the room to a roar of approval.
Standing to his full height once again, his second hand returned to the girl's back. Yeah, he could handle one-handed, but two hands was fine too. Better actually.
His triumphant swell ended when he inhaled something rank. "You smellin' somethin'?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what it was. He got a deservedly burst of laughter from the Wookie as his face contorted with more of the oder reaching his nose.
[What are you gonna do about it?]
And that sounded like a challenge. And Han Solo never turned down a challenge.
"I got this," his face projected what he said and he hoped to internalize some of that confidence one of these days. "Just… be on standby, okay?"
[You copilot is at the ready, Captain.]
On his second scan of the room, he noticed a changing station on the wall beside the door. Making his way over there, he dropped the clothing items on the one end and sat her on the edge of the plush, crinkly mat.
And so it began.
"Now what?" The clueless man asked.
[Lay her on her back.] To Chewie's credit, he didn't belittle the lost man or make fun of the clearly humorous scene that was about to transpire.
Han put both his hands under her arms as he scooched the happily babbling girl back in the center of the table and pressed her upper body backwards. "Okay, here we go."
[Her sleep clothes need to come off.]
Moving onto step two, he started with the top part, pulling the snaps apart and shuffling it around until her arms popped out the other end. Her bottoms were a little more difficult with the kicking legs, but he managed. He tossed the inside-out garment to the side.
[And now…]
"Yeah," Han stopped him, his mind calculating. "I think I know what comes next."
He came this far, he wasn't going to back out now.
[Get a clean one and some wipes ready.]
He found a clean diaper and a pack of wipes on the shelf under the table. It felt like a medical operation, one slip would lead to disaster. His long deft fingers made their first move.
Chewie had to step in three times with quick suggestions like, [Hold her legs up,] and [Fold it up good and tight.]
"And we got rid of our droid?" Han uttered, his nose scrunched as he tossed the smelly wrappings in the side garbage chute.
[At your great delight,] he chortled.
Han waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Shut it, will you. I'm concentrating."
The hard part was over. It took him two tries to figure out which way the clean diaper went on and then another hesitation on how to attach it together. But after that, it was smooth sailing.
Rayah stayed still enough for him to get her pants on in one swoop.
[Sometimes, it's easier if she stands up.]
Han took that suggestion. He scooped her up under her arms and set her on the ground. No sooner had her little feet touched the ground, than she pumped them quickly towards the open door laughing all the way.
Han was never more grateful for his quick reflexes as he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her back to the center of the room.
"Hey, kid!" He half scolded, more from anxiety over what would have happened if a half naked kid ran through the Chancellor's meeting. "No runnin'."
His peripheral vision told him the chuckling Wookie was now standing guard at the door, so he released the girl carefully and grabbed the chosen shirt.
He dunked her head in first and then Rayah knew enough to help him move her arms through the sleeves. Sitting back on his heels, he thought she looked rather cute.
"Lookin good!" He complimented both the girl and himself on a job well done.
Rayah seemed to find a new fascination with her tongue as she stuck it out and tugged on it with her fingers.
"Is that what little princesses do?" Han asked her skeptically. He wasn't sure if she understood him, but he didn't care. "That's what you are, you know. You're a little princess."
My little princess.