Authors Note-

Hi! Omg this has been a long time coming. I have worked on this piece on an off for over a year and I am so excited to share it! Please bare with me though. This is my first publication, but everyone has to start somewhere right? Right now I have 6 chapters done, but am planning at least 8 (we will see how it goes). I would love any review you have or suggestions on how to make my writing better, although I'm not sure I will be taking plot suggestions because this is my baby and I have an idea where the story is going. But seriously I would love to know what you guys are thinking as you read!

Okay, now about this story and how it fits in to cannon. Essentially this story takes place about three years after the Battle of Endor; However everything that happens in this story will not necessarily coincide with what the next movies showed us ( I am not the biggest fan of how Disney decided to play the story out). I am a big fan of Star Wars, but I don't know locations or technology well so please bare with me on the random system, planet, and technology names. I have also created a couple of new characters that are not in cannon but play a role in my story. So I guess you could call it an AU, but general Star Wars rules apply.

Finally this story is told most of the time through a narrator dictating two perspectives, Han and Leia's (I love them with a passion and Carrie Fisher is an ICON, but my love for her is another story). There are some other characters every now and then but you will get how it goes shortly. The first couple chapters there are a few little time jump arounds, but they will be explained in headers or at the beginning of chapters.

Thank you so much for reading, I really would love to hear what you guys think!

- KQinsights

All rights to Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm, I am just a admirer of the work. All rights to 'Promises' belong to KQinsights.

Now on with the story!

Chapter 1

Han hadn't realized it had gotten dark outside. Staring out the window that greeted him as he entered the west wing, he could have sworn only moments ago the sun had been high in the sky. On the other hand, he had too much on his mind to pay much attention to time. He was still grappling with his newest orders.

He felt a sudden rush of guilt as he realized that while he had been off contemplating, she still waited for answers. Answers to the questions that had plagued them ever since the rebellion had found the new location of the surviving Empire loyalist

It had been nearly 3 years since the Battle of Endor had taken place, yet the threat of the Empire still loomed. In the beginning, everyone was hopeful that the destruction of the second death star would allow for peace and prosperity. However, it had been just that, a hope that sadly never came to fruition. Only days after their success, chaos and violence broke out across the galaxy. Some fueled by rich, power-hungry, warlords that had financially benefited from the destruction, while others were simple people that had personally benefited from the work of the Empire. No matter their background, they became angry with the results of the final battle and publicly and physically made their opinions clear.

Han had mixed feelings about those days. On the one hand, he and Leia were stronger than ever. She had told him about her parentage, and he couldn't have cared less. He actually respected her more, if that was even possible. Not only had he fallen in love with a bad-ass princess that was a rebellious government official, but he had also fallen in love with a woman who, from birth, had gone against her own DNA. He had made sure to make it clear to her what an amazing woman he thought she was. Sometimes with words, but often without any words at all.

However, Han also remembered those days with great disdain. He had never seen Leia more stressed. Not only was she worried that others would find out about her parentage, but she also couldn't let go of the feeling that there was something else to come. Another threat that would tear all the Resistance's hard work apart and doom the entire galaxy into complete darkness once again. She had gone almost mad as she tried to snuff out each and every individual who still held alliance to the Empire.

Han had finally convinced her that she was never going to be able to create perfection. She could work herself until she was blue in the face, but there would always be something wrong in the galaxy. It was not easy. There were many loud arguments and many make-up sessions, but eventually, she learned to let go just enough to enjoy herself. Han helped in that accord of course, and those were some of his favorite memories.
He briefly smiled thinking back to those days, however, his face quickly fell as he remembered what he was about to do.

He broke his stare from the window and walked through the sliding doors into the west wing. He approached their quarters with caution. He did not want these next few moments to take place, but he had no choice. He reached their door, paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then palmed it open.

As he walked into the room he made it an effort not to make eye contact with her. He shut the door behind him and sauntered over to the bed where he flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He laid there for a moment in silence, knowing she was watching him.

She was sitting on the couch in the corner of the room. A barley read book had sat open on her lap while he was away. The book had been a hopeless attempt at a distraction, but she could not concentrate on the lives of these meaningless characters. One girl was in love with a man, and the man was crazy for her, but neither had the gall to do anything about it. It had almost made Leia yell as if to convince these made-up characters that their problems were nothing compared to what she faced daily. But the charters were not 100% to blame for her frustration and lack of focus. As if she could have focused on anything else those moments. Instead, she had been looking out the large rectangular window that surrounded the back of their room pondering the possible outcomes of the conversations happening elsewhere.

Now that he was back, the book had been folded close but remained tightly gripped in her hands.

When he entered the room she had sat up straight and as he predicted, her eyes followed his every movement. She hoped that he would give her a clue. Unfortunately, his lack of conversation spoke louder than words.

"When do we leave?" She asked hesitantly.

He finally broke his stare with the ceiling, popped up onto his forearms, and looked over to her. She was wearing a long-sleeved purple dress that fell to the floor. Her hair was partially pulled back into a bun of intricate braids while the rest of it hung down her back. Before he knew much about her, he had never seen her hair down. He once asked about it and she had told him that it had been a custom of Alderaan to only show the length of their hair to their spouses. It was one of the first moments that Han had voluntarily wished that he could have been that person. At the moment it had only been a fleeting thought that he quickly dismissed, but now he got to live out that fantasy.

She looked beautiful, as usual, and for a moment he just looked at her taking in her beauty. He couldn't help but notice how she was sitting though. She may have been up straight and yet she looked deflated. Exhausted.

They had hoped they could have stayed on the base for the next couple of months. But now that the Resistance knew where the Empire loyalists were hiding out, they were ready to bring the fight to them.

He didn't know what had stopped his mind from processing her words, but it suddenly hit him that she had said 'we'.

"We" he began as he motioned between them with his index finger, "aren't going anywhere," He spoke with an almost joking tone. She has to be kidding, he thought to himself. There was no way he was letting her go anywhere remotely near the Empire in her condition.

She gave him a look of disapproval as she rolled her eyes.

Confused by her response he sat up to make sense of her face. Oh come on! He thought to himself. He had once again underestimated her determination.

"No," he said sternly, "There is absolutely no way you are going!"

"Han, I can take care of myself," she said as she threw her book onto the desk next to her. She was angry now. He had been so protective lately. It was like he had forgotten that it was her who had saved their asses on the first Death star, or that it was her that had been his cover at the Battle of Endor.

He now sat on the edge of the bed with his hands holding the sheets as if to stabilize him. He knew she wouldn't like what he was about to say, but when did she ever?

"Leia you are eight months pregnant," She rolled her eyes once again, making it evident she knew where this conversation was heading. She had heard this argument every time she had wanted to do anything in the last long eight months. He had been telling her to "rest up"' and "take it easy". That was not something she was ever very good at. As a child, she had spent her days in school and running around the palace, and her teen years were filled with government meetings and official dinners preparing her for her career as a royal. Although she had never had much of an opportunity to use that knowledge to help her people of Alderaan, it had come quite in handy as a general leading the Rebellion.

"I'm going! I won't be out in the battle. I'll stay in the command center and oversee things from there," she snapped back with rigor. She wasn't going to give up without a fight. It was one of the qualities that Han loved most about her and what usually angered him the most.

Han dropped his head between his shoulders, disappointed in how this conversation was going already.

"Leia…"

"Han!"

He knew that she would not be happy, but it never came to mind that she would insist on going with him. He thought she had more common sense than that. He was about to begin to reason with her when he picked his head up to see a very interesting sight.

Leia had gone to stand up when she realized an embarrassing fact. She couldn't get up. She was so pregnant that it made it physically impossible for her body to lift itself off of the now sunken couch. The worst part was that her situation was only helping Han's point, a realization that had made the whole effort more infuriating.

Han saw what she was trying to do and couldn't help but smirk and let out a little laugh.

"Oh stop your laughing and come help me," she snapped as she braced her hand against the armrest to once again attempt to stand.

Han slowly got up off the bed and walked the few steps to where his struggling wife was reaching out her hand. He stood there for a moment before her with his arms crossed and took a mental picture of this moment. She was asking him for help. This was not a recurring situation. She had always been so independent and head-strong, and for the most part, she could take care of herself, but she was useless now. He laughed some more, which in hindsight may have not been the best idea.

After his moment of fun was over, and Leia's eyes were beginning to physically burn his face, he kneeled eye level with her and placed his hands on her knees in an effort to settle her down. The gesture seemed to work as Leia gave up on her effort and sat back with her arms crossed. She looked sad. He could imagine why but that was no reason to put herself and their daughter in danger.

"Leia, I can't have you at the base. If you are, I'll only be thinking about if you and the baby are safe. I can't be distracted like that while I am trying to surprise attack the biggest threat to the galaxy," He spoke sincerely and with a calming tone. He was pulling out all of the stops. He didn't want to argue, not over something this simple. He just had to make her see the implications of their position.

For the first time, his augment made sense. Leia knew he was right, a point she would die before admitting, but nevertheless right.

"So am I just supposed to sit around here while you are over there, alone fighting a war that I brought you into?" Her voice had lost its vigor and she was quiet and pleading now. She felt guilty more than anything. He was supposed to have left years ago. He never intended to stay let alone fall in love and end up saving the galaxy more than once. He was now just as invested in this work as she was and it was all her fault.

She stared into his eyes. She had always found such comfort in them and hated when they would leave her. She used to be so independent, and she still was, but she was also in love. A deep love that had taken root in the darkest of places and found a way to bring light to the surface.

Leia put her head down to hide the newly forming tears, but Han heard the pain in her voice.

"Hey look at me," he said, as he brought her head up with the knuckle of his index finger. Reluctantly she looked into his eyes and was relieved to see the familiarity of their warmth.

"You did not get me into this mess. I have always been one for adventures and you were an added bonus if anything," his attempt at a joke worked as Leia mouthed the words 'HaHa' with a vague smile.

He took her face in his hands and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. He knew he was getting somewhere.
"Look sweetheart, I am going to be fine. You are going to stay here and take care of yourself and our little girl," he said as he placed his right hand on the side of her bulging belly. "You're going to be safe and I won't have to worry and then in a few days I will have saved the galaxy once again," he smirked and she rolled her eyes, "and then I will return to you and we will have this baby together okay?"

She felt better but still worried. She knew she had to be okay with this but something was nagging her to argue with him to just stay with her. But the Resilience needed him.

"Okay," she said reluctantly.

He pulled her in close and met her lips with his. Their kiss was soft but lingered. As he began to pull away he felt her pull him in once again. Her arms were now around his neck and her fingers were intertwined, holding him close. Their lips met again and she deepened their kiss. His hands braced himself on either side of her legs to sturdy himself, and he graciously accepted her need to be close.

She finally pulled away slightly to get air and she rested her forehead against his.

"You come back to us, promise?"

"I promise," he said as he leaned in for another kiss.

XX

She woke up the next morning to his side of the bed empty. When she had gone to sleep she had known he would be gone when she woke, but she still never liked the feeling. After their argument was over and both parties had settled down, Han told her about the meeting he had attended and what had been decided.

He was to leave early the next morning on the Falcon with Chewie, while a crew of 100 others aboard a large transport ship followed. They were to go to the Cytos system. From there they would sneak down to the planet of Galvis. They would have to be strategic, but it should be a difficult task. The crew that had found the base had informed the Resistance that there was minimal if any scanning technology and that their only line of defense was a ground crew of 300 and about 50 or so fighter ships, nothing they couldn't handle. The plan was to sneak down to the planet's surface during the dark of the morning and set up a base about five or so miles away from their base camp.

That was the first step, the rest of the plan was going to be devised today in several meetings that Leia would probably have to attend. Considering her condition, the other officials would have understood if she was not there, but she wanted to know everything about what was going on, and how soon she could get her husband back.

It was early when she woke up. The sun had just begun to shine through the rectangular window in the back of their room. She had never liked sleeping alone. After her marriage to Han, she had found it harder and harder to sleep without him. Over the years she had gotten so accustomed to falling asleep wrapped in his arms and waking to his breath on the back of her neck.

She had spent so much of her life virtually alone that now that she had found someone who had vowed to never leave her, she couldn't help but feel like it had all been a dream. The only thing that would pull her back to reality was the little kicks she would feel reminding her of the beautiful thing they had created. Also known as the thing that tied Han-only-about-himself-and-his-ship-solo to her for life. Well that and the fact that he loved her.

It was honestly hard for her to believe that they had worked out most days. It wasn't like she always believed that she would be single forever, but there have been moments in her past that had made her realistically think that she would never settle down. Honestly, who was crazy enough to start a family amid the galaxy begin torn apart. Apparently, she was.

They had been recently successful in preventing the progression of their influence through the galaxy, but it hadn't been enough. She hoped with all her heart that this would be the last fight she would have to endure. But realistically she knew they would never go away. There would always be a looming threat of uprising.

A tight pain shot across her abdomen startling her back to reality. She had been having mild contractions for the past couple of days. Nothing serious the doctors had told her. She didn't even mention it to Han. She figured the less he knew the less he would worry. It was probably unrealistic to hope he wouldn't worry, but she felt better knowing he thought everything was fine with her. Not to say anything was wrong. The contractions only lasted a max of 10 seconds and then she wouldn't have another one for hours.

After the most recent one passed she decided to get up and get ready for the day. A day of worrying and praying to whatever god she believed in. She had never been a very spiritual person but more and more recently she found herself praying. She couldn't even call it that. It was more synonymous with pleading in her head to… well to no one, but she always felt like someone was there listening. Maybe it was the force or something.

She never believed in the force either, but ever since she met Luke and had found out about her parentage, she couldn't help but wonder if there was a strange force that blanketed the galaxy. Luke, of course, was admitted that it existed, and she began to believe him more and more.

Leia was now all dressed and ready for her meetings and was honestly looking forward to a distraction of some kind. She knew the meetings would be all about what she would want to avoid thinking about, but she also knew that her mind would switch into work mode from here on out.

The next time Leia looked over at the clock she had been surprised by what she read. As she had expected, her day had been jammed packed with official meetings and she had barely had a moment to think to herself before someone had asked her opinion. Of course, she had been happy to offer it. Although she could no longer go out in the field, she knew what she was doing behind the scenes was making a difference.

"General Organa? What do you think of the second phase of the plan?" one of the commanding officials asked

"Yes, I think this course of action will be successful."

Leia had been in her head for the past couple of moments thinking over what the day had informed her. She had paid close attention to the details. The plan so far was to first hit them from the air and then carry out a strategic ground attack to round up anyone who was left. She knew Han would be there on the ground, but she tried to keep herself from associating him with her work.

"Great! We will inform the generals on the ground and proceed with the following. Attacks should begin at 01:00 in two days. And with that, get some lunch, shall we?" In agreement with her suggestion, the room of 20 let out a slight sigh of relief and began chatting as they packed up their things.

Leia began to do the same when she spotted her brother out of the corner of her eye staring at her. Why is he here? She asked herself. She briefly replayed a conversation she had earlier that day with a commanding officer. She could have sworn that she had said Luke was supposed to accompany a second group down to the base earlier today. Nevertheless, she gathered up the rest of her things and headed toward him.

It only took one focused look at his face to realize something was wrong. Then she felt it. She could tell he was trying to hold back, but his distress radiated off of him.

She could feel the panic quickly arising from a pit in her stomach. She replayed the last conversation she and Han had in her head over and over again as she cautiously walked toward Luke.

He promised. He promised he would come back to us. He promised. She kept repeating over and over again in her head until she was only a few feet away from her brother. He was looking at her sympathetically and waited until they had the room to open his mouth.

"Leia…" He started. His tone was soft but the weight of his words was heavy.

She waited for a moment, but he said nothing else. In her head, she was shouting at him to just get on with it. Rip off the bandage, but his face told her it was just as hard for him to say what he had to, as it was for her to hear it.

"Leia… Han was doing reconnaissance work this morning with a small group…" He trailed off again trying to make his mind up on how to relay the information he had only momentarily received.

Leia's eyes were darting frantically between Luke's, trying to look for any clues. He continued to stay silent and Leia couldn't take it anymore.

"I swear to you! If you don't tell me what the hell is going on in the next second I am going to find the closest blaster and hold it to your head." She knew her threat was thinly veiled, but she was no longer the princess she had been raised to be.

He saw the pain he was causing her. He hadn't meant to make it more painful than it had to be, but he was trying to find the right words. He quickly realized that there was no 'easy way'. He just had to tell her.

"Han's missing,"

He could still be alive, was the first thought that ran through her mind. She almost laughed at herself at that moment. She had never been an optimistic person, but at that moment there was still a possibility. A possibility that he hadn't gone off and died leaving her all alone.

Another sharp pain crossed across her abdomen and she felt weakness in every joint. Luke saw her discomfort and slowly helped her to a chair.

Leia's eyes suddenly went elsewhere. She was looking at the ground. For a second she may have been optimistic, but that didn't stop her mind from racing to every terrible rational and irrational situation. She hadn't even realized that Luke had sat her down. It was probably a good idea though, her legs could have given out at any moment.

When she regained her strength, she took a deep breath in, sat up straight, and looked Luke in the eyes.

"Tell me everything."