Authors Note-

Hi! Again thank you to everyone who has reviewed or followed this story. I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

-KQinsights

All rights to Star Wars is reserved to Lucasfilm, I am just an admirer of the work. All rights to Promises are reserved to KQinsghts.

Chapter 3

Leia was trapped in her own thoughts. Her previous optimism had been overtaken by her deadly imagination. Her mind seemed to be hell-bent on consuming her.

Vivid images of torture, pain, and violence flashed through her mind. Yet the image that was more persistent than the rest was Han lying on the forest floor.

She could see every detail. He looked asleep. His legs were spread across the ground, his arms folded up near his head, and his face was turned with his right cheek, bunched up into the ground. He almost looked peaceful, but time went on and he didn't move. The sun shone on his still back. His eyes frozen, trapped in terror, forever meant to stare into the nothingness. Alone.

Leia physically cringed imagining his eyes. They had always been warm and kind. A place she had often found solace. The lifelessness she pictured brought her nothing but the feeling of raw terror. Fear and guilt she hadn't felt since General Takin made her watch the destruction of her home.

She was tethering on the edge of reality, close to falling and being devoured by her thoughts. The only thing keeping her from jumping was her daughter. Although she never truly understood Luke's explanation of the 'force', she knew that falling would be detrimental for both. What she did understand was how much she already loved her daughter, and how much she wanted Han to be a part of her life.

Feeling her daughter move inside of her, Leia placed her hand over her large belly and rubbed little circles. For a moment, Leia's mind let up on the terrible and replayed a somewhat joyful memory.

When Leia had found out she was pregnant, happiness was the last emotion she felt. Disappointment? Yes. Angry? Yes. Terrified out of her mind? Most of all. They were still fighting a war. As she stood over in the bathroom of the Falcon staring at a plus sign, she couldn't help but want to hide it and act as if nothing happened, and that is exactly what she did. She threw it away and simply joined Han in the kitchen.

It hadn't taken Han long to realize that something was different about her. In the couple of days after Leia found out she was distant and cold. Eventually, Han couldn't take it anymore and asked her what was wrong.

"Leia?" He asked, looking at her from across the room.

"Yeah?" she answered, not turning around to face him.

"I hate it when you're like this"

"Like what? We're fine. Aren't we?

"I don't know you tell me,"

"I have no idea what you are..."She hadn't realized how close he had gotten. When he wrapped his arms around her she flinched. It was slight and involuntary, but he noticed.

"Then why do you do that?" He asked as he pulled away. His voice was low and there was a hint of anger and pain in his words.

"I.." she started but he cut her off.

"What did I do? You usually are so quick to tell me. We might bicker but we always make up. This is different."

"Han, I…" she was facing him now but she couldn't hold eye contact.

"What is it? Just tell me," He walked closer to her again and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her head hung low staring at the ground but the knuckle of his index finger raised her chin to meet his eyes.

There were tears in her eyes and he could see the pain she was holding back.

"I… I can't" she said, pulling away and beginning to walk down the hallway to their bedroom.

"Leia!"

"Han, I just need some space right now."

"These past few days havent been enough? I have given as much as I can. I need you back." He followed her down the hallway.

"God, Han! Not everything is about you!"

"Leia! You really think I am that self centered? You have been distant. I'm worried about you!"

"Han just forget it!"

" No!" He walked faster and his long strides caught up to her fast. "No! You have to talk to me. The places your mind goes sometimes scare the shit out of me. You can't just keep it in."

"How in the HELL, do you know where my mind goes?"

"God Leia! You don't think I feel you shaking in the middle of the night or hear your screams because of the nightmares? You don't think that worries me?"

"This has nothing to do with that!"

"Then what does it have to do with!?"

"I'm pregnant Han!" She hadn't intended on telling him this way, but it just slipped out. He was right; she couldn't internalize it anymore.

His face went blank. It had taken him more than a few seconds to understand what she had just said. Pregnant? He replayed the word in his mind over and over trying to process its meaning. A rush of joy and excitement filled every cell in his body. A smile began to form on his face.

This was obviously not the response she was hoping for as she once again pulled away from him and ran down the hall.

He was confused. He knew they had never really talked about it seriously but she would make a great mother.

"Leia?" He called but she was already too far to hear him. She ran to their bed and began to cry.

"Leia?" He asked again as he walked into their room

"This is a good thing," he said as he sat down next to her and tried to wipe the tears away.

"No… No, it's not," she choked out between breaths.

"It might not be the most convenient situation, I'll give you that, but I don't care. We have never had a normal relationship," His smile was still prevalent on his face but hers was far from the surface.

"Han! You don't understand what this means!"

"Then explain it to me," his voice was soothing and calm.

"It will share my blood. The force runs strong in my family. The good and the bad. I can't… what if… it's too risky,"

Her tears were streaming down her face in force and now he understood. It took him another moment to process, but that didn't change how he felt.

"Leia, we have no idea what will happen. You're right it is a risk. But it is a risk I am willing to take. A risk that could give us a beautiful life."

She looked up at him and saw how genuine he was. It was reassuring but she still had her doubts, but then she thought. She hadn't taken time to think of the other possibilities. At that moment she could see herself on that beach she daydreamed about and her beautiful family off in the distance. It was warm there and comforting. She wanted that. But then reality crashed into her again.

"Han I can't…"

"You don't have to… not alone. It takes two you know. We made this baby together, and I have every intention of being there for every second."

"I'm… Han, I'm so scared."

Truth. She let her guard down. Became completely vulnerable.

"I am too, but we can face it like we do everything else, together."

Her eyes were locked with his and for the first time in days, she couldn't fight her slight smile.

A tear fell down her face as the memory flashed in her mind. "Together" he had said. Although she might have been cautious at first, she wanted that future more than anything now.

Her momentary happy memory faded and chaos took over once more. So she sat there staring out the window, watching the flashing lights go by, as her own consciousness tried to tear itself apart.

Luke could see the war raging inside her head as he turned slightly to look at her sitting next to him.

"We're almost there," he muttered in an attempt to momentarily bring her back to reality.

She broke her stare with her thoughts and turned to him and nodded, then she slipped right back in.

It hadn't been easy to convince Luke to take her. Eventually, though, he understood that either way she was going, and it was now only a matter of whether or not he was going with her. Of course he had to, she was a decent pilot herself, but in her condition, she shouldn't have been going anywhere alone. She most definitely would have though. Luke didn't underestimate her determination. Plus he was useless to her arguments. Maybe that was his downfall. He didn't know how Han had found a way to reason with her. He guessed it took one to understand one.

The week before they were married, the entire resilience had put money on a bet. Each thinking they could pinpoint the exact time when the two would get sick of each other and call it quits. Some guess a week, two, a very few optimists had money on a month. As surprised as everyone else had been when they actually tied the knot and stayed together longer than the typical response of two weeks, Luke never questioned it. They were made for each other. Both headstrong, stubborn, craving the high of adventure and danger. The common phrase 'opposites attract' had neglected to think about these two individuals.

Luke, on the other hand, had been surprised when he found out they were pregnant and happy about it. He had never expected either one of them to ever want to 'settle down' and raise a family. He soon realized he never calculated for the toll adventure and danger takes on a person. At some point enough is enough.

It made Luke happy to picture them as parents. It made him laugh really. That kid was in for a roller coaster of a childhood, but she would be loved unconditionally, and that's more than most had these days.

By the time they got to Gavvis, it was early afternoon. Leia was hesitant to get off the ship, it made the whole situation real, but slowly, with Luke's help, she got out of her chair and stepped onto the base.

Leia looked exhausted, even more than usual. Luke could physically see the toll the stress of it all had taken on her. She walked slowly but her head was still high. She may have felt like collapsing, but there was work to be done.

As they entered the control center the room froze. Every eye was watching Leia and her every movement. A variety of the same thought ran through everyone's head, "How is she here?"

Their question would not go unanswered for long. Leia could feel the stares and the silence was deafening.

"If you don't mind, I would eventually like to see my husband again, so if you would be so kind as to take your eyes off me and place them instead on your work, that would be greatly appreciated."

Without hesitation, the room erupted back into conversation and a hundred different moving parts.

Luke couldn't help but smirk at his sister. She may have been 5 foot 1, 8 months pregnant, and close to collapse, but she could still command a room of soldiers without a second thought. Luke envied her. That was why she was the leader and he was merely a soldier with cool powers.

"Luke?" Leia said quietly over her shoulder

"Yeah?"

"Get me a chair before I make a fool of myself."

He couldn't help but smile a bit as he immediately left her side to secretly bring her a chair.

It wasn't long before the commanding officer of the base made his way over to Leia and Luke. Both were now sitting watching over the control room. He approached with caution, in fear of what he was about to walk himself into.

Leia caught him out of the corner of her eye and immediately tried to stand.

"That is not necessary, your highness," the Officer implied kidly

"I have heard the basics, but I need the details. What exactly happened?"

Hesitant he began, "We're not 100% sure. Han had been asked to lead a group of recruits to inspect the perimeter and make sure we had gotten past the Empress guards undetected."

"Why was he leading a new group of recruits? Surely that job could have been accomplished by two or three men?"

"We thought of it more of a training expertise more than anything. We never foresaw any complications. For the majority of them it was their first time off their home panet, and we thought it would be a good idea to have and experienced leader like General Solo,"

"And my husband agreed with this mission?" she questioned.

"He volunteered actually,"

Lie Leia thought to herself. She knew her husband and the last thing he would do was volunteer for a mission like that. He would have much rather spend time fixing the falcon, talking strategy, or going by himself for that matter. It did not sound like Han to agree to take on any new recruits. Most days he avoided them at all cost. 'Too green and too dumb' she remembered him saying one time.

"They left around 0400 and were due to return around 0600, but they never showed," he continued

Leia felt the pit in her stomach growing uncontrollably with every word, but her face was stone cold.

"That's all you have?" she asked disappointedly. She was hoping for more, some kind of lead. Had he been taken? Was he injured? Lost? All of her questions went unanswered as she looked at the officer for clues. She was beginning to believe that that was all he had, when his eyes briefly shifted to the left. It was quick and could have easily been misinterpreted as a blink but Leia saw it.

"What are you not telling me?"

"Your highness, I can assure you I would never hide anything from you!"

"Right" she nodded sarcastically. "You… what is he not telling me?" Leia made direct eye contact with the private standing behind the officer. He had been looking at her when the officer was explaining but had kept his eyes to the floor after she began questioning the officer.

"Ma'ma, I...I," the officer quickly swiveled around making his eyes wide, suggesting he not speak another word.

"Now!" Leia demanded. Her voice was loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, but heading her previous words, no one looked up.

In defiance to his superior officer, the private took a short inhale and began to speak.

"Our sensors picked up an explosion of some kind about 2 miles out. It was in the general direction of where the crew was. We have tried to make contact with the team, but have been unable to reach them. As of right now we believe the Empire has no clue what happened, but the longer we have men out there the longer they are at risk. That is all we know."

Leia sat back in her chair deflated and closed her eyes for a moment to take in his words. Her brave front was done for. She felt Luke's hand on her shoulder grounding her to reality. He watched her for a moment to make sure she was somewhat ok and then looked back to the officer that looked like he was about to kill the Private.

"Your highness I apologize for my discretion. In your condition, I did not want to worry you more than I had to…"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't worried," she snapped. "And trust me my imagination is much worse than the truth… Usually," she whispered the last word realizing that the image of Han laying still on the ground, may become her terrible new reality.

Gathering her strength back momentarily, she looked back to the general, "What is your plan?"

"We have a second group all ready to leave the second it gets dark enough. We may have already lost 8 men, we can't afford to go out in the light and risk another 10,"
There it was, plain and simple. He may have been lost forever. He may have broken his promise.

Leia nodded and the Officer and Private quietly reiterated and left Leia and Luke alone in the midst of the chaos-filled room.

Luke wanted to say something positive and encouraging but he couldn't think of anything that could help at this moment. He placed a hand on her shoulder as she looked off into what he could only assume was her own thoughts. Although the constant thought of Han lying on the ground tried to take over her mind, Leia was focused on something else.

"You have to go with them," she whispered.

"What?"

She looked back over her shoulder and met her brother's eyes, "You have to go with them," she said again with more confidence in her voice.

He looked at her puzzling. He understood her words but there was no way he was leaving her side. Not here. He knew Han would never forgive him if he left her here. But Han might not be here he heard himself think. Did he really just think that? Was that really where his mind was right now? Did he really have to prepare himself for the possibility that his best friend and brother-in-law was dead? No, he couldn't do that. Not yet. There was still hope, and he needed to stay strong for his sister.

He did want to go though. As much as he knew it was a bad idea he knew he could help. He had powers no one else here had. He would be able to detect any danger that came their way and he would be able to reach out to Han once he was closer. He would be able to help, but her can't leave her. "No Leia, you know I can't do that,"

His words were clear but she could sense his internal fight. He loved Han too and she knew it was killing him to be sidelined.

"God Luke, for once listen to me. You and I both know you could do a lot more out there than you ever cound trying to comfort me here," His previous attempts to distract his sister from reality were pointless and she knew that nothing he could say would help her. But he could do something. He could bring Han home.

"Leia, I…" He began to argue but he was quickly cut off.

"No, Luke. There is nothing you can do here. I am perfectly fine in this underground bunker. There is nothing to protect me from other than my thoughts, and if you want to help me there then go… Go find him, please Luke. I need you to go," She could feel the threat of tears from deep within her throat, but she swallowed hard and was reluctant to let her emotions surface.

He knew she was right. They were currently 30 feet underground and surrounded by 100 capable soldiers if the impossible was to happen. He knew she would be safe, but there was another voice in the back of his mind that was telling him to say. It was Han's voice more than his own. Luke hadn't told Leia, but Han had talked to Luke the night Han told Leia he was leaving.

When Han's meeting was over he walked out of the room and immediately went to find Luke. Luke knew Han had wanted to have gone to see his wife but something inside of him told him that they needed to talk.

Han had found Luke eating in the cafeteria.

"Hey kid, got a sec?" Han said as he pulled up a chair from another table not waiting for Luke's response.

"Ya sure," Luke responded looking back to Han. He could tell something was up. Han's face had been pale and he wasn't his usual confident self. "Is Leia ok?" He asked, wondering if that was the stem of the issue.

"Ya, she's fine. Right now at least," Han replied as he stood down next to Luke and pulled his thoughts together.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to leave. I'm getting called to go down to Gavvis with the first group tomorrow to set up the base and work out the plan of attack."

"Does Leia know?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to talk to you first," Han looked down to his lap, he looked almost embarrassed by the conversation he was about to have.

"Umm.. ok what's up," Luke asked, having trouble reading Han. They had never had this awkward air between them. At least not since they had both been pinning for Leia, but that was… a different time.

Han took a breath, "You have to promise me that if anything ever happens to me you will take care of them. If something goes wrong you have to be with her and you have to promise me that you won't let her do anything stupid. You and I both know that she is stubborn and she thinks she's always right, but we also know that she needs to be stopped from going overboard from time to time."

"Han?"

"No just listen for a sec kid. I love her and our daughter so much, but you have to promise me, nothing is worth risking either of their lives. You have to protect her from herself."

"Han, why are you talking like this? Why now? You know I will always protect her," Luke was honestly a little offended by his words. It was almost as if Han was implying that he wouldn't protect his sister.

"You just have to promise me ok? Just give me some peace of mind before I leave,"

"Of course, I promise," Luke responded. He might not have understood where Han had been coming from in the moment, but he knew he would never let anything happen to his sister.

"Great, thanks kid," and with that Han left to go talk to his wife

That conversation replayed in Luke's head as he stared back at his sister who was still needing a response. He had promised Han, but looking at Leia right now he knew that the only thing that would help his sister right now was if he agreed with her and went to look for Han.

"Luke… Please…" Her tears were teetering on the edge of her waterline now. Her previous attempt to hold back was no longer working and somewhere in her head, she had let up a little knowing her emotions might push Luke over the edge.

"I...:" He began but he knew what he needed to do. "Fine"

Leia let out a breath she had been holding and turned back to look over the chaos-filled room.

Luke left her side and went to go find the Officer to tell him he would be joining them. He walked down the bridge that surrounded the tip of the room and down toward the center. He saw the Officer surrounded by a group of what Luke could only assume was the soldiers he would be joining. As he crossed in front of the entrance something caught the corner of his eye. Chewie. Luke heard his name called and turned to greet his friend. In all of the madness that had amounted to this day, he had neglected to think about where Chewie had gone.

"Chewie!" Lue siad grateful that he too wasn't missing but also questioning why he was here and not out there wherever Han was.

"Luke! What are you doing here?" He asked. He understood why he might be here but he wasn't sure he would have been brave enough to have Leia behind. Han had told him about the conversation the two had before Han lef and Chewie actually thought it was a decent idea. At least Han would have some piece of mind knowing Leia wasn't alone. He focused on Luke again as his eyes drifted and pointed to Leia who was sitting uptop the bridge above the room.

"Luke! What is she doing here?! Its not safe! Han is going to kill you,"

"I didn't have a choice!" Luke bit back. "When she heard what happened, she was determined to leave. She was going to fly herself if I didn't take her, and you and I both know how that would have gone. I had to bring her."

Chewy knew the princess and he had seen her determination first hand on a number of occasions, but still, she shouldn't have been here.

"Luke…"

"I know…"

"Han is going to…"

"Oh trust me… I know. Part of me hopes he has amnesia or something,"

"No you don't,"

"Yeah… you're right." Luke took a moment to himself and the gravity of the situation fell on his shoulders all at once. "God what are we going to do if…"

"No," Chewy snapped back, cutting Luke off. "We can't think like that? He has a cub on the way. He would fight to hell and back before he missed meeting his little one." Chewy's tone was strict and confident but his eyes told a different story. They drifted over to Leia once again. He couldn't imagine what she was going through. She had always been so strong, but something about her in that exact moment showed weakness. A vulnerability he had never seen before.

"Chewy, there is something else," Luke said, turning Chewy's attention back.

"You're going out there aren't you?"

"I have to. I'm no use here."

"I know. Is she ok with this?"

"It was her idea," Luke smirked and chewy nodded.

"Just promise me you will be careful."

"Always."

Chewy looked back to her once again. She was now rubbing circles around her very pregnant belly, and she was staring off into the crowd.

Her mind was left to itself again, and all she could see was Han's cold, dead eyes.

I hope you all enjoyed! As always feel free to leave a review and follow the story if you want to be notified when I update. Thank you for reading!

-KQinsights