The In-Laws: Part Two
Millennium Falcon-In Transit
Jag watched Jaina's fingers tap a nervous tattoo on the armrest. They moved with incredible dexterity and he found himself wondering if she was going to strain her fingers if she kept it up. As he watched, he felt his own nervousness stirring and rubbed his freshly cut hair idly, feeling the short bristles against his palm. He thought maybe if he kept a few things about himself the same, his father would find one less fault with him—besides staying away from home too long and marrying into the family that played an enormous part in bringing the Empire down. It was a desperate move, but he had to admit he was turning into a desperate man. They were three days out of Mon Cal and the walls of the Millennium Falcon seemed to be closing in on them. The rest of the ship's occupants seemed to be fine, but Jag was sure that they had their own thoughts on the matter.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jaina turn towards him and he reached out to hold her as she slid to his side, leaning her head against his shoulder and wrapping one arm around his waist.
"I would rather face three Vong Squadrons," she said simply.
"Me, too," he said.
"They're really worried," Leia said, glancing at the couple on the viewscreen as the Falcon's security cameras switched from one view to the next. "They haven't spoken a single word in over an hour. They're just…sitting there."
"That doesn't surprise me," Han said. "Jag knows his father and he knows this visit could quickly turn into a disaster. Remind me why we're doing this again."
"Because Jaina is going to marry into that family and I want to know what she's getting herself into," Leia said firmly. "I still can't believe she's marrying an Imperial pilot."
"Yeah, I thought that after we'd been through nothing can surprise me anymore. I should have known only a Solo would find a way to remedy that. Maybe the Solo luck will hold and maybe Fel's loosened up a lot since he's had the time to have five kids."
"Do you think you've loosened up?" Leia smirked. "Actually, if you loosened up even more than you had when I first met you, you'd be boneless."
Han reached out and took a brown curl between thumb and index finger, giving it a light pull. "You sure haven't changed much."
Leia smiled. "That's nice to hear."
"I mean, a few wrinkles here and there, and I think I saw a couple more gray hairs…"
With a shriek of laughter, Leia delivered a few well-placed blows on her husband's raised arms. He got a good grip on her arms and pulled her out of her seat and into his arms. Their eyes laughed into each other and Han kissed his wife for the millionth time in their long relationship.
"I can only hope that Jaina and Jag will have what we have," Leia murmured, patting her husband on the cheek.
"I guess I should warn Jag then, huh?"
Leia laughed and eased back into the co-pilot's seat. "You like him, don't you, Han?"
"Yeah, once he relaxed he turned out to be pretty good company," Han admitted, albeit reluctantly. "The only problem I have with him is…"
"…he's marrying our little girl," Leia finished for him. "You know what, Han? I think that no matter what happens on Csilla, they're going to go through with it. Jag's showed that he's willing to walk that extra parsec for Jaina just by staying with the Galactic Alliance for as long as he has."
"You think she's the only reason he's stayed?"
Leia cocked an eyebrow. "What else is there for him? He's not an adrenaline junkie and he sure isn't a spy or diplomat. Maybe he feels some sort of responsibility, as a pilot, in defending this universe against the Vong, but for the most part I think he just wants to protect our daughter."
"Gotta like a guy who does that," Han said, leaning back in his seat and clasping his hands behind his head. "Just brace yourself for Fel, that's all I gotta say."
"What did he ever do to you?"
Han sighed and he started to tell her, but a little voice in his head, which sounded remarkably like Leia, told him not to air out bad laundry so he merely shrugged. If anything, Leia would probably get along with the Baron better than Han ever did.
Fel Compound, Csilla
Wyn came into the sunroom with a handful of ice lilies fresh from the greenhouse. Her cheeks were pink from the cold but her green eyes danced as she smiled at her father.
"When are they going to get here?" she asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
The Baron took a deep breath and forced a smile on his face. "Sometime tonight, Wyn. Don't you have studying to do?"
"No," she said, putting the lilies in an empty vase near the large windows that overlooked the icy mountains of their home. "I couldn't sleep last night so I did my work then. I'm just so excited to see Jag again! And his wife!"
"They're not married yet," Soontir said.
"Will they get married here?" Wyn asked, her eyes lighting up with the prospect of a party. "Oh, Daddy, that would be so much fun!"
Soontir looked at his daughter over the report he was trying valiantly to finish reading. Dressed in her black Imperial uniform and her bright blonde hair tied back in a severe bun, Wyn looked the part of a proper cadet if not for the positively gleeful expression on her beautiful face that contrasted sharply with the straight lines of her clothing. Soontir knew that the time would come when every single male within the vicinity who was too stupid to be afraid of him would be coming to knock on their doors to see Wyn and he had to wonder how Han Solo felt when he found out his daughter was going to marry the last man that Solo would have ever picked. A smile started to crease his handsome face but then Soontir wondered what would happen if Wyn brought home a Rebel. He shuddered at the thought. He was having a hard enough time getting used to the idea of Jagged getting married to a Solo, but daughters were different from sons…
"When are they getting married, Daddy?" Wyn asked, sitting down on the armchair across from Soontir's desk with a little hop.
"Jagged didn't tell me," Soontir said patiently. "I am trying to finish reading here…"
His words didn't seem to have much affect on the teenager. "I've seen pictures of her," Wyn interrupted. "She's pretty. Kinda scruffy though."
"It's hard to maintain a good hairstyle and keep your makeup on when you're underneath a helmet for hours at a time," Syal said coming into the room with an armful of yellow roses. "Come on, Wyn, let your father finish his work so he won't run away to do it while your brother is here."
"I don't run away," Soontir groused, giving his wife a dark look.
Syal patted Wyn on the shoulder as the girl passed her at the doorway and she smiled at her grumpy husband. Her smile, a simple movement that brightened her face and whatever room she was in, had always lightened whatever mood Soontir was in and today was no different. He gave her a reluctant smile and took her hand as she passed by him, pressing a kiss to her palm.
"Jagged just contacted us," she said, eyeing the vase of ice lilies that Wyn had rearranged rather haphazardly. "They'll be here by dinnertime. Cem should be home soon, too. He doesn't want to miss the big homecoming."
"How did Jag look?"
"Haggard, worried, much how you look, Soontir," she said reproachfully.
"Aren't you worried?" he asked.
"Not as much as you are," Syal said. "Jacen Solo and Luke Skywalker did not seem like crazed Rebel spies when they were here, so I would imagine that the rest of their family is more or less the same."
Soontir's response to that statement was a grunt. Syal sighed and turned to leave.
"Just remember that he's our son," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "No matter how you feel about where Jaina Solo has come from, Jag loves her and that's what's important."
"I'm not much of a romantic, Syal."
"Don't I know it," she said dryly. "You don't have to be a romantic, Soontir. Just be reasonable. This is what he wants."
Soontir watched his wife walk away so she was out of an earshot when he muttered, "Easier said than done."