Chapter 3
"Luke puts a new meaning on the word 'impossible'," Han growled, as he and Leia lay on their comfortable bed, trying their best to just relax. The long journey from Coruscant to Yavin 4 made both of them weary, though Han spent most of his time navigating the Falcon.
"I know, Han, but there's really not much more we can do other than beg, plead, and…"
"We could drag him," Han snorted. "I'm all for that method."
Leia rolled her eyes. "We'll just keep an eye on him this week."
Han groaned, struggling to lean up against the headboard. "So, are you really serious about sending the twins here when they're twelve?" he asked, hearing laughter from students outside of his door, as they walked about the temple. Leia touched his arm, her eyes twinkling.
"Of course I am. They're both so excited about coming here, and I think they'll be very successful."
There was a buzzing noise on the intercom in the bedroom, and Leia glanced at the control panel on the wall by the door.
"Wonder who that could be," she thought, sliding out from Han's arms, and to the floor. She covered herself with her robe, and went to push the call button.
"This is Leia," she spoke, and waited for the person to reply.
"Leia? It's Luke."
"Is everything all right?" Leia asked, glancing over her shoulder at Han, who had turned on his side in preparation for a nap.
"Yes, everything's fine. But I think the kids and I are going to take a bit of a nap ourselves, so we're just letting you know."
"We're in Uncle Luke's room, Mom!" Jaina and Jacen called in unison, and Leia chuckled.
"All right. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call on us," She added, and there was a pause.
"I'll see you later, Leia." A soft click noise told her that he'd turned the intercom off, and she went back over to the bed.
"Luke managed to get the kids to lay down for a nap with him," she spoke, and Han snorted, pulling her back into his arms once she was on the mattress. He removed her robe, and ran his hands down her bare arms.
"The kid's pretty amazing sometimes," he teased, and Leia scooched forward to give him a kiss.
"I want to sleep next to Uncle Luke!" Jaina cried, once they reached Luke's quarters, where Threepio was currently busy cleaning up.
"Master Chewbacca has arrived from the Falcon, Master Luke," Threepio explained. "He was taking care of…mechanical troubles, I do believe? And I sent him to the mess hall to help himself for a bit of lunch."
Luke nodded at the droid. "Thanks, Threepio. Would you mind taking a bit of a break? I think we're going to sleep for a while."
Threepio's optical sensors turned towards Jacen, Jaina and Anakin, who were scrambling onto the bed to see who could get the most comfortable spot. Soon, Anakin wound up in the middle of the two twins, and Luke got the largest space on the right side of the mattress.
"Certainly, sir. Good afternoon." He waddled out of the bedroom, and the mechanical doors open and shut with their familiar WOOSH sound. Luke smiled as the Solo children lay watching him, and he sat on the edge of the bed, yawning.
"Is everybody comfortable?" Luke asked, sliding under the covers, feeling suddenly chilled. The kids crawled beneath the sheets too, and Jaina nodded, closing her eyes.
"Mmm hmm. Your bed's very comfortable, Uncle Luke."
Luke smiled softly to himself, bundling into his blankets, wrapping his feet in them. "I'm freezing all of a sudden," he admitted, his teeth chattering, and Jacen lifted his head, glancing at Anakin, who had already fallen asleep. Jaina looked at her twin brother over Anakin's body, and then they turned to Luke.
"You might have a fever," Jaina suggested, crawling over so she could feel Luke's forehead. It was a little warmer than usual, but not overly so. She shrugged, snuggling back down again.
"A little sleep will do all of us quite a bit of good," Luke told them in a quiet voice, coughing into his shoulder. He sniffed and sighed, trying to relax as best as he could.
Luke and the Solo children slept most of the afternoon, only waking when Threepio came to announce that it was time for dinner. Jacen, Jaina and Anakin waited patiently for Luke to gather his wits about him, but were concerned that their Uncle looked worse than he had before they lay down. "Stay in bed," Jaina insisted, and Luke attempted to argue, but only broke into coughing. "We'll bring you something to eat."
Luke hated to admit it, but the thought of facing the usual crowds in the mess hall was a bit overwhelming at the moment. He allowed his nephews and niece to help him back under the covers, just as there was a light knock on the door. "Stay with Uncle Luke, Anakin," Jaina told her youngest brother, as she and Jacen went to see who the visitor was. When they pressed the intercom, they weren't surprised to find their mother's voice answering them on the other end.
"Uncle Luke's sick, Mom," Jaina told her. "He's just going to stay in bed while we go to dinner…" the doors opened, and Leia swept in, her eyes wide with worry.
"Luke?" she breathed, dashing over to the bed, where Anakin sat cross-legged, holding his Uncle's hand. He gazed at her, trying to pull away when she attempted to check his temperature.
"Leia, it's all right. I just exerted myself too much today." His voice was barely audible, and Leia sat beside him, smoothing his cheek.
"You are running a bit of a fever," she said. "Luke, we really should send for a medi droid and have an examination done."
"I don't need an examination," Luke growled. "Where's Han?"
"He went to see Chewbacca, and he's meeting us at the mess hall."
"Go to dinner, Leia," Luke whispered, reaching up to touch her shoulder comfortingly. "I'll be fine here. I just need some sleep, that's all." He sighed heavily, though that caused the cough to start up again. Leia eased him into a sitting position, and turned to her children.
"One of you can stay behind here," she told them. "And your father and I will have something brought up for you. I don't trust leaving Uncle Luke alone."
"Leia, I'm not a child," Luke scowled. "I'm fine…" he began coughing hard into his fist, his cheeks turning bright red.
"I'll stay with him, Mom," Jaina insisted, her eyes narrowing as Luke collapsed against his pillows, exhausted. Anakin and Jacen surrounded their Uncle, staring at their mother with worry.
"We all want to stay with him, Mom," Jacen insisted, but Luke shook his head.
"Neither of you needs to stay with me," he said. "I'll be fine. Go and eat." He gave each of the kids a kiss, and Leia herded them out of the room.
"If that fever doesn't go down by tomorrow, we're bringing you to the medical ward," she told him, shaking her head with exhasperation, and following in the children's wake. Luke watched as Leia greeted Threepio, who stood by the door, and strained to hear as she whispered something to him.
"Of course, Mistress Leia, I'll watch over him," he insisted, and Luke groaned. His sister was unbearable!
"Threepio," he warned, as the droid waddled into his bedroom, but was too tired to continue the retort.
"I'll be quite silent, sir. You won't even know I am here." The droid insisted, taking his place by the large window. Luke closed his eyes, trying to calm his chattering teeth, and wondered what was wrong with him. 'One minute I'm perfectly well, the next…' he cringed as a sharp pain shot through his chest, sending him into another fit of coughing.
"Sir, might I get you anything? A glass of water, perhaps?"
Luke gasped for breath, nodding. "Thank you," he croaked, and Threepio went to fulfill his master's request.
"Hey Chewie!" Jacen called, when he, his other siblings and Leia caught up with Han and the wookie. Chewbacca gave a small rawr of acknowledgement, and wrapped a large, furry arm around Jacen. Leia and Jaina laughed at the sight, but Anakin stood silently a few inches behind them.
"Did you get enough to eat, pal?" Han asked, and the wookie gave another rawr. "Good. You can either sit with us then, or go back and hang in your room for a bit. It's up to you." He raised his arms, and Chewbacca agreed to the latter suggestion. The family watched as the wookie walked away, and Han turned to Leia.
"So where's Luke?" he asked, noticing his absence.
"Sick in bed of course," Leia groaned, and Han raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to talk some sense into that kid," he growled, but she held him back.
"No, Han, don't," she argued, and he stared at her. "Don't make the situation any worse than it is. Threepio is watching him, and we'll see how he feels in the morning before we jump to any conclusions."
Jaina tugged on her mother's dress, and Leia glanced down. "Yes love?" she asked, and Jaina frowned.
"What is wrong with Uncle Luke? Why did he want to talk to you two in private earlier today?"
Han hustled the kids forward. "Better get to the mess hall before they run out of the good stuff," he answered quickly.
"But Dad!" Jacen protested, though after seeing his father's stern expression, nodded with a sigh. "Yes, sir." He gave Jaina an annoyed look, and the twins hurried off. Leia picked Anakin up in her arms, and walked side by side with Han. It wasn't until Leia sent Anakin off with his elder siblings that she pulled Han aside.
"We can't keep this from the kids," she whispered. "But I don't want to worry them, especially if we don't even know what the problem is."
Han rubbed his chin, leaning against one of the poles. "Yeah." He growled under his breath. "I don't care if his temperature's one degree higher than normal tomorrow morning…the kid's going to the medical ward." He brought Leia over to the buffet, where the family stood in line with the students, filling their plates. "Some trip, though, huh?" he added in a quiet tone, and Leia nodded, wetting her lips. She hated seeing her brother feeling so horrible, and hoped that his condition wasn't too serious. She just wished he wasn't so stubborn.
Back in his quarters, Luke tossed and turned in bed, occasionally breaking into a coughing fit. Threepio continued to stand by the window, watching over his master. Leia returned after supper, having left the children with Han and Chewbacca. She shook her head exhasperatedly at the sight of her brother. Luke lay huddled beneath the sheets, his teeth chattering.
She told Threepio to send for a medical droid, and went to sit beside Luke on the bed. He merely gave a small moan when she touched his hot forehead, and shifted fitfully. "I'll be right back," she told him, and headed into his private bathroom. She found a wash bowl and a cloth, filling the bowl with cool water. No doubt Luke was coming down with an infection of sorts.
When she began blotting his forehead and cheeks, Luke's eyes fluttered open at last. "Leia?" he whispered, and she reached over to take his hand comfortingly.
"Shhhhh. I'm here, Luke," she promised. "I won't leave you."
Luke coughed, gasping for air. "You don't have to be here," he whispered, though that only made him start coughing again.
Leia shook her head. "Don't try to talk, Luke. I sent for a medi droid, and we'll try to get you better, all right?" she felt her heart racing at Luke's somewhat shallow breathing, and wanted to kick herself for not having sent for the droid prior to this.
"No droid," Luke whimpered, shivering as a few stray drops trickled down his cheeks and neck.
When Threepio returned with a medical droid about a half hour later, Leia was ordered in a gentle tone to leave the room. It was explained to her that if Luke was in deed ill, the risk of exposure to germs was imminent. Leia gave Luke a quick kiss on the forehead, dashing from the room.
As soon as she entered the hallway, she ran smack into Han, who had Chewbacca at his heels. "What's going on?" he asked.
"I had to send for the medical droid," Leia whispered. "Luke's running a pretty high fever. I figured it was best to do that now, when he's not quite with it. Makes it more difficult for him to protest."
Han folded his arms as he heard his brother-in-law coughing from behind the door. "We really should let the kids know," he sighed. "They're starting to get pretty suspicious."
Leia glanced wearily at Chewie, who gave a soft rawr of agreement, followed by a snuffle. "I really don't want to tell them anything until we know what's wrong," she replied. "Han, there's no need to cause a panic."
"But they have the right to know if they're Uncle is feeling cruddy," Han insisted. "Just because we don't know exactly what the problem is, it wouldn't hurt to let them know there might be trouble."
Leia was quiet for a moment, and finally folded her arms, nodding. "You're right," she agreed. "You're right. It's selfish of us to keep this from them. Where are they?"
Han nodded over his shoulder. "In their room. They're wiped out," he added. "It should be an early night bed-wise." He wrapped a comforting arm around Leia, leading her away from her brother's quarters. Chewie waddled after them, and the three reached their children's guest room.
Jaina and Jacen lay on their beds chatting, while Anakin sat on the plush couch, reading a picture book. "Is everything all right?" Leia announced, causing all three children to look up, their faces clearly worried.
"Yeah," Jaina replied. "What's wrong? Did you find out what's the matter with Uncle Luke?"
Han and Leia glanced at each other, not quite sure how to begin. "No," Leia replied, sitting on her daughter's bed. "We didn't find out what the matter is yet, but the healer is with him now."
Jacen wet his lips as his father joined him, and sat up straight. "Do you think it's bad?" he asked, and Leia folded her hands on her lap.
"Yes," she replied. "It could be. We didn't want to scare you, but your father and I have discussed that it's best for you to know where this is all coming from. You know your Uncle hasn't been very well for several years, don't you?" she asked, and everyone nodded sadly.
"He's always sick when we're here," Jaina agreed. "And he's just so tired."
"What happened to him?" Anakin asked, crawling onto his mother's lap, and allowed her to wrap her arms around him.
"I'm sure he's told you the story of how he defeated the Emperor so long ago?" Leia asked, and the children nodded.
"That's our favorite story," Jaina replied.
"Well, Uncle Luke didn't tell you about the Force lightening, did he?"
Jaina and Jacen glanced at each other, and at Anakin, and the three shook their heads. "Not really," Jacen replied. "He said the Emperor tried to kill him, but Darth Vader stopped him before he could. That's right, isn't it, Mom?"
Leia sighed. "Well, it's mostly correct. The way the Emperor tried to kill your Uncle, was by using what's called Force lightening. He shot out this blue electricity, which surrounded your Uncle for several minutes. Luke told us that ever since, he's developed a bad cough."
The children stared at their mother, not sure what to say. "Uncle Luke might be…" Jaina whispered, unable to say the words. "No, Mama, he can't be…"
"We don't want to make any assumptions yet," Leia told them. "He's being looked at now, and will probably have some medicine.
"Oh it's our fault," Jaina cried. "We're always playing outside and getting dirty. We might have given him something," she sobbed, and Leia held her close.
"Nonsense!" she exclaimed. "Jaina, Luke could have picked up an infection from anyone or anything."
"I want to see him," Anakin added, and Han held up his hands.
"That won't be possible tonight," he stepped in. "Your Uncle's not feeling well, and he needs peace and quiet, so he can rest. I don't want either of you kids in there disturbing him, do you hear me?"
"I want Uncle Luke!" Anakin repeated, tears forming in his icy blue eyes. "I want Uncle Luke!"
Leia hugged him tightly, feeling her own eyes fill with tears. "Anakin, you have to be brave for your Uncle Luke. He wants you to enjoy yourselves as much as you can," she added. "You know how it is when you're sick, Ani. You don't want people making loud noises or bouncing about, do you?"
Anakin shook his head, sniffling. "No," he whispered.
"That's just how it is with Uncle Luke. He needs his rest, and he'll feel better in the morning, I'm sure." She hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt. "All of you have to promise me," she added, "that you won't let Uncle Luke know that you know. I want you to act as normal as possible, because we don't want him to start to worry himself."
Jacen nodded. "We will, Mom." He smiled at his father, who patted his shoulder proudly.
"That's my boy. Jaina? Anakin? Are you in?" he asked, and Leia held out her hand.
"I'm in," Jaina finally responded, placing her hand on top of her mother's. Anakin did the same, and, before long, the entire Solo family came together in a huddle. Chewbacca stood off to the side, giving a rawr of approval, and made the twins laugh.
"Come here, Chewie," Jaina called, opening her arms, and embraced the wookie when he did as she told him to. "We can't forget about you!" she added, and Jacen reached over to scratch the wookie's side playfully.
"All right, you three," Leia announced. "I think it's early to bed tonight. It's already eight thirty, and we've had a very long day of traveling, and helping Uncle Luke. You don't have to go straight to sleep, but I want it to be quiet in here, all right?" she gave her children a stern look, and they surpressed disappointed groans.
"Yes, Mom," they replied in unison, and, after receiving more hugs from their parents, watched as they eventually left with Chewbacca. When the door to their room closed, the trio looked at one another.
"I do hope Uncle Luke will be all right," Jaina murmered.
"Me too," Jacen replied sadly. "Me too."