It had been three days since Leia's near fall to the Dark Side.

Three days of waiting expectantly by Padme's hospital bed until the droids deemed her free to go. Time was measured not by watches or clocks or even the coming of darkness and the return of dawn but by visits, quick visits that seemed to break the endless waiting into more sizeable pieces. Visits that caused more problems than they solved. For the visits were something both cherished and loathed by the Skywalker family.

On the morning of the third day, the twins were attempting to keep down some breakfast in the crowded cafeteria. Luke nearly bumped into his sister and a small amount of his soup fell over the lip of its container. "No place to sit," he asked, more statement than question for it was quite obvious that Leia was stopping due to the lack of empty tables. There were a few chairs available, but they were near a Gungen who looked terribly sick. Naturally, most avoided him. "We should go back to Mom's room. After all, it's not like you're going to come back for seconds. You've hardly been touching your dinner!"

"What's the point?" she replied vacantly as they headed down the corridor to their mother's room in the intensive care wing for blaster injuries, therapy, and speeder injuries, the category Padme fell under. A nurse held the door open for them when they reached their destination, more to prevent any further spills than because she really wanted to help. "There's a hole in me the size of Coruscant. And trust me, Luke," she added as she sat down on an unoccupied chair. "Nothing, not even food, is going to fill that up."

"Are you so sure about that?"

Luke smiled widely, but his happy expression was nothing compared to that of his sister's. She looked as if someone had just announced that she was to be the head of the Jedi council and made a master all in the same day. "Luke, shouldn't you be getting Mom some cookies or something?" she hissed as the person who had just entered the room stepped closer to them. Luke got up without much protest, happy to see Leia smiling, and even eating a bit of her food.

After Luke left with a meaningful glance at the speaker, the latter took up his seat on the bed near where Leia was sitting. "Long time no see," he said casually. "Actually, it's only been about a day or so, but that still feels like a long time to me. Heck, two minutes is a long time to be apart."

She smiled at the speaker, who was none other than Han Solo.

"You don't seem like yourself," Leia said at last. "The Han I know is less cheery, more quick to argue, and doesn't shave on a regular basis. And yes, I can tell that you shaved just this morning, so don't tell me you didn't." Han shrugged off the insults, pausing for a moment to gather a few of his own.

"Yeah, well, if I hadn't had to step in and save your butt, I wouldn't need to look all nice and heroic. Man, that Palpatine has got some issues! Well, what he lacks in looks, he makes up for in his taste in women," he said, reclining in his chair. Leia made a sound halfway between a sigh and a snort.

She looked away from him. "I don't get it. First you were rude and obnoxious, then you were telling me all your feelings and how you think I'm brave, and now you're being a complete jerk again. Although," she added shyly, "somehow I don't mind as much this time."

"I'm not a complete jerk all the time," Han protested. "You said so yourself, sweetheart."

"My point exactly. Sweetheart," she laughed. "What exactly do you mean by calling me sweetheart? I suppose it's one of those things that just is, the kind of thing I miss when you're not around." Leia took a deep breath. "I just still feel like Palpatine's right there, breathing down my neck. It was horrible, Han. I felt so cold, and it was the kind of cold that penetrates through your bones. It's still there. I just wish I had something I could hold onto, someone I could lean on."

Han reached out a hand as if to stroke her hair, but it never reached her face. "Leia, I can't," he whispered, not moving his hand from where he'd left it in front of her. "Not like this. Palpy was right about one thing: as long as you're a Jedi…" As Han's voice trailed off, Leia reached out and took his hand in hers. She felt its rough surface incredulously, as if she didn't believe that this could be real. A smile creeping up her face, she placed his hand gently on the nape of her neck.

It was like all the feelings that had been brewing under the surface ever since he'd seen Leia bowing before Sideous came to a point inside Han. Leia herself was on the brink of a revelation. Used to living in fear, she had never let anyone in until now. Without a word, Han leaned in closer to her. His conscience, a part of him that he'd never been fully in contact with, was screaming orders at him, fighting to keep him from making a mistake.

He couldn't do this to her, not after all that she'd been through. Han looked at her apologetically, but also with a longing gaze that only Leia could interpret. It was as if he was asking a question, one he didn't want to know the answer to. But as he began to pull away, she answered for him and brought a pair of shaking lips to his.

Han's stomach was doing backflips as he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss. It seemed as though the Jedi order didn't exist at all. He could almost hear the way she was feeling, as if by some form of telepathy. But this only brought him back to his senses; deep within him he knew that this form of communication was only possible for a Jedi. Leia's heart sank as he abruptly pulled away; Han could tell she was hurt, but mistook her disappointment for regret. "Oh, man…Leia," he stuttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm so sorry, I should have never…" Han got up, shaking his head. "I need a drink," he muttered as he headed towards the hospital exit.

"Han!" Leia exclaimed as she got up and ran after him. "Where do you think you're going?" The tall smuggler was too quick, and Leia had to adjust her pace to catch up. "I don't understand why you're running away."

"Because, Leia, I forced you to break the Jedi code!" he yelled, turning to face her. "All this time I said that I wasn't going to do anything, I wasn't planning on following through with my feelings, but here we are and you just broke the rule we've been trying to enforce. For once in my life I can't say that it's not my fault because it so obviously is! And the worst part is that I enjoyed it. I shouldn't enjoy breaking apart your dreams."

He started to walk again, but Leia caught his arm. "You didn't make me break the Jedi code, Han. I already had."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Han," she sighed wearily. "It takes two people. How else could you have kissed me if I didn't want you to?"

"You could've stopped me."

"You're impossible," Leia said bitterly. "You just don't understand, even when I'm making it obvious. Besides, I distinctly remember kissing you first."

"No you don't," he snapped back. "Besides, you wouldn't have if my arm wasn't around your neck."

"What? What was that?" she yelled indignantly. "That's because I put it there, you idiot! It would've never happened, none of this would have happened if I didn't move your hand because I wanted to!"

He glared at her. "What exactly is it you're trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say," Leia said, her face flushed. "What I have been trying to say the entire time is that I have already broken the Jedi code, Han Solo, because I love you."

"Oh," said Han, with the air of a deflating balloon. "Oh. Right." He stood there, looking and feeling like the galaxy's biggest jerk. "This whole time I was fighting with you over nothing. That's it then. For the record," he said slowly, "what exactly was it you just said?"

"I love you," Leia said with a smile.

"You love me," he said, letting out a deep breath. "You love me. And," he paused again, "I love you."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

He didn't stop smiling, for Leia's happiness was infectious, and he found that he really was happy inside. Han had been waiting for that insult, that last word she always had to have. Leia threw her arms around him for the second time, but not simply to get the chill of the Dark Side out of her bones. He returned the embrace, and for a few moments the couple was happy. But when you were a part of the Skywalker family, things didn't stay that way forever. "What are we gonna do now?" Leia asked, lifting her head from his chest to look into his eyes.

"Not sure," he admitted. This was a choice that Han didn't want to make, let alone think about.

"We'll talk about that later," she promised. "And as for now…well, seeing as I already broke the Jedi code, one more kiss couldn't hurt." Han beamed at her, and the couple embraced again.

It had been three days since Padme was admitted into the hospital. Three days of that unbearable chill inside Leia that had only just recently lifted, but was now replaced with uncertainty for the future. Three days of a father and brother worrying about one young woman who hadn't been eating much.

The waiting, as they all knew, had been broken up by visits. The last visit would mean the last night Senator Amidala spent in her bed. Tomorrow they would leave, and things would return to almost normal. But as they also knew, the visits had their repercussions. There was a reason that they were loved and hated by the family.

What they didn't know was that this particular visit held the keys to the destinies of several people: Leia Skywalker and her father, Han Solo, and Luke to name a few. But most of all, to the destinies of a young woman named Gracie and a young boy named Ricco.

For without that visit, they might have never existed.