Chapter 5
Their flight to Corellia went without any major problems, and a week after they left Han and Leia arrived on Corellia happier than they had ever been in their lives. As they walked down the main street Leia thought back to Sweethearts' Day on the Falcon, and how amazing her husband was. She couldn't imagine what she would have done with her life had she never acknowledged her love for him. She likely would have buried herself in politics and remained "The Ice Princess" for the rest of her life. She shivered at the thought and clutched her husband close to her. Just like Han had said in his card, it was hard for her to even comprehend the depth of her feelings for him. Their love was so spontaneous and beautiful. She wondered if any other woman in the entire galaxy felt as strongly about her mate as Leia did about hers. She strongly doubted it.
Thinking back to the beginning of the trip, Leia realized that she had felt strange...no, not strange, different, during almost the entire flight. She couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling. Deciding to put her newly acquired Jedi skills to use, she reached deep within herself with the Force, and felt a strange, happy glow that was soothing and warm. It reminded her of...Han? What could possibly...? Then it hit her like a ton of durasteel bricks. She was pregnant!
She turned to Han with a look of utter disbelief and excitement. She couldn't tell him about her feeling until she was completely sure, though. She devised a plan that would let her know as soon as possible if her feeling was valid. She quickly covered up her blissful look by contorting her face as if in pain.
"Han," she said with a hoarse whisper, "I'm not feeling very well. I think I should go to a medical station."
"Really, Sweetheart? We just got here, and a minute ago you looked perfectly fine. Happier than I've ever seen you, in fact."
"Well, you know...how some viruses can be...fine one minute...sick another..." Leia wheezed in between "coughs."
Han now looked very worried. He scooped his "sick" wife into his arms and started toward the nearest medical facility...until he realized that he didn't know where one was. He glanced around with extreme nervousness; the city he had once known like the back of his hand (though really, how well had he ever known the back of his hand?) was now a complete mystery to him, derelict buildings he had once known quite well were demolished to create skyscrapers, parks were being put in where bars had once been, and beggars were nowhere to be found. Even in his panicked state he felt sorrow for the poor of Corellia who had doubtlessly been kicked out of their neighborhoods when the Alliance had decided to "clean up" the planet. He would have to speak with Leia about that when she was feeling better. At the thought of Leia's health, he glanced down at his pint-sized wife and saw that her eyes were squeezed shut in pain.
"It'll be okay, Princess. I need to find a doctor, but I'm sure there'll be one around here. This place is swarming with Alliance people," Han said with a kiss to Leia's forehead. He couldn't care less if she was contagious; all he cared about was that she felt safe.
Leia nodded in response, and smiled to herself that Han had thought she was in pain, when really she was just concentrating on trying to not berate Han for picking her up in public when she was perfectly capable of walking. She felt bad for leading him on like this, but, hopefully, the reward would be worth his torment.
Meanwhile, Han had caught the attention of an Alliance construction worker and yelled at him to come over. The Twi-lek looked as if he was reluctant to leave his post, but came over as he saw that the man had what looked to be a sick woman in his arms.
"What's the problem, sir?" The Twi-lek asked.
"My wife's sick, and I need to get her to a medical station. Where's the nearest one?"
"Oh, actually there's not one around here. The closest one is about ten kilometers away."
Han started toward the worker menacingly, eyes blazing with threat. The Twi-lek backed away slowly. "You mean to tell me that there's no med facility nearby? I thought the Alliance prided itself on being as safe and worker-friendly as possible. What would happen if a worker got injured? They'd have to wait for a transport and medical crew! You'd better have a doctor on staff, or I'm going to report you guys to the Senate! I am a general!" Han exclaimed - his face red and breath ragged from his angry outburst.
The Twi-lek's eyes opened wide as he realized that he had a lunatic on his hands. Most likely the woman in the man's arms was someone he had grabbed off the streets and drugged. He had to act quickly, for the safety of the woman and everyone nearby. He grabbed his comlink and spoke into it quickly. "Security, this is Jorb Bolhac at the construction site. It seems we have a situation here. There's a man demanding medical treatment for a woman he says is his wife, but I think she's a hostage. He says he's an Alliance general. I think he's deranged..."
"Wait just one minute! I am a general, this is my wife Leia, and I am not deranged! I just need to see a doctor!" Han cried.
"You see what I'm saying?" the Twi-lek spoke into the comlink. "Try to get here as soon as possible. He looks dangerous."
Though Leia was desperate to find out if she was pregnant, she could not stand this anymore. Her charade was spoiled; she could hardly surprise Han with the news if he was in a jail cell. She had to come clean now, before security arrived. "Han!" she exclaimed, obviously no longer "sick." "Put me down!"
Han looked at his wife, stupefied. "I thought you were sick!"
"Not in the way you think, flyboy. But you need to stop this right now," Leia said, and after Han placed her feet on the ground, she turned to the equally surprised construction worker. "Sir, I'm sorry about my husband. He tends to get overprotective sometimes. You can call off security; this has just been a misunderstanding. Though Han may be crazy, I don't think he's certifiably insane."
"Wait, Ma'am, I thought you were sick! And he said he was an Alliance general! We all know that's not true," Jorb said with a nervous laugh.
"Um...actually that is true. And I really do need medical treatment, but I'm not dying as Han would make you think."
"Wait! You really are sick, and you just pretended to be dying? What's up, Leia? Why'd you go and scare me like that?" Han cried.
"Well, Han, I never really said I was dying, or even implied it. I just said I was sick. I just wanted to get to a medical station without any fuss, but obviously that didn't happen, did it?"
Han looked sheepish. "No. Sorry, Sweetheart. I just kinda freaked out there. I'll take you to medical, even if you aren't telling me what's bothering you."
"Thanks, darling," Leia said as she kissed Han softly.
During the couple's exchange the Twi-lek's eyes grew wide as he realized who these two were. Here he was, a dimwit, calling security on the most famous couple in the Alliance. He cleared his throat and spoke as they directed their attention toward him. "You're General Solo and Princess Leia, aren't you?" he asked timidly.
The two nodded their heads, and Jorb gulped, never before being in the presence of such legendary people. "That's what I thought. I'll call security and tell them it was just a misunderstanding. I'm so, so sorry. Please don't have me fired, I usually don't make mistakes like this."
"Oh, Mr. Bolhac, don't worry about this. Like I said, my husband can be overprotective of my safety. He can be pretty juvenile when he thinks I'm hurt. He should be the one apologizing, not you," Leia said with a glance at Han.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. No hard feelings?" Han asked the worker.
"No, Sir, none at all. I'm just so honored to meet you!"
Han groaned. "Oh, no! No groveling! We're supposed to be on vacation, not a public fawn-fest. Call me Han. My troops never called me Sir, so you shouldn't either."
"Oh, of course...Han. I'll just call off security now and then I can give you two directions to the nearest med facility."
Just as the words left Jorb's mouth, Han was surrounded by a dozen security guards with blaster rifles pointed directly at his chest.
