Chapter 66

After everyone left, Han collapsed next to Leia onto one of the comfortable couches that had been calling to him ever since the guests had arrived. She was feeding Alden, and giving herself the rest that was necessary after giving birth. The two new parents gazed at each other knowingly.

"Well, that was fun," Han stated sarcastically.

Leia rolled her eyes. "If they keep doing that every morning I'll end up murdering someone within the week."

"Now that would be a great image for the Alliance. I can see the headline now – 'Senator Organa Solo murders unsuspecting citizen. All chaos breaks loose.'"

"But you're forgetting that I'm an Ambassador now. It'll just serve to make me more intimidating to the planets we visit, and more of them will join."

"I don't think that'll work. Maybe if you just torture the person or something you'll look intimidating. Otherwise I think they just won't let you on the planet."

Leia rubbed her chin dramatically. "I don't know – torture might not be enough."

The conversation lulled for about a minute, then Han stated, "We're sick."

"Pretty much," Leia agreed.

Han turned to Alden. "Good luck having a normal life, kiddo."

Three months later…

Han, Leia, Chewie, Alden and (unfortunately) Threepio were on the Falcon, going on their first Ambassadorial visit. They had refrained from murdering anyone (which was probably best for everyone), and had enjoyed plenty of leisure time on New Alderaan with their new son. Both parents had grown restless of being planet-bound, however, and the opportunity for Leia to make use of her Ambassadorial status could not have come at a better time.

Alden was growing fast, too fast it seemed for Han and Leia, and his features were becoming more defined. The comments by various people about his resemblance to either of his parents were innumerable. Most thought him to be more like his father in appearance, however, as his eyes carried the same color and spark as Han's. His hair was growing in thicker, and was, as anybody would expect from a glance at his parents, a dark shade of brown.

Alden was also growing in awareness. He was now able to lift his head up without support, and was almost able to roll over. His progress, though perhaps only slightly advanced in comparison to his fellow babies, was a constant source of wonder to both parents, and they would often marvel at how their child could be so gifted at such an early age.

As that seems to be quite enough description of little Alden, it makes sense that we should move on to a description of the trip. A few days before Mon Mothma had told the couple of a proposed alliance with a small planet called Ican'tbelieve, and had implied that the two of them might venture there to stimulate the planet's interest. Leia had instantly agreed, as she had become bored at home on New Alderaan (as was previously mentioned), conveniently forgetting about the "interesting" character that called the planet home. Han had also eagerly agreed, and it was planed for the two of them to go, along with Alden, Chewie and Threepio. Han had vehemently argued against the droid's place on the trip, but had finally acquiesced after Threepio had proven his knowledge of the traditions of the small planet and told Han that he would be willing to attend all of the upcoming meetings, eliminating Han's need to be present during the especially tedious parts of the visit. Han was willing to tolerate Threepio's annoying traits if it meant that he would have more time with his son, friend, and his ship, as well as more time for adventure. Some sacrifices were just worth it.

That is enough general description for now, so we shall proceed to what are hopefully more interesting events.

Leia was practically screaming for Han, assuring him that if he did not leave his tinkering at that very moment he would regret it for the rest of his life. He sprinted into the room in response to her convincing argument, and skidded to a halt in front of Leia, who was sitting on the ground next to Alden. The baby was lying down on soft, padded material, intertwining his fingers and studying his movements with utmost fascination. From time to time he would roll slightly to one side, which caused his mother to jump with anticipation, but he would always merely roll back to his original position. Han gaped at the event that he would supposedly "regret for the rest of his life" if he missed it, and reevaluated his opinion on Leia's sanity.

"He was just about to roll over," Leia assured him, eyes never straying from her son's figure. "I'm not crazy, really."

"Sure," Han said, not exactly convincingly.

"No, he really was about to roll over."

"He's always 'about to roll over,'" Han argued. "You might as well have a holo-recorder on him at all times if you're so worried about one of us missing it."

Leia brightened at that. "Han, that's a great idea!"

"Oh no," he groaned. "I was being sarcastic, not serious. It's not even that important that we see him do it for the first time. He may have done it already, for all we know."

Leia glared at him.

He extended his arms out in a shrug. "Hey, the truth hurts," he proclaimed.

"Ooh!" Leia shouted, and tossed a baby toy at him. "I hope that you don't see him roll over for the first time - you don't deserve it!"

Laughing, Han escaped back into the cockpit.

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