"Jorj, don't play with your cutlery." Leia told him. Whenever they ate out, the first thing he did was fiddle with his cutlery; never at home, only ever when they were out.
"Where's Tilly?" Jorj demanded.
"She'll be here in a minute." Leia reminded.
Han had insisted on showing Opi and Finn around the restaurant, explaining how his son had expanded the business into growing their own vegetables. With Tilly needing to rest through the remainder of her pregnancy, Leia had taken on childcare duties while Han, along with assistance from Jorj, had readily taken to kitchen preparation.
Jorj sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging.
"Jorj, don't worry. Tilly's going to love Snowbelle." Leia reassured her son.
"I don't like her being upset." Jorj said.
"I know you don't sweetheart." Leia soothed him with a soft hand stroking his cheek. "Look, here they come now. Come on, sit up, straight and proud just like your father taught you."
Jorj straightened, preening his shoulders.
"Jorj Bailey Solo, you get taller every time I see you!" Tilly exclaimed, a hand resting against her expanding belly.
"An' you get fatter!" Jorj blurted.
"Jorj!" Leia admonished.
"That's okay. He's right, I do." Tilly laughed and kissed Leia's cheek. Han held the chair for Tilly to sit beside Leia, she eased into it gratefully. "Thank you." The young woman smiled. "I'm so glad you could all come for dinner, it's been too long."
"Blame your husband, he's got this habit of working too hard." Han said, offering Opi a chair which she accepted graciously. Finn seating himself next to her.
"Gets that from his mother." Jacen said, sitting beside Tilly.
"Hey! How come there ain't enough chairs?" Han growled, frowning as he glanced around the table.
"We usually only cater for parties of six." Jacen replied, unhelpfully. Then, with a laugh added. "Here, take mine. I'm gonna be in the kitchen mostly anyways." Jacen kissed his mother's cheek then Tilly's, whispering something she giggled at before leaving them.
"Jorj..." Leia prompted. "Don't you have something for Tilly?"
"Yes, Jorj, Jacen tells me you have a gift for me." Tilly said, a hand caressing her tummy. Jorj blushed and hung his head with nervous embarrassment.
"Jorj..." Leia gently nudged.
The chair squealed as it scraped the floor when Jorj pushed it back, rising. "I figured you needed something to cheer you up." The boy said and pulled a carrycase from under the table. It was covered with a light cloth but Tilly could hear the sounds of mewling from beneath it's cover.
"What is it Jorj?" Tilly beamed, accepting the case and resting it on her knees.
"Can I say?" Jorj whispered at his mother.
"It's your gift Jorj." She told him.
Jorj considered for a moment, then turned the cloth back for Tilly to see, announcing. "It's a gossimer."
"Oh Jorj! He's beautiful!" Tilly gasped.
"He's a she. They make the best mousers." He announced to a table of laughter.
"Well..." Tilly laughed. "We have a pretty good rodent-catcher droid but you can never have too much protection, I suppose. Thank you Jorj, she's beautiful."
Leia moved into the seat Jorj had vacated, allowing the boy to sit beside Tilly and talk about the feline he had bought her.
"This place is great!" Finn exclaimed.
"Yeah." Han agreed. "Jacen's worked his butt off to make it a success."
"Not just Jacen." Leia reminded with a nod of her head toward Tilly who was engrossed in her conversation with Jorj.
"Well..no..obviously I meant them both." Han said. Leia gave him a look. She knew he wasn't disregarding Tilly's contribution, just acknowledging all that Jacen had overcome to get where he was today.
"I love the mural." Opi commented, admiring the wall dedicated to Jacen and Tilly's missing daugher, Rey. She also caught the look exchanged by Han and Leia. "I sense a story." She said, looking between the pair.
"Not one that's ours to tell." Leia reported.
"Shame, I suspect it was a good one." Opi said, regarding Leia.
Han cleared his throat and turned his attention to Tilly. "So how come you closed up for the evening?" He asked.
"He didn't tell you?" Tilly queried, rolling her eyes and fidgeting until she was comfortable. Then she called through to the kitchen. "Jacen. Could you come out here a minute, hon?"
"I'm a little busy in here sweetheart." Jacen called back.
"Jacen Solo get your ass out here!" Tilly barked.
Jacen obediently appeared, wiping his hands on his apron. "What's up sweetie?" He asked.
"You didn't tell them." Tilly stated.
"Ah...not yet, no. Figured we could talk about it while we were eating." He said.
"You are such a wuss!" Tilly accused.
"No, I'm not." Jacen laughed nervously. "I just thought we could..you know..over dinner and a glass of wine, talk about..you know..the future."
"Since you're out here already, why not tell us now?" Han suggested.
"Sure. Okay." Jacen agreed, then hooked a thumb at the kitchen. "I just gotta turn something off on the stove." He smiled, weakly and hurried back to the kitchen.
"How'd I end up married to such an idiot?" Tilly asked.
"I ask myself that every day." Han said, shaking his head at Tilly.
"Me too." Leia added, to Han's scowl.
A moment later and they were all re-joined by Jacen who dragged a chair from another table over and planted himself between Tilly and Jorj.
"So, what's the big secret?" Han demanded.
"No secret. It's just that the restaurant's been doing really well lately and that's in no small part thanks to the contribution you and Mom have made." Jacen replied, brightly.
"We couldn't have done it without you." Tilly said, simply.
"But as grateful as we are, it was only ever intended as a temporary measure." Jacen continued.
"Are we being made redundant?" Leia asked.
"No!" Jacen exclaimed, hurriedly. "And yes. Kind of." He sighed and took a breath. "What I mean is, Tilly and I have invested in some additional staff. Let me introduce you to Adam." On cue, the kitchen door slid briefly aside and out rolled a droid, affectionately baptised 'Adam' by Jacen and Tilly.
"A droid?" Han queried, his lip curled.
"An 'Automated Delivery and Maintenance' droid, to be precise." Tilly replied. 'Adam' proceeded to reveal one drawer after another from his rotund torso, from which he lifted a plate and placed it before each of them with the exception of Jacen before rolling back into the kitchen.
"They come in six or eight settings; we opted for the six which is why there wasn't enough chairs at the table." Jacen explained.
"Adam can be programmed to take and recall orders, so you'll never get the wrong dish." Tilly added.
"My dish is empty. Does it serve actual food also?" Han asked, looking down at his empty plate.
"Well, thing is..." Jacen blushed and looked at his lap a moment. "We decided to take on an apprentice too."
"So you won't need Jorj here either?" Leia asked. Jorj's head spun to look at his mother, his bottom lip trembling.
"We felt Jorj's studies needed to take priority. But he's welcome to come to help and to learn whenever he's able." Tilly assured.
"Yeah." Jacen agreed with a grin and ruffling his younger brother's hair. "He's cheaper than the apprentice programme!" Jorj batted Jacen's hand away, scowling furiously. "Hey, you wanna meet her?" Jacen asked, pushing to his feet.
"Her! Why does that not surprise me!" Jorj frowned and sulking into his seat. Leia couldn't help but laugh to herself. Poor Jorj, he felt he was surrounded by females.
"Surprise!" Jacen called as he enticed his restaurant apprentice out into the dining area. A young, blonde woman stepped cautiously into the room and waited for the shock of recognition. Leia was the first to identify her.
"Tahiri? It is, isn't it, it's Tahiri Veila!" She exclaimed, looking from the young woman to Jacen and back again.
"Nah..." Han started, narrowing his eyes to confirm what they were telling him. "I don't believe it! It is! It's Tahiri!"
"I told you I kept in touch with Jacen." Tahiri smiled.
"You look different with clothes on." Han said, drawing looks from everyone at the table, except Leia. "We've met before." He tried to explain. "Just...last time I saw her, she was wearing a lot less...professionally speaking..." Han couldn't help adding.
"Han." Leia shook her head to suggest he give it up.
"Go take a seat while I load up Adam." Jacen told Tahiri.
Tahiri Veila paused, nervously, then moved to join the group.
xxxxxxxxxx
"He asleep?" Han queried.
Leia nodded. "Glowfish are fed, 'kit's have been petted, fed and watered, gossimer's been cuddled to within an inch of her life and Jorj is asleep." She dropped into the sofa beside Han and sank into his warm embrace. "So glad we decided to downsize!" She sighed.
On learning they were to have another child the couple had made the decision they needed to move from their oversized apartment in the heart of Coruscant to something more appropriate to their needs.
On the Galaxy's learning of Leia's Sith heritage they had made the decision they needed to distance themselves from the planet they had by necessity made their home for something more suited to their desired anonymity.
Their property, renamed from 'Woe Betide' to 'Alderaan', had been bought by Han during a period of uncertainty in their marriage and remodelled, at great expense according to Han, to become home to Han, Leia, Jorj, Jorj's array of pets and at any given time either or both of their grown up children and their offspring.
"Yeah..." Han agreed. He kissed Leia's temple and held her, both of them enjoying the quiet. "You..er..wanna go up..maybe?" He queried.
Leia twisted her head to look up at him looking back down at her. "You mean..." She started.
"Yeah, I do." He grinned.
With a sweet smile, Leia nodded, her eyelids batting dreamily. They still enjoyed a healthy intimate lifestyle. When they weren't being interrupted!
Strolling across the hallway towards the staircase, Han glanced nervously at the front door. Releasing his light embrace, he wandered over towards the door.
"Han?" Leia queried.
"Hang on..." Han said, glancing down at his foot.
"Han Solo you are not going to put your sock on the door handle!" Leia laughed.
Han stretched his back and appeared to consider. "You know, you're right. I'm gonna put a note outside, 'bug off, I'm screwing the missus'!" He said.
Leia laughed again and held her hand out to him. "Come on. Just turn the latch, everybody around here knows that means only one thing." She told him.
Han agreed with a sniff, accepted her offered hand and walked with her the flight of stairs to their bedroom where he stopped again and glanced across the hall to their son's room.
"He's asleep." Leia insisted.
"I might just..." He started.
"Han, he's fine. He's fast asleep and if he does wake, he knows to knock our door first." She reminded, tugging less than gently on his fingers until he followed her into the bedroom.
"D'you bring your comm up with you?" He asked, rounding on her.
"Hall table, next to yours." She assured him, running a hand the length of his shirt from collar to waist.
"Any other, you know, device in here?" He queried.
"Sith sake Han!" She groaned, crossed to her bedside cabinet and withdrew her message tablet from a drawer. Making a show of turning the device to silent, she then replaced it and closed the drawer with a sigh. "Happy now?"
"That the only one?" He asked, scratching at the back of his head.
"You suggested coming up here Han. Did you only ask because you thought I'd say no?" She countered, an impatient hand on her hip.
"No, but how many times Ley huh? We just get to the good bit an' your brother turns up or golden rod pokes his beak round the door or the kid wakes up..."
She interrupted him with a raised hand. "Luke doesn't just turn up, not any more. See Threepio was loaned to Jaina an age ago and, I think, likes it at hers a whole lot more than he does here. And 'the kid'? That's your son you're talking about. Our miracle child we're lucky to still have."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry." He apologised, holding his hands up in submission.
"I can't believe you'd call him 'the kid'..." Leia cursed, angrily unsnapping the stud collar to her dress.
"How many times, is all I was saying." He mumbled, pulling his shirt over his head and dropping it on the bed.
"Help me with this would you?" She asked, straining to reach another stud.
Han circled the bed to help her with her dress. "Still not seen that specialist about your shoulder?"
"The one you said was an overpaid, underqualified idiot? Obviously not or it wouldn't still be causing me difficulties." She pointed out.
"I was only asking." He mumbled, releasing another three studs. "You want me to maybe rub it for you?" Her shoulder lifted ever so slightly in reply. Han let a grin start to crawl up his cheek. "You want me to maybe massage it for you?" He rasped into her ear. He heard her breath catch, felt the slightest tremble of her body when his fingertips grazed her neck.
Still got it, Solo. He thought.
The dress she had chosen for the night had a high collar and precisely twenty two studs that needed to be undone before he could slide it from her shoulders. He knew there were precisely twenty two studs, because he'd counted them when he helped her into the dress before they went out. He'd wondered then how long it would take him to reverse the process and now he knew: less time than he expected!
Han made sure his fingertips ghosted her flesh as he eased the dress the length of her arms, watching as tiny goosebumps rose where his fingers had been.
Yeah! Still got it!
Beneath, she was wearing one of the camisole's he had bought her before they left Coruscant.
It was white lace and silk and hugged her frame just right.
"You want me to let your hair down?" He drawled into her ear, his breath tickling and inducing a further prickle of goosebumps to rise across her flesh.
"My shoulder first." She said, dreamily.
Han's grin crawled higher before he placed his lips against her neck and began a leisurely exploration. His nose grazed the shell of her ear and he inhaled deeply. "Did I buy you that perfume?" He queried. Her head bobbed then tilted to the side. "'S'nice." He told her. His lips trailed across her shoulder until they met resistance in the shape of her camisole strap. "Leia..." He whispered as a fingertip slowly eased the strap aside. "I want you..."
"That's good, because I want you too." She responded, her breath hinting at a raggedness he knew she was fighting.
While his lips continued to massage her shoulder, his hands slid to her hips to help guide her dress to the floor where it pooled at her feet.
Shorts complimented her camisole, caressing her butt cheeks with their luxurious silken texture. Han didn't consider himself a butt man, per se, but there was something about Leia's that made him want to suck on them for a week and then come back for a whole lot more.
"Did you hear Jorj talking to Tilly at dinner?" Leia asked, breaking his train of thought.
"Huh?" He queried.
"Jorj. At dinner. Did you hear him?" She repeated.
"I..don't know if you noticed, but I'm kinda in the middle of something here!" He reminded her.
"I know. But I've been meaning to ask all night, so I thought..." She started.
"You thought you'd use one of my greatest seduction technique's as a distraction." He accused.
"It's not that good Han. No offence." She said.
"No offence!" Han exclaimed, stepped back, planted a fist on one hip, curled his lip and added, "None taken."
Leia stepped out of her puddled dress and plucked it from the floor, turning to face him. "I just meant..." She started.
"Am I boring you?" He frowned.
"Han, no, of course not." She denied.
"Because if I'm boring you I could just, you know, go do something less boring like trim my nose hairs or cut my toenails or something." He growled.
"Han, I just wondered if you'd heard Jorj talking to Tilly. That's all." Leia said.
"I'm trying to be a little romantical here." He told her.
Leia dropped her dress on the bed and stepped in closer to her husband. "It wasn't intended as an insult. My timing could have been better, I know, but I'd been meaning to ask you all night and I just..." Her eyes slid shut, then opened again, an apologetic smile breaking across her lips. "I'd have been offended. If I'm honest, had the roles been reversed, I would have been very offended. I'm sorry."
"Ya grumpy with me, Princess?" He asked.
Leia laughed and stepped away to sit on the bed, patting the covers by her side. Han hitched his pants and took the single stride to join her. "I'm menopausal Han. If I'm snappy it's down to that, nothing else." She explained.
"Yeah..." He sighed and tapped the toes of his boots against each other. "I guess I kinda noticed you're lack of enthusiasm, even for some of my more..robust..efforts at seduction."
"It's not that I don't want to have sex with you." Her hand glided into his and squeezed. "I just..I don't need all the floorshow first."
"Thought the 'floorshow' was part of the deal." He muttered.
"I can't explain it, I just don't..appreciate..your efforts like I used to." She stated.
"Yeah, I noticed." He told her, rolling his eyes.
"There is something I do still appreciate though." She said.
"Yeah? What's that?" He asked, not really caring about her answer.
"That you'd try so damned hard to please me, each and every time, when all I've shown you is abject indifference." She apologised. One of his shoulder's lifted before sinking back into place. "I love you Han Solo." She added, a smirk rising on her face.
"Yeah, I know." Han exhaled through his nostrils, then exhaled again. "So what was it Jorj said to Tilly at dinner?"
"He was talking about the baby..." Leia started.
"Ahhhh, man!..." Han ran his hands down his face and slumped onto the bed. "We talked about this Ley, over and over! We talked to him about this over and over, and even he agreed having a baby for someone with his issues is a dumb idea."
"I just want him to have the same chances everybody else has. Seeing a specialist doesn't mean the procedure can be reversed; they might tell us it's too late, been too long. But don't we owe it to him to give him that chance?" She begged.
Han pushed to his feet and stalked to the window and back. After their return to Corellia on learning of the death of Han's sister, Freya, he and Leia had sat down with Jorj to discuss in great length the boy's fascination with, and deepest desire to father, a baby.
The boy was adamant the need had been fleeting, that it had passed, and that he didn't need a baby to feel 'normal'. Both felt he was telling them what he thought they wanted to hear, but neither knew how to further progress the conversation so left it there.
Han sank back down onto the bed beside his wife. "Okay, so if we take him to see a specialist and he still says he's not interested, we leave it at that. Right?" He asked.
"As long as every option has been explored, yes." Leia capitulated.
"Fine." Han agreed through gritted teeth, then turned to look her in the eyes. "You know this means a trip back to Coruscant, don't you?" Her nod was cautious, and accepting. "I hope you're ready for the can of cryptids we're about to open!" He sighed.
"I'll make it up to you." She promised. And she did. Twice.
So, that's all folks...for now at least. I have a kernel of an idea how to progress this, I just need to flesh it out in my head before putting finger to keyboard.
In the meantime, thank you for your attention, your comments, your kindness.
Stay safe everyone, and may the force be with you!