Firstly, thank you to anyone reading my stories and especially those who stick with it from start to finish. If you've read others then you'll already know, but if you're new let me explain - I fell in love with Han and Leia in 'The Empire Strikes Back' and that is how they will always be for me. My tales follow them from the end of RoJ (with the occasional flashback to original trilogy days) and despite their many ups and downs, they are a couple and will always stay that way.
So, here we are, 30 years on with Leia's published memoirs about to take to the silver holoscreen IF the new director acquired by her agent can pull the thing off, and assuming life doesn't go getting in the way...
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"Who's the stud?" Han asked, observing the bearded man sitting on their rear porch.
"I told you, he's a friend of Kennedy's." Leia answered, retrieving a pitcher of mint cooler from the refrigeration unit.
"Well, he ain't playing me." Han sniffed.
Leia rolled her eyes and said. "He's not an actor, he's a director and you need to come meet him."
"Aw, I'd love to honey. But I got a pressing matter to attend to." He insisted.
"What pressing matter?" She probed.
"Well, you know, a pressing one. My diary's full of 'em." He argued.
"You don't even own a diary. Now get your ass out onto that porch and entertain our guest." Leia told him.
"O-kay." Han sulked. "But only 'cos I love the way you say ass." He took the tray she'd prepared from her and let her lead the way.
"My husband, Han." Leia introduced as he laid the tray on a caf table. "Han, this is Jorge Lukash, the director Kennedy was telling us about."
"Hey." Han greeted, offering the bearded man his hand. Jorge gave the hand one pump up and down then returned to his notes. Han glanced at his hand, wiped it on his pants and took a seat beside his wife. "So, you're the guy who's gonna direct this little holo-screen-thing." He said, trying to sound interested.
"That's the general idea." Jorge replied, skimming his comm padd. Leia felt Han bristle. "I got these holos." Jorge called up a holograph of a young, blonde male. "This is our Luke."
"Marc H'Meel." Leia read the bio and smiled. If not an exact replica, the young man certainly bore a passing resemblance to her brother.
"Hm." Jorge confirmed. "And this you; by the way is it Ley-a or Lee-a?"
"Ley-a." Han and Leia answered together, looked at each other and laughed. Jorge Lukash did not.
Han tilted the holo for a better look. "Kirie Fitcher. She's got your eyes." He said, handing the padd back.
"Her mother made a whole bunch of romantic holos when she was younger. She always got her man." Jorge commented. Han flashed Leia his cocky half-grin.
"The influence in my life was my father, can Kirie relate to that?" Leia asked.
"She's an actress, she doesn't need to relate to real life. But to answer your question, unlikely. Her father left when she was three. With her mother's best friend." Jorge said.
"Oh." Leia gasped.
"And this is Han." Jorge swiped the screen to another portrait.
"Ha-an." Han corrected. "But that's okay."
"Arri Sonford." Leia quoted. "He looks..."
"Like a nerd!" Han growled.
"Understated." Leia corrected.
"He's got the look." Jorge stated.
"Of a nerd!" Han scoffed.
"Of someone who's deeper than he first appears." Leia insisted.
"Who just happens to look like a nerd." Han continued to grumble. Leia glared at him.
"I can make him more vacuous if you want." Jorge suggested.
"We don't." Leia replied, a smile forming and fading just as quickly. "We're very happy with Han as an intelligent, deep and meaningful human being."
Jorge pulled out another comm padd and passed it to Leia. "Final draft. I need your revisions in three days."
"Three days!" Han exploded.
"Not a problem." Leia smiled.
"Great. You'll send it encrypted?" Jorge queried.
"Absolutely." Leia promised.
"I look forward to it." Jorge said and rose. "Principal shooting begins in a week." He extended his hand toward Leia. "Be in touch." Leia rose and escorted Jorge to his 'speeder. When she returned, Han had his fists on his hips.
"Is that guy for real?" He asked.
"He's a maverick." She replied.
"He's an asshole!" Han grunted.
"Han..." Leia started.
"You already did a shed-load of work on this stuff, now he wants you to do even more!" He argued.
"He's only got a small budget." She pointed out.
"Oh, you noticed that too, did you? I thought it just that his pants were too tight!" He growled.
"Han, there's no need to be vulgar!" She snapped and they both exhaled to calm down.
"I know what's going on Ley. I know they were going to cancel the whole project and then that guy stepped in at the last knockings with half a credit in his pocket and not the first idea how to put this thing back together again." He said.
"Then you also know that when it came down to it, nobody was willing to risk their reputation, or their future, on Leia Skywalker Organa Solo. Emphasis on the Skywalker." She countered.
"Except for the 'maverick'." Han noted.
"You said it yourself." She said, quietly. "I've invested too much into this to see it fall at the final hurdle. Jorge Lukash might be an asshole, he might be a maverick and, in the holo industry, he might be dirt poor. But he's my last hope, I have to support and work with him if I really want the Galaxy to know my story."
Han had always admired Leia's passion, even if he hadn't always wanted to throw himself at her ideals the way she did. But never more so than when her back was to the wall. "C'Mere!" He commanded, holding his arms wide for her to slip into. Nestled in his arms, her head resting on his chest as he gently rocked the porch swing back and forth, Han could not have been contented.
"I always feel so safe in your arms." Leia sighed.
"That's 'cos holding you is what they was made for." He drawled.
"You know, Jorj'll be home soon." She said.
"Ahuh." He agreed.
"An' he's gonna be so full of stories." Leia surmised.
"Hmm." He said.
"Probably going to chatter all night again." She guessed.
"That's a given!" He moaned.
"Be a shame for him if we were at each other's throats over something so trivial." She said.
Han tilted her face up to his and told her. "This is not trivial. But...I promise to leave your throat alone if you promise me one thing. Don't let that guy take you for a ride!" He begged.
Leia smirked. "When did I ever let some guy get the better of me?" She taunted and returned her head to it's previous position.
Han wanted to tell her to try their wedding night, but he let the sentence die on his lips and just smiled instead. Once Jorj went to bed, he'd show her a man who could get the better of her.
Twice, if she was lucky!
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Leia's observation about Jorj had been quite astute. While his parent's had met with the holomaker Jorge Lukash, the boy had spent the afternoon with Poe Dameron and Riva Fizz and their newborn baby son, Enin. Jorj's head was filled with tales of the newborn's every nuance. His eyes; his hair; his button nose; the noises he made and how he lapped up his dinner!
One thing was clear, Jorj was taken with the infant and couldn't wait until he was old enough to father such a miracle of his own, leaving his parents with a dilemma. Having survived a traumatic birth but with his future so uncertain, Han and Leia had opted to have their child sterilised, removing any concerns that their boy might one day father a child he was unable to fully care for. Reversing that decision was possible, however, explaining it to their young son was difficult to say the least.
"Jorj? Jorj darling?" Leia called through her son's bedroom door.
"Go away!" Jorj shouted. Leia's big, sad, brown eyes looked up at Han for comfort.
"There aint no lock on his door, just go on in." Han said quietly, reaching for the doorknob.
Leia stepped between Han and the door. "Absolutely not." She refused. "We ask him not to enter our bedroom without being invited, the very least we can do is offer him the same courtesy." Han rolled his eyes. "Jorj? Sweetie, won't you let us just talk?" Leia called.
"Go away!" Jorj yelled.
"That's it!" Han barked, pushing past Leia and marching into the bedroom. "You crossed a line mister!"
"You crossed a line!" Jorj bellowed back.
"Don't you take that tone with me Jorj Bailey Solo! Now apologise to your Mother." Han demanded.
"Han, no." Leia insisted, shaking her head.
"Not sayin' sorry to nobody." Jorj stated, lower lip bulging.
"You called your Mother a bad name and you will apologise young man!" Han told the boy. Jorj folded his arms over his chest, lips pursed tightly shut, face dark and moody.
"Han..." Leia laid a hand over Han's forearm. "Let me..."
The two glared at one another until Han finally caved. "Okay then, but he gets nothing. No supper. No breakfast. No treats. Not until I hear him apologise." He hissed at Leia.
Leia's eyes darted toward the far side of the door indicating Han should leave them alone.
With a final scowl Han spun on his heel and stormed back out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.
Leia stood for a full two minutes listening to her son's heavy breathing before she indicated the edge of his bed. "May I?" She asked. Jorj shrugged, which Leia took to be his permission. She sat as close to the edge as was possible. "Jorj, do you know what the word 'bitch' means?" She asked. His shoulder shrugged again. "But you do know it's a bad word? One you shouldn't use?" She queried.
"Daddy says it all the time!" Jorj argued.
"Has Daddy ever called Mommy that word?" She asked. Jorj seemed to consider before shaking his head. "Has Daddy ever called anybody that word, or just used it in the Falcon?" She pressed.
Jorj's brow furrowed in thought. "I think he mighta said it once..." Jorj struggled to remember. "I'm sorry Mommy."
Leia smiled softly and patted the bed by her side for him to join her. "Can we finish our talk now?" Jorj's head shook, then nodded slowly. "With Daddy?" She queried.
Jorj shook his head, his eyes begging his mother. "He's embarrassing!" He whispered.
"Well, yes, but he is your father." Leia pointed out, trying not to laugh. Jorj chewed at his bottom lip, wrestling with his conscience. "Tell you what, how about if your father sits in but isn't allowed to say anything?" She suggested with a grin. "Might even be quite funny, watching him struggle to keep quiet."
Jorj giggled and eventually agreed, so Leia called for Han to come join them and explained their terms. He did not see the funny side but wasn't about to leave. Establishing that Jorj had apologised to his mother, Han squeezed into one of the boy's chairs and promised to remain quiet while Leia and Jorj talked.
Leia exhaled and tiltled her child's face up to hers. "You were so very poorly when you were born Jorj, nobody even knew whether you'd make it through the night. Mommy and Daddy had to make a lot of decisions, real quick, and one of those was whether or not you should have a baby of your own one day." Looking at his dark, intense eyes, she couldn't help but admit that decision was probably not one they had been expecting at the time. "It was really hard for us." She continued. "Even Mommy and Daddy get things wrong from time to time and, I think, this is one of the things we got wrong."
"But I wanna have a baby Mommy! Real bad!" Jorj mewled, eyes once more welling with tears.
"I know you do sweetheart, we just couldn't know that back then." She sympathised. "You were so tiny and you know, your Daddy and me, we were pretty fragile back then too." Leia looked to Han for confirmation and saw only confusion. Refocussing on Jorj, she tried to paste a bright smile on her face. "We're sorry sweetheart, truly we are." She assured her son. "We can't turn the chrono back and change the decision we made, but we can look at reversing the procedure that we agreed to when you were just a baby."
"But I don't wanna 'nother operation! S'not fair!" Jorj pouted.
"Darling..." Leia scooped Jorj into her arms and cuddled him tenderly. "If there was any other way...you know we wouldn't suggest it..."
"S'not fair!" Jorj repeated.
"I know baby!" Leia commiserated, rocking her son. Her sad eyes caught and held Han's. He was tempted to remind her he was supposed to be mute, but the appeal was too overpowering.
"Jorj, come to Daddy." Han requested. Jorj looked for approval from his mother before doing as he was asked. Han straightened to look up at the growing child standing before him and took the boy's hands in his own. "Why d'you want to have a baby so badly son? All they do is cry an' eat an' cry an' poop an' cry some more, so how 'bout you tell us, why you want one so badly."
Jorj shrugged while he thought. "'Cos...'cos it's something I can do that's the same as normal people." He finally answered.
"Jorj, sweetheart, what do you mean 'normal' people?" Leia queried.
"Normal." Jorj answered, looking at his mother. "People not like me. Not brain damaged."
"Jorj, who calls you brain damaged?" Leia asked, her brow creased.
"Sena's Mommy." Jorj replied honestly.
Leia looked from Jorj to Han and back again. "Does Sena want to have a baby Jorj?" She questioned. Jorj shrugged. "So..." Leia narrowed her eyes at her son. "This baby you want, if you don't know if Sena wants one too..." Struggling to go forward she looked to Han for support.
"What your Mom means..." Han carried on. "Is if you don't know whether Sena wants to have a baby..." Han looked back at Leia, puzzling with the question.
Jorj looked between the two of them. "I'm not gonna have a baby with Sena." He announced.
"Oh! Oh good!" Leia breathed again, before frowning. "Then..."
"I'm gonna have one with Miss Fizz. Her babies are the best." Jorj stated. "Do I get supper now?"
Leia's jaw was still open when Han told Jorj he could go downstairs and wash up for dinner. It was still open, in fact, until Han was suddenly kneeling on the floor in front of her, one finger slowly edging her lower jaw upwards until it met her upper jaw.
"I did not see that coming." She breathed.
"He's had a crush on her since he was...six, maybe?" Han noted with a chuckle. "Not sure how Poe's gonna feel about it though."
"It's not funny Han! Now what do we do?" She asked.
"I think..." He said, slipping onto the edge of their son's bed. "We have dinner, we answer any of his questions and then...then we...Hell, I dunno! This is all new to me too, you know!"
Leia snorted a laugh and leaned into her husband. "You really weren't sure? About us, I mean. Even after Jorj was born?" He queried.
"We'd been separated Han. Maybe not officially, but as good as. We got back together, as good as, right before I was injured and although you stayed with me I was never really sure it was where you wanted to be. We were only starting to rebuild our life together, then there was Anakin and suddenly I was pregnant and then Jorj was born and..." She explained.
"And you figured I only stuck around because I felt I had to." He suggested.
"I always felt I loved you more. It didn't bother me. I imagined you loved me enough, otherwise you wouldn't have stayed at all." She said.
Han shook his head and laughed. "I spent five days chastising our daughter for not talking to her husband and all the time..." He started, one hand gliding the gentle curve of her cheek, fingers sinking into the thicket of hair at the nape of her neck while a thumb tenderly caressed her cheek. "For the record, I don't know if I loved you more or if you loved me more, or if we loved each other the same but I do know that I never, ever, only loved you 'enough'."
Leaning toward her, he let his nose run the length of hers from tip to bridge and back again before resting his lips against hers and initiating a soft, sensual kiss.
