January 27, 1925 - Temperature Outside: -50 F/-45 C
It was a loud pounding on the door that woke Han up first. Raising his head up to look at the clock on his wife's nightstand he saw that it was six in the morning and he was confused, mind foggy with sleep. He planned to get up at seven, let the dogs have more rest before he had to set his team out. So why the hell is someone pouding at the door? Trying to come up with an explanation Han felt his heart drop to his stomach when he remembered how he told Winter to send someone to come and get him or Leia if Jaina took a turn for the worse during the night. Stumbling out of bed he nearly tripped trying to get his sleep pants on before racing down the hallway and practically flying down the stairs. He'd get there in time to see Jaina, yeah, he'd get to the hospital and gather her in his arms and promise he wasn't going anywhere anymore. His mind racing, Han flung open the door, not caring that he was shirtless, to be met by a frigid blast of cold air and a surprised looking Luke Skywalker.
While Luke and Leia were raised by the Organas, their biological parents were Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. Breha was Padme's cousin and had adopted Leia and Luke when they were babies after Anakin and Padme were killed in a boating accident, drowning in the freezing waters. They had 19 happy years with the Organas before the 1918 flu epidemic claimed the lives of Bail and Breha, leaving Leia and Luke to be orphans once again. After the death of the Organas, Luke had changed his last name to Organa-Skywalker, in order to honor both of the parents that he had. To keep things simple, especially when signing documents, Luke usually just went by Skywalker. Han and Leia had been going steady at the time of her parents death and he was fortunate enough to have a good relationship with both Bail and Breha before they passed. Han shook his head thinking of all the death and bad luck that had befallen one family, and now we're staring at it in the face again.
"Han, are you going to let me in or am I going to become a permanent snowman outside your house?"
"Sorry, come on in kid." Han stepped aside and let Luke into the house, closing the door behind him, feelings of panic rapidly leaving his body as Luke didn't look upset, Jaina must be fine Han thought. Crossing over to the couch, Han saw that Leia had woken up, probably heard him making a ruckus getting out of bed and was quietly greeting her brother, wearing her flowy floral robe.
Glancing to her husband, Leia let a smirk grace her features and handed Han a long sleeve shirt, "Forget something hotshot?"
Looking sheepish, Han accepted the item of clothing and pulled it over his head, "Thanks sweetheart."
Han turned to face Luke who was smiling to himself at the small exchange, "Kid, it's just after six in the morning, is there a reason you're here?"
Remembering the importance of what the mayor had woken him up to tell him, Luke got serious, "Just spoke to Dodonna about the plan to retrieve the medicine and you need to get to Town Hall right away. There's been a few changes."
Well it had been more than a few changes Han thought to himself as he and Luke stood together in Dodonna's office. Originally the plan was for Han to head out from Nome to Nulato to meet a driver who was coming from Nenana, who had picked up the medicine Then Han would travel back from Nulato to Nome, medicine in tow. Dodonna had thought that would take too long so plans were changed overnight to ensure a faster delivery of the antitoxin. What Dodonna now had in mind was a relay. Teams would travel day and night until they reached Han at Nulato, and they already had drivers signed up. Since that last dog sled race in Nome, Rogue Squadron had dispersed to different cities in Alaska competing in other races. Dodonna had sent out a telegram the previous night alerting them of Nome's need for racers. Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter, Corran Horn, Jek Porkins, Tycho Celchu, Wes Janson, and Hobbie Klivian were luckily all located around the route from Nenana to Nulato and also the route that Han would be taking to get the medicine back from Nulato to Nome. Wes was appointed to cover the last leg of the race which would occur at the town of Ord Mantell. This way, Dodonna had argued, no one would get too tired, and no one would have to stop. Normally Han would have argued that he didn't need any help and was competent enough to do the drive himself, but kept the thought to himself with time not on their side. Han knew that time and the cruel Alaskan wilderness might be more forgiving to multiple drivers instead of just two. The decision to add more drivers also meant that Han would get to spend more time with Leia and Jaina, even if only for a few hours.
Luke wanted to help, wanted to get that medicine to help his niece and all of the other kids, but he knew he was needed at home to look after Leia. He could hear Leia's objection already in his head - I don't need looking after Luke! - and smiled to himself. No, Leia could most definitely take care of herself but she didn't have to be alone. Facing a shortage of nurses at the hospital, Winter had volunteered to help, as her profession was also a nurse back in the town of Alderaan, Alaska, where he, Leia, and Winter had all grown up together.
"I'll stay here, keep Leia company," Luke found himself saying.
Han was aware that this was killing Luke, staying behind while everyone else went out to help. Luke was the brightest kid he had ever met, forever had an eager look in his eyes, always wanting to help. And he would never ask Luke to stay behind but by God was he thankful. The thought of Leia, pregnant and keeping vigil at Jaina's bedside by herself was enough to rip his heart in two. He didn't know how to thank Luke for the sacrifice he was making.
"Kid...I-"
"I know. We'll be okay Han." There was that determination coming through again, and Han was grateful.
"Daddy, do you weally have to go?"
Han smiled to himself, the words both causing joy and pain to his heart. Joy at Jaina's adorable mispronounciation of the word 'really' and pain at her question. Yes, I really have to go, but I really don't want to. Han sat down next to his daughter on the hospital bed and looked at her angelic face, at her hands which were clutching her stuffed Chewie, delivered straight from he and Leia this morning, after the meeting with the mayor. Leia was getting coffee for the two of them from the nurses break room.
"Yes princess, daddy really does have to go. But it's all to make you feel better," hoping that she would understand him, understand that he wasn't abandoning her.
Jaina gave a shrug of her shoulders, "I know, I'll just miss you. How will I know where you are?"
An idea came to Han. Bending down to pick Jaina up and settle her on his left hip, the young girl quickly wrapped her arms around Han's neck, her face resting on his shoulder, and Han moved the two of them over to the window in Jaina's hospital room. Looking out the window, one would have never guessed that it was only 3:30 PM. The sky was already pitch black, the sun set early this time of year and rose late, leaving only a handful of hours of daylight. In fact the only light from outside came from the street lamps and the bright stars in the sky, the latter being Han's purpose of bringing Jaina closer to the window.
Han pointed to the biggest star with his right hand, "Do you see that star out there Jaina?"
He felt her face move up and down in agreement against him.
"That big one, it's called Polaris, and it's the brightest star in the sky. You can see it anywhere, so when you look at it, you'll know that I'm looking at it too and thinking of you."
"Really?" Jaina lifted her face up to look at her father, face flushed with fever.
"Yep," Han felt his heart jump to his throat, "I'll be looking at it each night I'm gone, thinking of you and mommy."
"And the baby."
"Yeah, and the baby."
Reassured by her father's response, Jaina let out a little yawn, her eyelids growing heavy. Han walked back over to the white hospital bed and gently lowered his daughter down, pulling the covers up around her and finally tucking in Chewie next to her. Gazing down at Jaina, Han stroked her right cheek before leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. The sound of a throat clearing behind Han caused him to whirl around. There stood Leia, hair in braids, dressed in wool, her baby bump starting to be more noticeable under her sweater, and two coffee cups in hand. She offered him a cup with an outstretched hand, which he took gratefully, downing most of it in a few gulps before setting down the empty mug on the bedside table. Leia however took small sips, savoring the bitter-sweet drink, letting it give her the energy she would need to face the next few days, before placing it down next to Han's now empty mug.
"Is she asleep?"
"Yeah, knocked out a few minutes ago."
Leia nodded to herself, not knowing what to say, they were both avoiding the inevitable and Han hated the silence. Crossing over to her in quick strides, Han gently took Leia's face inbetween his large hands, and stared into her eyes, memorizing what her face looked like in this moment, knowing he would remember this goodbye for the rest of his life. He saw pools of liquid were forming in the corners of Leia's eyes, one pool running out of room, quickly fell down her face, and Han felt that ache in his heart that was becoming all too familiar these days.
"Ah Sweetheart I-"
He was cut off by Leia suddenly burying her face in his chest, arms wrapping around his middle. He reciprocated the action and wove his arms around his wife.
"Just- just come home please, please just do that. Do your leg of the relay and come home."
"Hey, it's me," came the joking reply.
Leia gave him what she thought was a glare, but it didn't come out as threatening as she'd like with her eyes all watery.
Taking Leia's face in his hands again, Han leaned down and stole her lips in a kiss, trying to put every emotion he was feeling into it - love, hope, want, reassurance - and felt her eagerly returning the gesture. The sound of a coughing fit caused them to stop, Jaina.
"Han, I've got to-" Leia gestured with her head to their daughter, who was waking up, the coughing disturbing her sleep.
"You do your thing sweetheart, and I'll do mine. I'll be seeing you two in a week."
"It's a date then."
"Count on it."
It had gotten darker by the time Han had left the hospital and then walked back over to his house, or more specifically to the barn adjacent to the house, where he knew Luke was helping to get the dogs ready for the relay. Trudging through the snow over to the barn, he pushed open the doors to see the kid feeding the dogs a meaty stew, common before a big race. Sled dogs typically burned over 10,000 calories a day, so Han would have to pack food for him and the dogs to make it through the trip, as well as utilizing rest stops, especially since he would be traveling with more dogs than usual. Typically Han went out with either Chewie or Millenia as the lead dog with six dogs following, but with the weather conditions harsh and this being different than a typical race, Han would be using 10 dogs in total, with Chewie and Millenia both leading the pack, and he wouldn't trust any other dogs to lead.
The lead dogs were the most critical to a team as they heeded their masters commands and kept the other dogs in line. Also important, the pair kept the other dogs moving by keeping the gangline, the main line every dog was connected to, tight. Each dog had a tug line that connected them to the gangline, in turn the neck lines connected each dog to the dog next to them. Chewie and Millenia were also alert and intelligent enough to be able to follow a trail when it was covered in snow, there had been times when Had had been out racing in the dead of winter and hadn't been able to see his hand if he waved it in front of his face, but Chewie and Millenia had lead him and the team home with no problem. Following Chewie and Millenia, came Han's two swing dogs, Togo and Balto. They were crucial for steering the team around corners, as the lead dogs made turns, Togo and Balto would pull the rest of the team in an arc to maintain the turn, to bring everyone safely around. Then you had the four dogs behind Togo and Balto: Elim, Kaltag, Koyuk, and McGrath who made up the team dogs. The team dogs were the core of the team as they pulled the sled and kept pace. The dogs closest to the sled, Shaktoolik and Ryker, are known as wheel dogs, usually the most agile, as they often had to cross the gangline while turning corners and then return to their original position.
"Hey kid, thanks for feeding them while I got the supplies loaded into the sled."
"You don't have to thank me Han, I'm happy to help."
"Yeah...yeah, just thanks."
Luke would have smiled at his brother's anxiousness, but decided against it given the circumstances, "Well they're all fed, all that's left is to put their booties on and get them hooked up to the sled."
"Well no use in delaying, let's get to it," and the pair went and began putting booties on several pairs of paws and attaching the dogs to the sled, now outside the barn. Luke got himself busy by setting up the snow hook and snub line, the former was essentially an anchor with fins that connects to the gangine on the sled behind the dogs, that anchors the team when stopped. The latter is also attached to the gangline behind the dogs that is used to securely tie off the sled.
While Han was securing Chewie and Millenia to the gangline with the tug and neck lines he felt himself getting nervous looking at Millenia. She, at 12 years old, was his oldest dog on the team. Typically, dogs at Millenia's age would be retired by now, enjoying a more relaxed life, but Han wouldn't trust anyone else leading by Chewie's side. He had won her from Lando during a poker game, although Lando would always joke that Han stole her from him. Millenia was a beautiful dog, her coat black on top, with a white belly, eyes a piercing blue. Sure she was old, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve.
"What do you think old girl? One more race for old time's sake?"
Millenia barked in response, clearly game for anything.
Luke stood up and brushed the snow off of his knees, "Well that's it I guess. The sled is secured to the dogs and the dogs are secured to each other."
Han got up from where he was kneeling by Millenia's side and patted both she and Chewie on the head before jogging over to where Luke stood at the front of the sled, "Thanks again Luke, helped shave some time off of my prep."
Luke nodded to himself, "Well, I guess I'll see you in a week then?"
"You can count on it," Han found himself echoing the words he had said earlier to Leia again to Luke.
"And don't worry about things at home, I'll take care of Leia and Jaina."
"Kid, it's my job to worry about them."
"I know, just don't let it distract you out there, we all need you to come back."
The kid looked like he was tearing up, but Han couldn't tell in the dark with the snow.
Han pulled Luke into a hug and gave him a slap on the back, "Don't worry, I'll be back in a week and more importantly back to kicking your ass in racing."
Luke let out a laugh before pulling away, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
A gust of wind suddenly blew over the two men, "Well I better get on my way if I want to make it to Nulato on time."
"Yeah, I'm gonna head on over to the hospital to give Leia a break and to see my niece."
Han grunted in response as he got on the back of the sled surveying the team who were ready to begin moving at his command. Nodding in response and taking a deep breath, this is it Solo, time to get it together, Han yelled out "Hike!."
Immediately obeying their master, the dogs sprang into option, Chewie and Millenia setting the pace with the other dogs following as the team of 11- ten canine and one human, made their way out of the town of Nome and into the Alaskan wilderness. Luke watched them leave, until they disappeared from view into the horizon, "Godspeed Han."