Han Solo sat forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his chin against his knuckles.
He sat, just as he had sat for the past three days, waiting for the Council to break and a chance, just a chance, of at least catching a glimpse of Leia before her entourage encircled her once more and hustled her off to who knew where.
He was about to lose hope of seeing her at all when the great doors to the Council Chamber opened and a stream of delegates filled the corridor. Han rose quickly and moved forward calling Leia's name. A few faces turned in his direction, mostly out of curiosity, but none were Leia. As the corridor became more crowded and his forward motion restricted by the milling crowds, finally he saw her. He called to her once, twice, three times, four, but so many Senators surrounded her, chattering away to her that she couldn't hear him. Then as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. Swept into secure transport and onto her next appointment.
Han sighed. Oh well, there was always tomorrow.
He was about to head back to the Falcon when a woman stepped in front of him blocking his path. She was attractive with a firm set to her jaw and a slight smile that Han felt was unlikely to ever meet her eyes.
"Han Solo." She said, extending a hand in greeting.
"That's funny," Han replied. "That's my name too." He made no move to shake her hand.
Her facial expression did not alter. "You are Han Solo, are you not?" She asked.
Han tried his best to hide his amusement. "Yes Ma'am, I am. But if you want my autograph you'll need to go through my agent first."
"You've been trying to make contact with Princess Leia Organa." She stated flatly.
"She and I are..." He chose his words carefully. "Old friends." He glanced briefly back down the corridor. "Right now though, I doubt she even knows I exist. Not with that mob surrounding her!"
"Her Highness plays a pivotal role in establishing the new Government. Her entourage are there to protect her. And it can be difficult for her to find time to see all of her..." She paused, selecting the appropriate words while allowing her eyes to drift the length of Han's body. "Old friends."
Iritated, Han said. "Maybe you didn't catch the name. Han Solo? General Han Solo? Hero of the Rebellion? I rescued Her Holiness from the first Death Star."
"Wasn't that Luke Skywalker?" She interrupted.
"The kid wasn't alone you know! I played my part. Just like I did when the Empire found the base on Hoth. I got her out. Me." He stabbed a thumb at his chest.
"And then you got yourself frozen in carbonite and was, I believe, she who had to rescue you Captain Solo." The woman intoned.
"It's General Solo. And just who the Hell do you think you are lady?" Han demanded.
Smiling sweetly, she extended her hand again. "My name is Winter."
Han looked down at the hand still making no move to shake it. "And you know Leia, how?" He sneered.
Winter's smile remained perfectly in place. "I'm a member of 'that mob'. And her Highness' personal assistant. Now, if I may make a suggestion. Please shake my hand before the security detail think you are an imposter and start using the weapons they have trained on you."
Han swallowed, he'd seen no security in evidence. Slowly he placed his hand in Winter's and they exchanged a formal shake.
"Now Captain." Winter said. "Let's see if we can get you to her Highness' quarters without you compromising our safety."
It was a short journey from the Senate Hall to the apartments. A journey during which Winter spoke only once, and that was to advise when they had arrived. Han took the opportunity to study her. She was, perhaps, a little older than Leia with a regal manner about her. Her haughtiness showed she was used to certain circles and to certain standards. Standards Han doubted he would live up to very often. Best be careful how he trod here, a woman like Winter with her proximity to Leia was far better as a friend than an enemy.
He followed her up a marble staircase and along a wide corridor. To the casual observer this was just an apartment block, however, Han spotted a number of security devices along the way and it took a four digit code, finger and thumb analysis and a retinal scan for them to be granted access to Leia's quarters.
Once inside, the room looked much as he imagined all of the apartment rooms to look. Bright, clean, crisp and, to Han at least, completely sterile and lacking in any character or taste. Trust Leia to ensure her quarters were as unassuming as any other apartment might be. Sure, there were a couple of comfortable sofas, a small number of tables holding plants or flower arrangements. There was even a bowl of fruit just crying out to be eaten. Not that Leia was overly sentimental, but where were the pictures, the ornaments, the knick knacks of home...he instantly regretted that thought. She had no home. She'd had no home for quite some time now. Not since the Empire had blown it apart just to prove to her that it was capable of doing so.
Han sauntered around the room checking out the view from the balcony. It overlooked extensive courtyard gardens and afforded a little privacy, though not as much as Han would have expected considering how much Leia liked her privacy.
"Leia not here?" He asked Winter as she returned to the living quarters.
"Her Highness is with another visitor at present. She'll be with you as soon as she is able." She replied, placing a tray of drinks on an ornate table. "You have rooms organised?" She enquired whilst pouring a pale green liquid into a tall glass.
"Nah, I prefer to sleep on the Falcon." He told her.
"Her Highness thought you might say that." She handed the glass to Han and continued. "So I have taken the liberty of arranging an apartment for yourself and your co-pilot, Chewbacca."
"Chewie!" Han exclaimed. "In quarters like this?" His eyebrows raised so high they almost met his hairline.
"I instructed that a few modifications be made. The bed has been lengthened for him, obviously. Some alterations to the bathroom facilities...the Wookiee is a 'he' I presume?" She asked.
"Oh yeah." Han answered, taking a sip from his glass. "He's definitely a he."
"Ah, good." Winter said, her attention turning to an arrangement of flowers and one bloom in particular which had withered. "The refresher facilities would have been completely unacceptable for a female Wookiee. And obviously I have asked that the foliage be removed." She turned to him just as Han was about to slide an adjoining door aside, stopping him in his tracks. "We wouldn't want him eating the vegetation now would we. Have you two been partners long?"
"What's back here?" Han asked, nodding to the doorway.
"Meeting rooms, library resources, secure transmission rooms, dressing and bathing facilities and private rooms." She replied, adding extra emphasis on the word private.
"Bedroom?" Han asked, a cock-eyed grin forming on his lips.
"I'm sure her Highness will be delighted to give you a guided tour once she has concluded her current business." Winter manoeuvred herself between Han and the door and he suspected that if he should try to storm past her, she would prove to be a formidable adversary.
"You don't like me much do you Winter?" He asked.
"I should have thought any feelings I may have for you were inconsequential Captain." She replied.
"Fifteen years, give or take." He said.
"I'm sorry?" Winter queried.
"Chewie and me" He answered. "Been together about fifteen years. Give or take. You know how time can play tricks on the mind."
"Not really, no." She said. "Why don't you take a seat. I'm sure her Highness won't keep you much longer."
"Lady, I've been sitting for three days. Mind if I stretch my legs a little?" He queried.
"No. Of course not." She answered. Her tone indicating that she would much prefer him to sit down, shut up and wait like a good little boy.
Han had never been very good at just sitting and waiting. He'd not been very good at just sitting and waiting at school. He'd not been very good at just sitting and waiting at the Imperial Academy. And as it turned out, when it came down to the crunch, on the first Death Star he hadn't been much good at just sitting and waiting then either. If he had, he almost certainly wouldn't be here now.
An open doorway beside the doors to the balcony caught his eye. Strolling over, he peeped in. The room was in darkness but was quite clearly sleeping quarters. Han put his glass on a table by the door and wandered into the room. He thought about increasing the lighting, but as he intended to take only a perfunctory glance around he decided to let his eyes adjust. He could make out a dressing table with a few baubles and trinkets on. A bed, perfectly made. And a hat stand which seemed oddly out of place. There was something not right about the stand. Other than the fact, that he had never, ever seen Leia wearing a hat, the shape of it was all wrong. In spite of himself, Han went over to investigate. Closer inspection made Han step back in surprise. It was not a stand at all. It was an odd construction holding several hairpieces. Some pleated and long, others shorter and braided. None, he was certain, belonged to Leia. Slowly, careful not to disturb anything, he returned to the living quarters and found Winter waiting for him.
"That's er..." He pointed back over his shoulder, "Your room, isn't it?"
"That is correct Captain. I am the Princess' personal assistant and here, on hand, day and night for her Highness." Winter said.
Han retrieved his glass, took a great gulp and sunk himself into one of the sofas.
"It's General." He told her. " General Solo. You keep calling me Captain Solo."
"My apologies. I understood that you had yet to report for duty. Captain." She said.
"Been waiting for Leia. Haven't had time yet." He said, trying not to look at her.
"I see." She said flatly. "And thank you."
"Thank you for what?" He asked, finally looking up at her.
"For not asking." Winter stood as Leia so often did, with her hands folded neatly in front of her. "When I was a child growing up on Alderaan, I contracted an illness. My mother nursed me through, however, I lost my hair and although I made a full recovery my hair never grew back. You may be aware that it is the custom on Alderaan that females keep their hair long."
"Yeah, Leia was always quite fastidious about her hair regime!" Han reflected. "I'm sorry though. About your..." He waved his hand about trying to imitate a coiffure.
"Your kindness is appreciated. Your apology unnecessary. I long ago accepted that having no hair was just a part of my being, much as the scar on your chin is a part of yours. The hairpieces merely permit me to fit in more easily. Besides I was luckier than some. Many were so weakened by their illness that they died." She finished. "Queen Breha Organa among them."
"Han!" Leia squealed his name from the door he had previously tried to open. "I knew I heard voices. Winter, you should have told me you were back."
"The Captain and I have been getting acquainted." Winter said. "Would you and your guests care for some tea?"
"So you two are friends now Winter?" Leia asked.
"Best of friends Your Highness!" Winter said, her face wrinkled into what Han considered a human approximation of a scrunched up tissue. "I'll get that tea." She said and went about her task.
Han and Leia gazed at one another. Leia was wearing a simple full length, white dress, not too dissimilar from the dress she had worn the first time he had seen her. Her hair hung down her back in a single, loose plait. A liftetime ago it seemed to Han since that first meeting and she was more beautiful now than he had ever seen her before. A calm serenity radiated from her.
Then something whizzed past his face, breaking his concentration.
"What was that?" Han asked, trying visually to locate the object.
"Oh, that's a Goblin. 'They provide a constant security presence, scanning rooms, sweeping for threats'." She quoted. "That kind of thing." She said, not taking her eyes off him. "Han..." she whispered and held out her arms.
Han Solo had one thing on his mind and it wasn't making small talk about 'goblins'. With one stride he was in front of her, Leia's arms around him, encircling him, pulling him into her embrace. He took her face in his hands and bent to kiss her. To kiss away the days of waiting to see her. To show he was here for her now. To show he was here for her forever, if that was what she wanted of him. Their kiss was interrupted by a young man, lightsaber in one hand and a smouldering 'goblin' in the other.
"You know Leia." Luke said, looking at the sphere he was holding. "I was right, these things are no match for a lightsaber. We should speak to security..." He looked up, a beaming smile spreading across his face. "Han!" He exclaimed. "When did you get in?"
Han and Leia had parted, both trying not to show their embarrassment but instead appearing flustered. Leia's cheeks flushed slightly.
"Luke!" Both the word and the tone was clipped. "I...er...I didn't know you were here." Han looked to Leia who was careful not to meet his gaze. "I got in a few days ago. How about you?"
"Came back with Leia and the fleet." Luke said, hugging his old friend. "Didn't Lando tell you?"
Lando! Han should have known.
"Er...no. He said you'd left Endor. Didn't mention you were coming back to Coruscant though. Must have..um..slipped his mind!" Han said, mentally making a note to speak to Lando about his recent memory lapse.
"Well." Luke said, looking between Han and Leia. "Isn't this great, the three of us back together."
It didn't take a Jedi Master to realise he had interrupted something. And it didn't take a Jedi Master to work out what that something was either.
"But..." Luke continued. "I should be going."
"No! Please stay." Leia said, reaching out and grasping Luke's arm.
Han saw the move. Heard the plea in her voice. Saw the small, but tender smile on Luke's face as he almost imperceptibly nodded his agreement. And as Winter returned with a tray of tea and assorted sweet things, the puzzle fell into place. How eager Leia had been to come to Coruscant. How she'd been like a giddy schoolgirl telling him of Mon Mothma's plans. And of Luke's to form his Jedi Academy. How she had been unable to see him until now. How she should have rushed into his arms the moment she's seen him but instead acted all business-like, making him come to her. And it made the pit of his stomach turn cold!
Winter busied herself with the tea.
Han stepped back, shaking his head. "I see what's going on here!" He said, looking from Leia to Luke and back again. He ran a hand through his hair. "Man, you really are a piece of work!"
"Han." Leia chided.
"Just how stupid do you think I am Leia?" He shouted, angrily. Turning on Winter he added. "That was a rhetorical question Winter, you don't need to answer!"
"Han, would you just listen. Please." Leia implored.
"Listen to what? 'It's not like that at all'." He quoted her from the surface of Endor, pitching his voice an octave higher than was really necessary. "'He's my brother'. My brother, my ass...argh!" He flapped a hand through the air and set off for the door.
"Don't you dare turn your back and walk away from me Han Solo!" Leia barked, sounding more like the Princess he had grown to love.
"Why?" Han asked. "You got a long lost sister you want me to meet now also?"
"Han. Please." She pleaded.
Maybe it was something in her tone or maybe it was just that he hadn't finished saying his piece to her that made him stop before reaching the door and return to where Leia stood beside Luke.
"You could have let me down gently you know. You could have told me that you'd met someone else. You could even have sent Winter to tell me you had decided to live with Admiral Ackbar! I've been tossed aside often enough to be able to take it. But to play me like a fool Leia, that was just plain cruel." He said.
Leia spoke softly. "I haven't been playing you like anything. And whatever it is you think you see, you're wrong." She said simply.
"You should listen to her Han." Luke added.
"Stay out of this kid, it's between her and me. So, what is it Leia? Is it just that Luke felt spiritually like a brother to you? And now, what? You've realised he means so much more than that? That you two are...are..." He flapped his hand around again, unable to speak the words.
Winter cleared her throat. "I should go." She suggested.
"No. No, Winter please stay." Leia touched her arm as she had done earlier with Luke. "There's something you should know. Something I need you both to know." She finished, looking between Winter and Han.
With a gesture she indicated they should sit. Winter gracefully took a seat at the table and poured tea into a cup. Han slouched onto a chair on the opposite side of the table, crossing his arms over his chest. His face clearly saying he would rather be in a Targs lair than here.
Leia composed herself, glanced at Luke for reassurance and then began. "Luke is my brother."
Han added a "Hmm!" but Leia ignored the remark and continued. "He told me on Endor. You remember Han? You saw us as Luke was leaving to...leaving for the Death Star."
She should have said that Luke was leaving to face Vader, but Darth Vader would figure later in the speech she had rehearsed over and over with Luke's help and she wasn't ready to introduce him just yet.
"I remember you were upset. I assumed it was because he was leaving." Han said. "I still say I was right." he muttered, unable to help himself.
"For a moment I thought the forest air must have gone to his head." Leia reached out and clasped Luke's human hand. "But somehow I knew what he'd said was true. It was like it was something I'd always known. Something I'd somehow just forgotten and needed to be reminded of."
Leia closed her eyes and swallowed, hard. "There's more. But it won't be easy for you to hear. Or for me to say."
Han unfolded his arms, his face softening as she spoke. This, whatever it was, was what had unnerved her when Mon Mothma had arrived on Endor, he was certain. She wore the same look of worried contemplation, only this time it was harder for her to shake it off.
"Whatever it is." He started. "You can tell me." Han tried a reassuring smile but after what he had accused her of, it seemed a hollow gesture.
"Luke and I are twins." She continued. "And as infants Luke was taken to live with Owen and Beru Lars and I was taken to Alderaan to be adopted by Bail and Breha Organa."
Seeing Leia faltering, Luke continued. "Our father was an accomplished pilot. He was also a Jedi Knight."
"I thought you said your dad was a pilot on a spice freighter or something." Han said, helping himself to some tea and drinking it down in one gulp.
"That was what Uncle Owen had told me." Luke corrected.
"Couldn't this Aunt and Uncle of yours take both of you? Seems odd you should be split up, you know, being twins an' all." He stated.
Luke squeezed Leia's hand, urging her to continue. As hard as this was for her, if she was going to come to terms with her father's true identity it was she who was going to have to say this.
"His name was Anakin Skywalker. He was an accomplished pilot and he was a Jedi Knight." She began, taking a deep breath. "Every day is a battle for the Jedi. The Force guides and strengthens a Jedi. It also tempts them, tempts them with the dark side."
"The Sith." Han offered. "Like Vader or Sidious. They were of the dark side weren't they?"
Leia took a moment. She was almost done. It was mostly said. She looked first at Winter who seemed to be puzzling over nothing at all at her feet and then at Han who was sat simply looking back at her, waiting for her to finish.
Leia took another breath, calming herself. "Something happened to Anakin. We don't know exactly what. But something terrible happened to him and...and he turned to the dark side for his answers." Leia cleared her throat, she needed there to be no mistake in what she said next. "Anakin Skywalker was lost. But we all knew him. By the time we met him, he called himself Darth Vader."
There! It was over. It was said.
Luke placed a comforting arm around Leia's shoulders and gave her a quick hug.
The room was silent except for the hum of a passing Goblin until Han, unable to contain himself any longer, burst into uproarious laughter.
"Darth Vader!" He spluttered. "Your father!" He slapped his thigh, laughing harder. "Chewie ought to have been here to hear this! And I suppose this Yoda creature of Luke's was your mother!" He rocked back on his chair, observing that neither Luke nor Leia's expression changed. Slowly his laughing abated and he brought the chair back down to the floor.
"She's kidding right?" He said to Luke.
"You are joking right?" He asked Leia, his brow furrowing in puzzlement. "I mean...he couldn't have been..." Han staggered out of the chair, knocking it over as he rose.
Shaking his head he said, "No! You're both crazy if you think I'd believe..." He kicked the chair out of his way as he stumbled to his feet. The earnest look on Leia's face told him all he needed to know. "You're wrong! Have to be! He...he tortured you, Leia...he tortured me. He tried to kill us all!"
"He was under the Emperor's influence." Luke pointed out.
Han shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, well that makes it all right then!" He started pacing the room, too many thoughts to assimilate bouncing around in his brain. "I need a drink!" he exclaimed. "I need a good, strong, really really strong, really good drink!"
Leia reached for him but he shook her off and without a glance back swept out of the quarters in search of a bar. Leia tightly closed her eyes, trying to erase the anger and hurt on Han's face as he had left.
Luke wrapped his arms around her and said soothingly. "It'll be all right. He needs to do this in order to find his own way back."
"What if he doesn't come back?" Leia asked sadly.
"Then, he's not the man we both believe him to be." Luke said, then repeated something Leia herself had said to him. "Han must follow his own path, nobody can choose it for him."
It was now that Winter spoke for the first time. "There had been talk."
"Winter?" Leia queried.
"In court." Winter replied, looking up. "My mother nursed your mother through her illness. I was just a child, but I heard the gossip. My mother wasn't very popular in court. She didn't indulge in what she considered to be idle tittle tattle. But I remember asking her if it was true."
Leia righted the chair Han had knocked over and sat opposite Winter, Luke taking another seat beside his sister.
"If what was true Winter?" Leia asked.
"If you were really just a war orphan adopted by Bail and Breha. Or if, as some of the staff believed, you were the result of a flirtation between Bail and someone in the court circle." Winter replied.
"Did she answer you?" Leia asked.
"She told me I should never listen to gossip. Shortly after that, Breha passed away, Bail mourned for his wife and the gossips found something or someone else to talk about." Winter said.
Luke sensed Winter holding back and said. "And later, what was it your mother said to you then?"
Winter took a breath and considered. It was no use trying to be economical with the truth around a Jedi.
"It was years later," Winter continued. "As her own health failed her, she told me what she knew. You were, oh just about sixteen at the time and already making waves in the Imperial Senate. She begged me to watch over you when she was gone as she had watched over Breha during her ill health, and over you whilst growing up. She told me that she didn't condone subterfuge, but that sometimes it was necessary to protect the innocent. Bail and Breha had tried unsuccessfully for years for a child of their own. An epidemic had ravaged Alderaan. Many believed that it was the Imperials who had been responsible for bringing the disease to the planet in an attempt to decimate it's inhabitants. Whether that was true or false didn't matter, Breha fell victim to the plague and suffered years of ill health often being forced out of public sight for months at a time. So, you see, it was easy to explain such an absence as a period of inner reflection. A time when they might have found comfort in the adoption of a healthy, beautiful, baby girl. An Heiress to the House of Alderaan." She sat back, letting her words sink in.
"I hoped..." Leia muttered. "Even though I knew with all my heart..."
"You didn't really want it to be true." Luke finished for her. He held her hand with his gloved, artificial, right hand and recalled the same feelings. "I know. I felt the same way once."
"I know your mother's name." Winter added.
Both Leia and Luke looked over at her, enquiringly.
"Bail Organa took my mother into his confidence. Your mother died in childbirth. Of a broken heart, it was said. Her name was Padme Amidala. And she was Queen of the Naboo." Winter told them.
For Luke, this revelation gave him a place to start his research.
For Leia, it posed as many questions as answers. The only man she would ever truly regard as her father had so often admonished her for being a tomboy. He had questioned why it was she couldn't be more like her adopted sister, companion and friend, Winter. Much more of a Princess than Leia could ever be, growing up Leia had wondered if there had been some error at the hospital and they had been switched at birth. Her father had laughed so at that suggestion, pointing out that it would have to be a pretty incompetent midwife who mistook his gurgling infant for a three year old child! Leia smiled at the memory and then another thought came to mind, causing her to giggle.
"Leia?" Luke said.
"Our Mother was Queen of the Naboo." She repeated, stifling a further giggle. "Han is going to hate having to call you Prince Luke!"
To which all three couldn't restrain a little relieved laughter.