A.N. Okay, I lied. This is definitely my favorite chapter!

Now, I know it's not Friday, but I realized I want to have all of this story up before I start posting my next story and I'm planning on posting the first chapter of that on my birthday which is coming up in a couple weeks. Yeah, I know. I promised I wouldn't do this sort of thing anymore. I'm sorry, but aren't you guys looking forward to more frequent updates?

It was a while before Leia remembered that she hadn't even looked at the rest of the pile Rieekan, Lando, and the pilots of Rogue Squadron had gathered for her. Leia was unwinding from another long, exciting day, returning from a debriefing with a rebel cell group. She slipped off her shoes and let down her hair, waltzing into her room with a tired smile when her eye caught sight of the pile in the corner of her room. At first, it appeared a mess. Boxes stood stacked across the wall alongside a rocking chair, more bags, and even bigger boxes. They were receipts and cards on everything. Leia smiled as she approached the rocking chair and found a card from Gavin Darklighter taped to it. Leia remembered him telling her earlier that his mother had bought it. The Darklighters knew Luke from Tatooine and, by quite the extension, they knew of Leia and wanted to send her something. Young Gavin had flushed with embarrassment and Leia had just laughed.

She sat down on the floor before her bed with a small knife and notebook and began cutting boxes open, taking inventory. She set a light box on her lap and ripped her knife down the folds where the package was only held together by an adhesive. A gust of air blew out along with packaging paper. She reached a hand in and her fingers met something soft and fuzzy. Her hand clamped around it and pulled out a small, pink, plush pittin. Leia smiled wistfully as the simple toy reminded her of a toy chest that had been in her room on Alderaan. Bail and Breha had spoiled her with stuffed animals; they'd been her favorite toys and every one they'd gotten her had become one of her favorites. She remembered the extensive collection with a bittersweet smile while rubbing her belly where her babies were resting. "I'll start a collection for you two. How about that?" Leia spoke to her twins aloud and was surprised at how it calmed herself. "We'll see if there's ever enough room for a toy box after I finish setting up all your guys' things."

"Hey."

Leia jumped, startled at the interruption, but relaxed at the sight of Luke standing in the doorway.

"Hi!"

"Why are you opening all your gifts on the floor?"

Leia shrugged. "Some of them are heavy. Want to help me open them all?"

"Sure." Luke sat down with her on the floor. He took one of the bigger boxes and opened it to find parts for a changing table. "Hey, Leia, do you want me to start putting some of these things together and set up the room?"

Excitedly and enthusiastically, Leia nodded. "If you want to, be my guest! I figured I'd get a head start on putting things together before that gets too difficult for me," Leia explained as she indicated her bulging abdomen with a hand. "Might as well get things prepared early."

Luke nodded as he began pulling different parts from the large box. "Also, I was hoping to talk to you."

"Of course! . . . Is everything alright, Luke?"

Luke seemed uncomfortable; he sat half-turned away from Leia and nearly on the other side of the room. Leia beckoned him closer and he returned to her side, but didn't meet her gaze immediately. "I feel like we should talk more about Hoth."

Leia paused, her hands holding holding several bottles she'd just pulled out of a package. "What about Hoth?"

"Someone asked me today if I'm still going to fight Han for you."

Leia blushed, though she wasn't smitten with the idea of Luke trying to win her heart. It just felt so wrong to Leia. "And what did you tell them?"

"I told them that I didn't want to. You and Han have something special that I wouldn't want to ruin."

"But . . . Does that mean- do you like me like that?" Leia regretted asking as soon as the words left her mouth. Luke was so gentle and tender and naive, Leia feared having to be harsh with him and lose her best friend. Would he understand it if she explained that she valued their friendship just as much as she valued her and Han's love? Would he understand that he didn't mean any less to her since their time on Hoth. It was dangerous territory they were walking around and it truly scared Leia.

Luke stopped his work for a moment and even looked Leia in the eye. Her heart leapt into her throat. "Leia, I think we need to talk about that kiss."

Guilt boiled within Leia and it bubbled over before Luke could say another word. "Look, Luke, I didn't kiss you because I actually wanted to."

Luke just smiled softly, not amused, but not hurt either. "I know, Leia."

"Wait, what?"

"I know that you don't have feelings like that for me now. You didn't even feel that way about me when you kissed me. It was pretty clear what you were doing."

"It was?"

Luke nodded and actually laughed. "Yes, Leia. You were trying to get Han's attention. And, trust me, it worked."

"Luke, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings by this-"

"I know you didn't."

"I'm so sorry, Luke. Now, I really wish I hadn't kissed you. Because I don't want to hurt your feelings! Not because I don't like you. I mean, I don't like you, Luke. Well, not like that. I just mean that I don't like you like-"

"Leia," Luke said gently and quietly, but still silenced her. "I get it. You had feelings for Han and you didn't know what to do about them. So, our kiss happened. Yes, I agree that it shouldn't have, but I'm not mad at you. It's pretty clear how you feel about me versus how you feel about Han. I mean," Luke fumbled for words, his eyes once again stuck to Leia's baby bump. "You're pregnant! With Han's child. And Han's not here, so I'll be the best friend I can be. I'll be like your brother because the idea of the two of us together is just a little bit ridiculous. Even if you and Han weren't . . . together."

Leia remained silent for a moment longer as she found herself at a loss for words. "Are you sure I didn't hurt your feelings?"

"Don't worry. I don't think I could ever imagine the two of us together. So . . . How about brother and sister?"

Leia smiled warmly, relieved above all else. She fell into his arms for a hug and agreed, "I could

really use a brother right now."

"And, maybe I could be Uncle Luke to the cubs?"

"Cubs?"

"It's what Chewie's calling the twins."

"I think I like that nickname. And, yes, you can be Uncle Luke." Leia got up to her feet and, with a small waddle and her arms widespread for balance, she strode toward her closet. "Hang on a second," she told Luke, "I have a tool box in here somewhere." She disappeared into her closet and returned only a moment later with a heavy tool box. Upon making it halfway back to Luke however, Leia stopped suddenly. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she brought up a hand to rub her belly.

Luke shot to his feet. "Are you alright? Here, you shouldn't be carrying that," he lightly scorned and took the tool set from her. "What's wrong?"

Absently, Leia shook her head with both of her hands now holding her stomach. "I've been feeling this weird feeling all day. Like flutterflies in my stomach. But I don't feel queasy or nauseous. It really isn't making me feel sick, but it still feels like flutters."

Luke stepped closer to her, his gaze falling to her stomach where she held her children. "You don't think you're feeling them move, do you?"

"Move?" Leia seemed entranced by the idea. Her arms wrapped around her protruding belly thoughtfully, protectively. "You think?"

"I don't know. I just remember your doctor saying you're about at the point when you would start feeling that. How far along are you right now?"

As she recalled her last appointment with Denun which had been a couple weeks ago, Leia smiled the most beautiful smile Luke had seen her give. "Six days ago marked twenty weeks," she reminded him. Her eyes glittered at the possibility, at the thought that she was feeling her children wriggling around in her womb. She asked again, her face alight with excitement, "You really think?"

Luke laughed shortly, setting the tool box down beside the changing table parts. "When is your next appointment?"

Leia almost frowned. "In a couple days."

"Why don't you sit down, rest, write. Just relax. I'll work on putting some of these things together, okay?"

Leia nodded. "Okay."

Luke picked up her rocking chair and moved it to the side of her bed close to the nightstand so she could reach her comm, datapad, or journal. Then, he sat down with the tool set and heavy boxes several feet before Leia so she could watch.

Week 21

Tomorrow will mark 21 weeks, but aren't I close enough?

Somehow, the impact of hitting the halfway mark in my pregnancy flew right over me, but I feel it now. My belly is huge, though the twins still have some growing to do. Lando always smirks when he sees me and claims that I'm already waddling. Also, I think I've been feeling the twins' first movements today. Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure I felt it for the first time last night. I was tired and getting ready for bed. I hadn't thought much of the strange fluttering coming from deep in my belly, but during today's debriefing, the wriggling around was pretty constant. That makes me really happy, knowing that my babies are healthy and flourishing.

But like any happy thought I manage these days, the joy is nearly overshadowed by my sorrow over Han's missing body. Still, I ask myself every single day, would Han really be happy about a baby? Twins? When we find him, how do I know he won't do everything he can to distance himself from the role and responsibilities of being a father? How do I know he'll want to get back to where we were on Bespin; happy, mesmerized by each other and falling deeper in love?

The fact is that I don't. I don't know if he'll want to be a father, if he'll even want to meet them.

Oh! I can't torture myself with such negative thoughts on the matter. It might just be better if I entertain the unlikely even if my dreams are crushed when I get Han back.

I do miss him terribly and I long to feel his arms wrapped around my body, long for him to hold me like he did. On the Falcon, in the crew lounge that early morning when my mind betrayed me and all I could dream of were my parents dying in a sudden inferno. Alderaan's cries of anguish echoed just beneath my skin and I felt uncomfortable even being alive. You don't deserve to live, a voice kept whispering in my ear. A true loyal princess would have stayed with her people in a time of such great need. And what did you do?

I listened to Daddy and ran. He told there was hope, that I was the hope. Whatever he meant by that . . . He'd urged me on, going on a tangent about how he could no longer deny me my destiny and that I had to go, hurry, and find General Kenobi. And what had I done? My 'destiny' was quite clearly my ticket off of peaceful Alderaan and closer to the heart of the Rebellion, so I seized it and ran. Leaving Daddy and Mama behind. And Aunts Tia, Celly, Rouge. And Memily and Sabé and everyone else . . .

These thoughts had plagued me that day, on the anniversary of my home's destruction. The same thoughts of loneliness, isolation, and emptiness that I had felt following the day Luke and Han had whisked me off the Death Star had returned with a vengeance. The survivor's guilt was unbearable. Until Han had found me hidden under the crew lounge's dejarik table, my knees tucked under my chin.

"What're you doing under there, Princess?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm hiding from the universe."

"Then I am very sorry for you."

This particular snippet of our trip had happened before our first kiss and, while that kiss still burns me inside, I wish I could tell Han right now how much it meant to me when he sat underneath the table with me and hugged me. He'd filled my emptiness, filled my soul with peace, and thawed a large portion of my frozen heart. He'd started lighting the spark that lit my body on fire when he first touched his lips to mine.

I could never have imagined that the fire itself would be part of a bigger picture. That fire would lead to the glorious burning that seeped through my body and deep into the nurturing folds of my womb where was created new life. Or, new lives. I feel them now, like flutterflies flying about excitedly in my belly.

I can't wait to see my little babies and to know their genders and if they'll look more like Daddy or me. I can't wait to hold them in my arms and shower them with my love. For now, though, I'll just have to be content with holding them in my belly.

Leia had been having the exact same dream for over a week now. In her recurring dream, she relived the moment Han had shown her the filled out recruitment form. She'd thought nothing of it with the consideration in mind that that little instance had directly led to the conception of their children whom Leia was currently carrying. However, on this day, she couldn't get the dream out of her mind and watched it transform into a daydream so it could bother her at all hours of the day.

She couldn't even pay attention during the contingency meeting when half of Home One's occupants had met after news of a minor rebellion on Talfaglio. She sat between Luke and Chewbacca, staring at her own hands while she stroked her belly. Han's voice echoed in her mind, but seemed louder than Ackbar and Mothma's droning.

"Here. It's for you."

Han's fingers shook slightly as he pressed them into Leia's hand, passing her the sheet. "What is it?"

"It's just something I wanted to give you." The recruitment sheet. "I filled it out a while ago. I guess it's just a matter of turning it in."

The recruitment sheet.

Leia suddenly sat up and Luke turned to look at her, worried. She waved away his concern, then pointed under the bench they sat on. Without question, Luke bent over and pulled out her folder and datapad. "Thanks," Leia whispered and she quickly ran a finger through the folder. She waited impatiently for the admiral and councilor to finish. When Mon Mothma asked, "Does anyone have a matter they would now like to discuss?" Leia shot her hand up. "I would!" She cleared her throat. "Um, Councilor Mothma. I have something I would like to discuss before this crowd."

Mothma waved a hand with a sigh. "Go on, Princess."

Leia quickly asked Luke in a hushed tone, "Could you help me up?"

"Of course."

Leia gasped aloud, shrieked, as her body rose to her feet on Luke's will. She steadied herself as Luke quietly apologized, drawing away through the Force. Leia recovered herself, holding her folder in one hand.

"General Madine," she began in a strong and clear voice as she made her way to the front. "May I ask you something? What is required of a person to join the Rebel Alliance?"

"Pardon me?"

"It's a simple question, I think, General. What must one do if they so desire to join the Rebel Alliance?"

"Princess!" Mothma hurried over, her brows knitted together. "What is the meaning of this?"

Leia held up a finger. "Please, Mothma. Let the general speak. Madine?"

Madine fidgeted nervously in his seat, but stammered a response. "Uh, well, they have to fill out our recruitment form, signed and dated."

Leia nodded, thoughtfully. "Is that all, General?"

"They would also have to prove themselves loyal by being active within the rebellion."

Leia smiled. "That sounds . . . fair."

"Princess Leia, I am asking you and I want you to answer; what are you trying to do?!"

Leia quickly grabbed a sheet from her folder and held it up for the whole room- but especially Mothma- to see. "This is a recruitment form that was filled out by Captain Solo, signed and dated. Let's look at the date, shall we?" Leia made a show of standing beside Mothma so they could boy examine the signature and date. "Well, would you look at that! It was signed a year following my rescue from the Death Star. Nearly three years ago."

"What is it that you want, Princess?"

Leia narrowed her eyes to slits and responded, "You know exactly what I want."

"I really don't understand women," Lando sighed.

Luke, who held a sobbing Leia in his arms, just shrugged. "Not to say that I understand women, but I think this is a pregnancy thing- not a woman thing."

"Hey, Lelila," Rieekan soothed as he sat beside Luke and Leia. "Is everything alright?"

Leia sat up in Luke's lap, tears still streaming from her eyes, but she sniffled and smiled. "We're going to find Han."

A soft, relieved smile broke across Rieekan's face. He nodded, giving her a hug. "That's right, Lelila. We're going to find him for you. We're going to find Han as soon as we can." And, despite all the warning sirens blaring in his mind, Rieekan added, "Before the cubs come, if I can."

Leia knew not to place too much hope in his promise, but she nodded, thankful for Rieekan's concern and help. She knew he would be pulling all kinds of strings to find Han just for her and that was good enough. She told herself that she wouldn't expect Han to be found before she delivered the twins, but if he was found so soon- Leia would be very happy.

"You're going to need a team, General," Lando said in a clear, strong voice as he approached closer to Leia's bed. At the younger man's use of formal and proper title, Rieekan stood and held Lando's gaze. "I suppose I will. Are you volunteering, Captain Calrissian?"

Leia sat up straight by herself, her eyes wide and her ears open.

Lando nodded, curtly, folding his hands behind his back. "Yes, General. I am."

The moment became heavy with silence while Rieekan and Lando held gazes and Leia's flicked between the two, anxious for Rieekan's decision. Luke was only curious as to why Rieekan was leaving them all hanging; it seemed clear to him that Rieekan would- and should- commend the man for volunteering.

Carlist glanced at Leia and only allowed their eyes to meet for a second before he turned back to Lando. "What about Leia?"

"Pardon, General?"

"What about Leia? Since you've been with the Rebel fleet, you have remained at the princess's side, defending her-"

"I don't need anyone to defend me!" Leia objected, but realized what Rieekan was getting at a second later.

Rieekan continued. "I greatly appreciate the security you've given Leia in the past months and I wouldn't want to take away part of her vital support while she is awaiting the birth of the twins."

Lando just smiled. "The princess has Commander Skywalker, sir. And you and Chewbacca. I think she'll be okay."

From just behind Lando, Chewie growled a suggestion and Leia- who had greatly expanded her understanding of Shyriiwook on the trip to Bespin- frowned, but nodded, understanding.

"What did he say?" Luke asked.

Leia's gaze fell, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks. "Chewie has to go," she answered quietly. "He's obligated to."

Understanding dawned on Luke's face and he could only nod for a moment as he realized how disappointed that made Leia. "Of course. To honor his life debt."

Leia didn't say another word and her sadness at the prospect of Chewie leaving became palpable, thick and heavy as it hung in the air. For the longest, heaviest moment, no one said a word beside Chewie's soft cries. Finally, he bent at Leia's side and pulled her into his big, hairy arms and Leia cried, her face turned away from his long fur. [It's okay, Princess,] the loving and loyal Wookiee soothed her, [I couldn't leave you for long and I won't, but this is something I must do. But then, I'll come back with Han and-]

Chewie cut himself off.

Leia noticed as did Lando. Leia opened her eyes to gaze at Chewie with a frown. "What is it, Chewie? What were you going to say? You'll come back with Han and . . . "
Chewie raised his chin and carefully set Leia back down in her bed. [I'll come back with Han and watch over all of you.]

Leia didn't know what to think about Chewie's response, mostly because she didn't understand what was so big about that that he had paused the first time. Lando, however, seemed to get the deeper meaning as Leia saw his eyes practically bulging out of his head from the corner of her eye. He started toward Chewie, his pace and expression alarming. Leia sat back in her bed. "What's going on?" she asked. "Chewie, what does that mean?"

"The life debt, Leia," Lando answered at once stopping to look her dead in the eye. "He's talking about honoring his life debt."

"I get that-"

"No. Take it a step farther, Leia. I don't think you realize exactly how loyal wookiees are. In the freezing chamber on Bespin, just before they froze Han, you remember what Han said?"

Leia blushed.

"No, not that. Before that. When Chewie started pushing around all the officers and Han yelled at him? Han told him to take care of you. Even if Han hadn't told him to, Chewie would. You're . . . 'with' Han now." He nodded toward Chewie and let the wookiee finish the explanation.

[I have honored my life debt to Han for a few years. Now, Han has chosen you, Princess, and that means I have extended my life debt to you.]

"Oh!" Leia gasped as the impact hit her. "No, Chewie! That's really not necessary! I'm honored, but I can't accept that-!"

[And the life debt will also extend to the cubs. That means I have to find their father.]

More tears slipped down Leia's face, but everyone knew there was so much more to these tears. These weren't tears of joy exaggerated by the unrestrained hormones currently ravaging her system. No, these tears were as genuine as Chewie's life debt. And Leia knew that meant a lot, his life debt. Once Han had explained Wookiee life debts to her and she'd come to understand the importance, she'd always envied that odd connection the wookiee and Corellian had, but hadn't understood what it must be like for Han until now. Leia almost felt guilty. "Really, Chewie. That isn't necessary. I couldn't accept that. I can't! That's too much."

Chewbacca actually smiled at her. [That's too bad, then. It's too late. Besides, I know Han wouldn't let me continue my life debt to him if I didn't include you and the cubs in it.]

"No, Chewie," was all Leia could manage before melting into another round of tears.

With a solemn but understanding look, Rieekan nodded and said quietly, "Then, it's settled. I suppose. Lando and Chewbacca, you two can be in charge of the rescue team. I'll assemble the rest of the team. From there, it's all on you two."

Lando nodded. "Yes, General."

Walking out with the other human and Wookiee, Rieekan made clear in a firm voice, "And it wouldn't hurt if you got him back before he becomes a father."

Lando smiled gently, casting a glance back over his shoulder at Leia who remained sitting on her bed, her hands leaving long strokes across her belly. "That's the plan," he agreed.