A.N. The last couple chapters have been shorter, but this one is a bit longerr, so I hope you enjoy.
Also, after this, there are just two chapters left. Then, on Friday, I will start posting Closed Quarters!
When Leia woke up to a dull ache in her back, Denial Mode automatically set in.
She didn't bother with a sanisteam and just kept on her nighttime sweats. The only effort she made at cleaning herself up was brushing out the snarls in her hair and pulling it back into a sloppy bun. Her bangs fell to frame her face and Leia left them like that.
Luke brought down her breakfast tray and Leia ate on her couch while Garik Loran comedies played on the HoloNet. Luke sat in a chair, carefully watching her as he always did.
When Leia paused her eating mid-bite, her eyes suddenly turning hard, Luke noticed frowned. "You alright, Lei?"
Leia didn't so much as blink in response for a moment, but suddenly broke out of the apparent reverie, exhaling in relief as she turned her head to look at him. "Huh? I'm fine."
Luke just nodded once, didn't say anything.
A few hours wore by during which Leia's gaze would assume that same hardening look at least a dozen more times. Every time, Leia rushed to assure Luke that all was fine and the twins were just making her uncomfortable. Every time, Luke just nodded.
In the afternoon, a disheveled and alarmed Rieekan commed Leia's quarters. (Luke had practically been living with Leia for about a month now. And Rieekan always knew where to find him.) Rieekan's voice was panicked and shaking as he spoke in a rush. "Luke, we need you down at Command Center! There's some activity just outside our perimeters!"
Luke frowned, his own panic quickly rising. "What kind of activity?"
"A Star Destroyer is on our readouts. Over half the fleet crew members are being called down. Hurry!"
"Alright, Rieekan, I'm on my way." He hung up, grabbed his jacket from a chair, and waved to Leia. "I'm going down to Command."
Leia's look was distant and she didn't really look at him. "Okay," she said with a nod as if she understood.
"And you're going to call me if you need anything."
"Okay."
He watched her for a second. Something about her defeated aura choked Luke and he knew the timing couldn't be worse.
Luke sighed, dropped his coat on the floor, and sat on the couch with Leia. He wrapped an arm around her and she melted into his lap, tears escaping from her eyes.
Surrounding the rock planet of Makem Liva in the Outer Rim Territories was an Imperial fleet. Four Star Destroyers, six squadrons, and three smaller freighters stood outside the Rebellion's home, pounding on the door. They were waiting for the 'come in'.
Carlist Rieekan stood before a viewport on Home One, his arms folded across his chest. Mon Mothma walked up to his side. "What are you waiting for, General? Don't you have matters to be attending to right now?"
"If you don't let Leia evacuate first," he said gently, turning to acknowledge the woman. "Not even Ackbar will defend you."
Mothma pressed her lips into a thin line. She turned her gaze out the viewport and straightened her shoulders. "It's settled, then. The Millennium Falcon will be leaving the system first."
"With an escort. And Luke on the Falcon's crew plus an extra pilot." Mon Mothma turned back to face the Alderaanian, her bright eyes wide on her pale face. For good measure, Rieekan added, "Leia needs him. So, relieve him of his duties and see to it that Leia leaves the Makem system unharmed. . . . For Bail."
Mon Mothma's eyes once again widened, but they dropped just as quickly and she dropped her chin, subservient. "Yes, General," she responded quietly, her voice lost.
Leia rocked herself, swaying on her feet. Her jaw trembled as she tried uselessly to hold in the tears; they never stopped. She drew in a long, shaky breath before she opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her belly had grown big enough that she could hardly stand on her own. For support, she gripped the sink counter with one hand. With the other, she smoothed out the fabric of her dress, caressing her bulging belly. "Why now?" she cried, tears spilling down her face. "Why now? Why do I have to do this without Daddy?"
"Will you just say it now?"
Leia uttered another cry, shaking her head against Luke's chest. Luke held one of her hands and Leia kept a firm squeeze on it. Her feet were wet, her dress soaked. Still, she couldn't say it.
Luke gently rocked her on her feet, holding her up with one arm. "How about you sit down? I'll fix your hair, and then we can leave."
Leia didn't respond, so Luke sat her down in his lap and pulled her hair into a quick bun. He pulled her back to her feet, but stopped when Leia's face went white.
"Are you okay?"
She shook her head. Luke let her lean on him and got her to the door. He opened the door, but the corridors were packed with crowds hurrying for the docking bay. Luke sighed and turned to pick up Leia. He forced his way through the crowd and pushed people aside with the Force, promising himself this was a worthy exception to his dislike of "manhandling" people with the Force. He hurried for the hanger, careful not to jostle the laboring Leia. A few technicians were finishing up preparing the Falcon for leave. Luke nodded his thanks and an extra nod to the man who was hurrying into the cockpit. Luke didn't care who it was; just as long as he wouldn't have to worry about the Imperials on their tail while he was busy worrying about Leia.
He made it to the Falcon's medical room as the pilot's voice rang over the ship's comm system. "Commander Skywalker, this is Dak Levve. General Rieekan asked me to pilot this ship and see you and the princess safely out of the Makem system."
"Thanks, Levve, but I've got a lot of problems right now. Why don't you worry about the Imperials and leave me to worry about everything else, okay?"
"Uh, of course, Commander."
"Thanks!"
Luke carried Leia into the medical room and set her on the bunk. Leia's arms- no longer hooked around Luke's neck- flapped around for something to grab until she found the side edges of the bunk and held on fiercely.
"Leia," he spoke softly.
She shook her head. "Not without Han!"
"Leia."
"Not without Han! I can't do this without Han! I can't!" She blew out a long breath, slowly relaxing just a little. Their gazes met and tears quickly filled her eyes. "Help me."
Something escaped from Luke and his shoulders dropped with relief. He sat at her side and took both of her hands in his. "I'm right here."
Leia moved so she was sitting up; she leaned against him, moaning into his chest.
"You're okay. Soon, very soon, you're going to have two beautiful little babies. And soon after, Lando and Chewie are going to come back with Han. And he'll get to meet his children."
Leia grabbed a fistful of Luke's shirt and pulled on it, nearly choking him.
"Relax." Luke worked apart Leia's fingers and gave her something else to clamp on to. She slammed a fist on his chest and Luke gasped. He waited at least half a minute before Leia could manage a soft-spoken, "Sorry."
"Does it really hurt that bad?" Instantly, Luke felt like an idiot for asking. As punishment, he bit his own tongue, but- being on purpose- it lacked the desired effect.
Leia pushed away from Luke and he helped her settle back into the bunk as she answered him. "So far, it's only coming close to comparing with my torture on the Death Star."
Luke grimaced at that comparison.
"It feels like- there's a fist and it's squeezing. And that's becoming more uncomfortable. But I also have two babies trying to squeeze their way out of my-ah!" Leia cut herself off with a startled gasp.
Luke gave her his hand and Leia gripped it fiercely. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Don't leave."
"You know I won't."
"General, one of the Star Destroyers is moving into position to attack the Millennium Falcon!"
"We have to remind them that the princess is off limits. Put up the shields! Make sure that the Rogues are alright. Tell them that from now on, they're going to escort the Falcon."
"Yes, General!"
Rieekan sighed heavily. From his seat aboard the Reverance, Rieekan could see the Millennium Falcon as its pilot helplessly flew about in zigzags while Rogue Squadron worked feverishly to keep some distance between the Star Destroyer and the small, Corellian freighter.
He hated being here, stuck in this chair; he felt helpless with so little he could do to insure Leia's safety.
"General!" a new voice cried and Rieekan turned to see a communications officer holding out a commlink. "You're receiving an urgent comm call from a Rebellion freighter named Scouter."
Rieekan's features softened, but he didn't let himself get too excited. He took the comm and excused himself to the deck of the Reverance. "Lando? This is General Rieekan-"
"We found him! General . . . we have him."
Luke was there for Leia and he would do anything he could to help her. But Luke silently prayed they would make it out of this dogfight before he had to see more of Leia than Han had.
"Breathe," Luke repeated. He really didn't know what else to do and he felt awful. "Breathe, Leia. Breathe through it."
They sat together, facing each other. Leia leaned against him, her head resting on his chest. Luke held her hands, letting her squeeze when she needed to. The need was becoming more frequent, more consistent. In the last several hours, Luke had taught himself how to tell apart Leia's contractions. Now, they were blending together.
Leia had been in labor for a while. When Leia had finally admitted that a contraction had awoken her rather than her alarm, Luke had figured her labor had started earlier in the morning. Now- Luke checked the chrono on his wrist- it was a little past the afternoon. Her labor was proceeding quickly.
"Ohh!" Leia started to moan with another contraction. At once, Luke delved himself into the Force. He quickly found Leia and the roots of her pain. He touched as many of those places as he could and suppressed the pain so he felt it too. It was more than Luke could bear, but he thought it better if he suffer with Leia instead of trying to comfort a pain he didn't understand. This one in particular was harsh and Luke's mind blared with raw pain, but Leia was still dealing with the brunt of it. Luke's skills with the Force could only do so much. Leia's moan turned into a gurgle, then she finally screamed against the pain as it intensified. She threw her head back and screamed until the worst of it was over. Then, she melted back against Luke's chest.
"I want to push!" she cried.
Luke didn't even know if she should yet and he didn't want to find out. He shook his head at that thought, silently cursed himself, and wondered if he should check her dilating. He wondered if it even mattered, though, because he didn't know how close they were to getting help or just how close Leia was to being ready to deliver. He hoped, mostly in vain, that Leia wasn't as close as he thought she was.
"Hang on, Lei."
He reached for his comm and tried calling Denun again. Reception had been shaky and Luke had managed a connection only twice in the last several hours only to be cut off when the Falcon's own comm system with the rest of the fleet interfered.
"Luke?"
Denun's voice was gravelly over the line, but Luke heard her.
"Yes! It's me! I'm on the Falcon with Leia! She's in labor! We need help! Denun?"
"What? Luke, I ca . . . ear you! What did . . . our s . . . "
Luke sighed of frustration and switched to the Falcon's comm system. "Levve, I want you off the comm system right now!"
"What?! But I need to be connected to the rest of the fleet! What about the Rogues?"
"The Rogues will be just fine; trust me. Now, I want the Falcon off of the fleet's channel. That's an order!"
Levve sighed heavily. "Yes, Commander."
Nearly instantaneously, Luke's connection to Levve broke and the channel was free. He switched back to the private channel he'd connected with Denun.
"Luke?" the Ho'Din spoke first, her voice now much stronger and clearer. "You commed me? Is everything alright?"
"I'm with Leia on the Falcon."
"Yes. I was worried and I asked General Rieekan where the princess was. He told me you two evacuated first."
"Yeah, it's just the two of us and a pilot. And now we've got a problem."
"A problem?"
"Luke?" Rieekan's voice; worried, alarmed, tired. "Is everything alright?"
Leia's head lolled and she let out another long cry. Luke held her with one free arm. "Leia's in labor. I think the cubs are just about ready to come."
Denun responded first. "Right now?"
An uneasy laugh came from Rieekan and he said bitterly, "Cubs have impeccable timing."
"Tell me about it," Luke muttered.
"No, Luke," Rieekan continued. "I just got a comm call from Lando." He stopped with that, didn't say anything more. Luke's heart fell. He was thankful Leia couldn't hear the other end of this conversation because he feared what more Rieekan had to say. Especially at a precarious time like this. "What did he say?"
" . . . Luke . . . they found him."
"And?"
" . . . " Rieekan finally chuckled and Luke felt a heavy weight suddenly lift from his shoulders. Even his Force aura lightened and Leia, whose body was filled with Luke's reassuring aura, gasped as she felt the difference. Rieekan continued, "He's asking about Leia. What do you think? Lando's asking what they should tell him."
Luke moved his hand to rub Leia's back. "Tell him. He deserves to know right away. Now, as amazing this is, I've got a lot on my hands and I don't know what to do. Leia's in a lot of pain. How do I help her?"
He could tell that the crew was doing everything they could to let him have time to relax and take in his surroundings, but it was still so much for Han to cope with. He was finally free.
Jabba was dead. He was alive. Lando had come with Chewbacca to rescue him. The Imperials had found the Rebels' base and were now attacking while the Rebel fleet evacuated. His vision was slowly returning, but so blurry that keeping his eyes open was giving him a headache. Lando kept telling him to keep the damp hand towel pressed to his eyes.
And then, amid his scattered, speeding thoughts, there was Leia. Leia as he had last seen her. On Bespin, in the carbon freezing chamber; her hair in looped braids and a snow white jumpsuit hugging her lithe figure, her eyes wide and fearful, dreading the moment to come. He could have sworn they'd welled with tears until she'd finally gained the necessary courage to step forward and yell across the chamber, "I love you!"
And at that moment, Han's heart had dropped because, at Leia's words, something in him had shifted. While his simple response had come so naturally and felt so right and so perfect for just the two of them, Han had come to realize in an instant that, perhaps, his own feelings for Leia went beyond what he'd been able to understand while he'd been trying to get Leia to fess up. He did love Leia. He'd already known that and he told her so as he was slowly lowered into the pool of carbon beneath him. But he didn't just love Leia. He wanted her and he wanted to spend his life with her. Perhaps, he would die and it could be said that he really did spend the rest of his life with her.
But he didn't want that to be the end.
And now it wouldn't.
"Lando, all I want to know is if she's okay."
Lando seemed to struggle with answering this simple question. Every time Han asked, Lando would just cringe and ask how his eyes were. I don't care about my kriffing eyes! How's Leia?!
"She's just fine, Han. Don't worry."
"No. I've been asking about Leia for three hours and all you'll tell me is that she's 'fine'. You said the fleet is evacuating. Where is Leia? Is she okay?"
Lando turned back to the rest of his crew. Just then, another crew member joined the rest in the Scouter's lounge. "Captain Calrissian, we just received another call from the general."
Lando stood and went to speak with him. "And what did the general say?"
The crew member looked around the assembled group to watch Han Solo where he sat. Oblivious, ignorant, blissfully at peace from certain fears.
He looked back to Lando. "Tell him."
Han took the cloth away from his eyes. His vision was starting to clear and he could make out Lando and the man, facing each other. The rest of the team stood around, all gazes flicking between Han and Lando and the crew member's exchange.
"Tell him?" Lando echoed and the man just shrugged, handing him the comm.
That was it. Han wasn't falling for anything. He sat up, sat forward. Lando took a seat before him and Han made sure to grab his gaze. "How. Is Leia?"
Lando maintained his gaze, his mouth almost twisted down in a frown.
"Where is she? Is she okay?"
Lando assured him softly, quietly, his voice just above a whisper. "She's fine, Han."
Immediately, Han launched to his feet. "Kriff you! What's happened to Leia? What did Vader do to her?!"
"Nothing! Han, I swear she's fine! . . . It's just that . . . She returned to the Rebel fleet with Luke. Shortly after she returned, she found something out."
Han wasn't losing his patience. No, he was far past that. With the last image of Leia he had being her alluring and delicate features twisted with fear and pain and a growing hollowness- Han needed to know. "What do you mean? Lando, just quit it! Tell me! What happened?"
The smallest, most cautious smile made its way onto Lando's face as he stood to meet Han's level. He held out his hands, begging him to relax. He gave him a moment, setting a deal. Relax, then he would tell Han anything he wanted to know. So, Han dropped his walls just a little. Just enough. "Is Leia okay?" he asked one more time, his voice somehow firmer despite its low volume.
Once again, Lando nodded. "She's fine, Han. But she's pregnant."
"What?"
"Leia is pregnant."
Pregnant. Han couldn't even echo the word aloud; it was too . . . too . . . What was it? Unreal? Impossible? No, it wasn't impossible, Han supposed, but he couldn't imagine it being real. His mind seemed stuck on only imagining Leia from their time on Bespin. The tortured look on her face after Vader had personally tortured him. When they'd thrown him back in the cell and Leia had taken him into her arms, smoothed his hair back and asked the million credit question, "Why are they doing this?"
He'd sat up, with her help, and wrapped his arms around her body, begging Destiny for one more moment with that irresistible, gorgeous woman. But when he'd held her in his arms in that cell on Bespin, was it really possible that she'd been pregnant, a child of his and her making coming to life deep within her? Without either of them knowing?
A child. That they had made together. Half Han and half Leia. That he was the father of.
The thought, Han just knew, was too splendid in the craziest way and it couldn't be true. He looked back to Lando who was now talking on a comm, his brow furrowed. Han begged of him, "How long has it been?"
Lando put the comm down. He knew exactly what Han was asking. "I just got a call from Luke. He's with her. He's been taking care of her. He's with her now, on the Falcon, running away from the Imperials. And she's in labor." He cracked a cautious smile, patting Han on the back. "You're going to be a father real soon."
Luke could no longer bear Leia's labor pains. They were constant and powerful, slamming Leia with fresh agony over and over.
He held her in his lap, her back to his front. She kept his free hand in a death grip. Her grip was merciless and Luke had smartly decided to give her his mechanical hand instead of the real one with nerves. Denun spoke to him through the comm, feeding him directions on how to help Leia. The comm on the other end went back and forth between Denun's instructions and Rieekan who offered Leia encouragement when he had a spare moment. Denun was insisting on Leia pushing, but she was overcome with exhaustion and sorrow. Luke wanted to tell her that Han was fine, but Rieekan had told him to hang on.
So, now Luke was trying to get Leia to push. At the moment, she was trying, but not hard enough. She screamed with the start of every contraction and grit her teeth through the rest. Luke forced himself to peer over her shoulder, but he didn't see a head or anything.
With the next scream, Luke squeezed her hand back and said in her ear, "Don't resist, Leia. Push."
"I can't!"
"Yes, you can. Leia, take a breath. Focus. The cubs are ready. You need to push."
"Luke," Rieekan's voice said in his ear and he listened. When he was done, Luke called out, "Levve!"
"Yes, Commander?"
"I have a comm call and I want you to patch it through the Falcon's comm system. Understand?"
"Wow. You must really not like my voice."
"Levve! Take the transmission and put it over the intercom. Now!"
"Yes, Commander."
Luke momentarily gave up trying to get Leia to push and soothed her while he waited.
"Luke, you there?" Rieekan asked, now over the intercom.
"Yeah, we're here, General."
"Alright. I'll put him through, now."
A moment of silence aside from Leia's cries and groans ensued. Then . . .
"Leia?"
Leia froze in Luke's lap, panting. Luke wished he could see her face. Instead, he melted himself out of Leia's awareness to give space and instead focused on taking as much of Leia's pain as he could. " . . . Han?"
"Hey, Princess."
Leia shuddered a gasp and Luke just smiled. "Han!"
"Hi, sweetheart."
"What- where- Lando- found you?"
"Don't worry about me, Princess. I'm just fine. I miss you."
"I-I-" Leia cut off in sobs, partly due to her pain.
"Hey, sweetheart, listen. Lando told me."
"Told you-?"
"He-he told me that you're pregnant."
Leia didn't respond. She just cried, falling back against Luke.
"Leia, ha! Leia, Princess, I love you so much. I can't even believe it, but, if it's true, I'm so proud of you."
"I didn't want to do this without you."
"I know, sweetheart. Listen to me. I'm going to see you really soon okay? Real soon. Right now, though . . . just do what you have to for our baby. I love you so much, Leia. Even our baby."
Leia's sobs continued. Luke did all he could and rocked her, hushed her cries, and whispered soft comforts.
"When I get back to you, I want to meet our baby, okay? So, you have to keep going, Leia. For me? For us? For our- oh, kriff, Leia! I just can't believe it. I can't believe you're having our baby."
"Han!" Leia managed, her eyes hardening with another contraction. She let loose a strangled scream. She quickly recovered and told him, "Han."
"I'm still here."
"Han, we are having- a baby."
"You're kidding."
Leia actually laughed. "And Han?"
"What is it, Your Worship?"
"We're having twins."
Silence. Then, finally, "I love you so much, Leia."
"I know."
"Hey, sweetheart, I gotta' go, but please promise me you're going to listen to Luke and the doctor. You are the strongest person that I have ever met. You got this, Leia. Then, I'll see you again."
"I promise."
"Good. I'll see you in a little while. I love you, Leia. And our- babies."
"We love you, too."
The intercom clicked to silence and it was just Luke and Leia again. And Leia just cried. She sobbed in relief for Han, her mind and body hardly able to take it all at such a moment, but Han's voice had been there to finally assure her and comfort her. Now, it was time.
Luke reached for knees and pulled them out of the way, pulling her legs to the side.
"Leia?"
"It's time, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. Ready?"
Leia gave a small nod.
"Do you want to rest or-"
"No." Leia quickly shook her head. "The baby's coming!"
"Okay. Denun said you'll know when to push-"
This time, Leia nodded. "I feel it."
"Ready to try again, then?"
Again, Leia nodded. When the urge returned, Leia tucked her chin against her chest and pushed.
"There you go," Luke encouraged.
Leia groaned against the effort, but kept going. "Huh! Agh!"
"Push, Leia. Keep going."
Leia gasped for a breath and rested for a moment.
"Are you okay?"
Leia nodded her head against Luke's chest. Her head dropped for a moment, then Luke only heard her gasp.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I see the head!" Leia panicked. "I see the head! Luke, I can see the head! What do I do?"
"Hey, calm down. Easy, Leia."
Before Luke could muster any more of a response, Leia cried out and was pushing again. He reached for her hand, but Leia wasn't reaching for his. Luke forced himself to look over her shoulder and saw that she was busy; Leia was reaching between her own legs, helping the first baby out. "Oh!" she cried as she gave another push and the baby's slender shoulders slid free. "Luke, you'd better figure out what you want the cubs to call you 'cause they're almost here."
"I was thinking 'Uncle Luke'." Luke even surprised himself when he didn't look away. Instead of being repulsed by the sight of his best friend expelling her baby's body from her own, Luke was filled with wonder as Han and Leia's first child was born.
He quickly glanced at his chrono and recorded the time on his arm with a marker.
The rest of the body came out and Leia gave yet another gasp when she realized that she could now hold her child. Luke was beyond words and of little help, but Leia had enough of a mind to turn the fresh newborn upside-down and lightly smack the bottom. "Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness! You're here! You're real! You're here, my baby!"
Luke forced himself to have a clear head so he could help Leia; there was still another baby to deliver. The first child started to cry and Leia held the baby to her chest. "Mommy's here," Leia panted. "Mommy's got you. Oh, you're so beautiful."
"Leia." Luke hated to do it, but he carefully took the slippery, puny child into his own arms. Leia only fought him for a second before letting him take her child. "You still have another cub to deliver. You'll get to hold them both when you're done."
Leia was quick to quip, "Why are you punishing me for something I'm already being punished for?"
"Alright, comedy genius. Focus on the second baby."
"And I'll get the first one back when I'm done?"
"I promise."
Leia got several minutes of rest before the second child was ready. She let her body take over and pushed when it told her to. Nearly twenty minutes following the first, her second child slipped into her waiting hands. She fell back into Luke's embrace, blinking tears and sweat out of her eyes. Luke took the baby from her, cleaned it off and got the first cry, then laid the twins in their mother's arms. Once she was had them, Leia held them close to her chest, a brilliant smile plastered to her face. She talked quietly to the infants, her voice cooing every word of joy that came to mind. While Leia cried over her new children, Luke got up and stood before Leia to get a better view of the babies. With scissors, he cut their cords, then found towels and wrapped them in Leia's arms.
The mother's eyes never left her children.
"You did it!" Luke congratulated her. "They're here! You're a mom."
"They're so perfect," Leia cried like she didn't hear him. "I'm so happy. And now you guys get to meet Daddy! Daddy's back and now we'll get to see him!"
Leia finally looked up to meet Luke's gaze. Her face was alight with joy and a level of happiness Luke had never thought Leia would be able to find. Holding her children close to her, she said to Luke, "Since Alderaan, I never thought I could be this happy!"