Han stood by the bed as she woke, watched her eyes open, and saw the fear there. Immediately, she tried to pull away from the doctors.
"Easy!" Han said, stepping forward. "Easy. Relax, it's me; Han."
Her struggled faded a little.
Come on," Han encouraged. "It's us. You're safe."
She looked around nervously, and then back at him.
"G-General Solo?" she asked weakly.
Han smiled.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's me. You're okay. You had an operation. It's alright now."
She looked at the ceiling.
"I'm alive?"
"Uh-huh," Han said enthusiastically. "Yeah. As long as you lie still, you're gonna be just fine."
She glanced at him, then looked around at the surgeons.
"Relax," he said, crouching down by the bed. "It's okay now. You hungry?"
"Hungry?" she said quietly.
Han nodded.
"Yeah, y'know. Do you want somethin' to eat?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"What do you want for it?"
Han's face went completely blank for a moment.
"What?"
"What do you want? In return for it?"
Han laughed nervously, ran a hand over his mouth and hesitated before he spoke.
"Well, I…"
Again, he laughed nervously.
"There're some questions I'd like an answer to but…you don't have to answer just to get food. I mean, it's your choice."
"Choice?" she asked, narrowing her eyes a little more.
"Yeah, you know. You can make this choice for yourself."
She shook her head.
"No," she said. "I mean, what does that mean? Choice?"
--
Han stood, watching Tirinide sleep, for a long time after he was supposed to have gone home, to bed. It was only when Leia came to him and slipped her arm about his waist that he moved at all from his leaning on the window frame.
He turned his head and then leaned into her embrace.
"Hey," he whispered.
"What are you doing here?" she said, sliding her hand inside his collar.
"I was just…"
He shrugged.
"I dunno. The poor kid. She's been through so much, you know? I mean, they used her as a…a…a plaything. She's fourteen."
Leia ran her hand over his shoulder.
"But she's safe now. Thanks to you."
"But she-!"
Leia kissed him instead of trying to counter his protest.
"Will you stop this, please? You are a wonderful man, who's saved hundreds of people. Despite her past, this girl now has a future to look forward to."
"But she didn't even know what Choice meant."
Leia's sure smile faltered for a moment.
"But you told her, didn't you? You explained it?"
Han nodded.
"I said a choice was a decision you make between one or more options."
"Well then-"
"And I had to spend the next half an hour explaining what option and decision meant."
Leia sighed her astonishment.
"Wow," she breathed.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"You look worn out," she said softly. "Come back. Come home."
For a moment, he hesitated. But she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his neck, softly at first, then more insistently.
"Come to bed, my love?" she whispered, allowing her hands to wander.
Slowly, he turned from the window and fell to kissing her softly as they walked away. His body ached undeniably, and not because of the pain. The touches she bestowed on him, both light and insistent, reminded him that it had been some days now. And he was looking forward to it. She was always especially gentle with him after he had been in hospital, and she usually stayed awake after he was asleep.
And so it was, later that night, as she pulled the thin, cool sheet up over his sleeping, naked body, and traced the new scar with her fingertips, that she watched him for a time, the lines of pain and stress of his face already lost to dreams so that he appeared younger, calmer, more at peace. And she marveled at the vulnerability he trusted her with. Awake, he was strong, authoritative, a leader, work roughened, fast and knowledgeable. But when they made love, he reveled in the submissiveness he was able to indulge in, the allowance she gave him to let go, to relax, and to learn as she learned. He was knowledgeable here, too, but gentle, slow and thorough, and, though she loved him at all times and always would, she still looked forward to this quiet time they enjoyed together. They both adored the willing loss of the control he strived so hard to keep during the day, and the way, when he was finally exhausted, she would take care of him, guide him with gentle hands toward the haven of slumber. She stroked the hair back from his face, noting that it was still slightly paler than usual, and she smiled as he stirred and pushed a little closer. Entwined, as they often found themselves, his legs tangled comfortably with hers, his arms about her waist and hers about his shoulders, she looked down at him where he lay nestled against her, his temple against her shoulder.
Caressing his face, she saw that there were still bruises and small cuts there, but she could tell from his expression that they were causing him no pain. She leant back to turn out the light, and he stirred again, brow furrowing, murmuring fretfully at the sudden loss of her warmth.
"Easy," she whispered, brushing a kiss over his brow as she turned back. "It's alright. I'm still here."
He quieted once more, but not until he had moved his body so that his face rested against her neck.
"Leia…" he sighed, and then he was still once more.
--
"But you're sure?"
Han Solo stood about a foot taller than the doctor. In fact, he stood about a foot taller than a lot of people. That usually served to his advantage. And right now, it was helping him be intimidating.
"Uh, I'm positive, uh, General Solo. They're your genetics. She's a clone."
"But why would she…What could they possibly want with a clone of me?"
The doctor looked around nervously.
"I'm sorry?"
"Rhetorical question," Han muttered. "Can I see her? Alone?"
The doctor looked uneasy.
"General-"
"Please?" he said. "She won't give me any answers while there are other people there to hear them."
The doctor sighed.
"You have half an hour."
--
"Hey," Han said softly, as he approached the bed. "Y'awake?"
She lay on her side, facing away from the door, so he couldn't tell.
She gave no reply.
"Tirinide?"
Still she didn't move.
"It's me, Han."
This time, her head turned a little.
"General?"
"Yeah," Han smiled, hoping she could hear it in his voice.
She rolled onto her back and looked at him.
"Are you alright?" she asked. "You didn't tell me you were my donor."
Han nodded tersely, embarrassed.
"Uh, yeah, I'm good."
"Good," she said softly and, for the first time, he saw the ghost of a smile.
"Listen, I have a couple of things I'd like to ask you. I don't want anything except the answers and I won't force you for those. But if you feel you want to tell me then I'm right here. Okay?"
She nodded slowly.
"Okay."
"Alright. Now, first of all, about this transplant."
He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to talk.
"I don't want anything for it," he said, and she settled back into the pillows. "I wanted to ask you if you knew why it had to be me to be your donor."
She shook her head.
"Do you know what a blood type is?"
She narrowed her eyes a moment, thinking. Then she nodded.
"Good," Han said. "Do you know what DNA is?"
This time she shook her head and Han sighed.
"Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Don't worry," he said, noting her expression. "You don't have to remember that. But what DNA is, what is does, that's important."
She nodded.
"Okay."
"Right," he smiled. "DNA is some of the tiny, tiny tiny building blocks that make up a person. You know when you bleed?"
"Yes," she told him.
"Well it's not really what it looks like. It's actually hundreds and thousands of little pieces called cells. And what makes up those cells is DNA. And nobody's is the same as anyone else's."
"So they're really small?"
"Yep," he said smugly. "Really really really small."
She smiled.
"Really, really, really, really, really small?"
He laughed.
"Yeah," but then his smile faded. "Well a long time ago, people learned how to make copies of other things' DNA, and grow new things."
"So they're the same?"
"Yeah," Han nodded, "and they started out with small things, worked their way up. They made a nerf a few years back."
"A nerf?"
"Yeah, you know, a cloud with legs?"
She smiled.
"Yeah, I've seen those. When we moved to Orelia, they didn't block up my windows right. I saw nerfs before."
Han swallowed thickly.
"R-right, well, they made a nerf that was exactly the same as the other nerf, let her grow up."
"Exactly the same?"
"That's right. And that's called a clone. It's completely separate from the first one, but it wouldn't be here without it and its building blocks are the same. But after that…Well, they started doing other things to the DNA-"
"How did they see it?"
Han sat back and sighed, thought about it for a minute.
"As soon as you're better, I'll show you a microscope. That's how they saw. It lets you see really, really tiny things, smaller than you can see on your own."
"Okay," she said, placated for now. "So what other stuff did they do?"
"Uh…They learned how to change some other building blocks, called chromosomes. They learned how to make DNA from a guy nerf into DNA for a girl nerf, and how to make DNA from a girl nerf-"
"Into DNA for a guy nerf?"
"That's it, you got it. And all you have to do to make one into the other is change one chromosome to start with."
At this she looked puzzled.
"Only one?"
"Only one."
"That's really good," she said quietly.
Han cocked his head and winced.
"Some people think so. But I needed to explain that before I tell you why I match you, why you had the operation with me and not someone else."
She crossed her legs on top of the covers and gazed at him intently, the way the children did at storytime.
"To be able to have the operation with you, my blood type had to match your blood type."
"And it did?"
"It did. But it didn't just match, Tirinide. It was the same."
Her brow furrowed and she looked at where her bare feet were tucked under her knees.
"So I'm a clone?"
It took all of his strength to answer her.
"Yes."
"But I'm a girl nerf and you're a guy nerf?"
"Yes, Tirinide."
Again she looked at her feet.
"But my blocks are the same as your blocks."
"That's…that's right. But you're a separate person, you're a person in your own right."
"Okay," she said, and lay down on the mattress, pulled the covers up to her chin. "Thanks."
Han stood to tuck her in.
"What for?"
"For the coming to get me, and for sharing the operation. And for the building blocks. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have those."
And then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.