Luke Skywalker was quite sure he had never seen his sister so angry with her husband.
"Two days, Luke. Two days and he hasn't called. The kids are worried sick and I'm just about ready to kill him the minute he comes in the door. How can he just walk out on us like that?"
Luke had only just returned from a week-long trip, wishing now that he had been around when Han had first left so that Leia could've vented her frustrations earlier. She rarely confided in anyone, and when she let her emotions fester, the imminent explosion was quite powerful.
But beneath the anger, he sensed genuine concern as well as hurt. He knew she was worried. He also knew that it was easier for her to be furious with Han than to worry for his safety.
They were seated on the couch facing one another, and Luke reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Leia. You two have fought before. Plenty of times, in fact."
Leia looked up and gave a half-hearted smile. "I know we've fought before, Luke. But he's never been gone for so long before - not without telling me where he was going. And he certainly hasn't walked out on the kids like this without saying goodbye."
That was precisely why Luke thought she should be more concerned. He knew Leia was having difficulty seeing past her anger enough to realize that Han definitely was not the kind of man who would disappear like that. "Do you want to tell me what you were fighting about?"
Leia took a deep breath. "Han was angry with me for forgetting to come pick him up at the dentist."
Luke waited for her to continue, but she remained silent. "That's it?"
The princess looked up at her brother. "Maybe not exactly. He said that I forgot to come get him because I didn't even notice that he wasn't here. And then he asked if we would even care if he never came home."
"Seems like a pretty dire conclusion based on one mental slip."
"I'm not sure that it was really the one incident that upset him so much," Leia continued. "It seemed like it brought up some deeper issues that have been building for a while."
"What kind of issues?"
"He doesn't think we need him anymore. He doesn't think that we make time for each other anymore and focus all of our energy on the kids. I told him he was being selfish."
"Well, do you really think he was being selfish?"
Her brown eyes looked into his, and she knew she couldn't get away with a lie. Her shoulders slumped. "No. Not really. I guess I just don't know what he wants me to do. There are only so many hours in a day. Am I supposed to just push Jacen, Jaina and Anakin aside and put Han first?"
"No, of course that's not what he wants you to do. But, Leia, you know as well as I do that it can't possibly be good for a relationship if you never take any time for yourselves. When was the last time you two went anywhere? Just the two of you - no kids."
Leia thought back. She remembered a few times when Han had suggested just that, but she had brushed him aside saying that she was too tired, or she didn't want to leave Jaina when she had a cold, or the kids had been more rambunctious than usual and she couldn't in good conscience leave them with Luke or Chewie to deal with. Then she realized that he had simply stopped asking all together. Why hadn't she realized sooner how badly she'd been ignoring him lately?
She hated when he was right.
"I guess it's been a bit longer than I'd care to admit," she replied. "But that's still no excuse for walking out on us like that, Luke. If this is how he's been feeling for a while, he should've mentioned it sooner. He's an adult with real responsibilities and he can't just abandon his family like this."
"Are you sure that's what he's done? You told me about Anakin. Maybe it wasn't just a dream."
Leia shook her head, unwilling to contemplate the dire possibility. "No, Luke. You didn't see how mad Han was when he left. He's doing this on purpose to prove his stupid point. But all he's proven is that we can get along just fine without him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on my children since their father has left me to take care of them myself."
Leia marched off toward the children's bedroom, leaving Luke wondering just how much pain his brother-in-law had caused his sister. He could sense that she was beyond worried. But he also knew that at the moment she was too angry to act on her fears.
He hated being in the middle of their arguments. He wanted nothing but happiness for his sister and his best friend, and in spite of any of the fights they'd had, Luke knew even without the Force that they truly belonged together.
Luke also strongly believed that Han wouldn't disappear the way he had. Not for two days. Something wasn't right, and if Leia wasn't going to do anything about it, he was going to have to find out what it was.