Chapter 3

Jaina was guided through several sets of doors until she reached a set of transparisteel doors that opened to a small room with two rows of chairs arranged to face a wide viewport that overlooked the operating room. She followed a nurse into the room and sat in the front row so she could see Ben.

When she saw her cousin hooked up to several monitors and machines and a breathing tube, she felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes. She quickly brushed them aside and sat propping her elbows on her knees to see the entire operating room.

She heard a rustle of fabric and a squeak of old leather as a young man of about twenty years sat next to her. His shaggy brown hair reminded her of her brothers' hair. He looked at her with an excited smile. "This is gonna be so cool. This surgeon's one of the best neurosurgeons in the galaxy and I get to watch him work!" he exclaimed quietly to her.

Jaina gave him an odd, confused look, and turned away from him. She stretched out to Ben in the Force and sent him strength and love. From behind the transparisteel, Ben looked pale and weak. Jaina imagined her uncle on Dathomir, struggling to focus on his mission and worrying about Ben. The young man on the operating table seemed a completely different person than the young man, her cousin. He seemed so small and vulnerable with all the tubes and bandages and machines.

The young man to her right, on the other hand, was becoming more annoying by the minute. He began to bounce his legs up and down with excited anticipation. Jaina reached over and rested a calming hand on his bouncing knee. "That's my cousin down there. If you don't mind, I'd like to observe in peace." She used her most diplomatic voice; the one she got from her mother, no doubt. Immediately, he stopped and gave her a meaningful look.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay." she cut him off. Below, Dr. Keedo walked in and examined his patient, holding his hand out for some type of cutting instrument. Jaina wasn't sure what it was.

The man to her right prepared to stand and held a hand out to Jaina. "My name's Thes. I…hope everything turns out all right for you."

Jaina shook his hand and before she could introduce herself, Thes stood and walked over to a new seat farther away. Jaina watched him sit, and then turned her attention back to the room below.

Leia had fallen asleep in his lap. Han shifted uncomfortably in the stiff, worn out seat. You'd think a top-of-the-line medcenter would have comfortable chairs, he thought. As he shifted again, Leia stirred. He watched as she woke up, groggy, and rubbed the sleep from her beautiful brown eyes. "Morning, Princess." Han replied with a small smile he did not feel.

Leia looked around the room and Han assumed she had forgotten where they were. "Any news?" she asked, standing up and stretching.

Han shook his head. "Nothing yet…" While Leia napped, Han had been left to his thoughts, and at this point, his thoughts led him to dangerous conclusions.

Leia nodded and sat down in the chair next to Han. "It's been almost seven hours… I hope nothing's gone wrong," Leia said, absently playing with her hair. She shook her head. "No, Jaina would've let us know…" she countered, reassuring herself. Han reached over and smoothed her hair lovingly. He let his mind wander to Luke when the door behind him slid open revealing a tired looking Jaina. Han stood and waited impatiently for her to tell them what had happened.

Jaina walked to him and let him hold her in an embrace briefly. "That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to watch," was all she said before she sat next to Leia, resting her head against her mother's shoulder.

Leia wrapped one arm around Jaina's shoulder. "How'd it go?"

Jaina shook her head slowly while she explained everything that had happened in the long seven hours of surgery. A few times, Jaina had felt Ben's Force presence dwindle to almost nothing, but she continued to send him strength. "I thought he was going to…die… He almost did a few times…" She let her sentence trail off and closed her eyes.

Han looked at his daughter. She looked so tired and worn out. His eyes shifted to his wife and he wondered if she had felt Ben's presence diminish while she was sleeping. "Did the doc say anything about how the kid's doing or how the surgery went?" he asked quietly, his voice a small whisper.

Again, Jaina shook her head. "No. Ben had to be moved to the ICU quickly, so I didn't get a chance to talk to Dr. Keedo." She sounded tired, Han thought.

He turned as he heard footsteps behind him. Through the doors, Dr. Keedo appeared, tired but confident. He nodded at Han and took a seat across from the Solos as he had before. "Please, take a seat" he said to Han, motioning for him to sit down as well. As Han sat, Dr. Keedo continued. "Ben is still unconscious, but he is expected to awaken within the next few hours. There were a few problems during the operation, but none of them serious. From what I encountered, it appears his memory centers have been affected. Further damage will be revealed clearly when he awakens." He laid a hand on Jaina's knee. "Young lady, I assume you helped him through the surgery?"

Jaina nodded, offering a confused look. "Yeah, I did…"

Dr. Keedo nodded back. "I feel that if you hadn't been there, he might not have made it through the surgery. From my limited experience with Force users here, it appears that when a Force user is near the patient, the patient responds positively. Young lady, I think it's fair to claim you saved his life." He spoke to her as though he were Han's age, rather than closer to Jaina's age.

Dr. Keedo stood and patted Han on the shoulder before exiting the waiting room. He paused at the door. "It'll be an hour or so before you can visit him," he said, and left, the doors closing silently behind him.

As soon as the doctor left, Leia pulled out her comlink. "Luke?"

As before, Luke's voice came urgently over the comm. "Leia, what happened?"

"He's fine. He just got out of surgery…" she relayed what Dr. Keedo had informed them. Luke was silent for a few moments after Leia had finished talking.

"I was so worried… I felt him almost die… You said his memory has been affected?" he sounded distracted.

Han held his hand out for the comlink and Leia gave it to him. "Yeah. The doc said his memory centers have been affected and anything else will be revealed when he wakes up. Luke… I'm so sorry." Han lowered his head and handed to comlink back to Leia. He held back his tears as he sat beside his wife and listened to Jaina explain what had happened during Ben's surgery. He felt so bad for Luke, to be so many light years away from his son… It must be so hard.

Jaina clicked the comlink off and handed it back to Leia. She sat down in the empty seat between her parents. Han had noticed how vulnerable she looked at that moment. His mind flashed back to his children's younger years. He remembered when Anakin, Jacen, and Jaina would torment C-3PO…and when Chewbacca would carry each of them around the Falcon. Chewie had never complained…

Jaina leaned against Han's shoulder this time and closed her eyes, sighing lightly. She looked so worn out. He smoothed her hair gently, wrapping an arm around her as she fell asleep. Leia looked at him and offered a half smile. She walked over to Han's other side and sat next to him, nestling beneath his other arm. Han leaned his head so his cheek rested atop Leia's soft hair and they too fell asleep.