Obi-Wan anxiously ran his fingers through his thinning hair, walking the halls to Leia and Han's apartment. He didn't come as a bearer of good news.
Leia answered the door, disheveled and dressed in a shirt entirely too large for her small frame. "Uncle Obi-Wan," she greeted. As he passed her, he saw her smile fall. "What's wrong?"
"Anakin and Luke never reported in this morning," Obi-Wan told her bluntly.
Leia gaped at him in shock, slowly sitting on the couch. "Maybe…they forgot," she whispered vainly. They both knew that wasn't at all likely.
Obi-Wan sighed. "We're not sure what to think. Perhaps…they did find it."
"And they got kidnapped," Leia murmured mournfully. "Have you talked to Mother yet?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I didn't feel it necessary to worry her just yet."
"What is the Council thinking of doing?"
"Waiting, mainly. Waiting just a little longer, to see if they will report in. If not, we're sending a team."
Leia stood to meet Obi-Wan's gaze almost at eyelevel. "I'll go."
Very obviously, Obi-Wan looked down to gaze at her still slim stomach. "Leia, you're in no condition."
"They're my father and brother," Leia said, deadly calm and quiet.
Obi-Wan laid a hand on her shoulder. "We will not be drastic, Leia. They've only missed the check-in time by mere hours. Something is probably holding them up. If I know the name Skywalker, I know that nothing can keep one held back for long." He smiled reassuringly. "It'll be fine." I hope, he added subconsciously.
As Obi-Wan left to go rejoin the Council and await Luke and Anakin, Leia sank back onto the couch, holding her head with one hand and her stomach with the other.
"What's wrong?" Han asked, coming from the other room, completely oblivious to the previous conversation.
Leia didn't look up. "My father and Luke never reported in this morning."
Han sighed, coming to sit beside Leia. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace. "They're fine. Wouldn't you feel it if Luke was in danger?"
Leia looked up now, meeting Han's gaze. "I suppose…" A smile crossed her lips. "Yes, you're right, Han."
Han chuckled. "Aren't I always?"
Lovingly, Leia rolled her eyes. "You're so full of yourself."
He grinned and kissed her forehead. "You love it."
Leia scoffed, moving further into Han's warmth. "That's what you think, Flyboy."
Han's hand moved down to cover Leia's still on her stomach. All she had was the smallest of bumps, but it was there. "I can't wait for them to come. They'll be so…perfect."
Leia smiled, laying her head on his shoulder. "I know. I can't wait either."
He kissed the top of her head, letting them fall into a comfortable silence.
Obi-Wan released a sigh of relief he hadn't known he'd been holding when the Council was contacted by Anakin.
"We were attacked," Anakin explained, his blue image appearing apprehensive. "By Sith, I'm assuming. They had lightsabers and the Force was with them, but it was tainted. A Sith." He sighed. "We don't know where they were sent from, but at least we know they exist."
Yoda nodded slowly. "Return to Coruscant, you will. Be sent, others will. For now, your job has been done."
Anakin's eyes tightened slightly before his face relaxed once more. "Yes, Master." His image faded away.
"Who are we sending?" Master Windu asked Yoda.
"Be put together, a team will. Now, meditate, I must."
The Council was dismissed. Obi-Wan went to share the bittersweet news with Leia, before going to train with his padawan.
"We're going back to Coruscant," Anakin told Luke.
Luke frowned. "Why are they bringing us back? Obviously we were close, and that's why they tried to stop us."
Anakin sighed. "I know. I understand your reasoning. But, the Council's word is final. I disobeyed them once and almost fell to the Dark Side."
Luke agreed grudgingly. He went up the ramp of their ship, absentmindedly patting Artoo as he went by it. Artoo warbled nervously, following Luke as he went to start the ship. "We're going home," Luke answered Artoo's guessed question.
Anakin joined Luke in the cockpit, helping with the startup. As they lifted off, Luke looked longingly at the mountain. For some reason, he felt a dire need to find the clan. It felt as though each day that passed, the need grew. It was if something there needed him, and faded each day he didn't come.
Shaking away the thought, Luke turned his gaze to the ship's controls. He had more important things to tend to. "Father… What was your dream about?"
Anakin glanced at Luke a moment before sighing. "It was too jumbled to completely discern it. But, it was Leia, and two infants, your mother, you, me, Leia and the infants again." He shook his head. "I'm not sure what to think. I'm worried about Leia's pregnancy. She was what the dream was mostly centered on."
Luke contemplated this information, trying to piece it together. "But no one was…in pain?"
"Leia seemed to be…but then she was fine later. The infants were screaming. I can only assume that they're Leia's children."
Luke raised an eyebrow. "You think she's having twins?"
"That would explain the reason there were two, hmm? And it must run in the family." Anakin shook his head. "I'll have to wait and see if I have another dream. Having just one is nothing to go by."
Luke nodded his agreement, but his mind was already with his twin sister, examining her Force signature, as though he could feel the pain she might be in months from now.
To his surprise, Leia was happy, relieved, with a bit of nervousness mixed in. He wondered what was going on back on Coruscant.
"I'm so glad they're alright," Leia breathed, smiling at Obi-Wan. He was still frowning, though. "There's more, isn't there?"
Obi-Wan nodded solemnly. "The Council has decided to send various teams to Maridun. I could tell Anakin wasn't happy, but I'm worried that he might disobey the Council and continue the search."
Leia frowned. "I don't think so. That might've been my father when he was young and naïve, but this is now, and he knows better, don't you think?"
He sighed, reaching up to stroke his beard. "You may be right, you may be wrong. There's no way to tell until they return. But, I'm also concerned about the strength of this Sith clan. According to Anakin, quite a big group attacked. He's afraid there might be many more, in addition."
Leia nodded thoughtfully, distracted by Obi-Wan's news. "What a time to be useless."
Obi-Wan laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her attention to return back to him. "Don't think of it as being useless, think of it as helping. Your children have the potential to carry on the Skywalker name and blood. As of now, we need all the help we can get, especially for the future."
Leia hadn't even thought of the fact that her children would become Jedi, but she realized that Obi-Wan was right.
Obi-Wan squeezed her shoulder. "I have to go work with my padawan. Anakin and Luke should be returning by late tonight, if you wanted to greet them." He gave her a slight smile before turning and leaving.
Leia was lost in her thoughts when she heard Han's voice behind her. "Our kids are gonna have to be Jedi?"
She turned to see him leaning against the doorway. "Well, my family is powerful in the Force. If a child is tested and found to be with the Force, they're set to be trained. It's what happened to me and Luke."
Han sighed, straightening and walking over. "I just don't like it. We'll never see them. No- I'll never see them. They'll be a part of something with you, that I'll never be a part of."
Leia's eyes clouded with tears. "I'm sorry, Han. I wish I could say that's not true…but, the Order needs them, and me. I'm sorry." She smiled slightly. "You chose to fall in love with a Jedi."
Han chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "And I don't regret it." He kissed her forehead. "I just hate that their destiny is sealed even before they're born."
"It's not as bad as it seems, Han," Leia murmured. "It gives a purpose. A reason. I was born into the Order, and I wasn't very spiteful. Only when I was young, but I realized eventually that I had the power to protect people, to keep peace. It's quite exhilarating, actually."
"What if they get hurt?" Han asked quietly, hating the very thought.
Leia smiled sadly. "It's the life of a Jedi. Giving your life protecting those you can't protect themselves is looked upon as noble. It's the will of the Force."
Han sighed, looking down. "I guess… There's no way to change their destiny, if this is what it entails."
She cupped his cheek and kissed him softly. "I'm sorry, Han. But, they're still our children, and that'll never change. No one can take that away from us." She took his hand with her free one, pressing it to her stomach.
"I know," Han murmured.