First I want to thank all the reviewers/followers if it wasn't for you guys, why would I be writing this?
Second I want to say how sorry I am for the delay in this chapter; it was a difficult one to write, my work schedule has been crazy, I went out of town for a week (Went to Celebration V, how fun was that...Carrie Fisher signed my leg...I got it tattooed).
Third, I've run out of excuses so on with the next chapter...if you want to see the tattoo drop me a message.
Chapter 12
Leia stood in the room that she and Han were assigned to on the medical base. She rubbed her belly as she looked in the mirror. Han had told her that she was in the healing trance for only a week. She felt like it was months. She now felt she knew how Han must have felt after he was released from the carbonite. Except he felt like only minutes passed and lost several months while she felt she lost months and only missed a week.
She smiled when she saw Han's reflection join hers. "Hey, sweetheart," Han said.
"Hey."
Han could tell by her tone she was feeling a little depressed. He took her by the hand and led her over to the sofa. "I know what you're feeling."
She looked at her belly, "I should have had four more months to prepare for the baby, and I could have him any day now."
Han placed his hand on her belly, "I know. It's difficult."
"And now this with aunt Celly missing," Leia said. "Do you really think she had something to do with this?"
"Hard to tell, she certainly was no fan of mine. At least we've got Luke looking into it," Han said.
Han had yet to tell Leia about her mother. He knew she had the right to know her mother was still alive but he knew it wasn't the time to tell her. He felt that it would be too much for her right now.
Leia looked at Han sensing that he was hiding something she shook it off and changed the subject, "Have you contacted Rieekan why you're late at coming back?" She asked. "We don't need you getting in trouble."
"Oh sith," Han said, "It hadn't crossed my mind."
"You better," Leia said rolling her eyes, "And watch your mouth around the baby."
Celly and Darrik were tied together in a hotel room. "Darrik," Celly said, "I can't believe you got us into this. I told you I didn't want you to go through with this."
"Shut up you crazy old bat. You promised Leia to me, and I want her."
"And look what happened, she could die." Celly looked down at the floor, "And so could her baby."
"Like you cared about that bastard child," Darrik told her, "It was the only reason you would allow that scum marry her."
Suddenly the door swung open, "Would you two shut up!"
Darrik and Celly looked at the redheaded woman who entered the room. "Gods I should kill the both of you right now. But I want my money."
"You didn't live up to the end of the bargin," Darrik shot at her, "You were supposed to shoot the smuggler."
Mara Jade shoved her blaster in his face, "I told you to shut up, and it wasn't my fault the princess stepped in front of him, it was like she knew something was going to happen to him."
"Could have something to do with Luke Skywalker being her brother," Celly provided.
"Skywalker's her brother?" Jade asked.
"Yes, she was adopted into the Alderaanian royal family as an infant." Celly said, "Although my brother never was too specific where he found her."
Mara Jade looked at the older woman processing the new information. Many nights she had been plagued with dreams telling her to seek out Skywalker and kill him. She knew this new information could lead Skywalker to her.
Mara stormed out of the room and entered her own quarters. She knew she was getting into this too deep. She wanted her revenge, rather the Emperor's revenge, for destroying all that she knew. Nightly she was plagued with nightmares and the dead Emperor's voice telling her to destroy Skywalker. She wondered if the Emperor knew that Skywalker and Princess Leia were siblings. She turned when she heard the familiar cackle of the Emperor and his red ghost staring at her.
"Of course I knew the Princess was Skywalker's child, I knew the moment that she stepped foot on the senate floor," He sneered. "That insolent Organa thought he could hide her from me. She was far too strong in the Force to be anyone but Skywalker's child."
"I'm having a hard time going through this," Mara told him. "Please let me just go."
"You're weak," the Emperor told her, "You will do my bidding, you'll never rid yourself of me."
Although Padmé wanted to help her son find out who shot her daughter, she was itching to get back to Polis Massa to see Leia. She was proud of her children and what they had accomplished. They had finished what she had begun. She was thrilled to be reunited with her sister and mother, although she had never been too far away from them. As far as she knew Han hadn't told her daughter about her yet. She understood why, it really wasn't his place and at this time it might be too much for Leia. She had learned from her conversations with Han that although Leia was awake and seemingly well, the doctors were still concerned about the baby because of his accelerated growth.
Luke looked at his mother; he found it amazing how much Leia really looked like her, although he could see some of his own features in her. "Hi mother."
"Hi Luke," Padmé said, "anything new?"
"I can sense Leia's aunt in the Force, but I can't pinpoint where she is. It's like something is blocking me from finding her."
"Another Force user?"
"Perhaps, when I was investigating the site I sensed someone that I ran into several months ago, on Endor," Luke told her, "I think she has something to do with Leia's shooting and the disappearance of her aunt."
"At least it's something. I want to head back and be with Leia," Padmé said. "Somehow I feel that she'll need me."
"Then you should be with Leia," Luke closed his eyes letting the Force flow through him, he got a tiny glimpse of the future. He sighed, 'Always in motion is the future' he told himself. What he just saw might not even happen. "Mother, she's going to need you."
Leia lay in Han's arms; she had been resting as much as she could. She ached and her feet were swollen. She tried not to complain much, but she was ready for the baby to come. She smiled as she felt Han's hand resting on her stomach and heard his soft snoring. Only he could make her feel this safe. She stretched out into the Force to touch her baby's presence as Luke had taught her.
She frowned, something wasn't right. "Han," she choked. She continued to search, fear quickly washed over her. She sat up and put her hands on her stomach. "No, no, no, no."
Han sat up wondering what was going on, "Sweetheart?"
"The baby I-I can't…" She was on the verge of tears.
"Sweetie, don't worry it'll be alright, we'll get you to the med ward." Han helped Leia up out of the bed and she doubled over in pain. Han bent over to scoop her up. "Don't worry, it'll be ok." Even though he said the words he wasn't so sure. It made him angry, with all that she had been through in the years that he known her this was the last thing she needed.
Padmé docked her ship next to the Millennium Falcon, she immediately saw Han's Wookiee friend exit the ship in a hurry. Somehow she knew something was wrong with Leia. She exited the ship and ran through the halls of the facility. She soon caught up with the frantic Wookiee.
Chewbacca was glad to see Leia's mother and rambled something to her.
"Slow down Chewbacca, I can't understand you," Padmé said.
["Their cub is not doing well."]
"Oh gods," Padmé said as she took off after Chewbacca.
Han held Leia in his arms. He was numb; it was like the galaxy had collapsed around him. He couldn't begin to imagine how Leia was feeling. She had stopped crying long ago but she now was just staring at the wall without expression. Losing their child was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. He was dead before he even had the chance to live.
She barely flinched when there was a soft knock on the door. Han started to stand to see whoever was at the door, but she clutched tighter to him. "Sweetheart, I'm just going to see who is at the door, and send them away."
"Don't leave me," Leia said in such a quiet voice that he wasn't even sure she had said anything at all.
"Don't worry, I ain't goin' anywhere."
Han cracked open the door and saw Chewbacca and Padmé on the other side, "She's not ready to see anyone right now."
Leia's ears perked when she heard a feminine voice on the other side, "I just want to see how my daughter is doing."
"She's doing the best she can, I know you want to see her Padmé, but I don't think she can handle this right now."
"I understand, Han. Take care of her."
Han closed the door, turned around and noticed Leia was staring at him.
"Who was that?"
"A friend, she's very concerned about you."
"She said 'my daughter'."
Luke tried to reach out to his sister. He was met very quickly by the shield she kept up for so long. Even though he knew she was trying not to blame him for the loss of her child, part of her couldn't stop herself. He wondered what would have happened if he had not put her in the healing trance.
"Leia will heal in time," He heard his old mentor's voice.
"Obi Wan," Luke stated. "Was it the healing trance that caused Leia to miscarry?"
"No," Obi Wan said. "For centuries Jedi females used a healing trance to accelerate a pregnancy. Then the child would be brought to the crèche and be raised in the Jedi way."
"I thought Jedi weren't allowed to have relationships."
"Even though most Jedi chose to remain celibate, many did not," Obi Wan told him, "But marriage was forbidden. Because attachments could lead to jealousy; which in turn would lead to the Dark Side."
"Leia has a lot of anger right now, I can feel it."
"Dangerous time it is for the Princess," Luke turned to see Yoda, "Easy for her to slip to the Dark Side."
Han could tell by her even breathing that she had finally had fallen asleep. Leia looked so peaceful. He kissed her gently on the forehead and slipped his arm out from under her and got out of the bed. He had told her everything about her mother. She was a little angry at him for keeping it a secret that her mother was still alive, but she soon forgave him.
He snuck out of the room knowing that he couldn't be away for too long because she would sense that he was gone. He was a little sad that she had told him that she was going to do everything she could do to stop using the Force. Han felt that Leia and Luke's abilities were a gift and to have her not use them was wrong. She hadn't talked to Luke about it and he knew her brother would be devastated when he learned Leia's decision. Luke had wanted Leia to embrace her power because he felt that it would one day lead her to the forgiveness of their father.
"How's she doing?" Padmé asked as he entered the room.
"Okay I guess, she's angry, heartbroken," Han trailed off.
"What about you Han?" Padmé asked. "How are you holding up?"
"I can't believe it, to see him born and knowing that we'll never get to hold him. It's difficult."
Padmé saw the tears that Han was trying to hold back, Chewbacca put his paw on his best friend's shoulder, ["It'll be ok cub."]
Han took a deep breath, "I'm just so angry that she has to go through all this. I wish I could take her away from all this."
["The little princess hasn't been dealt the best sabacc hand in the past four years,"] Chewbacca pointed out, ["but she has been lucky in other ways."]
"This wasn't what I had imagined for my children when I found out I was going to be a mother," Padmé said. "In a perfect galaxy, Anakin would have never fallen to the darkside."
"But had that never happened, I probably would have never met her." Han smiled, "Leia really changed my life that day. Both she and Luke did."
"My children are lucky to have a friend like you,Han." Padmé smiled at the former smuggler, "Do you think Leia will be ready for visitors? I really want to see her."
"Let's go see her," Han said.