THE BABYSITTER'S CLUB

Chapter 5

The twins were having their dinner the following evening when Han and Leia returned. Anyone who had never been parents of infants would have been appalled at the sight that befell them: Jaina and Jacen flinging their food everywhere but their mouths, and that included Luke; toys and other detritus all over the living room floor; and a brother/brother-in-law who'd looked better after fighting some of the ugliest battles of the Civil War.

The babies, naturally, were thrilled to see their parents and extended arms, babbling and gurgling cheerfully. Leia and Han picked up the babies from their feeding chairs and snuggled and made faces and had both Jaina and Jacen giggling.

"It's a good thing they can't talk," Luke remarked dryly. "Otherwise they'd be telling you how horrible it is when your uncle doesn't know the first thing about babies."

"I'm sure it's nothing that twenty years of therapy won't cure," Han said, kissing his daughter and whirling her about.

"I really did try to clean up," Luke said to Leia.

"Oh, this is how it always looks these days. We really need a cleaning droid. Threepio does some of it, but twenty minutes after it's done, you'd never know," Leia assured him as she held Jacen up. Jacen was happy to be held and kissed by his mother. "Hey, little man, were you good for Uncle Luke?"

"Doubtful," Han remarked.

Luke yawned heavily. "They were fine. I'm just -"

"Exhausted," Leia and Han said in unison, and laughed. Han and Leia exchanged babies and took them to the living room.

"How do you guys do it?" Luke asked. If the Force had ever failed him, it was in child care.

Leia and Han looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Kid, we're making this up as we go," Han assured him.

"As for exhaustion, it's a way of life," Leia said, laying a hand on her twin's shoulder. "I'm guessing that they didn't sleep through the night."

"Uh, not exactly," Luke said.

"We keep hoping," Han said.

"They are really cute," Luke conceded. "And fun, once you get past the diapers and the drool."

"We won't miss those," Han assured him.

The entry door slid open, and it was Threepio and Chewie, newly returned from the food markets.

"Mistress Leia, Captain Solo, you've returned! How was your vacation?" Threepio greeted them. Chewie gave a happy bark as well.

"Too short," Leia said.

"But great," Han added. Both looked well rested, the first time either had seen them that way since the twins had been born.

"Chewbacca and I noticed that supplies were running low, so we took it upon ourselves to restock," Threepio announced as they set the containers down in the kitchen.

Luke blushed. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention very well," he said.

"Welcome to my world," Leia said, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"You guys seem like you can do it all without breaking a sweat," Luke commented.

This succeeded in bringing on gales of laughter from his sister and brother in law. Luke was a bit annoyed, but figured out in a hurry that they weren't making fun of him, but themselves.

"When Leia and I brought them home, we had no idea what we were doing," Han said, still laughing.

"Forget that. When Jacen was handed to me to nurse, I'd completely forgotten how!" Leia marveled. "We'd gone over it in parenting class, but it's a lot different when it's a real live baby! You think these would be natural, as it is for a lot of species, but often, it's learned. I don't think I ever learned as much and as short a period of time as these past six months."

"Same here. They teach you a lot about yourself while you're learning about them," Han told him. "Like, how little sleep you can survive on." This brought about a burst of laughter, even from Chewie.

{Don't forget, the first time you tried to change Jaina, you had no idea what to do}, Chewie gleefully reminded Han.

"You have a diaper, and you have a baby. Simple enough, right? Ha!" Han laughed at the memory. "And the thing about babies is, they move. A lot."

"They do squirm," Luke conceded. "They got hurt a couple times -"

"Luke, kid, realize this: if they never get bumped or bruised, you're not letting 'em be kids. Goes with the territory."

"A serious injury is a different matter," Leia told her twin, "but most of the time, they forget about it as soon as you put on the steriskin. And thanks to all those rapidly dividing cells, they recover a lot faster than we do."

{Children are built to survive. It's the parents who might not}, Chewie said, laughing. He'd been through a fair bit with Lumpy on and off over the years.

Jacen and Jaina were back on the floor, crawling over to Luke. He picked up Jaina and then her brother, making funny faces at them, listening to them laugh.

"So did we scare you away from having kids forever?" Han joked with Luke.

"Actually...I think it'd be nice to have them. Someday."

"You should probably ask her to marry you first," Leia advised.

"Yeah, someday, I'll get around to it." He hugged Leia and shook hands with Han, and picked up each baby to kiss and hug. Threepio wished him a safe journey home, and Chewie nearly lifted him off his feet.

The twins burst into tears as they watched Luke depart.

Luke smiled. He only hoped that he could stay awake long enough to get home.