Sailing Little Boats

Part 4

After a quick cryptic com call from Kay'leb to tell her that he was on his way to the Senate Healer's ward, Nico and Aubé walked through the Temple. With his small hand he lead her along. Guiding her past tempting corridors and entry ways, they walked along in silence until at last, they reached the great open expanse that was the Room of a Thousand Fountains. To Aubé's surprise, mixed among the myriad of construction crews and the occasional Jedi – identifiable only by the strong Force signature – there was another small group of visitors being guided around by someone she recognized as one of her mother's newest apprentices. Some of the visitors seemed to have brought their families with them, as many children could be seen among them.

"That's the group from the Kuati Embassy," Nico broke in as if reading her thoughts. "Master Gi says most of these people only came because they want to be able to tell their friends that they got to see it first, before it officially opened," he sighed. "But she says Master Skywalker doesn't mind, that he thinks that maybe they might even take something else back with them…"

Aubé cast her eyes about the room, "Speaking of Luke," she murmured. "I know he's here, but just exactly where…." She bit her lower lip in consternation, and with painful realization, she found that she was reluctant to press the bond that existed between them. She felt a barely perceptible squeeze of her hand, as if to reassure her that all would be right, if she would only trust in the Force, and she smiled.

They would find him, soon enough, but for now she only wanted to really take in the wonders that had been brought forth in part by her husband's love for his heritage, and his family, and perhaps even her own.

**

Han Solo ground his teeth as he waited for the caf machine to finish brewing a fresh pot of the fragrant beverage. The facilities the med-center had designated for the former Chief of State Organa-Solo looked more like an expensive hotel suite than anything else. It included, besides the delivery room that Leia was currently in, a large lounge for visitors with all the usual amenities, holo-net, a small kitchenette and an extra room and fresher for him to rest, or change cloths if he wanted to.

As if.

Even if the suite had everything they would need in the next couple of days, every fifteen minutes one attendant would drop in and ask if he was in need of something or other.

"Yes," he had growled to the last one, a tiny young woman with an outer rim accent. "A little peace and privacy would be wonderful," he barked lowly, baring his teeth.

He regretted it now, knowing that the girl was only following the orders from her obnoxious superiors. It was moments like this when he missed Winter the most, she had a gift to deal with this kind of situation and arrange what was best for Leia and him even before they noticed it. He knew the success of his marriage had been at least partially because of her and he was eternally in debt to the woman for that. It was a shame she would not be here to share this moment with her friend, but when she had called to check on Leia from Naboo, where she was spending a few well deserved days of leave with Tycho, she had said that she would board the next available transport to Coruscant. But even the Falcon would need more than twelve hours to travel the space lanes between the two planets so he was not expecting her until the next day.

The brewing machine ended its cycle with a soft beep and he poured himself a cup of dark caf. Chewie was calling every half hour or so for updates, offering each time to go and keep him company, but he had refused every time, knowing his partner's dislike of med-centers in general and of this one in particular, where old prejudices and regulations from Palpatine's time had taken deep root and all non-humans were regarded as walking reservoirs of alien bacteria, despite the newly infused Jedi influence.

He glanced back through the opened door to the delivery room, where he could see a glimpse of Leia's sweaty forehead. The blind Jedi, Kay'leb, was speaking to her quietly and she nodded in response every now and then.

The former smuggler felt so powerless, wishing he just had a few other spy-droids at hand to shoot at.

They had stood together through so many things, Leia and him. They had survived Vader's torture, Jabba, squadrons of stormtroopers. They had defied society's conventions by getting married and worse, they had beaten all the odds by staying that way. They had faced together the political nightmare of the New Republic and won. They had survived shootings, bombings, carbonite, everything. They had cried together when they realized that their chances of having a child of their own was slipping through their fingers with each miscarriage. And yet, a miracle had happened.

When they had discovered that the Princess was coursing a healthy pregnancy after almost ten years since they had been bonded, he had felt like if nothing could ever destroy the happiness he was feeling then. And he had not imagined that that same miracle would bring him so much worry and fear as he was feeling now.

Leia, being Leia, had of course worried about her unborn babies right from the start and for the first time in many years he had not been able to breach through the barrier her fears had set between them. The fact that she was the Chief of State of the New Republic at the time and that her brother had reappeared suddenly after a long absence with a pregnant wife and another grown up kid in tow had not helped things either, only adding reasons for her being stressed out of her mind.

It had been only after the Jedi healers had stepped in that she had started to regain her center, to become more confident in herself and her ability to carry the pregnancy to a successful ending. Her trust in them had grown so much in the past weeks that she had even decided to dismiss her regular med-staff, something that had caused quite a bit of a scandal in the holo-shills.

A ragged moan came from the other room and his insides twisted in a knot, the cup of caf that had cooled down without being drunk shaking in his hand.

Kay'leb had arrived all by himself a couple of hours before, a little after Leia's water had broken. That had been when he had started to feel that Leia was again slipping away from him. It was not that he did not trust the Corellian Jedi team of healers. Not exactly. He liked the kid Toa well enough, and although the idea that Master Kampher had been friends with Anakin Skywalker was a bit unsettling, she was Nail's mother after all and Luke seemed to trust her completely. But the other one... Kay'leb Canaille simply gave him the creeps.

With his milky white blind eyes and his quirky ways, Han had the impression the guy could still see right through him and was laughing at some secret joke he would only share with the other Jedi. And he did not like that at all. What young Toa had seen in him to become his apprentice and partner was beyond his imagination, but he would not be surprised if the Corellian still wielded a touch of darkness behind everybody's back. He had voiced his opinion at some point but after a heated discussion with Leia - who did not share his impression in the slightest, for who was he after all to contradict her, her brother, his Jedi wife and all her extended family? Just the Force-blind guy who happened to be Leia's children's father. He had let the subject drop then, but sometimes he wondered.

He stared at the com-link, sitting mutely on the counter, and he realized that he hadn't heard from Luke since that morning – no one had…

Yes, he wondered about that too. These days, Han wondered about a lot of things…

Another moan came from the delivery room and Han wondered how much of this he could stand. And it was just the first baby.

**

"Ma-mere!" an excited voice echoed from across the cavernous expanse. "Ma-mere! You came!" Pemberian Skywalker waved franticly from her father's lap, her long dark hair pulled back in a plait, emulating her aunt Leia. Even from this distance, Aubé could hear Luke gently admonishing her. As always, his voice wasn't loud, but firm, and Pemberian only momentarily chastised, bowed her head in consternation before fairly leaping off of his lap and madly dashing into the arms of her mother.

Ignoring Aubé's erstwhile escort, Pemberian gently wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, and drew close to her ear.

"Have you come to cheer up Pay-pa?" she asked earnestly. "He's all sad about Auntie Leia. "

Aubé's eyes grew wide. "Is there something wrong, Pem? I thought Mother and Toa were already waiting for her at the Healer's center, just in case – "

"No, not that," Pemberian replied, screwing up her face in consternation. "He just doesn't think he would be wanted there – that it's just supposed to be her and Uncle Han and it makes him sad." Here she paused, suddenly biting her lip with worry. "You won't tell him I told you, will you Ma-mere?" She whispered. "I know I'm not supposed to peek, but I couldn't help it!"

"It'll be our secret, I promise," Aubé replied as she gently extricated herself from her daughter's embrace. "Why don't you and Nico go and see if there are any sun fish in the fountain? I think I saw a place to get some pellets to feed them as we came in, and I'll go talk to your Pay-pa…"

"Oh yes please!" Pem replied happily, turning to really see her mother's companion for the first time. Suddenly, her mouth formed a tiny 'o', and she blushed to the roots of her dark curly hair, and in that moment Aubé saw the first pangs of baby love flashing in her daughter's eyes. "Yes… please…" she repeated softly. "I'd really like that…"

As Aubé watched Nico and his starry-eyed companion wander over to the pellet dispenser, she tentatively touched on the bond she and Luke shared. What she found broke her heart a little. Although he had shielded himself – and she made a mental note to warn Luke that their daughter was far more gifted then either of them had thought – which was unusual in and of itself, she found far more sadness than even Pem had picked up on.

Worse still, she knew in her heart that his pain was due in part to herself...

Oh Luke, she thought. I'm so sorry…