Chapter Four Anakin was smaller than the twins had been at eight years of age. Jacen and Jaina were solid, long of limb and with an inexhaustible energy supply. Although he was a sturdy child, Leia had nonetheless always felt Anakin a more sensitive soul than her older children, and he had suffered so much trauma so early in life. After harsh memories of those times, Leia always found herself smothering him with periodic bursts of extra love. These emotional displays were usually precipitated by a stray memory of his isolation on Anoth. Though Winter had been his nanny for as long as he could remember, Anakin had always been closer to Leia than the twins had been. After all, Jacen and Jaina shared much more with each other than with their mother. For this reason, the separation from Anakin had been even harder for Leia to bear than the pain of parting with her twins, as horrific as that had been. She couldn't imagine going through that experience again. Sitting beneath the celestial glow of Corellian constellations gently illuminating the children's room, Leia rubbed Anakin's back soothingly, feeding projections of serenity into the child's mind. She thought perhaps the reason she felt such a special bonding with her youngest was due in part to the strength of the Force that flowed through him. Although she had bonded with the twins before their birth, the connection with Anakin had been stronger almost from conception, and the communion was proving to be even more pronounced with Arcadia, now growing daily within her. Leia gazed down upon her youngest child, feeling the warm rush of emotion that inevitably captured her heart whenever she looked at him. Asleep, Anakin's profile was the picture of serenity. She rose from the bed and tenderly tucked the covers about him, placing a light kiss on his brow and caressing his soft curly hair. Finally, she extended a gentle finger of Force and reached deep into the receptive center of the child's mind, lifting anxieties that could precipitate disturbing dreams, taking them into herself and absorbing them. Now he would sleep, she thought with satisfaction, and wondered how the child had ever gotten through his earlier infantile battles without his mother there to ease the pain for him. Her heart ached for the lonely baby that Anakin must have been. She silently left the children's room and reached through the Force for the presence of the twins, found them with Han in the living quarters, and followed her senses to them, rubbing her belly thoughtfully as she made her way down the hall. She wasn't sure how she was going to go about it but some way, somehow she was going to ensure that little Arcadia never had to be separated from her family, would never know the pain of isolation from those who loved her the most. Leia stood just inside the doorway to the living quarters, quietly studying Han's handsome profile as he bent over the twins' datapads, inspecting the nightly lessons assigned to the children by their tutor. In his Sense she could still detect a distinct irritation, and Leia felt a helpless regret that he was annoyed with her - again. He had every reason to be, she thought sadly. They had made a bargain and she had not honored her end of it. Han and Leia had agreed that she was to begin a leave of absence by the end of her pregnancy's second trimester, leaving the family free to return to Endor, where they would await Arcadia's birth. Han had reluctantly conceded to a slight extension of time to allow Leia to tie up various loose ends, as long as she didn't take on any new assignments. Somehow she had managed to do this anyway, despite her best intentions. Watching him as he checked the children's lessons, Leia felt another stab of guilt at having let Han down. Once again, she thought despairingly, she had let the New Republic take precedence over her personal life. If she had only stuck to her original plan, delegated assignments as necessary and not taken on new obligations, then she would have had her diplomatic affairs pretty much in order by the end of her second trimester. As things now stood, she would be lucky to finish her duties before her stomach reached roughly the proportions of Jabba the Hutt, making it extremely difficult to make the hyperspace trip to Endor. No wonder Han was upset with her. She eased up to him and he immediately straightened, allowing her to lean her head against his arm, looking up at him with contrition. "Still mad at me?" she whispered, reaching up to finger the hair where it grew long against his neck. His arm wound its way around her and he hugged her against him gently, gazing deeply into her eyes and reading her like a book. No, he could never stay mad at her. He knew her far too well to think that she had honestly intended to let herself get suckered into staying this long. But just because he understood didn't mean he wasn't annoyed with the situation. "I'm not mad at you," he said quietly, brushing a light kiss against her hair. "Just not real happy with the almighty New Republic." He shrugged. "So what else is new?" Leia was quiet for a moment, looking for a way to make amends or, at the least, change the subject. "I'm going to tell Luke tonight that we won't agree to let him take Arcadia into isolation," she said finally, grimacing at the thought of the fight her brother was likely to put up. In this area of her life, however, Leia was determined to prevail. The baby was staying with her and Han and the rest of their family; on Endor there would be no Dark Side influences to concern them, and Leia had confidence in her own ability to shield the child from harm. "Another fun evening at the Solos," Han muttered. He shook himself, glanced back at the twins who were finishing up their assignments and storing the data onto their respective lesson chips. "Did Anakin go to sleep okay?" "Yes; he's sleeping peacefully - finally." Leia smiled, reaching up to touch Han's cheek tenderly. "He loves his new star system. That was a nice thing you did for him, painting the constellations on the ceiling." The corners of Han's mouth tilted slightly. "Yeah, well they have Alderaan on the walls, I figured they needed something of Corellia in their room." He squeezed her shoulders, looked down at her and winked. "Joint effort, you know." He looked back down at Jacen and Jaina. "And speaking of joint efforts, I think it's time you guys got to bed." The inevitable protests of the twins filled the room for a few moments before Han put his hands on his hips and silenced the children with a look the twins knew well. Jacen and Jaina immediately ceased their whining, peering up at their father with quiet respect. "Bed," Han growled. "Now. Your mother and I'll be there in ten to say goodnight." Jacen and Jaina hopped from the floor and made a beeline for their bedroom, leaving Han and Leia alone in the living quarters. Han glanced at the chrono, noting the time, anxious to get on with the evening. The sooner they took care of this messy business with Luke, the better it would be for all concerned. *************************** The atmospheric tension rose rapidly from the moment Luke entered the Solos' suite half an hour later. Leia, Han announced, had dismissed the prep unit this evening and was intent upon cooking their meal herself. While he teased her, Han was secretly proud of her attempts to try to have something of the simple life in their domestic routine. She would do well on Endor, he mused. If he could just get her there. Luke smiled at the thought of his sister laboring over a cooking surface, finding the picture somewhat incongruous with the image of an elegant princess of the Royal House of Alderaan. "What inspired that burst of domesticity?" he asked, watching Han drop ice cubes into a couple of glasses and pour a shot of his good Corellian rum into each. "Don't ask me, kid." Han offered a glass to Luke, forgetting in his preoccupation that, as Jedi, Luke was forbidden. Luke shook his head, politely declining, and Han shrugged, tipped the contents from Luke's glass into his own and led them outside. "Early nesting, I guess." They stepped out onto the balcony, where a table had been set for three, candles strategically placed to create a warm, comfortable atmosphere. Han leaned against the vine-covered marble pillar at the balcony's edge, delicately woven with violet arallute flowers, and studied Luke. "Anyway, you probably have a better idea than I do." He considered a moment, gazing across Luke's shoulder at the Manarai Mountains, noting the intricate build up of clouds over the distant peaks, and decided to get the subject off his chest that had been resting there for weeks. "What's going on with Leia?" he finally asked. "You seem to know all about what she's feeling these days. Half the time you know how she feels before I do." He began to pace the length of the balcony, gesturing at himself, frustrated. "She won't tell me what's bothering her, but I'll bet you've been able to pluck it out of her." He stopped beside Luke, looking at him hard. "How about giving her husband a clue?" Gazing placidly at his brother-in-law, Luke reached out with his Jedi senses. There had been something in Han's tone, something precariously close to resentment, but with a twinge of guilt at the negative feeling. Luke thought it best to dispel any misconceptions from the start. "I don't know all she's feeling, Han," he tried to explain. "I can only pick up what she wants me to pick up, and those physical symptoms which are strong enough to penetrate her subconscious and communicate themselves to me, like when she was sick a few weeks ago." "So what are you picking up on?" Han pressed, the edge in his voice tempered with concern for his wife. "Something's bothering her, and I don't mean the baby, or politics, or any of the other baggage she usually carries around. Most of the time she seems haunted about something, but I can't get her to talk about it. Every time I ask her, she dismisses it like there's nothing to discuss." He swirled the contents of his glass absently, looked up at Luke again, searching for answers. "So what's going on?" Luke counted to ten, wondering how much of his sister's confidence he should divulge. It was a sacred trust they shared, being privy to each other's emotions. Yet he and Han had been related by marriage for more than a decade, been friends for years before that, and this was the first time they had encountered this sort of tension between them. Not even in their early days when Luke was infatuated with his secret sister did he and Han have a serious disagreement. The feeling was not a pleasant one. "She's uneasy about a number of things," Luke finally answered quietly. "Most significantly, the upcoming isolation period of the new baby. She's been very upset about that, ever since she first learned the baby was on the way." Something in his answer clicked a distant chord in Han's brain. "You knew before I did, didn't you?" he asked, his jealousy a parasite that nibbled at his vitals. Luke shrugged uncomfortably. "I think I knew even before she did," he answered, meeting Han's eyes. "It wasn't intentional." He tried to lighten his tone. "Just one of those crazy Jedi things, I guess." This time their old joke fell flat. "Right." Han turned away from him, took another long drink from his glass, and resumed his study of the looming mountains. Faint flashes of lightning brightened the sky just above their snowy peaks and the air crackled with the definite feel of an approaching storm. Han wondered if this were an indication of things to come, thinking of the cracked glass of the evening before. He mentally kicked himself, disgusted. Now he was getting superstitious, on top of everything else. What the hell was happening to him? Was there nothing left of the old Han Solo? Had a decade of living among the politically elite so warped the man he had been? He tossed back the last of his drink, thinking dark thoughts about politics in general and about Luke in particular, wishing the evening were over already, and dreading the hours to come. Leia chose that moment to make her appearance, resplendent in a simple yet elegant gown of mauve shimmersilk, high-waisted to accommodate her changing figure, the front adorned with dozens of tiny satiny buttons that ran from bodice to hips. Matching ribbons had been wound into her hair and the thick, dark plait cascaded over one shoulder, its ends dancing against the small mound of her growing belly. She approached her brother and hugged him warmly. "I'm so glad you could come," she said aloud, and through her Sense Luke detected a carefully concealed anxiety. She moved from him to Han and stood leaning against her husband, taking his free hand and bringing it around to rest just above the gentle swell of her stomach. "We've been wanting to have you over for some time now. Things have been a little hectic." An awkward silence reigned over the balcony. Leia could feel the uncommon strain between the two men like a living thing, and it disturbed her deeply. Her thought flew, searching desperately for a cure-all from her bag of diplomatic tricks, something that would remove the tension from the evening and make things as they used to be. Once upon a time, they had presented a unified front against all that they encountered. It saddened her to think that here, in her own home, where it mattered the most, her diplomatic skills had failed her miserably. Han's seething jealousy of Luke was unlike anything they had ever faced, and she didn't seem to be able to put his mind at ease. At the same time, she appreciated her brother's concern for her well-being, and that of the new baby, but she wished that he could somehow lighten up just a bit and let nature take its course. Trying hard to master his feelings, if only for Leia's sake, Han pushed away his angry thoughts yet again, and carefully disentangled himself from his wife. Moving away from them both, he strolled back toward the living quarters to freshen his drink, and the silence was loud in his wake. ********************* Leia waited until the last course had been served before quietly and calmly announcing the decision she and Han had made regarding the isolation of the new baby. Predictably, Luke was adamantly against letting the child remain on Coruscant for her first twenty-four months of life, and argued strongly against their refusal to let him take her away for sequestering. He reminded them of his initial misgivings over the establishment of the New Republic's government seat in Imperial City so many years ago, in the very place where Palpatine had risen to power and ruled through hatred and fear. There was something foreboding about the city itself, Luke had often thought, and privately wondered if good could ever be built upon the spirits of the damned. At any rate, it was not the sort of place in which he wished to see any of his sister's children raised, least of all the powerful new Jedi whom Leia now carried within. "But Luke," Leia said patiently, "you checked out the Palace, by invitation of the Council, long before any of us moved into it. You said yourself that you could find no residual effects of the Emperor's presence here." "But I also said that just because I couldn't detect his presence didn't mean that some residual Dark Side influence wasn't still lurking about," he objected. "I've been uneasy about being here from the very beginning, and I still feel a lingering Darkness hidden somewhere within the old Palace, something which could potentially affect us all, but which would be especially devastating on the innocent receptiveness of a newborn." He shook his head sharply. "No, Leia, the only way to shield Jedi children during those critical years is to isolate them - far from Dark Side influences of any sort, no matter how great or how small." He fixed her with a knowing look. "You may not be willing to admit it, even to yourself, but I know you've experienced the call of Darkness, here in the Palace - though why you refuse to acknowledge it is beyond me." //You cannot escape your Destiny.// So Ben Kenobi had told him many years ago; someday he would have to remind his sister of that proven prophecy. In the dark recesses of her mind, Leia felt an all-too-familiar dread as dark memories surfaced, unbidden. Quite purposefully, she pushed them from her mind and concentrated instead on the immediate problem they now faced. "But why such complete isolation?" she asked her brother, a note of desperation creeping into her voice. "Why can't she stay with us, her family, rather than off somewhere all alone with only Winter and a couple of nanny droids for companionship?" "Where could she go with you and still be totally sheltered from Dark Side influences?" Luke asked gently. He locked eyes with her. "And where would you be able to go, as Chief of State, to get away from the New Republic while keeping your whereabouts unknown?" Leia thought hard, bit her lip against the tears that threatened to surface. He was right. Great skies, he was right! She rubbed her abdomen absently, looking to her husband for support and saw his face darken with anger as he glared at Luke. Han had pretty much reached his limit this evening. His simmering resentment of his brother-in-law, not only for his intimacy with Leia but also for his interference with the upbringing of the soon-to-be born child, was rapidly approaching the boiling point. The sudden vivid impression that Leia was wavering in her resolve, albeit reluctantly, was enough to make Han lash out at Luke and he did so now with a steely glint in his eyes. "Jedi or no Jedi, this child is ours, Luke." He reached for Leia's hand possessively, squeezed it tightly. "Leia's and mine. We made her. Not you, not your damned Force, not even the almighty New Republic. She belongs to us and if we say that we're gonna keep her, we're gonna keep her." He leaned forward, jabbing a finger at Luke to emphasize his point. "And there's nothing you or anybody else can say that will make us hand her over to you so you can take her away from us, like you took the twins, like you took Anakin." He finally sat back in his chair with an air of finality, glaring warningly at the younger man. "Now back off, Junior. This subject is closed." Recoiling at the anger in Han's voice, Luke turned to his sister, wincing at the pain evident in her face and in her Sense. What was happening to them? //Calm.// He projected the thought to Leia, felt her capture it, but not embrace it. At that moment, the newest Solo chose to make her presence known, fluttering with angel wings deep within her mother's womb. Leia's eyes widened and she gasped involuntarily, rubbing her hand over the movement. Instinctively, she raised her eyes and met Luke's across the table, knew that he had felt it as well, and for a moment the Skywalker Twins reveled in the shared wonder of new life that seemed to be growing within them both. Han, his eyes on Leia, easily read her actions, and his initial joy quickly turned to outrage as his eyes cut to Luke, snapping back sharply to Leia. He seethed as he watched them share the episode where Han could not. For a moment he could do nothing but stare at them, jealousy a bitter knife twisting in his stomach. Tendrils of tormenting questions tore at the edges of his mind, casting doubt on the thing he held most dear: the intimate bond he shared with his wife. Hatefully, spitefully, a dark suspicion grew in his brain, and an insidious thought crept into existence - just how much did they share, on that damned Jedi mental network of theirs? Suddenly a black rage filled his mind. He bolted to his feet, knocking his chair backwards, glaring at them both with such ferocity that Leia caught her breath. She rose hastily and stepped forward to take his arm. "Han?" She had never seen him so angry. He pulled away from her, eyes throwing daggers first at her, then at Luke. "Don't mind me, kids," he minced bitingly. "I'm just the father." Turning on his heel, he stalked to the door, Leia hurrying after him, calling his name. Ignoring her cries, Han stormed out of their quarters, leaving Leia to stare with anguished eyes at the closed door through which he had disappeared. Dismayed at the disastrous turn the evening had taken, Luke reached out with the Force to touch his sister's mind and offer what little comfort he could to her frenzied thoughts. Her reaction stunned him. "Stop it!" she cried, shaking her head violently and backing away from him. She put her hands to her temples and glared at him through tear bright eyes. "Haven't we communicated enough this evening? Do you have any idea how that must have hurt him?" She continued to stare at the door, reaching with the Force for Han's angry presence, and caught its rapid retreat, away from her, Leia, his wife...away from what she had allowed to come between them. First the New Republic, she thought, now Luke. She put her hands to her eyes. What in the universe was happening to them? "Leia, I'm sorry," Luke began. "I didn't come here tonight to get into an argument. I just want what's best for you and the baby." Leia's eyes and head snapped toward him, her thick braid whipping around her shoulders with the sharp movement. She glared at her twin, almost too angry to speak. But not quite. "What you want?" She laughed, a sharp, ugly laugh that died a painful death in her throat. "Believe me, brother, I know what you want!" she snapped. "But what about me? What about what I want? Do I get a say in what happens, or do I just get the privilege of carrying the Supreme Jedi for nine months, giving birth and then sending her away?" She stormed back towards him and he could feel her anger as a palpable heat. "I know what I want! I don't care what you say about what may or may not be lingering here in the Palace! I want my baby to be with me! Me, Luke, her mother! Not you, not Winter, not some nanny droid to change her diaper when she's wet, stick a bottle in her mouth when she's hungry, and then leave her all alone when the job is done!" Her voice rose with emotion. "Arcadia needs me, Luke! Me, me, me!" She jabbed passionately at her breast. "I'm going to hold her in my arms when she's fussy, I'm going to nourish her from my body, I'm going to be the one to protect her, not you!" She stopped before him at the entrance to the double doors of the balcony, and the rising wind from the impending storm sent tendrils of dark hair dancing about her forehead as the faced her brother, the legendary Jedi Master. Leia found that she was shaking with anger. "You seem to forget the fact that we share the same father," she reminded him sharply. "I may not be a Jedi Master but I, too, am strong in the Force." She threw up her hands with exasperation. "Why can't you have enough confidence in me as a mother, as a Jedi mother, to take care of my own children?" Luke looked at his sister, anguished at being the source of her torment, torn between the desire to comfort her and the need to make her understand his reasoning. "Arcadia?" he asked, finally, quietly. "Is that what you're going to call her?" She arched an elegant eyebrow. "Do we need your approval of that, too?" she asked icily. They stared at each other, eyes locked, neither giving ground. Luke was astounded at the naked fury in her dark eyes, the sudden surge of Force he felt in her outrage, and he was frightened by the implications. For her to have become this angry...he looked down at the table, unable to finish the thought, shaken. Leia exhaled in a rush, looked longingly at the cold barrier of the closed door through which her husband had disappeared and a dull ache settled over her being. Han had never walked out on her, in all their years together. No matter the severity of the argument, he had always stayed to see the matter to an end. They had made a point of never going to bed angry, always making up in glorious fashion before things went too far. And now he was gone. He was hurting and she had been the one to hurt him. Luke made another desperate effort to reach his sister through her turmoil and was astonished at the strength of her resistance to his thoughts. "Go," she said quietly. "Please, Luke, just go." He sighed sadly, dropped his napkin on the table, and made his way back through the living quarters, passing his sister in silence, only too aware of her anger and the resentment that seemed to be coming to the surface of their shared consciousness. At the door he turned and called softly. "Leia, I'm sorry. I love you. I love you all. Please understand what I'm trying to do." He spread his hands. "I've seen the Dark Side, in a way I hope you or your family never have to see it. Believe me, you don't want it anywhere near your children." He made one final attempt to reach her mind, despairing as she blocked him almost with a vengeance. His heart aching, the Jedi Master opened the door and disappeared into the corridor. Leia stood frozen for a long moment after he left, shaking visibly, weak with reaction. She finally stumbled over to the couch, eased herself down and allowed her distraught feelings to flow. She worried about Han, wondered how she was ever going to make it up to him this time, and agonized that she might not get the chance. Where had he gone? And how could he have left her like that? Leia lay back against the cushions, fingering her wedding band, closed her eyes against the pain and the tears that she could no longer suppress. Giving vent to utter despair, she surrendered to heartache. For a very long time she lay upon the couch, sobbing into the upholstery, and wondered if she would ever be whole again. ********************* Luke made his lonely way down the empty corridors of the Palace, his thoughts a jumble, his heart aching. He and his sister had never, in all their years, had a major disagreement. Even when he had originally presented the idea of sequestering Jacen and Jaina from the Dark Side nearly ten years ago, Leia had accepted the proposal, albeit reluctantly. When the time had come for Anakin to leave for Anoth, she had mustered control of her emotions and handed the baby over to Luke, though he could feel her heart breaking at the parting. He, of all people, knew the agony she suffered over the separation from her children, but somehow he had always thought that she would yield to the inevitability of necessity and acquiesce to the new baby's isolation. Now he doubted that she would even let him near Arcadia when she arrived, much less let him take her away. Luke feared for the child and for them all, remembering the evil that had possessed Anakin Skywalker all those years ago. He shuddered to think of the ramifications if the Dark Side were to take hold of a Jedi from birth. He thought of Han, hurting and alone and absolutely furious with him, Luke, who wanted only what was best for them all. Yet something about Han's outburst this evening didn't ring true. Han had always been aware of the special contact the Skywalker twins shared and had never seemed to mind it so much in the past. What was causing him to harbor such resentment toward him now? Luke reached out with the Force and followed Han's Sense down the corridor and to the lift servicing the roof, then made his way to the landing platform atop the Tower where Han insisted upon keeping the Falcon docked. It was time he and Han had a talk.