Chapter Eighteen

"Tell us a story, Uncle Luke!" Jaina Solo begged her uncle in yet 
another attempt to delay bedtime.

Luke glanced up at his sister for permission, and Leia nodded, 
inclining her head toward Anakin's alcove, where the little boy had 
fallen asleep over his bookchips.  "I'll go tuck Anakin in," she told 
Luke as she crossed the room to kiss the twins.  Jacen returned her 
kiss with a resounding smack and she moved to Jaina, laughed lightly as 
the little girl threw her arms around Leia's neck, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, Mama," she said in her musical little voice, and Leia felt 
a startled pang drive through her heart at her daughter's words.  
Something...something didn't feel right tonight.

Leia shook away her paranoia and returned her daughter's embrace, 
kissing the little girl's soft cheek, running her hand through the 
child's rich, dark hair.  "I love you, too, sweetie," she murmured 
warmly.  She looked at both children, caressing them with her Sense.  
"More than you'll ever know."

Luke watched as she crossed the room and knelt beside Anakin's bed, 
collecting the forgotten bookchips, and inserting them into the slotted 
headboard.  She leaned over to kiss the little boy on the forehead, 
caressing his dark curls for a lingering moment, then left the room in 
search of Han.

Luke cocked an eyebrow at the twins who were anxiously awaiting the 
return of his attention.  "Well?" he asked them.  "What's it gonna be 
tonight?"

"Wisties!" they shouted in unison.

Luke was more than happy to comply with their request.  It was one of 
his favorite stories, too, handed down to them by Threepio's 
interpretation of the ancient Ewok folk song:

                   "Once upon a time
                        on a distant forest moon
                   Two children went exploring,
                        unaware of what did loom
                   As they skipped along the hillside,
                        and frolicked through the trees
                   Little did they know
                        of what they soon would see.
                   When suddenly came through the air,
                        a loud and howling scream
                   It gave the pair a fright'ning scare,
                        much worse than any dream.
                   And when exposed, a raging beast
                        came charging at the two
                   It showed its teeth and vicious claws,
                        they knew not what to do.
                   They turned to run but in their fear,
                        they tumbled to the ground.
                   And when they thought that all was lost
                        was when they both were found.
                   Upon them came a shining light
                        which blinded both the two
                   It turned them into Wisties
                        and to the sky they flew.
                   Thanks to Izrina, the fairy queen,
                        the Wisties got away.
                   Now they're free and safe from harm,
                        to play another day."

As he recited the age-old story, Luke extended a gentle, subliminal 
suggestion through the Force, projecting soothing waves to lull his 
niece and nephew into the arms of slumber.  He gazed upon them now with 
tender affection, his resolve strengthened to protect them from the 
Darkness that lay ahead.  Finally, rising from the chair between their 
beds, he gave them each a kiss and left the room.

Luke contemplated the special bond between himself and Leia, as well as 
the bond between the young ones in the room behind him.  He wondered if 
all children of multiple births felt this intimate link with their 
birth-mates.  Jacen, he knew, was able to sense his twin's Presence 
almost as his own, just as Luke himself could follow the essence of 
Leia, and as he suspected Han was now attuned to the Senses of his wife 
and baby Arcadia.

Luke shook his head; after all these years of studying the Force, there 
were still aspects of his heritage that could surprise him.  Which 
reminded him: he had been meaning for some time to explore the 
parameters of the mysterious Force-transference that had occurred 
between Han, Leia and Arcadia at the moment of the child's birth.  He 
hoped his sister and her husband would be receptive to discuss it this 
evening.

Luke felt an urgency to pool their resources, to shore up all 
weaknesses, and make ready for the inevitable clash that the Jedi 
Master felt fast approaching.  He pondered the nature of the battle and 
sighed with resignation.  They could do nothing but wait - wait, and 
prepare for a challenge the exact nature of which they still did not 
really understand.

He found Han and Leia together on the verandah, side-by-side in the 
swing, sharing a rare moment of solitude.  Luke hesitated to approach 
them; he seemed always to be intruding upon their intimacy, however 
unintentionally.  He paused at the edge of the verandah, and mentally 
relaxed as he felt the extension in his sister's Sense even before he 
heard her quiet invitation.

"Come join us, Luke," she called over her shoulder and Han added his 
encouragement to hers.

"Yeah, come on out, Junior."  He gestured to the self-conforming chair 
before them at the edge of the verandah.  "What's on your mind?"

Luke took a seat, glancing from one of them to the other, wondering how 
to approach the subject.  He finally decided to just come out with it.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way...but I think it's essential 
that we understand the extent of your perception of the Force, Han.  I 
think we need to explore the depths of the link you share with Leia and 
Arcadia.  It could be the deciding factor in the challenge that lies 
ahead."

Surprisingly, Luke felt no enmity from Han and he drew a breath, 
relieved.  "Sure, kid," Han shrugged.  "Ask away." 

Luke leaned forward.  "How much can you feel from Leia?"

Han looked deeply into Leia's eyes, caressing her Sense as she leaned 
into his embrace.  "Everything," he murmured.  He looked sideways at 
his brother-in-law and winked.  "Like I said before, Junior:  marry a 
Jedi.  It's awesome."

Luke smiled at the advice, tucking it away for later consideration.  "I 
need specifics, Han, not generalities.  What exactly can you feel 
through Leia?  I mean, can you sense her Presence wherever she is, can 
you touch her mind, read the state of her emotions when you reach for 
her Sense?"

Han thought a moment.  "Yeah, all that and more.  It's like when she 
was sick and that damned tree was calling her away from us.  Somehow I 
knew she was leaving and that it was up to me to call her back."  He 
tightened his arm around Leia's shoulders, feeling the simultaneous 
squeeze on his heart at the painful memory.  "She heard me...and came 
back to me."

Leia's Sense ached with him and she reached for his face, traced the 
scar on his chin.  "And I'll never leave you again," she said solemnly.  
"My word as a Jedi."

"I'm gonna hold you to it," Han said sternly, squeezing her shoulders 
and placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Luke cleared his throat, regaining their attention.  "Okay, what about 
Arcadia?  How much can you sense from her?"

Han shrugged.  "Same thing.  I know when she's asleep, I know when she 
wakes up, or is about to wake up.  I can tell when she's hungry or wet 
or grumpy or happy or just about anything else."  He smiled to himself, 
recalling a cherished memory.  "That night, when she was being  
born...the moment I held her head in my hands and she looked up at me 
with those big baby blues, we connected."  He looked again at his wife.  
"And then I looked up at Leia and felt this overwhelming wave of - I 
don't know - of energy, I guess, and I felt like we were interconnected 
somehow."

"That's because we were," Leia reminded him, and her own sweet memories 
of the enchanted hours culminating in Arcadia's birth returned with a 
renewed sense of wonder.  "She was still within me, remember?  We were 
joined, the three of us."  Her eyes misted over and her voice caught in 
her throat.  "We were one - as are we now."

Luke sat back a moment, absorbing the ramifications of this new 
information.  A frightful memory crept into his thoughts and he looked 
again at his sister Jedi.  "Leia, do you remember when we were on board 
the Emperor's flagship  - when we joined our might in the Force to 
defeat him?"

"Of course I do," she said quietly, her Sense automatically reaching 
for her youngest son, caressing his sleeping presence in the room 
behind them.  "How could I ever forget it?  Anakin joined us in battle 
as well, though he was still deep within me, and far from birth."  She 
turned her large dark eyes to her brother and he could detect the surge 
in her Sense at the stirring memory.  "And together we defeated him."

Luke nodded.  "Yes...together we defeated the greatest source of 
Darkness in the universe."  He looked at both of them meaningfully.  
"And together we can defeat this new menace, whatever it may turn out 
to be."

Han lifted a suspicious brow.  "Are you telling me this is gonna be 
some kind of Force war?" he asked, trying to tune out the instinctive 
itch in his palm, his persistent yearning for the comforting grip of 
his trusty blaster.

Luke nodded solemnly at them both.  "Of ominous proportions," he 
predicted.  He watched them absorb his words, feeling the astounding 
strength of their combined Life-force, nourishing his own perception of 
the Force and fueling him with confidence in their ability to triumph 
over the Darkness that lay ahead.

He felt a subtle flicker between them, took the hint and stood to 
leave.  "I'm calling it a night," he announced, and bent to kiss his 
sister.  "I'll see you both in the morning.  Good night.  Sleep well."

As he crossed the verandah to the doorway leading to his chambers, Han 
and Leia looked at each other, their eyes swimming in the mutual well 
of their souls.  "Oh, it'll be a good night," Han murmured, his voice 
thick with emotion.  "But I can't guarantee how well we'll sleep - or 
how much."

They, too, retired to their chambers, and afterward they lay together, 
wrapped in each other's arms, their Senses intimately linked, and there 
was no doubt in Han's mind that they would prevail.  Their own Force 
shone brightly, a quantum crystal of Light.  He was confident that it 
would penetrate the Darkness and eradicate its existence from their 
lives.

*****************

//Luke!  Awake you must!  On this all depends!//

Luke started awake, sitting up in bed, looking around, reaching with 
his Jedi senses for the owner of the disembodied voice that had 
disturbed his sleep.  He shook his head, running through memory 
enhancement exercises to recall the details of the vision.

//Master Yoda!//  The wizened little creature stood in the forefront of 
his memory, gesturing with his gimer stick at his former pupil, now a 
mighty Jedi himself.

//The time is near, young one.  The Dark Ones come.  Soon will they 
arrive - and ready you must be.//

A mighty chill trickled down Luke's spine as the tiny Jedi's image 
faded from his mind, at the instant he received the Sense-shattering 
perception of his sister's mental wail.

//Jaina!  Oh, my Jaina!//

Luke bolted from his bed, snatching his robe and lightsaber and belting 
the sash around his waist as he darted from his room, running toward 
his sister's Sense.  Leia stood in the middle of the living quarters, 
obviously freshly roused from bed, in a haze of lavender nightgown, her 
hair spilling wildly about her.  Eyes tight with concentration, she
had both hands to her head, shaking with the effort to locate her 
daughter's presence through the Force.

With a forlorn little moan she sank to the floor, weeping, overcome 
with sorrow and fear for her child.  Han dropped to his knees beside 
his wife, wrapping his arms about her, his own eyes bright with unshed 
tears.  He held her tightly against him as she moaned with an 
indescribable agony, and Luke winced as he doubly shared their anguish.

Luke reached through the Force for the sweet presence of his niece, 
extending further and further in his search, throughout the surface of 
the forest moon and beyond, and his heart constricted when he failed to 
locate the child's warm essence.

Jacen appeared in the doorway to the children's room, a solemn Anakin 
beside him, and Luke could feel their efforts to locate the essence of 
their sister as well.

Leia sobbed into Han's chest.  Only moments ago she had awakened in his 
arms, blissfully content in the afterglow of last evening's passion.  
As was her practice upon first awakening, she'd reached for the Senses 
of her children and found that of her older daughter absent.  Now a 
fresh wave of tears shook her, and she wept furiously for a moment 
before suddenly jerking within Han's embrace.  In a flash of lavender 
shimmersilk, she scrambled to her feet and bolted for the door.

Han shot a glance up at Luke, and over to where his sons stood wide-
eyed and frightened.

"Go!" Luke instructed sharply.  "I'll look out for them."

Nodding, Han raced after Leia, reaching the verandah a split second 
after her, and he watched in amazement as she launched herself from the 
railing and floated through the Force to the surface far below.  He 
leaned over the railing and saw her take off at a dead run the moment 
her bare feet touched the ground.  Immediately he made for one of the 
repulsorlifts and started down after her, cursing its lack of speed as 
he struggled to maintain mental contact with his near-hysterical wife.

He found her exactly where he knew she would be - before the twisted 
tree.  His Sense ached with at the turmoil he felt within her, his own 
grief at the loss of his daughter barely contained.  Leia stood glaring 
up through the massive branches, her hands clenched tightly at her 
sides, and Han could see the trembling that shook her entire body, 
could feel the accompanying wave of anger emanating from her, the likes 
of which he had never before encountered.

"Give her back!" Leia shrieked.  "You can't have her!  She doesn't 
belong to you!"  She charged the base of the tree, furiously punching 
at it with her small fists, striking it again and again, oblivious to 
the pain she was inflicting upon herself.  "Give her back, give her 
back, give her back!"

Snapping out of his paralysis, Han hurried to his wife, took her 
bloodied hands in his, and pulled her away from the object of her fury.  
She thrashed against his hold, looking back over her shoulder at her 
nemesis, calling for her daughter.  "Jaina!  Jaina!  Where are you, 
sweetie?  Can you hear me?  Can you feel me?  Jaina!"

Memories of her Vision-Journey flooded her mind and Leia froze in 
horror at the sudden realization.  "It's just like the Vision!" she 
whispered, looking up at Han with terrified eyes.  "I am that mother!  
It took her daughter, now it's taken ours!"  She looked jerkily around 
her.  "The Dark Man!" she cried, her voice trembling.  "He's coming 
back!  Oh, Han, he's returning to finish what he began!"

She lapsed into a cold silence, shivering, and Han could do nothing but 
hold her tightly against him, his own body quaking in delayed reaction.  
His heart felt as if it would burst, and hot tears of anguish escaped 
his eyes as he thought of his lovely, dark-haired little girl.  Now he, 
too, was stricken with fear that one child would not be enough for the 
insatiable hunger of this twisted tree. 

Leia hung limply in his arms, her tears leaving little rivulets that 
scalded a painful path down his bare chest and over his belly as he 
held her against him.  "I can't feel her," she sobbed brokenly.  "I 
can't feel her anywhere!"

"I can, Mom," Jacen's voice sounded behind them and they whirled to 
stare down at their oldest boy, vaguely surprised to see Luke emerging 
from the grass-covered pathway with Arcadia in one arm, holding onto 
Anakin in a sure grip with his other hand.  Jacen looked up at Han and 
Leia with huge, frightened eyes.  He had never seen either of his 
parents cry and now they both were.

The child strove to comfort the adults.  "I can feel Jaina, Mom," he 
repeated.  "She's right there, in the Tree."  He pointed at the twisted 
trunk and Han and Leia watched in wonder as the boy's eyes went vacant 
for a moment.  They witnessed their child's connection with his twin 
from the light in his eyes, and after a moment Jacen smiled up at them 
reassuringly.  "Don't worry, Mom, Dad.  She's safe.  The Tree will 
protect her, just like it's been protecting the other kids, all these 
years."

"That's why it's here," Anakin piped up from beside Luke; now that he 
had come before it, the message the Tree had been sending him was 
crystal clear.  "The Tree isn't here to hurt us," he explained to them.  
"It's here to keep us safe."

Han and Leia looked down at their sons, and for the first time felt a 
flicker of hope.

"Keep you safe from what, boys?"  Han asked in a shaky voice.

"From the Dark Twins," Jacen answered before Anakin had a chance to 
respond.  "The Tree told us that they would come."  His voice dropped 
to a conspiratorial whisper and he looked up at them with more maturity 
than any ten-year old had rights to.  "We must make ready - because 
they're coming for us," he warned the adults.

Anakin nodded his head at his brother, in solemn agreement.  "And 
they'll be here soon."

*****************

Han was worried.  Leia had moved about the treehouse for the last three 
days like a person under sedation, near paralyzed with fear and only 
marginally cognizant of the activities of the other members of her 
family.

Since Jaina's disappearance, Leia had refused to let her other children 
out of her sight, and had even insisted on setting beds up for Anakin 
and Jacen in the chambers she and Han shared with baby Arcadia.  She 
seemed to be obsessed with the netherworld she had journeyed to in such 
desperation, seeking answers, anguished with those she had found.

Though she tried to take heart in Jacen's reassurance of his twin's 
safety, Leia missed Jaina terribly, as did Han, and they both continued 
to fear for her welfare.  Even when Luke intervened, and confirmed 
Jaina's whereabouts by linking to Jacen's Sense, the two parents found 
it almost impossible to quell their fears.  It was only through long 
hours of conversation, and then direct exposure to the Jedi Master's 
own calming Sense, that they were able to keep themselves from taking 
precipitous, but ultimately futile action.

The little girl's cheery disposition and winning smile were no longer 
the dominating presence in the house, and Han found her absence most 
painful.  This special child had doted upon her father, and had tended 
to follow him about, crippling him with a knee-hug when he least 
expected it, showering his face with kisses at every opportunity.

A dull ache now occupied the part of Han's heart that belonged solely 
to Jaina, and he found that he missed his little princess more with 
every passing hour.  He could only hope that whoever or whatever had 
summoned her into the Tree was taking care of her, giving her the best 
of care, as was her due.  Or there would be hell to pay.

Three nights after Jaina disappeared, Han awakened to find himself 
alone in the big four-poster bed.  He sat up, reaching for Leia's 
Sense, his protective instincts slamming into overdrive when he was 
unable to locate her within the vicinity of the treehouse.  He snatched 
up his pants and pulled them on as he padded silently across the room 
to where his remaining children rested in peaceful slumber.  Assured of 
their well-being, he left the room to poke his head in the door to 
Luke's room, called softly to the Jedi.

"Luke...wake up, buddy, I need you to listen out for the kids."

Luke's Sense roused immediately and he sat up in bed.  "What's wrong?" 
he asked, reaching for his robe, and for the lightsaber that was now a 
permanent accessory to his wardrobe.

Han grimaced.  "Leia's gone.  I'm not sure, but I'd give good odds 
she's gone back out to that damned tree."  He headed down the hall 
toward the door, calling back at Luke over his shoulder.  "I'm gonna go 
fetch her - again."

He started off into the night, an eerie feeling of déjà vu creeping up 
his spine.  The last time he'd sped off in the middle of the night in 
search of his wife he'd found her collapsed at the base of the Tree; 
shortly afterward their baby had made her rather sudden, but  
spectacular, appearance.

Hours later Leia had fallen ill to the mysterious fever that had very 
nearly taken her from him.  Han's stomach tightened at a painful memory 
and he quickened his pace, running silently through the darkened 
forest, reaching for his wife's Sense, near frantic with worry for her, 
and for them all.

He found her once again before the Tree, and stopped for a moment, 
bewitched by the sight of her, barefoot in her lavender nightgown, 
bathed in the pale yellow beams of the secondary moon where it stood 
sentinel from high above.  It its fullest phase, it now graced the land 
with its brilliance.

Standing in the midst of the light, Leia shone like a goddess, her 
luxuriant dark hair cascading like some wild river over her shoulders, 
falling down her back and past her hips, swaying as she looked upward 
through the sheltering branches.  Her hands were clasped before her, 
and Han winced at the plaintive tone in her voice as she spoke.

"Why is this happening?" she asked softly, her eyes, voice and Sense 
beseeching.  "Please - please don't let any harm come to my children!  
Please help me protect them - no matter the cost.  If I must give them 
up in order to keep them safe, then so be it."  She bowed her head in 
submission, her hair falling about her like a curtain, shielding her 
face from view.

Han felt the pleading in her Sense and his heart went out to her.  He 
silently approached, embracing her from behind, and Leia flinched at 
his touch, shrinking away from him in a way she had never done.  Han 
turned her to face him, hurt by her rejection yet aching at the agony 
he saw in her eyes, felt in her Sense.

"Don't push me away, Leia," he said quietly.  "I'm in this, too - we're 
in this together - remember?"

Her face seemed to crumble and her Sense to explode.  "We never should 
have come here!" she cried, distraught.  "It's been trying to get the 
children for months!"  She covered her eyes with her hands and he felt 
his stomach twist as the moonlight reflected a faint sheen of tears 
slowly forming behind her shaking fingers, trickling down her face to 
leave tiny rivulets on her cheeks.

Since making the vision-journey, Leia had tried to put the horror of 
the experience behind her, tried to stifle the gnawing feeling of 
dread, the feeling that something was waiting to happen, just a 
heartbeat away.  She had worried while carrying Arcadia that things 
were too perfect with their life on Endor and had feared that Destiny 
had some awful payback in mind for them, somewhere down the line, 
waiting for the proper time.

It seemed that her suspicions had been correct and the time had come 
for retribution.  How she missed her sweet little Jaina!  How she 
feared for her remaining children!

Han quietly absorbed the desperation in her voice, experiencing her 
pain as his own.  His hands gripped her shoulders and he turned her, 
forcing her to look at him.  "Look, Leia, I know you're upset, but try 
to remember, I'm hurting, too," he reminded her, frustrated.  He 
yearned to offer comfort, yet could find none to give, his innate 
ingenuity now maddeningly lost to him.

Discontent grew within him, charging him with a dark intensity.  "You 
think I'm not upset?" he growled, and released her so quickly that she 
nearly fell.  His tone hardened as he continued, gesturing at his chest 
with quick, decisive jabs, enunciating each word with a measured 
staccato beat.  "You think I don't feel like my guts have been ripped 
out by what's happened?  You think I'm not angry?  Dammit, I'm mad as 
hell!"

He moved away from her and stormed about in the moonshadow of the Tree, 
finally giving vent to the pressure that had steadily built in him 
since the crisis began, all those months ago.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" he raged, curling his right hand 
into a fist and gesturing futilely at the passive sky.  "It shouldn't 
have happened!  I took you away from Coruscant to avoid this kind of 
thing!  And where does it happen anyway?  On Endor!"  Han slapped his 
forehead with his palm.  "The one place in this whole damned galaxy 
where we could somehow manage to get away from the almighty New 
Republic and just be a man and a woman."

He stopped, out of breath, shaking with an impotent fury born of guilt.  
"And look what I got us into," he concluded quietly, spreading his 
hands.  It was like Dathomir all over again:  he had whisked his family 
away only to put them directly into the path of danger.

He looked at his wife, standing beneath the tree, trembling in the 
moonlight.  Her dark eyes were huge, full of pain - and fear - and 
Han's mouth twisted with remorse.  He had promised her he wouldn't let 
anything happen to their children.  And now, despite all that he had 
done to protect them, Jaina was gone.

Leia's Sense ached with Han throughout his outburst, her own emotions 
threatening to overtake her.  She was frightened, frantically seeking 
assurance that they were mighty enough to defeat the menace that 
awaited them, a foe with a twisted hunger for their children.  She 
wanted to believe, desperately so; but the fear of failure had been 
haunting her every waking moment.  She looked at her husband as he 
stood beneath the Tree, the damnably haunting tree that seemed ever 
present, dominating her life - past, present and seemingly future.

Leia reached for the only inspiration she had ever had, all she had 
ever needed.  And it had always been enough.  But would it be enough 
now?

"Help me, Han," she whispered, reaching for his Sense.

His face softened at her plea.  Closing the distance between them, he 
enfolded her in a fierce embrace, holding her tightly against him, as 
much for his own comfort as for hers.

"I'm afraid," she murmured against his chest, her breath tickling the 
crisp hair that grew there.  "I'm afraid that we'll all suffer the same 
fate as that poor woman and her children."  She remembered Jacen's dire 
warning of the Dark Twins, and the very thought made her shudder.  "I'm 
afraid that we won't be strong enough to defeat Them."

"Are you kidding?" Han scoffed, and he held her away from him, tilting 
her chin with one hand so that she looked at him squarely.  "Not strong 
enough?  Not strong enough?"  He shook his head, his voice dropping to 
a low growl.  "Sweetheart, let me show you Strength."

His Sense reached for hers, caressing it boldly, intimately, and he 
lowered his head and kissed her, parting her lips with slow 
deliberation, drinking of her life-force and extending his own to her.  
He penetrated his wife's tortured psyche, blocking all else from her 
perception, and, for that moment, affording sweet surcease of sorrow.

She gasped as he released her lips and pressed his mouth to the soft 
skin at the back of her ear.  "I'll show you Strength," he repeated, 
letting his lips roam down the side of her neck, pausing at the tender 
skin where neck and shoulder joined.  Coaxing the straps of her gown 
from her shoulders, he began to cover them with open-mouthed kisses, 
and was delighted with the tell-tale shivers that began from deep 
within her body, the passion permeating her Sense.

His mouth continued its conquest, conducting a tour of her neck, 
lingering for a titillating moment at the hollow of her throat.  He 
inhaled deeply, absorbing the heady essence that was hers alone, 
tasting the sweetness of her flesh before his mouth resumed its 
southward plunge.

"We're not dark, Leia," he vowed, his head buried between her now freed 
breasts, his hands caressing them with a slow sensuality, the heat of 
his breath seeming to penetrate her skin, driving directly into her 
heart.  Slowly, torturously his lips and tongue and teeth worked her 
breasts, one after the other, over and over again, scalding their way 
into the forefront of her consciousness, pushing the dark images 
further and further away.

"We're bright," Han assured her, his lips now searing a path over her 
breastbone, along her neck, up to her mouth where they lingered, 
tasting, teasing her with their proximity as he presented his case.  
"We're brilliant," he continued, his voice thick with his growing need.  
"We're white hot, blazing with love and passion and loyalty and all of 
the good emotions in life."

He buried his hands in her hair, close to her scalp and held her head 
so that she could not help but meet his eyes.  "And we're strong, 
sweetheart," he finished, his own eyes bright, daring her to disagree 
with him.  "Strong enough to defeat any foe:  man, animal, tree or 
whatever the hell the Force decides to throw our way."

He seized her mouth with an almost animalistic passion, and Leia was 
consumed by the strength of basic instincts that would not be denied.  
She felt her nightgown fall away from her body, ending up in a puddle 
of silk at her feet.  Tearing her mouth away from his, she looked down 
long enough to rid him of his pants, pushing them roughly down and past 
his hips.  Her breath caught in her throat as she got a good, long look 
at his raging erection, making her whimper with longing to have him 
inside her.  She wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself 
closer, clinging to him in an agony of need and desire, the whole of 
her being now absorbed by the heat of his lips, the summons of his 
Sense, the urgent call of his body.

His hands left her hair and traveled down her back to her hips, where 
he ripped her underpants away with one mighty tug.  Leia caught her 
breath as his fingers found her core; he played her like a musician.

She gasped against his neck as he lifted her off her feet and pressed 
her back against the ancient Tree.  He released her lips and rumbled 
into her ear:  "Let's teach this Darkness a little something about the 
power of the Light Side, Leia.  Let's show this Darkness the meaning of 
strength - Organa-Solo Strength."

With a raging hunger of body and Sense, his mouth consumed hers again, 
and the exquisite anticipation of their merger left Leia near tears.  
//You're right,// she thought, surrendering to the ecstasy that 
possessed her whenever they came together.   //Nothing is stronger than 
this!//  

She felt him lower her slowly, a breath at a time, until she was 
impaled upon him, and when he was fully sheathed in her body, Leia 
thought she would shatter with the force of their fusion.  She groaned 
deep in her throat and wrapped her legs around him, locking her ankles 
just beneath his thrusting hips.  Using the leverage to bring her body 
to meet him fully, she clung tightly to the anchor of his broad, sweaty 
shoulders, her face against his neck.

Han plunged, and Leia received, their sighs and cries swallowed by the 
deep, dark woods surrounding them.  The ground beneath them, the trees 
surrounding them, the enormous tree at her back, all seemed to pulsate 
with the strength of their union.  Everything coalesced to stoke their 
already rampant passion, multiplying it tenfold.

And by the time they were finished, neither one of them would need 
further convincing as to the enormity of their might.

  
[End Chapter]

END - PART III