Visions

CHAPTER XXIV

Han explained their idea with an enthusiasm he hadn’t felt in a long time. Everyone listened intently, and their faces only really started to appear as though they liked the idea once Han mentioned that Leia was the one who came up with it.

Operation D.F. finally had a plan to rival those on Operation Commo. The meeting had adjourned, most other attendees exiting the room, and Han went to sit and join his friends, exhaling a breath of relief that they finally had something to work with. At some point in the middle of his speech he’d noticed Luke got that far off look in his eyes that always made him worried, but he ignored it until he finished his speech.

“Great idea, sweetheart,” Han said, leaning over and kissing Leia’s forehead. “Now all we have to do is actually manage to pull it off.”

“Han?” Luke said in such a way that instantly made him nervous.

Looking at his new brother-in-law, Han felt his stomach drop, and not in the good way like when Leia would give him that smile that just drove him crazy. “Yeah?” he replied, hoping that his next sentence had something to do maybe with what they were going to have for dinner that night.

“While you were talking just then, I… saw something.”

Hoping maybe he could change whatever Luke might say next, he said, “What, the handsome man giving a speech just then? I hear Alderaanian princesses can’t keep their eyes off the guy.”

Leia playfully slapped his arm with the back of her hand and Luke smiled just a little before his face grew serious and Han knew he wasn’t going to like what he had to say next. “I think Leia and I are the ones who are supposed to take the war room.”

“Fine, you can come with us, I’m sure Lando can handle himself.”

“No, Han. There’s something telling me that it can only be the two of us and you can’t be there.”

It took him a moment to try and absorb the words, unsure if he was hearing him correctly. “If you think for one second that I’m going to leave her alone-“

“Please, Han, just hear me out,” Luke interrupted.

Leia spoke up next. “I don’t like the sound of this either, Luke.”

“See?” Han said.

“I don’t really like the idea of letting Han out of my sight, either. Look what happened the last time I did.”

“I know this isn’t what either one of you want to hear, but I’m getting a very strong feeling that that would be a very bad idea.”

“Luke, are you sure?” Leia asked softly.

Her brother merely nodded and Han stood up angrily, running his hand through his hair. Leia got to her feet and took his hand, attempting to soothe him. “Han, you know that he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t think it was true.”

“Damn it, Leia, why do we always have to listen to these Force visions? I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t want to leave you, either, but don’t you trust that Luke will protect me just as well as you could.”

Han’s tense shoulders relaxed a bit as he watched Leia’s face. His pride told him that nobody could keep Leia safe like he could, but in his heart he knew that Luke, with the added advantage of the Force which he was finding it more and more difficult to deny the existence of, might actually be better equipped to keep Leia from harm. And those damned Force visions had never proven wrong in the past.

Han turned to Luke and said very seriously, “You better take care of her and my baby.”

“With my life, Han. I promise. You know I wouldn’t separate the two of you if I didn’t feel very strongly about this.”

He nodded. “I know."

“Well, I’m going to let Madine know the plans. I’ll see you two in a bit,” Luke said before leaving the couple alone in the conference room.

Leia moved forward and slipped her arms around Han’s waist. “You’re getting so mature in your old age. I expected a much longer rant over how much you can’t stand Jedi and their crazy Force visions.”

“I ain’t that old, princess, and you of all people should be well aware of that. I hate to admit it, but I trust Luke as much as I trust you. Just don’t tell him I said that.”

She shook her head, “Never.” And then she tilted her chin up and he leaned down to meet her halfway in a gentle kiss.

“So you get Luke looking after you and I’m stuck with Lando?”

Leia suddenly looked worried. “You’re right, that doesn’t sound like a great idea, does it? But I’m sure Luke saw all of the possibilities. I thought you didn’t need anyone to look after you anyway? Don’t you just love telling everyone always how you can take care of yourself?”

“Well, yeah, but now that I got a wife I was kind of looking forward to having her take care of me for a change.”

“I think I take care of a lot of things for you.”

He was enjoying the lightness of their conversation, but he started thinking about how distracted he’d be throughout this entire mission while constantly worrying about Leia. “What do you say after all of this is over we find a nice, quiet planet to settle down on and raise our kids and stop with all of this war stuff.”

“Kids, huh? Plural?”

He smiled and nodded. “Come on, sweetheart, you know that with those evening activities we enjoy so much there’s definitely gonna be at least a couple more.”

“Well, if we are going to spend the rest of our lives on a peaceful planet you’re not going to have an excuse to wear that blaster everywhere all the time,” she said, accentuating her point by sliding her hand up his thigh to his gun rig.

“You like it when I wear the blaster?”

She nodded. “I like taking it off you, too,” she said, leaning in and resting her head against his chest while he brought his arms around her and held her. The temporary change of subject had almost taken his mind off the issue at hand. But as he held Leia’s warm body and felt her heart beat against his ribs, thinking of the other tiny heart beating inside of her, his worry crept in again.

Leia seemed to know what he was thinking. “I promise to be careful if you do, remember? We’ll be all right.”

“Is that a Force vision talking?”

“No, just a gut feeling.”

“Good, I trust those more.”

She leaned back and kissed him again and then said, “Let’s go tell Lando what we decided.”

A few minutes later, they had found the other scoundrel and explained to him who was going to be partnered with whom. “So the Force twins get each other and you’re sticking me with this guy? The guy couldn’t even get away from Jabba the Hutt and that thing can hardly move!”

“Easy, Lando. You think I like being stuck with you? I could think of a whole lot of better options.”

“But none better looking,” he said as he winked at Leia.

“Hey, what did I tell you about flirting with my wife?”

“Relax, you pirate. She’s only got eyes for you. It’s irritating.”

“That true, honey?” Han asked his wife.

“Usually, but we could probably come up with some exceptions.”

“Exceptions?” Han asked, incredulous. “What do you-“

She reached up and put a finger against his lips. “Will you calm down? You know I was kidding. I don’t like it when you’re this tense.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t really help it right now.”

“Han?” Lando said and Han turned to look at his old friend. “You know they’ll be all right, right?”
He hated it when even Lando started acting all rational.

“All right, enough of all of you ganging up on me. Let’s set this thing in motion.”

********
Push's condition for me was that Luke had to have a Force vision that said that
he and Leia are the ones that are meant to take the war room together, leaving Lando and Han to handle the other areas and separating Han and Leia during the mission. How Han and Leia react…is, of course, up to you.