Shield of Lies: The Review

The following review was submitted by amara z.  Thank you so much for the contribution!  I know it's not Sunday, but I'm sure you all won't mind. 

This is the second book of The Black Fleet Crisis. It's a little odd in it's setup since there are three sections to the book, one for each character of focus – Lando, Luke, and Leia. Since we are concerned mostly with Han and Leia goodness, I went through Leia's section in its entirety and through Luke's section to look for references to Leia or training her as a Jedi.

Leia's section opens with Nil Spaar returning to N’zoth as practically a god. Females are ready to breed with him and males are ready to die for him. Spaar certainly laps up all the attention. It's really warped and very cold blooded and I ended up looking him up on Wookiepedia. By the feel of this part of the book I almost expected someone reptilian and I wasn't far off in terms of look

We next switch to the Fifth Fleet arriving at the Koornacht Cluster. General A’baht is not sure what to expect and he’s prepared for the worst. But there is no sign of the Yethevan fleet and they end up sitting and waiting.

We finally get to Han and Leia and they are, of all things, on vacation. Yep, you read that right – on vacation. Han decided he needed to get Leia away from everything that's been going on and took her and the kids to Rathalay. Finally, someone with some sense!  They are enjoying time on a secluded beach. The kids are having a ball – Jacen wants to see the narkaa, Jaina loves floating in the water, and Anakin is fascinated by the waves. There's a cute scene between Jaina and Han when she asks if she and Jacen can go look for sea motes.

"Okay," he said. "But don't go out of sight. If you can't see me, I can't see you."

For a moment she gave him her impatient I-know-that-Dad look. But Jaina was learning not to throw away her victories, and said nothing more than a breezy "Thanks!" as she ran away to where Jacen waited.

I liked that and it's always been the rule in my house too. But what is Leia doing during all of this? Standing down the beach talking on her comlink with Admiral Ackbar. Ugh. She's apparently the only blemish on the whole thing. I’m beginning to wonder if the woman can ever relax. I guess I wouldn't either with everything that's been going on, but I really wish she'd catch a break or take one. But not to worry, Han notices and when Leia mentions she's expecting another call later, Han quickly rectifies the situation by throwing her comlink into the sea. Leia's, of course, not happy.

"Han!" Leia's tone carried both puzzlement and rebuke.

He turned back toward her. "I had to do it. It was trying to kill you."

"What?"

"Look at us. We're on vacation, for the first time in who can remember," Han said, slowly returning to her. "We're walking on a beautiful beach, hand in hand, with no kids climbing all over us--and we're talking about politics."

He assures her there will be plenty of work for her to do when she gets back and continues on.

Han stopped and turned her toward him. "Leia, you've given them enough of you. Can't you give your-self--us--these few days? If this isn't where you want to be, or what you want to be doing with this time, tell me, and we'll do something about it. And if I have to take you farther from the castle to break the spell the Wizard of Duty laid on you--"

I love that and isn’t that what we’ve been saying? She admits “kind of new to this 'having fun' business” and we get a little glimpse into her past as she explains Bail’s idea of fun as she was growing up was rather stodgy and more about learning to which Han comments that she must have “taken family vacations at drill school." She also went to Coruscant as a senator at seventeen and tells him that she missed out on the fun, carefree time growing up. She then realizes how long she’s been on Coruscant, over half her life, and admits that she doesn’t like it that much. Han tells her she doesn’t really know Coruscant, at least not from outside a room or Imperial City. That’s a pretty sad state of affairs to me.

Leia and Han return to Coruscant and in a bold move, Leia approves a bunch of emergency petitions for membership in the Republic. She feels it is the right thing to do and it sets things up so that the Republic can help the planets the Yevetha are intent on invading.

Leia meets with her friend and ally Behn-kiln-nahm, also know to her as Bennie, to discuss how things are in the senate and how she is perceived by the senators. She still has some opposition and there is a possibility others will try to recall her presidency. Leia even suggests resigning, but he nixes that idea. They also talk about using the Fifth Fleet against the Yevetha, but Leia won’t do it without approval of the Defense Council. The senators in league with Nil Spaar fixed it so she feels she can’t just order it without it raising questions.

I wanted to include this next bit since it’s one of our favorite topics – the fact that Ackbar had a key to Han and Leia’s house. During what’s been going on, scattered through several scenes, Ackbar has been watching over the injured Plat Mallar from Polneye. Not sure why the interest in him, but he stays with him in the hospital, keeps an eye on him while he recovers, and even tries to help him join the Republic forces. But Plat is rejected because his planet is not a member of the Republic and Ackbar decides to get Leia to approve Polneye’s emergency request to join. On his way to see Leia, Ackbar thinks about how he used to be in Leia’s inner circle and had easy access to her before the escalation of the current crisis.

But Ackbar had been jarred by the discovery that he was locked out of the President's residence, his key disabled, his status as a member of the family suddenly withdrawn. So he had chosen to approach the President's suite on level fifteen through the front door, and tried to prepare himself for another rebuff.

Huh? Seems like he’s really upset that his access has been revoked. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t need to be entering their house at all hours. Just a thought. But Leia welcomes him easily and we come to find out that Ackbar’s access to the house has been reactivated.

“Then you haven't seen Han, either? I told him to tell you it was fixed. And here I thought it was me you were avoiding," Leia said, coming to where he stood and hugging him. "I can't stay angry at you for long. And besides-- you're one of the few people I've told myself I have to keep listening to, even when I am angry at you."

Oh, boy. It’s nice that she and Ackbar are playing nice again since they seem to like and trust each other and evidently Anakin misses Ackbar, but come on. He really doesn’t need access to her house. Just saying.

Ackbar does get her to approve the application from Polneye. He does it by quoting things she said at the beginning of the New Republic. There’s has also been some criticism that Alderaan really isn’t a planet any more and shouldn’t be a member of the senate because there’s only so many Alderaanians left. Ackbar uses that to his advantage as well. There is one interesting line when Leia asks if Plat has considered some of the offers to become a member of other planets.

"In the days after Alderaan was destroyed, how would you have looked on an invitation to become a citizen of Lafra or Ithor?"

I just thought that was interesting. There are some scenes of Plat training with Ackbar later, but I didn’t think they were too crucial to Han and Leia so won’t really mention those.

The next segments are mostly politics. We also get to see one of the spies that Nil Spaar has on Coruscant, Ourn, a counsel from Paqwepori. He tells Spaar about all of the applications that were approved and how people feel Leia has overstepped her bounds.

Engh and Bennie try to convince Leia to convene the cabinet so that she can give them a “go, team, go” speech.  She finally agrees and it seems to go well. But after the meeting, Engh tells her she might need to buff up her public image and that she might want to listen to the opinion from other worlds about what’s going on in the Republic. It’s not good and misinformation is going around after her approvals of the new applications. Engh tries to get her to understand it’s more about informing people about what’s going on and clearing up any misconceptions. We get a nice quote from Leia.

"Now you want me to give interviews? What next? Preside over spaceport openings? Endorse a line of little Leia dolls? Let myself be recorded dancing for Han in a Huttese slave-girl costume?"

I’m thinking Han would enjoy that dance a lot, except for the recording part.

Engh tells her to think about it and Leia is still fuming when she meets Han and the kids for lunch. Aww. Yes, they meet for lunch just like we like to imagine and hope they do. Leia fills Han in on her talk with Engh and it sets up a nice exchange.

She expected his sympathy, but Han's face acquired an uncomfortable expression as she talked.

"What? What is it?"

"Nothing. It's nothing--go on, I'm listening."

"No, I know that look," Leia insisted. "It's your 'I'm not going to say this because it'll just make things worse' trying-to-bite-your-tongue look. Except you always have to let me see how hard you're working to be nice. I don't know how you ever won a single hand of sabacc with that face."

"Just like I know that speech," Han said, his mouth twisting into a wry, crooked grin. "That's your 'I'm going to poke at him until he's just mad enough to blurt out what he's thinking' speech. And it doesn't work anymore."

Love the banter here and it fits with the fact that they understand and are comfortable with each other after being together for some time. Very funny about winning sabacc with that face.

Han tells her that an old smuggling buddy has been in touch with him. He sent Han a commentary and letters from a local newsgrid and it’s not very flattering to Leia and talks about her believing in the “divine right of monarchs.” Han isn’t forthcoming with what his friend said, but Leia finally wheedles it out of him.

"Well--he didn't have much to say, actually. After the last of the letters from the Banner, he just added a short note. 'Is there something in the water there on Coruscant? She seemed like such a nice girl."" Han shrugged. "It doesn't mean anything, except that now I have to kill him."

"No, you don't."

He nodded, deadpan. "Do. Insulted my girl. Have to kill all of them."

So cute Han wanting to defend his girl. Leia realizes the kids might hear people talking about her this way and after sampling some of the messages, she gets Engh to work on her image.

Leia eventually goes in front of the Defense Council. It doesn’t seem that exciting. Mostly Leia shows them an attack on Morning Bell (Doornik-319) and there’s a lot of arguing and politics about validity of the evidence and the urgency of taking action. But there is a description about her clothes I liked.

On the recommendation of Engh's image specialists, she had forgone the flowing robes of Alderaan's royal house in favor of what Han had called street-fighting clothes--a simple garment suggestive of a flight jumpsuit. But she wore just one of the medals and honors she was entitled to: the small blue-fire crystal talisman of House Organa.

I thought that was neat. It shows her in something different and I kind of like anything that hints at her previous life before the Rebellion, like the talisman of House Organa.

The Council agrees to deliver an ultimatum to the Yevetha and Leia sends out announcement on several channels for the Yevetha to desist and withdraw from the planets they have invaded. They don’t ever really get a response, but they soon receive video of the Yevethan fleet preparing to invade Doornik-319. In an effort to stop the invasion, Leia and the others decide to set up a blockade of the planet. The Fifth Fleet doesn’t find the invading force when they arrive and even though they held back some of the ships for later, it ends up a complete disaster and many lives are lost. It didn’t help that the Yevetha were broadcasting messages from hostages saying that they will be killed if the Republic attacks. And quite a few Republic fighters wouldn’t attack because of the broadcasted messages. Very cold blooded.

As a result, the Ruling Council is convened. Its sole purpose is to act as a check of the president and the council can recall a president or void a presidential election. The Council has rarely met and has never been used, but there is currently a call for a vote of no confidence against Leia. When you pair this with the questions about Alderaan’s legitimacy earlier, this just basically sucks. Leia’s just as much a hero of the Rebellion as Han or Luke. You would think that would earn her a certain level of respect or gratitude, but apparently not.

For once Fey’lya isn’t gunning for her, not yet, and the motion for a vote of no confidence fails. But Bennie warns her she’s not out of the woods yet in terms of challenges to her presidency and next time she might not survive.

After some discussions with others, including General A’baht, they set up concurrent recon missions of the entire Duskhan League and thirteen other planets the Yevetha may have attacked. This ends up as a debacle as well. They expected to lose about sixty percent of the twenty-four recon ships, but ended up losing all but four drones. All piloted ships are lost. Some ships scanned about three quarters of their targets and the news is not good. The Yevetha are out in force and they even spot the Super Star Destroyer Intimidator. They have a wall of screens set up in the War Hall on Coruscant to watch the missions and while they are waiting for things to start, Han gets on Leia’s nerves a little bit.

"It kind of reminds me of a tout board I saw at a million-credit betting parlor on Bragkis," Han said, "and everyone standing around waiting for the race to begin. 'Who's got a favorite?" 'What odds will you give me on Wakiza? "" Leia usually found Han's irreverence refreshing. But she had no patience for it just then and walked away after shooting him a hot sidewise glare.

I thought that was interesting and not sure it’s something we see all that often.

The next part is rather predictable given how the EU is. With all the data they amassed, they make plans to reinforce the Fifth Fleet finally. Two guesses who they are tapping to lead the combined force. Yep, Han. Don’t they have anyone else that can do this? But Fey’lya and the Defense Council are insisting they approve the choice and Han is the compromise.

"You can't begin to know how absurd it was at times," Ackbar said, turning away from the viewscreen and approaching the table. "Senator Cundertol actually supported you on the grounds of--and I quote the great man verbatim-- 'He's not doing anything else, is he?""

Wow. As Han says, what “a heart warming recommendation.” Han doesn’t sound happy about it, but eventually accepts the challenge.

"For a while there, Leia dear, I actually let myself think that we'd have a chance for that normal life you told Luke you wanted. I let myself believe that we were through with this sort of thing. And I have to tell you--leaving the uniform in the closet really agreed with me."

Leia and Han exchanged rueful smiles at that. "Well--seems like going all the way back to Yavin," he added, "I've made you coax, wheedle, guilt, and shame me into volunteering for dirty jobs. I won't make you do it this time. Fact is, the Yevetha disgust me--and they scare the stang out of me, too. If we don't control them now, the future could get very messy. So I'll take this job, because it needs to be done."

Of course, we know there is so much more to Han than just being a scoundrel, but it is nice to see him willing to pitch in and do the hard work. Maybe Leia’s been a bad influence that way. I love how he gives her a bit of a hard time about heading out again and his reference to their early days.

In a funny twist, they are going to make Han a commodore for the duration of the mission.

“Commodore, eh?" He tried a cheerful smile on Leia, but she was no more persuaded by it than he was. "Does that come with a hat?"

Unfortunately, Spaar’s spies are still active and Tig Peramis informs him about the mission and Han’s flight to join the Fifth. Han is captured and he’s brought in front of Spaar. I certainly don’t want him in Spaar’s hands, but it’s a pretty great scene.

"You are the mate of Leia."

"I guess that secret's out," said Han, deciding to try to take his captor's measure. "And you're Nil Spaar. I've heard a lot about you, all of it bad. You've moved right to the top of my least favorite people list. I had to drop Jabba the Hutt off to make room for you. It's only fair to tell you that my number one goal in life is to outlive everyone on the list. I was halfway there before you replaced Jabba."

The Yevethan ruler did not seem to take any notice of Han's goading.

"What sort of vermin are you?"

"I think the word you're looking for is 'scoundrel,' as in 'Corellian scoundrel,'" Han said. "I've also answered to 'rascal,' 'pirate,' 'smuggler,' 'wretched scum,' 'toad-licker,' and a few others. Not all of those are considered polite where I come from, though--so I don't always answer politely. Just so you'll know, 'vermin' probably counts as impolite."

Oh, man, is there any wonder why we think Han is so awesome? Definitely quotable. And even though he’s in danger, Han still defends his girl.

"You are stronger than she," Nil Spaar said, cocking his head. "Why do you follow her? Why do you not lead?"

Han answered with a contemptuous gaze and a shake of his head. "I was gonna tell you that grabbing me was the biggest mistake you ever made," he said. "Now I see it's the second biggest. You've misjudged Leia from the beginning. Day in and day out, she might just be the strongest person I know. And you're gonna find that out the hard way now."

The scene ends sadly though with Han getting beaten pretty severely.

As if Han being captured isn’t enough for Leia to deal with, Ackbar and Bennie come to see Leia while she’s trying to comfort Jaina. The Ruling Council is summoning her again. This time it’s Doman Beruss. He’s afraid that with Han’s capture, Leia might do something rash/precipitous.

"Oh, he knows me--I'd like nothing more than to send the Fifth in to burn the Yevetha off the face of N'zoth. But how can I? How can I do anything, Bennie?" she asked, her voice pleading for an answer. "The Yevetha have my husband. My children's father is in the hands of Nil Spaar."

This part really burns me. Beruss was a friend of her father’s. And he’s supposed to be an ally of Leia’s. For him to do this is just scummy, but that’s just me. This ends Leia’s section and the book.

Looking through the Luke section of the book, I didn’t find much. Nothing about training Leia or the children as Jedi. And it sounds like he has an alias which was odd to me because sometimes the book makes it sound like he’s two different people.

At one point he’s asked about the relationship between the Jedi and the New Republic and what the Jedi will do if called upon.

“That isn't the way it works," Luke said. "Leia doesn't give orders to the Jedi. She can ask us for help--one of us or all of us--but we can refuse. And sometimes do."

I don’t know. That came across as snotty to me. I get Luke’s point that they can refuse to help. But it’s too reminiscent of the previous book where he refused to help Leia with the kids. Kind of like he’ll help if he feels like it. Just didn’t sit right with me.

There are also a few moments where he does think that Leia might have been right about his search for their mother or at least understands her viewpoint.

You may have been right, Leia. If I do find the truth, I may not find it to my liking-

And there’s a discussion with Akanah.

"I think Leia's been afraid to look for our mother. Maybe if I were Leia, I would be, too."

"Why?"

Luke considered for a moment before answering "Her memories of our mother--few as they are, and little as they've told us--are very precious to her. They're a child's memories, innocent, idyllic. And she's protecting them."

\"Protecting them? From what?"

"Reality," Luke said. "There's nothing Leia could possibly learn about Mother that could improve on those memories--and a lot she could learn that could damage them. Leia's never had to consider our mother in her full complexity. What kind of relationship did she have with Vader? Why did she have his children? Why did she give us up? When you start letting yourself ask questions like those, you risk getting an answer you don't like."

On his adventures, Luke stumbles across a bar that seems very familiar called Jabba’s Throne Room.

The same fiction was carried through everywhere else—an Ortolan keyboardist leading a jizz-wailer trio on the bandstand, the roaring of the rancor underfoot, an annoying Kowakian monkey-lizard skittering around the room stealing food and cackling rudely, even a carbon-frozen Han Solo hanging in the display alcove.

Shortly after his meal arrived, Luke's consciousness was pricked by hearing a familiar name spoken at a nearby table: Leia's. He looked up, fearing that the evening's entertainment at Jabba's Throne Room would be a dance by a slave-girl-Leia look-alike. But the band was on a break and the transparisteel dance platform over the rancor pit deserted.

Thought that was pretty funny. There’s even a Bib Fortuna look-alike and a waitress named Oola. And what’s with the references to Leia in her slave girl bikini? That makes two different references. Did she save it and store it somewhere we don’t know about?

I’d probably give this a 3 or a 3.5. Only a third of the book, about 140 pages, is dedicated to Leia and not all of that section is about her and Han. All of the political fighting and back stabbing don’t sit right with me either. Leia is still having a hard time in this book because of it. But at least people like General A’baht and Han are showing some common sense and seems like Leia is pulling herself together a little or at least showing some of her strength. The moments that Han and Leia have together are nice and Han has some great lines. I am definitely interested in the next book to find out how they rescue Han and to see Nil Spaar get what’s coming to him.

Thanks so much for helping out with this!  We will take care of the next few reviews but we will let you all know if we need some more help.  Though as always, any contributions are welcome.

Mother's Day Challenge Submission #2

Aside from a single chapter of the joint story, this is the first thing I've written in months, so go easy on me!  And, like the other one, this is just fluff.  I was inspired by the post that said something about things not going so well for Mother's Day, so I just typed this one up.  Hope you enjoy!
_____________________________________________________________________

She faintly heard the tiny cries waking her from a deep sleep.  These were not cries of distress, but rather the frustrated cries of a child who was ready to be freed from the confines of her crib so she could explore the world for another day.  Leia Solo slowly opened one eye and tried to shake the fog of another night of not enough sleep.  She and her husband Han had been raising their twins Jacen and Jaina for eight months now, and it had been at least that long since either one of them had felt completely rested.  She constantly tried to remind herself that those two, beautiful little babies were worth all of the trouble, but it didn't change the fact that their were certainly mornings where she awakened and wanted nothing more than to remain curled up in bed for the remainder of the day.  So far, today was turning out to be one of those mornings. 

But her daughter continued to fuss, and Leia was quite sure that she would not stop until someone came and released her.  Just as she rolled over, she noticed that Han was not lying next to her.  Before she even had a chance to contemplate why she heard his low, soothing voice over the baby monitor as he entered the children's room and apparently got Jaina out of her crib, as she almost immediately stopped crying and started making adorable little cooing noises.  Leia smiled.  Jaina had always been easily soothed by her father. 

"Good morning, baby girl," she heard Han say quietly through the speaker.  "No more crying so Mommy can, sleep, okay?  You know what today is, right?"

Leia almost started laughing as she listened to her husband asking their daughter questions when she was far too young to actually answer him.  But she still heard her babbling as if to answer.  "That's right," Han said.  "It's Mother's Day.  It's your mommy's first Mother's Day, so we have to treat her extra special, right?" 

Leia heard another series of incoherent babbles and fought the urge to get out of bed and visually witness the scene.  Han obviously wanted her to stay in bed, and she was not one to turn down such an opportunity.  So she pulled the covers more tightly around her and snuggled back down into the warm mattress, shutting her eyes and savoring a little bit of extra rest. 

Sometime later, though she had no concept of how long she'd been asleep, Leia was gently awakened as she felt a familiar weight settle into the mattress.  She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes to find her husband clad in a white t-shirt and light blue sleep pants and holding each of their adorable twins in his arms.  He looked back and forth between each of their smiling faces, bouncing them at his sides.  "Can you tell Mommy happy Mother's Day?"

His eyes were on Jacen, who smiled brightly and then vigorously shook his head.  "No?  What about you, Jaina?"  He turned to his daughter, who mimicked her brother's response.  "Oh, come on," he said mockingly.  "Come on," he said again before leaning in and pretending to bite at her neck while she screeched loudly with laughter, then he repeated the same gesture on Jacen, who let out an equally loud squeal.  Leia smiled.  Han was a wonderful father and she loved watching him interact with their children, who seemed to love him just as much. 

"All right, then.  How about kisses?  Can you give Mommy kisses?"  He lowered each of them down to the bed and Leia took the opportunity to lean in to each of their tiny faces so they could reach her lips. 

Once they each kissed their mother, Leia sat up and pulled them into her lap.  "Thank you, my sweeties."  She looked up at Han smiling back at her.  "And thank you for letting me sleep a little bit more this morning."

"It was the least I could do.  But that's not all for you today."

Leia arched an eyebrow, intrigued.  "Oh, really?"

"Really.  I've booked you a massage, a pedicure and a facial."

Leia smirked.  "What?" Han asked.  "Come on, I know about that stuff."

"Oh, I'm sure you do.  And thank you," she said before leaning forward and Han caught the hint and met her halfway for a kiss.  "But what about these little darlings?" Leia said, bouncing the twins in her lap.

"I'll handle 'em for a few hours.  It'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"  It's not that she didn't think he could handle them on his own.  He had managed a few times before.  She just knew that two eight-month olds were not easy to handle for anyone on their own.  Leia noted, not for the first time, that it was a good thing they were so cute or their parents might have gotten rid of them by now for all the trouble they were. 

"Sweetheart, we'll be fine.  It's just for an afternoon.  You deserve a little break.  Now, what do you guys think?" he asked the twins.  "You want to play with Daddy all day?  Huh?"  He reached out and tickled each of their bellies, eliciting their infectious giggles.  "See?  They love the idea."

"All right, then," Leia replied.  "I'll just take a shower and be on my way."
___________________________________________________________

Leia had been gone for a couple of hours, and was still at least a few more from returning.  Things had started out simply enough.  Han had managed to feed the twins and then spent some time on the floor playing with them, inventing new ways to make them laugh.  He loved their little smiling faces. 

But as much as he loved their smiles, he was not such a fan of them when they were fussy.  And getting them down for their morning nap had proven to be more difficult than usual.  The two tended to be pretty decent sleepers, Han guessed because they were quite good at tiring themselves out during their waking hours.  But while Jacen seemed to have no trouble calming down once Han placed him in his crib, Jaina was a different story. 

She'd started crying almost immediately, and Han had tried leaving the room for a few minutes in the hopes she'd fall asleep, but it didn't seem to work and he found himself back in the room, picking her up and trying to quiet her.  It usually didn't take him much more than simply holding her for her to become content, but her distress continued.  "What's wrong, baby girl?  Do you miss Mommy?"

Her brown eyes were filled with tears and he felt at a loss as far as what to do.  He knew he'd spend the rest of his life trying to keep that little girl from knowing any sadness, and he hated that he didn't know what to do to make her happy. 
_______________________________________________

Leia felt as though she had died and gone to heaven.  She had spent nearly two hours having every muscle in her body worked over, and every knot or ache or pain massaged away, leaving her feeling more refreshed than she'd felt in many, many months.  She was currently lying reclined in a plush chair, wearing the softest, fluffiest robe she'd ever touched, her face caked with some sort of rejuvenating mask and her feet being gently rubbed by a lovely young woman who worked at the spa, her hands seeming to have magical properties. 

She sighed as she released a deep breath of satisfaction, thinking about how lucky she was to have such a wonderful husband who would do this for her.  And thinking about how much she loved those two little babies that both exhausted her and delighted her to no end.  She had no idea she'd enjoy this Mother's Day thing so much.
________________________________________________________

After two hours, Han had given up trying to get Jaina to nap.  He'd checked her diaper and tried to feed her, hoping that the solution would be just that obvious.  It didn't work.  Finally he pressed the backs of his fingers against her cheeks, finding them a bit warmer than usual.  A check with a thermometer in her ear confirmed that she had a bit of a fever.  It wasn't high enough to be alarming, but it was certainly high enough to be the cause of her being so obviously uncomfortable.  And it was certainly going to make for a long afternoon. 

Jacen had woken up and soon Han had two of them to deal with again.  Fortunately his son was being far more cooperative and Han was able to leave him to entertain himself, sitting in some giant chair surrounded by lights and things that spun and all sorts of random amusements to entertain a baby.  Han thanked the gods that his children were not yet mobile on their own, or he might be in serious trouble. 

Suddenly, the crying stopped.  Han looked at Jaina and saw her eyes still wet with tears, but at least she was quiet.  "Are you feeling better, honey?  Are you gonna be good for Daddy?"

He had barely gotten the words out before his daughter threw up her breakfast down the front of his shirt, immediately resuming her crying afterward.  Han sighed and shook his head, then heard Jacen joining in on the tears.  "Gods, I hope Leia appreciates this!" 
_________________________________________________________

Han had mostly been unable to keep the kids quiet.  He had somehow managed to feed Jacen, who was at least less fussy than his sister.  But poor Jaina still wasn't feeling very well.  And Han had at least managed to change his t-shirt, only to have her throw up again on his pants while he was bouncing her on his knee.  He'd finally called their pediatrician to get some advice and gave Jaina some medicine that would hopefully soothe her obviously upset stomach. 

He put Jacen down for another nap, thanking the gods that once again his son at least had no trouble falling asleep.  Knowing it was futile, he placed Jaina in her crib and tried to walk away, but her crying persisted and once again he was left carrying her around, hoping that maybe, just maybe she'd quiet down and fall asleep. 

Finally he decided that walking her around wasn't helping, so he might as well lie down himself.  If she was going to be crying anyway he might as well get a little rest himself.  "All right, sweetie, let's lie down here on the couch.  Daddy needs to shut his eyes for a few minutes."  He lowered himself down and swung his long legs up onto the couch in the living room, propping his head up on a pillow behind him and placing Jaina on her stomach against his chest.  He gently rubbed her back and slowly heard her cries quiet and eventually disappear. 

Han almost couldn't believe it.  And once again he was reminded how easy it was for his children to make him go from being immensely frustrated with them to never wanting to let them go in about five seconds flat.  "That's a good girl," Han said quietly, continuing to rub her back soothingly and shutting his own eyes.  "You be a good girl for Daddy while we wait for Mommy to get home.  Daddy's just going to rest for a few minutes."

He felt her breathing slow and simply felt the slight weight of her tiny body against his chest.  She had almost made him forget the prior four hours in which she had driven him crazy... almost. 
____________________________________________________________

Leia arrived home feeling invigorated.  Her skin felt as soft and smooth as she could ever remember, and any tenseness that had been residing throughout her body was completely gone.  She had enjoyed her day to herself but she was very much looking forward to seeing Han and the twins.  She'd spent some time thinking of several ways to thank her husband that she was sure he would enjoy. 

She opened the door to their house expecting to hear the noises of the three of them playing, but instead she only found silence.  As she slowly made her way inside she had to suppress the urge to audibly express how adorable the sight in front of her was.  There on the couch was Han, lying flat on his back with his head turned toward her, mouth slightly agape and his chest slowly rising and falling as he breathed deeply in sleep.  One arm hung down off the couch and onto the floor, but the other was resting gently on Jaina's back as she lay on her tummy in an equal state of sound sleep resting on his chest, her little arms tucked under her, her face pressed against her Daddy's chest.

Leia took a few moments to commit the image to memory and then walked over to sit on the edge of the couch near Han's head, absently brushing a few stray hairs from his forehead.  She hadn't intended to wake him, but he stirred and opened his eye, looking up to her as she smiled back before leaning down to kiss his forehead. 

Han glanced down, seemingly not realizing that Jaina was still sound asleep on his chest.  His hand moved up and down her back again, and Leia reached over to touch the soft, brown hairs on her little head.  "How was your day?" Han whispered.

"It was wonderful, thank you.  Really.  How was yours?"

Han looked down at his sleeping daughter, appearing to consider his answer before turning back to look at Leia.  "Great.  No problem."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Leia heard Jacen's cries from the next room, and it took about three seconds for Jaina to join in on the fun.  Leia saw Han's eyes roll.

"Happy to be home?" he asked, raising his voice a little to be heard over the twins' cries. 

Leia looked down at her husband and said sincerely, "Absolutely," before heading to the nursery to get Jacen.
______________________________________________

The rest of the afternoon had passed routinely.  Han told Leia about Jaina's fever, which upon the latest check had come down considerably.  Leia had to suppress a laugh when Han mentioned how many times he'd been thrown up on that day.  They'd managed to feed and bathe the children and even get them into bed at a decent hour, when mercifully they fell asleep quickly. 

As they made their way back to their bedroom, Han collapsed face first onto the bed with a loud, over dramatic groan.  Leia laughed and sat next to him, rubbing his back.  It felt like all of the knots that had been massaged out of her muscles had somehow been transferred to his.  So she moved her hands to gently rub his shoulders.  "Rough day, darling?" Leia asked.

"Is it too late to give them back?" Han asked, his voice muffled against the bed. 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart.  But I'm afraid they are nonreturnable.  But thank you for the wonderful gift.  I think I like Mother's Day."

Han rolled over on his side so he could look up at her.  "Good.  You deserved it, honey.  Those kids are a real handful."

"Well, you're the one who wanted them so badly.  And no matter how you feel about them they do seem to love their daddy."

"What's not to love?" he asked with a crooked grin.

"Exactly," she replied before leaning in to kiss him. 

"I hope you enjoyed your first Mother's Day."

"I did, thank you.  And if you'll just give me two minutes in the 'fresher I'm going to show you just how much I appreciate it."

Han's expression changed as he got that mischievous glint in his eye that always gave her goosebumps.  "Oh, really?" he asked.

She leaned down so her lips were millimeters from his, kissing him softly and pulling back only slightly.  "Really."

She stood to go to the 'fresher and heard Han call from behind her.  "Don't be long."

"Don't worry," she said before disappearing through the door.  Once she had finished, she walked back out into the bedroom, expecting to see Han's eyes staring up at her in anticipation.  Instead, she found him lying on his stomach, apparently sound asleep.  She was only slightly disappointed, knowing how exhausted he must be and also knowing from experience that with Han, when this sort of thing happened, as soon as he was awake he would make up for any missed opportunities. 

She quietly slipped into bed next to him, pulling the blankets up to cover them both and lying to face him, taking his hand in hers and kissing it gently.  "I love you," she whispered, seeing the corners of his mouth turn up ever so slightly at the words.  She smiled and shut her eyes, thinking about what a shame it was that Mother's Day only came once a year.

Mother's Day Challenge Submission #1

This story was submitted by amara z as a response to the challenge posted asking for stories about what Mother's Day with the Solo family might be like.  Enjoy!

Mother's Day At the Solos

Leia Organa Solo woke up to silence. Inexplicable, all encompassing silence. Not even her husband's usual snoring was present to break up the complete stillness that filled her bedroom. Looking at the chrono, she figured at this late hour she would already be knee deep in children shouting, clamoring for her attention. Especially since it was Mother's Day. In prior years, the kids would have her up at the crack of dawn, smothering her in kisses and urging her to eat their latest creative breakfast concoction.

But there was none of that today. Just blissful silence. It was completely disconcerting. She had come to believe over the years that when it came to her children if it got too quiet, that was when the worst trouble was about to start. And with Han, it was doubly so. Who knew what kind of trouble the four of them were getting into?

Curious about what they might be up to, she rose from the bed and slid on her robe before leaving the room in search of her family. It didn’t take long. As she entered the kitchen, she expected to find the children making a huge mess that she and Han would clean up later. Instead she found her two seven year olds and six year old quietly sitting at the table and dutifully eating their cereal under the watchful eye of their father as he hovered near the back counter. Anakin was the first to notice her, his mouth splitting into a wide grin around a mouthful of food and milk.

"Hi, Mommy! Happy Mother's Day!" he shouted, his bright blue eyes shining with delight. It reminded her of times long ago when her own brother’s eyes had shone with the same light.

Leia smiled at her youngest son as she stopped next to him to plant a kiss on top of his head. "Thank you, honey."

Ruffling his hair, she shifted to the other side of the table to stand between her twins, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "And what are the three of you up to this morning?"

Jaina grimaced and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly reconsidered upon seeing the stern expression on her father’s face. She gave him an equally glowering look. "Behaving ourselves like Daddy told us to."

 

 

Leia didn't know what to say to that. It was rare that her children were quiet and even rarer that they would actually mind their father. She finally made her way over to Han, accepting a cup from him as she leaned against the counter next to him.

 

 

“So what did you do? Bribe them? Slip something into their cereal?” she asked quietly as she took a sip of caf and glanced at him over the rim.

Han chuckled, taking a sip of his own drink, and eyed his wife. “What did you expect? Them to be chasing each other around the house with their underwear on their heads?”

Leia laughed. “Something like that.”

He shifted closer, really giving her a long accessing look. "What? You don't think I can get my own kids to behave?"

Leia repressed an unladylike snort. "The operative words being 'your children.' I’m not sure if even New Republic Security could get them to listen once they get an idea in their heads,” she replied with a shake of her head.

 

 

Han settled back against the counter, considering her words, and took another a drink. He finally smiled at her.

 

 

“I bribed them.”

 

 

 “With what?”

 

 

 “Oh, a little outing together. Figured I’d take them to some of the places they really like.”

 

 

Leia looked a little taken aback by that. Mother’s Day without her family? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “What about me? I get the apartment to myself for the day?”

Han leaned in with a smirk and gave her a light kiss on the lips. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I took care of you, too. Winter and Mirax are picking you up.”

 

 

“Winter? I thought she was off planet until the end of the week.”

Han shook his head. “She came back early. She has the whole day planned for the three of you. Brunch, the spa. Whatever you ladies feel up to doing.”

 

 

“But what about the kids?”

 

 

“We’ll be fine. You go enjoy the day. You take care of enough other people as it is, Leia. Take some time for yourself for once.”

He glanced at the chrono. “They’ll be here in about an hour, so you better start getting ready.” He plucked the cup from her hand, and with another quick kiss, gave her a nudge towards the kitchen door.

 

 

Leia grudgingly moved to leave, giving her husband a small smile as she did. She stopped briefly to give each of her children a quick kiss in turn before leaving to spend the day with her friends.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Leia's day ended much like it started - with silence. Entering their apartment, she found it much the same as she left it - eerily quiet - and too much so for it to be her apartment. But she let it slide. Han had never indicated when they might be back. So it was possible they weren't even home yet. And after a day with the girls, a massage, and more fizzy drinks than she could count, she was relaxed enough to feel as if she didn't have a bone in her body let alone a care.

She thought about slipping into bed for a little bit and extending the relaxation out a little further. But she was pretty sure she could hear low sounds coming from the back and she made her way there first. She found her children spread out on the floor of the twins' room coloring. As soon as they spotted her, they let out a loud cry.

 

 

"Mommy!" they yelled as they all rushed forward at once and Leia found herself contending with each of them trying to wrap their arms around her legs at the same time. She gave each of them a kiss and a hug as they danced around her excitedly, anxious to tell her about their day. It took her a moment before she could get them to calm down enough to stop talking over one another.

"Mommy, you wouldn't believe what we saw at the zoo today," Jacen told her as he bounced in front of her, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

 

 

 

"That was nothing compared to all the ships we saw at Eastport. Daddy named them all for us!" Jaina said cutting her brother off. "We must have been there for hours.”

 

 

Anakin was next and quick to break in, beaming at her. "Daddy let me run around the Falcon for a while and gave me some old parts to play with.”

Leia smiled to herself. That's how Han had done it. Spent the day doing something each of them would like. It was impressive.

"And now we're making cards for you!" Jacen told her, pointing to the mess in the middle of the floor. Tugging on her hands and arms, they pulled her forward and she sat down next to them so they could show her their work. She ooh'd and ahh'd at all the right parts as they continued to tell her about their day and periodically grabbed her for emphasis. As much as she loved the break and the time spent with her friends, she treasured these moments. When it was just her and her babies and she could bask in their innocence and joy.

 

 

Eventually the kids settled down and moved onto other projects while Leia watched. She shifted Anakin off of her lap and onto the floor. "What do you say I track down your father and then see about making us some dinner?"

“Daddy said he already had something made. He just needs to put it in the oven for a little bit,” Jaina told her absently, not looking up from her drawing.

 

 

Leia sat back on her heels for a moment before standing. “Why don’t you kids keep playing? I’ll check on you in a little bit.” Heading towards her bedroom, she felt overwhelmed and amazed by Han’s thoughtfulness and planning. He had really thought of everything and he typically wasn’t one to think much past the current moment let alone plan a whole day out.

As she neared the bedroom doorway, she could see her husband standing at the dresser. Although he was fully dressed, she could tell he had just finished in the refresher. His hair was sopping wet and he was currently staring in the mirror and slicking it back from his face. Unfortunately, she had missed the rest of his routine. She put a hand on the doorframe and smiled. “Darn. Looks like I missed the best part.”

 

 

Han turned towards her, surprise running across his face. “What part is that?”

 

 

She straightened and started towards him. “You in only a towel.”

“You like that part, huh?” he asked with a grin.

Leia merely nodded before burying her face in his chest and sliding her arms around him. She held him close for a few moments, letting his arms come around her and enveloping her in his warmth. This was home to her; of all the places in the galaxy, here in his arms was the place she felt the most comfortable and the most safe.

“How was your day? Did you have a good time?”

 

 

Leia nodded again and let out a long satisfied sigh. “Mmm-hmm. Bliss was definitely achieved.”

 

 

He had a lopsided grin on his face when she looked up at him again and he gently ran a finger down her jaw. “I’m glad. Someone has to take care of you too, you know.”

 

 

He bent down to kiss her and she lifted onto her toes to meet him. It was a soft, gentle, lingering kiss that had electricity running through her veins and held the promise of more things to come. She gave him a coy smile as she pulled away and splayed her hands across his chest. “Don’t suppose you have something planned for us later?”

“I might have some ideas,” he replied as he lowered his head to kiss her again.

 

 

Suddenly, there was a loud crash followed by a scream and then the high pitched wail of their youngest son. Leia sighed, her head drooping into his chest. This was more like how she had expected the day to go.

“I’ll handle it,” he said as shifted to move past her and towards the door. Leia quickly put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Why don’t you take care of dinner? I’ll deal with them.”

 

 

Han nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to go ahead of him. Leia hesitated in the doorway and turned to glance back at him. “And, Han? Thanks.”

 

 

His brow furrowed. “For what?”

 

 

“The break today. For the kids.” She shrugged. “For everything,” she told him and turned to go, leaving Han with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

 

Thanks for the contribution, amara!  And remember, if anyone has anything else they would like to add, please send it!