Father's Day Submission #4 by Zyra

Let's just pretend that the EU wasn't so bad and everyone lived and it didn't take Jaina until she was nearly 40 to get married, ok?

When she turned to look at him, he could hardly believe his eyes. 

Han Solo was not often speechless, but as he gazed at the young woman in front of him, the one he had held in his arms moments after her birth on the day he became a father, words completely escaped him. 

She was dressed in an elegant yet simple white gown; a veil framing her face so that he could clearly see the elated twinkle in the brown eyes that so resembled her mother’s.  The smirk she gave him was not unlike his own, slightly crooked as one side of her mouth curled up a bit higher than the other.  His Jaina, his only daughter, was about to get married.

After a few moments of staring, Jaina broke the silence.  “So, Dad, how do I look?”

He took a few steps closer and looked her up and down, wondering how in the universe his baby had grown up so fast.  “You look beautiful, little princess.”

“Little princess?  You haven’t called me that one in a while.”

Han shrugged.  “I thought I’d get one more in before my little girl gets married and isn’t mine anymore.”

Smiling, Jaina took a few steps forward and reached out to take her father’s hand.  “I’ll always be your little girl, Daddy.”

Even dressed as she was Han couldn’t help but hear those words as though she was speaking them as a small child.  “You better mean that.  You know, when you turned five I told you that you were growing up too fast, and you promised you’d never leave me.”

They were merely words.  Han wasn’t sure he’d ever seen his daughter look so radiantly happy as she was now getting ready to start a new life with her soon-to-be husband, and he also knew in his heart that she would always remain a big part of his life.  But the wedding seemed to add a sense of finality to the time in his life that Jaina would come to him first.  Suddenly he was accosted with images of his little girl seeking him out to fix her hurts, leaping into his arms for a hug, asking him to read her another story, climbing onto the couch to sit next to him and watch a smashball game – not because she cared about the sport, but simply because she liked spending time with him.  He’d helped teach her to read, to fly the Falcon, and how to deter young males from getting too close to her – although eventually that last bit of advice had fallen by the wayside.  His baby was all grown up and there was nothing he could do about it. 

“I’m not leaving you, Dad.  I’ll always need you.”

Closing the small bit of distance left between them, Han pulled Jaina slowly into a gentle hug.  In spite of the potential for wrinkling her dress, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.  “I love you,” she said, her voice slightly muffled against his chest. 

He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.  “I love you, too.”

After a few more moments, he pulled away and took one last look at his daughter, taking a moment to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall.  She smiled at him again and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” and winked. 

He laughed and moved to stand at her side, holding his arm out for her to take.  “You ready, sweetie?”

Her arm hooked into his and she took a step forward, taking a deep breath.  “I think so.  Are you?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Han said, knowing very well that nothing could’ve prepared him for watching his children grow up so fast.  But as the doors opened to the vast hall with thousands of guests, he somehow immediately was able to pick out the other set of beautiful brown eyes he so loved looking into.  Leia, his wife of thirty years, smiled at him just as she had on the day he had married her, reminding him that he wasn’t losing everything that day.  And he saw the groom, looking at Jaina in such a way that Han knew he would take care of her. 

If not, he looked over to his sons, who would protect their sister just as fiercely as Han would.  Although he knew that his daughter was smart enough to choose a worthy husband, even if Han didn’t believe any man in the galaxy had ever been created that was truly worthy of marrying his only daughter. 

But if he made her happy, that was all he cared about.