Jedi Council Forums - Three's Company (H/L and Lando)

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Author	Topic: Three's Company (H/L and Lando)
KnightedRogue Registered: Aug '04	Date Posted: 4/6/05 7:27pm Subject: Three's Company (H/L and Lando) - Date Edited: 6/23/05 3:09pm (5 edits total) Edited By: KnightedRogue
	Title:Three's Company Author: Your friendly neighboring KR Summary: While stranded on a deserted planet, Han and Leia must hide Leia's pregnancy to an oblivious Lando. A/N1: This is a challenge given to me from the fabulous HerHighness33 on "The Princess and the Scoundrel". Part I: Han It’s not my fault. Really. For once no one can blame it on me. It’s not my fault the ship crashed – not my ship, either, let me add – I didn’t invite the Imps along, I didn’t mess up the tracking device before we started this blasted trip. It’s absolutely not my fault. I’m not sure, but I think this is a first for me. Concentration’s coming tough today. My mind’s wandering when I should be paying attention. Really, though, I never have to pay attention, so it’s not like I do this a lot. Except for the occasional debrief where I zone out – maybe not so occasional, but the euphemism makes me sound like a better guy – I hardly ever miss something anyone says or does. That’s another first for me, too. Okay, so this is not my fault. I’m trudging through this warped-out jungle telling myself that, and it’s not helping because all I can see is my wife trudging up ahead of me and the guilt is driving me crazy. Irrational guilt. It’s not my fault. But see, there’s this part of me, the secret part that just a couple of people know about, and it’s going nuts seeing my pregnant wife slashing through brush and debris and crap like that. Yeah, okay. I’m a bit protective. So what? I got a lot to lose if I’m not. Well, I can’t get the voice at the back of my head to shut up. Weird thoughts keep popping up: she’ll hurt herself, she’ll hurt our child, she’ll fall, she’ll get hit, bit, poisoned, shot, stabbed. The possibilities are endless and I’m sure as hell not comfortable with any of them. But once I start thinking like that, I realize that she wouldn’t let me coddle her even if she were being choked by Darth Vader. The woman is tenacious, if stubborn and hell to live with sometimes. Well, I’m having a hard time with this whole situation. My pregnant wife is hiking with me up this real sharp ravine as we’re scouting out the basic area as I try to fix the stupid tracking device. She volunteered us, and I told her it was a bad idea, but she seems to think my bad feelings have nothing to do with our current situation. If I didn’t love her so much, I’d strangle her with the nearest vine. We’ve got another three kilometers to go, and I’m real worried. She’s starting to slow down. “Hey, Sweetheart, you wanna stop?” She sighed and looked over her shoulder at me. “Will you stop it? You’re driving me crazy.” “Who, me?” She had turned back. “Don’t give me that. If we have to keep stopping every ten minutes because you think I’m suddenly incapable of doing anything, we’re never going to get anywhere. Lando’s probably already there.” “I doubt it.” “Yeah, me, too, but you still need to shut up.” Her comment makes me grin as I watch her shake her head and continue walking. “Memumphe. Ti malgo et sprulphra. Idio!” “Did you hear that?” She looks back at me and nods her head. I put my finger to my lips and drop the pack full of water canisters and rations on the ground, moving towards the right. Pushing through the branches, I can see barely four meters into the jungle and I’m pretty sure I heard something big. Big and carnivorous and hungry for pregnant women. Leia’s crouching right next to me. “What?” “Get back, Leia.” She pushes herself closer to the opening into the bush. “What do think it was?” “I dunno. Something not jungley.” “Jungley?” “You know what I mean.” She nods once. “Yep, I know what you mean.” And with that she’s moving past the opening and into the jungle. “Wait, Leia! What’re you doing?” She looks back at me. “Exploring. What else?” She turns back and moves forward again. “Aren’t you coming?” “Of course I’m coming,” I grumble. “I’m babysitting my very pregnant wife.” “I’m two weeks along. That isn’t long enough for you to demand bed rest for the next nine months.” She paused. “And I think I’ve found the source of that noise.” I creep up to where she crouched. “Where?” A shaky hand pointed directly forward. “Um, try there, Han.” And, staring at the plethora of old fashioned arrows pointing our way, I begin to get a very bad feeling about this. “This feels real familiar.” She glances sidewise at me. “What does?” “Forest, natives, capture. This is like our thing, sweetheart.” “Our thing?” “Yeah. Some people do the dinner date thing, some do the lingerie thing. We do the risk of life and limb thing.” I nod towards the leader of the procession. “Wonder if they’ll serenade us or anything. The Ewoks at least provided music.” She laughed and grabbed my hand. “Trust you to make it all a joke.” She gets quiet and stares straight ahead of us as we continue the climb up behind, ahead and to the sides of the natives, stumbling a bit the further we get. We’re being pushed around on all sides by natives and up ahead I can see some big leader. Well, not really see, per se. I can tell that he’s there and that he’s obviously the big guest of honor. We, unfortunately, are not. “Hey, you okay?” Her jaw clenches and I know she’s angry. “I’m fine, Han! Just let me walk, okay?” She pushes herself forward, but I keep my hand on her forearm and bring her back next to me. She’s not going nowhere without me right there to protect her and my baby. “Solo, I swear – “ “Look, sweetheart, I can’t help it, okay? It makes me nervous. You make me nervous.” I slide my hand up her arm, over her shoulder and back behind her head. I push her against my side as we continue walking. “I’ve got my two most important people with me here and I’m not letting them out of my sight. So stay close, huh?” She quiets down as we continue along the trail and doesn’t say anything more, just pushes herself away from me and holds my hand. That’s fine with me; the less I have to fight with her, the more I feel like I’m doing the right thing. And in this situation, I’m just hoping that I’m doing it right enough that I can get my child and wife out of here alive. But, hey. It’s me. I’ll figure it out. But whatever happens, just remember: this is not my fault. Okay, so this is my fault. The dry leaves of the dry trees I can’t take credit for. I’m really not responsible for the enormous stack of those dry leaves lying smack dab in the native village. And I can’t claim possession of the large torches that line the center of the huts. The fire that’s burning a huge swath through the village center? Yeah, that’s mine. Before I know what’s happening, I’m rushing down the torch-lined path, trying real hard to remember which hut it was I was supposed to be sleeping in. The one with the guard asleep at the entrance? Well, he used to be asleep. Right now he’s got his bow and arrow lined right up my way, chittering at me like I should understand what he’s saying and motioning for me to move out of the way. All I’m really concerned about at this moment is getting Leia and my child away from my little pyrotechnic genius as it hurls itself this way, but the guy’s got a pointy stick and there’s not a whole hell of a lot I can do without my blaster. That’s when I realize how much I love my combat-trained, ruthless wife. I’m thinking about what to do to the guy with the pointy stick when she pokes her head and one arm out of the hut, grabs the guy, and rams his head into one of the support beams of the hut she’s hiding in. Then she takes the pointy stick and comes up to me. She must have caught a glance at my creation because her mouth drops a little. “For the first time in your life, tell me this was deliberate and that you have a plan.” I love my combat-trained, ruthless wife when she’s not acting like . . . well, herself . . . about five years ago. “Okay, let’s say that for right now.” And with that, I grab her hand and make an open break for the river on the north end of the village. “No supplies. No direction. No weapons.” Leia glances behind her as I work the oars of the boat we’ve stolen. “You know, if it was anyone but us, I’d be concerned.” “I told you it was our thing.” “Stop saying that. I can’t decide whether that’s a compliment or an insult.” “Compliment. Definitely a compliment.” Why can’t I find that tracking device? It was in my pocket before, wasn’t it? “That must be relative.” She glances my way as I pat my vest. “Han, can I ask you a question?” “I dunno. Are you going to compliment or insult me?” “Seriously.” She looks up at me. “Are you mad that I didn’t want to tell Lando on the ship?” Ah. That. “No. Not really.” Sometimes it’s real hard to lie to her face. “He’ll be real happy. You know that.” “I know. It’s just that Luke and he need to hear it at the same time. It’s not fair otherwise. Luke will be the uncle.” “And Lando’s pretty damn close.” “Han.” Her voice gets real quiet. “You said you weren’t mad.” “Look, you sat on the guy’s ship and lied to him and told him nothing was up. He knows you’re lying.” Yelling at her isn’t going to get me anywhere, and I hate it when she looks like she’s going to start crying. “I’m just excited, that’s all.” Her eyes look kind of red but she smiles big at me. “Excited, huh?” “Knowing you have my baby in there? That’s quite enough to get me excited, Princess. Quite enough.” "With Gilligan, the Skipper, too . . . " KR -----signature----- School ... work ... three dance teams ... The insanity's just a by-product.
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VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 4/6/05 7:50pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	That was SO Han and Leia! Leia’s crouching right next to me. “What?” “Get back, Leia.” She pushes herself closer to the opening into the bush. “What do think it was?” “I dunno. Something not jungley.” “Jungley?” “You know what I mean.” She nods once. “Yep, I know what you mean.” And with that she’s moving past the opening and into the jungle. Again, I just loved that passage. -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
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princess_meg Registered: Jun '04	Date Posted: 4/6/05 7:58pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	Too cute! Looooooooooove the narrative, too!
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Solo_and_Fel Registered: Apr '04	Date Posted: 4/6/05 8:13pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	Pretty humourous stuff you've got here. I too enjoyed the use of the term 'jungley.' I also liked how Han refers to their situation as 'their thing'.' Looking forward to more. -----signature----- "Hurling black lightning is one thing, but quoting Kyp Durron puts me lower than I ever expected to get." To Suffer & Be Strong: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=28435487&brd=10477 Check profile for more fics.
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Solo-Evenstar Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 4/6/05 8:28pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	YES! A new story- I love the perspectives, so Han and Leia.. More soon? (Same goes for Pink Nails- shakes heavy books threateningly) -----signature----- I ship Jaina/Obi-Wan. Yes, Clone Wars Obi-Wan, and Dark Nest Jaina. Yes, it is as weird and complicated as you would think. Master to ScarletSonata
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Solo_Fan Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 4/6/05 8:30pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	Han's protectiveness of Leia was adorable. Leia's frustration with said protectiveness was understandable, knowing Leia's personality. Can't wait to see how Han and Leia get out of their current predicament. -----signature----- Believe it or not, but I like the NJO books. "Han, we had our first kiss in the belly of a space slug. Believe me when I say that my expectations of doing anything remotely romantic with you have never been particularly high." - Leia in "NJO: Refugee"
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Neo-Paladin Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 4/6/05 8:45pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	There's the characters we know and love, to a "T". This is why I read fan fic -----signature----- Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. Edward R. Murrow
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GreatOne Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 4/7/05 5:47am Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	Oh boy! rubs hands excitedly A NEW STORY!! And it is WONDERFULLY WONDERFUL too!
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HerHighness33 Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 4/7/05 1:52pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	Fabulous? Me? Aww, you shouldn't have. I've already replied over yonder, but I'll say it again- I'm LOVING this!! Like I said, I can't wait to see where it goes!! Post soon!
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FelsGoddess Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 4/7/05 8:07pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	That was great! Very Han and Leia. I love it! -----signature----- Knighted by Tahi
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KnightedRogue Registered: Aug '04	Date Posted: 4/8/05 2:57pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	VaderLVR: That was SO Han and Leia! Thank you! That's my goal! Princess Meg: That is sooooooooooooo sweet of you! Thanks! Solo and Fel: Glad you like the humor. I try. Oh, man, do I try . . . Solo Evenstar: No, no! Put the Egypt books away! I'm working, I'm working! And Pink Nails will be updated. I just need to, uh, write it. Hmm. Thanks! Solo Fan: Glad to have you, Solo Fan! Protective!Han seems like a very possible turn for Solo. He's got that sweet part underneath. NeoPaladin: There's the characters we know and love, to a "T". This is why I read fan fic. Thank you very much! Characterization is a big deal with me, both my greatest goal and greatest setback, so I greatly appreciate you commenting on it! Thanks! GreatOne: Yes, yes, a new story. Someday I'll learn to only write one at a time . . . HerHighness33: Fabulous? Me? Aww, you shouldn't have. I think I've written a different adjective at each site. You can be lovely or fabulous or . . . something else, I didn't remember. FelsGoddess: Thank you! I appreciate your comments! Hello, people! Thank you for stopping in and giving compliments. Unlike "Pink Nails" this is already written, so . . . I can post more after the weekend and not lie like I do there. (Those of you who read "Pink Nails" gracias por your patience! It means a great deal!) Thanks again! KR -----signature----- School ... work ... three dance teams ... The insanity's just a by-product.
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KnightedRogue Registered: Aug '04	Date Posted: 4/10/05 1:18pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando, Post 1 of 3, April 6th)
	Part II: Leia. I hate boats. We never had much time to spend out at the lake or ocean when I was growing up. It wasn’t important. When most people need a vacation from life, they go to a sand beach or on a hydrocruise. We went to Coruscant. To listen to the Senate hearings. Needless to say, I’ve never been all that comfortable with the water, and my husband is not helping matters. His overnight traipse through the jungle river that deposited us through three sets of rapids and one small waterfall was the single most trying experience I’ve had in all of three days. Being married to Han Solo assures a constant source of excitement. Who knew he had such an affinity for hydrotransportation? I am happy to say that we’ve finished with the river. We’ve landed our stolen boat at the mouth of the swirling cascade of death and are currently somewhere near our original crash site. Somewhere. That’s the key word there. I don’t know where we are and I really don’t think Han does either. “Leia, do you know where we are?” Obviously not. “We can’t be far from the crash site. We were always near the river on our way up the trail.” “So I'll go and try to find it." The man is dense sometimes. “No, we go to find it. I’m not going to just wait here.” “Leia – “ “Don’t ‘Leia’ me. I’m not helpless, I’m not incapable, and I’m not going to treat your little commandments like they’re law. Do I look like I’m ready to explode?” “No, but – “ “Good, then let’s go.” I’m not being too hard on him, am I? I should be easier, maybe. Most women would be ecstatic if their husband showed half the interest in their pregnancy that Han has in the entire five days that he’s known about it. Who would have known that Han Solo, mercenary turned New Republic general turned husband, would be so excited to have children? Well, me. We’d talked about it quite a bit after we were married. I was unsure that having children was the appropriate step to take, taking my lineage into account and the curse I’d probably wind up putting on any offspring of mine. But Han . . . well, Han had never had a proper childhood. He hit the ground running at such a young age that supporting a young child must seem like a way to make up for it. It’s not for me to take that away from a man that is so genuinely good and deserving of that future. Not that I’d ever tell him that. We fought over the issue for nearly six months. I would never have guessed the ferocity with which Han would argue for children. He’d point out advertisements with fantastically-behaved five year olds or Senator Muleutto’s toddler that I fell in love with at the Descartes annexation party. He’d look at me with that look. Eventually, after many “discussions” with Han and debates with Luke, I gave in. Actually, that’s the wrong way to phrase it. I began to love the idea of children. A baby to hold, to love, to care for. To give me insomnia, to make me worried sick, to watch grow. And I got lucky. Han had never looked so excited when I told him. His expression went beyond the normal bounds of Solo adorableness and into downright delight. That made it final. I’d made the right decision. And even though I know I’ve sold my time, my sleep, my every waking moment to a being that is, at the moment, still living inside me, I feel confident that Han and I, together, can handle it. Or them. See, that’s the part that Han doesn’t know about. I got the original test done last week and, really, it’s just a sneaking suspicion. Nothing with foundation, and probably just a nudge from the Force. I’ve had this nagging, this incessant whisper in the back of my brain that keeps telling me to take it easy, for my babies’ sake. Babies? As in plural? Well, that’s my idea. Or my fantasy. I’m not sure which at this point. He’ll go nuts. He won’t even let me stand up on my own. Better not tell him until they’re actually showing themselves, eh? And, of course, I can’t do it now. Han would go berserk if he knew I was pregnant with more than his one child and trudging through the wilderness of this fantastic deserted world that Lando discovered. I have never wanted to kill a sentient creature more than I want to kill Lando Calrissian right now. “Have you heard from Lando, Han?” He’s fumbling around his pockets, probably looking for that blasted tracking device he keeps fretting over. “I don’t think his comm’s working. I tried him in the village before the – ah, well. Before we left.” For the love of – “What did you do back there, Solo?” “Nothing,” comes the automated reply. The one I hate. He grins sheepishly. “The torches.” “What about them?” “One just . . . fell.” Oh, now, that’s reassuring. “Fell? Like the wind blew it over? Or like you decided to redecorate?” He grins but doesn’t answer. What a surprise. “Of course. Of course it’s raining.” I sigh tiredly. “It’s probably the only week in which any rain falls here. Ten credits its monsoon season and that we’ll both die, swept up into that stupid river of yours, and Lando will be the only one of us to survive.” “You know, your optimism always was the guiding light of the Rebellion. I can really see it lifting my spirits.” He nods his chin towards me. “And I bet you don’t even have ten credits to bet me.” “How much you want to bet?” “Oh, ha, Princess. Real hilarious.” He assesses our current situation as I scurry under a palm leaf big enough to wrap around Jabba a good three or four times. “Let’s stick around here for awhile. I’m not sure you should be out here in this rain.” “And you should?” He grins crookedly as he moves under another huge leaf, probably attempting to dispel some of the anger heading his way. “My wife keeps telling me that I should take more water showers, anyway, so – “ He is absolutely infuriating at times. “The quicker we move, the quicker we at least find the crash site.” Just try to fight me on this, Solo. I’ve got logic on my side and I am in no way afraid to use it. “And what about Lando? We haven’t heard from him in close to twenty-four hours. Does this sound like a good time to hole up because it’s raining?” “I don’t like getting wet, Your Worship.” Scratch that. He is absolutely infuriating all the time. “Deal with it.” I shove the palm leave aside and begin to tramp through the already muddy ground, fully aware that Han is murmuring to himself but hurriedly following me. Let him complain all he wants. He’s the one who claims to like strong women, after all. “Oh, let’s go steal the giant carnivore’s egg while it’s sleeping! What wonderful ideas you have, Sweetheart –” I don’t think I’ve ever run as fast as I have today. Come to think of it, this is also the first time I’ve been chased by a sentient trying to kill me in – Well, months, actually. “Me? My idea? Which reality were you in, Most Amazing Pyromaniac?” “The one where we live!” “I’d really like to be in that one, too, Solo. How exactly will that happen?” I huff out a breath, see it in the biting cold of the rain. “Care to ignite anything?” “Oh, how droll, Your Highnessness – ach!” Before I can react, I’m reaching the same place where Han had apparently slipped, fallen, and begun a long slide down a hidden ravine, foliage and rock whipping past. If we weren’t being chased by – whatever – and if I wasn’t doing the exact same thing, I might have laughed. The mud at least cushioned our ride, straight on our backs, and the roars of the frustrated thing subsided as we careened much faster than our previous jog and left him, her, or it without food. I reach out to the low branches of the smaller trees, but the rainwater has either made their surfaces sticky or instigated the release of some sort of natural oil. It doesn’t really matter all that much. The mud begins to fade, I notice, as smooth stone takes its place and Han and I slow to a halt, the traction a bit stronger here than in our past encounters in the mud. I feel justified in merely lying on my back for awhile, soaking up the still persistent rain and imagining that my back isn’t killing me from the scratches the stones had made. And I find that I don’t really mind the scratches all that much. It could have been worse. It could have been much worse. I could have done some serious damage to our child. “You okay, Leia?” “Yeah.” “My baby okay?” “Yeah.” “Oh, good.” He paused. “That's another rescue for me, Princess. I'm up by at least three now." "If you want to live to see your child born, you better drop the rescue tally, Solo." "Fine." He pauses. "But at the time we dropped our long-time tradition, I was ahead - " I just sighed. KR -----signature----- School ... work ... three dance teams ... The insanity's just a by-product.
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GreatOne Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 4/10/05 1:29pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando) Post 2 up 4/10/05!
	Han really, really likes to push Leia's buttons, doesn't he? This was another fantastic post! Lando is one dead Baron/Gambler the next time Han and Leia see him. Maybe he already knows that, and that's why he's not answering that comlink. Can't wait for part III. I assume that's Lando's view point?
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GreatOne Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 4/10/05 1:30pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando) Post 2 up 4/10/05! - Date Edited: 4/10/05 1:34pm (1 edits total) Edited By: GreatOne
	double post... grrrr
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Laura_Anu Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 4/10/05 6:31pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando) Post 2 up 4/10/05!
	I'm reading this over on the Princess and Scoundrel boards, but I thought I'd check in over here too! Lando's part is going to be hilarious...he's probably found civilization somewhere, and he's sipping a fruity drink with a pink umbrella in it... -----signature----- "It is true that speed kills. In distance running, it kills anyone who does not have it." - Brooks Johnson Currently taking time off from the boards while I get all of my school/track stuff in order
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LadyPadme Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Sep '02	Date Posted: 4/10/05 7:13pm Subject: RE: Three's Company (Han/Leia and Lando) Post 2 up 4/10/05!
	“Oh, good.” He paused. “That's another rescue for me, Princess. I'm up by at least three now." "If you want to live to see your child born, you better drop the rescue tally, Solo." "Fine." He pauses. "But at the time we dropped our long-time tradition, I was ahead - " - How very Han and Leia! This is going to be fun! Great job you've got going, KR -----signature----- Evil Twin of Gabri_Jade When a baby smiles the world is happy
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