Saga In Love and War - ROTJ-AU - H/L, L/V - Completed!

Chapter Seventy-Six

The chill finally woke Leia from her sleep. For a moment, she startled, disoriented, before she realized where she was. She sat up on the sha?ak leather couch in her darkened living room, and stared dazedly out the enormous picture windows behind the couch at the lights of the Coruscanti cityscape below.

She shivered, and then realized that she wasn?t wearing anything. Her hair had dried and now clung haphazardly against her back and shoulders. She reached down and picked up the towel, which had pooled into her lap when she sat up, and then wrapped it around her shoulders. From the chronometer on the wall, she saw it was nearing ten o?clock at night, Standard Time.

And then she realized she was alone.

Han.

The thought cut sharply into her heart. Where was he? Had she just imagined everything that had happened on that couch? Was it some exhaustion-induced dream? No. He had been here. But where the hell was he now? She looked around the apartment, startling again when the autochef beeped. She shook her head, as the thought passed through her mind: That food must be bone dry by now.

Leia uncurled her legs and stood up, wrapping the towel more tightly around herself. She looked around for evidence of Han?s clothes but saw nothing. She padded silently through the apartment glancing briefly at the closed door to Rydor?s room, and the empty ?fresher before she headed into her own room.

Reaching her dresser, Leia quickly shed the towel and pulled on some clothes. She donned a light, silky peignoir and pulled its matching wrapper around her shoulders.

Where was Han?

Damn him! He couldn?t have left, could he? she thought, feeling almost sick with anger. Part of that anger was also directed toward herself, for being so weak-willed where Han was concerned. Within five minutes after he had entered her apartment she had melted in his arms! How could that attraction be so strong, so elemental that it could so easily override the strong-willed discipline of a lifetime? She thought back to that first, fatal kiss they had shared on the Falcon. If she?d only been strong enough to stop him then, if she hadn?t learned how wonderful his kisses and his lovemaking were, perhaps her heart would not be so irredeemably enslaved to him now.

And where was he, now? Where the hell did he go? Every ounce of rage she had felt toward him over the last six months suddenly welled up in her heart, and before she realized it, half the objects on her vanity had been levitated, and were now poised, waiting to be Force-flung at the walls or windows.

Calm, calm, Leia told herself desperately, willing herself to lower the jars of cream and makeup back onto the table. You?re a Jedi. You know better than this. Nothing is worth the Dark Side, not even tanning the hide of that scoundrel, that unbelievable?

The door to Leia?s bedroom slid open and Han entered with Rydor in his arms. A rush of relief went through Leia?s body and she felt her lips curl instinctively into a smile.

?Mama!? the ten month-old exclaimed, as he started squirming in Han?s arms.

?Sweetheart,? Leia smiled in response as she pulled Rydor from Han?s arms, and then looked up into his eyes with a sudden gladness she couldn?t hide. She cradled Rydor in her arms and then crossed her room to sit down on her bed.

?This one needed a diaper change,? Han said, as he headed for Leia?s chaise lounge and settled himself comfortably within its depths.

?I didn?t know you could change a diaper,? Leia remarked.

Han grinned. ?You?ll find I?m a man of many talents.?

?Umm,? Leia murmured as she looked down at Rydor, who giggled back and tugged on a stray lock of her hair.

For nearly an hour after that, Rydor kept his parents occupied with his antics. He was not a shy child, and even though he no longer recognized Han, he was so excited to see Han that he could not fall back asleep. He alternated between the bed where Leia sat and Han?s chaise lounge and delighted both his parents

 

Hey, Hey, I'm awake!!!! LP - very good details on Han's explaination of what was going thought his mind, and why he did what he did. It was good to see Leia rattle him up a bit to with all her questions. With a little love and hope for the future, LP always makes the stories end with a up note.

I hate to see this tread end so soon. It's been a wonderful story to read from beginning to end.

Though, we do have one more post to go . Can't wait for your final post LP!

Netty

 

Wow! Great job! I loved Leia's answer "you better mean it scoundrel!" I loved that! Great post once again! Looking forward (in a sad sort of way) to the last post!

 

awwww!!!!

LOL poor Han and Leia...they've been through so much in this fic!! From Leia training to be a Jedi and giving birth, to Han finding out he had a son only to have him taken away shortly afterwards...paralyzation, emotional distance...LOL it's been such a trip!! Not to say that I haven't enjoyed every minute of it It was a great explanation and a great post!

 

Well, that was, by far, the most emotional post in this entire fiction. Wonderful.

You've certainly put Han through a hell of a lot more than the canon SW Han went through.

Oh, I forgot to mention, regarding two posts ago....Leia slapping Han.....

Harrison Ford's characters seem to have a habit of being slapped. I am reminded of a certain scene from one of the greatest movies of all time...

"So what brings you to Nepal?"

"I need one of the pieces your father collected..."

*SLAP*

"I've learned to hate you in the last ten years!"


Actually, now that I think about it, that was more than a slap. I believe that was a punch. LOL



~Ty

 

Aaaaaawwwwwww!

Excellent post. Just the right amount of groveling.

I'm already getting misty-eyed, thinking about the last post! I'm not ready for this to end! Thank goodness for Convalescence!

Incredible job, LP. Are you going to submit this story to the Archives?

 

Ty,

There's also a scene in the next one of "those" movies. Indy has just been awakened from the Black Sleep. He rescues Willy, and tries to shake her into coherence.

*SLAP*

He does take those rather well, doesn't he?

 

AWWW... thats the nicest post in the whole fic, I mean it! I loved it soo much I read it twice! Amazing job LP, you are the best!

upsies!

DM

 

Awwww!

I need say nothing more!

 

There's very little I could say that hasn't been said already, so I'll try to be brief. Wow. Yay! Does it have to end?

 

Fabulous post, LadyPadme!!!! Nice touch in revealing that Mon Mothma had been to visit Han during his treatment. She can be pretty scary. I'm cool with Han's explanation, and I'm glad that Leia stressed to him that loving him is her choice to make, not his. The last post should be interesting, as you still have not resolved the issue of the Falcon.

 

For the past ten minutes, I've been sitting there, thinking, "Okay, with only one post left, how much havoc can LP wreak? How much evilness can there be in one, last post?"

I'm almost afraid to ask...

Anyhow. I loved this post, LP! Han had some 'splain' to do, and I think he did it quite well! I'm glad he and Leia are on happy terms, but nonetheless, there's still that last post now, isn't there?

As I think Miska said, Han and Leia--and, err, everyone else, of course--have been through so much in this story. So much that I doubt I can recall it all. Lesse. Leia was pregnant, stuck on Dagobah, then she rescued Han, then she almost went all darkside on us; Han got frozen, then there was the whole, "Hey, you have a kid"-fiasco, somewhere in there there was a marriage proposal, then the Death Star mission, followed by temporary paralysis. (I know I'm forgetting countless of other things, heh heh.)

Well, LP, I'm really eager to see how you end this--especially since you mentioned the ending to ILAW is extremely different from that of Convalescence.

Great work, LadyPadme! Can't wait for the finale on Thursday!

 

I loved that post-Looking forward to see how it all ends

 

Mon Mothma!

 

Wonderfull post, LP!

So, Han explains. Poor Han! Things were so hard for him and he missed Leia and his son so much! But it was all his fault!
The twisted man's reason.
JediArwen sighs.
Why, when it comes to such things men have the feeling that they know better and they can decide for us? I know , man's pride.
JediArwen sighs again.

Well that bi... Mon Mothma helped a lot.
I know it's just one more post , but I hope Leia would tell her some truths.

 

?In that case, can you answer a question for me?? Han asked, looking uncharacteristically serious.

Leia looked up and fear flared in her eyes, ?What??

?What the hell is that beeping that happens every five minutes out there??

*giggles* Wonderful post, Jieh. Nice to see Leia read Han the riot act -- but then, Han's side makes more sense than I'd anticipated, too. Here, have some of my baklava.

 

First, I will attempt to extract my foot from my mouth on the Dr. Acktan business. [face_embarrassed] Sorry about that! Maybe it was ME that was just being quirky.

Loved this last post. I couldn't believe it when Leia initially turned him down again. Heck, I'm a confirmed Luke addict, but I would've said yes after that heart-rendering confession of Han's.

Can't wait for the last post.

 

That was a supercalifragilisticexbealadoeshouis post LadyPadme!!!!! *thinks-- does GreatOne know Han or what?????

 

grudgingly admits..

ok that was a decent explanation..

i suppose...



can't wait for the last post!

 

Oh, LP, I think I'm just going to have to go away more often. 'Cause then when I come back, I have multiple updates, and it's wonderful. Especially when I've finally gotten it drilled into everyone's mind that they are not to speak to me when your writing is involved because I don't give a flying fig while I am reading.

YAY! HAN IS BETTER! AND HE CAME BACK TO LEIA! YAY!

And while I realize that, hey, this is LP, it could change in the blink of an eye- I'm happy now!

Wrap things up by the end of the week?!? *bites nails* Ahhh, what will I do without this?

*bangs head against wall* STOP! ANALYZING! LEIA!

(Han's proposing for the ninetieth time. Leia's refusing. Again. I'm gonna kill her)

SHE ACCEPTED! *cues up 'Ode to Joy'*

*hugs fic* I don't know what I'm gonna do without you...

 

Will you marry me, Leia?

::J_Girl jumps ecstatically into his arms:: Yes! YES! YES! A thousand times, YES! I will marry you, Han. I've loved you ever since I can remember. I'll even get the Falcon back for- :: completely deflated:: Oh, wait... you said Leia. ::sighs:: Well, that's good, too. I guess.

I was already right there with Leia as soon as I saw the title. I was thinking: Yeah, you tell him, Princess! Explain, Flyboy! And sure enough, the scene lived up to my expectations. I'm glad she didn't let him get away with it easily, it just wouldn't be like her- just as you had Han say. Hee hee, even then I noticed she never actually said 'yes,' but I did like her answer.

I'll be sorry to see this fic end, but I guess that just means more of your other stories from you and your hardworking muse.

J_Girl

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh... LP, you almost had me.
I almost thought Leia was going to say no again!!!!!! Heheh.
Damn that Mon Mothma... although I'm not surprised. You always have her do things like that, and it is consistent with how she's written in the EU.
How come people who write AUs never make her a good guy?
*cries*
I can't believe there's only one more post... *sniff sniff*

 

Goodness, reading those two LOOOONG posts back to back took a bit of time LP. And they were worth every second.

SO MUCH HAN AND LEIA FIGHTING/MUSH!!!!

AND THEY ARE ENGAGED!!!

:::is an extremely happy shipper:::

Where is that moving font when you need it?

And i love the way you took the important parts from all the crappy EU books and spent like 2 secs on each subject. Very fun!

Thrusday will be here before you know it. I myself cant wait.

::Windstar Out::

 

that's right, Han - you're both fools. Each assuming something of the other instead of hashing it out. I can't believe she almost rejected him again. Bad Leia.

*sigh* Story is almost over.

 

OH Jieh! It's LOVELY! I mean...awwwwwww!!!

Even *I* couldn't say no to that! Leia, you're a lucky girl!

(Almost as lucky as a redhead I know, but I won't go into that!)

Lovely, lovely post, Jieh. Finally a happy family is going to come out of all this. And Rydor gets his daddy, and ol' Isolder can just go sit on it! Yay!!!