24Hello again, and welcome back to my story! Buckle up, everyone! Here we go!
Chapter 2: Journey
Bright city lights streamed by as Han piloted their water speeder along the canal, alternately accelerating, then darting around the occasional vehicle and under each bridge. Streets, stores, walkways, and the domed buildings of Naboo's colorful capital… all seemed strangely empty and quiet at this time. Even the pubs had closed. In two standard hours or so, Theed would begin to stir, and soon the daily hustle and bustle would begin. But not yet.
With her husband at the helm and the rush of the cool night air, Leia felt a sense of peace. But it was peace with an edge of excitement, and, to be honest with herself, a kernel of anxiety. If their current mission proceeded as planned, in a few hours, she'd give birth to their fourth child. Her physician had presented her with a variety of childbirth options now available via modern medicine, and at the time Leia had marveled that so many advancements had been made in only a few years. The dissolution of the Empire had stimulated creativity and discovery throughout the galaxy. Science was no longer hampered by and medical care no longer rationed by a tyrannical government. These changes were good things for all societies, Leia reminded herself.
Yet her immediate anxiety grew. After the trauma she'd experienced on the Death Star, Leia had avoided medical interventions unless absolutely necessary, a preference that had played a role in her choice to give birth naturally. "What ifs" began to flash through her mind. What if something goes wrong? What if I need surgery? What if…?
"Ya know, you got this. You're the strongest being I know." Han's solid, measured voice grounded her, halting that hyperlane of catastrophic thought and wrapping her in warmth.
Leia drew her eyes from the sparkling water and met her husband's reassuring glance. She nodded her head. "Odds are good," she mused aloud.
"An' even when they're not, you still get it done." He winked, then leaned toward her, a conspiratorial glint in his eyes. "In fact, you do hard things real well. Special talent of yours."
Of course. Leia rolled her eyes, but a grin belied her amusement at his successful attempt to ease her worry.
"Well, it is how we got ourselves in this predicament..." she began, then abruptly stopped.
She knew, even before it started. Acute awareness of her sensations, both within her body and from her surroundings, was an advantage of her Jedi training. Breathe. Leia inhaled deeply, then felt the tightness begin in her back and grow to encompass her abdomen. Gripped by the contraction's increasing intensity, she paused briefly, then exhaled. Count. Every second that passes is soon over. Your present becomes your history. Luke's advice, ironically. Clearly, her brother would never endure the pain of childbirth, yet, from all she had seen, pain management seemed to be a rather important skill for Jedi. Repeating Luke's words and feeling Han's devotion envelop her eased Leia's discomfort. Moreover, she knew from experience that this pain, the pain of bringing new life, would not kill her; she'd certainly survived worse. But kriff, it hurt!
And then her muscles relaxed. It was over. For the moment, anyway.
A burst of acceleration pushed Leia into the back of her seat as Han dodged an errant delivery speeder, then bolted around a sputtering public transport, narrowly missing the permacrete canalside and spraying the walkway above it with water. With her fingers still digging into the armrests, Leia turned to look at her husband. The faint blue dashboard light illuminated a set jaw, straight-ahead stare and brow furrowed in concentration. He tightened his grip on the steering column, then banked hard to the right in a mad dash for a side canal.
Han was sweating blaster bolts; Leia knew he'd do anything to ensure the health and safety of his family. She'd trusted him with her life countless times over the years, and this morning was no exception.
He drives like a fighter pilot because he was one. And then he became so much more, Leia mused silently, trying not to betray her discomfort. Sudden movements combined with spine-tingling speed had always been exciting for her. She'd sought such opportunities even at an early age, delighting when her father would scoop her into his arms, hoist her onto his broad shoulders, then run down a hill to the end of their dock and toss her into the deep clear lake at their summer palace. "I flew, Papa! I flew! Did you see me?" she'd exclaimed upon surfacing.
Her first memory of hyperspace on a pleasure trip to Chandrila had been a revelation in the thrill of speed and the mind-boggling enormity of the universe. Sitting with her mother by a viewport, she had watched the stars, transfixed as they transformed from pinpoints to streaks of light, so enthralled that she'd almost forgotten to breathe.
Leia recalled racing speeders on a long-ago stolen day with Han. "Someone's gotta test these new models. Might as well be us," he'd remarked at the time. That glint in his eyes and mischievous smile had made her body hum in anticipation for the competition as well as the private celebration that would follow. With the wind in her hair and the desert scenery a blur, Leia had been in her element. Usually she loved the rush. But now, not so much.
"Han, I'm OK. I can do this. You don't need to…"
"No doubt about that, Sweetheart," Han glanced her way, then refocused toward their destination. "But I gotta get you to the experts first, an' that contraction came quicker than the last one."
She looked at the chronometer. He's right. This little one is coming soon.
The curved silhouette of the hospital appeared in the dim predawn light as they sped around the next bend and turned onto a thoroughfare.
"Almost there," Han muttered just loudly enough to be heard over the engine.
He picked up his comm. "Calling emerg…"
Leia touched his arm. "Stop. I already did it. Well, Luke did. I reached out to him and he commed the hospital. They're ready for me. Just bring me to the entrance, then dock at number 94."
Han grinned. "Well, that's easy to remember." He pulled back on the throttle, reducing speed upon their approach. "Speaking of Luke an' Mara, think anyone actually slept last night?"
She raised an eyebrow. "With our three kids, and their two? My bet is, No."
A/N: In this AU, I envision Luke's family differently than portrayed in Legends.