Chapter 27

A Wonderful Thing

Professor Robinson called the family meeting to order. Enough time had passed for both Han and Don to heal, thankfully with no scars, and John decided that it was time to make a decision. Would they be staying with the New Republic for the foreseeable future, or continue on their way to try and find Alpha Centauri? Will and Penny were rowdier than usual and Maureen was talking to Judy, both with broad smiles on their faces when they entered. Don had yet to join them, and the professor hoped that he wasn't ignoring his invitation. He surveyed his family and realized that he had never seen them so happy. He hoped that they would be just as content at the end of their discussion.

He tapped his pen against the table to get their attention… no response. He crossed his arms and shook his head. What happened to the days when a father would speak the children would jump? He tapped his pen again and stated, "Everybody quiet down! We have important things to discuss today!"

The noise level diminished and John stood for a moment before continuing. He was about to open his mouth to speak when the door was flung open and Don hobbled inside on his crutches. His left leg had healed quickly, but he wouldn't be able to put weight on the right leg for a while longer yet. He found his way to a seat beside Judy and mumbled, "Sorry, professor, I had an errand to run."

John nodded. "All right. Now, may we begin?" He waited for Don to settle into his chair. "We have been welcomed into this society with open arms. We've all found our niche and made lasting friendships. In short, we've found a home. If we were to stay here, our mission to find and colonize Alpha Prime would be a failure." He paused. "We need to decide if we're going to stay or continue on our journey. Does anyone have anything to say before we take a vote?"

Penny was the first to blurt out an opinion. "I like it here. I have a life here and I want to keep it."

Maureen looked at Don and Judy and realized just how quickly her youngest children would also become adults. She couldn't ask them to possibly sacrifice a future for the sake of finding a distant planet that may or may not support life. She knew how she would vote, but she remained quiet. The Jupiter project had been John's and Judy's dream, not hers.

Don spoke up next. "Professor, I was a latecomer to the mission. I know the goal was to colonize Alpha Prime because it was theorized that it was similar to earth. If the goal was only to reach Alpha Prime, then we've failed and there's no guarantee that we will ever be successful. But… if the goal was to colonize a planet comparable to earth to save our species, then I would say that we've reached it."

John considered that thought. "Major, you have a valid point, but the Space Corps is expecting us on Alpha Prime. How do we let them know about this galaxy?"

"I'd say that it just might be easier to retrace our steps and find earth than it would be to keep going blindly into space where no man has gone before in search of something that may or may not be viable for us."

"Any other thoughts?"

No one had anything else to add.

"All right. Those in favor of continuing our journey, raise your hand." Professor Robinson was the only one to respond. "Those in favor of remaining with the New Republic?" Maureen, Don and Penny raised their hands.

"Judy? Will? You haven't voted."

"I'm not sure what I want," Will responded. "I like the adventure of not knowing what's going to come up next, but I like it here too," he responded.

"Judy?"

"May I have more time to think about it, Dad? I love it here, but I spent a long time preparing for our mission. Can we take a second vote tomorrow?"

John nodded.

"Hey, Dad, what about Dr. Smith?" Will asked.

"He's decided to stay here, even after his community service is done. I guess he's found a place where he can be the chief. Not only that, he knows that if he returned to Earth, he'd be prosecuted for sabotage."

Judy summoned Don before leaving. "We have to meet Lando and the others in forty-five minutes".

"You go ahead. I want to talk with your dad a little longer," Don stated.

After rolling her eyes, Judy said, "Don't be late."

"Don't worry, I'll be on time," Don replied. He watched her leave and turned to John Robinson. Maureen had also stayed behind, curious about what Don wanted to speak to John about.

"I'm not going to change my vote, Don," John stated.

"To be honest with you, professor, I'll go along with whatever Judy wants. If she wants to continue, then I'll be there with her. I wanted to talk with you about something else." He cleared his throat and took a lovely ring from his pocket.

"Was that your errand?" Maureen asked.

Don nodded. "It's a piece of celestite crystal."

"Judy told me about that crystal."

Don smiled. "I had it made into a ring for Judy because I want to ask her to marry me tonight. Do I have your blessings?"

"You know you have mine," John replied as he shook his hand.

"Just be good to her, Major," Maureen added.

"Thank you." He hugged his future mother-in-law and beamed. He hadn't doubted that they would be supportive, but he felt a little bit better knowing that they were behind him.

The Lady Luck was always party ready for Lando lived by the code, 'eat, drink and be merry… every possible moment.' He had promised himself that he would celebrate the success of the bacta mission with his friends even if he had to bribe them to come to the party. His only disappointment was that Talon Kaarde and his employees, particularly an unnamed red headed woman, did not accept his invitation.

Leia had to practically twist Luke's arm to come along and she arrived with Han on one arm and Luke on the other. Lando was surprised to see Han in something other than his spacer outfit. Instead of the usual white shirt, he wore a black shirt and denim blue jeans that John had given him after Han had admired them. Jeans were unheard of in this part of the galaxy.

"Han, my man, you look pretty good after all that time you spent in the bacta tank. And you of all people making a fashion statement! But, uh, aren't those pants a bit tight?" he asked as he handed him and Leia a sparkling blue drink.

Han grinned. "Leia likes them that way."

Speaking of Leia, Lando had rarely seen her out of uniform, so to speak. She was a sight to behold in a red, thin strapped camisole and matching pants. Lando took Leia's hand and kissed it saying, "You look especially lovely tonight, Leia. You must wear your hair down more often."

Don needed no encouragement for a party, but he had to convince Judy to dress up for the occasion. They arrived side by side, and they were a handsome couple. She was a vision in a strapless blue pantsuit, and Don complemented her well in his loose fitting navy blue shirt but there was an undeniable tension between them. Lando greeted Judy in the same manner as he had Leia. 'Two gorgeous women on my ship, and both of them spoken for,' Lando thought. That was a rare event on the Lady Luck.

"Where's Chewie?" Don asked as he sat and placed his crutches on the floor behind him.

"Took the Falcon back to see his family," Han replied. "Now that we have the bacta, thanks to this small group, we'll be stepping up the military campaigns, and I convinced him to visit during the lull. He might not get another chance for quite awhile."

"The Rogues want to go after Delvardus. We'll chase him into the Core if we have to," Luke said. "The Rogues would love to have you join us when you're ready, Don."

"There's nothing I'd like better, Luke, but, uh, it depends on what the family does," he replied.

Leia looked up from her drink. "They're not thinking of leaving, are they?"

"My father still wants to try and find Alpha Centaury. We took a vote today," Judy explained.

"And?"

"And my mother, Penny and Don want to stay."

"What about you?" Lando asked.

"I don't know. It's been our dream to colonize Alpha Prime and save the earth for years," she replied.

"You mean your father's dream," Don stated.

Judy crossed her arms. "Are you saying that I don't have a mind of my own?"

"No, I'm saying that you've been followin' your father for so long, you haven't stopped to think about what you really want."

"Is this your pitch to convince me to vote for what you want?"

Don squirmed. "No!"

Leia and Han exchanged glances. Something was up with these two. Could it be that Judy was afraid Don would stay here without her?

Luke tried to play peacemaker. "Judy, I'm sure that's not what he meant."

Judy stood. "How do you know what he meant? Is the Force talking to you again?"

Lando held his hands up to placate everyone. "All right, now, that's enough. We're supposed to be relaxing. Here have a cocktail."

Don waved it away, "I'm on meds," but Judy took it and gulped it down. "Judy, slow down." Don warned.

"Don't tell me what to do, Don." She took another drink and held it, wanting to down it, but didn't, knowing she'd be on the floor if she did.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Don asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," she spit out through gritted teeth. "Excuse me." She put her drink down and strode out to the deck.

"Will somebody please tell me what I did wrong because I have no idea," Don stated.

"Because you told her what to do?" Luke suggested.

"That's not it, Luke. Men always tell women what to do," Leia responded.

"What do you mean, always?" Han asked.

"Come on, Han, like when you had a 'vision' of me being pregnant?" She turned her attention to Don. "You insulted her when you accused her of not knowing what she wanted," Leia answered.

"Now, wait a minute," Han stated. "All he did was tell her the truth."

"The truth!" Leia was indignant now. "Oh, please! A man wouldn't know the truth if it bit him in the…"

"Go on!" Han crossed his arms. "Bit him in the what, Leia. I want to know."

Leia stood. "Bit him in the organ he thinks with, and I don't mean the brain!" She stomped out of the room and followed Judy onto the deck.

Han stared after her. He stood to pour himself another drink and gestured towards Luke. "Do yourself a favor, kid. Don't get involved with a woman."

Lando knew more about men and women than the whole group of them put together. Ah, these two men had it bad.

"Good advice," Don muttered. He reached for his crutches, "I better go out to her."

"Not just yet. Let them stew for awhile," Lando suggested. He mixed a drink for Don and handed it to him. "Non-alcoholic. Change is in the air, my friend."

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"Let's take Han and Leia as an example," Lando said.

"Let's not," Han warned.

"What was that vision of pregnancy all about?"

"None of your business."

"Okay, let me guess. You've reached a turning point in your relationship. It's moved from the first level of infatuation to a state of more permanency."

Han rolled his eyes, "All right, genius. What has that got to do with Don and Judy?"

Lando stared at Don. "What has that got to do with you?"

"I was gonna ask Judy to marry me tonight," Don mumbled.

"Ah-ha! And did anyone else know about this?" Lando asked.

"Leia. I asked her about having a ring made for Judy," Don replied.

"Gentlemen, I rest my case," Lando stated.

The stones glittered in the lights of the deck. They seemed to glow with life. Judy was searching for the light blue celestite crystal, since she had misplaced the one Lando had given her. Quick footsteps exited the main hangar to the deck and Judy looked up to see Leia striding towards her.

"Men!" Leia said. "They think they know us better than we know ourselves."

"Like Don telling me that I don't know what I want."

"Or Han telling me that we should have children."

"Children?"

"Can you believe that?"

"Oh, Leia, that's beautiful."

Leia stared at Judy. It was beautiful, wasn't it? Han, a man who had lived his life only for himself wanted to marry her and have… children. "I guess it is, isn't it?"

Judy hugged her.

"But, I'm not ready, Judy. I can't commit just yet, but when I do, it will be with Han. What about you and Don?" Leia asked.

"Do you know that he didn't even consult me before we voted today? I thought he'd at least say, 'Let me talk to Judy first', but, no! He just plowed on ahead, oblivious to what I wanted."

"What do you want?"

"I don't know!" Judy shook her head, "No, that's not true. I know I want to stay with him, wherever we are."

"They're probably getting cold out there," Lando stated. He handed Han his grey cloak. "Go out there and throw this over Leia's shoulders and apologize to her."

"Apologize for what?"

"For anything and everything that you've ever done wrong to her."

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"Clueless. You are absolutely clueless about women. It doesn't matter if you did anything wrong, just apologize or you'll be sleeping in different beds tonight!"

Han took the cloak. "I see your point."

Don grabbed his crutches and placed them under his armpits. "Have another cloak?"

"For you, I have something better." He gave Don a black leather jacket.

"Hey, it's my jacket! I thought I'd lost it to Delvardus."

"I found it in the hall when I taking you out. Couldn't just leave it there."

"Thanks, Lando. I love this jacket."

"Go to your women. Luke and I have a dinner to put together."

The men made their way out to the deck. They found the women in the crystal garden, searching for light blue stones.

"Leia?"

"Han?"

"Here," he placed the cloak over her shoulders. "Leia, I'm sorry. I'm a nerfherder."

"Yes, you are," she replied, "and I love you."

He bent over her and kissed her sweetly and led her to a conform couch on the other side of the deck.

Judy stood and stared at Don. She wasn't quite ready to forgive him.

"Judy, put this on," he said.

"Your jacket! I thought it was lost."

"Lando found it. Were you, uh, looking for something?"

"Another celestite. I can't find the one I had."

"Maybe I can help. Come with me."

He led her to the meditation pool and sat on a bench. She sat beside him. He reached into his pocket, "I know where your celestite is," and pulled out the ring. He held it up so she could see it sparkle in the lights. "Judy, I'd get down on my knee if I could, but, uh," he took her hand. "I love you. I want to be with you. I want to stay with you. Will…" He stared into her eyes for a moment longer and then said, "Will you marry me?"

"Are you sure?"

He sighed, "Yes, I'm sure."

"Even if I want to go onto Alpha Prime?"

"If that's what you want to do, then I'm with you… that's… if you still want me."

"I want you," she whispered.

"So?" He stared into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, I will."

He took her hand and slipped the ring onto her fourth finger and kissed her once, twice, three times.

Lando and Luke strolled out to the deck to call the couples to dinner. Passing the couch, they found two figures under a cloak. Han and Leia were unaware of anything around them, so they continued through the crystal garden to the meditation pool. Two more figures were wrapped in each others arms.

Luke shook his head. "Lando, didn't I just get advice from these guys to not get involved?" Luke asked.

"That's one of the wonders of being a man, Luke. We don't always think with our brains… and sometimes that's a wonderful thing."

The End