"Are you sure you don't mind, Han?" Leia Organa Solo was standing in the entryway of the home she shared with her husband, Han, and their three young children. The seven-year old twins were tugging at their father's pant legs, urging him to hurry up so they could begin their fun trip while their five-year old brother, Anakin, was on his knees in the living room, distracted by one of his toy space ships.

Leia had been more than a little bit overwhelmed lately between work and family, and Han had sensed it and suggested that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if he took the kids away for a couple of days and let her have some time to herself; on the condition that she used the time to rest, not work.

She loved her family dearly, but the thought of having a continuous stretch of peace and quiet sounded, well, heavenly. So Han was going to take the kids and Chewie and visit a nearby planet that had some amusement parks the children would be sure to enjoy.

"Of course I don't mind, sweetheart. You need this. You haven't had any actual time to yourself in ages. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

"Thank you, darling," she said before stretching up to meet him for a goodbye kiss.

"Stop kissing Mom, Dad. Let's go!" Jacen shouted as he pulled on Han's leg. Han smiled at his wife as they parted.

Leia looked down at her children. "You aren't going anywhere until you give me a hug."

Jacen rolled his eyes, only just having discovered that apparently it was embarrassing to be seen showing affection to your mother - or affection of any kind to anyone for any reason, really. Leia got down on one knee as her oldest son reluctantly approached her, his sister, with her brown ponytail swinging behind her following close behind, each getting wrapped in one of their mother's arms. She squeezed them tightly and kissed each of them on the forehead. "You be good for Daddy and uncle Chewie, ok?"

The children nodded as she released them, then she looked over to Anakin who was still completely oblivious to everything that was going on. "Anakin, are you just going to sit there or are you going to give me a hug?"

His blue eyes were on her in an instant and he stood and walked over to her and threw his arms around her neck. "And you, Anakin. You make sure that Daddy behaves himself, ok?"

"Hey!" She heard Han exclaim.

"I'll try," Anakin replied before his mother kissed him on the cheek.

Leia looked up at her husband and gave him a wink.

"All right, guys," Han said. "Time to get going and let Mom have a little break."

The three Solo children stood up and went to where their father was waiting near the door. Leia walked over to Han one last time and got up close to his ear. "I took inventory, you know. You're leaving with three kids and I would like it if you also returned with three; preferably with all of their bones intact."

"What, you think I can't handle it?"

"Oh, I know you can handle it. I also know that these are your children, which makes them apt to get themselves into trouble."

"Hey, you knew what kind of deal you were getting when you married me."

"I sure did," she said before kissing him again. "I love you. Go have fun."

"I love you, too. Get some rest. I'll tire them out as much as I can but I can't promise that they'll be mellowed out when I bring them back."

"Do what you can. Bye."

"Bye!" She heard all of her children exclaim one last time before the door shut behind them.

Three days to herself. It really didn't seem possible. About a month prior Han had come up with this plan to relieve her of her duties and give her an extended weekend of peace and quiet. She was astonished that he hadn't suggested that the two of them go off somewhere together, but even he realized, it seemed, that neither one of them would be able to relax with the children in someone else's care. More importantly, she knew for a fact she wouldn't rest well if she was stuck alone and childless with one insatiable Corellian.

She tried to remember the last time she had such an extended period of time to herself, unable to recall any such instances since the children had been born. When she and Han were first married she would sometimes find herself alone if he was away for a few days on a mission. But there was always plenty of work to attend to, and without the guilt of neglecting her husband, she was able to bury herself in it, staying late at the office and bringing work home to fill the spare time. She suspected she used it as a way to distract herself in his absence so she wouldn't miss him as much.

That was a long time to go without any time to one's self. She had heard that back in the days of the Jedi Order, Force-sensitive children had been taken from their parents during their most formative years. Luke had mentioned it once, but Leia had made it very clear that her Jedi babies were going to be raised by their own parents, and Han had completely agreed. Although it had cost her a few restless nights and a lack of time to herself, she felt it a ridiculously small price to pay to have her children grow up under her supervision. She couldn't imagine missing any more of their lives than she already had to.

So, now what? Han had forbidden her from doing any type of work while they were gone. He had sent instructions to Mon Mothma that Leia was not to be disturbed except in a matter of life and death on a galactic scale. He'd even confiscated her data pad. She had no idea what women did to pass the time without work or children or a husband to worry about. Maybe one night she could handle, but what was she supposed to do with herself for three entire days?

She glanced around at the empty house, very aware of how quiet it was, deciding that if Han wanted her to get some rest, then that's what she'd try to do. He had even gone to the trouble of taking Threepio with him. That surely showed the depth of his love for her.

On particularly hectic days, she'd sometimes fantasize about just lying on the couch in her pajamas with some bad takeout, watching some romantic holodrama that Han would never have wanted to watch with her. Sure, it was a silly, ridiculous fantasy, but being a woman who had had most of her dreams come true in the form of those people who had just walked out the door, there wasn't much left to aspire to.

She changed into a pair of loose pants and an old undershirt of Han's, made the call for some not-so-nutritious dinner to be delivered, and plopped down on the couch. This also afforded her the opportunity to engage in some behavior she wouldn't have allowed of her children: putting her feet up on the table and eating in front of the holoset. Whoa, Leia, slow down. Next thing you know you might start chewing with your mouth open.

A while later, with a full belly and a particularly mushy holodrama to entertain her, she realized just how much she needed this kind of break. Thanks, Han. I just hope those kids don't exhaust you too much!

Sometime later, she awoke with a start, completely unaware of where she was. The flicker of images on the holoset stung her eyes until they adjusted, and she realized that she'd fallen asleep on the couch. This was not such an unusual occurrence. However, under most circumstances, she'd fall asleep on the couch only to wake up later in the arms of her husband in their bed without any recollection of how she'd gotten there. It wasn't too hard to figure out how that had happened.

She had never really appreciated that little mystery as much as she did right then, waking up alone on the couch with a stiff neck from the awkward sleeping angle; a mess of cold, inedible food on the table in front of her and a holoset offering nothing more than a soft glow in the background.

Annoyed, she realized she was actually going to have to walk into the bedroom of her own accord. She never considered the less obvious downside of having Han leave her alone for a few days. Slowly she made her way to the bedroom, making a quick stop in the 'fresher to brush her teeth before crawling under the blankets of the large bed. She glanced briefly at the chrono, out of habit trying to remember what time she had to set her alarm to get her up the next morning.

She realized that there was no reason to set the alarm. She could sleep as long as she wanted. When's the last time that happened? Smiling, she rolled over and snuggled into the pillows. She had a brief moment to miss the fact that Han wasn't there with her, but before she could mull that over, she was sound asleep.

Han had awakened on the Falcon with just enough time to splash some water on his face and head out to make a quick breakfast for the kids before they reached their destination. He knew from experience that children with full bellies were much easier to deal with than those who were hungry. Not feeling the need to get fully dressed yet, he threw on some lounge pants and a t-shirt and stepped out into the corridor, heading for the galley.

He couldn't have had the burner on for two minutes before Anakin appeared in the doorway in his pajamas, his hair sticking out in all directions. "Hey, kiddo. Hungry?"

Anakin wiped at his blue eyes and gave his father a little smile. "Yup," he replied.

"Good, that's what I'm here for. You think we should wake up your brother and sister?"

Anakin shook his head. "Nah."

Han laughed a little, knowing that his youngest really seemed to appreciate what brief moments he ever got one or both of his parents to himself. But, like usual, it didn't last long as two more small bodies made it to the galley.

"Hi, Dad!" Jaina said, judging by the look on Jacen's face maybe a little too loudly.

"Good morning, sweetie. You guys hungry?"

"Sure," Jacen said.

"All right, this'll be ready in a minute. Why don't you go sit at the table and I'll bring it right out." The three children scooted out the door toward the lounge while Han plated their food and brought it out to them, joining them with his own plate. He felt fortunate that none of them ever complained if he was the one doing the cooking rather than their mother. In fact, it was often the other way around.

"So, you guys looking forward to a couple of days without Mom?"

Jacen shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"Come on, show a little more enthusiasm. Mom's not here, you're stuck with Dad and uncle Chewie. You can get away with murder!"

Jaina shot him a skeptical look. "Don't act like you don't like to yell at us when we're in trouble too, Dad."

Han knew she was right. "Ok, but I still usually let you get away with more, right?"

Anakin looked at him. "Maybe a little, I guess."

"Are you and Mom going to have another baby?"

Han nearly choked on his breakfast. "What makes you ask that?"

"I don't know. I guess I think it would be cool to have a little sister."

"Sorry, honey. Mom and I are done having babies."

"How do you decide that?" Jaina asked.

"Yeah, where do babies come from?" Anakin chimed in.

Having just been teasing the kids about not having their mother around, Han suddenly found himself desperate to have Leia there to help with how to handle this question. He certainly couldn't tell them the truth. At least not all of the explicit details. He felt the faintest hint of sweat start to bead up on his forehead. "Maybe we should wait until Mom's around and you can ask her."

"Why?" Anakin asked.

"Um, maybe because I don't know, Mom will have to tell you."

"Yes you do, too know," Jaina said, calling him on his lie.

He hated that they had inherited his skepticism. "Uh, well, I guess usually they come from nights where mommies and daddies drink too much." Please let that be the end of this conversation.

"I thought you said that's why sometimes you have headaches in the morning?" Jacen said. "Is that how you know you're going to have a baby, you get a headache?"

No, but sometimes that's how we know we're not going to make a baby some nights… Han shook his head. He needed to put an end to this line of questioning before he had the kids coming home thinking that babies were born out of whiskey bottles. "No, buddy, that's not how you know. Look, you two remember when Mom was going to have Anakin, right? Remember how her tummy got all big and he grew in there?"

Jaina got in on the questioning. "We know that part, but how did he get in there?"

Han threw down his fork and started rubbing his temples. He could hear Chewie woofing his laughter from the doorway.

"Shut up, Chewie."

"He asked you how you found out, Dad," Jacen said.

Han sometimes forgot that the kids could understand Shyriiwook. And at times like these he wished they didn't. "I found out in all the wrong ways from all the wrong people." Was that ever true. As awkward as it was to try and explain this to his children, he was grateful that at least they were in the position to ask their own father the question rather than finding it all out on the streets. He remembered being told by one of the older kids in Shrike's group that whoever his parents were, they probably thought him to be a horrible mistake and never wanted him in the first place, which was why he was found wandering alone.

"Look, you know Mom and me love each other very much, right?"

"Most of the time, I guess. Cuz sometimes she'll say stuff like, 'Your father is driving me crazy!'" Jaina did her best impersonation of her exasperated mother, and Han noted that the resemblance was a little too close for comfort.

"Hey, just because I drive her crazy sometimes doesn't mean she doesn't love me. You guys are driving me crazy right now and I still love you," he teased.

"Haha, Dad," Jaina said sarcastically.

"Ok, well, sometimes when a mom and a dad love each other so much, it makes a baby. And in your case, two babies at once."

"Does that mean you loved each other more when you had us than when you had Anakin?" Jacen asked, apparently sincerely hoping that was the case.

"No way, kiddo. Your mom and me have loved each other like crazy for a long time, and definitely not less than before. Getting two of you at once was just a bonus."

"So, even though you still love each other a lot, you're not going to have any more babies?"

"No, we got everything we wanted already. We still love each other like crazy, but it only has to make a baby if we want it to." At least I hope that's true. I love these guys, but I don't think I could handle a fourth.

"So you wanted us?" Anakin asked hopefully.

Han wrapped his arm around his youngest son's shoulders and mussed his hair. "Yeah, pal. We wanted you guys more than anything." Damn it, why was Leia never around when he had some of his finest parenting moments?

"I can't believe you wanted another one after Jacen came along," Jaina teased.

"Shut up! If anyone would make them not want another kid it'd be you!" The twins began pushing at each other, the situation escalating quickly.

"Hey, hey, cut it out!" Han said sternly.

Yep, definitely ok with just having three.

Han sat in the cockpit, waiting for the proximity alarm to sound while Chewie played with the kids back in the lounge. He smiled when he saw that he had an incoming call from Leia.

"Hey, sweetheart, how are things? Having fun without us?"

"Fun might not be the best word to describe it, but I'm certainly getting a lot of rest."

"Well, that's good news, anyway."

"How are my little angels?"

"Still intact and no blood loss so far," Han replied.

"Well, that's good to hear. I hope they aren't giving you too much trouble."

"Oh, you mean aside from them deciding that now would be a good time to ask Dad where babies come from? Nope, no trouble at all."

"They didn't!"

"They did."

"Did you explain to them that mostly it was because you tricked me into doing things I didn't want to do?"

"I seem to remember that you didn't take a whole lot of convincing, sweetheart. Instead I told them it was because we love each other so much that sometimes it makes a baby… or two."

"Aw, that's sweet. They bought that load of crap?"

"Damn, I thought you'd find it endearing."

"Of course I do. But I also know that it probably won't take long before they require a much more detailed explanation."

"Well, in a way that explanation is actually pretty true. I just left out all of the other fun details. I'll just make sure you're around when they ask again."

"Yeah? Well I think it's only fair that when the time comes, you can explain it to the boys and I'll explain it to Jaina."

"Oh, fine. I hope it takes a while for them to ask again, because I have a feeling they're going to be pretty grossed out by the whole idea."

"That's ok, so am I," Leia teased.

"That's not your usual reaction, princess."

Leia's expression grew serious. "I miss you, you know."

"Come on, we've only been gone for one night so far. I figured you'd been dying for a few nights to yourself."

"Well, one night was ok, but I don't like being in this big, empty house by myself."

"I miss you, too, honey. We'll be back and causing trouble soon enough."

"You better be. I love you."

"I love you. See you soon."

Han cut the call off and sat back in his pilot's chair, thinking about what it would be like in the future to have to explain to his boys the facts of life. He almost wished that he could be involved in the conversation with Jaina as well, so he could state in no uncertain terms that she should never, ever let any boy do anything like that to her until she was at least… thirty-five. Maybe forty.

You think this is hard, Solo? Just wait until they get older…

He smiled and walked back to savor a little bit more of their childhood.