Twelve Years Later

Despite the on and off pain that gripped her, despite Han's nervousness, despite the whole situation . . . Leia felt surprisingly relaxed. She was controlled. Thinking past her pain, she knew there was nothing to worry about, that everything was running smoothly and she had no reason to fret. The pain was bearable (now that she knew what to expect), Han would relax soon enough (it always took him a while), and she was ready for this (Hadn't they waited long enough?). Leia couldn't complain at all.

Her eyes closed, she took measured breaths, focusing on anything other than the constant pain. With one hand, she caressed her belly, stroking it affectionately. Her other hand was caught in Han's, his strong hold squeezing her hand reassuringly. "You all right?" he asked, his own other hand rubbing her rosy cheek. At first she only nodded, a spike of pain catching her attention. Leia blew out a sigh, reaching out to the Force and almost pulling it to her as she dialed down the pain. She did this to the best of her ability, at least. Too often, it became difficult as the assault of contractions strengthened in intensity and frequency. It was still difficult even though Luke and Master Olin had taught her this trick back for her first labor. She'd complained about the difficulty of it and both, along with Master Kenobi, kept insisting she needed to clear her mind. Although, none of the three men had ever been in labor and given birth before, so Leia supposed that was their problem.

Finally, when Leia was able to, she answered her husband with, "Just fine. Nothing I can't handle."

Han smiled softly at her, moving one hand to join the other in grasping Leia's hand. "I'm so proud of you," he told her and dropped a soft kiss on her knuckles. "You're doing great, Princess. Just a little bit longer until this baby comes." An easy silence settled while Leia braced against another contraction. Her face contorted in such pain and her mouth opened a little and Han knew she wanted to cry out in sympathy with her pain-racked body. Once it finally subsided somewhat, Han relaxed her with another one of his wisecracks, asking his laboring wife, "Do you think eight kids is enough to qualify us as having a huge family?"

Leia's eyes flared at that, but Han knew she was amused and proved him right when she managed a smile for him. "Our last little one," she said, following the remark with a grimace of pain. "Han, we aren't ever doing this again," she reminded him. As she looked at him, her eyes were warning him. Han wanted to laugh. "I mean it this time. Not like last time and I swore we were done. Han, I will make you sleep on the couch if I must. We are stopping at eight."

"I know," Han said with a little laugh. "But this is it. I know it. That little piece we were missing, we found it."

"Yeah, we did," Leia agreed. She closed her eyes again, her grip on Han's hand suddenly tightening. She gave a long moan.

Han held her, comforting her as a contraction ripped through her body. "Almost there," Han told her. "We're getting so close, Princess."

Before the next flash of pain hit her, Leia caught Han's eye, smiling softly, and told him, "This is what we've always wanted. This family, this life. It almost doesn't seem real that we're finally getting it."

"I know what you mean, but I'll assure you . . . We've got it, sweetheart. We've got our family."

Han watched his wife, held her, stroking and caressing her face, offering any comfort he could. After doing this a few times, Leia was handling the labor well, but Han could still tell that their baby was coming soon. Though this may be Number Eight, it still overwhelmed Han thinking about how they were going to have another little one on their hands. And though this may be Number Eight, the excitement hadn't faded. They were already parents, they had children, but this was the critical piece they knew they'd been missing for a while. They loved their kids, but this was what would complete it all. This was the family they'd always wanted.

And they were finally getting it. They finally had their family.

And this is the end. Sort of.

I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed with myself (*cough*Chapter 19*cough*). I do think I like the first one a lot more.

Well, here's the story. When I was trying to write this last scene, I had fifty different ideas for what I wanted it to reveal and how it should be. I finally settled on this scene. Then, I decided to write a bunch of one-shots depicting what happens down the road and revealing more and more. I promise the one-shots are better than Chater 19. I swear.

My question is: are you guys interested in reading those extra one-shots or not? I don't have a defined number of how many there'll be. I've written and published about 30 of them on Wattpad already. And I'm not done. Also, I should warn you that I lost control with the realistic factor I tried to keep and created a new ship (among other things). People loved it, but it happened and that became a huge thing. (And I'm fighting creating another ship!) It's started to take on a story of its own.

Um, I think that's all I have to say, so thanks for reading!