Jon was woken up by the feeling of someone shaking his shoulder. Then he heard a voice. It was Leia.
"Jon! Jon! Wake up!" Jon opened his eyes to find his mother looking at him. He couldn't tell for sure, but she seemed worried. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"What is it, Mom?" he asked sleepily.
"We need to get down to the med-center," said Leia.
"Why?" asked Jon. "It's not morning yet. Right?"
"Right," Leia agreed. "It's the middle of the night. But Doctor Edoc just commed me. And there have been some...complications...with your father." That got Leia Jon's full attention.
"Complications?" Jon repeated in confusion. "What do you mean by that? Mom, what's going on?"
"According to Doctor Edoc, your father was having a nightmare," said Leia. "He kept yelling and thrashing in his sleep."
Just like back in Jabba's dungeon, thought Jon.
"A med-droid gave him a sedative to calm him down...but he ended up having an allergic reaction, which caused him to go into shock," Leia continued "The last thing Dr. Edoc told me before I went to wake you up was that Dad had stopped breathing." Jon, himself, couldn't breathe for a moment after getting this information.
"I can tell you that Doctor Edoc and his team are working very hard to stabilize your father," said Leia. "And that's why we need to get down to down to the med-center right now."
"Mom, in case you haven't noticed, I'm still in my pajamas," said Jon.
"Well, so am I ," Leia pointed out. That's when Jon noticed that his mother was wearing a black nightgown under her white jacket. "Just get on your jacket and your shoes, and let's go!" she snapped impatiently. Jon quickly put on his shoes and jacket. Then he followed Leia out of the Falcon. Chewie and Lando waited for them in the hangar. The man and the Wookiee looked as tired and confused as Jon was.
"Follow me," said Leia. She led her son and friends out of the hangar. They all practically sped through the cruisers corridors to the return to the med-center. Jon's heart was pounding, and he knew it wasn't just from all the running he was doing. Something had happened to his father. An allergic reaction to a sedative is what Jon had been told. But what kind of state would Han be in now? Was he dead? No. Jon couldn't let himself think like that. He pushed the thought out of his mind. They had made it to the med-center. Once again, Dr. Edoc met them. But instead of his friendly smiles from earlier, he now looked very concerned.
"What happened, exactly?" asked Jon. "Is my dad gonna be ok, Dr. Edoc?"
"Well, he's breathing again," Dr. Edoc explained. "But he's still in shock, and hasn't shown signs of regaining consciousness. That means things are still very uncertain now."
"I wanna see him," said Jon.
"Very well, then," said Dr. Edoc. He led Jon, Leia, Chewie and Lando around a corner to Han's room. Han was lying in the bed, unconscious.
That's when it happened. The beeping of the monitors, which up until then had been steady and barely noticeable, became much quicker and louder. The lines displaying Han's vitals on them began to dip as well.
"Oh, no!" Jon gasped "Does that mean what I think it does?!" This was an indication that Han had just taken a turn for the worst.
"His heart rate is dropping, and his blood pressure's bottoming out," Dr. Edoc said in alarm. "It looks like his brainwaves are slowing down, too." Both med droids and human medics rushed into the room. And not a moment too soon, for that's when things got even worse. The line indicating Han's heartbeat went flat, followed by the other lines on all the monitors. Han had gone into cardiac arrest. The noise of a loud alarm filled the med center. Jon felt very numb. He was barely even aware that the med staff had begun CPR on his father. People were speaking in rushed tones, but it was like Jon couldn't even hear them. A crash cart with a defibrillator was wheeled in. It charged up.
"CLEAR!" Dr. Edoc shouted as he pressed the device into Han's chest. Despite what Jon had hoped would happen, the monitor still showed a flat-line, with Han remaining deathly still. Dr. Edoc repeated the process, with the same result. But this time, the alarm was replaced by a long, loud tone.
"DADDY! NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jon screamed. He couldn't understand why he was currently referring to his father as "Daddy," because it was something he hadn't done since he was a small boy. Perhaps this was his way of coping with the fear he was feeling at the moment.
"Wake up, Daddy!" Jon pleaded tearfully. "Wake up! Please!"
"Get the kid outta here!" Dr. Edoc ordered. Chewie picked Jon up and slung him over his shoulder. The boy protested by pounding on the Wookiee's back.
"Let me go, Chewie!" Jon objected. "Put me down! I wanna stay with Daddy! "
*Calm down, Jon!* Chewie roared, hauling the boy out of Han's room.
"Come back, Daddy!" Jon yelled from his place atop Chewie's shoulder. He continued to struggle and protest as the Wookiee brought him back into the waiting room.
"Lando, you'd better go with them," said Leia.
"Yes, of course," said Lando. "But what are you gonna do, Leia?"
"Someone has to stay and watch over Han," Leia answered. "To make sure he's going to be all right." But the way her voice trembled as she spoke indicated she didn't know if Han really would be ok.
"I understand," said Lando. He glanced over at Han before leaving the room. Once the others had left, Leia was able to fully focus on Han. She saw how hard everyone was working to save his life. But would it be enough?
Out in the med-center's waiting room, Jon, Chewie and Lando were joined by C-3PO, Kes Dameron, Shara Bey and Norra Wexley. Kes and Shara were good friends of Jon's. While he'd seen Norra in passing on several occasions, he didn't really know her all that well. So, it was a little surprising to see her in the med-center right now. But Norra was treating Jon kindly enough.
"Thank you all for coming," Jon said, his voice hitching as he tried to hold back tears. "I really appreciate it, even though it's so late, and the rest of you were probably sleeping. To be honest, I should be doing the same. But then the...thing...with my dad happened. And none of you even really know him."
"It's true that none of us personally know Han Solo," said Kes. "But you always speak so highly of your father, Jon. Besides, his exploits are so legendary. I mean, he made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. And he helped Luke destroy the Death Star."
"But more than all of that, Han Solo is my father," said Jon. "I'm so scared about what might happen now. I don't wanna loose him again."
"There, there, Jon," Shara soothed. She wrapped him up in a hug.
"Your dad's a tough guy, from what I've heard," Kes added, patting Jon on the shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
"I'm trying really hard to believe that, Kes," Jon said with a sniffle. "But that sound...when Dad...flat-lined...I-I've never heard anything so horrible in my entire life."
"Hey, it's gonna be ok. We're here all here for you, Jon," Norra Wexley said, surprising Jon. This was the first time she'd spoken since coming into the waiting room. Jon looked at Norra. And she was reminded of her own son, Temmin, who was back on their homeworld of Akiva. She hadn't seen him in three years, after her husband, and Temmin's father, Brentin, had been arrested by Stormtroopers for aiding the Rebellion. By now, Temmin must have been around the same age as Jon. And Han's son reminded Norra of Temmin in many ways. Both young men were technical geniuses. Jon and Temmin would surely become fast friends if they ever got a chance to meet.
Wedge Antilles showed up just then. Jon was happy to see him. In fact, he cracked a smile for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
"I'm sorry if I'm late," said Wedge. "So, what's going on with Han?"
"No worries, Wedge," Jon said, forcing himself to sound as calm as possible. "Better late than never, right? And as for Dad...it's complicated. He...he went into cardiac arrest. The doctors are doing everything to revive him. But this is so scary."
"Stay strong, Jon," said Wedge. "It's the best any of us can do right now."
"I guess you're right, Wedge," Jon said with a sigh. "Anyway, I'm really glad you're here. At times like this, us Corellians have got to stick together."
"That's a funny phrase to be coming out the mouth of an ekster boy." Jon's blood ran cold. General Madine sauntered into the waiting room. The only bright side was that Mon Mothma wasn't with him.
"What do you want, General?" asked Jon. Even though he was really angry, he still remembered to address Madine by his proper title of "General."
"I just came to find out about Captain Solo's condition," said Madine. "So, how is he?"
*My cub's cub has a sick father to worry about!* Chewie roared in Madine's face. *He doesn't need a jackass like you making everything worse!*
"Stand down, Wook," Madine threatened. Chewie growled low and menacingly.
"Easy, Chewie," Jon placated. He stepped in between the Wookiee and Madine. "General, you'd better go."
"Fine," Madine sneered. "I'll go." He turned around, and exited the med-center.
"Min min vil ut valle Nharquis!" Jon shouted after Madine.
"That was Corellian, right?" asked Norra. "Well, what did you just say, Jon?"
"I will eat your ashes!" Jon, Wedge and 3-PO translated in unison. It was times like this where Jon was really thankful for 3-PO's programming of being fluent in over six million forms of communication.
"Did you pick that phrase up from your father?" asked Lando.
"What do you think, Lando?" Jon asked in reply. At the indirect reference to Han, Jon was reminded of the current situation. And he felt grief and despair fill him once again.
"Chewie, I can't believe that jerk Madine called you the "W" word," said Jon. "And I'm sorry." "Wook" was a shortened form of the word "Wookiee." But to members of the species, like Chewie, it was a highly offensive term.
"And you said Daddy was sick," Jon continued, again calling his father by the term of "Daddy." "Well, that's been true since he was freed from the Carbonite. But is Daddy gonna die?"
*I certainly hope not,* said Chewie. *Perhaps you should try to get some more sleep, Jon.*
"I don't wanna go back to the Falcon," Jon pouted.
*You don't have to,* said Chewie. *We can stay right here.* Jon lay down across one of the waiting room's benches. Chewie used Jon's jacket and his own satchel as a makeshift blanket and pillow for the boy.
*Sleep well, little one,* Chewie murmured softly as Jon drifted off to sleep.
Back inside Han's room, further efforts to resuscitate him were proving futile. Dr. Edoc had used the defibrillator two more times after Jon, Chewie and Lando had gone out into the waiting room. Leia lost count of how many chest compressions had been performed on Han in an effort to restart his heart. He'd been given oxygen. The med-staff ran a bunch of new I.V.'s on Han. None of it was working. Han hadn't shown any signs of improvement.
"I think we have to call it," Dr. Edoc said regretfully. "Time?"
"03:17," the med-droid said stiffly.
"That's it," Dr. Edoc said stiffly. "Han Solo was declared dead at 3:17 in the morning." He walked over to Leia, placing both his hands on both of her shoulders.
"We did everything," he told her honestly. "But we couldn't save him. I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Doctor Edoc," Leia said, speaking in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. Han was dead. And he had left her way too soon. Leia felt a kind of emptiness similar to how she'd felt when Alderaan was destroyed. Just like four years ago, Leia would now need to rally all her strength. And not just for herself, but everyone else, too. Luke, Chewie, Lando and, most of all, Jon. What Leia had told Han during the flight from Tattooine was true. She was Jon's mother, he was her son. And right now, Leia was faced with a task that no mother ever wanted to do: Telling her son that his father was dead.
"I'd better go tell the others," Leia said in a shaky voice.
"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Dr. Edoc.
"I suppose so," replied Leia. She and Dr. Edoc walked out into the waiting room. Lando, Wedge, Kes, Shara and Norra all stood. Chewie remained seated on a bench, watching over Jon, who was sleeping. Leia looked at her son. In his sleep, Jon looked younger than fourteen. Younger even than the ten-year-old Leia had met on the Death Star four years earlier. For a moment, Leia swore she could clearly see Jon as a very small boy, maybe around two, three, four or five-years-old. Of course, Leia hadn't known Jon at these ages. She'd only ever just seen holo's of Jon's life from infancy to age ten. Then the moment passed, and the boy was fourteen once again. Leia knelt down at his side.
"Hey, Jon," she whispered, nudging his shoulder. "It's time to wake up now."
"Hi, Mom," Jon said as he opened his eyes and sat up with a yawn. "Um, where's Dad? Is he ok?"
"That's what Doctor Edoc and I wanted to to talk to you about," said Leia. "Actually, I want all of you to listen up. Han...didn't make it..."
Everyone in the room gasped. Then there was silence for a moment. Afterwards, people murmured and whispered among themselves. Jon, though, sank back down on the bench and cried. His worst fear had been realized. Technically speaking, the Carbonite had killed his father. All the adults in the room hugged Jon and gave him their condolences. Even C-3PO, a protocol droid, expressed sorrow over loosing Han.
"If you want, I can let each of you go in one at a time to pay your last respects to Captain Solo," said Dr. Edoc.
*Great idea, Doc,* Chewie rumbled. *Jon, you go first.*
"Me? But why?" asked Jon. "Chewie, if anyone should say goodbye to Dad first, it's you. I mean, you were literally his oldest friend. Plus, you had that whole life-debt thing with him. Well, I guess that's over now, since he's...dead."
*Your father may be gone, but the life-debt doesn't have to end because of that,* said Chewie. *It now gets passed down to you, and Leia, Luke and Lando. Jon, when your father first saved me and introduced me to you, he made me promise that if anything bad should happen to him while you were still young, I was to raise you. Come to think of it, I suppose I'd been doing that during the time your father was frozen in Carbonite. But because of what just happened now, I fully intend to keep that promise.*
"Thanks, Uncle Chewie," said Jon. He now turned towards Leia. "And, Mom...you loved my dad. Also, could you adopt me? Like, legally? Officially? Because I think that's what Dad would have wanted. Well, I really want that."
"I'd be honored to adopt you, Jon," said Leia. "Nothing would make me happier or more proud. And yes, I know I loved your father. But a bond between a father and a son, especially the one you and Han had, is such a powerful thing. You deserve to spend one last moment with him."
"How do we tell Luke?" asked Jon. "When he gets back and finds out Dad died, he's gonna be devastated. Hey, Lando, you must really want to pay your last respects to Dad, too, huh?" Lando nodded quietly. "Kes, Shara, Norra, you three never even got an actual chance to meet my dad."
"Yes, that's true," Shara agreed. "But Kes, Norra and I all feel it's only right we honor him in death." Kes and Norra didn't say anything, but Jon could tell they shared Shara's sentiment.
"Ok, I'll go first," Jon decided. "And I'll try not to take too long." Jon left the others behind, and went to say his final farewell to his father.
End of Chapter 9.
Author's Notes:
1.) I told you this chapter would have a shocking twist.
2.) The picture I used to stand in for Han is of Harrison Ford from the 1991 movie Regarding Henry. It's similar to how I used a gif of Harrison from the 1999 movie Random Hearts during the recovery chapter of The Empire Strikes Back. I've never seen Random Hearts. But I have seen Regarding Henry. And that is one of my favorite Harrison Ford movies besides Star Wars and Indiana Jones. In it, Harrison plays a lawyer named Henry Turner, who loses his memory after getting shot in the head and chest. (That's why he has stitches on his forehead and a bandage on his chest in the picture.) It's a really great movie, that I recommend all of you see at least once, if you can. Directed by the late Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Working Girl) the script for Regarding Henry was written by JJ Abrams, who is credited by his real first name, Jeffery. (The other "J" stands for Jacob.) No, Henry does NOT die, ironically.
3.) Kes Damron and Shara Bey have finally made their first official appearances in this book. If you're wondering about Norra Wexley, she's NOT another OC I created. Canonically, she is the mother of Snap Wexley, the pilot in The Force Awakens who famously said "Watch out for ground fire!" (Temmin is Snap's real name.) I didn't originally plan to add Norra Wexley to this book, hence why her name isn't mentioned in the cast list. But I recently read the book Star Wars: Aftermath, by Chuck Wendig, and I really liked Norra's character. (I haven't read Life Debt or Empire's End, the other two books in the Aftermath trilogy yet. I have plans to do so eventually, though.) I keep saying that Jon will become best friends with Kes and Shara's son, Poe Dameron, when I do TFA. As I thought about it, I realized that Jon and Snap would be friends in that book, too. So, it made sense for me to write him meeting Norra Wexley.
4.) The Corellian phrase "Min min vil ut valle Nharquis!" ("I will eat your ashes!") came from Wookieepedia. It was actually one of the very first Corellian phrases I learned from that site. And it's a personal favorite of mine. I've wanted to use it in a fanfic for the longest time, but could never find a good enough place for it. I put it in here, because I felt it would provide a much-needed moment of comic relief in what was otherwise a very dramatic chapter.