Leia's POV

It was another one of those days where all you wanted to do was to snuggle under the blanket in your nice warm bed and stay there ignoring all the work that has to be done before nightfall. However I pulled myself out of bed slowly and walked into the fresher. I looked at myself in the small mirror underneath the cabinet and sighed. My lips were cracked from the cold, and my nose was a vibrant red. I turned on the shower and began to undress. As soon as I was done, I shivered and quickly stepped into the shower. My body immediately relaxed as I felt the warm water run off my back. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Today was going to be a long day for sure. There was plenty to get done. I went through my day in my head, trying to figure out when I could take time to make the weekly round of all the transmitters and communication devices that surrounded the base.

After washing my hair thoroughly, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me to keep warm while I did my hair and makeup. Even so, I shivered uncontrollably.

"Darn this cold!" I muttered under my breath. I slipped on my insulated jumper and zipped it up. Then I picked up the creamy-white vest lying on the chair and put it on. I looked in the mirror one last time, fixed a loose strand of hair from the braid around my head, and then walked out of my room. I immediately received several "good mornings!" from several men walking by. I nodded and walked briskly while looking at my data-pad to make sure I had my schedule down perfectly.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I stiffened. "Hello, your highness." I closed my eyes, immediately recognizing that voice. I counted to three and then turned slowly, looking at him coolly.

"Good morning, Captain." I said stiffly. He smirked, and I suddenly felt a surge of anger. He was laughing at me. I brushed his hand off angrily and began to walk quickly down the hallway. Han shrugged and walked away. I sighed and wondered why the room was so hot all of a sudden.

I stopped by the cafeteria to grab something quick before my next stop at the conference hall. I noticed Han with Luke and some others, so I grabbed something without looking and walked out of the room. I reached the conference center just in time for the meeting. I pulled my data-pad out and signaled to the commander to begin.

He cleared his throat and began the meeting. He began with the history of the Empire's location since last week. They were getting so close to the base. The next thing on the list was the evacuation plan. We had never really thought about it before and had only mentioned it once before. What if we really did need to evacuate? That would weaken the rebels considerably. Throughout the rest of the meeting, we planned, communicated with the other rebel bases, contacted pilots, and grew frustrated. By the end of the meeting, I was exhausted and somewhat worried.

I walked down the hall to the docking area rubbing my aching head. "If only everything could stop!" I thought. I noticed I was receiving several curious glances and realized I had a huge frown pasted on my brow and my hands were gripping my head tightly. I sighed and dropped my arms but my frown remained.

The nearby lieutenant in the docking area came over and muttered, "There has been a complication with the weapons." I looked over to where he was pointing, groaned inwardly, and then turned to him. "I will get a crew to come help. For now just keep it as it is." He nodded. "Thank you."

I continued out of the docking area, through another hallway, and into the main hanger. I saw Han working on the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca. I turned away quickly and into the hanger where the North Entrance was. I grabbed some snow goggles, gloves, and another vest, and then walked towards the nearest tauntaun. I swung myself up and started out the door.

"Be careful! There is a blizzard heading this way." I barely heard the man as I was already out in the snow with a strong wind blowing. I headed out towards the nearest transmitter. It took me longer than it usually did since the tauntaun was growing impatient and the blizzard was growing stronger. By the time I reached the second to last transmitter, my whole body was numb and I had a hard time holding on to the reins. I dropped off the tauntaun and ran towards the transmitter, trying to get the blood flowing again. I quickly checked it and then turned to get back on the tauntaun. But it wasn't there. I groaned and clenched my teeth angrily. This had happened several times before, but it was always frustrating and embarrassing. I shoved my hand inside my pocket to get my comm link when I realized it wasn't there.

I began to panic. I was out in a violent blizzard without a tauntaun and no comm link. I jumped up and down trying to keep my blood flowing, hoping the tauntaun would find its way back. But I soon grew so tired that I collapsed on the ground and shivered uncontrollably. My eyes felt like lead and I closed them wearily. That was the last thing I knew.

-STARWARS-

Han looked around on his last round of checking for meteorite damage. He raised his arm to his mouth and shouted into his comm link. "Situation normal. I'm heading back." He lowered his arm, but quickly raised it again when he heard a reply.

"Captain Solo. One more thing. Princess Leia has disappeared, and she won't answer her comm link. She was last seen leaving the North Entrance to check the transmitters right when the blizzard started. That was four hours ago."

Han suddenly felt his heart thump loudly and frowned. "Did she by any chance enter by another entrance?"

"No, Captain. I checked. She has not returned by any other entrance."

"Darn that girl." Han muttered under his breath. To the lieutenant he said, "I will go check all the transmitters. If I don't find her, send out a search party."

"Yes, Captain." He heard the crackly static meaning that the lieutenant had turned his comm link off. Han turned his tauntaun in the direction of the first transmitter, hoping his tauntaun would last the cold. By the time he got to the fourth transmitter, his tauntaun was groaning and muttering. "Hang in there." He muttered.

Taking off his goggles, he squinted and looked around. "Come no, Leia." He put on his goggles and continued on to the next transmitter where there was an unmistakable figure covered in a thick layer of snow a few meters from the transmitter.

"Oh gosh, no, Leia." Han jumped off his tauntaun and sped towards the figure. He dropped on his knees and started brushing the snow and ice off. He soon got her face and upper body brushed off and bent down to check for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he felt a small, weak beat. Leia stirred slightly as he slapped her hands and cheeks. He knew by now it wouldn't do much, but he just needed to do something for her.

"Come on, Leia." Han grunted as he picked up her icy body and placed it on the tauntaun. He swung up after her and let her head drop down on his shoulder. Then he kicked the tauntaun and began the journey back to base.

-STARWARS-

Han sat outside of the Medical room on a small, stiff bench, waiting for Luke to show up. He knew Leia would survive, but how long would it take her to recover? He sighed and played with his hands impatiently. He looked up as he heard the door open and shut again. He stood up and looked at the medical droid that had just come out.

"You brought her just in time. If you had been ten minutes later, I am not sure what we could have done."

Han glared at the droid. "How is she now?"

"She will be fine in about a week or so, but we need to keep her here."

The door opened and closed again, and Han sat down in relief. She would be alright. Suddenly, he growled and stood up. Why did he care so much about Leia? It wasn't like he was in love with her. Not even close. He walked out of the room, on the way brushing Luke, who had just come in. Luke opened his mouth to speak, but Han interrupted.

"She's fine!"

Luke looked at him puzzled, shrugged, and then sat down to wait.

-STARWARS-

Leia's POV

Four hours later...

"Leia, can you hear me? Leia. Wake up."

I groaned and tried to open my eyes, but they felt like they were weighted down with lead. I sighed and snuggled back under the quilts.

"Leia. You need to wake up! Leia!"

Would that voice never shut up? I tried again to open my eyes, and this time I succeeded. Everything blurred for a moment, but then everything came into focus. Luke was sitting next to me holding my hand. I looked around, confused. What was I doing in a medical room?

Luke noticed my confusion. "You were lost. In the snow. Remember?"

"Oh, right." My throat was sore and it hurt badly to talk.

I struggled to sit up, and Luke helped me up. "How did I get here?"

Luke cleared his throat. "You aren't really going to like this." I raised my eyebrows, and he continued. "Han found you near one of the transmitters."

I groaned and sank back into the pillow. "Darn him! I just can't seem to stay away from him!"

Luke laughed. "Well, Han didn't seem too happy either. When I came in here, he stormed out. He was definitely not in a good mood.

I smiled, but deep down inside, I felt a small twang of disappointment. I was surprised but looked up at Luke and smiled again. "I'm sure you would understand if I just want to be alone for a while."

I saw flash of disappointment across Luke's face, but he just shrugged. "Sure." He stood up, and walked out of the room. I watched him leave. He had always been a close friend, and I still wasn't sure if I was in love with him. There definitely was a strong connection since the very moment I met him. I wasn't sure if I was in love with him, or I just loved him as a sister would a brother.

I closed my eyes and tried to recall what happened from the time I fell down in the snow to the point where I woke up to find myself here. I remembered a warm hand holding my cheek and a voice calling out my name. Then there was an arm around my chest, and then I must have blacked out again.

I realized my cheeks were burning, and I snapped angrily to myself. "It wasn't like you could have done anything. Just forget it."

Just then, the most unwelcome person in the whole universe opened the door. I looked up, flushed and angry. I was still groggy and couldn't really focus my eyes on the scoundrel as he walked up to my bed.

"Hey, sweetheart." He smirked, and I noticed that he must be in a much better mood then when Luke had described him.

I looked at him angrily. "I am only saying this once, so you had better listen. Thank you."

He looked me in the eye, and I felt a small, curious feeling inside of me. "You don't sound like you are grateful." He leaned in closed till his face was two inches away.

I stared at him, confused, and leaned back away from his face. "Well, there is no way you can make me feel grateful for anything you have or ever will do." I whispered.

Han leaned in in even closer. "How about this." He whispered. His hand found its way to my cheek, and I suddenly felt his lips press gently against mine. The world stood still for a moment, but Han broke off suddenly. He stood up abruptly and left the room. I sank back in a dazed dream. What had just happened?