ICE

by Leela Starsky

Caught in a cave-in on Hoth, Han and Leia must co-operate to survive.

This story is based on characters and situations from the Star Wars universe;

all of which belong to George Lucas.

No money is being made from it and no insult or infringement is intended.

Original situations, dialogue and characters belong to me, so please don't

send it anywhere without checking with me first.

ICE

by Leela Starsky

The collapse caught everyone by surprise. Avalanches were a constant threat in Hoth's hostile environment, which was why the Alliance forces had built the base well away from the mountains. This latest, distant event shocked even the most cynical among them.

The rebels heard and felt the reverberation throughout the base as the snow slide seemed to take away the entire side of a mountain. Ten minutes later, a dull THWUMP and a blast of cold air left no one in any doubt about what had just happened, and turned Central Control's studied discipline into vaguely ordered pandemonium.

General Carlist Rieekan hurried through the chaos toward the seismic officer, calling for reports.

"It's a cave-in, sir."

Rieekan snapped tersely, "I'm aware of that, Mills. Where, and how bad?

A shouted response echoed across the room. "Sections five and six report extensive damage."

Another, closer voice yelled, "Reports of casualties coming in."

"All systems down from section five."

Rieekan turned back to the seismic officer who was trying with frantic determination to get some sort of sensible data from of his terminal. "Come on, man! Is it just another tunnel collapse, or should I start worrying?"

"I think it's more than just a tunnel, sir."

Rieekan swore, then shouted to the room at large, "Do we have any idea where?"

"All indications point to section seven," someone answered.

The supply depot. The general shook his head. "Anywhere else?"

The communications officer said, "We're not getting anything from sections seven or eight."

"What about those around?"

The officer turned and looked at him, "Lots."

Rieekan sighed and took a moment to gather his thoughts before turning to the young officer beside him. "Skywalker." The young man looked up from the console he'd been watching. "Organize a team and head down to section seven. See how bad the damage is." Rieekan turned to his second-in-command. "I'm going topside to take a look."

***

Leia Organa moaned and tried to catch her breath. She'd been completely winded when Han Solo threw himself protectively over her. Now he pushed aside ice, snow, and a mountain of debris as he struggled to stand. Finally upright, Solo looked around at what had been the supply depot.

He glanced at the princess. "You all right?"

Leia had managed to get to her hands and knees, but was still trying to catch her breath. "I think so."

Solo unhooked his comlink. "Solo to Control."

Leia surveyed the damage as she staggered to her feet.

"Solo to Control. Come in."

The ice above them creaked sickeningly and they looked up, then at each other. Solo lowered his voice, "I don't like the sound of that." As Leia picked her way through the rubble and ice, Solo returned his attention to the comlink. "Control, this is Solo. Come in, please."

Leia looked back at him from the wall of ice that had been the middle of the aisle a few moments before. "Han, this looks pretty bad." She was rewarded with a sour look that all but shouted, 'You don't say!', but she persevered. "There's probably a ton of cables and circuitry down between us and Control, causing all sorts of interference."

"If there IS a Control," he pointed out.

Leia paled visibly. That thought obviously hadn't occurred to her.

Solo moved to the other end of the small space in which they were trapped and climbed a shelf to get a better look at what was supporting the ice over their heads. What he found wasn't encouraging. "Bein' held up by the shelves…" he muttered to himself. Reaching up, he ran his gloved hand gingerly along what had become the ceiling. The original ceiling was a mess of wiring, ducts, and smashed lighting underfoot, making the floor a good meter higher than it had been. The bottom shelves were completely buried.

The whole chamber was dimly lit by the ice above, which suggested there was daylight on the other side. Solo wondered how thick the ice was and if there might be some way to dig out without bringing the whole lot down on top of them. He didn't like their chances of surviving another cave-in.

Abruptly, a small part of the ceiling gave way, knocking him from the shelf and sending a small shower of ice and snow cascading over him. Leia looked up, horrified.

"Han!" She hurried over to him.

"I'm all right, I'm all right," he said, sitting up.

Worry swiftly dissolved into anger. "What the hell are you trying to do? Get us killed?"

He gave her a dirty look. "Yeah, right." He jerked his thumb at the ceiling as he got to his feet, and said, "The only thing holding that up is those shelves."

Leia looked at the shelves. The supply containers were designed so that, when stacked, they bore their own weight. The structure wouldn't support the enormous weight of the ice pressing down from above for very long. She glanced back at Solo. "How long?"

He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." He started to rifle through the shelves.

Leia shook her head and wondered aloud, "What could have caused it?"

"Probably all your yelling," Solo quipped as he carefully moved a box.

"I wasn't yelling," she said indignantly.

"You were so," he said, pulling a package out of a storage container.

"I was NOT. And if I was, it was your fault."

Solo opened the package, looking suitably pleased with its contents. "It's always my fault." He held a sealed cup out to her and smiled. "Mescu tea?"

"I hate mescu tea," she grumbled, but she took the cup.

Solo sat down, his back to the shelves, and peeled back the container's cover. The princess sat opposite him and did the same. Within thirty seconds, steam was rising from the cups. Both sipped gingerly at the scalding liquid as they considered their predicament.

Studying the space they were trapped in, Leia realized she felt more irritated than worried. 'Of all the people I had to be trapped with,' she thought. 'And with only mescu tea!' "How long before anoxia sets in?" she asked.

Solo thought a moment before replying. "I don't know…maybe an hour." He gave her a quirky grin. "Depends how much heavy breathing we do."

Ignoring his comment, she asked, "So what do we do? Try and dig our way out or wait for them to dig us out?"

"Do we wait for someone who may never come, or use up what oxygen we've got trying to dig our way out without bringing half the base down on us?"

Leia sighed and stared into her cup. "Some choice."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"Try the comlink again."

Solo did, with no luck. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Wait a minute." He climbed to his feet.

"What?"

Solo looked hurriedly up and down the shelves. "With any luck…"

Leia followed him. "What?"

Solo ignored her, searching avidly.

"Han?"

He saw what he wanted. "Ah-ha."

Not tall enough to see what he was doing, Leia asked irritably, "What?!" When he climbed up and pulled himself into a shelf cavity, she became seriously alarmed. "Han, stop it ¾ you'll ruin the integrity of the shelves!" He emerged a moment later with a black box that Leia regarded with amazement. "A RADIO?"

Solo put it down between them and started prying the rear panel off. "If we can find some way to retune the frequency ¾ "

"We'll be able to contact the base! Han, that's brilliant!"

He grinned at her. "And you thought I was just a pretty face."

***

Outside the base, General Rieekan grimly surveyed the destruction. From here it looked like almost a third of the base had collapsed. Not good at all. He shook his head and headed back to Control. Several of the command team, including the seismic officer and Skywalker, were poring over maps of the base when he returned. They looked up expectantly at him as he joined them.

"I hope it's not as bad as it looks," was all he would offer.

"From what we've seen and the communications that have gotten through, section seven's completely collapsed." Skywalker pointed to the pertinent parts of the map. "Six, eight, nine, and ten partially, and five and eleven have suffered major damage."

Rieekan growled, picturing the state of the ships in section eleven, "That's the south entrance…"

"And Supply," one officer reminded him.

"What about the viability of the rest of the base?"

"It looks stable."

"So did section seven," Rieekan pointed out.

The seismic officer plunged ahead, "From what we've been able to tell, sir, it was the local avalanche that triggered it."

'You don't say', Rieekan thought tersely, but he kept his mouth shut.

"It seems there's a fault in the surface ice running from the base of that mountain straight through section seven."

"What??" Now Rieekan was cross. "Why the hell wasn't it picked up sooner?" No one answered him. Finally, he asked, "How many people are missing?"

Lt. Pritcher spoke up. "So far we've got twenty-three casualties and sixteen missing."

Rieekan nodded resignedly. "Casualties in the med center?"

"Or on their way."

'I suppose we should be grateful we still have a med center', Rieekan thought sourly. "Fine — we know where they are. Concentrate on locating the missing. Bring up the list."

A column of names replaced the map on the data screen, and everyone winced as they recognized a friend or loved one. Luke Skywalker saw Solo's name and went cold. Then he saw Leia's and had to force himself to breathe.

"Okay," Rieekan said matter-of-factly. "Everyone take a copy. Let's see if we can find out where each of these people was last seen. Be back here in half an hour."

***

"Okay," Solo said, optimism heightening his tone. "Let's try it." He switched the radio on and nothing happened. Not even static. "Uh-oh."

"What now?"

He pulled a panel off. "No power pack."

Leia could not believe their bad luck. "Then there's nothing we can do."

"Well… I wouldn't say 'nothing.'"

Leia looked at him and he held up his comlink. She hurriedly produced her own. "Are they compatible?"

He removed the energy cell from his own comlink. "No."

Leia smiled hopefully. "But you can fix it so they are?"

Solo gushed, "Princess, your faith in my electronic abilities overwhelms me!"

She grinned and scolded, "Don't let it go to your head." She handed him her comlink. "Can you fix it?"

Already at work, Solo muttered, "Do you think everything in the 'Falcon's' compatible?"

Leia rolled her eyes. "Is ANYTHING in the 'Falcon' compatible?"

***

"So the number of missing is down to eight, correct?"

"Yes, sir. All in section seven," Luke replied.

"Where's the list?" Rieekan asked, then found the names himself. "Ah." He stared at them grimly. "Have we had any fatalities yet?"

Luke nodded. "Two. Streetol and Burke. Caught in a secondary collapse while trying to rescue Garron. It was near section seven."

"That, of course, is the big danger," Lt. Pritcher mused. "Any work we do is going to cause more falls. If there are survivors trapped in air pockets, such a collapse could kill them."

"And if we don't try to get them out, they'll die anyway," Rieekan replied. "Seems to me, we have no choice."

***

"Haaa…" Solo crooned excitedly.

"Yes?"

Static blared at them.

"What'd I tell you?"

"I never doubted you for a moment."

They grinned at each other.

"Solo to Control…"

***

In Central Control, they were all startled when the familiar voice crackled at them suddenly. "Solo to Control…hey, anybody home?"

"It's Han!" Luke blurted happily.

Rieekan reached for the comm.

"Solo to Control."

"Captain Solo, this is General Rieekan!"

"Hello, General."

"Where are you?"

***

Solo glanced at the mess around him. "Ahh…what used to be Supply."

"How many of you?"

"Just me and the princess." He grinned at her. "Real romantic." A baleful glare from the princess only served to widen his smile. "We're sealed in on all sides and there's a really deadly looking slab of ice above us —"

"Are you hurt?"

"No, but we could use a little air."

***

Rieekan considered the map. "Any idea of your position?"

"Ah…"

Leia's voice crackled through the speaker. "Aisle Eight-See. Right on the corner. About eight meters up."

A comm officer punched in the coordinates. A moment later, the computer had illuminated Han and Leia's position. Rieekan silenced the com from his end and looked to his command crew for suggestions. The officers looked as much at a loss as he felt.

Pritcher stated grimly, "There's no way we can dig in. Not without bringing the whole thing down on top of them."

"What if we go from above?" Rieekan asked.

"Same problem. Plus we've got night only half an hour away."

"We could wear spacesuits to protect us from the cold," Luke suggested.

The lieutenant shook her head. "A spacesuit's not going to stop you from being blown away."

Luke's patience cracked. "So what do we do? Just leave them to die?"

The seismic officer suggested, "We could try going under."

Rieekan was glad to grab at anything positive. "How long will that take?"

"The cutters would have to be at the lowest setting because of the vibrations," he admitted honestly. "It could take days."

"Too long," Rieekan stated. "They're running out of air, remember."

"Unless we could get an air line to them from above," Pritcher said. "Drill a small hole in the ice above them."

"It'll collapse," the seismic officer replied. "Any vibration ¾ "

"I know how we can cut a hole without vibration," Luke said quietly.

"How?" Rieekan demanded.

Luke removed his lightsaber from his belt and presented it to them. "With this."

"Luke, get topside!" Rieekan excitedly turned the comm back on. "Princess, Solo ¾ we've solved your air problem."

Solo's voice crackled back. "Glad to hear it."

"Getting you out's going to take a little longer."

There was a long pause from the other end before Solo asked, "How much longer?"

"We're going to try coming up from underneath. It could take a couple of days. How well dressed are you?"

"Why, General? Looking for a date?" Rieekan grinned as Solo continued. "We'll be here. We might be a little frozen, but we'll be here. What's happening with the air?"

"Skywalker's going to cut a hole in the ice above you with his lightsaber, then feed a line through."

"Good. It's getting pretty stuffy in here. I'm going to sign off now, General, the power supply to this thing is limited."

"Fine. We'll call you when we've got more news."

***

Chewbacca had insisted on accompanying Luke on his expedition, and even he had suited up against the evening temperatures. Their helmet lamps crazily lit the way, creating sudden shadows in the half-light. Luke seriously wondered if they might not be better off without them. Reflections off sudden flurries of sleet and snow didn't help matters. Most of their energy was spent simply staying upright in the increasing wind blowing across the barren ice field.

He stopped and checked the glowing display from the mapping device strapped to the back of his glove, altered their direction slightly, and staggered on.

***

"Getting a little dark in here."

Leia looked up at the ice. "Must be nearly night."

Solo got to his feet, desperate for something to do. "Let's see if we can't find a light of some sort."

They both started searching the shelves, opening any container they could safely move. Neither of them had any luck finding a lamp, but Solo found another carton of tea drinks and Leia unearthed a bag of thermal blankets at the bottom of a container of bed linen. Intent on finding a light source, Solo decided to risk climbing up to the next level.

"Careful," Leia warned.

But Solo had seen just what they were looking for. Just out of reach…no, a little more than that. He had to climb into the shelf cavity and slide along it a little way to grasp the lamp. The shelves creaked and the ice above rumbled.

Leia was all but hopping with nervousness. "Han, get out of there."

"I've almost got it…"

But the noises were getting louder. "Han, get out of there!"

He grabbed the lamp. "Got it." And switched it on. "Uh oh…"

Leia was frantic. The light spilling out from the shelf suggested it worked, so what was the problem?

"What?"

"We've got company."

"WHAT?"

Solo vanished deeper into the shelving and Leia stared at the roof, certain it would come down on them. Then the whole shelf started shuddering.

"Han!" All she could hear was struggling and grunting. "Han, get back here now!" The roof rumbled and Leia edged away from the shelves.

"Here!"

Leia just caught the lamp he flung at her. She held it up to see better and could just make him out, edging backwards toward her. He was dragging something big. 'Company. Oh, no…' "Who is it?"

Solo grunted, "Can't see his face."

"Is he alive?"

Solo's legs emerged. "You think I'd go to all this trouble if he wasn't?" He climbed out and down, and Leia helped him lift the body down.

"It's Virdon," she said, pulling her glove off, and sliding her hand in between the man's collar and neck. "He's alive."

Solo was insulted. "I said he was!"

"All right. All right."

"I think his back's broken. He probably was on the ladder, leaning into the shelf when it happened. The collapse pushed him further in ¾ then something big caught him. He was damned hard to get out."

Leia briefly confirmed the man's injuries. "I hope the damage isn't irreparable. He probably shouldn't have been moved without a backboard."

Solo glared at her. "Hey, I did my best."

"I know, Han, I know." She pulled a thermal blanket out of the bag she had left beside the small carton of self-heating drinks.

"But it isn't good enough!" Leia opened her mouth to disagree, but Solo didn't give her the chance. "What should I have done? Left him there to die?"

"No, of course not —"

"It doesn't matter what I do. It's never good enough for you."

Leia shook her head, irritated. "Will you listen to yourself?"

Solo gave her a savage look and hissed, "Of all the people I had to be trapped with, why'd it have to be you?"

Leia regarded him darkly. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing." She took out her irritation on the metallic blanket, shaking out the folds violently.

Solo oozed sarcasm. "Gods forbid we should have something in common!!"

Leia spread the blanket out and straightened up to face Solo. Feeling suddenly breathless, she snapped, "Will you settle down? You're wasting oxygen."

"See! That's just what I mean!"

"What? What'd I say now?"

"Haven't you ever lost it?"

Leia frowned. "Lost what?"

"IT. You know. CONTROL."

Leia was suddenly assaulted by the memory of Tarkin's off-handed obliteration of her home and family, and was shaken to the core. "I…" 'I've lost more than you could ever know', she thought.

"No…" He looked down at her, almost with loathing. "You're too in control to feel much of ANYTHING."

The radio squawked for attention and he moved away, leaving Leia struggling to control how suddenly close to tears she'd been. But the familiar fury rose to protect her from any such loss of face ¾ fury that HE had the power to invoke such strong emotions in her.

Solo answered the radio, and Luke's voice crackled at them. "Hey, Han. How you doing down there?"

Solo couldn't help sounding surly. "Great, kid."

"Hey, you two aren't fighting, are you?"

"No. Whatever gave you that idea?" Han quipped sourly.

"You'll use up all your oxygen," Luke said warningly.

Han struggled to contain his annoyance. "Well, you're here now; hurry up and do your bit with the lightsaber."

Han and the princess heard the hum of Luke's saber, and then hard, blue-white light turned the ice ceiling into a prism.

"I've taped the oxygen line to it." Luke said. "Okay, lowering now."

From their underground prison, Solo and Leia watched the glowing blade approach, hailed by a thin stream of water.

"I see it…" Solo said, then reached for the hilt as it emerged. "You're through." The lightsaber hung suspended by the oxygen line, and Solo turned it off before disconnecting the thin hose. He handed the saber to the princess and sniffed the tube. "This isn't working, Luke."

"I haven't switched it on yet," Luke told him.

"Tell him about Virdon," Leia suggested, attaching the lightsaber to her belt.

"Oh, yeah. We found Merac Virdon in here. He was in the next aisle; got caught in the shelves."

"Great! Is he all right?"

"We think his back's broken."

A lot of the enthusiasm went out of Luke's voice. "Oh."

"He's unconscious."

"Well, at least he's off the missing list."

"How many are missing?" Leia asked.

"Six — no, five now. You're in the area worst hit." There was a significant pause. "You're very lucky to be alive."

Solo glanced around their dimly lit cave. "Yeah, well, we're not out of here yet. What's happening there?"

"Doing our best. Someone wants to say hello."

Chewbacca growled across the static, and both Solo and Leia smiled.

"Hi, Chewie. Hey, pal, how about putting some pressure on the rescue team for me?"

"Han!" Luke chided in the background, but Chewie had quite a bit to say. Some comment made Solo chuckle, then a moment later he glanced at the princess and pointedly looked away.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered. Chewbacca went on until Solo, obviously uncomfortable, cut him off. "Yeah, yeah ¾ very funny. Get back inside before you freeze. Solo, out."

He sniffed the oxygen tube again. It still wasn't operational.

"What'd he say?" Leia asked, tucking a blanket around the board on which Han had laid Virdon. It was just a remnant from a collapsed shelf, but it was safer to move the man on that than on nothing at all.

"Nothing."

Leia wrapped another blanket around the unconscious man and looked up at Solo, vaguely amused. "You're embarrassed."

Solo dismissed her, concentrating on the tube. "Come on, Luke, switch it on."

Leia stood up and felt suddenly dizzy. Stars swirled across her vision and she lurched, putting a hand to the wall for support.

Solo looked worriedly at her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I stood up too quickly. Lack of air…"

Solo switched the radio on. "Come on, people, we need air in here."

***

In Central Control, the mood was one of great consternation.

"Why don't they have air?" Rieekan asked the appropriate officer.

"I don't know, sir. It all checks out."

Rieekan spoke into his comm. "Luke, have you switched it on?"

"Yes, General. There may be a kink in the line. We're checking."

***

Solo rolled his eyes and switched off in disgust. "Kink in the line!"

"Han, you know what conditions are like out there."

"Yeah, and I know what they're gonna be like in here soon!"

Ten minutes later, Luke evidently found the problem with the air hose and the line started hissing softly. Solo stood under it, breathing deeply, and Leia joined him.

"I hadn't realized how bad the air had gotten," Leia said quietly.

"Anoxia's like that."

***

Some hours later, General Rieekan joined the section seven excavation crew. They seemed to be progressing better than expected.

"How's it going, Commander?"

The man in charge looked optimistic. "Slow but steady, General."

"Any estimates?"

"If we continue at this rate, we could be through by morning. But don't tell those trapped inside; personally, I think it's going TOO well."

***

The low hum of the ice-cutters had become a comforting background reassurance. Help was definitely coming. Leia paced restlessly, seemingly unable to relax despite her best efforts, and Solo couldn't relax because she wouldn't let him. She kept trying to talk to him; asking questions about his past, but he would have none of her inquisitiveness, brushing aside her curiosity with an expertise born of practice. He considered exploring the shelves some more just to get himself out of the firing line, but it would have been too dangerous.

Virdon was still unconscious, and Solo suspected the man was comatose. He knew Leia was worried for the same reason and decided they both needed some sort of frivolous distraction.

"All right, let's play a game."

Leia looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown another head. "What?"

"A game. You know ¾ something to while away the hours."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You got somewhere else to go? Something better to do?"

"Oh, sure. What do you suggest? Strip sabaac?"

Solo grinned. "Now, there's an idea!" He made a show of checking his pockets for a deck of cards, then snapped his fingers in overstated disappointment. "Too cold anyway."

"What a SHAME."

Solo's gaze sharpened. "Truth or Dare." Leia's eyes flashed with veiled warnings. "I'll even go first," he soothed. "C'mon, ask me."

"No." She pointedly moved to check on Virdon again.

"Come on," he goaded.

"No."

"Well don't hassle me when you get bored out of your brain ¾ "

"Oh, for goodness sake!" She sat down between Han and Virdon, then asked flatly, "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

Leia rolled her eyes and sighed. "I dare you to stand on one leg."

Solo scowled. "You're not even trying."

"It's a STUPID game!"

"Truth or Dare?"

She looked at him and said melodramatically, "Truth."

"Why did you join the rebellion?" The look she gave him was one of total incredulity, but Solo regarded her seriously. "REALLY." She started to laugh, and he shook his head emphatically. "And don't give me Alderaan, because you were a part of this BEFORE Alderaan happened." Grief swept across her face and she looked away. Solo winced, regretting the unspoken implication that she had been at all responsible for Alderaan's destruction. He plunged ahead before it had time to settle and take hold. "YOU, Princess. Why are YOU here?"

Leia hugged her knees to her chest, and Solo thought he could hear disappointment in her voice when she finally replied, "If you don't know the answer to that, Han —"

"But are you here because it's what YOU want or because it's what your father wanted?"

Leia rolled her eyes. "Ah, yes — Bail and his manipulated daughter. That was a very popular supposition in the Senate." She looked at him. "No, Han, I chose to join the Senate and I chose to be here."

"Why?" Solo shook his head. "Why would ANYONE choose to join the Imperial Senate?"

The Princess' eyes widened with mild outrage. "To make a difference, of course!"

Solo met her gaze and said forcefully, "You were a TEENAGER. You should have been out playing with boys and getting drunk!"

For a moment Leia looked shocked, then she laughed. "I'm sorry," she said sarcastically. "I guess I just had more IMPORTANT things to do! Truth or Dare, Han?"

Solo paused for a moment, then said, "Truth."

Leia regarded him with suspicion and Solo smiled, hoping she'd be too fazed to ask anything pertinent.

"Truth…umm…"

He watched the young woman as she considered her question. Her face looked like porcelain against the blue-black of her slightly disheveled hair, some of which now hung in damp wisps down the side of her face.

"Okay." She pushed the loose strands of hair behind her ear and looked him straight in the eye. "Who was the greatest love of your life?"

"Whoa! Jump right in, why don't you?"

"It was your idea."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

"Well?"

She was enjoying his discomfort, and Solo came to the conclusion that he must have suffered a moment of insanity. What HAD he been thinking? This line of questioning was making him think about things…no. They'd been buried this long; there was no way he was going to let them out now. "There isn't one." He thought he saw the briefest flicker of disappointment skitter across her face.

"Liar."

"There isn't."

"What, you've never been in love?"

"Have you?"

"This is your Truth, not mine."

"No, I've never been in love." There was perhaps a little too much vehemence in his voice. Solo could see the determination in her eyes as Leia leaned toward him and asked, "No one you've EVER cared about?"

He smiled arrogantly. "I've had plenty of lovers, sweetheart, but I've always made it a policy not to get involved." She looked away, and Solo realized she was blushing. Delighted, he asked, "Truth or Dare?"

Leia said it without thinking. "Dare." And immediately looked as if she wished she could take it back.

Solo favored her with a lopsided grin and decided he'd found a way to cure her nosiness. "Dare?" He knew her pride would not let her back down, no matter what he suggested. He leaned toward her and challenged, "Kiss me."

She was not prepared for that one. "What?"

"You heard me." Her composure seemed to waver, and his grin got wider.

"No."

"Hey, you chose Dare."

"Stupid game, anyway."

"Coward."

"I am not."

"So kiss me." He leaned closer. "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid ¾ "

"Yes you are. Afraid you might FEEL something."

"Oh, I'll feel something all right ¾ "

Solo grinned. "I know."

Leia's eyes narrowed. "You are SO conceited."

"I know that, too ¾ stop trying to change the subject." She glared at him. "Come on. I DARE you."

Swiftly, before he had time to recognize the cunning in her eyes, Leia leaned across and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's not what I meant."

Leia leaned back against the ice wall, smiling. "You just said 'Kiss me.' You didn't stipulate where! Truth or Dare, Han?"

Solo regarded her for a moment, then said cautiously, "Dare."

Her gaze was thoughtful, but she looked as if she couldn't decide what to ask him.

"Well?" His expression turned cocky. "Can't think of one, huh?"

"I dare you to make a commitment."

Solo frowned. "What?"

"I dare you ¾ "

"To what? Commit to what?"

"To us. To the Rebellion."

Solo was affronted. "I'd call three years pretty committed."

But Leia shook her head. "You've never officially joined ¾ "

"I've never officially joined anything."

"Except the Academy."

"And look where THAT got me." Solo shifted uncomfortably.

"I heard you turned down the offer of a command."

Solo asked sharply, "Who told you that?"

"It's true, isn't it?" She shook her head. "Why, Han? You have a natural rapport with the pilots — they'd follow you anywhere ¾ "

"You think I want that on my conscience?"

"You think I want Alderaan on mine?"

"That's YOUR choice. Nobody blames you for Alderaan."

"Exactly my point." Solo hrrumphed and fell silent. Leia let it ride for a little while, then pushed. "Well?"

He felt cornered. "Well, what? What do you want? A declaration of fidelity?"

Leia sighed. "No."

"Truth or Dare?"

She shrugged, feeling vaguely cheated. "Oh, Truth, I guess…"

Straight away he flung at her, "Who was the greatest love of YOUR life?" She scowled at him, and he quipped thinly, "Good question, huh?"

"Very original."

"I thought so." He looked at her. "Well?" he prompted. "Some special boy on Alderaan, perhaps?" Luke?

She didn't meet his sardonic gaze. "No," she said sharply.

"Someone not so special, then?"

Leia looked flustered. "I never had time for anything like that. I… It just complicates things too much."

"How do you know if you've never tried?"

"I don't have to make my own mistakes, Han. I can learn from others. I need to be able to work with all sorts of people without emotions clouding my judgment." She looked away, irritated. "What am I saying? I don't need to justify any of this."

"Don't you ever want a relationship?" Solo pressed.

"What I want doesn't enter into it —"

"What about what you NEED?"

Leia's eyes, shocked and vulnerable, met his. He'd obviously hit a nerve. "What d'you mean, what I need?"

"We all need relationships ¾ "

"Oh, YOU can talk!" She got to her feet. "There aren't any PEOPLE in YOUR life at all." The fervor with which she rubbed her upper arms looked to Solo as if she were trying to rub away her annoyance as much as the cold.

"Subtle," he said, trying to hold his anger in check. "But racist nonetheless."

"Chewie's is a LIFE DEBT," she snapped defensively. "He'd follow you around if you were a…" She cast about briefly, searching for the right expression, sighed, and ended lamely, "…a Sith Lord!"

Solo couldn't help smiling at the outrageous analogy, but he was still angry. "He's also my best friend."

"Yes, but he's —"

Whatever she was going to say, she stopped herself, and he caught the guilty look on her face before she turned away.

"What?" he demanded, hotly. "Not HUMAN?" Solo stood up swiftly, a lithe movement that had him towering over her in an instant. He radiated disappointment. "Princess, that is the most IMPERIAL thing I have ever heard you say."

She had the grace to look ashamed, but he could see it was conditional. There were still unspoken issues in her dark eyes. He decided to let the argument go.

"I'm hungry," he said matter-of-factly. He looked at the package of hot drinks they'd salvaged earlier and deemed them unsatisfactory. "Are you hungry?"

"Tired, hungry, FREEZING…"

Solo took the lamp to the shelves, and Leia opened another of the thermal blankets. She wrapped it around herself, pulled a cup of tea from the package, tore off the seal, and moved to check Virdon while she waited for it to boil.

Removing her glove, Leia slid her hand inside the man's collar and for one shocked moment thought he was dead. Then, realizing her fingertips were too numb to feel anything, she picked up the cup of tea, warming her hands against it. She winced as her fingers started to tingle painfully. She sipped carefully, ignoring the bitter taste, enjoying the sensation of warmth as the tea slid down her throat. For a moment, she closed her eyes to savor it. But despite the stillness of her body, she could not quiet the turmoil in her brain. 'Of all the people I had to be trapped with…'

She heard Solo curse and looked at him. He was struggling to open a container, which had been largely crushed by the shelf above it. 'He's going to pull it down on top of himself', Leia thought, but held her tongue and forced herself to look away. She tested the warmth of her hand against her own cheek, then slid it inside Virdon's collar, closing her eyes so she could concentrate. At the same time that she found the man's pulse, Leia heard the container Solo was fighting with crack. When she opened her eyes to close Virdon's collar, the sound of crunching snow and ice under Solo's boots announced his return.

"How is he?" Solo asked.

"Pulse is erratic," she answered, flatly. Solo sat down beside her and, looking at the package in his hand, Leia realized he'd succeeded in finding food. "What is it?" she asked, surprised.

He tore open the packet and broke the seal on the container. Inside was what looked like partially frozen, gelatinous goo. "I think it's rhyll fish."

Leia grimaced. "Uncooked rhyll fish?"

He sat down beside her and proffered the container. She glanced at the contents and looked far from enthusiastic. Solo removed a glove and scooped some into his mouth with two fingers. "I thought you were hungry."

Leia still regarded it with disgust. "I am."

"It isn't bad," he said encouragingly.

Leia reluctantly scooped up a gelatinous glob with her hand. It was cold and wobbled uninvitingly. "It's disgusting."

Through a mouthful, Solo said, "It's food."

Leia forced it into her mouth. It tasted fine, despite being raw. The texture was repulsive, but she ignored that. Solo grinned at her and she managed to smile back at him.

***

Eating created its own problems, and they reserved the smaller part of the L-shaped cubbyhole for bodily functions. Leia returned from her last visit shivering uncontrollably. The construction of her snowsuit required her to virtually strip to relieve herself, and her body temperature had plummeted as a result.

Solo glanced up at her as she struggled unsuccessfully to pull her jacket back on and leapt to his feet to help her. Leia's automatic reaction was to flinch away, to do it herself, but she forced herself to let him help her, knowing she was dangerously cold. She thanked him and tried to rub her upper arms with her gloved hands but couldn't coordinate them; she was shivering too much. He did it for her, and she smiled apologetically. "I'm so cold.…"

"There's not enough of you to keep you warm." Solo was concerned. Her lips were blue. He picked up the thermal blanket she'd been using and wrapped it around her.

"I can't feel my toes. Or my ears…" She covered her ears with her hands, then abruptly pulled off one glove and started tugging at her carefully bound hair.

Solo held the blanket around her, watching as she dragged her fingers through the plaits and shook them loose. He knew she was doing it for purely practical reasons, for the warmth and insulation her hair would provide, but he found it very distracting. She looked so much more approachable with her hair down.

He pointed at Virdon. "Lie down beside him; I'll get behind you."

Leia looked at the comatose man, her teeth chattering. Body heat. Solo was trying to keep her warm. She nodded acquiescence and sat down beside Virdon.

Solo wrapped a thermal blanket around himself and sat beside her. Lying down, Leia turned to face the unconscious man as Solo unfolded the last of the blankets and moved in close behind her. "Lift your head," he said.

Leia complied, holding her hair out of the way, and he slid his arm underneath her. She lay her head on his arm and they both settled, Han pushing her as close to Virdon as she could get and enveloped her with himself. She closed her eyes, trying not to think about the closeness and how nice it felt.

"Feeling any warmer?" he asked, pulling the hood of his snow jacket up and arranging the last blanket across the three of them.

She felt his voice as much as heard it, vibrating through his chest and her back, and his breath across her head. So close…and, yes, she was feeling warmer. Leia nodded.

"Good." He swallowed, affected by her closeness, by the smell of her hair. "Try and sleep."

"But we shouldn't," she murmured. "We'll get too cold."

Solo looked at the back of her head; she was borderline hypothermic NOW. If the rescue team wasn't through to them by morning, he knew Leia would probably be dead. Her trembling had abated slightly, and he touched his nose to her head, intending to rile her, to take her focus off the cold. "We could always bonk, I suppose."

She stiffened in his arms. "WHAT?"

Solo stifled a laugh. She was so predictable, so wonderfully easy to bait! Leia must have realized he was joking, because she suddenly relaxed and laughed ¾ the most welcome sound Han had heard in hours.

"You're laughing at me," he scolded, smiling into her hair, and she chuckled some more. "I'll be scarred for life."

"But it'll be a NICE scar," she assured him, still chuckling. "Character-building. Like the one on your chin."

"You like my CHIN?"

She buried her face in his elbow, and murmured shyly, "I like your chin."

"I like your chin, too," he rumbled, and Leia felt a twinge of excitement in her belly. "What other PARTS of me do you like?"

Leia thought for a moment, chewing her bottom lip, "I don't know…your eyes, I guess."

Solo groaned with melodramatic disappointment. "Ah, they all go for the eyes."

Leia turned her head toward him slightly, and argued, "But you have nice eyes."

"But no one ever said they liked my CHIN before." He put his lips to her ear and murmured suggestively, "You were my first."

Leia felt an automatic flush of embarrassment, considered her response briefly, then smiled and said, daringly for her, "I hope I was gentle."

"No, you WEREN'T," he said, trying to sound hurt. "You just barged right in and told me you liked my chin!"

She snickered, burying her face in his elbow again.

"Next you'll be saying you like my THUMB. Or my feet!"

Leia paused a moment, considering, then asked, "Have I SEEN your feet?"

Solo grinned. "You show me yours, I'll show you mine." Leia laughed. "Feeling warmer?" he asked.

She nodded, then added quietly, "Thank you."

They lay silent for a long time, listening to the muffled scream of the ice-cutters, each wondering what the other was thinking.

Leia sighed and Solo asked, "What is it, Princess?"

"I…I was thinking about Virdon."

"He'll be fine." He decided her concern was more personal and added, "We'll be fine."

"It'd be ironic really…after being hunted for so long. To die like this."

"Pointlessly?" He felt her nod and teased gently, "Do I detect visions of martyrdom?" She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow but their proximity and the bulk of their clothes blunted the blow. Solo smiled, but said with surprising insight, "You're afraid of a meaningless death."

"Aren't you?"

"In my line of work? Are you kidding? Best I can hope for is that it won't be too painful."

"Hence your desire to pay off the Hutt," she said. Some of her hair had fallen across her face and she brushed it away with one hand.

Solo resisted the temptation to brush aside a strand she'd missed. "Jabba's methods of killing are…inventive," he said.

"How do you know he won't kill you anyway?" His lack of response prompted the princess to turn her face toward him. "That's why you're still here, isn't it? You're as afraid of a meaningless death as I am."

Solo met her gaze, struggling to concentrate on forming a response and not think about how desirable she looked. Was that why he'd stayed? "Maybe…" he started. Her eyes were dark pools that seemed to draw him in. "You keep finding work for me to do.…"

"You've been a great help to us," Leia said, unable to recall ever seeing eyes that changed color quite like Solo's did. Certainly she knew of species that could change eye color at will, and some whose eye color was an indication of age and sexual maturity. But with most humans it was a genetic lottery. She had seen blue eyes enhanced with lighting or clothes, but brown eyes never changed. Hers certainly didn't. Solo's, on the other hand, showed the same lack of commitment to color that their owner showed to responsibility. The green was constant but incredibly variable. Sometimes Leia could swear they changed with his moods, and wondered what their current dark, sea green might mean.

"The pay is reasonable," he continued. "Certainly regular."

He smiled gently and Leia almost forgot to breathe.

"Company's tolerable," he said, then clarified, "MOST of the time."

"MOST of the time," Leia agreed.

Silence descended like a thick blanket and for a moment neither of them moved. Then Solo frowned as the realization sank in that the shrieking of the ice-cutters had stopped. He sat up. "They've stopped."

Leia shuddered, feeling the sudden lack of his warmth and a horrible sense of dread.

Solo tried to switch the radio on and swore. "Radio's dead," he growled. He looked helplessly at Leia, then at the slab of ice over their heads. "Maybe I should try doing something with Luke's lightsaber?"

"They're probably close and can't use the ice-cutters any more," Leia reasoned, but her thoughts and body language screamed, Come back, I'm freezing!

Solo looked at her. Sensed her need. He gave the ceiling one more glance, then lay down again, and the princess settled eagerly into his embrace. She was shivering again, and Solo reflexively tightened his hold on her. He pulled his knees up behind hers, heard her sigh with relief, and then felt her embrace the arm he had around her waist. Solo's mind was suddenly flooded with fantasies about her, and he closed his eyes for a moment, struggling to ignore them. Then she moved her head fractionally and he found his nose pressed against it. Instinctively, he nuzzled deeper into her hair, wallowing in the silken feel of it against his lips.

"Leia," he sighed, his voice barely a whisper.

He felt her hold on his arm tighten. "Han," she answered softly.

***

Luke joined the dig-out crew in the early hours of the morning. They were getting close, but the surrounding ice was getting more unstable, so they had switched from ice-cutters to focused blasters and were literally melting their way through. It took longer and the wait was excruciating, but it was safer. Chewbacca had been with them all night, too big to fit in the actual tunnel, but helping out with the water pumps and any other way he could.

They'd tried to contact Han and Leia a couple of times, but without any luck. Everyone hoped it was simply a problem with the radio.

There was a muffled shout from inside the tunnel, quickly followed by a cheer, as the word came that they'd reached Solo, Virdon, and the princess. Then came the realization that they'd miscalculated and had come up in the wrong aisle, the one from which Solo had rescued Virdon.

A soldier named Felder Romt was the first man through. Realizing the error, he climbed through the shelves as Solo had. He didn't recognize the warnings from the creaking ice. After listening to ice squealing all night, he probably didn't even hear it. He grinned down at the three figures, cuddled up together against the cold.

"Good MORNING!" Solo and the princess awoke and looked blearily in his direction. "Rescue team's here!"

The rumbling from above was continuous, and Solo and Leia looked up at the ice, alarmed. Fear brought them quickly to their senses.

"What the ¾ " Solo lurched to his feet.

Leia simply screamed from her makeshift bed. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

Romt had expected to be greeted with shouts of joy, or at least relief ¾ not abuse. He was taken aback.

Solo rushed at him, shouting, "Get out ¾ "

Romt never knew what hit him. The collapsing shelves crushed him instantly. Solo barely had time to turn back to the princess, now on her feet, before the ice came down behind him, knocking him off his feet and carrying him toward her on a frozen wave. It slammed him into the wall. He heard Leia scream, then something hit the back of his head. His skull reverberated with blinding pain. Merciful unconsciousness took him.

***

It was the sound they'd been dreading all night, faintly punctuated by Leia's scream.

Somebody groaned, "Oh dear god…" amid an army of comlinks screaming for attention. Sick with grief and disbelief, Luke finally answered his to hear Rieekan on the other end demanding to know what had happened. He could barely find the words. "It's gone.… It's gone.…"

***

Leia struggled to consciousness and moaned, surprised to find herself alive. The light was brilliant. Too bright. She couldn't see. The roof had fallen in and now she was outside. Unless they found her soon, she'd freeze to death. She was buried up to her waist, one leg painfully twisted under the weight of snow, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She looked for Solo and found him right beside her, buried a little deeper, his head level with her chest. He was lying face down, and blood had turned the snow around him red. Fear gripped her heart.

"Han?" She turned his head so she could see his face, unable to feel for life through her gloves. "Han?" Panic began to beat in her chest. He was very still, and for an awful moment she thought he was dead, but he moaned as she felt around his head for the source of the bleeding. Relief left her light-headed. She looked around, squinting at the glare.

They were protected from the worst of the wind and ice by the trough created by the cave-in, but only the worst. Snow flurried in and settled on them. They'd be buried unless someone found them soon. She gazed down at Solo, who moved but did not open his eyes. "Now what do we do?"

"Cluuugh…now it comes out.…" His words were slurred. "Who didn't pay attention…in glacial…survival…hmmm?"

Leia didn't even try to smile. At least his bleeding seemed to have stopped. He turned his head up to grin at her, opened his eyes, but quickly shut them again, the light obviously causing him great pain. "We mustn't sleep," she recited numbly. "Our bodies will slow down too much and we'll freeze."

"Bodies? What…bodies?"

Leia brushed the snow from his face. She couldn't feel her legs any more. At least being frozen quelled some of the pain, she thought wryly. She told him, "If we don't stay awake, they'll never find us." She watched his face relax as he slipped into unconsciousness again.

"Han?"

She let him sleep.

***

Leia opened her eyes…and couldn't see. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, but things insisted on staying pink and blurry. She reached out and felt something hard…very close and all around her. 'Where am I?' Leia closed her eyes and tried to slow her rising panic. 'Where am I?'

She remembered… What?

COLD.

Yes! Cold! The snow and… What? Where WAS she?

Han…

She tried to say his name, but the sound wouldn't come out of her mouth, just a dull burble. Memory and recognition all came back in a rush. Leia opened her eyes. She was in a tank of bacta fluid. So this was what it felt like. She ran her hands over her body; everything seemed intact. How long had they been out there? If she was alive, there was a good chance Han would be.

She wished she could see clearly.

Something boomed over her head and she flinched. She thought she could make out figures moving around her. Suddenly she realized the fluid was draining away. 'Oh, the cold!' She curled up into a ball.

"Come on, Leia, cough it up."

The medic, Gizela Shalleron, was manhandling her with the help of two droids. Leia wanted to fight her, to go back to that wonderfully warm quiet, but she needed to breathe.

She coughed reflexively, and bacta fluid sloshed out of her mouth. She gasped, and the mixture of air and fluid in her lungs made her cough and vomit all at once. Oh, this was hideous!

"That's it. Good girl, good girl. Two One-Bee?" She indicated that the droid was to lift the princess. Leia was coughing and shivering uncontrollably. Lifting her out of the tank, they placed her on a bed, on her side, and wrapped her in a thermal blanket.

Gizela placed a reassuring hand on Leia's head as Two One-Bee handed her a tube. "Now relax, Leia, I'm just going to suck out any of the bacta residue."

Leia gagged as the tube went down her windpipe, bringing the last of the bacta from her stomach. It was wiped away by the droid, and the medic, satisfied with the state of the princess' lungs, withdrew the tube.

"There." She handed it to the second droid and accepted the prepared hypodermic. Leia was shivering violently. "You're okay, Leia," she said soothingly. "You're doing fine." She administered the hypo to the princess' neck. "This is just going to relax you. Help stop that shivering. You'll feel warm in no time."

Leia was trying to open her eyes, but they felt stuck shut. "W-w-wh-wh-wh—"

Gizela put a hand on the girl's cheek. "Shh. Don't worry. Just relax." She stroked Leia's head. "Relax…that's it.…"

The shivering ceased, and Leia's breathing deepened. Gizela turned to the droids. "She's asleep. Put her in bed four and notify me the minute she wakes."

Two One-Bee inclined his metal head. "Yes, Doctor."

They moved the princess away, and Gizela turned to the other tank in their limited medical facility. In it was Han Solo.

***

Leia knew that the dream had upset her, but already she couldn't remember what it was about. There were vague, disturbing images of Han and Darth Vader, and a general feeling of distress, but the more conscious she became, the less cohesive they were.

"The princess is waking, Doctor."

"Ahhh."

Leia opened her eyes and focused on Gizela Shalleron's smiling face.

"Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

It took Leia a moment to get her tongue working; her mouth felt thick and dry. "Sticky."

"Mmm, the joys of bacta immersion." She offered her a cup of water. "Drink?"

Leia accepted it gratefully, and downed it in seconds.

"More?" Leia nodded, and Gizela refilled the cup.

"How long was I in the tank?" Leia asked, her speech improving with each mouthful.

Gizela regarded her for a moment, then answered, "Ten days."

Leia almost choked on her drink. "TEN?"

"We thought we were going to lose you."

Leia looked at the other beds in the small sick-bay, recognizing Merac Virdon on the one next to hers. All the others were empty. "Han?" She was almost afraid to ask. The look on Gizela's face warned her to brace herself.

"He's still in the bacta."

***

Two days later, Leia was waiting outside the medical center with Luke and Chewbacca while Gizela and her crew of medical droids removed a totally unresponsive Solo from the bacta tank. They were all hoping that the shock of coming out of the tank would wake him up, but the blanket-wrapped figure that floated past on the repulsor-fitted gurney looked almost lifeless.

Gizela paused in front of the Corellian's three anxious friends and hunted for something positive to say. "He's…breathing by himself." It was all she could think of. "I'll call you if anything changes."

She followed the gurney away and, without comment, the Wookiee fell in behind her. Luke and Leia watched them go.

***

The intercom woke Leia from what had been a restless sleep, and she looked blearily at Gizela's image on the vidscreen.

"Sorry to wake you, but Solo's taken a turn for the worse."

"I'll be right up."

Leia threw on her dressing gown and hurried to the medical center, unable to believe how far away it seemed and feeling sicker with each step. How much worse was worse? Surely Gizela didn't think he was about to die? A fractured skull and severe frostbite certainly couldn't spell death for Han Solo. After all, if Virdon could survive with his multitude of injuries, why couldn't Han?

Luke arrived at the med center at the same time she did, also in his nightclothes and looking just as disheveled as she was. Their eyes met, but they said nothing.

Chewbacca had not left the Corellian's side, and he and Gizela looked up as Luke and Leia entered Han's room.

Solo looked as if he were peacefully asleep. A little blue, but otherwise fine. All the tubes and wires were gone, and Leia wasn't sure if that was a good sign or bad.

Luke, it seemed, had decided it was bad. "How long?"

"A few hours, maybe," Gizela answered.

Chewie whimpered softly and gently stroked his friend's arm.

A few hours! Leia's heart twisted so tightly she almost cried out in pain, and it took every ounce of resolve to stop the tears that burned at the back of her eyes. A few hours? Why? He'd been so alive.…

Leia was shaking her head. "He can't die."

Gizela regarded her sympathetically. "We all die."

Leia gave her a haunted, hunted look. "Not him…not now."

Gizela said gently, "You are allowed to cry, you know."

Leia grimaced, hearing Han's voice in her head: "Afraid of feeling something, Princess?"

Gizela said sharply, "It wasn't your fault, Leia."

"But if I ¾ "

"If there wasn't an Empire, none of us would be here."

Leia pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down, taking one of Han's blackened hands in her hers. It felt cold. Dead. And deep down she knew that if he'd ever had any real chance of survival, it would have been amputated.

Unwanted memories flooded her mind, things she'd tried so hard to keep deeply buried. Her mother's death, the destruction of Alderaan, and long-dead family and friends. And now Han would be gone, too. He was right; she was afraid of developing close relationships. And that was why. They all died. Leia suspected that if Han had been a little more forthcoming about his past, he would have told a similar story.

Her mother's face drifted into memory again, and the tears betrayed her, trickling down her face before she could stop them.

A gentle touch on her shoulder brought her back; she glanced sideways at Luke but could not meet his eyes, afraid of what she might see there. Instead, Leia stared at the hand she was holding, feeling barely a flutter of a pulse. She suddenly remembered how loudly his heart had pounded in her ear when he had thrown himself protectively on top of her during the initial cave-in. Saving her life. Losing his own.

"Who was the greatest love of your life?" she had challenged him, and he had grinned at her and said, "Kiss me."

Leia leaned across and softly touched his blue-tinged lips with her own. They were barely warm. Years of carefully bound emotions crumbled, and Leia found herself sobbing into Han's arm.

Luke was feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. His expression of sympathy seemed to have failed dismally, and the princess' uncharacteristic emotional display made him feel ashamed for witnessing it. He backed away a little, then decided abruptly to leave the room. He sat down outside the med center door and buried his face in his hands. Gizela followed him out and sat beside him.

"I'm sorry," Luke apologized. "I had to get out of there for a little while."

Gizela put an arm around his shoulders. "It's okay, Luke."

She frowned as Chewbacca stepped out of the room. The Wookiee had not left Solo's side since he'd come out of the bacta tank. "Is he ¾ ?" Gizela began, and Chewie shook his head sharply.

***

Inside, Leia was alone with Han, but unaware of their solitude. Her tears seemed to flow for an eternity and then, exhausted, she fell asleep where she was, head on his arm, her small fingers clutching his blackened hand.

***

Gizela was concerned that Solo's time was running out. "Chewie, he would want you with him." Beside her, Luke shuddered, and she looked at him. "Are you all right?"

Luke nodded, but his skin felt as if it were crawling, and all the hair on the nape of his neck was standing on end.

Gizela was fed up with trying to understand their odd behavior. She opened the med center door and stood transfixed by the sight before her.

Solo was looking at her.

He smiled and lifted a finger to his lips to keep her from crying out, then resumed gently caressing the sleeping princess' hair.

Astounded, Gizela gaped. She glanced back at Chewie and Luke, then back into the room, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Chewbacca looked into Solo's room, curious as to what had left the medic so shocked. He howled in amazement and launched himself toward his partner.

Solo winced when Leia's head jerked up. She saw his alert face before he disappeared in a deluge of hollering fur, and she felt him squeeze her hand. Looking down at Han's fingers, she noticed that they were pink and healthy.

The room began to spin. Something was thundering in her ears, and it wasn't just the Wookiee's expressions of joy. Sudden nausea gripped her, and Leia fled into the en-suite and vomited.

Gizela was trying to scan Solo, but the Wookiee kept getting in the way. Luke just stood there, gawking.

"Han, how are you feeling?" Gizela asked.

Solo croaked, "A little strange, actually." He tried to clear his throat. "Is Leia all right?"

Gizela glanced at the 'fresher door. "I don't know. She was…" The scanner grabbed her attention. "This is impossible.…"

Solo smiled. "So you found us, huh? I felt sure we'd had it. Something hit me on the head and ¾ "

Chewbacca interrupted, growling extensively.

"YOU found us?" Solo grinned at him. "Thanks, pal. How long have I been here? Did I miss anything?"

Gizela just stared at him, unable to answer. Luke's thoughts were entirely his own, and he kept looking at the door to the 'fresher. Chewie chattered at Solo for quite some time.

Solo frowned. "Dead?" More growls. "I was DYING?" He looked at Luke for confirmation, then Gizela. The doctor looked so perturbed, Solo had to chuckle. "And you'd all come to…pay your respects?"

Chewbacca chided him, and Solo checked his mirth, despite the fact that he found the whole idea hilarious. The others looked so serious. "There was only Leia here when I woke," he said, trying to sound hurt, "and she was ASLEEP."

"Leia was upset," Luke explained.

"Understandable." Solo nodded sagely.

"VERY upset."

It was a verbal slap, and Solo had to force himself to keep a straight face. He cleared his throat and directed a yell toward the toilet door. "Princess? You all right?"

No answer.

"Your Worship?"

They could hear water rushing in the sink for a few moments, and then the door slid open and the princess stood in the frame, wet tendrils of hair clinging to her very white face. Her eyes were red and she was trembling.

Solo was impressed. "You look like you've had a bad night."

She didn't answer for a long while. "Actually, I've had a few lately."

"This defies all known boundaries of science!" the doctor muttered. "Even your hands! Han Solo, you should be dead."

"So everyone keeps telling me."

"But ¾ all my instruments tell me you are in perfect health. Your adrenaline levels are up, but that's understandable. Your hormone levels are up, but don't worry ¾ I'll warn all the girls."

Solo grinned. "Well, there you go. Hey, did I get to go in the tank?"

"Yes, you did."

"Damn! I missed it!" He looked back at the princess, who was remembering, vividly, his time in the bacta tank. She would never forget it. "So, why were you throwing up?"

Leia swallowed. She had no idea why; she just knew she was a physical and psychological mess. And that it was his fault.

"C'mere." He waved at her to come closer. "You haven't even said hello."

Leia suddenly stormed over to him and jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "Han Solo, don't you EVER do this to me again!" she cried, then fled the room, leaving the others in shock.

Luke considered going after her, but his better judgment told him to leave her be.

Gizela considered going after her, but the exhilaration of having a resurrected patient was far too seductive. She leaned on the bed and smiled at him. "Well, Solo, you may feel fine, but you're not leaving the med center. I've got a million and one tests I want to run on you."

Solo was far from enthusiastic. "Oh, come on, Giz —"

"Give me a break; I've never had a miracle happen under my nose before." She looked at Chewie and Luke, and said, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Why? What are you going to do that they can't be here for?"

Gizela smiled sweetly and handed him a specimen bag. "Well, for a start I want you to pee into this."

Solo rolled his eyes and the other two made for the door, amused.

Luke waved. "We'll leave you to it."

Solo scowled. "Traitor."

"What? You want me to stay and watch you pee?"

"Get out."

Chewie's guffaws could be heard as he walked down the icy corridor. Solo looked at the bag and then at the doctor.

She smiled. "Would you rather I wait outside?"

***

Luke and Chewie parted company at the mess room, Chewie heading for the 'Falcon' and Luke into the personnel wing, to the cabin he shared with Wedge Antilles and Zev Senesca. He was almost there when he stopped, a fearsome debate raging in his head.

Leia's quarters were down the next hallway.

She had been so distressed.…

In a few moments, he stood outside the princess' cabin. He stood there for two minutes before he finally worked up the nerve to sound the chime.

She opened the door and regarded him unenthusiastically. "I guessed it'd be you or Gizela."

"Gizela's far too excited about Han."

Leia nodded.

"Are YOU all right?" Luke asked. "I was worried ¾ "

"I'm fine, Luke," Leia assured him, hoping she sounded convincing. She ran a hand across the top of her head in a weary gesture. "I'm just tired."

"I'm sorry. I'll let you get back to bed."

"Thanks."

She moved to shut the door, and Luke stopped her. "Leia?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you have any idea what happened in there?"

Leia regarded him with troubled eyes; it was all she could think about. "No," she answered. "Do you?"

"No." Luke shook his head, but the uncertainty of his response piqued Leia's interest.

"But?" she prompted.

Luke said, "I FELT something."

Now she was all ears. "What?" Something to do with the Force, perhaps? That would make sense.

"A sort of weird…tingling. Kind of creepy. And right after ¾ we found Han."

"What do you think it was?"

"I don't know.…"

"The Force?" she suggested.

"Maybe."

"Then it was something you did." She sounded relieved.

"No," Luke said positively. "It wasn't me."

"Then who?" she demanded. Luke stared into her eyes and she blanched. "No —"

"You were the only one with him!" Luke insisted.

"Luke, what you're suggesting…" She struggled to find the right words. "It'd be funny if I weren't so tired!"

"I didn't know I was a Force-sensitive until Ben showed me! You might be the same."

Leia was shaking her head. "No."

"But ¾ "

"NO." She looked away, avoiding eye contact. "It's impossible."

"Why?"

She was looking distressed again. "Because it is!" She turned away, and said, "I have to go to bed. Good night, Luke."

"'night, Leia."

She closed the door. Luke regarded it for a moment, then turned and headed for his own quarters.

***

Leia spent the next week avoiding Luke and Han. Luke took it stoically, certain her mood would pass, but Solo wanted desperately to talk to her, if only to find out how she had fared after their ordeal. And he was mightily pissed off at how successfully she had made herself scarce. She'd smile at him as they passed in the corridor or across the control room, but always managed to be too busy to talk.

It irritated him that he felt such a need to spend time with her, but to then have her avoid him ¾ that was like a challenge in itself. He'd tried to convince himself she wasn't worth the effort, and had almost succeeded when he met her in the cavern that had become the new supply depot.

"Well, well, well," he purred arrogantly. "It's the elusive lady herself."

Leia looked trapped and barely glanced at him, making a show of rummaging through one of the smaller containers. "Hello, Han."

Solo indicated the shelves. "This is all very familiar, don't you think?"

"Just a bit." WHERE were the power cells?

"Fond memories?"

Leia could not get the image of him near death out of her mind, but she managed to say, "Not all of them, no." She shut the container, obviously irritated, and moved to the next one.

"No," Han agreed, and self-consciously scratched the back of his head.

Leia decided she could manage without the power cells for a little longer and was closing the container when, evidently sensing that she was about to take flight, Solo asked, "What're you looking for?"

"Comlink cells," she admitted. "But it doesn't matter —"

Solo reopened the first container she'd been looking in. "How many did you want?"

"They're not in there," she snapped. "I looked —"

Solo pulled a bag of cells out and held it up.

Leia regarded it for a moment, then said quietly, "Two."

Solo fished out two and handed them to her.

"Thank you."

He smiled and said softly, "You're welcome."

"I have to go." She started to bolt but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Can we talk?"

She glanced at him, almost fearfully. "About what?"

Solo removed his hand as a fighter pilot entered the aisle and moved past them, smiling a friendly acknowledgment at Solo's pleasant nod.

Leia waited until the pilot had moved away before answering the Corellian. "I have to go."

Solo moved back a step, resigned. "Fine." His discouraged tone made her look at him. "You've hardly been able to manage a civil word to me since I woke up in the med center. If Chewie and Luke hadn't told me how upset you'd been, I'd think you wished I'd died."

The princess was mortified. "Of course I don't wish you'd died!"

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it."

Leia hugged herself. "I'm sorry." She glanced at the other pilot down the aisle, then looked up at Han. "What did you want to talk about, Han?"

He leaned against the shelves. "Well, how are you, for a start?"

"Fine."

"Nicely recovered from our little ordeal?"

She nodded. "And you?"

"Pretty much.…"

"Your hands ¾ ? Was there any loss of…I mean, can you…was there any nerve damage?"

Solo smiled, holding out his hands for her to see. "No." He didn't think he'd ever seen the princess so nervous; what did she think he was going to do to her?

"Good." They could hear voices in the next aisle. "I really have to go."

"You should wear your hair loose more often, you know." THAT made her look at him. "When I saw you in the med center with your hair all… like it was…" He had her full attention and cast about for the right words. "Well… did you see LUKE'S face?"

Leia was appalled. "You were DYING, Han. Do you really think I'd be worrying what I looked like or what other people thought I looked like?"

"I thought you looked lovely," he said, inclining toward her fractionally.

"That's because you'd just woken up…," she said, unable to meet his eyes.

"And why were you sick?" he asked, addressing the question that had plagued him since his resurrection.

"I don't know. Nerves, I guess."

"Luke thinks it was you — something you did. He hasn't said it, but I can tell he thinks it. The way he looks at you."

Leia grimaced. "Luke's always looked at me like that."

One side of Solo's mouth twitched up. "No, this is different."

"He thinks I have Force sensitivity," she sighed, exasperated. "Which is totally ridiculous. More likely it's YOU, or Luke doing it from afar without realizing."

Solo chuckled at the suggestion of himself possessed by the same mumbo-jumbo as Luke, but acquiesced to put her at ease. "Maybe." He moved closer. "But it was YOUR head on my arm when I woke up." He took her left hand in both of his. "YOU holding my hand."

She stared at his hands, then turned strangely haunted eyes up to his. "You were dying."

"I dreamed you kissed me." He kept his voice low, soothing. "Or was that part of our Truth or Dare?"

Leia tensed her hand and he let her pull it free, but she did not look at him. "No."

"So I dreamt it?" he pressed.

This time she looked straight into his eyes. "No."

So she HAD kissed him. A whisper of a smile touched Solo's face and he contemplated her for a long moment. They were both fighting this attraction tooth and nail, he realized. WHY?

Leia looked away as two pilots from Rogue Squadron appeared at the end of their aisle. Both men saw Solo, waved enthusiastically, and headed toward him.

"Your adoring subjects," Leia muttered, trying unsuccessfully not to smirk. Solo scowled good-naturedly, and Leia's smirk swelled into a full-blown smile. "See you later, hot shot."

She walked away, and Solo turned his attention to the approaching pilots, Zev Senesca and Barlon Chambers. He liked Senesca; good pilot, GREAT drinker, and a genuinely funny son-of-a-bitch. Chambers, on the other hand, thought he was the greatest comic on the base, when in fact, he was about as funny as a day on the Death Star. And he was a sleazy prick. Solo made a mental note to focus his next practical joke on Chambers.

"How you doing, Solo?" Senesca asked. "All thawed out now?"

Solo smiled. "I'm fine."

Chambers indicated the departing princess. "Didn't interrupt anything, I hope?"

"No," Solo said, not missing a beat. "Why?"

The pilots shared a glance. Solo's usual response when accused of flirting with the princess was to upbraid them all for interrupting his crucial move. This new reaction suggested they had, in fact, intruded. Which also implied…

"Did Luke fill you in about our run-in over Daineer?" Senesca asked, deliberately changing the subject as they moved out of the supply depot.

"No." He had Solo's undivided attention. "Imperials?"

"Vader's fucking flagship!" crowed Chambers.

Solo gave them an awed, melodramatic, "No!" and they moved down the corridor, laughing.

The End.