As if her ears were ringing, the sound of the hanging tubes blowing puffs of steam across the chamber would not leave her alone. She could practically smell the rotten stench of liquid carbonite, especially in her vivid nightmares. She wished she could wake up from them, but it was like she was being held there, forced to re-witness the same scene over and over again. Almost like the recurring nightmares she'd had following Alderaan's demise. But, in a different and unexpected way, this was so much worse.

Han stood before her and Leia longed to reach out and touch him, but her hands were bound in front of her, locked up in the Imperials' strongest cuffs. She held his gaze though, her mind racing as she tried to find the perfect words for the moment. What was she supposed to say? What did she want to say? What did he need to hear?

One of the stormtroopers reached to grab Han and, without a second thought, Chewie lashed out an arm, sending him flying over the edge of the platform on which they all stood. More officers raced over to seize the Wookiee and Han hurried to calm his friend, yelling to be heard over the tumult and Chewie's own roars. "Chewie! Hey! Stop it! There'll be another time. You have to take care of the princess."

At that moment, Leia thought she might break to pieces. She hung on to Chewie until Han turned to face her. Her thoughts a mess, she discarded them and quickly stood on her toes to kiss him. Han returned the favor, full force, feeding her hunger, but just as quickly, he was pulled away from her. They positioned him over the pool of caronite beneath their feet and Leia watched as Han glanced down. The officers stepped back and Leia knew it could be any second when they dropped him in. Taking a step forward, Leia shouted over the fast talking of the Imperials and the various parts of the carbonite chamber working. So surely and confidently, "I love you!" sprang from her lips without a second thought. And when she said it, for that first time, Leia realized just how true it was, how easy it was to say it. Leia felt sick, like she could collapse at that moment. Han looked back to her, offering no smile or comfort. Only two simple words. "I know."

What that meant, Leia had no time to ponder. For, almost as soon as the words were spoken, the machines in the room screeched awfully and a large puff of cold air blasted Han and he closed his eyes and grimaced before the pad he stood on began to lower itself. From beside Leia, Chewbacca roared mournfully. Once Han was under, there was another screeching. This one was sharper and pierced Leia's ears. Then, it turned into a groan as a large sort of tong lowered from the ceiling. It reached into the small pit of carbonite and pulled out a large slab of the stuff in frozen form. And raised from the slab was the form of Leia's beloved, stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerfherder. Leia swallowed, her throat constricting against tears. Leia didn't want them to fall, but they did when two Ugnaughts briefly surveyed it and gave it a shove. The heavy, solid slab crashed against the floor and Leia hushed her scream so only Chewie heard it. And maybe Lando Calrissian.

Faintly, Leia heard C-3PO rattle on about how Han should be just fine. If he survived the freezing process, that is. Leia tried to ignore him. Han's buddy stepped forward and kneeled beside Han Solo's frozen form. Vader asked him, "Well, Calrissian? Is he alive?"

Lando gave a small nod. "Yes, he's alive. And in perfect hibernation."

"Good. Prepare the chamber for Skywalker."

Leia hardly even heard Vader's last comment. Her gaze was frozen on Han. She couldn't look away until Imperial officers wrenched her from Chewie's grasp and shuffled her along, out of the chamber. Still, though, the image of Han coming out of the carbonite, encased in it, was frozen in Leia's mind.

AN: First off, just to clarify, this story takes place immediately following ESB. Han has been imprisoned in carbonite, Luke's got a new hand, and now Leia has a lot of thinking to do . . .

Thanks for checking out my new story! I apologize for my indecisiveness, but I was recently inspired by a fanfiction story. The story's synopsis is something I've seen done only a couple times and I really wanted to try it for myself. I have a lot of faith placed in this new story and I already have a couple chapters ready to go, so I'm super excited and I promise I won't drop this story like I did before. I mean it! This is going to be awesome and I am so excited, so thank you all for checking this out and I hope you enjoy!