His mind was still reeling from all that had happened over the past … had it only been an HOUR? He could hardly believe his own eyes, but the chrono left no doubt about it. A mere hour had passed since …
Closing his eyes, he was instantly thrown back.
Bespin.
The soles of his feet hurt from the sharp edges of the grating he was standing on. His skin, slick with sweat, cooled rapidly in the fierce wind howling down the shaft he was standing in. His newly maimed right arm screamed in pain while his mind seemed to freeze in shock at what had been done to him.
Said to him.
„I am your father."
His eyes flew open as his heart sped up once more with terror. He couldn't bear living in this moment again. Could bear hearing this sentence again and again, every time he closed his eyes, every time he was on the verge of sleep, even though he was exhausted unto death. When - how - would he ever be able to sleep again if going through this was what it took?
Remembering that he was not alone in his misery, he fought to sit upright on the edge of the cot, ten made it to his feet. He reached out with a shaking hand to steady himself as he stumbled out of the tiny room and made his way to the cockpit once more. They had helped him back to his cot after R2 had finally found what had kept them from jumping to lightspeed, but he just couldn't remain alone.
Arriving in the cockpit, he once more took the seat beside Leia. She had slumped in her own chair, her head sinking onto her left shoulder, her eyes closed. She had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, judging by the dark circles in the hollows under her eyes, but she was twitching in her sleep and he guessed that she wasn't going to be asleep for long, nor would she wake up rested and refreshed from this.
His fingers hovered over her shoulder as he waited, and he was ready when she gasped and jerked upright, one hand reaching out to grasp … nothing.
He wasn't here.
He had sacrificed himself to keep her safe, to keep him safe, and it had all been for nothing. After all they had been through, it had still taken all of Lando's cunning and courage to get them both away from his gas mine. They had fallen into a trap, all of them going in willingly, and had barely escaped with their lives.
And Han hadn't even escaped yet.
Where would they take him? Who had been the highest bidder? And would he still be alive by the time they found him?
„We'll get him back", he whispered, his voice still hoarse from screaming, in pain and in terror, but when he saw the effect his words had on her he repeated them more firmly, more sure of himself. „We'll get him back."