Some Things Never Change
By: Lara (who would rather remain anonymous)
Okay, this story is just one of my crazy musings. I was just wondering one day, what happened between the part where Zev finds Luke and Han half-frozen to death on Hoth and the part where Luke is in the bacta tank. And I wondered, what happened after that, where it skips to where Luke is all happy and fine in the little medical bay thingy. You don't even have to read this, but I'll shut up now and let those who do want to read this read it. (By the way, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the whole story except for maybe the last sentence. I just needed a title.) And, oh yeah, all these characters and crap belong to George.
Now…. On to the story:
Zev Senesca flew his snowspeeder over the icy plain of Hoth, checking his instruments for signs of life.
"Commander Skywalker, do you copy?" he called through the speaker, "This is Rogue Two. This is Rogue Two. Captain Solo, so you copy? Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rogue Two."
Finally he heard someone respond. "Good morning. Nice of you guys to drop by," came the familiar sardonic sound of Han Solo's voice.
Zev smiled and reported back to base, then called Wedge to fly over and help him pick up the two stranded men. He swung his speeder in the other direction and zoomed off toward the blinking signal of life on his monitor.
Han Solo opened the flap on the survival tent to reveal two speeders flying toward them. Beside him, Luke Skywalker stirred in his sleeping bag and mumbled something in his drug-induced sleep. Large claw-marks ran down the right side of the young man's face, blood showing through the bandages that were on his cheek and forehead.
"We made it, kid," Han said softly as he packed up equipment, "We made it. You're gonna be okay."
In a few minutes, the thunderous engines roared down next to them and decreased as they were shut down. Two men clad in orange flight suits stuck their heads inside the tent, and Han greeted them warmly.
"Hi, Zev. Hi, Wedge." He grabbed a pack of supplies and handed it to Wedge, and the dark-haired man walked off to stow it in his speeder. Han then turned his attention back to Luke. He reached over and unzipped Luke's sleeping bag, and unclasped the biomonitor cuff that was around the young man's arm, measuring his status. Then he and Zev worked together to pull the unconscious Luke out of his sleeping bag.
They carefully carried Luke over to Wedge's speeder and set him in the back seat. Han strapped him in, and then he, Zev, and Wedge proceeded to load supplies into the two speeders.
When the tent and everything else was packed up, Han climbed into the back of Zev's snowspeeder and the four men headed back to the base.
As Wedge Antilles sped over the snow, he heard a faint groan, almost inaudible over the whine of the engines.
"You awake, Luke? How ya' doing back there?" he called.
There was another groan and then came Luke's voice, faint and weak, saying, "F-f-freezing." He shifted slightly in his seat as shivers coursed up and down his body, making his teeth chatter loudly.
"We're almost to the base. Just hang on, buddy," Wedge said, increasing the throttle a bit more.
In about a minute, the power generators of the Alliance's base came into view over the hills of snow. Wedge zoomed toward it, decreasing the throttle as he angled toward the hangar bay.
Princess Leia Organa paced nervously, as she waited for the last two speeders to come back. As she looked out the open doors of the hangar, she saw the two speeders at last come into view over the hilltop.
"They're here!" she cried, and ran towards the center of the docking bay. The two speeders gently slowed to a stop and their hatches opened with a hiss.
Han and Zev climbed out of one speeder as two medics rushed up, one steering a repulsor bed.
"Han!" Leia cried, and maneuvered her way around the medics to him. She hugged him, grateful to see him alive.
"Hi, Sweetheart," he said softly, returning her hug, "I gotta go help them now, okay?"
Leia nodded as Han turned back to the other speeder. He helped the two speeder pilots pull the semi-conscious Luke out of the back.
"Oh, Luke…" Leia murmured when she saw him.
Luke looked up at Leia through half-open eyes as he stumbled toward her, supported by Han and Wedge. He smiled as much as he could without further hurting his injuries.
"Hi, Le-" Luke suddenly doubled over in pain, holding his stomach as violent coughs wracked his body. As he stood hunched over, shaking convulsively, Leia came up to him and started gently rubbing his back. After twenty seconds of agony, the coughs finally stopped, leaving Luke wheezing painfully as he stood up, gasping for breath. He had scratched himself on his rank insignia and as he raised his head, blood trickled down his cheek from one of the cuts that had reopened itself.
Han and Wedge put their arms around Luke's waist again as they guided him to the repulsor bed. Luke started shivering madly as they lowered him onto the bed and one of the medics quickly came forward and covered him with a thick blanket.
Leia came up beside Luke and stroked his cheek, saying, "I'm glad you're back."
Luke smiled and whispered, "Me too." He groaned in pain. "Ugh, I feel terrible. Bye, Leia." The medics then started steering the repulsor bed in the direction of the med center, Han and Leia trailing quietly behind.
As they went down the nearly empty hallway, Luke felt his stomach do a sickening roll. Sensing the inevitable, he rolled onto his side and hung his head over the edge of the bed as he retched. He lay there for half a minute, feeling the sharp pain in his chest each time he heaved as nothing made its way out of his stomach. He hadn't eaten in the past eighteen or twenty hours.
As he finally stopped, he took his hand and wiped spit from the corners of his mouth. Then he clutched at the sides of the bed, pushing himself up onto it again. He lay there, panting, as he heard one of the medics speak up.
"Are you all right, Commander Skywalker?" he asked.
Luke hesitated a moment, and then slowly nodded his head, motioning for them to keep moving. They soon turned a corner and lifted Luke from the repulsor bed, placing him carefully on one of the beds in the med bay. The medics walked away, and Han and Leia took their place as two doctors came up to the foot of Luke's bed. One doctor placed an anesthetic mask over his mouth, and Luke had just enough time to glance up at Han and Leia before once again drifting into unconsciousness.
The doctor then removed the thick blanket that covered Luke's sleeping form. As they pulled off Luke's ice-caked boots and socks they revealed his bare feet, bright pink from the freezing temperatures. He was lucky he hadn't gotten frostbite. Han suddenly wondered if his own body was like that, too. No, he decided, because Luke had been out in the cold a lot longer than he had.
The doctors worked quickly to peel the thick jacket and pants from Luke's lean body, and when they were done, covered him with two heavy thermal blankets. One doctor ushered Han and Leia out of the way as the other pulled a protective curtain around the bed. He turned on an oxygen machine and a thermal heater, which would keep Luke at a stable temperature and give his weak body just the right amount and mixture of air, so that he wouldn't have another coughing fit.
After about fifteen minutes, the doctors came back, to find Han and Leia still watching protectively over their unconscious friend. The doctors picked up Luke and once again placed him on a repulsor bed.
As he was set down, Luke momentarily regained consciousness.
"Wha…?" he groaned, confused.
One of the doctors answered, "Don't worry, Commander. We're just going to put you in a bacta tank for a few hours to heal those cuts."
Luke barely heard the man as he went unconscious again, head rolling to one side as his body went limp.
Luke woke up again, his eyes opening to a thick pink goo that surrounded him. He was suspended in a bacta tank, with a breath mask over his mouth. Through the slime, he could vaguely make out hazy shapes, all of which had no meaning to him right now. He was dimly aware of the fact that they were people, but then began thrashing about, raving in delirium.
Han and Leia watched as Luke moved about in the gelatinous fluid, hoping that his injuries would soon heal. Han placed his arm around Leia, and they both sat down on the empty bed next to them. The droids and medics both had calmly tried to persuade Han and Leia into going back to their own rooms and getting some sleep, but neither one would budge. They were determined to stay here until Luke got out of the bacta tank.
An hour later, a medical droid flipped one of the switches on the control panel to the bacta tank. The fluid slowly drained out, and the droid opened a door on the side of the tank, unstrapping Luke from the harness that held him. Luke slowly walked out, steadying himself with his hand placed on the droid's smooth shoulder. He was clad in only a pair of damp, white shorts and he gratefully accepted the robe that one of the droids offered him. As he placed the robe around his shoulders, sticking his arms through the sleeves, he glanced up and saw Leia. She smiled, and walked over to guide him to a nearby chair.
"Hi," she said, "I've been here the whole time. Han has, too. He just went to get some people to tell them that you were awake."
Luke coughed weakly and then responded in a soft voice, "Hi. You were here the entire time? You didn't have to do that for me." His voice was slightly slurred because he couldn't move one whole side of his face very much. Embarrassed, he reached down to tie the belt of his robe, trying to take the notice off of his voice. But his still unsteady and weak fingers fumbled with the cloth, and it slipped out of his hands.
"Here, let me," Leia said, and reached over to tie the belt. Her hands moved deftly, tying the knot in less than two seconds. Luke laughed softly at his own inability to do such a simple thing, but the end of the laugh turned into a cough and he stopped. He covered his mouth with his hand and sank back into the padded chair.
"Looks like I'm not in perfect condition yet," he said, rubbing his sore throat with his hand. "I seriously do not recommend spending the night outside in a blizzard. Especially when you've just been attacked by a wampa and have previously been hung by your feet from the ceiling of a cave for who knows how long."
Leia laughed, glad to see Luke's sense of humor slowly returning.
Luke looked around, curious, until he spotted just the thing he was looking for: a mirror. He peered into it and then winced at his own reflection. It was a strange sort of wince, though, because at the moment, only one side of his face moved. "Ouch. I did get scratched up pretty bad back there." He gingerly felt along the left side of his face, feeling the scars that ran from his forehead down to his mouth. When he reached a couple of places, he grimaced in pain. The cuts may have healed on the outside, but they were still tender to the touch. "Ow," he muttered when he felt along the cut closest to his mouth.
One of the 2-1B droids rolled towards them and Luke glanced up at it.
"Sir," it said, "your room is ready if you'd like to go there. There's also a clean pair of clothes for you. They're on your bed in your room."
"Sure," Luke answered, "Where is it? I'll walk there if it's not too far."
"Follow me." The droid turned and started headed towards a door.
Leia stood up, and offered her hand to Luke. He grabbed it, using it to pull himself up, and started to stagger after the 2-1B.
"I'll come, too," Leia said, "Then I can tell Han where you are." She put her arm around Luke's waist and they followed the droid out into a metal-floored hallway.
The dark metal was cold on Luke's bare feet, but he was grateful that it was metal and not snow and ice that he was walking on. He had had enough of snow in the past twenty-four hours to last him quite a while. They turned a corner and walked through the open door. There was a small closet to the left, and on the right, there was an adjustable bed, which, as promised, held a dark gray tunic and a pair of pants.
"I'll let you get changed," Leia said as she started out the doorway.
"Hey, Leia?" Luke called as he sat down on the bed.
"Yes?"
"Just how many people was Han going to go tell that I was awake?" Luke wondered, so that he would know just how large or small of a crowd he was expecting.
"Oh, he was just going to get Chewie and the droids. Artoo was really worried about you while you were out there, Luke."
Luke smiled at the devotion of the small droid. "Okay. Thanks, Leia. I'll see you later. And, Leia? Thanks for staying there with me. I knew someone was there the entire time, and I think it kept me from going too crazy in that tank. I hate being submerged in water, or anything remotely liquid for that matter."
Leia laughed and responded, "You're welcome, Luke. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay. See ya," Luke mumbled through his stiff mouth.
He closed the door and took off his robe, unfolding the baggy tunic on his bed. He pulled it over his head, winced when the fabric touched his tender face. Then he slipped on the pants and crawled onto his bed, adjusting the controls so that he could sit up while he rested against the pillows. No sooner had he gotten comfortable, though, did R2-D2 and C-3PO decide it was the perfect time to come visiting.
"Master Luke, sir, it's so good to see you fully functional again," the prissy droid piped up.
"Thanks, Threepio."
Artoo also voiced his joy by beeping happily.
"Artoo expresses his relief, also," Threepio translated.
A few seconds later, Han and Chewie walked in, and Han quickly moved in front of Threepio, pushing the golden droid out of his way. Chewbacca growled a greeting and Han said, "How ya' feeling, kid? You don't look so bad to me. In fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark."
"Thanks to you," Luke answered quietly.
"That's two you owe me, junior." Luke chuckled softly as Han held up two fingers. "By the way, what happened to your voice? You sound like you've been run over by a sandcrawler," Han added quietly as he turned, hearing the sound of the door opening again. Luke gave Han an annoyed look, but then turned his head to see who else had arrived. It was Leia, and Luke knew that Leia and Han in the same room spelled certain doom.
Han leaned on the edge of the bed and gave Leia a big, devilish grin, folding his arms across his chest. "Well, your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a little while longer," he said.
Leia rolled her eyes and haughtily replied, "I had nothing to do with it. General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy shield."
Han smiled in disbelief. "That's a good story. I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight."
Luke sighed and rolled his eyes, turning his head away from the two bickering people. He knew this was going to happen, but just why did it half to happen in his hospital room?
Leia breathed out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know where you get you delusions, laser brain."
Chewie barked in laughter at this comment and Han turned to face the Wookiee with a sardonic reply, saying, "Laugh it up, fuzz ball. But you didn't see us alone in the south passage.
Luke looked to Leia, a questioning look on his face.
Han turned and walked over to Leia, put his arm around her waist and smiled his big, dumb grin. "She expressed her true feelings for me," he said, nodding.
Han raised his eyebrows and started to walk away, as Leia pulled away from Han's grasp in disgust. "My...!" She quickly thought of numerous insults. "Why, you stuck up,...half-witted,...scruffy-looking...
Nerf herder!"
Han turned, a hurt and surprised expression on his face. "Who's scruffy-looking?" He bent down to Luke's level and said, "I must have hit her pretty close
to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?" Luke said nothing, just looked down, trying not to be a part of the conversation.
Leia nodded as she walked toward the bed, looking disgustedly at Han. "Well, I guess you don't know everything about women yet," she said to him. Then she turned to Luke and kissed him on the lips. Leia stood back up again, turned on her heel and marched out the door, leaving everyone else in the room staring, dumbstruck, at the open doorway Leia had disappeared through.
With more than a little smugness, Luke grinned at Han and put his hands behind his head, leaning back into the pillows.
In the distance, a muffled alarm went off and a person came on over the loudspeaker.
"Headquarters personnel, report to command center. Headquarters personnel, report to command center.
Han looked down to Luke and said quickly, "Take it easy," as he walked out of the room, Chewie at his heels.
"Excuse us, please," Threepio said politely, and Luke nodded, hoisting himself up to watch as the four hurriedly exited, leaving him behind.
Luke smiled to himself in amusement. Han and Leia… some things never changed. Some did over time, but at any rate, Luke would have to wait to find out, so for the moment, he put Han and Leia's bickering out of his mind and settled back to go to sleep.
THE END
So, was it horrible, was it good, was it just plain stupid? Please review if you've even bothered to read all the way up to this point.