Thank you all so much for the warm welcome back! :) I am home today because my daughter is sick so I had some extra time to edit the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it and thank you again!

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Princess Leia Organa, abruptly orphaned, lay silently and sorrowfully on the hard, cold slab that the Empire allowed as a bed for prisoners of the detention block on the Death Star. She felt dazed. The feeling of numbness was welcome, though, for the alternative would give Tarkin and Vader far too much satisfaction. Her loss was too all-encompassing to contemplate.

And if she started crying, she might never stop.

No, this was not the time to fall into a pit of despair. She needed to stay sharp and alert, not wallow in pity. The situation was much bigger than the sum of her losses.

There did not seem to be much hope for escape, but Leia was not willing to give up so easily. She would fight until her dying breath. Which, unfortunately, might come sooner than expected. Her termination had been scheduled. She would remain vigilant for any opportunity to escape. If that was impossible, then she would settle for taking as many Imperials with her as she could.

She had not been raised to accept defeat. Her father and mother…

No. Not now, she reiterated to herself. There would be time later. And if it turned out that there was no time…well, she hoped there was an afterlife in which that would no longer matter. And if there wasn't…well, Leia guessed it wouldn't matter then either.

The torture had stopped immediately before she had been brought before Tarkin on the observation deck. It had taken a toll on her body, mind, and spirit. She could tell that she had surprised Vader. That monster had been so certain that he could break her. Between the mind-control drugs and that penetrating probe into her thoughts, he almost had. It was so strange and startling how she knew that he had invaded her mind. Instinctively, she had cut off all thoughts, had somehow managed to raise a barrier that made it impossible for him to extract the location of the Rebel base. She had been almost as startled by it as he. And in that moment, somehow, she had felt his shock and outrage. How that was possible, Leia didn't know. Clearly, Vader had been using the Force, but it was stupefying that Leia could actually feel it happening.

Now, she was left with nothing but her thoughts. She steeled herself into numbness and thought of nothing but various scenarios in which she could destroy Tarkin, or Vader, or this entire abomination of a space station. She would be more than happy to blow up along with them all, a triumphant smile broadening her face as it lit into oblivion.

The door to her cell opened suddenly, and a lone Stormtrooper stood, head cocked to one side. Never one to be intimidated, Leia sat up slightly, one knee raised.

"Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" she asked with casual sarcasm.

"Huh?" he answered dumbly.

Leia wondered where they were finding their recruits these days.

"Oh, the uniform," he said in a filtered, tinny voice.

He surprised her by reaching up to pull the helmet from his head. What was he doing?

Underneath the blank anonymity of the helmet, pure, blue eyes stared at her with an earnest expression as he clasped the helmet in one hand. "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you."

Leia sat up straighter, utterly confused. "You're who?"

"I'm here to rescue you, I've got your R2 unit, I'm here with Ben Kenobi!"

Her senses came to instant attention. "Ben Kenobi? Where is he?"

"Come on!" the blond stranger called, beckoning her from the cell.

She was at his side in a rush and they flew from the cell and ran down the corridor towards an oncoming duo. One was a human dressed in Stormtrooper armor, minus the helmet. The other was a Wookiee. As they nearly collided at the corridor's midpoint, blaster fire whizzing around them, Leia flew to her left, behind the young, blond man, while his two companions crowded to the right.

"Can't get out that way," said a deep voice that sparked a faint familiarity.

She glanced in the owner's direction and was dumbstruck for just an instant. Her mind reeled in that moment before she regained her much-needed composure. It couldn't be. "Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route," she observed, trying to refocus.

More fire rained between them and the blond man pulled out a commlink. He began yelling over the noise to someone at the other end. There had to be a way out of this.

Lowering the comlink, the young man informed them that there was no other way out.

"I can't hold them off forever. Now what?"

Was that really him? "This is some rescue. When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"

Now, their eyes met through the laser fire and it was him, there was no doubt. All she could read in his eyes was frustration. What was he doing here?!

"He's the brains, Sweetheart!" He pointed to the man in front of her.

"Well, I didn't—" the young man began.

Struck by sudden inspiration, Leia ripped the blast rifle from his grasp, turned, and blasted a hole in the panel next to the Corellian pilot. It was the only way.

He jumped at the blast that struck uncomfortably close. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Somebody has to save our skins," she yelled back. "Into the garbage chute, Flyboy!" She tossed the weapon back to the blond man and jumped into the freshly-blasted hole.

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Relief and frustration twisted his insides as Han watched Leia hop effortlessly into the large, charred opening that gaped at him from the bulkhead. Pushing aside feelings he had no time to examine, he gestured Chewie to follow her down the hole.

The Wookiee sniffed and shook his head, expression deeply hesitant.

Han had no time for this nonsense. "Get in there, you big furry oaf!" he shouted. "I don't care what you smell! Get in there and don't worry about it!"

With a grimace, Chewie pushed his bulk into the opening and Han gave him a swift kick for good measure, just in case he changed his mind. The Wookiee disappeared with a howl.

Still trading fire with the stormtroopers, Han and Luke made their way to the hole and the Corellian gestured with a cock of his head for the younger man to precede him as he continued to hold off the Imperials. Once the kid was gone, it was his turn and Han could do no less than to follow the Princess' lead. She was still the same spirited, young woman he had known, and she had immediately shown him just how capable she had grown to be. With a joyful, Corellian battle cry, he hurled himself into the opening, allowing himself a moment to rejoice in the fact that Leia was indeed alive.

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Suddenly alone in the cockpit, neither seemed to know what to say. Han watched her stare down at her hands, expressionless. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her features had matured; she was more woman than girl, in spite of the fact that she remained almost as fresh-faced as she had been three years ago.

Leia was even braver than he would have predicted. Captured by Darth Vader, surely she must have been tortured. Her entire life had been destroyed by that space station. And yet, here she sat, as if this hadn't been the worst day of her life. Quick, clever, and courageous, she had saved them all from their poorly thought out plan. Han had thought she had doomed them, but in the end, it had been the only possible way out. He was even more impressed by her than he could have imagined.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, realizing it was probably a stupid question.

She nodded, eyes cast downwards.

He hesitated, afraid to ask the next question. "Your parents…?" he asked softly, unable to complete the sentence.

Leia's features grew sorrowful and she kept her eyes averted but her head shook back and forth slowly, mournfully.

Han's stomach dipped and he struggled for words. What could he possibly say? The image of Bail Organa popped into his mind, serious but kind, smiling at his daughter's sharp attitude while remaining firm. Her mother, a small, sweet, dignified woman.

She turned to gaze askance at him, interrupting his reverie. "What are you doing here?" And just like that, the misery had fled her visage, leaving her somber and confused. She almost sounded accusatory.

"The old man hired me to bring him and the droids to Alderaan." A pang of regret hit him as her gaze returned to her hands. "I'm sorry, Leia. About…all of it." Had words ever been so unable to express what he felt? He wasn't one to talk about his feelings, and now was no different.

She looked sad again, but not nearly what he would have expected of someone who had, literally, just lost her world. He knew that she felt things very deeply. And he also knew that she was an expert at covering up her emotions.

"Thank you," she said quietly, unmoving.

He wanted to say more but couldn't fathom where to begin. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again. "What's that droid carrying?"

Her head rose and her solemnity was replaced with a determination that was distantly familiar to him. "The technical readout for that battle station. I only hope that when the data is analyzed, a weakness can be found. It's not over yet!"

She was crazy to think she could make a dent in the Empire's armor. He couldn't humor her with encouragement, yet he couldn't bring himself to argue either. "How long have you been a part of the Rebellion?"

"Officially?" She was starting to sound more like herself.

Uncertain of what she meant, he nodded.

"I became thoroughly involved with the Rebellion as a spy when I became a Senator just over a year ago. But, I was involved in my father's engagement with the Alliance for far longer." She stated this as if it were a written monologue that she repeated as needed.

His mind waded through this information. "Even back when…" He paused, trying to gather words to define their past. "When we knew each other?"

Emotion tainted her eyes again, but he wasn't sure what she might be thinking or feeling. "Yes," she replied softly.

He faced the viewport without seeing it. All that time they had spent together, and he had known nothing of her secret life. She had talked about her intentions of becoming a senator, changing the government from the inside, making the galaxy a better place. She had held a fortune full of hopes and dreams clutched tightly in her soul and he had never once suspected that she had an actual means of achieving them. He had thought her foolish and naïve, and far too idealistic.

The door to the cockpit swished open and there was Luke, as wide-eyed and buoyant as Leia had been three years ago. She turned and smiled at him, a very different, much easier smile than she gave Han. The few smiles she had graced him with had been laden with confused, convoluted overtones.

"If you'll both excuse me," she said, rising from Chewie's chair and brushing past Luke. The kid watched her go, and Han watched Luke watching her.

Stars were in the younger man's eyes and, although he was growing fond of Luke, he didn't care for his apparent interest in Leia. They made too much sense, far more than Han could ever make with her. They were both young, optimistic, and felt they could change the galaxy. Han had lived a lifetime of harsh reality and knew well enough that they were just dreamers. Real change was an impossible task.

He reminded himself that it was really none of his business. The past was in the past, no matter how beautiful and beckoning it might appear to be. Soon, this too would be just a memory. A bittersweet one, at that.

"So…what do you think of her, Han?" Luke asked, eyes alight.

"I'm trying not to, Kid," Han muttered honestly.

"Good." The smile that curved his lips was infinitely pleased.

Han glanced his way, feeling a sudden need to discourage the younger man's intentions. "Still…" he added thoughtfully. "She's got a lot of spirit. I don't know, what do you think? You think a princess and a guy like me-?"

"No," Luke interjected sharply then quickly moved his eyes to stare grimly at the console in front of him. After a moment of silence, he rose and left the cockpit, jaw tight.

A small part of Han found Luke's jealousy amusing. A larger part understood it all too well.

But, the question he had posed was something Han had thought long and hard about so long ago on Alderaan. It had been the first and only time he felt a small pull towards staying in one place for a woman, before he dismissed it as absurd, a foolish fantasy. She hadn't even been a woman at the time, had been too young for him to pursue. But, there was something about her that had pulled hard at his heart. He couldn't deny that the pull was still there now, after all this time. But, the idea was no less foolish. Best to leave it in the past where it belonged.

Chewie returned to the cockpit, growling assurance that everything was running smoothly before taking his co-pilot's seat.

"Great."

He barked a question.

Han felt his shields raise. "Yeah, it was her," he answered dully. He really wasn't in the mood to discuss Leia.

The big Wookiee bellowed about fated interventions.

Han snorted. "Hardly. Next thing I know you'll tell me the Force had something to do with it."

Chewbacca observed that it was a very odd coincidence that Han had come to rescue a woman whom he had been a bodyguard to three years earlier.

It was a very odd coincidence and Han's mind still reeled with the shock of it. "Lots of coincidences happen."

His furry companion suggested that perhaps it meant something.

Han swiveled his chair to face him, features screwing up and distorting to disbelief. "Oh, c'mon, that's ridiculous."

Chewie disagreed and mentioned the way Han's eyes softened when he looked at the young Princess.

He rolled his eyes. "You're imagining things."

He growled a reminder of how well he knew his Captain.

"I just feel bad for her, is all. She just lost her whole planet."

Chewie guffawed and turned to the instrument panel. Han threw him a dirty look, happy to leave the topic behind.