A/N:

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I wouldn't be writing here if I did.

ANYHOW, thanks for reading and reviewing. ^^

Chapter 2

A Boiling Worry

Leia stood in front of her brother's door, hesitating. She managed to gather a sincere smile on her face and rapped on the door. She heard scuffling as the lock was undone. Luke stood in the doorway. He smiled.

"Leia," he stepped back to admit her into his apartment. She took a seat on the couch, glancing around at the neat surroundings. "What are you doing here?" He did not sound surprised. Leia looked up at Luke from her seat, steeling herself to remember the dream that she already had tried to forget. Luke noticed his sister's uneasiness and watched her carefully. "Take your time," he reassured her. "Do you want some tea?" She nodded thankfully for a distraction.

"Just plain tea, please," she added as the Jedi retreated to the kitchen.

Luke shuffled around in his slippers, grabbing the teacups and tea from the cabinets. He had sensed Leia's hesitance. She had rarely been like so. She did not keep very much from her brother, and the fact that so much anxiousness radiated from Leia made Luke a bit agitated himself. He filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. He stared in silence at the lazily bubbling liquid as it began to jump and froth. He could feel Leia's worry boiling in the other room. He reached out, trying to calm her. She knew what he was doing and responded shakily through what meager knowledge she had of the Force, strengthened by their close family relationship. Soon the water was steaming, and Luke brought the tea kettle and the teacups to where Leia waited.

Leia sat in silence, nodding in thanks to Luke as she sipped the soothing drink. It ran down her throat, hot and healing as it warmed her body. For a quiet moment there was only the sound of gentle sloshing of the steaming tea.

The peace was too much for the young woman, and she finally spoke.

"There's something that I have to tell you," she burst out a bit breathlessly. Luke turned his blue-eyed gaze on Leia, gentle and expectant. "I thought you could help me." She paused.

"Go on," Luke urged.

"I had a dream-a vision," Leia braced herself against the flood of emotions as she recalled the details to Luke.

"What frightened me was that it was so...vivid," she shuddered. Her brother looked troubled.

"It sounds like the type of vision I had before Bespin," he said softly. Leia's deep brown eyes looked, startled, to Luke's.

"When..." she trailed off, now dearly wishing she had Han by her side, to hold her tightly and reassure her that it would be okay.

"I saw...you and Han in pain...a city in the clouds...And it was all so real."

Leia could not speak, on the verge of terrified tears. If her Jedi Master brother said that it would happen, then all was at end for her. If Han would die, she would follow. There was nothing for her in life. The New Republic was stabilizing. They could not possibly need any more help from her. She would be only a broken princess of a lost planet, depending on the Republic to stay alive.

"Don't think that way," Luke snapped suddenly, looking into her mind. Leia looked up at him from staring at the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We won't let it happen," Luke said intensely, staring at his sister in the eyes. He leaned forwards to speak softly. "Now go tell Han. I'll be meditating on this." He pushed a brown lock of hair away from her face.

"What'll he say?" she whispered fearfully. Luke shook his head.

"I don't know, but you can't keep this from him forever."

Leia bit her lip in determination.

"Thank you, Luke," she said, standing up. She hugged him briefly before walking briskly out of the door.

Han jumped to his feet as he heard the front door opening. He tiptoed behind the bedroom door, waiting for Leia to walk in. He stood on his toes, but after a few seconds of silence, he walked into the kitchen. He saw Leia sitting at the kitchen table, head held in her hands, her elbows on the tabletop. She did not notice as Han went around silently behind her. He leaped, hugging her tightly from behind.

She started in terror, screaming. She realized who had her in a tight hold.

"Let me go," she muttered, trying to pry herself away from his strong arms.

"No," he growled playfully, heaving her up and carrying her over to the bed. She shouted in half anger, pounding his back with her fists lightly. He slung her onto the bed and jumped in behind her. There was a momentary pillow fight that was filled with shrieks of laughter. Finally, the feathers settled. Leia grinned at Han, who brought her closer and kissed her. Their lips parted, and Leia's smile suddenly slid off her face.

"What's bothering you?" he nagged softly, running his fingers through her curtains of light chestnut hair. Her brown eyes gazed at him, glimmering in the semi-darkness. She swallowed hard.

"I had a dream..." she shuddered. She got off the bed and walked over to the ivory curtains, standing in their shelter and staring out the window. Her husband watched in silence, admiring her beautiful stature from behind the sweeping half-transparent drapes.

She stared out to the busy traffic of Coruscant, hovercars whizzing everywhere; a silent moving picture behind closed glass. Her breath made a mist on the window, and she drew on the fog like she did when she was a child. She traced a heart as Han came up silently behind her, taking his place by her side. In the heart, he drew symbols in Basic.

HS & LO

Leia looked up to him.

"Han, we need to talk."

A/N: Reviews would be very much appreciated.