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Chapter 2
The nursing droid led Leia back to the plastiglassine cubicle where Han was. Leia felt her breath clutch in her throat as they walked, but nothing had prepared her for the sight of Han in the bed. She gasped in horror.
Han's golden skin tone was now pallid,with an ashen cast. His face was swollen, his lips parched. He was thrashing about and Leia could barely hear him speaking her name, over and over again. Tubing ran into his arm, several containers of medication flowing into them. Her medical training consisted of first aid, but she knew enough to know that his readouts were terrible. She felt as if she might faint, but she clasped one of his hands in her two shaking ones. His high fever was evident even from that touch.
"Leia," he rasped, utterly disoriented.
"I'm here," Leia said softly, doing her best to stand strong. She bent over to kiss his forehead.
Han opened his eyes slightly. "Leia?" he repeated. Is he more aware this time, you might want to say so. He seemed a little more alert when he said it again.
"Yes, it's me," she said softly. "I'm with you and I'm not going anywhere."
She felt his shivering despite the heat of his skin. "You are going to get through this. You have to. I've already bought my wedding dress."
Two orderly droids appeared. "General Solo, it's time for the bacta treatment," one said to him.
"I want to stay with him," Leia said to them.
"There isn't much room in the bacta chambers," one protested. "He will be in there for forty-eight hours."
"You should go home and get some rest," the other told her.
Leia drew herself up and momentarily appeared to be twice her height. "I am not leaving him."
"It's not very comfortable," the one warned as they disconnected the tubing and sensors.
"I. Don't. Care." Leia's eyes blazed.
If droids could shudder, these two would have .
"Come along," the one said. Leia held Han's hand as they walked to the treatment area.
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It was difficult to see Han in the bacta tank, the thick red fluid obliterating the outlines of his body. Leia had found a chair that was anything but comfortable, but she could not have cared less.
Four-O-Five joined her shortly thereafter. "We should talk, Minister."
"We can talk here," Leia informed him tersely.
"Aren't you uncomfortable?" Four-O-Five asked solicitously.
"You needn't worry about my comfort or lack thereof. I am not leaving till my fiancé is out of the bacta tank." Her tone let the droid know that she brooked no further discussion.
Four-O-Five waited a moment, then began to speak.
"This illness could possibly leave the general unable to speak, or hear, or walk," the droid told her in the kindest tone he could muster. "He might have personality changes, or lose his vision. Now I'm not saying –"
"None of those are going to happen," Leia said firmly. "He will recover."
"We are all hoping that General Solo will make a complete recovery. However, I'm obligated to inform you of the possible complications."
"Thank you, but he is incredibly strong and he will recover. Completely." Leia was not budging.
Four-O-Five exited, thinking that Solo would recover if for no other reason than the strength of his fiancee's will.
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Chewie was permitted to briefly join Leia. The big Wookiee was as worried about her as he was about his best friend.
Han had been in the bacta nearly twelve hours. His vitals remained poor; there had been some improvement but it was slight.
{I can stay while you rest}, Chewie offered.
Leia looked up at him, and Chewie saw how weary she was. Her eye makeup, what little she wore of it, was smudged, her lip tint was gone, her dark circles were growing, and she looked as if she might cry.
"No. I'm not leaving him," Leia said, crossing her arms in determination. "He will be well."
Chewie didn't know what to say. He laid his giant paw on her shoulder.
{I'm here for you. You don't even need to ask}, Chewie assured her.
"I know, and I appreciate that," Leia told him.
{You should get some rest}.
"No. I'm not going to leave him until he's well and headed home," she said stubbornly.
Chewie thought to himself, they're perfect for each other, because they're the two most stubborn people in the galaxy.
He just hoped his best friend's body was as strong as his and his fiancee's wills.
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Eighteen hours had passed.
Leia had dozed briefly in the miserable chair, but was constantly checking on Han. His progress was there, but it was still minimal. Four-O-Five had been by a few times, urging her to go home and rest.
"It's not home unless Han is with me. Which he will be," she retorted. Stress and lack of sleep had diminished her diplomatic skills to nearly nonexistent.
She checked her comm. There were dozens of messages from Mon Mothma, most of them from when Leia had abruptly run out on dinner. Clearly she'd learned about Han, and was gracious enough to wish him a complete and rapid recovery. Messages from other dignitaries flowed in as well, and whether they approved of Han or not wasn't relevant. They wished both Han and Leia nothing but the very best and many said they would see them at the wedding. She felt tears forming in her eyes.
Chewie had brought her food, which she'd left untouched. He'd taken great effort to find some of her favorites, but her appetite was nonexistent.
Twenty-four hours.
"Minister Organa," Four-O-Five said softly.
"I know, he's recovering more slowly than you'd like," Leia said irritably. "You've told me what could happen, and it isn't going to."
"I don't think we need to rule out a complete recovery," the droid said carefully, trying to not cause the overwrought and overtired woman in his midst any more distress. "But it may take time. When is your wedding?"
"Six weeks," Leia said to him. "And he's going to walk down the aisle and meet me at the altar."
She wished Luke was with her. Luke was on Yavin 4 at the Great Temple, attempting to find any records of the Jedi. She needed her brother and she needed him now. Or, she thought, maybe it's best he not see me this way.
She had received a comm from Carlist Rieekan that said he was en route from Drell to be with her and Han. That brought a small measure of comfort. No one had Han's back – and her's – more than Rieekan.
"Leia," a quiet voice spoke behind her.
Leia turned abruptly to locate the source of the sound, and she wondered if she was beginning to hallucinate.
"Luke?" she asked, so quietly that no one else would have been able to here. "You're here."
"The Force works in mysterious ways," Luke said. "How is he?"
"Slightly better, but his progress is slower than the med droids would like," Leia said to him. She stood up and Luke wrapped his arms around her. The tears began to flow. "What am I going to do if he..."
"I wish I had an answer for you, but I trust in the Force," Luke told her.
Leia could not have cared less about the Force at this point, except that it brought her brother to her.
When she composed herself, she looked straight into her brother's bright blue eyes. "I'm not giving up on him. I don't care what they say. He's going to be well, and he'll meet me at the altar."
"Would you like me to stay for a while, so that you can get some sleep?" Luke asked her quietly. There was no room for a second person to sit down, the cubicles were that small.
"I won't sleep till he's healed," Leia said stubbornly.
Luke was worried as much about her as he was Han. "I'll bring you some kaf."
"I'd appreciate that," Leia said softly, her voice raspy from exhaustion and crying. As Luke turned to leave, another set of footsteps came from behind.
"Princess," Carlist Rieekan said gently.
Leia was starting to become freaked. "Did you and Luke travel here together? How did you know?"
"First question, yes. Second question, Luke may have another source, but mine happened to be the Galactic News Channel One. It's the top story. You've both got many, many well-wishers, Leia. At the risk of repeating what everyone's told you, you really should get some rest." Rieekan understood that urging her to do so was an exercise in futility. He'd seen her when she took a leave to find Han.
"Oh gods, the media. Can we shoot them all?" Leia asked Rieekan.
That drew a laugh out of Rieekan. "I'd love it. I only wish I could."
Luke returned, carrying a tall kaf.
"Let us know if you change your mind," Luke said to her. He gave her a hug, as did Rieekan.
"We'll be here if you need us," Rieekan told her. "And let me say this: Han Solo would get well for spite if nothing else." That turned the corners of his mouth upward and even Leia laughed weakly.
"If he doesn't, I'm going to kill him," Leia said, half laughing and crying.