NOT WITHOUT YOU BY MY SIDE

Chapter 7

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" the nursing droid manning the desk of the infectious diseases asked, baffled by the two men in front of her that looked and smelled as if they'd been pulled from the gutter on the lower levels, which was, in fact, correct."

Luke pulled the beanie from his head. "I'm Luke Skywalker, and I'm here to rescue my sister." He pulled the vials from the pocket of the shirt that he had all intentions of destroying.

"This is supposed to be?"

"Bacta. Very strong bacta," Luke said firmly. "Leia Organa Solo is my sister."

"Where did you...never mind, I do not want to know. You do realize that this will have to be tested for purity -"

"Then do it fast!" Lando snapped at the droid. "The Minister's in critical condition!"

"I understand, but the biochemistry must be run."

"Then get busy!" Luke snapped.

At that moment, the giant, furry Chewbacca came out from the waiting area and barked softly.

{You guys look like merde}, Chewie informed them.

"Thanks, Chewie, we love you, too," Lando said irritably. "Where's Han?"

{I made him go home to sleep. So did the Princess}.

"Good," Luke said. "How's Leia?"

{Not good. Did you bring the medicine?}.

"Yeah, they say it's gotta go through biochemistry," Luke grumbled.

"Where's the lab?" Lando demanded.

"It is not protocol for a non staff member -"

An alarm was set off.

"Minister Organa Solo has a fever spike."

"How much is it gonna cost me to get this expedited?" Luke demanded loudly.

"I will do it immediately," the desk droid said, scurrying away from them.

Luke and Lando looked at Chewie.

"We'd better call Han," Luke said at last. The others nodded in agreement. "Chewie, you want to do the honors or should I?"

{You're her brother}.

I just hope we're not too late, Luke thought unhappily.

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Han dreamed his comm had gone off. After what had to be a dozen rings, he groggily grabbed it.

"Yeah?" he mumbled, clearly unhappy.

"Han, Leia's fever spiked again," Luke said frantically.

"Did you get the kriffing bacta?" Han demanded.

"Yeah, it's gone to biochemistry -"

"I'm leaving right now." Han cut off the comm.

The three looked at each other.

{I guess this means we wait}, Chewie said mournfully.

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Han burst into the medicenter. "I need to see my wife!" he shouted at the med droid, who'd returned to the desk.

Luke, Lando and Chewie heard him and looked at one another.

"I am not going to wait!" Han was not about to be placated.

{Excuse me. I don't want Han ripping the droid's arms out of its sockets}, Chewie said as he rose.

The medicenter's intercom crackled to life. "Code orange," it called out repeatedly. There was a bustle of droids and humans headed for the infectious diseases unit.

Lando and Luke stared at each other.

"I hope it's not Leia," Lando said quietly.

Luke closed his eyes. "It is."

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Chewie dragged Han into the waiting area, as he continued to shout at anyone that passed by that he wanted to see his wife and where was the damn bacta.

"I'm supposed to sit here and wait while my wife is dying?" Han yelled at his oldest and furriest friend. It was not lost on his friends and brother in law that Han hadn't changed out of the clothes he'd last been wearing yesterday. His face hadn't seen a razor in days and he was starting to give off the impression that he was somewhat ripe. His eyes were redder than a drunk's and were wild with fear and panic.

"They're testing the bacta right now," Luke said soothingly.

"They better test a lot faster!" Han snapped. "Leia's dying!"

"You don't know that," Luke said, deliberately keeping his voice soft.

"Well, do you?!" Han stormed at the Jedi.

They were interrupted by a droid standing near the doorway. What with Lando and Luke dressed like the great unwashed, a large Wookiee and a half crazed Han, the droid attempted as much propriety as was possible.

"I'm looking for Captain Solo," the droid announced.

"I'm him," Han said angrily. "Whaddya want?"

"Sir, we have tested the bacta that was...received earlier. Normally, we'd like to run some more tests for complete purity, but it does appear that the strain...provided was extremely potent. In fact, due to the Minister's small size, we will have to titrate doses carefully."

"How long till she gets the first dose?" Han asked anxiously.

"They are stabilizing her right now."

"What happened?" Han asked. "Tell me!"

"I will have her team come to discuss that with you. In the meantime, I must prepare the bacta for her." The droid slid away.

Han went limp. He appeared as lifeless, glazed eyes staring at the three others with him.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Luke told him. "I just wanted you to know that we got the bacta, but I should have let you sleep."

"Would you have called if Leia had coded and I wasn't here?" Han demanded, his tone drained.

Luke waited for two beats. "I'd have waited to see if they'd been able to stabilize her."

Han was nearly ready to slug his brother in law but was restrained by Chewie. {I can't take you anywhere}, Chewie grumbled, and the three men actually laughed.

"Leia always did say I have a way with people," Han said wryly. "Luke, Lando, thanks. I owe both of you one. But I gotta go this mile alone."

"You sure?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. I appreciate what you guys did. But right now, I need to be by myself."

"You comm us if you need us," Lando told him. "Where're we staying, anyway?"

"Mara and I have a small apartment not far from here. Chewie, you're going back to the kids?"

{Of course}.

"There's one thing we gotta do when we get to your place," Lando told Luke.

"And that is?"

"Burn these clothes."

"Good thing I've got a fireplace. Otherwise we'd be out of luck," Luke said, but his reluctance to leave was noticeable, especially to Han.

"Luke, the minute I know anything, I'll comm you," Han assured him.

"You sure you're gonna be all right here alone?" Lando repeated.

"I don't know about all right, but I need to do this alone. Please."

"We'll be standing by," Luke said as the three passed through the door.

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Han couldn't recall another moment when waiting had felt so long. Not even in carbonite had things seemed so bleak.

It seemed as if an eternity had passed when a droid called him from the doorway. "Captain Solo?"

Han stared at him with bleary eyes. "Yeah?"

"We've stabilized Minister Solo and are just about to put her into the bacta tank. When she came to, she asked for you. Would you like to see her?"

"Please."

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Han might have been dead on his feet, but one wouldn't have known it from the way he raced to see Leia. He nearly ran over Leia's human medic, who gently took his arm and said, "Let's talk for a moment."

Han was in no mood to talk, but the medic didn't seem to care. "She suffered a seizure from the high fever. We've been able to stabilize her, and we're going to try the stronger bacta. I'm cautiously optimistic."

"Then what?"

"As long as she is free of fever for forty-eight hours, she'll be able to go home. For the most part, we've managed to keep her fever down to where it's still too high, but she became increasingly septic. We're about to put her in the tank, so go see her quickly."

Han's heart was in his throat. It seemed as if everything he did, he was doing it wrong. He'd promised the kids that he'd read them a story. He'd had all intentions of taking a shower. Instead, he was here at the hospital, looking a lot more like some of the drunks Luke and Lando had encountered in their travels down below.

Leia was lying there, tubing and electrodes pasted all over her body, parched and feverish, her eyes closed.

"Leia," Han said, leaning over to kiss her. She blinked back at him, trying to smile.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispered to him.

"We got the bacta," Han said softly.

"I know. Thank you."

"You really need to thank Luke and Lando. They did the real work."

"I'm scared," Leia told him, his face close to hers. "What if it doesn't work?"

"Don't think that way, sweetheart. It will." It took Han back to the Battle of Endor. Traveling with Luke, Leia and Chewie, they had a code that had been uncovered at a very high cost, and Han had assured everyone that would work, then confiding in Chewie that he didn't think it'd work, and then being allowed to land, and let his breath out. This situation was somewhat parallel but the stakes were much higher. "You'll be fine and you'll see the kids very soon." He stroked her fevered face, its unhealthy flush not interfering with her beauty.

She moved her lips to speak, but her energy was so incredibly low that she couldn't put speech to them.

"It's time," the nursing droid said, preparing to transport Leia to the bacta tank area.

"I want to stay with her," Han said to the droid.

The droid did not immediately respond. "It is highly irregular," the droid remarked.

"But is it allowed?"

The droid paused again. "I supposed there is no rule about it."

Leia opened her eyes and whispered, "Thank you, love."

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The chairs in the bacta lab were even less comfortable than the ones in the waiting area. Han suspected that very few family members chose to be present when one could barely see a loved one floating in the red, thick liquid. Depending upon the patient's condition, it could be a short stay or a long one. Han was a betting man, and he was betting on a long stay. He clutched his datapad, but did not open the screen. His attention was focused on the small woman in a thin smock being set up with the respirator in preparation to insert her into the bacta tank.

She'd never looked as small as she did now, he observed. In this moment, he would have traded his life for hers.

Minutes were more like hours as time crept slowly by. After two hours, there'd been no improvement.

I was too late, he said to himself.

Time seemed to stand still. Three hours...her fever had not declined.

Maybe I should call the kids, he thought, but couldn't think of what to say to them.

He considered calling Mon Mothma and Chewie and Luke, but decided against it. Leia was a fighter. He could still feel the fight in her; she probably wouldn't have survived this long if she wasn't.

"Leia," he whispered, "I can't do this. Not without you by my side."

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