Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Happy Passover to those who celebrate! And Happy Sunday to those who don't!

Since the next scene is written, I wanted to update quickly to make up for all the waiting of the last few chapters. And since the majority of you voted for me to write and add scenes as I see fit, I will honor that vote.

To My Two Cents: I appreciate your kind words and your request, which was so eloquently put. I apologize that I can't do as you ask, since the majority voted the other way. For a little while, I will be posting more regularly, since I have quite a few chapters written before i will need to add more and I will try to get the new scenes written as quickly as I am able. Thank you again for all the wonderful, complimentary things you said about my stories, I greatly appreciate them. I do have a finished story to post after this one, so I hope you will hang in with this story and also enjoy the next one. Try not to let the lack of fic, and especially any fics with Han and someone else, get you down. Han and Leia will always be the ultimate Star Wars couple! We know it and that's all that counts :)

###

"I heard you ran into some trouble on Andelm II," Luke said to Han.

Leia's eyes flew sharply to the Corellian and she saw him shift uncomfortably.

Seated in the crew lounge of the Millennium Falcon, they shared a tasty meal that Chewbacca had prepared. The Wookiee brayed quietly in response to Luke's comment.

"Yeah," Han replied. "But, you know me. I'm always faster than the other guy." He flashed a smug smile but beneath it, Leia saw his unease.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

Leia was keenly aware of how closely her attention was fixed on Han, even as she affected a casual posture.

"Bounty hunter," he mumbled into his plate.

Her stomach did a nervous flip and she couldn't find her voice. She was thankful that Luke was doing the talking for both of them.

"Why would a bounty hunter go after you?"

"Got a price on my head." He shoveled some food into his mouth.

For several seconds, Leia's mind did not register the meaning of his words. Then she blinked in rapid succession and a veil of unreality settled over her. "What?" She couldn't have heard him correctly.

Han swallowed with a grimace. "I owe some money to a Hutt. He wants to collect."

"Again?!" she asked, mind reeling and numb.

He seemed chagrined. "Yeah. Run of bad luck."

"You gotta pay him back," Luke said.

"Yeah," Han replied, taking a swig of ale. "I was gonna do that then I got side tracked. Used some of the money on the Falcon, though, so now I'm getting the money together again."

Chewie growled at length and, to Leia, everything around her seemed to fade. She could hear faint voices surrounding her, but the jolting shock of Han's revelation drowned out all meaning.

First and foremost, she was scared for his safety. Bounty hunters w]ere ruthless and relentless. She couldn't stand it if something happened to him. The realization pained her, but everyone she loved most was gone, and Han seemed to be the one being she could cling to, despite their differences.

Secondly, her dream of him joining the Alliance was now dead. He would have to repay this debt. And Leia had a feeling that once he left, he would not be coming back. She was surprised he had stayed this long.

"Leia?"

She realized Han had called her name three times already. "Hm?"

"I said, do you want another ale?"

She forced her mind back to the present. "Yes, please." Her voice came out low and tentative.

As Han entered the access corridor, Luke looked at her and Chewie in turn. "Han's been in debt before?"

Chewie roared with a nod of his head and Leia remained silent. It occurred to her that he must have planned to pay off his debt with the reward money he received on Yavin. But, he had come back and never attempted to leave again. The surprising selflessness of his actions at the Battle of Yavin took on even larger proportions and Leia felt her insides quiver.

Han returned with four ales and passed them around. Leia took a long swallow of hers.

"Thirsty, Your Worship?" Han grinned crookedly.

She gave him a weak smile and placed her bottle on the table.

"I heard you're flying escort to the Rogues when we go to Fallinor," Luke said to Han.

Han leaned back. "Yeah, you guys need all the help you can get."

Luke rolled his eyes with a smile.

Chewie roared loudly, and Han shot him a glare.

"What'd he say?" Luke asked.

"He's just reminding me of the last time we went to Fallinor."

Chewie emitted a series of growls.

"What happened?"

Han leaned forward and folded his hands together on the table. "Let's just say, we made it out alive."

The Wookiee shouted a barking laugh.

"I have got to learn to understand Wookiee," Luke said, smiling.

Leia forced herself to return to the conversation. "I'm sure we're missing out on some wonderful insight into Han's past." It irked her that she still knew almost nothing about him, as if he had been born a full-fledged adult who hit the ground running…running from everything and everyone.

"My past isn't that interesting."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Luke said with a laugh.

"I'm going to learn to speak Shyriiwook and find out all your secrets," she threatened with a crooked smile.

Chewbacca laughed again.

"Well, good luck, Sweetheart," he sneered.

Luke leaned towards her conspiratorially. "You know, we could just sit down with Chewie, and Threepio can translate."

Han's frown was almost comical as Chewie leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. He growled promisingly.

"That sounds like a wonderful plan," Leia crowed.

"I'm not worried," Han said good-naturedly. "The best parts happened before I met Chewie."

He always found a way to dampen her enthusiasm.

"How did you two meet?" Luke asked.

"Long story," Han answered too quickly. Chewbacca added a soft growl.

"I know how you met," Leia volunteered quietly. All eyes turned to her.

"No, you don't." Han waved a dismissive hand.

"You met when you were in the Imperial Navy." Her voice was soft, and her eyes locked on his.

His easy smile faded quickly.

"You were in the Imperial Navy?" Luke was awestruck.

Han glowered, eyes dark. "It was a long time ago."

"I can't believe it!"

"You're not the only one," he replied defensively.

"Is that where you learned to fly?"

"I knew how to fly long before I joined the Navy," Han grumbled, taking a long swallow of ale. When his eyes landed on Leia, they were accusatory.

"Tell us about how you met Chewie," Luke pleaded.

Han downed the last of his ale and banged his bottle on the table. "Ask the Princess to tell you." He stood and stormed from the crew lounge.

The remaining beings were startled into silence. Leia felt her face grow warm and finished the last of her ale with a sigh.

###

Sitting in the Captain's chair on the Millennium Falcon, Leia chastised herself for lingering behind after Luke left. Han had seemingly gone to bed. Chewie told her to stay as long as she wanted, and she found herself drawn to the cockpit, the heart of the only place Han called home.

With her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, she wondered what these feelings were that she had for Han. Were they remnants from her youth, meaningless nostalgia? Or was there more to them than that?

He had popped in and out of her mind over the years. He remained the only man that had ever captured her interest so thoroughly. Her life had always been overflowing with responsibilities, leaving little time for an interest in romance. Han's riveting, masculine presence had taken her completely by surprise when he first swaggered into her life. She had wanted him, in every way possible. Back then, it hadn't even mattered that he was leaving. Now, she felt too fragile to handle another loss. A part of her had been hoping he would decide to stay with the Alliance, that the ever-present spark between them could ignite and blaze to more. Now, she realized that was not possible.

The price on his head…it scared her. She almost felt like crying just thinking about it. That there were hired murderers out there, searching for him, homing in for the kill.

It was too horrible to contemplate. And it was an excellent reason for him to leave. She couldn't understand why he hadn't already.

The center of her thoughts entered the cockpit and they just looked at each other, both surprised.

"You're still here." His voice was tense.

"Astute observation," Leia said mildly. She lowered her legs and started to vacate his chair.

Han gestured for her to remain. "No, it's fine." He sat in Chewbacca's seat and they settled quietly, staring out the viewport at the hangar that was currently devoid of the daytime hustle of Rebellion business.

Leia crossed one leg over the other. "When are you going to pay off your debt?"

"Whenever I have the money."

She nodded soberly. "You need to be very careful, Han."

His head turned in her direction, but she kept her eyes straight ahead. "You worried about me, Princess?" he asked, voice an intense, low rumble.

"Well," she said slowly, "we are friends."

"Are we?"

Her head swiveled, and her eyes found his unwavering gaze. "What else would we be?"

"You tell me."

Their eyes challenged each other, and Leia was the first to look away. The silence returned, and she felt unsettled.

"How did you know I was in the Navy?" he asked suddenly.

A slight smile curved her lips. "I did a holonet search on you and didn't find anything. Then, I searched the Imperial databases and that was what I found." Her smile remained, and she turned to look at him. "I was quite surprised."

"I'm sure," he said dryly.

Watching his grim expression, she wondered why he guarded his past so relentlessly. "What you did for Chewie was so selfless. You risked everything to do what was right."

He snorted. "Yep. Lost everything I had but gained a giant fuzzball who leaves Wookiee fur all over my ship."

Unbidden, her smile spread at the affectionate tone he tried to hide. "Seems like a good trade to me."

His eyebrows rose and fell quickly. He leaned back and placed one foot on the console, knee bent.

"I always knew there was more to you than meets the eye." She couldn't keep her fondness for him from seeping into her tone. "You spend so much time pretending to be something you aren't."

He gave her a sharp look, brow lowered to a point just above his eyes. "I don't pretend to be anything, Your Worship."

"Don't you?" she asked softly, refusing to be intimidated.

"No, I don't." He turned his glare to the viewport, jaw tight.

"Why are you still with the Alliance?"

His eyes returned to her. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

"I keep hoping for the real answer."

"I gave you the real answer. Working for the Alliance is easy and the pay's good. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

His anger gave her pause and she felt her defenses rising. Why did things between them always go so horribly wrong? Her mouth tensed and drew downwards. She knew she should just leave but she was unable to make herself rise.

"I heard the Alliance is scouting for a new base." His voice held a hint of contrition.

"Yes."

"Where they been lookin'?"

"The Outer Rim. Possibly Nimbla IV."

"Nimbla IV? That's a crazy choice."

She shrugged. "That's why it's a viable option."

"Gotta have a quick draw in the jungles down there."

She could feel herself softening against her will. "Good thing I learned to shoot from the best." The memory came back quickly, Han standing behind her, showing her the best way to aim. His heat surrounding her, gripping her hands over the blaster, had flushed warmth through her entire body and left her longing for him to turn her in his arms and place his lips over hers.

Their eyes lingered on each other and Leia wondered if he too was remembering that moment, if it had affected him as profoundly. Four and a half years fell away in a rush and she instantly felt like that teenage girl again.

Han broke the spell. "You sure did." He flashed that smug grin. "You were a quick learner," he allowed.

She smiled, pleased by the rare compliment. Her mind returned to the previous topic. "Why did you do that for Chewie? Why did you risk everything like that?"

He looked away and fiddled with a thread on the seam of his pants. His brow wrinkled. "What they were doing was so wrong. I stood there, trying not to look, and finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Something in me just snapped." He paused, pulled the thread loose, and watched it drop to the floor. "I kinda saw red, didn't think about the consequences." He sighed. "I suppose if I did, I would've done the same thing anyway."

Leia stayed still and silent, afraid that if she acknowledged his opening up to her, his blast door would slam shut again. When he volunteered nothing further, she broke the silence. "Where do you think you would be if you had never saved Chewie?"

His eyes remained hooded, but one side of his mouth crooked into a wry smile. "I suppose I woulda gotten kicked out for somethin' else."

She smiled in return then her expression sobered. "Do you ever think about how things might be if you had made different choices?"

"Nope."

"Never?"

"Never. Do you?"

"All the time."

"What's the point?"

"What do you mean?"

He raised a hand in a half-shrug. "I mean, what's the point of thinkin' about it? You can't go back and change things."

He was right, of course. Very practical viewpoint. "If you could go back to the past and change something, what would it be?"

His head tilted thoughtfully. "I don't think I'd change anything."

"Nothing at all?"

"No."

"There has to be something you would change if you could. No lost loves you wish to return to?" she asked wistfully, a bit too eager for his reply.

He laughed shortly. "Definitely not."

His quick response imbued a joyful relief inside her.

He grinned and gestured towards her with his chin. "What about you? You got anyone you'd go back in time for?"

You, she thought immediately. Except, he was right here, before her. "There might be someone I think about, every now and again," she confessed quietly, eyes averted. When she looked up, he was staring grimly out the viewport. She sighed internally.

He turned back to her. "So what things do you want to go back and change?"

Thoughts and feelings that were consistently muddled rose to the forefront of her mind. She stared down at her hands and spoke quietly. "I think all the time about my decision to retrieve the Death Star plans. How that decision doomed my entire planet and all those billions of lives." She had never spoken of this aloud before. The thoughts had spent a year and a half secreted in the torment of her mind.

"You can't blame yourself for that," Han said incredulously.

She continued as if he hadn't spoken. "But, it's an impossible situation. If I were able to change it, if I decided not to take on the mission, then most likely, the plans would never have made it to the Alliance. And that would doom the Rebellion and countless others. So, I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't."

"And what's the point of thinking about that?" he asked harshly. He grabbed her hand tightly in his and, for a moment, all other thoughts rushed from Leia's head like the last spurt of a fountain. "Listen, don't do that to yourself. Don't think 'what if.' And more importantly, don't make yourself responsible for what happened. Cause you're not!"

Leia was a bit startled by his impassioned monologue. "But, I am," she said sadly, tightening her grip on Han's hand, holding it like a lifeline. "The only reason Tarkin targeted Alderaan was because I was there."

Leaning closer to her, his face was set in an angry expression that surprised her. "So, it's your fault that Tarkin was a sadistic bastard?"

"Don't be ridiculous. But, you see how it's my fault, don't you?"

"No, I don't," he growled. "You're the one being ridiculous."

"How am I ridiculous?"

"Cause you're taking on blame that doesn't belong to you. You're not responsible for the evil that others do. He used you as a pawn. That's all there was to it."

Outwardly, Leia maintained her calm. Inside, she was trembling. Venting these feelings aloud was overwhelming. And Han's passionate response to her sorrow threatened to be her undoing. She blinked back tears and took a deep breath. She didn't want to break down.

"If I hadn't been there, Alderaan would exist today," she said quietly.

"And as you said, the Rebellion would be gone. And the whole galaxy would be scared into complying with the Emperor's wishes, at any whim he had. Stop doing this to yourself, it's a game you can't win."

Leia stared down at their joined hands and sighed. She suddenly wanted to be in his arms but settled for squeezing his hand to acknowledge his comfort. "I appreciate what you're trying to say."

"You don't need to appreciate it. You need to listen to me."

"Maybe, in time, I will. Right now…it's not so easy."

"You women think too damned much."

"That's a rather sexist comment." She raised an eyebrow.

"It's true."

"Perhaps men just don't think enough," she chided softly.

"What's there to think about? I just do what I gotta do to get through the day." His eyes lowered to their entwined hands and his thumb began to gently caress her knuckles.

A small shiver of excitement skittered through her and her heart rate sped to a gallop. She watched him carefully as his eyes examined the movements of his thumb. When he noticed her scrutiny he abruptly dropped her hand and sat up straighter.

The loss of his touch left her wanting more. She didn't want to feel this way but was powerless to stop it. There were so many reasons this was wrong. So, why did she want it so much? It was disconcerting the way she could fall instantly back into feelings of four and a half years ago. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them.

"Well, I must get to bed," she eventually stated. "It's late." She hoped she could sleep. At the moment, she only wanted to escape the disappointment and discomfort she suddenly felt.

"Yeah, me too."

They stood at the same time and faced each other. Leia yearned to say something meaningful but knew that would most likely be a stupid mistake.

With no preamble, Han reached for her and took her in his arms, her head slipping under his chin, his hand smoothing her hair. It startled her breathless.

"Don't think about 'what ifs' anymore, Sweetheart," his voice vibrated under her cheek.

Just as her breath returned and her mind told her to place her arms around his torso, he released her. She gazed up at him, stupefied.

He headed for the door to the access corridor and Leia followed him dumbly, thoroughly confused by both him and herself. Had she not been so taken aback by his sudden, intimate gesture, perhaps she would still be in his arms, and from there, it might have become more.

What if?

Why did he throw her so completely off balance?

At the hatch, he lowered the boarding ramp and she felt her face burning with too many feelings.

"G'night." It almost felt as if his voice were still reverberating beneath her cheek, echoing inside the hollow of her chest.

"Good night, Han." Her voice fell too softly from her lips. His hazel eyes were dark and unreadable, and his mouth opened as if he were about to say more, but then closed, silent, and Leia turned and headed down the ramp.

She forced herself not to look back at him when she didn't hear the ramp begin to raise. Was he watching her? What was he thinking? Did he ever feel anything akin to the attraction he had almost admitted to all those years ago?

If only she could gather the nerve to confront him about his feelings. Clearly, if he still felt the same, he would have done something about it by now. He was no shy virgin like she was.

She should have hugged him back, should have done something to resolve the questions that haunted her.

What if?

What if?