Thanks tot he guest reviews! Wish I could do it more personally, but thank to the guest reviews. Plus, Happy Birthday to a loyal ! But not that kind of happy for this chapter. Still, I think it's a pretty good one. :)

Chapter 21: Only Fools Rush In

The air suddenly filled with a reverberating crack! The cave itself rumbled and the ground beneath them vibrated. The sky was turning angry and dark seemingly instantly.

Leia covered her head and Han looked up. He knew it was too good to have been true that he would get his moment with her.

"Bad storm is coming. We gotta get out of here now." Still holding her hand, he lead them over to the door of the secret passage.

They flew over the very rocks of the dark tunnel that they had tripped on before and burst out the other side into the open air that crackled around them.

"We can't go back up. We have to make a run for the footbridge that crosses the water down that way. Once we cross the bridge, aim 25 degrees left and it's a straight shot into the house, got it?" Han shouted over his shoulder as he pulled her along.

"Just keep going, I'll follow you!" Leia tried to make him release her hand so he could run ahead.

"I'm not letting go of you, Princess. Keep running," He gripped her hand even tighter than before and pulled to give her that extra momentum.

They made it almost all the way over the bridge when the deluge of water drenched them from above. They could see the more menacing dark clouds just beginning to reach the peak of the mountain. The wind gusts found a new intensity and blew against them trying with all their might to throw Han and Leia off the path to their goal.

Lightening made itself known in a large bolt that hit near the side of the mountain.

Han barked something in Corellian as they were within a few strides of the door to the anteroom and the door slid open in obeyance.

He ushered the Princess into the door and manually slapped the door control for it to close just as another large lightning bolt struck the ground less than a meter from where they had been moments ago. The whole room filled with electricity and light that seemed to crackle long after the initial bolt itself had disappeared.

The Princess covered her head and half-crouched for cover in what she thought was a dangerous situation.

"It's okay. The whole house is shielded," Solo reassured her as he unfastened his coat, hung it up and began pulling off his boots.

Leia watched the storm rage outside the clear panes in the door as she let the information sink in and she kicked off her own muddy boots. Boots shoved to the side, she began trying to unfasten the field coat she wore and found it more difficult than it should have been.

"Those fasteners were always sticky. Let me help you." Han stood in front of her and inverted his hands so that his fingers and the backs of his hands were against her body allowing his hands to be able to work the fasteners from inside the coat.

Not for the first time that day, Leia wanted to order him to stop and let go. This time, however, she remained silent. She just stared at his chest as he moved his hands down the front of the coat, floating down her body causing personal lightning strikes to course through her. He said nothing, just manipulated the catches until the coat was completely open. Then Leia's eyes followed as his hands moved up to her shoulders. Her eyes met his as he slipped the field coat off her shoulders and hung it up on a hook behind her.

All sorts of romantic images ran through Leia's mind, but she wondered at the source of them. For some odd reason, they didn't feel as if they were being supplied from her own overworked imagination. It wasn't something she was able to examine closely at present since she was busy being in the middle of a staring contest with Han Solo.

Her feelings were overwhelming and sorting everything out while staring into mesmerizing hazel eyes threatened to make her blurt out things that she worked very hard at tamping down on daily basis.

Her only hope was to tread very lightly where Han Solo was concerned. She knew if she gave her heart over to him, it would very likely be torn to shreds. He was never to be hers and she was never to be his and that was the way it needed to be for her life in the Rebellion and in general to continue.

Han was an expert in the field of attraction and Leia had heard other women talking about how he was the love-them-and leave-them-type, not the kind of man to give one's heart to at any rate. The odd thing about these women was that Leia had never seen Han with even one of them. She never heard Luke mention Han being with any of them either which was strange since Luke rarely kept anything from her. So either Han had worked very hard to keep his liaisons with these women hidden or maybe these women were not speaking from actual experience with Han, but just about what they thought him to be.

Leia learned long ago not to judge Solo by his bravado and brashness. He really was a very loyal friend and she had never personally seen him treat the people around him poorly. In fact, it was just the opposite. Those judgmental women notwithstanding, most people on base spoke highly of him and respected him as a fellow soldier – official or not.

Finally…. finally… Han broke the heavy silence between them. "You hungry?"

Leia found her throat had gone dry and stammered, "Yes." For you, her brain instantly added in its rogue fashion. She cleared her throat. "I would like to change into some dry clothes first."

"Ok, why don't you slip into something more comfortable and preferably easy to get out of while I make us something to eat?" Han gave her a wicked grin.

Leia rolled her eyes and wondered what she had been thinking a moment ago. Did he always have to make things so difficult? It's as if he delighted in it. Without a word to dignify his stupid comment, she walked off toward her assigned bedroom.

She heard Solo chuckling to himself as she stalked away. She wished Chewie were here to run interference for them. At least that way, she would've had a better chance of getting through the evening without very possibly decking him. It had been by sheer good luck and the strength of her own will that it had never happened before. That man could get on anyone's last nerve.