I'm so happy everyone is enjoying this story. Only 6 chapters until the end (after this one)! As this chapter title state, life goes on, whether our heroes are ready or not...

###

You never know where the road leads you,
Not everyone's gonna believe you,
And even though they're wrong, don't prove them right.

-Conqueror by Estelle and Jesse Smollet

"Sir, I'm afraid to even calculate the odds that this ship will be recognized by Imperial Forces."

Irritated by the golden droid's comment, Han tossed him a glowering glance. "So don't," he growled tersely.

"But, Sir, this does not seem to be a safe route of passage, certainly it would be more prudent—"

"Can it!" Han gritted out. Chewie backed him up with a threatening roar.

"Threepio," Leia said patiently from the navigator's chair behind his pilot's seat. "The reason we took the Falcon to Hydian Way is because it is the least recognizable as a Rebel ship."

"And I've got lots of fake IDs," Han added, eyes on the controls he was adjusting.

Chewie growled menacingly before the droid could protest again. Han resisted the urge to glance back at Leia. There was still a great deal of tension between them, but they seemed to have come to a mutual, unspoken agreement to leave their differences behind and focus on the mission.

"We'll hit the given coordinates in about ten standard time-parts," Han informed them.

"This feels a little too familiar," Leia muttered.

It took her meaning a moment to fall into place in Han's mind. He realized that she was referring to the incident when she received the plans to the first Death Star. Just like then, they were going to await a transmission to be beamed aboard the ship.

"Let's hope it goes better this time," Han said.

Chewbacca grunted agreement and Leia said nothing.

"Oh, I certainly hope so, Captain Solo," Threepio responded in his most nervous, mechanical voice. "I don't think I could stand another adventure such as that one."

With a roll of his eyes, Han wondered yet again why they had brought the droid along.

He hoped things would play out smoothly. They needed something to go right. And perhaps with the tension of the mission lifted, Leia might soften towards him.

He didn't know how to act with her. He had promised to give her time and that was what he was currently doing. So, he let her set the pace. She allowed him to hold her while they slept, but he was leery to even kiss her at the moment.

She was distant at worst, friendly at best. Han felt frustrated and morose but forced himself to remain patient.

There was a sudden, jolting shot to the Falcon that sent everyone lurching forward. They hadn't anticipated trouble at this point and did not have their restraints fastened. He felt Leia slam into the back of his chair as he went flying into the control panel, jamming one hand across the jagged edge of a damaged instrument. He felt it cut his skin and the wetness of blood at his fingers.

"Leia!" he shouted in alarm as he spun to see if she was all right.

"I'm fine!" she answered in an alarmed shout.

"Oh no!" Threepio shouted woefully as he tried to right himself against Leia's seat.

He appraised her quickly, noting the dark bruise on her forehead. Otherwise, she seemed intact.

Chewie roared ferociously as Han's hands scrambled to check the sensors and everyone else fastened their restraints.

The ship was hit again with a loud blast that shook them, but Han was the only one who crashed forward, into the panel. He steadied himself without injury.

"Han! Your restraints!" Leia yelled.

Before he knew what was happening, the restraints were moving seemingly of their own accord. The straps fastened around him and a dumbfounded moment later he realized it had been Leia's doing.

His eyes returned to the sensors and he spoke under his breath. "Warning shots."

Chewie, with his acute sense of hearing, howled a response.

Han agreed silently. Specs came up of the attacking ship to confirm it.

"Pirates," he grunted.

Behind him, Leia made a sound of irritation. "Great," she said dryly.

"Don't worry," Han assured her. The comm system bleated and blinked. "They're hailing us." He reached forward and opened the connection.

An accented, male voice spoke in Basic. "—if you would like to survive. Repeat, unknown freighter, this is the ship Out for Blood. Prepare to be boarded. Hold your position and surrender peacefully if you would like to survive."

Han took a breath before pressing the button to speak back to them. "Out for Blood, this is the freighter Star Tripper. We are carrying no cargo. I repeat, we are carrying no cargo."

A long, barking laugh greeted them in return. "Star Tripper, that's what they all say. Hold your position."

Han broke the connection and muttered just loud enough for the others onboard to hear. "To hell with that."

"We're doomed!" Threepio wailed.

"Chewie, take evasive action."

The Wookiee roared boisterously but before a move could be made, the ship jolted with a whine of the engines. Han swore darkly.

"How'd a ship that size get a tractor beam?" he grumbled.

Chewie barked a few ideas in the space of a few breaths. Han shut down all power and wracked his brain for the next step.

"Okay," he said hastily. "They're gonna board at the starboard docking ring—"

Before he could say another word, Leia's hand was on his shoulder and she finished for him.

"I've got this." Her head tipped towards the cockpit exit. "Come on."

Their eyes held for a moment as he tried to ponder what Leia had up her sleeve. In the end, as always, he decided to simply trust her.

At least some things were still the same.

###

Lightsaber poised and ready, Leia had urged the others to stand behind her, blasters drawn. She had felt the way Han bit back a protest. He had learned to trust her instincts and abilities, but his gut reaction was always protective.

All else aside, that was one of the things she loved about him. He trusted her wordlessly, even though he hated to see her placed in danger.

The conflict between them threatened to crawl into her thoughts, but she pushed it aside and concentrated only on the present.

A loud thud sounded and reverberated in the surrounding corridor. She looked at Han over her shoulder.

"They just connected their transfer slide," he explained grimly.

With a brisk nod, she turned back and reached out her senses. There they were…

"Six of them," she informed her companions. "All intent on entering." She reached out further. "Six more on the ship. They don't seem to think this will be difficult."

No one said a word. They waited some time before there was a whirring sound. Leia realized they were prying open the docking ring.

With a sudden crash, the doors of the ring flung open and a barrage of blaster fire streaked at them. Without a thought, Leia blocked the shots with her blade, sending one to zip back at them and down one of the pirates. Behind her, Han and Chewie were shooting back, protected by the flash of her blade. She was aware of three more pirates being taken down by them. The final two were advancing into the corridor and Leia heard one bellowing into a comlink, requesting back-up.

She sprung forward, landing behind one of the pirates and slicing him quickly in half. His body thudded to the deck.

Footsteps pounded behind her and she spun to find four more pirates rushing towards her from the tunnel. Behind her, she sensed the demise of the last of the first crew of six as he fell heavily to the floor.

Position tenuous, Leia moved closed to the docking ring opening to gain advantage. They were charging towards her, shots firing wildly. Leia deflected them quickly, but was startled when one whizzed past her blade.

At the same moment she dimly heard Han grunt in pain, Leia felt the blow land, the sharp, shocking pain that struck him. It pounded her just as surely as it did Han, the sudden gash knocking her entire being askew.

She recovered instantly; there was no room for error. Pushing Han entirely from her awareness, she gained new focus, eyes intent on the enemy.

The Force pulsed through her more thoroughly than before and she was suddenly more in tune, able to anticipate the pirates' moves even more quickly.

In a blitz of movement, she was in the tunnel, slashing her blade left and right, parrying laser fire and countering it with sweeping blows that wiped out their attackers with rapid ease.

When they had all been felled, Leia spun and returned to the corridor, closing the docking ring hatch and using the blade of her lightsaber to solder it shut.

The blade retracted as Leia dropped the lightsaber to the deck and she bolted to Han's side. Chewie was holding him up around the waist and Han's hand was covering his right shoulder, a grimace twisting his lips.

"Are you okay?" she asked hastily, placing a hand on his left arm.

"Yeah," he answered gruffly. "Just grazed me." He stood up straighter and shrugged Chewie away from him. "Get off, ya Big Oaf! I'm fine."

The Wookiee grunted back and there was a sudden screeching sound that reverberated through the ship. All heads turned towards the docking ring.

Han mustered a slight grin. "I think they just took off without even disengaging their transfer tunnel."

Leia breathed a sigh of relief, but was still concerned about Han. "Let's get to the medbay."

"No," Han replied forcefully. "We have to get to the rendezvous point before it's too late. We've already lost time."

Leia bit her lip. She knew he was right. "Okay. But as soon as we get the plans—"

"I know, I know."

They made haste to the cockpit and when Han took his seat, Leia saw the hole in his shirt and the burnt, bloody wound on his shoulder. She winced then thanked the Force that it hadn't been worse.

As she watched, he reset the course for the rendezvous point, increasing the ship's speed to make up for lost time.

Han had been hurt, and yet, it hadn't driven her to distraction. She had forced him from her mind and doubled her focus on the task at hand. Surely, that must mean her attachment to him did not weaken her. When it came down to it, they were good together…and good for each other.

Her anger and pain over what had happened were beginning to fade. It still hurt when she thought about it. But finally, she was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel…a time when they would be okay again.

What didn't kill her made her stronger…perhaps that was true of them, too. What did not tear them apart might bond them more strongly together.

###

With the plans secured, Leia had ushered Han to the medbay. He protested the entire way but, as usual, she won this particular battle.

Gingerly, she pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the medbunk he was leaning against. He didn't allow his face to give away the sting of pain when he raised his arms to allow her to remove the shirt. It was just a little blaster burn, he'd been through much worse.

There seemed to be a lightening to her interactions with him…the heavy, oppressive cloud of gloom that hung over them appeared to be dissipating. Han was thankful.

It felt as if they were on opposite ends of a dilapidated, old bridge that was poised over a chasm, each too afraid to cross to the other side. But, they were both still there, waiting. Leia hadn't walked away from him and that was what mattered most.

He watched her as she retrieved medical supplies from the cabinet. "Does that hurt?"

"Does what hurt?" she asked distractedly.

"Your forehead."

"My…?" With a puzzled expression she reached up and touched the bruise then winced. "Oh. I forgot I hit my head."

"I guess it doesn't hurt that bad."

She returned her attention to the supplies.

"Great job back there, Sweetheart," he said suddenly.

She met his eyes for an instant before opening the bottle of disinfectant and pouring some on a swab. "Thank you."

Her response sounded a bit more formal than he would have preferred. When she returned to him, he leaned down and gently kissed her bruise. He allowed his lips to linger, enjoying the momentary intimacy.

When she pulled away, her eyes were turned to the floor, but Ha could see the gesture had affected her.

Without acknowledging his action, she steadied the opposite shoulder as she gently dabbed at his wound. It burned but he did not react. Han took in her grim expression and wondered what she was thinking.

Once the wound was clean, she tossed the swab in the trash bin and retrieved a tube of bacta gel. She squeezed out a small amount and soothed it over the burn with a light touch. The gel cooled it, dimming the pain.

Her serious expression was troubling in the light of the mission's success and, when she moved to turn away from him, he caught her lightly by the wrist.

"Hey," he said in a low, somber voice. "What's wrong?"

Her suddenly wide eyes flew to his and her lips contorted to a grimace. Gracefully, she removed her wrist from his grasp and went to the sink to wash her hands. "I'm sorry, Han," she said stoically as she rubbed her hands beneath the flow of water.

His brow drew down. "For what?"

She rinsed her hands, grabbed a disposable towel to dry them then tossed that in the trash bin. "That I let that shot get by me." In one quick motion, she grabbed the synthflesh from a cabinet.

"Don't be ridiculous," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "It's not your fault."

Leia's eyebrows rose to a dubious expression and her mouth screwed up to one side, but she said nothing as she placed a square of synthflesh over his wound.

"Hey," Han beseeched quietly. He reached up and took her chin in one hand, causing her eyes to reflexively meet his. Her hands stilled at his arm and they just looked at each other, a tranquil emotion flowing between them. "You're not perfect," he said lightly.

A flicker of annoyance clouded her eyes momentarily. "I never meant to imply that I was." She yanked her chin from his grasp and her fingers went back to smoothing out the synthflesh.

Han watched the set of her jaw. "Ya know," he began in a casual tone. "When I found out you'd been captured on Hoth, I blamed myself. I knew that if I hadn't left when I did, that never woulda happened." He paused for a moment, shaking his head sadly at the memory. Leia's fingers still worked the synthflesh on his shoulder. "Then when I saw you…" He took a harsh breath through his nose. "And found out everything…I just hated myself."

"That wasn't your fault," she said in a stilted tone, fingers still busy.

"Technically, no. But, I still felt responsible. Even now, I still have some guilt. If I had just waited a little longer, maybe I coulda spared you that pain."

"And who knows where we would be now?" She shook her head abruptly. "You can't question the past. In fact, you're the one who taught me that." Finished, she lowered her hands and took a step backwards. "There," she said softly. "Good as new."

Han took both her hands in his. "My point is, don't blame yourself for one little blaster bolt getting past you. Look, I'm fine." He smiled tenderly.

She gazed up at him, eyes momentarily vulnerable. "The problem is, it could have been much worse. I'm supposed to protect you."

"Isn't that my line?" he asked dryly.

Her mouth opened then shut again before settling wryly.

He smiled. "How many times have I said that to you? And you've told me over and over that I can't protect you all the time."

"That's different."

Han could tell that she was clinging only tenuously to her argument. "Different how?"

"Because I'm a Jedi."

"So what? Jedi don't make mistakes?"

"Of course they do," she replied in a testy tone. She softened her voice before continuing, eyes lowered to his bare chest. "But, I would never forgive myself if my mistake caused something terrible happen to you."

Warmth burgeoned in his chest, banishing most of the cold that had been present of late. He splayed a hand across her cheek and she returned her gaze to his. "It's good to know you still care," he said in a deep rumble, that cocky grin creasing his face.

Leia almost smiled, it was there in her eyes, but she stopped just as it began to curve the corners of her lips. Without a word, she turned and began to put away the medical items in their respective places.

Han watched her closely. Things were not quite back to where they should be. But, at least they had taken a step back in the direction of normalcy.