"Father and Son"
By EsmeAmelia
AN: Hey, thanks for the reviews. Well, I still don't have a computer, but I DO have a flash drive. And . . . sorry this chapter's so short. I figured it was best to update when I could.
Chapter 53
Luke and Han barely noticed the Death Star exploding behind them as they escaped in the Imperial Shuttle they had taken. The only sound to be heard in the shuttle was Vader's weak, raspy breath. Neither of them could tell if their father knew what was happening, but they both feared that if they asked, he would protest his life being saved.
Han felt like he could sleep for days. His skin was still burning and the shoulder Vader had been leaning on felt dislocated. He found he had to concentrate on keeping his eyes open as he flew the shuttle. Just a little further, just a little longer . . .
"Do you think he can make it?" Luke whispered, keeping his eyes focused ahead, blinking rapidly.
Han couldn't answer.
To Admiral Ackbar's credit, he didn't start yelling at Luke and Han when they appeared on his ship supporting Vader's limp body. He merely stared at them, slack jawed, for what must have been a full minute at least, and then finally said, "Aren't you two supposed to be down there?" He pointed down, indicating the forest moon below them.
"We were captured by Imperials," Luke quickly said, acting as though it wasn't at all unusual for Vader to be leaning on his shoulder. "They took us aboard the Death Star, but we managed to escape and capture Darth Vader while we were at it."
Admiral Ackbar's jaw hung slack for a couple more seconds before he could speak again. "And . . . the Emperor?"
"Dead," said Luke. "But Vader is in urgent need of medical attention."
"Vader?" Ackbar exclaimed. "But he's . . ."
"A prisoner of war," Luke interrupted, "which means that he is entitled to medical care."
Ackbar opened his mouth again, as if trying to find an argument, but then seemed to realize that he had to abide by their ethics, for he shut his mouth again and nodded.
"Well c'mon!" Han shouted. "Ya think it's easy to carry this guy?"
"All right," said Ackbar. "I'll call the medical droids."
It took too long to call the medical droids for Han's comfort. More than once Vader nearly slid of his and Luke's arms. Probably it was only a few minutes before the medical droids arrived and took Vader away on a stretcher, but it felt much longer.
"So Dad's a prisoner of war now?" Han whispered out of the corner of his mouth as Vader's stretcher floated away.
"It was the only thing I could think of," Luke whispered back.
"You boys look like you could use some sleep," Admiral Ackbar said after Vader was gone. "The droids will give you a quick examination, and then you can use the cabins."
"Thank you," Han grumbled.
"Han . . . Han . . . come on, wake up."
Han didn't know how long he'd been sleeping - he only knew that it wasn't long enough. He longed to sink back into darkness, his consciousness kept fighting against Luke's voice, longing to sink back down . . . down . . . down . . .
"Han, Leia's on the comm and she wants to talk to you."
Leia . . . one of the few things worth waking up for. Han slowly forced his eyes open, blinking Luke's face into view.
"Leia's on the comm?" he muttered sleepily.
"Yeah," said Luke, "c'mon, get up!"
"Fine, fine," grumbled Han. "Don't wanna keep Her Highness waiting."
Leia's hologram looked far more relaxed than Han had seen her recently. Her face sported one of the widest smiles Han had ever seen. She was wearing the dress that the Ewoks had given her, but there was a bandage wrapped around her left arm.
"Did you get shot?" Han exclaimed.
Leia shrugged, glancing down at her injured arm. "It's not bad." Seeming eager to change the subject, she added, "Han, you should have seen it - the Ewoks were amazing! I know, they didn't seem like much, but they ended up being our secret weapon. The stormtroopers didn't know what hit them."
"Uh . . . yeah," Han replied, finding himself unable to imagine the Ewoks beating up stormtroopers, but then having to admit that they did capture him for dinner. "So . . . did Luke tell you about Dad?"
Leia's smile faded. "Yes he did."
Han ran his teeth over his bottom lip, waiting for Leia to continue before he ended up saying something he would regret. He waited a second, then another second, then another second . . . then he realized that Leia wasn't going to say anything until he did.
"Leia . . . he saved our lives." It sounded feeble as it came out of his mouth, as if he knew that Leia wouldn't consider that enough to make up for all the things Vader had done.
"I know," was all Leia said. She breathed for a moment, glancing downward, as if pondering whether or not to say what she really felt, then looked back up and said, "Are you all right?"
Han shrugged. "Well, you woke me up from a good sleep, but other than that, I'm fine."
"Well, you and Luke should come on down," Leia replied, her smile beginning to tug at her lips once more. "There's a party going on that you don't want to miss."
"Kay," said Han. "See you soon, sweetheart."
