A scream echoes through the apartment, waking Han who had fallen asleep on the couch.
"What the hell?" Han grumbles, sitting up from the couch, rubbing his aching neck. He makes his way over to the window, to find where the scream came from, only to see no one on the street. He remains still, still listening for the source of the sound. He hears a wail and follows it, realizing it was coming from within the apartment. He stops in front of Leia's door; realizing it was coming from her room. Han places on the knob, ready to burst in to wake her from her dream. He feels a hand on his shoulder, turning he notices his friend standing behind him.
[Leave her be Han.]
"Chewie…Shes…"
[She needs sleep, I don't believe she has slept in a long time. You try to sleep, I'll wait out here and make sure it doesn't get worse.]
"Nah, I won't sleep. I'll stay, you go to bed."
[Good night cub.]
"Night Chewie." Han sits on the floor across from her door, feeling somewhat helpless as her cries echo.
…
Han sits at the kitchen table, drinking his coffee in silence when Leia walks into the room.
"Morning." Han says, placing his mug on the table.
"Morning." Leia repeats, pouring herself coffee. She sits down at the table, staring down at her coffee.
"Didn't sleep well?" Han asks, noticing the bags under her eyes.
"Not really." Leia responds, finally taking a sip of her coffee.
"I had problems sleeping too when I first got home. I knew a couple guys who had problems sleeping while they were still on the islands." Han says. Leia looks up at him, slowly processing what he had said. "I remember while I was on Peleliu, it was the dead of night and some guy started to scream in his sleep. Two others went to him to calm him down but he fought them, getting violent and screaming louder. I don't think I ever heard man scream that way." Han goes silent, staring at his coffee.
"What happened to him?" Leia asks, Han looks up blinking re-shifting his focus. "The boy who was screaming, what happened to him?"
"A third guy came along, hit him over the head with a shovel. No one knew he was dead until the morning." He says, going back into a trance.
"I don't understand why you're telling me this." Leia says, standing from the table, leaving her coffee.
"Leia." Han stands, grabbing her wrist as she attempts to leave. "If you need anything, you can come to Chewie or me. We understand." He lets go of her and watches her leave the kitchen without another word. Han stands, grabbing both cups from the table following Leia to the living room.
He places the mug on the coffee table in front of where Leia sits. He makes his way over to the arm chair, he lounges back in it as he sips his coffee.
"What did you used to dream about?" Leia finally asks, hesitant about his response.
"A lot of things, half the time I wouldn't even remember. I'd just wake up covered in sweat and my heart would be pounding. Sometimes I'd dream about the men who died in front of me. But mostly, I dreamt about my time on Okinawa. I'd dream about the women civilians carrying their children as they run through the line of fire. Or the family who was escaping from an occupied section, they stumbled in on the line of fire. They died immediately, they had a little boy with them. He survived the first round, he lay in the mud bleeding out and he reached out to us in hopes we'd rescue him. He was dead when the second round was fired." Han takes a long sip of his coffee, wishing he had something stronger.
"I was wounded in Belgium." Leia states. Han looks up at her, slightly shocked.
"I thought you were in Germany when you got sent home."
"Never quite made it. I was in Elsenborn, a town in Belgium that's very close to the German border. I was heading to the 45th field hospital on a personal call, I had heard a rumor that Luke was there and I thought I'd go see for myself. I got to talking to one of the nurses inquiring about Luke when the hospital came under fire by German artillery. The nurse died shortly after shell exploded near us, shrapnel sliced through her stomach. I was thrown back a fair bit and was knocked out. I didn't even know what wounds I suffered until I was on a boat back to the states."
"Those bastards at least give ya a purple heart?" Han asks, trying to lighten the mood. Leia smiles, her gaze moving to the floor.
"Yeah, they did." Leia nods, her smile still remaining. Han smiles in response, not being able to resist himself.
"You want more coffee?" Han asks, deciding to change the subject.
"Yes please." Leia says, swinging her legs up onto the couch as Han grabs her mug. Leia stares after Han as he leaves, feeling like a weight had lifted off her chest that had been there for years.
Han wanders back into the living room, both mugs in his hands again. He sets down her mug in the same spot it was in before, however taking the seat next to Leia on the couch as opposed to his usual chair.
"The guys are heading back to Maz's tonight. You wanna go with me?" Han asks after a few sips of his coffee.
"I always go with you." Leia says, picking her mug up. Han gives a frustrated sigh as Leia blows on the hot liquid, trying to cool it down.
"Never mind." Han rolls his eye, standing up from the couch.
"Where are you going?" Leia asks as he goes to leave the room.
"I should get down to the shop. Chewie's been there for hours already, it's only fair." Han says, excusing himself to the kitchen to dump his coffee down the sink. He makes his way back towards the entry way, crossing through the living room to leave. Slipping on his shoes, he leaves the apartment without another word.