*****
Other star wars galaxy
Han Solo had come to a conclusion.
He wasn't crazy.
Well, at least no more then before anyway.
These sudden flashes, glimpses really of himself in a altogether different and better life were not his own mind fooling him, trying to make things better.
No, it really was another life.
Another Han Solo, another Leia.....another everything.
It didn't make sense, but it was like this same galaxy existed someplace else. But differently.
Ah hell, that sounded stupid even inside his own head. But it was the only explanation that could possibly be. Not unless he wanted to believe he was finally cracking under all the pressure and going insane. No thank you. He didn't need that.
A thought appeared from the depths and wrapped itself around his mind. If it was real.... Could he possibly watch it unpurpose?
The idea made him catch his breath. He didn't know weather to push the thought back down where it had come from or to pull it out into the light of day and act upon it.
But it wasn't as if he could go anywhere even if he wanted to. If anyone ever found him and recognized him it would be his death for sure. And despite all that had happened, he still wanted to live. He had all the time in the world.
All the time in the world. For absolutely nothing. Nothing but running his thoughts, his mistakes, the useless past over and over in his mind.
So, why not?
He laid down on his narrow bed, closing his eyes, concentrating on his own breathing, presence in the Force until he was aware of nothing else.
Then he fixed his mind on Leia as well. But not as she was, but the way he had seen her in that other place....
Then he let his mind go.
After what could have been minutes, or hours, he felt something.
A feeling of stretching, that was the only way he could describe it.
Then she flooded his mind.
Leia.
She was sitting across a table from someone, her expression serious and intent.
She was talking, although he couldn't hear what she said.
It was the expression he still remembered so well, the one she wore when the wheels of her mind were turning furiously as she outwitted whatever mental opponent she was engaged against.
Usually a political opponent she was trying to convince.
She was usually met with success.
There were a few more lines on that face then before, but many of them were laugh lines, faint along the edges of her lips, the corners of her eyes....
His mental gaze moved, somehow drawn to her hands under the table.
Her hand was clasped in another, larger one with blunt finger tips instead of her slender delicate ones.
He clearly recognized it as his own hand.
The calluses were in all the right places. So were the scars.
His hand squeezed Leia's as if to reassure her.
Holding Leia's hand....
Then suddenly his mental eye was almost jerked away from the linked hands and he saw the view of the table from behind.
He saw the back of Leia's head, her dark hair coiled in a shining not.
He was beside her.
They were sitting across the table from a group of aliens and humans, who were clearly quite skeptical about what Leia was proposing.
His others self seemed about to break into the debate, but then seemed to freeze. Then for no apparent reason he turned his head to look behind him.
Han felt stab of panic, suddenly deathly afraid of what would happen if he looked his own self in the eye.
No!
"No!"
He was laying back in his own bed, sweat drenching him, shouting at nothing.
******
Real Star Wars universe
After the various diplomats left Leia lay her head back in her chair, rubbing at her temples.
How could so many so called diplomats be so.....undiplomatic?
She was trying to negotiate to find a planet to be a refuge for some of the jedi. They couldn't all stay in the Maw, it was to isolated. And it was quite frankly unreasonable to expect Booster to jump them around on the Errant Venture forever.
They needed somewhere to come and rest before heading back out to the fight. A haven.
So the planet had to be one relatively untouched by the Vong. There weren't many of those, and if they were they intended to stay that way.
Inviting dozens of jedi to stay was not likely to do that. It was more like putting up a big sign and waving, "come shoot me!"
Leia had known this, but had hoped someone might be altruistic enough to look past the danger.
Vain hope. She should have know better by now.
She closed her eyes and lay a hand over them, shielding them from the light hoping to soothe her throbbing headache. She sighed.
If only.....
"Hey Leia, their gone now, you don't have to hide."
Leia peered out from under her hand, "No, their not gone, their never gone."
Han reached out and started massaging her shoulders with his strong hands.
She leaned into his hands. "Han, you have no idea how good that feels."
He leaned over and whispered in her ear in a suggestive tone, "You wanna bet Princess? You do me next and we'll find out."
Leia smiled in spite of her headache and opened her eyes to meet his twinkling gaze.
"Han, your hopeless."
He slid in beside her in the huge chair so she was almost on his lap.
"I should think so. Who would you argue with if not me?"
She chuckled ruefully. "Everyone actualy. They weren't exactly cooperative today."
Hans expression grew serious. "You want me to shoot them for Sweetheart?"
Leia looked momentarily shocked, "Han! You know that--"
Then she saw the quirk of his lips as he tried to suppress a smile.
"Your tired Leia, normally you wouldn't fall for it that easy."
She leaned back against his chest. "Yes Han, I am tired. Tired of no one else cooperating, tired of this war. Just....tired."
"Not tired of me I hope."
"Of course not!"
Han wrapped his arms around her waist. "But seriously, you do look tired. What if you tried calling them on the holonet first before calling them all the way here? That way you wouldn't have to deal with a dozen idiots at once."
Leia's brow wrinkled in thought. "Hmmm, you know that could work. I haven't tried to talk to the Hapens yet. Maybe they would help."
"Oh great, just what I always wanted. To his perfect blonde hignhess again."
"What?"
"Never mind. You go ahead and try the Hapens sweetheart. But....."
"But what?"
"You don't have to call them right now do you?"
Leia laughed, Han's expression was so tottaly innoccent, if she didn't know Han so well she almost would have believed it.
Almost.
She traced the scar on his chin with her finger. "Then what did you have in mind?"
"Surely you can guess."
"Tell me anyway."
Then he whispered words meant for her ears alone.
*****
Other star wars galaxy
Han Solo had come to a conclusion.
He wasn't crazy.
Well, at least no more then before anyway.
These sudden flashes, glimpses really of himself in a altogether different and better life were not his own mind fooling him, trying to make things better.
No, it really was another life.
Another Han Solo, another Leia.....another everything.
It didn't make sense, but it was like this same galaxy existed someplace else. But differently.
Ah hell, that sounded stupid even inside his own head. But it was the only explanation that could possibly be. Not unless he wanted to believe he was finally cracking under all the pressure and going insane. No thank you. He didn't need that.
A thought appeared from the depths and wrapped itself around his mind. If it was real.... Could he possibly watch it unpurpose?
The idea made him catch his breath. He didn't know weather to push the thought back down where it had come from or to pull it out into the light of day and act upon it.
But it wasn't as if he could go anywhere even if he wanted to. If anyone ever found him and recognized him it would be his death for sure. And despite all that had happened, he still wanted to live. He had all the time in the world.
All the time in the world. For absolutely nothing. Nothing but running his thoughts, his mistakes, the useless past over and over in his mind.
So, why not?
He laid down on his narrow bed, closing his eyes, concentrating on his own breathing, presence in the Force until he was aware of nothing else.
Then he fixed his mind on Leia as well. But not as she was, but the way he had seen her in that other place....
Then he let his mind go.
After what could have been minutes, or hours, he felt something.
A feeling of stretching, that was the only way he could describe it.
Then she flooded his mind.
Leia.
She was sitting across a table from someone, her expression serious and intent.
She was talking, although he couldn't hear what she said.
It was the expression he still remembered so well, the one she wore when the wheels of her mind were turning furiously as she outwitted whatever mental opponent she was engaged against.
Usually a political opponent she was trying to convince.
She was usually met with success.
There were a few more lines on that face then before, but many of them were laugh lines, faint along the edges of her lips, the corners of her eyes....
His mental gaze moved, somehow drawn to her hands under the table.
Her hand was clasped in another, larger one with blunt finger tips instead of her slender delicate ones.
He clearly recognized it as his own hand.
The calluses were in all the right places. So were the scars.
His hand squeezed Leia's as if to reassure her.
Holding Leia's hand....
Then suddenly his mental eye was almost jerked away from the linked hands and he saw the view of the table from behind.
He saw the back of Leia's head, her dark hair coiled in a shining not.
He was beside her.
They were sitting across the table from a group of aliens and humans, who were clearly quite skeptical about what Leia was proposing.
His others self seemed about to break into the debate, but then seemed to freeze. Then for no apparent reason he turned his head to look behind him.
Han felt stab of panic, suddenly deathly afraid of what would happen if he looked his own self in the eye.
No!
"No!"
He was laying back in his own bed, sweat drenching him, shouting at nothing.
******
Real Star Wars universe
After the various diplomats left Leia lay her head back in her chair, rubbing at her temples.
How could so many so called diplomats be so.....undiplomatic?
She was trying to negotiate to find a planet to be a refuge for some of the jedi. They couldn't all stay in the Maw, it was to isolated. And it was quite frankly unreasonable to expect Booster to jump them around on the Errant Venture forever.
They needed somewhere to come and rest before heading back out to the fight. A haven.
So the planet had to be one relatively untouched by the Vong. There weren't many of those, and if they were they intended to stay that way.
Inviting dozens of jedi to stay was not likely to do that. It was more like putting up a big sign and waving, "come shoot me!"
Leia had known this, but had hoped someone might be altruistic enough to look past the danger.
Vain hope. She should have know better by now.
She closed her eyes and lay a hand over them, shielding them from the light hoping to soothe her throbbing headache. She sighed.
If only.....
"Hey Leia, their gone now, you don't have to hide."
Leia peered out from under her hand, "No, their not gone, their never gone."
Han reached out and started massaging her shoulders with his strong hands.
She leaned into his hands. "Han, you have no idea how good that feels."
He leaned over and whispered in her ear in a suggestive tone, "You wanna bet Princess? You do me next and we'll find out."
Leia smiled in spite of her headache and opened her eyes to meet his twinkling gaze.
"Han, your hopeless."
He slid in beside her in the huge chair so she was almost on his lap.
"I should think so. Who would you argue with if not me?"
She chuckled ruefully. "Everyone actualy. They weren't exactly cooperative today."
Hans expression grew serious. "You want me to shoot them for Sweetheart?"
Leia looked momentarily shocked, "Han! You know that--"
Then she saw the quirk of his lips as he tried to suppress a smile.
"Your tired Leia, normally you wouldn't fall for it that easy."
She leaned back against his chest. "Yes Han, I am tired. Tired of no one else cooperating, tired of this war. Just....tired."
"Not tired of me I hope."
"Of course not!"
Han wrapped his arms around her waist. "But seriously, you do look tired. What if you tried calling them on the holonet first before calling them all the way here? That way you wouldn't have to deal with a dozen idiots at once."
Leia's brow wrinkled in thought. "Hmmm, you know that could work. I haven't tried to talk to the Hapens yet. Maybe they would help."
"Oh great, just what I always wanted. To his perfect blonde hignhess again."
"What?"
"Never mind. You go ahead and try the Hapens sweetheart. But....."
"But what?"
"You don't have to call them right now do you?"
Leia laughed, Han's expression was so tottaly innoccent, if she didn't know Han so well she almost would have believed it.
Almost.
She traced the scar on his chin with her finger. "Then what did you have in mind?"
"Surely you can guess."
"Tell me anyway."
Then he whispered words meant for her ears alone.
*****