Chaos in Carbonite

Disclaimer: Star Wars and all things related and/or pertaining to Star Wars belong to George Lucas. I'm not trying to make money off of it; I'm just a student borrowing the characters for a short time.

A/N: Please don't kill me for this. This story starts off at the end of ESB. It doesn't follow the Shadows of the Empire storyline. I promise it will all work out in the end. It only seems like AU. It's not really. There's a big hint right there.
And the italics are thoughts.
Just remember: You've been warned.

"Princess, we'll find Han. I promise." Lando's voice could be heard over the comlink. All Leia could do was listen to the exchange. For once, she could not think of anything to say. Instead, Luke was doing the talking. Even getting a prosthetic right hand fitted since Darth Vader had cut it off earlier in Bespin, Luke seemed as sure and confident of himself as any politician Leia had known in the senate. This newfound self-confidence was a definite change from the over-zealous farm boy she had first met on the Death Star.

"Chewie, I'll be waiting for your signal. Take care, you two," Luke then added, "May the Force be with you." With that, he finished the conversation. Chewie growled a roar of agreement that could be heard before the comlinks were turned off; both Luke and Leia unconsciously smiled in spite of their current predicament. The Wookiee's roar was strangely comforting, a reminder of happier times. Chewie and Lando were taking the Millenium Falcon to search the galaxy for Boba Fett's ship. They seemed to have taken it upon themselves to personally find the SLAVE-1.

Leia watched as the Too-Onebee droid continued testing Luke's new prosthetic hand. Deciding she was no longer needed at the moment, Leia slowly walked to the window to watch the space traffic. She desperately hoped the mindless task would help her take her mind off of the current situation. Leia wanted to - for just a moment - forget about Han being frozen in carbonite. The mere thought of never seeing him again was heart breaking.

A million thoughts rushed through Leia's head: Why Han? If I had done something, I might have been able to save him. Why didn't I do anything? I just stood there like a lazy Hutt. I could have helped Han, but I didn't. Why am I such a mess?

The "why's" were never ending. Leia had never been a "why me" person, and she didn't want to change that now. She would never know all of the answers and it was too painful and too confusing to try to figure them out.

She could hear the tinny sound of the Onebee's precise, mechanical movements and Luke's occasional, "Ow!" could also be heard behind her. For some reason, Leia could feel Luke's eyes on her and it made her uncomfortable. It wasn't so much the idea that it was Luke looking at her, but that she knew - could feel - someone was watching her. It was a strange, unnerving feeling. Sure, she had felt like she was being watched before, but never like this. This new sensation was as if she had eyes in the back of her head. No, not eyes. More like receptors that picked up on feelings that translated itself into a powerful intuition.

What is this nonsense I'm thinking? Leia thought to herself. Feeling receptors and intuition. All bantha fodder. But still, she couldn't shade the feeling. Maybe I'll ask Luke about it later. He seems to be quite the philosopher lately.

As if on he'd known she was thinking about him, Luke came up from behind her and draped his arm and new hand across her shoulders. His prosthetic hand didn't feel strange, like she'd expected. In fact, if felt surprisingly...normal. It seemed like a lot of things had been surprising to Leia in the last few weeks. First, the whole situation with Han, hearing Luke call her from underneath Cloud City, discovering Lando was actually an all-right guy...and lots of little things like Luke's hand.

All of the surprises made Leia feel like she was losing control. Being in control was something she was used to; it was comforting to her. The loss of it left a chill in her bones and a pit in her stomach. Leia wondered if she'd ever be in control of anything again, if her current feeling could be remedied.

Unexpectedly, Luke shifted his feet and jolted Leia out of her reverie. She looked into his blue eyes and found comfort and sympathy. It was just too much to take in; she had to look down at the white floor. Somehow, Leia wondered if Luke knew about her and Han. She strongly suspected he did. He gently squeezed her shoulders affectionately, like a brother would comfort a sister.

He's like brother to me. If Luke weren't here, with Han...gone...I don't know how I'd make it. Even so, I don't know how to tell Luke about Han. Does he still think of me that way? I hope not. It's going to be hard enough telling him without that added to complicate matters.

Leia, once again, looked up at Luke. He turned his gaze from the window and intently searched her face. She looked like the Leia he had seen on Hoth, and yet, there were subtle differences only those close to her would notice. In her eyes, he saw confusion and hurt. Deep, scarring hurt in those brown eyes. He noticed that the passion and fire that usually kept her face glowing with a soft radiance had been dampened. What could do that to her?

"Luke?" Leia was the first to break the silence. For the first time, she noticed Threepio and Artoo standing next to Luke. They, too, seemed to be deep in thought...strange for droids, but that was the least of her concerns. "Luke," she started again and took a deep, comforting breath, "there's something I think you should know." She disentangled herself from Luke's arm and started to walk back to the cot near the Onebee. Luke followed, concern evident on his face.

"What is it, Leia?" He sat down on the cot and Leia did the same. Luke noticed Leia seemed nervous and kept wringing her hands and biting her lower lip, wouldn't meet his eyes. He gently reached out and laid his hand on top of hers. "You don't need to be nervous around me. You can tell me anything and everything. I know this must be a hard time for you and - "

Leia suddenly looked up and Luke saw something in her eyes he had never seen there before. Something he couldn't quite place. "Are you okay?" Startled, he removed his hand.

Silently, Leia looked back down and slowly shook her head back and forth. "No," was all she could say in a strangled whisper. "Not really."

For some reason, Leia admitting to not being fine raised a flag in the back of Luke's mind. He had a sinking suspicion it had to do with Han. Maybe it was the Force's doing, but he didn't like it. In that moment, he understood that he and Leia could never be. Surprising himself as much as Leia, Luke began, "You and Han...I think I know..." Finding it uncomfortable to continue, he abruptly stopped.

Still wringing her hands, Leia looked up at Luke with a stricken look in her eyes.

"I think..." Luke chuckled a bit as he continued. "I think you two are good for each other."

Grateful for Luke's caring acceptance, Leia reached out and took his hands in her own. "I meant to tell you earlier. I really did, but you were injured and needed to recover. Then Lando and Chewie needed to prep the Falcon...everything just kept building up and I guess I - I neglected to tell you sooner. I was dreading how you'd take the news." A wry smile graced her lips as the tears built up in her eyes. Luke opened his mouth to say something but Leia didn't notice.

"Thank you for understanding." She moved a bit so she could embrace Luke in a tight hug. "You're a great friend and I don't know what I would do without you."

Luke gave a Leia a gentle squeeze and pulled back ever so slightly to look at her face. Some of the color had come back to her face, but she was still obviously hurting inside and a little misty-eyed. She didn't look like the Ice Princess, as many members of the Alliance jokingly called Leia behind her back. Instead, she looked extremely vulnerable. Maybe she just needs some comforting words to feel a little bit better.

"Look, Leia, we're going to find Han. I bet Chewie and Lando are already on Boba Fett's trail right now. SLAVE-1 doesn't stand a chance against the Falcon."

"You don't have to lie to me to make me feel better, Luke. I've dealt with more dire circumstances before. I'll be fine. Just give me some time." She knew her bravado wouldn't fool Luke, but it was all she could do to make herself feel like the old Leia. She stood up and continued, hoping Luke would understand. "Besides, I have work for the Alliance that needs to be done."

The Alliance, Luke thought. Only Leia would think of work to take her mind off of things. Sometimes she still amazes me

"I think that can wait until later, Leia." Luke stood up and walked over to Leia, guiding her to the door. "You've had a long day. So I have. It's not everyday I get a new hand." He tried for levity, but only received a small smile from Leia. "We both need our rest. What good are we to Han and the Alliance if we're mentally and physically burned out?" He sensed Leia was about to protest, so he continued. "No good at all, that's what. Come on, Threepio, Artoo." He motioned the droids to follow him. "Time to call it a night and time for you two to shut down for the night."

"Oh, yes, sir. Artoo and I were just thinking the same thing. Come along, Artoo. We don't want to keep Master Luke and Mistress Leia waiting. Hurry up, Artoo!" Threepio and a whistling Artoo made their way to the door.

Luke and Leia, followed by Threepio and Artoo exited the med unit leaving the Onebee alone. They walked down the sterile looking corridor until they reached the two rooms assigned to them.

"I'm going to try to contact Wedge and the rest of Rogue Squadron tomorrow morning. They'll help find Han and assist the Alliance any way they can, you know that," Luke said as he took out the key card to his room and handed one to Leia. "Here, they gave me yours, too."

Leia, showing her exhaustion now, took the card and numbly put it in the door. It opened and she looked sideways at Luke and lethargically nodded her head. "Rough Squadron will come through, I don't doubt it. Night, Luke." She began to walk into her room. "See you in the morning." And the door closed.

Luke shrugged and entered his room too. Threepio and Artoo followed and settled themselves in a corner, out of the way. Luke, not having a change of clothes, got into bed and almost immediately fell asleep.

Back in her own room, Leia silently cried herself to sleep. The tears she had been holding back all day came and wouldn't stop. An overwhelming feeling of helplessness for the Alliance and fear of never seeing Han again clouded her mind.

Finally, Leia drifted into a troubled, fitful sleep.

I know, I know...it got a bit twincest-y there, but I felt I needed to explain how Luke found out about Han and Leia.

Should I continue?