"Han?"
Han took a moment before he answered, absorbed in what he was typing on the datapad.
"Yeah, Kid?"
"Han, look at me please."
Han frowned.
"Look, Kid, I'm busy, okay?"
Luke sighed.
"Leia-"
"What?" Han said sharply, staring immediately into the blue depths that were watching him. "Is she alright?"
"Huh? Of course she's alright! Why wouldn't she be?"
Han narrowed his eyes and returned to his datapad.
"Whaddya want, Kid?"
"I just wanted to know if you're feeling okay. Leia does too. You seem a little…"
Han paused and tilted his head to look over his shoulder.
"A little what?"
"Are you feeling tired?"
"I'm feeling pissed off."
"So you're feeling frustrated?"
"Yeah, look, what the hell is this? This some fuckin' interrogation?"
"Han-"
"NO! BACK OFF, SKYWALKER!"
He shoved his chair backwards and stormed from the room, leaving Luke stunned behind him.
But only for a moment. Luke followed him, silent as always, into the other room, and sensed something different.
"Han? Han! Han, why are you afraid of me?"
Han almost turned to face him, but shook his head.
"No," he whispered. "No!"
He raised a hand to his temple, then to his forehead.
"Han?"
The severity was gone from his voice.
"No, no!" he staggered backwards.
Luke stepped forward.
"Han-"
"NO!" Han shouted, spinning about to face him, arm outstretched as he backed himself up against the wall. "No, get away from me!"
"Han, I can't help you unless you let me-"
"Not you! Not you!"
Luke looked around, noticing for the first time that Han's gaze was not fixed on him, and the hair on the back of his neck rose, almost as if there were someone breathing down his neck, someone he couldn't see or sense.
"No! Get away!"
"Han! Han, listen to me, We Are Alone In This Room! You have to Tell Me What You See!"
Han's eyes rolled, his hand dropped to his side and he shook his head. Then he went limp against the wall and slumped to the floor.
"Come back, Han, come on. You're home, you're safe."
That voice was enticing but he was sure he'd feel better if he just lay here in the fuzzy place between awake and unconscious. No. Better to stay here.
"Han, come on. I know you can hear me."
Han grunted. Dammit. If that was who he thought it was then he wasn't going to get away with going back to sleep.
But wait. Had he been sleeping?
"Han, you fainted again. Come on."
Fainted? You gotta be kiddin' me.
Nice work, Solo. He can't hear you, you're not awake yet.
"Wake up, Han. We're here."
I know you're here.
Open you're eyes, Solo, you're still not talking out loud.
Han forced his eyes to open.
"Kid?"
That's better.
"Han, you're in the lounge; you fainted."
"Y-Yeah…I know…"
He felt a strong hand grasp hold of his upper arm and help him sit up, but his head started to throb.
"Ah," he whispered, raising a hand to his head.
"Steady," Luke said, his voice low. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm just dizzy."
Luke shook his head.
"You don't remember?"
"Remember what?" asked Han, feeling distinctly uneasy at the expression on Luke's face.
"It was almost like…you saw someone else near me."
Han looked down, frowning.
"No, I don't remember. I remember yelling at you, though. Sorry, Kid."
"Forget it. But I think we should wake Leia and tell her."
"You can if you want."
Luke glanced over at the Chrono on the mantelpiece and grimaced.
"No, I've got to go; shuttle to catch. I was on my way out when you fainted.
"Kid, can we not say 'fainted'? How 'bout 'loosing consciousness' or something, huh?"
"Alright," Luke promised, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. "And I should be back by morning but I want her to know. Han? Try to keep out of trouble. Go to bed."
"Yeah," said Han, wincing a little as he stood. "I was planning on hittin' the hay anyway. Where're you going at this hour?"
"Port Authority and then across the continent. It's daytime over there, you know."
"Good luck with it."
"Yeah," Luke smiled, somewhat wanly. "You too."
"Hey?"
Leia opened her eyes, blinked, squinted and then realised who was attracting her attention. She reached out to stroke his face but he stepped back.
"Luke told me to tell you, uh…"
She sat up, running her hand over her eyes.
"Mmmm, what?" she asked quietly, stifling a yawn.
"He said to tell you he's gone to catch his shuttle. Listen, sweetheart, I gotta finish this work. I'll come to bed when I'm done."
"Okay," she said after a short pause.
He had already begun to walk out.
"Don't stay up too late!"
Leia could hear water running. She thought that perhaps she was still dreaming, still surrounded by trees and stars and water, still in the water with Han, but it was a different sound; more sterile than that of a waterfall, like a tap in a laboratory.
She opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. She rolled over, expecting to find the familiar warmth of her fiancé, but instead she found the coldness of empty sheets.
She frowned and looked around. Gradually she understood that the running water she could hear was not a remnant of her dream but real and coming from the en-suite.
She swung her legs out of bed and looked at the chrono. It was two in the morning. What was he doing having a shower at two in the morning?
She decided to confront him about it. He had been doing a number of strange things recently. At lest, she mused, if he reason was legitimate, she could always join him.
She pushed open the door to the bathroom, slowly so as not to startle him, and put her head next to the door.
"Han?"
No answer. Maybe he had water in his ears.
"Han?" she said again, a little more loudly.
Still she received no reply from him.
She narrowed her eyes and poked her head round the door.
The shower was at the other end of the room, lower half hidden by the enormous two-person bathtub Han had insisted they install. But she couldn't see Han.
There was no point leaving the water running if there was no-one there to use the shower, she decided, and she began to cross the expanse of tiled floor. For some reason it seemed longer then it usually did, and the air seemed colder. It must be the cold, she thought, why else would I have goosebumps?
But she couldn't help feeling that something was wrong.
She reached the end of the bath and was about to round it to open the shower door. But she stopped dead when she saw him.
Han was there, in the shower, propped up against the door, water streaming over his body and turning red beneath him.
"Han!" she screamed, wrenching open the shower door.
He slumped out of the shower and she caught him before he hit the ground. Gods, had he hit his head? Had he-
A harsh clatter distracted her thoughts, even as she tried to wake him.
She looked down and saw, on the shower floor, Han's razor. And then she saw where the blood was coming from: his wrist.
"Han!" she said, shaking him.
She was frantically trying to pinch the sides of the wound together.
She shook him again, but he did not open his eyes.
"Oh…Oh, Gods…oh…HELP!"