Vader prepared the controls on the frame to thaw the carbonite. "Now remember what I told you, Luke, your brother can't be overstimulated while he's recovering. You can stay in the room, but you mustn't touch him or speak to him until he's recovered. Do you understand?"

Luke nodded, absently clutching the blanket he'd taken off Han's bed. "Yes, Father."

"Good, stand back."

Vader completed the process for the decarbonization to begin. They stood back and watched as Han's entire body gradually turned red, and the carbonite started to fall away in pieces. Han's mouth, which had been frozen in a gnashed expression for over a month, slowly closed, then opened again in a low moan. His fingers moved, they spread apart from one another, then narrowed, his hands flexed, his fingers curled, and uncurled, flexed and unflexed. Then as the bulk of the carbon melted, Han fell out of the casing, and would've dropped flat on the floor except his father caught him at the last second. Vader went down with him, knelt on the floor as he held Han around the waist to keep him from falling flat. He was soaking wet from the melted carbon and his whole body shivered.

"W-w-what h-h-happened?" he weakly asked.

"Calm yourself, my son, you're safe," Vader told him.

"P-Pop? What's going on?" Han asked, blinking, "I'm blind again!"

"You were carbon frozen," Vader said as softly as his vocoder would allow. "It's part of the hibernation sickness, it will pass, but it's important you don't try to get up or move much until it does."

"I'm freezing!" Han quietly insisted as his whole body continued to tremble and quake.

"I know," Vader grabbed Han's blanket and wrapped him in it and held the young man against him, "Just stay still and rest, you will feel better soon."

Han's teeth chattered and a strangled "Brr-rr-r-r-r' sound escaped him as he tried to talk, "Pop..."

"Hush my child, you need to rest," Vader told him.

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-sssorry about Luke," Han said, "I didn't mean for him to get caught in the middle of my problems."

"That's not important now," Vader assured him as he softly patted Han on the head, "just rest, everything is fine."

"I..." Han's voice threatened to break, "I can't believe you came for me."

"I will always come for both of you," Vader told him, "Now just rest."

Han rested his head against Vader's shoulder and leaned against the older man, shivering and weakly moaning. The only way he could currently see was from what his mind saw, and he was flooded with a barrage of memories that felt like he was being shot at from all sides, unable to block it, unable to get away, he felt like he was drowning in them. The only thing that competed with them for his focus was the feeling of those durasteel arms wrapped around him. It grounded him to the reality that this was not permanent and would soon pass, not quick enough for his liking, but he was reminded he wasn't alone, and he knew, his father wouldn't let anything get to him. If he said this was just temporary, Han believed it, even though he felt like he'd been buried in the snow on Hoth and was freezing to death. He curled himself tighter against his father, desperate to feel any sensation of warmth, of, of being protected from what was happening to him.

Luke stood in front of his father and his brother, in awe, and trapped in the greatest battle of his will and patience he'd ever known. All he wanted to do was run over to Han, touch his brother, talk to him, know that this was real and he was alive. From where he stood it almost felt like watching a holofilm, lifelike but not the real thing. He felt so bad for everything Han had been put through and that he was still suffering now, and all he wanted to do was help in some way, but he obeyed his father and stayed right where he was, even though every passing moment made him feel like he was going to lose his sanity.

Gradually, Han stopped shaking as hard, and as much, and his moans got softer, and softer, until finally everything stopped, a small sigh escaped the man as his whole body went limp and his head slumped against his father's chest plate.

Luke's heart was in his throat. "Han!"

Vader raised one hand to cease his younger son as he assessed the older one.

"He's alright," he assured Luke, "he's just asleep."

Slowly, carefully, the dark lord rose to his feet, holding his son in his arms.

"Is he going to be okay?" Luke asked, his voice small and full of fear.

"He'll be fine," Vader answered as he started towards Han's room, "he's been in hibernation for over a month, now he needs to rest."

Luke followed behind him. Vader walked through the corridor carrying Han against him as the younger man slept. He remembered all those years ago, wrapping Han up and carrying him to the temple and giving him up. He subconsciously tightened his hold, he was never letting his son go again.

They made their way upstairs and into Han's room, where Vader gently laid him down on his bed against the pillows.

"Can I stay with him?" Luke asked.

"Yes, but let him rest," Vader answered as he pulled the rest of the covers up over Han.

Luke went to his room long enough to grab a couple things and came back to Han's room carrying the blanket from his bed and his ewok doll. Han was in a dead sleep and never even moved. Luke climbed in on the other side of the bed and rolled on his side and watched his brother while he slept, watching him to make sure he was still breathing. He didn't know how long he lay there watching Han sleep, but when Luke was sure he wouldn't wake up, he reached over and gently raised Han's arm enough to slide the ewok doll under it so the stuffed toy was pressed against his chest when his arm was lowered again.

"I'm glad you're back, Han," Luke whispered, feeling his own eyes burning with tears that were building up. He'd been so scared that they'd never find Han, or that he'd be dead, this had almost seemed too much to hope for. He wrapped himself up in his own blanket and fell asleep beside his older brother.

When Han opened his eyes, he could see, but he could also tell right away that something was off.

"Where am I?" he asked as he lay still in the dark room and let his eyes roam around to make sure they were working normally. He vaguely remembered something about being blind, again.

"Han?"

The older man jerked at the sound of another person's voice, he turned on his side and heaved a sigh of relief. "Luke, you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

"I..." Han looked around the dark room, "what time is it?"

"The middle of the night."

"Oh, okay, that makes sense then. Where's Pop?"

"His meditation pod."

"Oh, right...uh...what happened?"

"Jabba the Hutt had you carbon frozen," Luke answered.

"Oh yeah," Han groaned, "I remember...that was the...wait...how'd I get back here then?"

"Father brought you back."

"He went to see Jabba the Hutt?" Han asked.

"He killed him."

Han's eyes bugged out. "He-okay, that makes sense...I think...so I guess...I guess you guys know."

"About the slave ship?" Luke asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Han sighed. "I really didn't think you'd get caught in the middle of that, Luke, I didn't tell you guys specifically because I didn't want you guys getting in the middle of my problem."

Luke did a double take. "It was more than your problem, Han, we were there, we thought you were dead. If you were going hunting for those guys, you should've told us."

"You really think Pop would've approved of what I did?"

"I don't know but at least then we would've known what to expect. We would've had an idea why the bounty hunters came for you."

"And if you'd known anything about it, they might've taken you too!" Han told him. "I wasn't going to take that chance." He came down a notch and in a calmer voice told him, "I figured if anything was going to happen, it would've been in the two weeks after it happened before I came home...nothing did, I figured they didn't know it was me. I'm sorry...I don't know if you really understand why I did it, why I had to do it, but I was trying to keep you safe."

"Damn it, Han, I'm not a kid!"

Han opened his mouth to respond, then closed it when he looked down, and held up Luke's ewok doll for an exhibit. "Oh yeah?"

"You don't need to protect me," Luke insisted.

"You don't get it, kid," Han shook his head. "You're my brother, I have to protect you."

"I should've-!" Luke snapped, and froze before he finished that thought. Han looked at him inquisitively and was met with Luke's large eyes doubled with shock.

"I should've..." Luke repeated in a far quieter voice, "protected you."

"What?"

"All the training I've had from Father, I should've been able to stop them," Luke confessed. "I should've been able to protect you."

Han let out a combined snort and chuckle. "Hey junior, I don't care what kind of voodoo powers you've got, I'm not going to be embarrassed to death having my little brother guarding me."

"Take that back."

"Make me."

The two carried on for a few minutes playfully punching and kicking one another hurling insults before they were rolling around on the bed each trying to throw the other onto the floor. It finally ended when Han rolled Luke onto his stomach and pinned his arm behind his back. Luke yelled out in pain and kicked his feet against the mattress.

"You surrender?" Han asked.

The next thing Han knew, something knocked him clear out of the bed and he was practically standing on his head against the wall. Luke slowly pulled himself up from the bed and stood over him.

"Truce?"

"Truce," Han held his hand up and Luke helped pull him to his feet. "So I take back what I said about the voodoo powers. That would come in handy."

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

Han nodded, "Sure, save me a trip to the bone adjuster. You?"

"I'm fine."

As the two of them climbed back into bed, Han said to Luke, "So fill me in, what all have I missed out on?"

"Not a whole lot," Luke answered.