The sprint to the hangar deck seemed to take forever. Leia's mind imploded with awful thoughts, each one worse than the last. From the conviction that the shuttle was the advance unit of the Imperial Fleet to the Emperor himself, who was coming to take Luke away, thanks to Vader's impeccable inside job.

Thanks to her. Her fault. Her fault! And all because she'd allowed herself to be swept away by foolish dreams of fatherly love conquering everything and stupid fantasies of redemption... Fool. FOOL!

When she made it to the hangar, she encountered the same young lieutenant who'd been there when Vader's shuttle had arrived.

"Your highness..." he greeted her, puzzled to see her there again.

"Call a security squadron on the double!" she ordered in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Caught by surprise, the young man quickly sobered and ran off.

Frozen in place, Leia stood where she was, swallowing convulsively and willing her racing heartbeat to calm down. This was a potential life and death situation and she had to act accordingly, like the leader of the Rebellion that she was.

She focused on clearing her mind from all the disturbing thoughts that assaulted her, and concentrated on what had to be done. She started to take slow and steady breaths, until her respiration was back to normal. She blinked and looked out. A tiny white object was becoming visible in the distance, heading straight for the medical frigate. She set her jaw and braced herself for what was coming.

Soon enough, she heard doors opening behind her and the loud sound of boots thumping on the deck. Feeling oddly comforted by that sound, she stood firmer and watched the white object getting bigger and bigger as it approached. Its triangular shape became unmistakable as it sailed smoothly through space.

Half a minute later, it grew too big and Leia's heart pounded in her chest helplessly. Finally, it cleared the entrance to the hangar, folding its wings upward and landing next to Vader's shuttle.

Leia moved back a few paces, signalling the squadron to ready their weapons.

Almost on cue, the ramp deployed and she heard footsteps inside the ship. Then, several forms emerged from the darkness and began to walk down.

The giant hairy creature that preceded the other two noticed right away that something was amiss. His massive paws tightened on his crossbow while he turned his head to her and growled a question.

Petrified beyond reason, beyond belief, the Princess stared at the image before her.

Chewie.

Chewie.

What was the meaning of this? The last time she'd heard from him – and Lando – was a few weeks ago, when they'd sent a transmission informing her that they'd been scouting the perimeter of Jabba's palace looking for a way to get inside, and finding none.

Why were they returning now? Stunned, she looked past the Wookiee to the two men who followed him. The second one was Lando, who walked down the ramp unhurriedly escorting... Escorting...

Her heart skipped the most painful beat at the sight of him, and a disbelieving sob escaped her throat.

It couldn't be. It couldn't... It couldn't be!

"Han," she moaned, unable to believe her eyes.

The captain of the Millenium Falcon walked a bit unsteadily, as if he didn't trust his sense of balance, or his eyesight. When his feet touched the deck he raised his head and arched his eyebrows at the reception that awaited them.

"This is what I call a warm welcome," he commented in his usual sardonic manner, looking in the squadron's direction. Then, his eyes turned to Leia, and his features and demeanour softened the moment he saw her. He stared at her with naked adoration, undoubtedly remembering the last time they'd looked into each other's eyes, knowing it could very well be the last. "Hello, your worship," he greeted her in his usual insolent style that didn't fool anyone this time. "Long time no see."

And those were the words that broke the Princess. With a whimpering cry, she rushed forward just as he reached out to her, and they fell into each other's arms.

Leia buried her face in Han's chest, weeping openly and clinging to his broad back for dear life. His familiar scent invaded her senses and she almost collapsed with the joy that suffused her being.

The cocky smuggler smiled happily, tightening his hold on the small body, cupping her head in his hand and pressing it closer. He brought his head down and kissed the beautiful dark hair time and again as he caressed her back in circles, trying to soothe her shaking form.

"Hey, it's all right," he whispered to her. "I'm here, honey. I'm right here," he shook her a little, in an attempt to reassure them both.

Leia sniffled and rubbed her face against his shirt with a choked laugh. Then, reluctantly, she moved back and looked into his eyes.

Han returned her look, devouring the lovely countenance that had filled his thoughts in those endless weeks spent 'in perfect hibernation,' but somehow still trapped in the prison of his own mind. His lovestruck expression gave way to one of alarm and worry when he noticed the dark rings under her eyes, her paleness and the devastating effects the past two and a half months had had on her.

He moved back and looked at her up and down, noticing her severe weight loss for the first time. His nostrils flared.

On her part, Leia smiled at his healthy look. Reaching up, she framed his cheek in her hand and caressed it with her thumb, as if convincing herself that he was really there.

Han bent down and kissed her lips passionately, hungrily, desperate to connect again with her in body and soul. Leia returned the kiss with the same passion and hunger, but also with a lingering sadness that the young man could taste like a bitter poison consuming her from within.

They drew back. Han took her face between his hands gently and wiped her tears away, determined to get an answer.

"What's happening?" he asked. "What's the welcoming committee doing here?" he nodded in the armed squadron's direction, right in front of them.

"Oh, my!" Leia exclaimed. She had totally forgotten about them. She half-turned and addressed the stumped men with a strained but kind tone of voice. "You can leave now. Thank you," she dismissed them with a wan smile.

The armed group left with curt nods. They'd pretty much assumed their services wouldn't be needed the moment they'd seen the passengers of the shuttle.

But Han's questions wouldn't be dismissed to easily.

"Leia, what's going on?" he insisted. "What happened to you?" he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers, his concern apparent.

Leia shook her head.

"I could ask you the same thing," she smiled up at him, soaking up his touch.

Movement behind him made her acknowledge Lando and Chewie's presence, who'd respectfully stayed back, allowing them to reunite in private. She smiled at them with unfeigned joy and reached out one hand to them.

"Lando, Chewie, I'm so glad to see you!"

Grinning, Lando approached them, followed by the strangely shy Wookiee. Lando held her hand and kissed it gallantly, always the old smoothie.

"We're glad to be back." Something in his eyes cried out that something really big had transpired.

Chewie came forward and took her small hand between his paws, shaking it softly but intensely.

"The last time I heard from you, you were trying to infiltrate Jabba's palace," Leia looked from Lando to the Wookiee and back.

"And that's what we were doing yesterday afternoon," Lando began their story. "Seeing there was no way to sneak in, we decided to change tactics. I would get a job as a guard, a cook, an exotic dancer, whatever they needed, and inform Chewie periodically of the palace's routine," he cast a swift glance at the Wookiee, who nodded emphatically. "We were almost at the palace's gates when all hell broke loose."

"What happened?" Leia prompted him.

"The Empire happened," Han cut in.

Leia whipped her head to Han, eyes popping open.

"WHAT?!"

"In the blink of an eye, we were surrounded by hundreds of stormtroopers - and I do mean hundreds - carrying heavy weaponry and enough explosives to level the Galactic Senate," Lando continued. "They seemed ready to start a war. They arrested us and took us aside while they burst into the palace." He stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

Leia stared at Lando, unable to believe what she was hearing. With every turn of events he described, more and more questions kept popping into her mind.

"We began to hear sounds of blaster fire and explosions. It didn't stop for over five minutes," Lando was nearing the end of his tale. "Finally, after an explosion that shook the ground, they took us away to the Desert Plain where they had their ships," he looked at Chewie again for support. The Wookiee let out a soft growl and nodded. "We thought that now that the job was done, they'd execute us on the spot or make us disappear somehow. So, picture our faces when right in the middle of two dozen troopers we see this good ol' pirate, alive and well!" he gave Han an affectionate elbow-nudge.

Han gave him his patented lopsided grin, and turned to Leia with a flippant shrug.

"What can I say? I'm a galactic treasure," he boasted teasingly. "All I remember is falling to the floor in total darkness and being dragged away pretty rudely; and the sound of a hundred voices crying out: 'Go, go, go! The place is going to blow!'" he shared his side of the story with the Princess. "Bad poetry I know, but boy were they right! The explosion literally lifted us off our feet!" he made a short theatrical pause and continued. "They had to guide me in the trip through the desert 'cause I was quite blind."

Leia understood now his little problem walking down the ramp. He'd been too long in hibernation and his vision still wasn't up to par.

As if he'd read her mind, Han looked down at her and nodded.

"My peripheral vision is a bit blurry and my eyes take longer than usual to adjust from dark to light and from light to dark. Otherwise, I'm fine. 85% fine, I would say," he smiled at her. "Just give me a few hours more."

Leia sighed in relief. She took hold of his hand and squeezed it.

"And how did you end up in an Imperial shuttle?" she asked them.

"That's when things get weird," Han made an exaggerated face.

"Weirder still?" Leia widened her eyes in pretended shock.

"One of the guys in command seemed to take for granted that we'd be taken away to be judged for crimes against the Empire, or executed right then and there and left to rot in the desert – more or less what we all assumed," he looked somberly at Chewie and Lando, who nodded assent at his words. "But his assumption was quickly proved wrong by an older guy, the real brains of the operation. He reminded Mr. Hothead that their orders were to put us in a shuttle and leave us to our own devices, unscathed."

"A really heated discussion followed," Lando took over then, "but in the end, they allowed us to board one of their crafts and we took off, wondering why we were alive and where those orders came from."

Leia turned and looked at the hangar doors, suspecting where those orders came from... and why. She bit her lower lip and swallowed hard, realizing the huge mistake she'd made. Yes, she had every reason to distrust Vader, but since he'd come aboard he'd behaved nothing short of honourably. Without a doubt, this final gesture was his way to undo what he'd done on Bespin and convince her of... what? That he was willing to change? Unfortunately, he would have to do A LOT more to convince her of that.

But it was a beginning, and she was grateful beyond words.

"Hey, sweetheart, are you listening?"

Han's voice startled her and she turned back to her beloved.

"Yes, yes," she nodded distractedly. She fixed her eyes on the handsome face. "So, Jabba's palace is..."

"Destroyed," Lando summarized. "All that's left of it is a mountain of smoking rubble. The Empire is nothing if not thorough."

Leia looked down deep in thought, and nodded slowly.

Han, Lando and Chewie exchanged knowing looks. They could feel that something was very wrong, but they also knew that Leia would tell them in her own good time. The Corellian reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it fondly, hoping to bring her back from wherever she was.

"Aren't you going to ask us how we found you?" he smiled at her patiently.

"Oh, yeah!" Leia's eyes sparkled lively once more as she gave them all her attention. "How did you know where we were?"

"After making sure there were no homing beacons within or without the ship," Han began, "we set a course to rendezvous with the Fleet. When we met them, they informed us that you had unilaterally decided to set off on your own. Fortunately, your escorts were there and they were able to tell us your approximate trajectory. It was very strange, because it looked like you were preparing to leave the galaxy, but we chose to continue... and here we are!" he finished with a flourish.

Leia smiled wistfully, dreading the moment. Now it was her turn to explain herself.

How to start? What to say? Would they ever understand what she had done, and why? Would they consider her a traitor, like a part of herself did?

Seeing that she had paled in seconds, Han exchanged the fastest look with his friends and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You know you can tell us anything, right?" he took her chin in his hand and raised it to meet his eyes.

Leia bit her lips again nervously. Her brown eyes brimmed with tears.

Han planted himself in front of her and took her by the shoulders.

"Leia, what's happening here? Have you been sick? A plague of some kind?"

The tears fell and she shook her head heavily.

Feeling his heart break, Han wiped her tears away.

"I know about Luke," he spoke in a broken voice. He wanted to spare her having to tell him. "Lando and Chewie told me what Vader did to him," he gritted his teeth in anger.

Leia shook her head again dejectedly.

"You don't know half of it, Han," she choked out. "You have no idea." Her eyes strayed over to the second shuttle helplessly.

Han followed her look. Yes, it had puzzled them to see a second Imperial shuttle in the hangar, but they had dismissed it. Maybe it was a lost Imperial crew they'd captured along the way. But now it took on an entirely new relevance. Chills went up and down his spine and he straightened up.

"Who's here?" he asked dangerously in the lowest voice.

And looking into his eyes, seeing the fierce protectiveness in them, unwavering and solid like a rock, Leia felt her own strength returning.

Straightening up as well with a deep intake of breath, she pulled herself together. She grasped his forearms and brought them down, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them hard.

"Come," she invited them all. "Let's go someplace private where we can talk. There's something that you must know."


Vilk paced the room back and forth anxiously. It had been one hour already since the Princess left. He'd guessed that nothing serious had happened when no alarms had gone off, that's why he didn't understand the young woman's prolongued absence. It had to be something very important to keep her from her dear friend's bedside for so long. Besides, being in Darth Vader's presence for an entire hour wasn't his favourite pastime.

To be honest, what unnerved him the most was the Sith Lord's aplomb. There he was, sitting in young Skywalker's bed, holding him in his arms like a doting parent as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and totally oblivious to everything else.

Finally, tired of expending energy, he leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh.

"Do you have any idea of what's going on?" he asked, breaking the ice.

"Nothing to be concerned about, I assure you," was Vader's unflappable reply.

Vilk rolled his eyes. He'd already reckoned that. Back to ceiling-staring.

Suddenly, the door opened and Princess Leia walked in; strong, confident, looking refreshed, as if a great weight had been removed from her shoulders.

"How is he?" she asked them both, heading straight for Luke's bed.

"He's doing well," Vilk said, walking up to her. "He was sleeping the whole time."

Leia gazed down at the sleeping youth, smiling with such an adoring, smitten expression that Vilk had to look away. She reached down and stroked the prominent cheekbone to her heart's content.

Luke stirred in his father's arms and turned his face a little as if seeking her touch. Leia sniffed softly.

"You can go now, doctor. Thank you for staying, even though it wasn't necessary," she met Vader's eyes for a second and nodded imperceptibly to him.

"It's good to know," Vilk smirked sarcastically. "But before I go, let me tell you the results of the culture."

Vader and Leia gave him their undivided attention. He grinned widely.

"The infection is receding. He's fighting back."

The atmosphere in the room lightened considerably, as if a black veil had been lifted from everyone's spirits.

And Vader knew in the deepest part of him what the doctor's news truly meant.

The Light had won. The Dark Side had just been defeated with Luke's survival.

And he didn't regret it one bit.

He looked down at the child he'd sired, sleeping soundly, innocently, and closed his eyes against the stabbing pain – and fear - that seized his body.

Because he knew that Palpatine would never stop until he destroyed the greatest threat to his regime, to the Darkness, to him. He would use any and every means at his disposal to wipe out the Jedi from the galaxy as he'd done once.

If he wanted to ensure Luke's safety, he would have to destroy Palpatine first.

And that meant leaving Luke. To protect him.

The mere notion... It hurt. It hurt like nothing ever had before.

A shaking hand buried itself in the lush hair and caressed the scalp, seeking comfort as much as giving it.

'You will be all right, my son. No one will hurt you again. I'll kill him with my own hands, I will rip his guts out! But he won't lay a finger on you. He won't defile your soul like he did mine. I promise you!'

The door closed after Vilk and a heartbeat later, a small hand appeared in his line of vision.

Vader looked up and saw the Princess reaching out her hand to him, her intention clear.

Tipping his head to one side, he reached out his own hand and shook the proffered one solemnly.

"Thank you for what you've done," the young woman's voice sounded profoundly sincere.

"I take it that Captain Solo, Calrissian and the Wookiee have arrived," he accepted her gratitude with a nod and released the little hand carefully.

Leia nodded back at him.

"I told them everything. They left to shower and change," she reached out once more and played with the fluffy blond hair poignantly. "I did my best to prepare them for... but words can never convey..." she sighed. "They'll be here any minute now."

"Do you want me to leave?" Vader offered.

"No," she put out her hand. "You're his father. You're good for him and they understand that. They'll manage."

"You told them that I am his father?!" Vader's stratospheric respect for her grew even more.

"How could I justify what I've done otherwise?" Leia shrugged self-deprecatingly. "They're his friends. Nothing's going to change that."

Vader nodded, pleased that his child had such good friends.

"How did they take... your actions?" he inquired gingerly.

"They don't blame me, if that's what you're asking," Leia looked at him straight in the eyes. "Besides, they rather like the idea of having you here," her voice acquired an ominous tone that had the Dark Lord staring at her warily.

The corners of her lips twitched up slightly.

Had the Princess just played a joke on him? It certainly seemed so, and Vader felt something in him thaw at that extraordinary act of trust.

"I see," he remarked drily. "In that case, I want my lightsaber back immediately," he demanded in the same tone she had used.

The Princess' eyes twinkled in amusement.

"In your dreams," she replied insolently.

And with that brief exchange, the war between them was over.

As gently as possible, Vader extricated himself from behind his child. He looked at the Princess and she nodded to him approvingly. When Luke's friends arrived, it should be just Luke in the bed. A private moment between the boy and those closest to him. Nodding back at her, the Sith Lord placed the precious head on the pillow. Luke stirred again at the loss of his father's warmth. Vader moved aside the hair that fell across his forehead with a whispered word.

"Sleep."

And Luke obeyed.

"The way he responds to you, even asleep, is astonishing," Leia said, in wonder.

"I could say the same thing," Vader returned her compliment, retreating a few paces.

Leia looked at him curiously, but just then the door slid open and Han Solo walked in.

TO BE CONTINUED...