I know this was supposed to be finished before the 2017 rolled in. However, since we lost Carrie and Debbie last week, I personally felt that a few days of mourning were in order out of respect for both people I deeply admired and loved as if they were family. I know that not everyone felt this way and that's not for me to judge so I am not, promise. But this fic is my call. Some are handling her death better than others - I'm still working on it. To me, there was one great thing that came from TFA - Carrie was more available to us than ever and not just as Leia, but as Carrie the entire person, just Carrie. Sadly, she drowned in the moonlight by her own bra. May the Force Be with You, Princess.
Okay, I owe a bunch of people a thank you for the last chapter and I'm getting to work on it right now. In the meantime...
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Chapter 23: Full Frontal OffensiveSolo waited all day and into the evening for Leia to show back up in the Med Center, but she never came. He didn't exactly expect her to show up, but he was disappointed all the same. Both Chewie and Luke had dropped in again, but only for short time since they were involved in the setup operations for the base. The realities of the extreme cold was making it more difficult than anyone had anticipated in the pre-encampment logistic studies.
At least TwoOneBee had released him in time for a late dinner. In typical form, Han recovered rapidly once he woke up. It was said that Corellians had a gene that let them recover from injury quicker than the average human, but it had never been proven. More likely, it was a universal Corellian habit of intensely disliking being seen as physically weakened in any way. Either way, Solo was released and making his way to the mess hall to meet Chewie and grab something to eat.
The day spent mostly alone had afforded him time to think. He worked on an approach to the Princess to break down her walls and in a permanent way this time. As per his usual modus operandi, nothing came of all that thinking. In the end, he decided to do what he did best in these situations: wait for inspiration strike.
Han figured that maybe Luke was correct and she was feeling responsible for what happened. It wasn't all that difficult to believe since she excelled at taking on the responsibilities of a galaxy with relative ease. Yet, this was not an all-galaxy encompassing problem. This was directly related to him and his past among other things. Still, there was a chance she thought that she was somehow at fault.
Maybe.
The problem with that was Luke didn't know the half of it. He had no idea what had been going on in private between Leia and himself and how that was just as likely why she was a concerned wreck. Considering how Solo had nearly exploded hearing she had been hurt, he could only imagine what Leia must've gone through watching him be injured enough to need emergency surgery and the bacta tank. The first thing he did in the morning was make 2-1-B give him the full rundown of his time in the Med Center from arrival to present.
Normally, he wasn't all that interested in how he was injured specifically, only how long it would be before he was up to normal speed again. But since Leia hadn't told anyone specifically what happened, he was going to have to get his information in other ways. If she wasn't telling Luke, she probably wasn't going to tell him either.
From 2-1-B's rundown, it sounded as if Leia had every right to be so incredibly worried. His prognosis had been bleak up until the minute he woke up to see Leia there watching him. Whatever happened after Fett had almost blinked him out of existence had to have been pretty rough.
Solo had never felt more like a lowlife. Here a beautiful, brilliant, amazing woman, the Princess of Alderaan no less, gives herself to him in every way and he brings a fucking notorious bounty hunter straight to her. The complete opposite of what she deserves. What if Fett had somehow found out who she was or where the new rebel base was? He wasn't above selling that kind of information. Solo directed his welling anger inward. It's not like it was the first time they had run into bounty hunters, but the former smuggler intended this to certainly be the last.
He had put off facing Jabba long enough! He was putting Leia in danger and everyone else on base as well. It was one thing when he was playing the odds for himself and Chewie, but there was no way he was willing to gamble with anyone else's lives any longer, especially Leia's.
The one thing he wanted to know before he left though was if there was something to come back to or more specifically, someone. He wasn't sure he would live through Jabba and whatever deal he had to strike with the Hutt to be square, but it would make a difference in how he approached settling the debt.
He knew one thing that would be different. He was going on full press with her. He wasn't going to let her sink back into herself and continue this circular pattern. He would figure out what the biggest obstacle was holding her back and he would do whatever it took to overcome it. If that wasn't enough, then that was it. He would have to find a way to walk away.
Walking into the mess hall, he easily picked out the mass of hulking fur waiting for him at a table. Chewie was already eating which was no surprise. A being that big in stature and muscle required a lot of intake just to maintain general health. At least, Chewbacca was a generous heart as well, lending his time and strength to the Rebels in exchange for the food they were happy to provide. It was more than that for Chewie, though. Given his druthers, Chewie was as loyal to the cause as Leia and with good reason.
Han grabbed a tray and loaded his normal amount of food. On his way to the table he had a second thought that it might be more than his system could handle right now, but Chewie wouldn't let it go to waste. After trading greetings with a few people along the way, Solo finally sat down across from his copilot.
"Hey, partner."
Chewie growled a greeting and a question around a mouthful of food.
"I'm fine." Han dug into to his dinner. "You know, I was thinking…."
Teasing Solo good-naturedly, Chewie congratulated him on that.
"Funny, really funny. Listen, I think it's time we go settle things with Jabba."
Chewie asked if Fett got to him.
"He could've killed the Princess. And what if we make a mistake and lead one of them back here somehow? Or we're on some mission together and she ends up handed over to Vader?" His voice started to rise in volume just thinking about it before Chewie hushed him down. Han lowered his voice. "It was too close this time."
Solo's copilot agreed they had to do something soon.
"How's the Falcon?"
A somewhat mournful growl came first before a list of issues. It turned out that the Falcon had not behaved as well as hoped while Leia was forced to pilot it alone through several quick jumps to get to Hoth. Not knowing all the minor idiosyncrasies and how to deal with them as they came up had taken a toll on the ship.
"It's a good thing the Princess at least knew the Falcon's main modifications or it could've been a lot worse. I should've been making sure she was doing more of the piloting over the years."
Again, the Wookiee chided Solo for always trying to show off in front of her with his flying skills.
"Hey, I wasn't about to hide my talents."
Chewie's next comment about the Captain not hiding his sexual prowess around the Princess told Han that he knew there was probably something going on between them.
"Ahh." Han waved him off to see what information he could pull out without confirming anything himself. "You think you know so much."
A string of growls and punctuation barks later, Solo understood that all Chewie knew was that Solo had serious attraction to Leia and vice versa, but he thought they were too busy wasting energy fighting all the time to do anything about it. Whew!
"I'll admit, she's something special, Chewie. But what could a guy like me offer a Princess, huh?" Solo was still smarting from the idea that he let his past catch up with his present and almost kill the women he loves.
Now trotting out the sage old Wookiee wisdom, Chewie gave Han his best pep talk. Among the older and not so easily translated adages, there were the usual tidbits when it came to the Princess, as well. 'Love doesn't know status.' And, 'There's nothing wrong with you, but you have to try harder with her.'
Solo didn't mind hearing it. If anything, he secretly needed the boost in confidence after what happened. Chewie may relentlessly tease him about it, but he was his friend and wanted the best for him and for the Princess.
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Han decided to go talk to Colonel Rieekan before approaching Leia. Maybe Rieekan would be willing to share some details of the briefing report. He had done it in the past at his discretion. It seemed only logical since Han was the only other person on the mission that he would be privy to some of it.
It would mean going to the Command Center. Leia would probably be there. Again, hoping inspiration would strike, Solo's luck favored him. He spied C3PO and R2D2 coming his way down the hallway.
"Captain Solo! It's so good to see you functioning normally again." R2 beeped. "R2 is happy to see your return to health as well."
"Thanks." Han tried to keep in mind that the droids had been useful to his little schemes with Leia in the past and that as droids went, at least R2 was tolerable.
"Please excuse our absence from visiting you in the Medical Center. Princess Leia instructed us to leave you alone to recuperate as rest according to 2-1-B's orders."
Thanks, Sweetheart, Han thought. She definitely didn't hate him if she chased 3PO away for him.
"I'm looking for Colonel Rieekan. He in the Command Center?"
"Oh yes, Captain Solo. Colonel Rieekan has barely left the Command Center since he first arrived. There's been some difficulties establishing the base."
Threepio always was a gossip and Han had always taken advantage of it.
"Oh yeah? Like what sort of difficulties?"
"I believe there is some sort of trouble with many of the engines not adapting well. I know even I had to take special care with my own servos and joints to keep them from freezing up-"
"What about the Princess? Have you seen her?"
"Why, yes, of course. We were just coming from her quarters."
"Is that where she is right now?"
"I'm not sure where she is at the current moment, Captain Solo."
"Did she tell you to tell me that?" Solo leaned close in to 3PO. He doubted the implied intimidation would work with the very literal droid, but it couldn't hurt either.
"I'm not at liberty to say."
"Is that so?" Han leaned back and reconsidered his options. "I'll tell her you said that when I find her."
You can hide from me that easily, Princess.