Leia awoke from her nightmare quickly. One moment, she was asleep, deep in the claws of her sleeping horrors. The next, she was wide awake and gasping for breath. Quickly, Luke appeared before her. "You're finally awake," he noted aloud, appearing very relieved. "The med-droid was starting to get worried."
Leia didn't respond, just slowly sat up and took in her surroundings. She remembered boarding a freighter with Luke, remembered washing herself and putting on a change of clothes. She even remembered joining Luke in the medbay to watch the med-droid replace Luke's hand with a mechanical one. Just for him, Leia remembered conjuring up her greatest smile and pretending that she was okay, that everything was just fine. Pretending. She couldn't be sure whether Luke had seen through her veneers or not. She'd been quick to insist he go to bed and get some rest. He'd asked about her and Leia had muttered something about the wonder that was Lando's brand of Calrissian Cloud Mattresses. He'd fallen asleep quickly and Leia had hidden away, tucking herself into a corner somewhere in the back of the ship. She'd dreamed of drifting off to sleep in the cockpit of the Flacon in the co-pilot's chair. Like she'd done so often on the trip to Bespin.
Now, Leia woke up in a medbed, a thin pillow beneath her head and thinner blankets laid over her legs. At her side sat Luke who looked better rested already. He played with his own hand, testing out the strange biomechanics. "How does it feel?" Leia asked, gesturing to his hand with a directed nod. "Your hand."
Luke smiled. "It'll take some getting used to, but it's alright." Luke stretched out his hand. "You can hardly even tell it's fake."
You can't," Leia agreed. She got up from her bed and redid her braids as she walked over to the sink. "So. Did you learn anything about the Alliance's position?"
"I managed to get a hold of General Rieekan," Luke told her. "He was glad to hear that you're alright."
Leia smiled lightly. Since losing Alderaan, Rieekan had been much like a father to her. "And?"
Luke hesitated. "And that Han didn't . . . do anything to you," he said quietly.
Leia paused her work and held back a sigh. "Luke, that's not what I meant."
"Oh. Right. Of course. Rieekan said we can rendezvous with the fleet near the Barab system."
"Barab system? What's there?"
Luke shook his head. "I wish I could tell you. Rieekan said we'll be briefed on Alliance matters when we return. Apparently, they've found something."
"Hm."
Leia washed her face and changed into new military clothes: cargo pants and a surprisingly comfortable olive green shirt. In all honesty, Leia missed Han's big tees she'd wear every time she'd had to wait for her Hoth snowsuit to go through the wash. This certainly wasn't Han's, nor could it offer the comfort of his smell, but it would have to do.
Turning back to Luke, she suggested, "When they debrief us, I'm going to request a team to go after Fett. It might work better if we both ask."
Leia didn't miss Luke's sigh, but he didn't do much to hide it. "Leia, Han isn't even a member of the Rebellion. There's no way High Command will dispatch a search and rescue team just for him. We don't have enough resources that they'd be willing to risk for any single person who actually is a member."
Leia froze.
"I'm just saying. I thought I'd do the least and warn you."
"But Han is valuable," she tried to object. "The Millennium Falcon is the fastest ship in the fleet."
"And we're bringing her back with us."
"And Han is the Alliance's greatest pilot!"
"Ouch."
Leia sighed this time.
"You really want Han back," Luke noted aloud.
Leia didn't respond.
"What happened? What happened between you two after you left Hoth? Something big happened; I know that. I just don't know what. Or what it means. . . . What happened, Leia?"
Still, Leia said nothing.
"Alright. Well, I'm going to the mess for breakfast. . . . You'll come too, won't you?"
Leia nodded once, slowly turning her gaze up. "Of course." She sounded less than convincing.
Luke nodded. "Then . . . I'll see you later. Or not." He left the room.
Leia genuinely felt bad, but she wasn't ready to discuss anything about Bespin or the long trip to Bespin with Luke yet. She herself was still trying to comprehend all that had happened on that fateful trip and she understood so little of it. It had lasted several months, but everything had gone so fast and part of Leia's problem, she thought, was that she'd gotten used to the change in pace, but now, with things slowed down, she felt so dizzy. It was like she'd lived her life in lightspeed until someone switched the sublight engines on and, in response, Leia had collapsed and hadn't gotten back up yet. She couldn't blame Luke; there was no way he could understand what Leia was feeling, what she was struggling with and why. He hadn't been there. He didn't know all that had happened between his two friends and how it had left an effect on Leia that would never leave her. Leia wasn't ready to tell him. Leia wasn't ready to tell anyone of the many kisses she and Han had shared, of the late nights spent awake together as Han soothed her when she woke up from her nightly nightmares, of the new level of understanding they'd reached with each other. Something had happened that couldn't be undone. And now Leia was left by herself to try and understand it.
After Leia had located Luke on Bespin and Lando had helped him into the Falcon, Leia sent out an Alliance code and waited for someone to respond. General Madine had and Leia had quickly explained that Commander Skywalker needed emergency medical assistance and the general had sent out the nearby medical frigate Restorer. Lando had flown the Falcon into its hangar and they'd been with the Restorer's crew since. They were headed to rejoin the rest of the fleet at a rendezvous point near Barab II. Then, High Command would send someone to debrief Leia and Luke about what on Coruscant they'd been doing and then they would have to be briefed on the Alliance's matters. Leia already had her story for them planned. She would tell the truth, but leave out all the details. They didn't need to know what had happened on the trip to Bespin. As far as Mon Mothma would be concerned, Leia was still holding a grudge against Han for the whole 'no lightspeed' thing. Nothing had happened. They'd just been running away from Imperials and that was it. That was it.
Leia was lounging in the room she'd been given, reading the latest news tidbits on the HoloNet. There had been a small uprising on Ryloth, but the glorious Empire had quickly shut that nonsense down. In other news, thousands of twi'lek slaves on Ryloth had mysteriously died. Ut the Empire was working on figuring that out, too. Reading Imperial new always made Leia sick. She hated that she could read between the lines and figure out what else had happened in a situation that the HoloNet hadn't bothered to mention. It was easier to hear report read by Rebellion generals. 'The Empire spread to the Perlemian Trade Route'. End of story. No deaths mentioned. No gory details. No truth beyond what Leia could bear. However, when she really thought about it, it made Leia thankful that her home had at least had a quick ending. She doubted half of Alderaan's citizens had even known they were going to die that day. Ryloth's population had, but her people had been lucky and they hadn't had to suffer. Leia considered that comfort for a moment, then quickly moved on in her train of thoughts before she could let her grief over Alderaan consume her as well. As if Bespin wasn't enough.
"Princess."
Leia inwardly cringed, then raised her gaze to meet a member of the Restorer's crew entering her room. "Yes, Commander P'kire?"
The commander was Chiss. Most of their kind made Leia uncomfortable with their uptightness and durasteel gazes. P'kire was no different. However, P'kire was a rare Chiss who sided with the Alliance. Chiss space belonged to the Empire and their people were proud of that. His red eyed gaze stayed on her and he said in a rough voice, "The captain wished me to tell you that we have arrived at the Alliance's designated rendezvous point. Generals Rieekan and Madine, as well as Mon Mothma, are waiting for you and Commander Skywalker."
"Thank you, P'kire. I appreciate it."
Leia turned off her datapad and went to find Luke, but he was waiting near her door, again playing with his hand. Leia actually smiled. "You need to stop that," she said, quickly turning her glance away as she started to lead him through the Restorer's corridors. "People will think it's weird."
"How is it weird?" Luke objected. "I have a new hand and I am merely learning how to use it."
"Yeah, don't say that to anyone ever again. Seriously, Luke, stop playing with your hand."
Behind her, Luke sighed. Leia could hear his quick steps as he hurried after her, desperately trying to keep pace with her brisk walk. "Chill out, Leia! You're walking too fast! I'm sure Rieekan can wait a minute more."
"We don't have time, Luke. The longer we wait, the longer Han is out there . . . in the wrong hands."
"Might I suggest you don't say that to anyone, too? Walking twice as fast isn't going to find Han faster, by the way."
"How should you know? Fine. I'll walk this fast and you walk that slow and we'll see who finds Han first."
Luke sighed a second time. This time, he just gave up.
They met the generals and Mothma in the hangar of the Restorer. When Rieekan saw them, he smiled broadly and held out his arms. Luke knew that the general had been close to Leia's father and that the hug was meant for her, so he slowed his own pace and Leia slowed hers before rushing once again to meet Rieekan in a hug. "Lelila!" the general cheered, hugging her tight. "I'm glad you're alright. I was worried when you left Hoth with the Millennium Falcon and we didn't hear from you."
Leia gave a small smile. "The Falcon wasn't up to her usual standards. We were experiencing some technical issues, but we got some of it fixed. She still might need a look, though."
Rieekan nodded. "We'll get a mechanical crew on it. I'm sure Janson will be thrilled to play around with her.
"Now, come. Join us on Home One so we can talk. I understand we've lost Captain Solo." His tone was regretful and his look sorrowful. Leia couldn't look at him for long. Her gaze slid away and she answered, "Not lost like you're thinking, General. He's still out there, alive, fighting. We haven't lost him yet," she assured herself.
AN: Everyone still enjoying? I know. Not much of anything has happened yet. Just wait ;)