A little-known fact about Han—Tess noticed—was that he could actually cook when he wanted to. The best part was that tonight would not be the usual nerf steak and ration bars. They had snagged some foodstuffs from the celebration on Endor so they were definitely going to be eating good tonight.

Han—the master of the meats—braised the Bruallki meat to perfection while Tess peeled the skin off some slimy yellow driblis fruit. They were a lot tastier than they looked. Suddenly, Han burnt his hand.

"Sithspawn!" he cursed, shaking his hand to cool it off.

"Yes?" Tess answered sweetly, flashing a naïve grin. Han narrowed his eyes at her for laughing at his pain. Finally, he got the joke and chuckled.

"Smells good," Leia complimented them, simultaneously announcing her presence. She slid lethargically into the booth they ate at. Four glasses of water were already set out. Leia took hers and sipped it.

Finished peeling, Tess brought the bowl of driblis fruit to the table. She couldn't help but notice that Leia looked absolutely terrible. Her skin was pale and so transparent that the veins in her forehead looked as though they were going to pop out. Despite the fact that she slept most of the day, dark circles had formed under her eyes. The princess had her head resting on her hand, looking like she was about to pass out.

"Are you alright?" Tess asked with concern.

"You look horrible," Chewie growled in Shriiwook, taking a seat across from Leia. The princess glared at him.

"Says the walking carpet."

"Alright, alright," Han intervened. "I very rarely cook stuff like this so let's not fight over who looks gross because we all know that everyone here was just living in a tree for a week."

Knowing Leia was claustrophobic even in situations as simple as sharing a booth, he had convinced her a long time ago that he preferred the inside seat so he would never have to make her feel uncomfortable. He waved her out so he could take his spot. Tess joined Chewbacca on the right side of the booth. Chewie was the first to inhale his Bruallki and the others followed suit.

Leia was the only one who did not seem so hungry. The others debated on asking her if she was alright again, but a woman who had the courage to insult a Wookie was not to be questioned.

The rest of the dinner continued in silence, only awkward when one of them stopped eating enough to make it awkward. Leia had barely touched her fruit and taken three bites of the meat before she excused herself.

Once she was out of earshot, Tess turned to Han.

"Is she sick?"

Han shrugged, unable to talk with a mouthful of Bruallki. He washed it down with water and swallowed.

"Aren't you supposed to know that through the Force?" Tess gave him a glare.

"Seriously." Han shrugged again, bigger this time.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "She's just tired, I think. And I can't imagine she is taking the news of her biological father very well, to be honest." He gave Tess a look as if to say 'and if you haven't noticed, neither are you.'

Tess expected him to be more worried. He usually was when it came to anything Leia related. Han must have sensed Tess' lingering concern.

"Hey," he said, more gently this time. "Your sister has been through worse than this and I've seen her pull through it. As much as it kills me that she is so upset—" The emotion in his voice was palpable with those words. "—I know there's only so much she will let me do. Leia is the kind of person who likes to deal with pain on her own.

Tess was not that comforted. What she felt from Leia was more numb than depressed.

"I've never seen her like this," Tess whispered. Han gave her a reassuring look.

"That's because she normally doesn't want you to see her like this."

With Chewie manning—or Wookie-ing—the cockpit and Tess putting herself in a sort of time-out for murdering the remote earlier, Han washed the dishes in complete silence. He couldn't stop thinking about Tess' concerns, many of which were secretly his own, too.

After putting away the last dish, Han allowed himself to check on Leia. The light from the doorway illuminated the princess' face. She was muttering something. Beads of sweat rose on her forehead. Han quietly walked in and sat at Leia's side. He tenderly rubbed her back, trying to soothe her nightmare away.

Rather than calm her like it normally did, Leia woke up with a start.

"Don't!" she gasped mid-nightmare. Han recovered from his initial shock of her sudden consciousness and took the princess by the shoulders.

"It's okay," he assured her. "I'm here."

Leia's chin quivered with impending tears. Han leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"What was this one about?" he asked gently. Leia opened her mouth as if to form as response, but gave none. Instead, she lay back down and rolled over.

"I can't," she confessed softly, remorsefully. Han brushed her hair behind her ear and rubbed her shoulder.

"It's okay."

Han sat with Leia until she fell asleep. About a half-hour later he left the room and walked purposefully over to the cockpit. Once there, he found the nearest wall and punched it over and over until his knuckles bled.