CHAPTER 8:

"Leia!" Han screamed as he witnessed the rock fall from underneath her.

The princess' hands flailed around as she tried to get a purchase on the rock wall. Han grabbed the nearest root and swung in her direction with his hand out. Miraculously, he caught her wrist and painfully halted her fall. Han and Leia stared at each other, both with eyes wide with shock.

"Give me your other hand," Han quietly said when he finally found his voice.

Without a word, Leia obeyed. Han scanned the wall of the cliff for something promising. He wasn't sure how long he could hang on to the root and Leia. He stretched his left foot and found secure footing in reaching distance. Han shifted his weight in order to obtain some stability.

"Okay," Han looked down at the girl, "Can you climb up me?"

"Han, you can't hold me and yourself," Leia whispered.

"Don't worry about me. Just do it, please."

The "please" frightened Leia enough to spur her into action. Han lifted the hand holding Leia up as much as he could, the muscles in his arm shaking under the stress. The princess used her arms to pull herself up Han's arm, and her feet gave her the leverage to reach his hips. Once Leia was secure between him and the wall of the cliff, he grabbed hold of the root with both of his hands. Leia instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist.

The girl was now eye-level with him, "I hope you know what you're doing."

Han flashed her a lop-sided grin that didn't quite meet his eyes, "Hey, it's me."

Leia's large dark eyes stared into his, and there he saw a raw emotion that shook him to his bones. His smile faded as his own emotions caught in his throat. She placed a kiss on his cheek so gently that Han wasn't certain it actually happened. Before he could react, Leia rested her head on his shoulder, locked her ankles around his waist, and held him tightly against her.

Han controlled his breathing as best he could. He didn't know what was affecting him more: her closeness or his fear. Maybe her closeness was the cause of his fear. Either way, he didn't want her to know anything about the turmoil going on inside him. Han moved slowly down the cliff wall, taking extra care where he stepped and what he grabbed. All recklessness and cockiness left him, and he almost felt like a different person. And that scared him so much that he instinctively became more cautious.

Leia, afraid that she'd throw of his balance, did her best to stay as still as possible. There weren't any good, strong ledges now that they were more than halfway down, and Han's footing slipped here and there once in a while. Despite her precarious position, she felt completely safe. She kept her head on his shoulder, telling herself that Han would be able to see much better if she wasn't so much in the way. But it felt good just to rest her head there. In fact, it felt so good that she closed her eyes and let herself imagine she was somewhere else, somewhere where they wouldn't fall, where there was no war, where she had a home, where she had a family. And clinging to Han as he carried her to a safer place (she hoped), she almost felt like home. And that scared her so much that she instinctively tightened her hold on Han.

"I won't let you fall," Han responded, whispering his words into her hair. Leia didn't say anything. She just kept her eyes closed and wished this sense of security he incited in her would never end.

Han was more than a little relieved when they reached the end of their destination. With Leia still in his arms, he sat down on a large boulder and let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. The princess stayed where she was: now perched on his lap, legs still clasped around his waist, arms hugging his neck, and head resting upon his shoulder. Completely taken aback, Han returned her embraced, letting himself get lost in it. He stroked her head and squeezed her tighter.

"I dropped the blaster," she whispered.

Han chuckled quietly. Better the blaster than you, he thought. "Well, I guess you owe me a blaster," he teased.

Just as Han was getting comfortable being so close to the princess, Leia lifted her head and wiggled her way out of his arms. She stood, turned around and hopped off of the boulder on which they were sitting.

Han's shoulders slumped, but he tried to hide the separation anxiety he unexpectedly felt, "Get a little scare up there?"

She looked over her shoulder at him, the regal confidence once again beaming in her face, "Of course not. You?"

Han's cocky smile matched her royal smugness, "Nothin' scares me, Your Worship." He jumped off the boulder to stand next to her.

"Whatever," Leia mumbled as she surveyed the tall straw colored grass. It stood almost up to her chin and swayed with the crisp breeze.

"Don't get too close to that grass," Han warned.

"Why?"

"It's razor grass," he explained. "Rub against it the wrong way and you get a nasty cut."

The grass stretched as far as the girl could see. "Great," the princess kicked the dirt with the toe of her boot, "Why can't anything be easy?"

"Sweetheart," Han drawled, "I can't recall one situation that was easy when you've been involved."

"That's because you make things difficult!" Leia retorted. She folded her arms and turned away from him, "So, is there any way to avoid this grass?"

"Not that I know of," Han truthfully answered. He shifted his weight to the left, "At least it's flat."

The princess rolled her eyes. She watched the grass sway in the wind like the ebbing waves of the oceans on Alderaan. Why were dangerous things so beautiful sometimes? "So," she sadly sighed, "How do we get through it?"

Han sucked at the inside of his lips. The sadness he saw in her profile as she stared at the grass pulled at his heart. He wanted to hold her again, offer her comfort of some sort, but her closed-off stance warned him to stay away. So he offered his words, "It's not really as bad as it seems."

She turned those large sad eyes up at him and dropped her arms. She didn't believe him; he didn't even believe himself, but it still bothered him that she didn't believe him. Han's hands found his hips, and he looked down at the dry ground, "You're right about Chewie."

"What?"

"You said he'd come back for me—for us," Han reminded her. "He'll come. When he's back, he'll comm me."

Leia turned her eyes back onto the grass and nodded nonchalantly, "How far do you think Grel is from here?"

"Maybe a day's travel," Han grimaced.

The princess glanced up at the sun, guessing that it was midday. Han followed her gaze and knew exactly what she was thinking. With the day half over, they were going to find themselves stuck in the field of razor grass without a blaster. Neither had anything to eat for more than ten standard hours, and they didn't have a drop of water between them.

"Well," Leia pulled on his sleeve to grab his attention, "what are we waiting for?"

Solo couldn't help but smile down at the girl. She was definitely a fighter. Han scanned their surrounding in search of a good sturdy branch. He walked over to a promising branch that must have been tugged out of the hard rock wall when Leia fell.

"What's that for?" Leia wandered over to her companion.

"Our way through the razor grass," Han smirked and Leia cocked an eyebrow. "We'll use it to push down the grass as we walk so it won't cut us. Well, there's less chance it will cut us."

Leia smile spoke volumes of her awe. She closely followed Han as he held the long branch horizontally and pushed down the grass in their path. The sun now pounded down on them, but they had to keep their jackets on to help prevent the razor grass from slashing them as it bounced back into place. At least there was a strong breeze to cool their flushed faces. Leia's short legs ached as she tried to keep up with Solo, but she wasn't going to let him know about her discomfort. She continued on, one hand gripping the back of her companions blue jacket, blindly following him through the tall grass.

Han abruptly stopped. The princess swiped at her forehead with the back of her sleeve, "Why are we stopping?"

Han let the branch drop from his left hand and leaned against it, "I'm not sure."

"What do you mean 'you're not sure'?" the girl tried to look around him.

"There's a clearing."

Careful not to let the grass touch her exposed skin, Leia pushed Han to the side in order to get a look herself, "Looks like some paths. What's wrong with that?"

"We don't know who made the paths."

"Good point," Leia conceded. "So what do you think? Take one of the path and see where it leads?" she peered down the three path as far as she could but failed to see anything promising. "Or continue fighting the razor grass?"

Han rubbed his chin, "We'd move faster taking one of the paths."

The princess looked up at the position of the sun, "It looks like we might have just a couple hours left until the sun goes down."

Placing his hands on his hips, Han surveyed their choices, "We'll go left."

"I think we should take the middle one," Leia countered.

Han looked down at the short girl, "Why?"

"I just have a feeling."

"You can't even see over the grass!" Han argued.

The girl stood on her tip-toes, scowling, "And you can?"

Solo's lop-sided grin only managed to increase the princess' irritation, "More than you can, Your Worship."

She folded her arms, "Fine. Care to share what you can see?"

Still smiling, Han casually lifted his chin and slowly looked around. Leia's eyes widened and retracted with her rising anger. She shoved him, and he laughed, "Okay. I see tall razor grass."

"Oh!" Leia stomped her foot, "Then we go my way."

"Nope," Han crossed his arms and looked down his nose at his short companion. "We're going my way."

"We went your way last time!" she yelled. "And look how that turned out?"

Han winced but quickly recovered, "We made it down, right? And just cos we had a little trouble—"

"A little trouble?" Leia interjected.

"Yeah, a little trouble. That still doesn't mean your way would have been any better."

"You don't know that!" she huffed, "We're going my way." Without another word, she turned on her heel and headed down the path of her choice.

"You can't just walk away!" Han stood his ground. "Hey, Your Worship! You don't know what's down that way."

"And you don't know what's down your path, Captain!" she yelled as she continued down her path, "We're going to go my way and that's final."

"What?" Han stalked after her with discomposed steps, "Look here, Your High and Mightiness, you can't talk to me like that."

"Really?" she glanced over her shoulder and smirked as she kept walking, "I thought I just did."

Han quick-stepped to catch up to her. He grabbed the back of her belt and roughly pulled her to a stop. She tried to swivel around, "Get your grubby hands off of me!"

"Not until you apologize!"

"Apologize?" Leia managed to pull his hand off of her belt, but Han just grabbed her arm. That did it for Leia. She slammed herself into him, knocking him to the ground. He quickly over took her, pinning her arms above her head.

Han's smile took on a wicked air, "Are you going to apologize?"

Leia's face burned bright red with anger. She pressed her lips tightly together and wrapped her legs around Han, throwing Han completely off-balance and leaving him totally surprised. Within seconds, she was seated on top of Han's stomach and pinning his arms firmly to the ground.

"I think it's you who owes me an apology," she dangerously hissed. She reveled in the bewildered expression on Han's face. He obviously underestimated her, and she was quite pleased with herself, "So are you going to apologize?"

"For what?" Han stopped fighting her. "For saving your life? For coming after you when no one else would?"

Leia's brow furrowed and she released her hold on Han's arms, "What?"

Han's face scrunched up, "Nothing. You're right. I'm sorry."

The princess slid off of Han, and he sat up on his elbows. The girl's eyes stared down at the dirt, watching a small insect cross the dirt path. Then she looked up at Han, "You weren't sent by the Alliance."

Han scratched the back of his head. He couldn't look into those large inquiring eyes. "Look, does it really matter?" He stood up and pretended to study the path ahead of them.

"Yes," she whispered as she looked up at him, "it does."

"No, it doesn't," Han yelled. "We can go your way, okay?"

But the girl stayed seated where she was. She sucked at her bottom lip for a moment, "Why did you come after me?"

Han's hands found his hips and he shifted his weight to his left, facing away from her, "Someone had to."

Leia slowly shook her head, her eyes focusing on nothing, "No, they didn't."

Solo whirled around, angry at the Alliance for their choice, but Leia received a good dose of that anger, "What? Did you want to go through another Imperial interrogation?"

The princess' eyes welled up and her chest rose and fell. Her mouth opened, but she couldn't find her voice. She just shook her head slowly, all the while her large, glassy eyes staring into his.

Han had to close his eyes at the sight. He couldn't take seeing that fear in her face. And he's the one who caused it. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut? She didn't deserve this. She didn't need to know that the Alliance had abandoned her, that the High Command didn't care what happened to her.

She would make the same decision, Mon Montha's words echoed in his head.

Han opened up his eyes and found that the princess' countenance once again reflected her royal background. The right side of his lip pulled up a half a millimeter, but it was not at all an attempt at a smile. No, he couldn't believe she'd abandon anyone like they abandoned her. Her heart was large underneath that cold exterior.

"Why did you come?" Leia softly asked again.

Han deeply inhaled. He didn't know how to answer that. He didn't have an answer. Han shook his head and decided to answer truthfully, "I don't know…I just had to."

Leia moved her head up and then down as slow as if she was moving through bacta gel. She sat frozen on the ground, her eyes all far away as she tried to process his words but not quite completely grasping what he said.

Solo forced out a flustered sigh and plopped down on the ground next to her, "How about a break? I'm a little tired." But she didn't say anything. He lifted her chin with his finger, "Hungry for some rations?" He leaned close and smiled.

The princess nodded her head, and Han pulled off two food pellets off of his belt, "So do you want the blue one or the gray one?" He held up the latter food pellet to get a better look at it, "I think it's gray."

Leia bit her lip, "I'll take the blue one. I like blue."

Han handed her the one she requested, "I hope it tastes as good as it is pretty. They're kinda old so don't expect much."

"I don't expect much…." From you, she almost said, and immediately felt guilty for even thinking that. She smiled at him, her expression full of remorse, "Rations always taste bad."

Solo smiled at her and then chewed on the dry food pellet. He'd do anything for some water, but there didn't look like there were any sources of water nearby. They chomped on their rations in silence. After they finished they reluctantly picked their tired bodies off of the ground and set out down the path that neither chose. They both felt that was the best compromise they could come up with.

Han walked ahead of Leia who seemed caught up in her own thoughts. He didn't want to know anything about what was going through her head. He definitely didn't like the thought of her thinking about him coming after her. He was trying to avoid that train of thought himself. So he let her linger behind him, not even interrupting her musings with small talk. Not that he could think of any small talk he'd exchange with the princess. What did Princess Leia and Han Solo have in common in the first place? He glanced back at her. She was walking with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. He grimaced. They probably had a lot more in common than anyone ever imagined. But talking about loss and pain didn't sound like a good topic for small talk, or any other kind of talk at that.

The sun set sooner than either expected. Han felt discouraged. All there walking didn't get them anywhere, and now they were stuck in the middle of a razor grass field. Leia didn't seem disheartened at all. She hunted around for some good tinder to start a fire. Neither of them was certain what creatures lurked in those fields, so Leia figured a fire would keep predators at bay while keeping them warm at the same time.

"Be careful there," Han warned, and Leia rolled her eyes. He helped her prepare for a fire by cutting some dry stocks of razor grass with his vibroblade.

When the pair finished their search for the ingredients of their fire, they sat down in the largest clearing in the path and proceeded to build the fire. Once the fire was started, they sat across from each other staring at the flickering flames. Han stole glances at his companion, and marveled at the way the light of the blaze danced in her dark eyes. He leaned back on his elbows and admired the glow of her skin and the twinkle in her eye. Soon those stolen glances turned into a steady gaze.

Leia tilted her head when she caught him, "What?"

Han shook his head and smiled, "Nothin'." He watched her a moment longer. "Reeiken...he gave me the information I needed to find you," he offered, hoping to lift her spirits. "I'm sure he would've come after you if he could."

The girl focused her eyes on the fire, "Mum-hum…"

"He really cares about you," Han added. When she didn't look up, he added, "It's nice to have someone care that much about you."

Leia looked into Han's hazel eyes, "Yes…He sometimes took care of me when I was young."

Han tried to imagine Leia as a young child. It wasn't too hard; she looked like a child with her hair pulled into two tales and the light of the fire dancing on her round cheeks. He wondered if her eyes were always that sad.

"You tired?"

Leia scraped her bottom lip with her teeth as she contemplated the question, "Sort of, I guess."

"Why don't we take shifts," her companion suggested. "You can go first. Why don't you come over here?"

The princess narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, "I don't think so."

"What?" Han was exasperated. "You were fine cuddling up with me in the speeder."

Leia popped onto her knees, "I was NOT cuddling with you."

"Whatever you say," Han's hazel eyes went to the sky. "Just move over here. We should stick close if either of us goes to sleep. We don't know what's out there."

Leia couldn't argue with that. With a pout firmly planted on her face she moved over and sat next to Han. He smiled at her, "You can use my lap as a pillow."

"I'm sure you'd love that," Leia quipped, and Han looked as innocent as possible. She shook her head, "I'll take the first shift. You can use my lap for a pillow."

Han's eyebrows rose as high as possible and his eyes widened. That definitely wasn't what he expected. He quickly recovered, and the shock in his face melted into a leer.

"You better not look at me like that," Leia warned. "I'll change my mind, and you can rest that rock-hard head of yours on the dirty ground."

"What look?" Han innocently tilted his head to the right. Leia just smiled and shook her head. Han returned her smile, "Okay. Wake me in a couple of hours."

"No problem," she answered, and Han awkwardly adjusted his head in her lap.

The princess leaned back on her hands, not completely comfortable with being this close to Han. Although they've been in close quarters during their time together, it seemed different now that his head was resting on her lap. She looked up at the stars once she tired of watching the dancing flames of the fire. It wasn't long before Han was snoring. She slowly adjusted her position so that she was no longer leaning back on her hands. Instead, she leaned over his sleeping form to peer at his face.

At first she was skittish, pulling back each time the cadence of Han's snoring changed. But once she was used to his peculiar breathing pattern, her confidence grew, and she took longer looks at his face. It was very rare to have such an opportunity to study his countenance. The light of the fire warmed the tone of his already tan skin. She had noticed the scar on his chin the first time she met him. It was hard to miss since she barely came up to his chin. She often found herself yelling at it when its owner refused to look at her. But his nose was new to her. Resisting the desire to use her finger, she traced the slight curve with her eyes. She found herself liking this little flaw.

Next, she explored his ear. It was the size of a cocoil shell she found on the shore of her favorite Alderaanian beach, and it sort of resembled that shell. She leaned over to get a better look and discovered a tiny indentation on the lobe of his ear. It resembled an earring hole long closed up from lack of use. Han Solo used to wear an earring? That was interesting. She would have loved to turn his head over to see if he used to wear one in the other ear as well, but that would most likely wake him up and spoil her fun. She didn't see any harm in touching the tuffs of hair that stuck out in all directions from his head. At first she just grazed the ends with the palm of her hand. Her tongued tucked itself in the corner of her mouth as she worked up the courage to curl her fingertips ever so lightly in the sandy brown strands.

Leia couldn't recall another time where she had been this close to a man, any man. And she never spent time with an obnoxious, cocky, arrogant one at that. And Han was a man, she reminded himself. Not like Luke, who was still in his teens. Not like her. Han had years and experience beyond their age. He knew about life in a way she and Luke didn't. And he had come to rescue her when no one else would. She wondered if Luke knew about her situation but figured he didn't. The High Command wouldn't let such information out to the general rebel population. Han had come for her of his own free will. Something inside her stomach warmed, and she wasn't sure this new sensation was a good one or bad. Unconsciously, she rested her arm around his shoulders.

Han roused from sleep, "It's been a couple of hours already?"

Leia winced, "Uh…yeah, it has, in fact."

Han rolled to his stomach and peered at the princess with one eye. Her cheeks were pink, and Han was worried that she was sitting too close to the fire. But he was closer to the fire than she, so that couldn't be it. He sat up and rubbed his face, "That was the shortest two hours I ever slept through."

"Maybe you're just really tired," the princess offered. "If you'd like to sleep a little longer, that's okay with me."

Han furrowed his brow and then rolled his eyes, "No need to play the martyr."

"I was not playing the martyr," Leia spat. "I was just trying to be nice."

"You being nice?" Han quipped. "That'd be the first."

"Fine," Leia raised her chin. "Get comfortable because it's my turn to sleep."

"As you wish, Your High and Snobbiest," Han settled himself. Leia ignored him and moved herself around until she found a comfortable position. She rested her head in his lap. Han casually draped an arm around her shoulder, and she didn't push him away. She found that she wished she could sometimes be as bold as he was in all the situations she wasn't. It didn't take her long to drift into a comfortable sleep.

"Oh, Sith!"

The princess sat upright as her "pillow" disappeared. She blinked a few times as Han danced around. It wasn't until her vision cleared that she realized their small fire had spread across the razor grass and was starting to rage out of control. Han had his jacket off, and was beating the fire with it. Unfortunately, his actions only fueled the fire, and it engulfed more of the razor grass around them.

"What happened?" Leia yelled as she pulled of her jacket to help. Then she put it back on. It was a hopeless cause at this point.

"Whaddya think happened?" Han kept fanning the fire with his jacket.

"I don't know," Leia answered. "That's why I'm asking!" She looked around at the growing flames, "It doesn't matter. You're not helping. We have to get out of here."

The princess grabbed Han's hand and looked around for an escape route. Unfortunately, there was none to be found.