Between the Lines
by suezahn
Disclaimer: All characters depicted herein are the property of Lucasfilm, Disney, etc. My only profit is in the form of readers' feedback. Please be generous!
Note: This story was originally written in 1995 and has now be revised and updated for consistency with the rest of the Kismet series. Please note that the OC name Kristin Aldritch = Keris Aldric now. I decided the old name was too "Earthy." A very special thank-you to my lovely proofreaders: Erin Darroch and Marjorie Joyce. The original story was awarded STAR aWARdS Best Long Story 1995.
Chapter 12
The initial coming of dawn brought no relief to Leia's fears; if anything, the tension had increased tenfold. As soon as the base shield doors had rolled open, a flight of hastily adapted Snowspeeders had been sent out to conduct the delayed search. It was nearly an entire hour before Zev Senesca, acting leader of Rogue Squadron, radioed in to announce that he'd located the missing men. All he'd reported was that Luke's condition was dire and there was no time to send send additional help. Once again, Leia stood within the chilly base hangar, trying to keep herself warm and her thoughts on anything but the two glaring absences within the base and her life. The waiting was what Leia loathed most, for there was nothing she could do to speed up the passage of time.
In the night, at Keris's insistence, Leia had retreated to her friend's quarters. With uncanny timing, the heating unit in Leia's own quarters had evidently malfunctioned and melted the ceiling, flooding her tiny cubicle. Exhaustion had won out and she'd fallen asleep on Keris' cot, but her subconscious mind had continued to torment her.
She desperately wanted them back, but at the same time worried how Han would react to a real confession. Would he laugh in her face or simply tease? Worse yet, would he find her emotions quaint? As much as she'd always appreciated his unfailing sense of humor, would he be unable to take her seriously now?
Or would Han take her hand, embrace her with a passion she could never doubt, and admit that he'd loved her from the start as well? Leia felt certain that if he indeed fulfilled any of those better fantasies, collected since the first days of their meeting, she would probably crumble on the spot.
Her dreams had been such a vivid collage of those secret joys and fears that the images continued to linger in the back of her mind. She struggled to follow the current discussion she'd inadvertently joined with Deck Officer Tibbert. He was proposing solutions to the various problems that extreme temperatures presented during equipment maintenance, but it was all she could do to hide her distraction.
The warning blare of a horn told them to clear a path as a Snowspeeder approached from outside. Leia could feel her heart thump harder as she turned in time to see the small two-man craft glide into the hangar bay and slow to a halt in the center of the flight deck. It was swarmed over by deckhands and a medical droid the moment it touched down.
Knowing she would only get in the way, Leia resisted the impulse to join in the pressing crowd. Instead, she remained at a distance and looked on as Chewbacca, heads taller than everyone else, waded through the flight deck personnel. He reached the side of the craft just as the cockpit canopy began to rise up on its rear hinges.
Zev, the Rebel pilot, stripped off his flight headgear and twisted around within the tight confines of the cockpit. He knelt in his seat and helped the Wookiee lift the unresponsive form of Commander Skywalker from the gunner's position of the speeder. Once clear of the cockpit, Chewbacca lowered Luke down to the medics waiting below.
Leia watched in horror as the medical team rushed the young man past her in the direction of the base Med Center. Though she experienced an urge to follow, Leia returned her gaze to the Snowspeeder. Solo was levering himself up and out from the same cramped seat he'd shared with the injured Skywalker. Chewie was right there to gather the Corellian up in a mighty embrace before helping him clamber down to the icy floor.
Leia closed her eyes and nearly sobbed aloud with relief as she finally allowed the pent-up tension to flow out of her. Han seemed fine and Luke would surely recover—they'd all be fine now. Drawing a deep breath, she lifted her head and opened her eyes in time to see the dispersing crowd suddenly part to the sides, forming a path for Han as he headed in her direction. Any courage she'd rallied for her confession dissipated like so much steam in the cold air.
Han closed the distance between them, his color-shifting eyes focused on her own with an intensity Leia could feel. Her knees threatened to buckle and her surroundings faded away to unimportance under the power of that hungry stare.
His serious expression lingered as he seemed to savor the moment. His firmly compressed lips melted into a little smirk and he broke their mutual silence with a simple request: "Don't give me another medal, Leia."
Leia was forced to shift her attention from contemplation of his smile to analysis of his words. She opened her mouth, only to find herself without a verbal retort. Han clearly took pride in that achievement because his smile broadened.
Say something, you idiot! Leia searched frantically for a safe topic and settled on his health. "You should report to the Med Center." That wasn't what she'd wanted to say, and she could tell by Han's fading expression of amiability that he'd expected something better as well.
"I'll survive, Your Worship." As if he'd reached some internal decision, Han shook his head. "I'm going to the Falcon to take a long, hot shower. If you want me…you'll know where to find me." As if he'd anticipated a positive response to his invitation, Solo paused before turning toward his ship.
Leia watched Solo walk away, half-tempted and half-infuriated. Never had she dreamed that telling Han how much she wanted and cared for him could be this difficult. Even her never-ending struggle to defeat the Empire had begun to seem less epic.