The Way It Should Be

Chapter 3

Luke slumped forward in the pilot's seat and felt Chewie's hand on his shoulder and realized the Wookie had been softly whuffing at him for some time. "I don't know, Chewie. Something…I, I could feel Leia, something's wrong." Chewie urgently barked a question, one that Luke didn't want to answer. "I don't know Chewie, I couldn't sense Han at all. But…" he looked down, not wanting to alarm Chewie further, but realizing he had no choice when he felt his arm grasped again and gazed upward into his soft blue eyes, now dark with concern. "I think Han was unconscious, or, or; well, all I know is Leia was worried, about him, I think." Chewie gave a short anxious bark and Luke straightened up. "Right, something's gone wrong. We need to contact them." Luke immediately tried his comlink, but neither he nor Chewie were particularly surprised when there was no response.

"Do we both go, or should one of us stay with the ship?" Even though Luke desperately wanted to be doing something to help his friends, he was willing to let Chewie make the decision. Chewie considered for a brief moment, then clapped Luke enthusiastically on the shoulder and barked "No, we both go. We'll lock the ship up tight, set the security codes and take a chance with the money for the vaccine by leaving it here for now. I have a feeling we won't need it to pay for the medicine anyway—but we may need it to bargain."

Luke nodded and together they raced from the cockpit, gathered up what supplies they thought they might need. Luke hesitated as he watched Chewie tear the portable med kit from the bracket on the wall, hoping against hope they wouldn't need it, but at the same time fearful it wouldn't be enough. Leaving the locked ship, Chewie asked Luke if he knew which direction to head. Luke thought for a moment and then pointed north, hoping Leia would be able to contact him again. He also knew if Han was hurt, he'd be able to sense his pain, and that could lead them directly to wherever they were; but he hoped that wouldn't be the method they had to resort to. Wordlessly they headed quickly into the night, praying they weren't too late.

Leia thought she heard Luke's anxious thoughts for a brief moment, but the fleeting contact was gone almost as quickly as it came. Even though she tried to reestablish whatever contact there had been, her focus was repeatedly interrupted as she was roughly hustled through the darkness, and her worry over Han kept her from being able to concentrate fully.

After at least an hour of being dragged through dark alleys and back streets, they finally came to a large building, one that appeared to be an old prison of some sort. The front doors were barred and locked, but opened easily enough for the men who held them captive. Shoving the Princess in ahead of them, and hauling Captain Solo in behind her, they quickly locked the doors again and ushered the two of them down a long hall, finally stopping at a non-descript cell, unlocking it, ripping the tape from her mouth and pushing her inside, then locking the door behind her.

Leia took quick inventory of the cell she found herself in, noting it had an old style canvas cot, a small refresher unit complete with water, which was a surprise, a pile of rags, sticks and other junk in a corner, a door into an adjoining cell, which she quickly discovered was locked, and a window on an inside wall. She hurried to window, peering through it and realized it wasn't a window at all, but rather a one way mirror. She could see into the next cell, but anyone in there couldn't see into hers. She quickly realized the reasoning behind this; Solo was even now being dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. He hadn't stirred or made a sound at all during their journey here and lay as he had fallen, not moving, and from all appearances, barely breathing. Leia was desperately worried about him, knowing that without treatment, a heavy stun could cause major damage.

The man who had first taken her hostage looked through the one way mirror at her and laughed, then made a sudden gesture to the man who had been carrying Han. The next thing Leia heard was the door being rattled; then it opened. She didn't stop to ask herself why they were letting her in with Han, she simply rushed to his side, turning him onto his back and checking his vitals signs. She knew from past experience it could be hours before he showed any signs of returning consciousness. Turning toward her captors intending to ask for medical supplies, she saw only the cell door being shut and heard the lock, and realized she was on her own.

Knowing there wasn't much she could do for the Captain; she tore of a few strips off her skirt, dipped them in water and returned to his side. Lifting his head onto her lap, she gently wiped his face and found herself taking advantage of his inability to see her as she studied his features. Without his usual scowl or sneer, his face appeared much younger and she realized Han was probably not nearly as old she had originally thought. She also realized again how handsome he was and found herself gently stroking the line of his jaw, wishing that just this once she had listened to him when he had pleaded with her to return to the ship, or to take extra precautions.

Leia still had no idea who had captured them, but it didn't take much imagination to figure out it was for the reward the Empire had out on her. She wondered if their captors realized who Solo was and that there was also a considerable reward out for him, thanks to his incredible flying over the Death Star, and the shot that took Vader out of the picture. She was sure Vader held him personally responsible for that defeat, possibly even more so than Luke, and would be very pleased to exact a terrible revenge on him. Solo was also bound to be fairly well known by now to the hierarchy of the Empire, thanks to the numerous rebel missions he had been on since the Death Star; missions she had usually sent him on. Leia determined she would not reveal his identity, in an effort to protect him, since she considered it all her fault they were in this mess to begin with.

The Princess spent the next hours alternately napping, wiping the Captain's face and trying to somehow reach Luke again. Occasionally she thought she felt Luke's presence and tried to concentrate harder, but was never sure if he was sensing her or not. After what seemed a very long time and just as she was wondering if Solo was more injured than she realized, she felt the first stirring of his body and heard a soft moan come from his throat. Bringing some water to his lips, she coaxed him into swallowing a few sips, knowing he would be susceptible to dehydration, as well as experiencing a monumental headache. Solo's body eventually lost its relaxed feel as he regained consciousness more fully, and he stiffened in response to both the pounding in his head and the confusion that gripped his mind. Finally managing to open his eyes slightly, he swallowed against the sudden nausea that also gripped him and tried to focus on his surroundings.

Solo couldn't decide if he had the worst hangover of all time, or a bad concussion. All he knew at first was that his head was trying to split apart and that he was lying on some hard surface, although with his head pillowed on something soft. Eventually he made out sounds and realized someone was talking to him. Concentrating fiercely, he finally made out his name and though he couldn't yet place the voice, he heard the concern as a soft female voice called to him.

"Han? Han. Can you hear me? How do you feel? Easy, don't try to move yet, you haven't had enough time to recover. Take it easy, Han." Suddenly, memory rushed back at him along with the pain in his head and he tried to push himself upright, wanting to see if Leia was all right. Waves of dizziness and nausea overwhelmed him however, and before he had gotten more than half way up, the blackness had returned and he found himself again lying prone, fighting not to throw up.

This time, he waited longer before opening his eyes, and was rewarded with the blurry vision of the Princess' face peering intently at him. "Leia?" he managed to croak through lips that were cracked and dry. "Wha' happ'ned? Ya' okay? Where. . .?"

"Shh, Han, I'm fine. You were hit with a heavy stun, you need to take it easy. We're in a cell somewhere in the city, I don't know where. Easy Han," Leia insisted as once again he tried to lever himself to a sitting position. This time he made it as far as half way up, leaning on his elbows before the pain in his head stopped him. Moaning slightly, he let his head lean back against Leia's shoulder and rested another moment before heaving himself on up until he was sitting. Reaching up with both hands, he cradled his aching head, closing his eyes again and gulping against the nausea that still threatened.

"Do you think you could take some water Han?" Leia asked in a gentle voice, placing her small hand on the back of his neck and gently massaging. "Ah, yeah, in a minute," he managed to gasp out, still trying desperately to keep the earlier liquid down. After a few more minutes of sitting with his head in his hands and letting Leia continue to rub his neck and shoulders, he managed to raise his head and look fully at her, wanting to confirm for himself that she was okay. Deciding she didn't look any the worse for wear, he managed a small grimace that was meant to be a smile and held out his hand for the cup of water she held.

Drinking it in small sips, Han looked around their bleak cell and came to the conclusion they weren't going anywhere for awhile. He'd been in enough cells over the years to know when one wasn't going to be easy to break out of. This one had concrete walls, floor and ceiling, a heavy concrete door and not much else to offer. There was no bed, not even a cement or metal slab, no refresher unit, and nothing in the walls except a mirror or window of some kind and a door leading to what he assumed was another cell since it stood open.

"Not much here, is there," he made it more a statement than a question, so Leia just shook her head. "My cell at least has a cot and a refresher unit," Leia replied, "but I guess you don't rate as high," she managed a smile as she said it. "Ah, I wondered where you got the water." Han had finished off the first cup, glad his stomach seemed to be settling down. He knew he'd be terribly thirsty for awhile, having had the "pleasure" of a heavy stun before. He also knew he was in for several hours of a major headache before he could hope for any relief, without the aid of medical treatment at least. "Would ya' mind gettin' me some more," he asked, knowing he wasn't up to standing yet, let alone trying to walk. Leia immediately got to her feet and hurried to comply, bringing him a full cup and promising him as much as he wanted.

Han sipped at the second cup, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes again as he pondered their situation. He knew Luke and Chewie would be looking for them, but with no way to contact them, and not having any idea where they were, he didn't have much hope along those lines. He thought briefly of the times Luke had said he could "hear and feel" Han if he was in pain, but he rather hoped that didn't turn out to be the way Luke found them, still not sure if he even believed it.

"Any idea how long we've been here?" he asked. Leia replied "Four or five hours at least. They took our Chronos too, so I'm not really sure. It's been quite a while though, and you wouldn't be awake much before that in any case." "Guess not. Anyone been in since they dumped us here?" Han's mind was beginning to function better, in spite of the continued pounding in his skull and he was trying to get a better feel for who might have grabbed them. "Did they say anything to you, give you any idea who they are or why they want us?"

"Not a word, except, I don't think they know who you are. They almost left you there, but when I, that is. . ." Leia's voice trailed off here, not knowing how to confess that it was her concern for him that had gotten him captured as well. "Don't worry about it, Leia," Han said, guessing what had probably happened. "You couldn't know what they'd do. But if they don't know who I am, that may be an advantage. They may be willing to trade me, or let me go, if they don't think I'm worth anything. It would be best probably, if you show 'em you don't really care what they do with me from now on. Might be our only chance for one of us to get out of here."

Leia was more than willing to give Han a chance at escape, not just because she knew he would do everything possible to then rescue her, but because she felt so responsible for his being here in the first place. "Hey flyboy, I can do that," she answered with a mischievous grin. "Remember, showing you I don't care is what I do best." Han turned to study her for a moment, surprised at how much her callous sounding words wounded him, even knowing she was just trying to lighten the mood. Not wanting her to see how they affected him, and trying to figure out why he even cared, he managed a shadow of his most annoying sneer in response and nodded sharply at her, grunting "Sure, you've had plenty of practice," before regretting his sudden movement as the headache increased.

Groaning slightly, he closed his eyes again and leaned his head back, hoping for the pain to ease up. Leia knew she'd somehow hurt him with her words and wanted to apologize, having seen the flash of pain in his eyes that had nothing to do with his headache. She settled for gently rubbing his arm and eventually his neck and shoulders. Han slumped forward, unable to resist the comfort her small but strong hands offered. How long they stayed like that, with Leia gently massaging tight muscles and him losing himself to the touch and feel of her hands, he wasn't sure. It might have gone on indefinitely if the door handle hadn't suddenly started to move.