CHAPTER 5:

The quiet conversation between his two feuding friends drew Luke's attention. He shook his head. They drove him crazy. One minute they're screaming at each other, and the next they were conspiring together. He wondered over and plopped himself at their feet. With her head still resting on Han's shoulder, the girl's brown eyes focused on Luke.

"What else do you know about these horrid beings?" she asked Han, but kept her eyes on Luke.

"Only what Chewie's told me," Han replied. "They're almost as strong as Wookies. They take pleasure in the kill. They hunt in packs….I think they're nocturnal by nature."

"When was that rebel near the base attacked?" Luke asked.

"Dusk," Han answered.

"That can be useful information," Leia said quietly. "What else?"

Han sat up, forcing Leia to lift her head, "I don't know."

She tentatively placed a hand on his back, "That's enough for now."

Han rubbed his temples and wouldn't look at Leia, "You think we should do most of our traveling during the day?"

"That sounds good to me," Luke offered.

"I don't know," Leia interjected. "I'm not sure resting during the night will be very safe."

"I'm not resting until I find Chewie," Han stated.

Leia tilted her head, "I didn't expect you to."

Han looked at the girl and studied her for a moment before he gave into a small smile, "So you think we should head for the crater?"

"I don't know," Leia rested her chin on her hand. "They don't seem like they have a problem with water. The coast would be a good way to trap prey. Nowhere to go."

"Makes sense," Han ran his teeth along his bottom lip.

"We should go toward the crater," Luke interjected.

"Why?"

Luke shrugged, "I just have a feeling."

"Don't tell me it's that Force thing," Han ran his hand through his hair.

"Okay," Luke looked down at the muddy ground beneath him. "I won't."

"I'm not heading in some direction because the Force told you to go that way!" Han yelled at the boy.

Leia winced and put a finger to her lips. She glanced around, wishing the sun would rise soon, "The crater is as good a place as any."

Han narrowed his eyes on her, "Why? Because Luke thinks it's a good idea?"

Leia sighed, "Of course not."

"What about all that trapping their prey you were talking about?" Han accused.

Leia's nose scrunched up, "The crater just feels right."

Han slapped his hand against his forehead, "You two are really starting to piss me off. We're wasting too much time!"

"Then we should get going," Leia stood up, and Luke followed suit.

Han looked at the muddy pair. He had no other argument left other than their reasoning lacked substance, and that didn't sound like an argument Luke and Leia would accept. A feeling? Han slowly stood up and rested his hands on his hips. Luke's feelings tended to turn out right, he surmised. And if Leia was feeling the same way…

"Aw, Sith!" Han cursed. "Lead the way."

Leia tilted her head, folded her arms, and leaned on her left hip, "You're the one with the thermal sensor, Captain."

Han rolled his eyes, "Right, Your High and Mightiness, so I guess you two are stuck followin' me."

The girl smiled at Han, but the smile was anything but sweet. He turned away and began walking. Luke and Leia followed close behind.

Han's eyes stayed focused on the thermal sensor, and using his own sense of direction, he led the group in the general direction of the clearing in the rainforest. He looked up only to avoid the cumbersome roots and low scrubs that got in his way. He was thankful it wasn't raining. He certainly had enough rain to last him a lifetime.

Luke and Leia linked hands as they followed Han. They kept a short distance between him and them to give Han the space he needed. Leia completely understood his anger, and Han tended to deal with emotional things better on his own. At least, she reasoned, he wouldn't take out his anger on her. They had been out in this hot, sticky rainforest for almost the length of an entire standard day. Her temper was short as well.

Luke helped Leia over a few roots that were difficult for her to climb. He kept his senses focused on their surroundings, and although he knew his senses weren't nearly as acute as Chewie's, he hoped that the Force would give him some advantage. He felt worthless. Han knew about Grendolies, and Leia, well, she was just good at things like these. Maybe the Force would give him a way to help his friends.

By sunrise, the group found a lazy river. Luke and Leia stopped to catch their breaths, much to Han's dismay.

"I'm hungry," Luke observed. Han tossed him a ration bar.

He looked at the princess, "Hungry, Your Worship?"

"Sure," she conceded, and she caught the ration bar he threw to her. She opened it up and took small bites in an attempt to avoid tasting the foul excuse for a meal.

Han watched the two munch away on their ration bars. They were leaning against a tree, their shoulders touching. He could see the fatigue in their posture, their faces, but neither complained about Han's fast pace. He sighed, pulled a ration bar from his pocket, and sat down across from the pair.

The princess yawned and then rested her head on Luke's shoulder. Luke reached over with his other hand and lightly patted the top of her head as he finished up his ration bar. She caught his hand and entangled her fingers with hers.

Luke looked over at Han, "Do you have any more ration bars?"

"Sure," Han pulled another one out of his pocket and tossed it to Luke. The bar smacked square on the side of Leia's head.

She sat up and glared at Han, "You did that on purpose!"

"It was an accident," Han held his hands open.

"Sure it was," she scowled.

Luke quickly picked up the ration bar, "Oh! My favorite flavor! Boy, I sure love these ration bars." He took an enthusiastic bite, hiding his grimace with exaggerated chewing.

Han and Leia looked incredulously at Luke. Luke nodded his head and smiled, "Good stuff."

Leia chuckled and put her head back upon Luke's shoulder. Han rolled his eyes. He really hadn't meant to hit Leia with the ration bar, had he? Han glared at his two friends, and he had to swallow down the strange feeling of jealousy. Why should he be jealous? Luke was obviously perfect for Leia.

Or was he? Han folded his arms over his chest and tucked his chin. Luke seemed too malleable. He was too starry-eyed and eager to please when he was around her. He didn't pose a challenge to the princess, and that was what she need. There were too many people in her life ready to jump through hoops for her. So was Han what she needed?

Han shifted his position and gruffly sighed, grabbing the attention of his friends. "What?" he snapped.

Leia's eyebrow arched, but neither she nor Luke said anything.

Han looked out into the dense foliage. He had to admit to himself that he was guilty of jumping through a few hoops for her. Sometimes it seemed like she had him wrapped around her little finger. And whose fault was that? He wanted to believe it was hers, but he knew he couldn't blame her entirely. He allowed her to affect him. She just had something about her, something vulnerable under that tough exterior that called out to him and made him want to do things for her. More than anything it made him want to keep her safe.

Nevertheless, he did challenge her. Not many people, including Luke, would even dare to speak to her in the manner Han did. He had the magical touch that got the girl all flustered and riled up. He was the only one who could bring color to her pale face with only his words or a certain look. So she affected him from time to time. Okay, maybe a little more than from time to time. But no one could deny that he affected her.

So he challenged her, but did he challenge her in a good way? Most of the time he just managed to make her mad. In all fairness, she aggravated him just as much. He stole a glance at Luke and Leia. Luke's blue eyes were focused on Leia's hand which he held in his lap. He lightly traced his fingers along the lines on her palm, and she let him do it. Luke rarely upset her. In fact, he seemed to have more of a calming effect on her than anything. Han wondered what it would be like to be able to interact with her in the same friendly way Luke did. Was that what he wanted? Did he want more?

Solo shook that thought out of his head. Whether he was what she needed or not, she definitely wasn't what he needed. She was too young and way too idealistic for his tastes. Youth and idealism didn't mix very well, and she was well on her way to becoming jaded. And he knew something about being jaded. He smirked. He was too jaded to get mixed up with her any more than he already had. She was already way too much trouble than she was worth.

Han now openly stared at her. Leia hid her quiet giggles behind her hand as Luke whispered into her ear. So maybe she was worth the trouble. It didn't matter. Water and oil mixed better than he and she. Besides, he was more than happy with his life the way it was. Well, maybe happy wasn't the right word. Satisfied? Han didn't know. All he knew was that he didn't need any more complications in his life. Having a debt hanging over his head was enough of a complication to last him a lifetime. Things were good with just him and Chewie. So what was he doing out here in the rainforest?

Han shifted again, this time taking care not to attract any attention from his friends. Once he found Chewie, he was going to high-tail it out of there and never look back.

Leia stole a glance at Han from under the cover of her eyelashes. She could see his anxiety and agitation over the situation, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Once again, Han and Chewbacca put themselves in danger to rescue Luke and her. And once again, something bad has happened to them. She wondered why Han kept coming after them, why he stuck around. Maybe Chewbacca forced him to stay. Leia closed her eyes. Chewbacca wasn't the reason Han stuck around. Han seemed to be the one who made most of the decisions. That didn't seem very fair to Chewbacca, in Leia's opinion. But then it really wasn't her business.

The princess sat up as the first rays of sunlight touched her face, "I'm glad the sun's coming up."

"Me too," Luke conceded as he admired the sunrise.

"At least we'll be able to see the Grendolies easier," Leia inferred.

"Not likely," Han muttered. He saw the worry in Luke's face and regretted saying that out loud. He sucked on his bottom lip and hesitated a moment, "We should refill our water pouches."

Luke and Leia followed Han to the bank of the river. They removed their soiled rain ponchos and attempted to wash some of the dirt from their extremities and faces.

"Ah!" Luke shook his hands. "You'd think that the water would be warmer."

Han finished filling his water pouch and stood up, "Nah."

"It is refreshing," Leia pointed out as she splashed her face with the cold river water. "Oh, what I'd do to be clean again."

"What would 'ya do?" Han leered at the princess.

Leia narrowed her eyes and glared at the man. Luke winced. He didn't like where this was going. It was way too early and he was way too tired of being in the middle of another scuffle between his friends. "I know what I'm gonna do," he removed his utility belt and carefully placed it in the driest spot he could find.

Leia and Han watched Luke, who still wore his boots, as he ran as fast as he could into the freezing river. He dunked down under the water and popped up faster than Han could draw his blaster.

"Aw!" Luke shook his head and sprayed water around. "Boy, is that cold."

Leia smiled and wistfully stared at Luke. Han's brow furrowed and his hands found his waist as he observed the girl standing next to him. "Aren't 'ya gonna join him?"

Luke was now bobbing up and down in the river. Leia squatted down and returned to splashing herself. "No," she didn't look at Han. "It's way too cold for me."

Han gazed down at her for a moment and then grunted. He removed his holster, shoved his blaster in the back of his pants, and waded out into the river until the water level reached his thighs. He bent over and splashed himself, soaking his upper body. He turned around, expecting Leia to join them, but she just stared out at her two friends.

"Like what you see, Your Worship?" He teased.

She ignored him as she began to refill her water pouch. Han was disappointed that his comment didn't rile her up. He called out to her, "Make sure you put some purifying tablets into your water pouch."

Leia didn't even look up at him, "I already did, Captain."

Luke pushed his soggy hair out of his eyes, "Come on, Leia!"

The princess sat down on the bank and smiled at him but shook her head "no". Then she quickly stood up, a look of horror etched on her face, "Luke!" she dropped her water pouch and yelled frantically.

"Leia!" Han drew his blaster and struggled against the water as he began wading back to shore.