I WILL FIND YOU

Chapter 3

Leia had been very nervous about approaching Jabba, but the electronic voice modifier, and the fact that the real Boushh had not been much taller than she was[,] gave her some sense of security. If his garments hadn't fit, it would have been obvious that she was an impostor.

In the end, she'd accepted the bounty that Jabba had offered on Chewbacca, who'd been warned ahead of time by Lando that Boushh was, in fact, Leia, and not to worry.

I must be crazy, she thought to herself. Of all the things she'd envisioned herself doing in life, abandoning her responsibilities to the Rebellion and going off after a lover was the last thing she had expected to have happen.

Days and nights had been spent longing for Han in a way that had previously eluded her. She missed his kisses, his tender touch, and his powerful sexuality to a degree that when she was younger she would have been embarrassed about it. But those days were gone forever. Their lively banter and sarcastic remarks were missing from her life, too, and she would do whatever was needed to regain them as well.

She'd been a young girl when she and Han first met, but it was Han Solo who had helped her become a grown woman. Leia realized that what she'd wanted was a real man. Han was full of boyish behaviors, but when it came to the things that mattered, he was no child.

Leia knew that had it been she who'd been captured by anyone or anything, Han would move the entire galaxy to find her. He deserved no less from her.

A small smile played on Leia's lips as she passed the corpulence of Jabba. She thought what would be amusing to do after she freed Han was to kill the creature. That would never happen, she thought, but maybe when Luke arrived, he could do it Force-style. She hoped he'd arrive soon.

Leia had actually found it rather perversely fun to taunt the huge, slimy lizard. It may have been nerve-wracking, but there was entertainment value to it as well. And Jabba had been convinced that her fake thermal detonator was real, and her unwillingness to accept his initial offer had earned the bloated creature's respect. While being held in high esteem by the Hutt wasn't one of her lifetime goals, it had provided a chance for her to be nasty to one of the disgusting beings.

She crept silently towards the throne room. The place smelled hideous; the scent of intoxicants and various forms of substances that could be smoked mixed with the odors of vomit and blood gave the place a unique and disgusting aroma.

Leia just hoped that Jabba's army of spongers, bootlickers, whores, toadies and ne'er-do-wells were all sufficiently passed out that they wouldn't hear her. She was small and she could move quietly. Her biggest worry, however, was what kind of shape Han would be in. She'd read about hibernation sickness. It was rarely fatal, and didn't cause permanent disabilities, but there was a small percentage of those who died or did not recover. She was counting on the odds this time. Even Han, who always said, 'never tell me the odds,'couldn't balk at that.

Finally, she reached the wall where Han was located. Taking a quick glimpse around the throne room, she concluded that if she worked fast enough, and quietly enough, she should be able to get Han safely thawed and out of the palace.

Leia crept over to the wall that held Jabba's 'favorite decoration.' She had to stand on tiptoe to reach the controls. She studied them carefully; she couldn't afford to be wrong about this and and studied the controls carefully. With her heart racing and palms sweating inside the bounty hunter gloves, she gently touched the first control. A low humming began, which sounded to her like the engines of the Falcon roaring to life. She felt her heart in her throat and her stomach clutch. She prayed no one could hear the noise.

Finally, after a few tense moments, she could see the carbonite starting to melt. Han's large hands were visible and tightly clenched. His facial features, frozen in pain for so long, began to become flesh. She saw the stains on his clothing, and his hair was slicked back and wet. Finally, Han tumbled to the floor. Unfortunately, he wasn't a lightweight and she couldn't break his fall, but instead Leia hurried down to the floor to hold him. He looked a fright, and he was sweating profusely. But she'd never seen anything she'd ever wanted more.

She had found him.

01123581321345589144233377610987

The next two days were among the most horrible of Leia's, Han's and Luke's lives. Luke doing battle with a rancor had rattled him more than he'd cared to admit, and Leia as Jabba's slave had been one of the worst humiliations she'd ever been forced to endure. Fortunately, Luke had learned a lot with regards to being a Jedi knight, and had engineered their successful escape.

Luke, however, was not going to rendezvous with the fleet immediately, but promised to join them soon.

It was there that Leia thanked Lando and assured him that there were no hard feelings. Lando had taken more than one terrible risk to find Han. She did, however, say no to playing cards with him.

Lando and Chewie were piloting the Falcon. Han balked, saying his eyesight had completely returned, but Leia had given him her best 'don't-screw-with me' look when she'd ordered him to rest. Lando and Chewie chuckled as she led Han to his bunk. She shot them a glance that read 'shut up or you'll be as dead as Jabba.' They had learned better than to argue with her.

He and Leia had taken a long water shower together, as Leia was concerned that Han's exhaustion might cause him to fall. That task accomplished, Leia tucked him into the bunk that was once his, and was now theirs.

Han smiled at Leia as she tucked him gently in. "You're incredible, you know. I mean, how many women kill a Hutt for their guy?"

Leia laughed. "I wasn't sure I could do it, but I wasn't going anywhere without getting a shot at that hideous mound of a creature."

"You looked like you enjoyed it," Han said, taking her hand in his.

"It wasn't fun doing it, but it was very satisfying," she admitted.

"Wish I'd been able to see that." Han's lids were fluttering from exhaustion. "And what was that thing you were wearing on the sail barge?"

"Nothing I'm ever going to put on again," Leia said, laughing softly.

"No fair!" Han protested. His expression was then serious. "I don't know what I did to deserve this, you coming after me."

Leia chuckled. "Just know this: no matter where you are, I will find you. Now get some rest."