Chapter 6:

Han Solo knelt on one knee as he made repairs on top of the Millennium Falcon. Dark goggles protected his eyes from the sparks and bright light of the arc welder. He leaned over his work, lifting his goggles every few minutes to check out his welding job. He grumbled to himself and shook his head. He was having a hard time concentrating.

Han shut off the welder, pushed back his goggles, and looked up at the control station. There in the window, Leia stood facing him. She rubbed her hand as she looked at him. She wasn't wearing the usual scowl she favored him with, but she wasn't smiling at him either. Han kept his eyes on her. Yesterday she had embraced him—a real true embrace—but today she acted as if it never happened. He had passed her in the mess hall when he went for his morning meal. Han had been entering the hall as Leia exited—in the company of Colonel Liston. She greeted him with a nod and a "captain." It wasn't a cold interaction, but he felt a distance between them that bothered Han. Maybe she behaved that way because she was with Colonel Liston. What did she see in that man?

Leia looked over her shoulder and walked away from the window. Someone must've called her over to another part of the control station. Han picked up the welder, but his hazel eyes remained on the window of the control station. He felt...he didn't know how he felt. Leia had him twisted up inside. Why did he let her get to him the way she did? Why was everything hot and cold with her? Why couldn't they have a relationship as easy as the one she had with Luke and Chewie?

Was that what he wanted from her? No. He wanted something more—and not just a casual one-or-two-or-more night stand. Han sat back on his haunches as the gravity of his desire hit him. When he first met her on the Death Star, her fiery energy and wit attracted him, but he didn't give it much more thought than that. However, over the last three years, he discovered more about her that went beyond his first attractions. He found himself attracted to her dedication to the Alliance (despite his belief that it was a losing cause), her kindness, her respect for the lowest ranking soldier, her ability to handle a fire arm and jump into the fray of battle, and her vulnerability (which he had the privilege to witness on occasion over the last three years). He cared about her—more than cared about her. Han ran his hand through his hair. Was it possible that he lo—

Sparks bounced against the window of the control station.

"Leia."

Han looked to the hatch leading into the Falcon. Then he looked over the edge of the ship. He was closer to the ledge than the hatch. How far was that drop? It couldn't be that far. It definitely looked doable, if he was careful…

Han grabbed the ledge of the Falcon and started to lower himself down the side. When his arms were stretched to their capacity, he let go and fell to the ground.

"Ow!"

Solo cringed as he grabbed his left forearm. Definitely broken.

"Captain Solo! Are you okay?"

Han looked up at the rebel woman, Kelly, was it?

"Yeah. Fine."

"That was a nasty fall."

"I survived."

He started to push himself to his feet when Kelly stepped in to help him.

"I got it."

"Looks like you broke your arm. I'll get a medic."

"I'll go to the med bay." He started toward the control station. He turned backwards while still walking. "Uh, thanks."

"No problem."

Han had already turned away. The only thing that mattered to him was Leia. He came to the lift but decided to take the stairs since that way would be faster. He opened the door and started up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Solo increased his momentum by pulling on the rail with his good hand. It felt as if there were a hundred stairs, and Han found himself out of breath when he reached the top. Breathing heavily, he burst through the door of the control station.

Han rushed into the room to find a ruptured pipe spewing forth a forceful stream of steam. One man held a makeshift shield against the steam while another worked on turning the lever to shut off the steam. Han hurried over to help the man. It was difficult since he only had one good arm, but he and the man managed to shut down the pipe. Han and the man exchanged a smile as they caught their breaths.

However, the damage had been done. The hot moisture shorted out the control panels and shut down the power. On the ground couple of men and a woman moaned and held various parts of their bodies. One man lay unconscious while another two performed CPR on him.

Han's eyes roved over the injured and stopped on a pile of fur just out of range of spout of steam. Leia's arms were wound around Chewbacca's neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she muttered into Chewbacca's ears over and over.

Han maneuvered his way through the injured and those aiding the injured to reach his best friend.

"Chewie!"

The Wookie roared and rumbled, and Han noticed the burn on the back of his best friend's shoulder. Leia clung to Chewie still apologizing. Han wrapped his good arm around the princess's waist, disengaged her from Chewie, and pulled her to her feet. Her legs didn't seem capable of holding herself up so Han served as her strength.

Chewie gurrayed.

Han tipped Leia to the right to get a good look into her face.

"You okay, Leia?"

Her large brown eyes stayed on Chewbacca. She nodded. "Thanks to Chewie."

Leia found her footing, and Han released her. She crouched down next to the Wookie. "That burn is pretty bad." She stood up and looked around. "We need a medic over here!"

Chewie shook his head, waved his hand, and stood up.

"Chewie's right. There are others that are hurt worse. I'll take him to the medical bay."

Leia nodded. She looked into Chewbacca's blue eyes. "Thank you."

The princess then looked around the room and grabbed the arm of a passing medic.

"Where can I help?"

Han watched her jump into action. Chewie brayed and whimpered.

"You seemed fine when Leia was here."

Chewie grumbled before he whimpered again.

Come'n, you big baby."

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Han rolled up his sleeve and examined his injured arm. It was definitely going to take some bone knitters*. He hated bone knitters. He picked up the syringe and tried to angle it so that he could inject the bone knitters in the right place. He thought about asking Chewie for help, but the sedative and painkillers the Dr. Salimni gave him had knocked him out. The Wookie was snoring loudly from his quarters.

"Heard you fell off the Falcon."

Han looked up to find Leia standing across from him with one hand on her jutted-out hip.

"Here to see Chewie?"

"No."

Han's eyebrows rose.

Leia walked over to him and took the syringe from his hand. "If you don't do this just right, you'll heal wrong."

"Then do it for me."

"No."

"If you're not here to help me, then why are you here?"

"You were right."

"Of course." Han smugly smiled before he asked, "Right about what?"

"I think the accident in the control station wasn't another…" Leia looked down at the ground before looking up at him again. "Innocent people are getting hurt. Chewie got hurt."

"You almost got hurt."

She looked away. "We have to flush out this assassin. I've talked to Reikken. We came up with a plan."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you after you go to the medical bay and get your arm fixed properly."

"You can do it."

Leia crossed her arms over her chest and raised her right eyebrow. Han rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Solo got up and glanced at Leia. When he was certain she wasn't paying attention, he slipped the bone knitter syringe into his pocket. Then he followed Leia out of the Falcon. She stopped at the bottom of the ramp and watched him pass her by. He pursed his lips.

"You know you can be a real pain in the ass."

"I think you have that backwards."

Han continued on, holding his forearm as he walked. He felt a small presence behind him. When he reached the corridor that led to the medical bay, he stopped and turned around.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just making sure you make it to the medical bay."

"Where else would I be goin'?"

"To Luke."

"Why would I do that?"

Leia reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the syringe. "Because you know he'll knit your bone back together if you ask him."

Han mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothin'."

"Then come on. We need to prepare for Reikken's plan."

"Yes, Your High-and-Mighty-Most-Worthy-of-Worship Worshipfulness."

"Shut up and keep walking."

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* bone-knitters is a term I borrowed from Chanel19