CHAPTER 11:

Han Solo teetered on the makeshift bridge and then fell to his right.

"Han!"

His fingers searched for the lip of the roof, but before he caught it, a two small hands caught his left wrist. The board fell into the alley's abyss. Han glanced up at Leia; her faces was contorted with effort. She was on her knees leaning over the edge of the roof. Han couldn't help but be impressed with her unexpected strength. His right hand stretched up, but he couldn't reach the top of the roof's lip. Leia leaned back, pulling him up enough for him to grab a hold of it. His fingers curled around the roof's edge. Leia leaned back even farther and pulled him up further, and his feet scrambled to find purchase on the permacrete building. The texture was rough enough for him to catch hold.

"Grab my wrists."

"You won't be able to pull me up."

"I will."

Han stared up into her strained face for a moment. Determination filled her eyes.

"I won't let you fall."

Her confidence eased Han's uneasiness a little. He let go of the roof and took hold of her wrists. His body slipped further down. Leia repositioned herself so that her feet were planted against the edge. She tugged on his wrist as Han used his feet to aid in his rescue. Leia grunted as she leaned back more so that she was almost lying flat on the roof. Han's body propelled forward so that his chest laid over the roof's lip. His right hand let go of her wrist and grabbed the roof's edge. She didn't release his other wrist. Instead, she straightened out her legs, and Han abruptly found himself lying on top of her.

Both were panting hard. They gazed into each other's eyes as they fought to catch their breaths. Leia's large brown eyes were wide with fear. There was something else there, too. What was it? It looked something akin to…love.

No, he had to be mistaken.

"I'll never doubt you in the future."

"I'll remember that."

"You're pretty strong for your size."

"I thought I was going to lose you," she whispered.

"But you didn't."

"No, I didn't."

Han reached out and smoothed her hair. His eyes fell to her lips. A different kind of fear filled her eyes.

He raised an eyebrow. "There must be some way I can thank you."

"You can thank me by getting off of me."

"Oh, I can think of a more…fun way to thank you."

She narrowed her eyes and shoved him. Wearing a lop-sided grin, Han rolled off of her. Leia focused on her dress, smoothing it out and brushing off the dust. Han watched her hands work, following them down her body to her legs.

"You're hurt."

Leia looked at her knees. Small rocks were imbedded in the scrapes on her skin.

"It's no big deal."

Solo sat up. "Uh-oh."

Leia started to sit up and look at him. "Wha—"

Keeping one hand on the back of her head and the other over her mouth, Han pushed her back to the ground and lay part of his body over her. The anger in Leia's eyes melted into fear as beams of light landed around them. She pulled Han's hand from her mouth and then stayed as still as possible. Han's face was centimeters from hers, so close that their noses almost touched. The fear in her eyes was peppered with something else, and Han surmised that her fear had little to do with being discovered by the security guards who surely had reached the roof.

The quick beat of a heart thumped against his chest, and Han wasn't certain if it was his heart or hers. Maybe a mixture of both. The lights searching for them disappeared, but Han couldn't move. And Leia didn't push him away. His eyes fell to her lips; they were parted, allowing her breath to heat his skin. Han took note of the plumpness of her bottom lip. He lifted his hand, stretched out his fingers, and drew a circle around her mouth. She inhaled.

"I smeared your lipstick," he whispered.

"Oh. Thanks," she whispered back.

Han removed his hand from behind her head and pulled himself away from her. Leia still lay where she was. Han gazed at her as he stood up. The way she looked at him…

Han exhaled and reached out a hand. "We better get moving."

Leia sat up, took his hand, and allowed him to assist her to her feet. She avoided his eyes.

"Do you think they saw us?"

"No, but I don't think we should wait around to find out."

They looked around.

"There." Leia pointed at a vent.

"Not bad."

Still holding her hand, Han led Leia to the metal square that jutted out of the roof. They looked down into the abyss.

"How far do you think the drop is?"

"Could be a couple of meters."

"We'll make a lot of noise dropping into it."

"Do you see another option?"

Both of them looked at the plank near the edge of the other side of the roof and then looked at each other.

"I'll lower you down."

Leia swung her legs over the edge of the vent. Han took both of her hands, flipped around so that her stomach was pressed against the side, and she straightened her arms.

"Ready?"

She nodded, and Han began lowering her. She looked down into the dark pit.

"Lower."

Han leaned over the vent and grunted. She looked up at him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. You're just heavier than you look."

"Thanks."

Leia returned her attention to the blackness below her. Han leaned his body against the vent and rested his chest inside it.

"I think I can see the bottom."

Solo winced. The princess kept her voice barely above a whisper but it still sounded loud to him.

"u can let me go now."

Han found that he couldn't.

She looked up at him. "Let me go."

His chest clenched.

"What can you see?"

"Not much. Let me down."

Leia released her hold on him. Han let one of her wrists go.

"Han," she hissed.

Han's fingers slowly opened and she started to slip out of his out of his fingers. His gut flipped and he leaned down further to catch her hand…

His body propelled forward and he fell into the vent head first, knocking Leia to the ground before he landed on top of her—once again. The clatter and bang followed their fall.

Leia held her head. "What is wrong with you?"

"I told you you were heavy."

"You're the one who wouldn't let me go."

"I—I didn't want you to make a loud noise when you landed."

"Oh, so falling in after me was meant to muffle the noise?"

"I didn't plan on falling. You pulled—"

"Don't blame this on me. You obviously leaned in too far."

"You pulled me in."

"Please, you fell in after you released me. You leaned in too far."

"So it's my fault."

"It's not mine."

Han could barely make out her narrowed eyes. He opened his mouth but clamped it shut when a cricket-y noise traveled towards them. They both turned to where the sound came from, and then Leia looked at Han. He could see the white of her eyes.

"Just great," he muttered.

"What was that?"

"How would I know?"

"You seem like the kind of guy that finds himself in a lot of vents."

"Nice."

Han followed Leia's eyes as she looked up. The moonlight was shattered by the smoggy sky, but it was enough to see the top of the vent.

"It's too high to climb back out."

"Yeah."

They both pressed her lips together as they listened.

"Do you think it's moving away from us?"

"Sounds like it."

Leia snapped her head toward the dark hollow; her hair slapped Han's face. His eyes instinctively closed as he inhaled the flowery scent.

"Guess we have no choice but to find out."

The princess hiss as she shifted to her hands and knees.

"You okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"How's your head? I didn't plan on falling on top of you."

She looked back at him. "Yeah, I was thinking you did it on purpose. Can we get moving now?"

Han tried to squeeze around her. "I'm going first."

Leia pushed against him so he couldn't get past. "I'm already here."

"If you just move over—"

"I said I'm already here," she said through clenched teeth as she propelled herself forward. "Let's get moving."

"Yes, Your Most Highly Glorious Highness."

Han smiled when she expelled an "oh!"

They crawled down the vent; their progress was slow due to their efforts to move as quiet as possible. Who know who inhabited this building, though Han figured it was abandoned. Most occupied buildings would make sure their vents were clear of possibly-hostile entities. Han didn't like the fact that Leia was going to encounter whatever lay in their path first. However, as her skirt swished to the left, he caught sight of the knife strapped to her thigh. As much as he wanted to protect her, Han had to admit that Leia was capable of taking care of herself. And him. How many times did she rescue him from a bind?

Han grimaced. More times than he wanted to remember. He had returned the favor, though, on many occasions; Leia had a knack for finding trouble. She was almost as bad as Luke.

Luke. Solo wondered if the kid and Chewie had caught Leia's would-be assassin. Chewie would contact him, when they did; Han was certain of that. But their silence made Han concerned. Maybe their plan to lure the assassin out failed, and that predator remained on the base. Maybe the assassin got the upper hand on his and Leia's friends. If the assassin was a professional….

If he or she was a professional, Leia would've been dead already.

The smuggler bumped right into Leia's backside. She twisted her head over her shoulder and gave him a dirty look.

"Why'd you stop?"

Her eyes widened and retracted. "Aren't you paying attention? We've hit the end."

It was then Han noticed that the only way to go was to the right or to the left. Leia sat on her haunches; her head grazed the ceiling of the vent.

"Which way do you think?"

"You're letting me make the decision?"

"No, I'm just asking your opinion."

"So you can do the opposite."

The cricket-y sound traveled down the left side.

"I think right," Han said and pushed her that way. "And I think we should crawl a little faster."

"We'll make too much noise. Who knows what's below us?"

"I'm more worried about what's in here with us." Han pushed at her backside. "Go."

Leia obeyed, moving her hands and knees at a quicker pace. Every so often, she grunted when she put her knee down, and Han wished it was his knees that were torn up by the roof instead of hers. Still, it was necessary that they traveled as fast as they could. And she was faster than him. Han struggled to keep up.

Again, Leia stopped. This time Han was paying attention; their ears were assaulted by the crickety-noise that was growing louder from the direction in which they traveled.

"We can't go back."

"Can you see any forks in the road?"

"I can't see much past my hand."

"Great."

The cricket-y noise grew louder and was bearing down fast on them.

"I see it now!"

Han knew that they didn't have room to turn their bodies around—at least he didn't; Leia was small enough to do so. He pushed Leia to the ground and drew his blaster; she squirmed under his hand. He blasted at the worm-like creature twice. It screamed and writhed around, but all Han managed to do was slow it down. It continued towards them, slithering side to side so that Han couldn't get a bead on him. If he shot and missed, he took the chance of hitting the wall and letting lose a barrage of blaster fire.

The creature raised its wart-covered head and opened its mouth to reveal several rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its tongue flew out of its mouth towards Han. Leia pulled her hand out from underneath her, raised her head, and sliced off the creature's tongue with her knife before it touched Han. Han blasted the whipping tongue, and it splattered in pieces over them.

However, the creature wasn't deterred. It chomped its teeth as it approached Leia. Han grabbed her legs and pulled her back. The rope-like creature slithered forward, opened its mouth and swooped down towards Leia.

Han tried to pull her out of the creature's reach, but he wasn't able to move her out of the range of its menacing mouth.