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Even with the white surgical mask over the lower half of his face, Leia could read surprise in General Rieekan's eyes.
"I thought you were someone else!" she blurted out, and watched his eyebrows lift even higher.
Luke bounded up the Falcon's entry ramp with Leia's duffel. "Here's your ..." He eyed the general before continuing, "... package." As soon as he had handed the bundle over to Leia, Luke scurried away.
The princess held the duffel over her chest and stared at the floor of the Millennium Falcon. She wanted the ship to drop open and swallow her, fluffy pink pajamas and all. The seven hells of Corellia had to be preferable to this.
"General." Han appeared next to her in the entry of the Falcon and extended a hand to Rieekan. "Sorry I had to miss our meeting this morning." He glanced at Leia, standing in her night clothes and his blanket, wide-eyed as a lost nerf. "Why don't you come in?"
After Han had closed the ramp, Rieekan followed him to the lounge, with Leia meekly trailing behind. They sat around the Dejarik table.
"I don't suppose I need this," the general snapped, removing his face mask. "From the tone of Leia's note, I suspected that you had contracted something contagious. When I realized that you hadn't yet visited the med lab, I was concerned." His annoyance was apparent. "I appear to have over-reacted." He regarded Leia with an impatient glare.
"General, this isn't how it looks - " Leia started.
Rieekan held up a hand. "Far be it from me to get involved in the love lives of my personnel," he said, as Leia blushed and Han suppressed a snort. "But when your behavior leads to missed meetings and cancelled supply runs, I have to say something." He glowered at both of them in turn. "Your lack of professionalism is simply appalling. I expected better. From both of you." He rose to leave.
"Uh, General." Han stood to face him. "You seem to have gotten the wrong impression here. I know what this must look like, but trust me, nothing happened."
Please, Han, Leia implored silently from the lounge sofa, please don't make this worse.
The general eyed Han with outright skepticism. "You seem to have made a miraculous recovery, Captain Solo." As Han stared at his boots, Rieekan moved toward the entry ramp. "Good day, Captain. Princess Leia." The general stood stiffly in the hallway, waiting for Han to lower the ramp.
Leia couldn't look at Han or General Rieekan. She remained riveted to the lounge sofa, wishing she could hide beneath the cushions. My father would be so disappointed in me, she thought. How can I ever face the High Council again?
She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed Han's next words. "General, there's something else we need to discuss. Can you come back to the lounge?"
Leia took this as her cue to rush down the hall with her clothes. She stood in the captain's quarters - What did it matter now if Rieekan saw her enter Han's room? - and quickly changed into her proper attire. She was about to walk back into the lounge when she heard Han's voice. Curious as to what he might say, she stopped just inside the doorway and listened.
"Sir, Leia didn't do anything wrong. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this." The princess was surprised by the formality of his tone. Han was clearly reining in his temper.
There was a pause before the general replied. "I appreciate that you have feelings for her, Captain Solo, but I still expect better."
"You couldn't ask for a better friend than Leia," Han argued, his anger now evident. "She dropped everything to come over here last night because I was so sick I could barely talk. She didn't know what was wrong with me. She just ran over here as fast as she could. Don't you think if we were sleeping together she would have thought to bring a change of clothes?"
"She sent me a note stating that you had some sort of severe stomach ailment, Captain Solo. As I said, you seem to have made a marvelous recovery." The doubt in his tone was evident.
There was a long pause, so long that Leia thought Han wasn't going to answer. Finally, in a soft voice, he replied, "I had a bad headache, General. It was severe enough that I felt dizzy and threw up. I asked her not to say anything."
Rieekan was silent for a long time. "I see," he finally responded. "And how often do you get these headaches?"
Leia could hear the tension in Han's reply. "Not ... not very often."
The tone of the older man's voice changed, reflecting a touch of understanding. "But you had one during the Calito mission, didn't you? I always thought there was something missing from Luke's debrief. That's why you two went to a medcenter, isn't it?"
Han's reply was a near whisper. "Yes, sir."
Another long pause. "Have you tried any sort of preventative treatment for your headaches?"
Leia had to listen closely to hear Han's reply. "No."
"Now, in the Imperial Navy, a history of migraines would automatically disqualify you from service." Leia's heart skipped a beat.
"I'm well aware of that, General." Han's voice was strained.
"However, son, we aren't the Imperial Navy. We need every pilot we can get, and you're one of our best. I'm gonna have to ground you from running supplies until we can figure out a preventative treatment for your headaches. That will involve a painful week or two with the med droids, but it'll be worth it, Han. There are some effective drugs out there now, and once we find one that works for you, you'll be migraine-free and ready to fly again."
"Or I can leave."
"Suit yourself, son, but I really hope you'll stay on with us. It's been a pleasure working with you."
Listening at the doorway of the captain's quarters, Leia blinked back tears. This was not how things were supposed to go. She could hear the men shaking hands, wrapping up their conversation. She wanted to run out and explain that Han was mistaken, he was covering up for her, they really were having a covert love affair. Anything to keep the sad tone out of Han's voice. Anything to make him stay.
Author's note: No, there's no magic pill (yet) in our universe that effectively and permanently takes away migraines. But a girl can dream, can't she?
