* sorry this is so late. I had a class to finish. I wanted this to be a longer chapter, but I also wanted to get something posted for you. Here it is:

CHAPTER 14:

Han lay on his back inside the hut the Ewoks allowed them to use with his arm resting across his forehead and his hazel eyes focused on the thatched ceiling above. Leia lay next to him, her back touching his side and her hands folded beneath her head. Her large brown eyes stared at the wall a few inches away from her. The leaf-filled mattress was lumpy but more comfortable than the wooden slats of the bare floor. She and Han shared a blanket and their body heat to keep warm high up in the trees.

"Leia," he whispered her name, barely audible. "You awake?"

"Yes." Her voice, too, was barely audible, but he heard her.

"Can I at least ask you where Luke went?"

She bit her lip and stayed quiet. Han felt a wall fall between them. If she couldn't tell him that, he being a general—the leader of the mission—not just someone she loved, someone who was friends with Luke, things were worse off between them than he thought.

"He went to face Vader."

"What?" Han lifted his chest off of the mattress and propped himself up with his elbows. "How does he know Vader's here?"

"He can sense Vader," she whispered. "Through the Force."

"So…what? He can find Vader?"

"Hm-mm." Then Leia added, "Vader sensed him."

"So Vader knows we're here?"

"I don't know." Luke's image appeared in her mind then he walked away. Leia rolled onto her back and looked into Han's eyes. "Luke said that he was endangering the mission."

"So he goes off to find him?" Han's brow furrowed. "Alone?"

Leia nodded.

"Why would he do that?"

She swallowed down the tears. "I…I can't tell you." She could see the cloud of frustration pass across his face even in the dark. She rolled back onto her side.

"Whatever the reason, that's just crazy." Han shook his head and then asked, "Why didn't you get him to stay? He wouldn't have gone if you asked him to stay."

Leia closed her eyes against his accusation. "I tried," she whispered. "I even urged him to run away."

"Of course you did." Han put a hand on arm shoulder and rolled her onto her back. She did not resist. "I'm sorry."

Leia's large brown eyes met his and she bit her lip again, but a few tears escaped anyway. Han reached over and wiped them away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." He stared into her forlorn face. "I know how special he is to you."

"You're special to me, too," she whispered. "I love you."

Han responded to her words by moving his body so that he hovered over her, placing his hands next to each side of her head. He gazed into her large brown eyes. She was telling the truth. He pressed his lips to hers. Leia grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer, returning the kiss with fervor.

Han lifted his head and gazed into her sad brown eyes. "We have to get up in three hours."

With her hand still wrapped around his head, Leia lifted herself up and kissed him. "I know," she whispered and kissed his again.

She released his head, lay back down, and stared into his eyes. Han slipped the spaghetti straps of her lace-trimmed tank top, and placed kisses on her exposed skin. Leia closed her eyes, attempted to push Luke and tomorrow's mission out of her mind, and soaked up Han's affections.

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Luke had walked probably two miles before he came upon a camp of storm troopers, biker scouts, and an AT-AT in a clearing. Two miles was not far from the Ewok village, and Luke thought about all those tiny, helpless creatures being slaughtered if—or when—they were discovered. Those little creatures were high in the trees, and perhaps would be overlooked as the Imperials moved through the forest, but the Ewoks had to come down for provisions at some time.

Skywalker stayed camefloueged behind some bushes and tree trunks and he scrutinized the small band of Imperials. It was dark, but they had built a fire and some of the biker troopers and storm troopers had removed their helmets to soak the heat of the flames. A few were finishing off rations.

Luke pressed his lips together as Leia's face came to mind. He hated seeing her pain, and he hated more so that he was cause of her pain. The look in her large brown eyes when he told her that Darth Vader was his father….revulsion then sympathy. But how is she handling the knowledge that Vader is her father too? Luke regretted telling her and then leaving her, but she had to know just in case…In the past, Luke felt the anger that churned inside her every time they talked of Vader. Leia's anger incited fear in him. Now it scared him even more. The Force is strong in Leia, his sister, and her anger now put her in danger of falling to the Dark Side.

Leia, his sister. Luke smiled to himself. He always felt lost in the world, alone, especially after his aunt and uncle were murdered. Leia , Chewie, and Han had become like family, but now it was different. He felt closest to Leia. Luke now had true family, someone whose heart was good, not just his monster father. Leia would never become a monster like Vader. Luke would make sure of that.

At least Leia had Han to comfort her. Luke knew Han would not be happy that he left without telling the smuggler that he was leaving. The question of "why" would have come up, and Luke was not prepared to explain his parentage to Han just yet. He had to let Leia absorb the information first, and Luke did not know how long that would take. Luke wished he could tell Han that Leia was his sister—he had felt Han's jealousy over his closeness with Leia—but it was not his place to bring it up. It was Leia's. Han and Leia were still working out their relationship, figuring out how to handle the change between them, how to be with each other. Luke thought it be best if Leia explained it to Han if she chose to do so. Telling Han would bring up many more questions Leia may not want to answer. It was very difficult for Luke to reveal his—their parentage to Leia; he could imagine how hard it would be to explain to Han. It all seemed implausible.

Luke took a deep breath and decided it was time to reveal himself to the Imperials.