A/N: Wrote this while watching The Empire Strikes Back for inspiration. Please read and review!

A short extension of the end scene will probably be released as a one shot later this week for anyone wanting more Han/Leia than there already is! :)

XII

"It's been a while since I've been back here," Luke told his droid companion, Artoo-Deetoo, as he stepped out of the cockpit of the escape pod and stepped onto the desert sand that made up the planet of Tatooine. Thankfully, he was able to grab the droid and pack him into the pod during his escape. From the looks of it, they weren't far from his home town.

Artoo beeped in agreement; the last time he had entered the Tatooine system was when he and Threepio had been captured by jawas and taken to Luke's Uncle Owen's farm. Since then, they hadn't come back to the planet. After Vader had sent Stormtroopers to take out his aunt and uncle, there was no point in staying on Tatooine. In fact, that had been when he had met Han, too.

Han. Luke wondered for a moment if Chewie, Leia, and Threepio had found the smuggler's whereabouts by now, but there was no way of telling for sure. He wished for a moment that he could control the Force like he wanted to, but Obi-Wan hadn't taught him well enough before Vader had killed him.

"Come on, Artoo," Luke called. "This way."

The two made their way across the desert, slowly making it up and down the hills. When Luke had entered the atmosphere, he had taken his pod out from underneath the Falcon. If he hadn't, he would have been squashed when she landed. There wasn't enough space underneath for another ship, even with how small his pod was. Plus, it would mean immediate encounter with whoever had taken the ship in the first place. If Luke let her touch down on her own, he could approach the ship with tactic and attempt to steal her back. That was the plan, anyway.

Once the two made it up their third hill, Luke stopped and peered across the stretch of sand below. The Millennium Falcon sat in the ravine, just as he guessed. He estimated the landing pattern of the ship as their made their way into Tatooine air space, and figured she hadn't been able to go too far from where he took his pod.

"Look, Artoo!" Skywalker called cheerfully as his droid finally mounted the top of the hill by his side.

An excited wail came from the robot.

"Well, that's the plan," Luke agreed. "Can you scan the perimeter?" he asked.

A beep or two came from Artoo, and then he projected a small arm in which he was able to read the area from. A few seconds later, he hopped and alerted Luke that there were, in fact, life forms below.

"Great, just great," Luke muttered. He studied the ravine for a moment, then decided his course of action. "Artoo, can you jam the Falcon's sensors from here?"

An uncertain noise came from the droid in response, but then he clicked about. Silence followed for a moment, but then confirmation was received.

"Good job, Artoo," Luke complimented. "While he's busy trying to figure out how to get Han's sensors back up, I'll take the route underneath the floors to the cockpit. Can you get me into the loading ramp?"

Artoo let his master know he wound be able to, and easily. Luke was getting better at understanding his boops and beeps. He smiled at the droid, and then began trekking down the side of the hill to the bottom of the ravine, staying on the Falcon's backside to avoid getting caught as he went.

"Come on, Artoo!" he called over his shoulder, noticing the droid hadn't moved yet. "It's just a little sand, what's the worst that can—"

Suddenly, Luke caught his foot in the sand and his body spun out of control. He tumbled about half way down the hillside before regaining his footing at the bottom. Shaking his head to free the sand from his hair, he stood back up, getting off of his hands and knees.

"I guess it has been a while since I've been here," he grumbled to himself. "I'm all right!" he called back up, knowing the droid would be causing a fuss about his fall.

Slowly, Artoo made his way down the hill without slipping in the sand. Luke felt embarrassed for a small moment that he had run ahead so quickly. He was supposed to be a Jedi, not a kid without patience. Still, he was in one piece, and that was all that mattered.

Artoo rolled past him and under the Falcon. She was sinking in the sand; this would have to be fast. There was barely enough room for the droid between the bottom of her hull and the sandy surface of the planet, let alone for Luke. He crouched down and followed the bet he could, traveling quickly so he wouldn't get stuck again.

At the edge of where the loading ramp dropped was a hatch, something Han had installed to ensure he could sneak his smuggled goods onto the ship without anyone on board noticing; something he had deemed necessary after Imperials had searched her once for stolen TIE-fighter parts he had gotten from a gambling win. Artoo entered the control system, located on the other side of the ramp, and fussed around with his arm in hopes at unlocking the hatch.

Finally, there was a click and the door dropped open. Luke pulled himself up into the dark corridors of Han's smuggling tunnels. He turned back to face the droid, still in the sand, as he pulled the hatch shut.

"Stand watch, Artoo," he ordered and then closed the door behind him.

Leia and Chewie stumbled back onto the ship they had taken from Corellia. They left her in the landing dock of the Luck. Thankfully, none of Larrad's guards fully supported their commander and had scattered at first blaster shot. IT made things easier for Leia; she didn't want to kill any of them, and stunning would be a lot harder to do when it was only she and Chewie attacking.

Chewie made his way up the ramp and to the housing quarters, Han still sprawled out in his arms. Leia wished they had the space that the Falcon had, but it would have to do. A small bunk was better than nothing. Struggling, she pulled down the bed from its place in the wall.

"Here," she told the Wookie. "Set him down. I'll check the supplies for anything that can help him."

"Princess," Threepio pardoned. "If you allow it, I may be able to match his symptoms with that of my many encoded languages in order to find a diagnostic." He paused. "Until Master Luke and Artoo return, that is."

"Yes, thank you, Threepio," Leia said solemnly. Then, she turned to Chewie while the droid took a look at Han. "Can you pilot this thing out of here?" she asked.

The Wookie rumbled a sarcastic response and shrugged. Leia took it as something Han would say, and predicted he was telling her there was no doubt he could do it. He had gotten them in, after all.

"Thank you," she told him, placing a hand on his arm. She was sincere, and Chewie could sense the worry in her voice. "I'll watch him from here."

"Princess Leia!" the golden droid called as Leia let go of Chewie and watched him head back to the cockpit of the small ship.

"What is it, Threepio?" she asked kindly, glad that she had a bit of assistance in figuring out what to do with Han.

"I think I've found a match!" he told her excitedly.

"Well what is it, then?" she begged, not understanding why the droid wouldn't just tell her straight away. She wasn't in the mood to wait around.

"He seems to be under a paralyzer from Corellia," he alerted her. "Something very uncommon, I'm afraid. Only the very wealthy have the means to buy it. My guess is that Commander Solo's capturer had stolen it or smuggled it on board."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Leia murmured. "Will he be okay?"

"I'm sorry, Princess, but we need to get him an antidote as soon as possible, or we might not be able to reverse the paralyzer. Might I suggest looking in the stowaway compartment for a medical kit?"

"I doubt they'd have anything," Leia told the droid. "Maybe Luke can search for something, if we can get in contact with his pod."

"Good idea, Princess!" Threepio praised.

"How long until the paralyzer becomes permanent?"

"If I had to guess, only a few hours."

"A few hours?!" Leia repeated loudly. They had no idea of knowing how far Luke had gone, or if he would be able to return in such time.

"…yes," Threepio said to Leia, a hint of fear in his voice. "I would say that Commander Solo was dosed with it well before we arrived, judging by the time he lost consciousness. Usually, it would be about a day, but under these circumstances, I wouldn't give him much longer than a few hours."

Leia wanted to yell back at the droid, but yelling wouldn't solve anything. Instead, she thanked him and pardoned him. The golden body made his way to join Chewie in the cockpit, sensing Leia wanted to be alone.

When the doors closed behind him, she turned and made her way to a supply unit on the wall of the bunk room. It was stocked with bandages and quick first aid, though she was used to far worse than just a cut or scratch anymore. She grabbed a pack of tissues and a bottle of water. It was the best she had to clean Han up at the moment.

She brought the items over and sat on Han's bed side. Leia studied him for a moment, then gently brushed the messy hair from his face. He looked terrible, but she didn't expect anything less. His face was a sweaty, bloody mess. Larrad had probably beaten him a bit before he was strung up to his post. None of his features seemed out of place, so she didn't panic too much about broken bones or anything of the sort. His jawline seemed fine, and his cheekbones were even. Not even his nose seemed broken.

Leia blushed for a moment when she caught herself admiring his facial structure. Luke had such a cute, boyish face that sometimes she adored Han's manly features. She would never tell either of them, knowing how they liked to argue over her. She ignored it and let it slip past her, pretending not to notice. It was easier that way.

"You're one selfless mess of a criminal," she whispered, taking a tissue and wetting it with some water from the bottle.

Leia used it to wipe the dirt and sweat off of Han's brow. She wasn't sure of the cool temperature would wake him or not, but he didn't budge. Larrad must have given him an extreme dosage for Han to be this messed up. She had seen him do some crazy things since meeting him and Luke, but never had she seen him unresponsive like this.

"I sure hope Luke gets back here soon." She shook her head. Even knowing Han wouldn't be able to hear her, Leia still talked to him as though he were able to understand. "I don't want you slipping away on me, too."

Then, the Princess closed her eyes and leaned down to kiss Han softly on the cheek. "You're all right, for smuggler," she told him quietly.

Leia hesitated, but then blinked her eyes open and studied him. Still, no response. Knowing he wouldn't remember, she closed her eyes against and pressed her lips against his quickly and softly.

When she sat up straight again, she told him, "that's for saving me again."

Then, Leia stood up, placed the water and tissues back on the supply shelf, and went to join Chewie and Threepio in the cockpit. She needed to get ahold of Luke. The silence in the room was broken by her exit as the doors closed behind her.

Han, still lying on the table, blinked his eyes open momentarily. He wanted to let Leia know he could hear her when she started cleaning him up, but he hadn't had the strength. He was able to open his eyes, but just barely. He still had blurred vision, but it didn't matter. A smile spread across his lips as he closed them again and went back to sleep.