"She doesn't look too good."
"Neither would you, kid, if you were the one who got shot at."
"I don't get it, though. She's so tough. Even after she was tortured by Vader..."
Leia listened to Luke and Han converse in quiet, concerned tones. She knew she was in the sick bay, she recognized the sharp scent of disinfectant, the coarse linen bedsheets and the sound of hushed voices hovering around an invalid. Nothing would induce her to open her eyes, however. She wanted to be alone.
Chewbacca growled something indiscernible.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Han said gruffly.
"What'd he say?" asked Luke with curiosity.
"Chewie's just a little worried about the man that got away. The one who pulled the blaster on me."
"The General said by the descriptions you gave of his appearance, he's a bounty hunter. Lal Inquor. Works a lot with the Empire."
"Never met him before in my life. And that's saying a lot. I've met shadier looking characters."
A pause, then Luke said, "You were going to leave, weren't you? To follow him?"
"Yeah. Now that the Empire knows I've been working with you, it's gonna be a lot harder to stay low."
"You didn't, though. I mean, you didn't leave."
"Her Worship made it pretty clear that I was to follow orders and stick to the plan."
Luke made a skeptical sound. "She was hurt and you-"
"Don't make me out to be some goddamned hero," Han warned, "I'm not. The sooner I'm outta this place, the better."
"That's what you say every time," Luke mumbled.
Someone entered the room, one of the rebels, requesting for Luke to see the General immediately. "You're a good friend, Han, even if you won't admit it," Luke told the smuggler on his way out.
Han merely grunted in response.
There was a moment of silence before Chewbacca said something about fixing up the Falcon and Han replied, "Yeah, I'll be there. I just wanna check up with the nurse about something..."
The sound of the doors sliding was all Leia heard, before a deep silence settled in the room.
"You're a pretty good actress, Princess, but I can tell when a person's faking unconsciousness. Believe me, I've been in quite a few of those situations myself."
Leia suppressed a groan and blinked up at him balefully.
"How ya feeling?"
"I probably feel the way I look."
"Like hell," he agreed succinctly.
She sighed, "What happened after I passed out?"
Han settled on the edge of the bed comfortably, "Well, we got done what we went there to do. The place is rubble. I got the Falcon back to Yavin and said you were unconscious and needed to get to the sickbay. You've been out for a day, half-conscious, tossing and turning. Your wound isn't deep, the shot just grazed you, so the medics aren't sure why you've been in a fit. And the General's in a mood."
"He didn't want me to go," Leia said quietly, "Wanted me to stay back on the base for at least a month."
"So, why didn't you?" Han inquired.
"I've had enough of enclosed spaces." She recalled the dank cold of her tiny cell on the Death Star.
Han nodded, running a hand through his unkempt locks, "I've never been keen on them myself...Luke's been in a right state, worried about you."
"I'm fine," she sat up in the bed, looking away from him. The man had an unnervingly perceptive gaze.
"You're still sick, aren't you? From the torture."
She froze.
Han cleared his throat awkwardly, "Seems like the only logical explanation...one of the nurses mentioned something about it too."
There was a strong pause before she nodded slightly, "Not sick, exactly. Vader's torture mechanisms are...subtle. Nothing to disfigure prominently. Technically, I am fully recovered."
"The blaster shot put you in a sort of shock," he inferred.
"Something like that, I guess," she shrugged, wriggling out of the covers. She had no wish to discuss the details of her torture with anyone, much less him. She found herself wearing a thin gown provided by the sickbay. Moving her leg experimentally, she grimaced. It didn't hurt much, but enough to sting.
"I wouldn't get up and start walking if I were you," Han warned, as she put a foot down, "Malia'll have a fit."
"Already on a first-name basis with the nurses?" she remarked, setting her injured leg down gingerly.
"I make it my business to know every woman's name, sweetheart."
"Clearly excepting mine," she rolled her eyes.
"Jealous?" he smirked.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, laser brain," she wobbled a little as she stood.
"You're gonna fall if you take a step," Han cautioned, watching her.
"I don't need you to lecture me on safety," she snapped, taking an unsteady step forward. And another. Her knees buckled. A strong arm gripped her waist.
"That's five times I've rescued you now, Princess," Han grinned at her, guiding her back to sit.
"Five?" She normally resented assistance of any kind, but she allowed him to help.
"I've rescued you from the Death Star, I came back to help destroy it before you were, I saved you yesterday from the crashing starfighter, and again when you were unconscious in my ship. And now, I rescued you from falling at my feet, as appealing as the idea sounds," he chuckled.
She didn't like the idea of being rescued, reluctantly grateful as she was for his help. Luke's words came back to her as she eyed him with some respect, "You did get me back to Yavin instead of going after the bounty hunter. Why?"
Han looked shifty. "I wasn't about to let an injured-"
She rolled her eyes, "Spare me the theatrics, Solo. You and I both know you didn't want to stick around long enough for the Empire to realize you were siding with the Alliance. And now you're at risk. What are you going to do now?"
He sighed, meditatively picking on the sleeve of his jacket before replying, "I guess I'm staying. Just for a while longer, at least. I can't go right back into my old business now, can I? And staying here gives me a lot more protection than being out in the open."
She was surprisingly rather glad at his acceptance of the situation. "Thank you." As much as the man annoyed her, she recognized that he held some fondness for her, enough to risk his own safety. She realized she had similarly come to appreciate his presence on the base as well, just as much as Luke's.
"Should I tell Luke you're alive and yapping like normal?" he queried.
She hesitated, "You can tell him once he's finished with his meeting with the General. I want some privacy first. And out of this," she gestured at the gown.
"Dolling yourself up for the kid, I get it," he winked, rising up from his perch on the edge of the bed.
"Hardly," she retorted, "I'm not about to let any of the soldiers see one of their commanding officers in this getup."
"You let me," he pointed out, before leaving.
"And since when have you ever treated me like a commanding officer?" she sighed.
He flashed her a quick grin as he left.
Han found Chewie busily working at the Falcon. "Hey, ya need any help with that?"
His friend produced a noncommittal grunt in response.
"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Han sighed, "Hey, you were the one who told me we had to come back to help!"
"You're taking unnecessary risks," Chewbacca growled, "You didn't need to take the commission, especially when you knew it would involve revealing your face."
Han shrugged, "I've been in worse situations."
"That's not the point!" Chewbacca retorted heatedly, "You know the Empire's going to be after you now, and they're a far more dangerous foe than some half-wit smuggler. We should've chased after that bounty hunter..." he went back to working at the ship.
"The Princess was hurt," Han said awkwardly.
"She's fine," Chewbacca replied, "We could've taken out that ship in less than ten minutes, you know we could have. I think you just want an excuse to stay."
"That's ridiculous!" Han spluttered, "This isn't my kinda work, you know that-"
"Then give me an honest answer of what happened yesterday."
Han fell silent. He knew he couldn't lie to Chewie; his friend knew him all too well for that. "I don't know. I should leave, I know I should, get that money to Jabba and go back to normal...but, I don't know."
Chewbacca sighed, knowing that was all he'd get out of him for the present, "Alright. Are we staying then?"
"For the now."
"You're fond of them. Luke and the Princess."
"Yeah, the kid's kinda grown on me. Her Worship's more like a constant thorn in my side-"
"Is that why you stayed behind when Luke and I left the sickbay?" Chewbacca smirked.
Han frowned, "Alright, alright, so I don't quite mind her either."
Chewbacca opened his furry mouth to say more, but a voice interrupted, "Han!"
"Yeah, kid?" he turned to face Luke who was hurrying towards him.
"Is Leia okay?"
"She's doing great, she wants to see you, actually," Han said casually.
"She's awake?" Luke's face lit up, "And she wants to see me?"
"'Course she does, kid, go on, go see her. She's still at sickbay."
Luke jogged off, a huge grin plastered to his boyish face. Han chuckled, watching him leave, "Someone's got quite the crush."
Chewie grunted something indiscernible.
"What was that?" Han inquired.
"I said, "That makes two of you"."
Han swivelled around so quickly, he strained his neck in the process. "I don't have a crush on the Princess. I barely even like her."
"You make it your business to bother her everyday."
"Yeah, because I'm bored. And it's fun seeing her all wound up. She's too used to all the respect and loyalty. Everyone puts her up like she's on some kinda pedestal. She's only a human, after all, she's a woman."
"Exactly what I'm saying. She's a woman."
"I thought you liked her," Han raised a brow.
"Oh, I do. In fact, I think she's too smart to get her heart broken by you. All I'm saying is that maybe-"
"No maybes!" Han snapped irritably, "There's nothing. She's a gorgeous woman, I'll admit it, but she's my superior officer for one, and an uptight Princess for another. She barely even comes up to my chest and she's got about as much romance in her as a...as a..." for once, he was at a loss for words. He settled for shooting his friend a scornful glare. "Maybe..." he muttered to himself, striding off, "Me have a crush on the Princess..."
The thought was preposterous.
A/N: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews and for voting! <3 Super glad you guys are enjoying the story so far.