Valentine's Challenge: The Sequel. Submission #4

This latest submission comes from jzhanfan.  This is her second submission to the challenge, which is just a reminder to the rest of you that there is no limit to submissions.  This story contains adult situations, so to our underage readers, this is not for you!

 

Once again, the Falcon's hyperdrive was in need of repair, and the nearest base where they could expect to find the needed parts lay seven days away at sublight. They'd already been gone longer than expected on their most recent mission, and High Command hadn't liked the idea of further delay, but there was no better option. It had taken a while, but Leia had finally managed to get their revised flight plans approved.

Relieved to end the conversation, she signed off and rose from her seat at the communications station in the Falcon's lounge.

The Princess was actually looking forward to a few days of no responsibilities. But there was one more being whose permission Leia felt she needed, before she considered herself off duty.

She sought out Chewbaca in the cockpit and broached the subject carefully.  "Chewie, you know... you know Han and I... well, you know we're, together, right?"

["You've been together for months. You mean you're mating with each other now."] Wincing, Leia nodded. ["of course I know,"] Chewie chuckled. ["Any being with a sense of smell knows."]

If possible, Leia's blush got even deeper. "Will it bother you, if we...?"

["Princess, what would you do if I said yes?"]

"All right, you've got a point. Let's try this again. Han and I are planning to spend the next six days in his cabin, naked. Do you think you and Luke can get us to Sullest on your own?"

The Wookiee turned to stare at her in surprise, and then saw her expression. ["You're joking?"]

"Of course I'm joking. Can I bribe you to take the first shift in the cockpit so we can have some time alone, though?"

["Will you promise not to use up all the water?"]

"Will I... what?"

It was Chewie's turn to be embarrassed. ["Perhaps I'm speaking out of turn."]

"Perhaps, but it's too late now." Leia's curiousity swiftly overrode her flash of jealousy. She was well aware that she wasn't the first woman who'd been with Han while on board the Falcon. There wasn't much point acting surprised about it. "Come on. Tell me."

There was a long silence while the Wookiee composed a tactful answer. ["He's always claimed that shared showers save water, but he's wrong."]

Leia bit her lip in amusement at Chewie's attempt at delicacy. "If we end up in the shower, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she assured him.

Chewie gave her a knowing look and heaved a sigh that she took to mean, "oh, you'll end up in the shower, all right." It was a bit disconcerting to realize that the Wookie probably knew plenty more about Han's personal life that he wasn't sharing. "So, will you take the first shift?"

["Did he send you up here to ask me?"]

"No!" Leia cocked her head. "You really think I'd do that?" Chewie shrugged. "I came up here because I want to make sure there are no hard feelings. This is between you and me."

["What about Skywalker?"]

The princess looked at her hands. "Well... I was... sort of hoping... you'd talk to Luke? It's bad enough worrying that he can read my mind."

Chewie hadn't thought of it that way. Having a Jedi for a brother could get a bit awkward, at that. ["All right, all right. I'll talk to Luke. He and I will take the first two shifts. You've got sixteen hours. Then I expect you two to start being social again."]

"Deal." She went up on tiptoe to hug him tightly. He patted her shoulder affectionately.

["Don't worry, Princess. There are no hard feelings. I'm happy for you both."]

"Thanks, Chewie. I'm pretty happy for us, myself."

["Tell Solo he owes me a trip to Kashyyyk. Soon."]

Leia was immediately contrite. How could she have failed to realize that what she and Han had together might make Chewie feel the absence of his own wife more sorely than usual? "I'll tell him, Chewie. And I'll make sure it happens, too."

Solo was waiting for her when she got to the crew cabin, and he had her backed against the bulkhead before the hatch had completley closed. His fingers were undoing her buttons while his tongue explored her mouth. She came up on tiptoe to meet his kiss and he moved in closer, lifting her hands over her head and pinning them there with his forearm. Her eyes widened with surprise but she made no move to pull free. They gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment, and she whispered, "I love you."

His hungry expression softened and he bent to kiss beneath her earlobe. "I know. I love you, too." His mouth slid lower and he tasted the pulse at the hollow of her throat. The sensation sent chills down her spine and her back arched toward him. His hand slid along her thigh and his knee nudged hers, coaxing her legs apart so he could fit her even closer against him. Her fingers slipped beneath his waistband and found his aching erection. When her warm hand closed around him he went very still and then swung her up into his arms. In two steps he was across the cabin, depositing her on the bunk in a heap. He shed his pants quickly and was naked before she had her belt undone. He seized the bottoms of her trousers in both hands and tugged them off in a single move. In the process he dragged her forward so she lay with her hips at the edge of the bed.

And then he was slamming into her, hard and fast. Her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist, driving him deeper with each stroke. Awed and overwhelmed by the sheer power of his need, she dug her heels into his ass and hung on tight, letting him take her with him to a shuddering shared climax.

They lay together, panting, in the tangle of sheets, damp with each other's sweat. Leia drew circles on Han's chest with her fingertip and he stroked her hair, idly. "Is it always like this, Han?" she asked, very softly.

"Like what, honey?"

She propped herself up on an elbow and looked down into his face. "Like this," she gestured at the disheveled bunk and the heap of clothing on the floor. "Frantic. Hungry."

"As opposed to?"

"I don't know. Slow? Tender?" He cocked an eyebrow. "I've read too many romance novels, haven't I?"

"Come here," he drew her beneath him again. "Let me show you how slow I can go." The velvet touch of his tongue traced the shape of her breasts, outlined the hollow between them, tasted the soft flesh on their underside. Soft, wet kisses covered her nipples, crinkled tighly and aching with need. At last his mouth closed around one rigid nub and took it in, sucking hard.

Every tug of his mouth on her breast summoned a matching tug between her legs, and when his fingers parted her slippery folds to slide inside her, she whimpered softly.

He was true to his word, taking his time and bringing her twice with clever fingers to the edge of oblivion, only to ease her back down again. At last came the exquisite sensation of his tongue, deftly licking the wetness from her folds. It was nearly more than she could bear.

Tossing her head and moaning, her fists clutching at the sheets, she was nothing but her body. Nothing, but her quivering legs, her muscles clenched as she arched toward him again. "Please," she begged. "Please, Han. Please."

"Do you want me, Leia?" he growled against her heated flesh. "Do you want me inside of you?"

"Yes," she gasped, her voice ragged with need. "Please."

"No," he whispered, "not yet. Not this time. I want to watch while you come," he coaxed, as his thumb circled a particularly delightful spot. "Right now, baby. Go on, let go." His mouth was on her again, and his tongue replaced his finger. Her body shuddered and rippled around him, and she gave a helpless, high pitched cry as she surrendered to her orgasm.

He knew that her center would be almost painfully senstive at that moment, and he let go just in time, coming up on his knees to glide into her, slowly, sliding through her wetness and filling her before he backed away again. "Oh," she sighed, "oh, Han."

"You like?" he asked, softly, watching her face transform as she rode the slow waves to a completely different sort of climax.

"Yes," she breathed. "Yes." She reached up and took his face in her hands, kissing him deeply. She tasted her own wetness on his tongue, felt his rhythm pick up speed as she moved her own hips in time with his thrusts. It seemed to last forever, and her body felt different, softer somehow, more open to his length, more aware of his motion.

When at last he let go and gave one hard, trembling thrust, she felt it, clearly, as the hard length of him bucked and spilled a warm wetness within her.

"Mine," he whispered, against her lips, his eyes dark and intense as he came. "You're mine, Leia."

"Yes," she agreed, feeling tears build in her eyes. "And you're mine." She wrapped herself around him and held on tightly, not wanting to ever let him go.

They fell asleep, tangled in one another, never noticing when the cabin door opened and the Wookiee's head peered in. "They're asleep. Go, quickly," he motioned to Luke, who ran, hastily, to the fresher, eyes averted. Chewie, who was less easily embarrassed, crossed the cabin to retrieve the twisted sheet from the floor and spread it, lightly, over the sleeping lovers, who didn't stir.

Luke came out of the fresher, and went straight for the door. Pausing for just a moment in the hatchway, he felt a gentle wash of peace and contentment that was so nebulous he couldn't be sure whose emotions he'd brushed.

The water shower stall in the fresher unit was indeed Han's next idea, when they awakened, and Leia was feeling sweaty and sticky enough at this point not to argue. It took a lot of water to rise the shampoo out of her long hair, and they were both extraordinarily clean when the job was finally complete.

She found his hands, running along her wet body, more arousing than she had expected, and when Han backed her against the slippery bulkhead and pinned her there with his hips, she was as ready as he was.

At the last second, she remembered Chewie's admonition about wasting water. She manged to reach around him and switch off the water before her hand closed around his erection. Some time later, it occurred to her, belatedly, that perhaps there was a good reason to leave the water running after all.

Han's grunts of pleasure as he thrust into her, and her answering cries echoed in the small chamber, and she had no doubt that the sounds were carrying to other parts of the ship. But she was beyond caring, and beyond restraining herself even if she had wanted to.

Up in the cockpit, Luke and Chewie exchanged a glance, but neither said a word. Skywalker had long ago slammed shut the door in his mind that led to his sister's emotions.

Sixteen hours and one minute into the trip, Han and Leia finally emerged from the cabin and came up to the cockpit together, holding hands.

"Looks like it's our shift in the cockpit, eh, Chewie?" Chewie rolled his eyes but kept silent as he and Luke departed.

Han settled himself into his chair and caught Leia's hand again as she perched on the edge of Chewie's seat.

"C'mere," he pulled her gently onto his lap, where she nestled contentedly, her head tucked into the hollow of his shoulder, legs dangling over the arm of the chair.

"It won't always be like this," she said, softly.

"I know," he agreed. "Aren't you the one who said we should take our moments when we can?"

"I didn't think you were listening."

"I was." He smiled. "We're not always gonna have days like this. But it's gonna be good, sweetheart. You'll see."

 

Thanks for the wonderful submission!  And to the rest of you, keep them coming!

Assault at Selonia - The Review

Okay, get ready and don't blink.  This may be the shortest review I have ever written.  I have only two things 'marked' to share with you guys from this book.  It's not that it was BAD, just that basically nothing really happens and it was a fairly boring read.  Oh, and Han spends the majority of the book crawling on his hands and knees through the underground of Corellia.  Alright, now that I've got your primed and excited to find out more, let's get going.

We start off with Han in custody.  Remember?  He helped Belindi Kalenda (the NRI agent) escape Corellia by sacrificing himself to being caught in the process.  Han is brought in front of his evil cousin, Thracken Sal-Solo.  After some words, in which Han does say that his wife, Leia Organa Solo, doesn't care for people that hurt her family, Sal-Solo forces Han into a fighting ring with a female Selonian - Dracmus.  Able to speak a little bit of the Selonian language, Han and Dracmus agree to make the fight look real but not kill each other.  After getting knocked around quite a bit, Han finally falls unconscious.
We then move over to Luke and Lando who are arriving on Coruscant with news of the interdiction field and the overall Corellian situation.  We get some of Lando worrying about his newfound girlfriend, Tendra, and this entire sequence where Luke and Lando have to travel underground and fight these weird creatures before getting to the underground New Republic bunker where they meet with the likes of Ackbar and Mon Mothma.  For some reason, the New Republic has no Navy to send to Corellia.  Reasons are given, although I really didn't find them believable.  In the end, the New Republic asks Luke to call in a favor from an old female acquaintance, Gaeriel Captison from Bakura (see Truce at Bakura for more details) to borrow the Bakuran fleet.
 
Luke and Lando prepare to depart on the Lady Luck with Luke's X-wing in tow.  We then get a very lengthy look into Luke's feelings on Gaeriel and the time that has passed since he had seen her. There is a lot of 'might-have-beens' and regrets and basically, Luke's love life once again gets more introspection than Han and Leia's relationship ever has or does.  This really bothers me.  I don't begrudge Luke a love life, but why does Han and Leia's always get the shaft in comparison?  Anyway, Luke finds that Gaeriel has married (her husband now deceased), has a child (little girl) and has risen to political power on Bakura and fallen since the time that he has seen her.  By the end of the chapter, just as Luke and Lando are preparing to leave the Coruscant system, Belindi Kalenda arrives and they make a u-turn to meet up with her and get news of Corellia.

Chewbacca, the Solo kids, Ebrihim (the children's Drall tutor) and his droid, Q9 are all on the Millennium Falcon and landing on Ebrihim's family farm on Drall where we meet his Aunt Marcha and get more confusing news of uprisings on Drall. 
Let's get back to Han, who is recovering from his fight with Dracmus in a tiny cell.  A drunk Sal-Solo comes to visit him and tells Han that he wants him alive and close so as to keep the New Republic from blowing him up (thinking the New Republic wouldn't bomb anywhere that the Chief-of-State's husband was being held).  Han tells Sal-Solo that his plan is flawed.  Sal-Solo gives a recount of why he feels he rightfully should be Diktat of Corellia and admits that he has been telling 'some lies' but doesn't 'fess up to what those lies might be.  As Sal-Solo leaves, he throws Dracmus, the Selonian Han had just fought, into the cell with Han.
 
Move over to the awkward meeting between Luke and Gaeriel, both apparently sharing some unresolved feelings for the other.  As Luke tells Gaeriel the reason for his visit (while sitting in close proximity to Gaeriel's deceased husband's gravesite - ::shrugs::), she begins to call a council together to discuss loaning the Bakuran fleet to the New Republic.
Han converses with his new cell mate (Dracmus the female Selonian) who is very interested in Han's relationship with his cousin Thracken Sal-Solo.  Apparently, it is hard for the Selonian to understand how Han could be so different from his close relative.  Han does his best to explain human relations and family dynamics.  Dracmus promises not to rip out Han's throat while Han sleeps and tries to recuperate.  In the morning, the pair continue to discuss humans and Han realizes that Dracmus is having a hard time trying to trust Han when Han proudly admits to being a fairly convincing liar.  The pair discuss their ideas of who is behind the starbuster plot.  Dracmus and Han agree that Sal-Solo probably didn't have the funds, intelligence or technology to supernova a star.  Han states that he is distrustful of Mara Jade's role in the plot.  Dracmus, having dealt with Mara as an honest and fair trader, argues for her innocence and blames the plot on ex-Imperial Navy.
As Han continues to argue, Dracmus drops this bombshell: 

"To make conspiracy is to draw many together. Perhaps one plot pulls in Jade, Imperial Navy fragment, Human League, and others, too.  But I hope you are all wrong, honored Solo. I truly do."
"Why, Dracmus?"

"It is not obvious? If she is behind this plot, she has quite deliberately arranged things so she is where she is right now, to be where she can do the plot the most good."
"What's your point?" Han asked.

"Right now," she said, "Mara Jade is in same place with your wife."

Poor Han.  As long as it was only his hide on the line, he seemed fine.  But as soon as he thought that Leia might be in danger he was ready to start talking about escape.  Han shared an idea that involved throwing their dinners in the faces of their guards.  Dracmus had other ideas in mind which quickly became a better option as his den-mates cut through the floor of their cell and freed Han and Dracmus.
 
Meanwhile, Lando's would-be girlfriend, Tendra has been watching the skies through macro binoculars.  She senses something is afoot and decides to throw some money around and get herself a ship and gets off planet and headed to Corellia in hopes of finding Lando.  She uses an old radionic frequency that Lando had taught her to send a repeating message for Lando to hopefully intercept as she traveled closer and closer to where he was supposed to be.
 
At this point, we finally get to see Leia, who is being held captive by the Human League in the old governor's mansion.  There's a brief scene of Leia arguing with her guard and as he leaves, he tells her that she is going to be getting a 'cell mate'.  Leia prepares to meet her new fellow prisoner and guess who it was?  Yep, Mara Jade.  The two women get right to hashing out all the reasons that they have NOT to trust each other.  But they finally decide that at the moment they both have the same goal in mind - escaping.  Mara confesses that she has a slave controller for her ship (basically a remote control device that will bring her ship - unmanned - to her location.  The controller is a few floors down and the pair agree to work together to escape and work out the rest later.  Leia is reticent about trusting and working with Mara, but decides it is the only path she has to pursue at that moment.

Um, I guess I should say here that each and everyone of the characters here have all discussed theories and ideas on what the hell is going on in the Corellian System and who might be behind it.  Honestly, I have no idea what's going on and found it hard to follow all the speculating.  Consensus seemed to be that Sal-Solo couldn't be working this elaborate plot alone.  Other than that, we really don't know who could be pulling all these strings.

We get back to Mara and Leia, who are trying to escape.  They crafted a rope made out of ripped sheets and repelled down the building several stories to the floor that Leia had shared with her children before the bombing.  As she and Mara navigate through the rubble that used to be her quarters, Leia comes across one of Anakin's playthings on the ground and stops to pick it up.  This is the first part of the book that I marked to share with you guys, keep in mind we are 144 pages in to a 300 page book.  Ugh.  But here it is:

Leia stopped just short of the door, and Mara nearly walked up her back.

"What's wrong?" Mara asked. "What is it?"

Leia knelt down and picked up the small object she had spotted.

How she had seen it in the virtual darkness, she could not say.

It was a little model hover car, one of Anakin's toys. Suddenly it all hit her hard. Her child's toy. Had he dropped it there himself in the midst of the frantic escape during the attack? Or had the Human League's thugs seen fit to root through the children's toy chest in their search for loot? What had happened to her children? Where were they? Were they safe? Could Chewbacca protect them?

Stop. Stop. She had a job to do. For them, as much as anyone.

She had to get free, and set about organizing some sort of resistance to the monsters who had scattered her family. Nor did it escape her that it was a member of her family who was responsible for all this.

Thrackan Sal-Solo would pay.

Leia wrapped her hand around Anakin's toy, around the bit of plastic and metal that was suddenly all she had of her son. She slipped it into her pocket and then moved on without explaining to Mara what had made her stop. How could she expect Mara to understand?

She stepped into the apartment that had been her home not so long ago. The furniture had been thrown about, and the windows smashed to bits. She smelled the damp, cold smell of a long-dead fire mixed with rain, but forced herself not to think of home and family. in all probability the League thugs were already searching for them. There was no time.
She went straight to the kitchen and knelt down by the main cooking unit. There was a storage cabinet under its heating compartment. She opened it up and pulled the pots and pans out as quietly as she could, though every unavoidable clatter and rattle seemed deafeningly loud. She reached into the rear of the compartment and found what she was looking for. Two cloth-wrapped packages. She pulled them out.

One package was covered with the finest black velvet and tied with a silver ribbon. That one she opened first.  Her lightsaber, a gift from her brother Luke. He had given it to her just before she had set off on this trip.

She rolled the velvet up and shoved it in a pocket, suddenly unwilling to leave anything more behind. She clipped the lightsaber to her belt. The other object was wrapped in much plainer cloth, a scrap from one of Han's old shirts.

She hesitated before opening it. But there was no point in not going the whole way at this point. If Mara had wanted to kill her, all she would have needed to do was cut the rope when leia was dangling out over nothing at all. She unwrapped the scrap of cloth. Han's spare blaster was inside.

"Take it," Leia whispered.

Mara looked at Leia, her expression unreadable in the dim light from the shattered windows, she made no move to take the weapon. "Are you sure you want me at your back with this thing?" she whispered back.

"No more than you want me at your back with my lightsaber. But we can get back to not trusting each other later. Right now isn't the time. Take it."

Mara took the weapon - but Leia hung on to the scrap of cloth and stuffed it in the same pocket with the velvet and Anakin's toy. Her husband was gone, too.  That little bit of torn shirt might be the last she would have of him. But there was no time.
I liked Leia hanging onto to the toy and then the scrap of fabric from Han's shirt.  Still, kinda feel like I'm grasping at straws just a little bit.  But it was nice to read that passage.

Leia and Mara work together to escape.  Leia uses her lightsaber to light the way and I wonder how she ended up with a red blade?  Isn't that color relegated to the Dark Side?  Anyway, that also got me wondering what happened to the fabulous Mara Jade?  I mean, I seem to remember reading about her doing some pretty fantastic things with the Force and lightsabers in previous books, right?  She seemed oddly normal here.  I guess there might've been something about her losing some of her abilities when she broke from the Emperor or whatever?  Am I remembering that right?  Oh well.  Maybe Mara's abilities come and go like Leia's do?

Shortly following the above passage, there was a part where Mara had to kill one of their pursuers and the two women had this conversation:

"He dropped the handlight and broke it," Mara said, clearly irritated with the dead man, as if he had broken the light on purpose.  "We could have used that. The fool didn't even have a blaster."

"That's all you've got to say?"

"That's all there's time for, if we want to live through this," Mara said. "If it helps, I was going to try and knock him out, not shoot him, until he claimed to have a gun."

"It doesn't help much," Leia said, staring at the dead man. He was their enemy. If he had managed to raise the alarm, or caught them himself, or if he had had a blaster, things would look very bad. But telling herself those things didn't make him any less dead. And there was no time. "We have to move," she said, coming out of it. "If there was one of them sleeping here, there might be more. And someone might have heard or this one might have called it in before he came out for a look." 

I don't know why, but I liked that little exchange between Mara and Leia.  The way it portrayed how different they are and would be.  I like reading the two of them together and find it easy to believe that they would become friends later.

There was a small, somewhat related part that happened shortly after that exchange with Leia and Mara that I liked as well.  I'll share it since I have so little to share anyway:

Leia shoved a little harder with her foot, then with her hip, forcing the opening wider.

Lightsaber at guard, she stepped onto the landing and forced herself to repress the impulse to jump back when she saw what had blocked the doorway.

It was a body, the dead body of a young man, wearing the uniform of the Governor-General's tech staff. The corpse was lying on its back, and had a neat hole between its open eyes. The shifting red shadows cast by the lightblade made the dead man seem a strange and alien thing. Leia recognized him, though she did not know his name.  He had been the one who told her about the interdiction field, just after Han had vanished.

How long ago was that? Just a few days? Half a lifetime? He had seemed a nice young man. Now here he was, shot dead and left to rot in a stairwell for some trivial and unknown offense. The Human League made itself awfully easy to hate.

I like this side of Leia.  The one that remembers each and everyone of the dozens of people that work with her day after day and values their lives and happiness.  I don't know, I just thought that passage was very Leia.

The rest of the girls' escape was pretty hairy and fairly fun to read through.  In the end, they board Mara's ship, The Jade's Fire, and hi-tail it outta Corellia.

Back to Luke and Lando and that Bakuran fleet.  Apparently the Bakurans have developed some technology that would allow them, for a brief amount of time, to travel through hyperspace even in the interdiction field.  The tech is costly and not easily equipped, so it is only with a four ship fleet that the group leaves Bakura and heads to the Corellian system. 

Meanwhile we have pages and pages and pages of Han crawling through tunnels following Dracmus around.  I mean, pages and pages of this and Han is of course, battering his body to a pulp in the process as faster moving Selonians actually crawl over him and such.  Poor Han, I sure hope he has Aflac or some Star Wars equivalent.  Anyway, they finally arrive at their destination, where Han and Dracmus get into a small cone-shaped ship with another Selonian pilot and fly off towards Selonia.  The ship, which wasn't built very well, ends up floating dead in space as Han does his best to repair it without much hope.  Although there is mention of Han taking a quick sponge bath during this down time.  So there is that....

Back on Drall, Ebrihim tells his Aunt Marcha of the starbuster plot and they find out that the kids already knew about it.  Aunt Marcha is very interested in the story and especially about the mysterious room/thing that the kids had found at the archeological dig on Corellia.  There is similar digging there on Drall and of course they all head there to check it out.  Anakin does his magic and gets the thing to come alive as it had done on Corellia and Aunt Marcha immediately knows that it is a planetary repulsor, stating that each planet in the Corellian system has one and it was how the system was formed.  How she knows this when it seems no one else does is not really explained.  

Once in space, Mara and Leia are unable to agree where to go from there.  Mara wants to go back to Corellia because it seems to be the center of the action.  Leia wants to go to Drall since that is where she suspects Chewbacca would've taken her kids.  In the end the women agree to go to a neutral point and head for Selonia, which just so happens to be where Han is headed and where the Bakuran fleet is due to show up, oh and where Tendra Risant is floating through space sending messages for Lando to intercept.

The second to last chapter is aptly named: All Together Now, as all of these players do, in fact, come together over Selonia. 

First, the Bakurans arrive approaching Selonia where one of their ships is damaged during the hyperspace run through the interdiction field.  Analyzing a very badly organized attack by the Corellians, Selonians and Drall (groups that are supposedly fighting each other, yet coming together to fight against the arriving Bakurans - another mystery that may eventually mean something...) the Bakuran Admiral decides to sacrifice the damaged ship and play into the hands of the defending Corellian fighters.  As the damaged ship approaches the point in space that the Corellians were obviously baiting it towards, the ship is inexplicably 'smashed' to bits by an unseen fist.  The Bakuran crew identifies the 'fist' as a planetary repulsor, a new, deadly weapon apparently in the hands of the Corellians.  Duhn, duhn, duhn....

Lando finally intercepts the message from Tendra and replies, telling her he has arrived but is going bravely off to battle.  Tendra gets his reply and worries that she has probably lost Lando even before she had the opportunity to truly fall in love with him.  Even Lando gets some sappy love time...

Luke and Leia feel each other in the Force and then both feel another similar being in the same system.  Han!  Leia has Mara guide her ship towards the derelict cone ship and Han and Leia are reunited.  This is the second and last tabby that I marked on this book:

"That's the Jade's Fire that just latched herself to our hull," Han said. "Mara Jade's ship. Your swell friend has just tracked me - or you - or us, halfway across the Corellian system. And I can tell you right now, I am not giving her any more benefit of the doubt. She had better do a damned good job of convincing me she's on our side or-" The inner airlock door slid open, and Han stopped talking. He just stood there, open mouthed and in shock, for a full five seconds. And then, somehow, suddenly, they were in each others' arms, seemingly without either of them crossing the distance between them. "Leia," he said.  "Leia, how did you-"

Leia Organa Solo wrapped her arms around Han and hugged her husband. "Hello, Han," she said. "I missed you."

Not very lengthy as far as reunions go, but at least they are back together and they are in each others' arms!

Mara, Han, Dracmus and Leia all compare notes and find out that each planet may have one of the repulsor weapons and that someone has found at least one and is controlling it apparently from Centerpoint Station.  A space station that sits in the middle of the double worlds, Tallus and Tralus. 

The last chapter, we meet up with Wedge and the Rogues as they scramble to evacuate the next star that is due to mysteriously explode according to Sal-Solo and the message that Leia received.  They are having a hard time of convincing everyone to leave and have to eventually call the rescue squads off as the star does begin to heat up and finally explode.  Wedge mourns the people that refused to leave and worries about the next star on the list that has millions of more people to evacuate than this star did.

All-in-all this book was pretty dull, uneventful and boring, in my opinion.  Not a lot happens and it really just seems like a bad bridge between the first and last book.  Like, could this have been a duology instead of trilogy?  It feels intentionally drawn out.  I had a hard time with the score here.  At first I wanted to score it pretty low because this is supposed to be a "Han and Leia factor" rating and the Han and Leia factor would be pretty low.  One reminiscing scene and one reunion does not a good Han and Leia book make.  BUT, it wasn't a BAD book per se, like no one tried to marry someone else or act really out of character or anything, so I eventually landed on a 2.5 star rating.  I don't remember much about the last book, but after reading it, I wonder if I'll find that you could skip this book entirely and still get the gist of the trilogy's plot?  Stay tuned and we'll see....

Valentine's Challenge: The Sequel. Submission #3

Are we overwhelming you with posts yet? Tough luck, because they're going to keep coming. This is some mush coming from yours truly. And it is definitely mushy, but I will also tell you that everyone is naked the entire time.  Enjoy!

Leia Solo sat back with her eyes closed and wondered for at least the thousandth time since she’d been with her husband, Han, if she had died and gone to heaven. 

The couple had been busy dealing with a very rambunctious yet adorable set of twins who seemed to be exploiting the fact that they could cause so much trouble now that they were able to run around on their own.  It continued to amaze Han and Leia how much their babies could get into when left out of sight for less than a minute. 

To make matters even more interesting, she was currently five months pregnant with their third child.  They had made sure to have the doctors check several times to make sure there was only one in there, and were greatly relieved to have that fact confirmed.  It had made this pregnancy a bit easier so far, and certainly made the end result seem a little less daunting. 

However, Leia had still been working fairly hard.  She’d cut back so she could have plenty of time with her family, but combining chasing twins with being pregnant, and just about any amount of outside work would prove to be exhausting. 

Han had awakened her one morning and told her he had a bag packed for her.  They were going to get away for a couple of days.  After some half-hearted resistance, she decided that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.  He had made sure that any meetings or work could be put off, he had arranged for Luke and Chewie to watch the twins, and he had booked a brief visit to a gorgeous, secluded inn not too far from Coruscant. 

Leia had always felt like she was left in charge of almost everything in everyday life.  People were always looking to her for answers.  It was why it was such a comfort that when she was with her husband she could trust him to take the reins so often.  She had even once told Han, “You can be my captain anytime.”  It made her feel secure when he took charge of things. 

Especially when he brought her to places like where she was now.  She was immersed in a vast, deep and warm whirlpool tub, leaning back against the solid form of her husband’s body; his legs outside of hers, his arms wrapped around her while his hands wandered over the front of her skin, alternating between soothing rubbing of her protruding, pregnant belly and caresses to other parts of her body that served to heighten her desires. 

She really had no idea how much she needed this break until she felt the tension release from her muscles after Han filled the tub and told her they were getting in.  She did miss her babies, but this wasn’t such a bad way to pass the time.  Not to mention the fact that Han seemed even more enamored with her body when she was carrying his child. 

Her head was resting back against his hard shoulder, and she reached down and took his arms and gently hugged them to her.  “This was a good idea, Han.”

She felt his lips on her neck before he responded.  “I thought you might like it.” 

“You always take such good care of me.”

“Well, no wife of mine who is carrying my child is going to work herself into exhaustion.  Besides,” he said before his hands started wandering lower, “you’re so adorable when you’re pregnant.  I needed an excuse to keep you naked for a few days.”

She let out a little moan and started moving her hips in sync with his touch.  She had never been able to figure out how it was possible, but something about being pregnant made her ache for him in ways that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to endure beyond the months she was carrying the baby.  It was overwhelmingly distracting at times.  And Han loved every second of it. 

Leia felt their son start moving in her womb, suddenly distracted.  “Han, did you feel that?  He’s kicking.”

Han’s hands didn’t cease their roaming and he started nuzzling her neck.  “Tell him to settle down.  Mommy and Daddy are busy.” 

Leia waited a moment, felt his stirring cease, and then turned her head to face Han.  “I think he listened,” she said with a smile.

Han nodded.  “Good,” he replied before moving in to kiss her hungrily and she felt him stiffen against her back. 

They’d stayed in the tub for entirely too long having entirely too much fun.  When they couldn’t handle the heat of the water anymore, Han had carried Leia to the bed where they enjoyed themselves for the majority of the rest of the evening. 

Finally, when they had exhausted themselves completely, Han collapsed on his back and Leia snuggled up against his side, both of them breathing heavily and coming down from the intense high.  When she felt her strength return, she lifted her head to look down at Han’s very satisfied face.  “I’d say that was worth the trip,” she said before leaning down to kiss along his jawline.

“Without a doubt, sweetheart.  It’s been a while since you had the chance to make that much noise.”

She felt the heat rise to her face and wondered if there would ever be a time in her life where he wouldn’t be able to do that to her.  Probably not. 

She looked away for a moment and then felt his hand tilt her chin back to look at him.  “Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about, sweetheart.  You know how I love to hear just how much you’re enjoying yourself.” 

“And what about you?  Did you enjoy yourself?” 

“You’re kidding, right?”

She nodded and bent down to kiss him again, but she pulled away when she felt the baby kicking.  “There he goes again.”

Han moved her off him just enough so he could slide his hand along her belly and feel for himself.  She could actually feel the love radiating from his presence as he moved down to kiss her stomach gently.  “I can’t wait to meet this baby boy,” Han said between kisses. 

Leia laughed.  “Well, I can.  The two we already have are enough of a handful.” 

“You know you love ‘em.”

“I know.  They are some adorable little kids.  It’s not so bad having your babies, Han.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because I love having those kids with you.”

She wasn’t sure if it was the hormones or what, but she was feeling especially sentimental at the moment.  While Han had always looked at her with nothing but love in his eyes, there was something about having their child inside her that seemed to connect them even more than usual.  She thought momentarily about what her life could’ve been right now, focused entirely on work and not having this wonderful man by her side. 

She pulled his chin so that he was facing her in the darkness, his eyes almost shining back at her as they reflected the moonlight coming through the window.  “Thank you for being everything I never even knew I needed.”

Being a man of few words, he simply smiled and then moved up to kiss her deeply and then brought his lips to her ear to simply say, “I love you.”

She said the words back to him and he moved on top of her, bringing his lips back to hers.  She knew where this was going and stopped momentarily.  “Wasn’t part of the reason for this trip to get some extra sleep?”

“We can sleep later,” he said as he moved his mouth down to her breasts and she realized that didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Valentine's Challenge: The Sequel. Submission #2

Thanks for Amy Lee/Blamey77 for this mushy story submission.  I hope that she doesn't mind that I added a picture to go along with it.  :-)

****

Inspiration: Florence and the Machine song: 'Never let me go.' This scene follows directly after Leia asks Han to hold her in Return of the Jedi after her conversation with Luke.

"Never let me go," sighed Leia. She was trembling. Han tightened his embrace, wondering what had upset her so much. The odd sounds of C3P0 talking to the ewoks drifted out of the hut.

He pulled back slightly, and brushed a few strands out of her face. Leia just turned away, eyes looking anywhere but at him. Han felt hopeless. Was this just a reaction to Luke leaving? Han was worried about the kid too but he knew that Luke's stubbornness rivalled Leia's. There was no talking him out of anything.

Han remembered the Princess' ashen face as she watched Luke float in the bacta tank on Hoth. He hated himself for feeling like this. Han swallowed his jealousy, reminding himself that it was not what she needed from him. However, the question hovered in his mind, 'Does she need me?'

Something was obviously troubling her. Leia was avoiding his gaze but had not let go of him.

Not for the first time since being freed from carbonite, Han wished that they were back on the Falcon on its way to Bespin. That trip had been the first step towards them becoming what he wanted them to be.
She had retreated after their kiss but just as the Falcon inched closer to Bespin so had she come slowly back to him. He remembered her grateful smile as he had handed her a cup of kaffe. Her hand on his shoulder in the cockpit. The sound of her rummaging through tools as she helped him with repairs. Her laugh as he twirled her around after her first sabaac win. Her arms sneaking around his waist as he gathered the cards. Her whisper in his ear, "I know you let me win." The expression on her face as she pulled him away from the cards…

Han wrapped himself in these memories as ran his fingers through Leia's hair. The next day would not be easy and it would be dangerous for all of them. He decided to enjoy the moment. Nocturnal animals just waking up were rustling around in the trees surrounding them. C3P0 had yet to interrupt them once.

And the woman he loved was in his arms.

She was resting her head against his chest and trailing her finger over the lines on his palm. Her fingers so cold and so sweet. Han brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it softly.

Leia raised her head and looked at him.

Joint Story: The Sequel. Chapter 13

The tension weighed heavily as Han and Leia made it back to the Falcon, neither speaking the entire time.  They both seemed to be trying to blame the silence on being tired from the day, but nobody was being fooled.  Leia hoped that their arrival back on the ship would help with the distraction of a Wookiee, but instead, he only served to remind them of what they had just experienced.

[Did you fight enough to be let off the hook early?] Chewie asked as soon as he saw them enter the lounge.

“Nah,” Han shrugged off.  “Turns out there was a couple there that was a lot more violent than we are.  Say what you will about us, but we never started taking swings at one another.”

Thank the gods for that, Leia thought.  Han continued relaying the story while Leia made her way back to the cabin to lie down for a bit.  Why did Han have to make things so difficult?  It should’ve been easy for them to go through this counseling and prove to these people that they did not belong together.  How was it that they could spend so much time fighting except when it mattered? 

She shut her eyes, trying not to think about the implications of what Han had probably written during the counseling session.  Why couldn't he just hate her?  After spending some time with an arm thrown across her face, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed or whether or not she’d fallen asleep when she later heard Chewie call her to dinner. 

The meal had been quiet and uncomfortable, and Leia decided to go to bed early rather than risk conversation, because who knew what might come out?  After sleeping soundly and dreaming of nothing, the awkwardness continued into the next morning when they made their way back to counseling. 

On the second day, each couple was called in privately while the others stayed and discussed family histories.  The day had been fairly uneventful until it was Han and Leia’s turn to get called in. 

They sat across from the counselor, her eyes soft and kind and yet somehow distant.  Leia wondered if the woman truly cared about getting these couples back together or if she simply did it because it was her job.  And as Leia sat she realized that she and Han hadn’t made eye contact yet that day. 

“Now,” Ava began, her voice as calm and cool as ever, “I bring the couples in here individually for this part, at least initially, because we are going to talk about intimacy.”

Leia felt her stomach churn.  How, exactly, were they going to tackle this?  And how had she not already thought that it would come up?  Sex was, after all, a rather large part of marriage.  Or at least she thought it was.  How would she know?  She sensed Han shifting uncomfortably in the seat beside her.  This could get interesting. 

The counselor continued.  “Being intimate is very important for a husband and wife.  Usually if the couple is not being intimate, it is a symptom of other issues in the marriage, especially when you’re talking about newlyweds, who usually spend the most time in the bedroom.  So, how have things been in that regard?”

At least it was an open ended question.  Or, maybe that would make things worse…

“She’s not really into it,” Han said before Leia even had a chance to contemplate a response.  She wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to say, but somehow she knew she wasn’t expecting that.  Yet somehow she didn’t like how it made her sound like the villain in this scenario. 

“How do you feel about that?” Ava said, turning to Leia.

How was she supposed to answer?  The point of this was to argue a lot, but to argue would be to deny that what he had said was true.  And then what, was she supposed to say that she enjoyed having sex with him?  Gods, why did they have to get themselves into this ridiculous situation?

“I…” Leia started, only partially making eye contact with the counselor, “I’d say that’s accurate, yes.”  Sure, not into it at all.  There's no way she'd ever be into that with him.

“Any reason you think that might be?  Have you suffered any sexual traumas in your past?”

Did complete lack of sex count as trauma?  Probably not.  She shook her head.  “No.  He just… doesn’t really do anything for me.”

She felt the heat rising in her face, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Han sit up a bit straighter.  Even if she was simply making this up as she went along she knew Han wasn’t going to like that answer.  “Don’t do anything for you?  Maybe if you loosened up a little you’d enjoy it a little more.  I never had any complaints before you, sweetheart” he said defensively.

“Now, Mr. Solo,” Ava began.  “Let’s keep calm.  This needs to be a safe environment for both of you to share your feelings.”  She turned back to Leia.  “Mrs. Solo, has this always been a problem or have you found yourself able to open up sexually in the past?”

Oh, gods.  This was like some sort of nightmare.  Why did she have to spell out her private matters in front of Han of all people?  “I… there wasn’t anyone else in my past.”  Why didn’t she just lie?  Why didn’t she invent a well endowed, star athlete ex boyfriend with a body of transparisteel who would passionately make love to her night after night and had left her in a near constant orgasmic haze but then he died in a tragic accident and no man would ever live up to him?  Too late for that one. 

“I see,” Ava replied.  “Now, typically a woman especially forms a very strong bond with the man she has her first sexual experience with.  But this can be difficult if you have any reservations or don’t feel that you can truly trust your partner with your sexuality.”

She suddenly felt like she was sweating.  This was ridiculous.  They were simply role playing in this scenario.  Time to try something different.  “Well, I try to trust him.  And I've been open to trying, but he doesn’t satisfy me.  I have no need for two minutes of lovemaking now and then.”

She could almost hear Han’s teeth grinding next to her.  What did he expect?  The whole point of this was to get out of the marriage.  It seemed that it would be more difficult to prove they didn't belong together if they were having passionate sex on a regular basis.  Gods, suddenly she had an image of a very naked and sweaty Han on top of her, doing things to her she could only pretend to know how they felt.  Stop it.  Stop it!  What were we talking about?

Somehow still remaining completely indifferent to the situation, Ava spoke up again.  “Now, is this something you have communicated to him or did you simply respond by holding back on intimacy.”

Leia sort of shrugged and Han sat up and spoke.  “She doesn’t like to talk about this kind of stuff.  Maybe if she told me what she wanted she’d get to see what she’s missing out on.”

“So, then how do you feel about that?” the counselor asked Han.  Leia was getting tired of all of these questions about feelings.

“How do I feel?  Look, I’d love to get her to open up sexually, but she’s so damn uptight.”

“Does she arouse you sexually?” 

This had to be the most surreal experience Leia had ever been in the middle of.  Han remained on task.  “She used to,” he began.  “But then it started to feel like sex with a blow-up doll would be more responsive.”

“Well, you would know,” Leia retorted, unsure if she was truly angry with his responses or if she was simply playing the part of the disgruntled wife.  She briefly contemplated making some sort of disparaging remarks about the size of his manhood but she feared what sort of retaliatory tactics she might endure.

“Now what about you?” the counselor said to Leia.

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, does your husband arouse you sexually?  Do you find yourself physically attracted to him?”

No!  Gods, no.  He’s repulsive.  I feel nothing for him.  I can’t even look at his ugly face with his crooked nose…  She turned to look at him, his eyes on her expectantly.  It was as though she’d forgotten how handsome he was.  She spent so much time focusing on the unpleasant words coming out of his mouth that she was far more capable of not being distracted by his looks.  Truth be told, she was becoming more and more attracted to him every day.  When she’d awakened in that bed with him, it was because her inhibitions had been lowered.  The drugs did not manufacture feelings.  Somewhere deep down, she did want him.  He made her feel things she didn’t know she was capable of feeling.  But the point of this exercise was to break up a ‘marriage’ not to regain their lost lust for one another. 

“I guess I was at one point.  I wouldn’t have married him otherwise, right?  We just don’t seem to have any chemistry in the bedroom.”  There, she always heard people saying things about chemistry.  That seemed vague enough.  Even if truthfully she’d known for a long time that she and Han had great chemistry, even if it wasn’t quite sexual.  What was it, then? 

“Well,” Han interjected, “maybe if you gave me a little more of a chance you would see just what kind of chemistry we might have.”

Turning to look at him, she saw his hazel eyes looking at her quite seriously.  Once again she was unsure whether or not he was playing his part or being serious. 

“Is that something you desire, Mr. Solo?”

Han turned to look at Ava and nodded.  “Yeah.” 

Leia wasn’t sure quite how they had completely lost sight of what they were supposed to do while going through this counseling.  Why couldn't Han have just told her that he found her repulsive and let that be the end of it?

“How often are you intimate?”

The question was directed at both of them, but Han spoke up immediately.  “Almost never.”

“All right, then.  I’m going to make a suggestion to the two of you.   I realize this can be difficult when you're not feeling connected, but I would like you to consider an evening of intimacy.  Do whatever you usually do to set the mood, be open and honest and trusting with each other.  The key here is communication.  These encounters are supposed to be pleasant for both of you, and bring you closer together.  I know this may be difficult given your recent history, but I do hope you’ll consider it and let me know how it went when you do.  If there’s nothing else for now, I think we’re done here and you can send in the next couple.”

Leia felt the air escape her lungs.  That was perhaps the most uncomfortable conversation she’d ever been involved in.  Gods, this entire experience was supposed to be a piece of cake.  Go in, fight like they normally did and prove that they could not be married.  Why was she allowing herself to think so damn much?  Especially when it involved thinking about having sex with Han.

They exited the room in silence, and Leia partly suspected that Han might start goading her with how soon they would get to completing the counselor’s ‘assignment’ but he felt more distant than ever. 

No, this wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as she thought.

Valentine's Challenge: The Sequel. Submission #1

Our first story has been submitted by jzhanfan and is based on the above, awesome piece of artwork.  Enjoy!

A year ago, Han Solo had spent one of the longest hours of his life scraping the inside of his helmet visor to remove the frozen debris left behind by an errant sneeze. At the time, he’d declared that any of the fabled Nine Hells of Corellia would be preferable to Hoth for spending eternity.

Bespin (where the term “freezing chamber” had turned out to be a serious misnomer in Han’s opinion) and Tatooine (which had never been one of his favorite destinations, even before Jabba had put a price on his head) had caused him to reconsider that opinion. In fact, Han was feeling downright nostalgic about Hoth at the moment.

He was fairly sure his vision was getting better, but it was difficult to know for sure at the moment. Even the sturdy goggles they all wore didn’t allow them to see much further than the back of the person ahead of them. He was grateful for the goggles, though, as well as the heavy robes that Luke had produced at Kenobi’s old hut, because the swirling sandstorm lashed them with so much gritty debris Han didn’t think he’d ever get the taste out of his mouth.

The relative silence inside the cave was startling after so long in the howling wind, and he flipped his goggles up to drink in the first clear sight he’d had since awakening: the Falcon’s distinctive profile. Han Solo had lived on dozens of planets since he’d left the Academy, but walking into the ship, he found himself overcome with an unfamiliar emotion.

He was home.

He sank gratefully into the seat at the engineering station in the Falcon’s central lounge area, shedding the grit-encased cloak and hood with relief.

The Princess, who had followed Luke to his X-Wing to bid him farewell, entered the lounge behind him, speaking into her comlink as she shook sand from her own hood and pushed her goggles out of the way. “Chewie, I’m on board, where’s Lando?”

“I’m here, Princess,” came Lando’s voice in reply. “Chewie’s already started the warm-up sequence, we’ll be good to lift off in a few minutes. How’s Han?”

“I’m fine,” Solo grunted, tugging off one of his tall boots, “and you better not be up there getting sand all over my cockpit,” he finished, turning the boot over and shaking out a steady stream of sand and grit.

“We’ll be up in a few, Lando. Lounge out,” Leia laughed, bending to set the comm down on the bench as she looked over her shoulder at Han. “You need some help with those boots?”

She straightened up, casually dropping the heavy cloak from her shoulders, and the footwear in question dropped to the deck with a thump, forgotten, as Han gazed, wonderingly, at the vision before him.

He swallowed several times, unable to form a coherent response. A corner of her mouth turned up and he realized he must look like a fool, staring at her with his mouth hanging open.

But really, what was there to say? Leia Organa was standing a meter away from him, dressed in an outfit he’d seen countless times on Jabba’s dancing girls in the old days, back when he and Chewie had been on the Hutt’s payroll and enjoyed favored guest status.

Jabba had always preferred humanoids, T’welks usually, and he liked to see as much of them as possible. Leia’s high, round breasts were covered, just barely, by a bra top that consisted mostly of two curved metal plates with a decorative clasp nestled in the hollow between them. Another pair of plates circled her hips, forming a crude girdle, to which was attached trailing lengths of gossamer fabric between her legs. Her flat abdomen was completely bare, as was most of her back. He had gotten a fuzzy glimpse of the outfit on the skiff before they’d all donned their cloaks, but his vision was clearly improving.

The view was improving as well.

He’d seen her once, in a dress with thin straps and a tightly fitted bodice, at a formal event, and the idea of what she might have been wearing underneath it had been fodder for his fantasies for months afterward. But this… this was real.

“Wow,” he managed at last, and the smile that crossed her face was bright enough to rival the twin suns outside. She seemed not the slightest bit self-conscious and simply met his gaze. He held out his hand, and she took two steps toward him, standing so close that he could no longer resist the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her tightly against him.

Her outfit was not designed for close quarters. The decorative designs on the metal cups of her top immediately poked into his aching ribs and he took the opportunity to make some minor adjustments. She lifted her face to his in invitation and he didn't have to be asked twice.

The passion and longing in her kiss caught him off guard, and he broke off abruptly, his dry throat gasping for air. This wasn't the inexperienced and reluctant woman he'd kissed so often on the long trip to Bespin. This woman was as hungry for him as he was for her, and while he was more than pleased with this development, a nagging whisper at the back of his head wondered just what else had changed while he'd been frozen.

He didn't have much time to wonder, though, because she came up on tiptoe to kiss him again, and this time he didn't hesitate to give her what she so clearly wanted. Drawing her gently onto his lap, he reached beneath the trailing silk at her waist and found bare skin, soft and rounded beneath his hands. She nestled her head against his shoulder and sighed happily. His fingers were searching for the fastening that held her top together when all at once he registered the circumstances under which she must have acquired the outfit.

A cold prickle went down his spine. “Leia,” he said, finding his voice again in his sudden worry for her, “not that you don’t look incredible in this outfit or anything, but you’re wearing this because you were dancing, at Jabba’s, weren’t you?” She nodded, and he saw she was biting her lip and the worry spilled over into anger and indignation on her behalf. “Did he hurt you?” he asked, more harshly than he’d intended. Was he angry at her, at Luke and Lando – for letting her take such a risk - or at himself for not even thinking of what must be happening to her the last few days while he’d been in a cell with Chewie? He’d been too sick and miserable to think of anything but himself, and the guilt crept over him slowly as he realized just how much his friends had invested in his rescue, and how ungrateful he must seem. “What happened, Leia, after you freed me from the carbonite?”

“Nothing I couldn’t deal with,” she replied, lightly.

“But, Jabba…” Han knew exactly what Jabba and his cronies wanted with dancing girls.

She shook her head, gently. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not now.” She rested a hand against his cheek, her thumb stroking the rough stubble that was caked with a layer of sand. “You’re here. That’s all that matters to me.” Her arms circled his chest and he found himself rocking from side to side, cradling her against him. He didn’t want to let go.

And for the first time, it occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t going to have to.

“I missed you,” she whispered, “and the Falcon did too. It’s so good to have you here with us again. Where you belong.”

Where he belonged. That strange feeling came over him again. Home, he thought. This is what it feels like to be home.

"I love you," he said, without preamble, in a voice gruff with sudden emotion.

"I know," she replied, simply, leaning in the rest her forehead against his. "I know."

Challenges, Challenges Everywhere!

In the comments of another post, Zolo77 issued a challenge.  Just to make sure that all of our expansive list of readers didn't miss it, I wanted to repost the challenge here.  I also thought I'd throw in another challenge, albeit a little bit of a different one, just so we could have lots of ideas to choose from.

Okay?

So, Zolo77's Challenge went like this:

1. Must be centralized around Han and Leia (duh)
2. Include a confession from either.
3. Timeline: from post Truce at Bakura to beginning of Courtship of Leia.

My new challenge was maybe not a story, but it could be depending on what inspires you.  My challenge is to write up what the New Year's Resolutions of your favorite characters would be.  It kinda goes with the poll that just closed.  Just to recap, topping our polls were:  Han Solo in 1st place, Darth Vader in 2nd place and Leia and Lando tied for third.  This could just be a list or, as I said, perhaps a short story.  Just wondering what some of those ideas were that went along with those votes.

Lastly, don't forget that we have the call out for Valentine's Day mushy stories.  So, THREE challenges in all.  Surely one of those should inspire you.  Am I right?

Good Luck and Happy Writing.  And remember, it goes like this:  We set the challenge, you write something down and send it to us and then we publish...  Easy, cheesy, lemon squeezy.  :-)

~Push

P.S.  We haven't done this in awhile, but remember how we used to assign quotes to some of the pictures we posted?  Well, when I was picking this one out (at top) I thought of this quote:

Han:  "See, Leia?  They're out there, writing stories about us and talking about us."

Joint Story: The Sequel (Chapter 12)

I'm not even going to tell you guys how hard it was to go back to this and figure out where to go.  I will apologize for how long it took, because I definitely don't feel like what finally came out was worth the wait.  But Zyra's harping on me and telling me that something is better than nothing.  So here goes.  I'm putting a picture up here, well, because I like the pictures... 

Chapter 12

Han Solo stared at the blank piece of flimsiplast.  Never before had something so innocuous felt so entirely intimidating to him.  He and Leia had reported to their first day of 'couple's counseling'.  After being quickly introduced to several other couples, the pairs were told to write down one positive thing that would come out of them saving their marriages and staying together.  There had been arguments and some scuffles, but in the end, all finally acquiesced and were now silently saddled with the task.

Han looked around the room, finding comfort in starind at anything but the blank piece of flimsi.  His palms were sweating and he had to constantly fidget in his chair.  Each glance at Leia only made him more nervous, she had quickly wrote something down and was now staring at him curiously with that mixture of impatience and curiosity that she mastered so well.  Before their arrival this morning, he had been sure that he was prepared for anything this experience might bring.  Of course, he had envisioned this.  Now thinking on it, he couldn't even recall what he had envisioned.  He glanced at Leia once again.  Kreff!   

He had, of course, thought of several flippant answers that he could write down that would probably gain him a good laugh from around the room.  But that look from Leia discouraged him from exploring that path.  Curiously, he hadn't found it that hard to come up with some endearing examples as well, but then he quickly dismissed those not enjoying the idea of somehow being vulnerable to Leia's scrutiny.  Vulnerable.  That was it.  That was the feeling that had curled up in his innards and made itself at home.  Han was an expert at dealing with lying, cheating and most anything that could be settled with a blaster bolt.  But this was unchartered territory.  How could he keep his dignity while not encurring the wrath that was the petite Princess seated next to him? 

What he needed was a mixture of the mildly flippant and yet cautiously endearing, something that wouldn't anger her but at the same time wouldn't wound his pride.  He had thought that in the past he had been walking a razer thin line with her.  As a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, he realized that all of that paled in comparison to this new experience.

"Alright, times up," the Counselor, who had introduced herself as Ava Klounic, announced as she began to walk around the room and gather up the flimsis.

Han panicked, the only thing that was more distracting than his own beating heart was the feel of Leia's stare boring into him.  Quickly he scribbled something down that he hoped no one would be able to decipher and then handed it over to the passing counselor.  Breath, sweet breath finally returned to his lungs and he collapsed back into his chair as if he had just finished wrestling a Rancor. 

"Are you alright?"  Leia whispered out the side of her mouth.

Han kept his eyes straight ahead, too exhausted to meet her eyes.  "Just perfect," he grumbled.  "You?"

Before she could answer, the Counselor began, "I will now read the submissions out loud.  Everyone may feel free to claim the answers as their own or as something they think their spouse would say.  I will not force any one of you to own up to your entry.  This is meant to be a thought-provoking exercise and I ask that everyone remain civil."

"I just want this to be over," Leia whispered back. If she had noticed Han's tone, she hadn't felt the need to comment on it.

"Princess, for once, you won't get any arguments from me," he whispered back, his mood lifting slightly.

The Counselor eyed the crowd with a look of warning, Leia and Han hadn't been the only ones whispering to each other, when she seemed satisfied she uncrumpled the first piece of flimsi and said, "Let's begin."  Ava paused for a moment as she seemed to absorb what she was about to read.  She took a moment to survey the audience and then, as if gathering up her wits, she squared her shoulders and read, "If my spouse and I were to stay together I would have more oppotunities to try and kill them.  Or to, at the very least, hire professsional help."

A wave of laughter rippled through the room as everyone glanced around at one another, searching for the guilty party.  A few couples began bickering and elbowing one another.  While a Twi'lek couple, who had been especially vocal, actually came to serious blows.  Han hadn't paid much attention during introductions, but by the time he, the Counselor and a few other males, had pried this couple apart, he had memorized their names:  Jaxxy and Ferran Mourasend.  Jaxxy, a former dancer and Ferran, a small business owner, now sat on opposite sides of the room.

Han returned to his seat and as he did so, mumbled in Leia's ear, "And I thought we would be at the head of the class.  That might not be so easy with this crowd." 
 
Leia nodded her head at Han in resigned agreement.  He was right.  Some of these people genuinely hated each other and for all their disagreements and differences, she and Han didn't hate each other.  For the first time she worried that this was going to be harder than she had anticipated or envisioned.  And she had never thought it was going to be easy.

The Counselor raised her hands, and then her voice, in order to gain back control of the room.  When everyone had settled down, she said, "Wanting to kill your spouse suggests that you do not wish them to live without you.  In my experience, this submission could easily be translated to:  I cannot bear the thought of you living without me by your side.  Or, I'd rather see you dead then with someone else besides me."  The last of the fighting and snickering quelled and everyone fidgeted nervously.  "Anyone care to own up to this or take a guess at who may have written it?"  The counselor pressed.

The room remained silent.  Han and Leia exchanged a pointed stare.  Leia knew that it was not hers and she highly suspected that is was not Han's either.  But she couldn't be entirely certain.  Afterall, they were trying to convince everyone that they hated each other.     

After several more failed attempts, the Counselor moved on without anyone ever claiming that first comment.  The next entry did not get any better as the Counselor read it to the class, "I would at least know for certain that my life could not get any worse."

Once again the room erupted with a mixture of laughter and noxious insults.  This time the Counselor got everyone back in line before any swings were taken.  She once again pressed for someone to claim the comment.  Leia noticed that she hadn't tried to put a positive spin on this particular statement.  For the first time, the young woman appeared exasperated.  Leia had to give her credit for lasting that long.  "I'm hesitant to move on while two statements remain unclaimed.  Does not anyone in this room have the courage to claim their own words?"

Leia watched as the ripple effect from that statement traveled across the room.  In addition to the proud Corellian that sat next to her, there were some very diverse species present in the room - and one was more arrogant than the next.  Finally, a very scary-looking Devronian laid claim to the words.  In watching how his spouse reacted, Leia thought that the female was impressed more than anything by her husband's admission.

The Counselor nodded her thanks to the male Devronian and then addressed the class.  "Never.  The best.  The worst.  Always.  Absolute certainty in something.  Has that ever panned out for any of you?  There's a reason that sayings become famous.  Never say never.  You don't know what you have until it's gone."  Counselor Ava Klounic paused.  "That's what those words make me think of," she finally said and you could hear a pindrop in the room. 

Leia wondered how she could so often find herself in over her head.  

The next few entries consisted of comments such as "We could keep the house" and "I wouldn't have to date again" and they were quickly guessed and all eventually claimed.  Ava then read this, "If we can manage not to kill each other, our lives will at least never be dull."

That was Leia's comment.  Her body stiffened in recognition and, as all eyes searched the room, she felt as if she had a beacon blinking brightly over her head. 

"Keeping things interesting," the Counselor spoke into the silence.  "That's actually one of my golden rules of happiness.  Anyone care to guess?"

 A few males in the room threw out guesses for their significant others, but Han Solo remained silent.  She wondered if he suspected and just didn't want to talk, or if he was totally clueless that it was hers.  She had felt that the comment was innocent enough.  Truthful but not too revealing.  But now that it was out there, she felt an unexpected vulnerability as she contemplated claiming it.

The Counselor's eyes tracked around the room once again before she folded up the peice of flimsiplast and said, "Okay, we'll move-"

"That was mine," Leia blurted out and immediately felt a warmth travel up her neck and face.

"Good, good," the Counselor smiled warmly as she turned to Leia.  "And how does that comment make you feel," she asked, speaking to Han.

"Uh, it uh...," Han sputtered as he shifted in his seat.

Leia bit her lip and held her breath.  Waiting to find out what might come out of Han Solo's mouth was never a pleasant task.

"It uh, makes me realize that maybe the fighting ain't all that bad," Han finally finished.

Leia's face blanched.  What was he doing?  They were supposed to be working on getting drummed out of here, not mending their fake relationship.  What was he thinking?  Did he mean what he had said or was he just playing the game, albeit wrongly?  She couldn't bring herself to look at him.  Either he had lost track of their objective, which seemed highly unlikely, or he was being honest and...well, she didn't even know what that meant.

The Counselor ran through few more comments, each finding its owner.  Finally, she was on the last piece of flimsiplast and the only two people that hadn't claimed what they had written were Han and a male Sarkhai.  Which meant that either this next comment was Han's, or that first comment had been.  Leia straightened up in anticipation.  The Counselor read the note, "I can spend the rest of my life wondering what I did to deserve her."  The Counselor paused and eyed the room.  "Well, that can be taken in more than one context.  Any guesses?"

Leia once again felt the heat rising up her neck and face.  The Counselor was right, in one context that comment could be a huge insult, but in another it could be a gigantic compliment.  She felt sure that it must be Han's but then couldn't stop an inkling of doubt that it wasn't.  If it was his she wondered if he had realized what he was doing when he had written it.  Even she had tried to remain ambiguous with her comment, although she hadn't quite succeeded in the way this comment had.  She glanced at him, but his eyes remained trained on the Counselor. 

Leia shook her head.  It wouldn't have been the first time that she had underestimated Han's mental agility.  In this verbal volley game that they continued to play - if someone had been keeping score - she felt sure that they would have to be in a close tie.  And if she was entirely honest with herself, she might even admit that Han could actually be in the lead.  Afterall, finding a decent opponent was what kept the game interesting, wasn't it?   

There was some discussion around the room, mostly light-hearted as everyone's spirits began to lift knowing the session was coming to a close.  Leia felt her own mood changing as she prepared to switch gears from being Mrs. Han Solo, disgruntled wife, to Leia Organa...whoever she was. 

In the end, no one ever claimed the comment, making perfect orphaned bookends of the first and the last.  The Counselor urged everyone to discuss what they had experienced both good and bad and wished everyone an interesting evening.  And the class was dismissed.

Leia let Han lead her out of the room, never once brave enough to meet his eyes.  The fact that this first class, and this simple exercise, had felt so revealing and left them feeling so awkward weighed heavily on Leia.  She wondered how they would fair several more weeks and just how uncomfortable the entire experience might get...