Fame and Fortune

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Luke was quick. Using the Force he gently lowered his sister to the floor, and then knelt by her side, taking her head under his hand. Han was almost as quick, as he moved across the hallway and he was also kneeling in an instant, taking her hand and rubbing it.

"Leia?" Han whispered hoarsely. He looked over at Luke with a stricken expression. "What's wrong with her?"

By that time Leia's eyelids had fluttered and she opened her eyes, blinked a few times, staring up at her brother, then tracked over to... Han? Was she imagining things? The sensation she'd felt through the Force when Wes had stepped aside and she saw Lando there, arguing with Evin Daysun ... But it wasn't the Force-sense of a stranger that came coursing over her. It was, unmistakably Han's Force-sense. Luke had told her that even those beings without the Force give off unique signals to those with the ability to pick it up. It was a signal, a sense she never thought she'd feel again, at least until she became One with the Force; and if the Force were truly benevolent, she fervently wished it would allow her Spirit to flow together and merge with Han's so they could finally, for eternity, be together.

The good-looking man staring down worriedly at her didn't look a bit like Han. His voice didn't sound like Han's. Still she was unable to separate this man from the one she'd lost. Why?

Lando's panicky voice drifted through, "Should I comm a medic? I'll comm a medic!"

"No," Leia said, struggling to sit up, grateful that Luke was there to assist her. "I'm fine. I just got a little woozy. I'm sorry, everyone."

"She's okay, Lando," Luke said. "She hasn't had enough to eat lately." It was the truth, combined with the shock of unexpectedly sensing Han's presence. He took a glass of water from the concerned older Corellian and assisted Leia in taking a sip.

Lando gave a nervous bark of laughter and looked over at Isolder, who seemed calm and unconcerned as he stood between Mara and Wes. "Females sometimes faint when they see Evin, but Princess.. err, Queen Leia didn't seem like the swooning sort or I wouldn't have invited her backstage," said Lando, trying to offer some excuse to Leia's spouse.

"My wife enjoys being the center of attention," Isolder replied, without offering examples.

Evin Daysun was still rubbing her hand and the physical connection only confirmed what Leia initially felt through the Force. This man was Han. Somehow. In some way. She looked over at Luke, her brown eyes questioning. "I don't understand..." Looking back at Han she now saw a man with hair so dark it was nearly black and deep blue eyes. She whispered, "How is this possible?"

"I..." Han stopped and gave a desperate glance over at Luke. Did you tell her?

No.

They were communicating through the Force, Leia realized with a start. "How?" she repeated, even more astonished than a few moments ago.

Lando was tugging on Han's shirt. "You really have to get in your costume now, Evin. You're on in a quarter part!" He shoved the white costume in Han's direction, pointing toward the dressing room.

Luke and Han helped Leia stand and regain her bearings. "Are you sure you're okay, Sweetheart?" Han said very softly in her ear. "It won't hurt my feelings a bit if you need to go home and lie down." A large part of him hoped she would go back to the Palace and he wouldn't have to give a concert with her in the audience. It would be easier on him, even if Luke remained to watch the show.

Sweetheart. How many times he had called her that in the beginning of their acquaintance just to make her angry and to get a reaction, Leia mused. Now his term of endearment spoken like he truly meant the word in the best way, without sarcasm or malice, made her both overjoyed and heartsick.