Star Crossed

III

Jo sat in Han's seat and stared into the nothingness in front of her as she tried to think everything through. She had to tell Leia. There was no way around it. She had to tell the Princess that she jeopardized their cover. It was her sworn duty to put the Princess's safety first, and she compromised that.

But... She didn't want to ruin what she just experienced. She didn't want to taint it with politics and Leia's judgmental glance. She wanted to immortalize it in her head, remembering it for the perfect moment that it was.

"Have you finished the coupling already?" 

Jo jumped from her thoughts as she turned to see Leia in the doorway. 

Leia held up her hands apologetically. "Oh... sorry. Are you alright?" She moved further into the cockpit and took Chewie's chair as she sat opposite of Jo. "You look awful. Are you feeling ill?" She reached a concerned hand up to fell Jo's forehead.

Jo grabbed Leia's wrist and lowered it, though she held onto it for comfort. "I'm... I'm okay." She looked down at their hands. They were almost identical, save for the small scars Jo had collected from years of combat training. Leia's were too pristine- too pampered. They gave away her luxurious upbringing while Jo's screamed of the hardships she had to survive. 

She closed her eyes to stop over analyzing their hands. "But, I have to tell you something." Her voice shook as she realized she would have to tell her. She knew she did. It was her sworn duty. She didn't have a choice. Even if that meant giving up what she had with Han. 

"What is it?" Leia's deep eyes looked all around Jo's face. "You're starting to worry me."

She let out a long breath then used her newfound strength to open her eyes and look up to her princess. "I-" Something caught Jo's attention, and she dropped Leia's hand to look out the cockpit's window. "Did you see that?" She asked Leia quickly. Her previous thoughts all faded as she focused on the thing that flashed across the cockpit.

"What?" 

The two girls leaned forward in their seats to stare out the window. While Leia was trying to look deeper into the cave, Jo was looking at the actual windshield.

The sound of a soft pattering of feet broke Jo's concentration, then two giant yellow eyes filled up the cockpit's windshield.

Both Leia and Jo jump back in their seats, but before they could scream out, the yellow eyes disappeared with the sound of pattering feet.

"What was that?" Leia's chest heaved as she looked to her protector.

"I don't know... we need to warn Han." Jo bounced up from her chair and sprinted from the cockpit. All of her concerns for telling Leia about the kiss- and the kiss itself- were forgotten as the threat of danger loomed in on them.

With Leia close on her heels the two girls ran through the ship's halls to try and find Han or Chewie.

"Han!" Jo found Han and Chewie in the main hull of the ship just as Han put a floor panel back into place. As he first looked up at her, there was a sense of hope, but one look at her worry-stricken face and he realized it wasn't about their kiss. "There's... something out there-" Jo pointed to the side of the ship, but meant more specifically outside.

"Where?" Han stood up as he looked at her.

"Outside, in the cave." Leia answered. 

Jo gave a nod as her anxiety started to build. It only got worse when the same banging from before came back, except much louder.

Her eyes widened as she looked towards the roof of the ship. "See! Do you hear it?" She screeched as she looked back down at Han.

 Chewie let out an anxious growl that told Jo he heard it.