Never Let You Go

Chapter 1

       Leia and Han walked hand in hand into their apartment after the senate dinner. It was a long night filled with great food, lots of dancing, and many speeches. Han couldn't wait to get out of there. As Leia changed into her nightgown, she felt as if someone was staring at her. She turned to find Han staring at her. Leia walked over and got into bed next to him.

"What are you staring at flyboy?" she said with a smirk.

"Just the most beautiful woman in the galaxy." He kissed her and laid so they were facing each other.

"How many meetings do you have tomorrow?" he asked her. She rarely had a day off but that would soon change. Leia had just a few months left as a senator and then she would be retiring for good.

"I have four meetings. Two in the morning and two after lunch. I probably won't be home until 1700. How about you?"

"I just have the one meeting at 0900 and then Chewie and I are gonna work on the Falcon."

"I can't wait until I retire from all this." She sighed.

"It's only three months away, sweetheart." He said as he smiled at that thought.

      The next morning, they left for work. Leia walked into the office and greeted her secretary Judy before she walked into her office and closed the door. Leia sat down at her desk and took out all of the materials she needed for her meetings. She pulled out her datapad from her bag and pulled up the information for the first meeting. Mon Mothma was leading the meeting today. Mon is a dear friend of hers but her meetings are almost always boring. She walked over to the caf machine and poured herself a cup. Looking at her wrist chrono, she saw that it was almost time for the meeting. The long hallways in the senate building were lined with tall glass windows and a beautiful blue-gray carpet. The room was noisy with all the chatter between senators and other personnel. Leia was greeted by General Rieekan when she walked in.

"Good morning Leia, how are you this morning?" the General asked.

"I'm well thank you Carlist. I just wish today would go by fast."

"You and me both." Both of them laughed. Rieekan felt the same as Leia. They were both good friends of Mon but they both felt that her meetings were often lengthy and boring.

      The meeting began and Mon and Madine droned on and on about relations with other planets and systems. The Rebellion had done extensive work on developing and strengthening relations with other places in the galaxy. Later on, after the second meeting, Leia was happy to break for lunch.

      Han's meeting had been with Luke, Chewie, Wedge, and the other pilots. It only lasted about an hour. When it ended, Han and Chewie headed to the hangar to work on the Falcon. They were working on fixing the damage that was left over from the asteroid field a few years ago. Han remembers it like it was yesterday. They had been trying to outrun imperial tie-fighters and they had no choice but to fly straight into the asteroid field. They landed inside a big asteroid and that's where he and Leia had their first kiss.

      Han climbed aboard the Falcon and brought out his tools. Chewie climbed on top of the ship and began repairing a small section that had been broken open. Han was working on the underside when Luke walked up to him.

"Han," he called and Han turned around. "I thought you could use some help here."

"Thanks kid. I could use an extra set of hands right now."

      Luke walked over to him and held up the old panel while Han removed the bolts. The old panel had a black mark on it from where a piece of shrapnel from the Death Star had inserted itself. Han finally removed all the bolts and they set the panel down off to the side. Then they lifted the new panel and began to bolt it into place.

"So, Han. Did you propose to Leia yet?"

"I haven't had a chance to yet, kid. Shes been too busy. All these meetings during the day have her so tired that she just comes home, eats a quick dinner, and goes to bed. But I know when to pop the question."

"When?"

"This Friday night. She has the afternoon off, so I'll take her out to dinner and then we'll go for a little stroll and that's when I'll do it."

"She'll like that." Luke smiled at Han. He knew Han was planning on proposing for a while now but things kept getting in the way of it. Han finished putting in the final bolt and tapped the panel with his palm.

"Good as new." He said with a smile. Han and Luke worked on the Falcon for hours. They had been so hard at work that they lost track of what time it was. Han looked at his wrist-chrono.

"It's 1600. I have to get home. Leia gets home at 1700. Well, we can finish the four other panels tomorrow."

"We did pretty well today. We replaced 16 out of 20 panels." Luke said walking with Han and Chewie out of the hangar.

      When Han and Chewie reached their apartment building, Chewie and Han said goodnight and went their separate ways. Chewie lived a couple floors below Han and Leia's apartment. As Han reached their apartment door, he looked down the hallway and saw Leia. She looked tired. He opened the door and began to get dinner ready.

"How was your day sweetheart?" he asked her.

"Long. So many meetings that went on and on. What about you?"

"My day was okay. My meeting went quick this morning and then your brother helped Chewie and I fix the Falcon. We replaced 16 of the 20 panels on the underside that needed to be replaced. We'll be finishing it up tomorrow."

"That's good. Tomorrow I only have three meetings and then only one on Friday morning and then I'm done for the weekend. Except for the fact that we have a party to go to both Saturday and Sunday."

"That's not too bad. I actually have taken a liking to these parties. I just don't think my feet could handle all that dancing though for two days in a row."

      Leia laughed at that. In the beginning, Han couldn't stand going to all the parties and having to listen to the continuous speeches, but he learned to deal with it after a while. Han set their plates down at the table and grabbed a bottle of wine. He made Leia's favorite meal which was Nerf steaks with Tatooine mashed spuds and a salad on the side.

      After dinner, they sat on the couch and watched the holovision. Leia put her head on Han's shoulder. She couldn't wait to retire. Then she could spend all the time in the world with her husband and not have to worry about any meetings or parties or diplomatic missions. She looked up at Han as he kissed her.

"I love you." He whispered to her.

"I know." She smiled.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just thinking about when I retire, how we'll be able to spend every minute of every day together without having to go to parties or meetings or go on diplomatic missions all the time. We can just sit at home, by the fire, and just drink coffee if we want and we won't have to worry about getting up early or anything like that." Han gave a little laugh.

"We don't have a fireplace." He laughed. Leia hit his chest.

"Han," she laughed. "I know that. But you get my point. We can just be free from the world of politics forever."

"I know sweetheart. And who knows, maybe we'll travel." She loved that idea. She would go anywhere with him.

      Leia yawned and Han noticed. He knew she was exhausted but Friday was approaching and he was excited. He knew she had a busy day ahead of her, so, he turned off the holovision and carried her to their bedroom. He set her down on the bed and kissed her and turned out the lights.

"Goodnight sweetheart." He said.

"Goodnight hotshot." She yawned.