It had been a long six months, but Han Solo was finally on his way home. After completing a secret mission for the Alliance, and spending all of his time away with absolutely no contact with the outside world, Han could not wait to reacquaint himself with civilization. It had been just him, Chewie, and the Falcon for the long six months, and Han was looking forward to being reunited with his princess.

He imagined that his reunion with Leia would be a joyous one, and fantasized about all of the wonderful things he was going to do with her upon his return. But towards the end of his trip, during the darkest and loneliest of nights, he began to feel a bubbling sense of dread build up inside him that he couldn't shake.

He wondered if she would still love him like she did when he left. If she still thought of him while she busied herself running around doing work for the Alliance. If there was someone else who had filled the void Han had left, although not on purpose.

But the excitement of the upcoming reunion, of wrapping his arms around her small waist and holding her close, kissing her fiercely and taking her into bedroom so that they could be alone for as long as he could manage, was quickly evaporating all doubts from his mind.

Laying in his bunk, dressed in his usual blood stripe pants and vest, twiddling his thumbs anxiously while the ship flew through hyperspace, Han was almost thrown when the Falcon suddenly lurched.

"Chewie! Chewie did you feel that?" Han yelled as he quickly got up from the bed and made his way to the cockpit of his ship.

"Get up you great lump and come help me!"

Chewie came quickly lumbering after him growling something about never getting enough sleep.

"What happened?"

"I dunno, Chewie, see if you can check all the systems."

The pair worked for a few moments, grumbling orders and trying to configure the ship.

"I think we're gonna have to put her down somewhere, Chewie, she's just not flying smoothly. Take us out of hyperspace."

Chewbacca growled out of frustration, he was looking forward to getting back to Coruscant almost as much as Han, but did what he was told.

"Do you see that planet there, Chewie? I'm gonna land us there. No, I don't know what it is, but it's the best we can do for now. We'll just be a few hours then we'll take her right back out."

Chewie didn't answer, but he wasn't sure he liked the feel of this place.

After landing had gone fairly smoothly, Han and Chewie worked profusely on the ship for the next few hours. It was only when both of their stomachs began growling menacingly that they decided to stop.

Han called up to the wookiee, "Chewie, do you want to go into the main part of town to get something to eat?"

Chewie just nodded vigorously.

"Alright, let's go. Maybe we can make a phone call to Coruscant somewhere. Make sure they haven't forgotten about us yet."

He was joking, but they both knew the fear was very real.

They found the most promising place they could and placed their orders as quickly as possible. When the food arrived, Han briefly stopped to admire the amount of food Chewie could devour in just seconds before starting in on his own dinner.

They ate in silence, the clink of silverware and slurping of drinks the only sounds they could hear, other than the general hubbub coming from the bar behind them.

Han spoke up once the plates had been cleared.

"I think I'm gonna go see if they have a comm I can use. Stay out of trouble won't you."

"Right back at you, cub."

Laughing, Han walked up to the bar. While the bartender busied himself with other customers, Han noticed the holonews was on. Anxious for some kind of contact to what had been going on, he strained his ears to listen.

He frowned listening to something about some prince's arrival to another planet. His interest piqued when he realized the planet in question was Coruscant, and then his heart stopped when he saw the picture.

Frozen on screen stood Leia, standing next to the mysterious prince, smiling. Above it, the headline read: "Princess Leia and Prince Isolder to marry!"

Every part of Han immobilized. He couldn't breathe or think. It was his worst fears come to life in the most unimaginable way possible.

He had considered every possible bad thing that could have come from his absence, but he hadn't prepared himself for it actually happening.

The princess, his princess, marrying another man. A prince.

Han stood in front of the bar for several minutes, grinding his teeth, his expression stoic. The bartender asked him what he wanted but he couldn't speak, he didn't even hear him.

Shaking himself out of the funk, Han slowly made his way back to where Chewie was sitting and sat back down, not saying a word.

"Took you long enough, what's going on?"

When Han didn't answer, Chewie looked up and noticed the vague expression.

"What's wrong? Cub?"

"I think we should probably just spend the night here, Chewie. It's late and I'm tired. No need going back there for nothing."

If Chewie was confused by Han's words, he didn't say anything. He just continued to watch Han as he stood back up and walked out the door.

A/N: So I've never read COPL, but I'm basically just using Isolder for my own purposes in this story. Also, before anyone starts hating Leia, realize that so far we've only seen oneside of the story. Enjoy!