NOTE: The Star Wars characters are property of 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm, Ltd. The rest of the story is copyright (c) 1984 Cheree Cargill. No infringement is intended on any legally existing copyright. Not a plugged credit was made on this. This was written purely for enjoyment and one copy of the story may be downloaded for the pleasure of the reader. No further copies may be made or distributed without the express written consent of the author!

Be Careful What You Wish For!

Cheree Cargill

(originally published in "Fantazy" #1, 1984, Joan Shumsky, editor)

Judy Hafner sighed heavily as she closed the Star Wars zine she'd been reading and sank down lower into her bed. What a beautiful story!

"Oh, Han!" she breathed, her heart aching with love for the dashing Corellian. Her dog looked up from his place beside the bed, disturbed out of his nap by her voice. When he saw that she wasn't addressing him, he put his head back under the trailing edge of the blanket in order to block out the light from the nightstand. It was a nightly routine before Judy turned out the light and let them both sleep.

Tonight she'd been enthralled in a passionate Han story in the new zine she'd just gotten and it was a little after midnight before she'd finished it. Now, her eyes misty from the heart-rending details of lovers torn apart, she placed the zine on the nightstand and turned out the light. Snuggling down into the blankets, she hugged the other pillow to her, pretending it was Han's broad chest.

"Oh, my love," she whispered into it. "Oh, how I wish you were here! Oh, Han...Han..." Longing still pervading her very soul, she drifted off to sleep, still clutching the pillow.

She didn't know which woke her first -- the dog's startled bark and rush toward the kitchen or the loud roar breaking the solitude of the rural night outside. Jarred from sleep, she sat up in the dark bedroom, her heart pounding so hard she was sure it was making the bed shake. What the hell was going on? The dog was barking frantically at the back door; there was a loud crunching sound, then the roar subsided into silence, punctuated now and then by a soft hissing like that of escaping steam.

Shakily, she got out of bed, put on her slippers, and went quietly, cautiously, down the hall and into the kitchen. The dog had his head stuck behind the drapes that covered the sliding glass door and was growling viciously, the hair all along his back standing straight up.

Peeking out, her eyes flew open wide and she gave a little cry. Filling her backyard and crushing part of the chain-link fence was a huge, saucer-shaped craft. One of the landing pads was sitting squarely on the little crepe myrtle bush she'd just planted this summer and jets of steam were rapidly turning sections of the lawn brown.

This was incredible enough, but then to her astonishment, a section of the underside detached itself with a hiss and began to descend, obviously a ramp. She let the curtains fall back and sprang away from the door, listening in horror as footsteps sounded on the patio a few minutes later.

The dog gave a terrified yelp and headed for the back room, tail between his legs, and hid under the spare bed.

Judy shrank back against the china cabinet, scarcely able to breathe. Suddenly, with a loud "thunk", the patio cover shook and there came a sound like an angry bear.

"Well, watch where you're going!" came a man's voice from outside. The door rattled, but the lock held. There was a moment of quiet, then abruptly a high-pitched pinging sound and a bright flare of light. The lock fizzled and dissolved, and the door slid back neatly on its tracks.

"Oh, my God!" Judy stuttered, her knees feeling weak.

The drapes were pushed aside and a tall, well-built man stepped into the kitchen. He looked around for a second, disoriented, then his gaze locked onto the trembling girl. The only light came from the digital clock on the microwave oven and the bright light of a full moon, filtering in around the curtains, but Judy could see that he was dressed in black pants and vest, white shirt exposing his chest, and knee-high black boots. A gun in a holster was strapped Iow on his right thigh "Ooohhh, my God!" she repeated.

He broke his gaze with her for a minute and looked around, located the light switch and reached over to flip it. The overhead fluorascents flickered into existence, causing her to blink painfully a few times until her eyes adjusted.

"That's better," the man smiled. Judy could see now that he had unruly brown hair and eyes that were almost green. His full lips parted to reveal even white teeth. Unbidden, her eyes flickered to his chin and, yes, there was a little scar running across it. Terrified at the revelation of the truth beginning to dawn on her, she brought her gaze back up to his deep-set eyes and sank back farther against the china cabinet.

At that moment, the drapes were pushed aside again and a huge shaggy animal entered, almost bent double. Judy gave an involuntary cry as the creature bumped its head on the seven-foot ceiling and uttered a long string of guttural sounds. The man turned, frowning. "Well, then, wait outside. I never heard so much bitchin' in all my life!"

The Wookiee, for Wookiee it had to be, lifted his lip in a soft snarl, then abruptly fell silent, his black nose twitching. He turned and found the refrigerator, pulling open the door and bending to inspect its contents. He emerged with the plate of leftover fried chicken Judy had planned to save for lunch the next couple of days and proceeded to pop a chicken leg into his mouth, crunching it, bone and all.

The man shrugged and turned back to Judy, smiling pleasantly. Opening his arms. he said, "C'mere, honey."

She gave a screech and ducked away, back-pedalling frantically into the living room/den that adjoined the kitchen. "Y-y-you get out of here!" she cried, sidling away from him as he followed her.

He had his arms open in an innocent gesture, still coming toward her. "I don't understand," he said. "You've been wanting me for months and here I am!"

"I don't what you're talking about! I don't even know who you are!"

He chuckled indulgently. "Of course, you do. Who do you *think* I am?"

"No! You *can't* be Han Solo! He's not *real*!"

This time the broad shoulders shook in genuine laughter. The hazel eyes twinkled wickedly the full mouth twitched into a lop-sided smile. "C'mere, babe, and I'll show you real!"

Judy gave another dismayed cry and took a step backward -- only to hang her slipper on the coaxial cable stretched across the floor between two VCR's, where she'd been copying some tapes earlier that evening. She flailed her arms in an attempt to keep her balance, but before she could fall, he was there, his arms around her.

For just an instant, she sank against him, grateful for his help, then her eyes flew open as she realized where she was and she tried frantically to shove him away. The strong arms closed inexorably about her and her frustrated terror turned to tears as she was unable to break free. Finally, the adrenalin drained out of her body and she felt weak and limp and let the tears come.

He held her gently, patting her shoulders and murmuring to her. "Shhh... Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Take it easy."

"You can't be Han," she sobbed into his shirt. "You just *can't* be!" But she couldn't deny tho starship in her backyard and the Wookiee in her kitchen. And he *looked* and *sounded* like Han...

She suddenly realized how good he smelled and how warm he was. It had been a long time since she'd felt a man's arms around her, a long time since the divorce. Over a year. She was still hurting from that and hadn't been seeing anyone since then.

*I've gone out of my blinking mind,* she thought, but, almost involuntarily, her arms came up around his waist and he tightened his hold on her.

After a few minutes, he pushed her away a little, his big hands on her shoulders, and looked down at her tear-streaked face. Numbly, she let him wipe the tears away then stood unmoving as he bent down and softly kissed her lips.

"Han..." she breathed, not wanting to believe, but unable to help herself.

"Shhh," he answered. "Don't ask questions. I'm here tonight. For a little while, at least."

He swept her up into his arms and carried her into the dark bedroom. She shut her eyes and let him take off her gown and place her gently in bed. *This can't be happening!* she told herself firmly, as he slipped in beside her a few minutes later. *This simply just can't possibly be happening!*

* * *

Quite some time later though, Judy was convinced. Exhausted, she gave a little laugh and thought, *Boy, those zine writers don't know the half of it!* Han had proved to be every bit as good in bed as she'd ever imagined -- and then some! Thank God it was Saturday and she didn't have to go to work in the morning!

He was sitting on the side of the bed, pulling his boots on and she rolled over on her side to face him, sighing deeply. He looked at her and grinned, his white teeth visible even in the darkened room.

"My friends are *never* going to believe this!" she declared.

"So don't tell 'em," he answered. He stood up and shrugged into his vest, and then ran one hand along the back of his neck to pull free the hair trapped under his collar. Giving his head a shake, he combed the thick brown hair down with his fingers and then picked up his blaster from the chair in the corner and buckled it on, expertly adjusting it and tying the holster strap around his right thigh.

Judy had gotten up and put on her blue velour robe. "You're going now, aren't you?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he replied. "It's almost dawn, We can't risk being caught on the ground."

She followed as he went up the hall to the kitchen, where she gave a little sound of dismay. Chewie had effectively cleaned out her fridge and was working on the pantry. He was partway through a package of Oreo's Double Stuff when they found him.

Han gave him an ungentle kick in the shin and matched him growl for growl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You think she's got nothing better to do than fill up that bottomless gullet of yours? Go get the ship warmed up. We're leaving."

The Wookiee defiantly popped a final Oreo into his mouth before complying, bumping his head again on the doorframe as he went out.

Han surveyed the mess he'd left and shook his head, hands on his hips, then turned back to face the young woman standing in her bare feet behind him.

"Will you ever come back?" she asked, an imploring note in her voice.

He took her by the shoulders and kissed her forehead. "I don't think so." One corner of his mouth twisted up into a smile. "Only one wish to a customer, you know."

He released her and went out the patio door. She hesitated a second, then followed him out into the predawn chill. He was standing on the edge of the patio, looking out across the fields. The eastern horizon was just beginning to show a hint of color and far off she heard a rooster crow. Her house was quite a ways from town and the nearest neighbor was nearly a mile away. She liked the solitude and was grateful now that the big starship taking up her backyard could land without attracting a horde of curious onlookers.

She started as the engines roared up into life and shivered a bit. wishing she'd at least thought to put on her slippers. This cement was cold!

He turned back to her and said, "Well, guess this is goodbye."

She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I wish you didn't have to go!" she cried. "I'll never forget this night as long as I live!"

He pushed her away a little and kissed her soundly, then winked conspiratorially at her and said, "Take it easy, kid." Then he was bounding up the ramp of the starship.

She fell back against the house as the repulsors cut in and the ship lifted straight up with a whining roar. As it cleared the house and banked into the lightening eastern sky, she ran out onto the dew-wet lawn and shouted after it, "Hey! Wait a minute! Who's going to pay for my fence?!"

THE END