Saga Walking the Path - ESB Missing Scene Vig w/ Luke and Chewbacca - Author Replies Added - Jan. 10!

Title: Walking the Path
Author: Shaindl
Timeframe: OT
Characters: Luke and Chewbacca
Genre: Drama vig
Summary: Missing scene from ESB
Notes: A continuation of my recent infatuation with the OT. Thanks, as always, to my wonderful friend OE who listened to me whine about this vig more than any sentient being should have been forced to and gave me the suggestion I needed to make it work.

* * * * * *

Walking the Path

The medical bay doors opened, the whir of their servomotors reminding Chewbacca of the harsh breathing of the Sith Lord. That sound had woken him up every night since they had returned from Bespin and he had yet to be able to get back to sleep after it happened.

With the same sound, as if to punctuate his thoughts, the door slipped shut behind him, and he turned his attention to the still man on the bed. Luke had changed in the short hours he had been on the gas planet, the lines that highlighted grief and pain and the loss of innocence out of place on his young face. The thought saddened Chewbacca even more; there had been too many things understood and then lost to the Empire on Bespin.

As he carefully settled his huge frame into the too-small chair beside the bed, he reflected how fortunate they were that the loss hadn?t been greater. Vader had been after Luke, and Chewbacca knew part of the reason why now; at the time, it had puzzled him why the Sith had been so anxious to get his hands on the young man. He had seen the cylinder hanging at the young man?s side in the very brief glimpse he?d had as the guards had hustled him and Leia through the complex. Somewhere, he had found another Jedi to train with after Kenobi.

The bed creaked, and he watched Luke as he began to wake. He grimaced as he moved, not yet healed from the wounds he had suffered at Vader?s hands. Reaching out, the Wookiee laid a paw on the uninjured arm, letting the young man know he had company.

The effect was instantaneous. Luke jerked, coming fully awake from whatever dream he had been having, and Chewbacca knew that if he hadn?t been hurt, the young man would have been in a defensive stance faster than he would have been able to see. Jedi could awaken in seconds, if need be.

**Rest easy, Luke. It is only I.**

Relaxing at the familiar voice, he shut his eyes. ?You shouldn?t be here, Chewbacca.?

**I do not believe you have ever called me by my full name.**

?Things change.? He turned his head to the wall. ?Leave, please.?

**I cannot.** When there was no answer, the giant continued. **Leia says you will not see her.**

?I just want to be left alone.?

**That is not your nature.**

?Nature changes too.?

**Whatever happened on Bespin was not your fault.** The Wookiee decided to try a different tack.

And found he hit the right nerve. ?You have no idea what happened on Bespin.?

**That is true. But I still know that whatever has scarred you was not your fault.** He reached out again and this time Luke did not pull away from the contact. **You must talk to someone about this, cub.**

?Please?? Luke?s breath hitched, ??please don?t call me that. I don?t deserve it.?

**That would be for me to decide.**

There was no humour in the laugh that filled the room. ?Trust me Chewbacca, if you knew??

**What did Vader do to you?**

?Leave it, Chewie, please.?

Sighing, wondering what Vader could have done to so fully destroy the strong young man that he had last seen on Hoth, the Wookiee squeezed his arm. **I will let it go for now. But you will need to talk about it someday, cub. When that day comes, I will be here.**

Luke nodded and drew a shaky hand across his eyes. ?I don?t deserve you. Any of you.?

**That will be enough of that, Luke.**

Big blue eyes, so much like another?s stared up at him. ?But you don?t know! It?s my fault that Han-?

**I SAID THAT WILL BE ENOUGH!** Chewbacca roared, causing Luke to jump. **What happened to Han was not your fault. It would have happened regardless of whether you came to Bespin or not.**

H

 

I enjoyed this very much. I think you got Luke's pain down well and Chewie was written with such gentleness. I can imagine that he was the touchstone in Han's life and now he is helping Luke find his way.

Excellent job.

 

Awww. We all loved Chewie so much, and then those dopey pro writers had to go kill him off! *sniffs*

Lovely viggie.

 

I loved Chewie in this. You do such a good job writing Chewie.

Nice how he was able to give Luke a small insight into the old Jedi Order.

Wonderful, Shaindl!!

 

Wonderful there are few chewie peices but this was wonderful. Chewie is so full of wisdom and he did so well with Luke. I really loved this

 

Awesome Chewie characterization! ^_^

 

He's such a sensitive walking carpet...

Loved how Chewie told Luke not to turn away from the Force. I like this obsession of yours with the OT.

 

This was a very sweet story. I liked how you expanded on what was so oviously know about Chewie, but is not usually adresses openly.

 

Wow, what a wonderful scene. The insight given by Chewie was well done, though it felt a bit odd hearing him 'speak', but maybe that's just me. ^_^

I really liked who you did this, and even tied in some info to the prequels. Well, I'm probably about to just start rambling, so I'll just leave it here and say that this was a very well done piece.

 

Love the additions! They worked out very well. Another masterpiece. Bravo!

Now, hurry and get busy so you can start posting that new fic for me. I'm very excited to see it begin!

 

Very nice. Chewie was beautifully written (you really do write the dear old carpet very well ) and I loved the way he just quietly and gently talked Luke round.

Especially liked the "How old do you think I am?" line.

Great work

Nem

 

This is the first fic I read where Chewie actually plays a very important and an intelligent role. I must admit that I've never been interested in exploring his character and I imagine that he wouldn't work for me, so it impresses me immensely that you've managed to write him so well.
The whole characterisation of someone who knows a lot, has experienced a lot and has much influence in others lifes, but chooses not to openly show it all the time is very well done.

**Luke, how old do you think I am?**

The young man blushed, unsure. ?I?ve never asked??

**I am not trying to make you feel guilty, cub.

For me that passage says a lot about Chewie's character in that respect. He seems like a steady presence in his friends' lifes without ever intruding too much.

I liked this a lot. Great work, as always!

 

okay, maybe I'm still a little sappy from the holidays, but that was so wonderfull I couldn't help but cry!!!

I love how Cheiwie took this opportunity to step in more than he usually would, especially after his own loss of Han.

 

That was beautiful Shaindl, I'm getting addicted to your viggies I love your Chewie, so noble, wise and it just makes me smile when he calls Luke a 'cub' Great job with these two.

 

Bravo Shaindl. Characterization is definitely your strong point. You did a great job with Chewie.

 

And that's why everyone loves Chewie.

 

Wow, wonderful job. Chewbacca is so often overlooked - it's great to see that remedied in this fic. His weight of years and knowledge really comes through, and it's at a time when Luke needs it most. And you have to think that Chewie would probably be hurting too then, with Han being gone the way he is.

Good to see Chewbacca being portrayed as something other than the furry sidekick for once. Well done!

 

Nicely done. We don't often get to see how Luke dealt with finding out about Vader immediately after the fact, most people deal wih the long term. Still the few times I have seen this done it has been done well, and this here is no exception.

It's a lovely piece of work. I like the Chewbacca/Luke interaction, also something that you don't see often. It could have come off being awkward, but it ran nice and smooth.

I think sometimes most of us forget that Chewie is 200 years old and that he must gathered some wisdom in this time.

Excellent piece of work

 

Well done! Chewie has been around the block a few times and seen much in his long lifetime. Of course he has wisdom to impart to everyone he associates with. Of course, that's why Han needs him so much; Chewie is the steadying force (no pun intended!) in his life.

Not your average "sidekick", I've always felt that Chewie was very perceptive and sensitive. He probably picked up on Han's feelings for Leia long before Han was even aware of them.

Great story!

 

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for the wonderful replies. It didn't turn out exactly the way I had envisioned, so I'm glad it was still enjoyed.

To the replies...

Diane - I've always imagined Chewbacca playing a much bigger role in their lives than we get to see in the movies - but only when it's necessary for him to speak up.

GreatOne - I haven't read much of the EU, so when I heard they had done that, I was all like "THEY DID WHAT?" I think he's a great character too little used.

Kma - aw, you're too sweet. Thanks.

Hananiah - Chewie's my new favourite character, I think, because he is so little used. Thanks for reading!

angel_gidget - thank you!

Jade - he is pretty sensitive for a 200 year old carnivore, isn't he?

Lucid_Lady - really? Do you think it's obviously known? I don't know that I'd totally agree on that. I think a lot of people see him as Han's sidekick, not so much as a strong noble creature on his own merits.

That's what I love about fanfic - we all see things so differently.

R_Zion - thanks! Somebody wrote somewhere that there's a choice when writing Chewie - either you write the growls, and have another character explain what he's saying, or you actually write him with words. I choose to give him actual words, but to convey that he's not speaking as Luke or someone else does, I use the asterisks around his dialogue. I don't know if it works or not, but that's what made sense to me.

And ramble away - rambling and babbling are fun!

OE - thanks again for all your help with it. And new fic? Huh? Wha...?

No idea what you're talking about.

Nem - thank you. I've really enjoyed exploring Chewbacca. I figured his age would be easily forgotten by most of the others.

Indra - He seems like a steady presence in his friends' lives without ever intruding too much.

That's exactly how I see him. There if needed, quiet if not. If you haven't seen anything else using Chewie - then you haven't read my other fics with him.

Webogirl - ack! No crying! Glad you enjoyed - and great insight - I didn't think of that.

TS - ooh, addiction! Thank you - I'm glad you're enjoying what I produce.

PK - you're too nice. Thanks so much.

CodyMonKenobi - including me!

Knight_Aragorn - I hate that he's overlooked in the films so much. He's obviously so important, and not much is done with him. Oh, well, it gives me something to do, at least. Thanks for reading!

Kazzy - you're right, you don't see Luke and Chewie interacting often, do you? It's too bad - of all of them, Luke is probably the one who could learn the most from Chewbacca. Glad you enjoyed!

dm1 - yeah, I think Chewie gives a lot to Han without Han realising it. That goes for all of them. Thanks for reading!

Wow, didn't realise hwo many replies I'd gotten! Thanks everyone!

 

Chewy would be the one to understand more about the jedi having lived that time. He is old enough to have learned a few things along the way.

Great job showing him as a caring friend. Luke had plenty of loss to accept that day. Chewy was perfect helping him through. Even with losing Han it seems right that Chewy would live in the moment and help others.

I liked his place in Han?s life. That?s one smart wookie. And, it was nice to read him as someone besides a roar... I do love the roar too.

 

Great story.

Apparently Chewie knew about Anakin. I wonder if he knew everything?

 

Just a few more replies...

Altaira - I think Chewie knows more than a few things. It wouldn't always be bad to speak a language almost no one knows.

TJM - I think he knew way more than he let on and I bet there's a good chance he knew most of the story. Can I assume you're a Canuck? So am I and I'm from your neck of the woods - my hometown's London (though I'm in Edmonton now).