Back at the camp, Magdalane struggled to hold the darkness at bay, along with several Jedi of varied strengths. Just when she felt the muscles in her neck knot tighter, she also felt a light tap on her shoulder. Grandmaster Shan smiled into her eyes. "Go, Barsen'thor. Rest." Mags nodded and rubbed a hand over her face. Maintaining the force shield against the power of the Dread Masters was exhausting, and Magdalane was ready for a break. She wandered outside the tent and sat heavily on a nearby bench. She gazed around the camp, watching the people as they hurried around, some working, some getting ready for their off time. She was scanning the entrance to the camp when she saw Felix and the rest of the group come through the barricades. They look tired, she thought, and she noticed that Corso had a slight limp. They slowly made their way to the command tent for debrief, and Mags stood to go meet them there.
"I don't know what it was," the commander told them, "but since it died, we had a marked decrease in energy flow. Great job!" The group grinned and patted each other on the back, happy to have made a difference, however small.
"Let's head for the shuttle," Aric said, picking his gear up from the floor near his feet. "I sure hope Spitfire had time to cook today." Corso agreed with him and followed them to the shuttle, ready for a hot shower and a long hug from his wife. He knew force healing wasn't instantaneous, but the sting in his leg worried him. When Magdalane approached the group, he saw the concern in her eyes.
"What happened out there, Corso?" she asked, reaching out to feel the leftover force from Flar. "It's been healed, quite well, but still is bothering you?" He nodded, and felt the cool wave of her force flow through him, relaxing him and easing the sting a little.
"It wasn't much to start with," he said, "and Flar worked on it. I think I just need a hot shower and some food." She stood still, her aura flaring and pulsing with force. The light faded slowly and she opened her emerald eyes, concern still there.
"It's perfectly healed," she said, "but the area is still sensitive. I'll keep an eye on it, and you have to promise to tell me if anything else happens with it, okay?" She smiled when he nodded his agreement, and they all boarded the shuttle. Felix saw that Mags was tired and when they lifted off, he gently pulled her to him and massaged her neck, aware that she kept most of her tension there. She sighed, loving the warmth and feel of his hands soothing her.
"Rough day, honey?" he asked her. He could see that she was drained, even though he knew she'd downplay it.
"Just long. It's getting harder to keep the dark energy contained, but I could tell when you guys cut out at least part of it," she told him, closing her eyes. "I agree with Corso, a hot shower and some of Miriah's cooking should fix me right up." Felix murmured his agreement and continued to work the knots he felt under his fingertips.
After the shuttle had taken off that morning, Miriah had fed and bathed Calypso, talked with her mom and Maura, and spent a good portion of the day with Logan, showing him different things about the ship. He was a quick learner, and before long they both felt more comfortable with his command of the vessel while she was planetside. Midafternoon, she napped with the baby, feeling more at peace and rested than she had in a long while. When she started to cook, Sarai and Maura joined her in the galley, all of them anxious for the others to return. Logan was on the bridge when his dad notified them of the shuttle's approach. Logan relayed the info to the others, and Maura went to meet the shuttle at the airlock.
Corso docked with the Dreamweaver and helped everyone get their gear bags before descending the short ramp to the airlock. His leg seemed better, he thought, and was anxious to see his wife and children. He saw Maura through the small window on the other side of the airlock, and waved. Aric had her in his arms and she waved back over his shoulder, smiling. He came through the airlock door to Logan's hug, and the smell of savory ronto roast. "Oh man, Mom's been in the galley, right, Logan?" he asked, getting a nod. He followed his nose to his wife, bending to kiss her as she sat feeding Calypso. "Hey ladies, something smells wonderful in here." He smiled at Calypso and the baby smiled back at him, surprising him. "She learned that today?" he asked.
"She did," Miriah responded. "She's been so happy and calm today."
"That's because she was with you," Corso told her, placing a kiss on his daughter's head. "She felt safe and content. This was a good decision, love." He kissed Miriah again. "I'm heading to the shower before dinner." My girls, he grinned, and made his way through their quarters to the refresher.
Aric pulled Maura into the lounge area, where Coleen was playing cards with Ian. "It's not fair," she whined. "He can use the force." Aric laughed.
"I doubt his Jedi ideas would allow him to cheat, Col. Go wash up for dinner, it smells wonderful," he told his daughter, his arm around his wife. "I'm so glad to be here and to know that you got the day with her," he murmured in Maura's ear. "She seems happier than I've seen her lately."
"We're all rested and happy. Miriah's been grinning all day, and Calypso smiled today," she told him, snuggling into his shoulder. "Sounds like you guys had a busy mission."
"Ummhmm," he hummed, "and glad to be done with it. Let's go help get food on the table, I'm starved." She laughed as he patted her bottom when she stood, and they made their way to where the rest of the family was setting up for dinner. They enjoyed the meal and the company, and soon Miriah took Calypso for her final bottle before bed. Magdalane had been quiet, and Felix assumed that she was only tired, and was thankful she'd have a day off tomorrow. Indeed, when he looked at her across the dining table, he could see the fatigue in her eyes. The young adults cleaned while the adults retired to the lounge area, but Mags begged off any further activity.
"I'm just tired, everyone. I'm heading to bed," she told them, yawning. Felix walked with her and while she got her nightclothes on, they talked. "I don't mind if you want to go hang out, dear. I just need to lie down."
Felix waited until she was stretched out in bed and lay down beside her. "I'd rather be with you, love," he told her. She put her head on his shoulder and fell into a deep sleep immediately. Felix was worried. While she had every right to be tired, she wasn't normally so exhausted that she didn't want to spend time with family. I'll have to ask Sarai if she can tell anything, he thought. He continued to hold her while she slept and fell asleep himself before he got to talk to anyone.
After a bit, the talk lessened and the tired sighs took over in the group. Corso stood and stretched, announcing he was going to bed. Miriah followed, and saw the stiffness in his leg. "Sugar, did you get hurt today?" she asked, her voice quiet so that Calypso would stay asleep even though she wanted to yell.
"Yeah, a little," he replied sheepishly. "Flar fixed it and Mags checked it. It's just a little bruise." He pulled on soft sleep pants and pulled the neatly tucked blanket back. "I'll be fine after some rest." She hesitated, but took his word that all was well, and when he pulled her close, she closed her eyes. "I missed you today," he told her, his love infusing his low voice, "but I'm so glad you stayed here with the kids."
"You know, I am, too," she sighed, running her fingertip along his jaw. "I enjoyed being with them both." She moved her feather touch to his neck and down his shoulder, making him shiver.
"Darlin', I…" he started.
"No," she said, "I know you are exhausted and need rest. I just missed touching you today, that's all. Close your eyes, sugar." She kissed him again, and felt him relax in sleep just a minute later. Something about his wound bothered her but she couldn't decide why. Wrapped in his arms, she slept.
Maura convinced Coleen to sleep in her own bed, and joined Aric in theirs. "So, exciting day?" she asked him, feeling his warm breath on the back of her neck.
"Not horribly, but we did make progress," he said, nuzzling her. "Coleen seems more settled, too. I didn't think I could take another night of her and her knees."
Maura chuckled. "Yeah, she gets pretty restless. We had a good day, even Miriah was relaxed." She sighed in contentment. "Glad we can all be here tomorrow."
"Yeah," Aric replied. "Corso can finish healing."
"What? What happened?" Maura asked, sitting up.
"The creature we killed speared his leg. No worries, Flar fixed him up." Aric pulled her back to lay against him. "He'll be fine with a day off to rest." Maura filed the fact that they'd had an injury in the back of her mind, and settled to sleep.
Corso blinked his eyes open to the muted lighting in their room, Miriah soft and warm beside him. She's so beautiful, he thought. He gently touched the raven hair spilling over her pillow, and she turned toward him in sleep. He studied her face, the long lashes the same color as her hair, the thin pink line of a scar on her cheek. He loved this face. He leaned forward and put a soft kiss on her nose, and her silver eyes slowly opened, a smile forming on her lips. She purred, loving the look in his eyes. No words were needed between them, they often woke each other up, although since the baby they'd been too tired. He devoured her mouth in a passionate kiss. Miriah shimmied out of her sleep shirt, revealing the slim but perfect body that never failed to make him lose his mind, and he rose above her, wanting her to be as aroused as he was. As he kissed down her neck he saw her in a different light. Her neck. He felt strange, his hands tingled, and he became aware that what he really wanted was to put his hands around her slender neck. She pushed up into him, momentarily distracting him from his thoughts of her neck. Her skin was soft and she felt so good against him, so right. Without knowing how, his hands encircled her neck, and even that felt right. He squeezed, gently at first, and then her eyes flew open wide, surprise and shock evident in their silver light. He felt himself squeeze her harder, saw the fear in her face, and laughed.
Corso woke, a silent scream on his lips. Miriah moved beside him but didn't wake. He stood shakily, scrubbing his face with his hands. It was a dream, he told himself, just a terrible, terrible dream. He walked to the refresher and looked at his drawn face in the mirror. What in the void brought that on, he wondered. His leg ached, and he looked down at it, not seeing any visible sign of injury. He limped back into their room and saw that Calypso was waking up. He scooped up the baby before she could wake Miriah and took her out to the lounge area to change and feed her.
Devin was on his way to the dining hall in the early morning and felt the dread, the fear and the shock that his father was feeling. Dad, he thought, what's going on? He knew he would have no time to try a holo, but reached out with the force to his mother and found that she was sleeping peacefully. Something has Dad freaked out big time, he thought. But what? He would send a message tonight, he swore to himself. Something strange is going on.
Corso's shakes slowly subsided as he cuddled and fed his daughter. As she usually did, she fell asleep before the last of her bottle was gone, and he gently placed her on his shoulder. She snuggled into him and let out a contented sigh. He just sat with her, unable to forget the nightmare he'd had. He had never ever wanted to hurt Miriah, and just the thought of it made him sick. He sat there until the ship's lighting started to grow, simulating morning, unable to shake the thought that somehow, something was making him want to hurt the one he loved the most.