Corso shifted a little to let Miriah settle deeper into the pillow under her head. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, brushing the growing hair back over her shoulder. They had pleased each other twice before Miriah had settled into sleep, and even now, Corso worried about her. She and Lana had worked on contacting the Alliance planet leaders, letting them know about the demise of the Eternal Fleet, and as they'd gone on and on, he could see her spirits get lower and lower. Now, he thought, she looked at least peaceful. His arm under her still, he thought she felt light, and knew she had had little rest since Zakuul. He saw the tell-tale smudges under her eyes as she moved closer to him, shivering. He held her against his warm body and she relaxed again under the bedding he'd pulled over her bare shoulder. Too much, as always, he thought, and let his own eyes close for a moment before he felt Miriah wake. "Go to sleep, darlin'. You need it, and I need you to take better care of yourself," he murmured to her, and when she lay against him again, he sighed with relief.

"Love you, sugar. Didn't want you to think otherwise," she whispered, and he had to grin at the teasing tone of her voice.

"Love you, too. Rest," he told her, and she snuggled to him, her face against his neck, her breath warm where it feathered over his skin. They were quiet, and when Corso was sure Miriah was asleep, he let himself fall, too.

Caly had so many ideas running through her mind, she couldn't sleep. She had sat up, even after Torian had given in to rest, and made lists and daydreamed. Even now, in the wee hours of the morning, her eyes itching and burning, she found it hard to fall asleep. The dress she envisioned would be so beautiful, she thought. I can't wait to talk to Mom about it, and the cake, and the flowers. She grinned to herself as she realized that a wedding tomorrow would not have been what she wanted, and thanked the force Torian had seen that.

She looked over at him now, peaceful and totally relaxed, and couldn't believe how lucky she'd been to meet him. She only hoped her parents would understand their need to be married, and that they could convince them that it wasn't just physical need. Caly blushed at that thought, and admitted to herself that it was at least part of it. She'd grown up on a ranch, so she knew exactly how things worked, but the thought of being naked with Torian made her feel both cold and hot, and infused her with a power she never dreamed of. We have to convince them, she told herself, and forced herself to breathe in, then breathe out. After a few breaths, she felt her heart rate settle and her eyes grow heavy. Her last thought was of how Torian had kissed her just a few hours ago, and she fell asleep, a smile on her face.

Lana sat her bed, and sighed. The medcenter had been busy with a group of the hangar personnel that had taken some injuries as the Gravestone had been taken from it's moorings, and she didn't want to take anyone away from their duties to check on Theron. She could feel in the force that he was still unconscious, and lay back on her pillow. Nico had taken her to dinner, and then brought her back home, but didn't come inside. He said he didn't want to pressure her, and she understood. Now, she wished he'd just stayed. She had come to the conclusion a couple of hours ago that while she hoped Theron would recover, he was not the person she thought she'd married, and she didn't want to go back there. She finally just went into the shower and stood under the hot water, letting it relax her. When she finished, she slid under the covers and was immediately asleep, her heart light.

Miriah made her way to the office the next morning, feeling refreshed but worried about what the day would bring. She had already seen seven messages from different planetary leaders, all of whom had assured her that they were firmly with the Alliance. Ten more to go, she thought, nodding at the detail captain as she entered her office. Corso had been quiet, but he could feel that his wife was in a better frame of mind as she sat at her desk and sipped the hot cocoa he'd made her before they left home. He had cooked breakfast as she'd gotten ready, and she had eaten well. He could honestly say he felt great, and looked forward to the day. Lana came in and they did their daily brief, with nothing really to report except that Theron was stable.

"So, what do we do about Theron?" Lana asked, and Miriah simply looked at her friend.

"We wait until he's out of the kolto tank, and we get more information. We know now that there were many undercover operatives involved in this, not just Theron. We even have one in custody. He may have been telling the truth, Lana." Miriah watched Lana process that.

"How can I believe him when I saw him try to kill you with my own eyes?" Lana asked. "If I hadn't thrown myself in front of you, we wouldn't be sitting here."

"If I recall, we then chased him across a planet. On foot. So, on what setting was his blaster?" Miriah asked, and even Corso sat forward. He hadn't considered that, and now it was something he realized he had noticed at the time but dismissed amid the rage he felt over Miriah being a target. Again. "Theron wasn't on the planet when the courtyard attack occurred. There's a lot we won't know, until he's able to tell us. So, I'm reserving any formal statement for now, but I'm betting we'll find out that he's been working for the Alliance all along."

"The breach of trust was unforgivable," Lana said. Miriah studied her friend closely, and felt the residual hurt Lana still carried in the force.

"For you, personally, I totally agree. For the Alliance, it may have been necessary. I'm having the Gemini units here destroyed, just in case. I can't bear to think about someone having surveillance of us at all times," Miriah replied, and grinned at Corso, who blushed.

Caly brought herself up from sleep, and instantly her face brightened. Wedding, she thought, and jumped from the rumpled covers, headed for the refresher. She was so lost in her happy thoughts, she didn't realize that Torian had just turned the shower off, and they crashed into each other, Caly in her pajamas, but Torian wearing only his birthday suit, wet from the shower. "Oh! Hey!" Caly said, blushing furiously. "Sorry, I didn't.. I wasn't.."

Torian quickly turned his back to her and wrapped a towel around himself. "Good morning to you," he finally was able to say, his embarrassment complete. "You stayed up late, I think."

Caly managed to recover herself enough to nod. "Yes, I did, planning."

Torian chuckled then. "You are your mother's daughter," he said with a grin, holding the towel tightly around his waist. "I'll just go out here and dress. You do what you have to do."

Caly watched him leave, and sighed happily. She had graduation in a week, and now a wedding to plan. And, she thought, I think we're both going to be very happy. She blushed again, thinking of what she'd just seen, and washed her face, a happy tune in her head.

Corso went to the apartment around noon, and started to make lunch. When the chime rang and then the door opened, he knew it was Caly. She came bursting into the kitchen, her face beaming and happiness all around her. Torian follwed, and even he looked happy. Something's up, Corso realized, and hugged Caly as she threw herself into his arms.

"Dad! How are things today? It's got to be a relief to be home, anyway," she said, and Corso smiled.

"It is good, sweetie. Mom got a good night's rest and will be here for lunch soon," he told her, and she immediately pitched in, Torian putting dishes on the table. They chatted, but Corso knew they were not telling him everything. He played along, thinking they wanted to wait until Miriah was here. If she's pregnant, he decided, I will kill him. Once he had that settled in his mind, he let every other concern go and enjoyed the lightness of being happy.

Lana had gone back to her office and was reassured by the communications that were coming in. They had heard from every planet in the Alliance, and they were all positive. So if we only lose two planets, then we're still as strong as we were, she thought. Even without the Fleet. We have the same technology. She stood, intending to grab some lunch, but she found herself at the medcenter instead, looking at the kolto tank that held her ex husband. Why do I keep ending up here, she asked herself, turning to go. She felt his presence, but it was muted in the force, due to the sedatives in his system. Oh, Theron, what did you do? And why didn't you tell me, or at least give me some clue. She shook her head hard and forced her feet forward. She took a detour at the war room and went to the construction hangars. There she saw the ship once designated for the Commander being refitted and the other ships in various stages. Seeing they were all within weeks of completion, she smiled and wandered toward the cantina, hoping to find Nico.

Miriah heard her datapad beep and looked at the message. Hmm, she thought. Corso had told her that lunch was ready, and that Caly and Torian were acting strange. Happy, but strange. She stood and saw Lana as she passed. Going to the door, she motioned for Aric and showed him the message. "Not exactly what I expected, but okay. Do you want Maura and me to find something else to do?"

"No, no. I may need help with Corso if Torian has touched his little girl," Miriah said, chuckling.

"You don't seem nervous about it," Aric observed, the detail forming around them as Maura joined them.

"I'm not. They're destined to be together, and Devin told me how hard Caly worked when Torian was activated. She's matured so much since we've been on Odessen, so I have to give her credit." Maura nodded and they walked into the apartment, the smells of food beckoning them to the dining room.

Caly waited until everyone was almost done eating, and stood at the end of the table. "Mom, Dad, I made excellent scores on my internship grading. My instructor said he would give me any recommendation I wanted." She hugged them both and saw that they were waiting for the next part. "And we want to get married sooner than we originally planned." Caly waited for the uproar but it didn't come.

Miriah looked into her daughter's eyes. "Is there a reason?" she asked calmly, her hand on Corso's twitching shoulder.

"We realized, well, I realized when I was activated, that it was possible I wouldn't come home, and I wanted Caly to at least have my survivor benefits if that happened," Torian explained. "I couldn't stand the thought of her trying to live her dreams without me in them."

Corso stood. "I will ask this delicate question, and understand, a lot rides on this answer." Caly and Torian nodded, both swallowing hard. "Caly, are you expecting a little one?"

"No! Dad! How could you think that?" Caly's shock and embarrassment was all over her face, and Torian had backed away from her a few steps.

"It was the most obvious question to ask," Maura replied, getting nods and murmurs of agreement.

"Well, that's not it!" Caly said, beginning to get a little angry with her family. "I just want to have the wedding of my dreams before the galaxy ends, or the Alliance comes under attack again!"

Miriah sat in her chair. "Okay, I can understand that. Can me and Dad talk about it?" Caly nodded and grabbed Torian's arm, leading him to the family room without another word. Miriah let out a big sigh when they could no longer see them. "Corso, are you okay?"

Corso had felt his heart stutter a little with the pregnancy question, but he figured it was more adrenaline than an actual arrhythmia. "I'm fine," he said, and pulled Miriah into a hug.

"Do you promise?" she whispered, and felt him nod against her. When they parted, Miriah took another drink of water. "Well, then, I guess we have a wedding to plan. I was so shaken up I didn't ask when."

"She is a grown woman," Aric said. "And lucky to find her soul mate early enough to spend a good, long time with him." He put his arm around Maura, who lay her head on his shoulder. "They practically live like a married couple now."

"True," Miriah said, and felt Corso squeeze her hand. "But I'll protest it altogether if it affects your heart, sugar."

"He's not taking her away to another planet, and I know they love each other, have been together awhile," Corso replied, then sighed again. "I suppose I can always take him out if he cheats or mistreats her." He stood. "I'll go get them, see what the actual plans are." Miriah watched him with worried eyes, but he hadn't put his hand on his chest or get that look he always got when his heart went crazy. I have to trust him when he says he's okay, she thought, and waited for her daughter to return.