Maura was a little disconcerted at the total silence in the ship. One year and one month ago, she thought, I had just given birth to the twins, and now I'm leaving them. She'd been moving in a daze all day, not really seeing anything around her, just feeling lost and empty. Since the twins had become mobile, the ship just wasn't big enough or safe enough for tiny hands that pulled and twisted things, so they'd decided that they'd try, for this mission, to leave the twins at home. With Miriah. Who volunteered, even though she had to do some contortions to get around her pregnant belly to pick them up. They both loved their aunt, and this should be a short mission, so they decided to give it a try. Maura had only called three times today, and Aric once. Maura sighed, hoping they'd made a good decision. Corso would be there a majority of the time as well, and Mir said she'd bring her C2 unit to help out.

Aric found Maura on the bridge, staring at the elongated stars flying past at hyperspeed. "Maura, honey, you know they're fine. When I called, Corso was in the floor playing with the kids and Miriah was cooking their favorite pasta and cheese. Everyone was happy. Except I can see it's killing you inside."

"It just seems like I'm shirking my responsibility somehow, I feel guilty that I'm off and my preggo sister is taking care of my two toddlers." She turned away from him, anxiety written across her usually calm face. "Maybe it will be better tomorrow." She let Aric lead her to the galley to have dinner. When she reached the crew, they all seemed a little subdued. Tanno was downright morose, picking at a dish that he usually liked.

"I miss the little guys," he said, looking up at Maura as she approached the table. "Have you talked to them today?"

"Yes, they're fine, and I miss them too," she told Tanno. She sat heavily, picking at her food as well. Aric held her other hand, and fed her a bite from his plate. She took it with a smile at him, somehow knowing they all felt the same made her feel a little less anxious about the absence of little people. She managed to eat a little, and then went to their quarters. The navcomp would let them know when they'd exited hyperspace, and they could all rest until then. She'd just gotten settled in bed when she heard the holo. She jumped up, thinking the worst, and was pleasantly surprised to see Magdalane instead.

"Hey stranger," Maura told her older sister. "How are you, Mags?" She really didn't need to ask, Mags was glowing with health, her own pregnancy still in early stages. Babies everywhere, Maura thought.

"I'm well, but I'm worried about Miriah. I've tried calling her all day, but no one is there." Maura explained what was going on, and Mags sighed with relief.

"I know it must have been hard to leave them, but you know they're being cared for," Mags told her sister, seeing the anxiety on her face. "Enjoy this little bit of time, you'll see them soon." They signed off, and Maura returned to bed. Aric was on watch, and he'd hand off to Tanno soon, but she wasn't sure she could stay awake. Sure enough, as soon as she stretched out, she was sleeping, the stress of the day weighing heavily.

Miriah and Corso had bathed the twins and finally gotten all the cheese out of Calleigh's fur. Corso had needed to change his shirt after, he had gotten as wet as the babies. After some snuggles and giggles, two books and a song, they were finally asleep. Miriah looked at her husband and collapsed on the couch, totally worn out. "I know there's two of them, but I'm beginning to have serious doubts about my ability to do this with our own." Corso took her hand in his, pulling her to lie down with her head in his lap.

"It's just different, sweetheart, that's all. I had fun, and I know you did too before you got tired. You'll be fine, besides, they didn't get here at this level of activity. Maura had time to get used to it gradually." He pulled bits of cracker out of her hair, which Colin had taken out of its ponytail earlier.

Miriah smiled, "They are cute, though, when they try to run from each other and end up falling and rolling around giggling." She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking of what needed to be done before the chaos started again in the morning, but only fell asleep instead.

Corso just watched her sleep, thinking how much he loved her and their son, and how lucky he felt just to be with her every day. He thought about the past few months and how he'd been increasingly afraid of losing her, even though she had reassured him on numerous occasions that she was happy with her life and with him. He dozed lightly, and dreamed of his parents, but not the awful dream. This was new, his dad telling him that he needed to let go of the uncertainty, and embrace what was in front of him. When he woke after just a few minutes, he remembered that, and it did give him peace. He gently woke his wife, and helped her upstairs to the room they'd be using for a few days.

Maura woke, amazed that she'd slept the entire hyperspace time, and looked at Aric, also sleeping peacefully. She jumped up, checked the time on Dantooine, and made for the holo. When the call was received, she saw Miriah in her pajamas, the twins in their chairs. Both Colin and Calleigh were laughing at Corso, who was making funny faces as their pancakes cooked. Maura had to smile, the scene was just darn cute. She felt Aric come up behind her to chuckle at the sight as well.

"Hey, look, it's Mom and Dad!" Miriah said to the babies. Calleigh's eyes got big as she saw them, and Colin started chanting "MaMaMaMa". He'd started that just before they'd left, and it grabbed Maura's heart. She waved, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.

"Hey little man," Aric told him, "It's Dada." Colin waved his arms and Calleigh lifted her arms, wanting her dad to hold her.

"They're fine, we're fine, all is well," Miriah told them. Corso waved, stacking pancakes and cutting them into pieces for the twins, who fell on them as if they were starving. "We really did feed them last night, they just love anything Corso does," she told them, nudging him with her elbow. "Ok guys, just like we practiced last night. Wave goodbye, see?" She showed them and they copied her. Aric grinned at them, told them they'd check in later, and disconnected the call.

"They're doing well, and I figured Miriah would be ready to scream by now," Aric said, leading Maura back to bed.

"She's always just adapted to the situation. She had to, especially when she was young. She never knew what would happen day to day." They shared a long shower, and then joined Tanno, Yuun and Elara for breakfast. They'd pick up the diplomat they'd been sent for, then, barring any unforeseen problems, be back on Dantooine in two days.

When they'd finished eating, Aric and Maura went to the bridge. Aric turned to her, "Tell me about what went on when you and Miriah were girls. I always hear things, like you said before, but never the whole situation."

Maura was silent for a few minutes, but Aric waited her out. "You know Miriah was kind of an afterthought when my father was killed. Mother had just, I don't know, checked out of life. She worked, sometimes days at a time, then came home and slept. You know she left me and Mir with the droid when Mir was only a week old?" Aric nodded, watching Maura pace as she talked. "I taught her to talk, to walk, did most of her care when she was an infant and toddler. The droid scared her, and she would screech whenever it would try to dress her. Mother never spent more than a few minutes a day with either of us. I don't think Mother could look at Mir without seeing Dad, and it just shut her down." She sat down again, fidgeting with a pocket. "Mother told Miriah, when she was ten years old, that she'd never loved or wanted another child but she'd agreed to have her because Dad wanted another." That stunned Aric, Sarai had always been so warm and open to him, it was a shock that she would have said something so hateful to her own daughter. "So Mir, thinking that if her own mother didn't love her, no one else would, just turned to me and Mags."

Aric nodded at her again, "You've given her a wonderful gift, then, in trusting the twins to her. You're showing her that not only can she love, but that she has family who loves her back. You're a strong, caring, wonderful mother, Maura. Nothing like what you grew up with. You've left the twins for a few days, yes, but with someone who loves them almost as much as we do." He held her as she shed a few tears, then looked up at him.

"I'll just be glad to hold them again, " she told him, and he agreed.