Miriah woke to the sounds of family in the apartment. Her head ached and she was sore all over, but she slowly sat up and worked her way to the refresher. A quick shower and she admitted to herself that she felt refreshed. She was pulling on a long sleeved, soft t-shirt when Corso appeared, smiling at her. "There's my beautiful one," he said softly, and she could hear the love in his voice. "Feeling a little better?"
"I am," she replied, and lifted her face for his kiss. She offered more, and he took it, before remembering the crowd in the apartment. Reluctantly, he drew back.
"The babies are all here," he whispered, but never loosened his arms.
"We'll be together later, though," she said softly.
"Just, stand here a little longer, darlin'." He took a deep breath, filling his nose with her scent, as he enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. When his body had sufficiently calmed, he drew back. "Let's go love on the babies, shall we?"
"Absolutely," Miriah replied and followed him to the family room. Declan squealed and ran to her, James on his heels. Miriah sat in the floor with them, the little boys showing her their toys, Merida in her lap. The little girl caught the undercurrents of Miriah's emotions and turned her somber face to her grandmother. Through the force, Miriah felt Merida's inquiry, and hugged her close. "I'm fine, little one, I promise," she whispered and Merida's hand stroked her cheek.
Devin could tell there was some deep communication between his mother and daughter, but let them be. Mom needs this, he thought. A reason to keep pushing, keep going. Then he shook his head. No, Mom needs a break. A true break. Like they had on Rishi. He saw her slowly stand, and his dad going to steady her. They both do, he realized, noting the lines on Corso's face.
Lana and Tali waited for Nico's ship to land. He'd been given clearance and now they could see the speck of it as it descended to the surface. It seems like he's been gone more than four days, Lana thought, and felt Tali's hand squeeze hers. They would both enjoy having him home. As the ship landed and the cargo started to be brought down the ramp, she sighed with relief. Nico's familiar form came into view, and Tali ran to him. Together they approached Lana, and she smiled. He leaned down to kiss her and when he straightened, she could see he was relaxed. "How's the little one? And his mom?" he asked, putting Tali on her feet.
"Everyone is good," she said, taking his offered arm. "Glad to have you back on Odessen. How was the run?"
"Brought in all the cargo we went after, no issues with the fuel pricing. Very routine," he answered, patting her hand. "I may have, uh, picked up a few things for the baby."
Lana laughed. "I can't wait to see them." They walked through the smuggler hangar, but Lana only saw her little family, her world complete now that Nico was back.
Aric sat at his desk, his holo near his hand. He wanted to call Dantooine, but he kept talking himself out of it. Mir should make this decision, he told himself, but he knew he wanted information so badly that he'd risk making her angry to find out. Before he could hesitate again, he completed the frequency numbers on the holo's readout and waited. The blue image of the company commander on the ranch answered quickly. "Colonel Jorgan. How can I be of assistance?" he said.
"We've gotten a tip about possible piracy on Dantooine, wanted to check and see if you've seen or heard anything," Aric answered, and saw the man's face draw into a puzzled frown.
"We've not come across anything, but I will contact the Republic forces and the Dantooine militia, see what they might know." Aric saw him pull a datapad to him, making notes. "Anything I find out, I will let you know asap."
"Thanks, Captain. It may be nothing but a rumor, but since Dantooine is our home, we are understandably wary."
"Agreed. I'll report back to you shortly." With a nod, they ended the call, and Aric sat back in his chair. He would never have put any credence to Saresh's words, except Mags said she'd been beaten several times, seeing old wounds in partial healing states along with new ones. He could tell how bad it had been by the reluctance of Mags to talk about it. He sighed, and closed his eyes. The spy still on Odessen, the constant skirmishes on Ossus and on the outer edge of Alliance space, along with the possible issues on Dantooine, all colliding in his head. No wonder Mir's on edge, he thought.
Caly was in the kitchen with her sisters in law, making a huge meal for them all. They had been talking about the children, and Caly laughed with them at their antics. She had turned to the counter, finishing the salad, when she heard Lara ask how married life was going for her. "I love it," she said, her smile genuine. "We get along great, and Torian is so supportive."
"You guys are well matched," Mia said. "And I love that you are still doing the videos, Caly. I can make some of the recipes now, and we all enjoy them."
"I'm glad," Caly replied. "I really think I like cooking for Mom and Dad more than anything I've done. I've seen Mom come in so exhausted, and if I hadn't cooked, they might have skipped eating."
"They all work so hard to keep us going," Lara said. "At least, Devin is helping out."
"He tries," Mia said. "He said he never knew the amount of work required day to day, but he comes home more content than he was at the temple." Caly handed the large bowl to her, and Mia grinned. "Let's get them all to sit, I think we're ready." Caly nodded and took up the large platter of meat, happy to provide a little break for them all.
They had gathered at the table, and Miriah felt her heart fill with gratitude for her family. They laughed and joked, the food was excellent and she was temporarily able to take her mind off of the past few days. Corso saw that she was only picking at her food and touched her arm.
"Need anything, darlin'?"
Miriah smiled at him. "I'm fine, sugar. Just taking my time." She ate a little more, and when Caly stood to get dessert, she followed her daughter into the kitchen. "Caly, love. Let me do something," she said, but Caly shook her head.
"Nope. You do stuff every day, and you've fed us so many times, Mom. Let me do this," she replied, and Miraih hugged her then, her pride in the young woman evident.
"Okay, then," she said, and followed Caly into the dining room. They've all grown up, she thought, and sighed.
As much as she had enjoyed the family meal, and her husband later, the middle of the night saw Miriah pacing, thinking through the current problems and wondering about new ones. Aric had sent her a message about the report from Dantooine that made her worry about the ranch, and she briefly considered a visit there. She also had a message from Lana, stating that the fuel pricing had been equalized with the Republic stations. At least one good thing, she thought, and looked over at Corso, who was sleeping deeply. Her body was tired, but she just couldn't shut her thoughts off, and hated to keep him from resting, so she went out into the family room. She was making another turn around the perimeter when she felt Devin through their force connection. Mom, how can I help you rest?
I'm okay, son. Just thinking.
I'm worried about you.
Don't be. I'm fine, just trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. Go back to sleep.
Try to lie down, at least. For me.
I will.
Miriah sighed and stretched out on the sofa, but decided that Corso would wake if he reached for her and she was gone. Going back into their room, she almost ran headlong into the object of her worry. Corso reached out to steady her. "Sorry, love. Wanted to make sure you were alright," he told her, and she lay down beside him. He was almost instantly asleep again, but she continued to think, until her mind was so jumbled it finally shut down and she slept.
Aric and Maura were standing outside the offices the next morning. "Mir, I think we need to send eyes to Dantooine," Aric started with, stopping when he saw Miriah's hand come up.
"What about the people already there?" she asked, and Corso nodded.
"No one seems to know of any pirates, or Imps, for that matter, on Dantooine," Aric said. "But.."
"You don't trust the consensus of three military professionals?" she asked, her eyebrow arched. Aric hesitated. The plan he'd thought out now seemed like it might be an affront to those already there. Sighing, he sat in the chair across the desk from Miriah.
"Maybe you're right," he said, a frown on his face. "I just feel uneasy about it all."
"I do, too," Miriah agreed, "but we have to trust that the people there are telling us the truth." She leaned back in the chair, and Maura could see the fatigue. "Besides, I want to try to flush out our spy. Maybe plant some misinformation, something that he or she wouldn't be able to stand not passing on."
"Hmm I suppose we can put something together," Aric said, but Corso jumped up.
"Only information. You're not being used as bait, Miriah," he said firmly, and she could see his determination.
"Okay, sugar. I wasn't planning on being in the middle of it," she said, and saw him relax a fraction from his aggressive stance. "We need something believable, though. Something that can be seen as a slip on our part."
"Troop movements? We are sending replacements to Dantooine next week," Maura said. "Maybe we release a bigger number than we're really sending, if there's any truth at all of pirates or Imps, then that would get a response."
"Maybe. I was thinking of leaking an itinerary. Visiting planets in the Alliance close to Imperial space," Miriah said, and saw Aric sit back.
"That might work," he grudgingly admitted. "How would we leak it?"
"I'm not sure," Miriah said. "It would have to be subtle. And reach a broad enough audience that the spy would hear of it."
"But not from you," Corso added, still not convinced that she would be safe.
"I'll think on it some more, we don't have to do it today," Aric said, mostly because he wanted to ease Corso's mind, but also because he wanted to think out every angle. "C'mon, Cor. Let's go get some caf." Corso followed him out of the office, but not without looking over his shoulder at his wife.
"Back in a few, darlin'," he told her, and she smiled at him.
Maura waited until the men had gone down the hallway to speak. "Things are crazy," she said softly.
"Worse than ever, I think," Miriah replied. "So many things going on, I feel like I can't keep up."
"What can I do, Mir?"
"Nothing, really. I just keep plugging away, hoping to do the right things." Miriah drew her datapads close. "Maybe, one day, it will all fall into place."
Maura smiled then, and nodded. "Maybe so."
Lana had risen and had breakfast, all nausea free. Now she was enjoying the sunshine and fresh air as she walked with Tali to school, the last week before break. What they would do next week, she wasn't sure yet. Nico would be home some, and she knew that the child care facility would be available, but she really didn't want Tali to feel like she was being forgotten again. Ideally, she'd find a suitable care giver to come to their place, but she hadn't truly looked for one. Sighing, she stopped at the mess hall for a snack before going to the office, and saw Aric and Corso. They waved but continued on, and she made her way to the line.
Aric sat on the bench, and Corso paced for a bit before joining him. "I just don't know," he said and Aric nodded.
"If we do need to grab her and go, it's the best option," Aric said.
"At what point do we do that, though? And what if there are pirates and Imps there?"
"It would give us a plausible excuse for going, Mir could get a break from so many people wanting her to do things and go places. It might be the only way to keep her from being so stressed out. Just you two, me and Maura, maybe Torian and Caly."
"It's a good option," Corso finally said. "I'll ask the flight deck to stock and get the ship ready, just to stand by."
"What will be the point at which we take her out of here?" Aric asked, and Corso shook his head.
"I guess we'll know it when we know it," he replied. "Or she shoots somebody."
Lana was on her way to the office when she spotted the two men again, sitting in the courtyard. They must be working on something, she thought, but left them alone. Entering the office wing, she glanced into Miriah's office. All she could see was the mountain of datapads stacked on her desk, and shook her head. Devin had done a lot, and she was guessing that now Mir was doing the approvals. She settled at her desk but hadn't even put her tea down when she felt the hard cramp in her abdomen. Going still, she waited to see if it was a one time thing or not. After several minutes, she took a deep breath and sat back, afraid to move. When nothing further happened, she decided it must have just been a fluke, and briefly wondered if it was just growing pains. Yeah, that must have been it, she decided, and carried on with her morning report.