Miriah was staring into nothing, wholly consumed by her thoughts. Corso had watching her carefully this past week, ever since Aric told him of the plan to spirit her away if necessary. He saw her withdraw more every day, into herself, sleeping fewer and fewer hours. Mags had messaged him the day before, asking if there needed to be an intervention on the sleep front, but he knew it was deeper than that. The plan was to leak info on a possible planetary visit, but he was not happy with that, either. Still, if it gave her some relief, he'd just keep her as safe as possible. Seeing her so out of things, however, made him more nervous. "Mir?"he said softly.
"Hmmm?" She did respond, but not really, he saw. She never broke her stare, and he could practically hear her thoughts colliding in her mind. After a minute of watching her, he accidentally knocked a thick catalog of weapons onto the floor with a resounding thud.
Miriah reacted without conscious thought, leaping out of the chair and turning at the same time, her blaster drawn. When she realized what had broken her concentration, she frowned, and lowered the blaster she had pointed at Corso. "I'm sorry, sugar," she sighed. "That startled me."
Corso stood to take her in his arms. "Darlin', this has to change."
"As soon as the spy is caught, we can take a few days..."
"I'm holding you to that," he said, kissing her head. He held her for a minute more, letting the feel of her in his arms reassure him.
Devin had taken the children for an afternoon at the park, since the weather had warmed, letting Mia have an afternoon for herself. He grinned thinking of her running a bath, which she was doing as he left. She'll enjoy getting a little break, he thought, and pushed Merida in the swing. Declan was playing in the sand, absorbed in his own little world. When Merida wanted to go play with him, Devin sat on the bench, pulling snacks and his datapad out. There were a few more children filtering into the play area, and he could see Declan sharing his toys with another little boy. Merida came to sit beside him and he handed her some juice and crackers. They had been sitting peacefully when Devin heard a wail. Jumping up, her hurried over to Declan, who had a fresh bite mark on his arm. Before he could even pick his son up, the biter was being suspended in mid air, and Devin turned to see his daughter's scowl. "Merida, put him down!" he said sharply, which made Declan cry harder. He hurried back to where Merida stood on the bench, putting Declan beside her. The other child had run to his mother, whose mouth hung open at the sight.
"I'm really sorry," she started, but Devin shook his head.
"It happens, Dec will be fine," he said, and turned back to his son, whimpering now. Merida put her hand over the bite mark, and the redness disappeared, leaving only the imprints of tiny teeth. Devin could only stare at this, but Merida was chattering to her brother, who looked at his sister with such love that Devin decided to say nothing at all. Sighing, he gathered their things, putting Declan's toys in his bag, and told them they could go for ice cream. He put them in the stroller, and set off, not seeing the datapad that he'd dropped between the slats of the bench.
Lana had been taking it easy since the episode in the office the week before. Tali was at her last day of school, though, and she knew Nico would be home for the next week, so she felt relaxed. Her only worry was the Commander. She had seen the steady decline Miriah had been going through, and had reached out to her several times, wanting to help. Each time, Miriah declined, and each time, Lana felt helpless. She poked her head around the door now, and saw Corso holding his wife close. At least that's a good sign, she thought, and continued on to the mess hall for lunch with Nico and Tali. She was almost at the door when she had another sharp pain, which stopped her in her tracks. Doubled over, she didn't see Devin approaching, and when he guided her to the bench, she sat gingerly. "Lana, I just put you here to get some help," Devin explained, and she nodded. This couldn't be ignored, she realized, and desperately hoped it was nothing, fearing it was everything.
Devin peeked inside the mess hall and found Nico, but Tali was already running toward her mother. He explained what he saw, and together, the men helped Lana stand. "Let's get you to the med center," Nico said softly, and Lana nodded through her tears. Devin and the stroller filled with children followed, wanting to make sure that Nico didn't need help. Once they had gone into the emergency part of the med center, Devin turned to the elevators again, and felt his mother's anxiety. He saw the detail at the landing, and joined his parents.
Miriah had finally taken a break, and Corso had enticed her to the mess hall for lunch. When Devin and the children joined them, she smiled for the first time that day. Merida lifted her arms, and Miriah hugged her close, carrying the little girl on her hip as they made their way outside. Devin explained what had happened that day, from Declan's bite, which was almost gone, to Merida's force use, to finding Lana. At the news about Lana, Miriah started to turn around, but Corso stopped her. "You know she's in good hands, and right now, you probably won't know anything yet," he told her, and reluctantly, she proceeded across the courtyard. Merida fell asleep on Miriah's shoulder, and once they were inside, Miriah placed her into the stroller. Devin went to gather food for them, and Declan sat in Corso's lap. Miriah smiled again, the presence of her grandchildren breaking through the brain fog she'd been immersed in for days now.
"I've been a mess, haven't I?" she said, and Corso leaned over to kiss her briefly.
"I know you're worried about everything, but I'm worried about you, darlin'." Declan crawled over his Papa to sit in Mimi's lap, and leaned against her, getting sleepy himself. By the time Devin returned, both children were asleep and Corso was holding Miriah close.
"You've still got the touch," Devin remarked, and Miriah laughed.
"They're so precious," she murmured, and took the bowl of stew that Corso handed her. She nibbled on the fresh cooked vegetables and tender ronto chunks, but it was more to appease Corso than anything else. She felt herself slipping back into the fog when she heard Devin say that he had misplaced his datapad. Instantly she was alert. "So you can't find it?" she said, and saw him wink at her.
"I had it at the park, but I don't have it now," Devin said, but he made no move to retrieve it.
"I'm sure someone will return it," Corso said, and continued to enjoy his food.
Miriah knew that the seed had been planted, and it gave her a sense of relief. "I'm sure," she said, but inside she felt a little hope. Maybe, she thought. Maybe some of this stress will be done soon.
Lana lay back on the exam bed and let her tears of relief flow into her hair. Tali held one hand, Nico the other. The scan showed the baby was fine, she kept telling herself. She had relaxed significantly when the obstetrician came back to speak to her. "Everything is good, the baby's heartbeat is strong, there's no bleeding," he said. "But, remember, I told you this is considered a high risk pregnancy. From this point until I tell you, you have to be lying down except for a shower and to use the refresher."
"So, this pain?" Lana asked.
"There are many, many muscles involved in letting your body accommodate the changes required to bring a baby to term," he explained. "As we get older, it becomes harder for those muscles to adapt."
"Bed rest it is," Nico said, and she felt Tali squeeze her hand. "We can handle it."
Lana gave him a watery smile, hoping that was all she needed to do. She was already so in love with the little guy, she thought. Tali grinned at her then, and she felt hope for the first time since she'd felt Devin guiding her to the bench.
Caly picked up the packed suitcase and handed it to the porter droid. Last night, she had pulled her father aside, wanting to voice her concerns about her mother. Corso had told her then of the plan to take Miriah away at the first sign that they could, and she supported it wholeheartedly. Torian was on board as well, and at least now, they had clothing ready for the journey. Caly knew it was a matter of when, not if. There were so many leftovers in the fridge at their apartment now, Caly didn't need to cook for a week. In fact, Corso had told her to let them reheat something tonight, so she could prepare. She thought back to the drawn face, the purple smudges under Miriah's eyes, and wanted to hug her mother so badly. Logan had come by earlier today, and was concerned as well. She knew that there was some sort of plan to smoke out the spy, but she figured the less she knew, the better. All I want is for Mom to get a break from the stress, she thought. Maybe we can take her away soon. With that thought, she tidied the apartment and started dinner for Torian.
Aric walked through the park, but didn't spot the datapad. Good, he thought. On his way back into the secure area, he met the detail and followed it inside, sitting across from Miriah. "You look like hell, Spitfire," he said, and Miriah sent him a wry grin.
"I know, but hopefully at least one thing will be removed from my worries soon," she said, and he nodded.
"We have force users stationed and ready," he said. "If there's a transmission, we'll know it."
"I hope so," Corso said. "This has to end."
"I also heard from Dantooine," Aric replied. "There have been a few skirmishes between farmers and some off worlders in the past few days. There's been no camp or other settlements found, but they do seem to be concentrated in one area, so we're sending another company down for a sweep."
Miriah nodded. "We have to keep on top of that," she said, and Corso could see her already retreating into her worries again. He grabbed her hand, and she swung around to look at him.
"Let's go home, love," he told her, but she shook her head.
"I need to check on Lana." She told Aric what had happened and he grew concerned as well. Standing, they all made their way downstairs.
Lana sat up slowly, letting her dizziness fade before trying to stand. Nico was by her side, and she leaned heavily on him. "I'm so glad the bean is okay," she whispered, and felt him hug her to his side.
"Me, too," he said softly, his voice hoarse with emotion. They started to the exit but stopped when the command detail came to a stop, Miriah emerging from between them to hug Lana.
"I hear you're going to be resting more," Miriah said with a small smile. "Don't worry about it, Lana. Things will work out fine."
"You need to be resting more, and not worrying," Lana admonished, and Miriah blushed.
"I know, we're a pair, aren't we?" They held onto each other for a moment more. "At least there will be a wonderful baby at the end, Lana. That's worth it."
"Indeed," Lana said. Nico nudged her.
"We need to get you off your feet, hon," he told her, and she nodded. Miriah watched them go, and sighed. She really was tired, she thought, and turned to the detail. Corso reached out for her and she fell into his arms. He lifted her up and they made their way home, Miriah too tired to move.
Aric was monitoring the datapad remotely, and saw the little indicator go green when it was unlocked. Leaning forward, he practically rubbed his hands together, excited that the spy might be revealed at last. He dispatched the forward team to the location, and sat back to wait. Soon, he thought. Soon this will be over.
The spy had indeed picked up the datapad, and now was working on decoding the files. There was only one that appeared in the directory, and he frowned. If this was the only thing on this device, how much use has it seen, he wondered. Shrugging, he started working to unlock it.
The temple, Aric asked, confused. The datapad was in the temple. He stood and almost ran to the elevator, the question of location one he pushed aside. He saw Devin standing outside the doors of the Jedi building, and saw his frown. He had turned to speak to his uncle when the burst of dark force invaded his consciousness and instead he surged forward into the temple.
I've got it now, the spy thought, and connected to his force. He was sending the message to the waystation, as his power was not great enough to send it directly. He had just finished when the door banged open, and he saw the tall, dark haired Jedi, his upper half radiating pure white light, but he purple and red of the dark side twined around his legs. This isn't good, he thought, before he went down in a heap, the force knocking him out.
Caly had been in her parent's apartment, warming food for them. She had her back to the kitchen door, and was startled when it banged open. She whirled around to see her mother, blaster in her hand, pointed at her. "Mom! It's me! Caly!" she screamed, and she could see when Miriah recognized her voice. Her head came up and she went wide eyed before slumping to the floor in a heap. Caly went to her, kneeling beside her, her tears falling into the mass of ebony hair.