The Dreamweaver landed softly, so much so that her occupants were barely aware they were on Dantooine. Miriah had been sleeping, Corso holding her, for hours now. He gently placed her on the pillows and went out into the lounge. Aric had organized their gear and the C2 unit was loading a sled with it now. The captain of the company stationed on the ranch stood at the end of the ramp with a sharp salute, and Aric returned it. They chatted for a moment before soldiers filed in to help unload and take things up to the house. He made sure that Sarai was escorted up before going back to Miriah, kissing her to wake her. She blinked her eyes open and took a deep breath. "We're here?"
"We are. It's sunny and warm, darlin'. Nothing like before." He helped her sit up and stand, and stood with her a moment to see if she was steady. She made her way slowly through the lounge, and stopped for a moment at the air lock.
"Do I look okay?" she asked, and saw him grin as he smoothed her hair.
"Beautiful as always," he said, and she took his arm. He could feel her tremble as she clutched him, and with halting steps they started to the house. They stopped once, and Corso offered to carry her, but she declined, smiling at him. Nodding to her, they set off again, and by the time they reached the mudroom, she felt her knees buckling under her. Without a word, Corso carried her inside and to the sofa.
"I'll build a small fire," he suggested, and she thanked him. Even during the middle of summer, it was cool in the evenings and inside the house. Caly came to sit with them as Aric and Torian stocked the kitchen with supplies from the ship, and asked her mother what sounded good for dinner.
"Anything you cook is fine with me, love," Miriah replied, and Caly smiled. Maybe her mom was coming back, she thought, and not the stressed out, grouchy Commander. "I'd love something to drink, if you would get it for me, please."
"Of course," Caly replied, kissing her mother's cheek as she rose to go to the kitchen. Corso took her spot.
"Darlin', if you want, I can help you to the bed," he told her, seeing the toll just the short walk had taken on her.
"No, I'm fine, really," she said. "I feel better for the rest, I mean, I know I need more, but I'm better than I've been since Rishi." Corso almost did a double take. Rishi was almost a year ago, he thought, and she's been suffering that long. He took her hand and kissed it, and turned to take the cold drink Caly had brought. "Oh, that's delicious!"
Caly beamed. "I thought of it on the way here, and figured it might be a good way to hydrate you." She explained the juice and flavors she'd put together, happy to be in a relaxed environment.
Devin had finished the day with all of the legal documents, and sent them on to Dantooine via the encrypted terminal. When the transmission finished, he heard his holo chime, and saw his father. "We're here, son. Everything is good. Mom has some carbonite sickness but she's feeling better," he said, and Devin frowned.
"I surely hope you all get a break there. Things are fine here." They discussed the next few days, and Devin reported the fate of the spy. Neither was upset about it. They finished their call and Devin was almost home, seeing Declan wave at him from the yard. Merida felt him as well, and he saw that they'd been playing outside for some time. Wondering where Mia was, he almost stepped on her as he made his way up the steps. "Whoa, hon. Didn't see you there," he told her, leaning down for a kiss.
"How was your day?" she asked him. He described what the office had been like and told her of his conversation with his dad. At that she looked puzzled.
"I know so little about carbonite and it's effects," she murmured. "Poor Mom." They gathered the kids and went inside, and Devin started his daily work with Merida. He was seeing how quickly she adapted her world for her force ability, amazed when she moved objects closer to her without any thought. They were meditating when she jumped to her feet and used force speed into the dining room. He followed and saw that she had a large bowl suspended in mid air, where Declan had accidentally pulled the tablecloth with his truck and almost was hurt by the crashing object. Quickly he grabbed the bowl and righted the cloth, and when he found Declan, Merida was hugging him and he was giggling at her.
"Very nice job, Merida," he told her, and saw her grin at him. So like Mom, he thought, and suddenly missed his parents.
Lana had napped off and on all day, and when Tali saw she was asleep again, she made her way into the kitchen, where Nico cooked dinner for them. "Mama is 'sleep. Can I help?" she asked, and he hugged her.
"You surely can. Want to put the plates on the table?" Nodding quickly, Tali took the offered plates and put them out, but came back to him.
"Not one for Mama?" she asked.
"She needs to eat on the sofa," he said. "To keep her feet up."
Tali thought about that for a moment. "So we can eat there, too?" she asked, hope shining in her eyes.
Smiling at her, Nico nodded. Tali skipped off to change their dinner arrangements and Nico thought of how much she had grown, emotionally and physically, since coming to live with them. Best decision of my life, he thought, but then amended that. No, best day was meeting Lana. He put all of the food in bowls and took everything to the sofa, where Tali had set up the plates and utensils and even pulled a vase of spring flowers from the counter. "Very pretty," he told her, and she went to kiss Lana's cheek, giggling when her mother pulled her up onto the sofa, tickling her.
"Feeling okay?" he asked her, and Lana nodded. They enjoyed their dinner, and when it was done, Tali went to play for a bit before bed. Nico sat beside his wife, his arm around her, feeling more settled than he had in weeks.
Solasta had been returning home for the day when she saw Ty and Coleen out in the courtyard. Hmm, she thought, as Ty fed her a morsel of food. I'm betting that Aric has no idea about this. It would bear keeping an eye on, since he was gone, she told herself. Her attention was diverted by Gursan and a bouncing Aissa, meeting her for dinner, and when she looked again, the couple was gone. Yes, I will indeed keep an eye on this.
Miriah sat at the filled worktable they'd always eaten at on Dantooine. She'd napped a little after they arrived, and she was hungry. Corso sat beside her, his hand on her thigh. When they all had food, she spoke. "I want to extend my apologies, to everyone. I was so not myself, that I know you all suffered for it." Everyone tried to tell her it was nothing, but it was. To her, at least. Aric just grinned at her.
"You are one stubborn woman," he said, and she laughed.
"You're right about that. I'm glad you and Maura are here." Sarai had gone to retrieve more wine from the cooler, and stopped to hug her daughter.
"I'm glad you're here, and getting a break," she said, pouring more wine for them all. They enjoyed the meal, and the men cleared and loaded the diswasher while everyone else went out to the front porch. Corso joined Miriah on the swing, settling into their usual positions, and they told stories about their lives here. Torian was loving the history, and sat on the step with his arms around Caly, who leaned back against him. When Corso told him of how the boys would play out in the yard, and Caly would stand on that step and tell them to do things, he laughed out loud.
"Well, I knew they really wanted to play tea party with me instead of always throwing the hutt ball," she explained with a smile. Torian put his chin on her shoulder.
"This would be a great place to be a kid," he said softly, and Caly murmured her agreement. It really was, she thought, and saw her mother's eyes growing heavy. I remember them out here, Mom falling asleep against Dad, just like they're sitting now, she thought. This really was a great idea.
Miriah felt herself being tugged toward sleep again. This is really nice, she thought, and felt Corso push the swing. So many memories here, but it feels right. She ran her hand over his arm, tucked around her, and he turned her face to his. "Need to go inside, love?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fading fast," she said, and felt herself being lifted up. "Goodnight, you guys, see you in the morning," she told everyone, hearing their responses and feeling loved. Corso took her to their room and set her gently on the bed.
"I'll get your tub ready, if you want to undress, darlin'." He left her for the refresher, and she took off her clothes, the movements tiring her more than she would have thought. When she made it to the refresher, she saw Corso bent over the tub, checking the temperature, and adding her scented oils. She was struck anew by how much he cared, how deep his love was, and felt guilty that she'd been angry before. Now, she ran her hand up his back and was rewarded with his broad grin. "I've missed us," he said softly, and took her in his arms, kissing her deeply.
When she could form thought again, she replied, "I've missed us, too." He helped her get settled in the water, then went to get her a bottle of water, remembering Mags' directive to keep her hydrated. He handed it to her and sat on the floor beside her, and they talked. About how grateful they were that they could relax, and Miriah told him about her obsessive need to control things. He already knew that, but he had grown so used to it that he rarely thought of it anymore. "I love you so much, sugar. I hate how I was." She reached out to touch his face, and he turned his head to kiss her palm.
"I knew my Mir was in there," he assured her, but his crack in his heart sealed up with her words, and he helped her to stand. "I want you, darlin'. But tomorrow. Tonight, I want you to sleep," he told her, and he could see the spark of desire in her eyes.
"Are you sure," she asked, but he felt her muscles tremble and knew she needed to wait.
"Very sure. Just being able to reach out and touch you is enough. For now." He got her into bed and ran back to shower off before joining her, taking her in his arms, feeling whole again.
Torian watched Caly as she got ready for bed. "The more I see of this place, the more I love it," he said and she smiled.
"It's pretty great most of the time," she replied, and pulled back the covers to slide in. "We may have thunderstorms late," she told him. "Nana said she feels them."
"I remember one we had here in winter. And as I remember, you couldn't get close enough," he teased, watching her blush.
"I was freezing," she said, giggling when he pulled her on top of him, their playfullness quickly turning to desire. It was only later that Caly remembered his words about growing up on Dantooine, but she dismissed them. They'd have children in their own time, she told herself, and snuggled to him as the thunder started.
Mom was right, Mags thought, but I'm not surprised by that. She felt Felix wrap her in warmth, and was grateful he was with her the only way he could be. She sighed but her heart was happy. Miriah would eventually recover, and they would have some time as a family. All in all, a pretty good thing, she thought, closing her eyes.
Miriah woke to the loud crash of thunder and the sharp spikes of lightning, and sat up. Corso was immediate up with her. "Just a storm, darlin'." He lay down with her, rubbing her back. "Need anything?"
"Just you," she replied, and welcomed his kiss. She put her head on his broad shoulder and he kissed her palm before placing it over his heart.
"I'm always here, Mir. Always. And you're always there," he told her, tapping her hand. She relaxed against him then, and slept.
Coleen got up again. Caitlin was getting teeth, and waking every couple of hours, in pain. She shuffled to the nursery and tried to soothe the baby, but nothing seemed to be working. Looking at the chrono, she sighed. At least school is out, she thought, and took Caitlin to the kitchen, getting a teething ring from the freezer. Caitlin gnawed on it for a bit then fell asleep in her mother's arms. Coleen was lying on the sofa, and fell asleep as well. The door chime woke her and she quickly jumped up to put the baby down, hoping against hope that she'd remain asleep. She pulled open the door and immediately felt embarrassed. Ty stood there, food bags in his arms. "I'm so sorry if I woke you," he said, and Coleen reached up to feel her hair sticking out all over, and noticed the drool still wet on her shirt.
"I'm sorry I look like something a rancor would reject," she said, but motioned him inside.
"I was off today, and wanted to give you a good start," he explained, and Coleen sighed. She told him of her night, and when she went to check on Caitlin, he set their food out. She returned, hair and teeth brushed, and smiled. They ate together, and when they were done, Ty told her to lie down. Gratefully, she stretched out again on the sofa, and was asleep in minutes. Ty gazed fondly at her, and settled into a chair, his datapad in his hand.