AN: Just a heads up that this chapter includes some time jumps.

How you turned my world,

you precious thing

– "Within You", David Bowie

Three months pregnant…

"I will admit that I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to sacks of flesh, but I am certain that most of you do not eat a seaweed roll covered in frosty treat."

Eldra poked her tongue out at the droid, since she was in a bad enough mood to let herself be overtaken by the childish urge. She was sat on the sofa with her legs outstretched, leaning against the arm with the bowl of food resting on her lap. The rational part of her agreed with Venny that the meal before her was disgusting, and if she was still experiencing morning sickness she would have definitely thrown up at the smell by now. The pregnant part of her, meanwhile, screamed at her to gobble up the food before anyone could come along and steal it.

She stabbed violently at the seaweed roll with her fork before shovelling an oversized bite in her mouth, the melted frosty treat dripping back into the bowl. Immersing herself in her weird food cravings helped her ignore how she was still in shock at everything that had happened, how the entire situation was screwed up and unfair, and how pointless everything felt in the face of her unavoidable death.

"I plan to watch the latest episode of The High Republic later, if you wish to join me," said Venny. He was still standing above her, unmoving. "I will let you make fun of it, if it makes you feel better."

"No thanks," Eldra muttered between mouthfuls. "I just wanna be left alone." Her gaze was drawn to the apartment window, and she stared wishfully out at the people driving by. She wondered how many women on Coruscant were pregnant.

The longing to see another face – any face – was growing by the day. Normally she would fill that hole by spending time with either one of the two she was sharing the apartment with, but thanks to the pregnancy, she could only tolerate seeing one of them. The other had been relegated back to just having interactions with her whenever they sparred, because she could only stand to be around him whenever she was beating him up.

Her anger at him trumped her loneliness. She didn't know how long that would last.

Maul's response had been exactly what Eldra expected, but she'd had to try. And even though his dedication to the Sith and to his master didn't surprise her, she still felt betrayed by his response.

Someone like Maul, who had been raised and conditioned into a killer… He was someone that couldn't be helped. At least, she couldn't help him. How could she reach him, when he rejected everything she stood for? When he had known no other life than what the Sith had taught him? The only person who could help Maul was himself. And Eldra didn't have much hope that he'd ever bring himself to do that.

She felt powerless. She couldn't help her child, she couldn't help Maul… She would be forced to watch the Sith master ruin them both, only that wasn't true because he planned to have her killed when her usefulness ran its course. In which case, she would die knowing that the Sith master would ruin them both.

"Eldra?"

The Twi'lek snapped her head towards the droid. "What?"

Venny wasn't intimidated by her snippy tone. "You need to calm yourself. Your stress and anxiety levels are higher than they should be-"

"Oh, I think I have every reason to be stressed and anxious!" she told him. "Or do I need to remind you why?"

"I understand it is hard," he said, and he sounded like he actually meant it. "But stress could complicate your pregnancy or cause you to lose your baby altogether. I have been ordered to give you a sedative if you cannot remain calm."

Eldra sat bolt upright. "A sedative could be just as harmful to the baby!"

"This particular one will not harm your child in any way," said Venny. "I do not wish to do this, but I cannot disobey. The order had been programmed into me. My master wants this baby to be born."

She didn't need to guess to know which of his masters had given that order, and it wasn't Maul. The dread threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed it away. There was no choice; either she needed to calm herself, or she would be forced to stay calm against her will, and she preferred to have control over her own emotions. Overcoming the fear, the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness… She needed to draw on every ounce of her Jedi training in order to stay calm.

Maul suddenly appearing didn't help.

Eldra felt his gaze on her; felt it burning at the back of her neck. She refused to acknowledge him, instead climbing to her feet and keeping her back turned to him as she handed her empty bowl back to Venny.

"Tell your master there's no need to use a sedative on me," she told the droid, loud enough so that Maul could hear her words, too. "I'll play along. But make sure he knows that I'll do everything in my power to stop him from getting his hands on my baby."

She marched passed Maul without sparing him a sideways glance. From the corner of her eye, she saw him reach out for her, before thinking better of it and retracting his hand. Which was for the best. Eldra would have been far too tempted to ignite her lightsaber and cut it off if he'd touched her.

Once she was safely in her quarters with the door locked behind her, Eldra sat on her bed with her legs crossed. Before her was an impossible uphill climb: trying to overcome the emotions that were born naturally from her situation. How could she stay calm when she knew what would happen once she gave birth?

Eldra shook her head. She was a Jedi. She wasn't ruled by her emotions.

Her eyes closed. "There is no emotion. There is peace…"

Four months pregnant…

The thing Maul liked most about the underworld of Coruscant was that he could blend into the crowd so easily. No one spared him a second glance; no one whispered slanders about his appearance or hurried their children away from him. In the underworld, he was just another nameless face that no one cared about.

He wasn't on a mission for his master. The young Sith needed time away from the apartment, to let himself think without Eldra's presence lingering close by. (It was usually comforting, but on this particular day she was too distracting. Especially since she was still doing her best to avoid him outside of training, and Maul didn't know how much longer he could take of her being so close but being unable to touch her.)

Even though it had been only two months since he'd found out, he was still reeling from how his life had taken such an unexpected turn. He had created life with Eldra; had done something he'd never even considered. It felt almost surreal to picture himself as a father. He'd seen families together on his travels, and had witnessed fathers bonding with their children in displays that were alien to him. He'd never had a father, only a master. What would it be like, to have such a small, precious life depend on him?

Only, he wouldn't find out. His master intended to take the child away and raise it himself, the same way he had raised Maul. And this fact had Maul conflicted in a way he'd never been before.

On the one hand, Sidious was his master, and Maul had no choice but to obey him. But on the other hand, the thought of his master taking away his child… It just felt wrong. And on top of that, Maul would be ordered to kill Eldra too, and every time he pictured it, he rejected the images he saw. He couldn't accept that she would have to die.

But he also knew he couldn't go against his master's orders.

Maul shook his head. He couldn't lose control of himself, not on the streets with witnesses. The birth was months away. Nothing had to change. Right now, Eldra was still alive, and he needed to live in the present and enjoy every moment with her.

If only she would stop keeping him at arms' length.

He needed to convince her to let him in again, because while she was always close by, he missed her. Missed touching her, missed kissing her, missed their talks… He'd grown so used to her being part of his life, suddenly having her cut out of it despite her close proximity hurt. It caused him more pain than he was willing to admit, and he couldn't accept continuing on like this.

"Gemstones! Get your gemstones here!"

Maul paused and looked around. He'd entered one of the many old markets that were common on the lower levels of Coruscant. Dozens of stalls lined the city walls, selling all sorts of merchandise that was more often than not illegal. There was no one around to stop them; very few police droids patrolled these levels, and any Jedi that wandered down this far typically had bigger fish to fry.

The stall closest to Maul was filled with gemstones. No kyber crystals; they were too rare. But the stones that were on sale were from all over the galaxy, all different colours and sizes. The man selling them was a middle-aged Human who looked just as clean as the street he'd set up shop on (which was to say, not very).

He was serving a young Togruta male, who had purchased a necklace with a pink stone hanging from it. "Trust me, your girl will love it!" the merchant was saying. "She sees that beauty, she'll forgive you for sure!"

Maul barely noticed the Togruta passing him. The words he'd overheard echoed in his mind as he moved closer to the stall, eyeing up all the gemstones that were on offer.

The merchant looked him up and down. "What can I get for you? How about something to match that pearl on your ear?"

The small, pearl-like earring on the upper part of his left ear almost burned as if it sensed it had been acknowledged. But Maul didn't pay it any mind, nor did he answer the man's question. He could feel the Force nudge him closer, and when he took another step, something caught his eye.

It was a dark red stone attached to a small, black chain. A necklace.

"Tell me what stone this is," he said, pointing.

"A man with good taste," said the merchant. "That there is a red garnet. Symbolises love, so they say. There're many a stone of love, but that one represents the eternal passion of love. It's said that if you give a red garnet to the one you love, it strengthens your bond. There's this old myth on the garnet's homeworld, telling the tale of the God of Death and Chaos who kidnapped the Goddess of Life and Light, and in order to win her love he gave her a pomegranate that was filled with red garnets instead of seeds-"

"How much?" Maul interrupted, never taking his eyes off the necklace.

The merchant didn't seem phased by his bluntness, and with a smile, he gave Maul a price that was obvious too high for such a small trinket. The young Sith bartered with the merchant until the price was reasonable, and after handing over the credits, he walked away with a small red pouch containing the garnet necklace.

On the walk back to the apartment, he couldn't help but question himself over the decision. He'd bought the necklace on a whim, and was only now considering the outcomes. Did Eldra even like jewellery? Would giving her a simple little trinket really cool her anger towards him?

When he arrived back at the apartment, Eldra was sat on the sofa with the datapad on her lap. There was a small smile on her face as she read, she was humming softly, and she radiated calm through the Force. It set Maul at ease to see her content.

But then she looked up and saw him, and her smile faded. Her happy demeanour cracked ever so slightly, and Maul realised that she was putting up a front; pretending that everything was fine in order to keep herself calm. Underneath the delicate façade, Maul could sense what she really felt, and it concerned him.

A voice in his head that sounded like his master demanded that he take what he wanted, regardless of Eldra's feelings in the matter. She was his, and if he wanted to spend time with her outside of training, then she would have to suck it up and deal with it.

Only, he couldn't bring himself to force her. He could only watch as she silently got up from the sofa and retreated into her quarters.

The red pouch burned in his hand, like it demanded to be given to its rightful owner. Maul ignored the sensation and instead made his way into his own quarters, where he stashed the necklace away in a safe place. Maybe now wasn't the right time to give it to her, but perhaps he would have another opportunity in the future.

At least, he hoped so.

Five months pregnant…

"I can't do this anymore."

Maul stared at her like the ground had been removed from underneath him. "What?"

Eldra rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm carrying some extra weight here." She gestured to her growing belly; with its size, there was no doubt that she was pregnant. "Extra weight that can't be thrown around."

"We can be careful," Maul argued, desperation in his eyes. "Practise the basic steps." He moved closer to her. "Eldra, this is the only time I see you. I can't lose this, too. I can't lose you…" He tried to take her hand.

He was too close. Eldra felt like he was backing her into a corner, and his dark presence invaded her space like a sickness. But the worst part of it was: she could still feel their bond. It was calling out to her, begging for her to reconnect, to let Maul touch her. And part of her wanted to give in and get lost in feelings that scared her in the best way.

She couldn't. Because giving in meant accepting her fate; accepting the darkness.

The Force gathered around her, and she used it to push him away. Not too far, and it wasn't enough to push him over; he slid backwards on his feet and stared at her in shock. She watched the anger build in his eyes, and she let it fuel her own.

"You already have!" she yelled. "You lost me when you refused to stand against the man who wants to take our child away! The man who wants you to kill me without regret!"

And suddenly against her control, her anger left her in one smooth motion, replaced with overwhelming sadness. Because the father of her child was choosing power over them, and still expected to be part of her life, and it was hitting her all over again. Her vision blurred with tears.

Maul once again stepped towards her. "Eldra…"

"Get away from me!" She hurried passed him and ran out of the training room, not stopping until she'd reached her quarters. She locked the door behind her and collapsed onto the bed.

It took her a while to calm down.

Once she had wiped away her tears, she reflected on what had happened. She'd experienced mood swings before, but that had been one of her most violent ones to date. Venny had warned her that like with stress, being angry all the time could impact the health of the baby. Mood swings were a natural part of pregnancy, but she knew that she needed to try and keep on top of them. Eldra needed to be patient with herself.

And perhaps, she needed to be patient with Maul. Because now that she'd stopped their only remaining interaction, she knew it was only a matter of time before Maul tried to communicate with her in other ways. And only a matter of time before she let him in.

Six months pregnant…

Maul was impressed with himself, that he'd been able to hold out for this long.

But since Eldra had ended their training sessions (with good reason, he couldn't argue with that), the urge to be close to her again was near impossible to ignore. And added to that were her own emotions which he couldn't help but sense through the Force, despite her efforts to repress them.

She still desired him. He was relieved that her proclamations of wanting nothing more to do with him were just words and didn't reflect how she really felt. Granted, he could sense that her desire was only the sexual kind, but that didn't matter. He'd take whatever he could get.

He wisely chose not to confront her directly. Instead he removed the garnet necklace from its hiding place and left it on top of the datapad, where she would easily find it. All he had to do was wait.

Maul watched from the shadows as Eldra left the kitchen with a warm cup of hot chocolate in her hands. She approached the sofa slowly, and it wasn't until she'd sat down that she noticed the necklace. Her eyes brightened up in a way Maul had never seen before, like she was thinking "ooh, pretty". Picking the necklace up, she held it in front of her face in order to get a closer look at the gemstone.

After a few moments of contemplation, her face fell and she turned towards him. "Buying me a pretty necklace isn't going to win me over."

Stepping out of the shadows, he asked, "Then what will?"

"You know what will."

He refused to contemplate what she was referring to. And the reminder brought forwards all the confusing and conflicting feelings about what was to happen after the child's birth; feelings he repressed daily. It was easier to pretend that the future was non-existent.

Maul quickly crossed the room and sat down by her side, taking her hands in his before she could pull them away. He felt his whole body relax when their skin made contact. Finally. "Eldra, please. I need you with me. And I know you want me, too. I can sense your desire."

"That's just my stupid hormones," she said. But she didn't pull away, and was still holding the necklace in her hands.

Moving carefully so he didn't startle her, Maul took the necklace and unclipped the chain. She didn't try to stop him as he maneuvered the thin chain around her neck and reclipped it together, before leaning back to admire her. The garnet sat perfectly just above her breasts.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before he finally said, "I want things to go back to the way they were. I miss you."

And then he saw it in her eyes: her resolve breaking.

"OK."

He wanted to dive in and kiss the life out of her – but she beat him to the punch.