"Nice venue, lots of history here," noted Lt. Aric Jorgen. Corso had just met him, but was impressed with the tall Cathar's knowledge. They were standing in the banquet room in the Senate Plaza on Coruscant, where his mother in law's birthday party was being readied. Corso was nervous; he'd only met Maura via holo, and this was the day he'd meet the rest of Miriah's family. Both men were in their formal wear, Aric in his military dress uniform. Maura strolled up in her dress uniform as well, looking radiant and happy. Corso blushed as she hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"Great to meet you in person!" she said. "You have probably the hardest job in the whole galaxy, putting up with my baby sister." She grinned, and turned to her husband, kissing him on the cheek as well.

"Easy there, little mother," Aric told her, "we're in uniform, after all. Feeling alright, honey?"

"Yeah, I think the nausea is over, for today anyway," she replied. As early in her pregnancy as she was, Corso wouldn't have known at all unless she'd told him, but he still felt in awe of it. "Corso, don't worry about meeting Mom, she will just love you."

He was nervous, though. Of course, he'd heard stories of the girl's childhood, but there was never really any of Sarai Chantalle. He knew that Miriah and she had never been especially close, and that Miriah had been born several months after her father's death. He supposed that grief might have been a factor in their bonding, but Miriah never really said much about her mom. He was surprised that they were even here, but suspected the lure of being with both sisters, combined with the baby shower they'd planned for Maura for tomorrow, was the clincher for Miriah. He wondered where the ladies were, as they were still getting each other ready when he left the ship with Bowdaar and Akaavi, thinking a walk with them would calm his nerves.

Risha was doing Magdalane's hair in an intricate woven braid. They'd decided to get dressed aboard the Stardancer, and Risha was helping both sisters before going on a date herself. She'd almost finished the braid when Miriah came in wearing the dress she'd ordered especially for this occasion.

"Blazes, Miriah, are you trying to give the poor farm boy a coronary?"

Miriah looked down at the black lace dress, "What? It's lined, you can't see anything. Besides, I thought that if he were preoccupied with me, he'd be less nervous about meeting the family." The gown was made of black lace and had a lining that made it look like skin. It had long sleeves and a conservative neckline. What made it special, besides the fact that it looked like you could see skin between the lacy pattern, was that the back didn't start until the waistline. Risha rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm glad I took a room in the plaza for the night. I hate wearing earplugs to sleep, and you get loud, Mir."

"Hey, I can't help it if my husband is incredibly….focused," Miriah actually blushed, but both Risha and Magdalane burst out laughing. Magdalane was wearing a strapless sheath in a muted stormy gray, which set off the sliver of her hair, and had a gorgeous embroidered wrap over her shoulders. With the finishing touches in place, they set off toward the party.

Felix Iresso, Magdalane's fiancee', had joined Corso and the Jorgans and had been introduced. As it turned out, Felix and Aric had served together early in their military careers, and Aric remembered Corso from Ord Mantell, so there was no shortage of manly conversation. Maura had opted to sit at their table, just to get off her feet. She was still dealing with the fatigue that had plagued her for a couple of months now. Corso had his back to the stairwell across the room when the sisters came in and therefore didn't immediately see them.

Felix nudged Corso with his elbow. "Hey Corso, are you armed?"

"No," he answered, "Miriah said I shouldn't be, even though I feel strange without at least a blaster on me. Why?"

Felix grinned, "Probably a good thing, I'd hate to see you shoot some of these guys." He nodded at the women, who were making their way across the room.

Corso froze when he saw Miriah. She had on some kind of lace, black lace. Her long black hair was down, which he loved, and it swung every time she turned her head. She stopped to speak to someone, and when she turned he saw the back of the dress and nearly choked. Miriah spotted them then, and she continued walking…no, Corso thought, she strutted…over to them, Mags at her side. Corso was still recovering when she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Hey sweetie, everything going ok?" she asked. He just nodded, unable to say anything for a moment, then he leaned in close to whisper next to her ear.

"That dress is amazing. Do we have to stay here? Well, we have to for a few minutes, don't think I can walk right this second." She chuckled, smiled seductively at him, and turned to meet Felix and Aric. Corso concentrated on breathing in and out, but it did no good when he put his arm around her waist and felt her smooth skin under his hand.

"And this group is my family," he heard behind him. They all turned to see Sarai with another Jedi from her training group. "This must be my new son in law," she said, as she extended her arms to him. Corso knew now where Miriah got her petite size, as Sarai was tiny as well.

"Very pleased to meet you, ma'am," he said. "Happy birthday." She smiled at him, impressed with his manners and intrigued by his accent. Miriah had told her mother of their marriage, of course, but only their ship family was present for the ceremony. This was, in fact, the first time the whole family had been together in almost three years. He smiled shyly at Sarai, and said, "Thank you for welcoming me to your family."

"It's your family now, too, son," Sarai responded, deeply touched. Magdalane had told her of how Corso had lost his own parents on Ord Mantell, many years ago now. Corso relaxed, feeling like he could breathe again and no longer nervous, well, about his mother in law, at least. Now he just had to keep Miriah close. He would hate to have to punch somebody at his first family function with the Chantalles.

They all chatted happily, then made their way over to Maura, who had found some appetizers to nibble on. Corso and Miriah sat down with her, their fingers intertwined. They all enjoyed the meal and the conversation, but Corso was definitely distracted. He could barely keep his hands off her, which is what Miriah had intended. Mission accomplished, Miriah thought. I'd put my hand on his thigh, but he might go catatonic, she smirked to herself.

After dinner, they danced to the slow, lyrical music. Corso ran his fingertips up and down Miriah's spine, making her shiver. He pulled her closer and growled, "You know, you've been making me crazy all night, beautiful. I'll make you pay for that later, but nowI gotta know, what exactly do you wear under a dress like that?"

She grinned wickedly at him, but said nothing, enjoying his touch too much. They were separated when Felix cut in and danced with her for a bit. They stayed until the party ended around midnight, the girls enjoying being in the same place for awhile. It was a beautiful night, and quite a walk to the hangar. As they got closer, Corso walked faster, eager to get her alone. She stopped to slip off her shoes, they'd been uncomfortable for most of the evening since she was used to her boots and not heels. As she bent over to unfasten the straps, she looked up at Corso, who was mesmerized by her bare back.

"Want to know what I've got on under this?" she asked coyly. He swallowed hard, and nodded as he picked up her shoes. She pulled his head down and whispered to him, "Nothing, sugar, not a thing." She yelped as he slung her over his shoulder and ran for the ship.

They were just snuggling to sleep when the sun started to rise over Coruscant. There was clothing strewn from the hatch all the way to their quarters, but neither of them cared. "Love you," Miriah said softly to him, her head on his shoulder .

"Love you more," he answered, and they slept.