Corso blinked his eyes in wonder. Not only had she slept longer than him, but she was still sleeping. Not only that, but instead of being wrapped around her, as he usually was, this morning the opposite was true. Wow, he thought, that nightmare must have really gotten to her last night. He hated that she would think he'd leave her, even subconsciously. She'd been having that particular one for about a month now, sometimes as often as three times a week, and usually he just held her through its aftermath or she got up and roamed the ship. Last night had been different. She'd been crying before she touched me, he thought, crying and shaking, trying to be quiet but he was so attuned to her that he felt it before he was aware enough to realize what it was. He carefully untangled himself, thinking he would quickly shower and go out to get those breakfast pastries she liked. They would be loading cargo later and returning to work, so he wanted to make this most of this last morning of their break.

He whistled as he walked down the ramp into the hangar, spotting Felix in the distance. He hurried to catch up, greeting him.

"Wonderful morning, eh?" Felix replied. "This has been a great vacation from diplomacy and wedding planning." He grinned, "wish we could just have Miriah perform the ceremony, like you guys did."

"And cheat the Jedi out of their pageant? No way, man, you're taking the hit for all us guys," Corso chuckled. "We owe you."

"Gathering breakfast?"

"Yes, we're going back to work later today, thought I'd indulge Miriah in one last treat before we shove off. She deserves it, had kind of a rough night."

"Magdalane told me Miriah never sleeps well, from her childhood, I guess. Must be rough on both of you."

"I just hate that her rest gets interrupted, believe me, a grumpy Miriah can ruin your day." They both laughed.

They reached the bakery and stood in the short line chatting, their back to the seating area. Corso held his bag of warm treats, and Felix had just received his order when they heard someone call to them from one of the tables. Sarai stood up and waved to them, and they walked over to greet her.

"Good morning men," she said, hugging them both. "Looks like you're both on the same errand." She smiled," I'm so thankful that my daughters have such thoughtful partners in their lives."

They chatted for a few minutes, and the guys had turned to go, when Sarai asked Corso to stay for just a few minutes to talk.

Uhoh, he thought, as he looked at his mother in law with wide eyes. She asked him to sit, then said something that had his eyes even wider.

"Please don't let Miriah's tendency to push people away affect you. It's obvious you love each other, and it's entirely my fault that she has trouble with realtionships." Sarai hung her head, "She deserved so much more, and I failed her miserably."

"I'd never intentionally hurt her, and she can't push me away," he reassured the tiny woman, "she tried, in the beginning, I just never stopped trying to get through to her." He shrugged, "Couldn't stop, even though there were times I thought she'd never see me for who I am. She's worked through so much of her past. This break has been good, I think she can see the progress she's made." Sarai nodded then, tears in her eyes.

"Take care of her, and yourself. We'll see each other again at the wedding." Corso nodded, hugging the tiny woman who so reminded him of his wife.

When he got back to the ship, Miriah was humming in the shower along with the music she'd turned on over the ship's speaker. He put out their breakfast, feeling relaxed and happy. He heard her when she came down the hallway, and went to meet her there. He pulled her to him, dancing her over to the table, her giggles making his heart light.

"Guess it's back to work for us today," she said with a slight scowl. "I've really enjoyed this break, seeing Mags and Maura."

"It's been good, for everybody," he said. Just then, he heard the hatch open, letting Risha and Akaavi in. The others joined them, and Corso was glad he gotten extra just in case. As he looked around the group, he realized he was most fortunate—he not only felt a part of the Chantalles, but they had their ship family as well.

Magdalane had already been busy. Her droid woke her for a holo transmission at 0500, a totally unreasonable hour, thought Mags. She was tired as she settled beside Felix to eat, not even really hungry but knowing her day would get away from her quickly and she needed to take this opportunity to eat something. The wedding was in two months, and she had a million details to decide before the end of this week. She was lost in her to-do list when she became aware that Felix had called her name, and from the look on his face, more than once.

"Hmm? Sorry, darling, I was thinking of my list," she smiled at him.

"Corso and I were getting breakfast and saw your mom," he said again. "Will you see her again before we take off?"

"Probably not," she replied, "in fact, she was probably on her way to the office when you saw her, and we never interrupt her work." She shuddered, thinking of how angry that made her mother. Miriah used to interrupt her for spite, she thought, because even negative attention was still attention. Felix took her hand in his, and she turned to smile at him. "It's fine though, we'll be together again for the wedding soon."

Maura was at the office already, but she wished she was back in bed. She yawned, stretching her arms and standing, thinking that a quick walk around the room would get her blood flowing again after reading pages and pages of military documents. Aric was back at Carrick Station, his current assignment, in charge of troop deployment to the conflict areas. She had gotten up with him this morning, relishing every little bit of time with him. He didn't like being away from her, and shuttled back every other night. It made for a lot of travel, but he would have it no other way. At least he's not going down himself, she thought, that would drive me insane. She turned at the knock on her door—Elara poked her head in and said, "Major, how are the babies today?" Elara wore a huge grin, and Maura couldn't help but smile back.

"I really think you need to consider an earlier maternity leave," Elara began, only to be silenced by Maura's upheld hand.

"The General beat you to it, Dorne. This is my last month here, then my assignment is growing healthy babies and finding a place to call home."

"Oooh fantastic, please, let me know when you find something. I'd like to stay in touch often, if that's acceptable"

"Elara, I'd be disappointed if you didn't" she smiled at her friend and squad medic. They parted, promising to talk later.

She went to the hangars early that afternoon, hoping to see her sisters before they left. Miriah was directing her crew, but stopped working when she saw Maura approach.

"It's been wonderful to see you, and those babies," grinned Mariah. Magdalane joined them, and among the tears and goodbyes, and the long hugs, the sisters parted ways, but not hearts. They all looked forward to Mag's wedding, but promised to keep in touch. They didn't realize Sarai watched them, proud of her girls.