Aric followed Maura as she quickly walked into what would be the nursery soon. "But honey, pod racing is just a boy thing, and it's only a few toys…."
Maura snorted at him, "A few toys? And the crib blankets, and …" She stopped short when she entered the room, amazed at all the stuff Aric had ordered, not only pod racer things but huge, insanely soft stuffed animals, most notably a pink bear in a tutu that was half Marua's height. She put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile, trying her best to show a stern face.
"So, with all this stuff in here, how will we ever find the babies?" she asked him. She relented at his stricken look, and sighed, "and I need my rocking chair in here, actually we need to find a second one." She gasped as she got a particularly hard kick to an internal organ, and Aric was by her inside instantly, leading her to the window seat. She rubbed the spot for a second, Aric watching her anxiously. "I'm fine," she chided him, patting his arm. "These guys are just running out of room." She let Aric lead her back down stairs to their living area. Miriah and Corso were coming for dinner, but Aric was grilling the fresh bantha steaks they were bringing, from their own ranch. Miriah and ranch are two words I never thought I'd use in a sentence, she thought. Knowing her sister, she'd be bringing most of a meal with her, including something chocolate for dessert. Since Aric's discussion with Elara Dorne, he was making every effort to make sure she ate, even if she wasn't particularly hungry. She loved his time here, since he was working a modified schedule now. Four days a week he spent on Carrick Station, in charge of troop deployments to combat areas. The other three days he was here with her on Dantooine. Only three more months, she thought, until these sweeties get here, then I can put them down occasionally. Once the babies were here, Aric would be on three month's leave.
Aric had been busy, searching the holonet for baby things. He had little else to do when he was at fleet working, there were just so many times you could go over the schedules, he thought. I wonder if she really hates the pod racer stuff? He couldn't wait for the next package to arrive, he'd found some adorable hair ribbons for Calleigh, he didn't just look for things for Colin, he mused. He'd also picked out a pendant for Maura, to be engraved with the twin's names, once they got here. He smiled to himself, thinking she'd like that, since she could wear it under her armor if she chose to. He walked back to the living area, hoping to persuade her upstairs to their nice soft bed.
Miriah was sleeping in her captain's chair. She'd flown for almost thirty hours straight, finishing a run for the Corellian base. She would have used the navcomp, but there were so many mines mixed with asteroids she didn't want to risk it. Corso had relieved her for short stretches, brought her food and drinks, and generally looked after her as much as she would let him. Now that they were clear of the debris fields, she'd locked in the coordinates to Dantooine, handed her ship off to Corso and drifted off, watching the stars stream by. She was determined to be at the ranch by this afternoon, so she could see her sister this evening. Corso could see she wasn't resting very well and finally just picked her up and took her to their bed. She stretched out and tried to pull him down with her. He kissed her forehead, softly reminded her he was in charge of the ship, and told her to rest.
When he got back to the bridge, Risha was waiting. "Does she have any idea? Did you tell her?" she asked him.
"No, it'll be a complete surprise to her." He reached around to a compartment where he kept tools he used on weapons, and drew out a small velvet box. "Think she'll like these?" he asked Risha.
She took the box and opened it, gasping, "Corso, you dog, you never revealed you had good taste, other than choosing Miriah. Are these moonstones? They're the exact color of her eyes!" Corso smiled at her reaction. He'd spent weeks looking at every port for the perfect gift, and had located this on Nar Shadaa, prior to their last run.
They usually spent a few days each month on Dantooine, at their ranch, but the month since the wedding had been unusually busy, fighting seeming to break out on all fronts at once. Supplies and weapons were critical, and everyone wanted them yesterday. Miriah was exhausted, he thought, this next week on the ranch is going to be a good break for her. They'd had to cancel their previous planned stay, but not this time.
Miriah slept until they landed in the new hangar, four hours later. She might not have awakened even then, but she heard singing. Intrigued, she stretched, stood up, and was on the way down the hallway when she realized what was happening. Oh no, how did they find out? she wondered. She was met by Risha, holding a cake with candles, the whole crew singing "Happy Birthday", Bow humming along. She was truly touched, not since her sisters celebrated her birthday had she had such a nice surprise. She blew out the candles, hugged each of her crew. They took the cake up to the house, and since there was plenty of room for everyone, they would stay here for the next few days before going their separate ways for the week.
It wasn't until they insisted Miriah open her gifts that she even realized she had them. Her eyes opened wide when she unwrapped the soft leather pants Risha and Akaavi had gotten her, from her favorite tailor on Coruscant. Bow had found a gift basket with wine, chocolate and caramels, which made her grin in delight. Guss had brought her gloves so soft she could hardly believe it, but Corso's gift made her cry. He'd found a moonstone necklace, the stones spaced out on a fine chain, almost exactly like one her father had bought for her before she was born, and that was stolen from her barracks room when she was briefly in military academy.
"How did you know?" she asked him, wiping her face but with a huge smile.
"Mags, of course," he told her. "When we were all together for the wedding, she showed me the earrings your father had gotten for her, and she told me about the bracelet Maura has."
"Best birthday ever," she told them all. "Thank you, guys." She turned to whisper to Corso, just to watch him blush, "I'll thank you later, sugar." She couldn't wait to show Maura!