Miriah was down at the hangar, and Corso assumed she was getting the twin's gifts that she'd left there, so he was surprised when heard the preflight engines hum to life. She had almost finished the preflight list when she heard his boots on the ramp. She turned to him with a smile. "Let's go to Ord Mantell, love, I really think we need to do this."
He thought about it and realized she might just be right. Maybe he did need to go back, confront the past. His eyes weren't certain, but he nodded at her and took his seat in the co-pilot's chair. Miriah walked over to him, crouched down and looked in his eyes. "Whatever happens, I will be with you, and I'll always be yours." He smiled at her then, pulling her to him in a hug.
They said little on the trip, and, as usual for Miriah, she had music going, but not her usual "I'm flying and I want to rock" stuff. This was soothing, lyrical instrumentals, meant to relax the listener. Corso almost dozed off, which was very unusual when he was in the right chair. I must be more tired from this than I thought, he mused. Mags sure helped last night, so did Miriah. He sighed, not wanting to go out to the old farm site but knowing in his heart he had to.
They were remembered on Ord, Miriah smiled to herself. The flight control officer sounded delighted to hear her voice, telling her he hoped she had a pleasant stay on Ord Mantell, offering to set up quarters for her and Corso. She declined, but maybe they'd visit the cantina in the fort later, see old friends. As they left the ship, he took her hand, thinking about the first time he saw her. She'd just landed her freighter in the middle of tracer fire from both sides, and made a perfect landing. He remembered thinking whoever had flown that ship knew what they were doing. He'd just walked in the hangar, telling Skavak about the seps gaining control of the automated defense turrets, when she came down the ramp. He'd been struck speechless by her grace and confidence, but as more of her appeared he'd felt hyperaware, noting her beauty but also her inner strength. She'd stood toe to toe with Skavak, not falling at all for his nonsense flirting. Even after everything went bad, she never lost her control. He'd fallen in love with her within a few hours of knowing her, and it had all started here. He never thought he'd win her heart, and was prepared to follow her forever just to be in the same space she occupied. He smiled to himself, thinking of how clumsily he'd tried to woo her.
They took a speeder off the ship, and he helped onto the back. The butterflies in his stomach settled when she put her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his back, and they took off toward Dreliad Village, noting the new construction and water system being put in place by the Republic. There's been so much progress, Miriah thought, since we fought here. They stopped at the top of a rise, and looking down at the green valley, she knew this must have been part of the Rigg's property. Nature had done its work, and the area appeared lush. Corso dismounted the speeder and locked it, and taking her hand in his, started walking toward the other side of the valley.
"This is the pasture area where I came back to check the gate. I hadn't left it open, but I just couldn't be sure, and to be honest, I was thinking about the girl my parents had arranged for me to be engaged to. We'd been on two dates, chaperoned of course, but we hadn't done anything but hold hands." He shrugged, "that's just the way we did things." She didn't say anything, just let him talk. They approached the opposite side of the valley and he stopped. They stood there for several minutes, then Corso just sat heavily on the ground, pulling her down almost on top of him. "I can't, Mir, I just can't go over there." He sat there with his head in his hands, and she knew he was reliving that awful day. All she could do was hold him.
"Let me just walk a few paces and tell you what I see," she suggested. He said nothing for a minute, then mutely nodded. She walked to the edge of the downslope and put her hand up to shade her eyes. "I see the foundation of the house, wow, I know you told me your dad built it with his own hands, he must have been quite a craftsman. Most of the fireplace is still intact."
"That's where the scar on my face came from. When I rushed down the hill to see if I could get them out, something small exploded in the back and threw me into the brick." He grimaced, "I didn't even realize it until a medic at the outpost tried to clean it up." He stood, turned and started walking back to the speeder. Miriah jogged to catch up, then silently followed him, his grief surrounding him like a cloud. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, she thought, maybe it's just too much. She almost ran into him when he stopped suddenly and sat down in the tall grass. She knelt beside him, put her arm around his shoulders. "I spent hours right here when I was growing up, either watching the rontos or daydreaming about the next blaster I'd save for. Up until that day, it was an ideal childhood. I felt like I'd lost everything that day. I had. I spent the next year and a half with the Peace Brigade trying to do something to make life worthwhile again." He stood and walked slowly around the edge of the valley. She followed, watching him closely. "That's when I came back to Ord, and Vidu took in a half starved scrawny kid and gave him a job and a purpose. It was enough, until I saw you walk down that ramp." He turned to her with a grin and, for the first time since they landed, she felt like she'd done the right thing. He pulled her to him, kissed the top of her head, and just stood there, looking around. "It occurs to me, that it all led me here, to this spot, with you. I miss my parents, but I'd go through all of it again if it meant that I would be with you." He took both her hands in his, "This place, my parents, they were all parts of my life, but you, Miriah my love, you are my life."
She looked into his eyes, "I love you, I always will." It was as if they'd renewed their wedding vows, here in this valley, his parent's remains not far away. It felt right, he thought, and something slid into place deep inside him. He remembered something his dad had told him, just a few days after his birthday. Son, he'd said, trust yourself. When something is right, you'll know it. Thanks, Dad, he thought. You were right.