Miriah sat up in bed, awake again. Fourth night in a row, gotta be some kinda record, she thought, tired and grumpy. Her headache was still there, undoubtedly from lack of sleep. She hugged her knees and rested her head on them, turning toward the sprawled and heavily sleeping form beside her. Poor Corso, she mused, if he'd known how bad a sleeper I am, would he have still loved me? She let her eyes feast on him, thinking she must have done something right in her life to have him. She sat there for what felt like an hour, and decided she just couldn't sit any longer, she felt no closer to sleep than she had when she woke up. At least it had been about three weeks since she'd had her nightmare, and longer for Corso. She sighed softly, and put her feet on the floor. About the time she gained her balance, she heard a throat clearing sound, and turned.
"Kitten, you promised," he mumbled, "you have to get some rest." He reached for her, one eye still closed, and caught her wrist, pulling her gently back onto the bed. "C'mere, you." He opened his other eye and looked into hers. "Nightmare?" she shook her head. "Hungry, thirsty, chocolate fix?" She shook her head again, and scooted closer to him to kiss his neck. He'd made it his personal mission to try everything he could to help her sleep. She was grateful, she knew she wasn't easy to live with when she was going through one of these insomnia periods, but he always just tried harder. She shivered against him, not sure exactly if she was cold or being pulled against his muscled form made her shiver for a different reason. He wrapped his leg around hers, his arms around her to pull her even closer, infusing her with his warmth. His eyes were already closing again, and to her surprise, hers were heavy as well. Her fingertips were absently tracing light circles on his chest. He suddenly squeezed her, growling in that low drawl of his, "Woman, if you want to sleep tonight, you need to stop that." He kissed her head, and she could feel him restraining himself from anything else. She knew he wasn't kidding, they'd been up all night not long ago, but she had no complaints about that either. He shifted her away just a little, and whispered in her ear, "You need rest, we're back to supply runs tomorrow, sweetheart. I know it's been a few days since you slept more than a couple hours. Believe me, I have no problem loving you all night, but you need rest." She nodded against his shoulder, trying to be as still as possible. It wasn't too long until she heard his breathing even out, and she tried to sleep but just never got out of the "falling" phase until almost dawn.
Aboard the ship, she began to feel the effects of little sleep, beginning with her loss of appetite and jumpiness. After the third time she'd snapped at Bow for lining up cargo crates unevenly, Risha pulled Corso aside.
"She's not sleeping much again, is she?" Risha asked with a skeptical look, and punched him hard in the arm. "Cold showers do work, farm boy, they did before you guys hooked up, or don't you remember?"
Corso looked at her hard for a minute, "I'll have you know, Ms. Smartypants, I've been doing everything I can to help her sleep, not keep her awake." He rubbed his face with both hands. "I don't know what else to do, Rish, she's exhausted and I feel helpless."
Risha sighed, knowing he was being truthful. She'd known Miriah for a couple of years now, and the only thing that would break this awful cycle was either to get her so drunk she passed out for a day, or get Guss to slip her some sedative under the guise of pain med or something else, neither of which was feasible while they were on a schedule of supply runs. She turned away from Corso and walked down the hall to find Akaavi. Maybe she might know something, Risha thought. She found the Mandalorian stowing food for the next three weeks, and told her what was happening to Miriah.
"There is an herbal tea that might help. I will see if I can find which one and get some stocked for the ship," she told Risha, who thanked her and went back to logging crates.
That night, the crew's mission was to help the captain sleep. Corso led her to a hot shower after getting her to eat a little toast for dinner, and when she emerged from the steam, wrapped her in a warm robe. He had her lie down face first, and with some warm oil, massaged the knots out of her back and shoulder muscles. Akaavi brought her some herbal tea that tasted like cinnamon, and by the time she was done with it, she could feel her body getting heavier. She put her cup down and Corso slipped her robe off and her nightshirt on, and before she realized it she had slipped into slumber.
Corso walked the ship, checking on everything, afraid to go to bed because he didn't want to wake his sleeping (finally!) wife. He'd thought about the couch in the lounge but Guss had grabbed it, since he was refitting the medbay he'd moved out there. He moved quietly into their quarters, having taken his boots off in the hallway and carrying them in, and changed without sound. He slipped under the blanket and held his breath when she rolled toward him, but she didn't wake even though she snuggled close and sighed happily.
Miriah woke around noon the next day, a little groggy and dazed but her insomnia broken for the time being. She walked around the ship, thanking everyone for helping her and apologizing for being snappish the day before. As she knew they would, they graciously forgave her and were glad she'd been able to sleep. She found Corso on the bridge, and slipped gratefully into his arms. He hugged her close, resting his head on hers, before she sat down in her chair and promptly fell asleep again.
Corso rounded up the crew, staring them down. "Okay, what the hell is going on? I know the tea didn't knock her out. What did you do, Akaavi?"
"I swear to you, I did nothing but make the tea. Maybe she is just that tired?"
"I didn't do anyting either," Risha stated adamantly. They all turned their gazes to Guss.
"What? It was only a drop." He held his hand up, gesturing, "A tiny drop of sedative. She had to sleep, you know the next phase would have ended up with her injured!" He turned a pleading look to Corso, who blew out a breath and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck absently.
"Ok, we reserve this knowledge for next time, but you have to let me know. Before, not after." They agreed, and Corso carried her limp form back to their bed, hoping Guss was correct in his dosage and she'd be fine in the morning.
Miriah woke with the chime the next morning, clear eyed and headache free. She did suspect that she'd been dosed with something, but couldn't say she was upset about it, since she felt better than she had since this episode started. Corso was already up, so she joined the crew in the galley for breakfast, not giving any clues to her suspicion. She followed her husband to the bridge after they'd finished eating, waiting until they were alone to confirm. "Somebody slipped me something, didn't they?" she asked him, her eyes knowing in their gaze.
Corso looked up at her, resigned. "Yeah, but I swear I only found out after and have forbidden it to happen again." He stood, prepared to take whatever she dished out in anger, but nothing came flying at him. She just looked at him, considering.
"I have to say, I prefer your methods to being drugged, but I am glad to be rested." He hugged her, rubbing her back, and she purred in pleasure. "See, that's so much better than meds," she smiled up at him. They sat on the bridge together, watching the stars stream by, on the way to Corellia.