1.
Magdalane felt very distant from her sisters, and knew it was because she had been staying away from Dantooine. She felt she'd needed time, with her husband and herself, to get used to being pregnant. Not to mention the sickness she'd had to force away every day. She knew it wasn't unusual to want to keep to herself at this stage, but she'd begun to feel guilty that she'd not been in contact with them, Miriah especially. Mags knew her youngest sister was a little disappointed that she would be facing her delivery without force help, and that sat on top of Magdalane's guilt. When she'd spent an entire day trying to contact Miriah with no luck, the guilt warped into fear. Miriah's son was going to take after his dad, who was definitely not a small man. After talking to Maura, Mags felt a little better, but she was determined to talk to Miirah.
Corso took the call, smiling at Magdalane when he saw her. "Master Jedi, how are you," he grinned. She had always liked Corso, sensing one of the few genuinely pure souls in her brother in law. "Mir is napping, with the twins. Can I get her to call you back? She's trying to rest as much as possible these days."
"Of course, that's great. How is she, Corso? Really? I know she'll tell me she's fine, but how are things going for her?"
"She's really doing great. Devin is growing, so she is, too. Lower back pain, but she expected that, and I'm doing whatever I can to help. She gets tired easily, but then that's normal too. The doc says she'll have to have the surgery, the baby's already too big for her to have normally and she's still got at least seven weeks." Here he paused and ran his hand over his face. "That part scares the hell outta me, but I've been trying to stay positive about it."
"I will be with you. I can't do the labor for her, but I can still heal her. " Magdalane's heart lightened at his look of relief, seeing him relax at her words.
"That will really be great, Mags, I can't thank you enough. How are you doing? And Felix and the baby?"
"We're all doing well, Felix is on the planet setting up this mission, and wanted me to tell you hello." She smiled, "and your niece is growing on schedule. We still don't have a name picked out, though. It's a work in progress." They signed off the call with Corso promising he'd have Miriah call back. That was enough, Mags thought, to ease my worries. She sat down, intending to go over the details of this next negotiation, but fell asleep, her head on her datapad.
Felix found her there, and when she didn't lift her head when he approached her, he carried her to their quarters. She'd been sleeping more and more, and it had begun to worry him. Tharan assured him it was entirely normal and healthy, but it was still a worry. She stirred a little when he covered her with a soft throw, but didn't open her eyes. He went back to get her datapad, knowing she'd be looking for it, and saw the half finished message to Grandmaster Shan, tell her of their daughter and asking for leave time, not only for herself but to help Miriah with her delivery. He loved that she was close to her family, and he missed the times when they were all together. It seemed, lately, that everyone was busy. He took the datapad to their room, and tiptoed out.
2.
Corso watched his wife walk toward him, her gait altered by the weight of the baby. She held one hand on her back, stretching the tight muscles, and though she'd had a nap, she looked tired. His concern grew when she stopped suddenly and put both hands over her belly. She saw his face and shook her head. "Practice contraction," she told him, waving off his concern and continuing to the kitchen. Corso followed, ready to protest that any contraction was a concern, when he turned the corner and almost ran over her. She'd stopped again, and this time she was not so ready to dismiss the band of steel gripping her at that moment. He eased her into a chair, his eyes never leaving hers, pushing the loose hair off her suddenly pale face.
"That wasn't practice, darlin', that was to get your attention. You have to stay off your feet more, remember the doc told us that. He's just too big for you to carry like that so much. I've got the twins, you're grounded." He kissed her forehead and went to get Colin and Calleigh from their nap area. Maura will be back tomorrow, she thought, and we'll go to Carrick the next day for my appointment. She felt better sitting, and when Corso returned and she started to stand, he gave her a look that would stand no argument, and she sat again, pulling Calleigh into her lap. As she did, Devin shifted , and Calleigh stared at the movement, fascinated. Miriah had to laugh, the look on her niece's face was how she'd felt the first time she could identify a foot being dragged across her insides. Corso waited until Calleigh was down on the floor playing to go to Miriah, where he crouched down beside her. He held both her hands in his until she questioned him with her eyes, then kissed her. When they could both breathe again, he whispered to her, "I'm here, let me do things for you, both of you, so that you both come through this healthy. Okay?" She nodded, knowing he would do whatever he could do to make that happen.
3.
Maura settled the diplomat in the only quarters available aboard their ship, and turned to find Aric watching her, smiling. "I've just talked to Corso, everyone's fine. He's making Spitfire rest more, evidently she had some pretty strong contractions earlier today, but she's doing fine now. I told him we'd be there before dinner tomorrow. The twins were in their pj's, and Mir was reading them a book." He hugged his wife. "I can't wait to see them."
Tanno Vik walked through just then, adding, "Me too, we need little people on this ship." He grumbled to himself as he went to the galley, "Don't know why we can't just keep them here." Aric and Maura watched him, fascinated that the big man was so taken with the twins. They'd just turned back to each other when the Weequay bounded up again, his eyes alight. "If I can find some space for them to play, like a playroom, can they travel with us again?" he asked Maura. She nodded, smiling, as he yelled, "All right!" and took off toward the back of the ship. Aric slipped his arm around her waist as she leaned her head on his shoulder.