Aric stared at Miriah, who'd just read his mind. "You women are scary. Maura figured it out this morning after having nightmares all night. Why didn't it occur to me?" He looked at his wife, "At least I was smart enough to marry brains. We're all lucky, guys." He turned to Mags, "Sorry we didn't call you, but I knew Felix was worried about you being tired, and we didn't want to stress you after the trip. Your health and the baby comes first." Felix nodded, he totally agreed and was glad Mags was spared a night of worry.
"So, first thing is, how do we tell Garza she has a problem? If this person is as well placed as we think, regular comms won't work. Too easily intercepted or diverted," Corso asked, then snapped his fingers. "I know! Let's invite her here for, for.. I dunno, something. A weekend, a tour of the office, anything to get her off Coruscant and away from those normally around her." Miriah grinned at him.
"Excellent idea, sugar. I'll put together a nice invitation and send it through regular channels. She probably needs a vacation." She grinned to herself as she recalled the morning Corso answered the holo from her in just his sleep pants, overtired and worried about her. I'd have loved to see her face, Miriah thought, just her reaction to all that man. She leaned over and discreetly scanned him, seeing a vast drop in his viral load. Good, she thought, he's improving rapidly, and went to the kitchen to get more cold water for his sore throat. She turned and saw that he'd followed her, and pulled her into a hug.
"Thanks for taking such good care of me, kitten. I wanted to ask what you thought about Garza being here, possibly bringing danger here. She might, unknowingly. Are you prepared for that?" His voice was low, meant only for her, but Mags had already felt the conflict inside him. Miriah nodded, knowing they'd take every precaution. Corso kissed her head, then went out to the others, while Magdalane came into the kitchen.
"I know, you're a little worried about what might happen with the general here. I will do whatever is necessary to keep the children safe, you know that. We all will. It's okay, Mir, we're with you." Miriah nodded, not speaking, and Mags went back to the group. I guess after the past year, it would be natural for them to assume I'd worry about being hurt, but I'm not, she thought. I would kill anyone who dared touch any of the kids, and other than that, if they mess with me, they deserve what they get. She shrugged, and took bottles of water and juice into the living room. The group was discussing the list of who might be the infiltrator, and she saw that Corso was tiring. I'll call a halt to this in a few minutes, she thought, and we can figure this out tomorrow. She was about to do that, crossing to sit next to her husband, when Sarai came in to invite everyone to her house for dinner.
"I've made several things, testing out the new kitchen, and I'd love to have you all. Corso, honey, if you're getting tired, I'll send some things over with my droid for you guys, you are still recovering." She crossed and put her hand on his arm, feeling his fatigue and infusing him with force energy.
"Yes, Mom, we're staying in," Miriah told her mother, who hugged her youngest daughter and went out to her speeder. The group got up to follow, and they all wished Corso well. Miriah saw them all out, then returned to him. "You need to be back in bed, sugar, I can tell you're tiring." She sat beside him with Devin in her lap, he was getting hungry and ready for dinner and bed. "You go lie down, I'll bring you some food as soon as the little man is settled, okay?" She'd been looking at Devin, but when she turned her head to look at him, he drew her into a long kiss, one that had their son getting down to play.
"Been wanting to do that all day, cyare. Just want to be wherever you are, I've missed you today," he whispered to her as she slowly recovered her senses. She took his hand and took both her men to the kitchen, where she got Devin's dinner ready and Corso sat with him while he ate and talked to them. By the time his plate was empty, the little boy was leaning on his dad's arm, and Miriah had to grin at them together. Corso stood and took the sleepy toddler to his bath and they returned to the kitchen, Devin ready for bed.
"Love you mama," he told her, going to her and snuggling into her neck. She took him to his room, and in just the short walk down the hall, he'd fallen asleep. She gently put him down, smoothing his black hair, and turned to see Corso waiting for her. She smiled at him then, knowing the look on his face, and also knowing he was still recovering. She went into his embrace, and heard her mother's droid talking to their C2 unit.
"Dinner's here, sugar, and you need to eat," she told him, a grin on her face, thinking of the times he'd put her off when she was either sick or injured. He backed her to the wall, pinning her with his body on hers, and she heard his voice, the low, deep rumble that shot a zing to her insides.
"All I want to have is you, though. Anything else is for later," he told her, running his hands up her sides, feeling her response. The breathy sound she made when his hands found skin under her shirt had him picking her up and moving swiftly down the hall to their room.
At Sarai's house, Magdalane was relaxing on the couch with Felix when she suddenly stopped talking and smiled, shaking her head. "What, sweetie? You alright?"
She nodded, "And Mir and Corso are too," she told him in a whisper, which made him laugh.
The next day found them all hard at work at the office, heads bent over terminals and smartboards being updated, new mission specs and changes being implemented. The children were all playing and laughing, and midmorning found Miriah with them gathered around the table for snacks. Calleigh pointed at her aunt, "An 'Riah, you happy? Pretty smile." Miriah laughed, Calleigh always had the most poignant observations.
"Yes, baby, I am happy, I get to have snacks with all of you," she told her neice, who laughed. Devin and Colin were racing their apple slices, giggling, and Michi was grinning at them. She washed hands and faces, and they ran back to the playroom, Michi holding Calleigh's hand. Miriah watched them go, and for once felt at peace. She went back to her desk, where she'd put together an invitation to General Garza to come and tour their facility. Facility, she snorted, wonder what she'll think of the playroom. That made her smile to herself, as she sent the proof to the group for approval.
Maura saw it and crossed the hallway to Miriah's desk. "Think she'll come? I mean, do you think she'll take it at face value or realize that we're trying to get her here? I'm a little worried that her transport might get "attacked" like the shuttle did, and it's making me anxious."
Aric overheard her and joined them, propped on the corner of Miriah's desk. "I think she would be too high a profile to be a target, besides, if something happens to her, the spy would eliminate his source." The women nodded, and were quiet.
"At least, the missions are updated and current. I've just verified receipt of the last of the updates to mission control on Coruscant," Aric told them. "So, if she accepts the invitation, and she should, there will be something to show her when she gets here, like how this all works."
"Where do we put her for quarters? She's welcome at our house, but where do you think she'll be more comfortable. More important, where do you think we can keep her safest?" Miriah had thought about this earlier but hadn't really figured anything out.
"At my place," Sarai said, coming into the office. She had her own access code now, and visited frequently. "No one really knows I'm here, and we can talk about grandbabies and such." Miriah looked at her mother, wonder apparent on her face.
"Stars, Mom, that's perfect! Are you sure you don't mind?"
"It'll be fun," Sarai said with a grin, going down the hall to the playroom, eager to see the kids.
"She is always surprising me lately," Miriah said, and saw Maura nod.
"Yeah, she's enjoying being with us, I think," Maura replied. They dispersed, going back to finish up the current projects lists. At lunch, Sarai went home with Mags and Felix, hoping to get her pregnant daughter to rest.
"Magdalane Celine, you have to put your feet up, love. I've got Michi, and then I'll make lunch, but you're to be on the couch, resting." Sarai would have no argument, and Felix nodded at his wife. He made sure she was comfortable and saw that she was napping almost as soon as she was down. He went to the kitchen, where Sarai was just entering.
"Is she ok, Sarai? Do you sense something that she's just not saying?" His worried look touched her heart, she knew he loved her daughter and their babies, and wanted to reassure him.
"She's fine, and the baby is great, she's just doing too much. She needs to be off her feet more, and she really doesn't need to be lifting Michi as often as she does. She's a little dehydrated, and just really needs to take life easier right now." She reached out and touched his arm, seeing his concern in his eyes. "They'll both be fine, son. Just make her rest more, that's the biggest part." He nodded, pulling out some things that Miriah had sent over for their lunch. "I've got this, you go rest too," she grinned at him. Instead, he put dishes on the table and went out to cut some flowers, thinking it would make Mags happy, even if he had no idea what the flowers were. He made the table look pretty, and put on a pot of tea, knowing she'd want a little. When lunch was ready, he took a cup of tea in to the living room and gently touched her shoulder.
"Lunch is ready, sweetheart. Here, move slowly and sit here for a moment," he told her, his voice low and soothing. She smiled up at him and took a sip of the tea, and sighed.
"You are so wonderful, Felix. This is perfect," she told him, getting to her feet and, linking her arm in his, walking into the dining room. She saw the flowers first, and the care with which the table was prepared, and knew he'd been trying to please her. "See? This is what I mean, you know I love these flowers!" She kissed him then, and he sat her at the table, pulling her chair out and kissing her head when she was settled. Sarai joined them and brought the food out, and they enjoyed the lunch.
"Miriah made this?" Sarai asked, and both Mags and Felix nodded, mouths full of the succulent pasta stuffed with seasoned ronto and cheeses and sauce. She's quite the cook, Sarai thought, and takes care of them all.
"When Corso is out on the ranch, sometimes for weeks at a time, she uses the time she would spend with him on cooking things, says she has to or she'd never sleep with him gone. We reap the benefits, and of course the meat is all from their ranch, so it's delicious." Magdalane had told her sister that she didn't have to cook for all of them, but Miriah had explained that she had run out of storage room, but still had ideas to try for meals.
"Fortunately, he doesn't have to do that but a couple of times a year, and Aric and I tried to help during the breeding season, but it's a massive job," Felix told them. "The next time he'll be so busy is during calving season. Last year they had thirty two calves, I think that's going to double this year. He talked about hiring another person, not sure what he ended up doing there. I know I can't help him with calving." He was so sore just from herding the huge animals into pens, separating the steers from the females, that he couldn't imagine actually helping them during birth.
The person in question was currently relaxed in the porch swing, his wife lying on top of him, both of them content to just swing and be near each other. Miriah had sent the invitation to Garza before they'd left the office, and didn't really expect an answer right away. Corso had completely recovered from his flu virus, and he was currently thinking of Ord Mantell and his parent's ranch there, absently rubbing strands of Miriah's silky black hair between his fingers. She spotted the approaching ship before he did, and pointed to the sky.
"It's the newlyweds, " she told him, her ears attuned to the Mandalorian's engines. They rose to go meet the ship, which settled gently down on the outside landing pad down at the hangar. They were about halfway to the hangar when they heard the back door of the house slam and saw Devin flying down the path toward them.
Corso caught him, seeing his delighted face. "An Kav home!" he told his dad, clapping. Miriah had to smile, he and Akaavi had a strong bond, just the evening before Devin had asked about her at dinner. When the ramp was in place, Corso put Devin down, and Miriah grabbed his hand.
"No running into Akaavi, okay son?" He nodded and ran toward the ramp, but turned and looked at his parents, slowing before he got to her. Akaavi scooped him up, laughing as he threw his little arms around her neck and kissed her cheek. He even patted Cy's shoulder, and the couple talked to the animated little boy as they walked toward Miriah and Corso.
"Welcome home, you guys," Miriah told them. Akaavi looked so happy, Miriah thought. Cy shook Corso's hand and hugged Miriah, and they all walked back to the house. Devin was excited and talked the whole way, and finally was distracted with cookies.
"We had a wonderful hunt, but I am glad to see you all again," Akaavi told her as they prepared caffa. Miriah smiled at her friend, sensing her contentment.
"You know, we had a gift for you two, but wanted to give it to you in private, in case we needed to make adjustments, " Miriah told them both once they were seated again at the worktable. Akaavi started to protest, but Corso just took her hand in his, startling her enough to make her stop talking.
"We want you both to be close, you're our family. But we know that the guest house may not be ideal. So, we want to give you some property, over off the south edge, across the stream. You guys can build there or whatever you want to do with it." Corso blushed, not sure how Akaavi would take this, and was a little concerned when she burst out in tears. The only time he'd ever seen her with tears was at Devin's birth.
"This is a most generous gift," Cy said, looking at his wife and proceeding at her nod. "We will enjoy being close enough to visit but also have our own privacy." He hugged them both, as did Akaavi. She was still speechless a few moments later, when Devin crawled up in her lap, touching the tears still on her face.
"An Kav needs cookies," he said, with a grave expression. They all laughed at this, Devin enjoying being with them. Miriah was turning to get more cookies when she heard her datapad chime and went to retrieve it from the office.
"I'd love to come to Dantooine! See you in three days!" General Garza was indeed coming to Dantooine, Miriah thought. Let the games begin.