Corso woke in the wee hours, his arms around his wife, snuggled into her back as he spooned against her. Today they would take Jurin to Tython, he thought. He knew it was a good move, and that Miriah would have no trouble piloting her beloved freighter, under normal circumstances. Given that she was battling the nausea of early pregnancy, he was anxious about this trip. As if thinking of her had woken her, she leaned back into his chest, pressing her hips into him. His thoughts were immediately diverted from the trip to her, his hands gliding smoothly from her waist to her already fuller breasts. Her hum of pleasure excited him more, and even though they had a long day ahead of them, they both enjoyed loving each other, finding a little more sleep before their chrono alarm woke them.
Aric was up early, leaving Maura to rest as he gathered his armor and weapons, wondering if the upcoming trip would be uneventful. He hesitated to leave the group but it made sense. He and Corso would go with Miriah to take Jurin to Tython, and the rest of their family would remain here. They would continue as normal, and since Jurin had been taken to the ship last night, hopefully they'd deceived whoever might be watching. He took his gear out to the main rooms, stopping in the kitchen to make some caffa. They were hoping to slip out of dock under the cover of darkness, and he glanced in the direction of Corso and Miriah's bedroom, wondering if they were up. He'd just poured his first cup when he saw Corso make his way to the kitchen.
"Hey man, I was just wondering if you were up and moving yet," he told his friend in a soft voice.
"Yeah, Mir's trying to move slowly, between the morning sickness and leaving Dev, she's not too energetic this morning." Corso moved to fill his own mug, and make some hot sweet tea for his wife, knowing it was one of the few things she'd be able to tolerate. "I hate leaving the kids, but it won't be for long, and I know they'll be safer and have more fun here together."
Aric nodded, he'd had his own reservation about leaving his twins, but agreed with Corso's assessment of the situation. He was just thinking about how lovely his Maura had looked the evening before when he saw Felix stumble out of their sleeping area, half awake. "Hey Felix, everything okay?" he asked, seeing the bleary eyes and unshaven face of his other brother in law.
"Mags was restless all night, having some practice contractions. She's resting now, but I wanted to see Corso and Miriah and you before you left." Felix poured his caffa and took a long sip. "Ahhh , now that's better. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I'll be on full alert and that I've briefed Blessing on what's going on, and I had an idea." He sipped his caffa again, Corso and Aric watching him with amusement. He's still a soldier under those civilian clothes, Corso thought, and felt better about leaving his son with this man in charge of his safety. "Why don't you and Mir go to the ship, acting as if you're going on a pleasure trip, and Aric, you follow under Mir's stealth generator. That way, you don't have to worry about leaving so early, and with Jurin already on the ship, there'll be nothing out of the way for anyone to see or report on."
"That would also give Mir a little more time to get over the nausea before piloting the ship," Corso said, nodding his head. "Good idea, Felix." The men moved to the living area to sit, enjoying the quiet and their morning caffa. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Corso rose to get Miriah's tea, and took it to her in their bedroom. He found her brushing her hair, already dressed. He placed the cup on the dressing table, and she turned to him.
"Thank you, sugar, that looks perfect for this morning," she smiled up at him, her eyes clear and rested. She'd had her hair cut the day before, and he could barely keep his hands out of the tumbling waves. He bent to kiss her forehead, knowing he needed to stay in control or they'd spend the day in bed, and while that was a much better idea, in opinion, he knew they had to keep moving. He turned to sit at the end of their bed, and explained Felix's idea. She nodded slowly, carefully standing . "I can do that, and it seems like the perfect cover. Has anyone talked to C2 this morning about how Jurin is doing?"
"No, but I'd bet Aric has already thought of that and if he hasn't done it, he will," he laughed, seeing Miriah's grin.
Aric had, in fact, just got off the holo with the droid, and turned to them as they joined him in the living area. "Jurin did well during the night, is still sleeping, in fact. I'm ready whenever you guys are, and it might be easier if we leave before children start waking up." They all agreed, and Aric went to tell Maura goodbye, leaving the others to finish gathering their gear. He found her still sleeping, and instead of speaking, he crouched at the bed side and kissed her head. Her amber eyes slowly opened, and she saw he was ready to go.
"Please be careful, hon. We'll be fine here, and will talk when you reach Tython." She sat up and he gathered her in his hug, feeling her love there. "Love you, Aric. Keep Mir safe, okay?"
He nodded, swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat. "I will. Love you, sweetheart, so much." She watched as he reluctantly left her, knowing they wouldn't be gone long but hating the separation. She could feel his hesitation, and got up, dressing quickly, and was out of their room in only a couple of minutes.
"Just couldn't let you all go without hugs," she whispered to her sister, trying to stay positive. She felt Miriah squeeze her back.
"It's gonna be fine, Maura, just love on Dev for me until we get back, okay?" Both women sniffed back the sudden tears, just before Sarai joined their hug.
"We'll all be here for him, Miriah, as always. Here," Sarai pulled out a small datacron, "give this to Satele Shan. It has all the pertinent data and scans that have been done." Miriah tucked the small device in a jacket pocket, and turned to Corso.
"Let's go, before I change my mind," she told him, her face grim. She took off at her normal, brisk pace and had reached the elevator when Corso and Aric caught up to her.
"Hey, slow down there, Spitfire. I need the stealth generator, and you need to act like you love this big lug here," Aric said, pointing at Corso.
Miriah blew out a breath. "I know, I just hate saying goodbye and I especially hate leaving Devin." She looked back at the apartment door with longing, and Corso very nearly told her to forget the trip, but he knew they needed to get Jurin to treatment. Instead, he put his arm around his wife's shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her head. In turn, she put her arm around his waist and leaned on his shoulder.
"That's it, that's what we're used to seeing," grinned Aric, taking the offered stealth generator and clipping it to his belt. They descended together but when Corso and Miriah exited the elevator, Aric triggered the device, making him effectively invisible. The proceeded toward the spaceport, Corso and Miriah holding hands, laughing, stopping to kiss. By the time they'd made it to the Stardancer, Aric was about to burst with snarky comments. As the airlock closed and the ramp retracted, Aric deactivated his stealth device.
"Dear void, you two are either really good actors or are completely, totally into each other on a level I never even knew existed. You walked right by that senator, the one from Denova, and never even saw him! And he was surrounded by guards!" He was laughing as he said this, but Corso blushed.
"She's got me bewitched, all right," Corso admitted, but stopped the joking when he saw how pale Miriah had gone. "Here, sit, kitten." He led her over to the lounge area, and into a plush chair. C2 was by her side in a flash, with crackers and tea. She gave the droid a weak smile and nod of thanks, and nibbled on a cracker. After a few minutes, her color returned and she stood, turning toward the bridge, but Aric stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Relax, Mir, Corso's got things going. I just checked on Jurin, he's still sleeping." She nodded, sitting back down. They felt the freighter shimmy slightly as the mag locks disengaged, and Corso easily slipped them from their docking port and out into Coruscanti space. He got the large ship to the hyperlane and went back to get Aric and Mirah secured, as well as wake up their other passenger. He walked past the lounge and into the crew area, where the lightest touch on Jurin's shoulder woke him. The older man blinked at the Mantellian but smiled, reaching out to touch Corso's dreadlocked hair. Corso clicked the sleeping restraint around Jurin, and he relaxed into the bunk once more.
On the way back to the bridge, Corso stopped and knelt in front of Miriah. "Cyare, try to take deep breaths, I'll get us on course then come back and check on you." He smiled at her nod, and went forward to the bridge. As far as piloting the ship, Corso was fine with undocking and following the air traffic controller's voice to the hyperlane, but once they exited hyperspace, he was lost. He needed Miriah to be rested and alert, and hopefully not sick.
Miriah's ears knew the moment he'd entered the hyperlane, and she sighed when she felt the hyperdrive engage. She already missed her son, and was thinking of him when Corso joined her in the lounge area.
"All set, now all we have to do is wait." He pulled his wife into his body as he sat beside her, and Aric brought Corso a mug of caffa.
"I just looked in on Jurin. Is all the sleeping part of his recovery?" he asked.
"Sarai said that was likely, but we really have no idea, since we have no previous experience with this stuff," Miriah responded, fiddling with her cup. "I may sleep some, too, in a bit." She gave them a small smile. Her hands itched to bake, but she just didn't have the energy to follow through. She vaguely heard the men chatting, and the third time she nodded off, slipping lower in her seat, Corso gently pushed her to lie down, her head on his thigh. He lovingly stroked her cheek as she drifted into sleep.
"The baby is really sapping her, huh?" Aric asked, seeing the tiny woman's face relax as she slept.
"She does too much, always has, but pregnancy has a way of forcing rest," Corso admitted. He was still so excited about another son, he couldn't help but grin, and wonder what his older son was doing this morning.
Sarai sat with the children while Maura and Mags gathered breakfast. "Sorry we don't have the same selection we would if Miriah was here," Maura said to the gathered group. "But she did bake more cinnamon rolls before she left." They set out all the food, and Sarai led the group of children to their table. Devin had asked for his mama only once, seeming to realize she was working on something he couldn't be a part of, and instead stayed close to his Nana. Mags had risen with Michi, and now was pacing, rubbing her very pregnant tummy. Sarai was aware she was uncomfortable, and urged her to rest.
"I can't, Mom," she replied. "I feel …something. Something I can't identify, in the force." She finally sat on the sofa, and when Devin pulled himself up to sit beside her, she smiled at him. "How are you today, Devin?" she asked him.
"Mama work," he told her. "Fly. Daddy with." Mags nodded at his sage assessment of the situation, and Sarai grinned at them both. "Ian?" he questioned, pointing at Mags midsection, which was smooth now that Ian was sleeping.
"Yes, that's Ian," Mags told the little boy. "Your mama has your little brother growing in her, too, but you can't see him yet." Devin looked confused, but soon forgot what his aunt had said and scrambled down to play with the other children. "He's so perceptive, to be so young. Miriah has done an exceptional job of encouraging his independent thought." Sarai agreed, and saw when Magdalane had to stand and walk again, sensing more than she was saying.
"Dear, you realize you're in labor, right? Probably have been since last night." Sarai's words brought alarmed exclamations from both Felix and Maura, who rushed to Mags.
"I'd figured as much, but the contractions aren't regular yet, and this phase took several days with Michi," Mags said calmly. Felix couldn't help but hover, pacing with his wife. Maura started toward the holo, intending to let Miriah know, but Felix stopped her.
"They're in hyperspace by now, it won't go through," he said, and Maura realized he was right. There was nothing they could do, but wait.
Miriah woke from her nap, a little startled that she'd slept, and evidently soundly enough that Corso had moved her to their bed and she hadn't woken. She could hear him and Aric in the lounge, the holonet going with some sporting event, and smiled to herself. Logan, you are already so loved, just wait until you join these guys one day, she thought. She got up slowly, felt okay, and made her way into the galley to cook. She saw that Jurin had joined the guys around the holo, and seemed to be entertained. She was ready to plate their meals when Corso joined her, wrapping her in a hug.
"Did you rest well, kitten? You look beautiful," he told her, rocking slightly with her.
"I did, and now I'm hungry. Go tell the others food is ready," she grinned at him. Not wanting to risk that she'd be nauseous soon, he gathered the others to the galley bar to eat. He watched as she ate a good portion of the bantha sandwich and bowl of cheese soup she'd served, and was pleased to see her color remain normal. They rinsed their dishes and all returned to the holo.
Meanwhile, Mags was getting increasingly uncomfortable, but the contractions hadn't settled into a pattern yet. Felix took turns being with Michi and walking with his wife. Mid afternoon, he finally convinced her to take a hot shower and try to relax, knowing she'd need to be rested as much as she could for the actual labor. He got her to their bed, lying on her side, and slid behind her to massage her back. He could feel the muscles bunching and releasing, but there didn't appear to be a pattern to it, and she finally slept.
Felix went to tell the others what was going on. Maura had the twins napping, Devin was asleep on the sofa with Sarai, and the apartment was quiet. Enjoy the quiet now, he thought, this might be a long night.