Mirah felt the thud of the magnetic clamps as the ship docked with the Tython Orbital station, and slowly opened her eyes. Not her ship, there wasn't one that was hers anymore. That had started the churning in her gut, and she put her hand gingerly on her middle. Corso was beside her in an instant, making a leap over to where she was lying on the sofa from where he'd been looking out a window. She shook her head, partially to clear it, partially to tell Corso she was alright. He simply watched her as she cautiously sat up, and they both turned their eyes to Aric as he approached them from the bridge.

"Safe to go, guys. They want us to get checked out at the med station then we have an appointment with the Jedi." Aric shrugged, he'd do whatever they wanted as long as it got him closer to being with his family. He was puzzled by Miriah's dissent. "What, Mir? Not feeling up to walking over?" His concern was evident in his voice.

"No, I think I could make it, but why? If the Jedi want to know what happened to my ship and Gregor Jurin, they can come to me. Then they can learn what they want, and we'll already be on the ship, ready to go to Coruscant. Or better yet, home to Dantooine." She turned to Corso, "Let's do that! Send word to the rest of the family to meet us on Dantooine!" Her eyes pleaded with him. "Please, sugar, let's go home. Let's just go home." She stood, a little shaky but on her own, and started across the lounge toward the air lock. The men followed, knowing that once Miriah had a direction, she would not stop until she had to. She was speed walking now, getting closer to the public holo, and once it was in sight, broke out in a hard run toward it. Corso grinned then, knowing her mind, and by the time he caught up the holo was connecting to the apartment on Coruscant.

Sarai answered, her smile covering her whole face. "Miriah! Thank the force! I… " She was interrupted by Devin, who had come running to the holo.

"Mama! Daddy! " His smile was triumphant, and brought tears to Miriah's eyes. His words were drowned out by the shouts and cries of Colin and Calleigh, and were joined by Maura. Once the kids had a chance to say hellos, only Devin remained, quiet now, but his eyes locked with his mother's.

"We've had quite an eventful few days here," Maura was saying now, and moved out of holocam range to pull Magdalane and Felix in, Ian in his father's arms.

"Oh! Mags! You had the baby! And I missed it all!" Miriah cried, jumping up and down a little. "He's beautiful, and I want to hear all about it!"

"There's quite a story there, Mir, and I'll tell you all about it when you're all back with us. When will that be, by the way?" She smiled at her sister, seeing the weariness that she carried along with the joy of seeing them all.

"As soon as we get clearance, we're on the way. I was going to suggest we all just meet on Dantooine, but I won't ask you to travel with Ian so new." She saw her mother lift Devin in her arms and ached to be able to do the same. "Not soon enough, in my opinion." Aric was waiting to talk to Maura and the twins, and she wanted to let him have the holo, but not before blowing a kiss to her son.

"Love you, Mama, " he told her in his sweet little voice, reaching his hand out to the holo image of her.

"I love you too, sweet man. I'll be there soon, okay?" She grinned at him when he smiled and nodded, and she moved aside to let Aric and Maura talk. Corso took her in a hug, and walked her over to a bench not far away.

"He's fine, love. I know you want to be with him but he's doing well." He kissed her forehead, feeling her tears on his shirt. "Shh kitten, we'll be with him soon." He was ready to get things going, and get back on the ship for Coruscant. When Aric had assured Maura that he was fine, and the twins that he'd be home soon, they walked leisurely toward the med station, Miriah stopping for a snack of fried cheese from a vendor. The gooey mess looked wonderful, and the two men couldn't resist when they saw how much she enjoyed it. They were all laughing when they entered the med station, and were only there a few minutes for scans before they were released for travel.

"So, who wants to bet that there's at least one Jedi waiting to speak to us when we reach the cantina?" Aric said, grinning at the other two. He'd relayed Miriah's request to the ship's captain, and felt certain it would be met. The Chantalle family has deep roots in the Jedi Order, he thought, and even a force blind daughter would be accommodated. Sure enough, there were three brown-robed figures in the cantina when they arrived, and Aric had to snicker at Miriah's grin.

They made their way over to the trio, and recognized Grandmaster Satele Shan herself sitting in a plain brown robe, her distinct eyes the only part of her visible. "Hello, Grandmaster," Aric greeted her, and she introduced the other two with her, padawans. "So what is it that you want to know? The Stardancer was sabotaged, we were unable to come out of hyperspace and we exploded. Corso tried to get Jurin into the escape pod, but he refused and launched the pod instead." Corso nodded.

"He even waved at me," Corso said, "then hit the button." Shan sighed before speaking.

"The Castellan restraints are such a mystery to us," she said. "I'm not sure we could have helped him, or if we could, what he might be able to tell us, but it's a shame that we didn't get the chance to try." She sent the padawans off to ready her shuttle, and when they were gone, she turned to the group. "I understand you landed on Aria."

"We did," Miriah responded. "Corso hiked to our pod with the supply bags, Aric and I had the beacons going, and we were fine until the shuttle rescued us." She made her mind a blank, resolving to give nothing away. Her steady gaze never wavered, and Shan broke eye contact with her.

"Very well, then , I believe you are on your way to your family. Please give Magdalane our congratulations, I understand that Ian has arrived in your absence." Shan smiled at the group, and they stood to leave.

"Thank you, Grandmaster, for coming here. It get us just that much closer to them." Miriah was grateful, and when she'd exchanged a bow with the tall Jedi, she turned and was off, making the men hustle to catch up to her. They all had a surprise waiting for them, however, when they reached the hangar they'd left. The Experian had been replaced, and Aric immediately recognized the ship.

"General Garza's flagship," he said in a hushed voice. "She must have sent it yesterday, and it will get us to Coruscant much faster than the Experian would have." They stood there looking at the sleek vessel until the ramp lowered and a major walked down to them, his uniform covered in decoration and his salute sharp.

"Major Sands, sirs," he said, addressing Aric primarily. "Here to take you to your family. General Garza said to tell you that she has full confidence that we will break every speed reg to do so." Here he grinned, and turned to Miriah. "She also told me personally that you were as good a pilot as you are a baker, and I should let you drive if you wish."

Miriah smiled at him, but shook her head. "I'm not checked out on your craft, Major, but I'm all for the speed. Let's get going!" She pushed past him as he chuckled, and they boarded the ship, where they saw that their bags had already been stored in plush quarters, where they were told to help themselves to whatever they liked from the trunks. The beds were plush and inviting, the galley spacious. When Miriah entered her and Corso's assigned cabin, she started stripping as she made her way to the shower, and Corso joined her under the hot water, her sighs of pleasure encompassing both her husband and the glorious hot water from jets situated all along the walls. After they'd dried off and found clean clothing, they joined Aric in the galley. Hot food was being served, and not replicated or cooked by droids. Corso closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, the scent of the dishes filling his nostrils and making his stomach audibly grumble.

They were served and Corso saw Miriah actually eat well for a change. He and Aric were talking, sipping fresh caffa after the meal, when Miriah stood and stretched. "I'm going to put this kiddo to sleep," she told them, and without a backward glance, made her way to their quarters. They would be in hyperspace for a total of eighteen hours before they were close enough to Coruscant to holo the family again, so sleep was a good option.

Miriah was full and warm, but sleep continued to elude her as the minutes ticked past, and her thoughts were on her family. Maura looked happy to see them but also a little angry, probably because she'd been dealing with the kids on her own without Aric there. And Ian was here, she thought. Devin looks okay but I feel his longing, she mused, and it matches my own. Magdalane looked good, Felix looked tired, and they all seemed to be waiting for something. For us, she concluded. She was beginning to relax when Corso joined her, moving quietly through the cabin. He sat on the edge of the soft bed to take his boots off, and jumped when she touched his back.

"Hey, gorgeous, didn't meant to wake you," he whispered.

"I hadn't fallen asleep yet, was just thinking about getting home," she told him, watching him find the thin soft pants she'd pulled out for him and tug them on over muscled thighs. He pulled back the covers and snuggled her close to him, stroking her hair.

"I want to be there too, kitten. Tomorrow evening, we can hug on Devin and you can hold our new nephew." He felt her hands on his chest, igniting his senses and making him momentarily speechless.

"Well, we have this lovely bed, and a long hyperspace wait. I think I can figure out a few things to occupy you," she said with a purr, nipping his shoulder then kissing the same spot. He took his time with her, savoring being safe and with her. When she finally slept, he cradled her against him, his last thought before sleeping himself was that he was so thankful things had turned out the way they had.

Aric entered his quarters alone, and even in the luxury of his surroundings, was restless. He missed Maura, her amber eyes and her long, lithe limbs. He decided, since he'd never done so before, that he would write her a love letter, and pulled his datapad to him, propped up on the plump pillows of the bed.

Maura, my love, my one-

I miss you. Seems like a simple statement of fact, but it carries so much more into my heart. The explosion made me realize that we have so much. The twins, certainly, but more than that. We have an intangible something, love. I can't imagine my life without you. The last couple of days have given me a taste of what that would be like, and I wouldn't survive in that world.

I see Corso with Miriah, and I long for you. I want another child with you. I want to wake up and go to sleep with you beside me forever. I want to feel your silken skin on mine and run my fingers through your hair.

I love you, Maura. I always will. I can't wait to be with you.

Until tomorrow,

Aric

He held his breath and sent the letter, hoping it conveyed the sentiment he wanted to send to her. He felt like he hadn't really slept since he left Coruscant, so he took a long, hot shower and when he lay down, he was immediately asleep.

None of them were immediately aware of the evasive maneuvers the ship took, nor were they aware of the six Imperial fighters firing on the flagship, but Miriah did wake when the ship took a steep dive, and when she jumped out of bed Corso woke. She stumbled as the internal gravity sensors struggled to keep up with the violent pitching of the vessel, and Corso caught her, helping her dress quickly. She was still pulling on her boots when Aric came into the room, his eyes wide.

"Not again! This cannot be happening again!" Aric shouted. They were on the way to the bridge when they felt the ship jump into hyperspace, and smooth out in its flight. Miriah looked at the two men, then turned to find the captain.

"There you are. Just wanted to assure you we've got things under control here now. We were met by a squadron of Imperial fighters when we made the transition from the Tython hyperlane to the Coruscant lane, but we're well away now. Minimal damage, and we're at one and a half times the normal hyperspeed now." He looked at Miriah's pallor and patted her shoulder. "I promise, you will get to Coruscant safely. We're already so far into Republic space, they'd be fools to follow. Besides," he chuckled," that squadron that scrambled out of Pallista Spaceport on Alderaan will have engaged them by now." He escorted them back to the lounge area, and Miriah sat heavily in one of the chairs.

"I thought it was over, I really did. Now, I have to wonder who aboard or in Garza's office is the leak." She looked at Corso and Aric, but neither had an answer.