Miriah rose from the bed, the sheet trailing over her body, and Corso sighed. "I don't want this to end," he said, and saw a sad smile cross his wife's face.
"Me, either. It doesn't have to, at least us not being together," she replied. Corso thought about it. He knew he had gained Miriah's acceptance that she had to step back from the front lines and lead the Alliance, but he wasn't sure yet how to approach going home. Maybe it really was as easy as just getting on the ship with her, he thought. They'd had time to just talk while they rested from lovemaking, but it wasn't enough.
"It'll be soon, I promise, darlin'." I can't be away from you long, he thought. He saw the ravages of his actions on her body, her thinness always a worry. Her whole demeanor was changed, and he remembered times during their interlude where she seemed to pull away from him. He had seen her press a hand to her chest last evening, when they'd finally had to eat. "Let me go back to Dantooine and close things up, okay?" He saw her hesitate, then nod, but not speak. He glanced at his chrono, he had only a little time left, but he helped Miriah get her disguise in place before dressing. Once they were set, they waited. Aric had asked them to not leave together, and Miriah would leave first. He held her as close as he could until the knock on the door, and felt her shake with emotion as he kissed her goodbye. When the door shut, he sighed, and slumped onto the sofa. This sucks, he thought.
Aric walked with Miriah out the door and to the taxi. She looks marginally happier, he thought, but could barely tell with the disguise. Once they'd reached the ship, and she shucked off the layers, Miriah sat silently until they were in hyperspace, then she went to shower. He was getting drowsy when she sat in the copilot's chair. "Want some food?" she asked, and handed him a bowl of noodles with a spicy smelling sauce. He sat up and took the bowl eagerly, exclaiming how good it was after the first few bites. When he'd finished, he took both bowls to wash, then rejoined Miriah on the bridge. "So, how did you leave things?" he asked.
"Cor is going back to Dantooine to settle things there," she replied, and Aric let out a whoop.
"Alright! He'll be back for Coleen's wedding!" Miriah smiled at his enthusiasm, she knew that Aric and Corso were as close as brothers. He could see that his sister in law was relaxed, sated, and it made him happy. Miriah closed her eyes and let her mind replay their two days, and Aric let her be.
Nico had seen Corso's grin from down the spaceport, and cheered to himself. At last, he thought, everything will even out. Once the Mantellian was on board and they were cleared to take off, Nico reached out his hand to shake, and Corso took it firmly. "A successful trip," Nico said, and Corso nodded.
"I'll go back and get everything settled there, then take the next transport to Odessen," Corso confirmed. "It'll be a little bit, but I'd like to leave the ranch and house in good shape, so that when we come back, it'll be perfect."
"Good plan," Nico told him, and they settled in for the flight.
Magdalane felt her sister's temperament change into one of hope and peace, and it made her smile. Mir needed some hope. She had decided that her mother's craft room could probably be packed, as it mostly had threads and notions already in labeled containers. While the room was meticulously organized, the closet where the dresses hung was a mess. Mags pulled out one in a deep, forest green, and looked for the tag to see whom she'd made it for, utterly surprised to see her own name. Magdalane, my dear. Wear this and remember that I love you. Tears filled her eyes, and she looked at the detail and style of the dress, loving it. Perfect for Coleen's wedding, she thought. Carefully she hung it on a dress rack, fingering the beautiful material, and pulled out the next dress, and the next. Near the back, she found a sleek gown in a beautiful gold shimersilk, and the tag noted it was for Maura. Mags declined to open the tag, figuring the message was much like the one on her own, and transferred it to the rack. Once all the hanging dresses were out of the closet, Mags saw several flat, white boxes. She pulled the first one over to the clean worktable and gasped out loud when she opened it. Inside was an intricate wedding gown, beautifully beaded, and just the name Coleen on it. Hurriedly she dialed Maura, too excited to wait.
Devin also saw Miriah's force presence, and it was a little closer to her normal purple tone. Good, he thought, and whistled as he made his way to the office. Once there, he started in on the work list he'd made the day before, and only briefly thought about Magdalane and Merida's words on possible force users. I've got to just let it play out, he thought. Nothing more I can do at the moment. He was pondering this when the message came in from his mother, telling him she'd be back the next day. He wanted to ask if his dad was with her, but didn't. He'd talk to her when she was back, he decided. He was just standing to stretch when he saw his Aunt Maura hurrying down the corridor. It made him smile to see her so animated, and with a lighter heart, he returned to work.
Coleen laughed as Caitlin wobbled over to her, her steps still not quite steady but determined. She scooped up her daughter and waved to the child care workers at the desk as she made her way outside, Caitlin on her shoulder. "Hang in there, little girl. We'll be home in a few minutes." Coleen knew that Ty was working evening shift this week, and had planned to just have a quiet dinner and play with the baby before going to bed early. If she were honest with herself, the early bed time was the most appealing part of the plan. Ty refused to spend the night at her apartment, saying that he just felt it wouldn't be right until they were married. Coleen thought Ty was just being cautious, not wanting to make her dad upset. She smiled, thinking about Ty and when she was home, put Caitlin down and made her way to the kitchen.
Maura gasped and put her hands over her cheeks when she saw the dress meant for Coleen. "We ordered one, and it's beautiful, but it's nothing compared to this," she said in a hushed tone. "Mom outdid herself."
"That's not all," Magdalane told her sister, and led her over to the rack of dresses. When Maura saw the one meant for her, her eyes filled with tears. Mags let her have a couple of minutes to process the note, and when Maura turned to her, Mags hugged her sister tightly. "She wanted to do this for us, because we made such a huge deal over Caly's wedding that she didn't want Coleen to feel left out."
"I imagine you're right. I haven't even looked at everything yet," Magdalane said, and led Maura to a low stool to sit.
"I have to call Coleen, get her down here," Maura said, but her arms felt leaden and instead she just sat there, stunned.
"I will," Magdalane volunteered, and pulled her holo from her pocket.
Caitlin was sitting in her chair, eating and chattering, and Coleen sat across from her. She took two bites then fed the baby, and was relaxed, enjoying the quiet, when her holo started. Coleen made sure the baby was secure then went into the other room to retrieve her holo, taking it back to the kitchen before clicking the receive button. Her aunt was not who she was expecting, though. When Magdalane explained the reason for the call, Coleen told her that she would have to finish feeding Caitlin but would be down soon. What's going on there, Coleen wondered, and noted that her aunt looked happy. Shrugging, she continued to feed the baby, content to take her time.
Miriah woke and realized they would be home in a few hours. Aric was programming their last hyperspace jump and she sighed. Already she felt the heaviness she'd battled for months now, knowing she was going home alone. Aric saw her move and turned to her. "I know," he said, and Miriah knew he'd seen her mood. "He'll be here soon, Mir. At least you had some uninterrupted time." He continued to talk about how it had come about, the last minute planning and what he was thinking when they were walking to the apartment building, making Miriah giggle. "It'll be okay. Everything will be back to our normal soon." Miriah sighed, but this time it was more of a resolute tone than a defeated one, and she put her hand on Aric's shoulder.
"Thanks, Aric, for making this happen," she told him and he grinned at her. For that few moments, Miriah felt normal again.
Magdalane remembered the other boxes in the closet and went back to pull them out. She found two orders that needed to be delivered, and a box containing the veil for Coleen's dress. The last box had Miriah's name on it, and Mags couldn't stop herself from peeking. What she found struck her mute. Inside lay a gown in a cool hued white, almost silver lightweight velvet. It was cut similar to the Eternal Empress dress, but that's not what made it unique. Mom must have spent a hundred hours on this, Mags thought, fingering the intricate embroidery, the silver and gold threads sparkling under the lights. The entire bodice was decorated with the stitching, with the front of the skirt carrying on the design. The long sleeves ended in the same embroidery, as did the hem. Mags heard Maura expel a held breath when she saw the gown. "That's just… exquisite," Maura said softly.
"Mir is going to be beautiful in this," Mags agreed. "I can't wait to show her." They were still mesmerized by Miriah's dress when Coleen rang the chime. Maura hurried off to let her daughter inside, and Mags gently folded the gown back into its box.
Coleen let her mother take the baby, who was already sleepy after her bath, and followed them into the craft room. "Nana left you something, Col. We just found it tonight," Mags told her niece.
"Oh!" Colleen saw the heavy ivory silk and the crystals sewn into the bodice. She pulled the heavy dress from the box and held it against herself, already in love with it.
"There's a note," Maura said, and pointed to the box. Coleen picked it up and turned her back to her mother, reading. When she'd recovered enough to not cry on the silk, she quickly stripped down to her underwear and Mags helped her try the gorgeous dress on. As she'd predicted, it fit beautifully and Maura had tears in her eyes as well as they looked at Coleen, glowing and beautiful.
"Is there a veil?" Coleen said softly, unwilling to break the spell the dress had cast on the room. Mags nodded and pulled the cathedral length veil from the box, the same sparkling crystals sewn on the edges of it, and attached to a small tiara. When it was in place, Mags sighed contentedly.
"It's perfect," Coleen breathed. Nothing like Caly's in style, which was a fitted dress, this dress was elegant, with a fitted bodice and full skirt. She swayed, feeling the silk rustle against her bare skin.
"It's your dress," Maura said. "The one we ordered is nothing compared to this."
"Agreed," Mags said, and gently hugged Coleen. Mags took a sleeping Caitlin and Maura hugged her daughter.
"Your dad is not going to be able to contain himself," she sniffled, and Coleen nodded. "Let's get it off and hung so that it doesn't wrinkle." Coleen stepped out of the dress, almost unwilling to go back to regular clothes. Nana, you are the best, she thought, and felt the warm air rush into the room.
Corso waved at Nico as he lifted off again. I'll put everything in place and get myself home, he thought, going to the house. He knew that it would be almost a week until he could hold Miriah in his arms again, and it felt like years already. With renewed energy, he went through the house, picking up items that needed to be discarded or things he wanted to take back to Odessen. He was ready to go to bed when there was a knock on his door. Looking outside, he saw one of the troopers. "Sir, we've received orders to create a perimeter on the house, just wanted to let you know we were here."
Corso sighed. Aric. "Okay, that's fine. I'll be leaving late tomorrow." With a sharp salute, the soldier stepped back and turned on his heel. Maybe Aric just now thought I'd need watching. Or maybe, Miriah doesn't want anything to happen to me. He locked the door and killed the lights. Yeah, I choose that.
Miriah saw the Odessen Orbital Station ahead, and heard Aric give his clearance codes. In what seemed like minutes, the ship was touching down in the landing field, and the sun was just coming up. Miriah was only a step from the bottom of the ramp when she stopped and looked around. She realized that she didn't feel so down anymore, and stepped onto the ground. Home. She sighed and allowed the detail to get set before going to the apartment, content knowing Corso would be home soon.