Miriah sat on the floor with Merida on her knee, listening to the little girl's description of her Jedi class, but her eyes were on her husband. Corso had woken from their nap seeming more himself, but she couldn't deny that her earlier burst of temper had drained her. She felt tired even now. Her attention went back to Merida when she felt her granddaughter, her physical mirror reflection, gently caress her cheek. "I love you, Mimi," she said, and Miriah smiled.
"I love you, too, sweet girl," she said, hugging Merida to her. The boys all played with toy speeders, and Corso was right in the middle, looking like he was enjoying the game as much as the boys. They all stood at Caly's request to wash up, and Merida followed them. Corso turned to Miriah then.
"Are you okay, Mir? Do we need to make excuses and go home?" he asked, concern in his eyes. Miriah shook her head and went into the dining room. Corso took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I really have screwed up, he thought, and followed her, taking a seat beside Miriah. When they were all seated, he took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. So much time to make up for, he told himself, but we'll get there.
Many laughs and discussions surrounded the loaded table, and even Miriah felt it's healing effect on her family. When the last dish had been washed and everything put away, and all the children asleep, Miriah hugged her daughter. "Caly, the food was totally delicious, as usual. Thank you for doing this," she told her. Miriah turned to Mia. "Hosting this crowd is always work, thank you, Mia." She then took Corso's hand. "I'm spent, but so grateful."
"Let's get you home," Corso agreed, and with more hugs and well wishes, they stepped out into the detail. Corso looked at his chrono. Wow, almost midnight, he thought, and suddenly felt tired as well. They reached the secure area just as the shift changed, and Miriah asked the guard captain to just stand aside so that those coming out of the inner base could leave. Corso smiled and shook his head, it was just like Mir to let those working get home before her. He took the opportunity to kiss her then, amid the catcalls and whoops the outgoing crew enjoyed. Miriah laughed as he straightened and he held his thumbs up so that they could see it over the detail guard, eliciting more congratulations. It was only a few minutes later that they went inside and to the apartment.
Once inside, Miriah went to wash her face and get ready for bed. Corso waited for her to be done before going in to do the same, and when he returned to bed, Miriah's eyes were closed. Corso slipped between the sheets and almost jumped when she spoke. "I'm off for the next two days. We're all doing six days on then two days off," she explained. "That way we have time to rest."
"That's great news, then," he said, nodding. He waited for her to snuggle with him, craving her touch, but when she didn't automatically, he gently pulled her to him. Sighing with relief, Miriah lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, and Corso pulled her always chilly feet onto his leg. "I missed this the most," he said softly. "Just touching you, feeling you beside me. It always puts my heart at rest, darlin'."
"I feel the same way. I've needed you, not what you do to make my life easier, not for just another support. I need you, here beside me, my touchstone, my rock." Miriah raised herself up to kiss him slowly, and the inner turmoil he'd felt since he arrived quieted. He then felt a peace around him, and let it lull him to sleep.
Caly and Torian made their way back to the secure area, hand in hand. "It was a good dinner, though, right?" she asked, and Torian chuckled.
"Anytime you cook, it's good, love," he told her, and swung her around in his arms. "I think your parents are a little more at ease, too."
"Yeah, I saw it. Glad you stopped me from plowing ahead with the ceremony details," she replied, his arm around her shoulders. "Plenty of time for that, now that Dad's home."
"Everyone in one place, and happy," Torian told his wife, taking her hand in his. "Are you going back to cooking for them?"
"I think so, at least Mom hasn't told me not to. I have two new videos to go up as well, and a new sponsor." Caly had been so excited about her dad being home that she hadn't told Torian about an event she was invited to participate in, and decided to wait. She hadn't investigated it enough to be sure it was an actual event, and she didn't want to set off any warning bells in her husband's mind.
"Maybe we can all finally relax a bit then," Torian replied, and Caly nodded. Yes, that's what I want, she thought. Arm in arm, they made their way home, both lost in thoughts of the next few weeks.
Aric had cooked, and when Maura was done eating, he ordered her to the sofa. "Well, not that I'm arguing, but what brought this domestic endeavor on?" she asked.
"You did all that work for the wedding, and you did too much, as usual. I think it's a Chantalle thing," Aric replied. "You and Mir both have so many responsibilities. It's good to have a little down time, hon." He finished putting their dishes in the dishwasher and dramatically brushed his hands against each other. "Now, for the entertainment portion of our evening," he grinned.
Maura laughed as Aric plopped down beside her. "As long as it's brief. Mir has the next two days off, then I'll have mine."
Aric gathered her close to him. "They'll talk, and probably fight, then make up," he reasoned. "And by the time Mir's back in the office, all will be well."
"I sure hope so," Maura said. "Mir's spirits couldn't sink any lower. I was honestly afraid of her just wasting away." Me, too, Aric thought. Although Maura was a close second, Mir was by far in the worst shape of her life, too thin and constantly moving. They need this time, and I can message Corso tomorrow about dinner. Settling that in his mind, Aric absently watched the movie Maura had chosen, not at all disappointed when she fell asleep only a handful of minutes in.
Lord Scourge sat on a bench in the courtyard, his favorite spot to people watch. It was not quiet dawn, but he knew that the sunrise from this area was spectacular, and planned to enjoy it while his thoughts roamed. He could feel the normally positive base was even more upbeat in the past couple of days, and almost wished for the days when his emotions were gone. Pulling on the always present force of the planet, he felt the rush of power over himself and let out a happy sigh. This place is truly a feast for anyone force sensitive. He was looking at the horizon when he felt a ball of force behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Devin and Merida walking to the mess hall. Even the child revels in the force, he thought, and relaxed, enjoying the start to the day.
Tali had been working so hard in her additional Jedi training, she fell asleep early every night. Lana and Nico could see that she was growing taller, and her force lessons had given her a confidence that was evident. At breakfast, she ate everything Lana gave her and reached into the bowl on the table for some muja fruit. "Sweetheart, are you feeling okay?" Lana asked.
"I'm great, Mama, just hungry," Tali got out around a mouthful of fruit. Lana just smiled at her daughter, and when Jaren announced he was hungry, too, she pulled the bottle to her with the force, making Tali giggle. While the baby was having breakfast, Tali went to get ready. When she returned, Lana saw that instead of just a ponytail, Tali had fixed her hair in three small buns, starting at the crown of her head and going down to her neck.
"Tali, is that a new hairstyle I haven't seen before?" she asked gently.
"That's how my hair wanted to be today," Tali explained with a dismissive wave of her hand. Lana was about to argue, but concluded that however it was unusual, it kept her hair neat and out of her face, so she just shrugged and gathered a sweater for both her and Jaren before walking Tali to class. She's certainly her own person, Lana thought, and felt a rush of love for Tali so strong that the little girl felt it and turned to her mother. "Mama, I love you, too. Is everything okay?"
"It's fine, hon. Have a good class and I'll see you this afternoon. Master Magdalane will bring you to the office, okay?" Tali nodded and skipped off, happy to be at the temple. Lana saw Scourge as she turned to go back into the secure area and debated with herself over speaking to him. Aware that Jaren was sleeping, she ventured over but Scourge's eyes were closed and he was exuding calm force waves. Smiling, she made her way to the office.
Miriah woke slowly, warm and with the comforting weight of Corso around her. She sighed happily. She knew that he was having a hard time adjusting to their new reality, but was confident that he would eventually see that it wasn't his usefulness she craved. It was him, his touch, his love. He gently squeezed her in his arms. "It sure is good to see you smile, darlin'," he told her, and then kissed her. Yeah, this could be a great day, she thought. Stretching, she sat up.
"I would love one of your omelets, sugar," she told him, and he grinned.
"Coming up. What do you want to do today?" he asked, and saw Miriah thinking. "We could go for a speeder ride, maybe."
"Aric wouldn't want that. We could walk around outside though," Miriah replied, and Corso thought that Aric would be cautious, now that the Empire was the biggest enemy again. Suddenly, Corso turned to his wife.
"Tell me about the current concerns, Mir. I had a feeling that there was a mission in place that Mags was working on with some others from the meeting yesterday." Miriah took a deep breath and explained what Kira Carson and Scourge were doing on Odessen. Corso nodded slowly, beginning to see the whole picture of the mystery involving Satele Shan.
"Devin couldn't find the ship, either," Miriah said.
"What else is going on?" Corso asked, and Miriah proceeded to tell Corso so much of what she'd left out of their holo chats, and he began to know what burden she'd been under since defeating Malgus more than half a year before. Wow, how could I have been so arrogant to think that nothing would be happening here, he thought, and almost teared up, thinking about the stress and strain Miriah had been through. Before she had finished talking, he had wrapped her in his arms and sat on the edge of the bed with her in his lap. "I'm such an ass, Mir," he said, his face in her hair. "I never knew all of this, and I was too wrapped up in making a point to notice. I'm so sorry."
"Corso, it's done. Let's just go forward from here," she said, her voice soft, and she kissed his nose. "I'm going to shower, we're going to have breakfast, and we'll see what we want to do after."
"Sounds like a plan, darlin'." Corso watched as Miriah went to the refresher and rubbed his face with his hands before standing to pull on clothes and head to the kitchen.
Aric pulled out his datapad and sent a message to Corso, asking them to dinner at the cantina. He smiled when he saw the response. Good, he thought. They're at least communicating. He had gone to get an early lunch for Maura, since she was in charge today, and saw Scourge still sitting outside, even in the stiff wind that carried a hint of winter. Right where he was when morning report was given, he thought, and wondered what the Sith was thinking, even though his face was serene. I guess he's enjoying the day, Aric mused, but when he exited the mess hall, his arm loaded down with bags, Scourge was gone. Aric shrugged to himself and carried on with his task, but he made a mental note of things, just in case he needed it later.
Corso and Miriah had gone out of the military hangar and into the sunshine, and Miriah was glad she'd taken her sweater when the wind whipped her hair around. They settled at the side of the hangar, out of the wind, where the sun was warm. Miriah had a smile on her face and Corso wrapped his arms around her to warm her. "Sugar, this was a good idea," she said.
"I remember getting reports of Caly and Torian out here when they were dating," Corso explained. "I just wanted to get you out and into some fresh air." Miriah closed her eyes and turned her face to the sun, enjoying the respite. After a few minutes, they went back through the war room and into the elevator, coming out into the courtyard. Mia was coming out of the shopping area and Declan held her hand until he saw his grandparents, tearing away to run into his Papa's arms. Miriah patted his back and once the little boy had hugged Corso, he wanted his Mimi. This is perfect, Miriah thought, and finally let herself be happy.