Devin took the now sleeping bundle from his wife's shoulder. "So, your adopted sister wants to leave a newborn in our care," he said softly, feeling the force bond him to the infant. Suddenly the little girl's eyes opened and stared into his. "Yes, little one. You feel me," he said softly, continuing to stare into the baby's eyes. Mia watched, and suddenly felt settled inside.
"That's right," she whispered. "It's right, I know you can feel it, too." Devin sat on the sofa and Mia was instantly beside him. The baby girl squeaked then, a grimace on her face. Mia had to laugh, and pulled the bag Liv had left over to her. "There should be supplies in here," she said, rummaging through the bag. Her hand closed over a data spike, which she removed and placed on the low table in front of them, before pulling out changing supplies. Devin put the infant on the sofa between them, and together they got her clean and fed.
"You said Liv is coming back?" he asked.
"Yes, for dinner. She has a twenty-four hour pass." Mia was using her data pad to order furniture and supplies, since she'd given so much away to family since Merida was born.
"Mia, are you sure? You do the lion's share of the work here," Devin asked, and he almost felt afraid that Mia would say she wasn't.
"I want her," Mia said, a soft smile on her face. "I want her to feel love and acceptance, right from the start. I don't ever want her to feel abandoned or unwanted." Devin grinned then, and knew their family was complete.
Miriah opened her eyes slowly, her head throbbing with each heartbeat. Running her hands over her arms, she realized that she was in her bed, in her soft undershirt, and her gunbelt and tunic were on the chair she could see from where she was propped on pillows. So many emotions, she thought, and shook her head, instantly regretting it. She sat up slowly and stood, intending to splash her face with cool water, but ran headlong into Corso instead.
"Whoa, darlin'," he said, setting the tray he carried on the nearby table. Miriah realized he wasn't panicked or upset, and had to think about that a minute.
"So, you knew this might happen?" she queried softly, and saw her husband nod.
"Mags said you may get overwhelmed at times," he admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed that they'd discussed this behind Miriah's back. "With new people on the planet and Mags helping Kira,…"
"But it wasn't just them," Miriah said. "It was this massive, roiling emotion, and then this huge wave of hate and fear. Nothing like I've ever experienced before." She absently rubbed her temples again, and Corso recognized her gesture from earlier.
"Sit, love. I made you some tea and toast," he told her, nudging her toward the bed. "Just take a little time to recover." Miriah nodded at him, but she knew she needed answers. Quickly.
Kira held her newborn daughter in her arms and cried. "She's so beautiful," she sobbed. "How did I ever make something so perfect?" Ian was awed by his family, and hugged Kira to him gently, the baby between them.
"Love you, Kira," he whispered, and Mags left them for a little bonding, settling herself in a chair out at the nurse's desk. As she pulled her datapad out to message the family, she saw a message from Corso. Poor Mir, she thought. We learned all of this so young that we barely remember how we managed it, and she's just been thrown into a world that seems foreign to her. She closed her eyes and felt for her sister, and when she was satisfied that Miriah was indeed fine, she let her know of the baby's birth and tried to replenish her own force that was used for Kira.
Devin saw his wife swirl into motion. He fed the baby girl he held and continued to hold her as she slept, while Mia went and collected her shopping from the promenade. It seemed only minutes before she was back, fixing a basket for the baby to lie in and pulling clothes and diapers from their containers. She was truly happy, he thought, and it made him smile. Truth be known, he was happy, too. "Want me to order dinner, hon? Didn't you say that Liv was joining us?"
Mia whirled, her face flushed with excitement. "She did say that, so yes, that would be great. Here, let's put this little bundle down, and then you can pick up dinner after you get the other two from school." She stood up straight. "Uh, you don't think we'll have any issues there, do you?" she asked. "I just now thought of it"
Devin grinned at his wife. "I'm sure they'll be thoroughly excited, as will everyone who knows us. But let's make sure this is all legal before we get too far ahead of ourselves."
Mia blushed, her face becoming even pinker. "You're right, I know you are, but I sense it. Don't you?"
Devin rose to hug his wife to him. "I do, I really do." He gently rubbed her back. "But, given the positions we both hold, we have to check." He felt her nod against him and hoped against hope that they would be able to keep the infant sleeping so soundly beside them.
Corso sat with Miriah and chatted about nothing until he saw a little color return to her face. "Now, darlin'. Let's go see the new baby." With a nod, Miriah stood, swaying a little before she regained her balance, and took his hand as they walked through the apartment. On the way to the elevator, they saw Lana coming through the war room and stopped.
"How did it go?" Miriah asked, seeing fatigue in her friend.
"Everything went smoothly. No incidents at all, and the next group is already prepped for tomorrow," Lana replied with a smile. "It was, all in all, a very peaceful day."
"That's good," Miriah replied, and caught Lana up on the happenings on Odessen. Lana followed them into the elevator to get a peek at the baby, but she knew she only had a minute before picking up her own. As they exited, Miriah turned to her friend suddenly, startling them both. "Do you think this has all been too easy? Like, the deception is so good that we've not cracked it yet?" Lana could see the anxiety swirling around Miriah like a cloud, and put both her hands on the smaller woman's shoulders.
"I don't, Commander. Not with this. Other things, I fear, are out there, but not today. Not tomorrow, either." Her words had their intended effect, and the cloud around Miriah cleared, her posture relaxed and Lana could see relief in Corso's eyes. "Now, let's go see this new addition to Odessen."
Kira held her daughter in her arms, feeling equal amounts of fatigue and joy. Miriah peeked her head in the door and laughed as Ian waved them in. "Her name is Sera," he said proudly, and Miriah hugged him.
"Beautiful, both the name and the baby," she said. Kira just beamed. She had no idea how her body held together, the force of her emotions was so strong. She could feel the force, pure and strong, from the tiny girl's body as it combined with hers. Ian's steady arm around her shoulders, and his love kept her in the moment, and she yawned.
"Here, let me put her down," he said softly, pulling the bassinet close. Kira was reluctant to part with her, and Ian smiled down at her. "You can still see her, and she'll just be a fingertip away. You're exhausted, love." With an uncertain nod, Kira let Ian take the baby and just closed her eyes, the murmur of voices lulling her to sleep.
Devin had returned with the children and dinner by the time the new baby woke up, and Merida was entranced. "Oh, she's like us! She's my sister!" she said in a loud whisper.
"Another sister?" Declan made a face, then shrugged with his usual easy way. "Okay. I'm hungry, Mom."
Mia laughed and pulled out the snack tray she'd prepared as Devin put their dinner in the warmer. Some time later, he crossed over to check on the baby and noticed the data spike he'd found in the bag on the table. Picking it up, he called over to Mia, who joined him. "Liv said she'd be back, should I call over to the cantina?"
"Yeah, let's do that. Otherwise everyone here will be grumpy with dinner delayed." They both chuckled, and Mia set the table. Devin took out his holo and smiled at the innkeeper. His smile turned to a frown when there was no one with the right name or description registered in the cantina's rooms. Nodding absently, he ended the call and went into the kitchen to take Mia in his arms.
"She's not there," he said softly, not sure if it would be a shock to Mia or not. "What now?"
Mia sighed heavily, but the lusty cry of a hungry infant interrupted her thoughts. "You get her changed and I'll get her bottle," she said instead. She could tell from her force that nothing terrible had happened to anyone, so that must mean that her sister had bolted. Not that unusual, she thought. But it worried her, how Liv had assumed she could dump a newborn off and just leave. Devin approached then, a clean, cranky little baby girl in his arms, and she had to smile. Reaching for the baby, she told Devin to call the children. "You know this drill. You eat, then I hand off," she said with a grin. Devin chuckled and called Merida and Declan, and their table was filled with food and joy.
By the time Miriah and Corso had gotten home, Miriah was ready for some food and rest. Corso left her in the bath, with her promise to stay there until he returned, in case she needed him. Of course, when he came back into the apartment, she was dressed and on the sofa in the family room. Miriah had called Maura, and she and Aric joined them for dinner and talk. By the time they wound down, Miriah was pleasantly refreshed in both body and mind, and they made their way to their bed, a little earlier than usual. Miriah snuggled close to Corso and they were content.
With the children all in bed, Devin pulled Mia down to the sofa and inserted the data spike into his own device. On the screen popped the baby's legal birth documents and the signed forms waiving parental rights. He read the documents twice then looked at his wife's beaming face.
"She's ours," Mia said in a soft voice.
"She is," Devin agreed, hugging Mia to him. "Now, what do we name her?"
"I've been thinking, and I vote for Meaghan Miriah Riggs," she stated definitively. "What do you think?"
"I love it," Devin said, and kissed his wife. Here we go, he thought, but it will be a fun ride. "We need to tell Mom and Dad first thing, so that when the documents go into the records, there won't be any surprises."
"We'll go there first, then take Dec and Merida to school. Then I have a baby's room to put together," Mia said, then sighed. "I didn't know if I'd ever get to do that again."
"Go, get some rest," Devin told her. "I'll take the next feeding, and you can get the early morning one."
"Sounds like a plan to me," she replied and stood, yawning already. Leaning over to him, she hugged him tightly. "Love you, so much."
"I love you too, sweetheart." Mia went to lie down, wondering if she'd be able to sleep with all the thoughts racing around her brain, but the activities of the day had her eyes closing quickly.
Devin regretted using force on his wife, but he had to do some detective work, and wanted her to be able to rest. Quickly he made a call to the war room, and before he'd made a cup of tea, the requested footage and other data was sent to him. He saw the woman Mia knew as Liv, and when she'd hastily made her way to a transport rather than to the cantina. He searched the archives and the ship manifest she came to Odessen on, and found nothing. Then he proceeded to search all known records of missing and abducted infants, but none matched the birth certificate, which was also legitimate. Sitting back, he sighed and rubbed his eyes. He'd found nothing alarming or inaccurate in the information that Liv had provided, and kept his eyes closed for a minute. A smile covered his face when he felt Meaghan stir in the force, and he had her bottle ready when she was awake and blinking at him. She's beautiful, he thought, noting that she was still and quiet, watching his face. He let his force cover her in light, and while she had her bottle, he knew he'd always keep her safe and loved, just like Merida and Declan. Contentment settled over father and child, and they slept on the sofa, the baby lying on Devin's broad chesst.