Athemeene had managed to shush her daughter by the time her husband arrived.
Whatever expression she had expected to see, Athemeene wasn't prepared for the sadness in the Count's gaze as he looked upon his daughter. "Well done, now our line is secure."
...
Athemeene nearly screamed at him. Underneath the sheets her palm clenched and for a moment she wanted to reach across the bed and scratch his eyes out.
Then came the news that her daughter was force sensitive, like a bucket of freezing water dumped over her head. Shortly after that, for the first time, Athemeene felt grateful for who her husband was when he destroyed the nurse droid and promised to train the child. Tan'ya slept in her arms, and with her husband by her side offering warmth and protection, it wasn't long until Athemeene fell into an exhausted sleep as well.
When she woke up she was surprised to find that Count Dooku was still there, watching over his wife and child. He noticed she was awake right away, and called for a droid to bring her a meal.
A jolt of panic ran through Athemeene. She was supposed to feed the baby! Oh no, she was a terrible mother. Quickly she lifted up the front of her tunic, and pulled it over her head. Once Tanya saw her mother's exposed breasts, she seemed to know what to do immediately and sucked at her nipple with vigor.
Count Dooku raised an eyebrow. "Why are you panicking?"
"I was supposed to feed the baby in the first hour." Athemeene whined, relieved that her child seemed to be okay. "How long was I asleep?"
"Not long." The Count said. "I'm sure it will be fine."
"No, Tan'ya needs colostrum in her first few days, and I only make it for those days." Atheeme corrected him. "It's important for her growth and immune system."
"I… see." No, obviously he didn't.
As Athemeene nursed her child, she discovered that breast feeding was actually quite uncomfortable. The feeling of fluids moving through her breast was almost like how her stomach would flip if she suddenly fell, and there was some pinching pressure slowly building up in her nipples. Eventually the droid returned with a warm meal, which was set aside until Tan'ya finished feeding. Once the babe was full, she burped, closed her eyes and went back to sleep, exhausted already.
"I'll hold her while you eat." Dooku said, reaching for Tan'ya.
"Make sure to support her neck." Athemeene fretted, and once she was satisfied he was doing a good job she pulled her tunic back over her head, grabbed the plate of food and began eating. Without really tasting anything, she chewed and swallowed in a rush, washing everything down with a cup of water. As fast as she could, Athemeene finished her meal before taking Tan'ya back.
"So, she's force sensitive." Athemeene looked at her husband. "What does that mean, exactly?"
Dooku looked pensive for a moment. "She's more than just force sensitive, that means she has the potential to commune with and reach out into the Force. Tan'ya is already doing that, and even now her connection to the force is as strong as a grown Jedi."
"Okay." Athemeene swallowed. "Is she at risk?"
"...Yes." Dooku spoke. "It can be very easy to make a mistake with the Force, and harm yourself and others. She may do something simple, like lift something too heavy to carry, and then be startled. If her concentration breaks she could be crushed, or worse." He paused. "There are other risks, but this is an easy one to understand."
Athemeene looked down at her daughter fearfully. "So how do we stop that?"
"She will need constant supervision." Dooku frowned. "Until she's old enough to learn control."
"Okay. That's… we can do that. What do I do if she reaches for the Force and you're not around?"
"A simple distraction will do." Dooku replied. "Anything if it keeps her mind away from the force. If she reaches into the force too much, she may accidentally commune with a jedi, who will seek her out."
"And…" Athemeene bit her lip. "How else do we hide her from the Jedi?"
"If her connection to the force is kept quiet, and if the knowledge remains between us, they may never know." Dooku pursed his lips. "However the Temple always has Jedi meditating and searching the galaxy for new minds that touch the force."
"So, even if we're careful, they could find her?"
Dooku nodded once.
"Alright, and… what if they do find her?"
"The Council will see reason. They can't kidnap the child, but they may try to pressure us."
"...What if they don't?" The imperious scowl that appeared on Count Dooku's face almost made her regret asking the question, but when forced to choose between displeasing her husband and learning more that might save her child, Athemeene knew which she would choose every time. "Please, what if they don't?"
Her husband breathed out and fixed his gaze in the distance. "There are more extreme actions available to us."
"Like defying the Jedi?"
"In a manner of speaking." Dooku turned to look back towards her. "I've long been considering seceding from the Republic entirely."
Athemeene gaped. It wasn't the first time she'd heard secession bandied about. On Raxus in particular there was a growing number of voices calling to leave the Republic, even among the noble houses.
She understood why, it was plain for all to see that the Outer Rim was in desperate need of an army, but even so as a girl she'd hoped that things would work out, somehow. She dreamed of Coruscant, after all, but she was a woman now and her priorities were different. If Serenno had to leave the Republic for her to keep her child, then she realized now she was fully willing to go through with it.
Resolved, she nodded at her husband. "Can we really do that?"
"It won't be difficult, many want it already. There are even some worlds I'm sure are ready to join us." Dooku scowled. "The failures of the Republic are apparent to the entire galaxy, it seems. All but the Jedi."
The bitterness underlying his words wasn't exactly surprising, Athemeene knew he'd left the Jedi Order for a reason, but it was the first time the Count had spoken to her and seemed at all vulnerable.
Why did you leave? She wanted to ask, but couldn't, they still barely knew each other. Athemeene knew she trusted him with her child, but not her deepest feelings or secrets. How could she confess to him her deep loneliness? Or her faded dreams of seeing Coruscant? Being honest with herself, Athemeene still didn't even feel like she could ask him to watch a sappy holovid with her!
But even so, she had to do something.
The Count turned his head sharply when she reached for his hand. The expression on his face was almost confused as her fingers approached, but he didn't pull away. She held onto him and smiled, and he met her gaze for a long moment, something in his eyes that Athemeene couldn't quite read.
Then he pulled away, standing up. Athemeene's heart sank, and she looked back down to the sleeping child so he wouldn't see the hurt on her face. She heard Count Dooku draw in breath as if to say something, then stopped himself. He lingered there for a long moment before turning away.
"I will summon a service droid with hot water to clean the child." Then he turned and strode from the room, almost rushing.
Athemeene swallowed the lump in her throat, as the sting of rejection lingered long after the Count left the room. It wasn't until the service droid arrived to help clean her and the baby that she realized the truth.
I make him nervous.
...
It was from that day forward, Athemeene reminisced, that her relationship with the Count began to slowly improve. Not all at once, her life didn't suddenly transform into a storybook romance, but things definitely changed for the better.
For one thing, the two of them actually began to spend some time in each other's company.
Count Dooku was careful to remain near them as much as he could, at least for the sake of helping care for Tan'ya. He learned to change Tan'ya's swaddling clothes, even helping to burp their baby. Despite his lack of tact with her he truly put his best foot forward to help raise their child.
In the rare instances the Count had to travel offworld, unlike before he would take his inexperienced wife and infant daughter with him. They never really discussed anything beyond what was best for Tan'ya, but Athemeene felt there was a growing rapport between them. They were slowly coming to know and trust each other.
On one of the Count's visit's to Raxus, he offered to spend some time with Tan'ya while Athemeene visited her parents. That was great, because it gave her a chance to speak with her mother alone for the first time in a very long time.