"I wanted to surprise you with your daughter," she smiled as she pulled the baby to her chest while moving to a chair. When
she reached under her top and exposed a breast, Abu and Isa suddenly mumbled something inarticulate as they quickly made
their way out of the small room.
"My daughter?" Zara repeated dumbly.
"Yes, born less than two moons ago," Inaam smiled.
"Inaam, ummm… not that I wish to contradict your words but…"
"What? Are you not pleased that I have given you a daughter?" Inaam's disbelieving words questioned as she nursed the
young babe.
"W-Well…." Zara stammered as she felt Gabrielle push past her and move to sit beside the nursing mother.
"Oh, she is so cute!" The Greek woman cooed as she lightly ran her fingers over the babe's full, dark hair. "How old is she?"
"Almost two moons," Inaam's pride laced her voice.
"Oh my, it seems like forever since I've seen one so little!" the blonde exclaimed as she held a little hand between her fingers.
"Inaam… umm… if it were physically possible for me to…" Zara stepped forward and peered down at the babe. Before she
could complete her sentence, Gabrielle shot her a freezing look.
"Zara, don't you dare say it!" The healers voice grew deep as she glared at the Moroccan captain.
"B-But… it's not physically possible…"
"For two women to conceive a baby? Why, I'll have you know that Xena and I had a child together." When Inaam cast a
surprised glance at the blonde, Gabrielle smiled and nodded. "Yes, my soulmate and I had a child together."
"But that's not possible," the captain shook her head as she began to pace the length of carpet. She was keenly aware of the
pain that was forming between her ears.
"Not only is it possible, but it happened." The healer's voice was firm as she smiled at the infant. "Oh, look, she has your eyes,
Zara."
At Gabrielle's words, the captain turned sharply, her frown growing deeper as she looked from Inaam to the blonde. When
she saw the Moroccan's expression, Gabrielle vigorously nodded as she looked from the nursing babe, to the tall captain. She
squinted her eyes as she glanced at the round, dark blue eyes of the babe, then up to the Moroccan.
"Yes, she definitely has your eyes." Gabrielle affirmed.
"And her feet, look!" Inaam exclaimed happily as she pulled the light covering away from the child's feet and gently brushed
her fingers over the curling toes.
"Oh, yes! I can see where she gets her feet from!" Gabrielle smiled as she winked up at Zara.
The captain remained frozen. She felt her mind swimming with thoughts and incoherent images, one moment she saw the
warrior princess holding a newborn in her arms, the afterbirth still clung to the naked baby's flesh, while the storyteller held
both in her arms. Before the image could take hold, the seafarer shook herself from this memory, her mind fought to hold on
to any sense of rationality.
"B-But… I have been at sea for over a year," her voice lacked the conviction she tried to hold.
"Oh, pish-tosh! If you want to talk about a little technicality, then you're no different from all the rest!" the healer exclaimed as
Inaam finished nursing, then smiled at Gabrielle who eagerly took the baby to burp.
"B-But…" the Moroccan captain suddenly felt like the sky was pressing her down into the earth. When the pain in her head
grew too great, she moved to the large, comfortable chair in the room and sat down heavily. With eyes down cast, she tried
to sort through all that had happened.
"Are you not pleased that I have given you a child?" Inaam's voice was so soft and tender as she moved to kneel before Zara.
With down cast eyes, the captain shook her head as she tried to understand all that was happening to her. While part of her
mind tried to push away the troubles of her domestic life, another part tried to go over the meeting she would have with her
solicitors all the while the images of the ghost's daughter kept replaying in her mind. Only when she felt the soft hand enter
hers did she look up into her mistresses brown eyes. What she saw was a look of fear and sadness. When she saw this, the
Moroccan sighed as she closed her eyes and nodded acceptance. Although she had never planned on children in her life, it
seems that she was not in control of her own fate, she reasoned as Inaam took the newly burped babe from the healer's arms,
then placed it's wiggling form into the captain's lap.
Filled with awe and amazement, the captain lightly ran her callused fingers over the baby's soft cheek. At the touch, the small
creature broke out into a toothless smile as her tiny hand took a hold of Zara's finger. Smiling, the tall Moroccan leaned back
in the chair as she tried to become accustomed to this new human that she cradled in her arms.
Gabrielle wasn't completely certain what to make of Zara's home life. A part of her wanted to get upset that her lover had
omitted this little fact about her life. But when she saw the taller woman's perplexed expression, she could only smile at the
captain's discomfort as she tried to hold the baby. As if holding a delicate piece of art, the mariner held the baby firmly and
away from her body. It was not until Inaam positioned her arms, and settled the baby, that the seafarer grew comfortable.
Despite this change, as soon as Abu entered to announce the arrival of guests, the dusky woman wasted little time in returning
the infant to its mother, who placed the baby in a cloth sling that cradle the infant close to her body.
At the dismissal, the young Moroccan woman guided Gabrielle through the home. She pointed out the new additions with the
pride of an owner. After Inaam took the blonde to the room she would share with Zara, Gabrielle took a moment to examine
it thoroughly. In the corner was a small closet that held the sitting chair used as a chamber pot. Unlike Arjun's palace that had
been magically equipped with running water, this closet was more along the designs that the Greek was used to. When she
glanced around the room, she noticed the lines and patterns along the wall and was reminded of the elaborate murals that
hung in Arjun's home. The storyteller wondered why Zara had no artwork and promised herself that she would question her
lover. When she continued to examine the quarters, she noticed the lack of personality within the room. Although she found
some small odds and ends that spoke of the Moroccan's hand, for the most part, the large, open space gave no evidence of
who occupied the room.
As she contemplated this, Gabrielle moved to the balcony of the room. She looked out over the open courtyard. Below on
the first floor was a window into a room that Zara was using as an office. The tall Moroccan sat in a low seat, the table in
front of her was littered with scrolls. The solicitors sat around it, each one speaking softly as they handed the captain various
parchments. No longer focused on the new infant, the dusky woman's full attention was on the reparations to the widows of
her crew.
Deep in thought, Gabrielle watched as Inaam entered the room where the group gathered. The Moroccan captain continued
to talk as the young woman began to dispense cups of warm tea. Although a few looked up and thanked her, for the most
part, everyone in the office seemed oblivious to Inaam's kind act. No different than the others, Zara drank of the tea, and ate
of the treats that, by all accounts, had appeared miraculously.
Gabrielle felt her brow arching at this discovery. Before she could contemplate it further, a slight sound caught her attention.
When she turned around, she smiled broadly as she watched Xena emerging from the shadows.
"Have you seen this place?" she asked her ghost lover as she moved to her, stopping right before they touched.
"Ummm… yeah, a bit," the warrior princess smiled as she moved and leaned against the balcony wall.
"You know Xena, I've noticed something that's a bit unusual," the blonde's mind returned to Zara's conduct.
"Yeah, I think I'd be surprised if you hadn't noticed something," Xena chuckled softly as she turned and smiled at her
soulmate.
