All of the characters, with the exception of Kel's daughter who is too young to have a personality, and the glorious land of Tortall belong to Tamora Pierce. I want to thank all of my reviewers for making my dentist appointment worthwhile and to apologize for the early problems with the last chapter( I have no idea what Fanfiction did but I think problems have worked themselves out.)
Kel was sitting quietly, holding her sleeping child and gazing out the window at the sleeping New Hope when Dom slipped into the room. When she heard him, she turned her eyes downwards to gaze at their baby and waited for him to cross the room. He walked slowly, almost hesitantly, so as not to disturb either of them. He leaned over to kiss Kel and then laid two tentative fingers on the baby's head.
"She's even more beautiful than her mother," Dom breathed. "I didn't think that was possible."
"Of course it is," Kel murmured as Dom seated himself carefully on the edge of the bed. He wrapped an arm around her and she smiled up at him. His other arm curled around the baby and they were silent for a time, listening to their child's breathing.
"Alanna stopped me on my way into the infirmary," he said carefully. Kel stiffened and looked away; it was impossible to deny the hurt in his voice. "She had to use her sword to do it, but I'm glad she did because we had a very important conversation." He paused to kiss his daughter's forehead. She stirred, tapping his cheek with a tiny fist. "So Kel, I'm not going to ask tonight or tomorrow or the next day. But my proposal still stands, it will always stand, and you are free to accept it on any day that you wish." Kel blinked and felt teardrops slip down her cheeks.
"Thank you, Dom," she whispered. She laid her head against his shoulder. "I will, one day." He turned his head so that his lips brushed past her hair.
"I hope," Dom continued, "that the knowledge that, within six months or so, I will be able to marry without leaving the Own will hasten that day's arrival."
"How do you know that?" Kel murmured, turning her face towards his so he could kiss her.
"Apparently," he said, after a long pause, "Lady Alanna and Lord Raoul had a discussion about the demoralizing effect that not being able to marry has on the men of the Own." Kel stiffened again and her nose twitched slightly. "Don't worry," he told her, "my Lord has given me his word that neither of our names was mentioned before the king. I do, however, suspect that Queen Thayet, Buri, and the Baron of Pirate's Swoop know something of the matter."
"They'll all put two and two together eventually," Kel said sleepily, "when we marry."
The baby woke and Kel passed her into Dom's arms. Kel watched them grinning. There's something endearing about the timid way he holds her, Kel thought, as though he's afraid he might crush her at any moment.
"Her eyes are magnificent," Dom told Kel. "The most amazing eyes I've ever seen."
"She does have lovely eyes, but they're not quite as beautiful as my daughter's."
Kel startled at hearing Neal's voice. She hadn't seen him slip through the doorway.
"Then again, I might be slightly prejudiced," he admitted as he slumped into a chair beside Kel's bed. "Yuki said to tell you she'd see you in the morning," he told Kel, "she and the baby were both exhausted from the journey and we wanted to give you two a moment to…, anyway they're both tucked into bed now. And I can assure you that your daughter is the second most beautiful baby in Tortall."
Kel reached over and slapped Neal's shoulder. "We can debate that on the dueling ground in a few months," she told him. Neal's swallow was so loud that Kel thought people across New Hope should have heard it. "Is Raoul here?" she asked him.
"He rode hard all day to get here, he's just having a political discussion with the Lioness."
"They're going to abandon warfare entirely and go into politics if we don't watch them," Dom remarked.
Neal made the sign against evil on his chest. There was a knock on the door and Neal stepped over to let Tobe in.
"Tobe, you should be in bed now," Kel told him. Tobe glanced at Neal who nodded his head at the baby and mouthed 'name' before winking at him.
"I'll go to sleep after you tell me what you're going to call the baby," Tobe said calmly. "You can't be tellin' her to eat her vegetables and wash up and go to bed if you don't have a proper name for her."
"The boy's got a point, Kel," said Alanna as she pushed Raoul into the room.
Kel looked at Dom for suggestions. "I was waiting to see if you had any ideas," she told him.
He looked down at the baby in his arms and gave an apologetic shrug.
"Mithros, help us," Neal remarked. "Neither of them as any imagination. We're going to be here all night."
"All right, Neal" Kel said. "Share your brilliant idea with us."
Neal leapt up, gave a dramatic bow, and then stood with his hands behind his back as though he were a Player about to give a recitation. "Kefira,"
"Kefira?" Kel smiled slightly as she repeated the name.
"Yes," Neal said somewhat triumphantly. "She was a warrior maiden of Tortall some six centuries ago. A bit obscure now, but there have been a few charming ballads written about her. And no, she didn't die a tragic early death so I don't think you need to worry about the name being cursed."
"It's got a nice ring to it," Kel remarked.
"And it's oddly appropriate." A sly smile stole across Raoul's face as he spoke. "It means 'young lioness' in several of the Bahzir dialects." He winked at Neal.
"Well, then," Dom said, as he kissed the baby and passed her into Raoul's arms, "I'd say it's just about perfect." Kel smiled as she nodded in agreement.
Raoul smiled down at the baby. She looked particularly small and fragile in his muscular arms. She blinked at him when he whispered her new name. Kel was surprised by how comfortable he looked holding a baby. He's never going to stop surprising me, she thought. How did a bachelor get so comfortable with small children?
The Lioness had turned a faint shade of pink. "I'm very flattered," she told Kel quietly.
"You've more than earned it," Neal told her.
"Gods help us, I think he meant that," Alanna said. "He must be really exhausted if he's being sincere. How early did you wake him up?"
"Oh," Kel replied. "He's gotten plenty of time to nap. I think beating me at chess has just drained his mental capacity temporarily. He should be his normal sarcastic self in a day or two."
"I wish I could have seen that," Tobe said, unintentionally calling to himself the attention of all the adults in the room.
"Bed, Tobe," Kel ordered.
"But—" Tobe walked over and wrapped his arms briefly around Kel even as he protested.
"The baby's been named, there's no suspense to keep you from sleeping," Neal said.
Tobe walked over to Raoul and set a hand on Kefira's arm. "G'night, little Fira , try not to let your Ma boss you around too much; she's real good at it." He stood on tiptoe and kissed her cheek. "We'll see how long you stay on your horse tomorrow," he muttered to Neal as he walked towards the door. He paused in the doorway to bow respectfully to Alanna and Raoul before leaving.
"The lad's developing a bit of an attitude," Raoul remarked, looking amused.
"That's one of many unfortunate results of prolonged exposure to Meathead," Dom explained with a straight face.
"Tobe's a natural," said Neal, with a touch of pride in his voice. He stood and bid them farewell. "I want to make sure Yuki and the baby are settled comfortably.
Raoul walked over and laid Kefira in Kel's arms. Then he wrapped his arms about both of them and kissed Kel's forehead. "I only hope that my own child will be as beautiful as yours," he told her. "You let me know if you need her Da to come visit and I'll send his whole squad straight to New Hope," he told her as he walked out the door.
"I'm sorry about all the deception," Alanna told her once Raoul had left. "Well, I'd like to apologize but I'm not really sorry. It was all done with your best interests—with the three of you—in mind. I know you're stubborn Kel, but you have to let people help you every once in a while. We need to help you, even if you don't think you need our help." She bent over briskly and kissed Kel and the baby and shook Dom's hand. "Congratulations, Lady Knight," she whispered and fled the room before Kel had a chance to respond.
Dom walked over to the door and shut it. Then he walked back to Kel and kissed her. Kel lifted the hand that wasn't holding Kefira to his chest and, after a moment's hesitation, pushed him away. "You should go," she said miserably.
"You don't really want me to leave."
"That's besides the point, people will know you're here. You can't spend the night with me; too many people would talk." Kel sighed and looked down at Kefira who had fallen asleep again.
"Are you ashamed of what people might say?"
"No, we both know that my reputation is beyond salvaging. But yours isn't."
"Kel, you're being unfair to us both. You have nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing I have to be ashamed of is my inability to convince you to marry me. You've taken all the blame, borne the brunt of all the gossip. Let me take a turn. You can't try to shield me forever. I know that I need to stay secret for a few more months, but I don't think anyone here is likely to share the details of our sleeping arrangements to the court."
"There's no way to convince everyone that you were just chatting with Neal," Kel said weakly. He was right, she knew he was right.
"I envy Neal," Dom remarked. Kel looked at him. "Not only did he get to help you through all of this, but he's also currently lying beside his child and the woman he loves, watching them sleep." He stood, looking reluctantly at the door.
She couldn't turn her back on him. Her efforts to protect his reputation were pretty futile at this point, most of the men in the Own must know. But they weren't vicious gossips; they weren't the ones attacking Kel.
"Don't go," Kel whispered. Dom turned his head back to face her. "I figure you deserve a chance to try to shock some conservatives too," she said. "Besides, no one here at New Hope is going to gossip about us at court. Well, not until we get married and they can sound smug and all knowing about it, anyway." She scooted towards the edge of the narrow infirmary bed.
Dom nodded. "I love you," he whispered, as he put out the lights. He took off his boots and tunic and set them at the foot of the bed. He climbed onto the bed and wrapped an arm around Kel and Kefira, moving carefully so as not to disturb the baby. Kel couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so content. She drifted to sleep quickly in Dom's arms.
And managed to get an hour or so of sleep before Kefira woke and demanded to be fed.
"At least she doesn't spit fish entrails at you," Dom remarked, yawning, once she had been nursed, burped, and rocked back to sleep.
"Thank the Goddess for small mercies," Kel murmured as she lifted Dom's arm so that she could drape it around her body.
Reasons to go to a women's college:
You'll meet women who can discuss quantum mechanics and shampoo intelligently in the same conversation.
People give you priceless looks when you make I-live-in-a-convent jokes
A/N: This story still has a few chapters (and plot twists and funny/fluffy moments) to go. I imagine it will be between 11 and 13 chapters total. My plan is to have it finished by the end of January when I have to start back at school. Thanks for reading and please review.