Maeve awoke slowly. She was aware of the slight rocking motion of the Nomad. She stirred a bit in her bed and realized something wasn't quite right. It seemed cramped. Only half awake, she realized there was a nearby sound she wasn't used to. She listened carefully. Breathing. She moved her hand and encountered another form. Alarmed, she immediately opened her eyes and looked to her left. It was then that she realized where she was. She sighed the most contented sigh she'd ever sighed and a big smile formed on her face. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Sinbad's breathing.

'I hardly believe this,' she thought. Only yesterday she wondered if she would even live another day and here she was sharing a bed with the man she loved. 'From hell to heaven.'

That had been a terrible ordeal of body and mind, but forcing herself to keep her feelings about this man at bay while she struggled to free her brother from Rumina's spell for the last year had been an ordeal of the spirit and the soul. And now that struggle was over. She could give in to her feelings of love for this man. She felt like a bird that had escaped its cage and was enjoying free flight for the first time.

There had never really been another man in her life. After her parents were killed by the Roman barbarians, she had never really trusted anyone, especially men. She had heard what those men had done to her mother. Hidden in the loft, she had heard everything. That moment had changed her forever. And in the years of wandering that had followed, she had rejected every man's attempt to get close to her, either physically or emotionally. So that made this moment even sweeter. She didn't have to pretend not to have feelings for Sinbad any longer. Slowly and quietly, she rolled over onto her side so she could see him better. She reached over with her hand and with a single finger lightly traced down his shoulder. She did not want to wake him but she could not keep herself from making physical contact with him.

She needn't have worried about waking him. Sinbad was in the deepest of sleeps. The combination of the two potions she had given him the night before and the shock to his body from his injury had knocked him out. She had given him a sleeping potion and a pain-reducing potion. It was a miracle that he was alive at all. Rumina's dagger had just missed several vital areas. A few inches further down and it would have pierced his heart or his lungs. A few inches to the right and it would probably have sliced into his jugular vein. He would be a long time healing. Maeve looked forward to the task of taking care of him. Not that she would have wished this on him. But it had happened. He was hurt. And she would nurse him back to health.

In her mind he was the bravest man alive. He had thrown himself between her and the oncoming dagger without regard to himself. Tears formed in her eyes at the thought of that terrible moment. That dagger had been meant for her. She had been powerless to stop it. He had protected her at the risk of his own life.

She reached out and touched his hair. Then she snuggled as close without touching as she dared and closed her eyes.

Soon, she heard sounds of life around her. The crewmen were up. She could hear their footsteps on the deck above her. Her nose detected cooking smells from the galley. She decided she'd better get up. Very slowly and carefully she extricated herself from the bedsheets and swung her feet down to the cool wooden floorboards. She went over to the basin of water and quietly splashed her face with water to wash the sleep from her eyes. Then she came back to the bed and stood watching Sinbad's rhythmic breathing. She carefully adjusted his bedding to cover him better. Then she touched two fingers to her lips and placed the kiss on Sinbad's forehead. Satisfied that he was as comfortable as he could be she dressed and then slipped on her shoes and padded quietly out of his room, closing the door carefully behind her.

With the closing of the door, her mind went to thoughts of her brother. She had not had much time to talk to him since he had been freed from the Rumina's spell. Her joy bubbled up as she thought of him now back in his human form. She headed to the galley for something to eat. She suddenly realized she was starving. Entering the galley she spotted Firouz. Immediately she thought of Doubar. "Good morning," she said.

"Hi Maeve. How are you today?" Firouz asked.

"I feel wonderful. I'll feel even better once some of that food is inside me. Have you seen Doubar this morning? How is he?"

"Yes, I checked on him before coming here. He didn't even want me to look at his leg. Can you believe that? He said he didn't want anybody fussing over him, and I should spend my time looking after somebody who really needed doctoring. But I insisted. I unwrapped the bandage and it's going to heal up just fine. It's a nasty wound though. That arrow went in a good two inches."

Maeve's stomach turned a little at the image he was painting. "Firouz please, I don't want to lose my appetite completely."

"And how is Sinbad?" Firouz asked. Everyone on board knew by now where Maeve had slept last night. There were few secrets on board a ship the size of the Nomad.

"He's sleeping soundly. I doubt if he'll wake up before noon. I think he's as comfortable as can be expected considering."

"That was a close call. We almost lost him."

"I know, I know." She didn't like to think of that possibility. She helped herself to some porridge and a chunk of bread. "And Rumina?"

"Still in her room. Doubar had a guard posted outside her door all night. But I don't really think it's necessary. That person isn't really Rumina."

"Can you blame me if I still don't trust her? She looks harmless enough but..."

"Maeve, with everything she's done, I understand, I understand."

Both of them then tucked into breakfast ending their conversation. Right after breakfast, Maeve hurried above to find her brother. She already knew he was there. She could sense where he was. Becoming human again hadn't destroyed the telepathic communication that they had had for so long. But it was different now. It wasn't as strong as it was before, now that the need for it was gone.

'Stay there, I'm coming', she sent, and hurried up the hatchway stairs. Once on deck she fairly flew to the bow where she knew she'd find him. She gave him a long, long hug and then stood back to admire his human shape. "I think maybe you looked better in feathers," she teased.

"I much prefer porridge to mice," he quipped back. Then his eyes grew serious. "Maeve, there are no words good enough to express how grateful I am to you. You risked everything for me. I will never forget it."

"Don't forget I'm the reason you were a bird in the first place." Maeve turned away from him, unable to look at him. She still felt terribly guilty about what had happened to him all because of her pride.

'I never want you to think that way again,' he sent her.

"Okay, I'll try," she answered out loud. "Look now that we can use our voices to communicate, let's."

"You're right. We should," Dermott answered. "It's just a habit to do it the other way."

For the next several hours, brother and sister talked the way brothers and sisters should. And all the while, Maeve was enjoying seeing him in his physical human form again. She could not contain her joy. She would stop in mid-sentence and hug him or touch him on the arm just to feel skin instead of feathers. Finally, they had had enough time together and Maeve thought to check on Doubar and Sinbad. She excused herself and hurried below decks. She made herself go to Doubar first, knowing that if she went to Sinbad first, she might not want to leave.

Maeve went to Doubar and examined the wound to satisfy herself that it was healing properly. It wasn't that she distrusted Firouz's doctoring skills, but she felt responsible for what had happened to Doubar and so just had to see for herself. She talked with Doubar for a few minutes. He couldn't understand why everyone was fussing over him when all he had was "a scratch". He was all set to return to his duties. It took Maeve a few minutes to convince him that if he was active too soon, he would open the wound up and then he'd be laid up for a lot longer. She only got him to agree to one more day's rest. Privately, she figured she'd have to come back tomorrow and give him the same speech all over again.

Then she left to check on Sinbad. She stopped at the door and opened it very quietly. If he was asleep, she didn't want to wake him. It looked like he was indeed asleep, but she tiptoed over to his bed anyway, just to see his face and check his breathing. Once she was at his side, he opened his eyes, and seeing her, smiled weakly. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead and took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "How are you feeling today?" she asked softly.

"Fine," he answered. "A little tired."

"Are you feeling much pain?" she asked with a concerned tone. "I can make up a potion for the pain in a jiffy," she offered.

"It's a dull, uncomfortable feeling," he answered. "As long as I don't move, I'm okay. It's a lot better than before. I'm not ready to climb the rigging just yet." He laughed softly. Maeve caught the look of pain on his face that he tried to hide from her.

"I can fix something up for you in no time," Maeve said, stroking the back of his hand as she spoke.

"I wish you and Firouz would stop fussing over me," Sinbad complained.

"You and your brother are both impossible. Do you know that your brother said the same exact thing not ten minutes ago? It's obvious that you're in considerable pain still, and yet you say don't fuss over you. Well you can quit saying that because I am going to fuss over you whether you want me to or not. I want you well as soon as possible." She bent over and kissed him fervently. Then abruptly, she withdrew her lips. "I'd continue but you aren't well enough."

"Okay, I get your point," Sinbad conceded. "Give me what ever you want if it means we can do that again sooner." This time it was Maeve that laughed.

"I thought you might see things differently when you had all the facts." She went over to the table in the center of the room and started mixing the potion she had used before to ease his pain. When it was ready, she gave it to him, kissed his hand and said firmly, "Now rest."

Then she forced herself to leave so that he really would rest.