"How did it go?" Elunara rocked the tiny form in her arms.
"I broke her heart." Tulani sighed and paced. "I'm not like you; I can't do and be done, any more than I could love her as a partner."
"You are you, my Sweetness. Don't ever try to change."
"I just don't know what to do with her or for her. She's like a daughter to me. It's no different than Gingy."
"I understand."
Tulani held out her arms. "Forgive me for dumping Sinea on you."
"Worry not, for I had her well taken care of. She woke up angry and hungry, but I fed her." Elunara transferred the baby over.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
"Earlier?"
"About not trusting you."
"I'm still confused by what you meant."
"It's just that... I finally have my little girl, the child I'd always fantasized about... and I didn't want anyone else to have her. Jordan made me see what I was doing."
"You thought I would take her away?" Elunara just blinked at her wife.
"I don't know what I thought. Maybe if you fed her, she'd want you more. Maybe if I let someone else care for her, I'd miss something important. I can't miss anything with my baby."
"Oh, Tulani, you silly thing. No one can take her away from you, I wouldn't let them."
"In my heart, I know this. In my mind... I don't know. Logic says I'm being silly. Emotions tell me I have to be vigilant."
"Look at your past, look at our past. We both come from rocky histories, and neither one of us would be who we are now without it. Your chance at having a baby was taken away, but you were the one who stepped up for Darguni. In a real sense, I felt like you took my child from me, even when I knew that wasn't the case."
"Oh, Elunara..."
"No, let me finish. It was you who took over the care and feeding of my child, because I was so lost and so confused. Hell, I didn't even know WHAT you fed an infant, and you knew everything, was able to do everything. You're afraid that the reverse will happen, and I see that now. I'm not insulted or upset at you, my beauty."
"You always know how to cut through to the truth of things." Tulani sighed and cuddled Sinea.
"It's a gift." Elunara shrugged. "You're a gift, Tulani. I needed you and you were there, ready and able. I'll never begrudge you for what you did for me. If anything, you saved Darguni's life, just by being his surrogate mother. Yes, I missed out on a huge portion of Darguni's childhood, first to you, second to that blasted portal, but it is what it is and I can't hold that against you."
"I love you."
"I love you too, my Sweetness."
With Sinea in the sling, Tulani and Elunara walked hand in hand through the streets of Stormwind. Soon they were joined by Lydia and the youngest twins.
"Where are Dargek and Lily?"
"Down at the training yard with Grogash. Tilly and Mimsy are at a tea party, and Susan is painting."
"How cute."
"On the one hand, I wish Lily would be a little girlier, but on the other, she's thrilled to be beating up target dummies with her brother."
"How funny." Elunara shrugged. "Think about your childhood. What did tea parties and dressing up do for you?"
"They made me sit in horrible little chairs, cross my painful legs and pretend nothing hurt like hell."
"There you go."
"But Lily doesn't have a thing wrong with her. Except she's so small."
"So? Being a tough kid makes you feel big. That much I can tell you from my own childhood. Being who you are is hard to do, when everyone thinks you should be what they want."
"Too true."