Selena Rose, Daughter of the Moon

Chapter 2

5 months later, October 28, 2003

She lay in her bed, holding her new daughter. The midwife is quietly tidying up after the birth while she stares in wonder at this new life she has created, the tears start once again. He doesn't even know he has a daughter. He doesn't even know that I was pregnant. Why wouldn't he even stop to hear me?

Selena murmurs to her new daughter, "Don't you worry sweetling, Momma is here for you, always. We are going to be just fine. We don't need him anyway."

"Are you ready for a bathroom visit? Do you need help getting up?" The midwife inquires, as she moves back into the room.

Remembering the things that the midwife had explained to her before she went into labor she smiles and says, "Time for a test run?" she laughs as she sets the babe in a basket near her on the bed. She eases herself out of bed as the midwife reaches over to give her hand.

"Ooh, this hurts! How long did you say it would be sore like this?"

"All depends on you and your body. Some are sore for longer than others, some for not so very long at all. You just listen to your body and if anything feels off you let me know. It is likely you will heal quickly, you're young and strong. It should help that you're breastfeeding."

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you. That doctor scared the hell out of me the one time I met him." Selena sits on the toilet and pees, on and on. Wow, I didn't even realize I had to go...

"All through? There now, just use that peri bottle to rinse everything, then we'll get you into these very attractive diaper-like underwear complete with giant pad and you will be set for the night. Is your friend coming back? Or will someone else be with you?"

"Yes," she lied," she will be back shortly, she just stepped out to get us something that doesn't need to be cooked. We will be fine. I will get everything over here near the bed and I won't need to get up much before she gets back. There is a phone, there on the bedside table. We will be fine."

"Right then, I will just get some food put together for you and do a few more things before I go. You are to call me if you need anything. Anything at all. You hear me? Anything."

"Yes," she smiled in gratitude, "I promise."

* * *

3 months later, end of January 2004

Selena is just finishing up bagging a tea for cramp relief for Linette when she hears someone else at the door. Wandering over she murmurs, "Who do you think it is sweetling?" looking down at the babe nestled against her in a sling.

Peering through the peephole and she sees her father standing on the other side and jerks back from the door as though slapped.

She opens the door with the chain still engaged, "I thought you didn't want anything to do with us?"

"I didn't." Apophis drags a hand through his pale white hair, "I was really mad that you had thrown your life away like that, thrown away all our plans. I wanted you to stay my little girl and not the mother to a half breed child that would never have half the potential of its mother. And I knew Gabriel was not worthy of you and would cut out at the first sign of responsibility coming his way. I should have been more understanding. I wasn't, but I would still like to be part of your life." He smiles hopefully at his daughter but looks around at the other apartments knowing his suit and paleness make him stick out.

Selena pushes a stray hair back in the direction of her messy bun, "The only reason she won't know him is because you lied to Gabriel. Why would you say those things about me Dad?"

"What things? I don't know what you're talking about. I never lied to Gabriel! I haven't seen him since before he left for basic." He sees curtains twitching in the window of an apartment off to the left in his peripheral vision.

"What? You haven't? Why would he say you did?"

"I don't know, but, your neighbors are beginning to stare. Can I come in? Maybe see the baby?" He wears the most earnest of looks he can manage, hoping to persuade her.

She frowns, "Yes, I guess you can. We aren't through here, I still want to talk about this. But I would love for you to meet Kya." Closing the door she unhooks the chain and reopens it, stepping back to allow him entrance.

Guiding him to her kitchen table they sit and begin to talk, to patch up what went so wrong when he said those terrible things to her. By the end of the visit he has held little Kya and talked to Selena about maybe coming back home. As she shuts the door behind him, she feels like maybe things will be ok. Her dad is coming around and she just might move back. But she really loves having her own little place. As much as she loves her dad, he really hurt her when he kicked her out and didn't even try to come to find her until well after Kya's birth. She would have to think long and hard about this instead of making rash decisions, after all, she has Kya to think of now.

Moving day, March 1, 2004

"Is there anything left in the house?" Linnette asked as she prepared to shut the door to the box truck.

"Not a bit, everything is out and the place is sparkling."

She shut the front door and placing her hand on the door offered a quick prayer of gratitude and goodbye to her first apartment. Turning away from the apartment she moves toward her little car.

As she puts her little sweetling into her seat Linnette hops into the box truck shouting, "I'll see you there!"

"Ok, be safe!"

As she drives over to her new house, a lovely little house out in the woods, her mind is turning things over.

She has a new puppy being trained for her now, it would be making visits on a regular basis to get to know her and train before it moved in with her in a few weeks. Her heart was still a little broke, but it would heal. The Goddess would help her with that, as she had been all this time. Her remedies were flying out the door nearly faster than she could make them. She has just bought a house with a combination of the money she had been saving and the huge chunk of money her father had gifted her for the birthday he missed back in November. She had walked into the 4 bedroom house with the little fenced area out back and knew it was the one. It needed painting and to be lived in again, but the house felt good and that was the most important thing for a witch like her.

Arriving at the new place she feels a deep sense of peace descend upon her.

"Come on sweetling," as she lifts little Kya out of her seat, "let's go sort our home."

* * *