"I don't know!" Cal replied, a bit frustrated. "I guess I'm just so used to avoiding it that I don't know how I feel about it now." He looked at her. "But I know you want it."

Jeane frowned a little. "We don't have to do this immediately," she said quietly. "If you want to think about it for a little bit. I don't want to rush into anything."

"I don't want you unhappy, though," Cal replied. And that's where he was torn. He wanted her to have what she wanted, but he wasn't sure if it was even alright for him to do so.

Jeane smiled a little. "Like I said, I am happy. And there are other ways, Cal. You don't have to worry about that."

Cal sighed.

"You know I'd make a shitty dad," he said to her. "Nik's the closest I ever had to one, and you don't even want to know what the real one was like." Now he was just grasping at straws, really. Chances were good he would never warm up to the idea until he was forced to.

Jeane just nodded. "Okay. Then we won't do anything just yet." She started walking again, hiking up the stairs to her apartment.

"Alright," Cal replied. He followed her up the stairs. He would keep thinking about things, maybe some sort of epiphany would hit. And maybe the sun would shine in Hell, but there was always a chance.

Jeane didn't say any more about that, just getting comfortable once she was home again. She stretched out on the couch with a sigh, wiggling her toes. She'd been on her feet all day, and she no longer wanted to move, not even to rub her feet.

A few days later, Khalid was keeping an eye on her son as he played on the living room floor. He'd managed to get his wings to disappear, and he was having a grand time moving his toys around from one end of the room to the other.

Jeane was spending the day with the two, watching Alexander play with great amusement. "Oh I can't wait to see what happens when he figures out he can do more than move toys around. Of course I will be safely ensconced in a bomb shelter when that happens."

Khalid snorted softly and rolled her eyes.

"It won't be so scary as you think," she replied, watching her son.

"That's what you say now." Jeane paused. "Although according to Robin since I've managed to tame Cal--his words, not mine--I shouldn't be scared of anything at this point." She rolled her eyes.

Khalid grinned a bit.

"Don't listen to Robin," she replied. "He's mellowed a little, but he's still full of it." She watched her son play until he started to wind down. When he did, she picked him up and held him close, singing a soft Arabian lullaby to him. Hush now, my son, sleep as the sweet desert winds calm you and keep you...

Jeane smiled a little as she listened, waiting until Alexander was asleep to comment.

"Where'd you learn that? I don't think I've heard that lullaby before."

"My own mother used to sing it to me," Khalid admitted softly. "A long time ago." She smoothed Alexander's hair softly as he cuddled closer to her in his sleep, and then looked at Jeane. "I could translate it for you, if you like. The language is old enough that the modern equivalent might be off."

Jeane blinked. "But you already did," she said. "Really, I can make out words when someone's singing, Khalid. I'm not that bad." She grinned to show she was just teasing.

Khalid gave her an odd look.

"Jeane," she said slowly, "the words were in Arabic. It's an old lullaby from the homeland."

"No," Jeane said slowly. "They were in English. They had to be. I understood everything you said." Which just didn't make sense.

Khalid shook her head.

"It was in my native language," she replied. "The English translation does not flow as nicely, and I prefer the Arabic more." That, and she wanted to expose Alexander to the language early, since she was sure Robin and Ishiah were doing the same thing with their own languages.

Jeane blinked at that and managed to sit down as the world started swaying a little.

"Then how did I know what you were saying?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"I'm not sure," Khalid admitted. She was quiet for a moment. "You don't suppose it could be from the fountain, do you?" That was the only thing she could think of. She knew Jeane hadn't learned the language on her own, after all.

"I... don't know. Did that puck know the language?" Because while it did fit the timeframe, she wasn't sure she wanted to know all that the puck knew.

"I don't know," Khalid replied. She paused for a moment. "Robin would know." Because Robin was the oldest puck in existence, at the moment. The only one older than him had gotten on the wrong side of the Leandros brothers.

Jeane nodded, still a little out of sorts. "Right. I'll bother him when he gets home." Because she was still feeling off-kilter enough that the world was spinning, just a bit. "Mind if I make some tea?"

"Do you just want tea, or do you want the process of making the tea?" Khalid asked in reply. Legitimate question. Jeane always wanted to make tea when she was unsettled, but Khalid suspected she wanted to focus on going through the motions more than she wanted the tea itself.