(OOC: Corny title, I know, but still funny. ;))
Celine recovered fairly quickly from the birth. She was out of bed within a week and though she was still a little more tired than usual when they left the inn, it wore off quickly enough with the waves to rock her and the baby to sleep. By the time Elise was three months old, she was sleeping through the night. Although that was quicker than most babies did, Celine attributed it to her having been on the sea in the womb. While she still slept a lot, Elise was spending more and more time awake, and could usually be found cooing contentedly, whether it was in her little cradle, or nestled in the crook of Celine's arm, or on the lap of some smitten sailor.
And Celine thought no three men were ever more smitten with a baby than Barto, Fin, and Willem. Willem, being the father, was probably the most in love, but Barto and Fin likely tied for second. It was all as it should be, Celine thought. Shouldn't the three men who had helped her come into the world be the ones to love her most? Not that Celine didn't love her too, but she loved her daughter in a different way than the men did.
Nothing could get her down in those days. She might as well have been queen of the world with all the joy she felt now that she and Willem had the most beautiful child in the world (or so she believed). And at night, Celine would curl up in the bed with the two loves of her life nearby and wonder how life could get any better than this.
She was sure it never could.