A/n: It takes place just after 'The Isle of Bliss'.

~Heart to Heart~

'A Missing Scene'

~.~.~

A door cracking echoed in the night's silence allowed the escape of some shouts of laughter out of the galley. As soft winds took liberty to play with the few fugitive curls of her crimson hair, a grin settled itself in relief on Maeve's lips. She chose to spend a few moments on deck that night, enjoying fresh air and the joy of a heartfelt relief… a kind of celebration, just like the one thrown inside the galley.

Though it's not officially announced, but everyone on board was already in a cheerful mood and found for that night a suitable occasion to have a little party.

Yes, that night was a very special night for the Nomad, following the day where a dear Nomadian survived a close call. Everyone felt a peaceful bliss as not only their first mate's life was rescued, but also his soul and his heart as well. He almost died during the day, three successive times!

While the first time was by a huge snake's venom on the Isle of Bliss, the second one was the malicious threatening of Alanna in an attempt to retrieve the Singing Sword from Sinbad; and the last was when Doubar nearly lost himself for the same venomous harpy that lured him under the name of love within a lovely lady disguise. She broke his heart really deeply that the crew was sick worried that they would lose him for real, that they would lose their funny, laughing optimistic tubby and big brother. It was quite hard watching him withering like a dying flower. But seeing the devil she was, the wisdom inside the first mate lastly overcame his clashing feelings and his cracked heart and soul by letting him realize how truly loved he was by his own family and crew, how lucky he was for having such loyal friends and genuine love.

Maeve rethought about it all as she gazed the dark opened horizon in front of her, enjoying the silent company of her brother. She was sure that it would take from Doubar some time to fully recover from such injury. For all she knew, the deepest the love the gravest its wound would be. But time was able to heal him well, no doubt with that, especially within the cordiality's atmosphere his family was providing him.

She stood there -crossing her arms over her chest and securing her mantle over her shoulders- listening to the small sounds of her friends' chatter, her smile wasn't fading but in fact widening more. Each time a sailor came in or out from the galley, allowing the crew's chuckles to reach her the smile just kept growing.

It was moments like this one when her satisfaction –mostly- became absolute. Although, it was true that a little part of her felt the pride swelled her inside recovering a part of her ego; after all she couldn't help the hurt emotion from bothering her when even Sinbad doubted her words and distrusted her judgment at one point of that previous adventure. But again, the major part of her joy returned purely to Doubar's recovery and the retrieval of his old sweet nature. That was the most important, she admitted to herself. She took a soft breath, lost in her rumination.

After a couple of moments enjoying the relieving silence of the night, another cracking of the door brought a familiar shadow behind the fiery sorceress. Maeve regained her smile as she felt a calming joy caressing her heart at the familiar presence. She turned her head swiftly to greet her captain who replied with a short nod mirroring her smile with one of his own.

Sinbad chose to stand beside his favorite crew member in comfortable silence for a while, maintaining his cheerful expression and crossing his arms as his eyes scanned the dark vicinity shadowed by the silver moon light. He then took a deep breath before starting his usual light talk, "A nice night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, the air is light and joyful. It's probably Doubar's aura affecting everyone's mood."

He nodded in agreement as his gaze took in the natural nocturnal scenery before him. "I still can't believe that we could make it, that he could make it over everything happened there. It was so… close!" his voice trailed at his last words which caused Maeve to side glanced at him cautiously before he retorted softly, "Back then, there was a tiny moment I nearly thought I might lose him! That poison, and that dirty game Alanna played on us… and then what she did to him was the worst of all."

Maeve watched his face fell while remembering those details, she turned fully to him and her hand quickly found its way to his wrist, to which he released his hand to wholly hold hers. She squeezed it in solace, "I'm glad he survived." She said.

Sinbad looked at her big brown eyes that only show care and sincerity. He couldn't help his smile at her warmth. "I know you are." He mumbled, squeezing her hand back in reassurance.

"You should only think of the positive consequences, Sinbad and let go of the useless dark details. Those are in the past now; and what's really matter to us is only Doubar safety."

He nodded silently. Her warmth filled his heart the more he stared into her genuine doe eyes. Then he remembered, "Maeve, I want to thank you for what you did back there in the cave." He spoke softly as he faced her "Allowing me to use the sole wish we got from the Singing sword to save Doubar's life instead of restoring Dimdim back and fulfill your goal that –in my guess- you seem to sacrifice everything to it… is just too much to be asked from you, and appreciating it just doesn't give what you did its real value. It meant too much for me, truly; and I owe you my life for it."

Inside her, Maeve was actually touched by his words, his promise and moreover his opened expression of emotions. It was the first time ever he showed this amount of vulnerability. She held his hand harder and took a step forward, "Oh, Sinbad! What are you really talking about?" giving her best smile she went on "You actually miss the part that I too care for Doubar. He's like a big brother to me. I would never have his life endangered for any reason. Besides, I can well understand your feelings back then… let's just say I kind of felt it too before… And I am quite certain you would do the same if we exchanged the roles."

Sinbad nodded again at her words, relieved by her affection that lured him unconsciously to take a step forward. His second hand joined its twins caressing the soft skin of her hand gently. "Uh, well that's not the only thing I owe you… in fact I owe you an apology." He muttered, not really noticing his voice becoming even softer… nearly a whisper. "If I didn't doubt your warning earlier, no such stray development would have taken place. Doubar wouldn't have been hurt and we would only use that wish for Dimdim's retrieval. I'd been reckless underestimating your judgment. For that I'm indeed sorry."

"Apology accepted, Captain. No harm done as long as the danger is gone and everyone is fine. Don't over-think it too much. I'm sure you won't underestimate me again." She let out a small giggle, trying not to show the burning flames inside of her from the current unconscious progress.

Keeping her hand in his grip for a few moments, it felt to Sinbad like the absolute tranquility he could ever find in this world. Drown in her deep chocolate orbs that surprisingly turned into a passionate gaze in instants, he slowly leaned in her direction, not being able to detach himself from the strings of her essence. Reaching closer to her -as always- brought out that magical mix of cinnamon and strawberry fragrance as the air ruffled her red curls and pushed him in a tender trance.

Maeve felt herself on the seventh cloud… that was surreal. She lost track of the situation, not being able to detect when exactly did she leave Earth and start her dream. It should be a dream, right?

Feeling weak from such intense moment and unsure of how she should react, she simply followed his lead mirroring his action when he tilted his head then…

"Squeak!"

Startled, they both jumped at Dermott 's interruption. They stared into each other for a split of a second before Sinbad darted his gaze to the horizon, favoring his reason over his rushing emotions.

He straightened back and let go of his hold on her hand with a soft patting and a gentle smile. He restored his previous distance, trying his best to hide how he was affected by their former proximity. He let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding, steadying himself and his heart beats.

Maeve shifted back to her pose as well, sensing a little in daze, she gazed to the moon reflection on the dark water as she composed herself. She crossed her arms again after adjusting her mantle. Her mind rushed to think of anything to kill the uncomfortable silence caused by her brother. She narrowed her eyes to the little hawk, only earning a teasing smile in her mind before he shifted his gaze away. She got the 'I-am-still-here' message.

Taking some fresh air inside her lungs, a thought came to her mind. "Uhm, do you think he will be able to forget about her?"

"hmm?"

"I mean Doubar. Will he be able to forget Alanna easily?" she already knew the answer but she wanted to just ease the mood a little bit.

Sinbad smiled in reassurance "Doubar is a big guy, Maeve. I have no doubt he will, though it'll need time to forget about his feelings gradually." He gazed the moon smiley face and the stars around it. "Love is tough thing to get rid of, in spite of its sweetness it's too powerful and when it's a real deep one its grip on the heart becomes steel. It needs a strong and firm heart to escape its cage... to be able to be resuscitated"

A comfortable silence engulfed the next moment they shared. Maeve glanced at Sinbad from the corner of her eyes. Suddenly, a thought emerged in her mind as she watched a gentle breeze messing playfully with his free bangs. And before she knew it, she found herself voicing her curiosity with an unexpected bravery!

"Sinbad, did you fall in love before? ... I … I mean, like true love, you know!"

Once the words escaped her lips, Maeve almost facepalmed in her mind.

Why in the world would she ask him –of all the people- such a question? And from all the questions came that one! Like, seriously?!

She, literally, growled silently in response of the deep not-so-innocent chuckles that came from her brother. She threw at him glares that pierced his tiny feathery body like daggers, in attempt to avoid the stunned stare she was receiving from the young captain.

The latter was obviously startled by the sudden change in their chatter course. It took from him a couple of moments to regain his composure; then he gulped as he tried to remember what exactly had led them to reach such a point.

He then noticed Maeve's attempts to avoid eye contact. As the soft moon light betrayed the slight blushing on her checks, he deduced that it was a spontaneous question, totally unintended.

The Celt was fairly uneasy about the topic she just popped! He sighed.

Not wanting to worsen her feelings, he shifted his gaze to the dark horizon spread before him, giving her a chance to loosen up her discomfort.

Although it's one of the few issues he wasn't favoring to share with anybody, he couldn't just reject her query. And when exactly was he able to dismiss any request from his Celtic dream?

He almost let out another sigh. Since the day they met she quickly became one of his weakest points. He could hardly say no to her. It just never felt right to do so. And to tell the truth, he couldn't even bear watching her not at ease like that.

He decided to be honest with her. It won't hurt to have a little bit heart to heart chitchat… with her, right? He threw this bit of insecurity to the back of his mind for the moment. He didn't even know from where the insecurity came, however he still felt at the back of his mind like he was crossing a slippery road!

While he contemplated his options to provide a kind of solemn answer, he wasn't aware of the battle -that was about to turn into a civil war- between the two siblings beside him.

Dermott gulped his chuckles, almost chocked at his sister fiery glares. Oh goodness, how much he loved to tease her sometimes! Yeah, teasing her was very amusing… especially when it came to Sinbad and her feelings for him that she was always denying. It was only the moments like the current situation when she couldn't deny it anymore. But his tiny avian body couldn't handle the burning sensation coming from her direction right now! God, he almost felt he caught fire!

Feeling Sinbad's hesitation shifting into a clear aura of honesty, he realized this time is different from the other times he got to tease her. This time, the situation was acquiring some serenity touch.

Thus, he preferred to allow them a real chance to talk freely. He took off, lessening by that the awkward stress which already existed; but not before wishing a good luck to his sister with the amusement lacing every bit of his voice through their telepathic link, gaining another silent grunt from her.

Maeve could almost feel him winked at her before he flew away!

She was trying to distract herself from the awkwardness she just created by grumbling on her brother, but her fury at him was doubled when he took off, abandoning her in the confrontation she never wished to get into. Well, at least not at any time soon.

"Traitor!" she whispered as she narrowed her eyes at his little retreating form. Only a few gasps from the in-between his half-muffled chuckles reached her ears as a reply.

And when she thought she wouldn't get an answer from the captain then, she almost jumped when Sinbad's calm voice reached her.

"Once." He said.

Serious was what his voice sounded, which deflected any thought that he would take the opportunity to tease her as his usual cocky-self do when such topics were thrown!

She stole a glance from the side of her eyes in his direction… No doubt, he's serious this time!

"The first love as they call it." he retorted. A ghost of a warm smile played on his lips as he looked at the opened world ahead of him. His gaze was mingled with some specks of reminiscence that created an astral reflection with the moon effect.

Maeve could well imagine the memories surges flew back inside his mind. And seeing his emotional gaze and his warm smile she wasn't sure how she should receive that news, though she wasn't surprised at all.

Of course he fell in love before, who didn't anyway?

Well, if she excused herself, may be…

No doubt, that was the silliest question ever! How could she embarrass herself in such a way?

However, looking at the bright side, he didn't take it as idiotic as she assumed. In fact, his response was very sincere; which made her wallowed in between her conflicted feelings. A part of her truly felt delighted knowing he experienced such beautiful emotions. First love was always the blossom of the foremost lovely affection the one could sense; the gate to truly feel the passion with pure excitement… the window from which the man first-sighted how life was worth to be lived. Everyone had the right to go through it. And Sinbad –with all the good carried by his heart- for sure deserved it.

Yet, she couldn't help the bit of stinging in her chest. Was it jealousy?!

No way!.. there was no such a thing…

From his side, Sinbad was reviving such sweet memories of his childhood. Although the very end of these memories wasn't pleasant at all -forming the starting point for his career and his current life- he didn't feel very troubled while remembering it then. Was it his recent confrontation with Harun that extinguished the blaze left by his heart loss? Mobbing the pain from his deep old wound and creating peace with his tortured soul at last?

Oddly, for some reasons, he couldn't feel the seethe of his previous anger and the lava of seeking revenge which were shackling him. It was all over now. And for the first time since that sorrowful incident, he felt so free -at last- from all those dark chains that he was able to talk about it without constraint. And like that he found himself carrying on with easiness that he never thought he could summon when it came to this subject.

"Years ago, when I was still kid, I felt my heart melting to my friend and my confident. She was near my age as well, very sweet and vibrant stubborn little girl." He felt his smile widened at her memory. "You'd like her if you had met her. It was a simple, innocent childhood love where she was my princess and I was her prince. We were almost inseparable. She kept dreaming about our marriage and planning for our wedding. She even foresaw my fame."

Maeve pushed by her curiosity didn't notice her tension was slipping away. She fully turned to face him with a new interest, her wide chocolate orbs filled with anguish as she smartly caught the grief hint and chagrin in the moon reflection on his eyes and his soft tone at his last words. Something was off.

"What happened?" she whispered softly.

Sinbad's smile faded as he recalled the miserable incident. He shut his eyes tightly to contain the reviving pain of the loss of Lea as she re-fell from the ridge into the angry sea. Surprisingly, there was no anger brewing in him then, only the bitterness of the remembrance.

He took a deep breath, opening his eyes calmly. "I lost her in an accident. She lost her balance on the top of a hill and her feet slipped." His quiet voice showed how much vulnerable he was at the moment "She fell from it before I could reach for her." There was no need to mention the full details of the accident.

Sinbad shifted his gaze to the red-head beside him when he heard her sharp gasp. His eyes still showing weakness which prevented him from properly gauging her reaction.

The lass covered her mouth with one of her hands unconsciously. She didn't expect that.

"Sinbad… that's awful! I-I am sorry for your loss and … that I brought it up." The words came out in delicate sad voice.

"You don't need to be. It's fine Maeve, it happened long time ago." He replied in a more controlled tone.

However, as she listened to him her eyes widened as realization hit her.

"You don't really blame yourself for it, do you?" she cautiously asked, not really wanting to press on his privacy.

Sinbad didn't reply instantly, but paused a little, shifting his weight and gazing the stellar sky again. He took another deep breath before going on, determination lacing his calm voice -seemingly he regained his composure- "Doesn't matter if I still do or not. Her loss hurt me a lot, deeper than a rogue dagger in the heart. And, it still hurts me to be honest. But… Master Dimdim always says that everything has a reason. And, man was he right! Time wasn't my sole rival back then, but my ignorance as well Maeve." He frowned as he clarified when she raised her eye-brows in confusion. "Yes, my ignorance, weakness and uselessness. At that time I wasn't the person you used to know, I didn't even know how to swim. When she fell off the ridge, the sea swallowed her and I couldn't just jump after her because I couldn't damn swim! It was only then that I swore I'd learn, that I'd do everything in my power and never give up until I'd tame it. The sea, that is it. I didn't back down until I became –not only a sailor- but a captain of my own ship, became the one and only Sinbad, Master of the seven seas. I'm not bragging of myself but think of it… this incident created the Sinbad you know. My inability to save her was the seed of being able to save many other lives and helped people who sought shelter, it was the impulse that pushed me to train and study so I could travel to places no man reached before and vanquishing the evil wherever I find it."

He sighed again, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he was keeping before looking at her again 'Because of it, I met you!' he thought, then mumbled "I prefer to look at it from that angle. And, only then that blaming myself for it becoming more bearable; in front of all the lives that I helped or I still can save, my past uselessness become a tiny problem. Though, I never stopped thinking of her, and what it would be like if she survived this incident, that somewhere now she would be safe and sound. But I guess it's destined neither for me nor for her. Destiny has another say."

At that moment, Maeve wasn't even able to respond, neither was she able to prevent the tears from shimmering from her eyes. She was at a loss from the words. Leaning at the rails and tilting her head to the side a little she stared at him. Not only his speech affected her –and God only knows how much it did- but she couldn't get rid of the déjà-vu feeling that bothered her.

And how could she when the similarity hit her with every word he spoke? It was enough to imagine the scenery of the incident and the guilt almost shocked her. But unlike him, she wasn't that strong yet.

No, she couldn't weakened, not now… not in front of him.

Shaking her head to get rid of the tears before they betray her, she tried to gulp but her dry throat only resulted in a couple of hoarse coughs. She turned back to Sinbad to find his eyes started to be shadowed with worry. He was looking at her expectantly.

Great! He was talking to her and she missed what he just said!

"Maeve, are you okay?" he asked tenderly, concern lacing his tone.

"Oh, yeah sure." She stuttered "I'm sorry, you were saying…"

Sinbad glanced at her suspiciously before letting it go. She didn't look fine to him but he wouldn't press on her… yet. "I was saying that now that I answered your question, and telling you my little love story, you owe me a similar answer and a tale. Now, don't you?"

She blinked, twice. "What do you mean? What is the question you want me to answer?"

He smirked "And what do you think? The same question you asked me of course. Did you fell in love before, my dear sorceress?"

And that's when her mind went blank. Did she?

At that point, believe it or not, she wasn't able to form a coherent answer as she tried to recall at least one tiny tale worth to be told. She couldn't blame but herself to be dragged into such situation, after all she was the one who started it all. And it was only fair to get the same treatment as her captain as he said. But, her disturbed emotions and thoughts in that exact moment forbid her from an instant reply.

Sinbad was standing there, waiting in patience for her reply as he watched her struggles. He wouldn't let her go this time, no way. Not after he confessed to her what he wouldn't share with anyone else. That was completely unfair; her always keeping secrets from him like that, refusing to lessen the mysterious atmosphere around her while he couldn't keep anything away from her. No, this time she would provide him some answers, he would make sure of it.

"Look, it will sound weird but the truth is that my life style didn't really offer me such luxury. My life was harsh, and well,… let's just say I didn't have a chance for real deep love, okay? I'm being honest with you because that was what I asked you about, real love. May be I liked someone some when, but it wasn't that serious." Sinbad glared at her but before he voiced his thoughts she rushed in "But I was a witness on a great love story. Actually, I would say the greatest ever. And, they were the closest persons to me." She lingered a bit before mumbling "That's in fact why I asked you. I wondered if you experienced such deep and true love."

Sinbad found himself again letting it go in spite of his curiosity about what kind of life she had! He believed her anyway. Somehow he felt his heart lightened at the thought she didn't fell for anyone before, though he still remembered her unusual reaction to his recent speech. Yes, he wasn't oblivious to it.

"How much were they close to you?"

"Close enough."

He narrowed his eyes at her, such a curt reply. No, he wouldn't allow her escape from this conversation. At least she would tell him that story. "Well, care to share a little bit of their story? Like, what made you think their love was that deep?"

She smiled, he cornered her. Well, she really didn't mind sharing that part of her past with him. She trusted him as he did her, so that if she would be given a choice he would be her best confident aside of her brother. But thing is… it's not the right time yet.

Not yet.

She turned to face the night breeze, her eyes searching the sky aimlessly for a moment as she thought how she could respond. Finally, she smirked as she looked at him playfully mumbling "Perhaps Sinbad. One day, perhaps."

"Well, I hope they got one happy ending at least." He commented carefully.

Maeve dropped her gaze, losing her cheerful smile at once. Pain was obvious in her beautiful eyes, followed by anger then remorse. Sinbad watched her gradual emotional conflict in awe but knew better than to interfere.

"No, they didn't."

"Don't tell me now! Has it something to do with my story?"

"How did you know?"

"Something told me your reaction to my little tale was a bit loaded than expected."

She sighed. "I would say they got something in common… may be. However, it's not my tale to tell… so I'm not really allowed to provide details."

'Something in common?!' the voice echoed inside Sinbad's head for a second before reminding him of Dimdim's words at the first time he met her. The old wizard's words still fresh in his mind 'The wounds in her heart are as deep as the wounds in yours!'

Something clicked!

Sinbad shifted his gaze to her, watching the deep pain and chagrin that were obvious in her eyes in spite of her great effort to hide them by the sad smile dancing on her lips. It was clear that it was a path full of spines for her, and the mere memory of it hurt her a lot. He couldn't just press on her in time she wasn't ready yet to let it go off her chest.

Unlike him, she wasn't in peace yet with her past or whatever took place during it.

Sinbad, eventually, let out a breath in defeat. He would let her go out of his grip this time too.

He gave her his best smile, "Well, I would wait for the day you would be ready to reveal the tale." 'Your tale, Miss Mystery.' He added the last words in his mind. "Until then, my sorceress apprentice."

With that, he left her with a nod at the rails, heading back to the galley. In his way to his cabin, he found himself making a sacred promise, again.

A promise that he would do his best to help her find her inner peace, to achieve her life goal and to heal her wounds.

~.~.~