A Brush With Destiny Part 5

Disclaimer: The main characters don't belong to me. They belong to RenPics and Universal. No copyright infringement was intended. This series is based on the love between Xena and Gabrielle. If this offends you, see ya some other time and place!

Sex : No. More flirting than anything.

Violence: A little bit.

Language: Harsh

Bard's Note : This is my first uber series so please... Be kind!

Xena looked in the rear view mirror as she saw the jeep pull into the car park of the diner. She saw Cobra get out of the car and walk around to open the door for its other occupant. He looked around him carefully before he opened the door and then helped the woman out of the car.

"That's her," Xena said softly as she saw Gabrielle check out what was going on in the wing mirror.

"It's going to be ok, Warrior," Gabrielle replied as she placed her hand over her lover's.

"Yeah," the ex-Marine replied as she glanced over at the writer with a smile. "Well, let's go."

They got out of their rental car and walked to the diner. Xena's piercing blue eyes were constantly on the move, watching for anything out of the ordinary. Once inside, the soulmates sat up at the main counter, making sure not to indicate that they knew anyone else in the diner. Cobra had said that he wanted to make sure that there weren't any agents present before they made contact. They sat there for nearly an hour, chatting and eating apple pie but finally a woman approached and sat down on the stool beside Xena.

"Hi there. Nice day isn�t it?" she said.

"Yeah, lovely," Xena replied. "A little bit hot for my liking though."

The woman shrugged.

"To be honest, I haven�t really been thinking about the weather much. I'm looking for a lift. Are you going anywhere near Research Triangle Park? I'm supposed to start work there soon."

Gabrielle nodded.

"Yeah, we're going close enough. We could give you a lift. In fact we're leaving in a few minutes."

"Uh... no, not yet," the woman stammered and Xena nodded quickly. Cobra was on his feet.

"Gabrielle, get ready to run for it," the ex-Marine growled.

The writer nodded and felt her heart begin to thump painfully in the chest. Xena looked at Cobra and he nodded before taking off out the front door.

"Now," Xena stated and they headed for the back of the diner. The warrior kicked the emergency doors open and ran out into the car park, closely followed by Gabrielle and Diana. "Here!" Xena cried and threw the car keys to her soulmate. "I'll be right behind you."

She watched as her lover ran to their car and hopped in with Diana behind her. Xena sidled along the wall until she was able to look around the corner. She needed to find out what happened to Cobra. She peeked her head around and shook it sadly as she saw her friend being handcuffed and put in a FBI vehicle. "Shit! I'm sorry, Cobra," she whispered.

"I think it's yourself you should be apologising to for getting sloppy," came a voice that Xena recognised from behind her. She slowly turned, a sarcastic smile on her lips.

"Nice to see you again, Michelle. Screwed any more platoons lately?"

A thunderous look came to the agent's face.

"You think you're so great, don�t you, Georgina?" she spat. "Well, look who's holding the gun now?"

Xena smiled once more and then spun, kicking the gun out the agent's hand with incredible speed.

"You were saying?" she replied softly as she held her defensive stance. Michelle stepped back and yelled.

"I've got her!"

"Shit," Xena cursed as she heard pounding footsteps heading her way. She punched Michelle out. "My name is Xena," she growled and ran for it, sliding over the bonnet of their car feet first. She was just about the open the door when the agents opened fire on her. Xena couldn't duck fast enough and she was hit in the shoulder. The impact of the bullet threw her back onto the ground and she lay there dazed for a moment. The pain was incredible but she pushed the pain back as far as possible and picked herself up off the ground, cradling her injured shoulder. Gabrielle opened the door of the car, her face frantic with worry and Xena slid into the driver's seat.

"Fuck it! You're gonna have to change gears for me, Bard" Xena panted as she pulled the door closed. Gabrielle shifted into first and Xena floored it, speeding out of the car park and up the highway at almost a hundred miles per hour.

"Xena, I have to stop this bleeding," Gabrielle said calmly as she pulled her shirt off. She tore it into thick strips and folded one into a pad. The ex-Marine winced as the writer held the pad tightly against her shoulder. "I think the bullet passed right through. You're bleeding from both sides."

"Yeah," Xena replied, her breath short. "Cruise," she finished and Gabrielle shifted gear for her. Then the older woman looked in the rear view mirror. "Can�t see them at the moment. We need to get off this road. How you doing back there, Diana?"

"Fine, thanks to you," the woman replied. "I don�t know how to thank you for this, Xena."

"You don�t have to. I'm doing it because I owe you for saving my life."

She felt a gentle touch on her good shoulder and looked back at the woman in the back seat.

"You never owed me anything, Xena" she replied softly and Gabrielle felt her jealousy rise. It was obvious that after all these years, the agent still had a thing for her soulmate. Xena shook the touch off.

"Diana, this is Gabrielle, my partner. We're going to hide you in her cabin until we can figure out what to do. Cobra getting caught puts a large spanner in the works. He didn't tell me who his contact was."

"I know who it is," Diana replied. "It's Wolf."

"Wolf? No... it... it can't be... Wolf's dead. She died years ago," Xena stammered, her eyes wide and shocked.

"No, Xena. Charlie's very much alive. She had to fake her death because she joined the Navy Seals as an assassin. She had to sever all ties with her previous life."

"Including me," Xena whispered and blinked against stinging tears.

Gabrielle's hand moved to wipe away a tear that spilled over.

"I don't know what to say, Xena," she said.

"Change gears," came the terse reply and the writer knew to leave the subject alone. She continued tending to Xena's wound as they sped along a tire-eating, country road. Xena winced with each bump and jolt, eventually having to slow down in order to avoid passing out from the pain.

"Want me to drive?" Gabrielle asked as she saw the exhaustion in her soulmate's eyes. "You should get some rest."

"Jesus! I'm fine," the ex-Marine snapped and immediately felt bad as she saw the hurt look on the writer's face. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I don�t want to stop. Do you think you can slide over?"

"Yeah," Gabrielle replied. She sat between Xena's legs and took over while the older woman slid herself over to the passenger seat. She slumped back with a groan and Gabrielle helped her put her seatbelt on. "It won�t be much longer now, Honey," she said. "I'm gonna circle the area first to make sure we�ve lost them. Then we can ditch the car and go the rest of the way on foot. Will you be ok walking, Xe?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

The writer looked worriedly over at her lover when she heard the tension in her voice and saw that her teeth were gritted. She cupped Xena's cheek gently and leaned over to kiss her.

"Just try to relax," she said. We're nearly there, Love."

From the back seat, Diana watched them and sighed inwardly. So much for having some warm companionship tonight, she thought with a roll of her eyes.

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Xena collapsed into the large comfortable chair in the living room of the cabin. Diana sat down and waited while Gabrielle went to get her first aid kit.

"I'm sorry about all this, Xena," she said softly.

"Forget it," the ex-Marine replied as Gabrielle re-entered the room. "We can't stay here," she went on.

"I know," the writer said as she applied some disinfectant to the wound. Xena jumped at the pain and dug her fingers into the arms of the chair as she gritted her teeth. "I know it's bad, Xena. Just hold on, ok, Warrior?"

The dark woman managed a weak smile as the pain subsided slightly.

"Go take care of Diana," she whispered. "I can wait. The bleeding's stopped."

Gabrielle nodded and hefted the agents rucksack.

"Follow me," she said with a smile and led the woman down the hallway to the spare room. It was clean and homey with a beautiful view of the lake. She opened the window to let in some air and then chuckled softly. "I guess we weren't properly introduced. My name is Gabrielle Whyte."

"Diana Smith," the woman replied as she shook the writer's hand. "You're that writer aren't you? Uh... the youngest writer ever to have ten best sellers?"

"Yeah, that's me," Gabrielle replied.

"Then that would only make you twenty-one," the woman went on, glancing out the door to where Xena was sitting. It was at that moment that Gabrielle realised that she really didn't like this woman.

"I am twenty-one," she replied. "Wanna see my driver's license? If it makes you feel any better, I'll be twenty-two in a few weeks." She couldn't keep the sarcastic tone out of her voice and Diana knew she had stepped over the line.

"Gabrielle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... ok... yes, I meant to imply that you were very young for Xena but I shouldn�t have said it. Please accept my apology."

"Accepted," Gabrielle replied. "Now why don�t you settle in here and I'll go finish taking care of Xena. I need to get her into bed for some rest. She's gonna be weak for a few days and we really need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Right," Xena said from the door. "So we're leaving tonight. We'll camp out."

Gabrielle went to her immediately and placed her hand against her chest.

"You're not in any condition to travel like that," she hissed. "I'm not going to risk that wound getting infected like it did back in Thrace that time. I do not want to have to lance and then burn you... I swear, Xena. If you argue with me, I'm gonna kick your Warrior Princess butt all the way from here to Amphipolis and..."

Gabrielle suddenly trailed off. "What am I talking about," she asked confusedly. "Sorry, I faded out a bit there."

Xena smiled and took her love by the shoulders, ducking her head to kiss her deeply.

"I just got to witness something I've really missed," she whispered against her lips.

"What was that?" the writer asked as she wrapped her arms around her lover's waist.

"I just got yelled at by a petite, blonde, gorgeous, sexy but very worried bard."

"You did, huh?" Gabrielle replied with a smile.

"Yeah and I understand what you're both saying, Gabrielle, but it's not safe to stay here. Morgan knows where we are. All the CIA has to do is ask her."

The writer shook her head exasperatedly and then sighed.

"Alright but please, Xena, take it easy on that shoulder. I meant what I said about the infection."

The ex-Marine reached out to gently stroke her lover's hair.

"I promise," she whispered and then turned to Diana who was staring out the window, giving them some privacy.

"Diana, you still remember that field training?"

"I think so," she replied. "Rule number one. Only bring what you really need. I'll get packing."

"Yeah," Xena replied. "Gabrielle and I will sort out food and weapons."

The soulmates left Diana to pack and went to the kitchen. Gabrielle went through the cupboards.

"Not that much, Xe," she pointed out. "Enough for three for about three days."

"We�ll have to hunt then," the older woman replied. "I think our best bet is to find a cave and make it our base camp. We can hide it from view and no one will find us unless we want them to."

Gabrielle's eyes suddenly lit up.

"I know a place. I got caught in the rain one evening and I found a cave to shelter in. It's quite big, plenty big for the three of us and a fire and it'll be defensible."

"I knew there was a reason why I loved you. You're a genius, Bard" Xena replied with a grin.

"But of course," the writer replied and chuckled as she went to pack some stuff for her and her warrior.

An hour later, Xena's arm was in a sling and her bag was sitting snugly on her good shoulder. Gabrielle was sliding a 16mm automatic into a shoulder holster and tucking a bow over her head to settle it against her back. Then she slipped her rucksack on over it. Diana had changed into jeans, boots and a heavy jacket to keep out the cool night air and was settling her bag on her back too. Xena looked over from her position at the door.

"I wish I had a pair of binocs," she said with a sigh.

Gabrielle grinned.

"Ask and you shall receive," she replied and went to a cupboard where she pulled out a small pair of binoculars and two Swiss Army knives. She handed the binocs to Xena along with one of the knives and slipped the other knife into her own pocket.

"Thanks, Bard. Everyone ready?" Xena asked. When she received two wide smiles and two nods, she headed out the door. "Move out!" she called. Diana and Gabrielle exchanged glances.

"You can take Xena out of the Marines but you can�t take the Marine out of Xena," the agent said with a roll of her eyes and Gabrielle laughed. Maybe this woman wasn't so bad after all...

TBC in part 6.