A Life Worth Living Part 20

Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to Renaissance/Universal Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended. This story is based on the love between Xena and her lifebond, Gabrielle. There is no subtext� only blatant maintext, so if this offends you, if you're too young to read it, or if it's illegal where you are, please don�t read on any further. There's nothing graphic in here though.

Violence: Nothing much really.

Archiving : Go ahead, you want? You take! Drop me a mail to let me know if you want! I'd get a kick outta it!

Spoilers: Various bits and pieces from the first four seasons and then from the rest of the 'A Life Worth Living' series. Please note that there is an extract from Part 1 at the end of this part. The piece in italics is actual text from the part but the normal text after is my own change to it... you'll see what I mean when you read it!

Dedication: For Danni.. may she find happiness. And of course for Sham.

Gabby sighed as she sat down on the fallen tree to think. She thought back to her life with the Amazons. She loved them and was one of them. Then she looked at the dying but frozen body of her mother. There was a look of pain on her face, but yet her eyes were fiery and proud... a true warrior's eyes. She remember the pain of the previous seven years for her mother when her lifebond had been killed... the woman who gave birth to Gabby but whom she didn't really remember apart from flashes of baby memory. The young Amazon understood what would happen if she chose to change time. Things would be different, maybe she would never even be born, but she had to try. She couldn't just release time and let her mother die. She stood up and took a deep breath.

"I'm a demi-god," she said. "I'm the only one who can save my parents and my Amazon sisters." She raised her hand but suddenly as flash of light stopped her in her tracks.

"Gabby, wait!"

The young Queen turned and knew immediately who the woman standing in front of her was.

"Aphrodite," she said softly but she didn't look down or bow.

"Just like your Mom," the goddess of love replied with a chuckle.

"Xena?"

"No, Gabrielle. You're a lot more like the bard than the warrior. You have the soul of a poet."

Gabby nodded and then smiled.

"But I have the heart of a warrior. My mother taught me that."

Aphrodite waved her hand and two large comfortable chairs appeared in the middle of the frozen battle. Gabby's eyes widened with surprise but she just sat down at the goddess' indication.

"Gabby, do you know why I'm here?"

"To talk me out of changing time?"

"No, not exactly, but I do have to help you choose, so if you decide to turn back the hourglass, you'll be able to pick the right moment to send everyone back to."

Gabby nodded slowly. She understood what Aphrodite was saying.

"How will I know, 'Dite?" she asked softly.

The goddess waved her hand and a portal appeared. It showed them a picture of two women sitting together in front of a campfire. One of the women was petite, with long, reddish-blonde hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a long skirt and a green blouse. The other was a beautiful, dark warrior, sitting stoically on a fallen tree. Gabby couldn�t hear any sound but she watched as the blonde said something and the warrior smiled briefly before tossing her a blanket.

"That was the first night your mothers spent together," the goddess said softly. Gabby smiled.

"Mama looks so young... they both do."

"Your Mama was only eighteen years old in that scene but she was already in love with your mother. It took them a long time to finally admit their love, but when they did, they were awesome together."

Gabby sniffed back some tears.

"Gabrielle loved that stubborn warrior with everything she was. She even sacrificed her life for her."

The scene shifted and Gabby saw her mother fall over the edge of a lava pit with an identical woman in her arms.

"That was your sister, Hope. Your mothers went through a very difficult time with her. She killed Xena's son, Solan, and nearly killed their friendship and love but they managed to find their way back to each other."

The scene shifted again and Gabby saw scenes of music, dancing and bright colours. She saw her mothers singing together, tears on their faces at first and then joy in their hearts as they hugged on a lonely beach.

"It was after they came back from Illusia that things really began to happen between them. They took a trip to India where they met someone who helped Gabrielle follow a new path... the Way of Love."

Gabby watched as the portal shimmered and the vision changed to one of her mothers walking through a town centre. She saw a bearded man doing magic tricks. *Flash* Gabrielle was possessed by a demon and fighting Xena. *Flash* The Warrior Princess standing over her best friend with her sword raise, her arms trembling under the weight of the knowledge that she had to kill her. *Flash* The bearded man praying over Gabrielle while Xena held her in her arms and tears streamed down her face. *Flash* Xena holding and rocking Gabrielle as she kissed her on the forehead, relieved beyond all reason that she had her best friend back.

"Eli showed Gabrielle the power of love and she gave up fighting for a time... until she thought Xena was in danger."

Aphrodite pointed at the portal and the image changed again. *Flash* Gabrielle kneeling on the floor of a large room, her staff across her knees as she prayed to Eli's god. *Flash* Gabrielle looking over in horror at her best friend, tied to a chair, beaten and bloody. *Flash* Gabrielle trying to defend her warrior but being tricked by Indrajeet, an evil Indian God. *Flash* Xena finding Gabrielle and fighting Indrajeet with the help of the god Krishna. *Flash* Gabrielle throwing her staff into the river and telling Xena that they would always be together... that all rivers flow to the sea.

"After Gabrielle gave up fighting, Xena took up the slack and kept them safe but then she came up against her most hated enemy for the last time. It was at that moment that Gabrielle made the biggest decision of her life... The Way of Love or The Way of Friendship... She chose the Way of Friendship."

The portal changed again. *Flash* Gabrielle watching with horror as Callisto threw Xena's chakram, breaking the warrior's back. *Flash* Xena looking at her best friend with sorrow and pain as she tried to reach out to help her. *Flash* Gabrielle picking up Xena's sword and slaughtering the attacking Roman soldiers until she was captured and subdued.

"Gabrielle chose to die with her best friend, the woman she loved more than anything. They were crucified side by side on a snowy mountain."

"I want to see," Gabby said but Aphrodite shook her head.

"I know that's one thing your mothers would never want you to see. After that, Eli brought them back to life and they resumed their travels together. It was shortly after that, that they finally admitted their love for each other but things didn't slow down. Ares played a trick on them."

Aphrodite pointed at the portal once again and Gabby watched the image change.

*Flash* Xena and Gabrielle standing in a temple... the warrior lighting candles. *Flash* Ares, god of war appearing and speaking to Xena. *Flash* Xena riding away from the temple and leaving Gabrielle behind. *Flash* Gabrielle being tricked into thinking that Xena had left her and joining the god as his Chosen One. *Flash* Gabrielle standing over Xena with her sword raised but unable to kill her. *Flash* Making love under the stars after being apart for months.

Gabby blushed and frowned at Aphrodite.

"You didn't have to show me that bit," she said but the goddess nodded seriously.

"Yes, I did. That incident with Ares you've just seen, was the beginning of a new life for your mothers. It was the beginning of the events that led to their joining and your birth."

Gabby nodded.

"So if I change time, I'll cease to exist."

"Possibly. You see Xena and Gabrielle will always find their love but it remains to be seen each time, whether they have a child or not. I've scanned different timelines and I've found that in six out of ten of them, they do have a child and call her Gabby. In another two timelines, they have a child and call her Eve and in one timeline, Xena gives birth to the child, who is Callisto reincarnated and calls her Eve."

"What about the last of the ten?"

"In the last of the ten, Xena and Gabrielle were unable to forgive each other for the events surrounding Hope and Solan. They parted and never spoke again."

Gabby was shaking when she thought about all of the different versions of herself and her mothers living separate paths in time. She looked over at her mother again and then closed her eyes.

"Aphrodite, I can�t let her die. She's everything."

The goddess nodded and then smiled.

"I know she is. So is Gabrielle. It wasn't fair for the Bardly One to die when she did and Old Hades was unreasonable when she asked him to bring her back. In the end, Gabby, the decision is yours. Would you like to see more events that happened while your Mama was alive?"

The young Amazon Queen nodded enthusiastically.

"I don�t really remember her," she said sadly.

"Now you will," Aphrodite replied. She waved her hand and Gabby watched as the scenes changed one after the other.

*Flash* Xena forcing air into her lover's lungs after breaking her bond to Ares. *Flash* Xena and Gabrielle on a boat. *Flash* Xena climbing down a stone wall with a harp clipped to her chakram clip. *Flash* Gabrielle leaving Hibernia, heartbroken without her lover but then Xena joining her after talking some man out of keeping her there. *Flash* Callisto destroying the town of Amphipolis. *Flash* Gabrielle fighting Callisto to the death and finally finishing her off with the Hind's Blood Dagger. *Flash* Xena sitting on the bed beside her soulmate, taking her hand and asking her to marry her. (Gabby found a tear trickling down her cheek at the happiness she saw in both her mothers at that moment.) *Flash* Xena and Gabrielle wearing beautiful dresses and making their vows to each other in front of the Amazon nation, their family and friends. *Flash* Lying in each others arms on their wedding night, reaffirming their love with passionate touches and caresses.

Gabby suddenly stood up.

"I need a minute," she said and Aphrodite froze the image in the portal. Gabby walked to her mother and stood looking at her for a moment. Then she knelt down in front of her and touched her shoulder.

"Mom," she said softly. "I've seen so many images of you and Mama. You love each other deeply and you loved me with all your hearts. It wasn't fair that your lifebond, my mother, was taken from you. She died to save someone else. Doesn�t that give her double the right to live? I've made my decision. I'm going to turn back the sand of the hourglass and return you to your soulmate. I may cease to exist but you deserve your happiness more than anyone. I love you, Mom."

She walked back to her chair and sat down again.

"I've made my decision," she said to Aphrodite. "But I'd like to see more of my mothers please."

The goddess waved her hand and the scenes moved again.

*Flash* Gabrielle running out of Aphrodite's temple to tell her lifebond that she's pregnant. *Flash* Xena crying tears of joy as she holds her new born daughter with one arm and her exhausted lifebond in the other. *Flash* Xena's and Gabrielle's panic and distress when they realised that their baby daughter is missing. *Flash* Gabrielle stepping into the path of a dagger to save her daughter's life. *Flash* Xena fighting down the call of the lion within her and letting the men, who had kidnapped her daughter, live. *Flash* The rebuilding of the Amphipolis Inn. *Flash* Gabrielle's father's death. *Flash* The battle between the Amphipolitans and the warlord Aurestus. *Flash* Xena and Gabrielle's trip to Egypt to see Cleopatra. *Flash* Gabrielle's death.

Then the portal disappeared. Gabby stood and looked from her mother to Aphrodite.

"I'm ready," she said.

"Have you chosen your moment in time?" 'Dite asked.

"Yes."

"Well, close your eyes and focus your mind on that point in time. Bring your mothers back there."

Gabby nodded and closed her eyes. She concentrated totally on the moment she had chosen. After a few heartbeats, she began to feel light-headed. She felt the world shift and change around her. A white light formed behind her eyes but still she concentrated. The ground tilted and Gabby felt weak. She opened her eyes and they grew wide as she saw her mothers through another portal.

"I love you," she whispered and then...

Xena nodded her agreement.

"I think we've heard enough. Come on, Gabrielle."

The Warrior Bard of Poteidaia and the Warrior Princess left the Temple of the Fates, mounted their horses and rode away together toward the morning sun.

Ares appeared at the entrance to the temple and shook his head.

"Pity. Gabrielle would have made an excellent Chosen One." He waved his hand. "Oh well, maybe someday," he shrugged as he disappeared in a flash of blue light.

The End

No, really, it IS the end! Thanks for being a patient audience.

Disclaimer : No warriors, bards, young Amazon queens, horses, warlords, gods of war, goddesses of love, or anyone else were harmed during the writing of this series. However, I know for a fact that several timelines and actual events were severely mangled!