Disclaimer: The main characters of this story belong to Renaissance/Universal Pics. No copyright infringement was intended.

Sex/Subtext: Maintext really but no real graphic sex. If love between two women offends you, if you�re too young to read it or if it�s illegal where you are, please don�t read on.

Special Warning: Even though it isn�t described in any detail, there is a rape implied in this story. Please be warned in case this may upset you. Also, there's very mild bad language.

Dedication: As always, for Sham, without whom I wouldn�t be posting this stuff. For my brother, Philip, who has just finished his exams. For my Mam, who makes the best chicken Risotto north of the River Liffey... and for Karlina... Sham�s friend! ;-)

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I�m looking over at my lifebond and smiling contentedly as I feel my love for her warm my heart. To look at her, you�d think she was cold and impartial but I know differently. This woman can face down a thousand warriors with a cold stare but when she�s with me, she�s the most loving, gentle woman in the world. My soulmate, purely and simply.

I watch her a lot. She must have sensed me looking at her earlier because expressive blue eyes headed my direction, partially obscured by raven-black bangs. I knew that what I saw in those baby blues were reflected in my own emerald green and, as she smiled and turned her attention back to her sword, she said something that almost made me cry.

"I love you too, Gabrielle."

After everything that we�d been through over the previous few weeks, those simple words helped in the healing of my battered heart. I felt the fear and pain rise as my mind wandered back to when I had almost lost her... again and the events that followed. I thought I was going to die myself when I saw her disappear over the edge of that cliff. The rain and wind were pounding mercilessly into my face but I didn�t feel a thing... all I could think about was the fact that I would never see her again. It�s funny. I�ve learned over the years that Xena is not a woman to be underestimated. She does the most incredible of things with what seems like the minimum of effort but when I saw her fall, even I didn�t think she could have survived it. And it almost killed me because she had fallen when a tree branch struck her from behind, right across the shoulder blades... a branch that would have hit me had she not pushed me out of the way and taken the full force of it herself.

Now, watching her running her sharpening stone along the length of her blade, I find it hard to believe that only five weeks ago, I looked over the edge of the cliff and found her lying unconscious on a ledge thirty feet below me. Xena doesn�t remember what saved her but, after I had managed to get her back up on the cliff... don�t ask me how, that night is practically a blur to me... she was murmuring deliriously about a woman standing over her.

It took me hours to get her to shelter. The storm had been frighteningly strong and for every step I took with Argo, the wind had pushed us back two. I was so afraid that the makeshift litter I had built would break but, by some miracle, I was able to get my lifebond to safety. The cave I found was small but just about big enough to take myself, Xena and our horses. It was only when I had Xena lying down on our bedrolls by the fire that I was able to really check her body for injuries. I knew by looking at the angle of her left arm that it was broken but luckily, her legs seemed to be in one piece. I carefully slipped her gauntlet from her arm and used her scabbard as a splint to keep her arm immobile. At one stage, I looked up to find her piercing blue eyes staring intently at me but the glazed look in them told me that she wasn�t really with me. She was somewhere else, probably pushing back the pain I knew she had to be feeling.

"Xena?" I said softly as I gently stroked her hair. "I need you to try to tell me where you�re hurt, ok?" My lifebond is a skilled healer, and I knew if she was lucid enough, she�d be able to tell me the severity of her injuries. I wasn�t prepared for the wave of fear that crashed over me when she just kept staring. Then her lips began to move, forming words that I couldn�t hear. I leaned in close to her but even with my ear almost pressed against her mouth, I couldn�t make out what she was saying. "Xena," I said again as I held her face in my hands, trying to make her look at me. "Please, try to focus. I need you to tell me where it hurts."

She didn�t appear to have a head injury... I couldn�t feel any abnormal bumps or anything like that, but something was causing this daze... a daze I�d never seen in my lifebond before this. What happened next almost shocked the life out of me. Xena sprang forward and grabbed me by the shoulders, bringing my face to within inches of her own and in a voice barely above a whisper she told me something that I never expected to hear from her.

"You thought the old Xena was gone, didn�t you?" she said. "Well, I know better, Gabrielle. Every day is a struggle to keep the old Xena buried and I don�t think I even want to try anymore."

I searched her widened eyes and saw a look there that was almost maniacal. It scared me to the point of tears and I shook her hard, trying to bring her back to me.

"Xena!" I yelled. "This is not you! Look at me! LOOK AT ME!" Very, very slowly, her eyes relaxed. She closed them briefly and when she looked at me again, I could see a tenderness there that almost took my breath away. I knew that I had my partner back. "It�s ok, I�ve got you," I said as I drew her into my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder and I slowly rocked her as my tears crept down my cheeks. After a long moment, I helped her to lie back down beside the fire I had hastily built. I suddenly realised that I was shaking with the cold so I threw some damp wood on the fire to try to build it up. "You�re freezing," Xena pointed out worriedly as she ran her hand down my arm, very clearly feeling the goose bumps there.

"I�m fine," I replied. "You just get warm and dry. Xena, your arm is broken but I need to know if you�re hurt anywhere else. Do you feel nauseous or anything?"

I watched my lifebond take a mental inventory of her body but she finally sighed and shook her head.

"No, I think I�m ok. Gabrielle, how far did I fall?"

I couldn�t meet her eyes as, once again, I remembered that she had taken that fall for me.

"About thirty feet," I whispered, unable to trust my voice not to break. I lowered my head and wiped absently at a stray tear but her hand slowly moved to touch my short, blonde hair. She pushed it back from my eyes and smiled as I tentatively raised my green eyes to her blue. In the back of my mind, I could see flashes of our almost six years together and all the times she had saved me over those years. Then she said something that DID make me cry.

"Don�t blame yourself," she said softly. "I would gladly die for you."

That was it. The fear and panic that I had been pushing down all evening, coupled with my love�s words, opened a floodgate inside me and once I began to sob, I couldn�t stop. Xena held me for a long time, just letting me cry myself out but when she inhaled sharply at one stage, I cursed myself for my selfishness and insisted that she lie down again. I spent the next hour cleaning her cuts and scrapes with a soothing salve. She had a particularly bad cut in her thigh and, although it had stopped bleeding, it started again when I tried to clean it. I looked at my partner with a smile and she sighed.

"I know. Go ahead," she replied to my unspoken statement. I pulled a needle and some gut out of Xena�s healer bag and sewed up the wound, keeping the stitches as tiny as possible.

"You know this is almost identical to the one you got from those thugs in India�" I raised an eyebrow at her, a habit I had actually picked up from her. "Remember? Before we fell down that hole into Aidan�s world?"

She nodded slowly as she looked at her other thigh where the aforementioned wound had scarred her soft, tanned skin. She chuckled as my fingers gently followed her eyes� path.

"I remember," she replied. "Although I do have one point to make." She smiled knowingly and I suddenly found myself extremely curious.

"What�s that?" I asked.

"YOU fell into the hole. I just jumped in after you."

I pouted for a moment but then grinned evilly.

"Hang on a minute. I fell� by accident. You JUMPED. Who�s the bigger idiot, Xena?"

I knew I had made a serious mistake when her forehead furrowed into a frown and I got the famous �Look�. However, I realised too late that I had actually hurt her. She had, once again, jumped in to save my life and here I was calling her an idiot for doing it, even if I did only mean it as a joke. Her eyes broke contact with mine and she lowered her head, absently fixing the strips of leather which made up her skirt.

"Xena?" I said softly as I reached out to cup her chin and raise her face. "I didn�t mean that. I didn�t mean to hurt you. I meant it as a joke but it was a stupid thing to say. I�m sorry, My Love."

And then she smiled.

It lit up the whole cave and pulled at my heart... and groin... with a stubborn persistence. Gods, I loved this woman and I still do, with all my heart. One look from her and I feel my knees begin to go weak. There�s been more than one occasion when I had to hastily find somewhere to sit down or risk ending up on the ground at her feet.

"Forget it, Gabrielle," she replied with a look of devotion and I knew I was forgiven.

"Xena, why don�t you get some rest," I pressed. "The weather is too bad to move on so we might as well stay here until it breaks. We have enough food for a few days and I can hunt if we need more."

I was surprised, but relieved, when my partner nodded her assent and resigned herself to staying put.

"How am I going to handle it?" she asked huskily.

"Handle what?" I replied distractedly as I packed our medical supplies back into Xena�s bag.

"Being cooped up in close quarters..." Her hand moved slowly up my thigh. "alone..." Her hand continued up over the bare skin of my stomach, slowly circling my navel. "where no one is around to hear or see a single thing..." Her hands gently massaged my breasts as her voice lowered to a sensual whisper. "With you."

I couldn�t stifle the whimper that came from the back of my throat as her lips found mine and her tongue mapped my mouth with gentle, passionate strokes. My eyes flew shut as I gave in totally to the feelings coursing through my overheated body. We had been joined for more than a year and our passion for each other was still growing every day.

"Xena," I whispered against her lips. "I love you so much. If I had lost you today..." I found I couldn�t continue and she smiled tenderly.

"You can�t lose me, Gabrielle," she replied. "As long as you keep me here."

Xena�s hand moved to rest over my heart and my tears turned into quiet sobs. "It�s ok," she said softly. "We know that we�re going to be together for eternity. Just remember that, Gabrielle."

"I will," I replied and then grinned sheepishly at my pathetic sniffling. "I�m sorry. I�m being such a baby," I apologised but Xena just hugged me closer and shrugged.

"Nah," she said. "Sometimes it feels good to cry on someone�s shoulder..." She paused to flash me a quirky little grin. "Or to have someone who trusts you enough to cry on yours."

The statement hung between us for a long moment and, even though not a word was spoken, a billion words were communicated with the look that passed between us... a look that spoke of trust, passion and more than anything else, undying love. I gave a tiny shake of my head.

"It�s official," I stated firmly.

"What is?" Xena asked.

"I�m past the point of no return. Either you make love to me now, or I go out in the rain to find me a COLD lake... river... stream... anything!"

I chuckled as my warrior collapsed into helpless laughter and all of a sudden, I was being cradled in a strong, loving arm with another splinted one resting gently on my stomach and being kissed by the most beautiful lips in the entire known world. I knew in that moment that I wasn�t going anywhere. When we made love, it was the most amazing thing I had ever felt. As I said, Xena and I were over a year joined and we had been making love for a few months before our joining but that night in the cave was the most soul lifting night I�ve ever experienced. I loved her more than ever that night. Unfortunately, it started something that almost cost me my life. I didn�t realise what was happening until it was too late. Even when she bit me when we were making love, I didn�t think it strange. I thought she was just being passionate. I was very wrong.

I suppose the first indication was the fact that she was being overly rough with me. Xena is extremely strong but she has never intentionally hurt me... well... apart from... anyway... she pushed me quite roughly out of the way as she passed me on one occasion and I scowled indignantly at her.

"Hey! Watch it!" I scolded, but she just sneered at me and kept going. I was annoyed but I really began to realise something was wrong when she almost hit me. I had made dinner and was handing her a plate when I accidentally spilled some of its contents. She growled and her hand shot out to slap me but my reflexes were sharp and I ducked the blow, snapping back to look at her with what must have been utter shock because judging by the look of self-loathing on her face, she instantly realised what she had done. Her hand moved to her mouth and she shook her head hard.

"Oh gods. I... I�m so sorry," she groaned but then I saw something flash across her eyes and she was no longer the Xena I knew and loved. I saw a coldness in her blue gaze that chilled me to the bone and, as my instinct of self-preservation kicked in, I knew I had to get out of there... and fast.

"Xena," I said as calmly as possible. "Don�t worry about it. I have to go gather some more firewood, ok?"

I received a grunt in reply and quickly left the cave, battling against the strong wind. At least it had stopped raining. I walked for a few minutes until I found a sheltered spot where I could think. I huddled into a ball and thought back carefully over the previous two days. I tried to piece together what might have happened to my partner but my mind kept coming back to Xena�s delirious rambling as I had pulled her up the side of the cliff. She had said that a woman had been standing over her, yet, when I looked over the cliff, I had seen no one. I decided to try to find out more. I knew that asking Xena would be pointless, besides I was way too upset to play happy families with my wife, so I went down another path. I closed my eyes and whispered a name.

"Aphrodite."

I smiled as I found myself instantly in one of Aphrodite�s temples. The goddess of love, my friend, was sitting on a large throne-type chair with her leg thrown casually over the arm. I was treated to a nice view of her shapely thighs. Hey, I know what you�re thinking. I love Xena more than anything but I AM allowed to look at other women as long as I keep my hands to myself. Besides, not once, over all the time Xena and I have been lovers, have I ever even considered being with anyone else. So anyway, I smiled at my friend as she shooed her many men away so she could talk to me in private. I was grateful for that because I didn�t really want to talk �girltalk� in front of a bunch of... um... men. I approached her and she waved me into a chair that had appeared beside her.

"So tell me, Bardly One. What�s up?" she said with a grin.

"Aphrodite," I began uncertainly. "Did you by any chance save Xena�s life two days ago when she fell over a cliff?"

The blonde goddess frowned as she tried to remember. She curled her hair around her finger and played with it absently.

"Saving the Warrior Babe... hmmm... I think I�d remember that," she muttered. "No. No, I definitely didn�t save Xena lately." She must have seen the upset and fear on my face because I was suddenly sitting on her lap in her throne, cradled in her arms. Despite my embarrassment, it was strangely comforting. "Tell Aphrodite what�s wrong," she said, as if I were a child, but I found myself explaining exactly what had happened. When I had finished my story, she waved her hand and I found myself sitting back in my own chair as she got up to pace thoughtfully.

"There�s really only one goddess who�d have the power to turn Xena back to her darkness," she said.

"Who�s that?" I asked, but I already knew the answer in my heart. Aphrodite looked at me and I nodded.

"Athena. Goddess of War," I said.

"Correctamundo," Aphrodite replied. "But why?"

I frowned as I thought about this. Why would Athena want Xena to turn back to the darkness? Everyone knew how much Athena disapproved of Ares methods, including his continued attempts to get my wife to go back to him.

"My sister has a tendency to try to get one up on Ares. Maybe she wants Xena to do her dirty work for her," my friend pointed out but I couldn�t see the logic in that. Athena was also the goddess of wisdom.

"No," I replied. "I don�t think Athena is the type of god who would use a mortal like that."

"You�re right. My sister is a big softy at heart," Aphrodite said with a little giggle. I smiled but then my face turned serious as I made my final request of my friend.

"Aphrodite. I need you to do something for me," I said softly.

"Anything for you, Babe. What is it?" she replied.

I took a deep breath, hardly believing that I was actually going to ask this of her.

"Don�t let her kill me. Xena�s not herself and if she hurt me and came back to herself afterwards, it would kill her as surely as an arrow through the heart would."

"I understand," my friend said and I suddenly found myself standing in the whipping wind outside the mouth of our cave, trying desperately to balance an arm-full of wood. I ducked inside and was suddenly met by six feet of VERY angry Warrior Princess.

"Where have you been" she demanded. "I�ve been worried sick!"

"I told you, I went to gather some wood," I replied calmly and threw a few small branches on the fire. I continued with making dinner, knowing full well that my brooding wife was watching my every move. We ate our meal in silence and, suddenly drained, I lay down on my bedroll to get some sleep.

"�Night, Xena. I love you," I said as I drifted off but I felt sword-callused hands try to gently part my thighs. "No, I�m tired," I continued as the hands also did. I pushed them away and rolled over but Xena grabbed my shoulders and rolled me back, pinning me with her weight. I looked into her eyes and saw pure, carnal lust and I was suddenly very afraid. My heart and mind told me that Xena would never force me to do anything I didn�t want to do but, twenty minutes later, when she collapsed on top of me and fell asleep with her head on my bite-covered breast, I actually felt like I was going to die. I closed my eyes and the tears came as it finally sank in that my wife had raped me.

I couldn�t tell my Xena. I would lose her to self-hatred and under no circumstances was I willing to lose her. The next morning, when she woke up, the hostility in her eyes had disappeared but I wondered how long for. I tried to act as normal as I possibly could but Xena knows me too well. She pulled me into her arms and kissed me tenderly.

"What�s wrong, Love?" she asked. Her hand moved to my side but she stopped at my sudden intake of breath. I didn�t mean to gasp but she pressed a very tender spot, a spot that she had bitten hard the night before. "Gabrielle, what is it?" she asked worriedly.

"It�s nothing," I replied trying to hide my hurt and discomfort behind a smile. She saw right through it and quickly pulled my top open. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the bite marks and purple bruising to my breasts, ribs and chest.

"Who did this to you?" she choked out in a shaking voice. "I�ll kill him. I swear to the gods, I�ll kill the bastard!"

I reached out a trembling hand and cupped my love�s cheek.

"It wasn�t a him, Xena. It was a her and you can�t kill her because I love her more than my own life. Xena, it�s you. You did this to me last night but I know you don�t remember it."

"I... I did this?" my warrior asked incredulously, shaking her head.

"It wasn�t you, My Love. It was a Xena being controlled by the goddess of war. I spoke to Aphrodite last night and we think that Athena put some sort of a spell on you. You get this look in your eyes and you become a different woman."

I almost cried myself as my wife�s knees buckled and she dropped cross-legged to the ground, holding her head in her hands as sobs wracked her muscular frame. I sat beside her and held her tightly. I loved her so much and I wasn�t going to let Athena destroy what we had together.

"Gabrielle, you should go. You have to get away from me," she finally said. "I could have killed you."

I pushed an errant lock of raven-black hair away from her tear-filled eyes and shook my head.

"No, you can�t kill me. Aphrodite is watching over me. We�re going to be ok, Xena. We just have to find out why Athena is doing this and persuade her to lift whatever spell she�s put on you."

Xena slowly nodded and wiped her nose on the back of her hand.

"Ok," she replied. "Ok, Gabrielle. Let�s do it."

I�ve often told myself that there was no one in the world braver or stronger than my lifebond. It may sound corny or silly to you, but after everything Xena and I have been through together, it�s something that I�ve come to believe with every breath that I take. Once again, I felt this when my love looked into my eyes and told me that she was ready to face Athena. Xena and I aren�t used to waiting for the gods to help or come to us, so we went to her. Once again, Aphrodite helped us by taking us to Mount Olympus.

When I saw the smirk on Athena�s face, I wanted to smack her right in the mouth, but Xena wrapped an arm around my waist and held me in place as I squirmed slightly. Eventually, I gave up and she smiled at me before approaching the goddess of war.

"Athena," she said by way of greeting.

"Xena. I thought I might see you sooner or later," Athena replied, her voice full of self-satisfaction. I snorted in disgust and Xena looked back at me with a tiny grin on her lips. I rolled my eyes and took a seat nearby to wait.

"I�m here, Athena," my wife went on. "Why have you done this to me? I�ve never done anything against you."

The blonde goddess slowly stood up and approached Xena, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. I saw Xena�s hand drift to her chakram in an unconscious movement and knew that every muscle in her body was coiled and ready, should Athena attack. My warrior�s eyes drifted over the goddess� face to rest on her eyes but then she did something that shocked the Hades out of me. She stepped forward and kissed Athena full on the lips. I saw the goddess� mouth open to receive Xena�s tongue and, needless to say, I was prying them apart a split second later.

"Xena! What in the name of all the gods are you doing?!" I yelled as my anger got the better of me. My lifebond slowly looked at me and I could see the coldness and hostility toward me in her piercing blue eyes.

"Go away, Gabrielle," she growled as she moved to take Athena into her arms again.

"No! Xena! Don�t do this!" I pleaded, my heart breaking a little more with every passing second. Suddenly, Xena spun and hit me in the jaw so hard that I staggered backward and actually saw stars. My knees buckled and I dropped onto them, unable to stop the involuntary flow of tears from the stinging blow. I finally managed to focus my vision and when I looked up, I saw Athena lead my warrior, my wife, by the hand into another room. I stood up shakily and by the time I made it to the next room, Xena was already lying naked on top of the goddess, her hand very obviously making its way south. I don�t really know what came over me at that moment but I threw my head back and screamed my pain.

When I opened my eyes again, Xena was standing by the edge of the bed, her eyes moving from Athena, down to her naked body and then across the room to me. She shook her head, a look of absolute shock on her face and then reached for her shift and leathers, quickly covering herself. Once dressed she came to me.

"Gabrielle, I�m so sorry. I don�t know what happened... what came over me... oh gods!" She groaned and covered her face with her hands as Athena came up behind her. I whipped my sais from the holders on my boots and immediately put myself between my lifebond and the goddess of war, taking a defensive stance. I felt Xena�s hands rest on my hips in an encouraging gesture.

"Stay back, Athena," I growled.

"Or what?" she asked sarcastically and I felt my blood boil. It was at that moment that I made the decision. I was not going to lose my soulmate to an immortal who knew nothing about destiny or loss. I knew I couldn�t kill Athena but I thought that maybe I could use my knowledge as a bard to talk her out of taking my partner so I tried to appeal to her as a woman.

"Athena," I said softly. "Why are you trying to take away the only person I�ve ever truly loved?"

"Don�t try to pull a sob story on me, Gabrielle," she replied in an annoyed tone. "If you had any idea how many loved ones I�ve lost you wouldn�t even ask."

I stepped forward and held my sais out behind me for Xena to take. I felt her hesitate, but then take them. I think she knew what I was trying to do.

"I know, Athena," I went on. "I�ve heard the beautiful tales of your relationships with humans. It�s what makes you the god you are. You have something that not many of the gods have� a love for humanity. You�ve loved deeply in the past, Athena. You know how deeply my love for Xena runs. Please, I beg of you, don�t take her away from me the way your loves were taken from you."

I was very close to her at that stage and I could see tears shimmering in her eyes as she looked into my heart. I almost held my breath as I waited for her reply.

"Alright," she sighed. "You and Xena are free to leave here."

She waved her hand and the spell was lifted from my warrior. I saw Xena shudder slightly and ran to her side, holding her upright until she was strong enough to stand again.

"Xena?" I said tentatively, afraid of what I might see in her eyes but when my wife looked at me, I could see right into her heart and soul. Her piercing blue eyes held every bit of her love for me in plain view. I collapsed into a mixture of laughter and sobs and hugged her tightly to me, stroking her long, raven-black hair. Just then, Xena pulled away gently and walked to Athena.

"I�m sorry," she said. "I�m sorry for your loss, Athena, but please, don�t give up hope. Elainis will never be dead as long as you keep her here." She reached out and touched Athena�s chest just over her heart. The goddess covered Xena�s hand with her own and smiled.

"Thank you, Xena," she said softly. "I�m sorry for what I did to you and Gabrielle. I was at a loss and when I saw you, I think I just... needed someone."

"It�s ok," my warrior replied and I went to join her, wrapping my arm around her waist in a loving gesture. "Now, I think it�s time we were leaving. Would you mind sending us back to our cave?"

"It�d be my pleasure," Athena replied and after she waved her hand, Xena and I found ourselves back in our temporary living quarters. My lifebond looked at me and smiled but I couldn�t smile back. I was very happy to have her fully back but I couldn�t get the feeling of fear out of my mind when I thought of what she had done to me the night before. I knew that it hadn�t really been her but the fear was very real. I also knew she sensed this because she moved away from me and spread her bedroll on the other side of the fire to mine.

"I don�t expect you to forgive or forget, Gabrielle but I�ll be here if you�re ever ready. I love you."

I nodded and then left the cave for a while to be alone. As I left, I heard my wife sobbing softly but my own fear was consuming me. I needed answers. Once again, I called on my dear friend.

"I need to know, Aphrodite. Please..."

The goddess of love smiled and nodded her head.

"You�re right, Gabrielle. It wasn�t something she ever would have done, had she not been under Athena�s influence. She loves you with all her heart. I�ve rarely seen a love as pure as the love between you two. In answer to your second question... yes, there is a way... I can do it."

"Will you?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, of course," my friend replied and moved to me. She placed her hand on my stomach and smiled. "There," she said. "All done."

I hugged her tightly and thanked her before running back to the cave.

That was five weeks ago and now I�m going to do something that I�ve been dying to do for all that length of time but couldn�t. Writing this down tonight has helped me because I realise now that what happened that night when Xena wasn�t herself was a test of our love. A test that we aced... And now, it�s time...

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Gabrielle slowly rolled her scroll and got up to move to her lifebond. Xena scooted over a little to allow her to sit beside her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

"Are you warm enough?" she asked as she felt a little shudder from her lifebond.

"Yeah," the bard grinned. "I�m not cold... I�m nervous."

Xena chuckled and held her tighter.

"What do you have to nervous about," she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Gabrielle closed her eyes to gather her courage and then took Xena�s hand in her own.

"Xena, I have something to tell you." The bard could see the sudden fear rise in her lifebond�s eyes and hastily shook her head. "No, it�s not bad... well, I don�t think it is and I hope you won�t either."

"Go on," Xena said, her voice barely above a whisper in the silence of the dark forest. The bard smiled.

"Well," she said. "That night, five weeks ago, when I left the cave to be alone for a while, I went to see Aphrodite again. I needed someone to talk to and I knew she�d be able to give me the answers I needed. We spoke for a long time and I asked her for something that I really wanted and has made me very happy. I REALLY hope that it will make you happy too."

Xena smiled.

"I can�t wait to hear this," she said. Gabrielle mirrored the smile and knelt down in front of her partner. She took Xena's hand and placed it gently against her muscular stomach.

"Xena, we�re having a baby."

Stunned silence.

"Xena, say something."

"Gods, I love you."

Suddenly, the warrior was on her feet with Gabrielle in her arms. She hugged her hard and then spun her around, yelling at the top of her voice.

"WE�RE HAVING A BABY!"

Then, after placing Gabrielle gently back on her feet, she exhaled deeply and passed out, hitting the ground with very little of her known-world renowned Warrior Princess grace. The bard sighed and sat cross-legged on the ground, holding her wife�s upper body in her lap.

"I hope you don�t do this at the birth," she whispered as she kissed her on the forehead and rocked her slowly. "Well, at least you�re happy. I love you, Xena."

The End

No Legendary Warrior Princesses or Battling Bards were harmed during the writing of this story, however Athena sure got an eyeful!