By Chelsea – [email protected]

Disclaimer: The story is purely fictional. I don’t own any of these characters; they belong to those who own the rights to Xena, Warrior Princess.

Rating: PG-13, I think. More than what I normally write, but it still amounts to nothing.

Spoiler: Sacrifice, A Family Affair

Summary: Angry at the loss of his son and Gabrielle’s role in it, Ares decided to seek revenge.

Ares sat on his throne inside his temple as he watched the image of Gabrielle laughing with Xena on the wall. It was her fault; it was all her fault!

He paced back and forth along the enormous hall of his temple. How dare she sits there and preach about peace, love and humanity when she had shown none of those virtues? First she tried to kill her own daughter Hope just so that she could save her worthless friend Xena, and then she had pretended to be Hope just to lure her own grandson into a death trap. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. It didn’t matter that the child of his did not turn out as he had hoped. He still has trouble believing that a child of his and Hope, a mirror image of her beautiful mother could have turned out as hideous as that. He could only blame it on the demon genes of Dahak. But still, it was his son, the first of the destroyer, only to be destroyed by her. She owes him a child, he watched her image on the wall as she turns and laughs with her friend. Yes, go ahead and laugh Gabrielle, but you won’t be laughing for too much longer. He watched as she turns her head again and the long flowing blond locks whipped across her face and he felt as if she was looking right at him. He stared at the wholesome beauty on the wall and smiled, an evil, wicked smile, yes, she owes him and she is going to pay. He found himself relishing the task ahead. Revenge is definitely going to be sweet.

"Xena, go home! For the last time, I’m going to be just fine. I actually welcome a few days of peace and quiet."

"Hey, I’m not the inane chatterer." Xena complained.

"Maybe, but that mouth of yours do get us into plenty of trouble." Gabrielle returned. "I’m looking forward to leaving my staff behind and not have to hit someone with it every time I turn around."

"Very funny! But seriously Gabby, I would feel much better if you come with me, and I’m sure my mom would love to see you again."

"I know Xena, but I’ve been neglecting my writing lately, and I would really like to take this opportunity to do a little catching up. Besides I’m tired of traveling. I’ve have had enough of sleeping under the stars to last me for a quite a while. I just want to stay here for a few days, be able to soak in a nice, warm bath, sleep in a real bed, and eat some real food."

Xena shook her head in disgust, "alright, but you know where to find me if you need me."

Gabrielle lowered herself into the steaming tub of hot water. Bliss! She smiled; nothing relaxes her more than a nice, long soak in fresh, clean water. This is the one thing she missed the most during her travels with Xena. Even if she were able to find a stream or river to bathe in, it was never quite the same. She could never truly relax when she’s bathing outdoors. This is totally different. She doesn’t have to worry about being spied on and she could take as long as she wants. She lay back and rested her head on the rim and closed her eyes. She had retrieved into her own little dream world, plotting her next big story. She became oblivious to her surroundings as she submerged into her own make believe world.

Unfortunately for Gabrielle, she was being watched and by none other than the God of War himself. Ares smiled as he watched her rest her head on the rim of the tub. He found himself drawn to her. He had admired her on the battlefield, now he’s admiring her as a beautiful young woman. This will be so easy. The fact that she looks the way she does certainly provide no hardship to his plans. The sight of her inflamed his senses, but this isn’t the time. Be patient, Ares, just be patient.

Gabrielle was dreaming, and it was a wonderful dream. She was running along the beach picking up seashells. The bright sun felt warm and pleasant against her back as the water came up in waves, gently lapping at her bare feet. It was the first time since childhood that she was able to feel totally carefree. She danced around and laughed. She was happy. But the dream is changing; the bright sun has gone to be replaced by the dark interior of her room in the inn. Her laughter stopped as she desperately searches for the sunlight and open space. She opened her eyes to see a pair of dark brown eyes staring down at her. The owner of those eyes did not smile, and she felt suffocated by the intensity of those eyes. Ares? This has to be another dream. This isn’t the first time he managed to invade her dreams, but somehow this time it seems so real.

He reached out a hand and gently pushed back her hair. The same hand continued the caress down her face. It reached her the mouth and paused. He watched mesmerized as she swallowed and licked her suddenly dry lips. She watched in fascination as those brown eyes followed her movements and settled on her mouth. He leaned down and covered her mouth with his own. He felt those lips soften and parted; he groaned and deepened the kiss. After what seems like forever he pulled away slightly and watched as she stared at him in total confusion and mumbled, "This is a dream right Ares?"

He smiled at her, "Of course Gabrielle, it’s only a dream."

She smiled and pulled him down to her again.

Gabrielle woke up and stretched lazily. She felt strange, sore and yet fulfilled. Somehow she had the strangest dream last nigh; it had felt so real. She blushed as she recalls every single moment of the erotic dream that she had. What's wrong with me? How the heck did I dream about things that I never even know about? And worst of all, of all the men in the world, she had to pick Ares to share her erotic dreams. She groaned and buried her hot face in her hands. Snap out of it Gabrielle. Deciding that she needed to get up and do something constructive, she tried to jump out of bed and felt the soreness of muscles and saw the faint bruises on her skin. Well, she did have quite a workout with Xena yesterday before she left. That would explain the bruises, right?

All day she felt on edge as if something unpleasant is about to happen. She tried to take her mind off it by doing some writing, but she wasn’t able to concentrate. Finally when she saw that she had scribbled a whole page of ‘Ares’, she gave up and decided to go for a walk instead.

She was wandering aimlessly in town when she felt she was being watched. She turned around but didn’t see anyone. I must be getting paranoid, she said to herself. But the feeling that someone was watching her refused to go away, and she spent the rest of the day feeling restless and thoughtful.

Ares has been watching her the whole day. He saw her moving around listlessly and understood her feeling of bewilderment. She’s still feeling the affects of last night. To be honest, so is he. Somehow the planned seduction did not quite work out the way he envisioned. Hope might have been a carbon copy of her mother, but she didn’t have Gabrielle’s warmth and passion. Sure, Hope turned him on, but Gabrielle made him burn. He had played with her mind just enough so that she had difficulty differentiating between dream and reality. But once she convinced herself that she was dreaming, she was all for the idea. She was shy and inexperienced, but she was definitely a good student, and Ares found himself more than a willing to be her teacher.

Gabrielle sat staring at her empty scroll. It has been 4 days since Xena had left for home and instead of using the time wisely, she has been sitting around reliving her dreams over and over again.

"What is wrong with me?" She said out loud. She has been having the same dream every night. It always started with her being outdoors enjoying the sunshine. Sometimes she would be running on the beach in her barefoot and other times she would be galloping across the forest and then Ares would appear. She would ask him if she was dreaming, and he would confirm it. But how does a person dream of the same thing every night? Somehow she had the feeling that something isn’t quite right. Ares has to be behind this, but what did he do? Was it all a hallucination or is it somehow real? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

Gabrielle stood at the entrance to Ares’ temple and mustered the courage to enter. She would either make a complete fool of herself or she would find answers that confirm her worst fears. Either way, this is one meeting that she definitely did not want to attend, but she couldn’t live with the uncertainty any longer. Taking a deep breath, she walked up the steps that lead her into his domain.

Ares knew she was coming. He has been watching her and knew the moment that she made the decision to confront him. He knew that sooner or later she would come to the conclusion that he was behind her dreams. He was hoping for later, but…well, time for the showdown.

Gabrielle looked around, but there was no worshipper today. At least there will be no witness to the scene that she’s about to make. "Ares, come on out."

Ares appeared in front of her in a flash of lights. "Well, to what do I own this debatable pleasure?" He said sarcastically.

"You know why I’m here." Being face to face with him had took away some of her bravado. All of a sudden the memories of how they had spent the last few nights came flooding back and she blushed.

Ares saw her change in expression and could guess at where her thoughts had taken her. He smiled, "Why don’t you enlighten me?"

"You’ve been messing with my dreams, haven’t you?" Gabrielle swallowed and gathered her courage.

"They were not dreams." He said slowly. Seeing the ashen look on her face, he continued, "you’ve already figured it out. I’m only confirming it."

"Why? What are you hoping to gain?"

He looked at her and said softly, "An heir, you are responsible for the death of my son, so it seems only natural for you to provide me with a replacement."

Gabrielle paled even more if that was possible. She shook her head in disbelief. "You’re sick!"

"No Gabrielle, you took away my son and you expect me to do nothing? You should know me better by now. I want a child Gabrielle, and I know you want one too. Just imagine a child of ours, Gabrielle, it will be magnificent."

Images of a child with his dark hair and eyes came flooding through her mind, but she quickly shut off that disturbing image. "I am not having your child. You are insane if you think…"

"Insane? I don’t think so Gabrielle, but I do admit to being an opportunist. You provided me with the perfect opportunity and I simply grabbed it."

"That’s a lie! I never invited you into my dreams."

"But you didn’t push me away either, did you? Be honest with yourself, you like having me with you." When she shook her head vehemently, "Maybe you can lie to yourself and blame it all one me, but if you were truthful, you would admit that you were more than willing."

"It wasn’t…I thought…" She stammered, tears were not far away.

"You thought what? That it wasn’t real? So you can delude yourself in your dreams, but you can’t face reality?"

With a sob she turned and dashed out of his temple. She had never ran so fast before in her entire life, but unfortunately it still wasn’t fast enough. She could feel him right on her heels, and in her haste to get away, she stumbled and would have fallen had he not been there to catch her.

Ares caught hold of her and turned her around to face him. She tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t let her. Before she could even voice a verbal protest, he bent down and kissed her. Rational thoughts quickly left her. The growl that accompanied the kiss took her by surprise. The intensity of it brought on a sense of panic for Gabrielle, but then the mouth that demanded entrance softened its quest, enough to quench her fears. She no longer wanted to fight him; she just wanted to give in to the maelstrom of feelings that he was arousing in her. The hand that started to push him away found its way around his neck and instead drew him closer. Sanity briefly returned when he let go of her for a brief second, just long enough to transport them back inside. It quickly disappeared as she watched those brown eyes darkened to night. There’s no point in protesting, she couldn’t deny him, and she couldn’t deny herself.

Ares hesitated ever so slightly as he stared at her. In the back of his mind, he was reminding himself that this wasn’t how it’s supposed to turn out. He should be taunting her and making her feel miserable, but instead all he felt was fear, fear of her telling him no. But Gabrielle was beyond coherent thoughts; she was way beyond saying no. She might hate herself tomorrow, but right now, she just wanted to feel…

Ares woke to find her gone. He searched the room for her, but she was nowhere in sight. The place was empty. With a wave of his hand, he opened up the wall as a viewing portal. And there she was, just sitting there by the cliff side. His heart missed a beat when he saw where she was sitting. For a moment there he thought she was going to jump, but then he saw the expression on her face and realized that suicide was not part of her plan. She was just sitting there, letting the wind coming off the ocean blow her hair into masses of tangles. She looked thoughtful but not suicidal. She looked…almost whimsical, almost like she was waiting for someone. His mind cleared, and in a flash he transported to the cliffs.

When he appeared beside her, she turned and looked at him without surprise. Gabrielle knew he would come after her. When she had left his temple, her first thought was to run, but how could she out run a god? Instead she had started to walk away aimlessly. When she got to the cliffs, she had decided to just sit and wait.

She had spent a long time just going through everything that had happened in the last few days. Self-loathing mixed with self-recrimination, she had went through the gantlet of both emotions time and time again. The tears had dried, and Gabrielle had refused to cry anymore. All these years she had told herself that she hated him, hated him for who he is and what he is capable of, but underneath the hatred are emotions too raw for her to comprehend. She refused to put them into words, for that would mean betraying everything that she ever believed in. The cold, gusty wind had helped to clear up her muddled thoughts. Questions that she wasn’t prepared to answer before had came rushing up to her. She sighed, pulling herself together and concentrates on the task at hand. She wasn’t going to let him win. Calling on all her courage, she stared him down without flinching.

Ares was surprised and impressed. Once again she’s showing him a side of her that he didn’t even know existed. He had already learned that she’s a young woman with unmatched courage. Now she’s showing him that she’s also a woman with unbreakable spirit. She’s defying him, challenging him to do his worst. In spite of everything, he smiled. He sat down besides her. Before he had a chance to speak, she started off in a tone foretelling the battle that she was willing to wage. "So you got me into bed, big deal. You are not the first, and you won’t be the last. If you think you could use that against Xena or I, you can just forget it."

Ares felt an unfamiliar surge of jealousy rushed through him. His expression darkened even though he knew that she was acting out on the defensive. But the image of her with someone else definitely did not please him. He told himself to calm down, and by sheer super-god effort, he brought his anger under control. "Last night was no dream Gabrielle, how do you explain that away?"

Gabrielle has been rehearsing all morning; she’s prepared for just about anything. "It just go to show that unlike you, I’m human. Maybe I should be thanking you for opening my eyes to this side of my nature." She sounded so flippant that he almost wanted to hit her. And Gabrielle felt it too; she could feel his rage escalating. Good, get mad Ares, get mad and then get lost.

Ares continued to stare at her and finally decided to change tactics. "So what will happen to our child?" He said, knowing that it will throw her into turmoil.

Gabrielle was thankful that she had the time to prepare. She has been practicing, running through every possible scenario to prepare for what she knew to be an unavoidable confrontation with him. "There won’t be a child. I’m not pregnant, and even if I were, I will not have it."

"If you think I’ll let you get rid of our child, you are the one who’s insane."

"Get over it Ares, there is no child. There never will be between you and I."

"Don’t tell me you don’t want one Gabrielle. I know how much you wanted it." He saw her expression started to change, uncertainty is slowing creeping in. He continued, "think about it Gabrielle, a daughter of ours, with your beautiful green eyes and the hair of gold." When he saw her expression changed from dreamy to hysterical, he didn’t know why, but she provided the answer, "Another Hope? First the daughter, then the mother, how sick are you Ares?"

She watched as he paled. Ares knew that his relationship with Hope would always be between them. It didn’t matter before, but now…now he wished it had never happened. He stared at her and for the first time admitted that his plan had backfired because he had made the mistake of falling in love with her. He no longer wanted revenge; all he wanted was her. How did it happen? Without him even realizing it, he had fallen for her. He felt as if she had somehow reached out and sucked him into her inner world, and more than anything, he wanted to stay there. "Gabrielle, I…Hope…" Ares was never one to apologize for anything, and it’s difficult for him to do so now.

The image of Ares and Hope together had strengthened her effort to keep him away. Gabrielle looked at Ares with disgust, "get away from me Ares, just get away and stay away. Don’t ever come near me again. Your sick plan is not going to work this time. If you were trying to hurt me, then let’s just say that you succeeded. Consider it a victory Ares, but a hollow one."

Ares stared at her and knew in that moment that he had lost her. By his association with Hope, he had extinguished any hope of a future with Gabrielle. With that realization came the need to salvage his pride, he looked at her and managed to sneer, "however hollow my victory might have been, it has certainly been fun." He watched as all trace of color left her face. "Since you are so determined not have my child, I guess our little interlude is over. Sweet dreams Gabrielle." He taunted and left in a shimmering flash of lights.

Once he’s gone, Gabrielle could no longer hold on to the sickening feeling within, she turned her head and retched until she felt her whole inside is gone. Then the tears came, and she stayed that way for a long time.