~ Convergence ~
by Kandis Glasgow
Disclaimers of the important type: Yes indeed we are here once again to be reminded of the fact that Xena, Gabrielle, Ephiny, and that other person(s) I can't remember, don't belong to me in any way shape or form. Now, personally I already am aware of this fact. I am stating the obvious for your benefit. Don't you feel benefited? I thought you would. I don't make money doing this though many have. One day that will all change. Maybe. Ok sort of. Alright, maybe not, but a girl can dream can't she? The other characters contained herein are mine and I would ask that you (AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) would not use mine or otherwise fashion characters that 'seem to be' exactly like mine without asking. If you are going to profit from them, I would ask that I be richly compensated for my brilliant imagination (or insanity. Which ever you prefer to call it.) K?
Disclaimers of the 'sexual content/you're too young' type: This is the part where I tell you to close your eyes if you don't want to watch. If you might, by chance, get in trouble for viewing material that is banned for certain same sex activities (e.g. women kissing each other, touching each other in an intimate way, loving each other deeply and endlessly, and all those horrible things that Lesbians and Gays do) close your eyes, find the 'esc.' key and push it. You might avoid injury in this way. If you were too young when I started writing this three years ago and have now come of age, glad to see you could join us! If you are still too young, do the same as above and come back when the appropriate age has been reached. (IF you are male, that should be when you're in your late thirties/early forties.) There is a do not read this at work warning attached. Now, many of you take this as a challenge and I have to say I wish you luck at keeping…..'fresh' at work after this!
Disclaimers of the 'Janice has potty-mouth syndrome' type: Jan, Jan, Jan. Your mouth has gotten us into more trouble than we would like to speak of. She swears like a truck-driver. I used to. Swearing during sex doesn't count as real swearing.
Disclaimers of the 'give the plot (what plot?) away' type: This is where I kindly explain to you that if you don't want to know some of the plot line of the show as it appears on the telly, don't read this rubbish. Or don't watch that and expect it to be a surprise after you have read this. Got that? Good. The season somewhere in time where they go somewhere for a reason known only to TPTB, is portrayed in this story. Understand? You see I am trying to de-spoil the spoiler disclaimer. How'm I doin? That bad, eh. Sorry. ANYWAY, If what you want to avoid is finding out about Episodes ahead of time avoid this as well.
Disclaimers of the show is over type: Thanks to all who helped in creating one of the most….inspirational television shows ever! Without you I never would have been doing this. Who knew I could write? Not me.
OK on with this show. To see pictures of where I am and what I am doing, go to: http://photos.yahoo.com/sonfire39 I am at 26 Meadowland St. Matua , Tauranga, NZ. if you feel the need to know. Driving on the left is not as hard as figuring out those 'round-about' things. I haven't killed anyone….yet.
I really miss Taco Bell. But they have Wheatbix and Vegemite! Not together though. YukJ Anyway…
Enjoy!
©2001 3-29
Part 29
Almost there.
Candace stood in the quiet glade contemplating all that she had just seen in this temporary home she called a paradise in hell. She sat helplessly watching as the women she loved dearly had been beaten, spat upon and the crucified. It had been so horrific that she had no words to describe or understand the cruelty. She had stayed watching by the pool until they had died. She knew that they would hang there for several hours before their bodies would be removed to the tombs. Tears fell in a steady stream down her fair cheeks. Her hand settled to her belly as was becoming a habit as of late. The pregnancy that was only words in the past was becoming more and more real as the days passed and the size of her girth grew.
She whispered to her unborn daughter in soft tones. "Oh my little one. What am I doing here? This is no place for you to be born. In a world that is willing to sacrifice its workers of good."
A silent arm slipped around her waist and a broad hand rested on her own. Her head instinctively leaned back against the strong shoulder she knew belonged to her beloved Taylor.
The firefighter softly spoke to the crown of her head. "Babe, if everyone had waited for us humans to stop killing the good guys, none of us would be here. This girl of ours will have the best love that we can give her and we have to pray that it is that love that makes the difference."
"Oh, Taylor! That was so awful! It was worse than Gabrielle described in her scroll. They were beaten so badly that I almost didn't recognize them." She was sobbing by this point unable to hide her sorrow. "I just don't unnnderr..st..stand."
Taylor watched the tears from her lover's grief splatter on her forearm. She felt the same heartache, but tried to focus on the fact that these two women who were a part of her very life, would be alive in one agonizing day. The loss of the sensation of connection with Xena and Gabrielle was crushing her heart as well. It had been this way since they had all been separated. She was lost and so very empty at times. She was glad she had Candace and their child to touch her soul. She knew part of the grief Candace was feeling was from their daughter. Strange as it was though not strange at all was that they felt the baby as they felt each other. If they sensed her it stood to reason that she felt them. They grieved. The baby grieved. The small regent was feeling the full effects. With all of this came a fear that things would never really be right again.
They all knew that time had been tampered with before. What was to stop it from happening again? They all had to trust that the Gods were waiting for time to be set straight so that whatever 'show-down' was going to occur would be solid on the time line. 'No going back', as Terra had put it. The two young women had come back to the Fields not long after Xena and Gabrielle had been returned to India. They explained to those who waited in Elisya that once the time line was set straight, anything that happened was set in stone as it were. The higher Gods were waiting for this to happen so that the chain might be broken………>
=/~~~>
"What the hell does that mean. The chain might be broken? Is this about Eve?" Jan huffed at the conversation. She wasn't sure where Skye and Terra were going with this.
The two women of Time had returned not very long after Ephiny had returned alive to the Amazon Compound. It was up to them to finish with the preparations for the battle that would ensue and to warn them of the dangers. Terra looked to the ground then back to Jan's fiery gaze. She began to answer when the soft voice of Terran slipped in.
Emerald eyes tried to soften the blow of what he said. "Jan, it means that if one of us dies, the chain of power is broken. We have no way to defeat them. They win." Candace already knew the details of this story. Xena had told her of her own suspicions not so very long ago.
"But we aren't here to defeat them. That's what Eve's here to do." She turned to Melinda.
The southern professor thought for a moment, contemplating what Candace had said. "The Gods think it is about Eve. It is not. We ah herah to defeat them in a way they don't yet undahstand. In a way we don't undahstand. We as a whole have powah."
Taylor spoke up to share what she knew. "She's right. One time when we were…….uh um….well…"
Candace helped her lover out of the trouble she seemed to be in. "Connected."
Taylor grinned with a nod to her intended. She continued as Jan rolled her eyes. She wished they would just say what they were doing and get out with it. They all knew anyway. Taylor noted the reaction but chose to ignore it. "Yes. That. Ares was there and the power, the light……he moved away from it, avoided it. He was afraid. There is power here." Her two large hands moved in unison.
Candace grimaced. "We haven't had that much practice at knowing how to use it and we don't know what it does either."
"Great! Just fucking great." Janice had about gotten to the end of her rope with this whole adventure. She wanted to get down to business or go home. Paradise tends to lose its appeal if you're not dead. They had work to do and as far as she was concerned they were wasting precious time. What they would do in the mean time she didn't know, but there had to be something. She had forgotten the reason they were there was for their own good.
Skye was not surprised at the humility of the Regent. It was a scary thing to know that the lives of a world depended on your actions. She smiled at Candace then looked to the rest. "You all have a gift to serve the whole. That is all you need to know of the purpose. You have practiced enough. Besides, it's not something you control. It is something you are. When the time comes you will not have to think about it. It will happen just as it did with Melinda on the Boat of Charon, without thought or plan."
Candace and Taylor sighed with some relief. It was still a heavy burden they carried.
"Well, Mel, Terran, Spencer and I have perfected our bubble to an art form." Jan puffed a bit with pride.
"It is well as you will be the main defense. My point in telling you all this is that they will try to kill one of you. If that happens the chain will be broken. When Xena and Gabrielle return to the Amazons, the time will be ripe and the line set for battle. This is another reason you are here. You are under the protection of Hades." Terra glanced around.
"Hey Ter, aren't they, the gods, aren't they looking for us?" The large handsome man wondered.
Spencer's blue eyes caught his sister's. She finally knew him for who he was. The pain and torture of Mars would always haunt her, but she knew the truth now. She loved her brother deeply. "They are too busy with Xena and Gabrielle to notice that you are gone. Remember time has changed for them as well. Time for them is as linear as it is for you. They are not God. They are Children trying to be God. Although I recall my past, it is not as vivid as it once was. If I seek to recall details I am able to do so."
As Skye was apt to do now and then, she finished her lover's thoughts. "But, if we do not think on those things they are but shadows. You are nagging shadows in the recesses of their memories. They know, but they are not concentrating to recall. This is our advantage for now. When you appear, they will remember with great clarity. By then we pray that it will be too late for them."
"God help us if it isn't." Melinda nodded.
"He will be the only one, Melinda. No other will save us then." Terran gazed at the southern woman. His green eyes took on a seriousness that she had never seen before. They had all changed here. He was a doctor in the real life that was meant for him. Grave times called for grave measures. He could now meld his compassion with gritty resolve.
=/~~~>
Taylor's mind slipped back to the present and to the woman in her arms. This wasn't getting any better as time went along. The reality of an upcoming conflict was becoming vivid. She had a child on the way and a wife-to-be in her arms. The very thought of either of them being in harms way brought a shiver to her soul. From that there was no going back. She wanted to tell Candace that everything would be fine that the were safe and secure. She wanted to reassure her future. She could not. Her strength as a warrior was all she had left to support the blonde. "She said all that she could to reassure her mate. "I don't understand either, my love. There is never any sense in what we saw. In what they went through, but it is how things must be."
Candace lost what was left of her control. She turned around quickly on the firefighter. "Fuck things that must be! That's a load of horse shit and you know it!" Her face turned red with anger while she poked Taylor in the chest. "I saw my friends, my wife and….my lover and…………you SAW it Taylor! You saw it!" Her forehead hit hard against Taylor's chest replacing the finger that was accosting the firefighter. If it caused the taller woman any discomfort, she didn't show it.
Taylor was taken back a bit by the revelation that Candace thought of Xena as her wife. They were all one, but wife? She wondered at it and it stunned her. Technically, Xena and Candace were still married, but she had never really let that settle in her mind. It didn't matter she supposed. She wondered at Candace's thoughts on Gabrielle, but she was no doubt a lover. They all were. She let the words pass. They were being said in a time of fanatical emotion. She had never seen Candace in quite this state before either. Melinda said there would be mood swings, but this was more than a swing. It was a bungee jump from ten thousand feet. The blow of it hit her harder than she had been prepared for. "I saw. I saw." She saw. She felt….everything. It broke her heart, but now was the time for her to be strong. She pulled the smaller woman further into her embrace. Now was not the time to ask questions.
Candace cried for what seemed an eternity in Taylor's eyes. She needed to talk to someone about this, the only one she could think of was Mel. Then she thought again. ^Terran is a doctor. He should know something.^ He was the physician in charge at the moment, but in paradise it seems that no one gets sick and certainly no one dies. His specialty was, oddly enough, obstetrics. He was sure to know what was going on here. The past few days leading up to the ultimate conclusion, Candace had become more despondent. It just wasn't like her. The blonde calmed enough for Taylor to talk to her.
"Babe, are you going to be OK?"
Kind blue eyes filled with more concern than they were made for looked down at her. Candace knew she had not done herself or Taylor any good in that last outburst. This had to stop before she did some damage to their relationship that would take a long time to heal. "I…I…I'mm mmm. Sorr..ry." She breath was catching due to the crying.
"I know you are." Taylor pulled her closer to kiss the top of her head. "Candace? Do you want to talk?"
"No." She shook her head and sighed deeply.
That was the answer she expected but wouldn't accept. "Will you?"
The blonde shrugged her royal shoulders. "Depends."
Now she felt she was getting somewhere. "On?"
"What you want to talk about.' The Regent was being evasive on purpose. She knew that mood altering hormones were in the cards for a pregnancy, but this was insane. She felt as if she had lost total control over her own mouth. The well spoken woman was having issues with her mouth speaking before her brain had the chance to catch up. It was perilous at best.
"Come sit down with me for a minute." The tall firefighter led the distraught blonde over to a bench by the stream. The bench appeared from nowhere as Taylor thought about it. She was getting too used to that bad habit.
Candace let herself be slowly led to the seat. Her tall firefighter sat first then gathered her in as any protective spouse would do. Then she remembered what she had said only moments ago. She groaned as she dropped her head to her hands. "God, Tay. I didn't mean it."
The brows of the dark warrior furrowed. Her head turned to one side in curiosity as to what Candace was saying. She only hoped. "What didn't you mean?"
"About Xena being my wife. I…I. She's…I didn't mean it the way it sounded." She cringed at how it had come out.
"Oh." It was all she could utter until the small royal got out whatever it was she needed to say.
"You are my heart and soul, Tay. You know that, but I love them so much and I still feel protective of Xena." The truth was the only thing that would come.
Taylor knew how they both felt about Xena. "I am pretty sure Xena can take care of herself." She knew she had put her big warrior foot in her big mouth the minute it opened. Too late
"Well, she's dead so you're statement is a bit false, wouldn't you say?" She hurt and nothing could stop the sarcastic words that escaped her mouth.
"I meant that she can, when there is fairness on both sides. What Callisto did was cheating. I am not explaining this well, am I?" The firefighter frowned.
"No, but I understand. My stupid, STUPID, STUPID hormones! I should slap you for getting me this way!" She stomped her foot!
Although Taylor knew it took both of them to get her 'this way', she conceded rather than take up the fight. "You know what? If it will make you feel better, you can slap me." The firefighter pulled back far enough to give the Regent a good swinging distance.
Candace did a double take to see that the blue eyed warrior was not bluffing. "Firefighter girl, I am not hitting you. I would never and you know it."
"Girl? You are calling ME a girl. To my face! That's uncalled for!" Taylor teased trying to lighten the mood of her intended.
Candace was serious and no teasing was going to get Taylor out of this. She sat away from her lover a bit to stretch out her aching back. "It was a term of endearment."
Taylor scrunched her nose. "Are you going to keep calling me that?"
"Oh yeah. And you are going to let me." She almost growled.
Green eyes lit up with flames that Taylor had never seen in her lover's gaze. She was not going to argue the points of how Jan would tease her endlessly or how the guys at the firehouse would never let her hear the end of how her wife called her a girl and got away with it. Nope, she would rather die than oppose the expectant mother. "Yes. Yes I am and I am glad about it. Now, about that…." She was going to bring up the Xena thing again but decided it was in her best interest to drop it and pretend it was the cause of the plague to be avoided at all costs.
Candace squinted. "That what?"
"That baby of ours. I think we should talk to Terran. Have a little check up and such." The firefighter rubbed her hands together.
"You mean a check up on the Mom. You forget I know you're mind, Tay. As much as I hate to say it, you're right this time." She felt miserable with the raging hormones racing through her.
"Hoo, let me get out my book and write that one down!" The firefighter scribbled her finger across her palm. "Candace said Taylor was right on……what's the date here anyway?"
The mother-to-be elbowed her none too gently. "Don't bother. You always remember once in a lifetime experiences." She laughed and then tried to breathe through her stuffed up nose.
Taylor was happy to see her smiling again. She knew it wouldn't last, but for now she was sane. Taylor took a deep breath and followed Candace to find the doctor.
=/~~~~~~~~~~>
"How is she? I mean how is she really?" Jan was tempted to listen in to what was being said between Candace and her obstetrician.
"Mah deah, she is a woman with child. She will live through this as women have done time in memoriam." Mel nodded in firm belief of her own thoughts.
"Yeah, but will we live through it?" Spencer laughed and was silenced by a sharp eye from Taylor. He put both hands up on placation. "Sorry." He mouthed. Taylor inclined her head in acceptance and went back to what the doctor was saying to her intended.
The rest of the group waited for want seemed forever, but was less that five minutes. Dr. Terran smiled at his sweet patient. And stood up. The group stood with him.
"Well?" Mel knew but still wanted to know…more.
"Well what?" Terran knew this was killing them and he played it to its length.
"Well, what's going on with her?" Spencer hoped his in with the fair haired doctor would get an answer.
Terran frowned at his beloved nosey man. "I can't tell you that."
"Why?" Jan was missing the point altogether.
Terran shook his head at the lot of them. They should know better. "Doctor patient privilege."
"You can tell them." Candace nodded to him.
"If you say so. It is stress." Terran still kept the information to a minimum.
"Stress? That's all stress?" Jan had a hard time believing it.
The doctor decided the whole truth was going to come out eventually anyway. He got to the point. "And hormones. Anxiety over all she has seen with Xena and Gabrielle; the upcoming confrontation; not eating right and this pregnancy have depleted her physically and emotionally. Being pregnant in an of itself is a huge emotional burden. Prolonged elation can wear one out as quickly as depression."
"You mean she's too happy?" Spencer was such a man in a girls body sometimes.
Terran answered his partner. "No, babe. She has so many things to feel right now. She wants this baby to be perfect. That alone is a factor. Never having been a woman, and never knowing I can only guess." He shrugged and hoped one of the women would help him out.
"I have been with child, Spensah. It is the most wonderfully terrifyin' event in the world. You worreh about evrathin'. Will she have all of her toes? Will she be healthy? Am Ah eatin' the right things? Am Ah eatin' the wrong things? Am I sleepin' too much. Am Ah not sleepin' enough. Can we make love all night long and be safe. Will we put her eye out if we use that?" Kind blue eyes looked knowingly at Candace and Taylor. They blushed sweetly.
There was a good hearted laugh due to the comment as much as the reaction from the couple. That was how this all started in the first place.
"There is nothing we can do about the Gods or what is happening to Xena and Gabrielle, but we can keep an eye out to be sure she rests enough and eats properly." Terran held Candace's gaze in particular for his next instruction. "I know we can have anything we want here, but let's try to eat a little more healthy. A little less fried fish and chips and a little more steamed fish and broccoli. OK?"
"Will that change her……" Taylor hesitated, trying to avoid……undue stress.
"My what?" Candace knew where this was going and she was not having mood swings!
The firefighter tried to find decorum that she didn't possess. "You're um….you know."
"Mood swings, Taylor. They're called moodsw……" Janice was cut off with one razor sharp glance from the expectant one. "Uh. Never mind."
"If she gets a lot more rest and watches a lot less of the Xena Warrior Princess show, I think it will help." Terran also prescribed Chamomile tea along with peppermint foot rubs. The last part was the patient's idea and the doctor whole heartedly agreed "Oh and one thing I seemed to have forgotten.
Worried eyes looked back at the doctor. "I am not sure what to do with this information and maybe you can figure this, but some of this has to do with the baby on a….mental…..no, on a spiritual level."
"Huh?" Candace tried to decipher the doctor's ambiguous statement.
Taylor let the words sift through her mind for a short moment. "Is the baby alright?"
"Oh yes, she is perfect as far as I can tell. But she is restless. Anxious. There is a feeling I don't understand." Terran knew al the feelings, but this one confused him.
"Terran you undahstand evrathin'. How could you not undahstand this?" Mel had never seen Terran lost when it came to emotions before.
Terran pulled a memory from a now distant past. "I have never felt……wait. I have. I had forgotten. She feels like Xena."
"Like Xena?" Jan was skeptical. "How does a baby feel like Xena, for Chr…"
"Jan?" Mel stopped the doctor with a word and a nod. Jan frowned as usual.
Taylor's face lit up as grasped the realization out of the air. "Of course! I knew it I just didn't know I knew. She is a warrior. My daughter is a warrior." Taylor smiled at the thought.
Candace groaned and sat down hard. "Good God, why have you done this to me. Do you have any idea what we are going to have to go through?" Her green eyes plead with Taylor for help she didn't even need yet.
Taylor thought of all the broken windows, hearts and limbs. "We'll have to call my mother for advice." Their child would no doubt be a handful. She thought again and groaned. Her mother had always told her that one day she would have a child just like herself and that would be punishment enough. Her mother's curse was about to come true.
=/~~~~~~~~>
Several days and then weeks passed with less marked emotional upheaval. Now that she knew part of the trouble was that she was dealing with an active warrior child, she made it a point to reach out to her in the ways that small blondes do to keep warriors calm. Then there were the cravings. Candace felt better when she ate meat and the cravings were getting overwhelming. It was good they were in a place she could have what she wanted. It was all set to end too soon.
Terran tilted his head one day at the breakfast table. He frowned before he spoke. "It's time." It seemed some of his gifts were very much intact even after the time re-alignment.
"Time for what?" Jan bit into a fresh pear that dripped juice down her chin.
"To go. It's time." Terran stood slowly.
Spencer's crystal blue eyes followed the movements of his lover. The flesh on his arm raised with the shiver that followed. He glanced around for something he couldn't identify. He shook off the reaction as the passing effect of Terran's adamancy.
"We can't just up and leave, Ter." Taylor shrugged as she popped a bite of blueberry pancake into her mouth. She didn't know she had missed them until she had thought of them one day. What she had really missed though was Taco Bell.
"Yeah, we can't go until Hades releases us." Candace nibbled at her toast and vegemite. Everyone had turned their respective noses up at this, but she craved what she craved when she craved it. Her grandmother had been fond of the savory spread. She had never even thought of it for years until now. Now she lusted after it with a passion. The child was bound to be born well salted.
Jan squinted as she wiped her chin. "We're not prisoners. At least I don't think we are. Are we?"
"Have any of you tried to leave?" The tall man pointed around with a celery stick. Spencer's vegan diet made Jan shake her head. How a man got that large eating like a bunny she would never know.
Mel's none too healthy biscuits and gravy waited as she pointed her fork in the air. "Why should we try? If we ah prionahs, this is the fahnest prison Ah have evah had the honah of seein'. I think, though, that Taylah is correct. We can't leave."
"Yes, you can." Skye's lilting voice complimented the songs of the birds in the trees.
Five very startled people jumped while Terran grinned at his sister. "Hi ya, Sis. What's up?"
The blonde released the Glass to her partner in immortality and placed a loving arm on her brother's shoulder. "Aah, you know. Some ole, same ole. Change history here. Nudge the time line there. Nothing much." Her green eyes shone with the love she now cherished of one sibling for another.
"Some kinda nothin' much, Skye." Janice spoke with a grin though her heart pinched in apprehension of what was soon enough to come.
"She does have a talent for understatement, doesn't she?" Terra's lips curved in a sweet smile. She loved the woman at her side as she was created to do. The past that was their true past had found her struggling to avoid the pull of the blonde's soul. She felt had fought valiantly but it had all been to no avail. No amount of running on her part could escape the inevitable. Tall warrior-like brunette's always belong to short regal blonde's. Many just don't realize it until it's almost too late.
"Indeed she does. Perhaps ya'll could share with us the meanin of youah visit." Mel knew. She wished she didn't and maybe pretending would make it go away.
Terran answered for them. "Mel, it's time to go and face the music."
"If it is onleh music we ah to be facin', why do Ah not have an instrument?" She loved her humor though the others didn't have the same appreciation.
"Ha ha. Bad Mel. Very bad." Terra's humored retort was replaced with a more serious topic. "Xena and Gabrielle have completed their trial. It is time to face the Gods."
"What about Eve?" Candace wanted to know the fate of the child who would bring down the Gods. That and she didn't see any use in being pregnant alone. She and Xena could commiserate on their condition.
"What about her?" Skye tilted her head at her dear friend.
"Will she be with them?" Jan didn't understand what Candace wanted to know. So asked her own question. The original answer would get answered.
"How can she be as she is not yet born…..well, technically she is with them isn't she." Terran shrugged.
"OK I am lost. Eve begins the twilight right? So how can she if she's not here?" Spencer left office at a point where none of the ever occurred.
"Rumors." Terran thought it all so obvious.
Mel realized how brilliant it was but wanted him to explain it to the rest. She had tried to explain it earlier, but the meaning had gotten lost in the translation. "How so, Terran?"
Houses have fallen through the spread of a lie. This was a truth that could do the same. "Rumors. It is only a rumor. A legend. A myth. Eve need not exist for the Gods to be defeated."
"Uh huh. So we're gonna run around and tell gossipy stories about them and hope they die of shame. Is that it?" Jan threw the remainder of her pear over her shoulder. It vanished before it touched the ground. Her arms crossed in front of her chest. She knew she was a smart ass. And damn proud of it. She let her smart mind wander. "Ooh I have one. Aphrodite sleeps around. Think that will do?"
"She does not!" Candace defended her ancestor.
"Oh yeah. Sorry." Jan conceded as Aphrodite was her family as well.
Jan tried again. "How about 'Hades is a death monger'?"
"That's just mean." Spencer didn't know his father well, but didn't see the disparaging remarks were the route to go either.
"Ok no jokes about anyone's parents!" Taylor held up her hands.
A small distraught blonde crossed her arms in protest. "No more jokes at all. This is serious."
Spencer put his hands on her shoulders. "We know, Skye. Sometimes you have to have humor to ward off the heaviness, ya know?"
She moved away from him. "Yeah. It just seems so….well. It scares me." She was immortal and held the office of Time. None of that could save her friends if they were killed. If they died, they would remain so.
The firefighter knew about action while afraid. Sometimes you had to do it afraid. It was called courage. "Scares us, too. Alright troops. Head em up and moooove 'em out!"
The group stood at her leadership. Taylor stood hand in hand with her very pregnant lover. She looked down and gently touched the delicate feature of her lover's face. Candace looked up into all the love she could handle. She heard words she had never dared to dream a lifetime ago. "I want to marry you, Cand. I want our daughter to know how very much I love you and want this family."
Candace shuddered at the moving words. "I love you, Taylor. I can't wait to be your wife." She pulled the taller woman down for a very sweet kiss. Their tongues moved to a rhythm that belonged to them and eternity. Cool lips moved in a heated passion that demonstrated what perfect love was all about. Except to those who ever found their other half, no one would ever understand the communication of souls through a single kiss. "You know we are going back to a wedding day. Wow! This is going to be great!."
Taylor suddenly had a single passing regret. "Guess I should have made an honest woman of you before I got you….before we uh, you know. This." She pointed at her enlarged stomach.
Candace knew where this was headed, and didn't care much for the destination. Time to run the train off that track and fast! "Before we what?"
"You know. Before we….um." The blonde frowned at her. The brunette tried again. "This is against…ya know…" Finally she gave up. "I love you!"
Candace "Good answer, Tay. We love you, too." She kissed Taylor's cheek in forgiveness. Here green eyes turned to Terra and Skye the to the rest of the group. "Let's get this done, shall we?"
Before anyone could react Taylor almost fell and Jan caught Candace before she did. Mel frowned as she, Spencer and Terran rushed to their sides. "What is it? What's wrong."
Taylor stood upright again with Spencer's assistance. "Well, that was Xena and Gabrielle letting us know that they have……remembered us. We are complete again. It is indeed time."
"Hoo boy." Candace shook her head to clear the wave of emotions that wanted to knock her down. She looked at Jan and nodded. "Ok. I'm good."
Jan voiced her concernt for the pregnant woman. "You're sure?"
Candace took another deep breath and nodded again. "Yeah. Let's get this going."
Terra stood and watched the gathering for the most part. The men and women collected their thoughts and emotions as best they could, knowing what they were facing. She looked around at the beautiful land once more before they left. IF they were lucky this would not be a place they would ever see again. The flowers at her hand reminded her of a discussion that had taken place years ago in her timeline. She bent and picked one of the bright blooms. She briefly held it to her nose. She turned to the companion at her side and presented the flower to her.
Skye looked confused for a single moment then a smile beamed across her face. "Why, Miss Terra, does this mean you want to make love to me?"
"For the rest of forever, Miss Skye." Terra meant every word.
The rest of the group observed the interaction with interest. Candace and Taylor grinned knowing the origin of the action. The way to a woman's heart. Flowers. They watched as a sweet kiss transpired between soulmates.
Terra blushed lightly then cleared her throat before turning her attention to the troops. "Are we ready?"
Candace felt the warmth emanating from the young couple. It made her smile. She spoke up before they left. "Almost. Before we go back and you have to leave again, I have a question."
"Yes, Candace." Skye grinned at the woman who had been so kind to them in another lifetime.
"Now correct me if I am wrong here, but there has to be a balance in the life to death ratio, right?" Candace began a short pacing.
Jan looked at her as if she were speaking in tongues. Mel squinted and Spencer shook his head in understanding. The rest of them just waited for her to get her answer.
"Yes, this is true." Terra nodded.
"Wait. What is a life to death ratio?" Jan thought she could get it if it was explained to her. She recalled a conversation with them about Hades and the like before they left. She wondered if this was similar to that.
The tall dark woman answered as best she could. It was a concept she understood in her office. It was what it was. Explaining was a different thing all together. "It is the reason the other timeline was failing. There must be balance. The wrong people were dying at the wrong times. A man's days are numbered. If he dies before or after or not at all the balance is lost and chaos begins. Do you see?"
"Uh huh." She didn't get the concept in complete, but had a feeling that no amount of explaining would sift it out. Hades had tried and it had been the same then.
Terra knew she didn't understand and smiled in her amusement. She turned to the other blonde. "Candace, what is your question?"
The pregnant woman put all of her thought into the asking. "How can Ephiny live when she is supposed to be dead? Senar should live in her place."
Skye caressed Candace's heart with emerald eyes. Of course the blonde Regent would want her friend and her Queen alive, but in a fair and correct way. No questions or chances of wrath to come. "She should never have died in the first place. Creighton caused her death as well. He is dead instead. It seems he met with and unfortunate accident. Quite nasty as I recall."
"But he died before….oh. I guess he would live again as well." Candace let her mind do the work.
"He was alive, but now he is not." Terra made it clear that no more questions as to the death of the warlord were to be answered. "Anymore before we leave?" She waited. Nothing. "Very well. Hold hands and hold on."
"For goodness sake, close your eyes this time!" Spencer had just enough time to speak before they left paradise head into hell.
=/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
Xena's heart was slowly beginning to realize the connections that had been removed from it. A slow trickle of memory followed by little streams of emotion. "Gab, did we forget something? My head is nagging at me. Like we forgot something."
"Yeaaah, do we have the waterskins?" She checked her saddle. Her skin was neatly tied there.
"Check."
"Chakram?"
Xena looked down her nose at the bard. "Like you need to ask."
"Well, your memory hasn't been the best." The muscular blonde laughed.
"Only for a minute." Xena's voice was almost defensive.
"Xe, you forgot you were a warrior for heaven's sake. That is a lot of forgetting." Gabrielle stifled a giggle. Warrior's were not supposed to do that.
"Well, you forgot you were a warrior." They had both done a bit of forgetting, soul searching and changing in the past while.
Gabrielle defended her decisions as she had done in times past. "I didn't forget. I just chose a different path."
"WHATEVER. All I can say is it's good thing I found your staff down stream or you would be hard pressed to prove your status." Xena looked ahead as if she had stated that the sun was out again.
The former queen was quiet for a few moments before the words took hold. "MY Staff? You found it? Where? When? XE!"
The tall warrior smiled at the reaction her wife had at the news. Xena knew it had been an emotional move on the part of the Regent, who was now a truly fierce warrior. Something in Gabrielle had changed, there was no doubt about that. She was more mature in her thoughts and actions. Protecting a wife and child will do that to a person. She pulled the sectional out of her pack and handed it to the other warrior.
Gabrielle touched the piece with reverence. She thought she had been thinking with reason when she had thrown it in the river. She knew now it had been an emotional reaction to events beyond her control. She really had wanted to follow peace. But, sometimes peace had to be won. Suddenly her heart leapt in her chest and she cried out with joy. "Taylor!"
"What?" Xena frowned.
"Feel your heart, Xena. It's them." Gabrielle's eyes danced with glee.
Xena frowned at the smaller woman. "Them who? Are you alright?"
"Candace and Taylor." The Regent looked at her staff missing the reaction of her spouse.
Xena's heart clenched at the thought of her former wife. That was a hard subject for them both. She saw no reason for Gabrielle to bring her up. "I don't want to talk about Candace anymore, Gab. Unless you want to argue over it again." She looked down at her boots. The blue leather shined in the sun flashing back to her the reflection of her Chakram.
The bard contemplated the emotions that her wife exhibited. Xena had remained in love with the singer for years and she had never noticed. She supposed she had turned a blind eye to it not want to face the truth of either of their emotions. Still, Gabrielle didn't understand why the Warrior Princess was not feeling their friends. Then she smiled. "I didn't mean it that way, Xe. It's a long story. Remind me to tell you one day. We should stop for a bit and let you stretch your back."
Xena sighed with relief. She hated thinking about the small blonde who was once her wife. The pain was too deep to even try to find it. She squinted at the sun and released her thoughts. She returned to the present. "Good idea. Ya know, I didn't like being pregnant the first time. Now I'm older and I like it much less." She steered Argo to a small path she recalled led to a well secreted clearing.
"Yeah, so much older!"
"It's been.. what...ten, eleven years? I ain't no spring chicken you know." The pregnant warrior wasn't sure where she had heard that one, but it fit. Her reigns guided her tall horse to a stop.
"Ain't no spring chicken? Where on earth would you get a saying like that?" Gabrielle knew that Melinda was the likely suspect. Xena still didn't remember.
Xena shrugged as she pulled her leg over. With a groan she stepped to the earth. Something was still nibbling at the edges of her thoughts but she wasn't sure how to put a finger on it.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and giggled as Regents tend to do. Xena wasn't that far along and she was acting like she was ready to deliver any minute.
One mean eyebrow raised. "What, pray tell, are you snickering about, Missy?"
The bard frowned. "Well, your speech pattern for one."
"What about it?" She pulled an apple out of her pack and popped it in her mouth. She grabbed her pack and hefted it over her shoulder.
"Nothing, honey. Come sit with me." Gab patted the log next to her in an invitation she hoped her wife would accept.
The warrior thought for a moment then noticed a sly twinkle in Gabrielle's gaze. This could get interesting. Her sparkling blue eyes turned fully on her companion. "So tell me, bard, why is it I feel as if I may become the lunch any moment?" She took another bite from her apple. The juice slipped down her chin. She wiped at it with the back of her hand then licked the juice from it.
Batting her eyelids, Gabrielle placed her hand on her chest in mock surprise. "Why Xena, I have no idea what you mean."
The blue eyed warrior lifted one corner of her mouth in a small laugh. "Uh huh. I know that look." She pointed a finger at the bard with her apple filled hand.
Still playing the innocent role the bard answered her wife. "Which look is that?"
"This one." She leaned in and grasped her wife around the waist and easily swung the bard into her muscular arms, letting the blonde's feet barely touch the ground. She pulled the smaller woman tightly to her body and let her lips find Gabrielle's waiting mouth. The kiss the warrior placed on the blonde was as heated as the summer's day they were sweating in. Her tongue swept along the bard's sensitive bottom lip. Gabrielle moaned and opened to allow a wonderfully passionate invasion. Little butterflies of delight and desire fluttered in her belly. She was once again amazed at the instant reaction she had to Xena. Her legs went weak as her arms tightened around Xena's neck. The warrior held her up with little effort.
Xena relished in the ardor the two women shared between them. They had literally been to hell and back. The troubles they had survived over the past months had threatened to rip them from one another. It had killed them. Thanks to Eli death hadn't been a permanent situation. The warrior knew that if it hadn't been for Eli in the first place this never would have happened. She sometimes wished it hadn't. She had thought many times that they should have avoided the tall bearded man altogether. It would have made their lives so much easier and she would be far less pregnant. She would change it all if she could.
Her hands wandered and the trouble in her mind faded to a distant point of no consequence. She threw her apple to the ground as she pulled Gabrielle's body closer by grasping a very tight bottom. The bard pushed her groin tight to the tall warrior's leg. She loved this part. She teased Gabrielle's lips with the very tip of her tongue as she squeezed gently at the soft globes in her hands. Her hands lifted the skirt that covered the soft skin she craved to touch. Without so much as a slight shift in the kisses she rendered, she relieved the bard of her underwear. Her deft hands discarded the offending cloth with a flick of her fingers. Without objection, the soft fabric floated silently to the ground. Her hands slid down to the backs of Gabrielle's strong legs. She drew the callused hands back up with aching slowness. Gabrielle moaned into her throat and she knew she was on the right path. Strong hand spread the bard's cheeks at the very base causing Gabrielle's sex to be exposed to the heated summer air. She felt the bard's muscles tense in her grasp as the blonde let out a slow moan. Her large hands moved in closer to her goal. One long finger traced up a soft inner thigh. She moaned herself as she felt the wetness that had trailed there. Right then she knew what she wanted. She whispered her desires hotly in her partner's ear.
Gabrielle nearly dropped to the ground from the ripe words whispered to her with determination. "I want to fuck you, Gabrielle. I want to hear you call my name as I slide in and out of you."
Her voice was barely audible. "Hhhh. Oh my."
"Is that a yes?" Xena pushed her pelvis hard against the blonde's hard body.
"Oh yes. Oh gods yes!" She really hadn't expected it to go this far, but she was not going to complain. Xena's hand left her and she felt the loss to her very being. As Xena went to her pack, she walked cautiously to her saddle and pulled the blanket out. Her legs were not cooperating well. She heard an exclamation from her lover as she spread the cloth on the ground.
'
"Do you know where this came from?" Xena was holding a small velvet pouch.
Gabrielle smiled at the gift. She remembered, but Xena had no clue. This was going to be fun. She lowered herself to the blanket. Lying back she pulled her knees up, exposing her wetness to the warrior. "It's a little something I picked up from Aphrodite's temple."
Xena's eyes lowered to the gift offered to her. Desire shot through her veins. She wanted to tell Gabrielle how she didn't care whether or not Aph was her mother, it wasn't a great idea to just pick things up from the temples, but her voice wasn't working that way. "It can wait." She started to place the pouch back in the leather saddle bag.
"No, Xe. Bring it with you." Gabrielle pushed forward pressing her need.
Xena followed the direction without question as she lost her train of thought. Any scolding would just have to come later. Or sooner if need be.
"Open it."
Xena played with the strings then pulled the pouch open. A frown caught her reaction. She dipped into the velvet and pulled out what was obviously a dildo. For some strange reason it was purple. "Uh Gab…"
"Will you come down here please?"
The warrior held the contraption tightly between her thumb and forefinger as if it might grow teeth and bite her on the finger. Gabrielle giggled at her breaking her concentration. "What?"
"You." She held a hand out to the warrior in invitation as if her spread legs were not enough. "Sit. NO! Wait. Hand me that and take off your breeches."
Xena's eyes became mere slits. ^what are you up to, my bard?^ She handed the purple monstrosity to her lover then slowly removed the soft cotton beneath her skirt that covered her soft dark curls. The fresh breeze on her heated sex tantalized her. She was keenly aware of dancing green eyes that watched her every move. Her most seductive voice oozed from her lips. "What now?"
Gabrielle's own voice turned smoky in response. "Lay down here next to me."
Xena started to walk back to her bag.
The bard leaned over to her elbow. "Uh. Where are you going?"
Xena shrugged then pointed. "Well, that…colorful object needs a strap."
Bright white teeth turned to a smile. "No, Xe. Just come here."
"Oh I see. You want this in you while I utilize one of my many oral skills." She grinned.
"Not exactly. Just lay next to me."
Xena made her way to the blanket. Her long frame bent to Gabrielle and kissed her softly as she made her way down. She watched the bard as she lay back. She took the time to notice in the deepest corner of her mind that the object had become more of a flesh tone. She was too busy watching the movements of the bard to register the information. Gabrielle lifted up her new indigo battle dress once more exposing her curls to the fresh air and sun. It was not unpleasant. The Regent of the Amazon nation placed the phallus in her small regal hand against Xena's sex and an explosion hit her core. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh MY GODS! Gab..G…..huuuu! I I I whoa!" Xena squeezed her eyes shut against the need to climax that very second. She thought the breeze hitting her lips was nice. This was mind blowing. The sunlight added to the heat that now rested firmly in her loins. She only knew she needed to fuck something soon.
"Breathe, baby. You have to breathe." Gabrielle whispered to her has she leaned over on to her side again.
"Hu hu hu…..hhhuuuooookay." She took deep breaths and her senses came back to her. The arousal between her legs twitched with need. "Gods, Gab. I need to…I need. Oh!"
Gabrielle grasped her small hand around the girth. "I know what you need. Let me touch you. Just touch you." She let Xena become used to the feel before she began to stroke slowly up and down the length of Xena's erection. Xena's hips began to pump in time to the rhythm set by the bard. "Oh baby. Oooh Gods. That is….OH! GODS!".
Gabrielle's warm talented mouth took solid possession of the hardness. Her mouth ran the length as her hand continued to pump Long fingers entwined in short golden hair as Xena guided her lover's mouth. The warrior's legs began to tremble in anticipation of her pending release. Gabrielle stopped short of that, causing a low growl to release itself from Xena's chest. She squeezed her eyes at the torture. "Ah! NOOOo!" She felt the smaller woman climb on top of her. A small hand grasped her length once again. She opened her eyes to watch Gabrielle guide the solid phallus to the center of the bard's wetness. There were no words spoken as Gabrielle ran the tip along her wet slit then slowly slip the length into slick warmth short inches at a time. The sensation caused Xena to reel again. Liquid heat surrounded and invaded her senses. The length of her rigidity was engulfed in tight hot pleasure. Gabrielle moaned leading Xena to more swelling hardness. The bard began to slide up and down the length of her flesh. Pushing in, then pulling up until the tip was almost out. Gabrielle thrust onto her again until she could feel the tip touching the deepest part of her lover's canal. She was going to explode. Her eyes caught Gabrielle's. Blue eyes gazed deeply into the bard's soul as the woman above her searched hers as well. The connection solidified into a tangible force. She had a vague notion of a hand moving between their half naked bodies. The bard was touching herself. Just the very idea was erotic and led her to higher planes of delight. She couldn't take anymore. From the very tips of her toes the blood rushed in fury to reach her center. Sweat poured down her face as she trembled with pending release. Gabrielle groaned out her pending release. "Oh gods. I'm I'm coming ho ho ho yeah. Xena! Aaahhhhhhhhhhh Yesssssss. Yeah. So good. So..good. Oh fuck me. Fuck me, Xena." The tight muscles that engulfed her squeezed and rippled the entire length of her erect flesh. She clenched her teeth with fierce pleasure as the fire sped to her center erupting in climax. Stars burst behind her eyes as she felt her swollen member twitch and buck in release. She pumped Gabrielle in time to the bard's rolling tightness. "MMMMmmmmmmmmmmy GODS Hu huuuuu! Take… it Gabrielle. Feellll…..thisssssss. YEAH!" She growled in her release. Never had she felt more vulgar or primal. She was fucking her wife and she was loving it.
Her head fell back to the soft blanket as the pulsing slowed. Gabrielle stayed still, gathering every ounce of pleasure to her soul. Xena felt a tickling in her mind and in her heart. Suddenly, she was swallowed up in emotions. Her soul was braided and twisted around the thread of three others. A bright grin crossed her face. "Taylor and Candace."
The bard smiled "Yeah."
Gabrielle laid her head on her wife's chest as she slipped the phallus from her body. A great sigh escaped her lips as the same grin caught up with her. The treasure they had lost was found and they were all whole again.
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Continued...