Dark eyes, cold, calculating, and void of empathy glared at them in fury as they opened the door. Xena and Gabrielle had only a moment to lock eyes with the woman carrying Alti’s tarnished soul before their attention was diverted. With palms open wide, she held her arms over a burning brazier, white smoke misting out and spreading out onto the floor and smelling like death. Xena and Gabrielle felt an intense burning sensation, like every bit of moisture was being sucked out of their bodies and the air around them. Warrior and bard stood resolute in the doorway, neither becoming lifeless desiccated corpses or collapsing from inhaling the vile mist. The young woman’s face contorted in frustration, not understanding why her adversaries were still standing. Xena coughed once, the smoke having more of an impact on her than her companion. She was getting light-headed. Stopping the smoke was the first order of business.

Thinking quickly, Xena pulled the Poseidon coin from her pocket and threw it at the small brazier, as if she throwing a tiny chakram. It bounced off the woven mat on the floor and skipped up, knocking the urn over, smothering the burning embers inside. Taking in the room, she noted blood dripping from Kana Onozuka’s nose as she stood, an unconscious and weathered body laying prone behind her, a door on the far side of the room, and a large basket right in front of the woman who they had interrupted. There was a cushion on the floor but little else in the room. It was clear they had interrupted her from a meditation, most likely in the dream realm; Calypso and Aphrodite had indeed come through. The warrior’s sense of appreciation was short-lived however because the woman immediately kicked over the large basked in front of her, knocking towards warrior and bard and expelling three large cobras in the process. Two were patterned, one was all black. They had strange black stain at their mouths and seemed disoriented as they tried to move through the evaporating toxic mist. The snakes slithered forward, rearing up, their hoods flared in a defensive posture. Flicking their tongues warily, two of them focused on Gabrielle while the other focused on Xena.

“I figured you’d be stopping by and wanted to give you a gift on your arrival. Best keep Onozuka’s beauties from the old man,” Alti taunted, her voice coming out higher pitched and softer from Kana Onozuka’s body. “They’ve had a meal with a bit of dead ambrosia,” she laughed merrily. “One bite and the Old Man of the Sea is finished. Sure, dead ambrosia kills slowly, but I think they’ll be alive long enough for you to get acquainted.”

Gabrielle looked at Xena, then turned her attention back to the snakes. While she would recover from snake venom, she wasn’t sure that her wife would if that venom were laced with dead ambrosia. They knew they’d each be at risk, Alti’s plan had unintentionally zeroed in on the warrior’s weakness first. While neither of them would succumb to the mummification, her wife was in danger from the poisonous plant both ingested by the snakes and faintly lingering in the air. “Xena,” she urged meaningfully under her breath as she swayed rhythmically to keep the snake’s attention.

“I’m with you,” Xena replied tightly, indicating that she understood.

“Enjoy,” Alti laughed as she opened the door on the far side of the room and left.

“Gabrielle,” Xena urged, as she tried to ease to the side of the room away from the snake, keeping it away from the unconscious Poseidon.

“I’ve got the snakes,” Gabrielle reassured her. “Watch that black one though.”

Xena did her best to ease past the snakes towards the door. The black cobra seemed keen to follow her movements as well as expressing an interest in the prone man behind it. Gabrielle kept eye contact with the two snakes closest to her. With practiced ease and fluid movements she slowly and carefully reached for the basket and turned it upright. One of the snakes lunged at her; she avoided the strike as if expecting it. She moved one hand to distract one of the striped serpents and with the other reached for the tail end of the black mamba to pull it away from her wife. The warrior was nearly clear when the snake struck biting Xena just above her boot. The lunge was enough distraction for the bard to grab the black snake and deposit it head-first into the basket.

“Are you okay?” Gabrielle asked, frustrated she couldn’t move faster. “Did it get past your boot?”

“I’m okay,” the warrior replied tightly, moving to the door. “You got this?”

Gabrielle nodded returning her full attention to the two remaining snakes.

With the briefest glances to the unconscious God of the Sea, Xena followed Alti outside.

Gabrielle moved back and forth, the snakes following her movement. She dodged a second lunge as a snake tried to bite. Skillfully, she grabbed it from the back of its body depositing it into the basked. With the last one remaining, she felt pity as the reptile bobbed ungracefully, clearly affected by the poison it had ingested. She deposited it in the basket and quickly replaced the lid; the threat of the venomous snakes abated. They would be dead soon and she felt pity for circumstance that put them in harm’s way.

Kneeling at Poseidon’s side, Gabrielle quickly checked his vitals. Deeply unconscious, her touch did not rouse him as she searched for a pulse. He looked so old. Beard and hair long and unkempt and dirty, his skin stained with soot, blood streaked with dried tears. One side of his face was swollen, having clearly been hit a number of times. She glanced again at the small brazier to make sure that the fire was indeed out. It expelled no smoke, and for that she was grateful. Looking back at Poseidon, she gave him a small smile. Assured he was alive, at least for now, she followed Xena outside. “I’ll be back soon, Uncle Ariel.”

The rain had returned as Xena chased Alti into the courtyard. The warrior winced as she ran, excruciating pain radiating from her shin; the snake’s fangs having found their mark. This would not be the first time she’d fought wounded, but knew full well that the harder she fought, the quicker the deadly poison would make its way through her system. She needed to be economical. She was gaining on the shaman when the women stopped short in the center of the courtyard. Alti picked up the katana she’d placed there. Taking a telescoping club from her cargo pocket, the warrior extended the pole with a flick of her wrist.

“Cute trick in the dreamscape,” Alti commented dryly, wiping the blood from her nose. “Don’t think you can protect that bimbo forever. She’s next on my list.” She lunged at the warrior with the sword a blow that Xena deftly parried with the baton. There was something in the threat to the Goddess of Love that struck Xena. Not just that Alti was intent on doing harm to a friend, or that the stakes were incredibly high with the powers that said friend possessed. In a myriad of memories, she remembered times when the goddess had had their back, often in spite of her family. She had saved Gabrielle; she had resurrected her. She deeply loved them. She loved the goddess too, maybe not the way Gabrielle did, but it was a profound love nonetheless.

“You’re going to have to get through me first,” she replied tightly. “Aphrodite is off the menu.” Looks like we’re both fighting wounded, Xena thought to herself as she noticed the shaman’s nose continue to bleed and she seemed rattled. Aphrodite was right about the risks of a sudden departure from the dream scape.

Xena respectfully acknowledged that she was fighting a martial art’s master. Alti’s movements in Kana Onozuka’s body were fluid and unrelenting. She was fast, and struck with explosive power. Whatever disorientation she experienced was quickly fading. They parried back and forth, trading blows. Twice the shaman’s sword found its mark, slicing the Xena’s skin painfully. Once on her shoulder and a second time across her thigh. Having sliced the fabric of the warrior’s tactical pants, her adversary was able to observe the wound eventually knit itself back together and heal although Xena knew that this was taking far longer than it should. Probably the poison, she thought.

“Looks like you do have many skills,” Alti acknowledged. “Can you grow a new arm?” she asked making a more forceful swing.

Taking a diving roll past the shaman, Xena avoided the blade and delivered a solid punch to the other woman’s kidneys as she stood. Alti moved with the force of the blow, turning it into a spin and hitting Xena in the face with her elbow; the force nearly knocking the warrior to the ground. Xena spun, bringing up the baton to block yet another blow as she heard footfalls join her in the courtyard. Gabrielle had arrived.

“Oh look, puppy has come to see you beheaded in a rainy courtyard yet again,” Alti taunted with a humorless laugh.

The comment was unnecessary. The bard could see the similarities. As soon as she ran onto the stones of the courtyard she was overcome by a sense of spine-gripping fear and déjà vu. It was like the scene in the new age shop all over again. Images swam in her mind’s eye of that night in Higuchi, the rain coming down in icy sheets, the lightning illuminating the headless body of the other half of her soul. The wounds from countless arrows as Xena’s muscled body was strung up as if on display in a butcher’s shop. Gabrielle did not move, rooted to the ground by fury and disgust. Abruptly, she vomited, soiling the pristine courtyard with her sick.

Alti laughed at Gabrielle even as she failed to completely parry a blow from the warrior’s carbon fiber cudgel. Diving through the air, Xena had spun on landing scoring a painful blow across the shaman’s knuckles, forcing her to move the sword to her other hand.

Xena knew she was racing against time. Her next leap had her stumbling upon landing, which allowed the razor-sharp katana to slice through the fabric of her sleeve. Her clothing took the worst of it, but a familiar sting told the warrior that the sword had sliced skin, the blood running down her arm and making it difficult to maintain the grip on her baton. With her other hand she reached into the pocket of her pants and extracted a syringe, flicking off the cap of the striped container.

Images began to blur at the periphery of the warrior’s vision as she blocked a fresh series of strikes. Sensing an opening, she jabbed forcefully with the syringe, only to have the container knocked from her hands where it fell to the intricate stones of the courtyard, only to be stepped on by Alti, smashed and rendered useless.

“Nice try,” Alti taunted with a smirk.

“Gabrielle,” Xena called, her voice almost pleading.

“On it,” the bard replied, taking a similar striped syringe from the pocket of her tactical pants. Moving towards the two fighters, she deftly stayed out of the katana’s reach. “Xena!” she called as she tried to toss the syringe to her wife.

With an impressive spin, Alti moved to intercept, deftly catching the small item in her free hand. She laughed and moved on the bard, sweeping her feet with another spin. The second the bard hit the stone of the courtyard, the shaman had the cap off of the syringe and injected it onto the bard’s neck. Gabrielle screamed only stopping when Alti herself screamed. The bard’s performance providing enough of a distraction for Xena to get close enough to grab the shaman’s wrist, the thin, short needle of her sixteenth century poison ring penetrating Kana Onozuka’s skin.

As Alti fell backwards, writhing in pain, Gabrielle extracted the small clear syringe from the pocket of her vest and jabbed the needle into the shaman’s thigh, injecting the entirety of its contents. The screaming intensified. She picked up the empty syringe that Alti had stabbed her with.

“Saline solution,” she said tossing aside the harmless syringe. “Black brittle tea infused with white amber incense,” she added with a nod to the needle still sticking out of the shaman’s thigh. “You’re always underestimating us,” she added with satisfaction.

“Let me get that, Gabrielle,” Xena remarked as she moved towards the woman writhing in pain. Wanting her love nowhere near the substance that could instantly kill her, Xena quickly extracted the syringe and replaced the cap on the needle, putting it back in the pocket of her pants. She turned to face Alti searching the Japanese woman’s eyes for signs of her long-dead foe.

Kana Onozuka blinked and tried for a smirk that came across as more forlorn than anything else. “One of these days Xena, your past is going to get the better of you, and I will know and celebrate your defeat.”

“If you say so,” the warrior replied with a disinterested shrug.

The woman on the ground blinked again and whispered, “she is gone.” Helplessly the young woman looked from Xena to Gabrielle. “The things I’ve done,” she said, tears flowing freely from her eyes. “That old man, the people I’ve killed…my husband…” she sobbed for only a moment before gaining control of herself. “What will happen to me?” she asked, looking from warrior to bard once more.

“We can figure that out,” Gabrielle offered reassuringly. “We need to get back to Poseidon,” she added to her wife.

“I’m really sorry about this,” Xena offered the Japanese woman before abruptly hitting her in the back of the head with her baton, knocking the young woman unconscious. “I’m not taking any chances on any part of Alti lurking around with this stuff still in play,” she announced, withdrawing the other clear syringe from the pocket of her vest.

After checking her vital signs, they left the unconscious woman in the courtyard and returned to the unconscious God of the Sea. Carefully, Xena emptied the contents of the syringe into his shoulder before placing the cap on once again and putting the empty syringe into her pocket. Immediately, there was a loud gasp as Poseidon was roused to near consciousness.

Gabrielle reached over and gently took his wrist. “His pulse is getting stronger,” she announced. “Let’s roll him over.”

With care, they turned the disheveled man over. With tenderness Xena moved a long strand of gray hair from his face. “I’ve never seen him look so old,” she whispered. His time with the shaman had clearly taken its toll. His skin sagged, the wrinkles no longer looking rugged or weathered like a fit man spending much of his time outside. Now, the lines looked pained, aged, and road worn. His eyes were sunken, one completely swollen shut, and his coloration was gray, not the usual sun-kissed tan. Even his stylishly casual beard and stubble just looked overgrown and unkempt. His hair and clothes full of ash and blood, he smelled of death and desperation. He was a shell of his former self.

With effort, Poseidon blinked, opening a watery eye that was bloodshot and swollen. “My dears,” he croaked with effort.

“We’ve got you,” the warrior assured him. “Alti is gone.”

He nodded in acknowledgement and succumbed to unconsciousness once again.

“We need to get out of here,” Xena said. Noticing the coin near the unconscious man’s body, she retrieved it, returning it to her pocket.

“You got bit, didn’t you?” Gabrielle asked, her voice threaded with concern. Xena nodded. “I’ll go get Kana.” Touching her earpiece she spoke, every bit of the commander of her own private army once again. “Ed, we’re finished here. Status?” she asked, listening intently to his response. “Bring the cars up, inside the gate.”

“Problem with local police?” Xena asked.

Gabrielle shook her head, a wry smile on her face. “No, apparently that’s been handled. I’ll get Kana outside, then I’ll come back for you two.”

Xena shook her head. “I’ve got him. We’ll go out together.”

Knowing better than to argue, Gabrielle returned to the courtyard and gathered the unconscious body of the mobster’s niece, draping the woman over her shoulders to carry her out. In the hallway she met up with Xena who was carrying the God of the Sea in a similar fashion. At the front door, she was greeted by Ed, Aphrodite and a newcomer she’d only seen in a photograph.

“She insisted on joining us,” Ed explained nodding to his blond companion. “I don’t have clearance to tell her no.” He moved to Xena to help ease the unconscious man from her shoulders and deposit him gently on the ground.

“How is he?” Aphrodite asked, as she knelt down to examine her uncle, concern evident in her voice. She brushed his hair to the side, and touched his face gently while making mental note of his visual injuries. After briefly resting her forehead against his she closed her eyes then stood.

“He’s okay, I think.” Gabrielle answered.

“For now,” Aphrodite replied. “This doesn’t look good.” Looking at the woman draped across the bard’s shoulders, she inquired, “That’s Kana?”

“I can help with her,” the newcomer said, indicating the woman that Gabrielle was holding.

With Poseidon safely on the ground, Ed moved to Gabrielle and shifted the unconscious woman to his arms, holding her effortlessly. The tall woman looked tiny in the arms of the enormous body builder. He was about to put her down when Aphrodite’s friend shook her head.

“Gabrielle, this is my friend Keiko. She’s a sister from another mister if you catch my drift.” Aphrodite said, nodding to her companion. “Keiko-san, this is Gabrielle.”

The Japanese woman looked from Gabrielle to Aphrodite and back, favoring her friend with a knowing smile. “It is an honor to meet you, Gabrielle,” she said, bowing respectfully and extending her hand. Gabrielle returned the gesture marveling at the warmth and softness of the Japanese woman’s hand. “I am sorry it is under these circumstances,” she continued. “My companions Sumi and Toshiko are at my car; we will take Kana Onozuka with us. Mr. Schecter, if you would carry Ms. Onozuka to our car?”

“Wait, wait,” Gabrielle replied frowning in confusion. “Doesn’t she need to go into custody? The authorities? Alti killed people and used her body to do it.” Gabrielle looked past Aphrodite’s friend to several police cars waiting outside the security gate to the property.

Keiko smiled reassuringly, but her expression was resolute. “You are releasing her into my custody,” she explained. “I will see to it that there is no trace left of the demon Alti and that she has not been tainted by the Shinigami. I can parse out what she is and is not responsible for. She has also been through trauma, and needs care. I will handle logistics with the authorities if you’d like. I have friends in the department. They are waiting outside the gate.”

Briefly considering her options, Gabrielle nodded her permission. Ed turned and carried the unconscious woman to the car with the waiting attendants. Grateful to relinquish at least one responsibility, she decided that someone Aphrodite trusted was absolutely someone she could trust. “There are at least four men still inside,” the bard explained with a nod to the house. “And one was unconscious outside the gate over there,” she added pointing. “There are also three cobras in the house, in the meditation room, they were in a basket when we left, they’ve been poisoned. If they’re still alive though, I don’t want anyone walking in unprepared.”

“Thank you,” Keiko said warmly. “I will let them know. They will secure the grounds when we leave. Xena, Gabrielle, it has been a pleasure to meet you and I have no doubt that we will see each other again soon,” she nodded respectfully to each woman and then turned to her friend. “Pam-san, it has been joyous to reconnect, I look forward to our next meeting being strictly a social call.”

“I look forward to that,” Aphrodite agreed warmly.

The group at the front of the house watched as Keiko’s assistants settled the unconscious woman into the back seat of the SUV. With a small smile, the Goddess of All Flowing Things turned back to her friend.

“What?” Aphrodite asked.

“It occurs to me that Toshiko would learn much from spending time with you and in your friend’s organization,” she said, nodding to Gabrielle. “I have the feeling that we of kindred spirts will be working more closely together, and perhaps we should. Let us reach out and discard the old customs that no longer serve us. The forces of darkness seem to be gathering, learning from each other, and finding new ways to wreak havoc in the world, I see no reason we should not forge a new set of rules as well.”

“I would be happy to spend time with Toshiko,” Aphrodite said. “But I cannot speak for Gabrielle or her organization.” Both goddesses turned their attention to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle smiled warmly. “It would be our profound honor to assist you in any way we can,” the bard replied without hesitation. “You did us a tremendous service in directing us to Yui and the white amber incense and you have my profound gratitude.”

“Wait until you hear what else she did,” Aphrodite added with a chuckle.

“I am pleased,” Keiko replied with a smile. “Toshiko will join you in the morning?”

“We will be delighted to receive her,” the goddess answered with a warm smile.

As the car pulled away from the house and headed towards the gate, Gabrielle turned her attention to Xena. “We need to get you back to the boat,” she said and glanced down at Poseidon. “Him too.”

Xena smiled, although her wife saw that it was forced. Immediately the memory surfaced of the time the warrior had dislocated her shoulder and popped it back in buy forcefully bumping it against the wall of a cave.

“I’ve got Uncle Ariel,” Ed announced as he bent down to pick up the old man. The God of the Sea looked tiny and frail in the arms of the enormous body builder. He carried him to the SUV, leaving Xena and Gabrielle alone with Aphrodite.

The warrior moved to take a step and faltered. Gabrielle caught her, stopping her fall and Aphrodite was instantly at her side to support the warrior.

“What happened?” Aphrodite asked, concerned.

“Alti fed some dead ambrosia to an animal and fed that to some cobras, Xena got bit.” Gabrielle said as she steadied her wife. “We didn’t inhale much of the smoke, Xena immediately tipped over the urn that held it.”

“That is a help but a snake bite is bad news. That’s an injection,” Aphrodite replied with alarm. “We need to get you back to the boat. Did Poseidon get bit?”

“No,” Xena said, wincing as she hobbled to the waiting car. “I think that was her plan though. She said it would kill him.”

“How serious is this,” Gabrielle asked the goddess, her concern growing. As Xena stumbled, it became clear to the bard that the adrenalin of the fight was wearing off and her love was hurt more gravely than she had initially suspected. “I thought her cells would heal, like we do from a cut? I’ve been poisoned before, made me a little queasy but that’s about it.”

“It’s the dead ambrosia,” Aphrodite explained as the trio moved to the car. “Gabrielle, if you had been dosed with the seaweed concoction, it’d be instant death – it would take the ambrosia benefits you’ve enjoyed away from you. But because warrior babe here had some dead ambrosia injected, it’s preventing her body from healing and probably making the poison worse. She doesn’t have powers per se that would get transferred to someone like Alti through the smoke, but dead ambrosia is still toxic as fuck. I can help, but we need to be in salt water to do that.”

As they approached the car, Gabrielle noticed Poseidon already been buckled in the back seat, head resting listlessly against the inside of the car. Aphrodite moved to the center, instructing Ed to help Xena in next to her. The urgency to return to the ship was clear, and Ed drove, while Gabrielle texted instructions from Aphrodite to various crew members on The Hippolyta.

Chapter 16: Lifeblood

Vaguely aware of what was going on around her, Xena struggled to focus her eyes on the passing buildings as she rested her head against the car window. She knew that Gabrielle, Aphrodite, and Ed were talking, but could not follow the conversation. The pain in her leg was acute; she was safe, and that was her world for the moment. With effort, she turned her head and became aware of Aphrodite holding her hand. “I’ve got you,” the goddess whispered, which registered with reassuring clarity.

The car eventually stopped and they were met by people with wheelchairs. Poseidon was maneuvered into one by Ed, while Gabrielle and Aphrodite helped her into the other. The bard swam in and out of focus and reminded Xena of her confinement in Gurkan’s palace. This is real, Gabrielle is here, she reminded herself as the bard searched her face for signs of encouragement. The warrior did her best to smile. “I’m good,” she said, “just give me a minute to rest.”

They were in an elevator now, and Gabrielle’s frightened voice came through the fog. “I think she’s trying to talk,” she said to Ed and Aphrodite.

When the warrior next opened her eyes, she felt the now familiar sensation of being airborne. They were in a helicopter, racing back to the gleaming white yacht that she and her wife called home. How strange, she thought with a bird’s eye view of the expanse of ocean below her. She’d had this view before, wearing a helmet that belonged to Hermes or riding on the back of a Pegasus, how strange indeed.

The aircraft landed and she winced in pain as her leg was jostled. She couldn’t see, and wondered if it was night, then realized her eyes were closed. She felt uncomfortably hot. Absently she wondered why she wasn’t concerned. Normally being wounded would release reserves of adrenalin to carry her through the rest of the fight. The fight is over, she reminded herself. Eyes closed, her vision eclipsed by darkness and pain, she was aware of being carried. The scent of jasmine and bergamot tinged with danger and promise reached her nostrils and she inhaled deeply. It was blissfully intoxicating. She could swim in that scent forever.

Moments later she was aware of wet warmth. She was descending into a liquid world of serenity. The pain in her leg diminished and she felt as though the warm waters around her were passing through her body, taking with it every bit of pain and uncertainty. Her eyes began to flutter open as she felt hands on her body, skilled and sensual. She was being undressed, stripped of her tactical gear. The touch wasn’t sexual, but Xena wondered if she wanted it to be. Briefly she saw Aphrodite’s face swim in and out of focus. “Shhhh,” the goddess whispered near her ear. “I’ve got you.” She nodded, releasing herself into the care of her friend.

~~~~~

Gabrielle watched the scene unfold from the top deck of The Hippolyta. She gazed down at the swimming pool several decks below at the two figures now entwined therein. The water glowed a bright turquoise, echoed by the bioluminescent glow of the sea in the immediate vicinity of her ship. To her right, Argo whined uncertainly; Raion, sitting just behind the pit bull echoed the sentiment. “I’m fine, guys,” she said, more to herself than the dogs. “That’s enough out of you, Argo,” she added when her pit bull chuffed at her deception. Aphrodite was holding Xena now, her naked, unconscious warrior draped over her ex-lover as she treaded water in the pool. Was this how I looked? she wondered absently as she watched the bodies shift in the water. She noticed Nicolai approach the pool, nod respectfully to Aphrodite and collect the discarded, wet clothing. The Goddess of Love beckoned him closer and he leaned down to listen, careful not to touch the glowing water. He nodded again and left with the soaked garments.

The bard was drawn from her thoughts as Michelle approached, ascending the stairs to the uppermost deck to join her. “All good?” Gabrielle asked absently, her attention captivated by the two women in the pool. Michelle followed her boss’ line of sight and watched for several moments as Aphrodite held Xena before turning her back on the scene so she could focus her attention on Gabrielle. “Ed took Uncle Ariel to the stern. Calypso was in the water waiting for him. I think she’s got him in the water off the port side which is why the ocean is glowing around the ship the way the pool is glowing. Must be some kind of healing mojo. Nicolai collected the two empty syringes of the brittle black tea stuff from Xena’s clothes and Dr. Kate is hoping a couple of drops can be retrieved to put in a cream for Shen, maybe fade that crap tattoo a little. She’ll lock the syringes in the safe when she’s finished. No one likes the thought of something on this ship posing a danger to you, especially since we’re used to you being indestructible. I’ll ask Aphrodite how to dispose of them later, seeing as she’s busy right now.”

Gabrielle looked at her friend and smiled warmly. So much had changed in the last five years. She could remember the earliest years of Michelle Fender in her company. From the not very well-hidden infatuation, the growing professionalism and dedication, to her evolution as Aphrodite’s lover during the first years of Xena’s resurrection. If there was anyone in her orbit that she could talk to about matters of the heart, it would be Michelle. Possibly Nicolai. “I promise to stay away from empty syringes that might be laying around in sick bay,” she assured her friend. “But if Dr. Kate feels better locking them up, that’s fine too. I’m sure Aphrodite will know how to get rid of them when she’s…ah…finished with Xena.”

Michelle turned her attention back to the pool. “What does immersion in that glowing water feel like?” she asked.

Gabrielle shrugged, not really remembering the corporeal side of her time in the pool with Aphrodite. “I suspect it varies person to person,” she said, adding, “but more than anything I felt safe, protected, and cared for.”

“’Loved’ in other words,” Michelle replied with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, that.” Gabrielle agreed bashfully. The former captain looked as if she were about to speak but thought better of it. “Out with it,” the bard encouraged.

“No one would blame you for feeling a little jealous,” Michelle offered, quietly glancing at the naked women before looking back to her boss.

“I would blame me,” Gabrielle replied, holding her friend’s gentle gaze, remembering their conversation in the helicopter. “I know that I’m capable of deeply loving more than one person at once. How do I not trust that Xena can do the same? Or Aphrodite, for that matter? I mean obviously, she gets it.” She looked at the pool once more before turning back to her friend. “Besides,” she added, “you know what Aphrodite is like. You think there is any chance of Xena coming out of that water not having very intense feelings for her?”

“Nope,” Michelle agreed with only the briefest of glances to the pool. Nicolai had reappeared and was setting up a massage table next to the pool. “Still,” the statuesque brunette continued, “I don’t think it’s doing you much good to watch.”

“Maybe not,” the bard acknowledged.

Hey you, Gabrielle heard in her head; immediately turning her attention back to Aphrodite once more. Not surprised, she saw the Goddess of Love looking up at her. She was treading water effortlessly, an unconscious Xena draped over her shoulder. Xena is going to be fine, love, but she needs rest. Why not take Shen to dinner in Karatsu? Your warrior will be in your cabin when you get back.

Should I check on Poseidon first? Gabrielle asked silently.

The goddess shook her head. When you get back. Give Calypso some time.

Gabrielle nodded in acknowledgement, then turned her attention back to Michelle once more. She felt compassion for the woman who was experiencing many of the same feelings she was. “Why don’t we get Shen and go have dinner in Karatsu?”

~~~~~

Xena felt herself drift down into a world of warmth and security. She opened her eyes to a landscape of intense color and harmony. Similar to Illusia in its surrealism, only without the confusion or singing. It took her a moment to realize she was in the dining room of her mother’s inn in Amphipolis. Or rather a heightened version of it; the colors more intense, absolutely spotless and bright. She was sitting at the bar. “What am I doing here?” she asked aloud.

“Think about it,” Aphrodite answered from behind the bar, seeming to materialize in that moment. She was fixing a drink that was more complicated than anything offered in Ancient Greece. “This is the last place you called home where someone took care of you, not the other way around. Why wouldn’t you run here if you were frightened?”

“I’m not frightened,” Xena replied automatically.

“Really?” Aphrodite challenged gently as she held a flame to a slice of orange rind, squeezing a drop of liquid from it, then pushing the cocktail towards the warrior.

“Besides,” Xena added, “Gabrielle has taken care of me loads of times.”

“Of course,” Aphrodite agreed, “but she’s a person, not a place. I suspect she never had to care for an incapacitated warrior babe twice in the same location, unless it was here.”

As if being offered a road map, Xena thought about the times in the security of her mother’s inn when she had been cared for. Various fevers and scrapes of childhood came to mind. One winter in Amphipolis in particular had everyone worried. Several had died, and she was delirious for days with fever. But like all the other illnesses and injuries, she’d bounced back in the end. With Gabrielle, it had been different – finding shelter in someone’s barn, on the road or in a cave somewhere, fighting off illness or infection from some wound or another. Both she and her bard were better nurses than patients, but it always seemed to be ok in the end.

With a chuckle at her musings, Xena nodded and took a moment to look around. She was dressed in her customary armor, her leathers soft and supple, fitting like a glove, the metal of her breastplate gleaming. Aphrodite on the other hand was dressed as she’d grown accustomed to seeing her, sporting jeans and a fashionable white sweater, her blond hair falling to her shoulders in soft curls. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. It wasn’t hard to see what Gabrielle saw in the goddess. She moved with calm confidence; ever cheerful, always at ease, and wickedly smart. What must her time with Gabrielle have been like? She could easily picture the two of them together.

The warrior’s mind began to wander, and she felt uneasy. “We’re in the pool?” she asked, trying to get her bearings. “On the ship. Is this what you did when you had Gabrielle in the pool?”

Aphrodite sighed, shaking her head. “Honey, this isn’t going to work if you are looking for absolute parity in our relationships. How I ‘fixed’ her isn’t how I’m going to fix you. You have an actual toxin in your body, which in some ways is easier to mend than an injury that happens in the dream scape. We just need to get it out of your system and get you some rest. Gabrielle ran to her home in Potidaea in the aftermath of Alti’s attack, she wasn’t poisoned by dead ambrosia. She needed a pep talk and a place to rest and collect herself. I’ve told you; I have my thing with her which is different from my thing with you, and different from the thing you have with each other.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Xena protested. “I mean…” she looked around uncertainly. “I’m not sure what I mean.”

Aphrodite shrugged. “At least you’re honest. Tell me, warrior babe, what are you afraid of?”

Xena took a sip of the cocktail and decided she enjoyed the taste. “Why do I have to be afraid of something?” she replied defensively.

“Because you wouldn’t have come here to your childhood home if you weren’t unsure about something.” Aphrodite replied, looking around at the space. “This is actually where we confronted Alti – Calypso and I. It’s where Keiko joined us. I figured it was a reasonable guess that this was the place where Alti would expect you to go. When we’re unsure we all want to go to the place we existed before life got so fucking complicated. Poseidon wanted to go to Mount Olympus and he’d never even been there. Really had it built up in his mind like it was Disneyland.”

“Where would you go?” Xena asked.

Aphrodite shrugged, giving the question some thought. The sea, probably. There is too much drama on Mount Olympus. I’m fairly at home most places though, and I’m reasonably secure in my relationships.”

“I’m not insecure about me and Gabrielle,” the warrior protested.

“Okay,” Aphrodite replied, waiting patiently.

The warrior shrugged. “Maybe I’m still not at home in the present. I feel more a part of the past. But that’s about my place in the world, not in her world.”

“Your past or her past?” The Goddess of Love gently pressed. Downing the rest of her drink, the warrior pushed the glass back for another. Xena studied at her, a sullen expression on her face. “I thought so,” Aphrodite finished quietly. “Still trying to figure out exactly where you fit into her life, besides being the other half of her soul? Because hon, I get it. Love is amazing. It is a wonderful feeling of connectedness. But those leisurely mornings in bed, the long walks, snuggling as you watch TV, talks late into the night, stargazing – that stuff is fantastic, but you also need to know where you fit in her life during the board meetings, day-to-day operations, trips on jets, networking parties… the mundane stuff matters too. You were never cut out to be anyone’s housewife, pumpkin. You are simply not ‘trophy wife’ material.” As she spoke, she prepared another drink and pushed the glass over to her companion.

“I don’t think Gabrielle sees me as a trophy wife. Or a housewife for that matter.”

“Darling, this isn’t about Gabrielle, it’s about you. How do you see yourself? What are you projecting to the world around you. As stoic as you are, I can still read your face like a map, babe. You’re wrestling with a few big-ticket items right now, and your place in the world, this world, is one of them. You’re wrestling with some other ‘feeling stuff’ too, but we can address that later.”

“You telling me to get a job?” Xena shot back with a chuckle, accepting the glass.

“I’m saying you have a job,” Aphrodite replied without hesitation. “You heard Keiko. There are immortals ignoring the rule book. Who knows what asshat from your past is going to pop up next. You’ve made a little progress on that notebook of my brother’s. Expand your portfolio. You have the resources, do something about it.”

Xena regarded the goddess, looked at her drink, then around the dining hall. The answers seemed to present themselves in a place like this. Somehow, the trappings of her old life made it easier to think and process. “An elite team,” she said. “Small, nimble – just a couple of people. We interface with Keiko’s people, with whatever immortals we discover, determine who is getting involved and who is staying remote. Devise an algorithm to help crack Ares’ code to find more Olympians.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Aphrodite replied toasting her with a cocktail glass of her own. The change in Xena was palpable, full of fire and ideas as she downed the second drink and hopped off the bar stool, as if to leave the inn. “Not so fast, tiger,” Aphrodite said, stopping her with a hand on her arm.

“What?” the warrior protested. “I’ve finally got an idea of what to do, something to sink my teeth into. You aren’t wrong. I do have a job and I’ve been too hung up to recognize it.”

“While I appreciate the surge of confidence, honey, you can’t actually stand at the moment, much less sink your teeth into anything.” As she spoke, Aphrodite made her way to the front of the bar and stood in the empty inn near, the large circular fire. “Come dance with me,” she commanded.

The warrior frowned. “Is this a sex thing?” Xena asked dubiously, but then realized she kind of hoped it was.

“Not if you persist with this lack of game, it isn’t,” the Goddess of Love replied smoothly. “You had no problem dancing with me at your wedding. Suck it up, babe.”

With an eyeroll, the warrior left her perch at the bar and crossed the inn to join her friend. She took Aphrodite’s hand and settled her other at the small of her back. She was not surprised to find the sweater impossibly soft. In spite of herself, Xena smiled. It was nice standing this close to the goddess. She smelled lovely. It reminded her of their ploy five years ago to get into Ares’ penthouse when they’d distracted guards by kissing in front of them. But that was performative and part of a plan; putting on a show. Here, she felt an authentic intimacy between the two of them that felt sublimely comforting. Someone from her past who knew her, the real Xena. Effortlessly, she relaxed into the sway of imagined music, bodies moving in tandem without need for words. Finally, she asked, “Why are we dancing?”

Aphrodite sighed, contentedly enjoying the dance and closeness. She took a moment before answering. “Maybe I like dancing?” She waited long minutes more before giving her the real answer, pleased at the warrior’s patience. “In the corporeal world, I’m about to carry you out of the pool and put you on a massage table. With your consent, I will give you a massage and work the last of the poison out of your system. For you it will feel like us dancing and then you’ll probably melt into an unconscious pile of blissful goo. Eventually, I’ll carry you to your cabin and tuck you in, and when Gabrielle gets home from dinner with Shen, she will crawl into bed with you. What you get up to after that is entirely your business. Think of this as a metaphor, a place for your mind to go and settle while your body heals.”

Cocking her head as they swayed together, her brows furrowing as a question occurred to Xena. “Is your desire to find something I’m passionate about to give me something to do when I see you and Gabrielle drooling at each other?” she asked, eyebrow arched.

Aphrodite chuckled, a soft warm sound that delighted the warrior. “Maybe I want you to have something you’re passionate about because I care about you? Maybe it isn’t transactional at all? Maybe it’s so you’ll have something to keep you busy when I talk Gabrielle out of a tree because she’s seen how you drool at me?”

“I’m not going to fall for you like that,” Xena answered without hesitation.

“Like Gabrielle? Of course not,” Aphrodite answered, not the least bit offended. “You’re going to fall for me in your own way. You are going to find that you and Sweet Pea address things like jealously with a lot more maturity and honesty than you ever did about Perdicus, Helen of Troy, or that doofus from Ithaca.”

“Is that my other big-ticket item?” Xena asked. “That I’m finding you attractive an am worried what Gabrielle will think?”

“Girl, please,” Aphrodite replied with a chuckle. “You’ve always found me attractive. But you thinking of doing something about it? That is new and refreshing.”

Unbidden, memories from her days as a warlord of hedonistic trysts, nights that would leave her spent and satiated, requiring massages that would lead to more fucking. Among the memories of assorted debaucheries were memories of her early encounters with the goddess. How an appearance from Aphrodite usually signaled some sort of problem that she and Gabrielle would need to sort out. She also remembered the growing affection the two of them had for the goddess, how they clearly had a made a soft spot for themselves in Aphrodite’s affections. Again, she remembered the woman in her arms giving up her own immortality to save Gabrielle and the help she’d given her love to see her resurrected. Five years ago, she realized that there was much more to the goddess than she’d previously realized. The depth of Aphrodite’s responsibility and of her love and empathy for humanity were a revelation.

The warrior held the goddess close as they moved together and she thought about Gabrielle. The bard she knew from a lifetime ago would have been felt jealous and slighted at the sight and were their roles reversed, Xena would have felt the same. But there was no denying that the Gabrielle she knew now, while the same in many respects, was also profoundly different in some ways too. She’d read enough of the bard’s journals to know she’d had many relationships, each one unique and with varying degrees of affection in the bard’s heart. Deep down, Xena knew that if Gabrielle saw them now, she would not see it as a threat but in fact would find the sight arousing. With that in mind, Xena leaned close and smiled, chuckling softly to herself.

“Sure, I’m game,” she whispered. “Let’s dance.” As they moved, she could felt her tension melt away as her world became a safe-haven of warmth and protection. She felt at ease, lighter than she could remember ever feeling. There was a shared intimacy that she felt with Aphrodite that wasn’t inherently sexual, although the undercurrent was certainly present. As her worries and tension faded, she felt relaxed; tension replaced by insight; worry replaced by safety. She felt as though she were falling into a dreamy place where she could see through the very essence of time and space, her mind simultaneously buzzing with a thousand ideas and none at all. She sighed contentedly, holding onto Aphrodite and dancing, swept away on a dreamy tide of mesmerizing bliss.

~~~~~

“I’m not sure what to have,” Shen said as he studied his menu. “And that bioluminescence around the ship – how cool was that on the flight over! Helicopters are the best. Can I fly on the way back?”

Ed shrugged and put his menu down. “I’m not sure what’s vegan,” he said to the boy. “We can ask the waiter when he comes back. I was just going to have Gabrielle order for the table,” he added with a wink. “And yeah, that glowing algae or whatever it was, was very cool.” He exchanged a knowing glance with Gabrielle and Michelle. “And I think Gabrielle gets to say if you get to fly or not on the way back.”

“We’ll see,” Gabrielle replied, studying her own menu.

Shen nodded approvingly. “More desserts that way,” he whispered conspiratorially to his companion. “When she does the ordering. But probably not as good as you can make,” he added, with a grin to Michelle. “I’m glad that the work stuff got handled. I haven’t seen Uncle Ariel,” he added. “I heard you guys found him but he wasn’t feeling well. Was he on the negotiating team or something?”

“He’s pretty sick,” Gabrielle replied, purposefully not mentioning exactly what the old man had been up to. “No, not COVID,” she added hastily at the boy’s expression of alarm. “Just weak and tired. It might be serious food poisoning. We can check in a day or two and see if he’s up for a visit. In the meantime, I think we can do some sightseeing.”

Immediately the boy looked uncomfortable which had the three adults at the table exchanging confused glances.

“What’s up?” Gabrielle asked.

“About that,” he said, glancing from Michelle to Ed and back to Gabrielle before speaking. “I got invited to go skiing with some friends at school. Two families are staying at this resort in the mountains, Vail – you know, Colorado? I was wondering if I could go? There will be tons of adults, and I won’t be the only one there without parents. They leave for the trip in a week.” Gabrielle’s brow furrowed. “I was going to ask you and Xena together,” he continued in a rush. “But you said she’s not feeling well either, and I didn’t want to blindside you at the last minute.”

“I’m just supposed to send you back to the states on the plane so you can get to your mountain resort? The ink on your learner’s permit is barely dry and already you’re jet-setting?” Gabrielle asked dryly.

“At least the infection on his tattoo has cleared up,” Michelle muttered under her breath.

Shen frowned at the brunette and returned his attention to his parent. “I figured you’d send a couple of body guards who look like normal chaperones.” He replied, proud that he’d worked out all the angles. “Can I take Ed and Michelle?” he asked.

“Ohhh, I like skiing,” Ed replied enthusiastically.

“Vail doesn’t sound half-bad,” Michelle agreed with a smirk. “Snowboarding is my thing.”

“See! I’d have teachers for two different snow sports. We’d have a few days to sightsee before I’d have to leave. I’m sure you’ve got the plane nearby?” He added hopefully.

“He does sound like a jet-setter,” Michelle added with a chuckle.

“Is Riki going?” Gabrielle asked in what she was hoped was a disinterested tone as she turned the page of her menu.

Sadly, the boy looked down at the table. “No,” he said. “It’s not a school-sanctioned trip, it’s a vacation thing, so her scholarship won’t cover it.”

Before she could reply, the waiter approached and Gabrielle ordered an assortment of dishes for the table. “I will think about it and talk to Xena,” the bard relented when the waiter disappeared. “Let’s have some fun sightseeing and then revisit?”

The boy nodded in agreement, the confidence on his features indicating that he felt that he’d persuaded his mother. “It’ll be easier to enjoy your honeymoon without a teenager hanging around…” he added hoping the statement to be the cherry on top. “Okay, okay, I’ll back off,” he said hastily at the glare he received in return. “If I may be excused, I need to use the restroom,” he added pushing back from the table. “I’d like to wash my hands before dinner.”

“Fantastic idea,” Ed chimed in pushing his chair back too.

“Gabrielle, I don’t need an escort to the men’s room,” Shen protested.

“What?” Ed replied smoothly. “I’ve got to use the men’s room. Join me or don’t.”

With an exasperated sigh the boy relented and let the body builder accompany him, knowing that to anyone who glanced at them it would look like someone walking next to the Incredible Hulk.

No sooner had they departed towards the back of the fine dining establishment then Michelle nudged Gabrielle’s leg under the table, her eyes focused on the door at the front of the restaurant. The bard turned noting another large man was making his way inside, his eyes focused with laser precision on her. Hastily, people moved out of his way, eyes downcast, body language a mix of fear and respect. As he moved a hush radiated from him, his imposing presence silencing anyone nearby.

“Fuck, I forgot all about him,” Gabrielle muttered taking out her phone. Hurriedly she typed as the former sumo wrestler approached.

“Susan Vincent,” he said by way of greeting, neither bowing nor showing any other form of customary respect.

“I know, I know,” Gabrielle replied, sparing him the briefest of glances. “I got distracted. I’ve instructed Ms. Evan’s agents to release the rest of your accounts. Please check your phone, you’ll see all is in order.” He took a breath to speak and the bard continued. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’m lucky to be alive, you’ll come after me if anything is amiss, big threat, big threat. Our business is concluded, I don’t want to keep you from any appointments intimidating someone else. By the way, whomever is setting up your crypto accounts is doing a sloppy job of it and you really should pay closer attention.” He stared down at her seemingly baffled by her refusal to be intimidated. Simultaneously his eyes were drawn across the room at the same time Gabrielle’s were. A large muscled man was emerging from the direction of the lavatory, at the sight of the sumo wrestler at his boss’ table, he stopped moving. Like a statue, he stood, watching Gabrielle and Titan Onozuka intently. “If I were you,” the bard continued to the mobster, “I’d check your phone and skedaddle before that big guy makes his way over here. If you think I’m indestructible, you should see what he can do. This is a pretty public place for a big scene, and I get the feeling you try to stay out of the headlines. But it’s your funeral.”

Titan Onozuka glared from Gabrielle to Ed before glancing down at his phone, scrolling through several messages and frequently glancing up to see if the large bald, black man had moved. He sent several text messages then grunted with approval. With a nod that bordered on grudging respect, he acknowledged the two women sitting at the table and departed. It was only when he’d fully left the restaurant, that Ed moved, making his way back to the table, Shen directly behind him and blocked from the mobster’s view by the bodybuilder.

The teenager looked around the restaurant, interested to glimpse what commotion stalled his return from the washroom. “What happened?” He asked Gabrielle excitedly. “Ed gave me the ‘emergency’ hand signal and then stopped moving, so I stopped, but I didn’t see anything interesting happening. It’s like standing behind a mountain.”

“It was a false-alarm,” Michelle supplied smoothly. “I thought I saw someone I knew who is a gossip columnist, but it wasn’t him. You know how we are about social media people writing fake stories.”

“That’s a relief,” the boy agreed, taking his seat.

Two waiters arrived, their arms laden with dishes. Any thought of mobsters or gossip columnists vanished. Later, when Ed and Shen were deep into a discussion of which superheroes had the most realistic super powers, Michelle leaned closer to her boss. “You really released all of Onozuka’s money?” she asked quietly.

Gabrielle sipped her tea thoughtfully before replying. “Let’s just say that our finance team left a trail of breadcrumbs that can be seen from space. As global as his enterprise is, Heather said it wasn’t very sophisticated. The usual when it comes to laundering money. Even if he starts moving his money around today, he’s not going to be able to outrun all of the various authorities that may have interest in his ill-gotten gains. The dominos will start to fall in a month or two, long enough for authorities to start in on air tight cases and for him to have forgotten all about us. I’ve no doubt that someone else will be on his radar by then.”

Michelle nodded in appreciation, grateful that some form of justice would be waiting for the crime boss.

“Hey, Michelle,” Shen interjected, bringing a halt to any further comment to her boss. “Which superpower is more realistic, Spiderman’s medical situation or Iron Man’s medical situation?”

The brunette’s brows furrowed in thought. “Why aren’t you considering Captain America or The Hulk’s medical situations?” she asked.

“Oh, man I hadn’t thought of that,” Shen replied as he and Ed began their debate anew.

~~~~~

The helicopter touched down on the landing pad of The Hippolyta, and Gabrielle wasgrateful to be home. They were greeted by Wolfgang and Hatsuo, who secured the aircraft and assisted the passengers in disembarkation. As soon as the engines to the helicopter were silent, two dogs also joined the small group of people on deck.

Shen excitedly greeted the new canine arrival under Hatsuo’s watchful eye. The dog sniffed the boy, wagging his tail joyously.

“This is so cool,” Shen effused. “I’m glad Argo has a playmate. What’s his name?” Michelle made the introductions, explaining that the dog was trained with German commands and until he learned German, or the dog learned English, he’d need to be supervised.

“All is quiet,” Hatsuo took the opportunity to whisper to Gabrielle while Shen was distracted. “Xena is resting comfortably. Miss Aphrodite wanted me to tell you. She said she’s tired and will spend the night in your office.” In a louder more inclusive tone he asked, “Everyone have a good evening?”

“It was excellent,” Shen replied enthusiastically. “Gabrielle let me fly for a bit on the way back.”

“He’s a natural,” Ed added proudly. “We need to get you into flight school.”

“Maybe my driver’s license would be a good start?” the boy replied with a laugh. “I think we get to do some sightseeing, now that the meetings are finished,” he added conversationally. “Gabrielle, can some crew join us? So, everyone isn’t stuck on the boat all the time?”

Wolfgang chuckled, offering his hand for a fist-bump with the teenager. “Smooth, asking in front of people so she’ll feel weird saying no.”

“Maybe your parents want to spend time with just you?” Hatsuo admonished, more to Wolfgang then to Shen.

“I can have dinner with just my moms,” he replied. “But everyone on the ship is family, and I know Xena and Gabrielle enjoy spending time with you guys too.”

All eyes looked to Gabrielle in surprise at being called ‘mom’ for the first time. Michelle, standing closest to the bard, even nudged her shoulder affectionately.

“Well,” Gabrielle replied, clearing her throat and determined not to cry, “we can talk about it over breakfast. Let me know in the morning some sights you’d like to take in and we can build an itinerary and see who wants to join in.”

“Okay, goodnight, everyone,” he replied with a brief hug for the bard and fist bumps for everyone else.

“You up for some Borderlands?” Wolfgang asked, joining the boy as he left the landing pad.

“Sorry Wolfie,” Shen replied. “I’m going to research sightseeing in Japan. You can help me if you want.” The engineer smiled back at the others as he accompanied the teenager below decks.

“Well, that was a big night,” Ed said, grinning. “Congratulations Gabrielle.” He nodded to everyone before joining Hatsuo below decks.

“A big night indeed,” Michelle agreed. “I will touch base with Vox and Nicolai before I turn in. Do you need anything?” Absently she leaned down to pet Argo and Raion, who had bumped her purposefully.

Gabrielle shook her head, still overcome with emotion. “I’m going to check on Poseidon and touch base with Aphrodite before I retire. Please, let everyone know that Shen may be volunteering people for sightseeing. No one is obligated to go, and I think we can plan downtime for everyone. I’ll know more in the morning, but I think the Alti thing is put to bed.”

“No one is turning down a chance to spend time with Shen,” the statuesque woman laughed. “Maybe Prisha bows out if it’s ziplining again, but even the chances of that are only fifty-fifty. Goodnight Gabrielle,” she smiled and affectionately squeezed the bard’s arm before also heading into the interior of the ship.

Alone on the deck, Gabrielle Evans, once Gabrielle of Potidaea, gazed up at the stars, marveling once again how her life could be full of this much love and acknowledging that decades from now, she would feel the heart-rending grief and loss at losing so many people close to her heart. But unlike decades and centuries past, she knew that this time, when grief would take its toll, she would not suffer alone, and would have people to help her shoulder that burden. People that would be with her until the very end.

Enjoying the chill of the fresh night air, she unhurriedly made her way to the stern of the ship, down the stairs to the landing area, accompanied by the pair of dogs. The water still glowed brightly all around the ship, that much was quite visible from helicopter. Extending well beyond the yacht itself, it looked very much like a natural-phenomena. The pool was dark, telling her the goddess wasn’t in it, even though Hatsuo had confirmed as much.

“Calypso, Poseidon?” Gabrielle called out quietly to the dark. She removed her shoes before dangling her legs in the water, moving her skirt out of the way, not the least bit worried about the teal phosphorescence of the seawater. For a time she just sat, watching the stars and enjoying the solitude of the night. Argo and Raion regarded her curiously for a moment, then curled up nearby, keeping a watchful eye.

Movement in the water about ten feet from the ship drew the bard’s attention. “Gabrielle, how is Xena?” Calypso asked. At night, The Hippolyta wasalways minimally illuminated unless otherwise necessary, so while the bard couldn’t see her clearly, she could hear her voice and see a faint silhouette, as the goddess’ dark skin blended in with the sea and night around her.

“I think she’s okay,” Gabrielle replied quietly, knowing her voice would carry. “I wanted to check on you two before I check on her. Hatsuo said that she was resting comfortably and I know Aphrodite isn’t in the pool. How is Poseidon?”

Calypso did not immediately answer, rather she swam closer to the ship so she could see the bard clearly. Concern was etched into her features. “Many would not have survived his ordeal,” she remarked. “I do not know that I would have survived it. He must have been formidable once upon a time.”

Gabrielle smiled, a sad sigh escaping her lips. “If you could have seen him the day we met.” She couldn’t help but remember the awe and fear that coursed through her veins at the sight of the mighty Poseidon rising up from the sea’s surface. “Xena and I hadn’t traveled together for very long and I was positively terrified. This chiseled mountain of water arising from the sea, towering over us. His voice sounded like a winter storm with no land in sight. As I’ve grown to know him, my fear has subsided but my respect has grown. We often disagree, he and I – but he’s always been respectful. He has not been a warm friend, but a valued one.”

Calypso nodded in understanding. “Now, he is very weak, holding onto life by the thinnest of tethers. If he survives the night there will be hope. The dawn will tell us more.” Her voice conveyed concern and sadness. Gabrielle nodded, worried and saddened that there wasn’t more she could do for her old friend, yet confident that there was no one better to care for him than another immortal of the sea.

“And you, child? How do you fare?” the goddess asked.

Gabrielle studied her for a moment before answering, noting that the goddess did not tread water. She was motionless, yet floated above the waterline at her waist. She was naked, beautiful, arms relaxed at her sides. “I’m okay,” Gabrielle answered finding her voice once again. “It has been a good night. And thank you. I had a nice dinner with Shen. He even called me mom.” White teeth caught the moonlight as Calypso beamed at her, joining in her joy. “I just wanted to check on you before I finish my rounds. I know that you will do all you can for Poseidon.”

“I shall not keep you,” Calypso replied, her warm smile giving the bard a sense of hope. “While it is an honor for us to care for others, it is equally important that when we need it, we let ourselves be cared for in turn.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Gabrielle replied. “I wish you strength and healing for tonight. Poseidon is much beloved here, and in spite of our many disagreements, he has had my back many times over the years. Please let him know we are all thinking of him tonight.” The Goddess of the Deep Sea nodded understandingly before slipping beneath the surface of the water once more.

~~~~~

Gabrielle made her way to the interior of her ship, nodding briefly to Blake who she passed in the hallway near her office. Always pristine, her outer office was used for show, the furnishings designed to impress, or convey a host of subliminal messages to whomever she might be meeting with in a formal setting. It was the small study behind the formal office where the bard felt truly at home and productive. The one place that no staff ventured uninvited, where an assortment of old books or mementos carried secrets for only the most trusting of eyes. Pausing at the door, she knocked softly, feeling a little awkward knocking at the door of her own office.

“Come in, love,” Aphrodite replied quietly from the study.

Gabrielle pushed the door open, unsurprised to find Aphrodite curled up on the couch. Dressed in sweatpants and a well-worn hoodie, her feet in warm socks tucked underneath her, an old book in her hands and glass of whiskey at her side. The bard joined her on the couch smiling ruefully. “I’m almost surprised not to see you sipping hot tea or something,” she said. Needing no invitation, both dogs made their way into the office. Argo took her customary place in one of the many dog beds around the ship. Raion sniffed around curiously before settling down near his friend.

Aphrodite glanced at her drink, then handed it to the bard. “Tea would have been better but I didn’t want to bother anyone to get it for me and the whiskey was here.”

Gabrielle smiled, rising from the couch and moving to the bookcase closest to the desk. She pushed on a shelf, and it spun around to reveal an electric kettle, a box with an assortment of tea sachets, a couple of boxes of loose tea, and several clean coffee mugs on hooks. “Just for future reference,” she said before returning to the couch. “I try to make sure there are always a couple of clean mugs, I swap the dirties out for clean ones in the outer office. There is a fresh pitcher of water, tea and clean drinkware.” She took a sip from the offered glass of whiskey, letting it swirl around in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. The burning sensation as the liquid made it way down her throat was the warming antidote she needed to the cold air outside. “Hatsuo said Xena is okay and resting comfortably…” She left her words hanging, hoping that Aphrodite would fill in the missing pieces.

“She’s going to be fine,” the goddess assured her with a warm smile. “The bite was bad, but near her foot, which helped. A regular cobra bite would have been mildly annoying but dead ambrosia is nasty business. She needed time in the water with me to stop the movement of the poison through her system and then extract it. The massage was to make sure all of it was gone. She’ll be able to do the rest of the healing on her own. Once she was tucked into bed, I went back to the pool to sanitize it, and I’m happy to say there is no trace of the dead ambrosia there, so you’re free to take a dip whenever you’d like. In the morning we can see how warrior babe is doing. When you go to bed you can let me know if you think anything is amiss.” The goddess closed her eyes a moment as if listening to something. “She’s sleeping comfortably now, but ambrosia is a possibility if she doesn’t recover on her own. But I’d give it a day or two before we go there.”

Gabrielle’s eyes went wide with surprise. She found it hard to imagine a condition that Aphrodite’s healing ability couldn’t fix. “You think she may need ambrosia?” she asked. “Maybe she should have some as a precaution? Just in case.”

The Goddess of Love shook her head. “I want to wait and see. I realize it isn’t just up to me. This is a conversation that Xena, you, me, and Poseidon should have, hoping of course that he comes out on the other side of this. He definitely needs ambrosia, and assuming we can get ahold of more than what he needs – but any time the two of you have it, there is some risk involved. The difference between some ambrosia and too much ambrosia is a hair’s breath, and obviously I don’t want either of you going crazy. If you want roughly the same life span, you’d both have to take it. I’m not keen on risking either of you.”

With a nod, Gabrielle changed the subject, hoping that the curious seaweed would only be necessary for the God of the Sea. She took another sip of whiskey and regarded the goddess before handing the glass back to her friend. Aphrodite looked as radiant as she usually did. Dressed casually, no makeup, hair slightly tousled, she was beautiful. But there was a lingering aura of power, as if her recent exertions had revealed her immortal nature.

“How are you doing?” she asked. “I would imagine that all the ministering you’ve done to me and Xena of late would take it out of you. Not to mention the fight with Alti. But you seem more… radiant? Than usual.”

“I am indeed, Sweet Pea.” Aphrodite replied warmly. Smiling, her blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “I admit, it’s been a while since I’ve spent so much time in non-ordinary reality, but I think it has been good for me. A good reminder that this plane of existence isn’t all there is; that I can work more than one channel. I’m feeling more like myself than I have in a while.” She winked, “I’m glad it shows.”

“Non-ordinary reality,” the bard replied. “I feel like that describes my life to a tee.”

“That tracks,” Aphrodite agreed. “You’ve studied with more than the average number of mystics, no doubt.”

“Yeah,” Gabrielle agreed, nodding. “Mystics, yogis, healers – depending on the place and culture. All names for people with arcane knowledge they passed down from one generation to the next. I remember this woman in Scotland, Old Hannah, who taught me about herbs years ago. She spoke of spending time with the faerie folk. In Egypt there was a man, Asim, who taught me about the stars and seeing the world in a whole new way – his spin on meditation. I knew a man in Oregon named Standing Bear who talked about the thin veil between what we see with our eyes and what we see with our hearts. There have been countless people, all with their own take on what is beyond the mundane and ordinary, I suppose.”

“The more you can see of the world, the more magnificent it becomes,” Aphrodite agreed. “You’ve had the benefit of two thousand years of perspective making you a gem among people.” Unwilling to stop herself, the goddess winked again, making Gabrielle blush.

“Our business with Alti is completely over?” Gabrielle asked, regaining her composure.

Aphrodite nodded and sipped her drink thoughtfully. “I’ve checked and double checked, and even confirmed with Keiko,” she assured her friend. “Alti had a proper ass-kicking and should she trouble the two of you again, it won’t be for some time and after a tremendous amount of effort. That doesn’t mean there might not be some new asshole next week, though. I think that when Xena is ready, she really should move ahead full steam on trying to figure out who might be next to make an unwelcome visit. This business has lit a fire under warrior babe and I think the renewed sense of purpose will be good for her. But she has the maturity now, I hope, to realize she needs to recover and regain her strength first.”

“So…it…ah…went well with the two of you in the pool?” the bard asked, tentatively.

Chuckling, Aphrodite replied, “Yeah, it went well. Warrior babe wasn’t throwing the moves on me if that’s what you’re really asking, but the thought crossed her mind. How do you feel about that?”

Gabrielle’s head swam a little at the thought and she leaned against her desk. It was one thing for Xena to mention a threesome, and another thing for her to think about being with Aphrodite again. Considering her wife’s feelings for their friend, now that wasn’t something she’d spent a lot of time pondering. Especially with Alti and Poseidon preoccupying her thoughts. Taking a moment, she considered the implications. How would she feel if she saw Xena and Aphrodite together? Would the jealousies of old reassert themselves?

Almost as if to herself she said, “I’m not sure I remember how to be jealous…”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Aphrodite replied. What are your plans then, my Captain?”

There was something in her tone that made Gabrielle feel shy. She remembered their conversation vividly in the dreamscape, and felt strangely vulnerable and naked in her friend’s presence. She reached for the glass and took another sip of whiskey before answering. “I don’t want to leave Japan until we know how Poseidon is,” she began. “Shen wants to do a little sightseeing before he, Michelle, and Ed fly off to Vail to play in the snow with his friends. I feel like I’ve hijacked enough of his school break that I owe him that. I suppose after he heads out, we will take the ship back to Hawai’i, then LA. I also don’t want to do anything that might risk Xena’s well-being either. So, a few days breather may be good for her too? We do have the jet nearby if...um...”

Aphrodite smiled, a warm, comforting smile of promise and safety. “I’m not going anywhere Sweet-Pea,” she said to the bard’s unasked question. “I want to see how this pans out, and at the very least make sure your girl is okay. See how warrior babe is doing and we can touch base with Uncle Ariel tomorrow and all will be alright.” As she stood, Gabrielle followed suit so she could hug her friend before taking her leave. As the Goddess of Love’s arms wrapped around her, Gabrielle felt her fear and uncertainty melt away, replaced by a connectedness and certainty that all would be fine. Aphrodite kissed the top of her head and with a sigh, released the bard. “You’d better skedaddle, Sweet Pea,” she murmured gently. “While you still can.”

Gabrielle stepped away, smiling bashfully. “I will see you in the morning,” she assured her friend. “I love you,” she added quietly before leaving the study, followed by the two dogs.

“I love you too,” Aphrodite said to the now empty room, a happy smile on her face as she picked up her book and made herself comfortable on the couch once more.

~~~~~

Gabrielle pushed the door open to her cabin and slipped quietly inside. She was still followed by Argo and Raion, the latter sniffed around the room curiously before helping himself to some water from the bowl in the bathroom, then curling up in the dog bed next to the bed. Argo hopped up on the bed, turning around three times before curling up at the foot. “He’s feeling more at home, huh girl?” she whispered to the pit bull.

The faint illumination in the room made it possible for Gabrielle to see Xena as she approached the bed. Sitting down on the edge, she watched her wife sleep. Bathed in a warm glow, she looked at peace, sleeping soundly. She let her mind drift back to the early days of their time together. It was unusual that Gabrielle would find herself awake while her friend slept, only the faint embers of a campfire between them. She cherished those moments when she could study her friend’s face unobserved, memorizing the lines and curves of Xena, watching the last flickers of light illuminate the planes, making shadows dance across her features. At first it was idle curiosity, impressed and puzzled by the dark warrior who was fearsome in battle and treated her with infinite tenderness. As time progressed, that curiosity turned to infatuation, then lust and finally a love deeper than any she had ever known. Even now, remembering the times that Xena was poisoned, sick, or wounded, when she would gaze at her unconscious companion, her heart still raced, the memory of the fear still acute.

“I can feel you watching me,” Xena murmured, her voice sleepy and relaxed. Her eyes fluttered open, the vibrant blue muted by the dimly lit room.

“Could you always feel me watching you?” Gabrielle asked softly, taking her lover’s hand, bringing it to her lips to kiss the palm. Unable to help herself, she noted the warrior’s pulse was strong and steady, her temperature normal.

“Most of the time,” Xena answered. “But I was grateful you were looking at me and I didn’t want you to stop.”

“You will always turn my head, Xena.”

“Mm hmm,” the warrior replied with a half-hearted smirk. “Tell me about the snakes,” she said, waking up more fully and moving to sit up in bed.

“What do you mean?” Gabrielle asked feigning ignorance. She kissed Xena’s hand again before releasing it then moved to the closet to undress for bed. “Tell me how you’re feeling. I’ve heard you were in worse shape than I thought, I know you’ve been resting, but still. How are you feeling?”

“Snakes first, then feelings,” Xena pressed, with a chuckle. She shifted and realized that indeed, other than exhaustion, no trace of the poison remained. Her body felt fine, her mind clear. Aphrodite knew her stuff. “You’ve handled cobras before. Where did you learn that? And why are you being weird about it?”

Gabrielle returned from the closet, dressed in a soft, faded t-shirt. “I’m not being weird,” she protested. “I just don’t like reminding you about how old I am.”

The warrior shrugged. “I’m just as old, aren’t I?”

“Well not exactly,” the bard protested. “I mean for most of the last two millennia you were dead. I don’t think that counts.”

“Isn’t that weirder than just being old?”

Gabrielle chuckled as she slipped between the sheets, moving close to her wife, grateful that at long last she could wrap her arms around her love and have a conversation, ridiculous as it might be. “Ok, fine,” she relented. “I spent about four hundred years in India, Nepal, and a bit of China,” she explained. “Not trips there and back to Europe. I was in India for centuries, and then in China. I traveled all around. I visited the places we saw of course, and everywhere else. From one village to the next, crisscrossing over the country to hide my longevity. I’d stay in one place a decade or two unless some sort of drama came up. I learned from so many teachers: yogis, mystics, healers. There were so many people that experienced the world differently than me. There was a very old man who worked with cobras – not like they do now, not the tourist show, but back when it was a sacred, real thing. I’ve learned how to be a good student.”

Xena smirked. “I think you’ve always been a good student, Gabrielle.”

“I think, before, in Greece and Egypt I was too impatient,” the bard replied. “Always jumping from one thing to the next to try and satiate my hunger to learn and grow. I think the one thing my very long life has taught me is that learning and growing just happens. Even if you think you’re standing still. You’re still digesting, processing everything you’ve ever been told, ever been shown up to that point. Slowing down and letting it just manifest will help with retention. It lets the connections form and the pieces fall into place. A holistic whole.”

“That’s why you’re so good with Shen.” Xena replied. “You make sure he knows how one class fits with another, how things that don’t seem practical can be practical in ways you don’t expect. How learning is more than what happens in the classroom. But snakes, I didn’t think you really liked snakes?” she asked curiously. Slowly releasing a contented breath, Xena studied her wife. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but again she was struck with the juxtaposition of the Gabrielle she knew from their travels together with this woman who had seen so much more of the world than she had. Yet, Gabrielle did not make her feel less than or out of place for it. Quite the contrary, her love deferred to her in much the same way as during their previous time together. Seeking her perspective and input even though Xena suspected she did not always need it. It seemed strange in the dim lights of the softly lit cabin, but she looked so very much like the Gabrielle she left so long ago, knowing she was so much more.

“I can’t say they’re my favorite,” Gabrielle replied, making herself comfortable against her wife. “Neither is getting up early. Still, sometimes you’ve got to do what isn’t your favorite. Okay, now you. I’ve checked in with Calypso and Aphrodite. Now it’s your turn.”

Xena shrugged. “I’m okay. I’m tired. But I’m not delirious. I’m not in pain, my ankle isn’t even sore, I’m just kinda spent.” After an uncomfortable glance down she added quietly, “Aphrodite knows what she’s doing I guess.”

Rolling her eyes, Gabrielle chuckled. “Honey, I get it. No judgement here.” Leaning over, she kissed the warrior’s shoulder and took her hand, holding it gently. “She was worried. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Like Alti is going to get the best of us. As if.” The warrior’s familiar bravado reassured Gabrielle more than anything else. After a moment’s hesitation she added, “It was…um…special to spend some time with her. Nice, even. I see what you seen in her, where the attraction is.”

Gabrielle kissed her shoulder again and squeezed her close. “Aphrodite feels the same, I think. She’s pretty open about her attraction and I know she was genuinely concerned – not just for my sake. Everything will sort itself out, I promise.”

Xena nodded, content to let the topic drop for now. “How is Poseidon? Calypso? Shen? I’ve been out of the loop.”

“Calypso is with Poseidon in the ocean. His situation is grave, and morning will tell us more.” Gabrielle spoke with the calm resignation of someone who had seen many people die.

Xena knew that the frank dispassion of her words masked a deep sorrow and fear. A fear that she was not ready to entertain. “That tough old bastard still has a trick or two up his sleeve. I wouldn’t bet against him.”

“I hope you’re right,” Gabrielle replied. “As for the others,” she continued, “Aphrodite is resting comfortably in my study, While you were…ah…out, I took Shen to dinner and he’d like to do some sightseeing here before hoping to jet off to Vail for some skiing with school friends. Lastly, we’ve got our newest exchange student arriving in the morning – the friend of Aphrodite’s friend – so Steve and Sarah are making a place for her. Maybe staying in one place for a few days is a good idea, without looking for some other monster’s ass to kick?”

Gabrielle smiled at the familiar low rumble of Xena’s delighted chuckle. “For the record, Alti came looking for us. But yeah, let’s recoup before the next bit of fallout from my resurrection shows up. Besides, rescuing Poseidon was just the beginning. I feel a nervous apprehension from the ocean all around us. As much as I’d like to stay up, I’m too tired. I need to see what the dawn brings.”

Without being asked, Gabrielle shifted, wrapping her wife in her arms so Xena could rest against her breast and she could rest her cheek against the top of her love’s head. Impressed that Xena asked for what she needed, she again marveled at the little changes she’d noticed since her resurrection. In moments she felt the contented breathing of slumber and felt a bit of envy for Xena’s ability to drop off so easily. Her mind raced with worry and responsibility for the people around her and across the whole of her organization. With effort and discipline, she steadied her breathing. Determined to calm her worried mind, she deliberately put her fears and concerns aside to be tended to later. For now, like her wife, she needed the restoration that came from sleep. Their battle won, it was time to rest and regroup in the morning with whatever news the new day would bring.

Chapter 17: When Fates Collide

Gabrielle was slow to wake until she lazily reached across the bed, only to discover she was alone. Now alert, she checked her watch and realized she couldn’t remember the last time she got a solid, dreamless, uninterrupted ten hours of sleep. After a quick shower, she dressed and made her way to the stern of the ship, texting enroute for status reports from her crew. She was unsurprised to find Xena and Aphrodite already there, sitting on the deck, legs dangling in the water while chatting with Calypso. Taking note of everyone’s body language, she breathed a sigh of relief. Poseidon had survived the night.

“How is he?” she asked, joining the trio.

“He isn’t out of the woods yet,” Aphrodite replied, nodding to the Deep Sea Goddess, “but for now he is stable.”

“If he gains a bit of strength,” Calypso added, “I would like to take him from here to a place where he might better recover.”

“Like an intensive care unit for gods,” Xena added helpfully.

The African goddess nodded in agreement at the analogy, “I fear he might not survive the journey in his present state, but with a little more rest…”

Gabrielle smiled and nodded in understanding. “Whatever you need. I’m glad he survived the night. How are you feeling?” she asked Xena.

The warrior nodded, favoring her wife with a wide grin. “You’d never know the hell of a day we had yesterday.” As if to prove her point she withdrew her leg from the water showing the bard two small red dots, all that remained of the snake bite. There was no sign of infection or swelling, and Gabrielle sighed in relief. “Maybe I need another day or two to take on Najara,” Xena continued, “but Mavican would be a piece of cake today.” Gabrielle chuckled, the names from so long ago still fresh in her memory. She liked that about Xena. In spite of all the lives she’d lived, all of the personas she’d adopted and the places she’d called home, Xena could always bring her back to where it all began: the bard from Potidaea who followed her heart and found her love. “What is on today’s agenda?” Xena added, drawing Gabrielle from her fond recollections.

With a quick glance at her phone, the bard chuckled, then regarded her companions. “Shen has curated quite the itinerary. I see bullet trains in our future, lots of sights to see with his list of preferred companions.” She looked at Aphrodite. “You’ve made the cut on all the stops. He’s rotating Nicolai, Michelle and Vox so the ship always has a captain, I swear he and Wolfgang really put their heads together for this.”

“Toshiko is on her way. Once she arrives, give me an hour to get her settled with Jennifer over video chat, and I’ll be able to sightsee with you.” the Goddess of Love replied. “I’m looking forward to seeing Japan through Shen’s eyes. It’ll be nice to get a fresh take on Mt. Fuji.”

~~~~~

Shen proved Aphrodite’s suspicions correct and was a delightful tour guide. He asked frequent questions of his companions, fully expecting their answers to inform and entertain. Confident that heading a global enterprise gave Gabrielle infinite knowledge, he worked hard to stump her, but could not. He was equally fascinated that all of his companions seemed to know a lot about where they were, but wanted to hear his take their surroundings. “This is amazing!” he exclaimed as the small group moved up the snowy trail of Mt. Fuji. “It’s past the tourist season, how did you pull strings to get us allowed in?”

“I know some people,” Gabrielle replied, zipping up her coat and watching the trail for signs of danger. “Remember our agreement, when the trail gets dicey, we go back – no arguments. We aren’t going to reach the summit this time of year, we aren’t rated mountain climbers.”

“Liar,” Xena muttered under her breath.

“Hush,” Gabrielle shot back.

In silence, the bard watched her son head up the trail with Vox, Wolfgang, Ingrid, and Aphrodite, knowing full well that should any danger befall the quartet, they could be in no better care than with the goddess. “So, what can you tell me about Japan’s three holy mountains?” Shen asked his companions before they’d moved out of earshot.

“You worried about Poseidon?” Gabrielle asked Xena quietly when she could no longer hear the voices of the group in front of them. Xena had been fairly quiet all day, often looking out in the distance, lost in thought.

Xena shrugged, but her face belied her worry. “I suppose I am. I don’t know if he’s going to make it,” she admitted. “I know there is nothing you, Aphrodite, or I could do that Calypso isn’t capable of, but I have this weird feeling, like the ocean is holding its breath.”

Gabrielle took in the view, the clouds and ocean off in the distance and thought about the man who had dipped in and out of her life the past twenty centuries. “I haven’t told you this, but you know how he and I used to reconnect every century or so?” When her wife nodded, she continued, “One year it happened to be when Halley’s Comet appeared. Granted, it wasn’t called that then. In fact, when I first saw it, I had no idea what it was. This was a few years after you…um…anyway, I saw it again seventy-five or so years later, then again at the same general interval. I talked to him about it when he and I started connecting and we started trying to plan our visits around the comet, or add an additional visit when the comet was due. It was formally discovered and named in 1758 and we’ve seen that comet together well over a dozen times.”

“When will it come back?” the warrior asked.

“We have a date, July 28, 2061. He and I can argue about nearly anything, then stop in the evening to watch the wonder in the night sky, then in the morning we’re back at it again.”

Xena chuckled, easily imagining her wife shifting from irritation, to wonder, back to irritation in the company of the cranky God of the Sea. “I hope he makes that date; I’m looking forward to seeing that spectacle for the first time.”

“The comet or the arguing?” Gabrielle asked.

“Both,” the warrior replied.

The party ahead had stopped, and Shen was looking around, puzzled by his surroundings. “What’s up with these buildings?” he asked as they approached, surprised by the structures built near the wide trail.

“During the climbing season they sell things for climbers – gear, food, drinks,” Ingrid explained. “Makes it a little less adventure-y, but you weren’t expecting Everest, were you?” she asked with a playful nudge.

The boy shook his head. “No, not that – no bodies.” He looked around again. “It does kind of take away some of the majesty though, right?”

Xena stood next to the boy and pointedly turned his head away from the structures to the view beyond. “It’s all about perspective,” she said. “You can look outward at this view, or inward towards yourself, or just on the surface at these shops. You get to pick what you focus on.” He nodded in agreement, but something didn’t seem quite right.

“I admit, I feel a little less badass-y hiking up a trail with a gift shop up ahead,” Vox agreed. “But with everything closed up it’s kind of cool and creepy.”

Moving over to the boy, Gabrielle offered him her water bottle. “What’s up?” she asked. “I know it isn’t just the shops.” A subtle glance told her companions everything they needed.

“We’re going to look around back and see if anyone else is up here,” Vox announced, “Wolfgang, Ingrid, you’re with me.”

“You seem a million miles away,” Gabrielle observed, once the others had gone. “On the bullet train too. You wanted to see some sights, yeah?”

Shen looked at Gabrielle, grinning that now they could see eye to eye. It wasn’t lost on the boy that soon he’d look down at his mother, the woman who so seamlessly helped him steer through his life when he became overcome with pain of loss. “I was thinking about school,” he explained, taking a drink.

“With this view?” Xena asked joining them. Absently she watched Aphrodite move towards Vox and the others, making sure they were safe.

“We were recently reading Emily Dickenson,” he continued, including the warrior in his conversation. “English class. In her poems, she seemed to see things so clearly and she never went anywhere, and I go all kinds of places, like this, and I just feel like maybe the view is wasted on me? Like, I don’t think I’ll get as much out of seeing this snow as she would if she were here. Is that weird?” he asked. “Like, I’m distracted by this vacant shack, and she’d be taking in the amazing view. Like, I pick the wrong things to notice?”

Xena considered his words and shrugged. “I haven’t read Emily Dickenson. But I suspect that a sunset will not affect everyone the same way. Some people may see it as sad, others as hopeful. Maybe some will describe it magnificently in words, or music, or even a math equation. What I do know, is seeing sunsets from as many different places as you can may give you a broader sense of the world. Remind you that people are often more similar than different and that everyone wants the same basic things. Maybe your calling isn’t to get the most out of a walk in the snow, but to add that to a lifetime of understanding different people and places. Some trails have snack shops, some don’t. Maybe your gift will be experiencing both?”

“The awareness you feel of her perspective gives you insight,” Gabrielle explained. “You notice the power of her imagination. That’s what art does. We might not have facility in a given artistic pursuit, but the more we let art inform us, challenge us, inspire and change us, the more we can direct that energy into other things we are passionate about.”

She tousled the boy’s hair before continuing. “Food for example. Maybe Emily Dickenson would have had much to say about the quality of the snow falling and how a season of death – winter – brings forth new life in the spring, but do you think she’d have the same capacity to enjoy the traditional culinary fare of Kyoto that you’re having tomorrow? You love food. You’ve been inspired by food, you volunteered with that amazing food bank near your school that went to Puerto Rico. I suspect that all the foods you’ve eaten in your many travels will give you’re a leg up on appreciating the food here than Emily Dickenson might have, were she to be here with you.”

The boy gave it some thought and beamed as Aphrodite approached the trio. “And you can always recommend Emily Dickenson to someone else,” she added, nonchalantly. At Shen’s look of wonderment, she added with a wink, “I have really good hearing.”

“Pick your favorite poems and introduce me,” Xena offered. “And you can order dinner for the rest of us tomorrow in Kyoto.”

He smiled, grateful for the pep talk. He glanced meaningfully at the others investigating the buildings near the trail. Gabrielle nodded her permission and he moved off to join them. “We’ll walk a bit further up trail then head back,” he offered as he left. “I know it’s getting late.”

As he rejoined Vox and Wolfgang, the goddess couldn’t help but chuckle. “Spill it sweet-pea,” she asked with a good-natured arm nudge, “how well did you know Emily Dickenson? I confess, I never met her.”

“Wasn’t she a reclusive writer?” Xena asked, looking from one companion to the other. “Or an ex?” she added with a slight frown.

Gabrielle chuckled. “I assure you, Xena, I never met Miss Dickenson in person. I corresponded with her for the last couple of years of her life. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Thomas Wentworth Higginson. He and I met during the abolitionist movement in the mid-1800s. I left Oregon just before the American Civil War started, but I stayed involved in the abolitionist cause from the Yukon territory. We corresponded for years, and finally he urged me to contact a friend of his. He said that he saw something in my missives that reminded him of this poet in Amherst. I think she and I began exchanging letters around 1883 or so and she passed away in ’86. She was only fifty-five.”

“What was she like?” Xena asked as they moved up the trail, following behind and out of earshot of the small group ahead of them.

“By the time I got to know her, she was certainly reclusive. That was the world she had created for herself. Living in her bedroom and in her imagination. I got the impression that she’d had as normal a youth as anyone else, but more than her share of loss. But life changes you and we move through different phases. Clearly, she was a genius,” Gabrielle replied. “Her letters often had me breathless. I’ve seen words put together in so many different ways over the years. I thought I’d seen every description or permutation of feeling, but she would string together a series of words that would leave me spellbound. Like, I knew those same words but had never considered putting them in that order before? Her artistry and insight were the kind of thing that one sees sparingly; once in a generation, maybe.”

Gabrielle was quiet for a few moments, lost in thought and recollection. Xena didn’t mind the quiet. She could see the memories play out on her love’s face, pleasant memories triggered by her son’s dilemma about the world and his place in it. When the bard realized she’d been quiet, she shook her head bashfully and continued, “By the time I made her acquaintance she had moved past her creative summit and considered death and the regions beyond with more utility and less flourish. I think at that point in her life she lived in a world of her thoughts, her words and her imagination. It is a kind of focus that I’m grateful not to have had. I enjoy being in the world, but can see why it isn’t for everyone. Honestly, I knew her…friend… and sister-in-law, Susan much better. She and I corresponded for twenty years; from the time she wrote to me to tell me of Emily’s death to her own passing.”

“Friend?” Xena asked knowingly.

Gabrielle shrugged. “Yeah,” she answered the warrior’s unspoken question. “She was married to Emily’s brother, but it wasn’t a happy marriage. Not an unusual story, but one of necessity at the time. Susan and I were very frank in our exchanges. In some ways I was much more comfortable corresponding with her. She spoke plainly. I felt less…clumsy stringing words together to converse with her. I knew her story and burned her letters after reading, as I presume she did with mine. I was as upfront about my own story with her as I could be – how I’d spent my youth living as a man in Oregon etc. I knew we could never meet in person because I’d appear much younger than she’d ever expect. But time and distance don’t have to be barriers in a genuine relationship if you don’t let them. I was very sad to hear of her passing. I corresponded with her surviving children for a couple of years until I informed them of my ‘passing’ by posing as a niece, and moved on.”

True to his word, Shen decided after a couple of miles more that he’d seen what he felt he could see of the mountain and stay safe. The chill and exertion encouraged the decision to turn back with no regrets. Keeping conversation light, Gabrielle was grateful to see a change in the boy’s tone. The self-conscious self-doubt of puberty gave way to embracing the new experiences with confidence, or at least the appearance of confidence.

~~~~~

The days that followed did so in a similar fashion. The mornings were spent conversing with Calypso and updates on her charge who was stubbornly determined to survive. The rest of the day was spent on various outings with Shen and different members of the crew, in addition to Xena and Aphrodite. By the fourth day, Gabrielle felt a restlessness. Unsure what to make of it, she silently slipped from the bed, extracting herself from her wife’s embrace and donning a robe. Argo and Raion raised their heads as if to follow, but with a hand signal she told them to stay in the bedroom with Xena.

The rain was soft as she left the interior cabins for the main deck, the sounds of waves lapping gently against the hull of the large yacht. The clouds refracted the moonlight to a soft glow, illuminating the outline of familiar shapes on deck. She walked the deck, moving to the bow, then the stern, enjoying the sensation of the teak wood under her feet. It reminded her of the various ships she had embarked upon over the millennia.

While there was still residual exhaustion from the ordeal with Alti, she felt hopeful she and Xena could enjoy a break between adventures. Back in the day, their breaks might last mere hours or days, but they never took a moment of relative safety for granted, and made the most of it. Whether they caught fish in a local lake or took the time to enjoy the company of friends, in all her days with Xena back then, she never thought any were wasted.

Gabrielle’s thoughts came and went as she strolled the huge yacht she called home. Nothing was out of place, every surface gleaming. Everyone on board was exceptional, and she felt a moment of pride in the choices she’d made in assembling her crew. She encountered no one, though knew that various members of her team were on watch, both in the command center and with the occasional security sweeps on deck. Drawn to the water, she made her way down the stairs to the stern, needing no light in the surrounding darkness, the minimal running lights providing more than enough illumination. The many years Gabrielle had lived taught her a number of important lessons. Chief among them, trusting her instincts. Without overthinking it, she dropped her robe and dove into the water. The water was brisk as she swam towards the bio-luminescence just off the port bow.

“Calypso?” she whispered softly.

“You’re up early,” a weak, dry voice creaked off to her left. “It’s not even three.”

Gabrielle’s head whipped around to the direction of the voice and a broad grin spread across her face. “Poseidon!” she breathed and swam the extra couple of strokes to hug him. Sensing his apprehension, she gently put her arm around his shoulders as he floated in the water, lightly kissing him on the cheek before letting him go. “Still above ground, I see,” she observed swimming a few feet from him so she could study him better. There wasn’t much to see in the dark, but what little the moonlight and bio-luminescence illuminated showed a man who had seen better days; his hair disheveled, beard unkempt, eyes sunken, and cheeks hollow. There were bruises and scrapes, further evidence of his rough treatment. No one would mistake this man for a god. While he hadn’t crossed death’s threshold, he certainly looked like he had a toe over it. “I was worried we’d lose you,” she said softly.

With effort, he grinned, the embers of a familiar twinkle in his eye. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t felt that a real possibility. I don’t know that I’ve been this worried since the last time Xena ran around with some kind of god killer or other. But my intention is to stay. I think a few more sun rises and sunsets have my name on them. Apollo owes me.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Gabrielle agreed.

“How is Xena? My niece?” He asked, his voice filled with uncharacteristic and genuine concern. “Miss Calypso has been frustratingly focused on me and not much of a gossip,” he explained. “I’ve been in no shape to see for myself. My friends of the deep report some kind of battle on your ship, but they aren’t great at details.” He took a deep breath, the effort to talk clearly taxing what little reserves he had.

“Xena is fine,” Gabrielle assured him. “She sent Alti packing but one of the cobras that had been fed some dead ambrosia bit her. Aphrodite sorted her out. There was a battle on the ship, but we missed it too. Wolfie got a scratch, but that was it. Shen was completely oblivious. I suspect Alti will think twice about a rematch even assuming she can find another way back.”

He nodded. “I’m glad to hear it,” he muttered under his breath. “She is a right fucking cunt if you’ll pardon my French. I am glad my niece is well. Fighting isn’t usually her thing unless it’s a tantrum.”

“Aphrodite is a badass,” Gabrielle protested in a tone that brokered no argument. “Calypso tells me she battled Alti in the dream realm, then sent the Shinigami running with their tails between their legs. Underestimating her seems to be everyone’s undoing.” She narrowed her eyes to include Poseidon in that assessment.

The God of the Sea rolled his eyes. “Your affection is obvious,” he said. “Get a room.”

Gabrielle ignored him. “She is also planning to work with her friend Keiko to better prepare us for the next otherworldly event.”

Grimacing, the old man shook his head. “Two hundred years from now we’re going to have more gods on our hands than we know what to do with.”

“We shall see,” Gabrielle allowed, refusing to argue with him in his present state.

“And Shen?” he pressed, concern in his voice. “He might not have noticed the battle, but surely he’s clued in to the supernatural shit you’ve got going on left and right?”

Gabrielle smiled. It pleased her that the god had become vested in her family despite his best efforts over the years. “And here is where I’m grateful for teenage self-absorption. Between his band, his first love and tattoo, and sightseeing, he’s far too preoccupied to notice much of what is going on around him. I don’t have too much longer before I need to sit him down for a heart to heart that will make his ‘sex talk’ look like a cakewalk. But that day is not today. He is worried about you though. He knows we traveled to Japan because you were sick, that we’re looking for a specialist for you, you may or may not have food poisoning, and that I’ve engaged in my usual business meetings as well. When you feel up to it, he’s going to need proof of life you know.”

Poseidon nodded, the movement seeming to take effort, his energy fading. “About that. I need to go away with Calypso. It may be for quite some time. I need ambrosia for starters. Probably more than that – and don’t ask, it’s none of your business. You found that small sailboat I took to the cave?”

“Yes. It’s stowed inside,” she replied, ignoring his jibe. “It got banged up a little on the rocks. Steve and Ingrid have been working on it in their downtime. I’m sure it’s good at new.” Gabrielle watched Poseidon with interest. In all the years she’d known him, something seemed different now. He seemed more…human. “Something has changed,” she whispered. “And if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but I’m not going to pretend not to notice.”

For long minutes he didn’t respond. They tread water together, enjoying the sounds of the water and quiet of the night. Finally, he looked at her, as if he were just seeing her for the first time, his eyes haunted by guilt. “Perspective is a beast,” he said at last. Gabrielle splashed some water at him and he rolled his eyes. “Losing something, or almost losing it gives one insight,” he added.

“And maybe empathy?” she interjected.

“Let’s not get hasty,” he replied. “For far too long, my kind has suffered under the illusion of imperviousness and it’s unsettling to have that illusion shattered. Who knows? Maybe this is how Ares felt five years ago and why we’ve not seen him since.” He looked around, out to the expanse of dark sea, the sky just beginning to tease the promise of dawn. “I will talk to Calypso, but I think tomorrow morning she and I will set off. You can put some provisions in the boat for appearances. Shen is a smart boy. He can see me off. I also need to talk to your wife before I leave. And my niece, but she will come find me when she’s ready.”

Gabrielle nodded, understanding. “I’ve got some clean clothes for you onboard,” she said. “Maybe a fresh shave and haircut before you go? You look like you’ve been through the ringer.” She watched him nod, too tired to argue with her.

“It is good to see you, Gabrielle, and thank you”, he said softly. With a final grin, he slipped beneath the surface of the water.

Gracefully, she turned onto her back and simply floated in the water, marveling at the pre-dawn sky. She relaxed, enjoying the simplicity of the moment. No bad guys to fight, no decisions to make. It was quiet and peaceful, and she inhaled, deeply filling her lungs with the crisp sea air. The movement of the ocean was comforting, and she briefly considered closing her eyes and getting a bit more sleep, then decided that she’d likely drift farther from the boat than she’d like, so she swam back. She was startled on her return to the ship to find Xena waiting for her with a fluffy towel. “How long have you been up?” she asked, grateful for the warm towel.

“I woke up when you left,” the warrior admitted. “I figured this is where you’d go and when I got here you guys were chatting and I didn’t want to interrupt. How is he?”

“He looks…old,” Gabrielle replied sadly.

“He’ll be fine,” Xena assured her, grateful that at least someone had spoken to him after his ordeal. “He’ll get some ambrosia and be right as rain.” The warrior kept her voice light which required some effort. She and Gabrielle both knew how serious his condition was, there was no point in talking around it. They had done their part in getting him to safety, now his survival was out of their hands and they both knew it.

“He’s also having an existential crisis,” the bard added.

“A brush with death will do that,” Xena acknowledged. The pair walked back towards the stairs that would lead towards the interior of the ship. “Wait until he dies a couple of times,” the warrior quipped with a smile as something caught her eye. “Vox is on the top deck,” she said, pointing towards the bow of the ship. “It’s kind of early, so I’m going to go check on her, I’ll catch up with you before breakfast?”

Gabrielle smiled her agreement, kissing the warrior before parting and returning to their cabin.

~~~~~

“You’re up early.” Xena commented, joining the captain near the bow of the ship.

Vox turned at the warrior’s approach, shaking her head. “Nope, up late. Nicolai took his shift and we did our debrief thing and I’m trying to chill before turning in.”

“Shen was glad you took a day to go sightseeing.” The warrior commented, joining her friend in enjoying the pre-dawn view. There was something in Vox’s demeanor that gave Xena pause, and she doubted her friend would offer up and explanation. Sometimes idle chit chat was enough.

“It felt weird leaving the ship,” the lanky woman began, “but it seems like the drama is over for now and it’s not like we don’t have a zillion capable people on board.”

Ahhh, so that’s it, Xena thought to herself. “I think for your first tour as captain you smashed it,” the warrior said aloud with a playful punch to the blond woman’s shoulder. “The ship may be overrun with captains, but there is ever only one at a time. Being responsible for the big picture doesn’t leave much room for heroics…”

The younger woman laughed and her cheeks flushed pink. “It’s that obvious? I can honestly say I’m having a weird moment of Zen. You’re right, mostly. I focused on my job in the drama and handled the shit that needed handling so other people could handle the shit they needed to handle and it all worked out okay. But I guess after listening to Shen’s introspection at Mt. Fuji – it’s hard to be okay with the myriad of things that are out of my control. In some ways being part of the ‘away mission’ is easier. Being in the chorus is important, but it’s hard.”

Xena chuckled, grateful for her friend. “Damn, that sounds like wisdom and shit,” she said, doing her best Vox impersonation.

“Fuck you,” the captain said warmly, then shifted gears. “What is on the agenda? I know Shen’s trip is coming up and I feel like the last few days have been constant sightseeing. We haven’t had a chance to hang – you and I. We’ve been on Shen’s revolving roster of tour buddies. How much energy does that boy have?”

“He is relentless,” the warrior conceded. “But the ski trip starts in a couple of days. I’d like to see him arrive before everyone else so Ed and Michelle can case the place without anyone noticing. We’ll send them off tomorrow. I always feel better if I know the lay of the land when I’m going to be staying somewhere for the first time. I’ll avoid the unexpected if I can help it.”

“I find that ironic,” Vox replied with a smirk.

The warrior frowned. “I don’t follow.”

“For someone who doesn’t like surprises, you seem to get more than your share,” Vox explained. “And venturing into the unknown…” she let her words trail off.

Xena regarded Vox and her gaze narrowed. “I feel like we’ve changed the subject.”

“Have we?” the captain challenged, pale blue eyes twinkling. “You’ve got your own stuff to wrestle. When Shen leaves the ship and we’re sure that Poseidon isn’t going to die on us, that’s going to alleviate a lot of stress.”

“And…” Xena pressed.

“You tell me, warrior babe?” Vox smiled and winked.

At the sound of Aphrodite’s nickname for her, Xena blinked. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it. Since her wedding night everyone on the ship had been preoccupied with rescuing Poseidon and defeating Alti. It required unfailing focus and determination and offered little room for pondering…other things. Xena turned to the ocean and gave Vox a sidelong glance. The captain shrugged.

“Can’t help it man, you’re different around her,” she said.

“I don’t think so,” Xena muttered, thinking about the interactions she’d had with the goddess since she was revived in the pool. There weren’t many. As if reading her thoughts, Vox chuckled.

“This whole trip,” she suggested. “Even before maybe, your feelings towards Aphrodite have been changing. I don’t know that anyone has noticed it but me, but dude – I think it’s obvious. It started with respect and has been growing. You guys were doing this weird…dance thing around each other and Gabrielle. I figured that’s why she took off, tired of waiting for you to notice what was going on.”

“You’ve read too much lesbian fiction,” Xena grumbled, shaking her head, but her heart wasn’t in it. Grudgingly, she began to ponder if her desire for Gabrielle to have free reign of her feelings was so she could, too.

“Maybe,” the blond woman conceded. “But shit, I can think of worse problems to have. Anyway, it’s late, I need to hit the rack. Just remember we’re mates alright? You want to talk about intense emotional shit with me you can.”

Xena chuckled. “And you’ll mock me for it.”

Vox beamed at her. “Of course! That’s what friends are for. ‘Night Xena.”

Xena watched her friend head towards the interior of the ship then turned her attention back to the sunrise. The feeling was like being at the edge of a cliff. Did she want to fall, trusting that she’d be caught and all would be well? Or were the stakes too great to take that kind of risk?”

~~~~~

Shen looked from Xena to Gabrielle and back, his eyebrows narrowing. “So, you guys are agreeing with me?” he asked, dubiously. He wondered if there were some hidden loophole he had missed.

The three of them were gathered for breakfast, Gabrielle and Xena deciding that they weren’t too selfish in wanting their last meal before his trip to just be the three of them. “It makes sense for you to head out this afternoon,” Gabrielle agreed with a shrug. “Michelle and Ed are ready to go, the plane is nearby…”

“You’d get there a couple of days early,” Xena added, “But that gives your team time to get settled and you’ll have more time to acclimate from jet lag to enjoy the trip when your friends arrive,” Xena added. “But if you want to stay and do more sightseeing, that’s fine too.”

“No, no,” Shen protested, careful not to protest too much. “I mean, I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen and stuff we’ve done. I think we’ve packed a lot of experiences into the last few days. And I don’t want to get altitude sickness so maybe a couple of days to acclimate before skiing is good.” He helped himself to another piece of plant-based bacon and two more pancakes while he studied his parent’s expressions. “What are you guys going to do? Have a proper honeymoon?”

Xena glanced at Gabrielle and was impressed that there was not the slightest trace of heightened color to the bard’s cheeks.

“Nothing wrong with a proper honeymoon,” she quipped, not the least bit embarrassed. “But we are also going to see Uncle Ariel off, he’s going to see a specialist while he’s in Japan – don’t worry, you’ll be able to see him before you go. We’re going to take the ship back to Hawai’i where yes, we’ll enjoy some time on the islands before bringing The Hippolyta back to Marina Del Ray. You can fly back to us after your ski trip, meet up with us on the islands or back at home…

“We’ll figure it out,” Xena added. “Sounds good? And when your tattoo is fully healed, we’ll go see Vox’s guy to get that memorial art done for Bo.”

The boy nodded, delighted with the way things were panning out. “The cream did fade it; it’s nearly gone, but I do want it done properly when the skin heals.”

Gabrielle nodded in agreement. “We can do a video call on your trip, maybe say ‘hi’ to Riki?” It was all bard and warrior could do to not chuckle at the blush rising in the boy’s cheeks, accompanied by a pained grimace.

“She can’t go,” he said sadly. “It’s not a school trip so it’s not covered by her scholarship.” Xena beamed at the boy, her knowing smile making his eyes brighten. “You didn’t?!” He said his voice filled with surprise and delight. “How did you manage that.”

Gabrielle shrugged. “We have many skills.”

With cheeks flushing crimson he wiped his face with his napkin. “If I can be excused, Xena, Gabrielle, I’d like to…um… re-pack. Blake might need to help me pick out some better clothes, maybe help me iron some stuff. Can I take some of your nice shampoo?”

The bard nodded her acquiescence as he pushed away from the table. When he was gone Xena couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “Reminds me of Torus preening for his runs to get eggs and chicken from our neighbor. He’d spend hours getting ready.”

“Anything that has a teenager interested in hygiene is a win in my book.” Gabrielle agreed.

Xena stood and began gathering plates from breakfast. When Gabrielle started to help the warrior stopped her. “Go check in with your crew, I’ve got this.”

The bard smiled and kissed her wife with intent. “I’m very happy I married you, Xena,” she said.

The warrior smiled back. “Me too.”

~~~~~

Aphrodite carried a small basket as she padded silently through the various rooms of The Hippolyta to the outside deck towards the stern. Barefoot, dressed in a fluffy bathrobe, she looked like anyone on a yacht making her way to one of the decks for some sun bathing. Smiling warmly at the various crew members she passed, she hummed absently to herself until she spotted Nicolai, freshly showered and shaved, no doubt about to start his shift in the command center. Dressed comfortably in jeans and a sweatshirt, his tactical combat boots gave the only hint as to what his specialized skill set might be.

He nodded politely. “Good morning,” he said, his voice a gentle grumble. With a glance he took note of the clothes, towel and grooming supplies neatly organized in the basket she carried. He raised a questioning eyebrow, while even still there was much about the goddess that remained a mystery – he doubted she needed shave cream and a razor.

“Good morning,” she replied, beaming up at the large man. Standing barefoot, she was at an even greater height disadvantage and craned her neck to look at the Russian. “I have a favor to ask, if you don’t mind.”

“If it is in my power to grant,” he said, smiling and taking a step back so maintaining eye contact was less difficult for her. He felt no need to ask about the basket she carried, she had earned his complete trust and had no doubt she would tell him whatever she felt he needed to know. “Strict orders with Boss not to have surprise birthday party,” he replied making small talk, “so as long as it isn’t that…”

“Not that this knowledge doesn’t make me want to plan one now, but no. I am going to spend some time with Uncle Ariel at the stern.”

“Ahh,” he said, the pieces falling into place as he nodded understandingly. “Stern is off limits to all but Boss and Mrs. Boss until you say so. I cannot tell Xena or Gabrielle what to do, but can ask them for privacy on your behalf if you wish.”

Aphrodite closed her eyes for a brief moment as if she was listening to something. “No worries there, my friend,” she replied. “They’re helping Shen get ready for his trip. Uncle and I will meet you all on deck when Michelle and Ed are ready to leave with Shen.”

The Russian nodded once, then continued on towards the bridge of The Hippolyta. Aphrodite nodded with approval as she watched him walk off. She chuckled to herself, surprise birthday party, check. Reaching the landing at the stern of the sleek ship, she put the towel and bathrobe in the nearby warming compartment, and set the outfit of clean clothes neatly on a nearby lounge. Finally, she moved the various grooming tools to the edge of the platform so she could reach them from the water. When all was set to her liking, she dove in, delighting in the feel of salt water on her skin.

There was something about the ocean that made Aphrodite’s heart sing. It didn’t take much introspection for the goddess to come up with a myriad of reasons for that. Nearly three quarters of the planet was covered by oceans. The sheer vastness of it made it harder for humans to pollute – not that they didn’t try their best. In this realm so many species lived, seemingly untouched by the ravages of time and humanity. It wasn’t that she didn’t love humans – she adored mortals and worked diligently on their behalf – but in the ocean, the vastness of the seas, this was a place of less responsibility. This domain belonged to others, and while she had an affinity for it, and certainly understood many of the denizens who lived in it, it was not strictly speaking her responsibility. It was a break, a vacation from duty, and it felt glorious.

Today however, while not a day off, was still exhilarating. She swam down, still able to see quite well, even as less and less sunlight accompanied her. Acting on intuition, she moved several hundred yards to the west of the ship and found Poseidon and Calypso. They were not entwined as she had been with either Gabrielle or Xena when she had them in the pool, rather the two sea gods were suspended in the water, naked and stationary. They faced each other, holding hands. Calypso’s long braids swirled around them with the movement of the ocean and Poseidon’s shoulder length gray hair formed a halo around his head. The contrast between each of their bodies was exaggerated by Poseidon’s pale pallor and obvious malnourishment. Always lean and lanky while manifesting in a human-looking body, he simply didn’t have the mass to lose with the treatment he received in Alti’s custody. Dark bruises contrasted against his very pale skin, his ribs and collar bones exaggerated and obvious. Usually a sun kissed tan, his grey complexion made his grim condition obvious. Conversely, Calypso radiated health, her brown skin nearly glowing with power, her ample bosom swaying slightly with the current.

At Aphrodite’s approach, the two figures turned to face her, welcoming her presence. Calypso smiled warmly, her bright white teeth shining out against her dark skin, her round form moving through the water with proficiency and ease. If she had the slightest doubt until now, seeing her in the water would have convinced Aphrodite that Shen’s tutor was indeed the Goddess of the Deep Sea. She vibrated with power; her plump body moving with strength and grace. She projected health and wellbeing in the very water around them. In fact, a large gathering of sea life had moved closer, drawn to her invigorating aura.

Poseidon was a shadow of his former formidable self. Keeping the dismay from her face, it was hard to believe that this was the same God of the Sea who had fathered her daughters Rhodos and Herophilos. Inwardly she recoiled at the thought. All of her years with mortals had shaped her present sense of propriety and taboo. Many of her divine relationships she now considered cringeworthy. Her marriage to Hephaestus was a mistake and she considered her affairs with Ares, Dionysus, and Hermes as well as Poseidon big mistakes, saved only by the various progeny of those relationships. Only Nerites was an old love that she did not regret, as much as it still hurt all these years later. Maybe turning him into a shellfish was an overreaction, but she was certain that in time he got over it.

My dear, Poseidon said, the words registering powerfully in her mind, the need to speak underwater as unnecessary as it was impossible. There was no mistaking the look of shame and regret on his face. He was embarrassed by all that had transpired. He felt responsible for his capture, humiliated in the need to be rescued by two mortals. Aphrodite…

I’m glad you reached out to me, she replied, her eyes and expression gentle. Even under attack you made yourself clear as a bell, oceans away. No small feat for a god in this day and age. Dead ambrosia and white amber incense were no match for you, dear one. Around her, the water shimmered as she projected a sense of healing, joining Calypso. Only her focus was not his physical wellbeing, a state of affairs quite out of her area of expertise. She manifested comfort, understanding, and acceptance. Appreciation without judgement. Poseidon’s body was not the only thing that needed restoration.

I’ve been a foolish old man, he said, eyes downcast. Not for the first time, but this is up there as one of the worst times.

She shrugged and smiled warmly. It happens to all of us. I once cast a spell on Gabrielle’s scroll so that everything she wrote down happened. And This still isn’t as stupid as your decision to shatter the Anvil of Hephaestus. You’re never gonna top that bit of stupidity.

You’ll die mad about that, won’t you?

Oh, there are several things I’ll die mad about, but yes, that is one of them. She agreed with a smile.

I’ve never properly apologized for that either, he said, his expression forlorn. He looked simply defeated.

Turning her head, Aphrodite addressed Calypso. If you could give us a few moments, I need to give my uncle a pep-talk then a shave and a haircut. Take a breather, I’ve got him.

Calypso chuckled silently, Poseidon, listen to your niece, she said, including Aphrodite in her silent conversation. She is truly powerful and has the wisdom to wield it. My dear, she added to Poseidon, I will meet up with you at Gabrielle’s ship when you are ready. With that she left, darting away with a speed Aphrodite didn’t think the short woman capable of.

At a much more leisurely pace, Poseidon and Aphrodite swam towards The Hippolyta, their pace steady and measured. While some of the sea life followed Calypso, drawn to her power, there were a number of creatures that stayed behind. Just off in the distance Aphrodite could make out the silhouettes of several dolphins, a few sea lions and a whale. While he didn’t comment, Aphrodite could tell he was touched by their loyalty.

I hear you were quite the powerhouse in the dream realm, he said, finally breaking the silence, a bit of pride and admiration creeping into his voice.

Aphrodite chuckled, as much as was possible under water. The Shinigami were vile, she replied. Even so, I preferred dealing with them instead of Alti. Uncle, I do not know how you managed against both of them. Dealing with Alti in ordinary reality as well as the dream realm with those voracious sinister specters hanging out in the background. Not everyone could withstand what you did and survive. I know you feel like a dip shit, but seriously, you survived a fight out of your weight class. You had the deck stacked against you and you still held on.

Only to be rescued by mortals, he replied with disdain.

Who gives a shit? she shot back. I don’t care if it’s mortals or a family of sperm whales. Xena and Gabrielle hardly count as mortals anyway. Certainly not anymore. Besides, they had help from a bunch of other gods and goddesses. This was not your average rescue mission. It took a village, man.

They arrived at the stern of The Hippolyta, and the Goddess of Love retrieved a comb and scissors from the landing, returning to her uncle who waited a number of feet below the surface of the water. She began to comb and cut his hair, the movement of the water no inconvenience at all. You’ll have to surface at some point so I can use a razor on the sides and back... she continued conversationally, letting the topic of rescue drop.

Aphrodite, he said, his tone tired but firm, like the rest of our family, I have spent too much time belittling your power and what you bring to this world. I am supremely ashamed of myself. Me – who wanted to be humanity’s champion – that I did not think to consult with the woman who is actually humanity’s champion first. Only now am I understanding that the image you project is one to conceal your power and make everyone less apprehensive of you.

Slow your roll, surf-santa, Aphrodite replied. It is quite possible that the image I project is me. I’m not concealing anything. People can have surprising talents in unsuspecting packages. It’s not on me if people underestimate me 100% of the time. He chuckled in spite of himself, the idle chit-chat and banter with someone he knew so well being more restorative than he’d have thought possible. What’s your plan? she asked as she moved to trim his beard. He closed his eyes, enjoying the attention and feeling like the trimmed hair that was floating away were somehow carrying the baggage of his ordeal with it. After careful consideration, he spoke.

I need ambrosia, there isn’t any nearby. And I need more renewal than just that. Calypso knows where to go to find the things I need. I will be gone for some time I think, Xena and I need to have a chat because while I’m gone, I’d like her to look after the shop. He thought a moment before adding, Provided of course, you don’t have her…ahem…tied up with Gabrielle.

Firstly, none of your damn business, and secondly it would serve you right if Xena changed all of the locks on the oceans and just took over completely. But not only does she not want that, we both know she isn’t qualified. She isn’t a god, despite how she looks in leather. She replied with a crispness that made Poseidon chuckle. Xena has her own portfolio, but she will mind the store, with my help, and more importantly, Calypso’s help. The important thing is you get healthy and maybe realize that…regardless of how the world got this way…our jobs are harder but still need doing. I’m not interested in losing any more family. Now surface, old man, so I can finish your haircut.

Calypso was already standing on the deck of the large yacht when Poseidon and Aphrodite emerged from the water. With practiced efficiency she finished the God of the Sea’s haircut, trimming his hair and beard short and neat, the look less surfer and more muscle daddy. When he made his way up the ladder, leaning on Calypso for support, he had a chance to look at himself in the mirror. “Not bad,” he remarked approvingly. “I was in need of a new look.”

“You look healthier with short hair,” Aphrodite replied. “Besides, you had singed areas on your hair and beard and it was just easier to cut them off. Here,” she continued handing him a warm towel, “you can dry off and wear these,” she pointed to the clothes that were laid out, then donned her own robe. “Will you need help getting on deck? We can get a wheelchair and I’m sure there is a lift to get you up there to say goodbye to Shen.”

He waved her off. “I can put on a brave face for a little while out of the water,” he said. “I’ll be alright.” He smiled, a bit of the old mischievous twinkle returning to his eyes. “I’ve underestimated you, my dear, I will never do that again. Thank you, Aphrodite.”

“I’ll see you on deck, Uncle,” she replied as she headed towards the stairs to get back. She turned once to give the old man a wink. “And you’re welcome.”

~~~~~

Having showered and dressed, Aphrodite was happy to find a going away party for Shen on deck in full swing when she arrived. Poseidon was sitting next to Calypso, sharing a slice of cake with Shen. She knew that in his sickly state the cake would make the God of the Sea feel horrible, but he ate it anyway because he knew it would reassure the boy that all was well. The things we do for love, she thought to herself with a bemused smile. Everyone from the crew of The Hippolyta was present, all of them wearing t-shirts with various super heroes on them. Someone, either Xena or Gabrielle, had left an appropriate shirt on the bed with a note that said “Any excuse for cake and a party.”

“Ohhhh, Guardians of the Galaxy,” Shen said in greeting as she approached. “That’s a cool shirt – who is your favorite?”

“I can’t decide between Mantis and Nebula,” she replied. “Like two halves of a coin.”

He nodded understandingly. “I’m torn between Rocket and Drax, so I get it.”

Xena and Gabrielle approached the table, the warrior wearing a black t-shirt with a red Black Widow logo, the bard opting for a Ms. Marvel design. “Have some cake and punch,” Xena offered, handing Aphrodite a plate with a slice of cake and a glass.

“I didn’t make the cake,” Shen confessed. I was too busy packing for my trip.

“Michelle made it,” Gabrielle offered. “No cricket flour.”

Aphrodite smiled at the boy, “I’m sure it will be nearly as delicious as your mega-uber-chocolate cake. She’s a good chef,” she replied, casting an affectionate gaze to the pool where Michelle was talking to Hatsuo. “You’re all packed and ready to go?” she asked, drawing her eyes from the statuesque brunette.

He nodded. “I think so, I had help. I was reminded quite pointedly,” his eyes zeroed in on Michelle, “that I’m not going to Mars and if I forgot something I can probably pick it up, but I think I’m good.”

Aphrodite glanced around before lowering her voice so as not to be overheard by everyone standing around. “Your arm feeling okay? The infection all cleared up?” Shen nodded with a reassuring smile. She tousled his hair affectionately, which gave her the opportunity to brush a fingertip across his forehead. He wasn’t mistaken, there was no sign of infection.

A cheer erupted further up the deck from the vicinity of the pool. Both Ed and Nicolai were standing in chest deep water with a woman standing on their shoulders. Vox was perched on top of Ed and Dr. Sprucehill was standing on the shoulders of the Russian. The women were trying to push each other off of their respective perches with foam bats. Someone had clearly scored a point.

“If our doctor slips and cracks her head open, we’re all screwed.” Michelle commented dryly as she approached the group near Poseidon.

“As if Nicolai is going to let that happen,” Aphrodite quipped, smiling at the former captain.

“You noticed it too?” Michelle asked with an arched eyebrow.

“We’ve all noticed it,” Gabrielle agreed.

“Noticed what?” Shen asked.

Another cheer and they looked to the pool to see Ed standing with Vox swimming back to the shallow end of the pool. Kate Sprucehill was still standing on Nicolai’s shoulders looking quite satisfied with herself. “Noticed that Dr. Kate knows fencing and Vox didn’t stand a chance,” Xena replied to the boy. At the comment Argo chuffed and put her paw on the warrior’s lap, a move that could be interpreted as a mild condemnation or request for cake. Raion was making the rounds from person to person, not nearly as irresistibly.

“I like your new dog,” Shen said when the Rhodesian Ridgeback approached him, grateful for the ear scratches.

“Remember the commands are German, until he learns English,” Michelle reminded the boy.

“Right,” Shen replied, “Raion, citizen!” he instructed. The dog cocked his head questioningly then sat uncertainly.

“Sitzen,” Michelle corrected.

“We can work on some German on our way to Vail,” he asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Michelle agreed, with an indulgent glance to Shen’s godmother. “I’d better tell Ed to get out of the pool and dry off,” she added. “The Shur sisters have filed a flight plan and we don’t want to miss our takeoff window, right Shen? We should leave soon.”

“I’ll go with you to get Ed,” Aphrodite said, following Michelle.

For the briefest moment the boy looked genuinely sad to leave his own party. “Those slopes aren’t going to ski themselves,” Xena added with a chuckle, “and it will give us time to plan a welcome back party.” At that the boy smiled, clearly delighted at the prospect of more cake.

“I will be sad to miss that,” Poseidon said, putting his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “I have some things to attend to – things that will keep me from all of you for the next year or two.”

“Bad things?” Shen asked, concerned.

“Not bad,” he reassured the boy, “but things I need to focus on in this part of the world. I’ve got a medical specialist I need to see,” he said with a glance to the assembled crew. “You will have to manage without your tutor for a bit, as she will accompany me, but I’ll get her back to you as soon as I can.”

“But I can still email you?” Shen asked hopefully. “Tell you about my trip and stuff – we can plan a really epic party for when you come back, right?”

With an uncomfortable glance at Gabrielle, he nodded to the boy. “You may email me.” Addressing the group, “The rest of you can wait until I send word. Now, Shen, if you can do an old man a solid and help me stand up, I’d like to give you a hug before you go. I’ll be leaving not long after you and need to talk to Xena while you’re loading your gear on the helicopter. Would you mind taking my bag to the stern? They’re provisioning the sail boat.” Shen complied with a smile and hugged the old man tightly.

“You got it, uncle,” the boy said brightly.

“Xena…” the God of the Sea added, turning to the warrior.

“You heard our grumpy uncle,” she said to the boy. “Let me say my goodbyes now and I’ll face time with you when you land. I’ll want to hear all about this place in Vail, I’ve never been.”

Shen turned from Poseidon and gave Xena a hug, reluctant to let go. The warrior closed her eyes tightly, determined not to cry, although the memories that the boy evoked of her son Solan made that impossible from time to time. “I’ve had a really nice time sightseeing with you and Gabrielle,” he said. “I’m glad you’re into cool things – you keep Gabrielle from doing too much work.” Quickly he leaned in and whispered, “You’re both really good parents and I probably don’t tell you that enough.”

Xena chuckled. “Sure you’re not just saying that because I was onboard with your tattoo?” she whispered back.

Now it was his turn to laugh. “Maybe.”

“Love you three thousand, Shen,” she said, disengaging. “Now go drop off Uncle Ariel’s bag.”

Gabrielle, watched the scene unfold with a broad grin on her face. “I’ll help you,” she offered to the boy. “Let’s finish getting the sailboat ready then get you on your way.”

~~~~~

Michelle got Ed’s attention at the pool and nodded in the direction of the helicopter, parked on the foredeck. Already Steve, Blake and Sarah were doing a flight check. “Roger that,” he said over to his friend. “Sorry kids,” he announced to his companions in the pool, “you’re going to be down one hunky man, I need to get dressed and head off to my ski vacation.”

“Hunky man?” shouted Wolfgang. “You mean we have one besides Nicolai?” everyone laughed, including Ed, who spent more time in the gym than everyone else on the ship combined.

Michelle made eye contact with Aphrodite then walked to the command center. Away from the splashing and laughing, they had a moment of quiet, alone. She didn’t say anything, she leaned against the captain’s chair and glanced at the readouts as a force of habit before turning her undivided attention to the goddess.

“I wanted to say goodbye before you leave with Shen,” Aphrodite said, genuinely unsure of the response she was going to receive. “With everything that’s happened, it seems like I’ve only just gotten some time and space to be with you and you’re heading off.”

With a gentle smile, Michelle reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind the goddess’ ear, “I think that’s best for now,” she said. When Aphrodite didn’t say anything, she continued, “Being with you is wonderful, intoxicating even – in the best way – and I love that you aren’t possessive, you aren’t jealous, but I think I have a little more growing up I need to do before I’m truly ready to be that kind of friends.”

Aphrodite cocked her head, puzzled. “You aren’t the possessive jealous type, what gives?”

“No, I’m not,” the former captain agreed, “but I need some more time really focusing on being Gabrielle’s right hand and being really good at it, before I’m comfortable with sleeping with the same woman she’s sleeping with.” Aphrodite was about to open her mouth to speak when Michelle shook her head. “I know you aren’t together now, but I’m also not blind. I know you and Gabrielle have a connection, and I watched a connection grow between you and Xena in the short time she’s been back. It’s only a matter of time – don’t get me wrong, I’m fully supportive of that, if it’s what everyone wants, I just can’t participate because she’s my boss and I spent too many unproductive years infatuated with her and I don’t want to be reading in my cabin while I know you’re fucking in the stateroom. The proximity, it’s just weird. I want to be close; I want to stay in contact; I care about you. I want us to talk. Maybe that’s a little less confusing with some physical distance? I’m not saying ‘not ever’ I’m just saying ‘not now’.”

Aphrodite smiled radiantly and took a step closer so she could wrap the brunette in a warm embrace. She kissed her briefly, more of an ‘intimate friendship’ kiss than anything else. “You’re very mature,” she said.

“For a mortal?” Michelle asked.

“For a person,” Aphrodite answered.

~~~~~

Xena relaxed into the chair of Gabrielle’s study while Poseidon took the seat across from her. With practiced ease she flipped the switch that engaged a white noise machine outside and soft blue lights illuminated along the floor and ceiling to indicate that the room was securely sealed. “You told Shen a couple of years,” she remarked, easing back in the comfortable leather chair, “how bad is it?”

Poseidon chuckled, which quickly turned into a raspy cough. It was not lost on the warrior that he spoke as little as possible during Shen’s party, and when he did converse with others, his voice was breathy, weak. She had no doubt he was putting on a brave face for appearances, and that this was the best he could do did not inspire her with confidence. “There is a lot of old junk in this office,” he muttered looking around and taking in the knickknacks. “I don’t see anything of yours.”

Xena joined him in looking around. There were old photos, the bard had told her who all of the people were; who they were to her. Mementos of lives lived and important events. “My chakram – the shards of it anyway – are too potent to leave laying around, so they’re in the safe. She used to carry my breast dagger around, although she lost it swimming to a life boat after the Titanic sank. She stayed with her husband William until he drowned, then made her way to one of the boats. I think she was too distraught to notice when an old dagger slipped out of her pocket. It’s two miles down in the Atlantic if you care to go look for it.”

He frowned. “You are dealing with your jealousy better than you did once did,” he observed. “You don’t have issues with all of the lives she’s lived between your death and rebirth?”

“To what end?” the warrior asked, shrugging. “The last thing I’d ever want for her is to be alone, isolated. I’d want her to make the most of every day she has, every experience open to her. It wasn’t her fault I died – in fact the amazing thing is that she’s forgiven me for the selfish single mindedness that resulted in my death and her living so many different lives without me.”

Poseidon cocked his head, considering what she had said. “What do you think of her decision to eat ambrosia? To enter into a deal with me?”

Again, the warrior shrugged in bemused indifference. “I’ve read her journals from that time. While I haven’t caught up to everything that’s transpired since I died, I did start at the beginning of it. She thought she saw visions of me. I won’t say she was mad with loneliness, but she was very much grappling with an all-encompassing grief. I have no doubt I’d have made the exact same choices she made had our positions been swapped. I’ve had to endure thinking she was gone and it was almost more than I could bear.”

“You’ve had five years; do you regret your resurrection?” He regarded her intently. “Not that anything could be done about that either way, you understand,” he added as an afterthought.

Blue eyes narrowed as she studied the old man sitting across from her. While he looked much better than the nearly dead husk they’d retrieved from Onozuka’s mansion, he still was a pitiful shadow of the man he once was merely weeks ago. While she’d had many conversations with the man since her resurrection, this one seemed very personal, intimate even. She was tempted to reply with a hefty dose of snark when she stopped herself. “There are days when I wonder what I’m doing here. What on earth might I contribute? Days where I feel lost and adrift. But even at my most bewildered, I’m grateful to have those days. I see the look on Gabrielle’s face when she wakes up with me next to her. I feel the sense of security and completeness she experiences in our togetherness. I am grateful for Shen, for this whole family. I am grateful to have the air in my lungs to experience the feeling of being lost and adrift, knowing that like all feelings, they ebb and flow. I don’t think my love life has interested you very much until now?” she asked.

“I’m sure it’s not lost on you that gods are rarely married, or stay married,” he said. “We have big jobs that require a lot of focus.”

Xena shrugged. “I thought you might have said something about general sluttiness. Infidelity kind of speaks to a lack of focus, does it not?”

He ignored the barb and leaned forward. While he was freshly showered and groomed, to Xena there was still the faintest scent of death clinging to him. His eyes were dull and watery, and while he looked much better than he did after he was first rescued, his pallor was still an unhealthy gray. “This is serious, Xena. Calypso will need to focus on me, for a time at least. We need to find ambrosia, and that’s just the beginning. If there is a problem, and there will be problems, you will need to focus – this job is bigger than you.”

“And I will have support,” Xena replied. “Aphrodite has an affinity for the sea, her friend Keiko is the Goddess of All Flowing Things, and I’ve no doubt they will be able to reach out to other’s as well who can help where help is warranted. You’ve made it very clear to me these past five years that every problem does not benefit from divine intervention. In fact, forcing people to take responsibility for their own situations and fix them will often be the only real solution.” They sat in silence for long moments studying each other.

Reaching a decision, Poseidon grunted with a nod towards Gabrielle’s desk. “If I’m not mistaken, your bard has a Pesseia set in the bottom drawer. She and I have played over the years, care for a game?”

Xena looked at him, puzzled, wondering where the request came from. Unprompted memories surfaced of her brothers Torus and Lyceius playing the game. She certainly played with both of her brothers and regularly bested them at the game, but when the two boys played it was different. It was almost a way for them to share intimacy, to have a ‘sensitive chat’ as Gabrielle would call them, all with the trappings of idle conversation during a competitive board game.

While the specifics often eluded her, there were moments from time to time where she realized she perceived things differently from “old Xena” and seemed to have greater empathy and understanding of how people expressed emotion. No doubt it was Aphrodite’s influence, as her blood had been instrumental to bringing her back. This was a fatherly gesture. Someone old, exhausted and still reeling from trauma wanting to spend a few quiet moments with someone he viewed as a daughter.

Xena opened the drawer of the antique desk and rummaged through the somewhat disorganized contents. Finally, she withdrew the square board and an embroidered pouch of playing pieces. Well-worn and expertly made, the set must have been hundreds of years old.

Gabrielle took care of everything she surrounded herself with, from the people to the objects. Housewares and tools that could have found prized places in museum collections were still used for the utility for which they were created. Inevitably, things would break or wear out; an accidental shatter of a priceless teacup or something else broken beyond repair, these things did not worry her in the slightest. “Better to go out doing what you were made to do than sitting on a shelf somewhere,” she’d remarked more than once.

As Xena opened the bag of playing discs she smiled. Touching the well-worn pieces, she could imagine her bard and Poseidon taking a break from their arguing and playing a game. Enjoying a moment of truce and each other’s company.

“She’s had this for years,” the God of the Sea commented as she separated the two colors of wood. “Had it shipped over from her place in Italy when she decided she’d be in the United States for a while.”

The nostalgia made the warrior a little homesick. Unable to help herself, Xena rolled her eyes. There was more now in her life to connect her to her home and her time than she’d felt in ages and it was ironic to be feeling wistful now.

“You play much as a kid?” he asked.

“Some,” she replied. It was similar to the checkers game that Shen had taught her. She didn’t ask him what color he wanted to be, merely handed him the rosewood pieces and kept the ebony ones for herself.

He nodded with approval and organized his space on the bard’s desk. As he set up, he asked affably, “So, tell me about your wedding, I’m sorry I missed it.”

~~~~~

Gabrielle stood at the bow of her ship for some time after the helicopter had disappeared from view. The sun would be setting very soon. Argo and Raion, sensing the more relaxed atmosphere, chased each other around the deck. She was pulled from her reverie by the sound of an approaching powerboat. This was joined by Aphrodite calling on her phone.

“Hey,” she said, activating the call. “Where are you?”

“I’m at the stern of the ship,” the Goddess replied, “Toshiko is arriving early, that’s her boat. I’m feeling restless and sense you might be too. I thought you might want to tell your people to get us underway. I’ve already told Vox not to let anyone shoot at her or freak out – I’ll get her aboard and settled in one of the spare cabins.”

“Uncle Ariel is still talking to Xena and I’ve no idea how long they’ll be,” Gabrielle replied. She looked out at the open expanse of water and indeed wanted very much to be on the move. She’d been in one place too long, and after all they’d been through, she wanted to put distance between the safety of her ship and land where things were unpredictable.

“Don’t be silly,” Aphrodite protested. “We’re bringing the sail boat along, when he’s finished grilling Xena about whatever it is he’s interrogating her about, he’ll be grateful for the head start we’re giving him. Trust me, Sweet Pea. It’s time to take an evening off.”

“Roger that,” the bard replied with a chuckle. She disconnected the call and made her way to the command center. Several voices were speaking quietly inside the dimly lit room, rows of illuminated screens bathing everything in soft blue-white light. She immediately had the undivided attention of Vox, Wolfgang, Steve, and Ingrid. Seeing Steve and Ingrid together, the bosun and mechanic, usually spelled mechanical difficulty of some sort so she raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I’m just hanging out,” Ingrid said, reassuring her boss. “We’ve been stationary so long I’ve sought out the company of other humans out of sheer boredom.”

“Then I may have good news for you,” Gabrielle offered.

“Does it have anything to do with the passenger who was just dropped off that Aphrodite told me not to freak out about?” Vox asked with an eyebrow raise of her own.

“Kind of,” the bard replied. “Toshiko is joining our organization – sort of. Think of her as an exchange student. She’s going to be working with Aphrodite, but will be given clearance in the Transportation Division of the company, or maybe Special Projects, I’ve not decided yet. Please have Prisha and Blake get one of the empty cabins ready for her. I know Blake is the chef this tour and not a steward…”

“But he’s better at it than any of us,” Steve commented.

“That’s for sure,” Wolfgang agreed. “I’ll go help.”

Ingrid and Steve exchanged glances.

Before anyone could stop him, the lanky man had raced from the command center to assist his crewmates.

“He wants a look at the new girl, right?” Gabrielle asked dryly.

“Uh huh,” Ingrid confirmed. “It’s Jennifer all over again.”

“He shot out of here before I could tell him we need a course set back to Hawai’i. We’ll spend a few days there and restock before heading back to Marina Del Rey. We can depart as soon as we’re ready,” Gabrielle continued, “I’ll pull up the chart.”

“Huzzah!” Ingrid exclaimed. “I’m so ready to get going. Steve – give me a hand?”

“Captain?” Steve asked, remembering his manners, with a quick glance at Gabrielle and Vox.

“Of course!” Vox replied. “You heard the boss.”

With just the two of them remaining in the command center, Vox felt a little self-conscious as she sometimes did around Gabrielle. It’s one thing to have an outrageous crush on someone, it’s another thing to become best friends with that crush’s now wife and to know more about that person’s personal life than an employee probably should. With determined efficiency, she typed out several instructions on her console while Gabrielle pulled up the correct navigation charts.

“I keep forgetting that you can do every job on this ship,” Vox commented.

Gabrielle smiled, shaking her head. “I can’t do every job at once, and some I’m definitely better at than others. Seriously, Blake has superpowers when comes to organizing.” Vox chuckled in agreement, but didn’t say anything so not to disrupt the bard’s focus. When she had the proper chart selected and initial coordinates entered into the autopilot system, she stood and regarded her newest captain. “I didn’t say anything earlier, we were rather preoccupied, but you’ve done an amazing job as captain. You were thrown into the fire your first mission out and I couldn’t be happier. You are extraordinary, Vox, and I need to make sure you know that.” The young woman made no attempt to hide the pink blush that crept into her cheeks. “Once we are underway, I want you to make sure everyone has as much free time as possible. Including you and Nicolai. I know we’re short Michelle and Ed, and Calypso will be leaving with Uncle Ariel, but I also think that for now the drama is behind us.”

Vox nodded, trying to decide what to say. It was an expression that Gabrielle had gotten used to, even though it was annoying. “Out with it,” she said. “Speak freely or else.”

Vox scanned a local readout of the weather and checked a few other monitors on the console to buy more time. “I think you should also do some relaxing. The night is cool, the sky is clear and no rain is expected, and the pool is warm. You haven’t had a honeymoon yet. There is plenty for people to do to relax in their cabins or the dining area, or conference room or even the den for movies. There is absolutely, positively, no reason for anyone to be…ah…wandering around outside on the deck. Not until tomorrow. Several window shades lowered and don’t seem to work. And weirdly, lights out there don’t seem to be working, so it’s oddly private. This is my assessment as captain, of course, and I’ve no doubt Nicolai would agree with me.”

“And Xena, no doubt,” the bard muttered. “Very well,” Gabrielle agreed with a sultry smirk which set off a new round of blushing from the captain. “I will take your advice and indulge in some skinny dipping.” The blushing intensified. “With my wife.”

That was enough to get the captain to laugh. “Maybe leave the dogs with me,” she added helpfully.

~~~~~

Gabrielle relaxed, her arms folded, resting on the side of the pool. Her captain had not lied. While cool, the sky was clear, the stars sharp and clear, filling dark with pin pricks of light. They were moving at a leisurely clip, a pace that she had no doubt would increase once Poseidon was off the ship. Whatever he was discussing with Xena was taking a while. She dipped under the surface, enjoying the added buoyancy of the salt water, then went back to her resting position. Briefly, she considered putting on some music but decided she enjoyed the quiet of the night; serenaded by the sounds of the water and hum of the engines. It had been too long since she’d seen these constellations. As she looked out at sea, the moon reflecting in merry glints on the ocean’s surface, her mind swirled with memories. How many times had she seen the moon’s reflection on the water? She never tired of it.

Aphrodite stepped onto the deck and stood there, studying her friend. Just a silhouette in the dark, she had memorized every curve of Gabrielle. There was no feeling of guilt or apprehension as she studied the bard. There was hunger in her gaze and she was not ashamed of it nor inclined to control. She’d smiled when the message came across her phone that the deck would be closed to all crew members until morning, and that the blinds in various locations of the ship were not to be touched. Toshiko was clearly curious as to what made her host look so happy, but dared not ask. Once her charge was settled, Aphrodite made her rounds through the ship, checking on the crew, personally making sure everyone was well and would manage until morning. Only Nicolai dared chuckle and wink at her when she’d told him she was turning in for the evening. “Sweet dreams,” he’d said as she’d left. Feeling her responsibilities discharged, she’d returned to her cabin and disrobed, then walked out into the cool night air.

Closing her eyes, she reveled in the sensation of night on her skin. She smiled. With a measured exhale, enjoying the tension of expectation, she silently descended into the pool and swam over to the bard’s side. “Is it okay if I join you?” she asked softly.

Gabrielle turned to face her friend and smiled, only it was a smile of reassurance, not of lust or wanton desire, which Aphrodite had been expecting. “It is absolutely okay if you join me,” the bard replied, “and if it wasn’t, I know you’d know.”

“True,” Aphrodite nodded, taking in the majesty of the night sky, “but sometimes it’s nice to articulate things, even when you know the answer. For someone who rescued a God, kicked Alti’s ass and sent your son on an epic ski vacation, you seem awfully pensive. What is it, Sweet Pea?”

Turning to face the expanse of ocean once again, the bard answered, “Strangely enough, I was thinking about Mt. Everest. It was something Shen said, it got me reminiscing. I’m sure you’ve been?”

“I used to blink up there from time to time when the scene on Mt. Olympus was too much,” Aphrodite replied with a shrug. “It was quiet and peaceful then, no people. I was pulled back a number of times, most recently in ’96, and again in ’15. Painful disasters with a lot of fall out.”

“Eight climbers died in ’96.” Gabrielle said turning to face her friend, recalling the details. “Then 22 people from the earthquake in ’15.” Aphrodite nodded. “It must be hard, feeling yourself pulled from one disaster to another.”

Again, the Goddess shrugged, making the water around her ripple as her breasts moved in the pool. Even in the dark of night, there was enough moonlight for Gabrielle to notice such things. “Sometimes it’s really hard,” the Goddess agreed, “but I have a unique skill set and I’m up to the challenge. Besides,” she added with a splash, “I make the most of my time wherever I am when I’m not dealing with disasters. But we were talking about you. Shen mentioned dead bodies.”

“Yeah,” Gabrielle confirmed. “I’ve told you that I came to the United States for the second time in 1912,” she began.

“Yes,” Aphrodite replied. “Right after you survived the disaster on The Titanic. You lost your husband at the time, William, yes?”

The bard nodded. “When The Carpathia showed up, those of us who survived were brought on board and then taken to Halifax. From there, I made my way down to New York. After establishing a home base, I began to travel to and from Europe more regularly.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t put off boat travel after that.” Aphrodite said.

Now it was Gabrielle’s turn to shrug. “Not a lot of options in those days,” she replied. “Besides, for the number of days I’ve spent at sea, I’ve had very few that truly terrified me. Anyway, in the early 1920s I met a young man, George Mallory, and we became friends. We were close enough that he tolerated my unladylike eccentricities.”

“Anything romantic?” Aphrodite asked.

Gabrielle shook her head. “Not at all. I was initially friends with Christina who became his wife, I think I met her around 1916. For the record, there was no romance with her either. And to be clear, I missed William quite a lot in those years. Any time I’ve partnered with someone there is a time of grieving after, could be years or a few decades, so I wasn’t looking for romance, especially male romance. It takes a pretty extraordinary man to turn my head, I do primarily consider myself a lesbian.

“I presented myself as a fellow adventurer and academic. I was not part of his team for any of his Everest expeditions, but he did discuss them with me and I did give him the benefit of my counsel. I’d spent centuries in that part of the world, I was well acquainted with the sheer insanity of that mountain. I’d lived among the people of Nepal and Tibet and shared with him as much as I could without arousing suspicion. The first expedition was in ’21, and I thought that would be the end of it. It was a survey mission. But then another was scheduled for ’22. The team tried three times to summit unsuccessfully, and again I thought that would be the end of it.

“I could see it in his eyes when he talked about it. They’d come too close; they’d tasted the sky. I know George thought it was within his grasp. When he told me of the expedition plans for ’24, I saw the look of worry on Christina’s face. I ached for her. How many times had I seen that look on loved ones of my own when I’d gone off to do something foolhardy. Christina implored me to do something, anything to keep George safe. She knew I would not be accepted in the expedition, and she had no idea that I was different from any other eccentric woman. But I promised her I’d reach out to colleagues of mine to give him the very best help he could get – that it was all I could do.

“It wasn’t all I could do and unbeknownst to George or Christina, I did some traveling myself at the same time. I’d had plenty of years of practice of following people and not being recognized. I followed him to Tibet, which was the approach they used, not the Nepal approach that Sir. Edmond Hillary used. I did some research on the team in ’24. They seemed as fine a team as he could assemble. I made sure they were sold the best gear available at the time. I made sure the Sherpas were experienced and knowledgeable. I knew not to try and dissuade him from his quest; he was a friend and I respected his decisions – besides that would have been Christina’s place, not mine. He was as prepared as anyone could be.”

As Aphrodite listened to Gabrielle, she felt captivated by the story. The images were brought to life in her mind, the screaming icy winds on the top of the great Himalayan peaks, the hard-working people who toiled so that their team members could succeed, the daring of men who wanted to do what had never been done, and the woman in their midst that could excel far beyond what any of them could dream. Without even thinking about it, she was so enamored with the tale that the water in the pool began to glow a pale lavender. She leaned on the edge of the pool and whispered breathlessly, “Tell me the story.”

~~~~~

Xena frowned, staring at the gameboard, knowing there was no way out. The half dead old man had bested her two games in a row. The first game she suspected the idle chit chat had been her downfall. Telling him about her wedding, how they’d let Shen plan it and such. The second game she’d been nearly silent, focusing intently on the board. Nevertheless, smoothly and affably, he’d effortlessly won again. She leaned back, the leather chair creaking a little.

“You’re not as feeble as you look, old man.”

“I owe you my life, Xena,” he said without looking at her as he put the pieces back into the ornate cloth bag.

“I could say the same to you,” Xena replied watching him. “Besides, it was a team effort, me and Gabrielle, and Aphrodite of course.”

At that he sighed. “Ah, my niece. Ever the enigma. Forever downplaying just how powerful she is. She was Alti’s next target when the Shinigami were done with me. If that had happened, if she’d found ambrosia and had eternity to chase her, everything would have been lost.”

“But they didn’t. And we will be better prepared for what might come next; I will be better prepared.” As she spoke, the warrior maintained eye contact; blue eyes never flinching from watery green. He nodded, as if in defeat.

“And I will be a better ally, and a better teacher. I have faith in you Xena. I did before, but certainly you’ve more than proved yourself. I have been old and foolish, hording my secrets, fearful of someone younger and more vibrant making me obsolete. And all this time, all this damn time, my niece is stronger than us all.” His eyes narrowed and his voice took on a tone of warning, “And she has feelings for your wife.”

“You mean she’s in love with my wife,” Xena smoothly replied. “Yes, I know.” The warrior studied him a moment deciding just how much she wanted to divulge to this once fearsome god that she had been at odds with a time or two. “Poseidon, why the game?” she asked tapping the now vacant board. “What is it you are trying to divine? My love life isn’t any of your business or concern, even if Gabrielle and Aphrodite are in love with each other. I’ve given this a lot of thought the last few days, believe me, more than I ever thought I would. If I’m being honest, I have my own love for Aphrodite, as I suspect she feels for me. It is different from, and no danger to the feelings she has for Gabrielle or the feelings that Gabrielle and I have for each other. Our hearts are bigger than that. We have very long lives ahead of us, and Gabrielle has lived a very long life already. We can’t think of what can be held in the tiny teacup that is eighty or ninety years, or even a hundred.” With a satisfied smile, Poseidon leaned back in his chair and for the first time since she’d become reacquainted with him, he looked genuinely pleased. “What?” she asked, annoyed.

“My dear, these past five years you’ve been as blind to some things as I’ve been to my niece’s power. Yes, you have the same ability to heal as Gabrielle, but you have not lived the day to day of two centuries, and your thinking was still very much one of someone with a much shorter life span. Honestly, I don’t care who you sleep with or how many, or any of that. It’s the recognizing that you’re no longer who you were, no longer bound by the limitations that you’d previously established for yourself. That is what gives me hope, gives me assurance that you are a partner that I can confide in.

“You asked about this game? I will tell you that in nearly the two thousand years that Gabrielle and I have played, she’s yet to beat me. Yet she keeps trying because she knows that she is growing, learning and that in time she will. Just not today,” he quickly added.

There was something nagging at the edge of Xena’s consciousness that bothered her. She gazed around the room at all the mementos from her bard’s most recent lives. The daguerreotype photos from the invention of the camera, several small painted portraits from before that, a comb, a magnifying glass. Gazing down, her eyes landed on a bit of sea glass, one that the two of them had found on a vacation to Greece with Shen, the vacation where Calypso had first come into Gabrielle’s orbit. Her eyes snapped up and narrowed at Poseidon. The old bastard was crafty.

“Bullshit,” she said. He cocked his head, listening. “You’re right, you don’t care about who I’m involved with – obviously you want Gabrielle and I to be happy because you do genuinely care about us as people, and Shen and everyone in her crew you’ve come to know. You’re nervous the situation with Aphrodite could blow up and cause drama, and drama understandably makes you nervous, that’s how you got confined to the oceans in the first place but the big kicker is Calypso, Keiko and any number of other gods we’re going to get acquainted with. All the talk of sharing your secrets, and me proving I’ve stepped into some Jedi realm or whatever – you don’t want to risk me forming an alliance with some other God of the Sea. The God of the Deep Sea perhaps?” He looked at her as if he’d been slapped. As if he were truly surprised by her words, and genuinely hurt by them. But he did not protest.

“Uncle Ariel,” she said gently, “I will not lie to you and tell you that you have my unwavering loyalty or devotion. While I have changed significantly since my resurrection, in many ways I am the same person I ever was. I will continue to follow my own moral compass. My loyalty is to Gabrielle, first and foremost. Nothing and no one are going to come between us. Your niece is not a threat to us, and neither are you. I will be at your side and continue to learn from you and hopefully be someone you can depend on, but if I think you veer off into some misguided direction, or ask of me something that I cannot morally tolerate…” she shrugged. “I’m not looking to pit one god against another, and I’m not looking to be anyone else’s apprentice. I will continue to do things my own way and I hope you continue to be a part of that, in spite of you being a right bastard much of the time. Do we understand each other?”

He nodded, a resigned, yet satisfied smirk on his face. “That is fair,” he said with an exhausted exhale. “Help an old man get to his sail boat, okay?” he asked. “Calypso is already there waiting for me. She’ll text the captain on duty, get them to stop this garish monstrosity long enough for us to shove off, and we will be on our way. I’ll send word when…” he fell silent, uncertain. “I’ll send word,” he finished.

It was clear that the night had worn him out and he would need help walking to the stern of the ship. “I will keep an eye on things while you’re gone, and be grateful when you return,” she replied, helping him stand. “I’m in no hurry, Poseidon,” she said gently. “One step at a time, I’ve got you.” He didn’t respond, but patted her hand affectionately.

~~~~~

“June was the window to the summit. In those days, the difference between June and February was hellish and impossible. The storms of winter made Chomolungma, or ‘Holy Mother’, as it’s known by the Tibetans, impossible to climb. But summer made these brave and foolhardy men think they could do the impossible. Climbing back then wasn’t the same as it is now; the clothes were silk undergarments and wool, so many layers, not the ultralight, waterproof, nylon down filled gear they use now. The pants and jacket were gaberdine and the boots were leather. They used oxygen tanks in the twenties, but again, not like the ones they have now. I didn’t climb with oxygen since I didn’t suffer the altitude sickness and constant headaches that the other climbers endured. At that altitude, the human body starts to die, there is no way around it and the smallest mistakes were fatal.” Gabrielle stopped speaking as her eyes welled up.

Aphrodite could feel the anguish of loss all these years later. Moving close, the goddess lowered her head, gently touching the forehead of her companion. She stayed for long moments, at the side of the pool, simply being in the bard’s grief with her. “What happened?” she whispered.

“George and Geoffrey Bruce made the first attempt at the summit. They’d made it far enough to establish camp five, but on the day, they tried to summit, they were too sick to proceed.

The second attempt was made by Edward Norton and Howard Summerville. They got closer, but again had to turn back. The third attempt was made by George and Andrew Irvine. Members of the team could see George and Andrew through a telescope when the weather cleared. Someone else discovered fossils on Everest, the expedition was going well by all measure but on June 10, they did not return to camp as expected, and expedition members started to look for them. Word started to travel to the lower camps. My contacts got word; six blankets were arranged in the shape of a cross which was seen by telescope from camp three and by then various contacts of mine were passing word down the mountain and finally to me. Immediately I started out on my own trek. I doubted I would find either man alive, I mean I had the faintest glimmer of hope, but thought maybe I’d at least be able to move the body somewhere that someone could find him and take him home. My coat was white and I took care to blend in with my surroundings. I didn’t worry about frostbite because my cells regenerate nearly as fast as they are damaged, but it was a very painful trek. I had to stay well out of sight of the various parts of the expedition at the camps below camp five as they started their descent. At that height there are a lot of crags and slabs, a wrong step and I could fall into a crevasse that I’d never be able to climb out of, and there are potentially things worse than dying. There was no way for me to know if they made it to the summit and were lost on the way down, or were lost on the way up. So, I thought my best bet was to start from the top down.”

Aphrodite startled at Gabrielle’s words, her eyes widening in surprise. “No shit,” she breathed. “You were the first mortal to summit Mt. Everest.”

Gabrielle nodded sadly. “I was. There was no trace of them at the top – no flags, no monuments. It was like another planet. Shen would describe it as ‘Hoth on steroids’. I couldn’t help but be stunned at the view, of course, seeing the curvature of the earth, looking down on literally everything. I was exalted, but at the same time, I couldn’t be bothered. I was searching for my friend, so I spared but a glance, took in as much as I could in a moment or two and tried the most practical path down.” She shook her head, “I could not find any sign of them anywhere. I don’t know if the winds covered their tracks, or if I was just looking in all the wrong places. I spent several days searching everywhere that made sense. They found an ice axe on the mountain in 1933, and then George’s body was found in 1999. He’d fallen, was in very bad shape and I’m guessing Irvine had to cut the rope before he too perished, although he did anyway. When Shen mentioned the bodies on Everest, I couldn’t help but think about the first friend I’d lost up there.”

Gabrielle turned once again to the moonlit night and laughed to herself, “crazy, isn’t it?” she asked. “Here I am, naked, in a deliciously warm pool with one of the most beautiful, amazing women on earth, one who I love very much, and I’m dwelling on people who have died on Mt. Everest over one hundred years ago.”

Gently, Aphrodite put her finger to the bard’s lips. “What you are doing is sharing yourself with me. And before I kiss those beautiful lips of yours, I do have a couple of questions. Did Hillary know he wasn’t the first, and how often do you go back?” Removing her finger, she let her hand drop to Gabrielle’s waist and held her close. Not unlike their previous time in the pool, it was non-sexual intimacy. Gabrielle draped her arms around the goddess’ neck.

“I was at a party with Sir. Hillary once and we were chatting alone. He spoke to me about the summit, and I replied with some descriptions of my own, and I will say his gaze narrowed and he turned white as Everest snow. I don’t think he could possibly believe I’d been there, but I also don’t think he had the faintest idea how I could know what I knew if I hadn’t.” Gabrielle shrugged. “I returned in secret a couple of times, still hoping to find the body of my friend. Now that female climbers are less newsworthy I climb every decade if I’m in the area. The last time was terrible, too many people. Now that my friend has been found, I don’t see a reason to go back, unless Xena wants to take in the view for all of about fifteen minutes. But we shall see. I know she will enjoy the challenge of mountain climbing, we just haven’t gotten to that yet.” As she spoke, she frowned, then cocked her head listening. “The ship has stopped,” she observed.

Aphrodite briefly closed her eyes before responding. “Poseidon is ready to depart, Xena is walking him to his sailboat. Calypso is waiting for him. Did you say your goodbyes?”

“I spoke to Calypso after getting Shen on his way. She’s promised to update us when she can. I think she’s feeling protective of him, but also considers us family and will tell us whatever he is comfortable with. As for Uncle Ariel,” she paused to put her thoughts in order, “I did talk to him at Shen’s party, shortly before you arrived. He couldn’t say much given the circumstances, but between him and me, he didn’t need to. We know what time of day it is with each other. He has always been honest with me, often helpful, but also demanding, sometimes petulant and much of the world and relationships we view differently and he’s fond, I think, very fond of telling me so. Of late, with his connection to Xena, we’ve interacted more than we ever have before…”

“So, you’re not opposed to a break?” Aphrodite asked with an arched eyebrow.

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow of her own. “I want him to convalesce as long as he needs to. I want him to be healthy, happy, and rejuvenated. I wish him nothing but the best and I think I have demonstrated that he is family, but I’m good without being at fault for whatever is bugging him on a given Tuesday.”

“You have gone above and beyond for that cantankerous bastard, and I owe you one.” Aphrodite said softly, moving closer. “Soon as they set sail, we’ll be on the move again, and Xena will join us. I’m going to wait for her.”

“That is the polite thing to do,” Gabrielle whispered back.

~~~~~

Xena held Poseidon’s arm as he climbed into the sailboat with Calypso steading him from the other side. “Now that Shen’s gone, we don’t need these provisions,” he grumbled.

“Speak for yourself,” Calypso replied. “I like variety in my food.” He chuckled, but did not protest.

Before letting go of his arm, Xena pressed a coin into the palm of his hand. “Here,” she said. “I stole this from Onozuka’s house. He was that mobster helping Alti. Aphrodite told me at her friend Keiko’s house, ‘remember who you are, remember what flows through your veins.’ I think maybe you need to remember that too, Poseidon.”

He looked at the coin, turning it over several times and smiled, “I’m always depicted as a long-haired muscle daddy,” he complained, “but I need a new trident, that’s for sure.”

“Cranky surfers don’t look as good on coins,” Xena replied. “I mean it, you need to remember. If it takes a new trident to do that, then so be it.”

He put the coin in his pocket and patted it. “What I need to remember is that I almost bought the farm from a stupid mistake. I won’t do that again. At some point, your bard and I will discuss some security protocols. Funny, that as soon as the two of you are together again, the world gets a lot more complicated.”

Calypso looked at Xena meaningfully, letting her know that he had overstayed his welcome and needed to leave. The warrior quickly stepped into the small sail boat and gave the God of the Sea a quick hug before climbing out. “Fair weather and calm seas,” she said to him as Calypso adjusted the sail. He didn’t speak but nodded as he wiped a tear from his eye.

“I’ll see to that,” Calypso reassured her.

Xena waited until they were some distance from The Hippolyta before texting Vox that it was time to resume their journey to Hawai’i. The engines roared to life, and the yacht began moving once more.

She took in the crisp night air as she made her way to the main deck. She wasn’t hurried; it was a clear night, the stars were beautiful, the moon full and bright. Shen called it a ‘flashlight moon’ because it made the light from his phone unnecessary. Slowly she exhaled, enjoying the sensation of knowing that in this moment, nothing was expected of her. No village needed saving, no warlord needed besting, no one was looking to her for instruction on anything. She’d read the message over the general comms; the crew had their own duties or relaxation to attend to. All she needed to worry about in this moment was Xena. She had a project to work on when and how she deemed appropriate, and she had a wife who was long overdue for the leisure of a honeymoon.

That last thought was going through her mind as she approached the swimming pool and stopped short, unable to take another step. Gabrielle and Aphrodite were together in the water. For long moments, Xena watched them. Memories flooded her consciousness of trysts in her warlord days; the debaucheries of Kaltor’s kingdom, piles of bodies naked and writhing, seeking tension and release from the various parts of whomever happened to be closest to them. Drawn from her memories, Xena stared at the surface of the water. Rose pink and opaque, there appeared to be steam rising from the surface, but she knew water that hot would be uncomfortable. While brisk, it wasn’t cold enough to make steam appear like that. The smoke had to be coming from the water itself. She breathed deeply, the night air lightly smelling of bergamot, night blooming jasmine, and the sea. The first two she knew were nowhere in the vicinity, surrounded as they were by water, so it had to be the pool. Whatever the source, the night smelled wonderful, and held the feeling that anything was possible.

Aphrodite and Gabrielle were intertwined in the pool as they had been before, but this time it was absolutely sexual in nature, even though the two women were doing nothing more than talking and treading water. Their arms wrapped around each other, they chatted with a companionable intimacy. Absently, Gabrielle played with the wet tresses of Aphrodite’s shoulder length hair It appeared that neither woman had noticed her approach, and Xena was torn between undressing and diving into the pink pearlescent water or not sparing the time and just walking into the water fully dressed. Expedience won out and Xena silently stepped onto the top step of the shallow end. She didn’t mind that her sneakers and bottom of her jeans were now soaked; the water felt good.

She could clearly hear Aphrodite whisper, “She’s here,” though the bard and goddess never took their eyes off each other. Azure blue eyes narrowed as Xena licked her lips. Gabrielle reached her hand behind the goddess head bringing her face down so she could kiss her. The memory of Aphrodite in the thrall of Caligula kissing her bard when the goddess was helpless to control herself crashed into Xena’s mind. She recalled how she’d been turned on at the sight, even though she knew her bard was startled and her friend was acting out of desperation. She’d thought about that moment afterwards. More than once. There were times when she was alone, looking for sexual release, filling her mind with images and fantasies. That was all she considered it of course, idle fantasy in search of an orgasm, but this was not that.

Deliberately, sensually, enthusiastically they kissed each other, tongues reaching from one mouth to the other, their bodies slowly spinning in the pool like erotic synchronized swimmers, Xena could see it all. Gabrielle had one hand on the side of Aphrodite’s face, the other wrapped around her neck, their legs were intertwined. The goddess, meanwhile, had her arms wrapped around the bard’s body, holding her securely and not letting her sink in the pool as Gabrielle was so enraptured by the kiss she had stopped treading water.

Xena took another step, feeling the warm water rush further up her thighs, nearly to the juncture between her legs. She felt herself able to move no closer, transfixed, as if her feet had become part of the reinforced fiberglass step. Their kiss broke and both women turned to face Xena. The ship and the deck were dark, possibly darker than was strictly legal, but the moon and glowing pearlescent water provided illumination. She could clearly see their faces. Aphrodite looked ravenous, her glacial blue eyes glowing faintly, giving her an otherworldly appearance. Gabrielle looked both turned on and questioning, vibrant green eyes hungry with arousal, but also devotion. If Xena wanted them to stop now, she would. If the warrior acquiesced, there would be no turning back, regardless of the consequences.

Xena did not have to think. She’d finished with thinking. She and Gabrielle had been over this, she’d been over this again and again with her own conscience – she was standing in a pool very much wanting to move forward. She wanted to dive into the waters of sexual release. Without losing eye contact, she nodded her head – imperceptibly, but Gabrielle saw. She knew Gabrielle saw her because the bard’s hand moved purposefully from the side of Aphrodite’s face to the Goddess’ breast. Azure blue eyes dilated with arousal as she watched her bard play with Aphrodite’s nipple. It made her hungry. She wanted them both.

Fighting the impulse to fight what was clearly the goddess’ doing, Xena forced herself to relax. To relax and enjoy the show, the performance as much for her benefit as theirs. Calmly she inhaled, then exhaled, feeling the heady swirl of heat and arousal. Her clothes were wet, she was wet. She wanted to disrobe and join them, even going as far as moving to remove her blouse, but stopped. As much as she wanted to be naked, she’d rather be undressed by them. While she famously had many skills, patience in the bedroom was not one for which she was known. It was time to work on that.

Gabrielle was self-absorbed in kissing Aphrodite like this once again, and also very aware that Xena was watching her. Watching them both. While they’d had conversations about that time so long ago when Aphrodite had kissed her – by surprise and without consent – she had pointedly not gone into detail about the months she and the goddess were lovers prior to Xena’s resurrection. Not because it was embarrassing, but because she felt guilty, and also private. She saw her time with Aphrodite as a remote island that only the two of them shared, and it was as precious to her as it was intimate. Feeling Xena’s eyes on her, watching as she kissed the goddess with confidence and intent, watching Aphrodite’s submission to her touch, she was now inviting her wife to that small island. Where once there had been the two of them, either her and Aphrodite or her and Xena, now there would be a space for the three of them…as well as space for Aphrodite and Xena. She briefly froze as that awareness dawned on her.

Aphrodite was delighted beyond measure to once more feel Gabrielle’s hands on her body, happy to feel her kiss, to sense her desire, to hear the racing beat of her pulse. But the Goddess of Love could read the more subtle signs as well. She could follow the trail of someone’s subconscious to some rather annoying places. She could tell that the realization was dawning on Gabrielle that perhaps she’d not considered that they were starting past a reunion of just the two of them. Just as she felt the heat of Xena’s amorous gaze on her skin, the bard was also realizing that her warrior was not to be hers alone. She wasn’t jealous, far from it. Aphrodite knew that Gabrielle had given up on jealousy centuries ago. No, she was feeling self-conscious, worried she might be inadequate, and veering dangerously close to having second thoughts. For all of her assertiveness and confidence when it came to sex, Xena was and would forever be someone to whom she deferred.

Fuck this noise, Aphrodite thought to herself. She doubted that there was anyone on earth who knew Xena and Gabrielle as well as they knew each other, but she certainly came in second when it came to knowing them both. From their childhoods, to them meeting and their life of legendary adventure, to an epic love story – the Goddess of Love had been there. Always at a nearly appropriate distance, always putting the mission, her mission, first. Once of the things that truly separated Aphrodite from the other Olympians was her ability to balance her duty and her own personal health. Some Olympians were fanatic in their narcissism – a self-absorption that was ever their undoing. Aphrodite painted with the full spectrum. She could be generous, she could be empathetic, she could put down her own personal wants to do what needed to be done. But she was not entirely selfless, not completely altruistic. She considered her worth, she was self-confident, she loved herself and believed she mattered and that she should be free to, on occasion, go after the things she wanted. This she wanted. This night she wanted. She wanted Gabrielle. She wanted Xena too. She strongly believed in the two of them, where they were within themselves, and where they were with each other. If she believed she would be driving a wedge between them, she wouldn’t want this, so the fact that she did, implied very much that she was not going to put up with the bard’s sudden imposter syndrome.

Without releasing her friend’s lips, she drew a hand from the bard’s back and placed it on the hand cupping a grateful breast. Quite pointedly she pulled the hand down her body under the water to her labia. That seemed to break the spell of Gabrielle’s insecurity. Aphrodite arched her neck in delight as Gabrielle teased at her opening before smoothly thrusting two fingers inside. Glacial blue eyes flared with hunger as she maintained eye contact with the woman pleasuring her. Gabrielle did not hesitate, and moved her fingers in and out in a steady rhythm slowly picking up strength and speed. The bard was not surprised that the conditions in the pool changed, saltwater always made people more buoyant, but now the water had a different characteristic. It felt slightly dense, providing support. She could move her arm back and forth and with her other hand wrapped around Aphrodite’s neck, could easily pleasure her partner without sinking or needlessly splashing in the water. Her green eyes focused and intent, she watched the shift in Aphrodite’s expression as she grazed the Goddess’ clitoris with her thumb while continuing to work magic with her fingers.

“Yes,” Aphrodite breathed, kissing Gabrielle once more.

“You are so soft,” Gabrielle murmured, when their kiss broke. “You are so wet. You feel delicious. Another?” she sweetly inquired.

“Yes, one more, please,” the Goddess of Love begged.

Xena stood transfixed watching the scene before her. She could imagine what Aphrodite was feeling, she could imagine what Gabrielle was feeling, although the water was opaque and she could barely see the shadow of her bard’s hand thrusting between Aphrodite’s legs. Flashes of violet electricity seemed to race across the surface of the water as the colors swirled and shifted from pinks to reds and oranges and back to pink. The patterns of the pearlescent water appeared to thrum and vibrate, pulsating with contractions of Aphrodite’s muscles. The Goddess of Love made several unintelligible sounds as she climaxed, sending powerful vibrations through the pool. Vibrations strong enough to make the water ripple, warm splashes teasing the warrior anew. After several grateful pants, the goddess regained her composure and kissed Gabrielle. Cupping the sides of the bard’s face with her hands, she kissed her slowly and deeply, causing Xena to strain against herself, wanting very much to get closer to the action.

As if Aphrodite could read her mind, the goddess turned and winked at Xena before maneuvering Gabrielle to the edge of the pool. Gently, she withdrew each of the bard’s hands from the water, stopping to kiss the fingers that had just been inside of her. She positioned her arms along the edge so Gabrielle could face Xena across the pool and support her body in the water. Then the goddess kissed her once more before moving to kiss the bard’s neck, across her collarbones, from her right breast to her left and then down. It did not take a detective to figure out what happened next. Gabrielle swallowed hard and panted sharply before focusing her eyes on Xena and keeping them there. She let it all wash across her face, she held nothing back; the vulnerability, the delight, the hunger. “Xena,” she panted, “this feels so good.”

Unable to stop herself Xena groaned, consumed with desire, hunger, and frustration at not being able to move. “Tell me.” she breathed, knowing that there was zero chance Aphrodite would release her from the steps until she was finished.

“I feel like I’m melting into her mouth,” the bard replied, struggling to speak. “Long strokes, this is so good.” She panted again and gasped sharply. “Now, she’s teasing me. I’m trying to move where I need her and she’s playing with me.”

“Let her,” Xena instructed.

“Xena!” Gabrielle pleaded. “Ah…yesssss,” she purred, all the while, maintaining eye contact with her wife.

“She’s giving you what you need,” Xena said tenderly, hoping her tone would convey an added dimension of permission.

“All that and more,” Gabrielle panted. “So good, so good…I…”

“Not yet,” Xena murmured, knowing her voice would carry across the pool. The tone was commanding, but also held promise and reward.

“But I need to come,” Gabrielle said with desperation. “I need her to make me come.”

“You wait until I say,” Xena growled, watching her intently. Here, she’d found a way to be involved, her paralysis be damned. As if she were being rewarded, the water splashed at her rhythmically, more forcefully, giving her own pussy some measure of relief. She could read Gabrielle’s expression like a map and did not make her wait a moment longer than she could endure.

“Come for me,” she urged. In response, Gabrielle powerfully groaned in her release.

Moments after the delightful spasms finished, Aphrodite rose up out of the water and kissed Gabrielle for a long time. Gabrielle wrapped her arms around the goddess’ shoulders as she kissed her back. Their interaction was both passionate and tender. There was an assured contentment, and comfortable gratitude to be with each other in this way once more.

Xena was about to remind the two of them that she was still there, then decided against it, realizing she had been invited to share a moment of genuine love and intimacy. She did not feel threatened, she did not feel unloved, rather she felt trusted. From Aphrodite’s perspective especially, she felt like she was given a window to a space where the Goddess of Love was exposed. Watching her receive and give pleasure to someone she deeply loved was something she was sure not many people had borne witness to. Her status as deity be damned, it was clear to the warrior that Aphrodite loved Gabrielle as much as she did.

The kissing stopped. Both women turned to her with sultry smiles. They swam over to her, each extending a hand to Xena. The warrior accepted the offered hands and nearly stumbled as her body was suddenly free and she was able to step completely into the pool.

Before she could speak, much less get her footing, Gabrielle lunged for her. She kissed her hungrily, insatiably, forcefully, her mouth warm and wet as if her voyeuristic performance had aroused her all the more. Xena enjoyed the familiar feel of lips moving expertly against hers as Gabrielle undid the buttons on her shirt. Her mouth was tangy and sweet, remnants of Gabrielle’s own musk on her lips from Aphrodite’s kiss. The warrior closed her eyes, delighting in the sensation. Back and forth their tongues moved, a familiar dance with each other that held the promise of further delights. Then she felt something slightly different. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know Aphrodite had switched places with her bard. The taste of Gabrielle intensified, and this dance was new. In all her years of knowing the Goddess of Love, she’d never been kissed by her – never even considered it – for real anyway. Not like the performance as tawdry escorts five years ago to distract Ares’ guards. That was hardly like this. In hindsight, she had to admit she’d been missing out. Her mouth was warm and wet, and she kissed with a tender intensity that Xena found exhilarating. She felt herself existing in a world of pleasure. She welcomed the goddess’ tongue into her mouth, nearly consumed with the need to feel as close to her as possible. Her shirt open, there were now hands on her breasts as Gabrielle kissed her neck. She felt her pants loosened enough for a skilled hand to slip inside. She was unsure by whom and was and delighted by that fact. Xena kept her eyes closed, enjoying the hands on her, enjoying as they traded off kissing her. For all of her paralysis moments earlier, she now reveled in being the center of attention.

After what felt like a delicious eternity, Aphrodite broke the kiss, letting Xena catch her breath. The goddess smiled warmly at the warrior before murmuring, “These clothes have got to go, warrior babe.”

“I could not agree more,” Xena replied.

Aphrodite slipped below the surface. If Xena had any hope she’d enjoy the same treatment Gabrielle had just experienced, she was wrong. The only one of them who seemed to be thinking clearly, Aphrodite dipped underwater to remove the warrior’s shoes before removing her jeans, granting warrior and bard a moment of near privacy.

“All good?” Xena asked, looking at Gabrielle questioningly.

While the bard blushed a little, her grin overrode any embarrassment she may have been feeling. “I love you Xena,” she replied. “You?”

Xena chuckled as Aphrodite tended to her other shoe. “There is still just you and me, Gabrielle. But now there is also the three of us,” she replied, then added, “from time to time.”

If Gabrielle was going to say something in response, she didn’t get the chance. Aphrodite broke the surface of the water and tossed both shoes out of the pool, then moved to the warrior once more. “Pants next, my dear,” she said, slipping her jeans off the brunette’s body. Those too joined the shoes. Gabrielle swam close and slipped the now unbuttoned blouse and bra off of her wife’s body, stopping to caress the warrior’s breasts while she was at it.

“This way dears,” Aphrodite instructed the other two as she led them by the hand back to the deeper part of the pool.

“Uh…” Gabrielle said uncertainly. “Is someone forgetting I’m shorter than the two of you – and I don’t breathe under water?”

“This look like water to you?” The Goddess of Love challenged.

“Yeah,” Xena agreed. “What is this?”

“I can breathe it?” Gabrielle asked, looking at the pulsating pink fluid dubiously.

Xena arched an eyebrow, unconvinced.

“No, you can’t breathe it,” Aphrodite explained, “but you will have more buoyancy than even the salt water. Xena and I won’t let you drown, Sweet Pea.” Her eyes traveled to the warrior. “You can’t breathe this either, hon, but you can hold your breath much longer than Gabrielle. Trust me, I’ll make sure everyone gets enough air.”

With that, Aphrodite dipped below the surface of the pool, bringing the other two with her. Both Xena and Gabrielle were mesmerized by the sensation. It still felt like swimming in the pool but different. And unlike what she imagined zero gravity to be like, Gabrielle realized that this substance had more resistance. Another benefit she appreciated was the sheer amount of space she had. Unlike the other debaucherous romps from years past, where navigating a tangle of arms and legs was problematic, here she felt free and unencumbered by concepts like ‘up’ and ‘down’. She swam, touching warrior and Goddess, delighting in the sensation of their skin in the pulsing water. She was able to kiss and touch from any position and took full advantage, as much as her lung capacity would let her. From time to time, Aphrodite nudged her towards the surface. The experience was amazing.

Aphrodite moved behind the bard, supporting her from the back while Xena swam to face her, kissing Gabrielle as soon as the bard surfaced for air. Hungrily, the bard threaded her fingers in her wife’s long dark hair, holding her close, not letting her go. Turned on by the roughness of the bard’s touch, warrior let her teeth scrape her lover’s lip as their kiss broke. “You playing games with me, Gabrielle?” Xena purred. “Because I can play games, too.”

“I love games,” Aphrodite agreed from behind Gabrielle’s ear. The goddess dipped backwards into the pool, holding Gabrielle around the waist, supporting her and keeping her body just above the surface of the water. The bard was essentially floating on her back with a goddess who did not need to breathe, nestled under her body, hands free to roam, caressing her breasts, teasing her elsewhere.

Xena grinned mischievously, and took the opportunity to kiss the bard’s breasts, once again using her teeth to great advantage. When she moved from the left breast to the right, she captured two of the goddess’ fingers as well, sucking them into her mouth with the nipple, swirling her tongue around both. She could hear Gabrielle moan with delight. Moving further south she realized her good fortune when it was apparent that Aphrodite and Gabrielle’s bodies were in essence stacked one on top of the other as the goddess was supporting the bard, making sure she could breathe. Taking in a lungful of air, Xena dipped below the surface. From this vantage point she could pleasure Gabrielle with her fingers, while she explored Aphrodite with her mouth. She opened her eyes, expecting the sting of saltwater, but there was none. Whatever mystical properties the pool had adopted, they were ideal for lovemaking.

As soon as her mouth closed on the goddess’ sex, she felt a kaleidoscope of emotions surge through her, as if she were feeling her own feelings, Gabrielle’s, and Aphrodite’s all at once. She felt ravenous with need, powerful, connected, aroused, loved and loving, all at the same time. Slowly, languidly, she moved her tongue up and down, then in and out, unhurried, enjoying the taste and sensation of connectedness. She knew the goddess had already climaxed once and it wouldn’t kill her to wait a bit for another, same as her wife. After several moments, she switched the position of her hands and her mouth – moving her fingers to Aphrodite’s velvet, welcome, opening and shifting her mouth to Gabrielle. Immediately she felt her wife’s fingers reach for the back of her head, threading through her hair, holding her face right where she wanted it.

Had Xena been any less focused on what she was doing, she would have smiled. Of all the changes the past two millennia wrought in her bard, Gabrielle’s confidence in the bedroom was not one of them. Her bard had always been confident, expressive, and quite capable of articulating what she wanted and exactly how she wanted it. As if reading her thoughts, Gabrielle cooed, “Yes…right there – exactly right there…”

“Not so fast, bard,” Xena purred as she lifted her face from the water and stopped her ministrations.

“Xena!” Gabrielle complained. Xena arched and eyebrow and Gabrielle chuckled. “Um…yes…I see your point.”

Aphrodite surfaced and splashed the other two playfully, “I think warrior babe has an idea,” she said. Xena nodded, and as if reading her mind, Aphrodite winked in return. The hue of the water shifted from bright pink to intense magenta and Gabrielle felt her body nearly lifted from the water.

“Ohhhhh,” she said with delight. Everywhere the fluid touched was deliciously warm, inviting, comforting but every bit of her above the liquid surface was exposed to crisp night air punctuated by the occasional gentle breeze. Immediately, her nipples were hard and erect, gooseflesh appearing on her arms. In the liquid, it was easy enough to shift the bard onto her side, and Xena picked up where she left off, pleasuring Gabrielle with her mouth.

Aphrodite watched them for long moments, enjoying the opportunity to see the aroused expressions play out on their faces. “I don’t get to watch you when I’m doing this,” she purred before kissing Gabrielle again. “You look sexy when you’re having your pussy eaten.”

To say she felt spoiled didn’t begin to express the indulgence Gabrielle felt. Her body was thrumming with delight, her mind swirling with feelings of connectedness. Xena had added several fingers to her ministrations.

Gabrielle caught Aphrodite’s gaze and held it. “Take care of her,” the bard demanded breathily.

“With pleasure, Sweet Pea,” she said, kissing her briefly before shifting her position to reach Xena’s body. Slowly, she caressed the warrior’s feet and ankles, before moving her hands up strong calves. When she reached Xena’s thighs, she urged them apart. The warrior quickly acquiesced. It took but a moment to find a comfortable position where she could pleasure Xena while Xena was pleasuring Gabrielle.

Gently, the bard tapped on her wife’s shoulder and Xena stopped, looking at her love questioningly. “I’m at the brink,” Gabrielle panted. “Give me a sec.”

If Xena was going to answer, she couldn’t. Her eyes rolled up and she groaned, so delighted with what Aphrodite was doing to her. In gratitude, the warrior shifted Gabrielle’s body so her bard could reach Aphrodite, completing a triangle. Xena was grateful for the moment’s respite. She could greedily focus on her own pleasure, intensified by the voyeuristic thrill of watching Gabrielle pleasure the goddess. Rhythmically, she moved her hips against Aphrodite’s face, feeling delights she could scarcely put expression to. “Yes,” she panted as she felt the tightening of her muscles that would soon explode into orgasm.

There was something dangerous and sexy about watching Gabrielle. Knowing how it felt, knowing how good she was. When they had sex, she never had this point of view visually and there was something salacious and forbidden about it that excited her. After another joyful pant, she realized that the same rhythm Gabrielle was using on Aphrodite, the goddess was using on her. Xena resumed pleasuring Gabrielle, slowly at first, then faster. Her bard was delicious, tangy and sweet, and few things made her happier than the ability to make Gabrielle feel this good.

As her own body thrummed with excitement and expectation, she felt her pulse race. It took determination and focus to not lose sight on the pleasure she was providing. It would have been so easy to stop what she was doing and try to fuck Aphrodite’s face as hard as she could. Her hips bucked wildly as the tremors of her climax began to build, and with her tongue she could feel the shake and contraction of Gabrielle’s sex. Only Aphrodite seemed capable of not missing a beat with what she was doing to Xena’s body, in spite of whatever it was Gabrielle was doing to her. With a powerful contraction, she came, feeling the climax of Gabrielle filling her mouth and her senses with the intensity of her orgasm. She realized Aphrodite had climaxed too because she felt pulled into a disorienting vortex of sensations. Like a rollercoaster that had her spinning, or the feeling of being pulled under a wave, Xena tumbled in the pool with a now pulsating kaleidoscope of color that made her shut her eyes against its vibrancy. She reached out with her hands, searching for something solid and her hand closed on Gabrielle’s just as the pulses stopped. Another hand held onto her as well, urging her forward, which turned out to be up. She broke the surface of the water, inhaling deeply.

“Holy shit,” gasped Gabrielle as she filled her lungs with air. “That was amazing.”

“What she said,” Xena agreed.

“I’m inclined to agree with you both,” Aphrodite said watching as Xena and Gabrielle were drawn to each other.

The water was too deep for either woman to touch the bottom, but with the added buoyancy, it didn’t matter. There was no worry of sinking unless they moved intentionally downward. Xena wrapped her arms around Gabrielle’s waist as the bard draped her arms over Xena’s shoulders. Aphrodite smiled warmly at the pair before sinking below the surface of the water to give the two of them a moment. For long minutes they simply floated, gazing into each other’s eyes with happy grins on their faces.

“It really is nice,” Gabrielle said again, softly. “Thank you, Xena.”

“Thank you,” the warrior replied. “Of all the people you could have connected with trying to bring me back, I’m glad it was Aphrodite. I mean it could have been Minya or Tara or someone else…”

Gabrielle chucked, splashing Xena playfully before leaning in for a decadent kiss. “I’m a little more discerning than that,” the bard chided her.

“You do have exceptional taste,” the warrior agreed.

They kissed again and when they pulled apart Gabrielle looked thoughtful. Xena gave her a squeeze, encouraging her to say what was on her mind.

“All my life,” the bard began, “since that fateful day, I’ve imagined what it would be like for you to be with me. Even when I no longer imagined your actual presence at my side, I pictured what our lives might have been like together, and in a timeless kind of way you’ve always been with me. Just like you said from my very first hallucination.”

Xena’s eyes began to well with tears. It was a lot to be loved this much. To be worthy of this much devotion. All of the things that Gabrielle had endured, even though much of it had been amazing, she had started down this path for her. “What was it like?” she whispered.

Gabrielle smiled. “So many times, when I was at my happiest, we’d just be living our lives – content in a small village or town, contributing meaningfully, staying under the radar. No heroics, just you and me taking in the sunrises and sunsets and growing old together. In another time, I pictured you and I fighting against the Spanish Inquisition, because we were needed there, in another we provided an escape from a war, or from slavery. Everywhere I’ve lived, all over the world, I’ve pictured you there with me. Imagining what cuisines you’d like, sharing spectacular vistas with you, having you there to comfort me in the very worst of times. There isn’t a place I’ve traveled, or a day I’ve lived that there hadn’t been room for you. There have been so many lives, so many things you’d have been good at, but nothing compares to what you are the very best at. You are the other half of my soul Xena, and in that your perfection is breathtaking.”

Slowly, gracefully, spinning in the water, they looked at each other, the memories flooding in of every time they’d looked at each other like this. From their very first meeting, this was their destiny. This moment, this place in time was what everything that had come before had led to. “There will be more Alti’s,” Xena murmured, hating to mar the moment with reality.

“And we will handle whatever it is the same way we handled her and Ares. We have a team and we will deal with it. And when we don’t have an existential threat to vanquish, we will enjoy our lives and do work that makes our souls sing,” Gabrielle replied.

“I love you more than words can say,” Xena murmured softly, leaning in for another deep kiss. “I owe you my life, but more importantly, back then, you taught me how to actually live. I would not be the woman I am today, were it not for you.”

Aphrodite surfaced and watched Xena and Gabrielle hold each other in the water. In all her many years, she could not recall being prouder of how a love story turned out. While it had been far from perfect – humans never were – they were perfect for each other. “I’m all for enjoying downtime too,” Aphrodite quipped. The meter on their ‘alone time’ had expired as far as she was concerned.

Xena kissed Gabrielle again, more ardently this time. Sensitive chat over, the warrior was ready to get back to business. Her kiss was returned as Gabrielle’s hands traveled over Xena’s body. Her bard wasn’t done either. Xena looked over at Aphrodite and purposefully winked at her.

“Oh yeah, this party is just getting started,” Aphrodite replied with a smirk, accepting the unspoken challenge.

Gabrielle took note of the goddess’ smirk and cocked her head at Xena. “Xena,” she said, “Aphrodite is smirking at us.”

The warrior arched an eyebrow in the Goddess of Love’s general direction. “We can’t have that,” she said sternly.

“Ohhhh,” Aphrodite replied, positively delighted. “Whatever are the two of you going to do about it?”

Xena chuckled. “If something comes to mind after fucking your brains out, I’ll let you know.”

“Look who’s got some game after all,” the goddess replied favoring Xena with a thousand-watt smile.

“If you don’t mind, this game is moving to the shallow end where I can stand, unless you want to move this party to the bedroom?” Gabrielle asked hopefully. Xena and Aphrodite exchanged glances, both women very happy and content in the pool. “Eventually, we move this to the bedroom?” Warrior and goddess shrugged their agreement. “Thank you.”

For hours the three women pleasured themselves and each other. Moving from one end of the pool to the other, they sampled the delights of where their hearts and imaginations led them. Every conceivable combination was explored from the three of them together, two on one, one on two and even a solo show from Aphrodite that left warrior and bard in awe. It was sensual and erotic, but filled with humor and devotion as well. Finally, hearts and bodies satiated, the three of them lounged on the steps of the swirling pearlescent pink pool.

“What’s this?” Xena asked, taking note of three robes on hangers, two iced buckets of champagne, a pitcher of Aphrodite’s electrolyte cucumber water and three glasses. “You have house elves on the ship now?” she asked with a laugh.

“If you mean a giant Russian one named Nicolai, then I guess so,” Gabrielle replied beet red with embarrassment. “When do you think he brought this stuff out? And how did we not notice?”

“I know how you didn’t notice,” Aphrodite said smugly.

“Do you think it was when we had you bent over the side over there?” Xena asked with a smirk of her own.

“When you were eating my pussy and Gabrielle was eating my asshole?” Aphrodite asked in return. Gabrielle had just taken a swig of the cucumber water, nearly choking at the goddess’ comment, spraying liquid over the other two. Aphrodite rubbed her back and the bard’s choking immediately stopped. With tenderness she explained, “He brought this stuff out the third time we were all under water. He made sure he couldn’t see any of us and wasn’t out here more than two minutes. It’s his way of showing you that he loves you, loves all of us, and wants to care for you in the small ways he can.”

“He’s a good man,” Xena agreed, getting out of the water long enough to open a bottle of champagne, then returned to her position on the step. She didn’t bother with glasses, simply passed the bottle after taking a swig. Gabrielle had been quiet, lost in thought as she sipped her cucumber drink, then passing it to Xena in exchange for the bottle. “What is it?” the warrior queried.

“I think that Nicolai is trying to care for us, but also I think he’s worried that things will get weird, and specifically he’s worried about me,” Gabrielle said. “I’ve known him a long time, more than once he’s said ‘love drama makes you sloppy’.”

“Says the man pining for your director of Special Projects,” Aphrodite groused.

Xena nudged Gabrielle’s shoulder and glanced at Aphrodite. “So, we don’t let things get weird.” She stuck her hand in the viscous pink liquid and let it drip from her fingers. “Weirder,” she added.

“Loves,” Aphrodite said reassuringly, “if I didn’t think the two of you were solid, this wouldn’t be happening. I’ve put in too many hours at the office to support your most epic of love stories to blow it up now. One ground rule, for now anyway – you guys have your thing, but I’m only in this thing with the two of you together. Doesn’t mean I won’t go to lunch or dinner with one of you, but I won’t be on the menu. I’m not an equal partner in this, I’ve got my own deal – the two of you know that, and the last thing on earth I am is threatened by is the devotion you two have for each other. Do we have a deal?”

Xena didn’t answer immediately, waiting on Gabrielle. For the warrior, it was a no brainer. She was happy to enjoy Aphrodite in the company of her bard on occasion, but she’d never had a solo relationship with the goddess. Gabrielle had, and Xena knew her well enough to know she was deciding if she could have this added relationship and not let it get messy, not let it interfere with her marriage. Briefly, Gabrielle and Aphrodite locked eyes with each other. Xena could read it on each of their faces. Aphrodite was worried Gabrielle might say no and Gabrielle was scared to say yes.

“I’m in,” Xena heard herself say before realizing she’d spoken.

“I’m in too,” Gabrielle said immediately thereafter, with a sheepish grin at her wife.

You sure? Aphrodite asked in Gabrielle’s mind. If it gets too confusing, you can change your mind. I know you’re uncertain.

I know I can change my mind, Gabrielle thought back, but I want to see where this leads us.

“I can read your expressions,” Xena cut in. “No mind talking Jedi shit. I can tell you’re asking Gabrielle if she’s sure, and Gabrielle is telling you that no, of course she isn’t sure but she wants to try anyway and see where it leads or something like that.”

Bard and goddess exchanged glances before sharing a laugh. “They don’t say she’s got many skills for nothing,” Gabrielle quipped.

“Well, I want you both to hydrate so I can try out some more of them. We have a little time before the sun comes up,” Aphrodite replied.

“Then what?” Xena asked seriously.

Aphrodite stood and made her way back into the pool, standing where the water reached just to her breasts. Xena and Gabrielle joined her. She kissed Xena, warmly, tenderly, and then drew back. “Then we have some fun on the way to Hawai’i, and when we get to the islands the two of you have whatever kind of honeymoon you had planned.” Then she turned and kissed Gabrielle in the same fashion. “I’ll start work with Toshiko and give you love birds some space. I need to learn how Keiko is doing things, and let Toshiko know how I do things. After your honeymoon, maybe we reconnect back in LA, I’ll have to see where I’m drawn. The election turned out better than you thought, and I don’t have as many fires to put out, but there is still some toxic crap from the previous administration I’m dealing with.”

Gabrielle was quiet a moment, then looked towards the interior of her ship. Her home and office, teeming with people who worked for her. Xena chuckled. “Yeah,” Aphrodite continued, “I can’t help you there. I’m going to be respectful around Michelle, even though she isn’t a jealous person either, but whatever you want to tell your people is up to you, Sweet Pea. I can’t pretend we don’t have a thing if we do. Same goes for you warrior babe.”

Xena sighed. “If they can deal with people living for thousands of years and actual gods walking around, I think this will be a piece of cake. Now come over here and kiss me again,” she added playfully.

“You didn’t specify who,” Gabrielle teased.

A familiar eyebrow arched over a mischievous blue eye, “I know,” Xena said, her voice sultry and low. Gabrielle and Aphrodite laughed, drawn to Xena just the same. “Maybe I can get Vox to make the boat go slower,” she murmured as the three of them dipped below the surface of the pool once more.

And so dear reader, if there had been any question, they all lived very happily ever after.

The End.

Author’s Note: This one is for Jenbob. There is no present I could buy, no art I could make – nothing that could come close to the gift of friendship you’ve given me all these years. In a lifetime of mistakes, regrets and missed opportunities – I will forever cherish our (correct) assumptions that the other was not an axe murderer. I will be forever grateful you decided to crash at my place for that Xena convention way back when and to be my friend, even after you got to know me. I love you, man. With all my heart.

Bat Morda, North Hollywood June 15, 2023

Soundtrack

I mentioned in this section of Resurrection of Xena that I put together “soundtracks” as I work on a story. A playlist starts to emerge of songs that pop up in my iTunes app that make me think of a character or a scene and I collect them. I listen to those songs over and over because I live in LA and spend and ungodly amount of time in my car, often in traffic and you can only take so many podcasts. Songs sometimes make me think of a character, or a specific scene or of a mood that I’m trying to capture. Sometimes I hear a song and I think “I need to write that”, then I pack in seven times more verbiage than needed and am amazed again at the economy of songwriting. My musical tastes are varied, but I am also stupid-old and often, so is my music. I went to high-school from 1980-1984 which is why so much of the music I’m fond of show’s up on the oldies stations.

This is my playlist for The Poseidon Adventure. I’ve tried to put it in chronological order as the story progresses. There was a lot of loss for me during the writing of this story. It shouldn’t have taken as long as it did to complete, but my beloved dog Dakota died, my mom is (presently) 94 and in the writing of this her dementia got severe and a lot of not-good stuff goes along with it. One of my best friends was diagnosed with a very rare cancer and in less than a year she was gone. There were months of darkness where I could not even fathom stepping into the make believe world in my head where I often retreat when things get dark. Life generally is often hard on all of us, relationships we work through, dealing with the generalized insanity around us, battling our own demons – the past several years though, they were a bitch even by my standards – anyway many of these songs helped with the chaos. I hope you dig them too.

• The Morning After, Maureen McGovern, The Poseidon Adventure Soundtrack
• My New Swag, Vava, Crazy Rich Asians Soundtrack (Poseidon traveling abroad)
• Lightning Man, Pretenders, Hate For Sale (Introducing Alti)
• The Seventh Seal, Van Halen, Balance (Introducing The Shinigami)
• Crystal, Stevie Nicks, Practical Magic Soundtrack (The Wedding, first dance with Xena)
• Mirrorball, Taylor Swift, Folklore (The Wedding, last dance, with Aphrodite)
• Me Wise Magic, Van Halen, Best Of Vol, 1 (more Alti shit)
• Mysterious Ways, U2, Achtung Baby (Introducing Calypso)
• Blow Me (One Last Kiss), P!nk, The Truth About Love (Shen’s Talent Show)
• Beautiful Trauma, P!nk, Beautiful Trauma (Shen’s Talent Show)
• The Man, Taylor Swift, Lover (Shen’s Talent Show)
• Venus, Bananarama (cover), Greatest Hits Collection, (Aphrodite, original version was on ROX)
• Talk Of the Town, Pretenders, The Singles (Aphrodite & Gabrielle)
• Tall Dark Handsome Stranger, Heart, Brigade (I see this as a Xena theme)
• Cherry Bomb, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Fetish (Aphrodite & Shen)
• Venus Loves Leonard, Mary’s Danish, Circa (Aphrodite & Shen)
• White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane, 2400 Fulton St. (Heading to Mt. Olympus)
• I Think I Need Sleep, The Go-Go’s, God Bless the Go-Go’s bonus track (dreamscape)
• Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), The Motels (cover), The Motels (dreamscape)
• These Dreams, Heart, Heart (dreamscape)
• Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows, The Beatles, Love Soundtrack (dream)
• It’s Everything But Partytime, The Go-Go’s, Vacation (Alti shows up in the dream)
• Worlds Away, The Go-Go’s, Vacation (Gabrielle in the dream)
• Chances Are, Sheryl Crow, Wildflower (Xena in the dream)
• Love Walks In, Van Halen, 5150 (Aphrodite saves Gabrielle)
• Fleet of Hope, Indigo Girls, Poseidon & The Bitter Bug (Poseidon get unexpected help)
• Something That You Said, The Bangles, Doll Revolution (Gabrielle with Aphrodite in dreamscape)
• Christmas Lights, Ingrid Michaelson, Stranger Songs, (Xena seeing Gabrielle in the pool)
• Bleed To Love Her, Fleetwood Mac, Say You Will, (Xena for Gabrielle)
• Kathy’s Song, Simon & Garfunkel, Old Friends (Xena for Gabrielle)
• Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water (Aphrodite saving Gabrielle)
• Red Velvet Car, Heart, Red Velvet Car (Aphrodite saving Gabrielle)
• I Want You So Bad, Heart, Bad Animals (Aphrodite for Gabrielle)
• We Found Love, Army of 3 featuring Ingrid Michaelson, EP (Gabrielle for Xena)
• Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Adona (cover), Birds of Prey, The Album (Gabrielle fights Alti)
• Save A Prayer, Duran Duran, Decade (Aphrodite’s colleague)
• Bad, U2, The Unforgettable Fire (Gabrielle and Yui in the dreamscape)
• I’m Gonna Follow You, Pat Benatar, Crimes of Passion (Alti battle)
• One Little Soldier, Regina Spektor, Bombshell Soundtrack (Aphrodite battles Alti)
• Immigrant Song, Anne Wilson (cover), Hope & Glory (Aphrodite battles The Shinigami)
• You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, Dusty Springfield (Xena injured)
• I Drink Wine, Adele, 30, (author unsarcastically pensive when one of her best friends dies)
• In My Life, The Beatles, Rubber Soul (author unsarcastically pensive when one of her best friends dies)
• The 1, Taylor Swift, Folklore (Aphrodite)
• Erotica, Madonna, Erotica (the pool scene)
• Swim, Madonna, Ray of Light (the pool scene)
• Make You Feel My Love, Adele (cover), 19, (Xena & Gabrielle)
• Timeless (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (Xena & Gabrielle)
• Stupid Love, Lady Gaga, Chromatica (happily ever afters)

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