Double Trouble 3


By Briar

Disclaimer: I own no rights whatsoever to any characters from Xena:Warrior Princess, I am only borrowing them for the length of this story. This story is for the amusement and entertainment of my friends in the Ares and Xena Shippers club. I promise to return the characters intact when I am finished with them. I am making no money from this story.

It had now been several weeks since Xena and Gabrielle had arrived at Cyrene's with the two toddlers. They had originally found Jeb at the site of a massacre. They had searched for days to find any living relatives, with no luck. They had, however, found a merchant who had told them that the men of the party had commented on being the last of their line. Nobody had chanced to think that maybe the women still had family. Xena had left word at all the places they had searched to send any info to Amphipolis, at Cyrene's tavern.

A man in dusty clothes, riding a tired horse, arrived at the front of the tavern. He enquired of a passerby if this was Cyrene's tavern. He was assured that it was, and slowly dismounted and hitched his horse to the rail. He took off his hat and entered the front door. Seeing a stranger in the room, Cyrene went over to greet him. "Welcome, how may I help you?" she enquired. "I'm looking for a Xena, who found a little boy named Jeb." Her heart sank, but she informed him that she would get Xena. Stepping out into the kitchen, she waved Xena over, and whispered. "Someone is looking for Jeb." Xena was startled and dismayed. "He's in the tavern. "Cyrene continued. Xena walked slowly into the front room, and looked around. She spotted him immediately. He was still standing just inside the front door. "I'm Xena, and I understand you're looking for Jeb?" "I certainly am, my wife's sister was the woman who was holding him. I was bringing some more things she had requested, when I heard the news. At first I heard that everybody had been killed, and I was heartsick. How would I ever tell my wife? She and her sister were very close. Then I met a merchant who informed me that there had been a small blond child who survived. Since my sister in law was the only blond in the party, I was sure that it was her son."

At that moment Gabrielle entered the room. Cyrene had just informed her of the situation. "Gabrielle....?" the man asked. "Yes?" she replied. "How do you know my name, I don't know you." "You're right." he said, "But I know you. You're my wife's cousin. Her name is Janisse, and she's your cousin on your mother's side. I saw you in town one day, and Janisse told me about you. You were busy at the time, so we didn't disturb you." Gabrielle got excited, she hadn't seen Janisse in such a long time. Janisse and her sister Marda lived several towns away, and were rarely involved in family matters. She had heard that both were married, and that Janisse had several children, she had also heard that Marda had a son. "Do you mean that Jeb is Marda's son? she asked incredulously. "Yes, he is, and I'm so thankful that someone has been taking care of him! You and Janisse are the only family he has left." he replied. "I have several children of my own, I don't feel that I would be able to take care of another child properly. Could you keep him?" "I'd be happy to, I never saw the body, and might not have recognized her if I did. I haven't seen Marda since we were both children. Oh, I'm so glad to know who he is." She exchanged looks with Xena, and then with Cyrene, who had entered the room right behind her. All three faces were smiling with relief.

They had come to love the boy as if he were their own, and now they found out that he truly was their own. Jeb had found a permanent family, and they were thrilled. Cyrene quickly stepped out of the room, and soon entered with the child in question. "Unca Lem, unca Lem." the child shouted with glee. The man swept him up in his arms, and gave him a big hug. Jeb promptly tried to fill him in on everything that had happened in the last few weeks. He told him his mama was lost, but he had found two more mamas. He told him about the chickens, and the pigs, and everything else he could think of. Of course, a lot of it was unintelligible. He didn't have a very large vocabulary yet, but he got most of his points across. Lem looked down at him with a grin. "You haven't changed a bit, Jeb." he said gently. "You're still the same chatterbox you always were. I'm so glad." Xena told him about the period when Jeb wouldn't talk to anyone but Eve, and that slowly Eve had managed to convince him that he was safe. From that time on, he started to talk, and now he wouldn't shut up. She glanced at Gabrielle, and commented. "I should have recognized the family resemblance right away. They're both blonds, they have similar features, and they both love to talk." Gabby looked offended for a moment, then grinned. "Yeah, I guess you should have at that. We've often commented that he looked a lot like me, in fact that he could have been my son, the resemblance was so great.

After a few more candlemarks, Cyrene offered to put him up for the night. It was getting late. He was invited back into the kitchen for supper with the family. Cyrene had called in some help for the evening, so they had plenty of time to talk. Their conversation went on long into the night, with time out to put the two little ones to bed. After they were safely asleep, the conversation continued, with Xena describing the scene of carnage. Lem was grateful that Xena and Gabrielle had come along in time to save his nephew. He was also more grateful than he could say, that the boy had found a family that loved him and cared for him. Xena described how she had lifted the boy while his eyes were closed in fright, and held his face in her neck while she carried him to safety. The cloak had saved him from not only death, but also the scenes of death. Eventually they went to bed.

As Xena was laying on the bed, her thoughts turned to more pleasant things. As Aphrodite would say, she and Ares were becoming an item. She wasn't quite sure exactly what an *item* was, but she had a pretty good idea. At least once or twice a week, he stopped by to visit. Mostly they just conversed, but sometimes they let their fingers do the walking, and their bodies do the talking. He would whisk them off to somewhere private for either form of conversation. They didn't want any evesdroppers, or interruptions. One night, Ares had been kissing her passionately, when suddenly he raised his head, as though he were listening. "Oh oh!" he exclaimed. "Your mother just peeked into your room and found you missing. She's gone looking. I'll take care of that." With a snap of his fingers, she was clothed in her shift, leathers, and a soft pair of house shoes. A wave of his hand placed her on the bench outside the back door. When her mother opened the door, she was sitting there with one knee clasped in both hands, staring out toward the woods.

Cyrene gave a deep sigh of relief. For a few moments there she had been worried. Where was she, why would she just get up and leave, was there something going on that she should know about? The sight of Xena sitting there on the bench, relieved all those fears. Xena had done this since she was a child. She would become restless, and have to get up, do something. Often it had been to sit on this bench, listen to the night sounds, and feel the wind on her face. It always seemed to calm her. She sat beside her, and asked. "Couldn't sleep?" Her only reply was a shake of the head. They sat there in companionable silence for a few more moments, then Xena got up, stretched and said. "I think I'll go up to bed now. Good night mother." "Good night." Cyrene returned, then entered the house behind her. They walked up the steps together, and each nodded to the other as they entered their own room. Xena stayed there for the rest of the night, and her mother, peeking in very early the next morning, found her curled up hugging her pillow.

Their next interlude had gone much more pleasantly. He had taken her to a sunlit beach on an uninhabited island. There they had played in the water like a pair of children. Only leaving the water when their exertions caused them to become aroused. They spent the next period of time with other pastimes, of a more intimate nature, and fell asleep in the shade of a pair of palm trees. Ares had a good sense of time, and could awake at any time he chose. When it was nearly dawn in Amphipolis, he gently kissed her awake, and transported them to her room. He kissed her again, passionately, as a promise of things to come. Then he took one last look at her, smiled affectionately, and walked off into the aether. TBC