Double Trouble :Part 7


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.

Xena had been living with the constant fear of discovery for several months now. She was really glad that everything was finally out in the open. Things had been a little strained for the first few days after the discovery of her relationship with Ares. Her mother had been disappointed and hurt that she hadn't shared the matter with her. Gabrielle was just plain agitated. She couldn't get over the fact that after all the things Ares had said and done, Xena had still gone and gotten herself involved with him sexually. She didn't yet realize that it wasn't only sexual, but also romantic. Ares had shown a completely different side of himself lately. He had shown caring, compassion, and even tolerance. This last was the most amazing. The God of war showing tolerance. Will wonders never cease?

Poor Ares, not only had the mortals discovered his secret, but somehow the immortals had also. He was being royally teased by several of them. Athena and Apollo were especially obnoxious. Hephaestus had sided with his wife Aphrodite, and said that If Ares cared for the woman, who was he to say anything about the matter. After all he had the woman of his choice. At this point he turned and looked fondly at Aphrodite. She got all in a dither, and wound up giving him a big passionate kiss, right in front of everybody. Zeus withheld judgement, and Hera had been furious. Who did this mortal think she was, taking over the affections of her favorite son? Ares had made a very smart move. He informed his mother, that Xena had indeed won his heart, but that his mother would always be at the top of his affections. The glare faded, and was replaced with a fond look. "Wheew!" he had thought to himself. "One serious obstacle overcome."

By this time Eve was almost two and a half. Jeb was just two. Now that they knew who he was, they knew the date of his birth. He was almost five months to the day younger than Eve. They still went everywhere together, hand in hand, but a few frictions were beginning to appear. Eve loved to tease him, and sometimes he took the teasing a little too seriously. The children usually played in the corner of the tavern, which had been turned into their own play area. It had a toybox, a small table, and two tiny chairs placed on a thick rug. It was the perfect place for them to be while the grownups were involved in the running and upkeep of a tavern. It was a family type tavern, which also served good wholesome food. Villagers of all ages came there to eat. They also served milk and juice drinks for the many children who came with their parents.

One day the children were playing in the corner as usual. Xena had taken them each a glass of milk, and the leftover bacon from breakfast. Being children, they didn't eat much at a time, but were always snacking. Xena was putting things in order behind the bar, and was out of sight of the children. Suddenly things got quiet, and Xena's mother instinct snapped into action. She quietly stood up and peeked over the top of the bar. She was just in time to see Eve take the last piece of bacon, wave it far enough over Jeb's head that he couldn't reach it, then turn her back to eat it. Eve said "Mmmmmm." as she did so. Jeb got this absolutely frustrated look on his face, then he suddenly grinned. He lifted his glass of milk, and poured it down the back of Eve's dress. There was a sudden scream, and then Eve cried out "YUCK, that's nasty." "Mama....Jed poured milk down my dress!" Xena shook her head ruefully. It never ended.

Xena then stepped out from behind the bar, placed a small chair in each of the two corners, and pointed. "Eve, sit there.....Jeb there." There were all kinds of recriminations, and each tried to blame the other. Jeb went so far as to claim that it was an accident. "It won't work." Xena replied. "I saw the whole thing. Eve, you started it by teasing Jeb with the bacon. And Jeb, that was certainly no accident. You deliberately poured that milk on her to get even." Eve sat there silently, but Jeb always had to get in the last word. He was too smart to argue, so he simply said "Aww rye." (All right) and sat down. Peace reigned for quite a while, until they became restless. "May we get up now? We'll be good." Eve asked. "Me too?" Jeb queried. Xena had finally let them get up and go out in the back yard to play. Maybe they could run off some of their excess energy.

Their days were so hectic now. Ever since Xena and Gabrielle had arrived with the two little ones, business had picked up. Other little ones came to play while the grownups talked and sipped their ale or mead. Tea was also served for those who didn't imbibe in liquor. It had become a real family oriented place rather than the standard male hangout.

The children were still in a pique at having been punished earlier. "I'm going to run away!" Eve stated after some discussion on the matter. "Me too." Jeb replied. Eve set her carefully crafted plan in action. She took off the long ribbon from her waist. She tied the center in a knot to make it heavier. Then she took both ends in her little hands, and flipped the center portion over the gate. The first attempt failed, but she tried again. This time her aim was more accurate. The knot caught under the latch, and afterJeb was urged to push the gate slightly ajar, she let go of the ribbon. The latch dropped again, but nowhere near the catch. The door swung freely open, and they proceeded to sneak out of the area. They took care not to be seen, and had traveled a long way before they were missed.

Catastrophe struck while they were walking along a rocky gully which had been created during the heavy rains they'd had last winter. As Eve was reaching to pick a pretty flower, the embankment gave way beneath her. Jeb cried out, but it was too late. He couldn't reach her. She lay crumpled in the rubble at the bottom of the slope. He began to cry. The sobs became more and more explosive as he realized there was no-one to help. "Mama....mama....mama!" he screamed repeatedly. Of course there was no answer. At last he had an idea. Whenever they had wanted Ares to come and play with them, they had always whispered his name. He had told them that he couldn't always come, that sometimes he was busy with grownup things, but that he would try. "Ares..?" he called softly. Ares appeared suddenly, looked about himself with amazement, and asked "What on earth are you doing way out here? And where's Eve? I can't seem to locate her. "Eve fall down and go boom. She down here." Jeb pointed at the nearby embankment. Ares walked quickly to the edge. There was Eve, in a pile of dirt and rocks, laying very still and silent. He immediately transported himself to her side. He held his hand over the small body, and scanned it carefully. "Hmmm...a nasty lump on her forehead, bumps and abrasions on arms and legs. A lot of bruising, but no broken bones and no internal damage." he mused. He lifted her in his arms and reappeared beside Jeb. He somehow gathered both of them into his arms and strode into the aether.

The tavern and village were in turmoil. The whole town had been searched very carefully, all the known places had been searched, including the pig farm. All to no avail. The three women were in a complete panic. Where could they possibly be? And why had they left? Had some other bright idea occured to them? There was a sudden shower of sparkles, and there were the children, bundled up in the arms of the god of war. He had a frown on his face as he looked at Xena, Jeb quickly got down and began to tell everyone what had happened. Xena wasn't really listening. Her attention was on the small body Ares still held. "Is she dead?" she asked fearfully. "No, only unconscious. She hit her head when she fell. She has lots of bumps and scratches from the fall, but she has no broken bones, and no signs of internal damage." She gave a huge sigh of relief, and moved to take Eve in her own arms. Ares disappeared. She took Eve into the parlor and laid her on the divan.!

She seated herself beside the small still body. Cyrene had stayed long enough to get the gist of the story from Jeb, and then took action. She gathered a small pan of warm water, soap and a clean cloth, and brought them to Xena with alacrity. They had Eve pretty well cleaned up by the time her eyelids began to flutter. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw her mother and grandmother bent over her. She got a sheepish look on her face, and said "I'm sorry mama."

"Sorry just isn't good enough, young lady." Xena replied. "Just what in Tartarus did you think you were doing?" she asked hotly. After Eve had reluctantly told about the decision to run away, and how she resented being sat in the corner that morning, and other imagined slights, Xena asked her. "And did running away solve any of your problems? Or did it only create worse problems?" Eve finally decided that it had been a very bad idea indeed.

Several days later, Ares arrived at the house to check on the patient. He hadn't realized the time, but it was just at dinner time. He arrived just in time to hear...POOOT, and Jeb saying "Oops." Then Eve said

"Eewww! Mama...Jeb farted." "We don't discuss such things at the table, it's impolite." was Xena's reply. It was about this time that his presence was noted by the whole group. The children grinned, and Eve said.

"Look, it's our friend, hi...." And Jeb repeated

"Friend, hi." He greeted both of the children, and enquired about the results of the fall. As he had told Xena, there was no permanent damage done.

The children were both seated on one long side of the rectangular kitchen table. Xena and Gabrielle were on each end, so that they could supervise the tots, and Cyrene had been seated next to Gabby. After a moment's hesitation she rose and began to set another place at the table...beside Xena. He accepted the unspoken invitation, and really enjoyed the meal. He had placed his left hand on Xena's knee beneath the table, and would squeeze it every so often. While they ate, they conversed about their day, just like an ordinary family. However reluctantly, he had finally been accepted into the family. He considered this day to be a major milestone in his life.

The End