"Xena..." the little redhead's anger was gone, leaving behind softness. "Remember how you once told me about the rock causing the ripples on the surface of the stream? The ripples stay only for a while, then the surface becomes calm again, as if nothing had ever happened..."

"Yes, but..."

"Xena, this morning was one of those rocks. It splashed into our stream and caused a ripple, now it's calm again..."

"B-But the rock is still under there affecting things..." the warrior choked. "It has changed us ... me. This has made me see I'm still capable of doing terrible things..."

"Xena, that rock, that change, does not have to be for the worse. It can be positive; it can aid our understanding if we let it and allow us to change for the better." Gabrielle smiled. "All life is change, is learning. It's up to us whether or not that change is bad. Look, if Draco's men had not come to Poteidaia for slaves, or if you had not helped us that day, I might be a slave or dead now, or stayed locked in Poteidaia forever. As it was, look at all the things I have seen and learned..." she took Xena's hand and kissed a scarred knuckle and held it to her cheek. "The love I never would have known ... the you, I never would have known..."

Xena found herself crying; she fell to her knees. "Oh, Gabrielle. How did you get to be so wise?" She hugged the small woman to her as tears washed down her cheeks. "I think I am s-so experienced; th-that I know so much, but I'm such a fool." She buried her face in the small woman's bare flat stomach and her words were muffled against it. "All my skills and experience are nothing compared to your simple wisdom and your love..."

"Xena..." the bard stroked her friend's raven hair lovingly.

The warrior looked up past Gabrielle's naked breasts to her face. "Gods, oh, please. Never leave me, Gabrielle. I need your wisdom and love so badly; I need YOU so badly. Without you, darkness would swallow me so quickly."

"That's not true," the bard said softly, "you are good and fine and you always do the right thing, no matter the pain or cost to you. Don't you know that? I do." She took the warriors hands and tugged gently at them and Xena rose shakily to her feet. "I'll always be here for you..."

"Gabrielle..." she whispered in a subdued voice, "I love you, and ... I'm sorry..."

"I know," the small woman said, standing on tiptoe to brush her lips across Xena's mouth. "And I love you. It's all over and done with; there is nothing to be sorry for and the ripples are gone again."

Xena smiled tremorously, then winced and pressed a hand to her bloody side.

"H-How is it," the bard asked, "let me see..."

"It'll be fine, dear one..." Xena said, refusing to move her hand, "It's just a shallow cut ... six, ten stitches and I'll be good as new. How's yer arm?"

"About the same I guess. Gods ... you look a mess," Gabrielle whispered, touching the growing bruise between Xena's breasts. She examined some deep scratches on her own thigh and twitched as she pulled a thorn out. "And I do too, I'm sure ... a morning flight into a prickery bush is a wake-up call I'd be just as glad to miss in future."

"Gabrielle," Xena smiled, "you look beautiful to me, no matter how beat up you are..." She bent her head and kissed her friend gently, during which Gabrielle closed her eyes for a moment, then the warrior straightened up with a grunt. "We'd better make sure these guys are tied up, and then doctor one another..."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Several days later, the five surviving ruffians turned over to the local magistrate and the two dead ones buried, the two women and Argo were camped again in a cool woods. It was early evening of a hot day, with two hours before the sun went down. They were in a deep coverlet away from the road and sheltered so that their fire could not be seen once night fell.

The friends were stripped to only a breechcloth each, except for a bandage around Xena's torso and one around Gabrielle's arm. They were facing each other with staves gripped in their hands. The one Xena had was obviously makeshift, but the one the bard held was Epheny's amazon staff with the birds-head top missing. Of the two of them, Gabrielle looked the worst. The bard was a bit bruised about the body and limbs and there was a mouse starting under one eye; she looked tired but determined. Xena looked untouched. Both were sweating in the warm air.

"Now," said the warrior crisply. "Again, and this time remember what I told you about feinting with..."

As the Warrior Princess spoke the last word, her small friend attacked with a downward swing. The surprised warrior staff-blocked and then the bard swung the staff towards her friendís legs. But as Xena blocked to that direction, the bard pulled the blow before it was completed and spun the other end of the staff at the bigger woman's head.

Xena barely got her staff up in time and collected a light tap on the top of her head from just the tip of Gabrielle's flying weapon. The blow stung and her eyes crossed for a moment. The small women saw this and stopped dead, staring in horror.

"Xena! Did I hurt you..." she started just as the warrior whipped her own staff down to trip the bard, who landed wide-eyed on the ground with a startled squawk. The warrior swung a second blow, which sent the amazon staff flying out of her friend's hands.

"Okay, that's enough ... it's too hot fer this, even in these woods." Sweating, Xena tossed aside the makeshift staff and pulled her friend to her feet; then offered her the drinking skin. Gratefully the bard drank some, then passed it back.

As Xena drank, the bard felt of her own various bruises and bumps. "Aughh," she groaned. "I'll never get the hang of this ... no matter what I do, you always manage to pop me one just when I think I'm winning."

"Sure ya will, I got faith in ya ... you just conked me, didn't ya?" Xena felt the top of her head, and crossed her eyes with a grin.

"Aw," Gabrielle colored slightly, "it was just luck; besides look what happened then ... ya knocked me right over." She picked up the staff and looked at it. There was a white tuft of fur on the end that had been under the birds-head.

"It's 'cause you froze. Yer doin' all right with the staff; in fact I think yer gonna be good with it," the Warrior Princess drawled with warm pride for her pupil and lover in her voice.

"Thank you." The bard smiled in embarrassment and her nose wrinkled.

Xena saw the crinkle, and felt her blood begin to warm in a way which had nothing to do with the heat of the evening. Due to their wounds, she and Gabrielle had not made love since the incident two days before; they had only cuddled. Now she stepped forward as the bard continued to talk and examine the staff.

"Well, I will admit it's easier to use the this thing without that birds-head on the end of it. Seemed too heavy or something..."

"Yer not big enough to use it with that weight pulling down the end," smiled the warrior, "That's why I had you take it off. Yer doin' lots better now..."

Taking the staff out of the bard's hands, she stepped forward and pulled her friend into an embrace. Gabrielle looked up in surprise as Xena captured her lips in a warm kiss and their bodies pressed together all the way down. Their breasts, Xena's resting on top of Gabrielle's slid against each other and their nipples scraped tantalizingly together.

"Speaking of 'taking it off...'" the warrior whispered thickly when they broke the kiss. Her hands roved down towards Gabrielle's taut waist and deftly plucked the breechcloth off.

"Eewww, Xena..." squealed the naked bard, dancing away, "I know I'm all sweaty from practice! I must smell like a stable..."

"You smell all right to me, Gabrielle ... my dear one," the warrior whispered as she enfolded the smaller woman into her arms again and bent her head for a kiss. Gabrielle twisted her face away and the warrior looked at her in surprise and let her go. "Gabrielle ... what is it?"

Shamefaced, the bard said, "Xena ... I'm not sure this is ... is a good idea..." She sat down on her bedroll and looked dejected. She picked at a scab on her leg.

"What? Why?" Xena was flabbergasted. "Don't ... don't you want ... me?" she asked in a frightened voice. Had she done something wrong?

"By the gods, Xena," whispered the petite woman with a sob. "Of course I want you, more than you know, b-but..."

Xena sat down beside her and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "But what, Gabrielle ... tell me."

"Suppose ... suppose something happens again ... suppose someone finds us while we're, you know ... and ... and this time we ... Oh, Xena. If I was the cause of you being h-hurt ... I'd never forgive myself..." A tear rolled down the bards cheek.

Xena's heart filled with love. "Hey, hey. Come here," she whispered, pulling the small redhead against her chest.

"Oh, Xena, I-I'm sorry..." she sniffled.

"For what, for being concerned for me? For Us?" Xena tilted her friends face up and looked with love into the green eyes. She took the small hand into her large calloused one and kissed the smooth fingers. "Gabrielle ... now that we have found one another, we can never be parted. It's as if you are the other half of my soul."

"I feel it too," whispered the bard. "L-Like my s-story about people having been split into two bodies by the gods and searching forever for their other half ... but Xena, I can't let my love endanger you..."

"Look, whatever ripples there are and whatever dangers come on our path, we will face them together," smiled the warrior. "For I know just as surely as we are sitting here, that we will die together or not at all."

"But Xena, how can you know that?"

"Because I know you, dear bard ... Oh, yes, I know you, my dear one. You would never abandon me, and I will never abandon you." Her voice got husky with love as she continued, "and I tell you this, Gabrielle ... that even in death, we will never be parted..." She smiled like the sun. "Like you said, 'it doesn't have to be a good experience to learn good things from it'."

"I don't think that's exactly what I said..."

"Close enough, my wise bard, close enough." She stroked Gabrielle's red hair lovingly. "So let's live for now and to Tartarus with worrying about what might or might not happen..."

"Oh, Xena, Xena..." sighed the bard, "and you say I'm wise..." She raised her face to the warrior's blue eyes. "Oh, gods, how I love you..."

"And I love you, Gabrielle of Poteidaia..." said the warrior against her lovers mouth as they kissed for a long moment; then she snickered, "...even if ya do smell like a stable!"

"What? You'll pay for that, Warrior Princess..." shrieked the naked bard, breaking the kiss and throwing herself onto the bigger woman. "I know yer ticklish spots now, remember?"

As the two friends rolled and struggled on the blanket, each trying to overcome the other, the woods rang for long minutes with squeals and giggles of laughter which subsided at last into warm moans and whispers and the soft sweet sounds of two caring people in love.

The End

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---

copyright 1999 W.L. McCord

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