More Trouble

By Briar

Handling either child by themself wasn't a problem. Put them together
and you didn't just add trouble, you multiplied it by an order of 10. What
one couldn't think of, the other could. The constant instigation and
encouragement of the other had both of them sitting in the corner more
and more often. Exasperation had become Xena's constant companion of
late. So far, it hadn't had much of an effect on her relationship with Ares.
He would commiserate with her when she told him of the latest escapade
of the pair. Sometimes he would laugh aloud at her descriptions of their
antics. He had come to really care about those two rascals. They were
chaos incarnate and appealed to his sense of humor immensely. You'd
never think of the God of War having a sense of humor, but have one
he did.

They weren't really bad, they were just chock full of energy and
looking for an outlet, any outlet. This particular day started out with Jeb
falling and skinning his knee. He promptly got a lot of sympathy and the
privilege of kissing one grubby little knee all better fell to Gabrielle. She
rolled her eyes at Cyrene even as she completed the action with a hug.
Eve was not at all happy with the situation. It wasn't that bad of a booboo.
Just a little scrape. How come he was getting all the attention? She ran up
to her grandmother and raised her arms to be lifted up. Cyrene obliged,
and held her close for a moment. Then Xena called from the kitchen door.
"Mom?" She put Eve down and she and Gabrielle went to see what the
problem was. The two children were on their own again. This was not at
all what they had wanted. Eve was disgusted with the situation, how come
Jeb got more time.

Eve and Jeb began a game of tag. Since Eve was five months older,
she could run faster. This meant that Jeb never could catch her but that she
could always catch him. He soon got tired of that game. He could never win.
He went and got a ball, throwing it over Eve's head. She turned and ran
after it. They tossed it back and forth for a while. B..o..r..ing. Finally, they
decided to go back in the house for a while.

The three women were preparing food for the dining room. They
now had permanent help in the actual running of the place. They had a full
time bartender and one serving woman. This gave them more time for the
children and Cyrene was still making a good profit. The town was growing
rapidly. The presence of the Warrior Princess had a lot to do with that.
People felt quite safe living in the same town as a warrior of her reputation.
Cyrene had added on three more bedrooms, and was now calling the place
an Inn rather than a tavern. Inns had a higher class reputation than taverns.
Besides there was a tavern on the edge of town, for the rougher crowd
and the teenagers to hang out in. Their Inn had the higher class clientele.
All the elders and business owners ate with their families at the Inn
occasionally. Since she also had a large barn in back, travelers were better
served at the Inn. Cyrene had also hired Joxer as her barn boy. He took
good care of all the horses in his bailiwick. There was even a large tack
room, where they had set up a bed for him.

Joxer also ate in the kitchen with the family. They had been forced
to purchase a larger kitchen table since with that many people eating there,
they needed the space. The Inn's dining room opened at seven in the
morning and there were many people who ate there regularly. The food
was always good, the place was always clean, and the employees and
management were friendly. People brought their young children to play
with the resident terrors, who were usually on their best behavior while
there in the dining room. One of the three female adults were usually
keeping an eye on them. There were people there at all hours of the day,
if only to hear the latest news as they downed a cold one.

There were occasional periods of quiet, when only the family and
crew were there. The crew loved those two little imps and occasionally
played with them if there was time. There was no one there when the two
children reentered the house and proceeded into the dining room to play
with their toys. The bartender was a jovial sort, and was a newer resident
in the village. He had two small ones of his own and knew just what to do
to entertain the two. He could do any number of small magical tricks such
as make coins appear from all sorts of unlikely places and other things of
the like. The children loved him. He entertained them for a few minutes
until a customer entered through the front doors and then, reluctantly, he
got up to take care of business. The customer was a stranger, but
nonetheless was greeted with a smile.

The stranger sat down at a table and ordered a late breakfast with ale.
The bartender called the food order into the kitchen and proceeded to
draw the ale. The stranger, in the meantime, had been looking around. It
didn't take long for him to spot the children. They had gotten in a small
squabble and had raised their voices. Xena heard the ruckus and came
out to see what the problem was. She didn't pay any attention to the
stranger, but simply walked over into the corner and settled the dispute.
She then proceeded to go back into the kitchen. The stranger had
observed the situation with a slight smile on his face. Now he knew for
sure. Xena was indeed in this town and she did have children in her care.
It didn't matter if they were her own or not, she obviously felt responsible
for them.

He finished his meal quietly and left. It didn't take him much time at
all to gather his friends, who had been waiting outside of town. He filled
them in on the situation and they prepared to make their move. He wanted
Xena to pay for what she'd done. She had raided his village many years
ago and killed his younger brothers. She hadn't actually taken a sword to
them, but they had been run down by the horses of her men. She was to
blame and she was going to pay.

The men gathered in the woods behind the Inn. They watched as the
children came back out to play. They waited until the children were back
near the fence and two of them quickly leaped over the fence and grabbed
the children. Eve screamed loudly but within a moment was silenced by a
large hand. Both children were passed over the fence, which the men then
leaped over. They all mounted their hidden horses and rode quickly away,
the children held before them.

Screams were not an uncommon occurrence with children, so it was
a few moments before someone checked on them. Cyrene was the one to
see the men carrying the children into the woods and screamed for Xena.
"They've taken the children!" she cried. Xena made a quick dash into the
back yard and to the side of her mother. "What happened?" she asked
anxiously. "I just saw several men carrying the children into the woods."
Cyrene said quickly. Xena made a fast run across the yard, flipped over
the fence, and made a sweep of the area. The tracks of five men with
horses were clearly apparent to her search. She would need Argo.

She quickly made her way to the barn. Joxer had already been
informed of the matter and had saddled Argo. She mounted Argo and
urged her into a canter. She was on their tracks before anyone else had
a chance to even think about what to do. Cyrene hated to call on Ares for
help but it might be necessary. She called out the name of Ares. He
appeared almost instantly. With one raised eyebrow he gave her a
questioning look. "They've taken the children!" she told him anxiously.
"WHHAAT?" he yelled. "Who dared to do that idiotic stunt?" "I don't know,
several men appeared in the back yard and snatched the children before
we could do anything about it. Xena's gone after them, but she didn't wait
for anyone to help. Please.....?"she begged. She hadn't any more than
gotten the words out of her mouth than he was gone.

Xena caught up with them before too many miles and drew her sword.
Giving her trademark war cry, she attacked. She had disabled two of them
and killed a third, when she was brought up short. The final two men were
holding knives to the children's throats. "Drop the sword! Do it or they die."
The one man ordered. She reluctantly did as he said. "Get off the horse."
he went on. She complied. The men took turns dismounting, each still
holding a captive child. "Why are you doing this, they've never done you
any harm. Why would you want to hurt children, any children?" Xena asked
anxiously. "You want to know why, I'll tell you why. You are responsible
for the deaths of my two younger brothers. They were killed during your
attack on my village, years ago, and I've never forgiven you for that." he
replied. "But that was a different me..the evil me..I'm not like that now." she
stated quietly. "It doesn't matter a bit to me, which of you is guilty, you're
going to pay!" "Leave the children out of it, they weren't even born at that
time." she said. "No, but they're someone you care about and it's only fair."
he replied. She couldn't possibly save both children, and there was no way
to decide which one to save. It was a stalemate. Suddenly, Ares appeared
and matters changed drastically. He appeared between the two men,
grabbed each child by a hand, and promptly disappeared with them. The
two assailants were flabbergasted. They no longer held the winning cards.
Xena took out both of them with her Chakram. There was no way they
were coming back later to cause more trouble.

Ares had safely returned both of the children to their family. Xena had
returned a little later, with five horses. Two of them each had a man tied
securely on it's back and the other three had bodies attached. The two
survivors had been sent for justice. Kidnapping was a serious crime, since
typically it was only the children of the wealthy and the nobility that were
targets. The punishment therefore was terrible..

That night, Xena and Ares discussed the kidnapping of the children.
Xena thanked Ares for his help. She didn't know what she'd have done
without it. He promptly asked what kind of payment he could expect for his
efforts. This was said with a grin and a raised eyebrow, so she knew he
wasn't serious. She pretended to think for a long moment and then said.
"Well now, why don't we start with this?" She kissed him teasingly. "And
this?" She continued with the kisses - more passionate now - and began
to roam her hands over his person. "And how about this?" Now she was
getting really personal! He grinned and said. "That'll do for a start....
however, I was thinking more along this line......"

CHAPTER TWO

The kidnapping of the children was the major topic of conversation for
weeks thereafter. Strangers were checked out very carefully until their
motives for being in town were proved to be ordinary and innocuous. It was
strange to see how protective everyone was of the resident terrors. You'd
almost think they belonged to every villager at once, which in a way they
did. They had somehow become mascots for the town. Every prank was
discussed in detail at every opportunity. Elderly women who had dealt with
similar escapades in the past were quick to give advice. Younger women
thanked the gods that their children weren't like them.

Ares came to call, and was discussing the problems he had been having
with his granddaughter Laurel. "She needs someone to play with, I wonder
if you'd allow me to take the two little ones for a weekend visit with her?" he
asked finally. The three women looked at each other for a moment, then three
heads began to shake while laughter bubbled up and out. "Have you any
idea what you're letting yourself in for?" Xena asked at last. "I'm the God of
War, I'm used to handling several wars at once, how much trouble can two
children be?" "With the addition of Laurel, you're talking about three
children. Each child you add, multiplies the problems you're letting yourself
in for." Cyrene returned. "You don't have eyes in the back of your head,
and there's no way you by yourself can watch three of them." Gabrielle added.
The discussion went on for quite a while, and finally the women agreed. "But
if you run into trouble, call for help." Xena added as he was leaving with the
children. They were really excited at the prospect of staying with their friend
Ares for a couple of days.

The first hour or so was all right, the children getting to know each other.
Ares had been forced to restrict Laurel's power so that she couldn't throw
fireballs at the mortal children, and had also told her repeatedly that she was
to take it easy on them because of their mortal status. He informed her that
these were the children of a friend of his, and he didn't want them hurt. She
nodded her head in understanding, then promptly forgot his admonishments.
She was only four, so it is no surprise, like others her age she had a short
attention span. They had played rough and tumble games for a while,
then demanded a story. Ares had told them a long drawn out story that had
promptly put Jeb to sleep. He was sitting on Ares lap at the time, and after a
while Ares felt a warm wet feeling on his leg. Jeb was only potty trained
during the day, he still occasionally wet the bed if he was very tired. He was
exhausted at the moment and had done what came naturally. The odor was
easily identifiable and Ares gave a snort of disgust.

Ares snapped his fingers and both of them were dry again. He noticed
that the odor lingered, so he snapped his fingers again....and again...finally
the odor was gone. He carried Jeb into a room next to his. There were
three small beds in the room. One bed for each child, with a washstand, a
dresser and wardrobe to complete the furnishings. The furniture was all
white. The colors here were pastels. He knew that Laurel hated the black
in his room. She said it was too gloomy. Daphne had decorated the room
with floral bedspreads on two of the beds and a plaid on the last one. They
were in pastels of all the primary colors. The walls were a pale green, and
the curtains were in the floral material of the bedspreads. Jeb was asleep,
so he didn't care, but the girls loved it. Ares himself found it much too bright
and cheerful.

The girls were getting along fairly well but Jeb, being so much younger,
was feeling a little left out. He suddenly burst into tears and grabbed Ares by
the leg. As the tears continued, his nose began to run, he simply wiped it off
on the leather pants. Ares groaned, this was not going like he had expected.
He gathered Jeb up into his arms, snapped his fingers to dry his pants, then
took Jeb into the throne room for a while. He began telling him stories about
where some of the weapons had come from, and who they had belonged to.
About this time there were bloodcurdling shrieks from the other room. He
jumped to his feet with Jeb on his hip and ran to discover the cause of the
noise. The girls were shrieking in laughter. They had started tickling each
other. For a moment there, his heart had skipped a beat, fear had struck a
serious blow. He ordinarily had no fear for himself, but if anything had
happened to any of these children, He would have been in deep doodoo.
The families of all three children would have been out for his hide.</p>

Things got reasonably quiet until after lunch. The children had then
gone out into the gardens to play. Ares was using his mirror to check on a
couple of wars in progress when a priest ran in with a frantic "My Lord Ares.
The girls have climbed up into one of the fruit trees. They're too high for us
to reach. Now Eve is afraid to climb back down. She is crying out for her
mother. What should we do?" Ares gave a last disgusted look at the mirror
then disappeared into the garden. As he appeared he could see the crowd
gathered at the foot of a large fruit tree. How in Tartarus had they gotten to
the first branches. As he got closer, he saw the upturned basket at the base
of the tree, and saw the answer to his question. He strode firmly into the
group. As various priests and priestesses noticed him, they fell back and
allowed him free access to the base of the tree. From this position he could
see two small girls up twelve or thirteen feet into the upper branches of the
tree. The branches that high were much too small for an adult to use to
reach the children. He climbed as high as he could, and called to Laurel to
come to him. She hesitated for a moment, then began to feel her way back
down. He told her where to put her feet, and she soon was within reach. He
grasped her firmly and transported them both to the ground.

He then returned to the tree and called to Eve. She just clung on tighter
and whimpered. He moved just a little higher, and encouraged her to be a
big girl like Laurel. She peeked over her arm at him. "That's right, you're a
big enough girl to do the same thing Laurel did. Come on, I'll tell you where
the branches are, and you can just climb down to me. I'll carry you to the
ground just like I did for her. The branches she was holding to were swaying
in the wind from her weight, slight as it was, which did nothing for her peace
of mind. He told her where the next lower branch was, and she slowly
shifted her weight to feel for it. She found it easily, lowered her body by that
much, and began to feel less fearful. He directed her to the next branch, then
the next. Soon she was within reach. He grabbed her firmly, told her to let
go, then transferred them both to the garden path. Jeb was waiting anxiously
when they arrived. He ran over, hugged Eve, then hugged Ares.

It seemed to Ares that nothing more could go wrong. He was mistaken.
It was only a short while later that the girls got into a fight. Jeb trying to stop
them wound up on the floor, crying. Ares parted the participants, sat them
both down in chairs, and told them to stay there for a while. He then lifted
Jeb into his arms and comforted him. He was going to be very glad when
this weekend was over. His nerves were becoming more and more frazzled.
Supper time finally arrived, and they all sat at the large dining room table. It
was only moments before the girls started a food fight which Jeb was more
than happy to join. Food flew in all directions. They were using spoons as
missile launchers. They suddenly stopped, looked at each other and grinned.
The next assault was on Ares. All three of them mixed mashed potatoes with
peas and let fly. He spluttered at the first incoming volley, then jumped to his
feet and bellowed as the second volley arrived. "That's enough! Stop this
behavior at once. We don't play with our food at this table." Three small
heads ducked, three small lower lips stuck out, and three children began to
cry. He was flabbergasted.

After supper Ares told them some stories. He took them all back to his
quarters and sat them down on the twin divans. He provided glasses of milk,
cookies, and some little cakes. The children were on their best behavior.
It had taken him quite a while to get them to stop crying earlier and he had
wound up feeling like a bully while they continued. It took a while before he
noticed them grinning behind his back. He happened to look in the mirror
just as Laurel and Eve exchanged grins. As he began to turn, they started
whimpering again, but he wasn't fooled any longer. He informed them that
he had seen the grins, and he wasn't going to play their games any longer.
They had looked at each other and shrugged. It had been worth a try.

They had gone to bed quietly and gone right to sleep. It had been a very
busy and exhausting day. The next day had gone much better all morning, but
by the afternoon, they were back to their old tricks. They scrapped about
everything. Even Jeb got involved. He took one of Laurel's favorite toys and
hid it. She looked everywhere but couldn't find it. Then she got angry and
slapped him. He started screaming until Ares arrived to see what the problem
was. Ares soon found the toy and gave it back to Jeb. This set Laurel into a
temper tantrum, "It's my toy and I want it back." she insisted. Ares informed
her that slapping Jeb had been a mistake, and that she was being punished for
it. Jeb gave a little grin and began playing with the toy. He tossed it in the air
several times, then *accidentally* dropped it on the floor. It broke. Laurel
began screaming again, and Ares returned to find out what happened. When
he saw the broken toy he looked hard at Jeb who said "It was a accident,"
Ares picked up the toy, which reassembled in his hands, and put it away.

The day went downhill after that. Nothing seemed to go right. Ares was
about to tear his hair out when Evander and Daphne arrived suddenly. Was
he ever glad to see them. Laurel came running to see her parents, while the
other two stood to one side. She told them that she had been having a great
time with Eve and Jeb. Her mother looked questioningly at Ares, who grinned
and shrugged. The other two were called over to be introduced. Laurel was
on her best behavior and called each child by name as she presented them to
her parents. Eve greeted them cordially, but Jeb was suddenly shy. He stood
there looking at the floor. Daphne squatted before him, until he was forced to
look up. She then greeted him formally. He suddenly grinned and hugged
her. This came as a complete surprise to everyone. After the introductions
were over, Ares prepared to return the two visitors.

When he arrived with the two children he found the three women nearly
in hysterics. They had been discussing all the possible problems he might have
had. He assured them that he had no problems over the weekend, but they
didn't believe him. They knew the children much too well for that and had
heard too many stories from Ares himself about the behavior of Laurel , his
granddaughter, to even begin to believe him. They began to question the
children and soon had a much better idea of what had actually happened.

Later that evening, as Xena was spending time with Ares, she asked him to
tell her the truth. He tried to dismiss the whole subject at first, but had finally
given in and told her some of the events of the weekend. "I thought so. I
really couldn't see them behaving for anyone, not even the God of War. I'm
glad you got through it without any major problems. She then kissed him on
the end of the nose. He raised one eyebrow in query. She grinned at him
and kissed him on the eyebrow. He bent and kissed her throat. Working his
way down, he soon had her at a fever pitch. She was returning kiss for kiss
until they got down to some serious loving. Much later she was laying in his
arms and started laughing again. She informed him that what had happened
with the children was nowhere near as bad as she, Cyrene, and Gabrielle
had imagined. Then she began to fill him in on the scenarios they had
thought of. He groaned, then began to laugh. She was right, it could have
been SO much worse.

CHAPTER THREE

It had been a month since the last time Eve and Jeb had come to
visit. After the fiasco of their last visit, Ares was reluctant to ask for the
terrible two to come and visit again. Unfortunately his granddaughter
had him wrapped around her little finger. Laurel had asked for her two
little friends to come back again this weekend. He had informed her
that he had a war to supervise, and she had replied "Your war will just
have to wait. I want my friends NOW!" She was becoming a major
pain in the posterior.

When he had hesitantly asked for their presence, Xena had only
agreed if she came to supervise. That took a load off his mind, and he
had readily agreed. If the children would only behave this time, he and
Xena might spend some quality time together. If you believe that one,
you aren't familiar with these three children, and I have a rotten rope
bridge across a crevasse to sell you..

For the first few hours things had gone well. Then the newness of
the situation wore off, and all hell broke loose. They fought over toys,
they spilled food, they broke things, until Xena started yelling. That
brought them up short for a few minutes. Unfortunately, it didn't last
for very long. The various priests and priestesses spent most of their
time looking over their shoulders. The children had taken to pulling
pranks on them. Thankfully Ares had again taken Laurel's powers
away. If she had had those available, everyone would have been in
serious trouble.

Mortal child tricks were bad enough. They had found a mouse in
the gardens, and had brought it in and released it in the kitchens. The
head cook had seen it and fainted, landing in a large dish of fresh dough.
She and the dough wound up on the floor. One of the under cooks took
a broom and tried to shoo the mouse out the door. It dodged, and cut
back under the table. Then it ran up the pants leg of one of the helpers.
He started dancing around and cussing, while trying to shake it loose.
In the meantime the children were gathered in a corner laughing. Ares
and Xena heard the screams and curses and ran for the source. When
they arrived, the children scattered. Laurel ran into the main temple, and
Eve and Jeb ran for the garden door. Xena had no trouble capturing the
mouse, and released it outside again. She took it quite a ways from the
temple, into a wooded area, and loosed it in the bushes.

By the time she returned from her errand, Ares had gathered the
perpetrators, and made them all sit in chairs widely separated from each
other. Each was in a corner of the main altar room. There would be no
whispering, no giggling, and no contact whatsoever for a while. Xena just
stood there for a while. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The
scene in the kitchen had been hilarious, but she was aware that those
involved didn't think so. The head cook had been in hysterics when she
awoke from her faint, and had required a great deal of assurance that the
mouse was truly gone before she returned to work. The dough was
ruined and would need to be redone. While they had all been chasing
the mouse, the meat had gotten scorched on one side. It was still
edible, but just barely. Dinner was going to be late.

The children remained in the corner for a long time. They wouldn't
be eating dinner with the others. They were given a dish of porridge for
supper along with a glass of milk. They seriously thought of complaining,
but reconsidered when they took one look at Xena's face. They ate their
supper in silence. There was no joking, or giggling. Soon afterwards
they were sent to bed. Since this was much earlier than usual, the
adults decided to take advantage of the situation.

Ares looked over at Xena during dinner, amazed that she had
remained so calm during the ruckus, and then realized that this was
probably just everyday stuff to her. He really admired her. She was not
only beautiful, smart, and energetic. She also had a lot more patience
than he had. He reached over and took her hand. He lifted it to his lips
and kissed her knuckles. Then he turned it over and kissed her palm.
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. They ate a little more, but
each had other ideas on ways to spend a long evening alone together.

When dinner was over, Ares took Xena's hand and placed it through
his arm. He then strolled with her back to his quarters. They sat before
the fire on a divan. He slipped his arms around her, and pulled her head
over on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms about him as well. She
snuggled her face into his neck, kissing her way up to his ear. She then
began nibbling his lobe. Blowing softly in his ear, she then planted a kiss
on it. By this time his hands had begun wandering over her body. He
stroked her waist, sliding his hands up to her bosom. Using his thumbs on
the sensitive areas, he continued stroking, then he took her mouth with his.
Kisses deepened and soon developed into more intimate things.

Their intimacy was soon interrupted. Screams came from the children's
room. They dropped everything, Ares snapped clothes onto both of them,
and they took off running from his room to the one across the hall. As
they entered, they found the children playing on the floor. It was too
much. Ares bellowed "What in Tartarus do you think you're doing?
Were you or were you not sent to bed? Did anyone give you
permission to get up and play?" Three sets of eyes looked at the floor.
Three little heads shook dismally from side to side, then all three of them
started to cry. The sobs soon turned to wails.

Xena just stood there, with her hands on her hips, watching how Ares
handled this state of affairs. He was becoming flustered, so she took over.
"What's that supposed to be, crocodile tears? I don't believe for a moment
that you didn't know better. Nor do I believe that those tears are real. I
think you're trying to put one over on us, and it's not going to work." She
took both Eve and Jeb by the arm, and escorted them to their beds. Ares
took the hint and put Laurel in her own bed. Xena then stood there with
her hands on her hips, saying "There will be no more of this nonsense. Do
you understand?" Three heads nodded emphatically. "Now go to sleep."
She waited for a moment, but there were no arguments. She escorted
Ares to the door and semi-closed it behind them.

Ares gave a great sigh of relief. He sure was glad that Xena had come
along this time. Those children were really a handful. She seemed to
know just what they were up to and whether or not to take things seriously.
Mother instinct or something like that. He had been sure that they were
really crying, and hadn't any idea of how to deal with it. How do you
comfort three crying children at once? Fortunately she had known the
difference. Those little wretches. Putting one over on him like that. He
was seriously put out with them, especially since they had interrupted a
really intimate moment. He didn't know if he was going to be able to get
back into the mood. Aaaaarrrgh!!!! Fortunately Xena was still in the
mood, which quickly put him back in the mood. He made mad passionate
love to her. They then fell asleep in each other's arms.

Morning came altogether too soon. The children were awake with the
birds. They ate their breakfast in peace and harmony. They then went out
into the gardens to play. Things went well for several candlemarks, but
then things started to heat up again. The two girls were in a knock down
drag out fight. They were pulling hair, kicking, and screaming at the tops
of their lungs. Xena was the first at the scene. She grabbed both girls
by the arms, and dragged them apart. Each blamed the other for the fight.
Xena asked Jeb what happened, but he told her he was playing nearby
with a toad when the fight started. He didn't know who started it. He held
up the toad in question to show that he was telling the truth. One of the
older priests had overheard the whole fight and informed her that Eve had
started it by pulling Laurel's hair. Eve was taken inside and placed in
the same chair she had occupied the day before.

Laurel started playing with Jeb, and things remained peaceful for quite
a long time. They were just beginning to scrap a little when they were
called to come in for lunch. All three children were on their best behavior
during lunch, and afterwards they were allowed to go outside to play. No
problems occurred for a long time afterwards. While no adults were watching
all three children were eating some green apples. Before too long they all
had tummy aches. Jeb was the first to come in crying. "It hurts... Mama!"
He was holding his tummy with both hands. Xena lifted him onto her lap.
She examined him, but could find no wounds. "What hurts Jeb?" she asked.
"My tummy....it hurts real bad." By this time Eve was also coming inside
holding her tummy. She was soon followed by Laurel. Xena was becoming
worried. Could they have eaten something poisonous? She asked the
girls what they had eaten. At first they denied eating anything, but as the
pain grew worse they reconsidered. As soon as she knew about the green
apples the worst of the worry was over. They would have to suffer for a
while, but they'd get over it.

Within a few hours they were feeling better. Good enough to eat their
supper at least. They didn't eat as much as usual but did eat enough to
tide them over until tomorrow. They went to bed early again. This time
with no shenanigans. Ares and Xena enjoyed one evening of peace and
quiet. They took advantage of it by retiring to their own bed. There were
no interruptions this time. Each took pains to make up to the other for the
prior night's frustration. Xena took the lead, grabbing him by the ears and
kissing him passionately. He got both arms around her, almost crushed
her body to his, then kissed her in return. Time seemed to stand still for
a time. Then came rushing back as they teased and pleased each other.
Wild music seemed to match the beating of their hearts. The tempo kept
increasing with their passionate explorations. The grand finale was enough
to take their breath away.

The last day went incredibly well. The children played peacefully and
the adults spent their day in quiet conversation. They had placed some
chairs and a small table under a spreading tree in the garden. Then they
had spread a large blanket on the ground for the children. There were a
lot of toys and a picnic lunch to look forward to. There was also a large
pitcher of cold lemon drink on the table. This was enjoyed by all. One
of the priests had created three puppets made from wood and string.
they weren't fancy by any means, but another priest had painted clothes
and faces on them. The children were making the puppets dance and
walk around on the blanket. This had entertained them for longer than
anything else ever had. Even for the children, lunch was enjoyed in
peace. Both Xena and Ares were thankful for the toys.

They had gone back inside for dinner. The children were eating
quietly, and enjoying their food when Evander and his wife Daphne
entered the room. The children greeted them with smiles and waves,
then went on with their dinner. Ares breathed a sigh of relief. All in
all it hadn't been TOO bad. He hoped they were done with their time
off though. He did understand that they needed a break from Laurel
occasionally. They needed time to themselves. He just wished they
could find someone else to take her once in a while. He loved her
dearly, but, she had a tendency for mischief. When you added the
other two you really had your hands full. He was going to be glad to
take them home and have the temple to himself. Ah, peace at last.

Cyrene and Gabrielle had enjoyed their weekend also. They had
gotten a lot of work done. They had cleaned everything in sight, rearranged
furniture, restocked the bar and Inn, and had even taken the time to just sit.
Things had been almost too peaceful. The citizens had noticed at once
that the children weren't there, and had been glad to know that they were
only visiting for the weekend. They would be back to their old selves soon.
And they were. Ares delivered them late that afternoon. They hadn't been
home for more than two candlemarks before they were in trouble again.
Xena just sighed and sat them in the corners where they sulked for a while.
Things had to improve sooner or later didn't they? She certainly hoped so.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was all out war. The troops had gathered on opposite sides of a vast plain
in the early hours of the prior day. They had set up camps, started cook fires,
and prepared a meal before they settled down to watch. Each man was required
to take care of his own equipment, and they were making sure that everything
was in good working order before they went into battle. Swords were being
sharpened, arrows refurbished, bowstrings checked and prepared for the next
day's battle. Meals were taken at lunch time and again in the evening. Sentries
were placed, and men retired to their tents.

The sound of trumpets shattered the early morning quiet. *TIME TO GET UP*
they shrilled. Men tumbled from their tents, groggy with sleep, and formed up
for breakfast. Last minute duties were assigned, and performed. Camp was
straightened out and men began to move forward and into position to the sound
of trumpets. *FORM UP* now the movements became more hurried and
purposeful. As the lines formed up and made long, slightly irregular rows at
the front, men began to prepare themselves, stretching and getting their muscles
moving freely. Finally the great moment arrived. *CHARGE* The lines began
to move forward more and more quickly.

Near the center of the plain, the two great companies of men entangled
themselves into a huge mass of constant motion. Attack, parry, lunge, dodge
an attack, protect your partner. Motion, sometimes slow, sometimes harried, but
constant throughout the battle. The Calvary had been held back on both sides.
They were in reserve, waiting for a good opportunity to move in and push in
any case where the ordinary soldier could clear a path towards the enemy
leaders. Each leader was seated on a horse, with aides on either side. There
was a junior officer in charge of the pennant just to the rear of the leader. The
pennant was to be defended at all costs. Loss of the pennant equaled loss of the
battle.

Ares was in his element. One of the two companies was his. He was very
pleased so far with the way things were going. The commander in charge was
just a young man, some would say too young, but he was following orders well.
He had positioned archers behind a small hillock near the battle area, and was
sending in arrows now and then. Not enough to get the enemy's attention, but
enough to make a difference here and there. The enemy commander suddenly
called in his Calvary. As they came thundering down on the untidy mass in the
middle of the plain, the ground shook under their feet. The vibration in the
earth was enough to warn Ares' troops of the danger. They promptly moved
into defense mode, each man watching the other man's back. One man faced
forward and attacked the enemy on the ground, while the other defended from
mounted enemies. As the Calvary moved close to the action, the archers moved
out and into position. Arrows flew, men fell, riderless horses entangled the
riders and chaos ensued. The archers continued with their deadly work. More
men fell. The Calvary was quickly halved. Now men on the ground were at
work with special weapons. They were a long lance with a hook on them. It
could be used to snag a rider and drag him off his horse. Once on the ground
on his back, he was easily dispatched before he could regain his feet.

As the enemy commander realized that he was fast losing his Calvary, he had
them recalled. It was too late. By this time most of them were down. The few
that remained weren't much help. He recalled them to his side. Now Ares'
men began to make their move. He had hidden reinforcements down both sides
of the plain, in brushy areas that didn't appear large enough to hide that many
men. They had dug trenches behind the bushes, and hidden hundreds of men
there. Now they were called up to the battle. As they moved in from the side,
the enemy commander suddenly realized that he had fallen for a trap. He tried
desperately to get his men out of there. *RETREAT* the trumpets shrilled.

As they began to back up, Ares ordered his own Calvary into motion. They
had been moving up inside the tree line and now were behind the opposition.
*CAVALRY CHARGE* They moved rapidly out of the trees, and surrounded
the rear of the enemy forces, forcing them to halt their retreat. Finding himself
truly trapped, the enemy commander ordered them to fall back into the fighting
square. He and his aides and Calvary were in the center, and from there out,
were line after line of men forming squares within squares. The ones in the
back rows and center were to replace any wounded or killed in the outer line.

An arrow suddenly transfixed the aide holding the banner, and it fell into the
dust. Another aide leaped from his horse to pick it up. He too fell where he
stood, an arrow through his throat. One side of the square was folding in upon
itself, and men were falling faster than they could be replaced. One of Ares'
horsemen rode through the gap, leaned from the saddle, and captured the
enemy pennant. He turned, and leaping his horse over two men who tried to
block his way, returned to his own side. Shaking the pennant in glee, he rode
back and forth in front of the enemy forces, so that they would lose heart. At
last, the enemy commander raised a white flag.

There was a clamor of trumpets, and the battle was over. Slowly men lowered
their weapons and looked around. Only a quarter of the enemy forces were
still on their feet. A good number had already been captured. Many were
seriously wounded, and were in doubt of living out the day. A great number
more were wounded in some manner or another, and only a few had no wounds
at all. All would be glad to escape with their lives. The enemy commander
moved slowly forward, and bowed in defeat. He surrendered up his weapons,
and his men soon moved forward to surrender theirs as well. He had been a
worthy opponent, so Ares allowed him to retire from the field with all his men.
He had first given his pledge that he would no longer attempt to conquer the
forces of Ares. He had learned his lesson well.

CHAPTER FIVE

The battle had been extremely satisfying, but Ares wasn't looking forward
to tonight. He had guests coming, young guests, three of them..... again!
His son Evander with his wife Daphne were going to a grand ball at the
Palace in Corinth. They were the guests of the king, and would be spending
the weekend there. It was the king's birthday. All the well to do were going
to be celebrating the great day. There would be all sorts of garden parties,
masquerades, tea parties, horse races, and any other type of party you
could imagine leading up to the event . Someone would have to take care
of their young daughter, Laurel. Guess who Laurel wanted to stay with?
Guess who she wanted to play with while she was there?

You guessed it. The terrible two were coming back. As if the last two times
hadn't been bad enough. At least Xena was coming with them again. That
would help, he was sure, but he wasn't certain that it would be enough. He
would have to go and pick them up, as it was quite a ways to his temple. He
had put it off long enough. It was time to face the music. The babble of sound
when he arrived was almost enough to make him turn tail and run for it. He
was no coward, well not in the ordinary sense, but he liked his peace and quiet
also. The temple was usually a relatively peaceful place. Sword drills, hand to
hand training, wrestling, weight training, and other such things were more his
speed. Two screaming toddlers were two too many. Three would be unbearable.

Xena had seen him arrive, calmed the temper tantrums, given them each a
cookie and a glass of milk to take their minds off the subject, and come to greet
him. That long drawn out kiss had done much to reestablish his equilibrium.
The children finished their milk and cookies then came to greet him as well.
He hugged them both, then took time to greet Cyrene and Gabrielle. They
returned his greeting, then began making plans for what they would do while
the children were gone.

He had gathered Xena and the children into his arms and transported them
back to the temple. As they were arriving at one end of the room, Evander
and family were arriving at the other. All three children began shouting to
each other, and it took a while to calm them down. Daphne thanked them
both for taking care of Laurel. They both replied that it was their pleasure,
even though they were afraid that it would be nothing like pleasurable. It
was only a short time later that Evander and Daphne left Ares and Xena
with the children.

The children had been sent to the play room. Ares had created it after the
last visit. There were swings, a climbing gym, a sandbox, several balls of
different sizes, and three toy boxes each with different toys in them. The
children had been shown to the room by a younger priestess, who was to
keep an eye on them. She had been given a necklace that would call the
God immediately in case of problems. All she had to do was take the disc
in her hand and call, he would hear, no matter where he was, and come
instantly to her aid.

In the meantime, Ares was seated on one of the twin divans in front of his
fireplace. The low silver table between divans was littered with fruit, nuts,
small sandwiches, wine, and other tidbits. His arm was about Xena's waist,
He was kissing her passionately, and his other hand was slowly roving
about her body. Her arms were about his neck, and she was pressing
herself against him. Things were beginning to heat up quickly, when there
was a sudden call from the necklace. Ares groaned softly, and with an
exasperated look, transported himself to the play room.

It turned out to be a false alarm. One of the children had managed to get the
necklace and had used it. They were in a huddle, giggling wildly, as the
priestess tried in vain to recover the necklace. Ares removed it from their
possession, gave it back to the priestess, and told the children that it was no
joke. Further stunts of that kind would result in an early bedtime. That was
something none of them wanted, so peace reigned for a while.

Ares transported himself back to Xena, explained what had happened, and
what he had threatened it it happened again, and they both got a chuckle
out of the event. He reached for her again, and they resumed where they
had left off. They had moved to the bed, removed their clothing, and gotten
much more involved when they received another call. This one they didn't
consider anywhere near as funny as the last. He replaced their clothes,
grabbed Xena's hand, and transported both of them this time. A major
fight had broken out over a toy. The two girls were screaming and pulling
hair while each retained a grip on the toy with the other hand. Xena moved
to grab Eve and Ares took hold of Laurel. They removed the disputed toy
from both little hands, and Ares caused it to disappear. a moment later
six identical toys appeared. Since it was no longer an only toy, both girls
ignored it. Jeb grinned, picked one of them up, and went off into a corner
to play with the toy in question. He hadn't a chance of taking it from either
of the girls, but had wound up with it anyway.

Now that peace reigned again, Ares took them back to the bedroom. He
raised one eyebrow and grinned. "Shall we try again?" he asked dryly.
She laughed right out loud. She then proceeded to do a strip tease. He
watched for only a moment, growled, and again removed their clothing.
They managed to actually continue their previous actions to the grand finale.
Laying beside him, with her head on his chest, she listened to the sound of
his heart. Regardless of his prior exertions, his heart was still at a steady
beat, not in the least hurried. She wished the same could be said for her's.
She was breathless, her heart was still beating tumultuously, and she felt an
indescribable tingle about herself. It was a glorious feeling.

CHAPTER SIX

It was now time for the children to go to bed. They reluctantly dressed
themselves and went to check on the children. All was surprisingly fine. The
girls were quietly playing, and Jeb was curled up in the corner with the toy, fast
asleep. They got them all into their sleep clothes, and tucked them into bed.
The priestess was relieved by another, who promptly sat down in a large old
rocking chair to keep watch during the night. The necklet was also turned over
to the new shift. Xena told them a story, although Jeb was asleep again before
she finished it, and they were all bidden good night.

Xena took time to eat some of the food on the little silver table. she snacked
on a little fruit, drank some more of the fine wine, and snuggled up against
him again. She slipped both arms about him, nuzzled her face against his
chest, and began to nibble. He grinned. "Ready for desert already?" he
asked her. She grinned back, took another nibble, and then a light bite. He
groaned, grasped her firmly in his arms, and devoured her lips. The kiss
deepened, the grasp became almost crushing, then he lifted her in his arms
and carried her swiftly over to the bed. One wave of the hand divested them
of their clothing, and opened the sheets. He suddenly tossed her lightly onto
the bed, and leaped after her. Landing on all fours, he had her trapped beneath
himself. He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, and kissed her deeply. Her
arms reached up, clasped him about the middle, and drew him down against
her silken body. He made some quick adjustments in position, then brought
her to the point of screaming.

Xena withheld it, but just barely. She did NOT want to waken the children.
Ares grinned at her, then began to again explore her body. He pretended to
be looking for something small, and was checking in every nook and cranny.
He examined her ears, behind the ears, looked carefully in her eyes, and
nostrils. Then he examined her mouth, probing with his fingers. She was
getting just a little exasperated with him. Then he began checking with his
tongue. He continued down her body. As he reached her belly button, the
action of the tongue increased dramatically. She began to squirm again.

It was a long night. Neither one of them got a lot of sleep, but then they
usually didn't.. Five or six hours was enough for Xena, and Ares actually
didn't have a need for sleep. He indulged himself when Xena was there,
resting between bouts of other activities. He enjoyed the feeling of awaking
with her in his arms. He wished that it could be like this forever. He saw her
on a regular basis, but was never satisfied with the few stolen hours that he got.
He never slept deeply, but only dozed, ready at a moment's notice to be off
to some war or other.

It was a war all right, but not a major one, that woke him the next morning..
The children were having a pillow fight. The priestess was an older one, who
had never been around such active children before. Ares made a mental note to
take her off this duty in future. She was panic stricken. She was trying with no
effect to get the children to stop. As she grabbed one pillow, she was struck
by the other two. The children's focus had changed from each other to her.
They jumped on the beds, leaped lightly from one to the other, and continued
their attack. The priestess was obviously overmatched. She was in tears.

"ENOUGH!" Ares bellowed. There was an instant cessation of motion. The
priestess was motioned to a seat in the rocking chair. The three children were
motioned to line up in front of Ares. He stood there with a frown on his face.
The children lined up hesitantly, then stood there silently. Three little lips
began to pout, three little faces screwed up into sorrowful expressions, and
tears began to flow. For just a moment there Ares almost fell for it. Then he
looked at Xena, and she was grinning. This was just another performance by
these problematical children. They were getting really good at these impromptu
actions.

The children were ordered to apologize to the priestess. each took their turn
in doing so. She was then told to go get some sleep, then resume her ordinary
duties. A younger priestess named Lani came walking quickly in the door.
She had heard the voice of the God calling her to duty. She was the third
child out of seven, was still young enough to remember her own days as a
child, and the four younger siblings with which she had played. The
children loved her, and she loved them as well. They usually behaved rather
well for her, because she could come up with all kinds of things for them to do.
She was also good at telling stories, which all the children loved.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lani supervised their breakfast, then took them out into the gardens to play.
Ares and Xena took their time with breakfast, lounging around in their night
clothes. Breakfast had been served in their chambers, on the small silver table
between the divans, and had been luxurious. Xena enjoyed it immensely. At
home she had to help fix the meals for herself, her family, and the people who
stayed or ate at the Inn. It was a lot of work, and she was revelling in the fact
that others did all the preparation and serving here. All she had to do was
enjoy. Enjoy she did, and relished every bite of it. She then took the time to
enjoy a bath in the huge tub adjoining the bedroom. Ares joined her, and the
time passed rather quickly after that. By the time she was thinking clearly again,
she got dressed and went outside to see how things were going.

The children were in their element. Lani had brought out a number of toys,
and the girls were chasing a ball. Jeb was sitting on the grass playing with a
toy horse made out of wood. Ares and Xena went for a stroll through the
rose garden. At the far end, was a gate. He escorted her through it and
she was amazed to see the size of the medicinal herb garden that was inside.
She noticed that the gate was locked, and was glad to see it. It would never
do for the children to get in here. She recognized several plants that could
be fatal if ingested. They looked just like any other berry bushes. Only one
who was trained in the use of such plants would realize that they weren't
edible.

Lunch was served picnic style. They had large baskets of food, several
blankets, several urns of a fruit drink, with plates and cups. Since this was
an unusual method of eating for the children it always went over well. Most
of their meals were always eaten at a dining room or kitchen table, in the
house. They'd stop for a bite or a sip of something, then run along to play
some more. They were under orders to stay within sight of the main group.
Mostly they did so. Occasionally they would run out of sight to chase a ball
or something, but were never gone long.

Several moments had passed, and Laurel had not reappeared. Xena went
looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. A search was instituted,
still no Laurel. Xena suddenly had a bad feeling, and headed over past the
shrubs to the gate to the other garden. As she arrived, she noticed that the
gate was no longer locked. She rushed through, and began to search. It was
a very large garden, with shrubs here and there in bunches. There were a
number of beds of plants interspersed among the bushes. She headed for
the berry bushes she had noticed earlier. There, slumped over on the ground,
was Laurel. she was unconscious. "ARES!!" she screamed. He appeared at
her side, took one look at Laurel, and gathered her into his arms. Poof, he
was gone. She ran back toward the temple, making sure that the gate was
locked behind her.

Xena met Ares at the healer's hall. The healer was examining Laurel, and Xena
told him where she had found the child, and the name of the plant she had been
beside. "Ooh." he said. "In that case, she'll probably be all right. I have the
antidote to that shrub right here." He reached up on the shelf, took down a small
bottle, and dripped several drops in Laurel's mouth. Her tongue licked at the
drops, and she swallowed. "Tastes sweet, doesn't it my dear?" he asked with a
smile. She opened her eyes and nodded. "Good!" she replied. Then she began
to retch, and continued until she had gotten rid of the berries she had eaten,
along with all her lunch.

The healer then gave her something else, that would settle her stomach, and
turned her over to her grandfather. He took her into the lunch room, and
made her eat again. Nothing too bulky, and nothing too solid, but she ate some
custard, with a small sandwich roll. She then followed that with a glass of milk. By
this time she was feeling much better. At least until she took a good look at Ares'
face. He had a thunderous expression on his face, and as soon as he was sure
she was going to be all right he exploded wrathfully. "What did you think you
were doing? You know you're forbidden to go through locked doors, and I have
previously ordered you not to go inside that particular garden. I told you that
there were many dangerous plants in there, and that you were forbidden to go
in there without supervision. Now......just what did you think you were doing?"

Laurel explained that the ball had gone over the fence, that she had just been
going after the ball, but had noticed the berries and had tried a few. She tried
to avoid telling how she had gotten inside the fence, but eventually she had
admitted that she had used magic to open the lock on the gate. Ares then made
the determination that the lock would have to be strengthened. He would have
to find out exactly how strong Laurel's magical skills were, and make the locks
several times stronger. This was going to make things difficult for some of the
workers in those gardens, but he wasn't taking any chances on this happening
again. Better to be safe, than to take any more risks.

The other children had continued on with their games. Lani had managed to
distract them from the excitement with a puppet show. By the time it was all
over, they were eating again, and happy to see Ares and Xena come back
with Laurel. Then they went on to tell her what she had missed. Lani had
to promise to do the show again later in the afternoon before Laurel would be
satisfied to settle down again. The rest of the afternoon went peacefully. Lani
finally did the puppet show again just before they were to return to the temple
for supper. The children were all agog over the puppet show, even though
two of them had seen it before. They still had to discuss the whole thing with
Laurel, because she had only seen it once.

CHAPTER NINE

That night and the next day had gone fairly well, until later that afternoon.
Then all hell broke loose. The children were playing at the far end of the
gardens, near the edge of the temple woods, when suddenly arrows began to
fly. They were striking very near the children. The priestess in charge at the
time, used the necklace to call Ares. He appeared, created an umbrella of
protection over the children and the attending priestess, then disappeared again.
A moment later he appeared next to a group of men in the woods. At his
appearance, they all took off running in different directions. Most of them
dropped their weapons in their haste to escape. They had been hunting in the
forbidden temple forest. All had taken a shot at a large turkey that had flown up
into the treetops. Their arrows had missed the turkey, passed over the trees in
between, and come down near the children. They hadn't realized how near
they were to the temple, and had no intention of shooting at the children. It had
been an accident, true, but they had no business hunting where they were.

Ares had captured every one of them, then taken them to the temple to see
what they had almost done. At the sight of the three small children and a
priestess standing in the midst of half a dozen arrows, the men began to pale.
Upon hearing that one of the children was the granddaughter of the God,
several of the men began to quake in fright. Ares then took the men to the
regional justice and ordered that they be imprisoned for trespass and hunting in
the temple woods. Most of the men had been fathers, and felt terrible about what
had almost happened. They got off lucky. He could have just killed them on
the spot, and they were well aware of that fact. All swore to themselves that
they would never make that mistake again. They had each received a month
of imprisonment, and considered themselves lucky.

Xena had gathered the frightened children into herarms, and held them. All
three of them huddled there for a few minutes. Then childhood took over and
they went off to play again. As Ares reappeared in her presence, she reached
out to hold him tightly in her arms. Then she started to cry softly. He held her
for a moment, then tipped her head up to look into her face. Her tear streaked
face was almost too much for him. An incredible feeling of protectiveness swept
over him. He kissed her gently for a moment, then held her against him again.
They stood that way for several moments longer, then she gently pulled back.
He wrapped one arm about her waist and escorted her back into the temple.

Since the children were now totally involved with their games, Ares and Xena
decided to spend a last little while together before the weekend ended. They
had an uninterrupted two hours, during which they had reexamined their feelings
for each other, and come to the conclusion that they wanted more. Xena was
going to move in, at least for a while, and see how things worked out. The next
step was to announce the decision to her family. They would continue to visit
the Inn several days a week, but would be staying here.

The evening came soon enough, and the party goers arrived back in good spirits.
Laurel was collected, although regretfully on her part, and they left for their own
home. Eve and Jeb were hesitantly gathering their own few playthings, to get
ready to go home, when they were pleasantly informed that they would be staying
for a while longer. They whooped and hollered, running all through the temple,
until they finally ran out of steam. Then they settled down for a story time. Ares,
himself, told the story and kept them in stitches throughout the time. It was a very
funny story of mixed up messages, mixed up replies, and a wholly fouled up
escapade. The children loved it.

They went to sleep without any more problems. The priestess in charge over
night was a jovial sort that got along well with the children. She fussed over
them, tucked them in, kissed them good night, and then turned down the lamp.
Then she went over, sat herself down in the rocking chair, and began to knit.
She was making sweaters for all three children, and each child had chosen their
own yarn in their own color. Eve had chosen lavender, Laurel had chosen a
mint green, and Jeb had chosen red, dark red. Both girls had chosen pastels,
but Jeb had chosen a vivid dark cherry red. He would certainly stand out in
a crowd.

Ares and Xena had then gone back to the Inn to announce her decision to her
family. At first Gabrielle was just a little bit furious, but she soon calmed down.
Trying to take care of those two as well as do all the other things necessary to
run an Inn had been exhausting. If the children would be happy there at the
temple with all those priests and priestesses to take care of them, but would be
coming to visit often, it might be the best thing for all. Cyrene had been
expecting this for a while now. She had been watching Xena closely, and had
been aware of the fact that she wasn't very happy while she was trying to do so
many things at once. She hadn't complained, but she had obviously been ready
for a change. Cyrene was glad for her. She would miss the children, but it
would be much easier without them under foot all the time. Visits would be
wonderful. She would be able to appreciate them more when they did come.

Back at the temple, they had withdrawn to the private quarters. There they
had a light repast on the divan, began some intimate byplay, and eventually
moved to the bed. There were no distractions from their diversions, and things
went from naughty to downright involved. Coming up for air, Xena chuckled,
and was answered with a questioning eyebrow. "It just seems good to know that
we don't have to make plans to be together from now on. We just ARE! I am
looking forward to many, many nights in your arms, without having to explain
why I want to take a few days off to do so." He grinned, and drew her closer.
Then he resumed his prior exertions and drove her to the point of climax.

...h.o.m.e...
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