Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and/or ‘Hercules: the Legendary Journeys’ don’t belong to me, they belong to whoever owns/wrote/created them. No copyright infringement intended, okay? I’m just borrowing them! The story belongs to me and so do any original characters.

Author’s Note: Well, jeeze, lookie at all the people. *looks up innocently at the readers* Takes place in an AU “Animal Attraction,” glossing over or completely ignoring “Succession,” and goes farther off from there. I also feel the need to inform you that pretty much all my views of A/X with kids have already been represented through Skkye Blue's "Dark Revelations," Lady Kate's "Second Chances" and Nancy Lorenz's "Children of the Gods" series. While I regard those stories fondly, any resemblances are extremely unintentional. Incidentally, the title is roughly taken from several of similar vein by Illyandria, in a completely different spin. Okay, finish the boring disclaimers and stuff and READ!

Dedications: Still the same people it’s always been dedicated to. Especially to Illy, LK, Tali, Tango, Rissy, Kat, and everyone who I still see online, as that’s not many anymore.

Summary: An AU look at season 5 and beyond of X:WP, starting with a fairly accurate "Animal Attraction." Instead of the Eve plotline, a different take ensues. A/X

Warnings: Sexual content, mild cursing, mild violence

Rated: R

Date Started/Finished: October 24, 2005/NA

Illusion in War’s Arms

By Delenn

“… Ares?”

Despite the glare, the silence spoke volumes.

####

In the ensuing chaos, it took Gabrielle a good amount of time before she could catch Xena alone again to continue their discussion. But she hadn’t forgotten, the words or the silence.

“Xena?”

A pause, a quick look, and then another question, “Gabrielle?”

Shifting uncomfortably, still thrown completely off guard and into the realm of do-not-go-there, Gabrielle took a moment to launch into her reasons, her questions, her demands. “About before…”

This time, the look was long, and the sigh was tired, “What’s to say?” Neither had forgotten.

The silence was so busy whispering possibilities, that it took Gabrielle time to regroup in the face of certainty and questioning. Xena had caught her off guard before, but… “When?”

Xena’s look was quick and sharp, as though Gabrielle’s acceptance had made it more real to her. As though the question didn’t make her blush. A smirk without the usual strength behind it, “About a month ago.”

####

After the crash back to reality, this crash had been more literal. So much had been said, so much done, and then there had been that moment.

That moment where the only part of the world she knew was happy and right and peaceful. Of course, it hadn’t lasted. Not that she would have wanted to live out the rest of her life an ignorant, defenseless, dress-wearing fool.

But, she’d give anything to get that feeling back.

Maybe that was what had spawned it. That need for a moment of peace. She’d lost herself three times over. Lost to death. Lost to hell. Lost to peace. She hadn’t known what was left.

She’d remembered though, that he’d been there. And that her no-war self had definitely had some insights on the him issue. Nothing had happened then. Nothing like this crash, anyway.

Everything had just been so intense lately. Coming back from crucifixion and death tended to give life a bit of an edge.

Still, she has no idea how all that had lead her here, crashing to the hard ground, hands too busy to catch her, then rolling. Taking him with her, his hands moving quickly towards the realm of no return. There’d been so many of those realms lately. And she’d come back from every one.

Gasping, she pulls away for breath and, not bothered by such concerns, his lips only pause a moment before moving lower, tracing recently bared skin. She pushes him back, down to the ground, hands following to rip his vest open - and she has to admit that she’s not exactly a bystander in all this.

Then he pulls her down against him, wrapping his arms around her as their naked bodies crush together and her lips reclaim his. And she gives in. Gives up analyzing and reasoning and wondering if this is ‘wrong.’ Slips her hands between them and pushes away the last remnants of armor and cloth, tossing it to be scattered to the side, as his hands possessively trace her back and their bodies press together.

Her mouth opens a little, tearing away from his, “Ares,” gasping. Crashing.

####

"What are you going to do?" The question was innocent enough, but Xena was in no mood for innocence.

Still a cross between shocked and angry, Xena's response was harsh, "About what?" And she had a fleeting hope that her tone would be enough to stop all the questions that she still had no answers for.

Gabrielle, however, was always able to see through her friend's bluffs and this occasion proved no different. "Well, for one, are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know, Gabrielle…" head dipped as she stared at lined and hardened hands. "I just, I don't know."

Voice saddened, Gabrielle took in the discomfort that this whole process was causing her friend. "Oh, Xena." The sympathy was palpable, but Gabrielle knew better than to keep up that voice. Instead, turned away, went back to cooking, "Well, I think you should tell him."

Back turned, she missed the sharp and surprised look that Xena shot at her.

####

It wasn't until much later that Xena found herself alone, waiting, contemplating, but knowing that she'd already decided. Just this once, she would have given anything for one his "unexpected" visits. Save her the trouble of calling for him. To him. "Damnit Ares, get down here!"

When there was no immediate response, she had a moment of doubt. She had no idea what to do if he didn't come... was that it, then? He'd gotten what he wanted from her and nothing was left? "Ares!"

The flash of blue light that met her statement was both angry and harried. "All right, all right... As shocking as it might be, Princess, I do have duties other than waiting on your every beck and call. There's a war in Thrace and all Tartarus is breaking loose between Athena and Apollo-"

His tone was sharp, befitting to his rush, but it did nothing to sooth Xena's already irritated self. "I'm pregnant."

Caught in the middle of what looked to be quite a rant, Ares stood stunned. Gaping. Regrettably silent.

And, whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it. Fists clenched, "That's right. You got my body and you got me pregnant." A vicious sneer, "Got exactly what you wanted."

In the face of her anger, he was frustrated - in the face of her announcement, he was astounded. “What do you want me to say?” After the first burst of anger, the astonishment was winning, “I didn’t expect this… but this is…”

Before he could finish the thought, she’d turned and stalked away from him. Too angry to hear any possible upsides, especially from him, and too frightened at what this all meant for them. Too many questions still left unanswered and the God of War standing, dazed, at her back.

####

“Ares, what are you doing?” She sounded incredulous and grouchy.

Shrugging sheepishly, Ares hazarded a response, “Keeping an eye out on you?”

With a quick step over the thug between them, Xena advanced on her new prey. “I was perfectly capable of handling one warlord.” She was still in peak shape, Ares could tell, as she reached for her sword, “I’ve handled many more than him,” as a matter of fact, nobody could even tell that the Warrior Princess was changed. “I don’t need your protection.”

Ares let her sword come to rest against his chest, let her rampage finish. Then, he pushed it away, firmly, and regarded her irritably, “Maybe you don’t get to make that decision anymore!”

For a moment, he thought that she was going to take off his head, for all the good it would do. But the anger faded out of her eyes, and Xena slumped down heavily, avoiding his gaze. “Damnit, you can’t just follow me around all the time.”

“Why not?” Inwardly he added that somebody had to watch her back.

Spinning away from him, hands thrown up in the air, Xena exclaimed, “That’s not how it works!”

He was one step ahead of her. When she spun around, he was there, reaching out to grab her flailing arms and hold her still. “How does it work then, Xena? You tell me.”

The tension in her gave way at his touch and she allowed herself to be pulled into his arms. “I don’t know.” And she didn’t. Didn’t know how they worked. How custody would work. Visiting her mother one week, his sisters the next? None of it made any sense.

####

Looking up from her latest scroll, Gabrielle found Xena staring pensively at her. It had been occurring more and more often, as of late, and Gabrielle was concerned. When Xena was quiet, even for Xena, Gabrielle knew that they needed to talk. "Xena, are you all right?"

"How can you be okay with this?"

The words were spit out quickly; Xena's gaze focused intensely on her friend, but Gabrielle didn't need more than a second to realize where this conversation was headed. "You mean," Gabrielle swallowed quietly and put her scroll off to the side, "you being pregnant?"

It was only now, when Gabrielle's gaze became so pointed, that Xena averted her own. "After all that's happened," the Warrior Princess paused, choked on the words, "with Hope and Solan..."

"That's precisely why I'm okay with this," Gabrielle caught her friend's astonished look and continued without pause. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't - it hurts, of course it does, to remember Hope and wonder what if... but we both have our specters, Xena." She was silent for a moment, always having to face that moment of reflection that her daughter had killed Xena's son. Gabrielle shook her head, willing old guilts away, "This is a second chance - for both of us. Just because you get the joys of morning sickness, don't think for a moment that I won't love your child and watch her grow up."

Both women offered a half-smile at the joke, and Xena moved to pull her friend into a hug. It wouldn't be easy, but it was a relief to know that they would be okay, after all.

After they had pulled away, and silence had been allowed to smooth the rougher edges of emotion, Xena smirked. "Ares thinks it's a girl, too."

Startled, Gabrielle regarded her friend and her feelings on the matter. Whatever her personal issues with Ares, Gabrielle couldn't deny that she was slightly relieved to hear that Xena had talked with him. Obviously there were more feelings on both sides than either would admit to, Gabrielle had seen more than enough evidence to support that, even discounting Xena's current condition.

Keeping quiet, Gabrielle decided that, at this point, it would probably be better for all concerned if she left Xena and Ares to themselves. If there were problems, she'd just make sure that the God of War heard about it.

####

It had been inevitable to everyone but Xena. As a point of fact, it was miraculous that things had lasted as long as they did, unchanged. But practical necessities could only be denied for so long, and Xena had pushed the limit to its utmost extreme.

"Uh, Xena..." Gabrielle kept her gaze pointedly away from the warrior. They were friends, of course, but touchy subjects were best treaded on cautiously.

From where she was getting out of her bedroll, the day suspiciously quiet and Xena's sleep understandably long, Xena demanded, "What? Gabrielle, can't it wait until after I get dressed?"

"Actually," Gabrielle could feel the sharp glare on her back without being able to see it. "It can't. That's the point, Xena."

"What do you mean?"

Gabrielle had come to the recent realization that there was nothing with the fury of a pregnant Warrior Princess. She could only imagine how Ares was faring on his end of things. Not well, was the conclusion of such thoughts. "Don't you think," she hazarded a glance towards her friend, "that it's time for a bit of a change?"

"A change of what, Gabrielle." This time, the pronunciation of 'Gabrielle' had a definite edge to it.

And, if Gabrielle had learned anything about Xena over the years, it was that the only route in the face of Xena's stubbornness was bluntness. "Xena, if you have any illusions of being able to wear your leathers after the baby, it's time to give them up."

For a good minute or two, the Warrior Princess was stunned into silence. Her eyes took in her rounding stomach and her face, set in stone, was furious.

She stood, back rigid and straight and, for a second, Gabrielle thought that Xena was going to attempt the leathers against all odds. But Xena just hissed out one word, low and threatening, "Ares."

To his credit, the God of War appeared almost instantaneously and, if he was surprised at Xena's lack of formal dress, it wasn't apparent. "You called?"

Whatever she had been planning to say died on the tip of her tongue. Xena glared at Ares, apparently beyond all words, and then turned viciously and stalked into the forest.

Ares blinked. "What did I do?" Looked at Gabrielle, who shrugged and turned away, refusing to be a party to the increasingly strange interactions between the God of War and Warrior Princess.

Not having really expected any answers from Gabrielle, Ares sighed, resigned, and strode off after Xena.

When he caught up to Xena, who was leaning against a large tree, ignoring his presence, Ares did his best to keep his voice neutral. "Oh no you don't. Damnit, Xena, you wanted me here - you don't get to just run away because you changed your mind!"

His failed attempt at control amused her. Made her spit out things she was trying to keep unsaid. "I need new leathers."

Deflated in his anger, Ares took a moment to wonder if that warranted such a production. His eyes took in Xena's slightly enlarged form. "Is that all?"

Seeing that he was about to wave his hand and call it good, Xena interrupted, "All! Is that all? It's all your fault!" She took a deep breath, and then shot a sharp glance at the God of War, "And if you dare make some comment about it taking two of us, then so help me..."

Biting back just such a comment, he instead took a moment to regard the raging Warrior Princess. "Xena," he began calmly, "they're just leathers. In a few months you'll be back in them, good as new." A pause, and then exactly what everyone else had been wondering, "You had to have known this was coming."

"That doesn't mean I like it."

Well aware that this was more about the baby, his baby, their baby, than any clothing issues, Ares decided to work one point at a time. "Well, you came to the right god anyway," his tone was humorous, "I might not know much about fashion, but I know leather, I know armor, and I know you," he'd stepped closer and his voice had dropped with each soft, deliberate statement.

Waited until he was right in front of her, her own voice low, "You've never known me." A smirk.

Matching her smirk, Ares shrugged, up to the challenge. "Yeah?"

A wave of his hand and she was re-clothed in a higher-waisted, shorter version of her leathers, complete with minimized armor and comfortable, cream-colored pants.

Xena regarded her new attire and couldn't find any faults with his sense - it would serve well enough for the duration of her pregnancy. Her eyebrow rose, "What did you do with my leathers?"

"Oh, I've got them in a safe place," Ares appraised her new look and decided that it would do, especially with the vicious and amused look she was shooting him. "Till later then, my dear."

Xena laughed, shaking her head, as he took her hand and kissed the knuckles, a motion that hadn't been used in some time, before disappearing with a last mime of 'just call.'

####

As she'd gotten heavier, the Warrior Princess had simultaneously become more irritated by Ares' continued presence and less able to resist.

At the first hint of trouble, Ares was there, glowering over them and, most of the time, frightening away whatever would-be thugs had appeared without any bloodshed. Xena had given up on her cracks at how much time he was spending watching them.

And it wasn't as though Xena didn't get any action. More days than not, after Ares had used his 'I am the God of War' voice and scared away Xena's entertainment, she would drag him off for their own sparring session. If he was going easier on her than normal, he wasn't stupid enough to make it apparent.

Gabrielle was glad for these moments because they kept Xena occupied, even if they usually resulted in raised voices and one warrior or the other storming away. It seemed, if anything, that Ares and Xena had managed to develop even more issues to contend with.

####

A clash of swords brought them face-to-face, inches apart, pressing forward for that long-sought advantage. Simultaneously, the swords dropped, clattering in a muffled crash to the ground.

Hands reached up, tangling a mix of limbs as the gap closed and mouths fused together, perhaps still battling. It was hard to tell anymore.

Gasping, from both the fight and the kiss, they broke apart, foreheads resting together. Ares, bent slightly, loosened his hands from Xena's hair and began to trail them softly down her body. It always started like this: random, gasping, a moment of indecision or a moment of decision, hands roaming.

The next step, however, was always a surprise. To both of them. This time, she pulls away, body still heaving, gently placing a hand against his chest. "Ares..." Xena brushes away his wandering hands, "We can't."

A snort is her response but Ares does remove his hands, crossing his arms over his chest and awaiting her excuse.

"We have to stop this... falling together... it just makes things worse." Xena had turned her back on Ares, as though she was afraid to look him in the eyes, lest she betray her own statement.

With a long-suffering sigh, Ares came around in front of Xena, tilting her chin up so that she could look at him. "Xena, you're pregnant. How much more complicated can it get?" His tone was half frustration and half veiled amusement.

She batted his hand away, her own going to cradle her swollen abdomen.

When no admonishment was forthcoming, Ares moved in for a soft kiss, pulling a passive Xena into his arms. If she didn't want to fuck or fight, fine, but he wasn't going away that easily.

Xena allowed a few more kisses before elaborating, "You're just going to be up to the same old schemes and I'm too hormonal..." To what?

Her excuses were weak and they both knew it. But Ares couldn't get over the initial insult of the first statement. He was tempted to ask 'why?' and see if she had any reasonable response. It was him who pushed away. "Godsdamnit, Xena, you think that's what this" he gestured wildly with his arms, indicating that 'this' was more than the current, "is about?"

Noting the raised voice and sharp, affronted look in his eye, Xena countered, "I don't know what this is about!" She took a step closer, glaring sharply between him and her stomach, "This was supposed to be a one time thing, not this back and forth. Not this."

Despite a malice-filled start, her tirade petered out toward the end. The supposed was irrelevant in point, rendering all the accusations and speculation useless. She was pregnant, her second chance that shouldn't be, and it was spinning her life out of all normalcy.

With a clenched jaw, Ares disappeared in shards of crystalline blue and white light.

####

It had actually taken a near-miraculous rainstorm to get Aphrodite to make an appearance. Xena had been expecting the ditzy love goddess to appear, so the only surprise was how long it took.

The torrential rainstorm and Gabrielle's incessant concerns of Xena catching a cold had forced the two traveling companions into the nearest shelter. Even through the pouring rain, Xena could spy statues of the scantily clad goddess adorning the courtyard.

While Gabrielle was occupied with getting warm in the apparently abandoned old temple, Xena took the opportunity to dry off. She was just shaking out her hair when a cheerful voice announced, "You know, it's so much quicker this way," and Xena found herself perfectly dry.

A glance upwards confirmed the presence of the Goddess of Love. "Aphrodite, what a surprise."

Lounging on a newly present divan, Aphrodite offered a little wave, "Hey, a goddess of love gets busy from time to time. But when I saw you come into one of my temples, I just had to drop by."

Xena braced herself, glancing futilely to the side room - but Gabrielle was nowhere in sight.

Aphrodite regarded the Warrior Princess for a moment, then a huge grin lit up her face. "Ooh, look at you! How's my little niece or nephew treating you, Warrior Babe?"

Frightened by the prospect of Aphrodite breaking out into baby voices, all directed at her stomach, Xena quickly crossed the room and came to sit next to the goddess. "Keeping me on my toes."

"Oh, I know! When I was pregnant with Cupie, I just had the most awful mood-swings. Hephie and Ar wouldn't talk to me for months because the crying freaked them out."

Xena offered an indulgent smile, even if she was convinced that pregnancy would be a lot easier if one could just zap anything they wanted. She raised an eyebrow; "I might be able to pull off some tears if it would get Ares to leave me alone."

Giving a deep sigh, Aphrodite shook her head at the other woman, "No luck, Warrior Babe, I don't think Bro's gonna leave for anything... You should see--" Awkwardly, Aphrodite cut herself off, with a little 'oops' face.

"See what, Aphrodite?" Xena suddenly was glad that Gabrielle was out of the room if it allowed Aphrodite's penchant for gossip to come forward.

Rising gracefully, Aphrodite surveyed the room suspiciously, "Bro's gonna be real pissed that I talked to you," she rolled her eyes at Xena's disbelieving look.

Xena waited. Sure enough, the silence got to Aphrodite and she came back to sit down, whispering conspiratorially, "Ar tells me things he wouldn't tell... I mean... he's totally gaga over the baby." Suddenly serious, Aphrodite regarded Xena, "Look, I know you two have lots of issues, Babe, but I've never seen Ar this happy..."

"I think I've got this place figured out."

Xena turned at the sound of Gabrielle's voice and, when she looked back, the Goddess of Love was gone. Shaking her head, the warrior wondered what to make of the seemingly honest confession. How happy could Ares really be? But she couldn't deny the special relationship between the God of War and his blonde sister. If anybody would know, it would be Aphrodite...

"Xena?" Gabrielle reentered the room and regarded her friend nervously, "Where'd that couch come from?"

####

Stomping out of the forest, Xena's eyes flashed as she sat down next to the fire and began viciously slashing her sword across stone. "Sometimes, I just hate him!"

"You're having his baby, surely there must be more to it than that." Gabrielle glanced up from her bedroll at the quieting of metal-on-stone, to see her friend staring pensively into the campfire. She'd kept her peace for months now, but enough was enough - Xena's mood-swings, especially concerning the nearly ever-present God of War, were bordering on ridiculous.

After a long sigh, pained eyes looked back at her, "Gabrielle. It's - it's complicated."

Xena resumed staring into the fire, her mouth closing firmly, even if she had planned on elaborating. Of course it was complicated - everything with the God of War was. And of course she didn't completely hate him, but that didn't really mean anything.

Whether she loved him or hated him, what did it matter now? She'd had a moment of weakness, of lo- of weakness, and now everything was different. They were different and yet, still the same stubborn people.

It was becoming harder to remember that moment where the only self she was still sure of involved him. Where she'd given up worrying and analyzing and given in to the sureness of them.

But, after her impromptu conversation with Aphrodite, Xena was beginning to doubt Ares' feelings, to doubt her own... The more she thought about it, the less sure she was - about anything.

The fire held no easy answers.

####

Sitting tersely on Argo, who seemed content with the slow paced trot, Xena glowered into the never-ending expanse of scenery that she'd never been able to 'properly appreciate,' as Gabrielle put it.

Gabrielle sighed, deciding that she'd kept her peace for long enough. "Xena, this trip is supposed to be so that you can relax. So why do you look increasingly depressed?"

Silence met both the statement and question, as though Xena were too lost in her own world to have even noticed Gabrielle's speech. Her hands absently caressed her heavy belly, the source of her increasing girth and stress.

Casting a worried glance at her friend, Gabrielle chewed on her bottom lip.

All she knew was that a few days ago, Ares had manifested himself, demanding that him and Xena talk and shooing Gabrielle away. From her position, sitting by the river, Gabrielle had heard the customary raised voices and angry exclamations. When she'd finally dared to venture back into the war-zone, Ares had been gone, and Xena was packing up her bedroll with the singular announcement that they were going to visit her mother.

Later, when Xena was asleep and Gabrielle was scratching out her newest poem - a new venture she was attempting in light of the boggling circumstances her life was taking - Ares had made a second appearance, informing Gabrielle that Xena needed rest. She, Gabrielle, was supposed to get Xena to Cyrene's at all costs because, as Ares had irritably pointed out, it was possibly the only place Xena would consider relaxing in.

Gabrielle was not excited to find out how Ares had won that particular argument, and so it remained a mystery. Xena's silences - they were easier to understand.

The Warrior Princess was not looking forward to seeing her mother - well, at least, not in light of the circumstances that demanded her visit - that much was obvious. Gabrielle couldn't imagine that Xena was looking forward to sharing the details of her pregnancy, and the father, with Cyrene, who would undoubtedly want to know. But, as the birth drew nearer, the best place for Xena seemed to be her mother's - even if some awkward silences would ensue.

Whatever measure of peace that Ares and Xena had obtained during Xena's pregnancy seemed to be over. Now that their child's presence in the world was imminent, the two seemed to have developed a barrage of new, practical issues to bicker and fight over. The topmost, which seemed to have reached an uneasy consensus from what Gabrielle could gather, had been where Xena was to have the baby.

Given the rows she'd been able to hear, despite a considerable distance between her and the combatants, Gabrielle could only hope that Cyrene's presence would have a calming effect on Xena - something had to.

####

The door to the tavern creaked open, and Cyrene looked up to see Gabrielle come in, her hands fidgeting despite her smile.

Cyrene finished up with her customer and made her way toward the bard. "Gabrielle, it's so good to see you... is--?"

"She's just getting the horses settled in," Gabrielle responded before the older woman could finish her sentence. Gabrielle liked Cyrene, and she hoped that Xena's condition wouldn't be too much of a shock.

With the knowing gaze of a mother, Cyrene nodded, convinced that all was typical, and went to hurry out the few remaining customers so that she could have some time to visit with her daughter. It was almost closing time anyway and surely nobody would begrudge her a few extra moments with her child.

Soon enough, Xena entered, looking for all the world as collected and stoic as ever, as she caught sight of Gabrielle and her mother's back. In no rush, Xena waited until she'd reached Gabrielle's side before announcing her presence, "Hello, mother."

"Oh, Xena, I'm so glad you came-" Cyrene turned mid-sentence and was stopped short by the sight of her expanded daughter. There were a few seconds of awkward silence as Cyrene orientated herself, "I see we have quite a lot to discuss. I'll finish closing up."

Without another glance at Xena's pregnant belly, Cyrene turned and hurried to finish her business dealings and get noisy neighbors out of earshot.

Gabrielle bit her lip, nervously trying to gauge the reactions between mother and daughter. "Xena," she waited until the warrior focused on her, "why don't you go sit down? I'll help Cyrene get rid of the stragglers."

It looked like Xena was about to protest, but Gabrielle's glance led her to know that any argument was futile. Xena snorted and motioned Gabrielle on her way. It had turned out that her best friend was just as much a mother hen about Xena's pregnancy as the God of War. The Warrior Princess was tempted to tell them this resemblance, but it struck her as slightly cruel.

All too quickly, Cyrene was pulling up a chair next to her daughter, and Gabrielle was nowhere to be found. "I suppose I should be happy that I'll get to welcome my grandchild into the world, instead of just hearing about it after the fact."

Xena didn't deny the statement, simply sagging under her mother's gaze and awaiting the inevitable questioning. Not to disappoint, Cyrene began gently, "How are you doing?"

"I'm pregnant, mom, I feel the size of a small army, and I can't see my boots." Xena raised an eyebrow and waited, knowing that her mother could come up with something better.

"And I suppose there's no nice young man helping you into those boots?" Cyrene didn't have to examine her daughter that closely to discern that Xena hadn't settled down and gotten married. It wasn't her style.

Despite her best efforts to the contrary, Xena blushed. "No," not exactly.

"Mmm, but there was a young man?"

Xena smirked, looking down at her stomach, "Well, obviously."

Reaching across the table, Cyrene took Xena's hands in her own, and waited a long time before speaking. "Are you going to make me guess, or tell me who the father is?"

The warrior princes almost pulled her hands away, tensing, but then made a forced effort to relax. "You're not going to be happy,"

Offering a comforting squeeze and bracing herself for the worst, Cyrene began, "Xena, you're my daughter. I want to see you happy," she took in the frown of worry on her daughter's face, "are you happy?"

Ducking her hands out of her mother's and floundering for an adequate explanation, Xena settled instead for, "It's not that simple."

Now Cyrene's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Did he leave? If he left you, I'll hunt him down and show him my new axe... I'll-"

"It's Ares."

Stopped full fault in the middle of a tirade, Cyrene stared at the younger woman, trying to discern if she'd just heard what she thought she'd heard. "What?"

Her head turned away from Cyrene's probing stare, Xena continued, "Actually, he was the one who suggested I come," her tone was still irritated over that particular conversation, "to get some rest."

Thrown horribly off guard by Xena's statements, the implications of her relationship with the God of War, Cyrene could only ask, "So, then, are you two...?"

"No." Xena shifted uncomfortably,

Cyrene was incredulous, "No? What do you mean 'no?' Xena, you're having his child!" She searched her daughter's averted face and shook her head, knowing that Xena had probably shared similar thoughts. But a mother worried for her child - it was Cyrene's job to remind Xena of necessary facts.

"He doesn't - we don't-" more issues of her past, especially with Ares, that she didn't want to discuss, "he's the God of War, mom, it's not that simple." Xena settled for repetition, knowing that a fuller explanation would take years.

"I'm well aware of what he is, in case you've forgotten our last meeting," Cyrene snapped out, and then instantly regretted her tone at the hurt look in Xena's eyes. "So, is he going to be showing up around here?"

Xena could see this conversation going to so many unpleasant places, and she had a great desire to avoid that. It was too tiring, sorting all this out. "If he does, I'm a grown woman, mother, I'll handle Ares."

Cyrene looked about to protest, but Xena rose heavily from the table and cut her off, "Now, I'm sure you're anxious to get more details out of Gabrielle. I'm going to take a nap, I think."

Sighing at the stubborn 'end of conversation' look in her daughter's eyes, Cyrene stood and pulled Xena into a hug before shooing her off to bed. If Xena were going to stay for a while, there would be plenty of time to work out those missing years. Too many missing years.

####

She made it up to her old room before that telltale tingle skittered up her spine. Xena sighed and closed the heavy wooden door, twisting the lock resolutely. "Eavesdropping again?"

Strong hands moved to her shoulders and massaged the tension out of them in firm but gentle caresses. "Why?" He let the question drop as Xena leaned back against him, seemingly admitting that it had been an unnecessary welcome. "Just seeing how you're settling in."

It was nice, every once in a while, to just stay like this. It couldn't last, the calmness between them, it never did, but Xena wasn't about to rush its inevitable devolution. "Mom took it pretty well."

"Does that mean I don't get to whisk you off to one of my dark fortresses?" One hand paused its massage to brush her hair aside, and his words traced her ear.

"Which one were you thinking of?" She was enjoying the easy banter as the knots were eased from her body.

Ares' arms slowly moved around Xena, supporting her relaxed weight and taking the opportunity to encircle her stomach. "Iulis - our presence would go fairly unnoticed and the view is wonderful right now."

Xena smirked, tilting her head to the side to regard Ares. "What happened to Abdera?"

"Athena's decided that she couldn't leave well enough alone," he sighed, knowing that it was useless anyway, Xena had no more illusions of running off to one of his temples than the last few months they'd been debating the issue.

They stayed silent for a long while. After a time, Ares asked, "So Cyrene's okay with this, then?" As always, the this was vague but pointed.

"She's okay with me being here." Xena wiggled out of his arms and turned to face the God of War, "But I wouldn't be dropping by for dinner, if I were you."

Her response was rolled eyes, "Xena, I don't even drop by for dinner with my parents, let alone Gabrielle and Cyrene."

Moving to sit on her bed, Xena sighed, "I mean it, Ares. You probably shouldn't be dropping by at all." As soon as it was out, Xena knew it was a useless statement.

He ignored the insinuation that it wasn't just Cyrene who didn't want him there. "Your mother doesn't scare me that much," a raised eyebrow, "Be seeing you, Princess." And she was alone again.

Lying down, Xena fought away the conflicting feelings welling up in her.

#######

The first time Xena walked down for breakfast, followed only minutes later by Ares' form, Gabrielle glanced anxiously between the two and Cyrene.

Xena had her head down, determinedly beginning her meal, while Ares walked stiffly toward an extra chair (that had appeared when, exactly?) and sat down awkwardly.

Cyrene took it about as well as could be expected. She paused for a moment, frozen in the midst of setting down a bowl of fruit. Then she straightened, looking for a moment like she might walk away, and sat down instead. Glanced at Gabrielle, Xena, Ares. "I was wondering if you were planning on a proper introduction. Or was that where you tried to have me killed?"

Looking up sharply, Xena admonished, "Mom," but it lacked conviction, considering she'd had more than enough fights with Ares over similar topics.

Sitting at the table, out of place, not eating since he was a god and it hardly mattered, Ares promptly replied, "I don't know. Gabrielle, did I try to kill you when we first met?" His eyes didn't leave Cyrene's.

Flustered at the actual use of her name, Gabrielle floundered to swallow her food and make an adequate reply. It didn't seem to matter though, as Cyrene spoke before the bard had a chance, her comment directed at Xena, "Well, dear, now I completely understand what you see in him." Her lips were pinched tight.

Not missing a beat, Ares smirked, "That's nice of you, Cyrene. And here I thought this might be uncomfortable. Xena said dinner was out of the question, so I opted for breakfast. Should we have tried lunch instead?"

Apparently, sarcasm was the wrong choice, as Cyrene very quietly and calmly responded, "While I have resigned myself to your presence in my daughter's life, that does not mean your presence is welcome in my home."

Finally, Xena looked up, glaring at Ares as if to say 'I told you so' and making no move to demand he stay.

Ares sighed as he glanced at Xena. This was a test, he was completely convinced by the look in her eyes, and if he didn't find a way to make peace with Cyrene, it would definitely stop any morning visits. Xena was stubborn like that. Repressing the urge roll his eyes, Ares began, "While I had every confidence in Xena's abilities to foil my plan, I do... regret... it. I promise it was nothing personal, and that I have no intentions of repeating the instance or any similar ones."

It was quite the speech for Ares, and he did his best to sound as contrite and charming as possible.

Cyrene blinked. She had limited experience with gods, especially this one, but she was pretty sure that they didn't have regrets. And she was old enough to realize that this was a form of apology, if staged more for Xena's benefit than her own.

The room was silent - even Xena had stopped eating to look up, her stare firmly on her mother. It was Gabrielle who broke the silence, "Honestly, I think you were too busy ignoring me."

Having had enough time to contemplate, Cyrene began to eat, perhaps a little grateful for the change in subject.

Ares laughed, not unkindly, and turned to Xena, "She's just now figuring this out?"

Shaking her head to dissuade a slight smile, Xena returned to her meal. Unsure what all this meant, Ares remained cautiously in his seat, half expecting another invitation to leave.

"So, Ares, do you have any hobbies?" Cyrene didn't glance up from her food as she spoke.

Wide-eyed, Ares tried to figure out where the question had come from, while Xena recovered enough from choking on her food to offer, "Mom, he's the God of War."

Ares was inclined to agree, but apparently Cyrene was not. "I'm well aware of that fact, thank you, Xena. That doesn't mean he can't have hobbies," she turned to Ares, "Well?"

Frantically, Ares cast around for a suitable topic. He didn't think anyone would take kindly to his war-related hobbies. "Uh... sometimes I go hunting with my sister..." It seemed reasonable enough.

Xena looked up, surprised. "Artemis?"

Smirking, Ares replied, "Do you really think Aphrodite would use a bow? It might chip her nails."

Raising an eyebrow, Xena fought back her own smirk, "You better hope she didn't hear that."

Joining in the conversation, Gabrielle added, "Yeah, she might make you fall in love with a toad."

"Don't give her ideas," Ares mock-cringed.

Seemingly satisfied, Cyrene returned to her meal.

#######

Breathing heavily, they ended up face-to-face, swords at each other's necks. Ares smirked. "Well, my dear, it seems we're at an impasse."

"Oh, really?" With a wicked twist, exceptionally impressive given her state of pregnancy, Xena pulled back and swung around; her sword came to rest at Ares' chest before he could mount a counter-attack.

With a sigh, Ares sheathed his sword, as Xena lowered hers. A blink, and he was behind her, arms coming around her waist as her sword slipped from her grasp. "I stand corrected."

Resting her hands over his, Xena took a moment to review the fight. "Careful, I might think you're going easy on me."

A snort was her reply, but Ares didn’t deny it.

Content, Xena tilted her head back and caught Ares' lips for a brief kiss. Noted his raised eyebrow and rested her head on his chest, letting him support her. "Mmm... this is becoming a habit."

"It almost makes me doubt your hatred." His head lifted to regard her in mock-seriousness.

Loosening herself from his arms enough to turn around, Xena shook her head. "My mother's warming to you."

"Xena." Ares cringed, "You really had to bring your mother into it?"

Her eyes focused on his, questioning and serious. "It almost has me convinced that this isn't a huge mistake."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Catching one of her hands again, Ares couldn't help but be fascinated by their entwined fingers and relaxed grip.

It only lasted a second before Xena pulled her hand away. "I'm serious, Ares. What happens when the baby comes?" She moved to break away, but Ares brought his hands up to her arms, holding her fast.

"You could stay with me."

Glancing down, Xena sighed. "That's not going to happen. You know that."

Refusing to be daunted, especially given the pace her moods altered at, and pulling Xena close again, Ares rested his forehead against hers. "Later. We'll worry about it later."

They shared another kiss, longer than the first, which seemed to signal a sort of acceptance.

#######

"Ares, I've been wondering how long it would take you to show." Athena's snide voice filtered through even before Ares had become fully corporeal.

He smirked, "Been a little distracted, Sis."

Athena snorted disdainfully, "Playing lapdog to your little champion... I had noticed." She crossed the room absently, before turning back to her brother, "Really, Ares, I wouldn't think knocking up one mortal would be such an accomplishment." She waited for the inevitable outburst.

But Ares was holding on to his temper admirably, choosing to ignore Athena's last comments. "What's your problem with Apollo? He testing the purity of too many of your champions?"

Serene as always, Athena calmly replied, "No, that's really more Artemis' problem."

Grabbing a few breakable objects off of Athena's shelves and absently tossing them into the air in an impromptu juggle, Ares sighed, "Well, then you'll have no problem calling it off."

"Deigning to attend to the affairs of gods, what a stretch for you, Ares!" Athena's hand shot out, snatching the objects mid-air that Ares had been tossing and setting them down. "I think this is really none of your concern. Go back to your precious Xena."

There was only so much that Ares was willing to take before he forwent civility in favor of his more favored methods of persuasion. He surged forward, catching Athena off guard and pushing her back against one of her bookshelves hard enough to hear it crack, "My personal life really is none of your concern, Sis, but you and Apollo are playing in my realm and I can put a stop to this little war of yours. Think about it."

He released her and flashed out of the airy palace, leaving an irritated Goddess of Wisdom to her contemptuous comments and broken bookshelf.

#######

Reluctantly, Xena pushed aside the large blanket comfortably wrapped around her and swung herself into a sitting position. She surveyed the room, her eyes quickly coming to rest on Ares' figure bent over a far table. With a huff, Xena searched for her shift, found and donned it, and padded across the heavy marble floors, her footsteps barely making a sound.

"Morning," she leaned over Ares' shoulder, observing the toy soldiers prancing around with a raised eyebrow.

Distracted, Ares turned to the side and caught a quick kiss, "Sleep well?" before turning his attention back to the battle playing out before him, one hand absently moving to caress Xena's lower back.

"So," Xena began conversationally, "should I be concerned that you find little wooden soldiers more exciting than the real thing?"

Brow furrowed, Ares barely seemed to hear her, "Huh?" After a minute though, it settled in, and Ares sighed, turning to Xena apologetically. "This battle between Athena and Apollo is raging out of control. I can't find any way to stop it from spilling into Amphipolis."

Immediately, Xena's attention was focused, "Start from the beginning."

Ares waved an arm and the soldiers trotted back to their starting positions. Noting that Xena appeared to be staying, he also took the liberty of making two chairs appear, shrinking the height of the table.

Xena smirked, "All right, War God, let's see how we can fix this..."

As she moved gratefully to the proffered seat, Ares took the opportunity to kiss her neck, whispering, "I love you like this."

"Don't get too used to it." Still, she was smiling slightly as he made the battle plans appear and a roaring fire sprung up in the hearth.

"Wouldn't dream of it, my dear."

#######

When Xena began down the stairs, neither Cyrene nor Gabrielle looked up from their tasks. They were slowly becoming used to Xena's odd comings and goings, thanks to the God of War.

Without looking up from setting the tables, Cyrene began, "Oh, Xena, do you remember Clamenthia? I just got an invitation to her wedding - should I write back that you and Gabrielle will be joining me? It's cutting it a little close, but the baby should be along in plenty of time for us to leave..."

The thump of a saddlebag hitting a tabletop caused Cyrene's silence, while Gabrielle and herself turned to face Xena. Both looked slightly alarmed.

Gabrielle spoke up first, "Are you planning a trip, Xena?"

"No," Xena cut out smoothly, adjusting her armor and slipping a dagger under one of her gauntlets. "Gabrielle, I need you to go scout around the far side of town, see if anything looks out of place. I'm going to see what information I can gather around here."

Cyrene looked slightly relieved that Xena wasn't planning on going far, but Gabrielle was far from reassured. She rolled up a scroll and lamented leaving her weapons in her room. "What's going on?"

"Seems that Athena and Apollo are about to drag their war right through here." Seeing the shocked and concerned looks she was being given, Xena hastened to continue, "Ares thinks he has a couple of days to fix whatever squabble is going on, but I'm not holding my breath.

#######

(need more between scenes)

Xena took two steps forward, only to find her immediate path blocked by the hulking figure of the extremely irritated God of War. "You're not going out there."

"What do you mean?" Xena sidestepped him and continued; only to find her path again blocked. She glared.

Ares sighed, exasperated beyond all measure. "It's insane, Xena!"

Shoving him out of her way, Xena continued on, "I am not going to sit by while there is a war raging in my backyard!"

Rubbing at his temples, Ares tried several calming breaths. It didn't help. He whirled Xena around and exploded, "I'm taking care of it!"

"If you were taking care of it, Gabrielle wouldn't be out there."

Her sharp retort brought him to his senses, and he wisely let go of her arm. Gritting his teeth, "And that is... regrettable. But I can only work so fast, Xena. The war will be over by morning - Athena's wearing down."

At this, Xena didn't even deign to comment. Ares knew well enough how she felt about his rivalries with his sister.

A few more deep breaths and Ares was ready to try another tactic, again appearing in Xena's path, but making no move to grab her. "Xena, I understand that you're worried about Gabrielle, and I've said that I'll watch her. This war wasn't supposed to spill over into civilian areas, whether you believe me or not." He could see that she didn't believe him, or was being too stubborn to admit it, so he hurriedly finished. "But, Xena, be that as it may, you're well over eight moons pregnant - you absolutely cannot go out there."

Almost to the door, Xena sighed, "Look, Ares, your concern is touching, but I'm not stupid. I'm not going into the battle - I just want to keep an eye out for Gabrielle. Myself."

"No."

Already well past him, Xena spun around - the effect slightly slowed due to her pregnancy - and demanded, "What do you mean, 'no,' Ares? You gonna stop me?"

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, as if she hadn't noticed that stopping her from going out there was exactly what he was in the middle of doing, Ares replied, "Yes I'm going to stop you. Tartarus, Xena--"

But, after all, it appeared that there would be no need for the God of War to figure out non-violent ways of keeping Xena in her mother's house. The Warrior Princess let out a startled gasp, clutched her abdomen and leaned against the doorframe. Ares was instantly at her side, supporting her, worried. "Xena?"

After the pain had subsided, Xena allowed Ares to lead her away from the door; it looked as though the baby shared Ares' view on the matter. "This doesn't mean you win."

Ares restrained his chuckle as her hand clenched his, glad that he was a god. "Of course not, Princess," he hoped that he didn't seem too nervous. "Let's go find Cyrene, yeah?"

####

After the first contraction, it hadn't taken long for the rest. Xena had vague memories of being in labor for a long time with Solan, but this baby seemed absolutely determined to come into the world. That didn't make it hurt any less.

Xena was pretty sure she was going to kill Ares for this - she'd been through worse, sure, but that didn't make the present any easier - she hoped her grip on his hand was painful. "Ares," she ground out.

"Yes?" He looked like he was in slight pain, or at least, incredibly nervous. A half hour ago, he'd launched in on some ode to his mother and aunts, suggesting that he get the whole lot of them to come and help.

Cyrene and the same, now quite old, priestess of Hera who had assisted in Xena's own birth, had simply shook their heads and done their best to ignore Ares' presence.

Now, Xena had more important things on her mind, "Get Gabrielle."

Relieved for a chance to breathe, Ares bent down to kiss Xena's forehead, hoping that she was too distracted to be irritated, and disappeared with only minimal lighting effects.

####

Gabrielle, Aphrodite, and Ares sat in a bench, made just for the occasion, facing Xena's door. Gabrielle was determinedly watching the door, and Ares was clutching his sister for dear life.

Aphrodite gently extracted her arm from her brother's death grip, giving his arm a little pat, "Bro, it'll be fine. Women have babies all the time - you should know."

Ares still had enough of his dignity to roll his eyes at his sister, glad that her flighty presence was there because he figured he'd die if it were just him and the sidekick out here, "I know that, 'Dite." But they're not Xena.

"Cyrene won't forget us," the truth was, Gabrielle was less than confident.

They'd been kicked out for being distracting, once even Xena had decided that crushing Ares' hand was doing her little good. All, with the exception of Aphrodite, who was there strictly for moral support, were anxious not to miss the birth, even if they were skipping the in-between details.

"ARES!" Xena's scream sounded more demanding than pained, though it was a fair mixture of both.

All three occupants of the bench rose, holding their breath. Cyrene's head poked out of the door, "You're wanted," acknowledging the others with a glance, she motioned Ares inside, "Don't worry, nothing's happened yet."

Ares disappeared through the door with Cyrene, and the others sat back down. Aphrodite glanced at Gabrielle and offered the bard a little pat on the knee, "Hey, it'll be fine, remember?"

Gabrielle looked about as cheered as Ares had - still unreasonably nervous, despite having seen enough births to be assured that everything was proceeding smoothly.

Sighing, Aphrodite offered another small pat and, now that her brother no longer needed her, disappeared.

####

One look at the shining little girl, and Ares would remain convinced that a miracle had occurred. There were no lightening strikes to announce her birth, Ares had checked, but still, the tiny babe was a miracle, as far as he was concerned. Xena seemed to feel the same way.

Gabrielle, Cyrene and the priestess all quietly bowed out of the room, huge grins on their faces at the sight of the small, dark haired baby, which Gabrielle had handed over to her friend.

Cradling her newborn daughter, Xena smiled softly, not sure what to do with herself. For all the initial rush, the little girl in her arms had changed her mind and had taken her sweet time to make her first appearance.

Ares, who had meanwhile cleaned the room with a flick of his wrist, kneeled beside the bed, struck for words.

Finally, Xena glanced at him and moved one hand back to his, in a much less punishing grip than earlier, "What do you think of Maya?"

Giving Xena's hand a gentle squeeze, Ares leaned over and ran one finger along the baby's hairline, "Maya? I think it suits our girl."

What he'd meant to say was, 'Told you she was a girl,' and they both knew it. When Ares sat on the bed, Xena carefully handed over the babe, sinking back into the pillows herself, exhausted.

But, there was more that needed to be said; she knew that - she wouldn't have doubts hanging over that precious baby. "Ares," he didn't look up, but Xena knew he was listening by the tilt of his head. "I don't... I don't regret what happened, what's happened between us."

He glanced up, surprised, and she hurried to amend, "This doesn't mean that everything is suddenly all right between us," the ever ambiguous this.

"I know that Xena," he swallowed, looking down at Maya and back over at Xena, "but I want to try to... I want to try. I..." Ares looked down again, enthralled by the tiny face beneath him, and struggled to continue.

Xena squeezed his hand, letting him know that it was okay. Because, in a sudden flash of insight, it was. Ares didn't need to say it - Xena could tell. They'd always been able to read each other and, looking at his face, Xena knew precisely what she'd known for months.

He loved them.

When Ares looked up, Xena's eyes had closed, and she was resting peacefully, her hand still in his.

#######

Babies were born with blue eyes - everyone knew that. However, somehow, Xena hadn't really expected these eyes to change, or more specifically, to change to the color they had. Even Gabrielle seemed a little shocked, but extremely pleased.

Gabrielle, busily at work on her latest scroll, didn't look up when Ares appeared. The God of War wrapped his arms around Xena and rested his chin on her shoulder, looking into the crib, "And how're my girls today?"

Stepping out of his grasp with a pointed look at Gabrielle's corner, to which Ares rolled his eyes, Xena admonished, "Shh, she's sleeping."

Sheepish, Ares peered silently into the crib, hoping that he hadn't woken his daughter. The baby scrunched up her face and yawned, but didn't open her eyes. Ares, confident again, raised an eyebrow at Xena in a 'told you so' gesture.

The door creaked open, and Xena and Ares turned as one to see Gabrielle tiptoeing out as she shook her head at them. When the two turned back to the crib, Maya's eyes were open.

Ares looked about as shocked as Xena remembered feeling, when the change had first started occurring. Somehow, whenever Xena had allowed herself to picture their child, she'd seen a little girl - because, after all, Ares' insistent belief in a girl had rubbed off on her, and it had been too hard to picture a little boy and not see Solan's face - with bright blue eyes like her own, or deep brown eyes like Ares'. It hadn't really occurred to her that other colors even entered the picture.

Unaware of Xena's expectant gaze, Ares finally laughed, reaching down and picking up the squirming babe. He held her up to eye level. The God of War and infant stared at each other, and then Ares settled the baby comfortably into his arms, while Xena marveled at how natural they looked together. "Well, if she didn't look so much like me, I'd almost be questioning who her father was! Where'd she get green eyes from1?"

Xena laughed lightly, somehow aware that she'd expected Ares to take Maya's eye color badly. Now, she couldn't think of why - Ares loved his daughter, Xena had known it from the moment he had first set eyes on Maya. "Mmm... Doesn't anyone in your family have green eyes?"

"Xena, I have a lot of family - I don't keep track of their eye color." Ares sighed, as a tormenting idea came to him, "Oh, Gabrielle must be just thrilled."

"I think she's writing ode's to green eyes as we speak," Xena smirked.

Shifting Maya to one arm, Ares pulled Xena into the other, which she was content to allow - for the moment. His voice was mockingly dramatic, "We'll never live it down, you know. Now there's no getting rid of the blonde."

For the last comment, Xena smacked him on the arm, "Ares," and he shrugged, not particularly apologetic.

Ares had come to the recent realization that, as much fun as bantering with Xena was, silence was their friend, in efforts of peace. So, he simply raised an eyebrow and turned back to their daughter, who was staring up at her parents with bright, slightly sleepy, green eyes.

#######

"Xena? Are you in here?" The room was dark when Cyrene swung the door open, baby on her hip and letter in her hand, but she could still make out the outlines of shapes hurriedly parting.

With her free hand, Cyrene lit the lamp and squinted at the figures across the room. Xena seemed flushed and Ares seemed smug but irritated by her presence. "You know, I would rather you'd picked some nice god, like Hermes or Apollo," she looked down at the baby on her hip and sighed, knowing that it was a useless argument.

"Mom!" Xena looked incredulous, and Ares looked about to gag, mouthing 'with the wings on his feet?'

Cyrene ignored them, "But I want what's best for my girls. As long as you're happy," she smiled at Xena and then turned to Ares with a twinkle in her eye. "Just remember: these old hands still know how to use an axe."

Having said her piece, Cyrene set the letter that had arrived down on the table, turned, walked out of the room, and firmly shut the door.

After a moment, Xena glanced over at Ares, to see him slightly pale and shaking his head, "What?"

"Let's never introduce your mother to mine, okay?" Ares offered a weak smirk, and Xena laughed, straightening her tunic and reaching for the letter.

#######

"Good. Take your daughter."

Barely corporeal again, Ares found himself with an arm full of crying baby. He raised an eyebrow at both Xena, who was clad in only her shift and looking frazzled, and her comment. He assumed that it was meant to be negative, but there didn't seem to be much real malice. "Shouldn't she be asleep by now?"

Hands thrown up in frustration, Xena shot back irritably, "She doesn't want to go to sleep." She paced for a moment, "She doesn't want to eat, to be held, to be set down... I'm out of ideas and I have to be up early so that I can help mom with the roof before people start arriving."

"Why didn't you call me?" Glancing between the two females, Ares noted that they were both overtired, with nearly identical expressions of stubbornness.

Sinking down on her childhood bed, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway, Xena sighed. "I was sure I could take care of it."

Rocking the baby gently, who had stopped crying soon after being placed in his arms, Ares smirked. "I don’t need to sleep, Xena. I'll take her and, if Maya wants to stay up all night, at least she won't keep you up."

Getting back up, Xena kissed Maya on her forehead, "Goodnight baby," and looked up at Ares, her gaze softening. "Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for," Ares shrugged as Xena stood on her tiptoes to give him a feathery soft kiss before returning to her bed.

Ares waited until Xena had closed her eyes, almost asleep already, before disappearing.

Once they reappeared in his Olympian rooms, Ares chuckled, "Gonna keep daddy up all night, huh, Maya?" But, when he looked down, Maya was fast asleep.

Ares sighed, wandering to his room and settling down on the large (and mostly unused) bed with Maya resting comfortably on his stomach, her small breaths following a steady flow.

Not wanting to wake his daughter by attempting to do any work, Ares closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep himself, arms firmly wrapped around their precious bundle.

####

Just barely on time for the monthly council meeting, Ares flashed into his throne, lounging sideways, as usual, and supporting a small baby on his lap.

Instantly, the chamber of gods broke out into hushed whispers at the God of War's entrance, awed and shocked with this turn of events. Who was the child?

"QUIET!" Zeus bellowed, having no desire to watch a new family squabble spring up before his eyes.

The room quieted, but now all eyes were divided equally between Ares and Zeus, expecting the King of the Gods to sort out what was going on.

Heaving a deep sigh, Zeus turned to his son, who was wearing his trademarked, bored expression and ignoring the ruckus he was causing. "Ares," the God of War glanced up, "What - who is that?"

Swinging his legs off of the side of his throne, and sitting up properly, careful to keep one hand supporting the baby, Ares rolled his eyes, "Oh, did I forget to introduce her? Dad, this is Maya, my daughter." His voice was calm, but his eyes were challenging.

The murmurs started up again and Zeus put a hand to his temples, knowing that there would be no quieting the nosy gods this time. He fixed his son with a serious stare, trying to determine if Ares was giving him a headache on purpose. "And what," the whispers paused just long enough to hear Zeus speak, "is she doing here?"

Ares shrugged, glancing down at his daughter, "I wasn't going to leave her alone. Thought she might as well get used to visiting the family." While Zeus tried to wrap his brain around the concept, Ares finally took note that the meeting wasn't starting, "Well, are we going to get started? A flattering as it is, I have more important business to attend to than listening to you all concerned over my affairs."

From across the room, an amused Apollo spoke, "Obviously."

Poseidon gruffly stated, "Well, she can't stay - it's unprecedented." But all eyes were turned, questioning, to Zeus for his final say.

"Nonsense." Aphrodite rose daintily from her throne and crossed the room to Ares, bending down to retrieve the child into her ample bosom, "Come here, precious girl, Auntie Dite's gotcha," she rose and returned to her seat, bouncing the baby lightly in her arms.

"Really, Aphrodite," Zeus knew he had to protest, but he wasn't sure over what.

Protective of her brother and new niece, Aphrodite snapped in a mock-cheerful tone, "There, now you can all pull those thrones out of your asses from seeing Ar with a kid, and get on with the meeting." She smiled brilliantly and clapped her mouth shut, daring anyone to question her.

Between the insinuation that Ares had a softer side, and the bite of Aphrodite's not-so-loving side, the remaining gods couldn't have mustered a protest if they'd tried. Nobody was sure what the next move was.

Finally, Artemis rose from her throne, cast a pointed glance around the room, and announced, "My forests have been recovering nicely from the recent fire, however I am concerned for my amazons..."

The meeting had started.

Ares sprawled back into his throne, casting fleetingly thankful glances at his sisters.

Zeus shook his head, half listening to Artemis' report while he watched the green-eyed child now safely sequestered in Aphrodite's arms.

#######

Xena was about to step in and reclaim the babe when larger hands snatched her from Gabrielle, tisking good-naturedly, “Honestly, if you’re going to do something, do it properly.”

Gaping, Gabrielle had no reply as Ares swung the child up into his arms in a grand arch, perhaps taking more liberties with the swinging than Gabrielle was entirely comfortable with. A quick glance showed that if Xena had her reservations they weren’t apparent.

Demonstration complete, Ares tucked the baby in his arms, a grin over his face, looking a perfect contradiction - the God of War, decked out in leather and sword, perfectly content to hold the baby, so small in his arms.

"Careful, Ares," came from Xena as she stepped closer and motioned toward his pendent, "she'll try to choke you if she gets half a chance."

But Ares barely spared her a glance, talking instead to the babe, "Nah, you'd never do that to daddy…" Finally, a smirk up at Xena, "that's more mommy's area."

Taking the child back from Ares, Xena kept a straight look upon her face, back stiffened. "Yeah, well, you always deserve it. Besides, I much prefer swords."

Laughter, as though this was now some inside joke between the two - three - of them and Ares moved to leave, passing a last glance at Gabrielle, “Just don’t want my girl getting bad ideas.”

What those bad ideas were, Gabrielle had no idea, but Xena laughed and shook her head.

########

"Xena!" The Warrior Princess turned in time to hear a great crash from the direction the voice had come from.

Carefully supporting Maya, she stood up and turned to her friend, while Gabrielle rushed to apologize to the incensed vendor. "Joxer, it's good to finally see you!"

Rushing forward, Joxer had eyes only for little Maya. "Gods, Xena, I'd heard you were pregnant, but I didn't know you'd had the baby." He'd now reached a close enough distance to address Maya directly, "Hello there, I'm your Uncle Joxer."

Xena just smiled slightly at his antics, while Gabrielle returned just in time to shake her head. "Just don't start with that song, Joxer, I don't know if Maya could take it."

"Maya?" Joxer looked from Gabrielle to Xena and, at her nod, back to the baby, "Can I hold her?" Barely waiting for a response, he scooped up the little bundle and began to speak some Joxer form of baby=talk to her.

Watching the two with veiled concern, Xena leaned back against Argo and attempted to enjoy the calm of the moment. Ever since the letter had come, Xena had been looking forward to introducing her friend to her child. And, for all her grumbling, she could tell that Gabrielle was happy to see Joxer as well.

Caught up in his one-sided conversation with Maya, Joxer finally looked up, "She's just going to be a little heartbreaker, isn't she? Just like mommy." He waggled his eyebrows comically, "Gonna have to beat the boys off with sticks."

Xena laughed, "Careful, or Ares will get ideas. You wouldn't want to make that list."

"Heh. Never would have pictured Ares as the daddy type." He remained absorbed in Maya, blissfully unaware of Xena's sobered look.

Deadpan, "Things have changed."

Gabrielle cast a nervous glance at Xena, watching this turn the conversation was taking with trepidation.

Finally looking up from Maya, apparently quite caught up with her green eyes, Joxer took note of Xena's death-glare and took a more conciliatory route. He came closer and lowered his voice, possibly so that Maya wouldn't hear, "Really, Xena... how long can it last?"

Hurriedly seeking to defuse the situation, Gabrielle rushed up to Joxer and Maya, herding them back toward the house. "You must be tired, Joxer, and hungry? You should meet Cyrene and she'll cook up something amazing for you..."

Left standing there, robbed of a proper rebuttal, Xena felt her mood souring. How long would it last, indeed?

####

"Where's Maya?" Ares spoke before he'd even fully materialized.

Xena stiffened. "With Gabrielle."

Seemingly satisfied, Ares reclined against a tree, watching Xena gather the camp together. It was apparent that she was avoiding his eyes. He sighed, catching her arm as she moved past. "Xena..."

Whipping her arm free, Xena continued with her tasks. Ares was about to question her bad mood when she shot out, "We can't do this."

"Oh, not that again, Xena." Ares rolled his eyes, tired of reliving the same fight in different variations.

Busy rolling up bedrolls and checking Argo's saddle, Xena was able to keep her attention focused on everything but Ares. "I don't want to put Maya through this... you're going to get tired of waiting on me... of playing daddy, and I-"

Her back was against a tree so quickly that, by the time Xena looked up, Ares was already pressed against her, his hands gripping her arms and his eyes burning into hers. "I love Maya."

Xena sighed, sounding very tired all of a sudden, her eyes sad, "I know you do," if she could have pulled her hands free, it looked like she was going to touch him. Ares kept a firm hold, not knowing how he'd react at the moment. "It's just..."

"It's just nothing." He knew he should let her go and walk away. It was impossible. Nothing had ever been simple with Xena. Instead, he kissed her. Afraid that one of them would say something that couldn't be taken back.

She gripped his arms, kissed him back, keeping him there. It didn’t change anything. They broke apart and, as Xena gasped for air, Ares could feel the same passion driving things out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I love you, damnit."

Blue eyes shot open, staring at him, her hands loosening their grip. Ares released her abruptly, pulling away and disappearing before anything else could be said.

Xena glanced at the spot he'd just been, her hands absently rubbing at the bruises forming on her arms.

####

At the sound of deep laughter, Xena shot through the forest. By the time she'd reached the campsite though, it was only Gabrielle standing in the clearing.

They had, after a pleasant - if strained - visit, long since left Joxer at Cyrene's and struck out on the road again. Now it was almost as though those moons at her mother's had faded into a dream - everything was back to normal - well, almost. Xena sighed, rubbing at her temples, "Ares was here?"

"Hmm?" Gabrielle turned at her friend's abrupt appearance, regarding her slowly. "Yeah. He came to get Maya."

"Tartarus," Xena cursed under her breath, not sure who she was more irritated at.

The last time she'd seen Ares had resulted in charged emotions and even more charged confessions. He'd been pointedly eluding her since then; perhaps giving them both some time to cool, but Xena was sick of it. There'd been weeks for them to cool off. Now, she wanted to get him alone to talk - to explain. Probably to apologize. She missed him.

"...Xena?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, Xena found that Gabrielle was standing next to her with a worried look - the type that usually resulted in many questions. "What?"

Shaking her head at her friend, Gabrielle tried again, "I was asking about what's been going on with you and Ares?"

"I - it's complicated."

Gabrielle snorted, punching Xena good-naturedly in the arm and missing her friend's slight wince. "With you two, why am I not surprised? Look, I know there's been a lot going on with you and Ares... I promise that you can tell me and I'll try to not be judgmental."

Gabrielle looked so hopeful that Xena almost caved. Resolutely, the Warrior Princess shook her head, offering a small smile. "I believe you. I just - I need to talk to Ares first," she glanced up at the sky menacingly, "If the bastard would stop avoiding me."

"I could try and talk him into staying," Gabrielle shook her head, "but he'd probably just give me that 'stupid little girl' glare and leave anyway."

Xena laughed, moving to sit down at the campfire. Civil conversation had never been a strong suit for her and Ares, but Xena had some ideas.

####

Grinning at the laughing babe and bouncing her in favor of ignoring the dead thug, Ares looked up to see Xena moving towards them. She reached out, as she had a hundred times before, to reclaim Maya, then she stopped, arms falling, look changing.

“Were you watching us?”

Okay, not exactly what he’d expected. What did she want him to say? Obviously, she knew the answer already. Xena rarely asked questions that she didn’t know the answer to. “I had some time to come visit Maya,” a smirk, “but you were… occupied… so I was waiting for a better occasion.”

He’d figured on some smart-ass remark about the God of War having too much time on his hands, but Xena’s gaze again changed, this time softening. She finally closed the gap to take Maya, but waited to do so. “Ares,” her voice was soft, “You don’t have to -- I'm not going to keep her from you. If you want to spend time with Maya, you don’t… have to wait on me.”

Then she took the babe and broke away from the personal bubble of space they’d been sharing for those precious moments. Biting her lip, as if there was more she wanted to say, but Xena couldn’t quite find the words for it. Ducking her head to attend to Maya, her dark hair fell as a shield over them both.

Stunned, Ares was glad that Xena didn’t expect a response of him, for he was sure that he couldn’t have given any. Instead, he took their diverted sight as a time to leave his girls, only as the shards of light started to dissipate him allowing the overwhelming emotion to come through.

That they had got to this point… but there would be more to say later, both were sure of that.

#######

This time, Xena went to him. She waited until Maya was guaranteed to be asleep, and called him. When he appeared, startled, Xena put her hand on his arm and told him to take her back with him.

When they reappeared on Olympus, Xena was only mildly surprised. It was his most familiar abode, after all. His voice startled her, echoing in the large halls. "Did you want to check on Maya?"

"No." Xena sighed, not letting go of him as they began to walk.

Silent, still afraid of their last conversations and not willing to mess anything up, Ares waited for her to continue.

After a little bit longer to keep her thoughts in order, Xena spoke, "I don't want us to fight."

A bark of laughter was her response, "Xena, we're always going to fight - it doesn't mean-"

"I know," she cut him off firmly, "I mean, I don't want us fighting in front of Maya."

This time, his look was deadly serious, all the laughter gone. "Of course not."

Nodding, Xena continued, "I won't have her wondering about us, Ares. It's going to be hard enough to explain so many other things. If we're going to do this, it's separate."

He stopped her, turning her around to face him, arms locked together, "Maya is our daughter. We're going to raise her together." For once, there was no hesitation on either side.

And then she kissed him.

#######

"Careful..."

"Damnit, Xena, I know what I'm doing," Ares turned to glare at her sharply, as though she were an idiot for doubting his parenting skills.

In response, Xena rolled her eyes. He ignored this.

They were attempting a family outing. Gabrielle had decided to head toward Amazon lands earlier than Xena had intended, ensuring her friend that she just wanted to visit her tribe and make sure all the arrangements were made for Maya's arrival.

This had left Ares and Xena with their first chance for a solo adventure - just them and Maya. Without any backups around the bush incase one of them killed the other.

Immersed into the water up to her waist, Xena regarded Ares with pursed lips but kept her mouth firmly shut.

Keeping Maya close to his bare chest, his normal leather discarded in favor of more beach appropriate attire, Ares continued his slow wade into the river. A light wave brushed Maya's foot and the baby gurgled questioningly. This was the first time she had been around so many people or in such deep water.

Carefully, Ares lowered Maya into the water, keeping her firmly in his grip. She giggled and splashed him in the face. Blinking water out of his eyes, Ares was triumphant. "See, she likes it."

"Maya's been in water before, Ares." Xena swam closer to the pair, discretely adjusting the strap of her top as she did so.

Both warriors felt out of place without their leathers, surrounded by half the vacationing population of Greece. Ares smirked nastily, "Yeah, but this time we're gonna go for a swim."

Xena came up in front of him, looking down at their happy baby, her hands coming up to rest against his waist underwater. "That's what you keep saying."

"Mommy has no faith in us, does she?" Ares addressed Maya, who simply splashed him again, apparently finding it hilarious.

He leaned into Xena's loose embrace for a moment, enjoying it, and caught her lips for a quick kiss before pushing away. Xena glanced around nervously, but she had that little half-smile that suggested she wasn't really that concerned.

Easing Maya's weight into one of his hands, Ares leaned her against his chest and took several steps into deeper water. Once the water was up to the babe's waist, Ares moved to float on his back. Certain that Maya was situated he kicked lightly. The clear water moving under them enraptured Maya.

With a few powerful breaststrokes, Xena was alongside them, treading water even though she could touch and regarding them with a raised eyebrow. "All right. She does seem to be enjoying herself."

Shrugging, Ares maneuvered Maya so that she could put her feet in the water, his free hand encouraging her to kick. Maya found it amusing, but didn't seem to be interested in more than a few sporadic kicks, content to let her father do all the work.

Suppressing a laugh, Xena gently lifted the baby up into the air, moving to stand in the water and settling Maya down against her breast, where the child's head was still above water. "Don't tell me you were gonna let her get away with a free ride."

Ares regarded Xena for a moment, "If that's what my girl wants," before turning to dive into the water for a real swim.

Looking down at her baby, Xena mused, "And mom said that I had Ares whipped." But she had to admit Ares was good with Maya.

More often than not, Ares kept the baby smiling and laughing, rather than throwing some sort of tantrum. And, given that they were her parents, Xena figured this might qualify as miraculous.

"Xena!" A voice called out, and she turned her head, careful not to splash Maya, "See, I told you it was Xena." The voice was louder again, "Xena, over here!"

Turning a little more, actually needing to twist her body slightly to do so, Xena caught the familiar face of Iolaus. Next to him, looking as uncomfortable at the beach as Xena felt was, of course, Hercules.

With a glance that assured her Ares was still swimming, much as she had been before, Xena began to wade into shore. The two friends met her on the sand; apparently incapable of coming closer once Xena had begun her ascent towards land. Finally, once Xena was nearly out of the water, Hercules grinned, "Fancy meeting you here."

And Iolaus was already gushing, "Look at that Herc. Is this the baby?" He barely glanced up at Xena for her nod, "We'd heard rumors, but they seemed so unbelievable..."

"Oh?" Xena inquired with a raised eyebrow, setting Maya down on the soft sand, where she quickly began digging holes with Iolaus.

Whatever the rumors were, Hercules cut his friend off, "What did you name her?"

Allowing the subject change for her friends, Xena smiled, "Maya," glancing down at her dark-haired baby already half covered in sand.

"Maya," Hercules bent down considerably in order to come nearer to the baby's eye level, "well, aren't you just precious." A glob of sand smacked him on the cheek and he glanced up helplessly at Xena, "And just as strong as her mother."

A figure loomed up behind Xena, caught in the light of the sun so that Hercules couldn't see him. "Yeah, she's a spitfire, just like mommy." The voice was not entirely friendly and instantly recognizable.

Hercules straightened upright, self-consciously wiping the sand off his cheek. "Ares," Iolaus was looking up now too, between Xena and the War God.

Scooping up Maya, who looked rather upset until she realized who was holding her, Ares stood up straight next to a stiff Xena. "Little brother."

"Half-brother."

Xena's voice smoothly cut in from the macho brotherly feud that always built rapidly around the two, "I was just introducing Hercules to his niece. And Iolaus, of course."

And, whether she'd meant it or not, the implication of Maya's father was quite firm. The two men glared at each other, but neither could find an appropriate rebuttal, at least, not while sensitive ears were around. It was Iolaus, nervously glancing between the two, at the baby, and at Xena, who spoke next. "What're you guys doing here? Is Gabrielle here too?" But the rumors must have been fairly accurate because he seemed more disappointed than surprised.

"No," Xena made an effort to make her voice friendlier, deciding that Ares wouldn't start anything as long as he was the one holding Maya. "She went to visit the Amazons. We're catching up with her in a few days."

As Iolaus nodded, disappointed, Ares began, "We were just teaching Maya how to swim," but Maya wiggling away from him, pointing determinedly at the water, cut off the rest of his sentence, which he had probably meant to turn into an insult.

With a little half-smile, Xena shrugged, ruffling Maya's hair before resting her hand on Ares' arm. "She's pretty happy about it, actually."

Watching this with interest, Hercules finally swallowed, forcing a smile. Ares appeared to have forgotten about his presence, covered in sand and busily trying to convince the child that they'd go for a swim in a moment. It was so unlike any version of Ares that Hercules had ever known, so surreal, that he couldn't even make an issue of it. And Xena looked so happy. "Well, Xena, it was good to see you," Iolaus glanced up at him questioningly, "And to meet Maya. You'll have to find us again sometime."

Iolaus agreed awkwardly, sensing that Hercules wanted to leave and, if confused, just as happy to avoid a confrontation. "Yeah, good to see you both."

Xena nodded, glad to see her friends and let them meet her daughter but more than relieved that nobody had come to blows. This was supposed to be her vacation - she wasn't going to referee. Turning her attention from Ares and Maya, she leaned forward to give Iolaus and Hercules hugs, "Of course."

Hercules turned to leave, dragging Iolaus with him, as Ares' suddenly cheerful voice rang out, "See you around," steadfastly refusing to turn back.

As soon as they were out of sight, far down the beach, Xena turned towards Ares suspiciously, breathing a sigh of relief. "You handled that surprisingly well."

Already headed back to the water with Maya, Ares smirked. "Really, Xena, what do you think of me? I want Maya to get to know her family. The sooner she does, the sooner she'll realize how annoying they are and want nothing to do with them."

Smiling despite herself, Xena jogged to catch up with them. "What was that about a swim?"

#######

Resting her head against Ares' chest, Xena couldn't help but laugh. Ares looked on the verge of being affronted, so she quickly explained, "I still can't believe that Zeus offered to baby-sit."

Absently playing with a lock of Xena's hair, Ares shrugged. "What can I say? The old man must have been in a hurry to avoid Hera." He moved for a kiss, "Not that I'm complaining."

Xena allowed the kiss for a moment longer before pulling away, eyes serious. "Ares, remember when Maya was little and... the fights we had?"

"Maya's still little, and we fought yesterday about whether or not she said 'chakram' at dinner." He was not going to give her an inch, not going to let her ruin the peace they'd found.

"Not like that." Xena sat up, frustrated, blowing a strand of hair out of her face as she steeled herself for what came next. "You know, it's never so hard to think of the words when we're fighting."

Ares smirked, his arms tightening around her, "That, my dear, is because you were born for the battle - and you love the smell of a good kill."

Accustomed to such teasing references, Xena artfully ignored his last comment. "Things have changed since then - we've changed."

Well inclined to agree, Ares nodded mischievously - trying to keep the mood light. Even a season ago, he was still trying to convince Xena to even visit one of his temples, let alone to share his bed in one. "Obviously."

"If you ever make me regret saying this more than I already do, I'll hunt you down, but..." Ares impatiently motioned her on, past the death-threat portion of the night's entertainment, "I love you."

Blinking, Ares checked his ears in an exaggerated gesture. Xena smacked him. Yep, real enough. "You do?"

"I'm sleeping with you, aren't I?" She gave him the patented Xena Glare of Death, "Don't even think it."

A raised eyebrow, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Xena had the time to remark stiffly, "Good," before she was thrown back against the bed and hands were wandering along her body. "Mmph..."

It wasn't long before he was sliding back into her warm body, nearly laughing at the insecurity he caught in her eyes. Figuring that she'd kill him for laughter, he waited until those eyes fluttered closed and kissed them. Kissed her until Xena tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him closer, insecurities forgotten. "Love you too." Their bodies crashed together, spurred on by newly shared declarations. "Now move in with me."

Xena gasped, held onto him tight, nails digging into flesh that wouldn't bleed, "No."

"It was worth," he was distracted by her teeth sinking into his shoulder playfully, groaned and remembered one of the many reasons why he did love her, "a shot."

With a twist of powerful thighs, she flipped them over and grinned, "We'll have to get Zeus to baby-sit more often."

A deep chuckle, slightly stunted, was her response. "Oh yeah."

#######

Regarding Maya, neither Ares nor Xena had held their breath either way. There had been plenty of things about her as a baby that were extraordinary but, given her parentage, it was hardly surprising. And nothing was conclusive enough to determine if the child had inherited any of her father's godly powers.

When Zeus had come back from babysitting looking exhausted, they chalked it up to the fact that the King of the Gods was not used to babies, or the amount of attention they demanded. He did reissue the offer several times so, regardless, Maya didn't seem to be such a handful after all.

If anything, Maya was rarely out of the direct sight of either Xena or Ares, and when she was, equally capable hands were employed. And everyone said the same thing - she was a beautiful, exceptional baby. Even if she didn't talk or walk until she was at least two winters old, she was quite proficient when she finally decided that some things were better to get for herself.

This was one of the rare moments that Maya was in capable hands of those other than her parents. A gang of unruly ruffians, the typical type that was just stupid enough to want to hunt down Xena and able to hold a sword enough to try, was issuing their characteristic, "Prepare to die, Warrior Princess!"

Xena, already aware of their presence long before they had decided to make it known, and sufficiently irritated by them (this was their third attempt this week), had asked Gabrielle to stay out of the way with Maya. This time, Xena was dealing with these fools personally - without any distractions. If knocking them out didn't work, she'd have to convince them otherwise. "Boys, boys. Have the bruises healed so quickly? I must be losing my touch."

"You'll be losing more than that!" shouted the leader recklessly, but the tone of his voice suggested the bruises were most certainly still there, hidden under layers of ill-chosen clothing and armor.

They attempted a battle yell, Xena issued her war cry, and the ruffians quickly found themselves getting reintroduced to Gaea's harder side.

The poor fellows were quite determined. One, so recently having found his face in the surprisingly hard mud, attempted a sneak attack. While Xena was quickly reducing the status of his fellow thugs to pulp, he drew a small dagger from his waistband and approached the Warrior Princess from behind.

Xena spun around in time to watch the brute go flying backwards, pinned to a tree by an invisible force. He looked terrified. Looking down at her hands, which had not yet made contact with his face, Xena was stunned.

A small figure darted out quickly from behind a shrub, ambushing Xena in a hug and closely followed by an apologetic Gabrielle, "She just slipped away from me!"

But Xena's eyes were focused on the trapped thug, as she lifted Maya into her arms. Once the little girl was nestled safely into her mother's arms, the thug fell from the tree. Startled and nervous, he ran away, calling out, "Retreat!" to the others, who were, unfortunately, too busy being unconscious to hear him.

Blinking down at her daughter, Xena noticed the tight grips that little hands had on her armor. "Sweetie? It's okay. Mommy's okay."

From somewhere near her neck, a voice whispered, "...Gonna hurt you..."

By now, Gabrielle was also intrigued, glancing between mother and daughter nervously. She opened her mouth, but Xena motioned her silent, addressing the question herself. "Maya, did you do something?"

"I moved him..." Maya's voice was clear, if muffled by the fact that she was still clinging quite firmly to her mother. "Away."

Brushing the dark hair out of Maya's face, Xena gently set the girl down, her eyes darting to Gabrielle's with concern. Seeing her cue, the bard quickly reached out for the, confused looking, little girl. "You shouldn't have run off on me like that, Maya. Mommy had everything under control and you wouldn't want to distract her."

Shaking her messy hair out of her face, the green-eyed child looked up, her face pulled into a pout. "Did I do something bad?"

"Of course not," Xena hastily reassured.

Gabrielle darted a sharp look at her friend over Maya's head, questioning such a reassurance. Xena's eyes were conflicted, but she shook her head - asking to let it go.

Checking one last time that the thugs were passed out, and not likely to cause any more surprises, Xena followed Gabrielle and Maya back towards the campsite. Mulling the situation over.

####

Glancing across the campsite at a sleeping bedroll, Ares raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Xena hissed, careful to keep her voice low.

The two stared at each other for a moment, until glares softened, and then shot another look at the bedroll. Maya was sleeping, Gabrielle was sleeping, and everything was normal. Except how apparently it wasn't.

Sighing heavily, Ares turned back to Xena. "Well, we knew this was possible."

Running her sword distractedly down a sharpening stone, Xena let her eyes focus on the heavy red flames of the campfire, rather than on anyone around her. "I told her it was okay."

"Well, wasn't it?" Ares' look was confused, his brow furrowed, "She didn't burn a village, Xena, she threw a bad guy."

Xena was not appeased. "You'll have to talk to her, somehow. Explain... explain."

Neither was sure exactly how one explained godly powers to a three-year-old. Ares didn't look particularly pleased at the prospect of having to try. It would have been easy if he could pretend to be Xena, going on about moral obligations and the greater good and yadda, yadda, yadda. But, somehow, Ares wasn't sure their daughter would properly appreciate that stick. Tartarus, he didn't even buy it. Gods are special. Not fair to play with mortals. Be responsible with your powers. The same yadda, yadda, yadda was playing in his head. "I'll try. But, Xena," he waited until she looked up, "we don't even know what her powers are going to be."

"We don't have to." Xena's voice was rapidly cooling. She didn't like where this conversation was most likely headed.

Never one to disappoint, Ares suggested, "Maya should know. We should know." Noting the death-glare he was receiving, Ares elaborated. "If she doesn't learn to control any powers, they could be dangerous."

And the logic was fair enough. Xena knew better, knew well enough that Ares loved Maya, that he wouldn't be using her just for her powers. He'd managed three years with no visible powers just fine. Still, there was a nagging thought in the back of her head, he wants to train her that was just as reasonable. Sighing, Xena forced it down, reaching her hand across their laps to rest on top of Ares' own. "When she's older."

"All right," he couldn't help but grin a little as her fingers squeezed his lightly. "I better start composing my speech now - odes to humanity and the great responsibility and whatnot. I feel so hypocritical."

Xena smirked, letting her hand fall away, "It's part of being a parent."

Flashing her a wicked look, suggesting that she was enjoying this far too much, Ares prepared to disappear. Xena's voice, laced with laugher, echoed a quiet goodbye. "And, Ares? You said 'bad guy.'"

With a light growl, Ares threw his hand to his heart, "You're infecting me with all that Greater Good rot. I better kill something before it lingers."

A last smirk, and he disappeared.

####

Despite Ares' best efforts, every time Maya had a temper tantrum - and that ended up being fairly often - something caught on fire. A few times, something even exploded.

Gabrielle drew the line when her skirt burst into flames. She sulked for the rest of the day, Xena saved only by the fact that they were actually staying in a village and she could get a replacement, and informed the Warrior Princess that, from now on, she was done solving godly tantrums.

So far, Xena hadn't been lit on fire yet. Gabrielle had joked that it was Xena's icy glare - it put any potential fires out. Not surprisingly, Xena hadn't found this particularly funny.

An attempt had even been made on Ares - he wasn't entirely sure that Maya lit anything up intentionally - but he was fireproof, so that was all right. Of course, each time it happened, he was obliged to attempt his "Gods for the Good of Humanity" speech again, as he'd begun calling it.

Despite being an exceptionally bright three-year-old, Maya apparently hadn't taken it to a subconscious level yet. In growing desperation, Ares had even considered asking Zeus or (gods forbid) Hercules on tips. Xena was making him rue the day he'd make the joke about Maya not "burning a village."

But, for the most part, the child was keeping her powers to a harmless level, pending Xena's approval of training. Ares and Xena were still locked in mortal battle over at what age, exactly, such training should begin. Xena wanted to wait until adulthood, while Ares wanted Maya trained long before she encountered boys.

Sure, there had been that incident where Gabrielle had woken up in a tree, and the time or two that Xena had been launched into an unexpected bath, and the "bad guys" weren't fairing too well - still pinned to trees for the Warrior Princess to wreak her vengeance against, or, worse still, catching them when Ares was visiting - but, mostly, it was harmless.

"Xe-na!" Came the irritated call, rocking Xena out of her daydream.

The Warrior Princess shook her head regretfully at the scene in front of her, "Maya, put Ephiny down!"

They were staying in the Amazon compound, now that Maya was officially initiated under Gabrielle's right of caste as an Amazon princess, and Ephiny had come to talk to Gabrielle. Unfortunately, since Amazon's were so stealthy, she'd startled Maya and found herself levitating several feet above the ground.

The child shrugged apologetically and lowered Ephiny to the ground - the Amazon smirked, "And I thought Xenan was a handful."

As Gabrielle went to explain that levitating hosts wasn't appropriate, Xena sighed, "We're trying to work on that. Ares says he's going to market his speech."

"She'll make the Amazon nation proud, I'm sure."

The two warriors exchanged raised eyebrows as Gabrielle returned, "She's going to go play with some of the other children - I don't think there'll be any problems."

From the ruckus sounding outside, the three women were doubtful. But Xena simply shook her head, reasonably assured that the Amazons could handle it. Hopefully.

####

“Xena, come here for a minute.”

Without turning, eagle eyes trained on her child, Xena shrugged the comment off. “But Maya’s just about to...”

“Maya’s fine. If she gets in trouble, she’ll probably use her powers.”

Still not turned, Xena sighed in a tired fashion that seemed to appear only about this subject. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

“Xena.”

“What?” And, finally, Xena turned around. Deeming it reasonably safe that Maya wouldn’t try anything godlike. Gabrielle was sitting by the campfire, rigid and still. “Gabrielle-“

Hands folded over her lap, Gabrielle cut Xena off with a look. She waited for the warrior to sit down next to her, eyes focused steadily in front of her. “What’s going on with you and Ares - what are your plans?”

And there it was, right on cue, the wide-eyed, panicked-but-hiding-it look that Xena only ever sported with issues concerning Her And Ares Relationship Thoughts. “Plans?”

Gabrielle took a deep breath and turned to face Xena, putting her hands over the other woman’s. “I think that you and Maya should make more permanent arrangements.”

This time, Xena couldn’t even muster a flustered response - the appropriate words seemed to be escaping her. Gabrielle tried again, casting a fleeting glance at the aforementioned child. “Maya is going to need her father around and... I don’t want you to make any... don’t worry on my account.”

Finally, “Where is all this coming from?”

At this time, Gabrielle dropped her eyes away again, flustered despite her best attempts. “I don’t want to ... hold you back? You don’t have to stay with me anymore - I can take care of myself." Her eyes were determined, even if she wasn't, for once, sure of her wording.

And Xena was, more or less, still completely stunned. She recovered quickly, "Gabrielle... no, no. You're not stopping me from doing anything. I - Ares and I-" she tried again, "I'm happy right where I am. This is what I need to be doing, and I'm lucky to have you with me."

The relief was obvious in Gabrielle's eyes, but she simply nodded, swallowing. "Just, think about it," caught the look and amended, "for Maya. Okay?"

And Gabrielle was up, walking over to tend to Maya and leave Xena to think. Not quite far enough away to miss the whispered, "I do."

####

"You got her a what for her birthday!?" Hands on her hips, Xena glared, absolutely exasperated with the god in front of her.

Pointing needlessly at the child on the floor, happily hugging a two-headed puppy that was already nearly her size, Ares defended himself. "She loves him. Besides, what was I to do? Hades sprung one of the puppies on everyone in Olympus. I had to take him."

One hand going up to her temple to massage at the headache that was forming, Xena grit her teeth and attempted to remain calm. "Ares. She's four years old and that dog is going to be the size of my horse!"

"Well, my gift was more appropriate than Aphrodite's." Maya loved the dog, and really, it wasn't that bad of a gift.

At the slightly raised voices, Maya ran over to her parents, the large puppy trailing along awkwardly behind her. Whether she knew they were fighting and wanted to make it better, or had simply just remembered their presence, which had been lost among her joy over presents, it was hard to tell. Either way, she put her arms out to Ares, demanding a hug. "Thank you daddy." From her favorite position in her dad's arms, she turned to her mother, "Thanks mommy. Guess what I'm calling him?"

Not wanting to be associated with the gift, but finding little way out of it, Xena tried to seem curious. She actually was, a little, "What, honey?"

Proudly pointing toward the table where her presents were stacked high, most of which Xena wasn't going to let her see until she was much older, Maya announced, "Hydra. Like the creature in that scroll Auntie Gabby gave me. 'Cause of his heads."

Neither parent willing to question the validity of such a name, and Hydra himself looking quite forlorn at not being held, Ares let Maya down. "Well, Hydra looks a little lonely, so you better go play with him."

Nodding amiably, Maya jumped down easily and ran after the puppy, who was quite intrigued in a game of chase and just about the same speed as the little girl.

Xena sighed, making sure that other adults were present before she pulled Ares farther back from the room. They had promised that they wouldn't fight in front of Maya. Not even for minor, present-related disagreements. "He's going to have to stay here."

Ares waved that off, already having been prepared for the two-headed dog to be pestering him. "Hey, I could'a gone with weapons."

He received a slight nod in response, as Xena had been, admittedly, quite afraid that he'd choose a weapon for Maya's gift. "She's going to want to come visit him all the time."

"Well then, I guess you two will just have to spend a lot more time here. Blondie can even have her own room." Ares raised an eyebrow, waiting.

One hand still firmly on her hip because she knew this made him way too happy, Xena deadpanned, "I don't get my own room?"

"You get my room."

A light laugh was his response, but Xena was far from assured. "I'm not giving up my job, Ares."

Ares shrugged, already dragging her back towards the party because it looked suspiciously like Aphrodite might be trying to explain her present. "We're too young to retire, anyway."

They exchanged a nod before turning back to the party, where Gabrielle's cry was already ringing out, "Maya, don't touch that!"

#######

And, of course it couldn't be that easy. It never could be with them. "Please don't do this. Not now."

She figured she'd really lost it, if she's asking nicely. The look he gave her in reply suggests that he's thinking the same thing. "This isn't up for debate, Xena."

Now she's frustrated. Angry that he's probably right and angry that it never gets any easier. If he thinks he can force her into something... "You said-"

"No, you said!" He spun around angrily, before the sentence could leave her mouth and before either of them could say something that would force another rift. They were not allowed to drift apart anymore. He took a deep breath and tried again, the words coming out quieter but just as angrily, "You said that you would do this, Xena. You said that you would be here, and you damn well said that we would do this as a family."

Sinking down on the too-comfortable couch that she never could quite get used to as part of her life, Xena sighed, waving away the truth in his accusations. "I have a job."

"So do I." The door slammed shut almost before he was gone, cutting his words short, "But I'll be there."

Sitting there in the stone silence of their room, eyes drifting over scattered battle plans and toys and her bathrobe and so many things that shouldn't be here - Xena couldn't help but wonder how they ever thought they could make this work.

Hydra came scampering in to his water-dish, sneaking through a passage that served as an overgrown doggie-door, and paused when he saw her. Still clumsy and awkward despite being full-grown, Hydra navigated the large room easily, coming to rest his heads at Xena's feet. Petting him absently, she sighed, wondering at the intricate messes of her life.

It was so much easier when her motto consisted of "kill 'em all."

####

When she entered the gathering, pulling uncomfortably at the gown that she doesn’t remember owning - surely created especially for the occasion - everything had already begun. Weaving through the see of brightly colored and somewhat ethereal beings, Xena tried her damndest to forget about the million some other things that she should have been doing, other than attending a godly ball.

Ares was there with Maya, just as he promised. He looked up when she entered, but his face was guarded. Maya jumped down from his lap, gleefully sprinting through assorted deities to her mother, "Mommy, mommy, you almost missed it!" But, if the little girl had any concept of why her mother was late, she didn't show it.

As Ares rose, side-stepping as much of his family as possible, Xena followed Maya through the crowd. They all came to rest before a large stone pedestal, the King of the Gods standing in front of them, as the crowd fell back and Maya continued forward, laughing and nearly oblivious to the importance of the day - though she did seem to be enjoying the attention.

Zeus smiled down fondly at the little girl; he really had become quite attached, considering the volume of children and grandchildren that he had to choose from. He rested one hand on her shoulder, directing Maya with a small whisper, and the child reached up on tiptoes to place her hands against the pedestal. The crowd of watching gods, demigods, half-lings, and mortals stood quiet, waiting.

Each time, this event was different.

Sparks shot abruptly up, a cobalt light flaring around the room and causing most to shield their eyes, and then the sky above them had shifted to purples and pinks: the new decade had begun in a flash of blinding color, and Maya had more than proved her worth among them (though how much of the power was really Zeus' was debatable).

Aphrodite rushed past them to scoop Maya up and proclaim her the, "Girl of the hour!" and even Maya's birthday didn't cause this much fuss. Though, certainly, if Aphrodite attempted any more sexually explicit gifts, there would be consequences. Dire consequences, or as dire as one could get with a goddess.

Closing the gap between them, Xena came to rest her hand on Ares' arm. His first glance was still distant, but he melted under her slight smile, offering a cocky smirk and pulling her closer. "My dear, do come and get to know the family better?"

"You mean they aren't all squabbles and petty tantrums?"

"Ah," he shrugged, "well, actually they are. But if we're lucky somebody will start a fight - sometimes they last for decades!"

They shared a low chuckle amidst the noise of the crowd, and she knew that he hated this as much as she did. Across the room, Cupid was berating Bliss for shooting Pan with an arrow. Apparently, even for gods, parenting was hard.

#######

For once, the raging warlord had proved to be even dumber than he looked, but had been smart enough to surrender after the first ass kicking. Unfortunately, the trip back had taken an extra day due to a second warlord trying to snap up the territory of the first. It would have taken even longer, but Gabrielle had volunteered to run clean up on the promise that Xena would deal with the next pissy warlord and assorted clean up of panicked villagers and stupid wanna-be warriors barely out of training. So it was something of a surprise that she was late and a complete surprise that she was there now. But, obviously no crisis's had occurred or Ares would have come to get her.

Maya was tucked in and sound asleep, so Xena blew her a kiss and tip-toed back out without coming too close - depending how tired Maya was, she tended to wake up too easily if she sensed either of her parents near.

Shifting her bag and coat (the weather was turning cooler), Xena headed to her room. Quite sound asleep on the bed was Ares, with several scrolls spread out beside him.

Smirking, Xena tossed her stuff down on the couch as quietly as possible and snuck over to the bed, leaning over him, "Rough night?"

It was so rare to catch him sleeping. But he woke quickly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her down over him on the bed. "Not yet," he opened one eye, "I was waiting up for you."

"Oh?" One eyebrow rose, "So you fell asleep?"

"It was all the stories I had to read Maya. Never thought I'd miss the Bard," and he really only managed to keep a straight face because he was still a little groggy.

Xena laughed as she pulled away to strip off her leather. Ares sighed, shook himself awake, and made their clothes disappear with a snap of his fingers.

Xena gave him an exasperated look.

"Come back to bed," and the roughish mischievous look he gave her was enough that she did.

Hands ghosting over bodies as Xena slipped under the covers and caught a kiss, which quickly heated to several more passionate ones, she smirked, "Not tired anymore?"

The look he gave her insinuated that the very idea was too absurd to redeem with a response. Instead, his hands drifted lower as he pulled her closer.

Gasping, she fended off his hands, maintaining her firm control of the situation. It wasn't often that the God of War was at a slight disadvantage, and Xena intended to use it to her advantage.

Besides, between trips and wars and watching Maya, they never had enough time to be alone. There would always be more to do than was possible to get done.

A light chuckle interrupted her thoughts, "Miss me that much? Why, my dear, you only had to-"

With a wicked twist of her body, whatever lewd comment he had been planning was cut off by a groan. Lips caught one another for harsh, quick kisses, but he didn't attempt to reverse their positions.

There was something about her hair draping over them in the low light of their bedroom that made him willing to be under her spell for the moment. Not that he wasn't already, but then that was an entirely other issue.

They were still full of fast kisses and harsh exclamations, as their sweaty bodies swam together amongst the silken sheets, but there was something softer present now. The occasionally caresses of faces and the soft smiles as eyes met.

And there was no need to exchange I love you's because it was enough that the names they called out were each other's, rather than choked moans.

If they spent the rest of their nights like this, Ares knew it would never be enough.

####

Maya and Hydra came barreling into the room at near the crack of dawn. Neither was very good at being stealthy when excited. The child and dog (who was now big enough to take up half of the extremely large bed in his own right) surveyed the sleeping figures and dived on said bed.

Slowly awakening, since they'd only managed to actually consider sleep about a candle mark before, the tangled figures on the bed shifted slightly, pulling up covers and moving to sit up. Ares and Xena found themselves suddenly wide-awake, as Hydra landed squarely across them. Maya made a much gentler landing.

Each of Hydra's heads stretched out and began to lick, one going for Xena and the other for Ares. They put up with the dog slobbering over their faces for as long as was possible, before Ares grabbed Hydra firmly around the middle and shifted him off the bed. Godly powers came in handy when your dog was practically the size of a horse. Of course, as soon as Hydra was thrown off the bed, he began to whine, two sets of sad puppy eyes looking up pitifully at Ares.

Xena rolled her eyes, dragging both Ares and Maya farther over the bed - careful to keep the covers actually covering her and Ares - so that Hydra could jump onto the unoccupied side. She made sure to give a grumbling Ares a glare of death - Hydra had been his idea after all.

Happily settling in, Maya pinned Xena with a stern look - not unlike the one Xena had just graced Ares with - and pouted, "You were supposed to be home yesterday."

Petting Hydra's heads once or twice, Ares lazily waved a hand to clothe him and Xena more appropriately, in case Maya decided she was going to sleep with them. He eyed the door speculatively - Maya's powers were obviously growing if she could get in their bedroom to wake them up in the first place. "Maya, sweetheart, it's early."

Offering her father a small shrug of agreement, Maya kept her attention focused on her mother. Xena sighed, brushing some frizzy curly strands of Maya's hair out of her face - their baby girl really was growing up way too fast. "I was home yesterday, baby. You were sound asleep."

Hopeful but suspicious eyes regarded Xena, "Is Aunt Gabby home too?"

Xena ignored the eye-rolling Ares still felt obligated to do every time Gabrielle was brought up. "She'll be home soon."

Reaching out to hug Xena, while simultaneously wiggling down under the thick covers between her parents, Maya mumbled, "I missed you," already stifling a yawn, reassured. She'd proved to be about as much of a morning person as Ares was - not at all.

Pulling up the covers around Maya and settling back down, Xena easily agreed, "Missed you too,"

Snuggling down into her parents' arms, even though she was getting a little big for this, Maya demanded, "And daddy?"

There was a pause, while Xena wondered if they were spoiling her because they were so busy most of the time. Realized that even Hydra was waiting for her answer, his heads perked up, "And daddy."

Ares smirked, Xena reached over Maya to smack him. He caught her hand before she could and that more-or-less ended the fight - for the moment.

Maya's eyes were closing, "Did you win?"

Before Xena could answer, Ares cut in smoothly, "She always does."

#######

To Be Continued

Please e-mail the author of this story with your comments. goddess_delenn@yahoo.com

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