Story notes: This story features the uber-Xena characters Janice Covington and Melinda Pappas, introduced in the episode "The Xena Scrolls" definitely one of my all-time favorites. This story picks up after that episode, and follows the women as they travel to the United States through the Mediterranean on the cusp of all-out war. This story also has women loving women. If that bothers you, this story is not for you.
Going Home
by LZClotho
(c) 1999
Chapter 1
Janice was late, and she knew it. Dusting the rain from her jacket, she pulled it off and handed it to some stuffed Greek shirt in black bow tie and coattails standing in the restaurant doorway.
"Your hat..." The battered gray fedora came off to reveal a tumble of honey blonde hair. It apparently surprised the maitre'd since he stuttered, "Si-, ma'am. Miss?"
Flashing him a broad smile with tight lips and raising her light eyebrows over mirthful green eyes, Janice flipped the hat at him. "I'm joining someone," she said. "Tall, brunette. Young woman. Pappas?"
The maitre'd studied her for a long silent judgmental moment. Janice Covington could practically hear his mind screaming indignantly. She knew that she and Melinda were unlikely to know one another by most standards. Melinda's American South breeding clashed visibly with Janice's preferably rougher appearance.
"Does Miss Pappas know you're coming?"
Janice eyed him with shock at the underlying officious tone. Now he'd gone too far. She reached for his lapels with both hands.
"Janice." The voice was quiet, her name rolling off the speaker's tongue with a gentle lilt.
The blonde dropped the man's lapels and turned to face Melinda. She easily lost her focus in the stormy blue eyes boring into her own green ones. "Hi."
"It must not have gone well at the Historical Ministry." The brunette said quietly. "Come on." She stepped back, smiling at the stunned maitre'd and gestured for Janice to walk with her.
"Strange Americans," the host muttered. Melinda's broad long-fingered hand splayed over her lower back kept Janice walking rather than turning around and making him eat his starched lapel.
They passed several tables of diners and then Melinda's guiding hand turned them up a short set of steps to a raised area of tables to the left of the restaurant's stage.
The brunette said nothing and Janice, in the silence, began to suspect she might become the recipient of a display of the Southerner's full-blown anger. To forestall it, she held out the woman's chair, gesturing for her to sit first. Janice winced then, when, instead of a thank you, Melinda silently picked up her water goblet and watched over the rim as Janice took her own seat opposite.
The blue eyes had gone to a vaguely steel color. So Janice swallowed and apologized. "I'm sorry I'm late." The look she was receiving did not change. Janice bristled. "No. He looked at me as if I was some sort of growth, Melinda Pappas."
"You didn't have to grab him, Janice." There was tension in the Southerner's voice but Janice heard a note of acquiescence too.
So she unbent a notch. "OK. You're right. I didn't exactly have my best foot forward either."
"You came directly from the Ministry then?"
Janice took a deep breath and decided the initial pique of her companion was finally past. "Paperwork should be outlawed."
"What could be so paperwork intense about a couple of glyphs, a handful of scrolls and a couple of drawings?" Melinda lifted her glass of water again and drank a bit.
Janice's reply went on hold as a waiter approached them. "Are you ready to order something, ma'am'selles?"
"Not yet," Janice replied. Melinda nodded her agreement. The waiter departed quickly. Janice returned her gaze to Melinda's face and admitted, "He... um... saw the chakram pieces in my bag."
"Janice!" Melinda sighed. "I told you to leave those behind. Are we going to be able to take that out of the country or not?" She scanned the dish descriptions quietly waiting for the response.
"Yes."
Melinda lowered the glass. Blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. Janice realized she had not been casual enough when Melinda added dryly, "Legally?"
"He wants fifty thousand lira to turn the other way."
Melinda whistled low, the action drawing water into her lungs choking her.
Janice stood and circled to firmly pat the brunette's back. Finally Melinda collected herself and looked around at the other patrons before catching Janice's hand and demanding in a rough whisper, "What do we do now?"
The blonde settled back into the seat directly to Melinda's right. "You're going back to the hotel."
"What are you going to do?" Her tone suggested that she already suspected the answer.
"It's not theirs," Janice pointed out, keeping her voice even and reasonable, avoiding Melinda's incisive gaze.
"How do you propose we get out of the country?"
"That's why I was late."
Melinda rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. The waiter took that moment to walk up a second time. "Madames ready?"
Janice gladly looked away from Melinda's face and replied, "Cuonamas and soup for me."
"Soup and salad, please." Melinda's smile was forced, but the waiter just nodded, collected their menus, nodded and walked away.
Alone again, Janice eased her gaze back to Melinda's face. "There's a boat headed for Morocco at daybreak." She reached for the taller woman's hand and threaded their fingers together. "It's the only way," she added.
"How much is the boat?" Melinda fought for calm in the direct gaze of those green earnest eyes.
"We're going to work our passage," Janice replied quietly.
Melinda's voice dropped an entire octave. "How?"
"Galley." The brunette groaned something inaudible and dropped her head to the tabletop, closing her eyes. "It's better than the boiler room."
Melinda frowned but nodded. "Guess I better plan some menus." She had a thought. "Does the captain know we'll be fugitives?"
"I was desperate, Mel, but I'm not stupid."
"You better hope the Greek navy doesn't decide to check his manifest and crew then before we hit international waters."
Janice lifted her water goblet and took a fortifying swallow. "So... it's all right?"
"Next time, I'llgo to the Ministry."
Green and blue eyes met, held and the women shared rueful smiles.
Melinda shook her head, allowing a light chuckle to escape. "I guess I should be grateful you, or I did not have to sleep with anybody to do this."
Janice's blonde eyebrow lifted in surprise. "I can't believe you actually just said that."
The taller woman's cheeks pinked. Lifting her glass, she swallowed some drink for a long steadying moment. "Guess you're rubbing off on me."
Chapter 2
Janice closed the restaurant door behind Melinda, after helping the brunette to the curb with a hand. The moon was already high and the streetlamps were the only other lighting.
The blonde watched her companion for a long moment walking away down the street, caught by the way the light played across the dark and light features. Tucking her hands in her pockets, she made longer strides and quickly caught up.
Out of the corner of her eye, Melinda watched the lighting play across the shorter woman's face. Despite Janice's late arrival and decidedly bad news regarding their discoveries, Melinda had a really hard time remaining upset.
It had nothing to do with seeing Janice's reasoning and everything to do with the seafoam green eyes now lifting to meet hers.
Then Janice tilted her head slightly. Melinda realized she had a funny expression on her face when Janice asked, "Hey, where'd you go? You okay, Mel?"
Snapping herself out of her reverie, Melinda nodded. "Yes." Janice tapped her hat brim and turned away, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets. "Janice?"
The blonde stopped on the sidewalk but didn't turn. "Yes?"
"Be careful." Janice nodded, her jaw tight. Melinda closed the few steps separating them and encouraged green eyes up to meet her gaze. "Maybe we should just leave it and go home."
"No, it's family property. I wasn't careful. It's my job to get it back."
Melinda decided to toss the gauntlet. "Well, since it's my family property, I should go with you."
"That's crazy, Mel," Janice predictably retorted. "I've got to sneak it there as it is."
"Still..."
Janice's jaw set mutinously. "Why are you doing this?"
"We're partners, Janice Covington. And partners do things together."
"For crying out loud!" Janice found Melinda's hand clapped over her mouth at the outburst. Assailed with the brunette's subtle daisies scent, she was stunned into silence. When the hand came away she pitched her voice lower. "Then pack us up. Mel, I'm serious. You can't come. I'll meet you at the dock at daybreak."
Mel fought against the urge but found her hand drifting over Janice's cheek. "You're not invincible, Janice." She pulled the blonde against her for a hug and whispered in the ear close to her lips. "Be careful." Her lips brushed the other woman's cheek as she pulled back.
Embarrassment flushed her cheeks pink and Janice's green eyes were wide, swallowing Melinda whole.
Thoughts skittering wildly, Janice felt her eyes well with tears. "Don't leave without me, Melinda Pappas."
"I'll be packing," the brunette replied. She remained on the hotel steps and watched Janice walk quickly into the night.
Janice approached the street where she had visited earlier to discuss the site relics with the Greek Minister of Antiquities. The gray stone building about two-thirds the way along the block, stood imposingly behind a stone wall, topped with barbed wire.
She could just see the top of the patrolling perimeter guard's head. The building was several dozen meters inside the wall. A covered walk led from the entry guard station up to the front doors.
The guard now working the desk was different from the young soldier who had let her in to see the minister that afternoon. She remained out of sight however, since a figure alone at this hour would invite suspicion.
Moving carefully in the shadows Janice worked her way around to the alley, identifying the guard circulating in the back gardens. The high wall here ended just below the level of the third floor windows. She spotted a tree leaning close to the wall and watched patiently until the guard moved out of sight.
Brushing her hands clean on her jacket, Janice slipped on her digging gloves and settled her fingers into several grooves in the crumbling mortar. Here I go, she thought, beginning the forty foot climb.
Hand over hand she pulled herself up, then found toeholds and the progress she made increased dramatically.
Reaching out with a long stretch, she finally felt her hand slide over the top of the wall. Grim-faced, Janice pulled her body up and laid flat against the top stones. The tree's branches were just an arm's length above her head.
Eagerness warred with caution as she rolled to her side and scanned down inside the garden to locate the guard. He was just rounding the corner moving out of view when Janice heard a commotion in the distant street.
She had to bite her lip from gasping in surprise as a previously hidden guard leaped from the nearby wall walk landing on the ground with a thud and running toward the noise.
Wow, she thought, that was close. If the guard hadn't moved, Janice would have jumped right through his watch area and been instantly spotted.
Now she moved into the tree, sliding along branches carefully toward the central trunk. Edging her way around the massive trunk she estimated the distance to the third story ledge under a window cracked slightly open. There was no light inside.
The minister's office she remembered from her visit earlier. Taking a deep steadying breath, Janice then launched herself toward the window hearing the creak of the branch and feeling it sway as she levered her weight off.
Her stomach sank to her knees then bolted to her throat as her fingers closed over the ledge. Abruptly she slammed against the building. Collecting her wits she pulled herself into the open window.
Slithering to the floor, Janice rolled over and sat up to take in her surroundings. "Yep, this is the place," she murmured, noticing the same family portrait on the desk. She searched the darkness for the shelf where she had seen Minister Dinali set the bag of confiscated artifacts.
The bag was gone, but she spotted some of the artifacts now laid out with a few rudimentary notes under them.
Lifting the first of three scrolls, Janice scanned the note underneath and chuckled. Only the basics were written:
Scroll found Macedonian site 453 (1 of 3)
Author: G.P. (conjecture)
Subject Xena (questionable subject)
Dating: circa 58-50 B.C.
Full translation: Not yet available (seek assistance of Dr. Melvin Pappas, UNC, United States)
The last made Janice chuckle again. "I had the same thought, Dinali. But I bet I'm happier with the alternate who arrived than you would be." She crumpled up the pieces of paper, and collected the scrolls.
She tucked them inside her coat pockets. "Where'd you put the chakram pieces?" she mused in a whisper.
Turning, the archaeologist spied a strangely tilted pile of papers. Sliding them aside she found the matched halves of Xena's weapon.
Melinda had been so mad when she first found out that Janice had grabbed them before pushing her toward the falling door as they escaped Ares's Cave. It had taken some fast talking on Janice's part to convince the brunette that the pieces were best kept as far away from the cave as possible anyway. Otherwise, she suspected Melinda might have ordered them reburied at the exploded site.
As she ran an admiring hand over the hatched pattern and the small inlaid gemstones, the same sense of wonder stole over Janice again. The solid metal object also was considerably lighter than it ought to be. She ran a finger along its edge. Certainly it was sharper than anything else the time period had produced.
Dinali must have held it though, Janice realized, feeling a residual warmth in one half of the weapon as she transferred it to her inside pocket.
Checking that all the items were secure, Janice returned to the window and peered down. Shaking his head and chuckling to himself about some strange woman, the guard was resuming his usual rounds.
A breeze touched her face. Turning into it she glanced toward the tree she had used to cross over earlier. It looked a lot farther than before.
Footsteps resounded slowly in the corridor beyond the office door. No time remaining, Janice stepped out onto the window ledge hugging the building's shadow from the overhanging tree. Identifying a relatively level branch directly out in front of her, Janice sprang toward it. the feeling of
freefall seemed to last an eternity longer than the original trip. Just as she was afraid she would hit the ground, Janice felt the branch slam into her stomach, its rough bark scratching painfully. She steadied herself and rolled forward over the branch, waiting breathless moments for the tree to stop shaking.
And for her heart to start beating again. Earnestly she searched the ground, making sure she knew the whereabouts of the patrolling guard. He rounded the corner of the building and moved on out of sight.
Cautiously Janice moved through the tree toward the wall.
A light materialized below and to Janice's right. The blonde froze, not daring to breathe. She pinned herself to the level branch, hiding her small frame.
Finally the light was extinguished. A few cautionary moments of waiting, then Janice moved forward again, creeping along the thick branch. Employing sheer strength, she lowered herself slowly to the top of the wall, flattening herself against the top.
She lowered a leg over the outside and began to work her way down the maze of handholds.
A strong hand grasped her ankle, freezing Janice's breath in her chest. She let go hold of the wall and fell back, landing hard on the packed dirt of the alley. Her eyes shut in the shockwaves of pain radiating through her body.
She felt, and fought, hands grabbing for her shoulders and arms. Finally a hoarsely whispered voice intervened, stilling her. "Hold still! You might have hurt something."
"Mel?" Janice took a deep breath and then pushed away the brunette's hands as she opened her eyes finding the inquisitive blue eyes of her taller companion only a few inches above her. "I'm all right," she said, rolling gingerly to her side, pulling in her knees to stretch her back muscles gently. Then she sat up. "Come on. We've got to get out of here."
"So you got it?" Melinda reached over and picked up a small lantern she had been carrying.
"I reclaimed the whole find," Janice confirmed. Standing shakily she ran a quick hand through her hair before picking up and replacing her fedora. "Come on. You can read me a bedtime story," she jested quietly, pulling one of the scrolls free and showing it to Melinda before she tucked it away once more.
She then noted Melinda's attire. An Italian styled overcoat belted loosely over a demure tan skirt and gray turtleneck sweater. The woman didn't look like she had planned to join a thieving expedition.
Then Janice remembered what Mel had been wearing the first day they met on the Ares's Cave dig. Her suspicions flared. "Mel, what brought you out here?" the blonde asked pointedly.
"Evening stroll," the brunette answered. "Nice cool night for it, you know." Melinda's eyes, almost colorless in the vague light, remained steady on the blonde's face.
Janice looked around as they emerged on the adjacent street. She threaded her arm through Melinda's and looked up into quiet, knowing blue eyes. Her own green ones twinkled with soundless laughter.