Zoe Winters Professional Lesbian

by Quickflicker

What happens when an intriguing woman moves in down the street from a blonde kindergarten teacher? Modern day, Xena and Gabrielle's reincarnations find each other. Subtext, femslash. EDITED!

Legal Disclaimers: I do not own the Xena folk

Legal Disclaimers: I do not own Xena: Warrior Princess.

Zoe Winters - Professional Lesbian
By: LadyWillow

Chapter One: I dream of you

Strong arms encircled me from behind as I lying in my bed. I relaxed into the embrace, and then I heard her voice, just as I always did.

"Find me, Zoe... please... find me..."

And then I awoke.

XXXXXX

"Yeah, it was exactly the same as it always is. I'm lying in my bed, on my side all ready to sleep and she wraps her arms around me and tells me to find her."

I had met up with my best friend and fellow lesbian Tara at the local coffee shop after work. I had ordered an espresso, and Tara was sipping at a hot chocolate. She hated coffee, but insisted that the little shop had a certain ambiance to it, and it had very good hot chocolate. We were seated nearest the windows, and outside the snow was falling lazily to the ground.

"Well, you didn't see her face or anything?" Tara always asked me that, every time I told her that I had The Dream, which was several times a week.

"No Tara, I didn't see her face. I never see her face. All I ever see is her hands. She has marvelous hands."

"Don't worry, Zoe, you'll see her face someday. Heh, wouldn't it be ironic if your dream-babe was really ugly?"

I glared at Tara, and stuck my tongue out at her. She just laughed at me.

"C'mon Zoe, we'd better get home."

XXXXXX

It was freezing cold outside as I shoveled the sidewalk along the front of the small house that Tara and I shared. I stretched out my back, which was stiff from hunching over for so long. I scanner the area, and watched as a moving truck pulled up at the house down the street.

I dashed inside, dropping the shovel into a snow bank along the way.

"Tara! The new neighbors are moving in!" I yelled from my spot in the entry way. I knew that my house-mate would throw a fit if I tracked snow inside. She was a neat-freak that way. I heard a thumping noise, and I smiled when Tara came bolting off of the stairs and began to pull on snow boots and her coat.

"Oh, so you wouldn't come outside to help me shovel, but you'll come running at the prospect of gawking at the newbies, huh?"

Tara managed to pull on her second boot and flip me off at the same time. It was quite an amusing feat.

"Let's go!" Tara exclaimed, and she hustled out the front door.

We stood on the sidewalk and watched as movers hauled boxes into the cold, empty looking stucco house. I flipped long strawberry blond hair impatiently over my shoulder.

"Where are they...?" I wondered aloud. Tara chuckled.

"Maybe they aren't here yet." She pointed out.

As if on cue, a black mustang pulled up next to the moving truck. A tall-no, very tall woman stepped out of the car. She was wearing dark sunglasses despite the fact that it was overcast, and a black leather jacket. She had long raven hair, and seemed to radiate a very intimidating energy, even from this distance.

"Wow..." Tara breathed. I couldn't say anything, I was so transfixed. I didn't know why, but a very strange feeling came over me. My vision became fuzzy until I couldn't see anymore. In the place of my quiet neighborhood, I saw what looked like the same woman, but she was wearing a considerable amount less. She was also holding the reins of a golden horse, and was looking right at me.

"Gabrielle..." she spoke so softly that I could barely understand what she had said at first.

Zoe!" Tara exclaimed. Just as quickly as my vision had blurred, it cleared, and I saw the woman down the street looking at me. I couldn't tear my gaze away, and then Tara gave me a good shake.

"Zoe, where did you go?"

"S-sorry." I said gently.

Tara laughed. "She's quite a looker, isn't she?" she said, still sounding quite awed. "I'm going inside. Maybe I'll cook something that we can take to our attractive new neighbor." I nodded, and deftly picked the shovel back up, then continued to lift the snow off of the walkway.

XXXXXX

"Calm down, Zoe! You're going to drop the pie!"

I hadn't dared to tell Tara about my vision. I didn't know how she would react, and the last thing I wanted was my best friend to think I was insane.

Tara reached out and rang the door bell. It had been an hour or so since we had watched our new neighbor get out of her black car, and we had long since saw her retreat inside and the movers drive away.

We waited outside for a minute or two and then the door opened to reveal the woman up close-and without her sunglasses on. She had beautiful light blue eyes, and I felt my knees start to buckle.

"We brought you a pie." Tara supplied after she noticed my condition. The woman smiled.

"Thanks. Bring it in here." She said, gesturing within her house.

I gasped, and nearly dropped the pie. Tara grabbed it out of my hands, and looked at me. My face was chalk-white, and I was trembling.
"What?" Tara asked, looking concerned.

The woman turned around and her gaze landed on me.

"It's her." Was all I whispered before I fainted.

"My name is Tara."

I heard as I came to.

"I'm Tori..." the woman stated.

"Oh, you're awake!" Tara exclaimed. I nodded groggily.

"What happened?" I asked.

Tara giggled. "You fainted."

"Whaa..?" Then I remembered, and I gasped again. The woman-Tori's voice was exactly the same as my dream-woman's.

"What?!" Tara asked.

"Nothing." I said quickly. The last thing I wanted was to make a fool of myself any more than I already had.

"Wait a minute... where am I?"

Tori smiled broadly.

"You're in my bedroom, on my bed."

I choked, and cleared my throat.

"Oh." I said in a small voice.

Tori's beautiful eyes opened at least five times wider, and she stumbled back a few steps.

"How... how is that... possible...?!" Tori breathed in shock.

"What?!" Tara and I both asked.

Tori was silent a moment before she spoke.

"Nothing..." Tori said gently, and she smiled at me. "I guess we should get you home. Are you feeling okay to walk?"

I nodded, and she escorted Tara and I back home. We told her that we would come and visit again after she had had a chance to unpack and get settled in. Tara gave her our phone number, and then decided to embarrass me a bit more by telling Tori that I'd try not to faint in the doorway again. Tori had laughed at that, and patted my shoulder. I felt electricity burn through me starting where her hand had touched.

The last thing I thought before I fell asleep that night was that if I hadn't nodded, Tori could have carried me home.

Chapter Two: Yes, Schoolmistress!

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Miss Winters." said twenty-two smiling kindergarten children. I grinned at them, and then began class.

"Today we're going to talk about love." The children all assumed grins, and a few giggled.

"Now, who can tell me what love is?"
I braced myself for some answers that were going to be a bit out there. I knew I had to be nice about wrong answers, because I didn't want the children to feel bad.

A small hand raised, and I gave a surprised smile.

"Mari, what is love?"
The shy little redhead lowered her eyes to her hands and said softly "It's a feeling."

I grinned. "Yes… what else?"

"It's something you feel for your mommy."

"Good! Everyone, who else would you feel love for?"

Excited voices began to shout out various people and animals. I picked out 'pet iguana' from
the mess of clamoring six-year-old voices, and chuckled. That would be David. He was always on the ball and ready to make me laugh. I winked at him and he giggled.

"Okay, all right. That's good! Now, let's talk about respect. What does respect mean?"

The children all were silent. I knew this was a rather difficult question, especially for six-year-olds, but I felt that it was very important that they knew what words like this meant.
When no hands were raised, I smiled.

"Respect is also a feeling. To respect someone, you have to be nice to them, and you have to treat them right. For example, if David put a frog in Sarah's hair, would that be respecting Sarah?"

The class erupted into fits of laughter and small voices making frog noises. I allowed this for a moment, and then called out 'inside voices!' The class was quickly silent.

"Would that be respecting Sarah?" I repeated. The class collectively called 'No!' I smiled.

"Good. Now, if David was very friendly to Sarah, and helped her tie her shoe, would that be respecting Sarah?" This time, there was a collective 'Yes' from the children. I beamed. This was one of the best classed I'd had in years.

"Good! Now, give me some people you respect." This time children called out 'mommy', 'daddy', and I heard Mari's soft voice say 'the cops.' I silenced the rest of the children, and asked Mari to repeat herself. She blushed, and did so. I had been hoping that someone would say that so that I could have a proper introduction to the next discussion.

"Mari is absolutely correct. Now, tell me, why do you respect the cops? Remember, raise your hand."

Small hands raised, and kindergarten students said such things as: "they keep us safe" and "they kill bad guys for us." I chuckled.

"Okay, I have a surprise for you all. Tomorrow a real cop is going to come and see us." The class began to talk excitedly.

"Inside voices!" I called over the children.

"The cop will be telling you what to do in certain situations, and will also be telling you a bit about what it is like to be a cop. I will expect you all to be on your best behaviors. I also want you all to try to think of a question or two to ask the cop, okay?"

The class nodded and made enthusiastic sounds. I laughed. Having such a great class was very encouraging for me.

I looked to the clock, and saw that it was five minutes until the children were to go outside for recess.

"Okay children, why don't we all go into the cloak room and put on our snow stuff, and then it's time for recess."

The class cheered and dashed off to the cloak room. I followed after and helped a few children don their snow pants, coats, hats and gloves. David came up to me, tears in his eyes.

"What's the matter, D-Man?"

He giggled, like he always did when I called him that.

"I forgot my mittens, and I want to play in the snow."

I smiled reassuringly at him.

"C'mon, D-Man. We'll find a spare pair."

I took the little boy's hand and led him to a storage room. After digging through the lost and found for a few minutes, I found a pair of red mittens. I helped David put them on, and then I led the children to the other kindergarten class room. The other teacher, Mr. Frost, and I took turns taking the children outside for recess.

"Okay everyone, it's Mr. Frost's turn to take you outside today. Behave yourselves, or you'll get a time out." I smiled at Mr. Frost, mouthed 'it's cold outside' and then returned to the now-empty class room.

"Miss Winters, please come to the office. You have a phone call. Miss Winters, please come to the office. Thank you."

I sighed, and hurried to the office. Once inside, one of the secretaries waved me over to her. She handed me a phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, what's up?"

"Why are you calling me, Tara?! I'm at work!" Tara laughed.

"Tori called. She wants us to come over for supper tonight."

"Why isn't she at work?"

"I don't know, maybe she's still a student, like me."

Tara was still taking her collage classes. She had taken two years off between high school and collage, so she was behind me. She wouldn't be graduating for another year yet.

"Somehow I don't think that's the case." I deadpanned. Tara laughed.

"So, are you free?"

"When am I not, Tara? I have no life." Tara chuckled.

"Good, I have to call her back quick and get to school. Have a nice day!"

"You too, Tara. Study hard!" I snickered and she huffed and hung up. She hated it when I said that. It reminded her too much of her mother.

I hung up the phone, and hurried back to the classroom. Perhaps I'd still have time to write before the students came in from recess.

XXXXXX

That evening, I tried on several different outfits before I decided on a pair of black slacks and a white blouse that was slightly unbuttoned. I combed my strawberry blond hair back and put it into a comfortable, yet stylish ponytail. Tara wore her favorite sun dress, with a cute sweater over it to keep warm. We were bringing with a pie that Tara made, and some of my famous chicken soup.

At 5:30 pm, we walked to Tori's house. I hadn't seen her in a few weeks, and I felt excitement welling up in me.

XXXXXX

What I didn't know was that Tori felt just as nervous as me.

Why did I invite them here..? she thought to herself. And how does Zoe's voice sound just like my dream girl's? The answer was plain to Tori, but she kept forcing it back. The last thing she wanted was to get her hopes up again. If she's my soulmate she'll wait for me, so I can wait until I'm ready. Tori thought to herself. Then, the doorbell rang.

Chapter Three: Hello, officer. Is there a problem?

Tara and I followed Tori into the house, which was now fully furnished, and looked quite nice, even though it was still a little bare.

I yawned, and Tori turned to me.

"You know... you're pretty cute when you're tired." She said playfully. I blushed, and was about to retort, but she spoke again too soon.

"Here, you two can sit on the couch. I'm going to go get us something to drink. What do you want?"

I frowned.

Um... I don't really like to drink..." I said, sounding embarrassed.

Tori chuckled.

"Okay, how would you like some soda?"

"Sure."

"Tara, what would you like?"

"I think that I'll have some soda too, actually."

Tori grinned. "I guess I'll just have soda with you two then."

When Tori returned with the beverages, she smiled. "The rest of the supper is still cooking. It should be done soon."

XXXXXX

I was very pleased with how well the evening was going so far. I didn't know what I had expected, but I knew that it wasn't this way that we behaved like we were all best friends, even though we had just met.

Soon the buzzer went off in the kitchen, and we all went to eat. The food was wonderful, and Tori really liked my soup.

Since it was Thursday, I had to work the next morning. Sadly, at 9:00pm Tara and I had to head home. Tori seemed disappointed, but we agreed that we had to get together again very soon.

I felt sad, because Tori lived all alone.

XXXXXX

"Okay class, the cop should be here any minute now. Remember, be on your best behavior."

My class looked like they could barely contain their excitement. I had them all seated at the long tables facing the front of the room.

I heard a knock on the classroom door, and I hurried and opened it. What I saw shocked me.

It was Tori.

"What?!"

"How... wow! I didn't know you were a kindergarten teacher!"

"Well, I had no idea you were a cop! Nice badge..."

Tori laughed.

Well... come in and see my students."

I walked in with Tori, and introduced her.

"Class, this is Officer Slinger. Please say hello."

The children all called various greetings to my friend, and she smiled.

"I'm pleased to meet you all. As your teacher said, I am Officer Tori Slinger. I suppose I'll just start out by telling you all a bit about myself.

I have been a police officer for five years. I do mainly patrol, although I have done some detective work too.

Mari raised her hand, and Tori pointed to her. "You have a question?"
Mari nodded.

"What exactly does 'patrol work' mean?"

I looked at Tori and we both smiled at each other.

"That means that I drive around and watch for bad people, and then I make them stop."

Another hand went up. It was Steve. His father was one of those muscle-heads who thought that violence, hunting and football were the only things important in life.

"How many people have you shot?" He asked, an excited look in his eyes. Tori sighed.

"It isn't important how many people I've shot, as long as I'm keeping you safe, right?" She addressed the question to everyone, and they all nodded. I decided that I may have to have a little talk with Steve.

"Now, when someone is attacking you, who knows what to do?"

No one raised their hands, so Tori explained.

"If someone is attacking you, the first thing you want to do is run away, and yell very loud. That way someone may hear you and come to you."

Mari's hand raised again.

"What if they won't let you run away?"

Tori was beginning to like this child.

"Then, you want to kick them... or hit them, actually. You'll want to do so here-" She pointed to her knee, "or here-" she pointed to her groin, "or here" she then pointed to her stomach.

"Those are the most sensitive body parts you can get to with your feet. Actually, you're all short, so you could punch in those places too."

The class all looked pretty excited by the idea.

"Now, once you've hit them, you should be able to run away, and remember to scream really loud. Once you get away, you have to tell a grown up what happened, and you'll have to tell them what the bad person looked like."
I interjected at that point.

"Now, perhaps you should tell them how to hit properly so they don't hurt themselves."

Tori grinned. "Okay, come here."

I blanched. "What"

"I said come here. Class, allow me to demonstrate how to hit properly. On your teacher."

The class began to laugh and cheer.
"Oh, a big lot of help you all are!" I stated, rolling my eyes. I then stepped up to Tori, and stood in a ready position.

You have no idea what you're messing with." I whispered. "I'm a black belt, and a kick- boxer."

Tori hid her surprise well.

"Now, you want to make a fist like this." She demonstrated a proper fist and the students all mimed it.

"Good. Now, say your attacker has a hold on you." She motioned to me, and I grabbed her wrists. She smiled, and then looked to the students. "All you do is move your arms
like this-" she twisted her arms and broke the hold "and then when you're free, you make the fist, and hit as hard as you can here." She mock-punched my stomach.

"Also, if you can't break away, you can kick here-" She mock-kicked my knee "or you can shove your knee here-" She shoved her knee into my groin. "That move is especially effective on boys."

The girls in the class all giggled, and I tried to remember to breathe.

Relax, Zoe... it isn't anything sexual... she's just teaching the students... Still, I couldn't help but think that I saw a glint in her eyes which said different than my over-rational mind was telling me.

"Now, up to speed your attack would look like this-" She tried to punch me, but I decided to show what I meant by being a black belt and kick boxer. I pulled her arm, twisted it, and flipped her to her back. She stared up at me in disbelief as the children howled with laughter.

"Hey! That's not what's supposed to happen!" She complained. I chuckled and helped her up.

"Now, let's try that again." She rushed me, and I sighed dramatically.

"Oh fine..." I relented as she attacked me.

"See? It takes some practice, but after a while you'll become very good at self-defense."

Tori had the students pair off and try the hold breaks. They all did quite a good job.

Then, it was time for the students to go out to recess, and for Tori to leave. The students all thanked her (due to my prompting), and then I had to take them outside. While the children were in the cloak room, I stood in the doorway with Tori.

"Thanks for coming in." I said gently. "The children really liked it."

"No problem. They're sweet kids." She said. She put her hand on my shoulder. "I'll see you again?"

I felt my body tremble from her touch. I got such a charge out of her energy. It was so confusing. It seemed like more than just attraction to me.

"Yeah, you'll see me again," I took a deep breath. It's now or never, Zoe. Go for it! I thought to myself. "We should go out sometime. You know, just you and me..."

Tori's eyes brightened, and she grinned.

"Yeah! That would be great!"
The students were filing out of the cloak room, and I sighed.

"You'd better go... I've gotta get these kids outside before they explode from pent up energy."
Tori chuckled. "Okay. I'll call you, all right? I work 9:30pm to 9:30am, so..."

"Wow! That means you should be sleeping!"

"Nah... I sleep from 9:30 until 2:30pm, and I'm good to go."

"That's not a lot of sleep." I murmured, concerned.

"I don't need too much sleep. Never have."

I smiled. "All right. Whatever you say..." Tori laughed.

"See you later, Zoe."

"Right back at 'ya, Tori."

I watched Tori as she walked away, and I couldn't help but think that part of me was walking away with her. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to be with her. Hopefully we would have our 'date' soon. I really wanted to talk to her about this strange feeling that seemed more than attraction or even love.

It almost seems like it could defy life itself. I thought to myself in wonder.

I pulled myself back to reality, and led the children out into the wildly falling snow.

Chapter Four: A Kiss is Just a Kiss...

"Ooooohhhh... Zoe and Tori sittin' in a tree... k-i-s-s-i-n-g...-"

"Shut up!"

Tara had decided that it was her job to embarrass me as much as possible while I got ready for Tori's and my date. She had called me the day after she had been to my class, and we had decided to go out that evening, since it was a Saturday, and I could therefore stay out late. And, Tori had this weekend off, so it worked out perfectly.

"I'm happy for you, Zoe... even though I'd really like Tori..."

"Hmm... now Tara, what would Sammy think of that, I wonder..."

Tara's face turned white.

"Don't tell her! I'm not serious!"

I laughed. Tara and Sammy had been together for six months now, and they were still going strong. Tara was sure that it was love, and I was scared that she may get hurt.

But what are you doing, Zoe? I asked myself. You've decided that it's love before the first date!

I tried to tell myself that my situation was different, but I knew that was wrong.

"Whacha thinking about, pal?" Tara asked as she studied the worried look on my face.

"Nothing... I guess I'm just a bit nervous..." I said quietly.

Tara nodded knowingly. "Things will be okay, Zoe. She's crazy about you!"

"Oh yeah right, Tara... how do you know?"

Tara smiled. "I saw the way she was looking at you."

I blushed and slipped on my boots. I never really got a chance to wear my comfortable, more "scene" attire, being that I worked as a kindergarten teacher. So, I had decided to wear my pink 'phat' pants, buckle books with a three inch platform, and my pink Legend shirt. Tara always said I looked like a wad of bubblegum. Right before I threatened to kick her ass.

I put on my bracelets that I always like to wear to raves, and then I was ready to go.

I hoped that Tori wouldn't dislike my clothes. I knew that she wouldn't expect the nice girl she was taking out to be a candy raver. I gulped.

"Now what?!"

"Well, what if she doesn't like ravers... a lot of people have misconceptions about them... what if she thinks I'm just an ecstasy addicted freak..."

Tara chuckled. "She's not going to care! And if she does, I'll personally kick her ass. I know for a fact that you've never even thought about taking E. Don't worry so much."

Then, we heard a knock at the door.

"It's her..." I breathed. Tara smiled and then dashed to open the door.

"Come on in. Zoe's almost ready."

Tara led Tori into the living room, and then she burst into the bathroom. "She's here, now go out there and leave!"

"But... but...-"

"No buts! Get out there! You look fine!"

I gulped again, and shuffled out to the living room. Tori looked up when I walked in and she gasped.

"Holy..."

I blushed, and she laughed heartily.

You look amazing! I had no idea that you were a raver too!"

It was obvious that Tori was trying to be modest. She had on a pair of black pants which clung in all the right places, and a shirt which showed just a hint of cleavage. Her black hair was down, and I could only see minimal make-up on her.

In short, she looked fantastic.

"What do you mean 'too'? Are you a raver also?"

Tori smiled. "Yeah! I haven't gone for a long time, though..."

"Me neither... perhaps we'll have to find a party some time."

Tori nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great!"

"So... where to tonight?" I asked, my nervousness clearly showing.

"Well... I was thinking we could go to the Rainbow Club..." Tori seemed a little embarrassed herself.

"Good idea, lets go!" I grabbed my purse, and Tori's hand, and we rushed out to Tori's mustang.

The Rainbow Club was a bar/dance club which was very well-known to the gay and lesbian community. No one was really sure if the founders of The Rainbow Club had meant for it to be a gay bar, but that was exactly what it had become. On a few occasions, someone who was just passing through the area would come in, totally unsuspecting of the sight they would behold once they breached the thresh-hold. It was always a riot to watch their eyes boggle, and sometimes we timed how long it would take them to burst back out the door, get into their car, and find a safe, heterosexual place to spend their evening.

"Tori, how did you know about The Rainbow Club? It isn't advertised..."

Tori smiled.

"Well, when I decided to move here, I scoped the area. With a name like that, I figured The Rainbow Club would be a gay bar. Then I just popped in after patrol a few nights ago to make sure."

I nodded and chuckled.

"I don't know why we think that it's some big secret that they Rainbow Club is a gay bar. Everyone who's been in this town for a few months knows that it is." I said as we were now driving down the street. I noted that Tori's eyes were constantly searching out the area, as if she was looking for something. She had taken her sunglasses off once we had gotten into the car, and I couldn't help my next comment. It was out of my mouth before I could think about it.

"You have very beautiful eyes, Tori. You shouldn't cover them up with your sunglasses so often." As soon as they words were out of my mouth I blushed profusely and had to cover my mouth. Tori had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at how cute I was when embarrassed.

"Why thank you, Zoe... you have quite nice eyes yourself, you know."

"Naahh… mine are just plain old green."

Tori looked to me like I had lost my mind.

"Are you insane?! Your eyes are the most amazing shade of green that I've ever looked at! They look almost ivy colored..."

My face was now bright red, and I hid it behind my hands. Tori chuckled at me, and put her hand on my arm. She tugged gently.

"Come on, you're so adorable when you blush... lemme see."

We both laughed, and then Tori pulled into the parking lot of The Rainbow Club. We unbuckled out seat belts, and locked the car after we got out. Tori grinned at me as we walked to the door. I took Tori's arm so that it looked like she was escorting me.

"Good evening, my lady." Tori said in a snobbish, masculine voice. I giggled.

When we reached the door, the bouncer had to look at me for a moment, before he asked to see my ID. I sighed dramatically.

"Why does everyone think I'm so young...?" I mumbled to myself.

"Hey, don't complain. Ten years from now you'll be wishing that they still carded you, 'ya know." Tori said playfully. I chucked.

I showed the bouncer my ID card, and he waved Tori and I through.

"Have fun, ladies." He said in a gruff voice.

"Oh, we will." I stated in a serious voice. Tori laughed and we dashed inside.

Once we were over the threshold, quite a few people looked up, obviously hoping for someone to spend the evening with. Tori took my hand, and again I felt electricity course through my body. Together we found a booth, and put our jackets on it to keep it saved.

"C'mon, let's go get a drink." I said, and we ambled to the bar.

"I thought you didn't drink." Tori said smugly.

"I don't on school nights... whenever I come here I have a drink or two. Who's gonna be the 'designated driver'?" I asked.

"I will." Tori said. "Go ahead, drink more than one or two. Let loose and we can have some fun. When does dancing start?"

I smiled at how ambitious Tori was, and I ordered a drink. We sat and talked for a little while, and then some music started to play. Dancing had now begun. Tori stood, and took my hand

"Come on, lets go dance."

The song was very slow, and it had a sensual rhythm to it. I looked up and met sky blue eyes. It felt almost like her eyes were piercing through me and going straight to my soul. I gulped, and stood up. Smiling, she led me to the dance floor.

We came together slowly, and my head rested on her chest as we began to dance. The song
was over too soon, and a fast paced song started up. I recognized the macarana, and I groaned. Tori laughed, and began to dance. I looked at her like she was insane, and she bounced over to me, and grabbed my arms. She then began to force me to dance to the song that I hated so very much. I giggled, and when I began to get into the dance, she moved away and we danced along with the many other bar patrons.

When the song was done, we were laughing so hard that Tori had tears in her eyes, and my sides were aching. Then, slowly we stopped laughing. As we did we came closer and closer together. Her lips descended towards me, and I tilted my head up slightly. Time seemed to be moving much more slowly, and then her lips finally met mine.

As we kissed, visions went through my mind. I saw the hands of my dream woman as they stroked my face. That was when I realized that in my vision I was kissing my dream girl, something I had longed to do for a long time. Somehow it dulled in comparison to kissing Tori.

Our kiss broke, and I slowly opened my eyes, to see her beautiful blue orbs peering at me.

XXXXXX
We went home soon after that, and before I got out of the car outside of my house, she gave me another kiss. We planned to go out again very soon, and then I hurried inside.

"How'd it go?" Tara asked when I walked inside. She had been waiting up for me on the couch.

"Well... I have a new respect for The Macarana." Was all I said, a goofy smile on my face. I then ran up the stairs, flopped onto my bed, and fell fast asleep, visions of Tori dancing in my mind.

Chapter Five: I can see you...

The morning after Tori's and my date came far too soon. Sunlight streamed over my covers, and I yawned. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Then, I gasped.

Where in the hell am I?!"

It seemed that I was outside. I was lying in a sleeping bag, and a fire was going next to me. There didn't seem to be any streets or telephone poles anywhere, and when I strained my ears, I couldn't hear any cars.

I slowly sat up, and looked down at myself.

"What am I wearing?!" I had on a green colored belly shirt, and a brown skirt. Lying next to me was a very long, decorated stick, and a pair of leather boots.

Good morning, sleepy head." Tori's voice said cheerily. My head whipped around, and my eyes widened. Before me I saw the same woman that I had saw the first time Tara and I had saw Tori, standing next to her Mustang.

"Are you okay?" The woman asked. She looked just like Tori. Now I was very confused.

"Who are you...?" I asked in wonder.

The woman's face fell.

"Gabrielle, did you get into the henbane again? It's me, Xena!"

My eyes widened.

"My name is Gabrielle..."

I suddenly remembered being called to as Gabrielle, and I whimpered. I was getting scared now.

"Who did this to you? Was it Ares?" The woman- Xena- asked.

"I'm not Gabrielle..."

Tears filled the woman's eyes, and she rushed toward me. Her strong arms went around me, and I looked down at her hands. I gasped. Things clicked, and I turned to look at Xena.

"My name is Zoe Winters... I must be in a past life... which means I was Gabrielle before... and you... you're Tori!"

Xena frowned.

"Gabrielle... you're sick... you need to rest..."

"No! I'm not! Look, you gotta believe me! Your hands, they're exactly the same as my

girlfriend Tori's! You've been visiting me in visions!" Then a thought popped into my mind.
"Are you and Gabrielle soul mates?"

Xena nodded.

"Everything makes sense! Tori and I are soulmates! We were you and Gabrielle in past a past life! Wow..."

Xena frowned.

"If you aren't Gabrielle, how am I going to get my Gabrielle back... and how are you going to get back to where you belong?"

"Um... wow... strange feeling..." I mumbled, my head beginning to swim and vision beginning to blur. As if from far away, I heard Xena calling out to me, although I didn't quite know what name she was using.

And then, I awoke.

"Zoe! Zoe, wake up"
I looked up to see Tori standing over me, a fearful expression on her face. Tara was standing a few steps away, and she was looking very worried.

I sat up quickly and threw my arms around Tori's legs.

"IhadthisvisionandmynamewasGabrielleandyouwereXenaandIwentbackintimeandshe
thoughtIwasGabrielleandyouandIaresoulmates!!" I cried out excitedly.

"Wow! Slow down! Say that all again."

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, and then began over again.

"I had a vision, and it was way back in time, and I was this woman named Gabrielle, and there was this warrior-woman named Xena, and she looked just like you, and she thought I was Gabrielle, but I was just in Gabrielle's body... she has the same hands as you... and she said that Gabrielle and herself are soul mates, which means that you and I were Xena and Gabrielle in a past life and that means that we are soul mates."

Tori looked at me for a moment, just studying my face, before she spoke.

"I had the exact same vision, but reversed last night. That's why I came over here this morning. Then Tara said you were having some kind of fit, because you were flopping all over your bed, and crying out and you wouldn't wake up..."

"This is very strange..." Tara said, shaking her head. "And not fair! You two just met and you're already soul mates! Sammy and I have been together for a long time, and we aren't!" Tara joked.

We all laughed, and Tori held me close as I began to speak.

"I've been having visions and dreams pointing to a relationship with my soul mate for a long time... and after I met you Tori, they got a lot stronger..."

"Well, the whole reason I moved here was because of a dream I had with a girl who lived in this neighborhood. I found this place and moved here as soon as I could. I think my soul was trying to come to yours."

Tears were in both of our eyes, and we came together and kissed. We could feel some kind of primitive connection as we kissed. Tara, disgusted, walked away muttering something about calling Sammy.

When I woke up again, I was being held from behind by strong arms. I could feel gentle breath on the back of my neck. I looked down to see familiar hands at my waist, and I smiled.

Somehow I knew I wouldn't be having my reoccurring dream anymore.

I was finally Home.

FIN