Poteidaia and Oreias
"Mother, Father, Lila!" Gabrielle exclaimed. She ran to them. There was hugging and kissing and lots of mean looks from Xena. Xena stayed a week before she realized that she had left her whip of all things in the last village. She'd had no use for it and had completely forgotten about it to her disbelief.
"At least its a start to get out of here." Xena said as she went downstairs with her bag.
"Xena are you leaving?" Hecuba asked. Her and Lila were obviously disguising the enormous happiness they had for Gabrielle's pregnancy. Obviously they knew that Gabrielle thought she didn't know.
"Yes, I left my whip back in the last village, so I'll be back in a few days no need for you to cut your visit short over my whip as a matter of fact I've noticed you've been a little sick lately and I think resting and under the care of your mother you'll be good as new, we don't want to risk sickness do we Hecuba?" Xena asked. A look at Hecuba told her that she knew of Gabrielle's pregnancy and wanted her to stay in Poteidaia until it was all over and some time had passed.
"Yes, Gabrielle why don't you stay for awhile, Xena you don't mind if she stays for a couple of months, your starting to feel like family to Lila and I that is, but why not let her stay for a year, so we can create more memories together." Hecuba said.
"Sure why not, I'll come back next August." Xena said.
"But Xena what will you do until than?" Gabrielle asked not putting up to much of a fight, but just enough so Xena wouldn't be suspicious or hurt by her mother's words. Xena was rejoicing in her head.
"Oh, Hercules invited us to meet up with Iolaus him, so I'll just travel with them and visit with mother, but don't worry I won't travel to far way. The longest you'll have to travel is two months to get to me." Xena said.
"Are you sure?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yes, Gabrielle besides the quickest way to get over a sickness is to be cared for by your mother not your best friend." Xena said.
"Even if that friend is a trained healer?" Gabrielle asked.
"Especially if that friend is a trained healer Gabrielle said now I'll see you next summer around about this time and I'll have a surprise for you. See you soon." Xena said hugging her before leaving.
"Yea, I'll have one for you too." Gabrielle said as the door closed. Xena traveled quickly alone and on Argo, when she arrived back at the village she found Hercules had returned.
"I was hoping you two were still here." Hercules said as they came downstairs from his room after yet another glorious time spent together.
"Actually we left, Gabrielle's staying in Poteidaia until next August, because she's pregnant." Xena said sitting down. She motioned for the inn-keeper to bring over to mugs of cider. Hercules didn't question her choice of drink even though she usually drank port or ale.
"Oh so you know than." Hercules said.
"I've known since before she knew, and she still doesn't know I know." Xena said.
"She's afraid to tell you." Hercules said.
"I know, I kind of figured its a little more complicated than just her being pregnant, whatever it is she thinks its going to effect me, do you know?"
"No, she wouldn't tell me, she said I'd be to effected by it and just wanted me to distract you from her eating a lot at dinner."
"I've been eating a lot to make it look like I don't notice she's eating a lot, I've put on fifteen pounds in the last four months and this passing month I put on twenty pounds alone."
"Yea, and Gabrielle can eat a lot in the first place," Hercules commented.
"Who are you telling," Xena said." So where is Iolaus?"
"Thebes enjoying some girl."
"Hmmm...so what do you say you and I take a vacation to Kythnos and buy that vacation home you've always wanted." Xena said.
"Tempting, there's practically no one to bother us on that island, its beautiful and there's plenty of land for sale for low prices." said Hercules.
"Yea, and the King's not half bad, there are practically no taxes on land, so we could afford it even with the money we don't make." Xena said.
"Sure why not." Hercules said. Xena smiled good.
"Good, because I'm pregnant and our kid needs a place he or she can call home besides Cornith and Amphipolis where our parent lives." Xena said taking a sip of cider. Hercules was doing the same when he spit it out. After the people's attention had drifted to something else, Hercules asked her what she had just said.
"I'm pregnant." Xena said.
"How long?" Hercules asked.
"A month." Xena said.
"So from our last encounter." Xena nodded.
"Well this is great, I'm so glad you told me." Hercules said.
"Why wouldn't I tell you?" Xena asked.
"I don't know, does Gabrielle know?"
"No, I decided I'd tell her when she started being truthful with me." Xena said.
"Telling her might make her tell you."
"I know that, but its her first child and I know she wants that excitement of telling her best friend she's pregnant, I'm not gonna ruin it for her."
"But she won't tell you until after its born."
"You of all people should know than even than the excitement is still there."
"Alright well can we tell Iolaus and everyone."
"No, we're going to Kythnos away from them, and than around my seventh month we'll send for my mother and than around the end of that month we'll send for yours and no one else got that, that way they'll both get here at the same time to see their grandchild born."
"Alright." Hercules said.
"Good, so we keep both of our best friends and other friends in the dark, agreed?"
"Agreed." Hercules said.
"Now, I have to go find my whip, you order dinner." Xena said. She went in search of her whip and finally she found it still in the room she had occupied before, no one had been inside it or if they had, they hadn't noticed it."
"Damn it who is that?" Hercules asked as they finished having sex. Some one was knocking on their door in the middle of the night.
"I don't know, but I got it." Xena said standing up with a sheet around herself. She grabbed her chakram and went to the door. She slowly opened it and only saw a retreating figure.
"Hey wait, what is it?" Xena called. She was about to go after her, but found a basket in her way.
"Ok." Xena said. She picked up the basket and closed the door. Hercules lit some candles before wrapping a sheet around his lower half.
"What is it?" Hercules asked.
"I don't know, but stand back." Xena said. She carefully pinched the ratty blanket over the basket and threw it back. They both jumped back on guard for snakes or whatever to jump out at them. They found a torn piece of parchment and a baby just a little over a year old. He looked sick.
"What does it say?" Xena asked as Hercules took out the parchment.
"You probably don't remember me, but I do hope you remember my son Oreias you found him wandering in the market a month ago. I can no longer take care of him and his father is out to kill him. I can not let him die from sickness or by his father's hand. I too am very sick and will soon die, don't come looking for me. I ask that you care for my son because I know he will be safe with you and he has formed a bond with you in the mere minutes you were together. He's cried for you everyday since we crossed paths. Please save his life. He was born in mid-July on the hottest day. Please take care of him." Hercules read.
"Oh the poor thing." Xena said as she dressed in shift.
"What's wrong with him?" Hercules asked.
"He's got a fever, and probably a cough or something, but with proper care he'll live." Xena said. She picked him up.
"Do you need anything for him?"
"We need everything for him, but we can't get it until morning, but there's a well, so could you at least get some water we'll heat it up in here, so he can get a bath tonight at least." Hercules nodded and brought up several buckets to fill the little tub in their room. She bathed him and than a bit of cold water helped break his fever. She made him some tea and that helped too as well as helped him stop coughing so hard.
"So are we going to keep him?" Hercules asked as they dressed him in clean clothes and wrapped him in a warm blanket.
"I don't see why not, we have a child on the way and he or she will have a playmate waiting for them."
"I suppose your right, Oreias is cute anyway."
"Yea." Xena said.
"Come on let's go make it official." Hercules said happily. They made it official and while they were feeding him in the tavern the obvious father walked up to them. Xena saw blood on his shirt and wondered if he had caught up to the mother and killed her before her sickness did.
"Give me the boy, he's mine."
"No, he's our son." Xena said.
"He's mine and I say give him to me!"
"Why so you can hurt him, no, we officially adopted him today and he is ours." Hercules said and with that he promptly threw the man out on his ear. Oreias started crying.
"Shh...its alright your safe now." Xena said rubbing his back. Three weeks passed and Oreias was well enough for travel.
"Thank god we're near Athens." Xena said.
"Who are you telling." Hercules said. They continued walking with Oreias in Hercules arms and Xena holding the reins to Argo.
"How does raw fish sound tonight."
"Disgusting."
"Sounds great to me."
"Of course it would, your pregnant and you have weird cravings."
"I know that this isn't my first time you know."
"I think we established that." Xena hit him in his arm and he laughed. They made it to Athens and because Athena decided she wanted to tell all their business unless Oreias was baptized they stopped in her temple and did so.
"Great now he is blessed with wisdom and honorable warfare."
"Thanks Athena." They said.
"Your welcome." She said smugly.
"Oh you two should like totally get married." said Aphrodite as they boarded a boat to Kythnos.
"Aphrodite if you keep your mouth shut I'll let you be an active member in planning the wedding." Xena said.
"Why Xena I have no idea what your talking about," She said with a wink before disappearing.
"Xena, if its a girl you have to make her an Amazon." Artemis said.
"We'll see Artemis." Hercules said.
"Oh she must be baptized in my temple first at least or I just won't be able to keep my mouth shut."
"Fine." Hercules said.
"God everyone, but your step mother is going to show up aren't they."
"Yea." Hercules nodded and so it went the entire ride. A promise here and a promise there until finally Ares showed up.
"Your really pregnant?"
"No, everyone has been love to Oreias we adopted him together." Hercules said. Ares looked at him suspiciously and than disappeared.
"Well that's everyone except Apollo who already knows because we needed him to completely heal Oreias."
"Yea, I know."
