A Life Worth Living Part 10
Darkness Calls by Cheeya.
Disclaimer : Xena and Gabrielle belong to Renaissance/Universal Pics. No copyright infringement was intended. This series, including this story, is based on the loving relationship between our heroines. If this offends you etc, don't read on.
Dedication : For Linda, my ex-partner-in-crime on the QDUB Helpdesk. Will poor Ciara ever understand those Cartman impressions, Babe? Go Divine Comedy!!!
Bard's Note : This is part 10 of the 'A Life Worth Living' series. The other parts can be read at www.geocities.com/cheeya_2000
Comments/Constructive criticism to cheeya@xenafan.com
"Xena… um… I don't feel so good."
The warrior looked over at her from where she was sprawled on the bed. Gabrielle was sitting in a straight-backed wooden chair trying to support her aching back. Xena saw the look on her face and got up to move to her side.
"Where does it hurt exactly?" she asked.
"My stomach. The pains are moving into my back too."
Xena frowned thoughtfully.
"Gabrielle, when did this start?" The bard bit her lower lip and then grimaced as another pain hit her. "Gabrielle?" Xena asked again.
"About five hours ago, but it's worse now than it was," Gabrielle replied.
Xena smiled and stroked her partner's hair.
"Sweetheart," she said softly. "You're in labour."
"What?" Gabrielle nearly fell out of her chair with shock. "I can't be, I'm not due for another three weeks."
Xena chuckled and helped her partner to lie down on their bed.
"Well, maybe you should try telling the baby that. No wait, why don't I!" She grinned teasingly and knelt down at the side of the bed, leaning in close to the bard's large bump. "Psst! Hey! You in there! Your Mom says you can't come out for another three weeks! So stop moving around in there!"
"Xena!" Gabrielle cried and slapped her gently on her upper arm bracer. "Stop kidding around!" She laughed helplessly as Xena grinned but then she suddenly grabbed her stomach and cried out.
"Aaaagghh! Gods! Xena this really hurts!"
The warrior parted her partner's legs and checked to see how she was doing.
"You're doing just fine, Gabrielle. It won't be long now. I'm going to pop downstairs and ask the tavern keeper to boil some water ok? I'll be right back!"
Xena ran down the stairs two at a time and grabbed the tavern keeper by the arm.
"My friend is having her baby! Quickly, boil some water and I need some fresh linen and a small blanket!"
"Right away," he replied and ran to do as he was asked. Xena ran back toward the stairs, but instead of climbing them, she leapt into the air and flipped onto the landing at the top of them. Then she ran back to find Gabrielle in agony. She was sitting forward on the bed, gritting her teeth against the pain. Xena quickly mixed some herbs and made her drink them.
"That'll help with the pain," she explained. "Gabrielle, I need you to listen to me. Don't push until I tell you to, ok?"
The bard nodded.
"I remember from the last time," she panted.
"Good. Now deep breaths, Gabrielle."
She checked again and was satisfied that the bard was fully dilated.
"Ok, here we go. I want you to push with the next contraction, ok?"
"Ok," Gabrielle replied and gritted her teeth as the wave of pain moved through her. She pushed hard and yelled at the top of her voice. "Oh gods! This is NOT fun!"
Xena couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, you did great. Breathe deeply until the next contraction comes and then push again."
The next pain came quickly and Gabrielle pushed hard again. She grabbed the bed sheets and squeezed them until her knuckles were white.
"I'm going to KILL YOU for making me do this!" she yelled but Xena's eyes lit up.
"Gabrielle, I can see it! I can see the baby's head! One more push should do it!"
"WELL, WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU DO IT THEN!"
"Take it easy, Gabrielle. You can do it. I know you can. You're going to be holding our baby in a minute!"
The contraction came again. Gabrielle pushed hard and suddenly, Xena was holding her child in her hands.
"It's a girl!" she cried and Gabrielle half laughed and half sobbed. "Gabrielle, it's a little girl!"
Xena cut the umbilical cord, wrapped the baby in the blanket the tavern keeper had brought in and handed her to her mother.
"She's so beautiful," she said as tears ran down her cheeks.
The bard kissed the baby on the forehead and began to sob.
"She's perfect, Xena!"
She looked at the warrior and suddenly felt exhausted.
"Xena, can you hold her for a minute? I don't feel so good."
Gabrielle was finding it hard to breathe so she sat up on the edge of the bed and handed the baby to her lifebond.
"You'll be ok in a few minutes," Xena said as she wrapped her free arm around her. "She was probably sitting under your rib cage. Your body just needs to get used to her not being there anymore."
There was silence between them and then Xena kissed her on the temple.
"You did great, Gabrielle," she whispered. "You've brought our daughter into the world. I love you."
"I love you too, Xena."
"Tell you what. Why don't you rest for a while and I'll clean her up."
"Alright," Gabrielle replied and lay down on the bed, intending to close her eyes for just a minute. As Xena washed the baby, she glanced at her soulmate and smiled as she realised she was fast asleep. She wrapped her daughter in some fresh linen and sat down in a chair, rocking her gently.
"Your Mom and I love you so much. Welcome to the world, Gabby."
The baby briefly opened sleepy, blue eyes and gurgled before closing them again and falling asleep.
"Your Mom was right. You are perfect," Xena whispered. She settled back in the chair and watched as her daughter slept.
"Xena? Wake up, Honey."
The Warrior Princess slowly came to her senses.
"What is it, Gabrielle?" she asked.
"I should really feed her. She'll be getting pretty hungry."
"Why didn't you just take her?" the warrior asked.
Gabrielle chuckled and shook her head.
"I couldn't. You were holding onto her. I couldn't move your hands. I was trying not to wake you up."
"Oh. I'm sorry," the warrior replied sheepishly. "Guess I was making sure she was safe."
"She was safe. I don't think even Hercules could have budged Gabby from your arms."
"Well, here you go. I'll bet she's starving. She looks like you, you know. She has your nose and your ears."
"Xena, she has your cheekbones and your mouth, look at that."
The baby yawned and Xena's eyes went wide.
"Wow, you're right. She does have my mouth. That's amazing, Gabrielle."
There was a flash of gold light in the room and Aphrodite suddenly appeared in a shower of sparks.
"Hey! What a cute little rugrat!" she exclaimed. "Xena, of course she looks like you. I made it that way. Gabrielle said to surprise her, so I did! All babies look like both their parents so why should this little sprog be any different, huh?"
The warrior reached out a hand and squeezed the goddess' shoulder.
"Thank you, Aphrodite. You've been so good to us. My sword is yours from now on. If you need my help, just ask."
"Thanks, Warrior Babe, but I doubt I'll ever have to call on your services. I am a god after all! Anyhoo, toodles! Take care of my niece!"
Aphrodite waved her hand and disappeared again.
"Toodles?" Xena repeated.
"I think she meant goodbye," Gabrielle explained.
"Oh right," Xena said and frowned. Gabrielle chuckled and carried the baby to a chair where she sat down and unlaced her shirt. She settled Gabby in her arms and let her suckle from her breast.
"How does that feel?" Xena asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, it feels kinda… weird… not like when you… uh… I mean… you know what I mean."
The warrior burst into laughter.
"I should hope it doesn't feel the same!" she exclaimed "Or else I'm doing something terribly wrong!"
Gabrielle shot her lover a sexy smirk and shook her head.
"Oh no, you do it perfectly," she purred. "There's a big difference though. Gabby doesn't have teeth."
The Warrior Princess crossed her arms over her chest and winced.
"Ouch," she said flatly and the bard chuckled.
"It feels great, Xena, doesn't it?" she said softly and touched the baby's head gently.
"I don't know. I never…" Xena looked down and sighed. "I never got a chance to feed Solan myself. I had to give him to Kaleipus straight away."
Gabrielle stroked Xena's cheek gently.
"I'm sorry you never had a chance to experience that, Honey," she said softly.
"Just another regret to add to the list," Xena replied and walked to the window to gaze out over the bustling town. Gabrielle knew she was hurting and did the only thing she could.
"Xena?"
"Yeah?"
"C'mere, Honey."
The warrior walked back to her and knelt down in front of her. Gabrielle lifted her free arm and Xena shifted to sit on the floor and rest her head in the bard's lap, drawing comfort from her as she stroked her hair.
"I know you miss him, Xena. I do too. We both have regrets about Solan but you'll be with him again someday."
"Yeah," the warrior replied and raised her head to look at her daughter. "Until then, let's just give Gabby all the love we possibly can."
"Oh, I don't think that's going to be a problem." Gabrielle replied with a smile and Xena nodded her agreement.
"I can't believe she's a month old already," Xena said, as she changed her daughter.
"I can," Gabrielle replied sleepily as she turned to face her partner. "It's been the longest month of my life. I'm exhausted. I can't remember the last full night's sleep I got."
The warrior chuckled and slid Gabby's clothes back on.
"I know it's tough, Gabrielle but it won't be for that much longer. We can move her to a milk skin in another month or so and we can share the feedings then. Can't we Cutie? Yes, we can."
She tickled the baby and she giggled.
"She sounds like you when she giggles, Gabrielle," said Xena with a teasing grin.
"Ha ha. I never sound like a month old baby when I laugh."
"Not when you laugh, no. But you've got the cutest little giggle when I tickle you."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and watched as Xena picked up the baby and carried her to their bedroll. She lay down next to her partner and carefully set their daughter between them. Gabrielle kissed the baby and then kissed her soulmate.
"Goodnight, Xena," she said.
"'Night Gabrielle," the warrior replied and placed a protective hand on her daughter's stomach. "'Night Gabby."
The baby gurgled and then closed her eyes, falling asleep immediately. Gabrielle lay awake for a long time, just staring into the campfire. It felt good to be back on the road after two months of being cooped up in a tavern room. They were dinarless after paying the tavern keeper and Gabrielle had suggested that she try to make some money by telling stories in taverns again. She hadn't done it in a long time but she thought it was like riding a horse. You never forget how to do it. She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled as she felt it's normal flatness. She was almost back to normal and had quickly lost all the weight she had gained by going back to morning sparring practise with Xena. She was back in her normal clothes and her sais were sitting in their normal place in her boots. She was glad to be herself again and as much as she loved Gabby, she was glad it was over. The last month of her pregnancy had been very hard. She had been tired all the time and had relied on Xena for almost everything, even lacing her boots for her in the morning. Gabrielle glanced at her soulmate and smiled as she remembered how attentive the normally taciturn warrior had been and even that hadn't changed after Gabby's birth. Xena was still taking good care of them both. She finally fell asleep, listening to the crackle of the campfire and watching the sparks as they created little golden showers in the air.
Gabrielle adjusted the baby's pouch on her back to settle it comfortably and then mounted her horse.
"Xena, I want to stop off at the village to get my hair cut. It's getting too long. Gabby is starting to pull it while we're riding. She's strong, you know."
"Yeah," Xena replied with a chuckle. "She was really gripping my finger today. She's going to be a big girl I think."
"I hope she's taller than me," Gabrielle replied.
"I hope she's smaller than me," Xena jumped in. "It's not easy being a woman of this height. Remember the Miss Known World contest?"
"Yeah?"
"I bumped into one of the contestants, Miss Macini, I think… I can't really remember… but anyway, I said excuse me and she looked up at me and said 'Watch it, Clod. Or can you not see good from up there.'"
The bard chuckled and shook her head.
"You sooo deserved to win that contest," she stated.
Xena raised an eyebrow.
"I did win it," she said.
"No, Miss Amphipolis won it. You look more beautiful now than you did back then with all those dresses and stuff, although you looked gorgeous back then too. Gods, I wanted to tell you but once again, I chickened out."
"Me too. I really loved that turban on you. It was sooo cute!" the warrior teased.
"Hey, watch it," Gabrielle growled. "You've been telling me that I look cute way too many times lately, Warrior Princess. Lifebond or no lifebond, I'll kick your butt!"
"Oooh, I'm scared. Look at me shaking in my underwear! Come on, Gabrielle. Let's go find a hair cutting place."
The two women rode to the next village and Xena went to the tavern with the baby while Gabrielle went to have her hair trimmed. The tavern had it's own shop and Xena walked around looking at its wares with the baby tucked in the crook of her arm.
"Aww, look at that, Gabby," she said as she picked up a little teddy bear. "Would ya like that? Huh? I think you would. Hey, Mister, how much for the bear?"
She waved the stuffed toy at him and he called back to her.
"Two dinars."
Xena opened her pouch and looked inside.
"Hmmm, two dinars, Gabby. That's all I've got. It's a choice of a teddy bear for you or a meal for your other Mom and I. What do you think?" The baby laughed and Xena smiled down at her. "An easy choice, Gabby." Xena fished in her pouch and pulled out her last two dinars. "I'll take it," she said and went to find Gabrielle. She saw the bard coming out of the hair-cutting place and ran to catch her up.
"Hi. Looks great, Gabrielle!"
"Thanks," the bard replied and shook her head vigorously, tossing her perfectly coifed locks. "But I hate when it's perfect like that. I like the tousled look."
"So do I," Xena replied with a grin.
"Ready to eat?" Gabrielle asked as her stomach made its presence known.
"Um, slight change of plan I'm afraid. We've got no money, Gabrielle."
The bard shook her head, a confused look on her face.
"I thought we had two dinars each?"
Xena looked away sheepishly and scratched her chin, a guilty look on her face.
"We did, but I kinda spent mine too," she explained.
"Well, that's great, Xena. What are we going to eat? What was so important that we have to go without a meal for it? Let me guess, you saw some kind of weapon or something, right?"
Gabrielle immediately felt bad when she saw the hurt look on her soulmate's face.
"No, actually, Gabrielle. I didn't buy a weapon or something. I bought this for Gabby."
She held out the teddy bear and Gabrielle looked at her with the gentlest expression in her eyes.
"Xena, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I can be a real bitch sometimes, huh?"
"No, it's ok. I should have waited to see what you thought."
Gabrielle placed a gentle hand on her partner's and smiled.
"I would have bought it too," she replied. "Listen, maybe we can make a deal with the tavern keeper. He might trade a couple of stories for a couple of meals."
"I could always sell my body," Xena suggested dryly and Gabrielle laughed, knowing that she was forgiven.
"No, you can't sell that. What would I have then?"
"My heart," Xena replied softly and kissed her on the forehead.
Gabrielle melted into that famous puddle at those two words and kissed her partner deeply.
"Let's go talk to the tavern keeper," she whispered against Xena's lips and then led her by the hand back to the tavern. The keeper was a kind looking man and he smiled as Gabrielle approached him.
"Afternoon, Miss," he said.
"Hello. I was wondering if you would trade for two hot meals?"
"Not normally, but what do you have to trade?" he asked.
Gabrielle grinned.
"I'm a bard. I'd tell some stories if you'd give my friend here and myself a meal and a mug of cider."
The tavern keeper glanced over at Xena and smiled again.
"That your baby?" he asked.
"Yeah, she's ours."
"Well, I guess your friend there just gave me her last two dinars for a teddy bear for her, right?"
"Yes, she did."
"In that case, you're welcome to two hot meals in exchange for two stories. How does that sound?"
Gabrielle almost sighed with relief.
"Thanks, that sounds perfect. Now meals first or stories first?"
"You can tell 'em after you've eaten, Miss. I'll arrange something for you to stand on while you're telling them. This lot can be a rowdy bunch and you'll probably have to shout over them."
"Fine. We'll be over there."
She pointed at a free table and he nodded and went off to tell his wife to prepare the meals. Gabrielle waved at Xena and the warrior nodded and followed her to the table. A short time later, the serving woman carried two steaming platefuls of beef and vegetables to them, setting them down carefully.
"Enjoy, your meal. I'll bring you some cider in a minute."
"Thanks," Gabrielle replied and then looked quickly away as the woman's eyes lingered on her. Xena shot her a dirty look and she bustled away, leaving Gabrielle laughing softly.
"What?" the warrior asked.
"That was the best version of 'the look' I've ever seen," the bard replied.
Xena shifted Gabby gently to the crook of her left arm and picked up her fork.
"Sorry. I was being over protective, wasn't I?"
"I would call it more jealousy," Gabrielle teased and the warrior frowned.
They ate their meal and then Gabrielle stood up on a large crate to tell her stories. She glanced at her soulmate and smiled as she saw her lean back in her chair and cuddle her daughter gently.
"I think I've domesticated her," Gabrielle whispered in shock. " But when she saw Xena stick out her foot to trip a drunk, who was trying to make a pass at another woman, and then punch him out, she shook her head. "Nah!"
Xena shrugged her shoulders at her lifebond and then settled back to listen to the story.
"Watch this, Gabby," she said. "I can guarantee you that your mom will have them eating out of her hand in the space of five minutes."
The warrior wasn't wrong and the room fell silent as the bard wove an intricate tale of how the Warrior Princess faced and drove back the Persian advanced guard alone. Xena had lived through that experience… barely… and even she was engrossed in the story. The memories returned to her and she felt the familiar twisting of her gut when she thought about how close she had come to losing her soulmate to a poisoned arrow.
"Xena chased the last of the soldiers out of the barn and stood at the door, her sword pointed at them. 'Go home! There are thousands more like me!' she cried and then hurried to bring the antidote she had procured to her best friend, lying almost dead in the loft above her. After administering the antidote, the Warrior Princess lay down beside her friend. She was wounded, bloody and exhausted and soon fell asleep but she awoke hours later to the loving eyes of her friend. The antidote had worked…"
Xena almost laughed as she heard the relieved sighs move around the room.
"… and Gabrielle knew that Xena had fought, not only for the good of her country, but for the sake of a friendship that would never die."
There was silence for a few seconds and then Gabrielle bowed to thunderous applause. She bent down, collected the dinars that were thrown at her and then walked back to Xena. The Warrior Princess was rocking a screaming Gabby and Gabrielle rolled her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked.
"The noise scared her. She'll be ok in a minute."
"I'll take her. She needs to be fed anyway. I'll be back soon."
Xena ordered another two mugs of cider and lazily scanned the room as she waited for her soulmate to return. She began to get worried when the bard didn't return after half an hour and suddenly got a very bad feeling.
"Gabrielle?" she said, jumped up from her chair and ran out of the tavern. She sprinted down the main street but skidded to a halt as she passed a small alley. "Oh gods, no!" she cried and ran to her partner who was lying unconscious, face down on the ground. Xena dropped to her knees and rolled her over gently.
"Gabrielle?" she said as she felt for a pulse. It was strong and regular and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Gabrielle? Come on, come back to me," she said patting her face gently. The bard began to stir and raised her hand to her aching head.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Gabrielle, where's Gabby?"
The bard shook her head.
"I don't… someone hit me, Xena. Oh gods, where is she?" Gabrielle looked around frantically and struggled to get to her feet. "Xena, we have to find her!" she yelled and tears began to roll down her face. The warrior pulled her into her arms and felt the darkness rise within herself.
"We'll find her, Gabrielle and if as much as a hair on her head is hurt, I'm going to kill every last man who was within five miles of her," she growled.
The End
To be continued in part 11.