Chapter 10

Xena waited in the Queen's tent as Gabrielle soaked in a medicine bath. Xena's head wounds were already healing, and her headache was almost gone. She found herself pacing and wringing her hands impatiently. By the Gods, what had Gabrielle done? Why had she jumped in front of the whip like that?! Please, was she really that surprised? Gabrielle had sacrificed herself for Xena countless times before. This had been no different. Even after Xena had treated her so badly, her bard would still die to protect her. If Xena hadn't been so blinded by jealousy this never would have happened. What if Gabrielle had feelings for Alana? She had the right to be happy, didn't she? Xena groaned as she thought about Gabrielle and Alana together. No. She couldn't handle that. It would destroy her. She only had one choice. She had to lay her feelings out for Gabrielle. She would either reciprocate, or Xena would leave her be with Alana. Either way she had to tell the bard how in love with her she was. Xena sat on the bed as fear enveloped her heart.
When Gabrielle was led into the tent by the healer, Reena, Xena's heart caught in her throat. She was clutching a sheet around the front of her chest that hung off her back as not to irritate her wounds. She walked stiffly, relying heavily on the assistance of the healer at her arm. Xena hopped up immediately and took Gabrielle's other arm. She led her to the bed and gingerly helped her sit. "Are you alright?" Xena asked softly as she held tight to Gabrielle's hand.
Her hair was still wet and clung a bit to her forehead. She half smiled as she looked up at Xena and nodded. Reena held up a small jar of white paste. "This needs to be applied twice a day to the entire wound. Turn around and ill apply some now," the old woman's voice was soft but leathery.
Xena reached up and snatched the jar from the woman's hand. "It's alright, I'll do it. You can leave now, thank you."
The woman looked at Gabrielle who nodded and mouthed her own thank you. Reena bowed to her queen and quietly left the tent.
Xena smiled sheepishly at her friend who was clearly in pain. She placed a comforting hand on Gabrielle's shoulder, then moved around behind her. She sighed deeply as she looked at the long ugly wounds on her beloved's back.
Gabrielle heard the sigh and immediately knew what Xena was thinking. She flinched a bit at the coldness as Xena began applying the salve. "Stop blaming yourself, Xena. You know I would die for you. Just as you would for me." Gabrielle couldn't help but grin at Xena's smile she could picture in her mind.
Xena did smile, but it was fleeting. "Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like seeing the consequences of that."
There was a short awkward silence until both women tried to speak at the same time. They both laughed slightly until Gabrielle winced at the pain. Xena sucked her breath in between her teeth in sympathy.
"Gabrielle. I'm sorry," she said sincerely.
Gabrielle smothered a grin. "For what?" She implored, sarcastic in tone.
Xena rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry I called you a clutz."
Gabrielle tipped her head slightly. "And?"
Xena raised an eyebrow but continued to gently apply the salve to Gabrielle's back. "I'm sorry I accused you of taking Argo's halter," Xena pursed her lips, wondering if Gabrielle would accept that answer.
Gabrielle smiled fully now at the apparent power she held over the warrior princess. She wanted more, and tonight she felt like she could get it. "And?"
Xena knew she had to lay it on the line now. "I'm sorry for acting like a spoiled child who's not willing to share her toys," she was laughing as she finished, and saw Gabrielle's shoulders bouncing in her own chuckles. Gabrielle felt her skin prickle as Xena continued to stroke the salve onto her burning wounds.
Another awkward silence, but this time Gabrielle broke it. "Xena, there's nothing going on between me and Alana."
Xena swallowed as she realized that this conversation needed to happen. She moved around the front of Gabrielle to address the wound on the side of her face. A bolt shot through her body as they made eye contact. Xena looked at the wound and squinted. "Well, it doesn't surprise me that she is drawn to you." Xena gently held the side of Gabrielle's head as her other hand reached up to apply the salve to Gabrielle's wound. "I think it's hard for anyone to be around you for long and not fall in love with you." Realizing what she just said, Xena looked at those green orbs to judge their response. Her breath caught as their eyes locked. Gabrielle was returning the gaze and held it. Those eyes, the beauty of their design and uniqueness of color threatened to slay Xena on the spot. Their faces were inches apart, so close that Xena could feel the bard's breath tickling her chin. Xena swallowed and tore her gaze away before she lost herself in Gabrielle's eyes. She continued before she lost her nerve. "I dunno, I guess maybe I was a little jealous. You're worthy of her affections, Gabrielle, I just...I guess I just think you're too good for her." Xena flicked her eyes briefly at Gabrielle but quickly back to her task. "I think that you're too good for almost everybody."
Xena's honesty hit Gabrielle in the heart like a spear. She felt her face flush at Xena's admission, and would have fallen over if she had been standing. She felt her mouth go dry as she worked up her response to this beautiful statement that she knew came directly from Xena's heart.
"I don't care about almost everybody, Xena. There's only one I want." Gabrielle was sure to have her eyes waiting as Xena slowly took her eyes off the task that had long since been completed. Their eyes locked and the electricity flew between the two and nearly ignited the tent in a blaze of passion. Gabrielle felt as though her body had caught on fire, and all memory of wounds and pain was gone. She broke their gaze only to glance at Xena's lips. They looked like two soft pillows, beckoning Gabrielle like sirens on the sea. Xena's heart was in her throat, threatening to burst out to freedom with every beat. She saw Gabrielle look at her lips, and unconsciously licked them. Xena let the thumb of her right hand wander away from the wound her index finger had been tending. She let it graze over Gabrielle's lower lip agonizingly slow, watching it as it passed over the tender skin she ached for.
As Xena's thumb passed over her lip, Gabrielle's eyes clamped shut as the desire washed over her. She forced them back open with a ragged breath as she reached up to gently hold Xena's wrist.
If Xena had wanted to stop herself it would have been impossible. But when she saw the desire in Gabrielle's eyes she knew she didn't have to. As her thumb fell away from the soft lip, Xena leaned in and closed the short distance between the two. Their lips met gently and softly, but the explosion of electricity between the two felt like the crashing of titans in both their cores. Xena let her lips softly slide along Gabrielle's, the silkiness searing into her brain like hot coals. Gabrielle was lost in sensations as her very essence melded with Xena's. She felt Xena gently pull out of the kiss, and opened her eyes to meet those icy blue orbs. Their eyes danced over the others' face, searching for the answers to unasked questions. As eyes met again, all the questions were answered in an instance. They were in love. They were meant to be lovers. Both were diving head first into a long awaited pool of passion and desire. Xena submitted to the pull and leaned back in to recapture Gabrielle's lips.
Their lips had barely met when a voice pierced into their ears. "Xena?! Clauda wants to-" Alana burst into the tent and immediately wished she could crawl under a rock. All the work she had done and she ruined it in one motion. She cursed herself as she turned to go but realized it was too late. As Xena pulled back and turned her face to her, Alana wanted to die. Seeing the look on Xena's face, she just might.
Xena's blood boiled as she turned to face the cause of disruption of her first real moment of passion with Gabrielle. "I REALLY don't like you," she growled.
Alana looked down in embarrassment. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry to interrupt, it's just, Queen Clauda wants to see you, Xena."
"Too bad," Xena spat as she dropped her hands from Gabrielle's face, only to have the one Gabrielle had clung to caught in a tender clasp.
"It's okay, Xena. Go," Gabrielle said gently. She shook her head and smiled when Xena's expression told her she didn't want to go. "She's the queen of the amazons, you can't say no." She smiled and shook Xena's hand back and forth. "It's okay. Ill be here when you get back."
Xena relented and half smiled. "Alright." She gave her sexiest smile before turning to the door. The smile immediately turned to her best warrior glare as she bore holes in Alana as she passed her and out the door.
Alana tried to shrink into her leathers as Xena blew by her and out the door. Alana raised her eyes up to Gabrielle and raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.
Gabrielle smirked at the grin on Alana's face and shook her head. "We're still not," she said through her smile, referring to Alana's accusation about her and Xena being lovers.
Alana nodded. "Uh huh. Not yet, anyway." She laughed and turned to go, when Gabrielle calling her name stopped her.
Gabrielle smiled warmly at her new friend. "Thank you."
Alana shrugged her shoulders. "For what?"
Gabrielle held her smile. "You know what."
Alana felt a half smile tug at her lips, and she nodded in embarrassment. One last nod and she turned and left.

When Xena entered the tent that was to be her and Gabrielle's home until she recovered, she had conflicted feelings when she found the bard sleeping. Even though they had sparked something between them that Xena longed to explore, Gabrielle needed time to recover and rest. She was on her stomach, the soft sheet pulled up over her injured back, arms bent at the elbows with hands near her head. Her face was turned to the side, salved wound facing the sky. Xena's heart melted as she slowly walked closer to the bed. Gabrielle looked like an angel. An angel that had been cruelly damaged in her defense. Xena choked back her tears as she reveled in just how much this woman must love her. She returned that love with her whole heart and soul.
Xena quietly slipped into her shift and slid into the bed next to her sleeping bard. She gently moved some errant hair out of Gabrielle's eye and sighed deeply. She slipped her hand under Gabrielle's and intertwined their fingers. She closed her eyes and slipped into the most contented sleep she had in quite some time.