A/N: so I live in Anchorage, Alaska and if you have been on the Internet lately, we just had one fat ass earthquake. Now, I didn't know it was going on because I was driving and my car started to shake from side to side all weird. The thought of an earthquake didn't even cross my mind. My dumbass thought that the tires on my car inverted or something. I got to school and I saw everyone out in the parking lot and I'm thinking that it's a fire drill. I go find my friends and they're all asking if I'm okay and all but I'm like seriously confused... so that happened. No worries, I'm safe.

Enjoy!

"Go get mother!" Toris directed Gabrielle.

Gabrielle ran back to the inn and within seconds, Cyrene and Gabrielle came running out to help Toris get Xena inside.

Gabrielle, Cyrene and Toris all collectively managed to get Xena up the stairs to her bed.

Xena had dealt with this before on other people but not herself. She commanded Toris to go take the stag to the butcher and to bring the horses back to the stable.

"Gabrielle, get my armor off." Xena pleaded.

Gabrielle quickly and carefully proceeded to do what Xena said.

"Mom, I need you to get a hot poker ready."

Gabrielle looked distressed, "What!? What do you plan to do with that?"

"It needs to be sealed or else I'll have a very high chance of getting an infection." Xena winced and craned her head back.

Gabrielle eye examined Xena. She was sweating heavily from pain and she obviously ran a fever.

"In the chest, there's old rags. Get them out and soak them in water." Xena instructed her. "Then come back over here and wipe all of this blood off." Xena clenched her teeth and hissed at the pain.

Gabrielle did as Xena told her. She came back hastily with the damped rag and carefully ran it over the area around the wound. My poor baby. Gabrielle thought as she tried to hold back her tears. It hurt her to see Xena in pain.

"I know this is going to sounds gross but I need you to see if any bone has been damaged," Xena shut her eyes tightly and winced once more, "I can't tell if anything is broken so I need you to check."

Gabrielle hesitated to touch the area.

"Just feel around. You don't have to stick a finger in there. I promise." Xena shakily took hold of Gabrielle's hand and guided it towards the wound. "You shouldn't have to apply too much pressure."

"If you say so." Gabrielle did her best to keep calm even when Xena cried out.

She did feel around and came to the conclusion that nothing was cracked. Cyrene entered the room with a red hot poker in hand.

"You ready?" Cyrene asked.

"Nope, just hurry up and do it!" Xena cried.

Briskly, Cyrene diligently cauterized the wound. Gently removing the poker, she set it in a bucket of water she had brought up. Xena focused on the sound the heated rod made when it met the water. The sizzling sound.

Despite the fact she was in an abundant amount of pain, having the impromptu procedure done on her made her feel a little more at ease.

"Gabrielle, why don't you wrap that up," she pointed to the shoulder, "I think I may need to check in Toris as well."

"You should. He had to fall out of a tree." Xena mentioned.

Cyrene bent over and gave Xena a motherly kiss on the cheek. "Stay put." Cyrene said to Xena and then left to see about her son. She shut the door behind her.

"How did this happen, Xena?" Gabrielle asked. Her feelings were all in all ambivalent. Happy that Xena was alright, upset that she was hurt, angry at whatever or whoever hurt her.

Xena was finally able to calm down a bit, "Well, it was a stag. A big and angry one."

Xena then went on to illustrate the whole predicament while Gabrielle bandaged her should up. Xena sensed that Gabrielle was perturbed because of herself getting injured.

By the time Gabrielle was done with Xena's bandages, Cyrene returned. There in the bed she saw Gabrielle awake, leaning against the wall and Xena resting against Gabrielle.

"Is she asleep?" Cyrene whispered to Gabrielle.

The blonde nodded.

Cyrene walked over to the side of the bed and sat down.

"Everything alright?" The mother asked.

"I think she's going to be fine. She's going to have to rest and stay in bed for a few days."

Cyrene nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Gabrielle. You've helped my daughter in many ways and it means the world to me."

"Cyrene," Gabrielle didn't finish her sentence.

"You call me mom, now. You are family, Gabrielle." Cyrene held Gabrielle's hand.

At that very moment, Gabrielle felt something that she'd feel rarely. She felt a genuine sense of belonging.

In the morning...

Xena woke up and when she tried to sit up, she immediately regretted the decision so she laid back down. She was surprised to see that Gabrielle wasn't next to her. Must've gotten up early. Or maybe I've been asleep for a long while.

Gabrielle then came in and she brought a filled cup of something with her. She came to the side of the bed and sat down the cup on the little nightstand.

"Come on, let's sit up." Gabrielle queued Xena.

Xena hesitantly nodded and held out her right arm or the functioning arm and hand.

Gabrielle helped her sit up and to Xena it did hurt a little but she noticed how careful Gabrielle was trying to be.

"Here," she handed the cup to Xena, "I brought you some tea. Maybe it'll help you out there."

Xena took it and thanked her. When she had a sip she realized something. So that's what Aphrodite meant by tea, duh. Xena chuckled to herself.

"What's so funny?" Gabrielle asked.

"Remember when I asked you what a tea was months ago?"

"Yeah."

"Apparently we forgot tea was already a thing."

What Xena had said made Gabrielle laugh.

"Ah and I was like is that some kind of spoon!" Gabrielle added.

Gabrielle had been sitting on the side of the bed, Xena wished she was behind her like she was last night. Now that was comfortable. Xena thought.

"So... are gonna be my nurse?" Xena waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and smirked. She said, "I'll consider it." She patted Xena's thigh. "Maybe."

"Consider it? I know you like taking care of me." Xena batted her eyes.

"Yeah, I do. But with the occuring circumstance." Gabrielle tilted her head. "Ouch."

"I understand and I'm sorry. I really didn't expect any of this," Xena gestured to her injury, "to happen."

"I think none of us did, my dear..."

"Oh wow." Xena pretended to be insulted but she actually thought it was funny. "You really just said that?"

"And what if I did?" Gabrielle poked her leg.

"If I was allowed to get out of bed, oh boy, you'd be in trouble." Xena feigned.

"Sure I would." Gabrielle said sarcastically.

Xena then changed the subject.

"How's Toris? Is he alright?" Xena asked.

"Yeah, he's got a bruise on his arm though. About the size of a small loaf of bread." Gabrielle asked, "how far did he drop from the ground?"

Xena's head went from side to side as she thought. "I'd say maybe... slightly over six feet. I'm surprised he's only got a bruise. Was there anything else?"

"He did say that his knee hurt after I caught him sort of limping around."

"I may need to look at it later if he keeps on limping." Xena thought for a second. "Later on, ask him if he's still hurting. I know he'll shrug it off at first but just keep asking. If he says so, send him up here so I can look at it. Would you do that for me?"

"No problem."

"So what are you going to do today?" Xena asked.

"Well, I already went to the stables and made sure Argo ate and I brushed her." Gabrielle confidently said.

"Really? Thank you."

"You're welcome. I think she's finally, deliberately being nice to me."

"Hey! That's great and it's about time. I wonder what her problem was anyway," Xena said.

"That horse is just loyal to you. It's alright. Better late than never, I guess."

Downstairs...

Cyrene was behind the bar, doing nothing at the moment until she saw Gabrielle coming down the stairs.

"I assume she's awake?" Cyrene asked Gabrielle.

Gabrielle nodded, "yep. I helped her sit up. That's about it."

"Oh good. Did she drink it all?" Cyrene was referring to the tea she had sent Gabrielle up with.

"Yeah." Gabrielle handed her the cup.

"Good, it should help relieve some of the pain." Cyrene added.

"What'd you put in there?" Gabrielle asked.

"Muscle relaxant. She's familiar with it. You'll want to check on her in about five minutes."

Upstairs...

Xena still sat up in bed alone and looking out the window. She was trying to think of a good reason for Gabrielle to come back to her room.

All of a sudden Xena felt a great mass of tension release from her body. There it is. It's the tea. Xena knew that minutes later she'd either fall asleep or end up feeling as high as a kite.

Xena was feeling it alright. Her movements were slower than normal and she was just completely out of it.

The injured woman stared at the window and the sun beams that poured into the room.

"That's a pretty color. It's yellow. Almost blonde... Gabrielle has blonde hair. I miss Gabrielle," she said sadly and so sadly she began to cry. Not because of pain but because she missed Gabrielle.

"Ugh," she breathed pathetically, "I wish that she'd just come through that," Xena gestured at the bedroom door dramatically, "door right now." And she let gravity do its thing with her arm.

It was almost like Gabrielle could hear Xena. The woman that Xena missed, oh so much, opened the door and walked in.

"I've been heard!" Xena said and then she attempted to get out of bed.

Gabrielle rushed over to Xena. "No, no, no, lovely. You stay in that bed."

Xena settled back in and Gabrielle noticed little wet trails of tears.

"Xena, what's wrong? Are you hurting?" Gabrielle said worriedly.

"No, I just," Xena sniffled, "missed you."

Gabrielle hugged Xena gently and said, "I'm here now."

"And I'm glad you are because I love you so much."

Gabrielle pulled back and rested her hands on each side of Xena's face, "and I love you with all my heart." Gabrielle gave Xena a kiss on the forehead and then sat down next to her.

"How're you feeling?" Gabrielle asked.

"Better, overall. I feel really... good." Xena slowly tilted her head towards Gabrielle. "Now you tell me how you're feeling."

Oh wow, she really is way up there. "I think I feel the same, Xena." Gabrielle said honestly.

The day of...

The sun was nearly about to set, everyone gathered at the inn to visit with Xena and Gabrielle before they were sent away by Cupid to the gates of the garden and orchard.

Cyrene made sure they ate well and spent all the time that she could with them. Toris did so as well.

The couple thought they'd be sent a little earlier in the day but just as they were about to start making comments, Cupid revealed himself to them.

"Xena, is Gabrielle coming with you?" Cupid asked seriously.

"Yes." Gabrielle answered for herself.

"Alright. Let's go outside where it's quieter."

Cupid led the ladies outside where it was indeed, much more silent.

"You both need to listen. So when I send you to the gates, there will be a text written on a panel that is secured to the bars. You will read it and do what it says. It changes every time someone enters. That's why I couldn't get in. I couldn't do what it said. No matter how long it takes you, just get in." Cupid handed Xena a draw-string bag that held the apples. "Once you get in, things are going to... turn. You will go to the Hesperides and this is where you need to use caution. Sometimes there's three sisters, sometimes the other four come to visit. They'll seem sweet at first but if say or do anything that they don't approve of, it could be anything, they'll let you know. When they've all retired for the night, you will sneak by them and head to the orchard. The branch should weld itself back on to any tree you come across. Then you get out and you're done."

Xena and Gabrielle stood silently as they processed the information.

"Wonderful. Until then ladies." Cupid took a few steps back and snapped his fingers.

They were gone.

At the gates...

"What a rush." Gabrielle said as she brought her hand to her head.

Xena nodded in agreement.

They gathered themselves together after the dizziness faded away. Standing next to each other, they soaked in the view infront of them.

To the women, it seemed like the large, barred fence went on forever. Each bar appeared as if they glowed so even in the dark of night, it looked as if a small torch was lit on every single bar.

Xena held on to Gabrielle's hand and together they walked up to the panel. They read the text to themselves. But they couldn't understand.

"Xena, I don't get this. Who is Callisto?"

"I don't know. Maybe if it's read aloud it'll make more sense." So Xena read the panel out loud.

"From the heavens above, put Callisto in her place among the north side of the horizon."

Xena couldn't comprehend. "This doesn't make sense to me. We'll have to think about this."

"I see why bird man had a hard time." Gabrielle commented.

"We have all night to think about this. So why don't we just settle down for the night so we can have a good start in the morning." Xena suggested.

"All in favor say "aye." Gabrielle raises her hand.

"Aye." Xena said.

"Aye." Another voice said.

Swiftly, Xena pulled out her sword and Gabrielle didn't have anything on her so she put up her fists.

"Put those away. Don't be afraid of me. For crying out loud you know me, Xena!"

"Autolycus?" Xena lowered her sword slightly.

"The king of thieves." He grinned. He saw Gabrielle. "Now Xena, who is this beautiful woman?" Autolycus smiles kindly.

"I'm Gabrielle."

"Autolycus, why are you here?" Xena glared at him.

"Good hiding spot."

Gabrielle said, "what could you be hiding from out here?"

Autolycus crossed his arms over his chest, "I'll have you know that I did get here, just now. And I may be hiding from someone."

"Who?" Gabrielle asked.

"A woman." He pursed his lips.

Xena lifted an eyebrow, "you? Hiding from a woman? That is rather unusual. But then again... so who is it?"

"You just read her name on that," he pointed to the panel.

"Callisto. What's her deal? Do you understand what it means?" Xena questioned.

"She is definitely not one you'd wanna accidentally bump into. This gate wants her dead, I can tell you that."

"So she's got a temper. What of it?" Xena said.

"Callisto is dangerous. She's slowly going around burning villages to the ground. She needs to be stopped, Xena."

Xena nodded in agreement, "where do we find her?"

"Camped out about a mile away from the nearest village. Nearest village is a hefty thirty miles away." Autolycus said.

"That'll take a little bit but that's alright. I see that you've got a horse. Maybe if I asked," Xena turned to Gabrielle, "nicely, Cupid could send Argo."

"It's worth a try." Gabrielle told her.

So Xena tried it, she felt silly but she closed her eyes and said aloud, "could you please send my horse here with us? We're going to need her tomorrow."

Her plea had worked. Argo appeared next to the horse Autolycus had rode in silently on.

Xena opened her eyes and saw her beloved horse.

"Thank you," She said to Cupid even though he clearly wasn't around.

"Perfect! We all have a ride. Now how about we get a fire going?" Autolycus pulled out a pair of flint rocks from his pocket.

"You get that started. Gabrielle, you get the bed rolls set up. I'll go collect some wood." Xena looked at the king of thieves. "I assume you don't have one?"

"All I've got is this horse, my dagger and the clothes on my back."

"That's fine, you can use Gabrielle's. Her and I will share."

Autolycus knelt down and began to strike the flint rocks together, but then he stopped because he had something similar to a thought, cross his mind.

"Xena, are you and Gabrielle here, uh... together?" Autolycus stood up.

"Yes." Xena answered.

Autolycus's jaw dropped and he held out his arms in cheerful disbelief.

"Xena! I'm shocked. That's incredible! I'm so happy for you." He said.

"Thank you, Autolycus." Xena smiled at her friend. "Now how about you get that fire going. I'm getting goose bumps." She turned away and walked out in search of burnable wood.

The next day...

The three woke up very early so they could get a very beneficial head start to the village. The terrain was dry and sporadically scattered with trees and shrubs.

Five miles in, along the way, the trio observed from afar a group of people following a single man from behind him. It was rather strange to them. The man being followed appeared to be yelling at the group. Although Xena couldn't see the man clearly, she could tell that he was in some kind of distress.

With the flick of the wrist Xena had Argo at a gallop towards the General area.

Once they were close enough, Xena and Autolycus rode their horses in between the group and the man.

"Are you alright?" Xena asked the man.

"No. I wish these people would just leave me be." He said angrily.

"What do they want from you?" Autolycus asked him.

"They think I will save them from the end. They think I've got magical powers from a one god. That's ridiculous. There's many of them. But they think I'm their savior or something and I'm not."

"What's your name?" Gabrielle asked.

"Seymour."

Xena said, "I've never heard of that name. Where are you from?"

Smugly, Seymour said, "Gaul."

"You're a long way from home." Autolycus commented.

"So? You three are as well. Aren't you?"