AN: this is pretty Gabrielle "lite" but next chapter will not be. Thanks for continuing to read, everyone! I have two more chapters after this and this lovely piece will be complete. Enjoy ;)

Chapter 28 –Next of Kin

A month after that disastrous party, Xena kept her promise and took Solan and Alexander to Ankara to see their new sibling that was born only a couple weeks earlier. On the journey to Anatolia, Gabrielle traveled with them and never realized how much Alexander could talk until she was stuck riding with him the entire way. She gathered that Xena did this on purpose since Solan had his own horse. Alexander obviously couldn't be trusted with a horse of his own so Xena stuck him with Gabrielle.

When they finally reached Ankara, Gabrielle couldn't wait to get rid of Alexander. He literally talked the entire way and she really wished she could have taped his mouth shut. It wasn't that she didn't like the boy because she did, but he was far too talkative especially during a long journey. She thought he would be exhausted from stopping multiple times through the mountains of Persia, crossing into Anatolia, but no.

To make matters even worse, Xena also allowed her sons to sleep in the same tent as them. Gabrielle thought she was going to die because they both stayed awake all night for three days in a row, playing games and whispering. She didn't know how Xena slept through it all but she promised to herself that she vowed never to have kids after this experience. Never, ever.

Gabrielle tied the horses to a nearby tree and walked over to Xena whom was standing far from the camp watching her sons wait patiently. She yawned and Xena turned slightly with a grin on her face.

"Tired?" Xena mused.

The blonde grumbled and folded her arms. "No offense, Xena, but I really wanted to punch Alexander for running his mouth."

Xena chuckled softly. "I want to do that often," she said half jokingly. "He's just excited. Don't worry, he'll crash soon. He's been awake for three days."

"Well I hope he sleeps for three days on the way back to Persia," Gabrielle mumbled.

"You must really enjoy your sleep..." the sultana grinned smugly, finding Gabrielle's grumpiness amusing.

"I can't function without it!" Gabrielle growled and Xena's smile widened. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Sorry, I'm just exhausted and it's getting to me."

Xena scoffed, "really? I didn't notice." She said sarcastically and the blonde cast her a mean glare.

Alexander stood beside Solan outside of the yurt. While Solan was being very patient, Alexander was quite the opposite. Groaning loudly the little prince threw his hands in the air. "What is taking so long!?" he griped.

"Alexander, we're supposed to wait for father to come get us. Just be patient," Solan advised and rolled his eyes.

"I have been patient for months now! I've been waiting and waiting and now that we are here, I have to wait some more," Alexander exhaled heavily and folded his arms.

Borias finally came out of the yurt and Alexander's eyes lit up. "Can we see the baby now?" he asked eagerly and Solan sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"You have to be really quiet," Borias said and Alexander nodded his head.

Solan scoffed, "yeah, right." With that remark, his brother glared up at him.

"I'm serious," Borias' tone darkened and Alexander's eyes widened.

"I can be quiet, " Alexander whispered. "I promise! Can we please go see the baby?" he begged and received a curt nod from his father. He grinned and grabbed his brother's hand, quickly running inside the yurt.

Borias looked out to the forest area of the camp and saw Xena standing with Gabrielle. The two locked eyes with each other and he smiled faintly at her and she did the same then turned her back towards him.

Gabrielle frowned slightly and turned to Xena. "Aren't you going to see the baby?" she asked.

Xena shook her head. "No. it's not my place. I promised to bring Alexander and Solan here and that's all I'm going to do." She said and Gabrielle shrugged a shoulder then walked off to go sit down for awhile, hoping she wouldn't pass out. Xena turned around and saw Borias talking with Osman and the smile reappeared on her lips for a brief moment.


Thirteen Years Ago

Xena held her son in her arms, gaping into his large blue eyes that stared back at her. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face. The moment she lay eyes upon him she knew that he was going to be very special and that he was the best thing in her life. This small creature in her arms would change her life forever and she wanted to make sure that she kept him close to her at all times.

His large eyes wandered around, observing his new surroundings and she grazed her finger against his plump cheek. She wrapped the blanket around his small body and cuddled him close to her chest as she leaned back against the pillows, admiring her infant son.

She lifted her eyes and saw Borias enter the yurt and she frowned at the sight of him. He hadn't seen her in nearly a week and she presumed that was due to Natassa's obstinacy. She could only imagine what horrible things she was saying behind her back at this very moment. Though, she was surprised to see him show up since he only saw his son for a mere few hours before he left her alone.

Borias lowered his eyes, not willing to look at her and reached outside the yurt and grabbed Belach's hand, ushering him inside. Xena lifted her chin to look over the bed and saw the tall toddler gawking at her with wide brown eyes, obviously very curious.

"He wants to see you," he said.

"At least someone does," she smirked and he groaned lowly then pushed his son forward gently.

Belach slowly made his way over to the edge of the bed and she smiled down at him. He blinked up at her. "Do you want to see?" she asked nicely and he nodded his head vigorously. She pat the empty spot next to her and he climbed onto the bed, scooting close to her arm.

She lowered her arms and Belach peered over and gasped, his eyes widening seeing the baby. She grinned seeing the shock on his face, yet he was very curious. He leaned down and grinned at the blonde baby, gaping into his blue eyes.

"This is Solan," she whispered and then eyed Borias. "Your brother."

Belach's jaw dropped and he raised an eyebrow. "My brother?" he pointed to himself and she nodded. He cocked his head, staring at his so-called brother and quirked his mouth, unsure what to think of this new brother of his. "He's so small," he stated the obvious.

Xena smiled and unwrapped the blanket around Solan and his small arms stretched out, reaching to Belach's falcon talon necklace. Belach took the necklace off and set it on top of his brother's chest. "You can borrow it," he told his brother and Xena arched an eyebrow.

Borias folded his arms and sighed. "Belach, we need to go." He said tersely and the toddler reluctantly hopped off the bed heading towards his father.

"Wait," Xena called out, "don't you want your necklace back?"

Belach turned around with a smile, "he can borrow it." He grabbed his father's hand. "Can I see my brother tomorrow?"

Borias peered back at Xena and she was coddling Solan, completely ignoring him. "Maybe," he said.


"Mom! Mom!" Alexander yelled. She shook her head, jarring her from her memories and turned to see her son running towards her. She smiled warmly and he breathed heavily, nearly tripping over himself and she gasped, grabbing his arms.

"What's the hurry?" she asked.

He swatted her hands away. "Mom, guess what."

She folded her arms. "What?" she mused.

"The baby is a girl!" he said with excited eyes and she nodded, smiling down at him. "Her name is Nadia and her eyes are blue like Solan's," he pointed to his own eyes. "And she has black hair. Like me," he said proudly.

"A sister, huh? I thought you said girls were overrated?" she teased.

He quirked his mouth. "Well, I take back what I said. She's so cute," he slapped his cheeks and gasped aloud. She shook her head, stifling a laugh at his over-excitement. "When she gets older me and Solan are gonna teach her some awesome moves," he wriggled his eyebrows.

"You are?" she asked, playing along and he bobbed his head several times. "What did Natassa have to say about this?"

Alexander's face paled. "Well..." he sheepishly grinned, "we didn't really tell her yet. You know, keep it a surprise."

"Uh huh..." she chuckled.

He looked behind his mother and saw Gabrielle knocked out by a tree and he pointed to her. "Uh, did she pass out?"

Xena turned around and saw Gabrielle laying in front of a tree, snoring lightly and smiled. "It would seem so..."

"Alexander!" Solan called out and the young brother spun around. "Father is asking for you."

Alexander sighed, "coming..." he ran off, brushing past his brother and saw his father waiting at the bottom of the hill.

Solan walked over to his mother and caught sight of Gabrielle. He laughed lightly. "I'm surprised she lasted this long," he joked. Xena nodded and turned to face her son, grinning at him. He pursed his lips and folded his arms. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She ran her fingers through his short golden locks and he cringed. "Mom, come on," he whined and stepped back, fixing his hair. "What was that for?"

"Nothing," she inhaled deeply. "I love you very much, Solan. I don't want you to forget that."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Okay..." he folded his arms. "Is there another war coming?"

"Solan!" she snarled and he chuckled.

"Kidding. I love you too," he said and she smiled once more. "Are you going to see the baby?"

Xena shook her head. "Maybe later."

He swayed back and forth on his heels, whistling to himself during the awkward silence. He knew that his mother and Natassa never got along and he didn't understand why until he was a little bit older. It was when he was ten years old that he noticed Belach was being different towards him. They too started to bicker and argue with each other, but he hoped that this phase was over with now since he was able to spend more time with Belach. Although sometimes they didn't get along but it wasn't anything major, not like it used to be.

"So..." he began, "what are you going to do about her?" he nudged his head towards the slumbering Gabrielle.


Xena sat outside the yurt that Borias so kindly allowed her to stay in. It was one of Osman's yurts in the center of the camp. She finally was able to coax Gabrielle to the yurt and there she had been sleeping for the last few hours while Xena remained wide awake. Alexander too, crashed inside the yurt on the floor, not even bothering to get in one of the beds. Solan was off with Belach, meeting all of the teenage posse that Belach had befriended during one of his missions with his father in Antioch.

She sat by the fire, her hands curled beneath her chin. It had been a long while since she was able to sit in silence by herself. Now that she had both of her sons living with her she hardly got any peace and quiet, which was a nice change since she didn't get to spend a lot of time with them before. Now she had all the time in the world to spend time with them but she suddenly didn't know what they really liked anymore. Solan was interested in swordplay while Alexander was reckless, as usual, but he too had an interest in the sword, which she didn't really like. He was too spontaneous and far too young to learn how to use any kind of weapon even if it was made of wood.

Borias walked over to the campfire and she lifted her eyes, seeing a warm smile on his face. "Can I sit with you?" he asked.

"I'm not going to stop you," she teased and he slowly sat down beside her on the grass, looking at the roaring flames.

"I was watching you from the yurt," he said, trying to make conversation with her.

"I know."

He nodded and ran his hand across his face. "Of course," he grinned and dipped his head. "Xena," he began in a soft tone. "You haven't said anything to me all day since you got here."

She sighed and kept her eyes firmly focused on the fire. "I told the boys I would bring them to see Natassa's baby and that's it."

He leaned back on his palms and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Just because we aren't together anymore doesn't mean we can't be friends, Xena."

She scoffed and folded her arms over her knees, avoiding eye contact with him. "I don't think your wife would like that very much."

He rolled his eyes. "Natassa," he sneered. "I'm not talking about her, I'm talking about you. We can't be friends?" he cocked his eyebrow and she finally turned around, gaping into his dark eyes.

"I'm the mother of your children, Borias. I think we are far beyond friends," she said in a curt voice.

He chuckled beneath his breath and agreed with her. "So if we are not lovers or friends, then what are we?"

She smirked, "partners." She put out her hand and he eyed her cautiously then grabbed her hand, shaking it firmly. "You help me, I help you. But, I'm not ever babysitting your daughter," she pointed her finger in his face and he grinned smugly.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead then cupped her cheek. She lowered her eyes and tried to hide her shy smile. In the middle of their quiet moment they heard a loud breathy gasp behind them. They spun around and saw Alexander with his mouth ajar and wide blinking eyes.

"Mother!" Alexander exclaimed and slapped his cheeks.

Xena and Borias groaned, turning back around, brooding quietly to themselves. Alexander wedged himself in between his parents and they frowned, staring at the fire. He wrapped his lanky arms around both of them and nodded.

"So, you two huh," he mused with a haughty smile. "See, you guys should definitely have another baby."

Xena and Borias spun around and stared at one another then glared down at their supercilious son. He exchanged glances at both of his irate parents. "Is that a no?" he asked meekly and their stares became more intense. He chuckled nervously and slowly stood. "Okay well...you know, I really gotta be going..."

Borias stood and grabbed him by his waist and hoisted him over his shoulder and he yelped. "Put me down!" he whined. "It was just a joke! I take it back! Mother!" he called out for her and she shook her head, rubbing her forehead.


Gabrielle woke up groggily and walked out of the room and saw Xena sitting on the floor eating by herself. She smiled and ran her fingers through her messy hair. "How long have I been out?" she asked and the sultana turned her eyes upward.

"You passed out yesterday afternoon. I got Osman to carry you to the bed," Xena smiled and grabbed a plate. "Sit with me."

Gabrielle sighed and sat down slowly opposite of the raven haired sultana. "What did I miss? Anything exciting? Did you see the baby?"

Xena frowned and scooped some fruit onto the plate and handed it over to the blonde. "No I didn't and I don't plan to."

"Xena, it's just a baby. I thought you would have gotten over the fact that Natassa doesn't like you," Gabrielle grabbed a spoon and kept eyeing Xena stabbing her food with a fork. She cringed. "What did the vegetables do to you?" she jested.

Xena smirked and set down the fork. "I don't think it's my place, that's all. And after what happened last night I definitely don't want to go near Natassa."

That peeked Gabrielle's interest. "What happened last night?" she inquired curiously.

Xena sighed heavily and looked down at her food, poking it incessantly. "Alexander suggested that Borias and I have another baby."

Gabrielle choked on the fruit and coughed. Xena lifted her big eyes and Gabrielle laughed aloud.

"This is not funny, Gabrielle."

The blonde drank a swig of water and exhaled lightly. "Yes it is." She then saw the distain in the sultana's eyes. "You aren't thinking of doing that...are you?" she hoped not.

"No!" Xena yelled and groaned, folding her arms. "Alexander was an accident," she said. "A blissful accident," she corrected herself. "The time of Borias and I has long passed since then."

Gabrielle nodded and leaned in, examining Xena carefully. "If you don't mind me asking..." she began and saw the sultana glare at her. She nervously continued, "if you and Borias weren't you know...living together at the time...how did you...why..."

Xena smiled softly, "like I said, it was an accident. He came to Thebes to discuss the move from Persia to Ankara and things just got heated and...it just happened," she shrugged a shoulder.

I see what you did there, Xena. You were lonely at the time and took something that you knew very well and at the time it was Borias. What about now? Are you lonely now? Or maybe you think you still are and don't want to admit it? I'll have to find out myself eventually.

"Well, I guess those things do happen," Gabrielle mused, trying to make light of the situation. "Can't blame Alexander for trying I suppose." She chuckled and Xena frowned deepened. "It's just a joke..."

"I know," the sultana smiled. "When we return to Persia I want to send out notices throughout the empire for the academy. What do you think? The construction is almost complete."

Gabrielle's face paled at that news. She hoped that Xena's men would prolong the construction without her presence but apparently not. Her stomach turned to knots at the thought of training all of those kids, kids younger than her, boys and girls. She didn't think that she could do it but Xena seemed to have some faith in her so it wasn't like she could say no. Nobody said no to Xena, obviously, and if they did, the consequences were dire. She's seen it before.

"Oh...yeah..." the smile on her face as false as her feelings towards being the academy trainer. "Listen, Xena," she sighed and set down her spoon on the plate. "I don't know if I can do this alone."

Xena placed her hand on the blonde's knee. "You won't be alone. I will be there some of the time. I have a lot of free time now. I will help you but I want you to take charge of the academy. I know you can do it," she smiled. "When I first met you I knew you were going to be a challenge for me and I was not wrong. Now, I'm challenging you. You said you could take any challenge I throw at you. Are you going back on your word?" she playfully asked.

Gabrielle pursed her lips. "I accept the challenge but I don't know if I will be able to be a good teacher to all of those kids, Xena."

"I'll help you. I won't leave you in the dark but you did pretty well commanding all of the girls during the Templar attack on my palace." Xena's eyes grew as did her smile. She had problems appreciating things people do for her and made a promise to herself to let go sometimes and thank others.

"Thanks but to be honest, kids scare me." Gabrielle lamely admitted.

Xena laughed and the blonde scowled. "Don't show your fear in front of children, Gabrielle. They can smell fear!" she wiggled her fingers and Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "You've done well with my sons. If you can handle them then these kids will be a piece of cake. No doubt!"

Gabrielle sighed. "We'll see about that..." she pushed the fruit on her plate mindlessly. "Are you going to enroll Alexander in the academy?" she asked.

Xena tapped her cheek. "That is not a bad idea. I didn't think about that."

Is she serious? She didn't think about teaching that boy how to actually fight so he would stay out of trouble? She must be really disconnected from her kids, apparently. "I think he needs some structure in his life."

"I agree. I don't know what to do with him. He's so disobedient. Solan was not like this at his age. He was so well behaved and Alexander...he just..."

"You treat him like a baby," Gabrielle interrupted.

Xena gasped. "No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No. I do not." Xena folded her arms.

Gabrielle snorted, "yes you do, Xena. You don't punish him for the things that he does which makes him think it's okay to run amuck. Even Solan agrees with me. If he enrolls in the academy with me...then I know he will get some structure. It might do him some good to get socked in the face a couple of times!" she jested.

Maybe she is right, maybe I do treat Alexander like a baby. "Okay...he can join the academy."

"Great! I'll be like his other mother during our training sessions. I'll take care of him don't you worry," she grinned deviously already thinking of ways to punish the arrogant little boy.

Xena cocked her eyebrow. "Sounds like you have it in for him."

Gabrielle's cheeks reddened. "I just want to teach him a lesson. I mean, he's a smart boy and all but you know how he can be." She shrugged her shoulders guiltily and Xena lifted her chin, gawking at her fretfully.

"Anyway..." Xena changed the subject. "I was thinking of leaving Solan here for awhile and taking Alexander back with me. Solan should be around children his own age and I need to give more of my attention to Alexander. Maybe if he spent more time with me like Solan did with me, he wouldn't have turned out the way he did." She frowned sadly, hanging her head shamefully.

Gabrielle was too busy formulating a plan to whip Alexander into shape that she completely missed Xena's statement. She cleared her throat and looked over at the raven haired sultana. "Oh...well hey, you have a lot of time to pay attention to Alexander now. He's very young and can change." And you have me, now, she thought.

"I guess I just feel that I've missed out on so much of his life already. I was so focused on myself and my empire that he became a second priority to me." Xena sighed and ran her hand across her forehead.

"So what's your priority now?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

Xena furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, my empire will never go away but I need to focus on my children first and me last, now." She lifted her eyes and saw the disappointment in her counterpart's eyes. Smiling softly she grabbed Gabrielle's hand firmly. "Thank you for talking to me. I feel like I don't thank you enough. You've helped me discover a lot of things about my life and myself since you came and I will forever be grateful to you, Gabrielle."

Grateful. Those were the same words that Helena said to Gabrielle when she spoke of Xena. She was so grateful to her for all the doors she opened for her and the other girls. Now Xena says she is grateful to a little farm girl that escaped her home life in hopes of finding something new and exciting. How ironic is that. A powerful ruler of Greece and Persia, thanking a simple girl like myself, Gabrielle mused.

"I'll always be here if you need me, Xena." She said finally.

Xena nodded. "Are you sure you don't want to go back home?"

Gabrielle frowned. "I really wish you would stop asking me that. I told you I want to stay here."

"Just checking," Xena teased and both shared a warm smile with one another in silence.

"Mom!" Alexander burst inside the yurt and Gabrielle screamed. "Sorry Gabrielle, I didn't mean to scare you," he laughed.

She groaned and stood to go change into another pair of clothes. "I wasn't scared." She fixed her hair and walked off.

Xena sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What is it, Alexander?"

"Natassa Khatun wants to see you."

She lifted her head and squinted her eyes at her son. "Why?"

He threw his hands in the air, shaking his head. "I don't know. She just told me to get you."


Xena walked into the yurt and saw Natassa sitting on the floor sewing something. She stepped further inside the large home and Natassa lifted her blue eyes, smiling briefly. Xena grinned curtly and her eyes wandered around the yurt, snooping to see the new addition, Nadia. Despite her standoffish attitude she was still a bit curious and wanted to see the baby with her own eyes.

Natassa saw Xena's eyes lingering and she stood, placing her sewing tools aside. "The only way I was able to get rid of Alexander was if I asked him to get you."

Xena whipped her head around and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry if he was bothering you."

"He wasn't but he talks a lot," she sighed.

Xena hid her smile and folded her arms defensively. "So, you don't really need to see me, do you?" she asked suspiciously.

Natassa folded her arms, "you received my letter, right?" and Xena nodded. "I didn't propose that by the way. Belach did. He told me he wanted to stay with you for awhile." Her accented voice soft.

"And you approve of this?" Xena asked with skepticism. She couldn't imagine Natassa ever agreeing to allow her only son to live with her husband's ex-mistress.

"Well, no," Natassa snickered. Of course not, Xena thought, that was too good to be true. She circled to the other side of the room. "But, he told me that he likes you." She admitted softly. Xena's eyes widened at that. She hadn't heard Belach say that before and was even more surprised that he'd tell his own mother that. It must have felt like a stab in Natassa's back.

Xena couldn't help but smile with satisfaction but remained poise and calm. "I don't mind if he stays with me. I might have a job for him that he may enjoy." Her smile grew. Alexander wasn't the only one who needed structure.

"Mother, I got everything and –" Belach paused in mid-step. "Oh, Xena..." he said and she slowly turned around, smiling at him. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, "I mean...why are you here?"

Natassa spoke before Xena could, "I told her that you wanted to spend time with her."

He gasped. "Mother!" his cheeks flushed and averted his eyes from the smug grin on his stepmother's face.

"So, you like me, huh?" Xena raised an eyebrow and he groaned. "Don't be shy. I'm leaving in a couple of days and taking Alexander with me. I want Solan to stay here but you are more than welcome...to come with me." She hinted and he crossed his arms.

"I'll think about it," he grumbled. He lifted his eyes, embarrassed to look at her. "Did you see my sister?" his eyes lit up.

"No..." Xena's smile faded.

"Come with me. I'll show you," he grinned widely.

She shook her head, "another time, Belach." She looked over at Natassa whom was eyeing her carefully. She briefly smiled at the teenager then walked out of the yurt.


Outside, she bumped into Borias and frowned, shoving him off her. He grunted and rubbed his chest. "Xena!" he snarled.

"You're in my way."

"No, you're in my way," he inched closer to her face and she narrowed her eyes. "What were you doing?"

She turned her cheek. "Natassa told me that Belach wants to spend time with me."

His jaw dropped. "He...what?" he said breathily and she turned back, amused at his shocked expression.

"I want Solan to stay here with you for awhile. I will take Alexander back to Jerusalem with me and Gabrielle. I offered that Belach could come back with me, if that's alright...with you?" she folded her arms.

He sneered, "why would he want to spend time with you?"

She gasped and clocked him in the shoulder and he frowned then punched her in the shoulder. She raised her fist and he grabbed her wrist and she raised her other and he grabbed it as well, holding her arms close to him. He smiled deviously into her eyes.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" Alexander walked up with Gabrielle by his side.

Xena snatched her wrists from his hold and both folded their arms. "Nothing," she muttered.

"Were you two arguing?" he asked skeptically.

"No." both his parents answered in unison then glared at one another.

Gabrielle nodded her head slowly. "Alright, well..." she grabbed Alexander's shoulders. "We should start packing to leave..."

"Leaving so soon?!" he whined.

"In a few days," Gabrielle ushered him away and widened her eyes at Xena.

"Aweh man," he sighed.