AN: Warning, some sensitive subjects in this chapter and a much needed guest has finally arrived to 'save the day'. Fast update, because why not? Enjoy everyone ;)

Chapter 35

Gabrielle paced back and forth in front of Xena's body still lying in the middle of the hallway. She didn't know what to do or what was wrong with her friend. She began biting her fingernail anxiously and started to wonder if someone were to come up here and see Xena like this. What would they do, what would they think? Would they think it's my fault? She shook her head getting that thought out of her mind.

"Okay Gabrielle think, think," she tapped her chin and circled Xena's body careful not to touch her in any way. It had been several minutes now and she couldn't just leave her out here. She eyed Xena's bedroom door, slightly ajar and went to open the door fully, scanning the area to see if Eve had shown up but there was nobody there except her pet spider Zoe. Gabrielle cringed at the animal, she never liked spiders and often wondered why Xena kept that weird thing in her room like a cat.

She went back to her unconscious friend and took in a deep breath, shaking her hands and readying herself for what she was about to do. You can do this Gabrielle. She bent down and straightened Xena's body out and folded her arms to her chest. She exhaled graciously and closed her eyes to take a moment to relax herself. She picked up Xena by her ankles and started dragging her across the marble hall flooring slowly but surely. Grunting she was beginning to think this wasn't a good idea. Xena was quite a tall woman and she was definitely heavier than she looked, not to mention she was basically dead weight at the moment. She wouldn't dare ask for help as that would draw too much attention. Gabrielle was sure that Racha was going to come in her bedroom to deliver towels like she did every morning.

Glancing behind her she saw the skies were still dark. Good I still have time. Struggling some more Gabrielle pulled Xena's body into her room finally. She set her friend's legs on the floor and huffed. She always thought herself pretty strong but this was pretty difficult.

After a few more pulls she finally got Xena next to her bed. She stood up stretching her back and then didn't think about getting Xena on her bed. Groaning she picked up Xena's upper body, throwing her over her shoulder, letting her friend's weight lean against her. Gabrielle grunted and pulled Xena up and gently set her on the bed, grabbing her legs and slid them on top of the sheets. She then straightened Xena's body out on the bed, lying on her back. She glanced at her friend and looked as if she were in a deep sleep.

Gabrielle crawled on top of the bed, touching the warrior's cheek softly and smiled softly, hoping that she'd awake soon. Sighing she sat back and would wait until that happened. "What happened back there Xena?" she said aloud, completely aware that she wasn't able to hear her. Her fingers grazed Xena's silk robe and then thought of something that happened earlier.

She loosened the sash around Xena's waist and exposed her abdomen, checking for any lesions or marks. Her fingers glided on her skin softly and faintly saw something in the flickering candle light. Taking a closer look she grabbed a candle and saw a scar near Xena's navel. All the times she had seen Xena undress in front of her she hadn't taken notice. Though her eyes always shied away from Xena's nude flesh, she curiously touched the faint scar, creasing her eyebrows. Covering her friend back up she set the candle down on the bedside table and waited, waited a long while.

Xena's eyes fluttered open and looked at her surroundings. She was in her bed and the room was still dark, likely from the rain. She groaned, clutching her midsection. It wasn't a sting, but a slight soreness possibly. That was the only way she could describe the aching pain. She tried to sit up carefully and grunted, alerting Gabrielle who sat at her table, reading.

Gabrielle smiled and ran over to the bed, gently pushing Xena back down onto her pillow. "Hey, you're finally awake," she touched her friend's cheek warmly.

Xena's chest rose and fell heavily and she saw the concern in Gabrielle's eyes. "How long have I been here?" her eyes roamed her own room, feeling as if she were seeing it the first time.

"A couple of hours," Gabrielle said with relief. She was glad to see Xena finally awake. She was beginning to think she had fallen into some eternal dreamscape or something of the sort. Xena jerked her body trying to sit up and her hand went to her stomach and she winced. Gabrielle set her hand on top of friend's, reassuring her to stay still.

"Would you just stay put for once?" Gabrielle sternly said and Xena stopped trying to move and obeyed her blonde friend, frowning like a child almost. She stood up and went to fetch a glass of water for Xena. Xena began shaking her foot back and forth impatiently. She desired to get up and find out what had happened to Eve. Staying here was not in her best interests right now. Gabrielle returned with some water and forced it in front of her. "Drink this," she pushed.

Xena slowly took the glass and downed the water, handing the empty cup back to her friend. She sighed and sat up cautiously, leaning against the headboard of her bed. "You don't have to baby me you know," she half smiled, a bit embarrassed that she was the one being taken care of.

Gabrielle grinned, "I'm not babying you. I'm helping you, Xena. Can you just accept my help?" she had hope in her voice. Xena sighed, not wishing to continue this charade of who was going to win this argument because she knew she'd lose, especially if Gabrielle was acting as her caretaker.

"Did you happen to find Eve?" Xena asked after a few silent moments passed. Gabrielle shook her head, feeding into her friend's disappointment.

Gabrielle quirked her mouth to the side and then felt a bit of curiosity rise inside her. She eyed Xena as she gently rubbed her abdomen, obviously still feeling that aching pain surging through her. It hurt her to see her friend uncomfortable but she couldn't really do too much to ease her pain.

"Xena?" she grabbed her attention from her friend. She pointed to her midsection and shyly asked, "what's that scar from?" Xena felt tense and she fidgeted in her bed, feeling a lore of emotions overcome her body once again. She had tried to put that in the back of her mind, but alas she couldn't do it. It haunted her every day, even when she tried her best to stop thinking about it, it always came back to her mind. Sometimes she thought about it during the worst times, like when she was in a heated argument or a battle or simply trying to sleep. She thought that she had put that to rest but since Gabrielle asked, those feelings and thoughts hit her like a tidal wave unexpectedly.

Gabrielle sensed from the silence of her friend that shouldn't have pried into her business. "I'm sorry, I should not have asked about it," she smiled nervously and waved her hand trying to forget this sudden redness that was rather apparent in her cheeks.

Xena gently reached for Gabrielle's hand, grabbing it tightly. Smiling she added, "we are friends Gabrielle. It's alright," she sighed heavily, not sure if she was ready to tell this story. She hadn't told this story out loud to anybody except herself. The blonde felt a bit relieved at Xena's reaction and tightened her grip to signal that she would be supportive no matter what.

"When I was seventeen and seeing Petracles during my engagement with Maphias I...became pregnant," she felt her body turn cold like a lizard. She continued as much as she didn't want to. "I had known for awhile even after I decided to run off with Petracles and join his gang of idiots," she smirked. Gabrielle chuckled at Xena's subtle jest.

"I thought that if I kept it a secret long enough that the outcome wouldn't matter and life would go on..." her eyes stared off into the distance remembering every second of those times so long ago.

Xena paced silently in Petracles' tent awaiting for his arrival. He told her that he was scouting with some of his men but that was hours ago and she was sure that he would have returned by now. Becoming more nervous by the minute she began to think if it'd be best to just run and never come back. Her other option was to stay and tell him and see what happened. She had stayed in the tent all day pacing constantly talking to herself about all the possible outcomes.

She barely took time for herself and was too nervous to eat and refused food that was brought to her. Petracles' men were told to look after her while he was away, which was nice of him, she thought. Forcing herself to drink water every now and then as her mouth continued to become drier and drier as the night went on. She figured that it was passed midnight now and thought it odd that he hadn't come back to the campsite yet.

Feeling a swell of emotions swirling inside her she decided to just leave, fearing what would happen if she told him. As she was about to leave Petracles entered the tent with a tired smile, glancing at her his smile beamed and Xena backed away slowly, a bit shocked that he returned just in time to ruin her escape. She was trapped now and had no choice but to tell him. She thought of going back to her home but she couldn't face her mother especially since Lyceus was dead because of her and then pregnant by someone else besides her fiancé? No she couldn't face that kind of shame. It was too great so she kept cool and smiled back at Petracles as he began unbuckling his armor and took off his tunic, throwing it on a chair close to his bed.

He laid on his bed just in his trousers and reclined on some pillows, gesturing her to come join him. Xena grinned, "I'd rather stand. I'm not very tired," Xena admitted.

He tisked and crawled over to the edge of the bed, grabbing her waist and kissed her hand gently. Xena's eyes widened at how close he was to her and gently pushed him away. She was able to hide this for more than fourteen weeks but it would be too obvious now especially if she unclothed in front of him. She avoided getting in bed with him for a couple of weeks now without him noticing, but not anymore, not now. Petracles brought her body closer to him after she had pushed him away and Xena felt herself tense up.

"So did you tell him?" Gabrielle asked interrupting Xena's story.

Xena sighed, "I was trying to but I was too afraid," she continued on.

"Petracles, please!" she pushed him off with more force this time and he fell back onto the bed a bit irritated at her sudden behavior.

"What's gotten into you, Xena?" he asked and leaned back on the palms of his hands, gazing at her.

Xena wrapped her arms around herself, feeling that was the best way to protect her and her child. She took a couple of steps back and turned around, closing her eyes trying her best to stay level headed. So far this was not working out the way she had hoped. She had this all planned out –tell him, see his reaction and then figure out the outcome –but that wasn't happening. She felt his hands on her shoulders now as her back was turned to him. Her eyes burst wide open and immediately tensed.

He kissed her shoulder and slowly lowered her blouse off her shoulders, kissing her neck softly. Xena allowed her body to relax somewhat but still felt this was not the right time. "Petracles..." she pleaded.

He grinned and kept coaxing her to succumb to his whims, gently rubbing her shoulders he turned her around and saw her beautiful young face before his eyes. Her dark long hair perfectly framing her face and blue striking eyes. Her expression did worry him a bit though. She was not being herself.

He grabbed her hands, holding them tightly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She exhaled slowly, "I really have to...to tell you something."

Petracles grinned, "okay. What is it?"

Her mouth opened but her speech was lost to her. No words came out of her mouth and all she could was stare at Petracles' puzzled face. Once a smile on his lips became a frown and he inched her closer to the bed as she stood. He sat on the edge of the bed looking into her glacial marbles. "Xena?" he prompted.

Suddenly she felt like she needed to just blurt this out as this wasn't going very smoothly so far. "I'm pregnant." Her eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. He pushed her back a few steps and took good look at her not noticing anything different about her. After he examined her he started laughing t her and she frowned. "This is not funny."

"You can't be...pregnant, Xena!" his laugh died down as he saw the seriousness in her face. He then stood up hastily and slowly unlaced her corset while she stood absolutely still. The corset fell to the ground and he looked into her eyes. Her eyes were very piercing as if she was staring into his soul. There Xena stood in her black long sleeved blouse and pants in front of him. He glanced at her eyes once again and looked down cautiously.

Slowly he allowed his hand to come to her slightly swollen abdomen and felt her body tense at his touch. He snatched his hand away with shocked eyes. It was obvious that Xena had not been lying or trying to trick him, there was definitely a baby there, he felt it, he saw it.

He brushed passed her and held his head in hands, trying his best to think as clearly as possible. After a few silent moments to himself he turned around to a still standing Xena.

"You need to get rid of that...that thing," he said uncomfortably.

Xena turned around with her mouth agape and her hand came to her womb protecting the small child that she now carried within her. "Are you insane?" she definitely didn't expect him to say that to her, but he did. That not only shocked her but hurt her as well, especially since he called their child a 'thing'.

Petracles felt his blood rising and he came close to her, not wishing to hurt her he groaned and threw a cup at the wall of the tent. "Then you need to leave," he said quietly.

After an awkward silence Xena picked up her corset and sword that lay on a chair, quickly exiting the tent without another word. Petracles turned to watch her leave and felt a headache creeping up on him. He pulled out the trinket he was going to give to Xena and threw it on the bed feeling frustrated, but he didn't really have time to deal with her or a baby at the moment.

She walked through the camp and many of the soldiers looked to her direction with confused faces. They hadn't seen Xena in a few days as she didn't want to come out of the tent even for food or to converse happily like she normally did. Xena tread further into the dark forestry alone with just her sword and the clothes she wore. Feeling like her body was on a high she couldn't keep herself from stopping to rest, quickening her pace through the forest.

"So...what did you do after that?" Gabrielle asked, intrigued to hear the rest of the story. She saw the forlorn look on Xena's face and took a step back from asking questions.

Xena pressed on further. "I walked far enough from Petracles' camp to where he or his men wouldn't find me." She paused. "I stayed there for a couple of days. I did not allow myself the time to cope with what happened. Perhaps I was angry, but I was more upset than anything else..." she trailed off.

She laughed a bit, feeling embarrassed to carry on what happened next. "I was too young to realize the reality of the situation I was in. I was also not very skilled with a sword at the time. I was still learning. That next night I learned a lot of things..." she stared off at the wall again.

Xena finally allowed her body to rest and fell asleep next to the fire she made earlier that evening. This would be the third night by herself. She had been with Petracles the entire time since she left home and look where that got her. She sighed, letting sleep overcome her. The cold ground was not as nice as a warm bed but it was good enough.

A few minutes after she fell asleep she heard footsteps and someone kicked her, jolting her awake. A group of unfamiliar men surrounded her. They looked more like sea men than anything else and Xena immediately stood up grabbing her sword.

What she supposed was the leader grinned at her. "You're too pretty to be out here by yourself," he winked. Xena snarled and swung her sword at him, knocking his dagger out of his hand, alarming the other men. He growled and drew another weapon and Xena felt fear for the first time in a battle. She was by herself this time though. Backing up slowly she was being circled by a group of ten men, her eyes darted back and forth watching their every move. I can't keep them at bay all at once. Her heart raced faster as they took many steps closer towards her.

One of the men behind her kicked her in the back and she stumbled forward, frowning she turned and struck the man in the chest with her sword, kicking him to the ground. He winced in pain, feeling blood trickle down his armored chest from the blade's blow.

The larger man grabbed Xena's throat tightly and lifted her off the ground. She kicked her legs and saw the fire within the man's eyes. It was obvious she had pissed him off after she killed one of his men in a single strike. She choked and tried to release herself, but his smile only made her feel sick.

He pulled out a small knife from his jacket pocket and ran it across her face, drawing blood. Her eyes widened and struggled to get free from his hold. His laugh was not helping and she was starting to think that she would never be able to become a greater ruler if she wasn't able to fight very well. She felt immediate shame, anger and desperation at this very second.

With a quick move he struck her in her lower abdomen and she gasped, feeling the imminent pain soar through her body. This didn't give her any time to process. The man let go of her and she coughed as she hit the ground. Her hand went to the wound and looked at her blood stained fingers with wide eyes. Suddenly she felt the need to scream, but once again nothing came out but a dry sound from the back of her throat, trying to mimic some kind of scream.

She looked up creasing her eyebrows and tried to get up but one of the men punched her square in her face, knocking her out. Realizing that she had nothing to offer, figuring she was too much trouble and after rummaging through her clothes they found no valuables on her they left her there to bleed.

Xena stared at Gabrielle. Suddenly she felt a lot better explaining this to somebody other than herself, no longer feeling completely terrible and ashamed of herself. Gabrielle sat across from her friend in shock and loss for words.

She glided her hand towards Xena's and gripped it tightly. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Xena smiled and opened her mouth to respond until a bright light appeared in her room, they shielded their eyes.

"You really know how to tell a Greek tragedy," the goddess smiled with her hands on her hips. Gabrielle and Xena looked to Aphrodite and she was definitely the Love Goddess that was for sure. Her attire completely gave that away.

Xena moved from her spot on the bed and tried to get up. "you! You have Eve don't you?" she winced as the pain worsened.

Aphrodite held up her hand stopping Xena from moving any further. "Slow your roll, warrior babe. Let's just say I saw what my brother did to you. I felt kind of bad," she sighed.

Gabrielle arched her eyebrow, "what are you talking about?" she asked confusedly.

The goddess huffed rolling her eyes. "you know, that stupid mind trick he did on you. Showed you your potential past, yadayada," she shrugged a shoulder casually as if Ares did this kind of thing to everyone all the time. She then chuckled and held up her finger, "oh and he did steal one of my oils from my room," she frowned.

Xena was showing confusion now and looked to the blonde goddess. "Oil?"

Aphrodite nodded, "he thought he was trying to be slick to get you in bed with him. Well, Ares knew that you wouldn't go willingly so he stole an oil from my room." She sighed loudly.

"That bastard," Xena said lowly. She pointed her finger at Gabrielle. "I knew he did something to me that night! No way in Tartarus I would sleep with him." Gabrielle blinked at this, feeling a bit lost, but not totally and followed along.

"For some weapon? Can you believe him?" Aphrodite sassily put her hands on her hips, shaking her head at Ares.

Xena smirked and grabbed the chakram that was beneath her pillow and showed Aphrodite. "You mean this weapon?"

The goddess nodded and then gasped, letting her hands come to her mouth. "You actually got it? Wow, Ar' has been trying to get his hands on that thing for...forever," she smirked.

Xena grew tired of this goddess's dancing around subjects and rolled her eyes. She just wanted to know what happened to Eve. She let her escape not once, not twice but three times and if it was because of Aphrodite then she wanted answers and immediately. "Do you know where my daughter is or not?"

Aphrodite smugly smiled and nodded, folding her arms. "Like I said, I felt bad for you. Artemis owed me so I asked her to do something for you." Xena raised her eyebrow, not following this woman at all. She snorted, "I mean, she did steal my couple and get them married without my consent. I told her that I would get her back for that...with love of course," she beamed.

Xena held her hand up becoming frustrated. "What did you do?" she hissed at the Love Goddess.

She puckered her lips, "ouch." She touched her chest as if she had been shocked, causing Xena to grow more angry as this woman kept up her charades. "You should really lighten up, princess," she winked. She sighed and shrugged lazily, "well I really have to get going..." she was about to disappear until Gabrielle stood up, grabbing her arm.

"Aren't you going to tell us where Xena's daughter is? You can't just appear and disappear like that," Gabrielle said, holding firmly on her arm.

Aphrodite smugly smiled, "oh you will see her soon, don't you worry about that." She soon disappeared in a flutter of pink dust surrounding Gabrielle.

She looked to Xena with raised hands and worried eyes. Xena frowned and sat up, suddenly feeling better than she did before. The pain had come and gone, touching her stomach she felt no aching.

"What did you think she meant by that?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena shook her head, "your guess is as good as mine, Gabrielle." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "My pain is gone," she admitted.

The blonde smiled and soon forgot about Aphrodite's cryptic words. "Good." She looked and saw light coming through the rainy clouds, grabbing Xena's hand she hoisted her up from the bed carefully. "We should get some food, you've been up most of the night."

Xena shook her head, "that's alright Gabrielle, you can go ahead without me," she smiled dimly. Gabrielle stopped and looked at her friend, tempting to care take for her again. Xena saw that look and pat her hand gently. "I'm not very hungry." She smiled reassuring her friend.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure." Gabrielle still looked at her with concern and she groaned. "Really, I'm fine. I just need to rest."

Gabrielle nodded and allowed Xena to reorganize her vanity set and grab some fresh towels. "Do you think Eve will turn up soon?" she asked and Xena stopped, looking at her blonde companion.

"We probably shouldn't lose any sleep over it Gabrielle," she grinned dully. "She was not supposed to be here anyway." She continued putting her belongings back into her drawers and left for the baths. Gabrielle watched her leave and slowly closed the door cautiously.