Xena walked through the front door of the old inn with a wide grin on her face from the successful day, tightening her arms around Ceja who was sitting on her hip, giving her a quick hug, with her family following closely behind her.

Perdicus shut the door on the crowd that had trailed them from the street, and came in to join the family inside.

Xena took a seat at the family table in the back, by the kitchen, carefully placing her niece on her lap; she grabbed an apple from a bowl in front of her and the dagger from her armband, and began peeling it as Ceja watched.

The two men joined her, sitting on the opposite side of the table, while the other three women went to the kitchen to fetch some drinks.

"So what's going to happen next?" Toris inquired as he watched her skillfully using her dagger to slice that apple.

She finished with cutting the apple and handed Ceja a slice as she popped one in her mouth before answering him.

"We'll talk when the others come back." she simply replied around the apple piece in her mouth. She had something to ask her mother first before she went any further with her plans.

She sat back comfortably in her chair waiting for the women to return from the kitchen, silently sharing her fruit with Ceja.

The three women finally emerged from the kitchen carrying a pitcher of mead and enough mugs for them all, sitting them in the middle of the table.

Gabrielle came from behind the others and placed a cup of tea in front of Xena- having explained to Cyrene in the kitchen that Xena regularly drank tea instead of ale in the afternoon- she took a seat by her husband.

The women took their seats and began filling their mugs with ale, and then they settled back in their chairs waiting for Xena to tell them what would be the next step for the newly captured warlord.

"I have orders from the King." she began after everyone had finished with pouring his or her drinks, tossing her brother a warning glare, that it was not an open invitation to start nagging her about Phillip. She was obviously not in the mood for that.

Toris' eyes danced as he peered over the rim of his mug at his sister as he took a drink, amused at how much he was able to irritate her with Phillip.

She bluntly ignored her brother's returning look and she continued with what she had planned to tell the group.

"I need to find out who Canis is working for.," she explained, turning to her mother who was sitting beside her.

"I need to use this tavern for the interrogation, but you and the rest of the town elders can sit in on it too."

Cyrene grimaced in confusion, but swiftly nodding her ok. "Anything you need to do, dear."

"Thanks." she said, affectingly placing her hand on top of her mother's; Ceja who was still comfortably seated on her lap, sat forward, wanting to join in, so she reached out and put her little hand over the other two.

They both laughed at the little girl's antics.

"Ok then. Perdicus get some soldiers in here and ready the room for tonight!"

Xena stood up from her chair with Ceja and placed her up on the table in front of her.

"In the meantime I promised someone a walk to the river. If that's ok with you, momma."

Agnes smiled as she bobbed her head in agreement and Ceja clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Ok you, calm down."

She swung the child off the table and into her arms again.

"Thanks, we will be back soon."

She turned to leave with the child in her arms and headed out the backdoor.

She strolled across the back porch of the inn and down the back steps, crossing through the army camp to the path on the other side, which led into the woods and eventually ended up at the river below the town.

They arrived at the path and Xena deposited Ceja on the ground and took her hand as they entered into the trees.

A short distance down the path in the trees, Ares appeared beside Ceja and took her other hand. Ceja smiled up at him when he did that and he returned it with one of his own.

"I hear that congratulations are in order?" he inquired in a soft wondering tone of voice.

Ceja released their hands as a rabbit scampered across in front of them; she chased after it to the bushes on the edge of the path, stopping there to search through the underbrush to see where it was hiding.

"Yes you heard right."

Xena took Ares' hand and they slow began walking again down the path.

Ares squeezed her hand in his as he angled his head downward to hide the slow smile building on his lips of what was he expected to be coming next out of her mouth.

"I'm ready to give you my answer to your question. It's a yes, I agree with you about retiring from my army."

"Oh really?" Ares gave her arm a tug ceasing her footsteps, and pulling her into his arms. He captured her gaze with his while grasping her chin, and lifting it up towards him, he dipped his head down, pressing his lips into hers. His tongue slipped through to hers, tracing the roof of her mouth with the tip, as he proceeded to search for her tongue.

A soft pant escaped her mouth causing her lips to tremble against his, as the idea of him taking her now occupied her obsessive mind.

"Besides, I'm also giving up the army for our baby." she whispered amongst the caress of his lips.

"Baby?" Ceja exclaimed, interrupting the couple's further exploration of each other, and reminding them that she was around, something that had slipped their minds for just an instant.

"You're having a baby?" Ceja questioned under the hand that now covered her mouth, her wide shining eyes looking up at them waiting for an answer.

Breaking apart from their embrace and shuffling back from each other, Xena grabbed Ares hand again for support; she did a double take before answering, her voice rising in pitch.

"Well Ceja..." she stammered over her words, but before she could finish Ceja had already ran ahead of them as the river came into sight.

Ares switched from her hand to put an arm around her waist. "Don't worry, she will probably forget all about it by the time you return home."

They followed the little girl to the river. "I hope so, I have enough marks against me with my family, and an unwed mother would push me over the edge, not to mention my brother."

They came to a clump of trees close to the river and Ares made a blanket with a picnic basket sitting on top on it appear in the shade.

Xena called to Ceja, who had already taken her boots off and was wading in the water.

"Ceja, come see what uncle Ares has for us?"

He shot her a quick look at calling him uncle and Xena just gave him a big smile in return.

"You might find something in the basket that will help you convince her to keep quiet about the baby." Ares pointed out before Ceja arrived over to where they sat on the blanket in the shade.

Xxx

Late in the afternoon, Xena stumbled back into the inn with Ceja in her arms. The child seemed to be expressing her thoughts without hesitation, moving about in Xena's arms trying to act some of the story out.

They had spent the afternoon filling Ceja up with cupcakes; she wanted one for every birthday they had missed to buy her silence.

After she had finished her fourth and final one, she agreed to keep quiet about the new baby, and understood it was going to be a surprise for her grandma.

The inn filled now with soldiers finishing their work for the nights debriefing of the warlord.

Her family were also part of the town elders and were going to be present that night. Therefore, Agnes came over and took Ceja from Xena, and turned towards her husband.

"I'll see if my mother will watch Ceja for the night."

"I think I'll come with you." he answered, getting up from the table the three of them left out the front door.

After Toris left with his family Xena made her way over to where Cyrene was sitting in the chair by the fireplace, watching and waiting for the soldiers to finish their work and trying to stay out of the way.

She rubbed the back of her stiffen neck as she squatted down on the floor by the older woman's feet.

"Mother there is something's I need to talk to you about." She said, reaching out and grasping Cyrene's hands that sat in her lap.

"It's about what's been going on in my life; some things that I hadn't had a chance to tell you yet." She clumsily confessed as she bit her lower lip, unsure of how her mother was going to take her relationship with the God of War and the fact that she was expecting his baby.