I'm flying through searing hot air. Pieces of my skin blacken and rip off my body. I scream out for Xena, unable to see anything past the flames and the heat that burns at my eyes. My body bleeds like it never has before. The pain is too much. When will I just die? When I succumb to these excruciating wounds?

'Gabrielle!' The flames are gone but the pain is not.

'Xena.' I find that I'm breathless, my lungs working harder to breathe.

'It's ok, I'm here.' Her voice coos in my ear.

'I'm so cold. Why am I so cold?' A pause before she answers.

'I need to change the bandages on your arms and legs.' She carefully lifts my arm and begins to unwrap the cloth.

'Was I burned there too?' I cough, deep and racking. The pain of it making me yell out, uncontrollable tears drop onto the fur beneath me.

'No.' Xena says, squeezing my hand. 'You got a lot of skin scraped off. It's healing very slowly.'

'And my back?'

'We'll have to clean it every day, so an infection doest take hold.' Even though she tries not too, there's still a tremble in her voice.

'How much?' Again I cough, increasing the pain ten fold.

'Nearly to your thighs.'

'Well I guess I'll never be Miss Amphipolis.' I try to laugh, but find it hard.

'Gabrielle.' Xena says, as if in warning.

'Bet you never expected this huh?' I feel so cold I start to shiver. 'I'm always getting hurt. But this takes the cake.' With the poultice changed, she rewraps my arm.

'We'll get through this, together.' Her hand rubs my head. 'An Amazon cut your hair. It was pretty singed so they couldn't save much.'

'I've been meaning to cut it.' I can barely get the words out as my body trembles with the cold. Xena moves onto my thigh, working on replacing the poultice there. 'You're worried.' I say after a few moments of my head swimming back and forth.

'Of course I am.' Xena moves back into my view. Her knuckles flit down my cheek, wiping away the remnants of my tears. 'You're pain causes me pain.' Crouching down on the floor, at the edge of the bed, Xena gives me a sad smile. Her palm caresses the side of my face. She's so soft and tender with her touch. I always knew this person was inside her.

'Am I going to die?' My words are so quiet as I barely want to voice them.

'No!' The word is spoken with such vehemence that it's hard to doubt her. But I do. 'I've told you. We choose our own fate. Choose to live Gabrielle, because I am not going to lose you.' I love her for her conviction, I always have.

'There's so much pain.'

'Some of your burns weren't as deep as others. Those ones probably hurt more… You also broke a couple of ribs.' Xena looks away, staring off into the distance. Candle light casts deep shadows over her. I can tell by the set of her face what she must be thinking.

'Xena.' Her eyes shift back towards mine. 'I would never choose to leave you.' Leaning in, her lips carefully meet mine in a soft kiss.

'I'll never choose to let you go.'