HI THERE, YOU CRAZY FANS YOU :)) I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING TO FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS THAT HAPPENED TO XENA, SO...HERE YOU ARE...A PRETTY DELICIOUS UPDATE:) I SURE HOPE YOU LIKE IT, I KNOW I DO...MANY QUESTIONS STILL NEED TO BE ANSWERED BUT HEY...THERE'S ALWAYS THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER :)) PS: THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT :)

"Come back to me, come back!" he mumbled unintelligibly, bitterly hitting her chest once more, and this time, the force of it must have effectively compressed and decompressed her lungs - so hard, that the very following moment, an even more livid Warrior Princess started coughing, murky water plus a wave of vomit combined, leaving her mouth at the same time, her body instinctively bending over the bed and spilling the entire mixture on the floor.

Needless to say, for the entire scene that followed- with Xena literally spilling her lungs out in between several bouts of severe coughing and the desperate need to actually breathe for a change- Ares was perplexed.

He knew he should have reacted somehow- he should have done something useful- something else beside staring like a retarded baboon at her crumbling form- at least get her long raven tresses out of the way, hold her while she struggled to literally come back in the land of the living, but he felt as if his one thousand pounds iron like feet, had been glued to the floor.

It must have been the sight of her- powerless like that- that had not only knocked every wisp of air from his very lungs, making him unable to utter one single sound, but had also paralyzed him right were he stood, mere inches from her bed.

He didn't even notice that it was actually on his boots that she had been puking- he couldn't have cared less anyway. What he couldn't wrap his head around though, was how in Zeus' name had she gotten herself in that preposterous situation - still reluctant to accept the fact that she had been actually dead just a few minutes before…..Dead …..

….Her skin had been ice cold when he first touched her , and her lips were nearly purple, eyes glassy …..a horrific image that still gave him the chills just by thinking about it – not that she looked any better that particular moment, but hey…at least she was alive and kicking…

It was only about a good two minutes later, when, trying to find a bit of support in her right hand- fighting with her weakness to pull her half fallen body back in bed just to fail miserably at it- that he realised they weren't out of the woods yet. He could easily spot blood on the back of her hand, and there was definitely more on the floor …

That was also the moment he unmistakably came to realise just how much this entire episode had affected him, when, as he finally managed to rewire his brain, forcing his muscles to actually react to its commands, he noticed his violently trembling hands. In response, his fingers immediately curled into fists, squeezing as hard as he could, dredging up what little self-control he still had left. He really had to pull himself together …..

" Here you go….." he whispered into her ear while doing his best to help her find a proper position and sit up a bit, carefully rearranging the pillows behind her so she could feel as comfortable as possible.

"Thank you " she murmured back, in a faded, barely audible voice, that for some reasons only made him even more nervous.

"Are you ok ? " he automatically asked, the words leaving his lips almost without his consent.

"I don't know…." she replied, hugging herself ." I'm so cold…What happened?" she inquired, glancing at him inquisitively for a split second, just to immediately focus on pulling the blanket around her instead, desperately trying to warm her shivering body. She literally felt the organs inside her like blocks of ice. Even the blood seemed to have stopped flowing inside her veins…..

"Wait just a bit….." the War God asked, in a soft, shooting voice, making the wet blanket she had been clutching vanish into thin air. With a wave of his hand he then had her all washed up, that special spring like smell he knew she loved so much spreading from her clean and dry hair.

A second subtle gesture later, and the bed sheets were replaced by warm, Egyptian cotton ones- aware that satin didn't really help much, while a third one materialised a luxurious thick white fur over her still naked form.

Within a blink, even the dark red Persian rug on the floor was spotless clean and the air in the room had changed into something resembling a flowery meadow.

" That's better. …" he concluded, apparently pleased with himself, taking a long, pensive look at her tired face, only to remark that even under that impossibly thick cover she was still shaking like a leaf .

Soon after, bright flames began dancing in the fireplace across the room.

" Now….about the what happened part ….I was kinda hoping you were going to fill in the dots for me…" he added, cocking his head to the side and staring at her in utter disbelief.

There was a long , heavy pause before she answered, but when she did, her words came out in a low, insecure voice…

"I don't know….I don't remember…"

" How could you not remember ? I left you half asleep, right here, in this very place…" he quickly retorted, doing his best not to sound too harsh, aware that she had just been through a quite traumatic experience, even though her brain couldn't seem to be able to process for the time being. "You could barely keep your eyes open ….."

" I guess you leaving is the very last thing I recall….My head was about to explode and the room was spinning….I must have fallen asleep …"

"And did you happen to drown under the pillows or under the blanket?!" he ironical spat the question, unable to believe his ears- but cursing his own temper a mere second later.

She just gave him an innocent but puzzled look. She obviously had no idea what he was talking about .

" Xena you were dead when I found you….Like literally DEAD. And you were soaking wet. You must have drowned, you sure had all the symptoms… I must have done the impossible to bring you back ….." he continued, still finding it hard to talk about it….

" What?!" she inquired, half laughing at his comment . "What are you talking about?"

Without any further explanations, the War God simply materialised a silver mirror in his hand, allowing her to analyse her reflection.

Her beautiful face had a cadaveric pallor and when he pulled the cover from her naked body, she could finally see the dark blue bruises on her chest- right where his hands had repeatedly pushed during those agonizingly long moments in which he had moved mountains to bring her back to life.

Needless to say, she was flabbergasted.

"Did you …."

"Yeah …." he bluntly interrupted her- adverting his gaze-not wanting to dwell on it too much.

" Gods!…" she moaned involuntarily as her fingers pressed lightly over her nearly fractured sternum . Until that very moment, she hadn't even realised how much it hurt!

Still a bit hesitant taking into consideration the cirumstances, a snap of his fingers later, Ares' leather outfit changed into a pair of black baggy pants, and before she knew it, the Warrior Princess could feel his arms wrapped tightly around her, the fabric of some fancy nightgown now caressing her light blue skin.

Despite the crushing need to tell her about a million things and ask her at least a million questions, no words came out of the War God's mouth when she turned around in his arms to face him, he just placed an affectionate kiss on her forehead, and, in exchange, within seconds, an impossibly pleasant warmth began radiating from his divine body, enveloping her, helping her muscles relax and gradually reducing the tremor of her every cell.

The Warrior Princess on the other hand, now, she was exhausted…..Definitely more tired than she could ever remember being ….As if after a long, weary battle, her head simply rested on his bare chest, and, as her lips brushed delicately the area above his heart, she could suddenly feel it….Its distinct drumming was just as she could always recall it-strong and steady…and it sounded like eternity …..And though her mind was a mess and her memories were grey and hazy she did know something….whatever it was that had happened, she was safe with him…..

A few minutes later, as her own body began to function properly and colour appeared to return to her cheeks, from the silky, long tresses that he had been caressing, the Olympian's hand finally found its way to his Chosen's perfect face…..

" Princess …" he murmured, his thumb gliding lazily across her lower lip, transfixed with the way her wondrous sapphire moons looked back at him. " We should really heal that breastbone…It must hurt like shit…" he added lowly, feeling partly guilty for her pain.

" Can't we do it later? " she asked, snuggling even closer into his strong, protective arms, her fingers now entwined with the leather cord of his pendant. " Just hold me a few minutes longer…."

This time, it was the War God's turn to hold his breath…

"Whatever you want…"...he smiled .