Title: Let My Love Open the Door
Author: Jennifer Campbell
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone
Time period: Sometime after fifth season
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the
Underworld.
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.
#
Gabrielle had to shout over the clamor of the tavern for
Xena to hear her at all. A decent meal and an actual bed,
instead of stale bread and a blanket on the dirt, had been
Gabrielle's idea. She had even insisted on fronting the
dinars herself to a fat little innkeeper. This common room,
though, smelled like a stable, which might not be too
inappropriate seeing as its occupants acted like animals.
Dirty men threw mugs of ale against the wall and laughed
uproariously at their game. Xena fixated on her platter of
meat and vegetables with a scowl, and Gabrielle felt
terrible for dragging them into this place.
"I'm sorry!" she yelled.
"What?"
Louder this time. "I said I'm sorry!"
At Xena's perplexed look, Gabrielle pointed around the
room, plugged her nose and shrugged apologetically. Xena
nodded, understanding, then pointed at the door. As one,
they rose and headed toward the exit. A particularly stinky
bear of a man blocked Gabrielle's way and leaned over to
talk in her ear.
"Hey, cutie." He grinned in a sickeningly suggestive way.
"Want to have some fun? I have it on good authority that
the bed in my chamber doesn't even squeak."
Gabrielle smiled thinly and nodded toward Xena, who was
making a beeline for the exit. "No thank you. I'm already
taken, unless you'd like to take on her ..."
His leering grin widened. "Oh, I can take you both on at
once! I'll -- Oof!"
Gabrielle planted her fist from his stomach, watched with
a small surge of satisfaction as the oaf doubled over, and
then caught up with Xena. Amusement was dancing in her
friend's eyes, and the corner of her mouth twitched upward.
"You know, if you get lucky, I wouldn't want to stand in
your way ..." Xena offered.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny. Let's get
out of here."
Outside, Gabrielle filled her lungs with a refreshing
breath of cool air. The night was comfortable, with only a
whisper of a breeze, and better yet, it was silent except
for lingering commotion from the tavern. An evening under
the stars might not be such a bad idea, after all.
It wasn't disappointing when, not much later, she found
herself watching Xena across a sputtering campfire,
munching on stale bread and relishing every bite of it.
"OK, Gabrielle," Xena murmured around bites, "why'd you
want to go in there tonight? You know we've had bad luck
with that place in the past. You remember that dwarf who --"
"Yeah, I remember." She blushed at the memory. "I guess it
was because, well ... because Joxer liked the place. There
was that one night we were short on dinars, so he pulled
out his lute and performed for our dinner." She smiled
softly in remembrance. "He looked so happy up there,
entertaining all those people. I remember thinking that I'd
never seen him look so at home as on that stage."
"That was more than twenty-five years ago," Xena reminded
her. "Things change. That tavern certainly changed."
"So did Joxer. Married to Meg, and with _children_ ...
Xena, I never thought I'd see the day when Joxer would have
children with anyone except ..." Her voice trailed off.
"Except you?" Xena offered.
Gabrielle bowed her head. "It doesn't matter. He's gone
now."
Xena's voice became soothing, comforting. "He's in the
Elysian Fields no doubt, or some equivalent of it. He was a
hero, and he died a hero. I would have killed Eve if he
hadn't gotten in the way."
"I know he's in a better place, Xena," Gabrielle said
quietly. "It's just ... I miss him. If there were some way
I could get him back and tell him all the things I didn't
tell him in life ..."
"I know."
Xena leaned over and squeezed her thigh in sympathy.
Gabrielle nodded, breathed deep and tried to regain control
over her emotions. It had been months now, but still
Joxer's death weighed heavily on her heart.
Then an idea occurred to her. She cocked her head in
thought. "Xena, what do you think happened to the
Underworld after you killed Hades?"
"What do you mean?" Xena asked absently between bites of
bread.
"I mean, do you think anything happened after you killed
the king of the Underworld? Did someone else take over, or
did things start to fall apart? You remember that time
Hades lost his helmet and we helped get it back for him?
The Underworld was in chaos, then. What's it like now that
he's gone?"
Xena shrugged. "What does it matter? Hades tried to kill
us, and he deserved what he got."
"I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," Gabrielle replied,
her dinner forgotten in her lap. "But it's not just that.
Very few people worship or even believe in the Greek gods
anymore, so does that affect things? We know people down
there. My family, your family. Marcus. Solan. Joxer. Do you
think they're OK?"
"Oh, sure. They're fine."
By Xena's dismissive tone, Gabrielle guessed her friend
wasn't thinking about it at all. Then again, Xena never
thought much about the consequences of her actions. That
had always been the bard's job, and now that Gabrielle had
asked the question, she knew it would stick with her until
she found an answer.
She ate the rest of her dinner automatically, her mind a
million miles away, in the Underworld with her lost
friends. They were probably all enjoying the blissful peace
of the Elysian Fields. Even so, she couldn't rid herself of
that one question. It haunted her thoughts all night and
for days afterward: Had Xena's actions doomed them all to
oblivion?
#
Author: Jennifer Campbell
Rating: PG-13 for regular Xena violence
Characters: Joxer, Xena, Gabrielle, Perdicus, Persephone
Time period: Sometime after fifth season
Summary: Hades' death causes big problems in the
Underworld.
For other disclaimers and notes, please see chapter 1.
#
Gabrielle had to shout over the clamor of the tavern for
Xena to hear her at all. A decent meal and an actual bed,
instead of stale bread and a blanket on the dirt, had been
Gabrielle's idea. She had even insisted on fronting the
dinars herself to a fat little innkeeper. This common room,
though, smelled like a stable, which might not be too
inappropriate seeing as its occupants acted like animals.
Dirty men threw mugs of ale against the wall and laughed
uproariously at their game. Xena fixated on her platter of
meat and vegetables with a scowl, and Gabrielle felt
terrible for dragging them into this place.
"I'm sorry!" she yelled.
"What?"
Louder this time. "I said I'm sorry!"
At Xena's perplexed look, Gabrielle pointed around the
room, plugged her nose and shrugged apologetically. Xena
nodded, understanding, then pointed at the door. As one,
they rose and headed toward the exit. A particularly stinky
bear of a man blocked Gabrielle's way and leaned over to
talk in her ear.
"Hey, cutie." He grinned in a sickeningly suggestive way.
"Want to have some fun? I have it on good authority that
the bed in my chamber doesn't even squeak."
Gabrielle smiled thinly and nodded toward Xena, who was
making a beeline for the exit. "No thank you. I'm already
taken, unless you'd like to take on her ..."
His leering grin widened. "Oh, I can take you both on at
once! I'll -- Oof!"
Gabrielle planted her fist from his stomach, watched with
a small surge of satisfaction as the oaf doubled over, and
then caught up with Xena. Amusement was dancing in her
friend's eyes, and the corner of her mouth twitched upward.
"You know, if you get lucky, I wouldn't want to stand in
your way ..." Xena offered.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny. Let's get
out of here."
Outside, Gabrielle filled her lungs with a refreshing
breath of cool air. The night was comfortable, with only a
whisper of a breeze, and better yet, it was silent except
for lingering commotion from the tavern. An evening under
the stars might not be such a bad idea, after all.
It wasn't disappointing when, not much later, she found
herself watching Xena across a sputtering campfire,
munching on stale bread and relishing every bite of it.
"OK, Gabrielle," Xena murmured around bites, "why'd you
want to go in there tonight? You know we've had bad luck
with that place in the past. You remember that dwarf who --"
"Yeah, I remember." She blushed at the memory. "I guess it
was because, well ... because Joxer liked the place. There
was that one night we were short on dinars, so he pulled
out his lute and performed for our dinner." She smiled
softly in remembrance. "He looked so happy up there,
entertaining all those people. I remember thinking that I'd
never seen him look so at home as on that stage."
"That was more than twenty-five years ago," Xena reminded
her. "Things change. That tavern certainly changed."
"So did Joxer. Married to Meg, and with _children_ ...
Xena, I never thought I'd see the day when Joxer would have
children with anyone except ..." Her voice trailed off.
"Except you?" Xena offered.
Gabrielle bowed her head. "It doesn't matter. He's gone
now."
Xena's voice became soothing, comforting. "He's in the
Elysian Fields no doubt, or some equivalent of it. He was a
hero, and he died a hero. I would have killed Eve if he
hadn't gotten in the way."
"I know he's in a better place, Xena," Gabrielle said
quietly. "It's just ... I miss him. If there were some way
I could get him back and tell him all the things I didn't
tell him in life ..."
"I know."
Xena leaned over and squeezed her thigh in sympathy.
Gabrielle nodded, breathed deep and tried to regain control
over her emotions. It had been months now, but still
Joxer's death weighed heavily on her heart.
Then an idea occurred to her. She cocked her head in
thought. "Xena, what do you think happened to the
Underworld after you killed Hades?"
"What do you mean?" Xena asked absently between bites of
bread.
"I mean, do you think anything happened after you killed
the king of the Underworld? Did someone else take over, or
did things start to fall apart? You remember that time
Hades lost his helmet and we helped get it back for him?
The Underworld was in chaos, then. What's it like now that
he's gone?"
Xena shrugged. "What does it matter? Hades tried to kill
us, and he deserved what he got."
"I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," Gabrielle replied,
her dinner forgotten in her lap. "But it's not just that.
Very few people worship or even believe in the Greek gods
anymore, so does that affect things? We know people down
there. My family, your family. Marcus. Solan. Joxer. Do you
think they're OK?"
"Oh, sure. They're fine."
By Xena's dismissive tone, Gabrielle guessed her friend
wasn't thinking about it at all. Then again, Xena never
thought much about the consequences of her actions. That
had always been the bard's job, and now that Gabrielle had
asked the question, she knew it would stick with her until
she found an answer.
She ate the rest of her dinner automatically, her mind a
million miles away, in the Underworld with her lost
friends. They were probably all enjoying the blissful peace
of the Elysian Fields. Even so, she couldn't rid herself of
that one question. It haunted her thoughts all night and
for days afterward: Had Xena's actions doomed them all to
oblivion?
#