ON MOUNT OLYMPUS
Aphrodite sat on her cushions with her arms hugging her knees close to her chest. Watching Joxer through the mirror broke just her heart. The pain and anger he felt seared through her... each strike of his staff was a sharp jab to her heart. Then, as she watched the anger slowly fade from his face, the mirror went blank!
The goddess gasped and rose to her knees, clutching at her heart in alarm. "No... oh no..."
With a flash, Cupid appeared beside her and grasped her arms, turning her toward him. "Whoa, Mom! What just happened here? Some weird kind of vibe..."
Aphrodite closed her eyes, her voice only a whisper, "Too soon... it's happening too soon..."
Cupid frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "But Gabrielle loves him and there's still three days--"
Aphrodite shook her head sadly, "His heart... I can't..." Her brow furrowed in concentration as her eyes glazed over, her mind searching. Pushing away from her son, she scrambled over to the mirror and gripped each side.
"Joxer," she demanded, but the glass showed nothing but darkness. "Show him to me!" She shook the mirror frantically, but still nothing. "I can't see him!" She whirled around to face Cupid, her hands pressed up against her heart, "I can't feel him!"
Cupid stared at his mother in shock, then closed his eyes for a moment to search himself. Astonished, he opened his eyes and shook his head, unable to sense the mortal either.
Aphrodite's eyes filled with tears as she reached out and gripped his shoulders, "Find him! We've run out of time!"
IN FISHING VILLAGE
Xena had reserved a couple of rooms at the inn while Gabrielle ordered them up some food in the taproom. While the women waited for it to be served, they sipped a couple of ales and cooed at Eve. Several minutes passed, bowls of hearty stew and small loaves of bread were placed on the table, but there was no sign of Joxer.
Gabrielle looked around the busy room and frowned, "What could be keeping him?"
Xena shrugged as she gently rubbed Eve's belly while she lay in her basket. Tearing off a piece of a loaf with her free hand, she dipped it into her stew, "Why don't you go and find out?" She winked at Gabrielle and they shared a smile.
Gabrielle had just stepped away from the table when pain speared through her body. It pierced her chest and radiated out like a burning wave. It sucked the breath from her as she stumbled back against the table and sank to her knees. Bracing her palms on the floor in front of her, she managed to drag air into her lungs.
Xena was on the floor in an instant, gripping her shoulder to pull her up and holding her chin up to look into her eyes. "Gabrielle?" Her heart clenched at pain in her friend's eyes. Gabrielle whimpered and pressed her hands against her chest. Xena frowned but urged her to take slow, deep breaths.
The crowd in the taproom had gone quiet, the air tense as they watched the two women with curiosity and concern. The young woman who had served their food came up to Xena, gently touched her arm and asked if she could help. Xena smiled grimly, nodded, and they smoothly eased Gabrielle to her feet. "If you could...?" Xena motioned with her chin in the direction of the table. The girl nodded and gathered the baby basket into her arms.
Xena put an arm around Gabrielle's waist and pulled her tightly against her side, "Let's get you to the room and then--" She stopped when Gabrielle shook her head.
Gabrielle took a deep breath as the hot wave of pain suddenly evaporated, her body trembling from the abrupt change. "I'm all right," she put a hand on Xena's arm to halt her and smiled weakly at the curious faces all around. They seemed to accept that her smile meant all was well and went back to their business of drinking and mingling.
Gabrielle pulled away from Xena and shook her head when she would have protested, "I just need some air." It was suddenly too crowded, the people too close, and each breath she drew in was dry and cold and harsh inside her chest. She shivered as chill bumps ran along her skin and took quick, but careful, steps toward the exit. Puzzled, Xena mumbled a thanks to the serving girl, took the basket from her, and followed.
Just as they reached the door, it opened and a stable boy came in carrying their gear. Xena stopped him and asked what he was doing with their things. The boy dropped the bags and shrugged, "Some fellow, said his name was Joxer, he gave me a dinar to bring this stuff to some dark-haired warrior woman with a baby." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, "Guess that's you." He jutted his chin out and gave Xena a stubborn glare, "Said I'd get another dinar when I gave it to you."
Xena smirked and dug out a dinar from a pouch at her waist. The boy reached for it, but she held it back. "And why didn't he bring them himself?"
The boy eyed the dinar in her fingers with bright eyes and shrugged again, "Don't know. Just gave me the bags and left-- Oh!" He slapped his forehead and reached into the pocket of his trousers. He pulled out a folded piece of parchment, "Gave me this, too." He waggled the parchment in the air and held out his hand.
In a swift move, the parchment was in Xena's hand and she flipped the dinar at the wide-eyed boy. He caught it in midair and gave an impressed grin before darting back out the door.
Gabrielle grabbed the message from Xena and as she read it the chill bumps turned to icy pricks on her skin. "He's gone..."
"What?" Xena settled the basket on her hip and looked over Gabrielle's shoulder, mumbling as she read the note for herself. " 'There's something important I have to do. I can't explain right now, but I won't be back for a while. Thanks for everything. Joxer.' "
Shaking her head, Gabrielle thrust the note at Xena and hurried out the door. She looked frantically around, but didn't see him. Cursing softly, she rushed over to the stables. Argo snorted from inside her stall, but there was no sign of Joxer. Gabrielle rubbed a hand on her forehead and turned as Xena came in behind her.
Shrugging Eve's pouch on her shoulders, she settled the sleeping baby against her back and stored the basket in Argo's stall. "Gabrielle, what happened to you in there? One second you're in pain, the next you're fine... what's going on?"
Gabrielle shook her head, "I don't know. I've been having strange aches for a while, but nothing like that." She saw the frown coming and sighed, "Yeah, I know I should have told you, but they came and went and I didn't think much of them. Look, yell at me later, okay? We've got to figure out where Joxer went!"
Xena raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that said she would definitely be yelling later. "He hasn't been gone long and we've got plenty of time to find him. Don't worry--"
A flash of sparkles cut her off as Cupid appeared before them. "Oh yeah, she should worry." He shook out his wings in agitation and ran a hand through his short hair, "Something's gone totally wrong and we can't sense Joxer at all." He gestured one hand up toward Olympus, "Mom's got some major upset vibes going on." He gave them a pointed look, "Look, we've got to find this guy now... we've run out of time!"
Gabrielle felt her heart fall to the ground and gaped at Cupid, "Can't you just bring him here?"
Cupid gave her an incredulous look, "And just how do you expect me to do that?"
She waved a hand around in frustration, "Snap a finger, shake a wing... I don't know! Whatever it is you gods do when you poof people from place to place!"
Cupid rolled his eyes, "Contrary to popular belief, the gods are not all-powerful. We can't just 'shake a wing,' as you so charmingly put it, and solve all your little problems with a POOF!"
Gabrielle's eyes flashed angrily at his flippant words, but Xena grabbed her arm before she could lunge at the irritated god. Gabrielle huffed a breath and turned away, knowing her temper wouldn't be helpful right now. She pressed her hands against her temples, trying to calm herself and clear her mind.
Xena narrowed her eyes and gave Cupid a level look, "So what can you do?"
Cupid threw his hands out in frustration, "I told you, we can't sense him at all! It's like he doesn't even exist." He raised a hand when their eyes widened in alarm, "No, not dead or anything, just not there - and I can't POOF anyone anywhere if I can't FIND them, get it?"
Xena sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, then snapped them back open and jabbed a finger at him, "Well, you're another pair of eyes, at least. Shake a wing and see if you can spot him from the air."
Cupid raised an eyebrow at her, the nodded and spread his wings out wide, vanishing as he shot up into the sky. Xena turned to Gabrielle and saw her staring up after the god with her arms crossed tightly in front of her. Xena took her by the shoulders and shook them gently, "Look, we'll find him. I'll check the roads out of town and you go check down by the docks, okay?"
Gabrielle saw the fierceness in her friend's eyes and felt some of the tension leave her, knowing only too well how determined Xena could be. She swallowed past the thickness in her throat and nodded stiffly, walking off toward the ships. Xena watched her hurry away with worried eyes, then shifted the pouch on her back and took off in the opposite direction.
The ship was destined for some country he'd never heard of that lay far across the sea and would take a month to reach if the weather was fine and the waters obliging. He didn't care how far it was or how long it took to get there. The further and longer, the better, he thought.
Joxer stared at the sunlight as it glinted on the water with only one thought running through his mind... He needed to get away. Just away. It didn't matter where. For a month or two... maybe a year... or just make a new life for himself all together. It didn't matter to him one way or the other. Maybe in a new place things would start to feel normal again. Right now everything felt so... so wrong. Too much confusion, too many jumbled feelings. Well, actually, he didn't feel much of anything right now... just a heavy numbness around his heart... and a curious cold that prickled through his body.
The men worked steadily around him, but he barely heard them. The breeze blew cool on his skin, but he hardly felt it. Joxer sighed heavily. He needed to get away... just get away... far away... His eyes began to glaze over slightly as he stared at the water and the strange thought entered his mind that if he stood very, very still maybe, just maybe, he could fade into thin air...
"Joxer!"
He felt his body jerk and his eyes blinked rapidly, trying to focus. A wave of dizziness had him gripping the railing to keep on his feet. Whoa... what just happened there?
A sailor swabbing the deck near him brought his attention back to his surroundings. He shook his head. The rhythm of the boat, the lapping of the water, the steady sounds of the sailors working... it all must have lulled me into some strange mood. Yeah, that's all it was...
Puzzled, his brow furrowed suddenly. Wait. Did I just hear my...?
"JOXER!"
Gabrielle shouted his name at the top of her lungs when her first startled call hadn't seemed to reach him. The shock of seeing him on that ship had stopped her in her tracks at first -- by the gods, he was actually leaving! -- but now she pushed as quickly as she could through the crowd on the docks. She had to reach him... she had to tell him...
She knew he'd heard her the second time when he pushed back from the railing. Judging from the sour looks of the people she was dodging and scooting around, and the surprised faces that popped up from several ships in dock, just about everyone heard her.
The swabbing sailor beside Joxer, finished with his job, hitched his mop up against his shoulder and was ambling past Joxer when they both heard her shout and whirled around in her direction. The head of the mop slammed into Joxer's face and sent him tumbling backward over the railing. Gabrielle gasped and broke into a run as he hit the water with a hard splash. She plowed through the crowd and down the pier next to the ship, her heart pounding in her chest.
After several long moments Joxer came back up, but face down and bobbing drunkenly at the surface. Gabrielle didn't think, just dived straight into the water and swam frantically over to him. Turning his body over, she coiled an arm around his chest and dragged him through the water to the pier. Calling out for help, Gabrielle gripped the edge of the pier as a couple of men reached down and pulled Joxer up.
Hoisting her self out of the water, she thanked the men and kneeled down next to Joxer. She patted at his cheeks and called his name, but there was no response. A hand against his neck assured her his heart was beating, but he wasn't breathing.
"Oh, gods..." she rasped, running her hands up over her wet face and slicking her hair back behind her ears. With fumbling fingers, she worked loose his wet jerkin and shirt from his throat and placed her hands on his cheeks. "Okay, okay... I can do this."
She pinched his nose closed with one hand and laid the other on his chest. Placing her mouth over his, she blew a breath of air into his lungs. His chest rose slightly, but he lay there, so still, and his face paler than she'd ever seen. She breathed for him again... but nothing.
"Damn it, Joxer!" She grit her teeth against the tears that filled her eyes, the hand on his chest curling into a fist. "You can't do this!" Her fist pounded hard on him, "Not now!"
With a painfully racing heart, she gave him another breath of air. "Come on, breathe!" After another breath she tore her mouth from his and beat down on him with both fists, crying out, "BREATHE!"
Joxer suddenly jerked and water dribbled out of his mouth. Gabrielle immediately rolled him to his side and rubbed at his back. Choking and coughing up water, Joxer shuddered heavily as he drew in great gulps of air.
When he had recovered enough to sit up and his breathing sounded better, Gabrielle's face crumpled with emotion as she hugged him close to her, "Thank the gods! I thought I'd lost you!" She pressed her face into his neck and cried softly.
Joxer shook his head, "I'm fine."
The flat tone of his voice made Gabrielle pull away. The look in his eyes made her suck in a harsh breath. They were blank and dull. There was no warmth, no sparkle... no sign of the Joxer she loved at all. She gently touched a hand to his cheek, "Joxer? Joxer, listen to me, please... I love you."
He just stared at her with those far away eyes, then frowned, "I need to be on the ship."
Her heart wrenched painfully. "No, you don't. You need to be here, with me. You just can't leave me now that I've found you... the real you." She brought her other hand up to her heart, "I know it took a long time for me to see the man you are, Joxer, but I do. You're warm and funny and wonderful with Eve.You're strong and handsome, good in a fight, and - and you even cook better than I do!"
She took a breath to calm her scrambled thoughts. Her eyes misted over and her voice grew thick, "Joxer, you give so much to all of us and we don't appreciate you nearly enough. No one's ever had a better or more loyal friend. We all love you for that... but I feel more than that. A lot more."
The emptiness in his eyes frightened her. She had to reach him. There had to be some way to reach him. "What I feel is more than the love between friends... but the love between a man and a woman. The way you love me... the way you've always loved me."
Joxer just blinked at her and looked away, "I have to go." He tried to scoot back so he could stand, but she lunged forward and grabbed at his arms to keep him still.
"No!" Gabrielle snapped, her fingers clutching desperately at him. "Joxer, I'm not letting you go!" Her voice went whisper soft as she cupped her hands around his head and brought his face close to hers, "I'll never let you go."
She closed her lips over his and poured herself into the kiss. Threading her fingers through his wet hair, she leaned into him, her lips pressing and playing against his. The love she felt for this man was a tide rising in her, fierce and pounding... he had to feel it, he had to ride the wave with her... it was too much, too big for one soul to carry alone without being crushed and scattered by it.
His lips were soft, but so cold against hers. She felt his hands close over her arms, tighten, and start to push her away. With a sound somewhere between a sob and a growl, she opened her mouth on his and took the kiss deeper.
Joxer's body jerked and his hands clamped tight as he felt her tongue slide against his. The air grew thick and heavy, pressing down on him, squeezing the breath from his lungs. Warmth tingled through him, spreading from his chest... down to his toes... out to his finger tips... up to his scalp and through the ends of his hair. His heart began to beat faster and harder until it thundered in his ears.
Her teeth nipped urgently at his bottom lip, making him suck in a harsh breath. The scent of her, that warm scent of air and earth that his brain knew to be Gabrielle was suddenly inside him now. A clenching around his heart tightened and tightened and his heart pounded and his head spun around and around...
... and suddenly he was flying... the pain dissolved and he could swear he was soaring and tumbling through the sky, his heart light and fluttering in his chest. He could feel... he could feel... oh gods, he could feel everything!
Gabrielle lifted her head away, panting for breath, her eyes blurry and unfocused. Joxer's breath caught in his throat at the look of her. Gods, she was beautiful...
His hands loosened on her arms and slid over the warm skin of her back. He pressed her close and watched her bright eyes goes wide a second before taking her mouth with his own.
Gabrielle's arms fell limply against him for a stunned moment. It was like being yanked hard under water and pulled down down down... but Joxer was there with her, taking her down and they were sinking together... together...
Her heart jumped when she realized that and felt the change in him. His lips were warm and eager on hers, sending delicious shivers over her skin. Joy welled up inside her so much she wanted to cry and laugh and shout out all at the same time. Instead, she gripped at his tunic and held on tight for this wonderful ride.
Joxer had so many feelings jumping and swarming around inside of him, but the one that pushed its way to the top was how incredibly lucky he was to have this woman in his arms, to be kissing her the way he'd wanted to for so long... and she was kissing him back... because she wanted to. Because she loved him.
Gods, her words echoed in his mind. He gently broke the kiss and leaned back as the weeks they'd spent together flashed before his eyes... the training... the fight... the scroll... the necklace... He frowned, puzzled. He could recall seeing the necklace in his hand, but the details after that were pretty fuzzy. He remembered getting on the ship, but not the reason... then he'd been whomped rather hard in the head... then he was coughing up buckets of sea water.
But remembered every word Gabrielle had said about loving him. She was looking at him now with those green eyes just shining with love... for him. He took a deep breath and pressed his forehead to hers. Here was that missing piece of the puzzle, the part of his heart that was left empty when Cupid's bow struck it.
"Joxer?" her voice was soft and hesitant, her fingers fidgeting with a lacing on his jerkin.
He raised his head and nudged a knuckle under her chin, lifting it until she met his eyes. He smiled and traced his knuckle along her jaw. "I do love you, Gabby. I always have... I always will."
After a beat, he raised an eyebrow, "And you're right... I am a better cook."
Gabrielle gave a shaky laugh, tears filling her eyes. He laughed softly with her and her breath caught in her throat. There! She could see it! Her heart did a little happy dance at the light in his eyes, that sparkle that was her old friend Joxer... but there was a depth there, a heat she could feel from those deep brown eyes that made her pulse race. She had them both, the friend and the lover... all in one incredible Joxer.
She hugged him tight and laughed out loud when he fell back onto the dock and her body stretched out over his. Their lips met again and they were oblivious to the dock workers that shuffled carefully around them, smiling and shaking their heads.
A happy squeal startled them apart and they looked up to see Aphrodite standing there all smiles and fairly quivering with delight.
"Too cool! This is just too cool!" The goddess clasped her hands over her bosom, "The Studmuffin and the Bard Babe..." she sighed as they helped each other to their feet, "I just knew this would be a perfect match!"
Her mouth turned into a pretty pout as she put a fist on one hip and shook a finger at them, "You had me seriously bummed out for a while, you know." Her lips curved back into a stunning smile as Joxer wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tucking her against his side and Gabrielle slipped an arm around his waist. "And just so we're clear? This is the Real Deal, okay? No spells, no games. Got it?"
Joxer and Gabrielle looked at each other and knew without a doubt that the love they felt was genuine. They smiled and nodded once at the goddess, "Got it."
A spray of sparkles had them all turning their heads. Cupid let go of Xena's elbow and shook out his wings. Xena's heart warmed at the sight of her friends together. She raised an eyebrow questioningly at Gabrielle and Gabrielle nodded, smiling as she leaned her head against Joxer. Xena looked at Joxer and grinned at the besotted look on his face... she'd seen that look plenty of times, but there was more to it now. Her eyes started to prickle, so she went up to them and hugged them to her for a long moment.
Aphrodite went to her son, slipped an arm through his and blew on her fingernails, buffing them against her shoulder, "Ooh, I am so good!"
Cupid rolled his eyes with a smile and touched the fingertips of one hand to his forehead in salute to the happy mortals before they flashed out of sight.
A crewman called down from the ship Joxer had been on, asking if he was coming on board or not. Joxer answered him with a firm no. The crewman shrugged and held up Joxer's pack and staff, then tossed them over for him to catch. Joxer moved swiftly and caught them. He set down his pack and twirled the staff in his hands.
He glanced at the ship that was slipping away from the dock and back to Gabrielle. Picking up his pack, he touched the end of his staff firmly to the ground. "So... where are we off to now?"
Xena smirked and nudged Gabrielle, "The inn. Eve will be needing her dinner and a nap pretty soon, so you'll just have to entertain yourselves for the evening." She winked at Joxer and pulled the baby's pouch around to her chest as Eve began to fuss, jiggling it as she walked away.
Gabrielle cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, her eyes twinkling, "Think we can find a way to entertain ourselves?"
Joxer stepped up to her and ran a hand up her arm, over her shoulder and cupped the back of her head, making goosebumps shiver along her skin. He held her gaze for a long hot moment, then his mouth curved slowly into a smile. "I think so."
With a quick kiss to her lips, he grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly along with him toward the inn. Gabrielle's heart jumped happily inside her a she followed him, knowing tonight was just the beginning for them. The beginning of everything.
FIN