Secrets of the Past
DDR
The next few days passed just the same as they should have. Xena, Hercules, Iolaus, and Salmoneus saved Illysia from Ares and Darphus, and Xena set off on the road to redemption. It would seem that having to do everything a second time should have made it easier, knowing what was to come, how to deal with it, Xena was one step ahead of the world, but things seemed twice as hard knowing that the world she left behind would be changed by anything that she did differently.
Most of all she missed Gabrielle. Her world was so silent without her companion. The nights were cold and lonely and the days were long and solitude. Xena couldn't see how she had spent all those years mostly by herself. On her long trips she would often tell the baby stories of her and Gabrielle's travels. People everywhere still feared her name. She figured that there would always be some who thought of her as a monster no matter how many good deeds she accomplished.
Then it happened one night, while she was eating dinner in a tavern, her water broke, the baby was coming. She knew this was going to happen, she had felt the baby shift positions three days ago. Xena went out back behind the tavern and walked for a while. She was hit with a contraction and braced herself against a tree. Her lower back was aching so bad and the pain was intensifying with each set of contractions. Xena was determined not call Ares until the very end. Eventually, her legs were cramping so much that she decided to find a place to wait out the rest of her labor. There was an opening carved in a huge rock. It was just deep enough that she could go in but still see out side. That's where she went. She sat with her back against the stone trying to focus on baring the pain. Her mind kept returning to the thought of what would happen to the baby after birth. She also thought about Solan's birth. At least she wasn't drugged during this one's birth.
Late in the labor Xena was starting to worry about being out here alone, if something were to happen, she wasn't in the best condition to defend herself.
Just as the sun peaked over the horizon, Xena's contractions were coming harder and faster. It was now time to call Ares. She cried out his name as another contraction swallowed her. He appeared in front of her.
"Are we ready?" He asked. The pain was becoming unbearable and she couldn't manage to speak, so she just nodded. Ares knelt down beside her and the two disappeared in blue light.
They reappeared on a bed that was covered in red silk sheets. At the bottom of the bed stood an older woman. Ares had hired a shepherdess, how sweet. Xena moaned in pain. The shepherdess tended to her.
"Almost there. We've got a head, just keep pushing. That's a good girl." the shepherdess coached. Xena shut her eyes wondering what made her agree to this. The baby was out and crying loudly. "It's a boy!" the Shepherdess exclaimed. Xena didn't care at the moment, she was glad it was over. She tried to steady her breathing. She looked at Ares who was actually smiling joyfully as he watched the shepherdess swaddle their son.
"Can I hold him?" Xena asked weakly, Ares took the boy from the shepherdess and handed him to Xena. She gazed down at the newborn. His eyes were already opening and from Xena could tell they were baby blue like her own. The boy also had a full head of dark hair. After a few seconds, Xena's face was tear-streaked. This was another child that she couldn't keep.
DDR
