Sarmatia:

It was there. Right in front of their eyes. The green fields. The bright blue sky. The fresh smell of flowers and grass just having been drenched from the rain. Shakira could see smoke coming from the chimneys of the huts. This was the Rhoxolani tribe. Children were laughing and running around in front of them but stoped and looked at the Knights curiously. 'Wake up baby,' Shakira said as she shook Gabriel. Sleepily he opened his eyes and rubbed out the sleep. 'Ma?'

'Look,' she said as she pointed to the lands in front of them. He sat up and looked at the lands before them and smiled. 'Were here?' he asked.

'Yes,' she said proudly. 'This is home. Our first home that is.'

A woman coming out of her hut looked at the horses having just come by and squinted. She saw a little boy coming off the horse of a woman. 'Oh my Gods,' she breathed. 'Peter!' She ran into her hut and grabbed the hands of her husband and dragged him out of the hut.

'What is going on Merralie?' he asked her as they walked toward the new comers.

'Look!' she said as she pointed to Shakira. 'And a son…..and…..blessed be the Gods Peter, its Tristan.'

'But…,' he said as they stoped by the family. Tristan and Shakira looked at the two elderly people and Gabriel came out from behind his fathers legs. He looked at them curiously and noticed the woman was crying.

'Is it really you?' she asked Tristan.

He nodded and Shakira grinned. The woman hugged Tristan tightly and he strangely patted her back lightly. She pulled back and looked at him closely as tears ran down her face. She looked at Shakira who had just been hugging her father in law and took her hand. 'After you and Jet left….I thought for sure you had died. Both of you. Then she came back and told us everything. We hoped you would one day come back.'

'Merralie,' Shakira said. 'This is Gabriel.' She looked around for her son who had been hiding behind his fathers legs again. Tristan smiled slightly and nodded for his son to come out. He did not let go of him, but Gabriel stepped out slightly and looked at the two happy elderly people. 'Bless him, he looks just like you Tristan,' Merralie said.

'Are you papa's mama?' Gabriel asked her.

'Yes I am,' she said proudly. Gabriel smiled and moved out further so they could see him more.

'Shakira?'

Another elderly woman came running out looking curiously at them all and gasped when he daughter came into view. Shakira smiled happily and hugged her mother tightly. 'Oh…I've been checking the family runes everyday to make sure you were well. You gave me such a scare when you left-' her voice trailed off when she spotted Gabriel looking at her in wonder.

'Gabriel,' Shakira said. 'Mama meet your grandson.'

0-0-0

Galahad and Gawain continued their journey to the Iazyges tribe when they dropped off Shakira and Tristan. They said they would be in to visit in the next few days. Getting to know the people again was an adventure for Tristan and Shakira. All of their friends were married and had children much older than Gabriel. Anuk had a round belly when she and Shakira visited. She was due any day for a child and Shakira had blessed her families with the news that she was pregnant once more.

'Croup is going around the village like fever,' Shakira said with a sigh. She and Tristan were sitting beside the large fireplace. She had been treating children all day for croup. She had told Gabriel not to go around the village too much until it was over. 'Aletta's daughter will not last much longer if she does not break her fever by morning,' she said softly.

'It was not meant to be like this,' he said as he held her.

'What is the point of children being born if they are going to die before reaching adulthood?' she said shaking her head. 'They shouldn't have to go through something like the croup.'

'We must make sure Gabriel does not fall ill,' Tristan said glancing over at his sleeping son.

Shakira smiled slightly and laced her fingers with Tristan's. 'It seems odd being back here.'

'It's like we don't belong here anymore,' he said in agreement. 'Do you wish to go back?'

'It took over two weeks to get here. The winter is months away. I am due in less then eight months. I should not do long distance travel if I am past four months unless completely necessary and if we stay until after the baby is born it would mean we could not travel until the baby is a few weeks old. Besides we just arrived. Our parent's would be heart broken if we left after just arriving.'

'So we stay?' he said as his lips gently kissed her neck.

She smiled and moved so he could get better access. 'Yes, we stay.'

Tristan's hand rested on her still flat stomach. He was pulling her dress off her shoulders when there was a knock at the door. They looked at one another curiously before Tristan rose from the ground and opened the door to the hut. It was Gawain. 'There has been an attack,' he said. Tristan moved aside so he could walk in. Shakira rose from the floor and looked at Gawain worriedly. 'Gawain? What happened to you?'

'Huns,' he said. 'They attacked Iazyges; the survivors are here now…..Aorsi and Alani warriors are arriving here quickly.'

'Huns?' Shakira asked him. 'Huns are coming here?'

'For all we know, they could be watching us already,' he said tiredly.

Shakira knew what was going on in their minds. 'You finished your time,' she said looking at Tristan. 'You don't have to fight anymore.'

Tristan stood silently and Gawain sensed that this was a conversation between them both. 'I'll be outside,' he said before leaving quickly.

'I served my time for a country not my own,' Tristan said finally. 'Our home is under attack.'

'You just came out of a battle against the Saxons. They are just as brutal and evil as the Huns. Huns travel is vast numbers that would make the Saxon army look like a walk in the park,' she said as her anger rose. 'What will the rest of us do? I'm pregnant Tristan. I can't fight a long battle now.'

'I wouldn't let you go anyway,' he said looking down at her.

'Your first priority is to your family,' she said through clenched teeth.

'And I will do that. You are my first priority. I will not stand here while there are others fighting,' he said calmly.

Shakira stepped back and shook her head. 'Fine. I'll be here….waiting….hoping….the usual.'

She walked past him out of the hut and hid her face behind her hands as tears flowed from her eyes. Gawain and Galahad saw her walking out of the tent and immediately regretted putting them in the middle of the battle. She stoped walking and sat down on top of a hill before wiping her eyes. 'I shouldn't have made him feel bad.'

Tristan followed her onto the hill and watched her bury her face in her hands. She had come so close to loosing him. He had not fully realised the extent of her pain when she thought him dead. He wanted to do everything. Protect his family, love his wife, raise his son and fight in battles. He was made for war and Shakira knew. He was grateful that she was understanding to his skills but having gone through thinking he was dead for two years, almost loosing him only a few months ago and now him riding off to battle right when he was a free man……he realised that it was all becoming too much for her.

Shakira closed her eyes. 'All that life has given me…I transfer my strength and love into him so that he may life through this battle and come back to me. I ask only that he return safely with all my people. Lives should not be lost today….and make it known to him that my life would be worth nothing if he were to die without me.'

Tristan slowly put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around and hugged him tightly. Feeling a surge of relief Tristan kissed her neck and smiled. 'I love you,' he said softly. 'I would never leave you…..I'll come back.'

She pulled back from him and smiled. 'You'd better…..I'm sorry. I just want you to live.'

'Don't apologise to me…..I will live,' he said lovingly before touching her cheek lightly.

'Come back to me,' she said looking into to his eyes.

'I will.' He looked toward the village. It was in full motion. 'We must hurry.'

0-0-0

Shakira was riding with Gabriel. He was dozing in her arms as they travelled south east from Sarmatia. Her whole village was around her. The pregnant women were in wagons with the young children while the huntresses and warriors were in the battle. Some of the huntresses were with them for extra support and help and many of them urged Shakira to go to the battle but she declined, saying her son needed her and her husband was at ease knowing she was safe.

Gabriel stirred in her arms and looked up at her sleepily. She wrapped the furs around him tighter so his face we covered by the wind. 'Are you tired?' he asked her as he closed his eyes again.

'Yes,' she said smiling down at him. 'But I will rest when this is over.'

They stoped riding at sunrise. Shakira helped with women with their children and finding food. Gabriel kept the younger children busy by telling them stories of the Knights of Arthur, in his own words. 'He is wonderful,' Anuk said tiredly. 'He is much like his father.'

'He speaks more than his father,' Shakira laughed at she tended to Aletta's sick daughter, Selest.

'Only when necessary,' Anuk said. 'I have seen him completely quiet while other children laugh and chat. Yet, everyone loves him.'

Shakira put the furs up to Selest's neck. A rider sped up to them and stoped. 'We must move quickly. The Huns have broken through our forces; they will reach this place by noon.'

Everyone broke into a panic and Shakira was blessed with an idea. 'WAIT!'

Everyone looked at her curiously and she stood beside the man on the horse in the middle of the group. 'I have an idea for help. We will not be able to move away quickly enough for the Huns to miss us. We must keep moving a little bit further and then hide.'

'But where?' asked a woman from the crowd.

'I am good friends with the Woads. Huns with not trespass into the woods because the Woads will have blocked it off with their fighters. If I can persuade them to hide us….will you let them?' she asked, speaking loudly. Everyone was silent for a moment. 'Put aside your pride and think of your children. Guinevere….a Woad. Wife to Arthur from Hadrian's Wall….she is a close friend…her people will help.'

'Then do it!' said Anuk. 'Like you said we cannot outride them. We do what we must.'

0-0-0

'You called child,' Merlin said.

Shakira sighed gratefully. 'How did you get here so quickly?'

'I have my ways. I sense your fear. I have notified Arthur of the battle against the Huns. He and the Knights along with your sister in law and Guinevere have left to come to your aid. In the mean time….My people would gladly hide you from your enemy. The first village from Sarmatia is called: Cerdiwal. They know you are coming.'

She grinned and pecked his cheek before running out of the woods and riding toward the group.

She reached them quickly and led them to the location of the village. It was buried deep within the trees. She stood along the outskirts of the woods watching for a sign of the Huns. They were too close. She could sense them…but they had been blocked for some time. Woads had already been on their way to help the Sarmatian's in the battle.

'You must eat something,' Anuk said as she handed her some bread and freshly cooked meat.

It was night. The sounds of battle could not longer be heard but the fear of those around her, Woad and Sarmatian alike was loud. It was an unexpected attack. No one had seen the Huns arriving onto the lands by ship so the must have travelled by land.

Shakira graciously took the food but did not eat it. She gazed ahead as if dreaming. 'If they broke through our battle….our men must be dead. I feel nothing in my heart but how can I truly know if he is dead?'

'You wait,' she said plainly. She put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her slightly. 'We can do nothing but wait. If it were not for the child I carry I would be there beside my husband, same as you. Do not think yourself weak because you stay to keep the child you carry and look after your son. If it were not for you we would be dead.'

Shakira looked at her with tears in her eyes. 'What if he doesn't come back? What would you do? I can't sense anything anymore. I don't know what to do now.'

'You will,' Anuk urged. 'Relax Shakira….just relax for a while.'

0-0-0

A day passed and they heard news of the Sarmatian's who had been fighting along side the Woads. They were in a camp close to the British village: Clover. They heard news that Scotsmen were sneaking into the country and going around the Hun camps to get to the growing army of Sarmatian's and Woads. It would be at least three days until they arrived and the Knights would take another week and a half in the least. Shakira rode with the huntresses to the camps and jumped off her horse looking frantically for her husband, Galahad and Gawain.

'Kira!' Galahad called. He strode to her; his upper arm bandaged and hugged her lightly. 'He has been waiting to hear from you. Tristan is in the second tent. We heard about you saving all those people by leading them to the Woads. Great thinking.'

'Thankyou,' she smiled. 'Gawain? Is he here?'

'Yes,' he nodded. 'He's…er…flirting with one of the Woad women.'

'Woad?' Shakira asked. 'What happened to the beautiful Sarmatian woman he came to find?'

Galahad laughed and shrugged. 'Gawain talks hot air Kira.'

Shakira laughed and put a hand on Galahads arm before running toward Tristan's tent. He was sitting upright by the back and rose quickly when she entered. 'Are you okay?' she asked him as he hugged her.

'Yes,' he nodded. He kissed her desperately and lifted her in his arms before taking her to the bed in the corner of the tent. 'I love you,' he breathed as he untied her breeches.

'I love you more,' she moaned.

A 'short' while later:

Shakira smiled against Tristan's chest. 'I think everyone heard us,' he said as he stroked her hair.

'I do not care,' she said. 'They can deal with it.'

Tristan grinned and kissed her as she rose onto her elbows and looked down at him. 'Were there many?' she asked him.

He nodded at put an arm behind his head. 'More than you could imagine. They have many numbers but they have no talent with a sword. It was easy to kill and wound many but we will need extra men if we are to kill them all.'

'Gabriel misses you,' she said smiling. 'He says he loves you and he's still practising.'

'Good,' he said as he touched her face lightly. 'If he can lift a bow at this age he will be a strong man.'

'If he is anything like you,' she said smiling. 'Are you to stay here? Arthur is on his way and Scotsmen are coming in for they feel they would rather kill the Huns now before they get into Scotland.'

'When I was fighting,' he said as she lay down on his chest. 'My mind went somewhere else. I could see and feel everything before me but my mind was thinking of you. I played memories of you in my mind. Thinking of you keeps me sane…..knowing you are safe…at least for now keeps me calm.'

She pecked his lips and placed her cheek against his. He grunted slightly and she grinned wickedly. 'Shakira...if you move I'm going to ravage you again,' he said as he tried not to move his body.

'Oh like this?' she asked as she moved her hips. She squealed as he flipped her onto her back kissing her roughly.

0-0-0

Flashback:

It was the night before Tristan was to leave with the Romans. He was lying in between Shakiras legs kissing his way up her body. She smiled happily and closed her eyes. His hands trailed down her legs as she sighed. She was trying everything not to think of tomorrow. She wanted to make every moment last; but it was proving difficult.

She put her hands over her eyes and held her breath to make the tears go away. She felt Tristan put his larger hand over hers and pull them away. She looked away from him and closed her eyes again trying to will the painful thoughts away. He put his hand along her jaw and turned her face so she could look at him. 'I haven't seen you stop crying for days now,' he said. 'Does it pain you so much?'

'Doesn't it pain you?' she asked him in a hurt voice. 'I am not like you. I cannot hold my emotions if they hurt me so much.'

'It pains me more than you could ever imagine,' he said. 'I did not know it hurt you so much. You must be strong though. I will go knowing everyday I come closer to coming back to you.'

She laughed and wiped away a tear. 'I know….its silly.'

Tristan felt bad for making her feel as if she was being ridiculous and shook his head. 'I am not saying it so you feel bad about my leaving. I say it only because I do not want your will to break once I am gone.'

She watched him silently for a moment. 'Okay. I love you.'

He lifted himself up and kissed her lovingly before moving back down and dragging her further down the bed by her hips. She yelped and laughed as he kissed the inside of her thigh. His stubble tickled her but she did not care.

End of Flashback:

0-0-0

Author Note: Ok so I didn't get my six reviews. I'm really hurt people. KnightMaiden thankyou for your lovely review. Could I get a few more this time? Let me know what you think.