A mute scream followed by a low, animalistic moan escaped my throat, slashing the silent darkness of the room as I accidentally shifted in my sleep, unconsciously placing all my weight on my severely wounded shoulder.

My eyes widened immediately with the excruciating pain that flashed from somewhere inside my clavicle through the length of my arm up to the very tip of my fingers, and Good Gaia, for a few agonizing seconds it felt as if someone had ripped my arm off. The intensity of the pain left me breathless and the racking sensation that -despite my inability to see anything in the room through that thick veil of obscurity -the world itself was spinning with me , was making me feel even worse.

Another groan, louder and considerably more expressive this time, distracted my attention from the intense urge to throw up.

The very following seconds were a blur, and the only thing I could still hear was the sound of my own teeth grinding in pain along with a disturbingly strident sound that I couldn't possibly identify.

When I could finally see again and when the light returned to my eyes, the first thing I was able to distinguish was his utterly concerned face. A few more moments had to pass for me to realize that his arms were wrapped tightly around me – just like they should have been- and that I was no longer laying in bed, that he had lifted me into a sitting position, carefully arranging the pillows behind my back, probably in the attempt to make me feel more comfortable.

Only when he noisily snapped his fingers inches from my face, did my mind manage to find its way back from the pain induced trance and it was only then that I was finally able to hear his voice and to actually understand what he was telling me.

" Hey! Snap out of it ! Can you hear me ?"

Nothing came out of my dry, barely parted lips, but my short nod spoke for me.

" Good. Breathe, Princess….breathe deep…." he ordered and without even realizing that I was doing it, my lungs had already decided to follow his orders, filling again with air.

" That's a good girl. Now drink this…." he urged, placing a cup full of a green, strangely looking and awfully smelling liquid at my lips. "It's gonna numb the pain for awhile. "

Before I knew it, despite the initial repulsion and a first attempt to refuse the sickening mixture, I drank more than half of it under the sound of Ares' almost paternal encouragements. I suddenly felt like late sixteen all over again, back in the days when he used to bandage my wounds and nurse me back to health more often than I would have deserved.

"Ok, Sweetheart….." he said, wiping the beads of sweat – that I hadn't even been aware of up to that moment- from my forehead with a wet piece of cloth, and to this day, I can't really tell if it was the light blue energy radiating from his palm a few instants later- right above my aching shoulder- or that heart melting mixture of unveiled affection and concern in his eyes that put an end to horrendous suffering, but something definitely did…..And for once during those tormentingly long minutes, I could finally think straight….

" Better?"

"Yeah….."

" Oh! It speaks! Just when I lost all hope…." he tried to joke, an effort I couldn't yet fully appreciate. " You scared mo to death...again. You've been doing that a lot lately, come to think about it. Are you trying to give me a heart attack ?!"

" Something like that. I would pat myself on the back for it, but it would be no fun with my left…."

We both shared a laugh at the bitter irony in that line.

"Well, at least your sense of humor is still intact…."

"What time is it? How long did I sleep? "

" Past midnight…..Six, seven hours….- not long enough, if that's what you're asking."

"I don't feel tired. "

" That's always a good sign. " he replied with a smile. " I know it's late, but since you're up, you should definitely eat something."

"I'm not hungry, thank you."

"You haven't eaten anything since yesterday, Xena. How do you expect to get better if you starve yourself to death? " he said without waiting for an answer. " Soup, fish or salad ? Or maybe all three of them?"

" Soup…" I sighed, rolling my eyes at him, aware that given his tone, there was no way out of that situation.

" Vegetable or chicken?"

" That's a pretty poor menu…Is that all you can cook?" I playfully bit, arching an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

" …So says the mighty Warrior Princess who can barely gut a fish…." he replied, suddenly in a more cheerful tone, relieved to see that I was actually feeling better.

" …Don't go believing everything you hear…"

" Right….For the sake of argument I'll just pretend I have lost my memory and I no longer recall that time when you nearly poisoned me – a God- with that so called brown rice porridge. So help me Chronos, your cooking alone could bring the Twilight on Earth, woman!"

" Funny you should say that….You almost licked the bowl clean."

" That's only because I was trying to impress you…" he explained, his sexy chuckle putting everything in a different light.

" You mean to get under my skirt…."

"Now that you mention it, I guess I might have been trying to seduce you…."

" …to fuck me…"

"That too…Can you blame me, really?!."

I playfully slapped his chest with my left hand.

"It's good to know that you can still use your other hand…I almost forgot you have two…" he said, laughing at my unusual clumsiness. " So….?"

I just laughed lightly in return and stared at him for what must have been forever, without really struggling to make an effort and understand what it was that he expected me to say- too busy with smothering that absolutely intolerable impulse to kiss him….That playful mood of his that I loved so much, that old familiar sparkle in his eyes, the delicate touch of his hand- now resting on my leg….I could distinctly feel his alluring, godly warmth , radiating from his palm through the thick fabric of the blanket covering the lower part of my body, and for some reason I couldn't help thinking that there was nothing I would have appreciated more at that moment than to have those hands tenderly gliding up and down my naked form….

As if having read my mind- he always does that, by the way- he applied a bit more pressure on my leg, his fingers squeezing gently the part right above my knee, and suddenly, I saw it- so clearly, so undeniably clearly again- that unique blend of desire, arousal and possession burning through his amber moons, making me shiver, filling me with an uncontainable sexual energy that flashed like electricity through every cell of my body, probably radiating at the surface of my skin in waves.

His gaze was still locked on mine seconds after a pretty naughty, involuntary fantasy began teasing my brain, and trapped as I was by the sheer magic of that erotic vision -of him settling his perfectly muscular body over mine , pinning my rebellious hands above my head- I completely missed the fact that he had been speaking all this time…..

"Xena?" I finally heard him repeating my name, obviously loud enough for me to hear.

" Hm?" I briefly questioned, casting him an intense, inquiring gaze that had nothing to do with whatever it was he was talking about.

" I know I'm the kind of man that women usually daydream about, but you do realize that in your case there's no reason why you should limit your desires to unsatisfying mental projections….We can always put into practice whatever scenarios you were picturing there…" he jokingly said with a wide grin that made me feel like a ridiculously silly, inexperienced teenager.

" You'd like that wouldn't you?!" I simply replied, trying not to draw even more attention on me, doing my best to feign indifference. As if things weren't clear enough…

" Trust me, there's nothing I would enjoy more. " he seductively answered, keeping a hint of amusement in his voice, and to my boundless relief there was no trace of sarcasm in it. He had obviously decided to let that one pass….." So …." he once again started, making sure to point out the word, thus keeping me focused on whatever it was he was going to say. " ….chicken or vegetable soup?"

" Vegetable." I murmured, finally realizing that my shoulder pain was completely gone- when I tried to move my arm to make myself a bit more comfortable.

" Tsk, tsk, tsk! You still want to use that hand in this lifetime, don't you? " he bit, acidly reminding me that it was better to keep it still for at least one full day. I couldn't help make a face at his strictness though. He's always overreacting when it comes to my injuries, regardless of their seriousness..

" Vegetable it is then." he resumed, making a bowl of marvelously looking, steaming soup materialize in his hand and a silver spoon in the other. " … The specialty of the house! " he boasted as if he had spent hours cooking it.

I initially chuckled at just how ludicrous the idea was, but I instantly froze when it hit me that he probably had every intention to feed me himself- an utterly intimate gesture that scared me to death despite its apparent casualness- and he immediately noticed the flicker of panic in my eyes as he started blowing over the hot soup that was supposed to make me feel brand new in no time.

"I can do it myself, you don't have to spoon feed me, Ares! I'm not a baby!"

" No , I don't have toI want to. " he replied, his absolutely gorgeous eyes intently fixating me as if wanting to notice just how nervous he could get me to be….

" Relax, Xe…It's just soup….." he mildly added, slightly bemused by my childish hesitation. " Let me take care of you…" the rest of his line followed in an irresistibly protective tone that literally left me speechless.

"Open wide. " he whispered as he brought the spoon to my lips, and my mouth opened almost on its own, without waiting for my approval….

"How do you like it?"

"Huh?" I quickly asked this time- snapping out of my trance faster than before- unsure though that I could even string a sentence together at that point.

" The soup….is it ok?" he patiently repeated, once again placing a spoonful at my lips and I made sure to take advantage of the extra time I had to swallow to think things over.

" Just so you know, mortals eat pretty much anything when they're hungry..." I teased, and we even shared a laugh before he decided to strike back.

" It sure beats yours though….At least mine actually looks like food…."

"Hey! Watch it! "

"What?! It's the bare naked truth! " he exclaimed, adamant about defending his skills. "And wait! I haven't sampled anythingmadeby the Bard yet…! If yours is rat poison, I can only imagine hers… "

"Gabrielle is an amazing cook actually…" I contradicted.

"Right ! Don't hold it against me if I can't afford to take your word for it. I was supposed to be immortal, you know! Before I forget again… about the Harpie- she tried to rape me, Xena! I'm telling you, as soon as I go to Olympus, I'm getting a restraining order from Zeus. That savage won't be able to come anywhere within 100 yards from me! "

I just laughed at the perspective! To think that he used to call me a drama queen whenever I started yelling at him! Can you believe the nerve ?!

"She pinched my butt! And she slapped me in the altar room when I bent to pick an apple from the floor…- twice! "

" That hardly even qualifies as harassment, Ares!"

"Excuse me?! Do you have any idea how used up and….worthless I felt?! That's sexual abuse from here to Chin!"

I was really laughing now, barely able to chew on those vegetables. Ares feeling used! That was a new one!

" Come on, one more…" he encouraged, feeding me even the last drop of that absolutely divine mixture.

The scene ended with a brief but explosive kiss- absolutely unexpected may I add- that made my soul vibrate with an incredible joy….

" I don't know if it's the soup or not, but you sure taste good…" he murmured against my lips, licking them in the process. "….I would eat you up in a heart beat …."

Everything in me began to pulsate at his words.

XXX

Back in Draja's room, a plot was being woven…

"News, you say? What kind of news?"

"Good news…."

" Good news….I'm intrigued" the Goddess answered the priestess, displaying a wide, cattish smile.

" Xena's here. "

The Olympian's smile faded a second later.

" Here?! As in here at the temple!?"

"Yes, my Goddess. "

"And that is supposed to make me happy, because…? " she required to know, in a more than disgusted voice.

" She's hurt….badly. She nearly died this morning. "

" Nearly….what in the name of Zeus stopped her?!"

"Lord Ares of course."

"I should have guessed. She's all he's ever interested in, these days….Well….it's time someone changed that, isn't it?" she mused out loud , her eyes narrowing at the infinite number of possibilities spinning at the same time through her head.

" Do you have something in mind?"

" I sure do, priestess…I sure do…I will need your help though."

"Whatever it takes…"

XXX

At about the same time, Gabrielle was in her room and she had been keeping herself extremely busy ever since the War God had disappeared on her….She had a surprise for him and it was nearly done…