LET'S SEE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ONE...IS OUR SEXY WAR GOD RIGHT OR NOT?

"Ares?" she whispered again- this time, a feather like touch, caressing his shoulder.

It took her voice a few moments to register, to pierce through the armour of pain surrounding his heart and to actually capture his attention, and it was obvious by the expression on his face that he was …well…shocked….

"Xena?" he murmured reluctantly once he was able again to produce sounds, his fingers brushing over her lips in utter disbelief, silently wondering if this was the end of the road- if he had indeed lost it….Maybe the guilt had been too much this time…Maybe, without having realised it, he finally cracked up….

" What's going on? Am I bleeding again?" his Princess weakly asked, in that same low, insecure tone as before, shifting a bit in his arms and frowning at just how uncomfortably tight he was holding her- as primitively and as possessively as always, yes, but there was something more to it- she could easily tell it by his labored, erratic breathing and by the despair in which his trembling hands immediately started feeling every inch of her visage, just to move downwards, to her neck, chest and waist, with the same broken, spasmodic gestures of a madman…

" Wha'…? No…no…." he hastily answered, staring at her in utter amazement through the thick, tomb like darkness of the room.

"Is it that bad?" she pushed, sensing the still lingering distress in his voice…He sounded like a man who had been mourning- who had lost everything that had ever mattered for him…- and for some reason, this scenario scared her terribly.

" How….how did you….? I thought….Are you ok?"

" I'm a bit dizzy but I'm fine I guess…" she hesitantly replied, finally pulling away slightly from his iron like grip. She could hardly breathe with those strong arms snaked like that around her. "Can I have a glass of water, please?"

" Sure . Whatever you want. Are you hungry? Would you like something to..?" he continued while with a wave of his hand he materialized a few candles around the bed, and it was in their faint, yellowish light that Xena finally noticed the traces of tears- still fresh on his face- …..The troubled, red eyes only rushed to confirm her suppositions….He had been indeed crying- she hadn't imagined it…

"No…just water please." she interrupted, trying to make her comment sound detached and normal, as if she hadn't noticed a thing… " How long did I sleep? What time is it?"

" Three days….I don't know….two hours till sunrise I guess…." he responded, shrugging his shoulders while handing her the glass of water.

"Three days?!..." she exclaimed, accidentally spilling almost half of the liquid content on her…" What happened?" she demanded to know, taking a moment to make sense of what he was saying. Three days?! How could that be?!

It didn't take long before she indirectly received part of her answer though, because as soon as the question had left her lips, Ares' face was suddenly invaded by guilt and shame. His eyes immediately darted away from hers….

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked, distancing himself a bit more from her.

" Us talking…." she replied, puzzled by his reaction. " Draja brought me that tea…and I feel asleep. I was so tired…"

" Is that it?"

" Yes…" she responded, already visibly alarmed by his unexpected coldness. " Ares what's going on? Why was I out for there days? If it wasn't the wound.."

" You had a fever…" he promptly explained, but she could instantly tell he was lying.

" Huh…..So…it got infected even despite the second sterilization?" she insisted, carefully studying his face.

As if having detected the doubt in her voice, Ares' gaze immediately locked with hers.

" Yeah…. and it wasn't fun, trust me." he sated, arching a brow at her.

"Oh…." she paused, still not clear- headed enough to tell if her suspicions were justified or not after all… " I remember some weird dream about a dark, horrid place….Lyceus and Gabrielle were in it too….but it's all a blurr…."

"…You can blame the fever for that…You were delirious half the night…" he frowned, gulping nosily as her hand rested casually on his chest….

" Ares…"

"I'll go get Blondie. " he abruptly announced leaving her agape. " She's still crying her eyes out. …You almost died…" he said, planting a quick, dismissing kiss on her forehead.

Before she knew it, the War God disappeared in his usual flash of blue light, leaving nothing but unanswered questions behind…

XXX

Seconds later, Ares appeared on the hall outside Xena's room. That was as far as he could stand the otherwise regular transportation through the aether. Unlike any other previous time he had made use of this divine form of transport, a disturbing feeling of nausea took over him, causing his stomach to convulse painfully before an even more sickening sensation made him feel mortal and weak all over again…

" Bro! "Aphrodite breathed out the second she laid eyes on him- instinctively running in his direction but stopping dead in her tracks half way, when, the intense scene of the Bard's body colliding violently with the wall, rushed warningly into her mind.

There was no way in Tartarus the emotionally traumatized Gabrielle was going to give him the chance to say anything…anything at all. He had no right to talk- not in her opinion. Plus, it was her the one who had a million things to say when it came to him- to many gathered frustrations- and she had every intention to share them –each and every one of them!

" This is all your fault! Are you happy now that you finally got what you wanted?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, launching angrily at him and even trying to strike him- a ridiculous attempt as any observer would have noticed.

" What are you talking about?" he barely managed to answer before a rain of unsuccessful punches was unleashed against him.

"You wanted her dead! You wanted her dead because she had the guts to leave everything behind and start over! You couldn't stand the thought, so you finally got your petty revenge!"

Ares just glared at her for a few moments, consternation painted on his face. Just when he thought that he was the only crazy fool walking the earth...He couldn't have been more wrong. And now, to top it all, he had to share even this new status with her….

" Excuse me?! Are you for real?!" he barked back. " Where have you been all this time- on another planet?!"

There was no reasoning with the ceaselessly sobbing Bard though.

"You killed her! You could have saved her and you didn't! She's dead because of you! Because you're a selfish Bastard who cares about no one but himself! Because you refused to let her go! You brought nothing in her life but pain, regret and guilt! She should have listened to me! She should have listened!"

" Are you done?!" he asked, visibly calmer, once she stopped to draw her breath.

" I hate you!" she burst out, one last explosion of despair and whatever else was going on inside her soul.

"Not that I had any doubts about that…."

" Gabby…." Dite murmured, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, her eyes still focused on her brother's face. Despite the tension she could see in his muscles, she could tell that something major had happened…."...you know that's not true. He actually..."

"No! I don't care about that stupid story of yours!" the Bard yelled, pushing the Goddess' hand away. " I couldn't care less that he tried! It's the result that matters….and the result is that she's dead! He should have died trying…!"

" Wow! That broke my little heart." Ares mocked, rolling his eyes. She was being such a drama Queen!

"Good!"

" Does this make you feel better?" he inquired, just for the fun of tormenting her some more.

" No! But I wish it did!" came her honest, heartbreaking answer. She was indeed devastated.

" Gee...that's a very unselfish wish. Anyway….Xena's alive. You can go see her if you want to."

A few seconds needed to pass for the information to actually sink in.

" What?"

She obviously couldn't believe her ears.

" Yeah….And just for the record…I hope you die ….sometime in the near future- a horrible, horrible death if possible. " Ares added, glaring daggers at her now. " And Blondie…before you run off to her….make sure you keep your mouth shut about Dite's stupid story….And I mean it, not a word. I told her she had a fever…-that's all she needs to know" he warned, grabbing her arm. " Got it?"

"Why?" she asked, looking even more nonplussed than before.

" Just do as I say…"

A brief nod later, she was storming inside her friend's room, leaving Aphrodite and Ares alone.

It was the Love Goddess' turn to be confused….That had been a strange night- a strange couple of days really….

"Bro….but how? "

"I have no idea…." he simply stated, leaning his head against one of the marble columns sustaining the roof.

"I thought it was too late…." she added, surprise echoing from her voice.

" Tell me about it….…"

" I guess the tears did the trick after all.." she concluded, giggling merrily at the realization.

"What tears?"

" The tears of love dummy. You cried tears of love for her….." his sister explained, clapping her hands with excitement.

" I didn't cry…..I was just…..screaming….burning some steam…." came the laughably bad explanation. As always, when it came to admitting his feelings, the handsome Olympian acted impossibly childish.

" Right. Grandma Gaia will surely believe you- and by the way, the poor woman hasn't seen you since you were three, maybe you should pay her a visit- some bonding wouldn't hurt either...Why did you tell Gabby not to say a word? You saved her Bro! She should know…."

He hesitated a bit before offering his sister an answer. He was not in the mood for this type of conversation –not in the mood for talking to begin with and she wasn't making it easy for him…

"I don't want her to think that she owes me anything…"

" She owes you her life…" the pink dressed daughter of Zeus snorted her disapproval.

"No she doesn't…Blondie was right. It was because of me that she nearly…" the God started, but soon stopped, unable to hear himself saying it out loud. He didn't even want to think about it!

" I shouldn't have left her out of my sight. Not for one minute- and I sworn to protect her Dite…with my life…"

"And you did…You did a great job. She's alive because of you…that's all that matters…It was your love that brought her back. How cool is that?! This is like the ultimate love story!"

" Not cool enough…." he replied with a sigh.

"What are you saying? Stop being so harsh on yourself! And cheer up already! It's over…."

" Oh, you got that right!"

Given his sister's puzzled expression, he felt compelled to enlighten her.

" She had a point there, Blondie…I'm bad for her. She's the only good thing that has ever happened to me and I couldn't even…"

" Ares!"

" It's over , Dite…Once she's well enough to leave this temple, we're done…Fairy tales suck! "