"Take the princess back to home immediately and kill anything that poses as a threat to you on the way!" The head commander of the Royal Army saw half of his troops, as well as the princess, off, the ranks disappearing into the darkness of the trees. He turned around quickly then to Xena. The warrior princess was on the ground, Gabrielle unconscious in her lap. "Is she going to be alright?" Xena nodded, her face emotionless.

"I can take care of her," she said. There was a protectiveness in her voice. "She'll be just fine-"

"Well at least allow me and the rest of the army to escort the two of you back to the castle…" Xena hesitated on the offer just for a moment, glancing down at her friend.

"…Alright," she said, and she whistled for Argo. It took a few minutes, but finally the horse came forth from the darkness, trotting over to Xena hurriedly. The brunette woman pulled out her breast dagger and cut the ropes from Gabrielle before snapping the head from the arrow that skewered her, and pushed the shaft through. The head commander winced, but was unable to look away from the process, and was surprised when Xena picked Gabrielle up from the ground and carried her to Argo without even asking for his help. He did insist though on helping her get the blonde onto the horse after Xena had mounted, casting the warrior an encouraging but small smile. "Thanks," Xena said.

Gabrielle awoke to a terrible pain, a burning that went through her from the front to the back, and the shock from the pain nearly knocked her back out again. Had she enough energy to scream, she would have, but the expression on her face and the changing of it's colour from a pale pink to a bright red from her strain proved to suffice. When she was finally able to relax, she realized that her hand had locked itself around something. Her head lulled to the side and she saw that she was gripping another person's hand, and in that moment her eyes followed the wrist to the forearm, the elbow, the shoulder, and finally on a face.

"…Xena," Gabrielle breathed, tears forming in her eyes immediately. She moved, as if to sit up, but her companion instantly forbade it.

"Shhh, don't move," Xena said. "You're not in good shape, Gabrielle." Xena reached out and brushed hair out of the blonde's face and wiped away some of her tears.

"Xena….. I didn't think you were coming back for me." The warrior's eyes locked with Gabrielle's upon this statement and she almost dropped the fire poker that she still held in her hand onto the floor. "I thought you'd left with the princess already… I didn't know that you-"

"Of course I came back for you, Gabrielle," Xena said. She was shocked she even had to say the words. "Why would you think I wouldn't?" The brunette's eyes were wide, her eyebrows turned up. Gabrielle was silent for a while, struggling with what that one woman had said to her earlier that day before she had been attacked. She didn't want to believe her words… Didn't want to give them and plausibility, but…

"One of the women asked me something today." Gabrielle paused, looking briefly into Xena's eyes. Their sapphire depths were too much for her, however, and she quickly looked away. "She asked me what you were doing with me, why you keep me with you… She asked what the connection was. I told her off at first, but, as we kept walking, I- I started to wonder about it myself. Why have you kept me with you all of this time, Xena? I mean, why me? I mean, of all the people and after so much time-"

"Gabrielle," Xena interrupted. Her voice was warm and calm, drawing Gabrielle's eyes back up to her friend's face. "I keep you with me because of what you mean to me. I keep you by my side because of how good you are for me, more than anyone else I know." Xena looked at Gabrielle, locating the bard's hand and holding it gently between both of her. After a short moment she pulled it to her, resting it over her heart. "I keep you with me because I love you." Gabrielle shed a tear and gently bit the inside of her cheek.

"Yeah, you say that but how am I supposed to know that it's true? It's not easy with you sometimes, Xena. You close your doors to me… Sometimes I see the other side of some and others I never do. It makes it difficult to know your head, and even more so your heart." Gabrielle blinked slowly, pulling away from her companion. She felt weak, tired, but didn't want to let go just yet.

"When I close my doors to you, I'm not doing it on purpose. I can promise you that. It's just that there are things that have happened in my past that I may never get away from, some worse than others, and I don't want those things to be your burden as well as mine. But Gabrielle," the blonde turned her head towards Xena when she heard her name on the brunette's lips. "I love you, more than anything and anyone in the entire world. You are my everything and you always will be, and there is absolutely nothing that can change that. Not the will of the Gods… Not even death. I swear it. You have to believe me, Gabrielle." By then, Gabrielle was crying without any resistance, tears running down her face. Xena reached out again and wiped them away before she leaned forward, kissing the blonde tenderly. Gabrielle's hand came up to the side of Xena's face, pulling her closer, the tears still streaming from her eyes.

"I love you, Xena," she said weakly at the end of the kiss. Xena smiled at her friend warmly. "And thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

"For rescuing me," the bard answered. Xena smiled, but the expression was accompanied by developing tears. She got up and climbed into the bed beside Gabrielle, careful not to move her too much, and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'd do it again a thousand times."

Sorry for the delay on the update. There are a few more chapters coming, though, so be on the lookout! Thanks for reading! :)