Chapter 47:Sick

Xena POV

The first rays of the sun covered my face and I knew that morning had arrived... I shifted in his arms, recollecting how good and warm I felt right then and there, thinking that the last thing in the world I wanted was to open my eyes and thus disturb that peaceful feeling….

Seeing that I had awoken, he decided to speak.

"Xena are you awake?"

"Yeah…" I stood up and turned my head to face him.

"Morning…" he said, while capturing my lips in a quick kiss.

"Morning..." I replied back and looked around us...forest was all I could see.

"We...kinda have a problem." he added, noticing my bewildered expression.

"Do we now...?" I half joked, not liking his tone.

"I..." he brought his fingers at his earring before continuing his sentence. "…must have taken the wrong road last night."

"What?" I cast him an irritated glance. "You must be..."

"Shh..."

"How can you tell me to shh…Now it will take forever to go back…Do you even know where are we?"

"Hush now…Look…"

We trotted about a couple of steps until we found ourselves out of the bushes and then I saw the road...the correct one.

"That wasn't funny..." I said, slapping his arms.

"I thought it was…You should have seen your face..."

"Shut up..."

"Make me." He challenged. And then, his searching mouth was on mine and my fingers in his hair brought him impossible close to me.

"Stop…"

The words came out slowly and in between kisses. "We won't…make it home if..."

"Do you want me to stop..?" he asked seductively, while kissing my earlobe, proceeding with my neck, probably feeling the pulse rising beneath my skin.

A barely perceptible shake of my head was my only answer to him…

"Ok….if we have to…" he whispered, stopping his ministrations, giving me a peck on the lips and returning Argo's reins to me.

"She's all yours..." I took them from his warm hands and kissed him back more longingly.

"Thanks..."

After no more than half a mile, the house appeared before us.

"So much silence..." Ares said amusingly patting Argo's back, with me following after him.

"Go on...I will put Argo in the stables." he said once we reached the house, and I nodded thankfully and made my way right away inside, so happy to be back to my children...The house appeared so small to me now after all those years when I literally lived there…when I was just an innocent little girl without a clue about life.

The door opened without me even needing to knock.

"Xena..."

"Gabrielle..." I smiled but when I saw the panic on her face, my expression changed really fast.

"Thank Gods you are here...I thought…Xena..."

"What is it? Is it Eve? Did something happen to Eve?"

"No… she is alright..." and then my mind made the connection and I felt my legs melting.

"Then..."

"Adam...he..." but I didn't let her finish…I just took my leave and burst into Eve's room where I assumed he had to be. What if…I didn't even have the courage to utter the words in my mind.

"Hercules?" I asked shocked. "What are you doing here?"

The man who changed my life turned to face me, holding a remarkably still Adam in his arms.

"What happened?" I asked and approached him and took my boy in my arms. "He's burning hot."

"I know..." he answered sadly.

The door opened and Gabrielle came in.

"Xena...We couldn't find a healer, nobody in town knows one… we've already tried everything to make the fever go down but…"

"Since when?" I looked desperately at them.

"Yesterday noon...I'm sorry..."

I took a good long look at my child...He didn't even have the strength to cry anymore, it just struck my heart to see someone so small suffering and more if he was mine…I couldn't lose him...I just couldn't…

"Do we have vinegar?" I questioned, hoping that maybe if cold water didn't do the trick, maybe vinegar would somehow work...It had to.

"I will go look for it."

When Gabrielle opened the door to go out, Ares entered the room.

"Xe…Hercules? What are you doing here?"

"Ares..." Hercules uttered, hate in his voice.

"Guys…not here...and surely not now." I put myself in the middle making myself really clear.

Ares came towards me, totally ignoring Hercules and looked at our son who was whining now.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly, and took the child's small hand in his.

"Fever..." he looked at me with sad eyes knowing as well as me what could happen if it would not drop soon.

"Xena..." Gabrielle burst in. "I found some...What should I do…?"

"Some socks…Hold him please…" I gave Adam carefully to his father and started searching for some socks that I could imbibe in a solution made with that vinegar and when I found them I put them on my child.

"And now?" Gabrielle asked, still worried.

"Now we wait." I said, holding my breath.