The Deal

"In front of the fates Ares," Xena told him angrily. He nodded and they disappeared from the small temple and appeared in front of the fates.

"Not another marriage I hope," Clotho asked as she spun the thread.

"No, we have a little deal here, in exchange for a daughter, I will leave Xena's friends and family alone in this time life and the next. And I will continue to leave her alone as well, but claim her soul in the next life."

"I have something to add." Everyone looked at Xena." A girl must be born first, if it is another boy you cannot claim him. And you only get one shot at it."

"Xena, I don't have to make this deal with you at all, I'll go take my son right now!" Xena didn't back down.

"I will kill him first," Xena told him in all seriousness. He looked into her eyes and knew she was perfectly willing to be tormented for eternity for Daniel's death. He growled and it was added to the contract which Xena looked over for any and all minor details he may have left out.

"The deal has been written,and if any of you should break your side of the agreement..." Lachesis spoke.

"Than you will live for eternity in torment even you oh God of war." They both put their thumb prints on the document

"Ahh I love the feeling of getting my way, come on Xena." He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her but she didn't budge. "Have you forgotten our deal already?"

"No, I'll be there in a moment I know my way through Mt. Olympus Ares, you just go get ready."

"Oh no, you're up to something."

"Not at all, you have the contract, I've signed it. I've made the deal." Ares disappeared to the Halls of War. Xena turned back to the fates. "Can he hear us?"

"No one eavesdrops on us after..."

"...what we did..."

...to Hermes." Xena nodded.

"What is it..."

"...that you seek..."

"...from us warrior princess?" Xena was silent for a moment.

"I'd like to see my life's thread."

"This is it?" Lachesis told her.

"Soon another thread shall intertwine with it until it is born." Xena nodded knowing her pregnancy would happen. Xena held her thread, her life in her hands. The part she touched flashed before her eyes and memories of Solan's conception flooded her. When she came back she was gasping and the fates were looking at her strangely.

"Only a god..."

"...can see into the thread..."

"...without looking into the water." Xena looked at them strangely.

"I can't be a goddess," Xena told them. Atropos took her thread in her hands and nodded to the others as they all felt along her thread.

"Here, when you destroyed Velasca, her power found its way into you." Xena turned away from them and sat on the steps taking in the information sadly, she didn't want to be a Goddess.

"Do not fret Xena."

"What do you mean?" Xena asked. "How can I not, I am a Goddess."

"Yes, and because you are a Goddess, Ares can hold no claim over your children." Xena stood up and looked at them all.

"So I don't have to go lie with him?"

"No, you must, you have made the deal, if a son is born he may not fight you for complete control of him. If a daughter is born as a Goddess she will rightfully belong to you, as Ares did not specifically say that you must in fact give her over to him." Xena smiled at the fates.

"I knew there had to be a reason I liked you all." They didn't react.

"Beware of his wrath Xena, he will break the contract and suffer." Xena nodded she hurried out the mortal way. Now was not the time to try out her powers. She ran into Athena and Artemis who tried to stop her.

"You should have called on us."

"Yes, in retrospect, but something wonderful has just been brought to my attention." She filled them in before leaving them smirking.

"I knew my laws would come in handy one day." Ares appeared.

"You're too late sisters she's already made her deal." Artemis and Athena were now frowning as well as Xena.

"She was just telling us, but don't think for one moment my niece will be your vision if I have anything to do with it." Artemis and Athena disappeared. Ares grabbed Xena and disappeared with her. Xena made effort to put up some sort of resistance.

"Stop fighting it Xena, you know you want me as much as I want you," Ares whispered in her ear. He hadn't wasted any time in claiming her lips, her earlobe, her neck and now her breast. Xena was trying hard to separate herself from the situation to just let it happen. But her traitorous body reacted as she had in the past when she wanted to sleep with Ares. She nearly scoffed out loud at her own thoughts when had she ever stopped desiring him physically?

Physical desires were hard to break when the memory was still fresh in your mind as if they were happening just yesterday. Her skin was on fire from his touch and all she wanted to do was stop before she did something she would regret.

"Can we just get on with it?" Xena attempted to growl, but what sounded like a moan to her distress. She was losing this battle and she knew she would have to take over or he would drag this out for the long haul. Taking a deep breath she pushed the fuzziness from her mind and took control easily enough she knew what he liked and how he liked it. It was like she had never stopped doing it. His moans filled the air and several times she had to keep him from taking control before she finally felt his release a little after her third unintended one.

"Gods I feel so dirty," Xena muttered getting off of him and dressing as he lay there breathing hard.

"You know you are a little animal in bed," Ares told her. "I think I'll purposely keep these scratch marks for a little while. Xena said nothing as she was visibly noting how fast conception can take place in a Goddess. With Daniel as a mortal she hadn't been around to know if she would have felt his conception, but she did know only because she was mortal did his growth slow.

"Its your body."

"And don't go anywhere I put a little spell on you to speed up the process, I don't have nine months to wait for my daughter. Xena said nothing for a moment.

"I'm going to go wait with Athena in her library, maybe I can bury my shame in scrolls." Xena walked out and Ares let her knowing she wouldn't make it very far with his daughter.

"Its done, in a matter of hours I should have another child."

"Hours?" Aphrodite asked. "It is at least six months if the child is stubborn."

"He put a spell on me, he's not into waiting." Athena paced annoyed.

"I don't like this one bit, Zeus will hear about this, he's technically raped you."

"Yes, I know."

"What is the penalty for raping another Goddess?" Artemis suddenly asked. Athena stopped pacing and went into her library she came back a few minutes later with a scroll. Xena was now sitting with a protruding stomach, she was at least three months pregnant.

"Penalty for rape is strip of title and he will be mortal for an entire year. When he returns he will be a lesser God."

"Who will take his place?" Artemis asked as Aphrodite conjured up some food for Xena. Athena shrugged.

"That will be for Zeus to decide upon, but Xena wishes to bring it before Zeus she can."

"Good, I think I will." They nodded happily. "But I want to have this baby in the Amazon village, I want to be sure he doesn't take her away before we can do what we have too." They nodded and disappeared with her.

"Mother!" Gabrielle reached her first when they had all come running towards her, she looked the same aside from the obvious notable difference.

"Are you all right?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine just really hungry." They all went with her to a hut and Ephiny called for food.

"What happen?" Cyrene asked.

"Found a loophole," Artemis enterjected. The amazons in the room gasped and fell to their knees immediately including Gabrielle. "Rise my loyal Amazons now is not the time." They nodded following her orders."I want all the defenses up Ares will come here." One of the Amazons nodded and left out to rouse the others. Athena appeared next to Aphrodite carrying scrolls.

"All right so by law, mothers have claim over their children, and only in the event of marriage does the father have equal claim. And you never married him right?"

"Right."

"I'm lost I don't understand, can he come get me?" Daniel asked hugging Xena tightly, he was so afraid he would never see her again.

"No, he can't hurt any of us anymore okay. Before you all moved here Artemis asked me to help her get rid of Velasca, she asked for my help in exchange for shielding us from Ares. For the most part it worked but he found out somehow."

"Wait but those laws only apply to the Gods and Goddesses," Gabrielle told them.

"When I killed Velasca, all of her power went into Xena including her immortality and..."

"Xena, why didn't you tell us?" They asked. Xena let them get their questions out as her stomach grew again and she readjusted her position on the couch.

"Because I didn't know," Xena told them. "We were making the deal in front of the fates, I've had my suspicions that things were different about me, and that just confirmed it when I asked to see my thread." They all nodded their understanding.

"Well can't you get rid of it?" Gabrielle asked.

"Its not that simple, the minute she gives up being a Goddess assuming there is a place we can put the energy, Ares could easily take her child if only because she is mortal. That is the claim he had over Daniel, but it is useless now that Xena has rights." All talk died down as they thought of how something so random as energy needing to find a place such as Xena's body had saved them all. Eight hours later Xena was turning everything not human or God into water.

"This is just as bad as when he had me burning everything for a month," Xena groaned getting wet again. "I couldn't eat it was just as bad as morning sickness."

"Why do they call it morning sickness?" Ephiny asked as everyone look at her as Xena tried again to pick up a piece of meat. It was dawn and no one had managed to sleep.

"What?" Solan asked voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I mean why morning sickness?" Ephiny asked. "You ever met one pregnant woman mortal or goddess who didn't have it all day every day and sometimes even at night?"

"That's so true you wake up vomiting, and go to bed vomiting." Everyone nodded.

"You know what going through pregnancy in the matter of hours makes me think I look drunk sometimes. You know happy, crying, synical, asshole, and generous. Then we start the emotional train all over again."

"You sound loopy right now."

"I'm hungry so I'm delirious...yes!" They looked at her as she finally stopped turning food into water. She returned to eating her fill which seemed to be nonexistent. By midmorning everyone was fast asleep except the three Goddess who took shifts watching over the village.

"How can you sleep?" Gabrielle asked Xena that night as they all slept some more.

"Just because I am a goddess doesn't mean I can't sleep, if I wanted too I could stay up, but I like my sleep." Gabrielle nodded as they dozed again. The second day Xena was taken to the birthing hut.

"Push," Cyrene told Xena who sat up as best she could and bared down hard.

"How's the pain?" Gabrielle asked looking at her nearly crushed hand.

"Excruciating," Xena whispered looking into her eyes and breathing. It was worst than when she gave birth to Daniel on her own. She didn't know if she could have been on her own with this one and made it through.

"I see a head!" Cyrene exclaimed loudly. "Come on Xena just a few more pushes." Xena pushed a little more until Cyrene caught the baby and crying filled the air.

"It's a little girl," Cyrene said happily as she swaddled her granddaughter happily and Solan was allowed in with Daniel to cut the cord.

"Oh bloody hell!" Xena exclaimed. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What?" Solan asked as Gabrielle took his sister from his mother.

"You two out now!" Cyrene shooed them out as Ephiny came into help at Gabrielle's orders. They were shut off looking worried as Xena let out some cries of pain.

"Solan is mommy going to be okay?" Daniel asked him worried. Solan didn't know for sure, but he decided to reassure Daniel that she would be all right both of the completely forgetting that the odds of her dying in childbirth were zero to none as a Goddess. It was two hours later that another cry filled the air.