Chapter Two

"What?" Xena asked Hercules. The year was nineteen fifty-nine. It had been a short nineteen years, but they had been forced to leave their lavish homes in England and their beautiful museum, because of Janice's slip up before her untimely death. As far as Xena knew the line had dried out with her, but it remained to be seen. They had thought the same thing in 1834.

"You playing the perfect wife, move over Mrs. Cleaver."

"Shut up, its bad enough with these undergarments my God, I don't know what was worse now or medieval times."

"Oh definitely the medieval times, going around a hose and codpieces all the time, as if I needed it."

"Hey there's not enough room in this house for your ego cool it besides at least you could breath." Hercules shrugged as he looked through the archeological magazines. "But the worse part about these times is people are starting to think we're criminals or something because we're apparently young, in-love, and no children. We might actually have to get a kid."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, its been suggest more than once that we go see a doctor if you're not pregnant."

"I doubt we'll need to do that, we're both perfectly healthy."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I have to try hard to keep from laughing."

"So should we adopt a baby, toddler, preteen, or teenager?"

"I don't know, that I have to think about." Xena sat breakfast on the table. "Who's defective this time me or you?"

"I can be, you were defective in medieval times, which had to be hard."

"No kidding, I was practically a witch."

"I'm actually surprised you decided not to become a guy this time."

"I thought about it, but once again the suits were repulsive," Xena told him pulling on his green sweater.

"Don't remind me, I can't wait for this decade to be over, and than there'll be some new fashion."

"Oh yes definitely." He handed her the magazine he had finished and picked up another. "Shall we spread the rumor today."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get looks of sympathy and more and more stories about the joys of motherhood." Xena rolled her eyes. "Drink your coffee and eat, I didn't make it for you to just let it sit there."

"Sorry, I keep forgetting your cooking has gotten much better."

"Oh very funny wise ass, and that's why you're going to be late for work." Hercules ate his breakfast before heading for the door.

"Good day Mrs. Cleaver." She reached onto the couch and threw a pillow at him making him laugh before he left out. Xena sighed and retrieved the pillow as she watched him drive off in his Ford Thunderbird, leaving her with the Ford Galaxy. They were the envy of all the neighbors because not only had the remodeled the run down house on the block to be the ideal home with lots of space and a white picket fence, they had two brand new cars straight off the line. They appeared to have the perfect marriage and individually they made themselves lovely people to be around. The only thing they were missing was children. Xena knew they would be glad that Hercules apparently couldn't give her children.

"Oh great now I'll be late." Xena cleaned the dishes quickly, the fact was she discovered was that she couldn't stand everything being out of place. Hercules said she was obsessive about it, but she denied it though she was starting wonder herself. Once she was done she grabbed her bag and lunch as well as Hercules. He would just come by and get it on his lunch hour.

"Good morning Joyce!" the Home economics teacher called. Xena refrained from rolling her eyes. She didn't like her because of the ideals she pushed into young girls heads, but to her joy things were slowly changing.

"Good morning Susan." She waved with a fake smile before walking into her classroom. "Good morning class."

"Good morning Mrs. Hayes." She smiled at them. She put her bag down after taking out her roster. She took role before she set up the projector.

"Nancy you get the lights and Donald why don't you get the blinds." They both stood up quickly to do so, Nancy also pulled down the projector screen. She lectured them for the entire class on her favorite Modern subject world war two. It helped that she had lived it. The bell rung as Nancy cut the lights on.

"Mrs. Hayes, I read that Dr. Mel Pappas was working on a Pendulum, she was English, did they kill him?"

"No, Dr. Pappas survived she left once it was clear what the Nazis were doing, I'll talk more about her, her partners, and her father tomorrow. Turn in last nights homework on my desk, and for tonight I want you to read the section on concentration camps." They took out their homework and put it on her desk before the other students came in. In the middle of her fourth class they had another drill. As usual Xena found the damn thing annoying because ducking and covering would not save the students, so she talked right through it with her students assuring them they would die anyway. When the drill was over the bell rang.

"We still have a little more, so just stay focused for two more minutes." She went to the map when the lights were back on and she was pointing out the locations of concentration camps, when a student asked why no one noticed. Hercules walked in.

"Oh I'm sorry I thought you had let them go."

"No, I was just about too, all right class dismissed, put your homework on my desk and read ahead about the concentration camps we're not done with them." They all talked excitedly putting their homework on her desk as she lifted the blinds.

"Filling their heads with things they shouldn't know, I see." Xena smirked.

"Hardly, the textbooks are pretty accurate in this case surprisingly though the U.S.'s role may be a little exaggerated." He chuckled.

"I was hoping you brought my lunch with you or should I burn gas."

"No, I brought it, its on the side of my desk." He went to her desk and picked up both bags. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing which one of us got the poor-boy."

"We both did," Xena told him.

"Huh usually you give me a peanut butter and jelly."

"Oh I got tired of you switching my bag." Hercules chuckled and shrugged.

"Well serves you right if you insist on being Mrs. Cleaver and than getting made when I get mad I got a crap sandwich while you have a masterpiece before you tell me I should make my own."

"You make a mess, your genetically cursed to be a mess just because you're male. Why couldn't you be the rare neat one."

"Okay, Obsessive."

"I'm not obsessive. Are you staying for lunch?"

"No, I have to go spread the rumor, maybe tomorrow." Because they felt someone's presence at the door they kissed before he left nodding to the young boy.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Hayes." Xena smiled at her one of her promising students.

"Good afternoon Bobby, is something wrong?"

"No ma'am I just thought I could come clap erasers for you or something."

"Oh well I didn't use them today, but I will by Friday, why don't you come back than." He nodded as she put her papers away. "Well I was just walking to the teacher's lounge why don't you go have lunch Bobby." He nodded.

"I'll walk you there," He told her. He opened the door for her and she went through. He talked about her lesson and brought up Dr. Pappas again. Xena happily indulged him by answering all his questions, but was grateful when she reached the lounge and he left.

"Joyce, how are things at home?" Susan asked when Xena looked positively down.

"Well it's just horrible we don't know what we're going to do." She had everyone's attention main the women as the men sat talking sports, but she knew men were possibly even bigger gossips than women.

"What is it?" Susan asked putting a hand on her arm.

"Well Thomas and I both went to the doctor, because you know we've been trying for children since we got married." The women nodded. There were only two home economics teachers, three English, and two music teachers, plus herself made up the only women on staff who were teachers that didn't work in the administrative office. Everyone else were men.

"What did he say?" Susan asked. Xena forced herself to cry and fan her eyes. Susan gave her a tissue.

"Well he said that I was perfectly fine, but Thomas…he said Thomas couldn't give me children." They all looked shocked and the men were trying hard to look like they weren't paying any sort of attention though they did give her an apologetic look quickly. Xena really turned up the water works.

"Oh don't cry Joyce, what about adoption?" One of them asked. "I know someone who adopted from Ireland, they say the baby is a complete joy."

"We've discussed it briefly, but it just makes us sad that we won't see a child we created together." They comforted her and by the time Xena got home the whole neighborhood knew.

"What's with all the treats?" Hercules asked.

"Oh they were brought over by various housewives who were sad because of our plight."

"We were successive than."

"It would appear so." Xena finished grading her last paper and stood up already in her pajamas. "Oh I left the food on the stove, don't forget to put it up. Night." She went upstairs to bed. Hercules chuckled at her and got his own dinner before enjoying the game while Xena was upstairs in their room watching game shows or a documentary. They had created their own relationship and technically married finding that loving someone else was too hard especially as they got older and you had to leave them before they even died.

"What's the score?" Xena called downstairs.

"Eighteen to Zero," He called back up. "My team's winning! What documentary?"

"I've got a secret!"

"What's the secret?"

"An accomplished kid gymnast." They fell silent, but eventually they were both asleep in bed.

"So I was thinking last night," Hercules told her as she looked through some magazines on archaeology.

"About what?" Xena asked.

"Children."

"Children?" Xena asked drinking her coffee.

"I thought it was just one child."

"No, I've been advised by my boss who apparently adopted too, that I should adopt too in case one dies." Xena snorted.

"Yes, he either said that or he told you I'd be a much happier wife if I had two, and couldn't focus on the fact that I'll only have one and she isn't even mine."

"Yeah, pretty much, now he expects me to adopt two children."

"Who is going to take care of these two children?"

"Us."

"One."

"All right one in any case, I poked around on my lunch break after easily telling them I had a problem and there's an adoption agency we can see today after you get off work. But what age group."

"Five."

"Why five?"

"Because I don't have time to hire a nanny."

"There's always nursery school if you do want a younger child."

"I like the idea of five maybe six." He nodded. "I'll see you after school, don't forget your lunch."

"Did we have to take your car?" Xena asked, as the win blew her hair, not that it wasn't relaxing. She just preferred her car because it didn't smell like a bunch of men.

"Yes, now gun it, they won't pull you over."

"Selfish," Xena told him as she pressed the gas and naturally she was let off with a warning.

"Happy Homes Orphanage?" Xena asked. "Really?"

"Closest thing I could find."

"Should we even be here I mean our house isn't even prepared for a kid."

"Don't worry we're just looking and putting in an application." Xena sighed and they talked with the nuns, put in an application to be approved, but were not let in to see the children since they had dropped in. They had an appointment for Sunday after they returned from Church.

"That was lovely," Hercules told her.

"Hardly, they just want time to make the children look like perfect little angels."

"Welcome." They were greeted warmly. The whole atmosphere of the orphanage had changed Xena noted and pointed out to Hercules.

"This is the nursery." They looked over all the cute children.

"They're all white," Xena commented.

"Of course they are ma'am, there are no niggers here." Xena frowned and looked at Hercules only to find him making faces at one of the babies. She shook her head at him and turned back to the woman as she smiled again genuinely.

"Are you a nun?"

"No, I just run the orphanage."

"Oh, well moving on." She nodded. "Come on Thomas." Hercules followed after a few moments.

"These are the toddlers ranging from ages two to four." They went through the room and finally the mess hall where children from ages five and up were. Xena took more interest in talking with the children and looking them over.

"Are we looking for a boy or girl?" Hercules asked.

"I don't know, I was just looking for one to jump out at me."

"Good afternoon we're Donna Kilpatrick and Patrick James." Xena and Hercules watched them for a moment. They were both seventeen, juniors in High School and still at the Orphanage unfortunately for them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hayes," Hercules told them. "Can we help you?"

"Yes, you can help us by adopting us. I'm a football player at Jefferson High, and she is the head cheerleader. We have good grades, Mrs. Hayes you can even check our records, they're practically clean."

"We'll think about it though we were looking for something younger."

"Well put it this way, we'll be out of your hair in a year, and you can still have your young one. Who says there's a limit on adoption."

"Oh we do, we simply only have love, time, and room for one," Xena told them apologetically. She knew both of them, and they were a menace to the school, no way would she become responsible for them and told Hercules as much.

"You know I was really hoping you had something more racial than white."

"If you want another race than go adopt a Korean."

"I plan too if it doesn't work out here," Hercules told her. The woman however was determined to give them a child. She didn't particularly like children and they celebrated when a child or two was adopted, because that meant less.

"Look do you have any Indians or Blacks."

"You want Indians go North but unfortunately yes we do have blacks, you'll have to come see them on Friday."

"No, I'd rather see them now, I know you want them to look perfect and like little angels, but we don't care," Hercules told her. She sighed and led us out. We went to a room where the children were more or less running around playing with miscellaneous items with no real toys in overalls and shirts. They had no shoes and their hair was running wild even the boys.

"Ronald, what did I tell you about bringing Michelle in here!" The woman as absolutely furious at the five year old boy who was holding the hand of Michelle a three year old girl."

"He's the one," Hercules and Xena said together. The woman stopped just as the children had stopped playing at the sight of white people in their room. It had never happened before despite the fact there were ten of them the woman never let them in to see them or let them out to wander the orphanage when parents were around.

"What?"

"We want Ronald."

"And we would like to talk to him alone." The woman grabbed Ronald by his overall and pulled him out of the room with Michelle towing along. Though she tried to make them let go and eventually she did and they were left alone in the hallway.

"Ronald we're Thomas and Joyce Hayes, how would you like to be adopted by us?" Thomas asked.

"Ms. Smiley says that whites and blacks shouldn't mix."

"Yes, but if you don't listen to her when it comes to Michelle why should you listen to her when it comes to choosing parents?" Xena asked him. He shrugged.

"I promise Michelle I won't leave her."

"At least you get your little girl," Hercules commented.

"I'll go tell her, welcome to the family Ronald." She kissed his forehead before walking off in the direction Ms. Smiley.

"Your back, I suppose you'll want another look at the white children." Xena shook her head.

"We've made our decision, we're going to adopt Ronald and Michelle." Michelle who had been struggling with Ms. Smiley who hardly seemed to notice looked up. Xena bent down. "Michelle would you like to come live with us and Ronald?" She nodded her head. "Good because we'd like you to come too." She smiled. "Shall we do the paperwork, and we'll be back Friday afternoon to come get them. We have much to do."

"Fine, though I hardly think taking Ronald is a good idea."

"Oh whatever the paperwork." They did the paperwork and the children were happy that they were going to be leaving Friday.