“Hey, are you okay?” Hercules asked as he rejoined his friend.

“Actually, I don’t really know how I am,” Iolaus said as he leaned against a fence post just outside the tavern door. Hercules joined him.

“Typical of Salmoneus to break the news gently,” Herc observed.

“That was gentle for Salmoneus,” Iolaus smiled. Herc was happy to see some of his friend’s melancholy disappear for a moment.

“Well, that’s true. Iolaus, he wouldn’t lie about this.”

“I know, Herc. I know.” The hunter grew quiet again and watched the horizon. Hercules had to admit he was confounded by his friend’s reaction. For his own part, Herc felt ready to fly to hear of Xena’s return. He’d seen enough people die and come back (including Iolaus) to be pretty much immune to the shock value.

But Iolaus seemed more than just surprised, shocked, or even stunned. He looked as though his entire world had just been shaken. Hercules tried to think back. Had Xena upset him this much? No, he decided. Sure there was a time when Iolaus would have done anything for Xena, sacrificed anyone (including Hercules) but that all was over a long time ago. Still, Hercules’s own relationship with Xena had never really sat well with Iolaus. He wondered if Iolaus’s discomfort may have been an unconscious reason why he and Xena never had stayed together.

No, Hercules suddenly realized in studying his friend more closely. It wasn’t Xena he was thinking about at all. It had to be –

“Gabrielle,” Iolaus sighed, not really aware he’d spoken out loud. “She’s out there somewhere.”

“Yes she is,” Hercules smiled. Of course, Gabrielle. He should have known. “She always did seem to have a soft spot for you,” Herc playfully elbowed his friend, who frowned. He knew he’d said the wrong thing. “What was between you two?”

“Nothing,” he snapped. Evidently he’d hit a nerve. Iolaus walked away in frustration. “Nothing ever happened. You and Xena were always so busy being heroes that we never got a chance.” That caught the demi-god’s attention.

“I’m sorry, Herc. I didn’t mean that,” he sighed and returned to Herc’s side and collapsed onto the ground. Hercules did the same, but he knew better than to answer – Iolaus obviously had more to say. “It’s just… well, Gabrielle was something special to me. We had a connection. I was more at home with her than anyone.”