"I think," she finally
told Lyceus, "that it's time to stop doing this the subtle
way." He stared at her, uncomprehending. "I do have the
Hind's Blood dagger." she reminded him. "I can go to
Hades' castle, hold it at his throat, and tell him that if he
doesn't make me mortal again I'm going to kill
him."

"I dunno, Xe…" he said
nervously. "Threatening the god of the underworld might cause
more problems than it solves." She started to reply when
Gabrielle's voice echoed loudly in her mind. 'Am I in love
with you, Xena?' She held up her hand for Lyceus to be quiet as
she listened to Gabrielle's plea.

The bard was right – Xena had been
aware of the Gabrielle's crush on her, and had done her best
not to encourage it. Not that she wasn't interested in the girl
– unlike Gabrielle, she did not question that what she felt was
love. But she also acknowledged that the object of her affections
was much more innocent than she, and to start a relationship with
Gabrielle would not be in the bard's best interests. Still, the
anguish in the tone made her wince.

"Xena?" Lyceus questioned
softly.

"Sorry." Xena murmured.
"Gabrielle was… is …" she stopped, not sure
what she wanted to say. "She was thinking of me." she
finished finally, her tone making it clear that the subject was
closed. Lyceus nodded his understanding.

"But, seriously Xe, if you
prove yourself a threat to the gods, they make take steps to
eliminate you, and then you'll never be able to fix
Ares. Is it really worth that risk?"

"Well it's certainly better
than doing nothing!" she retorted.

"Don't tell me you two are
fighting already? Siblings are all the same, seriously." A
high-pitched voice came out of mid-air, apparently not attached to
anything.

"What the…!?" Lyceus
jumped, looking for the source. His older sister watched, him
amused.

"Don't bother, Ly… I
recognize that voice. What brings you to the Elysian Fields,
Aphrodite?"

"I brought you a visitor!"
The goddess sounded extremely pleased with herself. "You
so owe me for this one, warrior!" A limp form fell
from about 20 feet up, and Xena caught it on instinct, realizing a
second later what it was.

"Gabrielle…" the word
was torn from her throat as she stared disbelieving at the woman
cradled in her arms.

"Thanks for catching me."
The bard murmured. There were tears in her eyes. "I hate
heights." Xena started laughing, almost hysterically, as she
hugged the younger woman fiercely to her chest. Suddenly, she
stopped, and gently let the young woman onto her feet.