Chapter XXVIII

The meal was finished, and everyone sat back, replete and relaxed as conversation continued to flow.  Gabrielle rose to bring dessert in, when a quiet alert sounded to an incoming call.  Those around the table grew silent as Xena answered the call.

“Yes, Brittany?” who had volunteered to continue the monitoring downstairs so Root and Shaw could have a little time together, and so Kurt and his son could share dinner with the rest.

“Oh… hey, Xena.  Yeah, the Machine seems to have the hiccups, and I was wondering if maybe peanut butter would cure them?”  Root’s eyes widened and she jumped from her place, rushing to the elevator with barely a wave.  Xena acknowledged her as the doors closed and turned her attention back to the speaker.  “‘Cause you know, I don’t think She can hold her breath very long and water would just be a bad thing, you know?  Lord Tubbington seems to think She might need rebooting, but he’s also been a real sour puss since I took away his vaping stuff.  I think he may be projecting his anger and frustration a little bit.  I wonder if She could turn Herself upside down,” she mumbled to herself.  They could almost hear her biting her lip in contemplation, then she shrugged.  “Oh… and you have guests incoming.  I gave them the go ahead to land the Batcopter on the roof… whatever that is.  I mean seriously - why would a helicopter need wings like a bat?  Helicopters don’t have wings at all.  Whatever.  They should be here in a couple minutes.  Do you want me to send them to you?”

Xena looked up from where she had been pinching the bridge of her nose hard between her thumb and forefinger.  Brittany was undoubtably brilliant, but sometimes… many times… she just made Xena’s head hurt trying follow her conversation.  She cleared her throat.  “Yes, Brittany.  Thank you.”

“Oh… don’t mention it.  Me and Sparkles the Unicorn got it all under control… except for those hiccups.  Maybe if we try….  Oh, hi Root!  Are you here to help me with aiming Sparkles unicorn farts?  I think that might be just the thing to cure Her hiccups.”

They never heard Root’s answer, as she leaned over and flipped off the intercom.  They just looked around the room at one another and started laughing.  Kurt shook his head.

“You’d think I’d be used to it after high school and everything, but every time Brittany opens her mouth, something new and completely unexpected comes out that makes me just scratch my head in disbelief.”

“She was like that in high school?” Ian asked as he stood and started gathering plates and things together to take into the kitchen; the rest followed suit and within minutes, the table had been cleared and they were all standing around in the kitchen.

“No,” Kurt finally answered.  “She was actually worse in high school.  I mean, we all know she’s brilliant now and MIT helped make her a little more coherent… even with all the extraneous information she puts out. It used to all be superfluous.  The only one who got her with any regularity then was Santana.  The rest of us just waited for an interpretation and hoped Santana was willing to share.”  He accepted the washcloth Gabrielle offered him and began wiping his son’s face, much to his squirming displeasure.  Without a word, Casey stepped up beside him and took the boy into her arms, cooing at him as Kurt finished his clean-up job.  “Thank you,” he said sincerely, reaching for his son.  Casey shook her head.  

“I’m gonna take this young man downstairs with me and get him cleaned up and ready for bed.  You and Ian can take care of the dishes, then join me downstairs when you’re done.”

“We’ll help,” Amy volunteered, running water as Lucy and Ian started scraping plates and putting leftovers away.  “Pretty sure that’s the best thing we can do to help out at the moment.”

Kurt nodded his head dazedly and moved to pick up a drying cloth.  Shaw turned to Xena.  “Do you need me here for this?”

Xena frowned, but shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  But we do need Root, so if you’re thinking about a hot date….”

Shaw chuckled.  “No - I know you need my girl for all that techie stuff you’re doing.  But me and Santana and Helena were gonna go work out together in the gym if you don’t need us here.  Burn off some of that excess energy and keep us out from underfoot.”

Xena smirked, though she kept it hidden behind her hand.  “Uh huh.  And did the three of you come up with this yourselves, or…?”

“Of course we did,” Shaw boasted.  “Though Root and Barbara may have mentioned it as well.”

“All right,” Xena agreed with a straight face.  “Try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum.  I don’t want to have to call Elizabeth or the hazmat team to take care of things.”

“As you say, Mudaris,” offered with a slight bow of her head.  “Maybe if you finish up here early, you could come down and join us for a bit.”

Xena smiled.  “We’ll see.  Depends on what we get done here.”

“Yeah, I get it.  I’m gonna go grab Santana and see if I can catch Helena before she gets here.”

“I’ll send her down to you if you don’t.”

“Thanks,” Shaw offered as she crossed to exit the kitchen.  She hesitated at the door, noting the four who were engrossed in their work and quiet conversation, and Xena with a pensive look on her face.  Shaw shook her head and continued on her way across the penthouse.  Xena knew where to find her when she was ready to talk or needed to spar, and Sameen had learned a long time ago about pushing Xena.  She lifted a hand to Gabrielle as she entered the elevator, smiling when it was returned with a genuine smile.  Once again, she wondered how two such opposites had found one another despite everything, but she also knew without a doubt that they belonged together.

She wasn’t surprised to find Santana in her apartment when she knocked on the door, but she was a little taken aback to see Casey standing in the doorway of Kurt’s apartment holding onto a squirmy two year old.  “Everything all right?” she asked as Santana stuck her head out the door to see what Shaw was referring to.

“Hmm?” bouncing the toddler to keep him calm.  Sameen just motioned at Casey and the baby, and Casey automatically smiled and hugged the kid to her.  “Oh… yeah - we’re fine.  I just heard the knock and came out to check on whoever was at the door before I actually made an attempt to get him into the tub.  I didn’t realize you were knocking on Santana’s door.”

Shaw frowned and turned to Santana.  “Did I knock that loud?”

Santana chuckled and shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  I think it’s probably new baby syndrome.  Her ears are tuned to listen for every little unusual sound, so she’s hyperaware of what’s happening around her… even if it’s not exactly close to where she is.”

Casey nodded.  “It’s been a long time since I was around a baby.  I’m a little out of practice.”

“Do you, uh….  Do you, um… need help?” Shaw asked, a look of pure horror on her face at the words that came out of her mouth.  

Casey laughed.  “Nah… I think I’ve got this,” flinching when the boy shrilled his agreement directly into her ear.  “And on that note… goodnight, ladies.”

“Goodnight,” they called back, laughing as soon as she closed the door.  It took another minute for them to settle down enough that they could look at each other without starting to laugh again, but when they were finally calm, Santana wiped a hand across her brow.

“Okay, that was funnier than it should have been.  What can I do for you, Shaw?”

“Helena is due here in minutes.  I thought I’d stop by and pick you up on my way down to the gym,” turning her head as the elevator dinged on their floor.  “That is probably her right now,” not surprised when the doors slid apart and a disheveled, laden Helena struggled from the elevator with an aggrieved sigh.  Shaw and Santana shared a glance, then stepped forward and simultaneously - one from the left, one from the right - relieved Helena of two of her heaviest pieces of luggage.  She scowled momentarily, then remembered that she didn’t have to pretend with these women.  They had already proven themselves to each other.

She nodded gruffly.  “Thanks, guys,” she mumbled as she made her way to the far end of the hallway - to the room that had been specially kitted out to suit Barbara’s needs.  She stuck her key in the slot and pushed the double doors open, allowing the others to go in front of her before entering herself and dropping the various pieces of luggage at her feet as she surveyed the room.  She nodded in satisfaction, then turned her attention to Santana and Shaw.  “Here,” removing the suitcases from their hands with ease.  “Let me take those to the bedroom,” slipping out of the living area and into the sleeping chamber with feline gracefulness.  “Give me a minute to put things away, then I can kick your asses for a while,” tilting her head and sighing at the satisfying crack she felt.  She smirked when she heard both Shaw and Santana scoff at her boast.

“You wish,” Santana snorted.  “You got any decent booze around here?” looking around the room carefully.

Helena chuckled as she unzipped Barbara’s suitcase, taking things out and putting them away carefully but without much thought, as though she’d done it dozens of times before.  “I just got here.  How’m I supposed to know what kind of liquor is stocked in this place.”

“You’re a bartender.  Don’t tell me you didn’t lay in a reserve of the good stuff.”

Helena laughed.  “I haven’t had the time or the opportunity to put my stuff away, much less go shopping for the good stuff.”  She finished putting Barbara’s things away and turned to her own duffle.  “Besides, don’t even try to tell me that your better halves haven’t impressed upon you the seriousness of the situation.”

“Wow,” Santana drawled with more than a hint of snark.  “Did you just quote your girlfriend word for word?”

Helena scratched the back of her neck, but she met Santana’s eyes squarely.  “Yeah, I did.  But I was also there when the Headless Horseman showed up.  I may not get everything that’s going on, but I do know it’s pretty damn serious.”

“Whoa, whoa… chill, Kyle.  I was only teasing,” Santana defended.  “I don’t get it all either, but I know whatever they’re working on is important.”

“Yeah, yadda yadda, you two.  Can we stop with all the serious crap and go kick some ass for a while?” Shaw asked as she pushed away from the wall she’d been leaning against as she watched their interplay.  “I don’t know about the two of you, but I’ve got energy to burn these days with Root being so busy with this project.  I’m ready for some serious sparring at least.”

“Is there anything we can do to help them?” Helena asked.  “I mean… I know I’m not suited to sit at a computer all day, but surely there’s something….”

“I think our best bet is to stay sharp and ready for when muscle is needed,” Shaw said.  “If I understood even half of what Root was sharing, they’re gonna need that - and us - before this is all over.”

Santana nodded.  “I tend to agree.  Whatever it is, it’s big and scary, according to Britt.  Pretty sure they’ll need us at some point, even if it’s just to protect the brains so they can defeat it with whatever clever solution they come up with.”

Helena finished up and put the bags away, then ushered the other two out the double doors before closing them behind her.  “Lead the way,” she instructed, loosening the muscles in her neck and shoulders as they moved back down the hall.  “If they’re depending on us, we better be ready.  Besides, I’m still hoping to have a chance to spar with Xena while we’re here.  I could use the warm-up,” waggling her eyebrows so they would know she was teasing… mostly.  Their laughter carried them into the elevator and followed them into the gym.  Then they got down to business.

************

Two hours later saw them sprawled in various position of reclining on the benches scattered along the perimeter of the room.  Each of them was nursing their second bottle of Gatorade, and Santana - being the most worse for wear - was sporting a couple ice packs.  She glared at the ceiling out of her one good eye and sighed.  “There was a time, I was the baddest bitch in town.”  She snorted, then winced as pain flared in her nose at the effort.  “OW.  Of course, Lima, Ohio’s kind of a two-bit town too.”  She rolled her neck until she could just see them in her periphery.  “You’re gonna have to teach me some of those moves… both of you.”

“You’re gonna have to learn to harness and focus your anger first,” Shaw commented blandly.  “You’ve got no discipline and you’re easily distracted,” feeling Santana glare and shrugging her shoulders.  “I can’t give you years of Marine Corps training, much less anything beyond that.”

Santana turned to Helena.  “What about you, Kyle?”

Helena shrugged sheepishly.  Neither Santana nor Shaw knew the truth of her heritage, and she wasn’t comfortable broadcasting it around, even to her allies.  “A lot of mine is instinct; I’ve been training since I was old enough to walk.”  She chuckled, causing two pairs of curious eyes to turn her way.  “I was… hyperactive… as a child, to put it mildly.  Maman put me into every activity she could think of to try and bleed some of my energy levels.  Dance was fun, and gymnastics was great, but martial arts - it was everything.  It was dance and gymnastics and fighting all combined into one.  I couldn’t get enough, and Maman was happy to keep me involved as much as was allowed.”  She glanced at Santana.  “So yeah… I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“And unfortunately, that’s what it takes to master a lot of this stuff,” Shaw cut in.

“So Britt goes unprotected because I don’t measure up?”  There was anger in her tone, but both Shaw and Helena could detect the tears and fear behind it.  They exchanged glances, and Shaw shrugged.  Helena just sighed.  She hated getting stuck with the ‘touchy-feely’ parts of… well, anything that didn’t involve Barbara.  But she was pretty sure Shaw hated it worse, and she respected Shaw for doing what she did - as amazingly well as she did it - as a mere human being.  She sighed again and took one for the team.

“No,” she stated resolutely.  “You keep pushing and trying and learning.  And remember that you don’t have to do any of this alone.  We’re a weird-assed family, but we’re still a family.  And that means - like it or not - that we look out for each other; protect each other; stick our noses in each other’s business; get on each other’s nerves….”  She shrugged.  “You know,” seeing Santana smile despite the cut in her lip.

“Yeah,” she agreed as she twisted her head back to allow the ice packs to rest over her eye and lips again.  “I know.”

It was quiet for a few more minutes as Shaw and Helena finished their drinks, then Shaw cleared her throat.  Helena turned to look at her, but Santana only shifted her head enough to peek out from under the ice pack still covering her other eye.  Shaw rubbed her hands across her legs briefly, then clapped them loudly and focused her gaze on Santana.  “So, what is the deal with your girlfriend, Lopez?” feeling Santana’s dark eyes sharpen.  “Root swears she’s a genius, but she sounds like a ditz.  Is it all an act or…?”

Santana sat up slowly, in deference to her aching body as much as to keep her temper in check.  She knew there was no way in hell she’d be able to kick Shaw’s ass, and she could see that Shaw didn’t really mean anything untoward about it, despite her casual demeanor.  She was simply trying to understand - and understand as someone who rarely interacted with Brittany.  She released a slow breath before she spoke.

“Okay, so first of all, Britt’s my wife… not my girlfriend.  That’s important for a number of reasons, but mostly because we’ve fought hard to stay together, and I won’t allow you to disrespect that for any reason.  Secondly, she is a genius - certified by MIT, if that matters to you.  Her ditziness, as you call it, is her coping mechanism for the way her brain works.  She’s a little crazy, yeah, but she’s not stupid or air-headed.  If you ever watch her work or read her written reports, you’ll see what happens when she focuses on whatever her task is, and her vocabulary reflects that.  When she’s not working - like actually doing her thing - she has so many things going on in her head that they tend to get all mixed up coming out of her mouth.  That happens even when she’s giving oral updates to Xena or Root or whoever.  They’ve learned to be extra cautious because sometimes the ideas that make so much sense to her on the inside don’t translate well on the outside.  But they’ve also learned to listen to the nuances in her voice and read between the lines.”

“How do you deal with it on a daily basis?  Seems like it would be exhausting.”

Santana shrugged.  “I love her.”

Shaw nodded.  “Fair enough.  It’s not like I’ve been around her much.  I know Root likes working with her - calls her ‘very refreshing’.”

Santana snorted again, then her hands flew to her nose.  “Shit!  That hurts!”

Shaw slid from the bench she’d been reclined against and crossed to Santana who was sitting as still as possible.  She grabbed Santana’s hands and eased them from her face.  “Let me look; I’m a doctor, remember?”  Santana didn’t move, but allowed Sameen a chance to examine her face.  “The swelling’s gone down a lot, which is good, but it’s still gonna bruise up real nice.  I think we should let Xena take a look - she’s got a lot of homeopathic remedies that will help get rid of the rest of the swelling and take care of most of the bruising.  I promise it’ll help.  She’s used it on me before.”

“She can tag you?”

Shaw scratched her head, wondering how honest she should be, then decided transparency was the way to go.  Anything else would get back to Xena, she just knew it.  She cleared her throat.  “She can kick my ass and does so on any given day.”

Helena raised her hand.  “Same, though I keep trying.”

“Yes, you do,” Xena said from the doorway.  “Maybe one day….” she added with a smirk, crossing the room and kneeling down to get a good look at Santana’s injuries.  She gave Shaw a pointed look, then motioned to the cabinet in the corner of the room.  She called out the medicines she wanted, and Sameen grabbed them and hustled back.

Helena laughed and shook her head.  “Yeah, maybe… when hell freezes over and pigs start flying.”  She turned to Santana, keeping her engaged as Xena instructed Shaw on what to apply where.  “I once challenged her to fight me blindfolded, you know, thinking it would give me an edge.  I’ve got great hearing, so surely we’d at least be a little more even.”

“Not even close?”

“Not even when she let me take mine off while she kept hers on.”  She turned to Xena.  “How did you even learn to do that?”

“You’d be amazed at what you can do when you have to.”  She replied softly as she let her mind wander back to a time when Greece was still the height of civilization.  “I was blind for a little while, and someone went after Gabrielle.  She would’ve died if I hadn’t found her in time, and that just wasn’t an option.  So… I learned, and I practiced every day after that… to ensure that if it ever happened again, I’d be ready.  I still take time to practice blindfolded regularly.”

“Wow,” Santana muttered.  “That’s just….”

“The scary part is, I’m pretty sure she didn’t just kick my ass - pretty sure she broke my ass that day,” Helena chuckled wryly.

“Nah… the scary part is that you keep coming back for more,” smirking before turning back to Santana.  “The good news is you’ll be pretty much recovered by tomorrow.  The bad news is you’re gonna look kinda like the Mummy tonight.  But Brittany is waiting for you in your rooms.  Can you get back there on your own?”

“I’ll take her,” Shaw volunteered.  “It’s mostly my fault.  Besides, I told Root I’d check in before she got too deep into her shift tonight.” She put an arm around Santana’s waist.  “Don’t do any sparring without me,” she instructed before stepping into the elevator.  Helena turned to Xena when the doors closed.

“We’re not gonna spar tonight, are we?” already knowing the answer.  Xena shook her head.

“No.  I’ve got something else to do, and so do you and Shaw.  Meet me upstairs when you’re done cleaning up down here,” Xena said as the elevator doors opened again.  Helena simply nodded and got to work.


Chapter XXIX

Diana and Gabrielle were talking softly when Sameen came out of the kitchen and waved as she exited the penthouse.  Gabrielle raised a hand and offered her a genuine smile before turning back to Diana, who was watching her with a thoughtful expression.  Gabrielle tilted her head.  “What?”

Diana smiled and shook her head.  “Nothing really.” She tilted her head in a manner similar to Gabrielle’s.  “It’s just… I’ve read the stories, you know?  The oldest histories that some of the other sisters wrote telling about their experiences with you and Xena back when you were first becoming part of the Nation. And although I’ve known you for far more years than we’re either one going to admit to, I still see bits of you that my ancestors wrote about.”

Gabrielle’s smirk was melancholy.  “Like some feckless kid, you mean?”

Diana snorted.  “Gabrielle, you were many things, but you were never feckless.  You were young and impulsive maybe, but that’s not what I meant.  Do you remember when we talked about the Amazons desire to offer you the respect that you as our Queen deserved?”

Gabrielle nodded.  “Of course.  I still don’t believe I deserve such, but I do understand that it is important to the Nation as a whole, especially you and Hippolyta, for me to honor that.”

“And we’re thrilled you’ve done so; the entire Nation is better for it.  But I don’t think you understand why you will always be our Queen by choice.  Yes, you literally saved the Amazons from being destroyed by moving us from Greece, and you helped preserve so much of our culture.  But beyond that, you continue to look out for the best interests of the Nation… whether you are here in Man’s World or home on Themiscyra.  I know you don’t talk about it and we don’t while you’re there out of respect for your wishes, but we know about the kids you’ve helped.  The ones you’ve brought to us?  They talk to us.  We know all of their stories - where you found them; what you rescued them from; and we know about the ones here too.  That’s you taking care of the Nation. All you’ve lived through has made you a fairly somber individual - not that you don’t know how to laugh and have fun, but most times your smiles don’t reach your eyes… not completely.  But every once in a while, I see that young woman that the histories talk about.  I just can’t figure out what triggers her appearance.”

Gabrielle shrugged and shook her head.  “I’m not sure what to tell you, because I wasn’t even aware it was a thing.  I see I need to have a talk with some Amazons about how to keep a secret, however,” smiling when Diana snickered.  “I’ll see if I can find an answer for you.  Maybe Xena will know.”

“Maybe Xena will know what?” the warrior asked as she walked out of the kitchen, followed by the rest just as a knock sounded on the door.

“Maybe Xena will know that it’s time to answer the door,” Gabrielle teased.  Xena titled her head, knowing the change of subject for what it was, but knew by Gabrielle’s expression that it wasn’t time to pursue it.  Instead, she bowed deeply.

“As my queen commands,” she said, causing Ian and Lucy to roll their eyes and Kurt and Amy to swoon.

“Time to go,” Ian stated, though Xena still managed to reach the door before he could put his hand on the knob.  She smirked in his direction and he gave a bow worthy of her; then they turned to welcome Barbara and Dinah into their home, and Xena motioned for the rest to scoot out.

“Lucy,” she called softly, waiting for her to turn around while the rest continued on to the elevator.  Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow, waiting patiently.  She knew Xena would give her instructions when she was ready to.  Xena waited until the elevator doors closed and it was headed down.  “I need you to keep alert and awake for a little while longer.  I’ve got a feeling we might need you before long.”

“Any idea what’s happening?” seeing Xena shake her head.

“No.  I’ve just got one of those gut feelings that I learned a long time ago to trust and respect.”

Lucy nodded.  “All right.  I’ll be downstairs waiting for your call.”

“Thanks, Luce.  I’ll let you know either way - whether things balance out or if I need you for something.”

“It’s what I’m here for, Boss,” she said with a quirky smile.  She lifted a hand and crossed back to the returned, open elevator.  “Later, Gator,” causing Xena to snort before she turned and headed back into the main room of the penthouse.

Hugs had been exchanged, and Gabrielle, Diana, Barbara and Dinah were already clustered around the dining table with computers up and running.  Xena motioned to Gabrielle that she was going to get drinks for everyone, but before she could step into the kitchen, the alarm chirped once again for her attention.  She let her chin drop to her chest and sighed, then motioned to Gabrielle that she would take care of it so the quartet could continue with their work. She slid into the kitchen and began gathering up drinks even as she answered the bell.

“What’s up?  Does She still have the hiccups?”

“Um… no,” Root replied with a hint of a smile in her tone.  “We fixed that.  But you’ve got visitors.”

Xena frowned.  “Yeah… I know.  They’re already here.”

“No,” she drawled.  “You’ve got visitors down here; well… in your office.  I didn’t know where else to put them.  So, they’re waiting for you there.”

Xena’s eyebrows jerked up into her hairline as she placed the rest of the drinks and snacks on the tray she’d been preparing.  “I see.  Did you happen to get any names?”

“Yeah… well, security did.  There’s a Charity Lord, an Emma Swan, and a Regina Mills.  The Charity woman indicated you’ve been friends since the dawn of time or something.  But they had to have passed clearance if Security sent them up here without calling me to check first.”

Xena blew out a slow breath and released the death grip she seemed to have on the bridge of her nose, wondering what had brought Aphrodite to them incognito and with stragglers besides.  “All right,” she nodded, though Root couldn’t actually see her.  “I’ll be right down.”  She shut off the connection and picked up the tray, then she crossed back into the dining room where the group was totally engrossed in trying to tie all the information they had together.  None of them, except Gabrielle, even glanced up when she deposited the tray onto the table, and when Gabrielle got a glimpse of the frustration on Xena’s face, she rose and took Xena by the arm and led them back into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know - maybe nothing.  Aphrodite is downstairs, and she brought company.”

“Anyone we know?”

“No.”

Gabrielle frowned.  “Do you want me to go with you?”

Xena shook her head.  “Nah… I got this.  Besides, you need to be here to see if some headway can be made on the Guardians.”

Gabrielle rubbed her forehead.  “Yeah, we’ve got a lot of bumps to work out.  We know who our original Guardians were.  Where we’re running into issues is that a lot of the lineage records just aren’t there.  Even She hasn’t been able to find them yet.  And we can’t be sure they were handed down like we instructed them too. How many didn’t have daughters to pass them down to, and it had to go to a niece or something?  And what if someone was adopted?”

“Yeah… there’s a lot of variables at work here.  Maybe Dite will have some information that will help.”  She brushed a quick kiss over Gabrielle’s lips.  “Let me go talk to her and find out who those women are.  She must have brought them here for a reason, so maybe they know something that will help us against Saligia.”

“Keep me posted.”

“I will.  You too.”

Gabrielle nodded and moved back to the table where the others were clustered. Xena walked by them and headed out the door without a backwards glance.

“Is everything okay, my Queen?” Diana asked sotto voce.  Barbara and Dinah looked up and waited for her response.  Gabrielle nodded and sighed.

“I think so.  Aphrodite is downstairs and she’s brought guests.  Xena’s gone to find out what’s going on… to see if maybe the women she brought with her are here to help us with Saligia in some way.”  She shook her head.  “Here’s hoping anyway.  Meanwhile, we’ve got a lot of our own work to do.”  She resumed her seat and grabbed the remote, clicking it towards the screen that had previously been hidden on the wall across the room.  “Are you there, Root?”

“Yeah… I’m here, Boss.  I’ll be glad when we get the rest of these calibrated.  It’s hard to tell what Xena is thinking by listening to her without a visual.”

Gabrielle snorted.  “It’s hard to tell what Xena is thinking even when you can see her sometimes, so don’t feel bad.  At least we have this one working for now.  What have you guys found out?”

Brittany spoke up.  “As far as we can tell, She’s been able to trace one Guardian to somewhere nearby in the City.  We don’t have a specific address narrowed down yet.”

“Just the fact that we know it’s here in New York still narrows the parameters significantly from, you know, the world,” Dinah commented as she tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.  “Barbara and I believe it is highly likely that at least a couple of the totems are being held by individuals that are unaware of what they truly are, and also that some who should have them may not because of adoption or something similar.”

“Paula and I reached a similar conclusion,” Diana confirmed.  Gabrielle turned to Root and Brittany.

“Can you add that to your search?”

“We’re on it, Boss,” Brittany mumbled as she refocused her attention.  “Do you think we could get some Lucky Charms with unicorn marshmallows for Sparkles?  I think she needs the sugar rush.”

Gabrielle didn’t blink but simply nodded instead.  “I’ve got some in the kitchen.  I’ll be th…. Dinah?” she asked when Dinah’s vigorous head shaking stopped her response to Brittany.

“I’ll go, if it’s okay with you.  I would like to meet Root and Brittany, and maybe they can introduce me to Her.”

Gabrielle shrugged.  “It’s all right with me.  Just come back here when you’re done with the introductions, all right?”

Dinah jumped up and hugged Gabrielle tightly, then ran into the kitchen before recognizing she had no idea where to actually look.  She stuck her head out the door with a sheepish expression on her face and blushed when she realized Gabrielle was chuckling at her.  She shrugged self-consciously, and Gabrielle rose from her seat and went into the pantry and retrieved the cereal. Dinah took it with a smile and headed for the elevator.

They waited for her to disappear behind the doors before chuckling at her enthusiasm, then they turned their attention back to the work before them.

************

Xena stepped from the stairwell and closed the door silently behind her.  The lights were dimmed because business hours were long over, but she could see as though they were as bright as day.  She turned her attention to her office where she could hear murmurings, but she didn’t allow herself the opportunity to eavesdrop before she opened the door.  Conversation came to a dead halt, and three sets of eyes turned her way.  Xena studied them for a moment - she didn’t recognize the brown pair nor the green pair, and the hangdog expression Aphrodite wore was confusing at least.

After a moment, she stepped fully into the room and walked behind the desk, gesturing for Aphrodite to move from her seat.  Aphrodite jumped up and moved to stand behind Emma and Regina while Xena seated herself and placed her folded hands on the desk in front of her.  She cleared her throat and met Aphrodite’s eyes.  “Hello, Dite,” she greeted lowly.  “How about you introduce me to your friends and then tell me why you’re here?”

“Yeah… okay - I can do that.  This is Emma Swan and Regina Mills from Storybrooke, Maine.”  She stopped speaking and Xena simply raised an eyebrow.  Aphrodite cleared her throat.  “We just met today because they called out to me and I went to find out who they were and why they needed me.  You know… ‘cause most people don’t actually call for me by name anymore… not like they used to anyway.”

“Aphrodite,” Xena growled.

Aphrodite huffed.  “I’m getting there.  Anyway,” crossing her arms over her chest, “they’d found an old scroll I’d written… about Saligia,” watching Xena’s features harden.  She held up her hands to ward off Xena’s anger.  “Give me a sec.  You remember when Saligia was first here?  Yeah, well, I decided to write down as much as I could so we’d, you know, have some kind of reference in case something happened and he showed up again.”  She huffed.  “We both know how well some things don’t stick like they should.”

“Fair enough.  Go on.”

“Well, it all started for them when a shapeshifter named Dyson Thornwood burst into Regina’s castle while she and the family were having lunch together….”

************

“… so that’s when I decided we should come see you and Gab because you totally need to know what’s going on.  And if what that Dyson guy said is true, then we know where to find Saligia.  So, we can go kick his ass, right?”

Xena pinched the bridge of her nose hard, making a note to check for bruising later.  After a moment, she relaxed her hold and ran a hand through her hair as she looked up.  She turned to study Emma and Regina, who had remained conspicuously silent during Aphrodite’s monologue.  “Did either of you notice any change around… Storybrooke, was it?” waiting for them to nod.  “Right, Storybrooke.  Did you notice anything unusual?”

Emma laughed nervously.  “I don’t think you totally understand Storybrooke.  Unusual is commonplace there… and so is magic.  It’s hard to say if or when anything changed.  Unless you’re expecting something, it usually doesn’t get noticed until it’s too late because magic patterns are always shifting and changing.”

Xena stared at Emma a moment longer, until she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.  Before she could grow too fidgety, Xena shifted her attention to Regina, who was frowning thoughtfully with her eyes focused on her lap.  “What about you, Regina?  Did you notice anything unusual?”

“Not… not exactly,” she eventually drawled.  “And not until after Mr. Thornwood came to us and told us the story.”  She met Xena’s eyes.  “A story that isn’t in any of the history books - whether they are from this world or one of the magical realms.”  Xena’s eyes didn’t waver, and Regina drew a deep breath.  “When Mr. Thornwood gave us his theory… or rather, that of the Blood King, I extended my senses as much as possible as could be done discreetly.  After all, we didn’t want to alert this entity that we had knowledge of him, did we?”

“Regina!” Emma chided forcefully.  Regina simply turned to her and held her gaze.

“It had to be done, Emma.  I needed to know what we were dealing with.”

“And do you?” Xena queried as she leaned back in her chair.

Regina shook her head.  “No.  Given what Aphrodite told you, and your responses and that of Athena, I’m fairly certain I don’t want to know, either.  This entity sounds at least as bad as the Dark One, if not worse.”

“The Dark One?”

Regina waved her hands.  “It’s not important; I’ll explain later.  What I felt was nothing definitive - I have no idea where it came from, and even now, I’m not certain it’s not related to the hysteria Mr. Thornwood brought in with him.  It felt more like a fissure of awareness, and it was very brief.  Now it’s more like a hum in the background of magic that is weaved into everything.”

“So, you can’t pinpoint it.”

“No.  Mr. Thornwood and Miss Lucas are using their particular… gifts… to see if they can track down its place of origin… preferably before he is able to emerge from whatever hellhole he’s been in.  But I’m not convinced he’s still there.”

“May I ask why?”

Regina shrugged.  “As I indicated, the magic I detected in Storybrooke seems to be woven into everything.”  She shook her head.  “It’s a little hard for me to describe - this land is so different from mine.  I just… if it was me, and I had enough magic to make my escape, I would… as quickly as I had the ability to do so.  Even if I had to go elsewhere to continue rebuilding my strength, I wouldn’t remain where I was - I’d still be too vulnerable there.”

“Can I ask something?” Emma spoke suddenly when the silence threatened to drag on uncomfortably.  Xena raised an eyebrow at the interruption but nodded sharply.  Emma cleared her throat and rubbed her hands up and down the thighs of her jeans.  She dropped her gaze to the floor momentarily before looking up again to meet Xena’s eyes, not expecting the hint of understanding lurking in the back of that cool blue.  “Um… yeah - so, why aren’t you mad at us?”

Xena allowed the twinkle to peek through her otherwise stern facade.  “Would you like me to be?”  She stood and leaned over the desk, allowing her eyes to flash red so briefly, Emma couldn’t be certain she didn’t imagine it, but she still jumped back in surprise.

“Nuh… NO!  No,” she stuttered.  “It’s just… Aphrodite told us a very little about your history with this Saligia guy, and we kinda expected you to be furious.  After all, it seems like it was our magic that woke him up or set him free or well, caused whatever this situation is.”

“And if I thought you had done this on purpose?  There wouldn’t be enough of the two of you to put in an envelope to mail home.”  She snorted when she saw Regina raise her hand, wielding a fireball.  “Don’t bother - I’ve dealt with much worse than you for far longer than you’ve been alive.”  Regina studied Xena standing in a pose that conveyed relaxation and indifference.  But she could see the line of tension that ran through her body, keeping her alert to every breath Regina took.  Slowly, she extinguished the fireball and lowered her arm.  “Good choice,” Xena commented, though she didn’t relax.

“You were serious.”

“As a heart attack.” Xena waited a heartbeat, then motioned Regina back to the seat in front of the desk.  Only once Regina had resumed her seat did Xena sit down again.  “Now… let’s talk.”


Chapter XXX

“So why aren’t you angry with us?  Because your body language and demeanor say you’re really not; you‘re calm and relaxed. But as Miss Swan pointed out, we’re the ones who caused this... no matter how inadvertent our intentions.”

“No one understands better than Gabrielle and I how even the best intentions can go awry.  Besides, there’s nothing we can do now except try to contain him and keep him from destroying everything.  I would like to send someone back with you - someone whose talents may be able to help your people find, well… if not Saligia, at least his place of origin.  With a little luck, she’ll be able to pick up his scent and I think you could use her help.  The sooner we find and destroy this asshat, the better for all of us.”

“You don’t trust us?”

“This is not about trust.  This is about giving you the tools you need to contain and defeat Saligia in Storybrooke.  Helena will be able to contribute to that.”

“And if we refuse?” Regina cut in flatly.  “What you’re suggesting puts Storybrooke at the epicenter of destruction.”

“No… Storybrooke is already in the center of anything Saligia plans - because he’s already there.  What I’m offering you is someone who can help find him so we can contain him before he causes that destruction.  He doesn’t want you, Miss Mills.  He wants me… me and Gabrielle.  We’re the ones that banished him to begin with.”

“I would very much like to hear that story.”

Xena smiled genuinely, letting her eyes sparkle just a bit.  “I’ll make a deal with you, Miss Mills.  When this is all over, we’ll invite you and Miss Swan back here, and Gabrielle will tell you some stories.  You can share yours as well.  I know Gabrielle would love to hear about Storybrooke.  We thought we’d been everywhere in the world there was to go, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything new.”

Regina frowned but nodded slowly.  She was obviously missing something, but before she could formulate a question, Emma cut into her thoughts with her own question for Xena.  “You’re so sure we can defeat this Saligia guy?”

Xena shrugged and leaned back in her chair.  “We did it once when it was just me and Gabrielle.  Imagine what we’re going to do to him with an entire army of women determined to destroy him.”  She leaned forward and rose from her chair.  “If you’d like to come upstairs with me, I’ll introduce you to Gabrielle.”

Aphrodite shimmied and clapped her hands.  “Oh… you guys will love Gab! She’s not like tall, dark, and deadly over there.  She’s a lot more friendly,” eyes widening when Xena glowered at her, “and less frowny.  Not that Xena’s not friendly, but she’s a lot scarier than Gab, you know, with that ‘cut-off-the-flow-of blood-to-your-brain’ thing,” poking out her fingers to mimic Xena’s trademark gesture and finding only confusion on their faces.  “Or you know… that total badass warrior thing?” scowling at their blank looks.  She huffed.  “You know what?  Nevermind,” crossing her arms over her chest and poking out her lip.

Emma and Regina deliberately did not look at one another for fear of breaking out into uncontrolled laughter.  Xena just tilted her head.  “You done?”

Aphrodite sighed heavily and dropped her arms.  “I s’pose.”  She stepped forward and tucked her hand around Xena’s arm, patently ignoring the glare she was receiving.  She turned back to Emma and Regina and waved them forward.  “C’mon, girls… times a-wastin’.”  Emma and Regina exchanged glances, then shrugged and followed Xena and Aphrodite to the elevator.

************

“Have you been able to determine which talisman is here in the City?’ Gabrielle asked as she closed the door behind Dinah.  “Because Xena and I have one.  I’m curious if she traced that one.”

“It can’t be yours,” Brittany said matter-of-factly to the screen.  “I took that out of the realm of possibilities for Her to find.   That’s on the ‘known’ list.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “Good.  I realized I had forgotten to give you that information.”

“Yeah, but Xena’s got you covered, so you’re all good like sprinkles on ice cream.”  She turned as the door opened and Dinah walked in with the box of Lucky Charms.  Brittany clapped her hands together.  “Yea!  Thanks, Gabrielle!” reaching out for the box.  Her hand brushed Dinah’s and Dinah clutched her head and took a deep breath.  Root stepped forward and placed a steadying hand on Dinah’s arm, then removed it swiftly when Dinah flinched and paled.  She raised her hand and took a step back.

“Are you all right?” asked with sincere concern.

Dinah nodded slowly and removed her hand from her head.  “Yeah,” she replied.  “I suffer from migraines and they usually come on suddenly and unexpectedly.  Do you think I could lie down for a minute?” gesturing to the couch by the wall.

“Oh yeah… yeah, sure.  Do you… can I help you or…?” remembering the violent reaction Dinah had given when she’d grabbed her earlier.

“If you could let me lean on your arm?”  Immediately, Root proffered her arm and Dinah placed a hand on top and allowed Root to lead her to the couch.  She absorbed the concern that wafted from Root and Brittany in waves, allowing her to strengthen the barriers that had been ripped apart by the utter chaos of Brittany’s mind when they touched. She sank onto the sofa and leaned back, closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing.  She didn’t notice when Root lifted her feet onto the couch or placed a blanket over her body.  Root frowned as she studied their visitor.  Something was off about the whole situation, but she didn’t have time to focus on the puzzle before Gabrielle was calling her name.  She turned back to the monitor.

“Root?  What happened?”

“The young woman you sent down here with Brittany’s cereal got hit with a migraine.  She’s resting on the couch right now.  We’ll keep an eye on her until she feels a little better and can go back upstairs.”

“Yeah, she’ll be okay with us,” Brittany said around a mouthful of cereal.  “Sparkles is keeping her company.  Thanks for the cereal, by the way.”

Gabrielle chuckled and shook her head, having stepped in front of Barbara to hide her reaction to Dinah’s sudden illness from the monitor.  “You’re welcome.  Root, keep an eye on Dinah.  She wanted to meet you guys.  Pretty sure this isn’t what she had in mind.”

“Probably not.  As for the talisman, She thinks it’s middle western.”

“You mean like from India or from the one of the states?” frowning.

Root and Brittany exchanged looks.  Brittany swallowed the mouthful of cereal she’d been chewing and wiped her mouth.  “I’m gonna say Indian… you know, like from India… because it’s the sapphire peacock one.  The last of the line you gave that talisman to is a chick named Kate Freelander.”

Gabrielle frowned.  “Kate Freelander,” she repeated.  “Why do I know that name?”  She felt Diana’s hand on her knee and recognized that there was something she wanted to relay more privately.  She nodded at the screen.  “Good work, ladies… all of you,” with a pointed glance at the screen.  “Keep me posted.”

“Will do,” Root assured her, understanding something else was bothering Gabrielle that she didn’t feel comfortable sharing yet.  “And we’ll keep an eye on Dinah,” shutting off the interface before Gabrielle could reply.  Gabrielle simply turned to Barbara and gave her a version of the Look, knowing she would understand the unspoken question being asked.

Barbara sighed.  “I’m a little surprised Helena didn’t go charging in there.”  She looked around.  “Maybe it’s just Gotham.”

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows.  “What?  Why?”

“You remember how linked they were at the first convention we had in Orlando,” seeing both Gabrielle and Diana nod.  “Well, that link seems to have been magnified by whatever Darius did to them in New Orleans recently.  It’s one reason I wanted us all to come to New York.  I’m hoping maybe Darius would be more willing to come here because I’m not taking Helena and Dinah back to New Orleans.  Once was too much.  And Gotham is not a place for someone like him.”

“Agreed.”

“So, Helena is able to sense Dinah now?” Diana asked.

“Hel’s been able to sense if Dinah is in genuine distress since she healed Dinah with Dinah’s abilities before that cage match.  But now Dinah is able to sense Helena on a level that’s keeping her off-balance in the field.  The only reason I didn’t mention it immediately is because this,” waving her hand around the computers on the table, “is more critical.”

Gabrielle put a hand on Barbara’s arm.  “This is important, yes.  But so are your girls. Let me go make a phone call.”  She turned to go get her phone, then turned back.  “The reason Helena didn’t come running is because the gym walls are reinforced to be soundproof.  We had to - Xena and I can get kinda loud when we start sparring… especially Xena.”

“Does she still do her battle cry?” Diana asked with a smile.

“Sometimes,” Gabrielle answered with a grin, then disappeared into the bedroom.

Barbara turned to Diana.  “Battle cry?  Seriously?”

Diana laughed softly.  “Oh yes… it’s quite legendary among the sisters.  You never wanted to hear it during war games.  It meant she was done playing and you’d lost.”

Barbara gave her a confused smile.  “I don’t understand.”

Diana tilted her head.  “Because you’ve never visited Themiscyra when we’ve played war games,” nodding sagely.  “I’ll mention that to Mother… and to the Queen.  It is something….”  She dug around in her vocabulary searching for the right word, but finally had to shake her head and smile.  “You’ll just have to come experience it for yourself.”

“Experience what?” Gabrielle asked as she stepped from the bedroom.  She turned to Barbara. “Darius will be here in the morning.”  She looked back at Diana.  “Experience what?” she asked again, resuming her seat and propping her head up on her hand.

“War games, my Queen,” Diana said succinctly.  “The Birds have never been on Themiscyra when we’ve held war games.  I think it might be something they might enjoy participating in… especially Helena.  You know she’d love the chance to take on Xena in an arena like that.”

Gabrielle smirked.  “Maybe.  I’ll talk to Xena about it when this is all over.  Pretty sure we’ll all need to blow off a little steam by that point.  Now… what do you know about Kate Freelander?”

************

“Helen Magnus,” Gabrielle repeated when Diana finished answering her question.  She tilted her head.  “Lovely woman - quite brilliant.  I recall meeting her once or twice the first time Xena and I went back to the Continent around the turn of the last century.  We were in much the same social circles.”  Gabrielle smoothed her hand across the lower part of her jaw several times before allowing it to slide back and rub at the back of her neck where she could feel. knots forming beneath the surface.  “There were rumors about her, of course, but Xena and I put it down to her interest in science - most men didn’t quite know what to do with her.”  She pinched her lip.  “It seems there was more truth to those rumors that we believed.”  She looked back at Diana.  “Do you know where she is now?”

“I‘ll have Paula search through our records as well as those of the Watch Tower.  It’s a fair bet she’s in New York, though; Kate is one of her people… her watchers.  Her agents live in the same house she does unless something has been drastically changed very recently.”

“Do you think she knows what she - or rather, Kate - have in their possession?”

Diana shook her head at Barbara’s question.  “I don’t think so, though she may be going to great lengths to find out.  Helen is a scientist first and foremost, and if Kate knows what she has… or even if she doesn’t… Helen will want to study it until she uncovers all its secrets.”

“Oh shit,” the three exclaimed at once, realizing what those words meant, if Helen was truly an immortal.

“I don’t know what you guys did, but She just spit out a name and address for me.  I’ve forwarded it to all of you.”  Root heard Dinah stirring.  “Hey,” she offered as Dinah blinked rapidly and began to slowly sit upright.  “You look better.”

“I feel a little better, thanks.  I hope I didn’t cause any trouble.”

Root shook her head.  “Nah.  Brittany made sure you had Sparkles to help you sleep, and Lord Tubbington to watch over you.  I’m Root, by the way,” extending her hand and watching Dinah carefully to see if she accepted her touch.  She had a pretty good idea of what had happened earlier, but she wasn’t going to force anything… especially confidences.  Dinah closed her eyes briefly and released a slow breath, then accepted Root’s hand for a moment.

“Dinah Lance,” she replied smoothly.  “Is Root really your name?”

Root smiled.  “It’s what everybody calls me.  That’s Brittany Pierce,” motioning toward the woman still seated at the computer.

“Pierce-Lopez,” Brittany corrected automatically as she waved from her place.  “Santana doesn’t like it when people don’t know we belong to each other.”

“Of course,” Dinah nodded without missing a beat.  “It’s nice to meet you both.  And thank you for letting me crash here for a little while.”

“We’re sorry you needed to, though Sparkles says you’re a good snuggler.  Lord Tubbington was a little disappointed though - he says you’re a tough read.”

Dinah frowned.  “A tough read?  I don’t understand.”

“Oh,” Brittany said as she leaned down and hefted the massive cat into her lap.  “Lord Tubbington’s a mind reader.” She rolled her eyes.  “Some of the things he says are kinda crazy… like he thinks your friend is a cat, but I think he’s got leather envy.”

Dinah couldn’t stop the widening of her eyes, but she managed to choke out a laugh, covering her mouth as though she was trying to contain herself.  After a moment, she cleared her throat.  “Well, I can see why that would be a problem.  Helena has always been able to pull off that look really well, though in fairness, she can do that with just about anything.  She’s a real clothes horse.”

“No… Lord Tubbington insists she’s a cat.  He didn’t say anything about her being any kind of horse.”

“No… I mean….”  Dinah trailed off when she noticed Root shaking her head behind Brittany.  She nodded.  “Yeah, I can see why he thinks that.  She does kinda slink when she walks, I guess.”  She cleared her throat and slowly stood to her feet.  “It was really nice to meet you both, but I need to get back upstairs.  I promised Gabrielle I’d come down and head right back up.,” walking back to the door.  “Maybe we’ll have a chance to get together again when this is all over.”

Brittany clapped her hands together excitedly and nodded her head.  “Yes!  We’d both like that, wouldn’t we, Lord Tubbington?”  She looked back at Dinah.  “Sparkles will always come snuggle with you if you get any more of those nasty headaches,” wrinkling her nose.

“Tell Sparkles thank you,” Dinah answered without missing a beat, though her head was beginning to hurt from all the nonsense.  She turned to Root with a sympathetic smile.  “Thank you.”

“Bye,” Root said, raising a hand, then closing the door behind her when Dinah crossed the threshold.  Dinah took a minute to simply breathe, then shook her head and made her way to the stairs.  She needed a minute of solitude to clear her head.

************

“Gabrielle!” Aphrodite called out as soon as the elevator doors opened. Almost immediately the double doors separating the foyer from the rest of the penthouse swung open and Aphrodite rushed forward to catch Gabrielle in a hug.  Gabrielle returned the embrace with enthusiasm but looked at Xena with confusion - Aphrodite wasn’t normally quite so effusive.  Xena shrugged, and motioned Regina and Emma out of the elevator ahead of her.

“C’mon, let’s go into the dining room,” Gabrielle offered as she stepped back from Aphrodite.  “Then we can make introductions and catch up,” ushering everyone inside ahead of her.  Then she turned back to Xena, who was still standing on the elevator.

“I need to go get Helena from downstairs.  Dite can explain it to you.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “All right.  Don’t be long.  We’ve found our first talisman, and the address we have is definitely here in the City.”

“Okay.  I’ll be right back.”


Chapter XXXI

Xena met Dinah coming out of the stairwell as she exited the elevator.  A look of concern caused a frown to form and she narrowed her eyes as she examined Dinah with the knowledge of a healer.  Dinah offered a smile, but Xena could see the exhaustion that hovered around her eyes and mouth.  Without a word, she stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Dinah’s thin shoulders, feeling Dinah relax into her strong body almost immediately and allowing her to grasp her free hand and hold on.  Her frown deepened.

“Hey… you okay?” standing still and allowing Dinah to soak up whatever strength and comfort she could.  Dinah dropped her head onto Xena’s shoulder and closed her eyes… breathing deeply and shaking her head.

“Not really.”  She squeezed Xena’s hand and burrowed deeper into her shoulder.  “Brittany touched me.”  She released a deep breath.  “I was totally not ready for that.  My God!  It was like….”  She pulled back just enough to meet Xena’s eyes, biting her lower lip and she contemplated how to describe what she’d felt.  “Did you ever watch the good version of Willy Wonka?  The one with Gene Wilder?” waiting for Xena to nod.  “And did you ever see Alice in Wonderland?  The Disney version?” seeing Xena nod again.  “Okay, now put all that together and swirl it up in a blender and throw in the Blue Man Group and a strobe light and that was what it felt like when she touched me.”

Blue eyes widened, and Xena blinked slowly.  “Oh… wow.  That sounds….”

“Yeah… not something I want to repeat any time in my lifetime.”

“What about your shields?  I thought you were protected against stuff like this - casual touches and such.”

Dinah dropped Xena’s hand to scratch the back of her neck.  “That’s been whacked since we were in New Orleans.  We’re actually hoping Darius might come up here to see if he could do something to help… since we’re pretty sure it’s whatever he did to us in New Orleans that has shifted everything for me.”  She squeezed the arm she had wrapped around Xena’s waist once before she pulled away and took another deep breath.  “Thanks.”

Xena squeezed her shoulders briefly before releasing the embrace.  “Welcome,” she replied with a slight smile.  “C’mon.  Let’s go see what they’ve been up to,” motioning towards the closed double doors.  “Gab said something about them having found one of the talismans here in the City.”

“Do you really think we have a chance to find them all… I mean, before that Saggy guy does?”

Xena burst into laughter and opened the door, motioning Dinah in ahead of her.  Heads turned as the rare and unusual sound wafted their way, and Gabrielle rose from her seat.  She looked at Dinah, who just shrugged and turned her attention to the still laughing Xena.

“You all right there, Warrior Mine?”  Xena nodded her head, and with concerted effort, schooled her features into a much more stoic expression.  She took a deep breath and met Gabrielle’s eyes, though she couldn’t contain the mirth in her own.  Gabrielle studied her a minute.  “You wanna share with me what was so funny?”

“Yeah,” Aphrodite cut in.  “I’d like to hear that myself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Warrior Babe laugh… well, you know, not like that, anyway.”  She shifted her gaze to Dinah.  “What’d you say to her, Sunny D?”

“Nothing, really.  I just asked if she thought we could find all the Guardians and talismans before that Saggy guy does,” hearing Xena snort again, and drawing chuckles from around the room, including out of Gabrielle.  “I couldn’t remember his name and Saggy seemed apt enough.”

Gabrielle placed a hand on Dinah’s arm and squeezed fondly, allowing Dinah to feel the warmth and affection Gabrielle had for her even as she laughed.  She felt Dinah relax under her hold, and the laughter tapered off even as Dinah continued to absorb the strength she needed.  “Oh, Dinah!  That was fantastic!”  She turned to look at Xena, who was biting the inside of her lip, though her outward demeanor remained unchanged.  “We’ll have to remember to call him that when we see him again.”

“So, you do expect to see him again?”

“Oh yes,” Xena responded, completely serious now.  “Even if we can’t find the rest of the talismans before he does, we still have one piece in our possession.  He’ll move heaven and earth to get that last piece… which means we’re going to have to get out of New York soon.  We can’t allow his kind of destruction in a place with such a condensed population.”

“But you’re perfectly willing to sacrifice Storybrooke,” Regina cut in with a hiss, only to involuntarily flinch when Xena’s eyes flashed red.  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.  “I know what you said, but I can’t help thinking my kingdom is likely to be destroyed.”

“I assure you, it’s not.  If you can find him before he emerges from his sleeping place, you can contain him, and he won’t be a threat to anyone.  If he has already escaped, he will go looking for the talismans and then for me and Gabrielle.  He will do some damage - that’s just what he is, but he’ll be more focused on revenge against us.  That’s why we need to find the Guardians and the talismans sooner than later and move out somewhere where we will do the least amount of damage to the fewest amount of people.”

“Consort, that brings up a question Mother asked me yesterday,” waiting for Xena to acknowledge her, which she did with a nod.  “Are you and the Queen planning to do this alone?”

Xena turned to Gabrielle and they held a silent conversation while the rest regarded them in fascination. Finally, Gabrielle looked back at Diana.  “We’ll need to discuss logistics more thoroughly, but we believe we’d have a better chance for total success if at least the Guardians were able to join us.  However, we will not demand that anyone participates.”

“Excuse me,” Emma cut in.
“Now wait a minute,” Aphrodite said.
“What about us?” Dinah asked.

Xena stuck two fingers in her mouth, and the shrill sound she emitted brought everyone to a standstill and silence fell across the room.  Gabrielle placed a hand on her arm and waited for those blue eyes to track to her.  “Thank you.  Why don’t you go take something for that headache and I’ll handle this out here?  Go on,” she encouraged with a smile.  “I know you hate going over and over the same things ad nauseam, and this is what I do best.”

Xena lifted the hand on her arms and brought it to her lips.  “Not even close, My Bard, but I will go take something and get something to drink.  Can I bring you anything?”

“Only yourself.”

“Okay, you guys… you need to stop,” Dinah whined.  “You’re killing me over here.”

Xena and Gabrielle exchanged mischievous glances and grins, then Xena proffered a bow and swept from the room without another word.  After a moment to compose her expression, Gabrielle turned and met the eyes of those watching.  Barbara and Diana were both amused; Dinah seemed genuinely pained, and Gabrielle frowned in concern.  Even as she watched, however, Dinah shook her head and gave her a brief smile, and she made a note to speak to her privately as soon as possible.  Regina appeared contemplative while Emma seemed more curious than anything.  Aphrodite, though… she looked pissed, and Gabrielle cocked her head in question.

“Okay, Dite - let’s start with you.”

Blue eyes widened in surprise, then the blonde head nodded emphatically.  “Yes… let’s start with me.  Or rather, let’s start with you explaining why you think you and Xena should be doing this alone - confronting Saligia, I mean.  What about the rest of us??”  Gabrielle’s eyes flashed red and Aphrodite took an involuntary step back.  She almost never saw this side of Gabrielle anymore, and it had never been directed at her so fiercely before.  Even as she watched, Gabrielle closed her eyes and took a deep breath; when she opened them again, they were green, though Aphrodite could still see the anger sparking in them.

“How about because the last time we dealt with him, we did so alone.  It was just the two of us; despite the fact that he was your problem, not one of you did anything to contain him until after we’d done all the work to make it happen.  Now, tell me why I would expect any different from you this time… especially since we haven’t heard anything from anyone since you and Ares dropped in on us in New Orleans.  How were we supposed to know you wanted to be included this time around??”  Aphrodite blinked in surprise at the vehemence directed at her, but before she could respond, Gabrielle turned to Emma.

“Now, Miss Swan, what can I do for you?” taking a deep breath and trying to calm her jangling nerves, though she knew she wasn’t quite as successful as she’d hoped when she noted the slight expression of fear in Emma’s eyes.  She opened her mouth to apologize, but Emma replied before she could speak.

“Well, you can call me Emma, for starters,” she requested quietly.  “Only Regina calls me Miss Swan,” her matter-of-fact words causing more than one pair of eyebrows to shoot into a hairline.  She blushed in reaction and cleared her throat.  “Um… I was just wondering if you’d share why um… why Diana called Xena, ‘Consort’.”  She saw Diana flinch at her perceived faux pas but continued on.  “I know it’s not really my business, but I’m curious.  Because if she’s a Consort, then you must be a Queen, and I don’t remember ever hearing or learning about a Queen Gabrielle in school.  I know you’re not from one of the kingdoms within our realm; Regina has never mentioned you.  I’m pretty sure she would have just so I could be on the lookout.  So…?”

Gabrielle took another cleansing breath.  She could still feel the fury from before coursing through her veins, but Emma didn’t deserve her frustration.  Neither did Aphrodite, truth be told, but she was a much more viable candidate because every word Gabrielle had spewed at her was true.  She opened her eyes and met Emma’s squarely.  “I am the Queen of the Amazons, and Xena is my Consort and Champion.  I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread that around - not even in Storybrooke.  Where you are protected by a spell and the fact that you are the basis for many of the faery tale characters that exist within this world, my Amazons are protected by science and the fact that people believe them to be a myth.  We’d like to keep it that way.”

“You have my word,” Emma responded.  “Although….” she trailed off thoughtfully as her eyes focused somewhere beyond sight.

“Although what, Emma?” Gabrielle prompted.

Emma blinked and shook her head, then met Gabrielle’s eyes.  “Hmm? Oh… sorry.  I was just thinking it would be cool to be able to visit a place like that… to meet some real Amazons.  They were among my heroes when I was growing up.”

Gabrielle was intrigued by Emma’s words, and she resumed her seat at the table and folded her hands.  “Really?” smiling when she nodded.  “What do you know of them? How did you hear?”

“I spent a lot of time in the library reading anything I could get my hands on,” not mentioning it had been during her incarceration.  “When I found a book on Greek Mythology, I was hooked.  I mean,” she chuckled, “some of it was outrageous, but some of it….”  She shook her head again.  “Some of those stories gave me hope in a way nothing else ever had.  The Amazon stories were among the best of those.  As for what I know of them?  Yeah… not much.  They were a free and independent society of women; fierce warriors; respected craftsmen; and a sometime friend of Hercules.  Not often though - he was kind of a dick.”

Gabrielle laughed, and the rest joined in, happy for the relaxation of the tense atmosphere, though only Aphrodite knew the real reason Gabrielle was laughing.  “Yeah, he certainly could be, but considering who his father was, it was to be expected.”

This time Emma laughed.  “I know, right?  I didn’t care a lot for Zeus or Hera, but some of the other gods were interesting.”  She looked over at Aphrodite.  “I never expected to meet a real one.”

“Yeah, well… I never expected to find a couple of radical magic wielders who weren’t gods, you know?  But I’m kinda glad I did.  You’re both pretty awesome.”

Gabrielle turned to Dinah.  “Did you have a question?”

Dinah shrugged.  “I just kinda wondered where we fit into all of this… those of us who aren’t Guardians, I mean.”

Gabrielle held out a hand and Dinah took it hesitantly.  She had felt Gabrielle’s anger without touching her - she’d been projecting pretty violently.  Still, Gabrielle had never once deliberately offered her anything other than warmth or kindness when they touched, and Dinah was counting on that now.  Gabrielle watched her with curious eyes, understanding more clearly what Barbara meant earlier. She waited until Dinah’s hand was completely on hers, then she clasped it gently.  “You all right?”  Dinah met her eyes and nodded.  “Good,” covering the hand she held.  “The rest of you - those who are not actually Guardians - will be more than welcome to join us.”  She turned her eyes to Diana’s and met them squarely.  “All of you,” looking at Aphrodite, “even the gods.  I’m pretty sure we’ll need all the help we can get before this is done.  But,” she continued, glancing around the room before returning her eyes to Dinah’s, “we aren’t going to ask or demand that anyone do this... not even the Guardians.  It’s going to be an individual decision that everyone will need to make for themselves.”

Dinah nodded sharply.  “All right... count me in.”

Gabrielle smiled.  “You’ll be the first on my list.”  Before she could say anything else, the door opened with authority, though Helena didn’t allow it to slam as she crossed into the room.

“You all right, Kid?”

Dinah rolled her eyes, even as a smile crossed her lips.  “I’m fine, Hel.”

Helena frowned.  “Are you sure?  Something feels... I dunno... wonky, maybe.”

“I’m sure.  You might want to shut the door though,” gesturing to the still open double doors Helena had flung open in her haste.  “Pretty sure Xena and Gabrielle prefer them closed so people can knock when they want to come in,” she teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” she replied, though she turned and shut the doors soundlessly.  “See if I run up the stairs to check on you again,” though she couldn’t hide the lingering concern in her eyes.

“That’s not gonna be a problem for a little while,” Xena announced as she returned from whence she’d gone, causing all eyes to swing in her direction.  “Helena, this is Emma Swan and Regina Mills.  Ladies, Helena Kyle,” watching them exchange hesitant handshakes.  “Helena, I’d like for you to go back to Storybrooke with them.  There is a possibility that Saligia is there, and I think you might be able to find him if he is,” smiling grimly when Helena’s dark brows shot into her hairline.  

“Oookaaaay,” she drawled slowly.  “You want me to find him and do what exactly?”

“I want you to see if you can find him or his trail.  But you’re not to do anything unless he is still sleeping and you can repair the magic,” letting her eyes travel around to Regina and Emma and seeing them nod their agreement.  “That’s what we’re hoping for - that he’s still slumbering trying to gather the strength and power he needs to begin his rampage.”  

“And if he’s not?”

Xena sighed.  “If he’s awake and still in Storybrooke, call us.  We can be there almost immediately,” glancing at Aphrodite who nodded vehemently.  “Otherwise, I need you to see if you can find his trail… see if we can figure out where he’s headed.”

“There are a couple… shapeshifters… in Storybrooke already searching for him,” Regina said.  “Miss Lucas was supposed to put out an all-call for others of her kind to join the search, but I don’t know what, if anything, came of that.  Miss Swan and I were in my vault searching for answers when we summoned Aphrodite, and she brought us here.”  She looked at Emma who nodded slightly, then she turned her gaze to Aphrodite.  “In fact,” she said as she rose from her place and straightened out her clothing before pushing in her chair, “I think we should probably get back there.  I know your friend said she would keep an eye out, but my kingdom is vast.  It’s entirely possible she could miss something, and I just….”  She shook her head.  “I’ve got a feeling we need to hurry.”

Helena nodded.  “Let me grab my bag.”  She turned to Dinah.  “You’ll be all right?”

“I’ll be fine.  I’m not planning to do anything beyond help Barbara and Diana with the digital search.”

“Good.”  She turned to Barbara and knelt at her side to keep their words private.  “You okay with this?”

Barbara smiled gently and cupped Helena’s cheek with her hand.  “Not completely,” she answered honestly.  “Because Oracle won’t be there to help keep you out of trouble.  But we both know you’re the right choice for this.  Just… be careful, all right?  I need you to come out of this safe and sound and preferably unharmed.”

“Do my best,” leaning forward and catching Barbara’s lips with her own for a long moment before touching their foreheads together.  “Keep an eye on the Kid, will ya?  Something’s not quite right, but….”

Barbara placed a finger over Helena’s lips.  “Shh… we’ll look out for each other, and I’m pretty sure Xena and Gabrielle will be keeping an eye on us too.  Go be a hero, but don’t forget to come home to me.”

Helena kissed her once more, then stood and turned to go collect her bag… only to find Dinah standing behind her holding out the smaller backpack.  “It’s got your kit and your other set of leathers as well as some clean underwear.  I didn’t figure you’d need much else.”

Helena felt the prickle of irritation she always felt when anyone other than Barbara touched her stuff, but she shrugged it off almost as quickly as it appeared.  Truth be told, Dinah was as well-equipped to pack for her these days as she herself was.  “Thanks, D,” taking the bag.  “Keep an eye on her for me, yeah?”

“You know I will.”

Helena nodded and slid into her duster, then turned to where Aphrodite, Regina, and Emma stood waiting by the door.  “C’mon.  Let’s get this done already.”  Aphrodite extended her hand, and the next moment, nothing was left but a few rose petals.

Dinah blinked, then smiled.  “That was cool.  I can’t wait to hear what Hel thinks of god travel.”

Barbara snorted.  “Please don’t ask.  I’m confident she’s already trying to figure out a way to put Aphrodite on speed dial as a mode of transportation,” garnering chuckles from the women who remained.  “Honestly, the only reason we brought the Batplane was because I threatened her with coach,” causing more laughter.

“I don’t think Dite would agree to something like that.  She’s only done if for me and Xena once or twice, and then only in cases of extenuating circumstances.”

“I guess traveling to a hidden, magical land would qualify,” Dinah said.  “Um… should we get back to work?”  At that moment, the monitor to the computer room came to life with Root looking back at them.  Before Xena or Gabrielle could ask, Root spoke.

“I think I’ve got something you’re gonna wanna see.”  They returned to their places at the table and waited.


Chapter XXXII

“So… She has traced at least four of the talismans to New York - yours, of course, and the Freelander chick; the jade fire and the petrified wooden apple were also in New York at some point, but we don’t know if they still are or if they migrated out at some point.  That is partly because the trail drops again soon after they entered the country.”

Gabrielle frowned.  “Is She certain the jade talisman came through New York and not San Francisco?”

Root tilted her head for a moment as she regarded Gabrielle thoughtfully, then turned back to the monitor in front of her.  She ran a finger down the monitor as she speed read through all the data.  “Yes,” she replied as she lifted her eyes back to the screen that showed her the women seated in Xena and Gabrielle’s penthouse.  “I know it doesn’t make any sense given that it’s from Asia, but that’s what the data says.”  She bit her lip and frowned.  “It’s entirely possible that it was traded by or even stolen from the original Guardian at some point.”

Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose as Xena spoke.  “It’s entirely possible.  And what about those taken as slaves?”  She turned back to the monitor and looked at Root.  “Did you track it by description or by bloodline?”

“The Indian one that Freelander has was tracked by both.  Hers stayed in her family line.  The others were by description.  Also, it seems like the bone one may have become a Native American property back before the Pilgrims.”

This time Xena frowned, but before she could speak, Diana cut in.  “May I ask why She thinks that?  We haven’t been able to find anything on that one particularly.”

Root shook her head.  “You’re welcome to study Her findings; I’ll send you a link.  All I know is we fed her all the information we had and then wrote the algorithms for Her search.  This is what She’s found so far.”

“Good work, Root,” Xena said, seeing Diana’s attention was already taken with the information Root had forwarded.  “Just so you’re aware, Shaw’s going to be out with me for a little while.  I’m going to go talk to Miss Freelander, and I’m taking her as my back up.”

“Can I talk to you a moment, please?” Gabrielle ground out before taking Xena by the arm and leading her to the kitchen.  Diana, Barbara and Dinah exchanged looks, then returned to the intelligence the Machine had given them.

“I’m going to get Paula on the line,” Diana said softly.  “There might be something in these algorithms she can add to what she’s already doing that could narrow things down even further for us.  Especially if she can use this to trace the ones we can’t seem to get a bead on beyond a couple of generations after they left Xena and Gabrielle’s possession.”  She shifted her screen and connected her phone, knowing it was one of the few in the world that could tap into the communications net on Themiscyra.  It only took a moment for Paula to be looking back at her from her computer screen.

“Good evening, Princess,” she greeted.  “How can I help you?”

“Hello, Paula.  The Machine has been able to generate some leads.  I’m going to send over the algorithms She’s using; see if you can add them to what you’ve already got going to help narrow things down a little further.  We’ve still got a couple things we can’t trace….” She felt Dinah and Barbara come up on either side of her so they could participate in the conversation, and they focused on the problem in front of them, though they each kept an ear on what was happening on the other side of the closed door.

************

The door was barely closed behind them when Gabrielle whirled on Xena and pinned her in place with a look.  “What was that all about?” poking her finger at Xena’s chest without actually touching her.  “What the hell, Xena?  Since when do you go check things out without me??”

Xena took a minute to suck air in through her nose, keeping a tight rein on her temper and never letting her eyes leave Gabrielle’s. Even as she watched, the sparks and fire drained from Gabrielle’s expression and she looked at Xena with confusion and apology clear on her countenance.  Xena released the breath she’d been holding and consciously relaxed the tension that had been singing through her body.  She cleared her throat.  “You feel better now?”

Gabrielle shook her head.  “Not really,” dropping her gaze and rubbing her forehead.  “Sorry.  I’m not sure where that came from.”  She looked up and met Xena’s eyes.  “Sorry… I know we can’t both go - I know that.  We can’t risk it.” She ran a shaky hand through her hair.  “Gods.”

“You’re lucky it wasn’t me,” Ares commented as he stepped from the ether.  He smirked as they whirled to face him, his expression becoming melancholy when Xena shifted in front of Gabrielle as a matter of course.  “Hello, Princess,” smiling charmingly.  “Bard,” said with more than a hint of contempt.

“Watch it, Ares.  I’ve belted you for less,” moving to stand beside Xena.

He snorted.  “You got lucky.”  He turned to Xena and shook his head.  “What is it you see in her again?” knowing he’d get a rise from one, if not both, of them.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I used small words.”

“Really?” he growled, eyes sparking in anger.  “Try me.”

“She makes me strong, Ares… Every. Single. Day.”

“She makes you weak.  She thinks she’s your equal.  Once upon a time, you would never have allowed anyone that privilege or tolerated such disrespect.”

“And yet she tolerated you,” Gabrielle snarked.  “What are you doing here, Ares?  We were having a private conversation.”

He cocked an eyebrow.  “It’s nice you think that.  Haven’t you learned by now that very little is actually private?  We do still keep an eye on a lot of things going on in the mortal plane, you know.”

Gabrielle walked right into his personal space.  “And if you’ve been paying attention, you know that Xena and I are both a little on edge right now.  And despite the fact that we’ve been around for millennia, those talismans are making us feel like we did all those years ago.  Now I want you to consider that lack of self-control combined with lethal skills that have improved exponentially.  If I was able to do damage to you when I had everything under control, imagine the damage I could do now.  So… unless you have something positive to contribute, you need to find somewhere else to be.”

Ares raised his hands in surrender and stepped back a pace, realizing he had pushed about as much and as far as he could.  “All right, Gabrielle… all right.  I just came down to help, but if you’re not interested….”  He shrugged his shoulders and turned to go, taking two steps before he whirled back around.  “Seriously?? You’re just gonna let me walk away?”

“Ares, if you have something to say, then let’s hear it,” Xena said firmly.  “We don’t have time for your games or your grandstanding.”

“You know, there was a time….”

“There was a time when many things were different than they are now, Ares,” Gabrielle replied with a hint of exhaustion.  “Do you have something to share?  Because if you don’t, we have a number of things we’re working on trying to make sure this never happens again.”

He met her eyes seriously, then turned to Xena, finding the same exhaustion and determination in her gaze.  He huffed and shook his head, though they could both see a speck of contriteness in his expression.  “For the record, I wasn’t trying to grandstand… exactly.  I’m just… I was hoping to find a little enthusiasm or something.  Everyone up there is so busy doing their own thing trying to contribute, I can’t even get them to listen to me,” he grumped as he took a seat at the island counter.  Xena and Gabrielle exchanged glances, the barest uptick of their lips betraying their humor, but otherwise there was no physical reaction.

Gabrielle sighed and slid into the seat beside him, taking his hand in hers and feeling him flinch at the touch before he allowed himself to relax and accept the comfort she offered.  “If you have something you think is important enough to share, then Xena and I will be happy to hear what you have to say.  But you need to work on your approach. I get that baiting us is kinda your thing and entertaining for you, but you have to understand that we are way beyond that and have been for a long time, all right?  But especially now when we’re becoming more sensitive to practically everything.”  He nodded but didn’t look up, and Gabrielle squeezed his hand gently.  “Now… what did you want to share?”

“I think I’ve found one of the talismans,” he said quietly. Xena and Gabrielle looked at one another with wide eyes but they didn’t say anything.  Instead, they turned back to Ares and waited for him to continue.  He looked up impatiently when they didn’t respond.  “Did you hear me? I said, I think I found one of the talismans,” jerking his hand from Gabrielle’s and crossing his arms over his chest.

“We heard you, Ares.  We were waiting for you to finish,” Xena replied with a hint of asperity.

“Oh.”

“Yeah… oh.  So, you wanna finish?  We’ve found one as well; best if we know if we found the same one or if we’re closer to halfway than we were a few minutes ago.”

He slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up.  “I think I’ve traced the Egyptian talisman, and you’re not going to believe where it is.”

************

“I don’t understand why he’s being such a snot about this,” Janet grumped as she stomped through the kitchen.  “It’s not like we don’t have the time.”  she looked at Sam and smirked.  “As I recall, The Powers That Be practically begged you to roll over your time when you retired to keep from having to explain to the Pentagon why they needed to write a check that large.  Technically, you could just stop going to work for the next year and still get a paycheck.”

“Eighteen months,” Sam murmured.  Janet’s head snapped back around from where she’d started getting her ingredients together to start dinner, and she narrowed her eyes at Sam.

“Excuse me??  What did you just say?”

Sam glanced up at Janet, then turned back to peeling the label off the beer bottle in front of her.  She frowned in concentration in an effort to avoid the heat she could feel from Janet’s stare.  Finally, she sighed.  “Eighteen months.  I have eighteen months of leave on the books, though it’s actually more like seventeen months, three weeks and five days… or, you know… something.”

Janet pursed her mouth and rolled her tongue along her teeth before licking her lips.  “Um hmm,” she drawled.  “I see.  You have close to eighteen months of leave on the books, and he thinks it’s all right to tell us ‘NO’ about taking a long weekend in New York??  Where the hell does he get off…??”  She would have continued venting in righteous indignation had Sam’s arms not come around her from behind and wrapped her in a warmth she really didn’t want to leave.

“He was right, you know,” Sam whispered in her ear as she allowed Janet just enough room to turn in her arms.  “We just had that extended week in New Orleans, and Walter did have this week on the books for over two months.”  She placed a finger over Janet’s lips before she could speak.  “We reached an agreement - we’re allowed to have whatever time we want… even on short notice like this was… as long as it doesn’t make either command shorthanded.  With Walter gone, it would have left my research department crippled if I had taken off too.”

“And if this was an emergency?”

Sam raised a blonde eyebrow and met Janet’s fierce brown eyes with laughing blue ones.  “If this had been an actual emergency, Walter would have been called back from leave.  But my desire to talk to Gabrielle is no more an emergency than your desire to go shopping and catch a few shows.  We’ll go… next weekend.  And if not next weekend, then we’ll try for the one after that.”

Janet wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck and grinned when Sam’s hands naturally fell to her lower back and down around her butt.  “You’re getting awful handsy there, Fly Girl.”

Sam shrugged her shoulders and dropped her gaze but couldn’t stop the rakish grin that settled on her lips.  “Well, ma’am… if you’re gonna put it out there, you’ve got to know I’m gonna press every advantage I can get,” squeezing lightly and allowing her grin to become a smirk when Janet reflexively pushed up into her as a flush of heat crossed her face.

“There’s gonna be payback for this, you know.”

Sam leaned down closer, until their lips were just brushing one another’s.  “I hope so,” she declared, then captured the lips that were hers for the claiming for a long moment.  A knock on the front door pulled them apart slowly and they looked at one another a little dazed until the knock sounded a second time.  Sam frowned as she stepped from Janet’s embrace and headed toward the door.  “Were we expecting someone tonight?”

Janet shook her head and moved back to her preparations.  “No, but given the fact that it’s dinner time, odds are it’s our daughter and her family.”

Sam gave her a grin which she returned, then she proceeded to the door, laughing out loud when her granddaughter Charlotte ran into her and wrapped her arms around Sam’s legs briefly before raising her arms to be picked up.  Sam made a show of groaning as she lifted her up but squeezed back with enthusiasm when Charlotte hugged her neck hard.  She shifted her granddaughter to one hip and turned to open one arm to Cassandra who was watching the whole thing with loving amusement.  Cassandra stepped into the embrace, kissing Sam’s cheek.

“She’s getting too big for that, you know.”

“Uh uh,” she got back from both blondes, who, despite the fact they weren’t actually related, looked remarkably alike.  She chuckled and rubbed her belly.  Sam frowned.

“You all right?  And where’s the rest of your crew?”

“I’m fine.  The new baby is more active than either Charlotte or Billy was.  Simon is….”  About that time, a muscular young man stepped into the house carrying a passed out, three-year-old boy.  “… bringing Billy in,” motioning to him with a smile.  “Apparently, he played really hard in daycare today,” she added with a smile.

Sam turned to Charlotte, hugged her again, then kissed her cheek before setting her on her feet.  “Grandma’s in the kitchen working on dinner.  Why don’t you go tell her hello?”  Charlotte nodded and ran off with Cassandra waddling off behind her, scolding about running in the house.  They heard Janet exclaim as they rushed into the kitchen.  Sam turned to Simon with a chuckle, seeing him biting his lips together to keep from doing the same and waking the boy in his arms.  “Let me take him,” scooping him out of Simon’s embrace.  Billy didn’t stir and Sam turned to Simon.  “Do you want me to tuck him into bed or wake him up to eat?”

Simon scratched the back of his head.  “He should probably eat, but….”

Sam smiled and sat down on the couch with Billy in her lap and waved Simon toward the kitchen.  “It’s okay.  I’ll take care of this.  You go on.  We’ll be there in a few.”  Simon watched her whisper to his son for a long moment with a smile on his face.  Then he turned to be with the rest of his family, knowing Billy was in one of the safest places in the world.



Chapter XXXIII

Billy blinked his eyes open slowly as Sam murmured softly in his ears.  Once he got a look at her, however, he went from sleeping to wide awake in two point five seconds, screaming his delight at seeing his beloved Gram.  His exclamation drew his parents’ heads out the kitchen door, smiling in delight at the sight of Billy sitting up in Sam’s arms, chattering away about his day.  As soon as he got a look at his Pa, he jumped from Sam’s lap and ran to Simon.  “PA!” he bellowed, drawing winces from the adults around him at his volume.  He grabbed Simon’s hand.  “Come,” grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the couch where Sam was still sitting, grinning at their interaction.  Simon swung Billy into his arms and made his way over to the couch; Cassandra shook her head and turned back to Janet and Charlotte who were cooking dinner together.  It was another knock at the door that caused them to frown and look at one another.

“Are you expecting someone?” Cassandra asked.

Janet smirked at her before turning back to help Charlotte stir the sauce.  “We weren’t expecting you guys,” laughing delightedly at Cassandra’s chagrined smile.  She crossed the space between them and took her daughter into her arms.  “We’re always happy when you all show up to spend time with us - you know that.  Don’t worry - Sam can take care of anything; it’s probably those religious folks again. They come around here regularly because Sam is always so patient and polite to them.”  Janet turned back to her preparations, standing over Charlotte with her back to Cassandra.  “You know, with all that she has seen and experienced in her life, it’s made her even more patient and tolerant of those who want to share whatever wild and crazy ideas they have about life, religion, or politics.”  Janet shrugged and stepped to one side of the stove to add a few more spices, and she turned her head to catch her daughter’s eye.  “It drives me a little crazy, to be honest.  I just want her to tell them….”  She shook her head.  “But I’d never ask her to change or be less than she is.  Besides, in the unlikely event that she can’t handle whatever it is, I’m pretty sure the Marine sitting with her will be more than happy to step in.”

Cassandra snorted.  “I’m sure.  At least he’s learned to wait for her signal before stepping in, but God... what a steep learning curve that was.”

Janet‘s eyes widened in remembrance.  “Oh yeah... c’mon and help me and Charlotte finish up.  We should be done about the time Sam and Simon take care of whoever is at the door.”  Cassandra was quick to obey, and even at seven and a half months pregnant, it was still easier for her than Janet to reach the higher cabinets and pull out the dishes.  Then she moved to the dining room to begin setting the table.

Meanwhile, Sam and Simon exchanged glances as soon as the knock sounded.  “You expecting someone?” Simon asked, noting the frown lingering on Sam’s brow.

“No, but that’s nothing new either,” giving him a grin.  “Hang here a minute and let me see what’s going on.”  Simon nodded and stood, motioning Casandra over and waiting until she was close enough to take Billy’s hand.  Before Billy could protest, she was taking him to the kitchen, and Simon was waiting beside the couch in a stiff, at ease position.  Just as his wife and son disappeared into the kitchen, Sam came around the corner, arm tucked into her companion’s as they laughed together.  Simon’s eyebrows went up, but otherwise, he didn’t move. Sam noticed his stature and pulled her companion to a halt.

“Daniel, this is my son-in-law, Simon Rothrock.  Simon, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson.”  At the mention of Daniel’s name, Simon’s countenance shifted significantly, and though he didn’t smile or break his stance, his eyes lit up immediately.  Daniel proffered his hand, allowing Simon to relax and accept.

“How are you, Simon?  Sam has told me a lot about you.”

“Same, sir,” accepting Daniel’s hand briefly in a firm shake.  “Some of my favorite stories she tells are about SG1.”  At Daniel’s surprised expression and Sam’s blush, Simon looked between the two of them.  “Um… should I not have shared that?”

Daniel chuckled.  “I’m glad you did.  Sam isn’t usually the one who tells stories,” giving her a sidewise glance.

“No, because you guys were constantly correcting me,” Sam muttered.

Daniel laughed.  “Jack called it embellishing.”

Sam snorted.  “I called it blatant lying.”  She tucked a hand into each of their elbows and tugged them towards the dining room.  “C’mon.  I know Janet fixed enough spaghetti for everyone, and you can share why you’re here, Daniel… not that you’re not welcome whenever, but you’re not one to just show up unannounced either.”

“And maybe you can share some SG1 stories as well,” Simon asked.  “Ma never shares anything about herself when she tells them.”

Daniel turned and looked at Sam.  “How is that even possible?”  He shifted his gaze to Simon.  “I’m sure I can come up with a few things to share.”  Then Janet came through with the first bowl, and everything became controlled chaos.

************

“Mom?” Olivia Spencer swung around from her window to see her daughter standing hesitantly in the doorway.  She put down on the desk the folder of papers she’d been studying and crossed the room to take Emma’s hand and lead her back to the chairs in front of her desk.  She waited until Emma sank into one before taking the other.  Then she propped her chin in her free hand and gazed at Emma with a soft smile.  

“What’s up, Jellybean?” causing Emma to duck her head and blush.

“Mooooooom,” she grumbled, though she couldn’t completely hide the shy smile that crossed her face at the moniker.  “Don’t you think I’m a little too old for that nickname?”  She winced at the slight involuntary flinch in Olivia’s green eyes, but she didn’t try to take the words back.

“Well, baby,” Olivia replied after she cleared her throat, “it’s kind of an ingrained habit after years and years of daily use,” said with more than a hint of drama.  “But I’ll try not to use it publicly, okay?  Can’t make any promises about when it’s just us,” clenching the hand she still held briefly.

“Or Ma,” Emma reminded her.  Olivia nodded.

“Or with your Ma.”  She snorted.  “I think she uses it more than I do.”

Emma laughed.  “I think you’re right.”

“So, what brought you to my door at….”  She looked at her watch and frowned.  “Did you skip school to come here in the middle of that day?”

“No, Mom.  Half day today, remember?  Teacher planning or something,” she shrugged.

“Okay… so why are you here, then?  Surely you have more fun and exciting things to do with a beautiful day like today than come hang out with your busy, hard-working mom.”

Emma shrugged again.  “Maybe, but….”  She took a deep breath.  “Do you think we could go to Washington for Thanksgiving this year?”

Olivia smiled briefly, though she didn’t allow Emma to see it. Adolescence had done quite a number on Emma, and though she was still a popular young woman with her peers, her outgoing, bubbly personality had become rather subdued.  Emma swore nothing had happened, but she had gone to therapy anyway to put her moms’ minds to rest.  Her doctor had done all she could to reassure Olivia about Emma’s well-being, but she still remained vigilant about teasing her too much.  “Have we been invited somewhere, or…?”

Emma shrugged for the third time and Olivia gritted her teeth to keep from chiding her about the habit that drove her crazy.  “Carter and I have been talking.  We were just wondering if we could maybe see one another again.”

“You like him.”  Emma nodded but dropped her eyes to the floor.  Olivia tugged on her hand until she glanced up and met her eyes.  “You really like him?” smiling gently when Emma bit her bottom lip before nodding again.  Olivia sighed.  “I don’t think anything can come of this… beyond your being friends,” tightening her grasp on Emma’s hand when she would have jerked it away.  “Let me finish,” she chided, meeting sullen eyes squarely until Emma relented with a nod.  “I don’t think anything can come from this right now, beyond your being friends, because you’re both so very young and distance is hard for adults.  However, if you’d like to give Carter my number to give to his mom, I’ll be happy to talk to her and see if we can work something out.  But, honey… you need to understand that Cat Grant is a pretty important person, and she doesn’t have a lot of free time.  It may not even be vaguely feasible with our schedules, all right?”  She tucked an errant lock of hair behind Emma’s ear.  “In the meantime, you and Carter can continue to Skype and text and email and whatever else it is you kids do these days to stay in touch with your friends.”

Emma nodded and sighed, then looked up at Olivia with a smile.  Unexpectedly, she threw her arms around her mom’s neck and squeezed hard.  Olivia caught her breath for an instant before she returned the hug fervently as a tear rolled unabashedly down her face.  When Emma pulled back, Olivia hastily wiped it away but not fast enough for her daughter not to notice.  Emma frowned.  “You all right, Mom?”

Olivia nodded, and though her eyes glistened, her smile was broad enough to light up a room.  “I’m fine, baby.  We just haven’t hugged like that in a while, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until just then.”

“Me too” Emma agreed.  “Thanks, Mom.”

Olivia stood and pulled Emma up with her, although Emma was careful to keep all her weight off her mom’s hand.  Green eyes rolled when Olivia recognized the tactic, but Emma just shrugged and smiled, and Olivia melted.  “All right, Kiddo.  Go… do whatever fun stuff you had planned for your half day and let your old mom get back to work.  Do you have a ride?”

Emma nodded.  “Dad’s waiting out front.  He promised to take me shopping for some new clothes and a costume for the Halloween dance.”

Olivia chuckled.  “Make sure you spend plenty of his money.  He can afford it.”

Emma snorted. “So can you,” she sassed.  “I’ll see you later.  Love you,” she said with a wave as she exited the room.  

Olivia blinked and shook her head.  “Love you, too,” she said into the empty space.  She turned back to her desk and scooped up the papers she’d been studying.  She looked them over again, then headed for the door.  It appeared she needed to see a man about a horse… or rather, she needed to talk to Xena and Gabrielle about a Headless Horseman.

************

“So, what’s the deal, Kar?” Alex asked her sister around a mouthful of fried rice.  Maggie elbowed her and scowled, and Alex wrinkled up her nose but continued to chew and swallow before she spoke again.  “You’ve been in Gotham a lot lately, and J’onn told me you’ve asked for him to step in and cover for you here.  Is something going on I should know about?”

Kara sighed and set down her plate of potstickers… an action so unusual that both Alex and Maggie set their plates down as well, in preparation for whatever news was fixing to be relayed.  As serious as Kara was about food - and potstickers in particular - they knew whatever was coming had to be intense.  The silence went on for a full minute, and Maggie leaned forward and put a hand on Kara’s knee to draw her attention back to them.  She squeezed gently and waited for those blue eyes to track to hers, then she offered a smile that turned into a grin when Kara smiled back.  “Everything okay, Little Danvers?” knowing the moniker would get a roll of those eyes.

Maggie got her eye roll, then she felt the warmth of Kara’s hand cover hers.  It never failed to amaze her how warm Kara was all the time. She turned her hand up so they could clasp one another and waited.  Kara took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she gently squeezed Maggie’s hand and turned her attention back to Alex.

“What I tell you stays right here - not even the DEO can know this… and certainly not the NCPD.”

Maggie nodded, understanding Kara needed the reassurance for some reason.  Alex, on the other hand, frowned and leaned forward to pick up her wine.  “I’m not in the habit of spilling secrets, Kar.  My job … and your safety, for that matter… kind of demands I keep my mouth shut.”  She took a big gulp of wine and scowled.  “I’m a little offended you feel the need to say that to me.”  She set her wine back down on the table and moved to stand, but before she could even think to flinch, Kara was kneeling in front of her, hands clasping both of hers and tears in her eyes.

“This isn’t about you, Alex… or Maggie… or even me.  This is about sharing at least part of a secret that isn’t mine, and it really isn’t mine to tell.  But I need you to understand at least a little of what’s going on if only so you can stop worrying about me.”  She waited a beat.  “We promised no more secrets, right?”

Alex stared into Kara’s eyes for a few moments, recognizing so much of what made up the complex person that was her sister, but also seeing new depths and a peace that hadn’t been there even after they’d found Argo City.  She lifted a hand from Kara’s grasp and placed it against her cheek, wiping away the tear that had spilled from her eyes, gratified when Kara leaned into her touch.  She cleared her throat.  “Yeah, we did.  You can trust me, Kar - you can trust us.  Whatever you want to share will stay right here between us.”  She smiled tremulously.  “Who knows… maybe we’ll be able to help.”

Kara nodded and captured Alex’s hand again, pressing it lightly in her grip before releasing both of them.  Then she dropped onto the floor somewhat gracelessly and crossed her legs, putting her forearms on her thighs and allowing her clasped hands to dangle.  She sighed again.  “All right.  I can’t share everything, because it is truly not my place to tell those secrets, but I’ll tell you what I can.  Do you remember the Headless Horseman that showed up at the storytelling bonfire thing?” waiting for them both to nod, though their confusion was evident in their expressions.  “Right… so everyone thought it was just Xena doing her thing, because apparently that’s her normal contribution to the night’s storytelling.  She’ll come in at some point and scare the bejeezus out of everyone, then disappear before anyone realizes she’s gone.  The truth is - everyone has come to expect it.  It’s considered part of the fun.”

“I’m sorry, but how do you know all this?” Maggie asked.  She wasn’t impatient or unkind about it, but it was obvious she was feeling more than a little frustrated.

“I’m getting there, I promise.  Anyway, this Headless Horseman chick kinda threw everyone for a loop.  We all saw Xena and Gabrielle’s reaction to her appearance,” waiting for them to nod, “and it was pretty clear she wasn’t expected.   Besides, Xena never left Gabrielle’s side during the telling of that story, and that tale was a last-minute addition to Gabrielle’s repertoire because Emma Spencer requested it. They - Xena and Gabrielle - think the Headless Horseman may be tied to something more sinister.”

“And this is where you come in?”

Kara nodded.  “This is where I come in.  I don’t know if you were paying a lot of attention to me when we did that ghost tour walk….”

“I was,” Alex commented, “but I couldn’t get to you without drawing attention to that fact.  There was something especially odd going on during that thing, and I saw you clutch your head.”  She tilted her head and bit her lip in thought.  “In fact….”  She squinted her eyes as though that might help her thinking process.  “There were several of you doing that - you and Diana, and a couple of chicks I didn’t actually recognize.”  She turned her focus on Kara.  “Who were they?”

Kara shook her head.  “They’re part of the ‘I really can’t tell you’ club.  However, knowing what you know about me - and about Diana - you should be able to figure it out.  But anyway,” waving her hands in front of her to forestall any more questions, “we were asked by Xena and Gabrielle to help out.  This is important, Alex.  Despite the seriousness of the whole situation, I’m kinda flattered they asked me to be a part of finding a solution to….”  She waved her hands around again.  “This.”

“So why you?” Alex asked.  She looked at Kara and her gaze sharpened.  “Do they know who you are, Kara Zor-El?”

Kara nodded slowly.  “I’m not sure how, but they knew all about me.  I didn’t tell them.”

“Hmm,” Alex commented, then swiftly stood and paced the floor.  “This isn’t good, Kar.  I mean… what do we know about them really, other than they put on a damn fine con?”  She turned to look at Maggie for a moment, then faced Kara again.  “I think we need to do some digging on these people.”

Blue eyes widened in alarm, and Kara reached up and clasped her hand firmly, though not hard enough to inflict any damage.  “I don’t think that is a good idea.  Alex, trust me when I tell you they are beyond anything you could imagine, and the truth of them is well above your pay grade.  The only reason I know anything at all is because of where I come from and who I became here.”

Alex studied Kara’s countenance for several long minutes, letting her knowledge of Kara weigh against this unknown threat.  Finally, she sighed.  “Do you trust them?”

“Implicitly.  If I can get permission, I’d like to introduce you to them… let you get to know them so you can decide for yourself.  They’re good people, Alex.”

Alex stood completely still, contemplating Kara’s words when she felt Maggie clasp her hand.  “I think we should give them the benefit of the doubt, hon.  They haven’t done anything to reveal Kara’s identity to the world, and they obviously made quite an impression on her if she’s willing to stand up for them.”

Alex waited another full minute before she sighed and nodded.  “All right, Kar.  I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt… For. Now.  But if they so much as breathe the wrong way, all bets are off.  I’ll go in with guns blazing if I have to.”

“Pretty sure that wouldn’t mean anything to them,” Kara offered with a smile, then held up her hand before Alex could interject.  “But I get your point.  If it makes you feel better, they are the founders of WarriorBard Enterprises,” watching Alex’s eyes widen in surprise.  “I know you’ve heard of them.”

“Of course,” Alex spluttered.  “They’ve made some of the best advancements in weapons and armor that have come out in the last… God, at least twenty years or so, to say nothing of some of their contributions in the science communities.”

“Um hmm; so, for now, just trust that they know what they’re doing and that they’re doing it for the right reasons.  Like I said… maybe when this is all over, I can introduce you to them and you can hear the whole story.  But for now, trust that what they’re doing is important and all the secrecy is necessary to protect everyone.”

“All right,” Alex grumbled.  “But I don’t like it.  You promise you’ll let me know if there is something I can do, yeah?  I don’t like sitting on the sidelines.”

“I know,” Kara assured her as she stood and took Alex into her embrace.  “You’ll know as soon as I can tell you.”

“All right - just be careful, then.  I’m not crazy about not being able to watch your six.”

“I know,” Kara said again, “but Diana’s got my back if it comes down to it.  I’ll be all right.”

“Hmph! You better be.”


Chapter XXXIV

“All right, so… Miranda’s asked me to do a roll call,” Andy said nervously, “just so we can get an idea of who all was able to get connected and have the time to do this tonight.  I know there are several folks - especially on the law enforcement side of the hall - that have to work ungodly hours.”

Sam snorted before she laughed aloud.  “Because a journalist never does that, right?” causing the rest to titter in amusement.  Truth be told, they were all a little nervous.  Though they’d known one another for years and stayed in touch mostly via email, they had never attempted something like this before.  They had never tried a meeting of them all - in person or electronically - that didn’t involve Xena and Gabrielle in some form or another.  It was honestly a little weird, and they all felt like kids sneaking out without their parents’ permission, hoping they didn’t get caught.

Andy swiftly went down the list of participants, pleasantly surprised to find that most of women she’d come to count on as friends had been able to join their little party.  She’d been unsure about some of them; a lot of journalists she knew just weren’t tech savvy enough to pull off the level of sophistication this particular meeting demanded.  At least the law enforcement types tended to have hackers and tech specialists on the payroll as a matter of course.  Fortunately, it seemed that most had the contacts they needed to get the job done satisfactorily.  When she was finished, she nodded her head at Miranda and slid back to allow the older woman to assume her place in front of the monitor.

Miranda looked at her screen slowly, taking in each group gathered around their own monitors waiting for her to speak.  She nodded in satisfaction and began to speak, projecting just enough to be heard without needing to raise her voice.  “I’m sure most of you wonder why I’ve called you together like this.  After all, it’s not like we’ve ever done something like this before in the years we’ve known one another.  Even though we have kept in touch with one another, it’s been as individuals and not as the group we are when we are at our conference meeting.”

She touched a hand to her throat and Andy slid a glass of ice-cold Pellegrino in front of her.  Miranda nodded her thanks and took a brief sip before returning to those watching her with undisguised curiosity.  “I know you all remember the Headless Horseman that made her untimely appearance at the bonfire,” seeing the involuntary recoil of a number of women facing her.  “And many of you had the same reaction now that I myself recall having then.  The question remains, however - who is she, really?  Where did she come from?  I know we all accepted the explanation we were given readily enough; I’m quite confident a number of you checked it out as did I, and found that we were told the truth… as far as it goes.  But the fact is, we still don’t know anything more about that rider than we did when she appeared to us.”

Nikki cleared her throat, and Miranda’s blue eyes shifted to meet hers on the screen.  “I don’t mean to interrupt, Sugar, but where exactly are you going with all this?  I know for a fact she - or someone very similar to her description - has been spotted here in New Orleans several times since y’all went home.”

Miranda nodded as though accepting confirmation of her thoughts.  “And what else have you learned of her, Ms. Beaumont?  What do you know of her beyond what we all saw for ourselves?”

Nikki shook her head.  “Nothing, really.  No one has gotten close enough to speak to her and she hasn’t said anything to my knowledge.  She just makes a brief appearance, then rides off again into the ether.  Even Darius can’t get a read on her.”

Miranda nodded again.  “Which brings me to the point of my asking you all to this electronic conference.  I believe we need to find out about this Horseman.”

“You want us to go looking for that creepy thing?” Gail Peck asked coolly, though Miranda could see the trepidation in her eyes.  She shook her head.

“No. Absolutely not.  I consider you all dear friends, and that strikes me as something of a suicide mission.”

“So, what exactly are you proposing, Miranda?” Catherine Willows asked.  “And better yet, why?”

Miranda clenched her jaw and lifted the glass of water to take another sip, to allow her the time she needed not to snap at what at any other time and place she would consider impertinence.  “What I’m proposing is that we find out who this Headless Horseman is - where she comes from; where she goes when she’s not hunting her next victim; if there’s any way to stop her.”

“You don’t think Gabrielle’s story told the truth?” Jordan Cavanaugh asked.

“I personally believe that it was probably based in some legend she heard at some point in her life, but their reaction to her tells me there’s more truth in her words than I’m comfortable with.  If that is true, then we should learn all we can about it.”

“Why?” Kate Todd asked.  “What difference does it make to us whether or not the Horseman is real?”

“Because I have a feeling Xena and Gabrielle may need our help to stop….”  She paused and looked down at her folded hands, pondering her words for a moment.  When she looked up, every eye was watching her and waiting for her to speak.  She cleared her throat.  “To stop whatever evil the Horseman is either foretelling or is a part of.  There is far more to her than just that of a scary story told at Halloween.”

Silence greeted her words, but it was heavy.  After a moment, Kelly Garret spoke up.  “What do you want us to do?”

Miranda nodded.  “I’ve had a few thoughts on the matter.  Let me tell you what I have so far, and then the rest of you can add your ideas.  Then we will figure out a plan of action.  Sooner is better in this, I believe.”

“Agreed,” several voices popped up.

“Especially with Halloween just around the corner,” Cindy Thomas continued.  “There’s not enough candy in the world to make that Horseman a welcome guest.”  Then they sat back and waited for Miranda to share her thoughts, so they could get to work.

************

“So where are we… realistically?” Gabrielle asked as she ran her fingers through her hair.  Xena and Shaw had just left to go talk to Kate Freelander, and she was trying to make sure she had a handle on everything.  Things were starting to come together, and she had the sneaking suspicion that it was going to pick up speed the closer they got to Halloween.

“Well, we’ve got locations on almost half of the talismans now - yours, Kate Freelander’s and Sam Carter’s.”  Diana looked up from her notes with a frown and turned to Gabrielle.  “Who is notifying her?”

“Xena will.  She and Sameen will head to the airport as soon as they’ve talked to Kate.  If we can find the others in the meantime, we’ll forward them the information and they’ll go speak to them.”

“Gabrielle?  Is that safe?  For Xena, I mean.  I thought those things had an adverse effect on immortals.”

Gabrielle turned to find confusion and concern in Dinah’s hazel eyes.  She smiled gently and covered Dinah’s hand.  “It should be.  It’s one reason she took Shaw with her.  Sameen will remind her of her humanity if things get too intense, and she is one of the few people who can keep up with Xena for a little while when it comes to sparring.”

“Helena will be so jealous she missed it,” Dinah snickered.

Gabrielle chuckled.  “Maybe.  But I think she was a little thrilled to be functioning as one of Xena’s lieutenants.  Remember, she was hand-picked by Xena to go help Emma and Regina in Storybrooke in her stead.  I imagine she’s pretty stoked about that.”

“I hope she remembers she’s not Xena,” Barbara grumbled, causing Gabrielle to look at her with an arched eyebrow.  She pinched her nose beneath her glasses and sighed.  “I know she’s metahuman and tends to land on her feet, but she also sees Xena as something to which to aspire.  That’s not a bad thing - Xena is an exceptional role model in so many aspects of life - but she’s also immortal, and Helena conveniently tends to forget that sometimes.  And honestly, I’m a little worried about that whole ‘magic’ thing they seem to have going on in Storybrooke.  How do you defend against something like that?”

Gabrielle shook her head.  “I don’t know,” she confessed, “but I have to believe that Emma and Regina will be looking out for her.  And you know Aphrodite will as much as she can.”  She smiled.  “She likes Helena.  She’s the one that arranged for Selina to have the chance to come back and talk to her.”

“Did not know that,” Dinah mumbled, “though it certainly makes sense.”

“Besides,” Gabrielle continued, “you know Helena is gonna be more cautious knowing you’re not there to have her back, and she’ll let us know as soon as she can what’s going on there.  As careless as she tends to be sometimes as Huntress, she doesn’t want to explain to Xena how she screwed this up.”

“No one wants to do that,” Diana muttered.  “The only thing worse than that is having to explain that to you, my Queen.”

Barbara turned to Diana with a hint of a smile.  “I take it that’s happened to you?”

“Only once… with each of them,” she confirmed with a blush.  “That was enough.”

“You’ll share someday?”

“Not if I can help it.  It was embarrassing enough the first time.  I really have no desire to live through that kind of humiliation again.”

Barbara’s eyes widened, knowing if Diana felt so strongly, she would never get the story.  It only made her more curious, especially as Diana tended to be an open book about most things; however, she respected the woman too much to pry further, and she let it drop as she turned her attention back to Gabrielle.  “Is someone monitoring her?”

“Not directly.  Even The Machine was unable to penetrate whatever spell Regina has placed around her realm to keep it hidden from humanity.  She does, however, have a state-of-the-art comm device in her ear that will put her in auditory touch with Root and The Machine if she activates it.”

Barbara nodded.  “I kind of hope she doesn’t need to… at least not to do any more than report in.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “We’ll keep our fingers crossed.  In the meantime, we should probably break for some sleep.  I know we need to get back to finding the rest of those talismans, but we can’t afford to become careless and miss something.  I sincerely doubt they’re going to come to us.”

At that moment, Root came over the intercom. “Gabrielle, I have a couple of visitors that are asking to speak to you - one Bo Dennis and a Dr. Lauren Lewis.  Miss Dennis says you met her grandfather Trick a number of years ago.  She brings a message from him.”

“Really?  At one in the morning?”  She sighed.  “Does this ‘Trick’ have a last name?” Gabrielle asked as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.  This was just getting more and more complicated.

Root relayed the question, and in another moment, she turned back to the screen to face Gabrielle.  “She says his name is McCorrigan… Fitzpatrick McCorrigan.”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened.  She hadn’t heard that name in at least a millennia.  She wondered what had caused him to send this young woman to him.  She nodded slowly.  “Have security send them to the penthouse, Root.  I’ll receive them here.”

“You got it, Boss,” then she ended their contact.  Gabrielle looked at the three women still seated at the table.  “Why don’t you all turn in for now, and we’ll pick this up later in the morning?”

“Your majesty, I would feel better if you’d allow me to stay.  Without Xena here, it falls to me to provide you with a semblance of protection.”  Diana held up her hand when Gabrielle opened her mouth.  “I’m well aware of the fact that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself, but there’s always that chance, and I’m not going to be the one to explain to your Consort that I allowed something to happen.”

Gabrielle nodded slowly.  “Very well, Princess. You may stay.  The two of you, however, need to go get some rest,” she directed Barbara and Dinah before they could protest.  “We can’t afford to make mistakes and if I’m tired, by definition, you’ve got to be close to exhausted.  A few hours rest will help us all stay sharp and alert. Remember, our IT people are able to work ‘round-the-clock because they’re working in shifts.  No one person is expected to stay up and do it all themselves.  Diana and I will be taking a break as well as soon as I find out what this is all about.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay and read them for you?” Dinah offered.

“No.  After what happened earlier this evening with Brittany, I’d rather not put you through that if at all possible.  I’ll give them an opportunity to speak and hope they’ll be honest and up front about whatever this message is.  If it appears they’re going to be less than forthcoming, well… it’s not like I won’t have Wonder Woman on my side, right?” smiling and garnering smiles from the rest.  “Please… I’d feel better if you’d both get some sleep.  As Amazons, we have to take care of each other; as your Queen, this is the best way I can take care of you right now.”

“You don’t fight very fair, my Queen,” Barbara grumbled with a slight smile.  “But I see your point.”  She pushed away from the table and rolled to the door with Dinah just behind her.  “We’ll be back around daybreak… maybe a little earlier.”

“Acceptable.”  The elevator dinged.  “Go on.  This shouldn’t take too long… I hope.”  Dinah opened the door and allowed Barbara to go in front of her, pleasantly surprised when the women who had exited the elevator held the doors on either side for them to pass through before they turned back to the woman standing in the open door of the penthouse watching them.

The brunette stepped forward with her hand extended.  “Gabrielle?  My name is Bo Dennis, and I apologize for the lateness of this visit, but my grandfather Trick McCorrigan sent me to find you and deliver a message he felt was important you have.”

“And do you think it’s important, Miss Dennis?” accepting the hand and holding it firmly, though not tightly, as she studied the other woman thoroughly.

“I can’t honestly say, but I think so.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “Please… come in and let’s talk,” ushering them both into the penthouse and closing the door solidly behind them.

************

Ruby turned to Dyson and shifted back to her human form so she could cover her nose and mouth with her hands.  He was quick to follow suit and they stood for a long moment simply staring at the carnage that had once been the Wish Realm.  As far as the eye could see, there was not one living thing left in the land. The trees and bushes were bare and dried up; there were skeletons randomly scattered around, as though they had simply fallen down dead where they stood; even the power lines were apparently malfunctioning as no hum could be heard coming from them. From the look - and smell - of things, this had to have happened some time ago, but hadn’t Emma just visited this place in the last few days?  She would have noticed this - there was no way to miss the smell of death and decay so prevalent here.  So, that begged the question… when did this happen?  And were the other realms of the kingdom still in danger of having this happen to them?

They turned back to one another, eyes echoing a mixture of sadness, disgust and terror.  Dyson cleared his throat and tried not to breath too deeply.  “I think we need to get back to Regina and Emma.  They need to know what’s happened here.  Then we need to check on the other realms.  If he could do this with no one the wiser, there is every possibility he could do the same to the rest.”

Ruby shook her head, as much in denial as for any other reason.  “We didn’t smell anything unusual in the other realms.  However, in the effort towards expediency, I think we should split up.  I’ll go check the other realms and you go back to tell Emma and Regina about what happened here.”

Dyson was already shaking his head in disagreement.  “No.  I know you’re concerned about your wife, but I think we need to stick together.  For one thing, I don’t really know my way around here, and for another, most of your kin don’t know me… or at least they won’t recognize me.  We don’t have time for me to have to fight my way through them, and honestly, I have no desire to do damage to those who could be allies.  So, you need to choose - either we finish going through the realms together, or we go back to alert Regina and Emma.”

“That’s not fair,” Ruby pouted, though her brown eyes were sparking with anger.

“No, it’s not, but it is life.”  Dyson sighed and turned his back on the remains of the Wish Realm, stumbling away from the visual and the scent that would stick with him for days.  “For what it’s worth, I think we should do a run through the rest of the realms, just to be able to make a full report of the kingdom to the Queen.  But we can’t really dillydally around.  They need to know what’s happened, and that Saligia is on the loose.  If I were to hazard a guess, I’d have to say he’s at full power… or very nearly.”  He paused and looked back briefly, pleased to see Ruby was moving to catch up with him.  “Though I don’t recall hearing about any ability to strip the life force from living things,” he muttered mostly to himself.  “I need to talk to Trick.”

“All right,” Ruby said as she caught up to him.  “I think you’re right.  Let’s do a quick run through the rest of the realms and see if this has….”  She sucked in a stuttering breath, then closed her eyes to find her equilibrium.  She shuddered, then opened her eyes and focused on him, and it was all he could do not to wince in sympathy for the pain he could see there.  “If this has spread to any of the other realms.  With any luck, we’ll meet up with some of the others of my clan, and they’ll be able to give us a report on most of them, BUT….”  And now her gaze grew fierce and her bearing determined.  “We WILL be going to Oz first so I can check on Dorothy personally.  I have to know.”

Dyson nodded.  He could understand her need, and if he was in her shoes, he’d do the same thing.  “All right,” he agreed.  “Lead the way,” said as he shifted back to his were form.  Ruby did the same, and a moment later, they were off and running again… this time away from the slaughter and hopefully towards better news for them both.

************

Helena looked around carefully as they arrived back in the mausoleum, blinking her eyes at the sudden disorientation caused by their mode of travel.  She understood the importance of the job Xena had tasked her with, but she was naturally curious about the whole magic situation as well.  She cocked her head slightly as she finished her perusal and her balance settled, then looked directly at Regina.  “Okay, so where are these people I’m supposed to help?”

“I’m a little surprised they weren’t here waiting on us.  I didn’t expect their reconnaissance to take so long, though if they were unable to get help from Ms. Lucas’ kin, it will take a good deal longer than I’d hoped.  Let’s see if we can find them, shall we?”

“You’re going to need more than just magic,” Athena said as she stepped around the corner.  “I’m not sure what the problem is here, but I’ve been unable to scry since shortly after you left.”

“Scry?” Emma repeated.  “What’s that?”

Aphrodite and Athena exchanged glances, then Aphrodite sighed, taking Emma by the elbow and jerking her head at the rest of them as a matter of course.  “C’mon.  Let me give you a crash course in ‘Being a Goddess 101’.  Then we’ll worry about the rest.”


Chapter XXXV

“So, did you get the answers you needed from Gabrielle?” Alex asked Olivia as they settled into bed that evening.  A good portion of their earlier discussion had been centered on Casey… and Abbie.  Alex had decided to give Casey a call - just to let her know that both she and Olivia were there for her and willing to listen whenever Casey felt ready to share.  Abbie was going to be a bit trickier to deal with.  By her own admission, she was at fault for what had happened between her and Casey, but her desire to become friends with her again was a little out of their wheelhouse.  They had come to the conclusion that the best they could do was mention it to Casey and assure her that her decision wouldn’t change their friendship.  They only hoped it wouldn’t be construed as unwarranted interference in Casey’s life.

They were both quite anxious to meet Ian as well, though part of that was just natural curiosity.  Abbie had never been one to pull her punches when describing a person’s attractiveness - for better or for worse - and the fact that she spoke highly of Ian’s manly good looks as well as his character and intelligence spoke volumes to both women.

Then Andrea Sachs had called them to inform them of the meeting Miranda had requested.  They thought it a little odd… especially since Andy was no longer Miranda’s assistant.  Miranda was someone within their social circle that they had more than a passing acquaintance with, and she tended to issue those invitations personally.  Still, the invitation had piqued their curiosity, and they had spent quite some time setting up their computer security with the specs Andy had emailed over after their conversation.

Those specs alone had raised both sets of eyebrows.  They were both familiar enough with having strong cyber security on all their devices; Olivia’s stint with the FBI had only strengthened that specific awareness.  But what Miranda had requested had made them - and many of the other woman who attended the late evening Skype call - wonder if perhaps Cat Grant was joining them from the White House or something similar.  In fact, Cat Grant had not been present at the meeting, though she had been briefed by Miranda before the start of the conference call.

Then they realized that the security measures were simply to ensure their privacy from - of all people - Xena and Gabrielle.  They realized Gabrielle’s story must have had some basis in truth, and they desperately wanted to do something to help with whatever was going on… despite Xena and Gabrielle’s obvious attempt to keep them out of the trouble surrounding them.  They knew something massive was brewing - that much had been evident just by Xena and Gabrielle’s instinctive reaction to the Headless Horseman.  Therefore, looking for the Headless Horseman and the truth of her origins was the first step.

When Alex didn’t get an answer to her question, she looked over to find Olivia sitting on the side of the bed with her attention focused on the floor.  She walked around and placed a hand on a shoulder that was still strong despite the years and the load they carried, and she waited for brown eyes to meet hers.  She was surprised to find tears glistening, though none had slid down the smooth planes of the tanned face.  She immediately sat down beside her and captured a cold hand between her own warmer ones.

“Honey?” bringing a tremulous smile to Olivia’s face.  She reached up one hand and wiped the silent tear that was tracking slowly down a cheek.  Even age and the fine lines that were starting to accrue couldn’t hide Olivia’s natural beauty, and Alex simply stared as Olivia closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.  “Hey… is everything okay?  Do I need to go kick Gabrielle’s ass?”

That made Olivia chuckle, and she looked up into blue eyes full of love and concern.  “I love you,” she blurted, causing the concern to melt into dazzling warmth.  “And I’m fairly certain, even combined, we couldn’t kick Gabrielle’s ass… even without Xena’s backup.”  She clutched the hand still cupping her face and drew it to her lips to brush a kiss across the knuckles.  “I’m fine,” she finally responded.  “Talking to Gabrielle today reminded me of my mom… some of the good times with my mom.  There weren’t many, so I remember the ones I have.”  She looked down and watched her thumb trace the fine veins on the back of Alex’s hand.  “Actually, the story she told reminded me of my mom.”

Alex’s eyebrows went into her hairline.  “The Headless Horseman reminded you of your mom?”

Olivia snorted.  “Well, when you put it like that….” causing both of them to chuckle, then Olivia sobered and shook her head as she took a deep breath.  “No… wrong story.  My mother had ties to the Iroquois Nation.  I’ve never really understood her place in their society, but one of the things I know she did was collect their stories.  She used to tell them to me on the rare nights she was able to tuck me in.  One of the stories she had was about the Rake… what Gabrielle called the Skin Walker.  It was a little disconcerting to hear a story I’ve known since childhood told by someone else with a different point of view.  The details were a little different, but so much of it was the same.”  She shook her head before bringing her attention back to Alex’s eyes.  “I may take the stories mom has to Gabrielle - see what other tales the Nations have in common.”

“And that thought made you unhappy?” Alex asked, a confused frown marring her forehead.

Olivia shook her head.  “No… not really.  I was just remembering the few times mom would tell me a story before bed - not all of them were scary.  Most were, and she loved telling them.  My favorite though….”  Olivia let her eyes drift closed and a tiny smile creased her lips.  “She told the story of two travelers - friends of the Nation, she called them - that left a gift with the tribe.  It was highly prized and considered the greatest honor to be chosen to carry it.  Sometimes the warriors would fight over it, only to be reminded that it was not meant for a warrior, but for one who was pure of heart and strong of character.”

“And warriors couldn’t be those things?” Alex finally asked, startling Olivia from her memories.

Olivia shook her head.  “They could be strong of character - most of them were from what I gathered from the stories.  But pure of heart?  That was a little more difficult for a warrior to manage.  According to mom, the gift was almost always held by a female… usually a girl before her first period, but sometimes an older woman past the age of menopause and without a husband.”

Alex frowned.  “That’s oddly specific.”

Olivia chuckled.  “I thought the same thing.  But mom said it was to protect the caretaker as well as the gift, and it was what was best for the tribe.”

Alex nodded slowly.  “Okay.  So, why was this your favorite?”

Olivia grinned gleefully and Alex smiled in response.  Rarely was Olivia exuberant, but Alex could almost feel the excitement rolling from her.  “Because somehow, mom wound up with the gift, and she would always bring it out and show it to me whenever she told the story.  Wanna see?”

Even if her curiosity hadn’t been piqued by the story, Alex never would have said no in the face of Olivia’s enthusiasm.  She nodded sharply and grinned, eyes sparkling with excitement.  Olivia squeezed the hand she held, then released it as she stood up.  She made her way across the room to what had been designated as ‘her’ safe.  It held most of her guns and her personal papers and the few pieces of jewelry she owned.  She moved the mosaic she had created to hide the safe, then spun the knob expertly and efficiently.  The door swung open at her touch and she reached into the back and pulled out a small velvet bag.  She closed the safe back up, unwilling to take the chance on giving someone access to her firearms.

She walked back to the bed, conscious of Alex’s piercing gaze on her and blushing just the tiniest bit.  She reached forward and passed the bag to Alex as she took a seat beside her.  Alex hefted the bag, a little surprised at the weight of such a small parcel.  She turned to Olivia, who nodded.

“Go ahead - open it.”

Alex loosened the ties around the neck of the bag and peered inside, then reached in and removed an ornately carved wooden box.  She set it into the palm of her hand as she gently examined it from all sides.  “This was the gift?” waiting for Olivia to nod.  “It’s beautiful.  Do you know who carved it? Or what the symbols mean?”

“No,” Olivia replied as she pushed her hair off her face.  “Mom never said - I don’t know if she knew… or if it was even part of the legend.”  She ran her fingers over the smooth wood.  “She used to let me touch it for a little while before she would put it away again.”  She slid her fingers over a niche and frowned when the box started to separate.  “What the hell?”

Alex kept her hand still but cut her eyes in Olivia’s direction. “I take it this hasn’t happened before,” seeing Olivia shake her head vehemently.

“Never.  I always used to run my fingers over the wood - especially there because of that groove - and not once has it….”  She leaned over and her eyes widened as her brows shifted into her hairline.  “Can I…?” not surprised when Alex slid the box into her hand.  She brought the box closer to her face, peering into it for a long moment before lifting a hand and removing… something.  She carefully set the box down between them, then opened her hand, extending her fingers fully.

In the center of her palm lay a smooth piece of bone carved into the shape of a lightning bolt.  It was small - maybe an inch in size - but it was clearly a work of art.  Olivia reached up a hand and let her fingers track over the silkiness of the polished bone.  Alex raised her hand to touch, meeting brown eyes as their fingers touched.

“I take it this is something new?”

Olivia nodded slowly.  “I’ve never seen it before.  The box has never opened before.”  She lifted it carefully, examining it with a detective’s eye but unable to find a defect or seam or blemish.  “It looks perfect, but how would you create something like this without…?”

“Without what, Sweetheart?”

Olivia kept her eyes on the piece for another full minute before shaking her head and replacing the bone carefully into the box.  She gently closed the box and placed it into the bag before resting the bag on the table in front of her.  “I know - for a fact - that this box is old.  Old enough to not only be an antique, but to be a historical artifact.  The story mom told had been handed down, not just for generations, but for at least a millennium.  Hell, she had a colleague at the school do a basic carbon dating test on it.  But how would you create something so perfect without the precision tools of today?  Without lasers and computers and electrical equipment?”

“I don’t know, Sweetie.  I’ve never tried to create that way.  I couldn’t create something like that even with all those precision tools,” giving Olivia a wry smile and rolling her eyes at the mischievous grin she got in return.  “Is there someone we could ask about this?”

Olivia smiled, secretly glad that Alex had just assumed it was a ‘them’ situation and not a ‘her’ one.  She released a slow breath.  “I keep coming back to Xena and Gabrielle, if for no other reason than that Gabrielle is at least moderately familiar with Native American lore, and we established an understanding today that shows how much the Nations seem to have in common.  That seems like it would probably be the best place to start.”

“So, what’s your hesitation?”

Olivia picked up the bag and walked back to the safe, setting it in the place she had reserved for it, then closing the door and spinning the lock.  She replaced the mural, then turned and walked back to the bed.  She took Alex’s hands and pulled her up, tilting her head up and gladly receiving the kiss Alex leaned down to give her.  She smiled back when Alex smiled as they separated and led her to the other side of the bed.  She waited until Alex took a seat and stretched out before she drew the covers up and moved back to her side. In another moment, they were snuggled together, and the lights were turned off.

“Two things,” Olivia said softly into the stillness.  Alex nearly jumped in surprise; only the fact that she’d felt Olivia take a deep breath held her motionless.  “One is I think Miranda is onto something - there is something going on for sure with Xena and Gabrielle.  I don’t know if it is the Headless Horseman per se, but something caused them to react the way they did and leave New Orleans in a hurry.  I think the Horseman ties into it, but that’s as far as I’m willing to commit right now.”

“All right,” Alex nodded as she leaned her cheek against the top of Olivia’s head.  “What’s the second?” shivering when she felt lips brush her pulse point when Olivia turned her face into her neck.  She giggled when the warm breath of a sigh washed over her skin.

“I promised Xena I would talk to her first if something like this came up again.  I was a little… aggressive… when I went in to see them - see Gabrielle - today, and I upset her.  Gabrielle was mostly cool about it, but Xena made it clear it wouldn’t be tolerated again.”  She swallowed a little thickly.  “She wasn’t kidding, and that scares me just a little bit.”

“Why?  Do you really think Xena would hurt you?”

“If I did something to upset Gabrielle?  Oh yeah… without hesitation.  And honestly, she gave me fair warning - I think that’s probably the scariest part.  She just calmly informed me that she would kick my ass and I don’t doubt she could with very little effort.  She doesn’t need to bluff.”

“So, go talk to Xena.  I don’t think she would kick your ass for doing what she asked you to do.  And if you’re right, she’ll probably pass you on to Gabrielle anyway.  I mean, Gabrielle is the bard - she knows the stories better than anyone.”

Olivia sighed and nodded in the darkness.  “I suppose you’re right.  Brass’s not gonna be happy about me taking more time off though.”

Alex hugged her a little tighter and shifted to kiss the top of the brown hair.  “Maybe, but what can he really say?  Liv, you’ve got months of accrued sick time and vacation.  If you took a leave of absence tomorrow, you’d be all right.”

Olivia tipped her head back slightly.  “You think I should… take a leave of absence, I mean?”

Alex shifted until they were side by side and she could look into eyes still visible despite the lack of lighting.  “Hon, I was just commenting on the amount of personal time you have with the state of New York.”  She tilted her head as something indefinable surfaced in Olivia’s eyes.  Her tone softened.  “Do you want to take a leave of absence? Do you need to?”

Olivia rolled onto her back, tugging gently at Alex until she was hovering over Olivia’s form.  “Everything’s fine, I promise.  There’s nothing wrong with me beyond the fact that I’m getting older and some days my body is happy to remind me of some of the more reckless things I’ve done in my life - you know… like jumping out of windows and over fences; tackling suspects onto concrete.”

Blonde brows furrowed in the dark as Alex pondered the hidden nuances of what Olivia was not saying.  “Well,” she drawled slowly, “you haven’t been doing that as much recently… have you?”

Olivia chuckled and pulled Alex down onto her body, so they were touching along their lengths.  “No… you know I haven’t.  You were there the last time I did something stupid like that, remember?” tucking blonde hair behind a small ear.  “I couldn’t breathe deep for two solid weeks after that.”

“You took your lieutenant’s exam that year and started riding a desk.” Alex’s hand was bright against the darkness of Olivia’s cheek.  “I was always surprised at how well you transitioned.”

“That’s because you always thought I did it for just you, and you were waiting for me to regret it.”  She caught the hand on her face in her own.  “But Alex… don’t you see?  I did that for us.  It was partially for you; I’ll admit to that.  After everything we went through to be together, I wasn’t about to squander the opportunity for a lifetime with you.  But truthfully, I did it for me too.  I know I’m more of a liability out there than a benefit, and that makes my guys less safe if they have to keep looking over their shoulders to keep an eye on me.  But the truth is, I’m getting older and this job gets harder every single day.”  She cleared her throat.  “I’m thinking about retirement.”

Silence, then Olivia felt the warm wetness of tears as Alex dropped her head down onto her shoulder.  It wasn’t the reaction she’d been looking for, but she relished the opportunity to hold Alex in her arms and let her cry.  It only lasted a few moments before Alex lifted her head and wiped her eyes with her free hand.  “Sorry,” she muttered, clearing her throat.  “I just….”

“…. never expected to hear me say that, right?” smiling when Alex nodded her head and let her hair cover her face again.  Olivia pushed her hair back behind her ears again, and took Alex’s face in her hands, waiting until their eyes met.  “I never expected to ever hear myself say that,” she confessed.  “For the longest time, all I had was the job.  The guys were my family, and I thought it was enough.  And then we finally got our chance, and I realized I had something more… someone more… and I wanted that.  I wanted that for us.  I think we deserve the chance to just be us.  I’m not saying you need to quit the Foundation, or we need to leave New York, but Jo and I have been talking and I think it’s time.”

Alex cleared her throat again.  “I… um… I <ahem>.”  She chuckled.  “To think I made my living being able to speak at some point in my life.”

“Take your time, Baby.  I’m not going anywhere.”

“I think that’s the most amazing part of this.  I would never, ever ask you to give up your life as a police officer… especially working in Special Victims.  I was so, so happy when you took a desk, even though I felt a little guilty about it,” holding up her hand with her finger and thumb a scant millimeter a part.  “Only a little, because I was thrilled you were off the streets, and you seemed to be happy being in charge of SVU.”  She drew in a shuddering breath.  “I just never… I gave up the hope of ever expecting you to give up police work way back in the day when I was just a wet-behind-the-ears ADA and we were just learning to be friends.  To have you seriously considering retirement?  I’m… WOW.”

Olivia laughed.  “So, I guess you like the idea?”

Alex leaned down until their lips met, kissing until hands started to roam.  She pulled back with a deep breath and rubbed their noses together.  “I love the idea… and I love you.  I think we should probably talk about it more… make some long-term plans and some short-term goals,” shivering when she felt Olivia’s hand trail up the back of her thighs.  “But I think… I think….”

Olivia tilted her head up and started nibbling along the side of her pale neck as her hands shifted higher.  “Yes?  You think…?”

Alex bit her lip to hold back the moan that wanted to escape as Olivia drove her to distraction.  She knew there was something else she wanted to say... something important... before she allowed their passion to wash over them both.  “I think….”

Olivia laughed wickedly.  “Yes… we’ve established that,” feeling Alex tremble around her as her fingers found their goal.  “What do you think?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled as Olivia shifted just enough to make her scream and to catch the sound in her mouth.  She gave in to the overwhelming lust and desire coursing through her veins and there was no more thinking for the rest of the night.


Chapter XXXVI

“Little late to be making a house call, Big X.  We busting in with guns blazing?” wincing when Xena gave her a cutting glance with eyes she would have sworn briefly flashed red and gold.  “So, we’re just gonna knock on the door unannounced at zero dark thirty and hope they don’t start shooting?”  She shrugged.  “I mean… I’m good either way.”

Xena looked at her again, feeling her rage spike at Shaw’s impertinence.  She shut her eyes and visibly sucked in a slow breath.  After a minute, she reopened her eyes, and Shaw relaxed slightly.  The fury and fire that had been turned her way only moments before had been tamed to something closer to Xena’s normal intensity.  She took another breath, but before Xena could speak, Root cleared her throat gently over the earpiece comm unit.  “Sweetie, you’re not going in unannounced - I sent a message to Ms. Freelander and Dr. Magnus to inform them of your imminent arrival as well as the urgency of your visit the moment you left the building.  Besides, they’re not really the type to shoot first and ask questions later.  They’re scientists - they have questions and they’re hoping you and Big X there have some answers.”  

“And if Ms. Freelander has managed to open her box and expose the talisman, she’s going to have lots of questions, as will Dr. Magnus if she’s been exposed,” Xena offered quietly, glad Root had answered the brunt of Shaw’s curiosity.

“Because she’s immortal?”

“Yeah... or at least longer lived than most humans.  Either way, it’s liable to have had an adverse effect on her.”

“So, you think she’s managed to open her box thing?”

“The Machine thinks that’s why we were able to pinpoint it, yeah,” Root replied again.  “It makes sense, given what we know of the situation.  The boxes were created to hide the talismans from Saligia and when he was put to sleep, they locked on their own as an added precaution.  The fact that they’ve started resurfacing enough that She’s starting to locate them tells us that they’re probably opening and that Saligia is awake if not fully active.”

“Don’t you have one of those?” Shaw asked, turning to face Xena.  She shivered slightly at the ice present in the blue eyes.  She cleared her throat awkwardly.   “And you don’t know if it’s open or not?”

“Given our reaction to these things - just having them wake up, even though they’re nowhere near us - do you really think it’s a good idea to have any more direct exposure than is absolutely necessary?  It’s bad enough we’re going to have to have them all open and exposed to allow us to defeat him again.  It gets ugly.  Gabrielle and I aren’t going to suffer through that any longer than necessary.”

“Fair,” Shaw conceded, holding up a conciliatory hand.  “I’m your backup?”

“Yeah.  You’re one of the few that can almost keep up with me,” giving Shaw a smirk.  Sameen rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help the pleased blush that crawled up her face.

“Cool,” she said nonchalantly.  “So…?”

She had stopped the car in front of the address the Machine had put into the GPS, and only now took the opportunity to look around.  What caught her attention was that all she could see was a massive fence that was locked to the outside world. She slid out from behind the driver’s seat and pulled her gun, approaching slowly with the gun pointed at the ground.  She never heard Xena’s approach until she felt her gun being removed from her hand.  She swung around and put her hands on her hips.  

“Really??” she hissed.

Xena just cocked her head and raised a brow.

“She did say no guns blazing, Sweetie,” Root said, even though Xena hadn’t actually said a word about that.  “We can play Blazing Saddles later,” causing Sameen to flush a dark red and Xena to smirk in amusement.  There was a click and a swish, and Root smiled.  “The Machine has opened the gates for you but be careful not to touch.  She says there’s enough power running through it to make crispy critters out of you, and I like my muffin hot, moist and fresh.”

“ROOT!!!”

“The two of you can discuss the state of your muffins later,” Xena instructed.  “Root, has She given you any indication where Freelander or Magnus are?”

“Yep, but I don’t think it’s going to matter - you’ve got incoming.”

Xena handed Shaw back her pistol, not surprised by the ingrained response of checking the weapon’s functionality before she slipped it back under her jacket.  Then she turned to wait for the three men who were approaching at a fairly rapid pace.  One stepped forward while the other two stood behind him, and Xena’s eyes widened when she recognized Big Foot.  He put a hand on the shoulder of the man in the lead, but before they could greet one another, Will demanded, “Who are you people?  What’s your business here?”

Xena ignored him and allowed the hug that Big Foot delivered as soon as he was close enough to do so.  “Hello, Martin,” she whispered as he squeezed her gently before setting her on her feet again.

“Hello, Xena.  Long time since I’ve seen you.”  He looked around pointedly, frowning hard when he saw Shaw.  “Where is Little One?”

She patted his chest.  “She’s all right; she’s home.  We’re working on something….”

“Hey!” Will cut in impatiently.  “I don’t mean to break up this reunion and everything, but Who. Are. You?”

Xena let her eyes slide past Martin to meet Will’s, then she dismissed him as inconsequential.  Big Foot recognized the look in her eyes and turned to shield her behind him before she could speak.  “She’s my friend - all you need to know.”

Henry put a hand on Will’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze as he brushed past him.  He stopped in front of Big Foot and looked up.  “You gonna introduce us, Big Guy?”  He extended a hand around Big Foot to Xena.  “Hi, I’m Henry.”

“Xena.  My friend Shaw.”

She watched his eyes widen and bit back a smirk as he opened and closed his mouth a couple times before clearing his throat to speak.  “You’re Xena?  Wow!  It’s great to finally meet you.”  He elbowed Big Foot in the belly as he looked back over his shoulder.  “Why didn’t you say you knew Xena?”  He looked back toward the two women and offered a hand to Sameen.  “And you’re Shaw?  We got a message you were coming.  Magnus is anxious to talk to you.  C’mon… let’s get you to her.” He released her hand and turned to head back the way they came, hurrying ahead of them at a brisk pace.

Xena turned to Big Foot and raised an eyebrow in his direction as they started walking behind Henry.  He scratched the side of his face and chuckled, shaking his head.  Shaw turned to Will, who hadn’t moved from his spot, still staring at the open gates.

“Hey!  You okay?”

He looked at her with a confused expression.  “How did you do that?”

Shaw frowned.  “Do what?”

“Walk in.  That gate stays locked.  We got word you were coming and were headed down here to let you in.”

“That why you lost it?”

“I didn’t….”

“… or you just naturally an asshole?  The hell, man?”

Will shook his head.  “Not normally an asshole, no.  But things haven’t been normal for the last day or two around here, and then we get a call at oh-dark-thirty telling us to expect a couple women we’ve never heard of who might be able to help explain things.  And when we come down to meet you and let you in, you’re already inside a locked, electrified gate.”

“Then why didn’t your friends freak out?”

Will snorted.  “I’m pretty sure not much fazes the Big Guy there, and let’s just say Henry has a little more practice with the… unusual.”

“Is he an immortal as well or just an abnormal?”

Will’s expression grew serious.  “That’s for him to reveal to you or not.  I can tell you I’m just a normal human male.  Pretty smart most of the time but no special ability or powers.”

Shaw looked at him a moment longer, then they were reaching the entrance to the house, and she nodded her head in acceptance.  “Next time, pay attention to what’s happening, yeah?  Your friend recognized Xena - should have clued you.”

“Yeah… probably,” he agreed.  His attention turned to Henry.  “What’s wrong, bud?”

“Nothing.  Just waiting for the two of you to catch up.  The Big Guy’s already taken Xena down to the underground.  I’m gonna go move that car, and then I’ll join you.”

“Sounds good,” Will replied.  He looked at Shaw.  “Shall we?”

She was a little creeped out that Xena had gone ahead without her, and a little more than pissed that she had completely missed it.  She nodded crisply.  “Let’s,” motioning him ahead of her.  “It’s time to get some answers.”

************

Brooke shivered as she slid beneath the covers of their king-sized bed, cuddling up as close to her wife as she could manage.  Sam bit her lips together to keep from squealing, but she gave Brooke a withering gaze.  Brooke simple grinned saucily and snuggled closer.  Sam rolled her eyes and extended an arm, pulling Brooke closer and tucking the covers tighter around them both.

“How did you get so cold going from out there to in here?” motioning to the space beyond the bedroom door to inside it.  Because despite Mike’s help in buying a place in Manhattan, it still wasn’t all that big.

“Probably because it wasn’t a straight shot from there to here.”  She rolled onto her side and tucked her head on Sam’s shoulder, despite the fact that she was the taller of the two.  She opened an eye and rolled it in Sam’s direction.  “It never is.”

“I know.  But you get faster as it starts to get cooler.”

Brooke chuckled.  “Apparently not fast enough yet.”  She closed her eyes and yawned, then squirmed a little so she could get a look at Sam’s computer.  “So, you think Miranda is onto something?”

“I think there’s a lot more going on here than we know.  And if we can help?”  She shrugged.  “It’d be nice to be able to pay back some of the kindness Gabrielle has shown me over the years.  Maybe finding out if there is more to the Horseman’s origin story can help.”

Brooke nodded, then reached for the computer, causing Sam to glare at her again.  “I just need a few minutes of cuddling together to get warm.  Then you can go back to your research… I promise.”

Sam rolled her eyes good-naturedly but couldn’t stop the smirk that crossed her face.  She closed the laptop and set it on her small bedside table, then she turned back and opened her arms for Brooke to slide into.  They both sighed in contentment, and Sam reached backwards and turned off the light.  She’d get back to her research eventually.

************

“I put in my papers today,” Jo said quietly into the darkness.  She felt Blair roll onto her side and prop her head up with one hand, and she turned to face her.

“How are you feeling?”

Jo turned until she was mirroring Blair’s position.  “Honestly?  A little scared.  Being a cop’s all I know, Princess.  It’s all I’m good at.”

Blair scowled so hard Jo reached up a finger to smooth out the wrinkles.  “That is not all you’re good at, you Neanderthal, and you darn well know it!” She cupped Jo’s cheek in her hand.  “You have so many things you can choose to do now - you can rebuild bikes; teach at the academy; take up yoga; write a book.  You could even be a lady of leisure, and I could be your sugar mama,” trailing her fingers down the side of Jo’s neck and across her collarbone before dipping down into her cleavage.  She grinned at the goosebumps that followed her touch, and the shivers Jo couldn’t suppress when she raked her nails across one nipple.  “However, you’ve got time to decide, but I promise, I’ll be with you every step of the way… no matter what you decide.”

Jo smiled shakily.  “Especially if I take you up on that ‘lady of leisure’ thing, huh?”

“Well… naturally.  Have to make sure I’m getting my money’s worth,” giving a wicked grin.

Jo lifted the hand that was still resting on her breast and brought it to her lips to kiss before returning it to its former position.  She ran her fingers through Blair’s hair, scratching lightly at the base of her neck and relishing the arching of Blair’s body into hers.  “I love you,” she said quietly.  “I know I’m not too good with all the mushy stuff - I never have been - but I do love you, Princess… with all that I am.  Thank you for… you know, putting up with me; letting me back in after everything.  I don’t… I can’t imagine… I just….”

“I know, Joey.  I love you too… so much.”  She tweaked the nipple beneath her hand.  “Let me show you.”

Jo pulled Blair down into her, and no more words were spoken.

************

“You’re awfully quiet,” Gail commented to Holly as they set their plates on the table.  “Something bothering you?  Did I do something wrong?”

Holly raised an eyebrow.  “Should I be concerned that you think you have?”

“Nooooo,” Gail drawled, mixing up the food on her plate.  “But I expected you’d have more to say about Miranda and her… idea.”

Holly finished chewing her mouthful and took a sip of wine before placing her fork on her plate.  “Well… I think she’s on to something.  I’ve been going over Gabrielle’s story since we heard it in New Orleans - you know this,” watching Gail nod her agreement.  “But not for the reason you think.  I’m not actually obsessed with the Horseman… but there is something entirely familiar and yet not quite right about the story Gabrielle told.  I’ve been digging around in my brain trying to figure out what about it keeps niggling at me.”

“And have you?  Figured it out, I mean,” scooping up another large bite.

Holly picked up her fork again and gathered a measured bite.  “Not yet,” she admitted with a frown.  She chewed her bite slowly.  “It’s a little heartening to know I’m not the only one that thinks there is something is bigger going on than what we know, but I feel like I’ve got the key to the whole thing… if I could just remember what it was.”

Gail put her fork down and pushed away her empty plate, wiping her mouth carefully before picking up her wine glass.  She leaned back in her chair and observed Holly for a few minutes as she continued to eat her dinner.  When she was nearly done, Gail leaned forward until her elbows were on the table.  “Okay, so let’s look at this like the investigative experts we are.  This is something you heard, yes?” smiling when Holly didn’t hesitate to nod.  “Do you remember when you heard it or who you heard it from?”

Holly pushed her plate away and picked up her glass, scowling at it before she took a large mouthful.  “That’s the part I can’t remember, hon,” she growled after swallowing.  “I’m pretty sure I was a kid when I heard it; that makes the most sense.  The bigger stumbling block is trying to remember who told me the story.  If I could remember that, I’d know where to go looking for the story.”

Gail frowned.  “I don’t understand.”

“Depending on who told the story, it could have come from any one of several indigenous peoples.”  She slammed her fist on the table causing Gail to jump.  “It’s so frustrating,” she moaned.  “I’ve never had a problem remembering anything in my life, and now that it’s actually important, I’m drawing a blank.”

“You think this is more important than your forensic work?”

“I think this has the possibility of reaching a much larger demographic than my forensic work ever will.”

Gail considered that for a moment, then drained her glass before setting it on the table.  She came around to Holly’s side and refilled her glass, then proffered a hand to her.  Holly glanced at it, then turned confused eyes to meet Gail’s, but she simply waited.  Holly shrugged and took the hand, accepting the full wine glass when Gail put it into her hand.  Gail lightly squeezed the hand she held and led Holly up the stairs into their en suite.  Without a word, she released the hand she held, plugging the tub and throwing in a handful of Holly’s favorite bath salts.  Holly looked intrigued, but she couldn’t keep the smile from forming on her face.

“So… what’s all this about?”

“Well,” Gail replied with a naughty smile and waggling eyebrows.  “I could tell you I was trying to ply you with relaxation and alcohol so I could have my wicked way with you, but we both know I’d just ask.”  She removed the glass from Holly’s hand and set it on the counter, then turned back to unbutton her blouse.  “However, it did occur to me that if we could get you relaxed enough, whatever it is that you’re trying so hard to remember might just come back to you on its own.”  She pushed the shirt and bra off Holly’s shoulders and reached for her belt.  “Maybe it won’t, but either way, you’ll get a chance to relax.  You’ve been working awfully hard lately, even without the added complication of trying to remember that story.”

Holly stepped out of her pants and underwear, then pulled Gail back to her feet.  “You’re so amazing,” she whispered, “and I love you.  Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

Gail shrugged and looked at the floor.  “I had to - you’d do… and have done… the same for me.  This relationship is about us taking care of each other.  You’re the best part of me,” taking Holly’s hands and leading her to the tub.  She helped her in, then Gail headed to the door.  “You relax; I’ll be back with a couple heated towels shortly.”  She slid out before Holly could say a word, then poked her head back in.  “By the way, I love you too.  Be right back.”

Holly smiled in contentment and leaned her head against the edge of the tub, allowing her eyes to close and her mind to wander.


Part 5