Chapter XLVI

“So… what did you think of Gabrielle’s story?” Lauren asked when they were about halfway back to Toronto.  They had both been fairly quiet up to that point… each of them contemplating the information they’d been given.  Bo slid the car into fifth gear and idly wondered why they’d thought driving was a better option than flying.  Then she recalled Lauren’s desire to visit with her old friend and nearly drove off the road trying to retrieve her phone.  “BO!” Lauren screeched as they crossed the median of the two-lane road they were traveling. They’d decided they could make better time without the worry of traffic and police officers, and thus far, it had paid off.  They hadn’t seen another soul in close to two hundred miles. That didn’t mean it was a good idea to go drifting into the wrong lane. It only took a second, after all….

Bo jerked the wheel and brought them back into their proper lane, glaring at Lauren and blowing out a shaky breath as she slowed down slightly. She glanced at her companion, who was now sitting hunched defensively away from her, a pensive expression on her face. Bo sighed and pulled over to the shoulder of the road.  She reached out, glad Lauren didn’t jerk away, though the flinch made her heart break a little.  “Hey,” she said softly, rubbing a hand along Lauren’s closest arm.  “I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to take my reaction out on you. It scared me when you screamed, and I overreacted.  I just… you reminded me that I promised to let Jane and Maura know what was going on. I was trying to get my phone out so you could call them for me,” sliding the phone towards Lauren.  “I was hoping you would make the call… you know, since I’m driving and all.”

Lauren studied her a long moment, then nodded as she picked up the phone.  It didn’t complete a full ring when Jane’s voice came across the line. “Hey, Bo... what’s the word?”

“Hi, Jane.  This is Lauren; Bo’s driving. Let me put you on speaker, and she can answer your question.” She sighed. Restored muscle cars were fantastic to drive, but it took a little more effort to make them tech savvy. Lauren took a minute to run the phone into the car’s updated stereo system. A couple clicks, and.... “You’re on speaker, Jane. Go ahead.”

“Maura’s here with me. what did you find out?”

Bo and Lauren exchanged a brief glance before Bo cleared her throat. “Quite a lot, actually. There’s a whole lot more going on than just the Headless Horseman. Have you ever heard of someone called Saligia?”

Jane turned to look at Maura to find her sight focused inward and her head tilted as she went through her mental filing cabinets searching for that name. After several moments passed, her gaze sharpened as she met Jane’s eyes.  “I’ve never encountered that reference before. Who is this individual?”

Bo relayed the story Gabrielle had shared with them, then she continued. “There are seven boxes - one for each of the seven deadly sins. They're looking for them and their Guardians. Gabrielle believes having all of them together will be what finally defeats him.”

“And what will defeating him do?  Will it remove those sins from humanity?”

“I don’t know. But I do know that NOT defeating him will create an even worse reality than the one we have now. Not sure how that’s possible, really, but I don’t doubt it either.”

“Why?” Maura asked.  “What makes you believe that?”

“You would have to talk to Gabrielle... see her face when she talks about him. He has to be destroyed, just to keep things from getting worse.”

“So, you’re basing your belief on her belief.”

“No,” Bo stated firmly. “We’re basing our belief on her knowledge. As outlandish as it sounds, she knows.”

There was silence on the other end of the call for a full minute, and Bo and Lauren were content to let it go on as they traveled down the road.  They knew how much processing was necessary to wrap the mind around everything they had shared. It had taken them a good part of the previous night, and if the truth were known, they were still kind of working on it. Finally, they heard Maura delicately clear her throat.

“Tell us about the boxes... and the Guardians.”

Lauren chuckled, and even Bo couldn’t hold back her grin.  “Better get yourself something to drink and find a comfortable place to sit. This is gonna take a while.”

“Is this like a single beer kinda while?”

Bo snorted as Lauren answered Jane. “More like a whole six pack. But I wouldn’t recommend alcohol. You’re gonna want to be sober for this.”

Jane looked at Maura seriously.  “Ya know... anytime anyone says I want to be sober for something, it always means I need to be sober, but I’m gonna want to be drunk.” She sighed. “Give us a minute to go to the kitchen, then you can take your time telling us the story.”

“It’ll be worth it... I promise.”

Jane laughed. “I doubt it, but in for a penny, you know?  Be right back.”

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

Ares popped into the mausoleum between Aphrodite and Athena and immediately raised his hands in surrender when he felt the sharpness of Athena’s blade nick his jaw.  “Whoa! Stop! I’m one of the good guys... remember?!?”

Athena pulled back when she recognized his voice, looking at him askance. “Ares! What the... how did you even get in here??”

He jerked his arms down and crossed them over his chest as he moved out of her reach and gave her a look. “Seriously? I got in the same way you and Dite did. Still a god here.”

Aphrodite stepped between them, placing a hand on each chest to keep them in place and giving them a look. When she was sure she’d made her point, she removed her touch from their bodies and held up a hand to prevent them from speaking. “Ares, you need to understand it’s been kinda crazy around here the last little while, and we’re kinda on edge. We think Saligia has escaped.”

Ares nodded. “He has... according to Gabrielle. She’s been trying to reach you, but there’s a lot of interference between here and there.”

“So, she sent you?” Athena asked with a raised eyebrow, though her tone was only mildly curious.

Ares shook his head. “I volunteered, actually. Figured I could bring you up to speed on what’s happened since you came here, and maybe you could do the same,” frowning as Athena shook her head. “Whaddya mean, No?”

“We don’t know what’s going on... not really. We’ve been able to guess a few things, but we can’t scry in here because of the magic surrounding this place, and for some reason, we’re not able to leave either. We suspect Regina put a spell on the mausoleum to keep us here.”

“Why? And why did you think Saligia had escaped if you can’t scry or leave?”

“We know there was a spell that was supposed to keep people out - that didn't work on us... obviously.  However, we can’t get out now, so we have to assume she did something to reinforce the spell - whether deliberately or not - that keeps us here.”

“How did you get out before?”

Aphrodite gave him a look, waiting for the reality of the situation to occur to him even as she answered. “I was traveling with her and Emma. Their magic allows them access in and out.”

“Okay... how did you figure out Saggy had gotten free?”

Athena snorted as Aphrodite responded. “The signatures on their totally rad magic changed. I felt it. One flashed a searing red, and the other....” She shivered.  “I’ve only seen that depth of black a couple times in my lifetime. Given that Xena is reformed and Dahok is like, majorly dead, I can only imagine an encounter with that particular rat bastard causing that kind of fury and anguish.”

“Swell,” Ares muttered. He uncrossed his arms. “All right... I need to get back to Gabrielle and let her know what’s going on. We need to figure out a way for you to talk to her. I mean... I offered to help out, but we both know she’s more comfortable dealing with you. Any messages you need me to give her?”

“What makes you think you can leave, Brother?” Athena asked calmly, though there was the slightest twinkle in her eyes. “As you pointed out earlier, you’re still a god... just like us. Pretty sure that’s what's holding us here.”

Ares looked at her with growing horror in his eyes and walked to the door he’d entered through - stopping short when it didn’t shift as he had expected it to do. He reached out a hand and came in contact with solid stone, glaring at it as he growled. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Told you,” Athena stated without a hint of humor.  “C’mon back over here, and you can help us look through these texts. Maybe we can find something in here that will help us release the spell so we can get out of here.”. He stared at her is disbelief, and she chuckled. “C’mon, Ares - by your own admission, you’re the best researcher among us, and the fact is, that’s the truth.” She motioned around the room.  “There’s a lot of material here. We tried to choose those we felt would fit our search criteria the best, but maybe you can find something else we could use.”

He rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “All right... all right. Geez... laying it on pretty thick there, weren’t you, Sis?”

“Not really. Everything I said was true.” Whatever else she was going to say was lost in the confusion that followed the arrival of Emma and Regina... along with a couple unexpected additions.

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

Regina ran in the direction she’d heard Emma’s scream emanate from. In mere moments, she was sliding into place beside her, noting the carnage and wondering why Emma had been targeted while she and Helena had been out of the fray.  She pushed blonde hair out of unseeing eyes and waited as Emma blinked and her eyes tracked to Regina. Regina released a slow breath of relief, then followed Emma’s gaze down to the man lying in her lap. Hook met her brown eyes and gave her a weak, rakish grin.

“Well, Your Majesty, it looks like....”. He coughed and winced as blood spilled from his lips.  He heard Emma’s gasp and turned his blue eyes to her.  “It’s all... right, Love. We... both....” He grimaced and shifted, causing him to suck in a breath and more blood to fall from his mouth.  “I was... living on bor...rowed t-t-time.” He made a move to reach up to her, then caught Regina’s hand as she reached towards the open wound on his belly.  “No,” short and decisive. “L-let meee d-die.”  He squeezed the hand he held. “M-made a diff... diff....”

Suddenly, Dyson was kneeling beside them and covering both their hands. “You made all the difference, Killian. Thank you for saving my life.”

Hook closed his eyes and nodded briefly, then he opened his eyes that were surprisingly clear and free of pain. He met Regina’s eyes squarely, aware she had released his pain and was holding back death so he could speak his last words. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Take care of your family. Emma and Hope will need you now more than ever.” He lifted a bloody finger and touched it to her lips.  “We both know the truth.”

Regina pinched her lips together but nodded her head furiously, causing her tears to fall.  Hook dropped his arm and tilted his head back to look at the woman who had given him many moments of happiness in the last year. He smiled and wiped a tear. “Don’t cry, Swan,” causing her to chuckle through the tears. “We’ve had some good times together, but I’m not your soulmate any more than you’re mine. So, you need to let me go now, and let Regina and Henry take care of you and Hope - be the family you were meant to be.” He reached up a hand, and Emma was quick to clasp it in hers. “Thank you - you got me a year more than I deserved, and I got to meet my daughters... something I never expected to have in my life.” His smile turned to a grimace as the pain returned. He sucked in a deep breath. “Gotta go.” He winced again and started choking. “Kick this guy’s ass, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she assured him through her tears, then nodded her head at Regina, who released her hand from his side and nearly fell into Hook’s body as exhaustion overcame her.  Before she could speak, though, Helena, Supergirl and Wonder Woman appeared beside her.

“I think we need to get everybody outta here,” Helena commented. The rest nodded uneasily, knowing their best chance was kneeling limply beside Hook’s dead body. Emma sighed, knowing most of this responsibility was on her shoulders for the time being. She looked around, knowing she couldn’t manage to move Killian’s body but loath to give it up to anyone either. A gentle touch on her shoulder caused her to look up into Dyson’s compassionate eyes.

“Allow me?” he asked. “It would be my greatest honor.”

She studied his face for a moment. She wanted to be mad at him - to rail against him - but she knew everything Killian had said to her was true. She found sorrow and understanding in Dyson’s eyes, and with a slow nod, gave him permission to remove Hook from her lap and cradle him in his arms for their return journey. She looked at Regina, who looked back at her with bloodshot eyes and a soft smile. Helena stepped up next to her.

“I got this,” bending over and scooping Regina into her arms as though she weighed nothing. Emma stood as well, wiping a sleeve across her face. She looked around at the faces of those surrounding her, even as she clasped Regina’s hand in hers to lend her a bit of magical strength.

“I can’t transport all of you,” she said in a soft, broken voice.

“We’ll stay with the ones who can make it on their own,” Wonder Woman assured her, gesturing between herself and Supergirl. “We’ll make sure they all get back safe and sound.”

“Go on, honey,” Snow White said confidently. “We’ll be right behind you, and we’ll look out for each other so we all make it safely.”

“Thanks, Mom.” She turned her head back to Diana and Kara. “Thank you both. Ruby? I need you to get everyone back to the castle, then bring our two guests to the mausoleum.” She held up a hand before Snow could protest. “Please, Mom... I need you to do this.”

David captured Snow’s hands and halted her protest with a glance. “We’ll be waiting in the castle when you need us.” He looked around at the troops, then to Ruby and the two visitors. “Lead on. Sooner started, sooner finished, right?”

Without another word, the troops began to form up, even as Emma lifted her free hand and caused her party to disappear....

... only to reappear in the crowded room of the mausoleum. Emma glanced around, wondering at the presence of the two goddesses and the man she didn’t recognize, but she couldn’t be bothered with details at the moment. She directed Dyson towards the crypt that had once held Daniel’s body, and he gently set his burden atop it. She pulled Helena to the small room where Regina sometimes took a brief respite when she was in the midst of researching some magic or other. As soon as they reached the bed, Helena tenderly placed Regina upon it. Emma kept her hold on Regina’s hand and sat down beside her.

“Can I get you something?” Helena asked quietly. Emma shook her head as she wiped at her eyes with her free hand.

“No, thanks. She just needs a little time to recover from the exertion of keeping Killian alive and pain free for those few minutes.” She wiped her hand on her jeans before reaching out to Helena, who took her hand without hesitation. “Thank you.”

Helena nodded awkwardly, embarrassed by the attention. “Um... yeah, sure.”

Emma squeezed a little harder to get Helena’s attention. “You made sure she stayed safe, Helena, and that’s important. I won’t forget it.”

Helena patted the hand holding hers and gently slid from Emma’s grasp as she stood. “Glad I could help,” she muttered as she stuck her hands into her back pockets. “I’m uh... I’m gonna go see Aphrodite - see if I can find out why she and Athena are still here.” She frowned. “I thought sure they’d left when they didn’t show up in the castle or the Wish Realm to fight.”

“See if you can find out who their friend is too,” Emma muttered behind closed eyes. “He’s gotta be here for some reason besides his good looks and charm.” Helena nodded, but Emma was already asleep.

“Do what I can,” she promised as she stepped away from the bed. When she walked into the other room, it was controlled chaos, and she whistled sharply to get everyone’s attention.  She blinked in surprise when everyone turned her way and waited expectantly.  I wonder if this is how Xena feels all the time, recognizing the number of times she and so many others looked to the warrior for guidance or to lead them. She cleared her throat awkwardly and directed her attention to Dyson first.  “There’s a bathing room just to your left back there. You might feel better if you clean up a little and wash off some of the blood.”

He nodded and looked down at his clothing. “I’ll see what I can do,” knowing there was little chance of him getting the bloodstains out of his clothes.

Helena looked back at the three people studying her intently.  “All right - first things first.” She turned to Ares.  “Who are you and why are you here?”

“Who wants to know?” asked with a smirk, though he felt a shiver run through him when Helena looked at him with fully formed cats’ eyes. Before she could respond and probably cause bodily harm to all of them, Athena stepped in front of him and pushed them backwards away from Helena’s temper.

“Helena, this is our brother, Ares.”

“Uh huh. And why is he here? Why are you two here? We figured you’d left and gone back to Olympus or wherever when you didn’t show up for lunch or the fight.”

“And it didn’t occur to you to check?” Ares mocked. Helena turned glowing, golden eyes on him, and he couldn’t stop the involuntary step that moved him further from her. She snorted at his cowardice, and he snarled in her direction, intending to lunge at her in an effort to scare her. Athena’s hands on his chest stopped him from moving, and Helena just straightened and met his eyes, daring him to try.

“Had you been here,” she started slowly, “you would have known that both Aphrodite and Athena sent us back to the castle to have lunch while they stayed here and tried to get their scrying bowls to do their thing. When they didn’t join us, we thought they’d gone back to your home - to get some help; to go eat whatever you god people eat; for whatever reason! It’s not like we expected them to check in with their every move!” She felt Aphrodite’s soft touch in the middle of her back, and Helena relaxed and took a deep breath. “Now,” she said after a moment, turning to look at Aphrodite. “Why are you here? We really did expect you to be gone.”

Aphrodite shrugged. “We would’ve been. We can’t get out.” She caught Ares’ shiver from the corner of her eye. “That bothers Ares especially - he’s been trapped in a place like this before. It makes him a little edgy.”

Helena nodded seriously, not a hint of humor or triumph in her demeanor.  “Do you know what’s holding you here?”

“We think it has something to do with our godhood and the magic Regina put around this place.”

Helena bit the corner of her lip. “We might have a problem then.”


Chapter XLVII

“Problem?”

“Yeah. The, um... the fight in the Wish Realm killed Emma’s husband,” gesturing behind them towards the crypt where Killian’s body rested. “Regina was able to keep him alive long enough to say his goodbyes, but it took a lot out of her. She and Emma are both asleep in the other room,” jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “It’s probably gonna be a little while before they’re awake and functioning again.”

“We should take care of the body,” Athena commented quietly. “Ares and I will do that.” Ares raised an eyebrow at her in question but didn’t object. He followed her into the next room, and together they slowly began to clean up Hook’s devastated body. It was going to take time and patience to do this right and without magic, but they felt he deserved that much consideration given why his sacrifice had been made. They set to work, glad for the distraction from being stuck in the mausoleum for the time being.

Aphrodite and Helena watched for a moment longer, then Aphrodite took Helena by the hand and led her to the couch. When they were seated, Aphrodite stared at Helena seriously. “Tell me what happened,” she commanded. “I need to know everything... even if you don’t think it’s important. You never know what tiny bit of information might just turn the tide, and we need every advantage we can get with this guy.”

“I can only tell you what happened where I was and what I did. Anything else, you’ll have to ask someone who’s not me.” Aphrodite nodded her understanding, and Helena started telling her tale. When she got to the part where she stood up to Saligia, Aphrodite squealed before covering her mouth with her hands. Helena cocked an eyebrow at her. “What?” asked gruffly to cover her embarrassment.

“Did you really say that to him?”

Helena snorted. “Oh yeah... he pissed me off. Acting like he was all that, and demanding respect he hadn’t even earned?!? Yeah... no, I don’t think so.”

“The Warrior Princess has taught you well,” Wonder Woman commented from the doorway where she and Supergirl were ensconced.

“That’s not Xena,” Kara rebutted with a grin. “That’s alllllllll Helena,” winking in her direction so Helena knew she was teasing. Helena grinned rakishly.

“Damn straight, although Xena has been helping me polish my threats a little. You know... mix things up a little bit.”

“Well, however it was accomplished, it was radically well done,” Aphrodite commented, patting Helena on the knee. She turned to look at the newcomers. “When did you get to town, and how did you get in?”

“We got to the Wish Realm just in time to hear Saligia threaten Helena and her response. We got here just as the two of you sat down, but we wanted to hear Helena’s story as well, so we waited just inside the mausoleum door. We only came downstairs when you squealed,” Diana answered.

“But how did you get into the mausoleum? There’s a spell surrounding it to keep people out.”

“Kinda like there’s a spell around the town that does the same thing? Yeah, that doesn’t really make a difference to us. From what my sister Alex can figure out, the spells are a bit particular in nature. They’re targeted to keep non-magical people out of the town while this one,” motioning around the mausoleum, “is more directed at magical, mythical, and faery tale types. Diana and I don’t fit into any of those categories... and neither does Helena.”

Before Aphrodite could respond, an emergency beeping began playing in Helena’s ear. She made a face - that particular sound had never meant anything good for her. Still, Barbara had trained her well, and she reached up a hand and answered the call. “Hey, Red,” said softly in the hopes that it would remind Barbara to take a deep breath before she started yelling.

Barbara wanted to be mad… she truly did. She had lived a lifetime of nightmares from the moment The Machine had put the fight with Saligia on speaker, knowing without a doubt that Helena would place herself in harms’ way despite her promise otherwise. But she remembered Gabrielle’s words; she couldn’t help but be proud of Helena and her handling of something that had nearly defeated and destroyed two of the strongest women she knew. So, she closed her eyes and sucked in a slow, calming breath, and when she opened her eyes, they were glistening with tears, but there was a smile on her face.

“Hello, Kitten,” she replied tenderly, almost able to feel the blush that Helena couldn’t hope to stop. “Are you all right?”

Helena cleared her throat awkwardly, knowing both Diana and Kara could hear the conversation they were trying desperately not to, and Aphrodite…. Well, she looked like the cat that just ate the canary - no pun intended, of course, because just EW! Kara stepped forward to engage Aphrodite in a bit of a chat in an effort to give Helena some privacy, and Diana was right beside her. Aphrodite rolled her eyes in amusement but gave in graciously and walked toward the doorway. Helena watched them go for a moment, feeling a distinct sense of relief, then she became aware of Barbara’s concerned voice in her ear.

“Hel?”

“Oh… sorry, Red. Yeah, yeah… I’m fine. Like to not have to do that again on my own or anything, but I’m cool.” She paused a second and then continued more quietly. “You okay?”

Barbara blew out a shuddering breath. “I’m… I’m so, so proud of you, Hel. What you did out there scared me to death, but you were amazing.”

This time when Helena flushed, she practically glowed in the dark. “Yeah?” she asked with a bashful smile, and only Barbara would have heard that little bit of uncertainty in her tone.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

Helena’s smile became a rakish smirk, and she ran a hand through her hair. Barbara felt the change just before Helena spoke again. “So… let’s talk about how amazing I was.”

Barbara rolled her eyes, knowing this was Helena’s way to deflect from a depth of emotion with which she was uncomfortable. She heard Aphrodite squeal from a distance, and then heard her directly in her earpiece, causing her to wince and try to pull away from the sound. She could only imagine Helena’s discomfort standing so close to her.

“Ooo, babe… I dunno what you’re saying to your love muffin over here, but day-yum, honey. The love vibes I’ve got swirling around my radically fabulous self is totally tubular!” She shimmied, causing Helena to roll her eyes as she blushed and Kara and Diana to cover their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. “Umm umm,” she hummed with her eyes closed as her hands ran down her torso. “Yeah… you just keep doing whatever it is you’ve been doing. Mama digs this kinda boost. Umm hmm.”

Aphrodite was almost surprised that the shove Helena employed to move her away from the earpiece tucked into her ear was so effective, but not quite. She’d been more surprised by the amount of time she’d had to speak to Barbara before Helena had decided enough was enough. Aphrodite allowed herself to stumble lightly as she was pushed back toward Diana and Kara, though she couldn’t hide the twinkle in her eyes either.

Diana and Kara stopped her progress by simply reaching out an arm, rolling their eyes at her shenanigans and continuing to stifle their laughter when she giggled. Helena, meanwhile, turned her back to them and chose to ignore them all during the remainder of her call.

Barbara cleared her throat, face as flaming as her red hair. Even though Gabrielle had allowed her to move to the bedroom to talk to Helena privately, she felt as though everyone could see and hear what was supposed to be a personal conversation. “How are you… really? And how are things there? Any chance you’ll be home soon?”

Helena swallowed hard. She knew Barbara loved her - was in love with her even - but it was rare that she was so … effusive in her concern. Warmth flowed through her even as a smile crossed her face. “I’m fine, baby… I promise. Saggy didn’t do anything but mouth off a little bit and try to intimidate me with his superiority.” She snorted, causing Barbara to grin in response. “As if.” She sighed. “Things here are a little… complicated. Saggy managed to kill Emma’s husband.” She ran her hands through her hair again and shook her head. “That’s a whole complicated thing from what I can see. Aphrodite and Athena and Ares seem to be stuck in the mausoleum until Regina or Emma wake up and help them get out. Oh… and tell Xena thanks for the super-powered back-up, though that might have lost us any kind of advantage we might have had with them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kara saved my ass by knocking him flat of his. And she was in her Super Girl get up - pretty sure he noticed it.”  She paused so long, Barbara was compelled to speak up.

“Hel?”

“Hmm? Oh... sorry. I was just thinking. On the other hand, he might be surprised by her still. He was able to backhand her almost into next week. He doesn’t know what she’s capable of, and I doubt he knows how to google her.”

Barbara choked trying to hold back her laughter. “You really do like her, don’t you?”

Helena huffed. She hated being caught like that, especially since she really hadn’t wanted to like someone that reminded her of a puppy, for God’s sakes! Even more when Kara had had the nerve to call her out about her likeness to Bruce - she NEVER wanted to be compared to that man regardless of how favorable the comparison was! “Yes,” she mumbled. “Despite my best efforts. But even if I didn’t,” she defended, “I sure don’t want some half-wit like Saggy getting the best of her because she had to save my ass.”

”Let’s not underestimate him. He is still some kind of god being, after all.”

“He’s something all right.” She tilted her head. “I need to go. It sounds like someone is waking up, and I should probably fill her in on what she’s missed so we can make some sort of contingency plan. I’ll call you as so as I know what’s going on.”

“All right, Sweetheart. You should know that a final battle location has been chosen. I don’t know where yet, but I expect we’ll be told soon. We’re going to start moving the five Guardians we’re aware of as soon as possible.”

“Mmkay. Let me go see how quickly I can wrap things up here, then I expect me and the Supers and probably the gods, at least, will be headed back to the City.”

“Sounds good. Be safe, Kitten.” She paused and lowered her voice, until she was almost certain that only Helena would hear her. “I love you.”

“And I love you, Red. Don’t ever forget that.” Without another word, she hung up the phone and turned her attention to an exhausted, bedraggled looking Regina. Helena moved to her side and practically carried her to the sofa, motioning the others over while she fetched the woman a drink. Then they all sat down and began discussing their options.

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

“Emma?” Gabrielle spoke quietly into her phone. “This is Gabrielle. Is everything all right? Dinah told me you called earlier looking for me.”


“Yeah... then I realized with everything going on, you’re probably too busy to talk right now. I’m sorry I....”

Gabrielle cut her off before she could stumble over herself anymore. “Emma... Emma!” she said louder when Emma continued to ramble. “Take a deep breath and just listen to me a moment,” hearing Emma’s teeth click together as she snapped her mouth closed. She nodded her head in satisfaction and smiled gently. “Now... if you feel the need to call me, no matter how busy I am, I will take the time to speak with you. It might not be for very long, and we may not be able tackle it immediately to find a solution, but I will find the time to listen.” She waited a beat... until she felt Emma understood and accepted her words, then she let a hint of warm humor lace her tone when she croaked. “Now, tell your old faery godmother what’s troubling you, my child, and we’ll see if we can work some magic.”

Emma snorted, and Gabrielle cackled in response, causing Emma to giggle. Gabrielle smiled, glad to hear the sound and hoping Emma would relax enough to talk. She hated the awkwardness that had crept into their relationship because of Emma’s crushes, but she knew there was nothing she or Xena could do about it. They had to wait for Emma to decide what she wanted from their interactions going forward. She heard Emma sigh, and she furrowed her brow.

“Emma?” Her eyes widened. “You’re not pregnant, are you??”

“What??  No!!  Why would you even think something like that?”

Gabrielle released a measured breath. “It was the worst thing I could imagine.”

“Well, that’s something, I guess,” Emma mumbled. “No,” she pronounced louder and more clearly. “I’m not pregnant. First of all, that’s not even possible, and secondly, my life is worth more than that - you and I both know my mother would… well, probably not kill me, but I doubt I’d be allowed out of her sight before I turned thirty.”

“That’s true,” Gabrielle said laughingly. “So, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

Emma sighed again. “I know there’s a lot going on with you right now; I’ve managed to pick that much up  just from some of the things Mom’s said. And I’m pretty sure there’s not a lot I can do to help - I know I’m just a kid,” sounding just a little heartbroken at that admission. “But I was… I was wondering if um… if maybe you and Xena would um… maybe talk to Mom and Ma about… Carter.  I just… I kinda like him, and I think he likes me, but….”

“But you live half a country apart.”

“Yeah.”

Gabrielle sighed. It wasn’t anything she wasn’t expecting; she’d just hoped….  “I don’t think it would be a problem,” feeling Emma relax, “especially since your mom called me about something similar yesterday. Now… you want to tell me what’s really bothering you?”

Emma sighed. “Can we FaceTime?” Seconds later they were looking at one another, and she was nearly undone by the compassion in the green eyes looking back at her in concern. She looked down at her hands. “I want to….” She looked up and met Gabrielle’s eyes. “This stays between us. You can share with Xena, but no one else. NO ONE, Gabrielle… especially not my moms. Ma would be heartbroken and Mom….” She shook her head. “I don’t want her in jail.”

Gabrielle frowned and leaned forward. “No one, Emma… I promise,” knowing she and Xena could take care of any number of things without having to worry about the threat of incarceration.

She dropped her eyes and cleared her throat. “There’s a couple girls… at school. They’ve been saying things for years.” She shrugged. “It never really bothered me… I mean, they’re just words, ya know? And usually they’d do it in front of some of the other kids, hoping to stir something up, but mostly it just made them kind of pariah in the school because my friends stood up for me.”

“Okay… so?” Gabrielle prompted when Emma grew silent.

Emma looked up and met Gabrielle’s eyes. “So, this year, they’ve started targeting me when I’m alone. It wouldn’t matter so much if they were just talking smack - again… just words. But they’re trying to do more than just talk, and they’re making me uncomfortable.” She sighed. “I know I could take them - you and Xena have both made sure I can. But I’m not sure I want that kind of notoriety.” She blew out a breath. “And I don’t want Mom to know; we both know what she would do if she found out.”

Gabrielle nodded her head slowly.  “All right. You seem to have everything under control at the moment.” She put her chin on her fingers and leaned forward. “What do you need me to do?”

“That’s the thing… I’m not sure. I’d like… I have the opportunity to come there for school. To New York, I mean. I have the grades, and Dad is fine with it.”

“He knows the truth?”

“He knows that I’d like to come to New York to go to Dalton; that being in New York would give me some opportunities I’ll never find here.” She stared at Gabrielle intently. “I love my dad, but I’m not blind to his level of crazy where I’m concerned. I don’t want him in prison either.”

Gabrielle nodded.  “That’s fair. Well, you know you’re certainly welcome to come here. Talk to your moms - explain to them what you told your dad. Let them talk about it; talk to him about it; cry about it for a little while. Tell them we’d love to have you. When they come to talk to us - and you know they will - we’ll talk to them… make them see why this will be a good thing for you. When they agree, and you’ve had time to adjust and are doing well here… well, I think they deserve the whole truth.”

Emma nodded slowly.  “Okay. I think they’d probably be a little more reasonable if it’s not actually a problem anymore.”

Gabrielle chuckled. “Probably.”

“Thank you, Gabrielle. I know I’m asking a lot.”

“Not really. You are more than welcome to come live here with us, and I think you’d do well.” She smirked. “Bet your mom finds a boutique hotel in the area to buy.”

Emma snorted. “No bet. I better go talk to them before I lose my nerve.”

“All right. I’ll be around all day if you need me, and Xena should be home later. Call if you need us or if your parents agree to go ahead and let you come. I’ll make sure the girls know to let your call through regardless of what else is going on.”

“Thanks, Gabrielle. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Gabrielle blew her a kiss and waved, smiling when Emma returned both. Then she cut the connection and picked up her phone. She needed to talk to Nikki Beaumont so she could get back to work.


Chapter XLVIII

The phone buzzed in her hand, and she glanced down even as her partner leaned over to get a look. “I’ve gotta take this, Sugar,” Nikki whispered to Nora. Green eyes widened in outrage.

“Now?!? Nik, we’ve been working on this for weeks!”

“I know, Baby. But it’s Gabrielle.” She turned her head and spotted Darius; she nodded him over with a jerk of her head. “I’ll be as quick as I can, but you know I need to talk to her.”

“I know,” Nora mumbled. “Doesn’t mean I appreciate her timing.”

Nikki leaned forward and pecked Nora on the lips, then slid back out of their hiding spot, knowing Darius was waiting to crawl in and watch Nora’s back. She didn’t need to say a word; she simply nodded, and he smiled in response before he moved to sit beside Nora. She tapped the phone ‘on’ and muttered, “Give me a sec,” before taking several long strides away from their surveillance area. “Hey, Gabrielle,” she greeted when she was out of hearing range. “Sorry about earlier - we’re on a stakeout, and I had to get somewhere I could talk. Thank you for calling.”

“Of course. What can I do for you?”

“Um… nothing. I have some information for you - stuff I think you need to be aware of.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“First, I need you to understand that I haven’t shared this with anyone but Nora.  Not even my father knows, and I surely didn’t tell all those chatty women,” said with a hint of annoyance that turned to a reluctant grin when she heard Gabrielle begin to laugh. “I know they mean well,” she continued to allow Gabrielle a chance to get her laughter under control, “but my God.”

Gabrielle cleared her throat. “Yeah… I’ll be putting an end to that tonight. As you say, they mean well, but they are dealing with forces far more dangerous than they realize.”

“Exactly. That’s why I called.”

“Something’s happened??”

“I think so. Part of it is just my gut, but I’ve learned to trust that feeling.”

“I’m a firm believer in trusting my instincts. What’s going on?”

“I’m pretty sure the Horseman has made a home here in New Orleans… out at the farmhouse.” She expected Gabrielle to interrupt, but when she remained quiet, Nikki continued.  “There’s been a significant uptick in supernatural occurrences in the area… which is saying something around here,” with a hint of humor in her voice. Gabrielle laughed lightly at her tone before she sobered.

“So, what makes you think the Horseman has established a home base at the farmhouse?” Gabrielle asked when the silence started to drag on.  “That isn’t, well… normal behavior… for lack of a better term. Every story we have about her keeps her on the move - going from place to place to find those innocents that need her and leaving a trail of guilty victims in her wake.”

Nikki pinched the bridge of her nose. “I asked Darius to put out some feelers. He’s got some scary spooky contacts, but they’ve never let us down. They’re reporting victims along a fifty-mile radius, but in the center of all that is the farmhouse. I haven’t found anything; it doesn’t even radiate that horror and disquiet we all felt that night at the bonfire when she first showed up. But I’m willing to bet good money that she’s utilizing it deliberately for something… maybe drawing strength from it. I don’t know.”

Gabrielle sat silent for a full minute. “Have you actually seen her there?”

“No, not there precisely. We’ve had a few glances around the area, but nothing that pinpoints her on the property for any extended period of time. We can’t even get close enough to be sure it’s her.”

Gabrielle nodded, though Nikki couldn’t see her. “All right. You did the right thing by calling me. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Do you think it’s important?”

“I think it could be. However, unless she is causing a problem, leave her alone. She’s dangerous, and no amount of knowledge is worth the damage she could do.”

“So, we just let her continue to… I dunno… live there?”

“Well, since you’re not even completely certain she is there, yes. Give the place a wide berth for the next few days. This whole thing should be coming to a head by Halloween, we’re pretty sure, and I’m willing to bet she’s going to end up wherever we do for it.”

“That sounds… terrifying,” Nikki admitted slowly.

“On a number of levels,” Gabrielle agreed solemnly. “On the plus side, you don’t have to be there. You and Nora can opt out of whatever is coming.”

Nikki snorted. “And miss out on the fun and excitement in the denouement of the century. You mus’ be outch ya damn min’,” she drawled in a voice so like Darius, it was a little frightening. Gabrielle laughed again, bringing a smile to Nikki’s face. “We’ll be there, Sugar. Even when they don’t really get what’s going on, friends don’t leave friends to fight these kinds of battles alone. They stick together like white on rice.”

Gabrielle drew in a shuddering breath. She knew many of the women involved in the conventions thought highly of both her and Xena. After all, they had allowed many of them to spread their wings, and not only become more themselves, but also to make friends and contacts with others like them. But it was always an unexpectedly pleasant surprise to find that they were considered good friends… people worth standing up for… after millennia of always being the ones to stand up alone. She cleared her throat.

“We appreciate that… more than you know. As soon as I find out from Xena the location, I’ll let you know where the final battle is expected to take place.”

“You do that, hon. Now… I guess I better get back to that stakeout. The sooner we wrap this case, the better for all of us. One less thing to worry about.”

“Can you let me speak to Darius? I promise not to keep him long, but I need to talk to him a minute.”

Nikki nodded, even as she walked back towards the spot where Nora and Darius were still hidden. “Sure. Take the time you need, and we’ll talk soon,” she added in a whisper.  She tapped Darius on the shoulder and held out the phone. He raised an eyebrow, and she thrust it into his hand, then twitched her head towards the exit of their hiding place. He accepted it with a nod and slid out of the spot with a smooth movement, allowing Nikki to sit as he disappeared. Nora eyeballed her for a long moment.

“Everything okay?”

Nikki nodded, though she kept her eyes on their target. “Yeah… I’ll tell you later.” She jerked her chin forward. “We’ve got movement.”

Darius lifted the phone to his ear when he was three steps from the back of the hideaway.  “‘Lo?”

“Hello, Darius. This is Gabrielle.”

“Hey, Miss Gabrielle - what can I be doin’ for ya?”

“Nikki told me you’d been in touch with the fae network, trying to get a handle on the Horseman?”

Darius paled about as white as a deep-skinned black man could and still be upright. “Nik knows ‘bout the fae?!”

“What?? Oh! No… no. She just called them scary spooky contacts. I just figured they were the fae in the area - it makes the most sense.”

Darius relaxed so quickly, his knees nearly buckled beneath him. “Miss Gabrielle, ya can’t be doin’ things like that to ol’ Darius. Liketov gived me a heart attack.” He covered his chest with his big hand and moved so he could use the wall of the closest building as support.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. But I thought you were going to call us with any updates you had regarding activity down there.”

“I woulda, ‘f there’d been anythin’ to say. All Nik wanted to know was where the creature was makin’ hits, so’s she could figure out ‘bout the farmhouse. Somthin’s not right, though… hadn’t been right for a while now. We knows how the Horseman works. This’s not the first time she’s showed up here. But we can’t make no sense of anythin’ goin’ on right now. Not even Trick….”

“You’ve spoken to Trick?”

“Only to see if he had some insight, ya know? He’s the Blood King, after all.”

“He is indeed. And did he know anything useful?”

Darius shook his head, though he knew she couldn’t see him. “Nah… jus’ tole us to keep eyes ’n’ ears open and mouths shut - that we weren’t to do anythin’ ‘less him or you gave orders.”

Gabrielle rubbed her eyes and blew out a sharp breath. “Do you sense anything out there… at the farmhouse, I mean? Anything like what you felt when we were there?”

“Ain’t been out there since y’alls here, but somthin’s still not right. Been talkin’ to the others a bit. Everybody’s got the same bad vibe… feelin’ like the Horseman’s a… a messenger… a forerunner of some kinda greater evil. Like somethin’ got woke…. But that’s all ’tis - just a lotta chatter and bad feelin’s.”

By this point, Gabrielle was ready to pull her own hair out in frustration, but she took a deep breath and closed her eyes a moment, willing herself to calm. Darius could feel her emotions simmering then shift as she forced herself to relax. He did the same, controlling his breathing until he could slow it down sufficiently to project an aura of calm that, surprisingly, helped both of them.

Gabrielle took a deep breath. “How are people reacting to this?”

“Ya mean the fae? I gotta tell ya, Miss Gabrielle - there be a lot of unhappy fae peoples right now. Nobody likes feeling helpless, and this thing…? This thing spreads the kinda unhappiness and discontent that makes peoples’ a little crazy… on edge.”

“Well, let them know that if they want to participate in the destruction of the Horseman and whatever is behind her, we’d welcome their help and involvement. Thing is, we’re hoping to lure them to the middle of nowhere, and they’d have to get there on their own.”

“Aw, now, Miss Gabrielle - don’t you be worryin’ your pretty little head ‘bout that. We take care of our own. We’ll be there; just give us the time and place to be.”

“Xena has the location; I don’t know what it is yet, but as soon as I know, so will you.”

“A’ight. I’ll go ‘lert the network.” He paused. “You gonna tell Trick?”

Gabrielle blinked. She hadn’t really thought about it. She supposed she owed him the courtesy - aside from the fact that he had fought everything in his nature to abide by her wishes when she rejected his advances, there was every likelihood he had inadvertently become a Guardian of the Norse talisman. Still, she really had no desire for his path to cross Xena’s… for anyone’s sake.

“Yes,” she finally decided after a brief hesitation. “He needs to know as the Blood King if for no other reason.”

“A’ight. You tell him; he’ll get the word to us. We’ll be there.”

“Thank you, Darius Chansirèn. You’re a good man.”

“See you soon, Miss Gabrielle,” he offered in embarrassment before abruptly hanging up the phone.

Gabrielle pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it bemusedly as she placed it on the desk; she leaned forward and rested her forehead beside it. She hadn’t even had a chance to take a deep breath before the phone rang again, and she would have banged her head in vexation had she not immediately recognized Xena’s ringtone. She slid a hand onto the desk and tapped around until she found her phone, then brought it to her ear without raising her head.

“Tell me you love me” she commanded softly.

Xena smiled but couldn’t hide the concern in her tone. “I love you… with all that I am.” She wanted to chuckle when Sameen got up and moved to the other end of the plane to get out of the ‘mush zone’ and give them some privacy. She had already been headed that way, but she had to roll her eyes and move faster at Xena’s declaration.

“And tell Sameen not to roll her eyes or I’ll tell Root on her.”

Xena relayed the message with a smirk, and Shaw’s eyes widened in shock. “How did she even…?” She shook her head and raised her voice. “You don’t play fair, Gabrielle!”

“Noooo,” she drawled, confident Xena had put her on speaker. “I play to win. Now, give Root a call. She’s bitten one thumbnail down past the quick worrying over you.”

Shaw frowned, wondering what could have prompted such a response from Root. They loved one another, sure, but they were both beyond capable, mostly rational, consenting adults. Root wasn’t the type to arbitrarily worry for the sake of worrying. She slipped her phone from her pocket and brought up her call screen before selecting Root’s number and waiting for the call to go through. Xena, meanwhile, had taken Gabrielle back off speaker and tapped on her earpiece as she turned her back.  She flipped the screen on and realized she was looking at the ceiling of Gabrielle’s office.

“Sweetheart, can I see your smiling face? The ceiling is a little unimaginative.”

Gabrielle snorted and shifted her phone so she could make a ridiculous face at the screen. “Better?” she asked, knowing she’d at least get a snort or a smirk.

“Much,” Xena replied without hesitation, though she offered the requisite eye roll. “What have I missed?” noting the obvious exhaustion she could see that hadn’t been present previously.

“How long do you have?”

“We just reached cruising altitude, so we’ve got a little time. Talk to me, my Bard,” leaning back in her seat and looking out the window as Gabrielle filled her in on everything that had happened since she and Shaw had left the day before. When she was done, they sat quietly for a moment, drawing strength from one another’s presence.

“What are you thinking?” Gabrielle asked eventually, breaking the spell that had woven around them.

“That you have developed the patience of a skilled hunter. How is Helena?”

“Last I heard? Better than expected… considering she basically told Saligia to kiss her ass.” Xena chortled aloud, and Gabrielle smiled at the sound. “Barbara is talking to her now. You’d have been proud, Xe. But she scared the crap out of us - at one point I thought Barbara was going to legitimately be sick. She nearly broke my fingers.”

“Any idea when she and Dite expect to be back?”

Gabrielle shook her head. “Our contact with them is still very sporadic, and The Machine wasn’t able to get through after Saligia left the, um… the Wish Realm, I think Helena called it… until Kara and Diana showed up in the same space so that She could triangulate a position between them. Ares went in to talk to Dite and Athena, but we haven’t heard from him since. I’m hoping Diana and Kara stay pretty close to Helena, so I can put a call through to them when you and I are done.”

“Is that your way of telling me to get off the phone, Bard?”

“Not at all, Warrior Mine. I would love to stay on the phone with you indefinitely, however improbable that reality is. I do need to know the location you’ve picked out. Olivia’s on standby and I have a handful of others that are waiting.”

Xena’s brow furrowed. “You found the other two boxes?” trying to figure out who else needed that information immediately.

Gabrielle frowned. “No. But everyone I’ve spoken to so far is on board with taking part, and I know some of the Guardians’ friends will join them because that’s what friends do. And that’s before I talk to the rest tonight - I don’t think many will turn down the chance to be part of ‘the denouement of the century’ as Nikki Beaumont put it. Darius is going to see about bringing the fae… all the fae, because they know something is dreadfully wrong. And I expect the ones he can’t reach, Trick will bring,” waiting to see Xena’s unhappiness over Trick’s perceived involvement. Instead, she got the dark head calmly nodding.

“Good,” she said succinctly. “We need all the help we can get to destroy this motherfucker. I’ll need to let Myka know to expect a larger crowd though. It sounds like more than a couple hundred will be participating.”

“Yeah, I think closer to a thousand, when all is said and done.”  She blinked. “Wait… Myka? Myka Bering of Warehouse 13?”

“Yeah. I figure it’s a remote enough location that we can do this without damaging property or threatening the lives and livelihoods of people nearby. We won’t be in Univille or any of the Native Reservations - she and her team are looking for the best place that will impact the least.”

Gabrielle nodded. “All right. Can you send me the coordinates?”

“It’ll be coded… just in case. We want him there - we just don’t want him there now. I’d like a day or two at least to get everyone in and in position and aware of what’s going on. Sam and Janet, along with Daniel and whoever he decides to bring along, should already be on their way there. Helen Magnus and her crew accompanied Kate Freelander, and they….” She looked at her watch. “They should have arrived about five minutes ago. Leena is taking care to keep them all separate until Claudia or whoever chooses the actual battlefield.”

“All right - I’ll get in touch with Olivia and Alex. I imagine they’ll want Jo and Blair to accompany them, but I’m going to ask Blair if we can have use of the Warner jet. There are a lot of folks in this area that will likely decide to go, and if we can transport some of them on her plane, so much the better for everyone. And I’ll let you know when Helena and Dite return if they arrive before you and Shaw touch down.”

Xena nodded. “Do you think Olivia and Natalia will bring Emma? Or will they just skip the whole thing? I can’t imagine that either one of them is too happy with us or Emma at the moment.”

“I don’t think they’ll be angry at us - after all, we promised them we’d always look out for her, and taking her in because she wants to live here constitutes that. I doubt they thought our becoming her godmothers might mean she’d be living with us - that certainly never crossed my mind, at any rate. I don’t think they will be angry at all. I imagine there may be some hurt feelings, though. After all, she’s basically told them she’s unhappy living in Springfield; not that she’s unhappy living with them, but you and I both know that’s what they heard. I figure they’re going to want to talk about it… see if we’re up to it.”

Xena snorted. “Are we up to it? Despite how amazing we look for our age, we’re still not the spring chickens we once were.”

“I think it will be good to have youth in the place again. And you know Ian and Colleen will dote on her every chance they get.”

“You do what you think is best, My Bard. I will stand right beside you.”

“That’s how I know we’ll be okay. I love you, Xe.”

“Love you too, Gab. See you shortly.”


Chapter XLIX

“So, girlie, what’d ya find out?” Trick asked as Bo and Lauren strode into his tavern mid-morning before the doors were officially opened for business. He reeled at the blue-eyed glare he received from Bo. “What’s gotten into you? Surely Gabrielle didn’t turn you away?”

“The dark vault… now!” she snarled, not even pausing to greet him otherwise. He glanced at Lauren as they watched Bo stomp out the back of the tavern without pausing. Lauren shrugged.

“I’d suggest you go,” she replied, nodding her head towards where Bo had disappeared.

He stood and began to follow Bo’s path, gesturing for Lauren to join him. “I take it you found out something.”

“Gabrielle was quite gracious,” she said delicately. “Anything else you want to know, you’ll have to ask Bo.”

“Even if I simply want to know how Gabrielle was keeping?” asked as they crossed the threshold of the dark vault together.

“Put it back in your pants, Old Man,” Bo growled. “She’s mated, remember?”

“I don’t want to bed her, Bo, so watch your tone.”

“I don’t think so. Not until you explain this shit,” pointing to the box she’d described so clearly to Gabrielle. She smiled grimly when he paled. “I see you recognize it.”

“Of course,” he sputtered, trying to gain the upper hand. “There’s a reason it’s here in the vault. It’s not meant to see the light of day.”

“Un hmm… and what the fuck makes you say that exactly? Because I know for a fact that this is not yours. It was never meant for you. So… why don’t you explain to me why the hell you have it?”

“Does this have anything to do with Gabrielle and what happened during your visit?”

Honestly, if looks could have killed in that moment, Trick would have been nothing but a pile of ash. Bo jerked her head at Lauren, who immediately headed to the door. Then she straightened until she towered over Trick and snatched the box from the pedestal on which it resided. Alarms went off around the room, but she kept on walking without a backward glance. Trick raced out behind her, just squeezing through before the door slammed shut behind him.

“That could have killed me, ya know!!” he yelled, causing his staff to turn and look at him until both his glare and Bo’s caused them to return their attention to their pre-opening duties. Trick jerked his head towards his office, and Bo and Lauren followed him without a word. He held the door open for them, then closed the door softly before walking around to the other side of his desk. He took a seat and motioned for them to do the same. He realized he had taken the wrong tack with Bo and that she was very angry with him. It was the anger that confused him… mostly because he still didn’t understand why she was so angry. He hadn’t seen her this furious in a long time… since before Lauren had entered her life. He folded his hands on the desk and took a deep breath. “Obviously, I started this conversation on the wrong foot, so allow me to start over. Did you girls have a productive visit with Xena and Gabrielle? Was your information beneficial?”

Bo opened her mouth, then snapped her lips shut and closed her eyes when she felt Lauren’s strong hands begin kneading her shoulders. Trick wisely remained silent, noting the relaxation of Bo’s body with Lauren’s touch. After several minutes of massage, Bo slowly opened her eyes again and patted one of the hands resting on her shoulders until Lauren stopped her motion, though she didn’t remove her hands. Blue eyes met Trick’s gaze. “You should thank Lauren for saving your sorry fucking ass, Old Man. I’m still pissed at you, but I would at least like to hear what the hell you have to say for yourself. To answer your questions, though,” she continued before he could speak, “Xena was not available, so we only spoke to Gabrielle. I’m going to give you the goddamn benefit of the doubt and assume you’re unaware of a good portion of her story, because as Diana mentioned, it’s not your story to tell. I believe the information was… appreciated, if not beneficial. It seems they were already aware of Saligia’s awakening to some degree, as they are searching for the talismans they need to defeat him. Which brings us to this,” she said, stroking the smooth wooden box currently ensconced on her knee. “Why don’t you tell me why you have this?”

Trick cleared his throat but held her eyes, knowing to lose her gaze meant she would assume he was trying to hide something. And given her previous anger, he didn’t want her to make that assumption. “Long before you or your mother was born, your grandmother had this box, but she told me in no uncertain terms it was not my business. Now… I may have been the Blood King, but I believed she was entitled to her secrets, so I didn’t make it my business. I figured she would do… whatever she needed to do. She put the box in the vault. I brought it with me when I came here because it’s the only thing I had left of hers.”

“And she didn’t leave any instructions for the goddamn thing?”

“No,” short and terse.

Bo sighed. “This is so fucked up,” she muttered. She shared a look with Lauren before blowing out an uneasy breath. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt again, so you’d better not be lying to me about all this shit.” She sighed again. “This is one of the talismans… the Norse talisman. Grandmother was apparently a Guardian; Mother would have been if she hadn’t lost her fucking marbles. Now the responsibility falls to me.”

“What responsibility?”

“The responsibility of standing with Xena and Gabrielle as a Guardian when the time comes to defeat Saligia.”

“Now wait just a minute,” Trick inserted, standing from his chair and leaning his hands on his desk. “This isn’t your fight, and I refuse….” Bo’s laughter cut him off and he looked at her in confusion. “What the hell is so funny?”

She laughed for another minute before wiping the tears from her face and meeting his eyes. He flinched at the fury he could see clearly in her eyes, and her voice was deadly serious when she spoke. “You are… thinking you have a fucking say in any of this. There’s a reason all the goddamn Guardians are women. Now,” she added, holding up a hand to forestall further speech from him, “in answer to your other question earlier - Gabrielle looks as well as can be expected with the amount of shit, stress, and aggravation she’s working under. As Lauren told you, she was very gracious to us… even put us up overnight and insisted we get some rest.” She rose from her seat and walked around until she could take Lauren’s hand.

“Where are you going?”

“Home. I need to make a phone call and we need to pack a bigger bag.”

“I can’t talk you out of this?”

“Do you really want to?”

Trick studied Bo for a long moment. “No… and yes. It’s complicated.”

Bo smirked. “It usually is.”

He shooed his hand in their direction. “Go… do what you need to do. I’ve got some phone calls of my own to make, and it’s time to get this place open for business.” He reached for the phone and spun the chair to show that he was serious about getting to work. Bo watched from the doorway for a few seconds, then spun on her heel and followed Lauren down the hall and out into the public pat of the tavern. Trick waited until their footsteps faded into nothing, then he turned his chair back to his desk and propped his elbows up as his face fell into his hands. He didn’t move until the phone rang.

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

Olivia slid her phone back into her pocket and turned to Alex, who was looking at her over the rims of her glasses. “That was Gabrielle. We have the location of the standoff.” She made a face. “It’s in some place called Univille; somewhere in BFE South Dakota.” Alex snorted, and Olivia tried to look offended, but she couldn’t stop the smirk that formed. Instead, she cocked an eyebrow and waited for Alex’s laughter to taper off before voicing the obvious question. “And just what is so funny?”

Alex cleared her throat. “Your expression. Honestly, Liv… you think anything out of the Five Burroughs is BFE something; though I will admit that South Dakota - as a whole - does seem to fit the very definition,” chuckling again at the rapidity of Olivia’s nod of agreement. “Let me call Roger to prep the plane. We should be able to leave in a couple hours.”

Olivia nodded more soberly, and her eyes reflected the concern in her voice. “Are you sure you’re up to this?” covering Alex’s clasped hands with her own. “You know what the doctor said.”

Fury flashed in Alex’s blue eyes briefly, but it died just as quickly. She drew in a shuddering breath and lifted their joined hands to her lips. Olivia squeezed back lightly as she brushed a kiss over them, but she waited patiently for Alex to speak. “I know what the doctor said,” Alex agreed on a sigh, “but I also know I’m not about to let you do this without me. Based on what you told me Gabrielle said, you need me there, so that’s where I’m going to be.”

“And what about the cancer, Alex? You’ve had a relapse.” She dropped the hands she held and stood, pacing to the fireplace to stare down at the flickering flame. “Hell… this is worse than a relapse - it’s spread. That means….”

“That means we make the most of whatever time we have left, so if you’re going to BFE South Dakota, I’m going to BFE South Dakota as well.” She smiled, though her eyes were watery. “That way, we can check it off as one of the states we’ve never been to.”

Olivia snorted. “Pretty sure we could choose somewhere more exciting.”

“Oh, I dunno,” Alex replied as she stood and moved behind Olivia to wrap her in a hug. “I’m pretty sure we could find excitement and adventure anywhere. But again… if what Gabrielle told you is true, we’ll have our hands full of all the excitement we could possibly need.”

Olivia covered Alex’s hand where they were wrapped around her middle. “What am I going to do without you?” she whispered, allowing the tears to flow down her face. She felt Alex hold her tighter and kiss the side of her neck.

“Well, first, you’re going to stop trying to bury me before I’m actually dead. If I only have a few months to live, I plan to enjoy every single second I have with you. Secondly, I’ve reached out to Xena about it. There is a good possibility that she has access to some experimental treatments that aren’t on the market yet.”

Olivia turned in her arms until they were facing one another, and Alex raised one hand to gently wipe the tears from her face. Olivia closed her eyes and savored the touch, only blinking them open again when she felt soft lips leave tingles behind in their wake. Then she blinked again slowly, as Alex’s words penetrated her mind. “Wait… Xena? What does she have to do with anything?”

Alex smiled and tugged on Olivia’s hand, pulling her over to the couch and seating them so Olivia could curl up into her. “I know with that police detective mind, you’ve always been focused on the security aspect of Xena’s abilities. After all, that’s one of the main reasons we wanted to go to that first con… because even I had heard of WarriorBard Enterprises and their subsidiary, Warrior Security. But when Casey and I started putting together the Foundation, I did some digging. Not much, because there’s not a lot out there to find… even if you hire a hacker.”

Brown eyes widened. “You didn’t.”

“I did… until it was pointed out to me in polite but exceedingly firm words that I would be better off if I simply asked my questions directly at the source.”

“Why haven’t I heard about this before?”

“You remember that last undercover assignment you had before you started riding a desk?” seeing her hesitantly nod. “That was when we were taking our first steps to set up the Foundation. So, there was a lot going on for both of us, and by the time you were done and home, we had the ball rolling and were going full steam ahead. I honestly didn’t think that much about it - there was so much other going on, and I was just so happy you were finally home and no longer out on the streets every day.”

Olivia considered her words before finally nodding slowly. “Okay,” she conceded, “that’s fair. But what does all that have to do with Xena and her having access to experimental drugs?”

“Xena is a fully licensed medical doctor, and I know she’s well-versed in the specialties of trauma medicine, OB-GYN, and oncology.”

“Wow. That’s pretty….”

“Um hmm, it is. So, don’t give up and give me up for dead just yet, okay?”

Olivia sucked in a trembling breath and nodded prudently, careful not to let the tears in her eyes slide down her cheeks. “Okay,” she agreed solemnly. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.”

“Good,” Alex said. “Can I call Roger now?” asked with a grin. “Because he’s got some prep work to do before we can leave, and we need to make some arrangements as well.”

“According to Gabrielle, all we need to do is show up. There are already people in Univille that are making arrangements for everyone.”

“Who’s everyone?”

“Well, at least the seven Guardians and probably their SOs, though I got the distinct impression from her that she’s expecting there to be hundreds of people. Makes sense if you look at the number of women that have been attending the conventions. I mean, given the fact that they’ve been secretly trying to help solve the Horseman mystery, do you really think they’d pass up an opportunity to be a part of something like this… even though none of us truly know what ‘this’ really is?”

“I suppose not,” Alex replied. “Do you think we should call and see if the New York contingent wants to join us on the trip out there? I know it’s a lot, but between the Cabot jet and the Warner one, I imagine we could probably fit everyone. Maybe not comfortably, but it would get us all there together.”

“Would you be offended if I said no?” not surprised when Alex shifted enough to meet her eyes. Olivia sighed. “I know it sounds selfish of me, but I’d rather not have to spend the next four to five hours on a plane, stuck listening to all the wild theories they’ll be throwing out there and working themselves up into a frenzy of excitement. Between this and your news - all of it - I’d just like a little time to rest and recoup a little bit. And I’d prefer to do it alone with you.”

Alex leaned over and kissed Olivia thoroughly, not at all surprised when she ended up sprawled on top of her. “I think that sounds like an amazing idea. Let me call Roger,” stretching to reach for her phone, “and then maybe we can continue this discussion upstairs?”

Olivia snagged the phone that was just out of Alex’s reach and handed it to her. Then she tucked her hands under her head and crossed her legs at her ankles. “You let me know when you’re ready, Counselor.”

Blue eyes darkened perceptibly, and her hands were shaking as she tried to dial the pilot. A few brief words, and she shut off her phone and slid off Olivia’s body. She proffered a hand, not surprised when Olivia took it and stood at the same time, then she let the laughter bubble up when she was pulled up the stairs with no small amount of urgency. Then they were closing the bedroom door behind them, and the only sounds to be heard were those of them loving one another.

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

“Gabrielle?” She slowly blinked open her green eyes, surprised to see Kurt standing in front of her. She released a slow breath and straightened up in her chair, arching an eyebrow at him and waiting for him to continue to speak. “I thought you’d want to know that Xena is on her way up. The car just pulled into the garage,” he said, holding out a cup of what she could smell was espresso.

She accepted it and took a deep draught, sighing as the taste hit her tongue. “Thank you, Kurt. It’s perfect.” She motioned him to a seat and studied him for a long moment. He returned her gaze without blinking. “How are you doing?” she asked sincerely.

Both brows shot to his forehead in surprise. “Um… shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

She smiled at him gently. “Xena and I learned a long time ago that we have to take care of those we’ve chosen as family, no matter what else is going on in our lives. That’s even more important now that our chosen family is eyeball deep in a situation that is ultimately our responsibility to resolve.”

Kurt snorted. “Like anyone here would let either of you do this on your own.”

“Let us?” came a deep voice from the doorway. “Do you really think you could stop us?”

Kurt turned around and met Xena’s eyes. “Of course not,” he confirmed. “But we can absolutely make sure you don’t do it alone.”

She stared at him for a full minute, then smiled. “Yes, you certainly can; you already have.” She pushed off the doorjamb and walked further into the room. “How’s the little monster today?” asked as she stepped around the desk. She gave Gabrielle the briefest kiss, then leaned against her chair as she waited from him to answer her daily inquiry.

Kurt frowned slightly. “He’s actually been fairly calm… like he knows something is going on. I don’t know if he’s trying to figure it out, or if he simply doesn’t want to draw attention to himself.” He shook his head. “It’s a little disconcerting… especially considering how crazy active he’s been lately.”

“Has Blaine said anything about it?”

“Not to me, but I don’t know when this started either. I didn’t notice it until last night when Casey stepped in to take care of him for a bit. He was absolutely docile with her, and you both know how he is about bath time,” cutting his eyes at Xena and trying not to laugh.

She rolled her eyes. “It was one time.”

“That he’s tried to repeat every bath since!” Kurt accused, though his voice vibrated with laughter.

“Whatever,” she scoffed, keeping her eyes from meeting Gabrielle’s. She could feel her silent laughter through the chair she was leaning against. “Bring him upstairs before dinner, and I’ll check him out.”

Kurt nodded, and Xena could see him relax. “Thank you. Santana will be particularly thrilled, as she has babysitting duties today,” his words drawing smiles from both of them. Everyone knew she would guard and defend the child to the death, but she really preferred not to spend one-on-one time with him. One day, they were going to have to find out exactly how she had ended up on the rotation list to watch him. Kurt rose from his seat. “Everyone has been contacted about tonight, and there’s a bit of trepidation in the ranks. Pretty sure most of them have figured out why the meeting has been called; they’re just not sure about your response, and it’s making them nervous. You’ve had a phone call from Olivia Spencer and one from Natalia Rivera - separate calls,” he emphasized. “And a Claudia Donovan has asked for a quick FaceTime meeting when you have a minute.”

“Thank you, Kurt, but how did you suddenly become our assistant?”

“Amy got called back downstairs for some kind of emergency, and Casey asked me to cover for her for a bit when Ian came by a little while ago. Now if you’ll excuse me,” offering a slight bow, “I need to get back to work. Barbara mentioned something about having a lead on another box.”

Xena and Gabrielle exchanged glances and nodded Kurt out of the office without another word.  Xena took Gabrielle’s hand and pulled her up, so that they were standing in a loose embrace. She tightened her arms and relished the return pressure in Gabrielle’s hug. “C’mon. Let’s go upstairs for a few.” Gabrielle reinforced her grip briefly, then took Xena’s hand and let her lead the way to the penthouse.


Chapter L

“Ms. Donovan? I’m Gabrielle, and this is Xena. We were told you needed a meeting with us?” They had taken about fifteen minutes, once they’d reached their bedroom, to simply lay in one another’s arms and enjoy the peace they found there. That, more than just about anything else, re-energized them and gave them the strength they needed to go beyond human limits. After their self-imposed time limit, they’d risen from the bed and Gabrielle had started the FaceTime connection to Claudia, while Xena retrieved beverages for them. Now they were studying the red-headed young woman who returned their inspection of her with one of her own. She nodded.

“Yeah, thanks for getting back to me so fast. I know things are like crazy busy with you guys right now. I just have a couple questions for you.”

“Of course,” Gabrielle replied. “How can we help you?”

“It’s more that I need to know how we can help you. Are you looking for anything specific in your accommodations, or…?” She let her words trail off, but before Gabrielle could reply, she resumed her conversation. “I mean, I think we’ve found a place to be your battleground, you know, that will suit your needs from what info Myka has given me - which wasn’t much, by the way - but it’s mostly just space. Where do you want us to put your people? I was told Univille was out of the question.”

“Yes… we’d like this to affect as few people as possible.”

“Guy’s a real asshat, huh? Well… the place we found fits the bill in that regard - there’s nothing around for miles. But that still leaves us with the logistical question of where to put people until the fight. We can take care of the Guardians here at the Warehouse, but we don’t really have room for many more than that. And Myka implied we might be looking at hundreds?”

“Yes. We’re talking to them tonight; I should have a closer estimate to give you after that.”

“That’ll help, yeah, but unless they’re bringing in their own tents or campers or whatever, they’re still looking at sleeping under the stars. And I dunno if you guys have ever been to South Dakota, but it’s a little chilly for sleeping outside this time of year.”

“Claudia,” Xena spoke for the first time, “the scenery around the Warehouse - is it like the Badlands?”

“Yeah, I mean… it’s not quite as colorful or hilly, but we’ve got our share of canyons and stuff.” She squinted her eyes at Xena, who was focused somewhere over her left shoulder. She turned around, to find nothing of note behind her, then swung back to meet Xena’s eyes. “Why?”

Xena shook her head. “I have an idea. Let me do some checking. Hopefully, I’ll have something for you by tonight.”

Claudia nodded as she shrugged. “S’all good, dude. Just let me know.” She looked around at her desk. “OH! Before I forget - Artie wanted to know if you had any idea if this Saligia guy might have access to artifacts. Should we be ready with, like, barrels of neutralizer?”

Xena and Gabrielle exchanged a long glance, then Gabrielle turned back to the screen. “We don’t think he’ll have any artifacts unless it’s by accident; his whole focus is on getting the talismans. But better to have and not need, you know?”

Claudia nodded. “Got it.” A beat. “You don’t think the neutralizer might take care of the talismans, do you? You know, like render them useless?”

Xena and Gabrielle turned their attention to one another again, and Claudia watched in fascination at the silent conversation. When they looked back at her, she was a little surprised that Xena took the lead again. “Ask Myka to retrieve the talisman Kate Freelander brought with her and bring it to the Warehouse. The two of you can test the theory there.”

“If Kate insists on keeping the talisman, allow her to do so - she can come to the Warehouse with Myka. But under no circumstances are Helen Magnus or HG Wells to be nearby when you run this test.”

Claudia blanched slightly. “You, umm… don’t think I should, I dunno, run this by Mrs. Frederic, maybe?”

“Trust us, Claudia - she’ll be all right with this. But if you don’t believe us, you can ask her yourself,” motioning to the woman standing behind her.

Claudia spun around so quickly, she nearly flung herself from her chair. “Mrs. F!?!”

Mrs. Frederic arched an eyebrow, but otherwise showed no reaction. “You take care of testing the talisman; I’ll make certain Agent Wells and Dr. Magnus remain at Leena’s during that time.”

“So, I need to do this, like… now?”

“No time like the present, Miss Donovan,” Mrs. Frederic reminded her.

“Right,” Claudia agreed as she spun back to face her screen. “What about…?” She looked over her shoulder, but Mrs. Frederic was no longer in the room. “Every. Single. Time,” she muttered, focusing her attention back on the computer.  She typed quickly, then looked at Xena and Gabrielle who were watching her fondly. “Is there anything else?” she asked distractedly.

“Only that there is a big truck headed your way filled with MREs. If you can just direct the driver to the place where they can drop their cargo, they’ll take care of unloading and putting it away.”

“You want it at the Warehouse?”

“No. It needs to go out to the battlefield area. That’s where we’re gonna stage everyone and everything we can. Ask Artie if it can go into the Dead Man’s Cavern for the time being.”

“All right,” Claudia agreed, though her eyebrows had shot into her hairline at the mention of a local cave of which she had no knowledge. “I’ll make sure it gets taken care of; Pete has been anxious to have something helpful to do,” she told them with a smirk. They chuckled and her smirk grew to a grin. “I’ll keep you posted on the progress on this end.”

“Thank you, Claudia. We’ll talk to you tonight.”

“Yep. Later,” she replied as she closed out FaceTime. Xena and Gabrielle stared at the darkened screen for another moment before facing one another.

“Do you think we could have a quiet meal together?” Gabrielle asked. “I’d like a few minutes to catch up and rest.”

Xena brushed blonde hair away from Gabrielle’s eyes and leaned forward to brush a kiss over her forehead. “I imagine we can figure something out. Do you want to cook, or should I have something delivered?”

“As rude as it sounds, let’s have something delivered. That way, no one can ask me to add a little more to whatever I’m cooking so they can join us.” Gabrielle cut her eyes in Xena’s direction when she realized she was staring concernedly. “I’m all right, Xe. You know I normally love to cook for everyone. But I’m tired and I’d like a little time with just you. Maybe after the phone conference, we can have everyone up for cookies and milk.”

Xena smiled and brushed their lips together lightly. “That sounds delightful. And I’ll tell you about running into Martin.”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened, and she genuinely grinned. “Really?” seeing Xena nod and give her a genuine smile. “Oh yes… do tell.”

“Let’s decide what we want to eat, then you can put out the ‘do not disturb’ notice while I make a phone call. Then we’ll steal an hour to ourselves before we get back to it.”

“Best idea I’ve heard lately,” Gabrielle commented.

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

Dinah looked up when Gabrielle stepped out of the bedroom and looked around, then made a beeline for her.  “Is everything okay?” noting the serious frown lines cutting a swathe across her forehead. Gabrielle reached up to smooth them away, even as she blew out a breath and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah… Xena and I are just going to take an hour or so to decompress.” At those words, Dinah instantly started packing up her computer and other bits, trying to get out of the penthouse as quickly as possible. She froze when Gabrielle put a hand on her arm, desperate not to read anything personal coming from her. Gabrielle squeezed lightly and Dinah forced herself to meet the green eyes looking back at her in amusement. “Not that kind of decompression,” she teased, watching Dinah gently blush. “We’re going to have something to eat and work on some logistics for getting everyone moved to South Dakota,” seeing blue eyes widen comically. “Yeah… it’s one reason we’d like a little bit of time undisturbed.”

Dinah nodded. “I’ll spread the word. And if you can let us know when you’re okay to have communications again, that’d be great,” she added as she pushed everything into her backpack and rose from the table. “The way things are moving around here….”

Gabrielle didn’t loosen her grip. “Is there something going on we should be aware of?”

“Lots of things, probably, but nothing concrete that I’m aware of at the moment. Lucy went to help Amy with whatever emergency was happening downstairs. Ian came by earlier and whisked Casey out of here. Brittney is monitoring the machine, because Root took a break when Shaw got back, although she said something about putting Sameen to bed. Shaw was a little unhappy to find out that didn’t mean the same thing as taking her to bed.” Dinah smirked when Gabrielle snorted.

“Lots of broadcasting going on?”

Dinah pinched the bridge of her nose. “God… you have no idea. I don’t want to know this stuff about people. They just keep screaming it at me.”

“We’ll sit down when this is over and see if we can come up with some sort of mechanical shield that you can use that doesn’t involve a helmet or some other kind of cumbersome device. I doubt it would replace your mental shielding completely - especially when Helena is able to strengthen it for you - but it could give you something extra to help in situations like this without utterly draining you and Helena.”

Dinah sighed. “That sounds brilliant.” She moved towards the door. “Oh… Barbara got coordinates on another box, I think, but she took off out of here so fast, I didn’t get to ask. The Machine told me she went to her room, but otherwise I’m locked out of any pertinent information. She won’t even allow me to communicate with her.”

Gabrielle frowned. “That’s unusual. That protocol is generally reserved for me and Xena.” She pinched her lip in thought, then looked at Dinah as she made her way to the door. “Thank you, Dinah. If you’ll let folks know that we’re unavailable for the next little while - except for getting whatever take away Xena decided on - we’ll let people know when we’re available again.”

“You got it, My Queen,” offering a slight bow before closing the double doors behind her and waiting impatiently for the elevator. She’d go talk to Brittney first. As long as she was careful not to touch her, it should be safe enough, and it was the quickest and easiest way to contact everyone.

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

Barbara input the information she had again, carefully watching every single digit to ensure she got them all correct. When she had checked and double checked and rechecked yet again, she pushed enter….

… only to be given the same exact answer for the fifth time. She pushed her glasses to her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose. Then she reached for her phone and pushed ‘two’ in her ICE contacts, listening to the phone ring three-and-a-half times before a smooth, baritone voice answered. “We need to talk,” she replied, smiling grimly at the silence on the other end.

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

Ian had been more than a little surprised to receive an SOS from Casey in the middle of a school day, but since she had never been one to abuse that signal, he took it seriously and headed for the principal’s office as soon as his class was over. Within a few minutes, there was someone to watch the remainder of his classes for the day, and he made his way to Mid-town and the park that was just outside One Police Plaza. He saw her before she saw him, and he took a couple minutes to simply look at her and admire the beauty of her that he could visibly see. Then he watched her wipe her eyes, and he quickened his stride to hasten to her side.  He didn’t say a word but slid in beside her silently and took her in his arms. She stiffened for a moment - until she recognized his touch and his scent, then she relaxed against him.

He didn’t hear her cry, but he felt the wetness of her tears against his neck. He held her tighter and whispered words of love and devotion in her ear, causing her to cry harder before her tears started to dissipate. When she had been still and silent for a number of minutes, he pulled back slowly to see if she had fallen asleep in his arms. She gazed back at him with the most beatific smile, and he couldn’t stop the grin that lit up his eyes and mouth. He leaned in and captured her lips in a warm, possessive kiss, not completely surprised by the passion with which she returned it. When they separated, he gently wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks and kissed her nose, drawing a cute giggle from her and forcing him to chuckle in response.

“How about you and me go over to that little cafe over there and pick up some lunch, then go back to headquarters and play hooky in your apartment there for a little while?”

“You and me, huh?” She nodded slowly as her eyes focused on his lips. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea... even for just a little while.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what is wrong with me today, but everything’s been off since this morning… kinda like your grammar,” she added with a smile.

He chuckled, though he couldn’t stop the blush that graced his cheeks. “Do you feel better?” He watched as she turned her gaze inward and took stock of herself, smiling when she nodded again.

“Yeah, you know... I really do, because of you, I think.”

There was still a hint of a blush on his cheeks, but with his olive complexion, it was difficult at best to see it. “Good,” he stated firmly. “I’d like to know I am the reason behind your smiles; that I can make thing better for you must by holding you or listening to you when you need to talk; that being with me makes you happy… even if I’m being ridiculous.”

“It does,” she assured him. “You give me a sense of peace and contentment I’m not sure I’ve ever had before. Now c’mon... let’s go get some food. I know I made you miss lunch - I can hear your stomach growling.” Hers chose that moment to grumble loudly. She blushed when he chuckled but couldn’t help but laugh herself. “And apparently mine too.”

He unwound himself from her, allowing her a minute to collect herself, then he rose and extended a hand in her direction. She accepted and stood, then they made their way hand in hand to the little cafe.

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

“Thank you all for joining us this evening,” Gabrielle said quietly to the myriad of women looking back at her from the massive screen of their theatre room. Brittney, Scud, and Lucy had spent a good portion of the afternoon wiring in the feeds so Gabrielle would be able to see everyone, though they would only be able to see her and Xena. She studied them seriously in silence, seeing the desire in most to squirm under her regard, but they all managed to sit still and noiseless during her observation of them. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I am going to ask that all of you sit quietly while I speak. That means no interruptions; no comments; no verbal reactions. What I have to say is important, and if you’ll listen until the end, I promise you’ll understand.” She waited as they nodded their agreement, noting that some were much slower to do so than others. She cleared her throat.

“All right - all cards on the table. I know about the search you have going on for the Headless Horseman, and I’m telling you - not asking you… telling you - that as of this moment, that stops.” She watched as several opened their mouths to argue and felt Xena lean up so she could be seen on camera. She didn’t say anything - she simply glared at them all, watching in satisfaction as jaws clicked shut almost in sync. She tapped Gabrielle’s side as she leaned back again, out of sight, but obviously still very much a presence in the room. Gabrielle would have smirked were things not quite so serious.

“I realize that many of you think, because of your age or experience or vocation, that I have no business telling you anything… especially what your business should be. And I am certainly in no position to issue you any kind of orders on what you can and cannot do in your private time. But you’d be very, very wrong about that. I’m not telling you to stop because I have some crazy desire to be the boss of any of you; I’m not afraid that you’ll get one up on us by finding the Horseman before we do. The fact is, I’m telling you to stop to keep you safe… because if you continue to mess with things you don’t understand, someone is going to get hurt… or worse.” She saw the questions in the eyes looking back at her, but at least she had their attention now, and they were listening to her intently and with serious consideration. She pinched the bridge of her nose briefly and sighed. Then she looked back at all the women waiting patiently, in most cases, and not-so-patiently in others, and remembered that these were all women she was happy to know. Some were friends; others were acquaintances, but all of them were part of her extended circle, and she owed them as much of the truth as she was able to give them.

“Many of you were present for the storytelling seminar I did at the first convention we held in Orlando at the request of Sam MacPherson,” smiling when she saw the woman in question blush. “You’ll remember that I told you that the keys to storytelling were to tell what you know or to sweat the details if you’re making something up out of whole cloth. But there is another type of storytelling - those that pass on the old stories and legends of our ancestors. The problem with those stories is that much of the original truth has gotten lost in the telling as the stories have been handed down for any number of reasons. The Headless Horseman is one such tale.

I must confess, I have an entire set of notebooks filled with old legends and myths I’ve collected over the years. Many were handed down through my family - my family’s stories go back to ancient Greek times - and I’ve spent a lot of time researching some of the more unusual and lesser known tales that I’ve come across. Before you ask, I didn’t share this method of storytelling because it’s a lot more difficult to share these types of tales. They are stories that belong to a community or nation or culture, and to do them justice, you have to study and learn and research, because some of these are stories that are still told today. And it’s not right to destroy part of someone else’s culture because you didn’t put in the work to discover the true story… because even myths and legends have a kernel of truth in them somewhere.

I didn’t get to finish telling you the whole story as I knew it, and it was only recently that I discovered there was even more to the story beyond what I knew. The legend says that she will one day find a successor whose guilt will absolve the Archangel’s and that is what will allow her to return to the heavenly plane - not as an archangel, but no longer the Horseman. My ending was to remind you that the Horseman is always seeking one who can take her place… to allow her the opportunity to find eternal rest.

However, there is another legend - one from Egypt that I hadn’t heard until this morning - that says that the Horseman is collecting the souls of those she kills for an upcoming battle between good and evil. The belief is that though she is not killing indiscriminately - she still targets those who target innocents - she is much more aggressive about finding those she deems worthy of execution. Now image what that could mean if you’re less than perfect; if you’ve ever wronged someone; if you’ve hurt an innocent... however unwittingly. Those things are enough to make you a target, and if you’re actively searching for her, she will come looking for you to determine if you are worthy to be her successor, or if you are simply one of the many deemed worthy of judgement.”

She finally saw realization dawn in many of the eyes watching her, and fear followed along right behind it. Good, she thought. Maybe they will finally understand. She took a deep draught from the water that sat beside her computer to give her words time to truly register. Then she started to speak again.

“We believe the master she now serves is the evil we expect to engage on Halloween, because he has promised to release her of her servitude once his goal is achieved. Given what we know of Saligia, we cannot dismiss this story as simply another story. There are too many details that fit into the larger picture that we know to be his truth. We will be facing a supernatural being that not only seeks to take powers which aren’t his, but to also make the world into a battlefield until it and everything in it is destroyed.”

It remained steadily silent for a full minute, before Cat Grant spoke up. “Tell us what we can do to help.” And then there was a cacophony of sound from everyone else as they loudly agreed with her query. Xena and Gabrielle exchanged glances, then turned their attention back to the screen.


Chapter LI

“Before we do that, I want to show you something, and then I’d like to tell you a story.” Xena handed over a large, leather-bound book, and Gabrielle motioned Lucy forward with the camera. She untied the leather strap that held the book tightly closed, allowing the book to fall open to a place that was bookmarked about three-quarters of the way through the volume. She turned the journal around so Lucy could show it right side up to the folks on the screen, and Xena and Gabrielle watched their reactions. After about ten seconds, Gabrielle took possession of the writings once more, and Lucy returned the camera to the tripod as gently as she could manage. Unexpectedly, Nikki Beaumont spoke up.

“That was written in Greek, but I don’t recognize the dialect.”

Gabrielle smiled, though there was a hint of melancholy in her eyes. “You wouldn’t. That dialect has been dead for a thousand years or so.”

“So, um… why are you showing this to us?” Sara Sidle asked. “We can’t even read it.”

This time, Gabrielle chuckled. “In fairness, most of you couldn’t read it even if it was in modern Greek. It’s not like many people outside of Greece and the nearby islands in the Mediterranean learn the language… despite the fact that most romantic languages today are based in Greek and Latin.” She felt Xena’s touch on her side and released a slow breath. “Sorry… pet peeve,” she grumbled, seeing a number of indulgent expressions reflected back at her. “Also, I’m getting rather far afield of my point… which is this - this is one of the very first written journals of my family’s stories. This is the journal that holds the story of Saligia, and I can read it; I know what it says. This is the story I wanted to share with you, but I need to give you a little background first. I need you all to listen with an open mind, because what I’m going to tell you sounds a whole lot like make believe. But remember - all legends and myths have some basis in fact… a kernel of truth at their core. These stories were witnessed and written by one who considered herself to be a bard.”

“Doesn’t that mean she probably ‘embellished’ or ‘exaggerated’ what she saw? I mean… I thought that was what storytelling was. Or it’s what it seems to be when guys are trading stories over a beer after work or….” She felt Holly’s hand squeeze her thigh, and she swallowed hard. “Or maybe I should just shut up before I dig my way to China, yeah?”

No one could see the smooth, steady movements of Xena’s hands along the small of Gabrielle’s back, but they could sense the tension singing along her nerves by the way she slowly straightened and looked directly at Gail Peck, who shrank away but kept her eyes on Gabrielle. “I can see why you might think that - I suppose that is a type of storytelling. It’s certainly the most common kind people are familiar with. And if this particular tale had only been shared by word of mouth, I’d agree that there was likely some hyperbole and enhancement going on for entertainment’s sake. But in this instance, no. When things were written down, the stories were told as close to truth and actual fact as could be managed. That way, we had that kernel of truth we needed to make a legend become entertainment.

But sometimes, the telling of the true story was entertaining enough, because the truth was stranger, and ultimately more outrageous, than fiction.” Gabrielle kept her eyes pinned on Gail, who slowly nodded her understanding. Only then did Gabrielle’s attention turn back to the camera. “I realize I’m asking a lot here - I’m asking you to trust me with something that none of you can readily verify. And the truth is, if you choose to be a part of this, you’re going to be putting yourselves in mortal danger.”

“Worse than when we were investigating the Horseman?” Ziva David asked.

“Differently.” Gabrielle answered. “With the Horseman, you were making targets of yourselves, and she would have successfully come after you one at a time and made you part of her army of souls. With Saligia, he will be looking to destroy, but his focus will be on us,” motioning between herself and Xena, “and then the Guardians that will be standing with us. Everyone else would be tertiary targets, and he would have to succeed in defeating us before he ever turned his attention to you.”

“Who are the Guardians, and how can we volunteer to be one?” Gail asked, glad that Gabrielle smiled at her for this question.

“Let me tell you this story,” she said, gesturing to the book that still lay open on the table in front of her. “I think it will answer most of your questions, and those that it doesn’t, I’ll try to answer as honestly as I can.”

“That would be equitable,” Miranda Priestly stated. Others nodded their agreement, and Gabrielle took a deep breath and began to speak.

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

When she was done with the rudimentary elements of the story - told without naming names to protect her and Xena - she waited while her audience absorbed the details, looking at her and Xena with hints of awe, disbelief, and confusion. Finally, Dr. Temperance Brennan spoke up, from one author to another.

“You left out a lot of the details, didn’t you?”

Gabrielle nodded. “Were I to read the story in its entirety, we’d be here for at least a couple hours getting through it.” She pinched more than an inch of parchment between her fingers. “All this just tells of the initial encounters the gods had with Saligia and Aphrodite’s original visit to the bard requesting help.” Xena leaned forward and placed three more thick volumes on the table. “Thank you,” she whispered, garnering her a smile from Xena, and a variety of indulgent looks from those watching. “These tell about the search for the talismans, and this,” accepting a slimmer volume, “details the final encounter that was thought to be the end of Saligia.”

“Do you know what happened to cause him to come back?”

“We have a couple theories,” Xena responded before Gabrielle could. “But we don’t have any concrete proof.”

“Xena’s right. And frankly, figuring out how he was awakened is less important right now than finding a way to destroy him… because we can’t risk his continued existence. Not with his determination to destroy everything.”

“Gabrielle, what does he get out of this? I mean, if he destroys everything, what’ll be left for him to be a god over?”

Gabrielle shook her head and met Holly Stewart’s eyes. “Good question, Doc. I honestly don’t know, and I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out his or anyone else’s motives. What we do know is those talismans hold the core of his power. We’ve found five of them, so two of them are still loose in the world somewhere, and we’re running out of time to find them.”

“Can we do anything to help find them?” Col. Sarah MacKenzie queried. “I could get us access to government records if you think that would help.”

“I don’t know… short of tracing back your histories to Roman times. We have a team of experts and three of the most formidable computers in the world working on tracing them; there’s just a lot of variables to consider that are slowing us down.”

“So… what can we do?” Sabrina Duncan asked.

“The only thing we can really ask any of you to do is to stand with us for the denouement,” causing a cacophony to break out across the board. She held up her hands, but it wasn’t until Xena whistled loud enough to summon Argo that silence fell once more. “You need to be perfectly clear on what this involves - no sugar coating. Each of you who wants to participate will need to make your way to the place we’ve chosen for the showdown. We know he’ll come to where he can find us, and we want to be somewhere remote enough that it will do as little harm and have the least environmental impact as is possible. You also have to be prepared for the worst, because although we know we will be his primary target, he gets off on death and destruction. There is a possibility he will turn away from us if he gets frustrated enough, and he will focus on demolishing those we consider allies.

In addition, expect to rough it for the time we are there. There is no accommodation for a large influx of people. We are working on finding some kind of temporary lodging, but at the moment, we’ve been unable to even find a cave to bunk down in. We haven’t stopped looking, but it’s only fair to tell you that sleeping under the stars is a real possibility at the moment.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Maggie Sawyer said.

“In South Dakota,” Gabrielle supplied.

“That doesn’t sound too good,” Alex Danvers replied.

“It’s certainly not optimal; it’s why we’re still looking. We do have some contacts in the area with more intimate knowledge of the surrounding territory. But like everything else in this scenario, we’re short on time and long on everything else.”

“Where do you need us to go?” Jennifer Jarreau asked. “I may be able to pull some strings to get you that information a little faster.”

“As much as we appreciate the offer - Agent Jarreau, Col. MacKenzie - we’d prefer to keep this off the government radar if at all possible. They might be inclined to involve themselves and ‘help’,” smirking at the looks of abject horror that crossed the faces of those that understood what she was saying. “Exactly,” she continued. “You see why we’d be hesitant to utilize those avenues. And honestly, I’m not sure they would be any more effective than what we already have at our disposal. But thank you.”

She looked across the screen, meeting the eyes of each woman looking back at her. “Now… to the current situation. We realize that not all of you can just drop everything and go to South Dakota for an indefinite length of time.”

“I thought you said this was going to happen on Halloween - that’s only a few days away,” Lilly Rush commented.

“That’s our best guess. But even if we’re right, depending on the damage that gets done, it might require a bit of time beyond Halloween to do clean-up and restoration work. Hope for the best but plan for the worst.”

“Right… sorry.”

Gabrielle shook her head.  “No need to be sorry - it was a valid question. We’ve just learned the hard way to look beyond the immediate and the expected.” She turned her attention back to the wide screen again. “Now, having said all that ~ does everyone understand how important it is that you stop pursuing the Horseman?” seeing heads nod firmly across the board. “Good. I would hate for anything to happen any of you, all right?” watching as they agreed again. She smiled. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes and sighed, then looked directly into the camera. “Now, before we go any further, I want to be upfront with all of you. We’re not going to ask anyone to do this, but I’ve been informed in no uncertain terms that each of you deserves the chance to make your own choice, and Xena and I agreed that you’ve all earned that right. But you need to understand what choosing to be part of this battle with Saligia will mean if you decide you want to participate - there’s very little time for you to make any type of preparation, because those of you that make the decision to go will need to leave immediately, or at least as quickly as you can; you’re looking at losing time and money at work; there’s literally no accommodation for anyone, so… primitive might be a generous description for the housing situation; and it’ll be dangerous. The likelihood of everyone coming out of this unscathed is nil - people will get hurt and run a very real risk of dying.”

No one moved or said a word while Gabrielle was talking, and she, in turn, studied each of them briefly as she communicated both orally as well as with her hands. When the silence threatened to drag on too long, Cat Grant assumed the mantle of authority she was well used to wielding and spoke. “So, are you going to tell us what we need to do, or was that supposed to scare us off?”

Gabrielle offered her a smirk, answering the twinkle she could clearly see in Cat’s eyes. “I was trying to be honest about the situation. We don’t want anyone to feel pressured to be part of this, and we don’t want for this to cause a hardship for anyone either.”

“That’s fair, but I think from the reaction you’re getting, it’s also fair to say that no one is worried about that.”

Gabrielle looked again at the women facing her, seeing fierceness and determination. She turned to Xena, who gave a bare nod of her head and the slightest shrug of her shoulders. She looked at Lucy, who smirked and shrugged. She thought of the team currently working like crazy people just a few floors below and knew without a doubt what their input would be if asked. She looked back at the women waiting patiently for her to give them the information that would allow them to become part of the strength she and Xena and the Guardians would likely need to destroy Saligia. She took a deep breath and nodded. “All righty, then… let’s do this.”

The cheer that went up from the women on the screen was loud enough to be felt by Dinah and the Machine and made Xena and Gabrielle grin. Then they set to work on the logistics.

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

“I don’t understand it,” Athena grumbled to Ares as they finished the last bit of cleaning up Hook and preparing him for whatever end Emma chose to give him. “I should have been able to heal him.”

“Not necessarily, The. If the magic around this place can keep us locked in here, who’s to say that it can’t prevent us from doing other godly things? Besides, it sounds like he got to die a hero. There’s no better way to go.”

“Except he didn’t need to go at all. I could have saved him….”

“Not really,” Regina said as she eased into the room. “He was brought to life as a character in a story. Your magic can’t actually affect that… unless you’re the Author.”

“The Author?” frowning.

Regina frowned as well and huffed just slightly. “The Author? The person telling the story?” She waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal. “It doesn’t matter. The fact is that your magic doesn’t really work in my vault; he did die a hero; and he would never forgive you for bringing him back again.” She sighed when she saw the look of confusion on both Ares’ and Athena’s faces. She sucked in a breath and swayed in place, causing the two gods to come around to stand on either side of her. Without a word, they each took an arm and led her back to the main room and seated her on the couch. Emma glared at them through sleepy eyes, and they stepped away as soon as Regina had her balance.

“What did you do to her?” coming to kneel at her side and noting the dark circles prominent under brown eyes. Regina put a calming hand on the one that rested on her knee.

“They didn’t do anything. I was just trying to explain why Killian deserved to finally rest in peace.”

Emma blinked slowly. “Oh.” She turned to look at Ares and Athena. “Sorry.”

“So, it’s okay that I didn’t… couldn’t heal him?”

Emma nodded slowly. “Yeah. This is the best ending he could hope for - the ending he wanted. He died a hero, and he made a difference. I won’t let anyone take that away from him again. He’s earned his rest, and maybe he can go find Milah and have an eternity with his true love.”

Athena frowned. “Waitaminute - you weren’t…. you didn’t… weren’t you married?”

Emma smirked, though her eyes were still sad. “A lot of people get married that aren’t true loves or soulmates or even in love with each other. That doesn’t mean they don’t love one another; that they don’t look out for each other; that they don’t take care of each other.” Her voice grew steadily more forceful, as though she had defended their choice more than once. “Killian and I were friends and we share a child. Marriage was the right choice for us to take care of each other and our baby.”

Athena held up a hand. “You’re right - I’m sorry.”

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, not surprised to feel Regina link together the fingers of their hands still resting on her knee. She felt the touch of her other hand push a lock of hair from her face as Regina’s warm breath caressed her cheek when she spoke.

“Are you all right, Miss Swan?” concern making her voice tight. Emma could have burst into tears, but instead offered a light chuckle.

“Yeah… just been a damn long day.”

“Listen,” Aphrodite cut in, causing Emma’s shoulders to slump and Regina’s head to fall forward until their heads rested next to each other. “I hate to ask this right now, but could one of you, like, maybe see your way clear to totally getting us outta here?” she asked. motioning to herself and her siblings. “We really wouldn’t ask, especially right now, but we’re kinda like, stuck here until you do. And we’ve got some gnarly work we need to finish.”

Emma looked up at them with a frown, though she gently kept Regina in place. She could still feel the other woman’s exhaustion, and it was greater than her own. She wanted to do whatever was necessary to get them both a little recovery time. “Say again?”

Helena stepped forward, cutting Aphrodite off. “The magic of this place is keeping them prisoner here. They need you or Regina to physically get them out of the vault. They can take over from there.”

Emma looked at her hard for a long moment, then nodded. “If you’ll take Regina back to the bed,” barely able to move out of the way before Helena scooped Regina into her arms and walked towards the bedroom. “Right,” she said, turning her attention to the gods that were patiently waiting. She took Athena’s hand. “C’mon,” walking her up the stairs and out of the mausoleum. She smiled when Athena took a deep breath, then blushed when she brushed smooth lips over her cheek.

“Thank you, Emma. If there is anything we can do….”

Emma’s face hardened. “Make sure we know when and where to be to defeat this motherfucker.”

“Promise,” Athena assured her, “as soon as we know.”

“Thanks,” Emma murmured, then headed back down the steps to where Ares was waiting. “C’mon,” she invited, proffering her hand and waiting for him to take it. He looked at her with his arms folded across his chest, and she put both hands on her hips with more than a hint of impatience. “What?!”

“I was wondering if you’d like me to move your friend… maybe take him to the pyre or the funeral home or wherever he needs to go to be laid to rest properly. Despite the fact that this is technically a mausoleum, I don’t think he belongs here.”

“No, he doesn’t,” she agreed softly. “Can you transport him back to the castle? My dad, David, will be able to take things from there.”

Without another word, Ares turned away from her and stepped into the room where Hook was currently laying. Dyson had come back into the room to sit Shiva, and he looked up when Ares walked into the room. “What’s going on?”

“I’m taking him to the castle so they can do… whatever it is they do for their dead here.” With all the dignity and respect he could muster, Ares lifted him into his arms and made his way up the stairs. Dyson followed carefully behind them. When Ares met Emma, she reached out her hand to him and guided him the rest of the way until they were fully outside.

“You okay?” she asked Ares as he took a shuddering breath.

He nodded. “Yeah. Just not fond of enclosed spaces.”

She gave him a funny look but didn’t comment. Instead, she looked him directly in the eyes. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “Thank you for caring enough about him to give him the respect he deserves.”

Ares didn’t answer - simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of her words. Then he turned to Athena. “Can you give him a lift?” jerking his head towards Dyson. “Pretty sure he wants to be part of whatever burial they give him,” slightly hefting Hook in his arms.

“Sure,” she shrugged. Then without warning, they disappeared.

Emma turned around to find Kara, Diana and Helena waiting just outside the mausoleum door. She cocked an eyebrow, and Helena answered the unspoken question that was directed mostly at her. “We need to get back to New York, and Aphrodite is my ride, so….” She shrugged. “I’m sorry about what happened to your husband… and that I wasn’t able to do more.”

Emma stepped forward and took Helena’s hand. “You did enough,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Anytime. We’ll see you soon, then?”

“As soon as we get a little more rest, and someone lets me know where we need to be.”

“When I know, you’ll know… promise.”

Emma squeezed the hand she held, then turned and disappeared down the steps to retrieve Aphrodite. In only another minute, they were standing outside together. Then suddenly, she was standing alone, with only a pile of sparkles and rose petals to show that anyone else had ever been there. She smiled a little, then closed her eyes and tilted her head toward the sky. She murmured a little prayer for Killian, then she wiped the tear from her cheek and went back into the mausoleum, closing the door firmly behind her.


Chapter LII

“Are you sure this is okay?” Blair asked as she and Jo boarded the Cabot jet ahead of Olivia and Alex. “Because we can still take the Warner jet instead of leaving it here for….” Alex’s hand on her arm made her stop speaking, and she looked up into eyes that suddenly seemed old and exhausted. She covered the cold hand with her warmer one. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s get aboard. We’ll talk once we’re in the air,” she promised. Blair studied her a moment longer, then nodded her head affirmatively, crossing to the seating area that had been arranged for them to face one another. She slid into the seat nearest the window and set her purse down beside her, only a little surprised when Alex took the seat beside her instead of Jo.

The crew made sure they were settled and strapped in, and soon they were taxiing down the runway and into the air. Once they made altitude, the attendant brought them all beverages and a tray of snacks, then he retired to the front area of the plane to afford them the privacy they needed.

As anxious as she was to know the truth of what was going on - despite the ball of dread that was growing in her belly - Blair remained silent, sensing that Alex… or Olivia… needed to have control over the conversation that was coming. She exchanged glances with Jo, who was only casually sipping at her beer as she tried to relax in the almost stifling atmosphere. They leaned forward and helped themselves to some of the tidbits on the platter in front of them, and the motion seemed to be the catalyst that Alex needed to speak. She reached out a hand to Olivia, who accepted it with alacrity, then she turned to meet Blair’s eyes.

“I got a call this morning… from Dr. Schumer,” pausing to see if that was information enough for Blair to put it together without her having to spell in out completely.

Brown eyebrows furrowed together as Blair considered the information she’d been handed. Alex knew the precise moment realization dawned, as brown eyes widened and met hers. “Dr. Schumer?” she repeated. “Your oncologist?” Alex gave a sharp nod, but otherwise remained silent, allowing Blair to continue processing through to a conclusion. “Your cancer returned?” covering Alex’s free hand with her own when she nodded again, recognizing from the pain in blue eyes that there was more. She bit her lip as tears flooded her eyes, though she forced them back. If Alex wasn’t going to cry about this, Blair decided, then she and Jo would be that strong for her. “It’s spread?” feeling Alex tense before she slumped. She looked back and forth between Alex and Olivia, not surprised to see Jo had placed a hand of support on Olivia’s shoulder. “What can we do? How can we help?”

When Alex didn’t speak, Olivia cleared her throat. “Nothing,” she said softly. “There’s nothing you can do - nothing that will help. It’s, um… it’s traveled beyond any….” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I  already put in my papers to take an extended leave of absence to deal with this Guardian thing; if I need to, I’ll make them retirement papers instead, because whatever time we have left, we’re gonna spend together doing all the things….” She choked and clamped her lips together to keep from sobbing out loud.

“I can’t imagine….” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine a lot of things, actually. I’m sorry we infringed on your time together,” Jo said softly.

“No,” Alex replied, meeting her eyes and offering a sad smile. “Despite the fact that we were actually planning to go to South Dakota alone, I’m glad you’re both here. It’s a bit of a relief having shared with you, even though there’s nothing to be done at this point.”

“Well, know you can call on us at any time for anything. Jo put in her retirement papers last week.”

Olivia snapped her head around and looked at Jo in surprise. “Really? I thought they’d have to carry you out of the precinct kicking and screaming.”

Jo chuckled and the rest followed, lightening the atmosphere slightly. “Yeah, I thought so too, even when I started riding a desk,” making a face that ensured all of them understood how she’d felt about making that shift. “Don’t get me wrong - once I adjusted to it, it wasn’t so bad. It was nice to be able to have an almost human schedule, and I know Blair was overjoyed to have me at home most nights and able to go with her to whatever society events she needed to attend.”

“Well, you do clean up rather nicely, Grease Monkey,” she said haughtily, causing a smattering of laughter to roll around them. Jo rolled her eyes.

“Yeah… whatever,” though she grinned in Blair’s direction. “My point is that I was okay with a desk job - it’s time to let the kids start doing the grunt work. Then I got called out to that cluster in Mid-town,” looking at Olivia. “You know the one,” waiting for her to remember. “I ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time - I came a lot closer to dying that day than I have in a long time… since I was out on the streets every day. As it was, the fucker put me flat of my back for almost a week. It gave me plenty of time to think, and I decided I’d had enough… I’d done enough.” She snorted. “You shoulda seen the shrink’s face when I told him I was retiring. God, I don’t think he ever expected to hear those words.”

Olivia chuckled. “They never do.”

“Yeah. So, anyway… I went down to One PP last week and filed the paperwork I needed to retire. Now, I just need to figure out what comes next.” She turned to meet Alex’s eyes. “Just know that I am here and ready to help both of you guys in whatever capacity you need.” She smirked. “One of the perks of having a Sugar Mama,” she teased, laughing when it drew the expected slap from Blair before she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose into the air. Blair couldn’t hide the smile that bloomed, however, when she heard Alex and Olivia snorting at their ridiculousness.

“Always nice to be appreciated,” she said wryly.

“Oh, Babe… you know I love ya.”

“Yes, and don’t think I won’t be collecting those sexual favors that a sugar mama is entitled to,” flushing red but enjoying the howling laughter that was coming from their companions.

“Vroom! Vroom!” Jo joked, exchanging glances with Blair, thrilled beyond measure she had played along so blatantly about something she held as extremely private between the two of them… just for the sake of making their friends laugh.

After a long minute, the laughter wound down and Alex and Olivia were wiping their eyes for a different reason than before. “Oh my God,” Olivia said after sucking in a few deep breaths. “That was funny,” turning to find Alex looking at her speculatively. “What?”

Alex leaned back in her seat and steepled her hands under her chin. “I could be your sugar mama, you know… if you wanted to go ahead and retire. But… only if you want to retire. I know what SVU means to you.”

Olivia captured both of Alex’s hands in hers. “Not what you do,” she stated plainly. “Now, can we get some real food in here? From what Gabrielle told me this morning, we’re gonna be eating military MRE rations for the foreseeable future.”

Blair made a face, not unlike the one Jo was also sporting. “Seriously?”

“Um hmm… though if it matters, she said she was having them shipped in from France?” looking between them with an expression of confusion on her face. “I’m honestly not sure what that means or what difference it makes, but apparently, it was important enough to mention.”

Blair tilted her head in thought. “Well, the French are known for the cuisine, so perhaps this bodes better for us than if they were standard military rations.”

“We can hope,” Alex replied. “I’ve heard some things about the MRE’s our military eats from talking to Sam and Janet.” She shuddered. “I don’t think even a cop’s stakeout stomach would appreciate that.”

Olivia and Jo looked at one another in horror. Alex took that moment to signal the attendant. He responded quickly, and in moments had taken their orders and moved to the kitchen area to begin preparing their food. Alex grabbed the conversation reins again, not wanting to spend any more time focusing on her illness or anything related to it for a while.

“Do you have a plan for where you guys are going to bunk down until this is over with?”

“We figured we could get a spot where you guys were going to stay,” frowning when Olivia shook her head.

“I don’t think that’s possible; I know they’re trying to keep the Guardians hidden and away from everyone else until the time comes to actually fight this guy. Gabrielle told me she and Xena are trying desperately to find a place for everyone - even if it’s just a cave or some kind of insulated tents - because it’s too cold in BFE South Dakota to be sleeping out under the stars this time of year.”

Blair frowned. “I’m not sure I’d want to sleep under the stars no matter the time of year,” she confessed honestly.

“You don’t think it’d be romantic?” Jo snarked.

“No, and neither do you,” she answered firmly. “Dancing under the stars, yes. Then we go inside where there is a bed - that is romantic. Beds are very romantic, Jo.”

“And much better for old bodies that are not particularly fond of hard surfaces and cold temperatures.” She looked around at the interior of the plane. “Could we stay here?”

“Possibly. Let’s see where our landing spot is in relation to the battlefield location. If it’s two hours away, it would be kind of pointless.” About that time, the steward returned from the kitchen area with a tray loaded down with their plates. He distributed them and refilled their glasses, then went back to his seat behind the cockpit. For a while, they focused on simply enjoying their meal, and when their conversation resumed, they focused on other topics.

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

“I’m glad all that got sorted,” Xena commented as they left the theatre room and slowly walked over to the living side of the penthouse.

Gabrielle snorted. “It was easy once Cat Grant got involved. It’s easy to see how she was able to make CatCo Brand the most successful media company in the world. And at least they’re all heading out as we speak. Were you surprised by the number of women that decided to take part?”

“Not really.  I figured anyone who could reasonably get away, would. Let’s face it - this is the most exciting  thing that will ever happen to them.”

“Beyond being involved in a murder investigation, you mean?”

Xena snorted. “Yeah... beyond that.”

Gabrielle smiled but shook her head. “I just hope they understand the deadly seriousness of this, Xe. People are going to get hurt... maybe die. And I got the feeling they think it’s a game.”

“You told them the unvarnished truth. You have to let them make their own choices now. Even if they do think it’s an exciting game, I guarantee you they won’t think that for long.”

“Yeah... I know. It just bothers me is all.”

“It always has.” She turned and took Gabrielle’s hands. “I hope it always will,” reaching behind her to open the door to the living area....

... only to hear Helena’s voice. “Enough with the mushy stuff, you two. I heard we’re having warm cookies and cold milk this evening?”

“How did you hear that? We haven’t even invited the rest yet!” Xena asked sternly, though she couldn’t hide the kernel of pride she felt for the young woman standing diffidently before her… something she’d never quite expected to see from Helena. Perhaps maturity had finally taken root, though Xena would never be one to mention it - she knew too well the backlash that would cause. She reached out a hand and pulled Helena into a firm hug, which she returned fervently for a long moment. “Proud of you, Kid,” whispered.

“I’m gifted,” Helena replied with a smirk, responding to Xena’s questions verbally. A tight squeeze was the only indication she gave of hearing Xena’s praise.

“Well, however you heard, we’re glad you’re back here with us. I understand you did an outstanding job in Storybrooke. I hope you’ll share all the details later,” Gabrielle said with a smile. “Does Barbara know you’re here?”

Helena shook her head. “No. We only just got back, and we came here first. Diana and Kara are right behind us. I was actually headed down to find Red and the Kid to bring them up here when you came in. Figured that way, maybe Dite and I can share our stories together once everyone is here. I’d prefer not to have to keep repeating myself. Pretty sure she would too.”

Gabrielle opened her arms, and Aphrodite walked into her embrace, then lifted Gabrielle into the air. She squealed and Aphrodite laughed until Xena tapped her on the shoulder and cocked an eyebrow at her. She huffed but set Gabrielle down gently, then turned and threw herself at Xena… who caught her as a matter of reflex, then looked at Gabrielle in dismay. Gabrielle swallowed the laughter she wanted to emit and took Aphrodite’s hand and eased her from Xena’s hold, then led her over to the couch to sit down. Helena jerked her head toward the door and both Xena and Gabrielle nodded. Xena went to the kitchen to talk to The Machine so She could gather everyone to the Penthouse, then turned on the oven and set about pulling out all the cookie dough they had gotten. She only hoped it would be enough.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle took both of Aphrodite’s hands in hers and met blue eyes. “Is everything all right?”

“Oh babe… you would totally not believe the unrighteous cluster that being in Storybrooke became for me and The and Ares. I thought we were never gonna be able to leave. I kid you not - it was the most ungnarly thing I’ve been part of while a while. Do not want a freaking repeat.”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened, unsure where to even start with that statement. Then she realized…. “Where are Athena and Ares? He expected to be there and back, and obviously that didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, that’s part of the grody part of the story. I promised Hel we’d tell it together, because she’s right - telling it once will be plenty and then some.”

Gabrielle patted the hands she held and rose from her place. “That’s fair,” meeting Aphrodite’s eyes when she grabbed one hand back. “Problem?”

“Um… no? I mean, um… where ya going? Maybe I can help.”

Sympathy flooded Gabrielle’s being as she was reminded of all the times this goddess - this woman - had been there for her over millennia. She clasped the hand she held in both of hers briefly and urged Aphrodite to her feet. “C’mon,” she invited. “C’mon into the kitchen, and you can help me bake up the cookies. We’re gonna need a lot - just between Helena and Kara, we’re looking at a few dozen. And we’d like for everyone to have a few… especially since we’ll be headed out early tomorrow.”

“Really?? That soon?”

“Yeah,” she replied as she crossed the threshold into the kitchen. “Xena and I think it’s time. All indications are Saligia is up and out in the world somewhere… or at least no longer in Storybrooke. We can’t allow him to find us here - in New York, especially. There is too much likelihood of collateral damage and a high body count.” Xena smiled at them and slipped into the bedroom while Gabrielle came around the island and pulled out every single cookie sheet she owned.

“So… the battlefield location is secured?” Aphrodite asked as she accepted the trays and began laying them out on the empty spaces of the counter around the kitchen.

“Yes… well, as much as it can be.” She pushed a few rolls of cookie dough in Aphrodite’s direction and handed her a knife as a matter of course. Instead of resorting to magic, she watched what Gabrielle did and mimicked her as closely as she possibly could. “We’ve already started sending folks out there - at least, they should be heading that way soon. We just talked to them tonight.”

Aphrodite glanced at Gabrielle as she started transferring the sliced cookies to the baking pans and did the same. “Where?” When Gabrielle simply blinked at her, she frowned. “Where are you sending them? We need to know to let the other gods know, and we promised to let Emma and Regina know so they could join us.”

“They want to? Really?”

Aphrodite nodded and handed Gabrielle two full sheets and put two more empty ones in their place. Gabrielle slid the cookies into the oven. “When you hear the story, you’ll totally dig why.”

“That’s fair,” Gabrielle nodded as she began to slice up the next batch of cookies. “Are Ares and Athena coming back here?”

“Dunno,” with a shrug. “Do you need them to?”

A thoughtful nod. “Yeah… I think we do. I need to ask a huge favor of you guys, and like you and Helena, I’d prefer to only have to make a single request.”

Aphrodite came around to the other side of the island and wrapped Gabrielle up in a crushing hug. “Oh, Babe… you name it and it’s yours. This would have been a disaster for us millennia ago if not for you and the Warrior Babe stepping in like you did. I know for a fact that any of the gods would be, like, tripping over themselves to be a righteous part of the solution this time.” She loosened her grip but leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “They’re all, like, majorly embarrassed about the last time, ya know.”

Gabrielle nodded and squeezed Aphrodite’s arms, then slid from her embrace and began taking cookies from the oven when the timer sounded the alert. Aphrodite watched in fascination, then returned to slicing up the last of the cookies while Gabrielle transferred them from the sheet to the rack. She reached for one, not seeing Gabrielle lift a hand before hesitating and letting her go ahead. She took a small bite, but it was enough to let her know how hot fresh cookies got; she reached gratefully for the milk Xena passed her way, wondering when she’d reappeared in the kitchen.

“Nice timing,” Gabrielle smirked, motioning to the six gallons of milk - less one glass - currently sitting on the small table they used for meals when it was just the two of them.

“Every once in a while,” Xena admitted. She turned to Aphrodite. “You all right?”

Aphrodite nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever had hot, out-of-the-oven cookies before. I’ll remember to blow next time.”

“Or just wait a couple minutes for them to cool enough to be warm. C’mon,” going to the cabinet and pulling out a few stacks of cups. “Diana and Kara just got here and everyone else has gotten the memo by now. By the time we get all this to the living room, they should all be here, and we can go over everything we know.”

Aphrodite nodded and grabbed two gallons of milk and she and Xena headed into the living room.


Chapter LIII

The bag on the bed was more than half-packed, but its owner had seemingly disappeared. Maura stuck her head in the closet and then the bathroom before venturing out of the bedroom suite to look for her lover. She bypassed her writing room - Jane considered that strictly Maura’s territory and never presumed entrance without an invitation first. She continued searching each room upstairs, before almost hitting herself in the head when she realized where Jane had to have gone. With light steps, she skipped down the steps, careful to maintain her hold on the bannister. When her feet touched the floor, she immediately walked into Jane’s office, mouth poised to speak….

… only to find Jane not in this room either. She released an impatient huff and pressed her fingers against her eyes. Some days she could honestly feel her brain cells dying - today appeared to be one of those days. She heard the sound just before she felt the warmth of Jane’s fingers caressing her face, and she leaned into the touch.

“Hey,” the gravelly voice whispered into her ear and a strong arm wrapped around her waist. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Jane,” she said. “I was simply looking for you to see if you needed my help to finish up your packing. I couldn’t find you.” She looked up, and Jane’s heart broke a little at the confusion she could so easily read swirling in hazel eyes. “Where were you?”

Jane pulled Maura into her completely and hugged her along her entire length. She leaned back just enough to brush a kiss over her forehead, then took one hand and led her to the couch. They sat down, side by side, and Maura cocked her head at the strange box that was sitting on the table in front of them.

“What’s this?” reaching out but not quite touching the foreign object. Jane caught her hand and brought it to her lips. She kissed the fingertips, then released Maura’s hand to lean forward toward the box.

“This,” she offered with a wave at the top, “is why you couldn’t find me.” She opened the box, though she didn’t remove anything. “Do you remember four or five months ago… when Dr. Digsalot sent you a box with your mother’s things? Things she specifically mentioned she wanted you to have at her passing?”

Maura’s features hardened and her eyes grew cold at Jane’s reference to her estranged father. “What do he and this box of her things have to do with why you’re out here instead of in our bedroom packing so we can….” A hand on her arm snapped her lips closed, and she took a deep breath through her nose. She blinked a couple times slowly, then looked into Jane’s eyes.

“You okay?” she asked with more than a hint of concern in both eyes and tone.

Maura nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m sorry - I don’t know….”

“Hey… no. No. You don’t apologize for this. This is on me. If I had known it was gonna take me so damn long to find the stupid box, I’da said something before I went looking for the damn thing.”

Maura’s eyes widened. The more Jane cursed, the angrier she was at herself.  Maura caught her head firmly between her hands and met deep brown eyes. “Nope. You don’t get to blame you either. No harm, no strike, as you like to say.”

Jane chuckled. “No harm, no foul, Maur… no foul.”

“Well, I’m sure I don’t know what birds have to do with anything,” her eyes twinkling to let Jane know she was teasing. “But we’re pretty far from….” She waved her hand at the offensive box. “This.”

“Right.” Jane pulled the warm hand from her face and held onto it lightly. “You remember when Bo called… God, was it only yesterday?” she muttered as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “And she was telling us about the Guardian thing?” waiting for Maura to nod, though her eyes remained clouded with confusion. “It kinda tickled something in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t place whatever was nagging at me. So, I put it down to all the crazy stuff that’s gone on since we went to New Orleans. And then tonight, when Xena and Gabrielle were telling us about Saggy Gal and the Guardians and their talismans and boxes, everything clicked,” looking at Maura expectantly.

Maura returned the look, finally tilting her head and frowning slightly when Jane didn’t continue. “Are you going to finish?”

Jane started to snap off a smart comment about how obvious it should be, but realized almost instantly that for Maura, it wasn’t, and that made her die inside just a little. “Sorry,” she said, offering a small smile. “I was thinking. You know how I get.”

Maura smiled back at her. “Yes… I do. Thankfully, these days, you go into Special Agent Instructor mode instead of Homicide Detective mode.” She frowned. “You made your point, and I missed it, didn’t I?”

“Not exactly,” Jane lied. “I wasn’t quite there yet. When Xena held up those ‘concept drawings’ - and let me just comment on how amazingly detailed that art was, by the way - for each of the talisman boxes, one of them looked familiar… like something I’d seen before. I started trying to place it, because it looked like, well, art. And that made me think of Constance, and then I knew immediately where I had seen that box.” She looked at the box on the table.

Maura looked at Jane in consternation, then glanced at the box before returning her eyes to Jane’s. “Wait, you think my mother was a Guardian? That she had possession of one of the boxes?” She closed her eyes and thought. “I don’t remember….” She forced herself to focus on the brief few minutes they’d had the box open before she banished it from the house in her anger. “Maybe….”

“Definitely. I’m certain one of those boxes is in here.”

“You’re certain?”

“Yep.”

Maura walked back and forth the length of the couch a couple times while twisting her hands together. Then she finally clasped her fingers into a fist and turned to meet Jane’s eyes. “All right,” she said definitively as she nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

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

Helena walked silently into the apartment they’d been assigned. Even though it was still early by sweeps’ standards, she didn’t want to disturb Barbara if she was sleeping… or working on something. She peeked around the door jamb and frowned, finding Barbara was simply sitting at the window, looking out at the skyline that surrounded her. Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course, except for the look of exhaustion that engulfed her.

Helena walked further into the room with cat-like tread, and she wrapped her arms around Barbra before she had a chance to react to her presence. “Hi, honey,” she whispered, nudging at her neck with the tip of her nose, and smiling when Barbara accommodated her immediately. “I’m home,” she sing-songed as she scented the woman she loved, then frowned. Aside from all the wonderful scents she normally associated with Barbara and home, she could smell fear… or anger. She kissed the long neck that was exposed to her, then pulled back to meet green eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Why does something have to be wrong?” she snapped, dropping her head into her hands when Helena stood and took a step back, holding up her arms in surrender.

“Judging by your reaction, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to answer that.”

Barbara released a deep sigh and dropped her hands to her lap, then brought her eyes up to meet Helena’s… not surprised to find patience and understanding reflected back at her. “I found the sixth box,” she stated without preamble. Helena knelt back down and covered the clenched hands, rubbing them lightly until she felt Barbara relax under her touch. Then she twined their fingers together and brought them to her lips as she looked into Barbara’s eyes. She smiled as she watched a flush travel up fair skin.

“I thought finding another box would be a good thing. Didn’t Big X and Gabrielle want all seven?”

“Yes. And I supposed it would be a better thing as far as I’m concerned if I had already known about it instead of having to track it down like a madwoman.”

Helena frowned and rocked back on her heels. “Wait… you’re a Guardian?” missing the swiftly hidden look of pride Barbara gave her. “How did that even happen?”

Barbara shrugged. “I didn’t really get a straight answer from Dad. All he said was that the box had belonged to my Aunt Barbara, and that it would have come to me naturally upon his death.”

“So, I’m guessing we need to stop by Gotham on our way out to South Dakota tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

Helena nodded. “Pretty sure. We can ask X and Gabrielle. I came to get you and the Kid to go upstairs for cookies,” smirking when a crimson brow hiked into the crimson hairline. “Yeah… like I was gonna say no to warm cookies and cold milk - don’t think so. In fairness, it’s partly so we can get everyone caught up on everything, and so Dite and I can share what happened in Storybrooke. One telling of that will be more than enough,” shivering at the thought. Being snarky and sarcastic came naturally - having to seriously relay information made her want to throw up just a little bit. Still, it was necessary, and she knew that and knew that both Xena and Gabrielle were depending on her.

Barbara frowned when she felt the shiver roll through Helena’s body, and she decided to lighten the atmosphere just a little in an effort to help her relax. “Dite, huh? You’re on a nickname basis with the Goddess of Love now?” letting the twinkle shine out of her eyes.

Helena snorted. “Yeah - being stuck in a mausoleum will do that to a person… or a goddess.”

Barbara’s lips twisted. “Sounds unpleasant.”

“Yeah - not a way I’d want to spend any length of time. Now,” shifting until she was sitting in Barbara’s lap and dropping her arms onto the back of the chair. “How’s about you and me share a ‘Welcome Home, Helena’ kiss and a promise for more in a little while? Then I’ll go find the Kid and we’ll go back to the penthouse and have cookies and milk.”

Barbara craned her neck and pecked Helena’s lips, withdrawing before she could deepen it. “Welcome.” She snuck in again, licking at the plump lips this time. “Home.” Suddenly, strong fingers were wound in her hair, and she found herself looking up into augmented, golden eyes for a moment before her mouth was consumed by a passionate kiss. When Helena finally pulled back, it took a minute for Barbara’s eyes to flutter open, and she offered a lazy smile. “Helena,” she finished breathily. Helena just gave her a cocky smirk and rose from the chair as she wiped her lips.

“Better than cookies and milk,” she said, making Barbara laugh joyously. “Now, have you seen the Kid?”

“I believe she was going to talk to Kurt. So, the odds are that she’s already upstairs.” She swung her chair around and rolled to the elevator.  “C’mon. I wanna hear this story of yours, and I certainly don’t want you to miss out on warm cookies and cold milk.”

Without another word, Helena zipped by her and pressed the button, gallantly bowing and holding the door for Barbara to advance. Then the doors closed, and they headed to the penthouse.

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

Jane extended a hand and waited for Maura to take it and come sit beside her again. Then they reached forward together and opened the box. There was the letter from her father that in her anger she’d thrown back in before slamming the box closed and demanding Jane dispose of. Jane snatched it out of the way before Maura could grab it and destroy it, thinking it might hold some information of value. Maura barely noticed the motion, her attention taken by the other things now prevalent in the container.

She tenderly lifted out a small painting, beautifully framed and with a key attached to it on the back. She gazed at the painting for several moments, before frowning when her fingers touched the key. She turned the painting around, so she was better able to observe the key, wondering what it went to. She gently set it to one side and reached back into the box. This time she came up with a sketch book, and she set is aside as well. Then she reached in and pulled out a box that was exactly like Xena had described it.

She held it up so Jane could see it as well, looking at all sides of the box as well as the top and bottom. She allowed her hands to caress the silky smoothness of the wood, not surprised to feel Jane’s hands beside her own, though they both froze when they reached the niche that indicated the key to opening the box. They exchanged glances and set it carefully down on the table in front of them, then released a slow breath when the box remained closed. Xena and Gabrielle had been very clear about the necessity of keeping the boxes locked until such time as they would all open them together in South Dakota.

“Well,” Maura said softly, as though anything louder than a whisper might trigger the key. “You were certainly right about this being one of the boxes, I think. Do you think we should call Xena and Gabrielle? I mean, it’s really quite late. I’d hate to….”

Jane already had her phone out and was scrolling through her contacts. “They said any time, Maur. I have a feeling they’ll get out of bed to hear this news.” She found what she was looking for and pushed the button, hearing the phone ring once before it was picked up.

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

Silence reigned for several minutes after Helena and Aphrodite finished sharing their story. Then Xena looked at Helena. “Go ahead and call Emma and Regina. Let them know where to go and ask them to get there as quickly as possible tomorrow. We’re hoping to have a day or two to settle in before Saligia comes calling.” Helena nodded and stepped away from the group to make her call.

“We have accommodations?” Shaw asked. “Not real keen on the whole outdoors idea.” She looked around when all eyes swung her way. “Whaaaaat?” she whined defensively. “Just cuz I’m a Marine doesn’t make me crazy about camping,” she grumbled.

“We’re working on it,” Gabrielle assured her. “Folks will probably have to share space though. There’s not gonna be a whole lot of privacy.”

Shaw shrugged. “Lack of privacy bothers me less than sleeping outside on the ground does.”

Xena looked around at the women looking back at her. “Gabrielle and I will be leaving first thing in the morning. Brittney, Santana and Kurt have volunteered to hold down the fort here. Casey is in charge of making sure the rest of you get out to South Dakota some time tomorrow evening.” She turned to meet Shaw’s eyes. “By then we should have the accommodation situation taken care of, but Gabrielle wasn’t kidding - there will likely be six to eight people per.”

“Fortunately, it should only be for a few days,” Gabrielle inserted before anyone else could comment. “I can’t imagine everyone will be able to stay for an unlimited amount of time. Most just don’t have that luxury.”

Shaw shrugged. “S’cool,” leaning back into Root when she felt her squeeze her shoulder.

“We’ll make it work,” Diana stated confidently.

“Good. Is there anything else?” glancing around the room and noting Barbara’s discomfiture, though she didn’t say anything. Gabrielle nodded and clapped her hands together lightly. “All right. Make sure you bring enough to be comfortable for a few days in freezing temperatures, but not so much that you couldn’t carry it for a few miles if you had to.” She hesitated a moment, then resumed speaking. “Leave your electronics here… all of them. No music; no books; no phones; no pads or computers. Except for Root, who is directly connected to the Machine, I don’t want any electronic devices of any kind. If you need a distraction, paper books and magazines are fine; coloring books and word searches are okay. Hell, I’d almost approve a Walkman or CD player… even a boombox… if you had one, but absolutely nothing that streams or works wirelessly.”

“Can I ask why?” Amy queried. “Seems like that makes it extra hard on us to get in touch with one another.”

“And it also makes it more difficult for us to be tracked. We’re all headed to the same place; we’ll be in each other’s back pockets, so we won’t really need to get in touch… we’ll already be there. When we are ready for him, we’ll send Saligia a loud enough signal that he won’t be able to ignore it. But we don’t want him sussing anything out before we’re ready for him.”

“What about all the others? Do they know?”

“Yes. And they know the consequences of disobeying that particular directive. Even the Press Secretary to the President of the United States didn’t argue, and if anyone could make a case for the need to have one, she’d be right at the top of the list.”

“Pretty sure it was her capitulation that brought the rest in line so quickly.”

“Miss Grant has always been really good about seeing the big picture,” Kara contributed. “And she loves being a trendsetter.”

“Lucky for us,” Gabrielle agreed with a smile. “All right, finish up your cookies and milk, then head out.” She took a deep breath and sobered, meeting each pair of eyes in the room before she continued. “Take care of whatever is necessary to set your affairs in order. We don’t plan to lose anyone; we don’t want to lose anyone. But the possibility is there, so please, make sure that you’ve taken care of your business. All right? This is serious.” She looked around the room again, garnering slow agreement from everyone.

Ian and Casey were the first to leave, quickly followed by Kurt, Santana and Brittney. Root and Shaw left after Sameen exchanged a quick word with Xena, and Lucy and Amy left a couple minutes later. Kara started to leave, by was held back by Gabrielle’s hand on her arm. She looked her question, but Gabrielle just held up her other hand. Kara resumed her seat and waited. Diana rose.

“I’m headed to Themiscyra tonight. I’m sure the Amazons will meet you in South Dakota tomorrow.”

Gabrielle nodded. “I’d expect nothing less. They’ve been spoiling for a fight for a while now, and I expect this one to be one for the scrolls.” She stood and opened her arms, hanging on tightly when Diana lifted her off her feet briefly. “Be safe, my friend.”

“You as well, my Queen,” said as she set Gabrielle down and stepped back. She turned to Xena. “Consort,” giving her a nod. Then she turned and walked to the balcony and onto the invisible jet that waited there for her. In a moment, she was gone.


Chapter LIV

Gabrielle turned to Ares and Athena - whom had sat quietly through most of the evening - and Aphrodite. Despite her desire for Gabrielle and Xena to know what had happened to them in Storybrooke, Aphrodite had been content to allow Helena to share most of the story… only chiming in when she felt it was important for her to do so, but sharing enough that they understood the turmoil it had caused her and her siblings. “You guys all right?” she asked softly, meeting their eyes and waiting for each of them to nod. “I’m sorry that happened to you,” she continued. “I wouldn’t wish that one anyone… especially an immortal.”

“It was only a little while,” Ares stated with patented bravado and a dismissive wave of his hand, though Gabrielle could see the truth in his eyes. She nodded in reassurance.

“Well, we’re certainly glad you made it back. I have a favor I need to ask you all and Kara.” Kara perked up and moved over to where they were sitting, sitting delicately on the arm of the chair in which Gabrielle was settled. “While you were gone, we had a talk with the women of our conventions - the ones who were searching for the Horseman. Most of them expressed a desire to participate in the takedown of Saligia.”

Athena leaned forward. “They do know this isn’t a game, right? People could die. And I’m not sure I have the strength to heal that many anymore. Depending on what Saligia does, I may not have that ability at all.”

Gabrielle frowned. “Did I miss a memo?”

Athena sighed. “Back when Saligia first came around, he targeted Asclepius pretty early on… not that we became aware of it until Xena had to teach his disciples basic techniques they should have learned as beginning healers,” seeing Gabrielle clench her hands together without ever losing eye contact. “Their skills were honed on the battlefield, after all. They should have known….” trailing off when Gabrielle stood without warning and went to Xena’s side by the French doors that led to the patio. They stepped across the threshold and out of sight of the rest of the room, though everyone had averted their eyes to provide them whatever privacy they could afford them. Xena dropped to her knees and buried her head in Gabrielle’s stomach, wrapping her arms around the back of her thighs.

“You all right?” she whispered, knowing Xena would hear her despite the position they were in.
 
Xena shook her head. “I hate thinking about that day. My arrogance could have cost me everything before it was even anything.”

“But it didn’t,” Gabrielle assured her as she ran her fingers through dark hair. “I’m right here; we’re right here… together. It happened a long time ago, and it’s over now. It’s been over a very long time, and we won! You won, actually. You brought me back; you kept me going; you healed me. And then we defeated Saligia… just like we’re going to do again. Only this time… we’ll destroy him.”

“You bet your cute ass we’re gonna destroy him. We owe this motherfucker,” she grumbled, then tightened her grip when Gabrielle tried to shimmy away from her. In response, Gabrielle grasped her hair harder, and eased her head back just enough so she could meet blue eyes.

“You’re tickling me,” she complained, eyes twinkling with laughter. Xena grinned evilly, but Gabrielle shook her head. “Not now. We still have guests. But I promise you… when they’re gone, we can play until we’re ready to leave.” She loosened her grip and hugged Xena to her again. “I will remind you of all that we have and all that we are together.”

“You promise?”

“I promise,” urging Xena to her feet. She stood, keeping her arms wrapped around Gabrielle’s thighs and forcing her to hold on as she lifted her into her arms. Gabrielle pulled Xena’s head down until they were breathing one another’s air. “Safest place in the world,” she mumbled, then their lips met for several long moments. “I love you,” she whispered breathlessly when they parted.

“I love you. Thank you.”

“Anytime, Warrior. It’s not my favorite memory either… except that it gave me an inkling that there was a possibility you might feel more for me than friendship.”

“Oh boy… did I.” She rubbed their noses together. “Still do.”

A throat cleared behind them, and Xena’s eyes flashed red and gold, though she kept them locked on Gabrielle to keep from reacting harshly. Helena spoke quietly. “Look, um… I really hate to interrupt this little tete-a-tete you two’ve got going on out here - especially given Dinah’s reaction to whatever set it off in the first place - but um… you’re projecting pretty loudly. Just thought you should know.”

Xena and Gabrielle exchanged wry glances, then Xena set Gabrielle on her feet. Xena turned to face Helena and took Gabrielle’s hand. “We’ll apologize to Dinah. Is everyone else still here?”

“Yeah, yeah… no one left. We were all concerned, but we also knew there was still business to finish.”

They had reached the doors where Helena still stood, and Gabrielle extended a hand and placed it on Helena’s arm. “Thank you, Hel. I know you get tired of being the one always sent to interrupt us.”

“Well, no….” she said with a smirk. “Sometimes it’s fun… just to get a rise out of Xena. But usually I volunteer because I’m the safest bet in the room.”

“How do you figure, Junior?” Xena asked, one arm crossed over her chest as she refused to let go of Gabrielle’s hand with the other.

“Because, except for her Majesty here,” bowing her head slightly in Gabrielle’s direction, “I’m about the best choice for keeping up with you most of the time when there’s enough of us around that someone has to come find you guys. So, if you’re frustrated enough about being interrupted, at least I can keep up for a little while. By that point, if you’re still sore, there are usually a couple superheroes I know who might enjoy the challenge, and there’s always the Queen… assuming I haven’t pissed her off too.”

Xena and Gabrielle looked at one another when she was done, then turned back to Helena. “You’re pretty smart, Kid,” reaching over and messing up her hair, causing her to screech.

“Hey!”

Xena and Gabrielle laughed and crossed the threshold. Helena ran her hands through her hair in an effort to restore its artistically messy order, but she couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face.

“Was it something I said?” Athena asked as they stepped back in the room.

“Yes, actually… but I’m pretty sure you had no way to know that. At least I certainly hope you didn’t.”

Athena frowned. “Know about what?”

“I died in Thessaly,” Gabrielle said softly, though everyone in the room heard her. Xena just tightened her hold on Gabrielle’s hand and clenched her jaw. Gabrielle turned to Dinah. “I’m sorry, Dinah. I didn’t… we didn’t think how this might affect you. Are you all right?”

“Um….” her voice a little shaky. “No… not really. You and Xena are so well contained, that when something slips out of your box, I tend to get blindsided. Even then, it’s usually not so… devastating. That was unexpected. Thanks, Barbara,” accepting the glass of water and gulping it until she choked slightly.

“Slow down and breathe a little, Kid,” Helena said as she patted her on the back. “We can get more if we need it.”

“Gabrielle,” Barbara interrupted before she could respond to Helena’s comment. “We’re headed back to Gotham in an hour or so. I don’t know if The Machine has told you, but apparently, I am the Guardian of the sixth box. I don’t have any more detail than that yet, but as soon as I have some answers, I promise, so will you.”

Gabrielle nodded. “That’s fair. You know where to go once you get to South Dakota?”

“Yes. We’ll meet you there tomorrow. I don’t expect to be in Gotham any longer than necessary.”

“All right. We’ll see you all tomorrow. Be safe, and Dinah? Try to strengthen your shields as much as possible. Whatever it takes. We don’t want you to get hurt, and this has the possibility to do real damage to you… worse than what you just experienced.”

Dinah nodded slowly. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“I may be able to help with that,” Kara offered. She blushed and looked at the ground when all eyes swung in her direction. “Sorry,” touching her ears. “It’s really hard not to hear sometimes. But, um… Diana and I have been working on something that might be able to do for you what Helena does, without having to use Helena as a battery… though she might still have to be a conduit.”

“I’d like that,” Dinah said before Helena could protest, then she met hurt blue eyes with her own. “Hel, it’s not fair to you to have to always stop what you’re doing to take care of me when things get overwhelming… particularly for something like this that needs everything you’ve got. It can’t hurt to try, especially since whatever Darius did to us makes us more vulnerable… me specifically.”

Helena nodded. “All right, Kid… if you think it’s for the best.” She turned cat’s eyes on Kara. “Don’t screw this up, Supergirl. I’d hate to have to deliver a beatdown.”

Kara nodded rapidly. “No beatdown… got it.” She looked at Dinah. “I’ll find you first thing when we’re in South Dakota. I don’t think it will take too long once we start the process.”

“Thank you, Kara,” she said with a smile. “We’ll see you soon.” Then she turned and left the room. Barbara followed right behind her, and Helena brought up the rear, signaling to Kara that she would be keeping an eye on her. Then the elevator doors closed.

“I don’t think she likes me very much,” Kara commented softly and a little despondently.  “I’m not sure what I did to make her not like me, though.”

“She does,” Aphrodite commented quietly. “You know she does. I know you heard her when we were in Storybrooke… just like I did.” She touched her ears. “Like you said, Supergirl, sometimes it’s hard not to.”

Kara shrugged. “Yeah, but she doesn’t really want to like me, and I don’t know why.”

“In this case, it’s actually her and not you. She’s not at all sure how to handle liking you, because you’re like, opposites and everything about you should make her crazy… especially since she doesn’t understand you… like, At. All. But she really does like you and considers you a friend.”

“I think we need to work on her friendship skills,” shaking her head, “‘cause that’s not the vibe I’m getting.”

“I promise,” Xena cut in, surprisingly, “if you give her a chance to get a handle on things, she’ll be the kind of friend you want watching your back.”

Kara pouted a moment, then shrugged. “I can do that, I guess. I just hope she hurries up. She’s a little intimidating.”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened and her brows rose into her hairline. “You do remember you’re the invincible Girl of Steel, right?”

“Mostly invincible,” Kara corrected. “And I’m not sure that would matter with Huntress.”

“It would,” Xena assured her. “Helena would never actually try to hurt you… unless you suddenly went berserk,” seeing Kara’s face pale. She put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey… you all right?”

Kara breathed slowly and forced herself to relax. “Um, yeah… yeah. I’m good. I’ll have to let Alex know there’s someone else she can call on for help if I ever go berserk from Red Kryptonite again,” she muttered.

“We’d all be there to help you; all she has to do is call.”

Kara looked up and met their eyes. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Really. We’ll give you our direct number; make sure Alex has it.” Without warning, Kara leaped forward and caught both of them around the neck in a three-way hug. They held on, especially when they realized they had started to float. Gabrielle was the first to speak up.

“Kara? Kara?? Could you, maybe, put us back on the floor, please?”

Kara looked around and blushed, recognizing they were closer to the ceiling than the floor. “Oops,” she giggled. “Sorry.” She landed them back gently. “Sorry,” she said again. “I just….”

Gabrielle caught her hands. “We know. Now, I have a favor to ask.” She looked up and looked at the gods who were patiently - or in one case, not-so-patiently - waiting. Aphrodite and Athena sat forward on the couch they were sharing; Ares just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

“About damn time,” he grumbled. Gabrielle gave him an admonishing look; Xena offered a searing glare. “Whaaaat?” he whined. “We’ve been trying to get to this favor for a while now. Can you blame me for wanting to know so we can get started and finished with it already?”

Gabrielle patted Kara’s arm and motioned her to the chair, waiting until she was seated before turning back to the gods. “As you know, we’re headed to South Dakota tomorrow so we can lure Saligia out there for this showdown. Thing is, when we talked to the women that were involved in investigating the Horseman, they all indicated a desire to join us and be a part of taking him down. They are all currently making arrangements to get to a place called Univille in the next day or two. The thing is, even if there were enough accommodations in Univille - there aren’t, by the way - we couldn’t let anyone stay there. The whole point of moving everyone out to the middle of nowhere is to try to contain the damage and minimize the casualties. The problem is, we don’t have anywhere to house everyone.”

“So, you want us to build houses?” Ares asked, his head tilted in question.

“If Kara is amenable to being a workhorse, I would like for you to figure out a way to hide a bunch of trailers or RVs without a traceable magic signature,” her words causing everyone to sit up straight and lean towards her. “Xena and I can take care of purchasing housing, but getting it there in time to do any good is another matter. We don’t want to alter the physical landscape of the area - for one thing, that kind of energy could be found by anyone who understands how to read it; and for another, most of the area around where we are going is considered sacred to the Native Peoples there.”

“But not the part where we’ll be?” Kara asked with a frown.

“Not where we’re placing the battlefield, no. That area is considered barren or cursed. The elders were quite anxious for us to use it. I think they are hoping we’ll be able to knock out the curse while we’re at it. The place we’ve chosen to house everyone? Yes, that’s still considered fertile land - that’s why we’d rather not alter it… especially for what should only be a few days.”

“So, what do you need from me exactly?”

“Would you be willing to move the housing to the appropriate location? Your strength and speed won’t leave a trace of signature. Saligia won’t know to look for someone like you.”

“Yes, of course.” She paused. “Would you be averse to my involving some of my friends?”

“As long as they can do this on their own merit. You, your cousin, the Martian Manhunter - yes. The Bat family - no… because they require machinery to do this type of thing, and that will draw attention to them and to us. We’re trying to avoid that.”

Kara nodded and rose, assuming her Super pose even though she wasn’t wearing the Super suit. “Got it. When do we start?”

“As soon as you can get everyone you need together.”

“Give me a few minutes. Do you mind if I…?” pointing toward the kitchen.

“Of course not. Let us know when you’re done. We have something to show you before you start.”

A hint of confusion showed on her face, but she simply nodded and walked into the kitchen without a backwards glance. They watched her go until the door closed behind her, then the gods started talking all at once. Xena and Gabrielle let it go on for a few minutes, then Xena whistled for their attention. They all stopped speaking mid-word, mouths dropped open in surprise. She looked at Gabrielle and winked.

“Thank you. I know this is a bit of a challenge, but it can be done. After all, Regina did it to you, and you didn’t even become aware of it until you discovered you were stuck. So, it is entirely possible to achieve - you just need to figure out how to do so over a more widespread area. I would suggest you contact Regina,” looking at Aphrodite specifically, “and get her input. There’s no reason to start from scratch if you don’t have to.”

“Girlfriend’s got a point. You figure she might be recovered enough to take a call? I’d need to borrow a phone.”

“Or we could just go back to Storybrooke,” Athena commented. “We don’t have to go to the mausoleum. We could go to the castle and ask someone else to fetch Emma and Regina to us if they’re not already there.”

Aphrodite considered Athena’s words, then nodded slowly. “All right. You’re totally coming too, right?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll go back to Olympus and see what kind of information we have there, and I’ll let the rest know it’s time to get to work. They can put the word out on the web. Maybe if there are enough of us from all over, we can blend the energy enough to make it look natural. We’ll meet you all in South Dakota.” And before anyone could comment, he disappeared in a shower of blue and black sparks.

Gabrielle put a hand on Aphrodite’s arm before she and Athena could vanish as well. “If one or the other of you could swing back by this way before you head to South Dakota, Xena and I would appreciate a lift. We’re leaving the jet here so all of our associates here can come out together tomorrow night.”

“Absolutely, Babe. We don’t expect to be in Storybrooke too long. We’ll probably bring Regina and Emma back with us if they’re ready.”

“Sounds good. Thank you,” looking at them both. Before Aphrodite could speak, Athena stepped forward.

“Thank you, Gabrielle. This has never really been your fight, and yet neither of you has ever shirked away from a responsibility that isn’t truly yours. Thank you for including us.” They left in a shower of silver sparkles and pink rose petals before Gabrielle could formulate an answer. Then Kara walked back out of the kitchen, and they turned their attention to logistics.

Part 7