Disclaimer - They are not mine, and never will be.  They belong to RenPics and USA.  I am using these characters without permission, but in a solely not-for-profit way. 

Quick Explanation as to Where This Story Came From - I belong to a local Xena fanclub called the Xenaversity of Minnesota.  We try to do various charity events throughout the year in the name of the Greater Good.  This story was written as an introduction to one of those events.  For the Solstice/Christmas holiday season, our club decided to adopt a family to help them have a little extra something for them and their children at a time they might not have been able to.  We also collect hats, mittens, and scarves (or make them if we know how) to give to needy children in hopes of keeping them a little warmer when the cold hits (and believe me, in Minnesota, the cold can really hit).  Anyway, this is the result of that introduction. Special thanks goes out to Todd for organizing our involvement with the charities and to Elena for the suggestion of the story.

Questions or Comments?  Please feel free to email me at cat@beltran.nu

Xena and Gabrielle made their way through the crowded marketplace.  There were far more people than one would expect for such a usually quiet town, but this was not a usual time of the year.  It was three days before Solstice, a fact Gabrielle found weighing heavily on her mind.  Sure, she had a few little things that she had either gathered or made for her friend during the course of the past season, but she had also been scrimping and saving so she could get her something special, something she wouldn’t forget, something… big.

That’s why the circumstances had become fortunate indeed.  Gabrielle had feared that they would be too far away from any sort of merchants for her to get anything at all for Xena for Solstice.  They were days travel away from just about anywhere she knew of, expect for one place: Meg’s.  Only half a day away and with guaranteed free room and board, not to mention at least a small marketplace, Gabrielle was easily able to talk Xena into making the stop.  Besides, it would it be more comfortable to be in a nice inn for Solstice than on the cold ground?

As she passed the myriad of stands, she started to become a bit disappointed.  There was nothing really special at any of them, just a lot of basic needs and some dried food.  Maybe tomorrow she could get a better look and find that one hidden shop that would have the gift of her dreams.

She realized Xena had stopped and noticed why.  They were there.  The one and only Meg’s Tavern stood before them.  She mentally prepared herself for the normal amount of debauchery that she knew would be going on, but when they opened the door, she found none.  In fact, the place seemed to have transformed completely.  Oh, there were still the standard tavern tables and yes, even customers getting a bit more friendly with the staff than what might be considered prudent, but there were also stockpiles of all sorts of stuff overflowing from every corner.  There were blankets and clothing and even a few pots, pans, and bowls boxed or bagged all along the sides of the tavern.  Upon closer inspection, she saw many of them were labeled with what looked like family names, and she saw several women bringing even more supplies over, looking for specific names, and then adding to the pile.

“What is all this?” Xena asked a passing barmaid.

The woman stopped and cocked her head quizzically until she realized who she was talking to.  “Xena!” the young redhead squealed with delight, wrapping her arms around the former warlord in a bear hug, much to the warrior’s chagrin.  “Meg was hoping you’d be able to stop by!  And not just for the extra muscle either.  I’ll go tell her you’re here!”  With that she scampered off into one of the back rooms.

Xena looked to Gabrielle in hopes that maybe the bard would be able to come up with something.  The blonde just shook her head as she took it all in.  Continuing to look around, she saw some familiar faces sitting off to one side, all hunched over individual projects of some sort.  She met Xena’s eyes with a look of surprise.  “Are the knitting?” she asked in awe.

“Well it is their break time,” a familiar voice answered from the side.

“Meg!” Gabrielle happily exclaimed, greeting her friend with a hug.  The tavern owner looked just like how she had last left her, tousled hair, mismatched dress, and all.  Meg greeted Xena with a rough handshake and a crooked smile.  Gabrielle once again marveled at how much they looked alike, or could if they really wanted to.

“How ya doin’?” the brawny woman drawled, her hands resting on her hips as she took her two friends in.

“What is all this?” Xena asked, repeating her question from earlier as she gestured around the room.

“Duh, a tavern.  I thought you had been here before,” Meg replied.

“I think she means the extra supplies,” Gabrielle clarified, biting down a smile.

“Oh,” the larger woman blushed slightly.  “One of the neighboring towns was sacked a couple of days back.  Hit real hard.  They lost almost everything.”

“We couldn’t have them going without, ‘specially so close to Solstice and everything,” one of the barmaids chimed in.  Gabrielle remembered her from before, but could not place her name.  She looked so much like one of her Amazon guards that they had to be sisters of something.  Either that, or the rumor that the Queen was always guarded whether she knew it or not was really true.

“We never had much growin’ up,” another girl chimed in.  This one she remembered as Thalia.  “But we always had at least a little something on Solstice.  No matter where we were, someone always made sure of that.”

“So we decided to do something about it,” the Amazon-clone finished up with a proud nod.  “A bunch of us girls started gathering things together and such.  We all had some extra tips we had saved for a rainy day, and so we pooled them together to get some supplies.”

“Some of our, er, customers, found out what was going on and decided to chip it,” Thalia explained.  “Soon word got around town what we were doin’ and lots of people joined in.  We thought Meg’s would be a good central place to store everything until we brought it over.  Those who didn’t have the money to spare started making things, like knitting and such.  And some people are even baking a big meal for the adults and some sweet stuff for the little ones.”

“I was going to host something here,” Meg sighed.  “But a couple of people didn’t like the idea of an… establishment… such as mine hosting kids.  So we’re making and storing a bunch of stuff here and then we’ll bring it over to their town.  They rebuilt one of the barns, so we’re going to hold it in there.  You’re welcome to join in if you’d like.  Some help with bringin’ stuff over would be much appreciated.”

“I think we could arrange that,” Xena said with a smile.  She looked over to Gabrielle and saw that the blonde’s mind was already in motion.

“Why are there names on some of the boxes and bags?” the bard asked cautiously.

“Oh, we made a list of what families need what the most so no one would go without,” Thalia explained.  “Just the basics, like the size and how many kids, and such.  A couple of families here sorta adopted certain families there.  I guess they already had the stuff, or wanted to seem like they weren’t just givin’ stuff to some big open place.  Make it more personal, you know.”

“Uh-huh,” Gabrielle murmured.  She looked to Xena to make sure, but she had already pretty much made up her mind about what she was going to do.

The party was in full swing, and people from both towns seemed to be having a great time.  The ransacked town had been so surprised to receive such charity from complete strangers.  No one seemed to go without, and every child had at least one present to open on Solstice Eve.  Amid such destruction, joy like this was a sight to behold indeed.

Gabrielle walked up to Xena and let her hand rest on her arm.  “We made the right decision, didn’t we?”  Instead of buying gifts for each other, they had pooled their resources and bought needed items for one of the families on the list.  Now they watched as a little girl played with a toy doll and her mother reveled over the warm blankets and clothing.  Gabrielle had even slipped in a small scroll with a faerytale on it for the children, and had the distinct satisfaction of being allowed to read it to the entire group.

“There was no other choice to make,” the warrior agreed.

Gabrielle looked up to her friend, an apology in her eyes.  Xena had already given her some fresh scrolls and a new bottle of ink, and all she had to offer in return were a hair tie she had made, a new sharpening stone, and some more twine to help repair her aging leathers.  “I’m sorry I didn’t get you much, just a couple of small things I picked up or made, but nothing really nice.  I had been planning on getting you something, but…”

“But you spent it on people who needed it far more than I did instead,” Xena finished for her with a smile.  “You did the right thing.”  Wrapping her arm around her and giving her a slight squeeze, she added, “You always do.”