DISCLAIMER: All the characters mentioned in this story belong to MCA/Universal and Renaissance pictures. They are making me absolutely no money at all, this just ABSOLUTELY for the fun of it, and as I am only borrowing them, I will return them, quite safe and sound once this little tale is concluded!

BREATHING SPACE

BY MAGGIE

PART ONE

The two of them were left alone; Hercules was back at Serena's grave and Xena had ridden off aways on Argo, presumably communing with her own thoughts as well. To Iolaus it felt like the four of them were at the centre of some hurricane of energy; all was calm enough now, but the future had never looked so nebulous as it did now. Any change was possible.

"Is he going to be alright?"

Iolaus looked over at his companion. He was too aware of the fact that there was a tear, small though it was, in the fabric of his friendship with Hercules, which he knew would take some time to mend. Mend it would, but they needed some time apart. As for the answer to Gabrielle's question ...

"Yeah ... He's going to go away for awhile, though; I can feel it."

"You'll keep an eye on him, though?"

"I can't Gabrielle. He has to go alone."

Picking up her war staff, Gabrielle began idly picking at some of the material wrapping near the top of it.

"This has happened before; hasn't it? When he lost Deianeira and his children."

"Yeah. But it's different this time. He's got more to think about."

"What do you mean?"

Plucking at a piece of long grass that he had picked idly along the way from the grave site, Iolaus thought back to that earlier tragic time when Hercules had been punished by Hera.

"Well, when it happened the first time, somehow, he came out of it with some hope. He must have or he would never have allowed himself to fall in love with Serena. He certainly would never have even considered a life together for them. But this time ... he's started to realise that a wife and family is something he'll never have."

"Because of the gods?"

"Yeah."

"You know, that's so unfair; I mean, he spends his whole life helping people and ..." Gabrielle let the inference of all the ways that Hercules deserved better than he got, drift into silence.

"Yeah. I know." Iolaus knew all those ways, and more, far too well. When he looked up, he was surprised to see that Gabrielle was focussed intently on him, and he wondered what he could have said to invoke such concentration.

"You do know... don't you?" she said slowly, realisation dawning in her face. "It's been the same for you, hasn't it?"

"Gabrielle, I ..."

"Oh, Iolaus, it's alright. I know," she told him, putting a hand on his arm and then putting her arms around him. He tentatively hugged her back, afraid to give into the old feelings her closeness gave rise to, but, instinct telling him not to treat her like fragile pottery anymore, he finally gave in. They stood together for awhile, in a close hug, just rocking gently.

"I'll see if I can persuade Xena to stay here for awhile; or wherever," she murmured, one hand rubbing between his shoulder-blades, almost absently. "I want to know what you've been doing since I last saw you; you know - just talk."

"Gabrielle ... you don't have to do that."

"I want to, Iolaus;" she told him, quite determined that he should take her words seriously. "I mean, I love Xena to bits, but sometimes I wish I could just share some time with someone who's a bit more ..."

"Er ... I think 'normal' was the word you used last time." He laughed with relief that the moment was broken without any awkwardness between them.

Gabrielle supplied her own, delightful laughter; glad to do so, now that she had the opportunity to be more her old self. "Yeah. Someone who's more like me."

*

The wind picked up, blowing back the hair and clothing of the little knot of people atop the grassy ridge. Hercules and Iolaus clasped forearms in the time-honoured way between them, saying little. At that moment there was little they could say except to wish the other well. Hercules shook hands with Gabrielle, and he also wished her well. Xena he kissed goodbye and thanked her for her help and support. Reassuring her that he would be alright, he finally turned and walked away. He turned and waved once, and the others returned the wave, watching the big man make his way slowly down the hillside, until he disappeared from view amongst the forest of trees in the valley below them.

Xena turned towards her two companions and broached the matter uppermost in her mind now.

"Gabrielle tells me she wants to spend some time here with you."

"Er ... yeah," confirmed Iolaus, uncertainly.

Xena's smile soon put any fears to rest. "That's okay;" she reassured him, "but I can't just sit around." Her gaze drifted around to include Gabrielle. "I'll be back for you in a few days. Enjoy yourselves."

"Xena, I ..."

"It's okay, Gabrielle. I guess I need to take some time to myself too. Don't worry about me."

"You're sure you'll be alright?" Gabrielle was still concerned about the effect this latest turn of events was really having on the Warrior Princess. She was probably still worried about Hercules' state of mind; neither of them had ever seen him like that before.

Xena put one hand on her hip and gave her a 'who're-you-kidding?' look.

"Okay, okay, I get the message," Gabrielle returned disgustedly. "Looks like it's just us, Iolaus."

Iolaus wasn't sure whether he was looking forward to the next few days or not. Certainly the reason had nothing to do with Gabrielle; like Xena, he was worried about Hercules and it felt unnatural for there to be nothing that he could do about it.

Nevertheless, he knew that he wanted to make the best of the time he had with Gabrielle; in fact he thought he had the perfect way of passing the time. "Wanna go fishing?" he asked her, ignoring the look of utter distaste on Xena's face at the mere mention of the activity.

Gabrielle had also taken in the unspoken comment, but she took no notice of it either. She took rather girlish pleasure in the fact that fishing was something she actually rather enjoyed and that she would be sharing it with someone else for a change. Besides, she was looking forward to that person being Iolaus. He was always good to spend time with.

"Yes, I think that would be a great idea."

Xena looked at the pair of them as if they were crazy, but then smiled and, briefly hugging Gabrielle, she got up on Argo and prepared to ride off. "I'll see you in a few days."

As always, Gabrielle waved her off and then once she too had disappeared into the tree-line, she turned back to Iolaus with a twinkle of anticipation in her eyes.

"So; where's the best place to go fishing around here?"

"Fishing holes," Iolaus replied knowledgeably. "They're called 'fishing holes', Gabrielle."

"'Fishing holes' ..." She took a moment to absorb this.

"Yeah, and the best one I've found around her is just beyond that little knot of trees over there, see?"

Iolaus pointed out the particular landmark as they started off down the hill towards it, inwardly congratulating himself for finding a way they could spend time where he wouldn't make a total ass of himself. Thank the gods Gabrielle wasn't one of those girls who wanted to make daisy chains and stick them in his hair all day.

"So, Xena doesn't like fishing ..." he commented as he helped Gabrielle ahead of him, over the stepping-stones across the river, at the base of the hill.

"Nah; she hates it," his companion replied, skipping lightly up the other bank and then turning to wait for him. "It's all the hanging around. You know Xena, she has to be doing something ..."

"Yeah," Iolaus agreed. "Herc is pretty much the same."

They exchanged wearily tolerant expressions, both chiming in, "Heroes ...!" on a single beat; laughing as they went, they began looking around for suitable wood for fishing poles. There was nothing long enough, so they decided to cut and trim branches once they were in the woods.

"I'll race you," challenged Gabrielle, with a gleam in her eye, and then had to sprint off after Iolaus who had taken off without her. "No fair!" she called out after him, but secretly she was pleased that he wasn't treating her like a clay doll.

And anyway; she could always find a way to get back at him when he would be least expecting it.

*

Gabrielle struggled with her fishing pole, practically falling in the pool in an effort not to lose her fish.

"Iolaus, help! He's so big, and he's getting away ..."

Dropping his own pole on the bank, Iolaus crossed the few short yards to the boulders at the side of the river where Gabrielle was struggling with her catch, to help her. When they had landed the fish, he could see why she had needed his help. He was looking at the biggest salmon he had ever seen.

"Hey! Biggest one so far!" he told her. Noticing, for the first time, the pile of fish on the bank, which she had already landed, he whistled appreciatively. "I think you've got the hang of this, Gabrielle."

"I think that about does it," concluded Gabrielle, taking in the similar pile of fish near where Iolaus had been fishing. "Any more and we'll have to throw them back."

"We'd better get them on to cook, then," smiled Iolaus, returning to his own spot and gathering up his catch and pole.

They walked back the half mile or so to Hercules' house.

Gabrielle entered tentatively. "This was their house?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Iolaus, feeling the mood of the house, feeling the happiness of the moment draining slowly away. Trying his best not to give in to that mood he explained the reason they had gone back there instead of taking rooms in the village. "Hercules asked me to keep an eye on it for him while he's ... you know ..."

"Mmm." Gabrielle put the fish down on the table and stood looking around the interior, trying to get a feel of the woman who had been so important in the demi-god's life. "What was she like, Iolaus?"

"Serena?"

"Yes."

Iolaus dumped his fish next to Gabrielle's and plunked himself down on a settle. His gaze roved about the house, resting briefly on the bed where he had found them that awful day -- one alive and in agony, the other dead and beyond it -- and then he turned back to the fish a little too quickly, suddenly a little too interested in separating them, ready for preparation for cooking. He was silent, trying to find the right words to describe Serena.

Gabrielle, sensitive to his mood, sat next to him, reaching out to touch his arm for comfort, and, tilting her head to soften the gaze she directed towards him, she noticed tears in his eyes, unshed. "Iolaus ..."

"She was beautiful, Gabrielle;" he told her, honesty peeling away a layer of his own protection and fixing her to the spot. "Beautiful, sweet-natured ... and innocent. But I ... I had this bad feeling ... She belonged to Ares! I mean, Hercules ...  What did he think!?" he continued, a confused anger temporarily replacing the sadness. "That Ares would just let her go? 'Okay, so my half brother, who hates my guts, has fallen in love with one of my prize possessions, and wants to marry her, so that's alright, I don't mind and good luck to him?'"

By this time, Iolaus was up and pacing the floor, his feet scuffing up the dust which had already accumulated there. "I mean, what in Tartarus did he think?"

Gabrielle, coming to realise more and more just how much she and Iolaus had in common where their friends were concerned, and in other ways, went over to him and grasped his hands, stilling their agitated gestures, in the hope that it might inspire stillness in the rest of him. "Iolaus! Iolaus ..." She smiled as reassuringly as she could and led him back to the settle. "Just ... tell me."

Iolaus proceeded to tell her of the train of events -- leading from when he and Hercules first heard of the plight of the last Golden Hind, up until her death and the circumstances surrounding it -- that happened before Gabrielle and Xena joined them. Some of the facts she already knew, but he repeated them, revealing his own thoughts at the time.

"I knew something bad was going to happen, but I just didn't think it would turn out ... the way that it did. Guess I should've; apart from Hera, there's no more mean-spirited god on Olympus than Ares."

"What about Strife?" wondered Gabrielle, "Will he be made to pay for what he did?"

"Well, he's killed a mortal in cold blood; Xena reckons the Olympians will have no choice but to punish him in some way. I just hope they ground him for a couple of hundred years -- keep him out of our hair, anyway." With that, it seemed the subject was closed; there really was not much more that could be said.

Gabrielle, an arm around him, gave his shoulder a little squeeze. Then, realising something, she gave a sigh which seemed to be apologising for something she had forgotten to do.

"Gabrielle? What?"

"I've just realised; we still haven't talked about what we were going to spend this time talking about," she informed him, a wry smile on her face.

"Oh; yeah. Well, we got a little side-tracked," Iolaus reminded her, looking around the house for emphasis. "But if we're going to eat at all today, don't you think we'd better see to these fish first?"

Her hand to her mouth, she looked puzzled over her normally excellent ability to prioritise, going on strike. "Er, yes. Good idea ..."

Busying themselves preparing the fish, each of them in turn began recounting the incidents they had been involved with since they last saw each other.

*

He liked a good story. Liked telling them, liked hearing them, especially when told by a skilled bard; Gabrielle was certainly that. She was telling him about how she and Xena had freed Hades' sister, Celesta, whose job it was to bring death to all those who suffered fatally, from the clutches of King Sisyphus. About how she had been faced with the unexpected death of the young man that she had become fond of at that time.

"I didn't know; he told Xena, but he didn't tell me. I suppose he didn't want to hurt me, but ..."

"But it did anyway. I know; Herc is always doing that to me. Like when we had to rescue Prometheus. He wouldn't tell me why he wouldn't let Xena break the chains; I had to figure it out for myself, as if he didn't think I was capable of handling it. I guess he thinks he does it out of friendship, but I wish he wouldn't; it feels sometimes like he doesn't trust me."

There was something in her eyes then; surprise, relief - and something else too.

"Yes. That's it, that just how I feel with Xena sometimes too."

They shared a look which expressed comradeship and a certain resignation; and still there was that certain something else which neither of them were willing to address yet.

"But anyway ... I guess that's ... why you don't ... I mean, you haven't ..." she faltered. Gabrielle was still not sure where either of them were going, though she wasn't afraid to find out. "Because Hercules and anyone he loves is a target, you're a target too ... and anyone ... you love."

"Yeah."

The conversation tailing off, Iolaus found his thoughts becoming entangled with remembrances of Niobe; he wondered how she was coping with her kingdom, alone, now that Orestes was dead. He couldn't help but wonder sometimes whether there might not have been more that he could have done to help her. Still, if he had ...

"I guess it's a good thing it couldn't have worked out," he murmured to himself, not quite aware that he had spoken aloud.

"What couldn't?"

"Oh, someone I met while I was helping a cousin of mine."

"Your cousin? You didn't tell me about that, did you?"

He hadn't anticipated having to relate this particular train of events, but suddenly, he wanted to, wondering if it might be because he believed Gabrielle, more than anyone else, maybe even more than Hercules this time, would know how he felt.

However, his short acquaintance with Gabrielle seemed to automatically erect certain barriers around his feelings and he realised as he related the events to her, that he was only giving her the facts. He could see her reaching to find what was hidden behind his words and cursed himself for protecting himself the way Hercules sometimes did, and undoubtedly, Xena did too. So, bit by bit, he did his best to delve deeper into his memories and, fixing his gaze on a jug of water on the table so as not to be too aware of her, carried on with his tale, this time filling in all the gaps, making it a story worthy of the greatest of bards.

"Leaving her that first time was one of the hardest things I've ever done; but I just kinda put it aside, and tried not to think about her. Then, not so long ago, I got this message from Hector ..."

Gabrielle had already put aside what she was doing and had perched herself on the edge of the table, letting his words wash over her. She found that she could see it all quite plainly and was beginning to anticipate where the story was going.

"I tried to keep my mind on just trying to sort out the mess and keeping everyone alive, but Niobe ... I guess she just ... couldn't handle it. She ..."

"She told you that she loved you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Once she had, I ..."

This was one place he could not go with words, not even with Gabrielle, especially with the feeling that particular memory evoked. He hoped that she would get the general idea.

He was surprised to find that she did better than that.

"Did you ... you know?" she asked, him, her gentle grin making the matter as light and innocent as only she could.

Grateful for the sensitive approach she was taking, he replied in a likewise vein, giving the conversation an almost chummy atmosphere. "Er ... well, er ... yeah ..."

PART TWO

After clearing away the dishes, they left the house and took a walk in the dwindling sunlight. They headed on back towards their 'fishing hole' and settled themselves on the edge of a nearby bridge, just watching the fish which were still glinting in the fading light and drifting lazily with the undercurrents. Iolaus, half-mesmerised by the fish, remembered what Gabrielle had said earlier, about being protected, but not trusted, and, after some soul-searching, finally found a way to finish telling her about Niobe, as well as being honest with her about something else.

"Gabrielle? I couldn't stay with Niobe because ... well, I couldn't live her way and she couldn't live mine. We might've ended up ... hating each other."

"I can understand that," she agreed staring off into the distance.

Iolaus couldn't tell whether she just found it easier to concentrate like that or whether she could sense what was coming. However honesty was a middle name they could both claim so he threw the last rag of caution to the wind and carried on. "You know, I didn't tell you the truth that time ... when I said I didn't hear that story you told ..."

"Story ... what story?" This was something she hadn't thought about for awhile and it threw Gabrielle off-track.

"You know what story, Gabrielle;" he urged gently, putting an arm around her. "The one you told me in the cave when Hercules and Xena were freeing Prometheus."

"You mean ... the one about the two ducks?" she averred, appearing obtuse to cover her slight embarrassment.

Gently turning her face towards him, with a sudden peace which he found rising and filling him, Iolaus offered her,

"No, not the one about the two ducks. The one about people having two heads and four legs and being cut in half by the gods. About searching for the other half of your soul."

"Ah. You ... you heard that one ..." she replied, finding something very interesting to look at on the floor.

"Did you mean it?" he asked her, realising that she was more mature now, and also that he really wanted to know the answer.

"Yes," she told him, finally looking up. Their gazes locked with a new commitment, shining strongly between them.

Iolaus gathered her up in his arms; at that moment he felt a tremendous bond with Gabrielle, as if her heart was being held in his own. He wasn't quite sure what to do with such a feeling and in some quiet way was struggling with whether he should even do anything at all. On the one hand, there was still an instinct to protect her, but he was also aware that do so, would be to take the choice away from her and that that was the last thing she wanted from him.

No. It wasn't even the last thing. She had proven during her time with Xena, that she could take care of herself, and beyond that, Iolaus could certainly appreciate the need to have one person each of them were sure would never cause them hurt. Even if they were only together for a little while, every now and again.

He kissed the top of her head with an intense tenderness, and then gently lay his cheek against her hair.

"Iolaus ...?" She pulled away a little to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Xena's a target, isn't she?"

"Yes, I'm afraid she is."

"Then I guess that makes me a target too," Gabrielle concluded.

"Yeah ... I guess it does," whispered Iolaus, pulling his inward gaze away from peering into anticipated, bleak regret at the thought of Gabrielle attracting that kind of attention from gods like Ares. "Just ... try not to think about it. I don't."

"No. You don't understand," murmured Gabrielle, hugging him closer. "I'm not afraid; I just don't want to create any more targets."

Iolaus, a little puzzled, pulled away, looking for an explanation in her eyes, the set of her features.

"You're a target and I'm a target; whether we care about each other or not," she explained "Because of Xena and Hercules. But anyone we come to care about, well ... they'd be added to the list. And I think it's long enough."

Gabrielle paused for a moment, partly to give him a chance to take in what she had said, but mostly because she didn't want the words to get lost, by rushing through them. "And I want to be there for you, Iolaus; when Hercules can't be."

She was still not quite sure if she should, but found the courage to reach out for what she wanted in the respect and trust she could see in his eyes. "And I want to know what it's like; how it feels ... to love you ..."

"No more than I do, Gabrielle," he murmured, knowing that somewhere deep inside her, she was a little worried that she had misinterpreted what he had said up until now. Iolaus could only say the first thing that came into his head, but somehow it was entirely the right thing. The scratchy, bronze, breathiness of his voice revealed the fire, which was already beginning to melt any last resistance. "Xena would kill me if she thought I was taking advantage -"

"This isn't Xena's life;" she told him fiercely, her face mere inches from his own. She seemed to be having the same trouble breathing as he was. "This is MY life, and I want to know. For once in my life I want -"

"I know." Iolaus cut in, saving her the trouble of risking anything more, saying and meaning his next words as much as he had meant anything in his life. "So do I ..."

Iolaus found himself to be even more vulnerable than Gabrielle as he kissed her; the strength of the feeling, the pure power of it, gave rise to more doubts and fears, as well as desire. It was Gabrielle's pure heart and strong, simple nature, along with her quirky sense of humour, that had always drawn him to her, but experience had taught him that consummating love had a habit of binding two hearts with knots that could not be undone, only worn away over time.

Because of who they were, and what they did with their lives, the two of them were bound to spend much of their lives, at least for the foreseeable future, apart. Once Hercules had worked things out and returned, he and Iolaus would be off again, and in a few days Xena would return and then she would be riding on with Gabrielle; who knew when the two of them would meet up again?

None of this touched Gabrielle at all, who just let the kiss fill her awareness, allowing no other care in the world to touch her. Though Iolaus was undoubtedly the more experienced of the two, in a strange way, she led both of them through their new world.

*

Gabrielle had awoken first and was spending time just looking down at Iolaus as he slept. Stroking some strands of hair away from his forehead protectively, she discovered for the first time the seductive power of the memories they had so recently created. She hadn't expected the vulnerability that he had shown; it had left her breathless and amazed. Secretly, she had to admit, if only to herself, that it was also a wonderful feeling - to have that kind of power over someone older and stronger than herself. Not that she would have done anything with that power; but it showed the kind of trust that Iolaus had in her, and the thrill of feeling *that* special to him, still spread itself through her veins like quicksilver.

Leaning over, she kissed him, wanting to be immersed in something more than memories again. Waking languorously, he returned the kiss, slowly, softly; sighing and smiling in contentment as they parted finally.

"Gabrielle... She will kill me."

"IF ... I tell her."

Joining her in a quiet chuckle at the thought of keeping shared secrets, Iolaus decided he liked the way Gabrielle thought about things. This particular moment with her, which - for all they knew - might have to last all their lives, was purely between the two of them. It owed nothing to the Warrior Princess and so didn't have to be confused by any ambivalent feelings that he still had towards her.

It was a pure moment, given by a pure heart and it stood alone. In that moment Iolaus realised that he was lost again, his heart bound to Gabrielle's for always, in a very special way. He knew that she was just as willing to be led by him as she was to lead ... He wondered if he would ever let himself be trusted enough by her, to do just that.

He shook his head, shrugging back to the here-and-now, really just wanting to enjoy being with her. Closing his eyes, he sighed in contentment and gathered her closer to kiss her again.

*

"Iolaus; I can feel eyes on my back."

"Mm hm; me too."

"Which one?"

Iolaus focused on the presence and, after a few moments, declared his findings.

"Not Herc."

Turning her head nonchalantly, Gabrielle called out;

"Alright, Xena, you can come out, we know you're there."

They heard a 'Hmm!' and then footsteps behind them.

"Just pondering the view," came a surprisingly mellow voice from behind them.

"View ...?" Iolaus turned to look at Xena and noticed the tiniest hint of hostility flickering in the depths of her eyes. He turned back to Gabrielle. "Sure looks like she wants to kill me ..."

Gabrielle, realising what he was referring to, swiftly turned to Xena with a determined look on her face. "Is there a problem?"

"No, no, I just need to er ... 'discuss' something with Iolaus," replied Xena, waving Gabrielle's concern away.

Gabrielle however, was not about to put up with that.

"Well, no, you see, actually, you don't. This is MY life, Xena, and whatever passed between Iolaus and me while you were gone, is MY business. Actually." Folding her arms across her chest, she gave the distinct impression of a mother protecting her cub.

Seeing this, Xena had to smother a smile, and had to reconsider the situation, and her best friend. After all, in all likelihood, it had been Gabrielle who had initiated ... whatever it was that had passed between her and Iolaus. Xena was pretty sure of what that was; she also had to reluctantly accept the fact that it was, indeed, none of her business.

"Alright, Gabrielle;" she sighed and nodded her head slowly. "I won't say anymore about it."

As she passed Iolaus, he reached out and touched her arm. "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

Xena looked back at him squarely and, in her expression alone, shared with him some of her feelings of reluctance and frustration, even though she knew they were wrong feelings to have. They were something that perhaps she might never share with Gabrielle, and she hoped that this gesture or offering would go some way towards making payment for what she had done to him when they first met.

"There's nothing to forgive, Iolaus; Gabrielle has a mind of her own, and I've no doubt that she didn't leave you much choice."

Iolaus couldn't keep a small chuckle from escaping, but lowered his head in contemplation of the reason for it. He didn't want Gabrielle to think that he would kiss and tell. Xena directed a pointed gaze over at her best friend.

"She's good at that." she added.

Xena looked back into Iolaus' enquiring eyes.

"Gabrielle; she's pretty good at leaving you with only one choice," she told him fondly. "He hasn't come back yet?" she added, looking around.

"Hercules? No, he might be gone for weeks, maybe even months; when he broods, he broods BIG time."

"That's the god in him, I guess."

"Yeah," confirmed Iolaus, as if realising that for the first time. "I keep forgetting that."

This remark, for some reason, made Xena take a good, hard, contemplative look at what she thought she knew about Iolaus; she realised she was no longer sure whether the little that she did know, was true or not.

This was it; 'bite-the-slingshot-pebble' time. If she was ever going to do anything to wipe out that still - polite distance between them, it had to be now, whilst there was ample opportunity. To Gabrielle's vague consternation, and seeming out of character for her, Xena grasped his hands suddenly and urged him to take some time to travel with them, since Hercules didn't look like coming home any time soon.

Iolaus looked a little doubtful at that, and half-turning towards Gabrielle, watched for her reaction. Gabrielle only shrugged her shoulders, as confused as he was as to why Xena had asked him that.

Xena finding words on the tip of her tongue that she could no longer, and wanted no longer, to leave unsaid, gave him the one reason he would never have thought of.

"It's just that I don't know if I really know who you are. I don't know that I ever did, really. You told me such a lot when we first met, but I wasn't listening back then, except to find ways to use to split you and Hercules up. I had stopped listening to anything that didn't further my ends, years ago. All that hate would get in the way."

"But you could now?"

Gabrielle was very close now, and Xena, not wanting to cloud the issue with any kind of jealousy, nodded quickly, and then, dropping his hands, returned to Argo. Grabbing her reins, she walked back to them, obviously ready to move on. She noticed, with a small, wry smile, that Gabrielle had linked arms with Iolaus; watched as he removed his arm only to put it around her shoulders. The small, wry smile almost became a grin. So long as the children continued to play nicely, why should she care? She could share Gabrielle with Iolaus, and maybe Iolaus with Gabrielle, though not in the same way, long enough for both of them to do some healing, couldn't she?

She was the Warrior Princess; of course she could.

Iolaus was still waiting on an answer to the question.

"Yes," she nodded slowly. "I think Gabrielle has helped me to remember how to listen to just about anything. Besides," she told them as they began to walk back to the house, "I think I'd like to hear some of those tales you told Gabrielle when we were on that trip to free Prometheus."

Iolaus looked back over his shoulder at her. "Tales?"

"About Hercules; I'd like to get to know him better too," she told him, with a certain and very obvious twinkle in her eyes.

Iolaus looked back at Gabrielle; did she want him to go with them? He raised an interrogative eyebrow.

"What do you think?" she replied enthusiastically enough.

Iolaus had doubts about the enterprise, even though he had nothing much else to do until Hercules returned, and he didn't particularly want to spend a month or two on his own, if he didn't have to. "Well, I don't know; you don't see Xena as any kind of competition, do you?"

"Oh, no, it's just that -" his companion began, automatically covering the fact that that had worried her the tiniest bit, but then pulled herself up short when she realised that she was as good as lying to him. "Well, maybe a little ... which is stupid, because Xena would never do that to me. No, it's just that she told me what happened ... well, when you two first met each other, and -"

The blond hunter looked away, feeling a little embarrassed that Gabrielle knew about that time in his life, that he was, all in all, rather less than proud of. "She told you about that?"

Gabrielle reached out for his hands, and clasped them close under her chin, as if to protect them and him. All she could find to say then was, "I'm sorry," but it seemed to be enough.

Looking back at her, Iolaus found absolution in her eyes, and it was as if a huge weight that he had forgotten he was carrying, was suddenly lifted off his shoulders. Leaning into her, he kissed her softly; time stood still for them again, the bad feelings already having drained away, as if they had never been.

"You were saying?" Iolaus reminded her, when they finally parted.

Gabrielle took a moment to go over what she had said; she knew there was a conclusion in there somewhere that the kiss had temporarily made her forget.

"I think Xena wants to try and start over with you," she told him. "Get on a better footing." With these words she realised that even though they had just been a guess, they were nevertheless the truth, and she looked back at Xena for a moment, smiling.

Iolaus looked back too, realising that he hadn't, as yet, given Xena an answer to her question. "Yeah, I'll come with you for awhile;" he told her. "Could be fun."

Xena, uncertainty happily reforming itself into her mock evil-little-girl grin, replied,

"Oh, you can bet on that ..."

She waited whilst Iolaus and Gabrielle entered the house to collect their things.

Iolaus took one last look at the house. They would have to stop by the village and ask if someone would keep an eye on the place. He experienced a fleeting moment of doubt over leaving the house in someone else's care, but they were good people, in Cerneia, and even if anything did happen whilst he was gone, he had the feeling that Hercules might never actually return here anyway. There would probably be too many bad memories mixed in with the few good ones that he and Serena had been able to snatch. A gentle hand on his back brought Iolaus out of his reverie, and he turned to face Gabrielle again.

"You're okay with this?" he asked her. "Really?"

"Well, yeah," she began, "but what if we want to ... you know?"

Iolaus grinned back indulgently at her. "We could always tell her that we're going ... fishing?" he suggested, tipping his head near to hers.

The siren-song of passion flared for a moment between them, but then passed, it's call ignored. Xena was waiting for them outside and she wouldn't wait for them forever. The promise of other opportunities resided in their eyes as they emerged from the house - Gabrielle with her war staff, Iolaus with a packet of what remained of the fish, and his sword - as if nothing had happened.

After all, they had places to go, Hercules to keep an eye open for, and maybe an adventure or two to collide with along the way. They all had some discoveries to make about each other, and Iolaus had the feeling that the learning had already started.

It promised fair to be one of those trips. Just like always.

The End

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