She woke again sometime later and saw that she was lying in the bed at the boarding house. Where had she been before? Here? Nicholas' office? She had been hurting too much to know or care. The pain had come flooding back as she returned to consciousness, but now it seemed somewhat more bearable. She raised her head and looked around, finding herself alone in the room. Through the half-open door, she could hear Lizzie, Herbert, and Nicholas in the hallway, talking in lowered tones, the way people do when someone has died.

A sheet of thin cotton fabric covered her from the neck down. She hesitated for a moment, and then slowly brought her arms toward her face, wincing when the movement increased her pain. As the cover lifted, she peered under it, amazed to see the great red blotches of blistered and oozing flesh that marked much of her torso and thighs. A thick, yellow salve had been spread over the burns, giving them a strange, almost eerie sheen. She slid her hands out from under the cover and studied them, noting that they had somehow escaped being burned as badly as the rest of her body. Then, hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Nicholas coming toward her. He carried a chair, which he set down beside the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he seated himself. "Any better?"

"A little."

"Good. The salve should help ease the pain, and I also gave you a shot of morphine to let you sleep awhile longer. Now, how about some water?" He picked up a glass from the nightstand and raised her head so she could drink. After that, he took out his stethoscope and applied it carefully to the fabric that covered her chest.

Xena watched his face, recognizing the same deep lines of concern she had seen when he was caring for Gabrielle. And now she remembered the conversation she had heard before the chloroform blotted out the last of her senses.

Taking off his stethoscope, Nicholas put it back in his bag and reached for Xena's wrist. When he turned it over to take her pulse, she was surprised to see how many burns there were on the underside of her arm. Raising the other arm, she saw that it looked the same.

"Apparently, you threw your arms up to protect your face," the doctor said in answer to her unspoken question. "And it's a good thing you did, because that's probably what saved your eyes." He fell silent for a few moments, concentrating on her pulse. When he was finished, he looked at her and said, "You were lucky Herbert was there, and that he got you to town as quickly as he did."

How much had the sheriff told him? Xena tried to read Nicholas' expression, but could not do so. "Did he tell you I set fire to the cabin?" she asked finally.

"Yes," the doctor said quietly.

"You must think I'm a horrible person."

"No, Xena, I don't," he said, shaking his head. "I know what grief can do to people. Besides, Herbert said you had a change of heart. He told us you were trying to save Bill Garrison when the gunpowder exploded."

Xena nodded slightly and then turned her gaze away from him, not knowing what to say. But a moment later, the sound of a step at the door made her look up ag ain.

"You're awake!" Lizzie said happily as she crossed the room.

She was carrying the Cronus Stone.

"Herbert brought this for you," she added, smiling as she placed the stone into the warrior's outstretched hands.

It seemed heavier than Xena remembered, and her hands trembled a little as she held it.

"It surely is a funny-looking thing," Lizzie said, as she pulled a chair up next to Nicholas and sat down. "But it's kind of pretty, too, in a way. Anyhow, it doesn't look like it'd be able to carry two people all that way through time and space."

"Two people and a horse," Nicholas said with a grin. Then he added, "May I see it?"

Xena gave a reluctant nod. He lifted the stone gently from her hands and held it up to the light, turning it first one way and then another.

"Is that some kind of Greek writing on the base there?" Lizzie asked.

"Yes, I think it is," Nicholas said. "It says, 'The future--'" He paused, frowning, and then went on. "Well, I think it says, 'The future leads to the past.' Is that right?" he asked Xena.

"Yes."

"But what does it mean?"

"I'm hoping it means the stone will take Gabrielle and me back to the past."

Nicholas nodded and set the crystal on the nightstand, then he bent down to get something from his bag. "I'm going to give you another injection of morphine, so you can rest," he said.

"No!" Xena said quickly. "I can't! Now that I have the Cronus Stone here, I have to use it to take Gabrielle back home!"

"Xena," Lizzie said, covering one of the warrior's hands with her own, "why don't you wait a few days until you're stronger? There's no way you could go anywhere right now. You're too badly hurt."

"That's exactly why I have to go now," Xena said, looking first at Lizzie and then at Nicholas. "Don't you see? It's taking all my strength to fight this pain, and if I wait, I'll just get weaker." She stopped, breathing hard with the effort to make them understand. "Nicholas said he didn't think I had the will to go on without Gabrielle, and he was right," she continued. "Either I have to use the Cronus Stone so we can be together again in Greece . . . or I have to join her on the Other Side."

Nicholas and Lizzie stared at her in silence for several long moments. The doctor opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and then finally asked, "You heard what I said after I gave you the chloroform?"

"Yes."

"Xena, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you-- I thought you were asleep."

"It doesn't matter. What you said was true."

"Yes, but--" He glanced at Lizzie.

"Did you hear everything we said?" the older woman asked.

"No, I don't think so. Just the first part."

"Could you feel anything? Were you in pain?" asked Nicholas.

"No, I could just hear for a little while and then there was nothing."

He nodded. "I'm glad you told me this," he said. "I'll be more careful in the future about what I say while people are supposedly asleep."

There were several more moments of silence, and then Xena said softly, "I want to go home. Please, will you help me?"

"Of course we will," Lizzie said quickly. "Just tell us what needs to be done."

The pain had begun pressing in again, and Xena found it hard to think. "Well, I need to be with Gabrielle," she began, then stopped. When she had left the room earlier that morning, her lover's body had been lying here, on the bed where she herself now lay. "Where is she?" Xena asked.

"We moved her body downstairs, to the little parlor," Lizzie said. "We figured we would need to bury her soon, so Mary's husband, Enoch, made a simple pine coffin for her." She paused and smiled at Xena. "You had her laid out so nice -- all we had to do was carry her downstairs and put her in the coffin."

Xena nodded. "All right, well, when it comes time to use the Cronus Stone, I'll need to be down there with her."

"Herbert and I can carry you down," Nicholas said. "What else needs to be done?"

"Our gear," Xena said, trying to focus her mind through the red haze that was closing in. "I need all our gear . . . and Argo. I left her . . . I tied her in some willows . . ."

Nicholas leaned closer. "Herbert told us he found your horse and brought her back to town," he said. Then he picked up Xena's wrist and checked her pulse again. "Is the pain getting worse?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered and closed her eyes.

"Let me give you some morphine."

"No," she murmured.

"I'll just give you enough to ease the pain some -- not enough to make you sleep," he said.

She opened her eyes and looked at his face. Could she trust him? Or was this some kind of trick to keep her from using the Cronus Stone? It was getting so hard to think. "Okay," she said at last. Then she watched as he filled the syringe and slid the needle into her arm.

"We'll just wait a few minutes until that takes effect," Nicholas said quietly. "Then we can talk about what other preparations we need to make. In the meantime, do you think you could drink some more water?"

Xena nodded and he turned to get the glass from the nightstand. By the time she had drunk several long swallows, she felt a warm glow begin spreading through her body. The weight of pain slowly lifted, and the red haze started to dissipate. "That stuff works fast," she said, giving Nicholas a weak smile.

"Yes, that's the beauty of injecting it directly into your bloodstream. It gets to your brain much more quickly."

"But my brain doesn't hurt," Xena said, frowning.

"No, but it's your brain that tells you what does hurt." He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Do you feel more like talking now? Tell me what needs to happen with the horse."

"Put her saddle and bridle on," the warrior said slowly, "and bring her to the boarding house. I left some other things at the stable, too -- a cooking pot, frying pan, I'm not sure what else. Just bring whatever's there. Everything has to be close by when I use the Cronus Stone."

"Okay," Nicholas said with a smile, "saddle the horse and put her in the parlor with you and Gabrielle. Anything else?"

"Not in the parlor!" Lizzie exclaimed. "We can't have a horse in the parlor!"

The doctor laughed and put an arm around Lizzie's shoulders. "I'm just teasing you, my dear," he said, and she began to laugh, too.

Xena smiled, watching them. In a very short time, they had become such good friends to her, and now she was about to leave and never see them again.

"I'm sorry," Nicholas said, turning back to the warrior. "We haven't really got time for lame jokes, have we? So, how close does the mare need to be? Can we tie her out in front? Will that be close enough?"

"Yes, I guess so," Xena said uncertainly.

"How close was she before," Lizzie asked, "when you used the Cronus Stone to get here?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" said Nicholas in surprise.

"No. I was asleep at the time."

He gave her a puzzled frown. "Well, then how did you--" he began.

"Gabrielle's the one who used the Cronus Stone," Xena said. "She didn't think I was going to agree to let her try it, so she did it while I was asleep."

"Didn't you tell us that you were trying to get to the past, but you ended up in the future instead?" asked Lizzie.

Xena nodded.

"Why did Gabrielle want to go to the past?" asked Nicholas.

"She wanted to go back and make it so that she never got raped," Xena said quietly.

"And you didn't want her to do that?"

"I was afraid it wouldn't work out the way she thought it would."

"Well, you were right about that," Lizzie said with a small smile. "But I'm glad you came. I'm glad we got to know you both. I'm just sorry that it turned out so badly."

Xena smiled back, but didn't answer.

"All right," said Nicholas. "Herbert wants me to come over and take a look at that outlaw he saved. Apparently, he suffered some ill effects from the smoke this morning. While I'm there, I'll get Herbert or Ellis to bring your horse and the other things over here. Lizzie can help you with everything else."

"Thanks, Nicholas," Xena said.

He put a hand on her head. "How's the pain?" he asked. "Is it more tolerable now?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll be back in a little while. I can give you morphine again if you need it then." He picked up his bag and stood up. "Lizzie," he said, "if there's any problem, just send someone down to the jail to get me."

"I will," she said.

He smiled at her and then at Xena, patted Lizzie on the shoulder, and then left the room.

* * *

"I want to put on my warrior clothes," Xena said. "I want to wear them home."

"Are you talking about that leather corset thing you had on when you got here?" Lizzie asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"There's no way you could wear that tight thing now, Xena. It would be pure agony for you."

The warrior looked at her and sighed, knowing she was right. "Well, I don't want to go home naked," she said. "So I guess I'll have to wear my nightshift. I don't have anything else."

"Where is it?"

"On one of the hooks over there on the wall."

Lizzie walked over and got the nightshift. "Do you want to put it on now?" she asked.

"Yes. Can you help me?"

"Of course, I'll be glad to, but I imagine it will be painful. Maybe we should wait."

"No, it's better now, while the morphine is still working."

So Lizzie helped her sit up and then carefully eased the linen garment over the blistered flesh. It hurt more than Xena had anticipated, and she had to bite her lip several times to keep from crying out.

When the ordeal was over, she sank back down on the mattress, exhausted. "I don't know if I can do this, Lizzie," she murmured, looking up at the older woman. "I don't know if I can find the strength."

Lizzie sat down by the bed and took the warrior's hand. "Xena, I'd give anything to have you stay here," she said softly. "You're like a sister to me, or a daughter, and I wish you could go on being part of my life. But that's a selfish wish, I know. You need to go back to Greece -- not just to save Gabrielle, but to save your own life, too. It's something you have to do, and somehow we always find the strength to do what we have to do."

Xena smiled and squeezed Lizzie's hand.

"It's just making me sad to know that once you leave, I'll never see you again," the older woman went on. "You can't even write me a letter to let me know you got home safely."

"We'll see each other again," Xena said. "Gabrielle and I will be there for Lia's wedding at the winter solstice."

"Lia's wedding?" Lizzie said with a puzzled look, and then suddenly she brightened. "Lia is Lydia's daughter! Yes, of course!" she exclaimed. "I've had memories of that wedding, and both you and Gabrielle were there. Now I know you'll get back home. I wish I had thought of it sooner."

"I'm just glad you thought of it at all," Xena said with relief. "I'm starting to feel stronger already."

"Good. Now you can tell me what to pack up." She rose and crossed the room, looked around for a moment, and then began gathering things together.

"Be sure you get Gabrielle's rubber balls," Xena said. "And her comb. And whatever else she bought."

"Okay," said Lizzie. "The comb is here on the table . . . and the balls are in this little bag . . . and here's the Jane Austen book she bought."

"There's another book there that belongs to Ellis," Xena said. "Could you give it back to him?"

"This book of love poems?"

"Yes."

"Did Gabrielle like it?" Lizzie asked, opening the book and leafing through it.

"Yes, she did. She read me several of the poems."

"All right. I'll take it back to Ellis."

"Oh, and what happened to the gun and gun belt I was wearing?" Xena said. "They're Herbert's."

"Well, the belt got scorched pretty badly, but I think the gun is all right," Lizzie said. "I'll make sure Herbert gets it."

"You can just put everything in our saddlebags. They're on the floor over there," Xena said, gesturing.

Lizzie picked up the bags and began filling them. "What about food?" she said. "I can send some food back with you."

"Yes, I guess we'll need some. Thanks."

"Do you want something to eat right now?" Lizzie asked, turning toward the bed. "I should have asked youearlier."

"No, I'm not hungry," Xena said. "I just hope I will be when I get home."

"You should be," Lizzie said. "You haven't eaten anything much for the last two days."

Xena didn't answer. Her pain, although somewhat dulled, still lay upon her like a heavy, suffocating blanket. She shifted her body in a vain effort to get more comfortable, and then closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she was surprised to see Ellis standing near the table, hat in hand, talking in low tones to Lizzie. Xena hadn't heard him come in, and guessed that she must have dozed off.

After a couple of minutes, the brother and sister turned and saw her looking at them.

"Well, I've packed up everything I see to pack here in the room," Lizzie said to Xena. "I'll go downstairs and get some food ready. Ellis wants to talk to you for a few minutes, I think." She smiled and patted the deputy on the shoulder, then left the room.

Ellis crossed slowly to the bed, sat down in one of the chairs, and hung his hat over his knee.

"Hello, Ellis," Xena said.

"Xena, I-- Well, I hardly know what to say. I sure do hate to see you looking like this."

"That bad, huh?" she said with a wry smile, and wondered for the first time how disfigured her face was.

"Oh, I don't mean it like that," he said quickly. "It's just that, well, it looks like you must be in a lot of pain."

"Nicholas gave me some morphine."

"Is it helping?"

"Yes, somewhat. I only have to hold out until everything's ready, and then I can use the Cronus Stone to get us home."

"Is this it?" Ellis asked, looking at the red crystal on the nightstand. "How does it work?"

"You just rub it, and think about where you want it to take you."

"That's all? Just rub it? You don't have to say any incantation or anything?"

"No."

"And then what happens? Do you just disappear from one place and appear someplace else?"

"Yes, that's pretty much it."

"How long does it take?"

"Not long," she said. "A couple of minutes. Maybe less."

"Just a couple of minutes," he said, marveling. "That's really amazing!" He looked at the stone for a few moments in silence, then said, "Would it be all right if I touched it?"

"Sure, as long as you don't rub it," Xena said with a half smile.

Ellis picked up the stone and held it carefully, turning it slowly in his hands. "So when you get back to the past," he mused, "it will be as if this never happened, right? Gabrielle won't have been shot, so she'll still be alive, and you won't have gotten burned."

"Yes. At least I think that's the way it will work."

"Will you even remember that this happened to you? Will you remember being here?"

"I don't know," Xena said. She hadn't thought about this eventuality. "I suppose it's possible that we won't remember, but I hope we do. I don't want to forget any of the friends I've made here."

Ellis smiled and set the Cronus Stone back on the nightstand. "Well, you can be sure that I will always remember you, anyway. You saved my life, and that's something I'm not likely to forget."

"I'm glad I could do it, like I told you before," she said.

They fell silent, neither apparently knowing what else to say, then Ellis took up his hat and said, "Well, I don't want to wear you out, so I guess I'd better be going. Just remember that if this Cronus Stone thing doesn't work out, we'd be glad to have you stay on around here. This part of the country is still pretty rough and uncivilized, and we need all the peacemakers we can get."

"Thanks, Ellis," she said, smiling in spite of the tiredness she felt. "It's nice to be thought of as a peacemaker rather than as a warrior." Then she held out her hand, and he took it gingerly.

"Goodbye, Xena," he said. "You were only here a few days, but you did so much for us. I know we won't forget you."

"I won't forget you, either -- I hope," she said.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to Gabrielle," Ellis added, "but tell her I'll be thinking about her, and that I really enjoyed her stories. And tell her to keep writing," he added, as he pressed Xena's hand gentlyand then stood up.

She watched him leave the room and then heard him talking to someone in the hall. After a moment, Charles Shipley appeared in the doorway.

"I don't want to disturb you, Miss Xena," he said, advancing hesitantly toward her, "but I heard you were leaving, and I just wanted to thank you for getting the bank money back."

"There's no need for thanks," she said.

"Well, it means a lot to me and to the townspeople," he said. Then, stopping a couple of paces away from the bed, he shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. "I didn't get a chance to tell you how sorry I am about Miss Gabrielle," he went on. "She surely had a bad time of it -- getting kidnapped like that and then getting shot. I kind of feel like it was all my fault somehow."

"No, Mr. Shipley," Xena said quickly. "There's no reason to blame yourself."

"But if I hadn't taken her to the bank that day--"

"Don't think that way. Gabrielle didn't go anywhere or do anything that she didn't choose to do. What happened wasn't your fault at all."

"Well, thank you, Miss Xena," he said with a little smile. "It makes me feel better to hear you say that."

She returned his smile, although it seemed to take a lot of energy.

"I guess I'll be going now," Mr. Shipley said. "It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope you have a good trip home."

"Thank you," she murmured.

* * *

As soon as he left, she closed her eyes again and soon felt consciousness slipping away from her. She woke to the sound of Nicholas speaking her name. He was bending over her, stethoscope in hand. When he finished checking her heart rate, he sat down next to the bed.

"You seem to be getting weaker," he said quietly.

She nodded, but did not speak.

"Xena," he said after a moment, "are you sure you want to go through with this? No one will blame you if you choose not to. You've been hurt severely and--" His voice broke a little, and he reached out to put his hand over hers. "Well, if you want to stay here, I'll do everything possible to ease your pain until . . . the end comes." He paused for a moment and then went on. "But if you still want to try to use the Cronus Stone, I'll help with that, too. It's your decision."

She looked at him for a long moment and then looked away. It would be so easy just to give up, to drift away on a morphine dream until it was time for Charon's boat to take her to the Other Side. There she and Gabrielle would be together again, reunited in the Elysian Fields.

But no, she realized suddenly. Hades would never let her into the Elysian Fields now -- not after the monstrous thing she had done at the cabin. Instead, she would suffer the torment of being separated from Gabrielle, maybe for eternity. No, it would be better to go home, back to Greece, where she could be with her lover again -- at least for a while. There she would have more time to redeem herself, to atone for her sins and maybe somehow earn the chance to be with Gabrielle in the afterlife.

Turning back to Nicholas, she said, "I want to go home. I have to. I know I can find the strength somewhere."

He nodded. "All right," he said. "Do you want some more morphine?"

"Yes. A little."

While he was filling the syringe, Lizzie came in. Crossing the room to stand behind the doctor, she put her hands on his shoulders and asked, "How's she doing?"

"She's being much braver than I think I would be under the same circumstances," he said, smiling at the warrior as he gave her the injection. Then, glancing up at Lizzie, he added, "But I'm afraid we don't have a whole lot of time left."

"Herbert just brought Xena's horse around from the stable," Lizzie said. "He'll be up here in a minute. I can go ahead and start carrying things downstairs."

"Lizzie," Xena said, "did you find my coin purse, and Gabrielle's, while you were packing?"

"Yes. I put them in one of the saddlebags. Do you want them?"

"Yes, please," Xena responded, and then said to Nicholas, "Could you help me sit up?"

He hesitated for a moment and then did as she asked. The movement brought new pain, and she gritted her teeth while he tucked a couple of pillows behind her. Then, to her relief, she felt the comfort of the morphine begin spreading through her body.

"Here are the coin purses," Lizzie said.

Xena took them and dumped the contents out into her lap. She began sorting through the coins and bills, thankful to finally be able to do something for herself. Counting out fifteen dinars, she returned them to one of the purses, added a few pieces of American money, and then tied the purse shut. The remaining money, which was mostly American, she put into the second purse and handed it to Nicholas.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I want you and Lizzie to take this money--"

"Xena, you don't owe us any money," Lizzie broke in. "I told you and Gabrielle that you were my guests here, and I meant it."

"I know," Xena said, "but I'd like you to pay my bill at the stable, and also give Enoch something for making the coffin."

"All right, we can do that," Lizzie said, nodding.

"The rest can go to Nicholas for medicine, and for taking care of Gabrielle and me," Xena finished.

"You don't have to do this, Xena," the doctor said.

"I want to," she responded. "And anyway, the money will be worthless to me back in Greece. I kept a little as a souvenir, but you might as well take the rest and do something useful with it. If you don't need it yourselves, then give it to the poor -- maybe to Frank Brown's children."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Nicholas said. He stood up and put the coin purse into his pocket.

"Don't worry," Lizzie added. "We'll find a good use for the money."

"Could you put this back in the saddlebag?" Xena asked, and handed Lizzie the other purse.

"Here's Herbert," Nicholas said, turning toward the door just as the sheriff came in. "Lizzie and I are just going to take the gear downstairs," he said to the other man, "and then I'll come back and help you carry Xena."

"Okay," Herbert said. He stood aside until the other two had left the room, then walked over and sat down in one of the chairs by the bed. "I'm so sorry you got hurt like this," he said.

"It was my own fault," Xena responded grimly. "You know what I did. I let myself become a monster, even though I promised Gabrielle I wouldn't. And I betrayed the trust you had in me as a deputy." Then, glancing down at the burns on her arms, she added, "I deserved all this and more."

"No, Xena," he said gently. "No one deserves this kind of suffering."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to stop her.

"It's true that you took the law into your own hands when you decided to execute those two men without the benefit of a trial," he said. "But as soon as you realized what you were doing, you had a complete change of heart. You almost died trying to save Bill Garrison."

"I didn't save him, though."

"No, and I'll be the first to admit that I think Garrison got what he deserved. But it would have been better if he had had a fair trial."

"How's the other one doing? George."

"He's all right," Herbert said. "I imagine the judge will decide to hang him, but at least he'll have his day in court."

"Better keep an eye on him," Xena warned. "He and Bill told me no jail could hold them."

"Yes, they have quite a reputation for jail breaks, so Ellis and I are being especially vigilant. I'm hoping I can take George to Denver tomorrow. They have better facilities there for keeping dangerous criminals." He paused for a moment and smiled at her. "I still can't believe you caught those two all by yourself," he said and shook his head.

"It wasn't so hard. They weren't exactly expecting me at that hour of the morning."

A footstep at the door caused both of them to look in that direction. It was Nicholas.

"Everything's ready downstairs," he said as he crossed the room to the bed, "so we just need to get Xena down there."

"All right," Herbert said, but he did not get up. Instead, he turned back to Xena. "Before we do this," he said, "I just want to thank you for everything you've done for us. Let's see, you helped stop a train robbery, saved Ellis' life, got Frank Brown to confess, took care of the Garrison gang, and--" He grinned suddenly and turned to glance back at Nicholas. "The most amazing thing of all," he went on, "is that somehow you talked Nick here into finally proposing to Lizzie. You've been a very busy lady," he concluded.

"No wonder I feel so tired," Xena said with a wan smile.

Nicholas laughed and then clapped a hand on the sheriff's shoulder. "Xena's done some amazing things," he agreed, "but she's getting weaker by the minute. We need to take her downstairs so she can go home."

"Maybe I can walk," Xena said as Herbert stood up and moved the chairs out of the way. She pushed the cover aside and then, with some effort, swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Xena, I don't think you can do this," Nicholas said.

"I want to try it," she insisted.

So, with one on either side of her, the two men grasped her arms and helped her to her feet. She cried out at the pain, and clutched at them as everything around her began to spin crazily. Then, after a moment, she felt herself lifted in strong arms.

"I've got her," she heard Herbert say, and she let her head drop against his shoulder.

He took the stairs slowly, but each step jolted her with new agony, and she moaned several times, in spite of her best intentions not to.

"I'm sorry," Herbert said more than once. "I'm really trying not to hurt you."

"I know," she murmured. "I'll be all right."

Finally, they reached the bottom, and he carried her into the small parlor. Stopping at the front window, he turned so that she could look out. "See?" he said. "There's Argo, right outside there, just as close as we could get her. And I brought your other things inside."

Xena lifted her head and saw the mare standing patiently in the street, wearing saddle and bridle, her reins draped over the hitching rail.

"Herbert," Xena said, "if something happens and Argo doesn't go home with us, could you--"

"I'll be glad to take care of her," he said quickly. "She'll always have a good home here."

"Thanks."

He turned away from the window then, and Xena saw the pine coffin sitting on a low table in the center of the room. The sofa and chairs had been piled with saddlebags and other gear. Walking over to the coffin, Herbert gently lowered the warrior to her feet. She gripped the edge of the box, smelling the freshly sawn wood, and staring at the still, white face of her lover.

"Here, sit down," she heard Nicholas say as he placed a chair behind her. "You need to save your strength." She lowered herself onto the chair without taking her eyes off Gabrielle.

"Xena," Lizzie said, leaning over the warrior's shoulder, "we didn't know where to put things. Is everything the way you want it?"

But Xena didn't answer. She could only stare at Gabrielle and think about how peaceful the bard looked . . . and how very far away.

"Xena? Did you hear me?"

Dragging her eyes away from the coffin at last, she looked up at Lizzie. "What?" she said.

"I asked you if everything was arranged the way you want it."

Xena looked around the room while she tried to think. "My leathers and my weapons," she said, "and Gabrielle's staff--"

"They're right over there on the sofa," Lizzie said.

"Put them--" she looked at Gabrielle again. "Put them in the coffin."

"In the coffin?" Lizzie said in surprise.

"Yes, just put everything in there. The closer it all is to the Cronus Stone, the better the chance that it will end up going home with us."

"All right," Lizzie said, motioning to Nicholas and Herbert to help. And while Xena watched, the three of them carefully piled blankets, weapons, saddlebags, and cooking utensils on top of Gabrielle's body, leaving only the bard's head and chest uncovered.

"This cloth bag has the food in it," Lizzie said. She held it up for Xena to see before she placed it in the pine box. "And we tucked in a few little gifts here and there," she added.

"Thank you, Lizzie," Xena said, reaching out to take the older woman's hand. "You've been wonderful to me. All of you have been," she added.

"Where do you want this?" Lizzie asked, holding up the Cronus Stone.

Xena released the other woman's hand and reached out to take the stone. She looked at it for a moment and then placed it carefully on her lap.

"So what happens now?" Herbert asked. "Do you just rub the stone and vanish?"

"Yes. At least I hope so," Xena said. "But I don't think anyone should be in the room with me when I do it. I don't want to take you back to Greece by mistake."

"Oh. I never thought of that," Lizzie said.

"I guess we can wait out in the hall," Nicholas said, "but how will we know if it worked or not?"

"Give me a few minutes and then look to see if we're gone," Xena suggested.

"I'm going to watch out the window and see if Argo disappears," Herbert said.

"That's another way," the warrior agreed.

There was a moment of awkward silence as they all looked at each other. Then Herbert stepped forward to take Xena's hand. "I hate goodbyes," he said, "so I'll just say how glad I am that you and Gabrielle paid us a visit -- even if you didn't mean to. Things just won't be the same around here without you."

"Thanks, Herbert," Xena said softly. "You've done a lot for me, and I won't forget it."

"I sure hope this stone thing works and you get home like you want to," he said with a smile. Then giving her hand a quick squeeze, he turned and strode out of the room.

Xena looked at Nicholas and Lizzie. "I wish I could be here for your wedding," she said.

"I wish you could, too," the doctor replied. "We owe you more than we could ever repay."

"Don't worry about that," Xena said. "Just love each other and live a long, happy life together."

"I really think we will," Lizzie said in a voice choked with emotion.

Nicholas laid a hand on Xena's head. "Are you feeling strong enough to do this?" he asked.

She nodded.

"We'll be right out there in the hall," he said. "Call us if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you, Nicholas. You've been a good friend, and I've learned a lot from you."

"Not as much as I've learned from you," he responded, smiling, then bent and kissed the top of her head. "Goodbye, Xena," he said. "We'll miss you more than you'll know." As he straightened up, he looked at Lizzie and said, "Don't take too long. She hasn't got much strength left."

"I wish I could give you a hug," Lizzie said when they were alone.

"I wish you could, too," Xena said, and saw that there were tears in the older woman's eyes.

Kneeling beside the warrior's chair, Lizzie took one of Xena's hands in hers. "I wish we could have had more time together, but I'm grateful for what we did have," she said.

"Lizzie, I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me and for Gabrielle."

"You don't have to thank me. Everything evens out eventually. Our paths have crossed already many times before, and I know they will again."

"Yes, I hope so."

Lizzie smiled and reached out to brush Xena's hair away from her face. "When you get back to Greece," she said, "where, exactly, do you think you'll end up?"

"I don't know for sure, but I hope we'll be back at the campsite we started from."

"Was it by a lake?"

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"I saw you there -- you and Gabrielle. I told Gabrielle about it, but I didn't know then what the vision meant."

"So it means we'll get back there? Back to that spot by the lake?"

"Yes," Lizzie said with a soft smile. "I feel certain of it." She brought Xena's hand to her face and held it against her cheek for a moment. Then, getting to her feet, she smiled again and said, "Go on, now. Gabrielle is waiting for you." And turning, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Xena sat for several moments without moving. The weight of her pain suddenly seemed overwhelming. Maybe she had been wrong when she told Nicholas that she still had enough strength. The clock in the other parlor chimed three times, reminding her that she needed to hurry. Leaning forward, she looked again at her lover's peaceful face, and all at once it occurred to her that Gabrielle might not want to come back. After all, if she had found a place of endless beauty and rest, why would she choose to return to a life of danger and hardship?

A wave of dizziness swept over her, and Xena leaned her head against the hard edge of the coffin. She fought to hang onto consciousness, fearing that if she passed out now, she would never again find the strength to try to go home. When the lightheadedness passed, she looked at Gabrielle again. This was not a good time to be having doubts. The bard had told her to get the Cronus Stone and use it, and Xena would have to trust that death had not changed her lover's request.

Taking the red crystal from her lap, she set it on Gabrielle's chest. Then she touched her lover's cheek, surprised somehow to find the skin cold and stiff. "We're going home, Sweetheart," she said softly. "I hope that's what you still want."

She placed both hands on the cool, smooth surface of the Cronus Stone and resolutely pushed aside the pain which threatened to cloud her mind. Then, closing her eyes, she thought about the campsite by the lake, forming as clear a picture of it as she could. "We want you to take us back home to Greece," she said, feeling slightly foolish for talking to a piece of glass. "Take Gabrielle and Argo and me back to the lake where we started from. And take all our belongings. Please," she added. "Please take us home." And then she began to rub the stone.

For several long moments, nothing happened. But then came a strange sensation, as if she were rising and then moving rapidly through a space devoid of sound or light. She did not fight the sensation this time, but surrendered to it, even though the thought came to her that it might be Death, and not the Cronus Stone, which was taking her on this journey. In the end, she knew it did not matter -- just as long as she could be with Gabrielle once she reached her destination.

It seemed to last forever, and yet to be over in an instant. Suddenly, all sense of movement ceased, and everything was still.

CHAPTER 19

Cautiously, she opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, staring up at oak leaves which moved softly in the breeze. After a moment, a bird began to sing, and then a second one. The sound was familiar, and it made her smile. Lowering her gaze, she saw the Cronus Stone sitting on her stomach, still clutched tightly in her hands. She set it aside, raised her arms, and pushed up the sleeves of her nightshift. Her pain had vanished, and now she saw that her skin showed no trace of ever having been burned. Rolling onto her side, she propped herself on one elbow. A few paces away, Argo stood looking around as though somewhat bewildered.

"It's all right, girl," Xena called to her. "We're home now."

Seemingly assured by the sound of the warrior's voice, the mare tossed her head and gave a small snort. Then she turned and ambled off toward the lake which lay basking in the late afternoon sun.

Xena sat up. They were home -- back where she had hoped they would be, at the campsite by the little lake. But where was Gabrielle?

It took her a moment to spot the younger woman, buried as she was beneath a big pile of gear. Working quickly, Xena shoved everything aside, then stared in alarm at her lover. Apparently, the pine coffin had stayed behind in Colorado, but Gabrielle lay as stiff and unmoving as if she were still in it.

"Gabrielle?" Xena murmured as she reached out to run her hands over the bard's face. The skin felt cold to her touch, and the warrior suddenly became aware of a tight knot of fear in her gut. "Gabrielle, can you hear me?" she asked with growing urgency. But there was no response. Bending down, she lifted her lover in trembling arms and pulled her close.

"We're home, Love," she said, kissing the top of the blond head. "It's time to wake up now." And she began to rock gently back and forth. "Come on, Gabrielle," she pleaded. "Come back to me. You have to come back. You said you would if I got us home again. I love you so much. Please come back."

And then, to her relief, she felt a small shudder run through the bard's body, and heard a long, whimpering sigh. After a few moments, the green eyes opened and blinked in the light.

"Welcome home, Sweetheart," Xena said, caressing the younger woman's cheek.

Gabrielle looked around, apparently trying to orient herself. Then she turned her gaze on Xena. "You did it," she said. "You got the Cronus Stone."

"I did it," Xena agreed with a smile, and softly kissed her lover's forehead. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"Kind of stiff . . . and a little cold."

The warrior nodded. "Yes, that's the way I felt when I first got my body back that time after I died. We'll just sit here a few minutes until you get warmed up. Do you want a blanket?"

"No. Just keep holding me. That feels really good."

"Mmm. It does, doesn't it?"

"It felt good when I was dying, too," Gabrielle said quietly. "Thanks for staying with me. I wasn't afraid at all."

"You knew I was there?"

"Yes. Toward the end it was like I just sort of floated out of my body -- I can't really explain it -- but I could see you there, holding me. And then after a while, I had to leave, and I ended up at Charon's boat."

"Did you give him the coin?"

Gabrielle nodded. "He's kind of a quirky, grumbly old guy, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," Xena agreed, then asked, "How was it on the Other Side?"

"Well, Hades was pretty surprised to see me. He didn't know how I could still be alive after two thousand years, so I told him about our little trip to the future. Then I also told him that you were going to get the Cronus Stone, so we could go home to Greece."

"And what did he say about that?"

"He seemed a little skeptical, but he said I could wait in the Elysian Fields until we found out if I was really going back or not."

"Did you like it there?" Xena asked softly.

"Yes, very much."

"Gabrielle, I-- Well, at the last minute, I thought maybe you wouldn't want to come back. I thought maybe you'd be happier staying wherever you were."

The younger woman smiled and reached up to caress Xena's cheek. "I could never be happy for very long in any place if you weren't there with me," she said.

"So you're not sorry I brought you back?"

"No. Not for a minute." Then she pulled Xena's head down and kissed her with an eagerness that surprised the warrior.

"Well, your lips are getting warm, at least," Xena said with a grin when the kiss ended.

"Yes, and the rest of me is warming up, too, but let's just pretend that you still need to hold me for a while, okay?"

Xena laughed. "I don't think that will be a problem," she said.

"Tell me what happened after I died," Gabrielle said. "Tell me how you got the Cronus Stone back."

"Oh. Well, there's not much to tell, really," Xena said, trying to keep her voice casual, even as a sense of dread crept over her. "After you, uh, died, I rode out to the canyon, and I found the cabin with no problem. The sun was just barely up by then. The outlaws were busy packing up to leave, but first they were trying to get Isaiah buried."

"Isaiah? What happened to him?"

"I shot him during that gunfight. Don't you remember? I guess it was just a few minutes before you got shot."

Gabrielle frowned for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, yeah. I think I remember now."

"Anyway, I didn't have much trouble capturing George and Bill. I tied them up in the cabin and then I made them tell me where the Cronus Stone was. It turned out the bank money was hidden in the same place, so I got it, too."

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing, really. Herbert came along and he took care of the outlaws."

"Took care of them? You mean, he put them in jail?"

"Yes, of course."

"And that's the whole story?"

"Uh-huh. I told you there wasn't much to it." Xena grinned and then said, "Hey, if you can do without me for a minute, I think I ought to get Argo unsaddled."

"Okay, sure," said Gabrielle, but as she sat up, she gave the warrior a puzzled look.

"Are you hungry?" Xena asked. "Why don't you look and see what kind of food Lizzie sent back with us. It's in a cloth bag there somewhere." Then she stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled.

"Xena, why am I wearing my regular clothes and you're just wearing your nightshift?" Gabrielle asked.

"Uh, well, I wanted to be comfortable," Xena said, as she got to her feet. "You know, for traveling."

"You've never traveled in your nightshift before."

"No, but maybe I should have," the warrior said with a grin. "It feels pretty good, actually." Then she padded off on bare feet to meet the mare. "Hey, girl," she said, rubbing Argo's nose. "Are you glad to be eating Greek grass again?"

The horse whickered softly and nuzzled Xena's cheek. Smiling, the warrior began unbuckling the bridle as she breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she wouldn't have to tell Gabrielle the whole story after all. Or at least not right now. Her mood was definitely beginning to improve.

But then Gabrielle called out, "Xena, what in Zeus' name happened to your boots?"

Her boots? She had not seen or even thought about her boots since the explosion at the cabin. Turning, she stared at the blackened leather objects Gabrielle was holding up.

"It looks like you put them by the fire to dry and then forgot about them," the younger woman said.

"Yeah. I guess that was pretty silly of me," Xena said.

"Is that what really happened?" Gabrielle asked with a note of disbelief in her voice. "It's not like you to be so careless."

"No, but I was sort of distracted -- what with you dying and everything."

Gabrielle's look softened. "Well, we'll have to buy you a new pair as soon as we get to a town," she said, setting the boots aside. "How much money do we have?"

"Not much," Xena said. She hung the bridle on a tree limb and moved to unbuckle the saddle cinch. "I kept fifteen dinars out for us and gave the rest to Nicholas and Lizzie."

"Fifteen dinars won't buy a pair of boots," Gabrielle said, shaking her head. "I still can't believe you let them get scorched like that. The soles weren't even worn out on this pair yet."

"We'll manage somehow," Xena said, and then, hoping to change the subject, she added, "Say, do you know what I forgot to tell you?"

"What?"

"Nicholas asked Lizzie to marry him -- and she said yes, of course."

"Oh, I'm so glad!" Gabrielle said. "They'll make a wonderful couple. I don't know why they didn't get together before this. When did he propose to her?"

"Actually, it was that last night you told stories, after the rest of us all went to bed," Xena said. "But I didn't hear about it until the next evening. You were off visiting the outlaws at the time," she added with a grin, "and when you came back, I forgot all about telling you." Then she pulled the saddle off and set it on the ground. Argo gave herself a quick shake, turned, and trotted off.

"Well, I'm very happy for them," Gabrielle said.

"Me too," Xena responded. She walked back over and stood looking down at her lover. "Did you find the food?" she asked.

"No. I didn't look for it."

"Oh. Well, it should be--"

"Xena, I'm not interested in food right now. I just want you to sit down here and talk to me. I want you to tell me what's wrong."

"Wrong? There's nothing wrong, that I know of."

"Yes, there is. Some of the things you've told me just don't seem to add up. I think there's something you're afraid to tell me." She patted the ground beside her. "Come on. Sit down and let's talk."

With a sigh, Xena seated herself cross-legged next to her lover.

"Okay," said Gabrielle, "now, are you going to tell me what's going on, or am I going to have to ask questions?"

"I guess you'll have to ask questions, since I'm not sure what it is you want to know."

The younger woman looked at her for a long moment, and then said, "All right. Let's start with your nightshift. Why are you wearing that instead of your leathers and armor?"

Xena stared at the ground. She could go on lying, but she knew that eventually Gabrielle would manage to find out the truth. And once the bard knew what had really happened at the cabin . . . The warrior took a deep breath and tried to push down the fear that was rising within her. "I couldn't wear my leathers because I got burned," she said finally.

"Burned?" Gabrielle said in surprise. "You mean badly burned?"

"Yes. I probably would have died if we hadn't come back here."

"What part of you got burned?"

"My face. My arms. Most of the front of me. Oh, and my boots," Xena added, with a slight smile. Then she ventured a look at Gabrielle.

The younger woman did not smile back. "The pain must have been awful," she said softly.

"Yeah, it was. Thank goodness for Nicholas and his morphine."

"How did you get burned?"

"There was a fire."

"At the boarding house?"

"No. At the cabin."

"The fire started while you were there getting the Cronus Stone?"

"Yes."

Gabrielle gave a deep sigh of frustration. "Come on, Xena," she said. "Help me out here. Don't make me go on playing this guessing game."

Xena looked at her and then looked away. She needed to tell the story -- needed to get the horrible truth out into the open -- but how could she talk when her throat felt as if there were a hand clamped around it? She took a deep breath and let it out again. Then she began to speak in a flat, expressionless tone. "After I tied up the outlaws and got the Cronus Stone," she said, "I poured kerosene on the floor and struck a match. Then I went outside to watch the place burn down."

"You set the cabin on fire? With those men tied up in there, helpless?"

Xena nodded, but did not meet her lover's gaze.

"Why?" Gabrielle asked in a low voice. "Why did you do it?"

Xena looked at her then. "Because I wanted them to suffer for what they did to you," she said simply. "I wanted to hear them scream while they were dying."

"But Xena, I got away before they could actually hurt me."

"Yes, but they wanted to hurt you, and they would have done it, too, if they had had the chance. They would have raped you -- all three of them. You know that as well as I do. And anyway, Bill Garrison shot you. He shot you in the back and killed you, Gabrielle. And he wasn't even sorry he did it. That's why I set the cottage on fire."

"The cottage? You mean the cabin."

"Yes, the cabin. Of course that's what I mean," Xena said impatiently.

Gabrielle regarded her thoughtfully for a few moments, and then said, "I think you just explained something. You burned the cabin down just like I burned the cottage. Garron died in the cottage fire, but he was unconscious and he didn't suffer. You wanted to make him suffer for hurting me."

Xena nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she said. "That explains what I did, but it doesn't excuse it. I let myself become a monster. I broke my promise to you." She stopped, and then finished in a whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Xena, how did you get burned? You still haven't told me that."

"Oh. Well, while I was watching the cabin burn, Herbert came along. When he found out what I had done, he called me a monster. Then he ran into the cabin and brought George out."

"So George didn't die?"

"No. He's in jail."

"And Bill?"

"I was going to try to save him -- I started running toward the cabin -- but then it blew up. I had seen a couple of kegs in there, but I didn't realize they had gunpowder in them."

"You would have gone into a burning building to save the man who killed me?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

"Yes, but that doesn't make up for what I did," Xena said grimly. "If I hadn't started the fire in the first place, he wouldn't have needed to be saved. I deserved what I got. I should have just let myself die -- but I knew I would end up in Tartarus, and I'd never see you again." She stopped, her voice too choked with emotion to go on. She could not look at Gabrielle, could not bear to know what the bard must think of her. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and sat staring at the lake, envying the calmness of its waters.

After what seemed like a long time, she felt Gabrielle's hand on her shoulder.

"You know, a strange thing happened to me when I died," the younger woman said. "It was like someone showed me my whole life, and I could see everything good I'd ever done, along with all the things I could have done better. I didn't feel like I was being judged," she went on. "I felt cared about. I felt forgiven."

"Hades did that?" Xena asked in surprise.

"No. It wasn't Hades. It was someone -- or something -- much bigger. I know this sounds crazy, but it felt like the Source of Life itself."

Xena stared at her in silence. Gabrielle's face looked serene, almost radiant.

After a few moments, the bard met her gaze and smiled. "Xena, do you remember that first night after we left Lydia's, when I was talking about having killed Garron? You said I needed to forgive myself and move on, but I just couldn't seem to do that. I couldn't accept that I had killed someone. I wanted to go back and make it so it never happened."

"Yes, I know," Xena said softly.

"Well, when I died, and I felt forgiven for the way I had lived my life, I was finally able to forgive myself, too. I realized that I had set standards for myself that I just couldn't reach. I thought I could be perfect, and when I couldn't be--" She shook her head and gave a wry smile. "And what's even worse," she went on, "is that I set the same kind of unreasonable standards for you."

"Asking someone not to become a monster isn't unreasonable, Gabrielle. I broke my promise," Xena said flatly. "I betrayed your trust in me." She looked away again, unwilling to see the rejection that must be in her lover's eyes.

But Gabrielle moved closer and ran her fingers softly through the warrior's hair. "Xena, what I'm trying to say is that now I can understand better why I did what I did, and why you did what you did. Yes, you let your anger take control of you for a time, but I can also see that you would never have been so angry if you hadn't loved me so much. And how could I not forgive that?"

Xena felt a heavy weight suddenly drop from her shoulders. She looked at Gabrielle. "You forgive me?" she said in a tone of wonder.

"With all my heart."

Then the younger woman reached out, and Xena buried her face against her lover's breast. Tears stung her eyes and she was powerless to stop them. Welling up from someplace deep inside her, they broke free in great sobs of relief. How long they continued, she wasn't sure. But while the storm lasted, she clung to Gabrielle as she would have to a raft in a raging flood. And when it was all over, she lay, exhausted, with her head in her lover's lap.

"Feel better now?" Gabrielle asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Xena said. "I never cry like that."

"I guess there were some things that just needed to come out," Gabrielle said as she dried the warrior's cheek with gentle fingers.

"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks," she murmured. She closed her eyes in order to savor the rare sense of peace. Then her stomach growled loudly.

Gabrielle laughed. "I think we'd better start looking for that bag of food," she said.

* * *

There was fried chicken, a loaf of bread, a big hunk of cheese, some blackberries and peaches, and two carefully-wrapped slices of cherry pie.

"What are those big, long, green things?" asked Xena.

"Corn," Gabrielle said. "This is the way it grows in the field. Lizzie showed me some. If you pull off the green leaf part, like this, you can see the kernels."

"Oh," Xena said, nodding.

"There are some green beans here, too," Gabrielle went on, digging deeper into the cloth bag. "And onions and potatoes."

"But we don't know how to cook some of those things," said Xena.

"Yes, we do. At least, I do. I spent a little time with Mary in the kitchen, and I asked a lot of questions."

"Can you make one of those pie things?"

Gabrielle laughed. "I might be able to make one if I had an oven, but I don't think it can be done very easily over an open fire."

"Mmm. Too bad."

"Well, we could settle down someplace, and you could build me a little clay oven, and then I'd be able to bake lots of pies for you."

"Yeah, well, maybe someday," the warrior said with a sardonic grin.

They ate in companionable silence, and when they finished, Gabrielle said, "How about if we go swimming? Would you like to do that?"

"Sounds good to me," Xena agreed.

"Where do you suppose our towels are?" Gabrielle asked.

"I don't know. Lizzie did all the packing, but I'd guess they're in one of the saddlebags."

The younger woman reached for the nearest saddlebag and opened it. She peered in, frowned, and pulled out a small paper bag. "I wonder what this is," she said. Then she opened it and grinned. "The combs I bought! And the rubber balls!" she exclaimed. "Oh! It's going to be so much fun to give these to people!"

Xena smiled at the younger woman's delight. Then, leaning back with her arms to support her, she stretched out her legs and crossed her ankles.

"Here's the book I bought," Gabrielle said, pulling out the leather-bound volume. "I'm so glad I'll get to finish it," she added as she flipped happily through the pages. "Maybe we should talk to each other in English so we won't forget it."

"Sure, we can do that sometimes, if you want," Xena said. "And it will be useful to know a language that no one else understands."

"Yes, kind of like when we spoke Greek to each other in Colorado," Gabrielle agreed. Then she turned her attention back to the saddlebag. "What's this doing here?" she asked as she pulled out a second book. "This is Ellis' book of love poems. Xena, you should have given it back to him."

"I did," Xena said, puzzled. "At least I told Lizzie to return it to him. Maybe she forgot."

Gabrielle opened the cover and stopped to stare at some writing there. "This wasn't here before," she said. "Ellis must have written it."

"What does it say?"

"It says, 'To Gabrielle, teller of tales, lover of words,'" she read slowly. "'I wish I could have heard more of your stories. Don't ever let the poetry in you die. Fondly, Ellis.' Oh, and then down below, he wrote, 'Parting is such sweet sorrow.'" She paused and then explained, "That's what Romeo says to Juliet in that story by Mr. Shakespeare."

"Parting is such sweet sorrow," Xena mused. "That's good." She sat up and crossed her legs again. "So Ellis sent the book home with us as a gift," she said.

"Yes. Wasn't that sweet of him?"

"He's a sweet man," Xena said, then added, "Lizzie told me they had put in some gifts. I guess maybe that's what she was talking about."

"Gifts? In the plural?" asked Gabrielle as she laid the book aside and looked into the bag again. "Maybe there's something for you, too." She rummaged around for a moment and then pulled out a small, oblong packet, wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. "Yes, here's something," she announced. "It says, 'For Xena' on it."

Curious, the warrior reached out for the packet. She turned it over, examining it, then slipped the string off and unfolded the paper. "A pocketknife!" she exclaimed. "This must be from Herbert." She grinned as she opened the blades and tested their sharpness against her thumb.

"Too bad you don't have any pockets," Gabrielle commented dryly.

"Hmm. Well, I can always carry it with my breast dagger."

"That would work."

"Or I could just keep it in one of the saddlebags. It's not much of a weapon, really, but it will come in handy when I need a knife for other things."

"Oh, here's another package!" Gabrielle said.

"Who's it for?"

"It doesn't say."

"You open it," Xena said.

Excitedly, the younger woman untied the string and opened the paper to reveal a stoppered bottle.

"What is it?" she asked, handing it to Xena.

"Laudanum. It's for pain," Xena said. "Is there a note from Nicholas?"

"Uh, yes. Here's one. It says, 'For Xena and Gabrielle, a gift I hope you never have to use. May you be happy and healthy, and may you always love each other.'"

"What a nice note," Xena said, "but if he really thinks we'll never need the laudanum, well, he doesn't know much about how we live."

"You're right about that," Gabrielle agreed. Then she peered into the saddlebag again. "Hey, look at this," she exclaimed as she pulled out a folded piece of cloth. "I think it's what they call calico," she added.

"I like that color of blue," Xena said.

"Yes, and aren't these little flowers cute?"

"I guess that's from Lizzie, but what are we supposed to do with it?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can make a scarf out of it or something. We'll figure it out." She smiled at the warrior. "This is so much fun! I can't believe they sent all these gifts for us. I wish we could have given them something in return."

"We did, Gabrielle. You gave them some wonderful stories, among other things, and I gave them Ellis' life. Lizzie said it would all even out in the end because our paths would keep crossing in other lifetimes." She was silent for a few moments, and then said, "Do you think there's any truth to this reincarnation thing? You died, but you went to the Elysian Fields."

"Yes, but I had the sense that may just be a place where people can wait for a while, and later they really do go on to live other lives."

"But what about the people in Tartarus?"

"I don't know, Xena. I wasn't really dead long enough to figure it all out." Gabrielle smiled softly and reached out to squeeze the warrior's hand. "The only thing I know for sure," she added, "is that wherever we go and whatever we do, I want to be with you."

"I want the same thing," Xena said. Then she pulled the younger woman toward her, and their lips met in a lingering kiss.

"You know, I don't mind being alive again at all," Gabrielle said when they moved apart.

"That's lucky, because you really don't have much choice in the matter."

The bard laughed and picked up the saddlebag again. "Guess what I found," she said. "Our towels! They were in the very bottom. And the soap is here, too."

"What! No more gifts?" said Xena with an impish grin.

"Well, not in that bag anyway. Let's save the others and look in them after we go swimming."

"I don't know if I still want to swim. Maybe I'll just play with my pocketknife."

"You can do that later," Gabrielle said firmly. Then she plucked the knife out of Xena's hand and dropped it back into the saddlebag. "I think I'll take a blanket down there for us to sit on," she went on, and yanked one out of the pile of gear. As she did so, something red tumbled into view, and the two women found themselves staring at the Cronus Stone.

Slowly, Gabrielle reached over to pick it up. "What shall we do with this?" she said.

"What do you think we ought to do with it?"

The younger woman didn't answer right away. She stared at the stone, turning it in her hands and running her fingers softly over the glass. Finally, she looked at Xena. "I guess we should destroy it," she said in a low voice.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "It's what I should have let you do in the first place," she said. "But I just wanted--" She stopped speaking and bit her lip.

"I know what you wanted," Xena said softly. "Anyone would have wanted the same thing. I was just afraid of the stone's power -- that we couldn't control it."

"You were right. I ended up dead, and you almost died, too."

"Yes, but we had a good adventure. And we learned some things along the way. We saw the future, and that's something very few people get to do."

"And we made some good friends."

"Yes. That was the best part," Xena said. "If I thought we could somehow go back and visit there again, I'd say we should keep the stone, but--"

"But if we went back, we'd both be dead."

"Right. Unless we could go to an earlier point in the future. But it's too risky. There's too much chance for something to go wrong."

"I agree," Gabrielle said, with growing conviction in her voice. "And if it's risky for us, it would be risky for anyone who used the stone." She smiled a little and then went on, "So if you don't mind, I think I'll just remove this particular temptation from the world forever."

Xena nodded and gestured her permission.

Gabrielle took a deep breath, stood up, and looked around. Then she walked resolutely over to a rock and smashed the Cronus Stone against it. The pieces scattered on the ground and lay there, gleaming dully. The bard stared at them for a few moments and then at the metal base, which she still held in her hand. "The future leads to the past," she muttered, and then threw the base as far as she could into the underbrush.

* * *

"Okay, now we can go swimming," she said, dusting her hands off as she walked back over to where Xena was sitting. And before the warrior could respond, she unlaced her bodice and stripped it off. Then, unfastening her skirt, she stepped out of it and stood there wearing only a grin.

Xena felt the familiar ache of desire stab through her lower gut. Standing up, she walked over to her lover. "Turn around," she said. "I want to see something."

Obediently, the younger woman turned, and Xena reached out to run her fingers over a portion of her back, to the right of the spine.

"Is that where I got shot?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yes," Xena said. "The bullet went in about here, passed all the way through, and hit a rib here--" she went on, reaching around to touch the younger woman's ribcage. "Then it bounced back somewhere. Nicholas couldn't find it."

"Wow. No wonder it hurt like Tartarus."

"Mmm-hmm," Xena said as she embraced the bard from behind. "And if the bullet hadn't hit that rib, it would have gone right on into me."

"Really? Then I saved your life, didn't I?"

"Yes, I guess you did," the warrior said with a wry smile. "But I wish it could have been the other way around."

"Well, can you see anything there now?" Gabrielle asked. "Any trace of the wound?"

"No, nothing. It's perfect, just like before," Xena said as she bent forward to kiss Gabrielle's ear.

"Let me see your wound," the bard said, pulling free from Xena's embrace and turning around.

"What wound?"

"The one on your arm, where you got shot that first day."

"Oh. I'd forgotten about that one," Xena said. Then, reaching down, she grasped her nightshift with both hands and pulled it off over her head.

"I can't see anything," Gabrielle said, examining the warrior's left arm.

"I know, and my burns are gone, too."

The younger woman regarded her soberly for a moment, then gently cupped Xena's breasts in her hands. "Were you burned here?" she asked.

"Yes," Xena said, as another wave of desire washed over her. "I was burned pretty much all over," she added, "except for my back."

"I wish I could have been there for you," Gabrielle said.

"I wish you could have, too," the warrior said. Then she put her arms around the younger woman and buried her face in the blond hair. The sensation of Gabrielle's bare flesh against her own was almost more than she could endure. Drawing a deep breath, she set her mind to calming her heartbeat and ignoring the sudden wetness between her legs. She had let her lust get out of control before and it had only served to hurt and frighten her lover. She would not allow such a thing to happen again.

Breaking free from the embrace, she stooped down to pick up the blanket. "We'd better get going, if we plan to swim," she said.

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Gabrielle, and she gathered up the towels and soap. Then she took Xena's hand, and they started toward the lake. "Well," she said as they walked along, "we know we're back in the same place we started from, but do you think it's the same day we left, or is it five days later?"

"I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. I suppose it could even be a totally different year."

"Oh, now there's an interesting possibility."

"I guess we'll just have to wait until we get to a town and can ask somebody what the date is."

They had reached the edge of the water, and Gabrielle stopped to stare at something on the ground. "Look! It's my comb!" she exclaimed, then picked it up. "It doesn't look like it's been here very long -- I mean, not more than a few days, anyway."

"At least nobody came along and took it," Xena said. "And the fact that it's here means we didn't go back to a point in the pastbefore we first arrived at the lake."

"Right. But we could still be in the future."

"Yes, but probably not too far, or someone would have found the comb and kept it by now," Xena said. Then she spread the blanket on the ground.

"Well, at least we've narrowed it down," Gabrielle said. "And when the moon comes up tonight, we can see if it's in the same phase as before." She dropped the comb, soap, and towels on the blanket. Then she moved to put her arms around Xena.

"I want to go ahead and swim, Sweetheart," the warrior said, giving the other woman a quick kiss on the top of the head. Then she waded out until she was waist-deep. Diving under, she swam some distance before surfacing again. The water was not as cold as she had hoped it would be, but still it seemed to help cool the fever of her longing. Glancing toward shore, she saw Gabrielle wading into the lake, and caught sight of the triangle of reddish hair still visible just above the surface of the water.

The younger woman gave a cheery wave, and Xena waved back, then resolutely averted her eyes. Turning onto her back, she floated, staring at the sky without really seeing it. Everything had worked out well, she reminded herself. The Cronus Stone had brought them home, alive and healthy. She was reunited with Gabrielle, and best of all, she had been forgiven. It was more than she had dared to hope for -- more than she deserved. She was happier than she had any right to be.

Lost in thought, Xena did not notice Gabrielle's underwater approach until the younger woman surfaced suddenly at her side and laughingly pushed her under. Water rushed in through her nose, and she came up spluttering and choking, but with Gabrielle's wrists clamped tightly in her hands.

"Ha! I got you!" the bard gasped.

"Yes, but who's got who now?" Xena asked, laughing and coughing at the same time.

"Okay, you've got me, and I surrender," Gabrielle said, wrapping her legs around the warrior's waist.

Xena released the younger woman's wrists, then put her arms around her and pulled her close. With strong kicks, she kept them afloat and began to move them toward shallower water. "You're really in a wicked mood today," she murmured in her lover's ear.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Gabrielle admitted. Then, sliding her hands up in between them, she began to tease Xena's nipples.

The warrior gasped a little as a shock of pleasure ran through her. She stopped kicking, and as her feet drifted downward, they touched the sandy bottom of the lake. Standing up, she began wading slowly toward shore, steadfastly trying to ignore what was happening to her nipples. But just as her breasts emerged from the water, Gabrielle suddenly kicked free and planted herself in front of the warrior. Then, with an impish grin, she bent down, lifted one of Xena's breasts to her mouth, and began to suck.

With a low moan of anguish, Xena pushed her away. "Don't, Gabrielle," she pleaded. "Don't make this harder than it already is." She turned and started to wade away, but Gabrielle caught hold of her arm and stopped her.

"What's so hard about it?" the bard asked quietly.

Xena looked at her. "You know what happened the last time we tried to make love," she said. "I don't want to frighten you like that again."

"You won't," Gabrielle said. "I feel different now."

"What do you mean?" Xena asked as she turned to face her lover again.

"Do you remember how Lizzie kept talking about healing that wouldn't feel like healing at first? Well, I think that's what happened."

Xena raised one eyebrow questioningly, but didn't speak.

"It's kind of hard to explain," Gabrielle went on, "but part of it was my getting captured by those outlaws. When I escaped from them, I felt better about myself -- not so scared and vulnerable and dependent on you for protection anymore."

Xena nodded, but still said nothing. Reaching out, she softly caressed the younger woman's cheek.

"And then when I died-- Well, that gave me a whole new perspective on life, so to speak." Gabrielle stopped and put her own hand overXena's, which she then brought to her lips and kissed. "I saw that the best thing in my life was my love for you," she went on. "And I also saw that I had let my fear and guilt come between us. You wanted to love me, and I just couldn't let you."

"Gabrielle, it wasn't your fault that you reacted that way. Anyone would have."

"I know, but dying helped me look at it differently. And it helped me let go of my fear much sooner than I probably would have otherwise. That's why I'm ready now -- I'm ready to let you touch me, and I'm ready to make love again. Please, Xena," she finished in a whisper. "Please say you still want to."

The warrior hesitated for only the briefest of instants before she scooped Gabrielle up and started once more toward shore, kissing the younger woman as they went. When they reached the blanket, she sank to her knees and laid her lover down, then stretched out on top of her.

The kisses continued, more passionate now, as Xena began to relax and enjoy the intensity of her feelings. Slowly and somewhat cautiously, she moved her hands over Gabrielle's body, and as she felt the younger woman respond, her confidence grew. Still, she wanted to be on the safe side, so after nibbling a little while on one of her favorite earlobes, she murmured, "Gabrielle, if I do anything that hurts you or scares you, I want you to stop me, okay?"

"I will, Xena, I promise," the younger woman said. "But so far, everything you've done feels wonderful."

Encouraged, the warrior let her hands and lips roam more freely, rediscovering all the secret places where a touch or kiss was sure to drive her lover wild. There was a sense of wonder to it all -- almost as if they were making love for the very first time. But there was a beautiful familiarity about it, too. It felt like coming home again.

Xena took her time, trying to control her own urgency while gradually driving Gabrielle's closer and closer to the limit. When she finally slid her hand into the hot, wet place between her lover's legs, she was rewarded with a moan of pure ecstasy.

"Please, Xena! I can't wait much longer!" the younger woman gasped.

The warrior felt her own control slipping away as Gabrielle panted and whimpered beneath her touch. She straddled the bard's thigh and began to move her body against it, even as she slid her fingers up into the velvety softness of her lover's vagina. Gabrielle grasped Xena's breasts in both hands and, bringing one to her mouth, sucked the nipple fervently. Moments later, though, she released it, crying out as her body began to buck and writhe. Xena followed her almost immediately, giving a deep groan when her orgasm broke and then spread in glorious waves all the way out to her fingers and toes.

The two women clung together until it was over, and then collapsed, damp and exhausted, with Xena sprawled halfway across Gabrielle.

For a time, neither of them spoke, and Xena was aware of nothing except the gradually-slowing gasps of their breathing, and the thudding of her own heart.

"That," Gabrielle murmured at last, "was incredible."

"You said it," Xena assented.

"I can't believe we waited so long."

"Mmm, well, maybe that's part of what made it so incredible."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Xena propped herself up on one elbow and reached over to brush Gabrielle's wet hair out of her face. "It's a good thing you thought to bring this blanket down here," she said. "I don't believe we could have made it all the way back to the campsite."

Gabrielle grinned and then ran a playful finger down Xena's breast and around the circle of her areola.

"You had this whole thing planned, didn't you?" the warrior asked as a new shiver of desire ran through her.

"Yes," Gabrielle said with a smug smile. Then she sat up, pushed Xena over onto her back, and straddled her. "And now I'm planning to torment you the same way you just did me."

"Go ahead, do your worst," Xena said with a weak grin. "I'm powerless to resist."

CHAPTER 20

They did not sleep that night until the moon was far down the western sky. Nor did they wake until Helios had given light to the earth for several hours t he next day. Death had separated them for less than a full day, but there seemed to be so much for them to catch up on and share. And of course there was the lovemaking. How had they done without it for so long? It seemed incredible now to think of all the pain that had come between them since that morning at the cottage when they had last reveled in the pleasures of each other's bodies.

"Xena," Gabrielle said while they were eating a breakfast of bread and cheese, "what are we going to do now?"

"Do? About what?"

"You know what I mean. What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?"

"Oh. Well, can't we just go on with our lives, like before?"

"Yes, I suppose that's what we'll have to do," Gabrielle said, "but don't you feel different? Like we've changed somehow and we're not the same people we were before?"

Xena considered this while she chewed a piece of Lizzie's soft, white bread. "Yes, I guess I do feel different," she admitted, "and you seem different, too. But I think that's what happens when people go through some big experience, like we've just been through. We've seen the future, and that's bound to make us look at the present in a whole new way. But underneath it all, we're still the same two people we've always been, right? It's just that now I have a pocketknife and you have some rubber balls."

Gabrielle laughed. "Okay, so are we still going to Corinth to find Hercules and Iolaus?"

"Well, I'd like to do that, wouldn't you? It would be fun to tell them where we've been and what we've done."

"Oh, yes! I'd like that, too. But do we have to leave right away? It would be nice to spend a few days here -- just the two of us. I feel sort of like we're getting to know each other all over again."

Xena smiled softly at her lover. "That would be very nice," she said. Then she pulled the younger woman close for a kiss. "Have I mentioned yet this morning that I love you?" she murmured when their lips parted.

"No, I don't think so," Gabrielle replied, "but you did say something about it several hundred times during the night."

"Okay, good. I don't want you to forget it," Xena said, and then her lips found Gabrielle's again.

* * *

A few hours later, Xena was standing thigh-deep in the lake, fishing. She had caught one fat carp already and was advancing on a second one, when she heard Gabrielle calling her name. She glanced up to see the bard coming toward her, carrying one of the saddlebags.

Holding her hand up for silence, Xena turned her attention back to the carp. She edged forward a step or two, then suddenly reached under the water and grabbed the fish in both hands. She flung it out onto the shore, where it flopped in the sunlight, sending up a spray of silver droplets.

"Well, that should make us a good dinner," Xena said, "two fish plus all those nice American vegetables." She grinned as she waded out of the water, then bent to brush the water drops off her legs. Gabrielle had not answered, and when the warrior took another look at her, she saw that the younger woman's face wore an expression of pained puzzlement.

"What's wrong?" Xena asked, straightening up.

"Do you know what's in this other saddlebag?" the bard asked.

"No, Gabrielle. I told you that Lizzie did all the packing." Xena walked over to where the younger woman stood, staring into the saddlebag.

"Did you tell her what to pack?" Gabrielle asked.

"Well, yes," Xena said uncertainly. "At least I told her some things I didn't want her to forget."

"Did you tell her to pack this?" Gabrielle asked, thrusting the bag out so that the warrior could see into it.

"By the gods!" Xena whispered. Then she reached in and pulled out a revolver. It was the one she had used in Colorado, but she had never expected to hold it in her hands again. "Herbert must have put this in here," she said, glancing at Gabrielle. "But I never asked him to, I swear. It never even entered my mind that he would do such a thing." She positioned thegun in her hand, handle snug against her palm, finger resting lightly on the trigger. Then, raising it, she peered along the barrel at a tree on the other side of the lake, remembering with pleasure how it felt to fire the pistol. "Are there bullets in there, too?" she asked.

"Yes," Gabrielle said glumly as she pulled out two boxes of ammunition.

Xena nodded. "That should last for quite a while, if we're careful," she said.

"Surely you're not thinking of keeping the thing!" exclaimed the younger woman.

"Well, why not? It was a gift, after all. I can't just throw it away. And I won't use it much -- just for special occasions. You know, like when we have to fight monsters or dragons or big, evil giants." She grinned.

But Gabrielle was not amused. "Listen to me, Xena," she said, clamping an urgent hand on the warrior's arm. "This thing is bad. We can't have it around. What if someone else gets ahold of it? Can you imagine someone like Callisto with a gun? Or even Draco? Or how about Ares? What if Ares got his hands on it?"

Xena stared at her and swallowed hard. "We'll just have to be really careful with it," she said. "Besides, no one else would know how to use it."

"And you don't think they'd figure it out? You're dreaming now, Xena. If Ares got this gun, he'd take it to Hephaestus and have him make hundreds more of them. Don't think he wouldn't."

Xena was silent. The thought of Ares with guns and gunpowder was a chilling one, but she didn't want to admit that Gabrielle was right. "The world is going to have guns someday, no matter what we do," she said quietly. "There will even be guns here in Greece."

"Yes, but not for hundreds of years -- maybe more than a thousand. Just because we know what's coming in the future doesn't mean we have to make it hurry up and happen -- especially not if it's something bad." Gabrielle stopped for a moment to study Xena's face, and then, apparently feeling she was making headway, went on. "We know that guns will be used to kill people -- millions of people. Is that what you want?"

"Gabrielle, we already know how to kill lots of people. We've got swords and bows and catapults and--"

"Yes, but once the gun is invented, things will get worse. Even more people will die. Innocent people. You know that as well as I do."

Gabrielle paused for a moment and laid her hand directly over the pistol. "It was a gun that killed me, Xena," she said in a low voice. "Can you really keep one around without thinking about that every time you use it?"

Xena looked at her. "And if you had been killed by a sword instead of a gun, would you want me to throw my sword away?" she asked.

"No, I guess not," Gabrielle admitted. "You found the flaw in my logic there. But I'm not sure we can look at this from a purely logical point of view anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, remember when we got the Cronus Stone and you just had a gut feeling that it was dangerous and ought to be destroyed?"

Xena nodded.

"I have the same kind of feeling about this gun. You were right about the Cronus Stone, and I'm right about this. You've got to trust me, Love. Please."

Xena smiled a little and turned her eyes from Gabrielle's face back to the revolver. "You're right," she said softly. "There's no good reason to keep this thing around." She turned it over slowly and ran her fingers across the engraved design. "I guess Herbert didn't think this through very well before he gave it to me."

"Herbert uses a gun every day of his life and probably can't imagine a world in which you don't need one," Gabrielle said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Xena turned the gun over again. Her mind knew what needed to be done, but her hands seemed curiously unwilling to do it. "What if I just fire it a few times before I throw it away?" she said, looking hopefully at her companion.

Gabrielle sighed. "All right," she said reluctantly.

Opening one of the little boxes, Xena took out six cartridges and quickly loaded them into the chambers of the revolver. Then she looked around for a moment and selected a tree some forty paces farther along the lakeshore. She pulled the hammer all the way back, aimed carefully, and squeezed the trigger. The report seemed unusually loud, shattering the stillness and sending several terrified birds squawking into the air. Where the bullet hit the tree, it ripped through the bark and left it hanging in ribbons. The smoke from the gunpowder lingered in the air, making Xena's nose burn and her eyes smart.

Lowering the pistol, she turned to Gabrielle. "You're right," she said. "This gun doesn't belong here." Then, drawing her arm back, she flung the weapon far out into the lake and watched it land with a big splash.

"Can I throw these in?" Gabrielle asked, holding up the two boxes of ammunition.

"Sure, go ahead."

So Gabrielle threw the boxes, one at a time, out into the deep water. Then she put her arm around Xena's waist, and the warrior responded by wrapping one hand around her lover's shoulders. The two of them stood silently for a time, watching the ripples spread across the surface of the lake. "Thanks," the younger woman said at last. "I know that was a hard thing for you to do."

"Yes, but it was the right thing to do," Xena said. "And you're the one who inspires me to keep trying to do what's right," she added.

Gabrielle smiled up at her. "You've inspired me a few times, yourself, you know," she said, then added, "I love you, Xena."

"I love you, too," the warrior replied, and kissed the top of Gabrielle's head. Then she asked, "What do you want to do this afternoon?"

"You mean, after we have more wild, screaming sex?"

"Yeah. After that," Xena said with a grin.

"Well, I've got a lot of things to write about, so I'd kind of like to get started doing that."

"Okay. Good idea."

"This is going to make one fantastic story, you know," Gabrielle added.

"Yes, I know," Xena said, smiling as she pulled her lover close.

THE END

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