Xena & Gabrielle Ch. 10

Author's Note: This is the tenth section to the "true" story of Xena and Gabrielle. You will find this section extremely subtext-friendly. If two women showing their love for one another is not your cup of tea, please find another story you'd like to read. This story will be submitted in several parts and is based off the series, yet the "history" has been changed somewhat to suit the purposes of this story. Not all sections will contain erotic sex scenes as there is a plot.

Also, I'd like to note that I do not own Xena: Warrior Princess, the series, or the characters and I will not be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.

(This chapter doesn't contain erotic scenes as there is a plot --- Sorry. I do promise PLENTY of kinky sex in the next chapter however, so please don't go away. My plan is to post chapter eleven along with this one, so you won't have to wait long at all.)

Chapter 10 ::: Gabrielle's Hope

A new day dawned and Gabrielle awakened, held safe in Xena's loving embrace upon a comfy pallet made of bedrolls on the wood floor of the cabin. The night before she had tried unsuccessfully to nurse her infant daughter. Many times she had placed the baby to her breasts, but her efforts were futile. The infant refused to suckle. Gabrielle's shift was wet with fresh milk for her child, but the entire night the babe had not awakened once to feed. The young mother awoke with a start, afraid her child had perished silently in the night.

Xena had watched with a mixture of dread and sorrow, seeing Gabrielle's frustrated attempts at nourishing the baby. The child was pitifully small. Xena was certain she would not last through the night, especially after going over 24 hours without nourishment. The babe had yet to wet a single diaper, and she barely cried. Xena feared the child was something not human.

With no regard to her own discomfort so soon after giving birth, Gabrielle rose from the pallet swiftly, going to the small wooden box she had padded with soft cloth nearby which now served as a make- shift "cradle" for her infant child. "Hope?" she whispered worriedly, afraid of what she may find inside. Would her baby be alright? She hadn't cried or made a single sound all night long. She was so tiny. Gabrielle feared she might find her newborn daughter as still as death.

Bright blue eyes gazed up at Gabrielle as she knelt down for the tiny bundle, taking Hope into her arms. "Thank the Gods you are alright," said Gabrielle with a sigh of relief, cuddling her daughter close. The baby was warm and soft. Gabrielle softly kissed the blond patch of hair upon her small head.

From the pallet, Xena watched, saddened when she had been abruptly awakened at first, thinking that her love would surely find the babe dead within the makeshift cradle. But her frown deepened, seeing that Gabrielle carried the little one over to the pallet and the infant was yet alive. Gabrielle was bonding more and more with the baby, and that struck raw pain and terror into Xena's heart. How would she ever make Gabrielle understand when the time came that Xena must slay the demon Dahak's evil child?

"Ohhh, Xena... I was so worried. But she's okay," said Gabrielle as she sat down next to Xena on the sleeping pallet. "See, she's just fine."

Xena looked at the child. Small blue eyes blinked back at her. "Yes, Gabrielle. I can see that she is fine. And she--- she appears to have grown in the night. See, her little hands are slightly larger... and her cheeks have filled out," Xena noticed as she took in the features of the tiny baby girl. "Gabrielle, you know as well as I do that she hasn't nursed. You haven't been able to nourish her... and she hasn't wet a single diaper. She's unnatural... She's NOT human--------."

Gabrielle's eyes flashed and a scowl came to her face. "Stop it, Xena. She's MY baby."

"She's not a baby. She's the spawn of that monster...." Xena's blue eyes blazed with frustration. She wasn't getting through to Gabrielle, not in the slightest.

"Don't talk that way about her. She's my child... I love her." Tears shone in Gabrielle's eyes and something else. Fierce protection. Like a mother bear with her cub. She wasn't about to let Xena harm this baby. Not her Hope. She cradled the infant closer, snuggling her to her chest in protection. She caressed the infant's blond head while she faced Xena, not backing down. "Xena, you won't harm her. I won't let you."

Xena's eyes flashed. A mixture of unspeakable sorrow with a lightening flash of fierce protection glowed in the sapphire depths. "I won't let her come between us. And I will do what I must to protect you, Gabrielle...you know that. You are my main priority. Nothing is going to happen to her. I will not harm a hair on her head... but IF you are in danger... IF she should ever become a threat, I won't hesitate to---- Well, let me put it this way... when it comes to protecting your life and doing away with the evil spawn of that bastard Dahak that raped you, you know I will stop at nothing---."

"Never speak that way about her again. Never!" Gabrielle cried out, tears streaking her face as she angrily shouted at Xena, raw pain crashing through her heart with Xena's hurtful words. Gabrielle gathered Hope close as she cried, going to sit before the fire, rocking the baby softly as she tried to calm the torrent of tears which blinded her vision.

Gabrielle held Hope tightly, swearing to protect her with everything she had. This was her baby. A part of her. A tiny little being who depended on her. How could Xena be so terribly cruel? How could she even think Hope was evil? She was so tiny and defenseless. Tears continued to roll down Gabrielle's face, but she grew more and more determined. Determined not to let Xena harm her child. If she must, she would fight Xena... do everything in her power to protect her baby girl. "I love you, Hope," Gabrielle whispered to her child, affirming within her heart that she would never allow Xena or anyone else to harm her baby girl.

Xena was right. Hope had grown during the night. How was that possible? Gabrielle gently unwrapped the babe, checking the cloth that she had placed between the infant's tiny legs. The diaper wasn't even the slightest bit wet. Hope hadn't urinated even once since her birth, nor had she taken a single drop of her mother's milk. Deep inside, Gabrielle knew this was not natural, not possible, but still she loved Hope, adored her, and wanted to protect her. She swaddled Hope once again and then went back to Xena's side.

Xena looked up, seeing the drying tears on her Love's face. "Gabrielle," she spoke softly, her words full of sorrow. "I'm sorry. I know my words were harsh. I know I hurt you deeply. You are the innocent one in all of this. None of this is your fault. Dahak forced himself on you...he brutally raped you... and all of this was against your will. You never asked to become pregnant. You never asked to carry his child, nor to give birth to it. All this has been forced upon you, and I hate it. My heart aches for you. I love you. And I don't want to see you hurt. I know you love Hope, I know how much she means to you.... that is why this is so hard. But she's not a REAL baby, Gabrielle. She's not human. She's a part of him."

Gabrielle looked at Xena, listening to the words she spoke as she once again was seated on the pallet next to her love. She cradled the infant child on her lap as she spoke, stroking her tiny blond head. "Yes, you are right. She's a part of him," said Gabrielle. "But she's a part of me, too. I am good. And if everything you are saying happens, Xena, we can help her,.... just as I helped you. If you are right, and she begins to become evil, we can help her fight her dark-side. Just as you fought yours. She will be good... You will see."

*~*

Hope was growing rapidly, and after a month, she was beginning to sit up on her own. Her hair had grown longer and as golden as the summer sun and her eyes were still a vivid blue. When Gabrielle looked deep into those depths, she could see shades of green reflected there. Her baby would soon have her mother's emerald eyes. Xena was wary of Hope, watching her every move, waiting for the moment she would turn on them, ready to do what she must to protect the woman she loved.

Hope now lay tummy-down on a blanket in the sunshine as Gabrielle and Xena sat outside the cabin trying to make conversation although they had barely spoken since the baby's birth. They both had been far too tense... as though waiting for the next crushing blow that fate would throw upon them. They hadn't made love since before Dahak's rape of Gabrielle, and Xena longed for the intimacy the two had once shared. Hope seemed to be a barrier between them, causing a rift to develop that neither knew how to bridge.

Xena and Gabrielle stared at Hope as she moved on the blanket, but neither said a word. "I think she's trying to crawl," Gabrielle finally said. Her voice spoke in awe of her daughter, but also there was a hint of fear there as well. Although she loved the child she had bore, she knew she wasn't an ordinary baby. Hope was different; inhuman.

Xena's gaze moved to Gabrielle. "I think you are right," Xena sighed. Hope now looked to be a child about seven months old. There was nothing remaining in her of the frail babe Xena had delivered only one month prior. Hope looked healthy, pink-cheeked and chubby, very strong and full of vitality.

"Xena, why won't she eat? And why doesn't she cry?" Gabrielle asked, twisting her hands together as she spoke, worry furrowing her brow. "Should we take her to a healer? She hasn't wet a single diaper since the day she was born..."

"I think we both know why she doesn't act like other babies. Gabrielle, she shouldn't be sitting up yet... shouldn't be about ready to crawl. She's not human...."

"Xena, I---"

Gabrielle's words were cut off. Three men, two of which were in robes approached the cabin. Gabrielle's first instinct was to run to the baby, snatch her up and run off with her, but then she realized that these men were not the angry villagers. They were different men. Two were old and frail-looking, and the third one was young. He was handsome and dressed like a knight. He carried a sheathed sword, making Gabrielle increasingly nervous. The three men looked quite tired and as if they had travelled many miles.

They looked at Xena and Gabrielle, then their eyes settled on the baby, and Gabrielle stiffened. Perhaps they were here about her daughter after all. Maybe her baby wasn't safe. "Who are you?" she asked swiftly. "And why are you here?"

"We've came in search of Xena. We have an urgent message for her," spoke the elder of the three men.

"I am the one you seek," Xena spoke up. "What sort of a message?"

"It's about the child," said the younger of the men, his gaze once again going to Hope. Gabrielle went then to gather her daughter into her arms, taking her quickly into the cabin to keep her safe. She watched from the window, hoping that the men would soon leave. She didn't like the way they had looked at her daughter. She listened as Xena talked to the men, hearing every word that was spoken.

"What about the child?" Xena questioned, her own hand resting on her sword. She had no idea who these men were and if Gabrielle might be in some sort of danger. Perhaps they were sent by the villagers, and since Gabrielle had borne the evil one's spawn, these men might wish to kill her as well.

"We have been sent to warn you, Warrior Princess," said the youngest man. "The child is evil. She is the daughter of Dahak, the demon. His intention is to cause vast destruction and unfathomable evil upon mankind. The child, his spawn, must be destroyed. I am here to act as executioner."

"No one is touching the child," Xena said in a steely voice. "I will protect her with my life and I will protect her mother as well. No one touches either of them, is that clear?"

"We're warning you, the child's evil is increasing. She's going to kill soon. You must stop her," cried out one of the old men.

"She cannot even crawl yet," Xena sneered. "I suggest you leave this cabin at once. And if you don't, I will become violent." Xena pulled out her sword with a scraping sound, threatening the men.

"We are holy men; we have only come to give you a warning. No blood will be spilled."

Gabrielle stepped outside the cabin then, her stance angry as she came up to the men, glaring into their faces. Her baby was inside now and safe. "How can you say that.... when you seek to destroy my child?" she screamed out.

"She's evil; a prophesy spoke of her birth. She would be born of an innocent, golden one full of light; Demon darkness would fill her, and she would cast fiery evil and unspeakable terror upon the land," said one of the holy men, recounting the ancient prophecy which foretold of Dahak's child's birth.

"You don't even KNOW my baby! She is beautiful, innocent. If you knew her, you would not be saying these horrible things. She's just a baby, an innocent. If you only got to know her, you would come to love her, too," Gabrielle implored. "She's only a child... please, do not speak again of taking her life."

Gabrielle looked at Xena and at the three men as well. "I invite you to stay," she said to the strangers. "Get to know my daughter. Then if you decide she's evil, you can do what must be done. You will see, she's just an innocent little girl, small and trusting. Come inside the cabin. You will find nothing there. Just a defenseless baby girl."

Hesitantly the three men followed Gabrielle into the cabin and Xena entered along behind them. There on the floor was Hope, playing with a small rag doll Gabrielle had made for her out of yarn and a few scraps of cloth. She looked up at the men with innocent baby-blue eyes. She made a cooing noise as she reached out her tiny arms to her mother.

Gabrielle swept Hope into her embrace and turned to the four that had accused her child of being evil. "There, you see.... nothing but a tiny, beautiful baby girl. Nothing evil. How dare any of you say she's unworthy of drawing breath?"

The three men blinked, unable to say a word. And Xena only stared. She knew. She had seen the way Hope watched her. The child was waiting. And the evil was growing stronger. She could feel it. It seemed to radiate from the beautiful little being in her Love's arms. Soon it would strike. Then nothing would ever be the same. Nothing.... and her worst fear was that it would destroy the most sacred thing of all, she and Gabrielle's love.

Gabrielle turned to the youngest man and before he could say a single word, she thrust Hope into his arms. "There, if you say she's evil, take your sword... and kill her," Gabrielle said as great big tears shone in her green eyes. "Do it... Do it now!"

The man was startled as Gabrielle handed Hope to him. He stared into the small face of the most angelic little child he had ever seen. She looked like a cherub. She was a tiny replica of her mother, and she had the sweetest blue eyes he had ever seen. The strong brave knight actually teared-up. "I can't do it," he said, looking at the other two men as the tiny child remained still in his arms looking up at him.

The other two men stared on in silence, looking at the child. She looked like an innocent angel. Surely this was the wrong child. She didn't look evil, not in the slightest.

"There," said Gabrielle, reaching again for Hope and placing her down gently upon the sleeping pallet where she slept with Xena. She then crossed the floor to stand up to the men and Xena as well. "There will be no more talk of slaying my baby. Either the four of you help me protect her or I am leaving. I will care for her on my own if I must. I say the ones that want to hurt her are the evil forces and not she. What has she done? She's just a babe; she needs our protection," Gabrielle implored.

The men looked at one another and then began to talk quietly among themselves. They turned to Xena and the eldest said, "We will stay on and remain in your stable. We will help you protect the child until we find out the truth behind the prophesy and decide what must be done."

Xena nodded, telling them they could stay. The three men walked out, and Xena closed the door behind them. "Gabrielle, I fear you are making a mistake," she said, gently raising Gabrielle's chin to gaze longingly into her eyes.

"You know how I feel about this. She's my child, Xena. My flesh and blood. If you had a child, you would understand," said Gabrielle, her heart full of sadness, because this WASN'T Xena's child. This baby was hers alone, not THEIRS.

A muscle twitched in Xena's cheek. If only Gabrielle knew how those words clenched and ravaged her heart. She DID have a child. A beautiful son. A boy she had to give up. She bit her lip, then let her fingertips fall away from Gabrielle's cheek. The conversation had ended and neither one felt an ounce of peace.

*~*

Days passed and Hope grew stronger. Soon she would be walking. Xena felt the urgency. The evil grew and flourished. She was certain that soon Hope would make her first kill. Waiting for the attack made Xena incredibly tense.

The younger of the three men had grown very fond of Hope. While Gabrielle and the child rested in the cabin, he attempted to reason with Xena. "The woman I love is in grave danger. I can feel it," she said, pacing back and forth as she spoke.

Gwain sighed. "Not from the child. The babe is an angel."

"Yes, from the child. We are all in danger."

"The babe is an innocent. As you said yourself, she cannot even walk yet. I am wearing this amulet, blessed from the temple," he said, clutching the sacred amulet of protection as it hung on a hemp braid he wore around his neck. "It will protect me and cast all evil aside. All will be well."

"No, nothing will be well ever again," Xena spoke. Just as those words left her lips, Gabrielle came running from the cabin, Hope in her arms.

"Xena!" the bard cried, running to her lover.

"What is it, Gabrielle?" Xena asked in alarm.

"The villagers... I saw them from the window, riding this way! They want to hurt my baby!"

Gwain reached for Hope, taking the baby girl into his arms. "I will protect her," he promised Gabrielle.

Before Gabrielle could protest, Xena grabbed her up, placing her upon Argo's broad back. "My baby... Hope---!" Gabrielle cried out, reaching for her child, but it was too late; Xena had mounted Argo, and they were riding away. Argo's thundering hooves carried Gabrielle's cries away into the wind. Gwain ran to the stable, little Hope in his protective arms. Nothing would happen to this little one, not if he could help it.

Xena and Gabrielle fought off the villagers, wounding many and killing a few. The others went running; knowing they could not penetrate the barrier that the Warrior Princess and her sidekick had placed around the cabin. After it was over, there was a mass of bodies lying at their feet, and Gabrielle looked stunned and pale. Again she had killed, but this time it had been to protect Hope, her precious baby.

"Gabrielle, are you alright?" Xena asked, sheathing her sword as she went to her love, seeing how white Gabrielle had gone.

"I'll be fine." Gabrielle winced as she stepped over a couple of the bodies to stand in front of Xena. "We got to get back to Hope. Do you think she's alright?"

"I'm sure she is, little one. She's with Gwain," Xena responded, but she couldn't stop the feeling of dread that now overcame her. Death was in the air... and it wasn't just from the tangled heap of bodies which were strewn upon the earth. The elder of the two holy men approached, seeing the slaughter of villagers as Xena and Gabrielle mounted Argo.