All Shall Be Well

Disclaimer: In the spirit of solstice, no copyright infringements intended.

“It figures,” Hercules muttered under his breath as the gang of bandits approached them. “This is what I get for opening my big mouth.” He and Iolaus had just undertaken a completely peaceful journey all the way from Mycenae to Thebes, where they had picked up Jason. The demigod had just been telling the Argonaut about the lack of trouble on their trip, when suddenly the thugs had approached them demanding money.

“Come on,” Hercules urged the goon in front. “Let’s get this over with.” As the men attacked, the demigod had to admit that he was enjoying himself slightly. The thugs were overzealous, unorganized, and inexperienced, so it was no effort at all to overpower them. He took out three quickly, and Iolaus handled the remaining two. Jason sheathed his sword in disappointment.

“Hey, next time why don’t you leave one for me?” he complained good naturedly.

“Sorry, Jason. Guess I got carried away.” The demigod brushed his hands off in satisfaction and nodded towards his partner. “One of them got in a lucky shot, huh?” Iolaus reached up a hand and felt blood trickling from his nose.

“Yeah, guess so,” he replied. “Give me a second, ok?” The hunter left the road and made his way down to a small stream that was hidden behind a stand of trees. Jason watched him go with a troubled frown. Hercules was talking to him, but the Argonaut was lost in thought and not hearing him. He finally excused himself, saying that he needed to get some water, and followed the path that the hunter had taken moments before.

“Are you all right?” Jason asked worriedly as he came upon Iolaus crouched next to the stream’s edge.

“Fine,” the hunter replied wearily. The bleeding had slowed, but hadn’t completely stopped yet. He took a handful of the cold running water and splashed it over his face.

“I was watching you fight those men,” Jason began hesitantly.

“And?” Iolaus prodded, looking up at his old friend.

“They never touched you.”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’? Iolaus, you show up at my door looking like Tartarus, neither you nor Hercules says anything, and now you’re bleeding for no reason at all and acting like I’m the crazy one for thinking it’s abnormal. Look, when we get to Corinth, I want you to see the healer.”

“I’ve already seen a healer. In Athens.”

“And?”

“Now you’re doing it,” the hunter grinned.

“Iolaus, just answer me.”

“Well, you said it yourself,” he said softly, the grin fading from his face. “It’s not normal.”

“How bad is it?” Jason was almost afraid to ask, but he had to.

“Bad,” the hunter whispered. “The worst, in fact.“ He took another handful of water and splashed it over his face. Jason felt a wave of shock rush over him.

“I still want you to see the healer when we get to Corinth,” he said in what he hoped was a steady voice. “He’s the best in Greece. Promise me that you’ll go see him.”

“One condition,” the hunter bargained. “Don’t tell Hercules about this.”

“You mean he doesn’t know?” the Argonaut asked incredulously. Iolaus shook his head.

“Iolaus, you have to tell him.”

“I will, when I’m ready. Jase, promise me that you won’t tell him. It’s important.” Jason promised, although it was against his better judgment. “Come on,” Iolaus told him, getting up and starting back up to the road. “Herc’s going to think we ran off together.” The hunter flashed his infectious grin, but this time Jason could clearly see the pain behind the smile.

Hercules had a trick he always used whenever he lost Iolaus in a crowd. Look for either the food or the women. And if there was an area that had both food and women, he knew his partner was sure to be there. So, when the demigod wanted to find his friend within the immense structure of Iphicles' castle, he naturally went to the kitchen first. Predictably, Iolaus was there, flirting boldly with one of the serving girls.

“We need to talk,” Hercules said sternly, striding up to his roguish partner.

“About what?” the hunter murmured, not even bothering to look away from the lovely young lady that had captured his rapt attention.

“Excuse him,” the demigod told the girl, grabbing Iolaus by the back of his well worn vest. “I promise I’ll have him back in one piece.” The girl sighed and turned back to her work as Hercules dragged the hunter into the corridor.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“Me? What in Tartarus are you doing?” Iolaus protested, yanking away and straightening his vest. “I was just looking for something to eat and happened to get into an innocent conversation with... um... that girl, and then you come along and haul me out by the scruff...”

“Iolaus.” Hercules’ voice broke on the word as he looked at his friend. The hunter immediately understood and he slumped against the wall.

“Jason told you, huh?”

Yes, Jason had indeed told him. At first, Hercules hadn’t believed him. It just didn’t seem possible, and he accused his friend of playing some kind of sick joke on him. But the sadness on the Argonaut's face was not a joke as he explained what the palace healer had confided in him. Hercules still hadn’t wanted to believe him, but once he had confronted Iolaus, the look in the hunter’s eyes confirmed his deepest fears.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” the demigod demanded, voice full of anguish.

“I don’t know,” Iolaus replied slowly. “I guess I didn’t want to ruin anybody’s solstice. Maybe I was in denial. Or I was waiting for a right time that never came. I can’t believe Jason told you. He promised me.”

“Maybe he thought that someone should act like an adult and face this, instead of hiding from it.” Angry tones were behind the words, and the hunter became defensive.

“Look,” he said, annoyed. “This is my problem. Not yours and not Jason’s. I’ll deal with it however I want.”

“Not my problem? Iolaus, how can you even say that?”

“I’m sorry,” the hunter said finally. “I didn’t mean that. But I don’t want to talk about this now, ok? If the oh-so-wise palace healer is to be believed, I’m not making it to the next solstice so I’d like to enjoy this one.”

“Iolaus,” Hercules called out as the hunter began to walk away. “I just want to help.”

“Well, you can help me by not interrupting me as I’m thrilling beautiful girls with tales of my heroics.” Iolaus winked and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Hercules took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, wishing he had handled the confrontation better. He’d been hurt that Iolaus hadn’t told him the truth, and angry about the situation in general. But he had never meant to direct his anger at the hunter. His mind had been in turmoil ever since Jason had broken the news to him, and he hadn’t given himself any time to think before he had spoken to Iolaus. Hercules decided to give them both some time to work things out individually, and then they could have a rational discussion.

The demigod sighed as he turned to wander into the main hall of the castle. Iolaus hadn’t been the only one in denial. Hercules knew he shouldn’t have needed to be told that his partner was sick. But in his mind, he had overlooked the weight loss and the fatigue and the weakness that had plagued his friend over the past month. As if not talking about it would make it go away. He couldn’t really blame Iolaus for not telling him what had been so painfully obvious.

Hercules slumped in a chair by the fireplace and looked blankly around him. Iphicles had gone to great lengths to have the castle decorated for solstice. Hercules, Iolaus, and Jason were early, wanting some time to relax and catch up before the craziness began. Lots of old friends were coming to Corinth for the party Iphicles was throwing and for the other festivities, and the demigod had really been looking forward to all of it. Now, all he wanted to do was to curl up in the chair he was resting in and sleep until Iolaus woke him up to tell him it had all been just a nightmare.

Iolaus shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. The night air was on the warm side and a fire crackled merrily before him, but lately a permanent chill seemed to have settled within his very bones. Try as he might, he could not chase away the perpetual cold that continuously stroked him with its icy fingers. With a sigh of resignation, he stoked his fire with a long stick and tried not to think about it.

A twig snapping caught his attention and the hunter’s gaze darted to the trees at his left. He tensed, hand slowly moving to wrap around the hilt of his sword as he watched and listened. The bushes parted, and the familiar form of Hercules appeared out of the night. Iolaus relaxed and poked at the fire again as the demigod came forward to sit across from him.

“Fancy meeting you here,” the hunter said softly.

“Well, what can I say? You forgot something.”

“What was that?”

“Me.” Hercules couldn’t hold back the note of hurt in his voice.

“I wanted to leave you a note to explain why I was leaving,” Iolaus began. “But I just couldn’t find the right words.”

“For someone who’s spent the entire course of his life babbling endlessly on and on, you’re certainly at a loss for words these days.”

“I do not babble,” the hunter protested. “My superior intellect is vastly ahead of the ordinary human mind, so my thoughts come much more quickly. Therefore, what may be perceived as babbling...”

“Iolaus.” There was a lot of emotion behind the word, but no anger or irritation.

“I had to leave, Herc,” the hunter told his friend in utter seriousness. “No one, especially you, was going to have any fun during solstice with me there as a reminder of mortality. I left for you.”

“What were you thinking? That I would just wake up, notice you were gone, and just go through solstice like nothing was wrong?”

“No, but... Listen to me, Herc. I'm dying. And this isn’t going to be like dying in battle. Its not going to be a quick hero’s death. I’m going to get worse and worse before the end finally comes. I didn’t want you to have to see that. I wanted to spare you the sight of me wasting away before your eyes. And I wanted you to remember me as the strong man I was, not the shadow that I’m going to be at the end of my days.”

“Then what changed your mind?” Hercules asked. “I know you, Iolaus. You never would have let me find you if you hadn’t wanted to be found. Why did you let me catch up with you now?”

“Well, when I left Corinth, I was trying to decide where to go. I thought I’d go somewhere exciting, maybe even travel out of Greece. But when it came right down to it, all I really wanted was to go home. And then I realized that I didn’t have one to go to.” Iolaus half laughed at his statement. “It was probably the saddest moment of my entire life.”

“Iolaus, you do have a home...” The demigod’s heart ached at his friend’s words.

“That’s what I finally realized,” the hunter continued. “You’re it. My home is wherever you are. And suddenly all my good intentions about sparing you the pain of watching me suffer just went to Hades. Turns out the hero is really just a coward at heart.”

“Don’t you ever call yourself a coward again,” Hercules said fiercely, moving around the fire to sit beside the hunter.

“I don’t want to go through this alone,” Iolaus whispered, blue eyes shining in the firelight as he gazed up at his partner. “I don’t want to die alone.”

“I won’t let you,” the demigod reassured him, reaching out an arm to hug him tightly. “I’m here, just like always. Back to back, remember? No matter what.” Iolaus felt the warmth and the strength of his friend’s chest as he rested against it, and he was a little surprised to find that some of the warmth flowed into him and helped to lessen the cold that gripped him.

“I’m scared,” the hunter laughed. “Isn’t that dumb? I’ve actually been to the other side, more than once. But for some reason, I’m still afraid.”

“We’re going to fight this,” Hercules vowed. “You and I together. We’ll find a way to beat it.”

“Herc, you’re going to have to let me go someday. Eventually, they’re going to stop letting you bring me back.”

“Not yet,” the demigod insisted. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

“You think I’m ready to go?” Iolaus grinned. “But someday it will be my time, and from the looks of things, that someday isn’t too far off. The healers were really quite clear on that.”

“No, there has to be a way. Maybe I could...”

“Don’t you dare,” the hunter cried, sitting up quickly as he read his friend’s mind. “Hercules, swear to me that you won’t prostitute yourself to the gods for me.”

“If it’s a choice between my dignity and your life, then there’s really no choice.”

“Oh please, we both know it’ll be a lot more than your dignity at stake. More like your morals, ethics, self-respect, quite possibly your life, and that’s only if anyone even hears you. It’s not worth it. Promise me that you won’t ask the gods for help. Please, promise me.”

“I can’t lose you again,” the demigod whispered painfully.

“My death has been inevitable from the day I was born,” Iolaus reasoned. “You can’t stop that. No one can. Mortals die, it’s a fact of life.”

“I’m not going to give you up that easily,” Hercules vowed.

“And I’m not going to go that easily,” the hunter agreed. “I still have hope. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve defied the odds. I’m just saying that maybe we should be prepared, just in case it doesn’t end how we want it.”

Hercules was silent for a long time. Iolaus seemed to have accepted his fate, but the demigod could not. He promised himself that he would do whatever he could to help his friend.

“Why don’t we go back to Corinth?” he suggested. “Everyone’s asking about you, and you know it’s going to be a wild party.”

“You go,” Iolaus urged. “I’m not really up for a wild party right now. Tell everyone I said hello.”

“I’m not going back without you,” Hercules told him.

“See, this is what I was trying to avoid,” the hunter sighed. “You’re missing the festivities because of me. I’m already bringing you down.”

“I’m not missing anything,” the demigod insisted. “The party isn’t going to be all that wild without you there to liven things up. Iolaus, I mean it. I’d rather be here with you.”

The friends sat in silence for long moments, lost in their own thoughts.

“Jason feels guilty,” Hercules said finally. “He was afraid you left because of him. He’s sorry he broke his promise to you.”

“I’m not,” Iolaus replied softly. “He sent you to me when I needed you the most. It was the best gift I could have gotten.”

“Well, now that I’m here, where DO you want to go?”

“I had a dream last night,” the hunter began hesitantly. “I dreamt that Michael came to me. He said that it was out of his hands, that he didn’t have the power to help me. But he told me to go to the one place where I truly found peace.”

“North,” Hercules whispered.

“North,” Iolaus echoed.

“Well, I guess we‘re going to Benthos,” the demigod said.

“You’re just indulging me, like last time,” the hunter accused fondly.

“No way.” Hercules shook his head vehemently to prove his point. “After that experience, I learned never to doubt your visions. Come morning, we head North.”

Hercules sighed as he cut open a fish and pulled the insides out. Mechanically, he began scraping the outer scales off his catch as he tried not worry. As they had planned, the partners had begun traveling toward Benthos, but they had not gotten far. Although he hadn’t said much, it was obvious that Iolaus was not feeling well. When late afternoon arrived, Hercules had suggested stopping to set up camp, and surprisingly the hunter had agreed. He also had declined going down to the stream to fish, preferring instead to stay behind and set up their campsite. Hercules knew it was serious if Iolaus refused fishing.

The demigod returned to the area that they had selected to inhabit for the night, and found Iolaus curled up asleep beside a small fire that he had built. Hercules set down his string of fish and added a handful of twigs to the flagging blaze. He took a few minutes to scour the area around them, gathering an armful of firewood, before building up the fire and hanging the fish above the crackling flames. Hercules went out again to get another load of wood, and when he returned, Iolaus was awake.

“Are you all right?” the demigod asked in concern.

“Yeah,” Iolaus mumbled, reaching for his water skin and taking a sip.

“The fish are almost done,” Hercules told him, checking the browning trout.

“No thanks,” the hunter replied. “I’m not hungry.”

“Now I know you’re not all right,” the demigod said, staring at his partner with exaggerated shock.

“Really, I’m fine.”

“Iolaus,” Hercules chided. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t be like that. You don’t have anything to prove, especially to me.”

“Ok, I feel like that time when Typhon backhanded me halfway across Plinth. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes, because if you tell me the truth about how you’re feeling, then I can help you.”

“Help me how?” the hunter asked suspiciously. “I’m not drinking any of those disgusting concoctions you make.”

“You will drink it, or else I’ll pour it down your throat,” Hercules said cheerfully. “Now sit up here and eat some of this fish.”

Iolaus ate a few bites, primarily to shut Hercules up. That was also the main reason that he drank the bitter tea that the demigod forced on him, although he had to admit that it did help a little.

“Herc?” Iolaus asked quietly.

“What?” Hercules answered. Darkness had fallen and he had assumed the hunter was asleep. He looked down at Iolaus’ head, which was resting against his leg.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Two lost, outcast boys, each trying to prove something to a father that had no business even having children.”

“Two lost boys,” the hunter echoed. “That filled the hole in each other’s heart.”

“I admired you so much,” Hercules confessed.

“Me?” Iolaus turned his head to look up at his friend. “Why?”

“Because. You had so much attitude and confidence. You never doubted yourself. And you weren’t scared of anything.”

“That was 50% recklessness and 50% acting,” the hunter grinned. “I was just a punk kid. On my way to becoming a career criminal. I don’t even want to think about how I’d have ended up if you hadn’t shown me another way. I wish I could just erase that part of my life.”

“Don’t be in such a hurry to dismiss it,” Hercules advised. “Everything that’s happened to you in your life has played a part in shaping you into the man you are now. A man that’s good, and kind, and a true hero, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“I’ve had a good life,” Iolaus said softly. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s been an honor for me to fight by your side.”

“No,” the demigod argued. “That honor is mine. No one could ask for a better friend. For a better brother.”

“Here.” Iolaus reached up and pulled his medallion over his head, handing it to Hercules. “I want you to have this.”

“No,” Hercules answered after a moment’s hesitation. “Not yet. When the time comes, I’ll take it with pride. But you should hold onto it for now.” Iolaus nodded his understanding and slipped the treasured object back around his neck.

“Herc?”

“What?”

“I’m really glad you’re here with me.”

“Me too. Now go to sleep.” Hercules felt a shiver run through his friend, and carefully tucked the blankets tighter around him. Reaching off to the side, the demigod fumbled for his water skin and poured a little of the cool liquid onto a strip of cloth. He gently laid it across the hunter’s forehead to ease his fever, wishing with all his might that Alcmene was there. She would know what to say and do for both of them, calming them with her quiet reassurance. Hercules knew she’d be able to care for Iolaus, and to help him face the road before him. But since she was gone, it was up to him, and he was at a loss over how to make things easier for his friend.

“It isn’t fair,” the demigod thought to himself, hot tears welling in his eyes. After the whole Dahak mess, when Iolaus had gone into the light, Hercules had really thought he’d lost him for good. And he hadn’t handled it very well. Outwardly, he’d gone on with his life, befriending the vortex’s Iolaus and helping people like he’d always done. But nothing could ease the ache in his heart that was caused by the loss of the man that meant more to him than anyone else in the world ever had or would. Iolaus centered him. Whenever his ego got out of control, Iolaus was the one that brought him back down. If he was depressed, Iolaus lifted him up. When everything spun out of control, Iolaus was there with his lazy grin and laughing eyes to bring everything into perspective.

He didn’t have to explain things to Iolaus, because the hunter never needed an explanation. Hercules never had to live up to an image with Iolaus, because he knew that the demigod was just the kid he’d grown up with. There were times when they didn’t even have to talk, because everything had already been said. Iolaus knew him inside and out, accepted him for what he was, and loved him in spite of it all. Hercules remembered long ago when Hippolyta asked him if he could love a woman as he loved Iolaus. The demigod knew now that the answer was no, that he could never love anyone as he loved Iolaus. There were just too many shared experience, too much pain, and too much joy between them. Iolaus was a part of him, a part of his soul. Nothing or no one could ever come between that.

But something had. Dahak had taken Iolaus away from him. Even after the evil god had been defeated, the hunter was still taken away. Up into the light. Hercules tried to tell himself that it was for the best. Iolaus had gone to a place where he could be safe from the dangers of mortal life, and still be a protector for the innocent. He had died a hero’s death, and would always be remembered as the brave, strong warrior who had given his life for another. But Hercules knew he was fooling himself. Selfish as it might be, he wanted, needed, the hunter back. As he carried on, amazing his friends with how well he was handling his loss, on the inside he battled a pain so great it made it difficult for him to breath sometimes. He constantly fought an urge to rampage and smash everything before him in an attempt to quell the pain. Until the day that Iolaus had returned. The hunter had also felt the loss, so much so that it blinded him to the peace and beauty of the light. Michael had seen that, and had granted both of them their reprieve. For Hercules, it was as if he too had come alive again. And now it was slipping through his fingers. Try as he might to hold on, once again he found himself losing his friend. All his god-given strength was useless to stop it.

“I can’t go through this again,” he thought desperately. “It will kill me for sure this time. I can’t let him go again. There has to be something...” But as he racked his brain, Hercules could find no solution. Looking down at his friend, the demigod rested a gentle hand on his damp curls. He vowed that he would not let this happen. Whatever it took, he was going to save his brother.

“Herc?” The hunter’s voice was a faint whisper.

“What is it now?”

“Happy solstice.”

Hercules thought about that for a moment. Solstice was always a time of happiness and celebration. He had almost forgotten about the holiday, which went unmarked out in the woods. The demigod took a deep breath, and realized that he did feel the joy of solstice. He had to. Iolaus was still alive and with him, and that alone was reason enough to celebrate. Hercules moved his hand to squeeze his friend’s shoulder through the blankets.

“Happy solstice, Iolaus.”

Hercules shot a worried look at his friend. Iolaus had stubbornly insisted on continuing their journey after having spent the night tossing in a restless sleep. His fever had receded and the hunter proclaimed that he was feeling better, but he was still very pale and sported dark circles under his eyes. The demigod didn’t think he was well enough to travel, but much like their previous trip North, Iolaus was driven. Rather than fight about it, Hercules silently followed his partner, but he wasn’t happy.

“I’ve got it,” the demigod said easily, reaching out to take the pack from Iolaus and slinging it over his own shoulder. Despite frequent stops to rest, it was clear to him that the hunter was exhausted. He had expected some kind of a protest, but Iolaus just gave him a grateful grin and kept plodding on. Hercules continued to watch him carefully out of the corner of his eye until the hunter suddenly stopped and reached out to steady himself against a nearby tree.

“What is it?” Hercules asked in concern.

“I’m...dizzy,” the hunter said faintly before slumping to the ground. Hercules caught him before he hit and laid him gently down. Once again, he wet the strip of cloth with the water skin and applied it to Iolaus’ face until his eyes fluttered open. Hercules helped him sit up and handed him the water.

“I think we should stop in Tulosa tonight,” the demigod said as Iolaus took a gulp of the water. “But it’s still a few miles from here.”

“I can make it,” the hunter told him shakily.

“I could...carry you,” Hercules offered. The look that his partner shot him clearly told him what he could do with that suggestion. “Maybe we should just camp out here.”

“No, I can make it,” Iolaus repeated stubbornly. “Help me up.” With Hercules supporting him, the hunter struggled to his feet and they continued their journey. True to his word, Iolaus made it to Tulosa. The demigod suspected that he had made it on sheer willpower alone, and by the time they reached the city limit, Iolaus had nothing left.

“Just sit here and rest a minute,” Hercules urged, easing his friend down beside a fountain in the middle of the town. “I’m going to go find the inn and get us a room for tonight. Are you going to be all right here until I come back?”

Iolaus didn’t have the strength to answer, so he nodded his head briefly before leaning it back to rest against the side of the fountain. He closed his eyes, then reluctantly opened them when he sensed a presence standing over him. A small boy was crouched in front of him, staring him in the face.

“Are you ok?” the child asked.

“Sure, never better,” Iolaus answered absently, hoping the boy would be satisfied with that and would leave him alone. Usually, he was very fond of children, but at the moment he barely had the strength to hold his head up.

“You don’t look ok,” the child persisted. “Are you sick?”

“Yes, I’m sick,” the hunter admitted, looking quickly around the town square for the boy’s parents.

“Do you want my horse?” the boy inquired, holding out a large wooden toy. He opened a tiny door on the underside of the horse and a crowd of wooden soldiers fell out. The child laughed delightedly and began placing the soldiers back inside the horse, one by one. “My daddy made this for my birthday yesterday,” he explained. “But you can have it, if you want.”

“You were born on solstice?” Iolaus asked. The boy nodded solemnly. “It’s a very nice horse,” the hunter said, touched by the child’s generosity. “But I’m sure that your father worked very hard to make it for you, and I just couldn’t take it.” The boy nodded again, not offended in the least by the refusal of his gift. Iolaus watched him for a few moments as he pretended to make the horse gallop along the ground, using the hunter’s legs as jumping posts. Then suddenly the boy looked up as he heard his name being called.

“I have to go,” he said, pointing at a woman waving to him from across the square. “I hope you feel better.” The child put his hand briefly on the top of the hunter’s head and then scampered off to his mother. Iolaus reached his hand up to feel the spot where the child had touched him. A warm sensation was flooding down through him, and he slowly climbed to his feet as he felt his strength return.

“How long ago was it that we came North?”

“Four years,” Hercules replied. “You think this was the same child whose birth you witnessed?”

“I don’t know,” the hunter answered, staring thoughtfully over the valley that they were overlooking. “Four years ago, I followed a vision to this baby, born on solstice. The very air around him radiated with peace. Now, four years later, I come back seeking that same peace, and meet a little boy born on solstice who gave it to me. It has to be the same child. I knew when he was born that he was destined for greatness, and somehow, I guess I’m a part of it. But why me?”

“It looks like somebody has plans for you, Iolaus,” the demigod told him. “Your destiny isn’t finished yet.”

Both men stood silently, staring out as the early morning sun brightened the world with it’s rays.

“You know, Herc, contrary to all recent evidence, someday my time is going to come. Eventually, you will have to let me go.”

“But not today,” the demigod said softly. ‘And not ever, if I can help it,’ he thought to himself. “So, where to now?” he asked out loud.

“We should probably go back to Corinth,” the hunter replied. “I know we missed that wild solstice party but...”

“I’ll settle for a solstice miracle,” Hercules interjected, giving his partner a broad smile.

“Me too,” Iolaus agreed with a grin of his own. “Besides, there’s always next year.”

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