DICLAIMER: The characters within this story are not my property but that of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. I am simply borrowing them for this work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is implied or intended. "Amphipolis Now" By Lady Leonie - malory70@yahoo.com This was not at all, how Ares had pictured his first meeting with Xena. Flat on his ass in a pile of steaming horse manure. Her icy blue eyes brimmed with amusement at his situation. "What are YOU doing here, Ares?" Xena asked as she extended her hand to help him up. With as much diginity as his bruised ego would allow, he grasped her hand and pulled himself up. "Believe it or not Xena, I came to help." "Came to help me? I don't need any help, Ares." Ares' nose curled as he caught the aroma of his own stench. Looking for something to clean himself off with he offhandedly answered "No, not you Xena. I've learned my lesson on that front. I'm here for Gabrielle." "Gabrielle! Why? What's happened to her? Tell me Ares or I swear...." "You swear what, Xena? You'll slice and dice me like you did the other gods. Oh...nevermind. She's not in any danger or anything. It's just that when she found out about her family, I offered to help her find Lila." Ares saw the confused look on Xena's face and knew in that moment that she had no idea what he was talking about. "YOU do know what happened don't you?" He could tell that she didn't. "Ares, Eve and I only arrived here a few days ago. I haven't heard from Gabrielle since we left Olympus together. Now spill, what happened to her family?" "My parents are dead, Xena!" Xena and Ares turned toward the woman at the shilouetted at the barns door. "Lila?" They asked in unison. "Yes, Xena its me." Lila stepped into the dim light revealing a woman much changed from the girl she once was. Xena walked over to embrace Gabrielle's sister, but stopped dead in her tracks at the look of loathing on her face. "By all rights, it should be you and Gabrielle, not my parents who are rotting in the ground. Why did you even bother coming back here?" Xena could not mask the hurt in her eyes at the pain her friend would feel if she heard those words. Ares stepped forward and was quick to take the blame. "Lila, it was not Gabrielle or Xena's choice to be away so long. The fault is mine. I put them in a ice cave when I thought they were dead. Otherwise they would have been back a long time ago." Lila could not believe her eyes or ears. Was this the great god of war,Ares? What was he doing in Cyrene's barn? "None of that matters to me, if she hadn't gone off on her big adventure with Xena in the first place things would be different!" "Will you never forgive me for that, sister?" Once more all eyes turned to the door. This time it was Gabrielle and Evander. "Wow! This barn seems to be the hot spot. Why don't you go rustle us up some food, PORKUS? Evander's attempt at wit to lighten the rooms charged atmostphere fell short of its mark. Gabrielle gave Ares a apologetic look, for his sons use of the fictious name she had given him. Lila stood stunned at her sisters, youthful appearance for a moment. Then remembering her anger, stormed from the room. "Was it something I said?" Evander wondered aloud. Cyrene walked slowly to the table where the odd assembly sat talking. The three people she loved most sitting with Ares and a familiar looking stranger. Her brief reunion with Gabrielle had been bitter sweet,as she learned of her parents death.Cyrene could not believe in all the time Lila had been here she had never mentioned it. But then, when Lila had showed up at her door a few months ago, she had been too wrapped up in her own sorrow to ask questions. Now it seemed she should have. "I'm so sorry, Gabrielle. If I had known,Eve and I would have come right away." "I understand, Xena. Really I do,it was just very hard to come home and find them gone you know?" "Yeah, I do know. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had found mother gone." Ares sat quietly listening to the exchange between the two friends. He cringed every time Evander touched Gabrielle. He wanted to be the one offering her comfort. It was really time for him to have a heart to heart with his son. Gabrielle had let Xena know not to reveal his identity to Evander, when she had asked who this "Porkus" fellow was. The looks of amusement that Xena would shoot at him when Evander addressed him that way grated at his nerves. Gabrielle was feeling sick at heart from her sister's accusations but seeing Ares growing agitation at his own predicament helped. The humor of the situation was not lost on her. She knew Ares was going to get her back one day for her little prank and actually looked forward to it. Xena on the other hand was not amused at all by the looks passing from her friend and Ares. What had happened to cause this obvious closeness between them? She was determined to find out before it went anywhere. Her attention drawn back to the conversation, she listened as Eve practically interrogated Evander about his life. Had she noticed the remarkable resemblance between the two men and figured out that they were father and son Until everything was sorted out, she was going to have to talk to her daughter. As the hour grew late,everyone agreed it was time for bed. Eve walked Cyrene to her room before going to her own and Ares slipped outside, not sure of where he would spend the night. Gabrielle excused herself and to Xena's surprise followed him out. Gabrielle quickly caught up with Ares. "I've been wondering since I got here about how you managed to get here before me." "Well, when you and my son took off without me, I called on Aphrodite for a lift. As you can probably tell from my cologne "au'de horse manure" she wasn't happy about it." For the first time since her arrival, Gabrielle felt like laughing. Why was it that Ares seemed to be able to do that when no once else could anymore? "I'm sorry we left you. Its just that when the fates told me where to find Lila, that was the only thing on my mind. She hates me, Ares! Can I really blame her, though? There is some truth to what she feels, but I can't regret the path I chose. I can only regret that I wasn't there when they needed me. Maybe there was something I could have done." The tears pooling in her eyes began slipping down her cheek. Unable to resist the urge to hold her, he did just that. Gabrielle didn't even think twice about accepting his comforting arms. She felt so safe wrapped close to him. Looking up into his deep brown eyes, she felt the stirrings of passion. Right now she needed to be loved and love in return. Ares mouth claimed her own and tasted the salt of her tears. Wrapped up in their passion, neither saw the figure watching from the window. Xena could not believe her eyes! Ares and Gabrielle....KISSING? She had known that he wanted Gabrielle before, when he offered her his succession. But, at the time she had thought it was out of spite for her own denial of the role. After all it wasn't that long ago, that he was pledging his love for her, not Gabrielle.This had to be some new ploy of his and she was going to do anything to find out what it was. For now, she needed to break up their little love fest. Returning to the table, she saw the answer to her problem. "Evander, I can see that you care for Gabrielle. Would you mind going to check on her for me? I need to see if mother needs anything, alright?" She was amused at how quickly he jumped at the chance to go after her. Until she figured out what Ares was up to, his son would be the perfect obstacle to put in his way. She just hoped that in the end, Gabrielle was not hurt again. to be continued...