Part Nine, continued

Aphrodite reappeared inside the hut. She curled her right hand into a fist and rubbed her nails against her left shoulder then blew on them in satisfaction. She tossed her blonde curls away from her face and gazed down at the in-labor Gabrielle with a huge grin. "Took care of that little bit of business for you, Miss Bard! Happy now?"

"Ecstatic!" Gabrielle grunted in reply, the sweat rolling down her face in torrents. "Thirsty..."

"Here," Joxer said, bringing the water skin to Gabrielle's lips with visibly shaking hands. He nervously licked his lips as she opened her mouth to take a drink. She took a few swallows and pushed it away. He quickly recapped the skin and looked over at their son, who had grown quiet as he lay in Jace's arms. Jace looked up and made a motion that the baby had fallen asleep and Joxer nodded, turning his attention back to his wife. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

"Uh huh," Gabrielle blinked hard, trying to keep focus. "Oh no, here comes another one!" she gasped suddenly, squeezing Joxer's hands in a death grip. "YAAAAAH!!!!!" the couple yelled in tandem.

Xena looked up then. "Gabrielle! I think I can see the head coming. Get ready!" she warned her friend.

"Oh Gods!" Ricky mumbled, looking a little green as he gazed at the three in the middle of the hut. He slapped his hand over his mouth with a softly muffled exclamation and Eve crawled off his lap and onto Arose's. She wrapped her arms around Arose's neck and stared at Ricky with wide blue eyes.

Arose reached out and patted Ricky's shoulder. "First time you've ever seen a baby be born?"

Ricky nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Gabrielle.

Arose patted his shoulder once more and squeezed it gently. "It's gonna be fine. Messy, but fine."

Ricky nodded again and kept his hand over his mouth, not daring to say a word.

"Gabrielle, get ready to push on the next contraction!" Xena exclaimed hoarsely. She licked her lips and pushed her hair away from her face.

Gabrielle's eyes met Xena's and she nodded slightly, getting ready for the next contraction as Joxer wiped sweat off her brow. "NUUUGGHHHH!" she yelled as a contraction hit and pushed.

"Come on! Push, Gabrielle, push!" Xena exclaimed.

"I AM PUSHING! AAAAHHH!" Gabrielle buried her head against Joxer's chest, her body trembling from her efforts.

"Gabrielle, there's the head!" Joxer exclaimed, his dark eyes shining in feverish excitement.

"Okay... Relax... Wait for the next one..." Xena cautioned.

Gabrielle nodded, her chest heaving. She looked up at Joxer's face, her eyes locking into his. For a moment, everyone's voices faded into the background as she gazed into his eyes. She saw that he was just as scared as she was, but at the same time, those warm, dark eyes were filled with love and determination. His lips curled into a tiny smile and she suddenly felt reassured that everything was going to be fine.

Joxer gently reached out and caressed her cheek, his eyes never leaving hers. Gabrielle licked her lips and nodded once. She felt the contractions coming and squeezed Joxer's hand tightly. He tried not to wince and kept looking down at her as she pushed. She let loose a loud, triumphant yell as the baby's shoulders emerged. Another series of smaller contractions hit then the rest of the body slid out into Xena's waiting arms, followed by the afterbirth.

"It's a girl, Gabrielle! A girl!" Xena's excited voice slowly emerged into her conscious mind. There was the sound of a gentle slap, followed by soft cries that quickly grew in volume. Darien woke up from his sleep and his cries joined his sister's. She heard someone exclaiming from outside that the second baby was a girl and chanting started up.

Jace immediately burst into happy tears. "Oh, she's so pretty!" he blubbered, sniffling as he wiped his face with a lace handkerchief while still holding the crying Darien in his free arm.

Ricky's face changed from the slight greenish tinge to stark white. His dark brown eyes rolled up and he flopped over in a dead faint. "Ricky! Ricky!" Arose exclaimed. "Jace, I need your help!" Eve got off Arose's lap and sat on the floor as brother and sister carefully laid the young man out after Jace gave Darien back to Joxer. Arose gently patted Ricky on the cheek. "Ricky? Ricky?"

"Eww! That is so totally icky!" Aphrodite exclaimed from her vantage point, wrinkling her nose at the mess, then turned her gaze to the new parents with a beautiful grin on her gorgeous features. "She's a cutie though. You two did real good. You can totally forget about having a good night's sleep though for quite some time between the feedings and grody poopy diaper changes!" she finished with a giggle.

"Thanks Aphrodite," Gabrielle yawned as she lifted her head slightly to see Xena cutting the umbilical cord. "She has your hair and skin color too, Joxer," she murmured. She looked up at Joxer, who was smiling happily as he silently cried. "Hey?" she queried softly. "You all right?"

Joxer slowly tore his gaze away from Xena cleaning up their daughter. "You did it, Gabrielle!" Joxer whispered. He carefully leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

"No, Joxer. We did it together," Gabrielle reminded him, reaching up to touch his face, not noticing that she was crying too. He put his hand over hers and smiled through his tears.

"Hey. I've got a little girl here who wants to meet her mommy and daddy," Xena said softly as she finished wrapping the newborn in another soft blanket. She carefully placed the baby on Gabrielle's stomach and smiled at her two friends.

Gabrielle and Joxer gazed at Xena for a moment before Joxer spoke up softly. "Thank you, Xena." He reached out and squeezed her shoulder, rewarding her with his trademark goofy grin.

Xena's blue eyes sparkled for a moment with what appeared to be tears but they were quickly suppressed. "Yeah, well... You're welcome, you big dork," she mumbled with gruff affection in her voice, returning the squeeze with a warrior's grip on Joxer's arm. She looked down at Gabrielle, who smiled tiredly up at her. She returned the smile and gently squeezed Gabrielle's hand. "They're beautiful, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle nodded. "Thanks."

Xena loosened her grip and turned around to see that Ricky was awake from his fainting spell, looking a bit pale, but none the worse for wear. "I think he needs some air, you two," she said to Jace and Arose, her lips beginning to twitch in amusement as Jace and Arose carefully pulled a still-shaken Ricky to his feet.

"You heard her! Move it, move it, move it!" Aphrodite exclaimed, sparkles starting to shoot from her fingertips. She made a shooing motion at the Amazons who were still looking inside the hut. After the Amazons hastily obeyed her command and got out of the way, she watched Jace and Arose help escort Ricky outside the hut. She turned around and giggled throatily. "It's been quite a ride, you two, but I've gotta make tracks and catch some totally radical waves off Rhodes, so see you peeps later! Toodles!" With those words, she snapped her fingers and disappeared in a bright pink and gold light, leaving the scent of roses behind.

Artemis, who had kept silent, also rose to her feet. She gazed down at the new family and smiled slightly. "I am very pleased with these children. They are fine additions to the Amazon Nation. Farewell for now, Queen Gabrielle and Joxer." She disappeared a moment later in a blue-white flash of light.

Xena turned to gaze at Cyane, who was staring in the spot that Artemis just disappeared from with wide eyes. "C'mon. Let's give the new family a little bit of time to themselves," she said, giving the Amazon Queen a poke on the arm before lifting Eve up in her arms and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek, which was happily returned. Cyane jumped in the spot that she stood, startled by the poke. She looked at Xena, who raised an eyebrow at her. Nodding once, Cyane blinked once and headed outside the tent, Xena and Eve following her.

Xena stopped in the doorway and turned around. "I'll be back in a little while. I'll be right outside if you need me, okay?"

"Okay Xena," Gabrielle replied, yawning again. Xena smiled and left the hut, talking softly to Eve.

Joxer looked down at Gabrielle, who was counting their daughter's fingers and toes. "Hello Irene," he said softly, reaching out to touch the downy soft cheek with his index finger. "She's going to look just like you, Gabrielle." He leaned down to kiss Irene, then Darien and finally Gabrielle on the forehead. "I love you, Gabrielle."

"I love you too, Joxer," Gabrielle replied, tears slowly falling down her cheeks.

"Hey... What's the matter?"

Gabrielle smiled through her tears. "It's nothing, Joxer. I'm just happy. That's all," she quickly reassured her husband. The smile left her face and she sighed a little. "I was thinking about Hope," she confessed softly. Joxer's face grew serious and he nodded. "I never thought that I'd ever get the chance to have a normal child after what had happened. And now we have two beautiful children, normal, healthy and beautiful children... I feel like I've been given a second chance Ð to do everything right this time."

Joxer nodded, gently wiping the tears away from Gabrielle's cheeks. "I know what you mean." He looked down at their children, his eyes widening when both babies opened their eyes for a moment. "Gabrielle, they have your eye color!"

Gabrielle laughed a little at Joxer's voice, filled with childlike wonder. "Ooo. Hurts a bit to laugh," she murmured.

Joxer's face immediately became alarmed. "Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, Joxer. I'm fine. Sore, but fine." Gabrielle yawned again. "We won't know for sure what their eye color will be for a few months, though."

Joxer answered confidently, "Definitely yours."

"We'll see," Gabrielle answered in a small voice, blinking hard in an effort to keep awake. Joxer smiled and put his arms over her and entwined her smaller fingers with his much larger digits. The couple quietly gazed at their newborn children, both of whom had fallen asleep from their combined body warmth, neither one saying a word even when Xena re-entered the hut.

Part Ten

Xena smiled at her friends as they gazed down at their babies. Gabrielle looked up and returned the smile tiredly. "Oh, Xena! They're so beautiful. I think that they're going to be two of the smartest children in the world!"

Eve moved away from her mother's grasp and looked at the tiny babies curiously. "Dollies!" she said finally.

Joxer stood up and walked over to Eve with Irene in his arms. He knelt down next to the toddler and smiled brightly. "Hey Evie, say hi to Irene," he said softly.

Eve looked at the baby cradled in Joxer's arms. "Hi 'Rene," she giggled.

Xena chuckled dryly. "What do you think of Irene, Eve?"

"Dolly."

Gabrielle, looking down at Darien, smiled. "Yeah. I guess that they kind of look like dolls, huh?"

Xena chuckled again. "So, Joxer. Are you ready for changing stinky diapers, midnight feedings, and no sleep for the next few months?" she asked.

Joxer looked down at himself and then looked up with a goofy grin at his smiling friend. "I'm ready for changing diapers and the lack of sleep, having helped you out with Evie before, but as for the feeding, I'm sorry, but I don't exactly come equipped with the correct body parts," he finished with a wink that Xena returned. "Is Ricky all right?" he asked with a note of concern in his voice.

"Hmm. Then it's a good thing that I picked a wet nurse for you, Gabrielle. This is Suki. She will be able to help with feeding your babies," an authoritative voice interrupted before Xena could answer Joxer's question. Everyone turned around to see Cyane enter the hut with another Amazon.

Gabrielle and Joxer gave Xena a look. Xena sensed that neither of them was crazy about the idea of a wet nurse. "Uh... Look Cyane, I'm sure that Gabrielle and Joxer appreciate the offer, but this is something they want to do on their own."

A blonde eyebrow rose. "I see. So Gabrielle, does Xena speak for you?" the Amazon Queen asked as she faced the Regent.

Joxer's dark eyes flashed with anger. "Yes. Xena speaks for us, not just Gabrielle! These are our children and we can take care of them!" he snapped before Gabrielle could answer Cyane's question.

Gabrielle reached out and touched Joxer's arm. "It's okay, Joxer," she said soothingly. Joxer gazed at Gabrielle, calming down as she smiled softly at him. Gabrielle then turned in the Amazon Queen's direction. "Cyane, I know that you were only thinking of my welfare and I thank you for it, but I think I can do this myself." She smiled at Suki in reassurance.

Cyane nodded. "Very well, Gabrielle. But if you change your mind, Suki will be waiting." Suki bowed as she left the hut, Cyane following shortly afterward.

Gabrielle looked at Xena, frowning slightly. "Did I do the right thing, Xena, or should I've accepted the help?"

Xena sat down on the floor next to her two friends, crossing her legs. Eve sat next to her mother, watching the three adults with wide blue eyes. She put her thumb in her mouth and Xena gently extracted it with an indulgent sigh. "Well, you do have a bit of a problem with trying to feed two babies at once," Xena pointed out sensibly.

Joxer's shoulders sagged forward a bit as he wondered if he let his anger get the best of him and that he should've kept his mouth shut. Irene made a soft noise then and Joxer gazed down at his daughter, sighing softly. He gently reached out and touched her cheek with a sad expression on his face.

"Joxer, please don't worry. I think that Xena's got an idea," Gabrielle said, hiding a yawn behind her hand. "Don't you?"

Xena nodded, gazing at Joxer with a little smile on her face. "Uh huh. And I think that you'll definitely appreciate this, Gabrielle..." She began explaining to the couple how to extract extra milk from the breasts so that both children could be fed at once. They listened to her explanation eagerly, both of them interrupting as questions came to their minds.

"After you put the cloth over your breast, you gently massage it down. Don't squeeze or you'll stop the milk from coming out. She's not a goat, for crying out loud!" Xena paused for a moment, stroking her chin in thought. "Hmm... I think that we can fashion a bottle for you to use to feed the other twin while one's nursing. In fact, Joxer, you might be able to help Gabrielle out at first until she can manage on her own. If you want, I can demonstrate..." Xena said, smiling wickedly as Joxer's face turned beet-red.

Gabrielle chuckled at Joxer's obvious discomfort. "Xena, stop teasing him! Oh, it hurts to laugh..."

"Hey! I was being serious..."

They suddenly heard a soft gasp from the hut's entrance. The group turned around to see Jace, Arose, and Ricky standing in the doorway. Ricky gazed at the group on the floor with wide eyes, his face deathly pale and his mouth slightly open. "Why hello, you three," Xena said, her eyebrow rising.

"I think we have bad timing," Arose said apologetically, linking her arm in Ricky's to support him. Jace did the same as the young man's knees trembled.

"Impeccably bad timing," Xena agreed, trying not to smile. "Ricky, are you all right? Didn't your mother ever talk to you about babies?"

Ricky nodded slowly, taking several breaths before responding to Xena's query. "I'm okay... Yeah, she did, but this is a little too much information!" he muttered.

Jace smiled a little at Ricky's answer. "C'mon. Why don't we take another walk around the camp and get some fresh air?" he suggested. "We'll see you later," he said to the group inside the hut. "I want some quality time with the new members of the family!" he exclaimed with a grin as the trio turned around and left the entrance.

"Poor guy," Joxer said sympathetically, watching them leave.

"Aw, don't worry. He'll be fine," Xena reassured Joxer. "Now, like I was saying before..." By the time Xena finished explaining everything, both of the new parents' heads felt like they were spinning. "...And I'll give you some aloe lotion, Gabrielle. That will help soothe you," she said crisply. "So, any questions?"

Joxer blinked several times, still taking everything in. "I don't think so..." he stammered finally.

"Good. Because you're about to get your first tryout," Xena commented as she rose to her feet.

"Huh?"

Xena pointed down at Darien. Joxer's eyes followed the direction that she pointed in and he nodded, seeing what she meant. "If he's hungry, I'm sure that Irene's hungry too. Be right back." She left the hut and came back a few minutes later, carrying a small, long pottery open-neck bottle and some clean cloths. "This should get you started..."

Gabrielle looked up at her husband curiously as she made ready to make her first attempt at feeding her children. "Joxer, how on Gaia's green Earth did you mother handle feeding three of you at once? Did she have a wet nurse?"

Joxer shrugged his shoulders. "I have no clue, but she managed somehow!"

Xena knelt down beside Joxer. "I'm sure she did very well, Joxer. All right, Gabrielle. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Will this hurt?" Gabrielle asked as she shifted position.

Xena smiled at her friend. "I don't think it will - at least not compared to what you just went through." She turned to face Joxer. "Are you ready?"

Joxer gently placed Irene in Xena's arms and nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay. Now put the cloth over Gabrielle and massage down gently with one hand while putting the bottle in front of her with your other hand," Xena directed.

"All right," Joxer agreed, looking a little nervous. He placed the cloth over Gabrielle's breast and quickly withdrew from her when she suddenly gasped, throwing his hands up in the air. "Did I hurt you, Gabrielle?" he asked anxiously.

"No, but your hands are ice-cold!"

Joxer blushed as Xena hid a smile behind her hand. "Oh. Sorry about that, honey."

Gabrielle smiled. "It's all right, Joxer."

Joxer nodded and reached out carefully with one hand while he positioned the bottle in front of Gabrielle with the other hand.

"Take your time, Joxer. It's not a chariot race," Xena said softly.

"Uh huh," Joxer grunted as he concentrated on his task. Eventually, Joxer was able to extract an amount of milk that Xena deemed was enough to start with and he looked up at her questioningly. "Now what?"

"Well, we don't have anything to put over the bottle's top to use as a nipple at the moment, so you'll have to dip the cloth into the milk so the baby can suck the milk off that. It will take a little bit longer to feed, but it works well enough," Xena replied. She gazed at Darien, who had already found lunch. "Looks like you get to feed Irene by default, O Daddy," she said with a wink as she gave Irene back to Joxer.

"I can see that," Joxer said with a grin. He studied the position that Gabrielle was sitting in and with a bit of moving around, he was able to get himself and Irene in more or less the same position. He then dipped the cloth into the milk and held it up to Irene's mouth. Irene opened her mouth and immediately began sucking. Joxer repeated the process several times, smiling softly as he watched her eat.

Xena chuckled as she watched her two friends feed their children. "I can definitely say that they've both inherited your appetite, Gabrielle," she remarked dryly.

"Ha, ha, ha! Very funny, Xena!" Gabrielle replied, making a face at her before turning her attention back to Darien, who was taking a momentary break.

Xena shrugged her shoulders and tried not to laugh. She then watched as Joxer put the bottle down on the hut's floor and carefully placed Irene against his shoulder. He rubbed her back gently and a few moments' later, Irene let out an extremely loud burp. "Wow, Joxer. I'm amazed!"

Joxer frowned, puzzled by Xena's words. "What? I've fed Eve lots of times since she started eating solid food and I remember you burping her too," he pointed out.

Xena smiled, shaking her head a little as she thought about how much Joxer had changed since his adventures in the Amazon Underworld to bring Gabrielle back. "Oh, it's nothing really. Just a quick tip - make sure you put a towel over your shoulder in case one of them decides to spit up instead."

"Oh yeah! I forgot," Joxer nodded and gave Gabrielle a towel so she could burp Darien.

Xena rose to her feet. "I'm kind of tired, so I'm going to take a breather. I'll see you two later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Xena, and thanks," Gabrielle replied warmly.

Xena waved as she and Eve departed the hut. Eve looked up at her mother. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Evie?"

"Did I really make that funny sound when I was a dolly?"

Xena fought the smile that threatened to come to her lips, knowing that her daughter's question was serious. "Yes, sweetie, but it wasn't that loud."

Eve smiled at her mother's answer as they walked on. Xena stopped when she saw Ricky sitting by himself on a log with a hangdog expression on his face. "Hey, where's the gang?" she asked curiously.

Ricky looked up, frowning unhappily. "Oh. Hi Xena," he said gloomily.

Xena's eyebrow shot up. "I've seen men who are about to die happier than you look. What's the matter?" she asked as she sat down next to him while Eve sat on the ground and began drawing circles in the soft dirt.

Ricky stood up and paced back and forth. "Oh, look at me! I fainted at the birth of Joxer and Gabrielle's baby and I got queasy when I heard you guys talking about feeding. Gods, what kind of a father will I make?"

Xena held up her hands, motioning for the agitated young man to stop his pacing. "Hey! Whoa! Hold on a second. Let's not jump aboard that ship until it reaches dock, huh? First of all, you're not ready to be a father. Ricky, you're only seventeen. You've got plenty of time. Don't rush it. Now, why are you by yourself? What happened to Jace and Arose? Did you and Arose have a fight?"

Ricky's shoulders slumped as he sighed loudly. "No. I just wanted to be alone."

Xena frowned as she felt herself become irritated at Ricky's indulgent self-pity. She shook her head and sighed instead, knowing that sharp words would only pull the young man further down into a funk. "Ricky, it's going to be fine," she said in an effort to reassure him.

"How? Arose will never want me knowing I can't face a baby being born."

"Oh, for crying out loud! Whoever said I wanted a baby right now? Ricky, I love you, but honestly, you can be so dense sometimes!" Ricky turned around to see Arose standing a short distance away from the three with her arms folded over her chest and scowling at him ferociously.

Eve tugged on Xena's skirt to get her mother's attention. "Mommy, what's a dense?"

"Uh... Mommy will explain what it means when you're older, okay?"

Eve gave Xena her best imitation of her "Mommy is not happy" look in response and Xena blinked in surprise.

Ricky stared at Arose, his dark eyes wide. "How long have you been standing there?"

Arose's face softened as she walked over to him. "Long enough to hear everything you said and Xena's advice. Ricky, I don't want to have children right now. I'm certainly not ready yet and neither are you. We're not even married yet." She reached up and kissed him. "Come on. I think Xena deserves to have a little rest." Ricky nodded and entwined her hand in his as they walked off, speaking in low voices.

Xena watched them go and shook her head. "I'm glad I wasn't like that when I was their age." No. I decided to be a warlord instead... she thought to herself grimly. She shook her head again and smiled down at her daughter. "Well Eve, I think that Arose is right. We could use a little rest. So, are you up for a nap?"

Eve frowned as she answered, "No, I'm not sleepy."

"Well, you might not be sleepy, but your Mommy is. C'mon!" With those words, Xena easily picked Eve up and began walking towards their hut. Before she had even walked halfway towards it, the toddler was sound asleep in Xena's arms. Xena smiled and kissed her daughter on the cheek as she entered their hut and shut the flap behind her.

Conclusion >>>