Gabrielle knew that if Xena could defeat the King here the Huns would almost certainly retreat, and she was happy to let them do it. She watched the battle before her, flinching at every wound laid in Xena's fair skin, and wanting to cheer every stroke of Xena's that landed on the Hun. Finally Xena began to get the upper hand, and a slash to the back of the King's knee threw him off balance. She lowered a shoulder to hit him as he stumbled, and sent him tipping over the bridge's rail. He fell back, arms flailing wildly as he struggled to regain his balance. But he had gone too far to recover, and he knew it, so in a final bid for victory he pulled a throwing knife from a bracer on his wrist and threw it at his foe as he fell over the side.

"No!" Gabrielle shouted as she hurled herself in the knife's path. She'd rather die herself than watch Xena slip away from her yet again. The dagger slid into her left shoulder. The bard sank to her knees with the burning pain, but she still found herself facing the Huns with her sword in hand. "Your King is dead! Your army is defeated! Go, and never return to this land again!" she demanded with all the power she had learned to wield as an Amazon Queen.

The Huns obeyed with little show of reluctance. Now that their King was gone they were free to return to their horses and wash the dust of this Gods forsaken land from their feet forever. They would name a new King to rule them, and find new lands to conquer on the backs of their steeds as they were meant to do.

Xena hurried to Gabrielle's side as soon as she was sure the Huns no longer posed a threat. "You didn't have to do that," she said as she drew the knife from her companion's wound.

"I know," Gabrielle said. "But I couldn't risk it. I just couldn't. I love you too much, Xena."

Xena wrapped the wound to stop it's bleeding, then gave her partner a hug. "Yeah, I guess you couldn't. And that's why I love you, too."



Gabrielle's elation over Attila's defeat began to fade when she saw the sad look growing in Xena's eyes. A miracle had brought them back together to face the dangers of this day, but like all good things, was this coming to an end?

"So now what? Is it time to say our goodbyes?" she asked quietly. She ordered herself not to cry if Xena confirmed her fears. She'd been given a gift beyond price in these few hours, and she couldn't spoil it by allowing her disappointment to be too visible to her partner. If they had to part again it would be just as difficult for Xena as it was for her, she knew.

Xena was unable to prevent a from tears from shining in her eyes, however. "You will have to say goodbye, but I have something to show you, first."

"Okay," Gabrielle said, relieved that their final moments together hadn't yet come. She'd deny the inevitable for as long as she possibly could.

They stood side by side on the winding path back to Potidaea. Xena seemed to be in no more hurry to reach their destination, wherever it was, than Gabrielle. The bard reached out and took Xena's warm hand in her own. She focused her entire being on it's feel, imprinting it into her mind to sustain her with the memory in the long, lonely years to come. They walked in a companionable silence. There was so much to say, but the things that were the most important of all were spoken without needing any words between them. Instead they enjoyed the bright morning sunshine together as it beamed down upon them as they walked.

Soon they arrived at Gabrielle's farm, and the two women went inside the house. They could see a crowd of people gathered in the bard's bedroom. They stood too close together for Gabrielle to see what had their attention so completely, so she slipped around them to look for herself. Once she got to an open space she saw at once what had brought them all there. In her bed lay an old, ashen haired woman with her hands folded over her chest, motionless, now that life had fled from her tired bones. She had a familiar face, with her fine wrinkles smoothed into a serene mask, a hint of a smile still touching her bloodless lips. It was Gabrielle herself.

"What?! I... I'm dead?" Gabrielle asked Xena in a daze.

Her partner nodded with a sad smile. "It was your time. You had a rich, full life with sons and daughters and a dozen grandchildren."

The memories of a lifetime came flooding back into Gabrielle's mind as the truth of the situation settled firmly within her. All the joys, all the trials, her family and friends, and all the many years. It had been rich as Xena had said, with love and the battle she had sworn to carry on for her partner to bring good to those who needed it. It had been everything she'd ever dreamed of her life being except for one thing: Xena.

As Gabrielle's memory returned her wounds, including the wound from Attila's dagger, disappeared. Only her belief in their reality had allowed them to harm her; now that she knew she was a mere spirit the physical world no longer affected her, or she it.

"It's time to move on, Gabrielle. For us to move on," Xena told her gently.

"You've been waiting all these years?" Gabrielle asked, tears finally falling from her eyes.

"Waiting and watching," her soul mate told her. "Now it's finally time for the both of us to move on to the next big adventure together."

"All right," Gabrielle said. She took one last look at her family, her sons, daughters, and all her grandchildren at their sides. She bestowed a silent blessing on them, then followed Xena out of the dim house and into the light.



Darien, Gabrielle's youngest son entered his mother's silent house and saw that Death had finally claimed her as her own. Her son hadn't wanted to leave the vigil held at her bedside by the rest of his family, but early that morning the farmer Timon had sent out a desperate call to arms, and Darien had been needed to lead the men of his platoon against the coming foe.

But as it turned out he needn't have bothered. The militia had waited behind their defenses at the edge of town for the enemy's attack, but it had failed to materialize. Finally, Darien and a picked squad of men had ventured north to scout for the Huns, but had instead discovered the aftermaths of a fierce battle. A fire still smoldered in the northeastern woods, and a herd of Timon's prized steers milled nervously in the smoke, their long horns and hooves stained with blood.

Darien had found a Hun struggling weakly to escape from the battlefield, and had promised to bind the warrior's wounds in return for some answers.

"Who did this?" he demanded.

"We were attacked by an army led by two woman warriors, a tall, raven haired beauty with eyes as blue as the sky, and a small, golden haired Amazon with daggers like lightning. Even the great King Attila himself couldn't stand before them. Your little town has mighty protectors, Greek."

The words had confused and troubled Darien. It sounded like... but no, that was impossible. Wasn't it?

He looked down at the still form of the woman who had given him life as she lay in peace on the bed and found no answers. But his mother was a bard, and she had taught him that the best tales were those that had no end. And he did know for certain that although this chapter of her story had ended, it would continue to unfold through ages without end. It would also be a story retold over and over again by all who dreamed of finding what she and Xena had found together- a love that would live on forever.