Title:  Will There Come A Time (Xena)
Author:  salliejohns
Rating:  PG-13
Keywords:  angst, implied relationship between two adult women
Disclaimer:  The characters of Xena and Gabrielle do not belong to
me.  If they did, Xena would not be dead.  I won't make a penny from
this, promise.
Summary:  Gabrielle alone, following Xena's death
Author's notes:  following the story
*****************************************************
Will There Come A Time
by salliejohns
 
The nights had been the hardest.  Days were spent wandering
aimlessly from town to town.  In the evening, Gabrielle sat for hours
in the local inn, filling her journal with remembered stories of
heroic battles and quiet moments.  One day became the next, with days
indistinguishable from those already passed or those yet to come. 
The sharp, relentless ache of loss was pushed to the edges of her
conscious mind, leaving her brittle and broken.
Sometimes she allowed herself the luxury of a half-smile, when she
thought back to the days when they stood side by side, champions of
justice, righting wrongs, fighting the good fight.  It still pleased
Gabrielle to recall a very different Xena, in the days they first
began to travel together.  Xena, a warrior princess with exceptional
battle skills, owned a heart hardened by personal loss, blood lust
and greed.  "You saved me, Gabrielle," Xena had told her, and
Gabrielle knew that it was true.
It would have surprised Xena to learn how much she had given to
Gabrielle in return.  With Xena as protector, teacher, guide,
Gabrielle traveled the world, lifted the downtrodden, learned of life
and experienced love.  In one another's arms, each found the ultimate
joy and unconditional acceptance they had searched for all their lives.
Xena, hardened and tempered by countless battles was inured to
disappointment and pain, but Gabrielle, the idealist, was stung by
harsh words hurled at them as a couple.  She was confused and hurt,
and ultimately angered that the exquisite love that she and Xena
shared could never be sanctified by marriage.  Even in Greece, where
it was not uncommon for men to love other men, couples such as she
and Xena could find no priest to bless their union.  
Reality was harsh and cold and unforgiving, even for heroes. 
Disappointed but undaunted, Xena and Gabrielle pledged their love to
one another, for this lifetime and beyond.  Beyond because The Fates
had foretold that the two would spend eternity together.  Though Xena
and Gabrielle might die, in lifetime after lifetime their souls would
find each other, would come together, would cleave to each other,
always.
Gabrielle believed what The Fates had promised.  Hadn't it been
proved again and again, after crucifixion, after entombment, they
always returned to each other?  Surely the proclamation of The Fates
was true, but if so, why did she, Gabrielle, live while Xena's body,
lay headless and decimated?  Hadn't Xena's soul escaped to a place
where she herself could not follow?  
The agony of being left alone crystallized at night into bright, hot
points of pain that pricked at her heart, and rent her very soul.  At
the end of the day, rather than the comfort of reclining in Xena's
strong arms, Gabrielle had only her memories to keep her company. 
Her brave-face gone, her tears unchecked, each night Gabrielle lay
down alone, abandoned and defeated.
Week after week passed, and finally Gabrielle was able to relax
enough to sleep.  In her dreams she was finally reunited with her
beloved Xena.  Pain of loss, anger and frustration welled up inside
her and Gabrielle found herself accusing her soul mate rather than
welcoming her.  "You promised we'd be together Xena, you lied to me. 
The Fate misled us in the cruelest way."
In dreams, Xena gathered her lover into her arms and pledged anew
her eternal devotion and everlasting love.  She tenderly kissed away
each tear, and gave back strength.  With renewed courage, Gabrielle
would meet the new day.  She would continue to battle injustice and
hatred, until the day she and Xena would be reunited.  Gabrielle
would now look to the future, and anticipate a time of tolerance and
acceptance, a time when men and women could choose to commit their
lives to each other.  She would wait for the day when she and Xena
could stand together before the gods and man, proud and free.
fin
Author's notes:  This story is my subtle (or not-so-) protest
against the fact that TPTB have decided to spend money to fight same-
sex unions when the economy is a mess, unemployment is rampant,
people cannot afford health insurance, and terrorists are plotting
ways to blow us to kingdom come.  It is dedicated to my friends Mike
and Mark, and to Logan and Charles, both wonderful, committed couples
that I adore.