(Author's notes at the end.)

Xena awoke to the sound of booming thunder and a flash of lightning bright enough to see through her closed eyelids. Disoriented, she lay still and tried to grasp what had just happened. The last thing she remembered was fire, the sound of clashing swords, the feeling of Callisto's bones snapping in her hands, and Gabrielle's soft voice pleading with the deity who had brought all these things to pass. She sat up abruptly with gasp. Gabrielle! Where's Gabrielle?!

She looked to her right and was relieved to see Gabrielle's blonde hair poking out from beneath the blanket beside her. Comforted by her presence, Xena let herself fall back onto the bedroll, taking stock of their situation. They were in the hayloft of the barn they had slept in their first night in Cirra, before they'd been sent to the alternate timeline. The same thunderstorm from that night was still raging outside.

Everything seems to have been put back to the way it was. Experimentally, she closed her eyes and searched her soul, finding its darkness immediately. And the memories of her many evil acts, too, had been restored.

All at once, she felt the familiar weight of her crushing guilt. It was as though everything was hitting her at the same time. The only thing she'd ever felt that was even remotely comparable was when Alti put her hands on her, making her feel all the pain of all her lifetimes at once. Only this was far worse, because unlike Alti's powers, there was no relief from it. And it felt even more awful because the guilt had almost completely left her by the time Hebe had set things right, and as a result her tolerance for it was lower than it had ever been, even lower than it was on the day she'd first met Gabrielle, when she'd been prepared to lay down her weapons and let the next man who confronted her with a sword be the last.

She lay there struggling to breathe under all the tumultuous emotions and memories that were paralyzing her. Tears rolled down her face, unchecked and uncontrollable.

But then Gabrielle stirred and raised up from her pillow to look at her. "Xena," she said with understanding and sympathy in her voice. She reached out and placed her hand on Xena's face, gently turning her head to encourage Xena to look at her. Blue eyes turned and met green.

Time stopped.

At that moment, Xena couldn't tell where she ended and Gabrielle began. The heart that beat within her chest was Gabrielle's. The breath she drew went in to Gabrielle's lungs. The hand that still rested against her face was her own. They had four arms and four legs and two heads, because they had been put back together as they were always meant to be. The light from Gabrielle's soul broke through the darkness in her own, helping to shoulder some of the crushing weight of her guilt. And she could feel her own soul strengthening Gabrielle's in return, encouraging her and supporting her as it grew alongside hers.

"Oh, gods," Gabrielle whispered, her eyes glistening with tears. "There you are. I found you."

"I've missed you so much, Gabrielle," said Xena, and she drew Gabrielle into a kiss.

The kiss felt like it was their first, exploratory and expressive and cathartic. In the past they had always experienced their bond as a force that pulled them together, but now it felt as though the connection their souls had been trying to make had finally been achieved. Now it was like their souls were touching just as much as their bodies were. They were perfectly aligned, and utterly complete.

Without breaking the kiss, Gabrielle pushed Xena onto her back and straddled her waist. Then she pulled away, but only long enough to lift her nightshirt off, letting it fall into the hay beside them, forgotten. Xena barely had any time to admire her nude body before Gabrielle was kissing her again. She buried her hand in Gabrielle's hair, the other spreading itself out on her lower back. Gabrielle's skin was hot and smooth beneath her fingers, and under that she could feel toned muscle shifting and tensing as Gabrielle moved. It was intoxicating and sexy, and she slid her hand up further to feel as much of the smooth, muscular surface as she could. But it wasn't long before she became impatient with the barriers between them, and she flipped Gabrielle over onto the bedroll and hastily pulled her own shift off. When they came together again, their bare skin touched from head to toe, flooding them both with heat and arousal.

They paused to stare at one another, allowing themselves to absorb and appreciate the reinstatement of their connection. "I can't believe we almost lost this," Gabrielle said, reaching up with both hands to cup Xena's face.

"I would never have let that happen," Xena replied. "Not unless you told me it was what you wanted." She leaned down and gave Gabrielle the softest, most tender kiss she'd ever given anyone in her entire life. When she pulled away, she whispered: "Thank you."

"For what?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

"For wanting this… For wanting me. And for waiting so patiently for me to accept that this is right for both of us."

"I would have waited forever for you, Xena." Gabrielle slid her hands down to Xena's shoulders, wrapping her arms around her drawing her down for another kiss. "But I am so glad I don't have to."

Neither one of them knew how long their hands explored each other, touching and tracing every inch of skin, every curve of their bodies. Time seemed a meaningless concept, one that had no place in this universe they were creating with their love. When the touches finally focused in on the place it was most needed, the pleasure they each felt was the other's, shared as a couple rather than owned by one. It swept over them, powerful and passionate, solidifying and strengthening their bond. And once it was over, it left a residual feeling of intimacy between them, making them feel calm and peaceful.

"By the gods, Xena," Gabrielle panted as she lay shivering and recovering in her lover's arms.

Xena couldn't seem to stop kissing her. She placed a series of soft kisses on Gabrielle's sweaty forehead, holding her close as though she were the most precious thing in the world. Which, of course, she was. There were no words that could describe the way she felt at that moment, so instead she tipped Gabrielle's face up and kissed her lips, then tucked her head back against her shoulder.

Wrapping her arms around Xena's solid body, Gabrielle confessed: "I was worried you would tell me no again, now that your darkness is back."

"I'm done saying no to you, Gabrielle," Xena replied. "You saw what I did in Cirra. You know what I'm capable of, and yet you still chose to get the bond back. What reason do I have to say no to you now that you've shown that you can tolerate the darkness in my soul?"

"I don't tolerate it," Gabrielle said, reaching out and laying a hand on her face. "I love it. I admit that it scares me sometimes, but it's a part of you. It's like I said before: We are the sum of our experiences. Everything you've been through has made you what you are. And I wouldn't change a single thing about you, Xena, because I love you exactly as you are."

"I don't deserve you," Xena murmured, burying her nose on Gabrielle's hair. "But I will try to. I swear, I will try."

As she began to drift off to sleep, Gabrielle replied: "Don't worry. I'll help you with that."

Xena lay awake for a long time after that, thinking about what Gabrielle had just said. And when she finally did fall asleep, there was a smile on her lips.

In the morning they dragged themselves out of bed and down off the hayloft. There they found their missing belongings. "My chakram!' Xena said gleefully, picking up the weapon and kissing it. "I missed you, old friend." In her jubilance she threw the chakram, watching it ricochet around the barn with obvious enjoyment before snatching it skillfully out of the air. "Oh yeah. I still got it."

Gabrielle hadn't heard a single word Xena had said. She hadn't even noticed the chakram flying around the barn. She was sitting cross legged on the floor, going through her scroll bag with a sense of deep relief. "They're all here," she said.

"And what about here?" Xena tapped the top of Gabrielle's head with the flat part of the chakram. "Got all your memories back?"

"Yes. I remember everything."

"Everything?" Xena teased. "How can you be sure you remember everything? If you forgot something, you won't remember that you forgot it."

"Ha ha," said Gabrielle. She stood and poked Xena on the tip of her nose. "You think you're so clever, don't you?"

"I don't think it. I know it."

She's in a good mood, thought Gabrielle. It surprised her, considering how she'd seen Xena struggle with the weight of her returned guilt the night before. "How are you feeling?" she asked, studying her carefully.

"I feel great," Xena replied honestly.

"You sure? I mean, last night when we came back, you seemed pretty upset."

"I was. But don't you remember what happened after that?" Xena gave her a mischievous smile and a suggestive quirk of an eyebrow. "It's pretty hard to be upset after something like that."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and began packing away all their things. "Fine. If you don't want to talk about it, then I won't ask. Let's get going."

While she was putting their things in Argo's saddlebags, Xena found something that made her heart ache. "Look, Gabrielle," she said, holding it up for her friend to see.

"Callisto's tapestry," said Gabrielle. She came over and took it from Xena, running her fingers over the carefully-embroidered image of the conjoined humans. "I wonder if Hebe overlooked it, or if she let us keep it on purpose."

"I don't know, and I'm not sure I really want to find out."

"Me either. But whichever it is, I'm glad we get to keep it." She rolled the tapestry up carefully and placed it in her scroll bag for safe-keeping.

A short time later they exited the barn into the same walled, rebuilt Cirra which they had walked in to several weeks before. They stood in the yard for a moment, each silently reliving the time they had spent on Callisto's farm and mourning the loss of their friends. Xena took one last look around the place, then said, "Goodbye, Cirra. Be well. And thank you." And Xena, Gabrielle and Argo left the town for what would certainly be the last time in their lives.

Once they were on the road again, Xena said, "You want to know why I'm feeling pretty good right now?"

"Yeah, I do," said Gabrielle, glad that Xena had decided to give her a serious answer after all.

"It's because I realized something last night."

"What's that?"

"I realized that I will never obtain redemption. In fact I doubt such a thing even exists. At least, not in the way I thought it did." She pulled Gabrielle to a stop and reached out to cup her face in both hands. " You are my redemption, Gabrielle. As long as you're beside me, I'll always know I'm walking the right path. I can't redeem my past mistakes. They're a part of me, and they always will be. But now I see that the purpose of my life is to be the kind of person who is worthy of all the gifts you give me every day of my life. The kind of person you can be proud to walk beside."

Gabrielle smiled, finding herself blinking back tears of happiness. "Well," she said, "you're doing a great job so far."

"Of course I am," said Xena, wiping away an errant tear that had managed to escape. "After all, I have many skills." When Gabrielle laughed, she pulled her closer and kissed her soundly. "I love you, Gabrielle."

"I love you, too, Xena."

She allowed one more kiss, then stepped back and took Gabrielle's hand, intertwining their fingers. "Let's go see what other trouble we can get ourselves into, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me," replied Gabrielle.

They continued on down the road hand-in-hand, with Argo following contentedly behind them.

Author's Notes: It's over!

Thanks for joining me on this little flight of fancy. As I said before, I have a deep, abiding love for this show and this fandom that has stuck with me for many years. I really hope I managed to do the characters justice.

Until next time, dear readers. As always, you're fabulous and I love you all.