Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. They belong to whoever owns the rights to Xena: Warrior Princess.

Sweet Dreams

Xena and Hercules are married. Gabrielle lives by herself in her own little house.

One summer day, Gabrielle was cleaning her house, when she saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. Turning quickly, she groaned inwardly. 'Oh great... Dite is here to visit... and I'm all dusty from housecleaning.' Aloud, Gabrielle said, "Hi Dite, I'm glad to see you but I'm not exactly..."

"You're not dressed for it? No problem, sweet pea... I can fix that." Aphrodite waved her hand over Gabrielle, and Gabrielle and her clothes were clean and tidy in an instant. "Thank you, Dite."

"You're welcome," said Aphrodite, as she looked fondly at her favorite mortal. "Um, Gabrielle... Could I ask... like a really big favor?"

"Of course, Dite... but I don't know what I could do for the Goddess of Love."

"Well... it's like this... Cupie was experimenting with a new kind of arrow, and Ares was standing in the wrong place, and... "

"And Cupid shot Ares by mistake?" asked Gabrielle, her green eyes widening in disbelief. "What did the arrow do to him?"

"Uh... the thing is... the arrow is supposed to give a person back their innocence, but it kinda made Ares into a 5-year-old."

"He's a little boy?"

"Not exactly... He looks like a grown-up War God, but he thinks he's a little boy."

"Oh dear," said Gabrielle.

"Yeah... but he'll be okay... I mean, it'll wear off in 24 hours. The trouble is that Cupie and I have love stuff to do... and none of the other Gods want to be bothered, so..."

"Dite... Are you asking me to baby-sit Ares?"

"Yes, Gabby... I promise it'll only be until morning, and he really isn't any trouble. He won't even get his powers back until the arrow wears off, so he's just a sweet little boy ... Or do I mean a sweet big boy?" asked Aphrodite, biting her lip while trying to think.

"I think I get it, Dite. I'll do this for you." Gabrielle was then nearly smothered by a big hug from the Love Goddess, as Dite squealed, "Thank you, honey. I really appreciate this." Gabrielle smiled at her friend, and Dite made a quick trip back to Olympus, where Ares was staying with Cupid.

When Aphrodite reappeared in the middle of Gabrielle's small kitchen, she was holding the hand of the darkly handsome War God. Instead of his usual grumpy expression, Ares wore a beautiful smile, one that made Gabrielle's heart skip a beat. 'How am I going to spend 24 hours with this man?' she thought, almost wishing that she had said 'no' to Dite's request.

"Hi Gabby," said Ares cheerfully. "Dite says you're taking care of me and that I can have a sleep over at your house. See... I even brought my jammies and my bear." Ares proudly held up a pair of black silk pajamas and a fuzzy yellow bear. "Her name is Gabby like you, 'cause she's so pretty... just like you."

Gabrielle couldn't help but smile at the adorable way that Ares was acting. "Now, Ares," said his sister, "Be good for Gabrielle. Do whatever she tells you."

"I will... Dite..." Ares whispered something in Aphrodite's ear. She giggled, and said yes. To Gabrielle's shock, Ares bounded over to her and hugged her tight. "I love you, Gabby." Aphrodite giggled again, as Gabrielle turned red and mumbled, "I love you, too."

"I gotta go now... Bye Ares... Bye Gabrielle... Have lots of fun." Aphrodite waved good-bye as she disappeared in a burst of pink sparkles. Still holding Gabrielle, Ares now asked, "What will we do now, Gabby?" Tentatively, she asked, "Would you like to help me clean my house?"

"Okay," said Ares. "I know lots about cleaning... I'm a big boy," he said, puffing out his muscular chest. Gabrielle grinned. "Yes, you certainly are." Ares smiled proudly at her answer.

Ares and Gabrielle worked hard that day. Ares was very good at sweeping the floor, and was a big help in moving furniture. It seemed to make him very happy to help Gabrielle.

When it was time for bed, Gabrielle sent Ares into the bedroom to change into his pajamas, and then went in to tell him the story of 'The Sleeping God'. She tucked him into bed with his bear, kissed him good-night, and started to go into the other room to sleep on the couch.

"Gabby!" cried Ares. "Don't leave me all alone... I'm scared." Tears started to roll down his handsome face. "Shh," said Gabrielle. "Don't cry..." 'What have I got myself into?' she thought, as she put her arms around him and rocked him gently.

"Gabby," sniffed Ares. "Won't you..." sniff "... lie down beside me and keep me safe?" Looking at him, Gabrielle could tell that he was genuinely afraid, and sighing, she climbed into the bed and lay down on the edge of the mattress. Ares stopped crying, and both of them drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Gabrielle woke to find two muscular arms wrapped around her waist. She started to disengage herself, but when she heard a voice mumble "Don't leave me, Gabby," she gave up trying, and settled back into Ares' embrace, falling asleep once again.

Ares was the first to wake in the morning, and could feel at once that he was back to normal. He smiled down at Gabrielle, thinking what a sweet woman she was to take care of a 5-year-old War God. It was a nice feeling... waking up with her in his arms... like he belonged to someone... But he knew that she would be very embarrassed... perhaps even angry... if she woke up in the bed with him. He decided to get up first, so that she wouldn't be upset.

When Gabrielle woke up, she found Ares waiting for her in the kitchen. She blushed, thinking of sleeping in his arms. Ares smiled at her, his gentle dark eyes filled with compassion. "Thank you for looking out for me, Gabrielle. You're a good friend. If you ever need anything, please let me know." With that statement, he bent down and softly kissed her cheek. After that, he was gone, leaving Gabrielle wondering if it had all been a dream...

-The End-