ForevaXena's FanFic . . .

Friends And Strangers
Part 2:  There's Got To Be A Morning After

by Mike Vivian

Disclaimer:  Xena and Gabrielle are characters owned my Renaissance pictures and Studios USA. They are used with Ren pics indulgence. Everybody else is mine; all mine and belong to me!

As Megan regained consciousness, she saw the blonde stranger standing over her, trying to move the boulder that was slowly crushing her with a wooden staff. She looked up at this stranger, and struggled to speak. The woman quickly bent down so she could hear her.

"The...blue...jewel...right...bracelet. Aim and press...it...boulder," she gasped, for she could barely breath, let alone talk. It should have been impossible for her to talk, but Megan was known for doing the impossible. The woman understood and lifted Megan’s arm, pointed the bracelet toward the boulder, and pressed the blue jewel. Instantly, a blue beam shot out freezing the boulder. The woman gently laid Megan’s arm by her side, picked up her staff and jabbed the boulder with all her might! The boulder had become very brittle from the freezing, and thus easy to shatter. Megan gasped for breath as the weight of the rock was lifted from her chest. She tried to sit up, but the strange woman held her down.

"No, you are injured. Let me help you. I am a healer. You undoubtedly have several broken ribs and perhaps a punctured lung," she said.

Her voice was like music to Megan. It was so soft, and full of compassion. She looked at this woman and took stock of her. At first glance she appeared to be Kettelian. She was about 5’6" tall, covered with light, blonde fur. She had green catlike eyes and the pointed ears on top of her head. Then she began to notice the differences. She was shorter than most Kettelians, and her eyes were rounder than Kettelian eyes. Her figure was too full for a Kettelians.  At least for a full blooded... then it hit her, she was half-human and she was also very beautiful.

"Who are you?" Megan inquired.

"Now that can be complicated. My name is Caitlin," she answered with a radiant smile. She pulled a small green herb out of the pouch she had slung around her shoulder. "Here eat this. It tastes terrible, but it will stop the pain. So what’s your name?"

"Megan," she replied. As she ate the herb, she had the feeling she could refuse this woman nothing. Megan laughed to herself as she ate the herb Caitlin gave her. "I gotta be desperate to think about getting laid at a time like this," She thought. Yet as she thought about it, she began to realize it beyond mere lust. She felt a deep connection to this woman. She couldn’t explain it, but she knew it was there.

"How are you feeling, Megan?" asked Caitlin.

Her very voice was like music. "Umm, better. The pain is almost gone," said Megan, trying not to blush. If she noticed, Caitlin made no sign.

 "Listen, the other Torac are gonna come for us soon. We have to find safety. What about your ship?" she asked.

Megan shook her head, "No, they’re fighting with the Torac ship. Their shields are up and can’t transport anyone up or down."

"Then our best bet is to hide in the caves. Can you walk?" asked Caitlin.

"I think so," said Megan.

As she stood up, Caitlin hooked Megan’s arm around her shoulder and helped her walk. "Easy, plenty of time. Let me help you, Megan."

"Ok, if you insist," said Megan. She let Caitlin lead her up the path into some caves.

"We should be safe in here," said Caitlin as she led Megan into the cave. She eased Megan down on a flat section of the floor. "Now you just lie back and let me take care of you," Caitlin said sweetly.

This made Megan absolutely melt. "You seem to know a lot about medicine," said Megan weakly. She hoped Caitlin would think it was her injuries that made her voice tremble and not Caitlin herself.

Caitlin smiled and said, "That’s because I’m a healer."

"Oh, so you’re a doctor," said Megan.

"No, silly, a healer. I use natural herbs and plants and things like that to help people." Replied Caitlin.

"Oh, I see! Caitlin, pardon me if I’m out of line, but I would very much like to know more about you."

Caitlin looked at Megan. As the two women looked into each other’s eyes, they felt something pass between them.

"No, you’re not out of line. I’d really like to tell you, and maybe afterwards you can tell me about yourself," Caitlin said hopefully.

"I would like that," Megan said trying to sit up. She met with stiff resistance from Caitlin’s arm.

"Now you just lie back there and be still Miss Megan. You’ve got some broken ribs and they need to heal. You relax while I tell you about me!" she said with a smile. Her tail was swishing back and forth. Megan thought it was rather cute. Another thing she noticed was when Caitlin smiled, her teeth were human. There were no feline fangs or anything of that sort. She liked Caitlin’s smile very much.

"Let’s see, where to begin," Caitlin pondered.

"How about at the beginning?" Megan suggested.

Caitlin giggled, "Yeah, I guess that would be a good place to start, huh? Well, I was born on a planet we called Roar."

"Roar?" said Megan skeptically.

"Well actually it’s pronounced like this," she said and let out a mild roar, after which she started coughing.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I’ll be ok in a minute," she said in between coughs. "Sorry, I’ve never been very good at roaring. Guess that’s what comes from being a half-breed," she said with a frown.

"That’s an awful harsh word," said Megan. She looked Caitlin in the eyes as she spoke. "You really shouldn’t talk like that about yourself. You are a beautiful, vibrant, talented young woman," she held Caitlin’s chin between her thumb and forefinger.

Caitlin smiled. "Thank you," She said with a soft smile. "Anyway, Roar is a distant colony of  Kettelia. Really, it’s rather primitive. My Father was a human who crashed there about two years before I was born. My mother was the local healer. She helped tend to his injuries and nurse him back to health. Somewhere along the way, they fell in love. They were bonded about a year after his arrival and soon after that, I came along."

"It was never easy for them. They were outcasts because of Daddy being human. They thought I was even worse. I was the offspring of a human and a Kettelian. I was called half-bred, freak and worse. It hurt but Mama was always there for me. She always told me that names never hurt anyone, that they were just words. She always made me feel better. Daddy would always tell me ‘pumpkin, there are going to be a lot of people who hate you just because your different. You can’t let them win. If they show you hate, show them love. Hate only hurts people, but love heals them. Do you understand?’ He was so forgiving. It was no wonder he and Mama fell in love. I think they had the two biggest hearts in the galaxy. They tried never to hate anyone," she bowed her head and got a very sad look on her face. "I miss them very much sometimes."

"What happened to them, if you don’t mind my asking?"

"When I was 18, some pirates landed on Roar. They wanted all our food and to have their way with the women. They took Mama and killed Daddy when he tried to stop them. The authorities arrived and killed the pirates. Mama was never the same. She died a few months after that and then I was all alone. I realized there was nothing more for me there, so I hopped aboard the first ship to anywhere I could find. After that I wandered from planet to planet, using the healing skills Mama taught me and learning more from other healers. Eventually, I ended up here looking for some herbs. That’s when the Torac showed up. They blasted the ship that brought me here and tried to take me as a slave. They would’ve too if my savior hadn’t shown up," with this Caitlin smiled and took Megan’s hand. Megan blushed.

"You’re quite welcome,." said Megan. She was feeling rather flush. "Must be the herbs," she thought.

"So?" asked Caitlin, "Your turn. Tell me all about Megan. I want to know everything there is about you!" she said, tapping Megan’s chest with her furry finger.

"Well, not much to tell. I was an orphan. Never knew my parents. They abandoned me as a baby. I grew up in an orphanage on Earth. It was in a city called Athens. I was always fighting and getting into trouble. I always felt lost, like I was looking for something, but didn’t know what. One thing I always liked was gymnastics. Jumping and tumbling came to me naturally. By the time I was 18, I had worn out my welcome at the orphanage. I left not knowing where to go, or what to do with my life. I wondered around for a while even working security at an archaeological dig.

"Is that where that round thingy came from?" asked Caitlin.

"It’s called a Chakram, and yes, I found it in the ruins. As soon as I found it I knew we belonged together."

"Oh. And then what happened?" Said Caitlin.

"Well, I took the Chakram and left."

"You mean you stole it?" Asked Caitlin wide eyed.

"No, I can’t explain it but somehow I know that it belongs to me. It wasn’t meant for anybody else."

 "Really, wow that’s is so ultra cool! What happened then?" Caitlin said excitedly.

"I fell in with a group of mercenaries. They made it sound so exciting; I couldn’t wait to join up! They trained me to use various weapons."

"Really? That sounds so exciting! So what happened next?"

"Well, if you’d let me finish," Megan said with a laugh. "Oh, that hurts."

Caitlin couldn’t restrain herself as she started giggling madly. "It only hurts when you laugh." She said.

This got Megan going too. She laughed even through the pain. "ha ha, oh that hurts."

This went on for several minutes the both of them giggling uncontrollably. Eventually, they both settled down enough to talk.

"Now where was I? Oh yes, after I finished training, I went on a few missions with them. It was exciting and the pay was very good. And then..." Megan began to relate the story of that time on that planet. She didn’t tell her about the circlet though. Megan didn’t want to burden her with it, besides there was nothing she could do about it.

Just as Megan finished her story, a voice cut in "We have you now Warrior Princess! And our new slave!" growled the Torac leader. He lifted his blaster and pointed it straight at Megan, and was ready to fire when suddenly, Caitlin jumped him.

"No! I won’t let you hurt Megan!" she shouted. The Torac grabbed her and threw her against the wall of the cave!

"Caitlin, NO!" she shouted. Caitlin just lay there in a heap. Megan couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive. Megan jumped to her feet, Chakram in hand. Her eyes flashed with anger. The Chakram flew out of her hand, bouncing off the wall of the cave, and then slicing back, disarming the Torac and then returning to her hand. She let out her battle cry "Ayiyiyiyiyiyiyee!" and somersaulted over the Torac, landing in front of them. She drew her sword and laid into them with fierceness she had never possessed before. It was over in a matter of moments. Then she ran over to Caitlin. "By the goddesses NO! Not again." She began to sob uncontrollably. At that moment, all Megan’s guilt rushed in upon her. The red jewel in the circlet began to pulse rapidly. Megan let out a scream and collapsed next to Caitlin.

"Megan!" shouted Rising Dawn. She and the security team had arrived just in time to see Megan collapse. She and K’tal’e rushed to Megan’s side. K’tal’e took out the scanner wand from her medi-kit.

"I’m not sure about the other one, but Megan’s slipping into a coma. We’d better get them up to the Ephiny fast!" with that she spoke into her wrist-comm. "K’tal’e to Ephiny. Emergency transport to sick bay."

Almost as soon as she finished the familiar flashing light appeared and then they were in the Ephiny’s sick bay. The nurses and K’tal’e put Megan in one bed and Caitlin in the one next to her. "Get me 20cc’s of diterrazine, STAT!" said K’tal’e. "Hang in there Megan!" The nurse handed her the hypo, which she administered to Megan. It seemed to ease her pain some, but she was still in a coma. "Well, she’s stable for now," K’tal’e then turned to Caitlin. "Well now, let’s see what you’re about. Hmmm, let’s see, a few cracked ribs, assorted bumps and bruises but near as I can tell, I think you will be alright," she shook her head, it was hard to tell for sure. This woman’s physiology was strange to her. She had to guess at some of the readings. She decided to do a little research and see what she came up with. Megan was stable for the moment although in a lot of pain. She hoped it would pass, like the previous attacks. With that thought she went into her office next door.

Shortly after that, Megan’s moans turned into screams. This awakened Caitlin "Megan!" she cried. Megan was thrashing about in pain. She quickly rushed to Megan’s side. She tried to determine the cause of Megan’s distress. Then she saw the jewel in the circlet flashing. On a hunch, she tore off the circlet and threw it against the wall. There was a flash of light and suddenly, she and Megan were standing in what appeared to be a white void.

"Caitlin?" said Megan.

"Megan!" she exclaimed. As she rushed over and embraced her. "Are you all right?"

Megan put her arms around Caitlin and said, "Where are we?"

Then the images began, images of a leather clad Warrior Woman fighting. With her was a smaller woman, with strawberry blonde hair, fighting by her side. These images seemed very familiar to Megan and Caitlin. Then they heard the old woman’s voice, "One and one have made one; the souls have been reunited, The Warrior and Bard are together again, Now remember all." Then they were in sick bay again.

"I remember," said Megan "Gabrielle!"

"Xena!"

In a flash they were in each other’s arms kissing and crying. "Oh my love. It’s been so long!" said Megan.

"Oh Xena, I love you so! I knew we would find each other again eventually," said Caitlin. "I knew our spirits would find each other no matter what!"

"Ahem, would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" demanded K’tal’e.

"Make that double!" said Rising Dawn.

"I hear screams ,rush in here and find you two making out like teary eyed teen-agers!"

Just then Rising Dawn realized that the circlet was no longer around Megan’s head. "Megan the circlet, it’s gone, but how?"

"Well, the answers are part of a long story," the pair proceeded to tell the Doctor and Rising Dawn about how they were Xena and Gabrielle reincarnated, and how it was Caitlin’s destiny to remove the circlet. K’tal’e and Rising Dawn were skeptical but glad the pair were ok. Later that night in Megan’s quarters aboard the Ephiny, She and Caitlin got to know each other better, all over again. Their bodies, hearts and souls intertwined that night. They kissed and touched each other in all the places that they knew would please the other. They even found a few new ones. So it continued throughout the night!  

      The End?.....no, it’s just the Beginning!

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