Havin' my baby
What a lovely way of sayin' how much you love me
Havin' my baby
What a lovely way of sayin' what you're thinkin' of me
I can see it, face is glowin'
I can see in your eyes, I'm happy you know it

That you're havin' my baby

You're the woman I love and I love what it's doin' to ya
Havin' my baby
You're a woman in love and I love what's goin' through ya

The need inside you, I see it showin'
Whoa, the seed inside ya, baby, do you feel it growin'?
Are you happy you know it? That you're

Havin' my baby

- Paul Anka
"Havin' my baby"

"Hey, how about this one?" Joxer held up a large lime green muumuu with gawdy pink tropical flowers emblazoned on it.

I rolled my eyes. I wished I encouraged Joxer to go with Xena to get supplies. He seemed rather insistent on helping me find maternity clothes. We were in Peoria-the quintessential Greek village, as it proudly proclaimed itself, a cross section of all Greek culture. If they didn't have the Greek items you were looking for here, locals bragged, they probably didn't exist. Surely there had to be at least one dress here that I liked. Joxer had a knack for finding all the ones that I didn't.

"Joxer, I'm four months pregnant with a baby, not a litter."

"I was a triplet," Joxer defended.

I shook my head emphatically. "I am not having triplets."

"Oh, like you have a choice in the matter? What are you going to tell them? 'Sorry fellas, you guys can't come out. You're just going to have to stay in there until Mommy explodes.'"

I stared at him coldly for a few seconds. He squirmed under my gaze.

"Alright, fine, I'll put this back," he grumbled. His head turned to Eve, who he was carrying on his back in the special pack Xena had made for such a purpose. "Evie, should we take another look? Maybe you'll have better luck picking something out for Aunt Gabby than I'm having."

Eve cooed and pointed to the next peddler's cart. "Dat!" she said proudly.

I walked over to the cart. Hanging from the top was a beautiful sky blue tank dress. It was empire waisted, knee length, and allowed room for a large belly. The back was bare except for a series of thin, crisscrossing straps that reminded me a lot of the brown top I was currently wearing.

"I think this will be good," I mused. I arranged with the peddler to try it on. When I did, I liked what I saw. Although I'd always been proud of my tight abdominal muscles, my growing belly was starting to overshadow them.

I could hear Eve singing as I admired the dress on me in the mirror. "Da da da da, ma ma, da da, ma ma ma MA! Dadadadadadadadaaaaaaa."

I came out from behind the curtain to model the dress for Joxer. He was surrounded by several women, including the peddler, and they were all cooing over Eve. I narrowed my eyes at them and cleared my throat. Their gaze rose to me.

"Oh, hiya, Gabby," Joxer greeted. His eyes instantly lit up at the sight of me. "Wow, you look great! I haven't seen you wear that color since we first met."

"Oh yeah," I stated nonchalantly, remembering the light blue blouse and long brown skirt I'd worn what seemed like lifetimes ago.

Eve squirmed in the backpack and reached her arms out to me. "Ma ma, ma ma ma ma," she whined. Joxer scrunched down to my height so I could take her out of the pack. She was happy again in my arms and her singing commenced. She clapped her hand against my shoulder to keep her own beat.

"Ma ma ma ma MA mamamama Da da da, mamama."

I turned to the peddler, prepared to bargain with her for the dress, trying to remain aloof as possible with a loud baby hitting me with one hand and yanking my short hair with the other. Surprisingly, the peddler agreed to my first offer, smiling as Eve tried to pull a fistful of my hair into her mouth.

"Joxer, she needs the teething ring again," I noted, cringing as I wrenched my neck so Eve wouldn't pull out clumps of my already short hair. Joxer waved Ares' teething ring in front of her, diverting her interest from my hair. She grabbed her favorite toy in earnest and shoved it in her mouth, humming as she bit down on the cool metal. I returned her to the carrying pack on Joxer's back.

As the peddler handed me my change, she chimed, "Good luck with your second child. It should be a snap after what I heard you went through with your first." She winked at me.

I stood there in total shock. How did this woman know about Hope?

Joxer put his hands on my shoulders and steered me away before I could respond. The other women who had surrounded him and Eve chirped their goodbyes.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

He hesitated. "Well, see, the shopkeeper assumed that you and I were, um, married and that, uh, Eve was our daughter."

I stopped dead in my tracks at the absurdity of such a notion. "And I'm sure you did nothing of the sort to encourage that assumption," I replied sarcastically.

He reddened. "Well, I told them that you were in labor with Eve for 96 hours."

My face wriggled in disgust-more at the thought of feeling pain that long than at the lie.

"If I ever had to go through a labor like that, there would be no way I'd have kids again."

Joxer smirked. "Yeah, that's what they said." He put his fingers in his belt buckles and straightened proudly. "But I told them you just couldn't get enough of my loving."

I punched him in the stomach and grabbed him by his ear. He bent over in pain.

"Hey!" Xena approached us before I could do any more damage. "What has Joxer done now?"

I let go of his ear, tore the teething ring out of Eve's mouth and tossed it in a pouch on the carrying pack undetected. Xena thought we left the ring behind months ago, and would be quite angry to know we kept it against her wishes. Eve started to wail over the loss of her favorite toy. Xena frowned in sorrow for her little girl's pain, unaware of the real cause, and took her out of the carrying pack to comfort her.

The women who were with Joxer at the peddler's rushed to our side.

"Wow, that was amazing!" one of them gasped. "What an excellent test move! Even at the smallest sign of danger, your bodyguard comes running."

"Plus, she doubles as a nanny!" another noted. "You're so lucky!"

"Where did you find such a woman?" a third asked.

Xena and I stood there and looked at each other, dumbfounded.

"Well, the trick is being in the right place at the right time," Joxer advised. "You've also got to know what you're looking for and not settle for anything less." He put his arm around me. "It's only the best help for my sweet, little cupcake of a wife."

I plastered a fake grin across my face and dug my nails into his back. He plastered the same grin across his face and winced in pain.

"You know, my warlord," Xena stated dryly with Eve resting on her hip, "we should be moving on. Now that I've bought our supplies and your wife has a new dress."

"Yes, yes," he said nodding. "More people to save, adventures to be had."

"Aren't you risking your wife's health by doing that?" one of the women asked.

"No!" I piped in immediately, not about to be cast as the weak and needy one just because I was pregnant. "No, not at all. I help out where I can and take care of myself just fine. He does all the fighting with, uh, uh," I looked at Xena and tried to give her a different name, "Tirena there, so I know he's safe." I grumbled, "Although he may not be that safe by the time I get through with him tonight."

He laughed lightheartedly and winked at the women. "See, I told you she can't get enough of me."

I fumed inside and clenched my fists, taking every possible measure not to punch his lights out. Xena snickered.

One of the women who identified herself as Heloma extended a dinner invitation to us, and the next thing I knew we were all sitting around a feast with the women by our side. It had been awhile since we had a good meal. This pregnancy gave me huge cravings for seafood, so we mostly have been eating fish at mealtimes, much to everyone else's chagrin. I gasped when I saw the overflowing plate of scallops, clams and lobster, and gleefully shoveled my plate's contents in my mouth. Xena happily partook in the roast pork and roast beef, relishing the first opportunity she had in awhile to eat red meat. Joxer ate very little, preferring to boast of his adventures instead. With our mouths and stomachs full, Xena and I had no desire to contradict him.

After discussing almost all of the adventures of our four years together, Heloma asked a question I was sure he'd fumble over.

"So how did you and Gabrielle get together?"

I sat back smugly and looked at him for an answer. Surprisingly, he didn't miss a beat. Sincerity replaced the jocularity in his eyes.

"I loved her for years, and I finally found the courage to tell her one day. But she didn't love me the same way." He swallowed before continuing and looked my way. "Then one day she did, and it was the happiest day of my life."

I returned his tender gaze and was astonished at what I whispered from my lips. "Mine too."

He smiled. The women cooed. Xena grimaced. Eve burped.

After dinner, he taught the women proper self-defense techniques. Xena and I sat quietly and watched, occasionally whispering and giggling as he made mistakes and pretended they were intentional.

We overheard two of the women whispering, waiting for their turn to practice the awkward moves.

"It would be wonderful if he settled down in town with his wife. There haven't been any wars in these parts in awhile. I think he could manage a short stay."

"Haven't you heard that Ares is back to being the God of War again?"

I noticed Xena's head perk to attention. As if noticing the same thing, Eve cooed, "Dada!" Xena put her pinky in the little girl's mouth. Eve bit down on it gleefully and went back to being silent.

"Yes," the second woman continued. "Somehow he got his powers back. He's trying to round up Eli's followers and start an army in the name of Eli to convert everyone to the new religion."

Xena's eyes slit as she considered Ares' plan. I was about to speak in anger, noting the irony of the god who killed Eli trying to rally support for slaying in Eli's name when Eli was against such conflict, when I noticed Heloma approach me with a smile.

"So Gabrielle," Heloma started as she sat next to me, "do you and Joxer have any plans of settling down until the baby arrives?"

"Probably not," I answered. "We're pretty restless people."

Heloma's face scrunched in concern. "Oh, I advise that you stay put. Especially after the 96 hours of labor you went through with Eve."

Xena suddenly came down with an uncontrollable cough. Heloma patted her on the back. I could see the upturned corners of Xena's mouth as her coughs tried to quell her laughter. I was glad something was able to take her mind off Ares.

"You're more than welcome to stay here until the baby arrives," Heloma offered. "I'm a midwife."

Xena shook her head. "Joxer is a roamer. We'll be fine on our own." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "As the bodyguard and nanny, I'll be sure of that."

Heloma grabbed a black bag from one side of the room and brought it Gabrielle. "Well, let me at least check to make sure the little guy is doing okay." She took out a metal funnel and placed the large part on my belly and the small part to her ear. Seeing her do this, Joxer stopped his lesson.

"Is everything okay?"

Heloma slowly smiled. "Ah yes. There's the heartbeat. A good strong one too." She turned to Joxer and offered it to him to listen.

As he moved his ear down to the small part of the funnel, he looked at Xena and me with a lopsided grin and proudly declared, "See? I told you kitchen tools are multifunctional."

Xena discretely kicked Joxer in the shin. He sulked at her as he put his ear against the small part of the funnel. Within a few seconds, his sulk turned into animated bliss.

"This is amazing!" he said excitedly. "I'm listening to my unborn boy's heartbeat." He paused for a moment and his face scrunched in uncertainty. "Is it supposed to be that fast? Could there be more than one baby in there and the heartbeats make it seem like they're only coming from one?"

I flinched. I hated how he kept mentioning multiples. One little Joxer I could handle. Two I wasn't so sure about, and three was definitely out of the question. No, this was Virgil. One baby. Period.

Heloma laughed. "The heart rate is normal. There's only one in there. It sounds so much faster than ours because the heart rate slows as we get older."

I sighed in relief, not that I ever doubted the presence of only one baby. It was just nice to hear someone confirm it. I stuck my tongue out at Joxer with a told-you-so look on my face and he stuck out his tongue in return with an oh-shut-up look on his.

Joxer turned to Heloma and sighed. "Well, it's getting late, and we should get going and set up camp. Thank you for your hospitality."

Heloma gasped. "Great gods, no! You aren't going anywhere-at least not tonight. Your wife deserves at least one night in a soft, warm bed. I have two beautiful guest rooms-one with a nice, soft king-sized bed for you and Gabrielle, and a smaller room with a full bed for Tirena and your daughter. Please say that you'll stay. I can't bear the thought of your pregnant wife on the cold, hard ground."

Joxer and Xena looked to me to make the decision. It was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned.

"That would be wonderful, thank you. But I'm sure we don't have enough money to..."

Heloma waved her hand in front of her face, as if she was throwing the thought away. "No charge, my dear. Your sweet husband has provided me with stories of adventure that are worth far more than money. Rest and get a good night's sleep. Seeing that will be even more of a reward for me."

Heloma escorted us to the hall where our rooms were. Joxer and I had what looked like the honeymoon suite, while Xena and Eve's room was nice, but much smaller. After Heloma wished us a good night and left, Xena and Joxer stepped aside in the hallway and began speaking quietly. I waited in the doorway of our room, wondering if they were talking about the charade that Xena let him get away with today or the latest news about Ares. I approached them to listen better when they stopped talking suddenly. Xena smiled sadly and hugged us both good night-very uncharacteristic of her since we were just in the next room-and went into her room with Eve. I didn't give the strangeness of the occurrence another thought.

Joxer's confidence disappeared as soon as we were alone. He just stood in the middle of the room and watched me unpack my things.

"What?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Aren't you going to hit me?"

I shook my head. "For getting us a good meal and a nice room?"

"But I lied. And you aren't mad at me?"

I thought about it for a moment. Strangely enough, I really wasn't. "No, I'm not mad. I'm just happy that we all got what we wanted for dinner and we'll all be able to sleep in real beds tonight." I slipped under the covers and lay against the feather pillows, reveling in the comfort.

Joxer unrolled his pelt on the floor.

"Joxer, what are you doing?"

He seemed surprised at the question. "I thought I'd sleep on the floor."

"And give up the chance to sleep in a bed for a change? The bed is huge. There is enough room for both of us." I patted the pillows next to me. He hesitantly got into bed and stayed at the edge of his side with his back toward me. I snickered.

"What?" he said, turning toward me.

"Nothing," I lied. He turned back around.

"Boy, you sure have a great view of the stars out the window tonight," he noted. I squirmed up beside him and looked from his vantage.

"Yeah, you're right. Is that Orion?"

"Where?"

"The one in the top left windowpane."

"Yeah. You can tell by the three stars that make up his belt." He paused and sighed. "Three stars. The two on the left are two of the brightest stars in the sky. The one on the right is nowhere near as bright. It's just in the right place at the right time."

I eyed him askance, noticing the double entendre. "You can see all three stars in the sky, can't you? The last one may not be as bright, but it's helping the other two outline the belt a little better. It's doing its job. That's all that matters." I sighed and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Maybe it manages to scrounge up dinner for the other two every once in awhile."

He rolled his eyes. "Ah, so it's a personal chef."

My face fell at his words. "No, it's a friend."

The corners of his mouth turned upward. "Thanks," he muttered softly.

He pointed out more stars to me, telling me the history behind each. I snuggled up to him and listened, finding the sound of his voice very soothing. My breathing slowed and I was about to enter slumber when his talking ceased. Thinking I was asleep, he kissed my forehead, held me closer and whispered, "Thank you, Gabrielle, for the best day of my life."

I kept my eyes closed and thought, "You're welcome."

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