"You haven't seen her anytime recently?"

"How could I? I've been here with you all week. Why?
You think she's coming?"

"We're in Androida," Herc said recognizing the
inn.

"Well yeah."

"Nothing. I just thought I remembered Xena saying she'd
be heading near here."

"Okay," Iolaus said as he took another bite. Herc
smiled. He knew it'd be easy to get info out of the hunter. He
didn't pay attention to anything when he was eating.

After the meal Hercules and Iolaus returned to Hercules’s
house. The hunter was off fishing by the river while Hercules
worked on the fence. He smiled at the small cottage he hadn’t
seen in twenty years. It was a sweet place he was still rather
proud of, and he knew he’d probably be spending some time
here once the girls showed up.

He knew when they were now. Hercules had only been at this house
for a year before he got restless and moved on. Xena and Gabrielle
had stopped by only once in that time, so he knew when to expect
them. Still, Herc couldn’t help feeling a little sad at being
sent back to this specific time and place. In a different life, he
had shared this house with Serena.

Well, now is not the time to dwell on that, he sighed,
picking up another boulder. My job right now is to take care of
Iolaus. And Xena should be arriving here –

A horse whinnied as the two women rode up.

Any minute. Hercules finished the thought. He tossed
the boulder away and ran up to greet the girls. Iolaus had heard
the horse and came up to see who it was.

"Xena!" Hercules waved his arm to his friend. She gave
him a knowing smile and accepted a friendly hug (although it did
seem they’d been doing a lot of that recently). "What
are you doing here?"

Xena gave him a look that clearly said ‘Are you kidding
me?’ But answered instead with "Gabrielle and I were
passing through the area. Heard you settled down here, we wanted to
see the place." Hercules nodded.

"Xena? Gabrielle!" Iolaus recognized the women from
the front door and leapt over the half-built fence to greet
them.

Gabrielle ran straight to her dear friend and threw her arms
around him. The hunter lifted the young bard off her feet as he
held her tightly in a warm welcome. Hercules gave Xena a look.
Why hadn’t they seen it then? he wondered.

"What are you two doing here?" Iolaus asked, obviously
ecstatic. The bard giggled as she wouldn't let him go.

"Can't we just drop in on you without a reason?"
she teased.

"Of course you can," Hercules answered. "You two
know you're always welcome. Xena, why don't you and
Gabrielle go inside and rest up. Iolaus will try and catch us some
dinner."

"Sure," Xena said quietly as she led Argo around to
the stable. Gabrielle stayed behind, still grinning at Iolaus.

"Actually, I don't really think I need a rest,"
she smiled. "I feel wonderful."

"Great," Iolaus jumped in. "You're welcome to
join me." Hercules smiled at his friends obvious excitement.
Maybe this would be easier than he thought.

"I'd love to," she answered. Iolaus smiled even
wider and took her hand as he led her to the house.

"Wait till you see this place," Herc overheard his
friend saying. "The river's right off the back and
it's the perfect spot for fishing. And then the woods right
here – great wildlife…" Hercules smiled after them. He
turned and saw Xena doing the same.