Aphrodite stood over the exact place on the beach where her beloved husband had met his end. It seemed like Hephaestus had died an eternity ago, though it had been only eight months. She missed him terribly but she knew there was nothing she could ever do about it. As a god, she didn't even have the luxury of knowing that their souls would one day be reunited after her own death.

"What can a god do?" She found herself saying aloud, though there was no one around to hear her. Or so she believed. "I'm lost without you Hephie. I'm angry. At Xena. At you. Why couldn't you just walk away? Why did you have to get yourself killed? How selfish of you!"

"Aphrodite."

The last person she expected to see here was Xena, but sure enough, when Aphrodite looked behind her, Xena was there with a tender expression on her strong, beautiful face. Gabrielle and Eve, Aphrodite noted, were nowhere to be seen. It was just the two of them.

"Xena. What are you doing here? I don't think it's appropriate for you..."

Xena wasn't going to back away. "I ran into Hercules. He told me you've been spending a lot of time here."

Xena knelt down beside Aphrodite. Her sharp senses could feel her friend stiffen at her presence, but she ignored it. She and the goddess of Love still had the issue of Hephaestus' death between them, and Xena wasn't about to leave until they'd at least tried to settle things. If Aphrodite felt it inappropriate for her to be here, then Xena would move the conversation elsewhere, but it would be had.

Seeing Xena wasn't going anywhere soon, Aphrodite decided to put up with her presence. "The sun will be setting soon," she remarked. The statement sounded out of place in Aphrodite's own ears, but Xena went along with it. It was, after all, a place to start.

"Yes it will. I love sunsets."

"Why is that?"

"I could say it's because they're beautiful, but that's not the entire truth. When you live the kind of life I live, a sunset is a victory. It means you've made it through another day."

"An attack could also come in the night." It wasn't lost on Aphrodite that her words sounded like a veiled threat, though they were not. Would Xena interpret them that way?

If she did, Xena gave no sign of it. She only nudged Aphrodite gently and winked at her. "Maybe that's why I cherish sunrises too."

The two women shared a few moments of silence in which Aphrodite was increasingly aware that the emotional storm that had been brewing since her husband's death was coming to a head, and Xena could also see it coming. When it finally hit, it was not in the explosion Xena was looking for. That wasn't Aphrodite's style. Instead, it came as a sudden, yet gentle rain. Slow and steady but with no sign of moving on any time soon. It would take powerful winds of love and understanding to drive this storm from Aphrodite's heart, and Xena was prepared to give it all she had. It was the least she could do for a friend as dear to her as Aphrodite had become.

"This is the place. This is where he died. He's gone forever Xena, because you killed him!"

Aphrodite stood and ran over to the water, and Xena noticed for the first time since she'd found her that Aphrodite's feet were bare. Xena couldn't explain why, but the sight of the ocean washing over Aphrodite's bare feet and legs had a profound effect on her. It made the sometimes cruel goddess seem so delicate and vulnerable. So human.

Xena decided to follow suit and she quickly pulled off her own boots, then went to stand beside Aphrodite. The water was ice cold, but Xena refused to back off one step from her. Instead, she followed Aphrodite's gaze to find the sun was beginning to set behind the ocean's horizon, staining the sky with beautiful golden light.

"A mother," Xena began, wishing to somehow explain her actions, "will go to the ends of the Earth to save her child. She will do anything and kill anyone to keep her safe."

Aphrodite began to wipe away the tears that were spilling down her face, but Xena gently pulled her hand back. "Let them fall."

The goddess took in a deep, shaky breath. The pain inside was becoming so intense it was difficult for her to even breathe. "I'm not disputing your reason's Xena. I have children, I understand why, it's just...he was my husband. He loved me."

"I know."

"No you don't'! You have no idea what that meant to me!" Aphrodite was sobbing now.

"Then make me understand."

The floodgates of Aphrodite's pain were opened all the way now, for the first time since she'd lost Hephaestus. Through sobs of anguish she let it all go.

"Mortal or immortal, when men see me, they see a body to be used for their pleasure, and that's all they see. I thought that was all I was worth before he came along. He saw a person to be loved. Everybody thinks I'm nothing but a stupid blond bimbo, but I'm more than that!"

"Of course you are," Xena said, trying unsuccessfully to swallow back her own tears.

The more Aphrodite talked, the faster her words came until they flowed out of her on one massive emotional tidal wave. "He was the only one to love me for me Xena. He understood me. He saw I had feelings and dreams and...he cared about those things as much as he did his own. He was half of me! The better half of my soul."

Aphrodite turned from Xena, and she was amazed at how Aphrodite seemed to be almost glowing in the deepening gold and reds of the evening sky. She was a beautiful creature who was in so much pain. It was the first time since they'd met that Xena had seen Aphrodite suffer, and that made the goddess real to Xena. So painfully real.

Aphrodite's sobs slowly came to an end. Never before in her immortal existence had she found herself feeling so tired. So old and drained of life. Would she ever know happiness again? Would she ever feel alive again?

"My family is gone Xena. I'm having to take over their responsibilities. Somebody has to help Persephone run the underworld with Hades gone. Someone must look out for Poseidon's Kingdom and who's going to heal the sick with Athena gone? Me. I feel like I'm caving in under all this pressure and I don't have the one I love to share this with."

It took Xena quite some time to fight through her own pain and feeling's of guilt, but she finally found her voice. "I put that pain in your heart Aphrodite. I am so, so sorry. The reason I came here was to tell you that you're not alone. As long as I live you will have me to turn to. I know I can never replace Hephaestus, but I can be your friend. If you'll let me."

Though she were a god, Aphrodite hugged herself as if she were cold. Xena knew this was not so, but she did for her what she would have done for Gabrielle or Eve. She took up a place behind Aphrodite and enveloped the goddess in her arms. Aphrodite knew she had a choice to either forgive Xena, or let the pain in her heart turn to hatred and bitterness until it killed her soul. She made her choice.

The goddess allowed herself to relax against Xena, accepting the love her friend offered, and the comfort her company brought with it.

"I forgive you Xena."

"You'll never know what that means to me Aphrodite. I love you, you know."

"I know. I love you too."

They remained there like that, barefoot in the sand. The goddess of Love wrapped in the warm embrace of the Warrior Princess. They had their friendship, and that was all they needed as they watched the sun settle behind the Ocean.

The End.