It was past midnight.

Well, at least that’s what I suspected because it was pitch dark and the only light came from the moon which stood high in the night sky. Darkness lay across my bedroom and I could just about make out some shapes of things around me. But that was mostly due to the fact that I knew what they were. The chair with my cloths, the large cupboard in the corner. My desk with books and handbag on it.

Something had woken me and I wasn’t quiet sure whether it had been real or part of my dream. A nice one it was. There had been moonlight – pretty much like the one outside right now - a silent, secluded clearing in the woods, the calming sound of a nearby stream and Hercules and Iolaus had just been about to…

There it was again.

A noise coming from downstairs.

Something dropping on the floor.

Voices whispering.

In the darkness I reached for anything and found a long and firm object covered in a leather cloth on my night table. My athame. It’s not meant to draw blood, but I’m sure I’d be forgiven if it comes down to them or me. I took a deep breath and tip-toed down the stairs. As I reached the bottom of the staircase, I tensed as I tried to find any sounds, any movements – anything, which didn’t belong. There was a motion in the middle of the living room as I carefully peeked around the corner. A dark figure was leaning over the table. I took a deep breath, gripped my athame tighter and switched the lights on.

*Stupid* I thought, *real stupid. CrimeWatch UK is full of stories about idiots like me.*

But it was too late.

"Can I help you?" I said firmly and was surprised at how little of my emotions actually came out in my voice. I was almost proud of myself even though I was scared sh*tless.

*Can I help you* I thought to myself. *What a stupid line to say to a burglar! Way to go Morgan! Now what?*

"I – I’m sorry." the figure of the man said as he straightened himself up. "I – I didn’t mean to wake you."

Of course he wasn’t meant to wake me. He’s a burglar for crying out loud! Obviously a bit on the thick side.

The tall man was leaning over the table in the middle of the room and seemed to have gone through the piles of paper on it. *Some burglar* I thought. *Going straight for the FF rather than the telly.*

"Yeah, well, I have a light sleep. So, what do you want? There’s nothing here to steal! So shove off or I’ll call the police!"

I waited for him to do something. Anything. At least turn around and look at me. He was tall and clad in dark brown leather breeches and a cream-coloured chamois vest. How odd…

"Who are you?" I asked into the twilight of the room.

The man slowly turned around and suddenly my eyes widened as I recognized familiar features.

"Hercules…" I whispered and my mouth dropped open. "What…"

Hercules smiled shyly and shrugged his shoulders. "We didn’t mean to frighten you. We just came for some… some inspiration."

I looked at him in amazement as I opened my mouth. I wanted to say something, but …

I took a deep breath as I tried to regain some sense of sanity. Then I heard a noise form the kitchen.

"Kewl!"

The fridge door slammed closed. Footsteps shoveling across the kitchen tiles.

"What do you mean *we*?" I asked as I lowered my athame and put it onto a small side table next to me.

"Well, me and Iolaus. He’s in the kitchen. I’m sorry but he was hungry and…"

I waved my arm. "Don’t worry. I can imagine. He’s always hungry."

I took a deep breath. This wasn’t comfortable at all. I mean, I like Hercules and he’s the centre of my FF, but I didn’t really feel particularly comfortable speaking to him in person. That’s more Ceridwen’s domain. She’s good at this kind of stuff and I know that Iolaus has visited her a couple of times to talk about what she keeps doing to him. But me?

"What do you want here?" I asked almost coldly.

Suddenly a small, blond figure walked around the corner.

"Hey Herc!" Iolaus called. "Check this out! They’ve put pieces of meat and vegetables in between two slices of bread! What a great…"

He stopped in his tracks as he saw me standing in the middle of the room.

"Uuups," he swallowed embarrassed. "I think we’ve been rumbled."

"Hi, Iolaus." I said and sighed. "It’s called a ‘sandwich’ and I don’t think you want to eat this. It’s been in the fridge for ages!"

Iolaus shrugged his shoulders and took a big bite. "It tastes great!" he said in between chews. "Why is it called a sand-witch?"

I sighed again. "It’s *Sandwich*. It’s named after the Earl of Sandwich, who was playing cards with his mates and … it’s a long story." I turned back at the tall demi-god in my living room. "Hercules, what do you want here?" I asked. "I don’t like talking to my characters."

Hercules smiled and waved a stack of papers he was holding in his hand. "It’s about this." he said and smiled. "We came for – well – inspiration for a festival."

I creased my eyebrows and stepped closer. "Inspiration?" I asked. "Inspiration for what? About what? From what?"

Hercules picked out one page and started to read:

I eyed Hercules in suspicion. "Do you have women trouble?" I laughed dryly. "Yeah, right. Hercules the great womanizer! As if!"

Iolaus walked over and slumped into a chair on the other side of the table. He took another generous bite of the sandwich as he looked over at his tall friend.

"At least you get all her attention!" he mumbled in between chews.

Hercules laughed short and smiled. "Don’t worry, Iolaus. Morgan hasn’t forgotten about you! You get some piece of the action, too."

He handed Iolaus another page from the pile in his hand.

Iolaus smiled as he positioned himself more comfortably into a chair. "I like that one. Don’t stop there! Is there more?"

Hercules smiled. "There’s more!"

"Hummmmmm…" Iolaus mumbled as he licked over his lips and smiled deliciously, his eyes half closed.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the couch. "So, you like what I write." I said as I pushed papers off the couch to get comfortable. "Great. I’m honoured. Now, could you maybe get back to…wherever you came from? I should really get some sleep and as I said before I don’t like talking to you guys."

Whatever Iolaus tried to say was stifled by the last piece of sandwich, which had disappeared in his mouth. I lowered myself onto the sofa and I sat down next to Hercules I decided that this place could really do with a big clean-up. Books and papers everywhere and Hades only knows how long that can of coke has been standing on the table. Maybe, just maybe I’ll manage to find the remote control for the VCR somewhere in this mess.

It would be helpful.

"Well," I said as I shrug my shoulders. "Are you gonna tell me what you want now, or what?" I’m normally really not that rude, but this was annoying. I hate to talk to fictional characters and I hate to be in the centre of something like this. The faster this is over with, the better.

"It’s a couple of things really." Hercules said as he eyed the piles of papers on the table in front of him. "First of all, I get the impression you hate me."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Whatever gives you that idea?"

Hercules pointed across the room at a small figurine on the side table.

"Hera…" he said tonelessly.

I nod. "Yeah, so what? It’s not the same Hera. I mean it’s Hera all right, but I see her different. So really - it’s not your Hera, it’s… it’s mine."

Hercules shakes his head. "It just makes me feel uncomfortable. There you are writing stories with me in it and I don’t understand why. I mean you don’t seem to like me, you’ve got a statue of Hera in your living room and you portray me - well…"

I shrugged innocently. "I think I manage to portray you pretty good. You’re showing some real feelings for a change! Your true self the way I see it comes out and as for your relationship with Iolaus, well a lot of Iolaus fans miss a bit of feeling from you towards him here and there."

Hercules leaned forwards. "What makes you think I never show any feelings?" he whispered.

I turned and looked at his face. "Well, I’m not an Iolausian," I turned quickly around at the small blond sitting across me in the chair and eyeing a can of Coke on the table. "No offence!" I added and the hunter smiled and nodded as I turned back at the demi-god. "But do you remember when you wanted to help that woman whose husband was held as a slave by Mineus Maximus?"

Hercules nodded. "Of course I remember. Why?"

I swallowed. "Well, Iolaus didn’t want to come along, but you insisted. And what happened?"

Hercules creased his eyebrows. "We freed the slaves and Maximus and his wife are now serving a prison-…"

"That’s not what I mean, Hercules." I interrupted him. "I mean what happened to Iolaus?"

"What happened to him? He helped me get all the slaves out." Hercules offered tentatively.

I shook my head. "Sure. Afterwards! But did you ever notice how he was treated by the soldiers when you came to the prison? They beat him unconscious, broke his nose and you didn’t do anything to help him."

Hercules wrapped his arms around his body. "I couldn’t do anything if I didn’t want to blow our cover."

I laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, you could have at least rushed to his side to check if he was okay!" Hercules was silent and I kept going. "Oh and of course let’s not forget the countless times you refused his help. Like…like that time when Hera killed your family. Now I know that this must have been hard for you, but Iolaus offered his help and you rejected him! Same with the time Serena died. He wanted to help and you pushed him away." I closed my eyes for a brief second. "And how about what he wants and feels? When you two where on your way to wherever that was, he wanted to go one way and you another. Why did you not listen to him for a change? Don’t his ideas count for anything? He’s your best friend for crying out loud!" I took a deep breath. "Sometimes I get the impression, you don’t care about what he thinks or feels and you take him for granted. And I’m - I’m… leveling the score!"

"Leveling the score?" Hercules said and gasped. "That’s not fair, Morgan." He shook his head. "I do care for Iolaus. Do you know how often he’s died in my arms?"

I look up and my eyes went cold as I remembered the pain I saw in Ceridwen’s eyes.

"Yes," I whispered as I recalled every single scene in which I had wrapped my arms comfortingly around her shoulders as she sobbed silently. The Amazon Women, the cave of the She-Demon, the second Enforcer, Sumeria…

"Four times." I breathed painfully.

Hercules looked up. "Four?" he asked. "How do you know about…"

I just stared at him wordlessly.

"Oh" he said quietly. "Of course…"

"Does it matter to you how often he died, Hercules?" I said after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "He shouldn’t have died at all! Every time he did, he was with you or doing something for you! And it’s not that I’m saying he shouldn’t have done it, it’s just that you should – well – take it a bit harder! Show some feelings, some sort of emotion! Be yourself and stop acting out of character!"

"How do you think I feel? Iolaus is my best friend. How much more heart ache do you think I can take?" The demi-god’s voice started to crack and I looked up into his sky-blue eyes. They shimmered suspiciously moist.

"I went to Hades himself to get him back." he whispered and his head sunk to the ground. "I made Zeus turn back time, I battled the Sumerian Gods and Dahak himself because I couldn’t face life without him."

"Yes but when push comes to shove, you leave him behind and your brain stops working and you...you do something really stupid and something really… unlike you! Like when Zeus asked you to join him on Mt. Olympus! Now that was stupid and I won’t even ask you how you think Iolaus had felt then!"

"Iolaus said himself…"

"Oh yeah, after Jason put some sort of selfish guilt feeling into his head. Iolaus didn’t want you to go. He said in the beginning, he thought it was a bad idea, but did you listen? No! You never do and he’s always right. And he was right. Mt. Olympus was a particularly bad idea! You of all people should have known better!"

Hercules looked over at his best friend. Iolaus had taken hold of the Coke can and inspected it closely to avoid the demi-god’s gaze. But he had never been good in hiding his feelings.

Hercules had grown silent. "I feel awful." he whispered. "My family is dead, Zeus ignores me, Hera hates me, my father’s side of the family makes my life a living hell…"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah well, you’re the son of a God!" I said. "Get over it and start acting like yourself again!"

Hercules leaned forwards, closer to me and looked deep into my eyes. "What else is it about me, Morgan?"

"Well, if you must know, I – I don’t like the way you handle things. Punching your way through problems."

Hercules looked up and straight into my eyes then laughed. "Punching my way though problems? Are you sure you’re not confusing me with Iolaus here?"

The blonde’s head shot up. "Hey!" he said and threw the demi-god an angry look.

I shook my head. "Nope." I said firmly. I stood up and walked over to Iolaus, taking the Coke can out of his hands. With one move I flipped the pin over and opened it. "Here!" I said and I pressed it into his hand then walked back to my seat.

Hercules leaned back into the sofa. "So you don’t like the way I approach problem situations? What am I doing wrong then?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Hercules, what can I say? I’m a pacifist and you…"

The demi-god burst into laughter. "You??" he said as he tried to catch his breath. "A pacifist!"

I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head. "Yeah, I am. What’s so funny about that?"

Hercules leaned forwards and picked up another page from the pile in front of him. "Pacifist, hum?" he said as looked down at the page.

I took in a deep breath as I recalled the story I had written a while back. "Okay, so that was necessary for the storyline. You see the heroine is – she’s got healing powers and to show them I had to – well, hurt somebody."

Iolaus smelled the Coke can and looked up at me. "And that had to be me? You’re into that FSFI as well, aren’t you?" Iolaus said and sighed heavily.

I shook my head. "No, not really. Not my style."

Iolaus stared at me and lifted a piece of paper up, he was holding.

<< Iolaus lay there unmoving, his face grey. Alani, knelt beside him covered in blood; her clothes were soaked in red. If it was Iolaus' blood, it was already too late. Alani's left hand covered the gaping wound in Iolaus' chest, her right was clenched into a fist over her heart. Hercules watched the scene with horror and despair. There was nothing, nothing at all that could be done for a wound like that. Iolaus would die.>>

Then the blond looked up at me. "Now if that’s not FSFI, I don’t know what is!"

I’m silent. This was getting pathetic.

I’m actually talking to my characters.

If anybody finds out about this, they have me committed. On the other hand Ceridwen does that all the time and she seems all right.

Well…

Iolaus picked up another piece of paper as he placed the can on to the table and reached for an apple from the basket. "And while we’re at it, I also think that you’re not getting me right either."

I look at him as I handed him a napkin. "What do you mean?"

"Well, just look at this!"

Iolaus looked up from the piece of paper. "Do you really think that I would do such a thing?" He took a bite of the apple.

I giggle. "Well, you do like your ale…"

"Yeah, but c’mon. No matter how much I drink, I’d never insult somebody on such a low level. And Hercules and Serena…" Iolaus looked over at his tall friend and caught glimpse of a painful expression on the demi-god’s face. "I’d never say anything to hurt him."

Hercules stared down at his feet, which shuffled through magazines and loose pages on the floor of the sofa. "Well, and what about those *other* stories?"

I turned around and stared at him. "What do you mean?" I breathed. Then I grinned mischievously because I had a faint idea of where this was going.

A pretty good idea in fact.

Hercules leaned closer. "All I can say is ‘Hercules After Dark’!’"

I drew back and blushed. "How do you know?" Then I had to giggle. "Of course, you’re half a god…Morgan, sometimes…"

Hercules laughed as he looked across the table at Iolaus who eyed the can of Coke with increasing interest. "That sounds familiar." the son of Zeus said. "But let’s not change the subject here - me and Iolaus? *Lovers*?"

I looked at him innocently. "It wasn’t my idea! There have already been tons of stories out there about you two being…well, more than just friends. With Xena and Gabrielle being so talked about, everybody looks at you two and gets thinking."

Hercules creased his eyebrows.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, you see most stories are about you and Iolaus and how you discover your love for each other. You’ve been in love with each other for years, but none of you had the heart to admit it because of your great friendship, you see."

Hercules shook his head. "I don’t know. Me and Iolaus? Having sex?"

I nodded. "Sure. And why not? It’s not that it’s such an unusual thing in ancient Greece. Everybody was at it. And it’s not just *having sex* - it’s *making love*! Big difference."

Hercules sighed heavily. "I don’t know. I can’t just see how this could possibly…"

I looked around and reached for a couple of pages, which had fallen underneath the table. With a smile, I handed them to the demi-god.

"Here." I said as his eyes wandered across the paper. "This is one of Ceridwen’s. I’ve just put it on my Web Page!"

Iolaus looked up. "Ceridwen..." he whispered and a smile hushed across his face.

Hercules stared at him in annoyance and reached for the paper I was holding.

"Oh, my!" Hercules looked up, his cheeks bright red. Then he tilted his head slightly.

"And what about Iolaus?" he asked, pointing at the small blond on the other side of the table. I could see that the demi-god was shifting uncomfortably from side to side as he gripped the papers in his hand. Iolaus had grown silent and was watching his best friend with increasing solemnity.

"What about him?" I asked surprised.

"Well, how does all this fit into your idea of him as the guy who has a girl in every town waiting for him?"

I smiled. "Hercules, sometimes, one can be quiet…er…well you can like both men and women…and you can hide your true feelings if you fear that you might be rejected or that you might destroy your friendship. Especially if the object of your desire is your best friend and it’s a male-male relationship. It can be offensive to some people."

Hercules looked over at Iolaus. "Well Iolaus, c’mon! Say something here!"

Iolaus was just looking at Hercules as if he was miles away, trapped in some distant thought, his eyebrows creased, his eyes poised on Hercules’ body.

"Iolaus?" Hercules asked.

The blonde’s head suddenly shot up and his eyes widened as if he’d been caught stealing sweets.

"Ahem, sorry, Herc. I was…I just thought about…I…Oh, never mind!"

I looked at Iolaus with interest. "Are you okay?" I asked, studying his face. He looked disturbed and almost sad and I wondered what I could have said to make him react in such a way.

"Yeah, sure." he said but neither Hercules not me were convinced.

"Was it something I said?" I asked.

It couldn’t have been the torture stuff. Or the escapades with all those women…or the sex with Hercules. I looked over at Hercules who’d grown silent as well, studying the face of his partner.

"Iolaus? What is it?" he asked again, his voice urging gently. "Tell me?"

Iolaus looked up from the papers in his hands, over to me and then to Hercules. "Herc…" he said almost whispering. "Does it really sound so bad to you?"

Hercules smiled. "What? You being tortured and killed all the time?"

"No, I don’t mean…"

"You having sex with all those woman? Most of them married or with brothers as tall as…"

"No, I mean you…and…I…us…having…"

My moth dropped open and I could see the same reaction on the demi-god’s face. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Iolaus swallowed hard and added quickly "I mean, those stories aren’t really that bad. I’m not offended, are you? I mean are you really so against the thought? I mean it’s not that bad and some of them read quiet…romantic and I think…I would have thought…I mean…"

His voice trailed off.

There was a ghostly silence until Hercules finally broke it.

"Iolaus?" he said as he looked firmly into his best friend’s eyes. There was no sense of humour and no sense of uneasiness in his expression. "How long have you been feeling like this?" he asked.

Iolaus shook his head slowly and I could tell that he hadn’t planned to take this any further. The hunter was trying to save what was still savable and I was sure he hadn’t meant to say what he’d said. But it was too late and the words where out. They hung in the room like…like…like that heavy fragrance I bought at Sainsbury’s last week.

Disgusting stuff.

"Herc, I don’t know what I‘m feeling." Iolaus said, his voice shaking slightly. "I knew that there was something I couldn’t pin-point, but since I read those stories…" His eyes sunk to the floor and at that moment he looked so… vulnerable and sad. Now I know what Ceridwen means.

Hercules stood up from the sofa and walked over to where Iolaus was sitting. He crouched down in front of him and smiled gently.

"Iolaus, why have you never told me about this?" he said and his voice came soft and tender. Iolaus refused to look at him and just kept staring at his feet.

Goddess, this was fantastic and I couldn’t help myself. This was too good to miss. I reached down and took hold of my notebook.

As I watched the scene in front of me, my mind raced. This was brilliant. Right down my alley.

Iolaus took a deep breath. "Herc, I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t know what to say to you."

…didn’t know what to say to you…Fantastic!

"You are my best friend and what I feel for you, well, I don’t know how to describe it, but it is more than just friendship."

…more than just friendship. Excellent!

"And I was afraid of realizing what it actually was that I..."

Iolaus looked up and over to me. I raised my head from my notebook.

"…what it actually was that I… – keep going, Iolaus. Don’t mind me. I’m just taking notes. This is great stuff. Let it come! Let it all out!"

Hercules also looked over to me. "Please, Morgan…not now."

"But if it wasn’t for me, you two…this would have never…" Then I sighed in defeat and closed my notebook. "Okay, okay. I’m sorry."

But then I don’t really need to write all this down. I’ve got a good memory.

Hercules turned back at Iolaus and tried to look deep into the hunter’s eyes. Iolaus took a deep breath as he met the gaze.

"Iolaus, I wish you would have told me earlier, because…"

Iolaus looked up. "Because what?" he asked.

Hercules sighed heavily and took a deep breath. I try to get comfortable on the sofa, but it was impossible. Me entire body was tense, I was like a feather ready to be released. This drove me onto the edge.

"Because of what, Hercules?" Iolaus asked again.

"Yeah, Hercules!" I throw in impatiently. "Because of what?"

Hercules closed his eyes briefly and then looked up into Iolaus’ eyes.

*Say it, Hercules!* I thought. *Say it!*

Iolaus still looked at the silent demi-god expectantly. Hercules obviously tried to gather everything he had inside of him.

His feelings.

The right words.

The courage.

I couldn’t take it anymore. He was so close and it would only take 3 words to push him over the edge - to end those years of pain and sadness, the years of loneliness I had always known where there. I had known it all along and I was amazed to see me finally proven right.

*C’mon Hercules, don’t mess this one up now* I thought. *Be yourself for once!*

"Oh for Zeus’ sake, Hercules, say it!" I almost shouted at him and Hercules was visibly shaken up by the unexpected force in my voice.

"Okay, okay, so I love Iolaus! All right? Happy now, you two? I love Iolaus!"

Then suddenly there was a silence and Hercules released a long breath. He smiled up into his best friend’s eyes as he whispered "I love Iolaus."

No words could describe the scene in front of me and I wasn’t sure if I could remember it all. This was most certainly material for an excellent story. Classic stuff and it had everything: love, hurt, comfort, relief and more love.

"Hercules…" was all Iolaus could whisper as he swallowed hard and smiled softly.

I didn’t know what to say. Even though I had thought about this – visualized this – written about this for years, it had come as a surprise. Almost as a shock and I waited. Waited for anything more to come, but the two men just stared at each other for an eternity. Then Hercules grabbed Iolaus’ hand and pulled him up from the chair.

"I think we’ll better be off." he said and smiled down at the blond hunter. "We have some catching up to do."

Iolaus grinned. "Thanks, Morgan. For everything."

Hercules smiled and bent over the table. "Do you mind if I…if we…?"

He reached for a piled of papers clipped together. ‘Chain and Balls’ the title read and I grinned at the background of the story. Phone sex in ancient Greece! What a challenge that had been.

"Sure, help yourselves, guys," I said. "But I think that one is a little too advanced for you two, considering that you just…"

I broke off and I looked into both their eyes as they stared at me. Then I smiled.

"Naa, you’ll be just fine!" I grinned and took a deep breath.

I have another story to write.