For the first few minutes after Venus woke up. She laid in bed, staring up at Xena's face. She basked in the warmth of her naked body pressed into hers. The feeling was euphoric.

But Venus knew what she had to do, she knew she couldn't waste anymore time.

Slipping out of Xena's arms, Venus got to her feet and started dressing up. She watched Xena as she slept, taking note of the steady rise and fall of her chest.

After she was fully clothed, Venus retrieved her gun, concealing it in her clothes. With one last lingering look, she headed out.

Stepping outside, Venus was immediately hit with the chilly air. She ran her hands up and down her arms to warm her up. It was about six in the morning; the sun was just rising and the usual noisy City was quieter.

Venus kept walking, taking in the scenery around her. She got to her apartment building but walked straight past it. That was not where she was headed right now.

Venus walked for a few minutes longer until she came upon a large expanse of land. She was at the Park. It was the same Park that Xena had taken her to once upon a time. Venus now made her way over to the exact spot they had been seating. She was the only one there.

Wordlessly, Venus flopped down on the grass.

The dew instantly dampened her pants, but Venus didn't pay any mind to it. Rather, she relished in the memory she had shared with Xena in that same place.

Not many places brought Venus warmth, but this place did. Venus was filled with a warm feeling as she looked up at the sky above her. She silently ran her fingers through the blades of grass, wetting her hands in the process.

This place was dear to her for one prominent reason: it was where she had first been vulnerable with Xena. For that matter, it was the first time she had ever been vulnerable with anyone at all. It was the first time Venus let herself feel.

Venus drew a sharp breath as she took in the chilly air. It felt crisp in her throat.

For the first time since waking up, Venus thought back to the events of the previous night. She had intentionally tried to hold it off, the longer she did so the longer she wouldn't have to face reality and the true nature of things.

But Venus knew she had to, eventually. Now was eventually.

She thought about everything that had happened the previous night, the fights and tears which had ended up in Xena telling her she loved her, just before making love to her. Venus swallowed hard as her mind filled with the lustful imagery. For a moment, she let herself get aroused. She let herself bask in the memory of being touched so carefully, of being loved so deeply.

Then Venus pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She knew that the longer she thought about it, the harder for her to do what she had to do. Venus wanted many more nights like the way the previous night had ended. But she knew that wasn't the case. She knew that couldn't be the case.

Venus allowed herself to face the facts in front of her. She hadn't killed Xena. No doubt that The Boss was going to have both their necks when he found out. More so, there was the FBI that was after her. Venus knew that it was only a matter of time before they cracked her case and came after her.

Time. That was something that Venus no longer had a lot of.

However, despite all these forces after her, all Venus could focus on was Xena. She wouldn't have cared about the situation if Xena's life was not at risk as well. But now that it definitely was, Xena's safety was Venus' priority.

Venus shook her head as the memory of Xena telling her she loved her popped up in her head. She knew she couldn't be thinking about that right now. It was clear to Venus that she would have to protect Xena one way or another. After all, she refused to do the logical thing and turn her in, get far away and protect herself.

Venus shook her head softly as she thought of this fact.

"Hello."

Venus was shocked out of her thoughts as she looked up at the little boy standing next to her. He had brown hair and soft brown eyes, with puffy cheeks.

"Hi." Venus replied, looking at him in confusion.

The boy didn't say anything more. He settled down right next to Venus in the large expanse of land. He was holding a toy in his hands. Venus knew that it was a superhero, but she didn't know what the superhero was called; she didn't know a lot about superheros.

"You look lonely." The boy said absent-mindedly as he began playing with his superhero toy in the grass.

Venus found this ironic as it was the first time in her life that she did not feel lonely. It was very early in the morning, Venus glanced around realizing that it appeared the boy had come to the park himself. He didn't look more than five.

"It's really early," Venus said, "shouldn't you be getting ready for school? What are you doing at the park?"

"What are you doing at the park?"

Venus was taken off guard by the boy's response, but a slight smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Touché."

"Toushay?" The boy asked, cocking his head to the side. "What does that mean?"

Venus' smile grew slightly wider. It wasn't every day that she faced someone that she knew more than. Seeing as virtually everybody knew more than she did.

"Hmm," Venus hummed thinking of the best way to explain it, "it means like, fair point. In this context, anyway." The boy hummed to himself and nodded his head, Venus knew that it probably meant something else in chess and fencing. But she didn't have much knowledge of either of those two things.

A moment of silence fell between them. The boy played with his toy and Venus watched him, a shadow of a smile on his face.

"What's the name of your superhero?" Venus asked, striking conversation between them.

The boy looked up at her as if to say, 'you don't know who this superhero is?'

"It's Iron man."

Venus nodded as she looked at the toy the boy was holding.

"What's your favorite superhero?"

Venus scanned her mind, trying to think of any superhero that she knew. "Um, Spider-man?"

The boy nodded his head in approval. A silence settled between them.

"Carter!"

Both Venus' and the boy's heads turned to the direction of the voice. A woman was running towards them, her blonde hair that was packed in a pony tail swishing around.

"Carter, where have you been! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Uh oh, I'm in trouble." Carter mumbled, before getting to his feet and running to the woman before she could completely reach them.

Venus watched as the woman, who she assumed to be Carter's mother, told off her son before taking his hand and walking away. She didn't even bother to spare a glance at Venus.

Venus was now alone. She had quite enjoyed Carter's company. It distracted her. She had never had a conversation with a child before. Turns out it wasn't as annoying as she always imagined it would be.

For a few moments she thought about Carter before her mind returned to Xena. Like clockwork, Venus' mind always seemed to come back to the short-haired woman.

Venus knew what she had to do. Ultimately, things were going to have to end this way whether Venus wanted to admit it. She knew that as long as she was still around, Xena would stay around. She knew that the longer Xena stayed around, the more danger that she was putting herself in.

Venus gulped. Her eyesight grew blurry as she stared up ahead of her.

Xena was perfect. She would find somebody else, somebody else to love, and somebody else that loved her deeply. It wasn't hard. The woman was beautiful in so many different ways. Both inside and outside, even a monster like herself could see that.

Venus' mind briefly thought back to Carter. Maybe one day Xena could even have a family of her own. Venus knew that this was something she could never do. People like her did not start families, especially when they were responsible for tearing so many apart.

If the only way for Xena to come to her senses was for Venus to be no longer. Then so be it.

A strange calm settled over Venus once she accepted what had to be done.