Clotho burst through the door of the tapestry room like a raging tornado and bellowed, "Hold it right there Lachesis! It’s my turn to decide how they meet!"

Lachesis backed away from the two threads that she had begun to weave together and gave the angry young maiden an incredulous look. "Clotho, the last time I let you decide you almost got them killed!"

The goddess shrugged and muttered, "I was in a dramatic mood...and anyway, that was five-hundred years ago!"

Lachesis nodded and asked, "What did you have in mind this time? No shipwrecks or bloodthirsty pirates either kid, you’ve got a single working mom and a bartender to work with."

"All the more reason to be dramatic," Clotho decided with a smile.

"Clotho!" Lachesis warned.

"Okay, okay! Here’s what I was thinking..."

Angela Cooper glanced at her watch and muttered under her breath. The baby-sitter had not been on time this morning and now she would be at least fifteen minutes late to work...that was if she could catch a cab right away and the way the cars were rushing past her made it highly unlikely...

******

Two blocks down the street, Carson Cain locked the doors to 'The Fallout Shelter' and walked tiredly out to the corner to hail a taxi...

******

Angela jumped into the warm cab and said, "Thanks for stopping! I think at least six people passed me by before you stopped."

The driver looked at the young woman through the rear-view mirror and muttered, "That’s great lady, where to?"

"The Franklin-Lawford building, 3904 North Water Street."

"Right," the driver muttered glancing at the traffic ahead...

******

Carson slid into the back seat of the cab and leaned wearily against the headrest. "2628 Stonehenge."

The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb. "Long night?"

"You could say that," Carson muttered, rubbing her temples in an attempt to clear the sound of the bass which was still pounding in her head. With a sigh, she settled herself more comfortably and gazed out the window...

******

Angela glanced at her watch again and rolled her eyes knowing that she would have to work late to make up the missed time. "Wonderful," she muttered as she focused her attention on the world outside of the cab...

Time seemed to come to a standstill as sea green eyes met stunning blue through the glass windows of two taxi cabs pushing through morning rush hour traffic. In that brief moment both women held their breath as a sense of recognition passed through the separation of glass and steel and settled over the soul that they did not yet know they shared....then it was over just as quickly as it had happened and each woman found herself staring at a pair of fading tail lights as they were carried off to their separate destinations...

******

Carson rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she found herself falling into the memory of the deep green eyes that she had met for only the breath of a moment hours before. "This is crazy!" the tall woman muttered rolling out of her warm bed. She ran a hand through her disheveled raven hair and decided that sleep was far from her despite her prior exhaustion. "Might as well go get something to eat," she muttered to her reflection in the mirror before heading out the door...

******

Angela had zoned out and was absently staring at the abstract screen saver as it swirled brightly across the computer screen. The secretary’s mind had drifted off into a dream world in which a certain dark warrior with familiar blue eyes was fighting a band of slavers who were threatening her village...The warrior let out a fierce battle cry and took out her attackers with a powerful sweep of her battle staff. The strong, dark woman paused after the raiders had fallen to the ground unconscious, and focused her steely blue gaze across the river where her eyes met the misty green ones of a young village girl...her destiny...

"Angela!"

"Huh? What?" Angela asked, snapping out of her trance to face the concerned expression on her boss’ face.

The middle aged Thomas Franklin smiled warmly at the young golden-haired woman and asked, "Are you feeling well Miss Cooper?"

Angela blinked up at the older man and answered, "Um...yes Mr. Franklin...sorry, I was just...uh..."

"It’s okay Angela," Franklin said with a smile. "Why don’t you go get some lunch."

"Good idea," Angela said, pulling her purse out of the bottom desk drawer. "Thank you."

"Of course," the man replied as Angela walked out of the building.

******

Carson slid into the yellow cab and muttered, "J.J. Muldoons on Water Street."

"Right," the driver muttered as if it was out of his way to go all the way to Water Street.

‘Not that it isn’t out of the way,’ Carson thought. ‘I don’t know why I have such an urge to go there anyway...although it is the only place that has that Maryland crab soup.’ With a shake of her dark head, Carson turned to look out the window and quickly began to day dream...She stared down at the young woman with the red-gold hair and the misty green eyes and momentarily froze as the young woman met her gaze. Before she had the chance to register the fact that something in her soul suddenly felt right, someone smashed her in the back of the head...

"Okay lady, we’re here," the driver rudely cut into Carson’s dream.

The tall woman slapped the money in the drivers hand and muttered, "I’m no lady."

With a shake of his dark head, the driver pulled away from the curb and wisely chose to keep his comments to himself...

******

Angela followed the waitress through the crowded restaurant and frowned when she saw the table that had been selected for her. "I asked for a non-smoking table."

The heavyset waitress stuck her pencil behind her ear and said, "This is a non-smoking table hon."

"Hardly," the young woman muttered, gesturing to the little wall which was supposed to separate the smoking from the non-smoking section. "The smoke can easily float over that divider."

"Well, as you can see, we’re crowded today. This is the only table left in this section...take it or leave it hon," the waitress said.

With a sigh, Angela sat down at the table and picked up a menu. "Can I get a sweet tea and a bowl of the Maryland crab soup?"

"Sure hon, I’ll have that out for you right away," the waitress replied as she swept off to the kitchen...

******

Carson tossed her pack of Marlboro’s on the table along with her silver Zippo, and turned to the heavyset waitress. "Iced tea, sweet, and a bowl of Maryland crab soup."

"Okay," the waitress muttered, taking down the order. "That’s a popular selection today."

"Mm," Carson muttered without interest.

With a shrug, the waitress said, "Be right back with that."

Carson nodded and relaxed a little as she lit her cigarette and studied the menu...

******

Angela tried not to breathe too deeply as whisps of grey smoke floated over the partition and swirled around her head. She coughed a little as the waitress arrived with her soup and tea, then cleared her throat and politely said, "Thank you."

"No problem," the woman replied. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Yes, may I have the grilled chicken sandwich, no pickles?"

"Baked potato or fries?"

"Fries sound good."

"Okay honey, it’ll be a few minutes," the waitress said, taking the order back to the kitchen...

******

Carson glanced up as the waitress placed her food on the table and muttered, "Thanks."

"No problem," the waitress replied. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Grilled chicken sandwich, no pickles," Carson answered.

The waitress gave the blue eyed woman a strange look and then said, "Lemme guess...French fries instead of a baked potato?"

"Yeah," Carson said slowly. ‘What’s the deal with her?’

The woman nodded and muttered, "It’ll be a few minutes."

"Whatever," Carson muttered, too tired to wonder about the other woman’s behavior...

******

Angela polished off her entire lunch in record time, not at all regretting her choice of restaurants and not really upset that she had to sit so close to the smoking section; in fact, her only regret was drinking four glasses of iced tea. The young woman quickly counted out the tip, then hurried off to the ladies room...

******

Carson tossed a tip on the table then cursed under her breath as she took in the crowd of people who were blocking the quick way out of the restaurant. ‘Oh well, guess I take the long way today,’ she thought as she pushed her chair under the table and headed for the door...

******

"Oh God!" Angela exclaimed as the door that she had flung open connected solidly with a person on the other side. The young lady slowly reopened the door and peered down at the tall, angry form that was sprawled out on the floor in front of her...

******

"Goddamn!" Carson growled, holding her head. ‘I’m going to kill whatever idiot...’

Angela kneeled down next to the tall woman and said softly, "I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking, I-"

Carson turned to face the person who had spoken, quite intent on letting the young woman have it, but when her eyes met concerned green ones, words failed her. ‘So...this is what it feels like to meet your destiny.’

"It’s you!" Angela whispered upon meeting startling blue eyes. ‘I can’t believe this!’

Carson slowly smiled and said, "Yeah, it’s me."

******

"Well?" Clotho asked Lachesis and Atropos. "What do you think?"

Lachesis shrugged and before she could give a reply, Atropos broke in. "Please! That’s been done before!"

"Not with them," the maiden goddess argued.

The old goddess shrugged and said, "We’ve been reuniting Xena and Gabrielle for over three-thousand years now, they deserve better than that."

"Fine!" the young goddess said. "You think you can do better?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Okay, then let’s hear it!"

Angela Cooper stepped out of the Franklin-Lawford building as day was beginning to fade into evening. The young woman took a breath of the warm air and decided to walk at least part of the way home since it was such a lovely evening. She began walking for about two blocks before she decided to go to a pay phone and call the baby-sitter to tell her that she would be a few minutes late. Angela spotted a booth in front of a 24-hour coffee shop and jogged over to it. Once inside, she went to place her purse on top of the phone, and discovered that something was already there. The young woman reached up and grabbed the black leather wallet, thinking, ‘I know somebody’s not happy.’ She opened the wallet and was surprised to see that it still contained cash and a few credit cards. The young woman peered at the picture of a beautiful dark-haired woman with cool blue eyes and a crooked grin, and said the name printed on the driver’s license aloud, "Carson Alexandra Cain...2628 Stonehenge, apartment 12-D."

The young woman quickly popped thirty-five cents into the phone, dialed home and said, "Caroline, hi! I’m finished at work and I’ll be right home..."

******

"Goddamn!" Carson growled for the tenth time, this time adding a powerful punch to the soft cushions form her couch which were littering the floor of her apartment. She had spent all day tearing her place apart in search of her wallet and still had not been able to find it. Carson glanced at the overturned clock on the coffee table and cursed again. She had the early shift at the club and had to be there in thirty minutes. She went to her bedroom and quickly changed out of her sleep clothes (her outfit from the night before) and pulled on black jeans, a form-fitting black T-shirt, boots, and a slightly worn out black suede jacket. She then popped a cigarette in her mouth, lit it, and stormed out the door nearly knocking a little blond baby over on her way out. ‘Damn,’ the tall woman said to herself as she stopped and kneeled down next to the child who’s green eyes lit up with delight at the attention. "Hey, where’s your mom?"

The little girl giggled and placed a tiny hand on Carson’s face. "Ma!"

"Nah, not me," Carson laughed looking around the empty hallway. "Where do you live?"

The child laughed again and raised her little arms to Carson. "Up!"

"You live upstairs?"

The girl shook her head ‘no’ and again said, "Up!"

"Oh," Carson said as she stood and took the child in her arms. "We have to find your mom."

The girl pointed to the door across from Carson’s apartment and said, "Mama!"

The bartender knocked on the door and raised an eyebrow when a frazzled looking young woman answered the door. The young woman ran a hand through her long brown hair and said, "Thank you! I’ve been looking all over for her!"

The child blew a raspberry at the young woman and wrapped her arms around Carson’s neck. "Hey sweetheart, I have to go to work. I can’t stay."

"I’m sorry, this one’s a little trouble-maker," the woman said, reaching for the child.

The little girl swatted the woman’s hands away and whispered something in Carson’s ear to which she whispered back with a smile, then handed the child back to the young woman. "Bye-bye Car!"

Carson threw a smile over her shoulder and said, "Bye."

******

Angela knocked on the door to apartment 12-D and waited for an answer for a few minutes. When there was no answer, she pit the wallet back in her purse and decided that she would call later. With a yawn, Angela headed home.

******

Carson slid the key in the door at half past twelve, glad to have gotten off early for once. She usually worked until after 4 a.m. and then she had to spend the next hour cleaning up and taking care of her register.

She opened the door to her darkened apartment and immediately flopped down on the soft, worn out couch. ‘Oh hell yeah! Sleep!’ she thought willing her headache to go away. "I must be getting too old for that place," the tall woman muttered to herself as she shifted into a more comfortable spot on the couch. Carson let her eyes drift shut as Morpheus tempted her with blissful slumber and she was almost there when the telephone rang.

"What the hell!" the bartender grumbled as she rolled off of the sofa and crawled across the floor to the phone. "Carson Cain."

"Hello," a rather sleepy yet none-the-less pleasant voice sounded on the other end. "My name is Angela Cooper."

"Yeah," Carson muttered. "And it’s past twelve-thirty."

"I know," the young woman on the other line said apologetically. "I’m sorry to be calling at this hour but I found your wallet at a pay phone this evening and I wanted to let you know."

‘Oh, now I remember leaving it there!’ Carson thought with a mental slap to the head. "Hey thanks! I’ve been looking for it all day. Um, would it be okay to pick it up tomorrow morning? Where do you live?"

Angela chuckled into the phone and said, ‘Actually, you can come get it now if you want to. I live across the hall."

‘Damn! What are the odds of that ever happening?’ Carson wondered. "Are you sure it’s not too late? I mean-"

"No, it’s fine. My daughter just woke up and doesn’t seem the least bit interested in going back to sleep."

Carson laughed a little and said, "Be over in a minute."

"Okay, see you."

A minute later, Carson was met by the little girl across the hall who clapped her hands in delight and cried, "Car!"

"Hey kid!" Carson said, catching the little girl as she ran towards her and lifting her into the air. "Shouldn’t you be asleep?"

"No! No!" the little girl giggled. "I’m not tired."

"Really?" Carson asked with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, I’m tired and I’m a lot bigger than you!"

The girl laughed. "Mommy’s in there Car. Will you carry me?"

"I’m already carrying you," Carson said with a grin.

"I know," the child said, resting her head on the tall woman’s shoulder.

Angela looked up as the tall raven haired beauty entered her apartment carrying her little girl, and smiled in amazement. "Hi, I’m Angela."

"Carson."

The blond woman shook her head and asked, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get her to sleep?" the young woman replied.

Carson just smiled and said, "I don’t know, she just put her head down and went to sleep."

Angela smiled warmly. "Do you want me to take her? Oh, I’m sorry! Please have a seat." She quickly swept the toys off of the couch and indicated for her guest to make herself comfortable.

Carson gracefully lowered both the child and herself onto the soft sofa, making sure not to wake the girl. "She’s fine right here."

"Okay, I’ll be right back."

Carson watched the young woman with the red-gold hair hurry off and sighed to the girl sleeping in her arms. "Ya know what? I think you’re mom’s pretty incredible - and I just met her."

Angela closed the door to her bedroom and let out a breath. ‘Yeah, that’s it - breathe! What was that all about? Oh...those eyes!’ the young woman thought. She shook her head and muttered to herself, "I’ve been alone way too long."

Carson lazily opened one blue eye as Angela came back into the room and sat down next to her. "Sorry, I shouldn’t be so da- so tired, I usually leave work at five or six in the morning, tonight’s early for me."

"Five or six? What do you do?" Angela asked, leaning back into the soft couch with a yawn.

"I’m a bartender at a club downtown."

"That sounds cool. I’m a secretary at a law firm. ..boring job but hopefully I won’t be doing it forever," Angela said as she handed Carson her wallet. "I don’t think that anyone touched it before I found it but..."

Carson looked into Angela’s warm green eyes and said, "I trust you."

Angela simply smiled at the blue-eyed woman for a moment before asking, "Can I get you anything? Tea or something to eat?"

"Tea sounds good, thanks."

Minutes later, both women sat together In Angela’s living room deep in thought. Angela glanced over at Carson and her daughter Gabrielle and thought, ‘I don’t know why but all of the sudden my life feels...right. A half hour ago something was missing, now...God.’

Carson settled more comfortably on the sofa and briefly closed her eyes. ‘Okay, I really should leave and let Angela get some sleep, but...damn, I don’t want to go! There’s something about her and Gabrielle that I - need.’ With a long sigh, she turned to Angela and said, "Well, I guess I should get going, you know, let you get some sleep."

"Oh...yeah, I guess," Angela yawned. "I’ll get Gabrielle."

Carson moved to pass the child to her mother and the girl protested, "No Car, stay."

"Honey she has to go home," Angela said softly. "I’m sure Carson’s tired too."

Gabrielle shook her head and said, "She is home Mama."

Angela and Carson just looked at each other for a moment before Angela softly requested, "Stay."

Carson looked from one pair of mist green eyes to the other and let a slow smile grace her lips. Gabrielle laughed and scrambled back to her warm sleeping place in the tall woman’s lap. "Told you Mama!"

"C’mere," Carson said to Angela, holding out her arm in invitation.

"I think," the young woman said as she rested her head over Carson’s heart which was beating in time with her own. "That we’re both crazy."

Carson settled her arm around the smaller woman and rested her head against the back of the couch. "I think I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for all my life."

Angela closed her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, me too."

******

"Now that’s how it should be done!" Atropos exclaimed when she had finished the story. "Don’t you think so?" she asked, ignoring the maiden goddess who was feigning sleep and producing rather cacophonous snoring sounds.

Lachesis shrugged and said, "I don’t know, it just doesn’t..."

"It doesn’t have any action! I mean c’mon, this is the soul of the most skilled warrior that ever lived and the most passionate bard to ever set a quill to parchment!" Clotho burst out.

"I know that!" Atropos said indignantly.

"Really? I couldn’t tell!" Clotho shot back.

"Now wait just a minute you little..."

The Fates tapestry room was soon filled with three angry voices as the goddesses argued over destiny. So busy were the three with their dispute that they did not notice the scene playing out on the window of life or the thread that was weaving itself together.

******

Angela Cooper slowly opened one eye and glanced at the glowing red numbers of her clock radio, then sat up and stared at the little black clock in horror. "Nine thirty! Oh God!" The young woman flew from her bed to the bathroom, took the fastest shower she’d ever take, then hastily dressed in a pair of jeans a comfortable sweater and her favorite Timberlands which she neglected to tie until after she had tripped over the long laces.

"Gabrielle!" she called, stumbling into the living room where her daughter was seated on the sofa watching cartoons.

"Hi Mama!" the little girl said with a smile.

"Hey sweetheart." Angela kissed the girl on the cheek. "How come you didn’t wake me this morning? You have a check up with the doctor in ten minutes."

Gabrielle looked at her mother and said, "You were having good dreams mama."

Angela closed her eyes for a moment trying to remember her dreams, but all she saw was a flash of vivid blue. Shaking off the strange sensation, the young woman said, "Let’s hurry up and get dressed so we can get to the doctor’s office. We’ll stop at McDonalds for breakfast after, okay?"

"Okay!" Gabrielle exclaimed as Angela carried her off to her room.

******

Carson awoke with a groan as she hit the floor after rolling off the couch. She gazed up at the clock and cursed, "Damn it to hell! Nine-thirty!" She untangled her legs from the blanket and trudged into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. She sat down at the table and blankly stared at the wall before remembering that she had an interview for new job with normal hours. Her coffee forgotten, Carson ran off to the bathroom to get ready before heading outside.

******

Neither Angela or Carson foresaw the collision which was about to occur, one minute they were hastily running out the door and the next...

Carson’s arms shot out to catch the person who was reeling backwards from running into her. "Whoa, I gotcha’."

Angela let out a breath as strong arms wrapped around her, preventing a rather unpleasant fall. She rolled her eyes at Gabrielle’s giggles, placed the child on the floor, and looked up into concerned vivid blue eyes.

Carson stared down into the young woman’s soft green eyes for a moment, not even noticing the rest of the world just slip away.

They stood staring into each other’s eyes for a frozen moment, feeling their lives fall into place. Then Carson smiled, and Angela returned the soft smile with one of her own, and they both knew at that moment that they had finally found their other half.

The End

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