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title:Iolaus' Day
author:Mare
author's email:MTaylor256@aol.com

Here's a short story, just something that came to me today.  It's totally G 
rated, and it's just a nice little story that shouldn't make anyone cry or 
gag or anything.

***

Hercules and Iolaus sat at their evening campfire, ate the day's catch along 
with some fruit, and engaged in light conversation.  It was a typical evening 
for them, one that followed the usual weeks of helping people with everything 
from a warlord threatening a village, to the threat of a monster terrorizing 
another village.  The monster turned out to be nothing more than a lonely 
dragon looking for attention.  Thankfully, Hercules and Iolaus had intervened 
before the townspeople killed her, and the pair sent the dragon on her way in 
search of the dragon, Braxis, whom they had once helped.  They hoped the two 
lonely dragons might find each other, not be lonely anymore, and leave 
villagers alone.

Hercules finally spoke.  "Iolaus, do you know what tomorrow is?"

Iolaus stopped in mid-bite of his crunchy apple and looked across the fire at 
Hercules.  "Wedday?"

"Huh?" Hercules smiled.

Iolaus took the bite & removed the apple from his mouth.  "Wednesday?" he 
repeated more coherently.

Hercules nodded.  "Yeah, tomorrow's Wednesday, but do you know what else it 
is?"

Iolaus scrunched his face in thought.  "No."

"Well, tomorrow's your birthday, Buddy."

"It is?"  Iolaus was quite surprised and taken aback by this news.  "You mean 
I'm another year older already?  Seems like I just had a birthday.  Boy, what 
a fast year."  He continued munching on his apple, thinking how strange it 
was that a whole year had passed since his last birthday.

"Yep," Hercules smiled, "and I have a surprise for you."

Iolaus grinned broadly.  "You know I LOVE surprises, Herc."

"I know you do, and that's why I've come up with one."

"Please, tell me what it is."  Iolaus could barely contain his excitement.

Hercules continued smiling, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep his plans a 
secret now that Iolaus knew he was cooking up something.  He chuckled as he 
saw Iolaus' eyes light up at the prospect of an unexpected surprise.  "Well, 
my friend, the surprise is that tomorrow's going to be your day.  You can do 
anything you want."

Iolaus' blue eyes sparkled even more.  "Wow, Herc, anything?"

"Yep, you name it, and we'll do it.  Or if you'd rather go do something 
without me, you can do that too."

Iolaus frowned seriously.  "No!" he exclaimed.  "I don't want to go off 
without you!"  Then he feigned a change of heart and added, "Of course, that 
DOES sound rather nice."  He grinned sheepishly, "I'm just kidding."

"Okay," Hercules laughed, glad that Iolaus would share his special day with 
him.  "Think about what you want to do and..."

"I don't have to think about it, I already know," he grinned.  "Let's go boar 
hunting."

Hercules flung his arms out to his sides and said, "Sure, if that's what you 
want to do, we will."

Then Iolaus became very thoughtful and tensed up.  "Wait a minute, Hercules.  
What if we run into a villager who needs our help?"

Hercules shrugged his shoulders.  "They'll just have to wait until the next 
day."

But what if their village is overrun by bandits, or a monster is killing 
people, or some warlord is..."

"Iolaus..."

Iolaus stopped babbling and looked at his friend.  

"They'll have to wait.  Tomorrow's your day and no one's going to keep you 
from boar hunting."

Iolaus relaxed his tense shoulders and smiled again.  "Thanks."

As they finished their meal, Hercules took a deep breath and said, "Well, if 
we're going boar hunting tomorrow, we'd better get some sleep."

"I dunno, Herc, I'm so excited now that I don't know if I can sleep."  Iolaus 
tossed his apple core into the woods and licked the juice from his fingers.

"Maybe I should've waited until tomorrow to tell you we're taking a day off."

"Nah, it's okay," Iolaus replied, waving a hand toward his big friend.  "This 
way I can think about it all night and have something to look forward to.  I 
can't wait!"

Hercules spread his blanket out on the ground and laid down, arms folded 
across his chest.  "Good-night, Iolaus."

"Night, Herc."  Iolaus sat by the fire for several minutes before spreading 
out his own blanket.  He laid down with a big smile on this face, the 
prospect of a day of hunting with his best friend looming large in his 
thoughts.  He closed his eyes and tried to relax enough to sleep, then opened 
his eyes and gazed up at the stars.  It was a beautiful summer night, with 
the liklihood of a beautiful day to follow.  About ten minutes later, Iolaus 
sat up and exclaimed, "HERC!"

Hercules, just at the edge of being asleep, sat up instantly, ready to fight 
some unwelcome intruder.  "WHAT?  What's wrong?" he asked, as he searched the 
surrounding darkness for danger.

"I just decided what I want to do tomorrow!"

Hercules breathed a sigh of relief, along with a bit of annoyance.  "You woke 
me up to tell me that?"

"Yeah...yeah."  Iolaus' mind was racing.  In the next instant he was on his 
feet, pacing around the immediate area that was lit by the fire.

Hercules just watched him.  He didn't know of anyone besides Iolaus who could 
get so excited about things, but it was one of the many things he loved about 
his friend.  The timing of Iolaus' excitement wasn't the greatest right now, 
however.  Hercules was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but 
decided he may as well play along or he would be awake all night.  "Okay, 
what did you decide?"

Iolaus rubbed his hands together excitedly.  "First, I want to sleep 
late...not REAL late, but you know, later than usual.  I want to sleep until 
I want to get up, not just until you're up."  He stared at Hercules for 
emphasis, all seriousness on his face.

Hercules started to respond to Iolaus, to tell him he could sleep as late as 
he wanted, when Iolaus interrupted him again.  

"And then...remember when we went to Syros and Delos for your friend's 
wedding that time?"

Again Hercules started to reply, but Iolaus was quicker.

"I want to go back there!"  He waved his arms for emphasis.  "I don't mean to 
the kingdoms.  I mean to the beach.  Remember when I rode that board on the 
waves?"  He paced nervously and excitedly while Hercules continued to watch 
him.  "I want to do that again, Herc.  I don't care if it never catches on 
and if no one else does it.  It was fun and I want to do it again!  He 
stopped pacing and looked at Hercules.  "I'll teach you how to ride the board 
too!  We'll have a GREAT time!"  He grinned from ear-to-ear.

Iolaus' smile was so beautiful and genuine in the moonlight, that as tired as 
Hercules was, he still couldn't help but smile as well at Iolaus' enthusiasm, 
if not the actual prospect of being on a board out in the sea.  "Iolaus, I 
don't think..."

"Aw, come on, Herc.  It'll be fun.  We need to have some fun for a change.  
All we do is work, and well, you know what I think about that.  Work is work, 
and it's time we have some fun."  He knelt down next to his tired friend.  
"Look at you, Buddy, you're worn out, you've been working way too hard."  He 
looked off into the distance, recalling their recent adventures.  "Actually, 
we both have."  Looking back at Hercules, he punched his arm lightly, smiled 
and said, "Come on, wha'dya say?"  He paused a few seconds.  "Huh?"  

Hercules stared at Iolaus, knowing he couldn't possibly disappoint him by 
saying no.

Iolaus was inches from Hercules' face now, silently begging him to agree.  
"Huh?"

Hercules couldn't resist those pursuasive blue eyes.  "Okay, Iolaus, we'll..."

"GREAT!" he giggled, and slapped Hercules on his back.  "It'll be so much 
fun, Hercules.  Just wait, you'll see."  

Hercules moaned and stifled a yawn.  "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Huh?"  Iolaus was distracted as he thought about riding the waves again.   
"Oh...yeah, yeah, good-night.  Oh, and remember, don't wake me up early."

"I won't, good-night."  

Iolaus finally gave in to his body telling him he needed sleep, and he laid 
down again.  Staring into the fire, Iolaus concentrated on the fun they would 
have tomorrow, and fell into a deep, relaxing sleep.

Morning dawned sunny and warm.  Hercules was awake first and, as promised, he 
crept around quietly and let Iolaus sleep.  He noticed that Iolaus looked 
more relaxed than he had in a long time.  He thought that perhaps he had 
pushed his friend too hard in recent weeks, and realized they needed more 
than one day off.  Doing something that Iolaus enjoyed today would be a 
start.  He was nervous, thinking about what awaited him at the beach, but 
would go along with Iolaus' desire to go there again.

A short time later Iolaus awoke to the smell of something wonderful cooking 
over the fire and he sat up slowly.  

"About time you woke up," Hercules joked, "but I'm glad you slept well."

"What's that I smell cooking?"

"I caught some quail for a special birthday breakfast.  Happy birthday, 
Iolaus."

"Gee, thanks, Herc!"  Iolaus rubbed his tired eyes, stretched and yawned.  
Then he examined the meal for doneness.

"It'll be ready in a few minutes," Hercules told him.  He glanced over at 
Iolaus from across the fire.  Half-hoping Iolaus had changed his mind about 
today's plans, he asked, "So...you still want to go the beach?"

"You bet!" Iolaus answered with all of the enthusiasm from the previous night.

Hercules nodded slightly.  "One thing I always wondered.  How did you ride 
that board standing on your hands?"

Iolaus shrugged.  "I dunno.  Maybe because I'm small and...I dunno.  I just 
got the urge to stand on my hands and it worked.  Maybe you can try it too."

Hercules put his hands up in surrender.  "Oh no!  It's bad enough you want me 
to go out into the water and stand on a board.  Standing on my hands is out 
of the question, Buddy."

"Okay," Iolaus laughed, "just leave the acrobatics to me then."

They ate, cleaned up the area and started walking the few miles to the beach. 
 Iolaus whistled and sang the entire way, but it was his birthday and 
Hercules just indulged him, looking over and smiling at him from time to time.

Arriving at the beach, they both stopped walking at the same instant, taking 
in the breathtaking view and fresh sea air.  "Look at it, Hercules," Iolaus 
grinned, "it's as beautiful as I remember."

"It is," Hercules agreed.

"Come on, I'll race you to the water," and Iolaus was off and running before 
Hercules could say anything.  

Hercules shook his head at his impetuous friend, and fell in running several 
paces behind.  

Upon reaching the water, Iolaus practically jumped in with all of his clothes 
on.

It suddenly dawned on Hercules that the last time they were here, they had 
brought swimming garments, knowing they would be at a beach for the wedding.  
This time, they had nothing of the sort.  He silently hoped he could use this 
as an excuse to get out of riding the waves.  "Iolaus?"

Iolaus was already busy splashing around in the water and enjoying himself.  
"Huh?" he laughed in the general direction of his friend.

"You know, um, we don't exactly have appropriate clothes to go riding pieces 
of wood in."

"Oh, that," Iolaus laughed.  "We don't need clothes."

Hercules' eyes widened.  "What?"

"Come on, Herc, don't be such a goody two-sandals.  When we were here before 
no one came around.  Who's going to see us?"

Hercules couldn't argue with that.  There had been a lone fisherman, a man on 
a horse and that was about it for the beach population, other than Iolaus 
reeling in Aphrodite with his fishing pole.  Still, Hercules wasn't one to 
just toss his clothes aside and go around naked, even if Iolaus was the only 
one around.  As he stood at the water's edge, deep in thought about how he 
was going to get out of this one, Iolaus took off to find suitable boards.  
"Come on, Herc, think," he mumbled to himself.  He would rather just let 
Iolaus do this dangerous-looking thing, and watch from the safety of the 
shore.

His thoughts were interrupted when Iolaus yelled from the distance.  
"HERCULES?"  
He looked over to where Iolaus had gone, and sadly shook his head.  There was 
his best friend hurrying toward him with two wave-riding boards, a huge grin 
on his face, and Hercules didn't know when he had last seen his friend so 
happy.  He realized, however, that he was trapped.  He wasn't going to be 
able to get out of this.

***

Iolaus was laughing out loud.  "Herc, LOOK, two perfect boards!"  
"I see that," Hercules smiled, pretending to have more enthusiasm than he 
felt.

"Come on, the waves are going to waste."  Iolaus handed the larger of the two 
boards over to Hercules, put his own board down, and quickly removed his 
boots.  Then he started removing the rest of his clothes.

Hercules just stood there watching him.  "Iolaus...I..."

Iolaus took a deep breath as he folded his tattered vest and leather pants, 
and placed them on top of his boots to keep them from getting sandy.  He knew 
his friend didn't share his enthusiasm for this sport.  He became more 
serious and said, "Look Herc, it's okay.  You don' t have to do this if you 
don't want to.  It's just...I dunno...it's FUN.  Maybe if you just TRY it 
once, you might find you like it too."

Hercules felt guilty at disappointing Iolaus, but he didn't think drowning on 
his friend's birthday would be such a good thing.  He was a good swimmer, but 
the sea had a danger all its own, and he was concerned about falling, hitting 
his head on the board and being knocked unconscious.  He had been there 
before and hadn't liked it.  

He thought of the time the prison ship he was on sank and he somehow managed 
to wake up on land, dazed, confused, nauseated, in a great deal of pain with 
a stake in his arm, and with a prisoner standing over him with an ax.  Then 
he remembered the time he borrowed Nebula's ship, headed into a storm, and 
woke up on shore again, not caring if he lived or died after losing this best 
friend, who now stood in front of him naked, holding a large piece of wood, 
and trying to get him to have some fun.  

Why he was thinking of those horrible events he didn't know, but he couldn't 
help it.  As beautiful as this beach was, and as much as Iolaus loved it 
here, Hercules couldn't keep from thinking of the unpleasant times he had 
spent at similar beaches.

But he shook himself out of his morbid thoughts, and recalled the day he and 
Iolaus were at this beach.  He smiled to himself as he remembered Iolaus 
riding the board that day and how excited he had been.  "Okay, Iolaus, you 
talked me into it."  He thought Iolaus would burst with his response.

"That's terrific, Herc!  Just wait, you're going to LOVE it!"  

"What if I fall and hit my head on the board?"

"Come on, Hercules, you're not going to get hurt.  Just go out and have fun." 
 Iolaus turned and ran into the water, then laid face down on the board and 
paddled out from the shore.

Hercules just shook his head and hoped for the best.  Sometimes he wished he 
could express just half of Iolaus' enthusiasm for the simple things in life.  
He decided to try and put his apprehension and fear aside and join Iolaus.  
Maybe, just maybe, he would enjoy this.  He slowly removed his boots, then 
his clothes, all the while looking around to make sure no one was anywhere in 
sight.  He was glad the area was deserted.  He picked up the board, tested it 
for strength, and walked into the water with none of the excitement Iolaus 
exhibited.  "Here goes nothing," he mumbled to himself.

Hercules laid down on the board as he had seen Iolaus do.  He pulled at the 
water on either side of himself, forcing himself and the board out into the 
sea.  "This has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever done," he groaned.  
Then he looked ahead and saw Iolaus already standing on his board, balancing 
as a wave took him ashore.  He sped past Hercules, as the big guy tumbled off 
his board into the cold water.

Surfacing quickly, Hercules looked around for his board, needing the security 
of having something to hold onto in the deep water.  He heard Iolaus back on 
shore yelling and laughing.

"Whoo hoo!"  Iolaus yelled.  "Did you see that, Herc?"

"How could I possibly have missed seeing that?" Hercules grumbled to himself. 
 Then he said louder, "Yeah, Iolaus, that was something."  Coughing, blowing 
water out of his nose, and not at all pleased with the large waves crashing 
over his head, Hercules managed to crawl back onto his board facing the 
shore.  He decided that If he was going to fall off of it again, he wanted to 
at least be closer to shore, not swept out to sea never to be seen or heard 
from again.

Iolaus came paddling up to him, a smile across his face as wide as all 
outdoors.  Hercules was in no laughing mood, however.

"Herc!  Come on, Buddy, try to stand up."

"Stand up?  Stand up?  Iolaus, I can barely keep my balance laying down on 
this thing!"

"Well, just give it a try.  Come on, it'll be okay.  Just wait for a wave, 
then start to stand up, put your arms out to balance yourself, and ride in 
with the waves."

"Yeah, easy for you to say."

"I'll just go over here out of your way.  Come on, Herc, just try," Iolaus 
pleaded.

Hercules rolled his eyes and decided to humor Iolaus.  The worst he could do 
was totally humiliate himself in front of his friend, which is exactly what 
he proceeded to do.  As he tried to stand on the board, he misjudged the 
wave, and it knocked him off the board again.  Surfacing and sputtering 
water...again...he was not liking this at all.  "Iolaus, how do you manage to 
stand on your board and keep your balance?" he shouted across to Iolaus who 
was now laughing.  Hercules clung to his board, becoming exhausted in his 
attempts to do this thing as well as Iolaus.  He tipped his head from side to 
side to drain the water from his ears.

"I don't know, Herc," Iolaus yelled back.  "I just came out here that time & 
did it.  It's easy for me.  Hey, watch this," he added.  Iolaus saw a large 
wave coming, got ready to stand on his board, and was once again riding into 
the shore.  Once he got going, he stood on his hands and rode all the way in 
upside-down.

Hercules just shook his head and climbed onto his board.  This time he sat on 
it rather than laying down.  It didn't matter, however, as another huge wave 
came and tossed him off yet again.  He was not pleased to come above water 
and see Iolaus vigorously paddling toward him again.  "Where does he get this 
from?" he asked himself.

"Herc, you okay?"  

"Yeah, I'm fine.  I'm just...getting tired.  This is hard work, Iolaus."  He 
climbed back onto his board.

Iolaus chuckled.  "Yeah, what you're doing is probably more tiring than just 
standing up & riding in."

"Well, I don't have much of a choice.  I guess I don't have the coordination 
you have for this."

Iolaus smiled at his friend.  "Maybe we've finally found something I can do 
that you can't."  

"Yeah," Hercules agreed.  "Do you mind if I just paddle this thing in?"

"Nah, that's okay.  The thing is, you need to start paddling quickly when a 
wave comes.  That builds up your speed so the wave will carry you in instead 
of pushing you off your board."  He looked at his friend's distraught face.  
"Herc?  Thanks for giving it a try."

Hercules smiled at Iolaus.  "You're welcome.  This was supposed to be a day 
off, but I'm more exhausted than if we had been in a dozen fights."

Iolaus laughed and paddled away to await the next wave.  "I'll see ya in a 
minute, Herc."  As a huge wave came along, Iolaus got ready and stood on his 
board.  He again sped past Hercules as Hercules tumbled back into the water 
when the wave hit him.  Iolaus arrived ashore and stood waiting for his 
friend to join him, smiling and glad he had at least gotten him out into the 
water.  Of course he had hoped Hercules would be ON the water, not in it so 
much, but he realized this sport must be something that not everyone could 
master as easily as he had.

Iolaus set his board down, scooped up his clothes, then picked up his board 
again.  He stood, letting the afternoon sun dry him off, while waiting for 
Hercules to join him.

Hercules emerged from the sea, wet, cold, and worn out.  He was still 
coughing, trying to get the last remnants of sea water out of his lungs.

"Come on, Herc, there are some caves over here.  We can go in and build a 
fire and get warmed up."  

"That's the best idea you've had today," Hercules grinned, while gathering up 
his clothes.

A short walk and a few minutes later, Iolaus said, "Here's a good place to 
put our boards.  It's early yet, we can go out again later."

"No, Iolaus, YOU can go out again later.  I've had enough for one day."

"Oh, Hercules is afraid of the water, huh?"

"I'm not afraid of the water, Iolaus.  I just don't have your knack for 
standing on a board in it."

"All it takes is practice."

Hercules shot a silent stare at his friend.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to go back out.  I guess there can be things that 
both of us don't enjoy doing.  Come on, I'm cold.  Let's get a fire going."

Once in the cave, both were dry and they donned their clothes.  Iolaus 
decided to leave his boots off for the time being, because he loved walking 
barefoot in the sand.  They went out and gathered enough wood for the 
remainder of the day and to last throughout the night.  

"You wait here, Iolaus, I'm going to go find something to eat."

"Can I go with you?"

Hercules shrugged.  "Well, sure, if you want to.  Come on."

Iolaus tagged along with Hercules into the nearby woods to find whatever they 
could for supper.

"I was going to do all of the hunting and cooking today because it's your 
birthday," Hercules finally said.

"That's okay, I don't mind helping.  Besides, it's fun to hunt with you."

Hercules smiled.  "At least it's better than falling into the water a hundred 
times."

Iolaus laughed, and they continued on their way.  There wasn't much game to 
be found in this area, so they ended up back at the beach with Hercules 
searching for fish with his bare hands, and Iolaus using the fishing line he 
always kept handy in his vest.  It wasn't long until they caught enough fish 
for a decent meal. The sun was setting and they stood silently for the 
longest time watching the most beautiful sunset.  

"Wow," Iolaus finally said quietly, completely lost in his thoughts and 
forgetting how cold he had been earlier.

"Yeah," Hercules replied.  "Guess we'd better go cook up these fish."

The friends walked quietly to the cave. "Herc?" Iolaus said as they entered 
the cave.  "I'm sorry I made you try to ride that board today."

"It's okay, Iolaus, really.  You never know what you can do until you try.  
Or can't do," he said, annoyed with himself.  "I can't figure out how you're 
able to do that without even practicing."

Iolaus grinned.  "Guess I'm just coordinated or something."

"Yeah.  Well, maybe you should give it a name."

"Give what a name, the board?"

"Well, the sport, the thing you do.  What would you call it besides riding a 
piece of wood on the waves?"

"Hmmm, I don't know.  I havn't given it any thought."

"The other Iolaus is good at naming his inventions, his spark jug, waffles 
and everything.  You'll think of something."

Finally getting a fire going, they stepped outside to clean the fish quickly, 
then returned to place them in the fire to cook.  They sat close to the fire 
and enjoyed the heat it gave off in the cool evening air.

Suddenly Iolaus smiled broadly.  That surf was something else today, wasn't 
it?"

"Oh yeah, it was something else all right.  It was so something else that it 
kept knocking me off my board.  I'm just glad I survived.  I'd rather be in 
something like a large boat if I'm out on the water."

Iolaus laughed.  "I wouldn't have let you drown."

Hercules smiled and said, "I know.  You didn't even fall in the water once, 
did you?"

"Nope.  I'm not crazy about getting water in my nose and ears."  

"Well, I got enough in mine for ten people."  He pinched his nostrils shut 
and blew slightly, still trying to clear his ears of all the water he could 
still feel in them.

The fish was done and they each took a portion.

"You know, Herc, I said the surf was something else today.  What if I call 
the board a surf board?  Does that sound too stupid?"

Hercules thought a few seconds.  "No, that doesn't sound stupid at all.  I 
guess it's as good as wave board."

"Yeah.  I could call the sport surfing or waving...something like that."

Hercules nodded.  "Sure, that sounds good.  It'll never catch on, though."

Iolaus laughed and said, "You're probably right.  Maybe I'm the only one who 
can do it.  Hey, we could make it part of the Olympic Games, and I would win!"

Hercules laughed, then said, "Hey Iolaus?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you stand another surprise today?"

Iolaus smiled brightly.  "Sure, Herc!"

"What if we take a whole week off?"

"Really?  Starting now?"

"Really.  Starting now."

"That's GREAT!  Yeah, let's do it.  Let's spend the night right here, then I 
can go... surfing...again tomorrow."

"Iolaus?"

"Hmm?"

"Happy birthday, Buddy."

"Thanks, Herc.  This has been a terrific birthday!  Hey, if we're on 
vacation, I can sleep late again tomorrow."

"I don't see why not."

They finished their supper and laid down on their blankets, warmed by the 
fire, by their friendship, and simply by being together.  It had been a 
wonderful day for each of them, although Hercules knew that Iolaus had 
enjoyed the surfing part more than he had.  Now they both fell into an 
exhausted, but restful sleep.

Sometime during the night, Iolaus awoke from a very pleasant dream of winning 
the Olympic Games in the new surfing event, with crowds of onlookers cheering 
for him.  

Hercules, on the other hand, had his own dreams to contend with; nightmares 
of trying not to drown while his best friend kept riding past him on his surf 
board, pushed on by huge waves, while he kept falling off his board into the 
cold water.  He woke up coughing, and muttered to himself, "I'll never get 
this water out of my lungs!  I'm freezing!"  He turned over, trying to get 
more comfortable and sneezed.  "We should've gone boar hunting."

On the other side of the fire, his blond friend grinned guiltily and said, 
"Sorry, Herc."  Iolaus got up, took his blanket and covered Hercules with it. 
 It seemed that his friend needed it tonight more than he did.

Hercules managed a very weak, "Thanks, Iolaus," then fell asleep again.

Iolaus smiled and sat next to the fire for a while.  He would let Hercules 
sleep as late as he wanted to in the morning.  He had the best friend in the 
world; what more did he need?

The end

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