“Dad, I’m serious. We’re you
anything like I am now? Were you wild and did you like to chase
women?” Ulysses asked and Julian looked at his son,
“what man doesn’t like to chase women?” Julian
asked then let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair and
looked at his son. “No Ulysses, I wasn’t like you are
now or were,” Julian said. “You seem to have this lust
for life and an even greater lust for women,” Julian said and
Ulysses hunched his shoulders. “You said it yourself, what
man doesn’t lust and chase after women,” Ulysses said
and Julian shook his head. “Its different when it comes to
you, I’ve seen you night after night, you had a different
woman or sometimes you didn’t come home and I knew what you
were doing.” Julian said and Ulysses looked down at his hands
and his fingers twiddled amongst themselves.

 

 

“I’m King Ulysses, I pride myself in
knowing what goes on in my kingdom and in others. Do you honestly
think I didn’t know what went on with my own son?”
Julian asked his son and Ulysses shook his head as he thought about
a couple of things. “You and Virgil were always a
team,” Julian said and Ulysses looked up at that, surprised
at those words. “You shared everything, even women,”
Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stood. “Tell
me, have you shared…” Julian started to ask but Ulysses
cut him off. “No, Xena means too much to me and she is mine,
no one else has had her and no one else will have her,”
Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son, watching as Ulysses
paced for a minute as he rubbed his temple. “That’s
only making what you feel, what you’re craving for,
stronger,” Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath as he
stopped moving.

 

 

“Ulysses listen to me,” Julian said and
Ulysses turned and looked at his father. “There’s a
part of yourself that you’ve hidden from Xena, a part you
don’t want her to know yet but you can’t go into a
marriage like that.” Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath
as he thought about that, “we’re going to have to,
I’m not ready for her to know it yet,” Ulysses said
then turned and headed for the door. “Whether you’re
ready or not, you’ve chosen her to be your partner for life,
she has a right to know,” Julian said and Ulysses
didn’t turn around as his father spoke to him but when he was
finished he didn’t say anything and just left the
office.