The tall, lanky man whistled as he walked down the rough path, his armor clanking noisily. His merry tune was cut off abruptly when he tripped over a root and landed face first in the dirt. He looked around quickly to see if anybody saw him, listening for the sound of approaching feet. But instead of feet, he heard a quiet whimper and turned towards the direction of the sound. Getting to his feet, he walked quietly to a small embankment leading down to a swift flowing river. Looking down, he saw a small burlap sack trapped amongst some logs. He quickly took off his armor and helmet and made his way down the steep hill.

Grabbing the sack, he climbed the hill and quickly opened the sack, falling back in surprise as he saw the contents. He reached in and gently brought out four small wet bodies. "Puppies! Who could do this?" he growled in anger.

He took off his shirt and laid the small bodies upon it. Feeling each in turn, he wiped a tear from his eye, as three of the puppies were obviously dead. With one hand he dug a small hole and gently laid the bodies within it. But the smallest one whimpered softly at his touch. He could feel the cold wet body shiver under his hand and picked the frigid body up and held it close to his chest, trying to give it some of his warmth.

Holding the small puppy close, he looked at it closer. It was small, fitting snugly in the palm of his hand. The fur was unusual with coarse long black guard hairs and shorter creamy fur underneath. It had a black face and paws. It had a small white patch on its chest shaped like a heart. He looked discretely between its hind legs. She was really a cute little pup.

The pup was shivering slightly so he awkwardly put his shirt back on. He felt the small creature kick a little as it regained some strength. He put on his pack and picked up his armor and started walking quickly along the path, hoping for a nearby village.

He looked at the sky and realized that night would come soon, he would have to camp soon. He walked further looking for a clearing to camp and soon discovered one. He looked around and saw a small pile of fresh ashes, the wood still smoking. He got up quickly and looked around. It was dusk and the clearing was covered in shadows. He thought he saw one move and looked at it. From behind, he heard the rustle of leaves and before he could react a strong hand swung him around and he faced the point of a sword.

"Joxer!" A deep feminine voice said and the sword was lowered as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Xena, good to see you too!" Joxer said.

A small whimper from under his shirt reminded him of the puppy. He quickly brought it out and a small gasp from behind him announced Gabrielle's presence. She looked at Joxer and reached out for the puppy. He smiled and handed her the small bundle. She held it close and gently cradled it in her arms, cooing and stroking it.

"Where did you find it? It's so cute!" Gabrielle said.

Joxer told her how he found the pup and by the time he was finished, both Xena's and Gabrielle's eyes flashed with anger. The small puppy started to wriggle and squirm against Gabrielle's chest. Xena looked at it and smiled a little.

"Looks like she's hungry. Joxer, there is some goat's milk in the saddlebags. Go get it and bring Gabrielle's pack as well." Xena said.

Gabrielle looked at Xena confused as Joxer did as he was told. Xena opened Gabrielle's pack and rummaged in it until she found what she was looking for. Pulling out Gabrielle's brassiere, she used her knife to poke a small hole in it and poured some milk into it.

"What are you doing? That was my best..." Glancing at Joxer, she blushed and muttered, "Why couldn't you have used yours?"

"Mine would be too big, yours was the perfect size." Xena explained.

Gabrielle grumbled and glancing at Joxer, she saw that he was blushing a deep red and looking at the ground. She felt a little better and looked again at the small puppy held in Xena's hands. Dribbles of milk trickled out of the corners of her small mouth as she drank hungrily. After a few minutes, Xena felt the puppy fall asleep in her arms and she gently passed it back to Gabrielle.

"What is her name?" Gabrielle asked.

"I didn't think of one yet." Joxer shyly met her gaze, "Can you think of a name for her?"

"She is so small. How about Pixie?" she asked.

"What's a pixie? I've never heard of that before." Joxer asked.

"Pixies are tiny little people that live in Britannia. I read about them in scrolls." Gabrielle said.

"It fits. Pixie it is!" Joxer said.

"What are you going to do with her?" Gabrielle asked, cuddling the small creature close.

"Well, ah... I hadn't really thought about it. I was just going to drop her off in the next village with someone." He answered.

"Could I have her?" Gabrielle asked.

"If you want her... I guess so. I just thought that with you and Xena always on the go, you wouldn't want to take her with you." He said. "But if you want her, you can have her."

"Gabrielle, we can't take her! How are you going to take care of her while we're on the trail? What happens if we get attacked?" Xena said.

"Oh, Please, Xena? I promise I'll take good care of her! And I'll protect her if we get attacked! She won't be any bother! Please?" Gabrielle pleaded, holding the small puppy close to her chest as thought trying to prevent Xena from taking it away.

Xena looked at her best friend's pleading look and, as always, gave in, reluctantly. She nodded reluctantly and Gabrielle immediately brightened.

"She is your responsibility! You will have to train her and protect her! You'll have to tie her up at night so she doesn't wander off." Xena said.

"Oh, Thank-you!! I promise you won't regret it!" Gabrielle said happily.

Joxer smiled as he watched her cuddle the puppy, thrilled that he brought such happiness to her. The three friends settled down for the night with Pixie cuddled close to Gabrielle.

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