The thieves waited silently, watching the two women approach. One was dressed in weathered brown leather, but the other looked as though she were a villager. As the women came closer, the men's muscles tensed, prepared to rush out of their hiding place and attack. The leader, a big scruffy looking man, glanced at the men to his left and give a barely perceptible nod, and they in turn passed the signal on to others. Moments later the two women passed the bushes where the bandits were hiding. The men quickly stepped out and surrounded them with weapons drawn. The leader grinned and approached the taller woman.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Two women out for a stroll... all by themselves? Don't you know these roads are filled with thieves?" he paused as the other men laughed. "Now, I can help you get through this part of the forest... for a price."

Xena raised an eyebrow with amusement. "Oh, gee, how generous of you. How can we ever repay your kindness?" she asked sarcastically.

"Well, let's see... how about you give us all your money, and we'll help you?" he answered and the rest of his men laughed cruelly.

"You know, that's a very kind offer," Xena responded and Gabrielle tightened her grip on her staff, "but I'm afraid we'll just have to refuse! Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" With her piercing war cry ringing in the men's ears, the Warrior Princess leaped over the heads of the men and as she landed, she immediately took out three, leaving six to go. "Let's see... four for me, and two for you, Gabrielle. That hardly seems a fair challenge," Xena called and dispatched another thief with a quick right jab.

Gabrielle was about to respond when suddenly a tall slender man came into view. "Never fear! Joxer the Mighty is here!" he called out bravely and swung his sword at a nearby man who promptly disarmed the warrior wannabe. "Uh... hold on... I'll just..." he said and tried to look for another weapon.

The bard stared at Joxer in disbelief. The man was going to get himself killed. "Joxer! Get out of here!" she called out and turned to him. A thief took advantage of the distraction and kicked her hard in the stomach. The bard doubled over in pain and the thief kicked her again. Joxer watched in anger as the thief pulled his foot back for another kick, but the bumbling warrior wannabe rushed to the bard's side and pushed her out of the way, taking the kick himself. He gasped, grabbing his stomach, and the thief pulled a dagger out and raised it above his head.

Gabrielle managed to get to her feet again and looked up to see a dagger held above Joxer, already beginning its downward arc. "NO!" she screamed and leapt at the man who had saved her life only moments earlier. She rushed to the thief and tried to grab the hand with the knife, but missed. She felt a hot burst of pain in her shoulder and knew the knife was embedded in her.

Xena was at the bard's side moments later and dispatched the thief quickly. She looked around and saw several thieves disappearing into the bushes and a few more lying unconscious in the road. After a few minutes, these men, too, quietly left without a fight. She turned her attention to Gabrielle and helped her friend to lie down. "Take it easy, Gabrielle. I'll have to pull the knife out. Joxer, I want you to hold her down, this is going to hurt," Xena said, grasping the knife firmly, then pulled it out quickly. She flinched a little as Gabrielle cried out, but quickly recovered.

Gabrielle closed her eyes for a moment until the pain subsided somewhat, then glared at Joxer. "You almost got us both killed you idiot! What were you thinking? Xena and I had everything under control and then you barged in and now look what happened!" The bard was furious and Joxer cringed under her verbal assault.

"But, Gabby... I was only trying to help. I'm sorry," he responded weakly.

Gabrielle prepared herself for another verbal attack, but was cut short by Xena. "That's enough, Gabrielle. Your shoulder doesn't look too bad. Can you make it back without me to the healer's we just passed?" the Warrior Princess asked as she applied some cloth on the bard's wound. She wrapped a strip of cloth around the bard to hold the temporary dressing in place. "I want to have a talk with Joxer."

The bard glared once more at the warrior wannabe and nodded. "I can make it," she replied. "But when I get back, I don't want to see him here!" She got to her feet and swayed slightly as a wave of dizziness rushed over her. She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply until the feeling passed. She grabbed her staff and walked back the way they came. The healer's hut was only a few minutes walk away and she knew she would have no trouble getting there.

Xena and Joxer watched her for a few moments, then the Warrior Princess turned her gaze on the man standing next to her. "Joxer, I know you love Gabrielle, and you want to be the big, strong man you think she wants. But she is quite able to take care of herself. You need to worry about taking care of yourself."

Joxer looked down and toed the ground. "But I'm really trying, Xena. I was never really good at fighting, not like Jett," he responded, then looked up at Xena hopefully. "Could you teach me? Show me everything and tell me how? Whatever you do, I'll do it, too."

Xena gazed at him thoughtfully. "It's going to take a lot longer than just one day to learn, Joxer. But I can show you a few moves while we wait for Gabrielle to return," she said and drew her sword.

She began to show Joxer a few simple blocks and he tried to imitate her. After an hour, she decided that they both needed a rest and sheathed her sword again. "How about some food? I'm hungry, and I know you must be, too."

Joxer nodded and put his own weapon away as well. "How am I doing?" he asked.

Xena smiled as she retrieved some bread and cheese from Argo's saddlebags. "You're doing fine. We'll do some more after we eat."

Joxer grinned and ate the food that Xena gave him quickly. They spent the rest of the afternoon practising blocks and a few simple strikes, until Xena finally put her sword away and smiled at her pupil.

"You're learning fast, Joxer," Xena commented. "Next time we run into some bandits, you'll be better able to defend yourself."

She had barely finished when Gabrielle returned with a fresh dressing on her shoulder and looking much better than she did when she left. She glared at Joxer and then turned to Xena. "The healer said I'll be fine, but not to overdo it for the next couple of days."

Xena smiled at the bard. "That's good news." She was about to comment further, but before she could continue a group of men stepped out of the bushes. She recognized several of the men as ones they had fought earlier in the day, but this time, they had brought some friends.

"Well, lookie here, boys. Why if it ain't the same wenches that we ran into before, and look, they still have their brave little stable boy," a familiar voice taunted as the men around him laughed. "Tell ya what, seeing as how I'm in a good mood right now, I won't kill you all. I just want your money. Hand it over."

"How very generous of you," Xena said wryly. "And seeing as how I'm in a good mood, I'll only beat the shit out of you instead of killing you." She had barely finished talking when she threw her chakram at several of the thieves. She caught the round blade before the men hit the ground.

The leader glared at the Warrior Princess. "Get them!" he yelled and his men rushed towards the three friends.

Joxer drew his sword and tried to remember what Xena had just taught him. He managed to block several blows from an attacking thief and threw a weak strike, catching the man completely off guard. The man fell to Joxer's feet and he turned to meet the next bandit. He recognized the man immediately as the one who had stabbed Gabrielle that morning. The man smirked as he swung a short sword towards the warrior wannabe. Joxer deftly blocked the attack and swung his blade with an attack of his own. The two men parried and attacked for several minutes, until the thief managed to disarm Joxer. He grinned as he levelled his sword at the warrior wannabe's chest.

"Looks like I won," he taunted and raised his sword for a final attack. But before he could complete the blow, Joxer dropped to the ground and swept the thieves legs out from under him. Before the thief could recover, Joxer crawled on top of him and knocked the thief out cold with his fist.

"My mother always said not to count your chickens before they hatch," Joxer retorted.

He glanced around quickly, but saw that the rest of the thieves were hastily retreating into the underbrush. Xena and Gabrielle were at his side a moment later. He felt a friendly pat on the back and turned to see Gabrielle with a wry smile.

"Nice job, Joxer," she grudgingly said, then continued, "At least you didn't get anyone hurt this time."

Joxer accepted the reluctant praise modestly. "Thanks, but you really ought to be thanking Xena. She's the one who deserves the credit. She spent all day teaching me," he responded.

Xena smiled and put an arm around his shoulders. "But you're the one who put all my teaching to good use. Good job," the Warrior Princess said.

The three friends settled down for the night; Xena, proud of her new pupil; Gabrielle, surprised and pleased that Joxer hadn't tried to boast of his 'fighting skills'; and Joxer, who fell asleep thinking of the words of praise given to him by the woman he loved.

Please take the time to write to Anne at JoxerBuddy@hotmail.com, and let her know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, and all other characters who have appeared in the series, together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of StudiosUSA and Renaissance Pictures. The lyrics to "Strangers Like Me" are owned by the appropriate copyright holders. No infringement of copyrights or trademarks is intended in the writing of this fan fiction. This story is copyright © 2000 by Anne Beaudry and is her sole property along with the story idea. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.