Rating: R
Summary: Takes place during Season 5, between episodes Eternel Bonds and Kindred Spirits. Joxer contemplaits on Xena and Gabrielle's reaction when he tells them he's fallen inlove (and she's not Gabrielle or Meg).

Joxer sat in living room of his home...of his and his new wife's home. He stared at the fireplace, watching the flames dance and burn the firewood he retrieved. So many months had passed, months that may have been the hardest, yet the best time of his life.

What was really shocking is that he had did it, he really did it. He fell inlove...and with incredible surprise, she returned her feelings for him. Infact, she always had feelings for him their whole lives. After all, they were to be bethroed back when they were younger.

He could remember it all. His rocky road these path months, to a very happy ending. At least to him.

Xena and Gabrielle had returned from Egypt. Baby Eve was staying with Xena's mother for awhile. Joxer was waiting for them, as usual, as their ship reached the docks.

They looked all around, and saw their friend, without his pointy hat, but still with his clanky armor. Gabrielle sighed and rolled her eyes, while Xena put her hands on her hips, giving him one of her famous looks. "Well, you just gonna stand there all day or come with us?" She asked.

Joxer felt his anger boil in his blood, but took a deep breath to cool off from Xena's harsh words, and walk over to his "friends." Gabrielle had her arms crossed when he reached them, with that annoyed look on her face like he did something wrong again. His anger rushed back, but another deep breath and reminding himself she was the woman he loved more than anything kept him cool off.

That night, they camped far in the woods. He didn't bother to get or make the food tonight. He would just screw it up to their eyes. He always screwed no matter what to their eyes.

Gabrielle and Xena went into the woods, probably to get the firewood and food. He just sat at the campsite, watching the dancing motions of the campfire. He didn't notice that they returned, with the firewood only. There was no food. Gabrielle and Xena looked all around the campsite, then both glared at Joxer. He felt their eyes burn through him, or maybe it was just the heat of the campfire...but he didn't care.

"Joxer...where's the food?" Xena asked.

Without looking from the fire, Joxer simply replied, "Couldn't catch anything."

Gabrielle sighed groaned. He thought to himself if it was that time of the month for her, cause gods was she cranky as hell.

Gabrielle turned to her best friend. "I'll go get it." She groaned. She looked back over at Joxer. She was about to walk back in the woods, until she rushed forward, smacking him upside his head.

He felt it come back as his face turned blood red and gritted his teeth. He stormed up, and walked so fast that he nearly pushed Gabrielle over. He looked back at them. "I'll get your DAMN FOOD!!" He growled. And stormed off.

He came back, three dead rabbits for each of them. He went back to get some more firewood. But when he came back...gods, if he was a god, the earth would've shattered apart.

Gabrielle and Xena, holding each other as they layed down. Gabrielle stole a kiss from Xena's lips, and they were talking. He managed to hear a few words. His name, dork, rid of, and loser.

He couldn't take it anymore. His anger was back, this time, he had forgotten his reasons of being friends with them...and loving Gabrielle.

He stormed in on them. They just looked at him, like as if he wasn't going to do anything. They just look lazy at him, and looked annoyed at his presence.

"Hey Joxer, could you uh...sleep on the other side of the camp tonight. Xena and I...we're going to discuss some plans and..." Gabrielle began. Until...she was cutt off.

They both looked at him, taken aback. Xena leaned up. "First, are you ok, Joxer? Second, I think you owe Gabrielle an apolo..."

"AND FUCK YOU TOO, XENA!!" He roared at her, pointing at her.

They both fell back abit at his tone. He never used those words...at least not infront of them. The one thing that troubled them was the look on Joxer's face.

"I know all about your plans, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle looked confused. "W-what are you talking..."

"DON'T ACT INNOCENT!! YOUR PLANS TO GET RID OF ME!!" He roared again.

Their eyes were wide open. Joxer said he knew their plans to get rid of him. Little did he know that night, they were only talking about how Gabrielle and
Joxer would be alone together, for three months in Egypt. But Joxer didn't know that.

"I'll tell you what also, I'LL HELP YOU OUT!! I'M LEAVIN!! AND I AM NEVER, EVER, LOOKING BACK!!"

With that, Joxer walked over to his bedroll, the armor making it difficult for him to do anything though. He ripped his armor off in pure rage, slamming it to the ground, scaring both Xena and Gabrielle, as well as two well-known gods that were not to far away. Ares mouth was open as he watched in total disbelief at Joxer's outburst, while Aphrodite had a sad expression on her face, feeling Joxer's love for his friends vanish.

Gabrielle jumped up, ran up to him to stop him. What came next, nobody expected. She turned him, and grabbed his nose. "Listen, you idiot! We...AAH!!" She fell to the ground.

Everyone's eyes were on Joxer, who was breathing hard because of his anger, as he looked down at what he had just done. He snapped, and punched her hard in the face. Then, he slapped her.

Realizing what he had done, Joxer's stoned face turned to sarrow. Gabrielle slowly looked up at him, touching her face where he had punched and slapped her. Tears where in her eyes, mixed with anger.

He just turned though. He turned, and walked away from someone he thought was his family. Gabrielle tried to stop him again, no matter if he hit her again. What was going through her heart, she wanted him to stay. But Xena stopped her, being her usual wise self. Telling Gabrielle to let him be, we'll catch up to him soon and talk with him.

They never saw him for two whole months. Yes, they had been looking for him, but he would go anywhere else away from them. Even Aphrodite and Ares tried to get him to go back to them, but he shunned them away. He had changed, for the worst. He didn't care anymore.

He didn't care about living, about people, about life...he didn't care about love. One day, he couldn't take it anymore. He got on his knees, looked up in the sky. "I've caused alot of people great pain since the day I was born. I try, and I try. Yet...YET THEY STILL THINK LOWLY OF ME!!" He shouted at the sky.

He began to feel his tears rush down his face. "Please, if there is any mercy, if your god is really true Eli like you are...then kill me. JUST KILL ME!! I WANNA DIE! I JUST WANT IT ALL TO END NOW!!! He cried. He fell to the ground, and curved himself into a ball as he cried.

The next day, Xena and Gabrielle were hot on his trail. He was still laying on the ground where he prayed and pleaded to die. He heard the foot steps, but made no move to get up. He thought that maybe...his prayer was answered. But it wasn't.

Xena and Gabrielle helped him to a healer. He was treated back to health, but when he woke up, he left again. But he was stopped...stopped by the healer.

"Wait." A beautiful voice called out.

It was a woman's voice. No, more like an angel's. He turned to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her hair was long and blond, almost like Gabrielle's was, but longer. She wore what was like warrior armor. She must be a warrior. Indeed she was.

Her name was Brinnhilda. She was a warrior and healer back in a Norse village. She game to Greece to find the great Xena. But that changed over time as her healing became more of a worth than her warrior skills, in some ways.

He really didn't want to talk to her, hell, he really didn't want to fall inlove. But she talked to him...and within moments of that day, he was falling for her.

He never did talk to the two warrior women he thought were his friends. They tried to talk to him, even threaten him if he didn't listen. But instead of doing what the old clumsy Joxer did, he would just challenge them without care. He still badly wanted his life to finally end.

Brinnhilda saw this. So she did what nobody could for the past two months and five day; she became his new best friend.

After awhile, Joxer wanted her to travel with him. Without hesistating, she accepted, and got another healer to take over. SInce then, they were inseperable. They would talk, laugh, cry, and just share anything with each other.

One morning when waking up, Joxer looked over at a sleeping Brinnhilda, and felt his hard beat very fast. That's when he knew...h was inlove with her. He even told her when she woke up. Beyond anything in the world, she admitted to having feelings for him too.

Gods, a woman he had feelings for had returned those feelings.

They were so much inlove the past months. Brinnhilda would teach him a few self-defence techniques when he goes on the road, and Joxer would teach her how to play the lyre and and lute. Besides that, they would kiss each other, hold each other...they would just love each other.

Some time now, Joxer asked Brinnhilda to marry him. She hesitated, and what came next stunned him. She would accept...only if he go see Xena and Gabrielle. He hadn't seen or talk to them in a very long time.

So he went to find Xena and Gabrielle. He located them in Athens. He saw them, with little Eve. They were laughing together, they were so happy. He walked over to them. To their surprise, he greeted them.

He didn't bother asking questions, instead, he got to the point. He told them that Brinnhilda and him were getting married. They were both shocked and stunned. Without saying anything else, he turned and left, leaving them in the blues. If it was one thing he didn't need or want in his life right now, it was them and everybody else. Right now, only Brinnhilda mattered.

He got back to her, and they were married. They were so happy at their wedding day, but his mood changed when Xena, Gabrielle, Aphrodite, and Ares came. Brinnhilda invited them, much to his dismay.

He walked over to Gabrielle. They looked at each other, neither saying a word. Finally, she spoke up. She quickly explained about the plan six months ago for her and Joxer, the three months alone in Egypt. He immiediatly apologized. The two ended up hugging.

Everyone could tell that Gabrielle was crushed. She was losing a friend to marrige. Thats when she realized...she was inlove with Joxer.

Conclusion >>>