Gabrielle paused for a moment before she put her quill to the parchment, her lips spreading out in a smile as she wrote. "There. That should do it."

"I still think that you're taking this whole thing way too seriously."

Frustrated, Gabrielle threw her quill down on the ground and glared at Joxer, who was sitting directly across from her. "And you're taking this way too lightly! This is a once in a lifetime event, and if this gets screwed up, you know that we'll never hear the end of it!"

Joxer closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head. "It's Eve's fifth birthday, for crying out loud! We're just planning her birthday party..."

"Yes, and do you remember what happened last year?"

Joxer threw his hands up in the air. "That was totally not my fault! How was I supposed to know that Xena had *issues* with clowns?"

"Exactly," Gabrielle said with a fervent nod. "And that's why I'm making sure that nothing gets screwed up this time... Hey! Gimme that!" she shouted when Joxer suddenly reached forward and snatched the parchment away from her hands.

"Birthday lunch served at high noon. One hourglass to eat lunch and present cake... One half hourglass to eat cake and then another half hourglass for Eve to unwrap birthday presents... For the love of Aphrodite, Gabrielle, you've even got a timetable of how long each guest can play games and have a pony ride!" Joxer looked at her, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's a birthday party, not a set of military maneuvers for a mock war game!"

"Are you insinuating that I'm a control freak, Joxer?" Gabrielle asked in a deadly soft voice.

Joxer shrugged ever so slightly, his lips curling up into a smirk and his eyebrows lifting up in amusement at her question.

Gabrielle looked highly put out at his reaction and her fingers involuntarily rose up for a moment, heading directly for Joxer's nose before she forced herself to put her hand back down. "Well, I suppose I do get a little too involved with planning things," she admitted grudgingly. "But I'm capable of being spontaneous, too!"

Joxer's lips began twitching involuntarily, trying to hold back his laughter until he couldn't anymore. "You? SpontaneoMMPH!" His eyes widened in surprise when Gabrielle suddenly reached out, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and kissed him long and hard.

As he gasped for breath post-kiss, Gabrielle sat back and smiled smugly as she watched him recover. "So, what was that about me not being able to be spontaneous again, huh?"

Please take the time to write to Sandy at fiebrans@prodigy.net, and let her know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, Eve, 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. No infringement of copyrights or trademarks is intended in the writing of this fan fiction. This story is copyright © 2006 by Sandy Fiebranz 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.