Xena reached the village just as the last rays of the sun sparkled over the mountains. She saw two burly men, both carrying spears, standing in front of the village entrance. The guards both shot to full attention at the sight of her approaching.

"State your name and your business here," the guard standing at the left side of the gate said in a harsh voice. His light brown eyes narrowed as Xena easily jumped down from Argo's back.

"Xena," the woman replied, her face set into an expression of neutrality. "I'm here to see the healer..."

"Xena?" the second guard snarled, his face twisting up into a grimace as he cut her off from continuing further. "The same one who destroyed my home village eight years ago?"

"Arocles, shut up!" the first guard hissed. "She's changed since then."

"I don't give a rat's ass if she's changed or not! I'll never forget the screams of men - good men - dying as she and her soldiers slaughtered them mercilessly!" Arocles' eyes glittered with hatred as he gazed at Xena.

Xena's face paled slightly but she did not falter. "I'm sorry for the loss of your home village, but I have to see the healer. A good friend of mine has been accidentally poisoned..." She could feel the desperation growing in her mind as Arocles held his spear up before him in a defensive position and blocked her way.

"So what?" Arocles sneered. "If he's a friend of yours, he's probably better off dead!"

The second guard shoved Arocles aside. "I said enough, Arocles!"

By this time, several villagers had gathered around to see what the commotion was about and they gazed at the three with curiosity on their faces as they watched the two guards stand facing each other, Arocles ready to spring on the second guard at any second while Xena stayed a few paces away from the two men and watched them with wary eyes.

"Let her pass, Arocles. I can vouch for her," a new voice broke in. The three looked up as a tall, grim-faced yet handsome older man with gray hair, dark blue eyes and a long-healed scar running down the right side of his face made his way through the villagers milling about. "She comes here in peace." A still-black eyebrow rose up in disapproval. "Well?"

Arocles backed down unwillingly and allowed Xena and Argo to pass into the village.

"Thank you, Timos," Xena said huskily as they began moving through the agora.

Timos grunted, "Never mind. Why are you here?"

"I need a healer and you fit the bill," Xena answered curtly. She pulled the cluster of berries from Argo's pack and showed them to him. "A good friend of mine mistook these for wild grapes. He's..."

Timos' eyes grew wide when he saw the fruit and he began walking quickly towards a small house. "How far away is he from here?"

"Two hours ride," Xena answered, easily catching up to him as she led Argo by the reins. "When I left him with Gabrielle and his brother, he was running a high fever and unconscious."

Timos nodded at the description of Joxer's symptoms. "You do realize that he might already be dead," Timos said as he opened the door to his home.

"Yes," Xena replied, swallowing hard. "I know."

Timos turned around and gazed at Xena for a moment and his face softened slightly. "He's very important to you, isn't he?"

Xena inclined her head forward in acknowledgement. "I don't always say so to him, but yes, he is."

Timos turned around and began pulling bottles and strangely shaped packages from a large shelf. "Then, let's see what I can do to help your friend then. We don't have much time."

Jett watched as the last rays of sunlight faded over the hill before turning back to Joxer, who was moaning softly as Gabrielle wiped his forehead dry. "I think his fever is rising again," she fretted.

Jett reached over to the mortar and held it out for Gabrielle. "Here."

"Thanks," Gabrielle said, taking a cloth and dipping the edge of it into the mashed herbs. She carefully spread the mixture onto Joxer's heaving chest and sighed.

Joxer suddenly made a choking noise and Jett's eyes widened slightly as his brother began gasping and making gurgling noises. "Help me pull him up!" he growled. "He'll choke to death on his own saliva!"

Gabrielle immediately helped Jett pull Joxer into a sitting position, leaning his head forward slightly. Joxer gasped for air, his chest heaving. His eyes opened slightly and he gagged, spitting up yellowish bile on Gabrielle's leg. "It's okay, Joxer. Let it out," she murmured. Joxer made another gurgling noise, spit up a bit more and sagged forward, exhausted.

The two watched Joxer carefully as his breathing eventually returned to a slow but steady rhythm. Jett nodded and the two slowly laid Joxer back onto the ground. They continued watching Joxer for a few minutes in silence before Jett wet another rag and gave it to Gabrielle. "Returning the favor," he said, pointing at the bile on Gabrielle's leg.

"Thanks," Gabrielle's smile was grim as she reached over to take the cloth and wiped her leg clean. She put the dirtied rag aside once she was finished and sighed as she watched the light of the fire flicker off Joxer's face, making his lean cheekbones stand out in stark relief. She touched his cheek and sighed before looking back up at Jett, who was staring into the fire again, lost in thought. "Hey."

"What?" Jett's voice was distant as he continued staring into the fire.

"Were there ever any good times when you three were growing up?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

Jett turned around and glared at Gabrielle. "Has anybody ever told you that you're an incredibly nosy broad?"

Gabrielle looked taken aback and her cheeks flamed red. "I know. It's none of my business," she muttered.

"Exactly." Jett turned his head to look down at Joxer. Satisfied that his brother was all right for the moment, he then reached out and threw another piece of wood on the fire and turned his attention to watching the flames flicker and dance in the darkness.

"I was just trying to make conversation," Gabrielle said quietly. Jett said nothing in response and she sighed in frustration before turning her attention back to Joxer, who seemed quiet at the moment.

The silence fell heavily over the small encampment for some time until Jett cleared his throat. "It wasn't so bad when Father was away on one of his raids."

Gabrielle looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jett growled.

"How? Or is that none of my business either?" Gabrielle's eyes burned with curiosity as Jett turned to face her.

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" Jett rasped, raising an eyebrow.

"By all means," Gabrielle leaned back in her seat, idly placing her hand on Joxer's shoulder.

Jett checked the fire again before he spoke. "Mother loved music more than anything in Greece, and whenever a traveling musician came, she'd take us into town to see them. I remember one of those times. We all went to see this musician - a singing bard, actually. Jox just loved to hear him sing. Then, the musician did something that surprised everyone. He asked if anyone that had talent wanted to join him onstage."

"Did Joxer go up?" Gabrielle asked.

"Not at first. You have to remember, Blond... uh... Gabrielle, that Joxer didn't see himself as a musician, so it took Mother some coaxing to get him up there to sing a little."

"But when he did, I bet that everyone enjoyed him."

"Are you telling this story or am I?" Jett asked.

Gabrielle held up her hands. "You. Please go on."

Jett stared at Gabrielle for a moment before he continued. "Yeah, they did and the musician said he was good too. He needed work but he had the talent. So, Mother signed him up for music lessons every other week when Father was away."

"Did he ever find out about the lessons?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Oh. So what did he do?"

"Not much. He just told Joxer that his warrior lessons came first and that only a girl would play music. After that, Joxer would never play again when he was around."

Gabrielle felt sad about this. "So, he hated Joxer's playing?"

"Deep down inside, I think he liked it. Sometimes he'd have Jox play for company," Jett sighed a little. "You could never tell with Father."

Joxer, who had been muttering inarticulately while Jett told his story, suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream. "GABRIELLE! GABRIELLE!"

This time Gabrielle jumped up and pushed Jett away. Joxer's eyes were wide open and full of fear as he relived another nightmare from his past. Gabrielle held him as he cried. "No... Please... No... I couldn't save her..." He whimpered, the tears streaming down his cheeks and mixing in with his sweat. "Oh, Gods... Why did she do it? Why did she have to die? My Gabrielle... So beautiful... No... No..."

Jett raised his eyebrow at the bard, who was trying her best to calm Joxer down. "Shh, Joxer. It's okay. I'm okay. I'm right here. Shh, your Gabrielle is okay."

"Your Gabrielle?"

"SHUT UP!"

Jett moved away as Gabrielle rocked the sick man in her arms until he seemed to settle down. She gently laid Joxer back onto the ground and watched him carefully. Suddenly, Joxer's body started shaking violently. "JETT!" Gabrielle screamed.

Jett moved back in quickly and helped hold him down. Joxer thrashed around for several minutes then let out a deep breath and lay very still. Gabrielle's eyes grew wide with fear as she put her head over his chest and heard nothing. "Oh Gods..."

Jett looked at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. "He's dead," he said.

"Not if I can help it!" replied Gabrielle.

"What can you do? He's stopped breathing! He's gone!"

Gabrielle didn't say another word. She placed her mouth over Joxer's and began to breathe for him. "Breathe, Joxer! Damn it! Breathe! Come on, Joxer!" she cried before putting her mouth over his again.

Jett reached out to pull her away from Joxer. "Leave him alone! What do you think you're doing?"

Gabrielle whirled around, tears in her eyes. "If you can't be helpful, go away! I know what I'm doing!"

Jett backed off and didn't say another word. He watched helplessly as Gabrielle continued to breathe inside Joxer's mouth. He saw Joxer's chest rise and fall with each breath, but he didn't start breathing on his own. Jett eventually saw Joxer's mouth open slightly and his chest rose up just a little bit when Gabrielle rose up to take more air in for herself.

Gabrielle was so upset that she didn't notice Joxer draw in that shaky breath. Before Jett could stop her, she screamed, "Damn you, Joxer! BREATHE, DAMN IT, OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Her fist came down on Joxer's chest with a hard thud. Joxer's back suddenly arched up and he made a gasping noise as he drew in one breath, then another. He then began to cough and Gabrielle took him into her arms and held him. "Okay, Joxer. Okay." When he finally stopped coughing and began breathing normally, she gently placed him back on the ground.

Jett slowly moved closer to them. "Thank you," he whispered finally, gazing down at Joxer breathing in a slow but steady rhythm.

Gabrielle wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded.

Xena watched in silence as Timos mixed the last foul-smelling ingredient together into a bottle and placed a stopper over the top. He turned around and gave the bottle to her. "This should help. You have to make him drink all of this, no matter how much he might fight you..."

Xena nodded, appreciating the fact that the healer didn't add on unless you're already too late. "I understand." She turned around to exit Timos' home and opened the door. Before she stepped over the threshold, she turned around and stared at him for a moment. "Thank you."

Timos nodded. "Safe journey to you."

Xena nodded once more, ran out the door and sprang onto the patiently waiting Argo's back. She wheeled the mare around and galloped off towards the village entrance. Timos stood in the doorway and watched her until he could no longer see her in the darkness. "Good luck," he whispered as he turned around and shut the door behind him.

Xena rode in the darkness as quickly as she could, her thoughts whirling in her mind as the wind whipped her hair around her face. Joxer, please be all right! Her lips pressed into a tight line as she leaned forward while Argo carried her down the road and then her eyes widened as she suddenly thought of Jett. Oh Gods! He's made so much progress during all this time and if Joxer doesn't make it, it might push him back to being what he was before... Xena felt her stomach turn over and she swallowed hard as a sour taste filled her mouth. Don't even THINK like that! she scolded herself. Joxer's going to be okay... "YAH!" she yelled.

Argo snorted in response and carried her mistress towards her friends at a quicker pace.

Jett threw another log into the fire and turned to gaze at Gabrielle, who was watching Joxer's breathing closely. "How long do you think Xena's been gone?"

"I don't know," Gabrielle replied absently as she wiped Joxer's forehead. She saw that a large purplish-blue bruise where she had hit him was beginning to form on Joxer's chest and she sighed.

"Did you break anything?" Jett asked harshly.

Gabrielle winced at Jett's tone. "I hope not." She reached out and carefully examined the area where the bruise was forming. "No," she said finally. "He's going to be awful sore though."

"If he makes it, you mean."

"DAMN IT, JETT! STOP IT!" Gabrielle's eyes were bright with angry tears as she glared at the oldest triplet.

"Face the facts, Bl - Gabrielle! He's already stopped breathing once. Do you think if he stops again that you'll be able to save him?" Jett asked.

Gabrielle shrank back and shook her head. She turned away from Jett's searching gaze and looked down at Joxer, who was muttering nonsense words. "I don't know," she finally admitted in a tiny whisper and wiped her hand over her eyes.

Jett continued gazing at her for some time before he looked away and threw another log into the fire. He gazed down at Joxer, who was quiet again and sighed. He frowned when he thought he heard something in the distance. He took a long piece of wood and stuck it into the fire to make a torch. "Did you hear that?" He rose to his feet, holding the makeshift torch aloft in his hand.

Gabrielle looked up. "Yes," she replied, also rising to her feet with a look of hopefulness on her face. "It's hoof beats." She cupped her hands over her mouth and cried out, "XENA!"

Jett pulled her hands away. "Are you crazy? What if it's not her?" he growled.

"Leave me alone!" Gabrielle snarled in reply. "XENA!"

"GABRIELLE!" Xena's husky voice called back in response.

"Thank the Gods!" Gabrielle murmured as her friend rode towards them and drew Argo to a halt.

Xena easily dismounted the mare and nodded curtly at Jett and Gabrielle as she pulled the bottle that Timos gave her from Argo's pack. "How is he?" she asked as she hurried over to Joxer and knelt down next to him. She gently reached out to touch his soaking wet forehead and winced at the heat underneath her fingertips. An eyebrow rose when she saw the darkening bruise on Joxer's chest and she gazed at Gabrielle.

"He stopped breathing for a few minutes," Gabrielle murmured in explanation as she knelt down next to Xena while Jett threw his torch into the fire and joined them, kneeling down at Joxer's left side.

Xena nodded, her face impassive as she shook the bottle in her hands to mix the ingredients together. "I need to force him to drink all of this. I'm going to need both of you to help me out if he fights me," she told the two of them. She looked up at Jett and saw that his lower lip was swollen, split and that a bruise resembling a handprint was forming just below it. He nodded and put his hands on Joxer's left arm. Gabrielle also nodded and placed her hands on Joxer's right arm.

"Here we go," Xena muttered, opening the bottle. Gabrielle and Jett's noses immediately wrinkled up at the foul-smelling stench that emitted from it. Xena forced Joxer's mouth open and started pouring some of the liquid down his throat. Joxer immediately began gagging and struggled underneath Gabrielle and Jett's combined grasp.

"DAMN IT, HOLD HIM DOWN!" Xena shouted hoarsely as she snapped Joxer's mouth shut, forcing him to swallow the liquid. She then forced Joxer's mouth open again and poured more liquid into his mouth while he continued struggling. It took some time, but Joxer eventually swallowed all the liquid and his struggles eventually stopped.

Gabrielle and Jett let go of Joxer's arms and knelt back, watching him. "So, what do we do now?" Gabrielle asked softly.

Xena gazed down at Joxer's still form. "We wait and hope for the best. That's all we can do. Everything's up to Joxer now."

Both Gabrielle and Jett nodded. "I'll take first watch," Gabrielle volunteered.

Xena and Jett looked at her curiously. "Gabrielle, are you sure?" Xena asked.

"Yeah. You need to get some sleep, Xena. You've been riding for a long time," Gabrielle replied.

Xena nodded and reached out to embrace her friend. "I'll take the next watch Ð and call us if anything changes, all right?"

"I will," Gabrielle promised. She watched as Xena and Jett quietly pulled out their bedrolls from their saddlebags and set them up. The two then silently pulled their pelts over them and fell asleep shortly after from sheer exhaustion and worry. Gabrielle turned away from them and looked down at Joxer, who appeared to be sleeping quietly.

Gabrielle gently wiped his forehead with a wet cloth and took his hand in hers. She sighed and began speaking softly so she wouldn't wake Xena and Jett up. "Joxer, I'm sorry you didn't have a great life growing up. But, you want to know something? You're the luckiest person I've ever met in my life."

Gabrielle paused and gently brushed the stubborn lock of hair that always fell into his eyes away. "Most people who've grown up like you did either end up dead or become cold and cruel, but not you, Joxer. No matter how bad things were for you, you've always managed to have a positive outlook on everything. I don't know if I had grown up like you did if I would've been able to be like that." She gazed down at him. "Actually, that's not true. I know I wouldn't be like that," she admitted.

Gabrielle sighed again. "You know, even when you annoy the crap out of me when you sing that damn song of yours or just do something goofy, you can still make me laugh when things seem to be at their worst. That's something very special." She gazed down into his face for a long time before she whispered, "I don't want to lose that." She fell silent then and continued watching him until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Xena calmly gazing down at her.

"Hey, why don't you get some sleep? You look like you're going to fall over on your face," Xena teased gently.

"I'm not tired!" Gabrielle protested even as she hid a yawn behind her hand.

Xena smiled. "Trust me on this one, Gabrielle. Go to bed."

Gabrielle gently removed her hand from Joxer's and placed it over his chest. "Okay," she agreed, yawning a second time as she rose to her feet. She turned to Xena, her green eyes unnaturally shiny as she reached out to embrace her friend. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Xena replied, returning the embrace. She watched as Gabrielle turned around and walked over to Amber. She slowly pulled her bedroll and pelts from her saddlebag and set her bedroll out. Gabrielle then slipped underneath the pelts and was asleep in moments.

Xena knelt down beside Joxer after putting a couple more logs on the fire. She placed her hand on his forehead to see if his temperature was going down and nodded when his skin felt cool under her touch. She went over to her saddlebag and made a compress. She then carefully placed it over the purplish-blue bruise on his chest, hoping that the swelling would ease some. He's going to be mighty sore if... WHEN he wakes up... She then changed position so that she sat next to Joxer and drew her knees up so that she could hug them with her arms.

Xena gazed into the fire for a long time before she turned back down to her sick friend and began speaking. "Joxer, it's not how you're raised that makes you who you are. Look at me. My mother loved me and treated me well, but look at what I've done." She paused for a moment. "I turned the wrong way. You didn't Ð and you had just as many reasons if not more to go the wrong way like I did." She threw another log into the fire. "Remember that time when Aphrodite put you under the bell spell? When she took the spell off, you told me that you were nothing but a fraud. I told you it wasn't true and that you had the heart of a lion. I meant it then and I mean it now." She reached out and patted Joxer's upper arm, sighing softly.

Xena kept a silent vigil over Joxer for quite some time until Jett's eyes suddenly opened and he saw Xena sitting next to his brother, gazing into the fire with a troubled expression on her face. He threw his pelts off and rose to his feet, stretching a little before he walked over to them. Xena rose to her feet and the two exchanged nods. She walked back over to her bedroll and slipped underneath the pelts while Jett threw a couple more logs into the fire and sat down next to Joxer. Xena eventually fell back to sleep with a frown on her face and Jett sighed, turning to gaze at his brother. He looked up for a moment when Gabrielle muttered something in her sleep and turned in her bedroll before falling silent again.

Jett turned back to Joxer and stared at him for a long time, wondering what to do besides watch for any signs of a change in Joxer's condition. He surprised himself when he began speaking in a soft, low voice. "You know that I care about you Jox, even if I never say it. You know." He felt his eyes beginning to burn and he blinked several times. "At least I hope you do," he whispered. He looked up and saw that the sun was beginning to rise in the east.

Jett turned back to Joxer, who still looked unusually pale in the early morning light. "Do you remember when we were fifteen and Father was angry at me because he had found out I let one of his slaves go? He took his whip and I was about to get a beating. Do you remember what you said?"

"I told him that I set her free. That his man couldn't tell us apart," Joxer replied weakly, opening his eyes just a little.

Jett's eyes widened in surprise at Joxer's answer. "XENA!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Xena and Gabrielle immediately woke up at Jett's cry and rose to their feet with wide eyes. Joxer mumbled, "Owww... My head... Do you have to yell so loud?"

Gabrielle ran over and fell to her knees next to Joxer and squeezed him to her, making him yelp in pain. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, you dork!" she scolded him, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Okay," Joxer wheezed. "I won't."

"You might want to let him breathe, Bl... Gabrielle," Jett said, watching the two with a strange little smile on his face.

Gabrielle continued to hold Joxer but loosened her grip on him. Xena smiled and looked down at him. "Welcome back, Joxer."

"Huh?" Joxer gazed at them, confused. "Did I go somewhere? The last thing I remember is that we were all riding to get to Apollonia and then I saw two of you, Xena..."

Jett laughed, knelt down and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Yeah Jox, you and I both did. We went home and took Gabrielle with us."

Joxer yawned then and blinked, trying to stay awake. "Oh, was it nice?" he asked in a far-off voice.

Gabrielle hugged him again as he fell asleep in her arms. "It had its moments," she said and lowered him gently to the ground.

When the sun was high up in the sky, Joxer was sitting up with help and drinking some clear broth Xena had prepared. "What I don't understand is why I got so sick after eating just a few wild grapes."

"Jox, those weren't wild grapes you ate. They were poisoned berries that looked like wild grapes," Jett explained.

Joxer's face fell into a sad pout and he sighed. He put the bowl of broth down and turned his head away from the others. "Oh, I see. Stupid Joxer managed to screw everything up again."

Gabrielle knelt down beside him, her eyes turning a jade color as she turned Joxer's face so that she could look at him. She gazed into Joxer's eyes intently. "I never want to hear that come from your lips again. Do you understand me?"

Joxer looked puzzled. "Gabrielle, what did I say?"

"Joxer, you're not stupid!"

"Gabrielle, I am stupid. I ate poisoned berries. Jett, you and Xena never would've done it. Now I've made us getting even later in getting to Apollonia than we already are."

"Joxer, that's not true! We saw what those berries looked like and if Xena didn't tell us, we wouldn't have known the difference either!" Gabrielle protested.

Joxer shook his head in disbelief and Xena put her hand on Joxer's arm to get his attention. "Joxer, you made a simple mistake that anyone could've made. That doesn't make you stupid," Xena said quietly. Her eyes bored into Joxer's as she added in, "And as far as I'm concerned, friends are much more important than missions are any day." Jett and Gabrielle nodded in agreement at Xena's words. "Besides, it's my fault," Xena added in with a rough note to her voice.

"Your fault? How do you figure that, Xena?" Jett asked, staring at her curiously.

"I should have told all of you how to tell the difference between poisonous berries and berries that are okay to eat Ð even when they look like something very familiar to you Ð like those berries did."

Gabrielle looked at her. "Well, there's no time like the present."

"Yeah. I agree," said Jett and Joxer nodded.

Xena laughed and sat down cross-legged in front of them. "Well, the reason how I could tell the difference was the leaf. You see..."

Hours later, Joxer felt strong enough for them to continue their way to Apollonia. Jett helped him get onto Speckle. "If you need to rest you let us know, okay?"

Joxer smiled down at his brother. "I will. Thanks, Jett," he replied as he watched Jett easily mount Thunder.

Jett nodded as he had Thunder go into a trot and ride a little ahead of them. Joxer rode behind him as Gabrielle and Xena took up the rear. "Xena?"

"Yeah, Gabrielle?"

"You know, when Joxer was sick, he was saying things."

"Really? Like what?" Xena asked curiously.

Gabrielle's cheeks flushed pink. "Oh, you know! Things!"

Xena rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Gabrielle, stop talking in riddles! What kind of things?"

Gabrielle stared at Xena, biting her bottom lip until she said, "I think Joxer... I mean that I think Joxer... Oh, never mind! It was just the fever talking. Come on, we better catch up with them."

Gabrielle suddenly made Amber go faster and Xena placed her hand on Argo's neck as she watched Gabrielle move her horse so that she was right behind Joxer and Jett. "Girl, I really thought that she was beginning to get a clue. Maybe she will when she's ready to," she murmured. Argo neighed and shook her head. Xena smiled a little and patted the mare's neck before urging her to catch up with the others.

Gabrielle rode behind the brothers, who were talking about the last time they visited Jace, quietly remembering what Joxer had said. She could hear his voice echoing in her mind over and over. My Gabrielle... She looked at Joxer's back and sighed silently as his and Jett's laughter rang out. Oh, Joxer... What if I were?

Please take the time to write to Susan at sasondo42@yahoo.com and Sandy at fiebrans@prodigy.net, and let them know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, Jett, and all 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 © 2002 by Susan Owens and Sandy Fiebranz and is their 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.