"Ow, that hurts!" Gabrielle huffed. "Do you have to poke it?"

Xena looked up. The human was talking again. She resisted the urge to frown as she reapplied the paste. It had been difficult enough scraping the old out, but she was finding it harder to put more in the wound. Because she was conscious, Gabrielle kept fidgeting, breathing sharply every now and then. She'd close her eyes, bite her lip until she couldn't take the pain anymore and roll away, tightening her fists to endure the pain.

"Gabrielle…hurts?" Xena tried softly.

Gabrielle opened her eyes to look down at the wild woman attending her wounds. She was trying, she knew she was. Even with their language barrier, Xena understood when the pain would be too much for her, and would stop. She couldn't help but feel grateful for the stranger's kindness in that. At her wince, Xena stepped back with the paste covered leaf, a look of concern and worry upon her features.

"Yes," Gabrielle nodded and looked down at her shoulder. She touched it gingerly, gasping when she felt the paste touch the raw sides of her sliced skin. "What is it?" She looked up and pointed to the paste in Xena's hand. "That…what is it?"

'Are you asking what this is, human? It's medicinal paste. It will help you get better,' Xena growled, taking Gabrielle's gesturing as a question.

She stepped forward again. Reaching out, she tugged gently at the material of the human's clothes. Moving it down slowly, she uncovered more skin and with practiced hands, Xena applied more paste into the wound. She felt the human's eyes on her as she worked and could only guess that she was just as curious about her, as Xena was about the human.

She wondered what the human would ask her if they could understand one another. Xena herself had so many questions: Are there more humans outside the forest? What is the material Gabrielle wore around her body? Where did she come from? Why did the other human try to kill her? But she would have to wait until the time came that she could ask them and get an answer. In the meantime, she concentrated on the human. She wanted to make her better. Seeing another in pain, whether it was an animal or human, Xena couldn't stand it.

She realized she must have knocked the human awkwardly because, not a second later, Gabrielle's hand shot out and grabbed Xena's forearm tightly. Xena stopped again. She placed the leaf aside, but Gabrielle didn't remove her hand. Instead, her fingers tightened around Xena's arm. Xena watched sadly as pain flashed across Gabrielle's features. She knew, if she could, she would endure the pain for her. Gabrielle seemed too fragile for the pain, to Xena.

"Didn't hurt as much that time," Gabrielle said tightly as she opened her eyes. She sighed as the pain began to recede and looked up at the dark haired woman. "Getting better," she voiced each word slowly to help her understand. She realized that if she pronounced the words slowly, Xena was able to repeat them back and have some understanding once she used a gesture to go with it.

She watched Xena stare at her for a moment before copying the words, as she knew she would. "Gabrielle getting better?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah,"

She took back her hand, sitting up straighter. She breathed in and out deeply as the remnants of pain shuddered through her body. Gabrielle squeezed her eyes tight, concentrating on other things as the pain clenched at her shoulder when Xena continued applying the paste. She listened to the sounds around her: her breathing echoing in the small cave room, the sound of gushing water in the next room, a slight wind blowing somewhere in the cave, making it sound as though the cave was whispering to her. Above all, her ears listened to the deep breathing of the woman in front of her.

She thought it strange, that this woman, this stranger would have such a calming effect on her. Though she fidgeted from the stinging pain that spread like tiny needles across her chest, she found that concentrating on the woman soothed her.

She looked up, watching Xena as she worked on her shoulder. She noticed that when she was concentrating on dabbing the paste into the wound, Xena would bite her bottom lip, or drag a hand though her hair, causing it to fall in attractive, wild ripples around her slender face. After she was finished, Xena leaned in close to inspect her handiwork. The deep concentration on the woman's face almost made her want to giggle.

Stepping back once more, Xena nodded, patting Gabrielle's arm. 'It's done now, Gabrielle. Your wound should continue healing…' Xena trailed off when she glanced up and saw confused green eyes looking back at her. "Mm," she said, and pointed to the wound with a broad smile. "Help getting Gabrielle better."

Xena's smile fell, however, when she saw the golden human's eyes glistening with unshed tears. As Gabrielle started sniffing in an attempt to stave off her tears, Xena panicked where she was. She didn't know what to do.

"Thank you…" Gabrielle whispered. She lowered her head. She stared at the dirty bare feet near her boots and shook her head. "I don't even know you, but…I,"

She didn't get the chance to finish before the woman's arms circle her. She felt the tentativeness in the way Xena moved, scared that she might break her if she squeezed too hard.

Gabriele wanted to resist, pull away from this wild woman, but her heart told her to stay. Complying with its wishes, she lifted her hand up into the crook of Xena's elbow, holding her as she buried her face into her shoulder. It was then she felt her lip tremble and her eyes prickle with the threat of tears. She barely blinked before they streamed silently down her cheeks, soaking into the wild woman's fur clothing. She was proud that she seemed to be holding herself together somewhat, but when Xena raised her hand to rest it on her head, gently stroking her hair like a mother would, Gabrielle came undone.

"Why did she do it?" Gabrielle sobbed as the woman wound her arms more tightly around her in response. She lifted her face. "Why? What did I do? I never hurt her, but she…she tried to kill me! Lila-," her voice cracked at the mention of her sister's name. "Am I really as bad as she said? Did I abandon her, my family? I just wanted to escape my old life, to follow my dream, but…was I just being selfish for leaving?"

Xena clenched her jaw, frowning as she noticed the faraway look in the human's eyes as she stared past her. Her eyes looked so vacant, their light fading. She almost looked dead. Fearing for the human, Xena reached out hesitantly, brushing the scratch on Gabrielle's cheek ever so slightly with her fingertip, before Gabrielle hid her face in her shoulder once more.

Before leaving Gabrielle with the other human, alarm bells had gone off in her head. She had felt a tug to stay, to watch over the human that touched a part of her soul, awakening feelings she had never felt before. But instead of listening to her instincts, she had abandoned Gabrielle, leaving her to the mercy of the other human. The human had held darkness in her eyes. Xena had sensed it. She had seen the dark haired human's subtle glares when Gabrielle wasn't looking, had seen the way her jaw had clenched in anger – the darks looks that would disappear as quickly as they would form when Gabrielle looked away. She should have known. She should have been there, been quicker. Now, she had a reminder of her failure.

She didn't let go as she heard Gabrielle's cries quieten. Instead, she held tighter. It was as if some part of her knew this was what the human needed – she needed contact, reassurance. Xena held her close until she could feel the human's tears on the bare skin of her neck. She didn't mind. She only wanted to fix her, however long it took.

She did, however, loosen her grip upon hearing a strangely familiar sound. It was a grumbling sound and seemed to come from between them. When they broke apart, Xena was relieved to see the beginnings of a smile tug at the corner of the human's mouth. She looked embarrassed when she stared back at Xena.

Gabrielle lowered her hand to her stomach, wincing at the painful clenching in her belly. "I think I must be hungry," she chuckled softly.

Xena's eyes fell to the human's stomach. Realization struck, and before the human could react, Xena turned out of the room. Seconds later, she came back holding food with a smile. She dropped the meat onto the stone bed beside Gabrielle and moved back, giving her space while she bit into her own. She moaned with satisfaction as she gnawed at the thick meat, ripping chunks away to swallow. With her watching over the human, Xena had forgotten to eat. She had been too busy with her brothers, the pack and Gabrielle, sparing no time to eat for herself. Luckily, she hadn't forgotten to hunt completely.

She opened her eyes to see how the human was faring with her doe meat, and frowned, confused. The human was just sitting there, her eyes flicking from the meat, to Xena, and back again. "Gabrielle?"

"You want me to…eat this?" Gabrielle asked, mortified. She'd watched Xena rip into the meat and felt it safe to say that her appetite left. She cringed as the blood from the meat dripped down the wild woman's chin, coloured her teeth. She poked the cold, dead meat she'd been given hesitantly and withdrew her finger quickly. "It's raw!"

Xena frowned. She tilted her head as she watched the human's reaction. Why was she poking it? If she as hungry, why wasn't she eating it? Approaching the stone bed, Xena realized she might have trouble. She grabbed the meat and ripped a piece from the slab. With an encouraging smile, she stepped forward and offered Gabrielle the chunk. She thought everything as going well. That was until the human threw her a disgusted look and shook her head.

"Xena, I can't eat that. I…I just can't. No thanks…no, I don't want it," Gabrielle said, trying to decline the bloody meat. But as the wild woman continued to insist, and the pains in her stomach tightened, she found she could fight no longer. "Oh, fine,"

She lifted her hand slowly, took the meat between her thumb and forefinger, and brought it to her face to inspect. After stalling for a few moments to smell it, press it and rub the dirt off on her shirt, Gabrielle lifted the meat to her lips, closing her eyes. She didn't want to look at it, not when it was going in her mouth. Instead, she imagined it to be something else, the food the servants would fetch during the many dinner parties she'd attended. It did help at first, but as soon as she forced it into her mouth, all those images flew from her mind, and the first thing she thought was that it was cold and tasted of metal.

Gabrielle knew she was pulling a face, but she couldn't help it. When she bit into the meat, chewed it, she heard it crunch, and things only became worse when she tried to swallow. Her throat seemed to seize up, disallowing the meat from travelling any further. Finally, she moved her tongue around the chunk, forcing it to the back of her throat, and swallowed. Cold shivers travelled down her spine as she felt it slid down.

"That," she began with effort, opening her eyes to look up at the woman, "was disgusting! No more…"

"More?" Xena asked.

"NO!"

~X~

Xena sat back against the wall, chewing her meat as she watched Gabrielle struggle with her own. The human was hesitant around it. But when her hunger made itself known, a look of pain would cross her features and she'd give in, rip some meat away and throw it into her mouth, chewing rapidly and swallowing hard. It was always followed by a visible disgusted shudder that shook Gabrielle's body, tempting a chuckle from Xena.

But those hints of laughter always trailed off into a heavy sigh.

When she had first woken, Xena thought Gabrielle might have been too traumatized or injured to remember who she was or why she was there, but those doubts would disappear, turning into her own pain. She watched as the human looked around her cave, her eyes wide and curious, then the next second, they became vacant again, brimming with tears. Xena could tell it was her memories; they were coming back to her. She could see the struggle in the human's eyes as she fought them down, battled off the pain.

Xena sympathised with her, but above all else, she couldn't stop thinking about how brave the human was. Despite her haggard and injured appearance, Xena could see a spark of determination in Gabrielle's eyes – a need to go on. Now she wondered what it was that drove her to keep going as she did. Instinct for survival? Revenge?

Gabrielle couldn't stomach anymore. Every time she attempted a bite, it felt as though a wave of bile was chasing it back up, like her stomach protested against her for feeding it such horrible, raw food. She had to admit that it wasn't like what she had eaten before in her house back in Athens. Everything had always been cooked and served. She would have to teach Xena how to cook meat. She suddenly found herself wondering if Xena even knew what cooked meat tasted like, or if she'd even seen fire before in her life. There was so much that she didn't know, and yet, the wild woman knew so much.

She had been surprised at the medical treatment she had received for her wound. At first, Gabrielle had had no idea where it had come from, assuming it was something that it was something that must have gotten into her wound when she fell. But after watching Xena administer the paste onto other various cuts across her body, and clean it out of the cut, she had realized that it had been Xena all along.

Xena had a gentleness that surprised her. She seemed to take great care when cleaning the wound, as if she knew how much it would hurt Gabrielle if she knocked her even in the slightest. Except for the inadvertent poke, caused by Gabrielle's own incapacity to sit still, Xena had done nothing to cause her any harm. She couldn't help but feel a rush of affection and appreciation. Gabrielle only wished that she didn't have the wound.

It hurt her to sleep. Before she had woken the last time, her sleep had been filled not only with the haunting images of her sister's uncharacteristically evil sneer, or the knife, but of pain too. She'd found it hard to find a comfortable position during sleep, and had eventually settled for curling into a ball, holding her knees up with her good arm. She had yet to experience a sleep left unmarred by the nightmares that plagued her every time she closed her eyes. Even resting her eyes for a moment left her gasping for air, the image of Lila racing toward her with a knife, the main thing she saw within her mind's eye. Her wound burned in remembrance of the knife plunging into her shoulder.

Gabrielle focused on her breathing, fighting to press down the image until it disappeared into nothingness, and her mind became her own again. Once it did, and she felt it safe to open her eyes, Gabrielle looked down at her shoulder. She moved the material aside and stared.

An odd smell came from the paste, but unlike the salves used by healers, it wasn't minty and didn't sting her nose. It had its own scent; she thought it smelled like flowers, as though a bouquet had been arranged and smashed until none of the flowers were recognizable, and what was left had been pasted into her shoulder. But however lovely it smelled, the pain it caused was anything but.

Even now, as she sat there, she could feel its sting against her skin, though it seemed somewhat dull, weaker than it had been the first time she had woken to it. It was more of an ache – like waking up with a constant rush of icy pins and needles in her muscles.

When Xena had moved to sit on the stone floor opposite her, Gabrielle resorted to staring at her hands. As the woman ate in silence, Gabrielle looked for answers.

She wanted to understand how everything had gone so wrong. She had known that her relationship with her sister had always been strained. Even as children, the two had been different – worlds apart in what they wanted from life. Gabrielle had always been ambitious, while Lila had been a quiet, compliant child. They had remained that way growing up. It had always irked her that Lila had looked down her nose at the possibility of Gabrielle chasing her dreams, but she just didn't realize her sister had despised it enough to eventually want to kill her.

There had always been a rift between them both, but it seemed that Gabrielle's career and the arrival of the warlord had tipped Lila over the edge.

Gabrielle realized, after some thought, that Lila had been right about being blind to them. She had lived with her own problems, but what upset her more was the thought that, if her parents had told her what was happening back on the farm, would she have listened? When they had been still alive, she had already developed a drinking problem, often finding her salvation at the bottom of goblet of wine, rather than talking. She had even pushed her own mentor away to make him want to leave her.

It was all her fault. She had pushed them all away. That realization stung her more than the paste; she welcomed a greater pain. Anything that could distract her from her thoughts.

"Gabrielle?"

Lifting her eyes, Gabrielle looked to the dark haired woman. She was surprised to see she had moved. Xena smiled over her shoulder from where she crouched on the floor, her body facing the wall. "What are you doing?"

Xena lifted her hands, joined together at the sides. It wasn't until she moved them into the light that Gabrielle saw she was cupping something. "Water!" Xena declared.

"You remember that word, huh?" Gabrielle couldn't help but feel her lips lift into a tiny smile at the memory of Xena trying to cool her down.

Shuffling carefully to the end of the rock she'd been previously sleeping on, Gabrielle dropped a small distance until her feet touched the floor. The world spun around her for a moment, and she had to lean against the wall for support. When it stopped, she opened her eyes, breathed out deeply, and nodded reassuringly at the woman to rid her face of its concerned expression.

She wanted to show Xena that she was fine, but the way her legs felt, she thought she might fall over at any moment. They felt like weak, as though her legs were twigs in danger of snapping at any moment. Still, she pushed on. Taking tiny steps and shuffling when she needed to, Gabrielle finally made it over to where Xena was crouching. She smiled as she lifted her hand to instinctively cover her shoulder.

"Is it clean water, Xena?"

Xena glanced up. She saw Gabrielle covering her shoulder and understood her feeling the need to protect it. With the restricted light in the tiny cave room, even Xena couldn't tell if there were rocks jutting out from above, hidden away in the blackness. She wouldn't want further injury to befall the poor woman.

She registered the words water and Xena, and smiled. She wondered if she was thirsty. After all, it had been almost three suns since the incident. Gabrielle had to be thirsty, she knew she was. It was evident in the way the human's eyes widened hopefully as she looked at the sparkling water as it pooled into the carved stone, or the way her dry tongue slid across her parched, cracked lips.

"Gabrielle," she nodded, pointing to the water encouragingly. "Water."

Smiling slightly, Gabrielle began to bend into a crouch. But as a sharp stab of pain shot through her body, heading straight for her shoulder, she gasped. "I can't…I can't, it hurts too much, Xena." She shook her head glumly, breathless from the effort to stand upright again. "Just forget it. I'll have some when it doesn't hurt so much to move."

Xena frowned at the state of the human. She needed water, but she was obviously in too much pain to move. She smiled suddenly when an idea came to her. Submerging her hands in the water, Xena rose to her feet with it. She was careful not to spill any as she moved to Gabrielle's side. After uttering her name to get her attention, Gabrielle turned. Her eyes widened with surprise. After a moment of hesitation, Gabrielle slowly took the hand offered to her and lowered her lips to it.

A strange heat rushed through Xena at the contact, but she decided to ignore it, concentrating instead on looking after the human. She watched as Gabrielle drank it all, tilting the hands to coax the clean water into her mouth. Gabrielle closed her eyes.

"More…" she whispered.

Xena repeated the action, lifting her cupped hands to Gabrielle's mouth. She continued until the human had her fill, waving off another offer from where she had her back leaned against the wall. She panted, fighting to catch her breath after all but throwing the water down her gullet like a thirsty man in a desert. She thought if funny how something as little as a few handfuls of water could make a difference. She was already starting to feel a little better, and the fact that the water had washed the taste of the raw meat from her mouth only gave her cause to be a little happy.

"Getting better?" Xena asked quietly.

Gabrielle rolled her head toward Xena and opened her tired eyes. She smiled at what she could have sworn was a hint of amusement in the woman's eyes, and nodded. "Yes, thank you, Xena."

She stared at the woman for a second, remembering the smile in response before she held her breath, counted to three mentally and with great effort, pushed herself away from the wall. She made sure to keep her hand outstretched just in case as she moved.

Gabrielle started to shuffle her way back to her makeshift bed. She was doing well until she felt the toe of her boot snag on an immovable rock and stumbled. Before she could fall and smash her head on the rock bed, Xena's hand shot out and caught her. When Xena lifted her back into a standing position, Gabrielle took the arm she offered for support and smiled appreciatively.

As she hobbled back, Gabrielle thanked her lucky stars that she had someone who seemed to care as she started again, helping her take these first few baby steps in this unfamiliar haven.

Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter :) Same disclaimers apply. If you have any thoughts/comments/reviews, please, if you have the time, tell me what you think :D If there are any issues regarding spelling, grammar, or possible con-crit, please send it in a PM, thank you :D Stay tuned!