Part Seven

The night was coming so Xena signaled for a stop. "I think this will be a good

place to rest for the night. We should be arriving at the Amazon village soon.

I'd say we'll get there by tomorrow afternoon the latest."

No one said a thing because they were all glad for the rest. Joxer smiled as he

helped Gabrielle get comfortable. "How you feeling, Gabrielle?"

"I'm fine Joxer, just a little tired."

"Oh okay. Well, I'm going to go find some wood for the fire."

"Okay, Joxer. I'm just going to sit here and rest."

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Okay. Well, I'll be back soon."

Xena looked over towards them. "Joxer, take Arose with you so you'll have some

help."

Joxer sighed. "Don't you mean take her with me just in case I run into trouble."

"No, just in case you need help with carrying the wood," replied Xena.

Joxer nodded then turned to his sister. "Come on, Rosey."

Arose's eyebrow rose. "Rosey?"

"Yeah! Rosey - my new nickname for you." Joxer's eyes began sparkling with

mischief.

"Well Joxer, I don't like it! My name is Arose."

"Anything you say... Rosey."

Arose playfully picked up a dirt clod and threw it at her brother. "Cut it out,

Joxer! My name's Arose!"

"Hey! Watch where you throw that... Rosey," Joxer giggled.

Arose ran after her brother as he took off into the woods, laughing. Gabrielle

and Xena both rolled their eyes. "Siblings," Xena said with a chuckle.

Gabrielle nodded and laughed a little in agreement, patting her stomach. "Hey...

Speaking of siblings, where's the other sibling?"

Xena looked over at Jace's wagon. "He said he had to get something from his

wagon."

"Oh."

As if he heard his name, Jace came from his wagon carrying something in his

arms. He walked over to the women. "Hey Xena."

"Hello Jace," Xena greeted the middle triplet with a smile.

"Uh, can I speak to Gabrielle alone?"

"Sure. I've got to find us something to eat anyway. Evie, you stay with Jace and

Gabrielle, okay?"

"'Kay Mommy!" Eve waved goodbye and began playing with a doll that Joxer had

given her as a Solstice present.

"Thanks," Jace said with a smile.

"No problem, Jace."

As Xena walked away, Gabrielle looked up at Jace. "Okay, what's on your mind?"

"Joxer."

"What about Joxer?"

Jace bit his bottom lip as he sat down next to Gabrielle, placing the item he

was carrying on his lap. "Gabrielle... How do I put this?"

Gabrielle sighed. "Jace, just say it."

"Okay... Well..." Jace paused for a moment. "This isn't easy."

Gabrielle was now becoming concerned and she placed her hand on Jace's shoulder.

"Jace, is there something wrong with Joxer?"

"No. Not in that way. I mean he's not sick or anything."

"That's a relief. Then what's wrong?"

Jace looked away and played with the rings on his fingers for some time before

he finally said, "He doesn't want the babies born in the Amazon village."

"Why? We talked about this!"

"He's not sure what becomes of a boy and what he's been told doesn't set him at

ease."

"Why didn't Joxer tell me this instead of having his older brother come to me?"

"First of all, Joxer knows nothing about this. This was my own idea and second,

he loves you too much. He knows how much this means to you."

"That's silly. Joxer and I should both agree on this. He shouldn't agree on it

just to please me! Jace, they're his kids too."

"I know and you need to talk to him. Maybe if you reassure him, things will be

better."

"Thanks, Jace." Gabrielle then noticed what Jace was carrying earlier. "What do

you have there?"

"Oh, this? It's a warm blanket. I thought it might help your back. Would you

like me to put it over you?"

Gabrielle smiled gratefully. "Oh yes, please do."

Jace returned the smile and carefully placed the warm and fluffy blanket on

Gabrielle's back.

"Oh, that feels so nice. Thank you, Jace."

"You're welcome, Gabrielle."

Ricky walked over to them, having given the horses fresh water and grain for the

evening. "Hey, has anyone seen Arose?"

Gabrielle chuckled. "Hi to you too, Ricky."

"Oh! Hi, Gabrielle. Jace. Have you seen Arose?"

Gabrielle nodded. "The last time I saw her, she was chasing Joxer into the woods

for calling her Rosey." She pointed in the direction the two had gone off in.

"And if you're lucky, you just might find them gathering wood for tonight's

supper."

"Oh, okay. I'll go find them. Thanks!"

"You're welcome."

Ricky left and started into the woods.

Ricky had only walked a short distance into the woods when he saw Joxer and

Arose both carrying an armful of wood apiece and heading back towards camp. "Hi

everyone," he greeted the two with a smile. "Let me take that for you," he said

to Arose, holding out his arms.

"Thanks Ricky," Arose replied as she returned the smile, carefully placing the

armful of wood into Ricky's arms.

"You're welcome... Rosey," Ricky replied, catching Joxer's eye with a sideward

glance.

Arose's mouth dropped open in shock as Joxer snorted with laughter. "Ricky, cut

that out!" She lightly hit Ricky's upper arm.

"Ouch!" Ricky chuckled. "Okay! Okay! I get the message," he said as they

continued walking towards the campsite.

Arose began to giggle. "That means you too, Joxie Woxie!" she exclaimed, turning

her head in her brother's direction. The giggling changed to full-throated

laughter when she saw the scowl on Joxer's face - a scowl that quickly

transformed into a sheepish grin.

Gabrielle looked up from where she was seated with a smile as Jace rose to his

feet and walked over to one of the saddlebags to get some of the dry provisions

that Cyrene gave them for their journey. "You're all in a good mood," she

greeted them.

"Joxer got a little taste of his own medicine," Ricky explained with a smile as

he put his armful of wood on the ground. Eve ran over to Arose with outstretched

arms, and Arose picked the toddler up and whirled her around to delighted

shrieks of laughter.

Gabrielle's eyes twinkled. "I see," she responded as Joxer made a face at Ricky

before he grinned goofily and dropped to his knees to start the fire. She

watched her husband carefully, stroking her swollen belly absently as he got the

fire going. She decided not to say anything to him at the moment but to wait

until they were able to talk privately.

A few minutes later, Xena came back with some fish that she had caught and

killed for that night's supper and saw that Joxer was already cutting up some

root vegetables for a stew and that a pot filled with water was sitting over the

fire getting ready to boil. She sat down and immediately began cleaning the

fish. After de-gutting the night's catch, she cut them up into chunks and

deposited the fish into the boiling pot. Shortly after, Joxer added in the

vegetables and some herbs. The savory scent of fish stew soon filled the camp,

making Gabrielle's stomach growl loudly to the amusement of everyone else and to

the embarrassment of the warrior bard.

The group sat down to eat once the stew finished cooking, talking and laughing

about the day's events until Jace and Xena rose to their feet to do the dishes

while Joxer and Arose put away the provisions not eaten, Ricky checked on the

horses and Gabrielle told a very sleepy Eve a bed-time story. "The end," she

murmured softly, her lips curling into a smile as she gazed upon the sleeping

child. She leaned over and gave Eve a gentle kiss on the forehead before turning

around to see Joxer quietly watching her with a smile dancing on his lips and

his dark eyes warm with love.

"Hey," Joxer said softly as he walked over to Gabrielle and held out his hand.

Gabrielle took it gratefully and Joxer helped her to her feet. She waited as

Joxer leaned down to kiss Eve goodnight and then straightened himself up to

gather her in his arms. "You're going to be such a great mom," he breathed in

Gabrielle's ear before brushing his lips over hers.

"Thanks," Gabrielle replied when the kiss broke, leaning her head against his

chest. "You'll be a great father too," she sighed. Joxer carefully hugged her

tighter in response and wove his fingers through her hair. She sighed again and

reached out for his free hand. "Joxer, can we take a walk? I'm a little stiff

from sitting down," she said.

"Sure Gabrielle," Joxer agreed. He turned to Arose and Ricky, who were sitting

down before the fire and talking quietly. "We'll be back in just a little bit."

"Okay," the two replied and re-started their conversation.

Joxer offered Gabrielle the crook of his arm and she took it. The couple slowly

walked from the campsite, following the trail for a while in silence. Joxer

glanced up at the stars and smiled a little. He turned to gaze at Gabrielle and

frowned when he saw the thoughtful expression on her face. "Gabrielle, is

something bothering you?" he asked.

Gabrielle nodded slowly, her face becoming more troubled as she halted in the

path, forcing Joxer to do so as well. "About last night..." she said finally

after a few moments of contemplation.

Joxer averted his eyes so that he was staring down at his boots. "It's nothing,

Gabrielle. It was just a silly nightmare," he said, trying to reassure her.

Gabrielle took his hands in hers. "Remember what we promised each other when we

got married, Joxer? That we'd never hide anything when something was bothering

us?" Joxer nodded, his eyes still cast on the ground. "I'm really worried about

what happened last night. You were so upset and I hate seeing you like that.

Please tell me." She reached up and caressed his cheek.

Joxer's eyes slowly rose to meet hers. "Okay," he said quietly, covering his

hand with hers. Slowly, he told her about the nightmare he had the previous

evening, not leaving out one single detail. Gabrielle listened in silence, her

eyes wide with concern. "I know that something like that would never happen,

Gabrielle... It's just that..." Joxer trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

Gabrielle was silent for a minute, taking in everything that Joxer had said. "I

know, Joxer and I can understand why you're worried. You've been pushed away so

many times in the past that I can see why you'd feel like that now. I just wish

that you had said something to me before we got this far."

Joxer hung his head. "I didn't want to disappoint you," he whispered. "You were

so happy with the idea of having the twins born in the village that I couldn't

say no to you."

Gabrielle's face softened. "Joxer, you could never disappoint me! I love you too

much for that." She reached out and lifted his chin so she could stare into his

eyes. "We're going to get through this together, no matter what the Amazons

might try to do," she told him. "I won't let them."

"I guess," Joxer said reluctantly.

Gabrielle frowned. "Joxer, is there something else that you're not telling me?"

She paused. "Jace..."

Joxer's head shot up in surprise. "Jace? What does he have to do with this?" he

asked sharply.

Gabrielle looked taken aback for a second, but then plunged ahead. "Well, Jace

said that you were told something about what the Amazons did regarding male

babies that upset you..." she began to explain.

Joxer frowned. "He had no right to say anything about that to you!" he exclaimed

angrily.

"Joxer, don't get so upset! He's worried about you, just like I am. He didn't

tell me what was said to you, just that it was something that I needed to talk

to you about," Gabrielle replied.

"That's not the point, Gabrielle! I trusted him not to say anything so that you

wouldn't get worried in the first place!" Joxer shouted. He turned around to

stalk back to the camp and confront his brother but Gabrielle reached out and

grabbed his arm, whirling him around to face her.

"Joxer, calm down! He wouldn't have said anything at all if he didn't care!"

Gabrielle exclaimed. "Please, Joxer. He wasn't trying to betray your confidence.

He was just trying to help!" She paused before she whispered, "You two have come

so far since Melodia. I don't want to see what you and Jace have rebuilt torn

apart over something like this." Her eyes suddenly filled with tears that she

fiercely blinked away.

Joxer felt his anger slowly fade away when he saw the look on Gabrielle's face.

He reached out hesitantly and gently traced the outline of her chin with his

finger. Eventually, he nodded, gazing intently into her eyes. "You're right," he

said finally in a husky voice. He sighed and lowered his head. "I'm sorry,

Gabrielle. I was trying to protect you from finding out about this. I didn't

want you to worry..."

"I know, Joxer. I know you were and I love you for it," Gabrielle replied,

moving close to him and putting her arms around his waist. She leaned her head

against his chest and listened to his heart pounding loudly - quickly at first,

but then it slowed down to a normal rhythm as he put his arms around her and

relaxed. "Will you tell me what the Amazons do when children are born into the

Amazon Nation?"

Joxer sighed and told her what Gaia said, pausing several times as his emotions

got the best of him and he had to stop. It took him some time, but eventually,

he was able to finish telling her everything he knew. Gabrielle didn't speak for

a long time after and this scared him. "Gabrielle? Are you all right?"

Gabrielle stirred from her silent reverie. "Yeah, Joxer. I'm okay. That was just

quite a bit to take in," she admitted. "I'm glad that you told me, though. I

know it was hard for you to do. I really had no clue at all about how babies

were treated..."

Joxer nodded.

Gabrielle paused for a moment before she spoke again. "I'd still like to have

the twins born in the village since it is their right, but I won't force you to

do something that you don't want. I don't want you to do this just to please me

either. It's not fair to you." She reached up and caressed Joxer's cheek,

staring up into his dark eyes. "If this is going to happen or not, we make the

decision together."

Joxer nodded again, gazing down into Gabrielle's face intently. She watched as a

myriad of emotions passed over his face before it finally settled into a

determined expression. "Let's continue going to the village," he said.

Gabrielle's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Are you sure about this, Joxer? We can

turn around right now and nobody would say anything about it."

"Yes I am, Gabrielle." Joxer's lips curled up in the slightest of smiles. "I

forgot something very important..."

"What's that?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

"That together, we can overcome anything, no matter what obstacles get thrown in

our path," Joxer replied, pulling her close to him and kissing her.

Gabrielle smiled when the kiss broke and sighed as she leaned her head against

his chest then jumped a little when she felt a sharp kick inside her stomach.

Joxer, who had placed his hand over Gabrielle's stomach, felt it too and laughed

when he felt a second kick under her belly. "I think we have a unanimous vote

then," she giggled. "We better get back though before somebody thinks we got

lost and comes looking for us."

"Uh huh," Joxer agreed, still smiling. Together, they turned around and began

walking back towards the campsite, talking quietly.

Unseen by the couple, pink and gold sparkles appeared behind them and the

shapely form of the Goddess of Love emerged from the middle of the sparkles.

With a throaty giggle, Aphrodite exclaimed, "Whoo hoo! All right, Studmuffin!

Good for you! You show those wicked grody Amazon chicks that they're like

messing around with the wrong bunch of peeps!" She gave the thumbs-up signal,

did a little victory dance, then snapped her fingers and disappeared into the

night without a trace.

Xena looked up from sharpening her chakram with a frown, her body stiffening as

she dropped the stone. Arose noticed it and asked, "Xena, is something the

matter?"

Xena held up a finger, signaling silence. The rest of the group immediately

stopped talking and watched her carefully. Xena turned her head slightly,

listening intently. Her ice-blue eyes sparkled as she searched into the night.

She shook her head finally, her body slowly relaxing. "It's nothing, I guess,

but I could've sworn I sensed someone or something around here."

"Maybe you can hear Joxer and Gabrielle coming," Ricky said softly.

Xena nodded slowly. "Maybe. They've been gone for a long time," she observed,

picking up her sharpening stone again.

Jace sighed at that and began playing with a twig, poking an end into the ground

and making patterns into the sand. Arose watched him with a worried look on her

face. She leaned against Ricky's shoulder and took his hand in hers. Ricky

squeezed her hand in reassurance and she smiled up at him.

A little while later, the group could hear Gabrielle and Joxer's voices drifting

back to them, followed by footsteps. Jace looked up as their voices grew closer

and gripped the twig he had been playing with in both hands. Arose could see his

knuckles turn white because he was gripping it so tightly. Slowly, the couple

walked into the campsite, holding hands. Ricky and Arose silently moved over so

that they could sit around the fire.

Gabrielle and Joxer came to a halt, gazing at everyone calmly. Jace lowered his

head and again began playing with the twig nervously. Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer

exchanged glances before Joxer carefully cleared his throat. "Jace?"

"Yeah?" Jace didn't look up.

"Thanks."

That made Jace look up in astonishment. He snapped the twig in half between his

fingers and he felt his mouth open and close several times before he was able to

utter a shocked, "Huh?"

Joxer gave Jace a goofy grin. "Thanks for butting in." He turned to Gabrielle,

who smiled at him before he turned back to Jace, who was staring up at him with

wide eyes.

"You... You're not mad at me?" Jace asked, slowly rising to his feet.

Xena, Arose and Ricky exchanged glances, Arose nodding as she crossed her arms

over her chest and watched her brothers. Ricky put his hand on Arose's shoulder

in support and Xena watched the exchange with a little smile on her face.

"I was really angry with you at first," Joxer admitted softly, biting his bottom

lip in embarrassment. "Gabrielle reminded me that sometimes when people -

especially family - butt in, it isn't because they're trying to bully just to

get their own way, it's because they care about somebody really getting hurt. I

kinda forgot about that," he murmured sheepishly, running his hand through his

hair and making it stand up in spikes.

Jace's eyes filled with tears at Joxer's words. "Thanks," he whispered. He

lowered his head for a moment to blink the tears away before he suddenly reached

out and gently pinched Joxer's cheeks, making Joxer squawk in protest before he

began laughing along with everyone else.

"So, what's the plan then? Are we still going to the village?" Arose asked

curiously as she rose to her feet and stretched.

Joxer and Gabrielle nodded. "Yes. We talked for a long time about it and we've

decided that we're still going to go there," Gabrielle said.

"And before anybody asks, I'm not doing this to please Gabrielle, but I'm doing

this because it's the right thing for all of us," Joxer broke in before Jace

could interrupt. "The twins deserve the right to be recognized as members of

Amazon society whether they're girls or boys."

Jace reached out and clasped Joxer's shoulder with a huge smile. "Besides, with

all of us here to help out, we'll make sure that nobody gets left out of

anything!" He turned to Gabrielle, who had a questioning look on her face.

"Gabrielle, I'm not saying that we won't abide by the rules of the tribe while

we're in the village, but there's nothing wrong with bending them a little bit -

and who knows? We may be able to start up a few new traditions," he added in

with a twinkle in his eyes.

Gabrielle nodded then held her hand up to her mouth to hide a yawn. "Okay. Maybe

you're right, but right now I'm exhausted!"

Xena looked up at the position of the moon. "You're right, Gabrielle. It's

getting late, and if we want to get an early start, I suggest we go to bed," she

said to the group.

Everybody murmured in agreement and set out their bedrolls for the night while

Jace went into his wagon. Joxer helped Gabrielle settle into their pelts before

he lay down next to her and put his arms around her. "Joxer?" Gabrielle asked in

a tiny, sleepy voice.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really proud of what you did tonight. That took a lot of courage to admit

how you were feeling inside." Gabrielle turned around to face her husband,

lifting herself up slightly so that she could put her head on his chest. "I love

you so much."

"I love you too, Gabrielle," Joxer breathed, kissing the top of her head.

"Night."

"Night." Shortly after, Gabrielle fell asleep from the combined warmth of their

bodies. Joxer smiled down at her before he too fell asleep.

This time, Joxer did not have any nightmares. In fact, when he woke up at

sunrise the next morning, he felt better than he had in days.