Part 3:

Joxer sighed loudly as he trudged home, not even realizing that some of his neighbors greeted him cheerfully as he walked past their homes. Instead, he continued to walk onwards with a troubled expression on his face. His flabbergasted neighbors watched him pass by and shook their heads.

Joxer's head lifted when he heard the sound of childish laughter up ahead and he smiled slightly as he watched Andy chasing after Eve in a game of tag. Obviously, his little nephew was 'it' and he was trying to tag the much taller and older girl.

Andy happened to notice Joxer approaching and he stopped in the middle of his playing. "Uncle Joxer!" he shouted happily and ran over to his uncle's outstretched arms, giggling merrily as Joxer picked him up, whirled him around once, and kissed him on the forehead before setting him back down onto the ground.

"Hi Andy," Joxer greeted his nephew with a smile, affectionately ruffling the boy's blond hair. He looked up as Eve walked over to the two with a smile on her face. "Hi Evie," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Uncle Joxer," Eve replied, returning the affectionate gesture. She sighed as she watched the merry expression fade away from Joxer's dark eyes and change over to worry. "Dorie's over at Jace and Pierre's place."

Joxer nodded. "Thanks, Evie." A smile that didn't reach his eyes appeared on his face. "Have fun with Andy but come inside when it gets dark, huh?" He gazed down at the little boy. "And aren't you still 'it'?" he reminded the five-year old.

"YEAH!" Andy shouted. He suddenly reached out and tagged Eve. "Now Evie is!" he giggled and raced down the street.

"Hey! I'll get you for that!" Eve laughed, shaking her fist in the air as she went after her charge.

Joxer chuckled as he watched Eve run after Andy and then he turned around and walked up the two stairs that led to the main sitting area of the house he and Gabrielle had bought. "Gabrielle," he said huskily as he walked inside.

Gabrielle smiled as she rose to her feet after carefully putting her quill aside. "Hi Joxer," she greeted her husband. She embraced him warmly, following it up with a deep kiss that he eagerly returned. She slowly withdrew from the kiss and gazed into Joxer's dark eyes and sighed at the worry she saw echoing in them. "Do you want something to eat?" she asked, gently caressing his cheek. "I haven't had anything yet, but Dorie ate before she went over to the studio."

Joxer nodded and together they walked out into the kitchen to have a light supper. Gabrielle silently watched as Joxer listlessly picked at his meal and finally had enough when he picked up an olive and stared at it with his right hand while he drummed the fingers of his left hand on the table. She reached out and put her hand over his. Joxer stopped drumming his fingers and his eyes slowly focused on Gabrielle. He sighed heavily and slowly put the olive back down on the plate.

"I guess things didn't go too well in class today, huh?" Gabrielle asked softly.

Joxer chuckled ruefully. "That's an understatement, Gabrielle." He took a drink of cool water from his mug and plunked it back on the table, some of the liquid sloshing over the side. He leaned back in his seat and shook his head.

"This is the third time this week Dorie's gotten detention, Gabrielle. Today, it was for passing notes to Ioannes. The other day, it was for putting glue on someone's seat... And then there was that business with the stink bomb in Jace's studio!" Joxer sighed again as he put his elbows on the table and cupped his face with his hands, his lips jutting out in an unhappy pout. "I just don't understand it, Gabrielle. Up until a few months ago, she was such a happy, go-lucky kid and now it's like we're dealing with a complete stranger! If you ask her to do something, she loses her temper. Now she's started playing tricks at school and she's gone absolutely boy-crazy..."

"Honey, Dorie was always boy-crazy," Gabrielle pointed out.

Joxer's lips curled up into a tiny smile. "That's true," he admitted. "But now..."

Gabrielle moved her chair so that she was sitting right next to Joxer. "It's teenage rebellion, Pookie. It's completely normal for someone her age to act out when she's frustrated. Both Lila and I pushed my parents at that age for a little while. Heck, Xena just went through the same thing with Eve a couple of years ago, remember? Didn't you feel like that when you were her age?"

Joxer's eyebrow rose. "I felt that way, but I sure didn't act on it. Not if I wanted to keep breathing," he said quietly.

Gabrielle nodded, knowing how he and his brothers grew up. "I know. Honestly, Joxer. It's just a phase she's going through," she said, trying to reassure him.

"I guess so," Joxer replied doubtfully.

Gabrielle searched Joxer's face carefully. "It's more than Dorie acting up that's bothering you," she said. Her eyes widened in alarm as she thought of something else. "You haven't seen her...?" she waved her arm vaguely.

"No, I haven't seen anything suddenly appear from thin air, Gabrielle," Joxer quickly reassured his wife. "It's just that..." he broke off, turning away from her gaze. "Never mind," he muttered.

"Never mind what, Joxer?" Gabrielle's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Joxer didn't say anything for a long time, and when he did, his voice was very soft, almost a whisper. "I've messed up with so many things in the past, Gabrielle. What if I've..." He couldn't finish the rest of his thoughts, but passed his hand over his eyes.

Gabrielle suddenly reached out and grabbed both of his hands in hers, gripping them so tightly that it made him wince. Her green eyes flashed angrily as she stared into his eyes. "Joxer, I haven't heard you talk like this in a long time, and I'm not going to listen to you put yourself down now! You are not a failure as a parent!" she exclaimed sharply.

Joxer didn't say anything, but he didn't look convinced by Gabrielle's words either.

Gabrielle sighed and loosened her grip on Joxer's hands, but she didn't let them go. "Joxer, I'm serious. You're a good dad. You listen to Dorie when she wants to talk to you. You rarely raise your voice to her, and when you do have to punish her for something she's done, it's a fair punishment. You're not perfect, but who is?"

Joxer thought for a few moments, taking in everything that Gabrielle said. "You really think so?" he asked, gazing into her eyes intently.

Gabrielle smiled. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, mussing it up even more than it already was.

Joxer laughed as he suddenly reached out and pulled Gabrielle from her chair and onto his lap, making her squeal in surprise. As she put her arms around his neck he said, "You're a good mom too, y'know." He kissed her gently.

"Thanks," Gabrielle replied, leaning her cheek against his. "Don't worry so much, Joxer, okay? It's just going to take some time," she murmured. The two were silent for a while before Gabrielle spoke up again. "I got a scroll from Xena today."

"You did?"

"Uh huh. She's on her way home. Her friend is feeling much better," Gabrielle told Joxer. "I've missed her a lot."

Joxer nodded. "I've missed her too. You really should've gone with her, Gabrielle."

"I know, but I think she wanted a little bit of time to herself," Gabrielle replied. Her eyes began twinkling with mischief. "It really will be good to have her back home, though. I can only have so many conversations about the latest fashions from Athens with Jace!" she giggled.

Joxer began laughing and hugged Gabrielle to him tightly as Eve and Andy entered the kitchen, both of them looking for something to eat.

"I hope you don't plan to kiss in front of you-know-who," Eve said teasingly to the couple as she took a plate for herself and placed some bread, ham, and cheese on it. She then took another plate and put some food on it for Andy, who sat down.

Andy rolled his eyes as Eve set the plate down in front of him. "Evie, I've seen kissing before! Daddy and Mommy do it all the time!" He watched as Joxer leaned over and kissed Gabrielle. "See?" he said as he pointed at the adults before starting his own meal.

Gabrielle returned the kiss, laughed, and got off Joxer's lap. "Hi, Eve. I've got some good news for you that I didn't get to tell you before you took Andy outside to play. Your mom's on her way home," she said as she got a drink of water for herself.

Eve's blue eyes lit up with happiness. "That's great, Aunt Gabrielle! I've missed Mom so much while she's been away. I wish I could've gone with her," she said wistfully. She hungrily bit into a piece of bread, following it up with a drink of water.

Andy rose to his feet and began jumping up and down, his meal temporarily forgotten. "Oh boy! Aunt Zena's coming back!" he exclaimed.

Eve shook her head and sighed. "Andy, my mom's name is Xena."

Andy sat back down and ate a piece of cheese. "That's what I said. Zena."

Eve giggled, reached out and affectionately mussed the boy's hair. "When is she coming home?"

"She said that she'll be here in a few days, but you can read it for yourself. The scroll's in the other room," Gabrielle told the teen.

"Thanks, Aunt Gabrielle." Eve put her plate aside, her meal finished. She looked over at Andy and saw that he had also finished his supper. "Okay. Well, I've got to get Andy ready for a nap. Aunt Melody was rather insistent about him having one when I saw her earlier."

The adults nodded as Eve took Andy's hand and left the room. The little boy looked up at her and made a face. "Aw Evie, do I have to take a nap?"

"Sorry kiddo, but your mom said you have to. Now come on and afterwards I'll treat you to some honey cake," Eve told the boy.

Andy let out a whoop and gave Eve a hug. Once she had him in the bed and tucked in, he smiled up at her.

"What is it, Andy?" Eve asked as she sat down next to the bed.

"Will you sing to me, Evie?"

"Sure. I'll sing you the song Mom always sung to me when I was little." Andy's dark eyes sparkled as Eve softly sang to him. She had just finished the last line when she saw that he had fallen asleep. She leaned down and kissed him gently on the nose, being careful not to wake him up. "You know kiddo, you've sure got your mom's looks and your dad's eyes... Wonder what else you got from your dad," she mused to herself as she rose to her feet and left the room to allow Andy to peacefully sleep.