A graphical version of the story is available at http://xena.trideja.com/fanfic/bravest

Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer walked along the path, talking amongst themselves of the interesting sites they had seen in the last town they'd passed through.

"That's one of the things I love most about our life together, Xena", said Gabrielle. "We see so much of what's around us."

Xena nodded and smiled to herself, silently wishing that she'd take a bit more time to stop and smell the roses every once and a while. But she'd never admit it. Gabrielle seemed to appreciate the simple things more than Xena did, and sometimes Xena wished for them to matter more to her.

Joxer tagged behind, kicking at the pebbles on the road absently, and trying to stay out of Argo's way. He loved Xena and Gabrielle, especially Gabby, but he always felt that they were miles ahead of him. Despite his boasts, he felt so? unimportant compared to the warrior and the bard.

And Gabrielle, could she even be called a bard anymore? Joxer hadn't seen her crack open her scrolls to write in ages. He loved her desperately, but he had definitely noted a change in her, and one he didn't much care for. It didn't matter much to him though, because he loved her, and that would never change. The hair cut and the new outfit he got used to. In fact, the outfit he more than got used to. But why she decided to use the deadly sais he'd never understand. She had never before had to make the conscious choice whether or not to take a life. Now she made it every time she was in a physical conflict.

To Joxer, Gabrielle was like a delicate flower.

Though it hurt him, he didn't let her shortness stop him from loving her. Lately, he had noticed that she had been treating him somewhat like a dog on a leash. It bothered him. Yet, at the same time, it made a tiny part of him feel good, like she at least wanted him around. Which was more than could be said for how he felt a lot of the time. Like the time he breathed air into her lungs, after she fell off the dock, saving her life. She had kissed him, and for one moment, the world stopped, and all he could feel was her sweet lips on his. He couldn't believe it. She loved him!

Ten seconds later he was clutching his nose in some cloth. And he felt bad, as if he'd violated her in some way.

He convinced himself that this was just a phase. Though he knew she'd never love him (and yet he hoped with all his heart that she would), he waited patiently for the day that she would return to the way she had been a few years before.

He watched her walk and converse with Xena, and he followed in their footsteps. He ran his hand along Argo's back and sighed.

Gabrielle looked over her shoulder at him and half-smiled at him.

"Joxer, keep up. We'd like to be in Thessaly by Solstice, if you don't mind," said Gabrielle.

Gabrielle turned her head back towards the road and Xena. I wonder why he just follows and doesn't walk beside us, she thought, Oh well, Xena and I have plenty to talk about.

"So, this idol we're returning? it's pretty cheesy looking," said Gabrielle. "Do you remember how to get to the temple?"

Xena nodded. The Warrior Princess wasn't much in the mood for talking.

"Maybe this time you'll accept a reward for it? We're running low on the basics, and I need new boots," said Gabrielle, as she stopped momentarily to check the progress of a small tear in the heel of her boot.

"I know," replied Xena. "I gave Joxer the last of the olive bread. His stomach would not shut up."

"Thank the gods you did Xena, I'd have fed him his own feet before long if I'd heard much more of his stomach."

Xena chuckled. The rain had stopped an hour or so earlier, and her mood was beginning to lift.

"Smell that fresh air, Xena. Don't you just love how clean everything feels after a rain storm?" Gabrielle closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Gabrielle, maybe you should open your eyes before you-"

-SPLOOSH!-

"-step in that puddle," Xena said, wincing.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Great, just great. Not only are my feet aching, but they're wet," she said.

Joxer was feeling a bit better too, after eating most of the olive bread that Xena had given him. He saved a little for Gabrielle because he knew she hadn't eaten in the last village.

As he rummaged around in Argo's saddlebags to find something to wrap the last of it in, he found Gabrielle's scrollbag. He didn't think she'd mind if he read her scrolls while he walked, after all, she and Xena weren't paying any attention to him. He was bored. He pulled one out and began to unroll it as noiselessly as possible. "The Way," he read silently to himself. Oh this one, he thought, as he wrapped it back up and put it in the saddlebag. He'd read that one before. That was when Gabrielle started to change. No THANK you, he thought, as he pulled another from the saddlebag.

Keeping his eye on the road he unwrapped the second scroll. "One Against an Army," he began. Though he'd read this scroll a million times, he felt he could read it a million more.

He became so engrossed in the scroll that he lagged even further behind the warrior and the bard.

Joxer had just gotten to the bit where Xena examines the deserter's wound when his boot caught on a rock that was jutting out into the uneven road. "whuh-whooaahh, oof!", yelped Joxer, as he stumbled and landed face-first in a large muddy puddle. His helmet shot off his head at the impact, and clattered several feet ahead of him.

Xena and Gabrielle spun around at Joxer's cry, their weapons wielded.

Gabrielle jogged back towards him. "Joxer, are you ok?" she asked, as he lifted his mud soaked face out of the puddle and clutched his nose.

"Uhm, yeah.. I think so, Gabby," he said, as she gingerly wiped some of the dirt off his cheek. Despite the fact that his hands and face stung with scrapes he was beaming. He reached for his helmet, brushed it off and set it back on his head. He stood up. He was soaked from the chest up.

Gabrielle knelt down on the damp ground and was about to wash the mud off her hands in the puddle when she noticed something floating just below the murky surface.

She fished it out of the water and looked closely. She squinted to read it the contents of the scroll. "One Against an Army?" she said, and began to redden.

"JOXER!"

*

The goofy grin disappeared from his face as he realised that her scroll had been ruined. He fumbled around for an apology.

"Gabby, I?"

"You ruined my scroll!" she said angrily. Her eyes narrowed.

"Gab, I'm-" His eyes pleaded with hers. He felt rotten.

"Just don't talk to me. Don't even look at me!" She was fuming. He hadn't seen her this angry, ever. It looked like smoke was going to come out her ears.

Gabrielle placed her sais in their sheathes and strode briskly back to where Xena was holding Argo.

He hated it when he made her angry. But that was all he'd seemed to manage in the last few years. In fact, he couldn't even seem to remember very many times when he'd actually helped them, without him causing the problem in the first place.

What am I doing here? He thought to himself. All I am is a wannabe. I cause more problems than I solve. What was I thinking?

"Guys? I'm uh?" he said, looking over at where Xena and Gabrielle were already walking ahead to Thessaly. "Gonna go," he said softly, and sighed. He turned around and began to head in the opposite direction.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on him? It was just an accident," said Xena.

"He ruined my scroll! I worked on this scroll. This is my only copy!" she said, holding up the saturated mess, catching it quickly as it began to tear.

"If we set it out in the sun to dry, it may still be legible," offered Xena. "It's worth a shot."

Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah, worth a shot." She sighed, and looked over her shoulder. She frowned. Joxer had turned around and was walking in the opposite direction. She felt a pang of guilt over her harsh words. After all, it was only an accident. But it was her only copy of one of her best scrolls. She was allowed to be angry. She sighed again and rolled it up. She placed it back in the saddlebag, they'd soon be in Thessaly where she could dry it out. She hoped it would be ok in there until they got there.

Xena froze. She put her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. "Ambush. Three of them. One up in that tree, two lurking in the bushes," she said in a barely audible whisper.

With that, one bandit with grizzled olive skin jumped down from the branches, wielding a crude wooden spear. A filthy, black haired man shot out from the foliage.

Gabrielle grabbed her sais from their sheathes, while Xena pulled her sword from its scabbard.

"It would seem that you have the golden idol from Apollo's temple in Thessaly," stated the grizzled man.

"You want it?" asked Xena coyly.

"This may be easier than expected," he said with a complacent smirk.

"Come and get it," she said, and the grizzled man charged her.

Gabrielle raised her sais defensively against the filthy man.

The sound of metal against metal caught Joxer's ear. He spun around. While he knew that Gabby was probably better able to defend herself than he was able to protect her, his overwhelming need to jump in and save her from any harm sent him charging towards them without a moment's hesitation.

Joxer grabbed at his sword, desperately looking for a way to help his friends.

He stumbled to a halt as he entered the fray. Gab and Xena were battling it out with a couple of rogues, one armed with a sword the other with a spear. It didn't look like they needed his help at all.

He first turned his attention to Gabrielle on his left, who was taking on a swordsman that looked like he needed a bath. The man lashed out with his sword, which Gabrielle easily parried.

Xena's battle cry snapped his head to the right, where she was fighting a spearman. The man snarled and lowered his spear as he charged towards her. Xena deftly turned the spear to her side with the flat end of her sword and spun around her attacker, kicking him solidly in the back as he ran past.

He turned his attention back to Gabrielle. He stopped as something in the brush behind her caught his attention. His voice caught in his throat. An archer was training his bow on Gabrielle. Fear and panic washed over him. With a silent shout he rushed to Gabrielle's side. Twenty feet from her he could see the archer pulling back on his bowstring. He gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move faster. His eyes widened as he saw the archer release the arrow.

The filthy man roared as he swung his sword over his head in a glittering arc. Gabrielle raised her sais up and caught the sword between the prongs and bent at the knees to absorb the force of the blow. She then threw her weight up and kicked the man squarely in the groin. As he doubled over in pain, Gabrielle swung the haft of her sai into the back of his neck.

As she paused to catch a breath, her heart skipped a beat as she heard the all too familiar sound of an arrow approaching. She was shoved roughly from behind, and fell face first to the ground, scraping her knees and elbows. Wincing, she rolled over and began to stand up.

Shock spread over her features as she found herself staring at Joxer. His face was twisted in agony.

"Gabrielle, I?I'm sorry about your?" Joxer struggled to get the words out. His knees buckled and he collapsed onto the ground, showing clearly the arrow protruding from just below his left shoulder blade.

Gabrielle couldn't believe it. "Joxer? JOXER!" she cried out, shaking him. She checked for a pulse, a breath of air, anything that would tell her he was alive. She heard some branches snapping and whipped her head towards the sound. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a toothless man peering through the leaves, a bow clutched in his left hand. In a wordless cry of rage, she ran straight for the archer and dove headfirst into the bushes.

Xena looked bemusedly at the crude wooden spear in her hands before tossing it aside. It was then that she noticed, apart from the two unconscious bandits, the crumpled body on the road, and the pointy hat lying a few feet away from it.

"I'm gonna kill you!", she heard Gabrielle scream.

Xena turned around to see Gabrielle charging a toothless archer in the bushes. Gabrielle soon disappeared into the foliage. Cries of pain could be heard, and soon enough, the archer was flung from the bushes, and landed squarely in the middle of the path. Gabrielle appeared again and approached the archer, long since disarmed.

He looked up at Xena pleadingly. He was absolutely terrified. Gabrielle straddled his stomach and smacked him across the face twice. She then raised her sai, in preparation to strike the archer.

Xena rushed behind Gabrielle and caught her arm. "Don't do it."

Gabrielle shot Xena a look. She yanked her arm from Xena's grasp, and quickly moved the point of her sai to the archer's neck. "Please get the rope out of the saddlebag," she said coldly.

Xena rummaged around in the saddlebag, found the rope, and quickly, roughly, tied up Joxer's killer. She yanked extra hard on the ropes, tight enough to cut in if the captive moved more than an inch. She repeated the process on his ankles.

Gabrielle sheathed her sais. She spat in the face of the archer, stood up, and kicked him in the side.

"We don't have room on Argo for more than the archer and Joxer's body," said Xena. "These other two are going to have to stay here."

Gabrielle nodded. She didn't care as long as Joxer's killer was brought to justice.

Xena sheathed her sword and grabbed the archer under his arms, while Gabrielle lifted his legs. They hoisted him onto Argo's back, not without a lot of cursing from their captive.

"You shut up," said Gabrielle calmly. She grabbed a sai from the sheath in her boot and knocked him out with the haft.

She again freed her hands and rubbed them against her hips. She knelt beside Joxer's lifeless body, disregarding the stinging of her raw knees in the pebbly dirt.

She cradled Joxer's body in her arms. She thought back to all the times she treated him badly and guilt and an overwhelming sadness filled her. Even just before they were ambushed she had yelled at him.

He had constantly tried to impress her, or do things for her. He had loved her. She had taken advantage of that. She had assumed that he would always be around her, that he would always love her, even though she returned his kindness and generosity often with prickles and barbs.

She thought back to the time that Aphrodite had enchanted her scroll, and she had hidden it in Joxer's scabbard. The scabbard his father had given him, that he said he'd never part with. He had sold it to buy her a necklace. He had no way of knowing she'd hidden the scroll in there, and she had still twisted his nose and yelled at him. After he'd bought her an expensive present.

She stroked his hair one last time before standing up and brushing off. She wiped her eyes off, and said, "Xena, we'd better get him on the horse and take him to Athens."

"We're nearly to Thessaly. I want to drop that idol at the temple before anything, as long as we have it, we're targets," replied Xena.

Gabrielle nodded, and gently lifted under his arms while Xena took his legs. They rested Joxer's body on Argo, next to the unconscious bowman.

Gabrielle picked up his hat and carefully put it in the saddlebag. She would bury him with it.

They walked in silence to Thessaly.

They proceeded as quickly as possible to the temple, where they returned the idol and accepted the reward. But despite not having eaten for several hours, neither of them were hungry. Gabrielle wasn't thinking about her boots anymore, either.

They left Thessaly quickly and started towards Athens, where Joxer was raised.

It was already dusk, night would be falling soon. They set up camp in a clearing not far off the path. Xena built the fire as Gabrielle tended her scrapes. She was lucky they hadn't gotten infected.

She winced as she patted the antiseptic onto her wounds. He had saved her life. This wasn't the first time either. Too bad he had to die for me to notice, she thought remorsefully, recalling the time he'd resuscitated her after falling off the dock. She'd had such an odd dream, but she'd kissed him when she woke up. She didn't even know why she'd done it. Overwhelmed by the moment she supposed. But she kissed him. And then she punched him out when he kissed her back. She felt like such a jerk.

You can't toy with someone's heart, she thought to herself. But I did.

The bowman had long since learned that making noise generally rendered him unconscious by Gabrielle's hand, so he sat, leaning against a tree, bound up and sulking.

Gabrielle curled up next to Xena and wrapped her arms around her, and they cried themselves to a restless sleep.

Gabrielle woke up before either of them. She stood up and rolled her furs. Looking over at Joxer, for a moment she expected him to wake up any minute and ask for goose eggs for breakfast, and then his cold, pale skin jogged her memory.

They were soon again on the road to Athens. They spoke very little, except about details regarding Joxer's family and burial.

They shortly arrived in Athens and turned in the archer into the local magistrate. Justice would be served, but the damage had already been done.

Later that day they found the empty lot that used to be Joxer's home growing up. The house had been razed, but the two tombstones were still in the back yard.

The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon building a pyre. They were silent as they labored, not wanting to speak about what was yet to come.

As the sun set and the stars in the night sky brightened, they gently placed Joxer's body on the pyre. Xena carefully placed his helmet on his chest and softly touched his face.

"Goodbye Joxer," she whispered before she turned away.

Gabrielle stepped forward, a damp scroll in her hands. She gently tucked the parchment in his arm.

"Something to read on the way to the Elysian fields," she said, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

They both retrieved a torch from Argo's saddlebag and lit them. With one last look, they each touched their torch to the funeral pyre.

As the flames spread around Joxer's body, the two companions stared mournfully side by side. Xena parted her lips and from them came the funeral song both of them heard too many times in their lives. Gabrielle closed her eyes slowly, trying to hold back the tears. Xena's voice suddenly stopped. Gabrielle turned her head to Xena's tear-streaked face. No words were spoken; they weren't needed.

They rolled out their furs in silence several feet from the burning pyre. Xena and Gabrielle slipped under their covers and stared at the flames that consumed the body of their friend. Gabrielle rested her head on Xena's shoulder. Xena slept soon enough, but Gabrielle was still troubled with her guilt. She stood up, careful so as not to wake her sleeping companion, and padded noiselessly over to Argo's saddlebags. She retrieved her scrollbag.

It's in here somewhere, I know it is, she thought to herself. She brightened as she felt the beads down in the corner of the pouch. She lifted them carefully out of the pouch and fastened the clasp around her neck. It didn't really go with what else she was wearing, but she didn't much care.

She took a fresh scroll out of the bag, and her quill. She sat down, wrapped her furs around her and unrolled the fresh scroll.

I'm sorry, Joxer, for everything, she thought. Hopefully I can make it up to you.

"I write of Joxer the Mighty," she began. "The bravest of heroes and one of my closest friends."