Disclaimers:

Xena, Gabrielle and Argo belong to MCA/Universal Televison and Renaissance Pictures.

The song, You Two, belongs to MGM Studios. All other characters are mine. No copyright infringement was intended.

Note: I want to thank again TPTB for giving us Xena and Gabrielle, and to Lucy and Renee for bringing them to life, no one else could have. I also want to thank my online friends for incouraging me. And finally to all the other Fanfiction writers out there, if it hadn’t been for reading their works, I would never had been inspired to write mine.

Scene: A small town; our hero’s and Argo are just leaving but before they get far, Gabrielle spots a roadside vendor.

"Oh, Xena! Look." exclaims the little blond bard, her green eyes lighting up.

Xena stops briefly, "Yea, well I am going on ahead, just don’t be too long," Xena grumbles, but with a slight smile. She knows how much Gabrielle loves to get treats for the road, and frankly Xena liked it too.

"Ok." says Gabrielle, as she looks over the assortment.

Xena, leading Argo, continues on a short way then stops and waits.

The bard picks out several items; small sweet cakes, some cookie type pasterys, and some hard molasses candy. She pays the vendor and hurrially catches up with her friend.

The Vendor gives a slight smile as the two start off down the road, then in a flash of light he and the cart disappears.

Later that evening, as Xena and Gabrielle sit around the campfire, finishing off the rabbit stew, the bard gets up and goes and retrieves the sack with the sweet treats in it. She hands Xena one of the sweet cakes, while she takes one of the cookies.

"Umm...these are delicious!" exclaims Gabrielle, her mouth full of the cookie.

Xena, licking her sticky fingers, agrees "These cakes definitly are the best I have ever had." She grabs another cake, which quickly follows the first one. The Warrior sits back, closes her eyes and just savors the sweet taste.

The Bard rumages throught the sack, and finding a couple of the molasses candies, gets up and goes toward Argo. She hands Argo the treat, who takes it delicately from Gabrielle’s hand. The blond girl happily stands and rubs the mares neck, glad that Argo has finally accepted her friendship. As Gabrielle feeds another treat to the mare she hears;

"What makes the battle worth the fighting?";

The little Bard turns to look towards the Warrior.

"What makes the mountain worth the climb?";

"Xena....?" quires Gabrielle.

"What makes the questions worth the asking?";

Xena, with the biggest, most relaxed grin on her face that Gabrielle has ever seen on her, walks toward the Bard and the mare, continuing;

"The reason worth the rhyme?" Xena approaches.

Gabrielle stares, dumbfounded;

Xena, Warrior Princess, ex-Warlord, start to SING?!

"To me the answers clear, it’s having some one near, someone dear,"

"Someone to care for, to be there for, I have you two" Xena points to Gabrielle and Argo.

"Someone to do for, muddle thru for, I have you two" points again.

Gabrielle looks at the mare, Argo looks at the Bard. ‘What’s gotten into her?’ she thinks to herself.

"Someone to share, joy and dispare with, which ever betides you"

‘Betides?’ the Bard wonders ‘where did she get that from?’

"Life becomes a chore, unless your living for," continues Xena, standing in front of Gabrielle and Argo.

"Someone to tend to, to be a friend to, I have you two.

Someone to strive for, do or die for, I have you two." Xena takes Gabrielle’s hand in hers.

"Could be, we three, get along so famously,

Cause, you two have me, and I have you two, TOO!" Xena declares laughing.

((Now I was going to have out Warrior do a soft shoe here, but thought that was to much)<<Big grin>>

Gabrielle, now grining back, loving this new side of her friend.

"Someone to smile, once in a while with, whenever your lonesome,

I’ve a happy lot, considering what I got,"

Xena gestures for Gabrielle to join in , and the bard does.

"Could be, we three, get along so famously," both sing.

"Cause, we two," sings Gab points to herself and Argo, then to Xena "have you"

"And I have you two," Xena points back.

"TOO!!" Both the Warrior and the Bard end.

Finishing, Xena and Gabrielle start laughing so hard, they collapse on the ground. Argo just looks at them and nickers.

Once they are able to catch their breaths, Gabrielle asks "What’s with you?"

Xena just grins back and says "Don’t know, but it felt wonderful," She then starts singing another tune, and Gab knowing this one, joins in, loving the fact that her friend is so happy. They continue to sing long into the night.

Next morning, Xena wakes up, then remembers what happened the night before.

"Gabrielle!!" shouts Xena, jumping up.

"What!!" comes a mumble under the blanket next to Xena’s.

"Get up! We need to go back and find that Vendor;" quips Xena, as she starts breaking camp.

"Why, you want to get some more of those cakes?" giggles the Bard, getting up.

"NO!! I want to find out what was put into them and WHY!! gripes Xena.

Soon they are back at the town where they bought the sweet treats.

Xena is asking the villagers about the Vendor.

"We don’t know what you are talking about" states one man. "There is no one here who fits that description."

"I remember," claims a young woman, " you leaving, then stopping in the road awhile, then continuing on, but there wasn’t anyone else there."

Xena and Gabrielle asks several more people, all saying about the same thing.

The two depart, with more questions and still no answers.

As they reach the spot where the Vendor was, a bright light flashes and then a small young man stands in front of them.

"PRANKSTER!!" cries Xena, "I should have guessed."

Xena grabs the God of Practical Jokes by his shirt, "WHY?" she shouts, her face mere inches from his.

"Xena..." the blond starts.

"Hey, like lighten up, will ya" as Prankster wiggles out of her grasp. " I was just having some fun, sheesh!"

"What was in those cakes!" Xena points her finger in his chest.

"Take it easy, Xena" whispers Gabrielle.

"Nothing dangerous, just some new herbs I picked up somewhere. I didn’t mean any harm." claimed Prankster, looking pleadingly at Gabrielle.

"Were you after me or Gabrielle?" Xena asked, her blue eyes flashing.

"Uhmmm....you", Prankster looks down, not able to look the Warrior in the eyes. "You see, I knew you loved sweet cakes, after all I am a God." he points to himself. "You are just to serious, and I wanted you to lighten up a little and have some fun, enjoy life. I’m sorry," he looks down, near tears.

Gabrielle looks at Xena, "Xena...come on..no harm was really done, and he IS right. You are to serious, besides didn’t you enjoy yourself just a little bit" the bard pinches her thumb and fore finger together, emphasing the little bit, "cause I sure did. You were so relaxed, and happy for once." She smiles warmly at her friend.

"Oh, Gabrielle..." replies the Warrior, "it wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, it was the fact that I was under the influence of something and I wasn’t myself. If something had happened to you while I was affected. What if we were attacked? What would I have done, just ask them to join in? she quips.

"Well, that would been different for a change" giggles the blond bard, " you forcing a bunch of bandits to sing with you."

Xena starts to smile at her friend, but remembers Prankster.

"You still had your warrior senses, Xena." states the little God. "You just were in a more relaxed mood. I would never do anything to put someone in danger. I like humans"

Both Prankster and Gabrielle look at Xena, with pleading in their eyes. Xena looks into Prankster’s eyes, sees the sincereitly in them.

"Oh...Alright! But if you ever do anything like that to me again or to Gabrielle" she exclaims, pointing at him, and gives him the Look, "I won’t be so forgiving next time." ‘you big softie’ she thinks to herself. "Now, get out of my site" Xena tells Prankster, with a slight smile.

"Ohh...K." The little God turns to the Bard, " Thanks for sticking up for me."

"No..thank you, for me and for Xena," she whispers as she points her thumb at the Warrior.

"Bye guys" and with that the he disappears, leaving the ex-Warlord and the Bard alone.

Later as they continue on the journey;

"Hey, admit it Xena," sighs Gabrielle, "it was fun last night. You have a wonderful voice, and you don’t use it that much accept at sad times. And I love that side of you, so relaxed, something you DON’T let yourself do."

"Well...," whispers Xena "I....did...enjoy singing for you," getting a big smile from her best friend.

"Don’t forget Argo," giggles the Bard. "I hope we can do that more often, without the herbs of course. When we are out by ourselves," she winks at her best friend.

"We’ll see...," Xena winks back.

"Uh....Xena?"

"Yes Gabrielle?"

"What makes the battle worth the fighting?"

And with that statement, both lapse into the song, all three disappearing over the horizon.

THE END
 
 

Special Note: The song You Two which inspired this story was from....and don’t laugh, the Soundtrack from ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, alright you can stop laughing now. This is one of my all time favorite family movies.

BitrSuite