WARNINGS AND DISCLAMERS

All this quiet and solitude of the bard's had caused Xena to do some soul searching of her own. The distance between them had grown and the tension was palpable. Gabrielle had become extremely quiet and pensive. Nothing Xena said seemed to help. In fact, it only seemed to lead to another one of their 'sniping sessions' or arguments.

It was the smell of fish starting to burn that brought the warrior out of her dreamy thoughtful state. After pulling the fish from the fire she realized that Gabrielle hadn't returned from bathing yet and set out for the stream to find her.

Xena had only gone a short way down the path headed for the stream when she could hear Gabrielle screaming wildly. She took off in a dead run with her heart pounding wildly in her throat.

Xena drew her sword as she ran ready to do battle as she came into the clearing by the lake. The moon was already high enough that Xena could see the bard thrashing around in the water. Xena hurried out to Gabrielle and picked her up in her arms and carried her back to the rock where the rest of the bard's clothes were.

"Gabrielle what happened?" The warrior was still looking around the area worriedly. Then Xena turned back to Gabrielle to see if she was hurt anywhere. Xena noticed that Gabrielle was dressed in the night shift that she'd taken with her and she had a small scratch on her arm that was bleeding.

The bard just sat in silence and didn't answer.

"Gabrielle please tell me what happened. Why were you in the lake with your night shift on?" Xena continued worriedly.

Gabrielle continued to sit in silence for a few more minutes and then very quietly said, "I laid down on the rock to rest after I bathed, I was just so tired... I guess I fell asleep." Gabrielle's cheeks flushed a dark pink she refused to say any more.

"Gabrielle you mean you feel asleep out here by yourself and rolled off the rock into the water? You should know it's not safe out here to sleep... you should have come back to camp. Besides you could have drowned falling into the water in your sleep. Gabrielle what were you thinking about?"

"Xena will you quit treating me like a child?" Gabrielle said as she turned her head and looked away from the warrior and said nothing else.

Xena just sat and shook her head. "Well come on the fish is ready and we need to get you into something dry." They stood and the bard walked ahead of Xena back to the camp.

While Gabrielle was getting a dry shift on to wear and hanging the other one over a bush to dry, Xena divided up the fish into plates for Gabrielle and herself. Xena walked over and handed Gabrielle her plate. Without looking up Gabrielle told Xena, "If you'd like some berries with your fish I picked some earlier and I put them in the bag over there."

Xena walked over and got the bag and returned to sit beside Gabrielle on her bedroll, so they could share the berries.

They sat and ate in silence. Gabrielle mostly was just picking at her fish and eating very little. Xena kept watching out of the corner of her eye. "Here, would you like to have some of the berries you picked." Xena said trying to get a conversation started with the smaller woman.

"No... I ate a few when I picked them. Those are for you." The bard then continued to pick at her fish some more.

"Gabrielle will you please talk to me? Please tell me what's bothering you and what the nightmares are all about. I'd like to help you if I can." Xena said concerned.

Gabrielle only shook her head. "I'm not a child, I can take care of it myself."

"Gabrielle..." the warrior started again, but stopped when Gabrielle looked up with what looked like anger in her eyes. "OK. Well you know I'm here for you if you change your mind." Xena then rose and walked back over to her own bedroll to get ready to get some sleep.

It wasn't long before the sounds of the night were again being shattered by the screams of the small woman. Xena was again on her feet and moving before she was even fully awake herself. She looked over to where Gabrielle had put her bedroll and the bard wasn't there.

Gabrielle screamed again and when Xena turned Gabrielle was just standing in the edge of the woods seeming to be staring at something that Xena herself couldn't see or hear. She ran toward Gabrielle with her sword still drawn thinking the bard could obviously see something that had scared her.

Just as Xena stepped up behind the bard, Gabrielle jumped as though startled and turned on the warrior. It was then that Xena caught a glint from the metal that Gabrielle was holding in her hand. The warrior jumped back but not before the bard had nicked her on the arm with the small knife they used for preparing meals. "Gabrielle it's me... it's Xena. What are you doing?"

The bard continued to stare at her with a glassy look in her eye like she wasn't seeing the warrior at all but was looking through her. "Come on Gabrielle please put the knife down... please Gabrielle I want to help you." The warrior pleaded.

The bard continued to stand in total silence with not even an eyelash flickering.

Xena was already tired of this game, whatever it was. She sheathed her sword and slowly advanced on the small bard. Gabrielle shifted her weight and Xena stopped. "Please Gabrielle... talk to me." There was still only silence from the bard. Xena kicked and the knife went flying from the bard's hand back over her head into the woods. Gabrielle started to break and run, but Xena grabbed the bard holding her tightly to her chest while Gabrielle thrashed around trying to break her hold.

"Come on Gabrielle it's Xena. Please wake up. You're all right, no one is here that will hurt you. You're safe come now and talk to me." Xena continued to talk softly to the bard trying to wake her up.

It seemed like an eternity to the warrior, but Gabrielle finally stopped fighting and blinked. She looked up at Xena in bewilderment.

"Gabrielle are you all right?" Xena asked softly.

"I don't know... what happened." Gabrielle was still looking around very confused.

"You mean you don't remember anything?" The warrior was really starting to worry about her friend now. How could she not remember... but she was acting strange.

"Xena! Your arm is bleeding... what happened." The bard was looking at Xena's arm with some concern.

"It's nothing Gabrielle, I just scratched it on a bush. Come on, it will be light in a few candlemarks and we could both use some more sleep. We're real close to those raiders now and I'd like to finally catch up with them tomorrow."

Xena turned to walk back into the clearing headed for her bedroll when she noticed Gabrielle wasn't following her. She turned and looked at the bard who hadn't moved yet.

"Xena what am I doing here in the edge of the trees instead of on my bedroll? I don't remember having gotten up." Gabrielle said in bewilderment.

"Gabrielle I don't really know. I heard you scream and I jumped up and ran over here to see what was wrong with you. That's it... that's all I know." The warrior said flatly.

"I screamed..." Gabrielle started to say and realization started to sink in and the bard's face started to flush as she knew it had to be the nightmare that she was having. She stood there looking at the ground with her mouth open like she wanted to say something. The embarrassment of the whole situation was quickly whirling through her head. GODS!! This is just getting worse... now I'm running around and screaming in my nightmares and it's not even waking me up. Almost in a whisper she said, "Xena I'm really sorry for..." Gabrielle voice trailed off as tears started pouring down her cheeks.

Xena strode over to where the bard was still standing and wrapped her long arms around the sobbing bard. "Look Gabrielle everything will be all right. Let's just try to get some more rest tonight. Tomorrow we can talk."

Gabrielle continued to cry but shifted uncomfortably in the warrior's arms. This was just a little too close... her body was starting to react. "Xena there's nothing you or anyone else can do. I'm sorry..." With that Gabrielle broke away from the warrior and fled toward the stream.

Ó Copyrighted December 1997 by DelShannon