Authors note: I'm getting cabin fever, so here's a very bad trashy angst hurt/comfort so-bad-so-good kinda story. I'm sorry.

As the coolness of dusk began to descent, Xena calculated now was as good a time as any to begin scouting for a campsite for her and Gabrielle to settle in for the night. They had been traveling on the trail for the better part of the day, leaving the countryside town of Byllidia long behind them. As usual, Gabrielle had much to say in the way of her bargaining abilities which she smugly made full use of at the market. Xena was more than content to passively listen to her chattering as she sat atop Argo. Occasional lopsided smirks being the only indication to the bard that her quiet companion had heard anything she had said at all.

By mid afternoon, marked by the blaring sun, the duo stopped for their customary meal, and a amicable silence had fallen upon them. Gabrielle decided she had grown tired of hearing her own voice and the quietness would be much welcomed from her ever stoic friend.

As usual, Xena managed to find a nice spot. The soft churning of water in a stream could be heard not too far away. The warrior began her routine of establishing a perimeter and brushing down her warhorse for the night. Gabrielle, meanwhile, finished making their bedrolls by the fire. As the young woman lay on her side, comfortable under the warm furs, her mind wandered back to tumultuous last few days the duo had spent.

Yet another village Xena felt she owed reparations to. Despite the barrage of insults hurled at her by the elders, she pressed on, adamant that the local militia be adequately trained to drive the nearing warlord away from the valley. Gabrielle had noticed the rippling muscles of Xena's cheeks as she clenched her jaw to scolding she received, knowing Xena felt she had no defense for her actions of the past. Nothing she could say could possibly ease the hurt of the villagers at having lost their husbands, fathers and brothers they lost at her raiding army. How was that any different to the warlord that was descending on them now?

Gabrielle always held back at moments like this, understanding that in some way, this was part of the penitence Xena sought. But she always stepped in to shied her friend when she decided it had gone on for too long. By this point, it was as if the lines of script -reminding the villagers that Xena had changed, reassuring them that they were only trying to help and would leave as soon as the ordeal was over, and no, they weren't looking to make any dinars in the process.

She had hated those days, helpless as that older woman retreated back into herself, the walls coming up again, her responses monosyllabic, to down right ignoring her until the point of breaking. But Gabrielle had learned to read her friend's brooding behavior. She knew when to prod the beast and poke holes at her logic of unworthiness and when to let for sulk. This time had been the poking kind and Gabrielle now wondered if she shouldn't have, for in the poking, Xena revealed a kind of desperation she had not yet unmasked; the naked display of the full burden of her friend's guilt left her sensitive and protective of Xena's emotional vulnerabilities.

"It's so easy to destroy, Gabrielle, all it takes is a match. But to right that..." Xena left her words unsaid, not wanting to allow her voice to completely break. Gabrielle reached out for her upper arm, trying to will some comfort. But daring not to guide her brooding companion in her journey through her inner turmoil.

"Nothing I do can possibly take away the pain those people feel." Gabrielle looked down and took a deep breath in. This conversation. Again. They had had it a thousand times, it seemed. Gabrielle would always, using her gift for words and her ability to read Xena, to pull her out of the depths of despair and the walls would crumble but then they would encounter a village hostile much like like one and Xena would be back at it again. Two steps forwards and three steps back, was how it went some days. But as with all things, this too passed. The village was saved, and the villagers were grateful, convinced of Xena's turn to good. Gabrielle and her relationship obtained yet another depth after bonding over such intimacy.

Having reflected on all this, Gabrielle decided to reward Xena with a quick peck on her cheek as she settled into the bedroll beside her. Normally, Xena would playfully scorn at the display, but this time she let her eyes meet Gabrielle's gaze. No words were spoken, they didn't need to be. The warrior was resolute in knowing she didn't deserve Gabrielle but would nonetheless be lost without her and Gabrielle feeling honored to accompany her courageous friend as she continued on her journey of redemption.

"Goodnight Xena."

"G'night Gabrielle."