Disclaimer: Xena and Gabrielle belong to Renaissance/Universal Pics. No copyright infringement was intended.

Sex/Subtext: No sex but yes, there's subtext, however, judging by what I've seen on the show this season, it�s nothing new� Xena and Gabrielle seem to have stepped into the realm of maintext now! Even so, please be warned that there is love between two females in this tale.

Spoilers: Well, this is set after and mentions the Norse Trilogy so if you want to stay completely spoiler free, it might be worth it to archive this story and wait until you've seen the Trilogy.

Origin of this story : Well, I was sitting in a pub called Frazer's in Dublin with my dear friend Sham and she thought it would be great if someone wrote a story called 'Working Title'. So here you are, Babe. Here's your story! It's dedicated to you!

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It was just another day� or so I thought when I first woke up. Xena was, as usual, already up and on her way to the nearby lake for a cold bath and I followed as soon as I was able to drag myself out of my blankets. My muscles were aching that morning for the first time in ages, but then I realised that we had pushed harder and further than we had in a long time, the previous day. As I reached the lake, I saw Xena floating on her back with her eyes closed. She looked peaceful and relaxed, but as I approached, I saw her body language change. She stiffened with alertness but then relaxed again when she realised it was only me.

"Morning," she called as I slid into the icy water, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to keep warm.

"Xena, I think I'm getting too old for this travelling on foot stuff," I replied grumpily "Every muscle in my body is aching!" I couldn�t help but smile as I received the Warrior Princess' famous arched eyebrow and I realised that I had irritated my best friend.

"If you're too old for this, Gabrielle, what does that make me?" she growled in that gravel-on-silk voice of hers. I smiled sweetly.

"It makes you very old� almost decrepit," I teased, unable to keep a straight face as she slowly stood to face me. She looked just as slowly past me and then headed for shore. I frowned as I realised that she hadn�t tried to drown me or retaliate in any way but I let down my guard. I was very wrong. As she moved past me, she suddenly spun and ducked under the water. I felt a cold� ok, a colder� chill run down my back as I waited for her to seek her revenge. I wasn't prepared when she grabbed my ankles and tossed me clean out of the water and into the air. It took me a split second to realise where I was but I managed to arch my body into a dive just before I hit the water. I surfaced, coughing, and glared into the laughing blue eyes of my best and dearest friend in the world.

"Hey, you could've drowned me," I accused, waving my arms dramatically but she just grinned at me and I felt myself melt. "Dammit, I just can�t stay mad at you," I went on and she chuckled lightly as she reached for me.

"I'm sorry, Gabrielle. You looked all cute and worried as I was passing you. I just couldn�t resist."

Gods, I love when Xena allows herself to touch me. Despite the fact that she's a tough warrior, she's one of the gentlest women I know. Her hands are surprisingly soft, despite their sword calluses and her long fingers have more than once massaged away aches and pains from my often battered body.

Her fingers brushed gently against my cheek and then she took me by the shoulders, ducking her head a little to look into my eyes.

"I really am sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you. I would have made sure you were ok."

I looked into those expressive blue eyes and saw the truth in them. She would have given her life to save me� as I would give mine to save her. I knew in that moment that she believed as much as I did in the fact that soulmates can never be apart� and soulmates we were and still are.

"I know," I replied softly, trying to show my love for her in my eyes. I didn't have the courage to speak my heart's true words at that moment. We locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity but then she smiled and stepped back.

"I'm prunin'. Let's get outta here."

I chuckled.

"We wouldn�t want that now, would we," I teased. "You're old enough as it is without going all wrinkly from the water."

I received a playful scowl from my best friend and then followed her back to our camp where we dressed and sat down together to have some breakfast. I could feel her eyes on me as I pulled my scroll and quill from my travelling bag. I could almost see the inquisitive look on her face, despite the fact that she was out of my field of vision. I didn't look over at her. Instead, I waited for the inevitable question.

"Gabrielle?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you writing about?"

I looked over at her then and recognised her grin for what it truly was. Embarrassment. Xena never asked what I was writing about, although I know the question had been on her lips for a while.

"You," I replied matter-of-factly and she shrugged as if she didn't care. My friend could be so stubborn at times but I knew curiosity was burning deep inside her. There was silence between us for a while as I scribbled on my parchment but I sensed her coming up behind me in a sneaky attempt to read over my shoulder. I snapped the scroll shut and almost collapsed into laughter as I felt her jump with fright. "Xena, if you wanted to read it, all you had to do was ask. I can�t write when the person I'm writing about is standing over my shoulder."

My friend shifted almost nervously from one foot to the other and then held up her hands in mock surrender.

"Ok, fine. I'm sorry," she replied sheepishly so I nodded my acceptance of her apology and resumed my work. It wasn't long before she was sitting beside me on my log, craning her neck to see what I was writing.

"Gabrielle?"

"Yes, Xena?"

"Can I read what you're writing about me� please?"

I paused for a few heartbeats and then smiled.

"Why don�t I read it to you?" I suggested. "A scroll is best told by its author."

I received a noncommittal shrug from my friend but I smiled inwardly as I felt her move closer to me and gently rest her cheek against my short, blonde hair. I began to read to her and, very slowly, felt her arm snake around my waist to hold me close to her.

"I knew that Xena wouldn�t leave me behind," I read. "Unless she had a good reason. I followed her for weeks, her trail taking me north, further north than I had ever before been�"

Her breathing almost stilled to nothing as I described my journey to Norway to find her after she had left me behind with nothing more than a short message for an explanation. I think she could hear the underlying tone of hurt in my story as I read, for I felt her arm tighten around me, as if in reassurance. I paused in my reading and looked into her face, shocked to see her eyes shimmering with tears.

"Xena," I whispered in surprise and reached up to wipe away a single tear from her cheek with my thumb but she turned her face away slightly, as if ashamed to let me see her cry. "It�s ok," I said softly, my voice betraying my own emotion.

"I'm sorry, Gabrielle," she whispered in reply and pulled me to her for a gentle embrace. "I couldn�t take you with me because I was afraid of losing you but I'm so glad you followed me because I missed you more than I can say."

"I missed you too," I replied with all the tenderness I was feeling at that moment. "While I was in Brunhilda's flame, I dreamed that you came back for me. I knew you'd find me, Xena."

Her lips pressed lightly against my forehead and I closed my eyes as I leaned into her warmth.

"It's funny, Gabrielle," she said after a long moment. "Even when I couldn�t remember you or my life with you, I felt like there was a huge part of me missing. I felt� incomplete. It�s because I was missing the other half of my soul."

I smiled as my tears obscured her face and I reached out to cup her chin in my hand.

"All that matters is that we're together again, irritating each other the way we used to," I said and we laughed together, lightening the mood of the moment. Xena kissed me one last time on the crown of my head and then let me go, standing to retrieve her sword and chakram from the rock they were sitting on. I took her hint and slid my sais into the holders on my boots. "Guess it�s time to move on," I said but Xena just smiled.

"No, I think we should take a vacation� a few days alone together� just you and me," she replied. I must have looked like I didn't believe her because she grinned and shook her head. "No, I mean it, Gabrielle. A few days here by this beautiful lake will do wonders for our aches and pains." She winked and I suddenly realised that the reason she had pushed us so hard the day before was to get here all the more quickly so we could start our 'time alone'. I loved my best friend all the more for her thoughtfulness and rested my hands on my hips, a knowing smirk on my face.

"You know, sometimes you really surprise me, Xena," I commented and saw a brief flash of perfect white teeth as my friend chuckled.

"Gotta keep you on your toes," she replied and then took my hand. "Why don't you rest and do some writing while I go hunt us down something for dinner."

I smiled up at her, her enthusiasm instantly infecting me.

"That's a good idea," I replied and then went to my bedroll. I kicked off my boots and pulled my quill and scroll out of my bag as my best friend slipped silently into the woods.

I'm really glad right now, that I read Xena my previous scroll about when she left to go to Norway. The fact that she had left me behind was something that had been burning inside me but when she told me to my face that she missed me and was glad I followed, she eased the ache in my heart that I was so carefully concealing from her. The truth is� I love her. I'm deeply in

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"Hey Gabrielle. What ya writing?" Xena asked as she strode into camp, two rabbits swinging from her clenched fists. The bard looked up, startled out of her thoughts by her friend's loud voice.

"Oh, just finishing off my story," Gabrielle replied with a smile. "And don�t ask me if you can read it� 'cos you can't right now."

The Warrior Princess dropped the rabbits on the ring of stones around their campfire and then perched her hands on her hips.

"Don�t worry, Gabrielle. I'd never read your scrolls without your permission," she replied softly. Gabrielle looked down at her scroll, the story that had quickly become more of a diary entry and then sighed softly. Maybe someday I'll get up the courage to tell her how I really feel about her, she thought as she rolled the parchment up and slid it back into her bag along with her quill.

"What did you call the story anyway?" Xena asked as she glanced over at her friend.

"I'm not� I haven't really thought about it," Gabrielle replied, her emerald green eyes held prisoner by her warrior's beautiful, blue gaze. "I've been calling it 'True Love' but, right now, that's just a working title."

The End