Spoilers: Events that occur in the episode "A Family Affair" are mentioned.

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First Date
by Xedra

Joxer was nervous. Very nervous. So nervous, his hand shook as he stirred the last ingredients into the simmering venison stew he was cooking. Wiping the sweat from his brow with his free hand, he covered the stew pot with a lid and turned to check the bread baking in the oven.

A wave of heat hit him when he open the door and the aroma of rosemary filled the kitchen.

"How's it going?" a voice asked.

"Almost done," Joxer smiled over his shoulder at Cyrene. She'd graciously closed her tavern to the public for this special night, giving him full reign of her kitchen and offering to help romantically decorate a small corner of the common room for him. He really couldn't thank her enough for all her help, and he told her so.

Cyrene smiled and waved his thanks away, "Oh, it's nothing Joxer. Really. I'm just so excited for you!" She stepped up behind him and grasped his shoulders, giving them a squeeze and pressing her cheek against his.

Joxer blushed happily and closed the oven door, "I just hope everything turns out okay."

"It will," she patted his shoulder reassuringly.

She'd certainly did her part in setting the mood for this romantic dinner. Half the candles in the common room were snuffed out, dimming the light, and she'd placed extra small candles around the booth in the far corner of the room, surrounding it in a circle of golden light. Her best blue damask served as a table cloth with her own wedding dishes and family silver placed on top. Several cushions were placed on the wooden booth to make her two special guests comfortable. A freshly picked long-stemmed red rose rested in an etched crystal vase in the center of the table to complete the scene.

Seeing Joxer now, she smiled at how nervous he looked. The sweat beading on his forehead could be from the heated kitchen, but she doubted it. He fluttered around her kitchen like a butterfly in a flower garden. Such a sweet boy he is to do all this, she sighed, I hope she appreciates it.

Joxer grabbed a basket full of greens he'd picked from Cyrene's garden, and began washing them in a bowl of water. Shaking off the water, he shredded them quickly, and placed them in a separate bowl. His hands moved quickly, slicing several vegetables for the salad and dumping them into the bowl. He tried to keep his mind off the importance of this night. Everything had to be perfect.

Finished with the salad, he wiped his hands and checked the bread again.

Watching him, Cyrene sighed heavily. I sure hope she appreciates this. It's taken him a long time to get to this point. He wears his heart on his sleeve, the poor boy. She'd better take it, too. Couldn't find a better man anywhere.

There was a soft knock at the tavern door. Hearing it, Joxer eyes widened with panic and he looked nervously around the kitchen to see if he'd forgotten anything. Running his sweaty palms through his hair, he wiped them down his face and covered his eyes.

"I, uh...Oh geez, I don't think I can do this." He peeked over his fingers at Cyrene, "I can't do this!"

Cyrene smiled and put an arm around his shoulder, "Oh Joxer, you'll be just fine. You've planned a beautiful dinner for a lovely girl." She turned his face toward her and gave him a pointed look. "A lovely girl who wouldn't be here if she didn't want to be."

He looked at her with unsure, hopeful eyes, "Yeah?"

Cyrene gave him a squeeze, then steered him toward the kitchen door, "Yeah. Now you go on out there and welcome that young lady like the gentleman you are. I'll finish up in here."

Gulping loudly, Joxer nodded and left the kitchen. On the short walk to the tavern door, he combed his fingers through his hair a few times, wiped his face, straightened his shirt, checked his breath, wrung his hands, and bumped into a table, upsetting three chairs. He quickly righted them and stepped to the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened it.

Joxer smiled warmly at the sight that greeted him, "Gabby!"

He could never get over how lovely she always managed to look. Her cropped hair almost glowed in the moonlight and her soft leathers were molded to her little figure.

Gabrielle smiled back, fingering the fringes of her top, "I know it's early, but--"

"No, no, it's fine! I'm glad you're here," Joxer assured her.

After a moment of silence, Gabrielle cleared her throat, " Um, well, I wanted to talk to you before the dinner. I, uh, I know how important this is to you. It is to me, too, and I, uh, I just wanted to say, uh--"

Joxer laughed softly, "You certainly have a way with words, Miss Bard."

Gabrielle laughed, too, but before she could say anymore, she was distracted by movement off to the side. Looking over her shoulder, she grinned, and took Joxer's hand in hers. "I guess it's time."

Joxer looked over her shoulder, as well, and sucked in a breath seeing Lillah.

Wearing an emerald green dress with a cream colored sash, her dark hair gleaming around her shoulders and her blue eyes gleaming, Joxer was mesmerized by how beautiful she was as she walked up next to Gabrielle.

As beautiful as she was the day they met. He'd first met Lillah that day in Potedeia when Xena had found out that Gabrielle had survived her tumble into the lava pit with Hope. He'd been struck by her loveliness when they were introduced and had played the gallant, but his mind and heart were too occupied with stopping Hope and her monster child to think about anything else.

He had his own close encounter with the monster, but thanks to Xena, got away safely. Lillah was very attentive, fussing worriedly over his slight bruises. She seemed so impressed by his bravery in confronting the evil that had visited them, so proud of him for his efforts, he was too overcome and embarrassed to correct her. It had felt good to be looked at with those wide blue eyes, so full of awe and affection. He knew at that moment that he'd brave anything, go anywhere, sacrifice all he had to have her near him and look at him that way again. In that moment, he felt determined to prove himself worthy of that look. To prove himself to her.

After Hope and the Destroyer were finally dealt with and Xena and Gabrielle had moved on again, he'd decided to stick around Potedeia for a little while. Just to see if what he felt, and what he thought she felt, would remain after the danger had passed. He took a room in the local tavern and went by Lillah's almost everyday, offering an extra pair of hands for any work they might need done.

Herodotus hadn't cared for the fact that he'd traveled with that woman, as he referred to Xena, but had eventually been won over by Joxer's eagerness to please and willingness to do any kind of work asked of him.

Hecuba had just loved him the moment he stepped through her door that first day. She could tell he cared for Gabrielle, but the looks she'd seen pass between him and Lillah warmed her heart. She wanted this sweet boy for her Lillah, so she made sure she had some kind of job for him to do everyday. Her heart ached at the thought of losing her daughter, but to gain such a man as Joxer as a son was worth it.

Joxer and Lillah spent almost all their time together. They talked and laughed together through his chores and hers. He went fishing and she'd bring along a picnic. She'd go to the market and he happily carried her purchases. Stolen glances, shy smiles, accidently-on-purpose touches, and then that first sweet kiss one star-filled night and Joxer knew he was lost.

There were times he had to leave Potedeia, to meet up with Xena and Gabrielle and help in their fight for the greater good, to try and prove himself, but his heart remained in that little village. Letters passed constantly between him and Lillah, keeping them connected while he was away. He'd written in his last letter that the three of them were planning a stop in Amphipolis before he returned to Potedeia, but you could have knocked him over with a feather when he saw Lillah step out of the tavern with Cyrene to meet them.

Once he'd gotten over his shock, his heart filled with such joy he was afraid it would burst. He was determined not to mess up his chances with her and had somehow found the courage to ask her to have a private dinner with him.

Now here they were. His heart was beating fast and his palms were sweating again, but looking into her sweet eyes, seeing their warmth directed at him, he knew he didn't want to be anywhere else at that moment.

Gabrielle reached down for her sister's hand and held it in her other hand. Joxer shifted his feet in the silence. Lillah fingered her skirt nervously. Gabrielle smiled at the shy glances they gave each other and sighed happily, placing their hands together. "This is good. This is a really good thing."

A laugh burst from Lillah, "Gabrielle, we're just having dinner. You act like you're giving me away!" She gulped at her words and braved a look at Joxer. Her breath caught at the warmth in his dark brown eyes.

She knew in her heart that this was more than just a dinner. She'd been waiting for tonight, since the moment she met him. He'd been so confident that day when Xena introduced him to her parents. That awful day. She'd come close to losing everyone she cared about, including her own life, when that monster who looked identical to her sister came home with her evil spawn. That blessed day. She'd been reunited with her sister and this dear man came into her life.

She had hated to see Gabrielle leave again, but was comforted when Joxer had offered to stay and help fix the damages to the house. Her regard for him only grew more sure with each passing day. He was funny and considerate and hard working. She was fascinated by the stories he'd tell of his adventures with Xena and Gabrielle. They were more than slightly exaggerated, of course. You didn't grow up with a budding bard for a sister and not be able to recognize such things, but she didn't care. She loved the sound of his voice when he told them, how animated he became when relating the tales of Joxer the Mighty and his two friends.

He had the biggest heart of anyone she'd ever known, was generous to a fault and when he played the lute! Oh, it took her breath away. One star-filled night he'd coaxed the most beautiful melody from the strings and she felt like her heart was soaring. He told her he'd chosen the song because of it's name, Greensleeves. It was a very old song, and he said playing it reminded him of what she was wearing the day they met. She was speechless for a long moment, and shaken to the core, but pleasantly so. It felt perfectly natural to thank him for the tune with a kiss. With that first kiss, Lillah knew she was lost.

The letters they wrote to each other when he'd gone to help Xena and Gabrielle were a poor substitute for having him near her, but she'd nonetheless cherished them. When that last had come saying he'd be in Amphipolis, she jumped at the chance to see him sooner than waiting for him to return to her village. The look on his face when he saw her come out of the tavern with Cyrene delighted her to no end! This dinner he invited her to was the beginning of something special. She could feel it.

Glancing at her sister, she couldn't imagine how Gabrielle could spend so much time with Joxer and not see him for the treasure he was. Well, she was glad for it! She saw it and that's all that mattered now.

Gabrielle let go of their hands and backed away, "Okay, okay! You two go and have a good time." She was pleased to notice that their hands stayed connected.

Joxer gripped Lillah's hand firmly and drew her through the door ahead of him. Looking back at Gabrielle he grinned, "Thanks, Gabby."

Gabrielle looked at him silently for a moment, then spoke softly, "Take care of her, Joxer."

His eyes widened at the message she was giving him and nodded solemnly, "I will. I promise."

As he softly closed the door, Gabrielle felt a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be real good to her. He's half in love with her already."

Gab laughed shakily, "It's just dinner, Xena."

Xena harumphed softly, "They'll be engaged before the night is over and you know it."

Gabrielle stood there silently for a while, staring at the tavern door, "Did I miss out, Xena?"

Xena knew what she was thinking. Gabrielle had always had Joxer love her, but she'd never accepted it. She never let him close to her heart in that way. Her record in the love department was not exactly a stellar one. Now that he'd finally let the dream of Gabrielle go and followed his interest in Lillah, Xena knew Gabrielle was wondering if she'd made a mistake in letting such a devoted guy like Joxer get away.

She could see the conflict in her friends eyes and asked bluntly, "Do you love him Gabrielle? Do you want to be his wife? Can you see yourself spending the rest of your life with him? Having his children?"

Gabrielle looked stunned by the questions, but quickly answered them by taking her hand and squeezing it.

Xena squeezed it back and smiled warmly, "Be happy for them."

Gabrielle looked up at Xena through misty green eyes, "I am."

A tinkling of combined laughter from inside the tavern reached their ears, making them both chuckle silently before slipping quietly away.

The End