"Why do you belittle him like that? Harry's a good guy. He doesn't deserve that."

"Just another stupid Joxer if you ask me."

"Yeah," Gabrielle said. "But it seems to me that you were pretty upset when he died. He might have started out an inept and bumbling warrior wannabe, but you know damn well he was more than just 'dumb Joxer' at the end. He cared about us and we BOTH felt the same way about him."  By now Gabrielle was getting angry.

"You probably have time to take a shower before breakfast is ready," Annie said, to Xena , trying to defuse the situation. "Some of my clothes are on your bed. I put them there last night, if you remember."

"Okay," Xena replied and ambled indifferently toward the bathroom. "I could stand some company if anyone wants to volunteer." When there was no answer, she added, "Not real particular who it is."  

No one spoke until they heard the bathroom door close.

"I think you're right," Annie said. "Something needs to be done."

"You know, I was just thinking about how we got here last year, remember?" Mattie asked.

"I don't," Gabrielle said facetiously. "But since you told Xena and me about it yesterday, I kind of do."

"Well, it sounds to me that after you two were cloned, you and Xena were in trance-like states, which is very much like a hypnotic trance. So I was thinking if we could get Xena hypnotized, maybe we could emphasize the good parts of her psyche and suppress the evil parts."

"That's as good a plan as any," Annie said as she added the scrambled eggs next to the heated up frozen pancakes. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to get her to sit still long enough to let herself be hypnotized. I have a feeling she won't do it willingly."

"Well, there are always those little obstacles to overcome. But I’m sure the three of us can figure out something," Mattie said.

They threw around a few ideas about how to try to get Xena to sit still long enough to hypnotize her, but had to change the subject when she came out of the bathroom.

"I guess I should get to the office if you want to stay here and keep Xena and Gabrielle company," Annie said to Mattie.

"You don't have to stay here because of us," Gabrielle said to Mattie. Then to Annie she said,  "If you don't mind, I'd like to go to the office with Mattie. I'd like to learn more about the internet."

"Sure, I don't mind, and I’m sure she doesn't. What about you Xena? Anything special you'd like to do?"

"I think I'll just wander around a bit. Now that I don't have to worry about food, and I've got these really spiffy clothe
s to wear, and a really top-notch place to sleep, I'd like to get a real look at the city. So maybe I'll ride with you to your office and take off from there."

"That's fine. Whatever you want to do," Annie agreed, ignoring the sarcasm. "I guess we don't have to worry about you getting lost. I know how good your sense of direction is."

"How about one of those cell phones?" Xena asked. "Just in case I wander too far to get back before you leave for the day."

"I think we have an extra one at the office."