"They're right behind us!" Autolycus yelled, trying to run and drag the other man along with him at the same time. "Can't you move any faster?" he demanded.

"I'm...trying...!" Joxer gasped out, struggling to keep up with the fast pace.

"All that junk you're wearing is slowing us down!"

"Armor! It's...armor!" he insisted breathlessly.

"I don't care *what* it is; it's gonna get us killed!" Autolycus snapped. "Gods! Why'd I ever let Xena talk me into babysitting you? I swear, once we get out of this, I'm not letting you anywhere near me again!"

When Joxer didn't respond with one of his usual self-deluded come-backs, Autolycus glanced back at him -- and quickly looked away. He turned his attention back to the dirt road in front of them, trying to forget the absolutely crushed look on Joxer's face, the hurt in those wide brown eyes. It made him want to...apologize, of all things! No! *Joxer* was the one who'd screwed everything up, gotten them into this mess. If it wasn't for that klutz, Autolycus would be rich by now instead of running for the safety of the forest still too far in the distance. Joxer was the one who should be apologizing to *him*! The moron just couldn't stay out of trouble to save his own life!

Autolycus regretted that thought just seconds later when Joxer stumbled. Predictably, he didn't recover his balance, instead falling with an audible yelp of alarm. His grip tight on Joxer's arm, Autolycus was pulled down with him.

He slammed into the ground, biting down on his lip involunarily. The wind was knocked out of him but it didn't slow him down. He could deal with pain; death was a whole other matter. He forced himself up to his knees and pulled on Joxer's arm at the same time, trying to get the other man moving.

Still sprawled out on his stomach, Joxer finally responded, slowly pushing himself up. Too slowly.

"Would you get your ass up, you clumsy little...!" Autolycus couldn't think of anything bad enough to call him.

Sitting up now, Joxer looked around in apparent confusion. When his gaze settled on Autolycus he seemed even more lost.

"I should've just left you here!" Autolycus snarled, shoving Joxer's arm out of his grip. It was too late to escape now. He had to hope he could find another way out of this.

Joxer continued to sit there, staring at him in bewilderment. The sight grated on Autolycus' already tense nerves.

"How can *anyone* be such a screw-up?" he demanded.

"W-Who, me?" Joxer frowned at him.

"Yes, you! You see anyone else here?"

As if to answer his question, they were abruptly surrounded by half a dozen extremely large guards, all wielding very sharp swords, none of whom seemed to be in a very good mood.

"Hello there. Lovely day, isn't it?" Autolycus said with feigned cheerfullness, giving the armored guards one of his best "go fuck yourselves" smiles. He expected a kick in the ribs or something of the sort in response, but instead one of the guards chuckled, a rather unpleasant sound.

None of the others responded at all so that meant this one had to be higher ranking. The look of anticipation on his face didn't reasure Autolycus any.

"Do you know what we do with thieves here?" the man asked. "If you're lucky, we just cut off your hands." He grinned nastily. "If you're not, we start cutting off...other apendages."

"How civilized of you," Autolycus muttered sarcastically, managing to repress a shudder at that implication. He threw his companion a dark glance, blaming him entirely for this.

Joxer didn't respond to that. Instead he looked from Autolycus to the guards around them in shock, then he swallowed hard. "O-Oh boy."

-------

Dr. Sammuel Beckett had found himself in a number of strange places and even stranger situations since he started leaping through time, but being escorted -- well, shoved was more like it -- into an actual dungeon by men with swords pretty much topped them all.

In the confusion following his leap into...wherever he was, he'd thought at first that he'd landed on the set of a play or movie again. It only took a few moments to disprove that notion. His surroundings and certainly his captors were much too realistic to be explained by theatrics. But that left him with no idea of just what kind of trouble he'd landed in -- and he was definitely in trouble.

Without any clue how to react to this bizzar situation, Sam took the only option he seemed to have and just went with the flow of things. He'd done that often enough in other leaps. Waiting and listening and just playing along until he figured out what was going on, so he did the same here. In this case that meant letting himself be hearded into a dungeon. He couldn't help wondering if he'd made a mistake this time.

The damp, moldy smell of the place made him want to sneeze, but he held it in, not wanting to attract any further notice from his captors. At least there was some light from torches placed along the stone walls, but at a second glance he wasn't sure that was such a good thing. He wouldn't mind if it were dimmer, that way he wouldn't be able to see the obviously well-used torture equipment surrounding him.

He put up no resistance as his wrists were shackled to the dungeon wall, not wanting to give them any reason to use those devices on him.

"Where are you, Al?" he muttered to himself as the dark-haired man in green leather he'd been captured with was shoved up against the wall next to him.

Once the shackles on both of them had been tightened and locked, the armored men began filing out of the dungeon, leaving only one of them behind. This one had an air of authority about him, along with a decidedly cruel smirk set on his thin lips.

"You'll be tried in the morning," he said after staring at them for a few long moments. "Since we saw you trying to steal the jewels, it'll be a short trial, although, some...questioning might be necessary." He looked around at the torture impliments with obvious relish. "Maybe you'll end up being executed or maybe you'll just lose a few body parts -- either way, it'll be good entertainment for us." His smirk widened. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thanks, but I won't be staying long," the other prisoner said pleasantly with a touch of sarcasm.

The man snorted dismissively and left the dungeon, close on the heels of their other captors. The sound of the door being bolted behind them echoed through the large chamber.

Sam didn't know what to do or say. The only source of information available was the green-clad man shackled next to him, but ever since he'd lept here, that man had been glaring at him constantly. He wondered if he -- or rather, whomever he'd leapt into -- was responsible for their current situation.

"Too simple."

Distracted from his thoughts, Sam was surprised to see the other man standing away from the wall, free of his shackles and rubbing the circulation back into his wrists. "How did you do that?" he couldn't help voicing his surprise.

The dark-haired man looked at him with obvious impatience and maybe just a touch of disgust. "What'd you expect? After all, I *am* the King of Thieves." As he spoke, he smoothed out his mustache, then straightened his clothing, brushing off the worst of the dirt before turning away from Sam and walking over to the door.

The King of Thieves? It didn't sound familiar, but then, with the way his mind turned to swiss cheese after a leap, this man could be the King of England and Sam doubted he'd be able to remember it. Still, if this so-called "King" was any good -- and he had managed to free himself -- then maybe things weren't as bad as they'd first looked.

"So, you're getting us out of here?" Sam asked hopefully.

The other man looked away from his apparent contemplation of the door's locking mechanisim and gave Sam a whithering glare. "Us?" His tone was ominously quiet. "Y'know, maybe I'm not remembering this right, but weren't you the one that set off the alarm when I told you not to touch *anything*? And then, when we'd almost escaped, didn't you trip over your own feet and *get us caught*?" His voice rose in intensity if not in volume near the end.

Sam couldn't help wincing. Maybe he hadn't been there when the alarm went off, whatever that was about, but when he'd lept here he'd been disoriented, the same as usual after every leap, and as a result he'd tripped. He didn't know if it was something on the ground or if he had indeed fallen over his own feet, but in any case, their presence here was his fault.

"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. Whatever was going on, wherever this place was, right now this man was all he had and he couldn't afford to be separated from him.

But the green-clad man just shook his head. "This is all *your* fault, Joxer; you can get yourself out." And he went back to examining the lock.

Sam didn't know what to say to that. He didn't know enough about this man, or the one he'd lept into, to judge the seriousness of that statement. The man was angry, that was very apparent, unwilling to help, so Sam could only go on the assumption that he was on his own here. At least he had learned something important though: the man whose identity he'd lept into was called Joxer.

"Okay." He sighed in resignation. Since he'd have to find his own way out of this there was no point in wasting time.

The shackles around his wrists were tightly attached to the wall so there was no chance of pulling them out. The metal, slowly warming against his skin, felt solid, not at all loose, but if the other man had done it then there had to be a way out. He tried pulling in his fingers towards his palm, making his hands as small as possible, but when he attempted to pull them through the shackles, there still wasn't enough room. He could twist his wrists around with some difficulty, so he moved them back and forth a bit, gritting his teeth against the discomfort, hoping that the movement would force some give in the shackles. Not that he was too optimistic about it, but he still had to try. If it didn't work then he'd find another way--

He hissed at the sharp pain as the edge of the shackles cut into his wrists. That he hadn't anticipated, but maybe he should've. For a few moments he stopped, letting the pain fade to a dull throb. Slicing himself up wasn't a good way to go about this. Without knowing where, or when he was, he couldn't have any idea of where the nearest hospital was, or whatever passed for one around here.

"Shit."

The annoyed curse drew Sam's attention away from his predicament. The green-clad man was watching him, arms crossed over his chest, looking extremely irritated.

"You deserve to be stuck here, you know that?" he snapped.

Sam nodded without protest, hoping it would placate the other man. He could feel blood trickling down his right arm and he couldn't help thinking that this dungeon wasn't exactly the cleanest place he'd ever seen. This leap was strange enough so far and he didn't exactly relish a nice case of tetanus to go with it.

"Oh...gods damn it!" The man ran a hand back through his hair. Then he walked over to Sam and with no explanation, opened both shackles in seconds.

"Thank you," Sam said, smiling slightly. Maybe things weren't as bad between Joxer and this man as they seemed.

"Hey, don't think it has anything to do with you." The man glared at him. "If I left you here, Xena would gut me. Tartarus, Gabrielle would probably help her and use my intestines as accessories too. Now just keep your mouth shut and let me work."

Sam didn't push it. He followed the man to the door and just stood there, out of the way he hoped. He didn't try to get a better look at what the other man was doing, afraid that he'd be interfering, instead he went back over what he'd just heard.

Some things weren't making sense here, or maybe they were and he just couldn't quite believe the conclusions he was starting to draw. "Xena" and "Gabrielle" didn't mean anything to him, except that they were obviously people Joxer knew so he had to remember those names. What bothered him though was the way the other man cursed: "gods," "Tartarus"? Then again, maybe he'd just misheard, but he doubted it.

He really wished he could just have a decent conversation with this man, but any attempt would probably get him left here. Besides, the "King of Thieves" was busy opening the lock now and considering that it was on the other side of the door, it was a fairly impressive sight.

"You know, I've always wished I could do that."

Regardless that he'd been hoping to hear it, the familiar voice near his ear still surprised Sam, making him jump. "Al!" he hissed accusingly, glaring at the hologram standing next to him as he steadied himself.

"What?" his friend asked innocently as he removed the ever-present cigar from his mouth. As always he'd managed to come up with an outfit that would make most people wince, red pants and a shiny red shirt, but it worked on Al. "Come on, Sam, don't you know who this is?" He motioned to the green-clad man.

When Al didn't elaborate, Sam raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Oh, right." Al made a vague motion at Sam's head. "The memory thing must be acting up again. This is Autolycus, the King of Thieves I read about him in mythology class -- at least I think I did. I was asleep most of the time so maybe I read it somewhere else." Al moved to stand beside Autolycus, craning his neck to watch what the man did. "I could've used a skill like that when I was younger. Did I ever tell you about the time I tried to sneak into the girls' dorm--"

"Not now, Al!" Sam cut him off, impatient to hear the reason he'd leap into this place.

"Is there someone else here, or are you just talking to yourself?"

Sam quickly looked away from the hologram. Autolycus had stopped working on the lock and was glaring at him, obviously annoyed at the interruption.

"Uh, just...talking to myself?" Sam tried with a smile.

Instead of repremanding him again, Autolycus just sighed in exasperation. "You got hit in the head one too many times," he muttered, then he pushed the door open.

"Go with him, Sam. I'll find you outside." The door to the Imaging Chamber opened behind Al and he stepped through.

Sam followed the thief out of the dungeon, staying close as he'd been instructed. Autolycus apparently knew exactly what he was doing. In less than a minute he'd brought them to an open window without ever encountering a guard.

"How do you know where you're going?" Sam had to ask.

The thief looked at him like he was crazy. "Hello, idiot! We cased this place for two days."

"Oh. Well, I don't remember everything." That was certainly the truth.

"Now there's a surprise," Autolycus responded sarcastically. "Come on, we're outta here." He pulled himself up and through the window. "Try not to let that scrap metal you're wearing make *too* much noise," he called back quietly.

Sam had wondered what kind of clothes these were. It felt like a combination of cloth, leather and metal. Looking at it now, he knew he'd never seen anything like it before, but Autolycus had a point, it looked like scrap metal. Something pieced together, but for what purpose?

"Okay, okay! It's armor! Now let's go!" Autolycus hissed at him.

Armor? This leap got stranger all the time. Sam could tell they didn't have time for questions though, so he took the hand offered him and let Autolycus help him up through the window.

"Now what?" he asked when they were standing outside what appeared to be a fortress, or something similar anyway.

Instead of replying verbally, Autolycus grabbed him by the arm and began running. Well, that was a simple answer. Night had fallen and he could barely see anything, but again Autolycus seemed to know exactly where they were going. Sam stumbled numerous times but Autolycus just continued to pull him along. When they finally stopped, Sam felt ready to drop, but from what he could hear, the thief wasn't even breathing hard. Of course, being the King of Thieves, Autolycus probably had a lot of practice at running.

"We should be okay here," Autolycus said quietly, releasing his grip on Sam.

"I can't see a thing," Sam observed, trying to make out *anything* and having no success.

"The trees are blocking the moonlight, but we can risk a small fire. Stay here, I'll get some wood."

That made Sam frown. Autolycus hadn't abandoned him back in the dugeon but from the sound of it, only because he risked angering mutual acquaintances or friends. Now that they were out of there, what was stopping him from simply walking off and leaving Sam here by himself? Maybe this leap might have nothing to do with Autolycus, but until he learned differently, Sam wasn't going to risk losing track of him. Reaching out quickly, he grabbed hold of the first thing he touched, it felt like a wrist.

"Are you going to leave me here?" He didn't have to fake either the worry or suspicion in his voice.

"Don't tempt me," Autolycus' voice was little more than an annoyed snarl as he yanked out of Sam's grip.

Sam supposed that was as good an answer, and reassurance as he'd get. Maybe he could press the issue and accompany Autolycus, but then he'd risk truly angering him. So he stayed where he'd been told to, eyes wide open in the hope of his night vision improving.

Now that the flight was over, or at least on hold until dawn, the adrenaline wasn't flowing as fast as it had been and Sam started to realize that it was cool out. He was tired as it was, and with the chill in the air it wasn't long before he was shivering a bit. The outfit he wore left most of his arms bare so he rubbed the skin briskly, driving away a bit of the cold.

Autolycus' return came as a surprise, not so much because he *had* returned but because Sam didn't hear him until he dropped an armload of branches right next to him. The sound startled him and Sam gasped, turning quickly towards the source of the noise. The boots he wore weren't the best fit, something he'd noticed in a vague way when they were running, but it became more apparent now when the loose heel of the right boot didn't turn with his foot, causing the entire boot to jerk his foot in the wrong direction and sending him stumbling forward -- right into another body.

"Get off me!" Autolycus' voice was a bit muffled against Sam's shoulder but he managed to get his hands between them and shove Sam backwards. "Why do you always have to be *such* a klutz?" Autolycus demanded.

"I'm sorry," Sam quickly apologized, regaining his balance. Well, at least he was doing a decent job of impersonating Joxer so far, although he had to wonder how much of the man's clumbsiness was due to ill-fitting clothing rather than a natural lack of coordination.

"Whatever." Autolycus didn't say anything more and from the sounds of it he spent the next few minutes setting up a fire. From somewhere he produced a spark and after a bit of muttered cursing and blowing on the small flame, he managed to get a small blaze going. It wasn't much but Sam quickly knelt down beside it and started warming his hands and arms, grateful for even this much warmth and the bit of light that allowed him to see a small portion of their surroundings.

Trees. That was the overwhelming impression he got; trees surrounding them on all sides with very little in the way of underbrush, just grass and mostly dirt. It might've been a forest but for all Sam knew it was just a few trees growing close together. It was too dark and the firelight didn't reach far enough for him to make any attempt to idetify any of the flora so instead he turned his attention back to Autolycus, crouched on the other side of the fire, currently glaring at him.

"I *had* some food," Autolycus said, sitting back on his heels, his expression decidedly unfriendly, "but since the guards took everything they could easily find on me, I guess we're going hungry tonight."

Sam didn't know what to say to that and he wasn't going to risk putting any more tension between them by apologizing yet again when Autolycus hadn't really accepted any of his previous ones, so he just got a bit more comfortable, settling down and crossing his legs. Hopefully his silence wouldn't seem too out of character for Joxer. If it was an unusual reaction, Autolycus didn't comment on it, he did, apparently have other things on which to comment though.

"I've been planning that job for nearly two weeks, and *you* screwed it all up!" he accused. "I've had enough! The next town we come to, I'm leaving you there!" With that, Autolycus stretched out on the ground near the fire. He spent a few moments trying to get comfortable, grumbling about "roughing it", then he closed his eyes and appeared to relax some.

Sam hadn't been able to help wincing at the scathing tones, but he kept silent, feeling that it was the best action he could take. So far it was fairly obvious that the man he'd lept into, Joxer, was known for making mistakes, frequently from the sound of it. He wasn't certain why Joxer had been with Autolycus but it didn't sound much like these two were friends, or that Autolycus had much tolerance for Joxer at all. Sam wanted to talk to him, try to find out more about where they were and just who Joxer was, but that simply wasn't going to happen, at least not now. Maybe once Autolycus had gotten some sleep; things could possibly look better in the morning, or maybe they'd be worse. It was impossible to say but all Sam could do was wait and see, maybe try to get a bit of rest himself.

Just as he started to uncross his legs, preparing to lay down, the door to the Imaging Chamber opened on the other side of the fire, near where Autolycus lay and Al stepped through. Sam couldn't help a small sigh of relief; maybe *now* he'd get some answers.

Al didn't look at him, his attention focused on his handlink. "You're not gonna believe this, Sam," he said as the door closed behind him. "This is the strangest thing. Now, we haven't got it all figured out yet, but Ziggy's working on a theory and we should know something soon." Looking up from the handlink, he glanced around the campsite. "This is totally amazing," he said in awe.

"Just tell me what's going on, Al!" Sam said, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"Oh, right." Al turned his attention back to the handlink. "Your name is Joxer. He's in his late twenties, early thirties -- we can't get an exact age -- and he's a...well, actually, we're not really sure what he does for a living. Anyway, the really amazing part is where you've leaped into."

"The Twilight Zone?" Sam guessed with a touch of sarcasm.

"No, I'm serious here! This is even better than when you leapt into your great-grandfather." Al walked through the fire without seeming to notice it, making Sam wince. As many times as he saw something like that, Sam still couldn't get used to it. "You're in Greece, Sam."

"Greece?"

"Yes!" Al said excitedly. "Now, Ziggy can't get an exact fix on the date, but Julius Caesar is on the senate in Rome, so she's saying that it has to be somewhere in the mid to early half of the first century, B.C."

"What!" Sam hissed, barely remembering to keep his voice down. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that I've leapt back in time to *Ancient Greece*?"

"Yeah. We're not sure how it happened, but Gooshie has a theory about that. He thinks that the man you've leapt into has to be one of your ancestors. That's how it was possible the last time. He thinks -- are you listening to me?"

"Uh-huh," Sam responded distractedly. Ancient Greece? This didn't make any sense. Even if this Joxer turned out to be some distant relation, the connection had to be so tenuous...it just didn't seem either probable or possible, although the latter was irrelivant since he was here.

"We're still trying to come up with more data on Joxer," Al continued.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Well, right now he's huddled in a corner of the Imaging Chamber babbling in Greek, the, uh, ancient form." He sighed in frustration. "Ziggy's translating for us. The guy thinks he's on Olympus and we're all gods." Al snorted in amusement. "Too frightened to listen to reason."

"Um, Al? I'm speaking English," Sam pointed out in confusion.

"No. Actually...you're not." Al punched a few buttons on the handlink and looked over the results. "It's a bit confusing and we're still not sure how it happened, but you're speaking Greek. Ziggy's got it worked out so I hear you in English. It's almost surreal, Sam," Al said reflectively, looking down at his friend. "It's kind of like being 'inside' one of those old kung fu movies. You know, the ones that were dubbed, so the lips weren't in sync with the dialogue?"

Sam nodded, but frowned as something occured to him. "You're speaking English, Al; everything's in sync."

"Um, yeah...that's the even stranger thing." Al didn't look at the handlink again, just down at Sam with a slightly confused expression. "Or maybe it isn't. Sam, did you study ancient Greek in college?"

That took some thought. Sam's frown deepened as he concentrated, trying to work through memories that weren't always in the proper order, or sometimes even there to be accessed at all. Finally he had to shake his head, partially in frustration. "I don't know, Al. It's possible, I guess, but I can't remember."

"It's okay, Sam." Al smiled at him consolingly. "Look, it's just a theory, but if you *did* study the language then it's possible that you're simply speaking it out of relflex, because that's what everyone else is speaking. I can still speak English to you and you understand; you just have to relate to the people around you in Greek."

It was a decent theory, given their lack of information, but it just didn't feel right and Sam shook his head again. "Doesn't add up, Al. I *feel* like I'm speaking English; there has to be another explanation."

"Okay, we'll work on it," Al agreed with a slight nod.

"Thanks." Sam gave him a slight smile. "So, why am I here?"

"We don't know that yet," Al replied apologetically. "Ziggy's working on it though. She said something about needing to research some sort of scrolls." He shrugged. "But until we find out, you'd better stick with the King of Thieves there. This isn't exactly the most peaceful time in history. You don't wanna get caught in some war or something."

"Autolycus doesn't like me," Sam pointed out, more loudly than he'd intended. "How can I--"

"That's not true."

The quiet voice drew their attention to Autolycus who now sat up.

"I...didn't mean to wake you up," Sam apologized hesitantly. "I just need to talk to myself sometimes." He hoped that worked as an explanation.

"It's okay. I, well, I do it too, sometimes," Autolycus admitted, brushing his dark hair back from his forehead. Then he stood and walked around the fire to where Sam sat. "Look, Joxer; I was really upset earlier," he explained as he sat down next to him. "I didn't mean some of the things I said."

"Looks like you can work this out," Al said as the door opened behind him. "I'm gonna go and see what Gooshie's come up with. I'll check back later." He stepped through and the door disappeared.

"I know you don't mean to screw up," Autolycus was saying. "It's not your fault. I just...I get angry and I don't think about what I say. It doesn't mean I don't like you. I do. Okay?" He looked so uncomfortable as he spoke, like he didn't want to talk about this.

"Okay." Sam nodded, smiling a bit. If Autolycus was friendly enough with Joxer to apologize when it was obviously hurting his pride then there was hope here that Sam could manage to stay with him without making him angry. "So, are you still going to leave me at the next town?"

"Guess not. But only if you promise not to interfere with any more of my robberies."

"Uh, okay, Autolycus." Maybe Sam didn't personally approve of theft, but in this time and place he wasn't sure he should be making any moral judgments.

"Good. Remember that and we'll get along fine, kid." Autolycus smiled back at him and dropped an arm around Sam's shoulders.

"Kid?" Sam's eyebrows went up.

"Well you're a lot younger than me." Autolycus chuckled.

Joxer may have been younger, but Sam guessed that he and Autolycus were roughly the same age.

"And, um, call me Auto, okay?"

"Auto?" That made Sam frown slightly.

"Yeah, I mean, you've been calling me that for almost a year. Guess it seems, I dunno, friendlier -- and you *are* my friend, Joxer." He squeezed Sam's shoulders as he spoke.

"Thanks, Auto." Sam's smile was in no way forced. He was no longer in any danger of losing the one native guide he had to this strange land and it was starting to look like the "King of Thieves," while a bit lacking in the conscience department, had a bigger heart than he let on at first acquaintance.

"Let's try to get some sleep. I wanna start out early in the morning," Autolycus said, giving Sam's shoulders a last squeeze before releasing him and laying back down, not on the other side of the fire where he'd been previously, but close to Sam.

After a moment's hesitation, Sam too lay down. Almost immediately he could see the practical advantages of this; the fire was small and only gave off meager warmth, but Autolycus was very warm and Sam didn't doubt that their combined body heat would help ward off a bit of the night time chill.

The "armor" he still wore was far from comfortable, especially while trying to settle in for sleep and he supposed he should've taken it off. If they had to leave in a hurry though, he didn't want to be the one responsible for Joxer losing his clothing, so sleeping in it seemed to be the best option. Still, he would really have prefered a pillow instead of trying to use his bent arm; it was better than laying his head in the dirt though.

Autolycus didn't seem to be having any trouble getting comfortable, in fact he hadn't moved since he'd first lain down and Sam envied him a bit. He didn't doubt that Autolycus was simply aclimated to this and he himself would become so over time, but that didn't stop him from wishing that this was all just a bit more comfortable.

-------

Sam woke gradually, the sound of chirpping birds the first thing to register with him. Daylight came next as he opened his eyes, squinting a bit at the brightness. At first he couldn't figure out where he was, why he was laying on the ground, curled up on his side -- or why there was an arm around his waist and a body pressed up against his back. It wasn't exactly the most uncomfortable thing in the world but Sam didn't like waking up with unknown people.

He'd gotten used to finding himself in awkward situations when he leaped into another body, but he felt that he hadn't just landed in this particular one, there was none of the usual physical disorientation. So why didn't he remember going to sleep with someone? His memory still full of holes, he nevertheless tried to remember what he'd done before going to bed -- on the ground. That brought a frown to his face, and stirred up a recollection of the strange events of last night. Dungeon, escape, Ancient Greece -- and the King of Thieves. Well, that explained just who had a hold of him here, but not why.

"Um, Autolycus?"

No response. Okay, he could deal with this. Sam tried to pull out of the tight grasp but met with no success. The guy had a firm grip, and apparently he slept pretty deeply.

"Auto," he said with more volume, nudging his elbow back into Autolycus' chest. Finally he got a reply, sort of.

"What'samatter?" a soft mutter near his ear.

"You're holding me," Sam pointed out.

"S'okay, babe," the arms tightened more, "y'r husband won't know 'bout it."

Sam felt lips press against the back of his neck and that did it. This time he shoved his elbow back hard.

"Hey!" Suddenly awake, Autolycus let go and pulled back, rubbing his chest. "What's your problem?" He glared at Sam.

"Nothing, *babe*. Want to check and see if my 'husband' is back yet?" Sam returned the glare as he sat up, wiping the back of his neck.

Autolycus frowned, then looked thoughtful for a few seconds before understanding entered his expression. He chuckled with amusement. "Right. Sorry about that, Joxer. It's just, well, you know how it is." He hesitated, looking at Sam speculatively. "Then again, maybe not. Anyway, you wake up in enough strange beds--"

"With enough strange wives," Sam put in with a slight grin he couldn't quite help; Autolycus did have a winning personality.

That speculative look again, then a slow nod. "Yeah, sometimes. Look, why don't I go get breakfast, huh?"

"Okay, Auto." Sam got to his feet at the same time as the other man. Watching as Autolycus walked off into the trees, he worked at stretching muscles stiff from sleeping on the ground.

Taking the opportunity to check his surroundings more thoroughly, Sam could this time conclude that they were indeed in a forest, evergreens surrounding the camp site. He hadn't at any point noticed the scent of ocean so that put them away from the coast, but that didn't exactly help either. He'd have to ask Autolycus when he returned.

It was only a short while later when Autolycus reappeared, but before Sam could ask anything, Autolycus was handing over what he'd brought back. Sam looked at the berries he'd been given but his mind refused to supply an identification, so he looked at Autolycus questioningly.

Autolycus shrugged. "Hey, what do I know about nature?"

With that confidence-inducing statement, it was only a minute or two before they began traveling on an empty stomach.

"So, um, where are we going?" Sam asked, hoping that their destination would give him an idea of where they were.

"Little town, thataways." Autolycus motioned ahead of them with a shrug.

Okay, that wasn't exactly helpful. He tried again. "Where are we now?" More blunt than he would've liked and probably not the best tactic judging from the disbelieving expression Autolycus gave him.

"Thrace. We left Xena and Gabrielle back in Tempyra last week, you know that. Did you hit your head recently?" It was a serious question, judging from both Autolycus' concerned look and the lack of sarcasm.

"No," Sam replied immediately, then frowned as memories as some of his more recent leaps came to mind. "Well, what d'you mean by 'recently?'"

"Nevermind." Autolycus rolled his eyes. "Look, when we get to 'civilization,' we'll ask exactly where we are, okay?"

"Sure, thanks." Sam smiled at him.

Autolycus just shook his head, a gesture that seemed almost fond. "So, Joxer, what do you wanna do when we hit town?"

The change of subject wasn't unwelcome; by now Sam a list of things he really missed. "Um, maybe some breakfast?"

Autolycus snorted. "Yeah, I'm with you there. How 'bout we rent a room if there's an inn available? We can get something to eat, and maybe spend a night in a semi-decent bed. Sound good?"

"Oh yes," Sam agreed enthusiastically. "So...what do you want to do, besides someplace to eat and stay, I mean?" He hoped that getting Autolycus to talk more would give him an idea of how things were in this day and age. Sure, he had some basic textbook knowledge -- whenever his memory decided to cooperate -- but nothing that would give him a real feel for life here. Of course if Al would show up that would help too, but there was nothing he could do about that so this was the next best thing.

"We'll need some money," Autolycus was saying, "so I'll have to take care of that. That's first. After that, well, we'll see what comes along. There's not exactly much to do in these little towns so we should probably move along after a day or so. I'll need some information about any good 'prospects' around here so I'll have to talk to a few people. If Hermes has a temple anyplace in the vicinity I need to stop there -- maybe I've done something he didn't like; that would explain my luck lately." That comment wasn't specifically directed at Sam, but Sam didn't doubt that Autolycus was refering to Joxer as well as whatever else had happened.

"What about you?" Autolycus glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Any plans?"

Sam shrugged. As far as he'd been able to determine he was penniless and while Autolycus had already implied that he'd pay for their room and food, he wasn't willing to ask for anything more.

"C'mon, Joxer. Whatever you want; I'll take care of it."

It was a generous offer, and judging from Autolycus' smile, a genuine one. Still, Sam didn't really know this man. "Really?" he asked, his suspicion showing.

"Yeah, sure." Autolycus draped an arm casually over his shoulders. "So whaddya want, kid?"

"That's nice of you, Auto, I mean, after last night." Maybe mentioning the night before wasn't the smartest thing, but Sam did want to thank him.

"I told you it wasn't all your fault," Autolycus reminded him, his smile unwavering.

Nodding, Sam dropped the subject and thought about what he'd appreciate the most once they reached civilization. It wasn't like he could mention electricity or plumbing or any of the things he'd always taken for granted, so although that was most of what he missed, that didn't leave him with much he could wish for aloud. "A bath." That sounded divine right about now, after sleeping in the dirt.

"A bath?" Autolycus snorted. "Hades, I was planning on tossing you in one anyway. The Gods know you need it. What else?"

"Yeah, and you smell like a pile of roses yourself," Sam muttered under his breath.

"I heard that." Autolycus smirked. "So give, what else do you want?"

"Different clothes." Even if he had to carry Joxer's armor with him, a different set of clothes would be more than welcome. This scrap metal was difficult to move in and only a good sense of balance had kept him from stumbling too much as they walked.

Autolycus frowned at him. "Why? What's wrong with yours?"

"It doesn't look right." Sam shrugged, metal jangling with the movement. He had no doubt that even in this day and age, what Joxer wore wasn't normal and undoubtedly attracted attention of the wrong sort. Autolycus' comments from the night before certainly seemed to point in that direction. "You don't like it," he pointed out.

"Joxer," Autolycus stopped, pulling Sam to a halt beside him. "Look," he said seriously, "what I think isn't what matters. You like that stuff so keep it. If you want I'll even have it polished or something for you. Okay?"

Sam nodded, smiling again. Autolycus definitely had a soft spot for anyone he considered a friend. "Just a bath then, a *hot* one."

"No problem." Grinning, Autolycus pulled him along again.

The sense of almost comaraderie persisted between them even after they reached the town late that afternoon. They'd passed the hours mostly in silence and it'd been comfortable enough that Sam hadn't wanted to risk ruining it by asking another question that Joxer would've known the answer to. Autolycus had seemed satisfied enough with simply walking, one arm still draped casually over Sam's shoulders even over an hour after he'd first put it there when it should've been uncomfortable. But he didn't remove his arm until they sighted the town late that morning.

Shaking the arm a bit, probably trying to put some feeling back into it, Autolycus nodded to the cluster of buildings ahead of them. "Looks bigger than I'd thought."

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