Disclaimer: The characters of Xena, Gabrielle, Melinda, Janice and their fathers are the property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. This is just a work of fan fiction and not intended to infringe on the copyright of " Xena: Warrior Princess".

The characters Little Xena and Little Gabrielle were used with permission of Lúcia da Ascenção deNóbrega lunobrega@sol.com.br. If you have not seen her drawings or cartoon connection on The Australian Little Xena Information Page http://xenite.simplenet.com/index.html, I recommend it! I guess you can say the characters of Little Janice and Little Mel are mine.

The story is mine. December 24, 2000

Violence: None

Subtext: Sorry not in this one. This story is for my niece and is suitable for all ages.

Authors notes: I just wanted to say thank you to Lúcia for providing me with a wonderful image that I can share with a very special Little Gabrielle, my Niece Nicole! Betas, you folks are the best.

One last note… OK the two of you who wanted a Little Mel and Janice story… Here it is. Hope you like the start. Now then, do you two want a sequel?

I’d love to hearing from you. Please feel free to send me your comments good or bad. ricesue@mediaone.net

By Susan A. Rice

The little blond was digging away in the sandy pit. She was being very careful with her small tools. She took the little trowel and carefully scooped up some sand and put it into the sifter. Then ever so carefully she started to lightly tap it. Once all the sand had been removed, she saw several small pieces of pottery. She smiled at her find and made a little note in her book about it. She smiled knowing that some day she would be as great an archeo-whatever-it-was that her daddy was.

"I’ll find the Little Xena Scrolls and help my daddy find the rest too some day," thought Little Janice.

She continued digging in the sand. She was wearing a little bomber jacket that had been a gift from her uncle and a baseball cap. She was looking forward to her birthday because she knew that her daddy had a special gift for her. She hoped it was that funny brown hat that he used to wear all the time but for now, she knew she would have to wait and see.

Last night her father had been talking with someone on the phone. She was told afterwards that they were going to have company today and that she needed to lend a helping hand with the visitors. She had smiled at her father and said she would do her best. Her father lifted her into the air and said, "You are the best champ. Remember that."

He brought her into the sleeping tent and tucked her into her cot. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and got a big hug and a whispered, "I love you, Daddy."

The next morning she got up and went outside to play at the dig. Now a dig was a wonderful thing for a child, just picture a huge sandpit and you can dig in it all day long and not get in any trouble. She tried really hard not to get dirty, but she was a kid and sifting sand was hard work for a little kid.

She did not hear the people coming up behind her and continued with her work. She knew that if she tried really hard she’d find the Little Xena Scrolls and give them to her Dad.

"Janice," called her father. "Would you please come over here?"

Little Janice looked over her shoulder and saw her father standing next to a man and a little girl. As she walked forward she smiled at her father. He was not as tall as the man with the little girl, but Little Janice always thought he was the biggest. She got her blond hair and green eyes from him, but he always said she had her mother’s smile.

The other man next to him was huge. He was tall and big at the same time and he had dark hair with light eyes, almost pale blue. He was smiling at her and he had his hand on the little girl’s shoulder.

The little girl looked to be a little bigger than Janice. She had long black hair, dark rimmed glasses and baby-blue eyes. She watched as the girl shied behind her father’s leg.

"Janie, I want you to meet Dr. Pappas and his daughter Melinda," said Dr. Covington.

Little Janice tilted her head way back and piped, "Hi! Wow, you’re big, ain’t cha?"

Dr. Pappas smiled. "Hello Janice. Yes, I guess I am big. Is that okay with you?"

She smiled and said, "Depends, you gonna help Da look for the Xena Scrolls?"

Dr. Pappas raised and eyebrow and said, "That’s what I’m here for."

"Then it’s okay with me," said the little blond.

Dr. Pappas chuckled. "Thank you." He turned to his daughter and nudged her forward a bit. "Melinda, say hello to Janice."

"Hullo," said Little Mel bashfully.

Little Janice walked right up to Little Mel and said, "Want to go play dig? It’s lots of fun."

Little Mel looked up at her father when Dr. Covington stated, "It’s like playing in a giant sand box, Melinda. You’ll have a great time."

Dr. Pappas looked at his only child and smiled fondly at her. "Go on Melinda, you’ll have fun."

The little brunette looked at Little Janice and said, "Okay."

Little Janice grabbed Little Mel by the hand and walked back to her dig site.

Dr. Pappas looked on as the girls walked away, "Will they be okay by themselves for a bit?"

"Oh they’ll be fine. Everyone on the dig knows that my kid is here and they all keep an eye on her. This morning at the meeting I also told them we were having another little visitor and they know that above all else, that safety of the girls is first and foremost."

"Thanks. We’ll check on them for lunch," and with that the two men entered the tent.

************

"So, do you help your Daddy on digs, Melinda?" asked Little Janice.

"No," came the quiet reply.

"No?" said a surprised Little Janice, "What do you do, Melinda, when your Dad is at the dig site?"

"I’m in school most of the time," answered Little Mel.

"Oh. Not me, I get to help Dad out all the time. It’s great fun. One day I’m gonna find the Little Xena Scrolls and Da will find the Xena Scrolls." stated Little Janice as she jumped into the sand pit.

Little Mel looked down at her little guide and then tried to decide the best way into the sand pit.

"Come on, jump," said Little Janice.

"I don’t know," answered Little Mel, "It’s a long way down."

"Nah. I’ll catch you," said the little blond.

Little Mel closed her eyes and jumped. Little Janice caught her new friend and steadied her on the loose sand.

"See, not so hard," said Little Janice, "Now then, let’s go scroll hunting!"

Opening her eyes, Little Mel smiled at her young friend’s enthusiasm. The girls ran off across the sands of the pit and arrived at Little Janice’s roped off site.

"Melinda, do you have a nickname?" asked Little Janice.

"No."

"Well, you need one. How about I call you Lin or Mel?"

"I like Mel."

"Okay then Mel, grab that little shovel and lets start searching!"

"Um, Janice, do you have a nickname?" asked Little Mel.

"Sure do. I have several of them. Da calls me Janie, or Jan," answered Little Janice.

"What do you like to be called most, Janice, Janie, or Jan?" asked Little Mel.

"Don’t know. I get called all three, so I never really thought about it. You can use whatever one you like most. Doesn’t matter to me."

"OK. I’ll use all of them then, Janice."

****************

The two girls had been playing for hours when they heard, "JANICE! MELINDA! Lunch Time!"

The girls looked at each other and the pile of things they found.

"What are we going to do with all of that stuff?" asked Mel.

"Hmmm, we need to cover it up for now and tell Da about it. He’ll have one of the others pick them up and log them in for us."

After covering the pile, Little Janice walked over to the side of the sand pit and scrambled out. She turned around to see her friend push her glasses back up on her face and shake her head causing her ponytail to lose some of the sand that had gotten in her hair. The brunette looked at the walls and tried to scramble out as Little Janice had but was not very coordinated and was having a problem getting any traction.

With a smile on her face, Little Janice extended her hand to her friend in an effort to help. Little Mel grasped her friend’s hand and was half pulled and half climbed out of the pit.

Little Janice got up and brushed off her hands. "Come on, let’s get some lunch."

The two girls started to run over to the food tent where both their fathers were waiting for them.

"Well, there you are little one," said Dr. Covington as he scooped up his daughter. "Was it a successful dig?"

Dr. Pappas turned with Mel in his arms and faced his colleague. Little Mel’s head was resting snuggly under his chin.

"Yes and no," answered Janice. "We found some stuff for you Da, but we did not find the Little Xena Scrolls."

"I’ll ask the boys to go over and pick up your finds. Did you write them down in your book like I asked you too?"

"Not me Da, but Mel did. She’s really good at reading and writing. She’s a lot neater than me too."

"Well then, thank you Melinda. I really appreciate your help today," said Dr. Covington. "It’s nice to know that you were as big a help to my Janie as you Daddy was to me today."

"Welcome," piped a suddenly shy Mel.

Dr. Pappas asked, "So, you’re trying to find the Little Xena Scrolls? Are you two close?"

Mel and Janice looked at each other and shrugged.

Dr. Pappas said, "Well, there is one thing I can tell you both that may help you find the scrolls."

Both girls turned to him, waiting to hear his advice.

"You need to eat your lunch and then take a nap so you are fresh and ready to do more searching this afternoon."

Both girls groaned.

"Do we have to take a nap?" asked Little Mel.

"I don’t wanna take a nap Daddy," said Little Janice.

Both fathers looked at each other and smiled.

"We’ll see girls, but first, you have to have lunch," answered Dr. Covington.

It was at that moment that Little Mel thought she heard thunder and asked, "Is it going to rain today?"

Dr. Covington laughed and said, "That was not thunder Melinda. That was the sound of a very hungry little girl. Come on."

Dr. Covington led the way into the food tent for lunch.

*************

Once lunch was over, two little girls were yawning and could barely keep there eyes open. Their fathers continued to talk as the little ones leaned into them and closed their eyes.

Both fathers smiled at each other and picked up their child and headed for the sleep tent. The little ladies were both carefully placed on the double cot and tucked in for a nap.

Outside, the fathers stood talking to one another.

"Covington, Janice is so like you. When did you tell her the story about the Little Xena Scrolls?"

"I told her about them one night about a month or two back. Since then, she has been determined to find them. It’s nice to see her doing such a good job on the dig. She has also been studying hard. The tutor you recommended has been great help. Really caught Janie’s interest."

"Well, how long do you think our girls are going to sleep for? We still have some work to discuss and I’m sure they have some adventures that they would like to finish," said Dr. Pappas.

"Hmmm, knowing my kid. Not to long. I think they’ll be fine for a while."

Both men crossed the compound to the tent that was serving as the meeting hall.

***********

Little Janice woke up and looked around the tent and saw her new best friend sound asleep next to her. She smiled. It had been a long time since she had a playmate. Her smile broadened as she thought about all of the adventures that they would have together while trying to find the Little Xena Scrolls.

She yawned and decided that the adventures could wait for a little while as she tucked the covers up around Mel’s shoulders. She then snuggled down into her pillow and dreamed of some of the adventures that awaited them.

THE END… For now.

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