Picking up where the episode The Xena Scrolls left us, the story sees our intrepid, butchy archaeologist Janice Convington pair up with Mel Pappas, the seemingly fragile southern belle with fire in her veins (well, hey, she's Xena's descendant). Xena's and Gabrielle's legacy is in danger of being auctioned off to the four corners of the world and thus the dynamic duo whisk themselves off to great adventures as they try to save the scrolls and other Xena paraphenalia on sale.

I read this story ages ago, even before I saw the episode that spawned the characters, and thus it was my first foray into the world of Uber. And what great, rollicky fun it is! The dialogue is superb, with witticism I greatly envy, and of course the story has the only dog I tolerate in fan fic -- Argo.

OK. If I don't have you convinced yet, picture this: Mel Pappas in a tux. 'Nuff said.

In addition to the finely depicted, gradual warming of Mel's and Janice's relationship, this piece of fiction stands out as an excellent piece of literature that only gets better in the sequel. I'm not a great friend of the Mel/Janice scheme, but this story is an exception.

The story begins where "The Pappas Journals" left off, with Mel and Janice still in Greece. The Gabrielle effect kicks into action and the dynamic duo gets involved in the war. When Mel is captured and Janice becomes privy to a dangerous secret, the world around them teeming with the cruelty and genocide of the Nazi and the horror of war's remorseless nature, all they can do is to try to survive and hope for a better tomorrow.

This a story about grief, love and making mistakes. Kandis Glasgow had to write this sequel, other wise people would have hunted her down and forced her to do it. And I am grateful she did.

'Southern Hospitality' manages to be a Murder Mystery and a Romantic Comedy all at the same time. In this bounding romp in the deep south, Mel and Jan are chasing mayhem and each other. Mel's best friend is threatened, and as they search to find out why, the Bodies are piling up. Grandma Pappas is out to throttle Janice, the new Reverend has other ideas, and Mel is the piggy in the middle. There's more fun here than a basket full of puppies.

Funny, warm and erotic this tale is most definitely "Print Worthy" no danger of wasting paper and toner here, you will be reading it more than once.

Five years after Janice's death, Mel finds herself in Venice among the canals and some of her happiest memories of Janice, but it only serves to illuminate her loss and the deadness she feels inside. As she walks along the boardwalk - wondering what made her think being there would make her feel better - she is graced with a gift of sorts. A serendipitous encounter that intervenes and proceeds to take her back through time, uncovering the deeply buried life she still holds within.

Vivian gifts us with evocative imagery and narrative that touches deeply into the very marrow of human bone. The past and present move in and out seamlessly, rhythmically, creating a full-bodied narrative that left me well sated long after the last line was read.

There's also something about this story that I find a bit magical, that leaves me feeling like I've witnessed a small miracle happening to an ordinary woman. As heroic as Janice and Mel have become for us as readers, it's a pleasant surprise to experience them as deeply human-and here they are nothing if not flesh and blood. If there were only one short story I could take with me from fan fiction, this would be it.