Mel and Janice

Alternative Stories

last updated: December 9, 2007

After Midnight - Firefly
Janice is in a romantic mood.

All Our Flowers - Phantom Bard [mostly classic with Mel/Janice]
This is a series of five vignettes inspired by the lyrics of the Pete Seeger song, "Where Have All The Flowers Gone", as recorded by The Kingston Trio. I was going through my old 45s after watching a tape of "A Good Day".

Blue Scrolls (The) - Bacchae2
Jan & Mel/Xena & Gab walk through each other's dreams across the ages in order to perpetuate the "ineffable mystery" of a love so great it transcends time itself.

Christmas Eve - Wakar
Janice and Mel happily celebrate the holiday even though their plans go slightly awry.

Christmas To Remember - J. Gardner
Mel and Janice have their first Christmas

Covington's Kid - Simahoyo
A look at the early experiences which molded Janice Covington.

The Further Adventures of Janice and Mel - ArdentTly

Resistance and Resurrection
Resistance and Resurrection is the second in the Jan/Mel series which has Janice being shipped off to Holland after being drafted. After a short stint in Special Ops, it's decided that a woman of her intelligence and skills can best be utilized working with a small cadre in the Dutch Resistance. Things begin to go wrong for Mel as the thefts continue and she finds herself fending off the advances of the museums new curator, Hudson Callisto. A past enemy escapes from prison and sets her sights on both women. Jan limps home from the war, a little worse for wear and finds death and destruction in her very own home.

Part 1 Part 2

The Grecian Affair
The Grecian Affair takes the reader out of the established cannon and has the two women meet on the island of Cyprus. Miss Pappas has come down to meet the daughter of the infamous Harry Covington. It seems both men had been working on the Xena Scrolls but had been murdered mysteriously. Taking the bit between her teeth, Janice Covington decides to do a bit of sleuthing herself. The more time she spends in the company of a certain tall, dark linguist, the more entranced she becomes. Things come to a boil as both women are kidnapped and find their lives in peril. Just who is stealing Greek antiquities at the museum where Janice works? Who is this mysterious Hudson Callisto and what part does she play in having Janice black balled?

Going Home - LZClotho
Rating:R. post, -"Xena Scrolls" story. Janice Covington and Melinda Pappas brave deceit, duplicity, and love, on their journey to the States from Macedonia.

Home Fires - Christine "Roo" Toups
This story takes place six months after the episode Xena Scrolls. Mel has left Janice with a terse "Dear John" letter and the good Dr. Covington has gone in search of a damned good explanation.

Home Front - LZClotho
Rating: R. Home isn't easy as Janice tries to land a job and Melinda finds she's not fitting in perfectly anymore as a danger from Europe follows them to Raleigh. Sequel to Going Home

I Never Knew - KG MacGregor
Mel and Janice iron out the terms of their new partnership and return to New York to show off their find: the Xena Scrolls. Now with their wings clipped by the war in Europe, they find adventure on a different front.

Kiss Me Deadly - angharad governal (removed by request of author)
Mel hires Janice to recover the stolen Xena scrolls and attempting to right the wrong that was done to their relationship.

Legend of Ambrosia (The) - D.J. Belt
In this seventh in a series, Mel and Jan reunite with their old friend Alais, go after the legend of ambrosia, and find themselves tangled in a web of ancient dangers as Jan discovers the final answer to a heartbreaking question that's plagued her for years.

Mel and Janice Meet an Amazon Princess - Crow
Mel makes arrangements for Janice's funeral and pays a visit to her lodgings. A follow-on story from And A Nightingale... and Who Was Going To Miss An Angel Or Two, Anyway?

Reflections - Wakar
Takes place after the episode "The Xena Scrolls". Janice reflects on her relationship with Mel.

Southwestern Scrolls (The) - The Bard of New Mexico
Mel and Janice make an extraordinary find in the desert of New Mexico. Real places and NM legends create the backbone of the plot.

Stranger in a Strange Time - Red Hope [unfinished]
Janice Covington is kidnapped and awakens in the Amazon Nation to discover it isn't 1940 anymore nor is history as correct as she thought it. She is in disbelief to find out that Xena is the tyrannical Conqueror and Gabrielle, the rebel leader, has been crucified. Now her only way home is to face the ruthless ruler with no help and simply faith behind her.

1.	Tomb (The) - D.J. Belt Mel and Janice (with a bit of help from their friends) discover and open the tomb of Xena and Gabrielle, but with a twist: unanswered questions are popping up all over, robbers attempt desecration of the tomb, a ghost (?) appears, and the God of War (who is really ticked off) is trying to wreak his vengance on them as they attempt to spirit the remains to Athens. After all, who better to figure out what finally happened to X and G than their twentieth-century alter egos, Mel and Jan?
2.	Tears of a Goddess - DJ Belt In this sequel to The Tomb, Melinda Pappas and Janice Covington are invited to France by their old friends Mack and Sallie, who have discovered a cache of priceless ancient documents, Gabrielle's previously unknown writings among them. Jan is confounded by the shocking content of the writings, and the mysterious specter which haunts her as she ponders their puzzle. The papers disappear and Jan is arrested for their theft. As she languishes in a jail cell, Mel summons help from the shadowy depths of the postwar "intelligence" community. A motley collection of characters emerge to attempt Jan's rescue as Jan unravels the mystery of Gabrielle's latter days and the identity of the odd specter which visits her.
3.	Legacy of Britannia (The) - DJ Belt In this third of a series of Mel/Jan stories (after The Tomb and The Tears of a Goddess), Mel and Jan travel to England, where they join their old friend Mack in a frantic search for Sallie, who has disappeared while excavating the subterranean chambers of an ancient castle. They soon find themselves embroiled in a titanic struggle between good and evil as they strive to solve the mystery of Sallie's disappearance and lay bare the hidden secrets of the ancient fortress---secrets which are astounding even to Janice and Mel, and which further confirm the truth of the Xena Legends to a skeptical world.
4.	A Bad Day in Algiers - DJ Belt In this fourth in a series of Mel and Jan stories (after The Tomb, The Tears of a Goddess, and The Legacy of Britannia), Jan Covington and Mel Pappas chase a stolen artifact to Algiers and find themselves pitted against none other than Ares, god of war, in a fight which threatens Jan's life, her reputation, and her love with Mel.
5.	The Riddle of Sappho's End - DJ Belt [Mel&Janice/alt/complete] In this fifth in a series (after The Tomb, The Tears of a Goddess, The Legacy of Britannia, and A Bad Day in Algiers), Jan Covington and Mel Pappas seek out and excavate the legacy of the great poet Sappho, dealing with a jealous bureaucrat, tomb-robbers, a "curse", and one of the toughest riddles of their careers: just what caused Sappho's tragic end, and how were Xena and Gabrielle involved?
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7.	The Legend of Ambrosia - DJ Belt In this seventh in a series, Mel and Jan reunite with their old friend Alais, go after the legend of ambrosia, and find themselves tangled in a web of ancient dangers as Jan discovers the final answer to a heartbreaking question that's plagued her for years.
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9.	Curse of the Rhinegold - DJ Belt In this ninth installment of the Mel and Jan series, our two favorite girls travel to Europe to receive their Nobel Prize and search for the cursed Rhinegold, with unforseen and potentially tragic results.

What Dreams May Come - Paranoia
Janice gets the treasure, defeats the villain and saves the girl. Now how is she going to explain that to Mel? Very Short.

What Dreams May Come II: The Wrath of The Khan - Paranoia
Melinda Pappas wakes up in a strange place, with no idea how she got there. This light-hearted romp through Melinda's subconscious combines obscure literature and gratuitous nudity.

What Dreams May Come III: Return of the Red-Eye - Paranoia
Well, let's see... there's a trap, and a craving ... some gratuitous pop culture references, a torch song, and LOTS of whiskey. Mel/Janice Alt, and the last of the What Dreams series.