The Furies

When Gabrielle is trying to convince the now insane Xena that she must go to the temple of the Furies, she says "Will you do it for ME? Please?" When Xena ties Gabrielle to a tree she apologizes, "I'm sorry Gabrielle can't come with me." While she is saying this, she is petting Gabrielle's head affectionately. Gabrielle comforts Xena: "We're gonna get through this, you know we always do" and leaves a gentle and lingering hand on Xena's arm. And finally, because the obvious affection between the two of them in this episode might just have been a little to subtle for some (or perhaps a little to forced by myself), the writers threw in a line by Ares, after Xena had defeated him: "I still don't get what you see in her" he exclaims to Xena, gesturing towards Gabrielle.
Colour_my_life pointed out to me that at the begining, when Xena and Gabrielle are wagering over a footrace, Xena asks Gabrielle to make "those little dumplings with the red stuff inside." While Gabrielle is thinking about it, Xena kinda takes her arm and strokes the inside of it while saying "please?" as a means of convincing her. When Gabrielle acquiesces Xena pats or rubs her back in thanks.
kgalles points out: Gabs and Cyrene have a talk about Xena. Cyrene treats her like a daughter-in-law and seems to approve of her. Later, when Xena is crazy and refers to Gabrielle as a "pissant," Cyrene objects, saying "you don't mean that." The scenes in Cyrene's hut are all like family scenes with a mother and spouse trying to figure out how to handle the illness of Xena.
Michelle points out: Watch the episode and notice how after Gabrielle touches Xena's belly affectionately, Xena gives Gabrielle a romantic "head nudging." I think it was "safe" for the Xena character to respond outwardly to Gabrielle's open handed touch, just see how she kind of rubs Xena's belly!!!, because Xena did not have full control of her faculties in this episode. For me, this shows that when the Xena character isn't spending energy holding herself back, or blunting her responsiveness...she WILL notice Gabrielle's touch and will respond accordingly.