THE ELIZABETH SERIES
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
NORMALCY
By JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com
RATING: PG
CHARACTERS: M, DM, J, Elizabeth, Claire, Guy, Amy, Antonio, Sofia,
Dallas, Corky, Joey, Caroline
SUMMARY: Two years after making a new life for themselves, things
start to happen for both Elizabeth and Methos, and Guy and Amy.
~~~~~
2007
It had been two years since Methos and Elizabeth bought Canterbury
Stables and it had been a quiet existence for them. Guy watched a lot of
carpet layers, tilers, plasterers, and painters come to the house a couple
months after they bought the property. Guy would call Amy, and visit
Amy whenever he had a replacement to watch them, since Guy was
confident that Elizabeth was probably not going anywhere. There was also
the fact that Elizabeth hadn't encountered any other immortals, except for
Duncan MacLeod and Amanda Montrose, who had made three visits since
they moved in. Since there was no reason to watch Elizabeth around the
clock, the Watchers purchased a bar in Redding, which Guy managed, and
where Audrey, his assistant, waitressed.
This close working relationship was new. When Audrey came to work for
him in that capacity, it was the first time Guy had ever laid eyes on her.
She was a wisp of a girl, who was going through Watcher University in
New York. She had been recruited when she was just thirteen years old;
she witnessed an immortal conflict in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Audrey
had been in foster placement since she was nine, after her father had
shoved her mother's head into a radiator during a drug hallucination,
killing her. Audrey had actually thought that her new placement was a step
up. She was taken out of the projects and actually had her own bedroom.
Audrey would chat with Guy on the phone after she had been assigned to
him as a scribe to transcribe his tapes, on an intern basis, until she reached
the age of sixteen, thereby being added to the payroll. Guy had known her
story, had heard her voice, could really rely on her for accurate reporting,
and she was funny. Her African-American skin was a beautiful caramel
color, her hair was long with various sizes, colors and shapes of beads
woven into each braid. Guy kidded her that if she ever started field
watching she'd better lose the beads. You could hear her coming a mile
away. She wore little makeup, making her look younger than her nineteen
years.
Seeing that Guy was settled in Northern California, and that there was
another WU in San Francisco, she took the rest of her classes there, and
worked weekends at the watcher's bar, which was called The Watering
Hole. Guy would still send her tapes, but lately there were fewer and
farther between.
Guy had the apartment upstairs from the bar, which was on the northern
outskirts of Redding. If he needed to get to Elizabeth's quickly, he was
only seven minutes away. He had taken pictures of Elizabeth and Daniel,
even though a mortal wasn't usually catalogued. They were so in love and
so popular in the area, both themselves and their business, that Guy
deemed Daniel Gordon the reason for Elizabeth's stability. What he didn't
do, and not only because Amy had asked him not to, was take pictures of
Claire, or even mention much about her in Elizabeth's chronicle. In order
to get more into the thick of Elizabeth's life, Guy was thinking of buying a
horse to stable with them. Then he thought better of it. He was petrified of
horses, but wouldn't ever tell anyone that, certainly not Amy. It wouldn't
do to have your assignment know you only as a bumbling, sniveling idiot.
Amy hadn't come to California yet, and Guy was starting to take it
personally. She had explained over the phone during their last
conversation that she didn't want to leave Joey at home, and if she brought
him with, he would wonder why they weren't going to see Elizabeth and
Claire. If Amy brought Joey to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth would wonder
why Amy didn't want to stay with them, seeing as they had a grand house
and a lot of room for them. Since staying with Guy, or even seeing him for
any length of time, was out of the question, she stayed away. Guy had
listened to her explanation, but didn't take it at face value. He wondered if
she had someone in New York.
Guy took an unannounced trip to New York the first weekend in June to
surprise Amy on a Saturday night, just to see what she was up to. He had
expected her to be at dinner, at a Broadway show, at a club, somewhere,
with a new man. In line with Guy's expectation, Amy wasn't at home. He
asked a neighbor, Mrs. Landry, where Amy was and she said that she was
probably at Pessallo's. Ah, Pessallo's, a low lit, candles-on-the-table,
round, private booths, romantic Italian restaurant that Guy had taken her to
on his last visit to New York. Now he was certain she had a new lover.
Guy went to the restaurant and looked through the windows from the
sidewalk and didn't see her sucking face with anyone. There were a lot of
private leather booths who's backs were high enough that you couldn't see
who was in them until you were right in front of them, so he walked in and
asked for a table. When he was to be seated, Guy kept asking for a
different area, tossing twenty dollar bills to the hostess, as he looked
through the restaurant for Amy, his blood was boiling. She wasn't there.
He finally asked the hostess if she had seen a beautiful, blue eyed, blond
that evening. She said he had to be more specific. He told her, "By the
name of Amy Randall."
"Oh, sure. She comes in here all the time. She's in the back," the hostess
said, tossing a single menu on a table for two and walking back to her
station by the door to serve someone else.
Guy wondered why he didn't just ask that in the first place. It would have
saved him 120 bucks! Hope she wouldn't spend it all in one place. In the
back, Guy said to himself. She doesn't work here. Is she screwing the
manager? He walked to the hallway that the hostess had indicated and
heard laughter. Past the bathrooms, he kept walking as the hallway got
narrower and turned the corner. The laughter that came from people of all
ages got louder and clearer.
There was a well-lit room with a wide doorway just before the kitchen's
steel double doors and he crept closer. As Guy neared the room, he saw
streamers and balloons and heard party horns blaring. People began to clap
as Guy reached the doorway in time to see Joey sitting at the end of the
table with a birthday cake in front of him. He had just blown out the
candles and his guests were congratulating him. Amy bent down to kiss
him on the cheek and suddenly presents appeared from the dozen kids at
the long table.
Amy turned to see Guy standing gape mouthed in the doorway and was
certainly surprised. Joey's birthday party... well, this was just one night.
That didn't mean that she didn't have someone on the side. It was only
when Amy came to hug and kiss him in greeting and happily brought him
into the party that he knew that she wasn't screwing around. He spotted six
blown out candles on the cake as he walked over to shake Joey's hand and
congratulate him.
Joey instantly asked, "Where's my present?"
Guy replied, "I just got here, kid. How about I take you shopping
tomorrow? I'll get you anything you want."
"All right!" Joey yelled out, and then got busy opening his presents from
his friends. There was another woman there, who Amy introduced as
Kathy Myers, a neighbor and mother of Casey, one of Joey's friends at the
party.
Guy brought Amy to the side and asked, "You're throwing a kid's birthday
party at one of the most expensive places in town?"
"He loves the spaghetti, and I'm getting a deal," Amy said. "What are you
doing here?"
"Surprising you."
"It worked." She kissed him again and said, "Thanks for coming."
There were two other grownups at the party, Joe and Caroline, who had
been whispering to each other since Guy walked into the room. He thought
he heard Caroline whisper, "Be nice."
Guy walked over and shook Joe's hand. "Good to see you, Joe."
Joe easily returned the greeting, but shot a look toward Amy. Guy knew
that Joe wasn't exactly thrilled that Amy was dating her friend's watcher.
At least that was what Guy hoped. He certainly didn't want to take the
aggravation Joe displayed towards him personally. Joe's reputation was
that he was one of the nicest, fairest men in the world, but as he looked at
Guy, Guy got the idea that he wanted to slice him open. Guy made a note
that one day, he and Joe would have to have a talk.
~~~~~
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2007
TABARD PINES
Claire excitedly ran into Methos and Elizabeth's bedroom and hooked her
hands on Methos' arm and roughly rocked him. "I go to school today!"
Methos groaned and peered at the clock. "It's 4:30! Go back to sleep."
"I can't!" Claire moved to her mother's side of the bed and grabbed
Elizabeth's hand and pulled. "Come on, mom. Which dress should I
wear?"
Methos chuckled as he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow, and
quickly went back to sleep. Elizabeth slowly got out of bed, and almost
fell on the floor. She was so disoriented that she couldn't even make out
which jockey jersey she had put on for pajamas. She told Claire, "Just a
sec, honey," as she wiped her eyes and yawned.
"I want to wear my pink dress," Claire said, already running back to her
room.
Elizabeth nudged Methos and said, "You might as well get up now too, the
builder's are going to be here soon."
"They don't need instructions," he grumbled.
She stood up and pulled on some sweat pants and yawned again. She
followed Claire's voice and the roaring of the TV from her room. When
she walked out into the great room, she looked out the windows to the
stables, which they were in the middle of expanding. The ten stalls that
they had bought from the Windsors were quickly filled and over time, after
many discussions about being at peace there, Elizabeth and Methos
decided to build on, essentially doubling the stable's capacity. Elizabeth
warmed with the thought that not only herself and Claire were happy there,
but that Methos was also. He had told her that his only responsibilities
were to feed and water the horses twice a day, ride them if their owners
didn't, trim their hooves every couple of weeks and kept them and the
stables clean. He and Dallas kept everything in the stables clean, and each
new horse brought to the stables was kept in a separate area until Methos
and Dallas were convinced that there wasn't any indication of disease.
Once a month, the vet came out to give the horses their shots and to worm
them. Methos spent a lot of his day riding horses and thinking. Things
could be worse.
Elizabeth also pitched in cleaning out stalls and enjoyed riding Callie. That
last summer, she and Methos had discussed getting Claire a horse of her
own, she was now riding Callie alone, slowly, only around the corral, but
maybe it would soon be time for her own horse. Elizabeth called out,
"Claire, since you have plenty of time, take a bath while I make breakfast.
What do you want to eat on your big day?"
"Waffles!" was Claire's reply. She sounded muffled, so Elizabeth went to
her room to find out what she was up to. All she saw was Claire's butt
sticking out of her closet. One by one, shoes flew over her back and landed
on the floor.
"You'll be putting all those shoes away, right?"
Claire sat straight and said, "Where are my white sandals?"
"It's after Labor Day," Elizabeth said. "I packed them away."
"What for? Who cares?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "I needed something to do. There in the bottom
drawer of the bureau. Go take a bath. Breakfast is on the way."
She went into the kitchen to make coffee and heard paws clicking against
the stone floor from the TV room and the light tinkle of a bell. "Claire!
Take Tinker outside."
Elizabeth stooped down to pet the cocker spaniel that Claire had gotten as
a puppy for her last birthday . "Such a good girl," she told the pup and
yelled again for Claire.
She watched as Claire and Tinker danced around toward the back door,
Claire was telling her all about her news; that she was going to school that
day. Elizabeth remembered when she and Methos gave the puppy to her,
surprising her by laying it on her chest before she woke up. Her face when
she saw the female puppy was precious and certainly a vision Elizabeth
would remember the rest of her life. "A puppy!" Claire had cried out, her
eyes wide, her mouth wide open with delight, already hugging her while
the puppy licked her ear and cheek. "For me?"
Methos' face was just as memorable as he watched his daughter so
completely enchanted. "What are you going to name her," Methos had
asked Claire.
Claire had looked at the puppy and rang the little bell on her collar.
"Tinker."
Elizabeth had laughed. "She's about as imaginative as you are in naming
pets," she had told Methos, tapping him on the arm. "I'm surprised she
didn't name her Beige or Spot."
"Tinker," Claire had said, trying the name on for size and then yanked on
Methos shirt. "Thank you, Dad. I love her so much."
Methos looked at her in confusion. "Dad? What happened to papa?"
"No one who's five calls their dad papa, Dad."
Elizabeth said, "I called my dad Daddy until the day he died."
Claire jerked in surprise. "How old were you?"
"Twenty-eight."
"Claire's eyes grew wide as she said, "Mom. Dad. I'm not calling you
mommy or daddy, so get over it now."
Claire had grown up so fast. One day she was still mangling her sentences,
the next day she was speaking in compound sentences, sometimes in
another language. Spanish predominantly, she would watch the Spanish
stations all the time, and Methos would fill her in on what they were
saying. He'd want to change the channel, but she insisted that she was
learning just so he wouldn't. Elizabeth knew her daughter knew how to
play her father, and she did it well.
Claire ran past Elizabeth in the kitchen, breaking her nostalgia. Elizabeth
cried out, "Take a bath!"
"All right," Claire yelled as she kept running.
Elizabeth wished that some mornings, like this one, she could bundle
Claire's energy. She turned on the TV and saw an infomercial. Well, it
was noise, she decided, and started to make breakfast. Looking across the
counter, she saw Methos emerge from their bedroom dressed for the day.
"I thought you were sleeping."
"Who can sleep with all this noise?" He grumbled as he noticed Tinker
with his front paws on the glass of the back door wanting to come back in.
"Where's my girl who's going to experience her first day of school this
morning?" he asked excitedly as he let in the dog.
"I'm busy, Dad!" They heard Claire call out from the bathroom.
Methos walked by the kitchen and grabbed a banana from the counter and
said, "I'm going to go check my email," yawning, and walked to the
basement.
"Check mine too. I'm expecting a note from Sofia, I haven't heard from
her for weeks," Elizabeth called out.
Claire appeared wearing only a towel. "Mom, can I use your bath oil?"
"Sure thing."
Claire whooped and ran back down the hall. Elizabeth leaned against the
counter and shut her eyes, waiting for the coffee to perk. Tinker tapped her
paw against her leg and she looked at her bowl. Empty. Claire loved that
dog and was good at playing with her and taking her out, but she always
forgot to fill her food and water dishes. "You're hungry too?" When the
dog started jumping up and yipping, Elizabeth took that as a yes.
~~~~~
Elizabeth parked the minivan by the curb alongside Claire's school. She
smiled at her five year old and straightened the bow on the front of her
pink dress and on the 'princess pony' as Claire called it. The top of her
hair had been pulled back and braided while the rest of her long wavy hair
fell down, almost to her waist. Claire's hair had never been cut in her life,
it had only been trimmed and Elizabeth wondered how long she was going
to want to grow it. The thought of cutting it was verboten. Elizabeth kissed
Claire and said, "Have a great day," Claire was looking at her friends
gathering at the elementary school doors before the bell rang.
"Gotta go, Mom," Claire said, opening the door. "See you later."
In seconds, she was gone. Elizabeth felt jarred. Her little girl had left her
so fast, without a hint of trepidation for what the day would bring, and of
being away from her and Methos all day long. She had heard horror stories
of children kicking and screaming, not wanting to go to their first day of
kindergarten, and Elizabeth had prepared herself for it. She had received
lots of advice on how to make sure Claire wasn't homesick, and ensure she
paid attention to her teacher, and didn't pick any fights...
But she was gone. Elizabeth quickly grabbed the camcorder and filmed
Claire as she walked to her friend, Holly, who's big sister, Bonnie, owned
Nugget, who was stabled at Canterbury. The school bell rang and
Elizabeth felt a twinge when Claire disappeared inside with the other kids
her age. She was her baby, and it turned out that Claire was a couple
inches taller than the rest of them.
"They grow up so fast," she sadly said as she stopped the camcorder and
replaced it in its case. As she sat there, stunned, Elizabeth wondered if it
was she herself that had to be prepped for being away from her child, and
not Claire.
~~~~~
The builders had arrived and gotten to work when Elizabeth returned to
the stables. The project was supposed to have been done a week ago but
the inside was still an empty shell. Elizabeth grabbed the mail from the
seat and walked toward it, seeing Dallas on a horse in the corral. She
found Methos installing the medicine cabinet inside and told him, "Our
daughter didn't even blink when she left me."
He chuckled and said, "Hold this up," indicating the right side of the
cabinet. "She's a big girl, and a smart girl. She knows she's coming back
in a few hours."
"But I saw other kids crying and holding onto their mothers and fathers."
"They're coddled. We've given Claire independence and she's looking
forward to school, to learning."
"She already knows how to read. She actually told me in the car that she
was smarter than the rest of the kids, and would try to help her teacher."
Methos proudly smiled. "She is."
"But that kind of attitude might not go well with the other kids."
Methos attached the anchor with an electric screwdriver to the side that
Elizabeth was holding up and then kissed her. "She's a nice kid, the other
kids will like her."
Elizabeth went through the mail and said, "I hope so."
"How could they not? She tells jokes in German."
"That's what I'm worried about."
Elizabeth ripped opened a letter from Sofia and started to read it. She had
been worried about her since their wedding, when she looked so sad.
Sofia's English had become quite good, although her phrasing wasn't
always quite on the mark. Their various email correspondence hadn't
reassured Elizabeth that things were going any better for her. "What do
you think about going to Sintra?"
"No way in hell," was Methos' quick reply.
Elizabeth glared at him, a little surprised. "I'd like to visit her and see
what's really going on with them."
Methos looked to see if there were any workers around, then said, "Claire
just started school and she can't travel now. You're not going alone and
I'm not going until all the locals that knew us are dead."
"Wait until Sofia is dead?! She's not getting any younger."
"Invite them here."
That had come so quickly, Elizabeth wondered if this was truly her
husband, Methos, the one who was leery around other immortals. "Excuse
me?"
"We have room. Invite them for a weekend, or even a week."
"You don't have any qualms about that?"
"I'm mortal, what do I care what you people do?"
"I will." She kissed him, happy that he was starting to feel to relaxed.
"Mortal." Elizabeth slapped him on the butt and went toward the door. "I
will! Thanks, Daniel, that was so easy. You do continue to surprise me."
Maybe it was because Antonio was no longer a newbie; did Methos feel
comfortable around him? Or, maybe when he though she was dead, they
really did give Methos the strength and companionship that he needed. He
had hinted at that, but hadn't come right out and said so. There were times
when he was so secretive of his feelings, and other times, things just came
out of him taking her by surprise.
~~~~~
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2007
Elizabeth sent an email thanking Sofia for her letter, in Elizabeth's
scrambled Portuguese, she had given her their address and told them to
come. After a couple of weeks, she hadn't heard from Sofia and voiced her
concern to Methos again. They were eating dinner in the back courtyard,
probably for the last time that season as it was starting to get chilly early in
the evenings, and the three of them were wearing double sweatshirts and
flannel socks because they were in the shade. Methos felt a buzz, then
Elizabeth did. They heard a car pull up on the pebbled driveway to the
house. Elizabeth traveled the cobblestone path to the side porch and
walked around the house to see who it was. The car was foreign to her, but
when the passenger door opened, Sofia stepped out. Elizabeth ran to her,
"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"
"I sent an email that we'd be here today."
"I didn't get it," Elizabeth said as she hugged her and nodded toward
Antonio behind the wheel. "Claire probably deleted it by mistake."
'It is so good to see you and I would bet that Claire has grown so much."
Sofia then looked at the house and gasped. "It almost looks like your house
in Sintra."
"That's why we fell in love with it." Elizabeth put her arm around Sofia
and walked her toward the house. "Come, we're having dinner in the back,
there's plenty for everyone." Antonio had gotten out of the car and opened
the trunk. "We can help you get your things later, come on and eat. You
must be starved."
Sofia said, "We had lunch on the plane from New York, but that was ages
ago." When they turned into the back of the house, Sofia gasped. "That is
not Claire! You are so big!"
Claire smiled and waved to her as Methos stood up. Elizabeth told Sofia,
"She started school already."
Methos hugged Sofia and then shook hands with Antonio and told them to
have seats at the table. "It's good to see you again," he said with a
conviction that Elizabeth knew to be true. He had changed so much since
leaving his 'Methos' baggage behind; he was like a new man. Elizabeth
got two more plates and silverware and also a couple of bottles of beer for
them and they all sat down together.
"This all looks so good," Sofia said, eyeing her plate of roast beef,
potatoes, and corn on the cob. "Did you make this, David?"
"Daniel," Methos corrected her, and glared at Elizabeth.
Maybe he hadn't changed that much after all. Elizabeth said, "He's Daniel
Gordon, remember? And I made it. I've been cooking."
Neither Antonio nor Sofia could believe it, and exchanged glances as if
wondering if the food was actually edible. Then Sofia said, "We have a lot
of catching up to do."
"How long will you be staying?" Methos asked, in a way that made
Elizabeth wonder if he wanted them to leave already.
"Well," Antonio started, then paused uncomfortably. "What do you mean?
You wanted us to come."
"Yes," Elizabeth said. "But you can stay as long as you want."
"We will be staying for a long time," Antonio said, laughing. "We have
sold the house and have applied for green cards."
The four adults looked at each other in surprise. Elizabeth and Methos
thought they were just visiting, and Antonio and Sofia thought they had
been invited to live with them. There had been a mistake in the translation
somewhere. But, Elizabeth quickly recovered saying, "That's great. It will
be nice to be close friends again. But, that's a big step. What about your
house, and your job, and your family, Antonio?"
"We will go back and visit, but Sofia had wanted to leave Sintra for a long
time."
They both looked very convinced that they had made the right decision.
Elizabeth smiled at them and then spotted Methos glaring at her again.
Claire asked Sofia, "You're Sofia?"
"Yes, child," Sofia said, smiling and focusing on her.
"Will you teach me Portuguese?"
"I would be happy to." She paused and stared at Claire. "I just can not
believe how big you have gotten. It has been so long since we've seen you.
Together. As a family. It is so wonderful."
~~~~~
Methos and Antonio watched a Kings game, drinking beer, while
Elizabeth and Sofia did dishes in the kitchen, and had a talk. Methos
hadn't planned on house mates, and didn't want that at all for more than a
couple of days. During a commercial, he asked, "So, Antonio, what are
your plans?"
"I will try to find work. I must in order to get my citizenship."
"Citizenship?"
"Yes, Sofia and I are going to start a new life. We might as well do it
here."
Methos could understand that, but hadn't he ever heard of forgeries? And
did they have to move so close to them without warning? He had gotten
used to not having immortals around. A visit, sure, but full time? The only
thing that had stopped Methos from telling him that it wasn't possible for
them to settle in California was that he knew the kind of immortal that
Antonio was. He wasn't a challenger; he probably wasn't a morality cop of
the immortal world either, so it might be all right. "Doing what?"
"Whatever I can find. I am good with my hands. Are there any openings
around here?"
Methos laughed and pointed at the stables out the window. "Are you good
with horses? We've been thinking of hiring another man after the
expansion and we house more horses."
"That would be great," Antonio said, happy, and relieved. "We have sold
everything."
"So, you'll want a place to stay," Methos urged. "There are quite a few
apartment complexes in town, a lot are empty. You shouldn't have a
problem finding one."
"I will do that first thing in the morning."
Silence reigned between them again when the game came back on. Methos
would look at Antonio once in a while trying to remember what all of his
facial expressions conveyed. He had only really gotten to know them after
Elizabeth had been kidnaped by James, and the couple had gone out on a
limb to help him and Claire when they needed it, and offered friendship.
He was ready to leave Claire when them; he had a lot of trust in the
couple. Methos could tell there was something on Antonio's mind, and
knew that Elizabeth had been worried about Sofia. Did he really want to
know? Yes. It could impact on his life. "How comfortable are you with a
sword, Antonio?"
Antonio beamed. "I can hold my own."
"Really," Methos chuckled. "How many heads have you taken?"
"Warren said that was not something that immortals discussed."
"I'm not challenging," Methos lightly said. "And, remember, I'm mortal."
"Yeah, that is right," Antonio said, then looked as if he was going to ask
about that.
Methos asked, "So, how many heads have you taken?"
"A couple. That's the problem."
"You want more?" Methos started to get nervous again.
"No. Sofia just can not understand or even accept my immortality, Daniel.
Since I won my last challenge, she has been distant. When Elizabeth asked
us to come and live with you, she was nervous because you are both
immortal, but she was comforted that she would be near Elizabeth. It was
Elizabeth who told me what I was, and was a good friend to Sofia for the
short while you both lived in Sintra. Sofia has a hard time opening up to
people and she does not have many friends."
During Antonio's monologue, Methos just listened, tightening with every
word. 'My last challenge', did Antonio initiate it? 'You are both
immortal', after they made it clear in Las Vegas, and Methos had just
restated that fact that 'Daniel' was supposed to be mortal. "When was your
last challenge? What happened?"
Antonio looked at him, confused, so he added, "I mean, what made Sofia
so nervous?"
"A man, an asshole as you would say, moved into your house." Methos
sighed. He wouldn't say that. He had a larger vocabulary than that.
Antonio continued, "He always had loud parties, was messy, and he was
immortal. I challenged him just to get rid of him. You know, no one living
in the area misses him. Sofia did not think it was a good thing to do. She
thought that people would have talked about it and would guess what had
happened."
Smart woman, Methos thought to himself, suddenly reevaluating Sofia. He
was pleased that she carried within her a sense of privacy. Only in her
case, it was probably because of embarrassment, not to protect her head.
There were going to be more watchers around, with the appearance of
Antonio. But, Methos smiled to himself, as long as he continued to be
good at pretending to be mortal, what would it matter? They weren't doing
anything wrong or even very interesting to a bystander. Joe had sent word
that the watchers still believed that Methos was dead, so Methos would be
able to tread lightly in the world with immortals around him all the time.
But... it had been two years since he had essentially killed Methos, and he
was starting to miss him; starting to miss having to pretend to be someone
else, all the time. It had become second nature to him. The only time he
was able to let down his guard and be truly himself was when he was alone
with Elizabeth. Claire was getting more and more aware and most of all,
inquisitive, in three languages, English, Spanish and German, and they
definitely didn't want her to know about immortality yet.
Methos needed to revisit himself, and maybe share more of his history
with Elizabeth. He wondered if enough time had past so retrieving some
portions of his journal would be viable.
Antonio and Sofia had rented an apartment in Redding, and Antonio
worked at the stables. Sofia was having a hard time adjusting to a new
country, where she knew only three people, and had a hard time with the
language. After Elizabeth dropped Claire off at school, she started to stop
by Sofia's to see if there was anything she wanted to do that day. At first,
Sofia was ready to go shopping or to a fair or go to Elizabeth's and ride a
horse or chat or do Once a Month Cooking. Elizabeth would buy hundreds
of dollars worth of food and cook recipes, then each pan of lasagna or
kettle of stew or stroganoff was frozen in family sized bags. It was only a
matter of taking whatever they wanted for supper out of the freezer in the
morning and boiling rice or noodles or potatoes as a side dish. Since soup
was big in Portugal, Sofia was the queen. They would separate their
product into portions of two for Sofia and three for Elizabeth, and some
times have so much left that they'd give some to Dallas and Faye, also.
Elizabeth had been glad that Faye hadn't taken for granted that she could
walk into their home anytime she felt like it, as she had when the
Windsors lived in Tabard Pines, but when she did come, Elizabeth was
glad. Faye, who abhorred cooking, would end up doing the cleaning or
laundry if a basket was full, without asking. Not that Elizabeth minded.
Pretty soon, Elizabeth was paying Faye to come in twice a week and clean
up, both with money, and with food. When she and Methos wanted to do
something in the evenings, Faye would babysit Claire.
But then one day, Faye mentioned that her niece, Karen, was going to
college and would need some spending money and asked if they'd use her
as a babysitter. "Not that I don't love Claire, but Karen needs the income."
Then Faye bitterly shook her head. "My brother is a prime asshole and
Karen came here to live near me. I'm the only family that she likes."
Sofia said, "Family is important."
Elizabeth wondered if Sofia was missing her home and her house that had
always been full with Antonio's brothers, but she would only shake her
head and remain wistful.
After parking his car a half mile down the road, Guy was doing his usual
morning walk through the trees on the outskirts of Tabard Pines. He didn't
expect to see anything new, but stopped in at least once a day to do his job.
He carefully snuck through the hole in the electrical fencing that he had
made with rubber gloves soon after Elizabeth purchased the property. He
would stay in the trees and make himself invisible to anyone who deemed
to look in his direction, by putting an outfit of leaves and branches, that he
kept hidden, over him.
He saw a young girl riding her horse in the fields and Daniel and Dallas
working in the stables. Antonio was unloading feed bags from the back of
Daniel's new Dodge pickup. Guy guessed that all their wives were in the
house; he had seen Elizabeth and Sofia return after bringing Claire to
school. Everything looked the picture of normalcy, so he hid his
camouflage and walked back to his car. On the way, he spotted Corky. She
was a little black haired thing that had recently been assigned to Antonio,
and didn't like to get dirty. She asked him, "Anything going on?"
"Nope. Not today. Same ol', same ol'." He fished his keys out of his
pockets and clicked the remote to unlock the doors of his corvette.
"What should I put down in the report?" she asked, tailing him. "I haven't
made one for about a week, and should get something down."
"Same ol', same ol'," Guy said, getting in and firing the engine. He smiled
at her and said, "Figure it out yourself."
He drove off, wondering about her, and how she was able to keep an
assignment considering she was never there and would ask others to do her
work for her. He had a bar to run and an immortal of his own to chronicle;
he didn't need more on his plate. Guy was thankful that Elizabeth wasn't a
challenger, or much trouble at all. She wanted only to live a happy live and
raise her kid. That's what she was doing. Guy hadn't been reporting much
himself lately, not since detailing the arrival of Antonio. The Portuguese
watcher that came with him, Jorge, was a pain in the ass and didn't want to
live in America, so requested a transfer. Guy couldn't have been happier to
see him go. But Corky wasn't a step up.
She was the laziest thing he had ever seen, and always wore tank tops and
didn't shave under her arms. He hated to think of how hairy her legs were,
but thankfully, she always wore sweat pants. Rain, shine, snow: sweat
pants. Sweat pants and a tank top, and hairy underarms. Guy shivered just
thinking about her. Corky was also a waitress at his bar and he thought of
firing her, but would have to explain to the watchers why he did. She was
too lenient about serving drunks, when there wasn't a designated driver at
the table. Guy never thought he'd start to care about that sort of thing, but
being held liable did tend to change ones mind quickly. He decided, one
more time and she was out of there.
He drove back to his bar, which held his apartment upstairs. He intended
to go right in and take a shower because of his morning run, but decided to
see if the shipment of Jim Beam had arrived yet. They had run out two
nights ago, and Jim Beam drinkers were loyal. Guy parked his 'vette' in
the back parking lot and went in through the back door. He threw his keys
on the bar and took out a bottle of water from the fridge under it. Then,
feeling eyes on him, he looked around the seemingly empty room. In the
corner booth, he spotted a blond, doe eyed beauty and walked over and
slid in across from her. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here."
He leaned forward and kissed her. She returned his kiss, and her hand felt
up his sweaty arm. He flexed it, just so she would be even more impressed
than she usually was by his body. "There ain't nothing like a surprise," he
said, smiling, rubbing his forehead against hers. "How long are you in
town for?"
"I'm in San Francisco, actually," Amy said.
"Joey with you?"
"No, he has school."
The day just got interesting. Mighty interesting indeed. He smugly asked,
"What are your plans?" as if he didn't know.
"I'm flying home on Friday." She smirked as she sipped her wine cooler.
"Well, let's see... this is Tuesday, so if my math hasn't failed me, I have
three whole days to do things to you that will have you running to
confession."
She laughed hard and set her drink on the table. "Down, boy. I wasn't
supposed to see you, but I had to."
"Why weren't you supposed to see me?"
Amy stood up and walked around the table and sat down beside him. "We
need to talk."
"Can't we do that later?" He pulled her into his arms and properly
welcomed her to his establishment. He was ready to sweep her out of the
booth and climb those long, narrow stairs when she pulled away. The only
thing that didn't piss him off about that was that she was giggling. He had
missed her laugh.
"You're filthy."
"Just my mind."
She laughed harder and laid her head on his shoulder. "God, I've missed
you," she murmured.
He rubbed her arm and asked, "Ok, what do we need to talk about? Have
you been to see Liz?"
"No. I don't know if I'm going to stop in and see her."
"Why? Did you have a fight or something?"
"It might makes things a little more difficult, just for this week."
"Okay. What's going on?"
"All of Ikimoto's artifacts have been identified, catalogued, sold, display
or donated. My work for the moment is done, so I put in for a transfer. To
San Fran."
Guy's eyes flashed with excitement; he couldn't help but let loose a goofy
smile of satisfaction. "You couldn't stay away from me. Doing what? You
going to watch Antonio so I can give Corky a good swift kick in the ass?"
"Liz and Dan's friend? No. If my request is granted, I'll be head librarian
of the San Fran Bureau."
"You? A librarian?"
"It's nine to five and I'm home at night with Joey."
"What do you mean, 'if my request is granted'? They want you for a better
detail?"
"Thursday afternoon, I'm going in front of Watcher Tribunal."
"The Trib? Why?"
"I'm friends with an immortal and I'm sleeping with her watcher."
"You said that was taken care of."
"No, I said I was under probation, a trial period. It's over and I have to go
in front of them and answer some questions."
"God," Guy said, shaking his head. "Good luck, babe. One thing that I've
never had to do is go in front of the Trib." He took a swig of water from
the bottle, almost shivering, just remembering what he had heard about
them. You were guilty before you even set foot in the door.
"So, you haven't been subpoenaed yet?"
Guy did the perfect spit take and said, "Me? Why would I get a
subpoena?"
"You're sleeping with me."
"Not very often," Guy slowly said, butterflies starting to flutter in his
stomach. Damn! This woman could sure make his life interesting. "I have
to tell them that I'm sleeping with you, how often, where? Amy, don't tell
me I have to 'catalogue' our positions."
"You have to tell them that I'm not telling you anything about Elizabeth."
"You aren't, you haven't."
"You'll be a good witness. Your chronicles on her have been awfully...
what was the word they used?... sparse, lately."
"She hasn't done anything. Not even with Antonio there, she hasn't done a
damn thing."
"Except be happy and live, raise Claire, love Daniel."
"Watchers aren't interested in that sort of thing."
"Isn't that a shame?" Amy finished her drink and slid out of the booth.
"I'm not sure we should be seen together before Thursday, so I'd better go.
I just wanted to let you know what was going on."
Guy was about to tease her that she didn't have to go, and that he didn't
have spy cameras in his shower, where he wanted to go with her more than
any other place on earth, but that damn Corky walked in and ran to Guy
with a marvelous idea. "GUY! I've got it!"
Amy grabbed her purse and backed away. Guy pointed at her. "You, stay."
He pointed at Corky. "You, clean out the back room."
"Don't you want to know what my idea is?"
"Not particularly, unless it's how you're going to get out of my face,
ASAP."
Guy saw that Amy was surprised by how he was treating Corky, but it was
hard to be civil to such an idiot. She was one of the ones who'd give
watchers a bad name... if anyone but watchers knew about watchers. And,
he supposed the few immortals who knew. Corky was looking at him like
a student busting to answer the teacher's question with her arm raised in
class. "Okay, what?"
"I'm going to buy a horse." She was so proud and preened as she stood
there, hands on her hips, swaying them side to side.
"Why?"
"So I can stable it at Elizabeth's. That way, I'll be able to really see what's
happening and listen to the conversations that go on between Antonio and
Elizabeth. Really get to know how immortals think." Corky stopped and
looked at Amy. She clammed up.
Guy swatted Corky on the arm. "You idiot. It's a good thing she's a
watcher, or you would have just let every cat on earth out of the damn bag!
Are you always this stupid?" He saw Amy's reaction, to what Corky had
said, and how he yelled at her. He realized that Amy was very upset at the
idea of someone was watching her friend that closely, and it was outside
the bounds of decency anyway. Sure, he had thought of it, but hadn't gone
through with that type of intrusive surveillance. His fear of horses aside. If
he wanted to get onto the property, he would have, without having to crawl
through a hole in an electrical fence. Guy took hold of Corky's hairy arm
and told Amy, "I'll see you later. I'll take care of this."
"You promise?" Amy said, in an extremely serious tone.
"It's as good as done," he promised.
Corky said, "What? What are you going to do?"
"Besides cut off your head and toss it in a dumpster?"
Corky chuckled, nervously. She told Amy, "It's really a pisser to have a
guy with warped sense of humor as a boss." She flinched when Guy
tightened his grip on her arm. "OW! Touchy, touchy."
"Back room, now!" Guy let her go and pointed the way for her. She
reluctantly went, flashing an extremely annoyed look. Guy leaned his head
back and groaned. "It's going to be a long day. Are you sure you don't
want to shower?"
Amy giggled, but said, "Seriously, that can't happen, or I'll have to let Liz
know she's being spied on."
"Oh, you're not talking about a shower."
"You have a one track mind," she sneered, while laughing.
"Wire taps, eavesdropping, it's not my bag," he lied. He just didn't know
how to go about it yet. And, he was certain there wasn't much to find out.
Elizabeth was married to a mortal and had a five year old kid and Antonio
was married to a mortal and worked in a stable. Neither challenged,
certainly not each other. When Antonio had arrived, he had the sneaking
suspicion that they were going to challenge each other, but that was
quickly shot down when weeks passed and nothing happened. The last
thing Guy needed at the moment was having to sit and listen to hours of
mind-numbing tapes that consisted of debates on what Claire would wear
to school. They had a dog, for Christ's sake. They couldn't be more
normal. Well, as normal as an immortal could be.
~~~~~
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007
TABARD PINES
Elizabeth had everything as perfect as she could make it for Antonio and
Sofia's wedding anniversary. Sofia had arrived wearing a pretty yellow
dress that set off her dark olive skin and she was even wearing makeup.
She and Elizabeth went into the kitchen to check on the stroganoff. Dallas
had just left for the day, even though Elizabeth had also invited him and
Faye to dinner. He had made the excuse that it was a Wednesday and he
wanted to stick with his sleep schedule during the week. Even Methos
wondered how crotchety a 40 year old could get; but Methos' attention
was on his daughter. Claire was riding her new horse, Santo. Methos
beamed with pride; she was riding so well after only a week with her.
Elizabeth called out for them to come to dinner and Antonio walked into
the house. As soon as he got inside, he asked if he could use their shower.
"Of course," Elizabeth said, pointing at Claire's bathroom down the hall.
He took the bag that Sofia had brought with her as he walked passed them
on his way to the shower. Elizabeth noticed that they hadn't exchanged a
word. Not even a glance. It was their anniversary!
After Antonio had closed the door of the bathroom, Elizabeth asked,
"Sofia, is there something you'd like to tell me?"
"Dinner smells maravilhoso."
Elizabeth tried again. "I mean, about Antonio? You and Antonio?" Sofia
acted nonchalant. "I mean, I think it's been ages since I've seen you two
even look at each other."
"We look at each other at home. In private."
Sofia sat at the counter and popped a biscuit in her mouth. Elizabeth was
putting them in a basket, fresh out of the oven. "Okay. I'm sorry to bring it
up if you don't want to talk about it."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Claire ran inside with Tinker and said, "Mom! I just love Santo!" She
rushed to Elizabeth and gave her a big hug around the waist.
Elizabeth kissed her head and said, "Because we love you, we got Santo
for you. How fast did you ride this evening?"
"Pretty fast. Dad dropped the reins once."
Methos had come in and heard. "I let them go."
Claire whirled around. "Sure, Dad. Just about the time you tripped over a
rock."
"It was all planned, my girl," he said, brushing her head with his hand and
leaning over to Elizabeth for a kiss.
Elizabeth smelled him and said, "Ugh, been cleaning out the stables?"
"Of course."
"Did you fall in?"
They laughed as he slapped her butt and went to the fridge for a beer.
"Hey, Sofia. You want one?"
Elizabeth blocked Sofia's view of the fridge when Methos opened it. Sofia
stretched around Elizabeth to say, "Yes, please."
Elizabeth told Methos, "Go clean up. Dinner's almost ready." She looked
at Claire. "Go wash your hands."
Tinker starting jumping up on Sofia's leg and Elizabeth pulled him off.
"Sorry," she told Sofia. Then told the dog, "You can't jump up on ladies
wearing hose. What's wrong with you?"
"He's a dog," Methos said, as he sauntered by.
"Could you take him outside until after we eat?"
Claire moaned, "Why?" She leaned down and pointed at Tinker. "Don't
jump up on ladies wearing hose." Tinker leaped forward and licked
Claire's nose. Girl and dog collapsed on the floor and Claire giggled as
Tinker jumped on her and licked her all over.
Elizabeth smiled ironically at Sofia, "Sure. I have control here."
~~~~~
Dinner conversation consisted mostly of Claire telling Sofia all about how
perfect her horse was, and also asking for Portuguese translations, for
words such as house, couch, doll, horse. Elizabeth noted that at least Sofia
was talking. Methos and Antonio only talked horses and about the things
they had to do before Saturday, the big day when most of the owners came
out to ride. Elizabeth had noticed how Methos expertly avoided Norma,
when she came out to ride Cosmo once again that morning, as she always
did.
After everyone was done eating, Elizabeth piled the plates on a tray and
started toward the kitchen. Sofia stood up to help her, but she told her to
sit. She then nudged Claire's head and said, "You help me."
Claire turned to Sofia. "What's the word for help?"
"That depends on the context, Claire," Sofia said, emptying her third glass
of wine. Methos was hesitant to fill it again. Even when Sofia placed it
near him, since he was closer to the wine bottle, he didn't budge. "Help
could be sorocco! As in Help Me! Or, in the context that Liz meant,
ajudor."
"Ajudor me, Claire. Now," Elizabeth said from the kitchen. She opened
the fridge to take out the cake that she had ordered. She put it on the
counter and motioned to Claire not to say anything.
Claire whispered, "Is that angel food cake?"
"Yes."
"My favorite!"
She gave some dessert plates to Claire along with some forks. She lit
fourteen candles indicating the years they had been married. When they
came back to the table, Sofia and Antonio were both surprised and
pleased. "You did not have to go through all this trouble, Liz," Sofia said.
"When is cake trouble?" Elizabeth set the cake on the table and said,
"Make a wish and blow them out."
Antonio put his arm around Sofia and inhaled. Sofia just sat there. He
blew out the candles on his side, then tried to handle her's also with
Claire's help. Claire asked, "Can I cut the cake?"
Elizabeth bent over Claire and they both held the knife, slicing the cake
into pieces. Considering this was supposed to be a festive occasion, Sofia
and Antonio were particularly quiet and sullen. As soon as they received a
piece, they ate. Elizabeth and Methos exchanged looks, and shrugged.
Methos chuckled over the silence and cut the quiet with, "Antonio, make
sure you trim Bullet's hooves tomorrow. We didn't get to him today."
"Do I have to?" Antonio meekly said. "I will surely help you do it."
Methos chuckled, knowing that Antonio was a little scared of the huge
black stallion. "I would, but Dallas and I have to go to Sacramento,
remember?"
Antonio nodded as if trying to convince himself that he could. "I will do
it." Then he laughed and said, "Just hope he doesn't kick me in the head."
Sofia said, "Well, if he kills you, you'll come back."
Methos' eyes flashed and he noticed that Claire's eyebrows curled in
confusion. "We don't appreciate talk like that around here, Sofia."
"It's true," she briskly said. "What difference would it make?"
Methos knew the woman was a powder keg whose fuse was burning.
"Claire, go to your room."
"I didn't do anything."
"I mean," Sofia said, bitterly laughing. "If there's one thing that can not
hurt you it would be a kick to the head, Antonio."
"Go!" Methos ordered Claire.
"I want to finish my cake," she whined in return.
"She does not have to leave, David, Daniel, whatever your name is now,"
Sofia said, pouring her own wine.
Methos glanced at Claire and saw her react to what was said and started to
stand, livid.
"Sofia," Antonio tried to take her hand to calm his wife, but she reacted to
his touch as if he were a snake about to strike and slapped him. "That is
not a topic of discussion." He nodded toward Claire, and glared at her.
Methos lifted Claire up out of her chair and told Elizabeth, "Take care of
this."
Claire kicked and cried as Methos carried her to the bedroom. She was
confused and wanted to eat. What happened? Everything was fine a
second ago.
Elizabeth stood, wondering how her quiet dinner party had so suddenly
erupted. Sofia knew that they had decided not to tell Claire anything about
immortality until they had to. "Sofia," she started.
Sofia stood up and tossed her napkin on the table. "Thank you for what
you tried to do, Liz. The deal is, I can not stand this man anymore. Every
little thing he does just cuts through me like a knife! Did you see how he
eats? He makes me sick. In fact, you all make me sick. I can not take this
anymore. All this pretending! All this secrecy!"
Elizabeth grabbed her arm to quiet her, but Sofia pushed her away. "Do
not touch me!" She grabbed her coat and barreled out of the house.
Elizabeth and Antonio looked at each other, stunned. "Well?" she asked
him.
Resigned, and probably unconsciously expecting it, Antonio only sat there,
his head down. Elizabeth nudged him, "Go after her."
"How would that help?"
Elizabeth groaned and grabbed her coat and went outside. Just as she ran
down the steps of the porch, Sofia turned on her car. "Wait!" Elizabeth
yelled as she ran to her.
Sofia was crying, and lowered her head on the steering wheel. Elizabeth
opened her door and knelt down to look at her, then rubbed her back.
"What's been going on? Why haven't you talked about this? I could tell
your marriage was a little rocky lately, but I--."
"A little rocky." Sofia sat back and rubbed her cheeks wiping the tears
away. "This is destroying us and it is not going to go away! You are
immortal, how do you know how I feel?"
"If his immortality is the only thing that is causing problems between you
and Antonio, just talk it out. Try to understand it."
"How can I? He is such a clumsy man! He is always cutting himself,
bumping into things, bruising. I go to him, concerned, as a normal wife
would be. I want to clean the cut, to put antiseptic on it, to make sure that
he would not get an infection." She laughed. "I never learn. He lets me go
through the motions! I feel like such a fool! His cut will close up and..."
Sofia started to cry again. "It is like his skin is made of rubber. It is not
normal."
Sofia looked at Elizabeth horrified at finally saying what had been playing
on her mind since the day Antonio turned. "I am sorry, Liz. I did not
mean--."
"That's okay. I know it's overwhelming. Think of it from our end. When I
turned, I had no idea what had happened to me. There was no one there to
explain it. I went for years thinking I was in a dream world, but for us--."
Elizabeth stopped speaking, realizing that she was using the categories she
hated so, us and you. "We're people, Sofia. Antonio is a man first, who
loves you very much, who happens to be immortal and so, his cuts heal."
Since he wasn't one to challenge and she and Methos were the only
immortals around there, Sofia's fright couldn't actually be fear from
outside forces. Elizabeth realized then that it was Antonio's 'gift' itself
that bothered her. Antonio, Elizabeth, Methos or any immortal for that
matter had no answer for that. Elizabeth had no idea what to say to that.
"I want to go back to Portugal," Sofia said. "I want to go home to my own
people."
"No, Sofia. Stay. Talk with Antonio. I know that you haven't. Talk to me.
Don't do anything rash. Don't do anything that you're going to regret."
She remembered leaving Methos so many times and learned to regret the
days, weeks, months away from him that could have been spent together.
Sofia nodded and said, "I just need a break. Tell Antonio that I am
checking into the Holiday Express."
Elizabeth smiled with her, and stood, knowing that she at least needed the
evening to think things through. Sofia shut the door and drove away. It
was only then that Elizabeth realized that Antonio was standing on the
porch in the shadows. "I heard," he said, then walked the length of the
porch and down the steps to his pickup.
She watched him climb into his pickup, turn it around and drive toward
her. He stopped and rolled down the window. "I will try to work it out
with her. I love that woman. She has not been herself lately. I am sure it is
being in a new country, but you and Daniel have been wonderful to us.
Thank you for dinner, and for trying."
"If you want to take tomorrow off, you go right ahead."
"No. I need my work. But, I am still worried about Bullet kicking me in
the head."
They laughed lightly. Elizabeth told him, "I'll help you. And I'll talk to
Sofia in the morning."
"Thanks, Liz," he put his hand on hers as it rested on the door, then put the
pickup into gear and drove off.
Elizabeth went back into the house to hear Claire crying in her room and
see Methos leaning on the kitchen counter sipping a beer. Elizabeth took a
seat on a stool and said, "She can come out of her room now."
"No she can't." Methos took another sip of beer. "Not when she called me
an asshole."
"What?!"
"Where is she learning words like asshole? What are you telling her?"
"I'm not calling people assholes. Unless they deserve it."
"She could at least be clever and use a different language, but no. My
daughter called me an asshole!"
"She's confused. Much like I am." Elizabeth took his beer bottle and took
a swallow. "She must have picked it up at school."
"How long has Sofia been flying off the handle? Why haven't you nipped
it in the bud before now?"
"Excuse me? She hasn't been talking about anything."
"Well, woman talk all the time. Why did you let this come out with Claire
in the room? In fact, why have an anniversary dinner for them when you
knew they were close to killing each other?"
"I didn't know that."
"You're with Sofia almost every day."
"You're with Antonio every day."
"But we don't talk about... women, wives, we certainly don't bring up
problems."
"Sure," Elizabeth said, chuckling. "You only talk about when you get
some."
"Of course."
"And embellish, I'm sure."
"Without a doubt," Methos said. Then they both laughed. He quickly
sobered up. "She's not coming around here anymore."
"She wants to go back to Portugal."
"Let her."
"What? I thought you liked her."
"I did, but friendship aside, I've still got to protect my head. Is she telling
everyone who will listen about immortality?"
"No. She's not even talking to me about it. 'Protect your head'? You're
mortal, remember?"
"But there's a watcher around here, two of them. If she were to slip that
I'm immortal also," Methos said, then stopped to make sure that Claire
wasn't listening. He could still hear her muffled cries from her room. "The
gig would be up."
"Maybe it's time you turned."
Methos glared at her, as he sipped the last of his beer. Then, he nodded.
"Probably. It was a good ride as a mortal. A couple of days ago, I cut my
finger in the garage and it bled like a son of a bitch, later Dallas got a look
at my finger. I was too busy to think about putting a band-aid on for
show."
"You didn't tell me that."
"It wasn't a big deal, I could just be reading more into Dallas than is there.
Maybe he didn't see it, but, it could get touchy."
"How will you turn?"
"I don't know." Methos laughed. "I haven't turned in over 5000 years.
How did you turn again?"
"I was stabbed by an angry Irishman."
"No. No knives involved." He thought a little while. "Car accident?"
Elizabeth had a flashback of Victor's dead, bloody body sitting next to her
in their car after she had slammed it into a tree. She slipped off the stool
and said, "This isn't a very fun conversation. I'm going to check on
Claire."
"She's grounded until she's eighteen!" Methos yelled, not at all kidding.
He leaned against the counter and wondered if it was time to move on. He
had an immortal working for him, a mortal who might figure things out on
his own, two watchers on his wife and employee, a kid who's picking up
words such as asshole, and a woman who could let immortality slip to the
first person who asked the right question. The phone rang and he quickly
picked it up.
Duncan said, "Hey, how's it going?"
"Oh, everything's just fine and dandy here. No problems at all."
Duncan chuckled. "Sounds like you need a vacation. Why don't the three
of you come to Paris?"
Methos opened a beer bottle and as he took the first drink of it, he realized
that Duncan's offer could be a good thing. Paris wasn't far from where his
journals were kept, just a quick day trip away. "As soon as possible,
MacLeod. We'll be there as soon as possible."
~~~~~
That night, Elizabeth couldn't sleep with all the trauma that had prevailed
in their home that day. It was the first real sadness Tabard Pines had
known since they had moved in. She was surprised that Methos had fallen
into such a quick, sound sleep. But then again, he was more concerned
about Claire's vocabulary than Sofia's problem. She wouldn't tell anyone,
of that Elizabeth was certain. But it was Elizabeth's fault that they had
come to America. She should have been more clear. Was coming here
what had brought all Sofia's fears to a head? If she was surrounded by her
own things, her 'people' as she called their neighbors and Antonio's
adopted family, would she still be having as much trouble with
immortality?
Elizabeth decided to call Warren to see if he had any insight into their
situation. She sat up to look at the clock and tried to figure out what time it
was in Australia. Then she saw Methos. He was lying shirtless with the
sheet only up to his waist. She noticed his back, as he was turned away
from her. He had bulked up, his shoulders were a bit wider, his arm
muscles had become a bit more pronounced. She saw the minute scar on
his left shoulder and traced it with her finger. How he had gotten it was
something that had always gnawed at her, but he always said he didn't
know, which was probably true. All the ways he could have gotten it back,
essentially before time, boggled her mind. It could have been as simple as
scraping his back against a tree, or as dangerous as an animal's horn.
Methos turned onto his back and said, "You just can't help but wake me
up."
Elizabeth shrugged with a smile. "I can't sleep. I was--."
"I know what you were going to do," Methos said as he rolled on top of
her.
"Um, no," she said, giggling, having been taken by surprise. "I had another
man in mind."
"Really?" Methos said with mock jealousy. "Antonio? I'll take his head in
the morning." He started nibbling her neck.
"Wrong man," Elizabeth said, enjoying toying with him.
"Mac? He's toast," he said, his face still down on her neck, then her chest.
"Actually, it was Warren."
Methos' head snapped up. "Warren?" This time the jealousy seemed real.
"Yes, and Brynn. Maybe they can tell me what went on in Sintra after we
left to help me get a handle on Sofia's problem."
"Forget them."
"I can't. I'm going to talk to Sofia tomorrow morning and I should figure
out a way to make her open up to me."
"Forget them," he said, more urgently.
"I--."
"Forget them now," Methos said. "Pay attention to me."
He brought her hand to his waist, and between them. Elizabeth felt him
and rubbed a little.
"Warren and Brynn who?"
Continued...
(
geocities.com/enyajo)