THE ELIZABETH SERIES
CHAPTER 60
CONSEQUENCES
by JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com
RATING: PG
CHARACTERS: Methos, Elizabeth, Claire, Duncan, Amanda, Guy, Amy, Maloye Gardner
SUMMARY: After the house is destroyed and the hold the ghosts had on Duncan and Elizabeth is broken, can everyone's
lives be put back together again?
~~~~~
DECEMBER 27, 2012
KENT
BETHANY STONE MANOR
The light of a new day lessened the fright that Guy Barstow experienced the last time he was at Bethany Stone Manor. He felt silly having been so spooked, but it wasn't everyday old, regular window glass didn't shatter when a log was jammed into it. The key that he had made to fit the side door of the manor hadn't worked on any of the doors. There had to be an explanation, one that made sense. As soon as he got into his car in Kent, he noticed black smoke in the air east of town, but figured it was just farmers burning something. As he continued to drive, the hesitant feeling of fear again tickled the back of his head.
Instead of parking in the same little clearing about a quarter mile from the manor that he always used since he began watching his assignment and her family, Guy drove straight to the driveway which was the only break in the miles long length of trees. He slammed his foot on the brake as soon as he had made the turn into the drive and saw the house, or rather what was left of it. Smoke rose thickly from the burned out ruins of Elizabeth and Methos' property. He hadn't seen a bit of smoke on the drive there. The column of smoke was tall, he certainly should have seen it, even though the road was lined with trees.
Bethany Stone Manor had become a smoldering wreck. It was like it had collapsed in on itself during a massive, intensely, hot fire. It looked as if the ground had consumed the house, and coughed up a couple of parts that stood in jagged columns. Even the stables, the garage where Methos had kept his pickup, and the huge weeping willow were burned beyond recognition.
The only thing that alerted Guy to the fact that Elizabeth hadn't been alone in the house was Duncan MacLeod's rented Range Rover and another car, a bright red Ferrari, parked out front. Astonishingly, neither car was damaged by the destruction. Were Duncan MacLeod and Elizabeth still in that house, even after it had been consumed by fire? Who drove the Ferrari? Would it be possible for immortals to revive and heal from an intense fire and crumbling stone walls? He didn't know , even after all his years with the Watchers or as an anesthesiologist, and had never heard of such a case.
Guy walked to the smoking mess that had once been a grand house and didn't know what to do, where to even start looking for revived immortals, if they were still there at all. He mentally beat himself up for leaving, scared like a little girl the day before, as he had obviously missed something quite important. He figured that if Duncan MacLeod was in the house, or might have been, his Watcher might have seen what happened and might still be around, if his immortal hadn't revived yet. Maybe he was looking for his assignment as well. Guy surveyed the area, but didn't see anyone. He wanted to find Duncan's Watcher, but then again, didn't. If he did find him, he'd have to acknowledge that he hadn't been around during an event. If one of the stones of the house had hit either Elizabeth or Duncan just right, they might have been beheaded. Their quickenings could have been lost forever, and Guy wouldn't have been available to chronicle the end of the two immortals. Where was Duncan's watcher? He had spoken to Amy that morning, and she hadn't heard of what would be considered a massive event; two immortals being consumed and beheaded by fire.
~~~~~
Elizabeth felt nothing but heat, smelled nothing but smoke, as she revived for what she counted as the fifth time. She couldn't get enough air into her lungs to cough out the smoke that had accumulated during the fire, and didn't want to die once again. She couldn't move her body, everything below her waist was immobile, either paralyzed or a massive weight was on top of it. She craned her neck to move her head from the charred wood at her cheek and tried to get some fresh air. She rubbed her nose with her sooty hand, which only made matters worse.
She heard the shifting of stones near her and tried to get someone to notice her, but she couldn't speak. The process of trying to only made her cough once again. Just then, she felt a hand on her arm. It came from under the debris, as if it was detached. That forced Elizabeth to make a sound, thinking it belonged to Pyrius or any of the other apparitions she had seen in the house. A scream came from deep in her soul, which made her body convulse with coughs. Coal black mucus leaked out of her mouth as she threw up, and soon she was breathing much more easily. She still couldn't move her body below the waist and saw that it was because she was trapped under a charred wooden beam.
The hand on her arm was still, and it was a feminine hand. Melted and rehardened deep burgundy nail polish covered the fingertips. "Amanda?" Elizabeth called out. She remembered that Amanda had appeared just before what seemed like all hell broke loose. The memory of the pain of being swallowed alive by fire was almost as painful as the experience, but now she was breathing whiffs of what seemed to be fresh air. She tried to gulp in more, but the fresh air was laced with acrid smoke, which only made her cough again. "Amanda?" she called again, hoping it was her, and at the same time, wondering how they were going to get out of there. If that was Amanda, she was completely covered by rubble.
Getting no response from Amanda, Elizabeth assumed she had died once again. "Duncan?!" Elizabeth screamed wondering if he was trapped as well, or even still there.
She heard feet crunching upon the rubble. The tickling of fear hit her, but she laid her head back to see who was coming. Hopefully it would be friend not foe, although they seemed to be in the majority of late.
"Elizabeth?" she heard a voice call.
"Guy?" she asked excitedly. "I'm here!"
Suddenly, the rumble was being turned over, she looked down to see the weight had been cleared from her lower body. To her embarrassment, she was naked. Her clothes must have disintegrated in the fire. She covered her breasts with her arm when Guy knelt down and asked, "How are you?"
"I can't move," she gasped with relief; someone had found them. She grabbed Amanda's hand and said, "Amanda is stuck under here, and Duncan's around here somewhere."
"What the hell happened?" Guy asked as he started to move rubble off of where Amanda's hand was exposed.
The healing started on Elizabeth's lower body. She wished she could move to a more comfortable position, but it was impossible balancing on rubble. Amanda's head appeared in the debris Guy was removing just as the pain took over Elizabeth's body. Soon, the pain ebbed, and she again had control over her body. She sat up precariously on the beams and stone, Guy had exposed all of Amanda's prone body except for her feet. Elizabeth looked at how low they were to the ground and knew that the house must have collapsed. They had been on the third floor before the fire started. Her left hand felt weird; she looked at it and found that her three middle fingers were bound by molten gold. Her wedding ring must have melted in the fire and remolded on her fingers. She took it off and held it up, to see Guy shake his head at the sight.
"Must have been one hot fire," he said. He turned his head, which she assumed was because she was nude and asked, "Duncan MacLeod is here too?"
"Yes," she answered trying her best to cover herself with her hands.
"Take care of her, I'll go look for him." Guy walked carefully over the rubble, and almost slipped into the hole he had made that held Amanda.
"Careful!"
"MacLeod!" Guy called as he looked over the rubble stepping cautiously.
Elizabeth looked at the gold glob and wished she had a pocket to put it in. Instead, she kept a good hold on it and got to her knees. Amanda was face down so she turned her body over to allow her to get some fresh air when she again revived. Elizabeth could have sworn she saw Amanda's hair on fire before they all died, but she now had long hair. It was matted and covered with smoke and dirt, but it was back to its normal state. She felt her own hair, the same length as it had been before as well. Elizabeth, never before having died in a fire, discovered that hair grows back during revival. She guessed that the state you were in when you died was how you revived, or had she already been through the healing process. How many times Amanda may have revived and died lying under all the rubble was a puzzle, but Elizabeth guessed that it had been many times.
The fear that Pyrius would come up from the ashes came to Elizabeth as she shivered in the cold morning air after being so hot for so long. Guy was on the other side of the pile of rubble that had once been her home, and Amanda was still dead. She didn't want to be alone in case the ghosts came back. She shook Amanda to encourage the healing process. "Come on, Amanda. Wake up!"
Amanda's eyes flittered under her lids and then she jerked up coughing. Elizabeth whacked her on the back to loosen what she knew had to be black char in her lungs so she could breathe easier and begin to heal. While Amanda was coughing up the mucus encased in her lungs, Guy made his way back to them. "I can't find him," he said, still moving rubble as he walked.
"Well, we fell two floors, he could be anywhere," Elizabeth said, still whacking Amanda's back until she threw up. It was gross, but Elizabeth knew that it had helped her and had to be done.
Amanda seemed grossed out, and looked at her bare body, covered with ash. When she locked eyes with Elizabeth, Elizabeth hugged her. "Are you all right?"
"We're naked. That was my favorite blouse." Amanda hugged Elizabeth back and said, "But we're alive. God bless us, we're alive!"
"Duncan isn't. We have to find him."
"Mac!" Amanda screamed looking over the rubble. Guy looked down at them, and Elizabeth and Amanda both moved their hands to there chests and crotch.
Elizabeth said, "Oh what the hell, he was a doctor. I don't have anything he hasn't seen before."
"But I have more of it," Amanda said teasingly.
Elizabeth had to admit that she was lacking in the chest compared to Amanda but put it out of her mind at the moment. She got quite a peepshow when Amanda used Elizabeth as leverage to stand up. Her left foot was caught between two stones. Elizabeth found she couldn't move either. "Guy, help here!" she called to him as she tried to move either foot herself.
"Mac!" Amanda cried out as she scanned the rubble. "Where could he be?"
Guy neared them, and Elizabeth could see the blush on his cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold air. She decided to ignore it and told Amanda, "We'll find him. He has to be here somewhere."
"He didn't lose his head during the fire, did he?" Amanda asked urgently. "There could have been a quickening and we wouldn't even know it."
Guy pulled on one of the stones with all his might and Amanda pulled her foot out. Blood poured from the wound around her ankle, but she clambered over the rubble calling, "Duncan MacLeod! Answer me right this minute!"
Once he had freed her, Guy immediately spun away from Elizabeth who had tired of attempting modesty. All three uncovered as much of the rubble as they could while searching for Duncan's body. After what seemed like an eternity for Elizabeth, Guy yelled, "I found a foot!"
Amanda and Elizabeth both gasped horrified. "It's Duncan's and it's still attached, right?"
"Yeah, sorry," Guy said, motioning for them to join him. "Help me, he was down deep."
With three determined people, it didn't take long to uncover Duncan's nude, dead body. "Thank God," Elizabeth moaned, shivering from the cold.
Amanda had immediately put her arm under Duncan's head and coaxed him tenderly back to life. Guy looked to Elizabeth and said, "I have a blanket, maybe two, in the car. I'll go get them." He took off his jacket and handed it to her, "Here."
"Thank you, Guy." She thankfully put it on to guard her from the cold more than from being naked in front of him. "Thank you for everything you've done. Someone might have only found us when they bulldoze this place."
"A landfill wouldn't be the best place to spend eternity," he teased as he stepped off the rubble and ran to the road.
Duncan gulped in air, the process of clearing his lungs had begun. When he seemed to recognize Amanda next to him, he grabbed her into a hug and they both cried. Elizabeth felt bad for bringing them into the mess that had been her life for the past month, but then again, she hadn't invited them. Regardless, they were all alive and it seemed that the spell of Pyrius and company had been broken.
Everything she owned was gone, Elizabeth realized as she looked around the remnants of Bethany Stone Manor, the estate that Methos couldn't live without, and where is he now? She remembered Duncan mentioning when he had arrived that Claire was in school. Could she still be there? When she saw Guy drive up to what was left of the house, she ran to him. She needed to get Claire, and she needed to go right this minute.
~~~~~
The process of finding clothes from Guy and Amy's closet to fit the toasted trio was quick since Amy was much the same size as Amanda and Elizabeth, though the immortals were much skinnier. With Amanda that was by choice, for Elizabeth it was because she had been denying herself food for so long. Both Duncan and Amanda had brought their suitcases into the house, so they were in the same boat, not having anything to wear, or even knowing where the keys to their rented vehicles were. Their clothes had been burned, and something as small as keys could be at the very bottom of the pile. The process of having to get new ID, credit cards, etc., made Elizabeth want to shrivel up and die again. After so many years of life, she had collected many things, and they were all gone. When she had been taken by James and Methos had thought she was dead, he had kept her things in a storage garage. She had them sent to the house in Reading, then to the ship, then, stupidly enough, had them shipped to Bethany Stone as they seemed to be settled for the long run. All of her Civil War collection, clothes, vases, even hair and toothbrush was gone.
Katie Rose, Joey, and the nanny weren't home when Guy brought the immortals to get something to wear. The nanny had left a note saying she had taken the kids to the Christmas Carnival and would be back by dinner time. For that, Elizabeth was glad. She would have liked to see her godchildren, but was happy they weren't around to see the condition she, Duncan, and Amanda were in. After a shower and dressing, she stood looking at the pictures in the house of the kids at various stages of life, Elizabeth felt bad, once again, for ignoring her promise to Amy that she would always be there for them and would take care of them.
Claire was another person she had been ignoring-much to her horror-and she intended to rectify the situation now that she was thinking clearly. Thank God she wasn't at home when the fire broke out, or during the past month when Elizabeth had been held mentally captive by dead men. Just as Elizabeth asked for Guy's car keys so she could drive over to the school, Duncan walked out of the bathroom wearing Guy's clothes. With Duncan being taller, the jeans were a little short in the legs, and the sweatshirt was short in the arms . The two men looked at each other. Guy shrugged and dug his keys out of his pants pocket. "I'll drive you," he told Elizabeth, who had the door open, ready to go.
"We'll go too," Amanda said and they all filed out of the house. "Then we have to call the rental agency to send new keys over. I wonder why the cars weren't affected by the fire when everything else was."
Elizabeth got into the front seat of Guy's car as she thought about that. "Maybe the ghosts hadn't been invited into the cars, so they couldn't destroy them."
"Ghosts," Guy scoffed as he sat behind the wheel and looked at her, then to Duncan and Amanda piling into the back seat.
"Yeah," Duncan said matter-of-factly. "Ghosts."
"That's what's been going on over there? There were ghosts?" Guy asked with a disbelieving smile, as if his leg was being pulled just a little bit too far and hard. Elizabeth was sure he would bust out laughing at any minute, and it wasn't a laughing matter at all.
~~~~~
Elizabeth charged into Mount of Olives School's dormitory, going straight to Claire's room. With Duncan, Amanda, and Guy trailing behind her, they were stopped twice by personnel asking what their business was. Elizabeth had just said, "I'm getting my daughter," as she continued up the stairs because the elevator wasn't fast enough. Elizabeth had worried that Duncan and Guy were mistaken about Claire's whereabouts and Methos had in fact come to take her away to God knows where. Anywhere away from her would suffice, Elizabeth was sure. She still had rumblings in her head from the possession of Pyrius and Logan, but now that she was free of that blasted house, she could control it and not be paralyzed by the calling of his voice.
When she arrived at Claire's floor, she felt Claire's preimmortal hum and almost jumped with joy that she was there. Elizabeth jerked open the door to find Claire on her bed playing GameBoy, a look of shock on her face, more than likely from four grownups appearing out of no where so suddenly.
"Mom?" Claire asked with wonder as Elizabeth sat on her bed and grabbed her into a hug. Elizabeth didn't want to ever let that girl go and was ecstatic that she had always been so near, yet so far away. She should have had enough strength of mind to at least get into the car to find out if she was there. Knowing that was impossible at the time she was under the control of Pyrius, she should have at least called. Embarrassed and disappointed with herself more than she had ever been in her life, she heard Claire asked, "Aunt Amanda? Guy? Maconi?"
Elizabeth laughed and looked back to see Duncan smile, but cringe at the nickname he had been dubbed when Claire was a baby. When Elizabeth hadn't been with her. She had been working with James stealing and killing. Elizabeth held Claire again and wondered if she could ever get her life back on track.
"How are you, Little One?" she asked her daughter, and could feel Claire tighten up as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
Claire pulled away and had a pout on her face when she said, "I've been here all by myself. Where were you and Dad?"
"I was going through some things that-"
"That's what Dad keeps saying. It's not good enough. Tell me the truth."
"You've been hearing from your dad?"
Claire nodded shortly and kept that pout prominent on her face. "Where is he?" Elizabeth asked hopeful to get an answer. She had some things to talk to Methos about herself. The fact that he'd been in touch with Claire but hadn't taken her with him gave Elizabeth pause. What was he going through?
"He never told me." Claire said with a bit of anger. "No one tells me anything! Mom, I was stuck here all by myself during the school break. All my few friends went home until after New Year's. Why did you leave me?!"
Claire had even slapped Elizabeth's arm for good measure. Elizabeth took her hand and saw that Amanda was already packing up Claire's things. "We're going right now. I'm so sorry for your loneliness. If I'd known, I would have-"
"How could you not know?"
"I haven't been thinking straight for a long time, Claire. I'm sorry. I promise it will not happen again." Elizabeth felt an wave of fear as she wondered if she was capable of taking care of Claire and if she wasn't in fact safer there at school. What was Methos going through when he left Claire there as well. He wasn't going through the anger and bitterness he had after the last confrontation with Pyrius, had he? Deciding that leaving her daughter alone one minute longer wasn't an option she told her, "We're going."
"Home?"
"Well, no. That's part of the problem we've been having lately. Home is gone, Claire. I'm sorry."
"What do you mean gone?"
"The house burned down. Everything in it is gone." Elizabeth indicated her clothes. "I'm wearing Aunt Amy's clothes as a matter of fact. Duncan, Amanda, and I got out of the house just in time. I didn't want to tell you right now, but we lost everything. It's a good thing your dad had packed your favorite things for you-"
Elizabeth's lament to her daughter was cut off by Claire hugging her hard. She could feel her daughter shake. "It burned down? How? Are you all right, Mom?"
"Yes," Elizabeth smiled with the first happiness she'd felt for a long time as she held Claire and brushed her hair back from her face in order to kiss her forehead tenderly. "I'm great as a matter of fact. Only because I have you."
"Is there a phone around, Claire?" Duncan asked her.
Claire smiled impishly and said, "Just down the hall, Maconi."
Duncan jabbed a finger at her as Amanda laughed. "We will talk about that nickname, Little One. After I'm done with the phone."
"Who are you calling?"
"We need replacement keys for the rental cars. Come with me, Guy. We'll have them sent to your house and I need your address."
Claire looked at Amanda's outfit, a sweatshirt that read What's Another Name For Thesaurus and a pair of khaki corduroys. She commented, "Those are definitely not your clothes, Aunt Amanda."
Elizabeth looked at the outfit that Amanda had gotten from Amy's closet. She was surprised Amanda hadn't taken something a little more form-fitting and/or expensive. Then she took a double take at the sweatshirt. "Hey, that's my shirt."
Amanda said, "Well, honey, as soon as I get my skinny little butt back into Giorgio Armani, you can have it."
~~~~~
The five piled into Guy's car as Claire asked, "Am I coming back here?"
"As soon as classes start again, but you're no longer in the dorm," Elizabeth said. She put her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "You're staying with me."
"And where will that be?" Guy asked as he started the car.
"I have no clue. Are the banks open? I should get some money."
"And a new wardrobe," Amanda added. "Me too. I can't believe I was so stupid as to bring my suitcase in that damned house."
"It wasn't damned, Aunt Amanda," Claire said. "I liked it. Dad loved it. What happened to it? Why did it burn down?"
All four grownups looked at each other in silence until Duncan said, "We were having a pow wow in front of the fireplace and it got away from us."
"Was Dad there?"
"No, he's... somewhere else," Elizabeth said. "He's fine."
"Dad said you broke up," Claire said sadly, laying her head in the nook of Elizabeth's shoulder.
"Dad tells you a lot. What did he say about it?"
"He said to ask you."
Sure, make her explain it to Claire. It would have been easier to elaborate on what Methos would have told her. But, then again, it was nice that Claire could get her perspective on things. Actually, Elizabeth didn't know what to tell Claire about what happened. She was only ten years old; she'd never understand what went on if the aspect of immortality and dark quickenings wasn't a part of the explanation. "It was a misunderstanding." Elizabeth hoped she was right. "I'll find him and talk to him and we can get this straightened out. Did he said where he was?"
"No," Claire replied.
Elizabeth looked at Guy; she knew that he knew exactly where he was, if Amy hadn't lost his trail. She'd have to have several talks with Methos and Guy, but for now, she didn't know if she was ready to talk to Methos. She had to digest things first. She also wanted to enjoy Claire, buy clothes, and find a place to live. The thought didn't overwhelm her with dread, an emotion she knew too personally as of late; in fact, it energized her. She was looking forward to picking up the pieces of her life.
~~~~~
Guy, being Elizabeth's Watcher, had offered to drive her around to the bank, stores, and apartments. Duncan and Amanda were waiting at Guy's house where the replacement keys to the Rover and Ferrari were to be delivered. Duncan handed Amanda a glass of orange juice as she was lounging on the sofa. She looked at it and said, "Is there Vodka in there?" and smiled.
"Afraid not," Duncan said making her move so he could sit with her.
"It was a hell of a night, wasn't it?" Amanda mused. "To think, just a few days ago, I thought you and I would be at the barge sitting in front of the fire about now."
"Oh, whose fault is it that we're not?" Duncan hoped that didn't sound as wounded as he felt while saying it. But he couldn't let it go. Amanda was there now, why wasn't she at home during Christmas? She better have a good explanation. "Where were you?"
"Oslo," Amanda said brightly. "I told you that. I just couldn't get away."
"Why?"
"Because," Amanda replied shrugging and sipping her orange juice.
When her hand snaked over his leg, he asked, "What was so important? You never said."
"Oh, I didn't?" Always the expert at changing a subject she was uncomfortable with, she asked, "What the hell was going on in that house? When I walked in, you were laying against Liz and you both looked mighty comfortable."
"What are you suggesting?"
"How close were you last night?"
"Amanda," Duncan moaned with a bit of anger. "Liz and I were going through a lot of-" Duncan still hadn't digested what had happened in that house, how easily he had been overwhelmed by the presences there, and how empty he felt now because of it.
"A lot of what?"
Although he did not want to get into all that he had felt and seen in Bethany Stone Manor, he suddenly remembered one of the apparitions who had tormented them.
Amanda soothed Duncan's riled feathers and kissed him on the cheek. "I know it had to be horrible. Do you want to talk about it?"
Duncan asked her, "Was that really Michael we saw after you arrived?"
"He wasn't there," Amanda replied shortly. "How could he be?"
As soon as she said that, Duncan knew she up to something. The apparitions he had witnessed in that house were dead immortals. Immortals whose heads he had taken and were therefore, a part of him. Not the immortals that were benign, or even good like Sean Burns. The anger he felt about taking his dear friend's head resurfaced and he focused it on Amanda. "He was, Amanda. Michael Burgess was in that room. His presence was seen by you, I know he was. It was because you saw him that you went ballistic and threw Pyrius into the fire."
"And good thing I did. It killed him, remember that."
"Yes, you got us out of there. I thank you from the bottom of my heart; you saved Liz and I. That's another subject. Right now I want to know why, when we were only visited by dead immortals, immortals that we had personally taken, Michael was one of the apparitions."
"All right, I admit it. Things got a little dicey in Oslo and I had to take his head."
She had said it so matter of fact. There was silence in the house after Amanda had spoken those words as if she was ticking off her shopping list.
"Why? Michael was an artist, he didn't fight. He would never have challenged you. We are all friends!"
"He never liked me, Mac. You can tell that from the stupid wedding gift he gave us."
"It wasn't stupid! It was an original, beautiful abstract." Amanda had jumped up and began pacing the living room, never a good sign. He could usually read Amanda like a book, and what he was getting from her now was the need to change the subject or even take off. "You said you liked it. You didn't like it?"
"Of course I didn't. Give me a Raphael or Renoir any day. I've never gotten into modern art. You know that."
"Michael didn't paint portraits, he was an abstract artist. That's beside the point," Duncan said, going to her to stop her pacing and make her look at him. "Why did you take him?" he shouted. "If you won't tell me, I'll have Guy find out, so tell me!"
"I didn't really take his head," she said as she was being shook. "I took the man who took his head."
"No, if he was in that room, Michael was taken directly by you. Don't lie to me anymore! He wasn't a fighter. Tell me how it happened with no more lies!"
"All right!" Amanda pushed his hands off her then growled with frustration. "He was going to stop me and I couldn't have that. I had a buyer, I could have gotten you that cottage in St. Thomas you had your eye on."
"I could have bought my own cottage, Amanda!"
"My partner, Campbell, challenged Michael, I didn't," she quickly said, most likely without thinking since it told him everything he needed to know.
"Campbell?" Tyrone Campbell was a tall, blond, Adonis-type that Duncan never liked Amanda being friends with; he had more ways to break the rules than Amanda. She had promised that she wouldn't have anything more to do with him when they made their vows to each other the night before their marriage. Duncan hung his head and took slow, calm breaths to stop himself from hitting the roof.
"Come on, Mac. It wasn't-"
"Amanda...," Duncan said wearily. "Instead of spending Christmas with me, you were in Oslo with a man you promised you'd never have anything to do with again." As he spoke, his knew his voice was getting louder as the rush of bitter emotion swept over him. "A man I know you've been intimate with in the past, and you took the head of one of my friends!"
Amanda just stood there with that sweet little sorry look on her face, which made Duncan even more angry. "The Oslo Museum. Of course." Duncan chuckled while shaking his head, wanting to shake her again. "Don't tell me Michael lost his head because of a bracelet."
"Cleopatra's arm bracelet," Amanda corrected softly.
"Feel better now?"
"Yes, I'm glad you know, I didn't have to tell you, so-"
"You didn't have to tell me." Duncan wished he could find humor in this situation, but all he could see was red. At least he was feeling again, but the emotions weren't at all what he wanted. "Was there a jewel on the bracelet, or was it just a piece of gold?"
"Yes."
"What I meant was do you feel better having the bracelet, not having told me."
"But I did tell you."
"But I assume it wasn't the whole truth."
"I didn't go into it wanting to take Burgess' head, I wouldn't do that, you know that," Amanda plead but the ringing doorbell interrupted her flow.
After a moment's hesitation, Amanda ran to the door, obviously happy to have a break in the conversation. There wasn't any need for him to find out exactly how it happened, he knew all he needed to know. Amanda had gone against what he wished, reacquainted herself with a past lover that caused nothing but trouble, chose to steal a bracelet instead of spending intimate time with him during the holiday, and most of all, had killed Michael Burgess. Duncan grabbed one of Guy's coats, knowing that the replacement keys for the cars had arrived, he needed to get as far away from Amanda, that house, his life, as he could.
He grabbed the key from Amanda's hand that was the same as the Rover key he was given when renting the car and stalked out of the house. The delivery man said, "There will be an extra $50 added to your credit card for the replacement key."
Duncan just kept walking down the driveway to the street pulling the coat on. He saw the car the deliveryman drove drive past him, then stop. Amanda got out as the car idled. "Mac, he'll give us a lift."
When she put her hand on his arm as she ran to keep up with him, he jerked his arm away. "You don't want to talk to me right now. Go ahead, and you'd better not be there when I arrive or I don't know what I'll do."
"Come on, Mac," Amanda said keeping up with him. "Let's talk about this."
He knew that she didn't really want to talk about this or anything important. She just wanted him to turn a blind eye once again to who she really was. He hadn't learned his lesson after the James situation, but he did now. "So you can lie to me so more?"
"Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I was going to tell you-"
"Get away from me!"
Duncan was gratified that she spun on her heel and got into the car. As they drove off in the direction of Bethany Stone, Duncan turned to walk back to the Barstows' house to wait for the Watcher so he could get the real story of how and why his friend had died.
Yes, he had taken heads he hadn't meant to: Richie and Sean to name just two. At the time, he hadn't realized what he was doing. They were taken by mistake, when he was not in his right mind, fighting a demon in Richie's case and while in the throws of a dark quickening in Sean's case. No matter how Amanda tried to explain Michael's beheading, she could never convince him that Michael hadn't died solely because of Amanda's determination and greed.
~~~~~
When Methos arrived at Mount of Olives School and didn't find Claire in her dorm room, he headed straight for the dean's office. After a load of threats about the future financial stability of the school and equal parts of apologies from Dean Lawson, who explained that with the holidays, they weren't fully staffed. As if that made a difference. The Dean brought Methos to the security room to look at surveillance tapes of the entrance to the school. All the while the tech was rewinding tapes, finding others, hoping to show how Claire Gordon had left the premises, Methos knew that Elizabeth must have come to get her. He thought the school would be the last place she looked for Claire, thinking he would have taken his daughter with him. Unfortunately, immediately after almost losing his head, he hadn't really wanted to be responsible for Claire. He hadn't cared why Elizabeth did it, she did it. If he hadn't woken up at that split second of time to see the sword over his head, he would have been beheaded, no matter the reason. Since then, he had often wondered why Elizabeth had done it, but didn't want to think about it too much. He didn't want to forgive her. For a 5,000 year old man, a close shave with the loss of his head wasn't taken lightly.
He hoped that Claire had not just taken off on her own because that would mean she went home and was now with Elizabeth Methos was chilled when the thought that Claire might have been angry and disappointed with her parents and just walked away from everything. To his sorrow, he imagined what Claire might have thought, that her parents had just dropped her there and abandoned her. After Elizabeth had almost taken his head, Methos needed time away from it all, responsibilities, his demented wife and needy child. Claire would never be able to understand. As it turned out it was a good thing he hadn't taken Claire with him, since he had run into a woman who knew him three aliases ago. How could he have explained her calling him Adam Pierson?
Claire had once seen a finger painting she had done while they were in Italy and Elizabeth was in the hands of James. Claire had asked Methos to sign her name as she couldn't get it right. He had painted Claire Sommers in the bottom right hand corner. Years later while they were on the ship, she had asked him about it. He had successfully changed the subject, but knew that it still had to play with her mind. How could he explain the Sommers alias as well as Adam Pierson?
Finally, the tech said, "Here," as he pointed to the monitor. Claire was seen on the video walking through the gate holding her pink dance bag along with Elizabeth, Guy Barstow, Amanda, and Duncan all carrying garbage bags with what he imagined held the rest of Claire's things. They couldn't be far away. Maybe they were at home. That Elizabeth had gotten three friends to help her take Claire worried Methos. What lies had she filled all their heads with? His leaving may make him look bad, he needed to get his side heard. He bet Elizabeth hadn't even told them that she almost took his head by mistake. By mistake! He was angry; that codicil was always added whenever he thought of it. She almost took my head, Methos thought. That's all I need to know!
"Oh, Claire left with her mother," the dean seemed to be relieved to say.
"Who was supposed to be barred from the premises! You will pay for what this foolish establishment has done. Mark my words! You will pay if anything has happens to my daughter!"
Methos barreled out of the school to his rental car, turned the engine over quickly, and sped onto the street toward Bethany Stone Manor. More horror than just a missing daughter hit him when he turned into the drive of the house he had loved more than any other, including Casa Segura. It was gone. The house, the stables, his garage that held his pickup, and the tree that he and Claire liked to climb up in and talk were all gone, burned to the ground.
She torched it?! That bitch!
Methos couldn't believe how much Elizabeth had changed into a person he didn't even know anymore. While living in the house, he could now calculate how she had changed daily bit by bit, but now her actions of almost beheading him and torching his estate made her a complete and utter stranger. A hated stranger at that.
There were two parked cars, both with rental agency decals, he felt for immortal presences. Feeling none, he walked to them and looked in the window of the red Ferrari. "This has to be Amanda's," he surmised. Only Amanda would have such a garish car in such a small quaint area. He figured that Elizabeth had rented the Range Rover, and wondered where she was with his daughter. Then he felt an immortal just before a car turned off the road into the driveway.
Amanda got out, then the car made an immediate u-turn and drove off. "Oh, Methos," Amanda cried taking him into her arms. "It's so awful."
"Where's my daughter?"
"Shopping with Liz."
"Where?"
Amanda pulled back and shrugged. "Wherever there is to shop here, I suppose. As you can see," Amanda swept her arm to the ruins, "everything Liz had is gone."
"Did she do this because I left?"
"I'm sure that didn't help matters, but Liz didn't burn it down. What's more important, and what you have to help me with, is that Mac is really mad at me."
"So what else is new? He isn't feeling life unless it's disappointment of those around him."
Methos didn't know where that comment came from; he really wanted to talk to Mac about all this, but then he assumed that with Duncan he would just get a shake of the head and judgment. After he took Ingrid, Methos thought the Highlander would change his finely honed sense of black and white, but no. The ethics of the clan MacLeod came back pretty quickly.
Methos pointed to the Rover and asked, "So, if that's not Liz's, who rented that?"
"Mac."
"Why didn't you both come together?"
"Long story." Amanda folded her arms in front of her and looked at the ruins of the house.
"Yeah, I don't need your trauma now. I have enough of my own." Methos wondered how such destruction could happen yet there was no indication that emergency and/or medical personnel had been at the scene. His house. He loved that house. The first time he had ever seen it during the reign of King Alfred was with Amanda at his side. She had a wistful look on her face, and he imagined she was reminiscing as well. He put his arm around her and asked, "Why did she burn my house down? She knew how much I loved it. Didn't you love it?"
"I did, but not last night when I arrived."
He looked at her surprised. "Why?"
"That house was evil, Methos. I don't know how or why, but it was haunted."
"Get out of here," Methos drawled. "It was old and charming. Lots of good memories here."
"Memories, yes. I have to agree with that. But last night...," Amanda couldn't continue.
"What?"
"There were ghosts, Methos. Ask Mac and Liz. I'm not making it up."
In order to play along, he asked, "Alfred's ghost?"
"No." She paused. "I'm not too sure you're ready for this, but I think Liz was under the spell of Pyrius. I think I saw him. A big, tall, skinny guy. It had to be him. I killed him and before I knew it the whole house was on fire."
Methos tightened at just the mention of that immortal's name. Would he ever be able to live past the shadow of Liz's dark quickening? When?! Well, no longer. If she wants to wallow in his past, a past that she had promised she had accepted, he didn't need her in his life. He just needed his daughter, and was going to get her if he had to search every single shop in the county.
Methos walked back to his car and Amanda got into the passenger seat. "I'm not kidding, Methos. It's the truth."
"I don't want to talk about that! What needs to be said is that Liz almost took my head! That's what's important, not foolishness such as ghosts."
"It's not foolishness, Methos. I saw them as sure as I'm looking at you now!"
"Get out of the car!" he barked. He wasn't going to listen to anything having to do with Pyrius. Not when there were important things to worry about, such as the safety of his daughter in the hands of a maniac who sees an immortal she had beheaded. Since Amanda shut up, Methos started the car and took off to town with her still with him.
~~~~~
Elizabeth, Claire, and Guy needed to make two trips to the car in order to bring all the purchases into his house. Duncan had been waiting on the back porch near the garage for them to return and helped bring in the rest of the packages, already wrapped in Christmas wrapping. "Merry Belated Christmas, Duncan," Elizabeth said taking one box out of a shopping bag as she walked with him to the house. "Hope you like it."
"For me?" Duncan replied happily. "You didn't have to."
"Oh," she said looking at the box. "That one is from Claire. My gift to you must be in another bag."
They got inside and piled the bags on the already overloaded couch in the living room. Claire was already opening bags, looking at the tags, and making piles. She already knew what was in each one as they had picked out things together, but she could still enjoy the process of unwrapping boxes with her name on them. Elizabeth felt such remorse that she had been so out of it she hadn't thought about her daughter on the one night of the year that children all over the world look forward to. The things she bought that day was just the first step in the apology process. Elizabeth was set to spend the rest of her life making it up to her daughter. Even though Claire had been a bit touchy at first, as they shopped for everyday things, clothes, and gifts, Claire had started to open up and relax.
Duncan, still affected by getting just that one gift, said, "You didn't have to get me anything. I didn't get you a present."
Elizabeth smiled at him. "Of course you did. You were there for me when I needed you. I thank you so much for that." After a light, relieved chuckle, she said, "You let me know I wasn't crazy." She kissed his cheek and said, "Don't hope for too much with the gift. I wasn't able to shop at say Rodeo Drive or anything."
"It's the thought that counts."
"Well, it's not that bad." Elizabeth laughed, really in good spirits. She was surprised about how good she felt after feeling so down and overwhelmed for so long. "You have, I think, two more gifts as well. Do you need help there, Claire?"
"Nope," she said going through all the packages. The piles for Claire and Elizabeth were pretty high since they had even had underwear and clothes for Elizabeth wrapped up. She felt like partying and indulging. Opening a lot of gifts might be the ticket. She hadn't received anything from Methos for Christmas except another visitation from that bastard Methos turned, so when Methos crept into her mind, she closed it off. She wasn't going to think about him now. She was going to enjoy herself. "When are the kids coming back, Guy? We have stuff for them too."
"You and Claire still have presents under the tree in the rec room downstairs."
"We do?" Claire asked excitedly and with bright eyes. She was having the Christmas she should have had. Elizabeth was so happy with her friends she needed to hug her Watcher, something she hadn't thought to do before. His wife was Methos' Watcher, and Elizabeth supposed she was following him around on the other side of the world about now. Missing Amy's friendship and seeing things around the house that Elizabeth recognized from her other residences, made her wonder where she was.
Claire had rushed downstairs, probably needing all the material possessions she could get. She had been lacking parental love and support for a while, Elizabeth again felt guilty for how she had dealt with many things. Not only had she not been a mother to her daughter, but she had also not been a friend to Amy. It was a silly spat they had, the memory of which had intensified while in that house. Elizabeth would have liked to be able to put all her bad behaviors down to that house, but knew she couldn't.
Guy said, "Hey, we have a big pork roast in the freezer, should we have a Christmas dinner this evening?"
"Sounds excellent," Elizabeth said, walking to the stairs to holler down, "Don't open any presents, Claire!"
"Too late!" Claire yelled up. She came bounding up the stairs with a new leotard and ballet shoes. "Thank you, Guy! I bet they fit too!"
"Amy bought them, and guessed. If they don't fit, I imagine you can exchange them or take them back. But, you got the boring gift. Wait until you see what Joe and Katie Rose got you."
"I can't wait!"
"You'll have to." Elizabeth held Claire at her side and kissed her head. "Since you know everything else we bought, you should have at least one surprise, or two."
"Two?"
"Remember when I said I was going to the powder room and you and Guy went to the ice cream stand?"
"You bought me the stereo!"
Elizabeth just shrugged as Claire said, "I'll bring all of these presents down to the tree. You should see it, Mom. It's beautiful! It will be like Christmas tonight!"
"Be careful," Elizabeth warned when Claire dropped what Elizabeth knew was a sweater that couldn't break from the fall from her daughter's arms. "Only two gifts at a time."
When Claire had left with the gifts down the stairs, Elizabeth sighed. "I should have bought her that stereo." She looked at Duncan. "Do you want to give me a lift back to the store?"
"You don't have to buy Claire's love." Duncan rubbed Elizabeth's shoulder. "She's fine without a stereo."
"Yeah." Elizabeth warred with the thought that her daughter may still be upset and only covering that up with the thought of presents, but she did have a great day with her. Determined there would be a lifetime more of them, Elizabeth was content with the gifts she had bought Claire.
"But, someone could give me a lift to the...," Duncan said before stopping. Elizabeth knew he didn't want to bring up the manor. He didn't even want say the name of that place. He finally said. "My rental car."
Elizabeth knew that he had been as traumatized by their last day and night in the house as she had been. She immediately said, "Yes. Can I borrow your car, Guy? I'd like to talk to Mac alone as well."
"Sure." Guy fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. "I'd like to hear what you talk about, but one day you'll fill me in on what happened, right?"
"Maybe." That was all Elizabeth could promise for the time being. "Guard Claire with your life. We'll be right back."
"Yes, ma'am. I think she'll be just fine here with me." As Elizabeth opened the door with Duncan right behind her, he said, "But I am your Watcher and need to know what to report."
"Report that the house from hell has burned down and Elizabeth is now going to live her life," she said. "Of course, no mention of Claire." She walked out, but then walked back in. "Say what you want about Methos. I'm not so sure his privacy is important to me anymore."
Elizabeth got behind the wheel of Guy's car and started it. She turned the heat up high as Duncan got into the passenger seat. When she didn't back out of the driveway right away, Duncan asked, "Well, are we going?"
"I'm not sure about seeing it again."
"Me neither, but I'm not going to spend quality time there. I want the car and I'm out of there."
"Thank you so much for coming to me. I don't know what would have happened if I continued in that house alone."
"My presence probably made him stronger and made things happen. Did he show you things, make you do things, touch your head like he did mine?"
"No, not really," Elizabeth intoned. "He just forced me to almost take Methos' head." She let those words settle in the car. "That's why Methos left, but why didn't he come back?" Those words settled as well as Elizabeth and Duncan both just stared at the garage door in front of them.
Elizabeth finally said, "Amanda's presence ended the whole ordeal. How did she do it? I mean, why was she able to do it? Wasn't she as overcome by that place and him as we were?"
Duncan sighed and paused. "She is, after all, older than both of us put together, times two. Maybe that's why Methos wasn't affected by the house."
"Methos always told me there wasn't a quickening he couldn't integrate. So many times I wish he had taken Pyrius instead."
"It wasn't as if he had a choice, Liz. He was chained to the wall and he was ready to give up his head he'd been so tortured. You did what you thought was right at the time."
"I hate being so young."
"Me too," Duncan chuckled. "I think I've been around for a while and have seen and done everything at least once, but every once in a while, I'm reminded that I still have so much more to see and experience. Sometimes, I'm not sure I'm ready for all the world has to offer."
"You?" Elizabeth asked incredulously.
"Yeah, me."
"But you have the world by the tail. You live well, you're sophisticated, you know how the world works, you're a good friend, you have a great marriage."
Duncan coughed and looked out the passenger side window. Elizabeth was stricken. "Not again," she moaned. "You and Amanda broke up? When? Why? Not because of me... right? What happened?"
"It's for another time," Duncan replied inhaling fresh air and rubbing his legs with his hands. He put a smile on his face, but Elizabeth could tell he wasn't at all happy. She wished he wouldn't put on airs for her benefit, but for the moment, she was happy for his attempt. "This car isn't going to drive itself," he said.
She nodded and put the car into reverse.
~~~~~
After scanning the parking lots of all the stores in the county for Guy's car, the only vehicle that they could possibly have gone shopping with, Methos decided it was getting late and they were probably at a hotel or the Barstow residence. Amanda seemed not to want to find her husband, and it was a sure bet he didn't want to find his wife. Claire was another matter and the reason he had spent hours trolling parking lots. He had gotten two phone calls on his cell from Maloye Gardner. The first asking where he went as they were supposed to meet at the Watcher library. The other was to ask where he had been in 1500. That was the volume of his chronicle she was reading so that she could question him when she saw him. Having a Watcher know who he was and that he was alive was touchy, and he didn't trust Maloye's mouth, but he did trust her greed. When she could present her compilation of the true Methos Chronicles to the Watchers, she would have it made. He himself might be minced meat, but it would never get to that point. He would have to do something about her before it got to that point. For now being a Watcher researcher once again was a good place to hide from life, responsibilities, and Elizabeth. He just needed to find Claire and take her with him.
As they made their way to the Barstows, he realized there wasn't any way he could keep Claire a secret from Maloye if he took Claire with him. It was awfully hard to hide a ten year old. Ten year olds have wants, needs, friends. He either had to kill Maloye now and go away with Claire or work with Maloye in hiding, revisiting his life which wasn't a bad thing, and leave Claire behind. He was between the proverbial rock and a hard place, and Elizabeth controlled a big part of which way he would go. He hated her for almost taking his head, but knew deep down that she loved Claire and would step up to the plate without question to keep her safe if it was needed.
In order to get a second opinion from someone who has seen Elizabeth recently, Methos asked Amanda, "Is she crazy?"
"Who?" Amanda asked, obviously lost in her own thoughts.
"Liz."
"She had a lot to deal with if she's been seeing, hearing, and feeling what I just sampled in that hell hole." Methos jerked a look at her. It was impossible to think that the house he had found so much comfort in, had loved his family so much in, could be anything but utopia to anyone.
"Ghosts... Pyrius... How is Elizabeth acting now, today?"
"She seemed much better. It's like the hold of the house is gone."
"Would she hurt Claire?"
"Are you crazy? The first thing she said with desperation after we were saved from that house was where was Claire and is she safe."
"I don't understand any of this," he mused, shaking his head.
Amanda chuckled, getting Methos' attention once again. "You may be old and wise as you've been saying for centuries, but you really are a twit at times. Didn't you notice her acting different? She said she had slowly been feeling more and more awful and dreadful after moving into that house. Didn't you even notice?"
Methos shrugged. "I thought it was just because we weren't living in a city. She likes city life."
Methos turned onto the street the Barstows lived on and immediately felt immortal sensations. Guy's car was in the driveway with it's reverse lights on, and he saw Elizabeth behind the wheel. When he parked the car at the curb, he saw that the other head in the car was Duncan. She wasn't leaving with his daughter, that was certain. He didn't know what he was going to do, but to allow Liz to just leave with her wasn't one of the options he had to kick around in his head.
Amanda jumped out of the car and ran to the passenger side of Guy's car yelling, "Mac! We need to talk, now! We can get this settled."
Wondering if Claire was in the back seat, Methos got out of his rental car and opened the back door to Guy's. The look of remorse on Elizabeth's face didn't faze him. The back seat was empty, and by now Mac and Amanda were standing outside the car arguing. Elizabeth was still sitting behind the wheel with her head tilted to him. He tapped on the window, and she rolled it down.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said as he yanked open the driver's door. "Are you taking off without Claire? Where is she?"
"She's inside," she remarked softly. "I was just taking Duncan to get his car."
"It's over! That's it!" Duncan yelled at Amanda when she tried to hold him, crying. "You killed my friend and that's all I need to know."
Elizabeth looked at them through the car window as Amanda stammered, "Fine!"
Duncan countered, "Go!"
Methos heard Claire yell, "Dad!" and run out of the house to him. His heart lifted as he saw that she was all right. She even had a smile on her face. He felt a hand tugging on his arm but he wanted to meet Claire on the lawn.
"Come on, Daniel," Amanda yelled. "Get me the hell out of here!"
Methos jerked Amanda's hand off as he brought Claire up into his arms and spun her around, kissing her head. "Are you all right?"
"Sure, I'm great, Dad. Come inside. We didn't get anything for you, but-"
"I can't," he told her and saw Elizabeth getting out of the car and looking at him with guilty eyes. Yes, she should be guilty. Just being this close to her made him want to whip out his sword for what she almost did to him.
"Why not?" Elizabeth asked. "If you'd like to stay for dinner, I'm sure there's enough roast."
How dare she talk to me, he thought as he stared her down.
Claire chimed in, "Yeah, come on inside. You can open some of my presents."
"NO!" Methos said a bit more full of anger than he wanted to let on in front of Claire. She jumped back and looked like she was about to cry.
"Don't take it out on her," Elizabeth warned. "If you want to yell at someone, here I am."
"Yes, you are right there, aren't you?"
Duncan got back into the car as Amanda stalked to Methos'. Methos put a hand on Claire's shoulder, and to his surprise, he felt her shrink away.
"Claire, honey, why don't you go inside while your dad and I talk."
Claire backed up, her eyes never leaving Methos. He had made so many mistakes with her and didn't know it until that moment. He shouldn't let emotions get in the way, they could hurt a child too much. Because Elizabeth had once again made him look like the bad guy, he could easily imagine all that she had been telling Claire all afternoon, he seethed. "I don't think we have a thing to talk about."
"Yes, we do. I'm terrible sorry for what I-"
"Terribly sorry? Did I hear you right?"
"Yes, Daniel," she had the courage to continue. Didn't she know he was so angry he didn't care at that moment if she lived or died? And if she died, he hoped she would do it fast. "This is a pleasant surprise. I wanted to tell you how awful I felt and that I was overwhelmed by him, and how it happened, if I actually know how it all happened. I'm truly sorry."
When her hand took his, he felt as if he was holding a snake. When he reacted, she said, "I know how it all seems to you, I know that what I did-"
Methos leaned close to her so she would hear him. "You know nothing," he whispered with venom. "If I was headless, you'd just think, oh, gee, sorry."
"Of course not!"
"If you want to keep living in my past, you're welcome to it. I just need you to know one thing, and one thing only," he told her in case she wanted to continue with the hollow apologies when none would suffice. "If you do anything to Claire, I will hunt you down. I will not stop until I find you, and you will wish that I hadn't."
Elizabeth looked confused as tears flowed down her cheeks. Her sobbing wasn't going to affect him, in fact, he had expected it. She had pretended to cry so often in front of him, all the while waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "I'd rather die than hurt Claire."
"No what?" he told her. "That's exactly what will happen."
"Daniel, stop this. Let's talk about it, not argue. I have a lot to explain. You don't know what I've been..." She suddenly stopped talking, more than likely due to the laugh that escaped his stone demeanor.
"Well," she said, looking down and wiping her cheeks. "I see that we need more time. I understand. I hope that one day, you'll see what happened."
"I don't think time will do anything to help anything. You made your decision, and I want nothing to do with you. I loved you and put a lot of energy and hope into our life, but you ruined it. You ruined it all. I don't trust you, and I never will again. 'Accident' or not."
Elizabeth fell back against the car. The Highlander came to the damsel's rescue. "Daniel, you really should listen to her and all that happened in that house."
"You know," Methos said, looking at him. "I've gotten a load of advice from you over the years, young man. Never once did I ask for it, and never once did it do any good. Butt out!" He looked back at Elizabeth and said, "I'm going to talk to my daughter. You stay away from me."
Claire was sitting on the steps crying as Methos approached. "Dad?" she asked when he sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. "Are you and Mom getting a divorce?"
Those had to be the worst words a child could ask a parent, and Methos couldn't lie to her. "Yes."
Claire cried harder and folded her head into his side. He lifted her head and brushed the tears from his face as he told her, "It will be all right. I promise."
"No it won't. I want us all back together again."
"It won't happen. Your mother made that an impossibility." He would blame it all on Elizabeth, he had every right to. Let her explain why they could never again be a 'family'. He so wanted to take Claire with him, but knew that he could only bring her danger. If he just went away with her, Maloye Gardner wouldn't rest until she either found him or had told the Watchers that Methos was in fact alive.
Claire whimpered as he held her and put his hand into his pocket. He noticed that Duncan was holding Elizabeth and patting her back. At least the boy scout would make sure Claire was safe. He wouldn't leave Claire with Elizabeth if he didn't think she was. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Claire. "This is just for you and I. I promise to call you all the time. Wherever I am, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I will call you. When I have a new cell phone, I'll call you with the number. We're going to talk all the time. Only you have to promise me something. Can you promise me?"
"What?"
"You never turn that cell phone off and you never tell your mother my number when I call and give it to you." Claire was affected by that, her lip quivered. He kissed her forehead and said, "I know this is hard. I know you've had a terrible month. If you keep my secret, I promise you I'll make it all right. I will find the best place to live and you and I will be a family."
"What about mom?"
"We're getting a divorce, Claire. It's going to happen." He didn't want to feel bad while telling her the truth. There were secrets he had to keep from her, but this wouldn't be one . He wanted Claire to know that no matter what Elizabeth told her, she shouldn't have false hopes that they'd ever get back together again. How could he possibly sleep beside Elizabeth again knowing that she could pick up a sword and behead him? He had been so happy with her, had thought that marrying an immortal would mean that she would also want to protect his head, as he would hers. That bond of trust had been broken. It was all her fault. "It's going to happen," he told her again. "But that doesn't mean I don't love you as much as ever. I do. Always remember that. I'll be back for you as soon as I find the perfect place for us to live."
"But, what about mom?"
"What about her?" Methos replied with a bit of exasperation.
"I'll never see her again?"
"We'll have to figure out arrangements. This is all new to me. As I said, it will be all right." He kissed her once more and gave her a big smile that he knew she liked to see. "Are you okay?"
Claire shrugged. "I guess," she said morosely.
She looked at the cell phone as Methos said, "The charger is in the car." He took Claire by the hand past the drama session of Elizabeth crying on Duncan's shoulder to his rental where Amanda was pouting, staring at the two of them. He reached in and grabbed the charger from it's place on the console between the two front seats and gave it to Claire. "You know how that works, right?"
"Sure. Plug it in." Methos chuckled as she looked up at him to ask, "When will you call me?"
"As soon as I get my hands on another phone, Little One." He leaned down and held Claire as he said, "I love you. Never forget that."
"I love you too, Dad."
"Ah," Methos said happily. "That what I like to hear."
As he drove away with Amanda, he watched Claire join Elizabeth and Duncan and wondered what they were going to tell each other. It only mattered as far as how Claire thought about him. He knew he was doing the right thing. It was the only option he could think of at such short notice. If Elizabeth was truly as 'sorry' as she had wanted him to believe, she wouldn't do anything to stop communication between him and his daughter. If she did, he would have to act on that.
Not wanting to think of all the alternatives, and of how his plan could blowup in his face and he'd never see Claire again, he turned to Amanda, who was unusually quiet. "So, what did you do this time to rile the Highlander?"
She only shook her head slightly and continued to stare blankly ahead at the street. Gods, the sooner I get away from all this, the better. He asked her, "Got a cell phone?"
"Of course," she replied tightly.
"Hand it over. I got a call to make."
"To Claire, already?"
"Not yet. But it's just as important."
~~~~~
"I've really done it, haven't I?" Elizabeth asked Duncan with Claire holding her around the waist.
"What did you do, mom? I've never seen dad so mad."
Elizabeth sighed. She had two options: she could lie and cover up more secrets, or she could be as truthful as she possible to a girl who'd already had a traumatic day. "I almost killed your dad," she stated, waiting for Claire's reaction.
"How?"
Claire was waiting for an answer and Duncan looked like she was crazy for even getting into it. "I almost killed him while he was sleeping. It was an accident, but... there it is. He won't forgive me, and I can't really blame him."
Duncan rubbed Elizabeth's back as he said, "He will. One day."
"He will?" Claire asked excitedly. "If it was an accident..."
"No, he probably won't," Elizabeth said which made Claire almost crumble. "I have to work on that assumption, and it would be best if you do also, honey. I'm sorry. What I did was so wrong, but it's done. There was a reason for it, and he won't even talk about it."
"I wish I was back at school," Claire moaned on the edge of a tantrum the likes of which she hadn't had in years. "I was mad, but at least I was happy." She stomped to the house, past Guy on the porch, and slammed the door behind her when she went inside.
Elizabeth looked to Duncan. "What happened between you and Amanda?"
"She took the head of my friend," he spouted with bitterness. "Over a damn bracelet. He wasn't a challenger." He was unable to continue; the words burned.
"Jeez, that was a shitty thing to do. It wasn't by any chance an accident, was it?"
"She didn't mention an accident."
"How much did you let her talk?"
"I don't need to listen to anymore lies." He raised his hand to his neck. "I'm up to here with them."
Elizabeth grinned ironically. "And you think Methos should listen to me when you won't hear Amanda out?"
"Why are you on her side?"
"I'm not on any side, I just want to make sure that you're..." Elizabeth stopped and took a deep breath, feeling a headache coming on. She opened the driver's side of Guy's car. "I don't want to think about anything right now. I just want to get your car, have a nice dinner, see Claire's face when she opens her presents, see Amy and the kids again. I just want to live, make my own choices. I haven't done that in a long time. Okay?"
"Sounds good." Duncan walked around the car and got in as Elizabeth had. "We'll just have a nice Christmas dinner with Guy and his family."
"And my family." Elizabeth smiled. "I have Claire back. Methos didn't take her with him."
"Yes, that is odd."
"What is he up to?"
"I thought you didn't want to think about anything." Duncan's smile was knowing. He turned on the radio and the tape that Guy had been playing when he had stopped the car came on. Duncan turned up the volume when an old Beatles song, "In My Life," started.
"There are places I remember all my life, thought some have changed," Duncan and Elizabeth both sang out. "Some forever, not for better. Some have gone and some remain."
Elizabeth back out of the driveway as she stopped singing. The words hit too close to home for her. Her life has irretrievably changed, Methos was gone, but she did still have Claire. Duncan stopped singing half way through the next line: "But of all these friends and lovers, there is no one compares to you."
They shared a glance as Elizabeth drove down the street and listened as the voice of a long-ago martyred poet sang out on tape: "And these memories lose their meaning, when I think of love as someone new. Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before, I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more."
Continued