THE ELIZABETH SERIES

CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

METHOS' GIFT

by JoLayne

RATING: PG

CHARACTERS: M, Amanda, Amy, Joe, OC's Elizabeth, Guy, docs

SUMMARY: The operation.

DISCLAIMER: All characters and concepts you recognize from Highlander: The Series are owned by Panzer/Davis, and maybe Greg Widen. Just using them for fun, no profit is expected or pursued.

~~~~~

APRIL 7, 2013
NEW YORK CITY
Just when Elizabeth thought she had lived a long, full life, more than all mortals, anyway, she got another dose of what being in such close proximity to a 5,000 year old man usually did to her. In the early morning hours, she finally accepted that she wasn't going to sleep, being too nervous about the upcoming sacrifice her husband would make to save a little girl he barely knew, and turned over to watch the old man sleep. To her amazement, Methos was sleeping like a baby. There wasn't a speck of worry on his face, evidently he was not having a harrowing, prophetic dream. She had always assumed that she usually dreamt the same things normal, mortal people dreamt about. Things like wanting to come into money to make the house payment, back before she hooked up with Methos, cheering for her daughter as she won a race or aced an exam or was asked to go to the prom with a heartbreaker who wouldn't take advantage of her, falling out of an airplane, trying to dodge snakes, needing to keep re-dialing a long telephone number because she got the eighth digit wrong, having no luck finding a room for a meeting and getting lost in a huge building, normal things. As she lay watching Methos, knowing that he had over 5,000 years under his belt, she again wondered what his dreams entailed. Lately, they'd involved someone taking his head and her being fine with it, which was such hogwash she refused to go there again. In just the short time they'd been together, counting in immortal years, Methos had forecast his kidnaping by Pyrius, was certain that Elizabeth and Duncan would kiss passionately, that Elizabeth would lose her head, and now that he'd lose his. Well, she still had hers, and there wasn't any indication that he would lose his as a result of giving his kidney to Katie Rose. She didn't know how far Joe had progressed in the planning stages for bringing in a doctor and operating staff that knew about immortality, but she knew that Methos would come out of this with his head firmly attached.

The look of peace on Methos' face gave her no indication that he was a worry wart. If he was dreaming about being in that place, on that table, with all of his friends and her surrounding him, telling him he had to do this, ending with him losing his head, surely he wouldn't be so serene. So, what part of his 5,000 years of experience was he reliving? Or if he wasn't reliving anything happy, what was he hoping would happen? Just what would a 5,000 year old man wish for? There were times when Methos had said, in a somewhat weary tone, 'been there, done that,' so what would he hope for to make life interesting and worth waiting for?

Elizabeth just hoped she was a part of it.

As she settled in beside Methos for body heat to fend off a chill on her exposed shoulder, she once again thought of his dream and how he could think that not only she, but Duncan and Joe would just stand by and watch him lose his head in that room they now assume was an operating room. Was Methos just that paranoid or had they given him some indication that when it came right down to it, they'd sacrifice him for themselves or even for Katie Rose. She was convinced that if it came down to Duncan and Methos in the Gathering (which wasn't all that far fetched), that would be the one and only time Duncan would conceive of taking Methos' head. There was also the thought that if and when it came down to that, they'd make some sort of deal and find a way to break the rules and share whatever the hell prize there was to be won worth all the rigmarole to get there. She hadn't known Duncan MacLeod or Joe Dawson as long as Methos had, but she had no doubt that they would protect his head to their dying breath, if need be.

When push came to shove, Methos would sacrifice himself for them too. Amanda had told Elizabeth that at one time, Methos was inches from losing his own head for the sake of a mortal woman he had fallen in love with. He had to have been out of his mind or world weary enough or perhaps enough in love with her that if she died, life wasn't worth living, even a life that had seen the world come alive, take root, grow, prosper, change, and become what it is today, on its way to change again and again in ways no one could even imagine. She had wondered about this woman named Alexa, who had worked for Joe, had cancer, was taken on a world tour by Methos, and made him fall in love with her just before she succumbed. Well, made might be the wrong word, but Elizabeth didn't know much about her. If she was to just go by what Amanda said about her and the fact that Methos remembered her so much that he wrote the year of her death in the margin of the Pyrius journal, one would think she was a saint. Yet knowing Methos, a saint isn't what Methos would fall in love with. Whatever captivation she had for him, Methos had almost lost his head to some Watcher with big dreams. And hell, he was ready to give his head to Pyrius, and would have lost it if she hadn't taken Pyrius' head in the nick of time. Shivering from the unwanted memory of that lunatic Greek, she fended off thinking about those days more in depth.

Since Methos usually interpreted his dreams incorrectly, Elizabeth hoped that the dream that ended with him being headless wasn't a result of him sacrificing his head for someone or something during that dream. Maybe the real meaning of the dream was that he would have to do "this," Elizabeth had to admit that those very words had come out of her own mouth, and Joe had also stated as much in reality, and the person who would end up dying had to be Katie. His losing his head had to be a metaphor or something, but she couldn't think of what it could be. As she looked at Methos sleeping, with a peaceful smile, she figured that Methos had put a lot of hours into deciphering the dream and hadn't come up with anything more logical than his losing his head. If he couldn't figure it out, she didn't think she could. At least no while so tired. If she could only sleep.

~~~~~

"That was fast," Methos told a beaming Joe at the door of their suite. As Joe made his way into the suite, Methos added, "Damn fast. You sure you haven't had this doctor all along?"

"I told ya I was putting out feelers for Watcher doctors, simply because we only recruit the very best, and nothing less would do for my granddaughter." Joe was offered a seat, but he seemed to be in too good a mood to sit. In fact, he looked like he could start dancing on the ceiling with a smile so bright, Methos couldn't remember ever seeing such a thing on his face. Joe said, "Just got lucky. A buddy I tapped to do a lot of database searching came up with Dr. Sinclair, and then all the pieces just fell together. She'd been on her way to New York for a seminar in the first place."

"A seminar? She has to get refresher courses?" Methos asked with dread.

"To teach it, idiot," Joe tossed out.

"Careful. More talk like that, I might change my mind."

"Like hell you will." The look on Joe's face told Methos that even though he was a crippled mortal, Methos wouldn't be able to find any way to get out of this. He was going to have to give Katie Rose that kidney. Even if Methos decided to take off to the North Pole, Joe looked determined enough to track him down and haul him into an operating room.

It had all happened so fast. From the time Joe called them in Paris to say Katie was sick to the time they got back to New York and he was shanghaied into having a blood test, to this very moment laying naked on a cold, steel table with just a flimsy sheet over him in a private clinic in Queens that had been acquired by the Watchers as a private establishment to cut him open and take out a body part, to being wheeled down this long corridor with intermittent bright lights that blinded him like streetlights on a very dark night could almost blind you.

Methos looked to each side and flipped his hand up asking for Elizabeth, but all he felt was the rush of chilly wind pushing past his body as two nurses, intent on running a marathon wheeled his stretcher to the room of doom. Dr. Sinclair. No idea who that was. Methos mentally berated himself now for not asking Joe if she was an immortal or a Watcher. He chuckled. Or both. There were other immortals who had hidden in plain sight and infiltrated the Watchers. More power to them, Methos always thought, but if this chick was immortal and had a grudge against him. Could be bad.

Methos lifted his head to look for Joe to ask the question belatedly, but the nurse to his left pushed him back down on the table and kept her hand on his chest to keep him down. She didn't look to be that strong, and he assumed it was the velocity of the stretcher that helped make it difficult to lift up again. Just how far were they going, anyway? Is this the Pentagon?

Methos laid back and closed his eyes. No use wasting strength when you don't need to. Might come in handy later. Then finally, he felt the stretcher stop and opened his eyes. The bright light above him blinded him, and he painfully slammed shut his eyes and turned his head away from it. He felt soft lips on his cheek and opened his eyes to see Elizabeth there. In his estimation, Elizabeth had never looked lovelier. An angel. He could take her right now. Maybe they'd give them some time alone and if not, he hoped they'd enjoy the show. Just as he was going to get up and grab her, she purred, "I'm so proud of you. You're a hero."

"My life's biggest ambition."

Joe appeared. Elizabeth had moved back. "What do you want?" Methos asked.

There was a tear in Joe's eye. "You've really pissed me off, old man, a lot, but... I'll owe you one, buddy."

"I think we're up to about 19 by now, Joe. Don't worry about it now. Get out of here. In fact, all of you get out of here. I want to see my wife."

"Well, isn't he a bundle of joy," Methos heard to his right. He looked to see Amanda standing there in surgical attire, complete with surgical mask. Her overly done eyes flashed to Duncan at her left, "Katie isn't going to get his crankiness along with his kidney, is she?"

Duncan chuckled, "Let's hope not." He too was wearing a surgical gown and mask and what made Methos suddenly feel more secure, was the hand holding onto his katana. That white dragon sword hilt had never been a more welcoming sight. His face must have given away his thoughts, because Duncan winked and said, "I'm ready for anything."

"I am, too," Elizabeth said, showing him her cutlass.

"Me, too," Guy said, showing Methos a Beretta 8000 Cougar.

"Shall we start?" a female voice spouted from behind Guy. Three people Methos didn't know were huddled with her. For the first time, Methos saw the table that at first glance looked empty, but that he now realized held a 24 inch child upon it. As Methos looked across the room at Katie Rose Barstow, it dawned on him just how small she was and how much she needed his kidney.

The female doctor, with harsh eyes and a no-nonsense attitude, peered down at him. "Mr. Gordon, if you're ready, the recipient is about to be prepared. Lie back, relax, and we'll see you again in about an hour." Before Methos could say he needed a minute, if only to see her face without that mask covering everything below her nose and ask who she was and see her credentials, a gas mask came from his right and covered his mouth.

As Methos tried to take it off, he heard Guy say, "Hey, I did this for years before I saw my first immortal. Just go to sleep. You're in good hands."

The onslaught of gas made him weak. Just before Methos fell into unconsciousness, he heard a female scream out, "Bitch!"

Thankfully, the suddenness of it must have startled Guy too, because the gas mask fell away from Methos' face and he was able to turn his head to see what happened. The doctor was coming at Elizabeth, who had a confused look on her face. "You killed my Marvin! Because of you!" Dr. Sinclair shoved one of her assistant surgeons, who slammed against Methos' bed, shoving him farther away from the fray and sealing Amanda and Duncan against the wall.

"Who the hell is Marvin?" Elizabeth asked, who to Methos' appreciation, looked confused but ready to take the doctor on to protect herself.

"You don't even remember?!" Sinclair squawked as she produced a sword from behind her. "Maybe you'll remember in hell!"

"What the fuck is going on?!" Methos yelled, trying to move the surgeon off of him, still not having found his feet. "Get your gun, Barstow! Stop her!"

Elizabeth pulled up her cutlass, but the force of Sinclair's sword lowered it with just a flick of her wrist. With a wide twirl, Sinclair sliced her sword at Elizabeth's neck as Methos screamed out for it all to stop. Elizabeth went straight down to the floor, out of his view. It was as if he had been slit open and gone numb as Duncan jostled the bed and finally got to the doctor as two shots from two different guns rang out, along with shrieks that had to have come from Amanda. Methos fell back on the stretcher as if his life had ended and closed his eyes. For a long moment, he dreaded the time when Elizabeth's quickening would come to him. But it didn't. He opened his eyes with hope to see Duncan and Sinclair fighting for control of her sword. Methos yelled out, "Just take her damn head!"

Another shot rang out, and a small dot of red that appeared on the white surgical gown on Duncan's back started to get bigger and redder. Methos looked down at where Elizabeth was to see that her head wasn't completely detached. "Lizzie! Heal! Now! Do it! Heal! Lizzie!" There was a thick slab of skin holding her head to her body. "Come on, Lizzie," Methos said determinedly as he untangled himself from the sheet to get off the stretcher. "Heal!"

Duncan finally died from the gunshot wound that had to have come from Guy, who had been at the head of the stretcher. "Crack shot there, Sundance," Methos said to Guy as he slipped off the stretcher to the floor, just feet from where Elizabeth's head was perilously close to being detached. As Duncan fell, Methos could see what would happen just before it did. Duncan kicked out his foot as he fell lifeless, kicking Elizabeth's head and tearing the fragile piece of skin holding her together. "NO!" Methos screamed as her head rolled to the wall and her essence puffed into the air, then gathered force.

~~~~~

Elizabeth had watched Methos' facial expression as it went from peace to frustration to solemn stillness, even though his eyes rolled back and forth in deep REM sleep. Fascinated by what he could be dreaming, having such a long life of experience to delve from, she lifted her head and settled it onto her hand, elbow hiked onto the pillow. When it was evident that he no longer liked what he was experiencing, Elizabeth poked him to wake him up. It scared her when a tear formed at the corner of his eye. He was losing his head again in his dream, but it couldn't be. It was not going to happen. She poked him again to wake him up, but the instant Methos' eyes jerked open his hand clamped onto her wrist. "NO!" he yelled as he lifted them both up and with his free hand, he slugged her in the face. In a tangle of sheets, he screamed, "Lizzie! No!" and continued to wrestle with her.

Scared to death and unable to make a sound, Methos came down on top of Elizabeth. "I'll kill you," he spewed as his hands threaded around her neck. "Doctor, my arse, I'll bloody well kill you!"

Elizabeth couldn't breathe and couldn't get his hands released from the tight clench around her neck. Doctor? What the hell was he thinking? As she struggled with him, his hands getting tighter and tighter around her neck, she hiked up her body as best she could to either wake him up or get him off of her.

Methos wailed, "She's gone..." as he fingers tightened around her neck.

Scratching and clawing, knowing that she was removing his flesh with every swipe hadn't lessen his obvious intention of choking her to death, whoever he thought she was. Elizabeth couldn't figure it out as he was moaning her name with great grief, but at the same time he could kill her. She was lightheaded and could feel her face was flush from lack of oxygen, could feel herself close to passing out. Her hands, with blood and flesh under her fingernails, balled into fists. With her last bit of strength, Elizabeth punched Methos on one cheek, then the other.

Mercifully, his grip on her neck loosened as a jerky grunt emitted from Methos' evil filled face. His eyes grew wide as he was awakened from his stupor. Elizabeth was able to push him off of her, but immediately he was back on top of her as she struggled for breath.

"LIZZIE?"

Methos attacked her again, but this time it wasn't his hands, but kisses all over her face, neck, and shoulders.

"Lizzie!" he wailed as he apportioned peck after peck, and his cries turned into glee. "You're alive." He pulled at her head. "It's still attached!" With kiss after kiss, he whispered in rapture, "Pinch me. Pinch me so I know I'm not dreaming."

She did as she was told and rolled him off of her and hiked herself up to sit on the side of the bed, clutching her neck and taking as deep a breath as she could. "You and your damn dreams... What the hell did you dream? You almost killed me."

Methos pulled her back into his arms. His face was filled with relief and utter happiness.

Elizabeth remained on guard, and her words stopped him: "You were choking me, I was an inch from death."

Methos took that in and was riddled with confusion, even though he wouldn't let Elizabeth move out of his arms. "No, I couldn't have. It was Sinclair."

"Who the hell is Sinclair?"

"Katie's surgeon who took your head."

"So now my head is gone? Love your dreams, hun."

"Well, she didn't really take your head, just meant to. MacLeod actually kicked your head off."

"Fun."

"Are you sure I'm not dreaming now? I feel... light. The weight of the world isn't on my shoulders anymore."

"Because I'm headless? Cool."

"Not because of that! Because..." Methos paused, but his eyes were still bright with happiness as he scrutinized where her head was attached to her body. "I don't know, but I feel... great."

"Yes, you were dreaming. Katie doesn't even have a surgeon yet, let alone some Sinclair asshole who took my head off."

"No, MacLeod actually did, but she was the one to swing the sword. It just didn't go all the way through."

"I don't even want to know the details. It's stupid."

Methos laid his head on hers, holding her against him and entwining his leg around hers. "I feel like I'm still dreaming. How can I be sure this isn't the dream?"

After a short bit of struggle to get away from Methos, Elizabeth gave into the inevitable and held Methos back; her breathing had returned to normal and the pain in her neck started to subside. "Just trust me, you're not."

"I do trust you. I lost you."

"No, you must have thought you did."

"I still felt it."

"Worst case scenario or deepest wish?"

"Not deepest wish. Never deepest wish." After kissing her forehead and giving her one last hug against him, he looked at her, gaped at her neck. She guessed the scar she received from him all those years ago must appear to be lit in neon. She let him savor what he had done in the past, and just now. But then, when it looked as if that 'weight of the world' was back on his shoulders, she didn't want him to do this to himself.

Elizabeth saw a tear on his eye, so she kissed it away. He had enough of a walk down the lane of regret, now it was time to find out what happened in his dream and why his subconscious decided to make her the immortal target. "Obviously I haven't taken sword practice in your dreams, but you don't want to come up against me. Even after all that rich, fatty French food, I could kick your ass."

Methos smiled, just the sight she had hoped for. "That's my girl."

"I should do it as repayment for your almost choking me."

As his hand caressed her neck, a finger lightly tracing her scar, he said, "I'm so sorry. If I lost you... again... I can't do it. I won't."

Suddenly it all became clear to her. Methos' dream this time wasn't a warning, it was a call of desperation. He was so consumed by fear about what could happen, and her not giving that fear credence, probably caused him to transfer that fear onto her. Methos needed help through this. Screw it, Elizabeth thought with resolution. When it came right down to it, nothing mattered to her except Methos and Claire. She loved Amy and her family, and wanted to help as much as she could, but not to the detriment of her own family. If Methos, who was older and wiser than she'll ever be, was suffering with the prospect of losing his head, it was pain she didn't want him to endure one moment longer.

"Let's go," she announced and pulled out of his embrace. "I'll wake Claire and get her packing, you get our stuff into suitcases and let's blow this pop stand."

Methos sat up with her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"If you don't want to go through with this surgery, don't."

Methos gave her his patented look of 'come on, I know you better than that, and if you think about it a bit more, you do as well.'

Elizabeth said, "I mean it. That's it. We'll leave before anyone knows we're gone."

"Don't you go over the deep end, too. One of us has to remain sane through all this."

When he grabbed her hand before she got out of bed, she said, "Look, Methos. I'm finally agreeing with you. If this is driving you crazy... if you're so out of it that you attacked me..."

"I'm so sorry..." he moaned, and she knew he would cut off an arm if he thought it would help show her just how much.

"I know." Elizabeth curled her legs under her and caressed his cheek. "If it was my kidney Katie needed, I'd rip it out myself and hand it over, but it's not that simple for you. I get it now. You've seen and been through so much. You know when you're in danger, and you've stayed here and allowed me to be a royal bitch to get a body part out of you because you love me."

"More than my life." Methos' eyes started to well up again.

Wiping his tear away and lying down next to him again, she told him, "I know you almost lost your head over another woman, Alexa?" She pronounced the woman's name as a question, but she knew full well her name and the story behind her; she asked Amanda about her a couple of years ago after becoming so interested in Methos' scrawl in the margin of Pyrius' journal. "Just because you were focused on saving her, you got into a position that could have meant the end of you. Thank God that creep was greedy and I have you now. But you're not putting yourself into that kind of position again. Not for me, Katie, Amy, Joe, not for anyone. I won't allow it. If you have any hesitation, it's enough for me. I'm just sorry I got you into this. I should have realized sooner. I don't want you to be the bad guy in this, either. It's my decision. One day I'll be able to explain it to Amy."

Elizabeth took a moment to kiss her husband as if for the last time, because one should do that even when there's no impending doom. When Methos rolled them over and began getting lost in the moment, Elizabeth stopped him and said, "No, we have to pack and get the hell out of here. I'll wake up Claire."

Methos stopped her from moving and slowly grinned as he looked down on her. "No. We don't need to leave."

"It's what you want."

"Not anymore. As long as I have my best supporter looking out for me, I'll be fine. I know I will." He shrugged. "Hope I will."

"If there's any hesitation, we're out of here."

Elizabeth could feel Methos relax against her, which was the most gratifying feeling she could ever have. Rely on me, she thought. She would not let him down. Methos whispered, "I have none. As long as you don't leave me, I can do this."

"We'll do this together."

Methos smiled wide and rolled his forehead against hers. "Yes. We'll do this together. We'll save an innocent girl's life together. Da, da, da, daaaa," he announced as if Mighty Mouse had arrived, which made them giggle.

"That's a complete turnaround for you," Elizabeth said, scrutinizing him.

"It's clear now." Methos took in a breath and drank her in with his eyes. "I felt like I lost you again and I cannot take that. I don't want that. That scared me more than losing my own head. Because you're willing to leave with me, even though you're devoted to Amy and her family, makes me sure nothing will happen to me. Just be sure nothing happens to you; that will make this perfect. Anyway, Katie will get her kidney, Joe will owe me one, MacLeod will see I can do something sacrificial, and-."

"That's important to you?"

"Not really, but it is to him." Methos grinned as Elizabeth nibbled on his ear. As she pulled him closer, he said, "Ah yes. Things will be fine."

~~~~~

Megan sighed and stretched in the early morning New Mexican sun. Hoping she wouldn't develop hemorrhoids from sitting on that concrete ledge behind a palm, she stood up and rubbed her butt. "Enough is enough." She straightened the papers and photographs in her satchel at her feet and grabbed a piece of bubble gum. Snapping gum, she walked on to where she knew her husband was on surveillance.

Husband. It was only eighteen hours ago that she and Nick were in Los Angeles, the first leg of their world honeymoon tour. It had been a mistake for them to bring their Watcher issued cell phones with them on their honeymoon, and Megan knew she would regret it every moment until she and Nick were able to resume their trip.

Megan Hartford. Just thinking about the wonderful turn her life had taken made her step a little more lightly, a little faster, than she normally would. Having a ho-hum growing up where nothing really interesting ever happened had surely changed the morning her mother, Grace, called to ask if she could help take care of a baby that she had never seen before. Elizabeth had to have been desperate to leave her baby with a woman she knew of only because she had dated her son. Megan couldn't have guessed just how desperate at the time, and she hated her for being the reason her brother was dead and her mother was saddled with a baby, probably in danger. Knowing about immortality from the moment she and Elizabeth pulled an empaled David Sommers off of a wrought iron spike still hadn't prepared her for the life she was now leading. Just before her mother died of cancer, they had received a cashier's check for $8,112,196.20 with no note or explanation, but Megan and her mother had a good idea where it had come from. Going to university in London and spotting Elizabeth on the street, then being brought into the Watchers by Guy and Amy Barstow had provided the answer to all the nagging questions and loneliness Megan had experienced since the loss of her father, brother, then her mother. She hadn't been crazy. It hadn't all been a dream. There was a reason her brother was murdered, a man could get impaled by an iron stake and live, and just where all that money came from. Being that the money was an immortal's, who probably killed many to get it, gave her pause for a moment, but Megan had given a healthy chunk to charity to cleanse her guilty conscience and kept enough to make sure she could live well.

Being a Watcher meant you could conceivably see the world at no cost to you, depending on who your assignment was. You drove a nice, spiffy, outfitted black vehicle and had lots of electronic toys with which to play. And, if you're lucky, you get to meet the man of your dreams. Megan spotted Nick in the driver's seat of the Escort they rented. Yeah, while on the road, you took what you could get, making sure you didn't drive a car that would draw attention. Nick looked at home in an Escort as well as a Hummer, which they had rented in Los Angeles while on their own time. Megan had always believed driving a Hummer was the prime indication of being middle aged and impotent, but after seeing Nick behind the wheel, she thought it was the sexiest vehicle for her rugged man.

As she approached the car, it was as if Nick was immortal and she had given off some sort of buzz. He turned to look at her before even her shadow could have reached his scope of vision and slowly smiled. Her heart skipped a beat, and she walked a little faster. She got into the passenger seat and leaned in to give him a kiss.

"I haven't seen a thing and my ass is damn sore."

"Remind me to massage it later."

"You're on. Now?"

"We should wait a bit more. Information indicates this is where he's heading."

"Why would anyone in their right mind, with the world as their oyster, come to Las Vegas, New Mexico? Is he thick enough to have meant Nevada and got on the wrong plane?"

"Old acquaintance in that apartment building over there." Nick nodded toward a building that had clearly seen better days.

"The tenement, you mean?" The whole town looked like it would be better blown to bits and started over from scratch. It wasn't often in her line of work that she was scared, but the term 'rough neighborhood' didn't do justice to this whole town.

"You sure you haven't seen anything? I gave you a primo spot with a lot of commuters."

"You gave? Primo? Commuters? Those people weren't walking to work, honey. Looked more like they were struggling to find the nearest crack house for their next hit. No. I didn't spot him."

"He could look different."

Megan sighed and pulled some of the photos printed out from Watcher database of all his different disguises, such as bald, with red hair, black hair, blonde hair, long hair, short hair, beard, goatee, etc. "I've had nothing better to do than look at these and compare them to the drug addicts who wanted to smell me."

Nick sniffed and shrugged. "Can't blame them. Are you sure your mind was really on the job? You weren't thinking about eighteen and a half hours ago when the phone rang?"

"You are such a guy."

"Thanks, babe."

She smacked him on the arm. He jerked. "Hey, that's where I was shot."

"Exactly."

"When it comes down to it," Nick said, massaging his arm. "I'm with you. What's the big deal anyway? I don't see how the Watchers get off thinking he's dangerous. Think they got the right guy?"

"Must be, but going by Wayne Gasteneau now."

Nick's eyes grew wide and he was staring at the building under surveillance. She looked to see their assignment stalk to the main door. Megan grabbed the binoculars from beside her on the seat and looked closely at his face. It was tense, determined, focused. "That's him, all right," Megan said.

"Holy shit," Nick mused as the immortal pull a long, shiny blade out from his trenchcoat.

Megan looked around and asked, "Where's the guy's Watcher?"

"No idea. You know, could be a female he's after."

"I suppose."

Before they knew it, a window near the front entrance shattered and fingers of intense electricity sprung out. Soon the entire building's lights flickered then went dark as sounds of screams and yells intertwined with the quickening, making people in other buildings look out of their windows and people stop in their tracks on the street, even though most weaved and almost fell from internal substances.

Megan and Nick were still sitting in the rented Escort in surprise when Gasteneau left the building, walking fast but unconcerned down the street away from them. Nick then started the car and announced, "Well, we picked up his trail."

Megan flipped open her Watcher issued, secured line, cell phone and hit speed dial for the voice mail to her dispatcher. As soon as anything was recorded with encryption on the dispatcher's voice mail, the dispatcher would transcribe the information and enter it into the Watcher database. Only when the Watcher entered the detailed log of the event would there be more than just a flag to indicate an immortal's time and cause of beheading. Megan wondered how long it would be until she could make that entry. She told Nick, "He came, he saw, he conquered."

"Short and sweet. Did he even have time to make a challenge?"

"I think our honeymoon's going to be on hold for a while, babe," Megan moaned, then detailed what little she knew into the phone.

When Nick started the car and drove out onto the street to follow, Megan noticed something on the ground near a tree and took hold of Nick's arm and yelled, "Hold on."

Nick asked, "Why?"

"Stop the car!" When Nick slammed on the brakes, Megan opened the door and ran out of the car to the tree, her heart pounding. As she got closer to the man on the ground, she belted out, "I know him!"

She reached the dead man and saw a pool of blood on his chest with red snaky rivers of it having flown down his side and immediately, optimistically checked his wrist to check for a pulse, while trying to manipulate the phone to shut off her voice mail and call Watcher Alert. It was as if she was holding a piece of driftwood for all the life she felt in John's wrist. Nick knelt down to the body as well. She muttered, "Damn it," she had pushed the wrong button and had to start over.

"Just happened. I wonder..." Nick said as he pulled the sleeve of the man's left arm up to reveal a blue Watcher tattoo.

"John Anders. I met him at a convention a couple of years ago."

Megan and Nick looked at each other and then ran to the car, hoping they hadn't lost track of the immortal."Hurry," Megan said, finally getting a ring. "He couldn't have gone far on foot."

"There he is," Nick announced and slowed down the car so as not to let Gasteneau know he was being followed.

"Clean up crew needed on...," Megan looked at the corner sign as they went through, then looked back to catch the name of the cross street. "Humphrey and Turner. Las Vegas, New Mexico. Gun shot wound." Because that was all that was needed from her for the time being, she hung up. Her mind was overwhelmed with all the paperwork she had in front of her, plus the thought of this immortal going nutso. Not only was he killing immortals, but Watchers didn't seem to be an impediment.

Nick had been solemn as his hands gripped the wheel tightly, even though he was driving slow to keep back from the pace of the immortal. He was chewing his bottom lip. He had to be thinking along the same lines she was. What the hell had they gotten themselves into?

~~~~~

Elizabeth finally awoke from the third ring of the telephone. Hazily, she looked to Methos' side of the bed to find it empty. Her heart skipped and she wondered if it was him calling her. She grabbed the phone and heard Joe's voice on the other end," Good morning," he announced brightly.

Elizabeth hiked up in bed and heard the shower running. "Oh, Joe. Good morning. Is it really a good morning?"

"It's good, but it's not morning. You sound like I woke you up."

"Kind of." She could see through the open bedroom door that Claire was eating room service at the table with a book in front of her and Ipod headphones on. "How's Amy?"

"Couldn't be better," Joe said.

With that news, Elizabeth sat up and heard the shower turn off. "Really? How so?"

"We found a doctor!"

"Who is she?"

"She? He. Is Dan there?"

Just as Joe said that, Methos came out of the bathroom sticking his toweled finger into one ear, then the other, with a smile on his face.

"Yes, he is, Joe. What's the plan?"

"Be at the Wilshire Building, 9^th and 52^nd, at three sharp."

"That sounds like an order."

Joe paused. "Well, it's a request, of course. That's when everything will be ready. Is Daniel there?"

"Yes, he is." Elizabeth offered the phone to Methos, who shook his head and shut the bedroom door, making sure he didn't raise Claire's attention, and sat down next to Elizabeth on the bed.

"You're doing fine," Methos said. He rubbed the towel over his head and tossed it in the corner.

"I'll do the talking, Joe. When's this doctor available to be interrogated?"

"Interrogated?"

"Yes. I need to speak with this man before anyone goes near my husband."

"He should be arriving any time."

Elizabeth felt Methos' hand on her back and he started kissing her shoulder. She told Joe, "When did you know this doctor would be arriving? When did you find him?"

"Late last night all the arrangements were final. I didn't want to bother you until it was a certainty."

"So Daniel couldn't back out?"

Joe sounded more than irritated now. "No, because I didn't want to rile the old man until it was necessary. I told him I'd take care of everything, and I have. I didn't think you'd act like a member of the Gestapo."

"Interesting word choice. I am, Joe." She looked at the clock and would give herself an hour to get ready. "This is how it will be. At two pm, we'll meet at the Wilshire Building, but no one touches Daniel until we've talked to the doctor, looked through the database, which you will provide for us, and then, and only then, Daniel and I will make our decision."

"That's not going to work. Katie has to be prepped for surgery. The process has already started. The schedule is for her to be ready promptly at three."

"I want Katie to be as comfortable as possible and nothing to go wrong, but this will happen first or no deal."

"Deal?"

"This doctor and his team will have to make new calculations as to when this will proceed, if, that is, Daniel and I decide it's all right. Who is this doctor anyway?"

There was resignation in Joe's voice as he said, "Marcus Wamre."

Methos, who was cupping her breast and kissing her ear, whispered, "I love it when you take control."

"Marcus Wamre," she told Methos. "Ring any bells?"

"Not Wamre. I've known many Marcuses. Hell, I was Marcus at one time, maybe two."

Elizabeth chuckled, shook her head at the magnitude of life her husband had led, and then told Joe, "Two o'clock, Joe, with an up and running database and be ready to answer all the questions we have."

~~~~~

Joe sighed and said, "Yes, ma'am." He hung up and wondered how to begin making arrangements for the delay and how to explain it to his daughter. Amy had been walking on the moon for the last fifteen hours since hearing they found the perfect doctor to perform the necessary surgery on her little girl who was slowly slipping away.

As Joe watched Amy and Joey laughing softly together in the office, he heard his Watcher cell phone go off. Amy watched Joe as he walked to the door to answer the call in private. "Dad? When will they get here?"

"In due time, honey," Joe told her as he walked into the hall and shut the door. He kept walking away from his family as he answered the cell.

Guy was right to the point. "He just killed one of us."

Joe sighed and wondered just how wrong this day was going to get. Leaning against the wall for support, he told Guy, "Get over here where you belong. No work for you today."

"What about you?"

"Sounds like that's all I'm going to be doing. Come on, get over here. Your wife and son need you."

"What about you?"

"Just get the printouts of what happened and I'll take care of it. I have a couple of other calls to make first."

Joe hung up and was about ready to throw his cell phone down the hall. "Damn it!" He allowed himself to mutter, releasing some of the disappointment that filled him. He knew that shit was going to hit all sorts of fans in due time. A Watcher was dead. This wasn't just an immortal run amok anymore. This was Code Orange. There was going to be a man hunt order put out for Gasteneau's head now. All he had wanted was to get a hold of him and find out just what the hell happened in his head and try to make things work out smoothly. With a Watcher dead by immortal hands, there was no way Joe could keep things quiet anymore, and MacLeod was sure to find out about it. If anything, Joe would have to tell him or their friendship would be severed again. Joe had kept Watcher secrets from Duncan before and their friendship had been on the brink of extinction. He didn't want that to happen again. Damn it, he had promised. No more secrets. "Why did I do that?" Joe mused as he tried to get his wits together to make arrangements to change the current arrangements for Katie and then try to find a way to bank the flames of anger he expected from Watchers as soon as he faced any of them; since they now knew what happened in New Mexico.

~~~~~

"Hey, kids," Amanda announced as she opened the door of Elizabeth and Methos' suite to find Elizabeth, Methos, and Claire huddled around an encyclopedia. When she realized what held their attention, she looked at Joey, who was with her, and said, "God, these people sure know how to have a good time."

Claire rose out of her chair and clapped. "See?! Right there! I was right!"

Methos had the color of embarrassment on his face as he shrugged and sat back on his chair. Claire wouldn't let the moment go. "I was right, you were wrong, I was right, you were wrong," she sang as she would alternately point to herself and then her father.

Elizabeth read the portion of the encyclopedia entry, to which Methos said, "All right, all right. I get it. Things have changed... since I went to school."

"I was right, you were wrong," Claire continued.

Elizabeth smiled at the newcomers and then told Claire,"That's enough, young lady. It's not nice to rub people's noses in it. Even though your father has a magnificent nose that I love to pieces."

Methos got out of his chair and ruffled Claire's head with a wink that said she had indeed got him and told Amanda, "I have their day's assignments planned out. No excuses. I want them up to this point." He noted a paragraph on a piece of notebook paper to her. "By the time we get back tonight. No excuses. Remember."

"Yes, sir!" Amanda stood at attention.

"You were a little late."

"I thought I was to pick up Joey at the hotel, but I had to go to some office building."

Elizabeth grabbed her coat and told Claire and Joey, "We have to go if we're going to make our appointment."

Amanda thought that even though Methos had reservations about what would happen today, he still wanted to make sure Katie got her kidney and they shouldn't be late to throw off "The Schedule," which Joe had been so proud of.. As Elizabeth and Methos put on their coats and kissed Claire and bade Joey farewell, she stopped Methos and hugged him. Then she kissed him on the cheek. "This is the greatest thing you have and will ever do."

"How do you know?"

"It has to be. It just has to be. Or if it isn't, it ranks right up there. I'm proud of you. Good luck," she said as she hugged and kissed Elizabeth goodbye. "Things are taken care of here. No problems. Don't worry about a thing."

"Duncan will be at the office?" Elizabeth asked, using the code word for where they were going, as they hadn't told Claire much about what was going to happen. Amanda was surprised by that and knew she'd have to be alert for any clues that Claire was searching for answers during the day, or week or month, or however long she would have authority over her until her parents came back.

"Yeah. He went there about an hour ago."

Methos stopped and looked at Claire and then hugged her tightly. "Dad?" Claire asked, she looked confused.

Methos told her, "I love you very much. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah..."

Claire seemed out of sorts after Methos' fatherly display, obviously exhibited in case he didn't make it back from the surgery, and from the look on her face, Claire was going to ask questions.

"Give good vibes to Katie and let us know how it goes as soon as it's over," Amanda told Methos and Elizabeth, ushering them to the door. The more Methos confused Claire, the harder her day would be dodging questions.

The first question Amanda had to address came from Joey, "How come I can't go to the hospital with you? She's my sister. I should be there for her."

Claire piped up, "I want to be there too."

Amanda could see the wheels working in Elizabeth's and Methos' minds, but she stepped in to say, "Your mom and dad wanted you to have a fun day, not sit in a dreary building. Katie knows you love her and are there for her, in spirit anyway."

"Oh, we're going to have fun?" Claire asked. "I thought we had to have schooling."

Amanda didn't want to blow her plan in front of Methos, so she said, "I'll make school fun. Just watch me." She turned to Methos and Elizabeth and waved her hands. "Now off with you. I'm in charge. Good luck. Good, good luck."

Claire piped up, "Oh Dad?"

Methos turned from the doorway to her. "What?"

"I was right, and you were wrong."

Methos chuckled and said, "Live with that thought as long as you need to. See you later."

"Who died to give Katie a kidney?" she asked Joey and Amanda.

Elizabeth gasped and then said, "No one. Just a donor. You can live with one kidney."

"Who's the donor?" Joey asked. "Mom and Dad wouldn't tell me."

Methos, Elizabeth and Amanda all looked at each other, then Methos said, "No idea. Just some Good Samaritan."

Methos and Elizabeth were out the door before anymore pretext was necessary. It was a lot of work to raise a child while being immortal, but as Amanda watched Claire and Joey grumble about the school work they had to do that day, even while his little sister was having surgery, she knew she couldn't wait until she could be a mother herself. Having Duncan as her child's father would be the most perfect thing in the world.

Joey groused, "I still don't see why I have to go to school when Katie's in surgery."

Amanda shrugged. "Who said anything about school?"

Claire said, "Dad."

"Pfft. We're going to Bloomingdale's and then to the zoo. How about that? We have to keep our mind off what's happening."

Claire and Joey looked at her quite surprised. Claire asked, "What about school? Dad won't be happy if we cut classes and I'll have to hear about it, you won't, you'll be in your room."

Amanda shrugged. "All right. I'll make you calculate sale prices. Does that make you feel better?" She clapped her hands to get them moving. "Come on, short people. Sales await!"

~~~~~

Dr. Marcus Wamre had a receding hairline, piercing green eyes, a needle nose, and a set mouth that looked like it hardly ever unclenched, but Elizabeth noticed his hands were soft as a baby's butt when they shook hands in greeting. His voice was soft and direct. "I hear you need to check me out, so to speak," he said with somewhat good humor.

Methos asked, "You mind?"

"I would certainly cover all the bases when it came to someone I don't know cutting me open. Fire away."

Even though the doctor's looks were sharp and somewhat shocking, his demeanor softened a bit as he adjusted his Armani suit jacket and sat in a chair across the desk from Methos and Elizabeth.

"You're not immortal," Methos began, "so you must be one of them."

"Them. Oooo," Wamre exaggeratedly shuddered. "Yes, I became one of "them" fifteen years ago."

"Been performing a lot of surgeries on us in the last fifteen years?" Elizabeth asked.

"Only three, Ms. Gordon. All were already beheaded when I got to them." Wamre looked at Methos. "You'll be the first I'll have to kill before I can work on you."

"Kill?!" Elizabeth ejected, ready to take hold of her husband and flee as if their asses were on fire. Methos' right eyebrow lifted but he remained silent and more calm than that comment called for, in Elizabeth's estimation.

"Of course, Ms. Gordon. I can't very well have him reviving and healing while I'm extracting the organ."

"The organ," Methos mimicked. "And you've 'operated' on us after beheading... let me guess, you're more of a researcher than surgeon."

"Yes."

"What are you researching?"

"The secret of immortality, of course. It should come as no surprise that "they" are deeply interested in what makes you folks tick."

"I suspected as much," Methos said, "but what's your justification for "their" interest when "they" are only supposed to watch and record?"

"And befriend and ask favors of, correct?" Wamre looked to Joe, who was sitting back from the trio listening intently.

"You're damn right," Joe spouted. "They're people."

"Of course." Wamre's set mouth cracked into a smile. Elizabeth thought it would be better if he just continued to scowl and look right through them; his smile was eerie.

Elizabeth didn't like him and looked to Methos to try and read his thoughts on the matter. Methos wore a poker face and could be sitting on ace high or a royal flush. She had no idea how he was taking all of this. To the casual observer, Methos seemed to be taking it all in stride, but Elizabeth noticed he wasn't blinking, which she knew was because he was still making up his mind. The only thing she could glean for sure was that Methos hadn't ever met the doctor before, or at least didn't remember. She thought that if she had ever come across Dr. Wamre before she'd remember.

"Where's the laptop, Joe?" Elizabeth asked.

Joe nodded and replied, "I'll get it set up."

"That should have been done by now," Elizabeth admonished. She didn't like how any of this was going, even though there didn't appear to be any obvious threat. Methos took her hand, which made her calm for a moment. But only for a moment. She realized his palm was sweaty.

As Joe worked on hooking up the laptop to a cable line, Methos asked, "Do you have any questions for the good doctor here, Joe? After all, it is your granddaughter who's more at risk than I am."

"I've already done that," Joe said as he opened the laptop and turned it on. As he walked back to his chair, he said, "I've made up my mind. I chose this man because he's clean, he's good, and he's available on short notice."

"I'm not good," Wamre stated evenly. "I'm the best."

"The best surgeon is a researcher?" Methos asked.

"Who better to discover the ultimate cure for cancer? AIDS?"

"So, you're not just dissecting us to figure out how immortality works?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course not. I'd be bored out of my mind. How could that help me or my family or any mortal? I'm using the Watchers' seemingly unlimited funds for what's truly important in this world. Cures for diseases. Anyone can just cut someone open, cut this vein or this artery, extract organs and transplant them. It's color by numbers. It takes a well-qualified, intelligent, yet curious doctor to make a difference to more than just the one you're operating on."

"So modesty is a perfect stranger to you." Methos smiled.

"As with you, Mr. Gordon."

For the first time, Methos looked at him differently and lost his smile. "And how would you know that?"

"You could not think that I have not checked up on you? I don't lend my talents to just anyone. I don't know Mr. Dawson here from a hole in the ground. I will not perform surgery on a rogue immortal, even when it is the life and death of a baby at stake."

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked. "It would neither help nor hurt the immortal."

"But I would have a problem not to feel as though I should be taking his head, or her head, as the case may be. I had my doubts about you, Mr. Gordon. In your dossier, I found something quite interesting that made it necessary for Misters Dawson and Barstow to convince me you're worth keeping alive."

Elizabeth stared at Methos, wondering how Wamre could possibly have known about the horsemen. Methos must have been thinking exactly that and he suddenly got the demeanor of a man about to run with the wind. "And that is?" Methos asked, after clearing his throat.

"You took the head of an immortal who could not protect himself."

"Hm?"

Wamre's eerie smile grew as he chuckled. "Do I really have to remind you? Cole Roberts."

"Oh that," Methos said, not covering his relief. "What about him?" Elizabeth could tell the very name left a sour taste in Methos' mouth as it had her own.

"The immortal was dead when you took his head."

"No he wasn't. I waited for him to revive."

"Either you are very much a coward or you decided you are going to fight dirty during your immortal career. It was, after all, your first head."

Elizabeth tossed in, "That was because Roberts was an asshole who raped me three times and was going to again if he had the chance. Daniel was just being the 'man of the family.'"

"He could have challenged the old fashioned way. Make things fair."

"He could have let me take Roberts' head, which was what I wanted."

Methos grunted. "Must we discuss this now?"

Joe chuckled. "Yeah. My granddaughter's about ready for surgery. Will you look up his bio so we can get this moving?"

Methos shook his head. "No need. I've made up my mind."

"You have?" Elizabeth asked. "I'm not even close. You're not going through with this?"

"Yeah, I am. Let's go."

"That's fast. I have a lot of questions yet." Even though Methos stood up as if ready to get the show on the road, Elizabeth asked the doctor, "How were you brought into the Watchers, for instance?"

"An immortal was brought into my operating room. Chisel embedded in his chest. As soon as I extracted it, he revived, and not long after, I was on a plane to Los Angeles for the explanation of what happened and I had to take my Oath."

Methos walked slowly to the laptop.

"About that Oath," Elizabeth said. "Just what did you vow to do?"

"What Mr. Dawson, Mr. and Mrs. Barstow and all Watchers vow. Watch, record, don't interfere, and keep your lip zipped."

"Or what?"

"It would be my death sentence."

"Have any immortal friends yourself?"

Methos stroked a few keys on the laptop, as he searched the biography of Dr. Marcus Wamre.

Wamre said, "No."

"What do you think about immortals?"

"They're, you're, very interesting."

"How so?"

"You have basically what I'm searching for. A cure. For everything."

"So you are dissecting us for a clue or gene or whatever to make everyone immortal."

"No. I'm looking for patterns. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for or what will be the key, but no one ever suffered from too much information. Again, not for myself or to make mortals immortal. I couldn't imagine being immortal. No offense intended, but it must be hell."

"Hell?"

"To keep living the same mistakes? Looking the same? Always having to look over your shoulder? The constant need to find a life and keep it, and probably just when you like it, you have to start over somewhere else again. I can't imagine losing my loved ones over and over and over again. It would be hell."

"Unless, of course, you marry another immortal."

"Hundreds of years with the same person when there's no growth, no change in the relationship? I couldn't think of anything worse."

Methos snapped the laptop shut and smiled at Joe.

"Thank you," Elizabeth snipped.

Methos chuckled. "Are you going to cut me open, or what?"

"Yes," Joe said.

"Do you have any more questions, Ms. Gordon?" Wamre asked Elizabeth.

"Only one, really."

"And that is?" Wamre's arrogance oozed out of him, making Elizabeth want to slap him upside the head.

"Do you have your affairs in order?"

"Pardon?"

"If you make one mistake, I'll be on your butt before you take your next breath. If you do anything you shouldn't to my husband or your hand accidently slips while operating on Katie, if either of them dies, you're dead. I promise you that."

"I see you love your husband and the child. Lovely. Nothing will happen, Ms. Gordon." Wamre stood up and said, "I hear you and Mr. Dawson and someone by the name of Duncan MacLeod will be overseeing the operation."

"Yes."

"Get in my way, Ms. Gordon, and I'll be on your ass. It is, after all, my operating room."

"Touche."

~~~~~

How they managed to turn an office building into an adequate operating theater initially had Methos' head spinning but after thinking about it, he had seen the Watchers do some mighty impressive things before, during, and after his time with them. Now fumigated and sterilized, a two-story squash court with windows from a hallway half way up the wall made it possible for Amy and Guy to look down upon them, and Methos looked up and smiled. The expression on Amy's face reflected complete and utter gratitude as she blew him a kiss and gave him a thumbs up. All the state of the art equipment needed had been brought in under cover of darkness by Watchers and the regular business was enticed to close down for 24 hours.

Methos made a point not to even look at Katie's diminutive form on a table to his left. There was a masked male already working on her, probably cutting her open by the time she was ready with one of her malfunctioning kidneys removed, Methos' kidney would be extracted.

As Methos hopped up on his own table, and spread his tied in the back hospital gown over his legs, he thought of all the sacrificial deeds he had done during his lifetime. There were quite a few. As Methos caught a glance at Duncan, he wondered if Duncan actually knew them all. Really, he probably only knew of three: turning on Silas, almost losing his head looking for a cure for Alexa, and taking Walker's head to free Amy from his grasp, but in reality there had been multitudes more.

Masked and wearing scrubs, Duncan walked over to Methos with a smile that indicated he was proud of him. Methos was irritated. He hated to keep thinking that he needed Duncan's approval for anything, but yet at the same time it felt good.

"Good luck," Duncan said with a friendly punch on the arm. "I'm right here, with my best friend," he said, patting the hilt of his katana sticking out from the sheath tied to his belt.

"Must have taken quite a bit to get that thing sterile."

"Seen a lot, this little sword has," Duncan said, beaming with pride.

Joe's eyes appeared over his masked face and showed him his Luger. "Was worth the effort. I'm locked and loaded. Don't you worry about a thing."

Methos saw Dr. Wamre walk into the operating theater with two females, who were taking instruction on how the operation was going to proceed. Methos grunted. "He's not going to do anything. I can feel it. It's fine. No big deal. I'm not worried at all."

Then Elizabeth appeared behind Joe. Her eyes over her mask were starting to tear up, and he waved Joe and Duncan away and she immediately fell against him, holding him tighter than he remembered her doing recently. He whispered, "Hey, it's going to be all right, remember? You've be telling me that for... what seems like ever."

Elizabeth sniffed and said, "I love you with all my heart and soul."

"I know. That's why I'm here, actually. I want to be the big hero for you."

She chuckled. "You always have been. But it's not too late, if you don't want to do this."

"Lizzie?" he asked.

"What?"

"Be quiet," Methos said, thinking more along the lines of 'don't talk me out of this,' it might not take much after he got a glance at the size of some of the knives Wamre was fingering with the nurses. He continued, "Go stand over there. I'm going to go to sleep now."

Elizabeth rubbed her cheek against his and whispered, "See you in a bit."

As soon as she left him, Methos felt cold in the large room full of people all wrapped up in surgical green coats and pants, plastic covered shoes, and latex gloves, while he only wore a half-closed hospital gown. Wamre asked the other surgeon working on Katie Rose, "How much longer?"

"About ten minutes," the doctor said, not turning his eyes away from his work.

Methos was going to ask the doctor to look up so he could see him, realizing now that there was another doctor in the room he didn't know or hadn't researched. Paranoia threatened to take a stranglehold of him again, but he saw Joe hovering between him and the doctor with his massive gun. Just then, Wamre turned to Methos and said, "Well, let's rock, lay down."

Methos stole a glance at Elizabeth, who he could tell was smiling at him and gave him a short nod as if to indicate they have things under control. At least the other doctor wasn't a female, like in his dream. He was being silly. Nothing was going to happen. It couldn't. Katie had to be saved, and karma intervened to make it possible for her to live. This was right. This should be done.

Methos swung his legs onto the bed and started to lie down on his back, but Wamre chuckled. He said, "Don't you know a thing? On your stomach, Gordon. I don't have to carve so much out of my way if I go through your back."

'Of course, idiot,' Methos thought, meaning himself. All the years of anatomy and performing operations himself seemed to have gone right out the window when he was the one being operated on. In fact, he told himself he'd better get his mind on the ball and stop worrying about nothing or he might then really be in trouble.

Methos smiled and said, "Just testing ya," to save himself and turned himself on the table to his stomach. He knew his ass was bare to the world and caught Duncan watching him. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Duncan groaned and rolled his eyes. "You ain't got nothing I don't."

"Let's not get into this," Joe said. Methos could tell his worry over the situation was making him irritable. "Come on, start. What's left, like eight minutes?"

"It will only take four," Wamre told Joe, then looked at Methos. "That is, if you remain still."

Methos could feel the gown being parted even more and sheets being put over his legs up to his buttocks, on his back, and one nurse was placing his arms at his sides, supposedly not liking their current position with his hands folded under his head. What did it matter where his arms were, Methos wondered, but then a clear plastic mask was being placed over his nose and mouth. He lifted his head. "What's that for?"

"To put you out, Mr. Gordon," the nurse with kind eyes said. "I'm just guessing, but you may not want to feel this."

"All right." Methos kept his head still on the pillow, looking at Elizabeth as the mask was again placed on his face. He could hear hissing coming from it and allowed himself to breathe in the tainted air. He winked and smiled at Elizabeth, as much for her benefit as his own, to say that things are just fine. It didn't take long before she became blurry and he closed his eyes.

~~~~~

"All right," Wamre announced to the people in the room after the nurse, Glenda, gave him a nod after keeping watch on Gordon. He made a point to focus on each of the three intruders as he said, "Any interference will only threaten the life of Katherine Barstow. Remember that. From now on, we're on a tight schedule."

Duncan MacLeod, Joe Dawson, and Elizabeth Gordon all nodded, even though somewhat grudgingly. Wamre picked up the narrowest, straightest surgical knife from the stainless steel table at his side that held all his instruments necessary for the surgery and unceremoniously stabbed Daniel Gordon in the back at the place where his heart was situated. It was as if he had stabbed a slab of meat, in theory and reality, Gordon's body gave no reflex. Good. He was out and didn't feel a thing. Although, the three acted as if he had just committed a terrible crime with gasps and quick movements toward him. The barrel of a Luger was now hovering near his nose. Wamre announced, "I thought you were told he had to be killed so that he wouldn't heal during the operation!"

Joe Dawson uttered, "You didn't have to do it like that."

"What would you suggest I do? Strangle him? Set him on fire?"

"Poison? Something less... violent?" Joe shrugged.

"Get out of my way or your granddaughter will die."

Joe sighed and half nodded, then moved Duncan MacLeod, who had his silly sword unsheathed, back. "If there's another intrusion such as that display, I just might walk out of here."

"Hippocratic Oath mean nothing to you?"

"Stand back."

Wamre looked up to the windows where Amy and Guy Barstow were, the female's hands clutching at the glass, and they were animatedly talking to each other. Based on how touchy these people were, he would have to be even more dexterous than he had practiced in order to leave behind his calling card in the immortal. In order to make sure they wouldn't be leaning in to survey every move he made, he ordered his other nurse, Sylvia, "Get them back and away from me while I work!"

Sylvia moved fast to move the two men back. It had surprised Wamre that the wife hadn't made a fuss. He peeked at her, and saw her moving toward the table with what seemed like tears in her eyes. When she stopped at Gordon's head and started caressing his hair, Wamre knew that she was more focused on her dead husband than anything he might be doing.

Wamre decided now was as good a time as any to start his operation, so he asked for, and received quickly with a slap to his open hand, the scalpel, he took a deep breath and made the incision on the right side of Gordon's back.

After giving back the scalpel to Glenda, he yelled out, "Time?" as he pulled apart the incision to get a good opening to the right kidney, having to work underneath the rib cage.

Jeremy Curel, who had been prepping Katie Barstow for her end of the operation, was a good teammate, and had worked with him on various projects in the Watcher system for almost five years. He was young, but they worked well together. Curel yelled back, "Five minutes. Just extracting the kidney now."

"Perfect," Wamre whispered, nudging the kidney to get the best angle to make the cut. With his head still bent, as if looking down at the patient, he stole a glance at his audience. They weren't that close to him and probably couldn't see his hands and what they were doing. Now was the time. He held out his hand once again and boomed, "Clamp." A fresh one was slapped into his hand.

Making sure the prongs of the clamp were situated in the ureter so the handle was guarding what he was about to do from prying eyes, he asked for the scalpel again and held out his right hand. The nurse slapped it in it.

Sylvia blotted out the blood collected in the cavity with a toweled forceps. When she stepped back, Wamre turned his arm so that she couldn't see him slit the glove on the middle finger of his left hand. He quickly pulled the minuscule transceiver out of the slit finger of the latex glove and slid it onto the inside of a rib. He pulled his left hand back dramatically to take everyone's attention from the body. "Damn," Wamre said, not in the least bit calm. He had actually cut into his finger while making the slit in the glove. Had to be the prying eyes making him nervous.

Glenda came immediately to his attention with a towel. He told her to take off the glove and get him another one stat. She pulled that glove off as Sylvia came to him with glove at the ready. Dawson, MacLeod, and Gordon all were hammering at him but one thing Joe asked stung, "What kind of a doctor are you, anyway?"

"The best you'll ever see, Dawson," Wamre spat at him. "I usually don't have an audience. I admit it, I'm human. Just stay back and let me perform."

The other doctor said a bit nervously, "Can I cut yet? She's all ready."

"Give me thirty seconds," Wamre said, with a new glove on his left hand. He moved back to Gordon and took quick stock of the prying eyes. It seemed none of them had seen anything. Smiling with pleasure and relief, he ignored the pooling of his own blood in his finger and expertly severed the healthy, vibrant purple kidney from the clamped ureter and placed it on a ready steel tray.

"He's all yours Curel," Wamre said as he moved with Glenda to Katie Barstow. Ah, Wamre thought. Curel did good work. One of Curel's nurses, who Wamre didn't know, was blotting blood from Katie's cavity and Wamre saw out of the corner of his eye the pale, diseased kidney in a plastic tub on a side table. Not concerned that Curel would spot the transceiver in Gordon, because the Do-Gooder would probably make a fuss and wonder what it was and take it out of him, Wamre had to clear his mind so he could get to the business of attaching this kidney to the child to save her.

~~~~~

Jeremy Curel passed Wamre but looked back at his handiwork that he took great pride in. Curel knew Wamre had precedence over him and was the lead surgeon in this wondrous undertaking, but feeling overwhelming sympathy and concern for the plight of the child, he wanted to continue working on Katherine Rose Barstow. Instead, he had to revive the dead immortal.

Initially, Curel had been somewhat surprised that Wamre had instructed him to simply revive Gordon after the kidney was removed and he, Wamre would take over the operation with the child. He had stated many times over the course of their years working together that he wanted to crack the secret of immortality. Thinking that Wamre would just take out the knife, let him revive, and allow him to go on with his life seemed... there had to be more. Wamre had to have done something to turn Daniel Gordon into some sort of specimen.

Curel glanced up at the windows where Katie's parents were holding constant vigil, then to her grandfather wielding a gun, hovering around the perimeter. Meeting with and explaining the patient's situation to the family made the patient more real, more unique, to the physician, but having them actually watch the proceedings was mind-boggling. Curel gave Joe Dawson a bit of a smile, to let him know he was assured that the operation would go smoothly, but then realized that the mask covering half his face probably made his glance look more like a leer from Dawson's point of view. When Dawson raised the gun a bit, Curel told him, "Everything is going just fine, Dawson," to appease the situation. To Curel's relief, Dawson took a breath and relaxed the hand holding his gun.

Elizabeth Gordon piped up, "I presume my husband is no longer of use to you?"

Curel had to debate that one, as he could hold the key to immortality at its base, but he said, "He did well."

"Gee," Elizabeth crackled, "Swell."

When she moved her hand to the hilt of the surgical knife sticking out of the back of Daniel Gordon, Curel stopped her. "Allow me. There are just a few more things to do."

"Such as what?" she demanded.

"Retrieving the clamps, suturing the ureter, to name a couple."

"Suturing what?" Dawson asked.

"I should close off the ureter so his body doesn't delay in healing because there's no longer a kidney attached to it. I could continue explaining things, or I could just do it and we'll be finished a bit sooner."

Elizabeth made the gesture of be my guest, but kept a watchful gaze on him. He could feel her eyes watching absolutely everything he did. Curel canvassed Wamre's work and didn't see anything abnormal, except for the fact that the hollow that usually held a kidney was empty. As he retrieved a threaded needle from Sylvia and tied off the end of the ureter, then removed the clamp, Curel still couldn't see anything left behind by Wamre. He shrugged. Maybe the old man just wanted to do a good deed. Curel couldn't imagine Wamre doing anything that even appeared to involve charity or compassion, but there could always be a first time.

After making a last check to see if there was anything left behind, Curel stepped back and looked up at the hovering audience of three and said, "All done." He pulled out the knife and stepped back and Daniel Gordon's wife encroached her husband and rubbed his head as she waited for him to revive.

Daniel Gordon didn't take long to slightly convulse his back then draw a long, loud intake of breath. Curel shook his head as he stared at Gordon lifting his head and receiving kisses from his wife. It was always amazing. Even when they're splayed open, they still come back to life.

~~~~~

The first thing he heard was Elizabeth's soothing voice, but couldn't make out her words. There was a tinge of pain in his back and side and then he felt that if he didn't take a breath he'd lose the opportunity to forever. After taking the clean, cool air into his lungs and opening his eyes, he saw Elizabeth and heard her clearly. "It's over." Her smile was welcoming, along with the news.

Methos lifted up from the table as best he could, just a bit dizzy, and he felt the pain intensify just before subsiding. It was only for a moment with his head lifted that he felt groggy, then he felt almost the best he had in his life. He felt light and free. "It's really over?" he questioned. "I'm all here, you're all here, Mac?"

"We're all in one piece, buddy," Methos heard Duncan say and looked over to smile at him.

Another female voice said, "You don't even have a scar any more, Dr. Gordon. Here," and then forced a light green fabric mask over his face.

Methos jerked and looked at the nurse, then pulled her hand away. She told him, "There's still an operation going on, and it might be best if you all leave now."

Methos took the mask back from her and held it over his mouth as he stretched his back and rubbed where he knew he had been cut. The nurse was right. There didn't seem to be an indication that he had just lost a body part. Seeing only the lump of sheet where he guessed Katie's feet were on the other table, the doctor and nurses talking to each other over her, and looking up to see Amy and Guy's attentions wrapped solely on their child, he asked the nurse, "How is she?"

"Doing well. She's actually quite a strong little girl," the nurse said. "Now please. All of you. Follow me."

As she moved to the door and Joe and Duncan reluctantly followed her, Methos took hold of Elizabeth's arm and held her back. She looked at him questioningly.

"We both have our heads."

"Yes, we do." Methos couldn't see her mouth, but imagined from her tone she was smiling.

"Let her go ahead of us. I'm not trusting her." Methos indicated the nurse.

"She doesn't look to be holding anything long, pointy, and made of steel."

"But she's female, and my dream..."

"I'm not listening to it. Come on, let's celebrate," Elizabeth said, almost yanking him off the table.

Methos canvassed the gown over him and held it closed in the back, not out of modesty but to cut the chill in the room. He spotted Katie's face with a tube running into her mouth and said, "Not quite time to celebrate."

"She's going to be fine. I can feel it. Come on, let's go before we screw anything up. Let him work."

Methos followed Elizabeth out of the room. As soon as they reached the locker room where he had undressed earlier, he anxiously got into his boxers, khakis, socks, and shoes, then tore off the gown and put on his pullover that Elizabeth had waiting for him, having already stripped off her surgical wear. From the looks of them, wearing the sweater and jeans in which she had left the hotel, no one could even tell that the four of them had ever been in an operating room.

Duncan, Joe, Elizabeth, and Methos all looked at each other in silence. For a moment, you could hear a pin drop, all anxious about what was happening across the hall in the renovated squash court.

Joe was the first to speak. "Are you feeling pain, buddy?"

"Just the pain of not knowing how Katie's going to be," Methos said.

All of a sudden, Joe grabbed Methos and pulled him into a hug. Having to make sure they didn't land in a tumble on the ground, Methos chuckled and patted Joe's back. It looked as if Joe was going to bust out crying, so Methos said, "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Joe pulled his face back and said with what Methos could tell was complete and utter heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you. I owe you so much. Even if it doesn't... even if she rejects..." Joe's face was beet red.

"Reject my kidney? Nonsense," Methos said to bring levity to the proceedings.

Elizabeth joined their hug and declared, "You're so my hero. I love you so much. Both of you."

The relief of still having his and Elizabeth's heads attached, that his part of the operation was over, and Joe's simple gratitude and sobs (which weren't an everyday occurrence), combine with his genuine love for the both of them made Methos hold them both a little tighter. He looked over at a somewhat forlorn Duncan looking somehow left out of it and said, "Come here, you big Highlander, you."

~~~~~

It was three more hours and a lot of pacing after joining Amy and Guy at the window to watch the rest of the operation before Dr. Wamre stepped back from his patient. Amy had spent a lot of the waiting time holding onto Methos, whom she also deemed a hero, which he wouldn't hear of. Sure it had been nerve racking and not an easy decision to make, but he made it and it really wasn't that big of a deal now that he looked back on it. Dreams... he had to make sure he didn't take them too seriously anymore, even those that were repeated ad nauseam. This was almost the first time an echoing dream hadn't come true. Methos was just about to put his mind through its paces trying to remember that ever happening before when Wamre and Curel came to tell them the verdict.

Amy gasped with happiness and rushed to her husband when Wamre stated, very clinically, "Looks good," without a trace of joy. As soon as their reverie calmed, Wamre said, "The next few hours are critical. If she makes it through the night, a major barrier will be overcome. If things go well tomorrow evening, and into the morning, there should be slim chance of rejection." Wamre looked at Methos and said, "But since you're immortal, I can't imagine that happening."

"When can I see her?" Amy asked, as she was watching the nurses move Katie's stretcher out of the room. "And where is she going?"

"Back to the hospital by ambulance. I assure you, Ms. Barstow, your daughter went through the surgery well and you should all take some time to have dinner while she's out. She's going to need you in a few hours when you can see her. I'm going to talk to Dr. Glazer about recuperation and then I'm on a flight back to Europe."

"Who said you could move her?" Guy asked.

Wamre bristled. "I'm in charge here, and she cannot very well come out of anesthesia in a squash court. If something happens, wouldn't you rather she be in a hospital?"

"What could go wrong?" Amy asked, eyes wide.

"A whole host of things, but very rare. Very rare indeed. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Duncan said, "I've got a car outside. Let's say we follow that ambulance."

"You won't be able to see her until she is prepped and ready," Wamre said pompously, but backed down when Joe brandished his gun again. The look of 'whatever' was etched plainly on the doctor's face.

Guy took hold of his hand, somewhat startling Wamre, and shook it. "Thanks Doc. We gotta roll." He grabbed Amy's arm as she was in the midst of echoing the same sentiment and they were down the hall before Methos knew it. Everyone looked at each other for only a minute before rushing after them.

~~~~~

After hearing from Katie's 'real' doctor at the hospital, Dr. Glazer, that it was true that it should be another hour or two before Amy and Guy could see their daughter, it was suggested that they go get something to eat and come back later. Methos was surprised that Glazer was so amiable to this weird situation. Having a patient taken out of your care and then given back and seemingly being fine with it all had Methos wondering about him.

Elizabeth wondered if they should get the kids and all go out to dinner, but Amy just wanted to get a bite in the cafeteria and call Joey to tell him the operation was over. Guy and Joe both reminded her not to tell Joey who the donor was, and Elizabeth and Amy both looked at them like they were crazy. "Of course I won't," Amy bristled as she stalked down the hall.

When Guy and Joe looked surprised by the reaction, Elizabeth asked, "You really think she's that stupid?" and followed her.

Joe shook his head. "Women." Methos and Duncan agreed; they considered it a good idea to keep reminding themselves who should know what, when. It was getting harder all the time with inquisitive children and now that Claire was getting older and being what she is and who her parents are, Methos knew it would be a bumpier road as time went on. There was no need for Amy and Elizabeth to be snippy about it.

Guy seemed to know what Methos and probably Duncan and Joe were stewing about and shrugged. "It's been a long day. For all of us." His eyes met Methos, and Methos had the feeling he was going to get mushy again. He appreciated it, but he didn't need anyone else telling him what a great thing he did.

"I'm starving," Methos announced before Guy could say anything and motioned for them all to follow the women. "What sort of fare do you suppose the cafeteria will be serving this evening?"

"Something healthy, I'd imagine," Duncan said evenly. "But I could really go for a steak."

"Now you're talking." Joe held his fingers about three inches apart, "About this thick. I think I could eat the whole cow now that it's over. Don't think I've eaten for two days."

Duncan patted his back. "All free sailing now, Joe."

It seemed to Methos that Joe had something other than Katie's well being on his mind as they walked to the cafeteria but he didn't mention anything.

~~~~~

After waiting for what seemed like hours, a nurse finally found them in the waiting room, all on caffeine highs from all the styrofoam cups they'd drunk, and told Amy and Guy that they could see Katie now. Amy jumped up from her seat and looked at Guy. "What do you think? Would you mind if Daniel came with me, just for a minute?"

Guy looked taken aback, but then nodded to Methos.

"I don't need to go," Methos said. "You're her parents. Joe..."

Amy took his hand. "It's all because of you that Katie's on the road to recovery. Come on. Let's see her."

Methos felt Elizabeth slap his ass as he got out of the couch he shared with her. "Give her our love."

~~~~~

It wasn't two minutes later that Methos came rushing out of the door he and Amy had just gone through in order to see Katie. Elizabeth stood up ready to question him when he shoved past her whipping his mask and gown off as if he hadn't seen her at all. "Daniel!" Elizabeth called to him, too stunned to move. "Did something happen?"

Methos didn't seem to have heard her as he punched the elevator button down the hall and threw the gown and mask on the ground. Just then, Duncan came around the corner with two cups of coffee, and Guy joined Elizabeth at the edge of the waiting room. She could tell that Guy was as perplexed as she was, but he didn't stand there mutely, he entered the door where Amy had gone.

Methos looked like he was ready to burst, obviously not wanting to wait for the elevator, he took off towards the stairwell. Duncan set the coffee cups down on the tray outside a patient's room and took off after him. Elizabeth didn't know what to do. She looked at Joe and all they could do was stare mutely at each other.

~~~~~

Duncan had seen many emotions from the oldest man, but this behavior, almost knocking over an old couple by the emergency room exit and not even slowing down, had Duncan thinking something completely unexpected had happened in that hospital. Methos had walked straight out of the hospital and only paused to take in great gulps of air once he hit clear skies outside. Before Duncan could catch up to him, Methos took off at a fast pace down the sidewalk. Duncan didn't want to talk to him, just observe what he was going through, and be there if needed. He had an inkling of what might have happened, but if his guess was right, he couldn't imagine why it had affected Methos so much.

Matching Methos' long strides but keeping far enough behind him that he could still see him but not be close enough that it would irritate Methos, Duncan looked around to see if he could glimpse either of their Watchers. It was only when Methos got to Washington Park that he finally stopped walking and leaned against a tree. Duncan hung back, but he could tell that Methos had crouched over and was more than likely wiping tears from his eyes. Duncan was really confused now. Could Methos be happy he had saved her? Did Katie die? What?

Duncan approached him. Methos sniffed and turned his face away; he still leaned his arm against the tree. Duncan asked, "Not going to walk another mile or two?"

"I got tired of feeling you behind me and can't lose you."

"What's going on?"

Methos just shook his head and sniffed again. Then a sound that could have been called a giggle or a cry emitted from him. Duncan neared him to try and get a handle on what Methos was going through.

"Great job, Methos. I'm proud of you."

"That means so much," Methos spouted.

Duncan chuckled. "Actually, I think it does. You have done things just to make me proud." When Methos finally glared at him, with fresh tears in his eyes, Duncan said, "I know you have. I want to be just like you when I grow up. Well, not just like you, but... as old as you, anyway."

Methos cracked a smile and hung his head; he seemed to be collecting himself.

"What's going on?"

"I had one overpowering thought when I saw that little girl laying on that table..."

"That she was Claire?"

When Methos glared at him Duncan explained, "Like, what if it was Claire that was sick, and now relief she's going to be okay?"

"No. Claire didn't enter my mind. Not Lizzie either. I don't know why I thought of it, but... maybe I do. One doesn't forget one's failures. I got things back to normal with Lizzie, so... she was the last."

"What the hell are you talking about? I mean, you're speaking English, but not making any sense at all."

"You haven't been very close to Katie, have you?"

"Close? About as close as you... she's just a baby, how close can you get when she's not yours?"

"I mean in proximity."

"Huh?"

"Since her surgery. You haven't been near her."

"No."

"She's one of us now, MacLeod. She emits as strong a sensation as Claire. My kidney made her pre-immortal."

That was what Duncan presumed had happened, but seeing Methos' reaction... he muttered, "My God."

"I don't know if your God had anything to do with it. If he did, and it's the same God that..."

Methos stopped, unable to continue through his tears.

"Methos... what's in your head? Tell me."

"Alexa, Mac." Through his tears, he laughed bitterly. "Everything I tried to do for her... to keep her alive... I almost lost my fucking head stealing that stone! I didn't need to! I just had to give her a kidney! The answer was there all along and I DID NOT SEE IT! ANOTHER way I failed her."

Methos doubled up crying. Duncan took him in his arms and when he calmed down, he said, "No one failed her, especially you. My God, Methos, you didn't fail her. The last months of her life were the most beautiful and loving she could have ever dreamed of. All because of you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because she wrote to Joe."

"What? When?"

"She wrote letters to Joe, and he let me read a couple of them. He probably still has them."

"Why didn't he ever show them to me?"

"First, you disappeared after she died. Then you had that Italian woman on your arm. Then you disappeared for a while. Then you were with Liz."

"He still could have shown me the letters!"

"He still can, I'm sure. Ask him for them."

"Why would I have to ask him for letters from Alexa?!"

"Because they're his property? She wrote to him, not you. Besides, um... I know you loved Alexa and you mourned her death and all, but why is this affecting you so much now?"

"She deserved to live. I did love her; almost too much. That's why I had to go away from it all. I was barely able to cope with losing her."

"You have a family now."

"Does that make a difference? Because I love Liz and Claire, no one in my past means anything anymore?"

"It certainly makes a difference, if you push them away."

"I haven't. You know that."

"I may, if I believe you, but I'm not sure Liz does, not when you just literally pushed her out of your way."

"I did not," Methos sputtered. "When?"

"Ten minutes ago, in the hospital. Are you so out of it you don't even know what you did? You were so wrapped up in thoughts of a dead woman you didn't realize your pushed your wife?"

Suddenly, Methos looked worse, if that was possible, as his mind turned that over. He finally shook his head slightly. "I had no idea."

"Alexa was great and I'm as sorry as anyone she died, but... what is all this?"

"I almost lost my head trying to find an answer to save her. No one had ever put themselves on the line for her, ever, except me."

"Bully for you. I know she appreciated it and loved you, but what's that got to do with now?"

"I almost lost my head! That little pissant could have taken my head, and I was going to let him!" Methos was furious now pacing by the tree. "I was completely adjusted to the situation! I was going to lose 5,000 years!"

Duncan spotted two boys holding a ball with their mouths open staring at them. He told them, "We're rehearsing a play. Shakespeare in the Park. Next week. Be there or be square."

When they boys still gaped at them, Methos boomed, "Get the hell out of here!" as he charged at them with raging eyes. The kids took off without a backward glance.

Duncan chuckled. "Good way to take care of kids. I'll make a note of it."

Methos inhaled deeply, scratched at his short hair, rubbed his eyes, and collected himself. He sighed and then said, "Yeah. Watch me. I'm the expert. She's pre-immortal."

"Yeah... can Amy and Guy handle it? Think we should tell them?"

"You nuts?"

"No. I didn't ever tell Richie. I'd never tell Claire."

"Liz might. She went and told Chuckie boy."

"Only because she had no choice."

Methos nodded that he agreed and seemed a bit mad at himself for even saying it. Duncan walked to him and patted his back. "My friend. I've known you for a long time now and I know when you need a beer."

Methos looked at him, then grinned. "You buying?"

"Hell no. You owe me about 150,000 of them by now. I think all the caps are behind my fridge too."

"You exaggerate."

"Not by much." Duncan started toward the edge of the park and turned to see Methos following him slowly, as if grudgingly.

They walked silently for blocks in search of a bar, then Duncan mused, "Damn. Just giving one a kidney... why didn't we ever think of that?"

"Who wants to give away a body part?"

"There were many for whom I would have, in a flash."

The thought of all the mortals in his life that Duncan would have loved to help out with a longer life was making him maudlin and he was glad when Methos said, "I'm not tossing back a beer with you if this conversation continues."

They were quiet for a few more blocks, then Duncan spotted a bar called simply "Fred's." He looked at Methos and asked, "See the game last night?"

"The Knicks suck."

"Tell me about it."

Methos smiled and said, "All right," as he walked into the establishment dubbed Fred's.

Continued