Disclaimer: None of these characters actually belong to me, except the bad guy and Dawn, although some of them are hopefully pretty unrecognisable. Most Highlander characters belong to the dudes that make Highlander, Richie is now the Clan Denial’s, until the original owners promise to treat him right. Del you might recognise from Sandman, but she is just a reader, not the lady herself. If you think any of the characters and events match up to your real life... um, in this story, seek professional help now. Trust me, it can be fun. But it’s not meant to be anyone in particular. I have no idea what rating the story should be. I wrote it from a nightmare that refused to get out of my head, so, read it if you don’t mind having the same nightmares as me. It sort of takes AC's Ouroboros as how archangel really turned out, but if you just assume Del is nuts all the way through you dont need to know that.

Del was sitting in the glass corridor looking out upon the garden, with a book tucked in her sling, and her friend Dawn sat next to her.

She kept her gaze fixed on Dawn’s reflection in the glass as they talked. She really didn’t want to see the way her eyes looked without the mirror... Dawn wore jeans and a t shirt and chattered away about her soaps and her magazines. Del wore a long denim dress, and slip on shoes. Her red hair was cut very close to her head, and her blue eyes never stopped moving. Her gaze flitted from point to point, never stopping long, and her movements were bird like.

This was her favourite place for sitting, especially this time of day when the sun made it all warm and shiny. Dawn sat on one of the plastic chairs, but Del nestled underneath a table, curled up small. She liked this place because from here you could see outside-the-gate, but outside-the-gate couldn’t see you. There was just a little gap in the flowers, and you had to come quite a long way up the path from the gate before you could see into the corridor. It was a very private establishment, quiet and calm, an asylum for all those who the outside world hadn’t quite treated right. Del liked it here.

She scratched at her arm absently. She really wanted to get the silly cast off, it had stopped hurting almost right away, but there was some silly reason for keeping it on longer. She forgot quite what.

“Trees.” Del said longingly, breaking into the flow of Dawn’s amiable chatter.

“You can’t go out today, remember?” Dawn said, not unkindly. She knew it was quite possible her small companion had forgotten.

“Want to see the sun through the leaves.. It changes but its always sun and leaves, no... bad things...” Del said, whispering the last words.

“Was that why you were climbing?” Dawn asked, pointing at her arm. “Cause that’s why you can’t go out on your own.”

“It was only a small tree. There are only small trees. You would think in a garden this big there would be one that was big enough.” Del said softly.

Something out in the garden caught her eye. She glanced up, then looked back down at her hands.

People, on the path from outside-the-gate. She had seen one of them before. He was around a lot, one of her people. But the blonde man was new. He looked funny, but then most of the people who looked ordinary turned out to be her people.

There was something about this one that made her want him to be regular people. He and his companion stopped where the paths branched, and said something to each other. That wasn’t a good sign. If the dark one was one of hers, and the other one could see him...

“Dawn.” Del said carefully, looking down at her hands and moving them like she was counting on her fingers, “Do you see that man outside?”

“What man?” Dawn asked, looking out. Then she saw her friends face fall. “Oh, don’t worry. I just meant which one. Tall dark and handsome, or young, blonde and headed this way?” She smiled.

Del looked up relieved. “You see both of them? Oh, good.”

“Why? Like the look of them?” Dawn grinned. “Wouldn’t blame you.”

As the blonde man wandered closer, vaguely checking out the garden, Del got a weird feeling in her head, not quite like being dizzy. She frowned to herself and told her head to stop it, but then she noticed that the man had stopped just then and was looking up right at her. She blushed bright red and swivelled round, putting her back against the glass. She pulled out her book and concentrated on it, or at least stared at it hard.

“He’s still headed this way.” Dawn informed her, grinning, and pretending to only look along the corridor but really keeping an eye on his progress. “In fact he just got to the door..” Dawn continued, then shut up as he opened the door and got in hearing range. She kept looking at her friend and trying not to giggle.

The blonde young man walked down the corridor towards them hesitantly. Del looked at her book very hard.

Then Dawn hadn’t said anything for a while, so Del peeked.

He was still standing there, hovering hesitantly like he was trying to figure out something to say. She saw the prettiest lights all over him, and then realised she was staring and blinked and turned back to her book.

The man drew a breath and took another step towards them, then seemed to change his mind and turned to go.

Dawn nudged her. “Go on, say something.” She whispered. “He was looking at you.” Del shook her head fiercely. “Come on, it’s not that bad.” the young man was almost back to the door now, walking slow and glancing back at them. “Look, if you wont say anything, I will.” said Dawn, and drew a deep breath to call out to him.

That did it. Del couldn’t think of anything she could say by accident that would be half as embarrassing as the things Dawn said on purpose, so quickly she blurted out “Hi.”

It sounded quite loud in the still quiet, and she blushed all over again, but she kept looking at him this time.

He turned around and walked back over to them.

“Um, hi.” Del said again a bit quieter. That was about all her inspiration used up just then.

The man glanced at the two of them sitting there, and then Dawn got up and walked away, winking at Del as she left. He rubbed the back of his neck sort of embarrassed looking, and crouched down next to Del to talk to her. Del decided right then that she liked him, even if he did make her head feel funny.

“Richie Ryan.” He said, holding his hand out.

Del looked at it a bit hesitantly, then reached out and took it. As she had feared, a whole flood of pictures flashed in her head. These ones were all about... swords? And a red mist?

She realised she had just been sitting there holding onto his hand, and she didn’t know how long for. It seemed like ages to her, even though the clock had not moved.

“You can call me Del. Just Del, not any other names at all. Nobody is allowed to say my other names, only Del, because Del is me now.” she explained, letting go of his hand and absently slotting her book back in her sling.

“Oh-kay.” He nodded. Del was used to that tone. She had probably said too much about it. But at least he wasn’t being mean. He gestured to her arm. “You.. broke your arm?”

“I was climbing a tree last week. It was only a short tree. They don’t have tall trees here.” she paused a moment and then thought maybe she ought to say something else now. “You sliced your neck?” She asked.

He looked at her really puzzled, and her face fell again as she realised that a cut like she saw on his neck would mean he wouldn’t be walking around breathing. It was probably just one of her things again, like Dawn’s alien eyes.

“I’m sorry, it just looked like you got stuck back together... sorry...” She mumbled again, doing her finger counting game again.

“No, that’s okay.” he said, and reached out to touch her shoulder.

“Really?” she looked up again, and he looked a bit confused but not mad at her. A really beaming smile spread across her face.

Just then she saw his dark haired friend again, only all flickery and still like usual. A moment later she got that weird head feeling again from out in the garden. She looked up to see the dark one walking down the path towards them, only now he was all over lights like her new friend.

She noticed her new friend Richie had looked up at just the same time as her, so she dared ask a bit hesitantly “Does he make a buzz in your head too?”

Richie looked down at this earnest young woman, all her feelings easy to read in her every movement, and realised he had no idea how to handle things from here. She looked like she might have been older than him at her first death, but now she acted so young.... “Uh, yeah, usually.” he replied honestly, rather relieved that Mac had shown up right then. Maybe he could figure out if they should tell her she was an Immortal.

Mac had been slightly annoyed when he hadn’t found Richie waiting in the garden like he’d asked, but he didn’t have to get much closer to him to figure out why. His first impression was that the Immortal he was sitting with was a young girl, but on closer inspection he guessed her age at first death to be closer to thirty. It was just the way she moved and acted, like a child, every reaction showing from deepest disappointment to pure delight.

He opened the door and joined them in the corridor, Richie walking over to him.

“Mac... I’m glad you got here. She doesn’t know anything about us, or about healing even. Her arms been in a cast for a week, it would have been healed practically before she got up off the floor.” Richie said in a low tone. Del watched them curiously, her head tilted to one side. Richie glanced around, saw her looking at them. “Mac, what do we tell her? She’s in the Game if she knows it or not.”

“If we tell her, who would believe her? And how would it help?” Mac said in the same tone of voice.

Del looked thoughtful a moment as they talked to each other. They really looked pretty with shiny lights like lightning all under their skin. What were they saying? Oh yes. “I like games.” Del piped up, watching as they turned around to face her. Really, just because she was quiet didn’t mean she couldn’t hear plenty good.

Richie stepped forwards and introduced his friend. “Del, this is Mac. He’s a friend of mine. Mac, meet Del. Just Del, she’s quite sure that’s her name.”

“Yup yup.” Del said, hopping to her feet and sticking her hand out.

“A pleasure to meet you.” Mac smiled. Del smiled back. He really was one of her favourite of her people. She looked up at him and frowned again, then glanced over at Richie and back at Mac.

“What was he doing behind your eyes?” She asked Mac, puzzled. Mac looked taken aback and glanced over at Richie, then shook hands with her. All his pictures were of swords too, and...

Del jumped back and went dead white, then quickly whirled around and hid under the table, curled up in a ball. “You saw it, you SAW it. It got you.. it got Richie... bad thing... got him... Demon got him...” she said, starting off loud but quickly fading to a mumble as she rocked back and forth saying over and over “demon got him... demon got him.. demon got him...”

Mac and Richie looked at each other quite stunned, then Mac walked cautiously over to the table and crouched down beside her. “Del.. Del!” he said softly, trying to get her attention. He reached out carefully and took hold of her shoulder, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Del, it’s all right... It’s okay now...” she kept on rocking, and Richie looked around for some help before walking over to crouch near her too. “Del, it’s all right, there’s no one threatening you here...” Duncan said, not really getting through to her.

“Del..” Richie said, taking hold of her free hand gently.. “Look at me, it’s me, Richie. Look Del. I’m right here. If it ‘got’ me, I wouldn’t be here now, would I?” Richie said gently. This seemed to get through a little. She stopped mumbling and looked up at him, still rocking back and forwards.

“I saw it.” she said cautiously. She reached out tentatively and touched his throat, just where Duncan’s sword had sliced through it not so long ago. “You were in pieces. All your shiny fell out, and... it went behind his eyes.” She turned and glared accusingly at MacLeod.

Richie gently turned her head back to face him. “I’m not there now. You see? I’m right here. It’s all right.”

Del stopped rocking and reached out gently to touch under each of his eyes, looking at him real hard. Then she turned on that brilliant smile of hers and practically leapt out from her table to hug him.

“You beat it!” She exclaimed happily, as Richie tried to keep his balance and prevent them from ending up in a heap on the floor. “I never seen it get beat before.” She let go of him and stood up, as did Mac and Richie. She glanced from one to the other. “I saw it the other time. It took the bad man back. It reached right out and grabbed him.”

“Well... not this time.” Richie said, trying to keep up with her moods.

Del smiled again. “Good.” She paused, hopped from one foot to the other for a moment, then said “Do you want to come and see the garden?” she looked at them expectantly, then grabbed Richie’s hand and led him to the door. She stopped again abruptly. “Oh.” She said, pouting, “I’m not allowed in the garden today. Because of my arm.”

“Well, we’ll have to come back another day then.” Mac said smoothly, and smiled at her. He took hold of Richie’s shoulder, and pulled him away towards the door.

“Mac, we can’t just...” Richie whispered fiercely.

“Well what are we supposed to... oh all right.” Mac whispered back, then turning to Del he said, “Look, you might want to get that arm checked again. It might have.. not been as broken as they thought. And.. there’s a chapel on the grounds? Do you go there?”

Del nodded solemnly. “When there’s too many bad things.” she whispered to them.

“Well, that might be a good habit to keep up. If anyone bad comes here.” Mac said, looked down at Richie who didn’t exactly have any more objections, then looked back at Del again.

Del repeated “Might not be broken... and go to the chapel...” she turned around and started heading for the stairs, chanting in a sing song voice what her new friends had told her, “Might not be broken.. go to the chapel.. might not be broken.. go to the chapel..”

They watched her go around the corner, then glanced at each other and stepped out into the garden. Richie looked at Mac as they walked. Mac didn’t look at him, and tried to keep quiet.

“All right. I’ll find out more about her, and see if I can get her a teacher who’ll understand.” Mac’s face darkened for a moment as he remembered. “I would have sent her to Sean, but... I guess I’ll have to find someone else.”

“I’ll help any way I can Mac.” Richie said, and Mac nodded and sighed. Sometimes it would be nice for these things to fall in someone else’s lap.

Inside Del skipped up the stairs happily. The doctors office, the one for broken bodies, was all the way up the top, with all the equipment and things the living-here people weren’t supposed to touch. When she got to the door up there she knocked until someone came.

“Might not be broken.” she announced proudly, holding out her arm. She kept on saying it until the doctors let her in and took another X Ray of it. Then she sat on a bench swinging her legs and reading her book until they came back looking puzzled and started cutting the cast off.

“See? Told you. Might not be broken. My new friends said.” Del announced.

“You’re new friends?” asked the nurse, one of the nice ones.

“Yup. I thought he was a one of my people, but then there was another him that wasn’t. And the nice one with the really big sword made the .. D-E-M-O-N ... go away.” Del finished, whispering the word and looking in all the corners.

“That’s just great! I guess you won’t have to be afraid now, huh?” said the nurse happily.

Del sort of nodded and sort of shook her head, bouncing it side to side the way she’d found made people see whichever one they wanted. The nurse thought she looked very happy, and when they had taken the cast off and cleared out the room again she left Del for a minute to go and call her therapist, and tell her about the breakthrough.

Del didn’t have anywhere to put her book anymore. She frowned at it and left it sitting there on the bench. She wandered over to the window, which was out at the front of the building, so you could even see outside-the-gate through it. It didn’t have any bars on it. The front windows didn’t. Del’s room did, but then they’d found out she could get their windows open.. just like this...

Del poked her head out of the open window, ignoring the shrill little alarm going off at the nurses station, and looked all the long way down to the ground... It was very high up here.. she could see all the tops of the trees... the trees hadn’t been tall enough, but just maybe, from up here, she could make it all stay still...

As the nurse dashed in, the last thing she saw was Del’s shoes disappearing out the window, and when she looked out of the window it was only the nurse that screamed. Del had stayed quite calm, all the way down...

That night Mac and Richie were faced with the rather unpleasant task of breaking Del out of the hospital morgue. For people that never really died, Immortals seemed to end up in the morgue an uncomfortable amount of the time.

It was cold in there, but not quite quiet. Someone in one of the drawers was snoring...

They slid it open, and found Del curled up quite peacefully on her side, a hand up near her mouth, snoring away quite calmly. They had brought some clothes for her, but when they tried to wake her up she just mumbled "G’way. M’dead. Cn get sme sleep when m dead can’t I?" Then she wound herself into a tighter ball and quite firmly ignored them. They gave up, and Mac just wrapped her in a warm blanket and carried her. She was very light, hardly there at all.

They got her back to Mac’s place, thankfully without being noticed. It would have been a little hard to explain...

Mac asked Richie to stay there, and help him keep an eye on their new charge. He had the feeling she would be a lot of trouble.

The next day Richie woke up sitting up in a chair, and for a minute couldn’t remember why he was there. Then he found a vague memory of Duncan waking him only a couple of hours after they had gone to sleep, saying he was going to open the dojo and could he keep an eye on Del... oh shit, where was...

It only took him a minute to find her. Or at least her feet, sticking out past the end of the kitchen counter. He walked over and felt rather sick. Del was lying there, wearing a skirt Duncan had around and on old top of his, now rather bloodstained. She also had the biggest kitchen knife sticking out of her chest. He took a deep breath, leant over, and pulled it out, throwing it in the sink. Quickly, she started breathing again, but her expression wasn’t what he expected. She kept her eyes closed, and wrinkled up her face as if rather puzzled. Then she cautiously opened one eye.

"Oh." she said when she saw him, then looked down at herself, all back in one piece. She opened the other eye to double check. She sighed. "Bother."

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