Okay, this is my very first attempt at a Highlander fic so please be kind in your reviews. Any helpful criticism is welcome, I haven't seen an episode to the Highlander Series since its last air date so its been a little while since I've watched. I never missed an episode and watched that show almost religiously so hopefully I don't do too much damage to the characters of the show. I also love the movies, got them all in my video collectionJ I also switch out the use of Methos and Adam's names as they are the same character. I hope it doesn't confuse anyone. Oh before I forget! Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Highlander universe, only the plot of this story and the characters of Melanie, Joyce and any others I come up with while I'm writing this.
Sight
Prologue
Clashing of metal against metal filled the night air as she watched two men, both wearing long black jackets, as they fought one another. Swords clashed against each other as they each blocked and attacked. The other always meting their opponents blows. The alley was scarcely lit, the only light coming from the streetlights just outside the alleyway entrance.
Hands shakily pressed against the cold metal of the Dumpster, she tried to make out the two men. She could vaguely make out their appearance, as both were cloaked within the night's shadows. At one point she caught a glimpse of dark hair and pale skin, but she still could not make out his features. The other man had short blond hair, the direct opposite of the other.
She watched with horror as the dark haired man fell back as the other sliced into the man's side. "Stop!" she screamed out, but neither one of them herd her cry. Melanie started towards the two as she heard the blond say, "There can be only one" as he raised up his sword to strike down onto the other.
"NO!" Melanie felt her body jerk as she came out of her nightmare. Her heart felt as if it would leap from her chest as she breathed in short gasps. The dream had been so real, so much like the others, but this dream could not be like the others. The other dreams always came true, surely this had to be an exception. Men don't carry around swords and they surely do not challenge each other in dark alleyways and fight to the death.
Rolling out of the bed, she allowed the covers to drop off her sweat soaked body, closing her eyes as the cool air met her wet skin. Running her hands through her wavy shoulder-length reddish brown hair, Melanie looked over at her alarm clock and sighed. It was only three o'clock in the morning and she had plenty of time before she had to get up to get ready for work the next day. Getting up anyway, she knew that she would not be able to get back to sleep and really did not want to, not after that vivid dream. She was still shaking slightly from the emotions of fear, horror, and shock that assaulted her in her dream. She definitely was not going back to sleep anytime soon.
Chapter One
Sitting at the bar, he lounged back within the chair, his dark eyes watched with amusement as he heard his friends curses behind the bar. Leaning over the bar, he smiled with amusement as he questioned his friends actions, "Problems?"
Joe Dawson smirked as he turned to face Adam Pierson, known by few as Methos, "Damn computers! I just got this thing and it won't let me do a simple thing as opening a damn file I had made just yesterday."
Methos leaned back into his seat watching as Joe slammed the laptop closed and proceeded to dial on his phone. Sipping his beer, he looked around the lightly populated bar, able to hear Joe speaking on the phone.
"Yeah, well, I tried that and it still won't allow me to open my files. Ah uh…No…It's an IBM ThinkPad 600. Dawson, Joe Dawson. That's the address…You'll send someone out sometime today. Can you at least give me a time to expect the tech?" Hanging up the phone, Joe shook his head, "Thank God for technical support! I just hope they can get this thing working right before tonight."
Methos shrugged his shoulders about to say something, but stopped as the familiar buzz hit his senses. Instinctually his hand went inside his jacket as he felt for the hilt of his concealed sword. Great, all he needed was some hotshot immortal trying to challenge him. It better be that Highlander, Duncan.
Entering the bar, he allowed his hand to drop from the hilt of his concealed kitana sword as he recognized Methos sitting in his usual place. Making his way to the bar, he smiled in greeting to his two friends, "Hey Joe!"
"Mac, what brings you here so early?" Joe Dawson asked as he leaned against the bar.
Sitting in the seat next to Methos, Duncan shook his head, "Thought I'd drop by. There's not much going on at the Dojo and I knew I'd find you two here."
Methos chuckled at the highlander's words, "That's something new."
Duncan looked to his friend, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Highlander, with you there is always some kind of conflict knocking on your door." Taking another swig of his beer, he laughed at the look Duncan gave him.
Joe laughed with Methos seeing his point, Duncan Macleod had anything but an uneventful life. At the look Duncan shot him in return, he tried to stifle his amused laughter, "Sorry, but he does have a point."
Duncan shrugged it off, "I can't really argue with that. So anything going on with you two?"
Beep, beep, beep! Quickly grabbing the pager in her hand, Melanie looked to see another page calling for her for another job. She was not having a good day and work was not really something she felt like dealing with at the moment. Making note of the address, she recognized it as being not too far from where she was. Well, at least she didn't have to drive all the way across town for this one.
Pulling her two door black sedan around, she made her way to the address sent to her. Looking up at the building, she saw a sign saying Joe's and sighed. Her job as being a field support computer agent took her to all kinds of places, but this was the first time that she had been led to a bar.
The transition from sunlight to the dim lighting of the bar made it hard to see clearly at first. Eyes adjusting, she saw two dark haired men sitting at a bar and another older man with graying hair behind the counter. Making her way towards the bar she smiled warmly as she approached, "Hi, are you Joe Dawson?"
Both Duncan and Methos looked to the source of the woman's voice as she asked for their friend. Methos was instantly intrigued, she was very beautiful and her smile could make any man weak in the knees. Duncan smiled as he watched the lovely stranger.
Joe turned as he heard his name and smiled at the lovely woman on the other side of the bar, "Yes, what can I do for you?"
"I'm Melanie Weaver with IBM Technical Support. You had called about your IBM ThinkPad 600?" She could see the two men staring at her, but chose to try to ignore them.
Joe nodded, "Yeah, that was quick. I called only a few minutes ago."
Melanie laughed, "Well, I wasn't very far when I got the page about your laptop. May I?"
"Oh, sure, come around, it's right over here."
Walking around the bar, she looked to the two men watching her and shyly looked away. They were both very good looking men and the way they were watching her made her a bit nervous. Thankful that her attention would be the laptop, she emerged herself into trying to solve her customer's problem. She noted the odd way that the bartender moved out of her way, but chose not to take too much notice to it. Listening to him explain to her the problem, she quickly went to work, "Well, this might take me a few minutes. Hmm…"
Joe leaned over her shoulder trying to see what she was doing, "Did you find what's causing it?"
Melanie hated it when people hovered over her while she worked, but she understood that he was just wanting the problem fixed so he could get back to doing his job. Answering his question, she kept her eyes on the screen before her, "It looks like you might have gotten hold of a virus, but I think I can fix this for you."
Joe sighed with relief, "Any chance on getting it fixed before tonight?"
"Yeah, hold on a minute while I call the office." Taking her cell phone out of her coat pocket, she dialed the office number. If he wanted this fixed before tonight, she might be spending a good portion of the day working on this.
Joe made his way past her to allow her to get to work on fixing his computer and noted how both Duncan and Methos were watching the young woman. Not that he blamed them, she was very attractive. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat getting the two immortal's attention, "Mac, you want anything?"
"Yeah, the usual. So who's the new guest?" he returned glancing back at the woman that was still talking on her cell phone.
Methos said nothing, as he was interested in finding out the same information, though he was sure that he was going to get her attention before Duncan did. With a smirk at that thought, he downed more of his beer.
Fixing Duncan his usual, Joe answered, "Melanie Weaver, she's one of the tech's from the company I bought that laptop from. Why? Want me to ask her for her number?" Joe finished with a grin.
Methos answered before Duncan could, "That would be helpful."
Joe shook his head, "She's here to fix my laptop, not to give out her number to you two."
Melanie rolled her eyes as she closed her phone, sometimes she wondered why she still worked for that company. She works her tail off to make them happy and it's never enough! Seeing that Joe was at the other end of the bar, she approached him smiling politely to the two men that had been watching her earlier.
"Mr. Dawson…" he interrupted her.
"Call me Joe."
"Joe, do you have someplace I can take the laptop and plug it into a phone line to get connection? There are some things I need to download to solve your virus problem. This might take a few hours for me to fix."
He nodded with a smile, "Sure, give me a sec. I need to get my office ready and you can take it in there. I'll be back in a few."
Watching him leave, she noticed him leaning on a cane and wondered why, but she suddenly found herself the center of two men's attentions. Looking hesitantly their way, she smiled shyly to them and was about to head back to the laptop when one of them spoke to her.
"Hi, I'm Adam Pierson," Methos flashed her one of his charming smiles that never failed him in the past.
Melanie returned his smile, wondering if she should speak back with him or go run back to the laptop and go on with her work, before she returned, "Melanie Weaver." She suddenly felt very awkward, but had the strangest feeling that she'd seen him before.
The world around her disappeared. Two men fighting with swords in an alleyway flashed before her eyes. The dark haired man falls to the ground as the other holds his sword high about to strike down, "There can be only one."
Duncan was not one for being left out of introductions, besides, he saw her first, the old man didn't have a chance. He grinned at his mental words, "Duncan Macleod, we're friends of Joe's."
Melanie blinked a bit shaken by the mental images of her dream coming to mind, but covered her unease with a smile, "So, what kind of bar is this? I've never heard of it, but then again I'm new to this area."
Methos answered before the Highlander had a chance to answer, "It's a Blue's bar, Joe performs every once in a while. He's really good. You should come out here one night to enjoy the atmosphere of the place."
Melanie grinned, was that a different way of asking her out? "I just might do that."
Before the two men could strike up any more conversation, Joe returned and Melanie took the laptop and followed him to the back of the bar. Entering the office, she sat at the man's desk and continued to try and fix the laptop, though her dream from that night kept coming to mind, making it hard for her to concentrate.
Chapter 2
With a loud clank, Melanie dropped her keys on the counter just inside of her front door and leaned against the door of her apartment with a loud exhale. She felt absolutely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl into her comfortable bed and allow sleep to take over. The loud shrill of the telephone however, broke her from her intended deeds.
Before even thinking of checking the caller id, she picked up the phone, "Hello."
"Melanie, girl, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for the past two hours." Melanie's friend Joyce came through loud and clear from the other end of the line.
"Its called making a living!" she answered tiredly.
Joyce paused on the other end, "Bad day?"
"You could call it that. I swear, Joyce, I want to quit my job so much but I can't, not with the bills and all." Melanie could almost see her friend grinning on the other end of the line, making her groan mentally. Joyce had a thing where she would try to drag her out to do something to get her mind off of work.
"Sounds like someone needs a night out!" Joyce perked up over the phone.
Walking to her couch Melanie plopped down onto the sofa with an exasperated sigh, "Joyce!" she warned.
"Oh, don't you Joyce me. Girl, all you do anymore is work, we barely go out anymore! Besides, you know you need a break from everything. Come on, there was a reason I asked you to move here and it wasn't so you can loose yourself in work and never come to hang out with me anymore."
Shaking her head at her friend's words she could not ignore the guilty feeling her words invoked. Joyce was right, she barely ever went to see her anymore and had been burying herself more and more into work lately. "Oh, all right since it is Friday night, but no clubs. I'm sick to death of those places and I'm not in the mood for men groping me on the dance floor and being cramped up in the midst of strangers bodies."
Joyce laughed, "Okay, fair enough. There's this bar that I've heard of and have been wanting to check it out." Melanie was about to protest, but Joyce knew she would and stopped her before she could start, "It's not one of those dance clubs. They play Jazz and I hear that the atmosphere is really enjoyable as is the music."
Closing her eyes she relented, "All right, but you're picking me up. I am not in the mood to drive. When do you want to go?"
"I'll be there at around 9:30. Get off that couch and go get ready!"
Hearing the phone click on the other end, Melanie hung up her phone, a light laugh escaping her lips. Joyce knew her almost more than she knew herself, well except for that one little secret she kept from everyone. She had helped out quite a few unsolved cases with her anonymous calls to the police department from a payphone.
She could just see herself now, "Hey Joyce, I have these really vivid dreams sometimes and they always come true. I've been able to stop some from happening by calling the police and giving them the info they needed to stop it from happening."
A cold chill ran down her spine at the memory of one of those supposed dreams. She had watched a man murdering a defenseless woman, she could still feel the woman's fear, the anger and rage within the attacker. That was one of the worst ones that she had within her life and it haunted her to this day. She was too late in warning the police and the killer has still yet to be found. Hence one of the reasons why she moved.
Melanie let out a sob from the memory and hurriedly wiped away the tears. She wasn't going to let her do this to herself. It wasn't her fault, she did not kill the woman and she never asked for these damn dreams. Getting up from the couch, she made her way to the shower to wash away any memories of her past.
Opening the apartment door, she smiled to Joyce and let her in, "You're early. Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."
Joyce nodded and headed for the fridge to grab a drink, "Melanie, why can't you drink beer like other normal people?" Grabbing a soda, she opened the can and made her way to the bedroom where Melanie was finishing getting ready.
Adjusting the black slip dress that rested comfortably at the knee's Melanie slid on her matching black pumps and looked at the bathroom mirror. Seeing Joyce reflection she asked her friend, "So, what do you think? Too much? Should I wear something different? It's too much isn't it?"
Joyce grinned shaking her head, "Girl, you look great. Hey, we both look great. Guys, watch out cause here we come!"
Melanie laughed at her friends enthusiasm, "Joyce, sometimes I wonder about you."
Joyce just grinned wider, "By the end of tonight I'm going to get you hooked up with someone if it kills me."
"Oh no! Don't go all matchmaker with me! I still remember the last time you did that and I know you remember what happened."
Joyce just laughed in return, "When was the last time you went out on a date with a cute guy? What, a couple of years?"
Melanie narrowed her eyes at her friend, "I thought the point of this excursion was to have fun, not to remind me of how little of a social life I have."
Joyce noted the hurt look within Melanie's eyes and regretted her words, "Oh, Mel! I'm sorry. Promise, no matchmaking tonight."
"It's okay, I know you're only trying to help. He's out there somewhere Joyce, I'll find him when the time is right. Now, lets go and have some fun."
They both nodded and headed out the door, Melanie never asking what the name of the bar was or where they were going. Boy, was she going to get a surprise.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Melanie stared out the window watching the streetlights pass by, as Joyce sang along with the music in the car. Smiling at her friend's attempt to sing she joined in, laughing as they both messed up on the lines to the song. Looking back out the window the scenery that passed by looked awfully familiar.
"Uh, what's the name of this bar that we're going to, by the way?" she asked a part of her already knowing Joyce's answer.
Concentrating on the road ahead, Joyce turned a corner, "It's called Joe's. Don't worry, I've heard nothing but praise about this place."
A laugh escaped her lips, talk about coincidence, "You're not going to believe this, but that's where one of my errands from work sent me today. I actually met the guy that owns the place."
Joyce mouth dropped open, "You're kidding!" she risked a look to her friend in the passenger side.
Shaking her head, she saw the familiar building that she had seen earlier that day and noticed it had a lot more cars occupying the parking lot. And there stood the same sign she saw early that day with the name Joe's spelled out before them, "Yep, this is the place all right."
Parking the car, Joyce looked to her, "Do you want to go someplace else?"
Opening the door Melanie started to get out, "Nah! Someone I met there today recommended that I come. Might as well check it out."
Sitting in the same spot he occupied earlier that day when he was visiting with Joe, Methos took in the atmosphere and enjoyed his beer. He decided to come back to the bar to enjoy the music and relax. It was Friday night and he did not feel like staying at his place alone.
The bar was filled with people, but not so much that it was too crowding. Jazz filled the air as the woman Joe had hired, sang a lazy tune, she wasn't bad to look at either. Eyes scanning towards the door, he stopped that train of thought when he recognized Melanie from earlier that day. Maybe he didn't have to try and look her up in the phone book after all, he thought with a grin.
Joe noticed Methos grin and followed his gaze to the front door and couldn't help but to grin himself, "Well, that's not something I was expecting to see tonight. What did you say to her anyway?"
Methos shrugged, "What can I say? I'm irresistible!"
Joe shook his head, there were times when Methos was a little full of himself.
Following Joyce inside the bar, Melanie looked around her, taking in the atmosphere. The atmosphere was completely different with all the people sitting at the tables listening to the music and talking amongst themselves, definitely not the club scene. Feeling someone nudge her from the side, she looked over to see that it was Joyce.
"I told you this was a good idea. Let's go to the bar and get us some drinks. I know you could use one."
Looking towards the bar, her heart fluttered as she recognized one of the men as the guy Adam she had briefly spoken to earlier that day. Wondering if coming here was a good idea, she debated the option of leaving as she suddenly felt extremely nervous. Melanie mentally scolded herself, 'You're being silly. He seemed like a nice guy when you first met him. Should I say hi or let him make the first move. God, just go with whatever happens! I'm here to enjoy myself. Now come on and pull yourself together. But what do I say to him?' As her and her friend came up to the bar Melanie's thoughts came to a grinding halt.
Joyce sat on the stool so Melanie sat at the one right beside her and smiled when Joe came up to them.
"Hey, Melanie glad you decided to come. What will it be, the first drink's on the house?" Joe offered.
"You don't have to do that really." Melanie protested.
Joe would not hear of it, "No I insist, the least I can do since you fixed my laptop."
"Long Island Ice Tea then and… Joyce what do you want?" she answered watching him as he started to make her drink.
"Coors Light," Joyce leaned over to Melanie and whispered in her ear, "Don't look, but there is a really sexy looking guy heading over to us."
Before she could look over her shoulder, Joe placed their drinks in front of them. Melanie thanked Joe and introduced her friend to him, "Thanks, this is my friend Joyce, by the way. Joyce this is Joe, I fixed his laptop today."
Joe reached over and shook Joyce hand, "Joyce, I hope you ladies enjoy the place." He noted Methos approaching and decided to see to other matters of his bar.
Sitting beside Melanie, Methos smiled to her as he said, "Glad to see you decided to take my advice."
Melanie turned towards Adam and almost lost her voice, he was very attractive with short black hair, a distinct nose, and eyes that she felt she could get lost in. Much more attractive than she remembered, "Hi, actually I had no idea I was coming here until we pulled up. Joyce kind of kidnapped me and brought me here."
"Well, I'm glad she did."
Melanie smiled in return and then she wanted to hit herself, she almost forgot about Joyce sitting on the other side of her, "Oh, Joyce, this is Adam."
Joyce smiled approving of his looks, "Hi!" Wicked grin set in play, she acted as if she saw something and tapped Melanie on the shoulder, "I think I saw someone I know. I'll be back."
Before Melanie could protest her friend leaving her alone with Adam, she was gone. Mouth gaped slightly opened, she hid her disbelief of her friend as she took a sip of her drink. Shifting slightly in her seat, she looked back towards Adam noticing that he was watching her, making her flush slightly from his gaze. Being the shy person that she was, she really did not know what to do or if she should say anything? These types of situations rarely presented themselves and when they did, she usually messed it up in some way.
Methos watched how she shifted on the barstool and how she blushed when she caught him admiring her appearance. She seemed like the type of woman who was very shy. A challenge to get to know, but he had the feeling that once he got to know her it would be well worth the effort. "So, how long have you've been here in Seacouver?"
"Only a few months. I haven't really had a chance to really get out much outside of work. Probably would be home if Joyce hadn't insisted on rescuing me from sitting another Friday night at home." Melanie congratulated herself, 'See, talking to him isn't that hard! You can do this. Besides, what are the chances of meeting up with him again if he doesn't ask for my number or whatever… Yeah, that's going to happen!'
"I find it hard to believe that someone as lovely as you would be stuck home alone on a Friday night." His heart raced as she smiled, her cheeks flushing from his words.
Oh, he was too much! A looker and a charmer, this was not the kind of attention she was used to. It was kind of nice, maybe he would ask for her number after all and…'Nah!' Taking another sip of her drink, Melanie was not sure how to respond to what he just said to her. Looking around she wondered where Joyce went off too. It wasn't like her, "Do you see Joyce anywhere?"
Methos looked around the bar not seeing her friend anywhere and leaned to her ear, "She's probably with that friend she mentioned seeing."
Turning slightly at the sound of his voice she hesitated as she noticed how close he was to her, "Oh… um… yeah." Oh boy! Their eyes met and she found it extremely hard to concentrate. Looking away, she timidly placed her drink on the bar and looked towards the band that was playing.
His eyes were unable to break away from her as she looked away and watched the band on stage. There was something within her eyes that called out to him and when their eyes had met for that brief moment he knew that he would see her again. The black dress was simple complementing her curves and the hem of the dress was riding up slightly to mid thigh as she had her legs crossed. The sense of another immortal hit his senses, bringing him out of his appraisal of her.
To his chagrin, Duncan Macleod of the clan Macleod emerged from the front door of the bar. Taking a drink from his beer, he ignored the Highlander and concentrated on the beautiful young woman who was sitting beside him. "So, what else do you do besides fixing laptops and being kidnapped by your friends?"
Melanie grinned at his question, 'so he was paying attention', "Depends on if anything is going on in my life.
"So why the kidnapping?" he asked curiously.
"Bad day!" she answered honestly but not wanting to go too much into it. It was bad enough that her dream from last night had woken her up at 3a.m. She had to sit and listen to her boss give her the drill about how she doesn't work hard enough. As if! All she ever does is work! She looked to him with a smile, "Though it seems to be getting better."
Her comment brought a smile to his lips. Not wanting his moment with her to be interrupted by the approaching Duncan, he placed the now empty beer on the bar and held out his hand for her, "May I have this dance?"
Seeing that a few people were starting to gather at the room's center and slowly dance to the music, she accepted his hand and followed him out onto the dance floor. She had never before heard the song being played, but at the moment she really did not pay much attention to it. She was overpowered by his presence, his arm around her waist holding her to him, the way his hand fit so perfectly with her own. The day's events coming up to this moment were blocked from her thoughts as she danced within his arms, closing her eyes as she was enjoying the moment.
Methos breathed in the fragrance of her hair, the feel of her body close to his. She was intoxicating and he felt pulled to her even more than before, there was something about this woman. In his long life never had he ever felt this much of a pull towards a woman that he had just met, well, not until now and being as long as he had lived that was quite a realization. Song ending, they pulled away, but still standing close to one another, ignoring the fact that they were slowly starting to be the only ones standing on the dance floor.
Melanie could not shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere. Not from earlier that day when she came to fix Joe's laptop but…There was also his presence, she felt pulled towards it. She could see longing within his eyes and so much more. A sense of oldness, sadness, regret washed over her senses making her have to look away. Was it her imagination? She had had dreams before, but never anything like this. What was going on with her?
As her eyes broke away from his, he guided her back towards the bar, his thoughts in a whirl as to how this woman was affecting him. He had lived 5,000 years and never felt this strongly for a woman he had just met. Methos had to know more about this woman.