DISCLAIMER: Highlander is the property of Davis/Panzer Productions or a successor corporation; no copyright infringement is intended.
x
x
x
Daybreak in Paris, Jan. 2, 2001.
Duncan MacLeod clicked on "Sleep," and watched his computer screen go dark.
He half-wished he could go back to sleep so easily.
Instead, he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and performed the slight, indescribable opening of his mind that heightened his awareness of the other Immortal aboard the barge.
He drew comfort from that other presence.
But just a half-hour ago, I thought the news I have for him would be wonderful. Mind-blowing, but wonderful. Now I'm afraid the bad part of it may outweigh the good.
But I have to tell him. Everything.
He got to his feet, and padded into the section of the barge where Richie Ryan lay asleep on the couch.
And of course, the sudden heightening of the sense of his presence brought Richie wide awake. He sat up with a gasp, instinctively reaching for a sword that was nowhere near him.
Then both men relaxed and grinned. "Sorry," Duncan said. "I guess it'll take a while for us to get used to each other again." Assuming you'll stay. God, I hope you will.
"I'm glad you were here when I woke up," Richie assured him. "I still have moments when I get panicky, and think all this - your being alive - is just a dream." But then he added, less seriously, "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing you with short hair! Are you gonna let it grow long again?"
"Don't know. Are you going to cut yours, and get rid of the beard?" Oh, Richie, you look older than I do...
"I haven't decided, either. But I sure will get to a barber, and have it made neater than it is now. I feel like I'm starting a whole new life!"
"Me too. And...there's something very important that I have to tell you, Rich. After breakfast, okay?"
"Okay. In fact, there's something very important that I want to tell you, too."
x
x
x
Forty-five minutes later, when they were drinking their second cups of coffee, Duncan said, "I guess it's time for that talk. Okay if I go first? I don't think I can hold it in much longer." And if it's going to turn you against me, I may as well get it over with.
Richie smiled. "Sure. Age before beauty, and all that."
"Okay. Remember what Methos told us last night, about Darius's Immortal baby son? The fact that Immortals can father children? I know you were as stunned as I was."
"Y-yes." The smile was gone. "At first I thought Donna's son Jeremy might really be mine, after all. But then I realized that if he was, we would have sensed him as a pre-Immortal."
"Yes." Duncan took a deep breath. "But after I went to bed, I got to thinking... I know you were born in Seacouver, Rich. In 1974. I've always known I was in the right place at the right time, but I was so sure Immortals were sterile..."
Richie's face had gone white. "Are you saying... Mac, I did let myself hope for a minute, last night, that you could be my father! But then I reminded myself that we look nothing alike. And I thought it would be way too much of a coincidence. Are you saying...you are?"
"Yes," Duncan said steadily. "I'm sure of it now. You have your mother's coloring - I would've seen that long ago, if I wasn't so damn sure I knew everything. And I was overwhelmed - overjoyed - when I realized you're my son! But...I have to tell you the whole story.
"I was in a relationship with your mother, a beautiful young woman named Clare Josephson. Before you ask - it wasn't a great love like I had with Tessa. But it might have grown into that, if we'd stayed together. I hadn't told Clare the truth about myself - Tessa was the first mortal lover I told - but like I said, our relationship might have gotten to that point.
"As it was, I got caught without a condom on a night when I wanted sex. And like a damn fool, I told Clare I was sterile due to a childhood case of mumps."
Richie rolled his eyes. "Ye gods. You actually used the old 'mumps' line?"
"Yes. And about two months later, Clare told me she was pregnant! She was happy about it, even though she hadn't been planning for motherhood at that stage of her life. She thought I'd be delighted to learn that the doctors had been wrong, and I wasn't sterile!"
"Oh my God." By now Richie saw where this was going. "And of course, you refused to believe the baby was yours..."
"Yes. But to make matters worse, Clare realized from my reaction that I'd been lying about the mumps. I admitted I'd lied about that, but kept insisting I knew I was sterile, for a reason I wouldn't reveal. She could see by then that I was being dishonest with her, about a lot of things. She thought I'd carelessly - recklessly! - made her pregnant with a child I didn't want and wouldn't acknowledge.
"I'd had absolutely no reason to think she was cheating on me. But I assumed she must have been. And...this is what I'm most ashamed of.
"We were quarreling, and I yelled at her, 'What's the problem - is the real father married?'
"She hauled off and slapped me. Harder than a woman had ever hit me before.
"I turned on my heel and walked out. Went to - of all places - Cambodia, leaving no forwarding address. And I never saw Clare again."
They sat in silence for a minute.
Then Richie said, "It's a shame it ended that way. But, damn, it's so understandable! Both of you had every reason to believe you were in the right." He hesitated. "Do you think she gave me up for adoption because you'd hurt her? I'm not blaming you, Mac! But I'm wondering...should I try to find her now, or leave well enough alone? I've survived this long without a mother. And I wouldn't dare tell her about Immortals."
"There's more to the story," Duncan said heavily. "The worst part.
"I got up before dawn this morning, did some research online. And I learned Clare had no intention of giving you up for adoption! For some unknown reason, she began hemorrhaging and died, right after you were born."
"Oh my God..."
"She had no kin - that's why you were put in foster care. But your original name, the one she'd picked out for you, was...Duncan Josephson."
"D-Duncan?"
"Yes. Do you see what she intended? She thought that if I someday returned to Seacouver and looked her up, her having named you for me would convince me that there really hadn't been another man - that I was your father.
"She hadn't anticipated that she'd be dead. If only I'd learned that! I swear I would have come back, Rich, if I knew she was dead and there were no kin to raise her child. I would have wanted to make sure the child wound up in a good home.
"And when I saw you, I would have realized you were a pre-Immortal. That might have convinced me you were mine. God knows what I would have done. Tried to raise you myself? Probably not, because you'd be in too much danger. But I would at least have found you that good home. In your case, a good environment for a pre-Immortal."
After a long silence, Richie said, "Given the horror of my mother's being dead - I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that! - things may have worked out for the best. If you'd gotten me settled somewhere and not stayed in touch - meaning to 'protect' me - there's no telling how different our lives would have been. I might have become Immortal at a bad time, and lost my head to some villain before we could meet as adults."
"So...you can forgive me?" Duncan had scarcely dared to hope.
"Forgive you? There's nothing to forgive, Mac! My God - I've thought of you as my father, loved you as my father, for years. Knowing you really are my father, biologically, is a dream come true!"
And suddenly the two men were embracing, both in tears.
x
x
x
Five minutes later, Duncan managed to say, "You have something to tell me, too."
"Uh, yeah." Richie looked a bit sheepish. "I didn't tell you yesterday because - well, for one thing, I thought you'd jump to the conclusion that I'm in a hurry to rush off somewhere. And I'm not. I need some time with you, to...readjust.
"But the main reason I didn't get into this is that I was afraid you'd think, 'Oh, the same old Richie, he hasn't grown up at all! Still falls head over heels for any pretty girl who smiles at him!' And what's been going on in my life recently isn't like that.
"In fact, the only way I can explain it...may be painful for you. But the truth is, I've found the great love of my life. My 'Tessa.' "
Oh God, Duncan thought. I can see the new maturity in him. This is serious. But I was almost four hundred years old when I found my great love. If he's found his now, in his twenties, for how many centuries will he have to mourn her?
Aloud, he said, "That's wonderful, Rich! Tell me about her."
Now relaxed and beaming, Richie said proudly, "Her name is Monica..."
"A beautiful name," Duncan murmured.
"Yes. A beautiful name, for a beautiful woman. Wait a sec, I'll show you." Richie rummaged through the few belongings he had with him, found his wallet, and produced a photo. Of a young black woman, who was indeed beautiful.
Duncan said, "She's black..."
"Uh, yes, she's black. Obviously." Richie looked puzzled.
Damn. He knows I'm not a racist, couldn't possibly disapprove of his lover's being black. So why did I mention it?
"The thing is," Duncan said slowly, "I realized when I looked at the picture that for some reason, I'd expected a woman named Monica to be black. And I don't know why."
Then he was struck by a sudden thought. "Wait a minute! I remember your telling me years ago that you'd been going with a girl named Monica - met her in New Orleans, and the two of you went to Brazil together for Carnivale. Is this the same Monica?"
"Yes." Richie was grinning now. "The same Monica - I met up with her again."
"So you must have mentioned back then that she was black." I don't remember his mentioning it, but that has to be the explanation.
"Yeah, I must have."
"What I do remember..." Duncan shuddered. "When I thought I'd killed you - after I defeated Ahriman, I traipsed all over several continents, telling your friends that you were dead, and that I'd killed you in a hunting accident. Let them beat up on me..."
"Oh God, Mac!"
"But I couldn't find this Monica. Didn't recall, at the time, anything but a first name. And your having met her in New Orleans didn't prove she came from there - she could have gone there for Mardi Gras, same as you did.
"I wonder what would have happened if I had found her, and told her my story when you weren't there, but she knew you were alive?"
After a long pause, an ashen-faced Richie said, "She would have thought you were Ahriman! Wouldn't have believed a word you said - and she would have been terrified." Duncan's expression must have revealed his shock, because he went on to say grimly, "Yes, I've told Monica about Immortals, Ahriman, everything. Just like you'd told Tessa everything - pre-Ahriman, of course."
"Of course," Duncan echoed weakly.
"I almost lost my mind when I thought I'd killed you, Mac! I buried what I thought was your body, and fled. Wore solid black all the time, punished myself with whippings - even made a vow of silence, didn't allow myself to speak. When Monica found me - practically stumbled over me - I was such a mess that she almost didn't recognize me.
"But thank God, she did. She...brought me back to life! When she understood what was going on - to convince her of that, I had to show her proof I was Immortal - she encouraged me to keep fighting. Even gave me hope that if I defeated Ahriman, I could someday find...not happiness, even with her, but a reason to go on living. Some moments of peace, maybe, moments of feeling good about myself."
Duncan swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that! And I understand why you're so in love with Monica. She sounds like a terrific person." A sudden thought struck him. "You have called her, right? To let her know how it turned out?"
"Yeah, of course. Once I knew you were all right, I phoned her the first time I was alone - while you were in the shower and I was changing my clothes, away from Methos and Joe." Richie smiled at the memory. "She was blown away! But she still seemed sort of anxious. All this is so hard to believe that she probably won't be sure everything's okay till we're together again. I left her about four months ago, to come back to Paris.
"Now that I've had time to think, I'm going to ask her to come here for a while - she likes travel, so I can't see any reason why she wouldn't. If, uh, you can lend me a little money to wire her for the fare, Mac..."
"You've got it!" Duncan was beaming. I don't know whether she'll be coming from Nice or from New Zealand. And I don't care.
Then Richie said thoughtfully, "There is - or may be - one problem with our relationship. With a member of her, uh, family. But I'm not sure why there seemed to be a problem. And until I find out why, I won't know whether it's something we still have to worry about."
Guess we're back to real life, Duncan thought with a sigh. Nothing's ever perfect.
x
x
x
After they'd finished the remains of breakfast, they settled down to discuss how they'd explain Richie's reappearance to friends.
Richie Ryan had been legally "dead" in France for years before the Ahriman crisis: he'd had a too-public "death" that couldn't be explained away. None of his aliases had been declared dead; and everyone there who knew when and how Duncan had supposedly killed him was a close enough friend to be told the truth. So France wouldn't be a problem.
The U.S. and other countries did present a problem. But despite Duncan's having told hundreds of people he'd accidentally killed Richie, he'd never been declared legally dead. A grieving Joe Dawson had trusted Watchers back in the States to deal with the legalities; years later, he'd learned that they'd never done it. Now, since Richie wanted to keep his original identity, father and son decided to make use of his history of juvenile delinquency. They'd give out the story that he'd gone on the lam after committing a crime, Duncan had helped him fake his death...and he could surface now because of a deal he'd made with the police (the implication being that he'd ratted on someone else).
When they'd agreed on that, and congratulated themselves on their ingenuity, Duncan said, "Guess I should call Joe and tell him what we're planning - oh, Lord!"
Richie blinked. "What?"
"I just realized this. Day before yesterday - December thirty-first - I was really down in the dumps. As you can imagine. Methos and Joe both called, trying to cheer me up. After I'd told them I wanted to be left alone, I decided I didn't want to take any more calls. So I turned my phone off. And I've left it off all this time!"
"Bummer. Wanna bet on how many voicemails you'll have to wade through?" Richie chuckled. "Lucky me - the only person who has my number now is Monica!"
More seriously, he added, "And I'd told her, a couple days before New Year's, that I didn't mean to even look at my phone again till...the battle with Ahriman had played out. However it would. I didn't want any distractions."
After those hectic last two days, it took Duncan as long to find his cell phone as it had taken Richie to find Monica's photo. Both men were laughing when he put the phone to his ear and began listening to a voicemail left back on the thirty-first.
He stopped laughing immediately.
A tight, tense voice was saying, "Mac - this is Nick Wolfe. God, I hate having to leave a message this crucial in voicemail! But I'm about to get on a plane for a long flight, so I won't be able to keep trying to reach either you or Dawson.
"You'll find this hard to believe, Mac, but I swear it's true. Richie is alive! I haven't actually seen him face to face. But I've learned, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he's alive.
"That's the good news. Here's some very bad news. When Ahriman tricked you into thinking you'd killed Richie, he also tricked Richie into thinking he'd killed you. Richie thinks Ahriman has been impersonating Duncan MacLeod for three and a half years. And he means to catch him by surprise and behead him before midnight!
"I know how badly you'll want to see Richie. But please, get away from your barge tonight! Go to holy ground. Have Dawson go to the barge, so he can try to reason with Richie.
"And...I know you, Dawson, and Richie have all been friends of that old Immortal Methos. I have no idea where he is. But if he's in Paris, it would be a good idea to get him to the barge too, to protect Dawson. Richie's perfectly sane, but he still might perceive Ahriman as able to take any form.
"Mac...you may be imagining I've gone rogue, somehow. The truth is that for the last year, I've been following up on Watchers' reports that Richie'd been seen alive. Dawson asked me to do that - he'll confirm it. All my investigating accomplished squat, but I finally learned the truth through sheer coincidence. Just in time...if I'm in time.
"Please, please, stay safe tonight!"
A stunned Duncan simply stood there, frozen, for a long minute.
Then he saw Richie's quizzical look, and handed him the phone. "Listen to it yourself," he whispered.
When Richie had heard the message, he dropped into a chair, muttering, "My God..."
Pulling himself together, Duncan said, "Nick's a friend of mine, Rich. An Immortal. A young man - in his thirties, but a newer Immortal than you are."
"I know who he is. Sort of." Richie was shaking his head, in something like disbelief. "Talk about a small world! I sensed him stalking me in Africa. Caught a glimpse of him, learned his name - he wasn't using an alias. I thought he wanted to take my head - which could have meant he was a good guy, seeking revenge because he'd somehow learned I'd killed you.
"I wanted to die. But even though I wasn't really functional, I felt compelled to keep myself alive. To punish myself...and because I believed I was the only person who could, sometime in the future, save the world from Ahriman. So I lit out, went to Brazil. That was where I ran into Monica - she'd stayed there, after we went there all those years ago for Carnivale. When I wound up telling her everything, she told me this Nick Wolfe is her brother! By adoption, of course..."
Duncan couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "That was it! I knew the family that adopted Nick was black, knew he had a kid sister named Monica. I heard that less than two years ago. So that's why I 'expected' a young woman named Monica to be black!"
"He's the relative of Monica's that I've been worried about," Richie explained. "Back when he was stalking me, I thought he could be either a bad guy or, like I said, a good guy trying to avenge you. Monica hadn't known he was Immortal till I told her, of course - she was shocked, but she said her brother couldn't possibly be a bad guy.
"Later, though, I became certain no one but me had ever believed you were dead. So I couldn't guess what Monica's brother had been up to. Now I know."
"He thought his 'investigating' had accomplished squat," Duncan said thoughtfully. "So he must have concluded back in Africa that you weren't Richie Ryan..."
Richie finished the thought. "And months later, he just 'dropped in' on Monica! She's the only one who could have told him what I was planning to do - the only one who knew. She was sure she could trust her brother, so she told him how worried she was. Hell, she was probably terrified.
"I'm sure she hadn't known, before I called her yesterday, that I'd been on the verge of killing you - the real you. She probably told Nick she had no way of reaching me before midnight. So he decided not to upset her more by telling her I was about to make a terrible mistake."
Duncan nodded. "Yes, that sounds like Nick. And his having been in Brazil would explain that 'long plane flight' he mentioned."
They were still staring at each other, trying to absorb it all, when they sensed the approach of another Immortal. Heard an anxious voice yelling from the pier, "Mac? Mac?"
Duncan smiled. "I think you're about to make a new friend, Rich."
"Uh, yeah. Unless this guy thinks no man is good enough for his sister!"
