I don't own Highlander, It's unbetaed and The song belongs to Shania Twain and can be found on her CD UP!

Methos sat in the back seat of a taxi riding back to his apartment in Paris. He was quiet, the Taxi Driver being a nice guy, was worried about him, when the man had originally gotten in his car there was a woman with him and she was pretty pale, so when the man said that she needed to be rushed to the hospital, cabbie willingly agreed and 'put the petal to metal', so to speak. He thought about cheering up the man with a conversation, but one look at his face convinced him otherwise, instead he pulled out a CD his Daughter had given him, the man looked heartbroken, so the cabbie hadn't needed to ask what happened with the woman, he knew.....She had died. The CD was a Shania Twain one, the singer was his Daughter's favorite and he had listened to it before, unwillingly, but he blessed his daughter for it now. He put it in and set it to Track 7...... It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing.

Hope life's been good to you

Since you've been gone

I'm doin' fine now - I've finally moved on

It's not so bad - I'm not that sad

Methos looked up as the sad words poured out, he recognized the singer, he had heard her on the radio many times, but never this song, he would have remembered it, not only because of his Eidetic memory, but for the lyrics. They were so sad, the music continued, reminding of him Alexa, and predicted how he would eventually feel.......

I'm not surprised just how well I survived

I'm over the worst and I feel so alive

I can't complain - I'm free again

Okay, maybe not exactly, but hey... Methos rolled his back against the seat, the moonlight hit his face and bathed him in a sense of peace. Methos and the moon were old friends, it was one of the few constants in his long, long, long life. Alexa hadn't, thankfully, known about his immortality, otherwise, she might have been jealous, jealously was not a very pretty emotion. Alexa had died a couple hours ago, for an hour Methos had been oblivious to everything around him. Doctors, Nurses, Patients. Then abruptly he had got up and left, going to the taxi that had been there for the three hours that Methos was there. Alexa had been in the hospital for 2 months, the Taxi Driver, who Methos now knew the first name of became a semi-friend, no one was a 'semi-friend', Methos knew that for sure, again and again the taxi and its driver had been the one that Methos had used to go to the hospital.....................

And it only hurts when I'm breathing

My heart only breaks when it's beating

My dreams only die when I'm dreaming

So, I hold my breath - to forget

Methos started a bit when he felt something hot and wet run down his cheek, a tear. Methos had cried before, so did everyone at one point their lives, Immortal or Mortal, Alexa had when they had last made love, she had cried in Methos' arms and had told him in a choked sob that she didn't want to die, Methos had tried to comfort her as best as he could, it wasn't easy, especially when he had confessed he didn't want her to die either and she started to cry even harder, it was going to be a long, cold, lonely night and not just for the reasons that one might think when that phrase was spoken........................

Don't think I'm lyin' 'round cryin' at night

There's no need to worry, I'm all right

I've never looked back - as a matter of fact

He had looked back, once or twice, as a matter of fact. And he would look back, again and again on the good times he and Alexa had had before......... No, he wouldn't think about that part, he just wouldn't. It hurt to much..................

And it only hurts when I'm breathing

My heart only breaks when it's beating

My dreams only die when I'm dreaming

So, I hold me breath - to forget

Given half the chance he would trade his immortality and her mortality, if he could only have a hundred years with her, a thousand, or even twenty, but always more then one year.....

It only hurts when I breathe

Mmmm, no, I've never looked back -

As a matter of fact

The taxi pulled up in front of the apartment complex where Methos' apartment was, he went to get out, when the driver spoke.

"You can stay and listen to the rest of the song if you want."

Methos nodded and relaxed against the seat to listen to the rest of the song that fit the situation completely..............

And it only hurts when I'm breathing

My heart only breaks when it's beating

My dreams only die when I'm dreaming

So, I hold my breath - to forget

Hurts when I'm breathing

Breaks when it's beating

Die when I'm dreaming

It only hurts when I breathe.............

The song ended and Methos reached for his wallet, but the cabbie waved him off and paid it himself.

"On the house, Mr. Pierson. Go and try to get some sleep."

Methos smiled, sadly, climbed out and waved at the taxi as it drove away, he turned pulled his trench coat tighter around him as he walked toward his complex. Just outside the doorway, he looked up at the stars and whispered.

"It only hurts when I'm breathing...............

Finished.