Disclaimer: Highlander belongs to (?). Twilight (series) belongs to Stephanie Meyer. NOT ME! (Obviously)

Summary: How might Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's relationship have played out if she hadn't been just a human, but actually a pre-Immortal?

Author's Note: Firstly, I have changed the Prologue a bit, so if you're just coming back to this story as I've posted Chapter 1, you should re-read it. It's a little longer with a few more things added in, and I'm pretty sure I got rid of most of the grammatical errors. If anyone's interested, I could use a beta-reader for this story though…

Now without further ado, enjoy the story! ^_^


An Eternal Life

By Jess S

Chapter 1: Welcome to Eternity

Methos's POV – Outside of Phoenix, Arizona – March 21, 2005

"No Mac, just stay in Paris. We'll be there tomorrow."

"But Me—"

"Mac!" Methos cut him off, not quite as irritated as he made his voice sound. It did irritate him that MacLeod was only to willing to throw his oldest name about in casual conversations, but the Highlander's contrasting desires were throwing him a little too much—and tickling his sense of humor just enough to make it hard—for him to be angry with the younger Immortal.

The Highlander absolutely refused to believe in the existence of vampires. Perhaps his experiences with Nicholas Ward played some part in it. Mac hadn't mentioned him, and Methos only knew of him because he'd perused MacLeod's chronicles before they'd met. His young friend's explanation for his certainty that vampires didn't exist was very simply: he'd never met one.

At the same time, however, the Highlander was adamant about coming across the Atlantic to protect the world's oldest and youngest Immortals from whatever this threat—that couldn't actually be vampires—was.

Methos sometimes wondered how MacLeod could possibly believe him to be in need of even half the protection the Highlander offered. He wondered how Duncan MacLeod thought he'd made it through five-thousand-plus-years without him.

But, at the same time, it was nice knowing his friend cared.

"We'll be fine. The Cullens aren't coming back until after nightfall, and we'll be flying over the Atlantic by then. Provided our tickets are waiting for us." Methos hinted.

MacLeod sighed, "They will be. Are you—"

"I'm quite sure, thank you. We don't want to overwhelm the poor girl anymore than we have to, do we?"

"No," the Highlander paused, undoubtedly considering his next words but then he plundered on anyway. "Does she really believe this nonsense about vampires this cult—"

"They're not a cult. And I believe in vampires, too, MacLeod. Just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean they're not real. I've been around a lot longer than you, remember?"

"Aye, but surely—"

"I said I'd explain why you haven't seen them before, didn't I? But I'm not doing it over the phone. Book the tickets under Derrick and Mary Devon. Start with Delta, but switch to Air France in New York or Boston."

"You actually have a passport for her?" the younger Immortal was understandably skeptical.

Forgery was an all-too necessary aspect of immortal life that the Highlander's too-honest soul undoubtedly despised, which meant he probably didn't handle it even half as often as Methos did. Methos could forge the documents himself, if he wanted to. But he didn't need to.

"Not yet. I still have several hours to pick it up."

And Derrick Devon was the only other passport he had on him at this point in time. Still, flying to Europe was a sure way to put some distance between young Bella and the Cullens, and it had the added bonus of giving Bella something she'd need: a pseudonym. Because the Immortals like the Highlander—who never changed their name as a matter of pride—were caught by the Watchers with pitiful ease, and he didn't like the idea of any of the mortal Hunters knowing about her. He knew it was going to be hard enough to talk Bella into training so that she might survive more than a few years in The Game. He certainly didn't want to leave her prey to rogue Watchers as well.

"Alright, Derrick," MacLeod sighed again, and Methos almost smiled at the irritation in the Highlanders voice. "When do you want to leave Phoenix?"

Methos glanced over at Bella, who was now, finally, a corpse.

He could sense her Quickening working beneath the surface of her cool skin, still struggling to undo some of the changes the Vampire venom had rendered, though it wouldn't be able to get them all. She should wake some time in the next few hours, but to be safe...

"Anytime after ten A.M. should be fine," he decided, nodding to himself as he eyed the suitcase he'd already packed full of items that he was fairly certain one of the vampires had bought for Bella. Mainly because she just didn't strike him as the overly style-conscious type, and most of the clothes were the height of the current 'in' trends. "Don't get non-stop, though. Get a flight that stops in Philadelphia or Detroit. Maybe Boston."

"I don't care about the money, Derrick," Mac commented, sounding equally bemused and confused, undoubtedly wondering why Methos would think he cared about the money, or care that he cared. Which he didn't.

"I don't care about the money either, Mac," Methos gave a short laugh, rolling his eyes. "But if the Cullens track us to the airport I don't want to give them an easy way to figure out where we went. A connecting flight somewhere else, even if we have to wait a few hours, though a shorter wait'd be preferable, minimizes that possibility."

"Oh, umm, right."

And here they came, again, to the problem of MacLeod not wanting to believe in vampires. Still, from the looks of it the Quickening wasn't going to be able to undo too much, and one glance at Bella should convince the Scot that something had changed her. He knew the Quickening couldn't do that, and with a few pictures of Bella before her transformation—a few with the Cullens in the photos, perhaps—should be able to help the Highlander dismiss his stubborn refusal to believe.

...Hopefully.

...Maybe?

Well, all he could do was wait and see!

"We'll see you at Charles de Gaulle, then?"

"And I'll have the barge closed up by then. Though I don't see why we can't stay there."

Again, Methos rolled his eyes, "You've been there for almost three months now, Mac. I'm pretty sure at least a few head hunters know you're there and might come looking. I don't want them stumbling across my new student. Or me." Then he shook his head. "And there's the Watchers to think about, too."

"Joe—"

"Gives you a lot more privacy then most Watchers give their Immortals, but that doesn't mean other Watchers don't occasionally look in on you. And they certainly pay attention to anyone you interact with for any length of time. Me especially, since they know I'm an Immortal now, though Joe says they haven't figured out that I was never mortal while in their ranks to begin with."

The Highlander sighed yet again. "Alright. Have a safe flight, then. I'll get on the phone with the airport."

"Thank you." Methos replied, before hanging up and immediately dialing another number, and pressing the phone back to his ear.

The call was answered right after the first ring. "'Lo?"

"Jim, how're they coming?"

"Almost done. Not as good as I'd like though, doc. You sure—"

"Speed is much more the issue than quality, Jim. As long as they can stand up to scrutiny and are in the system enough to not get any undue attention if they're scanned, I don't care."

"Right, right." The mortal yawned.

That was just as understandable as MacLeod's skepticism about vampires, though, Methos had woken him up just a few hours before—in between breaks in the difficult process of draining Bella—to get him to do this. Fortunately, he'd been able to send the forger Bella's picture and the man was quite willing to meet them at the airport, though he'd have to fly from Los Angeles to get them here in time. Not that he cared, since Methos—or Dr. Pierson, since Jim Dolby had met him back when he was still going by that name—was paying him more then enough to cover both the rush and the delivery.

"You sure ya want me ta give her black hair? She'd make a better red—"

"Yes, black hair. Brown eyes. And she's lost a little weight since the picture I sent you. It's a bit old."

The one he'd sent had been of Bella before her transformation, as he hadn't wanted to send a picture of her face contorted in agony. Indicating that the picture was old, and therefore Bella was older now, would hopefully lead to an acceptable picture. Though Bella would probably be a lot prettier than anything Jim generated with his computer, that wouldn't draw too much attention: passport photos almost always sucked.

"Okay, doc," Jim agreed easily, "I'll be flyin' inta Phoenix just before 9 A.M., then."

"Good, we'll meet you in the luggage claim by half-past."

"Sure, doc. See ya there."

"Thank you," and again he hung up quite abruptly, turning his attention back to his soon-to-be student.

Changing Bella's image was important, too. It may or may not throw the Cullens off, but it really should keep anyone from remembering her, when her father—the Police Chief in Forks, Washington—really started looking for her.

He felt bad for both of the mortals that'd adopted Bella, but felt even worse for Bella. She would certainly be very unhappy with being torn away from her family so entirely. Both the mortal parents that'd probably adopted her when she was very young and the family of Vampires that already thought of her as one of their own.

With yet another sigh, Methos left the bedroom in search of a pen and paper. He had a note to write to the Cullens, explaining his and Bella's absence, and his earlier deceit as best he could. He, himself, didn't really care about lying to Vampires, but on the off chance that his student would want to reconnect with them when she was really able, which he felt was a pretty sure possibility, he had to exert the additional effort.


Bella's POV – Outside of Phoenix, Arizona – March 21, 2005

The first thing Bella was aware of as she woke was the startled gasp of air that she unconsciously drew in, filling her strangely-empty feeling lungs. Her lungs ached like she'd held her breath underwater for much too long, only worse. Her throat burned like she was just getting over a sore throat and every muscle in her body, hell even her bones, were throbbing torturously.

Even more strangely, mere moments after her aching head had made note of these pains, they'd quickly begun to fade.

Seconds after awaking she felt perfectly fine, except for a strange headache that was sending a distinct sensation—a buzzing—through her sinuses.

Now, she might think she'd become a vampire, if it weren't for the fact that that first breath of surprised air was definitely necessary and she was still breathing. And her throat was no longer burning, either.

She shifted slightly, surprised by the silky feel of whatever she was wearing and how luxuriously soft the sheets and mattress she was lying on were. That told her she was definitely with the Cullens, and not in some hospital.

But what had happened?

James had bitten her! She clearly remembered that. The nomad had tricked her into sneaking away from Alice and Jasper to meet him. Made her think he'd had her mother. But it'd only been a video tape, probably stolen from the closed up house here in Phoenix. Though she didn't actually know if she was still in Phoenix. He'd thrown her around and hurt her a bit.

Then Edward had arrived and started fighting him, but James had gotten away from him and bitten her. Edward had wrestled him away, and she struggled to watch the horrific fight between the two supernatural beings even as liquid fire burned through her veins, emphasizing the agony her body was already in due to her injuries and somehow enhancing everything she was experiencing at the time. Every sight. Every sound. Every smell. And definitely every pain.

What had happened after that?

The pain had overcome her, she hadn't witnessed the end of the fight... or if she had, she had no memory of it.

Given her current circumstances, she thought she was probably with the Cullens, which would mean Edward had won.

But then again, what would stop the nomads from seizing luxurious surroundings? Though why James might spare her and apparently not turn her into a vampire would be quite a mystery.

She thought it was much more likely Edward had won. It hadn't looked like he was winning when she lost consciousness, but perhaps the others had shown up? With Emmett and Jasper there to help, or even just Jasper and Alice, James wouldn't have stood a chance…

Still, she was a bit fearful of opening her eyes. Especially since if any of the Cullens were here Jasper and Alice would almost certainly be among them. Alice would have Seen her awakening. Jasper would have sensed it, and forcibly calmed her already.

Neither had happened.

And Edward, or at least Alice, would have said something by now.

Her buzzing headache had miraculously vanished immediately after all the other aches in her body had, but Bella didn't notice.

But wait. James had broken her leg... It didn't feel broken anymore.

What was going on?!

Just as she was starting to breathe a little more harshly due to rising panic, a non-Vampiric, but vaguely familiar voice spoke up. "You know, I've had to play dead several times before. Faked sleeping more then a few times, too. Never really found either pastime particularly interesting."

Bella couldn't stop the frown that turned down the corners of her mouth. She certainly hadn't expected to wake up near anyone who wasn't a vampire, especially since she didn't think she was in a hospital.

Maybe the Cullens had found her a really nice and undoubtedly expensive hospital? That was something they'd probably do without a second thought, since money meant nothing to them.

Maybe they'd had to leave for a while because it was too sunny here?

…But couldn't they just pull the shades?

Had they finally realized she wasn't worthy of their attention and stopped her transformation because they didn't want her around for eternity? Had they left her? Had Edward left her?

The slightly familiar but not remotely Vampiric voice spoke up again after a sigh. "I have been waiting for you to wake up for several hours now, Bella. Least you could do is show me the courtesy of a little conversation, I think."

She still couldn't place the voice, but somehow hearing it helped her calm down enough to realize he was right. So she opened her eyes and looked over towards the man, only to blink as she recognized him. "Dr. Walker?"

The handsome man smiled ruefully as he raised an eyebrow at her. "I distinctly recall telling you to call me 'Adam,'" he chided her, shaking his head slightly. "Which you've done by email now for several months. Is it really so difficult to remember to do so in person?"

Bella blinked again, "N-No," she stuttered even as she shook her head, still surprised. "But what are you—" she looked around, noting that this definitely wasn't a hospital. It looked like the kind of house the Cullens might favor. "Where—?"

The doctor cut in with a still rueful smile. "We're still in Arizona. Little ways outside of Phoenix. Your friends, the Cullens, rented this house a few days ago to give you a place to recover."

Bella couldn't help but blink again, "Re-Recover?" she looked around as she said this, still half expecting to see at least one of the Cullens appear now that she knew they had brought her here. "Why–? Where—?"

"Miss Alice Cullen was kind enough to give me a call. Apparently she found my card in your purse and thought I might be able to help you. I was happy to oblige." The older man shook his head before he continued. "I'm afraid I did have to ask the Cullens to leave us be for a time. Their presence wasn't a good idea, given the various... conditions, all around."

"Conditions?" Yet again, she blinked. "You know...?"

Adam nodded again as she trailed off. "I know a great deal more then most people. If you're asking if I know that Dr. Cullen and his, um, family, are vampires, then yes, I do." Then he sighed. "But that wasn't, really, the problem with their being here. Or with seeing them in the near future."

"What—?"

"Their condition wasn't the problem, you see. Ours is. Though theirs' certainly doesn't help."

Bella frowned at him, annoyed at how he was talking around whatever he was trying to say and only succeeding in confusing her. "Our...condition?"

"Yes, Bella." Adam leaned down from the chair he was sitting in beside her bed, rising a moment later with a gun in hand.

"Wh-What are you—"

"I've tried many different ways of explaining this. But I'm afraid a demonstration always seems to end up being the best way. Please just watch. Then I shall explain."

"Explain wha—" Bella cut herself off with a shriek as her eyes widened in horror when the friendly doctor directed the gun towards his heart and pulled the trigger.

She screamed as the man fell backward as the shot echoed around the room and blood bloomed rapidly out from the hole in his chest while the gun fell from his hands and down onto the floor somewhere.

Bella continued staring for several seconds, her horrified eyes locked on the corpse, before she tried to shake herself out of it.

Before she could do anything else though, her too observant eyes widened even further as what looked like little lightning bolts began dancing around the hole in his chest. A second later what must be the bullet popped out of his chest. Another second and the spring of blood stopped spewing the terribly precious liquid and, as far as her eyes could see, the hole was gone. The little sparks of lightning stopped then and the doctor gave a full-body start, before he suddenly sat up, grumbling incoherently.

As she stared at him, the girl thought that her eyesight certainly seemed to have distinctly improved somehow, and she thought her hearing had too. Unfortunately, so had her smell. And with that much blood so close to her, her shocked psyche could only offer one response.

"Oh good, you lis—"

But Bella heard no more as her eyes rolled back into her head and unconsciousness claimed her once again.

Edward's POV – Outside of Phoenix, Arizona – March 21, 2005

Edward tapped his fingers impatiently on his thigh, eyes fixed on the road Carlisle was driving them down, with Alice in the front passenger's seat and Jasper and Emmett on either side of him. Just to keep him from doing anything rash, like jumping through the windshield, or the roof, or a window, and running ahead of them.

Esme and Rosalie were in the car behind them.

Going to get cars had been Rosalie's idea: something to do while they waited for the time of their forced-leave to end. And, as Dr. Walker clearly was much closer to a mortal-human in physical abilities than they were, it was reasonable to assume that Bella would be too. So cars were a good idea.

Though why they thought it unwise to let him run ahead Edward did not understand.

He briefly, foolishly considered leaping out through the windshield and dashing onward faster than the cars could move along without drawing attention, but of course Alice caught him before he could even think it through.

Don't even think about it, Edward. Their Seer turned her head slightly, to glare at him. We're returning as a family. As we already discussed.

Edward didn't sigh, though he wanted to. "Have you seen anything yet, Alice?" he asked, though he really didn't expect a positive reply.

"No." Was her expected, flat response.

Apparently her gift didn't work well on these Immortals, because Alice could hardly see anything about Bella and Dr. Walker.

"I can't see either of them…" she trailed off as her attempt to look at their future a different way, on them arriving at their destination, which yielded an unexpected—and very unwelcome—result.

And a growl from Edward's throat.

Jasper and Emmett immediately grabbed him, easily securing him in place by force, while all their worried eyes went to Alice.

"What's wrong?" Carlisle asked, concern heavy in his tone.

Alice shook her head, frowning deeply as she started trying to scan for Bella again, with no luck. "The house, it's already empty. They're not there."


Methos's POV – Airport in Phoenix, Arizona – March 21, 2005

Methos shook his head, fixing a slightly rueful expression on his face as he leaned forward just a little, to block the concerned parking attendant's view of Bella. "No, she's fine. Just had a late night last night." He rolled his eyes, feigning fond exasperation. "She always does this when we travel—stays up too late the night before, I mean. I think she just wants to make sure she'll pass out on the plane, since she hates flying. Makes it a bit boring for me, though."

The other man chuckled, "My daughter hates flying, too. Drugs herself up on Dramamine every time to knock herself out."

"Oh, Mary does that, too," Methos nodded, chuckling along with the mortal, before shooting a glance at the passenger's seat as Bella started to stir. "I better go, though. Don't want to back up your line."

He left it unsaid that he didn't want to get in trouble with his 'wife,' but the mortal clearly drew the intended conclusion, as he was laughing while he waived Methos into the garage.

"Have a nice vacation, Mr. Devon."

"Thanks!" Methos replied as he drove by, casually coasting along as he looked for a parking spot with one eye, the other focused on his new student. He'd fully expected her to wake up around now, or a little earlier, so it worked out perfectly. "Feeling any better, Bella?"

"Adam?" the teenager blinked at him confusedly for several seconds, before her eyes widened. "You shot yourself!"

Methos nodded, "I did."

"You-you," she shook her head, giving him a once over with a frown before demanding, "How are you alive?"

"Same way you are, Bella. I'm Immortal," Methos smirked as he emphasized again: "Just like you."

Somehow her deep-brown eyes widened even further. "L-Like me?"

He only nodded, cruising by yet another parking spot. This was not, after all, a conversation he wanted overheard. And there was a lesser chance of Bella trying to run away from him with they were in a moving vehicle; especially since the doors and window were locked and she couldn't get out of the car without crawling over him or breaking glass with her fists. He'd ensured that the locking mechanisms in her door didn't work from the inside before he'd driven away from the Cullens' rental.

The new Immortal was quiet for a few seconds, her eyes darting around their surroundings, but not really registering them. Finally she asked, "Like vampires?"

Methos shook his head. "Not exactly. As you saw earlier, by getting shot in the chest—"

"You shot yourself!" she repeated again, sounding no less shocked the second time then she had the first.

"Yes, I did," he agreed again, before going on. "And it made me fall down, dead, with a bloody hole in my chest."

"B-But—"

"But I got up again afterwards. That's what we do. What we are." Methos reached up and pulled the loose sweater he was wearing down enough to show the area of his chest over his heart, where he'd shot himself earlier, was wound and scar free. No sign of the fatal wound he'd inflicted on himself. "You saw the little lightning bolts that came out of my chest?"

Bella was busy staring at his chest as she nodded, her impossibly wide eyes not leaving the unblemished spot even as he let his sweater slide back into place and put both of his hands back on the wheel.

"That was my Quickening."

"…Quickening?" she repeated the word like she was trying it out, still half-confused, half-amazed.

"Yes. You have one, too. It's how we sense each other—that buzzing sensation in your sinuses that doesn't quite hurt?" Methos glanced at the teenage girl again in time to see another blink, her large eyes disappearing behind long lashes as he kept cruising through the well-lit garage. "It's what keeps us alive, un-aging, after out first death."

"First death?" Bella repeated, her words whisper soft.

"Yes; what you just went through." Methos sighed, shaking his head. "Though yours was considerably longer than most." He turned onto another level of the garage, carefully steering clear of going towards the first floor, just going around and around for however long it took her to understand and cooperate. Though he hoped he was right in his original estimation of how smart and sensible the girl was, having to reschedule their flights and such would be irritating, even without a vampire coven on their tails.

"…I died." Bella said, softly again.

It wasn't a question. It was that astonished, first instant when the child started to accept their reality, even as impossible as it seemed compared to everything she'd known before.

Then again, Bella had it better than most. Since she was dating a vampire—a different kind of Immortal—before her first death. Thus the concept of eternity was within the realm of possibility in her mind already. In theory.

"Yes," Methos nodded again. And, reassured by just how calmly she was taking the news, he finally turned into a spot, shifting the car into park, though he didn't turn it off yet. Then he turned his complete attention to his student, only to frown as he watched her brow furrow.

"But the nomad, James…he bit me."

Methos was getting a little tired of nodding. Though his Quickening didn't let such simple actions pain him long, but he nodded again nonetheless. "Yes, he did. But we can't become vampires."

Those impossibly wide, deep eyes rose from his sweater-covered chest to his serious eyes. "We can't?"

"No. The Quickening won't allow it." He told her firmly, before gesturing to the overhead mirror she could flip down. "But it did change you, a bit, since it was in your system before your Quickening woke."

Bella's gaze snapped away from his, one hand automatically darting up to flip the passenger's shade down, only for her eyes to—impossibly, but somehow—widen even more as she gaped at her reflection.

Methos wasn't surprised. The changes were rather noticeable, after all, though she could only see the ones on her head: her face and hair at the moment.

Her complexion had always been pale, but now it was flawless, smoothed and blended by burning venom. The small amount of baby-fat that'd still been left on her face and form had melted away, too, making her look more like an early-twenty-something-year-old than a teenager. Which wasn't a bad thing, considering this was the face she'd have to wear for the rest of her hopefully very, very long life.

Of course, that wasn't the most surprising change.

"How is my hair black?" Bella demanded, the outrage in her words making Methos chuckle before he could stop himself, attempting to cover it with a cough as she turned to glare at him.

There were worse things for her to notice after all. He was sure she'd be much, much more horrified when she realized he'd changed her attire from the fancy dress the vampires had put her into before to the comfortable traveling clothes she was wearing now.

"You'll learn that disguise is something we have to be good at, to fit in, just like your Cullens attempt to. Though we're undoubtedly better at it; considering our decidedly more human appearance."

"But—"

"We're at the airport," Methos indicated the parking garage around them. However, from where he'd parked you really couldn't see anything other than the wall in front of them and cars on either side. "We have a flight to catch."

"But—"

"You don't want to hurt your friends, do you? Or your boyfriend?"

Her eyebrows drew together again as she shook her head vehemently. "Of course not! But why—"

"The Quickening is more than just something that heals us, Bella. It's our power, and a defense mechanism. It doesn't hurt normal humans because it doesn't typically sense them, and even those it does aren't really seen as a threat. But it can sense other Immortals, and vampires." Methos paused, taking a deep breath even as he waited to see if she'd objected again, but she was staring at him once more now. "The Cullens weren't harmed before, because your Quickening was dormant until the first time your heart stopped. After that, it was fighting the vampire venom in your body—a powerful poison—but it had no reason to leave your body. Now, if you're ever injured near a vampire, that won't be the case."

Her eyes took on a distant look, and he wasn't sure if she was picturing the vampires or the lightning bolts that'd closed the hole in his chest earlier. Neither would surprise him. Although he didn't yet know her well enough to reasonably predict how her mind worked, particularly in a situation such as this. One afternoon spent chatting in a museum and a few months of correspondents by email weren't really enough for that.

"If you get hurt anywhere near them, before you learn to control your Quickening—which is not easy—then your Quickening will probably attack your friends. And blast them apart into irreparable diamond-like-ashes. Something as small as a paper-cut near your friends could end them all."

Bella blinked at him slowly now, and the horror in her eyes was unmistakable. And entirely expected.

Good. They were getting somewhere.

"I'm willing to help you, Bella." Methos told her, putting as much conviction into his voice as he could. And with all the acting he'd done before now, atop all that'd experienced in his long life: that was quite a lot. "And maybe, some day, you'll be able to see them again, safely. But to do that, you'll have to trust me now."

He held her gaze for several moments, even though his mind was going over more arguments he could use to try and get her to accept him if this one, and the natural inclination of most new Immortals—to trust the first elder Immortal they met—didn't hold out.

But thankfully, Bella nodded slowly, making him smile gently even as he glanced at the car's clock before turning it off and finally pulling the key out of the ignition.

9:19 A.M.

"Great, we actually have time to catch our flight then," Methos grinned at his new student, and wasn't surprised when he got a slightly uncertain, half-grin back. "From this point forward—till we get to Paris, at least—we're Derrick and Mary Devon, alright?"

That got another blink. "Paris?"

"Yes, Mary, Paris. La capitale de la France! Beautiful city, I'm sure you'll enjoy driving through it." Then he winced, "Though the traffic'll probably suck, considering when we'll be getting in."

"We're not staying there?"

"No, large cities aren't usually the safest place for us. Especially for new kids, like you." Methos shook his head. "One of the many things I'll be happy to explain, once we reach the safety of my chateau."


Bella's POV – C.D.G. Airport, Paris, France – March 22, 2005

Bella was barely listening as the pilot finished his farewell spiel in English, and she tuned him out completely as he switched to French.

"That's another thing we'll be working on," Dr. Walker commented softly from his first class aisle seat next to her.

They'd flown coach from Phoenix to Washington, and Washington to New York City, but for the flight over the Atlantic Adam had splurged a little, she hadn't asked why. Most of the last day she'd just taken as it came, one shock after the next. It seemed easier that way.

Bella blinked as she realized he'd said something and she hadn't responded yet. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'll be giving you as many lessons in languages and linguistics as you can handle, my young friend. It makes fitting in—or standing out—in most places, so much easier if you have at least half a dozen languages under your belt, and accents as well."

Bella followed his lead and rose to her feet as soon as the seatbelt sign went off, accepting her carry on from him and shouldering her purse, which'd been under the seat, before following him off the plane. She nodded to the stewardesses as they past them, the first passengers off the flight. She kept following Adam's lead, all the way down to baggage claim, eyeing him speculatively all the while, her curiosity caught by his comment. As they stepped off the gangplank, she asked him: "You're not really English, are you?"

Adam chuckled, "No, I'm not. That just happens to be one of the easier accents to throw at people. But no, I'm afraid I was born long before England; though that's the only hint I'll give you as to my age, for now."

Bella knew she was gaping at the older—apparently much, much older—man wound her free arm around his and gently led her through the busy airport. She fought to gain control of her features, even as his actions yet again reminded her of Edward—ever the gentleman—and made her swallow a little.

It also reminded her of just how much easier walking was now. Somehow, either almost becoming a vampire or becoming an Immortal had cured her of the klutziness that'd plagued her all her life. She hadn't tripped, over her own feet or anything else; since she'd woken up in the Phoenix airport. Somehow, this was more astonishing to her than the idea that she'd never age again, even though she wasn't a vampire now.

…Or maybe it was just easier to comprehend?

Bella really didn't know.

She blinked as she successfully stepped onto the escalator Adam led her to, again amazed at the fact that—despite her absent-mindedness—she hadn't done a full face-plant, or even an almost face-plant.

Though she was sure Adam—Derrick—whatever his name really was—would've caught her if she'd started to. He'd caught her every time she'd tripped in the museum that day they'd met.

"Come on," the older Immortal indicated their new direction with a nod when they reached the bottom the escalator. "We're meeting Duncan in baggage claim."

He'd obviously been to Paris—and this particular airport—before, because it was a good minute before she saw any signs about baggage claim…though, then again, maybe some of the signs she'd seen in French without translations had been leading the way. [2]

Bella thought she was getting a headache for a second, as they stepped onto another escalator, which took them down to baggage claim. But a second later she noticed her friend was looking around with barely concealed wariness, and realized that the buzzing sensation in her sinuses didn't actually her. It was just…odd.

And it meant that someone was nearby.

Another Immortal?

She hadn't been able to pick anyone out of the crowd when she felt her teacher relax. How was she supposed to recognize someone she'd never seen before anyway? The buzzing thing didn't really seem to point towards anyone as far as she could tell. So she glanced at Adam again, and then followed his line of sight to a tall man who was leaning against the wall near the exit to the parking garage, the two small suitcases Adam had checked in Phoenix, plus one more, at his feet.

He was very handsome. Not a vampire; his eyes were dark, but his skin was tanned and his features didn't look carved, but he was definitely handsome: he looked like the heroes that usually graced the covers of romance novels, usually next to or holding some gorgeous woman. [1]

Bella blushed when his eyes met hers, and the warm smile he offered somehow made him look even more incredible.

"Derrick, good to see you again," the handsome man straightened as they reached him, giving her 'teacher' a nod.

Bella looked down when his eyes went back to hers after that, and she was sure her cheeks were as red as they'd ever been now. He even sounded like she thought one of the mighty warriors in some of those books would sound!

And she thought being around the male Cullens, with their voices that somehow sounded like music, was bad!

She realized, now, that a part of her was always aware of just how unnatural that musicality was. It was just another thing meant to lure in a vampire's prey, and a subconscious part of her was always aware of that. No matter how much she adored them.

"And you must be Mary?" the Scotsman's voice was markedly gentle as he greeted her, and she looked up again to see that his dark eyes were as soft as his voice.

She nodded slowly, not sure she wanted to try speaking around him just yet.

Next to her, Adam chuckled. "Yes, this is Mary. Mary, this is Duncan MacLeod."

"Pleasure," Duncan smiled as he bowed, gently catching her free hand to place a soft kiss on its back before letting it go as he rose again.

Dear God, how was she supposed to even be in the same room as this man without blushing?!

"I see you got our bags, did you get the rental, too?"

"Aye, a course" Duncan nodded, pulling a key out of one of his trench coat's pockets and tossing it to Adam's free hand. "Though I don't see why all of this subterfuge is necessary." The almost whining somehow didn't make him sound any less wonderful as he leaned down and grabbed all three suitcases, swinging over his shoulder and holding the other two in his hands, before waiving them out the door ahead of him, though he immediately stepped up along Bella's other side once they were outside.

"You don't have to come, MacLeod."

"Maybe I don' have ta," Duncan agreed, his accent heavy in the gruffly warm words, "But I want to."

"If you wish," Adam let the matter drop immediately, though Bella couldn't tell for sure if he was pleased or resigned by his friend's loyalty.

Bella let the two men guide her to where they were obviously picking up their car, which turned out to be one of those cute little cars that she'd always heard were popular in Europe. She let Adam put her in the front seat, and watched as he moved around to the driver's side even as Duncan folded his tall-self into the backseat. She probably would've protested, insisting that he sit in the front instead of her, if she felt comfortable talking to the handsome man.

"So, how's Joe doing?" Adam asked as he turned the car on, not bothering to buckle his seatbelt. Duncan didn't either.

"He's fine. And no, I didn't tell him about this. Just that I'll be out of town for a few days."

"I'm sure he took that well," Adam chuckled as he pulled out of the garage and flipped the wipers on when rain started to spatter on the windshield. "Though better than any of the other Watchers will when they realize he just let you go off to who-knows-where."

Bella focused her attention on Adam, frowning as she curiously asked, "Watchers?"


Edward's POV – Logan Airport, Boston, U.S.A – March 22, 2005

"Excuse me, Miss?" Carlisle took the lead again as they followed the faint traces of Bella and Walker's scents to yet another departure gate. He was always the best at handling humans, for many understandable reasons, though Jasper was also focusing on the human Carlisle had chosen to approach, hoping his empathetic influences would be enough to make her able to help them, knowingly or not.

The woman their father had decided to approach—who was dressed in the uniform of the same airline that obviously flew out of this gate—had looked up as soon as Carlisle had addressed her. But it took her a few seconds to respond, since she was busy staring at all of them in startlement, Edward following her thoughts all the while as she processed just how strangely beautiful they all were, awe giving way to a bit of fear almost immediately, despite Carlisle's friendly approach. It was only natural, though.

Bella was the only human they'd ever met that didn't seem to fear them instinctively…but then again, according to Walker she'd never been human. From what he'd told them, and what his letter had said, she'd always been intended for Immortality; it just wasn't until her heart stopped that she changed from an aging almost-human to what he was: a full Immortal.

"Y-Yes, sir?" the airline woman finally asked. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm afraid we're a bit lost." Carlisle responded smoothly, using the same story they'd used previously to figure out where Bella and Walker had gone. "We thought this was our departure gate. Did the plane leave already?"

If there was a plane already there, then they would've had to alter their story a bit. But they'd already looked at the departure board, and now they were hoping this woman had been at this gate all day, and had seen everyone who'd boarded, so Edward could see her memory of which plane Bella and Walker had boarded.

Three had left her, in the three and a half hours since the plane from Phoenix before there's had arrived.

The last bound for Georgia, the one before that for California, and the earliest possibility in the opposite direction: across the Atlantic, headed for France.

From how faint the scent was, France seemed likely. But they couldn't afford to head that way till they were sure the pair hadn't gone west instead, or they might never catch up with them.

"Oh, yes. The one for L.A.X left almost half-an-hour ago, sir." In response to the curiosity Jasper deliberately made her feel, she asked. "Were you headed there? Or to New York? That's the next flight from here, but it doesn't leave for almost two hours." She finished, indicating the schedule behind her desk.

"Uh, no. Not New York," Carlisle responded carefully, waiting for whatever help his gifted children could offer.

Edward couldn't help, the woman—her name was actually Tina, he realized, from her thoughts, though her nametag told them that, too, but—she wasn't thinking anything they could use.

In Phoenix, it'd been easier: the airline attendant had been stewing about an incident that'd happened with the passengers of the plane Walker had taken Bella on. They hadn't been the problem: a different passenger had, but Edward had seen Bella and Walker in the background of the man's memories, because Bella's beauty had made the man notice her.

This time, though, it was Alice who came to the rescue, after quickly foreseeing the results of asking after each plane. "No, we need to get to Paris for Fashion Week!" she whined at the woman, making her blink and frown. "There's nothing in New York right now!" [3]

Edward watched Tina's thoughts carefully, even as Jasper struggled to keep her feeling helpful and concerned rather than annoyed at his wife.

Thankfully; it was enough.

The woman thought about the plane for Paris, which'd left over three hours ago, and among the first to board the plane were the first-class passengers: Walker and Bella—now very memorable because the vampire venom had made her almost as beautiful as a full vampire—had been among them.

"And I have a rather important business deal there," Carlisle interjected, projecting clear concern. "My assistant assured me that the airline indicated there was a plane leaving here soon, perhaps she was in error? Will another flight for Paris be leaving soon?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but the plane for Paris left hours ago." Tina told them unnecessarily, turning towards her computer. "I can check for when the next departure there will be?"

"Please," Carlisle said immediately, his tone polite and friendly still as he stepped between the woman and Alice, knowing that Jasper would have an easier time making Tina act as helpful as possible if she wasn't annoyed.

It might make Edward wonder why Alice had gone for whiny, but he already knew. It got the best result in her sight: made the woman remember what they needed her to, rather than dancing around the subject longer to make her think of the passengers on the prior plane.

A few moments later, the woman sighed, though Edward and Alice had already deflated a little since she'd already seen the woman's response, and Edward had seen it in her mind, too.

"I'm sorry, but the next flight doesn't leave till later tonight." Tina murmured, giving them an apologetic grimace even as she kept her eyes on the computer screen. "There's room on the flight to New York, and a plane leaving a little earlier for Paris from there, if you prefer?" Before Carlisle could reply, she grimaced again. "But there's only first class seats left on that plane?"

"That won't be a problem," Carlisle said instantly. "Can you book our tickets here?"

Normally, Edward could see in her thoughts, she'd redirect them to the actual counter they were supposed to go for that, but with Jasper influencing her so strongly, she was inclined to be helpful.

"Sure…"


Bella's POV – Driving through Paris, France – March 22, 2005

Bella couldn't help but gape, her horrified gaze darting back and forth between her two companions as she tried to process what they'd just told her. "They watch us? All the time? L-Like stalkers or-or peeping-toms?"

"No," Duncan said at the same time Adam snorted, "Yes."

The youngest Immortal frowned at her two elders, more than a little annoyed by Adam's face as he used the excuse of driving to keep his eyes forward so he seemed to be smirking at the traffic ahead of them, while MacLeod was looking sheepishly back at her. "Well, which is it?"

"It depends on the Watcher, really," Duncan said quickly, clearly wanting to answer before Adam could. "Joe, my Watcher, he hasn't really watched me since I found out about the Watchers. He just asks me to keep him up to date on my life; he basically keeps my journal for me. And he's a good friend."

"But," Adam spoke up then. "Most Immortals don't know about the Watchers. So their Watchers are like stalkers and peeping-toms. Following them everywhere, always watching, al—"

"Methos!" Duncan snapped, glaring at Adam, only to flinch when the other Immortal's humor vanished instantly and he glared right back at him. "Sorry. But you're scaring her."

"It's a disturbing topic," Adam allowed, hard glare softening as he turned to look back at Bella, giving a compassionate smile. "But it is yet another fact of our lives. You have three choices, really. Either you can befriend the Watchers through MacLeod here, and thus let one record your life story with your consent. Or you can pretend you don't know of their existence, though they will start following you once they realize you're an Immortal, which they will since they know about both of us and it'll be obvious as soon as they see a known Immortal react to your presence, or if you happen to die and get up in front of them."

"…And the third choice?" Bella asked, hoping it was better than the first two, though if she had to pick between them she'd definitely choose the first.

"Or, you can learn how to shake them, which I can teach you." Adam gave her a gentle smile. "It's easier said then done, and requires considerable vigilance and sometimes a lot of creativeness, but it can be done. It will mean, however, that you will have to notice each time one is following you, and you will have to go through the effort of losing them, which frequently means relocating entirely."

Bella frowned as she considered that, looking between the two men. "But you said they know you're Immortals? That they'll know I'm one because I'm around you? Does…Does that mean I'd have to stay away from you, too?" she asked timidly, really not liking the idea of distancing herself from the first two of her kind she'd met.

"There is that," Adam nodded again, before explaining. "The Watchers know Duncan for who he is, they know everything about him—"

"Not everything!" Duncan protested, but was ignored, Adam continuing right over him.

"—and even though he knows of their existence now, and has started some talk of 'a new way' within the Watchers, they're a very, very old organization—there were Watchers as far back as the time of Alexander the Great, when they first started to actively watch Immortals. And their records, born from research, go back even farther than that." Adam sighed, shaking his head. "They know much less about me, though they think they know everything. You see, I infiltrate the Watchers from time to time, to see how they've changed with the times and see what they've learned about us. I had done so just over a decade ago, a few years before I met Mac here."

"They just let you join?" Bella asked, more than a little incredulous. Someone the two ideas didn't seem to mesh in her mind.

"No," Adam chuckled. "They never would've invited me to join if they knew I was an Immortal; they thought I was Immortal. And when I happened to die in front of them, and rise again, they thought I'd been a pre-Immortal and had just gone through me first death then and there." He shrugged. "I, of course, didn't wish to abuse them of that notion and have put up with both their pathetic attempts to follow me since then, and they're requests for direct accounts of my life."

Bella nodded slowly, a little bit bemused by the situation Adam had obviously put himself in. Then another thought occurred to her. "What about the Cullens?" she asked Adam anxiously. "You said I'd be safe around them again, but won't the Watchers be a problem then?"

"There is that," Adam sighed again, shaking his head. "The Watchers are problematic for the very reason that they know; more importantly, watching is what they do. They look. They see. And even if they don't notice right away, if you—as a recognized Immortal—hang around the vampires for any length of time, the Watchers will notice that something's different about them. At the very least, they'll think that the Cullens are all our kind of immortals, particularly if they're observed for any length of time, but the more observant Field Watchers will notice right away that they're not the same as us." He pressed his lips together for a second before going on, "And then there's the problem of their laws, and of the Volturi."

"Humans aren't supposed to know about them," Bella nodded slowly. "And even if that's no longer a problem for me, the Watchers are all mortal humans, right? Unless another Immortal has infiltrated them like you did?"

"Yes," Adam chuckled, nodding approvingly again, and sobering as he continued. "And I won't deny that it's quite a predicament. "I realized a long time ago that vampires could be a very great danger to the Watchers. There was a time when I thought that revealing vampires to them might be a good idea, too. A good way to get rid of them all, I mean." He sighed then. "But with that comes the added risk that they might learn more about our kind then I want them to."

"You can't really believe that vampires are real!" Duncan protested suddenly from the backseat, and Bella looked back at him with a frown.

"But they are," she looked back at Adam before the other Immortal could respond. "He doesn't know about vampires?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "No, I've told him. But as he's never met or seen any, he's rather…set against the idea of believing that they exist."

"Why?" Bella asked him, blushing and shyness forgotten in the face of the man's unwillingness to believe her friends were what they said they were. And perhaps a bit irritated by the fact that meant he either thought she was a liar or a fool. "Is it so much stranger than the idea of humans who's hearts restart of their own volition after they've stopped? Who will thereafter live forever?"

Duncan sighed, shaking his head. "I can understand that this must all seem very strange to you, lass. But the only time I've ever seen any evidence of a vampire was when a madman was pretending to be one, to cover up the murders he'd committed by making the locals mad with fear and hysteria about such a creature stalking their streets, rather than an average killer that the police could protect them from."

"Nicolas Ward was a clever madman, that's true," Adam interjected, his tone categorically neutral. "But he's dead. And it wasn't pale corpses with big holes in their necks that led to Bella believing in vampires. Her friends don't even drink human blood."

Bella watched Duncan blink, waited for him to process the new facts Adam had given him, and waited for his response.

"What do they drink then?" Duncan wanted to know. "I can't say I've ever heard any tale of supposed vampires feeding from anything else."

"They hunt animals," Bella told him. "Just like human hunters do, but they only drink the animals' blood. They don't eat meet."

"And you've seen them do this?"

"No," Bella admitted, shaking her head. "I couldn't be anywhere nearby when they were hunted, there was too much risk they might attack me by accident, when they let their instincts go. Their natural prey are humans, they just choose not to hunt them."

"Then why are you—"

Bella cut him off, "I have met vampires that do hunt humans. Three nomads were hunting around Forks not long ago; they killed several people. And…" she took a deep breath before continuing. "And they wanted to kill me, too, once they realized I was under the Cullens' protection. One of them left peacefully, not wanting to take on seven of his kind, but the other two… the Cullens tried to protect me from them. Jasper and Alice took me to Phoenix, while the others tried to catch James and Victoria…"

"But they found you in Phoenix?" Adam asked, visibly curious.

Bella wondered what the Cullens had told him, but didn't really want to know. "Yes. James realized I'd gone there. He went to my mother's home and when I called there… he made me think he had her. He told me he'd let her go if I came to him."

"And you agreed?" Adam demanded incredulously, shaking his head, "Why would you—"

"I thought he was going to kill my mother!" Bella cut him off, angry at his incredulity. "I couldn't let that happen if there was a way to stop it?"

"And why, exactly, would he have let her go after killing you?" Adam wanted to know. "He couldn't. She was human, and if he'd been holding her captive, if he killed you in front of her, she'd know he wasn't. It's against the few laws vampires follow to let humans know they exist. He wouldn't have risked it!"

Bella stopped, staring at him in horror as she realized he was right. She'd assumed that the Cullens—that Edward—would eventually turn her into a vampire, and that was why she was an exception to that rule they'd told her about, though they hadn't said so. Her mother would've had no such protection from any vampire, let alone James.

"How did you get away from your protectors, anyway?" Adam asked after she'd been silent several seconds. "Even if it was just Jasper and Alice there, neither struck me as fools and Jasper most of all would've been hard to escape."

"Actually, Alice was harder," Bella answered slowly, shaking her head. "Because of her gift. I had to make sure she couldn't see me trying to escape before I was actually escaping."

Adam frowned at her, "See you…she's a seer?" he nodded slowly once Bella had nodded in confirmation. "Well, that explains a bit. I'd wondered how they'd known to contact me with you in the state that you were in. She must have been so desperate to help you that her gift showed her a way."

"Wait, now we're talking about people actually being able to see the future, too?" Duncan cut in, incredulous again.

Adam responded sharply before Bella could, "You've visited fortune tellers before, MacLeod. You've seen a few of the real one's foretellings become reality. Actual seers are rarer still, but they do exist."

"But—"

"They've been exceedingly rare since the Romans wiped out many of the Greek oracles during their conquest of Greece, but some are still around." Adam turned his attention back to Bella before Duncan could muster a response. "Did becoming a vampire make her foresight stronger? I'd wager it would, since their transformation seems to enhance every other strength they have."

"Yes, Edward said it did." Bella confirmed, feeling a little bad for doing so.

Did she really have the right to reveal her friends secrets to her new friends?

But, even with that doubt in her head, she couldn't help but feel she had to tell her teacher everything she could. She was trusting him with her life at all, and trusting that he'd ensure she'd be able to be with the Cullens again as soon as possible. The least she could do was be truthful with him.

"Interesting," Adam murmured. "I wonder if other such talents are significantly strengthened by their transformation? Maybe abilities we haven't seen among mankind just yet?"

Bella nodded again, before admitting, "Jasper's an empath—he can feel and effect the emotions of others around him. And Edward…Edward can read minds."

Adam stiffened at the last. "What?" he demanded, for the first time seeming to doubt her.

"It's true!" Bella insisted. "He could tell me what was happening all around us during school, even though he couldn't possibly see or hear it, and he was always right."

"How could you possibly be comfortable around someone who could read your mind?" Duncan asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea, enough so that he seemed to be willing to set aside his disbelief about everything else for the moment.

Bella shook her head again. "Well…he couldn't read my mind," she watched both pairs of dark eyebrows shoot up as she glanced back and forth between the two men.

"He couldn't?" Adam asked, looking a little relieved just as suddenly as he'd seemed aghast. "Why not?"

"I don't know," Bella admitted with a sigh. "He said it seemed like I didn't think anything at all. That my mind just wasn't there for him to hear."

"Really…" Adam nodded to himself, visibly mulling this revelation over. "Well, that must be because of your Quickening, I think. And mine as well. Otherwise he would've known I was lying when I said we'd be back at their rental house when they returned. And Miss Alice's gift must not work well on us, too, since she should've seen through my lie, too."

Bella blinked. "You think it's because of what we are?"

"Our Quickening protects us from a great deal," Adam confirmed with another nod as he flicked the car's signal on and switched lanes. "It wouldn't surprise me to find that this was the case. And that even if Alice could foresee your future before, when you were a Pre-Immortal, it's much harder—or even impossible—for her, now that you're a full Immortal." After a few seconds of silence, he glanced at her again, "But enough about that for now. I assume it was this James that bit you, after you'd turned yourself over to him?"

Bella could hear the disapproval in his tone as he finished the question, and stiffened a little at it, but Duncan spoke up before she could say anything.

"It may sound strange to you especially, Adam, but it really isn't," the Scotman pointed out, shaking his head as Adam glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "We've both done it before. It takes courage, but any time a head hunter—or any sort of enemy—has targeted anyone you or I care for, we've fought for them. Is it really so strange that Bella, here, would do same?"

"She wasn't going to fight him," Adam replied, frowning as he switched lanes on the highway again. "She was just going to let him kill her."

"It's not like she knows how to fight, Me—Adam. No really. What else could she do?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "Maybe let the Cullens rescue her mother? They obviously got to her before James could actually kill her, even though they weren't fast enough to stop him biting her." He glanced at her, clearly sympathetic as he continued. "Though it would've been kinder of them to let him drain you. Much less painful than letting the venom turn you into a vampire only to have you Quickening go to war with it when your heart stopped."

Bella flinched as she remembered the long period of agony she'd felt in between when James' had bitten her and she'd woken to find Adam at her bedside. "Is that what happened?" she glanced at her vague reflection in the passengers window. "That's why I look more like one of them now?"

"Yes," Adam confirmed immediately, shooting Duncan a look when he spoke up again.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Later, MacLeod," Adam told him, before continuing to Bella. "It was fortunate I'd seen that happen before, otherwise I might not've known what to do for you."

"Before?" Bella asked the only question that felt safe.

"Yes, a long time ago." Adam looked sad as he explained. "I came to visit a good friend, and found her fretting over a new Immortal who was in the same kind of agony that you were when I arrived. Only she'd been going through that terrible pain for many more days then you by the time I arrived. Why Rebecca didn't just end her suffering before then, I've never understood." He sighed. "But then I couldn't really ask her after what happened."

"Rebecca Horne?" Duncan asked at the same time that Bella asked, "What happened?"

"Yes, Duncan, Rebecca Horne," Adam confirmed, before answering Bella's question more slowly. "We finally figured out that the vampire venom being in her blood was the problem. We bled her till there was no more blood in her body, and let the Quickening heal her after that."

"That's what you did for me," Bella realized, remembering the feeling of the liquid fire draining away and the pain finally stopping. "Didn't it work for her?"

His earlier words made her doubt it, and indeed he was shaking his head in response to her query.

"It did, but it was too late for her," Adam sighed softly, shaking his head. "As I said, she'd been in the terrible agony for far too long. You'd only just gone through the three-day transformation to become a vampire, and your friends called me shortly after you didn't rise as one of them, but little Antonia… Rebecca said she'd gone through her first death a week before I'd arrived. So she'd been in that terrible pain for almost two weeks before we finally figured out how to stop it." He sighed again. "Her mind couldn't handle it, when she finally woke as an Immortal…her mind was broken. She was deaf to everything we said to her. Screaming and shaking with the remembered pain almost non-stop."

"So you killed her," Duncan spoke up softly, his tone both understanding and sad.

Adam sighed yet again. "Almost a month later, yes. Rebecca couldn't do it; but it had to be done. Antonia wasn't getting better, if anything she'd seemed to be getting worse with every passing day. We'd been force-feeding her and making her drink water, doing practically everything to keep her alive, hoping she'd get better. But she wasn't going to. I realized it well before Rebecca, but once she was willing to admit it, yes, I killed her."

Bella was more than a little shaken by the story, by the idea that if Alice hadn't called Adam, and if Adam hadn't known what to do, what he was saying now likely would've been her fate. Or, worse, the Cullens would've realized that she wasn't going to become a vampire, and mercifully killed her like Adam had had to kill that poor Antonia…only her Quickening would've killed all of them in retaliation. Then she realized something out of all that that honestly surprised her, and frowned as Adam. "Wait…we can die?"

Adam and Duncan exchanged a glance, and then sighed in unison, before Adam finally admitted with a nod, "Yes. Yes, we can."


Edward's POV – C.D.G. Airport, Paris, France – March 23, 2005

"Edward?" Alice's inquiry broke him out of his concentration, and he turned his eyes to glare at her. "No one here's seen her, then?"

Edward shook his head.

None of them were surprised though.

They'd followed Bella and Dr. Walker's trail from airport to airport for the last day, unfortunately arriving each time well after they'd flow out. And, despite Carlisle's willingness to spend a ridiculous amount of money to get them across the Atlantic as soon as possible, they'd missed them here, too.

Charles De Gaul was clearly Bella and Walker's ultimate destination, since they'd left the airport entirely here.

The vampires had been able to follow the faint traces of the pair's peculiar scents all the way out to where they'd obviously gotten into a rental car. But the trail ended there, contained within the car they'd driven off in.

The agent at the rental place had been little help, despite their best efforts to bribe him, even under Jasper's influence and Edward watching his every thought the whole time. The man hadn't seen them. So someone else must've picked up the car for them; probably the third scent that'd joined the pair here in Paris, also a little strange like Walker's and Bella's, and likely also one of their kind.

Whoever Walker really was, he was definitely thorough. And either he knew a disturbing amount about vampires in general, explain how he'd been at least one step ahead of every step of the way…or Bella was helping him with their escape.

The last thought hurt them all, Alice and Edward most of all. And it was only through Jasper's continued efforts that Edward was still as calm and rational as he was.

Though it didn't surprise him that Bella seemed to want nothing to do with him after the catastrophe that their baseball game had turned into, Edward still needed to know that she was okay.

They all did.

Though all of them were also more than a little curious about the existence of another immortal race, too.

"Why don't we head into Paris?" Esme suggested after several seconds of silence, shaking her head when her telepathic son frowned at her. "This is where they stopped flying, after all. We might be able to pick up their trail somewhere in the city."

…It wasn't like they really had any other choice.

Other than just giving up.

And Edward wasn't willing to do that.

So his family wouldn't either.


End of Chapter 1: Welcome to Eternity.

Author's End Notes:

Well, there's Chapter 1 for you! Hope you enjoyed it.

Again, I'd like to say thank you to everyone that's encouraged me to continue this story. The motivation you offered me is probably the only reason this chapter is here, since it took me a long time to get back the writers blocks that made writing this chapter such a struggle.

I won't promise a specific timeframe for when a new update might up. I have several fan fics I really have to update before I devote much more time to this one: the poor readers of those fics have waited a lot longer than anyone that might be interested in this one, and I feel really bad about that. I will update as soon as I possibly can.

Ideas about where this story might be going are always welcome, and tend to help a lot. I alluded to a lot of possibilities in this chapter, and I've yet to decide just how many I'll actually follow through on.

Some of the things I have to consider:

- What will Bella's decision regarding Watchers be? I'm tempted to let her meet Joe, since he's one of the characters I love lots and lots, but some of the problems I mentioned in this story are very real here. Even if the Volturi, or any other vampires, are more aware of Immortals than the Cullens were, I doubt they'd like the idea of humans recording the histories of any Immortals, but vampires especially.

- How long with Methos make Bella stay away from the Cullens for their own safety?

- How long will it take Mac to accept the actual existence of vampires? Will he hold out till he actually meets one or will Bella and Methos be able to convince the stubborn Highlander?

- Will we be meeting the Volturi in this story? (I've already indicated that Methos knows about them, but how much does he know? How does he know? And do the Volturi know about Immortals, or not?)

- Will Victoria follow Bella and/or the Cullens to Europe? Or will she stalk the streets of Forks, etc. more along the lines of canon?

- And I freely acknowledge that I may've forgotten something else I alluded to or said outright in this chapter, since it took so long to write.

Any help anyone feels like offering will be very, very appreciated. And though, as I said before, I can't promise a deadline for updating, I will update as soon as I possibly can.

~ Jess S

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NOTES FROM IN THE CHAPTER:

[1] About Bella's initial reaction to Duncan and him 'looking like the heroes on the covers of romance novels;' well, he does! Or did…I haven't actually seen Adrian Paul in anything lately, but he's probably aged, since he's not actually immortal and Highlander stopped playing 13 years ago and he's now 52. Even in the show, if you go back and watch a Season 1 episode and then watch an episode from the sixth season, it's undeniable that he was aging. It was the same sort of thing they ran into with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and probably ever other show where the characters were supposed to be un-aging. The actors/actresses themselves aren't immortal, and make-up can only do so much. But no one can deny that Duncan MacLeod looks exactly like most of the heroes on the covers of romance novels that are set in medieval times, etc. And anyone who's ever seen an actor/actress in-person can confess that if they're eye-candy on T.V., they look even better in person! Bella blushed at the littlest things in the Twilight series, so I figured having her be hit by an instant crush on Duncan when she met him wasn't unreasonable. Don't worry, she'll get over it: she already started to in this chapter, since he doesn't believe in vampires. Bit I thought it'd fit—and it was cute.

(2) I've been to Charles De Gaul Airport twice, both times while I was catching connecting flights that left shortly after I arrived. All I really remember about it is from the second visit, when I was headed home from Greece and it was a pain in the neck to run—literally run—across the airport to catch my plane to Boston because unlike the first time through (in route to Greece) they didn't want to hold the plane, despite the fact that the several hundred people that were running with me (also from the same late plane from Athens) were also headed for Boston, and the plane was going to leave over half empty of it's passengers… and I'm venting. Sorry. This was several years ago, but the airlines really bug me sometimes. That wasn't the first or last time I've run into a situation with them (them being any airline I've flown on) that didn't make any sense what so ever…though it was among the worst. I mean, there were at least three-hundred people running from and to the same terminal as me (I didn't count, but I saw the mostly empty plane when they finally made the pilot come back to the terminal so we could board, and it was full once all of us were on board). If the pilot had taken off without all of us, technically the airline would've had to put all of us up in Paris—that's what they do if you're catching a connecting flight from their airline and are coming from a late plane that's also part of their airline. I've been told they do that, too, even if your previous flight was from a different airline, but I don't know that for a fact…anyway, it was stupid, and it's one of the travel experiences that will probably always irritate me. The only one that was worse was when my parents and I were coming back from Mexico and catching a connecting flight in Atlanta. We got there as the plane was pulling away, and my mother had to bitch at the airline employee at the gate to make her make the Captain come back, and when he did, my family plus the old couple that'd also come from our plane were the only passengers the plane actually left with. All the others from our previous flight were left behind, and I kid you not, there were only five passengers on the whole plane: the stewardesses outnumbered us! It was ridiculous.

Okay…I'm done ranting about airlines now. Sorry.

Though, in recognition of the times I've had no trouble flying somewhere, I will say that not all airline employees are idiots or incompetent, and some are actually very nice people who are very good at their jobs.

Anyway, back to the actual point of this note: I don't know what Charles De Gaul looks like now, or what it would've looked like in 2005, since I only saw it in the summer of 2006. I researched it a bit, but still some of what I described for the brief times they were actually in the airports may very well be wrong. Sorry again.

[3] Paris Fashion Week is, according to Wikipedia, a very famous event held semi-annually with a Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter event each year. Wikipedia didn't give me exact time frames, and I don't really care, but it seemed in-character for Alice to know about it, so I used it.

And now I'm actually done with my Author's Notes. Congrats if you made it all the way here without skipping them.


Next:

Chapter 2: Training and Watching.

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