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Disclaimer: Methos, Joe, Richie, and Duncan Macleod are the property of Davis-Panzer Productions. Gwen MacQueen is mine. I want to thank my beta reader R.J. Bingham without his help I would still be rewriting this story.

Chapter 7

Adam, spill your guts, why in Gods name did you go and take this assignment?

Joe met Adam at gate 59 right on time and went to the baggage pick up area to claim his luggage. The two men barely spoke a word to each other except for greeting. That was until Adam Pierson got in Joe's SUV and Joe started to drive away from the airport. Joe could no longer contain himself as finally he asked "Adam, so tell me what is going on, they gave you a field assignment, why did you take it?"

Adam replied "Oh we have a long time to talk about that first tell me about your playmate, who I spoke with on the phone this morning, I need a good laugh."

"I don't think there is anything that funny about me having a girl friend. It's about time I got the girl, instead of MacLeod. She is a good friend of Carol Wright's and came to be at her wedding. We went to dinner with the bride and groom, had a few drinks, went back to my place. I played her some of my tunes, well you know the drill. Anyway, she is terrific and I hope to see her again after the wedding. She is from LA, so instead of a hotel I'm having her stay at my place." Joe smiled as he told Adam. "That wouldn't bother you would it Adam you usually stay at the Radisson anyway, right? You want me to drop you there or are you going to stop by my house first?"

"I still need to get a reservation, and I have to make some calls to set up meetings about my new assignment. Besides Joe I wouldn't pass up a chance to meet this new lady friend of yours for the world. Well Joe aren't you the lady killer. Really I'm happy you found someone. So yes we can go to your place first?" Adam gave Joe one of his big smiles as they got on to the highway heading toward Joe's house.

"OK enough talk about me, Adam, spill your guts, why in God's name did you, go and take this assignment? It's a crazy thing for you to do! This is very dangerous the other immortal will be able to get that Buzz thing off you and find out your also an immortal, what where you thinking!" Joe asked his friend with a troubled look on his face.

"If I didn't Sam was going to assign this position to someone else, and the next watcher assigned to the case might be the guy who would find Methos, find me." Methos gave Joe a long stern look,

"What are you talking about I thought you set it up so they would never find you?" Joe asked

"Joe let me explain, you see Carol Wright and him, think that they may have found my Achilles heel, an immortal woman that was my lover back in the BC days. I thought she died over 2,000 years ago but they think she is still alive and if they identified her." Methos paused and closed his eyes, then took a deep breath and continued "if they are right, and it is her, she can more than likely lead the watchers right to me" Adam said in a somber voice.

"Adam, I don't understand how can the watchers find out that you are Methos? You never had Immortal women as lovers back in the good old days?" Joe asked scratching his head. "I thought you told MacLeod you didn't do that, you strictly dated mortal women?"

"Well I told MacLeod I never married one of us. I never alleged not having any relationships with other immortals. Look at Mac and Amanda, and she's not the first immortal he was involved with. Honestly Joe do you really think I never slept with another immortal in 5,000 years? But this immortal woman was different from the other immortal women I knew and it was all a very long time ago. She died nearly 2000 years ago. I am sure the Immortal they think is her is really a copycat. This woman couldn't be Gwenaversha of Brittany, that's one of the names she gave herself, the one written in many chronicles. To me she was always just Gwennie; if she was really alive she would have found me herself by now." Adam sadly replied as he watched the traffic getting sparser as they headed for the small suburb of Seacouver where Joe lived. It was spring and all the trees were coming to life again after the cold winter. Methos rolled the car window down and could smell the spring flowers blooming in the yards; he especially smelled the lilacs, as they so reminded him of Gwennie.

"How long did you know this woman?" Joe asked

"Over two thousand, years maybe more give or take four or five century's, its hard to say, did anyone really keep track of time back then." Adam replied, then he continued "Joe you will read it in the report when I file one to HQ anyway, but I really shouldn't tell you this," Adam hesitated

"Oh come on old buddy you said, this immortal in all probability is a copy cat so where is the harm, and as you said you have to make a full report to HQ that I will have access to anyway" Joe stated.

"Ok Joe just this once, but because it's going to be public knowledge anyway" Adam said with a smirk. "Our relationship was a bit like Amada's and MacLeod's, except she wasn't a thief like Amanda, just a real pain in the ass. She was always popping in and out of my life always at the worst times. Then as quickly as she would come into my life she was gone. It was a lot of on again off again interludes. Nothing really steady but it went on for a lot longer than MacLeod and Amada can even imagine. I don't know why I kept on seeing her; sometimes I think she was just more like an old habit that is just very hard to break." Adam replied.

"I can't tell if you'll be disappointed or relieved when you find out that this woman isn't her?" Joe was considering why Adam seemed confused.

"Joe, part of me will be very relieved if this is all a hoax. I would rather Methos continue to be only a legend, but again a part of me died with her. I always dreamed of seeing Gwennie again. She wasn't from Britain and she's not a Celt either. Joe she just liked the summer solstice at Stonehenge, so told every one she came from there, it was kind of funny at the time. Plus it made her sound younger, women can be so vain about their age. I always just took it as one of her jokes. But Joe I've been very unsettled by this news." Adam sadly recited.

"Tell me about this Gwennie?" Joe asked, hoping it would make Adam feel better to talk about her.

"You can just wait and read it in the report." Adam smiled at his friend who he knew somehow wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Why do you have to be such a secretive son of a bitch, you said you have to put it in the report anyway, and I am one of you oldest friends" Joe smiled at him with his baby blue eyes.

"OK, Ok, and Damn you Joe, you can be annoying when you what to be. How shall I put this I can describe her to you Joe. She was a petit women like most women back then were, and was built for child bearing, all curves. Men back then didn't like their women skinny and shapeless like today, but she wasn't heavy I doubt she weight 120 lbs soaking wet. Gwennie had long auburn hair that glistened in the sun and her skin was like a peaches and cream, and she had the cutest little button nose." A smile came over Methos's face as he described her to Joe, "But it was her eyes that would draw you in they were the biggest brown eyes you ever saw. They had a mystic quality about them, they seemed as if they could see right in to a man's very soul."

"Gwennie sound like she was beautiful," Joe replied, funny he didn't thing there was any similarity between this women from 2,000 years ago and his date last night.

Adam continued "Joe it's not just that she was attractive, she was funny Gwennie always made me laugh even when there wasn't much to laugh about. She was hot blooded, and radiated with excitement. No one else could make me crazy like that woman could. Living with her was like riding a roller coaster ride. One minute I would want to kill her and the next minute I couldn't live without her. Have you ever known a person who drove you to distraction yet made you happy to be alive? I always told her that she made me like myself better when we were together. Sometimes all we did was argue until I was ready to take her head myself. However I also remember how sweet her kisses tasted and how full the nights were as I held her in my arms." Adam's voice drifted off into silence, until he was lost in his thought of another time another place.

Joe decided to let the silence in the car stay. It wasn't until they pulled into Joe's driveway of his large Dutch colonial home that either man spoke.

"Here we are, home sweet home" Joe said cheerfully, as he parked the car in his driveway. The house was really too big for Joe, it was his Parents house, the one he grew up in. When they both died he bought it off the estate especially since his father had build on the main floor a master bedroom and bath. That was handicap useable for him after he retuned from Vietnam with no legs and a wheelchair. Joe had long since taken down the ramp to the front door but rarely used the four large bedrooms upstairs except for his watcher friend who needed cheap a place to stay.

"Joe, is Richie raiding your refrigerator, or Macleod stopping by?"

"No, I do have that lady I told you about staying with me," Joe answered.

"OK, how well did you say you know this lady? Maybe you should have found out more about her before sleeping with her?" Adam questioned.

"Adam you know I'm not the type to fall in bed with a stranger. Gwen is a very close friend of Carols and her fiancée. Besides it's not like she is one of those crazy free love immortals like Amanda. Gwen is a business woman a CEO of a major corporation."

Adam felt a strong buzz coming from Joe's house. He looked at Joe and sighed (OK, wouldn't it be funny if Joe's new girlfriend was my new assignment NO! That would be just too strange.) Adam thought to himself. (It must be Richie or Mac); they were the only immortals that Adam knew 100% were in town.

Inside the House after Gwen had returned from her run she sat down and decided to meditate until Joe got back with his friend. She always got great peace from this act and claimed it saved her sanity during the years of her entombment. In the tomb, Gwen had woken up alive, just to die again of thirst, hunger, or worst of all boredom. She always seemed to somehow find air present but unfortunately she was not alone either. Many of her fellow warriors were buried with her. This was very unpleasant and Gwen had to find a way to block out this terrible environment, so she turned to meditation. Gwen learned to put herself in a state of meditation where she could disassociate herself completely from her environment and talk to all the quickenings of all the immortals she held. This was not only very peaceful but she had learned many secrets from those quickenings she held in trust. Unfortunately, the down side to this was because her mediation was focused inward she could not feel the buzz of another immortal until he was all most upon her. Gwen had no reason to be expecting another immortal to come through the door at Joe's house, so there was no reason not to mediate. The past few months had left her drained with what had seemed like endless fighting. This morning's run in with Mr. Ryan seemed like the straw that broke the camels back. She was mentally exhausted.

Adam hesitated to enter the house; he felt a large buzz. (It had to be MacLeod; he came over to Joe's to meet me.) He thought to himself. Joe opened the front door and let Adam walk through.

****KABOOM****

Methos' Quickening hit Gwen literally like a bolt of lighting! The force of the shock knocked her across the room and her head smashed against the side of a hard oak cabinet. Joe could even see the lighting fly from Adam towards Gwen while Adam felt a shock that sent him falling to his knees. Gwen muttered only a faint "Holy Shit" before falling into unconscious. Adam on the other hand was able to say a long string of obscenities in some ancient language as he slowly picked himself off the floor. Joe was totally taken aback by the whole incident, until he saw Gwen's head bleeding. He ran to her and found she had a weak pulse, Joe panicked.

"What the Hell just happened here, it looked like your quickening jumped out and attacked her! Adam! I'll call 911, she is hurt and it looks like she might have a concussion." He said as he reached for the phone.

"No Joe, don't call 911." Adam replied

"Why, we have to help her, Gwen is hurt!" Joe said almost in hysterics.

"It's OK, she is in no danger of dying, this women is an Immortal, and will be all right in a few moments" Adam said as he looked at Joe's very surprised face.

"Adam! This is unbelievable and I can't understand how this has happened." Joe said, still stunned with the news.

"Joe you have been busy the past few days right? You haven't been reading the updates from HQ either correct?" Adam said to his friend questioningly.

"Yea, your right I took some time off, and have been busy with this wedding, and the guys at the bar are perfectly able to handle any situation. Mike's in charge and he is perfectly capable of reading the updates from HQ and informing me about any serious situations." Joe said in disbelief.

"Joe it looks like Mike should have called you. I think Sam was right to have assigned me. Gwennie is really the ancient immortal HQ thinks she is." Adam Put his hand over his face, and closed his eyes in disbelief. "This is a mess, but I warned you that one should check out their dates more carefully, especially before sleeping with them. Although knowing Gwennie, it wasn't your fault if she set her charms on you, Joe you never had a chance." Adam said looking at Joe as he took the phone out of his hand and hung up the receiver. Then he walked over to the unconscious women, took a deep breath, and had a good look at her then realized life as he knew it was all about to change forever.

End chapter 7

Next Chapter 8 - Put Your Sword down and Stay and I Will Explain Everything.

Please leave a review, I love feedback!

Ok if Methos is busy then can I borrow Richie for a ride on his motorcycle?

Bonnie