The Immortal Spacemonkey

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or Highlander. If I did, I wouldn't work in the public school system. Any characters from either show what you many recognize belong to their respective owners. Any characters that you don't recognize belong to me. I promise to return the borrowed character once I am done with them, though they will be a bit scuffed.

Warning: Potty language and violence

Chapter 20

Over the next two weeks, Methos hung out at Daniel's place. Daniel was gone part of the time, due to being off-world (which Methos did not know).

SG-1 went to P9T-729 for a standard recon mission. They met the natives, made nice, and negotiated a treaty that would allow the people from Earth to mine their small source of Naquada (the locals had no use for the stuff). It was a nice and normal mission. No one was trying to kill them, or sacrifice them.

Unfortunately, just as they were getting ready to leave, Jaffa, belonging to Nerti, showed up. There was a firefight that resulted in Jack, Sam, and Daniel being shot. Luckily, Sam's and Jack's wounds were minor, while Daniel's wound was more serious looking, it healed quickly. They managed to escape, but not before they witnessed Nerti leveling the planet's inhabitants' city with an aerial bombardment as punishment for helping the Tau'ri.

It was not a good day for anyone.

Daniel came home, after a long debrief by Hammond and a visit to the infirmary to see how Jack and Sam were doing. They were relatively fine. Janet had bandaged their wounds and sent them home.

He slammed the front door shut and stormed through the house, muttering several curse words in several languages. Methos looked up from the book he was reading, sitting on the living room couch.

"Hard day at work?" he called out, in a jesting tone. He was wondering where Daniel had been. The man had been gone for three days and now was suddenly back home. Not that he particularly cared or felt that he was owed an explanation, but it made him curious as to where Daniel had been.

Daniel glared at his friend, briefly wishing he had a Zat with him so he could shoot Methos with it. "Yes. It has been a damn hard day thank you."

"What's so hard about Deep Space Telemetry? You sit there and stare at a computer all day."

Daniel rolled his eyes. Methos was extremely curious about what Daniel was doing over at Cheyenne. He did not fully believe that Daniel was working on something about looking into the vast reaches of space. However, Daniel was not very forth coming with information. He had even checked the Watcher's database to see if there was something that he had missed. All it said was that he worked as a civilian consult for the U.S. Air Force.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me what is going on?" Methos grinned.

"No. I told you before, I can't. I work out of Cheyenne Mountain and it's classified. I made a promise and I intend to keep it," Daniel said a serious look on his face.

Methos held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. I'll just keep with my idea that you are secretly fighting little green aliens for the government."

Daniel, who had been drinking a glass of water suddenly choked and sprayed Methos with a mist of water and spit.

Methos glared at his friend. "Thanks a lot," he said sarcastically.

"Um, sorry," Daniel said, handing his friend a tissue.

"So, got any big plans for the night?" Methos asked, wiping his face off.

"No. You got something in mind?" Daniel said, shrugging. He did not really want to go out, but he knew that if he stayed at home, he would only just sit there getting madder and madder at the day's events.

"Nothing big," Methos shrugged. "How about going to that bar, O'Malley's, for some liquid refreshment and some darts?"

Daniel turned slightly red. "Uh, not O'Malley's, I can't go there anymore," he muttered.

"And why not? You start a fight or something?"

"It wasn't my fault."

Methos started laughing. "You? You started a fight? You haven't picked a fight in God knows how long! Why?"

"Jack, Sam, and I went out, against orders to remain on base. Sam was playing pool and these guys started giving us a hard time. One of them called me a geek and I took exception to that. We kicked their asses, got arrested, were banned for life from O'Malley's, and got in trouble with our boss. Hammond was not at all pleased with us," Daniel said, leaving out the part about how they were under the influence of an alien device.

Methos looked at his longtime friend with an appraising look. "Why were you ordered to stay on base? You're a civilian looking at pictures from outer space."

How to dig himself out of this one, he briefly wondered. Methos was nothing if now shrewd and observant. He could also spot a lie a mile away. "I have to follow certain orders and regulations," he explained, "but I am not governed by the UCMJ."

Luckily, before he had a chance to say anything further, his cell phone rang. He checked the display screen to see who it was. Jack's number appeared on the tiny LED screen.

"Hey Jack," he said.

Pause.

"No, I'm not busy."

Pause.

"No, I don't want to go fishing with you."

Longer pause.

"Adam and I were talking about going out later."

"Uh-huh," Daniel said then turned to Methos.

"Jack wants to know if you would like to join us for an evening out. Apparently he, Sam, and Teal'c want to go out," Daniel said, letting Teal'c slip out.

Methos noted the difference, but chose not to say anything. "As long as I can get a drink somewhere," he shrugged.

"No problem. Jack said that we're getting together at Coach's. It's a sports bar and they're showing the Stanley Cup final on the big screen. It's not a bad place to go," Daniel said, shrugging his shoulders.

Methos said that it sounded like a plan and turned back to his book. He was secretly glad that Daniel's friends were going to be there. Not only would he get to see the lovely Major Carter, but it gave him a chance to try to figure out what Daniel was up to these days.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

At seven o'clock the two Immortals walked into the bar and spotted Daniel's co-workers at a table near the big screen television.

Jack and Sam, Methos noted, were moving stiffly. Jack, he also noted, had his left arm wrapped in gauze. Everybody had a matching, pissed off look on their face that mirrored the one Daniel had when he came home.

The one other thing he noticed was the man called Murray. He had a Colorado Avalanche ball cap on. While that was not out of the normal, for several other bar patrons also had matching hats, what was unusual was a gold symbol on his forehead peaking out from underneath his cap. It reminded him of something he had seen countless lifetimes ago.

When Jack noticed Methos' starring at Teal'c, he also looked over at his friend and noticed the exposed seal. He nudged the solemn looking man, muttered something in his ear and the hat was quickly adjusted, concealing the strange emblem.

Methos sat down at their table (across from Major Carter) while Daniel announced that he was buying the first round, leaving Methos alone with his friends.

The Colonel's stare was making him uncomfortable, but he'd be damned it he'd let anyone know.

"So," Methos said, blandly smiling,

"So," Jack growled. "How long have you known Daniel?"

Methos shrugged. "For awhile. How long have you known Daniel?" Two could play this game, he thought.

"For awhile. You know, he's family to us," Jack said, refusing to be a part of any game. "If anything should happen to him, we would be quite unhappy."

Teal'c and Carter were backing Jack up with piercing gazes, though the look on the giant of a man's face was far more intimidating.

Methos figured that they assumed that he was an Immortal like Daniel. He continued to smile his patented bland smile, but did his best to dispatch any fears the three people may have had about his intentions. "I am not here to harm Danil in any way. He needed some information to be brought to his attention and I needed to start over. I haven't seen him in a long time but I consider him to be a good friend."

Sam then decided to speak up. "Daniel is a good friend to us also and we're just worried."

"I understand," Methos said, staring straight back at Jack.

"I take it that you're, um, like Daniel?" Sam asked, noting Adam's use of Daniel's old name.

Methos smiled.

At that moment, Daniel returned with a pitcher of beer for Methos and a mixed drink for himself. Jack and Sam were under strict orders to not consume any alcohol. Teal'c, of course, had a glass of juice in front of him.

"Did I miss anything?" Daniel asked dropping down into a chair between Methos and Jack.

"Not really," Jack said, "we were just asking your friend about himself."

Daniel glanced over at Methos who just shrugged and smiled.

"They wanted to know if my life span is a lengthy one," he said.

"Well?" Jack pressed.

"I've been around for awhile," Methos admitted.

Immediately, the others started to scrutinize him, searching for any signs of a concealed sword.

Daniel and Methos both smiled broadly. Both were carrying their swords, carefully concealed in the folds of their jackets that hung on the back of their chairs.

"So what happened to your arm?" Methos asked Jack, pointing to the gauze wrapped appendage.

"Accident," Jack mumbled.

"And why do you," he said, turning to Teal'c, "Have a gold tattoo in the symbol of Apophis on your forehead?"

Teal'c, and the others, stiffened slightly. "It is a reminder of false gods and the slavery of my people."

"And what people would that be?" Methos pressed. There was something definitely odd about these people, even Danil.

Before Teal'c could say anything, Daniel and Jack butted in. "Adam, have a beer," they both said at the same time, then laughed at each other.

Methos just shook his head in confusion. He knew somehow that he would not get much more information out of Danil and his friends.

The night passed swiftly. The Avalanche won, 5 to 2 over the Flyers, leaving the bar patrons in a celebratory mood. Even Jack and Daniel's mood seemed to lighten up with the victory.

Close to midnight, the members of SG-1 and Methos decided to call it a night. They had to be at work the next day and Methos had to see his real estate agent about a house.

As they were walking out of the bar, Daniel and Methos felt a familiar sensation wash over them. They halted in their stride, looking around for the source of their disturbance. Finally, they noticed a figure standing across the street, watching them.

"Shit," Daniel muttered.

Jack noticed that Daniel and Adam were not following him, turned to see both people glaring at someone one across the street. It officially confirmed his belief that Adam, or whatever his real name was, was also an Immortal. "Daniel?" he called.

"Coming," Daniel replied, and resumed his trek back to his car. Methos shrugged and also followed.

Once they were in Daniel's vehicle, Daniel leaned his head back against the head rest. "Well, Eban has arrived." he said, a dark tone to his voice.

"You could always leave," Methos said easily.

Daniel glared at his friend. "It's not that easy. I have responsibilities, work," he said.

"Big deal. It's just a job. It's not like the fate of the world depends upon it,' Methos said. "You sit at a desk all day. What's so important about that?"

Daniel sighed. "What I do is very important and so are the people I work with. We're a team. I can't explain it further than that."

Methos just looked at him, convinced that Daniel was off his rocker.

Daniel shook his head and started the car. He wished he could tell his friend about what he did, but it just wasn't possible. He had sworn an oath that his work would remain a secret and he did not like breaking his word.

"What can you tell me about him?" Daniel said, meaning Eban. He wanted as much information about his former friend as possible. He felt fairly confidant that he could find out the information on his own by hacking into the Watchers' database, but this was easier and less likely to get him caught in the process.

Methos sighed. "Eban ben Ranen has drifted around Europe for quite a long time, and moved to Israel in the Sixties. He has worked for Mosad in the past. He moved back to the United States in the late Seventies and then back to Israel in the Nineties. The whole time he's been wandering, he been searching for you. He's nothing if not obsessive," Methos observed dryly.

"He's good. He had a couple of excellent teachers and has managed to defeat several powerful Immortals. He's not above fighting dirty and will go after his opponent's family to get to the Immortal in question."

"Well, that's good to hear," Daniel sarcastically said. It was a good thing that he didn't have any family to worry about, he thought absently.

A/N: Well? What do you think? Be a pal and hit the shiny review button and let me know. Since the last one was so short, here's the next chapter.

UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice – basically the codified law governing the conduct of military personnel.

Also, thank you for reading my stuff it. Also, thank you to those of you that have put me on your alert and favorites lists. That is incredibly kind of you to do so and is very much appreciated.

I'll update again come Monday. I have family/cleaning my house stuff, a get together with my husband's co-workers, and some soccer watching to do. Take care everyone and have yourselves a fantastic weekend!