25. Strange Bedfellows

Seacouver, WA
That night

Duncan was about to knock on the bar entrance when the door opened and was held open by Methos. "Methos."

"MacLeod, a word of warning, he's quite pissed off at us," he cautioned him as he led Duncan and the rest of SG-1 into the blues bar owned by Joe Dawson.

"Thanks for the warning," he whispered before he caught sight of Joe standing behind the counter with a drink in his hand, not making a move to approach him. Duncan realized that if Jack decided not to reveal the SGC to Joe, then his own relationship with Joe would suffer a setback. As he approached the bar he nodded his head acknowledging Daniel and Amanda who sat at a table off to the side. When he stood in front of his old friend he finally spoke, "Joe."

Joe took a sip of his drink before tersely responding, "MacLeod."

Duncan decided to introduce his teammates before going any further, "Joe this is Colonel Jack O'Neill."

"Yeah, we've met. In Paris, a little over three months ago," he added with a hint of anger as he shook his hand. He wondered about the rank though since Adam hadn't used them in Paris.

"And this is Murray and Major Samantha Carter. This is Joe Dawson." Duncan said as he finished up the introductions.

"Murray," he then looked at Carter as he studied her face. "Major. Have we met before?"

"No, I'm pretty sure we haven't. I'm not from around here."

"You look very familiar to me, I don't know why though. Can I offer you all a drink?"

As drinks were handed out, non-alcoholic beverages to the military personnel present, Joe kept avoiding Duncan. "So, what brings you all out to Seacouver?"

"Dawson, I should have called," Duncan told him.

"Yes you should have, that's what friends do! Do you have any idea what I've been going through the past three months? The three of you disappeared without a trace. All I knew was that Me- Pierson was on his way here and I probably should have been on that flight as well! What could you have been possibly been doing for three months that you couldn't even find the time to pick up the phone?"

Jack quietly spoke under his breath, but not as quietly as he thought, "Saving the world!"

Joe snapped and looked at him, "What? Me-" He caught himself again before uttering Methos' name.

Duncan decided to speak, "They know Joe… They know about us Immortals, and now, the Watchers."

"What? You're kidding right?"

Methos finally spoke, "No Joe, he is not. They know all about us, in fact they know some things about the three of us that you don't know about."

"Like what?" Joe demanded.

"How old do you think I am Joe?"

"Around five thousand years old… why?"

"I'm actually older than that. I'm actually closer to ten and a half."

Joe's eyes went wide as he realized what he was hearing, "Ten and a half thousand… Christ, I knew you were old, but I didn't know you were that old!"

"Yeah, well the people in this room and two others are the only ones who know that. So let's keep that one under wraps shall we?" Methos added with a smile as he went behind the counter and served himself another beer.

"Why'd you tell them?"

Methos looked at Duncan and Jack in silence momentarily before Duncan spoke, "Because we share a common goal."

"A common goal? And that would be…?"

"Saving the world," Duncan told him.

"You're telling me that you, Amanda and Adam have been saving the world?"

"Yes."

"How does an archaeologist, a Colonel, and a Major all fit into that plan?"

Just then Jack's cell phone rang and he excused himself as he answered the call, they all waited for him to return before continuing on. As they waited they caught bits of the conversation, "… Jacob's waiting?… Not yet… tomorrow morning…" Once he closed the phone he returned to the group, "Carter, your dad's waiting for us. Surprise, surprise, he wants to talk to us!"

Joe stared at Sam as he searched his memory, finally he spoke to Sam, "Is your dad Jacob Carter?"

Carter was caught off guard as she answered him, "Yes…"

"Was he a helicopter pilot in the Air Force during 'Nam?"

"Yes, he did two tours there. Do you know him?"

"That's why you looked so familiar, you look just like him! Your dad worked with my platoon a lot back in '67-'68. He got us out alive out of a lot of jams back in the jungle. I don't think he ever paid for a drink on account of my platoon buying him his drinks! How is he?"

"Fine, he retired as a two-star."

"Tell him 'Boy Scout' Dawson says hello and that I think I owe him another drink."

"I will."

At that moment Jack finally decided what he was going to do about Joe, "If you'd like, we're going to see him tomorrow, you can join us if you like?"

Duncan stared at Jack and asked him a question, "Jack, are you sure?"

"Yeah. Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Joe asked as he looked from Jack to Duncan.

"What we've been doing the past three months. You may want to sit down for this one Joe. Methos, want to tell him what happened ten thousand years ago?"

Over the next few hours they told him about the Stargate, the Goa'uld, the Ancients, the prophecy, and Duncan's evolution. Joe at first was unbelieving but once he saw the empty pouch in Teal'c's stomach he began to believe.

"I knew there was something about you Highlander. This is all just so incredible; it's going to take a while for it to sink in. No offense to you guys, but this is bigger than the Watchers and our mission!" he told them with a smile as he got up to get a drink.

Jack recalled what he had discussed with Duncan and General Hammond earlier that day, "How'd you like to become a part of it?"

"What? You're kidding!"

"Nope, we need someone to document what's really happening with the SGC and the assistance we've been getting from the Immortals, we can't include it in our reports. There are only two other people outside of this room who know the whole truth, about the Stargate and the Immortals. We'd like you to be in charge of documenting what happens, you'd be working with the base doctor to help fill you in on some of the Stargate-related information. You'd have to cut yourself off from the Watcher's though, they can't know about any of this."

"I can't do that last part. If I leave the Watcher's it'll raise too many questions. Rather, we tell them that Duncan and Amanda moved to a remote monastery to enjoy each other's company in safety and that the Immortal Adam Pierson joined them to continue his training. They know I'm friends with MacLeod, they'll understand it if I tell them I'm following them to some remote location. I can then offer to watch all three of them since no one else would want to go there. I can feed them some stories every once in awhile, but otherwise they'll lead quiet and uneventful lives. If we want to do this right, that's how we need to do it."

The Immortals all shared a look as they followed Joe's reasoning. Duncan was the first to voice his approval, "He's right Jack. He can't leave behind the Watcher's and it provides a perfect cover for the three of us."

Jack considered the idea as he looked at the rest of SG-1 to gauge their response, "Fine. But the Watcher's never learn about any of this."

"Colonel, I know how to keep a secret and this one is too important to reveal. We'll probably need about a week to set it up though."

Jack spoke as he decided to fill them in on the phone call he had received earlier, "It'll have to wait a few days. Jacob and several other members of the Tok'ra, including their High Councilor, have come for a visit. They want to speak to Duncan, Adam, and Amanda."

TBC