Interference

by lowri

Methos decides that Amy needs Watcher training to help her diffuse her hatred and fear of them. Second story in the Dawson's Daughter trilogy

This story is a sequel to Dawson's Daughter. I have never done a sequel before, but Amy wouldn't leave me alone. Her troubles and conflicts had not been solved and she needed closure on her past traumas. It would be helpful to read Dawson's Daughter, but I think this story stands on its own and most of the background is touched on here.

Disclaimer: The Highlander universe belongs to Panzer/Davis. I've borrowed the concepts and some of the characters, but have done so only for fun and have not received any monetary gain from it. TheWatcher training school does exist in their universe, but its representation in this story is purely from my imagination. The characters Duncan MacLeod, Joe Dawson, Adam Pierson/Methos, Alexa, Richie Ryan, Maria, James Horton, Darius, Grayson, Barbara Waverly, Jack Shapiro, Constantine, Victor Benedietti, Terrence Coventry, were borrowed from the series. Amy Zoll and Grayson's original name, Claudianus, were taken from the Watcher CD. Richard Collins/Dickon/Rikodius, Corey Saunders/Coreolus, Sara and Amy Saunders, Gabriel Santucci, Sandy Parnell, are of my own creation. I would like to thank Lisa Hughes for her instructions on editing, (nip and tuck), and her pain staking effort in correcting my misuse of POV changes. I would also like to give a special thanks to Maxine Mayer, who read every single draft, every single mistake, and helped me find a cohesive story within the jumbled mess. Comments both good and bad can be sent to lwright3@rochester.rr.com and I hope you enjoy the story.

Interference

by Lori Wright

Chapter 1-Send Off

Late Fall 1995

"You've got to be kidding!" Amy exclaimed loudly.

The man she was talking to sat quietly, waiting for her to digest his words. He knew that his suggestion was abhorrent to her, but he felt it was necessary.

"You've been in Seacouver for what, almost a year? Can you say that you feel completely comfortable around Joe? Around other Watchers who happen to come into the bar?"

A guilty look crossed her face. She knew Methos was right. The few times when she had accidentally walked in during Joe's biweekly poker games, she would mumble and quickly excuse herself.

"How in the hell would you know? You haven't been around."

He looked at her steadily.

"Okay you're right, I still don't trust Watchers, but don't you think enrolling in the Watcher's training school is a bit drastic?"

"I think you need the Watchers to help you get your own mortality into focus. You have lived your whole life among immortals. For twenty-seven years, you have immersed yourself in their affairs to the point where I don't know whether you realize that you are not immortal."

"I know the difference."

"So you say."

"But why the Watcher school?"

"It's the only place where you will be expected to act like a mortal and yet you won't have to hide the fact that you know about immortals. I am not saying that you go in there and tell them everything about Horton killing your parents, or that Joe Dawson is your biological father. All I ask is that you give them a try. I'm not forcing this on you, but I think you need this for closure. You will never accept Joe while your soul festers with the anger of how the Watchers killed Corey and Sara."

"You expect me to just go and tell Joe that I want to become a Watcher? He'll never believe me."

"Make him."

"This will really irritate Mac."

This got the old immortal's attention. "What do you mean?"

"Mac doesn't trust me. He thinks I have this hidden plan that will ultimately hurt Joe."

"Do you?"

"No, of course not. I sure didn't endear myself to him, by coming into town with the express purpose of killing Joe last year. It will take a miracle for him to really trust me."

"I think you're reading to much into his actions. He is cautious, I will grant you that. But I think you are overreacting because of your own personal guilt. Just relax around him, and everything will fall into place."

"If you say so."

"Call Joe now. Tell him that you want to join."

"What excuse do I use?"

"You'll think of something. I'm heading for Paris now. I have your plane tickets here. I'll meet you at the Geneva airport. I've already signed you up for the next session of training. Trust me Little Bit."

"There you go again. How in the hell am I supposed to act and feel like an adult, while you keep calling me something as childish as 'Little Bit'?"

"That's the first step. See you at the baggage claim."

He left her, with a question dangling from her lips. But then he always did that. She picked up the phone and called Joe at home. Might as well get this over and done with.

She explained as much as she could about why she wanted to join the organization, without outright lying. It was so difficult. Joe, hearing only what he wanted to hear, was ecstatic. His daughter wanted to follow in his and her mother's footsteps. He sounded so proud. She hung up the phone glad that the chore was over with.

She grabbed her coat and went for a walk around the city. Her mind drifted back to the days when she hated Joe and wanted to kill him. She had gotten past the murderous feelings towards Joe, her biological father. But... the big but. She just didn't trust other Watchers. Was Methos right? Did infiltrating their organization become the answer to her problems? Or could it be a means to an end? Maybe she could turn the whole experience around. What if she joined the Watchers and looked for Hunters? Why couldn't she could take the ideas that Methos had suggested, and add a few of her own. A few well-placed comments about how she had met James Horton, good old Uncle Jim, and maybe she'd flush out a Hunter or two. She didn't have to admit that she espoused his ideas, just that she had met him. She wouldn't have to lie, much.

The plan formed in her mind and took on a life of its own. Instead of dreading the upcoming ordeal, she started to look forward to it. There was no way she'd ever find Hunters around Dawson, but in Europe? In the heart of the organization? A wicked grin lit up her face, and there wasn't anything playful about it.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

She walked into the club that night. Joe was behind the counter talking to customers and mixing drinks. The new waitress Alexa was there. She didn't always show up for work and there were quite a few times that Amy had covered for her. Amy didn't like to waitress, but she didn't mind doing it on occasion, for her friend. Richie was already there, sitting at a table with his friend Maria. Amy liked Maria. Richie had commented that she was the sister he never had, and that was enough recommendation for Amy. Joe was trying to get her attention, but she ignored him. Maria, sensing that the two wanted to talk privately excused herself.

Taking a deep breath, "Richie, I'm going to have to leave Seacouver."

She waited for the explosion. None came. She looked into his eyes, but they were blank.

"Joe already told me."

"I'm stagnating here. I go through the motions of life, but without any purpose. I don't like Joe's friends," she took a deep breath, then continued. "Maybe I just need to get to know them away from here, away from his influence. I don't know, but I need to do this." There was quiet conviction in her words, which convinced him of her sincerity.

"Do what you have to do. But I'm going to miss you. We've become very close friends and I would hate to lose that."

"You won't."

"How in the hell are you going to handle going from the safe secure environment that you have here, to an estate full of strangers?"

"What do you mean?"

"You grew up in a protected environment with Dickon and Corey always watching over you. Then you move here and you've got me, Mac and Joe. When you go there, you'll be alone. You won't know a soul, and they'll all be Watchers," he whispered it, as though it was a dirty word.

"That's the whole idea. I've been cosseted my entire life. It's time I grew up, before I start turning gray." She laughed, but it was without humor.

She noticed that Joe kept looking over at her.

"I better go talk to the boogey man." His glowing eyes got to her.

"What?" asked Richie.

But she was already half way to the bar. She put her empty glass on the counter.

"Can I have another beer, Joe?"

"Sure thing." He handed her a full mug. "So, do you want me to call Headquarters and put the request in for you?"

"No, Methos is taking care of that. I don't want to be treated differently because I'm your daughter. I also don't want anyone poking into the story behind it, and find Corey and Dickon. I just want to be an average woman who happens to have just found out about immortals."

He looked hurt. "Can I take you to the airport?"

"I would like that."

Alexa came over and Amy told her about leaving. Joe gave Alexa a soda, and the two women went and sat down at a table. Amy was apologetic about leaving her friend, but insisted that she would stay in touch. Then Alexa told Amy about her latest trip to the doctors. Amy listened attentively, but was aware of Joe casting long looks in their direction. He seemed to have accepted her explanation, but obviously he was more intuitive than she had given him credit for. She met his eyes once and gave him a smile, but it didn't seem to lighten his stare.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

A week later Joe escorted her to the airport. They sat in the waiting area. Amy had only brought a few bags. Methos had already set up a Swiss bank account for her to draw from. Richie didn't come to see her off, he said it was too painful. She was glad, public good-byes were not her forte.

The steward announced boarding for her flight. She picked up her overnight bag and backpack. Joe stood up. Amy turned to him.

"Thank you for bringing me today."

Then her eyes filled with tears. She dropped the overnight bag and wrapped her arms around him. It was the first time she had really touched him voluntarily.

"Don't worry, I'll be coming back," she paused, "Dad."

She abruptly let him go, picked up the bag again, and strode away. She did not turn around. Joe felt the tears running down his face too.

Chapter 2-Settling In

Methos was at the Geneva airport waiting for her. He drove her in his old Volvo to the estate. It housed some of the most valuable artifacts and chronicles in the Watcher's possession. Since new students were required to read many of these journals, they were housed where they would be easily accessible.

Amy sat in the car, with her hands clenched in her lap. She did look around at the scenery, but her nerves wouldn't let her concentrate on anything.

"We're here," said Methos as he pulled into the long driveway. About a hundred yards in, a wrought iron gate blocked the way. A guard came out of a little hut and went to the driver's side window.

"Pierson here." He flashed his tattoo. "I've come to drop off a recruit."

The guard nodded and let them in. Amy gave a nervous giggle. How weird it must be for Methos, a five thousand-year-old immortal, going into the heart of a Watcher compound.

They drove to the front entrance. The place was breathtaking. Ivy was climbing up the sides of the house. Trees and flowerbeds covered every corner. It was exquisitely groomed. She could be happy living in such a house. Too bad it was inhabited by jerks. Methos held the door open for her. She grabbed the two bags that she carried on the plane and he took her two suitcases. They walked into the great hall. Swords lined the walls. A few paintings were dotted here and there, but the swords held her attention.

She whispered, "I've got a painting at home that would look wonderful here."

Methos looked over at her, knowing exactly what she was talking about. It was of him and Corey, done about five hundred years ago.

"I don't think so," was his only comment.

She laughed.

They continued down the hall until they came to a door. It was the third door on their left, and she had no idea how Methos knew to open this one, but he did. The door led to an office. There were several computers and about ten desks. Thin partitions separated the desks and gave the occupants the illusion of privacy. People were sitting at most of the desks and a receptionist type person was at the big desk near the door.

"Adam," she exclaimed. "What brings you all the way to Switzerland?"

"I'm bringing in a new recruit. Amy Saunders?"

"Let me see." She rummaged around until she found the file she needed.

"Yes, here is her name. We've got five other recruits for this session. Just a minute."

She picked up a phone and dialed four numbers.

"Dave? I've got the last recruit here, want to come and get her? Good." Then she hung up the phone.

"David will come and take you to your room and show you around the place," she told Amy.

The woman slid her eyes up to Adam, "So how long are you staying?"

"Just overnight."

She gave a disappointed pout.

Amy followed Dave out, giving Methos one final beseeching look. He gave her an encouraging smile, but did not relent in his desire for her to stay. Dave gave her a quick tour of the mansion.

"The bottom floor is devoted to offices and classrooms. You'll learn both the histories of dead and live immortals and learn how to defend yourself against them. Some are very dangerous and extreme caution is advised."

She snorted to herself.

"The upstairs rooms have both personal rooms and the libraries with all the chronicles. Are you interested in field work or research?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Adam recruited you, right? I just assumed that since he was responsible for you being here, that the two of you share the same interest."

Amy thought to herself, 'Isn't that the truth.'

He continued startling her, "Do you plan on working on the Methos chronicles?"

"I'm not sure. I want to take it one step at a time."

"Good idea." He led her to a back staircase. "Down here is the gym. You are required to learn martial arts and rudimentary fencing. Exercise is a must. Watchers can never keep up with immortals if they are not physically fit."

They looked around the basement, which seemed to go the length and width of the mansion. It was an incredible place. Half was done up with mats on the floor and walls. There were swords on the walls along with poles and towels. The other half had nautilus equipment, and other exercise machines.

"We have a shooting range outside, and obstacle courses for those who want to do more in depth training. Some immortals can lead you a merry dance and it's better to be prepared. We also have a stable, do you ride?"

"Yes, I grew up on a ranch."

"Excellent, you're welcome to make use of the horses."

The next stop was the upstairs. Dave led the way up the basement steps and then onto a winding staircase that stopped at a second floor which continued up to a third. The second floor had many rooms. Dave opened up several doors so she could look inside. All the rooms were lined with books, and contained tables and chairs in order to read the books.

"Each of these rooms contain the chronicles of some of the more renowned immortals. You will be spending many hours reading all of them."

"All of them?"

"Believe me, once you start, it's hard to stop. Although there are several rooms where the chronicles are written in ancient languages. You'll have to skip those. Most of the rooms are divvied up according to years. One room might have books written in the

1500's, another the 1200's."

Amy longed to begin reading. Would she find any of Dickon? Corey's she had read already.

"Let's go up to the third floor."

He opened one door and made her precede him in.

"This is your room. We all eat together in a large dining room, but everyone has his or her own room to sleep in. Your bags were already brought up for you. I'm gonna leave you now so you can get settled. It's um, five o'clock. We all gather in the dining room at seven. Feel free to wander around if you get bored. Here is your phone. Call 1111 if you need help. It rings in the front office; the one Adam brought you to. Veronica will answer your questions or give you directions if you can't find your way. Everyone here is very friendly, so don't hesitate to ask if you don't know. See you at dinner."

"Bye."

Amy looked around. Her room was beautiful. Where did the Watchers get so much money? 'This place must cost a fortune to maintain,' she thought to herself.

She started to unpack. There were several dressers and one closet. There was a knock on her door.

"Come in."

Methos walked in and sat himself on the bed.

"So how are things?"

"I'm doing okay. I saw the basement and the many libraries. So," she asked as she hung up her clothes, "Do I know how to fight with a sword?"

"Probably not."

"How about reading dead languages? Dave showed me some rooms with old chronicles."

"That wouldn't be wise either."

"So I'm supposed to be some dumb broad just learning the ropes?" She turned to look at him with her hands on her hips.

"You're undercover. Think of it that way."

Remembering her plan, it made a lot of sense to act ignorant of everything. She relaxed her aggressive stance and began folding her clothes into drawers.

"I really can't wait to read the chronicles. After memorizing Dad's, I really want to see what others are like."

"Fine, but do it unobtrusively. I want you to make friends. Get to really know these people, that's all I ask."

"No problem, um Adam. But how in the hell am I supposed to get buddy-buddy with these people while I'm lying my ass off?"

"Carefully. Be your self; just don't tell them any pertinent facts. Come on let me give you my tour. There are a couple of things I want to show you."

"How many times have you been here?" she asked as they descended the stairs.

"I was trained here. Don told me I had to go through the initial training, but that I didn't have to do the field part."

"I just can't get over it, you being here and all."

Methos went to a particular door and opened it. Inside was a library like the ones she had already seen. She looked around at the books and then gasped, as she caught sight of the painting on the wall. It was of Darius. She walked up to it, tentatively reaching out to touch the paint roughened face of the man she loved so much. Time had not diminished the feeling. She couldn't talk; she just couldn't articulate all the feelings coursing through her.

"I wanted to show this to you privately, so you could get over the shock with only me to witness it. This room is special; it only holds his chronicles. Ian Bancroft, Darius's Watcher, designed this room as a memorial to him. The swords he used are hung here, and that armor was really used by him."

Amy's eyes left the picture and took in the shrine-like atmosphere of the room. There were several snapshots scattered around the room. There was one of Darius and Duncan MacLeod with their arms around each other in the chapel. There was one of the priest with parishioners, and another of him reading to a large assortment of children. Amy sunk into a chair, trying to come to terms with all that she was seeing.

Methos went to one of the shelves and pulled a book, seemingly at random. He flipped a few pages and then handed it to her.

"Ian was there the day you ran away into Paris. Would you like to read about it?"

Amy took the book and immediately started to read. Methos sat himself down in the chair opposite, patiently waiting for her to finish. Fresh tears spilled as she read how Darius fled holy ground to look for the missing child. Ian worried if Darius had his sword on him, and if he could defend himself against a challenge. Amy read of Ian's confusion as to why Darius went to Don Salzar's bookstore to get a young researcher to help him look for the girl. He concluded that the girl was somehow related to the young man and Darius had met her through this young student.

"Did Darius leave without his sword?"

"Yes, he did. He said that it took him several minutes to comprehend everything, and then he panicked. You know he asked MacLeod to help look for you. He knew fully that it would estrange him forever with Corey, but he was desperate."

"Did he love me?"

"He loved you very much, like a daughter. By blood you belonged to Dawson and Sara, and we all knew that. But, emotionally, you belonged to all four of us. I may not have been there for you as often as I would have liked, but you had Corey and Dickon. Both tried to shape you into what they wanted you to be, although Dickon was more altruistic in his endeavors."

Amy looked back down to the book in her hand. Ian described Darius's loneliness that summer after she left. How he would go through his duties rather listlessly. Her heart ached for what she had put her best friend through.

"I wish I could take it all back. Why did I behave like such an immature fool?"

"You were so young. I can't even imagine what it feels to be as young as you are. But it wasn't your fault; it was Corey's. He overreacted because of his jealousy. Dawson would never have figured out who you were. He did see you and nothing came of it. He still doesn't remember the incident."

The door opened and a young woman walked in.

"I'm sorry, am I intruding?"

"No, I was just reading."

"My name is Robin. I'm one of those new recruits. They told me to wander around, so here I am."

"I'm Amy and this is Adam. I'm another newcomer." She pointed to Methos, standing on the other side of the room, trying to become invisible.

"This is all so overwhelming. I can't wait to get started." Her excitement bubbled over.

Amy felt slightly sick at her effervescence. It was okay in soda, but not in an adult. Methos looked a bit uncomfortable also. Amy quietly closed the book and returned it to the shelf.

"So who's the old guy in the painting?"

Amy bristled. "His name was Darius. He was a priest in Paris who died two years ago."

"Oh."

"If you will excuse us, We need to see some more things," Amy explained. "Catch you later."

She walked out the door, knowing that Methos would follow her.

The two friends left the room and continued down the hall to another room. He opened the door and walked inside.

There was a man sitting in a chair, reading one of the books.

Methos leaned over. "I need to show you something in here."

The man looked up briefly from the book and scowled at the noise.

Methos went to the cases and pulled out a book.

He whispered, "This set of chronicles is of the immortal Richard Collins during the reign of Richard the third. I find it fascinating to read. He was in court and was beside the King for most of his rule. It's where he obtained the nick name Dickon."

"Really?" Amy had never heard this story before.

"This whole set is very interesting. You might want to read them."

The two left the room. The man sitting and reading noticed their departure and had a contemplative look on his face. Adam Pierson was doing research on the Methos chronicles. He had heard that the historian had recruited a woman, so why were they so interested in Richard Collins? He filed the information away for future consideration.

Methos showed Amy to two other rooms, which held chronicles of Dickon. She couldn't wait to read them all.

Dinner was interesting. She was introduced to the other five students who would be in her class. She had already met Robin. Their instructor was Gabriel Santucci, the same man who had been in the room when Methos had shown her Dickon's chronicle. He gave a little speech before dinner welcoming the new people. He introduced the full time Watchers who were in residence at the moment. He explained how the number was constantly in flux. A few were between assignments, doing some private research before heading back out. Two were just given new assignments and were brushing up on their new immortals past. The experienced Watchers told the newcomers that they would be pleased to talk and answer any questions that they came up with, about being in the field. Then dinner was served. Amy couldn't remember her classmates' names, but she figured that she would soon enough.

Chapter 3-Classes Begin

The next morning, a knock on the door woke her up. Methos was there, all dressed.

"I'm leaving now. I just wanted to say goodbye."

They gave each other a hug, and then he departed. She went back to bed, but couldn't sleep anymore. So she showered and dressed and went down stairs in search of some breakfast. Several people were already down, including their teacher Gabriel. He was engaged in a lively conversation with some of the new students.

She sat down at the table, but did not join in any of the conversation. Slowly the others trickled down. At ten, Gabriel ushered them all into a conference room. There were twelve chairs around a large mahogany table. Gabriel sat at the head and they all clustered around him. There was a television and VCR set up, along with a slide projector.

After they were all settled, Gabriel stood up to speak.

"Welcome, I'm handing out a packet. Inside you will find a blank notebook for notes. Please take plenty. And there is a pamphlet on the rules that immortals live by. Memorize them. Then there is a small book. This book has every bit of general information that we know about immortals."

He returned to his seat, but continued standing. He made eye contact with every student.

"You will read this tonight and also memorize it. These facts need to be with you at all times. You can not refer to books when you're in the field and find yourself in a dangerous position. I suggest you all learn and eventually carry guns. While the guns will not really kill an immortal, it can slow him or her down enough for you to get away. Under no circumstances are you to ever take an immortal's head. We've had a few problems with this in the past. You must remember that we are not the law, we are just behind the scenes detectives, observers. I know this is all one great big magical mystery, but there are a lot of hard cold facts that you need to learn. It's my job to teach them all to you." Then he smiled, "But the magic is always there.

"Enough of my little intro. Let's get to know our class. Starting with Nathan Grimsby, please tell us your name, age, where you're from, and how you became aware of immortals."

Gabriel sat down. He let out a deep breath.

"Hello, my name is Nathan Grimsby. I'm forty-two and live in Toronto Canada."

Amy's mind started wandering. This was all pretty boring. What in the hell was she going to say? Should she mention Horton here? A collective gasp brought Amy's attention back to the speaker.

"A horn impaled my wife killing her almost instantly." His eyes darkened in pain. "Then this ranger guy came out in the open and started shooting darts into all the rhinos. Other guards were closing off the park, but I was trapped inside. The car was shaking and I was terrified. Then one of the rhinos went for the ranger and impaled him, but he managed to get a dart into the animal, and then they both fell to the ground.

"I just sat in my car, almost totally alone. My wife was dead, the rhinos were all unconscious and the ranger was dead. I was in shock. I don't know how long I sat there, but suddenly the ranger got up. His shirt shifted and I couldn't see the hole anymore. There was blood everywhere, and his shirt was torn, but his wound was gone. I figured this was all a dream or something. It just couldn't be real. Another guard finally came up to my car and the police were there and they took me to the hospital. I don't remember much, but that second guard came to visit me at my house and told me that he was a Watcher and that the man who I saw die, was an immortal, so here I am."

Everyone was quiet as they digested his tragic story.

Gabriel pointed and nodded to the next woman.

"Hi my name is Robin Kent." She gave each person a huge smile. "I'm twenty three and I dated an immortal"

'The bubble head,' Amy thought to herself. There must be one in every group. She tried hard to keep her attention on the other recruits, but they were so naive, so mortal in their thinking, that they bored her silly.

The next man took his turn. "My name is Renee Benoit. I am fifty-one and live in Paris."

Amy glanced at the woman next to her. She would be next, and then it would be her turn. She decided that she would mention Horton. It would be best to get the ball rolling. With that decided, she concentrated on what the next speaker was saying.

"I am Barbara Waverly. I'm thirty-seven, and live in Seacouver Washington."

Amy stiffened in her seat.

"My husband tried to blackmail an immortal to kill me. Robert had accidentally witnessed a battle and captured it on film. He figured the man was a killer and would have no scruples against killing me. He was wrong." She gave a wry smile. "Duncan MacLeod ended up saving my life from another immortal, and told me to go talk to Joe Dawson. Joe explained everything, and so here I am."

Amy couldn't help her reaction. 'Oh shit, someone who knew Joe and MacLeod.' This was going to be harder than she imagined. She felt the instructor's eyes on her. How much of her shock did she give away? Then she noticed that everyone was looking at her. Embarrassment colored her face. Of course, it was her turn to talk.

She cleared her throat. "I am Amy Saunders, I'm twenty-seven years old, and I've lived in both the US and in Paris. I happened to witness a beheading. The Watcher there, James Horton, told me all about everything and sent me to Paris with an address. In Paris, I found another Watcher and he told me a lot more and suggested I come here." She picked her words very carefully. She looked at her teacher. She had shocked him.

"It's taken you awhile to get here."

"I couldn't just pick up and leave. Then I needed time to find Don and Adam."

She gave everyone a smile, then looked at her neighbor, the last to speak.

"I am Vincent Luhowsky. I am thirty-three and I'm from Poland. I saw a Quickening and a Watcher saved my life by shooting an immortal when he came to kill me. He dragged me off and told me everything."

Gabriel stood up once more. "From now on, each morning we will meet here at eight. We will do class room discussions, questions and answers and I will go over immortals that are still active in the Game. In the afternoons, after lunch you will go to one of the library and read up on those we have chronicles for. Occasionally, you will be required to read up on particular immortals, but mostly it will be your own choice. Then at three we will meet down stairs for physical training. You are each required to learn martial arts, fencing and handgun usage. We have a stable on the grounds for those who enjoy riding. The evenings are your own. You can read more or do anything you wish. My classes are seven days a week. This course will last most of the winter. Afterwards, you can enroll in the second phase of training. Some will go into the field with an experienced Watcher and others will go into research and become a historian. Some do one and then the other. Only this first phase is mandatory for all Watchers. Any questions?"

As there were none, he released them.

Amy gathered her things and slipped out. She could feel Gabriel's eyes on her as she walked past him.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gabriel observed Amy gather her things and walk out. The others all talked amongst themselves, but she was quick to leave. She listened attentively to everything he had explained, but only during Barbara Waverly's bio did she show any true interest. But what was he going to do about this Horton connection? She hadn't put that on her application, he would have remembered. Could he rid her of any of the Hunter's influence? He hoped she was salvable.

After lunch Gabriel returned to one of the libraries to finish a bit of research he was doing. He had been going through Claudianus's, chronicles. The immortal had changed his name to Grayson in the mid 1900's. He was trying to find a connection to a particular battle. The immortal he used to Watch, before he lost his head, had made a comment about Darius and Grayson murdering a prince of Rome in the early forth century. Darius had still been his teacher at that point. He wanted to find out if this was true, or just a legend perpetuated by Grayson to torment Darius. Several of the chronicles were written in the ancient German tongue, which he only had a rudimentary knowledge. In fact, he didn't know anyone at all who spoke it fluently.

He sat down in his chair, and started on a book. Amy walked in. Gabriel saw her pause at Darius's picture and a bleak sadness came over her features. Then she went to a particular book, as if she knew it was there and pulled it out. Only as she turned around to sit, did she notice Gabriel.

"I promise not to talk, and disturb your concentration."

He nodded, too late. What was she reading in this room? He shifted his head hoping to get a clue as to the date.

"So why did you pick Darius to begin your research on?"

She looked over at him. "Because he was a great man."

"You sound like you knew him."

The sadness returned. "Only from what Don told me."

Gabriel couldn't help thinking that it was Horton who killed Darius. Did she know this?

"I know you only told a fraction of what happened to you at class this morning, but I am curious. Why did James tell you about Don Salzar?"

"He didn't. He sent me somewhere else and they are the ones who sent me to Don."

"Who sent you to Don?"

"Actually James sent me to Victor Benedietti. He was supposed to explain everything and get me into this place. But when I arrived, the man wasn't there. I did find someone else and she directed me to Don."

"What do you remember about James?"

"He was blond. He seemed to know a lot about immortals. He told me about the Kurgan. He told me some about the Game. But we didn't have a lot of time. He had to move on he said."

Instead of answering questions, her responses only elicited more. Benedietti had been another Hunter. He had been killed in MacLeod's barge a few years ago. Maybe fate somehow had circumvented her alliance with Victor, and the Hunters; somehow prevented her from becoming another member of that renegade band. He sincerely hoped so. If she were already a Hunter, he didn't think she would be telling him all of this. So hopefully he still had a chance of molding her into a real Watcher.

"Can I make a suggestion to you Amy?"

"Okay," she said hesitantly.

"Don't tell anyone else about your encounter with Horton. He's dead and he wasn't a good Watcher. He betrayed everything we believed in. We'll be going over him in class and you'll see what I mean. I'd hate to see you rejected because of an innocent meeting with him."

"If you think so. He didn't seem that bad when he was talking to me."

Her attention returned to the book once more. She obviously didn't want to talk. He tried to read, but his concentration was nonexistent. She was really reading it, cover to cover. He had never seen a new recruit do that. Usually they jumped for immortal to immortal, skipping time periods at random. Amy didn't. He sensed a strong purpose in her, he just hoped he could temper it into a constructive outlet, and not in hunting immortals.

At two thirty, she got off her chair to get dressed for the physical part of class. Gabriel was glad that he didn't have to deal with this aspect of Watcher training. They usually had two experienced Watchers as teachers during the initial schooling. The instructors changed periodically, so that the new comers didn't become clones. Different teachers yielded different style Watchers. The organization thrived on diversity of personalities, as long as they all kept their oath.

All six of the new students met dressed and ready for their workout. The phys-ed teacher was Sandor Parnell, but he told them all to call him Sandy. He was British to his bones. He didn't pay the slightest attention to the individual students, but considered them as a mass of bodily deterioration. His mission was to get them into shape. He was relentless in this quest.

The next morning was pretty much the same as the first. They had their morning session. Gabriel tried to impart as much information as they could possibly retain. A few times he was able to get an interested look into Amy's eyes, but usually she sat back and listened politely. Not once did she take notes. Everyone else was scribbling as fast as they could. How much had Don and Adam told her?

After dismissing the people, he went down to the basement.

"Sandy, what do you think of the new student Amy?"

"Which one was she?"

"Not the young girl, the female in the middle."

"Ah yes, her. She's a very good athlete. I think she's held a sword before. As I was giving my spiel, she held hers as if she knew exactly what to do. She didn't do well when it was her turn, but I think she has underlying talent, or past experience that she's covering up."

"Thank you."

Cold chills went up his spine. She's used a sword before? Could Horton have already turned her into a Hunter? Was it up to him to show her the right path? Gabriel went up to the office. He sat at his desk and logged onto the main frame. After searching under several parameters, he finally found a connection, although it was tenuous at best. Adam Pierson was a friend of Joe Dawson. It said that they worked together in recovering the disk from Kalas. Didn't Barbara Waverly say that Dawson had recruited her? When Barbara had mentioned him, Amy had a visible reaction. There was no way that Dawson was a Hunter, but he was related to Horton. He needed more data, but he wouldn't get it here. He stood up and left the office.

He was rounding the corner when he saw Amy heading out the front door. He followed her. Since he was a damned good Watcher, keeping her in sight and staying undiscovered was not difficult. She went to the stables. He could hear her crooning to the horses. For a minute he had the crazy idea that she was meeting someone, like a

Hunter.

"Well aren't you a pretty boy. I'd like to take you for a run. If I can't play my guitar, at least I can go for a fast gallop. What do you say buster brown?"

Gabriel saw her grab a lead rope, clip it onto the horse's halter, and lead him out to the cross ties. There she brushed him down and saddled him up.

"At least they have a western saddle. Don't know if I could stay on with those flimsy English things. There my beauty."

She put the bridle on with experienced hands. The groom who was usually here seemed to be absent. He didn't like the idea of her riding alone. She unhooked the cross ties and led him out. With a little jump. She was into the saddle and trotting west. He came along side of the barn and could see her loping away. She was a natural on a horse.

He went back into the house. What was going on with her? What was her secret? Was Pierson in on it, or was she duping him too?

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

She returned to the house an hour later. He slipped out to the barn and found the groom walking the horse.

"Hi Hank? Did you do a bit of riding today?" he asked non-chalantly.

"No sir, little Amy did. Boy could she sit a horse, just like she was born in the saddle. Handled this little monster with ease."

Gabriel returned inside. He'd better work on his research for awhile.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

That night, the students were a bit livelier. There was chatting at the table and some teasing. She was still keeping to herself, although she was talking quietly to Dave. She seemed to want to talk to the established Watchers, and all but ignored the recruits. After dinner, a group of them wanted to go out and see the town. Renee declined and so did Amy. He really didn't feel like going out, so he made his excuses too.

Amy left the table and he nabbed Dave before he had a chance to take off.

"Have you gotten to know her at all?"

"A little. She's pretty shy, but I'm the one that gave her a tour when she first got here." He laughed. "She was sure attached to Adam, didn't think she'd let him leave. I had the strangest feeling that she didn't want to be here."

"So you think Adam and her are close friends, not just acquaintances?"

"They are definitely friends. There was non-verbal communication and everything."

"Thanks Dave. Continue to be her friend, I don't think she's making many."

"Oh, one other thing. This is weird. She asked me if I've ever been in the field. I had to tell her yes, occasionally. Then she asked me if the immortal I was Watching had ever scared me. Isn't that a strange question?"

"Not really, but it something to keep in mind. Maybe the girl is afraid of immortals."

The two men said goodbye and he started up the stairs. A doorbell rang. He went back down and unlocked the door. The visitor flashed his wrist and Gabriel let him in. They had a tendency to have Watchers arrive without notice, because they had just lost their immortals to permanent death. This one was no different. During deep sorrow, it was only natural that they would return to a place that was like home. Many Watchers didn't have a home, so where they trained, became the closest thing to it.

"I'm Gabriel Santucci."

"I am Leonardo Giardina. I have come from Milan. Mia immortal, Regina, she die last night." Big tears fell from his eyes. "I Watch her for twenty years. The man cheated, but she still dead."

Gabriel put his arm around the older man and helped him inside.

"I too have just lost my immortal, only three months ago. I followed him for ten years, so I know what you're going through."

"She was like family. I know everything. She did not like Arman to be late. She always want coffee first thing in the morning. No toast, or pastry, just coffee." He had been her butler.

"I know. I know. He tried to comfort the old man. As they walked into the foyer, he could see Amy on the staircase, observing them. Her eyes were filled with compassion, but with a hint of mistrust. Then both sentiments were gone and she turned around and went back upstairs. The compassion he understood, but the mistrust?

The next day in class he started describing the history of the Watchers. He had the attention of all his students. He told of the different regional coordinators and how each one had a large estate, which housed many chronicles and artifacts from that region. They were welcome to visit any of these places and view them. He told them that Athens had the largest of the collections and the earliest of the chronicles. The only problem was that, they were written in such an ancient language, they would need Methos to decipher it.

"Who is Methos?" asked Vincent.

"The oldest living immortal. They say he's in the vicinity of five thousand years, but no one knows for sure. They say even he doesn't know."

Gabriel caught a strange look cross Amy's face. It was amusement. How odd.

"Tell me Amy, you were brought in by Adam Pierson. They say he is the resident expert on Methos, you think the elusive immortal will ever be found?"

She stiffened as the spotlight fell on her. "He hasn't lived that long by being sloppy. Every time Adam gets close, Methos is long gone."

While this news was not new, it did prove that this woman was in Pierson's confidence. He dismissed class and went to his office. He logged onto the Watcher main frame to check his mail. Then he heard Amy come in and ask to use the phone.

"Hi Adam."

"I'm doing fine. Had a nice long class on the elusive Methos. Quite an interesting topic, don't you think?"

He heard the amusement again.

"Yes, well, who wouldn't be interested in him. How's things there?"

Pause.

"But Adam, I don't believe it. How could Richie be so gullible."

There was a pause.

"I know, he's pissed at me. At least now he's pissed at you too."

Pause

"So why didn't MacLeod take her head?"

Pause again.

"Figures. At least you were able to be there, for Joe. I know, I know. It'll take time."

Pause.

"It's okay. There are horses, and that's about the only think that makes this place livable. Tell me have you met my friend Alexa? You have?"

A very long pause.

"You are? I don't think that it's a good idea. Be her friend, but don't start anything romantic."

Pause.

"Alright, I will. Keep in touch. Tell everyone I said hi. Forget MacLeod. He doesn't need to know anything. I don't know why he fascinates you so."

Another pause.

"Bye."

"Shit, not Alexa," she whispered to herself.

She picked up the phone and called another number.

"Can I speak to Joe Dawson please?"

"Hi, it's Amy."

Pause.

"Good. It's not quite as bad as I expected. Reading the chronicles has made up for all the boring stuff."

"Only Darius."

"Really?" Gabriel could hear the amazement in her voice.

"You really knew this Ian Bancroft? He was your mentor? Cool. I never saw him."

"I wanted to talk to you about Adam. Did you know he's interested in Alexa?"

"You do? What are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean nothing? Well this isn't good. He's going to fall apart when she dies. He has gone so long without caring about anyone and now, oh shit. I see so many problems. He's not going to able to handle it."

Pause

"Make sure he knows I'm always here for him."

"Bye Joe."

She left the office, never noticing Gabriel sitting at his desk.

Chapter 4-The Heart of Training

Beginning 1996

Amy worried about Methos continually. He had professed for years that he didn't care about anything. She always suspected that it was only lip service, he cared about her and her family. He cared about Darius. And recently he became fixated on MacLeod, and actually confessed to him his true identity. But to fall in love with a woman with incurable cancer, that was the height of self-destruction. How could he possibly survive this?

She went to the afternoon class in self-defense. She went through the motions but she was very distracted. Sandy had to call her attention back more times than he could count. Finally it was over. She escaped the basement and went up to her room to shower and change for dinner.

Tonight she was seated between Gabriel and Barbara. There were several other new Watchers present. One was the old man who had come in the night before. Two were just passing through. So dinner consisted of the new recruits asking the veteran Watchers all kinds of stupid questions. Dale and Thomas were very lively and soon had the whole table laughing at their anecdotes.

"How do you stay hidden? Vincent asked.

"It's something you learn. You have to dress very carefully. Your clothes should always match your surroundings. You can't wear jeans to the opera, for instance." Dale answered.

Thomas inserted, "Yea, remember when Mary Ellen was tailing Pierre? You should have seen her. She had overheard Pierre making a date with this model for an evening of fun and dancing. So she grabbed Dale and made him escort her. Both dressed to the nines."

Dale continued the story. "We were following them on foot, and Mary Ellen complained about her feet every step of the way. Then they walk into this club who's clientele were wearing leather pants and vests carrying whips and chains." He laughed. "Mary Ellen was mortified. Some people were coming out the door and saw us. They jeered and heckled and we ran away, half in fear and half in embarrassment."

"And you'll never live it down."

Amy cracked a smile. The anecdotes were funny. She realized just how hard it was, trying to observe and yet stay hidden. It gave her a better appreciation for the dangers that were involved.

Barbara tried to engage her in conversation. Amy answered all the woman's questions and even managed to sound interested in what they were talking about. Then she asked Barbara a question, which caught her neighbor's attention.

"When you met MacLeod, were you afraid of him?"

"Scared to death. I had just seen the video of the battle and he had taken the man's head. I was sure he was after mine."

"So what did you do?"

"I tried to kill him. I had a gun and was shooting at him. It's funny, he had already left the house free and clear, and then he came back. Now I realize he was trying to warn me about my husband wanting to kill me, but at the time I thought he was coming back to finish the job."

"He is a peculiar man. What did you think about his Watcher?"

"He's a sweetie. He knew just what to say and did everything to ease my fear."

Amy nodded, lost in her own thoughts. It felt good hearing Barbara describe her father so. He was a sweetie. A small smile lit her eyes. She failed to notice Barbara's curiosity and the calculated glances that Gabriel kept sending her way.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The classes settled into a routine. The mornings were spent in group discussions. They ranged from why an immortal did something to how would you act if your immortal confronted you. Gabriel tried to go over every scenario that they might come across in the field. Some of the stuff actually became interesting to her. She paid close attention to what he discussed.

One morning he brought up the non-interference oath. Gabriel started out the discussion by describing why they have the oath and then opened it up for comments.

"One of the most important parts of the oath that we all have to take, deals with non-interference. It's also the one that's most open to interpretation, by individual Watchers and immortals alike. The oath quite simply is that Watchers observe and record but never interfere. What do we mean by 'never interfere'?"

He looked around the table.

Nathan spoke. "It means that a Watcher should never get in the way or skew the outcome when two immortals meet."

"That's a good answer. Anyone else?"

Robin piped up, "Immortals are not supposed to know we exist. Just by knowing that we have all this information would be enough for them to want to use us."

"That's true. Let's say you were a Watcher and your immortal was a 'good' one. What would you do if a truly evil immortal comes into your town? He's already raped and killed two families since he arrived. Would you warn your assignment, try and get him to kill the evil immortal, or do nothing as the evil one comes closer and closer to you?"

Blank looks on everyone's face.

"Would you shoot him and take his head? Remember he's really evil."

Amy answered. She couldn't stand the indecision of her fellow classmates. "I'd tell my immortal and have him take the guy's head."

Gabriel rounded on her. "What would happen if your immortal just ran away?"

"He wouldn't!" She was aghast at the suggestion. She couldn't imagine Dickon ever running from a fight.

"But maybe he's not good with a sword and he stays alive by hiding."

This rang pretty close to Methos's philosophy. She blushed slightly.

"I'd pack up and follow him, I guess."

"Okay, now he knows what you are. What are you going to do when he comes to you for information?" He looked around. "It doesn't matter if it's in relation to the Game, or just piddly stuff like 'so-in-so is supposed to meet me for lunch and he never showed up. Did he lose his head?' What would you say?"

No one said anything. "That's why we don't want the immortals to know about us. The line gets blurred and you never know when you cross it. Watchers work best when they're unknown, part of the furniture so to speak."

Barbara asked, "What about MacLeod and Dawson?"

"That's a good question. We'll go over this in depth when we learn about MacLeod, but for now we'll say that they are an aberration. Dawson told MacLeod under extreme circumstances and this has caused some dissent among the hierarchy."

And so the discussion went on. Every argument that Amy came up with that said Watchers and immortals could be friends, Gabriel shot down with a hundred reasons why it wouldn't work. It frustrated and angered her to no end. Why were these people so pig-headed? They felt if it worked for a thousand years than it can work for a thousand more. There was no room for growth, for change, for evolving.

She continued to take a horse out every afternoon while the sun was high and slightly warmer that at other times. She asked people to join her, but only Gabriel and Sandy knew how to ride so they took turns riding with her. There was little chance for conversation, because after warming up, all she wanted to do was gallop. She really looked like she was born in the saddle.

The evenings she spent reading. She took a break from reading about Darius and found some of Dickon's chronicles. She found the one that described the meeting between Dickon and Corey, her dad. This had not been in Corey's chronicles that her mother had stolen. She took the book out of the blue room and smuggled it up to her room. It was written in an ancient Latin dialect that Dickon had taught her. Many of Corey's chronicles were written in the same language. She had forgotten that Dickon's given name was Rikodius and her dad's was Coreolus. They had such strange names back then, Darius, Methos, Coreolus, Rikodius and Claudianus. While she knew the first four, she had never met Claudianus, or Grayson as he had been later called, before MacLeod had taken his head.

A week passed. She was learning so much, despite her earlier unwillingness. She enjoyed both the class room discussions and the physical training that they partook in each afternoon. That day, they were scheduled to do some in depth fencing. She was looking forward to it. They had good swords to work with and she was learning new moves. She remembered Methos's warning, but she had spent a lot of time having these lessons. A real match was too much of a temptation.

While Amy was downstairs, Gabriel was reading in one of the rooms that housed many of older chronicles. That's when he noticed that one was missing. It was part of a series on Richard Collins. None of the recruits should have been in this room. The books were too old for them to be able to read the words. Who would have wanted that particular book? He knew that none of the other Watchers were interested in him. Collins had disappeared over twenty-five years ago and had yet to resurface. Then he remembered Adam Pierson telling Amy to read the chronicles of Collins. She must have the book.

Just then he heard someone come running up the stairs. He opened the door and saw Amy and Barbara. Amy was bleeding profusely. He followed the women to Amy's room. He bent over her and helped to dab the blood. She was definitely not immortal, not that he had any doubt. But whenever someone was hurt, it was always the first thing that popped into one's head. He called the doctor and asked if he could come out.

They got her bandaged up and Gabriel helped her into bed. Then he saw the chronicle by the side of her bed. She did have it. He didn't say anything about it. Gabriel hovered over her, impatiently waiting for the doctor to arrive.

With great relief, the doctor said that she only needed a few stitches and then it would heal on it's own. He gave her a shot of penicillin and a few more tablets to take to prevent infection. Amy was still awake, so he gave her some pain pills, which would also help her to rest.

Gabriel sat at the edge of her bed. She looked up at him with wide eyes. For some reason, he could see fear in her eyes. Was it fear of him, or of discovery? He picked up the book from her nightstand.

"Would you like me to read this to you?"

"Okay." She took the book from him and pointed out a page. "Start here."

He read, interpreting the words as he went. "We rode hard into the mountains. The snow would slow us down, but hopefully it would deter the others from following us. Rikodius rode beside me part of the way. Did he suspect? Eventually he took the lead and found a cave for us to settle in for the night. It was cold and yet we dared not light a fire. Coreolus had an animal that carried grain for our mounts. This was distributed, while we all went hungry. Guards were set up to watch the pass, and sound an alarm if anyone did emerge."

"That word is not 'did emerge', it's like, 'in case we were followed'," she muttered groggily.

He gave her a quick look and then continued on. "Sleep was hard to come by, and the night passed slowly. When the sun arose, no one had ascended the pass, so Rikodius was depending on the freedom..."

"No, Rikodius was hopeful, not depending."

"Right. Can I continue?" He was getting irritated at her constant interruptions.

"Please." She yawned.

"The day was as slow as the night. We came across a goat farm. We saw a fire from the house and proceeded to attack it."

"No not attack, the word is go towards it with hostile intent."

He blinked. "There was only one man and he was easy to overcome. The larder was full of food and we were all able to feast. We found fodder for our mounts and sent out the squires to take care of it. Coreolus talked Rikodius into spending the day and next night here. Guards were posted and turns were taken for sleep."

Gabriel glanced at Amy; she was asleep. He still couldn't believe that she understood this language. Why did she need to correct him constantly? What are Rikodius and Coreolus to her? Pierson must have taught it to her, but that would take years. From what she said, they hadn't known each other for very long. Yet Dave believed that two of them were close.

It was past dinnertime before Gabriel made it downstairs. The others were milling around anxiously awaiting him.

"She's fine. The slice was long, but not deep. She lost a lot of blood and it's making her weak. All she needs is time and sleep and she'll be fine." He spoke reassuringly to them.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Amy still came to morning class, but skipped the physical fitness exercises in the afternoon. She also had to miss out on her riding. She spent most of her time reading the chronicles. They were intoxicating, and she became addicted. She didn't want to leave this haven of history.

On her first day back, after her injury, Gabriel changed the format of his classes.

"Today we are going to switch gears. At first we went over some general knowledge. Now we come to the interesting stuff, the individual immortals. Each day we will meet a different one. We will learn when they were born, how they were raised and what impact they have had in the game. I do not have the time to go over them all, just the ones I find the most interesting. If you had a different instructor then you would probably have had a different selection of immortals. Today, in honor of Barbara, we will meet Duncan MacLeod."

He turned off the lights and flicked on the slide projector.

"This is Glenfinnan today. This is where he was born in 1592. We don't know much about his childhood. The only data that we have, are the anecdotes that he has told his current Watcher, Joe Dawson.

"He was killed in early adulthood during a battle, brought home for the funeral, then he rose from the dead. This traumatized his clan and they cast him out. He struggled, we presume, for we did not know of his existence then. Eventually his kinsman Connor MacLeod found him and became his first teacher. That was when we first became aware of him."

He changed slides and a picture of both immortals came onto the big screen.

"They have since shared a unique relationship, that of kin, not just student and teacher. After a time they separated, but have always kept in touch. Duncan found other teachers..."

Amy sat back enjoying the story. He was a fascinating man. He went from an illiterate warrior, to someone who was a connoisseur in all things. He was still arrogant, but so was Dickon. Gabriel went over every single aspect of his life. When he came to the part about Darius, she paid close attention.

"We have always had high hopes for this particular immortal. He has honor, a willingness to help mortals, and an excellent sword arm. This has made him a formidable opponent, and a loyal friend. When his friend Darius was killed, he went berserk. He would not rest until he found the killer." Gabriel paused for dramatic tension.

"Turns out the killers were Watchers." Everyone gasped, except Amy. Her eyes were dark with fury and pain.

"A renegade band, led by James Horton, went on a killing spree. We don't know how many immortals they killed. But they made a big mistake when they killed Darius, on Holy ground. Needless to say, it did not take long for MacLeod to find the killer, and when he did, he found his own Watcher, Joe Dawson. Now Dawson didn't have anything to do with the killings, but James and Joseph were brothers-in-law. Duncan exposed the Hunters, which we are all thankful for. Joe, trying to keep MacLeod from killing all Watchers,told him everything."

Amy sat back again. Even in an impartial setting, they were pronouncing his, her father's, innocence. The Hunters were really only a small handful. Were there any left? If there were, she'd find them. While she was stuck in school, there would be little opportunity to search. She might question all Watchers who came here, but that was such a small fraction. But, after she got her own tattoo, then she would find them all. Methos was right, the Watchers were doing good. The histories had to be kept. After reading the few that she had, it really sunk into her how important it was.

He next talked about Kalas and how Joe and MacLeod worked together to stop the CD from getting out into the general public. He didn't mention Methos, or rather Adam. Was that because they didn't know, or was that on purpose?

The class ended, and she was disappointed. It had been very interesting. She never realized just what her father had done, when he initiated a friendship with his assignment. It was really a radical move. He was very brave to have attempted it. Her respect for him grew. She felt pride, for the first time, pride in her father, although she sensed that Gabriel didn't really approve of what Joe had done.

For the afternoon, she went back up to Darius's room to read about their meeting in 1815. Gabriel joined her there. Only the two of them shared the room. They read side by side in companionable silence for over an hour.

"Amy, why do you always come to this room to read?" he asked with curiosity.

"That's not true. I go to others, although this is my favorite."

"Why?"

Amy looked at this man who was her teacher. He sat with her and read to her when she had been injured. She hadn't really thought about him as anything other than a teacher, but he was slowly becoming a friend. However much she might not like the idea, however much it scared her, it was fact.

"I loved him," she answered truthfully, looking up at his picture.

Gabriel stiffened. "You knew him?"

"Yes, I did." She dropped her eyes and looked at the words written there. Water made them blur. "And I still miss him so much."

Amy slowly got up from her chair and walked out of the room. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Gabriel sat and pondered her words. This put an entire new slant on things. If she was a Hunter, then she shouldn't be so upset about Darius's death. Unless she was acting, trying to throw him off the scent. That made much more sense. But a nagging thought remained, she seemed to genuinely feel that Watchers and immortals should be friends.

The next few days passed quickly. Every day Gabriel picked another interesting immortal. Nothing more was mentioned of their intimate disclosure. It festered in his mind, but he was afraid to question her deeper about it. One day he happened to find the chronicle which featured Rikodius's first meeting with Claudianus. Remembering her interest in Rikodius, he went to find her. She was on the phone in the office.

"Adam, I am worried about you, I can't help it."

Pause.

"It would be wonderful to see you. I haven't really been out of the house except to ride the horses. I can't believe you got Alexa to agree to this world tour thing."

Pause.

"I can be there. Yes, everything is fine here."

Pause.

"No, I haven't killed anyone. Everyone has been very friendly to me."

She had a big smile on her face, and he could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

Pause.

"Okay, tomorrow at six. I can't wait. Give Alexa my best and tell her I can't wait to see her. Bye Adam."

She hung up the phone and Gabriel waited for her to notice him.

"Oh, I didn't see you."

"Right." He paused. "I have a book for you. It's about Rikodius and Grayson."

"Really? Thanks." She took the book and opened it up. "This sounds really interesting," she said absently. Then she walked out of the room.

Gabriel was dumbfounded. It was written, in an entirely different language than the last one he had found her with. He only knew a smattering of the Latin dialect, yet it never even slowed her down. How much had Adam taught her? Their friendship could not be as new as she had implied. Why was she lying?

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The next day Amy entered the conference room bleary eyed. She had stayed up far into the night reading the chronicle that Gabriel had given her. It had been so fascinating. How she wished she could talk to Dickon or Methos about it. Gabriel introduced Koren as that day's immortal. He started as usual with his brief synopsis on his early days. Then he flashed the picture on the screen. Amy gave an audible gasp.

'Kronos!' her exhaustion forgotten as the memory assailed her.

Summer 1981

Amy was inside the church dusting the stupid altar decorations. How she hated being here. Darius was in his garden tending to some herb or another. They all looked alike to her. He said manual labor was good for the soul. Ha! He just wanted to be rid of her for awhile. She had been there for a month already, how she wanted to go home. She missed her horse, Shadow. Was anyone giving him treats? She heard someone come in the church. She ignored the sound. Some Parisian needed to pray; they didn't want to talk to her. She kept up with her dusting.

"Well aren't you a pretty girl. How come you're working instead of having fun?"

Amy turned around and saw a man, not very tall, but he had a large scar running down the right side of his face.

"Darius thinks I need to learn patience."

"The young always want to do things in a hurry. Old timers like the good father, have learned to take their time. They want to savor every moment. So where is Corey?"

He was an immortal. What was she supposed to do? It was too late to hide. "I don't know. He's taking my Mom to see things from his past."

"I see. So they dropped you off here, for safe keeping?"

"Yes, so they say."

"What about the rest of your family? Can't they baby sit you?"

"I don't need a babysitter."

Just then Darius came running in the church. The stranger had his sword out in seconds.

"Hello Darius, so we meet again."

"Kronos!"

"Such a pretty girl. A favorite with Coreolus, no?"

"Leave her out of this."

He took his sword and softly rubbed it against her budding breasts. "I saw her once with him, when she was still a child." He reminisced. "But now she is at the perfect age; so untouched, yet with all the right curves." He smiled sadistically.

The threat was unmistakable. Amy started to shake.

"Tell me where Methos is, and I'll spare her."

The two immortals locked eyes. Neither would back down.

"I want Methos, and I will find him even if it takes me another thousand years. I will use anything, do anything, to get him. He belongs to me."

He put his face inches from Amy's, "I'm sure we'll meet again. You won't be as well protected then." He laughed as he slid his sword once more within the folds of his coat. Amy sat there shivering, in the seventy-five degree church. The dampness of fear had penetrated every pore.

The Present

Amy reverie ended abruptly. Gabriel continued in his talk, glancing occasionally at Amy. She sensed his interest in her behavior, but she couldn't help it. Koren and Kronos were the same person and he wanted Methos. She needed to gather as much information about him as possible. It never occurred to her that what she was doing was totally against the rules. She was a Watcher, gaining information about one immortal to give to another, in order to give him an edge. All she knew was that Kronos wanted to kill Methos and she would do everything in her power to prevent it. She furiously wrote down everything Gabriel said.

When class was over, Amy went up to Gabriel.

"Who's Koren's Watcher?"

"Emile Vanaught."

"Do you know where he is right now? Could you log onto a computer and find him?"

"Sure."

"Now?"

He nodded and they went into the office. He logged onto his computer and connected to the main frame. After adding a few search parameters, he was able to access Vanaught's files.

"Looks like Koren's in Greece."

She nodded. "Thank you," she said with a smile. She noticed his worried frown, but just didn't care what he thought. The information was just too important. She gathered her notebooks and hurried out of the room. She didn't want to answer any of Gabriel's questions.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gabriel sat on the bench in the front hall. He was waiting for Amy to leave so that he could follow her without her knowledge. He needed to see just how close she was to Adam Pierson. He was writing in his book when the doorbell rang. She flew down the stairs, grinning from ear to ear. He got up from the bench and left through a side door.

From a safe distance, he followed them to a restaurant at a hotel. Adam left Amy at the front door and went to park the car. Gabriel drove to a side road and parked there, walking quickly to the hotel.

'This must be where Adam was staying,' he mused.

As he entered, he saw Amy talking to a frail looking woman. They were laughing and pointing to a brochure. He looked around for Adam, but didn't see him yet. He walked around the terrarium, so he was behind the women, and hidden by the monstrous tree growing out of the floor.

"Did you like Greece?"

"It was wonderful. Adam knew all the best places to go, and where the most beautiful sunsets could be found. He is just so wonderful."

Then Gabriel heard Adam join them.

"Alexa was just telling me that you've just come from Greece."

"I wanted to share with her some of my favorite places. But then she decided that she wanted to see you next."

"I can't believe that you've known Adam your whole life."

"Yea, we kind of grew up together." She grinned at him.

"Enough. Let's go in and get a table."

Gabriel saw Adam put his arms around both women and led them into the dining area. She had known Adam for a very long time. So why did she feel she had to lie about it? He followed them in and quietly obtained a table off to the far side where he could keep his eye on them.

The three had dinner. They laughed and joked. Gabriel was able to move to another table, closer to where they sat. He sat with a newspaper in front of his face, hoping to stay hidden. This was closer than he ought to be, but only the other woman was facing him. He should be safe.

"You should have seen her, down on her bum, with mud from head to toe. I swear the horse was laughing at her."

"I was only ten. What did I know?"

They all laughed, but Alexa's sounded shallow.

"Would you two mind if I go to bed? I'm feeling pretty tired. No don't get up Adam, I can make it on my own. Really."

They followed her movements as she picked up her purse and sweater and walked out of the room. At the door she turned and waved to them. Gabriel was able to recognize that she was sick. Then he remembered that Amy had said something about her having cancer.

"I can't remember the last time I felt such gut wrenching pain, as when I see how brave she acts around me." His voice cracked.

"I know."

He took a deep breath. "Tell me about you. What is it all like?"

"The other students aren't bad, although I try and keep my distance. I'm just not good at lying, and I'm afraid I'll trip myself up. Oh, by the way, I didn't give them the story you concocted."

"What'd you tell them?"

"That I was your girlfriend and I came across your Watcher notes and made you explain."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose. That *wasn't* the story she had told him. So Adam didn't know about Horton. She was lying to him too.

"You didn't?"

"Yep." She had a wicked grin on her face.

"What slips have you made?"

"I told Gabriel, my teacher, that I knew Darius. I also let it slip that I know ancient languages. But since we're so close, I'm sure they decided that you must have taught me."

"So they don't know that you can talk fluently in all of them?"

"I don't think so. Besides only Gabriel knows."

"Do you trust him?"

She thought about it. "I guess I do. In one of our classes he made a point of saying that Dawson was not involved in Horton's hunter plot."

So Adam did know something about Horton.

"Then he said some nice things about Mac. I think I'm getting an appreciation for your MacLeod, as long as I'm not in the same room. Then he exasperates me all over again."

Adam laughed. "The young immortals do have a tendency to sound pompous and arrogant."

"So do the old ones," she laughed, and then sobered. "I wanted to tell you, the immortal we studied today was a guy named Koren. You ever heard of him?"

"No, should I?"

"Yes, he's really Kronos."

He paled. "So Koren is another alias?"

"I would assume so. He's in Greece now. You must be leaving some kind of trail. He wants your head and nothing will stop him."

Gabriel blinked. Did he just hear her right? Koren, alias Kronos wants Adam's head? That meant Adam was an immortal. Oh God! He couldn't believe it.

"I can't deal with Kronos now. I need to focus everything on Alexa. She doesn't have much time."

"We never have enough time."

"Have you called Joe lately?"

"No and I should."

"You called him Dad at the airport. He came back to the bar smiling from ear to ear, Richie says."

"How's Richie doing? He wasn't happy about me leaving."

"Not well. But I don't want you running back to Seacouver. You see, MacLeod took a dark Quickening."

"What!"

"MacLeod went for Richie's head. Joe shot Mac so Richie could get away. I helped MacLeod battle his demons, while Alexa was in for this last chemo treatment. I took him to a magic spring and he's better now. Not quite the same, a little more subdued. He killed a good friend and hasn't forgiven himself for it."

"But Richie hasn't recovered?"

"No, he's hasn't. He's hunting, taking as many heads as he can."

"He's trying to build up power so the next time Mac comes for him he has a chance," she rationalized. "Damn, I should be with him."

"No, you can not solve every problem immortals have. You just deal with your own."

"But..."

"No buts." Adam was firm. "Tell me about this Gabriel."

"He's not a Hunter."

"High praise indeed."

She hit him on the arm. "He's a good teacher. Everyone likes him. He uh, helped me when I got the sword wound."

"*What*? You got hurt by a sword?"

"It was an accident. I was fencing, not paying complete attention to what I was doing, and my opponent slipped on the mat. As he fell, my arms grazed the edge of his sword, and my arm got sliced."

"Very sloppy of you. Corey is probably rolling in his grave. Have you told Dickon?"

"No way. He gets so paranoid whenever I get hurt. Anyway, I haven't called him since I started this school. I'm afraid they'll trace the call."

"Why don't we call him now. It's what, afternoon at the ranch, maybe he'll be in. I've got my calling card."

"Okay, let's."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gabriel hid his face as they walked by. Amy never noticed him. She was almost skipping in her eagerness to get to the phone. He waited a few minutes and then followed them to the lobby. He could see them at the phones. He walked towards them, but stayed hidden. Both took turns on the phone, but he couldn't hear what was said. Then Adam turned towards him and their eyes connected. Oh shit! He was made. Gabriel slid out from his hiding place and left the restaurant. Would Adam tell her anything?

Gabriel got ready for bed pondering everything he had learned. One, Adam was immortal. That was the most amazing thing he had ever learned. An immortal had infiltrated the Watchers. Plus, Amy told two separate stories as to why she joined the Watchers which was different from yet a third that she had discussed with Adam. The two of them were obviously very close, something about growing up together. Then they mentioned that Joe Dawson was her father, but her last name was Saunders. Somehow she had been raised separately from Dawson. Had Adam helped in this reunion? Adam was immortal. How could she be a Hunter if she was close to immortals?

Round and round it went in his head. He had forgotten. Didn't she mention that she knew Darius? That she loved him? He had believed her to be lying, what if she wasn't? He had to make sense out of it all. Why did he feel that Amy was plotting something? Something that was dangerous, which he had to stop. Frustration gnawed at him.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Amy got home, and worried over what Gabriel may have over heard. What if he figured out Adam was immortal, or worse that he was Methos? She tossed and turned; getting more worked up as the night passed. She had nightmares about Gabriel telling all the Watchers about Methos and they all came for his head. She couldn't stand it any more; she had to know for sure.

She took her dagger, that Corey had given her when she was ten. She wished that she had a sword. Her childhood conditioning had not lost its potency. She crept down the hall to Gabriel's room. She opened the door and quietly entered. She stepped closer to the bed. She turned on his lamp, which blinded them both for several seconds. She put the knife to his throat. She was consumed with her need to protect Methos.

"I want to know everything you heard," she commanded, allowing the fear and anguish to be heard in her voice.

He stared up at her, without speaking.

"Tell me," she commanded again.

"Put the knife down and we'll talk."

"Never. I've had two immortals I love very much die at the hands of Watchers," she spit the word out in repulsion, "and I won't let it happen to another one. Tell me what you heard."

"I won't tell anyone that Adam is immortal. Your secret is safe with me."

Good, he doesn't know he's Methos. "Ha! James Horton told me to call him Uncle. He told me he was family, then he cut the heads off both my parents. My mother wasn't even immortal, she was a Watcher. There is no honor..."

"Whoa down girl. What do you mean there is no honor? Haven't you heard what I've been telling you?"

He sat up in bed.

Some of her anger dissipated as he began to sound more like her teacher than a threat to her friend. The knife drifted down.

"The Watcher organization exists for one purpose. We are to write the histories of all the immortals we can find. That is all. We stay in the background observing what they do, and hopefully making notes of the things they learn. We do not influence them in any way; everything they do should be independent of us. While there is no public glory in what we do, personally we can learn so much from them. It is a privilege to be a Watcher, and no one should abuse it. But, we are also human. When we come across an evil immortal, it's hard to stay impartial. As we write down each horror and see their irreverence for life, it becomes impossible to continue. So we ask for reassignment, and sort of recharge our batteries; cleanse our souls. But if someone doesn't ask for reassignment, we don't realize there is a problem.

"That is what happened to James. He was a good man, he really was. But he followed an immortal named Kage from 1973 to 1981, and witnessed unspeakable atrocities. Then we lost track of Kage, so James was reassigned to the Kurgan. That was our biggest mistake. For the next few years, James was inundated by the Kurgan's pleasure in killing and torturing innocents. He snapped, and we never saw it. Hell, his own brother-in-law, never saw it. He began to view all the immortals as threats to him, to his family, to all of mankind. He lost the wonder and magic of it and only saw the vile, seedy, dark aspect of immortality. To be a really good Watcher, you have to see and recognize that both are there, and deal with it rationally. James wasn't rational anymore. He was able to recruit a few to his cause, because the fear of what immortals can do resides in all of us. But most of us are smart enough to know that not all immortals are bad, the majority are just ordinary people who live a long time and learn from their past mistakes. With any kind of luck, good will triumph over evil and the last will be someone like MacLeod, not someone like Koren."

"Kronos. His name is Kronos. He's even worse than what's written in all of your chronicles. He personifies evil." She thought back to Methos's stories about the four horsemen.

"You see, you want to kill him. Why? Because he's a threat to you and to those you love. That was what Horton thought about all immortals. He ceased to be able to tell the difference in them. That's why he was sick. Do you feel that you have the right to eliminate Koren? Do you? Are *you* a Hunter?"

"No!" she screamed venomously.

"That's right. You're only supposed to Watch and take notes. Let someone like MacLeod take care of it." He paused with a waiting look in his eyes.

She lowered her knife, trying to comprehend what he was telling her.

He continued. "I won't hurt you and I promise not to hurt Adam."

"You heard quite a bit tonight."

"Yes, I did. You should have been honest with me from the start. The rest of the class didn't need to know, but I did. Joe Dawson is your father. Why didn't you want anyone to know this?"

She thought fast. He didn't need to know that she was looking for revenge. "I didn't want special treatment. They thought it would be better this way. I didn't care."

"Do you want to become a Watcher, like your father?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then go back and learn every thing you can and be the best God damn Watcher the organization has ever seen."

She stood up, with a confused look on her face. "Alright. Goodnight." And she left, slightly dazed.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

He let out a huge sigh. He remembered a comment she had made on the phone. 'No, I didn't kill anyone', yet, he wanted to amend her statement. He thought back to what she said; 'two immortals I loved were killed by Watchers'. Darius was one, who was the other? She said her parents were both killed. One of her parents was an immortal, probably the man who raised her. Saunders. Did he know of any immortals with the last name of Saunders?

He couldn't sleep. He crept down to the office and logged onto the main frame. He typed in the name and waited for the search to finish. A name came up. Corey Saunders, alias Coreolus. He sat there looking at the name; the cursor was blinking, on off, on

off. He was stunned.

If her father was Corey Saunders, and she knew Darius, then it would stand to reason that she knew Rikodius. Dickon, she had mentioned Dickon when she was talking to Adam. He did a search for Rikodius. The computer took a very long time. Rikodius had taken Coreolus's head, which had then killed Coreolus's Watcher, Sara Littlefield. He ran a search on both Dawson and this Littlefield. Bingo, they trained together. What parentage this woman had, he thought with wonder. It rivaled his own.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The next day, she treated Gabriel as if the incident the night before had never happened. She went to class, and was surprised to find that the immortal of the day was Cassandra. While she had never met the woman, she had heard her mentioned once or twice by Methos. He always had a faraway look to his eyes, almost wistful. Dickon always wore an sympathetic expression, but neither would tell her about it.

The doctor announced that she was fit for sword practice, as long as she took it easy. She had been doing minor calisthenics, but now she could go back to more rigorous training.

Sandy started the class with a lecture, just like he always did. "Welcome back Amy, we missed you. We have a special guest today. He is a world class fencer and he has come to show us some advanced moves. I know you are all wondering why we even bother with swords. After all it's the immortals who fight with them, not us. That's true. You are never to engage an immortal in any kind of sword fight. You should never carry a sword or give any evidence that you know how to use one. The reason we learn all this is because you have to write about the battles. Immortals are constantly engaging in either mock or serious fights. It is your job to be able to describe in minute detail, these encounters. If you've never held a sword, if you've never had to defend against one coming at you, how can you write about it? I'm not saying you have to be proficient, just able to recognize all the moves. What we've done so far, is teach the rudimentary lessons. Today you will learn some of the current moves that are used in competition. Please take notes as to the names of these moves and the best way to counter them."

Amy was impressed. They were getting an intense education. The afternoon went by fast. They did some mat work, but mostly they listened and learned.

When class ended she walked out with Barbara. They exchanged meaningless words, but it was the first time that Amy had acted friendly at all. She decided to try harder to get to know her classmates. Amy still didn't tell Barbara anything about herself, but it was the start of a friendship.

As they passed the office, Veronica came out to get Amy. "Adam's on the phone, he wants to talk with you."

Amy ran to the phone.

"Hi, what's up?"

Pause.

Gabriel came over to stand next to her. He did not hide his interest. She glanced at him, but then ignored his presence.

"I am so sorry. Which hospital?"

Pause.

"I can be there in what, twenty minutes. I'm sure someone will give me a lift."

Gabriel motioned that he would.

Pause.

"Gabriel said he would. Just hang on old man, I'll be right there."

She hung up the phone and turned to her friend. "Alexa's in the hospital. Let me run up and change. I'll be back in two seconds."

He was nervous about seeing Adam again. He had not left a favorable impression. Adam was an immortal masquerading as a Watcher. Would he kill to keep his secret? Amy had been ready to.

She came flying down the stairs. "Let's go."

The drive took only fifteen minutes. She ran into the hospital, and ran down the hall to Alexa's room. Gabriel saw her throw herself into Adam's arms and start crying. The Watcher walked slowly towards them. Adam looked up from Amy and met Gabriel's eyes. The immortal was crying too. He talked to them both.

"She got bad this morning. I brought her in and they immediately admitted her. They took a battery of tests. I've sat in there trying to be strong."

Amy led him to a chair and drew him into her arms. "You knew this was going to happen. I told Joe and you not to pursue this. It's tearing you apart. You've gone so long with out caring for anything but to live one day to the next. Why do you torture yourself this way?"

"Because the alternative is unthinkable," was his tired retort.

"Amy, you are not making this easier," Gabriel had to remonstrate.

Adam looked up. "It's hard to stop being the teacher, or the parent."

"I don't think of myself as a parent." Gabriel was indignant.

"I know you don't."

It was too ambiguous for him.

"Can I go in and see her?"

"Let's go."

Gabriel was surprised that he was included. Alexa was propped up in bed. On a normal day she looked ethereal, but her illness made it more pronounced.

The two women hugged. "I am so happy you are here instead of Seacouver. At least now I can come visit you."

"Amy you're my best friend. When Joe hired me, and really gave me a chance to make a living, you stood by me. You're the one who covered my shifts at the bar, so I could go to the doctors. I remember you playing your guitar on stage and coming down because I looked pale."

"You always look pale."

"You were so willing to help me. I just want to say thank you. All my other friends wanted nothing to do with me. What do you say to someone who is dying?" She wasn't accusing, just stating the facts as she saw them.

"The same thing you say to someone who is living. I'm there for you."

Both women started crying. Amy sat down on the bed, and Alexa closed her eyes. Amy held her hand.

Adam motioned Gabriel out the door.

'This is Adam Pierson,' he kept repeating to himself. 'He's a Watcher just like me.'

"I need a beer, want to join me?" Adam asked his fellow Watcher.

"Won't Amy get concerned?"

"She knows me well enough."

The two men walked down the street to a little inn. It had the look of ancient times; crumbing cobblestones, wrought iron fence, and a hitching post to tie your horses to. They ordered ales and retired to a back table.

"So what happened last night? I wasn't expecting you to still be alive. When Amy gets passionate about something, like protecting those she loves, nothing stands in her way."

"She came to my room in the middle of the night and held a dagger to my throat."

"You must be a fast talker."

He nodded.

"How much do you know?"

"I think everything." Sweat pooled under his arms. The below freezing temperatures outside did nothing to cool his fear. "Figured out that Dickon and Corey are Rikodius and Coreolus. I know who you are, because she said that Koren wants your head. That makes you an immortal. I also told her that I wouldn't tell a soul."

"She must believe you. You're alive. Did she tell you how she almost killed Dawson?"

"No"

So Adam filled him in how Horton killed her parents and then blamed Dawson. Then told him how Amy swore vengeance and planned to kill Joe. It was by the fact that she met Richie Ryan and he made her question her plan that had enabled her to step back from her plan of vengeance.

"Can you tell me what you meant earlier?"

"Which comment?"

"About stopping being the parent and the teacher."

"Oh. I was talking about family, about letting go. I have been trying to help Amy to grow up, but there is a part inside her that wants to hold on tight to everything familiar. I am the parent, and you are the teacher. When do we let go? It's the same thing with Alexa. I know that Alexa is dying, and no matter how tightly I hold her, she's going to leave too."

Adam had a faraway look in his eyes. Gabriel still didn't know whom the comment was directed towards, him, Amy or Adam himself. Adam was a deep individual. He had never met someone so profound. He felt foolish in his earlier conclusions. Not once did Adam do anything threatening towards him. It was if he trusted Amy's assessment of the situation.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Adam left Geneva for awhile. Amy came in to visit Alexa everyday. Gabriel often came with her. He was starting to get troubling messages from Headquarters. One, was that the Methuselah Stone had been stolen and then lost. Two, Jack Shapiro was sounding fanatical about the numerous Watcher deaths. There had been seventy-five, in the last three years and they were increasing every day. He started blaming Joe Dawson for telling MacLeod about the Watchers. Gabriel didn't want Amy to find out about this.

Adam came back and slowly Alexa slipped away. Gabriel granted permission for Amy to leave and accompany Adam back to Paris for the burial, as long as he could accompany them. He had grown fond of the woman in the short time he had known her. The trip down in his car was uneventful. They followed Adam in his car and stayed at a hotel.

The funeral was very small. Gabriel was uncomfortable around Duncan MacLeod. He had not expected MacLeod to be present. The man was formidable in person. As a character in class, it was easy to forget that he was real and alive. For the most part Amy stayed close to him, not talking to MacLeod at all. But, right before they left, MacLeod cornered the both of them. Adam was just behind the dark immortal looking amused.

"Have you called Joe?"

"No, I've been very busy."

"I know he wants to hear from you."

"Why isn't he here? You're in Paris, shouldn't he be?"

"He's got some kid on me. I think he's too busy doing the coordinator job to come all the way across the ocean. So are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Gabriel stiffened.

"This is my, uh, friend Gabriel Santucci."

"Hello Gabriel. Duncan MacLeod," he held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you. You know Amy, I know he's a Watcher, you don't have to prevaricate."

When MacLeod turned his attention back to Adam they both sighed, releasing their tension.

Amy and Gabriel left Paris after the funeral and headed back to Switzerland. They stopped at a little chalet for dinner and a reserved a couple of rooms for the night. After dinner they took a walk around the village. He was curious about her relationship with MacLeod.

"Why is it that you and MacLeod are so uncomfortable around each other?"

"He doesn't trust me. When I first met him, I was contemplating murdering Dawson. When he found out that the man was my biological father, it still didn't erase his mistrust one iota."

"Why did you want to kill Joe?"

"Because I thought he was a Hunter. Horton told me that Dawson was the one who ordered my parents murder. I wanted revenge on all four of those evil men. I knew that Horton was dead. I found out a little later that one other one is dead too. In fact Horton killed him. Threw him out a window or something. That leaves two for me to

find."

Even though this was the same thing that Adam told him, when she said it, everything clicked into place. She wasn't a Hunter, but she's hunting for the ones who killed her parents. She was using the Watchers to find those killers. He was disappointed in her. He felt he had to help her. He had to make her see that she was wrong. Maybe that was why she was brought to the training school while he was the teacher, and not someone else. Because of the way he was brought up, he had a unique advantage over other Watchers, in making her see the mistake she was making.

His thoughts were totally centered on that goal, when an apparition appeared in front of them.

Amy gasped, "Kronos."

He sauntered up to them, circling around them in a predatory manner.

"If it isn't Coreolus's little girl. I don't see Darius around. Heard he was dead."

Kronos looked at Gabriel, but then focused his attention back to Amy. He had been summarily dismissed as little threat.

Kronos continued walking around and around. His long coat swishing around his ankles, giving a hint of the sword buried within.

"You've grown up into a beautiful woman. The girl you were, held lots of promise, but the woman was worth waiting for."

Around and around he walked. Gabriel was getting dizzy wanting to keep the man's hands in sight. Amy was right, this Koren or Kronos was definitely more evil than the Watchers had imagined. What did he want with them, with Amy?

"Do you remember me little girl?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Tell me where I can find Methos."

"I don't know. He doesn't come to visit me. He was my Dad's friend, not mine."

Kronos withdrew his sword, from inside his coat. He slowly raised it to her chest.

"You will tell me. I heard a rumor that he was in Europe. Someone saw him in Greece, but by the time I got there he was gone. Then I heard Geneva, but no sign of him there. Now I find you, coincidence? I don't think so."

"I know he has bungalow in Crete."

"Not good enough." He started to caress her with his sword.

Gabriel tensed at the immortal's actions. Methos? All this because he believed that Amy knew Methos? Amy said nothing, never even glanced in his direction.

The sword went up until it hit her cheek. A tiny drop of blood pooled there, and still she didn't move. She held his eyes defiantly. Gabriel couldn't believe how fearless she looked. How defient.

"You will die unless you tell me where he is. In fact, I think you will die anyway. There must be some passion in his lifeless old body. Surely he'd want revenge when I take the life of his best friend's daughter."

"Dickon will hunt you down and take your head."

"I think not. Methos will know that I killed you to get to him. He'll never let that go unpunished."

"He's best at surviving. Nobody knows where he is."

"You do, and so does Rikodius. All I need is the right inducement to get him to come to me."

Gabriel had seen enough. This man was very dangerous and was determined to kill both of them. He reached into his coat and slowly pulled out his gun. Kronos had already discarded him as any kind of adversary, so he had the advantage of surprise. But, he only had one chance. If he missed, the blade would slice her and that would be the end for both of them. Keeping the gun low, he fired at the immortal's heart.

Surprised eyes flashed at him as he lunged. Gabriel pushed Amy's body aside, throwing them both to the ground. Kronos was dead, for now. His sword laid crossways on the stone path. The two stayed on the ground, side by side breathing their relief. Gabriel sat up and pumped another round in him for good measures.

"Do you want to take his head?" He had to be sure.

Amy looked at him in confusion.

"He tried to kill you. If you want his head, I won't stop you."

"You want me to take his head?"

"No, I didn't say that. I just want you to know what it feels like, having an immortal at your mercy, one that is a murdering SOB with out any morals. Do you, as a Watcher, want to kill him?" Her eyes widened, as she comprehended his meaning. He waited, holding his breath, for her decision. He wouldn't stop her if she chose to cut off Kronos head. He would expel her from the Watchers though.

"Let's just get out of here as quickly as we can."

"I agree." He held out his hand and helped her up. He put another round in and then they ran to the chalet and packed their stuff.

The car was filled with tension as they drove back to Geneva. He couldn't believe that she knew Methos. That Kronos, or whatever his name, had accused her of keeping his whereabouts secret from him. She didn't admit that she knew where he was, but she did. All three of them knew it.

As the kilometers passed, things the immortal said, came trickling back. He was in Greece. Didn't he hear Alexa say that they had been in Santorini? Then he mentioned Geneva. Was it possible that Adam was Methos? Didn't Adam help Don Salzar on the Methos chronicles? Was there never an end to the secrets she held?

"Is it true?"

"What?"

"Adam Pierson. Is he Methos?"

She looked at him. Methos was going to kill her. How could she get out of this one?

"No," she lied.

Chapter 5-Field Work

Early Spring 1996

Gabriel welcomed his class of recruits for the last time.

"I am proud it say that today is our last day of organized class. As of tomorrow you will all be assigned mentors to help train you in the field. I'm surprised that all of you requested this." He laughed. "Nobody wants to go immediately into research. I admit it can get a little boring, but sometimes it's a necessity. Does anyone have any last minutes questions?"

"How long does the field training last?" Vincent asked.

"Depends on the recruit. Some learn very fast. It's totally up to the mentor to decide when you're ready."

Nathan raised his hand. Gabriel laughed at the way these people reverted to the childhood habit of classroom etiquette.

"Yes?"

"Which immortals do we practice on?"

"The way we decide is different for everyone. It has nothing to do with you, but with the mentors in question and whom they Watch. Sometimes they need a break from their assignment, so they take you and check into a regional coordinator and help him. This may involve manning an airport and detailing any immortals that come through. It may involve, for instance, an immortal leaves his home and goes traveling and his Watcher doesn't want to go. So a substitute is needed. There are as many circumstances, as there are Watchers and immortals. You will find out individually what you will be doing.

Anything else?"

Amy spoke out, "When do we meet these mentors?"

"Two you already know. They are the two that arrived a few weeks ago and have been doing some research. Tom will take Renee. Jack wants them in Milan. There is an immortal there, who has been gambling up a storm. He is exhausting his current Watcher. So he needs help. That was decided last night. The other man here, Dusty, has requested that Robin go with him. He is going to be posted to Australia. I don't know the full story there."

He turned to the girl. He wasn't happy with this placement, but Jack vetoed his suggestion, and went with Dusty's request. Robin didn't look upset at the placement.

"We are expecting three more to come in tonight or tomorrow morning. Amy, you will be with me."

Her eyes widened at this.

They spent the next hour with him answering questions. When the class couldn't think of any more, he dismissed them. He asked Amy to stay. She sat in her chair fidgeting. They both waited for everyone to leave.

"I know you are wondering why you are assigned to me."

She nodded.

"I requested you."

Her eyes widened.

He could see her question his statement.

"I think you have the potential to be a damned good Watcher, maybe one of the best. You understand immortals like very few of us. You've learned dead languages, which can help in a variety of ways. Do you want me to go on?"

She looked confused. "Yes."

"I don't trust anyone else with you. I'm arrogant enough to believe that I can train you better. Plus I already know your secrets. Do you know, that not once have you asked me how I found out about immortals?"

"I didn't think it was any of my business."

He sat down in his chair at the head of the table. She moved and sat next to him.

"I was raised by an immortal. He picked me up at an orphanage when I was four. He took me home and called me son. He was protective and loving and everything I had ever imagined a father should be. I grew up in that environment. We lived in New York City, in Brooklyn. He gave me everything, including a sword, when I turned fourteen.

Then he told me about immortals and the Game. He wasn't an active participant, but I remember times when he'd go out at night and a neighbor would baby-sit me. I didn't think anything of it. Until one day, he didn't come back. I was seventeen, a senior in high school. I tore the neighborhood apart looking for him. I did find him, but I found the Watchers too. Do you know that I used to lay awake at night and wonder if I was immortal too? I was an orphan. There are no records as to the identities of my natural parents. So I Watch, secretly hoping that some immortal will sense that I'm there. But they never do."

His voice was raw with pain. He looked at Amy, trying to gage her reaction to his story.

"I got my first sword when I was ten. It was made of wood." She told him. "Dad and Dickon would take me to their practice barn and show me the moves. I knew about immortals from the moment I was born. My mother was a Watcher, so I knew about them too."

He noticed her usage of 'them'.

"I would keep Dickon's chronicles and observe my Dad fighting the immortals that came to town. I think I was five when I witnessed my first beheading. I grew up with their stories of battles from the dark ages. What the monarchs were really like that they served under, and things like that. It's a unique environment that mortals have, growing up with immortal parents. I wouldn't change it for the world."

"That's why I want to train you. I can understand where you're coming from more than anyone else." He looked deep into her eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"Think about what I have said. If you don't want me to be your mentor, then you can switch and get one of the new guys coming in tomorrow. Dave is also still available."

He got up from his chair and walked to the door. "You know where to find me." Then he left.

Gabriel went to his desk. He logged onto the computer and looked at his mail. He still didn't know what his assignment was next. Jack was supposed to write to him and give him the schedule. He looked at his mail, still nothing there. He wrote a letter requesting information. He had to give assignments to four people tomorrow. He called the Headquarters in Paris. They didn't know anything. He asked if they needed help. They said yes, but they would have to check with Jack first. Frustrated, he logged off. What was going on? This was highly irregular.

He went up to his room. He had a chronicle there, which was about Dickon and Corey. He wanted to understand about these men who had such a significant part in Amy's upbringing. A knock on the door heralded Sandy.

"Bad news. A tribunal is getting set up for the execution of Joe Dawson. Jack tricked him into coming to Paris and there they nabbed him. Can you believe it? They say that because he told MacLeod about Watchers, more and more Watchers have been killed than ever before."

"I don't believe it." Ramifications hit him. Joe Dawson was Amy's biological father. She would be destroyed by this news. He had to get her out of town and onto the streets before she found out. She could get herself in a whole lot of trouble if her connection to

Dawson was ever discovered.

"You've got to do me a favor. I have to get Amy out of here before this all becomes widely known." He jumped out of his chair and they went down to the office. "We need to find an immortal out there to Watch. One that won't give us any trouble, but one that won't look suspicious to her."

"You going to do this without sanction?"

"Yes, I have to."

They poured over the database.

"Here's one, Terence Coventry. He runs a multi-million dollar company and is currently vacationing in Cornwall. His Watcher is there, but I bet you could talk her into a vacation."

Satisfied at the selection, Gabriel entered in his assignment and logged off. It was official if not sanctioned. Sandy didn't like it, but he didn't try and talk him out of it.

Next Gabriel called the airport and made reservations for two. Then he made his way up to Amy's room. He stopped off and checked Darius's room first. His instinct was dead on. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor staring at the painting.

"We have to go to England tomorrow. We've got our assignment. Can you be ready?"

"What's his name?"

"Terence Coventry."

"Sounds good to me."

They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening learning everything they could. They packed and Sandy drove them to the airport, and said goodbye. As they were sitting at the gate, Amy remarked how she should have called Joe and let him know that she was onto the second part of training. She not only passed the first part, but did it without killing anyone. She meant it as a joke, but Gabriel had a feeling that there was some truth in her statement. The memory of her knife at his throat was still vivid.

They rented a cottage and moved their stuff in there. This particular area had cottages dotted along the coast. Gabriel had contacted Coventry's current Watcher, and met her in town. She filled him in on the situation. The immortal had rented a cottage and there he stayed in isolation. No one came to visit and he didn't go out at all. Someone from town dropped off groceries every so often. He had noticed her twice and was becoming suspicious. This exchange was in perfect time. She gave Gabriel a copy of her most current notes, and said goodbye.

When he came back, they took a walk along the coast. There wasn't much of a beach, but the rocks were plentiful. It was cold, with the wind blowing off the water. They ambled past Coventry's house, but there was no discernable movement. It would have been too obvious to go up to his house, so they had to be satisfied with this initial reconnoitering. Gabriel said that later that night they'd go up and check him out.

Amy spent the rest of the afternoon reading. Gabriel spent it on the computer. He was talking to everyone, trying to find out what was going on with Dawson. He knew he'd have to tell Amy soon, but not yet. He wanted this business to get into her blood. She would make a great Watcher if only he could convince her that this was her destiny.

That night they took another trip out. Gabriel located the path that eventually led to Coventry's house. With the onset of night, the illumination of the house enabled them to see Coventry clearly. He was seated in a chair with his feet on an ottoman. He had a drink in one hand and was staring at the fireplace. There wasn't any smoke coming from the chimney, so he must have been looking at an unlit pile of wood. The scene was of such pathetic loneliness that Amy wanted to cry. Pain was etched into all his features. His short curly hair was disheveled, his clothes were wrinkled, and his socks had black streaks on them. He sat perfectly still, except for the movement of his arm, carrying the drink to his mouth and then back down to the arm of the chair.

They stayed for only ten minutes. He wasn't going anywhere. Gabriel had checked, there weren't any immortals in the area. They returned to their cottage. Amy didn't talk; she just went to bed.

With the latest chronicle in hand, she read about what had happened most recently in his life. In black and white it listed dispassionately how his wife had left him. There wasn't another man. There hadn't even been a fight. The Watcher wrote that, one day, she saw Carolyn come out the front door, carrying three suitcases, and go into a waiting cab. She never came back. Coventry went about his business until he was able to get away on this vacation. His wife had been gone for four months, and he was still grieving. Amy's heart ached for him. Had he told his wife about his immortality and then she couldn't take it? There was no speculation in the chronicle, just cold facts. Amy could never have been so unfeeling in her journals. This was a man's life that was being written about.

The next morning Gabriel told Amy he had to go into town. He instructed her to stay away from Coventry, he was aware of her concern for the immortal. She hadn't done anything to hide it.

He left and she dressed warmly and went down to the beach. Perched on a rock she looked off to sea. This was a beautiful location. It initiated reflection in even those who did not want to reflect.

She sat there thinking of her father, her real father. She had been unfair to him. When she finished this school business, she would return to Seacouver and be a real daughter. She had called Joe, Dad, only once. It had just slipped out, because she hadn't wanted to leave. She thought she had been giving him a chance, but she hadn't. She was just going through the motions, Methos had been right. This would change as soon as she got back.

In fact she wanted to call him and hear his voice. She got up off her rock when she noticed a man standing behind her off to the side.

"Hello there, didn't want to startle you."

It was Coventry. Oh shit. "Hello, I didn't know anyone was around. This is a pretty isolated area."

"You're American."

She laughed, "You're British."

"Well, yes. Guilty. But I live in the States now."

"Really? Where?"

"West Coast."

"I grew up in Wyoming. Lived on a horse ranch all my life, until recently."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure. Pull up a rock."

He sat down and looked off to sea. The sorrow was still there, but buried somehow.

"My name is Terrence."

"I'm Amy."

They continued in silence. Amy didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't tell him that she knew his troubles. She didn't want him to confide in her either. One confidence usually required the other to reciprocate. Gabriel wouldn't like that at all. They both watched the sea birds, as they dove for fish among the pounding surf.

"I better go. Thanks Amy for sharing some of your time with me."

"Bye Terrence."

The immortal walked away.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gabriel went into town to make some phone calls. He called Jack Shapiro and was finally able to get through to him.

"Jack, I'm sorry about not clearing this with you, but I needed to get these assignments taken care of."

"You did a good job finding one to your liking. I have no problem with what you did."

"You don't?"

"Gabriel, you are one of the best. If you think this Saunders woman will be too, who am I to argue? You're the one in contact with her. Train her well, we are in desperate need for good Watchers. We've lost three more in the last week."

"What's going on Jack?"

"You let me worry about that, you just concentrate on that recruit. Bye."

Jack hung up the phone. He never even waited for Gabriel to say his goodbye. Gabriel tried several other friends. Amy Zoll, Marcus Constantine's Watcher, was home. She told him that Dawson had been arrested and that he was standing trial. Five Coordinators were being flown into Paris to act as jury. Jack was out for blood. If Dawson was found guilty, then he would be executed for treason.

He got the same story from Andre. He was going to have to tell Amy, and how he dreaded it. Maybe he should wait until after the trial, thinking of any excuse to prolong his silence. He went back to the cottage. Amy was making herself some lunch. Neither told the other of what they had been doing that morning. They ate and then went for a walk along the coast, past Coventry's cottage. He was outside chopping firewood. His shirt was off and the ax was going continuously. He glanced up at them, and then turned his attention back to his chore.

The Watchers went back to the cottage.

"So what else do we do except take walks down the beach and spy on him?"

"We keep up with all the immortals in the area, so if he does get challenged we have prior notice that it may happen."

"I think this is just boring. Why don't we just introduce ourselves as neighbors and get to be friends with him?"

"Because it's just not done. I've told you this before. You are not supposed to have any kind of contact with immortals at all."

"If we don't tell them about being Watchers, what can it hurt to talk to them, to treat them as people and not specimens?"

"As soon as you get to know them, then one has a tendency to interfere. It may start small but it soon escalates. You lose sight of the big picture and forget where and when to draw the line. It's better if we stay in the shadows, and only record what they do."

"Aren't you mad that your father's Watcher didn't try and save his life? That he didn't give him warning who was in town?"

"That's not fair Amy. Of course I wish that. But I understand the rules better now. If you really consider all the ramifications, you'll see that the oath is important and that we shouldn't break it."

He could tell that Amy didn't see that at all. She was too personally involved with immortals. How could he get her to really understand why the Watchers had the interference oath? She was so stubborn in her beliefs.

That night they went back to Coventry's house. Again he was sitting in his chair drinking. A fire was lit this time and the crackling flames reflected off his face. He still looked depressed.

The next morning Gabriel went into town again to make his calls. Not once did she question why Gabriel thought it was necessary to go into town to conduct his business. Mostly it was because she just didn't care. Amy took the opportunity to make some calls of her own. First she called Joe's house. There was no answer. Then she tried the bar. Mike was there. She asked to speak to her father. He told her that Joe had gone to Paris and that he hadn't heard from him yet. He'd tell Joe that she called. He asked how she was doing, and she gave him a brief synopsis of everything. Next she tried Methos. There was no answer there either. She left her number and told him to call. She wasn't exactly worried, but she felt that something was going on. It never occurred to her to ask Gabriel. This was family business.

She put on a coat and went back outside. She stood on a rock and threw flat pebbles in the water trying to make them skip. It reminded her of her childhood, when she'd do this with friends from school. This little trip to Cornwall was giving her lots of time to think and make decisions about her future. As she bent to retrieve another stone, sounds of footsteps competed with the waves. Coventry had returned. She glanced at the house, and luckily the car hadn't returned.

"Hello Amy."

"Hi Terrence."

"Does he leave you alone every morning?"

"We've only been here a few days. It's pretty isolated here, he needs to use the modern conveniences in town to do what ever it is that he does." She did not want to talk about this.

"I never get tired of looking out. Do you notice how the sky's color enhances or diminishes the green of the water."

"It's cold. The water is damned cold."

He laughed, "You've fallen in?"

"No, just slipped and got a foot wet. It was enough, believe me."

"Are you here for long?"

"I don't know. My life is in flux, and I'm making some hard decisions that will determine what I'm going to do with the rest of it."

"That's never easy."

Amy looked out over the water. Why was it so easy to talk to this man? He reminded her a little of Dickon, except that Dickon was over protective. Were all immortals like this? Because they were old, did their wisdom just shine out, if you knew what to look for? She glanced once more at the house.

She picked up a pebble and tossed it into the sea. It skipped three times before a wave crashed into it, halting it, sending it back to shore.

"Your husband, he's not mistreating you or anything, is he?"

"He's not my husband, and no he's fine. Don't worry about me, although it was kind of you to think about it."

"But you seem so edgy. I don't want to cause you any trouble. I really enjoy our talks."

"I do to. It's just that... well I," what could she say?

She went over and sat down on the rock and rested her chin on her knees, looking out. He sat down beside her. The rhythm of the lapping waves coaxed the words out of her.

"My parents were murdered. I have lived for almost three years hungering for revenge. What do I do with all that emotion if I decide to abandon my quest? Can I just forget it?"

"What would you do with all that emotion if you took that revenge? What if you had that man or woman dead at your feet?"

"I'd kick him as hard as I could."

"And then what?"

"I don't know."

They were quiet, still looking out to sea and not at each other. It seemed to make the situation more intimate yet keep them as strangers.

"I better be going. Nice talking to you."

She looked at him as he walked away. It was an interesting thought. What would she do if she did kill both of the other Hunters? Would it make her feel better? She thought so. Did killing Horton make MacLeod feel better? She'd have to remember to ask him next time they ran into each other.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gabriel went into town and made some more calls. The tribunal was going to begin the trial tomorrow. All the coordinators were there. Gabriel leaned against the store's wall thinking. He happened to notice three men get out of a rental car. One of the men he recognized. He was a fellow Watcher. What were Watchers doing in Cornwall? According to his computer, no immortals had come into town. They went into a boarding house. Gabriel couldn't decide what to do. He should go in and make himself known to them. But, why were they here? This was not a usual place for three Watchers to go on vacation, unless they were hunting. He didn't want to even think about that possibility. He went back to his car, and drove back to the cottage. He had a bad feeling about those men.

When he got back to the cottage, Amy was curled up on the couch reading another chronicle.

"Am I allowed to use your computer?" she asked him.

"Why?"

"I need to talk to Adam. I've left messages all over for Joe and for Adam and neither will answer me back."

"Sure." He didn't see any reason why she couldn't. It didn't mean he'd have to show her their responses, if there were any. Joe was being held in custody, it was unlikely he'd have access to a Watcher computer. Adam was probably very busy trying to find a way out of this mess.

As she wrote her notes, he contemplated telling her about the Watchers he saw in town. He was afraid that she'd get nervous and start guarding Coventry. He did not want to deal with that. But if they were Hunters, didn't he have a moral obligation to prevent the immortal's demise? Maybe he should take another trip into town and check into the identities of these men. He wouldn't tell Amy anything yet. With her frame of mind, she'd go over to Coventry's, gun in hand, and shoot every mortal within sight.

They had lunch and he asked her if she might like to go into town. She refused. She was plotting a way to run into Coventry again. Maybe she would take a walk by the shore. If it looked casual enough maybe he would be fooled. She could only take one trip past his house though.

Gabriel left and she ran to get her sneaks. Grabbing her coat on the way out, she left the cottage. She schooled her body into taking slow steps. Her heart was racing, but she needed to give the outward appearance of calm, cool, collectedness. As she came even with his house, she noticed a strange car in his driveway. Was his wife there? Did she come here for a reconciliation? How she hoped so.

She continued down the beach. Then turned around. Sneaking into the bushes, she took a back way to Terrence's house. Ahead of her, she happened to notice a man standing guard by the back door. That was strange. Coventry didn't seem to have anyone with him before. Quietly she slipped in closer. As the man turned, his wrist became visible. She gasped at the sight. The man turned at the sound, and she faded into the weeds.

As quickly as she could, she raced to her cottage. She ran into her room and removed her dagger from the nightstand and took her gun out from her overnight bag. Grabbing a few extra rounds, she flew out again. Running for all she was worth, she made quick time back to Coventry's place. She hid the gun inside her jacket, and the dagger inside her sleeve.

As she got closer, her steps slowed. She needed to get there fast, but undetected. This time she came from the opposite side of the house. She went up to the house and peered into the windows. Coventry was sitting on a chair with ropes holding him there. It was so much like the way that she had found her parents, that blind rage overcame all reason. Murder was her only goal. She returned to the guard and slipped up behind him. As he turned towards her, she slid her dagger into his heart. She then dropped him to the ground and went into the house.

"Steve, I thought I told you to stay outside."

Amy recognized that voice. It sent chills up her spine. She recalled the same voice telling Robert to hurry up and get in the car. She remembered it telling her mother that they wouldn't be staying long. She saw him looking into her eyes and asking if her Dad had any best friends.

She put her hand in her pocket, ready to draw and fire. Her eyes were cold with vengeance. The speaker turned towards Amy. He had a sword in his hand, but no gun. Recognition made him smile.

"I told Horton we should have killed you when we..." and he knew no more. The bullet went through his head.

The sword clattered to the floor, echoing in the silent house.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Gabriel drove into town to check on the Watchers. Now that his suspicions had taken flight, he needed these men to give him a rational explanation for their presence in Cornwall. Maybe they came to talk to him about the entire Dawson mess? He went into the boarding house and talked to the old lady knitting behind the counter.

"Excuse me. My friends were supposed to arrive today and I seemed to have missed them. Have they checked in here yet?"

"Why Mr. Coventry, they left about an hour ago for your place. They were very eager to see you. I gave them directions and they took their car. You must have passed them on your way to town."

A cold feeling sat in his stomach. "Thank you, I'll just head back. If they happen to return here, tell them I was here and that I will find them."

"I will."

Gabriel got into his car. His pistol was in the glove compartment. He took it out as he was driving and put into his coat. He drove like a maniac to Coventry's. He parked his car off to the side of the road and jogged down the dirt lane to the house. He saw the guard with Amy's dagger sticking out of his chest. He crept into the door and heard a voice and then a gunshot. He saw movement to the side and a shadow of a man creeping along a stairwell. He angled his body so he could see the body, not just the reflection of one. A gun was being raised and aimed for the living room. He fired at the hand and the gun fell and the man screamed. As he clutched his right hand, the Watcher tattoo glared accusingly at Gabriel.

Amy turned toward the commotion. She aimed her gun and ended the life of the third man. There was no remorse in her eyes, only the satisfied look of a killer. Gabriel felt bile rise in his throat. She went over to the first man she had shot and kicked him in the head. She kicked harder and harder. She dropped to her knees and pounded him on his stomach. The coldness was gone and in its place was hot emotional pain. Tears fell from her eyes as three years of hate and lust for vengeance was exorcised.

Coventry was still tied to the chair, mesmerized at the drama unfolding in front of him. Gabriel quickly untied the immortal, while staring at Amy and her vitriolic assault on the dead Watcher. He had never realized the depth of pain she had been carrying around with her. He had to leave, because the scene made him sick. But first he needed to bring his car down and remove the bodies. Jack would want them brought back for their families to bury them.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Amy was weeping uncontrollably when she felt Terence put his arms around her. She turned into his chest and soaked up all the comfort she could extract from him. He patted her on the back and crooned in a soft voice. When she had recovered somewhat, he led her to the kitchen and gave her a towel, damp with cold water.

"Thank you for saving my life. Was he the one who killed your parents?"

"He tied them both to chairs and took both heads in one fatal swing. My mother wasn't even immortal, yet she died too."

"Were you here because of them?"

Her feelings for truth and immortals warred with her obligations to the Watchers. Methos was right, they weren't all bad, just a select few.

"Someone gave me a tip that they were coming after you. I can't tell you anymore. It was nice meeting you, but I have to go. Gabriel is probably furious with me."

They went back to the living room and Gabriel was there, carrying the bodies to his car.

"I have to take them back for a decent burial. Amy you're going to have to confess to Jack what you did. If you don't, Coventry will be blamed and he'll be in a worse mess than he is right now. You followed your gut, now you have to pay the price."

His cold anger was like a salt in an open wound. "You're right. I will confess to your Jack, and then I'm out. I just can't remain dispassionate enough for this line of work. I tried, you tell Adam that I really tried, but I just can't do it."

"Get Coventry off the hook and we'll take it from there." He turned to the immortal. "I'd leave town if I were you."

Terrence nodded in agreement.

Chapter 6-School's Out

Summer 1996

Gabriel and Amy took the Chunnel back to France. They needed to move the bodies without any official knowledge. They didn't do a lot of talking on the trip. Amy was experiencing the after effects of her emotional upheaval, and Gabriel was still too stunned to deal with the killer that she had become. He didn't know what Jack Shapiro would do. It was a good thing that it wasn't widely known about her association with Joe Dawson, because she would have been executed for sure.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you Gabriel. I know you had high hopes for me and that I've destroyed them all."

"You understand nothing!" There was a lot of anger in his voice.

"I think you saw something in me that reminded you of yourself. You have these ideals that you somehow expected me to live up to. I think it's wonderful that you love being a Watcher, and I think it is mostly an honorable organization."

"But you identify more with the immortals and will never consider yourself a Watcher. It's always been 'us and them'. Yet you tell me that your mother was a Watcher. That would seem to me that you were raised as much a Watcher as an immortal."

"No, I was raised to think and act like an immortal. It's been ingrained upon me since I was a baby. Instead of reading about The Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood, I was learning military moves and listening to tales of Darius and the rest sacking villages and cities. I didn't learn anything about the Watchers except to record what battles were won and lost. And that they were afraid enough to kill immortals dishonorably."

"But you are not immortal. A bullet will silence you forever." He shook his head as if clearing it. "I still think you would have made a great Watcher, if only you could get over this salient point."

"I am not you. I do not see the Watchers as my salvation. I do not see them as a focus to my life. They are not my family."

"What about research? You would be great deciphering some of the old texts. You could work like Adam Pierson and just compile facts and find documentation of parts of history the rest of the world will never understand."

"Adam made me join because I wasn't treating Joe like a father. I was treating him like someone I didn't quite trust, but hiding it under false friendliness. I don't know if Joe ever realized this, but it's hard to slip one past the old man." She paused. "So what

happens now?"

"You have to confess to Jack Shapiro what and why you did it. Jack may order your execution, or maybe he'll understand. I don't know. Jack is not of a stable mind right now. But I don't know how to hide what you've done. You killed three Watchers. Three trusted Watchers." He shook his head.

Stopping only for food, they drove all the way to Paris. He called some friends and found out that the Headquarters had been moved to a funeral home. How apropos. They drove up to the main entrance and Gabriel identified himself. A guard escorted him and Amy up to see Jack.

The man was sitting behind his desk. He looked up at Amy; they had never met before.

"Santucci, I don't have time for this."

Amy walked closer to the desk. "I am Amy Saunders. I killed three Watchers as revenge for when they murdered my Watcher mother and immortal father."

She had his attention now. "What?" he croaked.

"While Gabriel and I were Watching Coventry, three men came and tied him up in a chair. That was the same thing James Horton did to my parents. I recognized one of the men and forced my way into Coventry's home and killed all three Watchers. One had a sword in his hand and was ready to behead the immortal. Watchers cannot continue to murder immortals. This is turning into war, and you are going to lose."

She stood back and waited for the head of the Watchers to digest what she just told him. His face was red. "Who were they?"

Gabriel gave him the names. "We brought back the bodies. They're in the boot of the car."

Shapiro signaled to a man to take care of it. He told Gabriel to go with him. With a reluctant look back, he followed his boss's orders.

Amy waited patiently for the announcement of her execution.

"I can't deal with you now. I have an immortal running around killing two or three Watchers a day. Maybe I'll get lucky and MacLeod will kill you too." He sounded so tired.

"MacLeod? You think Duncan MacLeod is killing Watchers? You on drugs or something? There has never been a more honorable immortal. I can't believe you could think that. My God he's friends with his own Watcher."

"Listen. I don't have time for this. Go back to Geneva. You are under house arrest and I will execute Gabriel if you try to escape. I'll decided later what to do with you."

With that she was dismissed. Shaking her head in bewilderment, she walked out the door to Gabriel's car. He was waiting for her. They slowly drove down the driveway and out onto the road. Just down the street another car was blocking the road. It was parked sideways so they couldn't get around. As Gabriel stopped his car, Duncan MacLeod was standing at Amy's window.

"What were you doing at that place? You one of them now?" He was blazing in his anger.

Amy had quite enough of Mac making her feel like a worm, she stormed out of the car and yelled right back. Gabriel was forgotten.

"Listen MacLeod, I've had a really bad week. I don't need you telling me what I am and what I'm not. I just confessed to the head Watcher that I killed three Hunters and saved the neck of one Terrence Coventry, I don't need you," and she poked him in the chest, "yelling at me. I've got enough to worry about without you adding to it. Seems to me you have enough trouble of your own to worry about. You had just better not involve my father in any of your stupid actions."

Amy saw MacLeod's face lose its fury. The immortal glanced inside the car and what ever he gleaned from Gabriel gave him a tired look.

"Oh hell, Amy. Meet me at Adam's store."

Mac got into his car and drove off. Amy hopped back into the car.

"What was that all about?" She was confused.

"God, Amy. I can't believe you just lit into him that way. Weren't you scared of him at all?"

"Scared of Mac? No way. He can be exasperating. He drives me crazy with his holier that thou attitude, but I've never been *afraid* of him."

Gabriel drove into the city and Amy gave him directions to the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. He had a vague recollection that this place used to belong to Don Salzar. He parked on the street and the two of them went into the front door. Amy led him down one isle toward the back and then hit a hidden lever, which opened a door in the wall. She immediately started down the stairs and he had no choice but to follow. The basement was full of boxes, crates and wine racks. MacLeod was talking to someone in a chair and when he moved aside Joe Dawson became visible. The old Watcher was sitting on some kind of cot, and he had a bandage around his chest.

Amy exploded, "What the hell happened." She ran over to him.

Seeing the two, side by side he couldn't believe anyone could mistake them for anything else but father and daughter.

"I had a little accident and got in the way of a bullet."

"Who fired the gun?"

Mac answered. "It was an immortal named Galati. He was gunning for all the Watchers in the courtyard. Most were killed, but Joe got lucky."

"Why was this immortal trying to kill Watchers?"

"Because Horton killed his wife."

Joe looked apologetically at Mac, "Jack thinks Mac did it to save my life. The Watchers were in the process of executing me for treason."

Amy's jaw dropped to her knees. Just then Mac felt the presence of another immortal. He pulled out his katana and waited for who ever came down the stairs. It was Methos.

"Sorry to disappoint you, it's only me." He continued to the bottom. Then he noticed Gabriel. "What's he doing here?"

Amy walked over to Methos. "I'm in big trouble. I murdered three Watchers in Cornwall yesterday."

"You did what? I thought you were going to keep a low profile, and just learn."

"These Hunters had Coventry tied to a chair and were ready to take his head. One of the guys was part of Horton's band who killed Corey and my Mom. I couldn't just stand there and *Watch*. I rushed in and the one guy recognized me. I shot him in the head."

Methos shook his head and went over to sit next to Joe. "So how are you doing?" He pulled the bandages away to look at the wound.

"It hurts!" But Joe was looking at Amy, and she could read the double meaning in his light words.

Methos applied some cream and proceeded to bandage Joe's chest once more, all the while talking to Amy.

"So are you now in hiding?"

"No, Jack said I'm under house arrest until he can decide what to do. He's too busy hunting MacLeod to worry about a silly little girl."

Joe shook his head, wincing at the pain.

Gabriel felt superfluous. He leaned against the wall hoping to just blend into the woodwork. That was Methos, even if Amy wouldn't admit it. The evidence he got from Koren was too close to what this immortal had been up to. He wondered if the others in the room knew about it.

"Why were the Watchers going to execute you exactly?" Amy asked her father.

"Because I told Mac about everything and since then over eighty Watchers have been murdered. I betrayed my oath of silence."

"You're not the only one. Hell my mother married an immortal." Joe winced but only Methos saw it.

Methos turned to Amy. "She didn't want to. Corey caught her when she was vulnerable. From the day after until she died she regretted her decision."

Gabriel was fascinated hearing Methos' or Adam's side of this story.

"When she first told me bout Dawson back in '85, I made it my mission in life to learn as much as possible about him and report back to her."

"Yea, Dickon told me."

"She was so hungry for any piece of information, for any snapshot I could take of him. I pulled it off under Corey's nose for over eight years. That's why I came to visit you so often, for Sara. To help her any way I could that didn't include taking Corey's head."

"And you say you don't care," Amy chided him playfully.

"Sorry to interrupt this family gathering, but we have to find a way out of this mess." Mac was getting frustrated.

"We've got Watchers hunting for us, and Galati is still out there killing Watchers. Do they know your relationship to Dawson?" Methos asked Amy.

Gabriel answered; he wanted to be included. "No they don't. Jack was too concerned over everything else to give much thought to Amy."

"He'll put the pieces together eventually. It would be better if she was out of town."

"The great MacLeod has spoken. Does everyone jump when you speak?"

Gabriel winced at her sarcasm. What was it with these two?

Methos looked on affectionately. Gabriel could see how much the old immortal loved both Amy and MacLeod.

On and on they traded insults. Methos slid next to Gabriel. "They're jealous of the other," he told the other Watcher. "Each thinks they should be first in Joe's life and don't like the hold the other has, although neither recognize it." He said it loud enough for all to hear. Methos laughed at everyone's reaction. He smiled his enigmatic smile.

"I am not jealous of MacLeod. I just hate his, 'I'm always right', routine. 'You better do as I say or you'll be in trouble'. Ha! I never let Dickon get away with it, I sure as hell won't let Mr. Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod get away with it either."

"You're just too flighty. You act before you think."

"If I had thought a little harder Terrence would be headless. You can be sure that if I ever find you in a similar situation, I *will* think first."

Methos inserted himself between them. "That's enough kids, stop squabbling. You're both a couple of spoiled siblings fighting for attention."

Both glared at him. Methos just smiled.

Somehow, Gabriel wasn't sure if Methos was correct in his interpretation of Amy's and MacLeod's relationship. He didn't believe it was Dawson they were trying to impress.

Joe interceded. "Adam's right. We need a solution. Somehow we need to convince them that Mac is not the killer. Gabriel, it would very helpful if you took Amy back to Geneva and keep her safe there. Adam or I will come and let you know when this is all over."

Amy started to talk, but Joe cut her off. "Please for my peace of mind will you do this? I can't stand the thought of you getting caught in the cross fire."

"Okay. I'll go back to the school. That's where Shapiro sent me anyway. Remember, I'm under house arrest." She was quick to assert.

Chapter 7-Back at School

The trip back to Geneva was quiet. Amy was still mad at everyone for withholding the truth about her father. Somewhere along the lines she had accepted Joe as her father and Corey as just an immortal that she loved while growing up. She still loved Methos and Dickon but it was different from what she felt for Joe. She might still think and associate more with immortals than with Watchers, but she wasn't afraid anymore. She had felt so helpless when she saw her parents murdered. She hadn't been able to help them. That feeling had sat in her gut for three years, but now it was gone. She felt whole and alive. So what was she going to do with her life?

When they arrived at the school, she still hadn't come up with an idea. The compound was deserted. Sandy was the only official Watcher in residence. The three of them had dinner and Sandy informed them how Jack had taken everyone and assigned them to finding MacLeod. Gabriel didn't tell Sandy anything about their side trip to the bookstore. But he did tell him, with Amy's permission, about the Hunters she killed in Cornwall.

Time passed by slowly. Sandy and Amy spent some time together without Gabriel. They discussed Watcher philosophy. Slowly he extracted from her life's story. She told him about being raised by two immortals and a Watcher, and her life on a horse ranch.

"Even though she was not part of the organization, Mom still kept the chronicle and wrote in it diligently. I think the training here is insidious and hard to get rid of."

"But you have no desire to continue?"

"No, I can't keep the non-interference oath. I just can't sit back and Watch while someone I care about gets his head chopped off. I don't care who does it."

"But you could just go into research."

"You really think Jack Shapiro is going to let me stay in? I murdered three Watchers. I admitted it to him face to face without even acting sorry. He's more likely to have me executed than give me a tattoo."

"With Gabriel and me both as character witnesses, maybe he won't deal so harshly with you."

"Ha! I'll believe that when I see it."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Several days later, Adam Pierson came to the school to see Amy.

"We need to talk privately," he told her.

They walked outside, finding a path that would give them the isolation they needed.

"You don't look good." He didn't. His face was haggard and he had deep black lines under his eyes. "You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

"It feels like I haven't." He paused as if trying to find the right words.

"I just want you to know that Joe is fine and all charges are dropped."

"Why does you look like you've sold your soul to get this acquittal."

His eyes grew dark, "I did." He paused and took a breath. "I'm leaving town for awhile. I don't know where I'm going or for how long. If Dawson or MacLeod ask about me, tell them you don't know. I just came here to say goodbye. When I get settled somewhere, I'll let Dickon know."

"You went against your morals to save my father?"

"No, to save MacLeod and ultimately the Watcher immortal relationship." He took a few more paces, and continued questioning her.

"What have you learned from your experience here?"

"I've learned that what the Watchers do is important. I just wish that immortals and Watchers could work together, or at least not be enemies. The oath states that Watchers can never tell immortals who they are and what they do. So they hide and skulk around, always in the dark, always in the shadows. What kind of life is that? I did it for about a week and I hated it."

"That's because you prefer to be in the middle of everything."

"I suppose I do. That's why I would be a terrible Watcher."

"But you are not an immortal. Just because Corey raised you to be just like him, doesn't mean that you are. You were a favorite toy that he loved to play with, nothing more. Sara tried to give you a normal mortal upbringing, but she just wasn't strong enough, which left Dickon. But he is still an immortal. You need to be around mortals, and the Watchers are a good place to start."

They continued around the wooded section.

"Even though I am immortal, I agree with the noninterference part of the oath. In fact I agree with it all. If Watchers did become close to their immortals, then it would seriously upset the balance. Watchers would cease to exist because their loyalty would lie with their assignment instead of each other. How would you train new Watchers? It just wouldn't be centralized any more. It would be chaos. Amy really think this through before you make your decision."

He stopped walking and put his hands on her shoulders. "I have to go. I don't know when I'll see you again. I need some time to meditate and find some inner peace."

"Is this going to take decades or centuries? Will I ever see you again?"

"I don't know." His eyes looked haunted.

That was all he would say. He gave her a hug, and turned around and left. She felt empty with his departure. How could he exist being so alone?

Then her mind bounded back to what he had said. Her father was safe. She was so relieved. Expecting that he would show up any time now, she started packing her belongings. She decided to go back to Seacouver with him. She wasn't going to stay here a minute longer than she had to. Her mind was totally made up. Sandy called her downstairs and told her someone was here to see her. Fully expecting it to be Joe, she ran down. There was Jack Shapiro standing in the foyer. She had forgotten all about him.

"Shall we go into the conference room?"

Chills slid down her spine.

She nodded. He held the door open and he followed her in. The conversation was going to be private, just between the two of them. This was not good.

"I've done a lot of checking up on you this past week. You have quite a history. It helped that you haven't changed your name, but that wouldn't have stopped us."

"I have nothing to hide."

He gave her a knowing look. "Gabriel thinks very highly of you. When he was recruited, he was a spoiled boy who's entire family had been ripped out from under him. He was ripe for another to take its place. So we did. He has been an asset to us ever since. He sees something of himself in you, when in fact you are not the same at all. I'm sure you know it, even if he doesn't. Isn't that right?"

"Yes," she was wary.

"It wasn't until I met you last week and saw you staring me down with that defiant posture and the self assuredness of being right, that I noticed the physical and emotional similarity between you and Joe Dawson. The likeness is quite striking. So I did a bit of searching. Saunders, why was that name so familiar? Ah yes, Corey Saunders' chronicles had been mysteriously returned, just as they had been taken, all those years ago. Who returned them? Why Joe Dawson. So I did a little more digging. There was a woman in training the same time as Joseph who was given Corey Saunders as an assignment. What happened to her? She died because of a Quickening. There was no body and only one witness, although he was impeccable. Very clever. Then you tell me that your Watcher mother and immortal father are beheaded by Horton. It all fits. But why are you here?"

He looked very intently at her. She told him a half-truth.

"Because of my fear. After my parents died, I swore vengeance on all Watchers, especially Joe Dawson. After meeting him, I realized that maybe all Watchers were not bad. But my fear of them wouldn't go away. They might take my head, because of my relationship with Corey and with other immortals. Joe decided the best way to face my fear was to train and become a Watcher."

"You didn't want to?"

"No I didn't."

"But here you are."

"I quit. I can't do it anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't sit still and just Watch. I hated those men in Cornwall. I would willingly have given up my life, if I knew I could've taken them with me."

"Now that the Hunter is dead, do you still want to kill Watchers?"

"No. The fire in my gut is gone. All this time there was nothing I could do to revenge the senseless death of my parents. Horton was already dead. How I would've loved to kill him, but MacLeod did it first. You know what it feels like, wasn't your son killed? Didn't you need to revenge him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Both were killed for the same reason. My parents were killed because they were an abomination. They weren't human. Your son was also killed because of what he was, because someone like him, killed Galati's wife. Horton truly believed all immortals are evil. Both Watchers and immortals killed the other out of fear and prejudice."

"It wasn't the same." His tone reflecting the undiminished pain.

"Yes, it was. Didn't you need revenge? Didn't your soul cry out because your son had been ripped violently, senselessly away from you? Well mine did. I would have done anything to revenge my parents death. Didn't you order an all out manhunt for MacLeod, holding him responsible for your son's death? Didn't you need to have someone pay for your son's death?"

Jack nodded. He didn't refute her words.

She continued. "All I had were names. Horton told me that Dawson was his boss and gave the order for their execution. I knew they were Watchers, because my Mother admitted them into the house and identified what they were to me. I wanted them all dead."

"So you wanted to kill all Watchers, for the same reason that Galati did?"

"Yes, I guess I did."

"But not anymore."

"No, not anymore."

"So what are you going to do next?"

"I'm going to go back to Seacouver with Joe."

"You're going to just quit?"

"I don't want to just Watch. I can't. I need to be involved in the lives around me. I just can't live a secret existence. I've lived almost my whole life with immortals. I don't know how I could go on, thinking that my relationships with them were wrong. I don't believe that I could honestly take the noninterference oath and mean it."

"You could go into research."

"Everyone says that," she complained. "I want out."

"Okay, that is your choice. You're an awful lot like your old man. Stubborn in your beliefs, and to hell with anyone who gets in your way. It was interesting meeting you."

A tired and defeated Jack got up.

"That's it? You aren't going to sign my death warrant or anything?"

"They kicked me out. I'm not in the Watchers anymore."

"So why did you come?"

"I guess I just wanted to see Joe's daughter. I wanted to understand how you think. Maybe it would give me an insight to the way Joe thinks. I don't know. But you won't be seeing me anymore."

A commotion was heard outside the door. Then it burst open and Joe strode in.

"When they told me you had been in here alone with Jack, I, well I, was worried."

"Hi Dad."

"Joe."

His face softened as he looked at his daughter. She jumped up from the chair and ran over to him. Very deliberately she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"Jack came here to tell me goodbye."

The two men looked at each other. Neither moved. Then Jack opened the door and walked out.

"What did he have to say?"

"Nothing, Dad. I'm just glad you're here."

"I was worried about you."

"I was worried too." She sighed. A more serious expression came over her face. "While I was in England, I had lots of time to think. And not just about killing Hunters." She took a deep breath collecting her thoughts.

"Corey is Corey, the man who raised me. But you are, well, you're my father. I may not have really accepted this in my heart before, but I do now. Can I call you Dad, instead of Joe?" She smiled tentatively.

He laughed, "You sure can. You've made me one happy old man."

"Old? Geez, I grew up with four men all over a thousand, you're young, compared to them."

He put his arm around her and together they left the room.

Epilogue-Back Home

Amy pulled in the parking lot of Joe's. She could make out his car in the back, which answered her question of where he was. Since returning from Europe, he spent most of his time at the bar and assigned someone else to follow MacLeod. She closed the car door and walked towards the entrance. She was glad that he hadn't been too upset that she hadn't stayed in the Watchers and become another operative. But she just couldn't. He said he understood. She opened the door and walked in.

Joe was sitting at a table, with papers surrounding him.

"Hi Dad."

He looked up and smiled. "Hi Amy, how did the interview go?"

"Not bad. The Seacouver City Police offered me a job on the spot."

"That's wonderful."

"However, I think I'm going to turn it down. I received a letter in the mail from the Washington State Police and they offered one to me also. Since I had been a part of the Wyoming State Police, I think I'm going to take that one instead."

"More danger. That's why."

"Partly. But also I'll be able to keep track of more immortals as part of the State program. Don't you agree?" she asked slyly.

He laughed, "I guess so."

"I also told them I had horse experience and they want me to become part of the mounted patrol and work on search and rescue operations. I said that it wouldn't be a problem."

"You're lucky getting to work with horses as part of your job."

"They said I could even bring up my own horse. Once they take a look at the horses we've been raising, I bet every officer will want one."

"You just better not tell them that they're war horses."

"The ones at home are not, just their ancestors. Our horses are mostly Arab Friesian crosses. But they are great, if I do say so."

"Will you still be living here?"

"I don't know, probably not. But I'll still be around to visit. So how are you doing?"

"Not bad. The bar is still making a prophet. I can still walk."

"But Mac is still not talking to you."

"Yea," He said dejectedly.

"He'll come around, you wait and see." She paused, weighing her words.

"You know we never did discuss what happened in Cornwall. Are you afraid to ask?"

"I had a talk with Gabriel. He told me the details. He was extremely disappointed that you didn't decide to stay."

"I couldn't."

"Was it because you felt guilty?"

"Guilty of what? Murdering those bastards who killed my parents?"

"Only one was guilty of that. The other two were guilty only of association, yet you calmly executed them too."

"You're mad at me."

"Hell yes, I'm mad. I will never condone what you did. You had no authorization to kill them, but I still love you. I may not agree with what you did, but it doesn't change my feelings for you."

"What do you think Gabriel would have done if he had found them first?"

"Shot to disarm them. Then he would have brought them in for questioning. Coventry would still be alive and maybe only the one guy deserved to be executed. What if one, well, no sense into going into what ifs. It's done. You no longer feel the need for revenge and you're over your fear of Watchers. Now we can get on with our lives."

"Except Mac doesn't want to be your friend anymore."

"Yea." He sighed. "He now believes that Watchers and immortals should not interact."

"Maybe he cares so much for you that he doesn't want you to have to lie anymore. I bet it shook him up to see just how much you've disregarded the Watcher oath for him. He probably figures that you won't fudge the chronicles if there is nothing to hide. You won't be lying to Headquarters if you aren't working with Mac against another immortals. Maybe Gabriel was right. You can't be impartial when your subject is your friend. That was one of the reasons I knew I would never make a good Watcher. But it's over and done with. We each have to play with the cards we're dealt."

"You have changed this past winter."

"I grew up. Now that I'm not constantly in the company of very old men and am now hanging out with you younger types, I feel like an adult."

They smiled in perfect accord. Joe Dawson had gained a daughter, but he had also gained a friend.

The End