The concept of the Highlander universe and the character of Duncan MacLeod were created by someone else. They belong to someone else. Actually, they belong to a bunch of people - Gregory Widen, Peter Davis, William Panzer, the folks at Gaumont, and those at Rysher Entertainment, as well. They do not belong to me, and I'm borrowing them without permission. Because Highlander-The Series is my favorite TV show, and because this story has been written out of love with no hope of monetary gain - I hope they'll forgive the transgression.

This story is mine as are characters of Dallas Delany, Sukhe Khan and various minor players - so please don't take them anywhere without letting me know. I hope you enjoy the story and if you do, I'd love to hear your comments.


A Splash of Color - Chapter 8

"Amanda and I are going out for a while. We, ah ... have some things to do," Duncan announced during breakfast the next morning.

Holding her spoon halfway between her mouth and her cereal bowl, Dallas looked up at him. He could tell by the crinkle of a frown, that she was considering the implications of his statement. "Can I go with you?" she asked after a few seconds hesitation.

Amanda took a piece of buttered toast from a plate in the center of the table, and nibbled on it as she and Dallas exchanged a cryptic look. "It's just some old boring stuff," Amanda said, wrinkling her nose, then she winked. "Nothing you'd be interested in doing."

Dallas cocked her head and held Amanda's gaze for a moment, then she glanced at Duncan with a smile that whispered satisfaction. "Okay," she said, as she resumed eating her cereal.

Duncan recovered quickly, catching his jaw before it could drop to his chest. What had passed between Amanda and Dallas, he had no idea, but it was obvious they had reached a depth of wordless understanding that amazed him. He swallowed the last of his coffee, then he stood.

"Are you ready?" he asked Amanda.

"Ah ... Mac, these things you have to do," Richie said, exchanging a look of his own with Dallas. "They, ah ... wouldn't by any chance be taking you anywhere near some stores or a mall, would they?"

"Why?" Duncan asked. He had the distinct impression that he was caught in a thicket of intrigue.

"Because, I, er ... have some things I need to get," Richie answered as he stood.

"Can't it wait?" he asked with mounting frustration. "We can't all go off and leave Dallas here by herself."

"It's okay - I can stay with Mrs. Thompson," Dallas volunteered.

Duncan lifted an eyebrow. Why was she suddenly being so cooperative? She couldn't possibly know that Amanda had talked him into taking her Christmas shopping - against his better judgment. Or did she?

Last night, he had seen the distrust and suspicion in Dallas's eyes when she looked at Amanda, yet this morning they seemed to have joined sides against him. Apparently, he would never understand the way women's minds worked - no matter how long he lived. He wondered whether it even helped to try. Even the ten year-old was one step ahead of him.

"Oh, all right," he agreed, reluctantly. "But let's call Mrs. Thompson first, and make sure she doesn't mind."

"Oh, she won't mind," Dallas said. She scooped the last of her cereal into her mouth, and left a dribble of milk on her chin.

Amanda cleared her throat, then tapped her own chin with her finger. Dallas stared at her for a moment, then she grabbed a napkin and swabbed away the milk.

"Well, I think we should call her anyway," Duncan said.

The co-conspirators exchanged another look that pointedly excluded him. "You go get the car," Amanda said. "We'll take care of Mrs. Thompson."

A few hours and several hundred dollars later, Duncan tried to balance the load of shopping bags Amanda handed to him as she took them out of the trunk. Richie stood a few feet away with one shopping bag in his hand and a smirk on his face. "You could help," Duncan said, glaring at Richie as Amanda tried to tuck one last bag under his chin.

"I can't help it if you bought out the store," Richie said, laughing as he took the glossy red shopping bag from Amanda.

"This wasn't my idea," Duncan protested as Amanda adjusted his burdens. "I don't know how I got roped into this deal. And I'm not the one who bought out the whole store ... even if I did pay for it."

"Oh, stop grumbling ... you loved it," Amanda said, then she kissed his cheek. "How often do you get to play Santa Claus?"

"Well, I'm not putting on a beard and a red suit," he said, "so don't even think about it."

Amanda lifted his index finger to remove one tiny shopping bag from the bunch he clutched in his right hand. She smiled as she wrinkled her nose. "That's okay," she said, then she turned away to walk up the hill. "I don't think Dallas believes in Santa Claus, anyway."

Duncan shifted his burdens, then he followed Amanda and Richie. To make matters worse they'd had to park around the corner and a block away. He felt like a pack mule. He probably looked like a pack mule, as well. He grumbled to himself as he caught up with them, then took the lead. He was well ahead as he approached the corner.

A shrill scream pierced the general din of the city street. At the same time, the buzz of another Immortal drilled through him. It stilled his heart and chilled the blood pulsing in his veins. He dropped the shopping bags and ran - right into Dallas.

With her skates flying, she crashed into him, nearly knocking him over. He recovered quickly, then pushed her behind him as he caught the expression of absolute terror on her face. He followed the direction of her look, and saw what had frightened her.

The man who had been chasing her slowed his pace to a walk as he approached. His long dark coat fluttered, then enfolded him like a raven's wings as he stopped a few feet away. Tall for an Asian and completely bald, he crossed his arms over his chest, and eyed Duncan with contempt. A thin rivulet of blood trickled from a long scratch on his cheek and from another over his left eye.

He lifted one dark eyebrow and his long thin mustache twitched as he regarded the scene before him. Footfalls echoed behind Duncan as Richie and Amanda ran up to join him. He held a trembling Dallas under the protection of his arm.

"My, my," the strange Immortal said, casting a malevolent glance over the group. "What have we here? A Gathering, perhaps?" He shook his head and chuckled. "Just let me have the child and the rest of you can go on your way ... unless you want to die, then I'd be most willing to oblige ... one at a time, of course."

"Dallas is under my protection, Khan," Duncan said, then he passed her back to Richie. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me, and after me ... them." He indicated the others with a tilt of his head.

"Well, it seems you have me at a slight disadvantage. You know who I am, but I don't know who you are." The Khan moved closer, then he attempted to pass.

Duncan grabbed his arm. "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod," he said. "Touch her, and you'll be the one to die."

"The Highlander?" the Khan asked. His smile glimmered with a token respect.

Duncan nodded with a slight movement of his head, then both men looked away as a horn blared and tires squealed on asphalt. The drivers of the two cars, that had narrowly missed each other in the intersection, expressed their heated opinions with shouts and curses.

"This is not the right time, nor the right place," Duncan said, stepping back.

"I agree." The Khan stepped back as well. "Choose the time and place of your death, Highlander."

Duncan ran through his memories of the city as he considered an appropriate place for a confrontation of the Immortal kind. "Golden Gate Park at midnight," he said.

"No," Dallas screamed from behind him.

Duncan turned. She struggled in Richie's firm grip. "Don't go, Duncan," she pleaded. "He'll kill you. He killed Jake."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, It will be all right."

"Such confidence - I like that - it will make killing you so much more interesting."

"Don't bet on it," Duncan retorted, then the clatter of skates on the sidewalk and muttered oaths from behind him drew his attention. He glanced over his shoulder to see Dallas succeed in her struggle with Richie.

"Let me go," she said, then her skate thumped into his ankle. He released her as he reached down to rub the injured spot.

Dallas tugged on the zipper of her blue ski jacket as she skated up to Duncan's side. She slipped her hand inside the coat, then drew out the sword she had brandished in the dojo. "Go away and leave my friends alone," she ordered, waving the short sword before her.

Careful to avoid the moving blade, Duncan bent to take it from her. "That's not a good idea, sweetheart," he said.

Dallas held the sword in a such a fast grip, that he had to pry her fingers free. He tucked the sword under his arm, then took her hand. She lifted her chin as she took a step toward the Khan. "I'm not afraid of you," she said, but the tremor of her hand betrayed her.

The Khan laughed softly as he gazed at her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. "The child has spirit," he said. "It will be a shame to kill her, but she must die."

"She's just a child," Duncan said. "She's no threat to you. Leave her be, and we can all live in peace."

"Peace?" the Khan said, lifting one eyebrow in disbelief. "There is no peace for our kind. Surely, you must know that. I can not allow this child to live."

"Why? What has she done to you?"

The Khan's broad shoulders lifted as he inhaled deeply. "It does not matter," he said. "Golden Gate Park ... at midnight." He bowed his head, then he whirled away and strode across the street.

Duncan lifted Dallas into his arms, and waited while Richie and Amanda picked up the scattered shopping bags. The girl sighed as she hugged him, then he turned and carried her all the way back to the house. One skate-clad foot thumped against his knee, but he hardly noticed it as the warm moist brush of her breath on his ear and the gentle pressure of her arms around his neck filled him with emotions he couldn't understand. He vowed to make things right for her, no matter what the cost might be.

The familiar orange tabby rose from her perch on the porch railing as they approached. She arched her back and her tail quivered, then she leaned into a long stretch before leaping down to greet them.

Dallas wriggled in Duncan's arms and he set her down before she could deafen him again. "Murphy!" she shouted, a second after he released her. Watching her skate up to the cat, he smiled. He was learning these lessons quickly.

Dallas scooped the cat up into her arms and hugged her until Murphy meowed in protest. "Murphy, you saved me," she said.

Duncan bent to unfasten her skates as she cuddled the squirming cat, then he shepherded the whole crew into the house. Safely inside the front hall, he crouched down before Dallas.

"What happened, sweetheart?" he asked, as he helped her out of her coat.

Dallas's lower lip quivered as she took a deep breath. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she didn't cry. "He just snuck up on me ... the Khan. I didn't even hear him ... I turned around and he was right there. Mrs. Thompson said it was too nice to stay inside. We went down to St. Anthony's. I can skate in the parking lot 'cause it's flat there ... then we came back and I stayed outside to play with Murphy, but Mrs. Thompson had to go in 'cause her sister called."

She took another deep breath, and Duncan knew she was reliving the whole incident. He took her hand, led her over to the stairs, then he sat down and pulled her into the shelter of his arm. He brushed her bangs back from her face. "Relax, sweetheart," he said soothingly. "No one's going to hurt you now."

Murphy nudged Dallas's leg, and she bent down to pick the cat up. "Murphy saved me," she said, rubbing her face in the cat's fur. It purred loudly in response.

"I was holding her when the Khan snuck up on us. She growled and hissed at him, then she jumped at him and scratched his face. I thought he would hurt her, but she got away. I had my skates on, so I thought I could get to St. Anthony's before he could catch me. Jake said we're always safe in a church."

"Jake was right," Duncan said, quietly. "The church is Holy Ground."

Noticing that there was blood on her hand, he took it gently in his to examine it. Released from the clutch of her embrace, the cat escaped, but stayed to snake around their legs. Duncan wiped the blood away with his thumb, then he kissed it. The cut was a fairly shallow one, that looked suspiciously like a cat scratch. "Murphy got you too," he said.

"That's okay," she said with a shrug. "She didn't mean it."

"Maybe not," he replied, "but we should clean it up so it doesn't get infected."

"I'll do it," Amanda volunteered.

Dallas edged closer to Duncan, and he watched the expressions change on her face while she considered Amanda's outstretched hand. Her shoulders lifted as she took a deep breath, then she reached out to accept Amanda's offer.