Standard Disclaimer. Hey, Laurakkc, good point about Duncan and the 'deflowering', but it was important because of what is going to happen later, and I hope I addressed the issue in this chapter, at least a little bit. Thanks for the con-crit! I hope everyone is continuing to enjoy this story.

I wonder if everyone feels weird coming home after their first semester of college. It had only been a couple of months, after all, but it felt longer. Everything in my town seemed smaller, somehow, and I had this sense that things had changed, even if they didn't.

Well, one thing changed.

"You're getting married?" I stared at my mother in astonishment. She and Dr. Mitchell had taken me out to dinner to celebrate my homecoming, and, at dessert, Mom sprang the news.

"He asked me on the cruise, but I didn't want to tell you over the phone." Mom looked so happy and joyful, and just a little afraid that I was going to throw a fit or something and forbid her to marry him. "What do you think, honey?"

"I'm thrilled. Really." I said over the sudden lump in my throat, "You deserve it." I got out of my chair to give my mom a hug, and after a slight hesitation I hugged Dr. Mitchell as well. "You take care of my mommy," I said to him.

He laughed. "Believe me, I will. And I hope you'll start calling me John, now." He'd been after me to call him that for ages and I never felt comfortable doing so but, now that he was going to be my step-daddy, I guess it was time.

"Okay, John." I smiled at him, and he at me, and that was it. My mommy was getting married.

So, between Christmas, New Year's Eve, planning a wedding, meeting with my friends, and showing off what I'd learned to my Sensei, the holiday was flying by so quickly I almost didn't care I hadn't heard from Duncan.

Almost.

"He did say he might be too busy to call, but it's really hard, not hearing from him." I had confided to my best 'at-home' friend, Kathryn some of my relationship with Duncan, telling her only he was an 'older' guy that I met at the Dojo, and she offered a sympathetic ear whenever I felt the need to whine about his lack of contact.

"Especially since you slept with him."

I stared at Kathryn. "I didn't say I slept with him."

She smiled knowingly. "You didn't have to. I can just tell. Besides, I've never seen you this worked up over a guy, there had to be a reason. And knowing you, it's because love him, so you slept with him, and now you're feeling guilty."

"That doesn't mean I slept with him." I argued for argument's sake. "I loved Jack, but never slept with him."

"Hello? This is me you're talking to. I know you never loved Jack. Not really. You were holding out for someone special, and you thought this Duncan guy was it. Right?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Kath…"

"Come on, tell me. I want to know details of the guy that got you to open up. As it were."

"God, it's like being in a teen sex movie with you sometimes, you know that?" She just laughed. "Okay, fine. I slept with him the day before I left to come home. Happy? It was nice- kind of scary, but nice. And then he had to leave and I had to leave, and I haven't heard from him, and I'm beginning to…" I couldn't finish the thought.

"And now you're afraid that now that he 'got the milk', as my mother is constantly saying, he's done with the cow."

"No, Duncan isn't like that. He's too noble. He didn't even want to go all the way, that night, he felt like he was taking advantage of me. It was my idea. And anyway, Duncan wouldn't dump me just because I slept with him." I believed that, I really did, but I hadn't gotten so much as a post card from him, and couldn't keep the doubt from creeping into my thoughts.

He did call a couple of days later, but the call served to only heighten my fears.

"This little mission is harder than I thought it was going to be," he said, "and I'm beginning to think I won't be back before break is over." A nasty thought popped, unbidden, in my head. What if it was just an excuse so he wouldn't have to see me again? No. He wouldn't do that.

"Is it because Cassandra doesn't like Adam?" I asked. There was silence on the other line. "I overheard that part at your apartment. Sorry."

I heard Duncan sigh. "You'd have made a good watcher, I think. Not much slips by you. The problem is, years ago Adam hurt Cassandra rather badly, and she is unable to completely forgive him for it. She won't accept his help at all, and she's rather angry with me for coming on his behalf."

That Cassandra was starting to annoy me. "That's silly. She should just get over it. Especially if she needs help." And especially if it would get Duncan back faster.

"It's not quite as simple as that, Molly."

"Well, why not? I'll bet the biggest regret most people have is not having the chance to forgive other people. She's lucky, she has that chance."

"What if some things are unforgivable?"

"Like what? What could Adam have done that was so utterly horrible?"

"Molly, I can't tell you details because it isn't my story to tell. Suffice it to say there was a time when M…Adam was not a nice guy at all."

"But is he now?"

Duncan hesitated a moment. "Yes, he is now."

"Then she should forgive him." The cow. "That's probably the biggest advantage you immortals have over us. You have the time to change, to make amends." I was really warming up to my topic. "When my mom was in high school, she was friends with this guy who was dating another one of her friends. They broke up, and he started dating this other girl, who was also a part of the group. It's a bit confusing. Anyway, the first girl got all jealous, and stole the guy back from the other girl, and my mom was caught in the middle, and everyone stopped talking to everyone else, and it was this big drama, and none of the friendships were ever the same. When this guy was twenty, he killed himself, and my mom says her biggest regret is that she never had the chance to get back together with this guy and laugh about how stupid all the drama was."

"And your point is…"

"Cassandra needs to let go of the past. Sheesh, this guy is trying to help her, even though he knows she hates him, and she still can't let go of what he did to her a million years ago."

"Well, it wasn't quite a million years."

"Whatever. Tell her to get over it so you can help her and come back. I…I miss you."

"I'll tell her." I heard a noise in the background that could have been a door opening. "I have to go now. If she does let us help, I'll be unable to contact anyone for a while, so if you don't hear from me that's a good thing. Take care of yourself, Molly." And he hung up the phone before I could even say good-bye.

Duncan felt even further away after that call. He hadn't even said he missed me back. I tried to tell myself it was implied, that it didn't matter, but it didn't help quiet the niggling doubt that was still rolling around my brain.

And then I got the letter.

It was postmarked from Washington, but there was no return address. Thinking it was from the school, I opened it, and a photo fell out.

It was a picture of Duncan and me at the archeological exhibit. We were standing close together, laughing, and it was almost embarrassing to see how easily you could tell I loved him by the way I was looking at him. I turned the photo over and on the back was written a stanza that I later recognized as coming from a Sting song:

He won't love you

Like I love you

He won't care for you this way

He'll mistreat you if you stay

And under that, in scrawling red pen, was written: "There can be only one"