Disclaimer: See Acknowledgements page
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The following week, Lynette returned once more to the lab and was artificially inseminated. She was given an apartment near the laboratory so they could monitor the development of the fetus. Malachi was elated, but kept his feelings to himself. He gave the appearance of a scientist who was devoted solely to the project. But when no one else was looking, he and Lynette exchanged glances full of love and desire.
The days flew by and Lynette felt the baby grow within her. She was beginning to love the little life inside and was wondering just how she was going to cope with having to give it up at birth. It would be very hard. At one point, she was able to sneak away and meet up with Malachi. She spoke to him about her growing apprehensions regarding the birth of the baby. He told her he felt the same way, but they were going to have to make the sacrifice if they wanted to survive. He told her that when their part in the project was completed, he wanted to marry her, settle down, and have a family of their own. Lynette agreed. They parted company happy in the knowledge that they would one day share a life together.
A week after their rendezvous, Lynette entered the lab so they could perform routine tests to check on the progress of the baby. When the results of the tests came back, all hell broke loose. It seems that one of the tests revealed the sex of the baby. Somehow an error had occurred during the development of the semen used to impregnate Lynette. The child was not a boy, but a girl. The director immediately called a staff meeting.
"A girl!" the director exclaimed. "How can this be?" No one had an answer. They were all at a loss as to how this could have happened. "This is awful. Weeks of research down the drain. Well, there is only one solution. The pregnancy will have to be terminated and we go back to square one."
Upon hearing this, Malachi was stunned. Terminate the pregnancy. But that's my baby. My child. My daughter. I can't let this happen. I just can't. Malachi excused himself from the room saying he had left some notes vital to this discussions back at the lab. His colleagues continued their discussions on the steps they will need to take to rectify the situation.
Malachi went straight to Lynette and told her the director planned to abort the fetus. Lynette did not take the news well. "No, they can't do that," she said, on the verge of tears. "This is my baby. Our baby, Malachi. Don't let them do this. Don't."
"I won't, my sweet Lynette," he replied as he held her close. "No one is going to hurt our child. I won't let them, I promise. I have a plan. Quickly collect a few things and come with me. I'll take us where no one will be able to find us." He kissed her gently on the forehead, then looked in her eyes reassuringly as he brushed the hair back from her face. Lynette gathered up a few belongings, then took Malachi's hand. He led his love down a secret passage which opened to the outside. They got in Malachi's car and drove to his house, so he could collect a few important belongings himself. Then the two fugitives were on the road to safety.
Malachi's first stop was at a storage facility where they exchanged his car for one which belonged to a childhood friend of his who had been killed in a battle over six months ago. He hoped this ploy would help make it difficult for his colleagues to track them. The next stop was the justice of the peace where they were married. Then they headed to the mountains where Malachi owned a cabin under the name of Nathan Grant. It was here he conducted his own research with regards to his multi- dimensional theory. No one knew about this place, so they would be safe for awhile anyway.
Months went by and the child grew within Lynette. Unfortunately, the pregnancy seemed to take a lot out of her, draining her, sapping her strength. To see his beautiful Lynnie grow weaker, paler each day was almost more than he could bear. Malachi worried about her constantly, waited on her hand and foot. She slept most of the day, so Malki, as she affectionately called him, used this time to continue his research in his lab. He hoped to have it completed by the time the baby came. Then he could definitely make sure that he and his family were totally safe from those who wished to do it harm.
The day finally arrived when Lynette went into labor. Malachi sat there holding her hand wishing he could take away her pain. After eight hours, Lynette finally gave birth to their baby girl. She smiled at her baby and then at Malachi. "She's beautiful. She's so perfect. I want to call her Emily after my mother," she said weakly.
"Emily. That's a beautiful name. Emily her name shall be," he replied, gently kissing his beautiful wife.
"Malki," Lynette said, very tired yet sad, "please tell Emily how much I loved her and how much I wanted to be there to watch her grow up."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, terribly frightened. "You're going to be fine. You just need to rest."
"No, I'm not," she whispered, barely able to speak. "The pregnancy and birth were too much for my body to handle. I'm sorry, Malki, but...." Her voice trailed off. She closed her eyes and was gone.
"No," he whispered. "No." He buried his head in her chest and began to cry softly. A few moments later, Emily began to wail. He looked up at his new daughter. How much she looks like her mother he thought. As long as she's alive, my Lynnie lives as well. He picked Emily up and rocked her gently until she quieted. He laid her in her crib, then walked over to the bed to cover Lynette's body with a blanket. He had no more completed that unpleasant task when a warning alarm went off. Someone had crossed the boundary line onto his property. Checking the monitor, Malachi saw three SUVs driving up the road towards his home. The center had found him and would be here in less than an hour. He didn't have much time and had to act quickly.
Malachi picked up Emily and carried her to his lab. Based on his research, he had built a portal to other dimensions. Sitting down at the keyboard, Malachi entered the pertinent data and, after a few minutes, received an answer. It wasn't the one he wanted, but his daughter's life, as well as his own, was at stake. He kissed his daughter goodbye and placed her into the portal chamber, then set the controls to the proper coordinates. With a push of a button, his daughter disappeared and, in her place, the body of another infant girl appeared, one who, unknown to her parents, had died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Malachi pick up the body and placed it in his daughter's crib, then returned to the lab. He reset the controls, grabbed his portfolio filled with his research, and entered the portal chamber himself. In a few moments, he disappeared and another man, an unfortunate victim of a burglary gone bad, appeared at the portal's console. Five minutes later, the whole place exploded.
Back to the present.
"Because he had such little notice," Anna continued, still facing the immortal, "Malachi was forced to separate himself from his daughter in order save her. Emily ended up in one dimension, while he went to another. He had hoped to create another portal in order to join her, but unfortunately your dimension wasn't as technically advanced as the one he came from. It was almost twenty-five years before he was able to build another one. He wrote that he had hoped to join his daughter, but unfortunately something went wrong and he was unable to do so. It was me, Duncan, that he wanted to find. I'm Emily, the little baby who was the product of genetic engineering, which sure explains a lot of things about me that I've wondered about for years."
"That's quite an interesting tale. A pretty good piece of science fiction. Probably even best seller material."
"You don't believe it?" she asked.
"Well, you have to admit it does sound a little far-fetched."
"And a race of immortals is quite believable?" She smiled at the look on Duncan's face. He grabbed her wrist. "What are you looking for?" she asked.
"A tattoo," was the reply.
"Sorry, don't have one."
"Then how do you know about immortals?"
"Well, to be honest, I didn't at first. I was too caught up in trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn't until you introduced to me Adam Pierson. I wondered why you had lied about his name. It was then I looked into his eyes and I knew."
"I lied about his name? What are you talking about?" he asked, astounded by what she was telling him. "And just what do you know about Adam?"
"You see, I have a great many talents, one of which is being able to tell when someone is lying to me just by the sound of their voice. The other is....well, you know the old saying 'The eyes are the mirror to the soul.' It's about the same thing. I can look into your eyes and know exactly how old you are, what injuries you have suffered, what you are feeling...basically, I know just about everything about you. So when I looked into Methos' eyes, I knew he was immortal and that he was 5,942 years old."
Duncan stared at her totally flabbergasted as more questions formed in his mind. "Wait a minute," he finally managed to say. "He's 5,942? Are you sure? And just how do you know his real name?"
"I told you I can look in someone's eyes and know exactly how many days they've lived on this planet. All that was left was to do the math. And by my calculations, he'll be 5,943 on October 31."
The Scot was amazed. "His birthday is Halloween? That figures. I'm sorry. Please continue."
"Okay. As for his name, it's another one of my talents. I have extremely good hearing, so I heard you say it when I was sitting on the sofa."
"You heard that? Did you hear everything we said?" he asked. Anna nodded. "Even at Joe's"
"Yep, even at Joe's." Duncan wasn't sure what to say, what to make of what she was telling him. He sat there quietly, pondering this information. After several minutes, Anna asked, "Duncan, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just not sure what to make of all this," he said quietly. "It's rather amazing that you're capable of all those things."
"You've got to remember, Duncan, that I was genetically engineered to be this way. Those scientists were trying to create a sort of superman -- the ultimate warrior -- in order to save their race, but they got me instead." Turning away from Duncan, Anna paused for a moment before she continued, a hint of melancholy in her voice. "You know, all my life I've wondered why I was this way, why I was so different from everybody else. It was really very lonely, because there was nobody else like me so nobody, and I mean nobody, could understand just what it was like to be me. Plus, I think that most people were frightened by what I could do, by what I knew. I graduated law school when I was nine years old. I have degrees in just about everything. The summer before I entered medical school was spent learning every language known to man throughout history. Why? Because I was bored. Don't get me wrong. Most of the time I'm really happy that I have all these gifts, because I can do so much to help people." She paused again, a far away look in her eyes. "But there are times when I wish that I was just like everyone else." She turned and looked Duncan in the eyes. "You do understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
"Yes, I understand perfectly," he said tenderly. Leaning forward, he brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her gently on the lips.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The following week, Lynette returned once more to the lab and was artificially inseminated. She was given an apartment near the laboratory so they could monitor the development of the fetus. Malachi was elated, but kept his feelings to himself. He gave the appearance of a scientist who was devoted solely to the project. But when no one else was looking, he and Lynette exchanged glances full of love and desire.
The days flew by and Lynette felt the baby grow within her. She was beginning to love the little life inside and was wondering just how she was going to cope with having to give it up at birth. It would be very hard. At one point, she was able to sneak away and meet up with Malachi. She spoke to him about her growing apprehensions regarding the birth of the baby. He told her he felt the same way, but they were going to have to make the sacrifice if they wanted to survive. He told her that when their part in the project was completed, he wanted to marry her, settle down, and have a family of their own. Lynette agreed. They parted company happy in the knowledge that they would one day share a life together.
A week after their rendezvous, Lynette entered the lab so they could perform routine tests to check on the progress of the baby. When the results of the tests came back, all hell broke loose. It seems that one of the tests revealed the sex of the baby. Somehow an error had occurred during the development of the semen used to impregnate Lynette. The child was not a boy, but a girl. The director immediately called a staff meeting.
"A girl!" the director exclaimed. "How can this be?" No one had an answer. They were all at a loss as to how this could have happened. "This is awful. Weeks of research down the drain. Well, there is only one solution. The pregnancy will have to be terminated and we go back to square one."
Upon hearing this, Malachi was stunned. Terminate the pregnancy. But that's my baby. My child. My daughter. I can't let this happen. I just can't. Malachi excused himself from the room saying he had left some notes vital to this discussions back at the lab. His colleagues continued their discussions on the steps they will need to take to rectify the situation.
Malachi went straight to Lynette and told her the director planned to abort the fetus. Lynette did not take the news well. "No, they can't do that," she said, on the verge of tears. "This is my baby. Our baby, Malachi. Don't let them do this. Don't."
"I won't, my sweet Lynette," he replied as he held her close. "No one is going to hurt our child. I won't let them, I promise. I have a plan. Quickly collect a few things and come with me. I'll take us where no one will be able to find us." He kissed her gently on the forehead, then looked in her eyes reassuringly as he brushed the hair back from her face. Lynette gathered up a few belongings, then took Malachi's hand. He led his love down a secret passage which opened to the outside. They got in Malachi's car and drove to his house, so he could collect a few important belongings himself. Then the two fugitives were on the road to safety.
Malachi's first stop was at a storage facility where they exchanged his car for one which belonged to a childhood friend of his who had been killed in a battle over six months ago. He hoped this ploy would help make it difficult for his colleagues to track them. The next stop was the justice of the peace where they were married. Then they headed to the mountains where Malachi owned a cabin under the name of Nathan Grant. It was here he conducted his own research with regards to his multi- dimensional theory. No one knew about this place, so they would be safe for awhile anyway.
Months went by and the child grew within Lynette. Unfortunately, the pregnancy seemed to take a lot out of her, draining her, sapping her strength. To see his beautiful Lynnie grow weaker, paler each day was almost more than he could bear. Malachi worried about her constantly, waited on her hand and foot. She slept most of the day, so Malki, as she affectionately called him, used this time to continue his research in his lab. He hoped to have it completed by the time the baby came. Then he could definitely make sure that he and his family were totally safe from those who wished to do it harm.
The day finally arrived when Lynette went into labor. Malachi sat there holding her hand wishing he could take away her pain. After eight hours, Lynette finally gave birth to their baby girl. She smiled at her baby and then at Malachi. "She's beautiful. She's so perfect. I want to call her Emily after my mother," she said weakly.
"Emily. That's a beautiful name. Emily her name shall be," he replied, gently kissing his beautiful wife.
"Malki," Lynette said, very tired yet sad, "please tell Emily how much I loved her and how much I wanted to be there to watch her grow up."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, terribly frightened. "You're going to be fine. You just need to rest."
"No, I'm not," she whispered, barely able to speak. "The pregnancy and birth were too much for my body to handle. I'm sorry, Malki, but...." Her voice trailed off. She closed her eyes and was gone.
"No," he whispered. "No." He buried his head in her chest and began to cry softly. A few moments later, Emily began to wail. He looked up at his new daughter. How much she looks like her mother he thought. As long as she's alive, my Lynnie lives as well. He picked Emily up and rocked her gently until she quieted. He laid her in her crib, then walked over to the bed to cover Lynette's body with a blanket. He had no more completed that unpleasant task when a warning alarm went off. Someone had crossed the boundary line onto his property. Checking the monitor, Malachi saw three SUVs driving up the road towards his home. The center had found him and would be here in less than an hour. He didn't have much time and had to act quickly.
Malachi picked up Emily and carried her to his lab. Based on his research, he had built a portal to other dimensions. Sitting down at the keyboard, Malachi entered the pertinent data and, after a few minutes, received an answer. It wasn't the one he wanted, but his daughter's life, as well as his own, was at stake. He kissed his daughter goodbye and placed her into the portal chamber, then set the controls to the proper coordinates. With a push of a button, his daughter disappeared and, in her place, the body of another infant girl appeared, one who, unknown to her parents, had died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Malachi pick up the body and placed it in his daughter's crib, then returned to the lab. He reset the controls, grabbed his portfolio filled with his research, and entered the portal chamber himself. In a few moments, he disappeared and another man, an unfortunate victim of a burglary gone bad, appeared at the portal's console. Five minutes later, the whole place exploded.
Back to the present.
"Because he had such little notice," Anna continued, still facing the immortal, "Malachi was forced to separate himself from his daughter in order save her. Emily ended up in one dimension, while he went to another. He had hoped to create another portal in order to join her, but unfortunately your dimension wasn't as technically advanced as the one he came from. It was almost twenty-five years before he was able to build another one. He wrote that he had hoped to join his daughter, but unfortunately something went wrong and he was unable to do so. It was me, Duncan, that he wanted to find. I'm Emily, the little baby who was the product of genetic engineering, which sure explains a lot of things about me that I've wondered about for years."
"That's quite an interesting tale. A pretty good piece of science fiction. Probably even best seller material."
"You don't believe it?" she asked.
"Well, you have to admit it does sound a little far-fetched."
"And a race of immortals is quite believable?" She smiled at the look on Duncan's face. He grabbed her wrist. "What are you looking for?" she asked.
"A tattoo," was the reply.
"Sorry, don't have one."
"Then how do you know about immortals?"
"Well, to be honest, I didn't at first. I was too caught up in trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn't until you introduced to me Adam Pierson. I wondered why you had lied about his name. It was then I looked into his eyes and I knew."
"I lied about his name? What are you talking about?" he asked, astounded by what she was telling him. "And just what do you know about Adam?"
"You see, I have a great many talents, one of which is being able to tell when someone is lying to me just by the sound of their voice. The other is....well, you know the old saying 'The eyes are the mirror to the soul.' It's about the same thing. I can look into your eyes and know exactly how old you are, what injuries you have suffered, what you are feeling...basically, I know just about everything about you. So when I looked into Methos' eyes, I knew he was immortal and that he was 5,942 years old."
Duncan stared at her totally flabbergasted as more questions formed in his mind. "Wait a minute," he finally managed to say. "He's 5,942? Are you sure? And just how do you know his real name?"
"I told you I can look in someone's eyes and know exactly how many days they've lived on this planet. All that was left was to do the math. And by my calculations, he'll be 5,943 on October 31."
The Scot was amazed. "His birthday is Halloween? That figures. I'm sorry. Please continue."
"Okay. As for his name, it's another one of my talents. I have extremely good hearing, so I heard you say it when I was sitting on the sofa."
"You heard that? Did you hear everything we said?" he asked. Anna nodded. "Even at Joe's"
"Yep, even at Joe's." Duncan wasn't sure what to say, what to make of what she was telling him. He sat there quietly, pondering this information. After several minutes, Anna asked, "Duncan, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just not sure what to make of all this," he said quietly. "It's rather amazing that you're capable of all those things."
"You've got to remember, Duncan, that I was genetically engineered to be this way. Those scientists were trying to create a sort of superman -- the ultimate warrior -- in order to save their race, but they got me instead." Turning away from Duncan, Anna paused for a moment before she continued, a hint of melancholy in her voice. "You know, all my life I've wondered why I was this way, why I was so different from everybody else. It was really very lonely, because there was nobody else like me so nobody, and I mean nobody, could understand just what it was like to be me. Plus, I think that most people were frightened by what I could do, by what I knew. I graduated law school when I was nine years old. I have degrees in just about everything. The summer before I entered medical school was spent learning every language known to man throughout history. Why? Because I was bored. Don't get me wrong. Most of the time I'm really happy that I have all these gifts, because I can do so much to help people." She paused again, a far away look in her eyes. "But there are times when I wish that I was just like everyone else." She turned and looked Duncan in the eyes. "You do understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
"Yes, I understand perfectly," he said tenderly. Leaning forward, he brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her gently on the lips.