Chapter 26

Scotland

In the three days since Methos had left… Eleanor had rarely moved… nor had she left their room. For most of the time she'd crouched on the floor, rocking back and forth… trying desperately to be with him. "Why?" she kept trying to find out… but other than an occasional acknowledgment that he knew she was there… his mind remained hidden from her.

At some point… she had slept… because she'd been awakened by a soft knock on the door.

"Ellie… please… you need to eat," Derrick pleaded from the far side of the door.

"Leave me alone!" she'd screamed… not so much angry with him as angry that he was the one who was here… the reason Methos had made her remain behind.

Earlier today he'd tried again. This time she'd flung open the door to glare at him. "What part of leave me alone do you not understand?" she'd snapped and then paused… aware suddenly that he was staring at her open-mouthed. Eleanor looked down to realize she was wearing only Methos' shirt… as she had once done so often. She backed up and closed the door one more. This was not solving anything.

She'd tried once more to reach Methos… aware only that he was fine. Her head hurt. She was hungry… she was tired… and she felt completely out of sorts. Slowly she rose… pouring water into the bowl and washing her face. Next she picked up a brush to run it through her hair… aware that in the aftermath of the fire and the strange healing… it had grown back… as if it had never burned. Swiftly she pulled on a pair of jeans… but she was unwilling to remove his shirt just yet.

Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror she smiled at what she saw. She cut a strange figure in the too big shirt, bare feet and jeans… her long hair hanging about her shoulders in an unruly manner. Still… it was who she was. She opened the door.

Derrick was seated near the fire. When he heard her enter, he leaned back in his chair in a posture Eleanor found all too familiar… as he regarded her.

Eleanor forced a smile. "You're right Derrick… I'm being silly and I do need to eat something.

Derrick leapt up eagerly and began to dip some soup into a bowl for her. "I hope you like it… I tried to make it like you do." Once more he seemed only a younger brother attempting to please or comfort his distraught older sister. The one moment when he'd seemed eerily like Darius had passed. He handed her the bowl of soup as she sat at the table.

Their fingers touched briefly. Eleanor closed her eyes and shook her head… then opened them to smile. "Thanks… I'm sure it's fine." She began to eat… noting it was much tastier than anything she had ever managed. She laughed. "Well it seems I've done my job…" When he looked at her quizzically she smiled. "Despite my limitations on the subject, I've managed to teach you to cook. At least you'll never starve to death."

Derrick's cheeks reddened. He set a loaf of hard bread on the table with a knife, then sat opposite her at the table. "He'll be back… he just wanted to check on something. Adam will be back Ellie… He promised."

Eleanor nodded and finished her soup quietly. By the time she'd finished… it was dark outside. She still seemed to have a headache… likely a result of her attempts to reach Methos non-stop. Maybe she needed to pull back some. Had it been like this for Gael, she wondered. But no… Gael had not cared if D'jann had gone… nor if he'd return. At any rate… Methos would be back… in a few more days… he'd promised. Even as she made her decision… she felt him for the briefest moment… he missed her. Eleanor closed her eyes and focused on the tendril of his thought even as it drifted away. If she'd been paying attention… she might have slipped through his wall and joined with him once more. She'd not miss another chance.

"Thanks for the soup, Derrck… You really are a sweet boy." Eleanor turned to re-enter her room… softly closing the door. Climbing onto the bed… she curled around a pillow and hugged it to her tightly. Focusing all her thought… she followed the tendril of fading thought until she was at the wall. There… she waited.

"Come back to me!" she whispered.

"Soon… very soon!" she heard him reply.

Comforted she settled into a light doze. No longer straining to be with him… but completely open to fully accept whatever or whenever he would think of her. Slowly the headache lessened… and she felt euphoric. She could almost imagine him driving in the darkness… stopping to talk to someone… driving further… thinking of her… waiting… Suddenly someone was there. He was angry… so very angry… The world was awash in colors of red and black. Eleanor rolled over in the nightmare… throwing her arms about as if fighting… kicking… avoiding the blade that flashed and struck her own. Again and again the blades clashed in the darkness… sparks in the night. Pain exploded about her… and then she could see the quickening. In that moment… she was with him… struggling as he struggled amidst the flashing images of pain and hatred and need… Eleanor embraced the images and found herself screaming into the darkness.

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Hearing the screams from his room, Derrick came running on the double. He found Eleanor on the floor of her room snarling and flailing about as if caught in something he could not see.

"Ellie!" he cried and tried to stop her movement. His face stung by the force of her blow. Derrick stepped back shaking his head. Ellie stood before him… her arm drawn back… her eyes wild and unfocused. Her breath came as a hiss. She backed away and then raced past him out of the room… out of the house… out into the yard.

He followed her, wiping away the blood streaming from his nose.

In the center of the courtyard she fell to her knees screaming… and then collapsed into the dirt. Gingerly… his face still throbbing from her blow… Derrick approached the petite immortal. She lay on her side unconscious. Derrick rolled her onto her back… but there was no indication of conscious thought. Gathering her into his arms, the boy carried back into the house to lay her on her bed. He ran his fingers slowly over her face… so calm now… no sign of what he'd earlier seen. She whimpered… one hand groped for his and clenched it tightly.

Derrick pulled up a chair and sat there through the night… letting her hold his hand. Once he thought he heard her say something… but it was not to him. "Darius," she whispered in her sleep…"I love him… I miss him… How could he do this?" Derrick sighed. He wasn't this Darius she used to know… and from what little he did know… he wasn't so certain this immortal had been good for Ellie. He had the strangest impression that the man had done something that even his memories felt regret over.

"Don't worry Ellie… Adam will be back… I know he will be… He has to be."

At some point… Derrick lay his head on the edge of the bed and slept.

When he woke… sunlight was streaming through the window. Derrick sat up stretching. His back hurt from the position he'd slept in. Ellie was still asleep. At some point… she'd released his hand and rolled over… curled into a ball.

Running a hand through his sandy hair with a sigh, Derrick rose and softly left the room. It was morning… there were chores to do… no matter what… horses to be fed… eggs to be gathered, cows to be milked. He should have been up long before this. Methos had warned him to keep everything running smoothly during his absence. Derrick intended that when the immortal returned… he'd find everything as it should be.

Outside the warm April morning held a hint of the warmer weather to come. Derrick concentrated on his chores, losing himself in the familiar tasks. He'd just finished when he noticed Ellie standing in the center of the courtyard… facing south.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked as he came up behind her… painfully aware suddenly how small she seemed to him.

"Adam taught you to drive… right."

"Yes…" Derrick's voice trailed off… He wasn't certain she was supposed to know that.

Ellie looked up at him. "Something's wrong. Something has happened. I'm going after him. Bring the Land Rover out and get it ready… you're driving me."

"We can't just leave. He'll be back… We should wait."

"Either bring it out and drive me or I will walk." Ellie's voice was clipped and determined.

"What about the animals… we can't just leave them."

Eleanor laughed harshly. "We can stop at the caretaker's house. They know how to handle things here… they know Adam often leaves here for years at a time… suddenly and without notice. Now… are you driving me… or am I walking?"

Derrick stared at her and then nodded. "I'll drive you."

Ellie went back into the house to change her clothes. Derrick pulled the Rover out into the yard. He hoped Methos wouldn't kill him for agreeing with her so quickly… but he'd had a feeling Ellie really would have left… and Derrick feared what might happen to her if she were alone. He knew she was a capable immortal. He knew and had seen her fight, meeting a challenge and taking a head… but he'd also seen her when they'd been on the streets and running. As capable as Ellie could be… Derrick worried that the vulnerable Ellie might be the one on the road alone. He was bigger now. He could help… she didn't have to protect him.

Dressed in clean jeans, a long sleeve navy turtleneck, her over-sized jacket, and her sneakers, Ellie came out with a duffel bag. "Let's go," she snapped, climbing into the front passenger seat. Her long black hair was tied back.

"I have some things in my room I need to get."

"I already have them." She met his gaze and smiled thinly. "Sword, stone, computer and a change of clothes… Is there anything else you need?"

Derrick shook his head and climbed in. He inserted the key into the ignition and glanced at her. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes… something is wrong… something he didn't expect. He needs me…"

Derrick nodded and pulled out of the courtyard, heading for the road.