TIMELESS – CHAPTER FIVE

THE IN-LAWS

When the world is darker than I can understand
When nothing turns out the way I've planned
When the sky turns grey and there's no end in sight
When I can't sleep through the lonely night

(Chorus)
I turn to you
Like a flower leaning towards the sun
I turn to you
'Cos you're the only one
Who can turn me around when I'm upside down
I turn to you

When my insides are wracked with anxiety
You have the touch that will quiet me
You lift my spirit. You melt the ice
When I need inspiration, when I need advice

Where would I be? What would I do?
If you'd never hepled me through
I hope someday if you've lost your way
You could turn to me like I turn to you

(Chorus)
I turn to you
Like a flower leaning towards the sun
I turn to you
'Cos you're the only one
Who can turn me around when I'm upside down
I turn to you

-Melanie C – I Turn To You

TWO DAYS LATER

Janice and Roger Thompson had never been to Paris before. They stood marveling at the signs and crowds. To them this was an exciting adventure.

Methos a.k.a Adam Pierson stood watching the crowd at the appointed gate. Meanwhile his wife was off trying to locate the luggage point. Within the crowd he saw the couple. Early forties and very well heeled. The woman played it up more than the man. Methos was instantly wary of her. The couple huddled together like a pair of excited children.

The mother looked every year of her forty-three years. The father was younger than her and looked older. The mother was clearly the head of the household, as was shown by her behavior. She was the one to move first; the one who stood a step in front. Her face was that of a woman accustomed to getting her own way.

Methos knew she was going to handful. He got the distinct feeling; this mother was one of those controlling, do-as-I-do types. He understood why Darcy had moved to another country.

The father was a different story. Methos liked him. He had a kind face and generous eyes; this man was a loving person. Now Methos knew were his wife got her loving spirit from.

He turned as Darcy came running back. He loved watching her run; aside from watching her chest, he liked the way she moved. Her hair glowed and her face would flush with exertion. It made her beautiful.

"Did you find them?" She asked, standing on tip-toe.

Methos, who was almost four inches, taller this wife, nodded. "They look like tourists."

She made a sound, "They are tourists, dearest."

He glanced at her; the last couple of days, Darcy had started to use words like: honey, sweetie and dearest. At first he'd been annoyed. But then he realized it was a sign of her relaxing around him. Darcy was becoming comfortable enough to use her own words.

Darcy resorted to jumping up and down, her hand on his arm. Methos sighed and moved through the crowd. He cleared a path to the front of the line and the couple smiled. Darcy returned it and they walked up to her.

"Hi honey!" Her mother exclaimed as she hugged her daughter, "You look great!"

"Come on around," Darcy nodded to the security gates.

A few minutes later, Janice was hugging her daughter. She kept glancing at the man that stood off to the side. He looked cool and reserved.

Janice studied him from head to toe. His hair was cut short and was dark, it was all natural. His face was sharply planed, giving him a handsome clean-cut look. He wore a gray sweater with a black shirt underneath. His blue jeans were fresh and clean. The shoes he wore solid, black footwear, completely sensible. The coat he wore over the clothes was three-quarter length and came to his hips.

Janice had to admit the man was stunning; in fact she would say he was down-right gorgeous.

Darcy pulled away from the hug and went to her father. She had never been so happy to hug him. The only person she had missed was her father. She stood back from them and reached absently for the man.

Janice suddenly noticed the ring on his slender left hand. It was a simple gold band, like you'd find anywhere. It sat against his pale skin with a strange glow. Janice looked him over again.

"Mom, Dad," Darcy pulled in a breath, "This is Adam Pierson."

Roger reached for his hand; Adam used his right to shake. Roger seemed satisfied.

"It's nice to meet a man who knows how to shake hands," Roger said in a manner of approval. "So Adam, how long you been with my girl?"

"Almost seven months." Adam admitted.

Janice cut in, "How long have you been married?"

Roger glanced at his wife, "Now Jan," He took her left hand, "Leave them be."

"What Roger?" Janice looked at her husband, "I was just asking?"

Methos saw where this was going and stepped in. "How about lunch?"

Roger jumped at the change in topic, "Sounds great."

Methos held his wife's chair until she was comfortably seated. He noticed that Roger did the same thing. Roger also took his wife's coat, like Methos did. They sat directly across from one another.

Within moments of sitting a waiter brought menus and took drink orders. Methos ordered a beer and Roger ordered coffee, Janice ordered black tea and Darcy had water.

"Adam," Roger spoke up, "What do you do for a living?"

"A little of everything: bartending, musician, scholar."

Roger lifted an eye brow, "That is diverse; you must like it?"

Adam nodded, "I do. Change is essential for me."

Darcy smirked gently at the menu, as she read the menu. Janice was making a show of struggling with it.

"Oh Roger, help me!" Janice declared, she instantly pointed at the menu. "What is this?"

Methos sat quietly as the couple dealt with the menu. Under the table, Darcy took his right hand. He glanced over at her; she appeared calm, but he knew better. She was nervous.

He leaned over; it looked as though he were kissing her neck, "Relax."

She glanced at him and offered a slight smile.

"Darcy," Janice spoke sharply, "I want you to tell me something."

Darcy looked at her mother, "If I can."

Janice set aside her menu with a swift motion, "Why didn't you invite us to the wedding?"

Roger's eyes squinted slightly. Darcy was prepared for it. "The arrangements were made quickly. Adam's best friend was leaving on business for a month. We had to hurry."

"So you wanted this friend to be there but not your parents?" Janice asked.

Darcy drew in a breath, "That's right."

Roger took his wife's hand as she tensed. "Now Jan, stop it. We'll talk about this after lunch."

"No, Roger. I want to talk about it now."

"Janice," Adam said her name like an order, she looked at him. "Darcy tells me you were on Broadway."

"Yes, for many years." Janice forgot about her daughter's wedding. "I worked in some of the great shows: Cats, South Pacific, Dolls and Guys and many more."

Adam nodded, "I see. So you must be a great dancer, a singer perhaps?'

"A singer, Mr. Pierson, I was a great singer."

"I've heard Darcy sing, she must have your talent."

Janice made a show of eyeing him, "She got many talents from me, Mr. Pierson."

"Call me Adam," He said gently and looked to Roger, "And you Mr. Thompson, what do you do?"

"I am-"

"Tell me Adam," Janice cut off her husband, "How do you expect to support a family on loose work?"

Methos stared at the woman; he was really beginning not to like her, instead he sat up a little taller.

"Darcy and I are doing just fine, Mrs. Thompson."

"Yes but what about children, they are expensive."

"That's not going to be a problem," He said icily. Darcy glanced at him quickly.

Janice arched a brow, "Why is that?"

"I can't have children," He spoke the words with complete vacancy. The words no lonter meant anything to him.

Roger's face darkened and Janice looked stricken. "But...But..." She looked to her daughter and anger clouded her eyes. "You...You did this on purpose!"

Methos was surprised at the anger from Janice. Darcy wasn't however and took it in stride.

"No, mother, I did not." Her tone was light, non-emotional. "I know how much you wanted grandchildren, but you've got Lauren and Becky for that."

Roger's face cleared, he seemed to accept that. He glanced at Adam; their gazes met. Roger gave a slight nod of compliance. Adam returned it.

Janice however was using this as an excuse to fight. Clearly she had come to Paris looking for a reason to fight with Darcy.

Methos felt sorry for his wife and for Roger; he well and truly did, a woman like Janice would have driven him nuts.

"So this isn't some scheme to get back at me?" Janice growled, "I knew you'd pull something like this. First you dump Toby, than you leave the country and don't call us for years. I knew all along that you were doing this....this revenge thing."

"Oh for...." Darcy stopped and took a deep breath, "This has nothing to do with revenge, mother. I love Adam and we are going to be very happy without children."

"Don't you dare do that to me!" Janice shouted, "I didn't' slave through eighteen years of music and singing lessons so you could just walk away."

Roger rolled his eyes, catching Adam's eye; clearly this was an old fight.

Methos was relieved when he felt the presence of Mac and Amanda.

Darcy was tensing up, Methos touched her leg and she jumped. Her eyes were dark as she looked at him. "What?"

"Mac and Amanda are coming."

She looked around to the door and stood quickly. She met them half-way and clutched the large man.

"What's going on?" He asked lightly, hugging her. He looked to Methos who gave a slight head shake.

"My parents just arrived and my mothers looking for a fight. You've got to help me."

"How?" Mac asked as he held her at arm's length. "You look angry."

"I know, I'm sorry." Darcy hugged Amanda lightly. Standing back she stared at the two Immortals. "Please just do something, anything."

Amanda jumped in, "What is she doing?"

"My mother is blaming for not doing what she wanted with my life."

Mac placed a hand on her shoulder, "I won't promise anything."

Darcy returned to the table, holding Mac's large hand. "Mom, Dad, this is Duncan MacLeod. He's a friend of Adam's, from his...scholar days. He's a martial arts teacher."

Rogers stood and shook hands, "Nice to meet you, Roger Thompson." He indicated the woman next to him, "This is my wife, Janice."

"Same, just call me Mac." Duncan nodded to Amanda, "This is Amanda LeFevre; she's a fashion designer."

Amanda nodded and offered a hand. Roger surprised by kissing the back of it. "Nice to meet you Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Thompson."

Janice was watching the two like a hawk. "A martial arts teacher and a fashion designer?"

"This is Paris, Mrs. Thompson," Mac said as he took up a seat next to Methos, closest to the wall. "You're bound to meet all kinds of people."

Amanda slinked into a chair beside Mac. "Where are you two from?"

"New York," Janice said coolly, "Central Park area."

Amanda raised her brows, "That's tres chic,"

Janice gave a shrug, "I suppose." She paused a moment, "So Amanda, what line do you design?"

Amanda didn't miss a beat, "Amore."

Janice's expression lit up, "Really? I love your new Fall collection."

"Thank you; we are expecting great things from this collection."

Darcy was relaxing with each passing moment.

"Mac," Janice turned her eyes to him, "How about you?"

"Nothing quite so fancy; I work out of the U.S. mostly, Paris is a nice place to vacation." Mac looked up at the presence of their waiter.

The orders were given; Mac and Amanda both had the same as Methos. The waiter got their drink orders as well. He returned a moment later with a beer for Mac and a coffee for Amanda.

"How long have you been friends," Roger asked as he doctored his coffee.

Mac glanced at Methos before shrugging, "Roughly four years, I can't remember exactly."

Methos sipped his beer as he watched the crowd. He caught sight of two women making their way over. They were clearly identical twins.

"Look Roger, its Rebecca and Lauren!" Janice stood quickly and ran over.
Roger held up a hand in greeting. Darcy looked over but didn't move.

"Those are our two other daughter's Mr. Pierson."

Methos looked over; they were thin and gangly things, they reminded him of models. He wasn't surprised when Roger informed him of this fact.

"Both of them landed contracts with some big designer." Roger waved a hand, "I have no idea which one.

"Victoria's Secret?" Amanda offered and Roger nodded, "I recognize them from the catalogue." Mac gave her a long look, Amanda shrugged, "What?"

Janice nodded to the table and the two girls followed her. They both wore surprised expressions. Janice led them back to the table and waved to Adam.

"Girls, meet your brother in-law, Adam Pierson."

Becky and Lauren nodded in unison. "Hi," They spoke in unison as well.

Adam nodded respectfully, "Nice to meet you."

"You never said you were married," The one on the left said in a teasing voice.

Darcy shrugged, "It never occurred to me."

"We have to go, we're due at a show later." The one of the right said and turned to go.

"Why don't you guys come?" The other twin said quickly, "We can get seats for all of you. I mean, you're practically family."

"Lauren!" The other one said sharply.

"Oh come on Becky, it'll be fun." Lauren nodded to the table, "We'll let Mom know the time and place."

The twins left and Janice sat down with a happy sigh. "I forgot to tell you, but Becky's engaged." Janice glowed as she said the name, "To Count Philippe de Chardonnay."

Methos choked slightly on his drink and the other two Immortals exchanged glances. Janice didn't notice as her eyes sparkled.

"Their children will be beautiful."

Methos regained his composure and sat back, "I am sure."

Darcy was trying not to laugh and was mostly successful. Roger noticed but said nothing.

Thankfully their order arrived and the rest of the time was taken up with eating.

Darcy rolled over expecting her husband to be there. He wasn't. She sat up and yawned as she looked around the apartment. Methos was sitting in his great big chair; the one that reminded Darcy of an archaic throne. She took a moment admire his fine body in the pale blue hue of night. His boxers were stark in the shadow-light contrast. She eyed the gleaming sword that rested in his hands.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, sitting up fully. The sheets pooled in her lap.

"I was just thinking of today." He waved a hand, "You're mother seems very..."

"Dominating, controlling, manipulative?" Darcy offered

Methos looked at her, "Why was she so upset earlier?"

Darcy yawned and rubbed her face, "Which time?"

"The one about the lessons."

Darcy drew her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on them. "My mother's career ended when she married my father. She always regretted it. Once she had me, she was determined that I would fill that regret. Lauren and Becky were pushed into acting and modeling. I was forced to sing and dance.

When I was eighteen I hooked up with Toby King. A Broadway producer who promised to launch my career; two years later nothing had happened. I told him I was leaving and wanted nothing to do with him. Toby said I had no right to leave.

The night I was to perform in a big production I begged off sick and didn't show. The following day, Toby came to my place and shot my in the hip. The police never found the weapon and couldn't charge him. Becky was his alibi for the whole event. She said he was with her all night. There was no way to crack the case and no one really cared. I was just another injured performer; there were a thousand more like me.

Methos watched his wife speak; her expression went from sad to weary to just plain tired.

"I came to Paris to start a life of my own. Away from the stage and the spotlight and defiantly away from my mother." Darcy turned her head at him, "So far I got what I wanted."
Methos stood, set aside the sword and crawled into bed. He pulled her on top of him. His hands rested on her hips. "Darcy, I don't want you to regret this."

"Why would I do that?" She asked honestly confused.

"We'll never have children. I saw you're father's disappointment at that."

"Oh," She said and leaned forward, resting her elbows on either side of him. "Well that's his problem."

"It doesn't bother you?"

She shook her head; her hair glinted off the blue light that filled the room. "I love my father and want him to be happy. But I love my life with you more. I feel complete with you; like a hole is filled. I don't need anything else to make me happy."

Methos stroked her face and smiled, "Good to know."

Darcy traced his cheek bone with one finger, "What are we going to do about the Count?"

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't going to fight him are you?"

Methos shook his head, "I have no reason to."

"And what about Becky?"

"You want me to behead your sister?"

Darcy laughed gently, "No, no. I was just wondering if she knew about him."

"Probably not; you're very rare in knowing about us." Methos kissed her deeply, "Enough talk,"