Duncan and Ritchie escorted Anne Lindsay from the Airport out to Duncan's waiting

car. Anne was seemingly torn between smiling and scowling at Duncan.

"It's good to see you and Ritchie again, Duncan, but you've torn me from my life at a moment's notice. I have a husband and a daughter now, whom I love very much. They deserved SOME KIND of explanation. But I didn't know what to tell them. All because you couldn't explain it over a public phone?"

"You couldn't have told them the whole truth, anyway," Duncan said, a small, wry smile on his face. "We've stepped into some strange territory here, and you are
the most qualified person, mortal or Immortal, I know of to help out."

"Really, Duncan..."

"Really. I'll tell you all I know when we get in the car. And I hope we can have you back home soon. This situation seems to be developing really fast..."

Ritchie looks at Duncan and mouthed "Husband?"

Duncan put a finger to his lips and gave Ritchie a 'keep quiet' look.

As Duncan seated Ann in the car he thought of the last time he'd seen her. He'd worked hard on the house, he'd agonized over just the right shade of creamy white to paint it. He smiled as he fondly remembered the porch and eaves that he and Methos had painted. He was glad that she'd agreed to accept the home for herself and her little girl.

He felt a quick pang of longing and grief for what he and Ann might have had. He thought of Tessa and was flooded with grief again. Quickly he closes the car door.
Maybe he should have found someone else?

Anne looked a little older; she had a few smile lines and the beginnings of crinkles around her eyes. Could it have been that long? How old was her little girl. What did she look like?

Ann had let her hair grow. It was just past her shoulders and there were a few gray strands mixed with the dark. He knew better than this... Ann had a husband now. He had to respect that. She had asked him to leave her life in no uncertain terms.

He thought back to the battle and the quickening that she had witnesses. How
could he blame her? It had been one of the most intense battles of his life ... he had never fought so dirty or WANTED to kill so badly.

She had been threatened... their baby had been threatened! Nothing on earth would have kept him from taking a head that awful night.

He could see how he must have looked to her, a modern woman. He had been a beast, a seeker of death, and a warrior, driven, lusting for blood. How frightening and terrible to see that side of the man she'd lain with and thought of as a gentle, caring lover. She must have been shocked when he'd smiled and swung his sword and decapitated that worthless piece of filth.

Then the quickening... he'd felt the power...he knew how it looked, how much hate and evil he's taken in from that nazi bastard. In the end he'd curled into a fetal position on the concrete and prayed for release. How could he have ever thought she'd be able to stay with him after that?

He was suddenly thankful that Tessa had never witnessed a quickening.

Duncan looked up at the night sky, blinked a couple of times, let out a deep sigh and got into the car. Turned to Ann and said as cheerfully as he could, " you look lovely... let your hair grow... most becoming."

Anne could see a bit of the turmoil of emotion lurking underneath the dark Highlander exterior of Duncan. And she guessed where some of his thoughts
dwelled at this moment. His call had awoken those things for her too. Pleasant things, yes, but some very unpleasant things, too. She cared for Duncan, he was a good man, in all the ways a man could be. But what he was, what his life entailed because of his...nature...she couldn't be a part of his world.

The strangeness, the exotic, that she could deal with. It was intriguing to her as a scientist, and as a woman with a respectable imagination. But the violence, the
danger, and its constant immediacy, once she had been a witness to it...no...

She had made the right decision.

So why had she agreed on this? Because something in Duncan's voice sounded to her like he was dealing with something that was simply beyond his abilities.

A man like Duncan doesn't ask for help easily, or quickly. Pride. And she knew that he understood and respected her wishes to no longer be a part of the chaos that can be the life of an Immortal. So when he said he needed help...she believed him.

Her husband was very concerned, but love that man, he let her go without arguing with her. She felt a wave of love for the kind of trust that showed.

Her little girl had been quiet, just stared at her as she'd packed. Didn't say anything. Anne had no idea if her daughter understood that she fully intended to come back. A
wave of sadness passed through her. One day, she would need to tell that precious child the whole truth, at least as much as she understood.

But it was amazing. She'd vowed not to be a part of this mysterious world underneath what "normal" folks thought of as "real" ever again. And here she was.

Why?

Duncan needed her. Needed her!

Her help. Her skills. Her...friendship? Conflicting thoughts and feelings rose again. Despite the horror of that evening...it was impossible. Yes, feelings for Duncan were there, but they were outweighed by her feelings for the reality of immortality, and her wonderful family.

Her life was where she wanted it.

She was here to help a friend.

Speaking of...

"Ok, Duncan, time for you to explain. I agreed to travel a long way on your say-so. It's just you, Ritchie, and me in your car. The world can't hear. Now please, tell me
what this is all about..?"