Duncan told Ritchie to drop anchor where they were. They were going to rest there this evening, while Joe had a chance to recover and tell them where they needed to go. No sense toodling around aimlessly, wasting fuel.

Anne went in to check on Amanda, who was now awake. She was cranky and irritable, but fine. And seemingly further along. Anne shook her head as she looked Amanda over. She had never seen anything like this. And not that she was looking to score in medical posterity; too bad she couldn't do a paper on this.

But what could she write? What little she had managed to observe of Immortals and their powers defied explanation in any conventional, or even theoretical manner. They were truly...supernatural. No way around it. So even if she could write up something, no peer would take it seriously, unless they had experienced what she had experienced.

"Remarkable," she muttered, listening into a stethoscope.

"Thank you," said Amanda.

Anne looked at her with a warm smile, "No... well, yes, you are an amazing woman, from what I've seen and what Duncan's told me."

"Oh really?" Amanda asked, "Just what has Duncan said about me?"

Anne was charmed by the girlishness in Amanda's voice when she asked that question. Several centuries in this world, and she still gets that way when a man she has interest in speaks about her. Some things perhaps never change about women.

"Duncan is kind of tight-lipped about your world, but he has listed you as one of his old friends. With caveats," Anne added.

"And those are?" Amanda asked, one eyebrow raised.

"That you can sometimes be more trouble than you're worth, but for some reason, he still lets you come around," Anne responded.

"Trouble? I prefer to think that I make things interesting. In all the ways a woman can," Amanda said with a huff.

"Hm. Well, he appreciates it, and is exasperated it at the same time," Anne replied.

"Isn't that our job, to be walking contradictions, to keep the men on their toes?" Amanda asked.

"When I was younger, maybe," Anne admitted. "But I worked thru that phase a long time ago."

"Well, when time is on your side, you have to do something to keep things interesting," Amanda mused.

Anne grunted, giving Amanda a look, "When you only have so many years, your priorities have to change, if you want your life to grow. You have to grow up."

"Grow old, you mean?"

"Mature," Anne replied. "I have a husband. I have a child. I have a career, with people who depend on me."

Amanda's eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head, "How do you do it? I would go insane, I would feel like chains were weighing me down..."

"It can be stressful, sometimes," Anne admitted. "But I have love. I have stability. I have a home, people I can depend on. Yes, we only have a limited amount of time with each other, it's true. But I know that time will count for something."

Amanda sighed, then brightened, "So how do I look, Doc?"

"Healthy, very pregnant...

...with twins..."