Chapter Fifteen
Paris:

Later that night, Duncan stared out the window of the bungalow. They'd returned from dinner and made love… always a pleasing experience… and he'd held Amanda in the aftermath as she'd slowly drifted off to sleep. But he couldn't sleep… his mind was filled with thoughts of Kate.

He recalled meeting her that day her coach had been stopped by highwaymen and how he and Connor had dealt with them. That memory made him smile. They'd had a great deal of fun dealing with the men. It was a good memory… as was Kate the first time he'd seen her. She'd been lovely then… with long brown locks and a warm smile. He'd been instantly smitten… especially when he'd sensed the potential that lay dormant within her.

Connor had said it was best to move on. They'd done so… but when they'd parted company shortly after, Duncan had returned to Kate's village and had courted her. He'd been absolutely giddy at the thought of such a beautiful young wife who could remain so forever… at his side. Connor had told him once about loving Heather… a mortal… and how much it had hurt to lose her when she died. Duncan thought he'd found the answer to everything.

Even Connor's plea that he do nothing… that he let Kate's death be in the hands of fate, when he'd arrived for the festivities had done nothing to deter him. She even seemed to know her potential somehow… at least he thought she did when she'd teased about loving him forever… till the day we are reborn… she'd said.

So he'd done it. After making love to her and watching her sleep… even as Amanda now slept in the afterglow of love… he'd risen… found a dirk… and plunged it into Kate's breast. As she lay there dead… the enormity of what he'd done had come over him. She was dead. He'd killed her. What if he and Connor were wrong… what if she wasn't immortal? What if she didn't revive before morning? What if someone else saw the body… called the authorities… hanged him… buried her… and she revived in the grave? Scenarios of ever-increasing doom plagued him as he waited. But the one that had occurred… he'd never dreamt of… that learning what she was… she'd hate him.

She'd fled out into the night… arranged the next day for a quiet annulment… and refused to see him or speak with him. He'd left the area broken-hearted and consumed with guilt. The guilt had increased over the centuries as he'd heard what happened to her… how she'd become a prostitute… drifting listlessly from one man to another. No wonder she'd been a tempting pawn for Jacob Kell.

Carefully extracting himself from Amanda, Duncan rose to stand by the window and stare into the starlit night sky. He'd once asked Methos, once he'd learned of his relationship with Eleanor… their marriage long ago… and what had happened to them… if he'd ever considered killing his young wife.

Methos had stared soberly into the distance… his eyes slightly glazed and then nodded slightly. "I considered it and rejected it."

"Even knowing that you could have prevented her rape and murder by killing her first?

Methos nodded. "I loved her. And because I did… I couldn't be the hand that killed her… hurt her. You have to understand, MacLeod… I'd seen what happened to immortal women over the years. Only the very strong ones survived. I feared for her… I feared what would become of her if she became immortal. I do regret that I didn't tell her about me though. It might have changed some things."

He'd smiled across the room at Eleanor… laughing at some joke Cory Raines was telling… and sighed and then excused himself from Duncan and joined his wife.

As he stared into the night sky, Duncan knew that he owed Kate. For some reason she still believed that if she'd not been made immortal… she might have had children. It had been one of the things that had driven them apart in the aftermath of Kell's and Connor's deaths in 2002. She still held that against Duncan… she still ached with the need and not even his suggestion about adoption had fazed her. She wouldn't… couldn't. She wanted her own children. Now… she believed he knew how that could happen. He did… but was it the thing to do?

Glancing over at Amanda… with whom he'd recently begun to consider such a step… only to discover that it was not one she was interested in… he felt his own desire for a child rising. He'd have to talk with Amanda about it… this would require her approval as well. This was not something that could be done and forgotten… it would take a long-term commitment on his part toward… first Kate while she carried… and then the child as it grew. Kate and Alistair would be an inextricable part of their lives for two or three years at least.

His mind made up Duncan climbed once more into the bed and gathered Amanda into his arms. She snuggled sleepily against him… evidently not even aware that he'd left her side for a time. He kissed her dark hair and settled down finally to sleep.

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As he watched Amanda pack the next morning after he'd broached the subject… he began to regret that he'd done so.

Amanda smiled. "It's fine Duncan. I think we've both felt the need recently to be apart. Eleanor told me that she and Methos felt it often over the centuries… that they just knew they had to do other things apart from one another for a time… or else they'd kill one another. We've known the same. We always have."

"I don't want you to go. I'll tell Kate I don't know anything."

"But you want this." Amanda turned, approached him and ran her hands lightly over his face. "You want a child as much as she does. I'm… not ready for that commitment… I may never be. I like my life as it is. I can pick up and go whenever I want. Call me selfish." She shrugged impishly and then sobered. "Neither of us is ready for a permanent commitment to one another. You are free to go… and if… and when we find one another again…" she shrugged, "we can look forward to getting to know one another all over again." She kissed him.

He pursued the kiss urgently, holding tightly to her… hoping to convince her to stay. He wanted her to stay. But Amanda pulled free and bit her lip sadly. "I have to go. Tell Joe and Amy goodbye for me." She turned to shoulder her bag, blew him a kiss and left. Never had Duncan felt so alone… not even when Kate had left him so many centuries ago. Amanda had become such a part of him in recent years that he'd been unable to think of a future without her.

But she was right. He wanted a child… and this was a chance. He'd need to be focused on Kate and the child for a time… and Amanda would be a distraction. Amanda never liked being second in his life… and she would be. So she was doing what needed to be done. She was leaving before the chains they'd forged that bound them together fell into decay, and resentment took the place of love.

At first he'd been unable to understand how it was that Methos and Eleanor had needed a thousand years before they'd reached the point that they were ready… and why they'd urged caution to the few couples who knew of their bonding and were likewise interested. Now he began to understand. To be totally united to a person… to live fully in the other's mind… each had to have experienced and worked through every permutation of events possible and know and accept the strengths and failings of the other… else such a union could end in disaster.

He picked up the card with the number and address where he could reach Kate and Alistair. Fingering it slightly he nodded. He'd go to them. He'd tell them. After all… they didn't have to be bonded to have a child… Alisaunne's birth had proven that… and of that he'd remain silent. But Kate needed to know. What choice the couple made after he told them what was required would have to be theirs. Pulling out his phonecard he tapped in the number and waited.

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The taxi arrived and Amanda climbed in with only a short glance backward. She needed to let him explore this… or he'd end up holding it against her… but she couldn't be there… at his side. It was too painful. As the taxi sped off, Amanda mused over her reluctance to take this step. Perhaps it was because she feared giving up a part of herself. Or maybe it was that she was so old and had come to grips with this long ago. Or maybe she really was that selfish. For whatever the reason… she'd told Duncan that she wasn't interested when he'd broached the subject last year… and had sensed the regret he felt, especially whenever they visited Methos and Eleanor and the children. He watched J. D. and Marianna with a longing gaze and insisted on playing benevolent uncle around them.

Amanda gazed out at the passing cityscape. A clean break was best. They needed some time apart. There had been little things in the last year that had gotten on one another's nerves. Eleanor had warned her that those were an early warning sign.

"Does anything he do now get on your nerves?" she'd asked her friend meaning Methos whom she'd nodded toward as he and Duncan played ball with J. D.

Eleanor had smiled to herself and waved a hand before her eyes. "Eavesdropping sometimes." She'd crossed her eyes slightly and stuck out her tongue in Methos' direction and then laughed. "We have no secrets anymore Amanda. Nor do we want them. It took a while for us to realize that. He had them. I had them. We had to let them go and accept the truth of who we each were… the whole truth… the good… and the bad." She'd shrugged. "It took a while. Since you and Duncan have known each other for so long… it might not take as long. When it's time… I have a feeling you'll know… you'll just know."

"And until then?"

Eleanor had taken her arm with a laugh. "It's best to wait."

Now in the cab, Amanda felt tears in her eyes. "But waiting is hard." She sniffed them away with a shake of her head. She was off to see old friends… and have new adventures. Like Scarlet O'Hara she thought… "I'll think about that… tomorrow." Her mind at rest… she let Duncan go and faced at least a temporary future without him.

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The Canyon Suites:

Sarah Manning packed her bag. She'd have to wait until dawn to officially check out… but at least she could be ready. She thought she knew just where the elusive Adam Pierson was living in Fairfax County. He'd slipped up. One of the names on the deed of property that had been passed on for several generations was Benjamin Pierce.

It had to be him. It was just too perfect. "I have you know!" she'd shouted with glee and had felt a warm sense of satisfaction that her research had paid off. "You've gone home. Or you will. Maybe wifey will be there first." Sarah smiled. "Maybe wifey would like a baby-sitter?" Laughing she'd fixed and downed a drink… scotch neat from the mini-bar. She could just see his face when he arrived home and there she was. Did wifey know about his immortality? Did she know about his infidelities? Oh yes… that could be a good one. True… they hadn't, but they'd come close… and in time… he would come to her again. After all… they were both immortal… and time was on her side.

As she poured a second drink she considered what to do if wifey was immortal. At that she drew her sword… a slim but stout short broadsword she'd had especially forged and swung it about her in pantomime of a beheading. Surely it would be no contest. Sarah had taken a dozen heads in the last century… most of them male. A measly little female would be no threat to her. Likely she was new… perhaps a student. At that Sarah slashed again… angrily this time. If he'd taken her on… why not Sarah? What made this one worthy of his support and interest and not her? Was she not beautiful? Dropping her sword to the floor, Sarah turned toward the full mirror on the wall.

She leaned in and ran her hands over her flawless and unlined face. She shook loose her hair… wondering if it was time to let it grow again… and return to her natural color. She ran her hands along her shape… eyeing and admiring her trim, well-muscled form. With a grin… she began to disrobe… and examine her absolutely flawless body. Her hands cupped her small breasts and squeezed and then moved down her stomach to the flat of her abdomen and then over her hips. She was perfect. Many men had said so. Many men… even immortal ones desired her. She'd used that to get inside their guard. But it wasn't Ben Adam's head she wanted… at least not now… it was him. "You should have told me," she whispered. "You should have killed me and made me yours for all time."

She closed in on the mirror and kissed her reflection, letting her tongue smear the glass while pinching her breasts and shivering in the thought of his hands on her… his lips whispering softly in her ear… him thrusting deep within her. Sarah shuddered and stepped back. This was fruitless. Wishing and hoping would not make it so. But action would. First things first… she had to get to Virginia… and explore the house. If she got there first… she could lay her plans. Sarah snatched her panties and bra from the floor and began to dress. She might find someone to help take the edge off later today… she might not even kill him… or hurt him… much.

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The advertising executive who sat next to her on the plane later that day was young, good-looking and more than happy to arrange a meeting once they got into DC. On the flight… she'd let one hand dangle provocatively on his leg and finally had eased it between them and let him close his legs on it as she'd gently massaged him. He'd done the same for her and the tension had built on the cross-country trip. By the time they'd disembarked… he'd wanted her immediately… which suited her just fine. They'd found a supply closet and gone at it like two desperately anxious animals. She'd positively raped him in her need for satisfaction. He hadn't seemed to mind… even the bites… or the bruises she'd inflicted.

He'd begged for her number as she'd straightened her clothes to leave. But she hadn't given it. She didn't even know his name. If he had someone in his life… he was going to have a hard time explaining all those hickeys she'd given him she thought as she left. Sarah flagged a taxi and gave them the address of a car dealership… the man instantly forgotten.

Behind her on the floor of the closet as he redressed and winced at his minor wounds… Daryl Miller decided the tigress was worth finding out a little more about. He spat blood into a handkerchief and tenderly felt the area of his tongue that she'd bitten as he tapped a number onto his phonecard. "Hi… Lucille? Tell Uncle Martin I think I've found just the lady we've been searching for, for that new film. Yeah… I know this is sudden, but trust me… she is definitely someone we can use and dispose of. I doubt she has any scruples at all. She'll never know what hit her until it's over." Laughing at whatever was said, Daryl tapped off the card and climbed gingerly to his feet. Oh man she'd done a number on him! He couldn't help but wonder what else she could do as he shoved the PPC he'd lifted from her purse during their little exchange into his briefcase. This next film was gonna be great… a real killer.

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Outside the gates of the Fairfax County horse farm, Sarah quietly observed the place through her telephoto lens for several hours. No one was obviously here other than a caretaker who worked with some of the horses. She watched him until darkness fell when he climbed into a pickup truck and drove off.

She smirked. Now for a little hand's on exploration!

She left her rental car parked in a glade and traveled across the fields to the large centuries' old brick house. Carefully she checked the windows for an alarm system. Finding it, she disabled it swiftly. It was a few decades old and easy to circumvent. Then she eased through some French doors to begin looking around. She found nothing of interest on the household computer system in what appeared to be an office… at least nothing that indicated this was indeed Ben's place. Nor did she find any papers in his desk that had anything to do with other than raising horses.

Slamming the drawers, Sarah decided to check the other rooms. A quick glance showed her clean, well-kept rooms with nice but not overly expensive furniture on the main floor. Evidently they entertained sometimes from the position of the furniture and the number of chairs about the formal dining table.

Sarah looked through the kitchen but again found nothing of interest, not even a calendar with dates circled on it. She climbed the stairs to the family's personal space. The two bathrooms on the second floor gave no clues. They were clean and neat as a pin. Sarah didn't really see much in the way of personal items. It was the same with the master bedroom. There were clothes in the closet and in the drawers. All clean. She checked the other two bedrooms, which evidently belonged to the children. Again… she found nothing.

Sarah was stomping a foot petulantly and trying to decide if it was worth it to check the rooms on the third floor when her gaze fell on a photograph in the little girl's room. She came closer to it. It was at that point that she realized that she had not seen a single photograph or portrait in the entire house. Nor had she found scrapbooks or photo albums. Even this picture wasn't of a person… but of a mountainous island somewhere in an aquamarine sea. Something about the island made her pause. She'd seen it elsewhere in this house.

Returning to the boy's room, Sarah leaned closely to a wall display of pirate items. The boy was evidently into Peter Pan and pirates. Thumb tacked next to a flimsy cardboard pirate hat was a crayon drawing of a map… featuring a mountainous island. The island appeared to have been drawn by a strong steady hand. Then in childish scrawl, places were marked on it. "Mermaid's Lagoon", "Treehouse", "Indian Village". Sarah smiled as she pulled it free and returned to the girl's room. Holding the map next to the picture, she assured herself it was the same place. She could see a small village where the boy had placed the Indian Village. There was indeed a cove at the Mermaid Lagoon, and a villa stood high on the mountain's side where the treehouse was placed. She let the child's map drift to the floor.

She lifted the picture from the wall and broke the glass to remove the photograph from the frame. She turned it over but saw nothing written there. They'd gone to Greece… the woman and her children. Perhaps they'd gone here. She tapped the picture against her fingers with a bitter smile. A little on-line research might help her find the island. At least she had a place to start looking.

Sarah pocketed the picture and left. Once back in the car, she pulled onto the drive and then out onto the highway. She'd find a hotel and start her research. She was in no hurry. After all… they might already be on their way back here. She'd keep an eye on this place while she searched.

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