Chapter Thirty-One
Chateau de Valicourt:

Methos watched calmly as the Lamborghini with Amanda and Gina spun off. Gina had dug in her heels about taking Madeline with them. "Let her go back to her people," Gina had sniffed. She really wanted nothing to do with the young Watcher, and frankly, Methos couldn't blame her.

In the end, Methos had agreed. But getting Madeline to actually leave… and to keep Robert's thoughts off of her when he saw her would be difficult. The young woman was either quite the con artist, or the most naive young woman Methos had ever met. He found it hard to believe that anyone could be that oblivious about the effect they had on men. Even he wasn't immune. There were moments when he wondered how she'd taste if he kissed her. He'd always had a thing for mortal women. They were so much more uncomplicated. And they never forced him to make a lifelong commitment. He shivered slightly, feeling cold sweat run down his spine. Long ago he'd made an exception with the young pre-immortal Aella… and somehow… even after her first death and her insistence that they were no longer married… he'd welcomed whatever time they had together over the centuries as a respite from the vagaries of existence. Eleanor had come to be someone he could rest with… and not have to put on the cold and world-weary face he so often presented to the world. She was someone he could be himself with… even when she didn't know his name.

And now? He'd committed to her… and he couldn't even imagine breaking that commitment. He waved to the swiftly departing car with a slight sigh. He wanted to go home… he wanted MacLeod to deal with this… he wanted to rest. He turned toward the morose Robert.

"She hates me," Robert was saying.

"She doesn't hate you," Methos assured him. "She loves you. But she needs to be assured of your love for her."

Robert turned, shoving his hands into his pants pockets as he stepped alongside Methos. "But I do love her. I try to think that at her as often as I can… like you suggested. But she doesn't seem to hear or sense me."

Methos shrugged and fell into an easy pace alongside the Frenchman. "As I said… perhaps a short time apart will help. This is all new territory for me. I only know what worked in my case. We were apart for a while mid-way into the joining… and it only seemed to make both of us want it more. Maybe this is what is needed. I don't have the answers."

Robert nodded as they walked. Methos could hear the crunch of the clay gravel beneath their feet as they paced about the courtyard. Near the door of the chateau he could see Madeline sitting on a bench and watching them wistfully. He looked away. "Madeline's presence is definitely an impediment to your happiness."

"But it's not her fault," Robert said, sneaking a glance at the young Watcher. He sighed and then seemed to wince. "Gina can certainly send the equivalent of a slap when she wants."

Methos laughed. "I get more of a teasing laugh."

Robert sighed. "But Gina is my whole world. Day in and day out for three hundred years… all I've ever wanted is her."

"And you two still weren't really ready for this."

Robert's hand brushed his forehead. "I guess we never really considered what it would mean to be so totally one. You and Eleanor seemed to handle it so well."

Methos shrugged. "It took us a long time to get there… which is why we told you to wait until you were certain… until nothing else but that made sense."

"We were certain," Robert protested. Then his shoulders sagged as he admitted, "But certainty and readiness were evidently two different things."

"Eleanor and I drifted into and out of one another's lives for over a thousand years. We both had other relationships. Sometimes even being in the same room together was dangerous for us… so volatile were we at times. We came so close over a century ago… and then backed out… commitment for all time still seemed too much to comprehend."

"And now?"

Methos smiled, feeling a feather soft touch of agreement. "I need to go to Paris. I've a friend in the Watchers who might help us with our little blonde-bombshell."

Robert looked back at her with a nod. "She is that." He shook his head. "I've never cheated on Gina and I'm not about to… but Madeline does make me wonder."

Methos nodded in agreement. "Yes… she does."

Both men looked back at the blonde who was even now stretching her legs out before her in the sun and tossing back her head as she grinned into the rays of the sun warming her face.

Robert sighed and said quickly, "She has her own car. She needs to follow us… not ride with us."

Methos nodded. "Definitely!" he agreed with a bit more assertiveness than was absolutely necessary. Inwardly, he hope that somehow Joe could make the young woman understand that her presence was an irritant and that it was not a demotion to be transferred from her assignment. What worried Methos was her mentioning what had happened or appeared to have happened in her reports. While Joe and a select few other Watchers… mostly his daughter Amy and the others who'd been watching Methos and Eleanor in the past dozen years, knew of the joining, it was not something that Methos thought should be widely known. At least, not yet! He and Eleanor had discussed it only with three other couples. If it was some part of the immortal future… others should be able to do it. He just wished that the de Valicourts had waited and had gone ahead only after some additional discussions with Eleanor and him. Their long relationship was definitely an indicator that they were ready for this. He sighed. "Let's get our belongings and hit the road." He was anxious to get this over with… and he was anxious to get to Niebos and his family. He had a strange prickling at the base of his skull as if he'd been too long away from there already.

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Niebos:

Greg glanced at the EEG readout for Kenny and nodded to the others. They'd moved the boy out of the ward in the last week and into a private room. John stood by Kenny's bedside and Eleanor was at the foot of the bed. Gently she pushed a reluctant Marianna forward. "Do you see him?"

"The boy in the well," Marianna said brightly and grinned over at her mother.

"Try to talk to him," Eleanor urged. Her heart was in her mouth… not certain at all that Kenny should be awakened.

Marianna turned and stood on tiptoes as she tried to look into Kenny's unconscious face. For a moment nothing happened.

"Getting a spike in the EEG," Greg said softly.

Then Marianna tilted her head and said, "Hello boy."

Kenny's unseeing eyes fluttered slightly. His body tensed.

Marianna waved at him to join her.

He saw her. He had to see her. But would he awaken? Eleanor bit her lip. Every instinct she possessed, said to gather Marianna into her arms and flee this room. Resolutely she remained still. John met her gaze. His hand tightened on the sword in his hand as he offered her a weak smile.

Eleanor glanced over at the doorway where Carl Robinson and Denara waited.

Kenny shook his head. His back arched slightly as Marianna called his name. "Hi Kenny!" Again she waved at him. For a moment she glanced at her mother as if wondering if this was what to do… and then she locked her eyes on Kenny's.

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Kenny screamed profanity at the little girl. He could tell she was saying something… but all he heard was the thump of his own heart. Likewise, she didn't appear to hear him. He could feel immortals around him. He often felt them… on the far side of the well's wall. But today… he sensed that they were closer than that. Somehow they were here… but he couldn't see them.

The little girl lifted a hand toward him and smiled.

Kenny stared at that hand and wondered what would happen. Usually when he rushed at her… she dematerialized and never before had she held out a hand. She seemed so real. He focused on her hand… and then on clasping it. Strangely… his own hands wouldn't cooperate. They seemed as if made of stone. He focused everything on his left hand, suddenly feeling as if he had to move it… that it was his only way out. His fingers twitched.

He tried again.

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"His fingers are twitching," John said calmly in that low soft voice he had.

At the doorway, Carl Robinson held his breath. He had vague memories of awakening on a dark path and of seeing and hearing John call his name again and again. He knew him for the immortal he'd fought and lost to in the arena. Yet John's voice was not the voice of the man he fought. It was the voice of a man filled with guilt. Carl had finally responded to that insistent voice. Powers, Robinson knew, had taken the boy's head in the dream world. But the boy had never reacted to him. One hand rested lightly on Denara's shoulder. He worried about the small ones… and about the children. Although he could not express himself in words… language not being something he had quite mastered again, Carl Robinson understood that awakening this small one from his sleep was worrisome to the others. He vowed to keep an eye on Kenny if he did awaken.

The boy's back arched up off of the bed's surface and his slack mouth began working up and down… as a moan issued. His twitching fingers seemed to strain to reach Marianna's hand. She leaned forward and touched him.

The monitoring machines beeped in their urgency and the EEG printout showed massive activity. Marianna's small hand slipped into Kenny's limp one and he seemed to relax. Then his eyes darted around at the rest of them… sheer terror on his face. He gave an unarticulated cry of pain and fear.

Eleanor swooped around and pulled Marianna away from the bedside. Carl stepped forward and gathered the child into his arms and took off towards the house. "Protect!" was the one word that formed in his mind.

John brushed Kenny's hair from his eyes and smiled. Gently he said, "You're safe here Kenny." John's hand relaxed its grip on the unseen blade. "No one will hurt you."

Kenny's eyes widened and he shook. Eleanor leaned over him. "I know you can see and feel us Kenny. I know you're frightened. You have no idea what's going on. But everything will be explained."

Kenny managed to raise his hand barely off of the bed and reached for Eleanor's hand. She clasped it firmly. Kenny nodded and then closed his eyes, evidently exhausted.

Eleanor looked at Greg. He smiled. "It shows normal activity. He's asleep. Really asleep! It worked."

Denara eased up beside the bed. "Do you still want me to hang around?"

Eleanor nodded as she pulled her hand loose from Kenny's and tucked his beneath the covers. "I'd prefer he not have access to the children. If he wakes and sees you… maybe he'll think that it was you he saw."

"Why do you think he responded to her," Greg murmured.

"I don't know," Eleanor replied honestly. "I don't know."

"Each case might be different," John suggested. "But each time we manage to bring one back… we have more data to work with." He smiled at Greg. "Some part of him lies with you just as some part of Carl will always be with me. Now that he's awake… you might be able to reach him. Carl usually responds better to me than to anyone else."

The others nodded.

Kenny moaned in his sleep and thrashed slightly.

Greg moved to his side. "He's frightened. I do get that from him. Maybe there are too many of us here."

Eleanor nodded and clasped Denara's hand as she headed to the office. "We'll be nearby."

"I need to check on Grace and make certain she's fine," John said as he stood.

Greg nodded and turned from him. He didn't want the elder immortal to see the pain and longing in his expression.

"Call out if you need us," John said gently as he squeezed Greg's shoulder before leaving.

Greg settled into the chair at Kenny's bedside and waited.

-----

The moss-covered stone walls of the well had faded to a ghostly shadow. The hospital room… so long a shadow on the far side of the stones was now more real. Kenny's confused mind knew only that there were other immortals here… and that he had to be prepared. But first… he needed to sleep and truly recover his strength. Kenny slipped into dreams for the first time in a long time… dreams that did not feature the damp darkness of the well… or the horror of a blade at his throat.

-----

As she waited at the house, Grace studied the computer models on her computer screen. She'd collected tissue samples from all of them over the years… and when she had time… she studied the models that the computer created of the DNA. So far there was nothing she could discern that gave her any understanding of how they were physically any different from any mortal. And yet… the answers were here… they had to be. Their DNA strands were a little ragged on one end… as if something had been ripped away… but they were essentially the same as everyone else's.

What she needed was a stronger computer… a thousand lab techs under her command, and round the clock testing. Glancing up with a smile as Carl carried Marianna in… Grace felt her own developing baby jump slightly within her womb. "Active today little one," she laughed and absently rubbed one hand over her bulging abdomen. It wouldn't be long.

Marianna struggled free of Carl and patted down her dress before grinning and running to Grace's arms. "The boy squeezed my hand," she said happily settling next to Grace. She rubbed Grace's belly and laid an ear on it. "Hi baby!" she cried in her little girl's voice.

Grace kissed her hair and smiled at Carl. "Thank you Carl. That will be all. Keep an eye on John for me."

Carl nodded and left.

Grace shifted in her chair as she pulled Marianna onto her lap and continued to regard the screens. He hand clicked on file after file while the girl watched the changing monitor with her.

"Where's mine?" the girl asked.

Grace smiled. She'd not taken samples from the children yet. She'd meant to discuss it with Eleanor and Methos but hadn't had the opportunity. Methos had left so quickly once he'd arrived. Nevertheless, perhaps it was time. "Can you be quite brave?"

Marianna nodded. Grace reached for a sterile swab and ripped open the protective paper. "Open wide," she instructed and then swabbed the inside of Marianna's mouth. "That's all!" Finished, she inserted the swab into the reading unit she'd developed. She typed in a few commands and then waited as the computer read the sample and began to form a graphic based on what it read. She hummed a lullaby as she held Marianna. Then the graphic was finished. As it revolved about on the display… Grace's hands froze about Marianna and her mouth dropped open. "Of course," she breathed triumphantly. "That makes perfect sense."

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