As Adam pulled into the parking space in front of the dojo, he squeezed Gwen's hand and smiled. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I guess," she replied with a weak smile of her own. "My life has just become completely surreal."

He shrugged and said, "I'd like to tell you that it gets easier, but after this many years I sometimes still wake up and wonder what the hell is going on."

Gwen sighed and started to reply, but at that moment Joe pulled into the space in front of them. She remembered the conversation from last night that mortals weren't to know about them. She glanced up at Adam with the question clearly on her face.

"MacLeod must have called him," Adam told her. "Joe does know about us, but we trust him to keep our secret."

Joe came over to hug Gwen as soon as they climbed out of the vehicle. "How are you holding up, honey? Mac called me first thing this morning. Hey there, Adam."

She couldn't help but smile at the watcher's concern. "I'm doing as well as can be expected. Duncan shouldn't have worried you."

"Hey, I'm a worrier, it's what I do," he replied. "By the way, this is a… uh… stunning outfit that you're wearing. I like it."

Blushing, Gwen looked down at her clothes. "Yeah, well, they're borrowed, but at least they're clean. I can't wait to get into my own clothes, though."

Adam finally spoke up, "We'd better get inside. MacLeod will be wondering where we are. Besides, I'm starving."

"I need coffee," Gwen said, "desperately!"

As they entered the dojo, the sensation of another immortal washed over her. She tried her best not to react too strongly to it, but her breath caught and she closed her eyes. Adam noticed her reaction and took her hand again. Joe, who was behind the pair, took note of the hand holding and grinned to himself.

Stepping off the lift, they were greeted by the aroma of coffee and bacon. Duncan had already set the table and poured orange juice. Since there were five places set, Gwen assumed that Richie would be joining them as well.

Duncan came out of the kitchen to hug Gwen, "How are you feeling this morning? Did you get some sleep? Come and get some coffee."

"I'm fine, Duncan," she said, "Or, I will be once I get to that coffee."

"Nice to see you too, MacLeod," Adam said sarcastically, "and Joe and I would love some coffee, too, thank you." He filled two mugs and took one to Joe who had seated himself on a chair then he collapsed on the couch in his usual sprawl.

Gwen couldn't help but giggle as the Scot sputtered out a greeting to his friends. After a few sips of the coffee, she sighed, "That's much better, thanks."

Back in the kitchen, Duncan busied himself preparing breakfast. "I'm making omelets, bacon and toast, but if there is something else that you'd like…"

"That sounds great," she replied. "Right now, I'd eat just about anything. Speaking of eating, where is Richie? I thought he'd be at the table already."

"I sent him by your place to check it out before we go over there," he told her. "He should be here any minute now." He continued chopping vegetables for the omelets while Gwen finished her coffee and poured herself another cup.

Several minutes later, the immortals in the room felt the arrival if another of their kind. Adam and Duncan both looked at Gwen to see her reaction. This time she only tensed up and turned toward the door.

The young redhead stormed into the room, his motorcycle helmet in his hands. He strode over to the new immortal and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Gwen, you know I love you like a sister and that I would do anything in the world for you, but right now I have a very pissed off girlfriend and it's all your fault!"

She stared at him for a moment, then said, "Um… I'm sorry?"

He kept ranting as he removed his jacket, "Mac calls in the middle of night. I rush out and don't tell her what it's about. This morning I tell her that I have to come over here, but that she can't come with me, and I still can't tell her why. Andrea really hates secrets and this is driving her nuts and she's taking it out on me."

Joe and Adam sat in the living area watching this tirade with some amusement. Duncan, on the other hand immediately stepped in to protect Gwen. He moved in between them and turned on Richie, "How can you say that this is her fault? She didn't ask to be stabbed in the chest…Don't you think she's been through enough with out you blaming your troubles with your girlfriend on her?"

Duncan felt a hand on his arm. "Hey, give the guy a break," Gwen said. "He knows it's not my fault. Let him blow off some steam."

He stopped and looked at her then looked back at Richie. "I was just… I mean…I," he stammered.

Gwen smiled at him and gave him a hug, "I know. It's okay. Thanks for trying to be my hero, though." She turned to Richie, "Would you like some coffee? Decaf, maybe?"

Joe turned to Adam and whispered, "She's going to be just fine."

After breakfast, the five friends settled in the living area. Duncan told them that he had called Amanda to teach Gwen.

"I've already been working with you guys, why do I need another teacher?" she wanted to know. "Don't you think between the three of you, I might pick up a thing or two?"

The highlander sighed and looked at Joe before he spoke again, "Amanda can take you to a safe place to teach you… to holy ground…a convent, actually."

Gwen's eyes went wide in surprise. Her mouth hung open for a minute and then she exploded. She leaped off the sofa, "I don't think so!!! How helpless do you think I am? I will not just leave everything I've worked for and go to a convent!!! Absolutely NOT!!!!"

"I told you she wouldn't go for it," Adam smirked.

"Gwen, I just want you to be safe," Duncan protested. "Amanda is quite a good trainer. You'll learn a lot from her."

"Then she can train me here," she replied, sitting back down beside Adam. "I am not going to away to a convent!"

It was Duncan's turn to jump out of his seat, "You don't realize how vulnerable you are right now. You need to be protected and somewhere that someone can't take your head!"

"And exactly HOW am I more vulnerable now than I was two days ago?" she argued. "You guys said that you could sense that I was … what did you call it? Pre-Immortal? Couldn't any immortal sense that about as well as they can sense me now?"

Suddenly, Richie jumped out of his chair. "That's what it was!" he exclaimed.

Each of the others looked at the young immortal in confusion. Joe finally spoke, "Um… Richie… do you want to share with the rest of us?"

"When I first met Gwen, there was something about her that I thought was familiar, but I couldn't figure out what it was," he said excitedly. "Remember, Mac, I told you about it on the phone? That's what it was! She was pre-immortal! I guess I just haven't been around that many that weren't already immortal, so I didn't recognize it." He smiled and sat back down.

Adam chuckled, "Okay, now that we have that all cleared up, let's get back to the matter at hand. I have to agree with Gwen. I don't think that a convent is necessary."

Before Duncan could protest, Joe held up his hand, "Mac, I think they're right. Gwen has already been training, she's stronger than most immortals at their first death and she spends almost all of her time with you guys anyway. How much more protection does she really need?"

"Duncan, think about it," Gwen added. "When I'm on campus, Adam is there. Our offices are down the hall from each other and all of the classrooms that we use are in the same building. I leave there and come here, where you and Richie are. The only time I'm ever alone is at home and I basically go there just to sleep."  

The Scot sat back down and studied the three people on the sofa. What they said did make sense and he was probably being overprotective, but Gwen was special and he couldn't risk anything happening to her. To him, losing her was not an option. He sighed, "Okay. Amanda can't be here until next week anyway. We'll see how it goes for a few weeks."

"Great," she said. "Do you think I can home now? I would really love to take a shower and put on some of my own clothes."

"Oh, yeah, about that," Richie said, "I went by and looked in the windows. As far as I can tell, nobody's been there."

Joe turned to Gwen, "I think we need to change the locks for you just in case, though."

"That's fine with me," she replied. "I need to call the landlord and get the spare key so we can get in and tell him that we're changing the locks."

Adam took the key out of Gwen's shaking hand and opened the front door. "Why don't you let us go in first?" he said. Gwen just swallowed hard and nodded. He and Duncan stepped into the apartment and quickly went through rooms. Since all seemed to be in order, he called for the rest of them to come in.

Gwen looked around, noting that nothing appeared to be out of place. She sighed with relief and sank down into a chair. Joe and Duncan were busy looking at her door locks to determine what type to replace them with. The landlord had given her permission to install some window locks as well.

Coming back into the living room, Duncan announced that he and Joe were going to the hardware store. Richie was about to offer to come along when his cell phone rang.

"Hello… Uh, yeah, I'm at Gwen's now… I don't think she's really up for visitors, Andrea… Well, we're going to change her locks…" he stopped to listen to the girl on the other end of the line.

"Richie, you don't need to hang around here," she told him. "Go make up with Andrea and tell her I'll call her tomorrow."

He nodded and relayed the message to his girlfriend. Ending the call, he stood up to leave. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine! Go!" she replied. "Adam is here. Joe and Duncan will be back soon with new locks. Don't worry."

He gave her a tight hug, "But you'll call me if you need me, right?"

"Absolutely," she said hugging him back. "Now get out of here before Andrea shows up looking for you."

After the three men left, Gwen stood up and stretched. "I'm going to take a shower," she told Adam. "There's water, juice and beer in the fridge. Just make yourself at home. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Take your time," he said, "I'll just read your paper and listen to some music or something."

As she disappeared into her bedroom, Adam realized just how comfortable and at home he did feel here. Smiling, he retrieved a beer from the kitchen and settled back onto the sofa with the newspaper.