Mike glanced up from the bar as the door to Joe's opened to admit the slouching figure of Adam Pierson. The college professor sauntered over and settled himself on his usual barstool and nodded to the bartender. Without even asking, Mike poured a beer from the tap and placed in front of his patron. Taking a large gulp from the glass, Adam finally spoke, "Is Joe around tonight?"

"Yeah, he's in the office working on some stuff," Mike replied. "You want me to get him for ya'?"

The oldest immortal shook his head, "No, I'm sure he'll be out soon enough. Thanks, though." Draining his beer, he pushed the glass toward the other man, who grabbed and refilled it.

Adam turned around to lean back on the bar and survey the room. It was early so there weren't many people in the place and he did not see the man he had been following earlier. As he looked around, he pondered the motive of this mortal that had been tailing Gwen. There had been no reports of other immortals in the area for several months and nothing that he could dig up about her past suggested that anyone might be after her.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Joe come up behind him until he called his name the second time. "What's on your mind, old man?" the watcher asked. "I haven't seen you this zoned out in a long time."

Adam blinked a few times then responded, "Just trying to figure out some things. That's all." He paused for a moment then asked, "Say, you haven't heard from MacLeod tonight have you?"

Joe peered at his friend. "Yeah," he replied, "He supposed to bring Gwen by later. Why?"

Shrugging, he took another drink from his beer and said casually, "I just haven't talked to him today. Didn't know what he was doing tonight."

"Sure," Joe smirked. "So, where were you this afternoon? Mac mentioned that you didn't come to the dojo."

For a moment Adam considered telling Joe everything, but he didn't want the highlander to panic and pull Gwen away from . away from what? . away from who? . from him? Instead he casually told the watcher that he just had some other things to take care of. Sighing, he turned back around for Mike to refill his glass. 'I'm brooding like that bloody Scot again!' he thought. At that moment, he felt the arrival the two people he'd been thinking about.

Still getting used to the immortal sensation, Gwen warily entered the bar, staying close to Duncan and keeping her hand on the hilt of her sword. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting she looked around for the source if the buzz. Adam had turned toward the door when he felt their presence and even though he who it was, he was still taken aback when he saw her.

Joe watched as the five thousand year old man suddenly looked like a teenager getting his first view of his prom date. He turned to look at the young woman walking in the door and couldn't help but see her expression as well. As soon as she spotted Adam, her face broke out in the most brilliant smile he'd ever seen. Fortunately, MacLeod was too busy removing his coat to notice the silent exchange.

As Gwen and Duncan approached the bar, the watcher immediately stepped in to greet them, "Hey, there, you two! How's it going?"

The new immortal gave Joe a hug, "I'm doing okay. How are you?"

Grinning at her he replied, "I'm great. Hope you came prepared to play tonight."

Rolling her eyes, she laughed, "Can't I just stop by to see you? Do I have to literally sing for my drinks?"

"At least, you work for yours," Joe said glancing at Adam. "Some people think that they can come in here and drink for free."

Gwen and Duncan both snickered while Adam did his best to look indignant. Joe ushered them to a table and took their drink orders. A minute later the three immortals all felt the familiar buzz of another of them approaching and Richie and Andrea strolled in the door. Sliding around to make room for the couple placed Gwen in between Duncan and Adam

Adam leaned back in his chair watching the group at the table. They were enjoying the atmosphere of the club, the music and the conversation. Andrea winked at Gwen when she discovered that the two of them had gone to dinner. Oddly, Gwen looked a bit uncomfortable at the suggestion that they were on a date.

Joe watched the group form behind the bar for a while. Gwen seemed to be having a good time chatting with Andrea, Richie and Duncan, while Adam seemed to just be observing them. Just as he was about to approach Gwen and ask her to join him on stage, he saw Duncan drape his arm across the back of her chair almost possessively. The older immortal's eyes narrowed and he sat up a bit. The watcher decided that it was time to get the new immortal out of this sticky situation.

"Hey, young lady," Joe said as he came up to their table, "You and I have a date with some guitars! Come on."

Gwen only intended to play a couple of songs at the blues club, but she ended up sitting in for the whole first set. There was loud applause from all the patrons in the bar, but the loudest was from her friends at their table in the front. When she rejoined them, she was smiling broadly, her eyes shining.

Joe gave her a hug and told her, "You really need to play with us regularly. We sound good together."

"Thanks," she replied, "but I don't have time to play anywhere on a regular basis. In fact, I should really head home soon. I have a hot date with some musty old books in the library tomorrow."

Duncan rose to put on his coat saying, "Well, I guess that's my cue to take you home then."

Gwen glanced down at Adam as she picked up her own coat, but he was staring at the glass in front of him. Richie and Andrea bid them good night and Andrea promised to call Gwen about going out with the girls sometime. Shrugging into the black duster, she gave Adam a pat on the shoulder and told him that she'd talk to him later.

On the way home, Duncan and Gwen made plans to run in the morning and Gwen filled him in on the research that she was working on. They pulled up to the duplex and while she fished her keys out of her purse, Duncan came around and opened her door. He placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked up to the apartment. Gwen unlocked the door and turned around to give Duncan a hug. Instead of hugging her, he dipped his head and caught her lips in a kiss.

Startled, Gwen stepped back and looked at him with wide eyes. Finally catching her breath, she gasped, "Duncan. I . I don't."

Letting her go he took a step back as well. "I shouldn't have done that, Gwen," he said in a rush. "I am so sorry."

"It's. I wasn't expecting." Gwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You caught me off guard. It's just that so much has happened in the past week and."

Duncan reached out and stroked her hair and said gently, "You're right. I wasn't thinking. I'm sure you need more time to adjust to everything. I'm so sorry."

She caught his hand and squeezed it, "I am still a little overwhelmed by it all. My life is suddenly very complicated. You and Richie and Joe and Adam have been great, but I need to figure some things out . you know . on my own."

"I understand," he replied, "A relationship . on top of everything else, I can see how it could."

"Yeah," Gwen said softly. "Um. so, do you still want to run in the morning?"

The Scot's eyes lit up and he smiled, "Of course! Seven o'clock in the park?"

"I'll meet you there," answered the young woman, "I probably won't make by the dojo for training, though. I really have a ton of work to do. and laundry and all that other stuff I've been neglecting."

"I guess I can let you off for one day," he grinned, "just don't make a habit of it."

"Well, I need to go to sleep, then," Gwen said. She gave Duncan a quick hug, said good night and closed the door. She leaned her forehead against the door for a moment, then sighing she got ready for bed.



After running with Duncan the next morning, Gwen showered quickly and loaded her laundry and her research materials into her jeep and headed for campus. Luckily, it was still early and she found a parking space close to the front of the library. Several spaces back an old Honda pulled in, the driver watching her intently. Gwen wrapped her coat around her, grabbed her backpack and headed inside. The man in the Honda waited several minutes then followed.

At the corner sat another man in a rented Ford Taurus watching the two people enter the library. He debated what to do. Should he follow them into the building, alerting the woman to his presence? He finally decided to wait outside for a bit to see if either of them left. It was just over two hours before the mystery man emerged and left in his car. Adam followed the Honda to an apartment complex about a mile away from the campus. The man went into a second floor unit and closed the door.

Adam sat in the car and considered his options. A part of him wanted to call Joe and have a watcher put on Gwen today, although he knew that even if something happened the watcher wouldn't interfere. He thought about telling Richie, so that they could both keep an eye on this guy. Shaking his head, he discarded both ideas. Richie and Joe would insist that he tell MacLeod and he wasn't ready to do that. Perhaps he'd have an ally when Amanda arrived.

He waited for another hour and a half in the complex parking lot before driving back to campus. Gwen's jeep was still in the spot near the library. As Adam drove around the university, he couldn't help but laugh. He had been expecting to spend a few quiet months hanging out with Joe, listening to some blues, drinking Mac's beer, teaching a bit. Now here he was, tailing a man who has been following a new immortal who came to in his own apartment.

'So much for lying low and not getting involved,' he thought. 'That damned Boy Scout was rubbing off on me. Of course, he would have taken her to holy ground or at least pulled her out of harms way.'

Finally, he pulled his car into a space close to the jeep and went into the library. He strolled around for a bit before going into the stacks where he knew he would find Gwen. He had sensed her presence as soon as he had climbed he stairs to the third floor, but he already knew where she would be.

The sensation of the arrival of another immortal had momentarily frightened Gwen, but looking around she saw several other people near by. 'Surely no one wants to pick a fight here?' she thought. Nevertheless, she slid her hand into the coat that was hanging on the back of her chair. Keeping her eyes on the entrance, her had grasped the hilt of the hidden sword. Letting out an audible sigh of relief, she watched as Adam strolled over and sat across the table from her.

"Hi, how's the research coming?" he asked.

"It's okay," she replied. "I'm not really finding what I need, though."

Adam smiled at her, "Do you want to pick my brain? I can give you some first hand information."

Smiling back she asked, "Can I cite you as a source? I'm not too sure how that would go over."

"Ah. good point," he said with a nod. "Are you almost finished for today? I could use some lunch. Come on. I'll buy."

"I'd like that," she replied, "except that I have a pile of laundry in my car that I still need to do."

He thought for a moment and finally said, "There are laundry facilities in my building. We'll pick some Chinese on the way and maybe a video. Let's go."

"Do I get any say in this?" Gwen asked, amused.

"No," he grinned, "I'm pretty much taking over."

She looked at him for a few seconds, grinned back at him and said, "Okay, but let's get Thai and I think me asking you questions is going to be information enough, so we probably won't need a movie. And you get to carry my laundry in."