Disclaimer: Highlander belongs to Davis/Panzer. They are being borrowed and returned hopefully in about the same shape they were taken in. Jeff, Emmy, and just about everyone else, belong to me. You can use them if you like, just return them please.
Chapter 16
Emmy arrived at the shop on Saturday around 3:30, right as Jeff was pulling up too. "I thought you didn't come on Saturdays," she said as she opened the shop door.
"I usually don't, but I wanted to find out what happened with Mr. Chase," Jeff replied, taking over holding the door open and motioning her inside.
Emmy smiled. "It went well. Now you two just have to figure out a way to tell Mrs. Chase."
Jeff sighed. "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that part. Thankfully though, I'm just the side man, not the top dog. Rick is the one who really has to deal with this situation."
"What situation is that?" Rick asked, as he walked into the lobby.
Emmy smiled. She knew he had felt her approach and had come to greet her.
"Remind me I can't sneak up on him when you come with me," Jeff said with mock indignation, waving a hand towards Rick.
Rick snickered. "You could never sneak up on me when you were by yourself. I'm amazed you ever survived watching your previous Immortal."
Jeff glared at him in genuine indignation, now. "Ha ha."
Emmy laughed. "Come on you two. We have serious things to discuss."
"You're telling me," Jeff said, "and I have some other information that you aren't going to like."
"I hate it when you say things like that, it's never a good sign," Rick said as they entered the office. He looked to Emmy. "So, what did Mr. Chase say?"
"He wants to deal with the situation himself. And he thanks you for being a man of honor."
Rick nodded. "So we play the tapes for Mrs. Chase, let her see for herself there's nothing in those conversations, and tell her we're not taking this any further. This situation is obviously one for her to deal with at home. I'm sure she'll throw a fit, but at least we won't have to deal with her anymore."
"Amen," replied Jeff. "No more having to deal with the crazy woman."
"Okay Jeff, what's the bad news?" Rick asked.
"There have been some random killings down in Pine Manor. Only thing is, they've been done with a sharp instrument. It looks to the coroner like it might be a sword. I'm going to see what else I can find out. Do a general check of Immortals in the area. We could be dealing with a new visitor. One we'd rather not let..." Jeff trailed off.
"Great, another Immortal to deal with. Just what I wanted to hear," Rick said, rolling his eyes.
"Come on man, it's not that bad is it?" Jeff asked with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rick snorted at him.
"Besides who says you have to be the one to take care of it. I could go and challenge this guy," Emmy interjected.
"No," Rick replied, too quickly.
"Why? It's what we do." Emmy crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Besides, I have way more experience than you do."
"That doesn't necessarily make you a better swordsman," Rick replied.
Jeff rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "Guys, I'm going to go. You can argue about who's the top dog of the Immortals without me. I have tests to study for." He made motions towards the door, and then started walking. "See ya."
"Bye," Rick said, looking to continue the argument, but Emmy was following Jeff.
"Wait, what tests?" she asked.
"I'm studying for the GRE. I'm going to go to Grad school."
"Wow! Good luck with that," Emmy said, nodding.
"Thanks, I'll need it," Jeff replied with a grin, and with that he was out the door.
Rick walked up behind Emmy and said quietly, "So I've been thinking..."
She turned to face him, lifting one eyebrow in an expression of inquiry. "Yes?"
"We should spar sometime. I haven't just sparred with another Immortal since, like, '96."
Emmy hit Rick's stomach softly. "I guess we both need the practice, then. It's been longer for me. When and where would you like to go?"
"I actually have a very big workout room in my house, and maybe tonight? Around seven, I'll even make you dinner beforehand."
Emmy smiled. "You cook too?"
"After a while, you get tired of frozen food. You learn. Most Immortals are good chefs. Fitzcairn was a great one, as I recall," Rick had a dreamy expression on his face.
"You knew Fitz?" Emmy asked, surprised.
Rick smiled sadly. "Yeah, he was a great guy."
Emmy was staring at him with wide-eyed surprise. "Full of himself, though," she said, her tone uncertain.
Rick ducked his head and laughed. "Yeah, I guess he was. Listen Em, that's something I want to talk to you about, too."
"I take it you want to talk about it more privately."
He nodded.
She nodded in turn. "Okay, see you at seven, then."
The afternoon could not have dragged on longer for Emmy had she been sitting in a class taught by Ben Stein. It had been half past four when she left Rick's garage and headed for home. She took her time showering, then cleaned her sword thoroughly, and then cleaned up her house. And still the two and a half hours seemed to take forever. She wanted to know what was on Rick's mind. She had a feeling that learning it would be some sort of breakthrough for them.
She had been terrified about what was going on between them, because she was afraid that it was just a rebound. However, her marriage had been almost loveless for so long, perhaps at this point it was impossible to rebound. The other reason was that falling for an Immortal had been something she had wanted for such a long time, that it was very difficult for her to believe she was in the real world.
It was finally a quarter to seven, and Emmy grabbed her sword, her purse, and her keys, and ran out the door. It was time to find out what Rick was running from.
Rick called Jeff once he got off, and to his surprise he actually got his friend on the phone.
"What now? Did the earth fall off its axis?" Jeff sounded a little annoyed.
"You've been studying too long, you're grumpy."
"Tell me something I don't know. And why is it no matter how old you get, or how advanced you get in math, when you take a standardized test there is always a question about two trains going different directions?" Jeff asked.
"Because no one ever gets it right," Rick replied. "I'm telling Emmy about my past."
"What? When?" Jeff's tone changed from annoyed to interested in a second.
"Tonight. I'm going home to make dinner now."
"Wait, are you telling me that you and Emmy have a dinner date?" Jeff asked excitedly.
Rick really wished he could see Jeff's face, as he was sure his expression was hilarious. "No, we're just having dinner. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. What do you think of that?"
"I think this means I'm probably going to have to stop calling her hottie and beautiful, or I'm going to get my lights punched out by my best friend." Jeff said wryly.
Rick snickered, "Oh Jeff, what would I do without you?"
"Probably start acting your age and be extremely boring. The way you were when I first met you four years ago. Now, I have to continue trying to figure out when my two trains are going to pass each other, and you need to go get yourself looking like a masterpiece, so I'm going to let you go. But I want details. Not just because I'm a total perv, but because I'm your Watcher and it's what I do."
Rick laughed. "Night, Jeff. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
