The house had been called in four times. Animal control officers reported that the homeowner – a white female in her late thirties – claimed the cats were not hers and further she had violent pet allergies and had been forced to use an extensive array of traps and repellents around the home.

The team were deployed around the house. They had argued about bringing in a tactical team. Methos said it couldn't hurt but that the real damage would be up to the cats surrounding the house. Hotchner had insisted on attempting to take the suspects into custody if possible.

"Agent Hotchner, what you're asking is going to risk the lives of your team and the citizens of this town. If those creatures are injured by the cats but get away a girl will die to feed them."

"Adam, we have to try to take them in. The locals deserve that, besides aside from your theory we don't have any evidence that they're the killers." Hotchner said firmly. Morgan stayed out of it.

"You have a signed warrant, a judge thinks they're good suspects. If you go in there with just the team, if you knock on the door and warn them you'll get to meet my 'theory' face to face, hopefully you'll survive the meeting!"

"Yes, suspects I'm not going to stand by while they're killed until we know they're the UNSUBs-"

"Fine, but I'd like to go in with you, if you won't take a tac team." Methos said firmly.

Hotchner glanced at Morgan and then back at Methos.

"Very well, Morgan I want you on entry." Morgan nodded. "Adam, partner with Morgan on entry." Hotchner ordered. Methos didn't hesitate he grunted and picked up the two man ram they would use if the occupants didn't open the door.

The house was a two-story squat white farm style house. Windchimes and cat traps dangled from nearby trees, the porch and windows. It made the house feel cramped and eerie. It needed a coat of paint and the lawn was overgrown. Outside sat a dumpy station wagon.

"FBI We have a warrant!" Derek shouted and tried to boot the door in. It was triple deadbolted and reinforced. Morgan cursed colorfully as Methos stepped forward with the ram. They succeeded in caving the door in on the third blow.

"Use your night vision, on infrared." Methos whispered.

"I remember." Morgan snapped. They were all equipped with heat sensitive goggles in case the sleepwalkers dimmed and tried to hide.

Morgan entered the house with Methos hot on his heels. The immortal was keyed up and frightened. He truly didn't want to meet another 'walker, had been delighted when he'd thought they'd been wiped out. But now they'd apparently encountered another mother/son team.

He carefully scanned the room with his goggles on, it looked clear. Morgan drifted further into the building and once again declared that they were federal agents with a warrant. All the shouting made Methos nervous. He'd have preferred to go in silently and kill or subdue the inhabitants while they were sleeping.

Morgan carefully but quickly swept forward, confident he would see the suspects with his goggles. Methos wasn't so confident. He hung back and checked what Morgan had cleared, he registered a flicker of heat in the extreme lower right corner of his vision a split second before something landed on his back and upper shoulders. The weight of it forced him to his knees. He heard a shout from somewhere else in the house and guessed the other 'walker had found someone else to jump.

Methos rolled with the impact of the creature on his back and tried to get to his feet. He was standing next to a staircase in a narrow hallway and there wasn't enough room to shake his attacker off. He felt sharp claws enter the flesh of his shoulders and lower back. He let out a cry and slammed his back into the staircase. The creature grunted, hissed, and dug in. Methos snarled and smashed it again. The claws loosened and he slammed his shoulders back a third time and the creature released him. As Methos spun to face it, the beast swiped at Methos' face. The goggles took the brunt of the impact. Metho's head snapped to the side with the blow, blood ran down his face, the broken goggles fell to the wood floor with a clatter. The creature gripped Methos' throat and slammed him against the staircase.

Methos struggled to stay conscious he focused on the beast in front of him. By the vestigial fleshy skinless breasts on its chest he guessed it was the mother. It's tiny misshapen ears twitched at him as it's enormous jaws opened blowing hot breath on Methos' face.

"Who'd you eat for lunch?" Methos asked grinning, battle lust, rage, and terror filled him with a cold power.

The creature hit him in the face, hard enough that he was certain his cheekbone had been cracked if not broken. Methos laughed and kneed the bitch in the crotch. She let out a chuffing breath of air and mewled in pain. Her grip loosened and Methos slugged her in the face. She snarled and straightened, increased her grip. A gunshot rang out. The creature whined and snarled, it turned toward the source of the gunshot. JJ stood before the front window, the streetlamp outside silhouetted her, her blond hair glowed like a halo as the creature turned to her, she fired again, the muzzle flash revealing the terrified determination in her face. Methos dropped to the ground and launched himself at the creature. He couldn't let it get JJ, she had a family, a child.

He wrapped an arm around the creature's stubby throat as it faced JJ. The determined agent emptied her weapon in the creature's chest as more shots echoed hers from the other side of the house. Methos prayed that whoever it was they were winning. The creature Methos was grappling was slowed but not really injured by JJ's shots.

"Run! See to the others!" Methos shouted and did his best to throttle the 'walker. JJ obliged reloading her weapon with a fresh clip as she ran. Distantly Methos heard shotgun blasts. He thought Morgan or Hotchner had been carrying a shotgun. His attention was brought back to the 'walker as she dug her claws into his arms in an attempt to dislodge him. Methos screamed at her and hung on. She roared in frustration and charged the window JJ had been standing in front of. Methos wrapped his legs around the animal's torso and clung to her as she crashed into the glass. Shards rained down like snow. He felt them pepper his head and shoulders, cut his face, and slice his hands where they were still locked around the beast's throat. She screamed again, maddened by Methos' presence and continued to claw at him. She dug great furrows in his forearms, especially his right arm as it was partially covering his left.

She sank to her knees, jaws snapping and clacking helplessly as Methos continued to apply pressure, he was out of the reach of her jaws but not her claws. As she grew weaker she stopped trying to bite him but continued to claw at his arms, head, face, and what little of his body she could reach. Still, he hung on, if he lost consciousness from blood loss he would fall and she would tear him apart and he didn't know if he could recover from dismemberment, he simply hung on and did his damndest to throttle her.

More shots rang out from the house, shouts, the crackle of a radio and then Methos heard something other than the gasping struggles of the creature and the sound of her claws mincing his flesh, a low hiss.

He opened his eyes. The porch and yard were beginning to fill with cats. He whispered a long dead prayer to Bast and struggled to stay on the bitch's back. She bucked in terror as she too realized the cats were there. Her struggles nearly threw him off, his grip slackened and she tossed her head.

"Fuck." Methos grunted and released her before she could bite what was left of his arms. He landed hard on his back on the weathered wood of the porch. The bitch roared and turned to him. Too intent on killing him and protecting her son to do the smart thing and run back into the house, away from the angry cats.

"Here kitty kitty." Methos hissed weakly.

As the creature turned her attention to him and raised a clawed foot to crush his throat a calico cat with a red collar leapt at her. The creature screeched in pain and fear as the little calico landed on her with claws out. Methos chuckled dully and tried to get up. His head was swimming and his arms weren't working right. He rolled onto his stomach and managed to get to his knees, sit back on his heels and rise. By the time he turned back to the creature three more cats had jumped on to her.

The calico lay at the creature's feat, dead, it's back broken. Angered by the death of the brave little animal, too high on battle rage and low on blood to think properly, Methos charged. His right arm was shredded and useless so he shoved the creature with his left, knocking her off balance, she crashed into the porch railing, too focused on removing the cats mauling her to catch her balance, she fell over the railing and into the flowerbed below where more cats were waiting.

Methos slumped to the porch and tried to catch his breath, after a moment he gripped the railing with his right hand and tried to pull himself up. His arm didn't have any strength, ha managed to grip the railing but couldn't rise. He heard someone stepping on the scattered glass from the window and tried to get up again.

"Jesus." Prentiss breathed she was looking down at him from the broken window. She hurried out to the porch and looped an arm around Methos and got him to his feet. They froze for a moment, staring at the creature. It wasn't moving anymore, the cats continued to snarl and tear at it.

"S'not dead yet." Methos gasped painfully.

"How do we kill it?" Prentiss asked intently.

"Leave them to it." Methos whispered and winced as Prentiss pulled him closer to her and started to back into the house. Prentiss half dragged him around to the front of the house. Reid and Hotchner were kneeling next to someone. Methos instinctively knew it was Morgan; the big man would have put himself in harm's way first.

"Morgan-"

"He's badly hurt, help is on the way." Prentiss said stiffly.

"The other walker?" Methos asked.

"Escaped." As they reached the front walkway something in the rear garden burst into flame.

"Now she's dead." Methos said and grinned, his teeth were pink with his blood. Prentiss didn't reply just hauled Methos to the others. JJ appeared in the doorway of the house, she hurried down.

"Aid cars are on the way." She said and took Methos' other side, the two women got him to the sidewalk and helped him sit.

"Back up?" Hotchner asked stiffly.

Morgan was breathing his Kevlar fest was slashed to hell and he was bleeding badly from several claw wounds but he was alive. Methos relaxed minutely. If anyone could survive Derek could.

As Methos started to calm down the pain and blood loss washed over him. He would heal but it was going to take time.

"What's your status?" Hotchner asked Methos while still hovering over Morgan. Hotch's shirt was dark with blood, Methos noted that all the agent's were bloodied, his blood, Morgan's, their own maybe?

"I'll live, the mother jumped me, cats got her in the back and she won't be getting up." Methos muttered.

An aid car arrived seconds later. The EMTs piled out, Methos tried to get up and avoid them but Prentiss put a hand on his shoulder. Methos stayed still, Prentiss moved in front of blocked the aid crew's view of the immortal, carefully reported Morgan's condition and generally distracted them until Morgan had been loaded and was on his way to the hospital. JJ went with him.

"It looks bad, really bad." Reid said numbly. The young man's eyes were wide his hands were covered in Morgan's blood.

"He'll live." Methos said and coughed. Hotchner stared at Methos.

"It looks godawful but you stopped the bleeding and he's getting trauma treatment. He'll be fine." Methos said hoarsely. Reid didn't look convinced. Methos guessed Morgan had been defending Reid when he'd been hurt, the boy looked guilt ridden.

"What about you?" Prentiss asked.

Methos grinned up at her, teeth still stained with blood.

"I'll be fine. Really, this looks terrible but I've lived through worse.."

"If you say so." Prentiss said skeptically and exchanged a look with Hotchner.

Methos fell over, Prentiss knelt next to him.

"Hey, wake up." She said and touched his face. His eyelids fluttered and he moaned softly as Prentiss pulled her hand away his eyes snapped open.

"Told you I'll be fine." He muttered. Prentiss played a flashlight over Methos and gasped as the light revealed the bone in his right forearm, clearly visible in several places through his shredded flesh, the raw exposed muscle pulsed along with his heartbeat. Slow rivulets of blood oozed from the exposed flesh.

"Adam-" Prentiss started to say.

"I just need some water." Methos whispered and was out again.

"We-we should bandage the arm, slow the bleed." Reid said.

"Reid go in the house see if you can find a first aid kit." Hotchner ordered. He and Prentiss got Methos onto his feet and up on the porch.

"M'fine." He insisted.

"Adam, will the other one be back tonight?" Hotchner asked.

"I don't know, probably not, he's hurt and scared, once he finds out his mother's dead he'll flip out and come after us though."

"Why?" Prentiss asked. Methos blinked at her.

"Well if she's dead wouldn't he be better off just running?"

"We killed his mother, his lover, possibly the last of his species. He's going to be insane with rage and grief." Methos sighed. His head lolled drunkenly as he faded out again. Reid emerged from the house with a battered first aid kit. Prentiss gently but firmly laid Methos on his back and peeled his ruined shirt away from his injuries. The Kevlar vest he'd been wearing was intact but bloodstained. Reid took it off while Prentiss opened the kit.

"I'll be fine." Methos muttered again. The blood loss was impacting his thinking. Prentiss shushed him gently but firmly.

"Be fine." Methos whined. Hotchner held a flashlight on Methos' mangled arm.

"We tried the lights in the house, the power is off." Reid said nervously.

"Take his hand Reid, Prentiss try to hold him steady, this is going to hurt." Hotchner said grimly.

"Wait we should get off the street." Reid said.

"We shouldn't move him until the bleeding is taken care of." Prentiss argued.

Hotchner glanced at the quiet neighborhood, in spite of the aid cars and all the racket no one seemed to be up.

Hotch took Methos' hand in his, the knuckles were barked, but it was largely intact. He held it firmly and nodded at Reid and Prentiss. Prentiss held his shoulders, Reid positioned the light and Hotch slowly extended the mangled arm. In places it was more bone than flesh.

"Jesus, I don't know how he's going to fix this." Prentiss said as she released his shoulders and started wrapping the flesh. Methos hissed and jerked but didn't pull away. Hotch held him still as best he could. Methosdidn't struggle further but let out soft pained noises until Prentiss ran out of bandages. She secured it as best she could.

"That won't hold long." She said tightly. Her hands were covered in blood.

"Be fine." Methos insisted, although the way he fumbled his vowels and slurred his consonants hinted otherwise.

"Get him in the SUV, we'll take him to the hotel Prentiss stay with him, CSU will be here shortly, we'll have questions to answer." Hotchner said tiredly.

Reid and Prentiss carefully laid Methos on the back seat. Methos shivered, his hand trembling in Reid's grip, Reid frowned at the gesture and looked up at Prentiss.

"Shock." She mouthed. Reid nodded, his expression distracted almost annoyed. Methos whimpered although he seemed to be unconscious.

"My room's on the ground floor, we should take him there, it will be easier." Reid said quietly.

Methos was dreaming.

Kronos stood in front of him, soaked in blood, hair plastered to his skull, his cruel grin rippling the scar tissue bisecting his left brow and cheek. He laughed, the same hoarse mixture of triumph and rage Methos would never forget. Methos was crouched at Kronos' feet, as the immortal laughed the sand in front of Methos shifted, and Abasi slithered out. He looked human until he started laughing with Kronos, then his human visage shimmered away and only the familiar skinned cat creature remained.

Prentiss and Reid carefully settled Methos on one of the twin beds in Reid's room.

"We'll be okay Reid, just when you can get back here with more bandages, he might not need them but just to be safe."

"I've got it Prentiss, you already told me, eidetic memory, remember?" Reid said shortly. Prentiss swallowed and nodded. Apologies from her to Reid didn't always go well.

Reid left and seconds later she heard the SUV leave. Methos was sweating profusely and moaning as though he had a fever. Prentiss wasn't sure how to treat him. He'd said he needed water so she filled a glass and wet the small hand towels in the bathroom. She sponged the sweat from his face and waited for him to wake up enough to drink.

He bled through his bandage fifteen minutes later. Prentiss cursed, she gathered duct tape – always kept in her go bag – and more towels to make a new bandage. Pulling the wastebasket closer she prepared to change the bandage. She wished someone else were there to help. She sighed and carefully began to loosen the ties on the sodden bandage. She kept glancing at Methos expecting him to wake up, or react to the inevitable discomfort.

She pulled the bandage away as one large sodden lump and scooped it into the wastebasket. She was fascinated by Methos' arm. It wasn't healed but it was well on the way. Most of the missing flesh had filled in, the newly healed skin was a rippled moonscape of scar tissue. Prentiss carefully sponged dried and wet blood away from the wound revealing more clean scarred skin. She held off on applying a new bandage and settled for keeping the arm clean and dry.

Reid called to update Prentiss. Morgan was fine, he was conscious and had only needed stitches, in all he'd gotten off lightly. He'd be discharged in the morning, they were keeping him for observation in case he had any problems from his blood loss. She hung up with Reid almost smiling. She couldn't imagine the song and dance and insanity Hotch and JJ were dealing with but everyone had made it out alive.

Methos groaned and whimpered drawing Prentiss attention. She sponged his forehead which seemed to calm him. His eyes opened, they were unfocused.

"No…Kronos…" He stammered.

"Shhh Adam you're safe, you're in Reid's hotel room. You lost a lot of blood." She said gently. He closed his eyes and didn't respond. She sighed and shook her head.

He woke up for real an hour later.

"Prentiss?" He whispered. His head ached and his mouth felt like it was full of sand. He wasn't sure why he'd called her name, why he'd been so sure that she would be the one at his side when he woke.

"Here, I've got water for you." She said and helped him drink. He sighed when it was empty.

"More?" She asked. He nodded and sat back.

"You lost a lot of blood." She said nervously. He wondered at that. She was the daughter of a politically connected diplomat, an Ive League graduate gifted in a number of languages, an exemplary agent, a woman with standards so high she had been willing to sacrifice her dream job to avoid being sucked into politics. She was all that and still, she was nervous and uncertain of herself.

"How's Morgan?" He asked hoarsely.

"Full of stitches and donor blood but he'll be fine. You were right." She smiled and sat on the edge of the bed; helped him with another glass of water.

"Your arm is nearly healed." Prentiss pointed out. Methos looked down at his arm, he didn't react for a few seconds, then ran his left hand over the new skin, examined the scars closely. They were clearly caused by the 'walker's claws.

"Damn." He breathed. He hadn't scarred before. He had a few from his youth before his first death but time and multiple healings had so faded them that now only he could easily see them. These, these were unavoidable. He raised his arm and flexed his fist, he had full range of movement. He looked at Prentiss.

"I've never known an immortal to scar like this. Call the hospital, ask them to look for foreign toxins or substances in Morgan's bloodwork."

Prentiss immediately got on the phone.

Methos closed his eyes. He thought about Kalas, Xavier and the handful of other immortals that had sustained some kind of permanent injury or scar after becoming immortal. Kalas had been driven to annihilate Macleod due to the loss of his operatic voice at Macleod's blade. Xavier had been mad long before he lost his arm but the loss had fed his madness. Still, Kalas had been injured in the neck, an area of weakness for his kind and Xavier had lost a limb, so why had Methos scarred?

Methos flexed his arm. It felt strong and whole, he'd have to test it to be sure. Prentiss hung up.

"They'll let us know."

"You can go Agent, I'll be fine."

"You gonna take off?" She asked arms folded standing hipshot, somehow sternly motherly and all business at the same time.

"No, not until the mother is taken care of." He said turning his attention back to the scars.

"Good. Here, this is my cell number, call me before you do anything insane." She said writing her number on a pad by the nightstand. She got more water for him and then called for a pickup. She went outside to wait. Methos idly wondered whose room he was in. His clothing was a wreck, blood soaked and shredded, even his jeans and underwear were soaked and beginning to grow stiff as the blood dried. He slowly sat up. Using the bedside table as a brace he got to his feet and straightened. He still felt lightheaded and weak. He picked up the television remote and turned the TV on, he flipped around until he found a local news report and listened with half an ear while he drank the third glass of water Prentiss had left for him.

The news chattered on mindlessly about local events. No mention of a federal raid or casualties. Methos stared at his arm. The dim light from the bedside lamp was combining with the flickering television to cast dancing shadows over the strange new landscape of his flesh. He smiled at the thought of how badly Macleod would react to it.

"Overprotective." He muttered and carefully got to his feet.