PART 1: "I think she'd make a great immortal."

Chapter 7
 
 

They fell asleep after making love, and, not long after midnight, Methos woke up next to Jackie. Lifting himself up on one elbow, he watched her sleep. Smiling gently, he stroked her cheek, carefully so as not to wake her. She thinks that she's the only one with conflicting emotions, he thought. I want to stay but I have to go, all at the same time. Finally, he put the covers back and eased himself out of bed. It was time to go hunting.

Methos prowled the streets of Montauk Village, a stone cold, predatory look on his face as he went up one street and down another. He kept to the places where he had felt Kirkland earlier, but he felt nothing.

Methos was furious at Kirkland for trying to force the challenge while he was with Jacqueline, but his fury was glacial and tightly controlled. As the hours passed, the fury grew, coiling deep and tight within him. This did not bode well for Kirkland.

After three hours of hunting, Methos called it quits for the night. Kirkland was hiding from him, probably waiting for his own time and place. Methos's mouth tightened. "We'll see, Kirkland," he muttered to himself.

Going back up the road to the house, Methos was planning on cutting the engine to coast then push the car next to Jackie's, just as he had done when he had left hours ago, so as not to disturb her.

As he neared the house, he saw that he wouldn't have to worry about disturbing Jacqueline. The house was ablaze with lights and there was a strange car where his was parked earlier.

Methos let out an explosive curse. So Kirkland had been here all along. Methos had wanted to keep the battle away from Jacqueline, but Kirkland had turned that into a vain hope. The only real hope Methos had now was that there still was a Jacqueline.

Barely shutting off the car, Methos leaped out and dashed for the house, pulling the sword from his coat as he ran.

The font door had been forced gently, expertly, and probably soundlessly. Methos cautiously entered the dwelling and saw immediately that the living room was empty. He went swiftly to the bedroom and found that empty as well.

There was, however, a note on Jacqueline's rumpled pillow.

"We're out by the big tree. You know the one. Do come. We'll be waiting. K. PS: She's changed a bit, hasn't she? Can't see what Dunbar saw in her. Maybe after we spend some time together--."

Methos crumpled the note and dropped it, his eyes narrowing. He took a moment to put his anger in perspective. Kirkland was trying to make him lose his temper, a sure way for Kirkland to win. Methos put the fury where it would do the most good--under control. Hefting the naked sword in his hand, he went through the house to the back door. He felt Kirkland as soon as he got to the bottom of the backstairs.

Over by the big tree in the center of the clearing, Jackie felt the man holding her prisoner suddenly jerk behind her. Hours ago he had awakened her her up. She was pulled out of a deep sleep to find a strange man hovering over her holding a dagger to her throat. It brought back horrible memories that added to the rude shock she got to find that Adam was not there. Was he dead? Had he left her? This strange man--who had to be Roland Kirkland--said little at first. He told her to get dressed and to dress warmly. He demanded paper to write a note for Adam, which was a relief. Adam was not dead and Kirkland was expecting him back.

He became more talkative while they were waiting for Adam outside by the tree. "So your lover boy has ducked out on you, eh? Let's hope he comes back. I'd hate to have to kill you for no reason."

Jackie stayed silent, not wanting to incite him. Her only question, to herself, was why are we waiting outside in the cold? Why not wait in a nice warm house? She couldn't ask the question out loud, so she waited with Kirkland, waited for Adam, or a chance to get away.

Standing with her back against the tree, a dagger at her neck, they waited for what seemed hours. She was so cold she was numb, and she was exhausted. When she felt Kirkland jerk, she knew that Adam was finally coming. Kirkland's face had the same look Adam's did when he "felt" someone. A few moments later, she saw a figure coming toward them, recognizable by his shape, slender with a long, black trenchcoat, and his walk, careful, like a cat. He held a naked broadsword that was shining in the light of the stars.

"That's far enough," Kirkland called as Adam came into earshot, brandishing his own broadsword.

"Leave her out of it," Adam called back. "She's got nothing to do with this."

"Oh, yes she does. She's here to make you hurt." He nudged the dagger into the hollow of Jackie's throat. Jackie swallowed as she felt the sting of the blade. It had been a long, good life. She didn't want to die, but that didn't matter anymore. Today was a good day to die.

"I said, leave her out of it." Adam's voice went deep, quiet, and barely audible at this distance.

"I will, if you put down your sword."

Jackie looked at Adam and he met her eyes. She shook her head. His eyes narrowed and he took a few steps closer.

"I'll make it worth your while to leave her out of it."

"You have a better offer than laying down your sword?"

"My name isn't Adam Pierson."

"I figured that one out for myself. What is your real name?"

"You'll have to challenge me according to the rules of the Game to find out."

"That's not worth my while. It's better for me if you just lay down your sword."

Adam looked briefly at Jackie then gazed down at his sword. He hefted it, getting a comfortable grip. "I'm sorry," he said, the words sounding like they were being pulled from the depths by force. "I will not lay down my sword."

"That's okay, Adam," Jackie started to say before it was choked off by another nudge of the dagger. She finished with a gasp. Adam's mouth bunched up with fury and he had made three long strides before Kirkland's broadsword slicing the air between them stopped him. Kirkland stepped back to stand closer to Jackie.

"My name is Roland Kirkland," he intoned.

Adam's face was hard and white as he snarled: "I am Methos."

"Methos!" Kirkland was incredulous. "You're lying! Methos is a myth, a legend."

Adam/Methos laughed, a chilling, scary sound. "I enjoy being a legend, wouldn't you?"

Kirkland's eyes narrowed. "Are you really Methos? Don't lie, now. Remember where I have this knife."

Jackie and Methos shared another brief look. For her part, Jackie believed him. She'd never seen this man, this Methos, before, only rare glimpses of him. Suddenly she could very well believe that this stranger who held that sword as if it were an old friend could face such men as Roland Kirkland over the thousands of years and live to tell about it.

"Why should I lie?" Methos retorted. "You're the one hiding behind an old woman."

Kirkland glanced at Jackie. He didn't like how calm she looked, how ready to die she seemed. He needed her to be terrified, to beg her lover for her life.

"Is he really Methos?" he asked her.

"I don't know," Jackie answered slowly. She met Methos's eyes and smiled tightly. "All I know is that he's five thousand years old."

Methos returned her smile. Kirkland meanwhile was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Methos, the oldest immortal, the immortal with the most powerful Quickening in the world, was standing right in front of him.

"This is better than I thought," Kirkland growled. "Now lay down your sword or the woman dies."

"Do you think I've survived for five thousand years by putting down my sword every time someone tells me to?" Methos asked harshly. "Do you know how often I've been in this situation?"

"So you're going to make me kill her?"

"You do what you have to, but no matter what, you're dead." Methos met Jackie's eyes, his face softening briefly. "Sorry, my love."

Jackie's eyes softened as well and she smiled, nodding at him.

Suddenly, as she nodded, Jackie saw her chance, her first chance, and took it. Kirkland was working hard to hide his shock at the true identity of Adam Pierson, but it was in vain. He was really surprised and the result was that the dagger he held against Jackie was sagging away from her neck. When she nodded at Methos, she looked out the corner of her eye and saw that Kirkland was staring in awe and some fear at her lover. He had almost forgotten her. This was her chance.

Whipping her right hand up, Jackie grasped the dagger by the naked blade and pulled it out of Kirkland's lax hand. Kirkland gasped with surprise as the dagger left his hand and Jackie gasped with pain as the blade cut into her palm, slicing open the scar.

Before Kirkland could react, Jackie ducked away from him and around the tree, leaving the field clear between the two combatants.

Methos laughed that rich deep laugh that Jackie so adored. "So, Kirkland," he said, amusement filling his voice, "It's just you and me. No one to hide behind now."

Kirkland snarled and, from behind the tree, Jackie heard the clash of metal against metal as the battle was joined.

She peeked around the tree, wrapping her scarf around her wounded hand to staunch the bleeding. They were really fighting, swinging their swords at each other! Jackie didn't know enough about sword fighting to know exactly what was going on, but it was easy to see that Adam--Methos--was on the offensive. Something about his real name had intimidated Kirkland and put him on the defensive. Methos swung at him, thrust at him, never letting up while Kirkland parried or blocked but gave up ground with every move.

Methos did not seem hampered by his long coat at all, nor the bulky sweater he wore under it. He was fighting with cold fury, Kirkland with cold fear. With such a matchup, the outcome was inevitable, but Jackie didn't know that. She chewed the nails on her uninjured hand; the pain of her wound stifled by her worry and fear for Methos's life. Such a life! She didn't want to lose it just as she had found out the secret.

They fought their way into the center of the clearing. Thrust, parry, swing, block, push, and hold, then a pause as they circled warily, taking the measure of each other.

"I've waited a long time for this," she heard Kirkland say.

"Disappointed?"

"You're not what I expected."

"More?"

"Why did you keep running from me all those years?"

"I don't like to fight."

"I don't believe you."

Methos inclined his head. "Your problem." Then he went after him again, but Kirkland was ready. As Methos's sword descended, Kirkland whirled away from it, following up with a backhand swing at Methos's neck. The swing was high, but Methos jerked back anyway, so the blade caught his cheek, cutting it to the bone. Jackie, the only witness, gasped, the sight of the wound bringing her back to her own stinging pain. Like Methos, she ignored it, focusing instead on the fight.

Recovering his balance before he toppled backward, Methos circled Kirkland once more and before Kirkland could make a move, Methos attacked with an underhand swing. Kirkland blocked it, but Methos pushed both blades up. Pulling his blade loose from Kirkland's, Methos continued the overhead arch that ended up with the sword lodged in Kirkland's side. Kirkland cried out as the blade bit deep, almost severing him in half at the waist. Methos pulled his sword free and Kirkland fell to his knees, gasping and panting in agony. Methos leaned over the dying man.

"There can be only one," he snarled into Kirkland's ear. Then, twisting the sword over his head, Methos whirled and, with a mighty swing, cut off Kirkland's head.

Jackie froze; shock at the brutal way Methos finished off his enemy rooted her to the spot. It was just as well.

A breeze sprang up, blowing over Methos, and a mist, coming off of the headless body, swirled around and around him, wreathed by the wind. He was gasping and panting almost as much as Kirkland had when he was dying. Methos's eyes closed and his head fell back. Suddenly, lightning bolts came out of nowhere, sparking from the sky and from the body. Methos jerked and cried out as bolt after bolt of lightning slammed into him. His body stiffened, shivering and rocking back and forth in the wind that was howling around him. His coat billowed back away from his body and the lightning bolts lit up the night, so Jackie could see his face and the beige sweater and black jeans he was wearing.

A bolt forced his arm into the air and he stood like that for a moment, his sword pointing at the sky, lightning dancing around the blade. Then his arms stiffened outward and the sword was flung from his outstretched hand. His head was back, eyes squeezed shut, then the force of the storm pulled his head forward. His eyes flew open as he cried out again and again, screaming into the wind as the never-ending bolts smashed into his body.

Jackie could barely hear Methos's cries above the raging fury of the storm. Cowering back against the tree, she saw when the sword was flung from his hand. She saw the contortions of his face and the writhing of his body as the lightning went on and on. His cries cut through her. How could anyone survive what he was going through?

Jackie covered her head as sparks flew around them. The storm seemed to go on forever and Methos was helpless in its powerful grip. Finally it left as quickly as it came. The breeze died and Methos was released from its grip and he collapsed, falling to his knees.

Slumping back onto his heels, Methos let his head fall forward onto his chest.

"Adam?"

Methos looked up to see Jackie standing over him. He reached a hand up weakly toward her and she took it, going onto her knees next to him. She peered into his face.

"Adam?"

He stared at her, his face haggard, his eyes burning. He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her neck.

"I almost lost you," he said hollowly.

"Would you have put your sword down?"

He couldn't say the word so he simply shook his head: no.

"Good," she murmured. "I couldn't bear it."

"I thought he was going to cut your throat just for the hell of it."

She held onto him, trying to reassure him with her presence. Suddenly he was reminded of something. Pulling back from her, he took her injured hand in his. Untwining the scarf, he looked closely at the wound by the light of the dawn that was starting to brighten the sky in the east.

"We have to take care of this immediately."

"But you have to rest. And what about the body?"

"I'll take care of it. Go back to the house and wash that hand. Get a clean hand towel, fold it up small and press it against the wound and wait for me. I'll be right back."

Jackie was sitting in the kitchen with a towel on the wound when Methos came back. He washed his hands, taking a moment to wash the blood off his face as well, and came and sat down next to her to examine the cut.

Chewing his bottom lip, Methos looked up at Jackie. She looked pale and exhausted, but okay. "Jacqueline, this needs stitches. I could take you to the emergency room, or I could do it. Which do you prefer?"

"Have you ever done this before?"

"Yes. Lots of times."

"Of course, I'd forgotten," Jackie said, laughing hoarsely. "You used to be a doctor. I was so used to knowing you as a professor. Do you think you'd remember how?"

"I remember. Don't worry on that score. It's a skill I've used many times over the years. You just have to trust me." He paused. "Do you trust me?"

Jackie nodded. "Of course. Will it hurt?"

"Probably. Here, hold the bandage again."

He went outside. Jackie heard a car start up and drive off until it was out of earshot. Then after a bit, she heard another car door slam and he was back with needles and sutures.

"I hid Kirkland's car. I'll get rid of it later."

He started working on Jackie's hand, and it did hurt. She bit her lip and took it for as long as she could. Finally, she needed something to distract her.

"Adam?"

"Mmmm?"

"What was that out there?"

"That, my dear, was a Quickening."

"--Oh--! No wonder it's hard to explain. So what is a Quickening, actually?"

"It's the life force of an immortal. When we 'feel' each other, we're actually feeling the other immortal's Quickening. And when we take a head, we get the Quickening; we get that power and that life force."

Jackie fell silent, watching Methos work. "What should I call you, Methos or Adam?"

"Unless we are absolutely alone, Jacqueline, I am Adam Pierson. I don't want anyone to know my real name."

"So why did you tell Kirkland?"

"I was hoping to distract him, to get him away from you."

"Huh! I guess it worked. Ouch!"

"Hold still, Jackie. Almost done."

Jackie smiled slightly at what Methos called her. "Why don't you want anyone to know your real name?"

"Most immortals know about Methos, the oldest immortal. There are a lot of them who would come after me just for who I am."

"Kirkland did know who Methos was. Are you really the oldest immortal?"

"Well, I'm five thousand years old, give or take, and nobody, including me, seems to know of an immortal who's older." He tested the suture he had just tied and started on the next. After a moment he asked, "Is that how you got away from Dunbar?"

"What do you mean?"

"The way you grabbed the dagger. Is that how you got away from Dunbar?"

"Yes. I would have stabbed him the way I stabbed Dunbar, but Kirkland had a sword, so I left him for you."

Methos chuckled. "Wise move. Hold on, just two more."

Jackie bit her lip. There was a question she really wanted to ask, but didn't know how, so she decided to just come out and ask it.

"Did you have to kill him that way? Cutting his head off? It's so brutal."

Methos glanced briefly at her. "Actually, yes, I had to. If I didn't cut his head off, he would have come back. The wound in his side was nothing, no matter how bad it looked to you. Taking his head was the only way to kill him."

"You have to cut an immortal's head off to kill him?"

Methos nodded. "And when you take a head, you get the Quickening."

"Huh!" Jackie said again. "Now I know why you won't talk about it."

Methos smiled tightly without looking up.

"Does your age mean that your Quickening is more powerful than Kirkland's?"

"Much more powerful."

Jackie was quiet as Methos tied off the suture. Then she said: "Why did you say 'There can be only one' to Kirkland? I thought you didn't believe in that."

Methos shrugged. "Tradition, I guess. Besides, he may have believed it. There, all done. Now hold still and I'll bandage it." He got alcohol and an antibiotic ointment and, wiping the blood away from her hand with the alcohol, he applied the ointment to the cut. He was just about to bandage when, with a chilling shock, Jackie remembered something.

"Your cheek!" She looked at his perfect cheek. Lifting her uninjured hand, she ran her fingers over the spot were she had seen him cut, but it was completely unmarked.

He looked at her warily. "What?"

"Your cheek. He had cut your cheek almost to the bone. But there's no wound--"

Methos took her hand away from his face, holding it tightly. He leaned close to her, holding her eyes with his. "Jacqueline, I am immortal. That's a function of my immortality. I heal very, very quickly."

Jackie stared at him, slack-jawed.

"Do you want me to show you?"

"You mean cut yourself open again?"

He nodded.

She shook her head, closing her eyes. "No, no. It's all right," she said, taking a deep breath. "It was just a shock. Another shock. I'll be okay."

He looked at her for a moment to be sure, then he bandaged her hand.

They had just finished clearing up the kitchen when they heard a car on the road.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Methos asked.

Jackie shook her head. She ran her fingers over her temples, her eyes bleak. She didn't think she could take anymore tonight.

Methos moved to the front door, his sword magically in his hands. He peeked out the drapes and saw a battered old Ford pull up in front of the house, taking the spot that Kirkland's car had vacated. An older man got out. Methos felt nothing, so he put the sword away.

"It's an old man," he reported. "He seems to know his way around."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Jackie went over and opened it.

"Gill! What are you doing here this hour of the morning?"

"Hey, there, Jackie. There were some reports of something strange happening over this way, so I thought I'd come on over and investigate it."

"Well, come on in. Gill, I'd like you to meet Adam Pierson. Adam, this is Gill Martin. Before he retired, Gill used to be the Police Chief of Montauk Village."

"So, who are you?" Gill Martin asked Methos. He tried to sound sociable and friendly, but it came out suspicious and hostile.

"Oh, just a friend of the family." Methos's tone was so noncommittal, Gill Martin could read absolutely nothing in it.

"So, Gill, what's happening?"

"Well, there were reports of explosions or a weird lightening storm over this way not too long ago. I'm close by, so I offered to come by and see what's going on."

"What did you find?"

"I haven't started looking yet. I was wondering if you had seen anything."

"Now that you mention it, that must have been it," Methos said.

"Must have been what?" Gill Martin asked.

Methos sauntered over and stood next to Jackie. He never broke eye contact with Gill. "We heard something like you described, something like a storm, thunderclaps, wind, it woke us up." He put an arm around Jackie's shoulder. "But when we got up, it was over and we didn't see or hear anything, right, sweet?"

Jackie, lifting a puzzled eyebrow, looked up at Methos, who was still concentrating on Gill. Something was definitely up. "Yeah, that's right," she answered, slowly. "It was over and we didn't see anything."

Gill's mouth tightened. "Mr. Pierson, I've seen you around the Village, haven't I?"

"Perhaps."

He glanced briefly at Jackie then back at Methos. "Do you plan on staying long?"

Methos smiled tightly, cold amusement in his eyes. "Depends on Jacqueline. If she wants company, I'll stay."

"Well, Jackie, where did you hear all this noise coming from?"

"The woods, I think," Jackie answered. "Just beyond the clearing--"

"I thought it was more or less in the center of the clearing, Mr. Martin," Methos broke in. "Near the big tree."

Jackie glanced up at Methos. His eyes had narrowed and he was taking Gill Martin's measure. Suddenly she was frightened. "I think you're right, Adam," she interjected quickly. "It must be my old ears. I think the center of the clearing is where we heard it."

"Well, then," Gill Martin said, exchanging a hard look with Methos. "I'd best take a look."

"Would you like--" Jackie started, but Gill Martin held up a hand.

"No, no, it's fine. I know the way."

The two of them, Methos with his arm still around Jackie's shoulder, turned to watch the retired Police Chief walk out the back door. Jackie pulled away from Methos.

"Now what was that all about?" she demanded.

"I don't trust cops," Methos said shortly.

"You don't know him, and I've known him since Andrea and I moved here twelve years ago."

"And he's wanted something from you for the past twelve years."

"Oh, Adam, what are you talking about?"

They were definitely arguing, but they were both keeping their voices down so Gill Martin wouldn't hear them outside.

"Let me ask you this: have you seen him more in the last three years than in the previous nine?"

"I don't know. What's that supposed to mean?"

Methos sighed and turned away. "Just think about it."

"Methos!"

Methos whirled on her, his face stone, his eyes furious, to meet an old woman with her arms crossed and an angry, cynical eyebrow lifted. Methos took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down.

"You did that deliberately," he accused, his voice deep.

She smiled, the storm clouds lifting. "You bet."

Methos sighed again. "Look, just think about it a second. If he was around more, he may want something from you, something you might not want to give."

"He's not here to hurt me, Adam."

"Perhaps not. Just watch him."

Jackie gave Methos a mischievous grin. "Why don't you watch him?"

His eyes widening in surprise, Methos was at Jackie's side in two steps, pulling her into his arms. "You are a vixen, aren't you?" he whispered, his eyes softening.

Jackie smiled up at him, and any reply she might have made was lost as his lips met hers. They were just separating when there was a discreet cough behind them. They turned to see Gill Martin watching them. When he turned his gaze to Methos, it was with an expression of open hostility.

Jackie took a deep breath and stepped in quickly. "Gill! Did you find anything?"

Gill stared at Methos for another moment, then turned back to Jackie. "No. There was some evidence of wind in the grass around the tree and up in the tree, but it looks like it might have been a freak thing."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"Yes. Well, I'd best be on my way."

"I'll walk you out, Gill."

Methos started to come with them, but Jackie stopped him with a hand on his chest and a gentle shake of her head. Methos stepped back and allowed the two of them to walk out to Gill Martin's car.

At the car, Gill turned and looked back at the house. The strange houseguest was watching them from the window.

"Who is he, Jackie?"

"A friend, Gill. A very good friend."

"Well, that I saw for myself," he retorted sarcastically. "But people have seen the two of you going around the village like young lovers."

Jackie laughed at that. "The last thing either of us are, Gill, is young."

"Well, you have to admit he is a bit younger than you are," Gill Martin said, trying to be gentle.

Jackie looked down and away from Gill. "So it would appear," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry to be so intrusive, Jackie, I'm just worried. You see a man so young with a woman of your--your--your advanced years and you wonder--"

"You wonder what he sees in me, right?"

"Well--"

"What, Gill? Are you worried that he might be after my money? Gill, I don't have any money, and you know that."

"I know that. It just makes me wonder, that's all."

"It makes you wonder what he's getting out of this, right?"

Gill nodded, looking decidedly embarrassed.

"Well, you don't even have to think about that, Gill. I'm still trying to figure that one out. And don't worry about me. Trust me, at this point, I'm getting more out of this relationship than he is."

"Okay, then," Gill Martin relented. "As long as you're okay. Say, what happened to your hand?" he asked, pointing at the bandage.

"I cut my hand on a knife. Pretty clumsy, eh? Grabbed it wrong."

"Do you need to see a doctor or go to the emergency room? It looks pretty bad."

Jackie smiled her best smile at him. "It looks worse than it is. Adam bandaged it up for me. He was quite worried. If I felt I needed the emergency room, I would have gone, believe me."

"Well, okay. But you watch out. Infections at our age are very bad."

"I'll be careful, Gill. Thanks for watching out for me. I appreciate it, really I do."

Gill Martin smiled hesitantly at her, got into his car and drove away.

"So, what's the problem?" Methos asked as she got back into the house.

"He's afraid you might be out to hurt me or steal my money or something."

"And what do you think?"

"Or something," she replied, not looking at him.

Methos looked at her seriously. "What are you saying, Jacqueline?"

Jackie shrugged, still not looking at him. "I just can't figure out why you're here, like this," waving her hand in the air between the two of them. "I understand that you felt drawn to me because of Elizabeth, and I appreciate that you felt you had to protect me from Kirkland because you felt responsible, but I don't understand why we're this close again."

"Do you want me to leave?"

Jackie's eyes closed and her shoulders slumped. "No, no. I don't know what I want, or even what I'm saying. I'm exhausted, Adam. I need to go to bed."

"Then just forget about Gill Martin. Forget about Roland Kirkland. Too much has happened here tonight and you've been injured. Forget all about it and go right in to bed. There are a few things I need to take care of, then I'll be right in."

Jackie looked at him for a long moment, knowing that the things he had to take care of were Kirkland's body and his car. She simply nodded wearily, glad he had the energy to clean up after himself. She started out of the kitchen, pausing at the door.

"You'll shut the house up when you get back?" she asked him.

Methos nodded with an expression of gentle affection. "Sure," he said.

She smiled slightly and went off to bed, leaving him alone in the kitchen with the dawn.

They both slept through the next day, getting up only for dinner. It was a quiet meal, almost silent as Jackie went over everything in her mind and Methos waited for her to break the silence. Finally, near the end of the meal, she did.

"You wouldn't face him while I was with you."

"Excuse me?"

"You wanted to face him when I wasn't around. That's why you kept running when you felt him. That's why you went to the Village last night. You went looking for him because you wanted to do--to do--what you had to do away from me."

Methos nodded slowly. "That's right. I felt it would be too much for you to witness, the fight, the Quickening. But Kirkland had other ideas."

"Well, I appreciate your trying."

They exchanged tired smiles.

Although that meal was quiet, afterward they started talking. It was the beginning of a conversation that was to last for years, but there were many things that Jackie wanted to know about. So she asked questions and Methos answered most of them, and so they talked.

They spend days together talking about Kirkland, immortality and the pyramids of Egypt. A lot of that time was spent out by the lighthouse, and they talked as they sat on a bench, or stood on the Bluff, or walked the paths.

Jackie asked questions about the past, places where Methos had been, things that he had seen, people he had known. Some things he went into with relish, others he completely refused to talk about.

Methos asked her about her dreams, her life with Andrea, what she thought about past lives, religion and the world as it was right now.

These conversations were very much like the ones they had had on the ship where they first met so many years before. The difference was that these conversations were open and free of evasions and subterfuge. Methos was a fascinating storyteller and they spent hour after hour in animated conversation.

Jackie had many questions for Methos, and he had one for Jackie, a question he felt was very important. It was a question he had wanted to ask for years, decades. In fact, he had wanted to ask it since the night Jackie had spent with him at the Plaza Hotel.

They were taking a rest on a bench by the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day, bright and blue and not too cold. There was a lull in the conversation and they were both quiet. Finally gathering his courage, Methos asked his question.

"Jacqueline?"

"Hmmm?"

"You ask me so many questions. I don't mind, really, but here's a question I've always wanted to ask you."

Jackie turned to him and waited. She was surprised to find that he looked nervous. He was staring down at his hands and she could tell that he was concentrating on not wringing them together.

"Adam, you should know by now that you can ask me anything, anything."

Methos looked up at her, his face gentle. "That's right, I do know that," he replied softly. "That's at the heart of my question. Jacqueline, why do you think you were able to accept me with what I had done? Not to mention the strange way I always acted and all those deaths I told you about. Even before you knew about my immortality, or the Game, or my age, you accepted me. And now that you know, it seems as if you accept me even more. Why?"

"The 'why' question is mine, Adam," she answered mischievously.

"Not any more," he said the same way. "Now tell me, why?"

Jackie looked off into the distance. She closed her eyes against the wind coming off the Bluff, feeling it whipping her hair around her face. She heard the roar of the ocean, she smelt the salt air, and against the darkness of her eyelids, she saw a half-naked Adam Pierson framed in a window of the Plaza against the backdrop of a rising sun. She opened her eyes and turned to the same man who was now sitting beside her, his eyes dark and intense with desire. It was a desire that was different from the one she'd been seeing so much lately. This desire was a desire for knowledge.

"Perhaps I saw you as an honorable man," she said, "despite what you had done, or maybe because of what you had done."

Methos jerked back with surprise. "You saw me as an honorable man?"

"Very much so," Jackie said, smiling. "I still do." Taking his hand, she placed it against her chest and stroked it. "Adam, I think a man of honor lives with what he does, and you live with what you've done, with everything you've ever done, the good, the bad, all of it. One cannot get more honorable than that."

Methos stared at Jackie for a long time, and as he took her into his arms, Jackie thought she saw tears in his eyes, but, of course, she would never be sure. She would never know if Methos ever cried.

"I love you, Jacqueline," he whispered.

Jackie's eyes shut tightly as she clung to him. She heard what he said, and that she was sure of.