Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 19:42:00 PST Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: Counterfeit Friends (12/22)--HL Story Mac looked down at the coin again. "Oh, I'm sure if she thought about it, she could probably figure out who it is." "What do you mean by *that*?" Joe asked. Duncan looked up and saw his friend's face. "Nothing, Joe." he said gently. "I just thought she might have noticed someone who had been hanging around a lot lately." Joe said nothing, just took the envelope, note and coin and stuck them underneath the bar, then continued stocking his shelves. That night, Rory seemed more subdued. She left most of the singing to Matt and stood towards the back of stage playing her bass. On the way to Joe's home that night, he tried to talk to her. "Are you alright?" he asked. He had to repeat the question as she was staring vacantly out the passenger window. She turned, the absence of streetlights keeping her face in shadows. "Fine." she said shortly, "Why?" "I just wondered." he responded. "You seemed really quiet tonight when you were playing." "We brought 'em in, didn't we?" she said, her voice rising. "That's *not* the point!" he shot back. He exhaled slowly, trying to gather his thoughts and keep a rein on his temper. "The point is," he continued, "it seems as if that note really frightened you." Rory nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess it did. I've had to deal with 'fans' - or whatever you want to call them - before, but it's always a little scary when it happens." "Can you think of anyone who would send you something like that?" Rory froze. "Anyone?" Joe thought the question a little odd, but as he was trying to merge into the left turn lane, he couldn't look over at her. "Anyone you've seen at the club?" he clarified. "Oh." she said flatly. "No." They reached Joe's place and went inside. Rory passed Joe and went upstairs to the bedroom. When Joe made his way up there, Rory was standing on the small balcony, staring out at the skyline, hugging herself against the cold. He came out onto the balcony and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "Talk to me." he whispered in her ear. She turned around. "Will you remember me when I disappear?" she asked. "Disappear?" Joe looked closely at her. "What are you talking about?" "We all disappear someday, Joe." she said. "Sooner or later, we run across an Immortal who's better than us, they take our Quickening and there's nothing left of you anymore - no body, no nothing." "Do you think an Immortal's after you?" She started. "No! I don't know what I'm saying. I'm sorry, I'm just being stupid." "No, you're not." he said firmly, pulling her against his chest. He could hear Rory take several breaths and then say in a muffled voice, "I just started thinking about Kieran and some of the other mortals I've known and how, if people didn't remember them, it would be as if they never existed. Sometimes, it just seems too hard..." Joe felt as if he'd been hit in the stomach. "Are you saying you don't want to see me anymore?" She brought her head up. "*No!* I guess...I just want to know that, if anything ever happened, you would remember *me*." Joe took his thumb and wiped the tears that had collected on her lower lashes. "I could never forget you." He took both hands, undid her hair from the braid, wrapping his hands in its length. he then kissed her deeply and her answering kiss surprised him with its need. "Never forget me." she murmured against his mouth. "Never." he promised, before any further conversation became unnecessary. Later, when Joe was asleep, Rory lay next to him in bed, staring out the sliding glass door into the night. I pray That you might make it through Those teardrops Now seem a part of you And you know that you can't get away And you know that you can't hide it from yourself. "Run So Far" Eric Clapton =========================================================================