Date: Fri, 17 Nov 1995 15:32:45 -0600 Reply-To: Julia Kosatka Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Julia Kosatka Subject: Into the Light, 6/6 (REPOST) ADULT but my equipment here just isn't advanced enough for me to really figure out what's happening. We've got to get her to the medical center where I have access to better tools. We're probably going to have to do a caesarian section. If she continues with a natural delivery, she may die." Duncan flinched from that, and moved toward the door. Methos put out a hand. "What about the baby?" Beverly nodded, "She's fine. In fact, she seem to be getting stronger as her mother grows weaker." Duncan looked up, her words settling into his consciousness as if they were written in fire. "What did you say?" "I said she's fine." "You said she's getting stronger?" Methos asked, and when he did Duncan knew he was thinking along the same lines. Beverly nodded. "Literally? As in, her neural energy levels are increasing?" Duncan queried, his gaze intent on her face. "Yes, literally. But why?" Duncan looked at Methos, reading the confirmation of his own realization in his gaze, and without a word both of them headed for the birthing room. The doctor hurried after them. "Wait! What are you doing?" "Saving her life." Duncan said, stepping back into the water as Methos peeled off clothing. He sat down and pulled Guinan into his arms. "Guinan, open to us. You have to open your Othersense and bring us in, like you did the night you conceived." She looked up at him, blinking owlishly. "Can't. Not now... would hurt you." He shook his head in frustration. "We don't care if it hurts us, love. We want to share the pain, we *have* to do it." Methos slid into the water and settled beside her, taking her hand. "Please, Guinan, you need us for this. Let us in." "'Might hurt the baby..." "No, sweetheart, it won't. She needs it. You need it. Let us in." "What is going on here?" Beverly demanded, clearly annoyed at the delay. "We need to get her out of there, you need to get that sled!" "Shut up," Duncan snapped, unwilling to take the time to explain, and hoping she'd forgive him later. "Guinan, damn it, open to us!" Methos put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, let's try another way." He leaned forward and kissed Guinan lightly, his finger tracing up and down the back of her neck. She shivered, her head falling forward, her shoulders lifting. Taking his cue from Methos, Duncan kissed her behind the ear, and her head snapped back, a soft moan breaking from her lips as Methos released them. It was working. If they could just *distract* her from the present for a few seconds, long enough to convince her... "That's it love," Methos whispered. "Let us in. Let us join you, let us be strong for you." "Now?" she asked, shaking her head as if to clear it. "Now, yes, now. Can't you feel it? She needs us, and you need us." "But..." Guinan began to speak, only to be silenced when Methos kissed her again. Duncan stroked the back of her neck with the back of one finger. "For god's sake, this is not the time for this!" Beverly snapped. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?" Ignoring her, Methos kept on, and hesitantly Guinan reached out and put her hand in his. Her other hand found Duncan's and their fingers laced together. Duncan reached across and took Methos' hand in his, completing the circuit, and pain exploded through his body. He moaned in surprise, hearing Methos do the same. The second sensation to register was a feeling of complete exhaustion. He realized after a moment that both the pain, and the lassitude were Guinan's, and shook it off. Drawing on his own reserves, he offered her his strength, knowing Methos did the same. Tendrils of light lifted from the water and swirled around, and through them. A blue-white glow suffused the room, spreading outward from their bodies. The feeling of depletion eased noticeably. He heard Beverly gasp in amazement and he looked up to find her staring in stunned surprise at the tableaux they made, then she seemed to snap out of it and grabbed her tricorder. Her eyes widened as she read its report. "What on earth? Whatever you're doing, keep doing it! It's working!" Guinan opened her eyes. "You're right, it is." Her voice was solid, her words unslurred. "Duncan, Methos... how did you know what to do?" "It was just obvious, once we thought about it," Duncan said, unutterably relieved. "It took three to create her, how could it take less to bring her into the world?" Guinan laughed. "I suppose it does make sense, at that. Hey!" she sounded surprised. "It doesn't hurt any more!" "Oh yes it does," Methos muttered, shifting restlessly. "It just hurts less because we're sharing it." Beverly touched a finger gingerly to the water, as if expecting to be shocked. When nothing of the sort happened, she stepped into the water, and seemed relieved when she felt only the soft lap of warm water around her calves. She moved closer, reached out, and wrapped her fingers around Guinan's wrist, feeling for her pulse. It was a little rapid, but steady and strong. An energy tentacle snaked over her fingers, licking at them, and she gasped but managed not to yank her hand away. "Some sort of plasma..." she muttered under her breath, then she was turning Guinan's face toward her, looking into her eyes. "Guinan, are you all right?" Guinan nodded. "I'm fine now, Beverly. I hadn't realized how far gone I was, I'm glad you figured out what to do." "I didn't," Beverly admitted. "This is *way* out of my experience. Thank heaven these two were able to figure it out! But enough talk, we've got a baby to deliver." "That we do," Guinan agreed. "She's nearly here now." "What?" Beverly asked, startled. "But it's only been a little while since I last checked! Have you been pushing?" she asked indignantly. "Of course I have! I've done this before, and my body knows what to do even if I was half out of my mind at the time." "Well, hell!" Bev said huffily. "I never said you could!" "You never said not to, either." "I need to check..." the doctor knelt in the tub, reaching down between Guinan's thighs. Duncan winced in sudden pain, and Methos gasped, sharing Guinan's discomfort at the examination. "I'm sorry," Beverly said apologetically, "it's unavoidable. I just need to... damn, you weren't kidding! She's crowning!" "She wants to be born," Guinan said softly. "So much so that she nearly killed you!" Duncan said harshly. Guinan shook her head. "No, Duncan, she didn't mean to harm me. She just needed the energy. It's instinctive, like breathing. If we'd thought about it we might have realized she would need it, and been more prepared. Don't be angry with her, she'll sense it." Duncan looked away, feeling the sting of tears. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to... damn it! I thought we were going to lose you!" "But you didn't, so let go of your anger so you can give her a proper welcome." "Already done, love," he whispered. Another contraction came, stronger, much stronger. Her hand clenched on his, her grip amazingly strong for the small size of her fingers. He felt only a third of what she felt, the tension, pressure, and pain, and wondered why any woman would ever willingly go through this more than once. He let her pain flow into him and gave back the energy she needed, feeling the steady current of it feeding her. The pain intensified, became incandescent, then suddenly there was a sensation of incredible relief. He heard three voices sob aloud. "That's it, perfect!" Beverly crowed. "I've got her!" He opened his eyes, only then realizing he'd had them closed. It was difficult to see well through the water, but he could see the doctor's slim, pale hands clasping a small form whose tawny skin was darker than his own or Methos', but fairer than her mother's. Two-inch-long dark hair haloed her head, drifting slightly in the water. More than that he couldn't really tell until Beverly lifted her, dripping, from the water, to place her in Guinan's waiting arms. He stared, open-mouthed, realizing that he could see the pulse beating in her umbilical cord. She was unmistakably, unbelievably, alive. Until that moment he hadn't quite believed it was possible, but there she was. His child. His, and hers, and... he lifted his gaze to Methos, and saw his own awe reflected there. "Congratulations," Beverly said softly. "And welcome, little one." "Um... isn't she supposed to cry? Aren't you supposed to spank her?" Duncan asked inanely, saying the first thing that came into his head as he reached out hesitantly to touch the back of her head with one finger. She felt as silky and warm as a seal pup. Real. She was *real*. Touching her sent a wave of emotion through him, he felt the hot wetness of tears on his face and welcomed them, for they were joyful, not the sorrow he'd feared not so long before. Beverly chuckled at his question. "She'll cry soon enough, believe me! Give her a few minutes to get used to the world without being smacked. She's breathing just fine. As soon as her system takes over fully from the placenta, I'll cut the cord and she'll be on her own." Guinan shifted her slightly in her arms, so her face was turned outward. "She has your mouth, Duncan," she said quietly. "And your eyes," Methos said, looking at Guinan. Duncan studied the small being who seemed to be regarding the world with a slight, almost puzzled frown. They were right. Her eyes held the same liquid darkness and fathomless depths as her mother's, and her mouth was shaped rather remarkably like his own. "And your build, Methos," Beverly put in. "At fifty-two centimeters and a bit under four kilos, she's destined to be long and slim, like you. Have you chosen a name?" Methos nodded, smiling. "We decided to name her after one of the best and brightest of us, one who would have given much to be here, to see our kind grow past the Game." "So... what is it?" Bev prompted. Duncan looked at Guinan for approval. Her people had a superstition that it was bad luck to say a child's name before it was born. They had scrupulously avoided doing so, just in case. As he'd once told her, how could he be what he was and not believe in magic? "Is it all right to say it now?" Guinan nodded. "Yes, it's all right to say it now." "It's Daria. Her name is Daria." #### "Daria!" The slim figure poised on the threshold paused, looking over her shoulder questioningly. "What?" she asked, a long-suffering sigh quite apparent in her voice. Duncan stepped closer, looking into her face. "What did you do to Stefan?" Daria widened her eyes innocently. "Me? I didn't do anything to Stefan." Duncan sighed. "Tell me another one. I saw you two go off together an hour ago, and now he's nowhere to be found and your mother says he's very angry, and very frustrated. Now where is he?" Daria pouted. He wondered if he looked as amusing when he did it. She put her hands on her hips and tossed her hair back over her shoulder with a sharp nod. "He's in the gym." "And..?" "And what?" "And can he get out on his own or did you tie him up like last time?" "You told me not to do that any more, so I didn't." "What *did* you do?" "Nothing, really." She grinned, her teeth gleaming white against her dusky skin. "He's just pouting because I beat him. He said he's going to practice until he can take *my* head next time." Duncan winced. "I wish you wouldn't make a game out of it." "But that's what you've always called it. The Game." "The Game is over!" he said forcefully. "I don't want you even *playing* at it." She regarded him with sudden seriousness, her mood changing, chameleon-like. "But it's not, you know. You may have forsaken it, but there are those who haven't." "I'm aware of that, and you know it. Why else would I have trained you since you were old enough to hold a bo-ken? But I still don't want you playing at it with Stefan." "But we need to be able to defend ourselves, if one of them comes for us! You've even told me so yourself!" He sighed. "I know, Daria. But you and Stefan are..." he stopped himself, knowing how much she hated it when he lectured. "Please, just humor me. From now on, if you want to practice, find one of the old ones. Myself, Methos, Amanda, Richie or Michelle, even Kya or Daniel. There are more than enough choices, and any of us would be happy to spar with you. I don't want you and Stefan, or any of the other young ones, sparring with each other." Daria gazed at him with narrowed eyes, and he felt the slick tingle of her mental probe. She gasped as she read his unspoken fear. "We wouldn't! You can't seriously think we would..." "I don't even want you tempted to find out," he interrupted her disclaimer. "Not you, not Stefan, not any of the others." She nodded soberly. "I understand. I'll do as you ask. I'm sorry I worried you, I didn't understand." He pulled her close and hugged her, startled to realize she was only a little shorter than he was. When had that happened? That wasn't the only change, either. Her silhouette was more subtly rounded now, as well, softer with the curves of fast-blooming womanhood. Time ran so fast, so incredibly fast. It seemed only a day ago he'd held her tiny, naked form in his arms as Beverly tended to Guinan after her birth. She gave him a preemptory hug in return. "Gotta go, I'm meeting E'lan." He nodded and watched her run off down the drive. She always ran. She never walked anywhere. Perpetually in a hurry. He sighed. She'd learn, eventually, that she had all the time in the world. "Feeling nostalgic, are you?" Guinan asked, stepping out of the library. He nodded. "A bit, you could tell?" "I recognize those vibes," she replied, slipping an arm around his waist. "I get them every once in awhile." He slid his hand up the back of her neck, fingers idly tracing a pattern there until she shivered in response. "Wanna do something about it?" She grinned. "Where's Methos?" "I think he's in the kitchen." "Of course, where else would he be? Do you think we can tempt him away?" Duncan chuckled. "Oh, I suspect he might be... temptable." **** The End =========================================================================