Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 15:04:18 +0000 Reply-To: MAtt Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: MAtt Subject: It Can't Rain All The Time Part 4 A Crow/Highlander crossover By Matthew Blair Matthew.Blair@bbsrc.ac.uk It Can't Rain All The Time Part 4 --------------------------------- ............. Devil's Night Shivering, Eric made his way slowly and painfully through the rain to the apartment he and Shelly had lived in before.... before. The pain he felt was not physical, but an emotional pain which cut deeper than any kife could. He was dead, he knew, and therefore could not feel real pain, but the memories haunted him, driving him on, giving life to a body that should be dead. He was Retribution. He was Death's Angel come back, to make Shelly's killers suffer. Suffer as they never had before. Once back in the apartment, Eric pulled out a black top from a wardrobe that had somehow survived the ravages of time and vandals. The apartment was a mess, not that Eric cared much. Searching among the trash lying around, Eric found a mirror and some of Shelly's make-up. With an almost demented surge of bitterness, he began to rub white pancake make-up onto his face. Using a black lipstick, he attacked his eyes and his mouth, creating an obscene parody of a clown. If he *was* Death's Angel then he would look the part. Eric grinned at his reflection, and in his eyes there was a focused madness. He *knew* what he was back for. Moving as gracefully as a cat, Eric headed out into the night. ................ 6 Months Earlier Shelly had come on well in the months following her 'death'. She and Duncan had moved back to Seacouver, to the dojo, where Duncan began her training. Before leaving for Seacover, Duncan had explained to her what she was, and how she could never go back to her old life. Shelly was not too bothered by that fact. Eric was her old life, and since he was dead, she felt no compunction about leaving. Duncan had used his laptop to hook into the hospital's computers, and had covered up Shelly's disappearance from the morgue. He'd also arranged for a grave for Eric, and at Shelly's request, had also arranged a headstone for her. Before they'd left for Seacouver, Duncan had asked Shelly if she wanted to go to the cemetery, but she'd declined. Obviously the memories were too painful. Duncan was just teaching Shelly a new throw when they both felt the familiar tingle, and Richie came in. "Hi Mac, Shelly" Richie nodded in their direction. In the past few months since Shelly had been staying with Duncan, Richie had 'hit' on her a total of two times. Both times he'd been knocked back, but he'd taken it in his stride, another sign of his growing maturity, and he and Shelly had become firm friends. "Hey, Richie, how are ya ?" asked Shelly while simultaneously throwing Duncan over her left hip. He landed with a thud, obviously having been caught off guard by Richie's entrance. Richie smiled as Duncan picked himself up, making a show of dusting himself down and looking disgruntled. "No fair, I wasn't ready for that one." Richie could see Duncan was grinning from ear to ear, but Shelly had turned away for a moment to catch her breath. In a single fluid movement Macleod tossed her on her back, and stood grinning over her. "Lesson number 2. Never turn your back on your opponent." Duncan stretched out his hand to pull Shelly up, knowing full well what her next move would be, and was laughing as soon as he hit the floor. At that, Shelly started laughing too, and Richie, being Richie, joined in too. It was good, thought Richie, to see Duncan laughing again. Since Tessa's death, Duncan had seemed to withdraw into himself, rarely laughing or smiling. He suspected Shelly had something to do with Duncan's re-emergance into the land of the living, though he knew she and Duncan were more like daughter/father than lovers. Certainly Richie had never seen them so much as kiss, something he was always catching Duncan and Tessa doing. Having Shelly around was also helping him, he knew. He too still greived for Tessa, and having someone nearer his own age around was great, especially when that someone was also a 'new-born' Immortal. And a very pretty one at that, Richie couldn't help thinking to himself. "So Mac, what's the plans for today ?" Richie asked, rubbing his hands. "Actually, Richie, I gotta go out today. I guess you and Shelly will have to spar." Duncan grinned at Richie's pained expression. If there was one thing Richie hated, it was being thrown about, by either Mac or Shelly. Duncan picked up a towel and wiped his face, heading off towards the elevator, leaving Richie to prepare for his sparring session. Macleod knew Shelly was learning fast, faster than Richie, though that wasn't hard he thought with a wry smile. Shelly was more focused, more motivated than Richie, though Mac worried about the exact nature of Shelly's motivation. She seemed bright and happy most of the time, but Duncan knew she still mourned Eric. She'd spoken of him only once to Duncan, telling him of her life with Eric, and the plans they'd made, and how she was so proud of Eric being a musician. When she'd come to speak of Eric's death, there was a slight tremor in her voice, but she held herself in control. Macleod knew he couldn't continue as Shelly's mentor for much longer. He still had his hands full with Richie, who took up a great deal of his time, and with Shelly around too, he couldn't balance out their training. That was why he'd called Aleanna Noel. He'd only just met her, at Tessa's graveside in fact. She claimed to be Tessa's great-aunt, and Duncan believed her. He also felt he could trust her to look after Shelly for a while. Shelly was a fast learner, and had learned all she could, but Duncan felt it better to have someone keep an eye on her, at least until she got her first Quickening. *If* she lived that long he thought, sourly. The Gathering was starting, and though Macleod didn't know how far off the end was, Immortals *were* drifiting closer together. There *had* been safer times to be an Immortal. End of Part 4 =========================================================================