========================================================================= Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 17:02:46 -0600 Reply-To: Amy Denton Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Amy Denton Subject: Lovejoy Meets Connor MacLeod Hello, everyone! Here's a story that's been bouncing around my account for almost 6 months. It's about what might happen if someone who is in the business of buying and selling 'old and valuable antiques'(in this case Lovejoy from the Lovejoy Mysteries) meets someone who *is* old and valuable (in this case, Connor MacLeod). I know, I know bad pun but I couldn't resist. :) For the uninitated, the character of Lovejoy is from the series 'The Lovejoy Mysteries' currently being run on the Arts and Entertainment cable channel. Lovejoy is an antiques dealer (mentioned above) in England who has a 'sixth sense' when it comes to finding particularly 'old and valuable' antiques. (I know, I'm repeating myself, bear with me) He is what is know as a 'diviy' (the sixth sense thing) and his ability constantly gets him into trouble with just about everyone he meets. The other principals in the show are: Major Tinker Dill (a.k.a. Tink) an older man who tracks down antiques for Lovejoy to look at, Beth; a gopher of sorts, she answers phones, keeps track of the bills, runs errands, restore some antiques and Catherine( whose last name I can't remember at this time); who runs an antique action house (like Christie's or Sothby's) where Lovejoy puts a great dealer of his antiques up for sale. Lovejoy also has a 'thing' for Catherine. Anyway, to make a long story short (too late now I gues :) ), 'The Lovejoy Mysteries' is a wonderfully witty and well-acted show. Unfortunately, A&E has decided to stick at 5 a.m. on Saturday mornings so set your VCR's!! And now for your reading pleasure I present 'Lovejoy Meets Connor MacLeod' ******************************************************************************** 'Lovejoy Meets Connor MacLeod' By Amy M. Denton Connor MacLeod walked into the yard of Lovejoy Antiques looking for a rare chess set, what he got was one of the most unique experiences of his Immortal Life. Lovejoy Antiques, located in Suffolk, England, was housed in a large barn complete with a yard and a brick wall running around the entire length of the property. The yard/driveway was mostly gravel and dirt turned to mud due to the recent heavy rains in the area and the place appeared deserted, save a small white truck parked in front of one of the large barn doors. One of the barn doors was opened and when Connor stepped through into the barn, he felt a tingling up and down his spine; along with a faintly nauseous sensation in his stomach. The tingling and nauseau could only mean one thing. There was another Immortal near by. *That's crazy.* Connor told himself. *There's not another Immortal in this part of England for over 100 kilometers.* He frowned and peered into the barn. Just because he *thought* there were no Immortals in the area, did not mean there weren't any. The Buzz was *never* wrong. To be on the safe side however, Connor drew his katana from it's hiding place in his overcoat and moved slowly into the darkened interior of the barn. ************************************************** Lovejoy was digging through a box in the very back of the barn when his ears started ringing. He started at the sudden pain, straightened a little too quickly and cracked his head on one of the shelves lining the wall above him. "Oh....," He muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "what brought *that* about?" He blinked his eyes and rolled his head but his ears would not stop ringing. Finally, he turned toward the front of the barn and the light went on. Something old and valuable had just walked into his shop. Lovejoy was, among other things; some of them not repeatable, what the English called a 'diviy'. Someone who had the uncanny ability to sniff the true antiques and seperate them from the knockoffs and the fakes. Wether it was his ears ringing or his head aching, he just *knew* when to hold on to something. Lovejoy stopped what he was doing and picked his way past all of the accumulated stuff in the back of the barn in order to get to the front. He just hoped that by the time he got there, whatever he'd sensed would not have disappered. ************************************************** Connor, meanwhile, was doing the exact same thing as Lovejoy. He was picking his way through all the antiques in an attempt to get to the back of the barn. The barn was large but it was so crammed with things that it made moving about extremely difficult, especially if someone was carrying a large, sharp weapon with them. *Talk about a bull in the china shop,* Connor thought ruefully, stepping around a pair of Queen Anne chairs and a genuine Chippendale writing desk. He stopped for a moment and looked around, attempting to get his bearings. There was a set of mid-sized windows that ran the length of the barn. They were dirty and provided only a feeble light at best. They did not look like they had been cleaned in very long time and were probably added after the barn had been built. At the very back of the room he was in, there was a door set into the wall. Connor headed for that door. Before he reached it however, a man came through it and The Buzz increased in intensity. This man *had* to be the one Connor had sensed but he didn't look like any Immortal Connor had heard of. The man, with curly dark hair and a pleasant face, was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He appeared to be unarmed and was covered in a thin layer of dust. Connor's frown deepened. *What is going on here?* He thought. The person in front him *had* to be an Immortal but he didn't *act* like an Immortal. Connor was, suddenly very confused and it did not help when the man smiled and asked "Can I help you?" A clear English accent came through his words. Connor stared at the man and raised his sword to waist-level. "I'm Connor MacLeod." He said. The man walked over to where Connor was standing. "Lovejoy." He said, as a way of introduction. "Is that it?" Lovejoy pointed at Connor's Katana. "I heard you come in but I was in the back. May I? It's a beauty." Without waiting for an answer, Lovejoy took the Katana from Connor's nerveless fingers and began to inspect it more closely. Connor had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping open. This *Lovejoy* person had no idea what he was and Connor was *not* in the mood to enlighten him. Once he got his Katana back, he would leave and forget he had ever come in. However, getting the Katana back proved to be easier said than done. Lovejoy had taken the Katana to one of the windows and was looking at it with a practiced eye and he could not believe what he was holding. He was holding a Matsuma Katana, well over 2,000 years old and worth a fortune, in his hands. Belatedly, Lovejoy remembered he hadn't washed his hands before coming up front. *Oh, well...* he thought. "It's a real beauty." He said, repeating himself. "Look at that workmanship, and this handle...Real ivory, right?" Connor nodded, too stunned to do anything else. "Matsuma Katana, right?" Again Connor nodded. "Very old and valuable," Lovejoy said. "How did you get it?" "Long story." Connor replied. Lovejoy nodded and returned to his inspection of the sword. He tilted the blade so that the sun, what little there was of it, could glint off the blade. "Been well cared for I can see," he commented, " used too. A few nicks, other than that...gorgeous, simply gorgeous." He looked over at Connor. "Lookin' to sell?" Connor shook his head. "All the better than," Lovejoy said. "I only deal in English antiques." He handed the Katana back to Connor, who just stared at him. "Anything else?" He asked. Connor shook his head again. "All right, if you need me, I'll be in the back, just yell." Lovejoy said, turning and walking from view. Connor stood there a long time, unsure of what to do, then he hid his sword and walked quickly from the barn, the chess set completely forgotten. He didn't understand what had just happened and frankly, he didn't *want* to understand. On his way out, Connor brushed past an older man with white hair, dressed in tweed from head to toe, complete with a bow tie and a slouch hat. The older man opened his mouth to say something but Connor moved by too quickly. The man stared after Connor for a moment then turned toward the barn. "Lovejoy?" He shouted. "That you Tink?" Lovejoy's voice echoed off the walls. "Who else?" Tink replied. "Where are you?" "In the back, I'll be out in a moment." Sure enough, moments later, Lovejoy appeared again, only this time with a slightly thicher layer of dust on him. "Find anything good?" He asked, looking at his 'barker' (a person who finds antiques for the dealer) "Nothing really," Tink replied. "Who was that?" "Connor MacLeod." "Who?" "I don't know. Come help me in the back.' "All right." Tink stared at the front door for a moment more and then followed Lovejoy into the back. *VEry interesting* Tinker thought, *VEry interesting indeed* End!!! Amy D. z_dentonam@titan.sfasu.edu