========================================================================= Date: Wed, 3 Apr 1996 11:16:44 -0800 Reply-To: CF Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: CF Subject: Side Effects-Epilogue Rated R by my own admission There was a common thread of "more" among those who wrote comments about = my story "Side Effects." I'm glad you all liked it enough to think it = warranted further life. =20 There's a fine line between adeptly leaving readers wanting more of a = well-concluded story and leaving them dangling without purpose. I = apologize if I did the later and as my restitution, here's a follow-up. Again, thanks goes to Fiona Davidson, who despite her busy schedule = found time to proof this for me. (I should have warned you the job = would be dangerous when you took it.) All comments, flames or anything else go to cfc@goldrush.com CF cfc@goldrush.com SIDE EFFECTS-EPILOGUE "Mmmm." Slowly coming back to consciousness but with eyes still=20 closed, Kate nuzzled her face against the solid warmth she'd ended up=20 draped over in her sleep. There was no instant panic of disorientation. = =20 No lapse of memory about what had transpired the night before. =20 Endless dreams of wonderment had carried knowledge through to the=20 morning and she had awakened in paradise. "You're better than an=20 electric blanket," she praised while stretching the kinks out of = overused=20 muscles. That callused palm stroked down her bare back, letting her know that=20 he, too, was awake. "Thanks...I think." Kate brought her forearms under her chin and, using his chest as a=20 prop, levered her head up to look at him. "Hope you don't have any=20 pets." He laughed and the vibration transferred from his body to hers where=20 they touched. "No, no pets." "That's good. I wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping you away=20 from some poor, dependent animal." She lifted her head to release=20 her arms which she moved to either side of his torso. Then, wrapping=20 her hands around his sides, she pressed her lips to his skin. "I could=20 wake up to this every morning for the rest of my life." Duncan suppressed his immediate reaction of apprehension and=20 indulged himself in her ministrations. Her warm tongue lapping and=20 suckling at his flesh brought him fully awake in more ways than one. =20 No side effects influenced his reaction to her, just plain, = old-fashioned=20 desire for this little sprite of a woman who affected him with a mere=20 touch. "Kate," he managed to say before he fell further into the sensuous trap=20 she was setting. "We were going to talk, remember?" "Later," she replied as she ensnared his nipple between her teeth. He'd learned the night before that "no" didn't seem to be part of her=20 vocabulary. Who was he to argue? Submissively, Duncan splayed his=20 arms out to the side and laid himself open to her. Kate gave the bud a little tug. "Shameless, aren't you?" she snickered. "Would it do me any good to resist?" he answered lazily, the unseen=20 smile evident in his tone of voice. "Probably not." Running her tongue down the center of his body, she=20 stopped at his navel and lifted her head to regard him hesitantly. = "You=20 do want to do this, don't you?" she asked. "You couldn't tell, Imp?" he answered as he shifted slightly under her=20 hand now resting on his upper thigh. "That doesn't count. Men are almost always ready first thing in the=20 morning. I was inquiring about your heart and mind." "Yes, Kate. I want to make love with you." His recollection about = their=20 less than gentle coupling the night before caused his declaration to be=20 stated a little forlornly. "But are you okay?" =20 "I'm fine," she announced, then added with a giggle, "But soon I'll be=20 finer." Slow and sweet, Duncan told himself as her hands started to roam.=20 Slow and sweet. His innate feelings about tenderness and the sanctity=20 of the act influenced his actions now, not the boiling cauldron caused=20 by a Quickening. He hadn't lied the night before. He felt genuine=20 affection for her, stronger than he would have thought possible. In=20 such a short time, she'd become a beacon of light in an otherwise dark=20 and forbidding world. And as he reached for her, the desire to show=20 her that the monster who'd been with her in the shower no longer=20 existed, overwhelmed him.=20 Bringing her back up to face level, he wrapped his arms around her=20 and gave her a gentle squeeze. "You know that comment you made=20 last night about not being beautiful? Well, nothing could be further=20 from the truth." He lowered his hands to cup her buttocks then flipped=20 over, putting her beneath him. He began to string a line of kisses from = her jaw, down the slender column of her throat and around to the=20 tender flesh behind her right ear where he lingered awhile. Then his=20 right hand came up and he reverently cradled her head. "You're=20 beautiful here," he whispered into her ear then delved inside with his=20 tongue. Moving his hand down, he pressed the palm against her left=20 breast. "And here." Kate's muscles turned into the consistency of Jell-O. Quivering, barely = able to retain their form, she feared they would soon melt and she'd be=20 left a puddle of trembling ooze on the bed. Yet when he nudged her=20 legs apart and navigated his way between them, she came alive. And,=20 as he slipped inside and started a gentle rhythm, she knew this was=20 where she belonged. Her heart was his and the only thing left for her to = do was to convince him that they needed each other. It was a tender union. No blazing fireworks, no mindless strive for the = pinnacle, they came gently and held onto one another long after the=20 tremors had faded. Kate, mesmerized by the rhythmic thumping of Duncan's heart in her=20 ear, had to struggle to pull herself out of her stupor. "It's getting = hungry=20 out there," she announced, her growling stomach echoing her=20 sentiment. "Absolutely," Duncan agreed as he lifted his arms up over his head and=20 stretched languidly. He felt good. Better than he had in a very long=20 time and he realized the peacefulness had a great deal to do with the=20 lack of secrets.=20 Kate Bartholomew knew what he was. She knew all about Immortality=20 and beheadings and Quickenings and the Gathering and the Game=20 and the Prize. He didn't have to watch every word or action around=20 her, fearful that he would let something slip, ever conscious of what he = could or couldn't say. He was free to be himself, something he thought=20 he could be only with Amanda.=20 "Earth to Duncan," Kate announced as she started crawling out of bed. =20 Once she pulled him out of whatever thought he was engrossed in and=20 had his attention, she continued. "The bathroom's all yours. There's a = new toothbrush in the left hand drawer. I'll go get your clothes..." =20 She paused with one foot on the floor and the other suspended in mid- step. "Shit, I never put them in the dryer." A grin slowly spread over = her face until all her features were alit with mischief. "Oh," she=20 crooned sympathetically. "Looks like you'll just have to run around=20 naked while they dry." She scrambled back over the rumpled linens to=20 the spot where Duncan had propped himself up against the headboard=20 and ran a hand seductively down his chest. "Or, maybe I won't ever=20 give them back and I'll keep you trapped here as my own personal sex=20 slave." "Appealing as that sounds," Duncan said while tossing the sheet off=20 and getting up. "I think I can improvise." He grabbed her terry-cloth=20 robe from the foot of the bed and tried to put it on. He had to struggle = to get it past his shoulders and once on, the arms were way too short,=20 reaching only to a point halfway up his forearms. The length only=20 covered him to mid-thigh, and the width missed meeting in the middle=20 by a good four inches, leaving him completely exposed. "Give it up, Duncan. Your improvisation just makes you look even=20 more ridiculous. Maybe I can find something for you in my brother's=20 room." The Immortal started at the unexpected reminder and waited for that=20 statement to be followed by an aura of sadness but it never came. =20 Instead, Kate cheerfully left the room and returned within minutes=20 holding a pair of gray sweats. "These ought to do for the time being. =20 They're only mediums but they sure are better than what you've got=20 on." As she handing the clothing over, she casually added, "Oh, by the=20 way, what's the name of that mortuary? I ought to get Henry taken=20 care of, doncha think?" Duncan didn't take the sweats. He moved to hug her but she took a=20 step back and looked at him squarely. Her eyes revealed no sadness. =20 "I'm okay. Really I am. My grieving for him ended last night, thanks = to=20 you." She shoved the clothing into his hand then waited while he took=20 off the ridiculous looking bathrobe. "I'll use the other bathroom. = Meet=20 you in the kitchen when you're done." The second Kate left the room, Duncan made his way to the telephone=20 and dialed Joe's phone number. A funeral needed to be arranged and=20 he didn't want Kate to have to deal with the details. "Joe's," came the announcement over the receiver. "Joe, it's Mac." "Mac, where are you? I've been trying to get you all morning. How'd it=20 go last night? Is she okay?" "She's fine. About her brother. Have Mike's brother-in-law take care=20 of everything and bill it to me. Her parents died last November, the=20 day after Thanksgiving. Find out which cemetery and make the=20 arrangements for Henry to be buried there, too. Last name=20 Bartholomew." "Sure thing." Joe stalled for a fraction of a second before repeating = his=20 first question. "Now, where'd you say you were?" "I didn't say, Joe, and it's none of your business." "Well, Richie's been looking for you, too. Seems you had an eight=20 o'clock workout scheduled and when you didn't show up he called me." Duncan glanced at the clock radio. 11:27 AM. When was the last time=20 he'd slept past seven? "Could you call him back and apologize for=20 me? I'll re-schedule once I get everything straightened out." "In case you've forgotten, MacLeod, I'm your Watcher, not your=20 personal secretary?" There was a teasing quality to Joe's voice, = letting=20 Duncan know the task would be taken care of. "When do you want the=20 funeral?" "Tomorrow afternoon, I think, but I'll check with Kate." "Kate?" Joe questioned, his curiosity clearly evident by his inflection. = =20 "We're on a first name basis, are we? What exactly happened last=20 night? Is that where you are?" "Never mind," Duncan lectured while chastising himself for letting=20 her name slip so easily. "I'll call you later. Gotta go. Bye." He=20 replaced the receiver without waiting for a reply then headed for the=20 bathroom. As Kate climbed out of the shower, the smell of cooking bacon sent her=20 empty stomach into a whirling mass of gnaws and growls. Hastily=20 throwing on her reclaimed robe, she dashed into kitchen to find=20 Duncan standing in front of the stove cooking breakfast. He looked=20 almost as silly in her brother's too-small sweats as he had in her robe. = =20 The pants only reached mid-calf and the top was stretched beyond taut=20 across his broad back but, by his demeanor, he could have cared less. "Almost ready. Hope you like cheese omelets." "I'm so hungry I could eat raw chicken," Kate replied as she walked by=20 and, grabbing a piece of bacon off the plate where several were=20 cooling, she made her way to the table that was already set. A=20 steaming cup of hot coffee beckoned to her. "Geez, this is great," she=20 declared as she took a sip. "Do you do windows too?" Duncan brought the frying pan to the table and scooped a perfectly=20 fluffed omelet onto her plate. "Only when forced." He returned to the=20 stove a began cooking a second one for himself. "So, what're we going to do today?" Kate asked buoyantly. "Besides=20 make arrangements for Henry." Duncan didn't take his attention off the frying pan. "Already taken = care=20 of, Kate. Is tomorrow afternoon okay?" "Okay for what?" Duncan twisted around to look at her. Without saying a word, he=20 waited. Understanding dawned. "Oh, yeah, I guess. I suppose we need to go=20 to the mortuary and pick everything out." She stared into the dark=20 liquid, searching for the proper words without sounding too callous.=20 "It's like buying an outfit for someone you don't know very well. What=20 would this person want to spend eternity in? First my parents, then=20 Benton. After what I've been going through for the past several=20 months I've decided, when I die, I want to be buried in blue jeans and a = sweatshirt." "Benton?" "Well, someone had to bury him and you guys don't exactly have=20 family, do you?" Duncan joined her at the table and began picking at his omelet. The=20 reminder that Benton was dead triggered something long forgotten in=20 Duncan's memory, a promise exchanged between friends almost a=20 hundred and fifty years before. "I need to go to Benton's place," he=20 announced before taking a bite of food. "Before or after the mortuary?" "You don't have to go there if you don't want to. I've already taken=20 care of everything. The funeral's tomorrow afternoon." "I'd just as soon not have to deal with it. I mean, it's not like it's = going=20 to be an open casket and great crowds of people are going to be there. =20 Henry divorced himself from all of his friends after the accident. = It'll=20 only be me there." "And me, Kate. I'll be there with you." "I know that." She reached across the table to take his outstretched=20 hand. "I don't know why I said it that way." "Probably because you've been forced to deal with all this by yourself." = =20 He rubbed his thumb affectionate against her palm. "But not anymore,=20 Kate. You're not alone in this anymore." She immediately perked up. "Does that mean you've given up fighting=20 me, fighting this relationship?" Duncan slowly reclaimed his hand and resumed eating. "I don't know if=20 I'd go that far," he said between bites. "I was referring to..."=20 "Deaths and funerals and the clearing out of dead people's=20 possessions. Lawyers and wills and probate officers. Straightening=20 out affairs that I was never supposed to straighten. God, you should=20 see Benton's house. It's just chock full of stuff. I don't even know=20 where to begin." "That's why I have to go there today. We made a pact a long time=20 ago."=20 * * * "Okay, Highlander, what's bothering you now?" Benton pulled back on=20 his horse's reins and waited for his companion to catch up. "Nothing." But Benton knew his friend well and was all too familiar with that=20 pensive expression. Duncan MacLeod was piecing together a puzzle. =20 Lord only knew what that puzzle was. It could be anything from where=20 they were going to bed down that night to the cosmic meaning of life. =20 "Hogwash," Benton declared. "Something's been gnawing at you all=20 day. And I'm not going to ride all the way to San Francisco with a=20 depressed mute so spit it out." Duncan stopped his gray gelding next to a fallen log, dismounted and=20 grabbed his canteen off the (wimpy western) saddle horn. Slowly, as=20 though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, he sank down=20 to the ground and, using the log as a back rest, he took a hearty draft=20 of lukewarm water. "What's the point of having lots of money?"=20 "That's just about the stupidest question I've ever heard," Benton=20 replied as he got down and dunked his bandanna in the small creek=20 running behind the log. Wiping the fine layer of dust off his face, he=20 then passed the still sodden cloth to Duncan. Duncan took the cloth and swiped it over his face. "Even if I live a=20 hundred more years, I'd never even put a dent in the amount I have. =20 What'll happen to it when I'm dead." "Aren't you planning to live more than a hundred more years?" "Yes, of course, but if I don't..." "Getting a little maudlin, aren't you MacLeod? What brought this up?" "Giving Cora the gold. It got me thinking that we have no heirs, no one = will inherit the things we've amassed in our lives. We've no one to=20 pass ourselves on to. What's the point?" "You've been alive for over three hundred and fifty years and now=20 you're worried about not having heirs? You're nuts, Duncan." "Doesn't it bother you? Not knowing what'll happen after you're gone?" "No. When I'm dead I don't think I'll be worried about how my=20 possessions are divvied up." "I don't want mine to go to the government or for it to lay unclaimed=20 somewhere for decades. I want it given to those who need it." Duncan=20 looked up at Benton imploringly. "Would you do that for me if you=20 survive longer than I do? Give everything I owned to someone who=20 needs it?" "Sure, " Benton promised if only to appease his friend. "But if you=20 keep investing in tailors there won't be much left by the time someone=20 finally takes your head." The gloomy mood immediately lightened,=20 exactly what Benton had planned with his jibe. "Are you going to start on that again?" the younger Immortal defended=20 as he got to his feet. "Well, it's true. Now can we get back on the trail? As much as I'm=20 tired of eating dust, we still have two days' ride before we make it to=20 the bay." "I'll do the same for you, Benton. I'll give your stuff to someone who=20 needs it." "Good, now I'll be able to sleep nights. Mount up, Highlander." * * * They'd met again ninety-five years later and Benton had been the one=20 to remind him about their pact, making him promise as implicitly as=20 Duncan had made him back in '53. It was the last time Duncan saw=20 the big man. After finishing breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, they retrieved=20 Duncan's clothes from the dryer and returned to the bedroom to get=20 dressed. Kate didn't know if her contrary nature made her pick out=20 blue jeans and a sweatshirt to wear or if the choice was purely an act=20 of defiance against circumstances. Whichever one, those were what=20 she chose. Taking one last look at the rumpled bed and recalling the joy that had=20 transpired there and knowing the sadness that would soon follow, Kate=20 reluctantly followed Duncan to the Thunderbird. She didn't want to think about Benton on such a glorious day. The=20 storm of the night before had passed, leaving the air crisp yet alive=20 with a hint of the coming spring. The trees were just beginning to bud. = =20 A few early flowers were blooming. The entire world around was=20 emerging from the severity of winter. It was not a time to have to deal = with matters of death. They sat in an uneasy silence for several moments before Duncan=20 finally spoke. "An address, Kate? I don't know where Benton lived."=20 "1435 Cypress," she replied, her voice devoid of any emotion. Duncan started the car but, before pulling away from the curb, he=20 paused and looked directly at her. Seeing the dread so clearly evident=20 in her features, he reached out and took her hand in his. "You know, if = you'd rather, I could do this alone," he offered. "No way, MacLeod," she responded adamantly . Trying for a little=20 levity, she added, "I'm not letting you out of my sight just yet." Benton's house, a large, fully restored, late Victorian with every piece = of gingerbread imaginable, was located on a quiet, upscale street not=20 far from Kate's. The front yard had been landscaped meticulously with=20 shrubs, trees and the beginnings of a carefully tended flower-bed. The=20 porch, which extended all around the house, had strategically placed=20 white rattan furniture, an abundance of hanging plants and large flower=20 pots just starting to sprout. If Duncan didn't trust Kate, he would = have=20 suspected they'd come to the wrong place. Benton may have had a=20 heart of gold but his domestic abilities had always left much to be=20 desired. The interior was as out of character as the exterior. When Kate=20 retrieved a key from her purse and opened the front door, Duncan felt=20 like he'd literally stepped back in time. The Victorian theme had been=20 painstakingly recreated inside; period furniture of impeccable quality,=20 wallpaper and wainscoting, hanging light fixtures with hand-painted=20 globes, all the elegant clutter that had been so popular at the time. =20 The place looked like an elaborate museum. If Benton had been in town long enough to do all this, why hadn't he=20 contacted Duncan? They might not have seen one another for forty- eight years but they'd always kept track of each other, a postcard, a=20 phone call, messages passed on through a third party. What had=20 prevented Benton from telling Duncan he'd moved this last time? Not voicing any of his questions, MacLeod made his way to an open=20 roll-top desk tucked into a corner and began rummaging through a pile=20 of papers stacked off to one side. "What're you looking for?" Kate asked. "Something that has to be here," Duncan replied, knowing exactly=20 where he'd put his own version of what he was looking for. Not finding it, he started rifling through all the little pigeon holes = and=20 then the drawers. Tucked under a stack of legal looking papers, he=20 found an envelope on which his name had been written in a hasty=20 scrawl. Ripping the envelope open, he pulled out a piece of = yellow-lined=20 paper that had a key taped to the bottom and read the contents. * * * MacLeod, I'm assuming, if you're reading this that Kate found you, you're still=20 alive and I'm not. Pretty big assumptions but they're all I've got = right=20 now. I hope you took care of that little pervert, Henry, for me. I'm = so=20 sorry about him. One of the great, no make that, the last great mistake = of my life. Try to do a guy a favor and he takes your head. Oh well, = at=20 least you've still got yours. Sorry, pal, but you're going to have to = find=20 a new executor for your estate. I don't have time to leave a nice and tidy will. I'm of sound mind, I=20 know what I'm doing. Yada, yada, yada. Use this letter to give Kate=20 Bartholomew everything. She needs it and, after the crap she's been=20 through, she deserves it. Anything she doesn't want, sell and give the=20 proceeds to Comic Relief. A fitting charity, don't you think, for the = likes=20 of me?=20 The key goes to a safe deposit box at the First Interstate Bank around=20 the block from here. All the legal papers are in there: The deed to the = house, stocks and bonds (I'm going to have to admit to something now=20 that I never would if I was still alive. Looks like you were right = about=20 that tailor back in '53. I'd say Levi Strauss made quite a name for=20 himself. I never told you but I invested a few bucks in his company=20 when we got to San Francisco. Made quite a killing, so to speak.)=20 Yours and Kate's names are on the signature card. I told them I'm=20 going out of town for awhile. Expect a hassle and have forty-two=20 different pieces of ID on you. It was the only way I could convince the = suits to add you guys without you being there. They fought me but I=20 threatened to pull all my money out of their stinking bank. Just like = the=20 old days, Mac, I was going to stuff it under the mattress. Maybe you=20 ought to look there first. I'm so pissed right now I might have gone=20 ahead and done it after I wrote this. Finally, Duncan, I'm trusting you to take care of Kate for me. She's a=20 delight in a world where there aren't very many. Treasure her love. =20 You've been wallowing in grief for way too long, pal. I never had the=20 pleasure of meeting your Tessa but if she was anything like Kate then I=20 understand why you've been carrying a torch for so long. However,=20 what's the point of fighting to stay alive if you're going to go through = life=20 alone? =20 Live long, Highlander. Love long. And win the Prize for me, okay? Benton * * * Kate, who had been read the letter at the same time, turned an=20 amazed face up to Duncan once she'd finished. "Everything?" was the=20 only word she managed to get out. Duncan pulled the key off the paper and handed it to her. =20 "Everything," he confirmed. =20 "Who's Tessa?" "The reason why you and I can't be together," Duncan replied sadly. =20 The cold reality of just seeing her name written on a piece of paper=20 brought more pain than he thought he could endure. It reminded him=20 of happiness lost and the sight of his greatest love lying dead in the=20 middle of a darkened street. He couldn't and wouldn't ever subject=20 himself to that huge of a loss again. "She died, didn't she? And it had something to do with your being=20 Immortal." He didn't have to answer her directly, the truth was written all over = his=20 face. "Now do you understand?" "A little, maybe, but not all. What happened?" Kate knew she=20 shouldn't ask. She knew from his expression that the memories hurt=20 deeply but she had to know. She had to understand why this man who=20 was blessed with the ability to bestow so much affection kept himself=20 isolated. "She was used as bait," he spat out. "I managed to rescue her but=20 afterward, I sent her outside with a friend while I stayed inside to=20 satisfy my idiotic curiosity about the man I'd killed. She was shot by = a=20 mugger." "So, it was a random act of violence that had nothing to do with your=20 Immortality?" Kate posed the statement as a question, hoping he=20 would see how illogical he was being. "She wouldn't have been on that street if I was just a stockbroker." "But if you were just a stockbroker, she might have gone into a liquor=20 store to pick up a bottle of wine for your twentieth anniversary dinner=20 and a robber could have come in with a sawed-off shotgun." Kate=20 resisted the temptation to wrap her arms around him. His rigid posture=20 broached no intrusion into his private hell. And while she respected=20 that, intellectually, she was undaunted and continued, unmercifully. =20 "Or, you could have had your forty-odd years together but it wouldn't=20 have made a difference because, no matter what, she was going to=20 die. I'm going to die. It's something we mortals do. There's no way = to=20 stop it, there's no way to prevent it and, unfortunately, this planet is = just=20 teeming with us. Now, if I understood Benton correctly, you guys may=20 be immortal but you're also human so, unless you're planning to spend=20 the next four hundred years in isolation, which I don't think any human=20 being is capable of, get over it." Duncan frantically searched for a logical argument but everything he=20 came up with fell short of contradicting her without looking foolish. =20 When he stopped long enough to think about it, there was no way to=20 refute what she'd said. She was right. Period. End of discussion. "Okay," he replied sheepishly, his face a perfect imitation of a = properly=20 disciplined hound-dog. "Okay," Kate echoed then looked around the room. Such treasures,=20 including the house, all worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, Benton=20 must have been crazy to leave all this wealth to her. The whole thing=20 was too mind boggling to think about. "Now what?" "I guess we go to the bank and fight the suits." "Got your sword handy?" Kate asked with a twinkle in her eye. THE END