Date: Sat, 9 Apr 1994 13:38:01 -0700 Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Selma McCrory <94smccro@ULTRIX.UOR.EDU> Subject: These Daughters, 2/5 I trust everyone is getting stuff on HLFIC faster than I have, since part 1 of this story _just_ popped up in my mail... As before, this is a sequel to "A Change of Perspective." All comments can be sent to one of the addresses below. ---------------------------------------------------- These Daughters and These Sisters by Selma McCrory part 2 "DeSalvo's Martial Arts?" Greer asked, staring at the sign on the building. Joe stood silently beside her, grinning mysteriously. "Come on, Joe, who's the owner?" "You'll see," he said, leading her into the building. Greer let him lead her in. Just before they reached a set of doors flanked by windows, she froze, automatically reaching for her sword under her coat. Joe smiled, and plowed his way into the double doors. Greer sighed, and followed him. As she cleared the doors, Greer saw two men. She recognized both of them. One was Richie, who was no doubt startled to see her again. The other one was Duncan MacLeod. The only change that she could see in him since the last year was that his hair was shorter and he wore it loose. "Back so soon, Joe?" Duncan asked, evidently somewhat amused. "I saw you just an hour ago!" "Only because I wanted you to meet someone," Joe said. "MacLeod, this is Greer Lewis, the one I told you about. Greer, this Duncan MacLeod." "Georgina, actually," Greer added. "But everyone calls me Greer." "Hello, Greer," Duncan said warmly. "Richie just finished telling me about your encounter this morning." "She's had maybe three days of training. She's a good person, and I think you should help her survive." Duncan took a good long look at Greer. "I'll do it this time, Joe." "Chalk it up to another favor I owe you." Duncan frowned, but said, "I will." Joe smiled, gave Greer a friendly nod, and headed out the door, leaving Greer alone with the two men. Duncan turned to Greer and asked, "What do you know about me?" Greer shrugged, to keep looking calm and keep herself from stuttering. Inside, she trembled at talking to Duncan, who Joe had praised so highly. "Not much, and apparently most of it's out of date. Joe praised you very highly, and I was very much impressed with what I saw of you. You weren't living here, you owned an antique store, and I don't see Tessa around here." Greer knew she had said something wrong the instant Duncan's face clouded. "What?" "Tessa died a few months ago." "I'm sorry, I hadn't heard," she said. "We individually don't know everything that's going on in the Immortal world. I've observed a lot of Immortals. I don't keep track of all of them." She could see that Duncan wanted to ask a lot of questions, as Joe had, but he restrained himself for the moment. To escape staring at him, she instead stared at her hands. "Well," Duncan said thoughtfully. She looked up. He was all business. "Let me see what you've been taught." He motioned to the center of the room. She eyed it nervously, then took her trenchcoat off. She left it on the bench at the side of the room, taking her sword with her. * * * Greer sat down on the couch in Duncan's apartment, relaxing herself while trying not to get sweat all over the couch. She held a glass of orange juice in her hand. Nearby, Richie sat down on a chair, sipping his, and Duncan leaned against the wall. She looked at the apartment, noting with awe the tapestries and other antiques. _Too bad it's only one room,_ she thought. _I could easily live here._ She knew that Duncan's eyes were upon her. She looked at him and gave him a slight smile. "Thanks for taking me on," she said. "You're welcome," he said. His eyes glittered suspiciously. "Why did he bring you to me?" "I don't know," she said truthfully. "He asked me suddenly how much training I'd gotten. It was out of the blue." "Yet he seems to know you well." "I think I've seen him maybe once or twice. I was in training when I first met him. He fit my view as a handsome man, and I suppose that I had a little crush on him. Nothing I'd dare confide, of course. She blushed. "I wasn't of any interest to him at all during that time, or the other time we met. I like him. He's a fine man. But I think the main part of his interest in me at the moment is because I'm Immortal. Her eyes dropped, but not before seeing Duncan nodding to himself. "I still can't resist him. I think he's playing on my feelings. I feel so at home, like I was still part of the group, even when I know, somehow, that he's using me." "He has that effect on people," Duncan said. "He's good at it," she agreed. "Of course, sometimes it has to be done. Prevent yourself from being killed, or get a bit of information, by playing sympathetic to the subject." She knew that she saw a glitter of sympathy somewhere in Duncan's features before her last statement caused the wall to crash down again. "Sorry," she muttered loudly. "What do you think about your group now?" Richie asked. "I don't like it very much right now! I can't totally hate it, since I've got so many friends in there, and thirteen years of my life in it. I came here to fulfil a final obligation to them, to let go. I should have, except I can't. This morning, before I came here, I was talking to Joe and I realized that I kept using 'we' instead of you when talking to him about the group, even though my membership really ended when I died." "So you're not going to report anything that happens here?" "Not on purpose, no. I have to warn you, our training is very strong. I may give away things that I may not intend to." "Try not to do that," Duncan said, and she saw the warning in his eyes. * * * A phone call woke her from sleep the next morning. "Hello?" she said, trying to bring herself to full conciousness. "Good morning, Greer," Joe's cheerful voice rang out from the receiver. "Joe, how'd you find me - no, I know how. How did I miss them?" "You were tired?" Joe suggested. "How was it with Duncan MacLeod?" "Tiring. Same way it was with Alberta." "It won't kill you." "No, it won't do that, but sometimes it feels like it." "How are you getting along?" "Fine, right now. I think he's pleased, as far as I go." "You think you can stand him as a teacher?" "Joe, it's not a matter of me standing him. He's a good man, and he's very obviously taught before. It's more a matter of building trust - and I know I have started out on the wrong foot." "What do you mean?" Joe asked, obvious puzzlement in his voice "He is *not* going to accept me, Joe," she said forcefully. "No matter how good I am, no matter how much good I do, he will always distrust me because of the thirteen years I spent watching. I wouldn't be surprised if all immortals steer clear of me on that factor. I feel so much alone when I'm with other immortals, whether they may know about me or not." "Look, it's not because you were one of us, he just doesn't let people get close to him, especially after what happened to Tessa." "Tessa might be part of it, but there is another part, I can see it. I may not be able to describe it, but I can sure see it," she said, waving her free arm in the air to express her frustration. "Give the relationship time to build. I know you're a good person. I think he can see that too." "Joe, I appreciate what you're doing, but somehow I don't think you're doing this completely out of the goodness of your heart." "Greer," he said, "I am doing this because I consider you a friend. I don't want you to die." "It's part of the Game, Joe. There's nothing either of us can do about it. And you'll forgive my suspicion if I think you want to keep me here to make sure you can keep an eye on me." There was a silence on Joe's end. Finally, he said, "Do you want a ride over? If you give me a moment, I can drive you." "Thanks, Joe. I'll be waiting. Bye." "Goodbye." Greer quietly put the phone down on the receiver. _Sometimes an unrelenting optimist is too much to take, especially at this time in the morning,_ she thought, getting out of bed for another day of torture. * * * Joe arrived twenty minutes later. Greer greeted him a little sullenly. "I think we need to have a little talk this morning before you get over to the gym. Seems like something happened to you over there that you're suddenly accusing me of all sorts of things." She strapped herself in before replying. "It was before the gym that I started having my doubts, Joe. It's only after you set me up with Duncan that I started wondering if I should pay attention to my doubts." He paused before answering. "I'll admit some of it is trained reaction. You're an Immortal. Whether or not you like it, your history must be maintained. We've been doing this generation after generation, century after century. Just because you've been one of us doesn't mean that we treat you any different." "Why don't you let me just report, and leave? It's not like if we lose an Immortal, we lose them forever. It may be another generation before we find them again, but we do find them. Shoot, I'm saying 'them' again." "Pardon me?" She decided not to explain, and instead said, "Joe, there's another reason why I came back." "Why?" he said. He looked confused for a moment. "I think that we have another group of renegades, a group that's more ancient than the one that acted up a few months back." "How are you sure that it's not the same group?" "Well, it could be except for one thing. If I've got this right, our recent group of renegades was concerned with just killing every Immortal in sight. The records I've run across deal with only select Immortals being killed. If I've got the pattern right, they just deal with Immortals who know about us." "Which would include you." "Of course." "Have you considered that you might be reading too much into the records?" "If I was reading too much into the records, I wouldn't be worrying about every Watcher that I see. With everything that's currently happening, that group could easily start again." "Look, we haven't had any mysterious deaths of Immortals recently." "You're sure about that? I remember a fellow named Bert Royce where we didn't record a Quickening." "All that means is we missed it." "Yeah. That could be an explanation, and that's what I originally thought it was. But I also discovered the death of a Watcher named Arthur Collier, who was watching him at the time. Or he was. I heard he was kicked out, though" "I know him. He was kicked out for contacting an Immortal." "So that was it. I guessed something of the sort. This means we're both in danger." "I don't think so. You're paranoid. Your imagination is running away with you." "Call me paranoid, then. Someone knows what is happening. Someone could have even seen the records. Ask around. You might find it." "Look, Greer, I'll tell you what. If you stay for a couple more days and continue training with Duncan, I'll see what I can do to set your mind at ease." "All right," she said. "Agreed. I'll try to make sure Duncan doesn't throw me out." "He won't," Joe said with confidence, as they reached the gym. * * * =========================================================================