AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue

E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com

DISCLAIMER: I own only Serena... all others are the property of their respective producers/ companies/ creators, and I intend no disrespect by using them to my own purposes.

NOTES: This is a b-day fic for my girlie Nat... it's a crossover between Buffy, Angel, Highlander, and Pretender. For my purposes, the fifth season of Highlander never happened, just
cuz I thought it sucked major ass... *****= change of location/ scene, and ~~~~~ indicates passed time within a segment...

RATING: hopefully a hard R... eventually...

PAIRINGS: W/Methos; W/A; Serena/Jarod...

DISTRIBUTION: Charity can have anything I ever write for the rest of my natural life... (of course, my un-natural life is another story entirely, but she can probably have that, too, when
the time comes...*G*), also anyone I've said yes to before can take this, otherwise, just ask...

FEEDBACK: is good... and gets you a dedi...

DEDICATIONS: for Nat, of course... Happy Birthday, girlie... also to Gems and Julie... and the CO in its entirety... you're insane, but then it takes one to know one...*teehee*

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

<< China Club--- main room--- 10:00 pm >>

Willow had watched her new friend Adam go to speak with the man he'd said was Joe, and she'd grinned at the obvious affection between the two men. A part of her wondered just
how they had come to meet, because they seemed like an unlikely pair to be friends, what with the one being so much older than the other, but the rest of her, the wine-drinking part,
was much more fascinated with watching Angel from the corner of her eye. There was just something about him that made her... melt inside. She didn't know if it was his eyes, or his
unusually pleased expression, but it was definitely something, and whatever it was, it called to her.

She looked again at Adam, her eyes widening slightly as she saw him greet the tall redheaded woman who had apparently just entered with an even taller dark-haired man, and she
wondered if the strange woman could be the girlfriend she'd hypothesized about the day before, but... no, she was ignoring him, even though he was subtly trying to draw her
attention. She watched, amused, as the redheaded woman hugged the other man, Joe, and exchanged just a few words with him before the four of them turned and disappeared
through a nearby door marked Employees Only. "Well, that was rude," she said crossly, her gaze shifting to meet Angel's.

Angel had been watching the group by the bar, as well, and had almost sighed in relief when the four-some had left the main bar. He had been wanting to spend some more time
alone with Willow... or as close to alone with her as he could get, when they were in a rapidly filling bar. "Huh?" he said brilliantly, before realizing what she meant. "Oh, yeah... you're
right, Will, that WAS rude! He tells us he's going to bring his friend over, and then disappears without even saying a word?" He sighed, while laughing on the inside. "I guess Adam's
just not terribly.. reliable." He glanced into her warm green eyes, and shifted himself a bit closer to her as his arm rose and came to rest along the back of her chair. "But I'll keep you
company," he purred, one corner of his mouth twitching up in a sly smile.

Willow smiled to herself at the way he was acting. If she didn't know better, she'd have said he was flirting with her! She giggled slightly at the very thought of Angel... pensive, broody
Angel, flirting with anyone... hell, he hadn't even flirted with Buffy, and she'd been the great love of his life... unlife... whatever. She knew that he was just playing around, joking with
her, but still... he was making her feel all... tingly, and she liked the sensation. After all, she told herself, it wasn't every day that the guy she had a major crush on acted like he was
interested, even if it WAS all in good fun, so... she was going to enjoy it! "Are you sure?" she said back to him silkily, "Because there are an awful lot of women in here who're staring at
you; I think you might have a chance with at least one of them..."

His grin became a charming smile. "Other women?" he said, sounding surprised as his gaze swept through the club quickly before returning to hers, "What other women?" His arm
moved from the chair back, coming to rest lightly across her shoulders. "I can't see anyone but you..." he purred against her ear, his eyes closing for a moment in satisfaction when he
felt the barely suppressed trembling pass through her body. Maybe she wasn't interested in Adam after all...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<< Joe's dressing room >>

"All right," Serena said, sitting down at the small round table, still holding Jarod's hand as he sat down beside her, "What's been happening here, and how does it involve Angelus?"

Joe sighed, running one blunt-fingered hand through his hair as he sat down on her other side, leaving the seat facing her for Methos. "I'm not sure that it actually does," he said,
choosing to answer her second question first, "Or at least, not anymore. And before you get all pissy with me, young lady," he said, ignoring her snort of amusement, "When I called
you, we had information that he was coming to Paris. Unfortunately, by the time I found out that that information was wrong, it was too late. You were already on the way, so..."

The redhead considered his words for a moment before smiling. "It's OK, Joe. Even without Angelus being here, this is a trip I'm glad I made..." She glanced at Jarod from the corner
of her eye, meaning every word, and smiled even more broadly when he grinned and gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Me, too," Jarod finally said into the small silence, "But does anyone mind if I ask... what's an Angelus?"

Joe laughed out loud, staring at his friend. "Yeah, Methos! Why don't you tell Jarod, here, about the 'vampire'?" He was completely surprised to find that he was the only one laughing,
and was even more surprised by Serena's harsh gasp. His eyes flew to her, and he watched, slack-jawed, as her mouth opened and closed silently for a few moments.

She almost felt as though she'd been kicked in the stomach... she just couldn't seem to catch her breath. It was Jarod's concerned murmuring of her name that brought her out of it.
"You..." she started, glaring at the oldest immortal, "You told him? Gods, Adam, why?!"

"He had to know, Serena," Methos finally said, hanging his head. "I... I found the girl, a few years ago, and..."

"Please!" the redhead broke in, cutting him off, "Please tell me that this isn't all about some legend from thousands of years ago! Gods, Adam, how could you be such a fool? There is
no 'special girl who is the doorway between heaven and hell'! It's just not possible! And even if it were..." She shook her head angrily. "Even if it were, how likely do you really think it is
that YOU'D be the one to find her? I mean, think about it! Not to mention the fact that there are so many signs and portents attached to that legend... No one girl could possibly
encompass everything that would be necessary!" She broke off, staring down at her hand when Jarod hissed slightly, and noticed that she'd been squeezing his fingers so hard that the
tips had turned purple. "I'm sorry, love," she said softly, releasing his hand from her grasp and rubbing gently at it with both of her own. "It's not possible," she said again, less angrily
this time. "I'm sorry, Adam, but... it's just NOT."

Methos had been completely unmoved by her outburst. After all, it hadn't been anything she hadn't said before. No, it wasn't what she'd said to him that had his eyes wide, and the
breath frozen in his chest, it was what she'd called the man beside her... love. She'd called him love, and she'd obviously meant it, too! Of course, he realized, watching the two of
them together, it was equally obvious that Jarod felt the same way about her... he just hoped that the much younger man knew what he was getting into, because Serena's life could
be a bit... difficult at times. "I'm sorry, too," he finally said, returning to the topic once he'd regained his powers of speech, "But it's not only a possiblity, it's a fact. The girl DOES exist,
and I DID find her... in fact, she's out at my table right now, with her pet vampire, if you must know." And that was the point where Joe lost it.

"What in the hell," the former Watcher shouted, slamming a fist against the table, "Is going on here? You're talking about legends and vampires like they're real! Well, they're NOT!
They're stories, people, stories that someone made up to amuse their children, or their friends! Now, I don't know what's happening here, but it's obvious to me that you don't want me
around, so I'll tell you what! I'll leave so you can talk about whatever it is that's really going on!" He struggled for a moment to stand, his anger making him clumsy.

Methos' hand shot out, trapping the mortal's against the table. "Stop, Joe. Now, I know you don't want to believe me, but I'm completely serious here, and Serena can back me up on
this. Everything you've heard tonight... about legends and vampires... Yes, they ARE stories, but as with most tales, if they survive through the ages, it's because they're based on fact!
Vampires are real, Joe. Legends are real." He could see the anger still glowing in his friend's eyes, and turned to the woman across from him. "Serena?"

The redhead sighed, turning away from Jarod. "He's right, Joe. About the vampires, anyway. They've existed for tens of thousands of years, and they exist to this day." She shook her
head slightly before continuing. "Now, I don't know about you having one in the club tonight, but Adam's pretty good at spotting them, so I'd say he's probably spot-on about that, too."
She sighed again, meeting the gray-haired man's eyes. "And as for all of this just being 'stories', well... I heard one a while ago that might amuse you... Apparently, there's this group of
people, all over the world, who can't die unless their heads are separated from their bodies..." She smiled slightly at his unwilling chuckle. "I'm not asking you to accept all of this on
faith, Joe. Just listen, would you? Let us tell you about some of the things we've seen, and then if you still don't believe us, we'll go back into the club, and you can see for yourself."

Joe sighed deeply. He'd never been able to say no to Serena, anymore than he had to Amanda. "Fine." he finally ground out, "But no matter what you say, I'm going to need proof."

Methos glanced at Serena, thanks in his eyes. If she hadn't have been there, and said what she had, this would have been a lot harder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30 minutes later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what you're saying," Joe finally commented, "Is that the reason you're so interested in Angelus..."

"Is that he has to die." Serena let just a hint of hardness show in her tone. "He is, far and away, the worst of his kind. The things he's done..." she shuddered. "It'll be a public service,
really."

Jarod had been completely silent for the entire discussion, but he knew Serena better than that, and he wasn't buying her altruistic line. "Uh-huh." he finally said, his eyes meeting her
surprised green ones, "And what exactly did he do to YOU, Ser? Because I know it has to have been something."

She stared fixedly at him for a moment before finally telling him what she had never even told Methos or Joe. "He killed my brother. Or at least, he allowed his childe to."

Jarod nodded slightly, knowing that there was more to it than that, probably much more, but... she'd tell him when she was ready to... asking now would just be pointless. "Huh..." he
hesitated for a moment before asking his next question. "And when was this, exactly?"

The redhead sighed. She had known the question was coming, but had really hoped that it would wait a while longer... say a decade or two. She closed her eyes, afraid of seeing the
look on his face once she'd answered. "Eighteen-eighty." She wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to stave off the chill that she just knew would soon be coming from his
direction.

Joe and Methos exchanged wide-eyed looks before rising in concert and leaving the room. They had both thought that Serena had told him what she was, but apparently they'd been
wrong, so it would really be best to leave them alone, let them talk it out. Besides, it was almost time for Joe to be up on stage, playing the blues to a crowded house, and Methos had
a young redheaded girl to talk to.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Angel laughed out loud at his Willow's antics. He couldn't believe that the girl was acting like this after just three glasses of wine, but she was! He hadn't known that she had memorized
most of Romeo and Juliet, and to hear her reciting Juliet's lines in her best Bette Davis 'All About Eve' voice was just hilarious! She even had all the mannerisms right, down to the
scarily raised eyebrow at inappropriate moments, and he honestly thought that if it hadn't been so amusing, it would have been downright frightening.

His smile faded, though, along with his laughter, when he saw Adam emerge from the doorway he'd left through almost forty-five minutes earlier. He fought the urge to growl when the
other man started towards the bar while gazing their way, wishing the bastard had just stayed wherever it was he'd gone off to. His eyes were drawn to his suddenly silent friend. "Your
friend Adam's back," he said softly, trying to hide the anger he was feeling towards the other man.

Willow snorted softly. "He's not my friend," she said petulantly. "Friends don't just disappear on you like that. You'd never do that... would you, Angel?" she asked, suddenly uncertain.

He shook his head, taking her small hand into his own larger one. "Of course not, sweetness... Never." He smiled softly into her bright green eyes as the band took the stage. "Come on,
Will," he said gently, standing and pulling her to her feet, "Dance with me."

The redhead smiled and followed him to the clear space in front of the stage, sighing happily as the music started and he pulled her into his arms. She rested her cheek against his
strong chest, and swayed with him to the music, deciding that she just loved the blues.

End-- Pt 6

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