AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue
E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com
DISCLAIMER: all characters belong to their respective companies... only Serena is mine...
NOTES: This is a b-day fic for Natty, who requested
a Buffy/Angel/Highlander fic... Pretender is in there just for me... As
far as I'm concerned, the totally suck season 5 of Highlander
never happened. ******= change of scene/ location,
and ~~~~ indicates passage of time within a segment.
RATING: a hard R, I hope...
PAIRINGS: W/Methos; W/A; Serena/Jarod...
DISTRIBUTION: Charity can have it, as can anyone else I've said yes to before... OK for list archives. Others, please ask...
FEEDBACK: will earn you a dedi...
DEDICATIONS: for Nat... glad you're liking it, chica!!!
&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
<< Back room-- China Club-- 10:45 pm >>
Jarod just looked at the redhead sitting beside
him. She had her eyes closed and was slightly rocking herself back and
forth, her arms wrapped tightly across her chest, and she'd been
that way for at least five minutes. He kept waiting
for her to say something more, but she was apparently finished for the
moment. "So..." he finally said, wondering why she was acting
so forlorn, "He let someone kill your brother,
and you've had it in for him ever since..." He nodded to himself, understanding
her desire for revenge. "What I don't understand is why you
haven't already killed him. I mean..." He stopped
himself when she turned slowly to him and opened her eyes.
Serena turned slightly teary eyes to the dark-haired
man she loved almost beyond bearing. "What?... I... What?" She forced herself
to stop and order her thoughts for a moment, not
entirely sure of what his lack of reaction to
her earlier words meant. "I... I just told you that my brother was killed
in eighteen-eighty, and you..." She shook her head, completely
shocked by the amusement in his expression. "You
knew." she finally said, amazed. "You knew, and..."
Jarod laughed, scooting his chair closer to hers.
"Well, I didn't know the particulars, like dates or anything, but I sort
of figured out that there was something different about you when I
watched you heal and start breathing again in
that alley..." He reached out and pulled her chair between his thighs.
"It's like I told you in the car, Ser," he said, his arms snaking around
her waist, "It doesn't matter... or at least,
it doesn't make any difference to me. When you're ready to tell me the
whole story, you will, and until then..." He grinned, pulling her into
his
lap as he kicked her chair away. "Well, we'll
just have to find other things to talk about..."
The redhead smiled softly, her arms sliding around his neck. "I don't deserve you, you know..." she said, staring into his deep brown eyes, "But I'm not gonna complain..."
"You'd better not," Jarod said silkily against
her neck, "You'd better not..." He sighed softly, loving the feel of her
there in his arms. He wouldn't lose her, no matter what, and if that
meant helping her in her quest for vengeance,
then... so be it. "All right," he said, loosening his hold on her, "So
tell me more about this Angelus. If he's as bad as you say, then I think
we need to find him as soon as possible."
Serena was shocked, to say the least. It almost sounded as though Jarod was going to... help her? "J..." she said hesitantly, "Are you... That is, do you..."
Jarod nodded tightly. "I'm going to help you find him, and if necessary, I'll even help you kill him."
Serena sighed, pulling away from him and standing.
"It's not gonna be easy, J... He pretty much went to ground almost a hundred
years ago. He's been seen a time or two, but
nobody's said much about him in all that time...
Hell, I haven't even seen him since the night he let that bitch kill William,
and I've been looking!" She sat in the chair Joe had so
recently vacated, a considering look on her face.
"He's somehow learned to cover his tracks, because the only real evidence
I've heard of was a few years ago, when he slipped up
somewhere in California. He was apparently trying
to end the world, but for some reason it didn't work out, and no-one's
heard of him since."
Jarod nodded again, his mind already lining up
the steps he'd need to take to discover the creature's whereabouts. "So,
assuming no-one's killed him in the past few years... Hmm...
OK, we'll check for bank accounts that haven't
changed hands in the last... century or so, and possibly properties as
well... I'm sure he's smart enough to hide his trail, but nobody's
perfect, so... I'd say maybe a week, and we'll
know where to find your Angelus..." He smiled into her surprised eyes.
"What? I was a hacker once... made it into the Pentagon, and the
Kremlin. I think I can handle finding one guy!"
The redhead smiled again, more broadly than before. "I know you can, love... I know you can." She gripped his hand across the table as they fell to making plans.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
<< China Club-- Main Room-- 11:30 pm >>
Methos watched unhappily from the bar as the vampire
danced slowly with the little redhead. He'd been more or less convinced
that Angel would never let the girl know that he cared
for her, but obviously he'd been wrong, if the
way the two of them had been moving on the small dance floor for the last
forty-five minutes was any indication. It wasn't right, he kept
telling himself. The girl wasn't supposed to be
interested in a vampire, she was supposed to attach herself to one of HIS
kind of immortal! The legend said so! The special girl would
give her love to the one who would win the game,
and his would be the choice of heaven or hell for all eternity. He sighed
to himself, watching Willow getting even closer to the
vampire. Maybe Serena was right... maybe it WAS
just a legend... a story.
No! He shook his head, annoyed with himself for
doubting for even an instant. He wasn't wrong. Willow WAS the one, the
gate! She had to be... she was the only one who fit all the
requirements. Of course, if that was true, she
would have to be a witch of amazing strength, and he had yet to see any
sign of it. Ah, well, maybe he just hadn't been watching closely
enough... he'd have to step up the surveillance
on her, just to be sure.
He sighed again, wishing that the damned vampire
would just leave the girl alone. Whether she was the one in the legend
or not, he quite liked the girl, and he really wouldn't mind
spending a good bit more time with her... having
her days was all well and good, but... he had a feeling that the one who
had her nights would be the one to win her heart. Now he
just had to figure out how to make sure that one
was him.
He shook of his thoughts as the barman handed him
the phone, with a mutter of 'It's for you.' "Hello?" he said into the receiver,
a smile breaking across his face when he heard the
voice on the other end. "Amanda!" he said happily,
covering one ear in an effort to hear her over the music.
Angel was in paradise. The music was great, the
atmosphere was wonderful, and best of all, he had his arms full of warm
little redheaded witch. He sighed happily, loving the way she
felt against him. She probably thought that he
was just being nice, and a good friend, but... he would have to tell her
soon that that wasn't even close to being the truth. He wasn't
entirely sure of how to broach the subject, but
he was sure he'd find a way... after all, how hard could it be? If worse
came to worst, he could always just... blurt it out. It wouldn't be
terribly romantic, but at least it would get the
job done!
He tightened his arms slightly around her when
her warm little hand slid slowly down his back, coming to rest just above
his waist. No, he decided, she deserved to be romanced...
blurting just wouldn't do for his Willow. He'd
have to be subtle, and careful. He didn't want to scare her, after all.
He almost laughed at the thought that the girl,
who had faced countless vampires and demons whilst helping the Slayer,
would be frightened by the fact that he cared for her more
than she might think, but he knew that it was
true. For some reason, she'd never been able to see how wonderful she really
was, and if he didn't make a point of showing her first, she
might be scared away. He nodded slowly to himself.
As much as he was enjoying having her in his arms, he needed to get them
out of there and back home soon. After all, he had a
seduction to plan.
Willow was tipsy. She knew she was tipsy. That
was the only reason she could find for the way she was reacting to her
friend. She knew that he was just being nice by dancing with her
the way he was, but the fact that she was enjoying
it so much was what had her so concerned. She honestly thought that if
she were to die right at that moment, she would at least die
happy. The feel of his arms around her, the silk
of his shirt beneath her cheek... it was almost sinful, and she was afraid
that she'd grow too used to it if they danced for much longer.
She could understand why Buffy had become so attached
to Angel now, though... he was addictive. The smell of him, the way he
moved, his very solidity was...
She gave herself a good mental shake. She had to
stop thinking about him like this! It didn't matter how she felt, he was
her friend, and that's all he would ever be! It wasn't as though
she was pretty like Buffy, or even strong like
her... No, she was just Willow. Smart?... sure. Fairly competent witch?...
absolutely. Kick-ass research-girl?... you bet. But good enough,
pretty enough for Angel?... Never.
She sighed, running one hand lightly up and down
his silk-covered back. He was fuel for many a late-night fantasy, but she
would never know the reality of him. He'd never be
interested in someone like her, and even if by
some miracle, or bout of brain damage, he was... there was still that little
curse to think about. He would never want her, she told herself
again, and even if he did... It didn't matter
if she wanted him, too, and maybe even loved him, because there was just
no way she'd ever risk letting Angelus loose on the world. No,
she'd be better off forgetting that she'd ever
even thought about him that way... and maybe, if she spent more time with
Adam, she'd be able to. She sighed, halfway disappointed
when Angel pulled away from her, and nodded in
agreement when he suggested they leave. It was for the best, though...
one more dance in his arms, and she didn't know whether
she'd have been able to let him go.
She followed him from the dance floor, pausing
for a moment by the bar to tell Adam that she'd see him the next day before
proceeding to the entry, where Angel was retrieving their
coats. Slipping hers on, she stepped out into
the night by his side.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
<< Back room-- China Club-- 11:45 pm >>
"OK, then," the redhead said softly, smiling at
the dark-haired man across from her, "I think that's everything. We'll
set it all in motion when we get back to the hotel, and then we can...
talk."
Jarod smiled back at her, his thumb tracing small
circles on the back of her hand while his fingers lightly caressed her
palm. "I don't think so, Ser," he said smoothly, just a touch of
wickedness in his tone. "We'll get things started
on the computer, sure, but we already have plans for tonight, and they
really don't include a whole lot of talking... Or am I remembering
what you said in the car wrong?"
Serena laughed, a familiar tightening starting
in the pit of her stomach. "No," she chuckled, a bit breathlessly, "No,
you're right... Let's go say good night to Adam and Joe then..." She
stood along with him, and led him from the room
and down the hall into the club, her heart racing a mile a minute.
End-- pt 7