AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue

E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com

DISCLAIMER: Only Serena is mine... all others belong to their respective studios/ producers/ creators, and no infringement is intended... (translation: Please don't sue me, cuz I have
pretty much NOTHING that anyone would want... hell, *I* don't even want most of what I've got...)

NOTES: This is an X-over fic involving characters from Buffy, Angel, Highlander, and Pretender... it's for Nat's b-day, and Jarod is in there just for me... the suck-ass fifth season of
Highlander never happened in MY world, and *****= change of scene/ location, while ~~~~~~~~~ indicates passage of time within a segment...

RATING: hopefully a hard R at some point, although I tend to write either PG-13 or full-on NC-17, so... we'll see...

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

DISTRIBUTION: as usual, Charity can have it, cuz she rocks!!! Anyone I've said yes to and list archives are OK, too... otherwise, just ask and I'll say yes...

FEEDBACK: keeps it going...

DEDICATIONS: to Nat, of course... and to: Gem, KrysieGrl, Lucinda, Jodie, Sandy, Rose, Noreen, and Kitti... thanks for the feedback!!! Also to the CO in its entirety... rock on, girls...*G*

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

<< Apt. 39-- 8:30 am >>

The redhead woke slowly, and climbed out of bed after glancing once at the clock. She'd gotten less sleep than she would have liked, but it was still more than she'd been used to back
in Sunnydale, although... she felt nowhere near as rested as she should have. Maybe that was because of the dreams that had plagued her sleep. She couldn't really recall what they'd
been about, but... there had been something about a stone tablet of some kind, and for some reason, she seemed to recall a flash of Adam... on horseback. He'd been wearing some
sort of mask, but she knew it had been him. She shook her head and stumbled through her bedroom door and across the living room to the kitchen.

She sighed, gazing at the overly-complicated machine that Angel somehow managed to coax coffee from, and opened the refrigerator, pulling out the carton of orange juice. She
really could have used some caffeine, but she wasn't willing to wake him up to make it for her. She poured herself some juice, and stood there by the sink while she drank. Finally, the
tangy taste seemed to penetrate, waking her up sufficiently enough that she realized what she'd seen from the corner of her eye as she'd left her room. She placed her glass in the sink
and swung the kitchen door open, staring out into the dim living room before walking through. "Angel?" she said softly to the brooding man on the couch, "What's wrong?" She stood
there, absorbing his silence, and hoped that he wasn't still brooding over the way she'd shut him out. "Angel?" she said again, crossing the room and sitting beside him. She took one
large, limp hand in one of her own, and looked worriedly into his face. "Tell me." she commanded, "Because if this is about last night..."

Angel sighed, raising his head to meet her eyes with his own. "It's not, Will... it's about this morning..." He could see the confusion written on her face and sighed again. "It's nothing. I
was going to make you breakfast, so I went out to pick up a few things, and... I saw someone. She just..." he shook his head slowly, staring down at their joined hands, "She reminded
me of someone I... hurt, back before the soul. I'll get over it."

Willow gripped his hand more tightly. "I don't know, Angel... I mean, if it's affecting you this much, maybe you should talk about it. It can't be good to bottle that sort of thing up..." She
smiled slightly, meeting his surprised eyes.

He shook his head again. "No, I... I don't want to tell you about this, Will... Some of the things I did..."

Willow sighed herself then. "Angel," she said, almost angrily, "how many times do I have to tell you that YOU are not ANGELUS! You can't take responsibility for the things the demon
did when you weren't even there! You, the soul-y part of you, was floating somewhere, off in the ether! It's NOT your fault! And besides," she smirked, almost laughing at his expression,
"Don't you think I've read the Watcher Diaries about you? I already know some pretty scary stuff about what Angelus did, so I'm not likely to run away screaming, now am I?"

Angel smiled slightly, knowing that what she said was true. "I just don't want you to regret... being my friend..."

The redhead snorted softly. "Well, just don't go setting your demon loose, and that won't be a problem." She looked away from him then in an effort to hide the slight blush that was
spreading across her cheeks. She hadn't intended to say that, but... what with sitting so close to him, and having his hand in hers, it had just slipped out... could she help it if she
wanted him that way? Of course not, but she could make sure that he never found out, and that would be almost as good. "OK," she continued, feeling the heat fading from her face,
"Tell me about this woman."

He had felt her heartbeat speed up, and smelled the slight taint of fear rolling off of her when she'd mentioned setting his demon free, and suddenly... he understood. She HAD
enjoyed their night at the club, and she DID want him, but... she was smarter than he was. That was why she had closed herself off from him. She would never act on her desire for him,
because she was only too aware of what the result would be, and as much as he hated it, he knew that she was right. There was no way that he'd ever be able to hold her in his arms,
touch her, kiss her, feel her soft pale skin against his, and NOT have her in every sense of the word... He was fairly sure that the demon would never hurt her, but he couldn't say the
same for the rest of humanity. No, if Angelus ever got free again, he would hunt, and feed, and probably try to make hell on earth, and he just couldn't be responsible for that, any
more than SHE could. He sighed, reconciling himself to being just her friend again... after all, he could ever safely be more. He looked back into her waiting eyes, seeing her relief at
the knowledge displayed in his. All right, then... she wanted to know? Well, he'd tell her, and maybe it would make things easier for the both of them.

"It all started in eighteen-eighty," he finally said, closing his eyes so that he could see it more clearly. "I was in London, with Darla and Druscilla... Dru, of course, was batty as all hell
by then, and we had only been in town for a few days when I saw her for the first time... Serena." He smiled slightly, remembering. "She was really quite eye-catching," he continued,
glancing quickly at Willow before closing his eyes again, "Of course, she'd have to have been to get Angelus' attention. But she was tall, uncommonly so for the times, and obviously of
good breeding... She had the loveliest head of deep red hair, and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen... I might not have gone after her, though. It was Dru who cinched it for me. During
one of her little insane rambles, she let it slip that the girl had what was called 'the sight' in those days... much as Dru herself had had when SHE was still human. Of course, Serena
had hers under much better control, as she possessed IT, not the other way around like it had been with poor Dru." He sighed, rubbing his free hand across his closed eyelids. "I...
Angelus was completely taken with the idea of having his own pet Seer... one who wasn't crazy, I mean, and I... HE... stalked the girl for weeks, following her, watching her every move,
even meeting her at a number of social events... I remember he tried to court her, but she wouldn't have him. I suppose she somehow knew that there was something just not... right
about him. But still, he... I pursued her, until she made it clear that she wasn't interested." He shook his head, skipping over the part he couldn't tell her. "Finally, I gave up on seducing
her into being turned, and then... then I began killing her friends."

Willow frowned slightly at the regret in his voice. HE hadn't done any of those things! It had been the demon... but she supposed that she could understand... after all, he DID
remember it all as though he'd done it himself. She rubbed her thumb across the back of the hand she still held, and listened some more.

"The first to go was the man she'd hoped to marry, and honestly, it was just as well, because as it turned out, he had quite a violent streak, which wasn't discovered until after his
death... he had apparently been beating the local prostitutes on a nightly basis, and had even killed one or two of them by 'accident'... of course, that wasn't a side of himself that he
ever showed to Society, but still, she was well shut of him." He shook his head, glad that at least something good had come of that time. "Next was her best friend, a sweetheart of a
girl... never said or did anything to harm a living soul... she tasted better than the finest wine, and she hardly struggled at all... There were more after that, but Serena never gave in to
the despair Angelus was trying to heap upon her, and he decided to take a different tack. She loved her family, you see... her father was long-dead, but she still had her mother... and
her brother. He was a year or two older than she was, and she positively doted on him... she even read his truly horrible poetry without cracking a smile, and believe me, it was awful.
So one night, while they were at a small soiree, I wandered the streets with Darla and Dru... now, I didn't know what had happened inside until later, but suddenly there he was, her
brother, and so I... encouraged Dru to find herself a playmate... I knew when I did it that she'd go after him; she wasn't the kind to be able to resist the stench of pain and heart-ache
rolling from him... and I wanted her to take him. I figured that taking her brother from her might be just the thing to finally make Serena give in to apathy, or even hopelessness, and
once she did... she'd be MINE." He sighed deeply, opening his eyes again to meet Willow's. "It didn't turn out that way, though..."

The redhead swallowed hard, not sure of how to react to the slightly lilting tone he'd assumed. "Wha... what happened?" she finally squeezed out, eyes wide.

"She followed him," Angel finally said. "I wasn't expecting it, mostly because it simply wasn't the thing for a young lady of breeding to go out into the night alone, without an escort,
but... she followed her brother, and none of us even noticed. And Dru tracked him to an old stable, and seduced him into death. She wanted to turn him, you know, but I wouldn't let
her. He got his first mouthful or so from her before I pulled him away and made him MY childe. I suppose I thought that if she loved her brother so much, she'd want to join him,
become a part of our little family... I hadn't counted on her seeing the whole thing, though. And it wasn't until the following night that I knew she had." He stopped for a moment,
regret washing through him again for the things he'd done.

"How?" Willow asked softly, "How did you find out?"

Angel laughed bitterly. "It was simple, really. We went to her house. William was going to knock on the door and apologize for leaving her the night before... We had a whole story
worked out. Despite the fact that I had already met, and tried for, Serena, I was to be an old friend of his from school, with Darla as cousin, and Druscilla as my sister. He would say that
he'd left the party in distress from that bitch Cecily's cold words, and had run into me in the street. I'd taken him to my rooms, and we'd lost track of time, what with all the catching up
and everything..." He sighed again, tearing his eyes from hers. "It was a good story... it should have worked. Would have, if she hadn't seen what she did. She came to the door, all
right, but only to announce that William wasn't her brother any longer... she didn't know what he was, but he wasn't William, and she would never invite him, or any of us, in."

Willow stared at him, fascinated despite herself. "So... what did you do?"

The vampire laughed again. "Well, what COULD we do, Will? We left! I mean, we could hardly stand out in the street shouting at the girl to let us in, now could we? So we went back
to our rooms, figuring on trying for the mother the next night. Of course, by the time the sun had set, they were both long gone, and we never saw them again, although William looked
for the first ten years or so..." Angel trailed off then, his mind still dwelling on the rest of the story... the part he'd never tell her... so far, she hadn't freaked on him, and he really wanted
to keep it that way. Of course, she had an easier time than HE did, separating his actions from Angelus', but still... better not to take the chance.

The redhead nodded into his sudden silence. "So Angelus killed her brother and made him a demon... and that demon is Spike." She released his hand then and stood, looking down
at him still sitting there on the couch. "And you saw some woman who reminded you of this Serena person, and that's why you're all broody. OK, I get it, but... it was a long time ago,
Angel, and it wasn't exactly YOU, so why don't you let it go, already?"

Angel smiled slightly. Her words were harsh, but her tone was kind, and he was happy to see that she wasn't afraid of him because of what he'd just told her. "Maybe you're right, Will,"
he finally said, levering himself up from the couch, "It's just... hard... to have all these memories, and know that even if I wasn't in control, I'm still the one that the people I hurt and
killed saw... my face, my being... to them, it didn't matter if I had a soul or not, so... why should it matter to me?" He'd never actually said it before, and it was as though a great weight
had been lifted from him with the words.

"Because, Angel," Willow informed him, hugging him tightly, "YOU would never do those things... Not in a million years." She smiled gently against his shirt before pulling away. "So
no more brooding, mister!" She grinned up at him, her eyes sparkling when he laughed and nodded his agreement. "Well, I need to go get dressed, Adam will be here in like... Thirty
minutes!" She eeep-ed slightly and ran from the room, wishing that she'd thought to look at the clock earlier... but then, she hadn't known that Angel's story would take so long, what
with all the pauses he'd taken. Of course, even if she HAD, she still would have listened... he was her best friend, after all... especially considering the way Buffy had reacted to the
news of where she was and who she was with. She deliberately chose to ignore the slight disappointment she was feeling... she had been right there, in his arms, and he hadn't even
TRIED to kiss her. But she hadn't wanted him to, she told herself repeatedly while she dressed for her 'date'... and by the time she was ready, she almost believed it.

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

<< Hotel George V-- 11:45 am >>

Serena awoke suddenly to the sensation of her face being... touched, and much as she wanted to ignore it, she knew that she'd never be able to. Her eyes flew open, and she stared,
smiling slightly, into the deep brown eyes of the man she loved. She allowed her gaze to sweep slowly down his face and neck, over his chest, until it was stopped by the sheet pulled
around his waist. "Morning, love," she murmured, raising her eyes to his once again. "Or is it?" She couldn't really tell from the way the light was hitting the still-closed curtains.

"Hmm.." Jarod purred, glancing over his shoulder at the clock, "Just barely." He propped his head up on his hand, staring down at her. "So," he said quietly, "What did you want to do
today?"

The redhead smiled again, one finger trailing lightly down his chest. "Well," she finally said, "We're in Paris... maybe we should go to a museum?"

The corners of his eyes crinkled up a bit in amusement as he responded, "Uhh... no. Let's try again. What did you WANT to do today..."

Serena sighed softly. "Hell, J... I don't know... I keep feeling like we should get out, see the city, but at the same time... I don't want to go too far, just in case the search turns up
something..."

Jarod grinned, a bit wickedly. "Hmm... then I guess we'll just have to find a way to... amuse ourselves right here..." he said, leaning in to her, his lips beginning a slow trail down her
neck from her ear.

The woman groaned, hating to stop him, but... "We really... really should..." she gasped, almost losing her train of thought before continuing in a rush. "We need to talk, J..."

He sighed deeply then, pulling his mouth away from her too-soft skin. "Fine, Ser," he pouted, laying back against the sheets, one corded forearm coming to rest across his forehead.
"Not really what I had in mind, but... we'll talk, if that's what you want."

Serena sighed, sitting up in the bed. "It's time we did, J... there's a lot you don't know, and regardless of what you said last night..." She turned and looked at him, smiling slightly. "I... I
know you don't approve of me hunting Angelus down, and I know you don't really think it's necessary for me to kill him. I appreciate the fact that you're willing to help me anyway, but...
if your heart isn't in it, you're going to end up getting yourself killed, and..." She shook her head, silencing him when he would have argued. "Look. Despite everything that was done to
you at the Centre... you're a gentle soul. There's a part of you that believes vengeance should be a learning experience for everyone involved, and granted, most of the time, you're
probably right, but..."

Jarod nodded slightly to himself when she sighed again. "But this isn't one of those times?" he finished for her, sighing himself when she nodded. He thought about that for a moment,
as he sat up himself and leaned back against the headboard before reaching out and pulling the redhead to him. "OK," he finally said, wrapping one strong arm around her shoulders,
"I'm listening... convince me." He tried to hold a neutral expression, but he could feel his eyes growing wider and wider as she told him the entire story of how, and how well, she knew
Angelus, and... he finally understood her need to see him dead. After all, that kind of betrayal wasn't easily forgiven... he wasn't sure that it was even possible to forgive.

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

<< Street market, Paris-- 1:30 pm >>

Methos laughed aloud as the little redhead pawed furiously through the disordered pile of tie-dyed t-shirts. This was the fourth stall she'd stopped at, and she'd done the same thing at
each of them. He wasn't sure of what she was looking for, exactly, but it was fairly obvious that she had something particular in mind. Unfortunately, she didn't seem able to find it here,
either, and he forced himself to swallow yet another loud chuckle at the woebegone look on her face. "No luck?" he asked, smiling when she just shook her head, suddenly looking
disgusted.

"No!" Willow answered him, irritated. "You'd think that in a city like Paris, I'd be able to find one, simple shirt, but..." Her brow creased for a moment in confusion. "Do you think that
maybe they don't make tie-dye in just black and white? 'Cause that would explain it..." She started walking again, still rambling on about the lack of monochrome in a medium best
known for its colour.

The immortal grinned to himself as they left the market area and turned down a side street. Joe had asked him to figure out why he liked the girl, and he was rapidly coming to the
conclusion that her status as the girl of legend had very little to do with it... in fact, the more time he spent with her, the less he thought about it. He was almost certain that he would
have been there with her anyway, legend or no. Of course, it didn't hurt that she was smart, and funny, and just beautiful... and based upon the fact that her traveling companion was a
vampire, she probably wouldn't run screaming when he told her of his immortality. He still didn't know what the deal was with her and her 'friend', but he was hoping to find out over
dinner... and if not, he could always sic Amanda on her at the club that night. He'd never known anyone that could ferret out a secret better than Amanda! Besides, he wanted the
other immortal's opinion of the girl. He laughed silently. Amanda's instincts for people were much better than his own. He was pulled from his thoughts by Willow tugging on his hand,
and he followed her into the shop that had caught her eye.

Willow had spent most of the day looking for a present for Angel. She wasn't looking for anything big, just a little thing, to show him that she cared, and had been thinking of him while
she was out. Unfortunately, the t-shirt idea hadn't worked out, not that she'd ever seen him wear a t-shirt before, but still. She had been mulling over the possibilities when she'd seen
this shop, and somehow, it had struck her as right... it wouldn't be a big thing, but she though he would like it. She left Adam by the door and walked slowly to the back of the shop,
holding a hurried conversation with the artisan there. She smiled when he nodded and pulled a large book from one of the shelves, and she chatted happily with him while they
flipped through the pages until she found the right one. After a few more words, she pulled out her credit card and paid for the item she'd just ordered, arranging for it to be delivered
to her at the China Club later that night. After all, she wanted to see Angel's face when he first saw it. She turned and, smiling broadly, pulled Adam from the small store, letting him
lead her down the sunny street. They still had so much to see.

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

<< Amanda's Apartment-- 5:30 pm >>

"I don't care what you say, MacLeod," the tall woman declared, closing the door as she entered, "You enjoyed it!"

The tall man shook his head, his fading anger tempered by amusement. "No, Amanda, I've never enjoyed having dogs set on me while I'm dodging bullets!"

The bleached blonde immortal rolled her eyes. "Pffff..." she exhaled, "You love it... and you know it!" She slowly swayed across the room to him, her eyes locked with his. "If you didn't,
you wouldn't keep coming with me on my little... jaunts..." She smiled slyly as she kicked off her shoes and slid her hands slowly up his hard chest. "And besides," she purred lightly,
"You know I'll make it up to you..."

Duncan rolled his own eyes before giving in to the inevitable and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Yeah... I know..." He tilted his head back as her lips tickled against his neck, and
he sighed happily. She was right, of course, he DID love it... but he'd never admit it out loud... after all, if he ever did, she might stop trying to 'make it up', and that would be just...
tragic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 hours later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Amanda!" Duncan called from his spot in the bed, "I thought you were getting the wine!" He'd barely been willing to let the woman out of bed, but... a glass of good red had sounded
appealing, so...

She leaned gently against the door jamb and just took in the sight of him for a moment. He'd always looked so good in her bed; it was a pity he didn't spend more time there. "God,
Duncan," she finally said, having looked her fill for the moment, "Over four hundred years and you haven't learned patience?" She grinned smugly and walked slowly to the bed, wine
bottle in one hand, glasses in the other. "I," she said, handing him the glasses and crawling onto the mattress beside him, "Had to check my messages." She curled herself up beside
him, and pulled the already loosened cork from the bottle. "Methos called," she announced as he took the bottle from her hand, exchanging it for one of the glasses. She smiled while
he poured, and leaned in closer to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "He wants us to meet him at Joe's in a couple hours."

Duncan groaned. "But Amanda! We just got back!" He sighed when she just smiled and sipped her wine. "You'd think he'd have the courtesy to give us at least one night alone before
demanding our presence..." he grumbled.

The woman giggled softly. "Oh, stop. He said it was important, but.. I think he's met someone."

He stared at her for a moment before replying. "What makes you say that?"

Amanda laughed again. "I've been alive for over a thousand years, Duncan, and if there's one thing I know, it's MEN!" She shook her head slowly when he just stared some more. "He
had that tone in his voice. He's met someone, and he wants our approval. I'll bet you anything!"

The dark-haired man thought about it for a moment before smiling widely. "Oh, you're on!" Still thinking quickly, he drank from his glass. "If I win, our next 'vacation' will be just that, a
vacation! And that means," he clarified, "No 'liberating' national treasures, no 'finding' priceless jewels just laying around, NONE of that!"

The blonde grinned back, knowing that she had it locked. "And WHEN I win, MacLeod, our next little trip will be to somewhere I've always been fascinated with..."

Duncan winced, almost afraid to say it. "Amanda... you don't mean..." he practically begged.

"Mmmm-hmmm," Amanda purred, "Fort Knox." She grinned again at his stunned expression and rose from the bed. If they were going to meet Methos in two hours, she had to start
getting ready, especially if she wanted to stop for dinner on the way.

End-- Pt 9

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