DISCLAIMER:

The concepts of Immortality, and the characters of Dr. Anne Lindsey, Duncan MacLeod, Richie Ryan and Joe Dawson used in this work are from HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES which is the property of Davis/Panzer Productions, Inc., Rysher Entertainment and Gaumont Television, and are used without permission. All the other characters are property of the authors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are either the product of the authors' imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The day dawned clear and sunny. <Unusual for this time of year,> Anne Lindsey thought as she wrapped the robe around her. <A good omen.> Better get Mary ready. Mrs. Christopher will be here to pick her up soon. Anne quietly opened the door leading to Mary's room. The baby sat in her crib, amusing herself with the colorful toys constantly provided by Godmother Marie. <Oh, she's so big! I can't believe that she's already seven months old! And so sweet natured.> Knowing that Mary would play happily by herself, Anne went through her T'ai Chi Che routine, and then showered. The next hour was spent feeding Mary and getting her ready for Mrs. Christopher. Anne considered the babysitter a god-send since none of Mary's "adopted aunties" lived in the Seattle area. "I have to remember to thank your Auntie Jen for finding Mrs. Christopher!" Anne commented as she wiped the last bit of strained peaches from the infant's cheek.

All was in readiness by the time the nanny arrived. As much as she had looked forward to this day, Anne Lindsay felt a pang of loss as she watched Mrs. Christopher's car drive away. <Don't be such a ninny,> she scolded herself. <Mary needs to learn how to be around other people. And it's good for me, too, to have a day to myself.> Anne gathered up her purse and the sweater she thought she might need if the weather changed. She turned the key in the deadbolt and headed towards the garage.The midnight blue of the Miata convertible glinted in the light coming through the garage door. Anne smiled. She enjoyed driving the little car, but rarely used it now bec of Mary. Instead, the stolid, reliable Volvo in the other bay was the more frequent mode of transportation. <Funny how children change your life,> Anne fleetingly thought.

By the time she had reached downtown Seattle, Anne was happily caught up in the adventure of a day to herself. She had been sure to set no constraints on her time--Mrs. Christopher was to keep Mary until ten the next morning. Anne had planned how she would spent the entire day. Nordstrom's for clothes, Dilletante for chocolate, Pike Street Market for flowers and food. Then, in the evening, the Seattle Symphony for an performance of Rachmaninoff.

The day went well. At Nordstrom's she found a dress that would be perfect to wear that evening. The color--forest green--set off the color of her eyes. And she already had earrings that would go well with the outfit. She lunched at Jake's, and then headed towards the Dilletante shop near Pike Street. She preferred to get her chocolate directly from the factory, but that was out of her way today. This time she limited herself to two pounds of bittersweet chocolate for baking and the chocolate covered coffee beans, but before she paid for her purchase, Anne spotted sugar-free malted milk balls. "Oh, I've been looking for these!" she exclaimed to the clerk. "My friend Jane loves them." She added a two pound cannister to her purchase. <I hope I get these sent to Wisconsin before I break into them!>, Anne smiled to herself.

After buying all the ingredients for dinner, Anne selected three stems of Bird of Paradise and several irises to make into a bouquet. She carefully placed her purchases in the Miata, and headed home. She was so engrossed with her tasks that she didn't notice the tall, dark-haired man a half block away who had stopped in his tracks when he saw her. To a passerby, it appeared as if the man knew her, perhaps very well, for it seemed he was about to call out to her but realized the woman wouldn't hear him. The look on his face as she drove away seemed to express deep sorrow. But, of course, this was all romantic surmise to the casual observer.

Back at home, Anne Lindsay began to prepare dinner. She washed all the vegetable, and then began marinating the salmon in her special sauce. She then set to work on the dessert, a wonderful recipe sent to her by her lifelong friend. <Donna really outdid herself with this one,> Anne emphatically thought. <Oh, I *must* remember to call her Griffon now! But it's so hard after all these decades of calling her Donna.> She sighed. <Well, she *is* trying to simplify things and get everyone to call her by Griffon. And her last name *is* a good name. And she did threaten to charge me a dollar for every time I referred to her as Donna--I guess I better get used to it! And she did name this recipe after me!> she thought as she added ten ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate to the batter. While the cake cooled, Anne began preparing the wild rice and the vegetables. She looked at the clock. "Oh, no! It's five o'clock! He'll be here in 45 minutes!" She headed upstairs to change and fix her hair. Anne Lindsay looked fabulous. She had styled her hair into a French twist. The cut of her new dress and the upswept hair set off the curve of her neck. She smiled into the mirror. <Just right!>, she thought.

Back in the kitchen, Anne started the salmon to poach. As she frosted the cake, she thought of how she would spend the evening. It had been a very long time since she had gone out on a date, and she felt just a little giddy at the prospect. Even though she had known this man for some time, it was an evening of new hope and promise.

Checking the salmon, Anne began to think about the man who soon would be arriving at her door. Tall and good looking, he had first caught her eye at the hospital where she worked. She had been reluctant to initiate anything with this Family Practice resident because of her status as the emergency room's trauma surgeon. Yet when he had expressed an interest, Anne responded favorably. Gradually, they increased the time they spent together, until recently. He had been out of the country for three months, only returning five days ago. She had been the first one he had called when he got back to Seattle. Anne placed the flowers at the center of the table just as the doorbell rang. She smoothed her hair, and opened the door. Before her stood her date, Peter Langley. They hadn't seen each other for months, yet she felt totally at ease with him.

Back in the kitchen again, Peter helped her put the food on serving latters. "This looks wonderful, Anne. It is really good of you to fix the weary traveler a home-cooked meal." "Oh, and I want you to tell me all about your time in Indonesia," Anne countered. "Your letters described the difficulties of providing health care to the Jakartans, but I want to know how you managed to do surgery where there was no electricity!"

"All in good time, m'dear," Peter said as he held Anne close. "Why don't we concentrate on one thing at a time?" Their kiss lasted a little longer than usual.

"Uh, Peter, I think we--." Anne's comment was cut short by the doorbell. "Now who could that be?" Peter's arms slowly dropped from Anne's back.

"Only one way to find out."

Anne opened the door. It had started to rain. The man outside smiled hesitantly. "Duncan?!"

"Um, Anne, I saw you in town today and I--I, well, I just....I mean it's been awhile and I thought--." He stopped as Peter stepped in behind Anne.

"I've really come at a bad time, haven't I?" Duncan asked rhetorically, noting the lipstick smudge near Peter's mouth. "Not his shade at all..." Duncan thought to himself sarcastically.

"Duncan...what a...surprise," Anne said somewhat uncomfortably. "Duncan, this is Peter, Peter, this is.."

"Duncan MacLeod," Duncan interrupted, stepping through the doorway with a purposely imposing stature. He fixed Peter with a stare that could have iced over the Bahamas. Anne instantly knew that she was going to have trouble if she did not say something witty.

"Please, come in...wouldn't want you to die of a cold or anything," she quipped as she shut the door against a breeze of cold, wet air. She soon, however, wondered if it was colder inside the room than outside it. She turned to see Duncan and Peter pacing in a circle, looking one another over like two rams about to butt heads. "Peter and I were...PETER?" she said, trying to take his eyes away from the territorial Highlander. Anne had to continue. "Peter and I were just about to discuss his trip to the far east. Perhaps you two could compare notes while I go check on the oven. I think I...." she trailed off, then resumed after seeing the men continue their not-too-subtle staring-down match. "On second thought, would you help me out in the kitchen, Duncan? You installed the oven and you would probably know how to stop it from overheating as it does."

The sweet, unassuming tone of her request was soon lost once they entered the kitchen. "What do you think you're doing?" Anne asked in what could be described as a yelling whisper. "You act as though you're going to rip his head off simply because he's my date. Why do you insist on this overprotective, old-fashioned act with anyone who happens to be my date?"

Duncan tried the old stand-by: the charm. "Well, I *am* an old-fashioned kind of guy," and tried to move closer to her. Anne walked toward the door, on the other side of which stood an understandably perplexed Peter. She pointed to the door and said "I hope you will understand and forgive me when I say this, Duncan...but *please*, call first from now on."

"Everything all right in there?" Peter's voice could be heard calling through the door. This MacLeod person seemed awfully possessive of Anne. Peter's momentum had been interrupted by this visitor, and by the reception he was getting, one would think Anne was trying to give MacLeod the boot. Or was she? Peter was not in the mood to have their date become a threesome.

Anne and Duncan emerged from the kitchen, and Duncan was still not going to give an inch to Peter...nor was Peter to Duncan. "Have a nice evening," Peter said as Anne walked Duncan to the door. Duncan simply smiled and gave Anne a quick (though provocative) kiss on the cheek. "Give Mary a kiss on the cheek, too," he added for emphasis. Peter just rolled his eyes as the door was shut.

"Old friend?" Peter asked as Anne walked back to the table where Peter was standing. "Oh, yeah," Anne said, relishing the adjective 'old'. "Old *boy*friend," Peter added, knowing the answer. Anne took Peter's hand. "I'm really sorry...he just stops by occasionally without calling. I still want to be friends with him, but now that I'm seeing someone he has decided to play Mr. Possessive. I hope he didn't make you too uncomfortable."

"Hey, I'm here because I want to be. No 'old boyfriend' is going to put a damper on our evening, I hope."

Duncan drove past the exit onto highway 67, so deep in thought that he had missed the road back home. Thinking about his behavior, he realized too that he was *jealous*. "Jealous of what?" he thought, making a U-turn in the middle of the road. "Anne seemed to be having a nice time with a nice guy....she never poached salmon for *me*," he added in a huff.

Arriving at his loft, Duncan was ready to write his feelings off and settle in to read a book, but the thoughts of Anne and her new friend crept into his concentration. "She has a right to her own life," Duncan thought out loud, emphasizing to himself that he had no real claim on her attentions any more. The fact that he still dropped by, unannounced, was now a cause for embarrassment, considering how he had behaved earlier. He would just have to call and apologize...yes, that would help smoothe things over. He wasn't about to admit to himself that he wanted to call just to see if her friend was still there.

Anne and Peter's date had really gone downhill since Duncan's departure. Peter wanted to keep her attention on his stories of Indonesia and the 'adventures in health care', as he called them earlier. Instead, she had been distracted and seemed more interested in cleaning up the dishes and straightening up the table. "It's okay, you know..." he said after an uncomfortable silence. Anne looked up, wondering what he meant. "I know you are probably tired after all that has happened today, and you have to get up early. We can talk about Bali some other time."

Anne protested, though not convincingly, sitting down next to Peter on the sofa. "I really want to hear," she said, trying to be a good hostess if not a good date. Peter suggested that they finish the tales of Indonesia sometime later, since they both probably had an early day ahead of them. Anne could only say that she really did have a nice time, and that she hoped they could get together again soon.

As the couple approached the door, he pulled her into a passionate kiss, one which she did not hesitate in giving right back. "You smell so great!" he said seductively. "A bay leaf behind each ear..." she quipped, knowing she had to smell like the salmon from the kitchen. Suddenly Peter was not so sure he wanted to leave. Before he could suggest anything more, however, the phone rang. "I really ought to get a service," Anne thought to herself.

Duncan heard the phone ring once on the other end and then hung up, staring at the instrument as if it had bitten him. He was at war within himself. <She has a right to know> a little voice in his head proclaimed. "But it's not up to me to tell her," he found himself saying aloud. <Then who will?> the voice answered."Aye, ye've got a point there," he sighed and reached for the phone again. But before he could touch the receiver he froze. "But they could be together for years without problems arising. Shouldn't I give her that chance at happiness?" <What? And be in a constant state of worry about what you know will eventually happen? And you know they won't have any children.>"Anne's already got a child. Would she want another?" <You know she'd want a family with the man she marries.> "Marries?!? This is only their first date!" <That you know of.> Duncan sighed. "Aye, that I know of." <And you can't even check him out since you don't know his last name.>"Besides, running a check on him might just put him in more danger." <You have to tell her.> Duncan nodded. "I have to tell her...but I'll do it tomorrow. Let them have this one night."

The hospital was, as usual, a hectic place the following morning when Duncan made his way to the emergency room. Oddly enough, it seemed quiet there. MacLeod stepped up to the front desk. "Yes, may I help you?" the nurse behind the desk asked. "I'm looking for Dr. Anne Lindsey."

"Is it an emergency?" <Yes, it's an emergency--a matter of life and death.> Duncan flashed the nurse a grin. "No, it's personal. I'm a friend."

The nurse blushed under his gaze. "I see. She should be in 2A." She pointed down the hall. "You can go right in."

"Thank you." He smiled again and proceeded down the hall. Anne's back was towards him when he opened the door, but there was no denying who it was under those hospital scrubs. Her petite frame and soft dark hair gave her away.

"Anne?" he asked softly. She whirled around at the sound of her name...by that voice.

"Duncan?! What are you doing here?" she asked, concern in her voice. "There isn't a prob..."

"No, Anne. It's nothing like that. We have to talk."

"If it's about last night, I'm still angry with you." Her voice turned cold.

"I apologize for last night. I'm sorry. I should've called first. I know that now."

"Is that why you're here? To apologize?"

"Partly." He reached out a hand to touch her cheek but there was something in her eyes that made him stop before actually touching her. His hand dropped to his side. "Anne, we have to talk."

"About what?"

"About your friend, Peter."

Her eyes flashed ice. "Peter is none of your concern, Duncan."

"Peter is very much my concern."

"Because I'm *dating* him, Duncan?"

"No, not because you're dating him." Duncan quickly glanced behind him to make sure the door to the room was closed and that they were alone. "Because Peter isn't who you think he is."

"And who do you think *I* think he is?"

"Maybe I should've said he isn't *what* you think he is." MacLeod's voice held a deadly calm tone. Anne blinked. "Are you telling me Peter is one of you?"

"Not exactly." At that Anne fumed and started pacing around the room. "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" Duncan grabbed Anne's arm--a bit more harshly than he wanted to--to stop her pacing and get her full attention. "Peter's a pre-immortal." The words came out a forceful whisper. Anne angrily broke away from Duncan's grasp. "Duncan, you're crazy and I think you're just saying that to keep me away from him."

"Anne, you've got to believe me. I know what I'm talking about."

"I think you're just jealous. If you think Peter is going to be an immoral, then prove it. Prove to *me* that Peter is a pre-immortal." Duncan took a ragged breath. "Anne, the only way to prove it would be to kill him."

Anne Lindsey sat in the hospital cafeteria and stared at her coffee. <Not the best coffee in the world,> she thought. <I should have gone out to Starbuck's.> She tried another sip. The coffee had gone cold. <Just like my feelings for Duncan. The nerve of that man, coming up with an outlandish story like that. Peter, a *pre-*immortal! Oh, sure.> But in her heart she knew that Duncan would never lie about anything like that.

Her dilemma was what to do about Peter. She had left Duncan because he *was* an Immortal. Didn't that mean that she couldn't get any further involved with Peter? At some point he would die--and then come back to life, just like Duncan had. He would have to kill, just like Duncan did. The image seemed incongruous. <Peter's a *doctor*! How can he reconcile killing and healing? I couldn't.> Her musings were interrupted by the loud speaker. "Dr Lindsey, Dr. Anne Lindsey, please return to the ER. You have someone waiting for you." <Oh, the nerve of that man--he drops this bomb on me and leaves and now he's back. Duncan MacLeod, I am going to....> She didn't know how to finish that thought. What *would* she do to MacLeod given the chance?

Anne made her way through the corridors. When she arrived at the Emergency Room she looked around for Duncan, but he was nowhere in sight. She sighed. <Just as well. I couldn't come up with what to do with him anyway.> Moving towards the telephone, Anne dialed the operator. "Yeah, hi, this is Dr. Lindsey. You paged me that I had a visitor in the ER but there doesn't seem to be anyone here for me. Do you know who placed the page?" While she waited for the operator to look in the record book, Anne Lindsey turned to watch the people crowding the ER. Her attention was caught by two people who seemed to be trying to hide. She moved to get a better look. Into the phone she quickly told the operator "Never mind."

Anne placed the receiver in the cradle, and determinedly marched towards the two figures tucked behind the laundry cart. "Hey, you two, come out here now before I call security." Joe was the first to rise, having learned long ago that crouching on prosthestic legs was a good way of getting achy joints. He slapped at the hand tugging on his shirt-tail, the hand of Richie Ryan. "Kept myself secret from MacLeod for fifteen years, but bring you on board and I can't even hide in a crowd!" Richie rose with a guilty expression on his face, an expression he had perfected over the years. "Aren't you a little *old* to be making crank phone calls?" Anne said. "Do you also call the cafeteria ladies and ask them if their refrigerators are running?" Anne burst out laughing at the thought, and because it was so humorous to see how the men reacted to getting caught doing whatever it was they were doing.

Joe cleared his throat, unsure if Anne was laughing with them or at them. "I think she's mad at us..." he said to Richie in a hushed tone. Richie tried the "aw, shucks" grin that had gotten him out of so many scrapes over the years. "Oh, c'mon Anne, it was just a little joke...if you're busy, we can just go....." Richie grabbed at Joe's arm to lead him along in an anxious (<Why?>, Anne thought.) retreat down the corridor.

Anne was about to stop them when the message came over the PA once again: "Dr. Anne Lindsey, please return to ER...your party is waiting in the ante-room." Anne was puzzled; Richie and Joe could not have made *that* call, and if they had not, why *were* they in the ER? More to the point, why did they seem so interested in "the party" waiting for her? Obviously, they were as interested in Anne's guest as she was.

"Why don't we talk when I get back? I would really like to get your opinions on something to do with Duncan when I get back from seeing who this is."

"Why don't we walk with you?" Joe asked, removing Richie's hand from his arm. "It might be Duncan." Richie knew it was not Duncan, but Joe stopped him from interjecting. Duncan was probably still on the phone to Jakarta.

Anne knew there was *something* going on, but did not have the time to quiz them too closely. Anne just kept a close eye on the two men as they walked down the hall. Joe seemed to be giving Richie 'the eye' and Richie was returning it. Joe and Anne both noticed Richie's eyes widen suddenly, and Anne looked at both men. Richie glanced around the hall, then instinctively looked over Anne's shoulder. "Anne, darling!" Peter called down the hall, waving a take-out box and napkins. The color left Richie's face as he sensed the latent Immortality in the stranger who was calling his friend's name. In an instant, Anne knew what her friends were doing there, and what Richie was telling Joe without saying a single word. <Oh, my God, it *is* true,> Anne thought to herself.

Anne did not know what to do. Her first instinct was to yell at Joe and Richie for conducting their little litmus test right in front of her. However, she knew that they would not have been there had it not been for Duncan, the only one who could have told them. Yell at *him*? Definitely on the 'to-do' list at the moment. Still, Peter knew nothing about this whole thing and was probably better off not knowing...especially at that moment. For the time being, she had to act as though all was well.

"I think we should be leaving now.." Joe prudently suggested, having found out what needed to be known and unwilling to stick around for the fallout that was sure to follow.

"Friends of yours?" Peter later asked. Anne was still distracted.

"Yes, we have friends in common."

"Well, I hope to meet them sometime; I want to get to know you better. In fact, the reason I came to visit you was to ask if you would like to go to an exhibition with me. I know it's so soon after the last date, but I can't stop thinking about you."

"It would really depend on my schedule," Anne said, trying to hedge her bets. Her babysitter was planning to take some time off and Anne was not sure if the ER would be able to spare her. She also was not sure if she wanted to get too attached to someone who might end up an Immortal.

Peter was on his way out, and Anne walked him to the parking garage. As he prepared to drive away, she asked him what sort of exhibition he was taking her to: "Paintings? Sculpture?"

Peter laughed. "No, honey...not *that* sort of exhibition. I forgot to tell you, didn't I? I'm a performer in the Precision Diving Team."

"You swim?!?" Anne thought aloud, realizing she had never had the chance to discuss his outside hobbies.

"No, not that sort of diving! Skydiving!" he exclaimed, then drove away.

"Uh-oh..." Anne thought aloud.

Later in the week.....

"Don't you think it's a bit too windy to do this?" Anne asked, trying not sound nervous. "No, actually it will be different up in the plane. We'll be OK," Peter replied. "Great." They sat in silence for the rest of the drive to the airport. When they arrived, Peter took Anne's hand in his. "You don't need to do this, you know. If you really think you'd rather not jump, just say." He paused, looking at her expectantly.

"Well, I just hate to back out of things I said I'd do," she replied mournfully. "Well, I *would* like to live to see Mary's first birthday. But then I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to skydive again...." Still holding her hand, Peter drew Anne closer to him.

"You most certainly will have the chance to go with me. I'm not letting you get away that easily!"

"Peter, I--." Anne looked away. "I don't know if it's a wise idea for us to see each other."

"What? I can't believe you said that. We get on so well together--and I *know* you have feelings for me? What's going on?" Anne bit her lip. "It's Duncan MacLeod, isn't it? You still aren't over him."

"Oh, Peter, I don't know if there *is* such a thing as 'getting over' someone you expected to spent the rest of your life with. It's just that--. I mean, well, I will always have feelings for him, and I don't know if that's fair to anyone else I were to start seeing," she finished lamely.

"I see. Well, we need to talk about this some more. But right now we have to decide if we're going to do the jump.. The pilot's waiting."

"Peter, please, do you mind if I sit this one out? I just don't feel up to it."

"No, sure, I understand. Do you mind if I go ahead? I think it would do me some good."

"Please, do. I'll be over here waiting for you. Be safe."

Anne looked up at the plane, then away. <It doesn't make sense to be involved with Peter if I wasn't willing to stay with Duncan. I mean, I might as well go back with Duncan if I'm destine to be involved with an Immortal!> She watched the plane reach its mark and the three divers exit the door. All seemed to be going smoothly as the divers opened their chutes one by one. Then Anne noticed there were only two chutes open. <Why doesn't the third person open? What's going on? What if it's Peter?> Anne began to run towards the jump mark. Suddenly, the third chute opened. Anne stopped running and shaded her eyes with her hand, watching the divers' landings. Peter was the first one to the ground. <I don't think I can do this,> she thought.

"I must have been out of my mind," Anne later thought to herself. "Letting him jump right after that conversation about Duncan! What if he had decided not to pull the cord because I'd sounded ready to dump him?" The plane landed safely, and Peter and his buddies were already walking up to the plane when Anne emerged. She was glad to see him in one piece, but she knew now that he would remain in one piece even if he never pulled a ripcord again. Still, she hugged him tightly upon seeing him. Neither of them wished to air any of their relationship in front of his friends, so they were in the car before any more was said about the conversation on the plane. It was Peter who broke the silence.

"I just have to ask this point-blank..no sugar-coating, okay? If Duncan MacLeod were to come to you and ask you to take him back, would you seriously consider it?"

Anne was speechless; she always thought *she* was the one with the questions that had no easy answers. "No matter what I say, it will hurt your feelings."

"I'm a big boy, I can take it. I really want an honest answer, because without that, I don't know where we could go from here." Anne thought for a moment. It seemed like forever. "I had this fantasy relationship, you know? I thought we were meant for great things, and I convinced myself that we were going to be 'it'. It took me a long time to come to grips with the cold hard facts....that Duncan and I have a lot of differences that I can't deal with. I could not subject myself and especially Mary to that sort of uncertainty. I chose to be alone rather than stay in a fantasy, and it was a hard decision to make. I know you would like me to say that I am choosing you over him, but I still don't know if I want to 'choose' anybody."

Peter took all this in, then continued the line of thought. "I think that you do very well on your own. Mary is the best kid. I just want to know if Duncan MacLeod is an obstacle to our being together. I can deal with commitment anxiety or any of that, but if the only thing holding you back is another man, I can't stop you from changing your mind about him."

Anne had spent a lot of time denying any feelings for Duncan at all. For once, she had come up on a man who would not believe a blanket denial, and she would not insult him by claiming Duncan was no longer in her thoughts. Furthermore, he was SYMPATHETIC to those feelings! Someone who actually cared deeply about HER feelings! Most men would have stalked off in a jealous rage, but Peter was sitting here asking if he could do anything to help her accept him into her life on a committed level.

Anne had to take off an hour early on Monday in order to shop for birthday party favors. Sure there was a long time before the actual party would be held, but why wait until the last minute? Besides, she was having fun. She knew that a one year-old would not know the difference between a party with streamers and horns and a party without them, but this was Mary's First Birthday, and mommy was going to do it RIGHT. Anne felt a bit inferior at times to those Martha Stewart-types who had all that extra time to plan these types of shindigs, so she felt this was one time where she could go overboard. She was mulling over the choices in crepe-paper streamers when she got beeped. She rolled her eyes, then noticed that all the other women in the store were grabbing for their purses, as well. "It's mine..." she lamented to the relieved (but amused) women.

Within an hour she was back in scrubs, being handed charts on two gunshot victims. "Never a dull moment," she thought to herself. She gasped audibly as she looked down to see Peter was one of the gunshot victims. The EMT had said both had been seriously wounded, but that the other person was near death. Not wishing to work on Peter, she started procedures on the other person. She could not even look in the direction of ER2, where doctors were working on Peter. "Is this it?" she kept thinking nervously. "Will he die and wake up, and everything get turned inside out again?" She was shaking; she wisely decided she needed another doctor to take over.

The same panicked questions went through her mind, but with an added twist; she was being commonly referred to as "the next of kin" since Peter had no family listed nearby. She had to make decisions regarding how far her colleagues should go in keeping him alive! The irony was enough to send her to her office to compose herself. She hated it more than anything, but she knew it was time to "call in the reserves". She called Duncan and the minute she heard his voice, she spouted out the whole, involved story, from Joe and Richie to the skydiving to the gunshot wound and the surgery, all the while fighting back tears. He arrived at the hospital just as Anne was calling the ER for a status report, in which the doctor said a lot of medical lingo that only he and Anne would understand. She slammed down the phone in tears as well as frustration. Duncan jumped.

"I can't deal with this twice, Duncan. I was so much better off not knowing....not about you, your 'friends', about Peter and what will eventually happen to him. He's in a coma and from what Rick just said, he probably has irreparable brain amage from the loss of blood to his brain." Before Duncan could open his mouth, she knew what he was going to say. "And don't you try to be 'reassuring' by telling me that he'll be fine once he makes himself 'undead' or whatever you call it! Your sage wisdom about immortality is not going to make me feel my loss any less. I will lose, he will lose...our relationship will never be the same once he wakes up, and you can't tell me otherwise. He'll be part of your world, not mine." She wanted to be really, really angry at him, but she knew it wasn't his fault that he was born into the life he was, and certainly it was not his fault that Peter was born to it. The situation was just too terrible for there not to be some need for venting anger in someone's direction.

Dr. Rick Andrews walked into Anne's office as she was crying into the shoulder of Duncan's shirt. He had news. Peter's EEG had shown that he was never going to regain full consciousness. The internal bleeding was getting worse, and surgery would probably do little good by that point. The translation was that Peter was dying, and nothing could really be done. Anne waited for Rick to leave, then took a deep breath. "Will he really be all right..once he revives, I mean? The same Peter that.."

Duncan interrupted in a murmur, "He'll be okay. Don't worry...I'll take care of everything."

Anne knew he probably would.

The End

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This page last updated: 5/26/97