Having finally settled into an easy companionship with his 'cousin' Duncan offered to show her at least one sight in Seacouver that night.
"We'll go to Joe's bar," he said, " it's a good place, live music and good people. Besides which they serve good beer."
"All right ," she laughed, "sounds good to me, lead on then."
As they came out into the car park Duncan looked around for Catriona's car. "Where did you park?" He asked, failing to see any vehicle other than his own in the vicinity.
Catriona snorted " I don't have a car and it wouldn't do me much good if I did have since I can't drive. I don't have any desire to learn either." She added.
"So did you get a cab here?"
"Hardly Duncan, I walked. You know, used the oldest method of transport? I like walking, it gives me time to think."
Duncan was taken aback at this. Whilst he also liked walking he wouldn't actually call walking from the University Campus to his dojo a pleasant stroll, it was nearly eight miles through some of the least salubrious parts of Seacouver.
"You should have mentioned it before," he said. "I'd have arranged to come by and pick you up."
"It's all right Duncan, I can manage to walk all by myself . I'm quite a big girl now you know, even my mother stopped worrying about me when I passed twenty." She grinned at him.
"Fine. I wasn't passing judgment or anything but it isn't exactly a great walk, nor a particularly safe one late at night."
"I'll bear it in mind." She said dryly. " Now I think you were going to take me to this hot bar somewhere in town?"
She put her arm through his and tugged a little to encourage him into action. Sighing a little he acquiesced and they headed for Joe's in Duncan's car.
Duncan and Catriona walked toward the bar. As Catriona was about to push the door open she noticed Duncan stiffen slightly.
"What is it?" she asked," Someone walk over your grave?"
Suddenly relaxing again Duncan grinned down at her. "I sincerely hope not," he said, " there's another immortal inside that's all." Not only that but Duncan knew who it was. A shared quickening had given him a connection to this particular immortal that he had never shared with another.
"Should we leave?" Catriona asked.
"No, it's fine," he reassured her. Then he looked at her carefully. A thought occurred to him. " Why should you think I'd not want to go in if another immortal was inside?" he asked.
"I thought," she said carefully, " that all immortals had to fight each other, 'there can be only one,'" she recited.
Duncan grasped her shoulders fiercely. "You didn't mention it before," he spat out, "How do you know this?"
Fighting to keep calm in his grip Catriona merely said " I know because I know Duncan, I read it in you and I read it in the vision. I don't know any more than that, but it sounds like an invocation to avoid meeting other immortals unless you know them and trust them."
"You're right," said Duncan letting her go, "When you said you read it in me, what exactly did you mean?"
She got her breathing back under control now that she was free from his painful grasp.
" Sometimes people give off strong signals when they are emotionally charged, it's hard to ignore them. When you tensed just now that was the message I got from you, but then it changed you relaxed and I just got a picture of warmth. I wasn't consciously trying to read you it just flashed over me. I'm sorry."
"No I'm sorry," he said, " I overreacted. I can tell the other immortal inside is a friend, it doesn't work with others but he and I," he hesitated, "well let's just say we don't have any problems knowing the other is around. With others it's just a general sense of an immortal presence..with him it's more specific."
They had both calmed down now and Duncan signalled toward the door again, "Shall we go inside and meet everyone?" he asked. He Pushed open the door and stood aside to let her enter first.
Catriona noted the stage at the end of the bar area. The place was quite full and the atmosphere was expectant and good humoured.
"Joe's band are playing tonight," Duncan announced "looks like a good crowd for it."
"It certainly does," agreed Catriona, " exactly what type of music does he play?"
"Blues," replied Duncan, " and he's good too." He looked around for a sign of Methos, knowing he was here but unable to see him anywhere in the crowd.
"I look forward to hearing him then." said Catriona " Is he a friend of yours?"
"Oh yes, " said Duncan, " and before you ask, no he isn't immortal"
"It wouldn't have occurred to me to ask Duncan. It really is none of my business in any case. I am not going to go around trying to work out who is and who isn't immortal, you can relax."
"OK." He grinned . "Come on, I'll introduce you to Joe before his set starts."
He steered them both toward the bar where Joe was waiting for him.
"Joe," he greeted the watcher warmly, " I'd like you to meet a distant relative of mine from Scotland. Joe Dawson, Catriona MacLeod."
Joe smiled at Catriona and held out his hand. Catriona shook it warmly.
"Welcome to Seacouver Miss MacLeod." Joe said.
"Oh please Mr Dawson, call me Catriona. Nice place you have here," she observed. She noted the man's stance. he was leaning heavily on the bar as if to keep the weight from his legs. 'He seems to have some disability' she thought and was instantly annoyed with herself for even allowing such a thought to cross her mind, nothing about Joe Dawson - stance apart - marked him as anything but a stridently independent and confident man disabled was hardly the word to describe him.
"Why thank you, but if I'm to call you Catriona you must call me Joe. Now what can I get you folks to drink?"
They settled for beer. Catriona watched Joe move to fetch the drinks and noted the unusual gait, 'false legs then' she concluded, and noted that despite this he moved with power around the bar. As Duncan made to show Catriona to a table he raised an eyebrow to Joe "Where is he?" he questioned.
"Adam's in back looking over the books for me, he'll be through soon." He nodded to Duncan and then lowered his voice as Catriona moved to the table Duncan had indicated. "She checks out Mac, I really don't think you have a problem, but maybe we all need a bit of a chat later?"
"Good idea Joe, have you warned Adam about her?"
"I mentioned it. He didn't seem too worried either. No adverse information on her anywhere. All her bio checked out, and he triple checked it all for me." Joe handed Duncan the pitcher of beer and the glasses and left him to get ready for the set with the band.
Catriona waited at the table for Duncan to join her. She noticed he was a little tense as he talked to Joe, but that whatever Joe said to him obviously put him at his ease. He was visibly more relaxed as he joined her.
"Problem?" she asked, sipping the cold beer.
"No not at all, just wondering where Adam was, but Joe tells me he's working on the books, he'll probably be out to join us soon, do you mind?"
"Why should I mind?" she said. " I'd love to meet a friend of yours, and I don't expect you to feel you have to spend all your time babysitting your distant cousin. I did my growing up a while back and I really can cope with sharing the attention of my handsome cousin."
She grinned at him shyly as she said that and was amused to see him blush slightly. 'After four hundred and four years he still has the capacity for blushing' she thought ' how endearing, and by god he is handsome'..better stop thinking along those lines though she realised . Duncan would no more think of courting his cousin that he would of betraying his Clan. She sighed slightly and took another sip of her beer.
"Are you OK?" queried Duncan, "Not too tired?"
"Fine, fine, just thinking how different everything is here, I suppose I was daydreaming," she said, hoping she'd covered her wistful look sufficiently. If not she could always pass it off as dreaming of home she thought.
As she finished speaking Joe and the band took the stage and began the set with a vibrant rendition of 'Smokestack Lightning'.
"You're right Duncan, they're very good," Catriona said, "l love that number."
They both relaxed into their seats and became wrapped up in appreciation of the performance. Catriona was feeling a warm glow and relaxed as she began to feel more and more at home and less of the sense of herself as a being from outer space that she had experienced earlier that day. She was very attuned to atmosphere and once she became part of a place she felt she could truly be herself. She let down all her guards and opened herself to the unique ambience of the bar, she sensed happiness and exuberance from the band and from most of the patrons, a tinge of sadness here and there but no more than usual in any crowd. 'I can be as at home here as anywhere else' she thought, 'I made the right decision.' She focused on the music again, not wanting to intrude on the thoughts and senses of others in the bar, she considered it almost an act of aggression to do so uninvited for more than a few seconds, more so when the people in question where unaware of what she was doing.
As she and Duncan were engrossed in the music the office door opened and Methos stepped out. He looked around the room searching for Duncan and smiled a greeting across the room as he saw him. Stopping to collect a beer first, he strolled across to their table just as the band ended the number. As the applause began to die down Duncan stood up to introduce Catriona to Methos.
Seeing Duncan stand as another man came to stand near the table Catriona also rose to her feet.
"Catriona, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine. Catriona MacLeod, Adam Pierson."
He indicated the man standing slightly to one side of her and she turned holding out her hand in greeting. She was by now completely relaxed, all her barriers were down again and she wasn't even aware of it until she felt her sight engage fully. As she looked at the man she was introduced to she caught her breath 'the third man from my vision' she thought. Too late she realised she was about to touch him. He grasped her hand warmly and smiled at her.
"Very pleased to meet you Catriona," he said.
Catriona was struck dumb and frozen in horror. She realised that she was unwittingly invading the man's memories, but she was unable to speak or move as she felt the whole of this man's incredibly long life wash through her senses. She swayed slightly and gave a cry before collapsing in a heap at the feet of the man holding her hand. The whole event had taken no longer than two seconds.