Another Life(HLDR,XO,CC,Mature)COMPLETE 8/11/09

[thumper1942]

OK this is a first for me. Usual warnings about not for profit, etc. ALL due respect to those that invented/own these universes. Inspired by Bored to Mundane Lifes CONCEPT OF ETERNITY. Unfortunately it seems that bored will not be finishing it- its been several years since an update and all PM's have not been answered. So I am going to try my own version. Big difference will be no super Immortal like Bored had- no gary stus or Mary Sue's.
Parings: CC-at this time. May change.

Rating: Mature

Subject: What if Liz was not healed by Max. What if she had no need for any intervention...


Another Life

Liz Parker was tired of Maria harping on Max Evans. True he did seem to be interested in her but he never did anything about it. As far as Liz was concerned he had to step up to get into the game. She admitted to herself hat her current relationship with Kyle Valenti was probably not going anywhere. They were friends but more than that just did not seem likely.
It was getting close to noon and the Crashdown was starting to get busy. Liz admitted to herself that the tacky decorations in the Crashdown (alien themes did well in Roswell, naturally) sometimes gave her the willies-despite the fact that she milked the more gullible tourists with a rather hideous alien photograph that she had created as a joke some years ago.
Liz headed towards the serving counter to pick up her next order, Jose having rung the bell that let the waitresses know that an order was ready. Liz knew it was hers since Maria had not put in any orders for several minutes. As she picked up the order of onion rings (Saturn Rings) and Men in Blackberry Pie, she heard an argument start in one of the booths. She turned towards the booth in curiosity, just in time to see two men struggling with each other and fall out of the booth. She did not have time to do anything else as what they were grappling for went off.
The sound of the pistol shot echoed off the walls of the café. Most of the customers immediately dove to the floor. Liz did not see any of this as the impact of the bullet to her stomach sent her backwards against the counter, before sliding down. One other person also did not go for the floor- Max Evans.
All Max could see – his total occupation of all his facilities- was Liz Parker slamming up against the counter before falling to the floor, the front of her alien themed uniform already red with blood.
Shrugging off his best friends arm Max raced for Liz. Michael Gurrin knew what Max was going to do and it scared him. Max was going to use his special abilities to heal Liz Parker without regard to being found out. Just because he had a thing for Liz. He was going to expose all of them just for a teenaged crush.
Max reached Liz and tore open the front of her costume, exposing her bleeding stomach. He looked at her face. Her eyes were closed. Desperately Max tried to wake her. But she was out cold. He then placed his hand on the wound and tried to will it closed. Nothing happened but his hand being covered by blood. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up.
Maria was terrified that Liz was going to die. Max Evans had raced to her and was trying to put pressure on the wound. Maria had managed to get enough of a grip on herself to call 911. Now she was just hoping they could save Liz.
Max realized that Liz was not going to regain consciousness and without that there was nothing he could do. All he could do was keep pressure on the wound and pray the ambulance would get Liz to the hospital on time.
Sheriff Jim Valenti had been just passing by the Crashdown when he saw two men racing from the entrance. He immediately hit the lights and siren and then went in pursuit as one of the men had a gun in his hand. Calling for backup he heard that someone had been shot inside. The man with the gun saw him and threw it down before running up the alley next to the Crashdown. By sheer coincidence the other patrol vehicle in Roswell at that time was passing down the street at the end of the alley and one of his deputies blocked the other end. The man stopped and turned around only to see Valenti with his pistol out aimed right at him. He immediately gave up, stammering over and over again that it was an accident and he did not mean to do it. Valenti let his deputy handcuff and Miranda the man, while he went into the Crashdown, just after the ambulance got there. Going in he saw Liz Parker being placed on the gurney for transport to the town hospital.
Max was terrified that Liz was going to die, and depressed because he had not been able to do anything. Watching the attendants loading Liz on the gurney, he was startled by someone taking hold of his arm and pulling him away. He turned and saw it was the Sheriff.
Valenti had seen Max Evans standing there with a shocked look on his face and blood on his hands watching Liz Parker being prepared for transport. He realized that Max was partially in shock himself and pulled him away to try and get him calmed down.
“Max, can you tell me what happened?” Valenti asked. Max, with a slightly dazed look on his face, blinked and said. “Two men in that booth over there were arguing and then started to fight with each other and fell out of the booth. Then a gun went off and Liz was hit.” Valenti nodded. “We got the guy with the gun and are after the other one as well.” Max nodded slightly. “At least the SOB will not get away with it”. Valenti nodded. “Lots of witnesses, we have the gun, there is no way he is not going to be spending a fair amount of time in jail. If we lose Liz, he will spend the rest of his life inside, I can promise you that Max”. Max shrugged. “If we lose Liz then I hope he burns in hell” .Valenti blinked at that hard statement coming from someone he considered one of the quietest and nicest young men in Roswell. I guess Max has a crush on Liz, he thought.

In the Emergency room of the hospital, doctors and nurses worked to save Liz Parker. She had arrived with just barely a pulse and almost non existent blood pressure. But prompt IV’s and other measures had seemed to stabilize her. After about half an hour, the senior doctor stood up and stretched his shoulders.“I think we have her OK for the time being. Lets get a full set of X Rays to see where the bullet ended up.”
Jeff and Nancy Parker had just arrived at the hospital as the Doctor came out of the emergency room. He recognized them and walked towards them. “Mr and Mrs Parker, your daughter is stabile at the moment. We are now getting X Rays to see where the bullet ended up. Unless its somewhere close to the spine we will probably not go into her stomach to get it out at this time. Might not need to go after it at all- we shall see.” Jeff and Nancy sagged in relief. They had feared the worst.
Unknown to the doctor, the bullet had not lodged in the intestines but had stopped right next to the renal artery on the right side. As Liz was placed in the bed in the ICU, it started to move downwards, touching the artery. At the same time the new nurse hooking up the monitors made a mistake. The ECG that was supposed to monitor Liz she pressed the wrong button and put the machine on test mode, which was a loop that repeated itself. The steady beat of the buzzer was misleading.

As they finally settled Liz into the bed, the attendants jarred her slightly- but it was enough for the bullet to damage the artery. Unknown to anyone, Liz Parker was about to bleed to death.
Thinking the ECG was monitoring Liz, the nurses left to attend to other duties. Within 15 minutes, Liz heart stopped. Liz Parker was dead.

2hrs afterwards, the ICU doctor was making his rounds. As he came to Liz Parkers bed, he noticed the ECG had stopped. Looking at the control panel, he was shocked to see the setting. Immediately he checked Liz Parkers pulse. Relieved to find it strong and steady, he shouted for the nurse on duty. She came running up and looked at what he was pointing too. The shock on her face only barely rivaled the anger on his. “What the hell happened here? Who set up this monitor?” he growled. She shook her head= “I think it was the new nurse but I am not sure.” “Find out” he ordered.
The Doctor ordered a full set of readings be taken immediately. And a formal report on what happened.
“We are lucky she was stabile. She could have died and no one would have known”. He grimly stated. 15 minutes later he was looking at the readings and shaking his head. They were higher and stronger then anyone shot just 3 hours earlier should have. He looked down at the still unconscious girl and remarked to the nurse. “Miss Parker must have the constitution of the proverbial horse. At this rate she will be out of here inside of a couple of days.” “Well she is young and strong” said the nurse. “True, but this kind of rate of healing is still unusual.” The Doctor shook his head again. “This girl has a fair amount of luck- healing fast and having a scatter brain nurse disable her monitor- and it ending up not mattering.

Not quite an hour later, Liz Parker woke up. Looking around her, she was puzzled until the memories came back. Her eyes widened and she looked down at her stomach, swathed in bandages. Curiosity over coming her common sense, since she felt just fine BUT she knew she had been shot, she started to unbandage herself. Startled by the fact she felt no pain, she got the bandage off and looked at an unmarked stomach. Her mouth dropped open. How can this be- I know I was shot. I remembered feeling the blow to my stomach and seeing the blood. I am in the hospital and yet there is no indication anything happened. Her analytical mind worked on the situation. OK, there is no sign I was shot and yet there are some blood stains on the bandage. She was then distracted by finding some thread with the bandage. Stitches, she thought. These are from the stitches. BUT how did they get out of the wound, which to all appearances never existed. This is NOT possible, she thought. BUT it has happened. She looked around the darkened room. It was early evening and since this was early January, it was getting dark outside as well. She looked at the IV and machines she was hooked up to and thought about her situation. If anyone finds out about this they will never let it go. I do not want to be a curiosity or become a lab rat. I have to find a way to hide what has happened but how?
Duncan McCleod was passing through Roswell when he happened to see the ambulances taking a young woman out of a tacky looking alien themed café. Traffic was stopped but the ambulance went right by him- close enough for him to feel a very faint buzz. His eyes widened= a pre immortal, perhaps? If so, she might be one of us soon, he thought. After traffic was allowed to move again, he made his way to the town hospital to wait and see.

Duncan made his why quietly through the darkened corridors of the hospital. He had been able to overhear enough to know who had been brought in and why. He hoped that the young girl, pre immortal or not, had not died. Even if she was immortal, 16 years old is very young to be part of the Game. Using his years of experience, he managed to get into the ICU without anyone seeing him. As he got closer to where he thought Liz Parker was at, he felt it. A buzz from a New Immortal. Sadly, he made his way to where he was about to change a young girls life forever. And forever might just be that.
Liz was still trying to figure out a way to get a handle on her situation when a blinding pain lanced through her head. Groaning, she muttered “What in the world is this. I have enough of a problem without a migraine coming on.” “Its not a migraine miss Parker” she heard. “Look at me and it will go away”
Liz looked up at a tall dark and handsome stranger. And just like that the headache disappeared.
“How did you do that” she whispered.
“I did nothing. Its just the way it works” Duncan said.
“what do you mean, its just the way it works” asked Liz, totally in the dark.
Duncan saw that she had taken off her bandage. Figuring she knew something was wrong with the situation, he decided the direct approach was better in this situation. “I can see that you have taken off your bandage. Let me guess- you found no trace of a wound at all right? And right now you are wondering what in the world has happened, correct?”
Liz looked at the stranger. How could he possibly know that?
So she asked him.
Duncan knew that they did not have a lot of time. A nurse would be by probably pretty quickly. Luckily this was not a new hospital with all sorts of cameras to monitor the patients.
“We do not have much time before someone comes by. You know that what has happened is very extraordinary and would turn you into a freak show at best, and at worse a lab rat, right?”
Liz gaped at him for speaking to her with words that she had thought just minutes ago.
“Do you read minds, Mr… What is your name anyway?”
“My name is Duncan McLeod. And you are now one of us”. He stated quietly.
“One of who?” she asked.

Immortals, she thought later. Duncan had given her a brief rundown on them (on us, she thought dazedly) before he heard a nurse coming and quietly left, telling her to fake unconsciousness for the time being and he would be back once he was sure the nurse was gone. All her logic and knowledge screamed at her that it could not be true, and yet the evidence was right there – or as her case might be- NOT right there. There was no logical reason she could give for what had happened, yet his explanation was only slightly more believable then any of the Roswell crash conspiracies. Instant healing, immortality, the concept was totally out there way beyond anything she had ever imagined. Staying 16 forever was also not something she was looking forward to. Maybe I would feel different if I was 30 or so, but being 16 looking it is not something anyone would want.
Duncan quietly came back to the ICU. Luckily it was after 10 PM so things were pretty quiet. He knew that he had to help Liz Parker get used to her new situation, but he was conflicted as well. With a little work he knew he could probably help her cover things up and she could continue her life as it was before the shooting. Which was probably best. Its not like Roswell was high up on immortals destinations. He had only been passing through on his way to Houston, and had on a whim decided to go through Roswell out of curiosity. This way she could have time in a settled and familiar environment to start getting ready for the changes in her life. Its not easy for a female immortal to begin with, and with someone so small and slight its going to be very hard for her to defend herself. Luckily she seemed to be pretty fit and careful training over time =assuming she had enough= she should be able to strengthen herself enough to be able to defend herself. And small quick opponents had given him trouble sometimes. He thought that he might be able to get her to the point where she would be able to hold her own with most immortals. Right now it was more important to figure out a way to hide her healing so that she did not have to leave everything she had ever known over night.
By a concentrated effort, Liz had been able to force herself to think about how to cover all this up for the time being. This was going to be tough since no doctor would let her out without examining the wound, and at 16 she was too young to sign herself out without her parents permission. Outside of sneaking out herself, which would really set off alarms and cause more scrutiny, she did not know what to do. Waiting for Duncan to show up (she was startled by how easily she seemed to trust him, this was not something she had ever done before, but then that was small potatoes compared to her situation at the moment) she tried to think of how to do it. Grimly, she decided that the only way was for her to somehow convince her parents to take her out of the hospital. And the only way to do that was to tell them the whole story. Which was going to be fun.

Duncan listened to what Liz had to say. While normally telling anyone NOT an immortal about them was really not a good idea, he had to admit that if she wanted to continue her life here there was not a whole lot of choices. Then he got an idea. Pulling out his cell phone (one of the few times the thing had come in handy, he thought) he dialed a familiar number.

Joe Dawson was just taking a break from singing when the phone rang at his desk in his office in the jazz café/bar he owned in Seacover. “Joes Place, Joe speaking” he answered the phone . “Joe, its Duncan McLeod. I need some help”. Joe was surprised. It was not often that Duncan Mcleod ever needed help and even rarer to ask for it. This must be a doozy he thought. “Whats up Duncan?” “I am in Roswell, New Mexico and just found a new immortal. She is only 16 and by pure luck no one knows she died. But she is in the hospital here and we are trying to figure out a way for her to get out of here without raising suspicions. A doctor is going to want to examine her and we know that cannot happen. She is thinking of telling her parents so that they can sign her out without that happening, but that will cause other problems. She has a rare chance here to continue her life as it was for at least a while but we have to act fast. Do you have any ideas?”
Joe sat back. Talk about rare- a new immortal being able to continue on as before was truly a very unusual situation. He thought for a minute. “What happened?” “She was shot by accident in the café where she works for her parents as a waitress. Purely by accident apparently a new nurse did not hook up the machines that would have let everyone know she died so she died and then revived without anyone noticing. But since she now has no wound to show that would really stir things up.”
Joe grimaced. “Yeah that certainly would- and happening in Roswell would make it more crazy then it normally would.” Duncan grimaced himself. “Had not thought about that but you are right”
“Yeah, we have to cover this up for sure. We do not have anyone in Roswell but we do have people in Albuquerque. I will call them and have them head your way. They should be there by early morning. I think the best thing to do is have her transferred out of Roswell= we can do that and make it look like a mixup. The key to it all will be making sure the parents do not raise hell about it. We can hack into the hospital computer and put in a fake transfer order. But its going to be up to you to handle the parents. Keep them from raising the alarm until we have things set up so that they think that while there was a crazy screw up their daughter is ok. We can then arrange for one of our own doctors to take over so no one outside gets a clue.”

Duncan thought about Joe’s plan. It probably was the best way to go, but it was going to be complicated.
They had decided to have the people coming down to have an ambulance and do the transfer that night before morning. They would take her to Albuquerque and set it all up there. There was a private clinic there that had some Watcher connections and they should be able to pull it off. Duncan would then have to find a way for the parents to head up to there without anyone else finding out.

James Wilson, Larry Thomas, Cynthia Becker and Roger Hall were the watchers that were going to do the transfer. Hall would be the “doctor” and Becker the nurse, while Thomas and Wilson would be the ambulance attendants. The hospital computer had already been hacked and the fake transfer order was in place. They got to Roswell at 5 AM. The staff was not happy with things happening this early, but the paperwork seemed in order and the patient in question was stabile. The doctors that had treated Liz were not on duty, and neither were the nurses, so there was no trouble there. As they left the hospital parking lot, Duncan waved them down.

Wilson was the driver, and seeing Duncan McLeod walking towards him somewhat shook him up. Coming from a family of watchers that had been in the “business” for over 100 years, this was the first time he had ever met an immortal, let alone one that knew what he did. Joe Dawson’s relationship with Duncan McLeod was still very controversial in the Watcher Ranks, though most admited that with the advent of the Hunters some kind of interaction with the Immortals was almost inevitable, and it seemed that it had worked out OK. The entire Watcher community had been horrified by the Hunters, and no effort had been sparred to ferret out any sympathizers. Compared to what they had done, what Joe did was small potatoes and it had resulted in the quick destruction of the Hunters. Most though had felt that after that was over Joe should either have been replaced or forced back into non contact with any immortals. However, the council had decreed that since Duncan McLeod was so highly thought of in the immortal community, that one contact with them was probably in the Watchers best interest. Since it seemed clear that he was not interested in spreading the news, and was not telling anyone new about the watchers, it seemed to be working. Still there was a lot of disagreement in the ranks, though it was hard to tell just which way the majority felt about it. Wilson was conflicted himself, since he prided himself in being able to see both sides of any argument. He could see pros and cons on both sides. And he had to admit a chance to get to know one of the most famous of all immortals was a real thrill, even to someone on the wrong side of 30.
Duncan had been careful to pick a spot near the hospital but out of site of the entrance, just in case someone was watching. “I need the address of the clinic in Albuquerque, since I know the Parkers are going to want to see Liz today. I will be going down there and be at the Crashdown as soon as it opens, which is in about half an hour. “ Wilson nodded and gave him the address. “Are you going to tell them the whole story or what?” “I will play it by ear. I am going to try and not tell them as much as I can, it will depend on what will cause less trouble down the line. They are going to have to know sooner or later since it will be obvious in a couple of years that Liz is not getting any older. Later clearly would be better, but we shall see. I am not going to tell them anything about the Watchers, as far as anyone else knows this is an Immortal operation. Liz does not know about the watchers, and I hope to keep it that way. I promised Joe I would do my best to see that no one else finds out about the Watchers and I keep my promises.” Wilson nodded slowly. Duncan McLeod was renowned for keeping his word on anything, and in 400 years it had become literally good as any gold in any bank anywhere.
Liz opened her eyes once the “nurse” had let her know that the coast was clear. She sat up on the gurney, as the “nurse” took out her IV and unhooked her from the monitors. Liz looked at her and asked “Duncan said he had some people he could call but I did not think that things would happen this fast. You must all either be good friends of his or you owe him big for something. This is not a little thing you are doing.”
Cynthia thought about how to approach this potential minefield. Keeping the Watcher name out of it, and making sure that no one not already in the know found out had been very much emphasized from the beginning. So keeping up the pretense that this was all Duncan Mcleod’s doing was the order of the day. At the same time it was extremely rare to be able to see how a new immortal reacted, especially one just literally hours old. In the thousands of years the watchers had been around, the number of times they had been in at such an early age of an immortal could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And Liz Parker seemed to be a very mature teenager- considering the way she had so far reacted. Cynthia had no doubt at all that the research section of the Watchers would be VERY interested in all of their reports.
She looked at the young woman (for that is how one had to think of her now-her childhood was over for certain) and decided to take it very slowly and carefully. “Consider us friends of friends. Duncan McLeod currently resides in Seacover, and this is the first time he has been in this part of the country. Needless to say that in 400 plus years he has been pretty much everywhere you can think of on this world, and has met a lot of people who were not immortal. Got to know them, and if they found out he was immortal, quite often getting to know their children and grandchildren and so on. Not to mention that the rare antique business has connections everywhere as well. Being the type of person he is, he tends to end up getting involved anytime something bad goes down and a lot of people end up owing him their lives, and often the lives of their family. That tends to make for pretty heavy duty bonds.”
Liz thought about this. She needed to know more about Duncan Mcleod since it seemed clear he was going to have a heavy influence on her life for some time to come. “I want to know more about Duncan. I know he is a Highland Scot, and I can guess to a certain extent some of his history, but I really would like to know more.” She looked at Cynthia expectantly.

Ouch, thought Cynthia. This young woman is pretty sharp and already seems past the shock stage. Going to have to be very careful. Does not help that I really do not know a whole lot about him except what just about every Watcher knows. “Its not just that he is a highland Scot. He was adopted by a very well respected clan Chieftain and for many years was expected to succeed him. Only after his apparent death and so called resurrection was he cast out by his frightened and superstitious clan. His cousin Connor McLeod, almost as famous as Duncan is for being the one that killed the Kurgan, found him and trained him as an immortal. Connor is one who is also deeply Scottish and very much a man of Honor as well. Duncan for quite a while was a soldier in various armies, and has always been something of a Wandering Knight in Shining Armor. Frankly, Liz, you could not have been found by a better Immortal. He will do the very best he can to see to it that you are prepared and trained to survive the Game.”

Liz blinked. “The Game? What is the Game?”

Cynthia paled. Duncan had not yet told her about the Game. You dummy, of course he had not told her. Its not like she did not have enough on her plate as it was, and how do you tell someone that you will be forced to fight other immortals with a sword, and will have to cut off their heads to keep your own. Right after all that had already happened to her.

She sighed. “Duncan has not yet told you. Its not really up to me to say much more, but I think I can say this. If there are immortals, and more are apparently coming all the time, then there should be untold thousands and thousands of them and the story of Immortals would have come out long ago or at the very least strong hints and lots of speculation. Yet there are not that many around, really. Why is that and what happens to them?” She looked at Liz expectantly. This will tell us a lot about Liz as a person, and how she reasons and sees things.
Liz thought about this. She is right-clearly immortals are not totally invulnerable- they can die just like anyone else-they just do not stay dead. But clearly from what she says there is a way for them to die permanently. What could that be. What way could be permanent to someone that can heal a bullet wound like I had so quickly. OK, one could be blown to pieces in an explosion or such. BUT that capability has only been around for a few centuries. From what I am hearing and seeing Immortals have been around for thousands of years apparently. What other way for someone to die that would be permanent? Then it came to her- one way. Decapitation. No one can heal that. But what can be the Game? Why does one have to train…. OH. To keep ones head. How would someone take off your head? With a sword. Duncan was wearing a long rain coat and yet it rarely rains here….but a rain coat would be a good way to hide a sword. So I will have to learn how to sword fight to survive…what? Bad immortals? But why would they want to kill me and take my head? The Game? It must be something about that. Is it a game to some immortals to fight and kill others? I can see that but just how many of them would want to do that just to want to? Bad and evil ones OK, but that must be a very small number. Why would others want to do this? A game. Most games have a reason or a prize or something you get if you win. What kind of Prize would THIS game have? Still does not make any sense.

Cynthia watched as Liz worked through the question. She could literally see the wheels turning as Liz reasoned it out. She could tell when Liz figured out the one weakness of Immortals, and she thought that she could tell when Liz figured out what the threat to her was and what she had to train with to protect herself. From the puzzled look that stayed on her face, she could tell that Liz still could not figure out what the Prize was for winning the Game. Of course since Duncan had not told her about the Quickening, Liz was not able to put it all together. Cynthia debated with herself on whether to tell Liz about it. That debate ended with Liz’s next question.
Liz looked at Cynthia and decided to ask her. Maybe she would not tell her, but she could ask.
“What is the Prize for winning this Game, Cynthia? I am guessing its something pretty big, and there is something about Immortals I do not know and Duncan has yet to tell me. Probably thought it was too much to drop on me all at once. I can see why he would be concerned, but I need to know all the facts if I am going to make good decisions. So please, Cynthia, tell me what Duncan has not.”
Cynthia sat back and thought. OK, maybe I should not but she needs to know so she can make plans and be able to deal with the reality of it all.
“What each immortal has is called the Quickening. It is thought to be what is behind your ability to come back from the dead and to heal wounds so quickly. No one really knows what it is but it is kind of an energy we believe. Its how Duncan could tell that you were about to become immortal. Apparently an older Immortal can just barely sense a pre immortal, but only ones several hundred years old at least and you have to be very close to them. Once you are Immortal, it is much stronger and much more easily detected at a greater distance. You have already experienced what they call the “Buzz” when you first met Duncan as a fellow Immortal. That Buzz is what identifies one immortal to another. And that is the reason behind the Game.” Cynthia stopped there to see if Liz could figure out the rest and to see how long it took. She bet with herself that it would not take too long.
Liz absorbed what Cynthia had said and started to think about it. OK that makes sense- a kind of energy would be needed to do all this- and it would have to be pretty powerful. I wonder if it is genetic- it must be. And yet I know that neither of my parents are Immortal. It must be a very recessive Gene that just comes around one out of a hundred thousand or a million or so. Or is it genetic? I would have thought that with all the research in to genes and genetics over the last 30-40 years some hint of this would have come out. If it is not genetic then how? Energy in each of us. That is what the Game is about. If you take the head of an Immortal, the energy flows to you. Does it make you stronger or is it like taking a drug and make you high? Either one would be enough of a reason to make a lot of them want to take your head.
Liz closed her eyes and shook her head then looked at Cynthia. “That is the Game. One immortal fights another with swords and whoever wins and decapitates the other gets his power, energy, whatever.”
Cynthia was impressed- it had only taken Liz a few minutes to reason it out and come to the correct conclusion. “That is it. It is thought that the last Immortal will have all the energy, all the Quickenings of all the immortals who have ever lived. It is believed that that Immortal will have the power to rule the world. That is what is thought to be the Prize.”
Liz dropped her head into her hands and sighed. “ I guess in a way it makes sense. For every action there is a reaction. There must be a balance. One cannot have immortals without something balancing it all out. This way you do not have a bunch of immortals banding together to use all the centuries of experience and connections and other abilities to rule the world now. This makes sure that there is no group of immortals, only individuals. “
Cynthia was even more impressed. That particular theory had been advanced by some of the most respected researchers of the Watchers over the centuries. That Liz could figure that out so quickly spoke well of her ability to reason and her intelligence. Which was a good thing. For someone as physically small as Liz was, she would need every edge to survive the Game.

[thumper1942]

Here is part 2, not as long. So far I am just chugging along- we shall see how much I can get done.

Peyton, at this time I intend it to be CC. Might change my mind but I doubt it.



Another Life Part 2

Duncan walked towards the Crashdown, having waited until the lights came on and it opened. He had been going over in his mind how to approach the Parkers. His promise to Joe to keep the Watchers out of it was not really a problem; it was more on how to get the Parkers to see Liz without them knowing about Immortals. How to get them to see that the transfer as nothing more then a screw up with their insurance. Since the new clinic would be considered a step up from Roswell’s Hospital, maybe that would work. Joe seemed to think his hacker could get into the Insurance companies system and make that all look OK. He decided that he would have to act as the Clinics representative and say to the parkers that while it seemed a screwup, it was a relatively harmless one. He then stopped remembering something: the police. They were going to want the bullet- which was still in Liz. That would make them want to go up there as well.
He pulled out his cell phone and called Joe. “Joe its Duncan. We have gotten Liz to the clinic and I am about to approach the Parkers. I intend to act as the Clinic Rep and explain that it was a insurance screw up but that Liz is fine and the doctor there does not want to move her again anytime soon. BUT I just remembered the bullet which is still in Liz- the police here are going to want it and the clinic needs to get the bullet out of Liz for them so that they do not hang around there for any time or ask too many questions.”
Joe nodded to himself- he should have thought of that as well. “ I will call them and let them know. At least it will not be a whole lot of trouble for Liz. She will be healed up before they even leave the operating room. And they know enough to make sure the bullet is bagged and tagged so that there is no trouble with the police.”
Duncan put away his phone and headed towards the Crashdown. This early on a Thursday morning there was no line yet at the door. He walked up and went inside. Looking around he noticed that the booth where the two men were and the place where Liz had fallen was marked off with Police tape still. He was a little surprised that they were being allowed to open at all. He approached the counter where the man he guessed was Mr Parker was standing.

Jeff Parker was still trying to get himself together. True, Liz was going to be OK but the whole terrible incident was still bothering him a lot. They had almost lost their little girl and that he knew THAT was going to give him nightmares for a long time to come. He was opening the Crashdown more out of habit then anything else. Jim Valenti had told him that they should be able to remove the police tape that morning but he did not know when. Nancy was still getting the shakes and Claudia was with her to try and get her to calm down completely. He looked up as the door opened and got himself ready to get the day going. Maria would be in early- she was going to take the 6-9 AM shift before going down to the hospital to see Liz. He stopped when he noticed the tall stranger coming towards him. Something about the man got Jeff’s attention. Dark haired –a small ponytail-but very athletic looking and he moved with a very definite smoothness.
“Mr Parker?” he said. “Yes, I am. What is it” Jeff really did not have time for tourists or maybe someone who had heard about the incident and was curious. The man certainly did not look like a reporter but you never knew. “My Name is Duncan Mcleod and I am the administrator of the Deming Clinic in Albuquerque.” “Yes and what has that to do with me?” He looked a little startled. “The Hospital has not called you?” Jeff tensed. “Is this about my daughter Liz. What is it!” “Your daughter is fine. Apparently the hospital is slow – your daughter was transferred to our clinic just a few hours ago.” “What? Why?”
Jeff was totally in the dark and worried. Why in the world would his daughter have been moved to a clinic that far away. She was supposed to be recovering well right here in Roswell.
Duncan saw that so far it was working. Now just keep it going, he thought. “Your insurance company authorized top care for your daughter and the Deming Clinic is one of the best in the country. I think there was a screw up somewhere along the line since from what I could tell she was doing just fine. I was just told about it an hour ago and I happened to be close to Roswell on my way back from a meeting in El Paso where we are looking to build another clinic. I felt it was better to see you in person.”
Jeff was starting to calm down. Liz was OK just an insurance foul up- this time on the good side rather then the bad. But Albuquerque was a pretty far drive for anyone wanting to visit Liz daily. This was going to complicate things greatly.
“Well I thank you for coming here personally and I am really ticked off with the Hospital for not telling us about this at all. But what is is what is. No use bellyaching about it. Liz is fine and getting the best care so I really have no reason to complain too much. If you would please come with me I need to tell my wife and my wife’s mother about this.”
Duncan followed Jeff Parker up the stairs to the family quarters that were above the Crashdown. So far so good he thought. Now just keep it up and they will not find out about Immortals, Watchers or anything else. That would make Joe happy and take another burden off of Liz.

An hour later Duncan was still optimistic he could keep things quiet, but it was complicated. Keeping the insurance screwup part going he was able to soothe the fears of Liz’s mother and grandmother. However in the middle of that the local authorities had shown up in the guise of Sheriff Valenti. He had naturally been somewhat bothered that he had not been told about Liz’s transfer. But Duncan was able to reassure him about that as well as the bullet. He told all of them that the Doctors there would wait until they were sure the minor surgery needed to remove the bullet would not set Liz back in her recovery. And that they were well aware of the need to preserve the evidence for the police. They were well known in that city for trauma care and that quite often involved the police for one reason or another. Valenti was not too concerned about the bullet, the witnesses and other evidence plus the mans own statement pretty much had that all taken care of. But the bullet would be needed if the case went to court. But after talking with the local DA, it seemed likely that there would be a plea bargain. The DA agreed with Valenti that the man was going to do some time - they were all lucky that Liz had survived but he was still going to do some hard time no matter what. The only question was how much.

“If none of you have any further questions I am going to head for the Clinic. I should be there in a few hours assuming there are no road problems.” Duncan told them. He hoped there would not be any.

Jeff looked at Nancy. One of them would probably have to stay behind to keep the Crashdown open. But then Claudia stepped up. “You two go see Liz. I will stay here and keep an eye on things. Its not that complicated and its not like I did not do it before years ago.” Nancy said ”Thanks so much mom, it really means a lot to us. We both need to see and talk to Liz.”
Valenti said “Well as long as the clinic is going to see to it that the bullet will be saved if we need it, I see no reason for bothering Liz any more. We have statements from everyone around and since its all agreed that Liz was unconscious almost right away its not like she would have anything to add.”
Jeff thanked Valenti for helping keep Liz out of it as much as possible. Valenti waved it off” I have known you two for almost 20 years and Liz all her life. It’s the least I can do. I still remember you telling me how you came to have Liz in the first place”
Duncan had left and started down the stairs when he heard this. He paused, listening. He knew Liz was a foundling, being immortal, but after all these years he still wanted to know more.
“Yes, It still amazes me to this day that only a week after learning that Nancy could not have children we find Liz abandoned in the alley next to the Crashdown. The sheriff back then looked for several weeks around Roswell and this part of New Mexico and never found a trace of the mother. The doctor said Liz was at most a day old when we found her. He was really puzzled and I know he kept at it for at least a couple of years but never found anything at all. We of course could have cared less we were just happy to have Liz. She has been nothing but a joy and a great comfort to us her whole life. No one could have asked for a better daughter.”
Duncan nodded to himself and went quietly down the stairs and out to his car. Just like every other immortal he knew of Liz had just appeared. Joe said that in the entire history of the watchers they had never found any trace of any immortals mother. Even in this day and age when it’s a lot easier to find people and track them down no mother of any immortal had ever been found. Not even close.

[thumper1942]

Another Life Part 3

Liz Parker looked around the room that she was in. Pretty plush, she thought. This place has to cost a fortune. This is a lot to do for a friend, especially with all the possible complications. She knew she was thinking about that to take her mind off of the Game and all its ramifications. And being immortal and not aging. She wondered how long she could stay in Roswell before people started noticing she was not aging. Going to college would help; changing hair does and things like that would work for a while. But no matter what she did it would not last long. She was going to look like a teenager for ever – or for how long she could keep her head- literally and figuratively. She doubted she could ever make herself look any older then her early 20’s at best. Which meant that wherever she went she would have to start off at 18 and then leave by 22 or 23. Maybe a couple of more years if she was lucky. But any way you looked at it it meant leaving every 5-7 years. For whoever knew how long.

Doctor Tim Levins had been part of a watchers family all his life. He had found out by accident in his early 20’s about immortals. He had been part of the Watchers from that point on. Now 53, he had seen a fair amount but had never had an immortal in his clinic- especially one this young. Watching an immortal could sometimes be hazardous to your health, and he had patched up more then a few watchers over the years. But this situation was very different-he had an immortal as a patient. He had to operate on one to get a bullet out so that the local Roswell Police did not get suspicious. And he had to make sure that Liz Parker in no way shape or form suspected anything about the Watchers. Luckily it appeared that she figured everyone here knew about immortals-and that only because of Duncan McLeod- who had just called letting him know that her parents were on the way. He had decided to operate and get the bullet right away just in case. As far as anyone could determine, anesthesia worked on immortals as it did anyone else-the patients just came out of it quicker then normal people did. Which since the incision would heal up probably before he even got his operating gown and gloves off really did not matter much.

Liz looked up as someone came into her room. He was average height, brown haired, looked to be in his forties or fifties. She figured he was a doctor-maybe the one who would be operating on her to get the bullet out. She was right.
Dr Levins looked at his patient. Young and pretty- very young and rather small of stature. But you could see the intelligence burning in her eyes. No fool here-she was pretty sharp. She showed that right away.
“I take it that you are a doctor- probably the one who will be getting the bullet out of me. And you know of my special condition, right?” Liz saw no reason to beat about the bush.
Dr Levins grinned at her. “Right on all accounts. I have just heard from Duncan that your parents are on their way and will be here in 2-3 hours. I figure to have the bullet out of you before they get here. SO I intend to operate in the next hour. Yes I know that you are immortal- everyone who will have contact with you is in the know. We just do not speak about it. Being immortal we do not have to take all the precautions for regular patients. We put you under, get the bullet out, and do not even bother to sew you up since you will heal without a scar before we could do that anyway.”
Liz nodded slowly. Pretty much as she had figured. Not that she was looking forward to it but it had to be done. “Did Duncan say if he had been able to keep from telling my parents about me being Immortal?” This was pretty important.
Dr Levins nodded. “He said they had bought the insurance mistake line and that so far nothing look like it would change. You do know that you are going to have to be careful for a couple of weeks to make sure no one suspects anything, right?”
Liz grimaced. “Yes, I know. I have been thinking about it. I am figuring that I will be here only a few days, at most a week, then go home and have to bed rest for a couple of days before I can start moving around. And then I will have to go slow for a while after that. What I am also thinking is that I am going to need some Hollywood makeup or something to fake a scar- because everyone is going to want to see it and I am guessing that having something to show will go a long way in making sure no one asks any awkward questions. Give people what they expect to see and you usually have no problems.”
Dr Levins was impressed. He had not thought about that and no one else had either but it was a very good idea and made a lot of sense. “I will get ahold of someone I know who works in the entertainment industry. He should know who we can call to get something like that. We can get that done before you leave here. That would indeed distract a lot of people who just might think up some awkward questions.”
At that point two nurses and an orderly came into the room. Dr Levins nodded to them and said to Liz. “They will be prepping you now- nowhere near as much as for regular patients but enough to get the job done here.”
An hour and a half later Dr Levins was taking off his mask and gown and gloves in the post surgery room off of the main surgery theatre. He looked at his scrub nurse who was probably as shook up as he was. That had been the most incredible experience he had ever been through in more than 25 years as a surgeon. Things had been pretty normal at the beginning. Liz was under and seemed to be doing quite well. He had thought that it would be pretty relaxing operating on someone that had no possibility at all of dying on the table-at least not permanently. Since every surgeon knew that something could happen no matter how minor the surgery or how strong the patient nor how good the surgeon-something could go wrong and he could lose the patient. Not possible here. But other things could happen that would make the surgery a lot more “interesting” then anyone would like.
They had taken X Rays to see where the bullet was- just below the renal artery- which probably explained how she had died- the bullet had moved and nicked the artery and she had bled out. A minor incision-no longer then a few inches- pull the bullet and let her healing kick in. What they had not known-though thinking about it later they should have-was that from the moment he cut her her healing would try and close the wound. He was literally having the scrub nurse keep the incision open while he quickly tried to get the bullet out. The blue sparks of her healing was trying to close the wound right around his hand. It had only taken 10 minutes to do it but it was the longest 10 minutes he had ever spent in an operating theatre. And to top it all off only five minutes after the anesthesia was removed Liz had started to regain consciousness. By far and away the most bizarre operation he had ever been part of.

[thumper1942]

Another Life Part 4

Duncan walked into the Deming Clinic looking for Dr Levins. He knew he had only about an hour before the Parkers showed up and he wanted to make sure they were all ready and all on the same page. The clinic was a one story, somewhat sprawling complex. It reaked of money by being subtle and reserved, which is always a sign of serious cash in clinics. He was not surprised; one thing he knew for sure was that the Watchers had plenty of money. He had wondered how they got it; but figured that since many immortals were very well off after hundreds of years it figured that the Watchers Society which was thousands of years old would be rolling in it.

Dr Levins had just finished cleaning up after the surgery and was heading towards his office, wondering how to write this particular surgery up. The clinic made it clear that they needed good written reports on all surgeries just in case an outside organization got curious. BUT they also made it VERY clear that anything mentioning Immortals or Watchers was kept separate and secret. There would need to be a report for the Roswell Police, and there would need to be another for the Watchers. Considering how few times an immortal had been operated on by anyone who KNEW about immortals, that report on Liz Parker would certainly make the rounds in the upper levels of the Society and especially in the research area. Walking down the corridor he spotted what had to be Duncan McLeod coming towards him. He looked past McLeod to see if the Parkers were with him; not seeing them he looked at Duncan who shook his head.
“They are about an hour behind me. So far so good on the cover story; they do not appear to suspect anything other then a paper work blunder. Their concern for their daughter is much more immediate. I am guessing that you have already removed the bullet?” Duncan asked.
“Just finished up about half an hour ago. Operating on an Immortal is truly a different experience; I had all I could do to get the bullet out before her healing trapped my hand in her stomach. Less then 5 minutes after the anesthetic was stopped she was regaining consciousness. Despite all the reports and all the years it still shocked and astounded me to watch it happen. “
Thoughtfully Duncan nodded. He was somewhat surprised at the speed of which Liz’s immortality was working. Thinking about it, she had revived very quickly after her first death. It usually took anywhere from 12-18 hours to happen; with Liz it had been just a couple. Duncan had had some experience seeing Immortals operated on over the centuries; what the doctor had described would have been more expected with a much older immortal with a fair amount of quickening. Not a newbie with none. Liz Parker was more and more looking like a very special immortal.
“I am expecting the Sheriff to stop by sometime today as well. As long as the bullet is out and the Parkers seem ok I doubt he will ask any questions. He is a family friend and is more concerned with making sure they are OK then he is about the case; especially since it appears that there will be no trial but just a plea bargain.”
That relieved Dr Levins. He had been a little worried about official involvement; the Parkers were much less of a concern. If they could muddle on through today it should be fairly simple after that. As long as Liz could keep up the masquerade as regards her “healing”. That reminded him; he had to make that call to his friend in Hollywood as regards the fake scar that Liz would need to occasionally show. With an hour until the Parkers arrived they had time to make sure everything was set up to lull any suspicions they might have.
Liz was back in her room and already getting antsy. She had already healed up from the incision and the bullet was out; she would not need to worry about possibly setting off an airport scanner now. She figured her parents would be here fairly soon and wanted to be sure that nothing around her would cause them to ask any awkward questions. Actually she was more concerned when Maria and Alex came to visit, which she figured would also be today as well. Maria was going to want a lot of details and Alex was a pretty observant guy; he was more likely than anyone to pick up on any undercurrents or notice something that did not fit in.
Max Evans was sitting in his jeep outside the hospital with Michael. He had just come back from there hoping to see Liz when he had been told she had been transferred to a clinic in Albuquerque. Despite their assurance that Liz was OK, he was worried. Michael on the other hand was impatient to be away from here; hospitals gave him the willies since he knew that in that place they could possibly be found out.
“Come on Max lets get out of here; we don’t want to get any attention remember?” Michael pushed.
“I am still worried about Liz; if she was doing OK there would be no reason to transfer her; especially such a short time after it all happened.” Max was seriously thinking about heading for Albuquerque.
“I know you Max you are thinking about going there. Well Don’t. That would really get some attention, especially since you are not her boyfriend or family.” Michael always felt like he was swimming against the current when trying to talk Max out of doing something. Max was just so stubborn sometimes, though Michael was totally oblivious to the irony there.
“I know I Know, its not the thing to do. Its just that its Liz and I am worried. I don’t think I was able to do anything, so there is no telling how much damage the bullet did.” Max was worried that some complications had set in and that was why Liz had been transferred.
“There is nothing you can do Max, so lets get out of here NOW.” Michael demanded.
Sighing and shaking his head, Max started the jeep.

Maria was trying to cope with the unexpectedly heavy business the Crashdown was having this morning. Everyone was curious and wanted to know what had happened and how was Liz. Maria was getting tired of repeating herself. Luckily Claudia was taking care of most of the details of running the Crashdown while Maria and Jose the cook just moved the food. She was glad to see Alex come in so that she could vent in the break area.
“I tell you Alex if one more local moron comes in asking about what happened I am gonna dump his order right on his head and then break a plate him as well.” Maria ranted.
Recognizing that a MOUNT ST. MARIA eruption was imminent, Alex tried to head it off.
“Maria, calm down. Liz is a very popular person here in Roswell and of course a lot of people are concerned. Yes I know some of them are being hypocrites about it but that is the way they are. Blowing up and busting plates is not going to help anything. Just cause more trouble.”
Maria reached for her bottle of oil and took a deep sniff. That seemed to calm her down a little.
“I know Alex but I am worried about my best friend who got SHOT here less then a day ago and yet I have to be polite and in control with all these idiots. There is just so much I can take before I go off on one of them.”
“Just try and remember that it will not help anything and take a break when you get too close to going off. Besides as soon as your shift ends we will head up to Albuquerque to see Liz and that way you can see for yourself. I have already checked out that clinic and its one of the best trauma care facilities in this part of the country. They will take good care of Liz there, you know that” Alex was relieved that MT ST MARIA seemed to have become somewhat dormant.
“10 o’clock cannot come soon enough for me. I need to see Liz for myself.” Maria was cooling off some.
“Won’t get any argument from me. I need to see Liz as well.” Alex was concerned about the transfer, but if Maria was right about what Mr Parker had said about an insurance screw up, then there might not have been any medical reason at all for the transfer. And the clinic was one of the best around to handle any complications that might come up.

[thumper1942]

Another Life Part 5
Jeff Parker was relieved when he pulled into the parking lot of the clinic. It was not an easy drive from Roswell, much of the road was only 2 lane. He did not look forward to doing this very often. Not to mention it had taken almost 3 hrs due to some rain and road construction. They just would not be able to do this every day, just no way. It would be the same for her friends in Roswell, this would not be a trip they could take very often. Maybe if they could get together and agree on alternate days or something.
Nancy Parker was on pins and needles waiting for Jeff to park the vehicle so that she could get out and see her child. She had been out getting supplies when the shooting had occurred. By the time she had gotten back and had seen the Sheriff’s vehicle with the lights flashing and the crowd out front, Liz was already on her way to the hospital. She had only gotten a brief glimpse of her in the ICU. And then that stupid insurance transfer and suddenly she was over a hundred miles away.
Dr Levins was in his office working on the Watchers part of the report on Liz Parker when he got the call that the Parkers were here. He put the unfinished report in his safe and locked it. He knew that Duncan McLeod had already been told. With McLeod acting as the Clinic Director, and himself as the Doctor of Record, no one else really needed to talk to the Parkers. They had agreed to let Duncan do most of the talking.
Duncan got up out of the chair behind the desk of his “Office” (they had managed to get a nameplate made up in time and it was in place) and walked out to the corridor where a nurse was leading the Parkers his way. He had decided to take them right to Liz, as that would put them more at ease and give them less of a chance to ask any awkward questions. He knew that Dr Levins would be notified and would be on his way in the same direction.
Liz had gotten the word at the same time as Dr Levins and Duncan had. She had been rehearsing in her mind what to say. She made sure she was sitting up in bed but trying to not look like she had no injury at all would be the key. She knew that she would have to move slow and not in any way make anyone suspicious of her condition.
“Jeff, Nancy, welcome to Deming Clinic. This is Dr Levins, who is Liz’s primary doctor. I will let him brief you on your daughters condition while we walk to her room.” Duncan wanted to keep them moving right to Liz’s room to make sure they did not see anything else that might make them curious.
“Mr and Mrs Parker, I am glad to tell you that your daughter is doing quite well. We did a minor procedure to take care of some residual bleeding an hour ago and at that time I was able to get the bullet out. So Liz should not have to undergo any more operations. I see no reason why she should not be out of here in a week or maybe less depending on how fast she heals the incisions. At this time I see no complications and her recovery is textbook all the way. The bullet did relatively little damage and most of that was repaired in the original operation at Roswell. We finished it off here.” Dr Levins could see that they were quite relieved and starting to relax. He then looked at Duncan who took the signal to take over.
“Jeff, Nancy as you can see things are going quite well as regards Liz’s condition. As regards the original paperwork blunder that got her here, the insurance company has already admitted that they were at fault. There will be no charge to your account for the time that Liz is here. There really was nothing else they could do. To try and send Liz back would be contrary to clinic guidelines and they would get into serious trouble if they tried to force it. They are just going to have to eat it.” Duncan had already talked to Joe and they would make sure the insurance company never knew of any of this. Actually that part of the whole situation was easiest of all to take care of due to the skill of the Watchers Hacker.
Jeff did not really care about any of this, though he could understand why Duncan was explaining it to them. Nothing really mattered except that Liz was going to be OK.
Nancy really had not listened at all to what Duncan had to say about the insurance. Dr Levins words had tremendously relieved her mind and she now just wanted to see Liz.
As they walked into Liz’s room both Duncan and Dr Levins looked at Liz to see how she was reacting and her general demeanor. How she acted in the next few minutes could go a long way to relieving Jeff and Nancy and settling down the whole scenario. Liz was sitting up in bed watching TV. She looked up at her parents and smiled, carefully starting to straighten up when Nancy sat on the edge of her bed and stopped her. “Oh, Liz, please just rest there. That is the best way to heal up and we do not want you to pull any of your stitches.” Jeff was right next to her and echoing Nancy’s statement. “Just rest there honey and do not try and do too much. “
Duncan and Dr Levins looked at each and relaxed. Liz had done exactly the right thing. Jeff and Nancy had settled right into parental mode and were totally engrossed in making sure Liz rested. Any suspicions or probing questions they might have had had gone right out the window. If they could keep this up it would be smooth sailing.
Liz knew that she had done the right thing when she saw both Dr Levins and Duncan relax. Now she just had to keep it up.
“Mom, Dad, I feel pretty good all things considering. From what Dr Levins said I could be out of here and back in Roswell in a week. After that I should only need another week or so before I can go back to work.”
Jeff shook his head. “Honey, just sit back and heal and let us worry about it. Maybe in a week you can be back at home but you will be taking it easy for quite a while. You got shot in the stomach= you almost died. I do not want to hear any more about you going back to work for quite a while.”
Nancy chimed right in. “Elisabeth Parker, this is one time where you are going to be patient and just let things go. You are not going back to work until you are completely healed and that is that.”
Liz grimaced a little at Nancy’s words. When her mother used her whole first name and last name then she was really on it. But at the same time she was glad to see that they were already thinking about her leaving here and going back to Roswell. That meant they were much less likely to cause any other problems.
Duncan grinned at Nancy’s words. He should have known that someone as sharp and smart as Liz would be well able to handle her parents. She had already gotten them to be thinking about Liz being home and healing up-so any possible problems had pretty much been sunk at harbor.
Dr Levins was also glad to hear the way the parents were talking to Liz. She already had them fixated on her being home and keeping her from jumping back to work. That meant they would be much less likely to have any suspicions about how fast Liz was healing as long as Liz did not over do it.

Maria had borrowed her mothers car and she and Alex were on their way to Albuquerque by 11 o’clock. They figured they would be there before 2. That would give them at least a couple of hours to visit with Liz before they had to go back.
Liz was feeling a little frazzled after her parents left. She figured that so far everything was going about as well as one could expect. She had made sure that she had gotten Duncans attention so that they could talk after her parents left. She had a lot of questions to ask about the “Game”.
Dr Levins escorted the Parkers out, leaving Duncan nearby so that he could go back to Liz’s room for a talk. He was willing to bet that Liz had a bunch of questions for Duncan. Luckily the watchers had taken precautions when building the clinic so that every room had monitoring devices carefully hidden. What ever Duncan had to say to Liz they would hear. It would be very interesting to listen to and it would go a long way into starting the file on Liz Parker. It might also shed some light on Duncan McLeod, even though he had one of the thickest files of any Immortal anyway due to Joe Dawsons work.
Duncan walked back into Liz’s room. He figured he would be there for a while. Liz was going to be asking a lot of questions that would not have easy answers.
Liz had not wanted to take a chance and write down any questions, but she had several right in mind for Duncan when he came into her room.
“Cynthia filled me in on some things during the ride here. Mostly they just caused me to have other questions either she could or would not tell me the answers to them. So here is the first one: what is the GAME?” Liz saw no reason to beat around the bush.
Duncan shook his head. He knew he was going to have to get to the game, but he would have rather waited.
“What did she tell you” as he tried to figure out how to say it to a very young woman.
Liz sighed. Pretty much as she thought. He was trying to protect her and go slow. Well sorry Duncan Mcleod but that does not wash here.
“She told me that the Quickening is what they think is behind our immortality. It’s a kind of energy that is responsible for our healing and coming back from the dead. She got me thinking on just how a immortal could die for good, and why there were not thousands of them around if they were immortal. Its not hard to figure out that decapitation is the only way. Then it was not hard to figure out that maybe by taking the head of one immortal the other would gain power in some way. Which then explains the Game. Swordfighting one on one with the winner getting the others Quickening. BUT I know there has to be more to it then that. And its time you told me.” There. Lets see how he reacts to that. Though I wonder just how the quickening can prevent loss of brain function or memory- if for hours its without oxygen then cells should start to die. Especially the first time.
Duncan slowly shook his head. Liz had most of the story but not the whole thing.
“There is a legend that is thousands of years old. Who knows how old. That when there are only a few immortals left they will feel the pull towards a far off land and then the Gathering will happen. Those who are left will fight until only one remains. He or she will get the “Prize”. That one will get all the quickenings that have ever been; enough power to rule the world.”
Liz’s head was whirling. Power to rule the world. All the quickenings that have ever been. As always with Liz, facts or figures or something that does not fit in always caught her attention.
“Wait a minute. ALL the quickenings that have ever been. How can that be? That would mean that no immortal was ever caught in a landslide or fell down a crevice or was trapped in a ship sunk to the bottom of the sea and could not get out. Literally hundreds, maybe more must have had that happen to them over the thousands of years that immortals have been around. So how could one person get them all?”
Duncan smiled. Liz was asking a question he had had over the years. What did happen to the quickenings of immortals that did not go to another?
“ I have wondered the same over the years. It’s a big hole in the Gathering legend, that is for sure. I think that anyone who has ever asked that question must wonder. One could speculate that maybe after a certain period of time that quickening just fades away. No one knows. Still most due play the “Game” though I know for some its more of a way to pass time then it is for actually thinking about winning the prize. Of course the evil ones just do it because they would anyway. Some have tried elaborate plans to try and win the prize but so far none of that has worked at all. There are rules to the game.”
Liz was skeptical. “Rules? Really?”
“Yes. All combat must be one on one. That is usually the way it goes, though some have tried to cheat in one way or another; but its fairly well followed. Sword to sword, though once again some try to cheat but not often. There is one rule that all Immortals follow though.”
Now Liz was interested. “Which one is that?”
“There will be no battles on sacred ground. And that means sacred to any religion anywhere.”
“Why is that one followed by even the evil Immortals?”
“Because legend has it that two immortals fought near Mt Pompeii on sacred ground and that was when the mountain erupted.”
Liz blinked. “Legend?”
Duncan nodded. “Legend or not that is the one rule that no immortal has broken since.”

[thumper1942]

Another Life part 6
Max Evans was really trying to not go right to the Crashdown and ask about Liz. But it was hard; he had absolutely no idea how she was doing in the clinic. He had looked in but had not seen Maria and she was the only one he thought he could ask. More and more he wanted to just jump into the jeep and head for Albuquerque. He had to find out about Liz.
Liz was still thinking about Pompeii-not fighting on sacred ground. Could that possibly be true? That would mean that something else was involved beyond the Quickenings or Immortals. TO make a Mountain Erupt meant something- or SOMEONE else was involved.
Duncan could see that Liz was sidetracked by the whole not fighting on sacred ground and Pompeii thing. He sighed. Yes that was interesting but not really important.
“Liz, listen to me. You are going to have to train very hard to defend yourself. Being small and a woman, many Immortals will think you are an easy mark. I believe that I can train you to defend yourself well, but it will take time and a lot of effort on your part. First you are going to have to get stronger; a lot stronger. Then you are going to train on using a sword and on how to fight hand to hand. The martial arts knowledge I have acquired over time has saved my head many times.”
Liz slowly nodded. Duncan was right-the whole sacred ground/Pompeii part really appealed to the scientist in Liz, but it was not important to Liz Parker, Immortal.
“OK, I get it. Get stronger and train to use a sword to cut someones head off. Got it.”
Duncan shook his head. I guess there is some snark in that quiet demeanor after all.
“That is the short version, yes. Will be a lot harder to do then to say it. First thing to do when you can is to start wearing wrist and ankle weights. They can rather easily be hidden and they help you to get stronger fairly quickly. ONCE you are stronger we will start training with training swords which are wooden. In the meantime I will be looking for a sword for you. It must be fairly light but strong enough to stand up to the biggest swords you might face.”
Liz was now thinking about all this. “How are you going to be able to train me? From all appearances you are a director of a medical clinic in Albuquerque. “
Duncan had been thinking about that. “I told your parents I happened to be passing through Roswell because we were thinking of opening up a clinic in El Paso. I think I can arrange to get one going there and use it as a cover for training you. It will only be a temporary thing anyway.”
Liz was curious about that. “Its not like I do not appreciate all you are doing for me, but why are you going to all this trouble and expense just for me?”
Duncan stood up and walked towards the window.
Liz sensed that something big was behind all of this and why Duncan was the way he was.
“I was thrown out of my clan after I came back from my first death. Connor took me in and taught me everything as an Immortal. I was raised as a Clan Chieftains son, to one day take over the clan and lead it and take care of my people. I guess that has never left me. And I have seen what happens to new immortals that are not as fortunate as I was. I have always felt it was my duty to see to it that each new immortal I came across had as much support and training as I did. “
Liz was thoughtful. She had a suspicion that there was more to it then that but decided not to push it. Time for that later.
The door opened and a nurse poked her head in. “ Miss Parker, some friends of yours are hear to see you. Are you ready for them?”
Liz looked at her and nodded. She then looked at Duncan and said “Probably best if they do not see you. The fewer people that do the better.”
Duncan was once again reminded that Liz Parker was no dummy. “I will be back after they are gone. We still have a lot to go over.”
Maria came in like a bowling ball looking for pins to knock over.
“LIZ!!. You look great for someone who was almost dead yesterday!”
Alex came in behind her, shaking his head while closing the door.
“Great way to start out Maria.”
If you only knew thought Liz. “Come on Alex, there is no way we should expect anything different from Maria.”
“Come on chicka, dish the dirt. What was it like being gut shot?”
“Maria!!” came from both Liz and Alex.
“Come on you two. This is the way I am like it or lump it.”
“OK I hardly felt much beyond the initial hit and falling on to the floor. I was out pretty much right away. Did not know much until after I was awake in the ICU at Roswell Hospital. Which by the way is a lot less luxurious then this clinic is.”
Alex was curious about that. “Liz, your father said it was a mix up by the insurance company – but that sounds kind of strange.”
Liz was now a little worried. Leave it to Alex to start down a road that she wanted no one on.
“Well, from what I gathered the initial inquiry from the hospital about health insurance after I was admitted appears to have activated a glitch in the insurance companies computer and somehow it decided that I needed to be in a clinic instead of a hospital. The director here said the Insurance Company was stuck once I was here due to the class of trauma I was under. They could not move me without violating procedures and that would look bad for them. So they basically just have to take it and not much else they can do.”
Maria could care less about that. “Enough of insurance companies and computers-they bore me. How do you really feel chicka- and no Liz Parker BS. How do you REALLY feel?”
Liz smiled at Maria. Leave it to her to cut to the quick. And also that would ensure that Alex could not go any farther down the forbidden road.
“Pretty good actually. I was real lucky in that the bullet did not do much damage- where it hit was not a bad place to go as regards getting “gut shot”.”
Alex was more interested in her recovery time frame. “How long are you going to be here, Liz; do you know? And after here how long will you have to take it easy?”
“Probably here less than a week. Then home and bed rest or something close to it for a few more days then I can start moving around more. Probably at least two weeks or so before I can think of going back to work. Guess I am lucky its summer- would not want to miss that much of school.”
Maria dramatically sighed. “Only you would be worried about school only a day after you nearly died.”
Liz snarked right back at her “That’s me Maria- like it or lump it!”
“No fair using my own comeback!!”
“Tough”
The three close friends grinned at each other.

[thumper1942]

Another Life Part 7
Sheriff Valenti parked outside the Clinic. He looked over at Kyle who was clearly anxious to see Liz.
“Calm down, Kyle. Liz is ok.”
“I guess I cannot really accept that until I see her with my own eyes. This business of moving her here really sounded fishy”
“it was just a paper work or computer screw up at the insurance company. It had nothing to do with Liz’s condition.”
“I still want to see her”
“Well you will in just a few minutes if you can control yourself. You go charging in there wild eyed and you will not see her at all. You will get tossed out on your can.”
“Ok, Dad, ok”
Dr Levins was surprised the Roswell Sheriff had come himself, but then he remembered that Duncan had said he was a friend of the family. Now why his son had come with him he wondered until he talked to him. Boy friend, eh? Liz Parker certainly had more than a few people who really worried about her.
Kyle opened the door of Liz’s room to find Alex and Maria there with Liz talking and acting like nothing had happened.
“Liz- are you ok? Should you be up like this?
Liz rolled her eyes.
“Well hello to you too Kyle. I feel pretty good all things considered and the doctor has already been in to see me today so YES I can be up like this.”
Alex and Maria grinned while Kyle reddened.
“Sorry Liz but I have been so worried about you.”
“Well you can stop now. I am going to be fine. Hopefully out of here and back in Roswell by the end of the week.”
Maria nudged Alex who gave her a confused glance. She nodded towards the door. He blinked then nodded himself.
“Maria and I better head on back. It took us almost 3 hrs to get here.”
Liz smiled at them. “I was happy to see you guys. BUT there is no point in you trucking all the way out to here again. I will be home in a few days.”
Liz was relieved when Kyle finally left, dragged out by his father who told him he had to get back to Roswell. She was pretty much sure that when she got back she was going to let Kyle know that they just were not going to make it as a couple. She had kind of thought so before the shooting, now she knew. Not to mention her very changed condition. Her eyes widened. Children. Could Immortals have children? If so, that would mean outliving your children, seeing them grow old while you were unchanged. She had a sinking feeling that immortals could not have children. It only made sense. Nature liked balance and that would really upset it.
Duncan had waited until Valenti and his son had left before coming out of his “office”. He had talked to Levins about his idea of opening a clinic in El Paso so that he could train Liz. Levins had pointed out how far away that was. After looking at a map Duncan could see that he was right. Levins suggested opening one in Roswell. It was steadily growing and a clinic might even turn a profit.
Duncan walked into Liz’s room to find her staring at the wall with a very thoughtful look on her face. She turned to him and he saw that something had really thrown her.
“What is it Liz. Did your boyfriend upset you?”
“Kyle? No. And probably soon to be ex boyfriend.”
“Oh, did you have a fight or something?”
“No, I just realized over the last day that we were not working out anyway. Add to that my very changed condition and I think its time I let Kyle go.”
“I am sorry.”
“Don’t be. Its no big deal. What is a big deal is a question I have to ask you.”
“Fire away Liz I will tell you whatever you need to know about immortals.”
“Can immortals have children?”
Duncan dropped his head. He had hoped to wait to tell Liz that. He had had a feeling that that particular bit of information would be more devastating to her then anything else he had said. He raised his head to tell her when she held up her hand.
“No need to say anything Duncan. Just by the way you just acted the answer is no. Which is pretty much what I figured since it would not be logical for them to have that ability. I am not saying it does not hurt since I always intended to have children but what is is what is. Besides the thought of having children, watching them grow old and die while you did not would be pretty terrible.”
Duncan knew that Liz was putting on a brave face; he could tell that not being able to have children really had hurt her. Just like it had always been with him and many other immortals. Well, time to get her mind off of that and onto something else.
“After talking to Dr Levins and looking at a map I can see that El Paso is just too far away. So instead I am looking at opening the clinic in Roswell instead.”
Liz had been trying to get her mind off of not having children which had indeed shaken her to her core. Knowing what Duncan was trying to do she welcomed the change in subject. This would certainly make it easier to train.
“There are more then a few empty buildings in Roswell. One of them should do quite well as a clinic. I can do some checking with some friends if you want. I can guess that you want one with a fairly large room somewhere that can be converted into a gym that we can train in, right?”
Duncan shook his head again. Liz was very quick. She saw things pretty clearly that most would miss. Overall that would be a good thing-she would need every edge she could get to survive the game.
“You probably should not get involved. We have to make it look like we barely know each other. Otherwise people will get suspicious and start asking questions. For immortals that is a real no no.”
Liz nodded. That made sense. “OK I can see your point.”
“It should not take me too long to get it set up. Probably only a couple of months. In the meantime you can be training to increase your strength and endurance. You will need all you can get if you want to survive the Game”
Liz shivered. There it was again-talking about survival-which meant fighting and killing. She realized on an intellectual level that it would be necessary= but knowing that in your head and knowing that in your heart was two different things.
Duncan saw her reaction and correctly guessed what was on her mind. He knew he had to drive this point home so that Liz really grasped it and accepted it.
“Liz you know that you are going to have to face people with a sword in your hand and fight them to the death and take their heads or lose your own. But you are going to have to accept that in your heart and in your soul. Its never easy and many new immortals end up hesitating during their first challenge and lose their heads. You have to be able to kill to survive. There is no other way.”
Liz dropped her head for a moment. Then slowly raised it. “There are no other alternatives I take it”
“Well, you can join a convent and stay there. That is about the only other way. Some have done that and have stayed out of the game for centuries.”
Liz grimaced. “No way could I stand that. I would go insane inside of a year.”
Duncan nodded. “Most who choose that route do not last. Probably for the same reason.”
Liz straightened up and squared her shoulders. A determined glint came into her eyes.
“OK, if that is the way it has to be, then that is the way I will be. Fight and survive. I am not going to be an easy mark for anyone. Whoever gets my head is going to know what it meant to fight to the death.”
Duncan felt better hearing her and seeing the change in her bearing. She had decided to do what had to be done to survive. That was the first real critical step on what was going to be a long road indeed.

[thumper1942]

Another Life Part 8
Max Evans went into the Crashdown early on the morning 2 days after the shooting. He knew that Maria and Alex had gone to see Liz the previous day. He was desperate for word on her even though he knew that she was probably OK. As he sat down in his usual booth, from which he could see the serving counter and was thus able to watch Liz all the time, Maria spotted him and headed over.
“Before you even ask, Liz is fine and expects to be back home by the end of the week. There were no complications and even the doctor admits that there is really no reason to keep her any longer. The only reason she is there is a mix up by the Insurance Company. There really was nothing else.”
Max closed his eyes for a moment, slumping in relief. In his head he had pretty much already known this, but it was his heart that had caused all the worry. He looked up at Maria.
“Thanks a lot Maria, my head was telling me things were OK but my heart was arguing.”
Maria smiled at him. She liked Max and personally thought he was a better match for Liz then Kyle could ever hope to be. He was smart and quiet and very determined in his own way, which made him a match for a very smart, determined and fairly quiet Liz. She pondered for a moment, Liz had told her that she was probably breaking up with Kyle and she wondered if she should give Max a hint. Seeing the way he slumped back and closed his eyes when told Liz was fine and would soon be back decided her.
“Keep this quiet, Max, BUT I can tell you that Liz is probably going to give Kyle the heave ho pretty soon. Which means that she will be free to see anyone she wants to. So if you are ever going to make a play, its gonna have to be soon. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Max blinked and his mouth hung open for a minute. He looked hard at Maria to see if she was joking or putting him on.
Maria shook her head. “Max sometimes you can over think something. This is not a time to think, it’s a time to act.”
Max slowly nodded. “Could you give me a hint or a sign or something when it happens?”
Maria grinned at him. “Sure thing. As soon as she drop kicks him out the door I will let you know.”

Liz Parker was getting seriously bored. Once Duncan had left, there was really nothing else to do. She got out of the bed and wandered around the clinic, but that got old fairly soon. Daytime TV was incredibly boring. She had gone through all the magazines and anything else to read the clinic had. So getting desperate she went in to see Dr Levins.
Dr Levins had finally finished his report to the Watchers as regards Liz Parkers operation. He shook his head at it. Talk about science fiction being stranger then real life pretty much took it in the shorts when immortals are involved, he thought. At least it appeared that there would be no questions as regards the transfer or really anything else. So it looked like Liz Parker would be able to continue her life as it had been at least for a while. Duncan had been in again to talk to him about getting a clinic started in Roswell. He really wanted to get that moving. Dr Levins had been looking at some possibilities that he had seen in the Roswell paper he had gotten. Getting a building looked like it would not be all that much of a problem (though finding one that could house a training room was a little tougher). Finding people to staff it would not be all that hard; he actually had more people then were really needed here so some of the slots could be quickly filled. And some queries into the Watchers HQ had shown that it should not be much of a problem to fill the rest with Watchers or members of Watcher families in the know. He looked up at the knock on his door and said “Come in”. He was not surprised that it was Liz. He had a hunch she was rapidly getting bored.
“Dr Levins, I am getting totally bored and antsy. Is there any way I can start doing some of the training that Duncan wants me to do here? I know you have a physical therapy room.”
Dr Levins sat back and thought for a moment. Its not like they really had to worry about anyone finding out something they shouldn’t. Every employee here was either a Watcher or a member of a Watcher’s family that knew about immortals. Added to that was the chance to watch the beginning of a New Immortals training under Duncan Mcleod.
“I see no reason why not, Liz. If someone comes in wanting to see you we can delay them long enough for you to get back to your room. And I know you had to be getting really bored. You certainly are not the kind of person who likes soap operas.”
Liz beamed at him. “Those things totally disgust me. How anyone with a brain can actually like them is beyond me. Duncan wants me to start building up my strength and endurance; he mentioned using wrist and ankle weights. I can also use a treadmill to work on my wind. I have never really done much working out ever, so this is all totally new to me.”
Dr Levins nodded. That was not surprising; her time as a waitress in her parents café would tire out most people even wanting to do any more physical training. And Liz struck him as someone that really did not have much interest in sports, let alone participating in one.
“I will let James Wilson know, he is our physical therapist. Now he is more into helping people recover rather then helping already healthy people train, but he knows the basics and knows how to see if someone is over doing it. Though with you that really does not matter since any injury will heal before you can really even get a bandage on it.”
James Wilson was a little surprised to hear from Dr Levins that Liz Parker wanted to start training already. Though he thought to himself why that would be is kind of dumb. She was an immortal, if a new one. Any injuries healed almost immediately. He thought about what she would need. Dr Levins had mentioned that Duncan McLeod wanted her to start working on building up muscle tone and endurance. That made sense=she would need to get a lot stronger if she was going to be able to defend herself. And at the same time she would not want to become obviously muscled or muscle bound. It went without saying that he would be expected to write down everything she did. Liz Parker was probably going to become the most Watched Immortal ever- very few times in all the years the Watchers had been around had they had the chance to see a brand new immortal start down the road like they did with Liz Parker. They knew the exact time almost to the minute she became Immortal and they would have a chance to watch the beginning of her training under one of the if not the most respected Immortals alive, Duncan McLeod. Who was going to be her Watcher was right now, he knew, being heavily debated at watcher HQ. It was going to be a little tricky compared to most assignments, since Liz was expected to stay in school and in Roswell going about life as if nothing had changed for at least a few years. So her watcher was going to have to be someone that could blend right in to a teenaged girls lifestyle without sticking out. And that meant that the watcher was going to have to be young as well. Maybe not a teenager, but certainly pretty young. Clearly not an experienced watcher of any other immortal.
Joe Dawson was at that very moment pondering the same thing that James Wilson, Dr Levins, and more than a few others were doing. Who was going to be Liz Parkers Watcher? It was going to have to be someone young or at the very least young looking. Being able to blend into the kind of lifestyle that Liz Parker had and was going to continue for at least a few years would not be easy for anyone not in the same age group. Technically as the Head of the North American Division of the Society of Watchers that was his job. BUT this was such an extra ordinary situation that the Council had let it be known that they would be vetting his pick. That irritated him a little, but he could understand it. He was Duncan McLeods watcher, who would be training Liz Parker, and Duncan knew about the Watchers. Joe had no doubt at all that Duncan would quickly spot whoever they choose, but he had given Joe his word that he would not tell Liz about the watchers. The fact that Liz right now was in a Watchers clinic was a real bonus to being able to truly chronicle an Immortal from day one. Very few times, and actually from what Joe could gather from the conversation he had had with the head of the Watchers Research division, never had they had such total coverage of a new immortal like they had with Liz Parker. Certainly they had known about Richie Ryan very quickly, but that was a special case and everyone knew that Duncan had been trying to prepare Richie even before he became Immortal. Liz Parker was the classic case of a new immortal and they had the chance to watch it from the very beginning. One name that had been suggested by Dr Levins intrigued Joe. Cynthia Becker. She was a member of the Watchers, her family had been part of the Watchers for over 50 years. She was 25 and looked a little younger. She was a researcher and had some experience at various jobs. She already knew Liz and putting her into the clinic at Roswell would be easy. The problem with that was that knowing Liz would be a problem down the road when Liz had to leave Roswell when it became clear she was not aging- or when she went to college. The no fraternization rule was also something to be considered. It would not work since Liz already knew Cynthia and she also knew that Cynthia was on the up and up about immortals. The general rule with Watchers is that they stayed with one immortal until that immortal either lost his head or they grew too old to watch. But in this case it might be best to have Cynthia be there for the first few years then get someone else after. He decided to shoot that idea at HQ and let them think about it. He knew the purists who wanted Watchers to never have any contact with their Immortal would not like it, but he thought that this would be a good short term solution.
James Wilson started Liz on the treadmill to see how she did. Not too bad he thought, for someone who had never done any kind of physical training. He had been able to get some wrist weights and ankle weights and had had Liz put them on and told her to keep them on the entire day. Liz had grimaced when she felt the 5 lbs that each weighed- that was 20 more lbs she was going to be lugging around all the time. But she accepted the need. He then had her try out some of the weight machines and was not surprised at all that she could barely lift even light loads. Carrying plates of food was not a real workout and that was about all she had ever done.
Liz finally finished her first session in physical training and was feeling totally exhausted. Slowly moving into the showers off of the Physical Therapy Room, she was glad to drop the weights if only for a few minutes. Well if I look exhausted when I get back to Roswell it will be what people expect of someone who was recovering from a gunshot wound, she thought. She had made that point to James Wilson and Dr Levins, and they had agreed that that might help cover things up.
Duncan was in Roswell checking out buildings. He had gotten a call from Dr Levins and he had agreed that having Liz start to train now was a good thing. The sooner she started the better. He was really thinking hard about what kind of sword to get Liz. It had to be light but strong enough to take blows from much heavier swords. He was thinking a Katana such as he had, but smaller. He knew of a sword maker in Japan that still made Katana’s the old way. If he got word to him soon, the sword would be ready in a couple of months, which would be about right for when it would be time to switch from wooden training swords to the real thing. He stopped in front of one of the buildings on his list. It was a two story standard office building, but it had been remodeled as a dance studio that had not made it. So it had a big central room, but also had two smaller open rooms that would work as well. It also had a set of nice apartments above it. The entire building was empty right now, so he could get it right away. Best of all it was only 4 blocks from the Crashdown, so it would be very easy for Liz to get there any time. The big central room would work as the main area of the clinic, and the smaller rooms one of which could be also a treatment area. There were a set of offices as well. Overall he thought this building would do the job. BUT he needed a medical professional to make sure it would not seem out of the ordinary. He would have some modifications done so that the training room would be separate from the rest of the clinic. It would have its own entrance as well. He decided to call Dr Levins.
Dr Levins listened to what Duncan said about the building. He thought that it would do for a light treatment clinic. And separating the training room from the rest of the building sounded like it would work as well. With that pretty much settled, he could start assigning the people to run it. Since it would be a light treatment facility, they would not really need all that much equipment. X Ray Machines would probably be the most expensive equipment. Nothing else all that fancy would be needed.
Joe Dawson put down the phone after talking to Duncan. A place in Roswell had been found that could quickly be turned into a clinic that would serve to cover up the training room Duncan would be using to get Liz Parker ready for the immortal world and the Game. He was also thinking that he would need to temporarily move to Roswell as well since he WAS Duncan McLeod’s official watcher. Duncan always let him know when he took a short trip if he ran into any immortals which is why Joe rarely tagged along. BUT Duncan would be in Roswell for several months at least to train Liz, so Joe really needed to be there. Luckily there was a Jazz Café in Roswell, that just happened to be for sale. It would be a good investment for the watchers, so Joe made some phone calls and got it done. He decided to surprise Duncan – and wonder of wonders it was only 3 blocks from the soon to be clinic, and only 5 from the Crashdown. Of course Roswell was not all that big, but it was still interesting that everything was so close together.

[thumper1942]

Another Life Part 9

Liz was NOT looking forward to her second day of training. James had pushed her pretty hard the first day and she was totally exhausted afterwards. Luckily for her the aches and pains had gone away by morning- a perk of being immortal she guessed. She knew she had to do it but there was no way she was going to even make it appear that she liked it. She had called her parents and Maria and told them that she was doing fine and that they should not make that long drive just to talk to her. She thought she had gotten through to her parents but Maria was another story. So she called Alex and put it on him to keep Maria there in Roswell. Alex had not been happy and had pointed out to Liz that a suspicious Maria was a dangerous person to be around. Liz had agreed but maintained her stand that it was just plain dumb to waste all that time and money just to visit for a couple of hours.
Duncan had closed the deal on the building rather easily; it had been up for sale for over a year with no interest so his offer to lease it for 3 years met with enthusiasm from both the realtor and the owner. He had talked to Dr Levins about what equipment was needed and had started to make the arrangements. Luckily for him a clinic had just recently closed in Roswell and a lot of its equipment was still there in storage. Looking over the list he had gotten from the realtor (who was also looking to move that equipment out of storage) he thought that not a lot would need to be bought new. He had talked to Richie who would be running the Gym in Seacover while he was here in Roswell. Richie was definitely amused by him ending up with another student and having to stay there while he trained Liz. Duncan had reminded Richie that he was in charge there and it would be up to him to make sure the place ran well- Charlie took care of the actual day to day problems but Richie would be responsible for anything else. He was amused himself by the change in Richie’s voice after he had thought about THAT. Duncan had also been able to contact the sword maker in Japan about a new smaller and lighter Katana- and that talk had gone well. The Sword Maker was intrigued by the challenge of doing something he had not done before and promised that he would have it ready for Duncan in 2 months. Duncan decided that things were going pretty well here and headed back to Albuquerque.
Puffing away on the treadmill Liz was pondering on whether being immortal was all it was cracked up to be. She was still wearing the wrist and ankle weights just as Duncan had required. It really got to you after a while, she thought. Well she certainly was working up a sweat, which was probably the point of it all.
James Wilson thought Liz was doing pretty well, all things considered. She certainly had the grit and determination, which was half the battle. He had decided that an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon made a good start for Liz. As she got in better condition that would be lengthened.
Duncan got back to the clinic in time to watch the last part of Liz’s afternoon workout. He was encouraged as James had been by the steady intent in Liz to finish the workout. He knew it had to be tough on her; just starting out is always hard and especially so for someone who had never done it before. As Liz finished off on the treadmill, he walked up to her and handed her a towel. She was breathing pretty heavily and was soaked.
“You are doing pretty well, Liz. I know its tough right now as you are starting out but it will get better the more conditioning you have. And you will need every bit of it when we start training with swords. You would not think that that would require so much preparation but it does.”
Liz gratefully took the towel from Duncan and wiped her face and head.
“I guess I have to take your word for that, Duncan, but then I should since from what I have heard you are considered one of the top swordsmen in the Immortal community.”
Duncan raised an eyebrow and looked at James. He held up his hands and said “She did not get that from me!”
Liz smirked. “Actually I got that from Dr Levins. He told me I could not get a better teacher then Duncan McLeod.”
Duncan shook his head. Sometimes his reputation was more trouble then it was worth.

Joe Dawson had just gotten word back from Watcher HQ that they approved of his pick for Liz Parkers Watcher, Cynthia Becker. They also agreed that it would be a good idea to appoint another once Liz Parker left Roswell. So he decided to give Dr Levins the word to get Cynthia started.
“Dr Levins? Its Joe Dawson” the secretary told Dr Levins.
Dr Levins was a little surprised to hear back from Joe Dawson this quickly. He had not thought that the watchers would make the decision this quickly. Unless it was something else…
“Joe, whats up?”
“Doc, just heard back from HQ. They approved Cynthia as Liz’s watcher until she leaves Roswell. You might as well let her know so she can get started. Obviously she will be one of those transferred to the new clinic. Oh and by the way, I have located a jazz café in Roswell the we can get and the arrangements are being made. So I should be in Roswell about the same time Liz Parker is transferred back.”
Thoughtfully Dr Levins put down the phone. I have got to tell Cynthia right away, and let her know that there is a time limit on how long she will be the watcher for Liz Parker.

Cynthia Becker knew that Dr Levins had recommended her as Liz Parkers watcher but did not know if either Joe Dawson or the watchers HQ would approve. She knew that this particular Immortal was getting more attention then normal due to the happenstance of finding her right away after she became Immortal and having her spend her first few days in a Watchers clinic. She was a little nervous about it all but at the same time very excited at the possibility of becoming a working watcher.
Dr Levins called Cynthia into his office. As she came in he told her “Well, congratulations. You are now Liz Parkers watcher. I have to tell you though that its pretty much going to last only as long as Liz is in Roswell. Since you already know her, its felt that you would not be the person to watch her once she starts moving around. They still really want to prevent fraternization with Immortals, and the only reason they accept this is that she does not know about the Watchers.”
Cynthia nodded. While a disappointment, she really could not argue with their reasoning. Besides, if she proved herself as Liz Parkers watcher she would almost certainly get another immortal soon after.
“I understand. At least starting out it should be pretty easy since Liz will be pretty busy training now and then back at school in the fall so its not like its going to be a hard assignment.”
Dr Levins was pleased with her attitude. “One thing to remember is see to it that you write everything down. This is a pretty high profile case and being able to watch two immortals interact like Duncan and Liz will does not happen too often; at least not with a Watcher able to be so close as you will be.”

[thumper1942]

I thank those who have commented. Anyone seeing something I have missed let me know. Or suggestions. I am always open to them. flames will be cheefully ignored. I am thinking this first story in the Another Life series will probably end with Liz's first challenge.

Another Life Part 10
Duncan and Dr Levins both agreed that the first move to make would be to get the clinic in Roswell up and running. That way they could transfer Liz there instead of to another clinic or facility in Roswell where they might have problems with drs and others asking too many questions and wanting to examine the “wound”. They had the building, the people and the equipment but getting state approval to open up a clinic might take a while. Duncan called Joe and asked him to see if there was a way the Watchers could speed this up. Joe said he would check it out.
Joe Dawson had right away called up Watcher HQ and asked if there was a way to speed the process up. They had replied that they would get right on it. Putting Liz Parker in anything other than a Watcher controlled facility risked her exposure and therefore Watcher exposure.
Liz was already in her 4th day of training and sick of it already, though grimly determined to gut it out. The wrist and ankle weights seemed to get heavier each day. Seeing that she did quite well at 2 hrs a day James Wilson and Duncan had agreed to double it. Liz had agreed with Cynthia (who had found time to stop by now and then to talk to Liz) that they were obviously closet sadists. Duncan on the 4th day had brought her a wooden practice sword and was already starting her on the basics. He was also starting on her foundation in the Martial Arts; Duncan used a combination of several different forms to make up his own unique style, which he was starting to teach Liz. Liz had asked why that was necessary and Duncan told her.
“Sword fighting is not all swings and parries; you sometimes get into a clinch or close and the opponent might take an opportunity to either wound you or slow you down with a punch or kick. You need to know how to counter them as well as get in your own shots. Remember this is a fight to the death and quite often the most important move is not a sword cut.”
Cynthia had started out the morning of Liz’s 3rd day at the clinic as the first day as Liz Parkers watcher. She had called up Joe Dawson to ask for some general guidelines on what should and should not be in a watchers chronicle. She had gotten a chance to read a few over the last couple of days but none of them came close to her situation. Joe had told her a general guideline to Liz’s Life was in order but that what she ate for breakfast or what she wore to a party and such was not what belonged in a chronicle.It was the immortal part of her life that should be the main point with a general life filler. He also let her know that being able to watch Duncan McLeod train a newbie was a rare thing; he had only himself been able to watch a few, and no other watcher of Duncan Mcleod before him had been able to do any more then that. Cynthia would get a chance to see a lot more. And would be expected to file a separate report on how Duncan Mcleod trained a new immortal. Not to mention the fact that he had actually had relatively few students and had NEVER trained a woman. Always before when he had found a new female immortal he had found another woman immortal (usually either Cassandra or Amanda) to train her.
Maria had decided that Liz was right about making the trip up to Albuquerque more than once but she decided that then she had to phone to talk with Liz each day anyway. IT was annoying that the clinic did not have direct lines to a patients room and had to go through the clinics front desk which usually took several minutes (Unknown to Maria the delay was getting Liz out of her training area to a phone) but such was life. Liz seemed to be perking up and pretty upbeat all around. She thought that she would be getting sent back to Roswell pretty soon the problem was finding a clinic/facility that would take her on a short notice thing like this. She mentioned that the Deming Clinic was opening up a satellite clinic in Roswell (Apparently the parent company had been looking into this for a while without telling the Deming people anything about it) and if they were lucky it might open up in the next few days with Liz as their first patient.
Liz had gotten off the phone with Maria on her third day at the clinic feeling as if she had just gone through another training session. She had not realized that having to watch everything you said could be so stressful. She had already decided to bring Maria and Alex in on her secret (but not the game anytime soon- she knew that that would freak Maria out even more then Liz being immortal). She knew that on occasion she would need for someone to cover for her. Duncan had been a little skeptical about telling Maria though he agreed with telling Alex (who had impressed him on their short conversation the time they had visited Liz). Liz told Duncan that while Maria certainly could play the Drama Queen (he had laughed about the Mount St Maria story) she was a true blue friend and the closest one Liz had. What was actually more interesting to Liz was the fact that Max Evans kept asking about her and was clearly (to Maria anyway) pining away waiting for Liz to get back and had to be told by Maria NOT to go to Albuquerque(that was actually an exaggeration since Max had not said he was thinking of going –to Maria that was just saving face and that he had been really thinking about it). She was not immune to Max Evans appeal since they had been lab partners last semester and she actually thought that it might be a good idea. Of course she first had to give Kyle his walking papers but she would do that right after she got to Roswell- using the excuse that the whole incident had shaken her up and she really wanted to be alone for a while and think things through without the pressure of keeping up a relationship.

Joe Dawson had called Duncan back the next day with the word that the Watchers had indeed found a way to speed up the Roswell Clinics certification by the state board-a member of the state board was part of a Watchers family and “in the know”. They would need to scramble in the next couple of days to get everything installed (Duncan had already gotten a carpenter to start working on the building modifications to separate the training room and fix up the main room for the clinic). IF they were lucky they would be able to transfer Liz 7 days after she had been sent to the clinic. Dr Levins had also been informed and already had enough people ready to go to give it an initial staff. He would go as the resident Doctor until Liz Parker left and his replacement arrived. Since it would be a satellite clinic to an already going New Mexico facility the state board would be able to speed certification (pushed along by the Watcher contact).
On the 5th day after Liz Parker had been sent to the Deming clinic, Duncan was looking around the new Roswell Clinic. The carpenter and his assistants had finished the modifications in only 2 days, sped along by the large bonus Duncan had promised. The training room on the left side of the clinic was done- heavily soundproofed, and as an interior room there were no windows to worry about. A new entrance at the side of the building into the alley led to the stairway to the upper floor and a separate apartment that had its own stairway down to the training room. There was a emergency exit from the training room to the basement, there was no access from the clinic to the training room. Over all Duncan was pleased with what he had to work with. The training room now had its own shower and dressing room (small but big enough). Duncan was looking over the apartment above the training room when he heard the door to the alley open. He quickly moved to the stairwell to see who was coming. The apartment did have an emergency fire escape out the window but Duncan was more interested in finding out who had come in- He knew he locked the door after he had entered. A slow clump clump coming up the stairs furrowed Duncans brow- he thought he recognized that gate.
Joe Dawson did not like stairs since it was awkward for a man with an artificial leg but it was worth it to see the look on Duncan’s face when he came to the top of the stairs.
Duncan was very surprised to see Joe- what in the world was he doing in Roswell?
“I am your OFFICIAL watcher you know- I am supposed to follow you around. Its in the official Watcher manual.” Joe smiled at Duncan rolling his eyes at that. Now for the real surprise:
“There is a jazz café just a few blocks away that was in need of a buyer and the Watchers Society decided that it was a good investment. And they really only have one Watcher that has any experience in running one=at least in North America.”
Duncan was a little startled by all this, then reminded himself that while Joe and he had a rather unique relationship as regards Immortals and Watchers Joe was supposed to be watching him a lot more then he usually did- because Duncan had long ago promised to fill Joe in on his trips. Since Duncan was going to be in Roswell nearly full time for at least several months, Joe really did have to keep a better eye on him. Then Duncan had a thought and sent a evil smile Joe’s way:
“So what is Methos going to do now for cheap beer? I can bet that Sam will not be giving him a break on his bar tab like you do.”
Joe had to laugh at that and agree. “Had not thought about that- Methos said that he would be back this week from wherever he had wondered off to. I wonder what the odds are that he stops by here out of curiosity as well as looking for cheap beer?”
Duncan shook his head. “No bet. Methos will hear about me training a new immortal and I know him well enough to realize that the curiosity will beat out even HIS need for cheap beer.”