Richie parked his car a block off from the campus due to the crowd already there. They got out and saw the fire and everybody dancing and running around and they heard the loud music.

"Well, looks like we know where the party is," Amber said.

"Are you sure about this?" Richie asked.

"Sure."

Jeremy saw the commotion and held onto his weasel with one hand and clung to Richie with the other. Richie knelt down and picked Jeremy up, "Come on pal, we got an appearance to make."

They made their way through the crowd and everybody stopped in their tracks. Tina shut off her boom box as Amber and Richie got past everyone and were in view for everyone to see. Amber stepped on top of a car so she could make sure everyone had shown up. After that, she raised her hands above her head for everyone to listen.

"Listen, we called all of you out here tonight for a reason…now this may be the last time that all of us are here together…in thirteen days, Richie and I are leaving town, and skipping the country, and we won't be returning."

Gasps of shock arose from everywhere, some people replied with "what?" to make sure they'd heard correctly.

"How come?" Mizz asked.

Amber knelt down and picked Jeremy up on top of the car with her. She took much pleasure in showing him off to the stunned crowd, "This is Jeremy…he's six years old…and for the last week and a half basically, Richie and I have been taking care of him as our own…in doing so, breaking several laws in the legal system that everyone is familiar with, and maybe some that you probably aren't. He's been living with us because Richie found him the night that the Florida police busted into his parents' home and took them into custody for drug-related charges among God-knows what else. In doing so, we have committed kidnapping, as well as aiding and abetting since the rest of us at the house decided to go along with it."

"Now, legally what we did was wrong, morally I beg to disagree…all of you who drove here, honk if you disagree too."

Her comment was answered by dozen car horns sounding off, Richie looked around and couldn't believe the unexpected response.

"Well, in the beginning everything was just peachy cuz it was me, Richie, and Adam Pierson taking care of him…that was fine for the first week, then Duncan MacLeod and his wife Amanda found out…then we got into a fight about Jeremy's position," Amber continued, "so, Duncan called in his cousin from New York, Connor MacLeod…he arranged for a social worker, who so desperately wants to be a mother, to take Jeremy, her name is Jeanessa Wilcox. Honk if you've heard of the louse."

This time, fewer horns were honking, but there was not much of a decrease from the one before.

"Well, as those of you who just answered may or may not know, Jeanessa is married to top notch attorney Ernie Wilcox, so even if we had a prayer of taking this to court to win, her husband's name is so big in this area, nothing we could say would mean jack to the judge. She's arranging to get a court order to come and take Jeremy so she can take care of all the legal mumbo jumbo to make him lawfully hers…she'll be coming in thirteen days and since we don't have a chance of staying here and fighting them and even winning, Richie and I are packing up our stuff, and getting the hell out of Florida the night before she's supposed to come.

"We're heading to Belize where even if they do try us for kidnapping, the law won't be able to touch us, unfortunately we also won't be able to return to the states, now the reason we're meeting with all of you tonight is because the next several days are going to be pretty crazy for us, so if we don't see some, or any of you again after tonight…we'd like to thank you all for being great friends to us while we were here, and we wish you all the luck in the world at…whatever the hell you're going to do when you get out of this miserable college."

There was an eerie silence after she spoke. Everybody looked at one another, and nobody knew what to say.

"Look," Richie said, "we got you all together to tell you our farewells now, but that's not the only reason why we called you all here…since this may be the last time we're going to be seeing all of you, we decided to end it on a good note, one final party before we move to Central America…"

"That's right," Amber said as she came down from the car, "Now look, just because this might be the final time we're all together, I don't want to see anyone here turning sour. We came for a party, that's what we're going to have. I saw some of your handy work when we were on our way up here…so go crazy, because it'll be the last chance all of us have. The next two weeks are going to be hectic and insane and memorable, and we're going to have a damn good time doing whatever we're going to do, because in two weeks it's all going to be over…allright, now I've spoken, now everybody put your eyes back in your heads, and get ready to raise hell and wake the dead. Since this is the last time we'll be in the country, we're going to make the most of it, and enjoy it because when we leave, we're not going to have any regrets about it. That said, let the games begin, let's go crazy until the break of dawn."

"Tina, may I see your boom box?" Richie asked.

"Sure…" Tina handed it over to Richie, "What for?"

"Well it's my understanding that good ol' Doctor Dementia is initiating some new DJs at his radio station all night tonight with music that would make Jimi Hendrix raise from the dead and give Marilyn Manson competition."

Richie cranked up the volume as a new song was started.

"Hello Dad, happy birthday, I'm in jail!"

"You hear that Richie?" Amber asked, "They're playing our song!"

"Don't I know it?" Richie smiled.

Mizz came up to Amber a bit cautiously, "Hey Amber."

Amber turned around to face him, "What is it?"

"Are you allright about having to leave?" he asked.

"Yeah…I think it'll be good to get out of here, the legal system wouldn't work in favor of us, you know that…and Jeremy's important to Richie, so it's important to Richie that he stays with us."

"Well," Mizz said, "if you can get away with it, more power to you."

The night was filled with fire, smoke, loud music, people screaming and whooping and howling, and everybody dancing around on the campus grounds.

It was after five in the morning when the smoke finally died down, everybody was heading for home now. Richie, Amber and Jeremy got in Richie's car to go home themselves.

"Was it good for you?" Richie asked.

"Hell of a party," Amber said, "hell of a way to go out."

The front door swung open as Richie came in carrying Jeremy with Amber right behind them, "We're home!"

They went into the living room where Duncan and Amanda remained seated on the couch, almost in shock to see them.

"What?" Richie asked, "We just got home, how can we be in trouble?"

"Where were you last night?" Duncan asked, his voice between shock and anger.

"The college grounds," Amber said, "why?"

"We didn't know where you were or who to call," Amanda said, "we were worried sick."

"Why?" Richie asked.

"Look at this," Duncan pointed to the television.

They came further into the room and glanced at the screen, there was a report of a missing person, Ernestine Wilcox, missing 39 hours and counting.

"Nobody's seen him since he left on a business trip the day before last at 3 in the afternoon," Methos announced as he came down the stairs.

"Have you been up all night watching too?" Amanda asked.

"No, I turned it on to see if these two geniuses got arrested sometime in the night, you have no idea how glad I am that they didn't."

"What do you think happened to this guy?" Richie asked.

"Could be anything," Methos said.

The telephone rang in the dining room and Methos went to answer it.

"How was your night?" Duncan asked.

"Best time I've had in a long time," Amber said, "how 'bout you, Richie?"

"Fine with me," he said, "it'll probably be the last time we see all of the guys, but it was great."

"Well I bet after last night you two want to crawl into bed and die," Amanda said.

"No, not really," Richie said, "I feel fine."

"Me too."

"What about little Jeremy?" Duncan asked.

"He slept on the hood of Richie's car for four hours using his new stuffed weasel as a pillow, he's fine," Amber insisted.

"Are you sure?" Duncan asked.

"Positive, we never took our eyes off him," Richie said.

"Well that's good," Amanda said, "as many kidnappings as we got every day, especially here in Florida, it's important to watch him."

"Well we are," Richie said.

Amber whispered something in Jeremy's ear, Richie let him down and Jeremy went over to the couch, and climbed on top of Duncan, "HIYA GRANDPA!"

"Where did he learn to talk like that?" Duncan laughed.

"From mommy," Jeremy answered.

"And how'd mommy teach you that?" Duncan asked.

"Huey."

"Well…why all of a sudden does he seem so comfortable with being around Duncan?" Amanda asked.

"Well I told Jeremy that pretty soon we wouldn't be seeing any of you, so he might as well try and get along with Duncan now," Amber said.

"But Amber…"

"Duh…Duh…Duh…" Jeremy said.

"What's he doing?" Duncan asked.

"Trying to say your name," Amber replied.

"Duh…Duh…Dumb-dumb."

Duncan looked up at Richie and Amber, a bit surprised.

"Good enough, Jeremy," Amber said, "Come on Richie, let's get the kid cleaned up and get him some breakfast."

"Allright," Richie picked Jeremy up off of Duncan's lap and carried him upstairs with Amber following behind.

"They sure make a cute little family," Amanda said.

"I suppose so."

Methos came back in the living room, looking pale as a sheet.

"Methos, are you okay?" Amanda asked.

"I just got off the phone," he said, "…that was Joe…another Immortal has been killed within the area."

"Who?" Duncan asked.

Methos turned impossibly paler as he answered, "Ernestine Wilcox…found about an hour ago by the Watchers…they've called in their cleanup crew to take care of the body and dispose of it and any incriminating evidence that could prove someone was there."

"So now what happens?" Amanda asked.

"Nothing, there'll be no ceremony, they'll just bury the body in their cemetery…or maybe they'll cremate it."

"I mean about that Wilcox lady, if she finds out that her husband is dead she'll think one of us killed him. She'll never stop coming after us, and what about Jeremy? Do you think after her husband's disappeared she'd still be up for taking him?" Amanda asked.

"I don't think so," Methos said, "her husband was the one who knew his way around the courts, it'll be harder for her to get a court order without him."

"Who says she's going to wait for a court order? She could just go crazy, come over here and decide to take him," Amanda replied.

"If she does, then we'll kill her," Methos said.

"Methos!"

"MacLeod, it wouldn't matter if she went stark raving mad, no jury in the country would put her away in an asylum, they'd have her back in her own home because the idea of her in an insanity prison would tarnish her image."

"I can't believe the way this is turning out," Duncan said.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes, no one knew quite what to say, finally Methos spoke up, "he can't have been missing for 39 hours, I spoke to him only yesterday."

Duncan and Amanda turned to see Methos, who seemed to be in a rather calm, and surprised state, "What?" they asked.

"Ernestine Wilcox…I spoke to him yesterday afternoon on the phone, he was there, he said…"

"Can you be sure of that?" Duncan asked.

"Of course MacLeod, I know how to use the telephone."

"I mean, do you know for sure it was Wilcox?" Duncan asked, "It could've been someone else."

"But who?" Methos asked.

Amber came storming into the living room with Richie and Jeremy right behind her, "I got an idea."

"What is it?" Duncan asked.

"Maybe Wilcox didn't just have an unfortunate run-in with another Immortal…maybe his wife wanted him out of the way…"

"Amber, what are you getting at?" Amanda asked.

"This is how I'm seeing it…she doesn't want him around anymore, but she's got nothing to gain from divorce, maybe he's some kind of clause in his will or something that it'd double for some reason…she can't necessarily do it herself, she'd be the first suspect…so she brings in a hit man who just happens to be Immortal also…now she's not picky on how she wants him killed, just make it look like it won't point at her…maybe she tells him to do whatever comes to mind, and he says he'll take it from there…and he just happened to be at the house when Methos called. Now they can't make anything look too weird cuz you never quite know who'd be calling, so this guy poses as Wilcox for the call, hangs up and gets his hide out of there before anything else can happen," Amber explained, "that's the way I see it."

"You might have something there," Methos said.

"I don't know, the whole thing sounds pretty weird to me," Duncan said.

"Life is weird, MacLeod, I'll see what I can find out," Methos replied as he got up.

"This has certainly been a weird day," Amanda said, "and it's not even eight o' clock."

"I agree," Richie said.

Duncan had gone up to see Connor and try to get him to come out of his room. He found Connor rather busy, arguing with himself, so he had Connor join him at the table in the middle of his room, while he tried to reason with him.

"Connor, why don't you just try talking to them?" Duncan asked, "you can't stay in your room the entire stay."

"Perhaps not but I tell you I can very well try," Connor replied, "Duncan, they're not going to want to talk to me unless it's to insult me and you know it…not that I wouldn't have it coming after what's happened."

"Connor, they're not blaming you."

"Oh yeah? Then why is it that they're still talking about packing and leaving for Central America?" Connor asked.

"Because there's no getting around the fact that this woman could very well still try and come for Jeremy…we don't know what she's thinking…the kids think that she hired a hit man to kill her husband…Methos is looking into his life insurance policy to see if the amount would increase under some certain conditions…Connor, even if she hadn't acted with us the way she did, that wouldn't change what's happening now."

"So what's the verdict?" Connor asked, "Is Jeremy staying here or are we going into another custody battle?"

"We don't know," Duncan replied, "We can't decide what to do about this."

"I think I might know a way it can work out for everyone," Connor said, "if it would, I'd rather they think it was your idea…if they found out it came from me, they'd never go for it."

"What is it?"

"So where are you taking Jeremy today?" Amanda asked.

"There's a baseball game today, I think it'll do the kid some good to get out, and see what it's like at a real game," Amber replied, "all the excitement on the field, the screaming fans cheering on the teams, not to mention everyone going ballistic, when a baseball flies into the stadium."

"Providing I don't catch another one in the mouth, it should be great," Richie added.

The three of them left and Duncan came down the stairs a few seconds afterwards, "Where're they going?" he asked.

"To a ballgame, how'd it go talking with Connor?" Amanda asked.

"Not so well, but he's got an idea I think would work," Duncan said.

"What is it?" Amanda asked.

"Do you remember Michelle Webster?" Duncan asked.

"Of course, but what's she got to do with this?" Amanda asked.

"Where's the phone?"

"Methos has it, he's been talking to people for about an hour now…I don't know why or to whom though…"

They heard the phone get hung up and Methos entered the living room, "Well you won't believe what I just found out."

"What is it?" Amanda asked.

"Ernestine Wilcox saw to it that his insurance policy would double from $150,000 in the event that he was murdered."

"Well now that's odd," Amanda said, "usually they have them double in case of an accident, or…an act of God…or whatever they call it."

"Yes but he was apparently smarter than most," Methos said, "you take the cause of death and it practically screams murder, that way she'd be made a prime suspect from the start."

"Yeah but it doesn't make sense, you said the Watchers' cleaning crew was taking care of the body already," Duncan replied.

"I said they'd be coming in later to do something with the body," Methos corrected him, "they may not have come in yet, the hit man may have already gotten to it."

"A fine thing…we try and get a nice home for Jeremy, and this has to happen," Amanda said.

"I don't believe this," Richie said.

"What?"

"What? Sixty bucks to get in, get good seats, a few hotdogs and three cokes that's what."

"Hey, how do you think people make money working around here?" Amber asked.

"True…"

"Besides, if you ask me I think it's a wonder they didn't charge us to replace the ball," Amber added.

"Why? Just because it gets caught in some guy's mouth, and he can't get it out until after the game you think they're going to charge us for that?" Richie asked.

Amber looked down at the rubber ball Jeremy was holding; it still had the teeth marks embedded in it.

"All I can say is it's a good thing we went to see a baseball game and not tennis, if Shane got that caught in his teeth like the baseball, it would've exploded."

"True, although that would've been a sight to see," Richie commented.

"Daddy," Jeremy looked up at Richie.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going now?" Jeremy asked.

"Well why don't you ask your mother that?" Richie asked, "She hasn't bothered to tell me yet."

"Okay…mommy," Jeremy turned and looked up at Amber.

Amber laughed, "We are going to see the monster truck rally down by the race tracks, it starts in half an hour."

"Oh boy!"

"Amber, do you think that's a good idea?" Richie asked.

"Will you stop worrying? We're going to watch the rally, not participate in it…I swear Richie, sometimes you can be a real mother."

"Well providing I never have to wear a dress I don't think I have too much of a problem with that."

The days went by and Richie and Amber made good time with the two weeks they had. Ernestine Wilcox's body had been found and buried, but that didn't seem to have much effect on Jeanessa. She was still determined to come and take Jeremy away. Duncan had taken Connor's advice and called Michelle Webster and explained their current situation, as well as the backup plan. Richie and Amber still had no idea that when they left for Belize, Amanda, Duncan, and Methos would be coming with them, and they were all for keeping it that way. In any case, the kids spent so little time at home they wouldn't have much chance of hearing it.

They preferred going out for the time being, and exposing Jeremy to all the upsides of getting out of the house; bowling alleys, pool halls, arcades, ball games, amusement parks, the movie theaters, races at the tracks, water parks, etc.

Of course, they kept busy at home too, at night when they returned home, they worked on Jeremy's reading along with other things, within time he started showing some improvement.

Jeremy had learned how to write capital letters, so now they were working on printing. Amber kept Jeremy distracted while Richie wrote everything out on a pad of paper.

"Allright Jeremy, now when Amanda and Dumb-dumb come in here, you're going to be nice to both of them, aren't you?" Amber asked.

Jeremy shook his head, "No!"

Amber tilted her head and looked at Jeremy, "Now Jeremy, what did mama say about Dumb-dumb?"

Jeremy looked at her for a minute, "Be nice to Dumb-dumb, because he's just a pond in this."

Amber laughed, "I said pawn, but good guess…and what else did I say about Dumb-dumb?"

Jeremy thought for a minute, "Dumb-dumb wouldn't know fun if it came up and kicked him, because he's just a prune."

"That probably suits him better than anything," Amber laughed, "but I said prude."

"What's the difference?" Jeremy asked.

"Prude is what the Dumb-dumb is, someone who never has fun, a prune is something you take if you're constipated," Amber explained.

"Oh."

"I'm sure Dumb-dumb means well, but it doesn't mean you have to get stuck on him," Amber said.

"Okay Jeremy," Richie turned the pad over for Jeremy to see, "now I want you to copy these letters in your own writing, underneath the ones I just wrote, okay?"

"Okay daddy," Jeremy replied.

Jeremy picked up a pencil and sat down with the pad on his lap and started writing. While he did that, Richie moved over next to Amber.

"He's showing real improvement," Richie said.

"I know, the trouble will be when we have to teach him grammar, I know how to describe nouns and verbs, and a few adjectives, but that's about it."

"I've heard your adjectives, you keep those to yourself," Richie told her.

"Well…maybe Methos would be able to help him there, he's been a teacher before."

"He has?" Richie asked.

"Of course, he never told you?"

"No."

"Well anyway, a guy as smart as he is would have to know about all that fancy stuff," Amber said.

"You think he'd want to come and see us in Belize?" Richie asked.

"Sure he would…it's Mac and Amanda who won't have anything to do with us," Amber said.

"Amber…"

"I'm sorry Richie, I know you don't want me to talk about them like that, but it's true," Amber said, "if they would they'd be more supportive of our decision."

Richie and Amber had decided to leave tonight before midnight, Jeanessa Wilcox still insisted on getting Jeremy and had finally gotten her court order drawn up, and she was going to come first thing in the morning and get him.

Amanda and Duncan entered the living room, no one saying anything for a while, finally Amanda broke the silence, "So…you guys ready to leave tonight?"

"Yeah, we basically got everything packed up," Richie said.

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider this?" Amanda asked.

"There's nothing to reconsider, we'll have to leave," Amber replied.

"I'm done!" Jeremy announced as he showed off his printing for everyone to see.

"Hey Jeremy, come here kid."

Richie picked Jeremy up and congratulated him on his handwriting, Amber went over to Amanda, "Is dinner ready yet?"

"Yes."

"Allright, come on boys, the slop's being served," Amber said.

"Put me down daddy!" Jeremy said as he kicked Richie repeatedly.

"Okay pal, don't get lost."

Everyone headed into the kitchen until it was just Duncan and Jeremy left in the living room, Jeremy walked over to Duncan and said, "Grandpa?"

Duncan was a bit shocked about this, but he remained his usual self, "Yes?"

Jeremy stepped on Duncan's toes and put his arms around his legs, gripping tightly for a few seconds before letting go.

"What was that for?" Duncan asked.

"Don't tell anyone," Jeremy whispered, "Mommy says we're leaving tonight and we're never coming back, she also said to daddy that nobody would come see us, I'm supposed to hate you."

Jeremy ran past Duncan and headed into the kitchen, Duncan was stunned by what he'd heard, but he quickly followed behind.

"So Methos, what's for dinner?" Amber asked.

"Baked chicken, asparagus, mashed potatoes, avocado, peeled carrots, bread rolls, garlic, Spanish olives, oysters, pineapple chunks, peeled strawberries, and as for something new worth trying, French-fried bananas."

Richie and Amber looked at each other, "What do you think?" Richie asked.

"The chicken, potatoes, rolls and olives sound fine to me, but with all those supposed aphrodisiacs in between, what do you think is going through the chef's mind?" Amber asked.

"Allright, look," Amanda said, "this is our last meal together, so let's try to enjoy it."

"Fine."

Just as they had finished dinner, the phone rang, Methos got up to answer it and he took it over to Richie, "someone who wants to have a word with you."

Richie took the phone, "Hello?"

"Richie."

"Tina?"

"Are you guys still there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Get to the alcove, quick!"

"Is something wrong?"

"Just do it!"

The phone clicked on the other end, Richie was a bit surprised by the conversation.

"What was it?" Amanda asked.

"Tina wants us to come down to the alcove," Richie said, "she wouldn't say why, and she hung up before I could ask."

Richie parked his car down the street from the campus again, all the kids were there again. They all seemed to be waiting for something, so he and Amber and Jeremy all got out of the car and went up to see what all the commotion was about.

Everyone seemed to freeze as they saw them come to the alcove, they'd been waiting for them to arrive.

"What's going on?" Richie asked, "What're you guys doing here?"

"We all got together to see you guys tonight before you left," Tina said.

"Yeah, first of all, we all got together and got you a going away gift," Mizz said.

"Really we don't want…"

"Don't go jumping the gun just yet pal," Mizz handed Richie an envelope, "first have a look and tell us if you like."

Richie opened the envelope, it was filled with cash, he wasted little time in counting it.

"Thirty-five thousand dollars," he said, more than shocked by it.

"Yeah, this way you won't have to worry so much about affording a place to stay," Mizz replied, "you know, we've heard of some of them real fancy hotels and vacation houses that charge like…a grand a week, and maybe you and your girl could find a real nice place to stay for a while and…"

"Eh!" Amber cleared her throat, "there's a kid present."

Some of the guys laughed it off, "Anyway, since odds are we won't be seeing you again…at least not on this side of the country…we want you guys to know it's been great," Eddie said.

"Thanks," Amber said, "it has been great."

Richie and Amber turned to leave when they got an idea, "You know guys, seeing as how we won't be coming back, and this is our last night together, and we've got some unfinished business regarding some people who work at this college…" Richie said, "what do you say before we leave, we go crazy and make their lives a living hell?"

"Sounds good to me," Amber said, "we got all these teachers who are by far, the biggest pains in the ass on this side of town, and Dean Richards, ha! I'd like to put his head in a vice and squeeze and squeeze until his head exploded…I say we make this night a memorable one allright. There's going to be bonfires and guns and vandalism and armpits hanging from trees…the night's young and they're our prey so let's give the bastards the night of their lives!"

It was a night to remember allright, they tore up the campus grounds, spray painted graffiti all over the college, started a bonfire on the football field, then they went to the home address of the dean, they stripped his car and turned over what was left of if. They threw eggs at his house and spray painted it as well, aside from soaping some windows and painting the rest of them black. Then they went to all the houses of the other teachers, and did the same thing to their homes as well.

No calls were made to the police station because these were older teachers who were still set in their ways about technology, meaning the only phones they had were useless after the phone wires had been cut. An anonymous call went to the fire department regarding the fire at the college, little damage from the fire had been done anywhere else, and nobody bothered to look into what started it in the first place, so it was quickly forgotten.

It was now 11:00 at night, and Richie and Amber still hadn't returned. "I can't believe we let them go out like that," Duncan said.

"What did you think we should've done?" Amanda asked, "Sent out a SWAT team to follow them?"

"No, but I can't believe what's going on," Duncan said.

"Duncan, we'll be right behind them come tomorrow morning," Amanda told him, "try not to worry too much."

Connor made his way into the living room and sat down on the couch beside Amanda, "How's it going?"

"Fine, and you?" Amanda asked.

"I guess."

The phone rang, Methos answered it from the kitchen.

"I can't believe it's come down to this," Connor said.

"I know…I just wish there was more time," Amanda replied.

Methos came into the living room looking a bit panicked.

"Methos, what's wrong?" Amanda asked.

"That was the police calling, it seems that they've caught three teenagers passing from here up to Jacksonville, and I do believe you know what's right beyond that."

By the time they arrived at Jacksonville and just off from where the road led out of Florida and up to Georgia, they saw that it was far more than three teenagers who had passed through. The entire student body from the university was there. Most of them were harassing the police seeing as how they had them outnumbered. Some of them trapped the cops in their cars, others circled the cops on their bikes, taunting them.

"What is this?" Amanda asked.

"Hell on earth!" Methos replied.

"What's going on here?" Connor asked.

Looking ahead a bit, they saw what they were really doing. All these kids were distracting the cops, to keep them from getting to Richie and Amber. Richie was in his car with Jeremy right beside him, and Amber was on Richie's bike. Richie had gotten through the police with little trouble, he drove away a few blocks, then the car swerved around while he waited on Amber. She was having a bit more trouble seeing as how the cops could get to her easier than they probably could Richie, but she saw her opportunity. She turned the bike around and rode back a while, then she turned around again, she drove the bike up a slanted scaffold, leading up a 'ramp' of some old flat pipe metal that led up to the top of a sixth floor building.

If she could build up enough speed she could drive off the roof, get past the cops, and the crash wouldn't be too far off from where Richie was. It seemed suicidal, but it was her only chance at the moment. She rode around on the roof, building up speed, looking down, she saw everyone looking at her, all their friends, all the policemen, she didn't even stop when she saw Duncan and Amanda and Methos and Connor watching her. As she turned on the roof towards the other side, she saw Richie and Jeremy looking at her, no one quite knowing what to do. She sped up again, with no intention of slowing down, or stopping for that matter, as she circled the roof again, the faces just continued to stare at her. To her, they seemed like lifeless eyes in masks of horror, just waiting for her to crash, and when she did…

"What the hell am I doing?" she asked herself.

She turned on the roof once more and just when it seemed she was going to go through with the jump, there was a frightening silence. Everyone's eyes locked on her, no one knew what had happened. Amber had just stopped the bike, went over to the edge of the building, and jumped down, managing to grab onto the sign of the building on the second floor, it helped ease her fall as she took it from there and jumped down, landing on her feet.

Everyone looked around at each other, wandering what to make of it. Amber stole a bullhorn from one of the officers and spoke, "Allright everyone, that's it, the show's over there's nothing more to see here…Richie, come on back, we're going to stay here and we're going to fight, but we're going to do it in court. And as for everyone who came with us tonight…sorry for all the trouble tonight, you'll all get your money back…and maybe we'll be able to keep a shred of our lives in tact."

Richie drove back and stopped his car just inches away from one officer, he and Jeremy got out of the car and went over to her.

"Amber are you allright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, "I'm not about to kill myself in front of my baby. Richie, it ain't worth it, we're going to stay here in the country, and we're going to fight, but we're going to do it right…there are some legal matters that might prove helpful to us and we're going to find out what they are."

"Mommy!" Jeremy jumped up and hugged Amber tightly.

"It's good to see you, little man," Amber said.

"There they are!" they heard.

The older Immortals came running their way, and they practically choked Richie and Amber when they got to them.

"Amber, what the hell were you thinking?" Duncan asked.

"Hey Mac, I did it before, I figured I could do it again," she said.

"You had us worried sick," Amanda told her.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Good!"

"Amber, are you crazy?" Duncan asked.

"You know Mac, I really don't think I would've stopped, if it weren't for our boy," Amber explained.

"Mommy, were you really going to drive off the roof?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes I was, and it was a stupid thing to consider, even stupider to try and do, and DON'T you take any lessons from me on that, got it?" Amber asked.

"Yes."

"Allright."

Amber felt a pair of arms behind her grab her, the next thing she knew, she was looking up at Methos.

"Are you allright, kid?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Methos slapped Amber in the back of the head, "You scared the hell out of me."

"You scared all of us, what were you thinking?" Duncan asked.

"I don't see why it matters since I didn't go through with it," Amber said.

They got home and the kids went up to bed, Jeremy stayed with Richie all night, they stayed in Richie's room, while Amber stayed in Methos' room. He hadn't said anything in front of her, but early in the morning when she was going in and out of sleep, she heard him talking to Amanda out in the hallway. Whatever their legal rights were, they wouldn't be able to even try to take Jeanessa to court until Jeremy was 13. She was going to come by and get him today, but on a plus side, they had an Immortal friend working with the social services so he could make many unexpected drop-ins to see how she'd take care of Jeremy.

Amber wanted to die more than anything, she felt like she'd just had the rug jerked out from under her. She was starting to regret turning back, why didn't she just go through with the jump? At least by now they'd be out of Florida, away from Wilcox. And if she felt this bad, she couldn't imagine how Richie must feel if he heard them too. Methos finished talking to Amanda and went back into the bedroom and over to Amber, "You heard us?"

Amber nodded.

"She's pulling in the driveway…Jeremy's all packed up, he's about to find out he's going," Methos said, "do you want to see him off?"

Amber shook her head.

"Do you just want us to send him in here?" Methos asked.

Amber nodded. Methos left the room, Amber got up and started making the bed when Jeremy came in, "Mommy?"

"Yes Jeremy?" she turned to face him.

"Daddy says that there's a lady here to take me to live with her," Jeremy said.

"That's right," Amber said.

"Is she going to bring me back?" Jeremy asked.

"No…but don't worry…it's going to take a while but we're going to get you back…unfortunately for that, you'll have to live with the other woman for quite a while."

"How long?" Jeremy asked.

"Seven years," Amber said.

"Seven years!" Jeremy repeated, "I'm only six! I'll be 13 before I get to see you again!"

Amber laughed pitifully, "You're finally getting math I see…well we don't know that for sure Jeremy, when you're 13 we're going to see about getting you to come back and live with us, but we're going to see about visiting you before then. Look, your daddy and I have a lot of work to do if we're going to get you back…so what we need you to do right now is just hang in there, and get ready for your new home."

Jeremy hugged Amber's legs tightly, "I love you Mommy."

"I love you too," she replied.

"Mommy, are you going to stay in this house?" Jeremy asked.

"I guess I am, why?" Amber asked.

"Cuz since I'm learning to write, I can write you and daddy while I'm away and tell you how it is," Jeremy said.

"Smart boy," Amber took a notepad and scribbled down the address and handed it to Jeremy, "now you get going, you don't want to keep your new mommy waiting."

"I don't care," Jeremy said as he headed out into the hall, "Even though she's going to let me live with her, and she's going to be taking care of me, there's no way I'm calling her mommy…an' I don't care if there's a man there, cuz I'm never calling him daddy if there is."

"Well that's your choice," she told him.

Jeremy headed down the stairs and Richie took him out the front door. Amber didn't watch them leave, she turned back around and headed to the bedroom again. Methos was coming up the stairs as she headed back in and shut the door. Methos went in after her, and she was in bed again.

"Are you allright?" he asked.

"Richie and I just lost the only chance we'll have at being parents, no, I'm not allright," she replied.

Methos made his way over to the bed and slipped in beside her, "It's not forever, Amber…just seven years…it'll be over before you know it."

"Yeah but it won't be soon enough," Amber said.

Methos tried to think of something to say, something to comfort her. She buried her face in the pillow and cried, "She took him, our baby is gone."

Methos said nothing, it would be no use trying to talk to her right now…she'd have to calm down before he could explain what had happened.

After Jeremy had left, Richie went into the kitchen and sat down at the table, now it was five hours later and he was still in the same spot, Duncan and Amanda were discussing what to do with him.

"Well go in there," Amanda said.

"What do I say?" Duncan asked.

"Well talk to him, ask him how he's doing," Amanda told him.

"Don't push, I'm going."

Duncan headed into the kitchen acting very casually and sat down beside Richie, "How're you doing, Richie?"

"Fine Mac," Richie replied quietly.

Duncan tried to think of a way to get them talking, "Uh…you might consider sleeping alone tonight, Amber's…very upset by this and, well she's with Methos, he's trying to calm her down but he's not having much luck…"

"Allright…"

Duncan felt he was getting nowhere fast.

"Mac," Richie said suddenly, "I don't get it, I could've taken care of him, he would've been safe here…"

"I know."

"So why did this have to happen? Why now? Why when he just found someone who wanted him?" Richie asked.

"Maybe it just wasn't time," Duncan suggested, "Maybe…maybe this was just a chance for you to really know him and one of these days…maybe then you'll be able to keep him."

"Mac…why're you saying that? You wouldn't have wanted him here."

"That's not true, I wanted him here, I just wanted to make sure that he could be safe regardless of who he was living with," Duncan said.

"And you think we can trust this woman?" Richie asked.

"Richie, I've known her since she was 11 years old…besides, she lives on Holy Ground so he'd be safe with her…" Duncan said.

"But it's not fair that he had to leave," Richie said, "Mac…"

"I know…believe me I know…"

Richie seemed frozen in the position he was in, he wasn't even breathing now. Duncan put his arms around Richie and held him close, "Richie, you have to breathe, you're turning purple."

Richie breathed, not enough to get much air in him but he didn't really care anymore. He gave up on trying to seem okay and broke down crying, "He's gone Mac…they took him away from me…"

Duncan had his hands full with Richie, and Methos with Amber, for days both kids were a complete mess. Richie kept begging Mac to do something to temporarily put him out of his misery, and Amber became depressed to the point where she didn't want to get out of bed. It was enough to about drive the older Immortals crazy. They spent most of their time with the kids where they were, Duncan and Methos saw each other a couple of times each day if they were lucky, only to compare how big a mess the kids were. Richie wanted to see Amber, but they advised him it wouldn't be a good idea for a few days, considering how upset she still was. They figured it'd be safer because she was still throwing things at Methos when he tried to talk to her. Within a few days, Richie crept upstairs early one morning and went over to Methos' bedroom to see how she was doing.

Amber had gotten sick and tired of Methos trying to comfort her, and support her and encourage her to get out of bed, so when the door opened she did the first thing that came to mind. She threw her boot at the door.

"Whoa, not a bad shot," Richie said, "if you work on your timing a bit, next time you might actually get me."

"Richie," Amber sat as she sat up in bed, "What're you doing here?"

"Well I wanted to see you, I was wondering how you were doing," Richie said.

"Evidently not as well as you," Amber replied.

"Amber, I want to talk to you about Jeremy," Richie said.

Amber hit Richie in the jaw and rolled over in bed again, "Richie, I went through all this with Methos already, I don't feel like playing psychological therapy and expressing how I feel."

"Amber," Richie said as he felt his bottom jaw, "you didn't even give me a chance to explain. Jeanessa didn't come and take Jeremy."

"She didn't?" Amber asked.

"No, the police found out that she had planned to have her husband bumped off and she's now serving 42 years in prison, whereas the hit man she hired is serving life…the woman who came for Jeremy is a friend of Mac's, Michelle Webster, she's about my age, Amanda trained her, she lives on Holy Ground in this place in Georgia…"

"She lives in a church?" Amber asked.

"Not really, it's this place where Immortals come if they need to relax, unwind, get away from it all, that stuff," Richie said.

"A hotel on Holy Ground?" Amber asked.

"Not exactly, more like an Immortal bed and breakfast," Richie replied.

"Oh."

"Anyway, she knows some people out there who could take care of all the legal arrangements so he'd legally be living with her for the next seven years…then by the time he's thirteen, she's going to bring him back here for us to take him."

"Well that's good…I guess…if she's a friend of Mac's…well maybe she's an allright person," Amber said.

"It was Connor's idea to call her in for this…he told Mac and he wanted us to think it was Mac's idea because he didn't think we'd go for it if we knew he thought of it," Richie explained.

"I don't like the way it's turned out I don't care who thought of it," Amber replied, "Look Richie…I know that you thought of Jeremy as your own before anything else, so I should be trying to comfort you through this…but it just feels to me like I've been thrown at a brick wall…"

Richie nodded, "I know…but we'll get through this…"

"I suppose we should be thankful broken heart can't kill us," Amber said, "otherwise I think we'd both be pushing up orchids right now."

"Amber, I wanted to ask you something," Richie said.

"What is it?" Amber asked.

"I know that at this time, it probably seems like adding salt to the wounds, or whatever…and I know that we can't have kids so what I'm about to ask wouldn't really do much good as far as parenthood goes but…I've known you for over seven years now, and I have to say it's been pretty interesting…it was especially great after we moved in together…I liked being right with you all the time, you know?"

"I guess, but where is this going?" Amber asked.

"Well anyway, I've enjoyed your company for a while now, and I figure if we can stand being around each other like this…well I wanted to ask you…"

Richie reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, opening it to reveal a ring inside.

"Amber…" Richie swallowed hard afterwards, as if he were trying to keep from throwing up, "W-Would you marry me?"

"What'd she say?" Methos asked.

"She didn't say anything…for a while I expected her to start yelling at me, asking me all the typical questions, 'is this some kind of a sick joke?' 'How could you do such a thing?'"

"You and what army?" Methos added.

"She just sat there and said nothing, after a while she got up and headed into the bathroom and locked herself in…I don't know what I'm doing," Richie said, "why did I even ask her?"

"Probably because the two of you are better off than you and any floozy you'll ever come across," Methos said, "it's something you have between the two of you…some kind of chemistry I suppose…you're practically perfect for each other yet marriage seems like an odd concept to add to it."

"So what're you saying?" Richie asked.

"Maybe she doesn't know whether or not she wants to marry you…I don't know…maybe she doesn't want to get married, maybe she'd rather the two of you stay roommates the rest of your lives…at least when you're roommates the bedroom is the only thing you divide, in marriage you live with half of what you have and the wife has the other half…I don't know…do you want me to talk to her?" Methos asked.

"Go ahead, but I don't know what good it would do."

"He asked you to marry him?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah," Amber replied, less than enthusiastic.

"YIIIIPPPPPEEEE!" Amanda exclaimed.

"You think this is good news?" Amber asked.

"You don't?" Amanda asked.

"I didn't answer him…I didn't say anything, I can't say anything to him," Amber said.

"Why not? I think you would make a cute couple," Amanda said.

"That's one problem right there, I may be a lot of things, Amanda, but damn it, cute is not one of them. Besides, do you really think Duncan would approve of us being married? Besides, it's not even legal, I'm only 17."

"So, you never heard of a long engagement?" Amanda asked, "Come on Amber, why shouldn't you marry him? He's a great guy, he likes you, he listens to you…"

"And he's probably the only man I'll ever meet who understands why I don't want to have sex," Amber added.

"See?" Amanda asked, "There's another good point."

"But Amanda…I can't marry Richie…I don't see that working for us…Richie is a guy who I'll be roommates with, who I will share the same bed with…hell he's a guy I will shower with, but I won't marry him."

"Why not? You're doing all that other stuff already, you might as well get something out of it," Amanda said, "besides, haven't you two been 'together' in that way yet?"

"If you mean are we in love, no, if you're asking if there even used to be a shred of love between us…I guess I'd have to say yes, we used to but that quickly faded," Amber said.

"Amber, why're you telling me this? You should be telling Richie, he's the one who asked you," Amanda said.

"I just don't see why you would want to marry me," Amber said, "let's face it, I'm not easy to get along with, I can be a real bitch when I want to be…besides…you know I would never want to sleep with you…what kind of a wife is that?" Amber asked.

"Sounds like every typical wife to me," Richie replied, "I mean once you get past the age of 50."

"What could you possibly get out of marrying me?" Amber asked.

"I don't want to lose you," Richie said.

"I haven't gone anywhere," Amber said.

"Not yet but I'm worried you will one day and I won't be able to find you…you did before, after what happened last time I don't want that to happen again," Richie said.

"I can understand that, but marriage isn't going to solve that…marriage is a trap, it brings out the worst in everybody," Amber said, "give Mac and Amanda a few decades, and they'll be at each other's throats."

"Allright, I'm sorry…just forget I said anything," Richie said.

"Richie…I like you, I like being with you, and I'll admit I don't mind too much bathing with you…but I don't want to be your wife," Amber said.

"I understand," Richie said, "it's just…we were both upset when Jeremy left, I thought if we were together, we'd at least have someone we could both depend on," Richie said.

"We already do…we got each other here and now, we're both alive and we're still here, and I don't see what's wrong with that…now look Richie…we'll go back to school, we'll get on with our lives, who knows? In seven years we may even be parents again….ask me to marry you again in half a century and let's see what happens, allright?" Amber asked.

"Allright…"

"So what now?" Amber asked.

"I don't know…"

There was a long silence between them, neither of them even looking at one another.

"Well you know Richie, I've spent about a week in bed and I'm about to go crazy," Amber said, "What say we call up some of our friends and find out if the dean's still alive, or if we need to do a repeat performance?"

Richie thought about it for a minute, then decided, "Eh, why not? We've got seven years until we've got to be parents again, I think we might as well enjoy the time we got until then."