A/N: It's starting to get difficult to come up with material that seems to fit in with this story, so I hope you like how this chapter turns out.

While Rose more than willing to carry Adam's suitcase, Duncan and Richie kept their baggage to themselves as the girls led them out of the airport and over to the pavement where Blanche was trying to hail a taxi.

"So uh…Dorothy is it?" Richie asked.

"Yes, that's right."

"Uh…" Richie's brain scrambled to find something to talk about, "how long you been living in Miami?"

"A few years, how long do you guys plan on staying?" Dorothy asked.

"Well we were thinking maybe a few weeks," Duncan commented, "but we 'canna be sure until Connor comes along."

"He's the one from New York?" Blanche asked as she turned around.

"No, he works in New York, he's from Scotland," Duncan corrected.

Blanche leaned over to Rose and whispered, "You know Rose, I think you're right, I think they did get hit a bit too hard during go-wick-a-noodle."

"Go-whack-a-noggin," Rose corrected.

"Whatever, now they think they're from Scotland," Blanche said.

"Actually both Mac and Connor were born in Scotland," Richie commented.

"And what about you?" Blanche asked.

"I was born in Washington."

Dorothy turned towards Adam, "And you?"

"Well you might say I've been around the globe a few times, I'm not really from around here," Adam replied.

"I'm seeing that," Dorothy said, "…are you from Wales by any chance?"

Adam thought about it for a second before responding, "Yes."

"I thought so," Dorothy said, "you remind me of some students in my class."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Blanche asked Dorothy.

She turned to the girls and said, "I had seven Welsh students in my last class, all from different families and all, but they were a lot alike. I don't know, I guess sometimes some people from the same region share the same characteristics, the same traits…"

Rose chimed in, "You mean all Welsh people have big noses?"

"Rose!" the girls barked.

Adam rolled his eyes and turned the other way.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mister Pierson," Dorothy said, "our friend here was struck by lightning many years ago and it rendered her if I could be quite frank, a complete idiot."

"Don't worry, I'm used to it by now," Adam shrugged it off, "One time I had amnesia and was kept in a private institution for three weeks. I woke up one day and they put me in front of a mirror so I could get a thorough look at myself. The first thing I noticed was a thin face and a large nose."

"Can you believe it, Dorothy?" Blanche murmured, "They don't think they're from St. Olaf."

"Maybe they mean that they were originally born in different countries but they were raised in St. Olaf, did you ever think of that, Blanche?" Dorothy asked.

"Any luck getting a taxi, Blanche?" Rose asked.

"No, damn it, I don't get it, I hiked up my skirt and gave every cab driver a good look at my nice, long thin but firm thigh, and none of them stopped," Blanche pouted.

"Well at this rate we'll probably end up walking," Dorothy said, "besides, even if we could hail a taxi, we'd need two, one for us, and one for them," Dorothy pointed at the men.

"Not to worry," Richie said, "I know a surefire way to get a couple to stop."

"Really? Could you try it?" Rose asked.

"No problem," Richie handed his suitcase to Duncan, "Here, hold this for a minute."

Duncan grasped Richie's suitcase as Richie removed his trench coat, and then handed that to him as well. He then took off a black jacket and turned it inside out, making it appear as part of an officer's uniform with the dark blue interior. He then pulled an officer's hat out of his shirt and took out a whistle from his pocket and headed out into the street. There were several cars passing on the streets, particularly two cabs at the head of the line. Richie blew the whistle and held out his arm as the drivers slammed on the brakes and stopped just inches away from him.

Richie went over to one cab and knocked on the window, the driver lowered the window, "Is there a problem officer?"

"You picking up anybody?" Richie asked.

"No sir."

"Good, we got three young ladies who need a ride back to their home." Richie pulled open the back door on the cab, "Ladies…" Then he went over to the other cab and opened the door on the driver's side. "As for you, my good man, you're going to have the three of us right behind them, because as of now, I'm off duty and we guaranteed these women we'd see them home."

Duncan followed Richie over to the second cab, and Adam took his suitcase from Rose before he followed him as well. Then the girls got in the first cab and told the driver to take them to their home, while Duncan, Richie, and Adam got in the second cab and Richie assured the driver wherever the first cab went, he'd follow them.

The taxies pulled out of the girls' driveway and once again, Rose took Adam's suitcase as Dorothy opened the front door to let everyone in. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, gentlemen."

"I don't know how we can be anymore miserable than we already are," Adam murmured to Duncan.

"Shhhhhh!"

"Ma, we're back!" Dorothy called.

"Her mother's still alive?" Adam said, he then muttered to Duncan, "You don't suppose she's one of us, do you?"

"Shhhhhh!"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to bite your tongue?" Richie asked him.

"Asking the wrong person kid, try asking me if I even remember my mother," Adam said to him.

Sophia came through the kitchen door wearing her apron, "Allright, where're the men?"

"Ma, this is Adam Pierson, Duncan MacLeod and Richie Ryan," Dorothy introduced them.

"Hello boys," Sophia looked at them, "are your mothers picking you up later?"

"Sophia, they're our guests," Blanche said.

"I thought you said we were having 'men' over, not the Outsiders," Sophia replied.

"Okay so they're a little younger than we had hoped for, but a younger man has advantages, you know?" Blanche asked.

"Yeah, they can actually stay awake all the way through the sex," Sophia replied.

"Oh Ma," Dorothy growled.

"Well gentlemen, I'm sorry but we don't really have enough rooms for you all," Blanche said, "I'm afraid one of you'll have to sleep on the couch out here."

"No problem," Adam said, "I'll take it, I'm not picky, hell, by the time you get to be my age you can't afford to be picky."

"I wish my son thought more like that," Dorothy said, "he's probably about your age, Adam, 30 years old and he still doesn't think he has to be responsible for anything."

"30 years old?" Adam repeated, "and you're comparing him to me?" Adam laughed.

"He's actually a bit younger," Duncan explained, "which would explain why he always acts like a brat."

"Wrong again MacLeod, I'm not the brat, Richie's the brat," Adam responded.

"I am NOT a brat!" Richie exclaimed as he got in Adam's face.

"Oh great, the men haven't been here ten minutes and already they're going for each other's throats," Sophia said, "this is going to be just like Sicily. I'll get started on dinner."

"Ma, it's only 2:00," Dorothy said.

"So what? I'll do anything to get away from that bickering," Sophia said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

As Adam and Richie continued arguing, Duncan tried to pull Adam away from Richie, and Rose got in between them yelling, "Allright you two, KNOCK IT OFF! Your friend didn't send you here for you to yell for the whole neighborhood to hear like a bunch of Italians…no offense Dorothy…" Rose said.

"None taken you mental pygmy," Dorothy replied.

"Now look, you cam here to see what makes Miami so great now either you behave and make the best of your stay here or you can ship out, is that clear?" Rose asked.

"Yes," the boys replied.

"Good, now, Duncan, you and Richie can take Blanche's room, she'll be sleeping with me," Rose said.

"You?" Blanche shrieked, "Why do I have to sleep with you?"

"Well Blanche you can have your pick, you can either sleep with me or you can sleep with Dorothy."

"Hello, roomy," Blanche said as she hugged Rose.

Dorothy rolled her eyes before she turned to Duncan and said, "May I show you where you'll be staying, Mister MacLeod?"

"If you like," Duncan said.

"Rose," Dorothy snapped her fingers.

Rose picked up Duncan's bags and headed to Blanche's room.

"That isn't necessary, I can…" Duncan started.

"Mister MacLeod," Dorothy started.

"Duncan…"

"Duncan, Rose is more than happy to do it, its just a little old St. Olafian hospitality," Dorothy assured him.

"Allright, Richie, follow that woman," Duncan said.

"And I'll keep a hold of my own luggage," Richie said as he picked up his bags.

Dorothy followed Rose, Duncan followed Dorothy, and Richie followed Duncan into Blanche's room, while Blanche watched them from the living room.

"Damn it," she pouted, "two young, vibrant, beautiful men staying in my room and I'm shacking up with the Minnesotan Nitwit."

Sophia carefully placed the 12-pound pan of lasagna into the oven, closed the door and looked at her watch, just as Dorothy entered the kitchen.

"Allright, we got everybody settled in, Blanche took her stuff into Rose's room, got her clothes put in the right side of Rose's closet, piled her makeup all over Rose's dresser. Duncan and Richie are going to be sharing Blanche's bed, they've got their things put away, and Adam is going to be sleeping on the couch and he'll be changing his clothes in Blanche's bathroom, and right now Rose is in her closet counting the tips she got from Duncan and Richie for her service as bellboy," Dorothy said.

"I wish I knew you were having trouble getting everybody set up, I'd have told you sooner," Sophia said.

"Told me what?" Dorothy asked.

"My friend Roxanne Torelli is having me come over to her place tonight," Sophia said.

"Why?"

"She's in the over-80 category at the police department and needs a decoy for her drug-bust, what do you think! A bunch of us gals from bingo are getting together for a slumber party, we can stay up all night, make horrible noises after eating bad food, make prank phone calls and watch that new movie, Fatal Attraction," Sophia explained. "You can give my room to the men."

Rose came into the kitchen saying, "Well, that's taken care of, Duncan and Richie will have Blanche's bedroom, Blanche will be with me, and Adam will be on the couch."

"Honey, there's been a change of plans," Dorothy said, "Ma's going to be spending the night at a friend's house so we're going to have to help move Duncan and Richie's stuff into her bedroom for the night."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked.

"It means you're a pack mule once more," Sophia said, "but look on the bright side, these guys are young, they're polite, they gave you a $6 tip."

"$15 tip," Rose replied.

"$15…if they insist on paying, it'll be worth your time to move everything, you can demand double the tip for relocating their luggage," Sophia said.

"Really?" Rose asked.

"They're from St. Olaf, they'll believe it," Sophia said.

"Okey-dokey," Rose said, "before we move them again, I just wanted to say that I called Big Sven and told him that the boys all got here safely. And he said not to worry about them being a bit confused about who they are, it turns out they were all in Go-whack-a-noggin that afternoon. So they're bound to be confused for a while, but I told him aside from that, they were just fine. It's going to be great to have some other people from St. Olaf here with us."

"Yeah, be still my beating heart," Sophia replied dryly, "Dinner's in two hours, someone go tell the boys, I have to pack."

"Pack?" Dorothy repeated, "Ma, you're going away for one night."

"I was cleaning out my purse, so I have to put everything back, my vapor rub, my preparation H, my dental floss, my keys, some hard candy, a crossword book, some breath mints, some seasoning, Vaseline, petroleum jelly, iodine, Maalox, and my driver's license," Sophia explained.

"Your driver's license?" Rose repeated.

"How do you think I'm getting to her house? Hitching a ride? Hailing a cab? That runt Adam told me how you got back home," Sophia said, "and I sure as hell can't pass as an officer."

"Well, with my mother gone for the night, you can sleep in here and Blanche can move back to her room," Dorothy said, "I hope you're enjoying your stay in Miami so far."

"Great, just great," Richie said, "damn hot though."

"I know," Dorothy agreed, "maybe you won't be wearing your trench coats so often."

"Oh no, that I have to do," Richie said.

"How come?" Dorothy asked.

"It's not important," Richie replied.

"So Richie, how old are you?" Dorothy asked.

"How old are you?" Richie repeated.

Dorothy looked at Richie for a moment, not sure how to respond.

"No, actually I'm 19."

"Oh, I'm 56, actually," Dorothy said, "and how old is Duncan?"

"He's…older than both Adam and myself," Richie said.

Hell, Richie thought, as far as "Adam Pierson" is concerned, Mac's older than both of us together.

"Well, I'm sorry that you haven't really gotten around to seeing much of anything, other than Blanche's potted bathroom, but usually when you travel the first day takes a while to settle into," Dorothy said.

"Oh yeah, I know, we travel all the time," Richie said.

"Really? I didn't think you guys got around to traveling a lot," Dorothy said.

"No kidding? What'd Connor say that made you think that?" Richie asked.

"Well we didn't really talk to Conner, we talked to a friend of his, he told us you'd be coming, and Conner would be along after he gets done in New York," Dorothy said, "I guess some of you have seen a lot of the world."

"Oh yeah, if you wanna talk about that, you should really discuss it with Mac, or Adam, they can tell you a lot more about their trips than I can," Richie said.

"Maybe I will, in my last class I taught a lot of History and Geography," Dorothy said, "you know, it used to be I couldn't get my students to even listen to me in class, now they've done so well I'm out of work."

"Sorry to hear that, they let you go or something?" Richie asked.

"No, it's just that I'm a substitute teacher and now that they've gotten ahead, they don't need me in the summer school program, so now I'm looking for a new job for the time being, and I have to say it's not easy, when you get older, jobs are hard to find," Dorothy explained.

Mac sure hasn't had any trouble getting work, Richie thought.

"I'm sure you'll find something, there's always opportunity, you just have to know where to look," Richie said, "trust me, I've found it in some pretty unusual places."

"You're a good kid, Richie," Dorothy said, "I can see that you're going to make something with your life."

What's left of it anyway, he figured.

"Well, dinner's probably ready, I hope you like Italian," Dorothy said as she glanced at her watch.

"What're we having?" Richie asked.

"Lasagna, my mother made it, so if you haven't had it before, you're going to be in for a surprise, my mother makes amazing food, she claims the secret to making great lasagna is singing opera to it," Dorothy said.

"Yeah, your mother…I don't mean to be rude or anything, but is she getting Alzheimer's, or is she just plain crazy?" Richie asked.

"Nothing's been declared yet, but as far as we're concerned, it's the latter," Dorothy said, "now come on, let's eat."

Blanche came out of the kitchen and said to Adam, who was seated on the couch, "I'm sorry, Adam, but all we have is sherry, and I don't know if you'd want it."

"Eh, I'll give it a try, what's the worst that could happen?" Adam asked.

Dorothy and Richie came out of Sophia's room and into the living room, "Is Duncan still here?" Dorothy asked.

"No, he left an hour ago," Blanche said, "why?"

"No reason, is Rose still here?" Dorothy asked.

"She's out shopping to cook up some Scandinavian snacks for our friends," Blanche said.

"I hope it includes a good beer," Adam said.

"Adam!" Richie chimed in.

"You're right, at this rate I'll settle for a bad beer."

"Are you a heavy drinker, Adam?" Blanche asked.

"Only when he's conscious," Richie butted in.

At that moment, the front door came open and Rose came in with large bags of groceries in each arm, "Girls, girls, you'll never believe it, I was coming home from the market, and I saw Duncan on his way back home too, and he looked like a mess."

"He probably had a run-in with a street cleaner," Adam said, "Richie, you help these ladies get their food put away, I'll help the stain in the road when he gets in."

Dorothy took a bag from Rose, Richie took another bag and Blanche scurried them all into the kitchen, a few seconds later, Duncan came in the house panting heavily, his clothes torn, his skin flushed and his body covered with dark patches and marks.

"Well, how was the head?" Adam asked.

"Shut up!" Duncan muttered, "where are they?"

"In the kitchen, who was it?" Adam asked.

"Anthony Callahan," Duncan answered, "I'd hardly heard of him before, but he left me no choice."

Adam sniffed a couple of times, "you smell like you were burnt alive, what happened?"

"A car blew up nearby, need I say more?" Duncan asked.

"Probably not, come on, let's get you cleaned up before the women find out," Adam said as he took Duncan's hand.

"I can clean myself up thank you very much!" Duncan jerked away from Adam's grip and headed to Blanche's room.

"MacLeod," Adam called.

Duncan stopped in his tracks and looked back, "Yes, Methos?"

"You're not in there anymore, the old lady's gone for the night so you and the brat are taking her room over there," Adam gestured to Sophia's bedroom.

"Oh, okay, thank you," Duncan turned and headed in the direction of Sophia's bedroom.

"MacLeod," Adam repeated.

Again Duncan stopped and turned around, "Yes?"

"She doesn't have a bathroom, you'll have to use the one with the greenery, right back where you were heading in the first place," Adam smirked.

"One of these days, Methos," Duncan growled under his breath.

Duncan headed back to Blanche's room and shut the door, at that time, Rose came out of the kitchen, "Is Duncan okay?"

"Yes, yes, he just had an inconvenience at the post office, he fell down a machine and got pounded with the fragile stamping," Adam said.

"Really?" Rose asked, "It's amazing how ink from a machine can smell so much like burning skin, when he comes back out, let him know dinner's ready," Rose said as she headed back into the kitchen.

Adam drew in a long breath and exhaled in relief, so far they hadn't a clue, but Connor was going to pay for fixing them up with mortal women.