Spawn of Kronos

"Are you sure about this?" Amber asked.

"Yes, I think it's time you meet her," Shane replied.

"I don't know, I've never done this before," Amber said.

"I didn't figure you had…come on."

Shane pushed open the gate to the cemetery and they stepped in, each with a bouquet of flowers. They walked down the rows, glancing at some of the graves as they went by, until finally they came to the elm tree, and Rachel's grave beside it. Shane knelt down beside the grave and placed his bouquet down first, a fresh bunch of black roses.

"Hello Rachel," he said, "I've brought someone with me today…I want you to meet a friend of mine..."

Amber knelt down by the grave and placed her bouquet beside Shane's, a fresh bunch of red poppies.

"Hello," she said nervously, "Shane's told me a lot about you and…it's nice to get a chance to speak to you…I don't know if you can hear me where you are…or even if you'd want to…but I must say it has certainly been interesting knowing Shane…I think, in a different way, I'm seeing what you saw in him…and I promise, I'll take care of him…I've taught him what I know on how to fight…he's known all his life how to survive…uh…I really don't know anything else to say, except that…uh, if you see my parents where you are…tell them I said hello."

"That was nice," Shane said.

"And I meant every word of it, anyone thinks they can screw with you, they're going to have to kill me first," Amber said.

"You don't need to worry about me," Shane told her, "you were right…I've known how to survive all my life…ever since I first started fighting Immortals…I've always won…that's why I never trained with you too much…I was worried that I might kill you, by accident of course."

"Of course," Amber said, "until last Independence Day, I never knew you had it in you to actually behead an Immortal."

"That's one of the surprising things about me," Shane said.

"So I'm seeing…but it turned out rather well…we had a good time, Mac's still alive…and Rachel…is still down in the ground…right where she belongs."

"Yes…"

"And that's good," Amber replied, "the way I see it is, you've had enough crap happen to you already…you don't need a misdemeanor the size of Texas hanging over your head…I mean, so far in the past few years, you've lost your girlfriend, your mother, your chance of being left alone for the rest of your 'normal' life, not to mention you never knew your old man…I mean, to me that's not too much of a big thing, to you on the other hand, it's obviously a big thing."

"Well it's not so bad these days…when I was younger, then it used to bother me…"

"Well I would imagine it still does now and then…" Amber said.

"Yes…I still wonder a lot about my father."

"I'm sure you do…I knew my father and I wonder a lot about him."

"I just…I can't help but wonder, what was he like? What did he do?"

"Is he still alive?" Amber added.

"Probably…I don't know…I wish I could find out who he was."

"Well do you know your mother's whole name?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Maybe you could put out like an ad or something…something that asks, who knew your mother, around the time of…whenever you must've been conceived…well I have a question, when your mother was alive, did you ever think to ask her?"

"Yes, she gave me the name he'd been using at the time…I tried to find out something about the guy and I got nowhere. It was just an alias he'd used when he came into town…he never gave anyone his real name…and he left before anything else could be determined about him."

"I don't know what to say," Amber said, "something like that could mean anything…maybe he had no choice and had to leave, maybe he was murdered, maybe he was just a bastard, I don't know…"

"I like to think it was the former," Shane said.

There was a moment of silence, Amber looked up and noticed the sky turning orange.

"I better get going soon…uh Shane…would you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Amber asked.

"What's for dinner?" Shane asked.

"I don't know…if Amanda's cooking then it strongly resembles road kill, if Methos is cooking, then it's an aphrodisiac, if Mac's cooking…it's healthy…so you really can't win any way."

"I'll come by…what time?" Shane asked.

Amber looked at her watch, "around six."

"Fine."

---

"You invited him over for dinner tonight?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, I figured why not? He's got no plans for tonight, we have no plans for tonight, he doesn't go much anywhere after work, he stays in a graveyard all day, by himself…and most of his other friends wouldn't think enough of it to invite him."

"Why not?" Amanda asked.

"A lot of people don't want him at their homes," Richie answered.

"How come?" Amanda asked.

"Some people…are intimidated by him…I guess usually it's because of how he looks," Amber said.

"Well weren't you when you first met him?" Duncan asked.

"No Mac…when I first met him, I had a five year old child with me and he was coming our way, I thought he was going to kill us…but after we met, and got acquainted, it was fine…"

"Well I think it'll be nice to have him here," Amanda said.

"You'd enjoy having a shark to dinner," Duncan told her.

"There's a dented car parked in the driveway," Methos said.

"That's him," Richie said.

"Well dinner's about ready," Duncan said.

"Great, what're we having?" Amber asked.

"Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baby peas, and French rolls," Duncan said.

Methos opened the front door and Shane came in carrying a large bag in his hand.

"Hello!" he said.

"Hello Shane, it's nice to have you here," Amanda said.

"Thank you, I'm glad to be anywhere," Shane replied.

Richie and Amber finished setting the dining room table and sat down, Shane went over to them, still carrying the bag.

"Uh…what's in the bag, Shane?" Richie asked.

Shane dropped the bag onto the middle of the table.

"Crabs," he replied.

"Crabs?" Richie repeated.

Amber stood up and opened the bag and looked in.

"Where'd you get all those?"

"Out of the water," Shane replied.

"Shane, why did you bring us a bag of crabs?" Richie asked.

"It's tradition," Shane answered.

"Tradition?" Richie asked.

"In my family it is," Shane replied, "actually…usually you're supposed to bring hamsters or ferrets or weasels or gerbils or…"

"We get it, Shane, we get it," Duncan said.

"Well anyway, I couldn't find any, so I brought crabs instead," Shane explained.

"What sort of tradition does this fall under?" Amber asked.

"When you're invited to someone's house for dinner, it is usually proper to bring a big bag of rodents," Shane said, "but considering we live near the water, sea creatures are acceptable too."

Methos and Amanda went over and looked in the bag.

"Well they look very nice Shane," Amanda said.

"Thank you."

"They're very big, but I really can't see cooking them," Amanda said.

"Oh no, they're not for eating, they're for pets," Shane said.

Everyone exchanged unusual looks, "well," Amanda said, "I can't really see them as pets either…but you might want to give them to the lady across the street, I'm sure she'd love them."

"Oh yes, do that," Duncan replied with bitter sarcasm, "let her get a bigger zoo to send over here every morning."

"Don't pay any attention to him," Methos said, "he's just in a bad mood…really Duncan, you should be glad he brought crabs and not lobsters."

"Yeah, that's true…he's had a few bad run ins with lobsters, ain't that right, Mac?" Richie asked.

"You kidding? I still have nightmares about it."

Methos picked up the bag off the table, "while they serve up dinner, I'll go find a temporary home for these…in the kitchen sink."

"After dinner you can take them to Maureen Widen across the street," Amanda told him as she followed Methos into the kitchen.

"Okay," Shane said.

"Well don't just stand around like a bump on a pickle," Richie said, "take a seat."

Shane picked up a chair from the dining room table.

"Where do I take it?" he asked.

"Sit down!" Richie and Amber told him.

Shane put the chair back down and sat on it, unfortunately he broke it and he fell on the floor. Amber and Richie got up and went over to help him up.

"Are you allright?" Amber asked.

"I think so…but your chair isn't," Shane replied.

"That's not a chair anymore," Richie said, "it's brunch for the termites."

They each grabbed him by the arm and helped him up.

"Well, now what?" Richie asked.

"I've got an idea," Amber went to the storage closet and rolled out a trunk, it would be high enough for Shane, so they put that in place of the broken chair.

"If that doesn't hold him, I don't know what will," Amber said.

Richie and Amber went back to their seats as Duncan and Amanda and Methos came out with the food and set it out on the table.

"What happened out here?" Duncan asked.

"What do you mean?" Richie asked.

"I mean what happened to the chair that used to be where Shane is?" Duncan asked.

"It got spooked," Shane replied.

"What?" Duncan asked, not believing what he'd just said.

"We had a little accident," Amber said.

"So I see," Duncan said.

"Never mind it," Amanda said, "the food's going to get cold…everybody just sit down and dish up."

---

After dinner was over, Amanda took the dishes to the kitchen, Duncan leaned back in his chair at the table, Methos went out to the front porch, and Shane went to take the crabs out of the sink.

"Well that was certainly something," Richie said.

"I agree, that was an interesting dinner," Amber said.

"Chicken!" Methos called from the front porch.

"Okay, and an interesting chicken, too," Amber added.

"Yeah, who knew that Mac's cooking could actually be tolerable?" Richie asked.

"Chicken!" Methos said again.

"Well, Methos doesn't seem to be complaining," Duncan said.

"Well Shane, I'd say it's about time you take Maureen over her new pets," Amanda said.

"Okay, I have the crabs," Shane said as he came out of the kitchen.

"Chicken!"

By now, everyone was irritated by Methos and decided to go see what he was screaming chicken for. They went out to the front porch and got their answer, Maureen Widen's chickens were running amuck in the front yard again. Shane handed the bag of crabs to Methos, jumped off the front porch and went after them. He picked them up one by one and took them back over to her house, spanking them the entire time.

"Bad chicken, bad, BAD chicken," he said.

After all the chickens were taken back, Shane also took the crabs over, while he did that, Duncan had a word with Methos.

"If you knew they were all out here, why did you just keep screaming chicken?" Duncan asked.

"To see how many times it would take before you came out to see what the bloody hell was going on," Methos replied.

Methos turned around and Duncan reached out to wring his neck from behind, but Methos turned around again and Duncan put his hands back at his sides.

Richie and Amber went back inside and pushed the trunk back into the closet and locked it.

"Well, what'd you think?" Amber asked.

"About what?" Richie asked.

"Having Shane over," Amber said.

"Oh…well it was something," Richie said.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just don't think everyone was fond of his eating the bread rolls with his feet," Richie said.

"Oh that wasn't anything, he was just doing what he's been doing all his life, it's what he knows to do…like the crabs," Amber said.

"Well all the same, I wouldn't try inviting him over again anytime soon," Richie replied.

"Probably just as well, if things go according to plan, we'll have our hands full for a while anyway," Amber said.

"True…Methos doesn't seem to be getting any better," Richie said, "every night it's basically the same thing."

"I know, I wish there was a way to find out what's causing this nightmare he's having," Amber said.

---

"Red sky tonight," Duncan noticed as he looked out from the porch.

"Red sky at night…sailor's delight," Methos said.

"I suppose I better get going then," Shane said as he jumped off the porch, "Rachel's probably going to wonder what's keeping me."

"Are you sure you should go?" Amanda asked.

"Oh yes…Rachel will worry if I don't tell her where I've been."

"Shane, don't you realize that a red sky means bad weather?" Amanda asked.

"That's nothing new, I knew there was bad weather coming when my pinkie toe swelled up like a grape this morning," Shane replied, "trust me, I've been through worse."

"Well…it was nice having you over, Shane, perhaps we can do it again sometime," Amanda said.

"Oh yeah," Duncan murmured, "maybe again in another century would be nice…"

"I'll look into it," Shane said.

"Well you know, Shane…the weather's supposed to get severe the next few nights…even worse than tonight may get…maybe you could stay the night here tomorrow?" Amanda suggested.

Duncan's eyes became large and he tilted his head to the side, "Amanda, would you mind repeating that?"

"I never got an invitation of the sort before," Shane said, "so why now?"

"I just thought you'd prefer spending the night here, rather than in the cemetery with heavy rain and howling winds and crashing thunder, and possibly hail the size of grapefruits."

Shane nodded slightly, "that would make sense…I'll see about it…goodbye."

Methos and Amanda waved goodbye, then turned back around to Duncan, who seemed ecstatic to see Shane leave.

"I think tonight went rather well," Amanda said.

"You would," Duncan said.

"Oh come on, MacLeod, it wasn't that bad," Methos said.

"Wasn't that bad?" Duncan repeated, "Methos, are you crazy?"

"What?" Methos asked, "what was so horrible about it?"

"He ate with his feet, he missed his mouth when he was drinking the wine and hit me with it…and what about that loaf of Italian bread?"

"What about it?" Methos asked.

"He broke it over my head!" Duncan replied.

"You told him to feel free to break bread," Methos told him.

"Yes, but I didn't mean on ME!" Duncan said.

"Well next time tell him where he can and can't break it," Amanda said.

Duncan grunted and balled his hands into fists, but he calmed down and headed back into the house with them.

"Well Amber, it was certainly nice having Shane here," Amanda said.

"It was?" she and Richie asked.

"Yes…in fact I invited him over tomorrow night…"

"For dinner?" Richie asked.

"No, to stay the night…I don't like the idea of him sleeping out in that graveyard during the kind of weather we're expecting tomorrow," Amanda replied.

"I thought you said he lived near the cemetery," Duncan said.

"He does…but he sleeps in the cemetery," Amber said.

"Well it makes sense to me," Richie said, "if he's asleep, he wants to make sure nothing's going to happen, so he sleeps where Immortals aren't going to bother him."

"Well why doesn't he ever stay in his house?" Duncan asked.

"I don't know really…I've never even seen the place," Amber said, "I have no idea what the joint's like…and you know Shane, usually he'll invite someone along for anything…if he doesn't want anyone to see his home, there must be a good reason."

---

Once Shane returned to the cemetery, he went down to Rachel's grave, he knelt down beside it and explained where he'd been.

"Oh boy Rachel, it was wonderful tonight, I wish you could've been there,"

He ignored the lightning that lit up the sky, and the crashing thunder that followed it up, in fact, aside from Rachel he was oblivious to just about everything.

"It was one of the better dinners I've been invited to," he said, "although…I don't think they liked my gift…oh sure, crabs aren't considered proper pets, but I thought they could get some use out of them…they want me to come over tomorrow night…Amanda thinks it would be safer than waiting out the weather here…so if I don't come home tomorrow night, you'll know that I'll be there…"

Thunder was heard seconds before the sky lit up once again, Shane could hear heavy winds blowing in.

"Well…I guess it's time to get some sleep…providing it doesn't rain in the morning, I have to get to work nice and early," Shane rolled over and leaned against the trunk of the elm tree beside Rachel's grave, "goodnight Rachel."

Within a short while, Shane was practically dead to the world, he slept soundly, ignoring the rain, the lightning, the noise…even while he was awake he had never noticed the man standing outside the cemetery gates. The same man who had stood there for over an hour, watching him carefully…this man was more or less a gruesome sight, he had short, dark, spiked hair that looked as if it'd been a butchered haircut, an obvious growth of stubble, and a long scar over his right eye that started above his eyebrow and went down half his cheek. He stood there watching Shane the entire time, and he grinned an unusual, almost sinister grin.

This was not the first time he had been watching Shane, he had been watching him for quite a while now. Aside from the fact that it was his job, it was also at the request of another Watcher, one who seemed very anxious to find out about this young Immortal. The man turned around and walked away, he'd get back to headquarters, and he'd tell his friend what he had found out earlier that day.

Just wait until Kruger finds out about this, the man thought to himself, the guy will probably have a stroke or a heart attack when he hears this.