Author's Note: Well here we finally are at the mark everybody's waited a year and a half for, the conclusion to Dearest Brother. I hope all the readers have enjoyed reading it as much if not more than I have in writing it. Furthermore I'd like to thank all those who took an interest in it, because of all of your interest and feedback, this story was finally able to be completed. I'd also like to note that while this is the end of the story, it is not the end of the story's universe. I plan to return soon with another story to follow up this one, whether or not the readers here decide to check it out is up to them but I'd like to say thank you all the same simply for being interested in it up to this point. I'd especially like to thank Shadow3418 of whom was most persistent in expressing her opinions on this story most frequently. That, I'd like to comment, is what keeps us writers going, knowing what our readers think. Now, onto the conclusion.

"What happened?" Methos asked, "What was it, that made you turn back to what you were?"

"Through the years I'd lived through a good number of experiences, some good, some horrible, most of the people I knew were the absolute rubbish of the universe, they treated everyone around them like you or I wouldn't treat a sick dog. Through it all, a few good people remained, most of them however died out. Jezebel I thought had died, Richie I thought had died, you I long ago thought had died along with Silas and Caspian, the last pure thing I had in my life was Mildred. And then one day, it seemed fate took her away from me as well, I went to visit her once and found out that the building where she and her daughter lived, had been bombed."

"No!"

"Yes, I searched among the ashes and the remains for days trying to find something, anything of them, but I found nothing… I was convinced that they were dead, and that already had me feeling like hell, but to make that day worse, I was challenged by another Immortal…not as old as us but still with a couple thousand years to him. I won and the Quickening that went through me, mixed with everything else that was going through my head at the time, it just set me off. I decided that there wasn't any point in not returning to the old ways…and shortly after that, it was when I started hearing rumors that you were still alive. From there, you know the rest of it."

"Most of it," Methos said, "Enough."

"Of course, once again, it wasn't until I died that I found out I was wrong again. Mildred and her daughter had just moved out of the building three days before it was bombed."

"Are they still alive?"

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence between them before Kronos added, "I know I never acted much like it in life, but I'm glad you proved smarter than I thought."

"At least one of us is," Methos said.

Kronos laughed and pulled Methos to him and kissed him on the forehead, "You've got to stop that, Methos. You've already made yourself sick over what happened."

"I know."

"You have to realize Methos, that's the point. We're dead, you are still alive, you aren't one of us anymore, you wanted your own life and now you have it, now after two thousand years you finally have it, it's time you did something with it now that you don't have to worry about one of us finding you again."

"I know, I still wish things could have been different between us though," Methos replied.

"I know, but I want you to remember something, Brother, I've always loved you, and I always will."

"Always? How about all the times you wanted to kill me?" Methos asked curiously.

"I would imagine in 5000 years you'd become familiar with the concept of a love/hate relationship. Very common, more common for older people…so many things and people in my life that I've faced that I've simultaneously loved to death, and wanted to see die. There were some days that all I could think of was how much more I'd prefer you with your head disconnected from your body."

"Charming."

"Despite it all, I never stopped loving you, Methos, you were always my Dearest Brother, the other half of myself."

"Thanks, Kronos, it's always nice to be wanted."

Kronos laughed and stroked Methos' head for a moment while he rested for a few minutes. For the first time in Methos' life in a good many centuries, he finally felt at peace. He felt loved again, he felt alive again. Off somewhere, the sound of a bell chiming five times could be heard.

"But as you said, I suppose it could be worse, it could…" Methos turned to Kronos and saw that his brother looked upset, "Kronos, what is it?"

Kronos' eyes met his with an honesty that he had never before seen in his brother, as Kronos answered, "It's time for you to go, Methos."

"What?"

"The night's almost over and the night is for how long I brought you here," Kronos explained, "It's time for you to go back."

Methos couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Kronos…"

"Now don't get upset, you knew this time was coming," Kronos told him.

"I know, but…"

"Relax, Methos, this isn't the end of anything," Kronos told him, "You know you belong back there with the others, instead of here with us."

Methos couldn't answer him, and he also couldn't stop crying it seemed. Kronos pulled him close to him and kissed him again. "What's the matter, Methos?"

"I can't help it, I just feel guilty for leaving you."

"Methos, you know it was inevitable."

"I know…and now, I know I should be enjoying these last few minutes with you but I'm so tired, all I want to do is sleep."

"My fault for keeping you up all night, well," Kronos pulled Methos to lay against his chest, "Go to sleep then, and when you wake back up, you'll be back where you belong."

"But Kronos…"

"Shhh, Methos, calm down, we both knew this was coming, and this is what you've waited 2,000 years for, you finally have your life back."

"But Kronos, I miss you."

"I miss you too, Methos, but it's not your time yet. You've got to go back now, a lot of people are depending you back there. Now go onto sleep, and when you wake up, you'll be back where you belong."

"Kronos," Methos wanted to know, "After this, when I go back, will I remember being here with you?"

"Vaguely."

Knowing this seemed to hurt Methos more, that he wouldn't be able to recall these last few hours with his brother.

"Don't look so upset, you'll never fully forget, but given all the details of what's gone on tonight, in remembrance it'll come off as little more than a dream," Kronos explained.

"I hate leaving you, Kronos."

"I know, Methos, but it's nothing you can help, it's your destiny."

"I know."

"Now come here and give me a kiss."

Tearfully, Methos kissed Kronos for what he knew to be the very last time, after which he lay his head against Kronos' chest and cried as he tried to calm down.

"What about Caspian and Silas?" Methos asked.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them, as I probably should've done a better job of two thousand years ago," Kronos said.

"I love you, Kronos," Methos said.

"I know, I love you too."

"I don't want to leave," Methos said one last time.

"Shhhhhh, quiet," Kronos told him as he held his dearest brother in his arms, "Just lay down and relax, everything will be allright. I swear to you."

Kronos wrapped one arm around Methos and stroked his head like a tired child with the other, after a while Methos seemed to stop crying and drift off to sleep.

The last thing Methos heard before he fell into a complete sleep was a whispered, "Goodbye, Brother, I'll miss you." The last thing he felt, though he couldn't be sure but he would almost swear, were two teardrops falling on the crown of his head.

---

Methos felt himself fall away, fall away from where or from who he didn't know but he felt he was falling down an endless pit, falling back in time, with every foot he dropped he remembered another bloody moment from his life as Death. All the damage done, all the people killed, he saw them and remembered, remembered what he was, what they all were, and suddenly he didn't feel any better a man now than what he was then.

He was vaguely aware he was screaming, could very vaguely even hear it though it seemed to be a noise that surrounded him to no end. With every passing second he expected to hit the ground and to be killed from the impact of the hit as a result from the fall. Every single second he waited for the moment that his body hit hard ground and the bones broke and his spine snapped and his neck was jerked into a position unbelievable.

Was this to be the end of him? 5000 years he'd fought to keep his head, now he wasn't sure that he'd mind losing it. If it was to die, he might as well get it over with he decided, so he wished he'd meet the bottom of this downward spiral soon.

He never felt himself land in the fall, he never felt any impact upon his body, but suddenly he felt himself lying on the ground and he felt something shaking him. He screamed and screamed but the shaking continued, worsened even, and after a while he became aware of somebody calling to him.

"Methos! Methos wake up!"

He recognized that voice, it was MacLeod! What was going on? Where was he? He opened his eyes and found himself back on the bathroom floor in MacLeod's loft, with MacLeod hovering over him, shaking him like a broken doll, at least he felt like one.

He let out an animalistic scream and threw his arms around MacLeod's neck, as if he were afraid if he let go, he'd fall away.

"MacLeod!" he cried, "I am not Death on a horse, I am not…I am not," he sobbed.

He felt MacLeod's arms go underneath him, picking him up from the floor. "Shhh, I know, Methos, I know, come on, let's get you out of here."

He picked Methos up and carried him out of the bathroom and took the older Immortal, gasping and bawling, over to the bed and laid him out and covered him up.

"Methos, calm down, it's okay."

After a few minutes, Methos was able to calm himself down and he wanted to explain to MacLeod what had happened, but he wasn't too sure himself. It didn't seem to matter, MacLeod had some explaining of his own to do.

"Methos, I'm sorry for everything I put you through, I didn't realize at the time how much I hurt you. I was angry, and you hurt me by lying to me."

"Not as much as you hurt me when you said we were through," Methos replied, his eyes closed and his head throbbing on one side.

"I know…I don't think I ever meant to hurt you like I did, but it seems to be something I do very well, I'm getting a lot of experience in hurting the people I care about."

"It's allright, MacLeod," Methos tiredly replied, "I'm used to it after 5000 years."

"No it isn't..." he responded, "After you left, I tried to think, I tried to understand…"

"But you couldn't."

"No…I couldn't…and it was then that I realized Joe was right, it was different times, different rules…try as I might I couldn't understand it because I wasn't there."

"And if you were, you can believe you would not have survived sticking to your warrior's honor," Methos said, "I liked to think I've changed enough from then to now that I wouldn't have to be having this discussion."

"…After you left, I…I started seeing things, things from Kronos' Quickening that…"

"Made you sick."

"I didn't know what to think, Methos, and I still don't…you…why do you even stay around me after everything that's happened?"

"I wonder the same thing myself sometimes," Methos replied.

"You've risked your own life to save mine several times, and I never thanked you for it."

"I'm used to that too."

Methos was tired and he didn't open his eyes, but it sounded like MacLeod was crying. "Why did you even come back?"

"I wasn't planning to," he explained, "I don't know why I did…Joe told you I was here, didn't he?"

"Yes he did, he called me last night after you left the bar…I was going out to look for you."

"And you found me."

"I'm glad you came back, Methos, we were worried about you."

"Why? Why did you want me to live? Why didn't you let Cassandra kill me?" Methos asked. "It's what she wanted for 3,000 years, it's what you agreed to help her with…so why did you make her spare my life?"

"Because I wanted you to live."

"Why?" Bitter as acid he asked, that was the question that had haunted Methos for three months.

"…Because I realized I was being a stubborn fool."

"You were an ass," Methos responded.

"I know."

Methos' eyes were wide open, couldn't the Scot tell when he was being sarcastic anymore? Then he remembered, he never could.

"I'm sorry, Methos," Duncan said, "I know you didn't deserve what I put you through."

Methos closed his eyes again and hit his head against the pillow. God, he moaned, he was crying, the bloody Scot, the self righteous bastard, was crying, what the hell was going on here?

"Methos."

"What?"

"When I said that I saw things from Kronos' Quickening…"

Here we go, Methos groaned.

"I…I saw him take Cassandra, I felt what he was thinking when he did it…and I…I saw what he did to you after she escaped…I couldn't understand what was happening, until you explained last night, about the price you paid to guarantee she got away."

Methos was afraid of that, but then his heart went to his throat as he thought of what else MacLeod might have seen. "What else?" he asked.

"I don't know…not much else except from closer to the end…I…I just feel terrible for what I put you through," he said.

"Oh well, that's life," Methos said.

"Methos please, no jokes," Duncan said.

Methos sighed as he turned over to face MacLeod, "What do you want from me, MacLeod? What do you want me to say?"

"Methos, I know I've hurt you without reason, and I'm sorry, more than I can probably explain. I know I've no right to ask you but I am, can you possibly forgive me?"

Methos looked at MacLeod and sank back onto the pillows. God, did MacLeod know? Had he been able to access those memories of Kronos all those thousands of years ago? He decided it didn't matter much, what was done was done, and there wasn't anything that could be done about it now. He looked at MacLeod and he would've laughed if the sight before him wasn't a sobering one. The painful look in MacLeod's eyes as he anxiously awaited Methos' answer, Methos tiredly smiled and took MacLeod's hand in his and said, "Of course, you have it, MacLeod, you've always had that."

A look of relief formed on the Scot's face, "Thank you, Methos, I don't know why you put up with me, I don't know why you ever come back to me."

Methos knew why, but he didn't dare answer, instead he said, "It's a curse."

"Methos, I am glad to have you as a friend, and I hope we still can be."

"That depends," Methos said, "Are you always going to be the self righteous bastard you are anytime something about my past comes up that you don't agree with?"

Those words hurt MacLeod, and part of Methos wanted them to do just that, but despite it, MacLeod smiled and said, "I'll try to be better, Methos, I am sorry I hurt you."

"Apology accepted," Methos replied.

"I'm just glad you're back and that you're allright…you are allright aren't you?"

Was he? Was he? He thought about it, yes he was. This was the first time in the longest time he could remember feeling completely allright. He nodded tiredly, "Yes, MacLeod, I'm allright…but very tired, I feel like I didn't sleep at all last night. I'd like to sleep."

"You can sleep, you can stay here and rest."

"Thank you, MacLeod, it's nice to be wanted," Methos said.

Methos lifted his head and looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"What is it?" Duncan asked.

Methos laid his head back against the pillow and asked, "Isn't this the hour in which Duncan MacLeod goes on his morning run?"

"Yeah, but…"

Methos looked at him through one open eye, "Oh come on, MacLeod, don't you think after 5,000 years I've managed to take care of myself alone?"

"I'm just not sure about leaving you alone when you're this tired," Duncan answered.

"MacLeod, you're turning into a mother hen on me," Methos said, and he started pushing MacLeod away, "Go on, don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Allright, I'll be back soon."

"Take your time, I could use the peace and quiet," Methos told him, "And I suspect you could use a break from me as well."

---

Methos laid back but watched through one open eye as MacLeod got dressed and got ready to leave. Once he was at the door, Methos closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. The door closed, the sound of footsteps going down the stairs eventually died down, as did the buzz. With MacLeod gone and the loft quiet, Methos was finally able to think, he hadn't really thought about it, but he did, for the first time in a long time, he really felt alive. He felt able to breathe again, he felt at peace, he felt as the cliché went, one with the world. And where did this come from all of a sudden? He tried to think, he knew he had been depressed before when he returned to town, having buried his brothers and all, and he had been depressed last night too. What happened?

He tried to think, he had a vague feeling about something. Something he should've remembered better than he did. What was it? A dream? What had he been dreaming about before MacLeod woke him up? Before that sensation that he was falling? He tried to think…and finally, he remembered, Kronos. It was odd, it was almost as if he could feel Kronos in the room with him. It seemed almost as if Kronos were right beside him. He sighed, how he missed his brother, despite what he had become, they were still brothers, and Methos had vowed never to leave him in the first place. Maybe that had been his error, but it didn't matter now. It was funny, but thinking about Kronos and the others didn't seem to hurt him anymore. For the first time in a long time he felt, happy, truly happy. Looking back he wasn't sure if he'd even been this happy with Alexa and she was the love of his life. But he knew that within time she would join the many others he had loved and lost.

Some days he didn't know he agreed with Alfred Lord Tennyson but if he had it to do all over again, he would still take those that had died on him rather than be alone. But this, being here now, he felt alive, he felt relaxed, he felt at peace, he felt…happy, happy and relieved and alive, oh how he felt alive. Alive and, tired, Lord how tired he was. For sleeping all the night he felt that he'd never closed his eyes. With the loft empty and quiet and the night over and Methos to himself, he spread out in the left side of the bed and fell asleep, feeling for the first time in a long time that things were finally going to be allright.

A while later, Methos, while completely asleep, was uncomfortable in laying flat on his back so rolled over, in so he swung his arm over to the right side of the bed and knocked something off the pillow on the right side. Fallen to the floor and under the bed was a white envelope, no address, no return, the seal was perfectly in place and shut tight, only two words were written on the whole envelope and they rested dead set in the middle:

Dearest Brother