Lynne(Praise/flames/corrections to: llevine@mit.edu)
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                     Immortal Women
      a Forever Knight/Highlander crossover story
     Janette noticed the dark-haired woman immediately, as the
stranger made her way to the bar.  There was something very
familiar about her.  Janette didn't often forget a face...
     It was a tavern in France, or maybe it was Germany?  Yes that
was more likely, she thought as she recalled the decor.  Nick and
LaCroix had been off hunting, and Janette had just spied some
luscious looking prey -- a handsome man with the demeanor of a
warrior.  She approached him, giving him a sideways, demure glance.
He smiled and offered his hand.
     "I'm Duncan McLeod of the clan McLeod," he said with a
pronounced Scottish drawl.
     "Janette," she purred, taking his hand.  Oh yes, he would be
good.  He was sensuous, strong.  Perhaps he could even survive her
lovemaking, though she doubted it.  Few mortals ever survived,
which was a shame, for there had been some she would have liked to
have had more than once.  This one for example.   There was a depth
to his gaze that made him appear older than his years --twenty-five
or thirty, she estimated.
     "Duncan, there you are. " She heard a female voice behind her
and Duncan quickly let go of her hand.
     "Amanda," Duncan addressed the woman, "this is Janette."
     "Pleased to meet you,"  Amanda said with a look that told
Janette distinctly that she was a bit less than pleased.
     Janette was relieved to see Nick walk through the door.  "I
must be going now."  She excused herself and left the pub, with her
arm around Nick's waist.  Ah well, some things were just not meant
to be....
     The stranger was staring at her.  Was this a case of mutual
recognition?  Had Duncan's companion been brought across?  Janette
had to find out.  She walked over and introduced herself.
     The stranger's jaw dropped slightly as Janette said her name.
"I am Amanda," she said and received a similar look of astonishment
in return.
     Janette glanced at the woman's drink--a liqueur with not even
a trace of blood in it.  How odd.  Why would Amanda be at The Raven
and not take advantage of the club's unique beverage selection?
Unless of course this was just one huge coincidence and she wasn't
a vampire at all.
     "Is this your first time at The Raven?" Janette asked.
     "Yes," Amanda responded.  She opened her mouth to say
something else, then suddenly looked startled.  "Excuse me," she
said and left abruptly, her drink barely touched.
     How odd, Janette thought.  After a moment, she decided she'd
go after the woman.  Where could Amanda have gone in such a hurry,
and why?
     Outside the club, Janette's acute hearing easily picked up the
sound of metal upon metal.  She had no trouble locating the source
of the sound.  In an alley behind the club, Amanda was engaged in
combat - sword combat - with a large male.  As far as Janette was
concerned, what she saw was a female being attacked by a much
bigger male, and her instinct took over.  She lunged for the male,
going directly for his throat.
     "No!  This is my battle!" Amanda shouted, trying to pull
Janette off her attacker.  She shrieked as Janette turned, her eyes
glowing, blood dripping from her mouth.  The glint of fangs was
unmistakable.
     Amanda's attacker moaned.  Janette was astounded to see that
the wound on his neck had nearly healed.  He grabbed his sword and
fled.
     Amanda leaned against a wall, shaking with leftover adrenalin
from the fight, plus her amazement at what she'd just seen.
     "You're a vampire," she stated, her voice scarcely above a
whisper.  "Rebecca had told me of such creatures but I was never
sure if I should believe her."
     "You shouldn't," Janette responded.  She looked intently into
Amanda's eyes.  "What you saw did not occur.  You will remember
nothing."
     Amanda blinked.  "Of course I will remember.  And it *was*
you, in Germany, how many hundreds of years ago, flirting with
Duncan."
     Now it was Janette's turn to be astonished once again.  Amanda
wasn't a vampire, but she was hundreds of years old at least.
"What are *you*?" she asked.
     "I am immortal," Amanda replied.  "It's a long story," she
added.
     It was a story Janette definitely wanted to hear.  They
returned to The Raven, but this time they went to one of the back
rooms, where they would be undisturbed.  Amanda told Janette about
the immortals, the game, the quickening, and about her on-and-off
relationship with Duncan.
     "He's still alive?" Janette asked, fascinated.
     "Oh yes," Amanda's eyes twinkled.  "I see we have similar
taste in men.  That good looking blonde you left with that night?
Is he a vampire too?"
     "Nicholah.  He comes in here regularly."
     "That's great."
     "What about the other immortal you spoke of?" Janette asked.
"The one who told you vampires exist?"
     Amanda hesitated.  "She's gone."
     Janette saw Amanda stiffen slightly, clenching her fists.
"She was important to you..."
     Amanda nodded.  "She was my mentor.  My best friend."
     "And sometimes a bit more?" Janette prompted, going purely on
instinct.
     There were tears in Amanda's eyes as she looked at Janette.
How did she know?
     "Sometimes it takes a woman to know another woman's pain,"
Janette said, reaching out to squeeze Amanda's hand.
     They sat in silence for a moment.  They could hear the Raven -
- a distant thump-thump of heavy bass through the walls.
     "You have suffered a similar loss?" Amanda ventured.
     Janette nodded, pressing her lips together slightly, trying to
hold back the pain the memory still brought.  "It was so long ago.
I don't often speak of it."  She told Amanda about her last few
months as a mortal, and the only person to ever truly show her love
and tenderness back when she was mortal -- a fellow prostitute at
the brothel.  And she told Amanda how her lover had died at the
hands of their owner, their pimp, and how, with LaCroix's help, she
had avenged her lover's death as well as her own mistreatment.
     "I'm sorry," Amanda said.
     Janette shook her head.  "It was so long ago.  And my loss is
nothing compared to yours -- a friendship of nearly a thousand
years."
     "Nothing lasts forever.  Not even us."
     They were silent again with that thought.  Janette reflected
that it was too easy to just let time go by, to watch the days roll
into months and months into years.  Amanda was right--even she,
with her immortality, couldn't take existence for granted.
Nicholah seemed especially fragile, with his foolish death wish.
She shuddered, unable to imagine a loss as enormous as Amanda's,
and to lose Nicholah would be such a loss.  Suddenly, Janette
wanted to appreciate the moment to its fullest, to experience
intensity, desire.
     "I want to touch you," she said.  There was no point in
holding back; Amanda could always say no.  "I'm not sure why.  I
haven't been with a woman since I was mortal--except for feeding
from them of course but that's different.  And you wouldn't die,
would you?"
     "No, I wouldn't die," Amanda responded.  There were tears in
her eyes again as she continued,  "But I can't do this.  I've only
been with men, except of course for Rebecca..."  Her words said no,
but she reached a hand out and ran her fingers through Janette's
hair.
     Janette responded by moving closer to Amanda, pulling her
close as they sat together on the plush antique sofa.  Janette
could feel Amanda's warm breath on her face.  She leaned closer and
kissed Amanda softly.
     Amanda gasped slightly, surprised by the cold temperature of
Janette's lips, but they warmed quickly as the kiss deepened.
     Janette had forgotten how soft and smooth a woman's skin can
be.  She expected Amanda to be a bit tentative.  That would be
good; it would help keep her vampiric instincts in check -- her
fangs always came out so quickly with others, Nicholah for example,
though with him it was fine because he would be doing the same.
But she didn't want to cut short this sensuous experience.
     She'd underestimated Amanda's enthusiasm for sex.  The other
woman managed to slip her hands down the front of Janette's dress,
and had undone the clasp on her bra.  Janette gasped as she felt
warm hands pinching her nipples, raising them to hard little
points.  Janette had to struggle now to keep her fangs retracted.
She nearly lost the battle when Amanda had the nerve to trace a
line down her neck with her wet tongue, pausing to nibble lightly
with her teeth.
     "You're playing with fire," Janette snarled, her eyes glinting
yellow to illustrate her words.
     Amanda laughed and tried to get one hand beneath Janette's
skirt, but Janette wouldn't allow it.  She pinned the immortal down
on the couch and forced her legs apart with her knees.  Amanda
gasped as cold fingers pushed their way past her soaking wet
panties, and into her.  "Oh yes..." she breathed.  Janette worked
her fingers in and out expertly, sensing Amanda's pleasure as if it
was her own.  With a knowing smile, Janette placed her thumb on
Amanda's clit, and watched her come, writhing and bucking
helplessly with pleasure.
     Amanda's climax brought Janette over the edge.  Unable to hold
back any longer, she sank her fangs into Amanda's throat.  Amanda
didn't fight her, in fact, she pulled Janette in tighter. As
Janette drank, waves washed over her, an orgasmic release a vampire
could only experience through the blood.
     Janette's desire slowly subsided, and it was only when she
stopped drinking that she realized something was wrong.  There was
no heartbeat.  She eased the limp body back onto the couch.  *You
told me you were immortal.  You told me you couldn't die*.  Janette
turned away from Amanda's body, clutching herself tightly as she
tried to sort through her feelings.  There was betrayal, yes, but
something more -- she was sorry, truly sorry that she'd killed this
female.  Unaccustomed to remorse, she struggled to hold back tears.
     She forced herself to think about more practical concerns.
How would she dispose of the body?  It was such a problem in this
"modern" era.  Well, there was no point wallowing in her emotions;
she'd best start making the arrangements.  As Janette stood and
walked a few steps toward the door, she thought she heard a faint
heartbeat.  She was motionless for a second.  There it was again!
She turned around, and, sure enough, Amanda was beginning to stir.
The heartbeat was that of a mortal's, frequent and steady.  Janette
rushed back to the couch.
     Amanda opened her eyes and gave her a faint smile.  "I'm so
tired," she murmured.
     "You gave me quite a scare.  You were dead!"
     "Oh...I guess I should have warned you.  We *do* die...we just
don't *stay* dead."  Amanda tried to move, but was still too weak.
"I'm so thirsty," she said.
     "I'll get you something to drink," Janette told her.  She went
to fetch a tall glass of orange juice from the bar, impatiently
pushing her way through the crowd.
     Janette hurried back to Amanda. She discovered that in her
absence, the bite mark on Amanda's neck had completely disappeared.
Amanda had managed to sit up, propping two pillows behind her head.
     "Thanks," Amanda said, taking the orange juice.
     Janette sat down next to her.  After finishing the orange
juice, Amanda curled an arm around Janette.  "Sorry about the
scare.  But I guess that means we're even now."
     "For what?!"
     "For trying to steal my man.  You were going to drink his
blood, weren't you?"  Amanda's eyes glinted mischievously once
again.
     "Oh, yes," Janette said, remembering Duncan vividly.  She
grinned.  "So, where *is* Duncan these days anyway?"
     Amanda grabbed a pillow and hit Janette with it.  "That's for
me to know, and you *not* to find out!"
     "Oh?  I could hypnotise you and get you to tell me," Janette
teased.  She looked deep into Amanda's eyes with her best hypnotic
stare.
     Amanda just laughed.  "You do that, and I'll find out where
your "Nicholah" lives.  I bet *he's* good in bed!"
     Janette gave her a look of mock horror.  Then they both
laughed so hard they had to wipe tears from their eyes.
     "I haven't had this much fun in a while," Amanda said after
catching her breath.
     "Yes.  It is nice to find a woman with so much experience,
wisdom, and exquisite taste." Janette declared.
     Amanda agreed.  They would have lots of stories to tell
tonight, and in future visits to come.

*the end* ;-)
comments, etc. to llevine@mit.edu
-Lynne