The rest of the trip into town was uneventful. Sarah Jo was white faced and quiet during the ride. It was her first encounter with the harsh reality of an Immortal's way of life. They rode into town, and when they pulled their horses up at the stables, she slid down and, after taking care of the little gelding, she told the men that she was going back to her house and that she would see them later at supper. She wanted to spend some time alone.

Duncan watched her go, shaking his head. "So young," he said with a wry smile. "Even for me, Doc. Come on, let me show you around."

"Should I meet my more modern self first, or see what medical facilities you have here?" he asked.

"Well, the clinic is on the way. We can stop in for a quick hello before we head over to the hotel," he said. He smiled to himself, wondering what the reaction would be to yet another look-a-like doctor in the town of Edan.

"Then lead the way, Mac-Leod," Doc misquoted, grinning at the Scot.

When they opened the front door of the clinic, a bell rang, and a familiar sounding voice came from a back office. "Be right with you!" MacLeod was already chuckling as he saw the puzzled look on Adams' face.

"Just how many times *have* I been a doctor?" he asked, but instead of another incarnation of Methos, Alex Taylor came out.

"Oh dear God, not another one," the young man said. Since he was clearly *younger* than himself, Doc Adams just stood and stared for a few minutes, saying nothing.

"Another what?" called out Giles as he came out of the same office, and then froze, open mouthed, when he saw Adams. It took him a moment to be able to speak, and when he did, he yelled out, "Helm! You aren't going to believe this!" MacLeod was laughing so hard he was almost doubled over.

Adams was looking from one to another, speechless at last, though when Helm came out he seemed a little more settled. Feeling no buzzes, of course, he knew none of these were "Methoses", but at least Helm was dressed properly!

Duncan got control of himself enough to make introductions. After they had all shook hands, he said with an almost evil chuckle, that if Doc Adams thought seeing three other physicians who looked like him was a shock to the system, just wait until he met the clinic's one and only nurse. Sarah Jo had managed to have a quiet word with him, letting Duncan know that she didn't want Ben to know that she was employed in the same clinic that he was going to be working in just yet. And Duncan, being who he was, wasn't about to let this opportunity pass by. He gave Alex a wink, knowing that Taylor also liked a good joke.

"Don't tell me she's another Drusilla the Emasculator," Doc sighed, remembering the wife of a man who'd once owned him in Rome. She'd tried to seduce him - a la Potiphor's wife in the Bible - and he'd wound up being crucified for it. Upside down, which was all it was cracked up to be.

"Worse," Alex said with a straight face, even though the other doctors raised their eyebrows. "She made the head nurse that we used to call Attila when I was an intern seem like a sweet old lady. She terrifies me!"

Giles snorted, shaking his head, but not denying it.

"And there's *no* way off this God-forsaken world?" Doc whined.

"Nah," Duncan said merrily, clapping Doc on the shoulder. "Cheer up man, it could be worse! She could like guys with mugs like yours! Heaven help you then! Let’s go find your modern counterpart and let him know you are in town."

He slipped a look at the other doctors. "Right. They don't seem castrated yet. Maybe she has a fondness for your visage, MacLeod!" That put a spring in his step, and he gladly held the door for the Highlander.

They found Methos bent over a pile of paperwork on the mayor's desk in the town hall. He looked up when he felt their buzz, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, which was conveniently located leaning against his desk right by his leg.

"Greetings, Methos!" Duncan said with a grin. "Sarah Jo and I are back, safe and sound, and we brought a new doctor for our fair town. One that you should know very well indeed!"

Methos looked up and than away. "I might've known. You know, MacLeod, this is just getting freaky. Why aren't there twelve of you coming out of the friggin' woodwork?"

"Because you named yours?" Duncan let the two Methoses appraise each other for a moment, then interjected. "I'm going to turn him over to you," Duncan said, his cheerfulness slipping away from him. "But first, there is something you should know. I took a head on the way back. I didn't stop to ask questions, but I think he was after Sarah Jo. So after I stock up again, I'm going to head back out in search of Katherine." The worry was plainly evident on his face as he thought about the petite Immortal, alone and defenseless somewhere out in the wilderness that seemed to make up most of this new world.

"You might want to look for Faia, too," said Doc, and Methos went pale.

"Faia's missing?" Duncan nodded. "I'm going to head to that city she stayed in, and see if she went back there. Maybe some of those vamps and weres you told me about would be willing to help search for her."

Methos tried not to look too worried as he said, "That's a good idea. She might go back there. Why did she leave?"

Duncan said Doc should explain that, and the one Methos looked at the other and found himself blushing. "Shit," he said, "It must be a whopper!"

Duncan left the two men to hash things out. He was exhausted. All his traveling, plus the battle and the ensuing quickening had taken a lot out of him. He started to head back to the hotel, but was surprised when his feet led him to the front porch of Sarah Jo's house instead.

* * * * *

There was a full house for supper at the hotel. It seemed that everyone wanted to be there to welcome the new doctor. He was having a good conversation with the other three physicians about the facilities and the different levels of medical knowledge they had when Sarah Jo came into the big living room. All conversation stopped and everyone looked up at her.

She was wearing a short sleeved spring dress with a tightly fitted bodice and waist. It flared out softly over her hips, falling to just below her knees. Her abundant waves of golden red hair fell loose around her shoulders, and were decorated with a ribbon and a sprig of flowers.

Both Duncan and Doc rose and ran to get a chair for her. She sat down between the two men, her hands folded neatly on her lap and legs crossed demurely under her. She felt unclothed. Sarah Jo had never before worn a dress above her ankles since becoming a full-grown woman in the presence of men. Sarah Jo's freshly scrubbed freckled face blushed every time they met her eye.

Lupe came out with dinner. She nodded to the girl approvingly, though clothes were not much of a deal to her, and placed the food on the table. Jonathan made sure to come over and tell her how absolutely wonderful she looked, just in case she thought Lupe hadn't said enough about it.

"Thank you," she said quietly, blushing again. Across the table, the other three doctors couldn't believe their eyes. She sure didn't look like the girl that had been hiding behind all those layers of clothing!

But Alex recovered quickly. He wasn't about to let the joke he was playing on the new doctor die just yet. "Miss Sarah," he said with a smile. "We have been telling Doctor Adams here about *The Nurse*. You know, the one that makes Attila the Hun look like a Boy Scout?" His eyes twinkled with mischief.

Sarah Jo's mouth made an *Oh?* shape, and she giggled. This ought to be fun. It was good to work in a place where people felt comfortable enough to joke with each other.

"Oh please," said Doc. "I am trying to enjoy my food. And my last night of freedom!"

Sarah Jo almost choked, and Duncan patted her on the back, letting his hands linger just a little longer than absolutely necessary. Around the table, all the others watched with interest. Even Methos sat, a smug look on his face as he watched his younger self get the *new guy* treatment.

Alex was just warming up to his audience. He went on to tell this outlandish story about how *The Nurse* grabbed him by the ear when he was sitting in the john, and pulled him, pants down around his ankles, to clean up a mess he had left for her to take care off.

Doc looked scandalized. "Can't a man have privacy? That IS why they call it the privy, you know."

Giles had to turn around, he wanted to laugh so badly. When a snort came out of his nose, he said, "Excuse me", and reached for a tissue, like he had sneezed

Not to be topped, Giles told his own horror story. He had plenty of them to draw from. He had worked with a head nurse just like the one Alex was making up.

"I came in from luncheon one afternoon to find she had all the bottles out of the cabinet and was rearranging everything by SIZE of the bottle, not by type or name. For the next week I kept grabbing the wrong things, because I was used to it being in one place, and when I complained she said it was neater this way and to shut my gob!"

Sarah Jo was now hiding her face behind her hand, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Not to be out done, Helm told a story about a nursing sister he had known that could stare down any doctor, making them feel they were a kid with soiled britches on. At that, Sarah Jo lost it. "Excuse me," she said as she pushed back the chair. She left the room with as much dignity as she could muster, but dissolved into hapless laughter once she got outside.

* * * * *

The next day, Doc Adams showed up at the clinic, expecting the very worst. The other doctors had had their breakfast and had spent most of it trying to put their game faces on. Of course, no one could keep a straight face like the Old Man himself, but this time the joke was on him. "I am so glad he decided to stay at the hotel last night," said Alex, still giggling. "I chuckled all night in bed."

By the time Doc came in, they all had managed to get themselves under control. Seeing him, Alex said, "*SHE* is in the doctor's lounge, waiting for you."

Shuddering as he straightened his broad shoulders, Doc went to the door and opened it, awaiting certain doom. Sarah Jo was there, fixing tea for them all as he spoke. She was wearing the more modern nurse’s uniform today, and all the other doctors had already complemented the young nurse on how nice it looked on her- professional, but feminine at the same time.

"Good morning, Doctor Adams," Sarah Jo said cheerfully, with a smile as fresh as a spring breeze. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Doc took a deep breath and let it out. "Well, well. So you're Attila the honey, um? I do hope you'll treat me gently, dear Nurse. Not as you have those mere mortals?"

She laughed, and promised that she would. Walking up to him, she gave him a tender peck on the cheek. "We are glad to have you here," she said merrily, her eyes sparkling. "We are all one big happy family, aren’t we guys?" The others came in, shook hands with Doc Adams, and all chuckled over the joke that had been pulled. Ben knew he was truly one of the *club* now, fully accepted as one of their own.