Call for Help

By Donna and Abs

While Tadgh ran as fast as he could to the town of Edan, Marea watched the suddenly motherless child.  She did not know how to take care of one, of course, but was duty bound to stay until Tadgh returned with someone who could.  Meanwhile, she sent out her own plea for help. 

Her silent cry was heard by all the fae in the area, and within moments, both faerie and leprechauns were popping out of the woods to join with her, many of them with clubs in their hands, ready to defend the defenseless babe if necessary. 

"God in his Irish Heaven," said Marea when she saw them, "I only wanted a wee bit of advice!" 

Fae had come from the Secret Garden, and her heart went out to the baby sleeping in Marea's arms. Count Crogan, one of the trooper faeries, ordered the others to scout around, to make sure none of the marauders were anywhere around. He wasn't going to take any chances. 

Meanwhile, Tadgh raced into town and headed straight for the clinic. When he ran inside of it, with his hands still bloody from pulling out the knife from the Immortal's chest, the medical staff thought he was the one that was injured! 

"Nay," he said, "no' me.  The gypsy camp, it's been raided!  They took th' women, an' there's a wee one needs tendin'." 

"My God!" gasped Sarah Jo. "Ben! Irena's baby!" 

Staying calm, Ben Adams asked the young man, "Is the baby hurt?" 

Tadgh suddenly noticed the blood on his hands and wiped it off self-consciously as he shook his head.  "The men were stabbed.  We pulled out th' knives an' they went after th' raiders." 

About that time, Methos and Duncan came rushing into the clinic to see what was going on. When it was explained to them what was going on, Duncan told his worried wife that he would go fetch the baby and bring it back to her. "Stay here with Ben!" he told her. 

Tadgh seemed nervous.  "Marea is watchin' the babe now," he said.  "She said to bring someone who could take care of it."  Looking pointedly at Duncan's chest, he said, "You're not it." 

"She should come into town too," Duncan told Tadgh. "It's not safe for women to be in the woods now! Come on, let's go fetch both her and the baby. Sarah Jo is nursing our own right now. She has plenty of milk." 

"Marea can handle herself," Tadgh said with a smile.  "She goes invisible a lot." 

Hearing this, Methos smiled. "Those leprechaunesses are a slippery bunch. C'mon, Tadgh, m'boy, let's see if she won't budge from her perch, back here to town." 

They took a cart to the Gypsy camp, where they found what looked like a small army of winged men and little men clad in green on guard. "It's her Man," one of them said. "Let them pass!" 

"Man my arse," grumbled Marea.  "Do you see me flying?  Saints and the heavens preserve us, he's nothing but a bumbling human!  I sent him to get a nursemaid and he brings me more MEN!" 

"Pardon me," Duncan said, "but I wouldn't let my wife come here, even though she wanted too. Our son was born the same day as that little one. Please, come to town with us! Sarah Jo will take care of him for you." 

Marea looked him over and shrugged.  Fae, seeing Methos said, "That one there knows a thing or two about babies."  Then she whispered something in Marea's ear that made the Leprechaun smile, and then giggle.  "All right then.  He may hold the sweet thing."  And she handed Jacob, Jr into Methos' arms. 

He smiled at the dark haired infant as he cradled him to his chest. "Let's get him back to town before he wakes up and finds out your not his mamma!" Duncan chuckled. 

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Marea.  "He's already tried that."  And with a damn sight more than Methos had, Duncan noticed. 

"Tadgh, will you be staying here to take care of the animals and the camp until the others return?" Duncan asked. "As soon as we get the baby to Sarah Jo, I'll go see if O'Neil at the fort can help recover the women they abducted." 

Tadgh looked at Marea, to see if she was going with the other men.  The Leprechaun shrugged at the unsaid question and said, "You'll be needin' my help here, as usual!" in her tart but somehow loving way.  Hearing this, the Irishman nodded at Duncan that he would be staying. 

Both Methos and Duncan nodded their heads in approval as they got back up in the cart to return to town. By the time they got there, the baby was awake, and telling the whole world he was hungry. 

Methos frowned a little.  "First Alexa Taylor, now this one.  We'll have a nice little wet nursing business in this town soon!" 

Sarah Jo came running out to get little Jacob as soon as they pulled up in front of the clinic, taking him inside immediately. The sudden cessation of his complaints told everyone that his needs were being taken care of.  Now, if they could only find the missing women so that the babies could have their own mothers back!