To Life Immortal: 2 - Debi

By Claudia Aranda.

Crossover: Due South/War of the Worlds/Highlander: The Series

Rating: PG

Warnings/Categories: AU - Angst

Main characters: Ray Vecchio and Paul Ironhorse.

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me and I don't intend to make any money with them. There are no intentions to infringe the rights of the legal owners.

As always, this story hadn't been possible without Birgitt and Connie. Gracias Ladies of The Sith.

By Claudia Aranda.

Note: *** indicates flashback.

Debi entered her room, put away the coat and without turning on the lights made her way to her favourite place, in front of the large windows, where her telescope stood. It was the only eccentricity she allowed herself in the crazy world she was living now. It had been a long time since she thought about it, but the shocking experience on that day had unchained memories and feelings which she had believed already lost. How was it possible that a fleeting instant would bring her back to the past with that astonishing clarity?

Through the lense, the moon shone like a sun made of snow.

*** The first time that she really had enjoyed seeing the moon shining on a cold winter night, it had been with him. It was her twelfth birthday and Colonel Ironhorse gave her a telescope. In the company of Harrison, they had spent an hour watching the stars until her mother ordered them to get into the house. The three of them fell into complaining because of the interruption, Harrison and Ironhorse went to the kitchen for some hot chocolate and Debi sat down on the carpet looking at her treasure. It had been magnificent to be out with Harrison and Colonel Ironhorse watching the stars... ***

Debi caressed the telescope with affection and felt a forgotten pain nesting in her chest, walked away from the window and went to the kitchen. While preparing some hot chocolate, she ended taking out the heavy waistcoat, the scarf and the boots. After all, the elegant room had a delicious temperature and the heavy carpet was an excellent place to sit and think. Unfortunately that was something she couldn't do, the thoughts didn't come to her, just memories which hit her painfully.

While she sipped her chocolate, Debi thought about her father. It was sad to think of him that way, but the reality was that he just searched for her because she was famous. Debi knew her father much better than he thought and different from the way her mother felt, she had no feelings for him at all. Her father had not only ignored her for almost all her life. He had even threatened to hurt Debi if her mother didn't do what he wanted. Debi despised him but she was a public figure now. So when he arrived looking for her, Debi made her layers give him a considerable amount of money to make him to leave her alone. It worked of course, that was the only thing he wanted. Debi's eyes filled with tears. Life could be so unfair, that despicable being was alive and nevertheless Ironhorse...

*** While opening her gifts, Debi recalled for a moment that her father had forgotten her birthday again. She was 13 now. Her mother gave her the blouse she wanted so much and Harrison gave her "Mysteries of Teoric Physics". After that he started reading to her, but luckily the Colonel came to the rescue, giving her his present. There were tickets for the concert of her favorite singer!!! Debi sreamed happily and ran to hug the Colonel. She and her mother had the best seats in the theater. Her friends at school would die of envy. ***

Debi let go a soft laugh, the Colonel surely had to use all his contacts to obtain the tickets, after all the locations were sold out for weeks.

In short time it would be Christmas and she already was ready to travel to Massachusetts where Harrison and her mother were living now. Harrison and her mother remained good friends. The loss of so many loved ones, besides the difficult months following the war, had made their bond even stronger. Christmas was a very special season, because neither her mother or Harrison had any family besides her. Debi still felt the only Christmas they had spend in The Cottage had been the best of her life.

*** Debi checked out the mail like she used to do for some months. During the years before her arrival to The Cottage she had expected, had even wished, that her parents were back together, but now that idea was not so tempting. If that happened they were going to move out of there. Debi sighed relieved, there was no danger, because they hadn't received anything from her father again, he had forgotten Christmas this time. Debi decided go upstairs to her room, she had to finish wrapping the presents she was going to give this year, it was wonderful to spend Christmas with the people you loved. ***

Despite the years Debi missed the Colonel so much.

*** During the countless days and nights that she had to pass hiding in that dirty hole, the only thing that encouraged her were the memories of the Colonel and the terrible sacrifice he had made for her. It was ironic: He had saved her life with that act, and now kept her alive being the rock to which she clinged to when everything seemed to break up. When it seemed that she couldn't resist anymore, she could close her eyes and would see her riding horses with him, studying the books she took secretely to Harrison. But above all, she would recall the funniest stories he told her about his grandfather. Debi loved her mother, but not even she had come so close to her heart. ***

The deaths of Norton and her uncle Hank had been hard to accept for her, since ten years ago she was only a child. But the hardest death of all had been that of the Colonel. Debi felt her eyes becoming wet again, she didn't even have a photo of her friends, the telescope alone had been saved by miracle.

*** The morning after the explosion, Debi took a walk around The Cottage as if she wasn't convinced what that had happened was real. Then she saw the telescope, burned and punded. She took it from the floor, embracing it, and started to cry. In some way, she knew that many aspects of her life had ended the night before, and this was the only memory that she had from the one person she had loved most. ***

Suddenly Debi remembered the terrible moment that she went through this day at her work.

*** She was in a make up session, with hundreds of other people surrounding her, with the most frightening level of noise possible to imagine, people running, shouting, laughing... when in the other corner of the room she saw the Colonel. For some seconds Debi felt her heart stop. She couldn't breath and her eyes got clouded. After recovering consciousness she was in the small infirmary attached to the dressing rooms. Besides the Infirmary personal, just her two closest friends were there. And a couple of journalists as well. The notorious Debora Paul fainting is not something to let pass just like that. When they saw her conscious they tried to harass her again, but somebody called security. They were taken out of the room, of course not before they had taken some pictures. Her friends and the nurse had tried to make her talk but she just said that her diet was too severe and she was going to give it up. ***

It was really weird, Debi didn't see his face, but there was something in the way he moved... if she had not had that moment of weakness she could have followed him and without much ado accepted that this man was not really him. Picking up her courage, she stood up, turned the lights on, and took away some of the traces of weeping in her face.

She stopped for some moments to watch the moon. Once the Colonel had said to her that in the beliefs of his tribe, nobody really dies as long as somebody remembers him.

For a moment Debi got sad again. She had loved few people in her life and almost all of them were lost to her. But now she was a woman, stronger and more determined, her whole life in front of her, with dreams, plans, so many things to carry out. And at that precise moment, one of those things was preparing herself to go to celebrate Christmas with Harrison and her mother. With a sigh Debi disposed herself to pack.

To be continued...