See Part One for Full Disclaimers and Author's Note.

- Epilogue -

Duncan leaned back against the pillows with a sleepy smile.  Claudia had left three days ago, followed by her new Watcher, who turned out to be such a big country music fan that she couldn't have cared less about piano divas.  As Rhea had put it, the Watchers had decided to go with the "nothing in common but gender" approach this time around.  He wished Claudia luck with Kitti; better her than him.

Joe, as promised, had established a weekly violin concert at the bar for Rhea, who was quickly gathering a small gathering of fans of her own, as well as a few requests for tutoring.  Duncan's smile widened.  He still couldn't believe the Watchers had allowed it, but they had; the proof lay curled against him, sleeping peacefully.

He stroked the dark hair that fanned across her shoulder, then ran his hand lightly down her arm.  Rhea shifted slightly, her hand closing about the curls of hair on his chest in an unconscious caress.  Her mouth tilted in a tiny smile and she sighed, nuzzling her head closer into the curve between his neck and shoulder.  Duncan curled one hand under her chin and tilted it up gently, lowering his mouth onto hers in a soft kiss.

Rhea stirred and responded dreamily, still half-asleep, her lips parting as he tickled them with his tongue.  He hadn't intended to wake her, but his body was wrestling control away from his mind with every passing second.  He wanted her as much as always, still not completely convinced she was his, and real, not a particularly lovely dream.

Rhea sighed into his mouth and her hand moved, sliding across his chest under she was half-embracing him.  A little more awake now, but not entirely.  Duncan smiled and pulled away.  Rhea frowned slightly, making a soft murmur of disappointment, and turned a little more onto her back as the support of his body moved.  Duncan waited until she started to drift closer to full sleep, then slowly moved down on the bed, careful not to jostle her.

Checking her breathing, he stroked one breast lightly, then kissed it equally soft as Rhea made a soft sound.  He flicked out his tongue to lick the soft skin as it pebbled slightly.  Ever so gently, then kissed it again, slowly progressing to another kiss and then suckling her, still soft.  Rhea made another soft sound, this one closer to a sigh, and he smiled to himself and shifted his attention to the other breast, repeating the process, until he could feel a fine tremble in her skin.

He released her and moved further down, gently tickling the inside of one thigh so that she moved it and, in so doing, opened herself to him.  Carefully, he lowered himself onto his elbows, placing them just outside her thighs to hold her still, though he could tell she was still far enough into sleep not to move too much.  He lay still for a moment, letting her drift a bit more, but also so that he could admire her, his eyes roaming across her body in wonder and adoration.

His.  To have and hold, to love and laugh with, as he had not dared believe not too long ago.  Mine, he repeated to himself.  Mine.  He trailed one hand across her hips lightly, feeling the strong curve of bone under soft flesh, reminiscent of the spirit which resided in her petite body.  Like steel in a velvet sheathe, both blade and sheathe things of beauty.  Strong but supple, with new facets constantly revealed and instantly adored.  She had done as much traveling as a Watcher as MacLeod had managed in three-hundred-some years, had majored in Medieval history as well as the arts, and could discuss both subjects with equal passion.  She was stubborn, intelligent, wise beyond her years, and yet could still somehow incite him to play in the rain.  So far, MacLeod had decided that her only true fault lay in cooking skills as atrocious as Amanda's.

Duncan grinned at that thought and kissed her belly softly, his other hand stroking lightly, avoiding the spot where he knew she was ticklish.  His fingertips touched the slight ridge of a scar low on her belly, from the removal of her appendix, and his smile faded, a tiny frisson passing through him at the reminder of her mortality.  He shut the fear away ruthlessly, as he had learned to do long ago.  She's twenty-six years old, he told the voice of fear sternly;  and I could just as easily die before her.  She knows that and it doesn't stop her from loving me; I won't let it stop me from loving her.

So decided, he lowered his head and kissed the soft skin of her inner thigh, moving upwards slowly until he reached her core.  He kissed it just as lightly, reverently.  Rhea sighed, the sound catching slightly as his tongue moved over her.  Duncan smiled and concentrated, aroused as much by the pleasure he was giving as he would have been by any received.

She came awake slowly, gasping as he moved.  Her hands clutched at the sheets helplessly, still too drowned in sleep to have complete control of her muscles, then moaned softly as he stopped before she climaxed.  A warm weight moved up slowly, and her breath caught as she felt him nudge against her softly.  "Duncan," she whispered, and heard him say her name lovingly before he entered her.

She somehow forced her eyelids to open and was immediately trapped in his gaze, surrounded body and soul by love and tenderness and desire.  She shuddered again, pleasure winding impossibly tight, burning inside her until she cried out with it.  A warm mouth opened hers, tongue thrusting above as he did below, and sensation overwhelmed her, reality spinning away with the sound of his cries and the feel of him exploding inside her.

When she came back to herself, slowly, it was to the feel of strong arms holding her close and a gentle voice murmuring love words in Gaelic and English.  "Duncan," she sighed, fitting herself bonelessly to him as part of her mind realized he had turned them onto their sides.

"Here, love," he whispered, a gentle hand brushing a lock of hair from her face.  "Welcome back."

Rhea chuckled and opened her eyes with difficulty.  "Thanks," she said, then repeated it sincerely, tilting her head back to kiss him softly.  "That was . . . . wonderful."

She felt his chuckle all along the length of her.  "As are you,  cariad," Duncan said and smiled, feeling sleep call to him.  "I love you."

Rhea smiled and nestled closer to him as he tucked the covers securely about them.  "I love you too, Duncan MacLeod," she whispered on a sigh, and let sleep claim her, held safely in his embrace.

To have and to hold, Duncan thought, following her slowly.  For as long as our 'forever' lasts.

The End

Email the author!
[email protected]

Back to 'Highlander' Fanfic Index

Back to Main Library Index         Back to Main Fanfiction Index

Adventures of Sinbad   ~~~     Andromeda   ~~~     Angel   ~~~     Babylon5   ~~~     BeastMaster: The Series   ~~~     Beauty & the Beast
Buffy the Vampire Slayer   ~~~     Charmed  ~~~     The Crow: Stairway to Heaven   ~~~     Crusade   ~~~     due South   ~~~     Farscape
Gundam Wing   ~~~     Highlander: The Series   ~~~     Miscellaneous Fiction   ~~~     Mortal Kombat   ~~~     Mortal Kombat: Conquest
Poltergeist the Legacy   ~~~     Raven   ~~~     TSAoJules Verne  ~~~     The Sentinel   ~~~     Stargate SG1   ~~~     Star Trek: Voyager

I can't fix it if I don't know it's broken, so if you see anything wrong,  please let me know.  Thank you and enjoy your stay!