Duncan shielded his eyes from the sunlight streaming through the window with his forearm as he rolled away from the glaring light he raised himself on one elbow and ran the other hand through his matted mid-night hair. Sarah still slept softly beside him. The watch on his wrist was still set to Vermont time and guessed it to be somewhere around ten thirty in the morning. Duncan laid back on the bed with his head turned toward the sunlight streaming through the window, he could see the green hills and the blue water beyond them. As he stared at the hills in the near distance he realized he was staring at the Aeropagus.

Duncan sat up and tossed the blanket from his body as he placed his feet on the floor. Sarah moved slightly but did not waken, the sheets around her were stained with red splotches of her blood and he thought about the mirror in the washroom. Quietly he crossed over to it and began picking up the pieces of the broken mirror. Duncan tossed the shattered bits into the wastepaper basket then ran a wet rag across the floor to pick up any remaining small shards. A quiet wrapping was heard on the front door, Duncan opened it to see the maid standing there. "Mila'te Agglika'" He said to her.

"Yes," came the thick accent, "I speak English."

"Good," he said with a huff. "My wife's not feeling well, just leave the sheets and towels, I'll take care of it later."

The lanky woman with the dark hair took the items from her cart and handed them over to him. "Sir," she said in a quiet voice but one that tried to be strong, "some of the guests reported hearing breaking glass and loud voices in this room early this morning. Everything all right?"

Duncan ground his teeth together for a second and then smiled politely at her. "My wife, broke the mirror in the washroom but don't worry I'll pay for it. It was an accident."

The maid looked down to take in the blood stains on the hotel robe he was wearing. Quickly she glanced down at Duncan's hands, the look on her face told him she was looking for bruises or broken skin there. Any sign that there had been a domestic squabble in the room and that she should call for security. Finding no bruising on his knuckles she raised her eyes again, smiled politely at him and went off on her way down the hall to the next room.

Duncan made his way back into the bedroom and laid the fresh linens on the chair there. He stripped himself of his robe and opened one of the larger suitcases to rummage around for fresh clothes, quietly he dressed in a pair of navy khaki's and slate gray pullover. Sarah slept on. Duncan was unsure of how long she would sleep but judging by the deepness of her breathing he guessed she might sleep a great deal longer. He bent over her and kissed the top of her head as he stuffed his billfold into his pocket. Duncan left her there to sleep while he went downstairs and straightened things out with the management over the broken mirror. He handed over his Gold Card and charged the cost of a new mirror without any hassles from the hotel manager, Duncan was very glad of that.

Not wanting to disturb Sarah's sleep, he walked into the hotel restaurant and got a cup of coffee. Duncan sat and sipped his coffee with a heavy heart.

"May I sit here?"

Duncan raised his eyes to behold a breathtakingly beautiful woman, she had long wavy golden hair, eyes of the clearest blue he had ever seen. The heart in his chest which seemed weighted with lead only a moment ago now felt like a helium filled balloon ready to float off to places and adventures unknown.

The woman did not wait for him to answer, she pulled out the chair opposite him and settled her voluptuous body into it and smiled at him. "You look sad." She remarked quietly.

Duncan tried to speak to her, the words rose to his throat but his lips did not move. She was the most stunningly perfect creature he had ever seen.

"Don't be sad." She said in that same hypnotically quiet voice. "It's a good thing." She reached for his hand. "A good thing."

When he tried to move his lips again, they obeyed his command. "How can it be good?" His eyes narrowed on hers, searching them, for what he didn't know. But there must be something in there, they were so deep and clear. They must hold the answers he was looking for.

The woman's long slender hand caressed the top of his. "You said you would love her, wanted to love her. This is who she is. This is what drives her forward. It is her greatest pain. Her greatest fear." The woman dropped her eyes from his for a moment as he continued to caress his hand, when she raised them again there was a stern warning look in them. "If used correctly," she said slowly, "it can be her greatest pleasure."

"Be more aggressive." Duncan repeated the words he was beginning to understand and loathe. "Where is the line? Show me so I don't cross it."

The woman smiled sadly and shrugged her slender shoulders at him. "You have to find that for yourself, Champion. Only you know how much is too much. You have broken through many walls and made large fishers in others. Do you truly love her? Even now?"

Duncan did not have to stop and think, "Yes," he said in a strong voice, "I still love her. I still want her."

"Good." She smiled broadly at him as her eyes began to sparkle. "Hold to that and you will do well." The woman rose and walked away.

"Wait, who are you?" Duncan called out to her but she did not turn around, he knew that if he followed her she would only disappear from his sight. "Met another member of the family." He muttered to himself as he finished the last of the coffee. Duncan shook his dark head as he rose and tossed his money down on the table.

Sarah was still sleeping when he walked back into the room. Duncan took his billfold from his pocket and tossed it onto the table in the sitting area. He settled himself onto the leather sofa to sit and think about all that was going on around him when the bedroom door opened and Sarah stumbled out. Her hair was a ragged mess which flailed out in every direction from the top of her head, she had pulled the robe haphazardly around herself. She did not stop to say good morning' to him, she went straight across the room, grabbed his bill fold and walked out of the room.

Duncan rose and followed her without saying anything. He watched her thumb through the money as she quickly made her way down the hall way and it wasn't long before Duncan realized her destination. God love America, there was a Coke machine at the end of the hall.

Sarah stood in front of it, frantically shifting from one foot to the other as she tried to figure out which bill would produce the cold can of bubbly liquid from the dumb machine.. Why didn't it just take American dollar bills! Her numb drug hazen fingers tried to do as her numb drug hazen mind commanded and find the right fucking bill so that she could quench the goddamn fire in the back of her throat....! The numbers on the bills were so large, it couldn't possible cost three hundred anything for a damn Coke!

"Give me that," Duncan demanded quietly from behind her as he closed his hand around his wallet. "Give it to me."

Sarah let go of it and watched as he made the soda machine work for her. The paper bill went in and the little red light came on, Sarah hit the COKE button with a mighty blow, popped the top and sucked the can dry in one motion. She tossed the empty can into the container near the machine. "More," she croaked through a still dry throat.

Duncan slid another bill into the slot. The can slid from the machine and he made it work one more time before turning her back toward their room.

Watch for the thirst. Onya had told him and she was right. Sarah was very thirsty now. She was dehydrated, her lips were dried and cracked, she couldn't get the liquid into herself fast enough. Had she taken pills last night while in the bathroom? Was it before or after she broke the mirror? Where was she hiding them if she had brought them with her?

"Thank you," she said in a clearer voice as he closed the door.

"You're welcome." Duncan muttered as he sat her on the couch. "Stay there, drink that, slowly or you'll make yourself sick. I'm going to clean up the bedroom. Are you hungry?"

"Ugghh.." Sarah groaned and grabbed her stomach.

"I'll take that as a no'." He chided without meaning to and shook his head at her. "You made quite a mess in there last night, you remember?"

Sarah nodded her head as she sucked from the cold can, the motion made her head hurt and she raised one hand to it as her eyes closed tightly.

Duncan wanted to give her some type of reassurance that things would be ok, but he wasn't sure that they would, especially not if he found out she had been taking pain killers last night. Best not to get her hopes up too soon. He walked away from her to strip the bed and clean up the blood which had stained the carpeting. Thankfully, the mattress pad had soaked up the bulk of it and her blood had not stained the mattress, he wouldn't have to pay for that. Duncan ripped the linens from the bed, feeling the weight and heat of his own anger beginning to rise up. The more he tried to stow it the more it grew until he felt he just wanted to scream. This was not the time for that, he was not angry with Sarah, he had to put that away now. It was so hard. Duncan rammed the fitted sheet over the mattress and tossed the rest of the linens on top. He bundled the bloodied sheets into a ball and drew in a deep breath.

If she had brought pills with her on this trip, and by now he was certain that she had, then they had to be here somewhere. Quietly as he could, Duncan began rummaging around in the suitcase Sarah had packed for herself. It didn't take long to find the antique pill box hidden in the side pocket. For his own sake, just to be sure, Duncan opened the small box he held in the palm of his hand. Inside he found seven white pills and four blue ones. These were no over the counter drugs, each was clearly marked with its pharmaceutical code. How many were in the box when they left Vermont? Sarah had not been in much pain last night, not even as he had pulled the large chunks of glass from the soles of her feet with his teeth. However many she had taken it had been more than enough to dull that agonizing pain.

"Hi," Sarah said quietly as he emerged into the sitting room.

"Hi," Duncan dropped the load of linens outside the door of the suite and returned to sit by her.

"All better?" She asked.

"Yes, all fixed." Duncan looked deeply into her doe eyes, the haze there had lifted quite a bit from what it had been last night but still had not completely dissipated. She looked like she hadn't slept or eaten in a week, there were large dark circles under her eyes.

Sarah averted her eyes from his as she sipped from the Coke can.

Duncan took her cold hand inside his warmer one. "You brought the pills with you. You lied to me when you told me you didn't take them anymore. Are you still addicted?" A broad handheld itself in the air while the other fished around in his pocket and Duncan brought out the pill box he'd found. "Don't try it, Sarah. Just don't."

Shameful eyes scanned the little golden box in his hand. Defiance began its rear its head. "I don't remember saying any such thing." Came the voice which tried to be strong and defiant as the words but instead was low and shameful.

At her statement, Duncan's mouth dropped open, he began to protest but then remembered she had not said she stopped taking pills or any thing else. Sarah...Onya?....had neatly avoided that question yesterday. "So you didn't." He agreed finally through gritted teeth. Sarah was becoming very skilled in the art of evasion indeed.

Sarah raised her eyes to look at him, she shook her head again and gave him a sad smile. As dehydrated as she was, Sarah's eyes began to fill with tears as she felt her house of cards crashing down around her ears. She had known the foundation was not strong, knew it would fall one day, but all she wanted was today. It was their last day, together. Why had fate had intervened and sent everything crashing to the ground? So long she had tried to fit herself into forever being the Sarah that he had met, a woman she knew even then was bound to escape her chains one day and fly free again. To be the woman he had thought she was, slightly scared but generally not too fucked up. Showed him only that which she knew he wanted to see and nothing else. But now he saw far more than that. Now he was beginning to see all that she never wanted him to see. All the ugliness she had tried to shield from his eyes. He knew she was not that woman. She had lied continuously and convincingly to his face on more occasions than she could count. All to cover her tracks and keep him from knowing. Still she tried to hold onto that defiance. Still she tried to be strong.

"You're addicted, aren't you?"

Sarah sniffed back fresh tears as she raised the soda can to her lips again. "It's an old prescription." She explained. "Kind of like..."

"Your emergency cigarettes." Duncan remarked. "Emergency drug supply?" He shook his head at her. "You're better at hiding those than the cigarettes." He chided.

"Yeah, well, I know what's important." Sarah shot back as she felt her back stiffen. The last of the drugs were wearing off and she was now grouchy and thirsty and wanting another pill or two. She didn't want to fight with him or argue, and if she could just have another pill she knew she wouldn't. She would be the compliant little thing he had liked so much last night. That would make him happy, wouldn't it? But no, Master MacLeod had confiscated her supply and all she could do was sit here craving more, knowing she would not get it. Sarah ran a shaking hand through the rats nest on top of her head.

Duncan chuckled and then huffed as he let go of her hand and rose from her side. "You're really too much, Sarah. How can you be so damn smug?"

"It's my life, you can't tell me how to live it." Sarah tucked her legs underneath her on the couch. "No one can. All you can do is decide wether or not you still want to be a part of it."

Duncan turned the little gold box over and over between his fingers as he held it in front of her eyes. "You want these?" He asked in a low whisper. "Hum? You want them?"

Involuntarily Sarah looked up at the box and licked her lips, she wanted to snatch the lovely little gold box, HER lovely little gold box, from his greedy hand and tell him never to touch it again. But she sat there looking at it feeling the saliva begin to slake her throat at the mere sight of it. At least now she knew where it was, maybe she could lift it off of him later.

Duncan crossed the room and opened the big picture window. "If you don't, I'll pitch them out here." He looked at her squarely for a moment then pulled his arm back.

Sarah sprang from the sofa. "No!" She grabbed at his arm and wrestled the box from his hold, it came free much more easily than she anticipated. When she opened it, she knew why, it was empty. He'd either hidden them somewhere else or gotten rid of them already. "Son of a bitch!" She cursed.

"Maybe." Duncan said in a harsh voice. "But you, my love, are an addict."

"Fuck you."

"Oh, nice."

"I am not an addict." Sarah stated as she stood across from him, her small fists curled up at her sides. "I just...I just..." She tossed her hands into the air. "Where the fuck are they? What did you do with them?" She cried.

"Not an addict? Are you listening to yourself?" He accused from his place by the open window. "What is you just', Sarah? You just...take them when you really need them?" Duncan began to take long slow strides in her direction. Sarah began to back away from him. "What is it they do for you? They just...numb you? They just...make it all go away? They just..make it easier? Which is it? All of the above perhaps? More?"

Sarah ran out of room as her back hit the wall, Duncan did not stop coming in closer to her. His legs took long purposeful strides in her direction as his head cocked to one side. The mahogany eyes she loved so much stared back at her through rings of fire. "I don't want to hurt anymore." Sarah cried as she held her hands out in front of herself to block him. "Don't you understand? I just don't want to hurt anymore." Tears flowed freely from her frightened eyes as her knees began to give out from under her. "Give them back, please. Please."

Duncan grabbed both of her wrists snugly in one of his hands, pushed them down and away from her body. He brought himself right up in her face as he stared down at her. "Neither do I." He whispered as he eyes held hers. "I don't want you to hurt anymore." With his other hand he pried open one small fist and took the small gold box from it. "But this isn't the way." He shook it at her and then tossed it across the room where it landed on the floor under the table. "I'll show you another way. A better way. Let me show you." Duncan released her hands from his grip. "I'm here now, you don't need those anymore."

"Promise?" Sarah whispered.

"I swear." As he wrapped her in his arms. "My girl, I love you." Duncan whispered as she leaned her weight against him for support. "I won't let you fall. We'll get through this, it'll be all right."

"I really don't take them all the time." Sarah said in a voice that tried to be strong as she sniffed away the tears that wanted to fall. "Honestly, Duncan, I don't." She looked up at him with wide eyes that were bloodshot but no longer hazy.

"I believe you." He reached out a gentle hand to brush the wetness from her face. "But you don't take them anymore now, ok? No more."

Sarah cuddled her cheek against the warmth of his hand. "Ok," she whispered, "no more." She stopped before promising to do so, he had no reason to believe in future promises she might make to him. It was one she could not keep anyway, the pain would be great once he left her side. Sarah knew she would find herself reaching for that bottle many times, she could only pray that she never had the strength not to open it and risk harming the child she would be carrying before the end of this day.

"Just in case you're interested, they're gone, Sarah. I got rid of them. So don't bother looking for them."

Sarah pulled away from him and nodded her head. His words said everything she needed to know, he did not trust her. She had given him no reason to. "Ok." She agreed quietly and waited for him to drop the other shoe. There it was, the warden had not only confiscated her supply but he'd tossed them out as well. Silently she stumbled away from him toward the bathroom, her hand closed around his part of Ares' talisman in the pocket of the robe as she went. When she was sufficiently showered and her hair once again tamed, Sarah slipped a long white gauze dress over her naked frame.

While she went about her morning grooming, Duncan had time to sit and think of what he was going to do next. After a while he decided he would let this drop for the rest of this little trip, there was something even bigger coming down the pike. With strong conviction he told himself they would get back to this when they returned home, he would not let her off this easily. He would have to be on constant watch for any more signs that she was popping pills. Maybe she didn't take them ALL the time but he had a sneaking suspicion that she did take them more often than she was willing to let on. "Where are we going?" Duncan asked as she walked out of the bathroom looking, more or less, like herself again.

"Since you've been here before, I thought I would just follow you for a while." She slipped a pair of sandals onto her feet. "Is that all right?"

Duncan stood there a moment and pondered her question. It was obvious that she did have a plan of some sort, a destination or two in mind for them, but it seemed that they had time and she was going to be content to take the lazy way to them rather than attacking them straight on. "All right," he agreed. "Ready?" Duncan held his hand out to her.

Sarah breathed deep as she harnessed her hair in a pony tail for the day. "I guess." She whispered as she slipped her hand into his.

Duncan and Sarah spent the rest of early afternoon into early evening exploring the ancient city. Sarah pulled him into every nook and cranny she could find, every store that sold any type of odd little knick-knack or offered her a bit of history. Several times he had suggested they take the subway or a cab but Sarah would not hear of it. It was a beautiful day, the sun shone brightly and the wind blew lightly, Sarah wanted to walk. She wanted to touch everything. Smell everything. Duncan strolled beside her and watched as her curiosity took over and she became that wonderfilled child in a Christmas department store. She laughed and danced around as they walked through the rough streets of the old city.

Sarah stopped to taste anything that was offered to her and to sit on the grass of a meadow covered with rosemary and catch the sun upon her face. She spoke nor understood not a single word of Greek but everywhere they went Sarah seemed to know what people said to her, she smiled at them and they seemed to understand her.

Sarah bought a wicker basket at an open market and then began to fill it with odds and ends, more oils and incense that were sold in the open market, a length of soft braided rope and then fresh flowers and herbs which she identified and then picked as they walked. As far as Duncan could tell, she was always picking up odds bits of junk wherever they went.

A black and gray dog appeared out of nowhere, it growled at Duncan and raised the hair on its back. Duncan stopped in his tracks at the sight of the angry stray, it stopped and stared at him for a moment before trotting off toward where Sarah was window shopping.

The dog bounded over to her with low snarls coming from it's throat. Sarah turned and looked down at it just as the dog began to circle around her legs. It sniffed at her feet and her knees, finally putting the tip of it's snout all the way up the hem of her dress until it sniffed at the warmth between her bare legs. She made no move to back away from it. Instead, when the dog found its way out from under her dress, Sarah reached out a hand to it.

"Come away from the dog," Duncan said softly.

"Not a dog, he's a wolf." She corrected him as she stooped and scratched the scruff of the animals neck.

Duncan looked more carefully at the animal lapping up Sarah's attentions and clearly saw that it was a wolf. It's teeth were large and jagged, it's fur thick and matted. "Come away," he hissed at her.

Sarah rose to her feet again. "Gotta go, boy." She said to the animal. "He says so." She stroked the animals head once more before returning to Duncan's side.

The wild animal which strolled the busy crowded streets of Athens attracted not one bit of attention as it strolled by Sarah's side. The wolf followed them through the streets of Athens right up to the Agora, there it turned quickly and sprinted off in the direction of the Aeropagus.

Another family member? Duncan asked himself as he watched the animal race away from them. Were they all coming out from their hiding places to walk up and say hello to a long lost sister, daughter, cousin?

It didn't matter, he would find out soon enough. Duncan stopped walking as he stood in front of the ancient ruins but Sarah was distracted by something behind her and did not feel it when he stopped, she walked right into him. "Oops, sorry." She tittered. Sarah looked past his shoulder at what held his attentions away from her. Something primitive and cold snatched at her heart as her eyes fell upon the remains of Ares temple in the midst of the Agora. "Oh, Duncan," she whispered as she held tight to his hand. Suddenly she no longer wanted to take him there, she wanted to be far away from it. Never wanted him to step foot on the cold stone there.

"Which one first?" He asked again as he gently pulled her out from behind him and gestured off toward the flat topped hill to his left.

"Ares Hill," Sarah returned in a stronger whisper, "the Aeropagus."

"All right," Duncan put his arm around her shoulders and drew her in close as they turned to the left and began to make their way toward the hill which had it's top removed centuries ago so that it would rival the Acropolis. The hill upon which they had tried Ares for murder, the first God or man to be tried for such a crime in Athens, and found him innocent, or so the myths told. It was here, on this spot, after Ares trial that the laws of homicide had been enacted in Athens and here where all murderers had been tried for centuries after. Each step he took brought a new heaviness to his heart. Soon they were reaching the foot of the hill and then making the easy ascent to its peak. Duncan looked down to see that her eyes were fixed solidly on the path in front of her, her shoulders were rigid beneath his touch, her strides long and proud.

They reached the top without much trouble and stood there gazing down on the agora below and the seas beyond. There were sail boats gliding across the water, people milling about the agora below. Beside him, Sarah drew in a deep breath as she began to spin around with her arms held out at her sides.

"Can you feel it?" She asked as she continued to spin herself slowly around in circles.

"Yes," he answered as he watched her turn round and round. He did feel something, some type of energy radiated from this place. It was not dark and it certainly was not cold, it blazed with fire and heat. The power of unbridled passions.

Sarah stopped spinning as she skipped away from him and tittered like a faery and began to dance and to skip around the perimeter of the flattened hilltop. The bright Mediterranean sun bounced from her hair tossing glowing shimmers of golden fire into his view. It shone brightly through the flimsy gauze dress she wore to show him that she wore no slip and no panties. Sarah did not care, she was lost in raising the energy she felt radiating from this place. She kicked the sandals from her feet raising the energy higher and higher as she skipped and laughed and danced, taking more and more of it into herself until he could almost see the circuit it made. So like the one he had seen in his mind in Heathrow airport. This energy arced from her in bright green strands to the ground and the trees and arced back from them in a blaze of fire. Round and round it went, building and growing, growing and building between them, as the summer sun shone down upon her. Sarah's toes danced dangerously close to the edges of the hill. Duncan looked around to note that if she were to fall where he was, she would be all right, she would only roll down the gently sloping hillside. Were she to fall on the other side, it was nothing but a ragged rocky crag below.

Duncan began to stride toward where she danced. There was something off about this place, he listened for the sounds of people milling about, birds flying over head, the crash of the distant sea, none of these things came to his ears. Quickly his eyes darted around as he continued to walk the length of the flattened hilltop to Sarah. His eyes opened wide as Duncan took in the fact that there was no one else here. How could that be? It was the height of tourist season, there were people every where in the Agora below, the streets had been littered with them as they walked through Athens. Still, it was only the two of them on the Aeropagus and suddenly Duncan wondered if any of the people down there could even seem them up here.

"Sarah," he was within good enough distance that he could grab her if he had to. She did not stop dancing, she did not turn to look at him. The soft tones of her voice floated over to him on a sweet summer breeze, she was singing, but he couldn't make out the words. "Sarah," he said more sharply this time. For the briefiest of moments, she stopped dancing, Duncan thought she would turn to look at him now but she resumed the pace of her dance and carried on flitting about the hilltop. Farther away from him she danced and twirled caught in the heat of the rapture, while her lips sung a low tune. With intention in his step Duncan strode after her. As he neared her and she flitted away he could make out the words of the song she was singing...

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end." She sang, "I know who I want to take me home, I know who I want to take me home, I know who I want to take me home, take me home."

The words from one her favorite Semi-Sonic tunes came to him and he shuttered as he followed behind her. Every new beginning did come from some other beginning's end.

"Closing Time," she sang in a whisper.

In a quick burst of energy, Sarah leapt high into the air, her legs stretched out one fully forward, one fully back, like a gazel jumping a fence. In the summer sunshine, Sarah hung in the air for an impossibly long moment, auburn blazes of fire flying in all directions from the top of her head, the shadow of her strong legs clear beneath the white gauze. Gracefully she floated back down to the ground to continue her dance. When her toes landed once again on Ares' Hill, she was at least eight feet further away from him then she had been. Sarah's bare feet landed on the precipice facing the rocky crag, the mediterranean off beyond that, he was still close to her but not close enough to catch her if she jumped. Duncan began to run toward her. Her hips bent back, Sarah clasped her hands together in front of herself, sprung up to her tip toes.

"Sarah! No!" Duncan thundered as he raced toward her, he was not sure if she had not heard him or if she just didn't care about something as incidental as the jutting rocks below her but she did not stop and she did not turn to look at him. In his very best "Refrigerator" Perry impression, he sprung forward and blind sided Sarah with a full body tackle. Duncan brought his arms up around her head and upper body in an attempt to cushion the impact before they hit the ground, but he must have frightened her, Sarah bucked and kicked inside his hold as he grabbed her and turned them away from the cliffside, she fell out of his arms and crash landed on the hard earth below.

The soft skin of her cheek scraped along the rock and dirt, as her left shoulder took the bulk of the impact. The fine bones in her cheek and her arms gave out white shots of pain as small rocks and other debris embedded themselves in the wounds they were leaving on her delicate flesh. s the force propelled her forward to skid along the ground, it was stopped cold by the length of fiery tresses trapped beneath her aching shoulder. Sarah's neck snapped back briskly and let out a loud cracking noise as the rest of her body caught up with her. The force stopped its ruthless pushing and she lay still on the ground.

"Sarah?" Duncan rose and brushed the dirt from his knees, as he looked over at her laying at his feet on the ground a few feet in front of him. His back yelled at him from the potency of his own collision with Mother Earth, he shook it off quickly. Sarah wasn't moving. "Sarah?" He asked in a stronger tone as he sprinted to his wife's side. Standing over here and looking down she was as white as she had been at Heathrow, he wasn't sure she was breathing. Duncan had not meant to hit her that hard, he only wanted to stop her from taking a nose dive to the non-existent pacific below her feet.

A hand reached out to touch the up turned shoulder and brush the hair from her face, there was blood on her face. Sarah's head tilted back in an unnatural position. He tried to tilt her head but it wouldn't move, it was pinned down by her hair. Duncan reached under her, all the way to the small of her back to free it from the weight of her body. Gingerly he turned her onto her back, her left shoulder was obviously dislocated, it looked as though it might belong to the Hunchback of Notre Dame at the moment. But it was the way her head lolled about on her shoulders which alarmed him most.

Had he tackled her that hard? He must have. Duncan drew a deep breath as he gazed down upon her lifeless body, he not meant to hit her like that at all. A large hand drew down over his face as he looked around quickly to note that they were still alone on the hilltop. "Come on, work." He muttered strongly as all of his sense went to red alert. "Come on, Sarah, come on." A strong hand reached out to caress her neck which had been snapped clean at the base of her spine by the force of his tackle. His large body began to shake as he drew her in close to him. There was no sensation ,no energy, coming from her and he reached for it, desperately he reached for some feeling coming from her. Nothing. Not one damn thing. Duncan remembered last night and how long it had taken her quickening to heal even the minor wounds the glass had made in her flesh. How long would it take before it healed this? "Come on, Sarah, wake up." He demanded in a strong voice. "Wake up." Confusion, frustration set in. Her wounds remained fresh and open, blood still coming in steady streams. So much of it that he began to wonder if he would ever stop and if she would ever be able to replenish it in time. "Come on!" He shook her hard. "Damn it!" Duncan dropped her quickly. "Shit. NO," he muttered. "You have to wake up. Sarah," he begged softly. "Come on, you're like me, you can't die this way."

Sarah laid completely still and the sun began to make its way steadily down the other side of the sea. Night was on its way. While he held her there, he had time to wonder just how this had all happened, how things had suddenly become so outrageously out of control. Still there was not one single spark of Quickening coming to her. Not one. He felt nothing coming from her. She did not move. She made not a single sound. Duncan reached shaking fingers out to touch her, he smiled sadly as he realized she was still warm. She was not cold, not even cooling. Wasn't that a good sign, at least? Wasn't it something? Anything? The heart in his chest ached, his mind cried for him to give her his energy as he had done before. His soul howled because it did not understand how. If he could do it, he would. He would do anything if she would just wake up. A trembling sorrowfilled hand reached out to caress her hair.

"Every beginning comes from some other beginnings end." He sang softly to her. What if he'd killed her? What if she was really dead? She was different then him, the same yes, but still different. The idea that she could be killed any way other than having her head taken from her shoulders had never even occurred to him before this very moment. How did one kill a woman who was, at least, half goddess? All of the studying and reading he had ever done on the subject over the centuries failed him now.

Help, they needed help. Still, there was no one around. They must have been on this hilltop over two hours now and not a single person had ventured up here. He was beginning to realize that no one was going to. Duncan took his focus from her to stare hard at his surroundings. Over the deep blue waters of the sea the sun was floating on it's downward spiral. Bright purples, pinks, violets and blues danced and stretched out over the horizons, while sails from the boats below billowed in the breeze. It was picture perfect. Off to his right, below in the distance he saw the ruins of the Agora. There were people down there. They were walking. But, he noticed, they were not milling about as he had thought, they walked back and forth and back and forth.

Before his mind could stop his throat, "Ares." Duncan's rational mind stood up to slap the irrational part which had just spoken. With that slap firmly reminded him that he did not believe in such concepts as magick. Sarah had said he he could not accept her father then he could accept her, he could not believe in her. Duncan did believe in her, he believed in her very much. It was all of the other stuff that gave him the chills when he tried to get his head around it. Softly he looked down at where he lay, Duncan drew a deep breath, she believed. She believed. Maybe that was enough. With that in mind, Duncan opened his mouth with conscious thought, "Ares, show yourself." Came the strong demanding whisper. "I know we are not on the Aeropagus anymore." Like a caged animal searching for a way out, Duncan's eyes searched every inch of his sight for any sign that his words were getting through. "Why don't you help Sarah?"

The black and gray wolf which had been following them around slunk out from behind a rock to stare intensely at Duncan. A blinding flame roared before him, Duncan raised his arms to shield his eyes from the light and his face from the burning heat. "Why don't you, Champion?" Ares challenged as he took on his human form.

Duncan dropped his arms, his eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of the man who had appeared out of the flames. He stood at least seven feet tall and easily weighed four or even five hundred pounds. All of it muscle, his arms were the size of Duncan's upper thighs. Fear struck Duncan's heart as he took a step away from him. Everything around him faded from his view, the sea disappeared. The setting sun turned dark. The Agora and the hills beyond faded away, until there was nothing but sparkling blackness surrounding them. Duncan looked down at his feet to see that he was standing in mid-air, nothing supported him, below was nothing but more sparkling blackness. Sarah floated in the darkness between them. Though Duncan could not see any light source, everything about them glittered and sparkled in the blackness, or was it the blackness itself which sparkled? Instinctively, Duncan brought his foot up to take a step backward, he became afraid that if he put it down again there would be nothing there and he would fall off the edge of nothingness into even more of it, he settled his foot back where it had been and stood his ground...so to speak. Petrified mahogany eyes slowly raised themselves to take in what had appeared in front of them.

An ancient sword hung at the huge God's side, it looked at though it might be twice the size of Duncan's own blade. The hemitite handle was inlaid with diamonds, rubies, pearls, sapphires and emeralds, they formed a dragon and serpent which intertwined throughout the hilt. Blinding light bounced from the razor sharp double edged blade, the length of which was deeply engraved with more images of dragons and serpents engaged in battle. On his other massive hip hung a shakrum, in a small holder next to that a dagger. Duncan took in the leather armor he wore, heavy studded vest but no shirt beneath, equally thick and heavy gauntlets ran up each arm and one for the upper right arm, his fighting arm, as well. His legs were the size of small trees, also clad in the same heavy black leather, extended down to feet which covered enough earth in which to plant a small garden, clad also in black leather boots. The boots looked so heavy, they were so huge, how could he walk in those? At the top of each boot, stood a dagger, one held the dragons head, it's emerald eyes gleamed out at Duncan, the other held the serpent whose ruby eyes laughed at him.

His eyes scanned upward again but stopped short as they took in the bottom of the black goatee on his face, afraid to look up the man's face. Afraid to see something, he did not know what, but something which he felt certain he would be struck down heartily for knowing once he looked into the man's eyes. Forcefully, with all the effort he could muster, Duncan forced his eyes to raise upward and look up the face of the God who stood before him. Ares had an extremely handsome face, a dark full goatee, slivers of hair rose back from it to grace just the outline of each high cheek bone. His eyes were two moonless nights in the deep of the woods, his hair waved back from his face in long black swells. "Why don't you?" Ares asked again as his nostrils flared.

Desperately Duncan searched for an answer to Ares question. An answer was demanded, that much was clear in the way he held his head and stared down at Duncan. "I don't know how." Duncan whispered as he forced the words from his throat.

"What's the matter?" Ares sneered. "Lost your piece of my talisman?"

Swiftly his hand went to his bare chest and searched for the crystal, it came back empty. He searched his neck for the leather chord and still came back with nothing.

"She's too cunning for you." Ares snorted as he laid one immense battle toughened hand on the hilt of his sword.

Where had it gone? When had Sarah taken it from him and why? The panic and fear inside of him began to turn into anger. Maybe Onya had taken it. Maybe this whole thing had been set up by the two of them...

...(the three of them even?).....

"Why don't you help her? You're the God." Duncan shot quickly as he looked over at her broken body floating gently in the blackness. Sarah would not have volunteered to put him through this, he hoped not.

"Healing isn't exactly one of my particular specialities." Ares chided as he pursed his lips and raised an eye brow at Duncan. "Or, didn't you know that?"

"Stop fucking around...."

"Ooh," Ares' eyes narrowed on him, "watch your tone, Champion. You really don't want to piss me off more than I already am." Came his warning voice. Lord Ares waved his large hand in the air, the shining blackness which surrounded them disappeared and the three of them were inside Ares' cave. The massive stone hearth burned brightly, torches lit every corner of the cave. "Is that better?" He asked.

When Ares had turned his chariot around at Aphrodite's request he did so under the assumption that he was not going to give MacLeod even the slightest opportunity to prove himself worthy of his daughter. Aphrodite had yacked and nagged at him the entire trip back to Olympus and then for the rest of the day. On and on she went about how much Sarah loved the Champion and how they should be together and how he should give up and give in to what Sarah wanted. On and on. About True Love and gentle hands. So many sappy things that he had little use for. All day long until he thought his brain would burst from holding back his temper. Finally, when he could take absolutely positively not one single more word on the subject coming from her mouth, he gave in (just to shut her up) and said he would agree to at least face the Champion. Now, here he was with both of them. His dead daughter in his bed and the man who not only was Champion but dared to cross his bounds and call himself her Husband standing on the other side of her.

Duncan felt the churning emotions of the confusion slamming into frustration and butting up against anger burning inside of him. He'd never been in the presence of a God before, never thought he would be, it was completely enveloping. Hard to concentrate. Hard not to just let fly and be anything but humble. But then again, that was one of Ares' special talents, wasn't it? As he tried to control his tongue, Duncan scanned the cave. "Where's Sarah?" Even as the words escaped his lips his eyes continued their darting, they found no sign of her.

"Safe. From you." Ares' tone was bitter fire as his coal eyes blazed at Duncan. "Is that what your love gets her?"

"I never intended..."

"Who gives a shit about intent?" Ares thundered. "Everything is in the result."

Without any conscious thought, Duncan began to pace around the cave. Maybe that was true, maybe everything was in the final result and not the intent. "Is she still alive?"

Ares settled himself onto the large throne in front of the hearth but said nothing.

"She has to be. Bring her back." Duncan demanded in a strong voice as he took a step toward Ares.

"I'm not Markus Denby." Ares said in a low whisper. "I'll say it for the last time, watch your tone with me."

"What do you want from me?" Duncan hung his head. "What the hell is going on?"

"I want you to drop your seed in her. Beyond that your job is finished."

"No."

"Yes." Ares hissed at him as his nostrils flared. "You dare to be what you are not. Do not cross such lines with me."

Just what was he anyway? "I am her Champion. Her protector...I...."

"YOU!" Ares roared as he pointed a hefty finger at Duncan in sheer anger. "I chose you to protect her from Markus and the other Champions and to drop your seed in her and that is all!" The God of War let out a low growl as he sneered at the man across from him. "You are not husband."

"Are you out of your mind!" Duncan shot before he had time to think. The words spilling like venom from the snarled mouth of the God before him shocked Duncan to his core.

Ares' eyes darkened as black as they could be and with great thought and reserve let lose a hot but narrow stream of fire from his finger tips, it hit Duncan squarely in the chest. Duncan flew backward as the fire engulfed his body, sweat poured out of him, and his skin began to crackle. He hit the rock wall hard, his head bounced off of it as though it were a super ball. As quickly as it had come it left. "I told you to watch your tone! You will give me the respect I am due as a God and as her father." With a hearty sigh, Ares settled himself back onto his massive throne. "I've had enough of this for now. Sit, Champion, I've a story to tell you."