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foreverwarriorWhen: November, 2007
Where: Cripple Creek, Colorado
Alias: Elaine Jameson
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go.
Our lives are better left to chance.
I could have missed the pain,
But I'd have had to miss the dance.
She had been struggling with this decision for years: to tell or not to tell? He trusted her with his heart and his kids, and what she had to say next could blow them apart. It wasn't easy for her to make the call. If he hated her, well, she was going to leave anyway. She just didn't know how he'd take it.
Wade Erik Jameson was one of the toughest, strongest men she knew, and she knew he hated lies and being lied to. But their whole relationship, everything he knew about her, had been a lie. Her parents hadn't died like she'd said. It wasn't a riding accident that left her barren. Her father hadn't been the one to take her hunting and camping, at least not as Wade knew it.
She found him in the barn mucking stalls. He was cute, she'd give him that, and had more backbone than most she knew. He'd been bullriding when she met him, but not for buckles. He'd been doing it to keep his kids fed after their mom had taken off. She admired that about him.
"You just gonna stand there staring at my ass, or are you going to give me a hand?" he asked.
She couldn't help smile at his teasing as she handed him a bottle of water.
"Wade, there's something I need to talk to you about," she replied finally. "And I'm pretty sure you're not going to like it."
Wade finished chugging the bottle of water and wiped his mouth with the back of a gloved hand. He tossed the shovel into the wheelbarrow and leaned against the door to one of the stalls.
"You finally gonna tell me what's been bugging you?" he asked.
She sighed. "Yeah."
"Okay. What?"
She took a long swig from her own bottle before answering. She closed her eyes and drew a steadying breath.
"Wade, everything you know about me is a lie."
A confused expression crossed his face. "What'd you mean a lie?"
"I wasn't born in Oklahoma," she answered. "Thing is, I don't know where I was born, but I was raised in a small village in Norway."
"You don't sound Norwegian or whatever," he argued.
"That's because I haven't been back there since..." Her voice trailed off. "Look, Wade, this is a really long story. Maybe it'd be best if we went up to the house."
He simply shook his head and wandered over to sit on some nearby hay bales. He took off his gloves and laid them across one knee.
"I want to hear the rest of it," he replied. "What was so bad about Norway you had to leave?"
She closed her eyes, steeling herself for the for the inevitable fight. "I died."
Wade didn't say anything for a few minutes after that. "What? Like in a car accident? One of those 'near death experience' things?"
She shook her head. "No. I was gang raped and had my throat slashed open. That's why I have those nightmares. You've told me more than once I wake you up hollering something in a language you've never heard. It's Norse, and the closest thing you'll hear to it nowadays is Icelandic."
He simply stared at her in disbelief. "When... when was that?"
She sighed again. "Early First Century. AD."
Wade took off his sweat-stained hat and ran a hair over his damp hair. It was a sure sign he didn't like what he was hearing.
"That's impossible."
"No, it isn't. Not for one like me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm what's called an Immortal."
Wade rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.
She went on to tell him everything she'd done, everyone she'd been, from Boudica to Guinevere to Nicki Charles to Elaine Brown. She told him about the places she'd lived in, the things she'd learned, how she'd come by her "inheritance." Through it all, she could tell he was equal parts confused, hurt, stunned, and angry.
"That's why I balked at marrying you," she finally admitted. "I knew one day I'd have to leave. I didn't want to do that to you or the kids."
"So, you just thought that keeping us in the dark was better?" Wade shouted. "You couldn't have been honest with me?"
"I didn't think you'd believe me!" she argued. "Just how much of this 'hi, hun, I'm two thousand years old' thing do you believe?"
Wade stood up and stalked back over to the wheelbarrow. "Enough. I've heard you help the kids with their history homework. I've listened as you taught Erin French. I remember the stories you used to tell Scotty about knights in shining armor. I just never expected any of it was real."
He glared at her, his blue eyes flashing in the gloom of the barn. "Why are you telling me all this now?"
"It's time you knew the truth," she answered simply. "Believe me, I've hated lying to you all this time. Trusting people isn't easy for me."
"You think it's easy for me to trust? After what happened with Marlene?" he argued. "I've trusted you. Hell, I've even loved you. And come to find out, I don't even know you!"
Just as she'd expected, Wade was livid. "Just answer one question for me. Honestly, if you can."
She looked at him, regretting having said a word. "What's that?"
"What were we to you? A real family or just another alias?" he demanded. "Did you really love any of us, or were we just a way for you to keep your head?"
She scuffed her boot across the concrete floor. "Half of both, I guess."
"Get out."
Wade's voice was a low growl. She'd only heard him use that tone once before. He was in a brawling mood, and if she stayed there another minute, they would go rounds. Problem being, he wouldn't be as quick to heal.
"I want you packed and out of the house by the time I'm done here. That shouldn't be a problem with you, having to leave at a moment's notice."
"Can't I at least wait until the kids–"
"No. Just leave. Now."
With a sigh of regret, she trudged up to the house to pack.
Muse: Quinnleigh Kincaid
Fandom: Highlander OC
Words: 1047 (not incl. lyrics)
Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
charloft Take a few steps back, take a left instead of a right, and walk down the road not traveled in your past.
Note: Rather than make this a 'what if', this is now muse!canon for why she left Colorado.
Where: Cripple Creek, Colorado
Alias: Elaine Jameson
The way it all would end, the way it all would go.
Our lives are better left to chance.
I could have missed the pain,
But I'd have had to miss the dance.
She had been struggling with this decision for years: to tell or not to tell? He trusted her with his heart and his kids, and what she had to say next could blow them apart. It wasn't easy for her to make the call. If he hated her, well, she was going to leave anyway. She just didn't know how he'd take it.
Wade Erik Jameson was one of the toughest, strongest men she knew, and she knew he hated lies and being lied to. But their whole relationship, everything he knew about her, had been a lie. Her parents hadn't died like she'd said. It wasn't a riding accident that left her barren. Her father hadn't been the one to take her hunting and camping, at least not as Wade knew it.
She found him in the barn mucking stalls. He was cute, she'd give him that, and had more backbone than most she knew. He'd been bullriding when she met him, but not for buckles. He'd been doing it to keep his kids fed after their mom had taken off. She admired that about him.
"You just gonna stand there staring at my ass, or are you going to give me a hand?" he asked.
She couldn't help smile at his teasing as she handed him a bottle of water.
"Wade, there's something I need to talk to you about," she replied finally. "And I'm pretty sure you're not going to like it."
Wade finished chugging the bottle of water and wiped his mouth with the back of a gloved hand. He tossed the shovel into the wheelbarrow and leaned against the door to one of the stalls.
"You finally gonna tell me what's been bugging you?" he asked.
She sighed. "Yeah."
"Okay. What?"
She took a long swig from her own bottle before answering. She closed her eyes and drew a steadying breath.
"Wade, everything you know about me is a lie."
A confused expression crossed his face. "What'd you mean a lie?"
"I wasn't born in Oklahoma," she answered. "Thing is, I don't know where I was born, but I was raised in a small village in Norway."
"You don't sound Norwegian or whatever," he argued.
"That's because I haven't been back there since..." Her voice trailed off. "Look, Wade, this is a really long story. Maybe it'd be best if we went up to the house."
He simply shook his head and wandered over to sit on some nearby hay bales. He took off his gloves and laid them across one knee.
"I want to hear the rest of it," he replied. "What was so bad about Norway you had to leave?"
She closed her eyes, steeling herself for the for the inevitable fight. "I died."
Wade didn't say anything for a few minutes after that. "What? Like in a car accident? One of those 'near death experience' things?"
She shook her head. "No. I was gang raped and had my throat slashed open. That's why I have those nightmares. You've told me more than once I wake you up hollering something in a language you've never heard. It's Norse, and the closest thing you'll hear to it nowadays is Icelandic."
He simply stared at her in disbelief. "When... when was that?"
She sighed again. "Early First Century. AD."
Wade took off his sweat-stained hat and ran a hair over his damp hair. It was a sure sign he didn't like what he was hearing.
"That's impossible."
"No, it isn't. Not for one like me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm what's called an Immortal."
Wade rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.
She went on to tell him everything she'd done, everyone she'd been, from Boudica to Guinevere to Nicki Charles to Elaine Brown. She told him about the places she'd lived in, the things she'd learned, how she'd come by her "inheritance." Through it all, she could tell he was equal parts confused, hurt, stunned, and angry.
"That's why I balked at marrying you," she finally admitted. "I knew one day I'd have to leave. I didn't want to do that to you or the kids."
"So, you just thought that keeping us in the dark was better?" Wade shouted. "You couldn't have been honest with me?"
"I didn't think you'd believe me!" she argued. "Just how much of this 'hi, hun, I'm two thousand years old' thing do you believe?"
Wade stood up and stalked back over to the wheelbarrow. "Enough. I've heard you help the kids with their history homework. I've listened as you taught Erin French. I remember the stories you used to tell Scotty about knights in shining armor. I just never expected any of it was real."
He glared at her, his blue eyes flashing in the gloom of the barn. "Why are you telling me all this now?"
"It's time you knew the truth," she answered simply. "Believe me, I've hated lying to you all this time. Trusting people isn't easy for me."
"You think it's easy for me to trust? After what happened with Marlene?" he argued. "I've trusted you. Hell, I've even loved you. And come to find out, I don't even know you!"
Just as she'd expected, Wade was livid. "Just answer one question for me. Honestly, if you can."
She looked at him, regretting having said a word. "What's that?"
"What were we to you? A real family or just another alias?" he demanded. "Did you really love any of us, or were we just a way for you to keep your head?"
She scuffed her boot across the concrete floor. "Half of both, I guess."
"Get out."
Wade's voice was a low growl. She'd only heard him use that tone once before. He was in a brawling mood, and if she stayed there another minute, they would go rounds. Problem being, he wouldn't be as quick to heal.
"I want you packed and out of the house by the time I'm done here. That shouldn't be a problem with you, having to leave at a moment's notice."
"Can't I at least wait until the kids–"
"No. Just leave. Now."
With a sigh of regret, she trudged up to the house to pack.
Muse: Quinnleigh Kincaid
Fandom: Highlander OC
Words: 1047 (not incl. lyrics)
Prompt:
charloft Take a few steps back, take a left instead of a right, and walk down the road not traveled in your past.Note: Rather than make this a 'what if', this is now muse!canon for why she left Colorado.
