Chris's Chronicles Book 3: Part 7:
Always Remember...
2010- Paris
"How was your trip to Mexico, Uncle Joe?" Little Mary asked. Duncan and Anne were having a quiet dinner party with Chris and Joe on the barge. Duncan and Anne had been back together for ten years, and it was an anniversary party. Joe had become like an Uncle to Mary, and she'd been calling him Uncle Joe for as long as she could remember. "Did you hike any of the ruins and stuff?"
Joe looked at Chris and grinned. He had wanted to see the view from the top of the Pyramid of the Magician so bad, that Chris had carried him up the steep slope of stairs. "Sort of." he started laughing when he remembered Chris nearly sliding down the stairs when he started tickling her. She had already made it to the top, and had been laughing at the whole idea saying if he kept doing that he was going to kill both of them, and only one of them would wake up.
Chris smiled. After she and Joe had safely made it down, they went walking and got *tied* up in a cenote for a few hours. Then they made it back to their hotel suite and stayed there for almost the remainder of the trip. "More stuff than hiking."
Anne cringed at the way they were talking in front of Mary. Sure she was no longer a child, and it wasn't like Mary didn't know about Anne and Duncan living together without being married, they had been doing it for many years, but Mary would always be her mother's little girl and it embarrassed her.
"One of these days I'll have to go to Mexico. I've heard so much about it from you guys I feel like I've already been there." Mary said.
Chris was about to take another bite of her steak, when she felt it. She looked at Duncan nonchalantly and they knew who was about to knock. "Well, maybe one of these days you will."
"Mary, I'm here?" came a voice from the other end of the door. "Can I come in."
"Megs is finally here!" Mary said as she hopped up and answered the door. Her best friend was standing at the other side.
"Have you told them?" Meg whispered in Mary's ear.
Mary shook her head. "Not yet, I'm waiting for the right time." She took her best friend by the hand and led her to the table.
"Told us what?" Anne said.
"Nothing mom." Mary lied. She hated lying to her mom, but she wasn't ready to bring up the subject in front of everyone.
The group was talking about the trip to Mexico and trying not to talk about Immortality around Megs. The two Immortals and even Cat knew that one day she would be one of them, but right now she didn't need to know about it. After dinner, everyone settled into the living room drinking coffee and talking. Meg and Mary had been in the corner whispering back and forth to each other and Anne was getting suspicious.
"The two of them together like that, always whispering worries me." She said as she poured another cup of coffee.
"Do you remember what it was like to be 15 and having your best friend always hang around with you? You have started to gain independence and you used it to your advantage. They are not doing anything wrong, just being young."
"How would you remember?" Joe asked jokingly. "You were 15 what 350 some odd years ago?" he grinned and put his arm around her.
Chris removed his arm from around her and sat to look at him. "I remember a lot. There are somethings I can never and will never forget." She said sharply.
"Chris, he was only kidding." Duncan said. He knew the difference in *age* between she and Joe was a tense subject. Here Joe was in his late 50's and Chris could easily pass as his daughter.
"I am sorry. If you will excuse me, I am going outside to get some air." She said as she stood up. Joe was about to follow her, when Anne grabbed his arm.
"Let her go. She needs to be alone."
Joe sat back down and sighed. "I love her, but things have been tense between us lately. That's why we went to Mexico. I thought it might relax things some between us."
"Where did Chris go?" Mary asked, as she and Megs sat on the couch next to Joe.
"She needed some air." He asked as he placed his hand on hers. "So what were the two of you talking about?"
Mary looked at her uncle's wrist and smiled. "Your tattoo. We were thinking about how cool it would be if we got one when we got old enough."
Duncan who had been sipping his coffee, spit it out across the room. "You what?!?!"
"We want to be Watcher's when we grow up." Meg answered.
Joe and Anne smiled. They always figured that with Mary growing up around Immortals and knowing about them at an early age, she would grow up working with them. Duncan on the other hand was not to thrilled with the idea.
"Someone remind me to kill Cat next time I see her." He said as he stood up and started to pace the floor.
"Why? I think it's a good idea." Joe said.
"I'm not to keen on the tattoo part, but if that's what Mary really wants to do, I have no problems with it. Though I'd rather her be a doctor or something more practical..."
"It's too damn dangerous! That's why." Duncan said. "Look at all Joe's been through. He's been almost killed several times because he's a Watcher."
"That was different MacLeod. And you don't think Mary growing up around Immortals is dangerous? Hell from the time she was born she was around Immortals."
"I don't like it." Duncan retorted.
"It's not your choice." Mary said flatly. Duncan turned around with a look of shock on his face, amazed by the tone of her voice.
"Why don't we talk about this at another time, when you guys are older." Anne said. "It's getting late and you two need to get ready for bed."
"Yes mom." Mary said as she stood up. "Can we go say 'night to Chris?" Anne nodded as she watched her daughter and someone who has been almost like a daughter walk out the door.
"Their minds are made up, this isn't just a phase." She said as she looked at Duncan.
"I know." He said as he sat back down. "I just can't imagine Little Mary doing something so dangerous."
"She's not little anymore Mac. She's almost 16." Joe said. It was true. Even though she would always be everyone's little girl, they had to finally accept she was growing up.
"I know. But she'll always be my little girl. Maybe deep down I knew this would happen, but I don't like it. It's dangerous and I don't want her put in that kind of danger."
"She was born into that kind of danger." Anne said. "She was born in a subway tunnel that had been blown up, you helped me with the birth, and she was raised around Immortals. And not to mention she's been used as bait more than a few times. Not only that, but her best friend is one."
Mac looked at Anne puzzled "How did you know?"
"I may not be able to sense her, but I can tell by the way everyone looks right before she knocks on the door. And no, I haven't told Mary if that's what your thinking. I don't think this is just a phase, but if it is maybe she'll grow out of. We just have to wait."
Just then Mary and Meg walked back into the barge. "Uncle Joe, when did Chris start smoking?" Mary asked.
"She's smoking?" Mary nodded.
"You guys go off to bed now." Anne said. "We'll talk more about this later."
"Goodnight Uncle Joe and Duncan." She said as she hugged both of them. "Night mom."
"Night girls." Duncan said. When they left Duncan looked at Joe. "Just how tense are things between you? I only know of two times she smokes."
"And we haven't had sex lately, so she must be really upset. Damn Mac, I didn't mean for her to take it so seriously."
"Is there something else bothering her?" Anne asked. "She seemed sort of distant tonight. I just thought maybe she was concerned about Cat not being here."
Joe shook his head. "Ever since I proposed to her again in Mexico, she's been distant. I just thought it was because I had the balls to propose to her in Mexico, but later when she said yes, I wasn't sure."
"Go talk to her." Anne said. "Find out what's wrong." Joe nodded and walked out the barge. Anne looked at Duncan. "It's over between them isn't it?" Duncan nodded.
Joe walked to where Chris was standing and watched her extinguish her cigarette. "I love you." He said as he put his arms around her waist.
Chris had heard Joe's cane thumping on the barge and had wiped the tears from her face. She loved Joe so much, and she had finally decided to marry him, but now, even after all they had been through together, she began to realize that he was right so many years ago when he said he would never work for them. "Joe look..." she started.
"Shhh." He said as he put his finger to her lips and then kissed her. When she didn't kiss back, he knew. "Chris, why?"
She was trying to hold back the tears as hard as she could, but no matter how hard she fought them back, they escaped. "You know I love you Joe, but..."
"But what?" he said as he turned her so he could look into her eyes. "Jordan Christine Renwyck-Vincente you know I don't want to live without you. For the past 10 years you have been my life and my love and now you just want to through that away because of one little comment I made about your age? You know that doesn't matter to me at all."
She nodded and wiped away more tears. "I know, but do you know how I felt when the first time we met Megs and the first thing she said was 'I did not know you had a daughter'? Or how when ever we walk down the street holding hands people look at us funny?"
"If you loved me it wouldn't matter."
"I do love you, you know that, but it does matter. It matters to me. Maybe it should not bother me so much, but it does."
"Chris..."
"I love you Joe." She said as she took the ring of her finger and took his hand. She placed it in the palm of it and closed his fingers around it. "Always remember how much I loved you." she said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek and walked away.
Joe watched her as she walked down the ramp and down the street. A tear rolled down his face as he looked at the ring. He wanted to go after her and make her forget the pain the difference in their age caused, but deep down he knew she was right. As much as they loved each other, he had to let her go.