Cross of Swords: Part 4:
The Docks
September 1995

Later that morning, Cat told Richie she was going for a walk and would be back later. The two had talked most of the morning since they had returned from Duncans and now she needed time to think. When she was in Paris, she usually went to the banks of the river, but here the closest thing was the docks. It wasn't exactly quiet, but it helped.

When she got to the docks, Cat got the buzz and panicked. She was so concerned about getting away for awhile, she had left her sword at the apartment. While she was looking for the source, she found it at the edge of the docks going through the Kata. It was a form of exercise she had often seen Duncan do many times.

Chris had put her long reddish brown hair into a braid, and wore a unitard under a pair of jeans. A much better wardrobe pick then the T-shirt of Duncan's she had chosen earlier when Cat first saw her. Cat not wanting to disturb Chris, sat down and watched.

When Chris had finished, she took a deep breath, and looked for the other Immortal she had sensed earlier. She saw Cat by some fishing boats and walked over. "Good morning again." she said as she sat next to Cat. "Beautiful day is it not?"

"I didn't know you knew the Kata. Did Duncan teach you that?"

"A few centuries ago. I do it everyday to relax. Are things better between you and Richie?"

"For now. I love him like a big brother, but he drives me crazy!"

"Big brothers can do that to you."

"Did you have any big brothers?"

"No, but my daughter had two and if you think Richie is bad, you should have known how hard Charles and Alan were on Kathleen in the late 1700's."

"I thought Immortals couldn't have children." Cat started to panic. She hoped not with all the guys she had been with lately.

"We can not. But when Will and I married, we wanted children of our own so badly, we found three looking for a home. We watched them grow up, get married, have children of their own, and die. The hardest thing a parent can go through is the loss of a child. Whether the parents are mortal or not."

"I remember how upset my dad was when my mamma and Jordan died."

"Jordan?"

"My older sister."

"That is my name. Jordan Christine. I dropped Jordan when I went into hiding."

"I've always loved that name. I wish it was that or anything other than Caitlynn Jean."

"But you have a pretty name. Tell me about your parents. What were they like?"

"I don't remember my mamma much, because I was only three when she died, but my dad was great. He was the only man who I ever wanted to love. The only problem was I never felt like I belonged."

"Why is that?"

"For starters, I didn't look like anyone. Both my parents had blonde hair and blue eyes. I have reddish brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles."

"Did you ever think you may have been adopted?" Cat was going to have to find out sooner or later, and now seemed like a good time.

"Sometimes, I use to think I was an alien. Isn't that stupid."

"No, not at all. There is really no easy way to say this, but no one knows exactly where we come from. We are not born like mortals are. It is almost as if we were aliens."

"You mean they weren't my real parents? Why didn't they tell me?"

"Maybe they never had the chance. Mine did not."

***Wales: 1667***

"Mamma, I am going out with Alexander, be home before dark." Jordan said as she started for the door. She had just turned twenty-one, and was to be married the next day.

"Jordan, you do not need to see him the night before your wedding. Stay in and help me finish your dress."

"But mamma, the wedding is not til tomorrow. We can do it tonite. We are just going for a picnic on the coast. I will be back before dark. Promise you."

Jordan's mother walked towards her daughter and hugged her. "Your papa would be so proud of you, God Bless his soul. all right then, but you be careful and make it home before dark. Understood?"

"Yes mamma." She hugged her mother back. "I promise."

"Jordan?" her mother said with a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Yes mamma?"

"Never mind you." She said as she watched her daughter walk out the door for the last time.

***

"That was the last time I saw her." Chris said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I never made it home."

"Was that when you became Immortal?" Chris nodded. "What happened?'

"Alex and I went on our picnic, and he asked if I wanted to go for a swim. We did, and he got caught in the undertow and drown. I did all I could to save him but nothing helped. When I went to go get helped, I was robbed, raped, and beaten to death by an Immortal. When I woke up, I had no idea where I was or what I was. A few days later, Amanda and Duncan found me. About a year later, I took my first Quickening. That will always be special to me."

"Because it was your first?"

"That and it was by the man who raped and killed me. He tried to do it again, but he was so drunk, he did not realize the buzz he was getting was not from the alcohol. That is why Richie and gets so upset when you come home drunk and stoned. You are not coherent enough to know what is going on."

"I didn't realize that could happen. I was just going along with everyone else. Doing what they were doing."

"If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?"

"Yes, because I know I'd be the only one to survive." The two laughed and then Chris got serious.

"You know what I mean. If you do choose to live with me, you will have to change your ways. No more breaking rules that we set. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Chris?"

"Yes Cat?"

"Thank you. Thanks for this talk, I needed it. Since I came to America, I didn't have anyone to talk to until Anne came back. But then she was to busy with work and getting ready for the baby to talk to me."

"Anytime." Chris said as they hugged. "Anytime."