From: martin@abacus.mc.duke.edu (Michele Martin)
Message-Id: <9504100027.AA10378@abacus.mc.duke.edu>
Subject: The Witness part 16
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 20:27:03 -0400 (EDT)

scene 22
Downtown Toronto
12:45 am
  Jenny drove quickly but cautiously down the streets of Toronto, 
constantly brushing away the tears that brimmed from her eyes and 
threatened to obscure her vision.  Her mind kept replaying the scene of 
Scott's abduction over and over while trying to come up with what she 
should have done to help.  But she knew that if she'd tried anything, 
they would have taken her as well.  Her only recourse was to find 
Paul. Anger, grief, and frustration swept through her because she 
realized that this was exactly what _they_ wanted her to do.  What they 
expected her to do.  She knew they'd be waiting for Paul to show up to 
rescue Scott.  But she wasn't even sure he would be able to find their 
son...not if Scott didn't have the sphere.  She rubbed the small silver 
orb with her left hand as she drove.  What would they do?  Could they get 
help?  Perhaps the police detectives would help.  Scott was an important 
witness after all.  That thought sparked a glimmer of hope.  They didn't 
need to know _why_ Scott had been abducted...not that they would believe 
it anyway.  Unless the Canadian government was also...no, she wouldn't 
think about that.  
  She pulled into the parking lot of the Toronto station and hurried 
inside.  She looked around, hoping to see Paul nearby.  But he wasn't 
there.  Instead, she went over to the desk sargeant, hoping her voice 
would hold steady enough to ask him where Paul was.
  "Excuse me..."
  "Yes, ma'am....Ma'am, are you alright?"  the man seemed to realize she 
was upset.
  "Yes..ah, no...please, can you help me?  I'm looking for my husband, 
Paul Edwards?  He was supposed to be talking with two of your detectives..."
  "Yeah, Schanke and Knight.  Is something wrong...."
  She nodded, trying to hold in the sobs.  She gasped out, 
"Someone's...someone's kidnapped my son....Please, I need to talk to Paul 
and the detectives..."
  The desk sargeant handed her a kleenex as he replied, "They're at the 
Coroner's..." Jenny gasped, and the sargeant hastened to reassure 
her, "No one's been hurt...well, someone has been hurt, but it's no one 
you'd know.  Your husband's fine...he just went along with the 
detectives.." his voice trailed off, as though he was unsure _why_ Paul 
had gone with them.  Jenny smiled weakly.  Paul had a way of being 
"invited along" to places that other people sometimes found disconcerting.
  "Thank you...is that far?  I really need to talk to him."
  "It's right down the street, you can't miss it...Look, maybe you should 
talk to someone here.  I can call over there..."
  "No, please, I really need to speak to him as soon as possible.  And 
I'd like to talk to the detectives as well...in case it has something to 
do with the case.  Thank you...for your concern.  I'll come back to make 
a full report once I talk to Paul..."
  The desk sargeant nodded as she hurried out.  To the Coroner's Building.

scene 23 {aka the WHAT?! scene}
Coroner's Building
12:45 am
  
   Nick followed the direction of Greene's pointing finger, but even before
he _saw_ what was happening he _heard_ it.  Heard the rising hum coming 
from the glowing ball in Paul's hand. And heard the sound of Agent 
Mulder's heart getting stronger.  He froze in amazement.  The blue 
light--it was the same as the one he'd glimpsed when he'd tried to make 
Paul forget about Gregory.  And now it seemed to be doing something.  To 
save the dying Agent.  It was enough to almost make him forget about what 
he'd just seen moments before. Almost.  His curiousity about who or what 
Paul Edwards was vied with his professional and personal need to know the 
secret MacLeod and Greene were hiding.
  For several minutes no one moved as the blue light enveloped Mulder and 
Paul.  Well, almost no one.  Scully cautiously made her way over towards 
them, kneeling down beside Mulder as the blue light finally faded and 
Paul closed his hand over his little sphere.  At the same time, Mulder 
began to stir.
  "Mulder?" whispered Scully tentatively.
  "He'll live," Paul said, smiling tentatively. And more than a bit 
nervously, as though he realized that now the proverbial "gig" was up.
  As though suddenly waking from a trance, or perhaps shock, Nat 
stumbled forward until she was almost touching Nick.  She 
clutched at him tightly for support and reassurance.  Nick could 
tell she was frightened.  And he didn't blame her.  He didn't 
feel so secure himself.  "Nick...did you _see_ that...and," she said
as she pointed to Greene,"..._that_..." pointing now to Paul and Mulder. 
  "Well, it was kind of hard to miss...in both cases," Nick whispered 
back, unsure of the next move.  At that moment, Mulder seemed to come 
awake.  He blinked, then suddenly grabbed at the area on his stomach where 
he'd been shot.  There was blood, but no wound. He then looked at Scully, 
who smiled weakly back at him.  Nick thought she was crying.
  "Did you see....he healed me?" Mulder said.
  "I guess I owe you and George Fox an apology."  Scully replied.
  "No, I think George Fox and I both owe _him_ an apology.  Thank you," 
Mulder said as he reached out to shake Paul's hand.  Paul took his hand 
and smiled widely, seeming more reassured.
  Schanke meanwhile, had approached the trio cautiously.  The expression 
on his face was one Nick had never seen before.  In fact, it didn't seem 
like the kind of expression that belonged on Schanke's face.  It was like 
awe, mixed with excitement.  
  "Oh my God...Al, it _is_ George Fox's alien!" Schanke said, seeming to 
talk to mid-air.  An alien?  That was incredible...but it explained so 
much.  But who was Al?
  Paul looked around slowly at the group that was staring in stunned 
fascination at him.  He obviously realized that since everyone had seen 
him do what he just did he couldn't hope to conceal his secret any 
longer.  He looked at Schanke and replied truthfully, yet cautiously, 
"Yes...but not '_Fox's_ alien'.  My name is Paul."
  Schanke nodded.  Then he and Mulder both said, "God, there's so much I 
want to ask you..."  They stopped and looked at each other in confusion.  
Scully apparantly saw an opening.
  "Mulder?  Detective? Remember the case--the _real_ reason we're here.  
We're supposed to be investigating a serial homicide case, not aliens.  We can 
do aliens later.  I don't think Paul is going anywhere for now."
  "But..."
  "_Mulder_"
  Mulder sighed.  He took stock of the situation, and suddenly became 
aware of the post-Quickening devastation around him. "Ah...did I miss 
something?"
  Scully nodded, then replied, "Oh no, nothing much.  Our John Doe wasn't 
the only one to come back from the dead.  Greene also came back to life."
 "Just in time to cut off the other mans head?"
 "Ah, no, MacLeod did that...and for some as yet undetermined reason, that 
was almost immediately followed by some kind of energy storm, which destroyed 
this examining room. Sound familiar?"
  "Oh good, glad I didn't miss too much," Mulder answered as he motioned 
to Scully to help him up.  Paul also assisted, which earned him a nervous 
glance from Mulder.  As Mulder was getting up, Nick decided to steer the 
conversation back towards the things that were bothering him.
  "Which leads us to my original question...what's the deal with the 
beheadings and the pyrotechnics display.  And how are _you_," he glared 
at MacLeod, "involved in all this?  I take it you two are related, since 
_he_," nodding now at the body, "called _you_," pointing at 
'Greene' "MacLeod just before Schanke shot him.  And why are you still 
alive?"  That was directed to both MacLeods. 
  "Wait a minute! Why are you staring at us?  That man over there just 
admitted he was an extraterrestrial.  He just healed Agent Mulder....," 
_Duncan_ MacLeod replied trying to find a way out of having to explain 
himself.
  "Yes, but he doesn't go around cutting off people's heads.  And I might 
point out that Agent Mulder wouldn't have been shot if our mystery man 
here had stayed dead like _normal_ people do after they've been shot in 
the heart," Nick replied, starting to get frustrated.  
  "Besides which, the whole reason we're here is because of a _homicide_ 
investigation, and as one of the detectives involved in this case, I'm 
currently more interested in getting some answers from _you_," Schanke  
added, apparantly glad the conversation had turned back to the MacLeods 
before Nick could ask him how the heck he knew about the alien.  Not to 
worry...that was next on his agenda. However, Paul helpfully provided the 
answer to _that_ question.
  "But you're not," Paul's voice stated calmly as he looked at Schanke. 
  "Not what?" Schanke replied, taken offguard.  
  "You're not a homicide detective named Don Schanke.  You're really a 
quantum physicist named Samuel Beckett who, through no fault of his own, 
leaps around through time pretending to be people he's not."
  "WHAT??!!!" shouted Nick, Nat, Scully, and the Macleods.  Suddenly, 
everyone was staring at 'Schanke'.  Both Nick and Nat exchanged confused 
looks.  *Though I have to admit, it explains a bit about his most recent 
behavior*.
  "Who the heck is Samuel Beckett? And don't tell me he's an early 20th 
century Irish playwright," Nick demanded, looking at both Paul and 
'Schanke'.  He was suddenly more worried about his partner...and 
friend...than he was about mysterious beheadings, aliens, or the undying 
MacLeods.
  "He's won the Nobel Prize in Physics a few years back.  I'd heard he 
had some interesting theories on time and was working on some 
secret government project.  I _knew_ it!  The government _is_ involved in 
covert time travel experiments." Mulder said as he approached 'Schanke', 
who was backing up, cowed by the combined glares of just about everyone in the hallway.  
Everyone shifted their gaze to Mulder, though, as his last sentence sunk in.
  "What??!!!" Nick, Nat, Scully and the MacLeods asked.  
  "I once read a treatise on Dr. Sam Beckett's rather interesting theory on 
time travel in The Lone Gunman. Even though it was supposed to be 
classified.  Even I never dreamed he'd actually get it to work," Mulder 
replied.
  "Ah, well, I wouldn't say it works, per se..." 'Schanke', or Beckett, as 
his name appeared to be began.  
  "Where is Schanke?!" Nick demanded as he advanced on Beckett.  If his 
partner was in any danger because of this, this..._physicist_
  Beckett backed up a bit more and held up his hands as if to ward off 
Nick.  "He's fine, really.  He's just in the, uh, the waiting room...."
 "Waiting room?"
 "Back at Project Quantum Leap."
 "Fine.  Send him back."
 "Um, I wish I could, really.  I _really_ wish I could." Beckett looked 
meaningfully at the devastation in the room.  
 "You mean you're not in control of this project?" Mulder asked.
 "Ah, well, no.  See, things went a little, um, ca-ca."
 "Ca-ca?" both Mulder and Nick asked.
 "Yeah.  See, we believe that the Project's been taken over..."
 "By the government?" Mulder suggested.
 "Um, no.  By...God.  Or Time.  Or Fate. Or, whatever.  Schanke can't 
come back...leap back in...until I 'leap out'"
  "And when will that be?" Nick asked suspiciously.
  "When I do what I came here to do.  To fix something that went wrong here."
  "I see.  And what exactly is that?"
  "Um, well, first we thought..."
  "We?  Is that who you meant by 'Al'?"
  "Yeah...he's from my time.  You can't see him, only I can...and 
apparantly Paul and Scott...he's how I know Schanke is alright.  Oh, and 
when Schanke comes back he won't remember what happened...which is, I 
guess, for the best.  And, hopefully, I won't remember this either.  I 
really hope.  See, the leap 'swiss-cheeses' the memory...look, it's all 
hard to explain..."
  "You were saying you were here to do something?" Nick wasn't quite 
ready to let the subject drop.  But he was more reassured.  Beckett didn't 
seem to be lying to him, especially now that he could look him in the 
eye.  He hadn't needed to use his...persuasive...abilities just yet.  
Just as well--people might get suspicious.  With so many other odd 
happenings, Nick didn't think they'd have trouble believing in vampires 
on top of it all.
  "Ah, well, we thought I was here to keep him," he pointed at 
'Greene',"from being beheaded.  I thought I'd messed up when he got 
stabbed instead, but it seems that beheadings are somehow more fatal..."
  Scully seem to decide it was time to get back to the _real_ case at 
hand. "Which brings us back to these strange murders..."
 All eyes returned to the Macleods. Duncan MacLeod shifted weight 
nervously.  He and his friend exchanged glances, as though still trying 
to find some way to weasel out of their predicament.  Nick walked back to 
where Natalie stood, staring intently at the pair.  Scully, Mulder, and 
Beckett also approached, until the two of them were surrounded.
  "We're waiting.  Why don't we start with your real name." said Mulder, 
pointing at Greene.  He glanced at the agents, the detectives, and 
finally at Nat.  Then he sighed and took a deep breath before announcing, 
"I'm Connor MacLeod of the clan MacLeod..." He seemed about to continue 
before Duncan stopped him and whispered something in his ear.  Nick 
rather clearly heard him say, "I don't think _now_ is the best time for 
your favorite pickup line...and I don't think she's going to go to bed 
with you anyway so you might as well drop it.  _I'll_ handle this."  It 
certainly didn't do much to improve Nick's opinion of Connor.
 "Um, well...it's kind of hard to explain," Duncan began.
  Connor, however, appeared to decide that they might as well just get 
the whole thing over it. "We're Immortals," he stated 
matter-of-factly.  Duncan glared at him.
  "You're what?!"  asked Scully, Nat, Mulder, and Beckett incredulously.  
Nick just nodded.  That explained how Duncan Macleod had been around in 1863. 
Of course, there was always the chance Duncan might feel the need to 
point out that Nick had also been there.  Or that Paul might feel the 
need to get another secret off his chest...
  "Immortal--as you may have noticed, we can't die unless you cut off our 
heads," Connor pointed at the motionless body of the John Doe.  "If Duncan 
hadn't beheaded friend Murdoc here, he'd still be trying to kill 
you.  He really was not a very pleasant person.  And for some reason he 
really hated people with Scottish names." Connor shrugged, "Anyway, 
Duncan killed him because if he hadn't he would have killed me...or Agent 
Scully.  The same with Stayde, the man Scott saw me kill.  I 
didn't kill those others--that was Stayde."
   As Nick, Sam and the two FBI agents noted the names Connor had 
supplied, Paul asked, "But why did Stayde kill those others?  And why did 
Murdoc want to kill you?"
  Mulder added, "And what does all this have to do with 'There can be 
only one'? And the lightening?"
  Connor hesitated.  Duncan, apparantly having concluded, rightly, that 
they weren't going anywhere until the whole story was out, picked up the 
explanation. "It's called 'The Quickening'--it's the source of our 
power.  Whenever one of us kills another, the victor gets the loser's 
Quickening--his or her power and knowledge.  In the end, there will be 
only one of us left.  That one gets 'The Prize'--we're not sure what that 
is, but it may be the accumulated power and knowledge of all Immortals.  
Something almost everyone wants.  People like Stayde actively go after 
other Immortals and don't really care who gets in there way.  Connor and 
I, well, we just try to stay alive.  And occassionally take care of those 
Immortals who are too dangerous to mortals and Immortals alike.  We try 
not to get too involved in the Game..."
  "Speak for yourself," muttered Connor.
  Mulder nodded. "It all makes sense now... But where do you come from?  
Are you from another planet..."
  "NO!!!!" both MacLeods shouted with a vehemence that took everyone aback.
Connor continued, "No one knows were we come from...or why we're must 
fight each other for this Prize.  All we know are the rules of the 
Game...and that all Immortals have to play."
  "The Game?  The vampire that attacked Scott mentioned something about the 
Game...,' Paul observed.  Nick silently wondered if Paul was _trying_ to make 
things more complicated or if he managed to do so entirely by accident.
  "The _WHAT_ that attacked Scott??!!" exclaimed Sam, Mulder, Scully, and 
the MacLeods.  Scully rubbed her temples.  Nick had to sympathize. this was 
getting to be a little bit too much. "Wait.  Are you saying that a _vampire_ 
attacked your son?" she asked.
  "Yes.  At least, that's what Scott said it was."
  "And why does Scott think it was a vampire that attacked him?" Mulder 
asked. "It could have been someone dressed up to look like a vampire..."
  "He didn't have a cape.  But he _did_ fly.  And his eyes changed color 
when I stopped him.  And he had fangs--after all, he did bite Scott, " 
Paul pointed out.
  "He _bit_ Scott?  You didn't mention that before..." Mulder continued.
  "I didn't think you'd believe me."
  "Um, aren't vampires supposed to have superhuman strength or 
something?  How did you stop him?" Nat asked.  Nick stepped on her foot, 
then glared at her with a look that said, 'You're _not_ helping!'.   
   Paul replied, "I'm an alien.  I have these...powers."
   Mulder shook his head, "I'm sorry.  I just don't buy it.  Vampires?"
   Scully was shocked, "Mulder?  Since when are you the sceptic?"
   "I'm sorry, I just don't believe in vampires.  Vampirism is really a 
psychological condition..."
  "Told you it was all in your head," Nat whispered to Nick.  He stuck 
out his tongue in reply.
   "I don't believe you, Mulder.  You'll believe that an energy being 
from outer space cloned the body of a dead photojournalist and is now 
running a camera store on the outskirts of Toronto.  You'll believe that 
there are people who can't die running around having swordfights all over 
the world, cutting off each others' heads.  You'll even believe that  
some physicist has developed a method of time travel that allows him to 
jump about in time impersonating homicide detectives or whomever..." 
Scully began.
  "...but I don't believe there are undead people running around sucking 
out innocent peoples' blood and living forever.  I can't help it. 
Everyone has to draw a line somewhere.  Besides, we already did vampires 
this season.  You just missed it," finished Mulder.
  "Living forever...That's it!" Duncan suddenly exclaimed.  He pointed an 
accusing finger at Nick, who groaned inwardly.  He'd been 
waiting for Paul to say something incriminating about him and had 
neglected to keep an eye on Duncan.  The Immortal continued. "You!  
You're a vampire!  _That's_ how you were around in 1863.  And that's why 
you were the only doctor available at night!"
   "What??!!!" exclaimed Scully, Mulder, Connor, and Sam.
   "Wait a minute. Now I'm getting a headache," continued Sam. "Are you 
saying that you met Nick in 1863?  And on the basis of _that_, you think 
he's a vampire?  How do you know he's not one of you?"
   "We can sense other Immortals.  Nick's not one of us, and the only 
other explanation I can think of is that he's a vampire," answered Duncan 
defensively.
   Sam paused and considered. "Well, that would explain why he only works 
at night and never eats anything..."
   "Do you seriously expect me to believe that Knight here is some sort of 
vampire cop?  An undead blood-sucking homicidal homicide detective?" 
asked Mulder incredulously.  Scully was still shocked by Mulder's 
inability to accept vampires given all the other startling revelations of 
the evening.
   "Hey, that's not fair!  Nick hasn't killed anyone in over 100 years!" 
Nat replied, so confused by the evening's events that she didn't realize 
that Nick's vampire status hadn't been fully confirmed.  Until her 
statement, that is.
  "Thank you for coming to my defense, Nat," Nick remarked, as 
realization dawned on Natalie.  Now everyone was looking at Nick.  
Embarassed, he said, "I've reformed?"
  Mulder and Scully exchanged incredulous glances. Then Scully 
realized what had just happened.  Mulder had been in error. "Aha!  
For once you were _wrong_.  I have to write this down in my calendar!"
  Mulder shrugged. "Even Man O'War lost one race.  To a horse named Upset."
  Scully shook here head.  "Okay, what do we do now?  There's no way we 
can report this to the bureau."
  "Or to Captain Cohen for that matter," added Natalie. 
  "We don't have to tell them anything, you know.  Connor and Murdoc are 
already supposed to be dead.  Why not keep it that way?  Case closed," 
suggested Duncan.  "And if we all work at it, we can clean up this 
mess."  Nick sort of doubted that.  The room was a complete disaster.
  "That solves _this_ case, but not the X-file," replied Scully.
  "X-file?" asked Duncan.
  "Your...'Game' tends to attract attention every so often.  We have 
several hundred related unsolved cases on the files.  Guess they'll just 
have to stay that way.  Of course, I could write up my theories on the 
case and the Bureau'd just chalk them up to more of Spooky Mulder's weird 
ideas.  And if anyone asks, well, I can always...deny everything," Mulder 
said with a smile.
  "Okay, that settles it, then..." began Nick.  He was cut off by a 
distraught sounding voice calling "Paul?!" He turned to see a woman with 
light brown hair enter the room. She stopped as she saw the devastation 
around her and gasped in horror.  Paul Edwards raced to her side.
  "Jenny? What is it?  Has something happened?"
  The woman who was apparantly Paul's wife (the alien's wife...) and 
Scott's mother shook herself, then collapsed sobbing into Paul's arms.
  "Oh Paul...they've taken him...the government...Fox...they've got 
Scott..."