Methos let himself back into the flat just as the horizon was starting to lighten. His hope to slip back in bed died when he saw Phoenix curled up in her favorite armchair.

"I woke up and you were gone," she said softly. "Then I got a call from Joe, wanting to make sure you weren't going to go after Calderón on your own." She looked hard at him. "What haven't you been telling me?"

"Since before Ianto died, there's been an Immortal staking out the Plass," he admitted. "The three of us all together in one place had to be hard to pass up, even if he couldn't tell exactly where we were. I asked Joe to find out who it was, and he told me it was a Spanish head hunter who specializes in stalking his targets for months before making a move."

"You went after him last night."

It wasn't a question. Methos know Ianto's prediction would prove accurate when he saw the defiance blaze in her eyes.

"I didn't want to risk him challenging you, and you losing," he answered honestly. "You know what this baby means to me. I will do everything in my power to protect it."

"Even risk your own head?" she asked. "Did it ever occur to you what you losing would do to me? I can't do this on my own, Methos."

"You'd have Jack and Ianto to help. You'd have our child to hold. But if I lost you, I don't know if even Duncan could pull me back from the place that would send me."

Phoenix softened her glare. She knew Methos feared falling back into his ways as a Horseman, but it was not a concern to her. No matter what deeds he had done in the past, or how cynical he might seem, he was a good man at heart. She did not think a relapse would be so easy.

She stood and walked over to him, placing her hands on either side of his heart.

"Come to bed. Duncan and Amanda won't arrive until after noon, and I can tell you've been up all night."

Methos followed her willingly to the bedroom, not wanting to argue over something was not likely to be resolved any time soon. She was stubbornly independent, and he was fiercely protective to a fault. Neither was likely to change, and arguing about it while they were tired would only make matters worse.

When he finally woke, he was alone in bed and there were voices drifting through from the living room. As the haze of sleep rolled away, he recognized the Highlander's deep brogue and Amanda's lilting laugh. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head to try to shut the world out for a bit longer. That hope died when a pounding rattled his peace.

"I hope you're not planning on sleeping all day," Amanda called through the door.

"I was until you got here," he replied, throwing back the covers and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He went and opened the bedroom door and glared at Amanda.

"You look like hell," she stated plainly.

"Yes, well, we can't all look like a Dior model after taking a head at three a.m.," he sniped back.

"Well, you can just go back to bed if you're gonna be like that."

"Shut up. I'll be out in a minute."

He closed the door in her face and turned back to the wardrobe, pulling out a jumper and a pair of faded jeans. Once changed, he padded barefoot out to meet the others.

"Ah, Rip Van Winkle, I was wondering if you were ever going to join us," Duncan quipped good-naturedly.

"Ha ha," Methos replied dryly.

"Play nice, boys," Phoenix piped up, bringing a cup of coffee with her from the kitchen. "Here you go," she said, handing it to him.

"You didn't have to," he said softly, accepting the cup; he knew she had been unable to stand the smell of coffee, prompting Ianto to keep the kitchenette in the Hub closed off, so the aroma didn't spread. The Welshman also kept a stock of peppermint tea laced with ginger just for her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his free hand ghosting down towards her still slender waist.

"Great, actually. No nausea all morning, hence the coffee," she added with a smile.

"Something you care to share with the rest of the class?" Amanda prodded.

Phoenix smiled up at Methos, and he knew there was no pointing in putting off the inevitable.

"Mac, how do you feel about being an uncle?"

"You're adopting?" the Highlander asked with raised eyebrows.

"Now, Duncan, I think it's sweet," Amanda countered. "Uncharacteristically sentimental and borderline crazy, but sweet, nonetheless."

"Not exactly adopting," Methos hedged, moving behind Phoenix and wrapping his arms around her middle.

"I'm pregnant," Phoenix blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Amanda asked.

"Through a sequence of events that I frankly still don't understand, we have become the first Immortals in history to conceive a child," Methos stated.

Amanda did a fair impression of a fish while Duncan's face went blank. The silence dragged on, and the tension escalated.

"Look, this definitely wasn't our idea, but it is what it is," Phoenix said, breaking the quiet. "We're making it work."

"Well, I think we all know what this means," Amanda started, standing as she finally seemed to find her voice. "You are going to need a new wardrobe. We'll be gone most of the afternoon, so you boys try not to get into too much trouble."

Phoenix was slightly stunned as she was swept up in Amanda's wake. Before getting pulled out the door, she turned back to Methos.

"I called Ianto, and he said he'd meet you two at Myfanwy's warehouse in an hour. Good luck."

And with a quick peck on the lips, she was towed out the door.

"Well, I guess that's that," Methos muttered.

He turned to look back at Duncan, who still had yet to say anything. The Highlander's face was still blank, but there was a tempest of emotions behind his chocolate eyes. Methos sighed and leaned back against the kitchen island.

"If I could have picked anyone, it would have been you," he said lowly. "Hell, I would have picked Fitzcairn before I picked me."

A ghost of a smile tugged at Duncan's lips at the mention of the late Immortal Casanova. He finally turned and looked at Methos square on.

"I think you'll make a great father, Methos, despite what you might think."

"That means a lot coming from you, Mac, thank you."

"So, shall we get going to meet up with this student of yours?" Duncan asked, standing from the sofa.

"I'll grab my sword, then we can go," Methos replied, glad that any awkwardness had passed for the time being. For now, he would see that the Welshman met the Highlander.

Five months later…

Methos tucked the blanket in around Phoenix. Their quarters were warmer than the rest of the lower Hub, but her body had gone through severe stress, and he had no idea how her Immortality would affect her recovery.

A soft noise came from the far side of the bed, and he immediately stepped over. A glance inside the bassinet said that his daughter was still asleep. It had gotten a bit hairy, since she was early, but Owen assured him she was fine, just a bit small.

It was something he was still trying to process, even after months of preparing for her arrival. After five thousand years believing he would never be a father, eight months was a rather rapid turnaround.

Gently, so to be sure she wouldn't wake, Methos lifted his daughter into his arms.

"You have no idea what a big deal your being here is, little one," he murmured. "Your life is not going to be easy, and people are going to come after you just because of what you are, but I promise that you will never be alone."

"You sure you can keep that promise?" came Jack's voice softly from the door.

Methos looked up at his friend, "Yeah, I can. Because even if someone does take my head, or Anna's, you always come back."

"Thanks for the reminder," Jack replied dryly.

"I'm serious, Jack. If we go, I'm charging you with looking after our little girl."

"I promise," Jack swore solemnly. "You gonna tell me her name?"

Methos smiled, looking back down at the newborn in his arms.

"Evynne Elizabeth Adams."

"You gave her your current surname," Jack noted.

"She was born to Ben Adams more than any of my other aliases. The man I am now and the man I was ten years ago are two vastly different creatures, and for more reasons that just the name."

"And I can't say I put up much fight in the matter," Phoenix said tiredly from the bed. "Bring her over."

Methos carried the newborn over to her mother, gently placing her in Phoenix's outstretched arms.

"How hard are you having to hold the others back?" she asked after a moment of staring at her child; the fact that she had just given birth was incredibly surreal still, no matter how sore she was.

"Tosh sends her love, but she knows you'll want your space for a bit," Jack replied. "Gwen is chafing at the bit, but Owen's handling her at the moment. Ianto says Duncan and Amanda are looking forward to meeting their goddaughter finally, but will wait until you get home."

"Which will be at least a week," Methos stated, sitting on the bed next to Phoenix. "I want to be absolutely sure the two of you are well before releasing you to the world."

"Look out, world," Jack chuckled.

Methos and Phoenix traded a look. That pretty much summed it up.

Fin.

I'm not even going to try to apologize for that gap. I've been on the reader's end of similar gaps, and it can be downright frustrating, I know. So for those who stuck around for the end, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I'm still not overly thrilled with the ending, but it serves its purpose. I might write a couple one-shots that follow up with this 'verse, but I have other projects I'm currently working on. So stay tuned, if you're not too mad at me!