REUNION
part 1
By Pat
Luka Kovac whistled softly as he took the stethoscope from around his neck and placed it on the locker shelf, then shrugged out of his white lab coat, hanging it in his locker. His shift had ended and he was looking forward to the evening.
“You’re certainly in a chipper
mood considering the day we’ve had.” Mark Greene
commented from where he was stretched out on the sofa in the
lounge. “Got a hot date tonight, my man?” He
questioned. Chuckling softly, Luka replied, “No,
nothing like that. I’m having dinner with an old
friend I haven’t seen for over a year. So,
we’ve got some catching up to do.”
“Sounds nice.” Mark noted. “Get
out of here and go have a good time then.” He waved
Luka towards the door.
“Shouldn’t you be leaving as
well?”
“Yep, I’m just waiting for
Elizabeth, then I’m outta here too.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then.
Good night, Mark.”
“See ya, Luka.” Mark
settled back down on the sofa as Luka walked out of the lounge
and headed towards the ER doors.
Once outside he looked around a moment
before spotting a familar figure standing by a vintage
Thunderbird. Hurrying towards the car, the two
friends embraced. “Duncan! It’s so good to
see you again!” Luka exclaimed as he stepped back to
look into the face of the man who had become like a brother, the
Highlander, Duncan MacLeod. “It’s
been too long, my friend, I was beginning to worry about
you!” Luka had been well aware of the fact
that there had been a good possibility that when Duncan had left,
he would not return.
“Well, I’m here now.” MacLeod
replied, “Lets go to dinner and you can tell me all about
what’s been going on with you since I left Chicago.”
Glancing at Luka he noted, “You look better than the last
time I saw you. I take it things have been improving
for you?” He turned his attention to starting
the car, and pulling out into traffic while waiting for
Luka’s response. As they drove down the
street, Luka quietly commented, “Yes, MacLeod, I would have
to say life has gotten better. I met a holy man who
helped me come to terms with the events of the past, and opened
my eyes to the future.”
“Sounds like a remarkable person.”
Duncan noted, “I’d like to meet this man. A
holy man, you said?”
“Yes, he was a bishop, but
unfortunately he had a crippling disease for which there is no
cure, and he passed away.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Duncan said softly. These mortals, he thought to
himself, so quickly their lives came and then they were gone.
“I knew a very holy man, a priest, who taught me much about
life. In fact, he changed my attitude towards many
things. I would not be who I am today if it hadn’t
been for Darius.” Luka saw the look of
sadness that passed across MacLeod’s face as he spoke of his
friend, but only a glimpse. The iron control
that his friend maintained over his emotions still amazed Luka,
but then he thought, he’s had over 400 years to practice.
For Duncan MacLeod had been born in 1592 in the Highlands of
Scotland, and he was an Immortal.
Soon the two were settled into a booth at
their favorite Chinese restaurant. Having placed
their orders and settled back with their drinks, Luka studied the
man across from him. There was something different
about MacLeod. Even though he laughed and joked
– the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Those
eyes now held a look of loneliness and sadness more pronounced
than Luka had seen there before. He knew that look
well. He had faced it in his mirror every day for way too
long himself. “I don’t intend to pry,
Duncan, but are you okay? What’s been happening
in your life lately?”
“I’m fine.” Was
MacLeod’s reply. “Let’s just say it’s
been a rough year and leave it at that shall we?”
“All right, Duncan, if you say so.
But if you do feel like talking anytime, I’m here to listen.
God knows, you’ve listened to enough of my troubles.”
Shrugging slightly, Duncan picked up his
drink and raising it, toasted “To friendship!” Luka
echoed the sentiment as he clicked his glass with the
Highlander’s. As they enjoyed the meal,
the discussion turned to many subjects. MacLeod was a
world traveler, and Luka enjoyed hearing of the many places he
had been in his extensive lifetime, and to learn history from
someone that had actually been there and lived through events
that were now written in the pages of books. Usually
they would end up at MacLeod’s apartment, settled in
comfortable over-stuffed easy chairs, and a glass of single-malt
Scotch, which Luka had learned to appreciate very much, in hand.
He would ply his friend with many questions regarding the places
he had been, the people he had known – kings and queens,
generals, presidents – figures from history came alive in
the stories the Highlander would tell. Luka
found himself chuckling out loud when he remembered the day he
had first encountered Duncan MacLeod.
“What’s so funny?” Duncan
gave Luka a quizzical look. “I could use a laugh
– so share that joke!”
“I was just recalling the day we
met.” Luka grinned. “Needless to say you
were a bit of a surprise!”
Shaking his head and laughing, MacLeod quipped, “I’d
say you were a wee bit more than surprised. I thought
you were going to grab a stake and drive it through my heart
– you called me a vampire, remember?”
“I didn’t know what else to call a
guy I had pronounced dead, only to find him standing in the
morgue, making a toga out a sheet, talking to me! I
think I handled the situation remarkably well!” Luka
said smugly.
“Yeah, right!” MacLeod
snorted. “You looked like you were going to end
up on the floor any minute!” The two men shared
a laugh as they recalled that day. Duncan had been
fatally injured in a car crash and brought into the ER where Luka
had worked on him to no avail. After pronouncing the
time of death, Luka’s trained medical eyes had noticed
details about the man on the gurney that just didn’t add up.
This had prompted him to make a visit to the morgue to once more
see the body – only to discover the “body” very
much alive and the injuries that should have been fatal almost
healed. Once he had stopped shaking, he had
helped MacLeod get out of the hospital, and back home.
There he had told Luka the most amazing story he had ever heard.
A story Luka would never have believed if he hadn’t
witnessed it with his own eyes.
“If you’re finished, lets get out
of here and go back to my place.” Duncan invited.
“I’ve got several bottles of Glenmorangie waiting to be
opened, and you can tell me all about this Abby person you
mentioned.”
“And you, my friend, can tell me what
trouble Amanda’s gotten into lately.” Luka’s
smile widened as he pictured the sultry, sexy, if not a handful
of trouble, female Immortal.
After a brief argument over paying the bill,
which MacLeod won, Luka was still protesting as they walked
towards the back of the restaurant where the Thunderbird was
parked. When out of the shadows stepped a man
with a gun. “Don’t try to be heros. Just
give me your wallets and car keys.” The mugger
snarled.
“Here they are.” MacLeod
told the man, as he reached into the pocket of his long dark
coat, shifting slightly in his stance as he did so, positioning
himself between Luka and the gunman. Then
moving with the precision and grace those decades of martial arts
training had instilled, he kicked out, disarming the man with one
blow. But what neither Duncan nor Luka had seen was
the second mugger hiding in the darkness. MacLeod
heard the gun shot and he felt the bullet rip through his arm.
Then he heard the second shot. Looking at Luka, he
saw the dark red stain spreading quickly over his friend’s
chest as he crumpled to the ground. Then a
second shot hit MacLeod, pitching him forward on to the ground as
the world around him went black...
(If you want to read about Luka’s first encounter with Duncan MacLeod, it’s the story entitled Trick or Treat)
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