Her golden hair was flying in the wind. She looked back at him with a wide grin, daring him to follow her. His lanky form seemed to move forward of his own accord, chasing her over the sweeping fields which were bathed in the gray light of early dawn.
"Wait for me!" He called after her. She simply smiled and continued running, her lithe form darting through the tall sheaves with a dancer's grace.
Finally she reached the crest of the hill, the morning breeze whipping her hair around her face as she turned to watch his approach. She turned…
And with an explosion of light, the golden sun burst up from the trees behind and cast it's rays down on her unmoving form. There she stood, an angel revealed. Her golden hair whipped around her body and her eyes glowed with a burning fire to match the piercing rays of the rising daystar. She was gazing down at him now, beckoning him to come follow. He was afraid, and yet his feet seemed to move of their own volition. Up he climbed, his heart pounding in his chest. The distance between them seemed to take forever to traverse, yet still she stood there waiting for him.
And then he was at the summit, gazing into her smiling eyes. In awe, he tenderly reached out and touched her cheek. Was this a dream? Would she vanish like all the others? No. She was real. He felt her smooth skin warm under his tender caress, and he almost cried with relief.
She was real, and she was his. Forever. Slowly he pulled her to him, gently pressing his lips to hers.
"Forever. Forever, my Love."
"Well maybe it was 69. I really don't remember. After 5000 years sometimes things get a little hazy." The oldest immortal watched as Duncan Macleod's mischievous grin turned into an expression of amazement.
"69 wives?!" The Highlander looked as if he couldn't decide whether to burst into laughter or collapse in astonishment. "You mean it's true? You were actually telling the truth?" He decided on a compromise and collapsed onto the couch in a fit of undignified giggles. "I think I'd better call Joe. This definitely has got to be recorded for posterity!"
Methos glared warningly. "Don't even think about it, Highlander," he growled half-heartedly. The Highlander's merriment was contagious and he was having trouble keeping a straight face. "I'm sure there are plenty of things I could tell Joe about you that our friends in the surveillance business would jump on in delight. Especially the women…"
Mac raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" he managed, still trying to catch his breath. He laid down the challenge and waited for the answer.
Methos took a thoughtful sip of his beer shrugged his shoulders. "Well, let's see," he drawled. "How about that thing with you and Amanda and that bowl of fruit at Gina's party three years ago. I'll bet the watcher's haven't heard that one yet…"
Mac choked and his face turned a brilliant shade of red. "What? How did you…Oh no… she didn't, did she?"
Methos decided that another jab wouldn't hurt so he pressed onward with glee. "Well, it was obvious that something was going on between you two, and Amanda seemed willing to talk, so…" He looked up curiously at Mac's horrified expression. "What exactly did happen to that banana, Mac?"
Duncan's head dropped into his hands with a groan. "I'm going to kill her, I swear…"
Methos allowed himself a triumphant smile at the Scot's desperate words.
"Just another day in the life of Duncan Macleod… So what about the cherries Mac?"
It was going to be a very interesting evening.
The setting sun bathed the fields with golden light as the two lovers lay silent on the hilltop.
*Fields of gold? None could ever be more golden than this moment.*
She lay cradled in his arms, her shining hair covering them like a blanket. "I'll never let you go, never."
She must have sensed his uncertainty because she lifted her head to gaze at him thoughtfully. "Never is a long word, Love." Her voice was like the twinkling of silver bells, merry, yet strangely foreboding.
He pulled her closer, his arms locked around her as if to keep her from escaping. "Not for us. It *will* be forever with us. Do you understand? We will live forever… Together, you and I."
Her smile was sad. "So you say, and I want to believe that. But the future is always in motion. Will you be my shield forever? Can you swear to me that you will never leave me?"
He opened his mouth to speak words of love and reassurance, to place his life and future in her hands, but the words caught in his throat. He could not speak them. Eternity wasn't long enough to love her, and yet it was too long. Impossible to stand, her bulwark against the world and it's horrors until the end of time. He could not answer. Yet he could not remain silent.
"I will love you, till the end of time." His voice was thick with emotion. "In every sunrise and every twilight, you will remain with me. And if we cannot have eternity, we will still be together. For you will be in my heart. And just as the west wind moves throughout the earth, so you will live forever in my heart. I will remember you…forever."
She smiled, and as the last ray of golden sunlight vanished, he could see her smile.
"That is all I ask, Love."
Amanda was back in fine form. With her usual guile she had managed to sweet-talk Mac into forgetting the fruit bowl incident, and then they had all gone out to dinner. Now Methos watched as Amanda pulled Mac out on to the dance floor, their graceful movements attracting the attention of most of the other patrons. They did look wonderful together, Methos mused. Mac's tall strong form matched her cat-like gracefulness with unusual ease. He chuckled as he saw Amanda bat her eyes at him over Mac's shoulder. They were complete opposites, those two, and yet they seemed to go together better than sugar and spice.
He shook his head as memories flowed over him. Their twirling forms reminded him of a day long ago, when he had been holding a beautiful woman in his own arms…
"So how shall we celebrate, Love?" He pulled her closer and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, relishing the spicy scent of her hair.
She blushed. "You won't be embarrassed if I tell you?"
He laughed. "Of course not. What is it you want to do?"
She pulled his head down so that she could whisper into his ear. And as she spoke he could feel her warm breath on his cheek. "Fields of Gold…"
Just three words, and yet he understood. "Yes," he said. A simple answer. Yes, they would return to the place of beginnings, the place where hope had sprung anew for them both, and wait the coming of the dawn.
Later as the sun rose over the hill, bathing the field in its rays, they renewed their vows in the place where love had first found them both.
"Always remember me, Love."
He gazed deep into her eyes. "Always. I will always remember…our fields of gold."
The night air was cold as when Duncan and Amanda dropped him off at his apartment.
"Are you sure you don't want to come back to the barge and have a drink with us? It's still early." Amanda's voice held a mixture of mischief and genuine camaraderie. "I'm sure we could think of something to keep you from being bored." A sudden gust of wind caused Amanda to pull her coat tighter around her.
He chuckled. "I bet you could." The wind blew through his hair and he sighed. "I'm a little tired," he said. "Maybe some other time. I'll call you tomorrow, Mac."
Duncan grinned and held out a hand. "Right. Are we still up for lunch?"
"Oh definitely. And since you're paying…" Methos gave Duncan's hand a friendly squeeze. "Be good kids. And don't have too much fun."
He watched them drive away and shivered in the cold air. The wind was coming from the west…
Abruptly he turned and slowly climbed the stairs up to his apartment. Outside he could still hear the wind whistling against the windows. *When the west wind blows…*
Yes. Tonight was a night to be alone. And remember… And then tomorrow he would rejoin his friends.
Tonight was his to treasure, and he would spend the night dreaming of days long past, and a love long gone.
Tonight, he would dream, of fields of gold.
Finis
Fields of Gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love
For to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold
Will you stay with me, will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold
I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold
Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold