I went to a funeral today.

Nobody I know. I feel guilty, but I'm relieved that I didn't know them.

See, the funeral was for an Immortal and it wasn't Laurel or Maddie so I'm relieved.

It was for an old friend of Laurel's. An Amazon she'd known back when she was only a few centuries old. Can you imagine? Having a friend for thirteen centuries?

The thought of it is mind-boggling. What's even harder to imagine, is having that friend for thirteen hundred years and then losing them with absolutely no warning. I mean, I've only known Jim around four years –minuscule when you compare it to some of Laurel's friendships – and I don't even want to consider losing him.

She was heart-broken.

It's hard to see now, after sixteen hundred years she's learned how to hide emotion *real* well. Which is probably why the guys don't like it when she sits in on a hand of poker. It's bad losing to a girl...Specially one who's not even a cop.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right, Laurel's friend and the funeral.

God, the look on her face when she found out...

We were all hanging out in the loft, Laurel was answering a few questions for me.

What? I personally know a Celt who's 1600 years old and a Spaniard who's 750 years old...That's an anthropologist's wet dream! You think I'm *not* going to ask a few questions? Geez...C'mon, you're starting to sound like Jim.

Course, I think that might be cause he have liked a little Laurel time. What is it with that man and redheads?

Oh right, thanks, back to Laurel.

We were hanging out in the loft and there's a knock on the door. Since it's mine and Jim's place, I got up to answer it.

Laurel spots the guy at the door and let's out a squeal. Who knew women that old still squeal. Anyway, she jumps up and runs over to hug this guy. Joe Dawson. But Joe's not as happy to see her as she is to see him. See, he's one of those Watcher guys and he's a friend of Laurel's.

She realized pretty quickly that something was wrong. It was written all over his face. I guess she's done this a lot since she ran through a quick list of names, no one I recognized. Well, maybe that MacLeod guy, heard his name mentioned before. He's friend of hers apparently. Wasn't him though. It was an Amazon. Her name was Kleio (aka Cleo) and she'd been killed on a run in the park. Imagine that. An Amazon who's almost three thousand years old killed by a lucky headhunter in the park.

At first Laurel was heartbroken but it didn't take her long to get ticked off. And I'm telling you, watching an ancient Celt get mad can be scary. The look in her eyes was enough to scare any sane person into needing new underwear.

After a while, she sent Joe back to Seacouver and went after the guy. Needless to say, she won. When she came back, that's when I caught the first glimpse of it. The absolute sorrow in her eyes. The grief. With the anger gone – justice done – all she had left was grief. And there was a lot of it. I've never seen that much grief in one person before and I pray I never see it again.

None of us knew what to do. That much was certain. Not even Maddie and she's Immortal too; known Laurel most of her life. We did the only thing that we could, we gave Laurel her space, waited until *she* wanted us around.

The next time I saw her, she showed up at my office at the University. She was planning Cleo's funeral and wanted to double-check some Amazon info with me. Granted, most of what we know is pure conjecture, I mean, until recently no one could even prove Amazons existed...But she knew I'd been peeking into the Chronicles. That's the fun part of having an Immortal friend who's known about those Watcher guys for a few centuries. She can get away with arranging a meeting with her Watcher. Hell, according to Joanne, Laurel's played Watcher for *herself* a couple of times.

Anyway, Laurel and I worked out the details...Then she asked me to be present. Jim too. Apparently, the Amazons had their own Sentinels...and it was considered a great honor to have one present for occasions, funerals included.

In many ways, that funeral was more somber than any I'd ever attended before, and I barely understood a word Laurel was saying. I know my fair share of ancient languages but she was using dialects I almost didn't recognize.

There weren't many people there. Laurel, Maddie, Simon, me, and Jim. Course, we can't forget the Watchers but they technically didn't count.

Laurel said an old prayer in Greek, to Artemis I believe. After that, she lit the pyre and stood back.

That's when she did it. Started to sing. It was the most haunting thing I'd ever heard. I didn't even try to translate it. Maybe I will someday. But right now...I just want to remember the beauty. Her voice, I swear it wove a spell with those words. Her own place in Celtic history is as a powerful sorceress...And at that moment I could almost believe it. I mean, Laurel herself has told me she was more of a healer but standing there, listening to her sing...It was as if she transported us all through time. Back to when the Amazon Nation still existed and the old legends were considered fact.

Magic. Sad, but magic.

When her voice faded away none of us moved. I'm not even sure we breathed. We all just stood there - staring at the fire- as if we were hypnotized.

That's when I felt it. The relief. I looked over at Laurel and saw the grief there, and I was relieved we weren't doing this for Maddie...or her. That's what I felt guilty about. I guess...this is what mortals feel like, the ones who love Immortals. They empathize with the grief their lover - or friend - is feeling but are secretly relieved that they're not grieving for their loved one....

***

"Chief?" Jim's voice caused Blair to look up from his journal. "Beer?"

Nodding, the curly-haired anthropologist accepted the bottle and set his pen aside. "Thanks, man."

"No problem." Sitting down on the couch, Jim waved his bottle in the direction of the book on Blair's lap. "That about the funeral?"

"Yeah." Sandburg nodded. "I can still hear Laurel's voice y'know...That song... I wonder where she got it."

"Amazons probably. Or maybe her own tribe. Who knows? That woman has more secrets than the CIA." Jim snorted slightly. Occasionally, his frustration with the Celtic Immortal tended to surface. It wasn't that he disliked the idea of Laurel keeping a few things to herself – all the more fun to go looking for them – it was when she hid her pain away from them all. They couldn't make her stop it, but it was hard to stand by and watch.

"Whatever it was, it was beautiful." Blair's voice took on an almost dreamy quality as he held his bottle. "Did you feel it? When she was singing?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah, Chief, I felt it. Scared me a little."

"How's that?" Blair turned to look at him in surprise.

"Well...Most of the time its easy to forget how old they are." They being Laurel and Maddie. "Then something like this happens...And you remember it. Can you imagine living through sixteen hundred years?" He shook his head.

"Or even just seven hundred. I know. It's impossible to comprehend." Blair leaned back and tapped his journal. "I mean, Laurel...She's *known* Sentinels. Was born in a time where they were almost common place! Can you imagine!"

Jim smirked. "Don't need to. You're doing that for me."

Blair shook his head. "Man, you are *strange*." He sighed, as his mind drifted back to the haunting voice of their friend. "I can't get it out of my head though. I've seen a lot of funeral rites in my career, from a lot of different tribes. But...None of them came close to that song. The impact of it..."

"It haunts you." Jim provided quietly, his eyes staring at a point past Blair's shoulder as his mind fixed on the events of the afternoon.

"Makes you remember." Sandburg noted, with a nod. "Maybe that's why its so haunting...It makes you wonder about the woman Laurel sang it for. The culture that spawned the song to begin with. All of it. It makes you remember the past. Like, as long as you remember them – honor them – they're never really gone."

An unreadable expression flashed across the Sentinel's face as he nodded. "Yeah, Chief. But I'll tell you this...I'd rather have my friends – both mortal and Immortal – here than have to stand there and watch them be buried or burned. Whatever their choice of burial."

"I hear that." Blair murmured as he closed his journal and set aside his beer. "Tell ya what man, this is too depressing. Let's leave funerals and death behind for a while." He stood to his feet. "C'mon, lets go drag the others out for a game of football in the park or something."

Thankful for his friend's enthusiasm, Jim got to his feet. "Sounds good to me, Chief. I think we could all do with a taste of life."

The two mortals grabbed their jackets and left the loft. Intent on honoring the fallen Amazon the best way they could (or knew how) – by enjoying life to the best of their ability. Whether that life lasted a hundred years or a thousand. After all, enjoying life was what it was all about in the end. The best way to banish a taste of death was with a taste of life. And that was something Blair and Jim were experts on. Tasting life.

Finis

** author note. The song Laurel is said to have sung can be found on the Xena Original Soundtrack. Called Burial. I think Lucy Lawless is the vocals. Anyway, I may not enjoy the show itself but the music is amazing. Perfect for Immie writing. *G* Was listening to the song and it cried out for this. So here it is.

 

I do not own the concepts of the Sentinel or Highlander. Laurel & Maddie are mine.

 

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