The Apology

By Donna, Toni and Abby

Toni was bent over a stack of paperwork on her desk. She had decided that wading through it would give her just cause to reward herself later by an outing to The Captain's Lady to see her friend Katherine. A firm knock on the door made her lift her head and say, "Come in!"

When she looked over to the doorway she found her charge, Kronos, standing there and leaning against the frame, a typically sneaky smile on his face. She sighed, wondering what he was up to now, and said, "Come in, Kronos. What can I do for you?"

"You're still my OIC, aren't you?" he said as he sauntered in and sprawled in one of her chairs. Something about the smirk on his face made her want to get her gun out of it's hiding place.

Instead, she remained calm and said, "Yes, I am. Why, have you gotten yourself in trouble again? Methos warned you what might happen if you have." She knew that if she heard he had been bothering Kat again, she was going to shoot him, then use the letter opener on her desk in his chest to keep him dead until she could call Methos and get him over there.

"No, I've been a *good* boy," he said as he looked Toni over. He seemed to know what Toni was thinking and for some reason, her spunk seemed to please him. "I would like you to do your OIC stuff and make some arrangements for me to do something."

She ignored his "appraisal", and asked, "And that would be?"

"I would like to apologize to the lovely Lady Katherine for my apparently *unacceptable* behavior," he said as he watched her intently to see what her reaction was to that announcement.

Toni was glad she was sitting down, or she might have fallen down at this declaration! Remaining calm, she said, "I see. And what, pray tell, brought this change of heart?" She knew she was fairly radiating suspicion, and she didn't care. If he thought he was going to use her to get to Kat, he had another thing coming.

Chuckling slightly at the shocked expression on his OIC's face, he continued. "My brother Methos helped me to see the *error* of my ways when he threw me in that stinking jail cell. I did a lot of thinking about things while I was there. I really would like to make this right."

"I see. Well, all right, then; I'll call a meeting with Methos, and Connor, and a few other people, besides Kat and I. You can make your apology, and it's up to her whether she accepts it or not." She looked at him expectantly, waiting for his next move in this "chess game" she felt they were playing.

"I can ask for no more than that," he said with a slight smirk on his face. As he got up to leave he asked one more thing, "Thornton works here now, doesn't he? Is he in?"

"I believe so; he just got back from a meeting with Winston Hart, and I don't think he's gone to lunch yet. First office, at the other end of the hall." Thornton's office had deliberately been placed as far away from Toni's as possible. She had thanked Methos for that very nicely indeed.

"Would you be so kind as to see that we are not disturbed for awhile?" he asked with an evil grin on his face. He then got up and walked down the hall to the office of which she had spoke and entered in. The door was shut firmly, and a loud click of it being locked rang through the air.

She tried to concentrate on her work once again, but the whimpers coming from the office, which were able to be heard in the silence of the hallway, were hard to ignore. It sounded like Thornton was pleading for something. There were sounds of a scuffle, then the whimpers, which were more muffled now, were joined by what sounded like Kronos' groans, and a rhythmic thumping noise that sounded like someone bumping against a desk repeatedly. She shivered as she imagined what was going on in that office, and muttered to herself, "Better you than me, Thornton. I couldn't wish it on a nicer guy."

After awhile, the door opened and Kronos came out, a very smug satisfied look on his face. Catching Toni's eye, he bowed slightly and said, "It was never said that I couldn't continue *playing* with the toy that my brother gave me." With that, he turned and left.

She sighed again, and turned her attention to contacting Kat to see what she would say about Kronos' proposal. There was no way she was going down to the other end office to check on Thornton, she thought, as she dialed Kat's number.

"Captain's Lady, Jeremy speaking," came a pleasant young voice on the other end of the line.

"Jeremy, hi, it's Toni. How are you doing?"

"Ahhh, Miss Toni! Doing great. It's been pretty quiet around here so Kat and I were able to work on the latest song I wrote for her. Are you coming by? She can use some company," he said with an exuberant air to his voice.

"I probably will, after work, but I need to talk to Kat now if she's there. If she's resting or something, don't bother her, I'll talk to her later." She regretted the business lunch she'd had to attend that had made her miss having it at The Captain's Lady, as she often did, but at least Thornton hadn't been there.

"Standby, I'll take the phone up to her. She's up on the stage testing out the song on her guitar." Toni could hear his footsteps and the faint sounds of music gradually becoming louder. Then the music stopped and she heard, "Katherine here. May I help you?"

"Hi, Kat, its Toni. Sorry I couldn't make it for lunch today, but Philip needed to speak to me about some things having to do with our 'restructuring' according to Thornton." She was figuring out how to tell Kat what Kronos had requested as she spoke.

"It's alright," Katherine said pleasantly. "I appreciate you calling though. Are you sore at all from the workout last night?"

"No, I'm okay; just moving a little slower than usual. Nick gave me a very nice rubdown, after drawing me a bath last night. You might say it was a rubdown both inside and out." Both women giggled at that one. Then, turning serious, she said, "Kat, what I'm calling about...its about Kronos. He came to see me a little while ago, and he said he wants to apologize to you for all he's done. He told me his time in jail had made him see the 'error of his ways'. I told him that if it happened at all, it would be at a meeting I would call with Methos, Connor, and anyone else you wanted there, along with both of us. He agreed, but if you don't want to do it, let me know. It's up to you." She knew that if her friend said no, she would certainly understand, and make Kronos understand too, or else.

There was almost deafening silence from the other end for a moment. "I suppose it would be ok," Katherine said in a soft voice.

"Kat, I know he's up to something, don't worry; Methos will be there, Connor, and whoever else you want. I can have the whole damn police force there, if it'll make you feel better." She wished she could take away the apprehension she heard in her friend's voice.

"Ok," Kat said. "You make the arrangements and we will be there. Thank you, Toni. I know it's not easy for you to deal with him."

"No, Kat, thank *you*. Like I said, I'll find out what is going on; and meanwhile, there is no way he is ever going to scare or hurt you again. I promise you that. I'll behead him myself before I let that happen," she vowed, feeling very protective when it came to her smaller friend. Then, easing her tension before Kat felt it, she continued, "The meeting place will be the police station; will that be all right with you? If he starts anything there, there will be plenty of guns to immobilize him till Methos can deal with him."

"Sounds good. Whoops, gotta run. Customer just came in!" Katherine said. Toni said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. Now that she wasn't talking to someone, she thought she could hear whimpering sounds from down the hall. Grabbing her purse, she left the building to go find Methos.

Toni walked over to Methos' office, and said hello to Ty. Within minutes, she was being shown into the office, and went and kissed Methos hello as he sat behind his desk. "Hello, love. I needed to see you about something."

Methos accepted the kiss and pointed her toward the sofa. "What can I do for you?"

She sat, and sighed, wondering where to begin. Finally, she said, "First of all, Kronos came to my office to talk to me, and when he was done, he went and visited Thornton in his little office down the hall. He'd just come from a meeting with Winston, and needed to do some paperwork there. I'm sure I don't need to tell you why he went to visit him, but by the time I left, I still heard whimpering from the office, so you might want to send someone to check on him. Secondly, what Kronos came to talk to me about was that he wanted to apologize to Kat for all he'd done to her. It seems that the time he spent in jail had made him reconsider things, or so he said. Anyway, I asked Kat, and she said okay. I wanted to make this meeting in the police station, with you and Connor there."

Methos laughed. "Kronos repentant? This I've got to see!"

"That's what I said to myself, when he first mentioned it. And Methos...when we do have this meeting, both Kat and I would feel better if you would bring your sword. We both know he's up to something, but we don't know what, yet." She hoped he would honor her request.

Methos made a face. "I understand you want to be safe from him, but I would rather it not come to me having to tote the sword around. We are trying to get away from that."

"I know, and I understand. I guess we'll have enough guns there to take care of things if they get out of hand. Just stay close to us, okay? Even your presence goes a long way toward calming both of us." She smiled as she looked at him, once again thinking how beautiful his eyes were.

He nodded. "I think we may be able to subdue him in a police station," he agreed.

She got up, went to him, and kissed him gently. "I think so too. So will this afternoon around 5:30 be all right for you? I want time to assemble everyone who needs to be there, and there's some work I can't put off."

"I'll be there." As she headed out of the office, she turned and said, "Oh, by the way...do you think you might get Alex, or Giles, or whoever is on now to go and visit Thornton and see if he's all right? There's no way I'm going in there."

Methos' face turned cold. "He'll live."

Smiling slightly, as she shared his lack of concern for the bastard, she nodded and said, "You're right. See you at the police station then, darling, at 5:30. I'll call Kat and tell her everything's okay, then call Ross at the station."

Connor and John Clayton escorted Katherine into the police station, serious looks on all their faces. John Prudhomme looked up from his desk and frowned. "I don't like this," he growled.

Connor just shrugged as he guided Katherine to a couch nearby. "We don't either, but it's best to find out what he is up to now and in a controlled situation."

Toni entered next, and said hello to Kat and her little group, giving Kat an extra hug and kiss in silent support. Behind her, standing near the door, was Kronos, who had followed her in. That slight smirk was still on his face, though he was trying to look sincere.

Ross nodded to Kronos, but his face was impassive. While he didn't want to openly congratulate Kronos, he was secretly pleased the Horseman had continued to bedevil Thornton. Methos slid into the room behind Kronos, almost unseen.

Toni smiled as she noticed him, and said, "Now that we're all here, we can call this meeting to order. Kronos, you said you had something you wanted to say to Kat?" She tried to keep both her voice and expression neutral as she addressed him.

Katherine looked up at the man who had stalked her and then attacked her in her own home. Her eyes were clear and her chin set in a stubborn line that showed she was not afraid of him at all. Kronos tried to meet her eyes, but the intense steely-eyed gaze of Connor, John Clayton, and John Prudhomme was a little unnerving even for him. They were all silently standing next to Katherine, ready to tear Kronos apart with their bare hands if he even looked at her cross eyed.

"Lady Katherine, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for all I did to you," he said in a smooth, oily type of voice. Katherine sat there watching him, her head tipped to one side slightly. Her eyes met his without a trace of fear within them. There was something about her quiet strength and almost regal manner that stirred something akin to respect from deep within Kronos. He had done his best to frighten her, but he had not succeeded.

Katherine could not read anything deceptive in his words or feel a hidden threat to his manner. She was left with no choice then, and she chose to do the ladylike thing. "Apology accepted," she said quietly, with a slight nod of her head.

Methos could not hide the smirk from his lips. Just what the hell was his Brother up to? Meanwhile, Toni again took charge, and said, "All right, Kronos, you have offered your apology, and she has accepted it. This does not mean that any conditions change; you are still to keep away from her, do you understand?"

"I understand," he said. "But may I be *polite* to her if she is not alone?"

Methos could hold it no longer. He laughed out loud.

Toni tried to hold her own smile, and said, "You may nod and say hello, but that is all. Clear? Nothing more."

"I understand," he said with a slight smirk on his face. By having Katherine accept his apology he felt that he had somehow won and was now on top of the situation again.

Leaning against the wall, Methos drawled, "Have you gotten religion, Brother? Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot. You just came from buggering Thornton."

An evil grin crossed the face of Kronos. "You did give him to me to *play* with, Brother."

"Which proves you haven't really changed. I'm afraid this," he waved his hand, "leaves me puzzled, however."

"My *toy* is indeed a pleasant diversion. But I long for female companionship as well. But it seems that none of the women in this cursed city will have anything to do with me right now because they are pissed about the way I treated one of their own. So I apologized. Life goes on, right?"

Toni had been watching this exchange, while saying goodbye to Kat and her group as they left. Now it was just the three of them, and the police staff.

Methos looked surprised. "I had thought you were well in with a few of our . . . more danger seeking SIMizens. Interesting."

Kronos had been distracted briefly by the sight of Katherine walking out the door. "Is she as good between the sheets as they say, brother?" he asked with a smirk, as his eyes followed her. Toni's eyes flared with anger at his remark, but she kept quiet and let Methos handle it. She looked down, trying to control her anger.

Methos shrugged. "Ask Doc. I haven't had the pleasure."

"So my almighty brother is slipping then," Kronos laughed. "Rumor has it, you've bedded every other woman in town!"

Toni had to excuse herself to visit the bathroom, before she punched Kronos right in the face. As he watched her leave the room, Methos smiled through tight lips. "I know every woman. If I bed them, it is because I have some sort of relationship with them, not just to put their name in my little black book. There are actually several women I have not yet had the pleasure of knowing in a Biblical sense."

"You had better get busy and rectify that then, Brother!" Kronos said with a smerk on his face.

Methos shook his head. "You don't understand, Brother. If you push too hard, it turns into a one time thing. I'd rather let it grow. I think I pushed it too hard with Lilly, and as a result it was always strained between us. If you keep on with your practices, you'll use up all the women, and then what will be left?"

Kronos ignored what he said and turned to leave. "I will play by your rules," he said. "For now." And then he walked out the door.

Toni came back into the room and saw Kronos was gone, and said, "Are you finished here, darling? We had plans to visit the Bistro for dinner, remember?" She'd had enough of him for one day.

Methos smiled and put his *game face* on. "Of course," he said. But Kronos worried him. If the more danger-seeking females were giving him the cold shoulder, then how could he expect the more mild tempered ones to continue seeing him?