A crowd had already started to gather around for the start of the parade in various states of undress, when Katherine, Sarah Jo and Connor arrived. The two older Scots were dressed in matching kilts, although hers a great deal shorter than his. Another tartan was conveniently tucked into her kilt and then draped over her shoulder, doing a good job of *almost* concealing her small breasts. Connor was carrying a large bag with him. Seeing John Clayton, Katherine ran up to him and hugged him.

"Looking good," she said as she glanced up and down his long, lean body, which was clad only in a very skimpy and well worn loincloth.

"You too!" he said with a grin as his hands caressed her bare back. "I don’t suppose you are going to tell me where you two disappeared to yesterday?"

Katherine just smiled at him as she cuddled up against his hard, lean body. "We will tell everyone tonight," she promised as he reached down and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. Anything more they had to say to each other was lost when Lady had one of her Sims whistle to get everyone’s attention. Lady then told everyone that anyone who still had clothes on needed to take them off right away so the parade could start.

Giving John a quick hug, Katherine went over to Connor, who was opening up the bag. He pulled out the set of bagpipes that had been given to her by John when she had opened the coffee shop. Katherine quickly unbuckled her kilt and stepped out of it. At the same time she took hold of the pipes, tucking the air bag up against her chest and under her left arm as she started to fill it with air.

Connor took her kilt and tartan and placed them in the now empty carrying bag, then stripped his off and stuffed in it as well. Laughing at the site of a naked Katherine holding the pipes he had given her, John tossed his loincloth into the bag just as Paul Racine walked up to join them. Connor handed the bag to a furiously blushing Sarah Jo with a wicked little grin on his face.

"I can’t believe you talked the Mamma Kat into doing this!" She said with a shake of her head as she took the bag and fled with it.

Quite a few of the parade participants were looking at Katherine curiously so Connor announced, "Can’t have a parade without a marching band, can we?" Lady chuckled and told Katherine for her to get in front of everyone, which she did. Then, seeing everyone was now bare and ready go, Lady gave the go ahead for the parade to start. Katherine took hold of the chanter again, and then began playing a lively tune on the pipes. Everyone stepped out from the meeting area and started to move down Thata Way to make their way through the town and out onto the beach.

Once all the laughing and giggling participants of the parade had safely arrived onto the beach, Katherine sought out Sarah Jo so she could put the pipes back into their carrying bag. Her three charges; Connor, John and Paul; followed her and were reaching for their clothes so they could get semi-covered. Her freckled face friend was having a hard time deciding what was making her more nervous, the crowd of naked or nearly so Simcitizens milling around, or the large expanse of the ocean itself.

"Still don’t like going to the beach, huh?" Katherine teased gently. Sarah Jo just shook her head and shuddered as she watched the waves lap up onto the shore. She then turned back to Katherine and her charges.

"That much water is about as indecent as all of you are. Aren’t you going to get *dressed* now?" she asked hopefully.

"Nah, I’m going swimming." Katherine turned and looked over her

charges. "Race you!" she yelled and took off in a run towards the water. The guys had to quickly strip again and chase after her. The three of them ran into the water just in time to see their tiny OIC do a shallow dive and with smooth, strong strokes, head out into deeper water.

Once she got to the point where the water would be up to the shoulders of her three tall charges, she began to trend water until they all caught up with her. Reaching out to steady herself by wrapping her arm around Connor’s neck, she motioned for the other two to come closer. Then in a quiet voice she calmly began to tell them of the events of the last couple of weeks; and just why she and Connor had disappeared the day before. John and Paul stood in open mouth shock at the news. Katherine splashed them both and laughed at the expressions on their faces.

"I’m going to be counting on you two to help me keep this crazy woman from over doing it," Connor added solemnly. Katherine just snorted and leaned over and nipped his ear for saying that. John and Paul laughed at them, the serious looks on their faces replaced with mirth as they watched as Katherine managed to kick Connor’s feet out from under him and dunk him under the water. He came up sputtering and reached out to return the favor but she had fled into the dubious safety of John Clayton’s arms only to get dunked by him instead.

The four of them stayed out there for a while, playing in the water and talking over things quietly between dunkings. Then Katherine demanded a kiss from all of them, and once that was accomplished the happy little group headed back to the shore. Sarah Jo and her two friends, Dani and Duende were waiting for them. She had her arms filled with their clothes and her foot was tapping the sand impatiently as they waded onto the beach, shaking the salt water off of them.

"Come on, you guys! The food is almost ready!"

Katherine and her three charges dressed quickly as Sarah Jo looked on in mock disapproval over their antics in the water. Connor and Katherine were wearing matching kilts (with nothing on underneath, of course), John Clayton his loincloth, and Paul a speedo with little pink piggies on it. Katherine and Sarah Jo both raised eyebrows at and said, "Piggies?" in unison.

"Long story," he said with a grin. The two ladies giggled.

"Ok, guys, why don’t you all go get us some food. Me and me little girl here have to have a little talk about her being severely overdressed for this occasion," Katherine said with a wide grin on her face as she steered her friend down the beach, away from the crowd. "Come on, my dear."

They were gone for about 20 minutes before returning. Sarah Jo had a very serious look on her face and went straight over to Giles and whispered something into his ear before returning to eat the plates of food and salads that Duende and Dani were holding for her. After awhile, when nearly everyone was finished eating, Giles stood up and told everyone that the games will be commencing in just a few minutes. But before they did, a very special announcement was going to be made and for everyone needed to stick around for it. It took a few minutes to round up some of the wanderers, but once they were all present Connor and Katherine stood up before them all.

Once everyone fell silent, Connor began to speak. "I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the old Scottish custom of handfasting, where a couple commit themselves to each other for a year and a day. It was done a lot back in mine and Katherine’s day. A handfasting could be done with or without the benefit of the clergy, and it legalized the union between a man and a woman who wanted to live with each other." He turned and looked at Katherine with a loving smile before continuing. "Tomorrow, after church, Father Alec will be overseeing Katherine and myself handfast ourselves to each other and we would like to invite you all to be present for the ceremony."

He waited until the excitement over that bit of news settled down before starting to speak again. "We have decided to do this because for the next year Katherine Dixon will be mortal, not immortal."

It took awhile for the uproar that resulted from that announcement to calm down. Katherine then started to say something. Connor had to whistle loudly before everyone again hushed up, looking at her expectantly.

Taking Connor’s hand in hers, she looked up at everyone and with a radiant smile moved into his arms, and said, "We saved the most important reason for the last. One of the benefits to being handfasted was that any children born during that year were legally recognized. A very important reason, considering that sometime around the first of April next year I will be giving birth to Connor MacLeod’s child."

After their announcement, Katherine and Connor sat down to watch the kissing game, chuckling together over how well Lady was doing. Remembering a comment Lady had made to her once, Katherine had insisted John Clayton join the second circle and was pleased when Lady was able to guess her charge when he had kissed her.

"I bet you wouldn’t mind being kissing by 25 guys like that," Connor teased her.

"It would be fun!" Katherine said with a giggle, her tongue moistening her lips at the thought of it. "But it wouldn’t be fair. I wouldn’t even have to kiss them to know who it was."

That got Connor’s curiousity up. "And just how would you be able to do that," he asked. Katherine just grinned up at him and tapped her forehead.

"I could do it before, especially with people I knew well, but after the tinkering Rayden did to my abilities, it would be a piece of cake. Closing her eyes and reaching out with her mind, she proved her point by accurately naming all the people who were standing behind them. Before anything else could be said; Lady guessed wrong, and was gleefully tossed into the ocean.

LA was looking for a new *victim* for the center of the kissing circle and he focused on the petite blonde snuggling up with Connor MacLeod.

"Ok, little momma-to-be!" he said with a smile as he reached down to take her hand and pull her to her feet. "Your turn!"

Connor just shook his head and laughed as Katherine glanced back at him with a smug look on her face. "I’m warning you, she cheats!" he called out. That comment got a general round of jeers directed at him, with playful accusations that he just didn’t want to share her. He just got up and walked with her to the center of the kissing circle and put the blindfold on himself before any of the guys had joined it.

"She has to know who is in the circle first," LA told him as the blindfold was tightened.

"Not necessary, in her case." Connor insisted. Once there were 20 eager men in the circle surrounding her, he spun her around and sent her tumbling into the arms of a CLim.

"Oh!!! Hi, Jeremy!" Katherine said gleefully as she reached up to get her kiss from him.

Connor just shrugged and said, "Told you! She cheats!"

She flew into John Brennick’s arms next, then Dani’s. She was then spun across the circle and landed in Doc Adam’s embrace and she reached up and kissed him passionately. "That’s for being so nice to Sarah Jo, Ben," she said with a sweet smile on her face before being spun into another set of waiting arms.

"Hmmm, Indy!" she said with a soft groan as she was kissed soundly by Indiana Jones. Four Clims, three Sims and a Vim later, she landed in another set of strong arms and stiffened slightly before submitting to a hard kiss by BAM. She whispered his name and as a reward was sent spinning into another set of arms. By that time, people were starting to agree with Connor, especially when she guessed the next five in a row before even being kissed. Once she had completed the circle, Connor walked into the middle and untied her blindfold, giving her another kiss in the process.

"Don’t I get to do another circle?" she said with an eager expression on her face.

"Nope. You get dunked!" and with that he swung up her over his shoulder and waded out into the ocean and tossed her in as the watching crowd roared their approval.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Donna and Toni)

The kissing game had been going on for quick awhile now. Katherine had long since dried off from her unceremonious dunking by Connor and she was starting to plot on how to get Sarah Jo involved. She had tried gentle hints but they hadn’t worked, so she resorted to having Connor help drag the very reluctant girl into the middle of the circle so Sarah Jo could have her turn.

The circle quickly formed. Duende and Dani were the first ones there of course; followed closely by Doc Adams, Giles, and Alex from the clinic. Fitz, who had been in every circle he could get into, elbowed himself into the circle next. Then a large contingent of CLims made up of Paul, Jeremy, Gus, Lou, Sal, Connor and John Clayton joined the group. Tully, BAM, and Methos stepped up along with Indiana Jones and a couple other regulars from the coffee shop.

Then, elbowing his way in to take the final position, Kronos joined the group, ignoring the fierce glares from all the other members of the circle. He smirked at anyone who caught his eye, standing there expectantly, as Sarah Jo was blindfolded and spun around. Sarah Jo stumbled and fell into a strong pair of arms. Breathing hard, she waited, wondering what her first honest to goodness kiss was going to be like.

It started out soft and tender, and then started to deepen. Sarah Jo reached up and put her arms around his neck, surrendering herself to his kiss as a part of her mind frantically tried to analyze who it was. As she felt the warm, soft lips pressed against hers, she felt a tingle unlike any she'd ever felt; the tip of a tongue touched her lower lip after a moment, asking permission to enter. She slowly, shyly opened her mouth, accepting it. She then felt his mouth press a little harder, as he explored the inside of her mouth so very gently, knowing this was her very first kiss. He wanted to make it as wonderful as he could for her. "Ben?" she said in a low almost breathless voice when he finally broke the kiss.

Ben chuckled and spun her around till she sailed across the circle into another pair of waiting arms. As the man caught her, he held her securely so she wouldn't fall; and then, holding her close in a more tender, caring way, he slowly, gently lowered his mouth to hers. This was the senorita he'd been attracted to from the time she first came to the city, and he would now show her the way a man kissed a woman when he cared about her. The kiss was sweet and slow, giving her plenty of time to explore his mouth as he was doing to hers, and despite her inexperience, he was as pleased by her kiss as she appeared to be by his.

Sarah Jo had no difficulty identifying him as Duende. The tickle of his mustache and that little bit of beard on the tender skin of her face gave him away. After a few wonderful moments of this, she broke the kiss and reached up to caress his face. "That was wonderful, Duende," she said with a smile. He pulled her to him for a quick hug before he then spun her around and back across the circle.

The next pair of arms also caught her securely, but seemed to be a bit more careful in their embrace. He seemed not quite as deeply receptive as the other two men had been, and the kiss that followed seemed to follow suit. While it was more than a chaste kiss, it wasn't a deep, long one as she'd had on each of the other two tries; he used his tongue, but the whole feel of it was so..so...restrained, was the only word she could think of, and as she did, she knew who it had to be.

"Ian? Is that you?" she asked, reaching up to feel his face. She could feel the heat of his blush underneath her hands. But before she could say anymore she was once again sent spinning across the sand. This time, her feet tangled together and she would have fallen if it hadn't been for several pairs of hands reaching out to grab her at the same time. As the first pair of strong arms caught her, she was pulled close, then held a little more relaxed, as whoever it was saw she was alright. This was another nice embrace, and was made different by the fact that whoever it was apparently couldn't resist giving her nose a playful touch of a nuzzle with his own before capturing her mouth in another sweet, deep kiss. His tongue was almost playful as it explored her mouth and stopped to caress her tongue, giving her another tingle and making her feel happy at the same time - whoever it was, was another great kisser! Then, before she knew it, the kiss had ended, and she was carefully handed off this time, not spun, to another pair of waiting arms.

The first thing this man did was to nuzzle her neck, making her laugh out loud. His mouth worked its way up to her open and waiting mouth. He kissed her deep and hard, his tongue playing with hers as his hands ran up and down her back. Breaking the kiss he then nibbled on her ear before letting her go. Sarah Jo stifled another giggle. Then catching her breath, she said, "Giles, you were first! I recognize the aftershave you use! Dani, you’re the one he handed off to, aren't you honeybunch?" She was really starting to enjoy this kissing stuff.

She was then spun around again. As she landed in the next man's arms, she could tell this man was not quite as tall as some of the others. He was obviously just as caring; he held her close, stroking her hair as he cuddled her. He then brought his mouth down to hers and kissed her in a way that told her this was someone who definitely knew what he was doing when it came to a woman. The kiss was soft and pleasing, strong enough to cause her to feel another tingle but not so strong she would feel afraid of whoever was doing it. As his tongue caressed hers gently; on the whole, it just gave her the feeling that this was a real ladies' man, but a sweet one, clearly intent on their pleasure before his. Sarah Jo was enjoying his kiss so much that she forgot to pay any attention to little things like what his hair length was or anything else that would have helped her guess. Not really having a clue as to who just kissed her she took a wild guess. "Indy?" the instant roar of the crowd told her she had guessed wrong.

As the blindfold was gently removed by her mystery kisser, the smiling face of Fitz came into focus, and he laughed softly, then smiled "I'm afraid not, my lady. Hugh Fitzcairn, at your service; and, I'm afraid, the one to deliver your "penalty" for guessing wrong." He lifted her up into his arms, and carried her down to the water's edge. Some of the rest of the circle following with laughter still being heard, and tossed her in, being careful to make sure she landed in deep enough water so she wouldn't hit her back on anything and hurt herself.

Sarah Jo just about levitated out of the water, a frightened look on her face. She fell back in, lost her footing on the slick sand underneath the chin high water and went under again. Fitz, who'd been watching her, saw that she was not kidding around, and that she really was in trouble. He immediately dove in after her, not stopping even long enough to tell any of the others what he'd seen. He didn't have to, they had seen it themselves, and several charged into the water after him. They saw him plunge under the water where she had disappeared. After a few moments, saw him emerge with her held securely in his arms, both of them coughing as they struggled to find a foothold on the sandy bottom. As they slowly made their way to shore, several of the men that had been in her circle, now helped both she and Fitz to the safety of the sand, where they both collapsed, coughing up water but alright otherwise.

With her long strawberry blonde hair hanging down in wet strands over her pale face and her now soaked sarong clinging to her soft curves; Sarah Jo shuddered and then began to shake in reaction to her fright, as the Fitz and her two charges tried to comfort her. Finally she looked up and said with a crooked grin. "Serves me right for never taking the time to learn to swim, huh guys?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~

( Donna and Abby)

Sarah Jo sat down by the bonfire, watching Kat and Connor cuddle together under a blanket on the other side. The light of the fire danced off her face as sat by herself, thinking of all that had gone on. Ben saw her and came over. "Penny for yur thoughts?" It was one of the few times he had seen her since her arrival in the city without a smile on her face.

Hugging her knees up to her and resting her chin on them, she said quietly, "Just thinking. Lots of things happened tonight"

"Good things?" he asked, sitting beside her. Because he was a Methos, he was wearing the Apollo outfit, and he had to arrange his *skirt*. It made her giggle. "Mostly!" she said with a slight smile. "By the way, I really liked the kiss you gave me in that silly kissing circle game."

"You're quite welcome," he smiled. "Only mine?"

His comment was rewarded with a blush. "All of them actually. Wouldn't mind doing it again with any of you," she admitted. She looked over at Ben with a hopeful look on her face.

He smiled, taking her hand gently. "Any time, Dear Lady."

She started to lean towards him but stop when some of the people sitting around the fire turned their attention over to them. Feeling a little self conscious, she asked, "Mind if we go for a little walk?"

He got up first, then helped her to stand beside him. "Walking in the moonlight, such as there is, is one of my favorite pastimes," he said as Sarah Jo brushed the sand off of the short sarong dress she was wearing and grinned at him. He offered his arm. "Over there, near the sea?"

"Not too near!" she said with a shudder. She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and starting to walk off with him. As they walked past Katherine and Connor, the Highlander gave he an encouraging smile as a very tired and happy Katherine snuggled up against his chest.

"Problem with the ocean?" Doc asked curiously. We can walk up there, on the beach, if you like."

"I'm a mountain girl! The only water we had was a knee high creek back behind our cabin," she said with a smile as she remember her mountain home. "There's something about that much water that scares the willies out of me!"

"Trust me," he smiled, "I'd come and save you. But if it makes you uncomfortable . . ." As he spoke, he altered his course. "Now, please don't tell me those were your first kisses."

She blushed again and nodded. "Didn't have any boys around when I was growing up other than some cousins that I had no intention of ever kissing! And once I went into the convent ..., well, the opportunity never came up." Doc stopped and smiled.

"Wasn't I the first to kiss you in the circle?" he noted. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Aye, weren't you then? And a fine first kiss it was!"

He grinned. "Well, well, I can't remember the last sweet mouth I kissed for the first time. I wish I'd known, I'd have savored it."

"I wouldn't mind you kissing me again. Might be different without a blindfold on," she said in a low, sweet voice as she looked up expectantly at him.

"You mean, the mouth that is just slightly used?" He teased. she looked shocked and tried to pull away, but he pulled her back and held her tightly, kissing her with passion that quickly won her over. He felt her go limp in his arms and his increased his exploration of her mouth, moving close below so she could feel the effects of it."

Her eyes flew open wide as she felt the obvious results of his passion pressed hard against her. She moaned softly deep in her throat, enjoying the feel of it. His hands buried deep in her hair, he felt himself being swept away and stopped. "I'm sorry," he said, breaking the kiss. "I don't want to push you too quickly."

Breathing heavily, Sarah Jo leaned forward, resting her head on his chest for a moment, before looking up at him with luminous eyes. Reaching up with her hands, she pulled him down to her again. "Wouldn't I be one fer letting you know if yer pushin' to quick?" she said huskily.

He looked down at her. "Are you ready to go past kissing? Because I am starting to feel I must slow myself, or rush into the sea."

Sarah Jo chuckled. "If’en it wasn't so much of it I'd be tempted to cool off meself. Hmmmmm. What comes after this kissing stuff?" she asked with a shy smile on her face.

He laughed. "Just how much anatomy do you know, sweet Nurse?"

That earned him a punch in the stomach and an indignant look on her face. "As much as you, I betcha!"

"Well then," he laughed, "you should know the reproductive system enough to KNOW what comes next. Although, hopefully, it won't be as clinical as it appears in the text books."

"Better not be!" She said with a chuckle. "They make it sound as exciting as dissecting frogs!" Her freckled nose wrinkled up in distaste at the thought of it.

"Well, hopefully I can do a better job of it than that. The question is," he went on, pulling her close to brush a kiss on her neck, "Are you ready for it?"