crack_van | Darkest Hour (Highlander/X-Files), by Killa (Adult)

Fandom: HIGHLANDER/HIGHLANDER: THE RAVEN/X-FILES
Pairing: Duncan/Methos, Amanda/Nick, others
Author on LJ: killabeez
Author Website: Adventures in Melodrama
Why this must be read:
Because it's a good belt of Scotch on a cold night; it's two drinks, really, a belt in memory of the way the opening chapters hit when it was begun in 1999, and then a slow savor of the rest, the unrolling of the tale across the mental palate and the fine finish, the ghosting aftertaste, the product of aging and dedicated process. A celebration of the tale's conclusion this month.

Darkest Hour is a mystery and an adventure. It begins with the unthinkable, a call to Methos in the night. Three friends follow the twisted path that led to the disaster. There is plot for the lovers of plot, suspense and angst, hurt and comfort, and good, solid characterization along the way. All in all, a very good read.

How it begins:
Georgetown University
District of Columbia
April 19th, 1999

The insistence of the phone in the small hours brought Methos no panic -- only mildly murderous thoughts directed at whatever drunken fraternity boy had accidentally dialed his unlisted number -- until he heard Joe Dawson's voice at the other end of the line.

Lying in the semi-darkness, staring at a crack in the plaster overhead, he let the words wash through him and didn't believe them. Not for a second. Some part of him maybe, the thinking part, but he was still able to function and to ask the right questions, so he knew that he didn't really believe it, not where it counted. He went on not-believing, went on talking and moving and doing the things that were necessary: hanging up the phone, getting up, covering his nakedness and finding keys, starting his sensible, oh-so-practical car. It was a valuable skill, and had gotten him far, that ability to function like a normal, rational person in moments of destruction. He was good at it. No one could match Methos for calm in a crisis.

Darkest Hour