Disclaimer: They're not mine. *sob sob* I just kidnapped them to play with Jans whip, and they insisted that I'd write them a story. How could I not agree?

Warnings!
Character death: At least one of the characters will not se the end of this story.
Cuteness alert: Tons and tons of sugar.
Violence: Uhm, a wee bit (well, somebody dies. There's bound to be a bit of violence involved). We don't get to see much of it.
Angst: Oh yeah. Lots and lots of it too.
Gen/Alt: Janice & Melinda are planning on growing old together. They will not be getting alot of cats. Yup, this is an Alt.

Summary/an:
Jan & Mel are still sticking together in the late 50s, and it's time to settle down together and be a "happy familly". Jack Kleinman was never in Macedonia in this story, but turns up as a doctor in a small countryside village.




A Knight In Shining Armor
by Malin Söderholm



"I found it." Janice pulled back a loose strand of hair and grinned widely.

"Found what?" Mel looked up over her glasses from the book she was reading to see Janice leaning against the door post. "Another lost treasure to dig up?" She smiled and turned her attention back to the book.

"Even better. I did find us a treasure, but we don't have to dig it up." She sat down next to Mel who by now had completetly forgotten about her book.

"You mean-?" Melindas once polite smile grew wider utill sharp dimples of pure joy made themselves visable. "You found somewhere? You really did?"

"A little quiet place in the country, just outside a small village. Just you and me, Mel." Janice sat down next to her and stroke her cheek with the backside of her hand. "You and me, growing old together. Just like we wanted. No more trips around the world, no more dig outs, no more hard work. Just the two of us."

Mel closed her book slowly. "Are you sure this is what you want then? You love all that hard work." The concerned look in her eyes showed that she wasn't ready to give up everything they both loved for the sake of her own happiness.

"I love you more, and you know that." Janice smiled and pulled her in for a quick hug. "Besides, it's time to stop now. That last trip to Egypt nearly got you killed. I'd rather die from boredom than risk your life again. You know I couldn't bare to be without you."

"Well, maybe we should just be more carefull in the future. There's no need for you to give up your work." She fiddles with the hem of her skirt, adjusting it untill it was in the exakt same position as it was when she started. Every last molecule in her wanted nothing else than to spend every minute of the rest of their lives together, away from everyone else, but she still wasn't convinced that Janice shared her desires.

Janice placed her hands on top of Melindas, a simple excuse to touch her while pretending to stop her from the nervous fiddling. "We've been careful. I don't want to do it anymore. I want to stop worrying about wether the next expedition will be the last one we have together or not. Sooner or later I'll have to stop working like this anyway, and I can't think of a better reason."

"I suppose you are right." Mel smiled and looked down at her lap, gently stroking the lingering warmth of Jans hands. "So, tell me about this place. When do we leave?"

"A week from tomorrow." Janice grinned and produced two train tickets from inside her jacket.

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The train slowly started to move again, leaving the couple alone on the small deserted platform.

"Wow. I had no idea it would be this... pittoresque." Mel pushed back her glasses and looked around.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems." Janice dragged the last suit case in place next to the others. "The house should be located about an hours walk from here."

"We're not going to walk, are we?" Melindas eyes grew wide at the thought of dragging all their belongings through what looked like wilderness for an hours time.

"No, of course not." Janice looked around what once used to be a vibrant stop in the rails but now was as empty as a ghost town. "The caretaker, a mrs -" She looked at the small note in her hand. "Miss. Miss Baker, the caretaker that lives on the grounds, is coming to pick us up. She should be here any moment."

"There's a caretaker? Why?" Mel sat down on top of one of the suit cases and fanned herself lightly with her hand.

"Well, it's a big house. Noone's live in there for 10 years or so. I guess the owner felt it was a good idea to have someone close by to take care of the house untill it was rented out. And it might be good for us to have some help around as well." She folded the note carefully and put it in her pocket.

"So we'll be living together with this miss Baker then?" Mel squinted at the strong sun light.

"Unless that is a problem for you." Janice was about to sit down next to Mel when she heard hoof beats and the sound of wooden wheels on gravel closing in. "A horse ride?"

Mel smiled widely and stood up, glad to be getting on her way again. "Cheer up. I think it could be very romantic, riding in a waggon to our first home together. Maybe there's hay in it."

The horses came to a stop close by and a somewhat rounded man climbed out and made his way over. "Janice Covington, I presume?" He looked at Melinda with big eyes. "I'm Howard, Marias brother. She sent me to pick you up. She wanted to dust the place of a bit for your arrival." He turned to Janice "And you must be- Another woman. I thought I was picking up Janice Covington and Mel Pappas?" Howard scrathed his forehead in confusion.

"I'm Janice." She stepped forward and intercepted the ogling Howards line of sight. "That's Melinda."

Howard looked like he would unscrew his head from his shoulders if he could, just to get another chance to stare at Mel. "M-Melinda? I thought I was picking up a married couple or something." He smiled sheepishly and fiddled with his fingers.

"No, we're not married." Janice couldn't help smiling at the sorry sight of Howard. "So, are we standing here talking all day, or are we going?"

Janice watched Howard help Melinda into the back of the waggon, and climbed in after her and sat down next to the suit cases and Melinda. "No hay." She noted with a cheeky smile.

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"You're here!" The steady woman with dull brown hair stormed out to greet them as they arived. "Finally, I can't tell you how excited I've been to meet you!" She straightend out her apron and tucked away her hair behind her ears. "Janice Covington!" She continued to chatter away as she pulled one of the suit cases from the waggon. "And her assistant, living in this house. Oh, I'm so excited to have real celebrities here." She snagged another suit case from Janice. "Let me take those, dear. I'm strong as an ox. You must both be very tired from the trip."

"It's not so bad. I can carry those myself." Janice founde herself talking to the backside of the energetic miss Baker who made off inside with their luggage. "I hope she's not planning on unpacking for us as well." She muttered to herself.

"You two must be dying to see the rest of the place!" Maria helped herself to another set of suit cases. "It doesn't look like much from the outside, but just wait untill you get inside."

"Oh, it's beautiful." Mel dabbed her forehead lightly with a hankerchief. "Look at all those roses. O, I wonder what's on the backside!"

Janice watched Maria hurry off with the last off their luggage. "Why don't we go have a look? Our things seems to be taking care of themselves."

They climbed through the knee high grass and wild growing flowers and found themselves on a stone patio on the back side of the house. The garden was almost completely overgrown with weeds and bevildered flowers.

"So... This is going to need some work." Jan took in every scent of the growth.

"It used to be beautiful." Maria suddenly appeared from behind, closely floowed by Howard. "The apples from those trees over there where one of a kind." She pointed towards a small huddle of croocked trees. "I think they still bear fruit."

"What's that thing over there?" Melinda pointed towards a black mass behind some tall grass. "Looks like something's been burning."

"That's the old house." Howard fiddled nervously with his fingers again. "It burned down around the turn of the century. A whole family died."

Mel swallowed and picked with her necklace. "That's horrible. What happend?"

Howards eyes darted between the old ruins and Melinda. "They say it was the knight."

"A knight?" Janice gazed towards the burnt house as if she was expecting to actually se him.

"The man who used to live in that house once, around the 10th century... He was a good man, very piest. He even crusaded for the church." Howard studied his feet carefully, like just talking about the knight made him nervous. "But then when he came home, he had changed. He was still kind, but he had become so unhappy. I guess killing alot of people will do that to you. Anyway, he died in that house. The last thing he said was that God had cursed him. The villagers felt sorry for him built a statue in honor of all the good things he did."

"But then how could he have killed that familly?" Mel squeesed her necklace untill her knuckles turned white.

"That was long after his death." Maria continued the story as she adjusted her apron again. "His soul was locked into the staue, and it comes alive on the night that he died. He's been seen walking about the forrests, heading home. I supose he was just so mad that someone else had taken his house that he killed them."

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"Do you know what this place needs?" Melinda carefully bit into another strawberry, trying her best to avoid making a mess.

"Running water and electricity?" Janice smiled and stroke her finger along Melindas lipline. "It's bleeding on you."

"That would all be nice, but no." Mel shifted her position on the blanket and finished the dripping strawberry. "A green house. We could buil one on the backside."

"A green house?" Jan looked into the flame of a nearby candle. "Isn't it a little late in the season for a green house now?"

Mel picked up a cherry and dangled it infront of Jans mouth. "Well, for next spring. We can't very well build it in the winter." She smiled as Jan closed her lips around the dark red berry. "I don't like that old ruin on the backside. We could buil the green house infront of it, so I don't have to see it all the time. It gives me the chills, that place."

"It's just a ruin. You've seen plenty of them." Jan gently stroke Melindas cheekline with the tip of her fingers. "What's so special about this one?"

"It's just- I don't know. People burned alive in there. It's horrible." Mel lightly pressed Jans fingers to her face.

"You don't believe in those stories, do you?" She picked up another cherry with her free hand. "They're just ghost stories, Mel. It's not real."

"Still, it gives me the creeps." Mel looked down at the intricate patterns of the blanket she was sitting on.

"A green house, then." Jan smiled and popped the cherry into her mouth. "But I still say this place needs running water and electricity. I can't believe Maria insisted on heating water for a bath."

"Well, Xena and Gabrielle did fine without both electricity and running water. Unless you count waterfalls and rivers, but that don't really count..." She chewed carefully on another strawberry, contemplating the situation. "Do you think Gabrielle and Xena ever had someone come in and pour hot water over them while they where trying to take a bath together?"

"I hope not." Janice laughed and sat up. "This indoor picnic is awfully romantic, but it's getting a tad uncomfortable."

"It's late. Maybe it's time we get more comfortable." She smiled and stood up. "This can all be cleaned up tomorrow."

Jan took Mels hand and got on her feet. "If I'm right about Maria, she'll be here and clean up before we're even out of bed."

"Now there's a happy thought." She blew out the last candle and headed for the stairs.

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"A green house, huh?" Marias smile radiated more heat than the sun that day. "I thought you two moved out here to get some rest."

"We did." Janice dried of a trickle of sweat that made it's way down her neck. "And we've been doing alot of relaxing."

"Running around the forrest at all hours, you call that relaxing?" Maria laughed and pulled loose a dead branch from the grass beneath the apple trees. "A nice warm bath, now that's what I call heaven."

"Well, baths are nice." Janice admitted. "But we like to walk around taking in the sceneries here. Everything is so beautifull. Especially the old buildings."

"I'd supposed the two of you'd fancy those, being archeologists and all." Maria tossed the dried branch in a heap with the others. "I gather you've been to the old church then?" She squinted in the sunlight as she watched Jans reaction.

Jan didn't seem to think anything of the topic. "Yes, it's beautifull. And yes, we've been inside. The statue is breathtaking. Very impressive."

"He was an impressive man." Maria laughed nervously and hoisted up her skirts to allow her to walk through the tall grass more easily. "Too bad about the curse, that's all."

Janice planted the shovel firmly in the ground and followed Maria over to the shadow of the stone patio. "These legends scare you, don't they?" She poured a glass of water and drank slowly. "Would you tell me about them?"

Maria sat down on the edge of the patio with a glass in her hand, watching the water rage as she moved. "They say he kills whoever he meets. Nobody knows why he does it, or why he always heads home." She studied her water like she was an oracle and could predict his next killings. "I'll have to go away soon." She looked up at Janice. "My mother, she's become very ill I'm afraid. I hope it's not a bad time, with the curse closing in I mean." Her eyes where glased with nervosity.

"No, I understand." Janice fingered the edge of her glas and then put it down on the table again. "Go see your mother. You don't know how much time she has left."

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"Carefull! You don't want to trip." Janice laughed softly as she led the blindfolded Melinda through the house. "So, did you have a good day in town with Howard?"

"Yes. I'll tell you all about it when you tell me why I have to be blindfolded." Melinda smiled and staggered along, holding a tight grip around Jans arm.

"It's a suprise. So, what did the two of you do?" Janice opened the back door. "Watch your step there."

"Grocery shopping." Mel walked carefully down the patio. "Can I take it off now?"

"Almost. Just a little further. Be carefull." Jan held one arm around Melindas back to make sure she didn't trip.

Mel felt her blindfold carefully as she walked slowly over the uneven surface. "Are we on the backside? There wasn't a cobble stone path here when I left."

"That's part of the suprise." Janice smirked and stopped.

"Only part of it?" Mel smiled under her blindfold. "What else did you do, cut the grass?"

"You'll see. You can take it of now." She closed her arms around Melinda from behind.

Mel removed the blindfold to see a perfect little glass house lit up from the inside by what seemed like hundreds of candles. "My green house. You finished it for me?" She dropped the cloth once around her head on the ground. "Janice, this is the best suprise ever. It's perfect! Thank you." She opened the door and stepped inside. "Pillows?"

"And blankets. I thought we'd spend the night in our new house." Janice closed the door behind them. "How does a picnic under the stars sound?"

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Jan popped her head into the kitchen. "I'm going for a walk. Do you want to come?"

"It's late, Jan." Mel whiped the table clean for the third time. "It's too cold outside to go for a walk. It's raining."

"It's just rain." Jan leaned against the door post. "We wont melt."

"I don't want to go." Mel sat down and looked at the table surface, making herself busy trying to spot invisable dirt. "And I wish you didn't either. Do you know what today is?"

"13th of October. Nothing else." Jan pushed back her hat from her forehead. "There will be no statue out walking tonight, Mel. It's just a ghost story." She snaked her armas around Melindas waiste and planted a soft kiss on her neck. "I'll be back in an hour or two. Don't worry."

The cold night air chilled her lungs, and she filled them greedily with the scent of wet leaves. Strolling of, she soon found helself on a dark muddy path in the forrest.

Foot steps. Her heart skipped a beat. She squinted in the rain, but saw nothing.

There! No, that was nothing but the church. She walked along the slippery path, hoping to find momentary shelter from the rain. The door was opend, and she silently scolded herself, since noone but her and Mel ever visited the old church in the middle of the week.

She went inside and shut the door behind her, taking in the silent darkness. 'Might as well take a look at our famous knight,' she thought, 'and kill of any rumours.' She found a matchbox in her pocket that had barely survived the rain.

On the eight try she finally mananged to light one, and found a candle. 'Lets see this guy, then..' She walked down the aisle and reached the platform.

Nothing! She dropped the candle, and fell to her knees in seach of it. Her fingers quivered as she fought to light it again, and finally managed to produce some light. The platform was still empty. She stroke the surface with her palm, making sure she wasn't hallucinating. Mel! She dropped the candle again, but this time didn't bother to pick it up. She hurried out of the church back into the rain.

She ran for what seemed like an eternity. In her mad dash, she almost lost her footing in the slippery mud, and suddenly found herself in the strong arms of someone. "Aaaaahhhh!!!!"

"Careful. You almost ended up head first in the mud there." A soft voice spoke in the heavy rain.

"Thank you." She panted, and tried to stand up without his support. Her legs where shaking uncontrollably. "The knight!" She suddenly remembered. "I have to get home!"

"The knight?" The soft laughter nearly drowned in the downpour. "Surely you don't believe in that fairytale? What's you name, friend?"

"Janice." She suddenly felt like a big idiot. "But I saw him. He was gone! And I heard him walking past me before." She pushed back the escaped strands of hair underneath her hat.

"You saw him, and he was gone?" The tall man was starting to become visable in the damp light, and she could barely see him smiling lightly at her. "That might have been me you heard walking about earlier, Janice. I'm Jack Kleinman." He extended his hand, and she shook it carefully. "I'm the town doctor. I just came from the Bakers."

"But I was in the church, and the platform was empty." Janice persisted. "A big statue like that does not just disappear."

"And it doesn't just wander off either." Jack dried some of the rain from his face. "Come on, lets see that disappeared statue then."

They walked back to the church in silence, and arraived as the rain turned into a light trickle.

"That's odd. I'm sure I didn't bother to close the door." Janice opened the heavy door and look in her jacket for the matches. "I must have dropped the matches inside."

They made their way in and found the matches next to the candle on the floor. She lit the candle again, and held it up. The statue rested as peacefully as ever.

"There, you see?" Jack smiled. "It's right here, where it's always been."

"But it wasn't." Janice looked at the statue in disbelief. "It was gone."

"Maybe someone just moved it." Jack shrugg his shoulders, and leaned in to have a closer look at the statue. "At least someone tried. There's a finger missing." He pointed to the left hand resting on top of a gigantic sword across the chest. "It was there last sunday, I'm sure."

Janice felt the panic wash out of her body and stated to relax. Someone had been playing a joke. "I could need a drink." She sat down on a nearby bench.

"A wiskey would be good." Jack agreed. "Walking around in the middle of a rain storm gets you cold to the bone. A nice cigar and a wiskey wouldn't be too bad at all."

"Well, cigars I have none, but there's plenty of wiskey back at the house." Janice grinned. "I wouldn't mind the company."

"Neither would I." Jack smiled and opened his bag. "Howard gave me a few of these." He produced a couple of cigars. "He just became the proud father of a baby boy tonight. He's going to name him Mel. Don't know where that crazy idea came from." Jack laughed and put the cigars back into the bag again, where they would be safe from the rain untill the got inside again.

"Mel?" Janice laughed and stood up. "I can't imagine why. Well, lets be on our way then, shall we?"

The smalltalked about Howard and little Mel Baker all the way back, and suddenly found themselves in the front yard.

"-you should have seen him, he was as pale as a ghost, and I tried telling him, Howard, all newborns scream like that, it's perfectly nor-" Jacks voice trailed of and died at the sight of the house. From Jans gasp he knew she had seen it too.

The door had been pulled free from it's hinges, and was scattered in splinters across the opening. Janice rushed inside, closely followed by Jack. The insides had been gutted like a turkey. Furniture had been tossed around, and everything fragile had been shattered into little pieces.

"Mel!" Janice looked around franticly, and spotted a foot sticking out from underneath a chair. "Mel! Oh god, Mel!" She flung the chair of the limp body and hugged her tightly. "Wake up, Mel. I'm home now. Please wake up, Mel!" She cried and rocked the body gently. "Come on Mel, don't be mad at me. I promise I wont ever leave you again. Wake up!"

Jack finally managed to pull Janice of the pale woman, and calm her down a bit. He turned his attention to the body on the floor, closing her eyes to rid them of the terrified stare. He straightened out her hair and clothes, and finally loosened the tightly closed fists.

Inside her left hand he found a grey stone finger.


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