Richie's Best Friend

by dawn341

Sequel to Old Friends, New Friends. First Season. Duncan and Tessa wonders what Richie is hiding in his room.

Richie's Best Friend by Dawn Cunningham

This story takes place during the first season, shortly after the Gathering episode. For the purpose of this story, the time lag between The Gathering and An Innocent Man is several months long.

This is a sequel to my first story Old Friends, New Friends. While reading the first story is not necessary, you may wish to do so.

Standard disclaimers apply. The characters Richie Ryan, Tessa Noel and Duncan MacLeod belong to Rysher. All others belong to me.

* HL * HL * HL *

Richie's Best Friend

Tessa found Duncan in the antique store's office. He stared intently at the computer screen sitting in front of him, apparently oblivious to the fact that she had entered the room. Every few moments, he tried to type something into the computer only to have the machine beep at him.

"Duncan, we need to talk."

No response.

"Duncan, are you listening to me?"

"Hmmmm."

She stood there several moments waiting for his attention to shift from the computer screen to her. When nothing happened, she reached out and tugged on his ear. Hard.

"Ow! Tessa! Why did you do that?" He reached up and rubbed his ear.

"I wanted your attention and now I've got it," she explained.

"Well next time just say something. There's no reason to get violent."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Richie, what else? Have you noticed anything...unusual about him over the last two days?" She couldn't think of any way to describe Richie's behavior.

Duncan thought about it. It had been just over a month since he and Tessa had returned unexpectedly to the antique store only to find Richie fighting Jake Morrell, the leader of a local gang. Four other gang members had been egging on the two fighters. Duncan had stopped the fight immediately, but learning the reason for it had been more difficult. It had taken a while to convince Richie to trust him. The boy had been convinced that Duncan and Tessa would blame him for everything and send him packing. Finally, the story had come out. Jake and his gang thought they could get money from an old friend who had moved uptown. When that had failed, they had threatened Richie and more importantly Tessa. That's when the fight started.

For the first few weeks after Duncan had kicked the hoodlums out of the store, Richie had gotten little sleep. Jake had threatened to torch the antique store and the boy had recurring nightmares of being trapped in the burning building.

Duncan had tried to calm his fears, pointing out that they lived in a brick building so there was little chance of it burning down. Richie remained unconvinced. Several times, Duncan had found the boy checking out the store late at night claiming that he had heard noises. But whenever Duncan checked it out, he could never find anything wrong.

Richie became withdrawn and sullen, a big change from the smart aleck street kid with a motor mouth who had come to live with them. He lost his appetite, a true indication of just how upset he really was. Normally, the kid was a walking garbage disposal, no food safe in his path.

Unused to teenagers, Tessa and Duncan had struggled to help the boy. Tessa took the direct approach. She started spending more time in the kitchen, cooking up meals to tempt the boy. Enticing smells would come wafting into the store as she baked cookies and other desserts. Richie couldn't resist for long and soon he was consuming everything she put in front of him.

Still, the nightmares came. The dark circles under Richie's eyes grew more pronounced.

Duncan's approach was more subtle. First, he tried to get Richie to run with him each morning, figuring the exercise would do him good and make it easier for him to sleep at night. He had a hidden agenda in that, knowing the boy would become immortal some day, developing good exercise habits now would help him when that day come. Richie always seemed to have some excuse and soon Duncan stopped asking, recognizing a lost cause when he saw one.

When that didn't work, he got Richie more involved in the antique store, sending him on errands to other stores as well as the day to day running of the store. Working with the boy every day gave him a chance to try to develop a better relationship with him. Duncan thought he had started to earn the boy's trust although he still hadn't learned much about Richie's past. The boy could be tightlipped when he wanted to.

As time passed and nothing happened, Richie started to return to his normal self. The nightmares came less frequently and the boy's smile came out more often. Duncan thought they were over the worst of it so Tessa's question startled him.

"What do you mean unusual?" he questioned her.

"He's been disappearing into his room whenever there are no customers in the shop. I've heard him sneaking out early in the morning and then sneaking back in a short time later. I know he's going out at night too but I never see him leave or come back. And he spent most of this evening shut up in his room with the door locked. The other thing I've noticed," Tessa continued, "is the amount of food that seems to be disappearing from the kitchen. Unless you've developed an appetite like Richie's, he's the only one who could be taking it. But I don't see how he could possibly be eating it all himself."

Duncan thought about what Tessa had just told him. He remembered something that had happened earlier that day. He'd seen the boy coming back from his room, his face slightly flushed. At the time, he thought that maybe Richie was sick and didn't want anyone to know. However, the flush had faded and the boy seemed like his normal self so he hadn't pursued the issue.

Now he could only come up with one conclusion and he wasn't very happy about it. It sounded like Richie was sneaking someone in and out of the store. Maybe even having that someone stay here. Knowing Richie, that someone was probably female. He wondered how the boy could possibly think that he could get away with it.

"I'll have a talk with him, Tessa." Duncan shot a last longing look to the computer in front of him before getting up and heading for Richie's room. The computer would have to wait. Tessa followed him down the hallway.

Duncan tapped on the boy's door. "Richie, are you in there?"

"Yeah, um... just a minute," came the muffled answer.

Duncan reached for the doorknob only to discover that Tessa was right. The door was locked. He knocked again. "Richie, open this door, now!"

"Just a minute. I'm...I'm not dressed."

Suspicious noises came from the room, the sounds of feet moving back and forth, something dropping to the floor, whispered words too low to understand. He strained to hear through the door, trying to figure out what the boy was doing. He exchanged a puzzled look with Tessa. He debated knocking a third time when he finally heard the door unlock.

Richie opened the door several inches and peered out at Duncan. "Did you...um...want something, Mac?"

"We want to come in and talk to you, Richie." Duncan started to push the door open further.

Richie got a panicked look on his face and maintained a deathgrip on the door. "Uh...why don't I come out there. The um...room's a mess."

Duncan steadily pushed the door open. "So what's new. Your room is always a mess. Are you trying to hide something?"

"Who me? What would I have to hide?" Richie swallowed nervously as he backed up into the bedroom.

MacLeod glanced around the room. As predicted, the room was a mess. Dirty clothes lay scattered around on the floor. Clean clothes were piled helter-skelter on top of the dresser waiting to be put away. Some of the piles looked like Richie must have pawed through them looking for something to wear.

It was the bed that convinced MacLeod that his fears were well founded. The covers looked like a wrestling match had taken place recently on the bed. The final condemning piece of evidence was several strands of blonde hair he saw on one of the deep blue pillowcases. The hair, too long and too straight to belong to Richie, too short to be one of Tessa's, was all the proof Duncan needed.

Duncan picked up the hair and turned to Richie. "Do you want to tell us something?"

Richie stared at the hair as if it would reach out and bite him. His mind and his mouth kicked into overdrive. "It must...um...have been on my clothes. From some customer. That's right, it must be some customer's hair and it got on my clothes and..."

"Richie," Duncan interrupted the boy's rambling. A noise from the closet distracted him for a moment. He turned back to the boy. "What was that?" he asked. Apparently, whoever was visiting Richie was getting impatient.

"What was what?" Richie tried his most innocent look.

Duncan could see that Richie wasn't going to tell him the truth so he headed for the closet, determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Somehow, Richie beat him there. He had never seen the boy move so fast unless food was involved.

"Mac, you don't want to look in there. Can't a guy have some privacy around here?" Richie looked like a drowning man going down for the last time.

"Richie, either you open that door or I will," Duncan threatened.

Richie looked over at Tessa hoping for some support. She stood silently watching the confrontation between the two of them. Seeing her frown made it quite clear that no help would come from that quarter.

"Okay. Okay. I'll open the door. But you had better back up, Mac. I don't want you scaring him." Richie conceded defeat.

{Him?} Duncan was stunned by the boy's admission.

Richie slowly opened the closet door, at the same time he started speaking softly. "It's okay. You can come out now. Nobody's going to hurt you."

Duncan and Tessa watched in stunned silence as Richie's guest slowly emerged from the closet and stood by Richie.

"His name is Sam," Richie said somewhat defiantly.

Tessa found her voice first. "Richie! How could you? I want him out of here...NOW!" She stared in horror at the Golden Retriever standing by Richie, tail wagging slowly. "I won't have a flea bitten mongrel in my house."

Richie threw his arms defensively around Sam's neck. "He doesn't have fleas." Sam started to scratch. "Well, not many. And he's not a mongrel!"

Duncan looked closely at the dog. Richie was right about that. The dog looked like a pure bred Golden Retriever. "Where did you get him, Richie?"

"I found him hiding in an alley near here. He was cold and wet and hungry and scared. He was trying to find food in some garbage cans. I don't think he has a home. Can I keep him?" Richie appealed to Duncan. Tessa was still glaring at the dog.

Duncan briefly wondered how close the similarities were between the dog's life and Richie's life before they had taken him in. "Well..."

"No. No. No. You can't keep him!" Tessa jumped into the conversation.

Richie could see that Tessa was the one he would have to convince. He knew Mac would agree if she did. He stood up and turned to her. "Pleeease, Tessa. I'll take care of him. You won't have to do anything. I'll make sure he won't be any trouble. Pleeease." His eyes pleaded with her. Sam's eyes pleaded with her too.

Duncan could see that Tessa was starting to crumble under the pressure. She glanced over at him for support but he just shrugged his shoulders. After 400 years, he knew what battles to stay away from. "Richie, he's so...big. He'll frighten all the customers," Tessa tried to explain. "And if he gets into the shop, think how much damage he could do."

"I could train him. You know, teach him to stay out the shop. He's real smart and I know he'll learn fast. Pleeease, Tessa." Richie glanced down at Sam. "I've never had a dog before." The last sentence was barely audible.

Sam chose that moment to sit back on his haunches and raise his front paws in a dog's traditional begging position.

{That should just about do it,} MacLeod thought. He struggled to keep from grinning. Richie and Sam were quite a combination.

Tessa glared at Duncan one last time. She could see his lips twitching as he tried not to smile. For a moment, her own lips struggled as she glanced back at the pair in front of her, but she wasn't through being mad. "Very well," she finally said, "he can stay but..." Her words were cut off as Richie impulsively hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"Did you hear that, Sam. You can stay!" Richie hugged the dog as Sam licked his face.

Duncan and Tessa stared at each other in amazement while the boy's attention was on the dog. While Richie never actually flinched when touched, he always seemed bothered by physical contact, moving away from whoever touched him. He always seemed to maintain a distance between himself and anyone else. Duncan and Tessa had discussed it one night, coming to the conclusion that the boy had possibly been abused at some point in his life. Now to see Richie actually initiate physical contact was a momentous turn in their relationship.

Tessa pulled herself back together. "Just a minute, Richie. There are going to be certain rules that will have to be followed if that dog stays here."

"Rules? Like what?" Richie looked suspiciously at Tessa.

"He's not to go into the antique store for starters," she explained. "And dogs sleep on floors not on beds." She saw Richie glance guiltily at the bed in question. "Also, dogs eat dog food, not people food."

"Yes, Tessa," Richie agreed.

Tessa turned to leave the room but one more thought came to her. "And get him a flea collar," she tossed back over her shoulder as she left the room.

* HL * HL * HL

Duncan walked over to Sam, knelt down and looked him over. Sam slowly wagged his tail as Duncan petted his head. "He's a fine looking dog, Richie, but he's not a puppy and I don't think he has been living on the streets for that long. He may have an owner looking for him."

Richie looked unhappy at that thought. "He might have run away from someone who was cruel to him." He refused to meet Duncan's eyes.

Duncan again wondered if that was past experience speaking. "Maybe. I think you should check out the pound and animal shelters anyway to see if anyone has reported him missing. Maybe put up some flyers in grocery stores."

"But, Mac..."

"Think about it, Richie. There could be some boy or girl out there crying themselves to sleep wondering what happened to their dog. Think about how you would feel if Sam disappeared tomorrow."

"Yeah, Mac, you're right." He still didn't look too happy about it.

"We'll take Sam over to a vet tomorrow morning and get him checked out," Duncan continued. "And then we'll get everything you need to take care of a dog, including food and a flea collar." The two of them exchanged grins.

"Okay, Mac. But I should pay for everything..." Richie slowed down as he mentally calculated how much money he had. "Well, maybe I'll need a loan, but honest, I'll pay you back. I'll work extra hours in the shop or get another job or..."

Duncan was surprised at the boy's offer. "We'll figure something out, Richie. Maybe we should share costs since Sam can now be part of the security system around here. Maybe he'll even stop the next teenage thief before he breaks in." Duncan couldn't pass up the chance to tease Richie.

Richie flushed a little, thinking back to the night when he had tried to break into the shop. "Better a dog chasing you off instead of a sword carrying immortal," he shot back. "It'd be easier to explain."

"There's one more thing you are going to have to do if you want to keep Sam." Duncan decided to take advantage of the situation. "A dog this size needs lots of exercise especially if it lives indoors. He will need daily runs in the park to keep him healthy."

"Daily runs?" Richie groaned. He thought about it for a moment. "He could run with you, Mac," he suggested hopefully.

"No. Your dog, your responsibility. I'll be more than happy to run with you though. There's a lot involved with keeping a dog. Are you ready for it, Richie?"

"Yeah, Mac. I think so."

"Okay. Why don't you get ready for bed. I'm going to try one more time to get that computer program to work." Duncan left the room, missing the ensuing conversation.

Richie had turned back to Sam and hugged him again. "Okay, Sam, listen up. You've got to stay out of trouble, see? If you don't, they'll kick both of us out. Understand?"

Sam licked Richie's face. An hour later, Duncan conceded defeat. The computer had won. Thank goodness it wasn't immortal, otherwise it would have taken his head and his quickening. Duncan grinned at the thought of lightening bolts shooting into the computer. Shutting lights out as he went, he headed for the bedrooms. He paused outside of Richie's door and listened. No sounds. He quietly opened the door and peered inside.

From the dim light in the hallway, Duncan could see two figures in the bed. Richie's arm was curled over the dog's back. Two blond heads rested side by side on the pillow. Sam briefly raised his head and wagged his tail before laying back down. When Duncan looked over at Richie's face, he could feel the hot sting of tears in his eyes.

He looked so young and innocent. The boy's lips curved upward in a slight smile. Duncan wondered if the boy was dreaming or if he had been so happy as he fell asleep that the smile had remained. If Duncan hadn't known better, he would never have been able to guess that the boy had ever suffered any hardships in his young life. Carefully he shut the door and headed for his own room.

Tessa, still awake, lay reading a book in bed. When Duncan came into the room she looked up and smiled at him. "Were you checking on Richie?" she asked. "I thought I heard his door open."

"Yes, he's sound asleep. Somehow, I doubt if he will have any nightmares tonight."

"Sam wasn't sleeping on the bed, was he?"

Duncan turned his back to Tessa as he got ready for bed. He didn't know how to answer that question. He didn't want to lie to Tessa but he also didn't want to get Richie in trouble.

"Duncan?"

Duncan turned around. "Listen, Tessa, it's your rule, you enforce it. I'm not going to play the bad guy in this situation." He went to his side of bed and started to climb in next to her.

"Fine, I'll handle it. I'm not going to let him start breaking the rules the very first night." She flounced out of bed, grabbed her robe and stalked from the room.

A few minutes later, she reappeared in the doorway, her hands wiping at tears on her face. "Well, maybe one night won't hurt anything." She climbed back in bed.

"Thank you, Tessa," Duncan said as he kissed her. He shut the lights out and pulled her close to him intent on thanking her in a much more personal way.

* HL * HL * HL

As the days passed, Sam quickly became a part of the routine around the antique store. Sam adored Richie and the feeling was mutual. Whenever possible, Sam would be by Richie's side. Otherwise, Sam usually drifted to Tessa's side, watching her for hours as she worked in her studio.

Tessa soon changed her mind about Sam as her fears concerning the damage he could do in the antique store never came to pass. Granted, she hadn't been too happy when Sam had escaped from the torture chamber known as a bathtub and fled through the living area flinging water and soap as he went. It had taken the combined efforts of Richie and Mac to get him back in the tub and the bath complete. Richie then spent several hours cleaning up the mess that Sam had made. The fact that Richie felt the need to apologize to Tessa every five minutes while doing so had made the job take much longer than it should have.

One afternoon, Duncan caught Tessa breaking one of her own rules. He had come into the kitchen unexpectedly and found her feeding Sam part of her sandwich.

"Tessa, what happened to dogs eat dog food?" Duncan teased her.

Tessa looked up guiltily. "When he looks at me with those big brown eyes, I can't resist. And he looked so hungry."

"Tessa, he's already consumed a huge bowl of dog food this morning. I never thought I would say this, but I think we've found something whose appetite may actually exceed Richie's."

"You're right. Just don't tell Richie that I was doing this."

"Do as I say, not as I do?" Duncan continued to tease her.

"Why are you carrying around one shoe?" Tessa decided it was time to change the subject.

Duncan frowned down at the object in his hand. "I can't find the other one. I've looked everywhere. Have you seen it?"

"Have you tried Richie's room?"

"Richie's room?" Duncan looked puzzled. "Why would my shoe be in his room?"

"Because Sam likes to chew on leather." Tessa smirked.

Duncan looked appalled at Tessa then at Sam. He quickly left the room and returned minutes later, holding the mangled shoe in his hand. "Sam..." he growled at the dog, waving the shoe in his hand. Sam slunk behind Tessa's chair seeking protection.

"Now, Duncan, you can't blame poor Sam for doing what comes naturally. It was your fault for leaving it some place where he could get to it."

Duncan stared at Tessa, not quite believing she would defend the dog. Unable to think of anything to say, he left the room, shaking his head in disgust, and headed for the bedroom to finish changing clothes for a business appointment he had that afternoon. He had already laid out a shirt that he intended to wear on the bed. He went to the closet to find another pair of shoes. Duncan turned back around just in time to catch a glimpse of a plumed tail disappearing through the partially opened bedroom door. He reached for his shirt but discovered it was missing. "Sam! Come back here! Now!" Duncan stormed after the dog.

He found Richie and Sam in the living room having a tug of war struggle with his shirt. "Sam, drop that right now," Duncan said. The dog recognized the tone of authority in MacLeod's voice and obeyed. Once again, he sought refuge behind the nearest person.

Richie didn't look very happy about being between Duncan and the object of his wrath. "I'm real sorry, Duncan. I've been trying to train him to pick up my dirty clothes and put them in the laundry basket. I saw it in a movie and I guess he just got a little confused. I'll make sure he doesn't do it again. I promise." Richie examined Duncan's shirt carefully. "See, the shirt isn't torn or anything." He cautiously handed the shirt to Duncan.

Duncan held onto his temper with great difficulty. He had heard the touch of panic in Richie's voice as well as seen the flash of fear in his eyes. He knew Richie still feared being sent away but couldn't think of any way to reassure the boy that it wouldn't happen. Words weren't enough, he had probably heard them many times before. He took the badly wrinkled shirt from Richie. It would have to be laundered before it would be wearable again. He sighed. "It's all right, Richie. No permanent damage done."

He saw the relief flood the boy's face and was glad he had managed to say the right thing to assuage his fears at least for now. He headed back to the bedroom, this time securely closing the doors behind him. A dog picking up dirty clothes, what would Richie think of next? Leave it to Richie to expend more energy trying to train Sam to do his chores than it would have taken him to do them himself. He found himself irrationally wondering if Richie and Sam laid awake at night thinking of new ways to torment him.

On the other hand, he knew that he would probably have put up with worse. The changes in Richie since Sam's arrival were amazing. The boy seemed to be in a perpetually cheerful mood. Nothing could remove the smile from his face, not even the most mundane chores he was assigned to do. Well, almost nothing. He definitely was not a morning person and usually had to be dragged from his bed each morning to take Sam for his morning run. Duncan thought back to the first time they went running.

"Rise and shine, Richie," Duncan called cheerfully from the bedroom door. "Time to go running."

Richie managed to open one eye for a moment. "The sun's not even up yet," he groaned and buried his head back into the pillow.

"Yes it is. If you could manage to open your eyes far enough, you would see it."

Sam seemed to sense something unusual was happening and joined the fray. He seized the bed covers in his mouth and pulled them off Richie. When that got no response, he put his cold nose on Richie's neck, the only piece of bare skin he could find.

Richie yelped in shock and bolted upright in the bed. Sam took this as a signal to fetch his leash and brought it over to the bed. Richie scowled at him for a moment and then at Duncan grinning in the door. "Okay. Okay. I get the picture." He started to get out of bed.

Duncan headed for the kitchen but managed to catch part of a mumbled comment. Something about cruel and unusual punishment. His grin widened as he headed for the coffee pot.

Richie hadn't done too badly that first day, although by the end of the run, he was panting as hard as Sam was. Each day he got better and Duncan decided that tomorrow he would push the boy to go further.

He finished dressing and headed off to his appointment.

* HL * HL * HL

Rinnnggg. Rinnnggg. The sound of a telephone intruded into the silence of the night.

Duncan fumbled for the phone by the bed. "Hello," he managed to mumble. Silence. "Hello," he repeated. Still silence. Duncan flung the phone down in disgust. His eyes sought the alarm clock. Two A.M.

"Who was it?" Tessa mumbled from her side of the bed.

"Wrong number. Go back to sleep." She complied. Duncan watched her sleeping peacefully next to him but he found himself unable to sleep.

He found himself thinking back over the last month since Sam had moved in. The dog had become a link between Richie and the other two inhabitants in the shop, making it easier to relate to each other.

Just last weekend, the four of them had piled into the T-bird and found a remote park to have a picnic lunch in. Duncan grinned at the memory of Sam and Richie playing Frisbie. The dog had an amazing knack at catching the flying disk but not at returning it. Half of the time, Richie had to play tug of war with Sam to get the Frisbie back. The rest of the time, Richie had to chase Sam around the park trying to retrieve it. Tessa had joined the game and Duncan had watched the two of them laughing and giggling as they tried to outdo each other's throws, pleased to see how well they were getting along. Eventually, they dragged him into the game too and the afternoon had passed too quickly.

Richie's nightmares were a thing of the past and Duncan was determined to keep them from returning. He didn't want the kid to know about his growing concerns as events that had been happening over the last two weeks kept piling up.

Individually, they didn't amount to much. First had been the graffiti sprayed over the front door. Since the wall in the alley was already covered with it, it hadn't been too hard to write it off as a prank. The next day, Tessa discovered a flat tire on her car. The mechanic couldn't find any reason for it to be flat. A broken window in the back and the growing amount of wrong number phone calls just added to the list. Tessa had complained that some of the calls were the heavy breather types and some were just plain obscene. Duncan had taken to answering the phone all of the time to spare her those calls.

He had no proof but he was afraid that Jake and his gang were making good on their promises to make Richie pay. He should have handled it when it first happened, but he hadn't believed they would ever follow through with their threats. He had spent a fruitless afternoon yesterday, trying to track down the gang. But nobody would give him any information. They all lived in fear of Jake and what he would do to anyone who talked.

Duncan sighed. He would probably have to enlist Richie's help. He would be able to get more information than Duncan could from the people in the area. He was just afraid that it would be a major setback in his recovery. No, he decided, better to keep trying by himself for a while. He rolled over, snuggled up to Tessa and soon fell back to sleep.

* HL * HL * HL

Two nights later, the sound of a dog barking intruded into the silence of the night. Sam.

Duncan stumbled out of bed, reached for his sword and headed for Richie's room to investigate. As he approached the door, he could hear the dog scratching at the door. He could also hear Richie's voice trying to calm the dog down.

"Sam! Be quiet! You'll wake everyone up." The dog kept up his barking. "Do you want to get us kicked out of here?"

Duncan shook his head at that comment. He tapped on the door and opened it. "Richie, are you all right?" Sam squeezed through the opening and dashed for Tessa's workshop. Duncan and Richie looked questioningly at each other and then followed the dog.

As they approached Tessa's workshop, sounds drifted back to them. Sam growling, a cry of pain from a human, the sounds of a scuffle, then a whimper from Sam. It took all of Duncan's strength to keep Richie back when they heard the whimper. Holding his sword in readiness, Duncan peered into the workshop, just in time to see several people fleeing through the back door.

Still cautious, he slowly moved into the workshop. Sam lay on the floor but when he saw Duncan, he slowly rose to his feet and came to him. Duncan gave him a quick pat and sent him towards Richie while he headed for the door. He looked outside, but there was no sign of the intruders. A crowbar lay on the cement outside, an indication of how they got into the shop.

He turned back into the shop and assessed the damage. Suddenly, he became aware of the gas fumes filling the air. Two gas cans sat on the floor, one on its side, gasoline still trickling from its mouth. He quickly set it upright and noticed it was almost empty. He nudged the other can with his foot, not wanting to destroy any fingerprints on the can. It was still heavy, so they must not have had a chance to use it before they were interrupted. The rest of the gasoline had been splashed around the workshop, over Tessa's workbench and onto the walls. Duncan shuddered at the thought of what one match or spark would do. Especially with the acetylene tanks that Tessa used for her metalworking standing in the middle of the shop.

"I've called the police," Tessa spoke from the doorway.

He could see her shivering in reaction and went over and enclosed her in his arms. "It's over. They're gone," he comforted her.

"Thanks to Sam. Who knows how bad it could have been if he hadn't been here. We might have been..." She shuddered, unable to say the words.

"Don't even think about that, Tessa." He turned towards Richie who was still kneeling by Sam. "How is Sam?"

"He seems okay. I think the bastard kicked him."

Duncan went over and examined Sam. Other than a little whimper when MacLeod pressed against his ribs, the dog seemed fine. "He's fine but we'll take him to the vet once the clinic is open just to be sure," he reassured the boy.

"I knew Jake would be back. I should have tracked him down and... and..."

"And done what, Richie?" Duncan asked. "There were five of them and only one of you. What could you have done?"

"I don't know. Something." Richie scowled at MacLeod.

"Richie, you have to know which fights to walk away from. If you had gone after them, you would have been hurt or maybe killed." Duncan's mind flinched at the thought. "What would that have accomplished?"

"You would have gone after them."

"Maybe. But I'm also older and I've been practicing martial arts for centuries. I probably could have handled them but I still would have hesitated going up against five opponents with unknown weapons and skills unless it were absolutely necessary."

"So they're going to get away with this?" Richie stared at Duncan in disbelief.

"No. They've crossed the line. It's now a police matter. We'll let them handle it."

"Yeah, right, the police." Richie gave a sarcastic laugh.

"They managed to catch you, didn't they?" Duncan reached out and ruffled the boy's hair.

Richie ducked away from MacLeod's hand and grinned. "Yeah, they got lucky that night."

"Well, maybe they'll get lucky again." Duncan felt relief, seeing Richie smile. He wanted Richie to cool down so he wouldn't do anything stupid like hunting down Jake's gang by himself. Through the window, he could see a police car pull up outside. He sent Tessa and Richie into the living room and headed out to talk to the officers.

Forty minutes later, he ushered Lieutenant Wilcox into the living room. Duncan introduced him to Tessa and Richie and then turned to the boy. "Richie, the Lieutenant wants to ask you some questions about your run-in with Jake and his gang."

Richie looked the Lieutenant over carefully. The man, in his late forties, overweight and dressed in a ill-fitting suit, was too similar to other officers that Richie had tangled with. A stubborn look crossed his face and he turned away from the officer with a snort.

"Richie," Duncan growled, sending the boy a look threatening retribution if he failed to cooperate.

Richie recognized that look and decided to reconsider his attitude. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything that happened that night between you and the Blue Devils gang. I need as much detail about it as possible."

Richie talked for more than an hour. Several times, he paused and glanced at Tessa and Duncan before continuing. While he had told them some of the story, he had never told them all of the details and was uncertain how they would react. He kept remembering the fear he had felt that night as well as the shame. Fear of being hurt, of Tessa being hurt, of being sent away yet again. Shame in not being able to protect himself, in letting the gang push him around, in letting MacLeod and Tessa see what kind of friends he had.

At some point in his recitation, Tessa came and sat by him. When she put her arm around his shoulders, he found it easier to continue. For once, he didn't pull away from the comforting touch.

After Richie had finished, the Lieutenant spent several minutes reviewing his notes and asking for clarification on some points. "Why didn't you report this when it happened?"

"That was my decision," Duncan answered. "I didn't think they would follow through with their threats. I guess I was wrong."

"Did you actually see them in the workshop tonight?"

"No. I just caught a glimpse of them as they ran out."

"Then you can't be certain it was the same boys?"

"Who else could it be?" Richie interrupted.

Wilcox glared at the boy. "We need proof to press charges. Either an eyewitness or physical evidence to tie them to the scene of the crime. Hopefully, they've left fingerprints behind. If not, I'm afraid we won't be able to make any charges stick."

Their conversation was interrupted by the phone ringing. Duncan went to answer it, wondering who would be calling at 5:00 AM. He brought the cordless phone back into the room and handed it to Richie. "She says her name is Suzie and she wants to talk to you."

Richie took the phone from Duncan with a puzzled look on his face. "Hello." The others watched as he briefly listened to the other person and they were shocked when Richie practically yelled into the phone, "Listen, scumball, you won't get away with this..."

Both Duncan and Wilcox quickly understood who Richie was talking to. Tessa took the police lieutenant into the kitchen to another phone and Duncan stood next to Richie as they shared the phone the boy was holding. They caught the tail end of Jake's demands. "...either you bring us ten thousand dollars at three o'clock this afternoon or we'll pay another visit to the shop after we get rid of that dog. A little poisoned meat should do the trick." Jake laughed.

Duncan signaled to Richie to agree.

"All right, I'll do what you want. Where should we bring the money?"

"Meet us by the loading docks at Fifth and Lopez, and come alone. If we see your friend around or the cops, the deal's off." The phone cut off.

Wilcox came back into the room. "This is just what we need to make this case. Richie, we'll put a wire on you and get everything on tape."

"Wait a minute," Duncan stepped in. "I don't like the idea of Richie doing that. It's too dangerous. I'll go instead."

"Mac, you heard him. If you show up, they'll split and we'll be right back where we started from." Richie turned to the officer. "What do I need to do?"

"We will arrange for some marked bills for you to take to the payoff. You will be wearing a wire and we'll be able to hear everything that's said. Try to get him to admit to as much as possible, pay him off and then leave. We will arrest them once you are safely out of reach."

Duncan still wasn't happy about the idea, although he had felt a surge of pride listening to Richie agreeing to meet with the gang. "What if something goes wrong? We already know Jake carries a knife, he may also have a gun."

"We'll have plenty of officers there to back us up. At the first sign of trouble, we will take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that Richie doesn't get hurt."

"You had better make certain he doesn't get hurt," Duncan glared at the officer. "I'm going to hold you personally responsible should anything go wrong."

Wilcox swallowed nervously and took a step back. "Noth...Nothing will go wrong." He turned back to Richie. "We will pick you up at 2:30 and take you to the meeting place. We'll need a little time to get the wire in place but we can do that on the way. Be sure to wear a loose fitting shirt and jacket." He turned and left the shop.

Tessa looked at Richie and Duncan. "Well, I guess none of us are going to be able to go back to sleep. How about some breakfast?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Duncan responded. He put an arm around Richie's shoulder as they followed Tessa toward the kitchen. "After we eat, we can start cleaning up the workshop. That should keep us occupied for a while."

Richie just groaned.

Duncan kept Richie busy the whole day figuring it would give the boy less chance to worry about the meeting that afternoon. There had been the visit by the insurance adjuster, the trip to the vet's office as well as cleaning up the shop. He had then roped the boy into doing an inventory check of the store. Finally, he sent Richie off to change his clothes and they all sat in the living room waiting for Lieutenant Wilcox to show up. Richie sat on the couch nervously petting Sam.

Duncan watched him for several minutes. "You don't have to do this, Richie," he said. "We can figure out some other way."

"No, it's my fault that this happened..."

"How do you figure?" Duncan asked him.

"If you hadn't taken me in, they would never have come here," Richie replied.

"Well, then I guess it must be my fault because I took you in," Duncan grinned at Richie. "You can't blame yourself for what other people do."

Richie thought about this for a while. "I guess so. Either way, I still want to do this."

"Just promise me you will be careful," Tessa chimed in. "I don't want you to get hurt." She hugged Richie briefly.

"I'll be real careful, Tessa. I don't want to get hurt either." Richie grinned at her and returned the hug.

They heard a knock on the door and Tessa went to let Wilcox in. He looked Richie over carefully. "Those clothes should do just fine. We had better get going."

"I'm going too," Duncan stated.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that. There will be no room in the surveillance van and if the gang spots you hanging around, it could blow the whole deal."

"I'll be fine, Mac."

"Just watch your back, Richie."

"Always do." With a jaunty wave to cover his nervousnous, Richie followed Wilcox out to the van.

Duncan waited until the van pulled out of the alley before retrieving his car keys and heading for the T-bird.

"Duncan, where are you going?" Tessa asked.

"I want to be there just in case," he replied.

"You heard what the Lieutenant said."

"Trust me, Tessa. I'll make sure the gang doesn't spot me. I'll be careful." While Duncan knew Richie couldn't actually die should something go wrong, he was determined to keep the boy mortal for as long as possible. He just prayed nothing would go wrong.

Duncan quickly drove to the meeting place. He parked his car several blocks away and cautiously stole closer to the loading docks. He could only see three of the gang members standing around. He looked around and discovered one of the gang members hiding behind a trash bin, gun in hand. Carefully, he crept up behind him, caught him in a choke hold until the boy passed out. Before he had a chance to find the other missing member, he saw Richie heading for the loading docks.

He debated for several moments before deciding it would be better to locate the other missing member rather than try to get close enough to help Richie should he need it. It took several minutes of searching before he located and disabled the other gang member. He turned to see what Richie and the other members of the gang were doing just in time to see Jake pull a gun and shoot Richie in the chest twice.

He watched in stunned horror as Richie's body jerked back with the impact of each bullet and then saw the boy fall to the ground. He heard someone scream Richie's name and then realized it was his voice doing the screaming. More shots rang out and it took Duncan a few moments to realize that the police had opened fire on the gang members.

When the shooting was done, Duncan could see all three gang members on the ground. Jake was definitely dead, eyes staring blindly into space. One boy was clutching his arm but didn't look too seriously injured and he couldn't tell how serious the other boy's injuries were.

He headed for Richie's body, certain that the boy would be dead. He was already plotting how to retrieve his body from the morgue, when he saw Richie sit up. Duncan groaned to himself as he wondered how he was going to explain this to Wilcox who had already reached Richie and was helping him to his feet.

Wilcox spotted MacLeod first. "What are you doing here?"

"Just helping out." Duncan informed him of the location of the other two gang members and Wilcox sent officers to pick them up. Duncan couldn't figure out why Wilcox was being so calm about seeing someone come back to life. Then he realized that the buzz he was feeling from Richie was that of a pre-immortal. In confusion he turned to Richie. "I don't understand. I saw you take two bullets..." He reached out a hand to touch Richie as if unable to believe his eyes.

"Yeah, and boy did it hurt," Richie replied. He opened his jacket and and pulled two bullet slugs from the bullet proof vest he was wearing. "Hey, can I keep these for souvenirs?"

Duncan reached out and hugged him tightly. "If you ever scare me like that again, I swear..." He turned back to Wilcox. "Have you got everything you need to lock up these animals?" He gestured towards the gang members.

"Yes, thanks to Richie, we have plenty of evidence."

"Can we go now?" Duncan knew Tessa would be worrying the whole time they were gone and he was anxious to get back to her.

"Just a minute." Wilcox helped Richie out of the vest and removed the wire. "We'll contact you about testifying. If you plan to leave town, please be sure to let us know."

* HL * HL * HL

Duncan and Richie headed back towards the T-bird.

"It's over, isn't it?" Richie asked Mac.

"Yes. Jake's dead and the two oldest ones will be headed for prison. I don't think we have anything more to worry about. The younger two will probably end up in juvie. Either way, without Jake's influence, they won't be a threat."

"Good."

"What is it, Richie?" Duncan asked as he noticed the worried look on Richie's face.

Richie hesitated for a moment before stopping MacLeod and looking into his face. "Is it wrong to be glad that someone is dead?"

"You mean Jake?"

"Yes."

Duncan thought about Richie's question. "What you are feeling is probably more relief that he is dead instead of gladness. And no it's not wrong to feel that way. It's a shame that his life was wasted but he made the choice. If it's any comfort, I feel the same way too." He watched the worried look disappear from the boy's face. "Now let's go home."

Duncan and Tessa took Richie to a fancy restaurant that night to celebrate. Even Sam got a treat in the form of a doggie bag although the waiter had acted appalled at having to provide one.

Life quickly returned to normal around the shop. Until that fateful day two weeks later. Duncan came out of the office when he heard the bell over the door ring. A young woman stood there, pushing a wheelchair with a girl, about ten years old, sitting in it. Duncan noticed a piece of paper in her hand. It looked like one of the flyers he and Richie had put up when trying to locate Sam's owners.

Before he had a chance to say anything, a blur of gold passed him by. He watched as the blur turned into Sam, not only his tail wagging but his whole body wagging in sheer ecstasy.

"Taffy!" the young girl cried. Duncan watched in shock as Sam tried to crawl into the young girl's lap as well as completely wipe her face off with his tongue.

Duncan could see Richie standing like a statue watching from the doorway leading to the living area. Tessa appeared behind him but she too seemed unable to say or do anything.

Duncan turned to the young woman. "I take it that Sam belongs to you?"

"Sam?" the woman looked puzzled. "Oh, you mean Taffy. Yes, he does. I can't believe we finally found him. How can I thank you?" Tears swam in her eyes as she watched her daughter's happiness.

"How did you lose him?" Duncan asked curiously.

"We were in a car accident between here and Portland. Taffy must have gotten frightened and ran off. Don't ask me how he came to be up here. We checked all around the area where the accident occurred but had no luck. Cindy, my daughter, was badly injured and not knowing what happened to her dog has slowed her recovery down. We were in town seeing a specialist and stopped at a grocery store to pick up some supplies. I saw your flyer and decided it couldn't hurt to at least check it out. I'm so glad we did. I'm still finding it hard to believe."

Tessa had managed to move into the shop by this time. "It's obvious that those two," she indicated the dog and the girl, "love each other very much. I'm glad you found him, but we'll all be sad to see him go. He's become a part of our family." Tessa's eyes filled with unshed tears. She bent down and gave Sam a last hug. "Richie, don't you want to say good-bye to Sam?"

Richie continued to stand like a statue. He finally shook his head no and disappeared back into the living area of the store. Duncan knew there would be problems there, but first he walked the lady out to her car and said his good-byes to Sam there. When he came back inside, he found Tessa crying. He put his arms around her but refused to let the tears he felt burning in his own eyes fall.

Finally, he stood back and released Tessa. "We had better go talk to Richie." Together they went to search for the boy. They found him sitting on the living room couch, staring into space, one of Sam's toys in his hand. Tessa sat down beside him and put her arms around him. He quickly pulled back so she contented herself with lightly rubbing his arm.

"Richie, I'm really sorry..." Duncan didn't know what else to say. He wasn't prepared for Richie's vehement reply.

"It's all your fault," Richie practically yelled at Duncan. "You made me put up those flyers. If we hadn't, I'd still have Sam. I hate you!" He rose from the couch and started to bolt from the room.

Duncan grabbed his arm and pulled him back around to face him. "Yes, you'd still have Sam. But what about that little girl in the wheelchair? Is all you can think about is what Richie wants? Forget about anyone else? Just so you can have whatever you want?" Duncan realized he had lost his temper but couldn't seem to stop the words from coming. "Well here's a newsflash. You're not the only person in the world. Sam was never yours. He belonged to that little girl and that's where he belongs now."

Richie glared at him before wrenching his arm free and fleeing to his room. Duncan and Tessa heard the door slam. Tessa slid her arms around Duncan to comfort him.

"Oh, God, Tessa. I really blew it. I shouldn't have said that."

"Just give him some time, Duncan."

"He's probably packing his bags now."

"I'll go talk to him. Maybe he will listen to me," Tessa offered.

But Richie refused to unlock the door for her. He also refused to come out for dinner. Duncan was just grateful, he was still there. He decided to give the boy some time by himself before he apologized. He and Tessa discussed getting Richie a puppy while they both pushed their own dinners around on their plates.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, Duncan."

"Why not?" It seemed like the perfect solution to Duncan.

"Because it wouldn't be the same. Richie loved Sam and you just can't replace him with a new dog and hope it would be the same. You can replace inanimate objects easily but to try to replace Sam would be like saying one dog is as good as another."

"I guess you're right. But if he asks for one?"

"Then I would definitely agree. I can put up with another dog if that's what Richie wants." Tessa smiled at Duncan.

Several hours later, Duncan sat in the darkened living room, the only light coming from the fireplace. Tessa had long since gone to bed but he was still trying to figure out what to say to Richie. He heard Richie's door open quietly. Figuring that the boy was going to sneak out of the shop and disappear out of their lives, he was surprised to see him come into the living room and sit down across from Duncan. Even in the dim light, MacLeod could see traces of tears on the boy's face.

They stared at each other for several minutes before they both started talking at the same time.

"I'm sorry," came out simultaneously. They both stopped and then laughed nervously together. Duncan wondered which of them was more nervous at this point. He was afraid of saying the wrong thing and driving the boy away.

Duncan started again. "I'm sorry, Richie. I should never have lost my temper like that. I knew you were upset about Sam but so was I."

"No, Mac, you were right. I was only thinking of myself. It's just that Sam meant so much to me. You couldn't possibly understand."

"Why don't you try to help me understand," Duncan prompted.

"Growing up like I did, I quickly learned that making mistakes or asking for too much or even getting sick usually meant getting sent back to the orphanage. Each time I was sent to a new foster home, I tried to fit in but sooner or later, I screwed up and got sent away. After awhile, I just stopped trying." Richie sat quietly, lost in the memories of his childhood.

"Go on, Richie," Duncan prodded.

"With Sam, for the first time, I had someone who cared about me as I was. I didn't have to pretend to be something I wasn't. Even if I screwed up, Sam would have still loved me. He couldn't send me away or leave me if I made a mistake. It didn't matter to Sam that I used to steal things or that I didn't finish school. It was a good feeling."

Duncan felt a lump in his throat. It took him several moments before he was able to speak. "You know, Richie, Tessa and I feel the same way about you. What's important to us is not what happened in the past but what you do in the future, who you become. We all make mistakes. I've definitely made my share. We aren't going to send you away for being normal."

Richie still looked unconvinced. "You mean, if I started stealing again, you wouldn't send me away?"

"That's not a mistake or a screw-up. You know it's wrong and it's no longer a necessity to steal to survive. But even so, we would try to work it out if we could. It's not easy to keep a relationship going. It takes effort from both sides. The most important thing I want you to understand and remember is that you can always come to me or Tessa to talk about anything. We will try to help you in any way we can without passing judgment. Can you do that?"

"I'll try. Thanks, Mac. I just wish..."

"What?"

"I wish I had said good-bye to Sam. I feel so bad about that."

"I know where they are staying. We can go over tomorrow so you can say good-bye if you want."

"I'd like that. Maybe we should take his toys and the rest of his food along with. They could probably use it."

Duncan smiled proudly at the boy. "I think that would be an excellent idea, Richie. Now I think we both need some sleep. We need to be up with the sun to go running tomorrow."

"Running? Oh, no, I don't have to do that anymore. No dog, no run. Absolutely, positively, no way." Richie protested all the way back to his room.

Duncan was pleased to see Richie waiting for him the next morning, dressed and ready to run. Together, they headed out into the sunshine and a brand new day.

* HL * HL * HL Epilogue

8 years later:

Richie casually strolled through the park. It felt so good to be back home. He had done a lot of traveling over the last few years but now he was back in Seacouver. The antique store was only a few blocks away from here and he debated going by it but he didn't really want to see what it had become. Sometimes it was better to remember things as they used to be.

The park brought back a lot of good memories. This was where Duncan and Richie had done their morning runs before Tessa had been killed and he had become Immortal. The park also brought back memories of Sam. Richie smiled as he thought of the dog for the first time in years. If he could only settle down in one place for a while, maybe he would get another one.

He found himself wondering what had ever become to the dog. Had that family who owned him treated him well? He would never know.

He could almost imagine Sam running across the grass barking. He looked again and realized it wasn't his imagination. There was a Golden Retriever running towards him. He had a few moments to brace himself before the dog almost bowled him over. The dog placed his paws on Richie's chest and started licking his face.

"Sam?" Richie couldn't believe his eyes. Surely it couldn't be Sam. The people who owned him didn't even live here.

Just then a young woman ran up and pulled the dog off of Richie.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into him. He's usually not like this," she said.

"That's all right. Actually, he reminds me of a dog I had when I was younger," Richie smiled at the young woman.

Taking a closer look, he decided he liked what he saw. She was around 18 years old, dark brown hair and she had the most beautiful brown eyes.

"Hi. My name is Richie," he said.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Cindy and this is Taffy." She pointed to the dog.

Richie realized that the dog must be Sam. Taffy was the name the little girl had called him. He wondered at what fate had sent him to this park at this exact moment in time.

"So, do you live around here?" he questioned Cindy.

"Yes, I just moved here about two months ago. I'm attending college here. What about you?"

"I used to live in the area. I've been thinking about moving back. Say, are you interested in getting something to eat? There's a little sidewalk cafe close by. I'm sure they will let Sam...er I mean Taffy sit by the table." He gave her his most devastating grin. "We can share dog stories. I'll tell you about Sam and you can tell me about Taffy."

"Sure, why not. I don't have many friends here yet. And if Taffy trusts you, I know I can."

Together they headed out of the park, the dog happily walking between his two favorite people.

The end.