Gaining Independence

by dawn341

This is a Highlander Alternate Universe and is the 4th in a series of 6 stories. It was originally posted on the 7th Dimension website. The general premise of the A.U. is that Richie disappeared during the time Duncan MacLeod was on his island. He shows up 3 years later as a new immortal. Richie copes with living on his own.

Gaining Independence by Dawn Cunningham

I wrote this story a long time ago. Since the Highlander fanfic archive has disappeared, I'm starting to post my stories on other sites. Disclaimers:

Most of the characters mentioned in the story belong to Rysher. I'm just borrowing them and not getting paid for it. A couple belong to me, but I don't want them anymore.

Do not post or publish this story anywhere else, without my express permission. Feel free to share it with others as long as the disclaimers remain intact.

Warnings:

This story is an alternate universe. This is the fourth installment in my alternate universe. They include:

'A New Future'

'A Time To Heal'

'To Trust Again'

I strongly suggest that you read those first, but it isn't really necessary. I'll recap the stories for you. They can be found at the URL address listed below.

Recap:

In the first story, Duncan had been unable to find Richie when he returned from the island, because of that, the entire future changed. The most important change was that Tessa didn't die. Also, Duncan has yet to meet Methos.

Three years later, Richie showed up at the antique store, a brand-new Immortal. Duncan agreed to train him, but had a hard time relating to his new student. As for Richie, the past three years had been difficult for him, leaving him unwilling to trust anyone. He did agree to follow Duncan's rules, which included staying out of trouble with the law. Broke, and unable to find a job, Richie moved into the antique store with Duncan and Tessa.

Richie eventually ended up working two jobs. One in a warehousing facility and one being a parking valet at a local restaurant. Slowly, his relationship with Duncan and Tessa has grown.

The first story ended on Richie's twenty-first birthday and the second one picks up on the same night. Richie's gifts included a katana that was hand delivered by Connor. Also, Duncan offered Richie a job managing the dojo he had just bought. While Connor was visiting, he took a Dark Quickening and attacked Tessa and Richie. With the help of Jim Coltec, Connor was healed. The third story had Richie finding out about the Watchers, and Duncan's reconciliation with Joe Dawson.

* HL * HL * HL * HL

Gaining Independence by Dawn Cunningham

Richie Ryan scrubbed his sweaty hands against his pants as he continued his pacing. A part of him wanted to race up the stairs and demand to know what was going on, but Duncan and Tessa had made it quite clear that his presence wasn't welcome. It really wasn't fair - it was *his* life they were messing with.

For the past week, Duncan and Tessa had been plotting something. They had conversations that ceased the minute he walked into the room, or continued in a low whisper that he couldn't hear. One or both of them would disappear at odd times, and return with a beaming smile. It had been downright nerve-wracking. Yesterday, they'd even ordered him to stay at the antique store instead of going to the dojo where he'd been spending most of his time.

And now, they were upstairs, in the place that was supposed to be *his* apartment, doing something, although he didn't have a clue what that something was. He'd been ordered to stay put until they said he could come upstairs.

He wasn't going to put up with it for much longer. He really wasn't. All he had to do was walk up those stairs, and he could find out what was going on.

But he didn't.

He waited like he was supposed to, all the time wondering why he was doing it. It seemed like forever before he heard the elevator start up. A few moments later, the grill opened and the couple beckoned to him. Richie joined them in the elevator.

"So, what's going on?" he asked.

They just grinned at him. "Wait and see," Duncan offered.

Richie scowled at his teacher, but didn't say anything else during the torturously slow elevator ride. When they finally reached the apartment, Tessa said, "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes. We'll tell you when to open them."

Richie glanced at Duncan, hoping to get the other Immortal on his side. The man just grinned and refused to open the elevator gate.

"Oh, brother," Richie moaned, but followed directions. He heard the sound of the gate being raised, then Duncan had an arm around his shoulders, pushing him forward into the room. For a moment, he wanted to open his eyes to see where he was going, but he didn't want to hurt Tessa's feelings. Instead, he slowly moved his feet and hoped he didn't fall on his face.

He was maneuvered around for a few moments, before Tessa told him he could open his eyes. He did so, and stared at the transformed room. The last time he'd been up here, it had been totally empty. Now, it was full of furniture. Against the far wall, there was a bed with a heavy oak frame. He couldn't tell, but he thought it was at least a queen-size mattress - maybe even a king-size. A nightstand on each side held lamps, and one had an alarm clock and a phone. In the center of the room, there was a black leather couch that looked so inviting that Richie wanted to try it out right away. He somehow refrained from doing so as he continued to check out the room.

There was a square coffee table in front of the couch, a chess set already set up on it. Two easy chairs faced the couch from the other side of the table. End tables held lamps as well as some kind of knickknacks that he would have to check out later. One of the pieces looked like something he'd seen Tessa working on back at the antique store. A tall chest was against the wall, and the open doors on the top half revealed a television set and VCR.

On the wall nearest to the elevator, there was a coat stand, a small desk, and a pinball machine. Everywhere he looked, there were something else to look at. Wall hangings and other decorations covered the walls, and green plants were spread around the room.

"What do you think?" Tessa asked, anxiously.

"It's... it's..." Richie couldn't seem to find the right words.

"You don't like it." Tessa looked like she was ready to cry. "I knew we should have let you decorate it on your own!"

"No, Tessa! I love it! Really! It's... it's... Wow!"

A bright smile lit up her face. "You really like it?"

"Yeah, but I can't believe you guys did this." Never in a million years would he have been able to afford this kind of a setup.

"Consider it an early Christmas gift," Duncan said, clapping Richie on the shoulder. "We wanted this place to be something special for you."

"But if there is anything you don't like, we can change it," Tessa insisted.

"I wouldn't change a thing," Richie replied. He let Tessa pull him around the room, showing off the cupboards filled with pots, pans, and dishes, as well as food supplies. The bathroom was also well stocked with towels, and every kind of toiletry that he could possibly need. An empty cupboard in the main room waited for his clothes.

Finally, Richie collapsed on the sofa. He seemed to sink in forever, and he sighed with pleasure. He lifted his feet and placed them on the coffee table. He could get to like this.

"Get your feet off the table," Tessa scolded.

Richie automatically started moving his feet, but Duncan's words stopped him.

"It's his place now, Tessa. He can put his feet on the furniture if he wants to."

"Hmmmph. Well, he should still know better."

Richie decided to humor her, and put his feet back on the floor. "How can I ever thank you guys for doing this?"

"You just say 'thank you'," Duncan said, grinning at the young man.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, are you ready to finish the move? We can go back and pack up your things and bring them over now, if you'd like."

"Let's do it!" Richie jumped to his feet.

* HL * HL * HL

Two hours later, Richie looked around his old bedroom one more time. Seeing nothing else that belonged to him, he zipped up his backpack. When he'd moved in here, it had been able to hold all his possessions - with room to spare - but not anymore. He'd already taken a box and a duffel bag out to the T-bird.

"Got everything?" Duncan asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, I think so." Richie slung the backpack over one shoulder and walked out to the living room. Tessa was waiting for him there.

"Well, I guess this is it," he said. "Guess you'll be glad to have the place to yourself again." He gave a wistful look around. While he was really looking forward to being on his own, he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

"It's going to be very quiet without you around," she said. "We've gotten used to having you here."

"I'll come visit," Richie promised.

"You'd better. In fact, plan on having Sunday dinner here. I insist."

"Okay." Sunday seemed like a long ways away - almost a full week. "Well..."

Tessa gave him a hug, clinging tightly for a moment. "You take care of yourself," she said, tears glistening in her eyes.

"I'll write every day," Richie quipped, afraid that he would start crying himself.

Duncan laughed, breaking up the tension in the room. "I don't think that's necessary. I'll let you get settled in today, but I'll be over first thing tomorrow for our training session."

Richie nodded, glad to hear that the only thing changing was his place of residence. "Thanks, Mac. I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

Duncan walked out with Richie. He waited until the young man had fastened the backpack on the bike. "Listen, Richie, you're on your own now. Just remember, if you feel an Immortal, it may not be me. You'll have to be on your guard a little more now."

"I'll be careful," Richie promised, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Oh, I'd better give you back the apartment keys."

Duncan waved him off. "Keep them. You never know when they might come in handy. I'm still your teacher - you can always come here if you feel another Immortal."

"I'll remember. See you tomorrow, Mac."

* HL * HL * HL

Richie sighed and looked around his new apartment. He'd already put away his clothes and snooped through the entire place. He'd watched TV, and played pinball. He'd made supper in his new kitchen - nothing fancy, just soup and some sandwiches. He'd even taken a shower in his very own bathroom.

This was the first time he'd ever lived on his own - not counting the times he'd lived on the streets. Usually, he'd had to share an apartment with someone else to be able to afford the expenses. When he'd been on the streets, he had always been on the move. It had been a full-time job coming up with enough money to survive.

To be honest, he was bored. This wasn't what he'd thought living by himself would be like. He missed his nightly chess game with Duncan. He even missed watching sitcoms with Tessa and explaining some of the jokes to her. It wasn't the same to watch them by himself.

But what could he do? He couldn't go running back to the antique store. Duncan and Tessa were probably celebrating their new-found privacy. Knowing them as well as he did, that celebration would end up in the bedroom. He had no intention of gate-crashing *that* party.

Maybe he should try to track down some of his old friends. However, it had been three years since he'd been in touch with any of them. Knowing his luck, they probably wouldn't even remember him. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to see them. He wasn't going to age from now on - stuck forever at the age of twenty-one. His old friends would know exactly how old he was. They'd probably be the first to notice.

It would be different with the customers at the dojo when it opened. He could be evasive about just how old he was. He could easily pass for a teenager still. As time progressed, he'd have to start figuring out ways to look older.

Well, there was one place he could go. One person he could talk to who knew all about Immortals. Richie went over to the armoire and pulled out his nicest jeans and a clean top. After all, you never knew who you might run into at a bar. Fifteen minutes later, he was parked outside of Joe's bar.

The place was almost empty. One lone drinker occupied a stool at one end of the bar. Richie took a stool as far away from the other customer as he could.

"Hey, Rich," Joe greeted him, moving down to his end of the bar. "What can I get you?"

"How about a beer and some information?"

"Well, the beer is the easy part." Joe wasted no time filling a mug from a nearby tap. "What kind of information were you looking for?"

Richie felt warmth creep up over his cheeks. Maybe this wasn't a very good idea after all. "Never mind. Dumb idea."

Joe grinned. "Now you have me intrigued. C'mon, Richie, spill it." "It's nothing." Richie sighed. "It's just... well... what do Immortals do in their spare time?" he finally blurted out. "Mac has Tessa - I know what *he* does, but what about the rest of them? I mean, do they practice all the time? Or what?"

Joe rubbed his beard. "Well, I guess most Immortals are pretty much like us mortals. They have friends and hobbies and jobs. Some do volunteer work, others hang out in bars all the time. There's some who spend all their time learning new things - professional students. I guess it depends on what they want out of life."

Richie sighed again.

"No help?"

"I guess I need to find some hobbies. Otherwise, life is going to be really boring. Any suggestions?"

"Well, there's all kinds of things. You could learn to play a musical instrument. Or study about the different types of martial arts. There's computers. Cooking. Astronomy. You could study medicine or learn foreign languages. Now that would be a handy thing. You never know when you might have to leave the country. The one thing I do know, the more skills you have, the easier it will be for you in the long run."

"Hey, can I get another drink?" the guy at the far end of the bar called. "The same as before."

"Be right back." Joe moved over to the center of the bar and mixed a drink before serving it to the man.

Richie watched the bartender's moves. There wasn't a wasted motion as he mixed the drink. It gave him an idea that he quickly voiced when Joe rejoined him.

"Maybe I should start with learning to make drinks. Want an apprentice bartender?"

"I can't hire you, Richie. I'd have a hard time explaining that to the Watchers."

"Oh, I didn't think of that."

Joe reached under the bar and pulled out a book. "Here, memorize this and, once you do, I'll show you a few of the tricks of the trade."

Richie looked down at the book. 'The Bartender's Guide To Drinks'. "Thanks, Joe. I'll also think about your other suggestions. Right now, money is kind of a problem."

"Check out your local library. There's a lot of self-help books there, and it doesn't cost anything to check them out."

"I'll do that. Any other gems of wisdom?"

"Just one. Be sure to have some fun, too. You've got a potentially long life ahead of you. Take advantage of it."

"I'm planning on it. I'd hoped to find some female companionship here, but it's pretty quiet tonight. Is it always like this?"

Joe shrugged. "It depends. Fridays and Saturdays are our busiest nights. There's also a nice crowd that shows up right after work during the week - around five or six."

"I'll keep that in mind. How about another beer?"

For the next hour, they chatted about various things, then Richie finally decided to head home.

* HL * HL * HL

Richie didn't sleep well. Every noise was strange and interrupted his rest. He finally got up long before his alarm was scheduled to go off. While he ate his breakfast of cereal he studied the book Joe had given him. He'd already spent some time reading it the night before.

By the time Duncan showed up for their training session, Richie had already warmed up and done several katas.

"Enjoying your new home?" Duncan asked as he took off his coat.

"It's great," Richie said. "Just great."

They practiced for their normal two hours. Once Duncan had left, Richie turned to his work on the dojo. There wasn't much left to do before they could open. He was in the process of stripping the dojo floor. Once that was done, they would repair it, then refinish it. The final step would be to assemble the exercise equipment. Most of it was already stored in the basement. They would be ready to open by the first of the new year.

Richie worked hard the whole day, only taking time out for lunch. Duncan was paying him for a full day's work, and he was determined to give it to him. Afterwards, he went up to his loft and cleaned up. Once again, the emptiness seemed overwhelming. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer and headed for his motorcycle.

During the drive to the antique store, he tried to come up with a good excuse for visiting. He rejected several as being too obvious, but by the time he'd knocked on the door, he still didn't have any idea about what he would say.

Duncan answered the door, katana in hand.

"Hey, Mac. I think I left one of my shirts behind," Richie blurted out. It was the best reason he could come up with. "I thought I'd drop by and see if I could find it."

Duncan's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You could have told me this morning. I would have looked for you."

"Uh... I didn't realize it was missing until tonight."

"Then you could have waited until tomorrow and asked me then. Well, you might as well come in and take a look as long as you're here." Duncan waved him through the door.

Richie couldn't decide whether Duncan just didn't believe his story, or whether he was an unwelcome guest. He felt somewhat better when the Scot draped an arm around his shoulders as they walked across the workshop.

"Look who's here," Duncan announced when they entered the living area.

"Richie!" Tessa hurried over and hugged him. "What are you doing here?"

The young man repeated his story.

"I don't remember seeing any shirt in your room, but let's go look again." She led the way to his old bedroom. Together, they searched the closet and the dresser drawers while Duncan leaned against the doorjamb.

"Maybe it's in the laundry," Richie suggested, when nothing turned up. "I'll go check." He hurried down the hallway to the utility room. The ragbag gave him an idea. He quickly searched through it and found one of his old shirts that Tessa had spilled paint on. Maybe they wouldn't notice. He carried it back to the living room.

"Found it." Richie waved around the bundle. "It was in the laundry."

"Let me see," Duncan said, reaching for the shirt.

Richie quickly thrust the shirt behind his back. "Mac, it's filthy! What? You don't trust me? You think I'm stealing one of yours?"

"Of course not. I *know* you wouldn't lie to me."

Richie almost spilled the truth, but at the last moment, hung on to his excuse even though he was pretty certain Duncan knew the truth. "I've got what I came for, I suppose I should go."

"Why don't you stay for dinner," Tessa offered. "We have plenty."

"Thanks, Tessa. I'd like that." He waved the shirt for a moment, keeping an eye on Duncan to make sure he didn't make a sudden grab for it. "I'll just go toss this in my saddlebags."

After dinner, Richie helped clean up. Once they were done, Duncan said, "I suppose I couldn't convince you to stay and play some chess."

Richie made a big show out of looking at the clock. "I guess I can stay for a while."

Three hours later, he finally left.

* HL * HL * HL

Two lonely nights later, Richie was studying his bartender book when someone knocked on his door. He didn't feel another Immortal, and didn't have any idea as to who it was. The last person he expected was Tessa. She was carrying a plate covered in tin foil.

"Tessa, come in," Richie said, opening the door wide. He was glad he'd taken the time to clean up after himself. It hadn't seemed worth the effort, but he'd had nothing better to do.

"I got on a baking spree today," Tessa announced. "So, I decided to bring you some of these." She passed over the plate.

Richie peered under the foil. "Chocolate chip cookies! Cool." He snatched one and devoured it immediately. "Thanks, Tessa."

"You're welcome." Tessa glanced at her watch. "Oh, it's time for my show. I didn't realize it was so late. You don't suppose I could..."

"Watch it here?" Richie finished for her. "Of course you can." He turned on the television. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Not right now. Why don't you watch the show with me."

Richie settled down on the couch next to her. It felt like he was back at the antique store again as he found himself explaining some of the jokes. He really didn't think she'd accidentally shown up at the right time to see the show, but he wasn't going to say anything.

After the show, he made her a cup of tea. He had a beer while she drank it and talked about her newest sculpture. Almost an hour passed before she announced that it was time for her to go home. Richie almost hated to see her go.

* HL * HL * HL

Richie managed to make it to Sunday before going back to the antique store. Of course, it helped that he had to go to his valet job on Friday and Saturday night. He'd already turned in his notice that he would be quitting at the end of the month. Once the dojo opened, he had a feeling he would be too busy to have a second job.

Sunday dinner was fantastic, as usual. Duncan had slow-cooked a roast in a crockpot until it was so tender it fell apart when you touched it. There were potatoes and gravy, and carrots that had been cooked with the roast to give them more flavor. A tossed salad and rolls finished out the menu.

Tessa kept studying him while he ate. Richie kept looking down at his shirt in case he'd spilled something. Finally, she asked, "Richie, are you losing weight?"

Richie stared at her for several long moments before answering. "I don't know - do I look like I have?" He didn't have a scale. Still, his jeans had seemed a little bit looser than normal.

Duncan's eyes studied him, too. "I think you're right, Tessa. He has lost some weight. Aren't you eating? You've got to have enough money to buy food unless you've been throwing it away."

"Yes, I have enough money to buy food," Richie retorted, somewhat angrily. "And, yes, I've been eating."

"Okay, so what did you have for supper yesterday?"

"I made some soup."

"That's it?"

Richie nodded.

"And the night before that?"

Richie could feel the warmth creep up over his cheeks and knew his face was turning pink. "What difference does it make?"

"What did you eat?"

"I didn't feel like cooking." Richie turned his attention to his plate and started eating in hopes that Duncan would stop asking. It didn't work.

"What did you eat, Richie?"

"Cereal. I had cereal for dinner. It's got all kinds of vitamins and stuff in it - the box says so."

Duncan stared at his student, disbelief written all over his face. "No wonder you're losing weight. You've got to eat proper meals - especially when you're training and working as hard as you do."

"All right. I'll try to do better," Richie promised.

"Richie, do you know how to cook?" Tessa suddenly asked.

"Sure, I do."

"What can you cook?" she persisted.

"Ummm... I can make soup. And frozen dinners." Richie struggled for other things in his repertoire. "And I make a mean sandwich."

"I thought so. Well, starting tomorrow, you will be having two lessons a day. One in swordfighting and one in cooking. When you are done working at the dojo, come over here and I'll teach you how to cook."

"You don't have to do that," Richie protested, while hoping she would insist. He wasn't disappointed.

"I insist. I can't have you fade away to nothing just because you can't cook."

"Okay."

After dinner, he and Duncan played chess in front of the fireplace while Tessa sketched on the couch. It was a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday. Unfortunately, he had to leave early to go to work.

* HL * HL * HL

A new pattern developed in his life. Duncan showed up in the mornings to practice his swordwork. Then he did his own set of exercises. Next on the agenda was working on the dojo. His final task for the day was his cooking lesson. Sometimes it was with Tessa, and sometimes it was Duncan who handled that lesson.

The dojo was almost ready to open. He'd finished redoing the floor, and was in the process of setting up the various pieces of equipment that Duncan had bought. They gave him more options for workouts, which was a nice change of pace. They'd already started running ads in the local paper to attract business when they opened in January.

It had taken them a long time to come up with a name for the place. Richie had wanted it to be called MacLeod's dojo, but Duncan was afraid that every headhunter would show up looking for the Scot. Tessa had finally come up with an idea that they could all agree on. It would simply be called The Dojo.

With all the practice he'd been getting, Richie's swordfighting skills were finally improving. He knew he was no match for Duncan, but he figured he could hold his own with other Immortals - for a few minutes at least. Whether he could win a match or not was still debatable.

His cooking skills were also improving. At first, there had been several messes that had ended up in the trashcan, but he could now easily handle some of the basic things like steaks - not that he could afford to eat those very often - and hamburgers. He then moved on to some simple casseroles and dishes that only needed a few ingredients like chili. Of course, with those items, he had lots of leftovers to last him awhile.

For some reason though, he couldn't seem to master a simple omelet. They either ended up too runny, or else they were as tough as rubber. Duncan had finally declared him egg-challenged and refused to let him try again.

Duncan's birthday, as well as Christmas, were approaching, and he still hadn't found any gifts for either occasion. He wasn't quite certain that he would be invited to spend Christmas day with them, but he sure hoped he would. Either way, he wanted to get them something nice and had been saving his money up. All he had to do was figure out what to buy.

* HL * HL * HL

Duncan showed up earlier on Saturday than planned. He knew Richie was probably still sleeping after his late night of work, but it gave him a chance to look over the dojo. An hour later, he was satisfied that the place was ready for business. There was still two weeks before their opening. That would be a nice break from work for Richie.

Eventually, his student appeared, ready to practice. Duncan took him through a strenuous workout, pleased that Richie was able to keep up the pace. The young Immortal had made great progress in the past few months.

"How about Joe's for lunch?" Duncan finally suggested.

Richie looked surprised at first, but readily agreed. "You buying?"

"Sure."

"Great! Have I got time for a shower?"

"I hope so," Duncan replied with a smirk. "I think Joe would appreciate it."

"Only if you take one, too," Richie snapped right back.

"I was planning on it. You have fifteen minutes. If you're not ready, I'll leave without you."

Richie just barely made it in time, having to take the stairs at a mad dash to do it. "I'm ready," he announced.

"Let's go."

They had barely sat down when Joe appeared at their table. "Well, what brings you to my fine establishment?" he asked with a smile.

"Food! What else?" Richie answered. "And Mac's picking up the bill, so I want the most expensive thing on the menu."

"Now, wait a minute," Duncan protested, half-heartedly. "I don't remember agreeing to that."

"Well, you didn't say I couldn't order the most expensive thing."

Joe laughed. "How can you argue with logic like that?"

"Maybe I'd better check that I have enough cash with me." Duncan reached into his back pocket. "Oh, no. I don't have my wallet. Richie, would you run out and see if it's in the T-bird? It might have dropped out when I got in the car."

"Sure, Mac." Richie wasted no time leaving the table.

"Joe, I need a favor."

"Well, that depends. I wouldn't want to interfere in Immortal business," Joe said with a wink.

"This isn't interference." Duncan reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slip of paper and handed it over. "Would you tell Richie you have a ticket to the motorcycle rally tomorrow that you don't want to use? I think he'd really enjoy going."

"Why don't you just give it to him yourself?" Joe was obviously puzzled.

"I want him to get out more often, but I don't want to look like I'm pushing him into things. I'd hoped he would contact some of his old friends, but that hasn't happened."

"He probably doesn't want to go back to his old neighborhood. It wasn't the best place to grow up."

Duncan sighed. "I was afraid of that."

Richie came bouncing back in. "Found it, Mac." He passed over the wallet. "Now you can pay for lunch."

"Hey, Richie, someone gave me a free ticket to the motorcycle rally tomorrow. It's not really my idea of a good time, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Would you be interested in going?"

"Sure! Thanks, Joe."

"The ticket's in the office. I'll get it for you. Now, what can I get you gents to drink?"

They both ordered beer and Joe headed back to the bar. Duncan was impressed with Joe's acting ability. He even went back to his office as if he was really fetching the ticket. A waitress brought their drinks and took their food order.

Joe returned and passed the ticket over. "Have a good time, Richie."

"Thanks again, Joe. This is great!"

Duncan couldn't help but smile at Richie's enthusiasm. It was the happiest he'd seen him since the young man's birthday.

"Well, enjoy your lunch," Joe said. "Time to get back to the bar."

After their food had been served, Richie brought up something that had obviously been worrying him. "So, Mac, I need some ideas about what to get Tessa for Christmas. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, she really likes jewelry."

"Not anything *I* could afford. How about something more in my price range?"

"Hmmmm... well, she could always use art supplies - sketch pads, paintbrushes, and so forth."

From the disappointed look on Richie's face, it wasn't what he had in mind. "I'm sure she'll like whatever you give her."

"I just want it to be something really special."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something. And to help out, you have the next two weeks off. The dojo is ready ahead of schedule, so you can take a break. We'll still work out every day, but after that, you can do whatever you want."

"Thanks, Mac."

"Now, shut up and eat. I want to do some more sparring this afternoon since you're going to be busy tomorrow." He turned his attention to his food for a moment, before looking up again. "I still expect you to work out on your own tomorrow before you go to the rally."

Richie rolled his eyes. "Yes, Teacher."

* HL * HL * HL

After his training session with Richie on Monday, Duncan stopped off at Joe's. The Watcher was doing bookwork at one of the tables in the bar and was more than happy to set it aside.

"You want some coffee?" Joe offered.

"Sure. I'll get it," Duncan said. "You need a refill?"

"No, I'm fine."

Duncan poured himself a cup of coffee and joined Joe at his table. "I just wanted to thank you for your help. Richie couldn't stop talking about the rally this morning. He had a great time yesterday."

"That's good. I was glad to help, but I still think you could have given him the ticket yourself."

"Richie has grown too dependent on Tessa and me. We'd hoped that once he had his own place that things would change, but he spends almost as much time with us now as he did before he moved out. It's not that we don't enjoy his company, but we won't always be there for him."

"My advice is to give him a little time. He'll figure out what he wants to do with his life."

"He needs to make some friends besides us."

"I think he will. Right now, he probably feels a little isolated. He'll meet a lot of people once the dojo opens."

"I hope so."

Duncan felt the touch of another Immortal. While it was possible that Richie would come over and thank Joe for the ticket, he didn't think that was the case. "There's another Immortal here," he told Joe, rising from his seat and checking to make sure his katana was handy.

"Richie?"

"Maybe."

After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. A tall, slim, dark-haired man sauntered into the room, his hands buried in the pockets of his long trenchcoat.

"Well, well... Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod," the man said with an English accent. He moved further into the bar. "Tsk, tsk, Joe, I thought you kept better company."

"I thought I did, too. Seems I was wrong," Joe replied.

"You know this man?" Duncan asked, wondering if he was going to have a fight on his hands.

"His name is Adam Pierson. He's the Watcher in charge of the Methos Chronicle."

"An *Immortal* is a Watcher?" Duncan stared at Joe in disbelief.

"*We* didn't know he was an Immortal." Joe turned to Pierson. "What were you after? Did you hope to find Methos so you could take his head?"

Pierson shrugged. "Can you think of a better place to hide? Besides, being the one to search for Methos meant I could make sure no one else found him."

"Are you trying to tell me that *you're* Methos?" Joe asked, skepticism evident in his tone.

The man just gave them a smug grin.

"Methos is a myth," Duncan insisted.

"Exactly. What point is there in looking for a myth?"

"So, why now?" Joe asked. "Why expose yourself now?"

Methos shrugged. "I thought you might be in danger, Joe. I didn't think you hung around with Immortals."

"It's something fairly new," Joe explained. "I can't believe I've been friends with a 5000 year-old Immortal! How am I going to explain this one to the Tribunal?"

"Guess you've broken your rules again, Joe," Duncan said with a grin. "Might as well give in. Pretty soon, you'll have more Immortal friends than mortal ones."

"Listen, Joe, there's no reason to tell anyone I'm an Immortal," Methos said. "I don't think MacLeod will be running around telling anyone. It can be our little secret."

"How do I know that you're really Methos?" Joe asked with a suspicious look. "You could just be trying to cover your real purpose."

"What? I suppose you want a birth certificate or something? Come on, Joe, that isn't going to happen. *I* don't even remember my first death, it's been so long ago."

"I have an idea," Joe said, rising to his feet. He walked over to his office and returned a few moments later with an old parchment which he handed to Pierson. "If you're Methos, you should be able to read this."

Pierson studied the list for a few moments. "Hmmmm... I'm a little rusty. I think it's a household inventory - or maybe a dowry list. How many linens, towels, plates, glasses, etc. Real important stuff."

Joe shook his head in disbelief. "It took weeks for the best language experts to decipher this. I'm convinced."

Duncan wasn't quite so certain himself, but he was willing to trust Joe's judgement at this point. "So, what brings Methos to Seacouver?"

"Watcher business. Sorry, MacLeod, but that's all I can tell you."

"I *was* expecting him," Joe added.

"All right. I'll leave you to your Watcher business then. See you later, Joe," Duncan said, before he left.

* HL * HL * HL

After Duncan left, Richie quickly cleaned up and headed for the mall, determined to find Christmas gifts for Duncan and Tessa. He spent hours searching through every store, trying to find the perfect gift. He had so little experience with giving presents, that he wasn't sure what he was even looking for.

Remembering the amount of gifts that he'd received on his birthday, Richie bought several small presents for the couple. It also didn't take long for him to find something for Duncan's birthday. After exhausting all the stores in the mall, he headed for the Lamplight district. It was filled with little specialty shops. Maybe he would find something there.

Two hours later, Richie was trying to decide why Tessa liked to shop so much. To him, it was one of the most discouraging and tiring things he'd ever done. Trudging from store to store. Dodging women with strollers or huge purses that blocked store aisles. Finding something he liked, only to discover he couldn't afford it. Struggling to get a clerk's attention for help or being unable to shake off a persistent clerk when he didn't want any help. There was no way that this qualified as fun.

But he'd finally found something for Tessa. He really thought she would like the gift. It was so special, that he asked the clerk if they did gift wrapping. Something like this deserved a better wrapping job than he could do. To add to his happiness, the pretty young clerk had given him her phone number. Things were looking up.

Now, all he had to do was find something for Duncan. Unfortunately, he'd run out of ideas, as well as stores. What did you give a guy who already had everything? He'd have to think about it some more. Richie glanced at his watch. He decided to take the gifts he'd already bought home, then head for the antique store. While Duncan had given him the time off, he hadn't said anything about canceling the cooking lessons.

* HL * HL * HL

Richie carefully slid the pasta onto the plate. He quickly added the meat sauce on top of it and carried it over to the table. One more trip to bring the French bread from the oven and dinner was ready. "Come and get it," he called.

"What kind of announcement is that?" Tessa chided him.

"Sorry. Dinner is served."

"Much better." Tessa surveyed the table. "It looks wonderful, Richie."

"And it smells good enough to eat," Duncan added as he sat down at the table.

"I hope it's good enough to eat," Richie replied, taking his own seat. This had been his most ambitious meal yet. The sauce had taken him hours to prepare. It had better be worth it.

Tessa was the first to try the pasta. "Absolutely delicious," she announced with a smile.

Richie dug into his own meal. She was right - it was good. "I think I've got this cooking thing down, now."

"Don't get too cocky," Duncan warned him. "You've just gotten started."

"I know, I know. By the way, I won't be able to come tomorrow for my cooking lesson."

"Something special going on?" Duncan asked, looking up from his meal.

"Yeah, I've got a date."

"Oh? With who?" Tessa asked, curiosity showing on her face.

"Her name is Cheryl, she's twenty-two, and I met her at a store where she works. We're going to the movies, and maybe to Joe's, afterwards. Any more questions?" Richie asked with a grin.

"Of course not," Duncan said. "Have a nice time."

"I'll try."

When dinner was done, and the kitchen cleaned up, Richie fetched his jacket from the coat rack by the kitchen door. He pulled out a small box and handed it to Duncan. "Happy birthday, Mac."

"Thank you, Richie." Duncan took the package and quickly opened it. Inside he found a Swiss Army knife. It took him almost five minutes to open all the different attachments that came with it.

"That's for the next time some Immortal locks you up. You should be able to pick a lock with that," Richie pointed out with a smirk. "I can give you lessons if you want."

"No, I *don't* need any lessons on picking locks, but this should come in handy. Thanks again, Richie."

"You're welcome. Now, I'll get out of here so you can really start celebrating your birthday."

* HL * HL * HL

Duncan was almost surprised to find Richie waiting in the dojo for him two days later. As far as he knew, this was the first time the young Immortal had been on a date since he'd come back to Seacouver.

"Have a good time last night?" he asked.

"Yep. Had a great time. Going to do it again next week."

"That's good. Just remember - you're an Immortal and she's not." A thought occurred to him. "She *isn't* an Immortal, is she?"

"Nope. And I'll be careful. Now, are we going to work out or not?"

Duncan got down to business. He saved his other topic of conversation for afterwards. After drying off with a towel, he sat down on a weight bench. "Richie, you do realize that tomorrow's Christmas Eve?"

"Of course I do. How could I miss that? What are you and Tessa doing?" Richie turned away while he wiped the back of his neck with his own towel.

"Well, we're going to start with a big dinner tomorrow night. And we're usually up early on Christmas morning. Tessa is like a child when it comes to opening packages. It would be much easier if you just spent the night instead of driving back and forth."

Richie turned back around, a hopeful look on his face. "You want me to be there?"

"Of course we want you to be there. I thought you understood that."

"Well, you never really said. I wasn't sure if I would be welcome. After all, Christmas is a time for family."

"Which is why we want you there. Be there by six tomorrow night - and bring whatever you need to spend the night."

"Sure, Mac, I can do that." Richie started for the elevator, then stopped. "Almost forgot. Can you take my gifts over in your car? It would be a little difficult to squeeze them into my saddlebags."

"Of course. Do you need my help to carry them down?" Duncan hoped that wasn't the case. Richie shouldn't be wasting his money on gifts.

"No, I can handle it. I'll be right back."

Duncan put on his coat while he waited for Richie's return. He was pleased to see that all the gifts fit in a small box. While there were more packages than there should have been, hopefully, the young Immortal hadn't spent too much money.

"Anything breakable?" he asked as he took the box. "In case Tessa starts shaking them."

"Yeah. No shaking allowed."

"I'll warn her. You can sleep in tomorrow. Since it's a holiday, we won't work out. I'll just see you around six tomorrow night."

"Okay. See you then."

* HL * HL * HL

Richie slept in the next morning - well, almost. He woke up at eight, glanced at the clock, then rolled back over, pulling the covers up to his head. He tried to convince himself that he didn't need to get up. Duncan wasn't going to be waiting for him downstairs. It didn't make any difference. Finally, after twenty minutes of trying to go back to sleep, he got out of bed.

He started the coffee pot going, then flopped down on the couch. Reaching for the remote control, he clicked on the television and started searching through channels. He finally settled on the Cartoon Channel when nothing else caught his interest. He had no intention of working out this morning. Duncan wasn't coming over, and he hadn't ordered Richie to do his own workout.

It made perfect sense. No Duncan, no orders, no workout.

He told himself that several times as the morning progressed. First while he was eating his breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls - courtesy of Tessa who'd dropped them off the night before. Then while he was taking a shower. And again, while he was trying to decide what he was going to wear that night and pack to wear on Christmas day.

Finally, he sighed and gave up, heading for the dojo floor. He worked out longer than he normally did, making up for the fact that he wasn't sparring with Duncan today. The whole time he wondered when it was that he'd changed. He'd never been big on exercise before - unless it was fun. Swimming, surfing, roller blading, playing basketball - those were his ideas of exercise.

Yet, here he was. Working out when he didn't need to. It made no sense at all. Granted, keeping in top physical condition would help to keep him alive, but he couldn't believe how different he was now.

What had happened to the guy who was always looking for an easy score? The one with the glib tongue who could talk himself out of trouble half the time, and talk others into trouble the rest of the time? The guy who didn't care what laws he broke as long as he didn't get caught?

Here he was, with his own apartment, about to start managing a dojo, with a regular paycheck coming in. And all this had happened in less than six months. Who would have believed it? Definitely not him. If he could do this much in half a year, how much could he change in half a decade? Or even half a century? His mind boggled at the thought.

* HL * HL * HL

Richie arrived at the antique store fifteen minutes early, but he knew Duncan and Tessa wouldn't mind, so he went on in. The Frenchwoman greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Richie," she said with a cheery smile.

Richie returned the greeting, then said, "Something sure smells great! What's for dinner?"

Tessa laughed. "I guess I know where your priorities are. We're having ham, potato casserole, green bean casserole, tossed salad, and hot rolls. Does that meet with your approval?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can manage to find something to eat," Richie said with a grin.

"That's good. I'd hate to have you starve." Tessa turned more serious. "The nice thing about this menu is that we'll have plenty for leftovers tomorrow. That way we won't have to spend the day in the kitchen."

"Works for me. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I think I have everything under control, but you can pour yourself a glass of wine and come keep me company," she suggested.

Richie obeyed her instructions, filling a glass from an open bottle on the counter. "So where's Mac?" He knew he had to be around somewhere, since he could sense the other Immortal.

"He's digging out the Christmas tree decorations. He shouldn't be much longer. Now then, tell me all about Cheryl and your date."

For a moment, Richie regretted showing up early. If he'd come later, Duncan would probably have been around and, maybe, Tessa wouldn't have started her interrogation. He took a big sip of his wine before starting to answer her questions.

"Like I told you before, she's twenty-two, and I met her at a store where she works. We went to a movie, then to Joe's for a drink, then I took her home."

Tessa placed her hands on her hips and glared at the young Immortal. "I *know* all that already. Tell me something I don't know."

"Like what?" Richie wasn't quite sure what she wanted to know. Hopefully, she wasn't interested in the more intimate details!

"What does she look like?"

"I don't know... Pretty. Brown hair. About this tall." Richie held out a hand at eye level.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "So, are you going to see her again?"

Richie nodded. "Next week. Maybe see another movie."

"Well, just remember that you're still young," Tessa warned. "You have plenty of time before you become serious about someone."

"I'm not *that* young!" Richie protested. "I know some guys who are the same age that I am, and already have a couple of kids." He paused for a moment and took a gulp of his wine. "Not that I'll ever be able to do that," he added in a low voice. It wasn't until he voiced that thought, that he realized he'd always assumed he'd become a father someday.

Tessa moved over and gave him a quick hug. "I know how you feel," she said in a sad voice.

"Did you and Mac ever think about..." Richie's voice trailed off as he decided that Tessa might not want to talk about it.

The Frenchwoman nodded anyway. "We talked about it several times. Either adopting or using artificial insemination, but we decided against it. It would have been too dangerous for the child." Tessa paused for a moment. "There's another reason, too, although I've never told anyone this, and I don't want you to tell Duncan, either."

"I won't," Richie promised.

"I had a close friend whose daughter died at the age of ten. It totally devastated her. I kept thinking about what it would be like for Duncan to give his heart to a child, watch him or her grow up, grow old and die. It didn't seem fair to make him go through that."

"He's willing to do that for you," Richie pointed out. "What would be different about doing it with a child?"

"I don't know if I can explain it. There's just something special about loving a child. It makes you more vulnerable."

While Richie wasn't sure he agreed, it gave him food for thought.

Tessa grimaced, then said, "It's Christmas Eve. Enough sad thoughts. Why don't you go find out if Duncan has gotten lost."

Richie set down his wine glass and headed for the storeroom. He almost laughed at the sight that greeted him when he opened the door. Duncan was on the far side of the room, but there was no clear path open to his side. Boxes were scattered over almost every inch of the floor.

"Trying to make a mess?" he asked, trying not to smirk. "Tessa said you were getting out some decorations, not decorating the floor."

"Very funny. Give me a hand, Rich. Start carrying those boxes out to the living room." Duncan pointed at a stack blocking his pathway.

It took four trips before there was room for Duncan to leave the room. "Next year, I'm going to store these decorations at the front of the storeroom instead of the back," the Scot declared. "That way they'll be easy to get to."

"Yeah, but then you'll have to work around them all year long," Richie pointed out.

Duncan glared at the young man for a moment, then reached out to lightly slap the back of Richie's head. "Fine. Next year, *you* can dig out the decorations."

"Sure thing, Mac," Richie replied, trying to hide the huge grin that threatened to split his face. It sounded like this Christmas thing wasn't a one-time shot.

* HL * HL * HL

Dinner was excellent, as expected. With the three of them helping, it didn't take long to clean up the kitchen afterwards.

"Time to decorate the tree," Tessa announced when she'd put the last dish away in the cupboard. "Duncan, fix the eggnog. Richie, put on some Christmas music."

"And what are you going to do?" Duncan asked, even as he headed for his appointed task.

"*I* am going to supervise," Tessa informed him, in a haughty tone.

Richie headed for the entertainment center and selected several CDs of Christmas music. After loading them into the player, he turned it on, and raised the volume.

"Not quite so loud," Tessa said. "It should be background noise. We want to be able to hear each other."

Richie adjusted the volume again until Tessa indicated she was happy. He then joined her by the boxes he'd carried into the room earlier. She'd already started digging through them, looking for something. She finally pulled some smaller boxes out and handed them to the young man.

"You can start with these," she said before turning back to continue her search.

With some trepidation, Richie opened the top box. Inside, he found a string of lights. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

Tessa straightened back up and gestured toward the seven-foot artificial tree standing in the corner. "Put them on the tree."

Richie looked from the tree to the lights, then to Tessa. "How?" While he'd helped decorate trees before when he'd been in foster homes, that had usually entailed hanging ornaments or tinsel. He'd never had to put the lights on before.

"I'll get you started," Duncan offered. He took the first string and plugged it into a long extension cord, then threaded it up through the tree. "Okay, now you just start at the top and work your way down the tree. When you run out of lights, start the next string the same way."

Well, that didn't look too difficult. Richie started positioning the lights, taking great care to get them spaced just right. Tessa finally noticed what he was doing.

"No, no, Richie. Not like that. You don't have to be so precise. Just drape the lights. Otherwise, we'll be here all night."

He wasn't quite sure what she meant by draping, but he tried to follow her directions. She finally seemed satisfied, and turned back to the boxes again. The new method was definitely a lot faster, and it didn't take him long to finish putting on the lights.

"Very good," Tessa said after inspecting his work. "Next, we put on the ornaments." She handed him another box.

This time all three of them worked. Richie found himself spending more time studying the decorations than hanging them on the tree. Most of them seemed very old, and he couldn't help but wonder just how much they were worth. Not that he ever intended asking Duncan and Tessa!

The final step was putting on the tinsel. Once again, they all helped with the task, although Duncan seemed more intent on putting the tinsel on Tessa instead of the tree. She didn't seem to be aware of what he was doing until they were almost done. She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror on the far side of the room and stopped in her tracks. Tinsel glittered from her hair and on her shoulders.

"Duncan! What did you do?"

The Scot turned an innocent face toward her. "What makes you think *I* did that?"

"Oh, no you don't," she replied. "You're not going to put the blame on Richie for this. I know you too well."

Duncan wrapped his arms around her. "I thought I was decorating the angel that went on top of the tree. I guess I got confused by your beauty, and thought you were the angel."

Tessa pulled several strands of tinsel from her hair and draped them over Duncan's head. "I think they look better on you." She gave him a quick kiss before pulling out of his embrace. She went over to the mirror and started removing the rest of the tinsel.

With the tree decorated, they finally settled down in the living room with only the fireplace and the tree lights to provide illumination. Duncan and Tessa snuggled together on the couch, while Richie sat in a nearby chair. The Christmas music still lightly filled the air, and none of them felt the urge to talk. It was one of the most peaceful times that the young man could ever remember.

Richie was finding it hard to keep his eyes open, but he didn't want to disturb the mood by heading for his bedroom. Tessa finally sighed and stood up a little later.

"I'm about ready to fall asleep out here," she said. "I think it's time for bed. Besides, we want to be up early to open gifts."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Duncan said. "I'll just check that everything's locked up."

Tessa and Richie headed for the bedrooms. She stopped by his door and turned to the young man. "Do you have everything you need?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Richie." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good night." He went into his bedroom and shut the door.

A few minutes later, there was a light tap, then Duncan poked his head into the room. "I put your gifts in the closet while Tessa wasn't looking. I didn't want to put temptation in her path. You can bring them out in the morning."

"Thanks, Mac."

"Night, Richie." The door closed, leaving Richie alone again. He wasted no time getting ready for bed. He had no idea what Tessa meant by early, but he was afraid he was going to find out.

* HL * HL * HL

"I'll just peek in and see if he's still sleeping," Tessa offered, starting to stand.

Duncan grabbed her hand, pulling her back to the couch. "If he was awake he'd be out here."

"Maybe he thinks we're still sleeping, and he's staying in his room so he doesn't wake us up."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "I don't think so. We'll give him until 8:00, then you can wake him up."

She glanced at the clock. "But that's almost an hour away!"

"I'm sure you'll survive." They'd been up for a half hour already, and Duncan wasn't sure how much longer he could keep Tessa from either tearing into the packages or dragging Richie out of his bedroom. She had been fine while she could busy herself by bringing out all the gifts she had stashed away, but sitting here looking at all the brightly wrapped packages was almost like torture for her.

"I am not so certain," Tessa almost moaned.

Duncan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It won't be long." As if on cue, he heard the sound of the water running in the shower in the guest bathroom. "See, he's awake now."

He stood up and went out to the kitchen. It didn't take long to fill a tray with the sliced coffee cake, and carry it into the living room. He filled a carafe with coffee, and got a pitcher of orange juice out of the refrigerator. Those were also brought into the living room and set down on the coffee table. One final trip to fetch mugs and glasses, and everything was set for breakfast. They wouldn't have to delay the gift opening for long.

Richie emerged from his room a few moments later. Duncan could see Tessa's maternal instincts struggle with her desire to start opening gifts when she spotted his wet hair. Maternal instinct won.

"You should dry your hair, Richie" she scolded. "You'll catch a cold."

"I'm fine," Richie replied. "I figured you'd be anxious to open your gifts." He looked over at the tree and his eyes grew wide at the number of packages underneath it. "Wow! What did you do? Buy out the town?"

Tessa laughed. "Of course not. Well, if you won't dry your hair, at least sit down close to the fireplace. That way you'll keep warm."

"In a minute. I forgot something. Be right back." Richie disappeared back into his room. He was back almost immediately with his own stack of presents which he scattered around the base of the tree. Then he took the seat that Tessa had suggested.

"Help yourself to breakfast," Duncan said, "and we'll get this show on the road before Tessa explodes." He settled down on the floor by the tree and looked through the packages, finally selecting a large one and handing it to her.

Tessa didn't say a word as she ripped the paper off the box. She struggled with the lid for a moment before she finally got it open. Inside was a navy blue, two-piece suit. She pulled out the top and held it against her. "It's beautiful, Duncan. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The Scot turned back to the tree and selected a package for Richie. He waited patiently while the young man wiped his hands on a napkin before passing it over.

Richie followed Tessa's example and ripped the paper off. His package also contained clothes - two pair of sweats from Duncan. "Thanks, Mac. I can really use these."

"I've noticed," Duncan replied with a smile. Next, he selected a package for himself. A pattern seemed to be developing when he found clothes inside as well. His was a black, turtle-neck sweater from Tessa.

He passed out one more round before reaching for one of the gifts from Richie. He passed one over to Tessa and watched while she opened the package to reveal a garishly-colored scarf. He almost winced as she wrapped it around her neck.

"Thank you, Richie. It's just what I need," she said, leaning over to kiss the young man. "I'll have to save this for very special occasions." She took it off, carefully folded it back up, and put it back in the box it had come in.

Duncan hoped that there was never an occasion special enough for her to wear it, but the bright smile that filled Richie's face made him happy that Tessa had managed to hide her true feelings.

He handed another package over to Richie. It was something he had made himself and he couldn't wait to see the young man's expression. He wasn't disappointed. Richie's face lit up when he saw the gift.

"What is it?" Tessa asked. He'd kept it a secret from her, too.

Richie displayed a wood plaque that read 'The Dojo'. Underneath those words were 'R. Ryan, manager'.

After Tessa and Richie had finished admiring the plaque, Duncan picked out one of his packages from the young Immortal. Inside he found two tickets for a Seattle Sonics basketball game. He knew that Richie had probably bought two, thinking he would be invited along, so he decided to tease his student.

"Hey, Tessa, we get to go to a basketball game in Seattle."

Richie's chin almost hit his chest, and Duncan had to stifle his laughter at the dumbfounded expression on the young man's face. To his credit, Richie didn't complain. He just said, "Glad you like the idea. I'm sure you'll both have fun."

"Or maybe we should go together," Duncan suggested.

"Well, if you want to." Richie shrugged, but had a pleased expression on his face.

When it was Richie's turn again, Duncan searched for a specific package. He passed it over and waited for the young man to find the two tickets to a Seattle Sonics basketball game. It seemed they'd had the same idea. Fortunately, they had picked different dates to buy tickets for.

"Hey, Tessa. We can go to a basketball game, too!" Richie exclaimed, waving the tickets in the air toward her.

Tessa burst out laughing. "Touche, Richie. He deserved that."

"You're right. I did," Duncan admitted.

He continued to pass out packages. Tessa's included more clothes, a diamond and ruby bracelet, perfume, and season tickets to the opera. Duncan's included a wallet from Richie, clothes, a black leather jacket, and a small trophy labeled 'World's Best Teacher'. That had come from his student, too. Richie received more clothes, a brown leather jacket, some gift certificates from video and music stores, and a 'Cooking For Dummies' cookbook.

There was only one package left from Richie, and he handed it to Tessa. She found a music box inside and lifted the lid. The sounds of Claire de Lune filled the apartment. Tears filled her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Richie asked in a panic-stricken voice.

She sniffed, then smiled. "Nothing is wrong. My mother used to sing this to me at night to get me to go to sleep. Thank you, Richie." She rose from her chair, clutching the music box tightly, and walked over to where he sat. Leaning down, she kissed his cheek. "It's a wonderful present."

Richie sighed in relief. "You had me worried there for a moment."

Duncan looked around at the mess. Wrapping paper littered the floor and boxes were stacked everywhere. "Time for clean-up duty," he said, standing up.

It didn't take long to pick up the paper with Richie's help. Once they were done, the two Immortals returned to the living room. Tessa had replenished the breakfast tray, and they all helped themselves to more food and coffee.

The rest of the day was spent in quiet pursuits. After dinner, they went for a walk, then returned to the apartment where Duncan and Richie played chess in front of the fireplace. Tessa watched them for a while, occasionally winding her music box up and listening to it play. Finally, she fetched her sketch pad, and tried to set the scene to paper.

They finished off the day by attending an evening service at their church. When they got back to the apartment, Richie sighed. "I guess I should head home. I had a great time today. Thanks for asking me over."

Tessa kissed his cheek. "Thank you for coming."

He disappeared into his bedroom to pack. Tessa and Duncan had a quick discussion while he was gone. Finding that they were both in agreement, she made her suggestion when Richie returned.

"We'd like to make this a tradition," she said. "No matter where you are, no matter where we are, we'd like to spend every Christmas with you."

Richie just gaped at her for the longest time, before swallowing hard. "I'd like that, too."

"Good. Then it's set." Tessa hugged Richie.

"I'll bring over your gifts with me tomorrow morning," Duncan suggested.

"Thanks, Mac."

They walked out to the alley with Richie.

"Drive carefully," Tessa warned him.

"I will. See you tomorrow, Mac." A moment later, the motorcycle engine roared to life. He gave them a small wave before driving off.

* HL * HL * HL

Richie rolled over and glared at the alarm clock. It was only 4:18. He'd been tossing and turning for hours and had really expected it to be much later than it really was. With a sigh, he gave up and got out of bed. He dressed in sweats and headed for the dojo floor.

For the next hour, he exercised and did katas. When he finished, he wandered through the dojo, checking it out one last time. Today was the big day. Today was the day he would show Duncan that he could handle the job. Of course, it could go the other way, too, but he was determined to do the best he could do.

For the past week, he'd been posting flyers all over the place. Grocery stores, factories, bars, bowling alleys - he'd been in them all. Now all he needed was for people to show up, like what they see, and decide to sign up.

He ran through his mental checklist. Plenty of towels. Hot water heater working. Sign-up sheets on table. Equipment checked out. Mats spread out on the floor. Yep, everything was ready. Richie ran up the stairs to his apartment and took a long, hot shower. His final big decision was to about what to wear.

Duncan showed up thirty minutes before their planned opening. Tessa had wanted to come as well, but they had managed to convince her that it wasn't a good idea. She was way too classy for the place.

"You ready for this?" Duncan asked as he looked around the dojo.

"As ready as I'm going to be." Richie paced around for a few minutes before asking the question that had been plaguing him all morning. "What if no one comes?"

"Then you won't be very busy, will you?" Duncan said with a grin.

Richie rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything more. And for a while, it seemed his prophecy was going to come true. They opened on time, but no one came in. In fact, no one ventured into the dojo for the first twenty minutes. When the first person finally walked through the door, Richie almost wanted to hug him. Instead, he settled in to his sales pitch.

By lunchtime, he'd signed up six people. Not a great start, but still a start. He was fairly certain that some of the others who 'had to think about it' would be back, too. The dojo had cleared out except for two people who were lifting weights. Richie was just about to suggest to Duncan that one of them should go upstairs to eat lunch during the lull, when the door opened and four men walked in.

Richie headed out to talk to them. The man in the lead was at least an inch taller than Duncan, and fifty pounds heavier. His very attitude and the way he almost sneered as he looked around the place warned the young Immortal that there might be trouble. Still, he didn't let it stop him from introducing himself and reaching out for a handshake.

The man looked Richie over from top to bottom while ignoring the proffered hand. "You're the manager?" he finally sneered.

"That's right." Richie struggled to keep smiling. "There's information on the table by the door about equipment, rates, and hours. Feel free to look around, or workout - today it's on the house. If you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them."

The man moved closer, towering over Richie, looking deadly serious. "I think I need you to make me a special deal," he said. "Let's say half price. In fact, all of my friends should get the same deal."

"And why would I do that?" Richie let the smile fade from his face.

"To keep us from tearing this place apart." The man gave him an evil smile.

"I don't think so. You either pay the same price as everyone else, or you find someplace else to workout."

"Is there some trouble here?" Duncan's voice intruded from behind.

Richie didn't bother looking around. "Nothing I can't handle, Mac." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Scot move over to the sidelines. "Now then, what's it going to be?"

"I think it's time to do a little redecorating. It's a shame - going out of business the same day you open." The man laughed.

"You'll have to go through me first," Richie threatened, maintaining eye contact with the man.

He laughed again, and called back over his shoulder, "This won't take too long. Then you guys can have some fun, too." He turned back to the young Immortal and charged.

With a move that Richie had practiced over and over with Duncan, he grabbed the man's arm and flipped him over, sending him crashing to the floor. The man quickly got to his feet and tried again, with the same results. After the third time, Richie decided enough was enough. He got the man in a headlock to hold him down.

"That's it," Richie ground out. "I suggest you leave now, before I tear *you* apart. I don't need your kind of trouble around here." He applied a little more pressure until he heard the man cry out, then he released him. "Now, get out of here."

The man stumbled to his feet with the help of one of his friends, and they quickly left the dojo. Richie hadn't been too certain that they would. If all four of them had jumped him, he'd have taken a lot of punishment - even with Duncan's help. But he'd seen that kind of crowd before. If you handled the head man, you handled them all.

Duncan came over to him. "I thought the idea was to get people to sign up. Not to chase them away."

Richie glanced at the two men who'd been watching the scene with avid eyes. "In the office, Mac," he said before angrily stalking there himself. He barely waited for the door to close behind the Scot to start. "You hired me to be the manager here. You aren't always going to be here to solve problems. That means you have to let me handle things my way. If you don't like that, then I suggest you fire me. I'll do the best job I can, but I'm not going to let some jerk walk all over me in the process. I'm not too proud to ask for help when I need it, but *I'm* running this place."

Duncan didn't say anything for the longest time. Finally, he nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on his face. "That's right. You *are* running this place - that's what the sign says - 'Richie Ryan, manager'. I guess I'd better remember that, shouldn't I?"

Richie gave a deep sigh, glad that Duncan had seen it his way. "That's right." He glanced through the windows and saw some more customers coming in. "I guess I'd better get back to my job." He left the office and headed over to greet the newcomers.

The Scot watched him go, feeling a sense of satisfaction. Richie's spiel had been a giant step toward the young man's independence. Now, all Duncan had to do was sit back and watch what happened. He had no doubts about the outcome.

No doubts at all.

The end.