Sorry if this is taking a long time to finish. I'm enamored of this story's idea but it has been rather difficult to write. I'm not sure whether I'm happy with it yet. Please review with comments or suggestions and to remind me that someone cares whether I finish this or not (I'd finish it anyway but still).

Richie stood with his back against the door to his room, his breathing shaky. How can they think that? That I was raped, it was a woman, dammit! I'm not so pathetic that I'd let someone…But that's what happened wasn't it? Someone had touched him, had sex with him when he didn't want to. He felt nauseous suddenly and ran to the trash can, the only thing to come out being the water he had drunk.

Duncan had sat at the table for a moment after Richie left, trying to get his own emotions under control, but when Tessa began to get up he stopped her. He would go talk to Richie. He felt completely out of his depth but he needed to know what was going on, what Richie was feeling about this. Was it as serious as Tessa had made it or was this something that Richie would get over after a few days of being cranky and acting out? If Richie really hadn't wanted to have sex, he wouldn't have been able to, right? The boy probably just felt guilty, like Felicia.

Though Richie hadn't acted like this after Felicia. Richie had been quiet yes, on the drive home. The lad had expected to be thrown out! But once assured that that wasn't the case, Richie had apologized almost desperately to Duncan and Tessa both. And the next day, he had been almost overly cheerful and talkative.

Duncan opened the door to discover Richie kneeling over his trash can seeming disoriented. The teen raised a shaky hand to his forehead and then fell over on his side on the floor. "Richie…" Duncan raced over but before he could touch the teen, Richie rolled onto his back and shielded himself with his arms.

"Don't touch me!" The desperation in the youth's voice made the immortal stop his hand in mid-air.

Duncan sat back on his heels and lifted his hands up, palm out. "I'm not going to touch you. Just tell me what's wrong."

The teen immediately curled onto his side, clutching his stomach and pressing the side of his face into the carpet. "My stomach hurts," the boy whispered clenching his eyes shut.

"Ok," Duncan kept his voice calm and his hands away from the boy that he desperately wished to comfort. "Why don't you get in the bed then, we'll bring the trash can if you need it." But Richie just shook his head and curled tighter in on himself.

Duncan had to do something. "Come on, tough guy, let's get in the bed," he said in warning before he touched the panicked figure. But Richie rolled away and got unsteadily to his feet.

"No! I'm fine, it was just some nausea, I still have to open the store. I'm just gonna brush my teeth first." Duncan watched the teen from the floor. He felt off-balance. Maybe Richie was just sick, maybe he had the stomach flu. It would be like Richie to hide being sick. The boy did hate to be coddled though lord knew how he needed it.

Richie stayed in the bathroom for a moment before going to the store, trying to get himself under control. He felt like it was a lost cause; he had felt out of control since he had been kidnapped as if the whole universe were conspiring against him. A glance in the mirror was a bad idea; he definitely didn't want to see how pathetic he was. Just get over it he told himself.

Duncan found Tessa in her studio. At the sight of him, she stopped her work immediately and went over to him. "So what did he say?"

He rubbed his hands absently down her arms. "Tessa I…I don't think it's as serious as all that." The Frenchwoman stepped out of his reach and regarded him icily.

"Not serious Duncan, what did Richie say? Of course he'd be embarrassed, but we only want what's best for him." She crossed her arms, adopting a familiar self-righteous pose. "What do you think we should do then?"

"Nothing, if he needs to talk, he knows we're here for him." At her scoff, he continued quickly, "If he wants to act as if nothing happened, I think we should too." He stepped forward and drew her back into his embrace. "He'll be fine, he's a tough kid. He just needs some time." Tessa nodded grudgingly into his shirt, before lifting her face up to kiss her lover.

"I hope you're right."