Just A Simple Exchange

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Ch. 14

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Just One Big Misunderstanding?

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Rick came back out. "T? Higgy said you wanted to talk to me?"

Instead of answering, TC handed him the sheet of paper with the poem on it. "I thought you might want to finally understand what The Thousandth Man thing TM has about Nuzo is all about?"

Interested, Rick looked up at him. "How'd you find out?"

"Higgins got it right away. Read this, Rick. I think you'll get it Wright away, too."

Rick looked at his friend a bit askance, but accepted the paper and began reading it. He actually read it twice before he looked up and simply said. "Oh, crap."

"I know how you feel, buddy, but when I said much the same thing, Higgy had something interesting to say."

"What's that? How do we talk Thomas into staying here if this is what he lost in Nuzo, T?"

"Higgins thinks we already have...She said, "Don't you think you already have? In spite of everything, Hannah reappearing, shooting him and wreaking havoc in your lives again...in spite of Robin misusing their friendship, and getting him hurt so badly, he's still in there, and he is still fighting. A moment of weakness where he sees Nuzo and begs to go with him means nothing, relative to the pull to remain here that the two of you have on him. Hold fast to that fact, TC. It means everything."

"But the money, TC, what about the money?"

"I don't know yet, Rick, but I think Higgy may be on to something there, as well. She pointed out that this is the one time where his stubbornness is actually working for us and not against us. She pointed out that until we talk to him we can't be absolutely certain that is what the money is meant to be...we are sort of assuming it is check out money. What if it isn't, Rick? What if the money is just to pay us up to date and give him some breathing room for the next time? I mean that is possible, isn't it?"

Wright tilted his head and contemplated that a moment. "You know. Maybe? I'm not sold on the idea, yet; but let's talk to our boy. Time for him to wakey-wakey, eh?"

"Rikki," Theodore chuckled.

"Only Thomas gets to call me that, TC." Rick Wright growled out. "Stupid baby name..."

"Which is exactly how Thomas feels about us calling him Tommy, but we both do it, Rick."

Rick nodded. "True...yeah, I guess that's true. But only really rarely, Theodore, okay?"

"Okay, Tikki Tavi."

Rick just rolled his eyes and they went into the room.

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About half an hour later, Magnum slowly opened his eyes and startled slightly finding TC, Rick and Higgins all staring at him. "Hi, guys," He said weakly. This felt really weird. "Did I do something wrong?"

TC just shook his head at him and chuckled. "Did you do something wrong? Oh, hell, no, Tommy boy...just almost got yourself killed again, courtesy of Robin Masters. Oh and way overpaid me all of a sudden. What the hell, Thomas? Forty G's plus?"

"I figured you could keep the extra on account because you know otherwise I'll just wind up owing you again before we know it."

"And is that all it means?" Theodore questioned.

"What else would it mean, TC?"

"Making us whole money?" Rick volunteered.

"Huh?" Thomas honestly looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember?" Theodore frowned at him. "You said that if you knew the end was coming, you'd find a way to make us all whole before you checked out."

"Oh, that." Magnum shook his head and from the expression that immediately came across his face, he regretted it. "Ow, that hurt." He saw Rick's hand inch towards the PCA button and pleaded. "No, Rick, please. I'm okay. I just won't shake my head again. Please?"

Wright relented. "Tell me if it gets to be too much."

"If I've had too much of anything, it's the damn medication," the private investigator groused... "The last thing I need is to get addicted."

"Oh, come on, T. You know damn well we would never let that happen to you, boy!" Calvin rebuked him. "Now back to the money, are you for real that's all it meant was?"

"Yes, Theodore, I'm for real. It wasn't...what did you call it that time? Check out money...this isn't a hotel and I have no plans to check out of anything, okay?"

"Uh, Nuzo earlier ring any bells, Thomas?" Rick queried.

"Well, yeah, I wanted to go with him, but I told you he wouldn't let me." Magnum sounded like a petulant child. "He said it wasn't 'my time' yet. That I still have things to do here and you two need me. And I had promised him I'd take care of Lara and Jake." He sighed heavily, "All of which is true, but..."

"Nope. No buts, Thomas. We are with Sebastian on this one, Thomas. You are needed here. We love you, bro - not your money, not what you can do for us; not what you do for others. I'm sorry I always bug you about the gas money, man."

Calvin was just warming up when Thomas broke in. "No, don't be. I want you to be who you are with me, Theodore. Don't ever be anything but your honest self, dude. I just..."

Higgins spoke up...ready to take her turn now. "Thomas Sullivan Magnum, why did you pay me for the full value of TWO Ferrari's when you paid to repair one of them and made good on the balance you owed me from the bounced check. That is way over."

He waved his good hand slightly. "Look, I don't plan on destroying anything, Higgins, but the odds are that something may go wrong on one of my cases and damage will happen. So keep it on account."

Juliet shook her head. "On account? I suppose we could do that, but Robin is going to be very confused when he gets the statement, and I may get read the riot act because I told you he refused to hold you to account for the destroyed Ferrari. I mean the man actually said, "Higgins, it is only a car. People are far more valuable than things, especially a person like Thomas." She frowned. "Also, I don't want you throwing away all of your inheritance from your mother's estate, Magnum."

Thomas frowned and immediately winced because the movement of his face hurt the bruises, but held up his hand towards Rick and the PCA button in a quelling motion. "What in the hell are you talking about, Higgy? The money doesn't have anything to do with my mom's estate. I'm still going around in circles with the probate court and lawyers over that - thanks to Frank!"

"It's not from settling your mom's estate?" Calvin questioned.

"Nope. It's from my trust fund, T."

"Your trust fund? You are a trust fund baby?" Higgins questioned.

"Yes, Higgins, my grandfather set up a trust the day I was born, so I guess that literally makes me a trust fund baby. I get periodic disbursements. It's old family money. My ancestors invented a bunch of things used by the Navy and other maritime organizations and the fund consists of the payouts from the patents still held by our family trust. I don't get all of it. I have cousins and stuff that also get dispersals. The Magnums' have some money. We aren't Robin Masters' rich, but we have some. Frank couldn't screw with that because there was no way he could get his hands on it as he was in no way a Magnum. How he managed to mess up the trust set up on my grandparent's homestead and sell it out from under me, I still don't understand?" He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his good hand. "Rick, could you hit me lightly, please? I don't want to get totally zonked out, because I clearly have things I need to explain to you guys, but it always gives me a headache thinking about this stuff."

Rick smiled at his friend. "Good boy, Thomas...actually admitting you need a little help. That's a good thing." He depressed the button briefly. "Let me know if that was enough when it..."

"Whoa," Thomas muttered. "May have been too much, bud. The room's going all wonky."

"That's okay, Thomas. You need to sleep...you sleep. Your recovery is what matters here."

"Not if you think I'm trying to take a powder on you, Theodore. That wasn't it at all. I just never know when the next dispersal of funds is going to be, so I like to take care of bills when I have it. You know I'm not in the PI work to get rich, for Pete's sake."

"Yes, I would say that has become abundantly clear to everyone who knows you, Magnum," Higgins remarked acerbically.

Thomas just smiled at the woman and shrugged his shoulders. "I just admitted it, Jules."

The woman smiled back. "And as I have gotten to know you, I realize there is nothing whatsoever wrong with that. Your motivation to do what you do is rather altruistic, in fact."

Thomas blushed a little. "Gee, Higgy, that was almost a compliment."

"It was intended as one, Magnum. You are a good person, even if at times I think you let yourself get taken advantage of a bit too much."

"Thanks, I think." Magnum sighed. "Rick, what are the rules on this thing?"

"Why?" Wright frowned standing and carefully regarding his face. "Oh, you're really hurting, aren't you?" He took the button in hand and pressed it down and held it much longer this time. "Nighty, night, buddy." He looked at TC and Higgins. "He needs to rest now, guys."

"I got what I need," TC admitted. "I feel much better about things. You, Orville?"

"Thomas is more important than anything else, T. I'm good."

In a weary voice, Magnum sighed, his words slurring slightly. "Thanks, you guys, Higgins...you are the best. How did I get so lucky to have 3 thousandth mans, or is that men? Yeah, should be men...and a thousandth lady?" And he was gone, softly sighing as he breathed in an almost snoring sigh in exhaustion from battles fought and won.

Rick and TC stared at each other, stunned, startled, and relieved to realize that Magnum had just indicated he equally considered them and even Higgins as, as valued to him as Nuzo had been. They had NOT expected to hear that.

A/N: Hope that made up for not getting a new chapter for a while there. I write where my muse takes me. I'm pretty tired now, though, so I think this is good night. We had rain off and on today and are expecting the same all the way through next week. We actually had thunder, lightning and hail today...something that doesn't happen very often in Northern California...but it is spring. Our poor kitty was so confused by the awful sound of the hail hitting our metal roof on our mobile home.