Chapter twenty.
It turned out Mac wasn't the only one who didn't want Richie to go. Joe had spent a good few hours trying to talk him out of it, closely followed by Isla, who kept telling him he shouldn't go making rash decisions. No one seemed to believe him when he said he'd put a lot of thought into it. Except for Adam. That man, it seemed, was just full of surprises. Considering they had just met, and not under the best of circumstances, he seemed to understand how Richie was feeling better than the people he considered family.
"I think it's an excellent idea," Adam had said sipping his beer. Give you chance to find your feet away from all this," he'd waved his hand around vaguely.
So Richie had packed a rucksack, one bag full of his life, planning to get a flight from Inverness to Europe, and from there who knew where. He hadn't made any real definite plans. That was both scary and exhilarating.
He had said goodbye to Isla back in Fort William. She had cried a little bit and hugged him a lot. After extracting a dozen separate promises that he would firstly keep in touch and secondly that he would be back she had finally let him go.
Adam had simply patted him on the back and smiled. Telling him to have fun and come back when the world made sense. Richie personally thought if he waited for that then he'd never come home.
Joe had been upset too, but had managed to wish him well and also made Richie promise numerous times to keep in touch. Richie resisted the urge to point out that in Joe's profession he would probably know what Richie was up to before any letters or phone calls reached him…
Ripley had moved in with Joe. She had been full of purrs for Richie when she saw him, but had most definitely not forgiven Mac for anything. The possibility of the two of them co-habiting without bloodshed was pretty non-existent.
Mac was taking him to the airport. There was still a distance there. And nothing seemed to close it no matter how hard Richie tried. He was at a loss now for what else to do. He'd even spoken to Adam about it, who had just shrugged and then smiled sympathetically.
"Nothing really to do. MacLeod feels guilty and he isn't ready to forgive himself. You've done your part. Let him figure out his part on his own. He'll get there."
"I just keep thinking I shouldn't leave until it's really sorted."
"You can't live your life for other people," Adam had disagreed. "You're ready to step out on your own. You have to do it. MacLeod will be absolutely fine."
"I just don't know if I feel right about this," Richie sighed.
"That's nerves talking kiddo. We all feel it the first time we try and step out of someone else's shadow. The times right."
In that respect Richie agreed. It did feel right. He just wished he knew how to make the distance between him and Mac go away.
/
The journey to Inverness had so far been quiet. And by quiet he meant silent. Mac gripped the steering wheel, the radio humming in the background and Richie stared out the passenger window, apparently lost in thought, his body language clearly showing how tense he was. They hadn't spoken since they got in the car and that was nearly an hour ago. They were already passing Loch Ness and Mac knew soon they would be in Inverness and Richie on a plane to Europe for who knew how long.
He also knew the tension in the car was his doing. Richie had tried pretty much everything to convince Mac he wasn't holding any grudges, but Mac just couldn't quite let it go. He couldn't forget how close he came to killing Richie or any of the vile things he had said to him. He wouldn't have blamed Richie for being angry with him, yet he didn't seem to be.
Maybe if Richie had shouted, or had been angry, or made Mac jump through some hoops to be forgiven it would have been easier to accept. But instead he had accepted the apology without question and said everything was ok.
But how could it be? Mac knew how hard Richie's trust had been to win. Knew how hard it was to keep. So why was he so forgiving about the biggest betrayal of his life?
"Did you ever read my file?" Richie asked softly, causing mac to glance sharply at the passenger side of the car. Richie was still staring out the window, refusing to make eye contact for the time being.
"No, I told you before I wouldn't intrude that way. That anything you wanted to tell me I'd be ready to hear when you wanted to tell me." Mac said, eyes back on the road, curious where Richie was going with this.
"Well I don't wanna tell you anything," Richie said simply. "I don't wanna tell anyone. Because talking about it is like reliving it and being there again. But I can't go and leave us like this."
"Rich, it's ok," Mac started but Richie cut him off.
"But it's not is it?" Richie demanded looking at him. "You don't really believe I've forgiven you do you? You feel so guilty that you can't accept I can let it go. But I've had worse happen to me and at least when you say sorry I know you mean it."
Mac's frown deepened even more. "What worse things have happened?"
"You wanna know the truth Mac? Loads. With you something totally inexplicable happened. Something you can't plan for. I mean seriously who could plan for that? But there are some people in this world that are just evil and do things you can't forgive. And they don't just do it once; they do it again and again. And they say they're sorry. Every time they come home drunk and you're the first thing they see, they're always sorry in the morning. Always promising it won't happen again. Begging you not to tell anyone. And you're so desperate for it to be true, to not have to move again away from your friends that for once you've been placed near to, that you try and believe them. But it's never true Mac. Never. And it does happen again and again and again. Until eventually even the teachers that don't want to see it start to notice that you keep missing school and eventually they start to question just how clumsy one kid can be to keep getting so many bruises."
"Richie I'm sorry," Mac said, shock evident in his voice. He'd pulled into a layby while Richie was talking. He suspected as much about Richie's childhood, but Richie never spoke about it, not in any sort of detail. To hear him say the words was… hard.
"I don't want your sympathy Mac, I just want you to know that I do forgive you. And I mean it. Because without you I don't know where I'd be. Actually," Richie laughed humourlessly, "Yeah I do. I'd be in prison. Or I'd be dead. So I owe you. I owe you everything because you saved me from a life I hated. And if the first thing I can do to start paying you back is to believe that in your right mind you would never do anything to hurt me, then I can do that. So what I need you to do is really believe me. So I can leave knowing I can come back."
Mac was shaking his head. "You saved yourself Richie. You made yourself into the man you are. And I am so proud of you."
"Then you should believe I wouldn't lie to you. You have to believe that we're ok Mac or I can't go. I can't leave thinking you don't believe me."
"I do believe you Rich, I really do," Mac said with a small smile. "There's just a rather big part of me that doesn't think I deserve your forgiveness so easily."
It was Richie's turn to frown.
"Mac… You're my best friend. You've stuck by me no matter what. Don't you think I'd wanna stick by you no matter what? You have to let it go. The good you've done for me completely outweighs this whole thing."
"Does it though?"
"I came home didn't I?" Richie demanded. "If I'd wanted to Fia or Adam could have helped me leave without having to see you again. But I came back with you. And if you don't believe me then I will come home now until you do."
Mac took a deep breath. Everything he was saying made sense of course. It didn't stop him feeling guilty. But maybe that was his problem, not theirs. "You should go. If you think this is something you need then I support that."
"Ok. So we have you supporting me. Can we now have you telling me that we're ok? Because I didn't fight to get you back to lose you to some stupid sense of guilt you feel the need to carry. Nothing that happened is that awful. I mean, sure, you attempted to make me ahead shorter, not my favourite memory, but nothing else was that bad…"
"I betrayed you confidence and your trust," Mac pointed out specifically thinking of Frankie and the things he'd said about Tessa.
Richie shrugged, and then surprised Mac by smiling slightly. "Yeah well, the whole telling Frankie thing, while I wasn't exactly thrilled at first, kinda worked out better in the end. No way would we have talked if you hadn't spilled to her. So I get closure. I know she's ok, she knows I'm ok. I can't hold that one against you."
"And the other things I said?" Mac asked. "What I said to you about Tessa dying?"
"Hurt like hell," Richie admitted quietly. "But I know you didn't mean it. I remember the night I tried to leave after her funeral Mac. I remember you not letting me go and making me face how much I missed her. If you blamed me for her dying you could have let me leave that night and been done with me. But you didn't. You fought for me. Like I just fought for you. So how about we call it quits? Me and you are even."
Mac shook his head and blew out a breath. "I keep underestimating you."
"So stop it," Richie suggested with a grin. "I don't expect you to be perfect all the time. So maybe you shouldn't expect it from yourself."
Mac found himself smiling a genuine smile. "I'll work on it."
"Good. So we're cool?" Riche asked, staring at Mac intensely. "And I mean really this time?"
Mac turned the key in the ignition. "Yes, we're 'cool.' And you have a flight to catch." He pulled back onto the road and the silence stretched between them. Except this time it was the companionable silence of friends who didn't need to speak instead of couldn't speak.
/
Richie eyed the plane out of the terminal window. He was excited and terrified. This was it. The moment he stepped out into the world a hundred percent on his own to figure out where he fitted into this world. And what he wanted to do with his potentially extraordinarily long life.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Mac who was staring at the plane too.
Ok, so maybe not really a hundred percent on his own. He had a home to come back to. People who would be there if he needed them. A safety net.
It was time to head through security. Time to go…
As if sensing Richie's trepidation Mac squeezed his shoulder and gave him a gentle in the right direction.
"Come on, you don't want to miss it."
Richie walked slowly, Mac at his side.
"Call me when you land," Mac instructed turning Richie round to face him. "You watch your head. And you come home when you're ready. Ok?"
Richie nodded, locking his eyes on Mac, taking comfort from what he saw there. Impulsively he pulled Mac into a hug and held on until he felt ready to let go. And then he held on for a bit longer.
"I'll miss you Mac. Take care of yourself too," Richie pulled back grabbed his hand luggage.
"Always do," Mac said smiling. "Go," he nodded towards the security gate.
Richie managed to smile back. He turned and headed to the gate. Once through he turned and saw Mac hadn't moved an inch. Richie raised a hand in goodbye. Mac matched his move.
Deep breath.
Richie turned and started walking away. This was his future, his life. His future started now, and it was going to be a good one.
/
Epilogue.
From the other end of the terminal Adam watched the exchange with more than idle curiosity.
"They sorted their problem en route it seems."
The younger Immortal next to him nodded. "Yes. It would seem so." Fia answered.
"You still don't think it could be them?" Adam asked.
Fia shrugged. "I'm starting to think you might be right. Bit of a red herring sending me to MacLeod before he was Immortal. No way would I pick him out back then. Now though…"
"And add that kid into the equation… "
"And they'd fit perfectly," Fia nodded. "Especially with the mortal girlfriend."
"So if she does what we think she will in the next few years…" Adam said.
"Then bingo." Fia said. "We could win."
"As long as there are two Immortals alive still we're winning." Adam said with a look.
"I know. Winning." Fia repeated. "But I want to win. And I want to live. Preferably in a world where people aren't trying to take my head round every corner."
"So we nurture these two. Make sure they can do what needs to be done." Adam agreed with a nod.
"But you don't think we should tell them?"
Adam laughed. "Everyone we tell thinks we are crazy. That might just hinder the plan. No we keep it to ourselves until everything is in place. By then they'll trust us and we can tell them everything. They'll want to believe us which will help."
Fia nodded her agreement as they watched MacLeod leave the airport.
"I vote you get close to MacLeod," Fia said. "I don't think our personalities are overly compatible."
"There were definite fireworks from your side," Adam agreed, knowing full well the entire incident with the dark Quickening brought back bad memories for her. And she wasn't as forgiving as Richie appeared to be.
"And a twenty year old will drive you insane," Fia pointed out accurately. "Plus we already have a connection."
"You do that," Adam agreed. "Do you plan to follow him now?"
Fia shook her head. "No. He needs this time to be a normal kid. That won't happen with another Immortal dogging his steps. I'll keep an eye from a distance. Step in if I'm needed."
And I'll –"
"Move in," Fia said with a playful shove. "You're practically a lodger already!"
Adam shrugged. "The Highlander is not a slave to his hormones, making him a mite harder to get on side than your charge. I have to start now if I expect to get anywhere with him."
"True," Fia nodded and sighed.
"What?" Adam asked.
"You'd think, given my age, that a few years, a decade or two, would sound like nothing. But we're so close. So close… And it feels like it's still so far away."
Adam sympathised. He was so much older, but it still sounded like an eternity to wait to get to the conclusion he'd been heading to for so long. So long…
"It'll all be worth it," Adam promised, "All of it."
"If we can bring it together…"
"We can. We've got to here haven't we? Final stretch kiddo." In a rare show of affection Adam cupped her chin in his hand, and looked into her eyes with no barriers of his own in place. "I will make this work for you, I promise."
Fia nodded slightly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "And I'll make it work for you," she vowed.
They parted ways then. Adam wasn't sure when he'd see her again, but they had a purpose, a mission that was more important. And neither of them was going to fail in their roles. Too much was at stake…
TBC