AN – For a little ficlet I wasn't going to update this story is beginning to take on a life of its own! Thanks mostly to all those reviewers wanting more teenage Richie! There are parts of what's coming that some of you may recognise from a couple of bits I posted before and took down because I wasn't entirely happy with where they were going – it is hard to write a good "how did Richie end up living with Duncan and Tessa" story when there are so many excellent versions out there – but there are still a few issues around "The Gathering" that I just think need to be addressed!
I've used *** and italics for the flash backs and +++ and normal type for the flash backs within flash backs – let me know if that is too confusing and I'll try and think of anther format!
Did I mention that I suddenly think this is going to get rather longer? Hope that's OK!
***
Duncan knew that he would have to plan his campaign carefully. He'd already discovered that just asking Richie why he didn't want to do something was a route to chaos and confusion. The trick was to get the teenager to come to him.
And he had the perfect weapon.
The T-Bird.
Of course, Richie might prefer access to his Katana, but that was out of the question. He didn't want the lad attracting any more attention from rouge Immortals than he did already. This was the next best thing.
True enough, it only took about fifteen minutes of peering aimlessly into the engine, and moving tools around, for the teenager to appear, leaning on the door jam.
A single, covert, glance at the boy's pale, pinched, anxious, face, was enough to steel Duncan's resolve. He would heal. Richie might not.
But it still hurt.
"Geez Mac!" Richie was beside him in an instant, pressing down on the wound. "Are you OK?"
"I will be." Duncan assured him, gritting his teeth against the pain.
The blue light arched, circling around Richie's hand and his own, before the wound began to heal.
"If your fingers fall off, do you make new ones?" Richie asked curiously as he let go.
"I've never had to find out." Duncan admitted. "I think you probably have to open up the wound and stick the old ones back on again"
"That's disgusting." Richie protested.
"You asked." Duncan shrugged.
"You could have made something up."
Duncan looked at him over the engine. "I will never lie to you Richie. I might tell you to mind your own business, but I will not lie to you."
"Never?" Richie quirked a brow.
"I told you I was Immortal didn't I?" Duncan smiled.
"Eventually." Richie protested sourly. "Not at first."
"You didn't exactly make the most trustworthy first impression." Duncan pointed out.
***
Duncan Macleod put down the phone and stared at it for a moment as if it, not the sudden arrival of Slan Quince and his dramatic re-entry into the Game, was the source of all his problems.
"Trouble?" Conner asked mildly.
"That was the Police. The boy, the one you told me to let go by the way, got himself arrested."
"Given the alternatives he probably figured he was better off in jail."
"He wasn't too scared to have $2000 worth of my jewellery in his pocket." Duncan scowled. "Its no funny Conner."
"You have to admit the lad acquitted himself well Duncan. I've never seen anyone try to talk their way out of a beheading before." Conner chortled.
"I thought he was Slan!" Duncan defended himself.
"And you didn't notice that he had one of your swords in his hand?" Conner rolled his glass between his fingers. "Head hunters usually bring their own swords Duncan. Its not polite to expect your host to supply one."
"I was thinking about Tessa."
"I'm sure you were." Conner smirked.
"Not like that." Duncan glared at him. "Well, our light fingered thief can stew on things until morning. Maybe a night in the cells will do him some good."
"At least he'll get a good breakfast."
"Don't start Conner." Duncan frowned. "I refuse to feel sorry for anyone who is bright enough to bypass my security system and help himself to a large proportion of my stock. Frankly he seems to be doing pretty well for himself."
"I think you need a better security system." Conner sipped his drink. His lips quirked. "Maybe you could ask the boy to help you choose one."
"Maybe I could do as the Police ask and press charges." Duncan retorted.
Conner shook his head. "You aren't going to do that."
"No. But I am going to scare the living daylights out of him." Duncan glowered.
"Oh yes. That's a plan." Conner nodded. "He's bound to trust you after that."
"And the next person that he tries to rob might just shoot him!"
"You were the one who threatened to take his head." Conner pointed out.
"Yeah. Well." Duncan sighed. "Now I'm trying to keep it where it is."
Conner smiled.
"Don't look at me like that." Duncan scowled. "He's not my concern."
"We'll see." Conner murmured.
***
"You didn't like me much did you?" Richie said quietly.
"I didn't like having my home invaded." Duncan told him. "I didn't know you."
"That didn't stop you yelling at me." Richie rubbed his blood stained hand on his jeans. "At the police station."
"You scared me." Duncan admitted.
"Excuse me?" Richie blinked. "I scared you? You were the one waving the sword."
"And what you were doing was going to get you killed." Duncan pointed out.
"Hey. I've been pulling jobs since I was fourteen." Richie protested. "I don't usually get caught."
"Not the thieving." Duncan shook his head. "You'd seen too much. You knew too much. And you had no idea that trying to talk your way out of a petty larcenary charge, with tall tales of swordfights, might just buy you a one way ticket to the morgue."
***
"I scared him Conner." Duncan admitted unhappily. "I just wanted to be certain he knew that this wasn't some game. God knows he's vulnerable enough without mouthing off about sword fights. If Saul realises how much he saw .. I .. Well I came down harder on him that I meant to. He acted like he thought I was going to hit him."
"So you scared the lad a little. Maybe he'll be more cautious in future." Conner offered. "He'll certainly live longer that way."
"It wasn't that he flinched." Duncan realised. "It was that he recovered so quickly. One minute he was shrinking away from me, the next he clearly thought I was soft in the head for not pressing charges and he wasn't afraid to let me know it."
"Maybe he realised that you were one of the good guys." Conner looked up from his paper. "What did he say?"
He said "Who'd I tell?" Duncan scowled.
Conner laughed. "So what did you do?"
"I counted to ten. Very slowly. In Russian." Duncan remembered.
+++
"Can I go now?" The lad was doing his best to look bored. "Things to do. Places to be."
"People to rob?" Duncan put in smoothly.
"Hey, I don't rob people." Richie had protested.
"Then what were we? Duncan demanded.
"I robbed the Store." Richie pointed out. "You weren't supposed to be there."
"That's not the point."
"That's exactly the point. You have insurance don't you?.
+++
"He said that?" Conner looked surprised.
"I'm not saying he's Robin Hood." Duncan admitted. "But he's not out mugging little old ladies either."
"And I suppose he is going to pay you for the window?" Conner shook his head.
"Well. He wasn't very pleased about it .." Duncan grinned. "But .."
+++
"So are you gonna let me go now?" Richie asked.
"In a minute. " Duncan smiled.
"Aw man. The window." Richie realised.
"You offered to pay for it." Duncan reminded him.
"Well I just figured you would throw that in as part of the deal." Richie cocked his head.
"Think again."
"I think I'd have been better off in Juvie." Richie sighed. "Alright. How much?"
Duncan estimated the cost and halved it. "$50."
"I'll need a couple of days."
"No stealing." Duncan warned.
"Of course not." Richie assured him blithely. "Hey. You need some parts for that T-Bird? I do that too."
"No stealing." Duncan repeated firmly. "Promise me."
"Whatever." Richie sighed. "I'll just ask my rich Uncle to lend me the money."
+++
"He has a point." Conner noted. "How is he supposed to get the money?"
"I offered him a job." Duncan smiled. "He should be here in about 20 minutes."
***
"So, if all you were worried about was me mouthing off about Immortals." Richie demanded. "Why did you offer me the job? It wasn't like you couldn't afford to pay for the window."
"Like I said. You offered. I wanted to see if you would keep your word."
"It was a trick?"
"It was a test." Duncan admitted. "And you passed by the way."
"Yeah. But I nearly died doing it." Richie pointed out.
"You couldn't have just told me you were sick?" Duncan pointed out reasonably.
"No." Richie shook his head firmly.
"Rich?" Duncan frowned. "Why not?"
"Because." Richie said, as if that was an answer.