In the silence that followed Methos realized that the people on the floor below were having a party, he wondered if they had beer and whether they would invite him.
"So much for the disguise." Joe muttered.
"Richie." Duncan repeated, lowering the Katana.
"Um. Yeah?" Richie pulled off the baseball cap and ran a nervous hand through his hair.
As Duncan moved into the light Methos could see the days of worry, uncertainly, and fear, etched onto his face melt into relief.
"Where the hell have you been?" Duncan yelled, advancing across the floor.
Richie flicked a quick, anxious, glance at Methos and Duncan stopped dead.
"Richie? What's wrong?"
"You um .. are probably wondering what's going on huh, Duncan?" Richie shifted nervously, twisting the baseball cap in his hands.
"Rich." Duncan spoke more gently. "I just want to know .." The Scot blinked. "Duncan?"
"Mac." Joe put in. "There's something you should probably know."
Duncan kept his eyes fixed on Richie. "I'm listening."
"Richie, isn't exactly himself right now. Well he's still him and everything. He just doesn't know what that is." Joe rambled. "I mean .." he glared at Methos. "Do you want to help me out here?"
"Not really." Methos shrugged.
Duncan struggled to hold on to his patience. This had been a very long week and now no one was making any sense.
"Are ye hurt?" he demanded.
"No." Richie shook his head. "I mean I was pretty sick there for a while. .."
"You've been sick?" Duncan was concerned.
"Yeah. No biggie. Just some headaches and stuff. But then Methos killed me and since then I've been fine."
"Uh Oh." Joe muttered under his breath.
"Methos killed you?" Duncan asked, very carefully.
"Yeah. I mean it was all in a good cause, and I feel much better now .." Richie assured him blithely.
Slowly, Duncan turned his head to meet Methos' eyes.
"You knew?" Duncan's voice was low and dangerous. "All this time you knew?"
"Not all the time." Methos protested.
He would have said more but it was rather hard to speak with a sword pressed up against his throat.
"You'd better have a damn good explanation." Duncan growled.
"Hey Mac. C'mon .. take it easy." Joe pleaded.
"Stay out of this Joe." Duncan warned, circling around Methos, keeping the point of the blade at his throat. "Well?"
"Not really." Methos quipped.
Joe threw up his hands in despair.
Duncan grasped Methos by the front of his jumper and pulled him up until they were eye to eye.
"Do you have any idea what you have put me through? Do you?"
He threw Methos out across the floor of the Dojo. Advancing with his sword.
"C'mon Mac. You don't want to do this." Joe pleaded.
"Watch me." Duncan raised the Katana.
"Mac! No! Don't!" Heedless of the blade, Richie threw himself between Methos and Macleod. With an oath Duncan tried to pull the stroke at the last moment, but not fast enough to prevent the Katana from slicing deep into Richie's bicep.
"Richie!" Duncan stared in horror.
"Shit." Richie managed through gritted teeth, pressing his hand across the gaping wound. The blood poured between his fingers and dripped onto the floor.
"That was my favourite coat." Methos complained, grasping Richie by his good arm and propelling him towards the bench. "Sit down."
"I'm fine." Richie protested. "It'll heal." He swayed slightly.
"Sit down, fall down, I don't much care." Methos pointed out. "But right now, gravity is not your friend."
"Should he be that pale?" Joe worried, as Richie sank down on the bench, tipping his head back against the wall, and squeezing his eyes shut aginst the pain.
"No. He should be unconscious." Methos put his hand over Richie's adding pressure to the wound.
"That hurts." Richie murmured, with a distinct slur to his voice.
"Good." Methos smiled at him. "That means your arm hasn't dropped off yet."
"You break out the leeches and I'm outta here." Richie's lip's quirked.
"I think that can be avoided." Methos watched in satisfaction as Richie's Quickening began to heal the wound.
Richie sat up a bit straighter and cracked open an eye to look carefully at Duncan.
"Sorry about the floor."
"The floor?" Duncan asked incredulously. He took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. "Richie. You disappear without trace for almost two weeks, without taking your sword, when you do turn up, in the middle of the night, you've lost weight, you're as pale as a ghost, you don't seem to know who I am, then you take leave of what appears to be left of your senses and almost impale yourself on my blade and you think I'm worried about the floor?"
"He's not worried about the floor." Methos translated.
"Do you mind?" Duncan asked icily.
"Just trying to be helpful."
"I think you've helped enough already." Duncan hissed.
"Oh well that's just great .." Methos began.
"Look, I don't know what you two are arguing about.." Richie cut in "because I don't speak gibberish but.."
"Gibberish?" Duncan looked at Joe.
"Gaelic." Joe shrugged. "Ever since .. you know .. with the sword .." he nodded at Methos.
"Oh." Duncan hadn't realised.
"but I really need a shower .." Richie peered disgustedly at his hands.
"Isn't this where I came in?" Methos wondered.
Duncan's eyes flashed and for a moment Joe feared another demonstration that even Methos' wit was not as sharp as the Scot's sword, but instead Macleod's gaze slid back to his student and his expression softened.
"You look like hell." he said fondly.
"You should see the other guy." Absently Richie rubbed his hand across his eyes, leaving a red smear across one cheek that stood out in stark relief from his chalk white complexion.
"Saul?" Duncan's voice was full of sympathy.
"So I've been told." Richie looked up and Joe was stuck by how young he suddenly appeared.
Duncan sat down next to him on the bench.
"Tell me." He commanded gently.
"Do you want the readers digest version or the whole enchilada?" Richie asked.
"Digest." Duncan decided. "For now .."
"Let's see." Richie ticked things on his fingers. "Fought Saul. Killed Saul." He looked up, "won by the way .. just in case anyone still has any doubts on that .."
"Richie" Duncan rolled his eyes. "Get on with it."
"Yeah right." Richie nodded. "Um. Fought Saul. Killed Saul. Won. Took this really big Quickening. Brain got fried. Forgot stuff. Woke up cold and confused in this seriously ugly yellow jacket."
Joe waited for the barrage of questions, but Duncan merely looked intently at his student for a moment.
"That must have been hard." His voice was full of sympathy.
"Yeah. Hard." Richie drew a shaky breath.
Duncan looked out into the Dojo. "I'm sorry about .. before .. twas an accident .. I'd no more harm ye than .." he shook his head.
"I know." Richie said simply.
"You do?" Duncan looked relieved.
"You do?" Joe was surprised.
"When I tried to stop you .." Richie looked awkward. "I remembered .. before .. on the beach. There was this girl .." on his stark white expression, Richie's blush was even more noticeable than usual.
"Felicia." Duncan realised.
"Yeah." Richie nodded. "You were going to kill her. Except you didn't. Because I asked you to." Richie gave him a shy smile. "I figure if you did that .. just because I asked you .. then .. well .. you know ."
"That I love you." Duncan met his gaze steadily.
"Um. Yeah. That." Richie shifted slightly.
"Come on." Duncan patted his shoulder. "You can shower while I'm cooking dinner."
"Dinner?" Joe exclaimed. "You have no idea what time it is do you?"
"I'm hungry. And I don't expect he's fed Richie's had anything but Pizza and beer."
"Excuse me." Methos protested. "He chose Pizza. With anchovies."
"You hate anchovies." Duncan pointed out.
"You don't say." Richie scowled. "Someone could have told me that before I ate them."
"How about pasta with meatballs?" Duncan offered.
"I don't know." Richie looked at him. "Do I like that?"
"Yeah." Duncan smiled. "You like that."
"Maybe we should go." Joe offered.
"Richie?" Methos' question hung in the air.
"There's beer in the refrigerator." Duncan wouldn't look at him.
Methos shrugged. "I can drink beer."
"Um. Shower?" Richie said hopefully.
"Upstairs." Duncan smiled. "More hot water."
"OK." Richie grinned. "Um. Where?"
"This way .." Duncan steered him towards the elevator, pausing briefly by Methos.
"I'll suffer you, for the lad's sake. But you and I." Duncan spoke softly in Gaelic. "We are not finished."
"Well that went well." Joe muttered.
"It could have been worse." Methos observed.
Joe thought about it for a moment.
"Mac." He realised. "Richie called him Mac."
