Methos wasn't at all sure that he had ever been to Montana before.

He was far from clear about why he was here now.

"You couldn't have found a place closer to civilization?"

"There's a perfectly good sized town just twenty minutes that way." Duncan informed him

"By car or carrier pigeon?" Methos muttered.

"Do you really think I'd bring Richie somewhere that didn't have all the necessities of teenage life within easy reach?"

"Not if you value your sanity," Methos acknowledged. "Unless, of course, you've already lost it."

"Meaning?"

"Why horses?" Methos frowned. "Why not do your male bonding thing over motorcycles or cars?"

"Cars don't have feelings," Duncan pointed out. "Richie's felt like a victim too often in his life. This thing with Saul was just the last straw. He needs something that he can take care of for a change."

"So buy him a goldfish."

"You are deliberately missing the point here, aren't you?"

"Wow," Richie bounced up. "Man. This place is huge."

"You haven't seen the house yet," Duncan looked uncharacteristically nervous. "You ready for the Grand Tour?"

"Sure," Richie nodded. "It all looks kinda new."

"Parts of it are," Duncan led the way inside. "I remodeled it a bit."

"Of course." Methos muttered.

From the hardwood floors to the carved stone plinth over the fireplace, signs of the Immortal's care, and attention to detail, were clear in every room.

"When did you do all this?" Richie was awestruck.

"On and off over the last few years," Duncan looked awkward. "This is the other bedroom."

"Oh wow," Richie exclaimed. "A bay window! I had one of these in my room once, when I was a kid. Well, it wasn't my room exactly, 'cos I had to share it with three other kids, but it was pretty cool."

He stepped in and turned around slowly to take in the fixtures and fittings.

"It has a Jacuzzi and a power shower in the en-suite bathroom too." Duncan told him.

"Did you get one of those little plaques with his name on as well?" Methos wanted to know.

"I'm sure we can pick one up in town." Duncan refused to be baited.

"This isn't for Connor?" Richie's jaw dropped. "Oh Mac, .."

"It's just a room." Still Duncan looked pleased.

"Trust me, Mac," Richie gave him a fond look. "I've lived in enough places to know the difference. Saying this is just a room is like saying Methos likes the occasional beer."

"Although, I can drink Champagne if the occasion requires it," Methos hinted broadly.

"You looked already, didn't you?" Duncan guessed.

"It is called a beer cooler for a reason, Macleod."

***

"Tell me why we are here again?" Richie muttered.

"So Macleod can buy horses." Methos told him.

"Yes. But why are we here?"

 "What do you think, Rich?" Duncan indicated the roan that was being trotted out.

"Um. It's a nice color?" Richie floundered.

Methos had to bite his arm to keep from laughing out loud.

"Hey, I'm hungry." Richie cast around desperately for something else to be doing. "Is anyone else hungry?"

"You just ate lunch." Duncan protested.

"That was hours ago," Richie dismissed that. "There's a Hot Dog stand just over there."

"Alright," Duncan rolled his eyes. "Do you have enough money?"

"Sure," Richie dropped down off the rail. "I'll even treat."

"Don't get lost." Duncan told him.

"Or arrested," Methos added.

"Don't fall down any holes." Duncan bit back a grin.

"Or fall in love with any women," Methos laughed.

"You guys are seriously weird." Richie shook his head. "Like, the odds of any one of those things happening to me between here and over there must be I don't know. Really, really, big."

"What do you think?" Duncan asked as he watched Richie weave his way through the crowd.

"We left out don't accept any challenges from strange Immortals." Methos grinned.

"Oh, come on. We've been here all afternoon without any sign, even Richie, couldn't .." Duncan froze as he felt the presence of another Immortal.

"You were saying?" Methos scanned the crowd.

Then relaxed as he recognized the other.

"Conner!" Duncan embraced his kinsman. "I wasn't expecting you until next week?"

"Last time I left you my money to buy a horse," Conner grinned at him. "You came back with a wench."

"You bought a girl?" Methos looked amused. "Having a hard time getting a date?"

"She was no that sort of girl!" Duncan protested. "I used the money to buy her food and clothing that's all."

"Clothing?" Methos smirked.

"Warm clothing." Duncan huffed. "Although, that's not to say she wasn't a comely lass." He grinned.

"And you call Richie a slave to his hormones." Methos rolled his eyes.

"What have you done with the lad?" Connor looked around. "After all this trouble with Saul, I'm surprised you let him out of your sight."

"He's just gone to get some hotdogs .." Duncan easily picked out the familiar blond curls from amidst the crowd. "Oh no .." he groaned.

"What?" Methos asked.

"I don't know. But something's wrong. He's coming back empty handed."

"What could possibly have gone wrong  in between here and there?" Conner frowned.

"Would you like a list?" Methos offered.

***

"You've done what?" Duncan was positive he couldn't have heard right.

"I bought a horse." Richie tried to look confident.

Methos scooted backwards as the horse in question flatted her ears against her head and tried to take a chunk out of his arm.

"How much did they pay you?" he asked dryly.

"Look," Richie started to look nervous. "I know she's a little skittish and all .."

They all flinched as one well aimed hoof made contact with the wall.

"But you can sort that out? Right, Mac?" Richie finished.

"Maybe." Duncan said doubtfully, frowning at the scars and welts littering her thin flanks.

"If you can ever get within ten feet of her." Methos muttered.

Spooked by all the attention, the young horse began bucking and pulling on her rope.

"She's going to break out." Connor warned.

"Aw hell." Duncan measured the likelihood of serious injury against the pinched, pale, look on Richie's face and decided it was no contest.

"Duncan. This is foolishness." Connor caught his arm as he moved towards the stall. "A horse like that will be no good for the boy. Better to nip this in the bud."

"No. We gotta help her." Richie protested. "Or they'll turn her into horse steaks or glue or something."

"Better that than send a man to his death through her willfulness." Connor shook his head.

"No. She's not a bad horse. She just met some bad people. I can help her. I know I can." Richie pleaded.

"Let him try." Duncan said quietly.

"Duncan. That engine runs on hay. Not gas," Conner pointed out. "What does the boy know about horseflesh?"

"What harm can it do to let him try?" Duncan shrugged.

"Well. He could get trampled into a mushy pulp," Methos suggested. "But he'd live .. so what does that matter?"

"Thank you so much for the rousing endorsement." Richie muttered.

"Anytime," Methos acknowledged.

***

The three elder Immortals watched as Richie slipped quietly into the stall.

"Hey horsie." Richie spoke gently.

"Horsie?" Methos mouthed.

Duncan shrugged.

"Easy girl." Richie stood quite still, waiting for her to quiet down.

When he made no move to approach, the filly came back down onto all four feet, quivering with tension and eyeing him warily.

"Its OK." Richie soothed. "I won't hurt you. You're pretty hungry huh? You want this nice apple?"

Bending down he left a piece of the apple on the overturned bucket and backed off.

The horse sniffed, and took a stiff, anxious step forward. Learnt behaviour warring with her aching hunger.

Then stopped.

"It has his scent on it." Conner shook his head.

"I'll bet you that cottage you have in Ireland that she takes it." Methos put in.

"You have a cottage in Ireland?" Duncan blinked

"The Guinness just doesn't taste the same anywhere else." Conner told him.

 The filly snatched the apple and sniffed the air for more.

"You liked that huh?" Richie smiled. "You want another piece?"

This time he extended his palm out, with the fingers flat, as Duncan had taught him.

The horse took, one, two, hesitant steps, on shaking legs and quickly stole the apple from his hand.

"I think you owe me a cottage." Methos smirked.

"And I think we've just acquired a new member of the family." Duncan smiled at Richie.

"But you'll have to come up with a better name for her than horsie." Methos advised.

"You heard that?" Richie winced.

"Heard it?" Conner shook his head. "It'll be in your Chronicle."

***

Rich?" Duncan knocked softly on the door of his new room. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Richie was sitting in the bay window.

"You OK?" Duncan asked gently. "You seemed kinda quiet downstairs."

"Yeah," Richie rubbed his eyes.

"Saul?"

"Not like you mean." Richie said ambiguously.

"You want to talk about it?"

"When I was real small," Richie looked out the window "Mom, I mean Emily, used to say that if a Mommy or Daddy's love was strong enough, it could make a magic circle around you that kept out all the monsters."

"That's nice." Duncan smiled at the thought.

"You do that for me." Richie told him. "Even when things with Saul were at there worst, I kept imagining you were there beside me, what you would do, what you would say, and it made me stronger. I couldn't have made it .. not then .. not as an Immortal .. not as a scared, lonely kid trying to get by on the streets .. if you hadn't been there for me."

"Then we're even," Duncan told him. "If I hadn't had you when Tessa died .. You were my strength. You kept me going."

"You know I love you, right?" Richie looked at him.

Duncan smiled fondly at him. "Yeah, I know it, but it's good to hear you say it all the same."

"I should have said it before." Richie looked away.

"Rich, you said it every time you offered to look after the store so I could take Tess out on a Saturday afternoon; every time you followed me when you were not supposed to; every time you told me I was being an ass when others would not," Duncan assured him.

"Well. Good." Richie gave him a lop sided smile. "Likewise."

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" Methos leant against the door jamb. "Connor has started singing."

"Pull up a piece of floor." Richie offered.

"You know, Macleod," Methos settled himself against the wall. "This Scottish frugal thing can be carried too far you know."

"I thought Richie might like to pick out his own furniture." Duncan explained.

"You could get one of those little beds shaped like race cars." Methos smirked.

"Has anyone mentioned that you're sleeping in the barn?" Richie responded.

"I think you may finally have met your match." Duncan grinned.

"Him or me?" Methos asked suspiciously.

"Both of you." Duncan grinned.

"So, is this like the formal hand over?" Richie grinned. "Don't I get an end of term report or something?"

"You're alive, aren't you?" Methos told him. "That's all the testimony you need."

"There is such a thing as finesse." Richie tried to look superior.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about that," Duncan looked across at him. "You never did tell us how you beat Saul."

"The usual way." Richie looked awkward. "I chopped off his head."

"With both hands tied behind your back?" Duncan arched a brow.

"Ah," Richie squirmed. "Well, obviously I wasn't tied up at that precise moment."

"So, how did you get loose?" Methos put in.

"Do we really need to talk about this? I mean, like you said, I'm alive. That's all that counts. Right?"

"OK. Now I'm really curious. Aren't you, Macleod?" Methos grinned.

"This definitely sounds like something you should share, Rich." Duncan patted his leg.

 "I told him I needed to go to the bathroom, alright?" Richie blushed. "To be honest I didn't think he'd go for it, I mean, a guy who gets his kicks from introducing you to your insides, you gotta think some smell and a bit of mess isn't going to put him off his game. But I guess he was planning on carrying on for a while, and he certainly wasn't up for giving me a hand." Richie made a face. "So, he untied me and I killed him."

"Just like that?" Duncan said mildly.

Several hours of torture would hardly have left Richie at his physical peak.

"Pretty much just like that," Richie hedged.

"Define pretty much." Methos instructed.

"I told him I couldn't go if people were watching."

***

"He was lucky." Duncan looked down at the young man, sleeping in the crook of his arm.

"He used his head and he took his chance when it came." Methos corrected. "That's not luck, that's judgment."

"Even so, Saul was a fool to turn his back on an opponent."

"He thought a boy was no threat. And his arrogance got him killed with his own sword." Methos' tone demonstrated a certain satisfaction with that outcome.

"It was a risk though." Duncan eyed Methos carefully. "If Saul had got a hand to the blade .."

Methos narrowed his eyes.

"If you want to know my opinion of Richie. Why don't you just ask me?"

"Because I want a straight answer?"

"You've had several other teachers besides Connor, haven't you?"

"You call that a straight answer?"

"I don't call yours an answer at all." Methos pointed out.

"You've read my chronicle." Duncan shrugged.

"I don't remember who I was before I met Kronos." Methos admitted. "Not really."

"He must have been a harsh teacher." Duncan sympathized.

"Yes." Methos said, without bitterness. "And the lessons he taught me, I taught to others."

"Saul." Duncan realized "Saul was your student."

"Indeed," Methos looked at his beer. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to undo the wrong that you have wrought one person at time?"

"So, how do you make your peace?" Duncan asked.

"By realizing that I was not responsible for the choices of my students." The ghost of a smile drifted across Methos' face. "I mean, look at what happened to Darius at the gates of Paris. No one could hold me responsible for that."

"You were Darius' teacher?" Duncan was surprised. "He never said."

"I am supposed to be a myth." Methos reminded him.

"I always thought Darius would be the last of us." Duncan sighed.

"You mean that "there can be only one thing"?" Methos scoffed.

"It's what I was taught." Duncan resisted the temptation to hold his breath.

 "Mistranslation is a terrible thing,  Methos sighed. "John Donne knew what he was taking about."

"No man is an Island." Duncan recalled.

"Exactly, we are all connected. By who we love, and teach, and know. By the choices we make." Methos said meaningfully.

"The eternal struggle. Good verses evil," Duncan realized. "That's the Prize? Only one will triumph?"

"Maybe, " Methos looked at his empty bottle. "Is there any more beer?"

"Here, you take him for a bit," Duncan gently shoved Richie over onto Methos. "I'll go and see."

Methos accepted his new burden with only a token grunt.

"And in the last days," Methos intoned softly, in a language which had long since gone out of use, "in a place out of time, the last shall meet the first, each carrying, the strength and hope of all with them, and so it will be decided and henceforth there will be only one power across the face of the earth."

"You know," he looked down at the young man, destined to carry the hopes of the world on his shoulders. "I really thought you would be taller."

***

That's it folks. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I have an idea for a sequel – where Richie will (quite literary) get to save the world – if anyone out there is interested???