Disclaimer: As before, Highlander and any ideas associated with the show do not belong to me. Any character you don't recognize is most likely mine. Enjoy!
Author's notes: Hey, I finally updated. I planned to do it sooner, but unfortunately finals got in the way and with the holidays, well, things got a bit busy. Anyways, thanks for waiting. Again thanks to my reviewers: MorganPendragon - thanks for adding my story to your favorite list, DumbOldDork - I don't think you have to worry about that, Waylon Smithers - thanks for suggesting A kind of Magic. I'm still in the middle of reading it, but you're right it is a very good story, Vamp Fan - thanks so much, I'm very flattered, Stormyronin - thanks for the kind review and you can rest assure that I will keep writing until someone tells me otherwise. Now on with the story
Chapter Seven
The present
Richie woke up with a gasp. Quickly opening his eyes, he promptly sat up and placed a hand on his chest. Though he was till covered with blood, both the dagger and wound were gone.
"About time you woke up."
Richie turned his head towards the speaker and found Sarah watching him intently from the couch. He finally noticed that they were back at Joshua's house.
"How did I get here?" he asked before slowly standing up.
"I brought you here." Sarah stood up as well and walked over to the window. "I couldn't very well leave you out there in that condition. The others might be nearby," she finished warily.
"Whoa, hold on a minute. Are you saying that you carried me all the way back here by yourself?"
Sarah turned to face Richie and saw the incredulous look on his face. Keeping her own face blank, she shrugged then said, "So I'm strong."
Richie raised his eyebrows in response. Sarah lifted an eyebrow in return.
"You think it's weird for a female to be strong, yet be perfectly natural for me to see you come back to life?"
"Yeah … about that," he said warily as his eyes shifted nervously. "You're not gonna tell anyone, will you?"
"Does Joshua know?" she asked evasively.
"Um … no." Richie gave her a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "This is not exactly the kind of information we Immortals like to share."
Sarah stared at him for a few seconds before nodding slightly and headed for the door.
"Wait!" Richie called out.
She stopped and hesitated before turning around to face him.
"Listen," he began hesitantly. "I know all this must be strange for you, but …" He paused for a moment when something occurred to him. "Hang on a sec, you said you knew all about us Immortals. How is that?"
"That's not important right now. I really have to …"
"Oh, no," Richie cut in. He walked around to stand between her and the door. "You're not getting away that easily."
The door opened just as Sarah opened her mouth. Both turned to see Joshua walk through the door.
"Oh, hey! You two still up?" Joshua said as he closed the door. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the stain on Richie's shirt.
Sarah saw Joshua tense and shoot her a look that said 'What did you do to him?' She briefly glanced at Richie before shooting her friend a 'Don't look at me' look.
Joshua shifted his eyes towards Richie. "Ah … is that blood on your shirt, man?" he asked hesitantly.
"Blood?" the other man said nervously. "Nah, man … It's …uh… it's just some food I spilled on myself. Why would I have blood on my shirt?"
Sarah heard the plea in Richie's voice and against her will she found herself helping him out. "Yeah, we were cleaning up after dinner when he slipped and spilled the dish he was carrying on himself." When Joshua still looked unconvinced she added, "It was a red sauce of some sort."
Sarah cringed inside, even she could tell how lame her reasoning was. Why am I doing this? she silently wondered. She looked at Joshua and hoped that he would just let it go. Finally he smiled weakly and again sent Sarah a silent message saying they'd talk about this privately.
"Okay, what really happened?" Joshua asked in a whisper the minute Richie excused himself to change.
"Just what we told you," she shot back just as quietly.
"Look, I know he thinks I don't know what you are. And like I said before, what you do is your business, but Richie is my friend and I don't want him mixed up in this."
"Joshua, relax. Your friend is not in any danger." Sarah turned towards the direction of the guest room, but her eyes held a faraway look. She realized the irony of what she had said when just a few hours ago she had thrown a dagger at Richie. The agony she felt while she waited for Richie to wake up was still fresh in her mind. Even scarier was the overwhelming relief she felt when she saw him breath again. When did I start caring so much for a total stranger? she mused silently. But his not a total stranger. He's …
"Nathan."
"Did you say something?" asked Joshua.
Sarah didn't realize that she said the name out loud and gave her head a shake. "Nothing, don't worry Richie's safe. I can't … I won't go through this again … I just can't."
"Sarah, what are you talking about?"
Sarah studied Joshua for a moment before withdrawing the locket that hung underneath her shirt. She unsnapped the clasp and gazed at the miniature portrait within. She hadn't looked inside the jewelry for years and now Sarah looked at Nathan's face with gentle eyes before lifting them towards the man in front or her.
"Remember when I talked to you about Nathan?" Joshua gave her a nod. "I never showed you his picture, but this is him right here."
She held the locket towards Joshua and waited for a reaction. The man gave Sarah a puzzled frown and looked at the picture.
"He looks kinda familiar," he said as he studied the miniature portrait. "Come to think of it, he looks a lot like …"
"What are you guys looking at?" a voice asked.
Joshua's head shot up as Richie walked back into the living room. Sarah watched as comprehension settled in and Joshua again looked at the locket then back at Richie.
"Nothing," Sarah told Richie as she replaced the locket underneath her shirt. To Joshua she said, "Listen, I have to go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sarah, hold on a sec," Richie called out.
She waited for the Immortal to approach her and tried to keep her lips from slipping into a smile. Richie was rubbing the back of his neck and scuffing his feet against the carpet like a school boy. Is he blushing?
"Hey, if you're not doing anything tomorrow, maybe you can come down to my race."
Sarah looked down and felt a rising panic within her. "I'm sorry, but I can't." Why am I nervous, she wondered. From the corner of her eyes she saw Joshua watching her closely.
"Oh."
She heard the disappointment in Richie's voice and was surprised that she too felt disappointed. Sarah looked back at him and as their eyes met, she realized that her life was about to get a lot more complicated than it already was.
