10:31 p.m.
As Duncan squatted in front of the boy, he was terrified by the lack of recognition that he received. Of course he knew that Richie had to be exhausted after having spent more than twenty hours walking almost constantly, but he still didn't like how unaware the boy was of his surroundings. Relief swarmed through every pour in his body as he took the boy's head in his hands. Richie was coherent enough to recognize him.
The teen hesitantly lifted one hand to grip the Immortal's arm as he looked up at him. "Mac?"
"Hey, there." Struggling to maintain his composure, the Scotsman's reply was very gruff.
Richie was well past the point of caring about composure, though. His eyes filled with tears as he whispered his question. "Are you really here?"
"I'm really here." Duncan replied; squeezing the hand Richie had around his arm.
While he had no idea of where he had expected the reunion to go, he was nonetheless thrown by the boy's response. Exhausted, overwhelmed and extremely relieved, the teen simply slumped forward against the Immortal's chest. Before drifting into a sound sleep, he murmured what sounded suspiciously like, "Good."
Duncan shared the sentiment wholeheartedly. He shuttered to think of Richie falling asleep on the edge of a bridge in a strange town late at night. It was a damn good thing he was there, all right. Even as he gathered the boy up and carried him to the car, Richie never flinched. Settling him into the passenger seat, Duncan felt his concern for the child mount as he realized that he was still cold and damp from the early afternoon shower. He didn't like that at all. Roaming as far as Richie had depleted enough of the boy's strength. Being cold and wet on top of that hardly boosted his immune system or gave him additional energy. The Immortal had a feeling Richie was going to be tired and irritable for the next few days, at the least. He hoped fervently he wouldn't end up sick to top it off.
11:10 p.m.
Even as he rounded the car to retrieve the sleeping teen, Tessa bounded out the door. "Did you find him?"
"I did." He replied quickly, opening the passenger door and leaning in to unbuckle the seatbelt.
As Tessa leaned around him to look for herself, the momentary relief she felt fled. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's all right." Duncan assured her quickly. "Just tired."
"Did you find him like this?" Tessa was horrified at the idea of Richie being passed out somewhere. What if hadn't been Duncan who happened upon him?
Duncan looked up at her briefly as he pulled the boy out. "Not exactly."
"How, exactly, did you find him?" She pressed as she held the door open for the man and scurried ahead to make sure the path to Richie's bedroom was unobstructed.
Depositing the teen on the bed and moving to the dresser to retrieve a warm, dry pair of pajamas for the boy, he thought about how exactly to phrase it. "Exhausted but awake. He didn't fall asleep until I was with him, Tess."
"Where'd you find him?" She questioned.
As he tugged a shoe off the teen, he paused momentarily to ponder how soundly Richie was sleeping. He had not stirred an inch since Duncan had found him on the bridge. He tried to convince himself that it was simply because Richie was exhausted. He didn't want to get overconfident. He wanted to keep control over the part of him fervently praying that the peaceful slumber was induced by the assurance of safety that Duncan's arrival provided the boy.
"I met him at the end of the bridge." He finally replied.
A bit surprised, Tessa questioned him further. "You didn't search up and down the highway?"
"I met him at the end of the bridge." Duncan repeated. "I told you why I thought it was something he needed to do, Tess."
Tessa smiled at the explanation. "I know, sweetheart. I'm just surprised you managed to simply wait there."
As he leaned over the now warm and dry boy, he adjusted the covers one last time before looking back at her. He smiled slightly as he admitted to her, "I was headed to my car to go searching when he turned up."
"I see." She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Well I'm extremely impressed that you managed to hold out that long."
"So am I." He readily admitted. Looking down at the teen once more, he smile slightly at the sleeping form. "Looks like he'll sleep through the night, hum?"
"I would say so." Tessa agreed. "Why don't I make us some tea? You can fill me in on what's going on."
"All right." The Immortal was reluctant to leave the room, but he was the one who suggested the teen would be asleep for quite some time and Tessa did deserve some answers. Actually, they both did. But there were a few questions he was willing to leave unanswered for the night. There would be plenty of time to talk once Richie was rested.