It was nearly one in the morning when Richie got to the dojo. He paid the
taxi driver with the last of his cash, apologizing for the lousy tip. He
made his way up the outside stairs to the loft skipping the dojo entirely.
He felt Duncan's presence as he let himself in.
"Mac?" he called as he rounded the corner of the elevator. "Oh man!" he froze and dropped his bag.
"Richie," Duncan panted from the bed, as he and the woman he was with hastily covered themselves. "What are you doing here?"
"Interrupting," Richie answered, turning to face the elevator. "And making things very awkward."
"Um. you two haven't met, have you?" Duncan laughed nervously.
"No, we haven't," the woman answered. Richie was slightly relieved to here good humor in her voice.
"Rich, why don't you go downstairs. We'll be there in a minute."
"Sure," Richie nodded slightly. He went to the stairs, leaving his bag where it was in the middle of the floor.
Duncan and the woman got dressed quickly and headed for the elevator. "Kids," Duncan shrugged moving Richie's bag out of the way.
Richie was lying on the weight bench staring at the ceiling. He didn't move when he heard the elevator gate open and felt Duncan's buzz come back into range. While the woman hadn't sounded angry in the loft he was still too embarrassed to look at her.
"Um, Rich?" Duncan asked kicking his toes. "You want to be sociable for a few minutes?"
"I am so sorry," Richie insisted sitting up. "I should have called or something."
"Rich, you live here, too," Duncan smiled. "Richie's room is upstairs," he explained to the dark haired woman standing beside him.
"Oh." She flashed Richie an attractive smile when she caught him looking at her. He quickly averted his gaze.
"Richie, can you stop staring at the wall for a minute?" Duncan asked. Richie looked at him. "That's progress. Richie Ryan, this is Ann Lindsay, Ann this is Richie."
"Nice to meet you," Ann said with a smile.
"Same here," Richie managed after clearing his throat. "I didn't know Mac had a. I mean, he didn't mention. He hasn't told me." He stopped and groaned. "You know, I can really only fit so many feet in my mouth at one time so, I'm just going to say nice to meet you and shut up." He smiled self-consciously and put his hands behind his back.
"You're right, Duncan; he is funny," Ann smiled making Richie blush. "Well, I'm just going to leave you boys to your emergency," she said after a few seconds of awkward silence.
Duncan gave her a kiss and walked her to the door. While they were gone, Richie sank back onto the weight bench. A few minutes later Duncan returned and sat next to him.
"Rich." he started.
"I don't know," Richie interrupted.
"What?"
"That's the answer to any question you are planning on asking. Why am I here? What happened? Is everything okay? Is anything wrong? I don't know."
"Let's start with something simple," Duncan decided. "How did you get here?"
"Really late flight."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did you have a fight with Heather about last weekend?"
"No. I told her the truth. well, the non-immortal truth."
"You told her that you got kidnapped?" Duncan asked.
"Do you have any idea how much I hate that word?" Richie grumbled. "But yeah, I told her."
"Did Coach Roberts give you a hard time about the sword?"
"No. He was pretty cool about." Richie paused and anger set in his features. "Because Dad told him all about immortals."
"What?"
"He told him Miller was after your money and his quickening. He told Coach I was immortal. He has no right to tell people about me!" Richie stood up and started pacing. "Then he got Coach trying to convince me to rethink our friendship. You know, I should stay with my own kind. See, according to Dad you don't know about immortals."
"Did you tell Roberts I was?" Duncan asked.
"It's none of my business to tell anyone you're immortal. I can't believe Dad did that to me," he continued. "He totally screwed everything up. And then. then when I confronted him about it."
"Whoa, you talked to Masters about this?"
"Yeah. I told him to back off and stop treating me like a baby. I told him he had no right to tell Coach about me. I told him to leave me alone!" Richie stopped pacing and stood facing Duncan next to the punching bag.
"And then?"
"Then he hit me."
"And what did you do?"
Richie slugged the punching bag as hard as he could. "I hit him back!"
"Then what?"
"I left!" Richie hit the bag again. "I told him to shape up and left!" He continued to hit the bag as he spoke.
"You left?"
"Yeah. And it felt so good to do the leaving for a change. He left me first!"
Duncan moved to hold the bag still as Richie beat it. "And how did that make you feel?" he asked. He knew it was corny but Richie had a lot of aggression to get out.
"I hated him! I hate him!" Duncan noted the change of tense but didn't say anything. "He treats me like crap!" Richie leaned into the bag and kept swinging. "He's an ass! I hate him! I don't want anything to do with him! I don't care if he doesn't want me anymore! I don't want him, either!"
"He doesn't want you?"
"No, and I DON'T CARE!" Richie screamed at the top of his voice hitting the bag so hard it hurt Duncan. "Everything was great until he left me! I would have never lived with Mamma Nikki if he hadn't left! I would have never done all the stupid stuff I did if he hadn't left!" He was panting but he didn't slow down or use any less force as he continued to attack the bag.
"Richie, think of the good things that came out of it," Duncan couldn't help but remind him.
"I hate him!"
"Why?"
"He never cared about me!"
"Why?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Angry tears were streaming down his face. "He just wanted a puppet!" He kept hitting. "He wants me to be him! I'm not!"
"No, you're not Greg," Duncan agreed. "You're better than he is!" Richie's rage was contagious.
"Yeah! I don't need him!"
"No!"
"I don't need his approval! I DON'T NEED HIM!"
"You're a great kid, Rich. You don't need anyone to tell you!"
"WHO CARES WHAT HE THINKS!"
"Not you!" Duncan cheered.
"HELL NO! I DON'T CARE IF I EVER SEE HIM AGAIN!" Richie screamed, giving the bag a slug that sent Duncan stumbling back a few paces. Richie stood glaring at the bag and panting so hard he couldn't speak anymore.
"Feel better?" Duncan asked. Richie nodded as he tried to catch his breath. "Did he really hit you again?" Richie nodded again. "And you got him back?" he asked proudly.
"Yup," Richie breathed out.
"Good for you!"
"You should have seen his face when I did it to," Richie's breathing was slowly returning to normal. "He could'a shit a brick and been less surprised!"
"You really have a way with words, don't you?" Duncan asked. "You really threw him through a loop, huh?"
"Yeah. Then. Then I left." Richie mood changed suddenly. "I had one of the best days of my life."
"So why are you so mad?" Duncan asked.
"I don't know," Richie answered sitting on the floor. "He sent all my stuff back and I had to leave."
"He sent your stuff back?"
"When I got home last night from practice all my stuff was in my room at the team house."
"All your stuff from Masters'?"
Richie nodded. "And on the very top. there was my sword for the world to see. He told me not to go back."
"Something tells me you're not mad about that part," Duncan said taking a seat on the floor next to Richie.
"I don't know what I think about that part," he admitted.
"Maybe you're hurt?" Duncan suggested. "You were hoping things were going to get better between you two and now its over?"
"I guess," he shrugged. "Is this what you felt like when your dad disowned you?"
"Yeah," Duncan answered softly. "And it's a horrible feeling. But I learned to accept it. You will, too."
"I don't want to accept it. I want it to change," Richie admitted. "I didn't mean." he trailed off.
"You didn't mean to hit him?" Duncan supplied. "You didn't mean to tell him how you felt? You didn't mean to make him back off? You didn't mean to be yourself?"
"No. I didn't mean to make him mad," Richie corrected.
"You didn't mean to hurt him."
"I didn't mean to ruin everything."
"Oh, Rich, you didn't ruin everything," Duncan assured him. "If he had been more willing to listen instead of issuing orders, it wouldn't have been so hard on him." Duncan took a deep breath before continuing. Normally he never had a decent word to say about Greg Masters, but Richie needed at least a shred of hope to hold onto before he could realize that this was all for the best. "I'm sure he's been doing what he thought was best for you. Sometimes the almost parents can make mistakes in that department."
"Like you and taking me to Conner?" Richie supplied.
"Exactly. When I did it, I was sure it was the right thing. Later on I was proved to be wrong."
"Yeah, well, chances are I won't get hurt enough to end up in the hospital and bring him running," Richie pointed out.
"But if this is wrong, it will be fixed. Just hopefully not so dramatically as last time."
Richie yawned. "My body would appreciate that."
"It's pretty late. Why don't we go to bed," Duncan suggested.
He waited for twenty minutes before going up to check on Richie. He had fallen asleep with his clothes still on. Duncan smiled and took off Richie's shoes and socks. He pulled the covers from underneath the young immortal and tucked him in.
"You know," he said after a minute. "Tessa would know what to say to you. To be honest, I couldn't be happier that you and Greg aren't so close anymore. You're finally starting to see him as I do. But if you don't like it, we'll fix it. You'll be happy. I promise. Night, Rich."
"Niema," Richie answered rolling over.
Duncan stopped. He had thought Richie was asleep. "Rich?" A soft snore was his only response.
. . . . . .
That morning Duncan woke with a start. He looked at his clock; it was ten thirty. He got dressed and rushed through breakfast before hurrying to open the dojo. Luckily, no one had shown up yet so his oversleeping wasn't noticed.
That afternoon Joe and Adam dropped by. They chatted for a while then Duncan invited them up for lunch. As the elevator made its way to the third floor a buzz hit Adam and Duncan.
"Expecting company?" Adam asked moving for his sword.
"No," Duncan answered reaching for his own. "Richie!" he suddenly realized.
"What?" Adam and Joe asked together.
"Richie came home last night," Duncan explained as the elevator came to a stop. "I forgot all about him."
"Thanks a lot," Richie answered from the kitchen. "Love you, too, man."
"I'm sorry, Richie," Duncan apologized.
"Don't worry. It took me a minute to realize where I was when I woke up. Hey guys."
"Hey, Richie," Joe greeted with a smile. "Mike went crazy last night when you turned up missing again."
"And you didn't tell me?" Duncan demanded.
"Richie slips away a lot," Joe told him. "He usually turns up. Mike just feels guilty about last week, that's all."
"Tell him I blame him completely. I totally hate the fact that he gives me privacy," Richie smiled.
"What's that smell?" Adam asked, although from the state of the kitchen it was obvious.
"Oh," Richie suddenly blushed. "That. Cookies anyone?" he offered holding up the plate with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on it.
"You made these?" Joe asked after taking a bite.
"Yeah."
"Where'd you get the recipe?"
"Sara Lee," Adam answered taking another cookie from the plate.
"Tessa," Duncan and Richie answered together.
"She used to make him cookies whenever we fought," Duncan added.
"She only did that once," Richie corrected. Tessa had stopped being such a sensitive topic for the two, but they still rarely spoke of her in front of company.
"She did that every time, you little liar," Duncan shot back.
"Did not," he defended. "I made 'em."
"You?"
"Yeah that's what I meant by 'I'."
"But when she was gone for the weekend, there were no cookies."
"Cause that was my first solo flight. And man, I'm telling you, those things sucked. I wouldn't even eat them."
"She never told me you could cook," Duncan smiled, taking another cookie.
"I know. I'm just surprised Conner kept his mouth shut." Richie turned to get the last of his cookies out of the oven.
"Conner?" Joe repeated. "Oh, you mean when Mac." he left the sentence unfinished.
"Ditched me in New York?" Richie finished with a wicked smile.
"Richie, I didn't." Duncan started.
"Yup," Richie continued, as if Duncan had said nothing. "I drove him nuts. Everyday I was in the kitchen. And I only knew how to make one thing."
"Whoever complains about these cookies is a fool," Adam mumbled.
"Is that a complement?" Richie asked.
"Of course not; it's an insult to Conner."
"So what did he do?" Joe asked.
"Bought me a cook book. I went crazy making everything he had the ingredients for."
"Then what?"
Richie's smile faded and he concentrated on the cookies. "I went back with Mac."
Everything got quiet and Adam ignored the awkwardness that suddenly controlled the room. "So what the hell are you doing here?" he asked Richie. "I thought we had finally gotten rid of you."
Richie blushed again and busied himself with the dishes. "Long story. No big, though."
"I'll tell you later," Duncan mouthed. "He just came up for a visit," he said loudly enough for Richie to hear.
For three days, Richie fluctuated between his usual self and a strong state of depression. Sometimes he was up for going out and sometimes he refused to leave his room or even turn on the lights. Duncan talked to him whenever he was willing and eventually Richie felt ready to go back to school. As Duncan drove him to the airport Richie grilled him about Ann.
"I can't believe you never mentioned her before," Richie chided.
"You've been busy."
"Never too busy to tease you about the new girlfriend. I have two and a half years of Heather related trauma to get you back for."
"I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone," Duncan offered pulling to a stop at the passenger drop off.
"No deal, I so owe you," Richie smiled as he got out of the car and got his bag from the backseat.
"I look forward to it. And Rich, that's your room if you ever want to come back and use it. But next time. can you at least call from the front door or something? Give a guy a little warning?"
"What you wanna make sure Ann and Adam never find out about each other?" Richie asked.
"Adam?"
"Come on, Mac," Richie smiled. "He's always over there, drinking our beer, sleeping on the couch. what's a guy supposed to think?"
"Richard Ryan!" Duncan laughed.
"That was for telling Heather about Angie!" Richie protested ducking Duncan's punch. "But you have to admit." he added backing away.
"Richie!" Duncan started after him.
"Ah, ah!" Richie scolded, pointing to a sign that reminded travelers that the area was for passenger drop off only. "You don't want to get towed do you?"
"This is war!" Duncan assured him with a broad grin, getting into the car.
"Fine with me!" Richie shot back with a wave before going into the airport. The trip back was quiet and Richie was ready to go back to school. Still, he just didn't know what to do about Greg.
AN: The question, who is Mamma Nikki? And Mac sent Richie to Conner? Will be answered in two companion stories soon to come!
"Mac?" he called as he rounded the corner of the elevator. "Oh man!" he froze and dropped his bag.
"Richie," Duncan panted from the bed, as he and the woman he was with hastily covered themselves. "What are you doing here?"
"Interrupting," Richie answered, turning to face the elevator. "And making things very awkward."
"Um. you two haven't met, have you?" Duncan laughed nervously.
"No, we haven't," the woman answered. Richie was slightly relieved to here good humor in her voice.
"Rich, why don't you go downstairs. We'll be there in a minute."
"Sure," Richie nodded slightly. He went to the stairs, leaving his bag where it was in the middle of the floor.
Duncan and the woman got dressed quickly and headed for the elevator. "Kids," Duncan shrugged moving Richie's bag out of the way.
Richie was lying on the weight bench staring at the ceiling. He didn't move when he heard the elevator gate open and felt Duncan's buzz come back into range. While the woman hadn't sounded angry in the loft he was still too embarrassed to look at her.
"Um, Rich?" Duncan asked kicking his toes. "You want to be sociable for a few minutes?"
"I am so sorry," Richie insisted sitting up. "I should have called or something."
"Rich, you live here, too," Duncan smiled. "Richie's room is upstairs," he explained to the dark haired woman standing beside him.
"Oh." She flashed Richie an attractive smile when she caught him looking at her. He quickly averted his gaze.
"Richie, can you stop staring at the wall for a minute?" Duncan asked. Richie looked at him. "That's progress. Richie Ryan, this is Ann Lindsay, Ann this is Richie."
"Nice to meet you," Ann said with a smile.
"Same here," Richie managed after clearing his throat. "I didn't know Mac had a. I mean, he didn't mention. He hasn't told me." He stopped and groaned. "You know, I can really only fit so many feet in my mouth at one time so, I'm just going to say nice to meet you and shut up." He smiled self-consciously and put his hands behind his back.
"You're right, Duncan; he is funny," Ann smiled making Richie blush. "Well, I'm just going to leave you boys to your emergency," she said after a few seconds of awkward silence.
Duncan gave her a kiss and walked her to the door. While they were gone, Richie sank back onto the weight bench. A few minutes later Duncan returned and sat next to him.
"Rich." he started.
"I don't know," Richie interrupted.
"What?"
"That's the answer to any question you are planning on asking. Why am I here? What happened? Is everything okay? Is anything wrong? I don't know."
"Let's start with something simple," Duncan decided. "How did you get here?"
"Really late flight."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did you have a fight with Heather about last weekend?"
"No. I told her the truth. well, the non-immortal truth."
"You told her that you got kidnapped?" Duncan asked.
"Do you have any idea how much I hate that word?" Richie grumbled. "But yeah, I told her."
"Did Coach Roberts give you a hard time about the sword?"
"No. He was pretty cool about." Richie paused and anger set in his features. "Because Dad told him all about immortals."
"What?"
"He told him Miller was after your money and his quickening. He told Coach I was immortal. He has no right to tell people about me!" Richie stood up and started pacing. "Then he got Coach trying to convince me to rethink our friendship. You know, I should stay with my own kind. See, according to Dad you don't know about immortals."
"Did you tell Roberts I was?" Duncan asked.
"It's none of my business to tell anyone you're immortal. I can't believe Dad did that to me," he continued. "He totally screwed everything up. And then. then when I confronted him about it."
"Whoa, you talked to Masters about this?"
"Yeah. I told him to back off and stop treating me like a baby. I told him he had no right to tell Coach about me. I told him to leave me alone!" Richie stopped pacing and stood facing Duncan next to the punching bag.
"And then?"
"Then he hit me."
"And what did you do?"
Richie slugged the punching bag as hard as he could. "I hit him back!"
"Then what?"
"I left!" Richie hit the bag again. "I told him to shape up and left!" He continued to hit the bag as he spoke.
"You left?"
"Yeah. And it felt so good to do the leaving for a change. He left me first!"
Duncan moved to hold the bag still as Richie beat it. "And how did that make you feel?" he asked. He knew it was corny but Richie had a lot of aggression to get out.
"I hated him! I hate him!" Duncan noted the change of tense but didn't say anything. "He treats me like crap!" Richie leaned into the bag and kept swinging. "He's an ass! I hate him! I don't want anything to do with him! I don't care if he doesn't want me anymore! I don't want him, either!"
"He doesn't want you?"
"No, and I DON'T CARE!" Richie screamed at the top of his voice hitting the bag so hard it hurt Duncan. "Everything was great until he left me! I would have never lived with Mamma Nikki if he hadn't left! I would have never done all the stupid stuff I did if he hadn't left!" He was panting but he didn't slow down or use any less force as he continued to attack the bag.
"Richie, think of the good things that came out of it," Duncan couldn't help but remind him.
"I hate him!"
"Why?"
"He never cared about me!"
"Why?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Angry tears were streaming down his face. "He just wanted a puppet!" He kept hitting. "He wants me to be him! I'm not!"
"No, you're not Greg," Duncan agreed. "You're better than he is!" Richie's rage was contagious.
"Yeah! I don't need him!"
"No!"
"I don't need his approval! I DON'T NEED HIM!"
"You're a great kid, Rich. You don't need anyone to tell you!"
"WHO CARES WHAT HE THINKS!"
"Not you!" Duncan cheered.
"HELL NO! I DON'T CARE IF I EVER SEE HIM AGAIN!" Richie screamed, giving the bag a slug that sent Duncan stumbling back a few paces. Richie stood glaring at the bag and panting so hard he couldn't speak anymore.
"Feel better?" Duncan asked. Richie nodded as he tried to catch his breath. "Did he really hit you again?" Richie nodded again. "And you got him back?" he asked proudly.
"Yup," Richie breathed out.
"Good for you!"
"You should have seen his face when I did it to," Richie's breathing was slowly returning to normal. "He could'a shit a brick and been less surprised!"
"You really have a way with words, don't you?" Duncan asked. "You really threw him through a loop, huh?"
"Yeah. Then. Then I left." Richie mood changed suddenly. "I had one of the best days of my life."
"So why are you so mad?" Duncan asked.
"I don't know," Richie answered sitting on the floor. "He sent all my stuff back and I had to leave."
"He sent your stuff back?"
"When I got home last night from practice all my stuff was in my room at the team house."
"All your stuff from Masters'?"
Richie nodded. "And on the very top. there was my sword for the world to see. He told me not to go back."
"Something tells me you're not mad about that part," Duncan said taking a seat on the floor next to Richie.
"I don't know what I think about that part," he admitted.
"Maybe you're hurt?" Duncan suggested. "You were hoping things were going to get better between you two and now its over?"
"I guess," he shrugged. "Is this what you felt like when your dad disowned you?"
"Yeah," Duncan answered softly. "And it's a horrible feeling. But I learned to accept it. You will, too."
"I don't want to accept it. I want it to change," Richie admitted. "I didn't mean." he trailed off.
"You didn't mean to hit him?" Duncan supplied. "You didn't mean to tell him how you felt? You didn't mean to make him back off? You didn't mean to be yourself?"
"No. I didn't mean to make him mad," Richie corrected.
"You didn't mean to hurt him."
"I didn't mean to ruin everything."
"Oh, Rich, you didn't ruin everything," Duncan assured him. "If he had been more willing to listen instead of issuing orders, it wouldn't have been so hard on him." Duncan took a deep breath before continuing. Normally he never had a decent word to say about Greg Masters, but Richie needed at least a shred of hope to hold onto before he could realize that this was all for the best. "I'm sure he's been doing what he thought was best for you. Sometimes the almost parents can make mistakes in that department."
"Like you and taking me to Conner?" Richie supplied.
"Exactly. When I did it, I was sure it was the right thing. Later on I was proved to be wrong."
"Yeah, well, chances are I won't get hurt enough to end up in the hospital and bring him running," Richie pointed out.
"But if this is wrong, it will be fixed. Just hopefully not so dramatically as last time."
Richie yawned. "My body would appreciate that."
"It's pretty late. Why don't we go to bed," Duncan suggested.
He waited for twenty minutes before going up to check on Richie. He had fallen asleep with his clothes still on. Duncan smiled and took off Richie's shoes and socks. He pulled the covers from underneath the young immortal and tucked him in.
"You know," he said after a minute. "Tessa would know what to say to you. To be honest, I couldn't be happier that you and Greg aren't so close anymore. You're finally starting to see him as I do. But if you don't like it, we'll fix it. You'll be happy. I promise. Night, Rich."
"Niema," Richie answered rolling over.
Duncan stopped. He had thought Richie was asleep. "Rich?" A soft snore was his only response.
. . . . . .
That morning Duncan woke with a start. He looked at his clock; it was ten thirty. He got dressed and rushed through breakfast before hurrying to open the dojo. Luckily, no one had shown up yet so his oversleeping wasn't noticed.
That afternoon Joe and Adam dropped by. They chatted for a while then Duncan invited them up for lunch. As the elevator made its way to the third floor a buzz hit Adam and Duncan.
"Expecting company?" Adam asked moving for his sword.
"No," Duncan answered reaching for his own. "Richie!" he suddenly realized.
"What?" Adam and Joe asked together.
"Richie came home last night," Duncan explained as the elevator came to a stop. "I forgot all about him."
"Thanks a lot," Richie answered from the kitchen. "Love you, too, man."
"I'm sorry, Richie," Duncan apologized.
"Don't worry. It took me a minute to realize where I was when I woke up. Hey guys."
"Hey, Richie," Joe greeted with a smile. "Mike went crazy last night when you turned up missing again."
"And you didn't tell me?" Duncan demanded.
"Richie slips away a lot," Joe told him. "He usually turns up. Mike just feels guilty about last week, that's all."
"Tell him I blame him completely. I totally hate the fact that he gives me privacy," Richie smiled.
"What's that smell?" Adam asked, although from the state of the kitchen it was obvious.
"Oh," Richie suddenly blushed. "That. Cookies anyone?" he offered holding up the plate with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on it.
"You made these?" Joe asked after taking a bite.
"Yeah."
"Where'd you get the recipe?"
"Sara Lee," Adam answered taking another cookie from the plate.
"Tessa," Duncan and Richie answered together.
"She used to make him cookies whenever we fought," Duncan added.
"She only did that once," Richie corrected. Tessa had stopped being such a sensitive topic for the two, but they still rarely spoke of her in front of company.
"She did that every time, you little liar," Duncan shot back.
"Did not," he defended. "I made 'em."
"You?"
"Yeah that's what I meant by 'I'."
"But when she was gone for the weekend, there were no cookies."
"Cause that was my first solo flight. And man, I'm telling you, those things sucked. I wouldn't even eat them."
"She never told me you could cook," Duncan smiled, taking another cookie.
"I know. I'm just surprised Conner kept his mouth shut." Richie turned to get the last of his cookies out of the oven.
"Conner?" Joe repeated. "Oh, you mean when Mac." he left the sentence unfinished.
"Ditched me in New York?" Richie finished with a wicked smile.
"Richie, I didn't." Duncan started.
"Yup," Richie continued, as if Duncan had said nothing. "I drove him nuts. Everyday I was in the kitchen. And I only knew how to make one thing."
"Whoever complains about these cookies is a fool," Adam mumbled.
"Is that a complement?" Richie asked.
"Of course not; it's an insult to Conner."
"So what did he do?" Joe asked.
"Bought me a cook book. I went crazy making everything he had the ingredients for."
"Then what?"
Richie's smile faded and he concentrated on the cookies. "I went back with Mac."
Everything got quiet and Adam ignored the awkwardness that suddenly controlled the room. "So what the hell are you doing here?" he asked Richie. "I thought we had finally gotten rid of you."
Richie blushed again and busied himself with the dishes. "Long story. No big, though."
"I'll tell you later," Duncan mouthed. "He just came up for a visit," he said loudly enough for Richie to hear.
For three days, Richie fluctuated between his usual self and a strong state of depression. Sometimes he was up for going out and sometimes he refused to leave his room or even turn on the lights. Duncan talked to him whenever he was willing and eventually Richie felt ready to go back to school. As Duncan drove him to the airport Richie grilled him about Ann.
"I can't believe you never mentioned her before," Richie chided.
"You've been busy."
"Never too busy to tease you about the new girlfriend. I have two and a half years of Heather related trauma to get you back for."
"I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone," Duncan offered pulling to a stop at the passenger drop off.
"No deal, I so owe you," Richie smiled as he got out of the car and got his bag from the backseat.
"I look forward to it. And Rich, that's your room if you ever want to come back and use it. But next time. can you at least call from the front door or something? Give a guy a little warning?"
"What you wanna make sure Ann and Adam never find out about each other?" Richie asked.
"Adam?"
"Come on, Mac," Richie smiled. "He's always over there, drinking our beer, sleeping on the couch. what's a guy supposed to think?"
"Richard Ryan!" Duncan laughed.
"That was for telling Heather about Angie!" Richie protested ducking Duncan's punch. "But you have to admit." he added backing away.
"Richie!" Duncan started after him.
"Ah, ah!" Richie scolded, pointing to a sign that reminded travelers that the area was for passenger drop off only. "You don't want to get towed do you?"
"This is war!" Duncan assured him with a broad grin, getting into the car.
"Fine with me!" Richie shot back with a wave before going into the airport. The trip back was quiet and Richie was ready to go back to school. Still, he just didn't know what to do about Greg.
AN: The question, who is Mamma Nikki? And Mac sent Richie to Conner? Will be answered in two companion stories soon to come!