Chloe and Richie were back to not talking to each other.  Duncan agreed to let Chloe go to the dance, but he was going to wait to tell her depending on her behavior.  Richie had been helpful despite the situation. He spent a lot of time with Tessa learning how to cook of all things.  Duncan spent time with Chloe trying to get her to talk to him, but that seemed like the last thing she wanted to do.  Immortals had been showing up more frequently and Richie knew that Duncan was immortal so that gave them something to talk about when Chloe wasn't there.  She hated the fact that they would stop talking when she entered the room.                  

One night Chloe caught her parents talking about something when she went to say goodnight to them.  She found her father getting dressed to leave and Tessa kept telling him not to go.  Duncan kept telling her that he had to go.  Chloe was about to go back to her room when Duncan spotted her and called her to come in.

"It's not nice to spy." said Tessa

"What's wrong princess?" said Duncan seeing the frightened look on her face

"Where are you going?"

"I need to go take care of some business. I love you," he said hugging her

"Duncan, be careful." said Tessa

Duncan gave Tessa one last kiss and hugged Chloe one more time before he left.  Chloe ran after him outside.  Duncan could feel her and turned around to stop her.

"Chloe," sighed Duncan hugging her again

"Dad I love you."

"I love you baby.  Go back inside with mom."

"Dad some thing is wrong.  Mom is scared."

"Chloe take care of mom for me."

"I will."

"Go back inside its cold out here."

Chloe walked back to the house and watched as her father drove away.  Tessa walked over to Chloe and they sat together.  Tessa knew that Chloe didn't understand why her father left the house during the night.  Tessa sat with her for awhile and Richie tried to talk to her, but that made her madder.

It came close to ten and Tessa told Chloe that she should go to bed, but Chloe wanted to wait for Duncan to come home.  Tessa said that she could stay on the couch, but she should get some sleep.  Chloe agreed.  Tessa checked on her every ten minutes to see how she was doing.  The longer it took Duncan to walk through that door the more scared Chloe became. 

Around 12 Duncan walked through the door with his shirt covered in blood and Tessa hugged him.  She told Duncan what Chloe had been doing.  He said that he'd go check on her after he'd changed clothes.  He talked to Richie about what happened and went to check on Chloe who was fast asleep on the couch.  He picked her up and carried her to bed.  When he went to leave the room Chloe woke up.

 "Hi." he said walking back over to the bed

"Are  you alright?"

"Yeah I'm alright.  Go to sleep."

"Will you stay here?"

"I'll stay for a little bit." he said pulling over a chair

Chloe fell asleep about five minutes later and when Duncan went to leave he found her hand locked with his.  He had to figure out how to pry his hand away without waking her up.  Tessa was standing in the doorway.

"She was pretty scared Duncan.  She thought that you had left because you didn't love me anymore."

"Did she really think that?  Tessa I just don't want her to think that I'm never coming back."

"I explained it to her.  Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, let's go to bed."

In the morning Chloe woke up to find her father gone and she started to panic looking everywhere for him.  Richie tried to calm her down, but that seemed to only upset her more.  Duncan heard her yelling and ran from the shop.

"Chloe what's going on?" he said as she ran to him

"I thought that you were gone.  I woke up and couldn't find you."

"Its fine I'm here.  I'm not going anywhere."

Once Chloe was alright Richie tried to talk to her.  He knew that telling her about the swords wouldn't be too great, but he figured a little reassurance wouldn't hurt.

"Chloe ,Mac, isn't going to leave you.  He just has to take care of some other things."

"Yea, what do you know how I feel or what I think.  If it wasn't for you none of this would be happening."

"Chloe, trust me that Mac is fine."

"Get out of my way I have better things to do then talk to you.  All you do is bring me trouble and I don't need that. "

          The next week wasn't much better for Chloe.  She'd been avoiding Richie and she was trying her best to see if her father had forgotten about her punishment.  One day though Duncan told her that she could go to the dance.  Tessa took her to look for a dress and Richie had been working on some project for Duncan.  Things were getting back to normal for Duncan.  He just wished that Richie and Chloe wouldn't fight so much.  He though had bigger problems though like Chloe's date.  The thought of another man coming to take his daughter out anywhere scared the heck out of him. 

"Mac don't worry he's harmless.  He's just taking her to the dance they aren't going to run off and get married."

"Tessa I know I just don't like this."

"Be happy for her."

The doorbell rang and Richie answered it to find a very cute kid standing there in a nice shirt and pants.  He let him in and Duncan went to talk to him.  He's name was Charlie and he was a friend of Chloe's.

"Charlie what do your parents do?" said Duncan

"My mom is a nurse and my father works for the government."

"That's cool.  Charlie  I understand that you are taking Chloe to the dance.  Just have her home on time." said Richie

"Here she is." said Tessa walking behind Chleo with the camera in hand

 All the guys stood there in shock as Chloe walked down the stairs.  She had on a knee length dress that had a sash that wrapped around her waist.  Tessa had curled Chloe's hair and put some make up on her.  Duncan couldn't believe that this was his daughter.  She looked older then Richie!

"Hi. Charlie you look nice."

"Thanks you look nice too."

"Alright, Chloe and Charlie stand over there by the couch. I want to get some pictures."

Tessa took about a million pictures.  She had one with Chloe and Charlie another with Chloe and Duncan and one with Richie, then one with her finally one with all the Macleod's.  Finally, Duncan and Richie took the camera away.  They were all going blind from the flash.  Charlie thanked them and took Chloe out to the car where his mother was waiting to take them off to the dance.

"Tessa what?" said Duncan seeing her crying

"My baby is going to her first dance."

"Oh Tessa." laughed Duncan hugging her

"I'm alright." she said pulling away and going into the shop

"I thought that you were going to be bad Mac.  I just hate to see you guys when she gets married.  Tessa will blind everyone and be crying.  You will be bawling like a baby and of course I will be there saying I don't know you guys."

"Richie, don't go there I'm not so sure I liked what I just did now letting her go.  I don't even want to think of what the future will be like.  One more thing your fantasy is wrong.  You will be eating you way through the wedding and be too busy trying to hit on all of Chloe's single friends."

"Hey, what do you take me for?  I'd never try and do that to Chloe."

"What eat all her food or hit on all her friends?"

          "Eating all the food my stomach does eventually end."

          "Come on; let's go get those boxes loaded."

          "Tessa isn't going to be that way every time one of us has something happen to us is she?"

          "What do you think?'

          "We'd better start taking the flash off the camera and stocking up on the boxes of tissues."

          "So you were ready to say she couldn't leave at what point?'

          "I never wanted to let her walk out the door."

          "I wouldn't have let her go with that kid."

          "What you didn't like Charlie?  You had better not say that to Chloe."

          "Mac come on the kid is a major dork.'

          "What you'd have thought she'd choose a guy like you?"

          "Least a guy with some style, not leave it to beaver."

          "We are talking a junior high dance Richie not the prom I heard that you told him that you'd hurt him if he tried anything? Threaten her date good idea."

          "What the kid could be a jerk?"

          "Yeah, leave it to beaver the ax murder?" said Duncan laughing