AN: Here it is the final chap. And before I get started on that I must
Must MUST give out many many many many many thanks to Lori Belle, my beta
and Bev. They were so cool about letting me blab and complain and fuss
over my story when they had better things to do. So, THANK YOU THANK YOU
THANK YOU!!!! This story would have been crap without y'all's help! *BIG
HUGS!!!*
Beta interrupts: Well, it wasn't that much of a hardship...gave me an excuse to use some of my...um...knowledge? That's it. Knowledge. *grin*
***
"Duncan, look." Tessa shook him awake early the next morning. Duncan mumbled and groaned, stretched then opened his eyes. She gestured to the doorway, where Richie lay curled in a little ball under his comforter that he had apparently drug with him when he moved rooms.
"He never ceases to amaze and confuse me," Duncan grinned, shaking his head. "I guess we'd better get him in his own bed again." He got out of bed and picked up the boy who mumbled something and opened his eyes. "What was that?" Duncan asked.
"Put me down," he repeated.
"Why would I do that?"
"Cause I asked you to."
"So? Since when do I listen to you?" he asked as he pushed Richie's bedroom door open.
"Mac...c'mon!" Richie began to squirm.
"What are you going to do about it, tough guy?"
"Tessa!"
"Shut up, you'll wake everybody." Duncan kicked the door closed behind them.
"Put me down."
"Why didn't you just ask?" He put Richie down on his bed. "How are you feeling?"
Richie shrugged. "Fine."
"Then what were you doing in our room?"
"I had a nightmare..." he admitted. "But I'm okay now, really."
"About Master?"
"Yeah, it was like he was in my head. But he's gone now. Is that normal?"
"Completely," Duncan assured him. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?" Duncan asked with a grin.
"Maa-aac! I'm fine." Richie paused. "Just, could you stay a bit?"
Duncan grinned fondly. "Of course I can stay." He rearranged the bedclothes, tucking Richie in. He could have sworn Richie was smiling up at him.
"Just till I fall asleep." Richie assured him. He closed his eyes, only to open them quickly. "Will he come back?"
"Who? Master?"
"Yeah," Richie almost whispered.
"He's dead, Rich."
"No, I mean in my head."
Duncan paused before answering. "Maybe sometimes. More like you'll notice you can do something you couldn't before. But it's just memories," he assured him. "They can't hurt you. He can't control you."
"Oh, good." Richie settled into the covers, reassured by Duncan's weight pressing down on the bed where he was sitting on the edge. "Good night, Mac." He closed his eyes again.
"G'night, Richie."
Duncan waited until he heard the heavy sounds of sleep that came from Richie before getting up, pausing one last time to check to see if Richie was covered by the blankets and then walked back to Tessa to sleep himself.
. . . . . .
Conner and Sean had been at a loss for what to do with the two mortal boys after they had cleaned up any evidence of Master's death. They couldn't set them up in a hotel and they couldn't send them back to the island, either. So they had done the only thing they could... they brought them home with them.
They boys were put in the guest room and Sean and Conner shared the sofa bed. That day the boys stayed quietly in their room in a state of shock. Sean decided to give them a day before trying to talk to them. Richie, however, refused to leave them in the room to starve so after dinner he took a tray of food to them. When he opened the door, he found them huddled in the far corner.
"Hey, guys," he greeted. "I brought you some dinner since you didn't want to come eat with us." He held up the tray laden with chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and two glasses of water. "We thought you might be hungry." He put the tray down on the trunk at the foot of the bed. After a pause, he knelt down a few steps away.
One of the boys got up, followed by the other and went for the food.
"It's good, isn't it?" Richie said watching the two eat. "Tessa's a great cook." They looked at him while he spoke, but concentrated on the food. "I know you're scared, but you'll see, it'll be better now. Master really was the bad guy. You had lives before him, you know."
"Master is dead," the taller one whispered.
"I know."
"What's going to happen to us?"
Richie smiled. "You don't have to worry about that. These are nice people. They're just going to help."
"Why do they call you Richie?"
"Because that's my name."
"Did they name you? Or did you pick?" the shorter one asked.
Richie laughed. "My mother named me. Almost 30 years ago. My name has always been Richie. Master took that away from me. He took your names, too."
"Master's children don't have names," the shorter one insisted.
"But you weren't always his kid. You had a name before he bought you." They gave him odd looks for that remark. "It just may take you a while to remember."
"How do you know they're nice?" the taller one asked after a minute of silence.
"Cause they're my family. This is where I lived before Master bought me. I was kidnapped from the alley, right out that window." He pointed to the window on the far side of the room.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Yup." Richie thought for a minute. "Hey, when you guys get done, you want me to show you around? We can't go outside. But this place is pretty cool."
"I have to go to the bathroom," the shorter one announced suddenly, pulling at the straps of Richie's hand-me-down overalls.
"You'll have to ask Tessa to help you with those. I still can't work them."
After that was handled, Richie took the two hesitant mortals on a tour of the loft and store. After that, it was nearly impossible to get the two boys away from Richie. They stuck by him when they weren't hiding in Richie's room, sat by him at meals and the three slept in Richie's king sized bed.
When it came time for Sean to try to talk to the mortals, Richie had to sit in and serve as an example for what they wanted them to do. Slowly, the sessions turned into discussions between the former slaves of memories from The Manor. Sean merely sat back and listened to the three talk, taking notes when he needed to.
It was harder to get the mortals to turn against Master and remember their original lives than it was to get Richie to. At least Richie was in a familiar environment, with familiar people and they knew his name already. It took a week to find out one of their names.
It happened after the three had gone to bed. They were lying awake talking about a movie they had just watched.
"And then Eric had to go and..."
"My name is Eric," a soft voice to Richie's left cut him off.
"What did you say?" Richie asked sitting up.
"I think my name is Eric," the taller one said.
Richie smiled in the dark. "That's great!" He shifted to the boy on his right. "What about you? Any ideas?"
"No."
"That's okay, we'll figure it out."
Three days later the shorter one decided that his name was Jordan. Duncan ran a search through the missing persons' database and came up with 300 matches combined. He, Conner and Tessa took turns sorting through them until they came up with a few matches. The cases they found had happened before Richie's disappearance and because they were mortal they had each aged over twelve years, from small boys to young men. They presented Eric and Jordan with the possibilities. They read over the reports and each found one that sounded familiar. Eric was from Virginia and Jordan, Illinois.
. . . . . .
One day, Sean sat down to have a talk with Richie.
"You have made all the progress I can help you with," Sean said. "From here on out it's just getting used to normal life again."
"You mean no more little talks?" Richie asked.
"Only by phone. There are a lot of people who need my help right now."
"Like Eric and Jordan?"
"Exactly. Thursday, Conner and I are taking Jordan and Eric back to the island."
"You're leaving?"
"I've contacted some colleagues that can be trusted and they are going to help me rehabilitate everyone we can there. Hopefully we can send the mortals back home to their families."
"What about the immortals? What's going to happen to them?"
"Some may be able to get teachers and return to society, others may live out the rest of their lives on the island. There's no telling how long some of those children have been there."
"Are you gonna stay there?"
"For a while. From what I can tell, it was a self-functioning society. Hopefully it can remain that way."
"You're not going to kill any of them are you?" Richie asked hesitantly.
"Why would you think that?"
"I don't know..."
"There has to be a reason."
"Conner," Richie admitted. "He wanted to kill me."
"Conner just wanted to make sure that we didn't keep you here against your will. He didn't want you to live for a hundred years scared of what was going to happen to you and wondering why you were taken from Master."
Richie pondered it for a minute. "So you won't let him kill anyone?"
"He doesn't want to. "
"Good." Richie nodded. "So... You're really done with me?"
"Richie, you survived almost three days with Master trying to take you back and you resisted; isn't that proof enough that you're done with me? And if that isn't, look at what you've done for Eric and Jordan. You're fine, Richie."
"No more nightly talks or stupid journal assignments?"
"Well, I do suggest you keep up the journals on your own for a while. But as far as the talks go, if you feel that you need to talk and you don't want Duncan or Tessa, you can call me. Other than that, we're done."
"Seriously?"
Sean smiled. "Seriously."
"I'm cured?"
"As much as you'll ever be."
Richie grinned broadly. "Awesome!"
. . . . . .
Early Thursday morning, everyone gathered in Tessa's workshop to say good bye. Richie, Eric and Jordan huddled behind Conner's SUV to say rather long winded and private good byes. The three had bonded quickly and the idea of never seeing each other again was a bit over whelming. Once the boys were done, it was everyone else's turn.
Sean handed Richie a wrapped box. "Don't open it until your first night at your new place," he told him. "And if you ever want to talk, you just call; got it?"
"Yes, sir," Richie answered looking at the box in his hands, wondering what was in it.
"Take care of yourself."
Next in line was Conner.
"You listen to Duncan, lad," he warned. "Or he may call me to straighten you out." Richie nodded. He was still very intimidated by Conner. The older immortal leaned in and whispered in the younger man's ear. "But don't you make it too easy on him. I warned him he'd end up with a student as stubborn and obnoxious as he was. Make an honest man out of me."
As he leaned back, Richie smiled at him. "I can do that."
After the good byes were done, Eric and Jordan slowly got into the back seat.
"I bet you'll go home soon," Richie assured them. "Sean will have our number. Make sure you call when you get home. We can e-mail each other." The boys nodded before Richie closed the back door.
Conner and Sean got in the front seats and Duncan opened the large gates to the alley. Then they drove away.
Tessa, Duncan and Richie headed back into the loft.
"Are you ready to go tomorrow?" Duncan asked Richie, putting an arm around him.
"I guess... how'd you find this place again? It's Sean's?"
Duncan smiled. Richie asked the same question every time the subject was brought up. At first they thought it was Richie's way of saying he didn't want to go. But he genuinely seemed to like to hear the short explanation. As if he just wanted conformation that he was going.
"Back in the late eighteen hundreds, people were just starting to venture out as toward the west. Sean and his wife at the time decided to go along and see what was there. They made it as far as what is now eastern Oklahoma before they decided to settle. They picked out an area and Sean started building. His wife, I think her name was Samantha, was a great cook and would cook meals for whoever was willing to take a day or two and help Sean build the one room cabin. And slowly other people started to build around them, a few miles to either side."
"What about the well?" Richie interrupted.
"That's right, I forgot that part," Duncan smiled at him. "There was this natural spring, just yards from where Sean and Samantha built. And they would stop travelers that they saw and offer them water for their journey. Not much, but some for each family. When people started settling around them, they would ask to use the spring as well. Some people paid them in one form or another and most got to use it out of charity. But slowly the small group of settlers formed a small town. And since Sean and Samantha's spring was a well known stop on the journey west, they named it Charity Springs."
"And that's where we're going."
"And that's where we're going," Duncan agreed with him.
"Is the spring still there?" Richie asked.
"It got turned into a well about seventy years ago. But it's still on the property."
"So..." Richie prompted the rest of the story.
"So, Sean has been faking the death of his former identities and passing the property along by inheriting it from himself. Only this time, we get to inherit it."
Tessa stood off to the side watching and listening. While Richie wasn't the submissive child he had been when they first brought him home, he wasn't his old self yet, either. He still loved to be tucked in and told stories. He was highly affectionate and still submissive. But to the outsider looking in, his submissiveness seemed nothing more than manners and old fashioned politeness.
That was why they had chosen the small Oklahoma town to move to. It was still old fashioned in its ways and young people addressing their elders as 'sir' or 'ma'am' was commonplace. Children were expected to obey their parents and elders and for the most part did. Richie, everyone guessed, would fit right in.
The town was also small enough that even if he went shopping with Tessa at the busiest time of the busiest day, Richie would not be too overwhelmed. It would be a good starter town for him to be reacquainted with society. He could go to town when he wanted to be with people or could wander the eight thousand acres of land they now owned when he wanted to be alone. The latter was what Richie was most excited about. Having been kept indoors for the majority of ten years, the idea of simply wandering around on his own seemed to be the most important thing on his mind.
They talked about their plans until Richie, who hadn't been to bed yet since he had stayed up all night talking to Eric and Jordan, decided to go to bed. He kept the door open a crack and left the bathroom light on, keeping the room softly illuminated. His bed felt so big and empty now that he had it to himself once again. He tried bunching the covers and extra pillows around himself, it helped a little, but not a lot. Telling himself to get used to it, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
. . . . . .
"Duncan, I just thought of something," Tessa said suddenly as she and Duncan worked on packing up the store the next day. Richie was upstairs sorting laundry.
"What's that?"
"Angie and Gary. We haven't told them we're moving." Duncan paused and looked at her. "What are we going to tell them? The truth isn't an option."
He thought for a minute. "We can call and tell them that the police found Richie's body and we're moving."
"What if they want to come over?"
"Then we give Richie a book, put him in our room with a drink and a snack and tell him to be quiet."
"I don't think he'll like that very much..."
"He doesn't have a choice. Hopefully, we can discourage them from coming over."
As it turned out, Angie and Gary insisted that Duncan and Tessa visit them. They didn't want to force them to entertain in a house they could barely stand to live in.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Duncan asked Richie for the fifth time as Richie watched them get ready.
"I think so," Richie answered. He had started out insisting he was fine, but Duncan's repetition was making him nervous.
"Why don't you open it?" Tessa asked changing the subject and gesturing to the box Richie was holding.
"Sean said not to open it until we moved."
"What do you think it is?"
"I dunno."
"Maybe it's a new journal," she teased sitting next to him on the bed. "And a set of pens."
"Knowing him, it probably is," he groaned.
"Okay." Duncan turned around and looked Richie in the eye. "We'll keep this as short as possible."
"Alright."
"What do you do if an immortal comes?"
"Which they probably won't," Tessa added pointedly.
"The gun is in the left hand drawer of the hutch under the spare table cloth," Richie told Duncan.
"Do you remember how to load it? Maybe I should do it for you, just in case."
"You will not," Tessa told him.
"It's okay, Mac, I remember."
"If an immortal comes what do you do?" Duncan asked again as Tessa lead him out of their room and down the hall.
"Get the gun and take Tessa's car to St. Monica's," Richie answered following.
"And when you get there?"
"Call you on your cell phone."
"Number?"
"867-5309."
"And if he gets too close?"
"Shoot him."
"And?"
"Don't take his head."
"Alright." He finally seemed satisfied. "I'll call you when we're on our way home and before you notice me get close. So you'll know it's me."
"Okay."
Duncan took a deep breath. "Okay, we'll be back soon. Lock the door."
"Are you sure he'll be safe?" Tessa asked as Duncan opened the door for her.
"He should be," he told her.
Richie watched as they pulled away. He turned on all the lights in the loft and put Austin Powers in the DVD player to distract himself until they got home.
***Duncan and Tessa drove to Angie and Gary's house. The ride passed quickly as they tried to finalize what they were going to tell the couple about Richie. They decided to go with simple. His body was found by a hunter who's dog led him to the shallow grave in a seldom traveled woods. The body was identified by dental records and the authorities had contacted the MacLeods. No new evidence had been found as most of it had decomposed by now. They decided to tell them that they had the body cremated and that they had scattered his ashes into the ocean.
When they got to the house and out of the car, Tessa reached for Duncan's hand and squeezed. She took comfort from him before they walked up to the front door. Angie must have been watching for them because the door opened immediately and the two women hugged each other fiercely. Angie started crying, her husband standing behind her with a sad, helpless look on his face. Duncan looked back. He didn't know what to do either.
Eventually they made their way inside. Angie had prepared a simple but hearty meal. Tessa and Duncan revealed their story slowly, answering Angie's questions and remembering the time before Richie had been taken. The meal passed quickly for all and at the end of the evening, Tessa gave Angie one of Richie's prized possessions. He had handed it to Tessa before she left; it was his way of saying good-bye to his closest friend without being able to contact her. "Here, Angie, he would want you to have this."
Angie took the friendship bracelet she had made him nearly twenty years before with tears in her eyes and hugged Tessa, then Duncan, one last time fiercely. "I'll miss you, but I understand. Gary and I have been talking about doing the same. Seacouver just has too many memories for us. It's time to move on."
"You'll be fine," Tessa reassured her. "Richie wouldn't want you to be sad. He'd want you to remember how dashingly handsome, funny and brilliant he was," she said with a smile.
Angie managed to smile, just a little and stood back from the doorway. "I'll miss you."
Duncan and Tessa said their good-byes and walked back to their car. They slid into the seats and buckled up. Duncan started the car and pulled out of the driveway. The ride home seemed much longer than the ride to the house.
They found Richie in front of the TV, waiting for them. They told him of the night and Duncan sympathized with him over the hardship of saying good- bye to people you care about. It was one area that Duncan knew exactly how Richie felt having done it many times before.
All three of them were fairly melancholy and went to bed almost immediately after. Their new lives would start in the morning.
***written by Lori the beta because SC couldn't think of anything
Beta interrupts: Well, it wasn't that much of a hardship...gave me an excuse to use some of my...um...knowledge? That's it. Knowledge. *grin*
***
"Duncan, look." Tessa shook him awake early the next morning. Duncan mumbled and groaned, stretched then opened his eyes. She gestured to the doorway, where Richie lay curled in a little ball under his comforter that he had apparently drug with him when he moved rooms.
"He never ceases to amaze and confuse me," Duncan grinned, shaking his head. "I guess we'd better get him in his own bed again." He got out of bed and picked up the boy who mumbled something and opened his eyes. "What was that?" Duncan asked.
"Put me down," he repeated.
"Why would I do that?"
"Cause I asked you to."
"So? Since when do I listen to you?" he asked as he pushed Richie's bedroom door open.
"Mac...c'mon!" Richie began to squirm.
"What are you going to do about it, tough guy?"
"Tessa!"
"Shut up, you'll wake everybody." Duncan kicked the door closed behind them.
"Put me down."
"Why didn't you just ask?" He put Richie down on his bed. "How are you feeling?"
Richie shrugged. "Fine."
"Then what were you doing in our room?"
"I had a nightmare..." he admitted. "But I'm okay now, really."
"About Master?"
"Yeah, it was like he was in my head. But he's gone now. Is that normal?"
"Completely," Duncan assured him. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?" Duncan asked with a grin.
"Maa-aac! I'm fine." Richie paused. "Just, could you stay a bit?"
Duncan grinned fondly. "Of course I can stay." He rearranged the bedclothes, tucking Richie in. He could have sworn Richie was smiling up at him.
"Just till I fall asleep." Richie assured him. He closed his eyes, only to open them quickly. "Will he come back?"
"Who? Master?"
"Yeah," Richie almost whispered.
"He's dead, Rich."
"No, I mean in my head."
Duncan paused before answering. "Maybe sometimes. More like you'll notice you can do something you couldn't before. But it's just memories," he assured him. "They can't hurt you. He can't control you."
"Oh, good." Richie settled into the covers, reassured by Duncan's weight pressing down on the bed where he was sitting on the edge. "Good night, Mac." He closed his eyes again.
"G'night, Richie."
Duncan waited until he heard the heavy sounds of sleep that came from Richie before getting up, pausing one last time to check to see if Richie was covered by the blankets and then walked back to Tessa to sleep himself.
. . . . . .
Conner and Sean had been at a loss for what to do with the two mortal boys after they had cleaned up any evidence of Master's death. They couldn't set them up in a hotel and they couldn't send them back to the island, either. So they had done the only thing they could... they brought them home with them.
They boys were put in the guest room and Sean and Conner shared the sofa bed. That day the boys stayed quietly in their room in a state of shock. Sean decided to give them a day before trying to talk to them. Richie, however, refused to leave them in the room to starve so after dinner he took a tray of food to them. When he opened the door, he found them huddled in the far corner.
"Hey, guys," he greeted. "I brought you some dinner since you didn't want to come eat with us." He held up the tray laden with chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and two glasses of water. "We thought you might be hungry." He put the tray down on the trunk at the foot of the bed. After a pause, he knelt down a few steps away.
One of the boys got up, followed by the other and went for the food.
"It's good, isn't it?" Richie said watching the two eat. "Tessa's a great cook." They looked at him while he spoke, but concentrated on the food. "I know you're scared, but you'll see, it'll be better now. Master really was the bad guy. You had lives before him, you know."
"Master is dead," the taller one whispered.
"I know."
"What's going to happen to us?"
Richie smiled. "You don't have to worry about that. These are nice people. They're just going to help."
"Why do they call you Richie?"
"Because that's my name."
"Did they name you? Or did you pick?" the shorter one asked.
Richie laughed. "My mother named me. Almost 30 years ago. My name has always been Richie. Master took that away from me. He took your names, too."
"Master's children don't have names," the shorter one insisted.
"But you weren't always his kid. You had a name before he bought you." They gave him odd looks for that remark. "It just may take you a while to remember."
"How do you know they're nice?" the taller one asked after a minute of silence.
"Cause they're my family. This is where I lived before Master bought me. I was kidnapped from the alley, right out that window." He pointed to the window on the far side of the room.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Yup." Richie thought for a minute. "Hey, when you guys get done, you want me to show you around? We can't go outside. But this place is pretty cool."
"I have to go to the bathroom," the shorter one announced suddenly, pulling at the straps of Richie's hand-me-down overalls.
"You'll have to ask Tessa to help you with those. I still can't work them."
After that was handled, Richie took the two hesitant mortals on a tour of the loft and store. After that, it was nearly impossible to get the two boys away from Richie. They stuck by him when they weren't hiding in Richie's room, sat by him at meals and the three slept in Richie's king sized bed.
When it came time for Sean to try to talk to the mortals, Richie had to sit in and serve as an example for what they wanted them to do. Slowly, the sessions turned into discussions between the former slaves of memories from The Manor. Sean merely sat back and listened to the three talk, taking notes when he needed to.
It was harder to get the mortals to turn against Master and remember their original lives than it was to get Richie to. At least Richie was in a familiar environment, with familiar people and they knew his name already. It took a week to find out one of their names.
It happened after the three had gone to bed. They were lying awake talking about a movie they had just watched.
"And then Eric had to go and..."
"My name is Eric," a soft voice to Richie's left cut him off.
"What did you say?" Richie asked sitting up.
"I think my name is Eric," the taller one said.
Richie smiled in the dark. "That's great!" He shifted to the boy on his right. "What about you? Any ideas?"
"No."
"That's okay, we'll figure it out."
Three days later the shorter one decided that his name was Jordan. Duncan ran a search through the missing persons' database and came up with 300 matches combined. He, Conner and Tessa took turns sorting through them until they came up with a few matches. The cases they found had happened before Richie's disappearance and because they were mortal they had each aged over twelve years, from small boys to young men. They presented Eric and Jordan with the possibilities. They read over the reports and each found one that sounded familiar. Eric was from Virginia and Jordan, Illinois.
. . . . . .
One day, Sean sat down to have a talk with Richie.
"You have made all the progress I can help you with," Sean said. "From here on out it's just getting used to normal life again."
"You mean no more little talks?" Richie asked.
"Only by phone. There are a lot of people who need my help right now."
"Like Eric and Jordan?"
"Exactly. Thursday, Conner and I are taking Jordan and Eric back to the island."
"You're leaving?"
"I've contacted some colleagues that can be trusted and they are going to help me rehabilitate everyone we can there. Hopefully we can send the mortals back home to their families."
"What about the immortals? What's going to happen to them?"
"Some may be able to get teachers and return to society, others may live out the rest of their lives on the island. There's no telling how long some of those children have been there."
"Are you gonna stay there?"
"For a while. From what I can tell, it was a self-functioning society. Hopefully it can remain that way."
"You're not going to kill any of them are you?" Richie asked hesitantly.
"Why would you think that?"
"I don't know..."
"There has to be a reason."
"Conner," Richie admitted. "He wanted to kill me."
"Conner just wanted to make sure that we didn't keep you here against your will. He didn't want you to live for a hundred years scared of what was going to happen to you and wondering why you were taken from Master."
Richie pondered it for a minute. "So you won't let him kill anyone?"
"He doesn't want to. "
"Good." Richie nodded. "So... You're really done with me?"
"Richie, you survived almost three days with Master trying to take you back and you resisted; isn't that proof enough that you're done with me? And if that isn't, look at what you've done for Eric and Jordan. You're fine, Richie."
"No more nightly talks or stupid journal assignments?"
"Well, I do suggest you keep up the journals on your own for a while. But as far as the talks go, if you feel that you need to talk and you don't want Duncan or Tessa, you can call me. Other than that, we're done."
"Seriously?"
Sean smiled. "Seriously."
"I'm cured?"
"As much as you'll ever be."
Richie grinned broadly. "Awesome!"
. . . . . .
Early Thursday morning, everyone gathered in Tessa's workshop to say good bye. Richie, Eric and Jordan huddled behind Conner's SUV to say rather long winded and private good byes. The three had bonded quickly and the idea of never seeing each other again was a bit over whelming. Once the boys were done, it was everyone else's turn.
Sean handed Richie a wrapped box. "Don't open it until your first night at your new place," he told him. "And if you ever want to talk, you just call; got it?"
"Yes, sir," Richie answered looking at the box in his hands, wondering what was in it.
"Take care of yourself."
Next in line was Conner.
"You listen to Duncan, lad," he warned. "Or he may call me to straighten you out." Richie nodded. He was still very intimidated by Conner. The older immortal leaned in and whispered in the younger man's ear. "But don't you make it too easy on him. I warned him he'd end up with a student as stubborn and obnoxious as he was. Make an honest man out of me."
As he leaned back, Richie smiled at him. "I can do that."
After the good byes were done, Eric and Jordan slowly got into the back seat.
"I bet you'll go home soon," Richie assured them. "Sean will have our number. Make sure you call when you get home. We can e-mail each other." The boys nodded before Richie closed the back door.
Conner and Sean got in the front seats and Duncan opened the large gates to the alley. Then they drove away.
Tessa, Duncan and Richie headed back into the loft.
"Are you ready to go tomorrow?" Duncan asked Richie, putting an arm around him.
"I guess... how'd you find this place again? It's Sean's?"
Duncan smiled. Richie asked the same question every time the subject was brought up. At first they thought it was Richie's way of saying he didn't want to go. But he genuinely seemed to like to hear the short explanation. As if he just wanted conformation that he was going.
"Back in the late eighteen hundreds, people were just starting to venture out as toward the west. Sean and his wife at the time decided to go along and see what was there. They made it as far as what is now eastern Oklahoma before they decided to settle. They picked out an area and Sean started building. His wife, I think her name was Samantha, was a great cook and would cook meals for whoever was willing to take a day or two and help Sean build the one room cabin. And slowly other people started to build around them, a few miles to either side."
"What about the well?" Richie interrupted.
"That's right, I forgot that part," Duncan smiled at him. "There was this natural spring, just yards from where Sean and Samantha built. And they would stop travelers that they saw and offer them water for their journey. Not much, but some for each family. When people started settling around them, they would ask to use the spring as well. Some people paid them in one form or another and most got to use it out of charity. But slowly the small group of settlers formed a small town. And since Sean and Samantha's spring was a well known stop on the journey west, they named it Charity Springs."
"And that's where we're going."
"And that's where we're going," Duncan agreed with him.
"Is the spring still there?" Richie asked.
"It got turned into a well about seventy years ago. But it's still on the property."
"So..." Richie prompted the rest of the story.
"So, Sean has been faking the death of his former identities and passing the property along by inheriting it from himself. Only this time, we get to inherit it."
Tessa stood off to the side watching and listening. While Richie wasn't the submissive child he had been when they first brought him home, he wasn't his old self yet, either. He still loved to be tucked in and told stories. He was highly affectionate and still submissive. But to the outsider looking in, his submissiveness seemed nothing more than manners and old fashioned politeness.
That was why they had chosen the small Oklahoma town to move to. It was still old fashioned in its ways and young people addressing their elders as 'sir' or 'ma'am' was commonplace. Children were expected to obey their parents and elders and for the most part did. Richie, everyone guessed, would fit right in.
The town was also small enough that even if he went shopping with Tessa at the busiest time of the busiest day, Richie would not be too overwhelmed. It would be a good starter town for him to be reacquainted with society. He could go to town when he wanted to be with people or could wander the eight thousand acres of land they now owned when he wanted to be alone. The latter was what Richie was most excited about. Having been kept indoors for the majority of ten years, the idea of simply wandering around on his own seemed to be the most important thing on his mind.
They talked about their plans until Richie, who hadn't been to bed yet since he had stayed up all night talking to Eric and Jordan, decided to go to bed. He kept the door open a crack and left the bathroom light on, keeping the room softly illuminated. His bed felt so big and empty now that he had it to himself once again. He tried bunching the covers and extra pillows around himself, it helped a little, but not a lot. Telling himself to get used to it, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
. . . . . .
"Duncan, I just thought of something," Tessa said suddenly as she and Duncan worked on packing up the store the next day. Richie was upstairs sorting laundry.
"What's that?"
"Angie and Gary. We haven't told them we're moving." Duncan paused and looked at her. "What are we going to tell them? The truth isn't an option."
He thought for a minute. "We can call and tell them that the police found Richie's body and we're moving."
"What if they want to come over?"
"Then we give Richie a book, put him in our room with a drink and a snack and tell him to be quiet."
"I don't think he'll like that very much..."
"He doesn't have a choice. Hopefully, we can discourage them from coming over."
As it turned out, Angie and Gary insisted that Duncan and Tessa visit them. They didn't want to force them to entertain in a house they could barely stand to live in.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Duncan asked Richie for the fifth time as Richie watched them get ready.
"I think so," Richie answered. He had started out insisting he was fine, but Duncan's repetition was making him nervous.
"Why don't you open it?" Tessa asked changing the subject and gesturing to the box Richie was holding.
"Sean said not to open it until we moved."
"What do you think it is?"
"I dunno."
"Maybe it's a new journal," she teased sitting next to him on the bed. "And a set of pens."
"Knowing him, it probably is," he groaned.
"Okay." Duncan turned around and looked Richie in the eye. "We'll keep this as short as possible."
"Alright."
"What do you do if an immortal comes?"
"Which they probably won't," Tessa added pointedly.
"The gun is in the left hand drawer of the hutch under the spare table cloth," Richie told Duncan.
"Do you remember how to load it? Maybe I should do it for you, just in case."
"You will not," Tessa told him.
"It's okay, Mac, I remember."
"If an immortal comes what do you do?" Duncan asked again as Tessa lead him out of their room and down the hall.
"Get the gun and take Tessa's car to St. Monica's," Richie answered following.
"And when you get there?"
"Call you on your cell phone."
"Number?"
"867-5309."
"And if he gets too close?"
"Shoot him."
"And?"
"Don't take his head."
"Alright." He finally seemed satisfied. "I'll call you when we're on our way home and before you notice me get close. So you'll know it's me."
"Okay."
Duncan took a deep breath. "Okay, we'll be back soon. Lock the door."
"Are you sure he'll be safe?" Tessa asked as Duncan opened the door for her.
"He should be," he told her.
Richie watched as they pulled away. He turned on all the lights in the loft and put Austin Powers in the DVD player to distract himself until they got home.
***Duncan and Tessa drove to Angie and Gary's house. The ride passed quickly as they tried to finalize what they were going to tell the couple about Richie. They decided to go with simple. His body was found by a hunter who's dog led him to the shallow grave in a seldom traveled woods. The body was identified by dental records and the authorities had contacted the MacLeods. No new evidence had been found as most of it had decomposed by now. They decided to tell them that they had the body cremated and that they had scattered his ashes into the ocean.
When they got to the house and out of the car, Tessa reached for Duncan's hand and squeezed. She took comfort from him before they walked up to the front door. Angie must have been watching for them because the door opened immediately and the two women hugged each other fiercely. Angie started crying, her husband standing behind her with a sad, helpless look on his face. Duncan looked back. He didn't know what to do either.
Eventually they made their way inside. Angie had prepared a simple but hearty meal. Tessa and Duncan revealed their story slowly, answering Angie's questions and remembering the time before Richie had been taken. The meal passed quickly for all and at the end of the evening, Tessa gave Angie one of Richie's prized possessions. He had handed it to Tessa before she left; it was his way of saying good-bye to his closest friend without being able to contact her. "Here, Angie, he would want you to have this."
Angie took the friendship bracelet she had made him nearly twenty years before with tears in her eyes and hugged Tessa, then Duncan, one last time fiercely. "I'll miss you, but I understand. Gary and I have been talking about doing the same. Seacouver just has too many memories for us. It's time to move on."
"You'll be fine," Tessa reassured her. "Richie wouldn't want you to be sad. He'd want you to remember how dashingly handsome, funny and brilliant he was," she said with a smile.
Angie managed to smile, just a little and stood back from the doorway. "I'll miss you."
Duncan and Tessa said their good-byes and walked back to their car. They slid into the seats and buckled up. Duncan started the car and pulled out of the driveway. The ride home seemed much longer than the ride to the house.
They found Richie in front of the TV, waiting for them. They told him of the night and Duncan sympathized with him over the hardship of saying good- bye to people you care about. It was one area that Duncan knew exactly how Richie felt having done it many times before.
All three of them were fairly melancholy and went to bed almost immediately after. Their new lives would start in the morning.
***written by Lori the beta because SC couldn't think of anything