AN – In case anyone hasn't noticed by now, Walker is a bitter and twisted character, the author in no way endorses his attitude towards child rearing!

***

"Rich, c'mon, wake up will you?" Richie's teeth rattled in his slack jaw, as his world shook.

"Uh? What? Where?" He slurred. "Is it an earthquake?"

"Its far more dangerous than that," Marc stopped shaking him. "Its gone eight. You'd better get up quick."

"Its Saturday," Richie protested. "I don't have to get up on weekends. Mac says teenagers need more sleep than adults, so they can grow properly or something."

"Mac's not here," Marc reminded him gently. "And Dad's gonna take it out of your hide if you don't get a move on."

"Let him," Richie rolled over. "I didn't sleep well last night, being kidnapped at gunpoint tends to do that to you."

"Try being dead." Marc countered drly.

"If you're right," Richie turned back and propped himself up on one elbow. "I might just get to."

"Rich, I'm sorry," Marc sat on the bed. "Macleod seemed like such an all around kinda guy. I just figured he would have told you."

"Well, he didn't." Richie looked away.

 "Maybe they can't," Marc suggested. "Maybe its against one of those rule things."

"But I already knew," Richie protested quietly. "About Immortals. Swords. Everything. What harm would it have done?"

"You'll have to ask him that." Marc shrugged, then winced, putting both hands to his head.

"You OK?" Richie asked.

"Dad," Marc said, making a face. "At least I hope so."

For a moment Richie thought it might be Mac, come to rescue him, wrap him in his big, warm, coat, that smelled so comfortingly of home and take him back to the barge, to fuss over him in that way which Richie pretended to hate, but secretly loved.

It wasn't.

"Marc. Go downstairs and eat your breakfast, while its still hot." Walker ordered from the doorway.

As Marc left, Walker reached into a drawer and pulled out a clean pair of flannel striped pyjamas.

"Here, wear these today."

"You want me to wear pyjamas in the daytime?" Richie blinked, climbing out of bed. "I'm not sick."

"No, you're grounded," Walker told him. "Until I can trust you to behave better."

"Grounded?" Richie spluttered. "Some one needs to buy you a dictionary. I'm kidnapped. Not grounded."

"I see a good night's sleep hasn't improved your attitude any." Walker sighed, closing the door.

"Um. What are you doing?" Richie asked nervously.

"You seemed to have a little trouble following my directions yesterday," Walker advanced. "I just want to be sure that there are no further misunderstandings."

"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore," Richie reminded him. "You threw me out, remember?"

"An oversight," Walker shrugged. "One I intend to correct."

"What?" Richie stuttered.

He'd convinced himself that this whole kidnapping thing was just some way to get back at Mac. After all, Walker couldn't possibly want anything to do with him.

Surely the man didn't intend to keep him?

"I know that I made mistakes with you before," Walker spoke almost kindly. "I expected too much. Asked more than a boy of your age could manage and I was perhaps, overly harsh. I can see that now. Things will be different this time. All you have to do, is exactly as I say."

"There isn't going to be a this time," Richie scoffed. "Mac will never give me up."

"You see how much you still have to learn?" Walker sighed. "Never is a very long time for men like us, Richie. Macleod has known you such a short while and he has that woman of his to protect. Oh, he may look for you at first, but this is a very large planet. There are so many places we can hide. The chances of him finding you are as good as none existent. Soon he will forget about you. Its best that you forget about him. After all, you have another family now."

Richie bit his lip.

Even yesterday he would have thrown those words back in Walker's face. How many times had Mac showed that he cared about him? Proved that he loved him?

So, why hadn't he told him that one day he would be Immortal?

"Of course, there is a great deal which needs to be addressed," Walker mused. "You have clearly been allowed to run wild, we must choose your friends so that they will be a good influence on a growing boy, and you have missed a great deal of school, which you will need to do over. But you are small for your age. It shouldn't be that difficult to convince people that you are only fourteen."

"You want me to be fourteen again?" Richie's jaw dropped. "Are you completely insane?"

"You know better than to talk to your father like that," Walker's tone hardened.

"Yeah, I do," Richie agreed. "But seeing as he's not here, that hardly matters, does it?"

He may not understand why Mac had chosen to keep the fact that he would one day be Immortal from him, but he was damn well going to give him the chance to explain.

"Oh, I beg to differ."

The next thing he knew, Walker had spun him around and pressed him up against the wall, one hand pinning his arm painfully in the small of his back, the other landing six solid smacks on his rear that had Richie biting his lip to keep from crying out.

"Now that I have your undivided attention," Walker hissed in his ear. "Let me tell you how things are going to be from now on. I will no longer tolerate your lies, or insolence, or disobedience. You will do what I say, when I say it, without question or argument. Or you will be punished. Do you understand me?"

Richie considered his current options.

He could give the man the answer he wanted.

Or he could get smacked around again.

He was stubborn. Not stupid.

"Yes." He ground out.

"I beg your pardon?"

Walker smacked him again. Twice.

"Argh, Close, but no banana, huh?" he murmured.

He was pretty sure Walker didn't speak Polish.

Sure enough.

"What was that?" He could hear the confusion in the Immortal's voice.

"Yes, Dad."

"Good boy." Walker patted him approvingly on his sore backside and let him go.

Richie turned warily to face him, glad, at least, to get his butt out of the line of fire.

It was only eight thirty and already his day majorly sucked.

"Get yourself changed, and come downstairs," Walker tousled his hair "Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. I'm making something special."

He waited expectantly.

"Yes Dad." Richie sighed.

Left to his own devices he slid down the wall, stopped just before his throbbing backside made contact with the floor, and wondered what the acid test was, for being criminally insane.

He was fairly sure, Walker hadn't been as bad as this when he was living with him before.

Or, maybe it was just that he had something to compare it to now?

He missed them.

A lot.

Well, maybe it was difficult for Mac to find him. But he knew exactly where to find Mac. All he had to do was be a good little boy, until he got a chance to run away.

How hard could that be?