AN – Thanks to everyone who reviewed or emailed me about this! Glad to know some people are still keeping up with it! Still on track, two more chapters to go!

***

"Alive?" Richie looked at Macleod as if he had grown two heads. "But he can't be .. there was a Quickening."

"That was the generator," Duncan winced. "Apparently, a beam fell on it and shorted it out, at the time I thought it was a Quickening. .. I was wrong."

"Wrong?" Richie repeated.

"Yeah." Duncan sighed.

"So, he just walked away?" Richie said hollowly.

"Rich, the place was in chaos, there was smoke everywhere, the fire was spreading, I barely managed to get you out in time, before the ceiling caved in. Adam narrowly escaped with his head. Walker won't get far, I swear."

"He's alive." Richie repeated woodenly.

"Not for long." Duncan vowed.

"You don't know that." Richie said softly.

"Rich, I'm not going to let him hurt you again," Duncan vowed. "This ends when I take his head."

"Yes sir." Richie murmured obediently.

"Richie .." Duncan sighed. He was being impatient, he knew that. But he wanted his lad back. The one who exasperated and infuriated him, the one who challenged him and kept him on his toes, the one who kept him in mind of the joys and agonies of youth and wasn't afraid to tell him he was being a bloody idiot. He tried to think of a treat for the lad. Something that Walker would never allow. "Are you hungry? What about that ice cream, I promised you?"

"Ice cream?" Richie looked up.

"With chocolate sauce," Duncan coaxed.

"And whipped cream?" Richie asked hopefully.

"I don't know if we have any whipped cream. I'll have to go out to the Store."

"You don't gotta. I don't want to be any trouble." Richie deflated again.

"Its no trouble," Duncan assured him, it was the first thing the lad had asked him for since he had been home. He wasn't about to disappoint him. "If you don't mind Adam's company for a while?"

"I'll probably just take a nap," Richie pushed aside the motorcycle magazines. "I'm pretty tired."

"Alright." Duncan waited until he had scooted down, before tucking around him. "Sleep well."

As he got to the door Richie's voice stopped him. "Mac?"

Duncan turned back to face him.

"Marc was still alive when you left, right?"

"Yes, he was." Duncan was glad to be able to offer that comfort at least.

"So, how long do you think he has before Walker kills him?" Richie asked flatly.

"Richie," Duncan sighed. The lad had a point. "Adam's already got his Watcher people out looking for Walker. We'll find him before it comes to that. I promise."

"Sure." Richie nodded.

"I won't be long."

Richie waited until he heard the Immortal walk over the roof and jump off onto the quay, before he climbed out of bed and reached under the bed for his knapsack.

***

He was almost finished. He hefted the bag gently. Not too heavy. Maybe he should take another sweater. It was still cold out.

"You don't want to do that."

Richie jumped about a foot in the air, spinning around to glare at Adam, before pulling a sweater out of his wardrobe.

"Just because you've seen me in my boxers, when you were playing Doctor, doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do."

"True." Adam sat down on the bed.

Richie paused in the action of stuffing the sweater into his bag.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just sitting here." Adam said calmly.

"I am leaving," Richie warned him. "You can't stop me."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Well, good." Richie carried on packing.

"Where will you go?"

"If you don't know, you can't tell Mac." Richie looked around to see if he had forgotten anything vital.

"And that makes it alright?"

Richie stopped and turned to face Adam. His face dark and serious. "Walker's not like Mac. He doesn't play by the rules. If Mac goes up against him, he might loose. I'm not going to stand by and let that happen,."

"So, you're gong to kill him yourself?"

"I've done it before."

"But this time he'll be expecting it."

"I tell you what .. you tell me a way to convince Duncan Macleod of the Clan Macleod to play dirty and I'll get right back into bed, like a good little boy, .." Richie began.

"You'll do that anyway, my lad," Duncan's voice said sternly, from the doorway.

Richie spun around, his jaw hanging loose. Then he swung back to glower at Adam.

"You were stalling me." He realised.

"Hey, don't blame me," Adam smirked. "You were the one who fell for it."

***

Adam watched calmly as Duncan clattered and muttered his way around the small gallery, looking for a suitable dish.

"You know, you dour Scottish types really should learn to look on the bright side." He observed.

"If there's a bright side to any of this, I fail to see it." Duncan said shortly.

"Well, Richie's clearly feeling more like himself. He was positively petulant with you when you were putting him back to bed."

"That's true." Duncan agreed, extracting the ice cream from the freezer.

"And he's not speaking to me." Adam grinned.

"I think," Duncan rolled his eyes. "He's said more than enough to you for the moment."

"He does have an interesting range of vocabulary, doesn't he?" Adam acknowledged. "Did you teach him to cuss in Gaelic like that?"

"Not intentionally." Duncan said ruefully, spooning some fudge sauce into a jug and setting the microwave to warm it.

"Ah," Adam grinned. "He's bright kid."

"That he is." Duncan agreed.

"You didn't scold him for trying to sneak out on you."

"Didn't I?" Duncan said absently. He wondered if they had any chopped nuts.

"Or for swearing at me."

"No?"

"And he's still getting his ice cream, I see."

"Uh huh."

"Do you think it will work?"

"Do I think what will work?" Duncan hedged, busying himself making up a tray.

"Oh come on, Macleod," Adam rolled his eyes. "He's already feeling guilty over his behaviour, not to mention doubting you. You bombard him with kindness, he'll cave and tell you what that bastard did to him. Its an established interrogation technique."

"You think so?" Duncan arched a brow. "You know, I never thought of that."

"Of course, you didn't." Methos shook his head.

***

Duncan pushed the door open quietly, Richie was lying with his back to the door, curled awkwardly on his side, as if the welts across his shoulders were still bothering him.

"Rich?" He spoke gently.

With the careful movements, that had become second nature of late, Richie rolled over to look nervously at him. Duncan pretended not to notice how his eyes widened with surprise when he saw that the Immortal had still made him the hot fudge sundae.

"Scoot up."

Without a word, Richie complied, keeping one eye warily on the ice cream, as if afraid it would disappear.

"Here you go."

Duncan carefully set the tray down in his lap and offered him a spoon.

"Mac .." Richie swallowed hard, tears welling up in his eyes. He felt completely undone by the simple act of kindness. "God, you're a real bastard sometimes, Macleod."

"I know," Duncan smiled kindly at him. "Eat."

Richie ate, slowly at first, but then more eagerly. As he  forked up mouthfuls of the hot, sweet, treat, his pyjama sleeve slipped down, revealing a dark, yellowing bruise on his forearm. Noticing the direction of Duncan's gaze, Richie paused.

"How did you get that one?" Duncan asked casually, as if it was of no-importance.

"I fell."

"How did you fall?"

"Gravity."

"Did Walker hit you and make you fall?"

Richie paused. "Not exactly."

Duncan reached out and took Richie's free hand. "Tell me." He encouraged, with a gentle squeeze.

"I was trying to get away from him, I struggled and knocked myself against the corner of the sink," Richie gave him a quick, embarrassed look and glanced away again.

"He was washing you?"  Duncan was somewhat at a loss.

"He was washing  my mouth out .." Richie admitted reluctantly. "You know, with soap."

"Oh," Duncan realised.

"I tried to be good," Richie bit his lip, "I thought if I just kept my head down and did as he said, I could find a way to escape."

"Easier said than done?" Duncan suggested sympathetically.

"Yeah." Richie said bitterly.

"Rich, I've been a captive, more than once. I know how easy it is for one person to exert their power over another. Being helpless in the face of a stronger enemy is nothing to be ashamed of. It's a fact of life."

"Did your captors send you to bed without dessert if you didn't eat up all your veggies?" Richie asked fiercely. "Make you stand in the corner if you didn't do your chores, just right? Or hold out your hand for swats with the ruler because you couldn't figure out Latin verbs?"

Duncan knew better than to think that was the worst of it. He'd seen the marks.

"What else did he do?

"Nothing," Richie clammed up. "Just kid's stuff."

"Richie .."

"Its not like he got out the thumb screws." Richie looked at the wall.

 "He hurt you, Richie. The whys and the wherefores don't matter. He had no right to do that to you and I'll no stand by and see you blame yourself for that monster's actions. Do ye hear me?"

"Mac, please…" Richie sounded close to tears.

"Talk to me," Duncan reached out and seized Richie's jaw, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Tell me, Rich," he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Don't give Walker any more power over you, bonnie lad."

"He never stopped until I cried, he liked that."

"He spanked you?" Duncan slid his hand down, to cup his neck, silently offering support.

"Hairbrush," Richie nodded tightly.

"He used his belt too." Duncan added softly.

"Just that one time. I tried to run away. He locked me in the attic ..it had rats .. "

"Your feet?"

Richie nodded. "Yeah."

"How long were you in there?"

"A while," Richie pressed his lips together. "I thought that was it. I thought that was my punishment. But when he let me out he took off his belt and … God, I thought he was going to kill me .."

"He dammed near did." Duncan slipped his hand around Richie's neck and pulled him in, wrapping both arms around him and hugging him gently against his chest.

"I guess he thought it didn't matter," Richie's voice was slightly muffled. "Since he knew that he couldn't actually kill me. Not permanently, anyway."

He felt Mac tense.

"Did Walker tell you that?"

"Is it true? Am I going to be Immortal one day?"