It's taken me longer to update than normal cos of life stuff and cos it's
my 21st bday tomorrow (Actually it's gone midnight in the UK so as I post
this it's actually already my bday) so have been trying to get different
groups of friends organised for going out and meeting etc.
Chapter eight: Home life
Richie woke up a few hours later when Connor came into the room. He was talking quietly to Mac, obviously trying to not wake Richie up. Richie considered telling them he was awake anyway, but if he did Mac might move and he was so comfortable lying there with his head resting on Mac's chest and Mac's arm draped round his shoulder.
"Tessa phoned a little while ago," Connor was saying. "I didn't want to disturb you then but she's not too happy with you."
Richie heard Mac groan then answer in the same hushed tone Connor was using. "I didn't tell her I bought Richie home," He said.
"And you haven't told her the full story about any of this have you?" Connor asked, the disapproval he felt evident in his voice.
"No," Mac admitted. "I didn't want to worry her. What good would it do with her stuck in France?"
"I don't think Tessa's going to see it like that," Connor warned. "I suggest you phone her and begin groveling."
Richie shifted his position a little, feeling a bit guilty. If they knew he was awake Mac could go and phone Tessa and explain it all to her now. Both Mac and Connor shut up for a moment until they felt sure Richie was still asleep.
"I will," Mac promised speaking even more quietly. "But not till Richie wakes up. I don't want to disturb him while he's sleeping. I don't think he's been getting much recently."
"Are you sure you want to leave her waiting that long?" Connor asked. "She's very angry Duncan."
"Then a little while longer won't make any difference." Duncan said decisively.
Good, Richie thought though he still felt guilty. But as Mac had said, what difference would a few hours make and what could Tessa do all the way over there in France anyway?
*****
"That is not the point Duncan MacLoed and you know it!"
"Tess..." Duncan began, but knew already even if he had an excellent reason for keeping any of this from her she'd still be angry.
"I haven't finished yet," Tessa said, angrily. "Not only do you not tell me how distant Richie was being, or that the men that did this to him were employed by an Immortal, but you encouraged him to discharge himself from hospital against doctors orders and then he's so exhausted from the whole thing he spends most of the day asleep, but he doesn't want to be on his own because he's having nightmares! He should be in hospital Duncan!"
"I know that Tessa. But I couldn't leave him there unprotected."
Stony silence from the end of the phone for a minute. "What do you mean you couldn't leave him unprotected?" Tessa asked in a dangerously calm voice.
Whoops...
"Because..." Duncan told Tessa in great detail about his meeting with Campbell.
"He's still after Richie? He still wants him dead? Hasn't he done enough damage?" Tessa asked in a quiet voice.
"Not nearly enough," Duncan said. "But he won't get to Richie again. I'm not leaving him alone for a second."
"I know you'll look after him. I just wish I was there now," Tessa said sadly, all traces of her anger of a few minutes ago gone.
"Do they know when the strike is likely to end?" Duncan asked.
"Tomorrow," Tessa said. "But they keep saying it's going to end and then they extend it again!" her voice was beginning to rise again. "Don't those people understand we have families to get home to?"
"It'll be ok Tessa. You'll be home before you know it." Duncan said soothingly.
"But I wasn't with him Duncan," Tessa said, her voice dropping again. "I haven't been able to help him through this."
Duncan sighed. He didn't say it to Tessa, but he had been relieved when Tessa couldn't get home after he'd realised Campbell was behind it all. At least this way he only had to watch Richie. But he knew the moment Tessa could get a flight she would be home and nothing he said would be able to change her mind.
"I think you'll have plenty of time to be here for him when you get back," Duncan said. "He's not over any of it yet Tess."
*****
"Is it possible to go insane from boredom? Cos I think I'm halfway there." Richie moaned at Mac the next day. "I mean I like my room. I love my room. It's a distinct improvement on the hospital one. But do you have any idea how mind numbingly boring it is just lying here?"
Duncan frowned at him, knowing where Richie was going with this line of conversation. "You aren't well enough to be out of bed yet Richie."
"What's the difference between being in bed and lying on the sofa with the TV remote?" Richie asked. "Please Mac."
Duncan's frown deepened.
"I promise I won't move off the sofa. And you'll be there right? Or Connor will, if I need anything. So can I? Please... Please?"
It was definitely the big blue wide eyed expression, coupled with the pleading tone that got Duncan to give in.
"You'll stay put?" Duncan asked sternly.
"Won't move a muscle." Richie answered solemnly.
"And if I say you have to come back to bed you will, without an argument?"
There was a small but noticeable pause before Richie answered this time. "Sure," he said.
"And you'll eat lunch with me?"
There was a decidedly longer pause before Richie said, "Ok."
He hadn't had much of an appetite since he'd come home from the hospital. The doctors said it was to be expected, but that Duncan should encourage him to eat anyway. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to Duncan. It wasn't bribery as such, just persuasive measures...
"Ok then. You can get up for a bit, but if you get tired or you're in pain - "
"I got it Mac," Richie interrupted throwing the covers back.
Duncan allowed himself to smile at Richie's enthusiasm for something as simple as being able to get out of bed for a few hours.
*****
Richie wondered, as he prodded at his pasta with his fork, if Mac knew how unappetizing the whole thing looked to him. Still, Richie was trying hard to eat a decent amount of it so Mac wouldn't have an excuse to send him back to bed.
"You aren't enjoying that are you?" Mac asked.
Richie looked up and saw that Mac was staring at him intently and realised he probably had been for a while.
"Not really." Richie admitted looking back at his plate. "It's just... I'm really not hungry anymore."
Mac eyed Richie's plate for a minute. "All right. You've had more than I expected you too."
Richie almost sighed in relief as Mac took his plate away. He pulled up the blanket Mac had insisted he have and began flicking through the channels again, looking for something to watch and settling on a film he hadn't seen in a while.
Mac returned to the sofa a few minutes later with a book.
"You don't have to actually stay at my side the whole time you know?" Richie said without looking away from the TV.
"I know." Mac answered, then as an afterthought added, "Am I crowding you? Do you want some time alone?"
"No," Richie answered immediately, looking up. That wasn't what he'd meant... "It's just gotta be a bit boring for you, stuck here with me..."
Mac smiled and set his book down. "I'm not stuck with you. I chose to be here."
"You sure?" Richie asked biting his bottom lip.
"I'm sure," Mac repeated putting an arm around Richie's shoulders.
"K then," Richie said, leaning into Mac's embrace.
*****
"Everytime I walk into a room I find you two like that," Connor commented when he returned to the apartment a few hours later.
Richie was fast asleep, his head resting on Duncan's shoulder.
"He sleeps better when someone's with him," Duncan said. "Did you find anything?"
Connor had spent the morning, not in the shop like Richie thought, but out looking for Campbell. Duncan wanted to have the upper hand next time. He didn't want to play by Campbell's rules anymore and he didn't want Richie, or Tessa for that matter, to be in danger anymore.
"Nothing," Connor said shaking his head. "He's not going to make this easy for you Duncan."
"I know," Duncan said. "But I'm not just going to sit here and wait for him to make the next move Connor!"
"You may not have a choice Duncan." Connor said simply.
"I don't want those men in my home, in Richie's home again!"
"Of course you don't. But if they come we will be ready for them and they will pay for what they have done."
"Yes. They will." Duncan said darkly.
*****
So. Richie had thought Mac was bad enough with the restrictions he'd placed on him since he got back from hospital, but Tessa... From the second her plane had landed Tessa had been borderline unbearable. It was as if she was trying to make up for two weeks worth of pampering and fussing and worrying in one day. If it wasn't so irritating it might have been nice...
"Tessa... I don't need another nap. I've slept half the morning, I slept all through the night, I'm just not tired." Richie said as Tessa ignored his protests completely and began tucking the bedclothes around him.
"You need your rest," She said firmly.
"Yeah, I know." Richie said. "I'm the one with the bandages and enough tablets to put a pharmacy to shame. And I'm the one who knows when I'm tired and when I'm not. I'm eighteen now, I know how to take care of myself."
Tessa paused for a moment. "I know you aren't a child Richie, but you shouldn't be out of hospital yet. You need looking after."
"No, I need help looking after myself, I don't need someone to tell me when I'm tired." Richie said softly. He knew Tessa was just trying to take care of him, but she was beginning to drive him mad.
"Richie..."
"Tessa, I promise if I get tired I'll sleep. Ask Mac, I've been really good since I got home. No somersaults, no weightlifting, just trips to the bathroom and sofa, that's all."
Tessa sighed and sat on the edge of his bed." I'm overeacting, aren't I?" she asked.
"Maybe a little," Richie said, glad Tessa seemed to have stopped for a bit.
"I'm sorry Richie. It's just it was so hard being so far away when you needed me the most, and not being able to help you with any of this."
Oh no... there were tears in her eyes... crying woman, Richie had never known what to do when a woman cried...
"It's ok Tess. I'm ok. And I had Mac and Connor and I spoke to you everyday. It wasn't your fault. Please don't feel bad." Richie said patting her hand.
A few tears spilled from her eyes but Tessa was smiling. "I'm supposed to cheering you up, not the other way round," She said.
"I've had people cheering me up for two weeks. It's my turn," Richie said grinning.
Tessa grinned back. "Well," she said. "As your not taking a nap, what would you like to do?"
"Anything to relieve the boredom," Richie replied.
"Hmm. Let's see if we can find something..."
*****
When Duncan returned home that evening and asked Connor where Richie and Tessa were he'd felt a pang of sympathy for Richie. She was still in his room and Tessa in full mothering mode was a force to be reckoned with.
Sticking his head cautiously round Richie's door he'd been surprised to see Richie sitting up in bed, holding a handful of playing cards and Tessa sitting cross legged opposite him, also with a full hand of cards.
Curious, Duncan watched in silence for a moment.
"I'll see you," she said, throwing a couple of matchsticks Duncan hadn't noticed before into a pile that was in between the two of them.
Richie lay down his cards for her to see.
"I win right?" Richie asked uncertainly looking from his hand to hers.
Tessa nodded, a grin on her face. "Are you sure you've never played poker before?" She asked.
"Yep," Richie said gathering up the matchsticks. "I didn't gamble. Couldn't afford to lose what money I had. But I'm willing to risk matches."
Poker? Gambling? Tessa was teaching Richie to gamble?
"Oh hey Mac," Richie said noticing Duncan standing open mouthed in his doorway. "Tessa's teaching me to play cards. You wanna join in?"
"I think I'll pass," Duncan said with a smile. "You two carry on though."
"You sure? You could help Tessa. Think she needs it."
"Richard!" Tessa said indignantly. "I do not need help. You've just been lucky so far."
"Uh huh," Richie said. "Course I have."
Tessa frowned at Richie, who just grinned back, looking healthier than he had in days.
"I think I'll leave you two to it," Duncan said exiting quickly, still smiling to himself. It was good to have Tessa home.
Chapter eight: Home life
Richie woke up a few hours later when Connor came into the room. He was talking quietly to Mac, obviously trying to not wake Richie up. Richie considered telling them he was awake anyway, but if he did Mac might move and he was so comfortable lying there with his head resting on Mac's chest and Mac's arm draped round his shoulder.
"Tessa phoned a little while ago," Connor was saying. "I didn't want to disturb you then but she's not too happy with you."
Richie heard Mac groan then answer in the same hushed tone Connor was using. "I didn't tell her I bought Richie home," He said.
"And you haven't told her the full story about any of this have you?" Connor asked, the disapproval he felt evident in his voice.
"No," Mac admitted. "I didn't want to worry her. What good would it do with her stuck in France?"
"I don't think Tessa's going to see it like that," Connor warned. "I suggest you phone her and begin groveling."
Richie shifted his position a little, feeling a bit guilty. If they knew he was awake Mac could go and phone Tessa and explain it all to her now. Both Mac and Connor shut up for a moment until they felt sure Richie was still asleep.
"I will," Mac promised speaking even more quietly. "But not till Richie wakes up. I don't want to disturb him while he's sleeping. I don't think he's been getting much recently."
"Are you sure you want to leave her waiting that long?" Connor asked. "She's very angry Duncan."
"Then a little while longer won't make any difference." Duncan said decisively.
Good, Richie thought though he still felt guilty. But as Mac had said, what difference would a few hours make and what could Tessa do all the way over there in France anyway?
*****
"That is not the point Duncan MacLoed and you know it!"
"Tess..." Duncan began, but knew already even if he had an excellent reason for keeping any of this from her she'd still be angry.
"I haven't finished yet," Tessa said, angrily. "Not only do you not tell me how distant Richie was being, or that the men that did this to him were employed by an Immortal, but you encouraged him to discharge himself from hospital against doctors orders and then he's so exhausted from the whole thing he spends most of the day asleep, but he doesn't want to be on his own because he's having nightmares! He should be in hospital Duncan!"
"I know that Tessa. But I couldn't leave him there unprotected."
Stony silence from the end of the phone for a minute. "What do you mean you couldn't leave him unprotected?" Tessa asked in a dangerously calm voice.
Whoops...
"Because..." Duncan told Tessa in great detail about his meeting with Campbell.
"He's still after Richie? He still wants him dead? Hasn't he done enough damage?" Tessa asked in a quiet voice.
"Not nearly enough," Duncan said. "But he won't get to Richie again. I'm not leaving him alone for a second."
"I know you'll look after him. I just wish I was there now," Tessa said sadly, all traces of her anger of a few minutes ago gone.
"Do they know when the strike is likely to end?" Duncan asked.
"Tomorrow," Tessa said. "But they keep saying it's going to end and then they extend it again!" her voice was beginning to rise again. "Don't those people understand we have families to get home to?"
"It'll be ok Tessa. You'll be home before you know it." Duncan said soothingly.
"But I wasn't with him Duncan," Tessa said, her voice dropping again. "I haven't been able to help him through this."
Duncan sighed. He didn't say it to Tessa, but he had been relieved when Tessa couldn't get home after he'd realised Campbell was behind it all. At least this way he only had to watch Richie. But he knew the moment Tessa could get a flight she would be home and nothing he said would be able to change her mind.
"I think you'll have plenty of time to be here for him when you get back," Duncan said. "He's not over any of it yet Tess."
*****
"Is it possible to go insane from boredom? Cos I think I'm halfway there." Richie moaned at Mac the next day. "I mean I like my room. I love my room. It's a distinct improvement on the hospital one. But do you have any idea how mind numbingly boring it is just lying here?"
Duncan frowned at him, knowing where Richie was going with this line of conversation. "You aren't well enough to be out of bed yet Richie."
"What's the difference between being in bed and lying on the sofa with the TV remote?" Richie asked. "Please Mac."
Duncan's frown deepened.
"I promise I won't move off the sofa. And you'll be there right? Or Connor will, if I need anything. So can I? Please... Please?"
It was definitely the big blue wide eyed expression, coupled with the pleading tone that got Duncan to give in.
"You'll stay put?" Duncan asked sternly.
"Won't move a muscle." Richie answered solemnly.
"And if I say you have to come back to bed you will, without an argument?"
There was a small but noticeable pause before Richie answered this time. "Sure," he said.
"And you'll eat lunch with me?"
There was a decidedly longer pause before Richie said, "Ok."
He hadn't had much of an appetite since he'd come home from the hospital. The doctors said it was to be expected, but that Duncan should encourage him to eat anyway. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to Duncan. It wasn't bribery as such, just persuasive measures...
"Ok then. You can get up for a bit, but if you get tired or you're in pain - "
"I got it Mac," Richie interrupted throwing the covers back.
Duncan allowed himself to smile at Richie's enthusiasm for something as simple as being able to get out of bed for a few hours.
*****
Richie wondered, as he prodded at his pasta with his fork, if Mac knew how unappetizing the whole thing looked to him. Still, Richie was trying hard to eat a decent amount of it so Mac wouldn't have an excuse to send him back to bed.
"You aren't enjoying that are you?" Mac asked.
Richie looked up and saw that Mac was staring at him intently and realised he probably had been for a while.
"Not really." Richie admitted looking back at his plate. "It's just... I'm really not hungry anymore."
Mac eyed Richie's plate for a minute. "All right. You've had more than I expected you too."
Richie almost sighed in relief as Mac took his plate away. He pulled up the blanket Mac had insisted he have and began flicking through the channels again, looking for something to watch and settling on a film he hadn't seen in a while.
Mac returned to the sofa a few minutes later with a book.
"You don't have to actually stay at my side the whole time you know?" Richie said without looking away from the TV.
"I know." Mac answered, then as an afterthought added, "Am I crowding you? Do you want some time alone?"
"No," Richie answered immediately, looking up. That wasn't what he'd meant... "It's just gotta be a bit boring for you, stuck here with me..."
Mac smiled and set his book down. "I'm not stuck with you. I chose to be here."
"You sure?" Richie asked biting his bottom lip.
"I'm sure," Mac repeated putting an arm around Richie's shoulders.
"K then," Richie said, leaning into Mac's embrace.
*****
"Everytime I walk into a room I find you two like that," Connor commented when he returned to the apartment a few hours later.
Richie was fast asleep, his head resting on Duncan's shoulder.
"He sleeps better when someone's with him," Duncan said. "Did you find anything?"
Connor had spent the morning, not in the shop like Richie thought, but out looking for Campbell. Duncan wanted to have the upper hand next time. He didn't want to play by Campbell's rules anymore and he didn't want Richie, or Tessa for that matter, to be in danger anymore.
"Nothing," Connor said shaking his head. "He's not going to make this easy for you Duncan."
"I know," Duncan said. "But I'm not just going to sit here and wait for him to make the next move Connor!"
"You may not have a choice Duncan." Connor said simply.
"I don't want those men in my home, in Richie's home again!"
"Of course you don't. But if they come we will be ready for them and they will pay for what they have done."
"Yes. They will." Duncan said darkly.
*****
So. Richie had thought Mac was bad enough with the restrictions he'd placed on him since he got back from hospital, but Tessa... From the second her plane had landed Tessa had been borderline unbearable. It was as if she was trying to make up for two weeks worth of pampering and fussing and worrying in one day. If it wasn't so irritating it might have been nice...
"Tessa... I don't need another nap. I've slept half the morning, I slept all through the night, I'm just not tired." Richie said as Tessa ignored his protests completely and began tucking the bedclothes around him.
"You need your rest," She said firmly.
"Yeah, I know." Richie said. "I'm the one with the bandages and enough tablets to put a pharmacy to shame. And I'm the one who knows when I'm tired and when I'm not. I'm eighteen now, I know how to take care of myself."
Tessa paused for a moment. "I know you aren't a child Richie, but you shouldn't be out of hospital yet. You need looking after."
"No, I need help looking after myself, I don't need someone to tell me when I'm tired." Richie said softly. He knew Tessa was just trying to take care of him, but she was beginning to drive him mad.
"Richie..."
"Tessa, I promise if I get tired I'll sleep. Ask Mac, I've been really good since I got home. No somersaults, no weightlifting, just trips to the bathroom and sofa, that's all."
Tessa sighed and sat on the edge of his bed." I'm overeacting, aren't I?" she asked.
"Maybe a little," Richie said, glad Tessa seemed to have stopped for a bit.
"I'm sorry Richie. It's just it was so hard being so far away when you needed me the most, and not being able to help you with any of this."
Oh no... there were tears in her eyes... crying woman, Richie had never known what to do when a woman cried...
"It's ok Tess. I'm ok. And I had Mac and Connor and I spoke to you everyday. It wasn't your fault. Please don't feel bad." Richie said patting her hand.
A few tears spilled from her eyes but Tessa was smiling. "I'm supposed to cheering you up, not the other way round," She said.
"I've had people cheering me up for two weeks. It's my turn," Richie said grinning.
Tessa grinned back. "Well," she said. "As your not taking a nap, what would you like to do?"
"Anything to relieve the boredom," Richie replied.
"Hmm. Let's see if we can find something..."
*****
When Duncan returned home that evening and asked Connor where Richie and Tessa were he'd felt a pang of sympathy for Richie. She was still in his room and Tessa in full mothering mode was a force to be reckoned with.
Sticking his head cautiously round Richie's door he'd been surprised to see Richie sitting up in bed, holding a handful of playing cards and Tessa sitting cross legged opposite him, also with a full hand of cards.
Curious, Duncan watched in silence for a moment.
"I'll see you," she said, throwing a couple of matchsticks Duncan hadn't noticed before into a pile that was in between the two of them.
Richie lay down his cards for her to see.
"I win right?" Richie asked uncertainly looking from his hand to hers.
Tessa nodded, a grin on her face. "Are you sure you've never played poker before?" She asked.
"Yep," Richie said gathering up the matchsticks. "I didn't gamble. Couldn't afford to lose what money I had. But I'm willing to risk matches."
Poker? Gambling? Tessa was teaching Richie to gamble?
"Oh hey Mac," Richie said noticing Duncan standing open mouthed in his doorway. "Tessa's teaching me to play cards. You wanna join in?"
"I think I'll pass," Duncan said with a smile. "You two carry on though."
"You sure? You could help Tessa. Think she needs it."
"Richard!" Tessa said indignantly. "I do not need help. You've just been lucky so far."
"Uh huh," Richie said. "Course I have."
Tessa frowned at Richie, who just grinned back, looking healthier than he had in days.
"I think I'll leave you two to it," Duncan said exiting quickly, still smiling to himself. It was good to have Tessa home.
