Tessa had called Duncan and Connor when breakfast was ready, on their way to the kitchen, Connor reminded Duncan again that soon he would have to speak with Richie. When they went in, they saw him standing near the table, grinning.
"What's he grinning about?" Duncan whispered to Connor.
"Ask him."
Finally, Duncan mustered up the nerve and opened his mouth, "How are you, Richie?"
"Starving," Richie replied, "I'm waiting on breakfast."
"What's cooking?" Connor asked as he inhaled a not-so-delightful scent.
"Hotcakes, bacon, French toast, ham and eggs, and all I have to do is stand around, looking 'perty," Richie laughed.
Duncan thought it was a miracle they got this far without an argument, he walked over to the lad and asked him, "Do you need some help getting to your chair?"
"Na, I know where it is, right here," Richie picked up the chair next to him.
"Allright boys, come and get it before it burns," Tessa said as she took a plate full of hot food over to Richie's place at the table, "enjoy, Richie."
"I'll try," Richie replied.
Richie took his seat, picked up his knife and fork and started cutting into the eggs, after a mouthful, he expressed an odd grimace.
"What's the matter?" Duncan asked, "undercooked?"
"Needs salt," Richie replied.
Richie put down his fork and felt across the table, he picked up the pepper shaker, brought it to his nose and inhaled, he made an even weirder face, put it down, and picked up the salt shaker, brought it up to his nose, inhaled, and then poured it on his eggs.
"So," Tessa finally said, "what do you two have planned today?"
"Well you know Duncan's going to be running the shop, and I figured I'd stay upstairs and help you with the lad," Connor said.
"We appreciate everything you're doing, Connor," Tessa said.
"Don't mention it, Tessa, I'm happy to help, besides, the boy's practically family, family you're willing to do anything for, that's what I decided a long time ago, and that's that," Connor said. When he said that, Connor meant to plunge his fork into the ham chop on his plate, but instead he plunged it into the back of Duncan's hand.
"OUUUCCCH!" Duncan screamed. He automatically picked his hand up off the table and examined the marks in it, which were already getting bloody, "Connor! Try to be more careful!"
"Sorry Duncan, I guess after 474 years, my sense of direction just isn't what it used to be," Connor laughed.
"How bad is it?" Richie asked.
"What?" Duncan asked.
"Your hand, how bad is it?" Richie asked, "if he stuck you as hard as I think he did, by now it has to be bleeding, Mac."
Duncan took another glance at his hand, blood had reached the surface, then he looked back at the lad across the table, "It is, how did you know?"
"Let's just say, been there, done that, had a few stitches, cussed out a few people, it's nothing new," Richie said.
"I'm sorry," Duncan murmured.
"Well it's not like you would've known anyway, it was about----six years ago, another---family dispute," Richie said.
"I can't believe that something like that could happen, and nobody would do anything," Tessa said.
"Well, it was just foster care, Tess, they don't really put any meaning into it, it's just so they can look like saints around the neighbors," Richie told her.
No one said anything after Richie's comment, no one knew what to say. It seemed Richie's life had more twists and turns in the truth than it had seemed before. They all knew, someone looked at Richie and immediately figured, smartass kid, past unknown and not worth knowing, wouldn't appreciate anything you did for him. Apparently there was another part to it than just that. Duncan and Tessa had taken in a scared, isolated teenager, and they got to know him, which was something they enjoyed. Every day they came to learn something new about the lad, and that was something that wouldn't end anytime soon. Duncan didn't want it to end, he didn't want to stop communicating with Richie, learning about his past, his interests, his life. But he knew it would end if he didn't close the gap in their trust in one another soon.
"So Tess, what's the weather for today?" Richie asked.
"Drowned if you ask me, that storm didn't end until 4 in the morning," Tessa answered as she looked out the window.
"Which reminds me," Richie said.
"What is it?" Tessa turned around.
"It's about time I get a shower, Mac goes down my throat if I wait more than 3 days, it's going on 5 this time," Richie explained.
"Allright, I'll be there in a minute," Tessa said.
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Richie replied, "Wait---you in-----now hooold on Tess, I may be legally blind and therefore pretty much helpless, but I'm going to die of embarrassment if you watch me."
"I'm not going to be watching, I'm just going to be nearby incase you get hurt," Tessa said.
"Tess, please! I begging you, leave me with what little privacy I have," Richie pleaded.
"Allright, but let me get the razors out of there first, I don't want you cutting yourself," Tessa said as she headed into the bathroom.
"Yes ma'am," Richie jokingly saluted.
"You can put your arm down, soldier," Connor scoffed, "she left."
"You sure?" Richie asked.
"Of course, she's gone," Connor said.
"Nice try," Tessa said as she re-entered the bedroom with three razors in her hand, "now Richie, are you sure you won't need any help?"
"Tess, for crying out loud, yes I'm sure, if I need you to watch me while I shower, I'll die of embarrassment, now let me alone to my privacy so I can sulk in peace," Richie said, quickly losing his patience with her.
Connor watched in awe as Tessa immediately stepped back as Richie snapped at her, then he headed into the bathroom and shut the door, Tessa let out a sigh of relief. Connor was shocked by the fact that it seemed Tessa was frightened by him.
"Are you allright?" he asked.
"Fine," Tessa gasped, "I'm fine---it's just-----after what happened, I think my nerves are shot."
"Well yours certainly wouldn't be the first," Connor told her, "I think we've all had quite a shock from this."
"But no doubt Richie is taking it the hardest," Tessa said, "it's no wonder he was so angry, first he had everyone upset at him, then worried about him, now he's got 2 people watching him, another who's scared to death to even talk to him, and we still don't know how we're going to handle this---but there are times---where it just-----it just seems that he's become another person----lately he's been scaring me."
"Is that how he was the other day?" Connor asked.
"In a way, Duncan was losing patience with Richie's short temper, and Richie was losing patience with Duncan," Tessa explained.
"Teenagers are like that, their hormones are playing tricks on them, they think they know everything, and the last person they want to talk to just won't shut up, I know, I've been down that road a few times," Connor laughed.
"Meantime, the way Duncan sees it, the one person he doesn't want to argue with can't agree with him to save his life," Tessa added.
There was a long silence between the two, finally, Connor broke the silence, "At least they're talking---you don't know how much arguing, and feuding, and coping it took to get him to say even that much to Richie today."
"And you don't know how much nagging it took to even have Richie willingly be anywhere near Duncan---they're both too stubborn for their own good, and they both have too much pride to admit it," Tessa said.
"Yes and unfortunately, Duncan has had a few hundred more years with experience in it than the lad has," Connor said.
"So what are we going to do about them?" Tessa asked, concern in her voice.
"I wish I knew, I wish there was a way to just-----get the two of them to say more to each other than a few words at a time, but I'm afraid even after 474 years, I don't know how---I feel helpless."
"I know," Tessa told him, "there must be some way to get them communicating again, but I'm afraid I'm at a loss of how."
A few minutes later, Richie came out of the bathroom in a robe with a towel on his head and slowly made his way back into his room, "are you guys still here?" he asked.
"How did you guess?" Tessa asked.
"I just got the funny feeling someone was watching me, so---" Richie felt his way from the doorway over to Tessa and Connor. Then he went to his closet and pulled out some clean clothes, then he turned back to Tessa and Connor, "Could you give me a minute to get dressed?"
"Of course," Tessa said as they left the room.
Connor closed the door behind them, and made sure it was shut tight so it wouldn't pop open at an inopportune time for Richie.
"What do we do?" Tessa asked.
"There's nothing we can do, I don't think," Connor said, "we're just going to have to hope and pray that those two get this settled, I don't know how much more I can take of Duncan's worrying," Connor said.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Richie came out in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
"Allright, I've been giving this a lot of thought, and there's something I'd like to discuss with you guys," Richie said, "I don't want you taking it personally or anything, it's just that I've made a decision about something."
"He what?" Duncan asked.
"He's asked for us to stop watching him at night," Tessa said, "I couldn't believe it myself when he said it."
"I don't get it," Duncan said, "is there a problem?"
"He just said that he's become embarrassed to have us watch him at night like a child," Tessa laughed, "and just like a child to ask for his independence from it----what do you think?"
"Honestly? I don't know, what did he say?" Duncan asked.
"I'll tell you what I said!" Richie called from the head of the stairs.
Tessa looked up and saw Richie was standing near the edge of the stairs, too close for comfort, and she panicked.
"Richie, stay where you are," Tessa said as she started up the stairs.
"But Tess---"
"Stay put," Tessa told him, "I don't want you getting hurt, and right now you're running a pretty good risk of falling 10 feet."
Once Tessa reached the head of the stairs, she immediately grabbed Richie's wrist and led him downstairs, "If you have something to say, you say it where we are so we don't have to worry about you, now tell Duncan what you said."
"Well," Richie turned to Duncan, "I figured you guys need to stop losing sleep over me, so I took a wrong turn and fell on the floor, you guys shouldn't have to stay up every night to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Richie, cut us some slack here," Duncan said, "we've only had to watch you one night so far---I think you should wait until at least the 3rd night to bring this up."
"Boy aren't you humorous?" Connor asked, "Who's to even say he won't recover by the third night?"
"Connor, let's face facts, this is the second day and I'm not seeing an improvement," Richie said.
"Not now, no," Connor admitted, "but believe me Richie, you'll be surprised by what can happen between then and now."
Richie was getting tired of hearing the same supportive lines he'd heard yesterday, not wanting to start an argument with anyone, he decided to end the discussion now.
"Well, NOW I'm going back to my room to sulk, and THEN I'm going to sulk some more," Richie said.
Richie broke loose of Tessa's grip and headed upstairs before anyone could protest, surprisingly enough, he made it with no trouble. As Duncan opened his mouth to say someting, they heard the door slam.
"So," Connor said, "that's a typical dispute between you---I mean, once you cut out all the yelling that takes place."
"It's not funny, Connor," Duncan told him.
"No, you're right, it's not funny, it's getting worse with the lad, and it's going to continue getting worse until you two finally manage to fully communicate with each other, without tussling over who's at blame," Connor told him.
Richie had spent endless hours that day trying to convince them to leave him alone that night, he begged Tessa to let him have a night of privacy, so he could sulk without them watching. They finally agreed, only under the agreement if he needed anything he'd yell for them. Richie agreed, and was thrilled about having a night to himself, but Richie soon came to regret his decision. He was having more trouble than usual with falling asleep, maybe it was because he didn't have someone watching him tonight, or maybe it was the fact that it was incredibly hot and he had no way of cooling off. He couldn't figure out what it was, he just knew he couldn't sleep even though he was exhausted. He didn't know when it was, but he finally fell asleep, unfortunately it didn't last for long, he kept going in and out of a peaceful sleep.
Man, he thought, I wish I knew what time it was.
It was then that the boy got an idea, over on his nightstand was a clock that had to be set just by turning the hands for the right time, it was protected by a plastic dome that could easily be removed. Duncan had let Richie use it after he had an accident with his last clock which broke it, Richie felt over to his nightstand until he felt the clock, and slowly removed the dome and put it down gently, then he ran his thumb and forefinger across the hands, just lightly enough so he would know their place on the clock. The large hand was on the 7 and the small hand was on the 1.
One thirty-five in the morning, Richie said to himself, man, I have to try to get some sleep and apparently I'll have to try harder than this.
Richie turned over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, trying to get to sleep, but he soon found it was useless. He couldn't sleep no matter what he did. It was then that he realized why he couldn't sleep, he couldn't sleep because he wasn't comfortable. Richie moved into a few different positions hoping he would be able to fall asleep, but it didn't work, after tossing and turning a few times, he finally fell asleep.
"Well Richie, how did you sleep last night?" Duncan asked.
"Like a bump on a log," Richie said, "although, I had a little trouble getting out of bed this morning, I took a wrong turn and fell out of bed and hit my mouth on the floor."
"Well, you should've called for one of us," Duncan laughed, "we would've been more than happy to help."
"I know, Mac, I know," the lad replied, "it's just that I hate---knowing you guys are doing so much to help me when I can hardly even help myself, letalone you in return."
"Richie, you don't need to worry about us, we've already gone over this, we're here to help you until you can see again, and you don't need to worry about repaying us," Duncan said.
Richie bit his lip and thought for a few seconds, he decided now was as good a time as any to tell the Immortal the truth.
But as he opened his mouth, the fear only grew large in Richie, petrifying him as he barely managed to get out, "-----Mac----"
"Yeah, Richie?" Duncan asked.
Richie decided it was too late to go back, so he just came out saying, "I have a confession to make-----I'm not really blind--anymore-----I woke up today and could see again---I just---I just didn't know when to tell you."
Duncan slowly turned around and stared at Richie with a shocked glare.
"Mac," Richie said, "I can see again."
"You can?" Duncan asked, still in shock.
"Yeah, isn't that great?" Richie asked.
"It's amazing!" Duncan said, letting his optimism show.
"Yeah, now I can---" Richie got cut off as the great news turned into a tragedy when Dunca grabbed him and threw him on the floor.
Quickly getting up, hoping to protect himself, Richie jumped back from where he was standing and said, "Mac, what the hell is the matter with you?"
He stood petrified as he saw Duncan grab a large knife with a recently sharpened blade, Richie turned to run, but Duncan caught him and threw him against the wall. Richie, now bleeding and fearing for his life, was frozen in fear as Duncan shifted the blade towards him. Now he knew there was no way to escape, Richie closed his eyes tightly as he didn't want to see that the Highlander had started to cut into his skin. A gasping scream escaped his lips as he forced his eyes open, only to find himself surrounded by darkness.
Richie let out a sigh of relief in between the gasps impacted from the shock of the nightmare he'd just had. He never would've said it, but now for once, he was glad he was blind, proving the horrifying image he had just witnessed was just a dream.
"Thank God," Richie quietly said to himself.
But relief soon turned to fear again when Richie felt a weight pressed on his chest, near his heart. Richie had had this weight against him before, it was the base of a knife! The worst part of it was he was still blind, so he couldn't see what was going on. He didn't know if someone had broken in and was watching him, waiting for the right minute to kill him. Fearing for his life, Richie called out, but the name that submerged from his voice shocked even himself as he called, "MAAAAAC!"
Richie knew if there was someone in the room, by now they'd try and kill him, he was a bit relieved when he heard the door open and the lights come on, and heard a firm voice filled with concern, "Richie, are you allright?"
"Mac!" the lad repeated, "Mac, what's on my chest? What is it?"
Richie felt the weight lifted off his chest and felt relieved, then he heard the Highlander replied, "It's your pocket knife, how it got on your chest, I can't figure out."
"Am I bleeding?" Richie asked, still panicked by his inability to see.
"No, you're not bleeding, but we still better make sure you're not hurt," Duncan sat next to Richie's body, took the lad in his arms and started to lift him up from the chest up.
Richie immediately made it clear that he still had some trust issues with Duncan as he started kicking and screaming, "Don't pick me up! Put me down! Put me down!"
Duncan, worried he might have hurt Richie, quickly laid him back down, the lad turned over and buried his face in the pillows and started murmuring something to himself.
"Richie, I'm terribly sorry," Duncan apologized, "did I hurt you?
"No," came the muffled sob from the pillows.
Duncan was concerned by what he had just heard and gently turned the lad around to facing him, the look on his face was a mixture of hurt and embarrassment as he continued to sob, his cheeks already wet and stained.
"Oh Richie---" Duncan took the boy in his arms as Richie buried his face in Duncan's shoulder.
Right now, he was breathing so heavily in between sobs, Duncan thought it wouldn't be long until he started hyperventilating. Duncan cupped Richie's chin in his hand and brought his face up for Duncan to look at him.
"Calm down, Richie, calm down-----what's the matter?" Duncan asked as he held the boy closer and lightly patted his back.
"I'm sorry," Richie gasped, "it's just----I had----and then you-----I just---" Richie quickly lost patience with his vulnerability and snapped, "dammit! What's wrong with me? I can't even say it!"
"Calm down, Richie, don't rush yourself, it's allright, it's allright, I'm here now, you're going to be allright."
Duncan was surprised and a bit shocked when Richie threw his arms around Duncan's back, gripping hard as if he was holding on to him for dear life. After a few minutes, Duncan felt relieved when Richie started to calm down and his breathing returned to normal. Finally, Duncan had to ask, "can you tell me what's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare---I'm sorry," Richie said.
"What about?" Duncan asked, hoping he could be of help to the boy.
"I don't think I can say, I don't want you to take it personally," Richie replied.
"Richie, I only want to help you, now please---tell me what's wrong," Duncan said.
"I----I dreamt that I got my sight back, and when I did, you---tried to---you tried to kill me," Richie admitted.
Duncan let go of Richie and watched as the boy turned away, obviously at the fear of being struck for what he'd said, but Duncan was in shock by what he'd just heard.
"I tried---to kill you?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah," Richie replied, "or maybe rape, one or the other, I don't know, maybe both."
"Richie-----my God, I don't know where this idea came from----Richie------do I frighten you when I'm around?" Duncan asked.
Richie kept his head turned away and had an emotionless glare in his eyes.
"Oh Richie---" Duncan had plenty of years of experience to read the signs when it came to trouble with a teenager. "Richie, I'm sorry if I've made you feel uneasy around here---tell me, how long as this been happening?"
"I don't know anymore," Richie snapped, "ever since I moved in I guess----but at first, it wasn't this bad, at first I was just scared of you because I didn't know you but I knew what you do. Over the weeks, it got easier because I got to know you, but now---I don't know Mac, I'm scared, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, I can't do anything for myself, I got nowhere else to go, and nobody even wants me."
"Don't say that!" Duncan raised his voice to the boy, "Richie, we love you, I love you, Tessa loves you, even Connor does----Connor's crazy about you, he'd take you to live with him if I'd let him."
"Really?" Duncan heard a shred of hope in the boy's tone.
"Yes, Richie, you're going to stay with us," Duncan told him.
"That's good to know," Richie murmured.
Duncan could easily tell a large burden had been lifted off the lad's shoulders, it was a lot more obvious than he was willing to let on, but Duncan didn't care. He was just glad that they got this out in the open, and he was able to be of help to the boy. Finally, Richie turned to him and asked him, "what time is it?"
"3:00 A.M.," Duncan answered.
"Well, I guess I'm lucky that you were up here, tonight," Richie said.
"Richie---"
"I know, Mac, I know, I should've had you guys watching me tonight, none of this would happened, but I begged you guys to leave me alone, so here we are, Tessa told me it was too soon, but I didn't listen, so go ahead, just say it, say "I told you so"-----"
"I wasn't going to say that, Richie," Duncan assured the lad.
"No?" Richie asked, vexed by Duncan's response, "then what were you going to say?"
He heard Duncan take in a deep breath before saying, "do you need me to stay here now?"
Half of Richie was saying no, he didn't want to cause Duncan anymore trouble than he had, but he knew the truth of the matter was he needed him now more than ever, so he said, "Yes."
"Allright," Duncan responded, "let's get you back into bed."
Before Richie could respond, he felt Duncan pick him up in his arms, lay him down in bed and bring the sheets up to his chest, and then he heard him ask, "better?"
"Yeah," Richie groaned as he turned over in bed, "thanks, Mac."
"I'm going to see if Tessa woke up, and then I'll be back for the rest of the night," Duncan told him.
Ducan went over to his bedroom and saw Tessa sitting up in bed, and Connor standing by the window, "Nice to see you two are talking again," he said.
Duncan was alarmed by what he had heard, if Connor had planted Richie's knife on his chest without realizing the possibilities---
"You?" Duncan asked.
"Of course not, I would never put the lad's life in jeopardy, I know better, but I'm glad you two are talking," Connor told him.
"Then----how did his knife end up on his chest?" Duncan asked.
"Maybe the lad was sleepwalking and picked it up," Connor said, "I've seen people who when they feel helpless, see something like that as protection---could be subconsciously that our young friend saw the same thing in his knife."
"Protection? From what?"
"From anything, right now he's blind and has no idea what's going on in his surroundings, so, should he find himself alone and in trouble with someone, I think it's obvious what he's going to rely on," Connor said.
Duncan went back to Richie's room and found him sound asleep. He grinned to himself, he was glad they had ended the feud between them and now he was able to speak to the lad again without another confrontation. Duncan looked over at Richie's nightstand and saw the knife resting next to the clock. Duncan picked up the knife and put it in the bottom drawer of Richie's dresser, and murmured, "You won't be needing that."
Duncan then took his chair to the side of the bed and sat beside Richie, watching him sleep. He had an angelic look on his face as he seemed to be resting peacefully. Duncan hoped that an improvement in Richie's condition would be made soon.
"What's he grinning about?" Duncan whispered to Connor.
"Ask him."
Finally, Duncan mustered up the nerve and opened his mouth, "How are you, Richie?"
"Starving," Richie replied, "I'm waiting on breakfast."
"What's cooking?" Connor asked as he inhaled a not-so-delightful scent.
"Hotcakes, bacon, French toast, ham and eggs, and all I have to do is stand around, looking 'perty," Richie laughed.
Duncan thought it was a miracle they got this far without an argument, he walked over to the lad and asked him, "Do you need some help getting to your chair?"
"Na, I know where it is, right here," Richie picked up the chair next to him.
"Allright boys, come and get it before it burns," Tessa said as she took a plate full of hot food over to Richie's place at the table, "enjoy, Richie."
"I'll try," Richie replied.
Richie took his seat, picked up his knife and fork and started cutting into the eggs, after a mouthful, he expressed an odd grimace.
"What's the matter?" Duncan asked, "undercooked?"
"Needs salt," Richie replied.
Richie put down his fork and felt across the table, he picked up the pepper shaker, brought it to his nose and inhaled, he made an even weirder face, put it down, and picked up the salt shaker, brought it up to his nose, inhaled, and then poured it on his eggs.
"So," Tessa finally said, "what do you two have planned today?"
"Well you know Duncan's going to be running the shop, and I figured I'd stay upstairs and help you with the lad," Connor said.
"We appreciate everything you're doing, Connor," Tessa said.
"Don't mention it, Tessa, I'm happy to help, besides, the boy's practically family, family you're willing to do anything for, that's what I decided a long time ago, and that's that," Connor said. When he said that, Connor meant to plunge his fork into the ham chop on his plate, but instead he plunged it into the back of Duncan's hand.
"OUUUCCCH!" Duncan screamed. He automatically picked his hand up off the table and examined the marks in it, which were already getting bloody, "Connor! Try to be more careful!"
"Sorry Duncan, I guess after 474 years, my sense of direction just isn't what it used to be," Connor laughed.
"How bad is it?" Richie asked.
"What?" Duncan asked.
"Your hand, how bad is it?" Richie asked, "if he stuck you as hard as I think he did, by now it has to be bleeding, Mac."
Duncan took another glance at his hand, blood had reached the surface, then he looked back at the lad across the table, "It is, how did you know?"
"Let's just say, been there, done that, had a few stitches, cussed out a few people, it's nothing new," Richie said.
"I'm sorry," Duncan murmured.
"Well it's not like you would've known anyway, it was about----six years ago, another---family dispute," Richie said.
"I can't believe that something like that could happen, and nobody would do anything," Tessa said.
"Well, it was just foster care, Tess, they don't really put any meaning into it, it's just so they can look like saints around the neighbors," Richie told her.
No one said anything after Richie's comment, no one knew what to say. It seemed Richie's life had more twists and turns in the truth than it had seemed before. They all knew, someone looked at Richie and immediately figured, smartass kid, past unknown and not worth knowing, wouldn't appreciate anything you did for him. Apparently there was another part to it than just that. Duncan and Tessa had taken in a scared, isolated teenager, and they got to know him, which was something they enjoyed. Every day they came to learn something new about the lad, and that was something that wouldn't end anytime soon. Duncan didn't want it to end, he didn't want to stop communicating with Richie, learning about his past, his interests, his life. But he knew it would end if he didn't close the gap in their trust in one another soon.
"So Tess, what's the weather for today?" Richie asked.
"Drowned if you ask me, that storm didn't end until 4 in the morning," Tessa answered as she looked out the window.
"Which reminds me," Richie said.
"What is it?" Tessa turned around.
"It's about time I get a shower, Mac goes down my throat if I wait more than 3 days, it's going on 5 this time," Richie explained.
"Allright, I'll be there in a minute," Tessa said.
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Richie replied, "Wait---you in-----now hooold on Tess, I may be legally blind and therefore pretty much helpless, but I'm going to die of embarrassment if you watch me."
"I'm not going to be watching, I'm just going to be nearby incase you get hurt," Tessa said.
"Tess, please! I begging you, leave me with what little privacy I have," Richie pleaded.
"Allright, but let me get the razors out of there first, I don't want you cutting yourself," Tessa said as she headed into the bathroom.
"Yes ma'am," Richie jokingly saluted.
"You can put your arm down, soldier," Connor scoffed, "she left."
"You sure?" Richie asked.
"Of course, she's gone," Connor said.
"Nice try," Tessa said as she re-entered the bedroom with three razors in her hand, "now Richie, are you sure you won't need any help?"
"Tess, for crying out loud, yes I'm sure, if I need you to watch me while I shower, I'll die of embarrassment, now let me alone to my privacy so I can sulk in peace," Richie said, quickly losing his patience with her.
Connor watched in awe as Tessa immediately stepped back as Richie snapped at her, then he headed into the bathroom and shut the door, Tessa let out a sigh of relief. Connor was shocked by the fact that it seemed Tessa was frightened by him.
"Are you allright?" he asked.
"Fine," Tessa gasped, "I'm fine---it's just-----after what happened, I think my nerves are shot."
"Well yours certainly wouldn't be the first," Connor told her, "I think we've all had quite a shock from this."
"But no doubt Richie is taking it the hardest," Tessa said, "it's no wonder he was so angry, first he had everyone upset at him, then worried about him, now he's got 2 people watching him, another who's scared to death to even talk to him, and we still don't know how we're going to handle this---but there are times---where it just-----it just seems that he's become another person----lately he's been scaring me."
"Is that how he was the other day?" Connor asked.
"In a way, Duncan was losing patience with Richie's short temper, and Richie was losing patience with Duncan," Tessa explained.
"Teenagers are like that, their hormones are playing tricks on them, they think they know everything, and the last person they want to talk to just won't shut up, I know, I've been down that road a few times," Connor laughed.
"Meantime, the way Duncan sees it, the one person he doesn't want to argue with can't agree with him to save his life," Tessa added.
There was a long silence between the two, finally, Connor broke the silence, "At least they're talking---you don't know how much arguing, and feuding, and coping it took to get him to say even that much to Richie today."
"And you don't know how much nagging it took to even have Richie willingly be anywhere near Duncan---they're both too stubborn for their own good, and they both have too much pride to admit it," Tessa said.
"Yes and unfortunately, Duncan has had a few hundred more years with experience in it than the lad has," Connor said.
"So what are we going to do about them?" Tessa asked, concern in her voice.
"I wish I knew, I wish there was a way to just-----get the two of them to say more to each other than a few words at a time, but I'm afraid even after 474 years, I don't know how---I feel helpless."
"I know," Tessa told him, "there must be some way to get them communicating again, but I'm afraid I'm at a loss of how."
A few minutes later, Richie came out of the bathroom in a robe with a towel on his head and slowly made his way back into his room, "are you guys still here?" he asked.
"How did you guess?" Tessa asked.
"I just got the funny feeling someone was watching me, so---" Richie felt his way from the doorway over to Tessa and Connor. Then he went to his closet and pulled out some clean clothes, then he turned back to Tessa and Connor, "Could you give me a minute to get dressed?"
"Of course," Tessa said as they left the room.
Connor closed the door behind them, and made sure it was shut tight so it wouldn't pop open at an inopportune time for Richie.
"What do we do?" Tessa asked.
"There's nothing we can do, I don't think," Connor said, "we're just going to have to hope and pray that those two get this settled, I don't know how much more I can take of Duncan's worrying," Connor said.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Richie came out in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
"Allright, I've been giving this a lot of thought, and there's something I'd like to discuss with you guys," Richie said, "I don't want you taking it personally or anything, it's just that I've made a decision about something."
"He what?" Duncan asked.
"He's asked for us to stop watching him at night," Tessa said, "I couldn't believe it myself when he said it."
"I don't get it," Duncan said, "is there a problem?"
"He just said that he's become embarrassed to have us watch him at night like a child," Tessa laughed, "and just like a child to ask for his independence from it----what do you think?"
"Honestly? I don't know, what did he say?" Duncan asked.
"I'll tell you what I said!" Richie called from the head of the stairs.
Tessa looked up and saw Richie was standing near the edge of the stairs, too close for comfort, and she panicked.
"Richie, stay where you are," Tessa said as she started up the stairs.
"But Tess---"
"Stay put," Tessa told him, "I don't want you getting hurt, and right now you're running a pretty good risk of falling 10 feet."
Once Tessa reached the head of the stairs, she immediately grabbed Richie's wrist and led him downstairs, "If you have something to say, you say it where we are so we don't have to worry about you, now tell Duncan what you said."
"Well," Richie turned to Duncan, "I figured you guys need to stop losing sleep over me, so I took a wrong turn and fell on the floor, you guys shouldn't have to stay up every night to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Richie, cut us some slack here," Duncan said, "we've only had to watch you one night so far---I think you should wait until at least the 3rd night to bring this up."
"Boy aren't you humorous?" Connor asked, "Who's to even say he won't recover by the third night?"
"Connor, let's face facts, this is the second day and I'm not seeing an improvement," Richie said.
"Not now, no," Connor admitted, "but believe me Richie, you'll be surprised by what can happen between then and now."
Richie was getting tired of hearing the same supportive lines he'd heard yesterday, not wanting to start an argument with anyone, he decided to end the discussion now.
"Well, NOW I'm going back to my room to sulk, and THEN I'm going to sulk some more," Richie said.
Richie broke loose of Tessa's grip and headed upstairs before anyone could protest, surprisingly enough, he made it with no trouble. As Duncan opened his mouth to say someting, they heard the door slam.
"So," Connor said, "that's a typical dispute between you---I mean, once you cut out all the yelling that takes place."
"It's not funny, Connor," Duncan told him.
"No, you're right, it's not funny, it's getting worse with the lad, and it's going to continue getting worse until you two finally manage to fully communicate with each other, without tussling over who's at blame," Connor told him.
Richie had spent endless hours that day trying to convince them to leave him alone that night, he begged Tessa to let him have a night of privacy, so he could sulk without them watching. They finally agreed, only under the agreement if he needed anything he'd yell for them. Richie agreed, and was thrilled about having a night to himself, but Richie soon came to regret his decision. He was having more trouble than usual with falling asleep, maybe it was because he didn't have someone watching him tonight, or maybe it was the fact that it was incredibly hot and he had no way of cooling off. He couldn't figure out what it was, he just knew he couldn't sleep even though he was exhausted. He didn't know when it was, but he finally fell asleep, unfortunately it didn't last for long, he kept going in and out of a peaceful sleep.
Man, he thought, I wish I knew what time it was.
It was then that the boy got an idea, over on his nightstand was a clock that had to be set just by turning the hands for the right time, it was protected by a plastic dome that could easily be removed. Duncan had let Richie use it after he had an accident with his last clock which broke it, Richie felt over to his nightstand until he felt the clock, and slowly removed the dome and put it down gently, then he ran his thumb and forefinger across the hands, just lightly enough so he would know their place on the clock. The large hand was on the 7 and the small hand was on the 1.
One thirty-five in the morning, Richie said to himself, man, I have to try to get some sleep and apparently I'll have to try harder than this.
Richie turned over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, trying to get to sleep, but he soon found it was useless. He couldn't sleep no matter what he did. It was then that he realized why he couldn't sleep, he couldn't sleep because he wasn't comfortable. Richie moved into a few different positions hoping he would be able to fall asleep, but it didn't work, after tossing and turning a few times, he finally fell asleep.
"Well Richie, how did you sleep last night?" Duncan asked.
"Like a bump on a log," Richie said, "although, I had a little trouble getting out of bed this morning, I took a wrong turn and fell out of bed and hit my mouth on the floor."
"Well, you should've called for one of us," Duncan laughed, "we would've been more than happy to help."
"I know, Mac, I know," the lad replied, "it's just that I hate---knowing you guys are doing so much to help me when I can hardly even help myself, letalone you in return."
"Richie, you don't need to worry about us, we've already gone over this, we're here to help you until you can see again, and you don't need to worry about repaying us," Duncan said.
Richie bit his lip and thought for a few seconds, he decided now was as good a time as any to tell the Immortal the truth.
But as he opened his mouth, the fear only grew large in Richie, petrifying him as he barely managed to get out, "-----Mac----"
"Yeah, Richie?" Duncan asked.
Richie decided it was too late to go back, so he just came out saying, "I have a confession to make-----I'm not really blind--anymore-----I woke up today and could see again---I just---I just didn't know when to tell you."
Duncan slowly turned around and stared at Richie with a shocked glare.
"Mac," Richie said, "I can see again."
"You can?" Duncan asked, still in shock.
"Yeah, isn't that great?" Richie asked.
"It's amazing!" Duncan said, letting his optimism show.
"Yeah, now I can---" Richie got cut off as the great news turned into a tragedy when Dunca grabbed him and threw him on the floor.
Quickly getting up, hoping to protect himself, Richie jumped back from where he was standing and said, "Mac, what the hell is the matter with you?"
He stood petrified as he saw Duncan grab a large knife with a recently sharpened blade, Richie turned to run, but Duncan caught him and threw him against the wall. Richie, now bleeding and fearing for his life, was frozen in fear as Duncan shifted the blade towards him. Now he knew there was no way to escape, Richie closed his eyes tightly as he didn't want to see that the Highlander had started to cut into his skin. A gasping scream escaped his lips as he forced his eyes open, only to find himself surrounded by darkness.
Richie let out a sigh of relief in between the gasps impacted from the shock of the nightmare he'd just had. He never would've said it, but now for once, he was glad he was blind, proving the horrifying image he had just witnessed was just a dream.
"Thank God," Richie quietly said to himself.
But relief soon turned to fear again when Richie felt a weight pressed on his chest, near his heart. Richie had had this weight against him before, it was the base of a knife! The worst part of it was he was still blind, so he couldn't see what was going on. He didn't know if someone had broken in and was watching him, waiting for the right minute to kill him. Fearing for his life, Richie called out, but the name that submerged from his voice shocked even himself as he called, "MAAAAAC!"
Richie knew if there was someone in the room, by now they'd try and kill him, he was a bit relieved when he heard the door open and the lights come on, and heard a firm voice filled with concern, "Richie, are you allright?"
"Mac!" the lad repeated, "Mac, what's on my chest? What is it?"
Richie felt the weight lifted off his chest and felt relieved, then he heard the Highlander replied, "It's your pocket knife, how it got on your chest, I can't figure out."
"Am I bleeding?" Richie asked, still panicked by his inability to see.
"No, you're not bleeding, but we still better make sure you're not hurt," Duncan sat next to Richie's body, took the lad in his arms and started to lift him up from the chest up.
Richie immediately made it clear that he still had some trust issues with Duncan as he started kicking and screaming, "Don't pick me up! Put me down! Put me down!"
Duncan, worried he might have hurt Richie, quickly laid him back down, the lad turned over and buried his face in the pillows and started murmuring something to himself.
"Richie, I'm terribly sorry," Duncan apologized, "did I hurt you?
"No," came the muffled sob from the pillows.
Duncan was concerned by what he had just heard and gently turned the lad around to facing him, the look on his face was a mixture of hurt and embarrassment as he continued to sob, his cheeks already wet and stained.
"Oh Richie---" Duncan took the boy in his arms as Richie buried his face in Duncan's shoulder.
Right now, he was breathing so heavily in between sobs, Duncan thought it wouldn't be long until he started hyperventilating. Duncan cupped Richie's chin in his hand and brought his face up for Duncan to look at him.
"Calm down, Richie, calm down-----what's the matter?" Duncan asked as he held the boy closer and lightly patted his back.
"I'm sorry," Richie gasped, "it's just----I had----and then you-----I just---" Richie quickly lost patience with his vulnerability and snapped, "dammit! What's wrong with me? I can't even say it!"
"Calm down, Richie, don't rush yourself, it's allright, it's allright, I'm here now, you're going to be allright."
Duncan was surprised and a bit shocked when Richie threw his arms around Duncan's back, gripping hard as if he was holding on to him for dear life. After a few minutes, Duncan felt relieved when Richie started to calm down and his breathing returned to normal. Finally, Duncan had to ask, "can you tell me what's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare---I'm sorry," Richie said.
"What about?" Duncan asked, hoping he could be of help to the boy.
"I don't think I can say, I don't want you to take it personally," Richie replied.
"Richie, I only want to help you, now please---tell me what's wrong," Duncan said.
"I----I dreamt that I got my sight back, and when I did, you---tried to---you tried to kill me," Richie admitted.
Duncan let go of Richie and watched as the boy turned away, obviously at the fear of being struck for what he'd said, but Duncan was in shock by what he'd just heard.
"I tried---to kill you?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah," Richie replied, "or maybe rape, one or the other, I don't know, maybe both."
"Richie-----my God, I don't know where this idea came from----Richie------do I frighten you when I'm around?" Duncan asked.
Richie kept his head turned away and had an emotionless glare in his eyes.
"Oh Richie---" Duncan had plenty of years of experience to read the signs when it came to trouble with a teenager. "Richie, I'm sorry if I've made you feel uneasy around here---tell me, how long as this been happening?"
"I don't know anymore," Richie snapped, "ever since I moved in I guess----but at first, it wasn't this bad, at first I was just scared of you because I didn't know you but I knew what you do. Over the weeks, it got easier because I got to know you, but now---I don't know Mac, I'm scared, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, I can't do anything for myself, I got nowhere else to go, and nobody even wants me."
"Don't say that!" Duncan raised his voice to the boy, "Richie, we love you, I love you, Tessa loves you, even Connor does----Connor's crazy about you, he'd take you to live with him if I'd let him."
"Really?" Duncan heard a shred of hope in the boy's tone.
"Yes, Richie, you're going to stay with us," Duncan told him.
"That's good to know," Richie murmured.
Duncan could easily tell a large burden had been lifted off the lad's shoulders, it was a lot more obvious than he was willing to let on, but Duncan didn't care. He was just glad that they got this out in the open, and he was able to be of help to the boy. Finally, Richie turned to him and asked him, "what time is it?"
"3:00 A.M.," Duncan answered.
"Well, I guess I'm lucky that you were up here, tonight," Richie said.
"Richie---"
"I know, Mac, I know, I should've had you guys watching me tonight, none of this would happened, but I begged you guys to leave me alone, so here we are, Tessa told me it was too soon, but I didn't listen, so go ahead, just say it, say "I told you so"-----"
"I wasn't going to say that, Richie," Duncan assured the lad.
"No?" Richie asked, vexed by Duncan's response, "then what were you going to say?"
He heard Duncan take in a deep breath before saying, "do you need me to stay here now?"
Half of Richie was saying no, he didn't want to cause Duncan anymore trouble than he had, but he knew the truth of the matter was he needed him now more than ever, so he said, "Yes."
"Allright," Duncan responded, "let's get you back into bed."
Before Richie could respond, he felt Duncan pick him up in his arms, lay him down in bed and bring the sheets up to his chest, and then he heard him ask, "better?"
"Yeah," Richie groaned as he turned over in bed, "thanks, Mac."
"I'm going to see if Tessa woke up, and then I'll be back for the rest of the night," Duncan told him.
Ducan went over to his bedroom and saw Tessa sitting up in bed, and Connor standing by the window, "Nice to see you two are talking again," he said.
Duncan was alarmed by what he had heard, if Connor had planted Richie's knife on his chest without realizing the possibilities---
"You?" Duncan asked.
"Of course not, I would never put the lad's life in jeopardy, I know better, but I'm glad you two are talking," Connor told him.
"Then----how did his knife end up on his chest?" Duncan asked.
"Maybe the lad was sleepwalking and picked it up," Connor said, "I've seen people who when they feel helpless, see something like that as protection---could be subconsciously that our young friend saw the same thing in his knife."
"Protection? From what?"
"From anything, right now he's blind and has no idea what's going on in his surroundings, so, should he find himself alone and in trouble with someone, I think it's obvious what he's going to rely on," Connor said.
Duncan went back to Richie's room and found him sound asleep. He grinned to himself, he was glad they had ended the feud between them and now he was able to speak to the lad again without another confrontation. Duncan looked over at Richie's nightstand and saw the knife resting next to the clock. Duncan picked up the knife and put it in the bottom drawer of Richie's dresser, and murmured, "You won't be needing that."
Duncan then took his chair to the side of the bed and sat beside Richie, watching him sleep. He had an angelic look on his face as he seemed to be resting peacefully. Duncan hoped that an improvement in Richie's condition would be made soon.
