Revenge - part 4 of 5

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Revenge - Part 4 of 5

For disclaimers, see part 1

*********************************

Once he reached the hospital, Duncan parked by the emergency entrance,
then ran inside to get some help. Two orderlies came out with a gurney,
and the Scot carefully lifted Richie out of the car and placed him on
it. Despite his desire to be with the teenager, he knew he had to park
the T-bird so it wasn't blocking the entrance.

Back inside, he didn't see Richie anywhere. He stalked over to the
admitting desk. "Where did they take my friend?"

"Room 12. Down the hall, and to the right," the receptionist answered.

Duncan followed the directions, and easily found the room. A nurse was
already starting to undress Richie, and the Scot was pleased to see that
the teenager wasn't struggling against it. Another nurse joined them,
carrying a clipboard, and she came over to Duncan's side.

"I need to get some information."

Duncan rattled off Richie's name, address, age, known allergies, and
illnesses.

"And what happened to him?"

Duncan glanced over at the examining table. Richie was staring up at the
ceiling, and didn't seem to be paying attention. He'd thought about what
reason he would give during the drive here. "It was a stupid gang
initiation. They grabbed Richie, tied him up, then left him. The idea
was to make him think he'd been left to die. Unfortunately, the guy who
was supposed to go back and free him the next morning thought someone
else was going to do it. By the time I found out what had happened,
Richie had been tied up for three days, with no food or water."

A older man came into the room, and went straight to Richie's side. "I'm
Dr. Meachem. Let's take a look at you." He pulled out a stethoscope from
his pocket, and listened to Richie's chest. Next was a flashlight, which
he used to examine the teenager's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. "Let's
get an IV started," he ordered.

While the nurse did that, he examined the notes on the clipboard before
turning back to the young man. "Richie, are you in any pain?"

Richie nodded. "My throat," he rasped out. "My stomach, my head, and my
wrists. Can I have some water?"

"Let's get him some ice chips. That should help a little until we finish
the exam." The second nurse left the room, and came back a few moments
later with a glass filled with ice chips and a spoon. She scooped up
some, and fed them to Richie.

"Just let them melt in your mouth," the doctor suggested. "Once we're
sure that you don't have any serious injuries, we'll let you have some
water. Tell me if anything I do hurts." The doctor started pressing down
along Richie's abdomen in various spots. "Nothing hurts?"

Richie shook his head.

"Good. Were you hit anywhere?"

"My head. Knocked me out."

The doctor turned his attention to Richie's scalp, running his fingers
over every inch of it. "Hmmm... you do have a small lump back here."
Once again he brought out the flashlight and checked Richie's eyes and
ears. "All right, we'll let the nurses get you cleaned up a little bit,
then we'll take another look." He headed for the door, and Duncan
followed him out of the room.

The Scot introduced himself, then asked "How is he?" He hadn't seen
anything that sounded life threatening, but he was no doctor.

"Well, he's badly dehydrated, and might have a slight concussion, but I
don't see any serious problems," the doctor explained. "We'll have to
keep him at least overnight, until we know he can keep food down. Right
now the IV will help restore the fluids he's lost, as well as provide
nourishment. I'll check him over a little more thoroughly once he's been
cleaned up. I'm also going to have to ask him some embarrassing
questions, and he might find it easier if you weren't in the room."

"I understand," Duncan said. "I'll just let him know where I'm going."
He went back into the room and found Richie already enveloped in a
hospital gown. "Rich, I need to call Tessa and let her know you're okay.
If you need me, just ask them to get me from the waiting room."

Richie nodded, his eyes half-closed. They fluttered shut before Duncan
had even left the room. The Scot walked down to the waiting room where
he found a bank of payphones. It didn't take long to contact Tessa, and
ask her to come to the hospital.

*****

Richie heaved a sigh of relief when the nurses and doctor finally left
him alone. He'd hated some of the things they'd done to him, even though
a part of him knew they'd been necessary. And some of the questions
they'd asked had been even more embarrassing.

Still, he was as clean as he could be without taking a shower, and
they'd put some kind of ointment on his wrists that had taken some of
the sting away. The nicest thing they had done was to bring in some warm
blankets to cover him. He could get real used to that. And the ice chips
they'd kept feeding him had helped a lot, too. He just wished they'd
give him something to eat and drink. They'd told him that the IV was the
best thing for him at this point, but it wasn't as satisfying as sinking
his teeth into a juicy hamburger.

And where had Duncan disappeared to? He vaguely remembered the Scot
saying something about calling Tessa, but how long did that take? He'd
been awfully tired at the time, so maybe he'd missed something. He could
probably fall asleep right now, but he had a feeling that as soon as he
did, a nurse or doctor would think up something new that had to be done.

Still, his eyes kept drifting shut, and he finally decided to just leave
them closed. As expected, the door opened, and he tried to pry them back
open, but his eyelids refused to cooperate. He stopped trying, figuring
that as soon as they started poking and prodding him, he'd wake up.
Instead, he felt a hand softly brush his hair back from his forehead,
then a feather-light kiss on his cheek.

Kind of strange behavior for a nurse. Richie decided he'd better check
this out. Maybe he'd want to get her phone number. He forced his eyes
open, and spotted a familiar face leaning over him.

"Hey, Tessa," he murmured, then tried to smile. He was never quite sure
whether he was successful, because his traitorous eyes slid shut again,
and he fell asleep.

The Frenchwoman turned in panic to Duncan. "Is he all right? What is
wrong with him?"

Duncan smiled. "He's going to be fine," he whispered into her ear, not
wanting to disturb Richie's rest. "I'd say he just fell asleep - he's
been through a rough time and his body needs to recuperate."

Tessa turned back to the bed, smiling down at the sleeping teenager with
a maternal expression. Duncan wondered whether she even realized it.
After a few moments, she moved back to Duncan's side, and hugged him
tightly. "It's a miracle," she said in a low voice. "I thought we'd
never see him again."

Duncan nodded - he had begun to think the same thing. He'd have to
remember to send Angie a thank you gift. If it hadn't been for her, they
might have never found Richie. Just the thought of how much the teenager
would have suffered brought a new surge of anger flooding through him.

He knew he could easily take out his anger on the man who had kidnapped
Richie, but it was Kiem Sun who had orchestrated this whole mess. And
knowing the other Immortal as well as he did, Duncan knew he would stay
on Holy Ground for as long as possible. That limited his options.

The doctor came into the room, but when he realized Richie was asleep,
he beckoned to Duncan to join him in the hall. Tessa motioned for him to
go, before taking a seat by the bed.

"All the tests are looking good," the doctor said once they were out of
the room. "He'll be transferred to a room very soon. Assuming he can
keep food down, he'll be able to go home tomorrow." The doctor paused
for a moment, then looked directly at Duncan with a stern expression on
his face. "While I can't force the issue, I sincerely hope you contact
the police on this matter. This so-called prank could have been deadly -
in more ways than one. We need to send a message to gangs that this kind
of activity is not to be encouraged."

"I definitely intend to take actions to make sure this doesn't happen
again," Duncan promised, although he knew involving the police wasn't
what he intended.

"Good. I just don't understand kids today. Why they would want to be
involved in a gang is beyond me." The doctor walked away, shaking his
head.

Duncan went back inside, giving a thumbs-up signal to Tessa. She
understood, and smiled back at him.

*****

It took almost an hour before two orderlies showed up to move Richie to
another room. Duncan had hoped the transfer could be accomplished
without disturbing the teenager's slumber. He slept through the trip
from the emergency room area, up the elevator and down another hallway,
but when they tried to transfer him from the gurney to the bed, he woke
with a start, looking around frantically.

"Take it easy," Duncan soothed him. "You're just being moved to a
different bed. Nothing's wrong."

Once Richie had calmed down, the orderlies finished transferring him
before wheeling the gurney out of the room. The teenager casually looked
around the room, then latched on to the remote control for the bed.
First he raised the head of the bed. Then he raised the foot of the bed,
before lowering the head back down.

"Cool," he said with a smile.

After several minutes of watching Richie fiddle with the controls, Tessa
scowled at the young man. "Find a setting and leave it be, Richie!
You're making me dizzy!"

"Sorry." Richie finally settled on a position, and set the remote aside.
"So, when am I going to get some food?"

Duncan glanced at his watch. "It shouldn't be too much longer. How are
you feeling?"

Richie shrugged. "Better than when you brought me in."

"You're still very hoarse," Tessa said with a worried look. "I'll go see
if I can get you some more ice chips."

"Something to drink would be better." Richie gave her a hopeful smile.

"We'll see." Tessa left the room.

Richie turned to Duncan. "So, did you..." he waved his hand around in
the air in a simulated sword fight. "I think I missed something."

"You didn't miss much."

The teenager stared at him. "You did... take care of that guy, right?"

Duncan nodded. "I took care of him." Just not in the way Richie was
thinking. That explanation could wait until they got home.

Richie heaved a sigh of relief. "Good! 'Cause I don't want that jerk
coming after me again. Once was enough."

"You don't have to worry about that." He only had to worry about what
else Kiem Sun might try. And Duncan still didn't have a clue as to what
he should do about the other Immortal.

Tessa came back into the room, carrying a glass and a can of soda.
Richie grimaced, but took it from her. "Guess it's better than nothing."

"The nurse said the dinner trays would be here in about ten minutes. I'm
sure you can hold on until then."

The long-awaited dinner tray finally arrived, and Richie stared at in
disgust. "I wanted real food!"

"Sorry, but the doctor ordered a liquid diet for you," the aide replied,
before leaving the room.

Richie turned pleading eyes toward Duncan and Tessa. "Mac? Tessa? C'mon,
you know how much I eat. They're still trying to starve me."

Duncan had to admit that the food was nowhere near the volume that
Richie normally ate. There was a small glass of juice, a carton of milk,
a small bowl of green Jello, a cup of beef broth, and another cup with a
lid on it. Still, it was what the doctor ordered. And he had a feeling
that Richie might not be able to eat as much as he normally did after
three days of nothing.

"Start with that," the Scot suggested.

Richie made a face, but picked up the spoon and set to work. He'd
finished everything off except for the last cup. He pointed to it, and
stated, "I'm not going to drink whatever that is! It's got to be
something pretty awful, I just know it."

Duncan reached for the cup, and took the lid off. When he realized what
it was, he tried to hide his smile. "You're right, Rich, you shouldn't
be forced to drink this. I'm sure you wouldn't like a chocolate shake."

"What? Give it back!" Richie sat up and lunged for the cup.

Duncan laughed, but handed it back.

"This is more like it," the teenager said after his first sip. "Maybe
this hospital food isn't so bad."

By the time he'd finished the shake, Richie's eyes were drooping.

"Did you get enough to eat?" Duncan asked, as Tessa pushed aside the
stand with the food tray on it.

Richie nodded, then let his eyes shut.

Tessa leaned over and kissed his cheek. "We'll let you get some rest.
We'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Take it easy, tough guy," Duncan added, lightly squeezing the young
man's shoulder. "If you need anything, just give us a call."

Richie's head barely moved this time as he nodded. He was asleep before
Duncan and Tessa had even left the room.

*****

When Duncan and Tessa arrived at the hospital the next morning, the
nurse stopped them in the hallway and told them Richie could go home at
any time. They hurried down the hall to the teenager's room where they
found a very disgruntled Richie scowling at the ceiling.

"Is something wrong?" Tessa asked, hurrying over to the bed. Duncan
wasn't far behind.

"Will you go tell those... those... *idiots* that are running this place
that I'm almost *starved* to death! I need more than a poached egg and
juice for breakfast! And I could have used a good night's sleep, but
noooo... They had to come in and take my temperature and blood pressure
at 1:00 AM, then again at 6:00. You can also tell them that I'm big
enough to go to the bathroom by myself." Richie waved his arms around,
and continued his rant. "And who designed these hospital gowns, anyway?
Every time I got out of bed, the nurse got a free peep show!"

Duncan struggled to keep the smile off his face, and could tell that
Tessa was doing the same thing. Richie had to be feeling better.

"You ready to go home?" Duncan asked, holding up the bag he'd been
carrying. "We brought you some clothes."

Richie's face brightened immediately. "Great!" He quickly threw back the
covers, and started to slide out of bed. Suddenly, his face turned red
and he grabbed the covers back over him. "Tessa, do you mind?" he asked,
glancing at the door.

"Of course not," Tessa said with a smile. "I'll wait outside."

Even after she had left the room, Richie still hesitated.

"Why don't I go out and see what kind of paperwork needs to be signed?"
Duncan suggested diplomatically. "Unless you want me to stay?"

"That's all right, Mac," Richie replied nonchalantly. "I can manage by
myself."

"Okay." Striving to keep his face straight, Duncan left the room.

It took about fifteen minutes to sign the release forms and get all the
instructions for Richie's care. The list of symptoms to watch for was
rather daunting, but nothing the Scot couldn't handle. By the time he
got back to Richie's room a male orderly was helping the teenager into a
wheelchair while Tessa watched.

"Home, James," Richie said with a cocky grin. The orderly rolled his
eyes, but started pushing the wheelchair out of the room.

*****

Duncan kept close to Richie as he walked across the workshop and up the
stairs to the apartment. He wasn't sure if the teenager realized how the
last few days had affected his body, and wanted to be near if Richie
should start to feel faint.

The young man made it into the living room without a problem, but he was
definitely paler than when he'd gotten out of the car. He collapsed with
a groan onto the nearest chair. "Why did that take so much effort?"

"You need to expect this for a while. Your body has been through a major
shock and needs time to recover. You'll feel like everything takes more
effort than before, and you will tire much easier. So, for the next few
days, you'll be taking it easy. No working in the shop. No going out
anywhere. Understood?"

Richie nodded, but didn't look too happy about the whole idea.

"Why don't you stretch out on the couch and take a nap?" Tessa
suggested.

"It's 10:00 in the morning," Richie said. "I just got out of bed!" His
protest was marred by the huge yawn at the end of it.

"You said they woke you up during the night, then early this morning,"
Tessa pointed out reasonably. "A short nap won't hurt."

With a sigh, Richie stood up and went over to the couch. Once he was
comfortable, Tessa placed an afghan over him. "Don't let me sleep
through lunch," he mumbled before falling asleep.

Tessa and Duncan quietly tiptoed out of the room.

*****

Quietly, Tessa moved around the kitchen preparing lunch. Richie was
still sleeping in the living room, and she didn't want to wake him until
it was ready. She didn't think the young man would eat much, so she was
fixing vegetable soup. That, along with some warm, crusty, French bread
should be ample. She knew it would be a while before his old appetite
was back, but if this wasn't enough, she could always make an omelet.

For a moment, she debated whether she should take Richie his lunch on a
tray, and let him eat in the living room. He could enjoy the fire during
the meal, and not leave the comfort of the couch. But the doctor had
said that the young man should walk around every so often to get the
muscles working again.

Tessa quickly set the dining room table for three places. Once she'd
eaten, she'd take Duncan's place in the antique store and he could have
his own lunch. When all that was left to do was to dish out the soup,
she went over to wake Richie.

He looked so young that it made Tessa even more grateful that they'd
managed to rescue him. Just the thought of Richie dying of starvation,
all alone, was enough to make her want to cry. She forced back the
tears, and lightly shook Richie's shoulder.

The young man gave out a loud gasp, and bolted upright, his eyes looking
around the room in terror. Tessa stepped back quickly, worried that
Richie would strike out in his panic.

"It's all right, Richie. It's just me," she calmly said.

Richie's eyes locked onto Tessa, and when he realized where he was, he
started to calm down. "Oh, maaaan," he moaned, burying his face in his
hands. "I'm sorry, Tess."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. I shouldn't have startled
you." She moved closer and lightly rubbed his shoulder. "Do you want to
talk about it?" Lunch could wait.

She could feel the shudder that ran through Richie's body. "Not really,"
he said, trying to get to his feet. He got tangled up in the afghan and
almost fell on his face.

"Calm down, Richie. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want
to. I'm not going to make you." She decided to change the subject to one
that would seem less stressful. "Are you ready for lunch?"

Richie looked relieved. "Sure. I'll just go... uh... wash up."

***** end of part 4

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