Part 16 Seven days and two hours after Mayburne had been given his marching orders there was one more departure going on and it was a sadder one. His time at SGC had been a little more exciting than he would have liked in Methos' opinion, but then life became boring without the odd adventure. The oldest living Immortal was packing the few things he had acquired in his stay into a bag when Richie knocked on his door. "Nearly ready to go then?" the younger Immortal said in what was supposed to be a nonchalant tone. Richie didn't fool Methos for a second and the older man couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving him. They had decided that he would return and smooth everything over at home since Richie couldn't go. Methos was going to keep in touch, but for both of them to vanish would have MacLeod on the warpath looking for them. The Stargate was top secret and they had solemnly agreed to keep it that way even among their closest friends. Richie had taken a job at the research establishment where Daniel worked as far as the outside world was concerned. Methos was going to drop some hints about a member of the opposite sex and large amounts of money paid for computer skills that Richie had picked up over the last few years. Suddenly Richie had a secret identity as a hacker he had not shared with his friends, and which was now coming in very handy. It helped that Richie did know something about computers, and he was pretty sure he could bluff Mac into the ground on the subject. The Highlander used modern technology out of necessity; he did not like it anywhere near as much as he pretended to. "Didn't arrive with anything, so I think leaving with a bag is an achievement," Methos said lightly. "Stealing the towels then?" Richie replied with a grin. "They'll never notice they're missing," the older man said mockingly, "military operations are always the same. If they just kept track of their stores the US government could halve their defence budget." That made Richie laugh, but he sobered quickly. "Tell Mac I'm sorry to desert him like this," the younger man said quietly. "I'll call when I can." "I'll let him know," Methos promised and he meant it for once. He felt just a little guilty for getting Richie into this mess, after all it was his fault they had entered the SGC in the first place. Methos had been around too long to let the idea get him down, but he couldn't escape it entirely. Richie may only have been a toddler compared to himself, but the kid had seen far too much in his short life. The oldest living man did not envy his younger brethren. "I'm sorry," he finally said, unable to just dismiss this problem. "Not your fault," Richie said slowly and looked him straight in the eye. "You couldn't have predicted what was going to happen, and we both know that this is more important than either of us. You were there the first time round, now it's time for us younger ones to have a go." Methos grinned at that as Richie smiled at him irreverently. "Yeah well I expect you to keep me up to date," he said pointedly. "I know the military and they're never going to tell me everything. If you need me I'll be around." "I know, Old Man," Richie said calmly and Methos could see age in his eyes that did not belong to the younger Immortal. The Richie Ryan Methos had involved in this fiasco no longer existed and the older man knew he had had a hand in killing him. Yet the new Richie was just as earnest, just as brave and a damn sight more interesting. Methos hoped the new Richie Ryan would be better than the old one could ever have imagined. "The universe is the limit," Methos said quietly. "Stay whole, Richie." Richie smiled at him again and then before Methos could say anything else he turned and left. The ancient man was left with a feeling that either the galaxy was on the verge of something exciting or in really big trouble. The End