Part 4

If he was worried that the child would fail, the worries were proved
unfounded. Ten minutes went by before the door was unlocked. He
turned and watched as Fey fought to regain his breath. The poor child
looked as if taking one more step would cause him to collapse. Without
a sound, Odin scooped the exhausted boy up into his arms and carried
him to the waiting car. "I'll be back in ten minutes ... fifteen tops.
You did good, kid. You rest a little."

Fey nodded and swallowed. The last thing he was aware of was Odin Lowe
shutting the door.

*****

Odin Jr. woke up to Odin Lowe's worried voice.

"Come on, kid ... drink! That's it! Woah, now! Easy does it."

"What happened?" Odin Jr. felt a pang of worry when he saw Fey's pale
complexion.

Odin Lowe shook his head. "In an effort to please me, the poor kid
pushed himself beyond his limits." He was currently holding a bottle
of some sort of sports drink. Every so often, he pressed the bottle
against Fey's mouth so the child could take a sip. "He's going to be
stiff in the morning, but he did good."

Fey's eyes blinked open a little. "Od'n?" He looked around wildly as
fear seeped into his voice. "OD'N?"

"I'm right here, Fey." Odin Jr. winced as he slid off the bed and
walked to his friend. "See? I'm right here." He frowned a little as
Fey grabbed his hand weakly.

"I wuz scared, Od'n. Don' leave me! Don' go 'way."

"Shhhh ... just rest, Fey. You'll be okay." Odin Jr. brushed the
bangs away from Fey's sweaty face and sat down. He hissed in pain, but
ignored it for Fey's sake. He held his hand out for the bottle.
"Would you get a cool compress for me? He's a little warm." He
cradled Fey and patiently tipped the bottle so Fey could drink a little
at a time. When Odin Lowe handed the washcloth over, Odin Jr. gently
bathed Fey's face. Once the contents of the bottle were gone, Odin Jr.
half carried, half dragged Fey over to the bed. He winced as he
scooted into bed beside his friend and pulled the unresisting boy
against him. 'Please be okay.'

Throughout the night, Odin Jr. had to hold Fey close as the child
trembled and whimpered in fear. He spoke soft words of comfort to calm
him, and smiled when the whimpers faded ... only to frown again when
they returned in force. By the time morning came, Fey had started
thrashing.

Odin Lowe frowned as he regarded the child. "You'd best wake him up.
It's morning now, and that nightmare seems to be getting worse."

"I've tried, sir." He simply held Fey in place as best as he could
without harming his friend. He watched as Odin Lowe walked into the
bathroom.

Odin Lowe filled the tub with cold water and nodded as he walked back
to the main room. "Let me take him." When it looked like the boy was
going to refuse, he fixed a stern look on him and waited. He saw the
reluctance and frowned as he took Fey. 'Loyalty to this little fellow
has skewed his loyalty to me.' The child in his arms was flailing like
a fish out of water. He glanced behind him and noticed that Odin Jr.
was following him. "I'm not going to harm him." With that, he dropped
Fey into the bathtub that had been filled with cold water.

Fey went under the water for a brief instant before he emerged,
coughing, sobbing and shivering.

Odin Lowe knelt down and pulled the frightened child out of the ice
cold water. "It had to be done, boy. We couldn't wake you up." He
blinked when Fey clung to him and buried his face in his shoulder and
started sobbing. Not knowing what else to do, he gently pried the
child off and looked at him. "Stop crying. Things don't always go the
way you want them to go, and it's time you accept that. Look at me,
Fey." He made the child meet his eyes. "You are a boy and boys do NOT
cry! A boy who cries is an easy target because people take great
pleasure in seeing tears. Never cry and never let people hear your
pain." He nodded as Fey quieted. "Now listen. You did good last
night, but you can't push yourself like that. Did you know that you
were sick in the car? There will be times when I won't have the time
to take care of you. You have to learn your limits. Understand?"

Fey nodded. "Yessir." He pulled away a little, but blinked when the
adult pulled him into a hug. He returned it gladly.

"This, Fey, is not a weakness. I'm glad you're all right, kid. Always
follow your emotions. They'll never steer you wrong. As you grow
older you will learn when it's appropriate for tears." He tightened
his arms briefly before releasing the smiling child. "Besides ... that
smile is much more suited to your face." He mussed the boy's hair a
little and turned him over to Odin Jr. "Look after him. I'll go get
us some breakfast."

Fey watched Odin Lowe leave before turning to his friend. "He always
like that?"

Odin nodded. "Yeah. He doesn't punish you unless you ignore his
orders. You okay?"

"I think so." He hugged himself. "I had a bad dream where those guys
got me." He bit his lip. "Odin?"

Odin watched Fey's eyes dart to the main room. "Fey, do you want me to
claim you so you don't have to be scared of them?" When Fey nodded,
Odin took his hand. "How do I do this?"

Fey stripped his shirt off and leaned against the bed. "It'll put a
mark on me. Best place is the lower back." He tried to even out his
breathing, but he couldn't. It was an old fear ... despite the person
who held the rod.

Odin sat beside Fey. "Will it hurt you?"

Fey swallowed a whimper. "Only for a little while." He buried his
face in the mattress. "Just ... do it! Press it against my back and
push the button. Keep it there until the light goes out."

Odin frowned as he placed the flat edge of the rod against Fey's back.
"I'm sorry, Fey ... REALLY." He closed his eyes and pressed the little
red button. He tried to shut out Fey's pained screams as the rod
vibrated a little in his hand, to no avail. By the time the light went
out, both boys were sobbing. Not looking at the mark, Odin pulled Fey
into his arms. "I'm so sorry! I promised I wouldn't hurt you!" He
looked up as Odin Lowe entered the room and clutched the rod. Fey was
HIS responsibility now.

Odin Lowe studied the two boys, and stopped when he saw the small
tattoo on Fey's back. He sighed and walked over to them. "Did it have
to be done?"

"Yes, sir ... he needs to know that no one can hurt him now. At least
... not in THAT way." He held Fey as close as he could to comfort his
friend. He looked down into Fey's frightened eyes. "It's okay, Fey
... I'll protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Fey's voice was still filled with fear. "'Cause you own me, now."

Odin Jr. shook his head. "No I don't, Fey. This was for you, not for
me. You belong to yourself. I won't own anyone, Fey ... especially
not you. We're equals ... ALWAYS." He handed the rod to Fey. "Your
turn. That way ... we'll belong to each other." He nodded and lay on
his stomach.

Odin Lowe blanched at what was about to happen, but he nodded when Fey
looked to him.

Fey swallowed. "It's gonna hurt a LOT ... prob'ly worse than yesterday
did." He repeated the procedure and clenched his teeth as Odin started
to whimper. "Don' hold the cries in ... that'll only make it hurt
worse."

Odin Lowe watched the light go out. When Fey pulled the rod away from
Odin Jr.'s back, there was a tattoo identical to the one Fey had. He
patted Fey on the head gently. "Welcome to the team." The smile on
both boys' faces was worth more than anything else.

*****

The week sped by after that. Nothing of major significance happened
besides Fey learning all the trick in becoming a master thief. He shot
through the eight books like wildfire, and the group had to make
another trip to the bookstore. Odin Lowe also decided to buy new
clothes for the boy.

The night before they were sceduled to leave ... everything went wrong.

*****

"GO! KEEP RUNNING AND STAY HIDDEN!!!"

Fey yelped in alarm as a bullet flew over his head. He stopped where
the other two did. "What's wrong?"

Odin Jr. bit his lip. "We're stuck, and we need a diversion to get
some of the guards away from here so we can get to the transport!"

Fey looked up and saw the catwalks. "Okay ... you two go ... I'll run
up to the catwalks and distract them. If I'm not there by the time
you're ready to go ..." He turned his pain-filled eyes to his best
friend. "You leave without me. I'll be okay. This's my turf, an' I'm
claimed."

Odin Lowe gazed at the terrified child and nodded. "I'll stay as long
as I possibly can."

Fey saw that Odin Jr. was about to object. "Listen! If we DO get
split, I wanna meet you in front of the swanky hotel we were stayin."
Cobalt met prussian. "When this war is done ... we'll meet again
there. Promise?"

Odin Jr. pulled Fey into a fierce hug. "Promise! You'd better be
alive when the war is over!"

Fey nodded against Odin Jr. "I will be. Here ... hang onto this. You
can give it back to me when we see each other again. 'Kay?" He pulled
the rubber band out of his hair and handed it to Odin Jr.

"Kay. Sayonara!"

"Bye!" With that, Fey jumped right into the light and scurried up the
ladder to the catwalk.

"THERE HE GOES!!! AFTER THE STREET BRAT!!!" Guns started going off as
the Federation soldiers followed Fey.

Odin Lowe looked down at the boy beside him. "Let's go. I said it to
him, and I'll repeat it to you. I'll stay for as long as I possibly
can." With that, he resumed his trek to the shuttle.

*****

Odin Jr. stared out the entryway ... looking for some sign of Fey. He
turned to Odin Lowe when the gangplank started rising. "NO!"

"We can't stay any longer. I don't LIKE leaving him, you know that!
He's a good kid. He KNEW the risks when he left us. We can't risk
being discovered." Odin Lowe bit his lip as he ran a hand through his
blonde hair. "He'll be okay ... he promised you he would be. He knows
how to survive on this colony. Now more than ever with the knowledge
he has and the protection you gave him."

Odin Jr. could only stare out the porthole as the airlock opened and
the shuttle shot out. "Sayonara, Fey." Deep down, he feared he would
never see the boy again. To block the pain, he built a tiny wall
around his heart.

Odin Lowe saw the sudden change and mourned. The boy would have a hard
time making friends and accepting friendship now.

*****

Fey, meanwhile, wept into Solo's shoulder as he heard the sirens
announcing an unauthorized shuttle taking off. 'Bye, Odin ... Take
care of yourself!'

Solo held his second in command. "It'll be okay, Kid. You'll be okay.
Don't let this change you! You're great just the way you are. Don't
cut yerself off! Okay?"

The boy nodded. "Okay. 'Sides! I promised to meet him when the war's
over!" He smiled warmly and allowed Solo to hold him.

End of Part 4