Summary: Lyndon tries not to feel useless while everyone else does important things.


"It's not time to worry yet."
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird


Eirena worked quietly, healing as many of Jack's injuries as she could before she felt too weary to keep it up. She thought there might have been more under the clothes he had put on, but she would not go so far as to strip him. Her face turned red at the thought.

While she worked, she thought about Leah. Eirena had never cried so hard as when Leah had died, the New Tristram native had been her very best friend in this unfamiliar era, they had talked about anything and everything, and now Eirena was alone, the only girl in a group of the strangest men she had ever met. She had never missed her friend and her sisters as much as she did at this moment.

Blinking back tears that blurred her vision in front of her, she supposed that she should be grateful to still have such wonderful friends, not to mention that one of them was powerful enough to save their entire world so that she might continue to live upon it. She gazed at Jack, curled on his uninjured side facing her. His hair was damp, thrown around his head in a dark halo and beginning to dry in the warm room. His face was calm now, the grimace and lines of burden he carried on his features daily were smoothed in the relaxation induced by deep sleep. He looked much younger this way. Eirena realized that he couldn't have been that many years older than herself.

At first, she had been a little afraid of him, he had seemed so harsh and unfeeling, but then when he had spoken to her, he had been so incredibly kind that she had warmed to him immediately. Now the enchantress thought of him as an older brother. When she had told him so, asking if it was alright of her to think of him that way, he had said it was fine, but had looked very sad for a moment. She had wondered why, before he had embarrassingly insisted that he would not give her any advice about men, which she had found utterly mortifying, enough to wash the thoughts of his sadness clean out of her mind.

Now, she thought about it again, and wondered what secret pain he kept inside that fueled his need for revenge, and had driven him to a crippling exhaustion in his bottomless thirst for it. She also contemplated from what source his incredible dark powers divined from. It was obvious that he was more demon than angel in his skills, but his heart was as good as any angel. Eirena only hoped that his hate and sadness did not consume him. She worried for him more with each passing day, and recently had found that she wasn't the only one.

Lyndon regularly repulsed and frustrated her, his forward attempts at flirting were some of the most shameless she had ever seen from any man (living or dead), and could hardly believe his incredible persistence, even when she had practically threatened his life. She did think he had handsome features, but his arrogance and sleazy ways frequently made him ugly to her eyes. He wasn't really her type anyways.

At least, this was how she had felt about the thief for a long time since meeting him. Now though, she felt much differently.

Eirena observed the tentative friendship that had developed between the scoundrel and the Demon Hunter and, because Jack had felt Lyndon was worth his time, the enchantress had tried to see him in a new light as well. At the very least, he had stopped trying so hard to win her affections and spent most of his time hanging around the Hunter. Over time, she started to see what Jack saw in him. Someone who was very lonely, desperately wanted friends, and hated himself intensely.

She remembered when Lyndon had broken his crossbow and Jack had been furious at him for being careless in the High Heavens, the thief had been so distraught that he had actually cried. She hadn't ever thought Lyndon could be so sensitive. Curious and concerned, later, she had asked Jack what had upset him so, as she didn't think he would get so worked up over the Demon Hunter merely being angry with him (because that happened much too frequently to affect Lyndon in such a way.) Jack had cautiously told her about the thief's brother and the sad circumstances of his life, his brother had given him the crossbow and Lyndon had felt guilty over breaking the only thing he had from his sibling. He harbored much self hatred over his brother's imprisonment and the rejection of the woman he had loved.

After that, Eirena had changed her mind about Lyndon and had been much more tolerant of his annoying behavior, even when he teased Kormac and embarrassed him. And even just hours ago, she saw how much the thief cared about Jack, more than any of them had realized. There were many sides to the scoundrel, he was a very strange man. He too slept deeply, safe in bed by the fireplace. He hadn't moved either, not since he woke briefly, but she had made sure he went back to sleep quickly.

Now if only she could convince Kormac that Lyndon was not as bad as he seemed...

She looked over at the Templar, watching him sleep almost as heavily as the Demon Hunter did. Jack had told her recently that Kormac was in love with her, and the memory made her face heat up. Kormac didn't seem to be so interested... and he had his vows that he spoke of frequently that would prevent him acting on any such attractions. She never really noticed that he liked her as much as Jack said he did, she wasn't sure if she even really believed it. Despite these troubling thoughts, Kormac was her closest friend after Leah and now she valued his company more than ever.

Eirena thought about The Prophet again, and wondered if the dying angel she had seen in Heaven had really been he. She couldn't be sure and worried that she might never know. But if he still lived... wouldn't he have tried to find her? Wouldn't he have tried to speak to her about the fulfillment of her mission? Everything she had trained for? She sighed a bit, she wouldn't trouble herself with such thoughts now. There was still so much to be happy for.

The enchantress rested her hand on the Demon Hunter's head a moment, Jack felt warm, perhaps too warm, but she was not sure and would not disturb the poor Templar to ask. She wasn't as good at healing and detecting injuries as he was, but she did well enough. Jack's other, more minor wounds were healing nicely in the wake of her efforts and she thought he would be alright in time. Currently, the hunter slept like one dead, he did not stir at her touch, no dreams, he did not wince from pain, even the possible fever did not change his stillness. He was very worn down, and she felt sorry for him.

She felt tired too, but alright. Sleeping for fifteen hundred years had its benefits. She'd take a nap when Kormac got up in a little while, for now she would sit here and keep watch over them all.

After a time, Lyndon and Kormac started to snore, and she smiled, glad to not be alone.


Jack wasn't sure if he was dreaming or if he was awake for brief periods. He saw blurs of color and heard familiar, frantic and concerned voices between slipping in and out of pleasant darkness. Time passed by this way, viscous and sticky. There was terrible pain, but eventually it was pushed to the background, ignored in favor of the release of sleep. The next time he was aware of anything specific it was quiet and dark but for firelight, but again he did not fully surface, much too tired and sore to do anything but lie still. He slept again after that, deeper now, and for the first time in many years, didn't dream at all.


Lyndon felt much better upon waking, almost like himself again, if a little sluggish and ravenously hungry. Shivering outside of his nest of blankets, he grabbed the topmost one and wrapped himself in it before getting out of bed. He found that someone had washed and folded his, Jack, and Kormac's clothes, (at least the ones that were intact enough to still be considered clothes) which pleased him immensely, but he would not dare put them on until he had a minute to get clean. And next to the clothes, he saw a plate of food! Meat and vegetables! His mouth watered immediately and he hurriedly ate with a desperation he hadn't felt since he was a boy living in the Kingsport slums.

After a few minutes of hurriedly shoveling food into his mouth, and trying to stave off the hiccups, he started to wonder where the food had even come from and what the Hell time it was anyway. Finishing his plate off quickly (Gods, he'd never eaten so fast) he managed to find a working clock hidden on the bookshelf and, after being pathetically startled by the chirping of a brown bat, he realized he had slept most of the day away and it was now sometime in the early evening.

There were two more beds set up he noticed, but no one else was here except for him and the Demon Hunter. He looked over at Jack, in bed and dead asleep, but before he could go over to check on him, the door opened.

"Oh, Lyndon, you're awake!" Eirena said cheerfully, then immediately went to the wooden tub that was still filled with filthy water, now ice cold in the chill of the Keep.

"Yes, uhm, what are you doing?" The thief asked, approaching her. She touched the surface of the water with her hand lightly and closed her eyes. Curious, Lyndon observed, and as he watched, the water cleared and suddenly started to steam.

"I've removed the impurities in the water and heated it for you, you should take a bath now. You do smell rather badly." She said with the same gentle smile.

"Oh thank Akarat! I knew your magic was good for something." He exclaimed, overjoyed. He couldn't wait to clean the filth off of his skin!

She nodded at him in acknowledgment and then checked on the Demon Hunter, touching his head lightly. Lyndon was surprised and a bit worried that Jack didn't move at all. Was he alright ? Eirena was already making for the door before he'd been able to formulate any of his questions!

"Wait! Where are you going?" He managed before she could leave. "Won't you join me?" He suggested in his most irresistible voice with a perfectly crafted, devilish smile to go with it.

"To help the soldiers, and to get some ice for Jack, he has a slight fever. It is not serious, but I suspect he is uncomfortable." Eirena explained curtly, indicating the sleeping Demon Hunter and ignoring his flirtations.

A fever? That wiped the smile right off his face.

Lyndon went to the man's bedside and touched his head gently, hesitantly feeling the heat there. He did feel warm, and there was sweat on his brow. The scoundrel was suddenly fascinated by the man, he had taken on far more weight then he should ever have been expected to carry, but not only did he not crumble beneath the burden, he had emerged victorious. Well, Lyndon supposed he had crumbled after, but he had still managed to do the impossible! Is that what a Nephalem was supposed to be able to achieve? Like that wizard Zultan Kulle had said? The thief carefully brushed a few strands of hair out of Jack's face and stroked lightly at the skin, before remembering that Eirena was still there. Suddenly self conscious, he pulled his hand away quickly.

"He'll be alright?" He asked the enchantress, feeling worried again. Jack couldn't have been doing very well if he was still bedridden like this.

"Yes, sleep is the best thing for him. He'll be fine." She answered reassuringly. "You need not worry so." She finished with a gentle smile.

He nodded distractedly, still not quite convinced. "Did you and Kormac already go out for food? I mean... I ate what was on the plate in here already..." He said with a weak smile. "I could have helped too." He added seriously, feeling a bit bad that he had been asleep while they had gone out into the cold. He felt guilty that he hadn't helped. Jack had done so much for them, for him. He felt it was the least he could have done to make it up to the Demon Hunter.

"I don't think so." Eirena said lightly, "You were much too tired. But we will be going out again later for more, and your help would be invaluable." She continued, smiling brightly. Lyndon felt warmth filling his chest at her words, she was so much nicer to him than that wretched Templar, despite the things he said to her sometimes. He wondered when that had started. Ordinarily, he might have tried harder to get her to like him, but really he wasn't very interested anymore, he only said suggestive things to her to annoy Kormac or Jack.

"For now, do you mind staying here and watching him while I'm out? I need someone to keep visitors away." Eirena added, pulling the heavy door open.

"Uhm, alright." He agreed before really thinking about it, and she was gone again.

Satisfied, Lyndon locked the door and stripped off his pants, getting into the hot water immediately. He sat slowly with a groan of pure pleasure. Nothing in his life had ever felt this good. Not even sex. Well... maybe not that good, but... pretty damn good. He washed himself gratefully, careful of the bruises he discovered, one for every damned color practically, and relished having clean hair again. He then draped a hot towel over his face and sat back with a contented sigh.

He soaked for several long minutes in blessed peace, feeling weeks of hot fear and stress dissolve, aches and pains relaxing away. Remembering the Demon Hunter, he lifted the cloth off of his face and glanced at him. Jack was still asleep. He put the wet fabric back over his face and continued to soak until he felt like a person again.

Lyndon finally got out of the water (with much reluctance) and wrung out his hair, combing out the tangles carefully. He dressed quickly in his spare clothes (dumping two ferrets out of his bag with an irritated growl) and then put the other clean things on that had been folded. It wasn't warm in the Keep and it couldn't hurt to wear an extra layer or two. That done, he stood there in the center of the room wondering just what in the Hell he was supposed to do now. Just watch him?

He approached the Demon Hunter again carefully and sat on the edge of the bed. Afraid that he would startle the man awake and that Jack would attempt to murder him. He didn't stir, or even move at all. He just laid there breathing quietly, curled up under a mountain of blankets. Lyndon sat with his chin on his hand for half an hour or more, periodically checking the heat in the hunter's head, wondering when Eirena was going to come back.

The scoundrel didn't feel very confident in his ability to do something if Jack got suddenly worse, it made him feel quite anxious to be in there alone, not knowing what he should do if something like that happened. He was so worried that something might go wrong that he didn't even have the luxury of becoming bored like he otherwise might have.

He stared at Jack for a little while. Glad, that at the very least, he wasn't in so much pain anymore. It had been bad last night. Very bad. He searched his sleeping face, a Nephalem eh? Is that why he was able to skip meals and naps and just keep storming ahead? The boundless energy and determination the man had was a bit difficult to comprehend. Lyndon didn't think he could have even gone up the staircase again last night, let alone dive into Hell, kill a demon lord and about a thousand of his minions, then go on the warpath through Heaven in the same day, and then kill all of the demon lords that had been crammed into one decidedly bizarre looking body. Even the thought of going outside into the cold again sounded almost impossible. Gods, Jack had done it all by himself.

Well, almost by himself, the thief thought proudly. The good he had done in helping this man almost made up for every wretched thing he'd ever done in his life. Almost. And Jack had given him the greatest, most generous gift he had ever received, even if it was only gold, it was the promise that came with it, the promise to fix everything. Lyndon wondered, and not for the first time, why he had ever joined the Thieves Guild in the first place, all it had done was get him into trouble. He was good at stealing and conning and talking people into things they didn't want to do, sure, even enjoyed the challenge it provided and the lifestyle it allowed. But there were men there that had other interests that just disgusted him. Men who would kill women and children for a few coins, torture, rape, sell children into slavery, just unimaginable cruelty. Lyndon could fit in easily enough, pretend, but he was not like them. At least, he desperately hoped that he was not.

Jack had said he was a good person, and Lyndon wanted, more than anything, to believe him. It had been a long time since anyone had believed in him like that. Not since Edlin... Gods, his poor brother...

Lyndon sighed, not wanting to work himself into a state like the one he had been in the other day. How embarrassing. Instead he reached into the pocket of his coat for his deck of cards and laid out a game of solitaire on the bed. After many games, and a few half-hearted attempts at practicing his card tricks, he felt much better. He glanced at the clock again and was shocked to see that three hours had passed since he had woken. Where were Eirena and Kormac?

Noting the man's weapons and armor lying strewn about, he remembered that Haedrig had asked for them to be brought to him for cleaning and tuning. He thought that bringing the blacksmith Jack's things and returning quickly, might help him feel a bit more useful and he could ask around to try to find out where everyone had gone. He gathered the hunter's armor and crossbows, handling the weapons delicately and holding them by the leather straps rather than the handles. Jack had told him once that if he ever attempted to use them or touch them in such a way (Lyndon did have the bad habit of touching things that did not belong to him), that they would harm him, they were tuned to Jack alone and were warded against being used by any others. Thinking on Jack's knowledge of unusual weaponry and explosives, Lyndon suspected that the man had likely crafted them himself.

Lyndon hurried upstairs, not wanting to be away for too long in case something happened.


Haedrig sighed a bit and wiped sweat from his brow, unknowingly smearing a line of soot across his forehead. He had been keeping the forge fire roaring since dawn, fed with wood scraps of unused coffins and destroyed siege equipment. At first it was to try to heat the room since the demand for quality weapons had stopped coming when the number of soldiers had dwindled to a measly three hundred men. But now, Eirena, Kormac and a group of soldiers had been coming and going through the Arreat gate all day, bringing back carts loaded with supplies.

Not much food though. Each supply cart had been picked apart, there were other important supplies they needed, health potions, blankets, fuel, and swords to be sharpened to pick off the stragglers of Azmodan's scattered army, which is what Haedrig was currently doing.

He was hungry and rather tired, so when he saw Lyndon coming up from the armory and carrying a bundle of the Demon Hunter's armor with him, he was pleased that he might have a brief respite from the forge to speak with the thief. It had taken him some time to cultivate his friendship with the man, but he was glad he had. Lyndon was fine company most of the time, he acted different around the blacksmith then he did around the others. A bit more respectful, the blacksmith wasn't sure why this was, but he wouldn't complain, having overheard how Kormac went on and on about the scoundrel's less desirable qualities.

"Hullo Haedrig." Lyndon greeted brightly, dumping the armor on top of his anvil and carefully hanging the dangerous crossbows on a hook.

"Hello yourself, where have you been?" Haedrig asked, examining the torn and ravaged armor. When he'd offered to clean and fix Jack's things, he hadn't expected them to be this bad. He'd likely have to tailor the man some new pieces.

"I uhm... I slept all day." Lyndon admitted a bit sheepishly, as though expecting a lecture. He wouldn't be hard on the lad today though, too much good had happened.

"Must've been nice, at least you're well rested, you seemed out of it yesterday."

"I don't even remember going to sleep." Lyndon continued with a sigh. "I got up a bit ago, been watching our hero convalesce."

"How is he doing? I heard he wasn't well." Haedrig answered, peeling a strip of unidentified meat from a left shoulder armor piece with a grimace.

"Better now. Eirena said he had a fever, but last night... he was really bad off. Broken bones and such." Lyndon said a bit worriedly, holding his hands near the forge to warm them.

Haedrig frowned. He'd broken his wrist once as a boy and remembered the pain being terrible. He shuddered to think how many broken bones the Demon Hunter had dealt with in the aftermath of their victory.

"I.. she said he'd be alright. Eirena did." Lyndon said a bit distractedly. The poor lad looked terribly worried, Haedrig had never seen him quite so out of sorts. Though, he supposed the thief was friends with Jack as well, and worried after him like they all did. The man barely ate enough and rarely slept, Haedrig was still a bit surprised Jack wasn't dead after all this.

"Where is she anyway? Her and Kormac?" Lyndon asked, he appeared concerned.

"Out in the battlefield getting supplies with some soldiers. They should be back soon." Haedrig explained, examining the pair of crossbows dubiously. perhaps he should wait until Jack woke to get his assistance with those...

"Oh..." Lyndon said, looking crestfallen. "Alright."

The blacksmith hadn't thought much on their victory. He was glad to be alive of course, but he had resigned himself to accept whichever fate came to him. Now that the world was saved, it was back to business as usual. He would not have it any other way.

Lyndon frowned, "I should be getting back to check on him actually. I'll... see you later then Haedrig?" Lyndon said hopefully with a smile.

"Aye, I think the soldiers are trying to put together some sort of celebration later tonight. I've no doubt they'll bring out the wine." Haedrig commented, allowing a smile to spread over his face.

Lyndon grinned, "Ah, most splendid!" He turned and headed back down the armory stairs.


When the thief returned to the armory, he was annoyed that there was a group of children crowded around the door and talking amongst themselves. "Should we knock?" One little girl whispered. Another boy answered her, "He must be in there..."

"Why don't you knock Beryn?" a sandy haired boy asked. Lyndon recognized the blonde boy as the one Jack had frequently spoken to. The one who's parents had died. "He talked to you before didn't he? Maybe you should knock." Beryn suggested to the blonde boy. Lyndon sighed and came up behind them.

"How about none of you knock and you lot go play somewhere else hm?" He said impatiently, Gods he detested children, dirty little snot-nosed brats, the lot of them.

Why can't we see 'im? Is he sick? Can I talk to 'im?" The boy asked anxiously. The children stared at him, large eyed. Lyndon frowned, wishing they would go away.

"He's resting." The thief said simply, trying to step around them to get to the door. "Come on move!"

"You're not as nice as Eirena, why does he hang around with you?"

"That's too bloody bad isn't it? And I'm his friend that's why! He likes me just fine!" Lyndon snapped, defensively. He felt ridiculous, letting a herd of brats hurt his feelings.

Lyndon was a little exasperated. More kids crowding him, wanting to see the hunter. "Go away!" He shouted. "He's trying to sleep!"

"Tell us a story then. Eirena always does!" Another little girl asked. The other children murmured in agreement.

"In case it isn't obvious, I'm not Eirena!" He said, annoyed, leaning against the door frame.

"Pleeeease." They all whined, the thief grit his teeth and closed his eyes tightly.

"Gods, fine!" He snapped. "Once there was a group of annoying children who were so damned, bloody annoying that demons came and ate them all. The end." He said quickly.

"That's not a real story!" One boy yelled over the whiny protests of the other children.

"Urrrgggh!" Lyndon growled, frustrated.

"Fine, fine, fine! If I tell you a story will you all go away?" Lyndon asked desperately.

"Yes!" They all said together. Gods, he bloody hated children!

Lyndon rolled his eyes and started to tell them about the fat demon Ghom that he and Jack had killed in the larder. He carefully omitted the gorier details of the dead soldiers forced to cannibalize each other... and the blood, but kept in all the gross parts he knew kids liked. The children gasped in awe at all the appropriate parts, and Lyndon found that after a few minutes, he was actually starting to enjoy himself. He did like to tell stories...

He was so wrapped up in spinning the tale that he almost didn't see Eirena come back, holding a bowl of ice and smiling at him as he finished the story. When he looked up at the enchantress, the children followed his gaze and all ran to her. It made him just the slightest bit sad.

Eirena approached him after shooing the brats away, "That was very nice of you to entertain them Lyndon." She said, "How is Jack?"

"I was in there a few minutes ago. I was just about to check." he explained quickly.

"Oh, don't worry. I can watch him now. You can go help Kormac if you like" She suggested lightly and was in the room with the door closed before he could follow or even respond properly. Why did she keep doing that?!

He stood there outside the door stupidly for a moment. "Uhm...Eirena! Wait!" he shouted and banged on the door until she opened it and let him back in.