Chapter Title: River 47

Series Title: Unlikely Brothers

Ages in this chapter: Tanner (30), Dashen (36), River (6)

POV: Dashen

Chapter Summary: A new chapter in the life of Dashen and Tanner comes to pass. While running for their lives on the strange planet of Horsh, the brothers come across a young boy who could well become a part of their lives.

So, this was different. We were here. On a foreign planet. Some forbidding place called Horsh. In the middle of a lake. Treading water. My lungs screamed, burning like fire. My legs felt about ready detach from my body. Not your typical day.

Patrolling the nearby shoreline was a sadistic beast of some sort. Tanner called it a member of the canid family, whatever that meant. I just called it a huge barbaric hairy beast with fangs and claws that wanted to eat me. Same difference.

We had no protection on this planet. No Colton. No security. Long story. And of course I never carried a blaster. I had my legs to get me out of trouble usually, but right now they were under water rotating for their lives.

"Dash," Tanner puffed out to me, a few inches to my left, "That thing thats been chasing us all day, it hunts by scent, not sight. If we stay in the water, it should lose interest eventually and wander off. The rain coming down will help lessen our scent on the shore."

The rains were persistent and heavy. Because that's the perfect addition to two guys in the middle of lake treading for their lives - a monsoon. Fat drops falling at warp speed in eight different directions pelted our heads and put more pressure on our burning lungs and aching extremities. I slipped under the surface more than once, only to be dragged back up by my brother.

The good news, Tanner was right. The far-to-extra-large canid creature tilted it's furry tooth-filled head toward the sky - frustrated as the scent of us became harder to trace in the downpour.

"He's losing interest, Dash. Not. Much. Longer." That was Tanner, choking panting, and spitting out water every two seconds.

Not a clue how long we'd been out here (way too long), but the creature did eventually pace off in the general direction from where it came. Hopefully headed home, or to find something else to chew on. We took the invite to swim toward the opposite shore. No point in testing our luck and trying to get the hell off the planet the way got here; seeing as how the canid beast just trotted off down that path. It was hungry and angry and irritated. Nope. Not going that way.

I slogged onto the shore and lay there, half in, half out of the water. Utterly exhausted. The side of my face planted in the thick black mud. It stunk like something horrid, but I didn't care. I just wanted to lay there and die.

That felt like the best idea of the day, yes. Just lay down and die.

Tanner wasn't much better off than me, though he did manage to stay partially upright, sitting on his butt with only feet in the river.

"Dash, why are we on this planet again?"

"At this point, Mouse, not a damn clue. Something about being kicked off a ship because the pilot out-of-the-blue decided that we were, and I quote, filthy stinkin' humans. Our landing point was supposed to be clear on the opposite side of the planet - we just didn't make it there. All I know is that we've gotta figure a way out of this mess or that thing might be back with friends. I really don't want the last minutes of life to be spent being eaten alive by a creature of nightmares."

"We should move away from the shore. Find some shelter for the night. Darkness is incoming and this rain isn't slowing. We should..."

My brother stopped mid sentence. His head turned up, listening. A hand slapped over my mouth so I kept it shut (yes, my brother knows me well) until he could pinpoint what he was hearing or sensing.

"There's someone near."

Someone, not something. That had to be a positive, right? Not really, but at least it wasn't going to eat us. Or... maybe it would. Who could tell?

"I feel him." Tanner stood. "This way. Down the riverbank."

"Him? Wait. Him? Okay, really, Tanner? We have to move? I can't feel my legs. Or my arms. Head. Neck. Ugh! I hate you right now."

Despite my discomfort, I followed. Where my brother went, I went. Sure, we were full fledged adults and functioning humans with our own ideas and brain cells, but since he'd come into my life as a nine year old orphaned Jedi kid, we'd sorta been attached at the hip. A tad bit on the codependent side (okay, a more than a tad), but for us, it worked.

Admittedly, I never had gotten used to the creepy way he could feel things that I can't actually see. Like he was doing now.

We stumbled in the mud, my brain fighting the urge to fall over and sleep for a week. There was something ahead. Someone. Kinda looked like a dead body. But Tanner didn't often hone in on dead things. Whatever it was, it was small, half naked, and curled into a tight fetal ball.

We got next to it. Him. Damn. A kid. A really young kid. A boy. Maybe six or seven years old tops. He was covered in some type of red rash that ran from his waistline to just below his chin. Looked like he'd been rolling in mud and filth for a month and he was pretty much all skin and bones. What the...

"Tanner..." I said carefully. "He's what you sensed?"

Little brother nodded. "I actually felt him. He must be Force sensitive, but out here in the middle of nowhere?" It was a wonder that canid creature hadn't found and eaten him for a midday snack.

Tanner knelt down close to the boy's face. He was human, or appeared so. Dark, what looked like brown hair, though it was difficult to get a perfect read on color with the waning light and the gunk all over him. We saw that his eyes were a stunning blue as they opened suddenly in surprise and the frightened form pushed himself backwards away from us.

Then, in the smallest and weakest of voices, he started some form of repetitive chanting. A word and a number. Over and over.

"River 47. River 47. River 47." Panicked eyes and rapid breathing. "My number is River 47. My number is River 47."

Tanner and I shrugged at each other. What was happening? Then I saw the marks on his wrists and ankles. Binding wounds. Hell, the shackles were still on the ankles. A mark of some sort was tattooed onto his right wrist. The mark read as R47. River 47. This boy was a slave.

I shook my head head in disbelief. "Property of a slaver? I didn't know they were on this planet. Not that I know anything about this place."

"They can be anywhere, Dash. Slavers hide and conceal. Lie and cheat. The best ones do. I guess that's his name. River 47. Or his assigned number. Maybe he has no name."

The boy's chanting continued. "My number is River 47." Over and over it went on for long minutes. He didn't move further away from us though. Not that we got any closer either.

"Tanner, what about your magic? If he's got it, maybe you can reach him through that?"

"It's an idea, but it would probably just freak him out right now and he's rather freaked out as it is. We can't leave him here, Dash. He's escaped or something and very bad people will be hunting for him."

I didn't disagree with my brother. We had to help this kid. How was the question of the day. We had no transport. At this point, I wasn't even sure which way the spaceport was. Colton kinda sorta knew where we were, but this was supposed to have been a simple trip to Horsh to pick up a few things (until the pilot booted us off the ship on the opposite side of the planet from where we actually were needing to go). The original plan included no danger. No chaos. Certainly no escaped slave boy. We had comlinks, but were relatively useless here in the middle of nowhere and with the instability of the strange atmosphere surrounding this part of the planet.

For now... I peeled off my jacket. It was soaked, too large for the kid, and mostly pointless, but it was something. Tanner shook his head.

"He won't be able to move in that. Too big. Too heavy. I think... I think we just take him like he is and hope for the best."

Huh. Was this really the best plan?

"So, yeah, Tanner, about that. Snatch and run? Con him? What? How do we get a panicked six year old human slave to just voluntarily come with two total soaking wet, mud-covered strangers in the creepy dark of an unknown forest while be hunted by a man-eating beast? Hell if I'd come with us."

"He has nothing else and he'll die here if we leave him." Tanner was thinking hard, I could see the wheels turning. "Maybe he'll just latch on?"

"Don't think it works that way, little brother. How about we just find a tree to shelter under from the rain, convince him to not run away screaming from us and see what happens?" My ideas. They often didn't come much simpler.

We tried it. I ventured a short distance, careful to not leave earshot of my brother. Last thing we needed was for us to get separated. I found a small area to fit three. It wasn't dry, but it held some protection from the worst of the wind and rain.

River 47 or whoever he was, still eyed us carefully. Thankfully, he'd stopped chanting. That had gone on long enough.

"Okay, ah, River 47. That's you." Tanner's voice was calm. Relaxed. It amazed me how he could pull that off in such a situation, but my brother had been amazing me for two decades now. "We want to help you. You've probably heard that before from people who hurt you. But we just want to move you out of the rain. Until morning. Until light. We need to be safe from the canid creatures. One of them was chasing us."

"Wolfis." That was a new word. "Wolfis. Chase Numbers. Wolfis kill Numbers."

River 47 repeated that a few times over before going quiet. Putting this together in my head, certainly slower than Tanner would, I thought I understood. He was a Number. There were others like him. Other slave kids. All assigned a Number, not a name. But why the word River?"

The boy started again, rocking into himself now. "Wolfis killed River 22. Wolfis killed River 10. Wolfis killed Forest 14. Wolfis killed Forest 28. Wolfis killed Caves 31. Wolfis killed Caves 51. And more and more and more. Wolfis killed all of them."

This was not sounding at all promising. But River, Forest, Caves?

Thankfully, Tanner is quicker than me. I'd remember to thank him for that one day.

"It's their assignment, Dash. Some work the river, some the caves, the forest. So, River 47, he works the river as the forty-seventh slave. No names. Just assignments and numbers. Easier to dispose of and replace, I guess."

"How the hell can a six year old work anything? He's six! Or damn close to it. And did he basically just say that the big hairy canid thing with fangs killed all his friends?"

"Wolfis killed Numbers!" River boy spurted out, louder now. Determined to make sure we knew that he and the others were numbers and not, what... living, breathing people? Ugh, this was making me sick to my stomach.

"Seriously now, what do we do with him?" I said to my brother. Out of our league on this one. Way, way out. But Tanner was right. We really did need to help this boy.

Tanner set a quiet hand on my forearm basically telling me to calm the hell down. I'd try. Best I could offer. My little brother, he had an idea that would probably work, but he'd have to actually touch the kid for it to happen. Over the years, Tanner had become quite the talent at this thing called Force suggestion. Ben taught him how and when to use it so it was most likely to work. Inducing a Force sleep on someone wasn't all that simple, but if the mind wasn't too resistant... Yeah, sure. This Number kid wasn't about to just sit there while Tanner whammied him with magic.

Well, I was wrong.

Something happened. Unclear what, and the kid's eyes began to focus on other things. The darkening sky, the tops of trees. Those things. Seconds later, Tanner lay a hand gently on the side of the boy's temple and his head began drooping. It took a minute, but Tanner actually managed to put him out.

"After all these years, using your magic for things other than throwing things at your brother. Nice job, Mouse. Now what? Keep him asleep until morning? We really have to figure out how to get off this planet without being eaten by that Wolfis-canid thing. Seriously, if it ate all those other kids, there has to be more than one roaming and hunting around."

We moved the boy to the semi-adequate shelter and set him into the most comfortable position possible given the circumstances.

"I'll keep first watch while he's out." I pushed Tanner to the spot next to the river kid. "You'll need to be awake to put him out again later. Sleep for a while."

To his credit, Tanner didn't protest and found an area to rest. With his abilities at self-calming, he was sound asleep in thirty seconds. Night came. Night went. I was taken off watch halfway through. The kid hadn't woken. He still hadn't woken when dawn began crossing into the forest.

Tanner laid out our day. "Upstream. We follow the shoreline. If we get out of this denser area and higher up in elevation, our coms may be more receptive. We can get a message out to Colton or Nyssa or anyone at home. The shoreline gives us quick access to the lake if that canid beast comes back."

Better than the plan I had. Not that I actually had one. I'd be carrying the kid while Tanner navigated. As he often told me, he wasn't a compass and his magic could not truly offer direction, but it could influence his choices if he listened.

Upstream it was. River 47 in my arms, the kid weighed nothing. I mean, what six year old does, right? But add the fact that he was half starved, at least he'd be easy to lug around. I'd have to keep an eye on him though. Any sign of stirring, Tanner wanted to know, so he could send him back into oblivion. It sounded bad, but it really was for the best. If we could get him to safety, we'd figure everything out later.

—-

Our trek slogged on for almost two full days. The boy woke very rarely, it took little to force him back into sleep, he was so exhausted. When he did wake, he was confused and discombobulated, thrashing around in my arms until Tanner could quiet him. His heart raced, eyes widened, his frail body shook all over. If he died right there in my carry, I'd not be surprised. The red rash the covered him was welting into small puss-filled wounds. Disgusting, but I tried not to complain. If he didn't complain about it, the least I could do was keep my mouth shut.

Tanner was right. Following the shoreline was the best idea. We'd escaped two minor run-ins with more of those canid-Wolfis things. Neither seemed all that hungry, so we lucked out. Probably, they'd eaten their share of the boy's friends or uh, fellow Numbers. And... I was really tired of being sick to my stomach. Not to mention I was hungry. Tanner found us berries and edible plants and fungi things. Nasty as can be, but it was sustenance to keep us going. The water we were following was fresh and clean enough, so we had that going for us. It nothing else, it kept the kid hydrated if we couldn't get food into him.

There were hills ahead. A clearing. A waterfall. The beginning of the river. I checked my com when we stopped for a quick bathroom break. Nature still called.

There were signs of life as we ascended. "Tanner! Signal! Here," I motioned for him to sit next to the boy. "I'll be quick and get messages out to as many as I can before something stupid happens and a cloud passes over or something." Such would be our luck.

I'd sent coms to Colton, Nyssa, Sydenious, Kebrey, Quin, Fen, Kishel, Vera, Tago, everyone and anyone on the damned safe-list. Someone had to get it. I sent a tracking signal to each as well. Seemed like forever before the first response came back. Colton. Of course. A few others followed. The com chirped and I held it to my lips.

"Damn it, Dashen, what the hell happened?"

Good ole Colton. He was older now, semi-retired from the some of the more active points of his empire (Sydenious had taken half the workload, and Nyssa had eased the burden as well), but he still held an imposing presence even by long distance comlink.

"We can explain later. It's a long story and a ridiculous one. Whoever is coming for us, include a healer. We found this slave kid. He's way too young and in bad shape. Couldn't leave him. More to the story, but we're all hungry and tired and wet and probably covered in filth and insect welts, but we're alive. We're on the wrong side of Horsh. How long?"

"Kebrey is almost to the ship to launch. Hold on." The com went quiet for a second and I knew he was getting word to Kebrey to pick up a healer on his way off our home planet of Terran. "A couple hours to get there and locate you. And for stars sake, don't die or get eaten before he arrives. I'll kill you both if you do."

Love. Colton had it for us droves.

So, we waited. Two hours almost on the nose and we saw a ship approaching. It landed a distance away and we ran our wobbly, weary legs off to get there. All the bouncing woke the boy in my arms so I fought with his weakened thrashing, but refused to let go. Either Quin or Fen would be on board and could take him.

We got there, it was Fen Kaveri. Second in command to Quin and a damn good healer in her own right. She took the boy, I made sure Tanner was okay (always look after the little brother, even when they're thirty years old) before I collapsed onto a chair. I lost track of things after that.

My next memory was of home. Well, not really home home, but back on Terra, in Kaolin. The hospital. Spent enough time there over the years, it was kinda like home. I opened my eyes to see my brother bedside. Sure, he looked like crap, but being upright? That was impressive after what we'd been through.

He answered my questions before I could form the words on my dry, chapped lips.

"Two days, you've been out. Neither you or I have any serious issues. Some irritating bug bites, healing welts from that mud and dehydration, but good otherwise. The boy... River 47, Fen put him into an induced coma. I told her what we knew. She needed to work on him and have him start to heal before dealing with whatever mental state he might be in. He's in a room down the hall. Isolated. That rash he has, it covers his entire body. He's got wounds everywhere, old and new. She says they appear to be vibro-knives mostly, but didn't rule out other things."

Yup, there went my stomach again. Flipping and flopping. I really wanted to puke so badly. The things they did to this kid... to all of those kids.

"Bacta is working the rash and the welts. The more recent wounds too. He has infection rampant through his body. Running through the filth like he probably did with open skin. She's not sure how long she'll keep him quiet, but when she does bring him around, we need to be nearby. He doesn't know us, but we are the last faces he saw. That may account for something."

Tanner reached off to his side to grab a small plate behind him. A delicious looking sandwich sat on that plate. "Oh little brother. Have I told you how much I love you to death sometimes? Thank you for this!"

He grinned, grabbed his own sandwich and we ate in silence. The most companionable silence I'd ever known. My little brother had that affect on me. When Tanner went quiet, he often took others with him, and I admit... it was wonderful.

A visit with my brother and now a full belly... I slept soundly.

—

Healer Fen Kaveri kept the boy, River 47, in a coma for a week. We'd all taken to calling him River. Dropping the horrible number identification.

If it was up to me, I'd have changed his name all together to something completely unassociated with the tragic beginning to his life. Fen said

with kids this age from what she'd learned over many years, there were essentially two options as to how River ended up under the order of a slaver. Either he was born into it or his parents turned him over.

And imagine that! Just handing your toddler over to be abused and starved for the rest of his life. I held out hope that they didn't voluntarily surrender him to a slaver, but that it was done by force or violence. Not that I wished bad things on people, but the idea of a parent simply turning a kid over to that life... damn stomach. I really did puke this time.

When River did regain consciousness, he was rightfully scared out of his mind. First thought? I could see it in his widening eyes. Flee! Run! Even

if it meant back to his crap-hole of a life. Fen could have restrained him, securing him to the bed, but it was better to just keep the room locked. He'd been shackled as a slave, and over our dead bodies (though

I really hoped it didn't go that route) no one was going to re-introduce that nightmare into the safety of his current environment.

His first words were that chant again. His name. His number. The only ones in the room were Fen, me and Tanner. We all sat a distance away. Tanner and I were the only persons he'd seen when this all began. Hopefully he would recognize us from the forest.

"Dash, I can feel him. In the Force." Tanner whispered to me. "It's chaotic though. Confused. No sense to it. Whatever power he has, it's limited and extremely uncoordinated."

I shrugged. "He's six, Tanner. If he even knows he has your magic, I'm sure he's not a clue what it means. Another issue this kid will have to deal with. Probably scares the hell out of him. If you think you and me had issues when were younger..."

"Yeah, this is complicated. We can help though. I hope."

I knew where my brother was leaning and I didn't disagree. Tanner wanted (needed?) to help this boy. How and when and all that... that would come.

"We've gotta get him comfortable with even talking to us. Other than naming the other kids who were killed, he only chants his name and number. Like he's been brainwashed and stuck on repeat."

Little brother was already gone. He'd closed his eyes and stilled himself, looking within the Force to reach out to the boy, magic to magic. Maybe in some type of calming influence. If we could get him to not be deathly afraid of us, there was our first step.

I kept quiet and watched. Fen was next to me, she too knew what Tanner attempted. She had long known Tanner was a former Jedi, one of the original keepers of his secret. She was also well known for her ability with children. I just never quite understood why the little kids loved her so much. If it was her space-black eyes, the sharp green skin or the insanely beautiful hair rags that she wore every day and actually made herself.

It was most likely that last one, Kids tended to love bright colors and patterns and the rags were all of that. It's why Quin assigned her to this kid - her ability to make the young ones feel at ease when their world was anything but. Between Fen and Tanner, this boy was in good hands.

When they first touched minds (yes, it was still creepy after all these years), Fen and I watched River's face. He flinched hard, those crazy-bluest-of-blue eyes blinking in rapid succession. And then he stopped. Just like that. Tanner was all things calm and collected when needed. He'd used his magic on me enough times when I was hurt or feeling like hell. It settled me and surrounded me with this difficult-to-describe warmth. It's what he was doing with River, and sure enough the boy was responding. A few minutes passed and the look of sheer panic on his young face had lessened to simple uncertainty. Six year olds in general (yes, Fen confirmed that he was around that age - we'd guessed correctly), were expressive enough at it was. Then with new emotions and understanding how to portray them being learned every day, I admit to being relieved seeing the kid drop it down a few notches.

Tanner couldn't talk to him through their connection, but he could convey feelings. And without a doubt, every last ounce of my little brother was telling River that he was safe and okay and he'd never be forced back to the bad people who hurt him. The kid responded. In fact, he formed his first actual conversational sentence that had nothing to do with his number, the canid creature or the death of his fellow Numbers.

"Safe here?"

Yup, Tanner had definitely gotten that through to him. My brother opened his eyes. Pale brown, boring as could be, but always expressing kindness and caring. It's the one thing this boy needed right now.

The three of us nodded in unison. Tanner took the lead.

"Yes. You are safe here."

Interestingly enough, he didn't use the word 'promise' to back it up. I think we both figured enough people had promised him things to get him to obey or accept the abuse he'd suffered. For now, that word was off limits. I took note.

"My name is Tanner." He went on, pointing to me next, then Fen. "This is my brother - my family - Dashen. That is Fen, she is a healer, a doctor. She has been fixing the cuts and pains on your body."

"Hurts." Another word. Progress. Baby steps were powerful.

"It does. It will get better." Again, no promise followed.

The boy pointed at himself, tapping his chest. "River 47. My number."

This time Tanner shook his head. "No. No more number. You are River. That is your name. River."

"Name?" His voice shook, I just couldn't quite fit the emotions. It was a mixture of so many things. Damn those people - those animals - that did this to him.

"That's right. We all have names. No numbers. Your name is River."

"River... River... No 47?"

"No 47. Not ever again."

River moved his head in the tiniest of nods. Accepting, but did he truly comprehend it? Jury would be out for a while. In the meantime, he slowly edged his hand to motion toward Tanner.

"You are like me?"

He meant his magic. So, he did comprehend that; that he was a little bit different inside. Had his slavers known, they'd probably not let him live. Could also be why he survived the beast he called Wolfis. Who knows if he had the ability to push it away or make it think something else or whatever. If he had, I'd guess that he did it unconsciously. Almost as a defensive mechanism. Potential problem down the line? Only time would tell.

Tanner as well, was aware of what he meant. "I am like you, yes. I can explain it too you when you feel better. You can call it magic. That's what my brother calls it."

"Dashen." River pointed to me in recognition.

"That's right. Dashen is my brother. He is my family."

"Family. River 47... no. I... River. I don't have family."

That he caught himself so quickly on the name thing surprised me. As badly as he felt and as terrified as I'm certain he was, the kid was observant.

Leave it to Tanner to make him know that last statement was going to be considered incorrect.

"We can be your family, River. Me and Dashen and Fen. We can take care of you."

And... there! Right there! Those words hit home. I could see the change in River's face. A visual effort of release. Somehow knowing the truth that his life as a child slave had come to an end.

"I like that." He said quietly.

"We do too." Tanner's warm smile cemented this breakthrough.

Fen stood slowly, well aware of her patient's condition. "River, you need to sleep now. Tanner and Dashen will see you tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay." Was all he said as he turned to his side and curled into his familiar and self-soothing fetal position.

—-

Tanner and me were released from care the next day. I went to check on the diner which was running smoothly thanks to my trusted second in command. She promised no issues and for me to take my time returning. Tanner's teaching job at the school was on it's month-long seasonal break, so everything was fine with that.

We visited River every day. Mostly together, though sometimes it was just Tanner. Each time my brother visited without me, River always asked where I was. Not gonna lie, that felt good. This random kid actually gave a crap about where I was. I counted on my hand two people who truly worried on that front on any regular basis.

"I want to take him in, Dash." Tanner startled me with that one evening at dinner. "River. I want to look after him. Maybe it's temporary. Or not. No idea. He needs us. I know that feeling to be left alone and the world imploding around you and with this power in your head that you have really don't know what to do with."

"Yeah," I said knowingly. "Figured you'd go there, but I thought you'd have said it sooner. We have space here at the house. The extra room. It's small, but it fits a bed and enough area to live. If it's what you want. We have our day jobs though. He's too young to be left alone and not ready for integration into school, not in his mental state. If you think we can offer him a life..."

"We?" He asked me, cocking a curious eyebrow in my direction.

"Yes, we. If we plan on giving this kid a family - even if it's temporary, because, really, who knows this point - then we're in this together. We've been through everything else together, why not this? We're getting old anyway. Time to liven things up with a little youth in the house."

"You're the old man. I'm just thirty."

"Closing in on thirty-one."

"Not old, Dash."

"Old, Mouse."

"Whatever, this is stupid."

"But it's us."

"Yeah. It is."

"So," I took a deep breath. "We're adopting? Can't really be a brother in name, he's too young and as I just said, we're old. But cousin, maybe?"

"Doesn't matter, Dash. As long as he can feel part of a family. We'll need to discuss with Fen and Quin of course. I don't want to jeopardize his recovery in anyway."

"We do have to be mindful of that Claret's Blood-Bug Syndrome thing, Fen said he had. Sounds crappy and it's a ridiculously stupid name, but it won't stop him from living a good life. Just, we'll have to educate ourselves about it."

"I've started looking into it." Of course he did. Tanner was usually four steps head of me when it came to learning and research. "Fen gave me some information. He's a strong kid, he'll handle it, and we'll help him."

"Yeah, he is and we will. I guess we do this then."

"I think we do."

Both healers were supportive of our call about the kid. But there was the issue of what do with River during the day when we worked. Fen found the solution. She would take him. A mom herself - with a ten year old daughter - Fen had the patience, the amazing ability with children, and of course medical expertise to help in the endeavor. She'd also set up a spot for him in her own living space, for those times when he needed another place to crash overnight. Two homes for a kid that weeks ago literally had nothing but a number assigned to him. What could go wrong?

—-

Well, a lot of things. Sleepless nights. For all of us. Confusion. Anxiety. River took steps backwards before going forward.

He did like his tiny bedroom. The bed was soft, the blankets softer. There was small chest-of-drawers and an even smaller nightstand. The kid had nothing to his name so we'd gotten him some changes of clothes and shoes that didn't have holes in them. The room looked bare though and for some unknown reason, that bothered me.

The fourth night in his new room was his most difficult. River spent so much time screaming in nightmares that he was basically stuck in hysterical mode. Also, he wasn't yet much of a touchy-feely kinda kid (certainly he'd had none of that under the control of a slaver) so other than Tanner trying to calm his mind from a short distance, there was little we could offer. Fen advised us against physical contact for now unless River initiated it. That was hard. I had loved my baby brother Kossi to death. He was a constant hugger. Tanner much the same. Having this new kid under our care and not really able to do anything to comfort him... it was difficult.

He stayed hysterical and honestly I gave up and returned to my own bed for the night. Still, I woke early, River's room was empty. He was in the lounge area padding around slowly in his bare feet, looking and seeing and touching. I watched from a distance as his fingers set onto the old trinket from long ago. A Ronto carving that Kossi had made for the big brother he loved more than life. One that I'd found on my last trip back to my old apartment. I'd been eighteen at the time. That Ronto carving, it remained ugly - nothing would ever fix that - but it meant the world to me.

River tapped it, picked it up, turned it in his hands. His eyes alive with fascination. Eventually, he set it gently in his palm and carried it over to the couch.

I approached and sat nearby, careful not to intrude on his personal space.

"That was something my brother made." I said to him.

"Tanner made this?" He asked.

I smiled. "No, not Tanner. I had a brother before Tanner. His name was Kossi. He died when he was very young. I miss him still. He made that for me. It's called a..."

"Ronto."

"Yes. You know about those animals?"

River nodded absently as he caressed a finger over the figurine. So careful. Respectful. Like it was made of the most delicate of fine glass.

"The bad man used them to move heavy things." He said about the slaver. "There were two Rontos. They were very big. I liked them. They liked me. They would let me pet them on the ears and nose."

There was a picture. This giant creature lowering its head so low to allow a small boy to scratch it's ears. Maybe the only semblance of sanity this kid had ever had in his first six years.

"I've never seen a real one. Tanner has. He knows all about them. You'll have to ask him."

He held the Ronto carving up. "I like this. What your brother made."

Idea! It would move the Ronto from it's special place at the window, but yeah... I was confident that Kossi would've been okay with it. "River, if you'd like, you can put it into your room and keep it on your nightstand."

Wow, did his eyes just light up or what! And I thought they were blue before!

"I can?"

"You can."

"I would like that so much. I will take very good care of it, Dashen. I won't break it or lose it, not ever!"

He'd one up me on that one then. "I know you won't, River. Why don't you go find a place for it, okay?"

"Okay!" With more enthusiasm than I'd seen from him in the four weeks we'd known him, he hurried off the couch and was about to rush down the hall when he stopped next to me and set fingers on my arm. "Thank you." Then he did rush off.

Huh. There was a step. A tentative first effort to reach out to one of us.

Finally, we were moving forward.

—-

Tanner dropped River off with Fen for the day while he and I headed to work. Classes had started again with the seasonal break over and the diner was always busy first part of the week when trading and transfer freighters came and went. We alternated days picking the kid up from Fen's care. Giving him a routine, but with a little variety sprinkled in.

We were a week into this new life of ours. Having a boy of six under our care was strange, but also comfortingly familiar. Dinners were quiet affairs, River still picking and choosing about what and when he wished to talk. His comfort level ebbed and flowed depending on his day and any negative happenings like those damned nightmares.

Day seven of the new adventure. Since that careful moment of contact a few days ago, River hadn't made any further advancement in that direction. Perfectly normal, per Fen. We continued to trust her judgment.

River cleaned up for bed on his own this time. Determined to start doing things by himself. I did appreciate that influx of independence. Tanner and I went to his room to make sure he got settled. The Ronto carving was on the nightstand, standing proudly and cuddled on top of a soft protective cloth. River had swore to not break or lose it. He meant that.

Tonight, Tanner had something for him.

Climbing into bed, the boy's dark hair fell over his face. We'd not yet gotten into the haircut thing. Fen had combed out the thick knots when he was comatose, but left the decision about hairstyle to him - when the time presented itself. With a hand, he pushed the long bangs behind his ears. A practiced action. His hair had been long for quite a while. Slavers could care less about the look or cleanliness of their workforce, only about abusing them into that work. Still, the kid could use a cut just to straighten the mess. There was an unevenness in some spots; the result of a threatening vibro-knife probably.

Yup, there was that bile rising again.

Thankfully, Tanner saved me from puking all over the floor as he handed River a blanket. It had colors. Green, blue, lighter brown. An odd mix, but it meant something. Eye color. Mine, River's, Tanner's. My brother had made the thing himself, learning from his old pal, Declar'Bin over the years. Declan the shop owner was many things and Modiste (Tanner's fancy word for garment-maker) was one of them. He'd started creating the blanket the second week River was in the hospital, I guess he knew then - long before he'd mentioned it to me - that he would definitely be part of this boy's life.

I have to say, as blanket design went, it was the quite a beautiful pattern and it was made from the the coziest material the galaxy could find. Courtesy of Colton, of course.

River ran cold. Sounded strange to stay that, I know, but it was fact. The kid shivered. A lot. The planet we'd found him was warm and humid. It's what he knew and what his body had adjusted to. We were on Terra and Terra had seasons. Currently, things were heading into the coldest of those five seasons. It built slowly, but snow and ice were not out of the question during a Terra Winter. So, what better way to deal with the cold than by having the warmest blanket around. And one with a personal touch.

This was the moment that Tanner also decided to take a chance, a gamble that could easily backfire on him. But after weeks of knowing the boy and an entire week here at the house, he was taking a shot that River wouldn't panic.

"River, tuck yourself in, then I have something for you." My brother said.

"For me?" River responded, always surprised when someone did something for him without screaming an order or demanding or worse... physical abuse. His surprise came even with the simplest of things, like an extra pala cake after dinner (he did have quite the sweet tooth we'd discovered) or someone offering him a towel to wipe his hands. That certainly hadn't come from his slaver life. Fen said those were signs of the boy's true self starting to surface.

Anyway, Tanner smiled as River climbed slowly under the covers.

"Yes, something for you." Tanner said as River immediately curled into a ball. Fetal like. Always that way. Explanation from Fen said it was probably just habit - a position of safety in an unsafe situation. It was also probably an attempt to chase away the bad things in his head. Didn't work. I'd curled into enough fetal positions in my life to know that. We didn't mention that to him though.

A quick step from the room and return, Tanner held the large multi-colored blanked in his hands. Folded carefully into a perfect square. He set it next to where River lay clenched to himself.

"I made this for you. It's very soft and very warm. It has three colors."

River immediately pulled a hand away from himself and stroked the covering. "Green. Blue. Brown."

"Not just any brown. It's a light brown." My brother, encouraging him to think about it. Put it together. The kid was smart when he was able to connect the dots.

"Light brown. Like.. you! And green... like Dashen! Dashen has green eyes, you have brown eyes. And I have... blue... eyes."

There ya go! Told you so.

"The blanket is me and you and Dashen, right?"

"That's right. It'll keep you warm too. It's very cozy."

It was. Hell, I may con Tanner into making one for me. That was my thought as I watched River go from unsure to... overwhelmed? Was that the right emotion? Damn if it wasn't. Those were tears too. The first we'd seen from him. Breakthrough anyone? I silently celebrated in my head.

"You made this for me. Because I am River and you are Tanner and you are Dashen and we are... family. Right?"

It was interesting. That word, right. Asked as a question. River stuck the word right onto the end of a lot of his sentences. Needing the assurance perhaps. Or the permission. Maybe a little of both. I was getting used to it now.

"Right. We are your family." Moment of truth. Tanner took the gamble. "Let me spread it out for you." He eased the blanket from River's grasp and unfolded it. From there, he stepped forward again and ever so slowly (we're talking swamp-slug slow) draped it over the boy's fetal form. To our complete shock, River allowed it, without much fanfare or panicked expression. Tanner tucked it around him carefully, then stood and backed the couple feet away again.

River grabbed hold of the blanket with both hands and squeezed it hard.

"Warm. Soft. I like it. Thank you for making this for me, Tanner."

"You're welcome. We will see you in the morning, okay?"

He nodded his head into the blanket, pushing his face into the comfort. Now that was a normal human reaction if I'd ever seen one. We'd report this victory to Fen tomorrow.

"Will we have breakfast tomorrow too?" River snagged us right before we crossed through the open doorway.

We'd not once failed to have breakfast in the past week - together - but it had become routine. As a Number, he'd been a creature of habit. Much like Tanner coming out of the Jedi Order. Stars, my brother still did things habitually. There was leeway nowadays that would never have been present when he was young, but as he grew and got more confident, he ventured out of routine on occasion. River would too. Eventually. But for now, routine was good. Breakfast was also good. Like me, bantha bacon had become his favorite. A kid after my own stomach.

"Breakfast tomorrow," I answered. "Bantha bacon too!"

River smiled. A good look on him. Nice to see.

"I like that."

I like that. He said that a lot too. Again. Habit. Keeping things simple and uncomplicated. It worked for him, so by default it would work for us.

"Goodnight, kid." I hadn't yet found a proper nickname for him. Not like Mouse, with Tanner, so for the moment kid worked. He didn't seem to mind.

—-

"Tanner, do I get a second name?"

So, that one threw us off. Twelve days in. River was more chatty, but was still relatively quiet for a boy of six. A second name? I'm sure he didn't mean a nickname, though he'd probably heard me saying Mouse a time or two.

My bother chimed in. "What do you mean, a second name?"

"Like you and Dashen and Fen. Those are first names. You have second names too."

Ah, last names. Got it. He wanted a last name. Of course we had no clue what his real first name actually was, or even if he'd have one, so naturally there'd be no last name to go with it. But he wanted one. So, he could have one.

"Our last names. Yes, I am Tanner Vai. Vai is my last name. Or second name as you call it. If you want a last name, you can have one. We don't know what yours is, so you get to decide what you want it to be. You can use any of ours or you can pick your own."

"You are Vai. Dashen is Lesedi. Fen is Kaveri. And you all helped me to be free and safe. Safe forever, right?"

"Right."

"Hmmm." Thinking. The kid was thinking hard. First real decision he'd get to make on his own behalf.

"Salvus!"

That was fast. And what was that? Salvus? What out-of-this-galaxy place did that come from?

"I like it," Tanner responded, supportively. "That was very fast to make that decision. How did you come up with it?"

"I remember, one of the older Numbers - Forest 5 - she would say that word sometimes. She said it that it meant that you are free and safe. She said one day she would be those things. But... but the Wolfis killed her so she can't be those things, but I am. Now I am. And maybe it will help me remember the other Numbers that died. Someone should remember them. I'm safe now. You and Dashen and Fen helped me to be safe, salvus."

There was a depth to this kid that we'd barely begun to see. Finding meaning in a nightmare and then attaching it to himself for the rest of his life, in part, to not forget where he'd come from. But with it, he also began to understand his chance for a future. Huh. A decision like that would've taken me a month. Colton would be proud that this addition to the family wasn't an idiot like the others. Yours truly, to be specific.

"Salvus. River Salvus. It sounds good. It means something to you as well. That's important." Tanner looked at me and we non-verbally agreed. "Is that who you want to be, River?"

"Yes. No more Numbers. Not ever. I like being River Salvus. Can you tell Fen?"

"I can, but maybeyou want to tell her tomorrow? She'll really like that you thought of her when you picked a name."

There it was, that teacher inside my brother was always on duty with this kid. Letting him learn from each step. Each decision. Gaining confidence with every tiny forward motion. A natural teaching force, my little brother. His long-dead, living-in-the-Force-netherworld, Jedi Master was certainly proud of him. I know I was.

River liked that idea too about Fen and agreed with a great show of enthusiasm. "I will tell her! Now I have a Ronto from Dashen and a blanket from Tanner and a name from Fen. My family."

Wow, he'd latched onto the word family too. If that didn't make him a perfect fit, nothing did. Tanner and me, we could do family. It might be a small one and weird as hell, but it was family all the same. Adding a former slave kid to the mix made it even weirder. And that was a good thing. There was nothing normal about our family that extended into Colton and his crew. From top to bottom we were rejects or scrugs or orphans or other. We should never truly work as a family entity, but we did. Every single one of us. The best family one could hope for after traumatic beginnings.

So yes, River, in all his differences, fit.

—-

There was one last piece to address before we could be sure River would be able to make this life with us. His magic. He had to know about it, understand it. Grasp that it wasn't a bad thing, but that he'd have to put effort into making making sure it didn't become a bad thing. That was Tanner's job mostly. The original Magic Boy himself.

So we sat one night in the lounge area of our apartment. River was curled up in his blanket in the dead center of the couch. Most people preferred an edge. Lean in, sink the cushion down, make it your place. Not this kid. Nope, he always made a point to sit dead center. No idea why, maybe he'd mention it one day.

I sat to his left. Tanner to his right. Enough space between us all to not crowd and to not accidentally touch. River was still not there with the whole human contact thing, despite a couple of minor victories. Two weeks in. We had plenty of time.

Tanner gave him a brief history of the Jedi and the Force. That led to

the discussion about how other non Jedi could also have this magic in varying degrees of strength and ability. The more training, the better the accomplishment. Honesty was best here. Tanner was as honest as they came and pulled no punches in telling the kid about the dark side of the magic. He evened it out by making sure the boy knew that Tanner felt none of that dark, negative inside of him. That he had plenty of time to learn all the good ways to use the magic. And Tanner would teach him, practice with him and give him the opportunity to learn all he was capable of.

Several times during that part of the conversion I just shook my head. Great. Now I'd had two magic users throwing random objects at my head. I'd remind Tanner later that if he needed to practice that badly, to venture over to Colton's and use his new-improved exercise room. Naturally, he would not do that, my head always being too tempting of a target.

River ingested every bit of information. If he completely understood it all, I didn't think so. I mean, he was still six years old and only weeks removed from being used and abused by slavers and labeled as a number rather than a person. The whole Force thing would be a work in progress. To start, he'd have training on it once a week, Tanner setting aside the same day and same time. Being the creature of habit that River was (Tanner, much the same), this suited him best. As advancement was made, lessons and training would progress alongside.

Oddly enough, all of this... it seemed to break a burden of weight off the boy's shoulders. Shoulders far too young to hold such suffering. Being an abused kid in the hands of slaver without family was one thing. Having this strange ability to make things move with a flick of the hand or a random thought, and having no idea why it was happening... Yeah, that would have been disturbing to a normal kid with a normal family.

Tanner had magic too. He understood. Tanner was like him. Tanner was good. That meant he could be good too.

"Tanner?" River's voice was low, almost a whisper. "Thank you for being like me."

In all my years, I'd never heard that line said to anyone. It was nice. For all his abilities and success and just being a damned decent person, Tanner had always lacked one thing since the Jedi were obliterated years ago. Even his time in the desert with Ben Kenobi hadn't filled the void - not completely. He hadn't had someone to share with on a daily basis. I mean really, truly share. Sure, he had me, and we were absurdly close as brothers and had very little in the way of secrets, but that wasn't what I meant. Tanner's Jedi past, his Force abilities, I would never understand. Not in a way he needed. I joked about it and was the target for his practice (still am) but... Completely able to discern the feelings behind it all? No, I couldn't do that.

But River could. Eventually.

My brother, he never got that chance to be what Jedi Ayden Yen was to him. A true master. Teacher. Mentor. Tanner teaches class for kids in school, he's a natural and seriously, the best loved teacher in the place. He'd not give it up for anything. Not quite the same though as sharing an intimate mental link within that weird magic of his. This was his chance to live the part of his life that had been violently stolen from him when his world had fallen to hell two decades ago.

Decades. Wow, had it really been that long?

Part of me wondered if I should be jealous. That was the idiot part of me, mind you. But, no. No jealousy. I was over the moon happy for my brother. I'd gotten my chance to have a little brother again when Tanner entered my life after Kossi's death. It was his turn now.

But I had to set something straight - for my own safety.

"Hey River." I said, inching slightly closer to him. Tanner and me spent considerable time testing the limits of closeness with the kid. Inches

were successes. "There's one thing I need from you. When Tanner starts teaching you all his neat stuff."

"Yes, Dashen?"

"One day you'll learn how to use your magic to pick stuff up and toss it around on command. Like Tanner showed you he can do. But Tanner likes to use me to practice on. He likes to throw things at me. A lot of things. Pillows. Rocks. He even threw a swamp rat at me one time."

River giggled. Ah. Now there was a forgotten sound. My brother had giggled - Kossi. Tanner took over that roll for a number of years until age caught up with him. Hearing it now... Yup, I'd missed it.

"Swamp rats are stinky." River said back with a small crooked grin.

"They are extremely stinky. And that one landed right here," I pointed to my chest at the opening of my tunic. "Then it slid all the way down into my shirt and almost into my pants!"

Giggles turned to laughter, and in a six year old, laughter was mostly an hysterical giggle, so all the same. It was just louder and much more contagious.

"I won't throw swamp rats at you, Dashen." River snickered.

I was grateful for that, but really I was looking to not be target practice at all. Be it swamp rat, rock, pillows. Eh, I'd let it go for now.

My smile was my answer and I took a chance and held out a hand, palm up, to the boy. Just as he had done with Tanner before. Inviting the contact.

An exhale of breath went through me when he took my hand and wrapped his small fingers around it. Progress. Another baby step. Another move to giving this kid a normal life full of people who cared about him.

I'd supported Tanner when he said he wanted to take the boy in. Part of me was scared to death for it though. I wasn't so scared anymore. We could do this - with the help of Fen - look after River. We could help him to leave his horrible slave life in the past.

It was funny. Looking back at my own past. How my traumas changed me and my path. The death of my parents when I was young, looking after my baby brother Kossi when I could barely look after myself. His heart-wrenching death after - the death that literally stole my soul and broke me into a million unrecognizable jagged pieces. I was desolate and alone and had flat-out given up any want to live.

Strange how it all led to this. Finding and raising Tanner. Having him as my brother and closest friend. That leading to so many other positives in my life since.

All of that coming to fruition now with this boy named River.

Kossi would have approved.

I swear I still get that nagging tickle in my mind sometimes that Kossi's behind all this. Of course, that's not possible. He's been dead for so long. That tickle never dies though. I still mourn him at times. It's not anything like it used to be, but every so often when I look around at how impossibly far I've come, I break down and cry for him. He was eight when he died. Still the best person I ever knew. If I know nothing else, I know that I will always miss him every day for as long as I live.

Tanner was a close second in that best person category and as much as I loved my brother with all my heart, he'd never surpass Kossi. And that was okay.

Kossi would've loved Tanner.

I know for a fact that he would have loved this new kid too. River Salvus.

I took a glance over River's shoulder to see Tanner grinning at me with a watery brightness to his eyes.

Yup. Tanner and me... we'd be doing our damned best to love this kid and give him every chance for an amazing life.

END