I just wanted to write a chapter that kind of just shows the casual intersection of Octavian's life and another and show his "normalcy" from another perspective. And so I give you Eddie.

Eddie lived a simple life. He did his job, went to work, came home and kissed his wife and watched his three year old daughter Olivia sleep and dream. He wished his schedule was more flexible but didn't fight it. He supported his family and that was all that mattered. It wasn't a bad gig this time either. He'd been assigned with some real psychos in the past, but Octavian seemed pretty tame for a murderer.

Eddie Mann had worked for the State guarding potentially dangerous criminals in their pre-trial days. He could handle the work, he'd gone straight into the army after high school and had maintained his buff physique since. He had met his wife in the army but now he worked and Sherri stayed home with their daughter, while he stayed at someone else's home with a murderer.

He had opinions, too, about the trial. Not that he would ever be able to share them, just... It didn't add up. This Octavian guy didn't seem like a murderer, didn't threaten or talk big or smile creepily or even be unkind to Eddie. And he really loved his dog. And watered his tomatoes, and kept the apartment mostly clean, but not obsessively so. Maybe he is cold and calculating and plans every move to seem normal. But Eddie didn't think that was it. He thought... Well deep down he thought Octavian was a murder, but he was also a normal guy with a lot of broken. And that was why he did what he did.

Every day passed similarly. It was more babysitting than guarding. Octavian wasn't a danger to himself or to Eddie. Maybe outside he could cause some harm but that didn't seem what Octavian wanted to do. He seemed resigned to what he had done, a mistake or not, but it wasn't a repeat crime. And it was a crime he was willing to be sentenced for.

Lunch was delivery every day. Sandwiches. Octavian was about to go to prison or get a death sentence and so he had decided that he would try every sandwich from the deli Eddie had recommended when the ordeal had begun. Then they played various two person card games and played with Glaceon, Octavian's dog.

The day passed quickly, and then he went back to his wife and daughter.

"Hey sweetheart." Sherri said looking up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed her lips.

"How was work?'

"Same."

"I... You amaze me, Edwin." Not many people called him Edwin but she was able to get away with it because she held his heart.

"I do? What for? You are the amazing one my love." Sherri wasn't one to blush, so his words didn't change her coloration. But she knew he meant it, he was devoted to her. She was his beloved wife, six months pregnant with their second child, a boy, the name yet to be determined, though Theodore was a top contender. He led her to the couch and wrapped his arms around her.

"You go to work everyday and spend time with a murderer."

"He's not proven yet."

"He confessed."

"Yeah." Eddie was still disappointed about that. When he spent time with the charge he wanted to believe there was innocence within him. Maybe it was just his eyes.

"He has eyes like Olivia, Sher." Eddie and Sherri had brown and green eyes respectively. Their daughter's eyes were a beautiful blue. Octavian's were similar. The murderer inadvertently reminded him of his child.

"I can't imagine that. It must be hard..."

"No... It isn't. When I go to work it isn't like the other times. He's just like a person. He isn't a threat or a paycheck... He's like a child who made a mistake. That doesn't mean I'm not glad he'll be getting time for what he did... But for the first time ever I wonder about the person I'm guarding. I wonder why."

"I love you for searching for innocence and humanity... But don't let it weigh you down. Whatever happens to that man is deserved. There is no point in feeling sad over what is set in stone."

"But what if it was Olivia? We would mourn if it was our daughter."

"Yes, Eddie, we would. But he killed all those left to mourn him." He didn't argue, Sherri was tough and smart and good. But she was wrong. Eddie was left. The casual acquaintance. The paycheck. Eddie would mourn this man. And maybe he would be the only one. But maybe you only needed one person to grieve when your life goes awry.