Hello, everyone. I'm back from my spring semester hiatus, your same tired writer, but Now With A Bachelor's Degree™. (Does that mean I'm officially a bachelor now? I think my girlfriend might have an objection or two...) As always, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 63:
A ceàird tha nàmhaid mur eil ionnsachadh.
A craft is an enemy if not learned properly.

31-

"Ask to do what?" Song choked- though he already knew what she was getting at.

Veronica could tell, and didn't waste time with her explanation. "You're a skilled doctor. I know we can trust you to make it look like complications caused by the injuries he received earlier today. You would not be to blame for anything."

"...let me get this straight," Song began, speaking slowly, "you want me to kill Lloyd?"

"Understand, you'll be doing a service to the Church of Mana. We're working for the good of everyone in the united world. This one act of relative evil would save countless lives. By temporarily abandoning your principle of non-maleficence, you could do so much good. Please, can we count on you?"

Song could feel his heart beginning to beat faster. A flurry of questions flew through his mind, so quickly he could barely process them. But he caught enough of what was going on to make a decision.

"...of course you can count on me. I can't ignore the desires of the Church of Mana."

A smile passed over Veronica's face. "Thank you, Doctor Lu. We fall even further in your debt, though this. But I promise, you're doing the right thing."

"Well, not everyone might think so. You should go find Zelos and the others so as not to generate suspicion. I'll…" Song paused and cleared his throat. "...get to work on this."

Veronica bowed respectfully. "Once again, we're in your debt. I will speak with you again at a later date."

Song watched her as she left, offering a little wave. He began to turn around so that he could start down the staircase, but before he could get anywhere, he felt himself grabbed from behind.

"Don't move. I'm not letting you go anywhere as long as you're planning to hurt Lloyd."

"Oh, thank gods!"

Song's outburst surprised his captor, and she let go immediately. "Wait, what are you-?"

It was Song's turn to grab hold of the girl, placing his hands on her shoulders and jerking her towards him so that they were on eye level with one another. "You heard that, right? That lunatic asking me to commit murder for her? Please, please, I just can't have it be my word against hers!"

"Doctor Lu… you're that Doctor Lu…" The girl looked up at him in surprise, examining his face. Song did the same as he recognized her features, gasping and letting go of her shoulders.

"You're, uh- no, don't tell me! Karim… Karim…" He paused and snapped his fingers. "Hazel!"

"Yes, that's right."

"But what are you doing here? Why were you hiding in the closet?" Song frowned. "That's an awfully suspicious place for a girl to be cooped up."

"I-I…" Hazel began to stammer, "...I wanted to speak to Seles privately. I have no indecent intentions, I swear, I just need to talk to her. Veronica hasn't let us have a moment alone together since- er, well- in the past several months. Tokunaga agreed to pretend I had left with him to get her off our backs. But I couldn't stay hidden when I heard your and Veronica's conversation."

Satisfied, Song bent down so that he was at eye level again and put on a more serious expression. "Listen- I know what you heard was suspicious and you might not be able to trust me so easily. I get it, and I'll do whatever it takes to convince you that I'm on Lloyd's side. I would never murder someone, especially a patient-"

"No need," Hazel interrupted, shaking her head. "I trust you."

"R-really?"

A soft blush passed over Hazel's face, almost imperceptible against her dark skin. "You may not remember me. I was using a different name back then. But I was-"

"-one of my students," Song finished for her. "Of course I remember you."

"After all this time? It's been six- no, almost seven years. We haven't spoken since then, and I've, uh, changed so much-"

Song placed his hand on top of her head, offering her a reassuring smile. "Come on, now! Like I'd forget such a pretty face in the midst of all those gross pubescent boys. Plus, your grades were flawless. You really seemed to love what you were learning- not like those of us who had our dreams yanked out from under us when the government found out we were good at taking tests…" He paused and shook his head. "Still, you were so shy back then, I'm so glad to see you've developed the confidence to be yourself."

Hazel dropped her gaze to the floor, shifting her weight as she spoke. "It was you who made me the doctor I am today. Not so much in knowledge, but in the way you practice your oath. I've never forgotten your commitment to do no harm. I didn't get the chance to thank you back then, only because I didn't realize how important your lessons were. So-"

Song moved his hand to her shoulder, cutting off her sentence. "As much as I'd like to spend time catching up with you, we can't forget that there's a crisis on our hands. I've been working so hard to keep Lloyd's wherabouts away from the people who tried to kill him, and yet I revealed his location right to her face-"

"It's not your fault! I trusted her too!" Hazel's voice rose to almost a yell, and she had to slap a hand over her mouth. The mansion was big, but it wasn't that big, and there was no telling how far away Veronica had gotten. "But what I don't understand is why the Church of Mana would want Lloyd dead. As much as his friendship with Professor Sage would imply it, he's never publicly expressed support for the Alpha-Beta project."

"I wonder…" Song crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he thought it over. "Earlier, Seles said something along the lines of 'I don't know what Zelos would've done if anything happened to Lloyd.' Is it possible that they were trying to useLloyd to getto Zelos? I'm not sure what destabilising the Chosen's mental health would do for them, but-"

"Seles!" Hazel drew in a sharp breath and turned back around to the door. "If Veronica is in league with political conspirators, Seles could be in danger too!"

"It's possible." Song nodded. "You should stay with her to protect her while Zelos is away. I'll take care of the situation with Lloyd, don't worry."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, as best I can tell, we have to get him out of the city before Veronica and the rest of the Church figure out that I don't intend to kill him and come after him themselves. But I also need to wait until his wounds are healed enough that it's safe to move him long-distance. It'll be a little dicey finding a balance between the two, but... " Song sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "...it's not like I don't have people to help me. My house is so full of people right now, I'm pretty certain I'm in violation of local fire code. Someone will be able to help."

"Good." Hazel nodded her head and started toward Seles' room. "I'll leave the situation in your hands, then."

"And I'll leave protecting Seles up to you."

A warm glint reflected from Hazel's eyes. "There's nothing I'd rather do."

After Song left, Lloyd fell asleep for a short while. That didn't last long, however, before he woke up complaining about the pain and Anna gave him some medicine that Song had left for that purpose. As they waited for it to take effect, Anna held his hand and engaged him in conversation to take his mind off of things. She did have something important to talk to him about, after all, and this seemed as good a time as any.

Lloyd was just as excited at the news as she'd hoped he would be. Unfortunately he was also succumbing very quickly to the effects of the medicine and... it showed.

"Are you really?"

"Yeah."

"Are you really having a baby?"

"Yeah."

"Is it in there?"

"Yeah. It's still too small, so you can't tell yet. But trust me, your little brother or sister is there."

"Little brother or sister…" Lloyd leaned back and covered his face with his hands, barely hiding his smile. "I'M GONNA BE A BIG BROTHER!"

"Quiet, Lloyd," Kratos scolded, though Dirk was too busy stifling his laughter to say anything.

"I hope you're not joking," Lloyd spoke up again, turning his head to face Anna again.

"I'm not joking, I-"

"I can take care of it! I'll babysit all the time! ...i-if you want."

Anna couldn't help a giggle. Lloyd's speech was slightly off, but it was in a way that was very him. "That's very kind of you."

"Is it moving? I wanna listen-"

"No, it's too early. You won't be able to hear anything yet." She placed a hand on his head, giving his hair a toss. "Believe me, when I can feel it move, you'll be the first person I'll tell."

Kratos cleared his throat conspicuously. Anna frowned and jerked a finger in his direction.

"Oh, be quiet! You'll know!"

Lloyd gave a weak chuckle. "I think he's just joking with you, Mom."

"Kratos? Joking?" Anna replied with a fake gasp. "Maybe we need to get Song to examine him too."

Lloyd and Dirk both laughed, but Kratos blushed and turned his head away. "Anna. I know there's nothing you can say to lower Lloyd's opinion of me any more than I have myself, but I hope you'll refrain from badmouthing me too much when we have a young, impressionable child around to hear."

Anna joined the others in laughing, opening her mouth to go for another snarky comment. However, she wasn't able to say anything before they were interrupted by a commotion in the hallway. Song appeared in the doorway, out of breath and his face flushed.

"Lloyd, you have visitors-" he began, though said visitors didn't give him a chance to get any further.

"Lloyd! Oh, Lloyd!"

Colette was the first to make it to his bedside. She threw her arms around his shoulders- as gently as she could muster, given her excitement- and pressed her cheek against his. Genis sat down beside her, unable to keep from embracing Lloyd as well.

"Hah- Colette your face is cold," Lloyd commented.

"I'll bet it is," Genis replied. "It's freezing outside."

Colette pulled away, frowning in concern. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay." Lloyd placed a hand on her cheek and pulled her close to his face again. "I'm glad you're here. I was… really scared for you guys..."

Zelos managed to squeeze through the crowd around the door. "You were scared? How d'you think we felt, man?! You nearly died and then disappeared!"

"Ah, sorry about that." Lloyd turned and offered a smile.

"Don't apologize! You know it's not your fault, idiot…"

Kratos took a step toward the door, motioning back toward Anna and Dirk. "We should probably step out so that Lloyd's friends can all fit."

"Right!" Anna followed him, squeezing by Raine and Sheena to get to the hallway. As she passed, she nudged Sheena with a smile. "Don't be so shy. He was worried about you too."

"I-I…" Sheena looked away, furiously wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I'd rather him not see me like this. He'd worry even more."

"Maybe so, but he'd be happy you were crying over him."

"I r-really shouldn't be…"

Anna wrapped her arms around Sheena, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Hey, it's alright. He's alright. And you're going to be alright too."

The group did some more shifting around so that Sheena and Raine could speak to Lloyd too, and Anna, Kratos, and Dirk returned to the hallway. "While Lloyd's friends are here, I'd like to go check on Bryan and the others who are still on patrol," Kratos spoke up. "I don't like having left them so suddenly. Would you like to come with me, Anna?"

"No, thanks." She shook her head. "I'm feeling a little sick, so I'd rather have some tea and rest."

"I'll gang wi' ye," Dirk replied. "I'd like tae apologize fur scarin' them earlier."

"I'm sure they understand- but if you want to come along, I don't mind." Kratos started back down the hallway to the main room. "Where is Noishe?"

"In here."

The answer came from behind them, from inside Yuan's room. Kratos stepped back and peeked in, unable to keep from cracking a smile at the scene. In the time since they'd spoken before Yuan had acquired a bassinet for Adora, and it was sitting beside him on the bed. Noishe was curled up around the basket, his head resting on the edge so that he could watch Adora as she slept.

"He hasn't moved from that spot since I put her to sleep," Yuan continued. "You can call him, but I don't think he's going to pay you any mind."

Anna peeked in beside Kratos. "Did Noishe know Adora back when Martel was alive?"

"No, he was in Nor'este with Mithos and me. But… he seems to know who she is."

Adora began to stir with an unhappy whine, but Noishe nudged her with his nose, and she shifted slightly before dozing off again.

"He's just as good a babysitter as he was when Lloyd was little," Anna commented with a fond smile.

"Aye. I relied oan him fur a lot when Lloyd was a wee tyke." Dirk nodded and then motioned toward Kratos. "Shall we gang aheid?"

"Yes. It's almost the end of Bryan's watch. I'd like to make sure he returns to the barracks safely."

Kratos and Dirk bade farewell to Anna, promising they'd be back shortly. It was colder out than Kratos had remembered, and he considered offering his coat to Dirk, who looked inappropriately dressed for the weather. But Dirk didn't seem to mind, so he didn't say anything. It was Dirk who spoke up first as they made it to the bottom of the steps in front of the shop door.

"Ye seem tae hae a special interest in 'at Bryan fellow."

"What?"

"Yoo've been speakin' fondly ay him, the way ye dae ay Lloyd. It feels like yoo've taken him under your wing, so tae speak."

"Th-that's…" Kratos began to stammer, looking away. "...that's not it. He's a promising student, is all. His swordsmanship is constantly improving, and I respect him for the work he's putting into his training."

"Jist like wi' Lloyd?"

Kratos cleared his throat. "It's possible… that because Bryan lost his father at a young age… he might think of me as…" He spoke the sentence in pieces before finally breaking off altogether. "Look. It took me a long time to come back around to the idea of being Lloyd's father. I don't want to be put in a paternal role for every student I train."

"Sorry, sorry." Dirk gave Kratos a pat on the shoulder. "I won't pry onie further abit Bryan. Ye hae your hands full already- I didn't gie tae say anythin' earlier, but it seems congratulations are in order."

Kratos smiled. "I suppose I can't talk my way out of fatherhood in that respect, can I? Regardless, thank you. It means a lot for Anna and me to have your support. This wasn't exactly planned, but-"

"Oh? I'm surprised. Th' way ye talk, ye seem very pleased."

"Th-the way I talk? I didn't think I said anything particularly sentimental."

"Nae, it's nae whit ye said. It's jist 'at ye seem very comfortable wi' th' situation. Ye hae a sense ay ease abit ye that's nae like a faither-to-be."

"Of course I'm at ease with it. Isn't that normal?"

Dirk laughed. "Och, I dorn't think sae. I min' makin' a pure fool ay myself when I was in yer situation! Ay course, my wife an' I waur young an' clueless. Ye an' Anna hae been bin this once afair-"

Kratos had stopped walking, and Dirk didn't notice it until he was a few meters ahead. He stopped and looked back tossing Kratos a curious glance. Kratos, however, still hadn't quite figured out his reply. He ran to catch up, finally voicing his response once he'd gotten into step beside Dirk again.

"You… you have… I mean, I didn't realize you had… a family besides Lloyd…"

"Ah, that." Dirk responded with an apologetic smile. "I forgot, yoo're nae quite th' all-knowin' angel I once thought ye waur. Aye, I was married, but 'at was a lang time ago."

"And you had a child?"

"...nae, not quite." Dirk shook his head, and his smile turned a shade of melancholy. "My wife was still wi' child when she died at th' hands ay th' Desians."

"Oh." Kratos covered his mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Dorn't worry abit it. I awreddy tauld ye, it was a lang time ago."

Kratos glanced away. "Does Lloyd know?"

"Abit my family? Ay coorse! He knows abit my fowk, fra my faither tae my sisters, an' e'en a bit abit my wife." Dirk fell back into line following Kratos as he remembered he didn't know where they were going. "Though I dorn't think I've tauld him exactly how she died. Knowin' his ain maither was killed by Desians was enough fur him tae gie himself intae trouble."

"That's true. If Lloyd had yet another reason to hate the Desians, he might have done something stupid a lot sooner than he did."

"Exactly. An' besides 'at, I didnae ever want him tae think he was jist…" He stopped and forced a laugh. "...jist a replacement fur th' child I lost."

Kratos couldn't help turning to look back at Dirk. "You of all people know Lloyd wouldn't think that."

"I know." Dirk shook his head, glancing up at the sky. "I sometimes wonder if mebbe it's myself I dorn't want thinkin' like 'at."

There was a moment of silence. Kratos stopped briefly so that he could match Dirk's stride, comfortable walking side-by-side since there wasn't anyone else on the street. "My first instinct is to scold you for that kind of thinking. But I can't say I haven't had similar thoughts about the new baby. I'm happy, but is that out of a desire to do-over what Anna and I missed with Lloyd? I don't want my child growing up as just a substitute for their older brother. I can imagine it must have been the same for you. But we can't change what happened in the past, no matter what we do in the future. What happened, happened. And every child born into that reality forges a new path for themselves. At least, that's what Lloyd would say."

Dirk laughed and nudged Kratos' arm. "Gettin' a wee bit sentimental thaur, arenae we? Where's 'at signature scowl ay yoors?"

"You've been spending too much time around Anna!"

Kratos' outburst was louder than he'd intended it to be, and he quieted down

"Mebbe sae-" Dirk's laughter died down as he switched to a more serious tone of voice. "-but whit ye said abit th' past is true. There's nae changin' it, e'en if we want tae. My wife made th' decision she did knowin' 'at she coods hae surrendered an' bin taken alife. She chose death o'er a life at th' ranch fur herself an' our child. Who am I tae tak' 'at decision frae her?"

Kratos was nodding through Dirk's explanation, but he stopped toward the end and was silent to consider the statement. "It's possible I was too far removed from that level of Cruxis, but I wasn't aware they held Dwarves in ranches," he commented. "I thought they-"

"-enslaved them fur their skills. Aye, onie Dwarf they discovered woods immediately be pit tae work oan Exsphere and magitechnology development. That's whit my wife was daein'- protectin' me from such a fate."

"But she herself would've-" Kratos began and stopped abruptly as it dawned on him. "-unless she… oh. She was- oh! I see. I'm, ah, sorry for assuming."

"Nae, nae. Trust me, if it's as frowned-upon fur humans as it is fur Dwarves, it's natural ye woodnae hae considered it. But I didnae grow up in th' most traditional Dwarven househauld." Dirk let out a sigh, watching his breath cloud over in the cold night air. "That's anither reason she didnae want th' Desians tae gie their hands oan th' child. They killed her nae knowin' how valuable th' bairn might be tae them- if they hud known 'at it was a half-Dwarf, who knows whit they woold've dain wi' it."

Kratos crossed his arms as he replied. "Half-Dwarves were so rare, Cruxis never had a policy on them. But they weren't unheard of. Anna's great-great-great grandmother was a half-Dwarf."

"Lloyd tauld me once." Dirk looked up, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "I dorn't remember my maither, but I heard she left my faither fur a human when I was very yoong and nae a body kent whit became ay her after 'at. I wonder if Anna an' I are distant kin."

"It's a possibility," Kratos replied, "but there's no way to prove it. All of Luin's genealogical records were destroyed when the city was razed."

"That's tay bad. I'm sure it woolds make Lloyd happy tae ken we share blood."

Kratos finally reached the corner beyond which his and Bryan's watch area began. He stopped in order to finish the conversation with Dirk before being interrupted by anyone else.

"Maybe so, but it doesn't matter. Lloyd doesn't need any kind of blood relation to you to consider himself your son. You are his father, no matter what happened in the past or what will happen in the future. And I'm sure you feel the same. Why else would you be here right now?"

Dirk covered his mouth to stifle another chuckle. "I'm sorry I made fun ay yer scowl. Rare as it micht be, I prefer yer smilin' face. It's th' same as Lloyd's."

"Thank you. I always thought Lloyd got his smile from his mother-" Kratos glanced away, suddenly self-conscious, but unable to stop smiling. "-but if he got something from me, I'm glad it's that."

Bryan was happy to see Kratos, and even happier to know that Lloyd was safe and well. Kratos escorted Bryan and the others back to the barracks and promised he'd return after confirming that Lloyd and Anna were settled for the night. Bryan insisted that Kratos didn't need to- that he should stay with wife and son when they were both sick- but his reasoning wasn't enough to change Kratos' mind. Not when even the barrack cots promised a better rest than the floor of a crowded apartment with a crying infant in the next room.

Besides, what Dirk had said gave Kratos a little extra motivation to look after his soldiers… even if he didn't want to admit it.

The two returned to Yuan's place and walked into the first floor shop area not expecting to find anyone there. But gathered around the counter were Song and Yuan, along with Anna and the two fugitives. They all looked up as the newcomers entered, and Yuan called over.

"Good timing, you two! We need your input."

Kratos and Dirk glanced at one another, puzzled, before approaching the group. "What's going on?" Kratos asked. "Who's with Lloyd and Adora now?"

"Lloyd's friends are still upstairs, and Colette… and Zelos... promised they'd keep an eye on Adora. Right now, Song was saying-"

Song broke in before Yuan could finish. "I messed up big time."

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "More than you already messed up by kidnapping Lloyd in the first place?"

"That wasn't a mess up! The Church of Mana was really trying to murder him!" Song replied. "And I… I accidentally told the murderer exactly where he is."

"Ye whit?!" Dirk stammered. "Are ye insane?"

"He said it was an accident," Anna defended. "And he's bought us some time by pretending to be on the murderer's side."

"But he's sayin' 'at Lloyd is nae langer safe, e'en here?"

"That's right." Song nodded. "We need to figure out a safe way to get him out of Meltokio as soon as possible."

Kratos stepped forward, directing his attention at the two fugitives. "Hold on a moment. Before we decide what to do, I want to know the whole story. Tell me, you two, why does your organization want my son dead?" He narrowed his eyes, glaring at each of them in turn. "And remember, Song and Yuan may be interested in your safety, but I am not. So choose your words carefully."