Special thanks to SummerMistedDragon, who helped template out this chapter. You're the best!
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"What are we to tell Jedediah?"
During his brief time in the museum, Owen had not learned much about the pharaoh. He had seen enough of him to know that he was not to be disturbed or bothered, but not enough to gauge who he was. Owen considered himself good at making out how a person was based on their traits, but the Egyptian had proven to be a challenge. The best he could make up was a young man with far too many weights on his shoulders- not a man who had fallen to rock bottom.
But the tone in the pharaoh's voice was reminiscent of the despondency seen in those who were driven to drink by despair- the sort of people he had once served not long ago.
Owen stopped outside of the open office door and pressed himself against the wall. He knew it was impolite to interrupt their conversation, but that was not why he restrained himself from entering. Rather, eavesdropping would give him the chance to gauge the tensions of his ex-boss and the other exhibits. He would make his move from there.
From what he could gather, everyone was at the end of their ropes.
"Ahk?" Larry asked quietly.
The pharaoh spoke again, softly this time, forcing Owen to move closer to the door. "What am I to tell Jedidiah?"
"Ahkmenrah, lad, do not trouble yourself with Jed-" Teddy's voice was cut off as soon as he said the name of the cowboy.
"Do you not realize the problem at hand?!" Ahkmenrah's voice was thick with grief and frustration as it snapped at those in the room. "Every time you send another worthless guard away I have to tell Jedediah that the trouble has ended, that he may be at peace and the intruder is gone. I had been warning him of the coming of each new guard, but by the third idiot, I had not bothered. And now you have sent yet another new guard away, one who has distressed Jedediah a great deal…" He paused and took a shaky breath. "He cannot handle any more of this."
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
Larry's tone earned a low sigh from the pharaoh.
"But at what cost? Yet another new guard must be chosen and the museum will be forced into chaos once more, doing untold damage to everyone- and I will have to deceive Jedediah once again. Do you not understand?"
For a brief moment, Larry was reminded of what Owen had told him just two nights earlier. The man had explained that Larry and the exhibits, even though it was not a purposeful fault, was to blame for at least some of Jedediah's troubles. If they brought on another guard, they would put the cowboy through it all again…
But, there was no other choice.
"Look, Ahk, Owen had to go. He was-"
Owen had heard enough. He spun on his heels and stalked down the hallway silently. When he was far enough away from the door, he dropped the bag and his uniform on a lone wooden bench and flung the keys on top of them. He spotted the nearest stairs to the second floor, the case that lead to the Hall of Miniatures, and took it without another moment of hesitation.
Dexter and his little gang of capucines chittered angrily at him, but he ignored them. A lion roared from somewhere on the other end of the rotunda, but that did not phase him, either. He knew what needed to be done, and nothing was going to stop him.
Once upstairs, Owen could straighten his stance, the determination flooding him gave him the confidence he needed to walk forwards. He knew what he had to do, but was not entirely sure how to go about doing it. His heart was in the right place, but his mind could not find the words that would befit the following conversation he planned to initiate.
There were so many things he wanted to say- things that had occurred to him over the past few nights, things that flooded his mind at the last minute as he walked ever closer to the Hall of Miniatures. He had not the slightest idea of how he was going to put words to his thoughts, but he was going to try.
For the little cowboy's sake.
"Guard!"
Owen jumped slightly at the sound of his former title being yelled from behind him. He made to turn around, to confront the owner of the voice and beg them to be silent, in case they were calling for Larry to escort him out of the museum. The key to Owen's success was to avoid detection.
Before he could silence the voice, a figure he recognized as Meriwether Lewis stepped in front of his path. He appeared to be out of breath, based on the way he panted and searched for what he was trying to say. Owen did not know Lewis as an exhibit, but his people skills told him that the man was clearly in some sort of distress.
"Listen, Lewis- I am not a guard here anymore. I am not even wearing the uniform. If you need Mr. Daley, I saw him in his office last-"
"You must come quick! Quickly!"
Owen gave the explorer a funny look. "What is wrong?"
"Quickly! We've tried! We cannot find Mr. Daley and we cannot hold him much longer!"
Owen was not entirely sure what the explorer meant, but he had a gut feeling that it was important. He did not hesitate any longer as he followed the explorer without another question. His heart pounded in his chest, and for a moment, he felt fear consume him. Why he was so afraid he was unsure, but the feeling did not go away.
Lewis abruptly skidded to a halt in front of one of the display cases just outside the hall of miniatures. Clark and Attila were standing in front of it, both a safe distance from it. They were tense, their eyes fixed on something above them. Owen knitted his brows and opened his mouth to ask what had caught their attention, but it was soon clear to him when his spotted the miniature blue and red RC car jammed beneath the case as if someone had crashed it there on purpose.
Owen looked at Lewis, who gestured to the top of the tall case without a word. Both men cringed as the sound of barely audible sobs floated down to them, the maker of the sounds tucked behind the top edge.
It was then Owen realized why the explorer had come to him, and why the fear in his gut had felt so strong.
Lewis licked his lips nervously, a habit the ex-night guard had read about once in a history class, and pointed again at the top of the shelf. "He will not let us come closer, guard. We have all tried. The other Huns have gone to fetch the lady Sacagawea, on the hopes that he might listen to her, but he persists that he will not listen."
"Perhaps, Sacagawea would be best-"
The explorer cut Owen off, his eyes alight with fear. "Please! You must do something! He says he will jump- and it is something he may very well do!"
"Not even the great tablet could repair him," Clark added solemnly.
It was at this moment Owen figured out who exactly it was. He gave the men a solemn nod and silently gestured for them to leave. Clark did so quickly and turned in the direction of the night guard's office, supposedly to find Larry. Lewis went in the other direction, veering toward his own exhibit, where Sacagawea might be found. Attila was the last to leave. He gave Owen a glare that promised severe punishment if he should fail.
But, Owen told himself, he was not going to fail.
Slowly, and without a sound, Owen removed his shoes and began to walk toward the case. His socks were not enough to stave off the chill from the floor, but the cold was nothing compared to the chill he felt in his heart at the sound of those cries. He carefully stepped to the bottom of the display case, the occupant none the wiser.
An unsteady breath of air gave him away.
The faint sobs were cut off by a panicked growl and the almost inaudible sound of gasped breaths. "Go 'way! I said I'd do it now lemme be!"
The voice was sharp and angry, but weak and permeated with a weariness that Owen could tell was not from mere exhaustion.
Owen did not respond to the voice. He knew better than to speak immediately. Instead, he knelt in front of the case and pulled the RC car loose from under the case's frame and removed the batteries to keep it from catching fire, as the toy cars were prone to do. He then scooted back to the wall across from the case and slide down the wall to the cold floor, to keep a silent vigil over the display case.
The little cowboy gave another growl and pulled himself onto the edge precariously, his hands clenched at his sides as he glared at the giant man across from him. He had known who it was from the sound of his voice, and was not sure if he wanted him there or not.
"Well?!"
Owen tilted his head just enough to see the cowboy and ask for clarification without words. He kept his eyes steady on him as the cowboy ran a hand over his blonde, tangled curls, which were no longer voluminous from a lack of care.
"Well!?" Jed's voice cracked from the strain of having to shout. "Ain't ya gonna say somethin'?!"
"What shall I say?" Owen asked carefully.
"Ain't ya gonna try ta stop me?! Talk me down all quiet like?"
Owen only tilted his head again, just as steady as before. He kept his arms folded over his bent knees but kept himself ready to spring forward if he had to.
Jed glared at him and leaned out over the edge to gauge the immense height below him. "I...I'll do it! I-I-I'm gonna do it!...I'm...I'm gonna jump!"
Owen kept his eyes on him but held his relaxed pose. He chose his next words carefully, his voice devoid of any condescending tones as he spoke. "Will you at least tell me why you have chosen to do so?"
"I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna-" Jed's frenzied shriek broke off for a moment. He shook from the shock and nearly lost his balance before he caught himself with a hand. "What!?"
Owen maintained his gentle tone and repeated himself, his eyes still on the cowboy. "You are determined to continue with your jump, I can see this. Will you tell me why you have chosen to do as you have said?"
Jed remained silent and shifted uneasily on the edge, but he did not step away from it. He looked back down at the height, as if deep in thought.
Owen took his chance and broke the silence. "Jed-"
"I…I can't!" Jed screamed and collapsed to his knees in grief. He gripped his head as if he could force all the anguish from it. "I can't do this!"
"You-"
"No!" Jed stumbled to his feet and swayed as his boots caught on the edge of the case. His head spun and he could barely form the words he wanted to say to make sense of everything that tore him apart. "Why!? I can' do this….it hurts!"
"Tell me why," Owen said gently.
The cowboy broke into sobs. His tiny body shook and caused him to sway precariously on the edge. "Why?!" His voice bellowed with pain as he spoke. "Why'd he haf'ta go outside?! It was dangerous! He knew that! I didn't…I didn't need tha' stupid hat! He…always told me ta follow the rules, ain't gotta prove nothin' an'…an'…don' do things that'll get yah hurt or hurt the men…an'…Ya…ya don't go inta a gun fight wi'out a gun! He…he shoulda said somethin'!…Shoulda grabbed King Tut or Gigantor or someone…not alone!….Why? Why?! Why'd he do it-why'd he do it-why'd he…he…"
Owen stood abruptly, his eyes still glued to the tiny cowboy as he cried.
The movement was enough.
"WHY'D HE LEAVE ME!?"
Whether by his own will or a loss of balance, Jed fell.
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Larry turned the corner just in time to see the tiny cowboy fall.
"JED!" The night guard lunged forward, but he was too far away to catch Jed as he fell.
He did not have to.
In one fluid motion, Owen dove forward and caught the cowboy. He dropped to his knees and clasped his hands close to his chest as the miniature fell into hysterics. It was over.
Larry skidded to a halt in front of Owen, his shoes screeching on the floor. His first instinct was to snatch the cowboy from Owen, but something about the way the recently-fired guard told him not to even dare. He could hear Jed's sobs from where he stood and saw the way he wrapped his arms around Owen's thumb as if his life depended on it.
And it very well did.
Sacagawea and Teddy joined Larry a moment later, both just as panicked as he had been when he arrived.
"Lawrence? We came as soon as we heard. Is he-?"
The president fell silent as Sacagawea nudged him. She pointed at the hunched over figure of Owen.
Teddy nodded and turned to Larry, the night guard still staring at the two before him. "I...believe Owen has this under control."
Larry hesitated, torn by his desire to see if Jed was alright, and the knowledge that Owen had the situation handled. He took a step forward.
"Owen-"
He was silenced by Sacagawea's hand grabbing his shoulder. The Shoshone woman shook her head and nodded towards the exit of the hall, before she turned and left the two on the floor. Teddy echoed her motion and left the hall as well.
Larry looked down at Owen, conflicted. "Owen..."
Owen lifted his eyes to meet the night guard's but did not speak. He was hunched over Jed's tiny form, his shoulders squared as if to shield him from the world outside his protective hands. The look on his face told him everything he needed to know.
"Take care of him."