My Beloved Shadow

Before Nick and Michael go to see Athan, they stop to give the order that Jason and Norris are to be allowed to see each other. Nick also adds that they can move about freely, as long as they are within the walls.


***


Jason, wearing a loose white shirt with short sleeves and baggy dark blue pants, moves around the kitchen preparing himself lunch. He liked to fix his own food when the girls are gone, otherwise they are in the kitchen before him and have everything fixed in no time.

Not that he minds it, he just likes to do a few things for himself, they’re always doing things for him. Jason’s mother had taught him the ins and outs of the kitchen, and cleaning, when he was still young. Being the only child back then he had loved the attention.
Jason sits down at the table with his sandwich and his mind drifts as he eats. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about Norris for awhile. He knows that Nick will make it so that he can see Norris again, he has that much faith in him, but he misses Norris so much it almost hurts.

The girls keep him busy; Nea, whom he had met when he first arrived, and then Bri and Maera later in the day. The four of them live in one of the small houses that line the wall, though the house is larger on the inside than what is seen on the outside. With only one bedroom, it has a living room that’s twice the size of the bed room and a kitchen that’s somewhere in-between.

Jason shares the bedroom with the three girls, each no more than 25. Older than him, but he doesn’t mind. They are, each of them, sweet and he enjoys their company. But they aren’t Norris. Or even Nick, because as much as he misses Norris, he misses Nick a little, too.

Jason is still sitting at the table, deep in thought, when Nea comes in. Her face is lit up and she practically shines. She has news for Jason.

“Jason!”

Jason looks up, smiling when he sees Nea. “Yeah?”

She moves a chair and sits down in front of Jason.

“I’ve got some good news. This morning Maera was sick so, naturally, she went to see the Healer. Well, know what the healer said?”
Nea leans over and takes Jason’s hand in hers. Her eyes are sparkling even brighter and Jason had a feeling, an excited feeling at the pit of his stomach, that he knew what she would say.

“She’s pregnant, Jason. We’re going to have a baby!”

She hugs him, practically squeezing the life out of him, then embarrassingly lets him go.

“Why didn’t she tell me she was sick?”

He’s excited to know, though it’s a little interesting to know that he’s going to be a father. But he is a little worried, too. Maera should of let him know that she wasn’t feeling good.

“She didn’t want you to worry. I’m sorry. Next time I’ll make sure you know first. Maybe this will make your friend happy.”

“My friend?”

Nea nods, “I’m not good with names, so you’ll have to forgive me, but the one that went with Klara. Tsion said that the two of you could meet.”

A light bulb seems to go off in her head.

“Oh! That’s right. We thought you could go and surprise him. Klara said that he always seems to be in a bad mood. He’s kind to the girls but doesn’t talk much.”

“Tsion really said we could see each other?”

This news makes him even more excited. Somehow he knows that Nick had something to do with this. Nick would never let Tsion, or Michael, keep them separated for long. Though since coming to live here Jason fears the man even more than before. The knowledge he’s gleamed from Tsion’s people isn’t exactly what he had expected.

“When can I go see him?”

“Now! Or any time you wish. Oh, and before I forget, he said that the two of you were free to walk around, as long as you stay within the walls.”

Jason makes a face, “I wouldn’t want to venture beyond the walls with out one of you guy’s with me. I’m not afraid to admit I need protection.”

Nea laughs and stands up. Jason had gotten to see, first hand, the types of creatures that live on Michael’s world. Many of them have sharp teeth and claws and like to eat *fresh* meat. She holds her hand out and Jason takes it, then stands up.

“Come, I’ll take you to your friends home.”

Jason follows her out of the house, unconsciously checking himself, brushing his hair back with his hands. They move down the roll of houses till they reach the end.

“This is his home. Klara said that he spends his time in the main room, staring at the wall. I hope you can help him relax.”
Jason looks down at Nea and smiles, he draws her close and hugs her, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. He is getting rather fond of having women around that are near enough to his height. At home he had been a giant, here he is just like everyone else. Except that he is blond to their dark coloring.

“I hope so too, Nea. Tell the other’s I’ll be back before it’s dark.”

He kisses her lips, lingering a moment, “We’ll celebrate and Maera will be the one sitting down and everyone waiting on her.”

Nea laughs and hugs him tightly before letting him go and taking a step back. Jason takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as he walks up to the door, not letting Nea see how nervous he is.

She turns and walks away, giving Jason time to be alone with his friend. She hopes that he doesn’t run away, like her great grandfather had. He had died while he was still young, leaving only two children. Her mother had told her once that he had been of light coloring, like Jason.

***


Jason shuts the door softly behind him, turning to look at the backless chair that sits in the center of the room. There are pillows thrown about the room and it’s not as clean as it should be. Jason had learned about that from Bri, that Tsion likes the homes kept clean and neat.

Norris is laid across the chair, which is the length of the average couch, his eyes clothes and arms resting on his chest. Quietly, Jason walks over to the chair and kneels down. He leans over and kisses Norris on the lips.

Norris’ sleep is interrupted and, just as he’s about to yell at whom ever it was that had disturbed him, he sees Jason and suddenly sits up.

“Jason!”

Jason smiles and moves up to hug Norris, sitting down beside him.

“I missed you, Norris.”

Jason lays his head against Norris’ chest, his arm around the other’s waist as he enjoys the closeness after so long.

“So did I.”

They stay like that for a long time, just happy to be holding each other. Norris can’t believe that he’s holding Jason. It seems almost like a dream, something that he thought would never happen. When he had been lead away, and the whole time that he had never even caught a glimpse of Jason, he had believed that he would never see him again.

“Lets run away while we’re still together. He’ll only separate us again, most likely for even longer.”

Jason feels as if someone has struck his heart with a sledge hammer. He doesn’t want to leave. Sure, he misses his family, especially his little brother, but the girls are depending on him and he’s going to be a father.

Jason sits up, pulling away from Norris who frowns in response.

“I don’t want to leave, Norris. What about the girls?”

“I don’t care about them! They’re just as horrible as Michael.”

Norris stands, anger radiating around him. Jason sighs softly, barely even audible.

“You know what he is, Norris, he’s not just Michael any more. He’s Tsion.”

Norris narrows his eyes, “I don’t care what they *think* he is, he’s a cruel bastard and I don’t plan on taking any more of his shit.
You can either come with me or not, but I’m getting out of here. I’ve spent the whole time since we got here planning a way to escape and I’m going to take it tonight.”

“I can’t go with you Norris, I have to stay. Maera is going to have a baby, my baby.”

Norris makes a face and spits to the side.

“A hell spawn, you mean. It will grow up to be just like them. Tall and dark colored.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Now Jason is getting mad. He likes the girls, loves the fact that he’s going to be having a child soon. He’s still a little uncertain about it, but excited none the less. And he knows that Tsion will be pleased.

“What’s wrong? Jason, where is your head! They aren’t human. Not human! Degusting, vile, creature--”

Jason stands in one motion, slapping Norris across the face, his entire body shaking with his anger.

“Don’t you ever say that about them again!”

Jason pushes Norris to the side and walks to the door. Norris glares at him, holding the side of his face which is red and hurting. Jason is a football player and, though he hasn’t done much to keep up his muscles, he’s still got a bite to him.

He doesn’t look back as he stalks out of the house, fuming about what Norris had said about Nea and her people. He didn’t like the idea of coming here and living, he had fought it. It had taken Nick, talking to him, to get him to agree to come.

It was for Nick that he had given it his best and had come to like it. Not only has he started his own family, but he’s gaining so much in such a short time. The fact that Maera is pregnant is a good sign, a sign that Nea and Bri will soon be pregnant. That alone will make Tsion happy.

And after his patient wait, Nick has made it so that he can see Norris. He knows that Tsion wouldn’t care, he would of left them separated the rest of their lives. But Nick cares, he had cared from the beginning when he had stopped Tsion, Michael then, from beating them.

Why does Norris have to be so mean about it? Can’t he learn to adapt and enjoy what he has. No man on earth could ever get himself into a situation where three beautiful, wonderful, women live with him and wait on him hand and foot. But Jason has it, and so does Norris. What more could he want?

Jason knows for a fact that Norris hates his parents and hates school. He had thought Norris would like leaving it all behind. Jason hugs himself, holding back tears, the pain he feels in his soul as Norris’ words echo in his mind.

His baby won’t be degusting or vile, it will be he’s. He’ll raise it up, whether a boy or girl, just like his mother raised him. It will be fun to have a baby, though he knows it’s not easy. He had helped his mother with his little brother. Being twelve years older he was more than old enough to help change diapers, or to hold the baby when it cried so that his mother could take a nap.

Jason knows exactly what to do with a baby and how much trouble they cause. But he also knows how much a baby grows on you and how much you can’t help but love them, even through them being sick and throwing up on you. Even through the messy diapers.
Human or not, Maera’s baby is his too and he plans on treating it no differently than if he were still back on earth and having a baby by a girl there.

Jason looks up suddenly, seeing Nick walk out of the castle. Tsion is right behind him, the two of them kiss and Tsion walks away. Nick looks around, his eyes falling on Jason, and moves towards him.

Jason isn’t certain if he wants to talk to anyone right now, but he owes Nick. He can at least stay and thank Nick for helping him, though it seems as if he doesn’t need it now.




**
*takes deep breath*
Wrote up a chapter for a new piece and still managed to write this. Both pieces are four full pages with a little room to grow. *lol*
Norris was just horrible! I knew they were going to have a disagreement, but I didn\'t think it was going to be this bad. Norris actually started bad mouthing Michael\'s people and saying nasty things when Jason told him he\'s going to be a daddy. *sigh* Bad Norris...
But. *cheers up* Nick is there to help Jason... :D You just have to wait a few more chapters, I still have to write what happens between Michael, Nick, and Athan.
Btw, soon I\'ll be calling him mostly Tsion and not Michael. Only earth knows him as Michael, everyone else knows him as Tsion. Also, very soon, Nick will learn that \'Tsion\' is still keeping things from him and will sit him down for a heart to heart discussion.
Anyways, that\'s all for now! *smile*