The Marshal, leaning back behind his heavy oak desk, managed to pack an impressive amount of disappointment into the long sigh he let out. "You know what you did is against the rules, so I see no point in chewing you out over it."
That the Marshal couldn't even be bothered berating him didn't give Sam great hope for any future value he might have to the man and the things he oversaw. Sam averted his attention to a scratch on the curved wooden arm of the chair he sat in on the other side of the desk, unable to meet the Marshal’s gaze.
"You could lose your job," the Marshal continued, "not to mention the legal ramifications of bringing someone in from off world without permission."
Sam's head jerked up. Shit. He hadn't even considered the legal stuff. He really did not want to end up in prison.
The Marshal tapped the desk with his pen. "What happens to you is not entirely up to me, as your case must go before the council. I will, however, be encouraging a reinstatement of your position and a dismissal of any criminal charges. You're young and, while your actions must never be repeated, I do not believe you have caused any great harm by taking the boy with you."
Sam stared at the Marshal in surprise. He hardly knew the man; he had only spoken to him privately a couple of times, and those times had been interviews in order to get his job in the first place. That the Marshal was supporting Sam after what he had done was rather unexpected. "Thank you."
The Marshal waved away Sam's thanks. "You will, of course, be responsible for the boy regardless of whatever else may happen.”
Sam nodded his head quickly. "Yes, sir."
"And Sam?" the Marshal said. "Don't screw this up."
#
Having Kias as a responsibility could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how Sam looked at it. It was good because they couldn't punish him too harshly when he had Kias to take care of, but it was bad because it might interfere with him going back to his job.
Overall, though, he was in a better mood when he headed back to the med bay to collect Kias. If he could just get a shower to wash off the itchy remnants of the decontamination fluid, Sam thought he might start to feel somewhere approaching all right again.
When Sam entered the med bay he was glad to see Kias asleep on the bed in the corner. He'd been worried Kias might try to find some small space to cram himself into like he had on the shuttle, but either the sedative effect of the painkillers had kicked in before he'd had the chance to hide himself or Kias had gotten over that particular inclination. Or perhaps Kias only felt the need to hide when Sam was around. Sam's stomach sunk at the thought.
"How did it go?" Dr Austin asked Sam in a hushed tone.
Sam smiled at her. She was his friend, and he was ready to forgive her. Sam hoped she would forgive him, too. "Better than I expected. The council still needs to talk it over and take a vote, but... yeah, it might not be too bad."
Dr Austin returned the smile as she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "That's good. I do want things to work out for you, Sam."
"Sorry I was a dick. Rough day."
Dr Austin patted Sam’s shoulder before turning to watch Kias' sleeping form. "I can deal with your dickishness just fine, and I'll even forgive you for it. But that boy?" She glanced back at Sam. "You need to do better for him."
The feeling of helplessness came flooding back into Sam. "There are so many ways I'm not qualified for this."
"Then be his friend." Dr Austin gripped Sam's arm, looking him firmly in the eye. "Just be his friend, and do your best."
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