If he hadn't already been tensed about as much as his exhausted body would allow him to be, his father's words would have set him even more on edge. Where was Theo now? He didn't want to stay here; he wanted to get this done and go home, and sleep through the rest of the day and then face off against the full moon again that night. He wanted to be sure that whatever had happened so far, he wouldn't also be expected to do battle for Xena tonight. Even if his father read the letter at the same time regardless, there was some safety in being physically separated from the man--it seemed less likely to Lou, at least at the moment, that Charles would storm into the cabin demanding explanation than that he would come bustling back in to his own study, where he apparently expected to keep his son prisoner for the rest of the day.

But what choice did he have? If Theo wasn't here, he could hardly insist on making it happen sooner. The sudden fervor would seem suspicious, he was sure, and ultimately be unconvincing. This Vow would happen whenever his father wanted it to, he realized, and he really had very little impact on the decision. The only thing he could do now was hope (and pray, maybe even pray, this might be the sort of Colossally Fucked situation that merited such desperate measures) that he survived today without compromising any more of his future.

"Fine," he said wearily; an admission of defeat.