Jon Snow was sitting up in bed, mulling over his decision to put Alliser Thorne and the other traitors to death. The only one who would be spared from the gallows was Olly.

True, the boy deceived Jon; leading him to the courtyard where Thorne and the others had stabbed him. However, during the attack, Jon caught a glimpse of Olly among the other men, and he saw the horror marring the boy's face.

The other traitors were grown men, but Olly was only four and two at the most. He was a child. A child who was easily influenced. A child who had made a mistake.

Olly was taken into custody and put in a cell just like Thorne and the others.

Jon's second in command, Eddison Tollett, reported that Olly spent his time in the cells curled in a corner, refusing to eat and sobbing out broken apologies. Edd and the other brothers guarding the cells said that the boy only slept when he had cried himself into unconsciousness.

It was clear to all that Thorne exploited Olly's grief and rage against the Wildlings in an attempt to turn the boy against his mentor.

So, four days after his near-death experience, Jon ordered for Olly to be removed from the cells and brought to him.

The door to the Lord Commander's quarters swung open to admit Edd and Olly into the room.

Edd had an arm wrapped around Olly's shoulders, which appeared to be the only thing keeping the boy standing.

Olly's head was bowed, but from what Jon could see, the boy's eyes were red, and dried tear tracks stained his face. Also, Olly's entire body was wracked with minute tremors; whether from the cold of the cells or just the fear of awaiting his fate, Jon could not tell.

"Thank you, Edd," Jon said to his second in command. "I'll take Olly from here."

"Come on, lad," Edd instructed Olly in a soft voice as he led the boy over to Jon's bedside. Once there, he gently lifted the boy to sit on the edge of the bed. The lad was clearly too tired to climb up there on his own.

"I'll be outside if you need me," Edd informed the two before he knelt down and gently took hold of Olly's chin.

"Everything is going to be just fine," Edd assured the boy; Jon smiled at the paternal tone that laced his friend's voice. "Remember what I told you earlier, you'll feel much better when you set this right."

Olly nodded slightly, and Edd took that as his cue to leave.

The Lord Commander and his ward sat in silence for a long while; Jon waiting for Olly to look at him and Olly kicking slightly at the edge of the bed.

"Do you hate me?" Olly blurted out suddenly.

"No," Jon answered. "I am disappointed in your behavior, but I do not hate you, Olly. I don't hate you at all."

"Are ya gonna hang me like the others?" Olly asked hesitantly. "I understand if you are. I'm a traitor."

The boy trailed off, and his body shuddered as he began to sob quietly.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jon murmured, reaching over to pull Olly against him. His wounds protested at the movement, but Jon ignored the pain. "I'm not going to hang you, son," the Lord commander assured. "I'm not gonna hang you because you're not a traitor. You're a good lad who got swept up in a series of bad decisions."

All of the tension drained out of the boy's body, and he turned to hide his face against Jon's chest; sobbing out broken apologies.

"There now, it's alright, son," Jon murmured, tightening his embrace around the boy. "Everythin's gonna be alright. Just cry it out, there's a good lad."

Eventually, Olly cried himself out, his ragged sobs dissolving into quiet whimpers.

"How long has it been since you got some sleep?" Jon asked.

"Don' know," Olly answered. "Probably since before the attack."

"Well, here's what's going to happen then," Jon began. "You and I are gonna get some sleep for a few hours. Then we'll have supper, and before bed, we're gonna have a talk about your recent behavior."

Olly averted his gaze at the mention of a "talk," he'd been Jon's ward long enough to know that it most certainly meant a thrashing.

"Hey," Jon murmured, seeing the change in his young steward's behavior, "Let's try not to worry about that yet, okay? We both need some sleep."

Supper was a quiet affair, and too soon for his liking, Jon had to steel himself for the difficult task of meeting out discipline to his errant ward.

Before starting their talk, the Lord Commander handed Olly a set of sleep clothes and instructed the

12year-old to change into them.

"I had Edd bring some of your things over yesterday," Jon explained in response to the boy's questioning look. "You're going to be living with me for the foreseeable future. Given what has transpired, I cannot trust you to keep yourself safe," he continued sternly. "Consider this part of your punishment if you must, but I will not argue the matter. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," Olly responded meekly.

"Good lad," Jon praised. "Now, go and change while I get your bed set up. I have no doubt that we will both want to sleep after our conversation."

Olly re-entered the room to find a cot set up at the foot of his mentor's bed. However, the 12-year-old had little time to contemplate the sight as a firm hand grasped his wrist, and he was led over to a chair. He felt Jon's hand on his shoulder, guiding him to sit down. Soon enough, Jon sat down in the chair across from the boy.

"I am very disappointed in the choices that you have made in the past week, Olly," Jon began. "Can you tell me why that might be?"

"I betrayed you," Olly responded softly. "I knew that Ser Alliser was going to trick you, and I led you to the courtyard anyway. I let them convince me to help. It's my fault that ya got hurt."

"And what do all of these have in common?" Jon pressed.

"T-they make me a traitor," Olly answered.

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for," Jon corrected, leaning forward to take gentle hold of the boy's chin.

"Yes, you made a choice to listen to Ser Alliser and carry out his orders, but that does not make you a traitor. Furthermore, the fault of the attack lies on the men who carried it out. You are not one of those men; you are a young boy who got caught up in some very bad choices."

Jon paused for a moment to let his statement sink in before continuing.

"What all of your earlier admissions have in common is that they served to put you in danger. You risked your life to follow a group of men who could care less about what happens to you. If they had killed me, you would've ended up being put to death with the rest of them. Ser Alliser is a man who only thinks of his own interests. Seven hells, Olly! I don't even want to think of what would've happened to you had Tormund and the others not come along when they did!"

Olly cowered back in the chair at his mentor's raised voice. Never in his time as Jon's ward had the 12-year-old heard the Lord Commander's ire directed at him.

Seeing Olly's reaction, Jon took a few calming breaths to center himself before he turned to address his adoptive son.

"Now that you understand what you did wrong, we need to talk about your punishment," the Lord Commander said, forcing himself to remain stern. "Tell me, Olly, do you remember what I told you the last time we had to discuss your safety?"

Olly's eyes widened in realization, and he shook his head as he leveled his adopted father with pleading eyes.

"Son, when I ask a question, I expect an answer," Jon commanded. "What did I say would happen?"

"T-that you'd spank me every night before bed for a week," Olly answered.

"And that is exactly what is going to happen," Jon continued. "Since you are already receiving a sound thrashing tonight, that part of your punishment will begin tomorrow. Furthermore, since I cannot trust you to stay out of trouble and keep yourself safe, you will remain under my direct supervision until I say otherwise. This means that along with staying in my quarters, you will be sleeping on a cot in my room. As you begin to prove trustworthy again, you will earn certain privileges back. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Olly responded. "I understand. I'll listen, I promise."

"I hope so," Jon responded, reaching over to pull Olly to stand between his legs. "Now, we still have one issue left to deal with before bed, so let's get it over with, eh?"

Olly nodded in agreement, moving to stand at his mentor's side. The boy kept his head bowed as he was divested of his pants and underclothes.

"You've earned this," Olly thought as he was directed to lie over Jon's knee. "Take it like a man and just be thankful that you're not being put to death."

Jon raised his hand and brought it down, harshly against his ward's backside.

Olly's plans of taking his punishment like an adult were dashed after the first few swats. He began to struggle at the grip around his waist.

"Noo!" The boy whined, kicking out as another smack rained down. "Too hard!"

The child's complaints were rewarded by a volley of smacks to his upper thighs.

"Olly, you know the rules," Jon scolded. "No kicking. If you do that again, you're getting extra swats."

"Y-yes s-sir," the child responded.

The punishment continued in relative silence for a long while. The only sounds filling the room were those of the swats and Olly's cries.

Eventually, Jon decided to wind down the punishment. He paused and rubbed Olly's back, waiting for the boy to calm down enough to register his instructions.

"We're almost finished, son," Jon murmured. "You're doing so well, Olly. You have 25 swats coming from my belt, and then we'll be all done."

Olly wailed at the news, fighting and bucking against his mentor's hold.

"No! Not the belt! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the boy pleaded.

Jon opted to ignore his ward's outburst. The Lord Commander looped the belt in his hand; triple-checking to make sure that the buckle was firmly in his grip. He then lifted his hand and snapped the belt down against Olly's sit spots, prompting a scream from the boy.

The process repeated until the punishment was finally over.

Jon set the belt back down before lifting his contrite ward up into his arms.

"I sorry! I sorry!" Olly sobbed. "Sorry, papa, so sorry!"

Jon felt his heart shatter at his adoptive son's cries.

"It's alright, son. You're alright, I forgive you," Jon assured, reaching down to fix the boy's pants and underclothes.

Olly yelped and began to sob harder as the rough material was pulled over his abused backside.

No matter what Jon said, Olly just couldn't seem to settle down. Eventually, the boy's sobs were broken by intermittent coughing fits.

Just when the Lord Commander thought that his ward was beginning to calm down, Olly's whole body jolted; a telltale sign that he was going to be sick.

Jon managed to grab an empty bowl just in time for the boy to retch and vomit up his meager supper.

The embarrassment of the incident only served to upset the boy again.

Jon knew that he had to get Olly settled, or the cycle would continue.

So, Jon stood up and settled the small 12-year-old on his hip before making his way over to the bed. Laying down with his upper body propped on the headboard; Jon deftly maneuvered Olly to lay back against his chest.

Taking hold of Olly's arms, Jon crossed them about his chest. The Lord Commander gently secured the boy's legs under his own ankles.

The technique proved successful as Olly's breathing began to slow, and his cries tapered into soft, fussy, whimpers.

"There we go," Jon murmured, rubbing a firm hand over Olly's belly. "Just breathe, son. You're safe. I'm right here; papa's right here."

They sat for a long time until Olly was fully settled. The emotional upheaval of the past week had taken a severe toll on the boy. Jon knew that he was going to have to tailor the rest of the boy's punishment with his new emotional needs in mind.

"Olly was forced to grow up so fast," Jon thought. "It will do him so good to be treated as a child and to have the freedom to act his age. He hasn't had the love and support of a parent since the attack on his village. He sorely needs that support, and I am more than happy to provide it."

Olly let out a jaw-cracking yawn, causing Jon to smile.

"Looks like someone is ready for bed," he teased gently.

"Uh-huh," Olly murmured tiredly.

"Let's get ya into a clean shirt and into bed," Jon suggested. "I was plannin' to give you a bath, but I think we can forgo that until tomorrow mornin'."

"Kay," Olly agreed, sounding much younger than his 12 years. All pretense of being an adult had vanished. "Carry me?" he asked.

"Sure, son, I'll carry ya."Jon obliged. Before long, Jon had Olly changed into a clean shirt and settled enough to sleep.

Carrying the sleeping boy over, Jon lay him down on his belly on the cot and tucked the blankets securely around him. Then Jon reached down and lifted up a guard rail attached to the bed and locked it securely into place.

Jon knew for a fact that when Olly had nightmares, the boy either fell out of bed or ended up sleepwalking. The Lord Commander had no doubt that the boy would have nightmares after the emotional trauma of the past week. Olly didn't need to end up with a broken arm or leg on top of everything else that he had been through.

After making sure the boy was secure, Jon began to prepare himself for bed. Quietly, he called for Ghost, who was keeping guard in the other room.

The white direwolf came trotting in and made a beeline for Olly.

"He'll be alright, boy," Jon assured, watching Ghost lick at Olly's outstretched hand. "We'll all be alright."

Thank you for reading! As always, comments are greatly appreciated and help motivate me to write more.