𝔴𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔰𝔲𝔫 ⟡ ʀɖʀ2

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟸𝟸

I'd shoot you dead if I didn't care 'bout you.

I brought you up from dust and ashes.

You ain't nothin' but a homeless piece of trash.

You gotta be careful, Ash.
You're a strong one. I know it.
Dutch, literally could've given no damns about you.

    All these different voices in my head right now, I hated the thought of all of these things disappearing. These people who did care for me. I just hated the thought of being alone without them, much like the darkness I was in when I was out cold for that long period of time. I kept wondering why Dutch was going to these lengths to treat me the way he was. Why he thought I wasn't worth the saving. It was a challenge, trying to keep myself positive and keeping my head straight. Selina and I hitch our horses outside of the doctor's office. Before I take note of some blood upon the sidewalk.

"That guy, he was coughing so much, he couldn't breathe."

I knew Arthur was within the city right now, I was hoping it wasn't him. We walk within the office and we see the blood on the wall from a hand. The secretary woman looks a bit shaken. "Um--- Hey, I have my girl here. She's here to check up on herself, she's with child."
"Right, the doctor will be with you guys when he finishes up with the male in the back."
"Okay..."

I narrow my eyebrows as we sit down before I hear more coughing. It sounds like Arthur, I know it has to be him and when the door opens and him and I lock eyes. "No."
He looks like he's about to cry in that moment. Not knowing one of us, let alone the both of us, was going to see him like this. "Mr. Sanders... Ms. Hinton."
I just shake my head, even I have tears welling up within my eyes.
"Fuck... Arthur. You got---"
"I got tuberculosis, yeah." He turns and coughs and I see the blood upon his sleeve. His eyes are bloodshot, sunken in within his skull.
"Listen, kid... You--- You got all the time in the world... Just--- Both you don't tell no one. Let me go when I go. I--- I know I ain't got much time left."
His gloved hand is placed upon my shoulder, blue hues just focused upon me.
"You're a good couple of a kids. Whole lives ahead of you and when--- When things go south and the times comes. You, Nate, Selina. You three are gonna get the hell outta this. I'll make sure of it. John, Jack, Abigail. Them too. Everyone else who matters as well. Out and--- Happy."
"Arthur..."
"You are a good kid. Really. I--- I got love for the both of yous. Just go, okay? Make sure that baby is alright."
I hear the doctor greeting Selina and I turn to look before I'm looking back at Arthur. "Go. I gotta go meet Sadie 'bout John and what we gonna do. Hope everythin' is alright." He coughs once more before he heads out the door. No more words to be exchanged before I turn to join Sel within the room.

"You folks know that man?" Dr. Barnes questions while he's putting on his gloves and coming to check out Selina's lungs and heart. "Deep breath now."

I watch closely before he looks at me for the answer to his question. "Yeah, yeah we do."
"Horrible business. Tuberculosis is no joke."
"So I've heard."

I just can't get Arthur out of my mind now. Everything he's done for me and that fact that his days were now numbered compared to mine and Selina's, it was a hard truth to swallow and I wanted it to be false. Not right. Just needed it to be something but the truth.
"Alright Selina, everything is lookin' well. Say you're close to sixteen weeks down. Growing normally, you're looking healthy for the most part. Lungs--- Are a little rough but just so you both know, it's not tuberculosis. Sure if I examined the sound of your lungs as well, Mr. Sanders, you'd sound 'bout the same. Just dust within the lungs, sure you both travel a bunch from the looks of you. Just--- take some time within the near future to take a break from the traveling, settle down, get prepared for this baby."

We give him a nod before looking at one another a bit questionably. "Can you tell the gender in any sort of way? Just curious, we'd just enjoy knowin'." I ask before I look at Sel once more and then back to the doctor. The male sighs deeply before he holds his hand out, rolling my eyes I give him ten dollars. Nothing but money driven but he claims it's for his family. Might as well understand if I'm to be a family man one day too. "Well, by the looks of things, weight seems to be just in the abdomen, you're still slim everywhere else, carryin' just a bit lower than most I've seen. You're glowin'. Dad is looking slim as well... Well, only boys can give you a glow, everything I just mentioned. Yeah, I'd give it 'bout a ninety five percent chance it has to be a boy. Other five, girl, sure. Though, just lookin' at you--- I'd have to go with boy."

A smirk appears upon my face before he gives me a smile as well. "Yeah, pa over here is pleased. We'll of course know when the time comes in a few months, but--- I'd say start pickin' out some male names. I'm yet to be wrong."
"We'll take your word for it, doc, thanks." He ends up giving Selina some more of her pills for the next month and a half before we leave. We get out the door and quickly we're embracing. "Five percent chance it's a girl but fuck--- A little boy. That's just crazy."
"Truly, I mean--- You still wanna stick with Finnick or do you--- You got somethin' else in mind?"
"Ya know--- I don't know right now. I--- I'm thinkin' Arthur. Something for that man. He's done a lot for us."
"I like it... We'll--- Ya know we'll just figure it out before time comes. It's not for another few months ahead."

I just nod my head, knowing damn well Arthur would be gone by then. I guess in many ways, he was like the father I never had, the brother I never knew I needed. Everything he could be to me, he was. Just a great man even if he didn't believe it. We're off riding to Lakay where we knew we needed to pack up the rest of everything. Knowing that Arthur and Charles would have everything done for us at our new camp by tomorrow.