Stupid Sickness

What would Jordie think if his little brother died in some nameless alley because he couldn't conquer some stupid sickness inside him? What anyone think if Dirtyhands was bested by some nobody looking to make a quick buck? Another thought came less easily, but managed to mount icy fear and prickling hot shame more than any other, What would Inej think? She had said she wanted him without armor, and now that it had been ripped away, he was going to die. She would come back from her year at sea and find him long dead and gone. Would she care at all? What if she had let him go? No. She wouldn't do that. Inej had always believed in him. She trusted him, cared about him, and never, never gave up on him. Everyone else had, hadn't they? He had to survive the night. Even if it was only for the childish hope, the small, stupid hope that she might come back to him someday.