When Helen came to once again, her body was aching and her throat felt dry. She let out a groan as one eye cracked open, and she went to sit up. "N-no, don't move," a voice told her, lying her back down.
Her vision cleared once she opened her eyes, and her gaze landed on none other than Hosea. "Steady, Helen. D-do you want water?" he fretted, reaching down and handing her a cup. Helen carefully sat up, taking the mug and drinking the water quickly.
That feels a bit better.... "Thank you...." she whispered. She glanced down at her bandaged shoulder, seeing the gauze was stained dark red. Rhodes...the shootout...Sean...oh god. Hosea stood up awkwardly and sighed; "I'll...I'll let you rest now," he muttered, then turned to leave.
Helen quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "D...D-Dad...." Hosea immediately sat back down and pulled his daughter into his arms. Helen grabbed onto him tightly as she began to sob into his shoulder.
"Th...th-they was gonna kill me...it was a-a trap, a-and Sean...h-he pushed me outta the way...." she mumbled out. Repeating the events out loud made Helen cry harder, but Hosea didn't interrupt her. He gently rubbed her back comfortingly, his eyes closed.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart...I'm so sorry," he whispered, kissing her temple. "It'll be okay...I've got you now."
~~~~
Helen had been confined to camp for another two weeks since the incident in Rhodes. Once she was out of bed, she demanded to be taken to Sean's grave. "Somebody take me there 'fore I start throwin' hands!" she had yelled.
Charles had immediately been the first one to calm her down. "It's okay, Helen, I'll take you there now." Helen had not been ashamed to cry in front of Charles, who had silently comforted her. Now, it seemed as though the gang couldn't even go a day without trouble.
"Where's my son?!" The camp was alive and alert when Abigail began screaming hysterically. "Calm down, Abby, just calm down," Helen said, holding her friend.
"We think the Braithwaite woman took him. That Kieran saw a couple of fellers, sound like Braithwaite boys," Hosea informed, jogging up to the conversation. "Where is my son, Dutch van der Linde?!" Abigail cried.
Helen tried to comfort her, but Abigail shrugged her off and ignored her. "We will find him - we will bring him back to you and we will KILL any fool that had the temerity to touch one hair on that boy's head!" Dutch declared.
He, Arthur, Hosea and John started for their horses, and Helen quickly followed. "I'm comin', too," she said, grabbing her gun. "Helen, it's too dangerous, I don't want you getting hurt," Hosea argued, while Dutch said, "I'm sorry, Ms. Matthews, but your father is right."
Helen holstered her revolver and loaded her rifle, her anger flaring. "I ain't askin' for your goddamn permission!" she spat venomously. Helen mounted her horse, riding over to Charles' side. "Watch my back, Charlie," she said. "Already on it."
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Family in Shambles
FanfictionShe had been going it alone for three years, since her mother had passed away. She had been learning to survive and doing what she NEEDED to do to survive, no matter the consequences. She knew how to lie low and hide from the law, and she became a v...
