OLD Version

Alive:

I rolled my head to the side to see Pope rushing over to my dad as he faded in and out of consciousness, "Dad? Dad!" I felt helpless as my body struggled to recover from my seizure. I was already weak from the pain of my injuries from the explosion and my chest wound.

John B rushed over to him and pressed his fingers to his neck checking for a heartbeat, "Nononono, dad! We have to get him off this mountain." Him and Pope scooped him up from under his shoulders and started rushing towards the camp where the boat is.

I felt arms slide under me and lift me up and start running after the others, I turned into whoever was holding me and sobbed into their chest. The familiar smell of weed, old spice and the ocean filled my nose. My Jay. I clung to him while my mind threw me into a loop of dark thoughts.

We found El Dorado but at what cost... death? Loss? Of course it ended with someone dying. I knew it would, but I was finally ready to accept my dad's apology, I was ready to have a relationship with him again. I knew he was dying but now it's all too real. And Ward being gone too. My second dad. We may have had a rocky relationship because of the gold but he still did more for me than my own dad did, and now he's gone. He sacrificed himself to save me and I treated him badly before he died. I was mad at him for how he treated Rafe and Sarah, so I made him feel like I didn't appreciate him. This hurts. This hurts too much. We never win. We always lose something.

And every time I see Popes face I see a bullet flying through the air and hit me in my chest. Now I'm sitting on a small boat riding down the river with him sitting across from me. I buried my face into JJ as I sat across his lap, avoiding the looks I'm gaining as I struggle to breathe.

"Princess, breathe." JJ ran his hand through my hair trying to calm me, "Count with me." I blubbered out the numbers with him as he counted until I was calmer and breathing somewhat normal again.

"Hey, dad, Hang in there, okay?" John Bs voice broke the silence around me.

He weakly chuckled as he laid on the boat floor, his head in John Bs lap, "We did it together, my boy. You, me and Kaila." His weak voice made me look up at him, tears still in my eyes.

John B sniffled, "Yeah."

"Just... Just like we drew it up."

"We did it." John B held tears back as he talked to him.

"Bird. Sarah." He looked over to Sarah who was by his side, she reached for his bloody hands.

"Hi. I'm here, Big John." She smiled softly at him, as tears fell from her eyes.

"Bird, you got to hang on to this one." He groaned in pain before continuing, "I know that I wasn't any great shakes as a father."

John B frowned, "Stop, Dad."

"But you, Bird... You were the best son any man could hope for. You held down the fort when I left and you've proved yourself to be loyal and courageous. And.. and Kaila.." He turned his head towards me, "You've always been my butterfly. Wild and free. You could run the world if you wanted too." He chuckled, "I want you both to know that..." He trailed off as he tried staying awake.

John B sniffled away tears, "You can tell us when we get home, okay? Almost there."

"Okay." He breathed out.

"Hold up. Look, Dad. Look." John B grabbed a piece of gold from his bag and set it on his chest, "We did it." John B started sobbing, "You did it."

"I'll see you... I'll see you at home, kids." He faded away and took his last breath.

"Dad?" I sobbed as I scrambled off of JJs lap and on to the floor, I grabbed my dads face so he was facing me, "No wake up. Don't do this to me, wake up! I have so much to tell you!" I collapsed on to his chest yelling at him to wake up. I felt John B wrap himself around us, his own sobs and pleas for him to wake up echoed in my mind. Shut it out, Kaila. The pain is too much, shut it out before it's too late. Numb.