Chapter 12

Nora patted Khan quietly, and made sure he had everything he needed. When Jack didn't come running back, she assumed Abigail had said no, or he'd been distracted by something else. Children were easily amused. She didn't let that bother her.

Glancing around the camp, Nora decided to chop the firewood that needed to be cut. It took her a good two hours to do it. She also had to tell Charles and John to shove off several times. By the time she'd finished, Nora had worn herself out, but each fire had a good stock of wood for the next day or so. Then she decided to help Tilly collect eggs from the hens. It was nice to have a fresh supply of eggs.

Only when she was satisfied, did Nora walk to the lake and clean up. The sun was slowly starting to set, and she was starving. At least camp was looking good, and she'd kept her head down. It was different when Micah and Billy weren't here. She sighed and looked over the water for a long moment.

"Hey, Nora!" Dutch yelled, grabbing her attention. "Nora, we need some help!"

Getting to her feet, Nora hurried over to where he was at. Bill and Micah were back, but not Arthur or Sean. Bill was covered in blood and dirt. Nora steeled her expression and walked over to them. Susan was hurrying over as well.

"He's been shot in the arm," Dutch said quietly. "Can you patch it?"

"All right," Nora nodded, puzzled.

"All the women speak highly of your medical expertise," he explained quickly, gesturing to Bill.

"I said I'm fine!" Bill snarled, but slowly sat down.

Susan gave her what she needed, so Nora quietly thanked her. Bill ripped his shirt off with one hand so that Nora could see the damage. It was pretty bad, but it looked like the bullet had gone past it.

"Well, it is a graze," she said, glancing at him. "Just needs to be stitched. That…who's blood is on you?"

"I don't owe you nothin," he snarled, and Nora glared at him.

"Bill," Dutch warned.

Nora poured a bit of alcohol on his wound, making the man swear colorfully and loudly. She glared at him when he looked at her. The look she gave him had him leaning back a little.

"Unless you want to let your arm get infected, I suggest you calm down," she snapped, and he grumbled.

"It's Sean," Bill muttered.

"What?" Nora trailed off, and looked at his wound.

"He's…he's dead," Bill muttered. "I buried him."

"You were supposed to be heading to a meeting," Dutch snarled, as Nora began stitching.

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know?" Bill demanded. "They found out what we was up to!"

"So where's Arthur?" Dutch asked, saving Nora from speaking.

"I'm sure he'll be along soon," Micah said carefully. "He was pretty pissed. Complaining that it didn't feel right…"

"You know…I wouldn't call that complaining," Nora said coldly. "More like being fucking careful."

"Arthur is always careful," Dutch murmured, catching their attention. "It's what makes him good at what he does. He must have felt something was off."

Nora finished stitching Bill's wound, making sure that it was covered properly. Bill managed to sit in silence without making a sound. When she stepped back to wash her hands, Bill sighed.

"All done, Mr. Williamson," she murmured, and he stood up.

"Thanks," he grumbled, and walked off to find a new shirt.

"Micah?" Nora asked, and he glanced her way. "Anything that needs stitching?"

"Oh no, I'm just fine," he smirked, walking off.

"Saves me from killing you," she muttered to herself, and began to clean up her mess.

"Jack! Jack, where are you!?"

Abigail's cries drew Nora's attention instantly. She had figured the boy had gone back to her after he had asked for a pony ride. Abigail ran over after checking several places.

"Nora, Nora have you seen Jack?" she asked, frantically.

"No..I..no I sent him to you to ask about a pony ride," Nora replied, startled.

"Oh…oh gosh," she whispered, and rushed to her tent.

Hosea ran off immediately, so Nora ran to the edge of camp to see if he was along the water. He was gone. Like he'd never been here. Going back toward the middle of camp, she saw the gang slowly gathering around Dutch.

"Everyone calm down," he said slowly. "We'll figure this out, it's fine."

"What are we going to do?" Susan demanded, making Dutch pinch the bridge of his nose.

Dutch looked at Abigail as she stood in her tent in shock, before looking toward the edge of camp. His expression changed, giving just a bit of hope.

"Oh, Arthur! Arthur, have you seen that boy Jack?" Dutch asked, walking toward him.

"No," Arthur replied, walking over. "Why what's happened?"

"Where is he!" Abigail shrieked. "Where is my god damn son?! They took him didn't they? They took my son?!"

"Who took him?" Arthur demanded, shifting toward her.

"We think the Braithwaite woman took him!" Hosea yelled, running over. "Kieran heard some men, sounded like them."

"Oh god…" Abigail asked, and Nora joined her side as she sagged. "Where is my son, Dutch Van Der Linde? Bring him back…"

"We will," Dutch said firmly. "We will find him and bring him back to you, and we will kill anyone who had the audacity to touch one hair on that boy's head. Abigail, you have my word."

Abigail looked at him, and tears streamed down her cheek. "Just...just bring back my son," she begged, and he nodded.

"I will bring him back so help me god," he snarled, and headed toward his horse.

Arthur laid a hand on Nora's shoulder, and looked at Abigail for a second. He frowned, then turned to hurry after Dutch. Bill and the others rushed over to help.

"The more guns the better," Dutch snarled. "Micah, Kieran…if anyone strange shows up at camp you kill them! Let's ride!"

Nora stood silently as the thundering of hooves left camp. Abigail turned in Nora's arms, sobbing into her shoulder. Nora wrapped her arm around her quietly, he jaws clenched.

"It's all right," she soothed. "They'll find him. I'm sure they will."

"They're fools!" she hissed, and Nora led her to bed. "They should have known better."

"Well, they're men Abigail," Nora sighed. "I'm…I don't know how things work around here, but I agree. They shouldn't have played both families. They'll get him back."

Nora helped her lay down, and stayed until Abigail had cried herself to sleep. Mary-Beth and Tilly came to sit outside her tent when Nora walked out. Walking over to Arthur's tent, Nora grabbed her shout gun and sat down by the main fire to clean it.

As she cleaned the gun, she took in that Sean was dead. That young man certainly had been fun to be around. Young. Running a cloth over the barrel of the gun, she glanced up as Micah came to sit by the fire. Nora tensed slightly, but he lifted his hands.

"Don't worry," he said slowly. "I'm not here to cause trouble now."

"Is it because of the shotgun in my hand?" she asked, and he smirked.

"You wouldn't shoot me," he smirked, and she bared her teeth in a grin.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," she mused, "I've killed for less."

No one bothered camp, and the sun sank down below the lake not long after. She lifted her head a bit later, having put the gun back together. Something was on fire. Rising to her feet, she went to the dock, and looked to the south. There was the unmistakable glow of a fire. It was massive, and it came from what was likely Braithwaite Manor. Abigail had woken a bit ago, and was standing beside Nora when she spotted the fire. Micah wasn't far behind them.

"Well," Micah muttered. "That's one way to take care of a problem."

"And a great way to attract too much fucking attention," Nora grunted.

"For once, I agree," he frowned, and Nora watched as flames licked toward the sky.

She didn't let Abigail watch it for too long, before guiding her back toward the tent. There was nothing they could do but wait right now. The women silently rallied around her, keeping her calm. Micah, Sadie, Kieran and Nora kept watch for them. Pearson was silent by his wagon. It was easy to see that Micah didn't care about Jack, but he also wasn't about to go against Dutch's orders. The man only cared about himself, and everyone knew that. At least he listened to Dutch.

Another hour went by, and the sound of hooves caught everyone's attention. Dutch was the first one in sight, making everyone relax. Sadie had called out to make sure it was them. Nora shouldered her gun, and watched John get off his horse. He walked over to Abigail and the woman threw herself into his arms. He explained whatever was going on, and all Nora heard was that they could do nothing until tomorrow. Nora turned back toward the glow of the fire in the distance, before glancing back at the rest of the men who rode in. Approaching Hosea, she sighed quietly.

"So?" Nora asked, holding Hosea's horse for him.

"Well…" Hosea sighed, and glanced toward the manor. "She didn't have him. Said he was traded off to Angelo Bronte."

"Who is that?" Nora asked. "I've never heard of him."

"Neither have we," Hosea sighed. "He must be some sort of trafficker. We'll find out more tomorrow. There's…there's nothing we can do for now."

"Fuck," Nora muttered, and Hosea squeezed her shoulder. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Not that I know of," he answered, shaking his head. "You're a good woman, Nora. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

When he walked off, Nora stormed off to the water's edge. Had she just given Jack that pony ride, maybe he wouldn't have been kidnapped. She used her senses to see if she could pick up his trail, but it was too late. She'd lost whatever chance she'd had a while ago. Adjusting her shotgun, Nora slowly made her way back into camp. Arthur had been the last to ride into camp, along with Charles. Arthur met her halfway, and Nora noticed a few new cuts on him. He was furious, his expression hard and cold. It made her feel even worse than she already felt. Sighing as he reached her, Arthur leaned over her slightly, so they could talk.

"Hosea told me," she murmured. "Nothing we can do. I can't even pick up a trail…it's too late. The water washed it away."

"It's not your fault," he rumbled. "But we'll get him back. Come on, there is nothing else we can do for tonight."

"You have blood on you," she said softly, and he sighed.

"Not mine," he answered.

"Want me to clean it off?" she asked, and his lips turned slightly.

"No. No, I can do it. You've done enough taking care of me," he murmured.

"I'm sorry about Sean," she whispered miserably, once they got to his tent.

Arthur sat down on his bed and ran a hand over his face. "He was a good kid," he drawled sadly.

"What happened?" she asked, grabbing a cloth and getting it wet.

"We were meeting for a security job," Arthur grunted. "The town…it was too fucking empty. Sean knew it too. It didn't feel right. We were ambushed. They shot him in the head."

Nora went to clean the blood from his cheek, but Arthur reached up to stop her. He gave her a gentle look, but stood up to clean himself off. He closed the tent sheets first, so Nora sat down at the table to give him some privacy. He threw his shirt on the ground while she laid her guns on the table. He moved quietly once he was finished, surprising her when he spun her around. Arthur ran his fingers up her cheeks and through her hair as he pressed a firm kiss to her lips. She kissed him back, letting her fingers drift up his chest.

"Thank you," he murmured. "Right now...I'd be slowly wasting away if I'd gone to that ranch. Probably dead...after the whole O'Driscoll thing…"

"It's...you don't have to thank me for that," Nora answered, looking up at him.

"I know," he replied. "But I am anyway."

Leaning forward again, Arthur caught her lips and took whatever words she'd gathered away. He very quietly stripped them both of their clothes and picked her up. Wrapping her legs around his hips, Nora let him take them both to bed.