𝑵𝑶 𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑪𝒀 | 𝐓.𝐒 |

𝚏𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 : 𝚘𝚑, 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜

"That's it Tommy, that's it! Fight it!" the eldest Shelby added, grabbing Thomas' nape. 

Once the bullet was out, her knees nearly gave way. "Oh thank God," she muttered under her breath, dropping the bullet into a glass of rum. Using the clothes Arthur found, Mercy wiped Thomas's blood-soaked chest.

"Ya did great, brother," John exclaimed, a toothy grin on his face, "Let him 'ave a drink," Arthur handed him the bottle of rum. Thomas quickly took a swig and continued to pant, Mercedes snatched the bottle away from him. "Look at me, Thomas," and look he did.

"Deep breath, love," the last word come of out her lips naturally, she pressed the mouth of the bottle against his chest, pouring the liquid all over the wound. Mercy held his head tight as he rammed it on her stomach, grunting in pain.

"That's it, that's it!" she said in a soothing tone, pulling the bottle away from him, "Well done, lad," Jeremiah tapped his shoulders. Mercy placed another clean cloth above the wound and grabbed Thomas' right hand to hold it, "Put pressure on it," she instructed.

John brought out another bottle of rum and this time there was no blood on it. Mercy sat down in front of Thomas, quickly removing the cap, and took a big gulp of the drink. Mercy wiped the sweat forming on her forehead, attempting to avoid his gaze.

Thomas stared at the woman who just shooed the grim reaper away and noticed the dried blood on her cheeks. Using his tongue, he licked his left thumb and rubbed it against her cheek, removing the blood.

Mercy's gunmetal blue eyes widened in surprise, heat crawling up her neck and spreading into her cheeks as a result of his rough finger's sudden touch. Small, prickly goosebumps appeared on her arms and stomach, sending a cold shiver down her spine. What the fuck was that? She raised her eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged, leaning his back on the chair. 

"Okay lovebirds, get a bloody room," Arthur blurted, making the other men around them laugh in unison. 

"Miss Imogen here is fuckin blushing," teased John, a loud cackle escaping his mouth. She snapped her head in his direction, "Fuck you, John," she raised her middle finger at him.

"I'll pass on that, I 'ave a lovely wife, and Thomas would kill me," he replied, glancing at his brother, who is currently amused by the situation. Jeremiah cleared his throat, "Do we tell Danny's wife?"

The pub fell silent as soon as the pastor mentioned his name. They suddenly realized that they had lost a friend today—for good and all. "The poor woman has been through a lot, she'd be devastated if she found out her husband had died twice," John put forth.

"She has the right to know," Mercy added, casually looking to Thomas for support. She was relieved when he nodded and said, "His family can properly bid him a final goodbye, Danny... he was a good man."

Mercy took out her medical kit from the suitcase and opened the lid, revealing all of its content. Luckily, she has a body bandage left in it. The matriarch Shelby left the two of them inside the kitchen as Ada called her for some help. 

She bit the inside of her cheek as she felt the constant stare of Thomas at her, "This is gonna hurt a little," Mercy warned, quickly glancing at his eyes. He nodded and puffed the cigar between his lips. 

"What you and my sister did was stupid," he said, blowing the smoke away from her face as she applied iodine to the wound to disinfect it properly. Mercy replied, "I know," she admitted because there was no point in denying it.

"You could've been shot," Thomas added like he was stating a fact, "You see, my guardian angel and I are close like this," she giggled, showing Thomas her crossed fingers, "And you'd save me if I ever got shot, right?" Mercy smiled at him with a lopsided grin.