Simon Ghost Riley x Reader (The Living Kill Too) Ch8
Alright since we are being hit with a snow storm and I am stuck at home y'all get another chapter. With life being so hectic and busy I never feel like I have time for any of my stories. WARNINGS: Death, Gore, Loss, Grief, Mental Health Neglect, Kidnapping and Mentions of Assault.
When you enter back into the bedroom Ghost takes the gun from your grasp and puts it away. You take a sheet out and cover Josie’s body then make your way back inside to barricade the door again. You sit down on the chair and look at Jack who doesn’t understand what has happened. You are barely holding it together, but you have to for Jack. No time to fall apart now and you still have to help take care of Ghost.
You go through the motions of tending to Ghost and trying to keep Jack occupied. Ghost watches you carefully between bouts of sleep and you don’t even realise the sun has risen again. You were up all night and the dark circles under your eyes are proof of that. Jack was asleep on a small pallet that you put together. A knock at the door and it took a minute to register, but a voice called out from the other side.
“Lass i’s all clear. Ye’ can come out now”, Soap called from the other side of the door. You didn’t register anything until you were standing in front of Soap. “What happened ‘ere lass?”, Soap asked. You looked and when you saw the covered body of Josie you felt light headed. “She was bitten. She asked me to”, you whispered. Soap moved over and flipped the sheet down and shot a look back to you as he covered her back up.
“Poor bonnie lass. Are ye’ alright?”, Soap asked, turning to you. “I don’t know”, you whisper again. “We are gonna’ ‘ave ta’ bury our dead”, Soap said. “I have to stay here and look after Jack and Ghost”, you reply. “Ye’ look like yer about ta’ drop”, Soap tells you. “I’ll be alright, but when you all get the chance can you bring some food”, you explain. Soap agrees and tells you he and Gaz will come by to take Josie to be buried.
The next couple of hours go by until Jack starts crying as Ghost stirs awake. “Momma”, Jack cries. “It’s okay Jack”, you try to soothe. “Mo…omm..a”, he hiccups through his cries. You pick him up and try to help him relax, but he continues crying for his mom. “Momma is gone Jack. She went bye bye”, you sniffle. You know if you cry then it will only make things worse. Ghost gets up to use the bathroom as you continue to try and calm the crying child.
Ghost comes out from the bathroom and grabs the carved horse from the desk and hands it to Jack. He accepts it and eventually cries himself to sleep as you continue to rock him. “Luv you need to put him down”, Ghost tells you. “I can’t I promised I would take care of him”, you say. “You haven’t slept since the incident. You need to sleep”, he tells you. You just shake your head as you get up to get him pills.
He takes them as you tidy up the room and a couple hours go by when Jack wakes back up. “Hungy”, he says. “I know sweety” you say. Eventually Soap brings food and talks with Ghost about the survivors. Out of the sixty-five people on base only twenty six including you, Ghost and Jack survived. “Did Maria and her husband live?”, you asked out of the blue. “Aye lass they have”, Soap replies.
“Can you send them here? Josie wanted them to take Jack to raise…if anything happened to her”, you explain. Soap agreed and headed out to find them as you helped Jack finish up his food. He clung to you afterwards and Maria and her husband showed up at the door. “Soap said you wanted to see us?”, Maria asked. “Yes I’m sure you heard about Josie”, you said. “Yes we have”, she responded. “She told me in her final moments that… she wanted you and your husband to take Jack as…your adopted son”, you finish. Maria and her husband are happy, but you can see the sorrow at losing a friend like Josie.
“We would like to make you his godmother and Ghost his godfather. Josie saw you both in that way”, Maria told you both. Ghost tenses but nods his head as you agree. You hand Jack over as he reaches for you and begins to cry. “It’s okay Jack they are going to take care of you sweety”, you tell him. You feel torn as you want him to be safe with Maria and her husband, but you also want him to stay with you. You want to kick and scream how this world is unfair, but you hold it together to soothe Jack.
They go to leave when he cries out the word horsie. It takes you a moment to realise that he wants the wooden horse. You give it to him as he waves goodbye to you in a better mood than a few minutes ago. You turn back inside not knowing what to do with yourself. Ghost sits in his chair watching you closely. Ghost says something about taking a shower and you nod at his words.
He is, as always, efficiently quick and you don’t even notice when he comes out in nothing but a towel. He tosses a clean towel at you and tells you to take one as well. You go in and close the door and take a shower just going through the motions. You dry off and change into some clothes that you had taken in with you. You look into the mirror and see something and you almost scream when you see the visage of Josie laying lifeless in the tub.
When you turn around there’s nothing there so you collect yourself and turn back to the mirror. This time you do scream as you see Josie’s face with a bloody bullet wound in her head. You scramble back, tripping over the bathmat and falling onto the floor as you scream and sob. The door flies open to reveal Ghost as he looks around the bathroom, eyes landing on you. He pulls the IV pole inside the bathroom and kneels in front of you.
He doesn’t say a word as he checks you over and waits for you to move. “I killed her”, you sobbed. “No luv you saved her from a fate worse than death”, he explains. “I should have been faster… I should have kept Jack with me..he was safer with me”, you panic. He notices your breathing picks up and you're slipping into a panic attack. He pulls you against him and puts your head against his chest. “Breathe with me love. In. Out”, he comforts.
You try and eventually calm down enough for him to coax you back into the room. You sit down in the chair as Ghost makes his bed and you break down again. “I’m sorry”, you cry. “Sorry for wut?”, he questions. “I took your mask off and I shouldn’t have looked. I know how much…your privacy meant… to.. you “, you explain. “It’s alright luv. You took care o’ me when I was sick it was bound ta’ happen”, he told you. Doc comes by to check on you both after the scare and advises that once the IV bags were empty he could remove the IV.
The day goes by in a blur and you still haven’t slept even though exhaustion is nipping at your heels. Soap comes to let you both know they are about to bury Josie and Ghost agrees that you both should go. Ghost doesn’t admit it but he is worried about your mind as well as your health and tags along after placing his mask back on. He watches as you walk to the outskirts of the wall where several graves were dug. They lower Josie’s body down and hold a moment of silence then people start tossing dirt into the grave.
Ghost watches you like a hawk as you throw your fistful of dirt into the grave. On your way back to Ghost’s room you sway a little as fatigue settles in. Once in his room he notices you waver again as he steadies you. “You should sleep”, he tells you. You turn to look at him not wanting to tell him that your vision was growing dark around the edges. Each beat of your heart makes the inky blackness spread, but you rub your eyes to make it subside.
There is not much for you to do but you manage to get Ghost back into bed. The night has fallen and now you have been awake for far too long, but you don’t want to sleep in fear of what you might see. Ghost is watching from the bed as he reads a book, but a small twitch from you has him watching you fully. You haven’t noticed him watching you, but the black inky pools around your vision start creeping in. It’s like watching a broken pen spill ink across a stark white page.
Then just when you think things can’t get worse the ringing in your ears starts. You feel cold as you start to shiver a little then you start feeling lightheaded. “Luv ya’ a’right?”, Ghost inquires. Before you can answer, your body fails you completely. Ghost watches as your body goes limp and you collapse into a heap on the floor. He moves as quickly as he can with his IV pole to you and turns you onto your back.
You look fine as he checks you for injury then your pulse which is thready. He chalks it up to be all the stress and fatigue. He picks you up as best he can and struggles with his IV pole, but he somehow manages to get you into the bed. He slides into the bed beside you and pulls you tight against him resting your head on his chest. You sleep for a long time and it frightens him a little as he continues to monitor you.
When Doc comes in to take his IV out he has you checked over. He listens intently to the things that Doc tells him. “I’m worried about what her mental state might be when she comes to”, Doc explains. “I’ll stay with ‘er. Price will understand”, Ghost tells him. The good news was he had been on antibiotics for over twenty-four hours and had been fever free. Price came by to check up on him when he explained what happened.
“This never should have happened. How’re you holdin’ up?”, Price asked. “I’m fine no more fevers and takin’ the antibiotics”, he responded. “Doc passed me earlier and explained what happened. Said you were gonna’ take care of her”, Price nods towards your sleeping form. “Yea’ I mean she’s been doin’ the same fer me”, Ghost replies. “I’m proud of you Simon”, Price announced. Ghost whipped his head so fast to Price that it should have caused whiplash. “Wha’s that supposed ta’ mean”, Ghost said.
“Come on Simon I know that man you brought back isn’t here for interrogation. I had words with ‘em and I know what happened. You haven’t pushed (Y/N) away and now you’re willing to babysit her. You like her Simon”, Price sighs. “You’re takin’ a piss”, Ghost huffs. Before Price could respond you shot up in a panic, eyes darting around the room until they landed on Ghost. “You’re a’right luv. You’re safe”, he soothed.
Price watched quietly as Ghost grabbed some water for you. “Josie… it was my fault”, you sniffled. “No luv”, Ghost responded. “It should have been me. I could have led the dead away from their hiding spot in the hospital wing. It was my fault we made the run for your room's window”, you rushed out. “Luv you couldn’t ‘ave possibly known what would ‘appen”, Ghost placated. You shook your head as tears fled from your eyes down your cheeks.
“It should have been me”, you rasp through tears. Price watches in silence noticing how Simon stiffened at the comment and eyes widening slightly. “No luv, never say that”, he says. “(Y/N), this wasn’t your fault. It’s the git who went back to the barracks with a bite”, Price gruffs. You seem to notice Price for the first time through your tears. He watches as Simon agrees with him and you yawn. “I should get going and let you and ‘er rest some more”, Price announces.
When he leaves, Ghost leans back into his pillows as you curl up as close as possible to him. Your head lying on his chest as you fall into a slightly fitful sleep. Ghost thinks about what Price said about him having feelings for you. The longer he watches you the more it seems like Price’s words were true. When you had said it should have been you all he could think of was you slowly turning and him having to… no he wouldn’t think of it.
He listened as it began to rain outside and how cooler his room was getting. Winter would be coming soon as you shivered a little. He pulled you tighter to him and removed his mask to sleep. He listened to the rain and your steady breathing, but anytime you would whimper he realized his grip on you had loosened. He pulled you on top of him making sure the blanket was covering you. You stopped whimpering and seemed most comfortable that way, and it wasn’t long until he followed you into sleep.
When you woke up the first thing you noticed was how warm you were. Then as you became more aware you realized Ghost was underneath you. His face looked peaceful with the sunlight hitting his light brown hair and chiseled jaw. You weren’t ready to get up and face the day so you put your head back on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Some time had passed when you looked back up to his face.
“I can feel ya starin’ luv”, he mumbled. You couldn’t help but smile and snuggle into his chest in your embarrassment of being caught. Eventually you looked back up to meet his deep brown eyes. He was so handsome like this. It had to be the stress as you leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. His mouth opened slightly in shock at what you had just done. “Wut was tha’ for luv?”, he questioned. “A thanks for everything you’ve done for me”, you reply.
A small grin tugged at his lips and your stomach felt like it was flip flopping. Then a knock sounded at the door causing you to slide off of Ghost to his side. Price walked in looking grim and it had you worrying your lip. You waited to see what was going to happen when Price finally spoke. “We have a problem, the prisoner escaped last night and took Jack”, he announced. You froze as Price explained that his adoptive parents were alright.
You didn’t wait for Price to say anything else as you got up. “Which way did they go?”, you asked. “The tracks we found seemed to lead North”, Price replied. “I need a bow with arrows, a knife and a pack stuffed with food”, you rattle off. Price stops and watches as you start grabbing heavy clothing since the weather was changing. “I’ll go with you”, Ghost announces. “I’ll grab you some packs and a couple of horses. Might help you catch up faster”, Price affirms and heads out. “Wha’s the plan?”, Ghosts asks.
“There won’t be a place he can hide. If he hurts Jack I’ll strip flesh from bone and string him up for everyone to see”, you growl. Within minutes you and Ghost are out by the gate with horses and supplies ready to go. Maria approaches you with a blanket that she made a while back for Jack. “Please use this to keep him warm”, she sniffles trying to hold back tears. You nod and climb onto your horse as Ghost does the same. “Keep yerself safe Lt”, Soap says as he helps open the gate.
You goad your horse onward as you and Ghost pick up the trail. You stop every so often to let the horses walk or rest. When the tracks disappear you panic a little, but Ghost keeps reassuring you that you both are on the right path to finding Jack. The sky is getting heavier clouds and you know it won’t be long for the rain to start, and with how cool it was it wouldn’t be long before you both would need to seek shelter.
The tracks had long faded, but Ghost was sure that you both were heading in the right direction. You kept your head on a swivel for anything that would give you a clue that Jack and his so-called father had been through this area. The horses were becoming skittish and soon it became evident why. Cresting the hill there was a smell of burning flesh in the air. Screaming is what caught your attention.
A barn on fire is what got your attention as you goaded your horse forward down the hill. Ghost followed as you pulled your horse to a stop a few yards away. You could hear women screaming and children wailing. The front of the barn was locked with a chain and padlock as the roof started to collapse in. “You’re not alone, help is here”, you yelled. A woman on the other side is yelling for you to get her and her children out. You look for anything that can help you, but find nothing.
Ghost reaches behind him revealing bolt cutters and cuts the lock on the chain. When the doors open you’re met with several children of all different ages come running out with a couple of women. Some of the younger women’s clothes are torn and they scream when they see Ghost. “It’s alright we won’t hurt you”, you sooth. The oldest woman is trying to calm them as you try to make sure that was everybody. “No one is left in there, it was just us”, the older woman claims.
“What happened here?”, Ghost questioned. “A man was traveling through with his son last night. He asked if they could stay and we let them. He killed my son in law and tried to take my daughters, but when the oldest wouldn’t leave with him he… he…assaulted her then tried to kill us in the barn by fire”, she cried as she hugged her eldest daughter. “Ghost these women and children need to be taken back to the base where they will be safe”, you explained.
“If we do that we might lose the trail”, Ghost replies. “When the man left was he on foot and which direction did he go?”, you inquired. “He was on foot and was heading north and said something about a city that his brother lived in”, the eldest woman responded. “Ghost take the horses and get these people to the base where they will be safe”, you said. “No I’m coming with you”, he argued.
“These children and women need a guide back and I’m not going back without Jack. You would be their best bet of protection and survival”, you tell him. He seems to weigh his options until you break the silence again. “We’re wasting time. Here take my horse and get them to safety”, you state. You hand him the reins to your horse and take inventory of what you have. He knows he won’t change your mind, but he is worried about you as you take your bow and arrows.
You turn back to him where he is getting the wounded and children on the horses. “Ghost I’m heading out”, you say as you start to walk away. He doesn’t say anything, just watches as you continue walking across an open field towards the tree line. Once you disappear he starts making his way back towards the base. He knows if he is quick he can meet back up with you to help find Jack.
