Chương 10: Preparing to Leave

**ERICKSON'S POV**

After Briar left to return to his own home I turned back toward my house and hurried inside. I wanted to see my daughter, to make sure that she was still safe.

"Daddy?" Catherine called out to me the moment I was back inside. As soon as I turned to look at her, she jumped at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. "D..d..daddy, is A..A..Addie g..going t..to b..b..be O..O..OK?" She was sobbing and crying so hard that the words were hard to understand.

"I am going to make sure that she is." I told her as I rubbed a hand over her small back. "I am going to get her the medicine that she needs and then I am going to make sure that she gets all better so that she can play with you again." I knelt on the floor and set Catherine on her feet so that I could look her in the eyes. "I promise you, sweetheart. I will make sure that she doesn't ever leave us."

"I hope so, Daddy. I don't want her to go away like that boy did." I could tell that she was afraid, and most likely she was only worried about her sister leaving. She couldn't possibly know that Addie is sick with the same thing that John had last year."

"She's not going anywhere, sweetheart. I promise you."

"Dad?" Arthur looked at me with a solemn look. His eyes were that of a man and not a child. "Dad, what did the healer have to say?"

"I will tell you later, son. Right now, I want to go check on your sister. I will need you to come with me to get the medicine though, can I count on you for that?"

"Of course, Dad." He was nodding his head vigorously, showing his age a little by giving me a glimpse at the eagerness in his voice.

"Good." I nodded at him. "Catherine, why don't you get ready for bed. We don't need anything happening to you now, do we."

"But I haven't had dinner yet." She whined and that reminded me that we had been just about to have dinner when this issue was brought to our attention.

"That's right. I'm sorry." I nodded at her with as soft of an expression as I could manage. "Arthur, could you help me out by getting her some dinner. I am sure that it's still in the pan in the kitchen."

"Of course." He nodded again, showing me that he was willing to help out as best as he could.

Now that everything downstairs was settled, I hurried up the stairs and to Addie's room.

"Helen?" I knocked on the door that was shut since my wife had been cleaning our daughter. "Is it appropriate for me to come in now?"

"Yes dear, you can come in now." She answered me in a shaking voice.

I opened the door immediately and walked inside. What I saw was Helen moving Addie's legs so that she could get the blanket out from under her. She was going to cover her up now that she was cleaned and dressed in a long white nightgown.

"How is she?" I asked as I helped her with the covers.

"The same. Her fever is still high, despite the cloth and the washing down that I gave her. And she didn't even make a sound while I was moving her around. It's like she's not even in there, Erickson. It's almost like she's dead." I heard her breathing hitch just a little bit as the tears threatened her.

"She's not dead, Helen. She's just sick." I snapped the words even though I didn't mean to.

"How do we help her to get better?" She looked at me with curious eyes. "Is there anything that we can do for her?"

"There is a medicine that can help her, but it is hard to get. I am going to leave for the city tomorrow. I will be gone for a few days. Arthur will come with me, and I will be taking as much as I can to trade for the medicine. I need to make this deal as successful as I can."

"Erickson?" She looked worried.

"You will be fine, my love. You've been without me and Arthur before." I cupped her cheek when I looked up to see the fear in her eyes.

"I know, but I always had Addison here to help me with everything." She looked worried still, uncertain of how to manage without our little girl that was laying on the bed.

"You will have Catherine to help you. And I will be closing the shop until I get back. I will make sure that you have an easier time with it all."

That brought more shock to my wife's eyes. She had never known me to close the shop while I was gone. I had other staff that could manage things while I was away.

"What is wrong with her, Erickson? What is wrong with my daughter?" I wasn't planning on keeping it a secret from her. Not all of it anyway.

I told Helen what Briar had said. I told her what the disease was called. I told her the course that the disease would take. And I told her that the cure could only be gotten in the city.

However, I did not tell her that the cure might cost us something that Briar thought was too much for us to pay. What Briar didn't know, though, was that I was willing to pay anything and everything if it meant that I could protect my family.

After telling Helen what Briar had said I went to check on Addie myself. I wanted to see if her fever had come down at all. Unfortunately, instead of coming down, it looked like it had gone up. This wasn't good at all. If her fever stayed high like this, it could cause even more damage.

"Addie, my little girl." I called out to her but of course, there was no response. "I love you, sweetheart. Daddy loves you so much."

There was nothing else we could do for Addie, but we had decided that one of us was going to sit with her for the first night. It was also highly likely that Helen would sit with her almost every night until she woke up. And I would see to it that she does wake up.

I let Helen sit with Addie for the time being. I brought her a plate filled with the dinner that she had made for the family. After that, I went to prepare the luggage that Arthur and I would need for the next day. Usually, I had several days to prepare my voyages to the city, this time I had only hours. I didn't have the time to spare on preparing in advance.

It took me maybe two hours or so, that was all. I knew what I needed to do and what needed to be taken with me. I was packing the typical provisions for us and the horses. I was taking goods to sell or trade to get what I needed. I was going to make sure that it was all ready to go first thing in the morning.

After everything was prepared and I knew that all Arthur and I needed to do was load the wagon. The next day I went back up to Addie's room to give Helen a break. I knew that she was tired and would need her energy for the next day. I was going to sit with Addie for the rest of the night.

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