#Also the one where John and Charles help Sadie dress up nice and prepare a cute date

[ato-dato]

Ah yes, that part of the epilogue where we learn that molly left Dutch to go back to Dublin and live in an environment suited for her but still visits Sadie sometimes. My favorite part.

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 31)

Shady Belle

This one is quite lengthy and I really enjoyed this chapter. It’s a good mix of moods; good and bad. We make the move to Shady Belle and reader has a little conflict with Micah, Jack comes home, and there’s some fluffiness with Arthur. 

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

Arthur was waiting there for us when we all pulled up on the loaded wagons. Shady Belle. A big, old, abandoned house in the swamps of Lemoyne that had been ravaged by the years but somehow remained standing, the place that’d serve as our home for the foreseeable future. I couldn’t help but look at the place in awe, it was a mess of missing or boarded up windows, rotting wood, overgrown plant life, it was nature reclaiming the spot. But gosh, it was a house! Walls, a roof, an honest to God house! And it would’ve been beautiful in its time that’s for sure, with a large garden complete with a gazebo and a dried up fountain. Funny; even with all of its flaws, it was still the fanciest place I’d ever called home. 

I hopped down from the wagon I’d ridden up on, pulled by Rayna and Kieran’s horse, and sped over to Arthur, a smile spreading across my face. 

“Look at this place!” I breathed, shaking my head in amazement. He chuckled at my excitement, twisting around to take in the face of the house too. “It’s big. And it’s pretty!”

“You know what else is big and pretty?” I heard Micah say under his breath, all dirty and gross. I spun around to see him leaning in towards Bill, his hands grappling at two rounds in the air in front of his hips, body gyrating in a crude way and my virginity didn’t stop me from understanding exactly what he was mimicking doing. His eyes caught mine and he straightened up, dropping the act and turning away, laughing to himself. Bill didn’t look as amused as Micah probably hoped he would; the man looked perpetually pissed off anyway. 

“Yeah, it’s sort'a pretty. Part of me reckons it’s a shame it’s been left to wither away like this, but if it hadn’t, we wouldn’t have the chance to stay here,” Arthur replied to me, not hearing or seeing what Micah was up to. I put a smile back on my face and let it go.

“That’s true. So, some other gang was using it before us?” I asked, looking around and seeing the sand bags all piled up along the path up to the house, like some sort of fortress. 

“Lenny and I stole some weapons from them a while back,” Arthur nodded, “there was a couple of stragglers still hanging about, but John and I dealt with ‘em. We should be safe here.”

“Thanks for sorting this place out, Arthur,” I gave his arm an affectionate squeeze and he looked down at me. He didn’t seem to know how to respond to being thanked. 

“Jus’ doing my duty, tryin'a make sure we’ve got someplace to go,” he shrugged. 

“And you’re doing a damn good job of it.”

“Arthur!” Dutch called out, making his way over to us. “Come take a ride with me.”

“Sure, what’s happening?” Arthur replied.

“We’re gonna get Jack back. Today! That boy’s been gone long enough, come on.”

-

The rest of us stayed and set up the camp at Shady Belle, moving some stuff inside and setting up the tents next to the house. The bedrooms upstairs were divvied up much to my expectation, there was an unspoken rule that Dutch always got the best sleeping arrangements, followed by the perceived highest ranking members of the gang. 

Dutch got the master bedroom complete with a double bed that I assumed he’d be sharing with Molly, John got the second largest room that he’d be sharing with Abigail and their son once he was back safe and sound. Arthur got a room too, and I was tasked with setting it up for him. It was the smallest, but there were no holes in the walls like John’s room, so it was nice. Everyone else? They could either sleep outside by their usual wagon or shelter, or they could find a nice spot on the floor inside. 

The bear pelts that Charles, Arthur and I had acquired were in use by then; Charles had one, often sleeping atop it beside Hosea, another was by the girls’ wagon as a first come first served kind of deal. Mary-Beth and Tilly slept on it mostly, but sometimes they’d insist I take it since I’d killed it. Sadie and Karen didn’t seem to care either way, content to sleep on the usual blanket like normal. The third bear skin was floating around the camp, sometimes Susan would nab it, other times one or two of the men would sneak it away; Lenny and Javier mostly. Most of the gang was used to sleeping in less than cozy places so it didn’t cause any real arguments, much to my relief. 

It was a busy day of setting up the new camp; I set up Arthur’s room and tried to make it as cozy as possible even with the put out window leaving it open to the elements. I set up his bed in the corner, along with his shaving things and his chest. I retrieved all of his photos and keepsakes and set them up on an old shelving unit by the door that’d been left there. I pinned the pictures up carefully, standing up the photo frame of his mother on one of the shelves. I stared at the photograph of Mary for a little while, thinking about her and Arthur, imagining the two of them being in love enough to commit to marrying each other; the thought of it made my heart ache a bit, despite the fact I knew how silly it was of me. 

I stood the frame up on the shelf too, anyway. It didn’t matter that my own insecurities made me feel a certain way when looking at her, Mary was as much a part of Arthur’s life as I was, and I wasn’t going to hide her photo away in his chest like a child. 

After tossing out a bunch of dried up leaves that’d floated in through the window, I went back outside to join in putting up the tents again. It was a good thing I was used to erecting and collapsing a tent from my history of living in one, I was a dab hand at it. By the evening we were all set up, and I began helping Pearson with dinner. I noticed Dutch drop in to whisk John away, and overhead him saying that they’d found Angelo Bronte, whoever that was, and that they were going to get Jack back. That was a relief. 

Once dinner was ready, I sat myself down in the gazebo, away from everyone else, to catch a few minutes alone to eat the stew we’d prepared. It had been an overwhelming few days, and I needed some time to be away from people and to have some quiet. I was annoyed, then, when Micah came swaggering towards me with a cigarette. Admittedly, he didn’t seem to be seeking me out on purpose; I’d spotted him walking around the house, exploring the place, but when he saw me his course diverted straight towards me. 

“Hey, princess,” he greeted, and I recoiled at the pet name. Arthur called me that, it was the name he used for me the most. I did not want to associate the word with anyone other than him, especially not Micah. 

“Do you mind not calling me that?” I requested, and Micah cocked a brow. “I’d just prefer it if you didn’t.”

“Of course, sweetheart. That better?” He laughed.

“I guess,” I shrugged. 

“You look nice today, your hair like that,” he pointed at me, then climbed the steps to join me in the gazebo. 

I gave him a small grateful smile at the compliment; my hair was simply pulled back into a bun to keep it out of the way. 

“And the dress. I prefer you in a dress over those pants you sometimes wear. You don’t wanna look like that widow woman, what’s her name, Adler,” he added.

I scoffed a disbelieving laugh. I liked Sadie, and she’d taken to wearing pants just like I sometimes did and I honestly felt grateful that I wasn’t the only one. It wasn’t a style that was universally accepted, evidently. 

“What? She stomps around this place, all ill-tempered, tryin'a be like one of the fellers, it looks like,” Micah snorted at my reaction. I pursed my lips and looked away, over towards the swamp where I could see a gator floating there, motionless, creepy.

“Don’t be cruel,” I warned. 

“Didn’t realise you two were friends.”

“I don’t really talk to her,” I admitted, a little sadly. It was true, Sadie and I rarely spoke, but it wasn’t on purpose. At first I didn’t know how to speak to her, considering she was deep in the clutches of grief after her husband died, but since then it was simply a case of never having the chance. “But she seems nice. She pulls her weight, too, you can’t argue with that. I know you have certain feelings about the women here not doing their bit.”

“Sure, I guess you have a point. Anyway, I was complimenting you, not wantin’ to talk about her.”

“Thanks,” I said flatly, “but I don’t really care if you prefer me in a dress. Pants are practical, that’s why I wear 'em. Ain’t a fashion parade.”

“You’re acting all pissed off,” he noted.

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“What’s wrong? You and I used to be friends,” he whined, stepping closer and sitting down next to me on the sand bags piled up inside.

“You think of me as a friend?” I raised my eyebrows at him. His mouth opened and his bottom lip twitched, stunned into quiet for a moment.

“Uh, yeah,” he said, like it was obvious, then he raised his chin a bit, “I think of everyone here as a friend. More than that, you’re all family.”

“I figured you thought of me as a joke,” I shrugged, looking back towards the gator. Micah was silent for a while, processing my words. 

“What makes you think that, sweetheart?" 

"Sweetheart,” I snorted, “don’t bother. You know I saw you earlier on with Bill, and I know you’ve been saying things, putting crap in people’s heads around the campfire.”

“I made a joke with Bill, is it a crime to laugh a little in these trying times?” He drawled. “And I don’t know what you’re talking about, putting stuff in people’s heads.”

“I heard you, saying things that’d mislead someone into thinking that you and I–” I cut myself off, not wanting to say it. I also didn’t want to incriminate Javier, so I twisted the truth.

Micah chuckled. “I think I know what you’re talking about, but I gotta say, Miss, you must have a dirty mind to come to such conclusions. I was merely sharing what a pleasant evening you and I had at the Parlour–”

“Don’t talk bullshit. You knew exactly what you was doin’ because it is just like you to push peoples’ buttons. Please, Micah, be a goddamn man and not an overgrown boy,” I hissed, rising to my feet. Micah blinked at me, shocked. 

“Wait, you’re actually pissed off with me?” He stammered. 

“I’m insulted by you,” I corrected him. “I am not a toy for you to play around with, having fun at my expense. I am not a source of entertainment for you, and I won’t sit by and listen to you fiddle with other people’s perceptions of me.”

“Sensitive, ain’t you? Nobody cares about you!” He raised his voice, and I recoiled. In a second, his words caught up with him and his face dropped. “That did not come out the way I meant.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“No. Really, I– I meant that people don’t have no perceptions of you, nothin’ I could say would make anyone think any less of you. It’s me they can’t stand, you think I’m too dense to know that?” Micah stood up too and gestured to himself with both hands. I might’ve imagined it but I thought I detected a hint of vulnerability in the way he said that. 

“I wonder why!” I gave a hollow laugh and Micah frowned. “All you do is wind people up!”

“Maybe I’m just an abrasive kind of person,” he muttered, “can’t help who I am.”

“No, you ain’t. Micah, you can be a nice guy when you wanna be. I’ve seen it. When you came and apologised to me at Clemens Point. When we’ve worked together and you’ve just shut up and listened to me and been respectful of my plans and ideas. When you sit and listen to people’s stories around the fire at night and leave out any childish remarks. You ain’t abrasive by nature, I don’t know why you do it, is it boredom?”

Micah just stared at me with a slack jaw, his eyes wide and brows curved upwards. 

“Just, stop talking about me behind my back. Stop winding everybody up!” I sighed, pushing past him to leave. 

“Wait a second, let me tell you somethin’,” he called out after me. I stopped in my tracks, despite wanting to keep going. “I think you’re a good woman, I’d go as far as sayin’ I’m fond of you, alright? If there’s anyone I might actually care about hating me, it’s you.”

“I don’t hate you,” I told him as I turned back to look at him. 

“No?” He questioned hopefully, then came down the steps to close the gap between us. 

I shook my head, and a ghost of a smile touched his mouth. He put his hands on my upper arms and pulled me towards him, tilting his head as if he was about to kiss me. I didn’t let him get far, jerking backwards and out of his grip; his smile disappeared. 

“Arthur,” I blurted out unthinkingly, my mind unable to communicate anything more than just his name. Micah’s shoulders dropped and he sighed. 

“Yeah, I get it, you’re sweet on Morgan. But he ain’t gonna all of a sudden fall in love with you just 'cause you played nurse with him for a couple weeks and y’ keep following him around every-goddamn-where, alright?” He ground out through gritted teeth. I stared blankly at him. 

Did he really not realise? I’d assumed that everyone in the camp knew about us by then, we hadn’t exactly been subtle over the past few weeks. People assumed and people talked, I thought it was common knowledge. The look on Micah’s face, however, told me otherwise. 

“Oh. I guess I’m a moron, then,” he said, tone oozing irritated sarcasm.

“I just thought everyone knew,” I peeped, noticing redness creeping up his neck and to his cheeks.

“I knew you had a soft spot for him but I didn’t know anything had actually gone on between you two. Thought Morgan was too yellow to be a man and make you his woman, either that or he weren’t interested. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him so much as look at a woman since I’ve been here, was starting to wonder about him…” he trailed off, his tone mean and judgemental. 

I rolled my eyes at him, something that did not go unnoticed. 

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, try to make me feel stupid,” he snapped. 

“There you go again, talking crap.”

“I can’t help the way I am, princess,” he said, swinging his arms out to his sides grandiosely. 

“I asked you not to call me that,” I said abruptly. 

“Why? In case your little boyfriend hears me and gets upset? He don’t scare me, you know, he might be big bad Arthur Morgan, the neanderthal they all send out to intimidate folk, but he don’t scare me one bit,” he strolled over to me, making wild gestures with his hands. “He ain’t so special. Bet he don’t know the first thing about pleasing a woman.”

I scoffed and turned around, walking back towards the main camp.

“Touched a nerve there, have I, sugarplum? Pretty boy Arthur couldn’t point to which hole it goes in if y’ asked him to? Wouldn’t surprise me if you pulled his pants down and there was nothin’ there,” he shit talked all the way to the fountain and I spun around to him, getting in his face. 

“Don’t you worry about that, Micah, just remember he ain’t the one having to ask me to get into bed with him. Don’t you worry at all,” I spat, jabbing my finger in his chest and making him back up in surprise.

I stared at him for a few moments more, daring him to say something else. He kept his mouth shut, thankfully, and soon my anger was ebbing and I couldn’t believe my own outburst. I backed off, feeling my knees shake as I did, averting my eyes, spotting someone from the corner of my eye and almost crumbling with humiliation. Kieran was just sat there on the ground, leaning up against one of the wooden barriers that were built where we kept the horses, smoking a cigarette. We held eye contact for a few long seconds before his peeled away to look at Micah. 

“I ought'a string you up for ear-wigging, you nosey little shit!” Came Micah’s sudden outburst, and he lunged towards Kieran. I grabbed hold of his arm before he could get further and Kieran was up on his feet, hurdling the fence and scampering off. “Yeah, run off, O'Driscoll!”

“Leave the man alone, he was just smoking a damn cigarette!”

“You like making me look like an idiot, huh?” He directed his poison at me and I flinched. 

“No, I didn’t know he was there,” I said meekly. 

“You know what? I’m done. Only reason I wanted you was so I could fuck a virgin, anyway,” he sneered at me, then sauntered past me.

I stood there for a moment, brows slightly raised, heart thrumming and making me feel all funny and lightheaded. The sun had set and the stars were beginning to show and a glance up to the sky showed me a full moon, a trick of the night making everything look brighter. It was later than I thought. With a sigh I sat myself down on the edge of the fountain, grateful for the drop in temperature the night brought. These parts were just as sticky and hot as I remembered them, with air thick and wet enough it felt like you couldn’t pull a decent breath.

I watched Kieran with his horse in the distance, his arm thrown over it, his other hand stroking its face. I didn’t blame him for keeping to himself one bit. He glanced over at me, offered me a small, apologetic smile. I gave him a limp wave in response. 

I missed Arthur. All I wanted was to crawl between his arms and stay there. I hated arguing with Micah, part of me regretted bringing anything up in the first place, wishing I’d just been polite from the start to avoid all this. But I couldn’t just let him keep getting away with needlessly acting like an asshole behind my back. Micah and I were probably through with being friendly, given the words he’d spat in my face. Whether they were true or not, they weren’t pleasant to hear. Perhaps I was wrong to see any good in him. Perhaps he really was just a nasty, angry little man.

I wasn’t sat there long before I heard hoof beats on the path. I looked up to see Dutch riding back, flanked by Arthur and John– and Jack! I stood up quickly and pulled in a sharp breath, a smile lighting up my face at the sight of him. 

“Abigail!” I shouted, not knowing where she was or if she’d even hear me. 

“We got him! Abigail, we got your boy!” Dutch yelled, slowing to a stop in front of me and swinging down.

Abigail came running into view as John lowered Jack down from the horse. 

“He’s fine,” John called out in reassurance, and Jack ran towards Abigail. I could almost cry seeing her reunited with him, hugging him tightly as the boy relayed stories from his time away, about the food he’d eaten. He was adorable, and thankfully unscathed.

“It’s good to have you back, Jack! We all missed you,” I told him, coming up behind Abigail and putting a hand on her shoulder.

“You got my son back,” Abigail said, her voice wavering with emotion. “Dutch, Arthur, thank you." 

I looked at the three men gathering before her, at Arthur and Dutch’s silent nods, at John’s dejected expression. Without a word to him, Abigail was guiding Jack into camp, smiling wider than I’d ever seen her, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her. 

"I got my son!” She called out as the other members of the gang all got up and came rushing over, each person wearing a bright smile. It filled me with just enough optimism for me to forget about all of the crap with Micah. Soon enough, Dutch was calling out to everyone to drink and enjoy the night, Jack’s return called for celebration. 

It felt good to have something to celebrate, with everything that seemed to have been going wrong. 

I hung back and watched as everyone gathered around the campfire, Javier beginning to play his guitar, gracing us all with his smooth voice as he sang us a song in his native tongue. My smile didn’t shift as I watched them all, merrily dancing and joining in on the chorus, little Jack in the middle of it all with the cutest little grin on his face. Family. One that I felt a part of, especially when someone walked past and pushed a beer into my hand; Lenny, smiling at me as he went and joined the others. 

I opened up the bottle and took a long drink, not even caring that the beer was especially warm from the Lemoyne heat. 

“Hey,” Arthur came up beside me, letting his hand come to rest on the small of my back. 

“Oh, I’m glad to see you,” I breathed, tilting my head and resting it briefly on his shoulder before straightening up again.

“Yeah?” He smirked, amused. “You miss me, since you saw me this morning all those hours ago?” He teased a little drily.

“Yeah, actually,” I nodded. 

“Mm, me too,” he hummed, moving his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side.

“I’m so pleased you all got Jack back, feels like things suddenly got a little better,” I said to him, wrapping my arm around his waist. 

“Yeah, it does. It’s good to see everyone celebrating, too.”

“You wanna go and join 'em? Don’t let me stop you, I just like to watch from the sidelines.”

Arthur shook his head. “Nah, I ain’t much in the mood for a party. Truth be told, I’m ready for some peace and quiet,” he chuckled, “it’s been a long day.”

“You wanna go see where you’re sleeping? I made up your room,” I said, and he met my gaze with a certain look in his eye. I could see the reflection of the fire flicker in his eyes and I pressed my lips together, itching to kiss him.

“Sure, show me,” he finally whispered. 

I led Arthur into the house and up the stairs. The place was completely empty, everyone outside singing and drinking, enjoying the opportunity to really let loose with permission from Dutch. We entered his room and I stepped aside to let him in, watching as he closed the door behind him. He glanced around the place, at the peeling paint and the broken window, over to his bed and finally to his right where all of his keepsakes were. 

“You like it? This is one of the best rooms in the house, lucky boy,” I giggled, hearing him laugh through his nose as he turned to inspect the photos on the shelf. I struck a match and lit the lamp sitting on the table by the window.

“It’s gonna be weird, having a proper roof over my head. Where’re you sleeping?” He asked, picking up the photograph of Mary before glancing at me. I looked down at it before meeting his eye.

“I don’t know, wherever I drop,” I shrugged, fiddling with the cuff of my shirt as I watched him flip the photo frame over and bend back the little clasps keeping the back on. 

“Well, my bed was comfier with you in it, so if you wanna join me in here,” he said casually, pulling the back of the frame off and plucking out Mary’s photo. He then fished around in his satchel for a moment, and I frowned, finally unable to hold back my questions. 

“Arthur, what’re you doing?" 

"I hope you don’t mind,” he started, retrieving a piece of paper from his bag and sliding it into the frame, reassembling it. “Took this the other day when you was sitting by the lake. I don’t use my camera all that much, but I had nothing else to do while I was loitering around camp, not quite ready to get to work again.”

“You have a camera?” My brows rose.

“I was gonna just take a photo of the lake, it looked pretty with the sun setting. I wasn’t being a creep, I promise,” he chuckled, “anyway I saw you there, and I took your photo. Had some spare time in Saint Denis today; had it printed so I could do this.”

He placed the photo back on the shelf, and I stepped forward to take a look. I flushed a little at the sight of it, I’d never had my photo taken before and it caught me a little off guard to see myself. I was sat at the end of the jetty, cross-legged with Cain, a dog that had wandered into camp one evening. 

“I didn’t realise you’d taken a photo,” I laughed in surprise. 

“No… I know. I should’ve asked,” he murmured, sounding a little ashamed. 

“I don’t mind,” I assured him with a smile. 

“That night when you noticed I’d kept Mary’s photo, I just thought it– it’d be nice to have one of you, instead,” he explained, and I turned and took his hands in mine. I tugged on them and he bent down to my level, joining our lips together in a sweet, short kiss. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck when our lips parted, resting my chin on his shoulder as his arms encircled my waist. I could hear Javier’s song through the window, and Arthur slowly began to sway me in time to the rhythm, his feet shuffling, eventually we were spinning in slow circles. I giggled quietly and he changed his hold on me, taking one of my hands and pulling back to smile at me as he led me in our own private little dance in the middle of his room. He lifted my hand and twirled me around, catching my waist and pulling me in close again.

“I’ve never danced before,” I commented, and Arthur made a humming sound. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered into my ear, “I don’t tell you that enough.”

“Arthur,” I gave a breathy, bashful laugh and pressed my face into the side of his neck.

“I don’t think I ever really have, have I?” He added thoughtfully. “Well, there you go, I think you’re beautiful. Not just your face, everything." 

"I don’t know what to say,” I mumbled like a fool, my heart beating so hard I bet he could feel it.

He leaned forwards, tilting me back and making me squeak in surprise, before bringing me back up again. He chuckled, tilting his head down and kissing my neck. Our dance dissolved as he got distracted in kissing me, his lips trailing down to my shoulder, along my arm, down to my wrist and my hand. He kissed each one of my fingertips, his eyes closed, and I bit down on my lip as I watched him. Inside I felt abuzz with affection for him, his tenderness making me feel like nothing ever had before. 

“I wanna make love to you,” I whispered, and he froze, his lips against the underside of my wrist where my pulse sped. “I want to.”

“Princess,” he exhaled, opening his eyes and meeting mine, “I’d like that more than anything.”

I moved in to kiss him again, this one hotter than the last, but not rushed. His hands settled on my waist and he kissed me back for a moment until I pressed my body up against his, then he held me steadily away from him and broke the kiss. 

“Not here, I don’t want your first to be in a place like this,” he whispered. I couldn’t keep the sadness from my eyes and he cupped my cheeks. 

“I don’t care,” I shook my head. 

“I do. Our friends are right outside, I wanna be able to talk to you, make sure you’re alright without worrying what people might hear,” he explained. I nodded in understanding, my eyes dropping to his chest. “How’d you feel about riding out to Saint Denis, now?”

It surprised me, I thought he was saying no. 

“Well, it ain’t far,” I shrugged, a smile crossing my lips, one he returned. 

[outlawnurse]

He Insists - Chapter I

A RDR2 Modern AU Written by: @ninja-nurse, Inspired by: @heart-of-gold-outlaw, and with special thanks to @ceruleanchillin

Warning: Language, Violence, Spoilers

Introduction | Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Chapter V

Hosea hopped down from the wagon, helping the two girl's down. "Thank you, Mr. Matthews."  Caitlin said. "Of course."  He put his arm out, "This way." "Where are we?" "It's called Horseshoe Overlook."  Hosea said. "Are we still in West Elizabeth?"  Sophia asked. "They call this The Heartlands.  You're in New Hanover, Ladies." "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto."  Caitlin looked around. Sophia shook her head, slowly, not sure what to make of the place. "Well, well, well."  The man walked over, "What do we have here?" Dutch cleared his throat, "They're going to be staying with us for a while.  This is Caitlin and her sister Sophia.  Ladies, this is Micah Bell." "It's always a pleasure to meet beautiful women."  He grabbed the woman's hand, bringing it to his lips. The woman jerked her arm back, stepping back suddenly, bumping into the man behind her, gasping, turning to face him. Arthur caught her, putting his hands on her shoulders, moving her to stand beside him, "You're alright, girl.  This one's bark is worse than his bite." "You say that now."  She mumbled under her breath. "She's a bit high strung, that one, isn't she?"  Micah laughed. "It seems to me like hatred for you transcends generations, Micah."  Arthur scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means if I'd been here, you'd still be sitting in that jail in Strawberry."  Caitlin snapped, standing just behind Arthur, as if he were a shield. They all looked at her. "I think I'm gonna like this one."  Arthur snickered, turning to look at her. "How did you know about that?"  Micah snarled. Sophia shot a look of discontent at Caitlin, who mouthed, 'I'm sorry.' "Who are these girls?"  Micah asked, glaring at the woman. "We'll get to introductions shortly."  Dutch ushered them to his tent, "Miss Grimshaw, can I have a moment of your time?" "Of course, Dutch."  She walked over. "Mr. Morgan, can you fetch Mr. Marston?" "With pleasure."  He nodded. To say that the members of the Van der Linde crew were bewildered after being introduced to the two women was an understatement.  John seemed almost distraught by the girl's presence, while Abigail wanted nothing more than to get to know the woman.  To her, they were a symbol of hope.  They were a sign that everything would work out for them.  John, while struggling to comprehend what was happening, decided that family was family, and accepted the girls.  

A tent was put up that the two would share.  They were given clothes and basic supplies.  In an effort to make the two of you comfortable, Dutch planned a welcome party for that night.  Charles and Bill had brought back two deer from their hunting trip.  Sadie helped Pearson prepare food for everyone, and there was plenty of alcohol to go around.

Sophia whispered to Caitlin, as they changed in their tent, "Can you please try to turn back on your filter?" "What?" "You can't just go shooting off your mouth with these guys."  Sophia snapped, "Did you see the look on Micah's face when you threatened him?  He looked like he was going to shoot you in the face." "First of all, I didn't threaten him.  Second of all, he wouldn't dare."  Caitlin pulled the skirt on, "Arthur Morgan is looking for a reason to end him.  I'd be happy to give him one." "This isn't a joke."  Sophia seemed genuinely worried, "You romanticize our family's history, but they're criminals.  Their jobs are literally to rob and kill people.  You know what Micah did to the people he supposedly cared about.  Do you think he'll hesitate to kill you?" "I don't romanticize anything.  I know, probably better than you, who I'm dealing with." "You can't save them." "I'm not trying to." "You are.  It's what you do, Cait.  You try to save people.  It's why to became a nurse.  You know the fate of almost every person out there, and you want to save them.  You need to let history happen.  There are just some things you can't fix.  You can't interfere." "We already have, Soph." She looked at her. "As incredibly detailed as Arthur journal is, never once did he mention two time traveling great great granddaughters of John Marston.  I'd say that's journal worthy wouldn't you?" Sophia sighed, "Just... be cool, ok?" "Fine." "...and here... take this."  She handed her a handkerchief. "What's this for?" "Because you drool every time you mention his name." "Shut up." "It's unhealthy." "When in Rome, bitch."  She tucked the piece of cloth into her dress pocket. "Don't..." "What?" "You have a crush on a man because of his diary, which, I should add, was written a hundred and some years before you were even born." "Don't you judge me!"  She squint her eyes at the woman, "You see what he looks like." "He's fucking terrifying."  She said, "He literally drew a gun on you not even six hours ago!" "Well," she waved her off, "he didn't know who we were." Sophia shook her head, "That dress looks nice on you by the way." "Thank you."  She posed, "You look nice too." "Thanks!"  She twirled in the skirt. Cait smirked, "I bet old Artie's amazing in..." "Don't say it!"  Sophia covered her ears, quickly, "For the love of God, don't say it!" Caitlin laughed. "You're not going to sleep with the one hundred and fifty five year old outlaw." "I'm pretty sure he's like thirty-six." Sophia just made a face, "You're going to end up with syphilis." "That's a risk I'm willing to take." "You're such a whore."  Sophia laughed. Caitlin shrugged her off, "That's what antibiotics are for." "...and when were antibiotics created, Nurse Cait?" "Nineteen twenty four?" "...and what year is it now?" "Eighteen ninety... Oooooh." She nodded, "Syphilis." Caitlin laughed. "Are you ready?"  Sophia asked. "Yeah." "Remember ... be normal until we can figure out how to get home." "Normal.  Got it." "No threatening Micah." "No threatening Micah."  Cait repeated. "No getting syphilis from Arthur." Cait just laughed. "Say it." "He doesn't have syphilis." Sophia put her hands on her hips. "Fine.  No getting syphilis from Arthur."  She made a face. "Be. Normal." She put her hands up, in defeat, "I'll be on my best behavior, Mom." "Good."  Sophia pointed at her, leaving the tent. Many of the group sat around the camp fire, chatting and laughing, while Javier played his guitar.  Some of the men sat at the table playing poker, drinking and smoking.  Caitlin was silent, taking everything in, as she was far more socially awkward than she let on, despite her earlier interactions.  Sophia chat with a few of the girls as she sat at the fire.

"Are you ok?"  John sat beside the woman. She nodded, "I'm just, umm, overwhelmed, ya know?" "I imagine this is a lot for you." "I might also ... still be a little hung over from last night." He chuckled, lifting a bottle of whiskey, "I can help with that!" She took a drink from the bottle. He raised his eyebrows, "Oh..." She lowered the bottle, touching her fingers to her lips, wiping off the excess, as she swallowed, "I'm sorry." He laughed, "You must be my blood." She chuckled, as he took a drink, handing it back to her, "You know, whenever the family gets together, they tell stories of you and the Van der Linde Gang, and Jack ... The family talks about it often." "Yeah?" "Yeah."  She smiled, taking another drink of the whiskey, "I feel like I know everyone here, but I also... I don't." He looked at her. "The stories made you all so real, but I never imagined being here... with you... being able to touch you.  I get a real chance to get to know you.  It's so surreal." He smiled at her. "As overwhelming as this is for us, though, I can't imagine how weird it must be for you guys." He scratched his head, "It's... something alright." She took another drink from the bottle, before handing it to John. "Did you ever get to meet Jack?" She shook her head, seeing the boy sleeping, in Abigail's lap, "He passed before I was born." He looked sad, "I know you can't tell us anything, but...  Does it all work out?" She looked at him for a minute, not sure what to say.  She looked at the fresh scarring on his face.  She realized for the first time how much her own father looked like him, "Well, I mean, you have a direct bloodline a hundred years from now, so I mean...  It couldn't have been all bad, right?" "I'll take that."  He nodded.

Caitlin looked up to see Sophia laughing with Abigail and the girls.  She knew that at any moment, all of this would be ripped from her.  She looked toward the table, where Arthur played poker with Dutch, Hosea, and Sean.  The man held his cigarette loosely between his lips, as he placed his bet.  His gaze shifted toward the fire, making eye contact with the woman.  She smiled, nodding to him.  He removed the cigarette, nodding back to her.

"Hello?"  John waved his hand in front of the woman's face. She startled, looking back at him, "What?" "I asked if you missed home." "Honestly, I want to stay here as long as I can." He nodded, finishing the whiskey, "Well, we're happy to have you for as long as we can." She smiled.

To Be Continued............