Arthur Morgan did not intend to survive when he gave his hat to John Marston and stayed behind to gain his redemption. As he crawled towards his final resting place, he never intended to wake up again.
But he does wake up. Thanks to time travelers F...
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1883
Deer Creek, Montana continued to freeze. Three days before New Year's Eve, a massive blizzard blew through the small valley that included both the town and the small, abandoned settlement where Dutch's gang camped. Arthur managed to shoot an elk the day before and they were no longer starving, but it was the coldest weather he'd experienced in his entire lifetime, and no amount of clothing or huddling near fires could keep him entirely warm.
As a result of the bad weather, spirits in the camp were abysmal. Arguments and complaints were commonplace, and the only ones who seemed unaffected were Jamie and Bessie.
In talking with her, Bessie swore this was nothing compared to the winter of '57. She remained cheerful, helping the women keep the fires up and prepare food while the men tended to the horses and made sure there was enough to eat and melted snow for water.
Jamie thought it was all good fun. Once the high winds and driving snow had subsided, on New Year's Eve, there was a day of clear weather with plenty of sunshine. While it was very, very cold - sixty degrees below zero - it was also the first time in over a month that the sky had not been grey or angry, and as Jamie had been going stir-crazy inside their cabin, Mary had given Annabelle and Arthur her permission to take him outside for a while to play in the snow.
As Jamie rolled around in the white, fluffy powder, making snowmen and the like, Arthur and Annabelle stood watching him, happy and content.
Annabelle's cheeks were flushed from the cold, despite the thick dress and leggings she wore, and the winter grizzly hide wrapped around her like a blanket. "The wee lad seems happier than all the rest of us," she noted, smiling warmly at Arthur.
"He's a boy, ain't he?" Arthur replied. His breath billowed in front of him in great, warm clouds of vapor as it hit the cold air. "And, he ain't seen most of the bad things we do. The kid might even still be convinced I'm a lawman."
Annabelle laughed. "Maybe. I wish I had that innocence still. God knows I've done things in the past year I never thought I would."
"We all have," Arthur murmured quietly. "Hell, one year ago, I didn't even know Mary. Now look at me. I'm marryin' her."
"She's excited about that, from what I hear," Annabelle replied. "She loves you quite a lot, as does Jamie."
They were quiet for a minute. "But is she happy?" Arthur asked quietly. "I just... she don't smile much anymore. All I want is for her to be happy, and I ain't so sure she is."
Annabelle sighed, sniffled, and crossed her arms. "No. No, she ain't happy, Arthur. I promised I wouldn't tell you what she's told me, but I reckon you should know." Her velvety, Irish accent sounded distant and sad. "She's...tired."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "We're all goddamn tired. Tired of the snow, tired of starvin', tired of all the runnin' and the bullets and the bounty hunters. Dutch already wants to move again, but thankfully Hosea and I managed to convince him that's suicide. And then there's Marston, irritated with all of us because he thinks we were bein' stupid with our mine share scam. He ain't talked to me in weeks."
