Lift Your Eyes {Arthur Morgan x Reader}

chapter 26

All For One

It was seemingly impossible to concentrate on anything, when your existence solely seemed to flit between worrying and feeling ill at the present moment in time.

You felt more useless than ever, making a habit of busying yourself with camp chores than go out and actually look to do jobs - such as small home robberies or coach holdups.

Not surprisingly, you just didn't feel like it. Not to mention, at camp if you felt sick - you could quietly skulk off somewhere and be unbothered. However, you imagined if this sort of thing happened whilst out on a job - it would be highly embarrassing and evoke a few questions.

So with the horses and endless baskets of washing you stayed, smiling warmly and greeting your mismatched family as they came and went - hiding the troubles underneath your polite smile. Like an entity clutching onto your back, growing heavier and heavier - it became more apparent that time indeed was not stopping. Each day that passed, carrying with it it's uncertainties, your child was growing inside you. You still didn't know what to do, you'd been thinking for a few days now about your discussion with Arthur. Half of you still did not believe he was being honest about his allusion to leaving the gang.

It was late evening, and your third day of uninterrupted toiling thoughts. With your rifle in hand, you'd stepped up to do a few hours guard on the perimeter of camp - quite content with the canopy of the trees and the gentle fading chirps of the birds as your only companions.

Despite the fact it was getting late, Clemens Point was still fairly scarce of it's usual numbers. Most were still out it seemed, and you recalled Micah had disappeared once more and Bill went wandering off on 'private matters' so god knows when you would be seeing those two again.

All that remained in camp were the usual 'layabouts' - Uncle, Swanson and the scheming little Strauss. You felt very much like you were beginning to fall into their category considering you hadn't left out on a job in a while.

The difference between yourself and them was simply the fact you still did chores around camp, end of.

Of course, some others still remained - Dutch was in his tent as he mostly always was, reading and writing all sorts. Kieran was filling up the water troughs for the horses, and well - Arthur was doing very little himself for once. Considering the outlaw was Dutch's main workhorse, it was rather a rare sight to see him sitting at his wagon, giving his weapons a much needed clean. (And despite the slight friction and tension that still wavered between you both, he had generously offered to clean yours too.)

Gloved hands clutching your weapon tight, you braced the rifle across your blue Huerta shirt covered chest - ears prickled to the sound of rushing hoofbeats. You listened eagerly to the pacing... a thunderous canter, but only belonging to one horse.

"Who's there?" You cried out, a dusky lit figure bobbing into view on the back of a golden-coloured steed. Sadie.

"They- they got Lenny!" She puffed, pulling sharply up on her horse's reins to bring the wily stallion to a halt.