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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1885
Arthur continued to pop in and out of Bear Glen over the next few months. After picking the spot to build Eliza a house, he'd left Bear Glen the very next day for the long ride back to Denver and from there, the train trip to Reno. By the time Eliza was seven months pregnant, he simply couldn't stay away any longer.
Not many people knew about Eliza. All they knew was that he was frequently gone for days at a time, taking care of business. To his knowledge, only John, Dutch, Abigail, and Susan Grimshaw knew. It was easier that way. Dutch wasn't pleased Arthur was gone so often, but when his moods became too cantankerous, Miss Grimshaw was very good at making him see reason.
On the plus side of things, Arthur got to know Abigail quite well as time wore on. Pearson and Susan were glad to have an extra pair of hands to help them, and Susan seemed to treat Abigail much better than she had Mary, most likely because of Abigail's chosen profession. It was something she and Susan had in common, after all.
Abigail was something else. Unlike Eliza, she could neither read nor write because it wasn't something their Madame had considered an important part of their training. She could play the piano though, and was smart enough to learn new songs simply by listening, not that there were many pianos for her to play. Still, the men at the saloon in Reno were gifted many a night to the treat of listening to her play folk music, drinking songs, and the like.
It wasn't much of a mystery anymore why John was attracted to her. She was quite beautiful, with her long dark hair, high cheekbones, and deep, soulful eyes. She had quite the wit about her, and she was sneaky and just as conniving as the rest of them. A better pickpocket Arthur had never seen. She'd never been close to Eliza before when they'd worked together, but after John had told her about Arthur's predicament, Abigail asked about her often.
So Arthur told her about everything, about how Eliza couldn't make much money anymore because her feet hurt her so bad these days it was hard for her to be on them pouring drinks all day. He told her how he'd picked out a place to build on and when he'd received the paperwork back from the government, officially awarding him the deed to the land he and Eliza had picked out that day in the snow. But mostly, he explained in minced, hardened words how frightened all this made him.
He hated to admit his fear, but it was there. What if Eliza died in childbirth? The gang was no place for a baby. Fortunately, Abigail reassured him she'd make sure it was well taken care of if the worst happened. Susan echoed Abigail's sentiment, although Arthur never revealed the depths of his worry to her.
Thankfully, the spring thaw came quickly, and Arthur soon received a telegram from Eliza explaining how Anthony, the Bear Glen Saloon owner, was dismissing her from her position as a waitress. Now that she was showing, he'd apparently been the topic of quite a lot of gossip in the town, and his business was suffering. Arthur continued to send Eliza money so she would be okay for now, but now that the ground was soft enough to dig and lay foundations, Arthur knew he had to go back to Bear Glen for the long haul. It was time to build the house and wait for his child to be born.
