His Cure

Deus Ex Machina

Have you ever gone on vacation? If so then you've probably experienced the weird feeling of waking up and forgetting where exactly you are for a minute until your brain adjusts to your surroundings. Well, that's exactly what happened to me.
***
I rolled over in bed, expecting to reach the other side but instead, my body instantly hit the ground below. I quickly sat up and looked around in a panic before I realised what was going on. The hotel... Arthur...
"You alright, princess?" Arthur asked sarcastically as he peered over the edge of the bed. "Shut up, Morgan." I replied with a smile as he held out his hand to help me up. "Good to see nothings changed then." He joked so I nudged him and rolled my eyes.
"How long were we asleep for?" I asked I sat back down on the bed and rested my head on his shoulder. I've never really been one for physical contact but it's just different with him. Plus, I literally never wanted to let go of him.
"Well, I woke up as the sun was coming up and you were still sleeping so I let you rest." He replied with a smile. "Yeah, I ain't been sleeping the best recently." I replied as I realised that I had slept... the whole night... I actually felt like I had energy and it was great.
"What time is it?" "Uh, just gone eleven." Arthur replied nonchalantly. "Eleven?!" I exclaimed in shock. "Yeah...?" "Jesus, why didn't you wake me?! The others are gonna be so worried..." I complained as I quickly began packing up my things. "Liz... I mean no offence but you could've kept three rabbits and a goat in those eye bags of yours, I thought it was best to let you sleep." He replied with a slight chuckle. "Christ..." I groaned as I looked in the mirror, realising I must have looked like shit but, to my surprise, that wasn't the case at all. As I stared back at my reflection, I realised that I finally recognised myself again. I looked far less dead on the inside and I actually had life in my eyes.
"You alright?" Arthur asked as he placed his hands on my waist from behind. "Yeah... I... I actually am." I replied with a huge smile as I turned to face him. It was a weird feeling. I was okay. I felt okay for the first time in over a month. "Good." He said as he leant in and gently pressed his lips against mine for a few seconds which obviously made me blush. I can't count the amount of times we had kissed by now but every time we did, I still got butterflies in my stomach.
"Arthur..." I began as a thought suddenly dawned on me. "Yeah?" He asked as he looked me dead in the eyes. "Are... shit, we've got to go." I cut myself off as I remembered how late in the day it was, plus, it would take us a few hours to get home from here.
"Alright, come on." Arthur said as he picked up his satchel and slung it around his shoulder.
***
Arthur and I chatted the entire ride home, we had a lot to catch up on after all. It felt... well, there isn't enough words in the dictionary to describe exactly how amazing it felt to be back in his company. It's not a feeling I could explain.
Although it was a fairly long trip, it went by in a flash and we were soon back home.
"We're here." I said happily as I turned down the path to Beecher's Hope. "Jesus, you weren't joking when you said 'ranch'." Arthur replied as we rode towards the main house.
As I hitched Wish outside of the house, Jack came running out to greet me, like he usually did. "Aunt Liz!" He said excitedly as he ran into my arms and gave me a hug. "Hey, kiddo." I said as I ruffled his hair slightly. I watched as Jack's face slowly turned into one of shock as he stared at Arthur which made me chuckle. "Uncle Arthur...?" Jack asked in awe as he stared at him. "Hey, kid." Arthur replied with a smile. "You're alive!" Jack exclaimed as he ran towards him, Arthur quickly picking him up. My heart melted as I watched them hug, everything was finally starting to make sense in my life and I loved it.
"Where is everyone?" I asked Jack as Arthur gently placed him back on the floor. "Ma's in the barn, Pa went into town, Aunt Sadie is doing a bounty and Uncle Charles went to find you." Jack explained with a joyful smile. "Oh, and Uncle's still asleep." He added. "Okay, thanks." I replied with an excited smile. "Uncle Arthur! Can we go fishing again? Pa's always too busy... Oh, and I need to show you my bedroom! Oh, oh, and-" Jack exclaimed. "Kid, of course we can, I just have a few things I need to take care of first." Arthur replied calmly to which Jack nodded. "You said Ma's in the barn?" I asked after a moment causing him to nod once more. "Okay, we'll be back in a minute." I said to Jack before gesturing for Arthur to follow me over to the barn.