Birds of a Feather II

Arthur: Part One

"So much for us being a goddamned family."

Arthur stood stock still, not believing his eyes as he watched Micah take lead of the others—even Dutch for chrissakes—away from Moonstone. Dutch didn't seem to care anymore that he was being separated from men he'd once trusted with his life.

Arthur's mind was in a jumble. He'd felt guilt after Dutch accused him of pulling the family apart. But once Dutch turned his back, all Arthur felt was relief. He and Dutch ain't been on the same page for months and now that it'd come to a head, he was seeing clear enough to know what was right.

Now Dutch didn't care if he orphaned his friend's child so long as he got rich? Leaving Abigail to the Pinkertons? All his goddamn talk, all them years. Seemed like all he'd said was always lies. Or he went crazy. It was a mess and through it all, Arthur missed Hosea's wisdom the most.

"That coulda gone a lot better," Lenny commented, breaking the tense silence between them who was left.

"I'd say," Sadie agreed with a snort, "But it coulda gone a lot worse."

Arthur couldn't agree more. There'd been a dangerous moment where he'd feared for all of them, where he believed Micah would try to kill them all. Arthur was standing beside Charlotte, holding onto her still after Micah had flung her to the ground.

Charlotte sniffled and he looked down at her. He inspected her face. Red marks had started to appear where that bastard had grabbed her.

"You alright?" he asked of Charlotte.

"Yes," she answered, but with a wobble in her voice. Her hand trembled as she swept back a strand of her hair that had loosened. She was attempting to put on a brave face, but he could see straight through the act.

She should have never been put in the middle of this shit. I'm sorry, he wanted to say, but the apology caught in his throat. Even if he could get it out, he knew how she'd respond, 'cause she'd made it clear to him before. She'd made her choice and for some reason she'd decided to throw in with his lot.

Arthur had been a fool in all of this. He should've been more callous about leaving Charlotte in Saint Denis so she could make her own way again. Instead, he'd allowed her to burrow her way under his guard. He'd gotten too comfortable with her presence. The truth was, he liked having someone normal around, someone who ain't seen the worst of him. Her being here, it helped hold himself to a higher standard.

Before he could try to sweep away any of Charlotte's remaining fear, John said loudly, "Now what the hell we supposed to do?"

"What do you mean?" Sadie glanced up from loading her rifle and scowled at him. "Thought the reason we sided with you fools is because we were going after Abigail."

"Well, sure. But if she's still in Van Horn, it ain't gonna be easy, and Dutch took all the men, ammo and guns we need with him."

Sadie finished loading her rifle and cocked it. She said fiercely, "Not all of it, John Marston."

"We're gonna need more than that to jump into a fight with the Pinkertons," Lenny pointed out.

"I disagree," Sadie said hotly. "We kicked their asses before and it only took three of us to finish off the O'Driscolls, didn't it?"

Lenny argued, "But they weren't expecting us. It seems more likely than not, we're walking into a trap."

They all looked to him expectantly and Karen was the one to say aloud what they all wanted to ask. "What do you think, Arthur?"

Somehow, he'd just been promoted to their leader without even asking for it. He cleared his throat, trying to come up with something that weren't half-cocked and fully stupid. "I reckon...me, John, Lenny and Sadie head to Van Horn. Karen, you stay here with Charlotte and Jack—"