The Lucky Ones - Arthur Morgan x Reader

Chapter 20

You're like crack to me
I don't want to leave
I'm watching you sleep
Afraid you'll stop breathing
My baby's on his 8th life darlin
Staying with him til the morning.

Part of me was fatigued and was crying out for sleep but the other part of me could not stop attentively listening to the rise and fall of Arthur's chest, making sure he was still breathing.

Eventually I slipped away into another troubled sleep but this time my dreams were different. I was trapped watching them hurt Arthur, unable to move to help him or scream or anything. I was paralysed watching all kinds of horrors and I woke up with a start.

.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

My next few days were spent nursing Arthur attentively, rarely leaving his side. Even Miss Grimshaw let me off chores for it.

"Hold still." I muttered. He had asked me to shave his face after growing quite a beard from his immobility.

"If you cut me, I ain't gonna happy." He smirked.

"Stop talking! Your face needs to be still." I instructed him. Carefully, I scraped the blade over this face careful not to hurt him. He had been making a slow recovery but he was talking at least. We would sit and talk for hours, there weren't much else to do. He would ask me to play him songs and I would. I had to change the dressings on his wound, bring him food and often feed it to him, bring him water etc. I didn't mind it though, I was just happy to see him recovering.

"I don't deserve you y/n." He smiled a little looking up at me.

"Yes you do stop talking. I don't want to cut your face." I bit my lip in concentration but I couldn't help but notice him looking at my face. I wondered if he was admiring me or noticing every little imperfection. He was quiet until I finished up shaving his face and put the blade away "All done."

He nodded "Thanks darlin, that feels much better."

I looked at the bullet wound in his shoulder, it was covered with bandages and I was glad to see those bandages had not been stained red like they were the first couple of days. "Does it still hurt?" I asked him.

"Just a scratch." He said casually as if it wasn't a whole gunshot wound. "Did ya ever come looking for me?" Arthur asked me as if he was actually unsure on if I would.

"Of course I did don't be stupid. I rode for days. You think I'd just sit at camp knowing you were with those monsters?" I frowned. Part of me was annoyed with him for going but I knew it was not fair of me to be cross with him.

"No... Did Dutch?" He asked.

"Dutch sent out search parties." I nodded, remembering how angry I was that they had even returned without him.

After a moments comfortable silence Arthur reached up his hand pulled me down to cuddle with him. "Arthur." I laughed but got comfy laying on his shoulder that didn't have the gun shot wound. "Doesn't that hurt? Miss Grimshaw will kill me if she catches me just laying down I'm supposed to be looking after you not lazing around.

"Shhh I missed you." He said with his eyes closed. "This is looking after me." I couldn't help but smile, looking up at his face and admiring his features. He must have been able to feel my eyes because he opened one eye with a smirk and I quickly looked getting shy. "You're always staring at me."

"Am not." I said defensively.

"Yeah y'are." He smirked. "When I chop wood, when I ride off and other times. I notice."

I blushed a bit embarrassed. "Yeah well you're gorgeous maybe I look at you a bit."

He smiled and kissed my head "I'm glad I finally listened to you."

"You should be." I grinned but in reality I was overjoyed to be how we were now. "No one else will put up with your snoring."

Arthur laughed. "I know you love me."

"I do." I smiled and nodded. "I really do."

"I should have listened to you when you said it was a trap can't really say no to Dutch though." He sighed.

Dutch came in to the tent and I sat up, I had not spoken to him since I yelled at him and called him a fool. "My dear boy, I need to speak with you, you too y/n." He said and sat on the wooden chair by our bed. "I am sorry, for everything. When things went South with the O'Driscolls, Micah and I figured you'd meet us back on the road. I promise we searched for you every day." Dutch sounded truly apologetic but I had no care to listen to it.

"They was gonna set the law on us Dutch." Arthur explained. "I knew it was a trap from the start."

"I know and I am so sorry, son." Dutch sighed "Y/n, can I speak with you?"

I nodded and stood up, Arthur frowned in confusion but I felt like I was in for a telling off. We went and sat by his tent. "Can I just say I'm sorry for yelling. Obviously you know what the O'Driscolls did to me and I knew it would be worse with Arthur. I was so scared. I'm sorry Dutch I should not have acted like that but I'm sure you can understand why."

Dutch nodded thoughtfully. "I wanted to apologise to you as well, Miss. We should have known it was a trap but we can't deny peace when the opportunity arises." He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Dutch was a father figure to Arthur it was clear he was guilt ridden about the whole thing.

"We both know Arthur will follow you anywhere, Dutch. Don't make him do that again... please." I sighed. Arthur's loyalty was a trait I respected about him but that whole situation was stupid anyone could have seen, even Arthur knew but he still went.

"Trust me Miss, we will never be dealing with O'Driscolls again. I'm sorry for the scare that gave you, I know everything that goes on in this camp and I can see that you really love him." Dutch looked at me and I felt like I could trust what he was saying. "I'm glad he has someone like you, you've been doing a great job of taking care of him since he got back."

I chuckled a bit. "Thanks. I'm glad you understand."

"My dear, without love we are nothing but monkeys." Dutch said in his dramatic, poetic way and I returned back to Arthur.

When I returned back to Arthur looked at me with an amused smirk. He had of course heard that whole conversation. "You yelled at Dutch?"

I nodded. "Of course. They should have come back with you or not at all." I said simply and sat back down on the bed .

Arthur laughed. "That's my girl."