Sign of the Times (Arthur Morgan x Reader)

Chapter Three

I shifted my body, feeling the smooth fabric shift underneath me. My face nuzzled into the pillow, and I inhaled deeply, alarmed by the scent that wasn't my own. My eyes popped open, and I sat up, the world spinning as I did so. I took a deep breath, noticing my satchel on the table beside me. I grabbed for it hastily, causing everything to fall out, and causing myself to lose balance and fall out of the bed.

"Hey-" A man spoke, touching my arm lightly. I screamed and grabbed for my knife that had fallen out of my satchel. I quickly spun around, lashing out at the owner of the voice, and heard them yell out in surprise and pain. It was then that my vision cleared, and Arthur Morgan stood in front of me, holding his hand.

"Oh my- I am so sorry!" I apologized, my voice shaky from the initial shock.

"Ah, it's fine... sorry I startled ya..." He mumbled. I managed to find my balance and situate myself back into a sitting position on the bed.

"What happened...?" I asked, as he took a seat beside me.

"Well, one second we were talking about taking ya back to your camp, and the next ya just kinda... collapsed." He explained, and I hid my face in my hands.

"What a great first impression." I mumbled.

"When was the last time you slept, or ate?" He asked, and I had to seriously think about it.

"I know I haven't slept in at least four days, and as for eatin' well... that's more like two days I suppose." I mumbled.

"Well, that's... it aint good." He mumbled, stroking his chin. His movement allowed me to get a good look at his hand where I had cut him, and my eyes went wide.

"God, I hadn't realized I cut ya that deep." I said, reaching for his hand, but he pulled away.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." He said, and I insisted, by pulling his hand back towards me so I could observe it properly. It was bleeding pretty badly, so I quickly grabbed some disinfectant and wrapped it up tightly for him.

"You're really talented with all this... medical stuff." He said, smiling softly.

"I'm no doctor by any means, but I do what I can..." I said, standing and stretching before looking around.

"Who taught you how to do this kinda thing?" He asked, following closely as I slowly neared the edge of camp.

"Listen, Mr. Morgan." I said, stopping to turn towards him.

"I appreciate ya for lettin' me stay here to rest, but I need to head into town to check on how my horse is doin'. I've already stuck around this area for too long." I said, glancing over my shoulder.

"Ah, Miss (L/N)!" I heard someone call out my name, and Arthur and I both turned to see the man from the other day limping towards us with a grin on his face.

"Mr. Pearson." Arthur nodded, regarding the man before us.

"Oh hey, how's your leg?" I asked, managing a small smile.

"Well on it's way to bein' fully healed, thanks to you, miss." He said, nodding.

"I was sure hopin' you'd wake up soon, so I could make ya a special dinner. Eh, my way of sayin' thanks fer, well, y'know... savin' my skin." He said.

"That's real kind of ya, Mr. Pearson, but I really should be-" I started.

"I wholeheartedly agree, Mr. Pearson." The man from the other night spoke, stepping forward. In the daylight he didn't look so threatening, but I couldn't help but tense at the certain air that surrounded him.