Sign of the Times (Arthur Morgan x Reader)

Chapter Seven

I trudged into camp, hitched Zephyr, and went straight to a wash bucket. I splashed the cool water on my face and push a few strands of flyaway hair back into my messy bun.

"You owe me an explanation for what the HELL happened back there!" Arthur said, trudging up to me, in an intimidating manner, and sticking his hand out. I stood my ground and felt my brow crease in anger.

"I don't owe you SHIT, Morgan." I said, slapping his hand away. He looked taken aback for a moment before coming at me once more.

"If I'd known you were gonna pull a stunt like that, I'd have never-" Arthur started, but I cut him off.

"The man has Tuberculosis, Arthur!" I shrieked, and the entire camp went silent as all eyes fell on us.

"So the man's sick, so what? We're outlaws. Since when have we ever cared as long as we got the money?" He asked, folding his arms.

"Please tell me you're not dense as all that...!" I said, exasperatedly.

"What's goin' on here?" Hosea asked, stepping between us, but we ignored him.

"What the hell are you gettin' at woman?!" Arthur argued, and I shoved him away with both hands.

"Gettin' shot at's one thing! Starvin' to death's one thing!" I said, and Arthur bit back, his voice even louder than before.

"And what?!" He demanded.

"Tuberculosis is very infectious, and THERE'S NO CURE FOR IT, YA DAMN FOOL!" I screamed. At this point, the entire camp was staring at us, but I didn't care. I had never let my emotions show like this in front of anyone before, and now it was coming out all at once.

"Miss (L/N)-" Arthur spoke but I ignored him as I turned to storm off.

"I'm going into town." I said plainly, walking through camp to mount up.

"(F/N), you need to rest!" Charles called after me. Before I realized what was happening, his heavy footsteps followed me closely behind.

"I don't need an attendant, Charles." I said, a bit more coldly than I had intended.

"Well, I can't keep you here and make you rest, but I'm not letting you go alone and risk you getting hurt." He said, and his words made my heart swell slightly. I swallowed a lump before tightening a strap on Zephyr's saddle.

"I'm sure your horse is exhausted too. Let him rest, and we'll take mine." He offered, leading his horse over by the reigns. Again I hesitated, but he was right. Zephyr really hadn't had a chance to rest today. My hand slid from the leather over to Zephyr's neck, where I stroked him gently. He craned his head back towards me, nuzzling into my neck. I smiled brightly and rested my head against his momentarily before pulling away and taking an oatcake from my satchel.

"Here, boy." I mumbled. He gratefully accepted the treat, and I pet him once more before turning back to Charles who had already mounted his horse and was waiting patiently. He watched me intently as I approached and mounted the horse right behind him. Just before we took off, I glanced back towards camp to see Hosea and Arthur talking. Arthur had taken a seat on a chair and looked as though he were getting a tongue lashing by Hosea. A pang of hurt ripped through me suddenly. I never meant for him to get in trouble. I just wished he would take better care of himself, the fool...

*Arthur's POV*

"Arthur." Hosea spoke, but I wasn't paying attention. I was watching as (F/N) walked away. She was obviously upset, but I couldn't really understand why.

"(F/N)! You need to rest!" Charles called after her and followed her quickly over to the horses. Since when have they been on a first name basis? I felt my brow furrow at the thought.

"Arthur!" Hosea spoke again, finally getting my attention.

"What happened?" Hosea questioned, and I scoffed, throwing my hand up in the air.

"Hell if I know... she just threw a tantrum..." I mumbled, stroking my beard, and taking a seat on a nearby chair.

"Didn't sound like a tantrum to me..." Hosea mumbled, placing his hands on his hips and I groaned in frustration.

"I was out collectin' debts for Strauss, and she asked to come along..." I shook my head.

"We're outlaws, Hosea. It's what we do. She's been with us awhile now, I figured she'd know that by now." I said, rubbing my forehead, realizing there was a thin layer of sweat.

"After running with those O'driscolls for a while... I'm sure she's seen her fair share of nasty business. It's nothin' new to her." Hosea said.

"Then why's she actin' like this?" I asked, and Hosea thought for a moment before he smiled slightly.

"She cares about you, Arthur." He said, and I felt my heart drop. I quickly got to my feet, shaking my head as I walked away.

"Why else would she have said what she said?" Hosea asked, following me closely.

"What, about the Tuberculosis thing?" I asked, and Hosea nodded.

"She's right, Arthur. Tuberculosis is extremely contagious, deadly, and there's no cure for it..." Hosea spoke, and the bigger picture was suddenly becoming clearer to me now.

"So you're sayin'... if she hadn't stepped in like she did today-" I started, by Hosea cut me off.

"It's a hell of a thing, Tuberculosis... if you had caught it, it would've killed you, slowly. Painfully. Surely." Hosea said, his words, cutting like knives.

"I need to talk to her." I said, feeling beside myself with how I had treated her before.

"Give her time. She just needs to think about things." Hosea said, and of course, he was right.

"Have I been a damn fool?" I asked, more myself than anyone.

"No more than you usually are, my boy." Hosea joked. I laughed half-heartedly as he walked away, patting my shoulder in a reassuring manner as he went. I'll give her the time she needs, and when she gets back, I'll apologize.

Because it would seem she's saved my life yet again, and yet again I'm a damn fool for not seein' it.