Better together

Chapter 1

The cold was unbearable. Lana couldn't feel her toes and her fingers had long gone numb.

Lana had been put with Arthur, their jobs to scout out a place for the gang to rest in the heavy snow storm. Arthur could see how much the cold was affecting Lana and he didn't like it one bit. He'd already given her a pair of his gloves to put over hers as they were larger and fit snugly. She wouldn't accept one of his layers that he was wearing in fear that he would fall ill.

They'd come across some shelter, it was pretty run down but right now the gang couldn't be choosers. They both rode back the way they came to find the rest of the gang and direct them towards the shelter.

"Arthur, any luck?" Dutch shouted over the howling of the wind when he saw us coming in the distance.

"I found a place where we can get some shelter. Let Davey rest while he...you know." Lana looked over at Arthur, softening her gaze.

Lana spoke up now, "It's an old mining town, abandoned. It ain't far." Lana Turned her horse around leading the way.

Chapter 1 Colter

"Bring him in here." Hosea directed everyone towards the cabin he had just checked.

Everyone followed into the cabin, Lana being one of the last.

"Davey's dead." Abigail stated. Everyone knew it was going to happen, it was the inevitable. Yet there was still a sadness in the air.

"There was nothing more you could have done."

"What are we gonna do, we need supplies."

"Well first of all you're gonna stay here and you are gonna get yourself warm." Dutch ordered Hosea. "Now I sent John and Micah scouting out ahead. Arthur and I, were gonna ride out see if we can find one if em."

"In this?" Lana piped up.

Dutch nodded, "Just for a short bit, I don't see what other choice we have."

Lana diverted her gaze onto the ground. She felt Arthur situate himself next to her, their arms touching. She moved closer to him, looking for warmth and he answered, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Now listen, listen to me all of you, for a moment. Now we've had well a bad couple of days. I loved Davey, Jenny. Sean, Mac, they may be okay, we don't know. But we lost some folks. Now, if I could throw myself in the ground in their stead I'd do it gladly. But we're gonna ride out and we are gonna find some food. Everybody, we're safe now. There ain't nobody following us through a storm like this one and by the time they get here, we'll we're gonna be...we're gonna be long gone. We've been through worse than this before."

Lana zoned out now, not feeling fully capable of focusing on Dutch's speech. She only found herself focusing when the warmth next to her took his arm away and started to walk away. She grabbed his arm, "Be careful Arthur."

He nodded at her before removing his arm. She hated it when he went off and did dangerous things. It was so stupid of her. He is an outlaw after all. All Lana could do was busy herself with helping the camp be set up.

*

It had been a couple of hours and Lana was now sat in her makeshift room. Miss Grimshaw had put her there, orders from Hosea. Lana had only been in the gang for a short time, around half a year before the trouble in Blackwater, but she had found herself becoming one of the senior members of the gang. She was the most fierce gunslinging lady any of the gang had ever met, but she was as sweet as the sugar cubes she fed her horse.

Because of this she sometimes got special treatment, like her own tent and less chores as she was usually doing a job for Dutch, much like Arthur or John. She fit in well with the gang. And she loved it.

Nobody knew why she had joined the gang. Only Dutch knew as he was the one that found her and offered her a place in the gang. He had become a father figure to her and she had become a daughter figure to him. He was very sweet on her.

Lana had only just started to get the fire going when the door opened behind her. She turned around to see if it was Miss Grimshaw asking for some more help but was pleasantly surprise to see Arthur stood there. He looked up catching her eyes.

"Oh sorry Lana, Miss Grimshaw told me I was staying in here." Lana turned back to face the fire, her cheeks turning even more pink, but not from the cold. Of course Miss Grimshaw had put Arthur in the same room as her, she always teased Lana about her crush on Arthur. Of course Lana always denied it and swatted her away but that didn't make it stop.

"I think we're sharing Arthur, there's not enough room for everyone to have there own space so I guess you're stuck with me." She heard his sweet chuckle as he shut the door to stop the cold air from getting in the best he could. He sat on the empty stool next to her, warming his hands by the fire.

"Nah, I don't mind being stuck with you. Better than sharing a room with Pearson and his god awful smell." Lana laughed out loud at this. Arthur liked making her laugh, it made him feel accomplished.

"Yeah I don't blame you." Lana said, turning to meet his gaze.

They held eye contact for a couple of seconds before Lana yawned, visibly tired from trekking through the snow all day. She stood up and made her way over to the camp bed that had been set up for her, Arthur's to the left of hers.

"We best get some sleep Arthur, we've probably got a tiring day ahead of us."

He nodded, going to the other bed. Lana climbed under the blanket that she had been provided with, fully clothed. It was way too cold to be wearing anything less.

The fire had already started to go out, leaving the room in darkness.

"God damn girl, I can hear you shivering from over here." Arthur said, slight chuckling.

"Sorry, it's just so god damn cold, I can't seem to warm up."

"Come here." Lana shot up.

"What?" Lana asked, needing to hear it again.

"I said, come here." Arthur said pulling the blanket up and gently patting the spot next to him.

"Are you sure Arthur?" Lana asked.

"I'm positive." Arthur said, a sleepy smile on his face.

Lana slowly got up, bringing her blanket with her and placing it over Arthur, before joining Arthur in the spot he had patted. She didn't know how comfortable Arthur was so she tried not to touch him too much, but with the bed being so small they were very much touching.

Arthur drapes the blanket back over the two before placing his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. Lana placed her head on his chest, putting her hands on his stomach to try and warm them up.

Arthur jolted, "Lana you are freezing why didn't you say something?"

Lana shrugged, "I thought everyone was this cold."

This prompted Arthur to pull her even closer. They had never been this intimate before. Sure they had had side hugs, but they had never even hugged properly. Yet here they were, tangled in each other's arms.

"Thank you Arthur." Lana's said, playing with the buttons on his shirt.

Arthur just hummed, the feeling of Lana's hands on his chest lulling him to sleep.

Lana smiled to herself, snuggling closer. She enjoyed the feeling of being this close to Arthur and was hyper aware of his hands on her back, drawing soothing patterns. It felt so nice to be held by someone who cared.

Lana tried to stay awake for as long as she could to savour the moment, but Arthur slowly stroking her back soon sent her to sleep.