His Name Was Isaac (Completed)

8. Like Father, Like Son

TALL TREES

MORNING

Isaac stood frozen in the rain, paralyzed by shock.

A flood of memories hit him all at once upon seeing the stranger's face, and for just a moment, he truly believed he was dreaming.

Was it possible the man told the truth? Was he really Arthur Morgan? Isaac didn't know what to think at this point.

Initially, he believed the man only lied in order to get his guard down, but the longer he observed his features and studied his eyes, the more he could see an all too familiar face staring back at him -- a face that he presumed to be dead many years ago.

Isaac never saw a corpse to confirm his father's death, but due to the lack of contact over the past decade and all the chaos in the world, he simply assumed that Arthur had gotten killed somewhere at some point.

It surpassed the probability of miracles to even consider that his father may have still been alive, and yet... here he was. After fifteen years. Alive, and in the flesh.

His very own family.

"...Daddy...?" Isaac whispered, the little boy in him breaking through for just a second. "Is that... is that really you?"

Arthur nodded in return, his eyes misty with tears of joy. "It's me, Isaac. And it's really you. After all this time of thinkin' you was dead... you're still alive. I... can't believe it."

The young man fell silent and shook his head at the response, still somewhat incredulous.

"But how... why are you here, Dad? What're you doin' with the Van der Linde gang? I... thought you died a long time ago."

Arthur stepped closer to Isaac, careful not to alarm the boy.

"I've been with them for over thirty years now, Isaac. I was a part of this gang even before you were born."

The young man seemed surprised. "And you never left?"

"No. Even though I should have."

A regretful sigh escaped the older man, and his tone sank with heartache. "I'm sorry, Isaac. If I had known you was alive... I woulda come lookin' for you. I woulda tried to get you back. But I thought those bastards had killed you for sure."

Isaac's expression twisted into one of hate. "Well, you can thank this piece of shit for that. It's all because of Shay that our family got torn apart. He killed Eliza. He dug that second grave so everybody would think I was dead. He ruined our lives all because he just wanted some goddamn money."

Arthur brought his gaze to Mackintosh, admittedly having difficulty accepting the true nature of his friend.

"Is that true...?" He asked. "You knew my son was alive all along, and you never told me?"

Shay held onto Isaac's arms, struggling to stay upright with the wound in his gut.

"...Yes." He confessed. "From the very first time I met you, I knew that you were Isaac's father, but I couldn't risk sayin' anything. I knew that if I told you, I'd be done for. You woulda learned about what I did sooner or later, and it was just a chance I couldn't take. I'm sorry, Arthur."

Arthur's voice hardened with steel. "Yeah? And how d'you think things are lookin' for you now?"

The man let in a sharp breath, trying to ignore the pain.

"I know, Arthur. I know. What I did was unforgivable, and I regret it every single day. But if you wanna let Isaac kill me now... I..." Shay's voice trailed off in way that said he knew he was finished, and his brow furrowed in fear, "...I understand."