Under The Eyes of The Wolf (an rdr2 Arthur Morgan x oc story)

28-Not On His Watch

The following day the three of them made it to the boat that would carry them to the small island.

"Hey darlin', I think I'm gonna let you two go take care of that on yer own. I'll just be in the way. Think I'll head back to camp." Arthur says to her, pulling her aside.

"Are you sure? You wouldn't be in the way."

"Yeah, I would. Just promise me you won't go leavin me behind if you do manage to fix that thing." He says as he takes her face in his hands gently.

"I promise." She smiles, resting her forehead against his. He kisses her softly.

"I love you darlin'."

"I love you too cowboy."

"I'll see you back at camp when yer done. It was nice meeting you, Mr, Sinclair." Arthur says as he and K released their embrace. He shakes the man's hand.

"Please, call me Francis. Thank you again Arthur."

Arthur watches as the two rowed out towards the island. All he could do is hope that it wasn't the last time he'd see her.

It wasn't until the evening of the following day that K rode back into camp on Orion. Arthur was chopping wood for what must have been the 10th time since he'd returned to camp the day before when he looked up to see her. He dropped the ax and headed to the hitching post as casually as he could manage.

K dismounted and hitched Orion and turned to welcome Arthur's embrace. He held her tightly, breathing her in.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." His deep voice rumbled in her ear. "I couldn't help it, I still was sure you'd change yer mind." He admitted.

"Hmm...I know you were."

"You sound exhausted baby girl." He notices as he pulls back to look at her.

"I am. We worked on that thing through the night. He finally figured it out and was able to fix what caused the damage. Battery is still fried though. I told him I didn't care but he insisted on seeing if he could repair it, get it to take a charge again. He's headed up north to find some place called Dover Hill. Says he knows of some guy that has a laboratory up there that might be able to help him out. He'll leave a letter for me at the Post office when he's ready to see me again."

"I didn't sleep much either. Come on. Let's go lay down." He suggests, leading her back to their tent.

                              ~one week later~

K and Hosea laughed as they secured the boat to the dock. They'd just returned from a day out fishing on Flat Iron lake. She grabbed one end of the rope that their haul was strung with and Hosea took the other end and carried it over to Pearson's table.

"Well look at you two! That's quite the haul you've brought me!" The camp cook smiles.

"Yes we didn't do too bad. K here gave me quite the run for my money. I lost track but we were pretty close at the end of the day in our individual catch numbers." Hosea brags.

"Yes I was very impressed with your fishing prowess, Hosea. Not often is anybody able to impress me with their fishing abilities." She compliments.

"Well my dear, I will gladly join you again sometime. That was fun. Did this old man some good to enjoy the day and laugh a little for a change. You are quite the comedian. I'm sure I could use you in one of my con jobs here soon."

"If it's anything as entertaining as when you had Arthur serving drinks behind the bar in Rhodes, count me in. Speaking of, where is Arthur, Mr. Pearson?"