Arthur Morgan X Female Reader
Summary: Life after the gang with the Morgan and Marston families.
Word Count: 1700
The ranch was perfect. Both of the ranches were perfect. The day that you left what remained of the Van der Linde gang, Arthur had led you and the Marstons to two neighbouring ranches, practically identical to each other and so close to each other that it felt like you all lived together. Still, you all felt like you had enough space to be separate households. You had the privacy but never felt lonely.
The ranches needed a few renovations, nothing major, but Arthur and John got to work on it instantly. Before you knew it, the six of you, including your unborn baby, had real houses to make homes.
Having Abigail around for the later stages of your pregnancy, she had been through everything you were experiencing and it was a life saver. The two of you had been incredibly close since leaving the gang, truly the best of friends.
It was only a few months after settling down in your new home, that you went into labour. Again, Abigail was a lifesaver. But Arthur was also perfect. Sure, he was worried and wasn't completely sure what to do but he was determined to make sure that you were alright and had everything you needed. He would move mountains for you if he could.
Now, here you were. You lived on a honest little ranch right next to your best friends, you had your loving, perfect husband, and now you had your beautiful baby girl. You couldn't ask for more.
-----
The familiar sound of a baby crying woke you up from your peaceful sleep, your eyes fluttering open to see that it was still dark out side. It was most likely the early hours of the morning. You began to sit up and push the sheets off of yourself.
"I'll get her, go back to sleep" Arthur murmured in your ear, pressing a kiss to your temple as he gently pushed you back down onto the bed.
You hummed in acknowledgement as Arthur climbed out of the bed but you did fall back to sleep. Instead, you sat up and lent back on your hands as you watched Arthur move across the room, towards the crib. He gently lifted his daughter up in his arms and started to shush her back to sleep.
Arthur smiled down at her, always in awe with how tiny she was in his hands, he just couldn't believe what he created something so perfect.
The day that he found you again, the day that John took him into town to see you, Arthur had felt so relieved. He felt a relief and a joy that he had never felt before. He had been completely heartbroken, completely not himself, when he thought that he had lost you.
Then, not only did he find you again, he found out that you were going to have his child. With all of the awful things happening with the gang at the time, with all the hope that he was losing as the days went by, Arthur began to feel like his luck was changing. He had you, the love of his life, back and was going to have a child.
But Arthur quickly forgot all those thoughts, that was all in the past now. Now, he had you and he had his daughter. The Marstons were safe and happy. He had managed to do some good when he left the gang for a better life, and that's all he could ask for.
You smiled adoringly as you watched your husband and your daughter. He gently lay her back in her crib once she was sleeping again, before returning to the bed.
"I said you could go back to sleep" Arthur hummed as he climbed back onto the bed, pulling the sheet over himself.
"I know but I love watching you with her" you confessed as you both lay down, his arm naturally wrapping around your body. "She loves you, you're such a good father" you gushed as you made yourself comfortable against his side, your head resting on his chest.
"...I couldn't do it without you. I'd be hopeless" Arthur chuckled quietly.
"You wouldn't be but it doesn't matter, you're never going to have to do it without me" you assured him, lifting your chin to look up at his face.
"I love you" Arthur smiled contently down at you, bringing his other hand over to gently caress your cheek.
"I love you too" you lent up and pressed a linger kiss, that he instantly returned, to his lips.
The two of you made yourselves comfortable again, wrapped in each other's embrace, before falling back to sleep.
-----
The afternoon was closing in on evening as the air got cooler and you sat with Abigail in front of the fire, sitting outside of the Marston ranch.
"I'm glad we got out" Abigail eventually spoke, making you look at her. "This is the type of life I wanted for Jack" she smiled softly, looking out over the ranch.
"So am I. For the sake of all of us" you nodded. "I'm sorry that it took so long for you to get out, having Jack in the gang for four years" you gave her a small and sympathetic smile.
"Don't be. It wasn't so bad then, things were good. John got us out in the end, that's what's important" Abigail shook her head. It was true, in a way the gang had been a blessing when she first had Jack, plenty of people wanted to help her out, but things just began to fall apart.
"I think we forget, sometimes, that the gang was their family long before it was ours" you pointed out, referring to your husbands.
"Exactly. They wanted to believe that Dutch wouldn't betray them but one person can only take so much. They realised that things had changed and they did the right thing. After you went missing, Arthur changed a lot. I think he was trying to hide the pain he felt but I worried for him. If you hadn't returned, I don't know how this would have ended, I don't know what Arthur would've done" Abigail told you, frowning at the memory.
"That doesn't matter. In the end, they were good men. They knew what they had to do and they did it. For our sake and for our children" you reminded her, placing a hand on hers in a comforting manner.
"Things are looking up for us, Y/n" Abigail smiled at you.
"Yeah, they really are" you returned her smile before being interrupted.
"You two talking about us?" Arthur's voice coming from behind you both got your attention.
"'Course they are, probably complaining about us" John joked.
"I would never!" you gasped playfully as you stood up, moving to Arthur's side as he placed his hand on the small of your back.
"Remind me again why I married you?" Abigail asked teasingly, looking up at her husband.
"Because you love me" John reminded her as he held his hand out.
"Unfortunately" Abigail smiled as she placed her hand in his, letting him gently pull her to her feet.
"I've got to go start dinner, I'll see you later" you told the three of them, leaning up and pressing a quick kiss to Arthur's cheek before walking away.
"Well, wait for me" Arthur huffed as he started following you, making you chuckle.
The Morgan family and the Marston family had dinner together often, at least once a week, and you would take it in turns to cook. This week it was your turn.
-----
A few years had passed and things had only gotten better, everything falling into place. You stood on your front porch, holding onto the wooden railing, as you looked out at your family.
Jack was sitting on the ground with his back against a tree, under the shade, reading one of his books. He was 12 years old now and was turning into an intelligent young man, and you just knew that Hosea would have been proud of him.
Your 8 year old daughter was playing with her 4 year old little brother. You were still surprised by how fast they had grown, you could still remember when they were babies like it was yesterday.
John and Abigail were sitting in the sun with their one year old little girl, smiling as she babbled nonsense with the intensity of a preacher.
Arthur wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you towards him, pressing your back against his chest and making you smile.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked as he rested his chin on your shoulder.
"Thinking" you hummed as you placed you hands over his and lent back against his chest.
"Thinking about what?" Arthur asked.
"How lucky we are" you smiled softly, tilting your head back to look up at him.
"Y'know, I never thought I would live a life like this. I'm so glad I was wrong" Arthur confessed.
"So am I" you smiled and turned around in his arms, wrapping your arms around his neck. "I really do consider myself lucky, y'know" you told him.
"So do I. You've given me so much, so much I didn't deserve" Arthur wrapped his arms around your waist tighter, holding you against him.
"Don't say that. Of course you deserve this, you deserve to be happy. You are such a good man, Arthur Morgan and I will never believe otherwise" you promised him as you brought one of your hands to cup his jaw, brushing your thumb over his cheek
"With your help, maybe...Y/n Morgan" Arthur teased, making you chuckle fondly.
"I love you" you spoke softly against his lips.
"I love you too" Arthur whispered back before your lips met in a sweet kiss.
Pulling away from the kiss, you turned back around to watch your children play together with a smile on your face.
Arthur pressed his chest to your back again, resting his chin on the top of your head as he kept his arms wrapped around your waist. He smiled as he watched his two children play and laugh together. He kissed the top of your head before returning to his previous position.
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