Arthur Morgan & Child Daughter Reader
Summary: You have always had a fear of thunderstorms and when one comes on quickly while Arthur is away from the camp, the only thing on his mind is getting back to you.
Word Count: 1200
Arthur was out of the camp once again, scouting out a lead that Dutch had sent him to look into. He was just coming up to the place that Dutch had mentioned when he noticed the grey clouds rolling in but he thought nothing off it. That was until it started to rain rather heavily, making Arthur mumble to himself in frustration.
He should probably just head back to the camp and try again tomorrow, the lead wouldn't be going anywhere and he didn't think it was worth getting sick for. Before he could completely finish that thought, the first crack of thunder struck, followed by the sky lighting up. Arthur cursed to himself, instantly panicking.
He wasn't the one who was afraid of thunderstorms, in fact they barely even bothered him, but all he could think about was you, his daughter, who must have been terrified back at the camp. You had always been scared of storms, not being able to sleep through them and needing to be held. You absolutely hated them and nobody could ever seem to calm you down, nobody but Arthur, and now he wasn't even there for you right now.
Arthur quickly turned his horse around and kicked it into action, hurrying back to the camp as fast as he could. If only he wasn't so far away...
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Meanwhile, back at the camp at Shady Belle, Dutch and Hosea where talking in Dutch's room. Storms like this weren't all that common and everyone had come inside the large house to take shelter for the night. The two men were interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door.
Dutch sighed, walking over and opening it to see Miss Grimshaw with you standing beside her, physically shaking as you clutched at the material of her skirt.
"Has Mr Morgan returned yet?" Susan asked, her hand resting on the top of your head.
"...no, I think he's still out on that lead" Dutch informed her, glancing down at you and feeling sympathetic when he saw the fear in your eyes.
"W-when will he be home?" you asked, looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes.
"Soon, I'm sure" Dutch sighed, unsure of what else to say.
"I bet he started rushing back as soon as it started to rain" Hosea assured you as he came to stand by Dutch's side. "How about you stay here with us until he comes back?" he suggested and you nodded.
"Thank you, Miss Grimshaw" Dutch looked back at her and she just nodded before leaving, hoping Arthur would return soon to comfort you.
Hosea ushered you into the room as Dutch closed the door. Walking into the room with the two of you, Dutch picked you up swiftly and placed you down on his bed as Hosea grabbed a blanket and draped it over your shoulders. You grabbed the blanket and pulled it around you, holding it securely to your shaking body.
Hosea sat beside you and wrapped his arms around you, holding you against him as he ran his hand up and down your arm soothingly. Dutch sighed, receiving an understanding look from Hosea. They both knew that they could try their hardest to comfort you but it wouldn't make a difference, you wouldn't be okay until Arthur got here.
You flinched whenever thunder crashed and squeezed your eyes shut whenever lighting flashed through the ruined thin curtains that covered the windows. Hosea would tighten his hold on you but it didn't seem to be doing much. The old house rattled in the storm, doing little to keep the wind out and you were shaking like a leaf but they knew it wasn't from the cold.
The sound of the front door opening and being shut forcefully downstairs made all three of you look towards the bedroom door.
With teary eyes you pushed the blanket off of you and jumped out of Hosea's embrace, running to the door. Dutch and Hosea followed quickly, just in case the sound wasn't Arthur and you still needed them.
You hurried down the stairs, nearly giving Hosea a heart attack with the image of you falling and hurting yourself. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, you saw your father securing the door shut before turning to you. As soon as he was facing you, you ran up to him and threw yourself into his arms, crying and shaking.
"It's alright. I'm sorry I wasn't here but I'm here now" Arthur reassured you as he knelt down to catch you in his arms as you collided into him, lifting you from the ground with ease. Your arms wrapped around his shoulders, burying your face into the crook of his neck as you clung to him. His clothes were absolutely soaked but you didn't care. "I've got you, there's nothing to be scared of" he shushed you, his grip loosening on you for a moment.
"Don't go" you pleaded, voice cracking, as you looked up at him with teary eyes.
"I won't" Arthur tightened his hold on you again, his chest aching at the sight of your tear stained face. "I promise" he sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
"Arthur, you should get dry. You'll get sick. So will she" Hosea advised as he and Dutch stood at the bottom of the stairs.
"I will. Thank you" Arthur nodded at him, knowing that he would have been looking after you when he was out, he just nodded back.
"Come on, let's go upstairs" Arthur turned his attention back to you. You nodded and sniffled quietly.
Arthur never put you down, he just carried you towards the stairs, only to be stopped at the first step. "Arthur, the lead-?" Dutch began to ask but was quickly shot down.
"I didn't have time. I'll check it out tomorrow" Arthur told him firmly, that just wasn't his main concern right now. But that made you look up at your father with pleading, teary eyes. "I'll send John" he changed his mind before just carrying you up stairs, not caring if Dutch liked the change of plans or not.
Once you got to the room you shared with your father, you both changed into some clean dry clothes before Arthur sat on his bed and lifted you onto his lap.
"How are you feeling?" Arthur asked as he stroked your hair soothingly.
"Scared..." you answered honestly and quietly as you relaxed against his chest.
"It can't hurt you...I won't let anything happen to you, you know that right?" Arthur really meant it. He would never let anything put you in harms way, not O'Driscolls, not Pinkertons, not a thunderstorm, not even Dutch.
"I know, dad" you nodded.
"So you can relax because I'm not going anywhere" Arthur told you.
"Promise?" you asked, once again looking up at him with that expression that he could never say no too.
"I promise" Arthur nodded. "Now, you going to try to get some sleep?" he asked but you only nodded hesitantly. "I won't leave" he promised as he kissed the top of your head. But thunder struck again and made you flinch, "How about a story?"
"Yes...please" you nodded.
Arthur pondered for a moment before deciding to recite one of your story books that had been etched into his memory from how many times he had read it to you in the past. He wasn't even half way through the story when he noticed that you had fallen asleep on his lap.
Being careful not to wake you, Arthur pulled back the blanket and slipped under it, you still cuddled up to him as he fell asleep.
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