~~~~♛~~~~
The small boat pulled up on the shore of the island. You, Arthur and Sadie all slowly got out of the boat and hid behind a small pile of dirt. You all took a moment to look around, not having a clear plan on how you were going to get John out of there.
"Lets head to that watchtower" Sadie whispered, pointing out into the distance. You took the lead and slowly made your way to the tower. As you made your way over, you noticed the guard at the top of the tower. You stopped moving and turned to face Arthur and Sadie.
"Stay here. I'll deal with him" you whispered. They both nodded and found something to hide behind. You finished making your way over to the tower, and slowly started to climb the ladder, as your head peaked over the top, you found yourself looking at the back of a guard. You finished climbing the ladder as silently as you could, and pulled out your knife. You quickly downed the man without him making a sound. You looked back down to where Sadie and Arthur were and waved them up.
They both made their way up the ladder and pulled out binoculars. "Alright, where's John?" Sadie asked.
"Hey... I think I see him." Arthur started. "Theres a group in front of that barn, just to our right.
"Ah yeah. I see two guards. Okay, take them out and lets go get our boy." Sadie said.
With that, Arthur shot down the two guards rather quickly. As soon as the shots were fired, the prisoners started to run.
"Wait shit, I don't know if that was John." Sadie spoke up.
"Lets go over there and see." Arthur said walking towards the ladder. The three of you made your way over to the field, seeing one of the Guards still alive. "You know John Marston?" Sadie asked him pulling her gun out. He played their groaning in pain. "H-he ain't working today."
Your head shot over at the sound of a mans voice walking towards Sadie. "Put the gun down lady." He said. You let out a slight smirk when you saw Arthur step behind him, holding up his revolver to the mans head. "No, You put the gun down." Arthur said. The man quickly listened Arthur grabbed ahold of the man and asked him about John.
"He aint in the work detail." the man said, with fear in his voice.
"Well I guess we will have to go get him then." Arthur said forcing the man to walk forward towards the main gate. Arthur continued asking the man questions while you and Sadie dealt with any guards getting in your way. Once you got to the gate, Arthur started yelling at the guards to bring John out, telling them that he would kill the the guard if they didn't release him. Your eyes moved to the gate when you saw John in his black and white striped uniform shuffle to the gate. The door opened and John walked out. "Hey you three." He said with a sigh of relief. You walked over and shot the chains from between his feet. With that, the four of you turned and started to run for it, and shots began to be fired in your direction.
"John, take my pistol." You yelled while throwing your gun in his direction.
"Lets clear these and make a run for it!" Sadie yelled.
You all took cover and began shooting as many guards as you could. They seemed to keep piling out of the building. Every time there was a small break, the group moved farther and farther away from the building, heading back to the boat. John kept asking "what took you so long?" and you knew he wouldn't like the answer. Arthur would tell him "we'll explain later"
A big break in the gun fire finally came and the four of you made your way into the boat. "I'll row, Arthur and y/n shoot." Sadie explained starting to row back to the horses. You both shot down more guards until you were far enough away. You arrived safely, quickly getting out of the boat and running to the horses. Arthur helped lift John onto the back of your horse.
"We should get out of here quick before the law gets wind of this." Sadie said.
The four of you ride off towards camp. Sadie explains to John what happened since the law picked him up. From Hosea and Lenny's deaths, to Guarma, to the new camp. You also told him about Dutch, and how he didn't want anyone to go get him.
"Jesus, maybe you should of left me to hang" John said after taking in all the new information.
The three of you start to slow your horses as you ride into camp. You stop Anastasia and start to help John off.
"You brought him back to me!" Abigail Sid running over to greet him.
"We told you we would." Sadie said back.
Everyones heads turn to the center of camp as Dutch yelled. "John! What are you doing here?"
"Good to see you too partner." John replied sarcastically.
"I meant I hadn't sent for you yet." Dutch responded.
You started to open your mouth to say something but Arthur interrupted you. "I went." he said walking forward.
"But I said..." Dutch started before Arthur cut him off. "Yeah I know what you said. I felt different."
"Is that so?" Dutch said in a stern voice. You wished you could take some of the blow for this, Arthur shouldn't be taking all the blame.
"Dutch, it wasn't just him." you said. Dutch slowly turned to look at you.
"y/n stop." Arthur said trying to get the attention back on him.
"I helped come up with the plan to rescue John. Arthur was just helping." you started to explain. Dutch just nodded, not looking away from you. "Can we go talk about this at your tent?" You asked, not wanting there to be a bigger scene than there already was. Dutch starred at you a bit longer, before turning around and walking towards his tent.
"y/n what are you doing?" Arthur asked.
"It's fine. Thank you for your help today. Get some rest." you smiled at him.
You slowly made your way over to Dutch's tent, a little nervous about what he was thinking or what he was going to say. You felt eyes watching you as you walked, which was understandable because no one knew what Dutch was thinking. You slowly lifted the flap of the tent and walked in. Dutch sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hand. You stood there for a moment thinking how to to start the conversation. Before you could say anything, Dutch started talking.
"Loyalty. Loyalty is what keeps us together y/n" He said softly. You sat next to him on the bed. "I know. and i'm sorry I went against your plan. It's just, you've all become my family, and I was scared to loose John." You explain.
Dutch sighed. You were grateful he wasn't mad and yelling at you. "Oh y/n..." he said quietly. "Everything feels like it's falling apart." He looked up at you with soft eyes. It's been awhile since he has let his guard down and hasn't been so serious.
"I know. But I promise you we are still with you. I am still with you." You said with a slight smile. You were being completely honest. You knew Dutch hasn't been in the right headspace recently, but you weren't going to leave his side, not after all he has done for you. His hand moved to your neck to hold your necklace again. He smiled. Your small moment was ruined with the flap of the tent opening. It was Micah.
"Dutch, I wanted to talk to you about something." He said looking past you, pretending you weren't there.
"Not now." Dutch responded without looking at him.
"But boss.." Micah started.
"I said not now. Please excuse us." Dutch said in a stern voice.
Micah huffed. Looking at you quick and rolling his eyes, he left the tent. You tried to hide the smirk growing on your face.
"Let's get some rest." Dutch said laying down. You laid down next you him. He wrapped his arms around you tightly. You smiled as you felt his body get less tense and his breathing slow ever so slightly. You stayed awake a bit longer, thinking about how you were going to keep Micah from getting too much time with Dutch, because you knew it would be the downfall of the gang. But that was a problem for tomorrow, at the moment it was just you and Dutch, and you were going to enjoy it.