Chapter 11: Sean
It had been a few days since Sam finally woke, coherent after the bear attack. She was even able to walk around a bit, although she still had a bit of pain. However, it didn't stop her from going out riding on occasion, much to Arthur's dismay. Sam wanted so much to hunt but with her shoulder, she couldn't pull a bow or shoot a rifle. People kept insisting she rest more but Sam assured them she was fine and on the mend. Arthur and her had even had a few fighting matches, arguing about the subject, and today was no different as he returned from doing a job for Mr. Strauss. When he saw where she was heading, he immediately got in her way.
"Miss Burke, you can't keep ridin' off. You're still injured," he said.
"Well I can't just keep sticking around here doing nothing. Besides, moving about helps with the healing," she argued.
"How do you figure?"
"It keeps the blood flowing to the area so that it can scab over. God, why are you so worried about me? I didn't die, you know."
"But you almost did!" he snapped.
Sam felt the urge to throw up her hands but she thought better against it lest she prove Arthur's point. "Mr. Morgan, look. It's not like I'm wanting to go out to hunt another bear or something. I'm just going out riding, that's it."
Their conversation was interrupted by Mr. Strauss. "How did you get on, Herr Morgan?" he asked Arthur.
Arthur sighed and turned towards the man, grasping he front of his gun belt. "Fine, our accounts are up to date. Sad sacks, the lot of 'em."
"Good, very good."
Sam wondered what kind of job Strauss had sent him on. "My pleasure," Arthur said.
Arthur was about to speak to Sam again when Strauss interjected once more. "Well, if it's pleasure you're after, there is one other. This farmer, preacher, fellow I met in Valentine. Mr. Downes."
"The opinionated little do-gooder? Yeah, I know the one. I certainly know the type."
"Thank you, Herr Morgan."
"There's no need to thank me. Like you said, it's pleasure I'm after."
"He's more slippery than he seems. I've tried being polite, don't take any nonsense."
Arthur scoffed. "Nonsense, me?"
"If he doesn't have the money, beat him."
Sam gasped and the men looked at her. "What?" Arthur said with a grunt.
"You beat up people who owe money?" Sam asked with a frown.
"Well, I," Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking shameful. "I usually do."
Sam felt her good opinion of Arthur shrink a little. And here she was, thinking Arthur Morgan was a kind and considerate man, even though he was an outlaw. Sam frowned at him and put her hands on her hips as Strauss walked away. "I...well, Mr. Morgan, I suppose I better leave you so you can go beat some helpless and sick man."
Sam turned on her heel and started walking away but she felt Arthur follow her. "Now don't tell me you're mad because I go and collect debts!"
"No, I'm mad that you beat people for money."
Arthur turned her around a little more harshly than she liked and she winced from the pain. Arthur's expression, which was hard before, now softened. "Sorry, didn't mean to hurt you. But you do realize I kill people for money too, right? I steal, I kill, I cheat. How is this any different?"
Sam gaped at him. She had suspected that he was a thief and a killer, but hearing him say it made her back away from him, a glare on her features. "I guess it's not."
Arthur frowned at her and lowered his head. "I don't know what kind of impression you had of me, Miss Burke, but I never pretended to be a good man. I'm not a good man at all."
Sam didn't want to believe him, but she supposed she had to take his word for it. After all, she didn't know him well enough to convince him that he was a good man. "I see," she said, turning away from him towards Orion.
She half expected him to yell at her about going riding again but she was only met with silence as she climbed on and galloped away.
Arthur closed his eyes, realizing Sam's good opinion of him had just been lost. He was a moron. Oh, such was his way with women. As he watched her go, Tilly came walking up beside him. "What's wrong with her?" Tilly inquired.
"Ah, just a fight, I guess," Arthur replied sullenly. "I told her about what I really do and she might just...well, it doesn't really matter. She's a good person and I'm not."
"Oh, don't say that, Arthur. You are a good man."
"No I'm not."
Tilly nudged him. "Hey, look at me." Arthur sighed and glanced at Tilly. "You're a good man and I know Miss Burke sees that."
"Then she's either foolin' herself or she's blind."
Tilly sighed. "She likes you, you know."
"Naw, I...I doubt that," he said with a laugh, though deep down he knew it was a lie. He didn't look at it too closely.
"I've seen the way she looks at you, and also the way you look at her. Everyone else seems to know it but you."
Arthur blinked a few times. He had suspected it, but it just wasn't really in the cards for him to confront Sam about it. Besides that, she wasn't from...here. He knew she urgently wanted to get back home to her own time, so what was the point of starting something that could never last? Arthur bowed his head and took off his hat to stare at it blindly. "Even so, she ain't stayin' with us. You know that."
"Well, maybe you could change her mind."
"No, she don't belong with us, Tilly. She needs to go home."
Tilly sighed and shook her head. "Who are you to decide what she needs? That's for her to decide, and who knows? She could decide that what she needs is you, Arthur Morgan."
Arthur chuckled and looked at Tilly gratefully. "Thank you, Miss Jackson. You are wise beyond your years."
"I know."
As Tilly walked away, Arthur felt a little better about the situation between him and Sam. Still, the one thing he had to deal with now was Sam's opinion of him. Perhaps he could be the man she wanted, but then again...that tactic hadn't worked out well with Mary Gillis, his ex fiancée. No, that wouldn't work at all. Ah, to have false hope. He walked to his horse and saddled up, leaving camp to go do one of the few things he was good at: beating up people for money.
Sam had been gone for hours when she returned to camp, having much to think about. Specifically, Arthur Morgan. A man that she had become a bit, well, infatuated with. There was one problem...well, three problems. One, he was a thief and a killer. Two, what were the odds that he even felt the same as she did? Slim to none. As he once said, she was obnoxious...although later he had corrected himself and said her temper was obnoxious. Not that that was any better, of course. And three, why start something she'd eventually have to leave behind? Sam wanted to get back to her own time. Every time she'd dream about that stupid buck, she could never catch him, though.
Back to the first problem. Arthur was a criminal. Hell, the whole camp was full of criminals. And yet they were all decent people, save for maybe one or two people. Dutch talked a lot about stealing from only the rich and giving to the poor as if he was Robin Hood and the rest of the Dutch Van der Linde gang were his merry men. Sam knew the world was not in black and white, especially the one she was currently in. And she knew Arthur had morals, but to kill people Rob people? It just didn't sit right with her. However, that did not stop her from craving Arthur, and she craved him something fierce. Which reminded her of the second problem. What if he didn't feel the same?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a drunken red haired man giving a speech while standing on a box.
"Uncle Sean is back!" he yelled in an Irish accent. "And don't you worry, Miss Grimshaw, you old crone. I'll keep them girls in line, if I have to whip 'em, I will!"
"I'd like to see you try!" Tilly yelled from somewhere.
So, this must be Sean, then.
Sean took a drink of whiskey. "And don't you worry, Mr. Pearson, you drunk old shit bag! It'll be nothin' but, uh...the finest game in the pot, now Dead Eye Macguire's back!" Sean laughed.
Oh please...
"And don't worry about nothin', Miss Grimshaw...we'll have this camp runnin' like clockwork...I love you bastards...have fun! Have lots of fun!" Sean jumped off the box and took another drink. "Even you, ya grumpy old bastard, Arthur."
Sam stiffened at the name, not daring to look around for Arthur. Sean's eyes scanned the crowd and immediately became transfixed on Sam. Uh oh.
"Well, lookie here," Sean said, stumbling over to Sam. "I ain't never seen you here before, you beautiful thing. Who might you be?"
Sam rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Sam Burke. You must be Sean."
"That I am, lass. Heh heh heh." He dropped his empty bottle and got closer. "Have ya heard of me?"
"A bit. Something about you getting caught by bounty hunters?"
"Oh yes. They had to use a lot of them to catch ole' Sean here. Hahaha!"
Sean hiccuped and Sam shook her head in amusement. "Well, it was nice meeting you."
"Well, wait a second, Miss Burke," he said, putting a hand on her arm. "We've barely spoken a word and I'd like to-"
"Sean, stop bothering Miss Burke!" Karen snapped.
Sean let go of Sam and he let out a giggle. "Uh oh. I'm in deep shit now."
Sam chuckled as Sean staggered over to Karen, Uncle and Javier at a table. "Uh oh, here comes trouble," Karen said.
"I just can't get rid of you, can I?" Javier said to a drunk Sean.
Sam turned and went to find some whiskey to drown herself in. When she found some, she popped the cap and started chugging.
"You might want to take it easy there, Sam," Charles said. "You don't want to pass out before Sean does."
Sam laughed as she looked at Charles. "You're probably right. He seems a bit too friendly."
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant. You don't have to worry about him. Sean is with Karen."
"Oh. Well thank God."
Charles laughed and Sam offered him the bottle. He took it graciously and took a sip. "So, I heard you had a run in with a bear," Charles said as he handed her back the bottle.
Sam nodded and took another drink. "Mmhmm. I honestly thought I was gonna die but Hosea and Arthur came to my rescue."
"Come on, how about a song?" Dutch shouted.
"Heh, he'll be drinkin' til dawn now, I bet," Sam heard Molly say.
"Oh, let him have some fun, he's been through a lot," Mary-Beth said. "I thought you Irish enjoyed a party, Molly?"
"I am enjoyin' it. I just don't need to fall over drunk with the rest of them."
Sam could hear Javier start playing a song that she didn't know and she heard people singing.
In Louisville I met a maid,
Mark well what I do say,
And she was a mistress of her trade,
It was diddle-diddle-diddle all day!
Sam started giggling as she looked at Charles. "What kind of song is that?"
"A raunchy one," Charles said with a wink.
Sam listened to the rest of the song and burst out laughing when she figured out what they all meant by "diddle-diddle-diddle all the day".
"And we diddle diddle did, too!" Uncle exclaimed.
Sam heard Dutch laugh. "Very nice, but how about somethin' a little more civilized?"
She saw Dutch turn on his gramophone and she blinked. She hadn't seen anything like that since she was a kid on a field trip to a museum. The song started playing, sounding like a slow polka with an accordion playing. She watched Dutch and Molly start to dance and smiled.
"Look at me, with the belle of the ball," Dutch said to Molly.
"Oh, stop it you!" Moly exclaimed playfully.
Sam spotted Arthur across the way and the two locked gazes. Sam wanted to talk to him, but she didn't know where to start...still...she took another swig of alcohol to make herself brave and she headed over to him. "Mr. Morgan," she said.
"Miss Burke," he replied casually.
The whiskey had done its job and was now coursing through her system. "I...um..." Perhaps she was not brave enough.
"Yes?"
"I...I'm sorry about earlier today. With the whole...loan shark shit. Really, it's not my place to ju-"
Arthur cut her off. "It's fine, I understand. I'm an outlaw, and you're, well...a better person than me."
Sam frowned and approached him. "Not with everything. I'm not exactly a saint myself, you know, and I know this...this part of the states is different than where I'm from, but you're...Arthur, despite being an outlaw, I think you're a good man."
Arthur laughed and bowed his head. "I appreciate it, Miss Burke, but I'm not a good man."
Sam rolled her eyes and offered him the bottle. "Just take the fucking compliment, would you please?"
Arthur gave her a soft smile and took the bottle. "Yes, ma'am." He drank a bit and handed the bottle back to Sam. "Miss Burke, I was wondering if we could talk about-"
"Mr. Morgan, Morgan," Reverend Swanson said as he came stumbling up to the pair.
Arthur sighed and looked at Swanson. "Reverend."
The reverend looked very confused as he stared at Arthur silently and it took a lot of willpower for Sam not to laugh. "Hello," he finally said.
Arthur sighed again. "Hello...what do you want?"
"I'm not...I'm not quite sure...oh, this keeps happening," Swanson growled as he walked away.
Sam shook her head and took a drink. "Man, the drink sure has a hold on him, doesn't it?"
"Yes, heh. So does morphine."
Sam's jaw dropped. "Really?"
"Mmhmm." Sam held out the bottle and Arthur grasped it. "Been that way since I met him," he said, raising the opening of the bottle to his lips and drinking.
He passed it back to Sam and she heard another song start up. "Well, looks like folks are enjoying themselves."
"Yes, they are."
Sam took a swig and wiped her mouth. "Was there something you were gonna ask me?"
Arthur looked over at Dutch and Molly before looking at Sam. "C'mere..." he said, holding out his hand.
Sam took it instantly and Arthur guided her to a secluded area behind the girl's cart. Arthur poked his head to the side before looking back at her. "What is it, Mr. Morgan?"
"Now, promise me you won't get mad."
Sam's brow crinkled up in surprise. "Well, that depends on what it is."
Arthur sighed. "Alright...look, when we was in Valentine that one night and got drunk? When you passed out, I had to bring you to the hotel. And while I put you in the bed, your wallet fell out. And I...well, I looked through it."
Sam's eyes went wide. Uh oh. She wasn't mad at all, but more scared than anything about what he was going to ask her. "Okay? And?"
Arthur shut his eyes, then he opened them again. "I'm sorry, Sam, but I got curious. I saw your...driver's license."
Sam kept her eyes wide. Oh no. He knew. "What are you asking me, Arthur?"
"Are you...are you from the future?"
Sam felt her throat close up and she dropped the near empty bottle. Would he even believe her if she told him the truth? Sam swallowed hard as she stared at him. "...Yes."
Arthur sighed and lowered his head before raising it. "Well, that certainly explains a lot."
"Wait...you...you believe it?"
"I think so. I mean, your outlandish clothes, the fact that you thought Colter was just a dream, you only having a blanket, you not wanting to say how you got here, and...well, the way you talk when you're mad. It certainly makes sense to me."
Sam took a deep breath and chuckled. "You're smarter than you let on, Mr. Morgan."
Arthur smiled at her. "So, how did you get here?"
"Well, I dreamed about a buck, I touched it on the nose, then a light flashed and I woke up in a bunch of snow just outside Colter."
"So you dreamed it? Huh. Now that definitely makes sense why you thought I was just a dream."
Oh, and what a dream he was. "You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"
"No, I wouldn't do that to you."
Sam blushed a little. "Thank you."
"So, do you know how to get back?"
"No. I keep dreaming about that deer, though, and he keeps running away from me."
"So...you could leave at any time that you're asleep?"
"I think so...if I ever catch that fucker."
Arthur laughed quietly at her. "You and that mouth..."
Sam smirked a little at him. "Any other questions?"
"...Do you want to go back?"
Sam stared at him in disbelief. Of course she wanted to go back...didn't she? Although, there was a small part of her that didn't, she realized. And she had a suspicion that it had to do to do with a certain cowboy who was now extremely close to her. He looked in hazel eyes as if trying to find the answer. What would happen if she stayed, she wondered? What if she decided to stay? In all fairness, traveling back in time was kind of cool, and she found this life in 1899 to be way more exciting than 2020. And other than Tiffany, what did she really have to go back to? There was nothing tying her there, but there was something tugging at her to stay.
"I, well...yes, but..."
Arthur nodded at her. "I see. Well, I hope you get your wish."
Arthur sighed and began to walk away, but Sam grabbed his hand. "Wait."
Arthur stopped and turned around to look at her. "What?" he asked, sounding a little irritated.
Sam took a deep breath. "I-"
"Hey, what are you two lovebirds doing?" Sean asked as he popped up out of nowhere.
Sam let go of Arthur's hand and he walked away. Sam closed her eyes and growled. "God dammit. Arthur!" Sam went chasing after him. "Just wait a second, please!"
