"What's goin' on?" Dutch demanded to know as Sam and Arthur ran out to join Dutch, Lenny and Molly.
"He, he's been arrested for murder," Lenny explained. "He was in Strawberry and..."
"It's okay, son. Breathe..." Dutch said.
Lenny bent over at the waist, breathing hard. "They nearly lynched me. They...they got Micah in the sheriff's in Strawberry...and there's talk of hangin' him."
"Here's hopin'," Arthur said.
Sam blew a raspberry, finding Arthur's comment amusing. "Arthur!" Dutch scolded.
"What?" Arthur asked as he looked at Dutch. "That fool brought this on himself. You know my feelings about him, Dutch."
"You think I can't see past his bluster to the heart inside? He is a fine man."
"No! I ain't savin' that fool!"
"I can't go! My face will be all over West Elizabeth! I am asking! He would do it for you."
"I don't think he would, but...fiiine, alright."
"Arthur..."
Arthur sighed with a shake of his head and looked at Lenny. "You okay, Lenny?"
"Yeah, course I'm okay," Lenny replied.
Sam and Arthur walked up to him. "You don't seem okay," said Arthur.
"You take that kid into town. Valentine, not Strawberry," Dutch said as he turned around to walk to his tent. "Get him drunk. And Arthur, no crazy business."
"I've given that up," Arthur said.
"And you get Micah out of that jail."
Arthur sighed again and looked at Sam. "You comin'?"
Sam gave him a smile. "Yes. I could use a drink."
Arthur looked at Lenny. "C'mon, son," he said, grabbing Lenny. "I'll get to it Dutch," he shouted. "Just...can't drop everything."
The three walked over to their horses and got on. Arthur and Sam locked eyes for a moment and Arthur flashed a broad smile at her. Sam smirked at him and giggled. She was certainly in a much better mood now that they'd finally kissed, even though it had been very brief. Sam touched her lips before they headed out of camp, savoring the memory of his touch.
"I rode as fast as I could. I didn't stop for nothin'," Lenny said.
"Yeah, you look like you've been through it," Arthur answered.
"Pff, I'm beat. We finally get off that mountain, then this...Micah's got a crazy side."
"No shit, Sherlock," Sam said with a giggle.
Arthur and Lenny looked at her before laughing. "Sherlock, huh? As in Sherlock Holmes?" Lenny asked.
"Again, no shit, Sherlock."
The men laughed once more and Arthur spoke up. "What were you boys doin'? You's supposed to be scoutin' ahead for us."
"I kept askin' him what we was doin', but he was, "you worry too much, kid", "just some business to attend to, kid"...you know how he is," Lenny said.
"Yes, I do."
"He was hakf-soaked before we even got there. Then we ran into some fellas, one of them Micah knew, drank some more...and this is supposed to be a dry town we're in too."
"And then he shoots one of 'em...I know how that goes."
The two men continued their conversation but Sam wasn't paying much attention. She was only thinking of how Arthur kissed her, the way his stubble scratched her skin, the smell of campfire smoke, tobacco and pine invading her senses. He smelled and tasted like her own little version of heaven. Sam's eyes wandered to Arthur who was now winking at her as they rode up to Smithfields. The three dismounted and tethered their horses to posts before walking in. The place was packed. The three walked over to the bar and put down some coins.
"Just one or two, right Arthur?" Lenny asked.
"Course, just a drink, no big drama. Can we get a couple of beers, please?"
The bartender looked at Arthur and Sam in shock. "You," he said, pointing at Arthur. "I don't want no trouble."
"And you'll get none from me. I was defendin' myself."
The bartender grabbed some beers. "Tommy, he's..."
"He'll be fine. Here," Arthur said while putting another coin on the counter. "Have one for yourself."
The bartender's demeanor changed completely. "Thank you," he said with a smile.
The three started drinking their beers and Sam leaned her back against the counter, looking at Arthur with a smile. Arthur could only smile back at her before Sam looked away to take another chug of beer.
"Micah seemed to know a lot of people...that was the problem," Lenny said.
"How you mean?" Arthur asked.
"I mean, I don't seen a lot of crazy, crazy stuff, but Micah-"
"I seen a lot of crazy, crazy stuff," a man next to Arthur mocked.
Arthur glared at him. "Will you shut up?"
"Will you shut up?" the drunk man repeated.
"Be quiet, buddy," Arthur said on a deep voice.
The man guffawed. "They're dullards. My Lord...you men is dull..." he said, laughing.
Sam shook her head and took another drink. "Just let it go, Arthur."
"Yeah, leave this fool alone," Lenny agreed.
"Leave the fool alone," the drunk stranger laughed. "People been leavin' me alone for the past ten years."
Sam snorted. "Gee, I wonder why," she said under her breath to Lenny.
Lenny wheezed out a laugh and Arthur straightened from the car to look at the man. "Listen, buddy...you're a charmin' fellow, one of the best. But me and the kid and the lady here, we're tryin' to talk business, do, could you...possibly leave us alone?" Arthur put his palms up. "No offense intended."
The man frowned. "Ain't no pleasin' some folk," he said before walking off. "Was just...tryin' to be friendly."
Arthur inclined his head and the three clinked bottles before finishing them off. They ordered another round of beer and Sam made an "ah" sound after drinking some. "You know, for 18...I mean for this far south, the beer isn't too bad."
"Well, how's the beer in Minnesota?" Arthur asked.
Sam squinted an eye, trying to come up with a word for it. "Cold."
Arthur cackled and slapped his hand on the bar. "That's funny."
They finished off their beers and decided to stay for few more rounds. Afterwards, they started drinking shots of whiskey. Eventually, all three of them were quite drunk. At some point or another, Sam lost sight of both Lenny and Arthur and she shook her head before ordering herself another whiskey shot. She downed it and suddenly she felt a hand on her ass.
Sam chuckled. "Arthur, get your hand off my ass," she giggled.
"Who's Arthur?" a voice said behind her. She quickly turned around and saw a tall brunette man leaning over her. "Hey now, buttercup. How's about I buy you a drink?"
"Get lost, buddy. I can buy my own damn drink." Sam turned back around to order a beer.
"Oh, sassy. I like it!"
Sam felt a slap on her ass and her eyes narrowed. She quickly turned around with her knife drawn and held it to the man's throat. "You slap my god damn ass again, I'll rip out your fucking rib cage and make you wear it like a fucking hat, you mysoginistic pig!" she shouted.
The man laughed as he held his hands up. The bar got real quiet as the piano man stopped playing and the crowd toned down the talking.
"Hey Sam!" Arthur yelled from above. "Is that guy botherin' you?"
Sam looked up at Arthur with a smile. "Yes, but I got it handled."
"Hahaaa, I can see that!"
Sam looked back at the gentleman and sneered at him. "Go find someone else to bother!"
The man backed away with his hands still up, a small grin on his face. "Oh, I'll be seein' you again, missy," he said before dissolving into the crowd.
Sam rolled her eyes, turned around and sheathed her knife. She really hated how much she got touched by strange men in 1899. Sure, she'd had her fair share of men with wandering hands back in her time, but this was getting ridiculous. The music started up again and the chatter resumed. Sam left the bar with her beer and went walking up the stairs to find Arthur and Lenny.
"Why ain't you ever married?" Sam heard Lenny ask Arthur.
"...No one would have me," Arthur replied glumly.
"Aww," Sam said as she wrapped an arm around Arthur. "Don't feel bad. No one would have me either."
Both of them started laughing along with Lenny. Sam chugged her beer as did the other two. A conversation of high drunken proportions ensued throughout the night, but at some time, the both of them lost sight of Lenny.
"Lenny? Lenny!" Arthur said, looking around on the balcony of the second floor.
"Get away from me!" Sam heard Lenny yell downstairs. Glass broke and Sam looked down to see Lenny fighting off two guys.
"Slippery little shit, ain't he?" one of the assailants yelled.
Sam and Arthur started moving towards the stairs to go help him. Arthur got their first and Sam followed him down. She saw Lenny on the counter and she started laughing.
"Leave the kid alone, you god damn animals!" Arthur belted out.
"Who do you think you're talkin' to?!" one of the men said, directing their attention to Arthur.
"Nobody...I'm talkin' to nobody..."
Sam laughed even harder. This was fun watching Arthur getting revved up for a fight as well as a major turn on.
"What did you say?" the first man asked.
"What?"
Lenny jumped off the bar to join Sam and Arthur. "I said, what did you say?"
Arthur shoved the guy. "Get lost, buddy."
"Shut up, mister!" the second guy shouted.
"Yeah...shut your mouth, mister."
They started fighting and just when Sam was about to join in, she was dragged away by someone and whoever it was had a hand to her mouth. Sam bit the hand hard and a man screamed before turning her around and slapping her. It was the tall guy from before. And he wasn't alone this time. Two other guys grabbed each of her arms and the tall guy started punching her on the gut, knocking the wind out of her.
"I told you I'd be seein' you again," he said.
Sam spit in his face. "Go to hell!"
The man wiped away the spittle and punched Sam in the face so hard she saw stars. The men pressed her against the wall while the tall man continued his assault on Sam. This was not going well. The guy pulled out a knife and stabbed Sam in the stomach, making her scream out for Arthur. Arthur and Lenny pulled the man away and Arthur fought him off. He came back and Lenny and him fought off the other two guys pinning Sam to the wall. Sam fell to her knees and grasped her stomach, watching the blood ooze through her shirt. The next thing she knew, Sam was being cradled in Arthur's arms and rushed outside to go to the doctor. Lenny banged on the locked door and yelled for the doctor to open up. Soon a light came on and the doctor, in his pajamas, came walking and opened the door.
"Yes?" he asked in an irritated voice.
"Our lady friend here was stabbed," Lenny said.
"Bring her in." Arthur went through the door and laid Sam on a cot in the back. Sam groaned in pain as the doctor pulled her shirt up. "What happened?"
"Bar fight," Arthur said bitterly.
The doctor sighed and examined her wounds. "First a bear attack, now a bar fight...little lady, you must like danger."
The words hung heavy in Sam's ears. Yes, she liked the danger. It was exciting; thrilling. Maybe it was changing her because she certainly didn't put herself in situations like this before being sent through time, and now here she was...hunting bears, engaging in bar fights, getting stabbed, almost shooting a man...Sam did not like this at all. It frightened her, in fact, that she seemed to thrive on the danger. She needed to get home soon. But what about Arthur? She looked over at Arthur who was in his own little world, looking extremely pissed while the doctor was cleaning her up. Sam picked Arthur a lot, and it was because of him that she wanted to stay...but this world was too dangerous for her. It would be hard, but perhaps she should nip her feelings for him in the bud so as not to be so hurt once she got back home.
The thought pained her, but Sam knew it had to be done.
"Well, no major arteries or organs were hit. Looks like she'll be just fine," the doctor said. "She'll just need stitches."
Sam watched Arthur and Lenny relax. "Thank goodness for that," Lenny said.
The doctor went to work quickly and soon Sam was all stitched and bandaged up. Arthur paid the man and put an arm around Sam to help her walk outside. "Come on, let's get you home."
Home. The camp was not her home, but it had started feeling like home for the last couple of weeks now. No, she had to stop that line of thinking. Her home was her apartment in Minneapolis back in 2020. But she wasn't in a position to argue with Arthur. He helped her get to Orion and saddle up. They way back to camp was a silent trip and Sam did her best not to fall asleep in the saddle, but at least Arthur was there to hold her steady. Campfire smoke and pine filled her nostrils, so she couldn't help but lean back against him. He chuckled and held her a little tighter, kissing the side of her face.
"You're alright, Sam." When they got back to camp, mostly everyone was asleep and Arthur quickly brought Sam back to her tent. Sam carefully got in and started rummaging around for a new shirt. She'd have to wear the red and black polka dotted shirt from that she wore on their date. As Sam removed her waitress shirt, she heard Arthur take a deep breath. She turned to look at him and all he was doing was staring at her. "Sam..." he uttered.
"Yeah?"
Arthur scooted closer and kissed her shoulder. "I'm sorry about tonight. I should have been there to protect you."
Sam shrugged him off and reached for the only clean and not ruined shirt she had. "Arthur, I think we need to talk."
As she slipped on the shirt, she grimaced from the wound in her stomach. "What do you mean talk?"
Sam frowned at him, not liking how the conversation was going to go. "I need to go home."
Arthur nodded sadly. "I know."
"No, I mean...look at me. I've only been here what, three weeks and I've been attacked by a bear, stabbed, been involved in two bar fights, been shot at, and I almost shot a man today. This is...this is all too much for me, do you understand?"
"I do."
"...Which is why I think we need to stop this...thing between us."
Arthur kept silent as she buttoned up her shirt. "...Why?" he asked quietly.
"Because if we don't, it'll hurt more when I leave."
Arthur shut his eyes and nodded. "I understand, Sam."
Arthur gave her a small kiss on the mouth before leaving the tent. When he left, Sam felt tears fill her eyes and she laid down, letting the tears fall onto her pillow.
