The next evening, Arthur took no chances with insomnia and set right to work brewing the concoction he'd gotten from Grimshaw.
His dreams took him once again to that familiar master bedroom at Deer Head Ranch. It was early morning, and he watched as his younger self lifted his suspenders onto his shoulders and secured his belt while Eliza sat before the vanity mirror brushing her hair, still in her soft white nightgown.
He glanced at his hat atop his dresser and left it there, instead going into the top drawer of the dresser and taking something from a square velvet box. He walked over to her and crouched behind her chair. Slipping his finger underneath the silky blonde hair at her neck, he gently pulled it around to her back, pressing his lips softly to her skin. He let his lips venture up her neck, behind her jaw and ear, then onto her cheek.
As she began to turn to face him, he could feel her smile from the way her cheek lifted, and he couldn't help but match it with his own. "Unh-uh. Turn around."
"Hm?"
"You heard me. Go on."
She sighed and turned back to face the mirror.
"Close your eyes," he whispered.
With a grin, she did as she was bade.
He lifted his hands and hung something around her neck, fastening it behind her. "All right. Open 'em."
She took in a quiet, dazed gasp at what she saw in the mirror: a deep blue sapphire about the size of her little fingernail, dangling atop her chest by a dainty golden chain. She brought her hand up beside it, but in her daze she was nervous to touch it.
"Arthur… We can't afford this."
"I'll say what we can afford." Still behind her, he came close and began pressing kisses to her cheek and jaw again. "And I say…we've got more than enough to allow me to dote on my lovely…beautiful…darling wife. Won't you let me?"
"Ain't even our anniversary," she smiled. "What's the occasion?"
"Weren't you listenin'?" he laughed against her skin. "Takin' the chance to dote on my wife ain't enough?"
She chuckled and smiled bright as she brought her arm around the opposite side of his neck and turned just enough to kiss him on the mouth. When she drew away, she looked up into his eyes and whispered, "You'll never see it off me."
"Mm, so she likes it…" he grinned as she came close to kiss him again.
She smiled as she shifted to turn all the way to face him and sit on the chair with her knees, bringing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. She slowly brought her hands forward down over his chest and felt him sigh. But when she slid them down to rest on his abdomen, he let out a whine.
"Don't get my blood up right before a hunt."
She pulled away and looked at him with an exaggerated pout. "Oo, so dangerous," she said low.
His smile brightened as his mouth hung open, and he chuffed an airy laugh. "I've gotta be calm out there!"
"Well…" she said, sliding her palms back up onto his chest, "you'd be good and calm by the time I was done with ya." She bit her lip and nodded a couple times with a cheeky grin before leaning forward to continue kissing him.
"Hun, quit!" he tried to pull away with another laugh.
"Why?"
"Because this is not why I got it for you. And I want you to be sure of that."
She smiled bright. "Well, the sapphire is not why I wanna touch you either."
From his vantage point watching the pair, Arthur looked at her. He'd long known physical touch to be probably the foremost way Eliza gave and craved to be shown love. Unluckily for her, it just so happened that that self-same thing hadn't always meant love to himself. But it had always meant the world to Eliza. That and words of comfort, compassion, and affection. A thing he dealt out fairly seldom. He almost scoffed a sardonic laugh at himself at the thought. With himself the way he was, maybe it was a wonder she loved him, or wanted to be around him at all.
In fact, if he actually stopped and thought about it, the way he probably showed love most was working with everything he had in him to serve, support, and protect those he loved in any way he could. It wasn't always interpreted by others as love, but love was exactly what he meant by it. That, and gift-giving every now and then. And all he wanted in being shown love was to be told that he was worth something to someone, and for that person to follow up their words with action by actually sticking around.
But it was clear she'd appreciated the gift. More than anything else, it was clear she loved him. And she just wanted to show him.
He watched his younger self pull his head back a bit and shoot her a wry and suspicious look. "Are you tryin'a make another kid? We've only talked about it a couple times…"
"No! Honest!"
"Good. 'Cause that I can say we probably couldn't afford. We can't handle more!" he wheezed. "Least not right now."
"No, no. This is about you and me, Arthur. You and me," she said, dipping her chin slightly and nodding as she spoke. "Always has been." Her deep eyes were filled to the brim with adoration and yearning.
He moaned. "Don't look at me like that. Later, all right? I got work to do."
But she kept kissing him as he pulled away.
"I gotta go. Later. Promise."
"I'll hold you to that," she eyed him. "You come back to me at the end of the day. Worn out or not, you get yourself right back here."
He smirked. "Deal."
As he turned, she bit her lip and quickly grabbed his rear. "That ass is mine."
He jumped just a little and turned back to look at her.
"What? I signed a license says so," she said with a wink, beginning to turn back towards the mirror to finish brushing her hair.
He wheezed a laugh and shook his head as he started to go through the bedroom door. But he stopped and turned back, beginning to rub his neck. "Oh. I should probably mention… After I bring home my game, I was thinkin' a'…takin' a job. I saw a sign…" He watched her whip her head to him, then make an effort to try to look less concerned.
"Arthur, we talked about this. You know how much I hate it. Every time, it's the thought of losin' you should somethin' go awry. And you got more than just me who'd lose you."
"It's legal work, Eliza. A way to earn some hefty income, provide for my family. And I'm good at it. Damn good. Always have been. But that's just the point, I'm good at it. Which means ain't nothin' goin' awry. I won't let it. All right?"
"Well, aren't you…afraid of the sheriff gettin' a look at your face when you make it into his office?"
He furrowed his brows and half-smirked as he wagged his head. "It's been at least six years since all that. I've learned not to look over my shoulder." He paused and looked up and away. "Metaphorically speakin'," he added with a chuckle. "Won't be able to live much life if I do. Anyways, we seemed to strike a deal of askin' no questions at the start. Said the best bounty hunters've got experience on the other side a' things. If I ain't worried about it, you don't need to be neither."
"Just don't…don't take any unnecessary risks, all right? We need you. In more ways than one." She offered a small smile beneath her concerned gaze.
He nodded as he grabbed his hat off the dresser and put it on. "Unnecessary risks? Me? You kiddin'?" He smirked at her. "Not with my family waitin' at home. Wouldn't dream of it."
As he turned again, she started to say one more thing. "If you happen to wake Isaac, don't mention you're goin' huntin'. You know he'll wanna go with you."
"Ain't no way," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Six is way too young."
"I know it!" she laughed in a high pitch, tilting her head and waving a hand. "Try tellin' him that."
Standing between the two, Arthur's eyes shot wide. "Wait. Wait, he's six?" He looked at his younger self. "D' you just say Isaac's six?"
"There'll be time enough. I'll take him huntin' with me, and it'll happen before he knows it."
She smiled at him through the mirror. "Stay safe, honey. Come back to us."
Arthur looked back and forth between them, the color quickly draining from his face. He looked down at the floor and nodded as he put the pieces together. "This is it, ain't it? This is the day…"
His younger self smiled back at her. "I will. Don't you worry."
"You will, and they won't be here when you get back, goddamn it!" Arthur shouted at himself. "Hey, if this is the day I think it is, you can't leave, buddy. You can't go nowhere! Hear me?!"
But his younger self continued to close the door behind him.
Arthur looked back at Eliza and dabbed his hand at her as he walked towards the door. "I won't let him leave. I won't, all right?"
But she just went on brushing her hair.
Arthur walked through the closed door just in time to see himself quietly opening the next bedroom door and walk over to Isaac's bed where he slept soundly with his cheek on the pillow. He brushed his fingers through the blonde hair at his forehead and bent to kiss his cheek.
As he straightened, Arthur continued to try to talk sense into him. "Don't leave today," he begged, beginning to grow frantic and breathless. "All right? Any other day, maybe. Not today. Just stick around the house!"
But he didn't hear him as he bent once more.
Arthur threw his hands up and looked up at the ceiling. "For once! You gotta be able to hear me! Don't do this to them!" He brought a hand up to cover his eyes for a moment. When he uncovered them, his younger self was leaving the room. "No, no… This can't be happening to me. Not again."
He watched himself leave the cabin and mount Boadicea, taking her into the forest behind the homestead. As they crossed the creek and went deeper into the woods, it was almost as if Arthur were hovering behind his shoulder; he could see him bring Bo to a slow trot and reach forward to pat her neck as he looked out into the trees wondering where would be the best place to start hunting for game.
Arthur watched him look up at where the mountain started to incline at his right. But when he saw him pause, look down, and turn his head to look back in the direction of the cabin, a spark caught in his chest.
His younger self squinted as the sunlight broke through the leaves of the trees, and the look in his eyes spoke of uneasiness. It was clear he felt something was off, somehow.
Arthur could've leapt for joy when he pulled the reins and turned Bo around, goading her with his spurs and a loud "Yah!" as they flew back in the direction of the cabin.
When the two of them came through the front door, they were smacked in the face by the state of the sitting room and kitchen. It had all been trashed—chairs overturned and broken, cabinets and shelves dumped of items, broken glass scattered across the floor. The sight grabbed both their chests in a vice like grip, and the color quickly drained from his younger self's face.
"Back!" Arthur pointed. "Back in the bedroom!"
"Mm—hot damn. We oughta take a peek at little prairie flowers more often," his younger self heard muffled from behind the ajar master bedroom door. "She's somethin' else. Think we got time to have us a little fun with miss blondie here?"
He pushed the door open to see Eliza and Isaac both dressed and crouching terrified on the floor, two men standing over them with their backs to him, their guns aimed down at them.
The men didn't get another word out before they heard the sound of two revolvers cocking near their ears.
"Drop it. Both a' you. Hands up where I can see 'em."
"Arthur!" Eliza gasped with relief, rushing to sit on the edge of the bed with Isaac.
He kept his eyes trained on the men. "So much as bat an eyelash, and you'll be lookin' at your own brains on the wall. Just try me."
As the men dropped their weapons with thuds to the floor, he nodded. "You busted into the wrong house." He glanced in Eliza's direction. She was trembling, one hand covering Isaac's eyes. "Eliza darlin'. Isaac, son… You all right?"
"Mm—Mm-hm."
"I'm okay, Papa."
"Where's Hope? Ain't heard a peep from her. She okay?"
"Yes, dearest," Eliza said. "She's here, behind the bed." She gestured to the space in the room between the bed and the far wall to the left. And she added with a whisper, her voice breaking, "Playing with her doll."
"Here I am, Daddy," Hope said, beginning to sit up. He could see the top of her curly golden head begin to pop up above the edge of the mattress.
Arthur's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. "Hope? That's…Hope?" His hand involuntarily went up to his temple as his mind raced.
"Hope, baby," he said, trying not to let his voice hint at the deep concern he felt rigidly snaking through him, "Hope Beatrice Morgan, you stay right where you are, you hear me? You don't look over where Daddy is. You go on playin' with the doll Mama made you. Can you do that for Daddy?"
"Well, she… She's alive? Eliza didn't…lose her?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"She's alive," Arthur breathed, a smile spreading across his face. "You kissed her this mornin', didn't you?" He thought back to the dark of Isaac's bedroom. He'd been so panicked, he hadn't noticed him bend to kiss Hope's cheek too. "Oh, god…" He wiped his hand down the side of his face, still reeling from a mix of utter shock and joy. "How old… She's gotta be, what—about three?"
"Love you, Daddy," came the sound of her quiet, sweet little voice.
His younger self caught a glimpse of Eliza's eyes, and their gazes locked for a moment before her expression absolutely crumpled at the sound of Hope's pure and blissfully innocent tone. Her mother was inescapably riddled with nerves and fear.
He shifted his gaze, now steely and full of wrath, to the men, who were only now realizing there was another child in the room.
"All right, you got two options," he said to them, still keeping his guns fixed on them. "Option one: I blow your goddamn heads—"
"Daddy! Yucky mouth!" came Hope's little shout from behind the bed. "'Member?"
He sighed. "Daddy's s-sorry. All right? Cover your ears anyway, baby girl."
"Okay."
He continued, "Option one, I blow your heads clean off, even in the presence of my wife and children." He heard Eliza take a quiet breath and imagined her closing her eyes for a moment as she wiped a hand over her mouth. "Option two—" He caught himself and squinted sourly in disgust. "You know, maybe there really ain't any need for option two—"
"No! W-what is it? What's option two?" said the weaselly, slimy little man sweating bullets to his left.
"Well, you ain't gonna like it," he said, glaring into the eyes of the other man before him.
"Tell us!" said the more nervous of the two.
At his eagerness, a sly smirk worked its way onto his mouth under the brim of his black hat. "Option two is you put your own raggedy, bloody balls in my hand and walk outta here without 'em."
He heard a truncated chuckle immediately burst from Isaac's nose and looked over to see Eliza bringing her hand over her own face, still far too nervous to laugh. Though if he knew her, he knew she wished she could.
"And never come back." He looked back at the men, whose faces were ashen white as they fought to come to terms with the choice before them, and he smiled. "Decisions, decisions…"
He noticed the glare of the man he was staring at falter. When he glanced down and saw the grip of a little pistol stuffed in the back of the man's belt, he smirked, just hoping he'd make a go for it.
In the space of a moment, the man tried to reach back for it, and Arthur immediately shot him in the head, sending a spray of blood and cranial matter onto the wall behind him.
As his body fell to the floor with a dull thud, Arthur cocked his head and mumbled in mock sympathy, "Option one."
He heard Eliza gasp and caught a glimpse of both her and Isaac jump and squirm on the bed as her trembling grip tightened over both her own and Isaac's eyes.
He looked over at the other man. His own eyes went wide, and he nearly choked out a laugh when he saw him turned around and hunched over with his blade out. Then a ripping, tearing sound, which elicited a deep gasp from Eliza, a wince from Isaac, and a screech of agony from the man himself. When he turned back around, he held out the offering of a dripping, bloody clump in his hand.
"Uh— No need," Arthur said with a grimace, gesturing to the door with his gun. "Off you go. Take 'em with you. I better not find 'em anywhere on my property. And hey—"
The man turned his haggard face back.
"What was the other part of the deal?"
He swallowed as he continued to limp and hobble away with his other hand over his bloody crotch. "Never come back."
"Not if you wanna keep breathin'!" Arthur ran to the front door and called after him. "I'll make that pain look like a dream if I ever see you back here, I swear to god!" He considered for a moment making him dance amidst a flurry of gunshots. Instead he thundered, "Don't you ever come near my family again!"
As soon as he was confident the miscreant had no intention of turning back, he holstered his guns and rushed back to the bedroom, where Eliza was a puddle of nervous tears, holding both their children tight to her on the edge of the bed.
"Keep your eyes on me, babies," she was whispering and cooing to them as they sniffed and moaned.
Stepping over the body on the floor, he ran to sit by her side and held all of them, showering them with kisses. He wiped Eliza's tears and kissed her cheek as she frantically clutched his shirt tightly in her hands.
Resting his forehead to hers, he closed his eyes. "Remind me why we still live here."
She scoffed a laugh and tried to smile as she shook her head. "We'll live anywhere, as long as you're there, Arthur Morgan." A little chuckle forced its way up through her chest as she cried. "Now I understand why you never wanna give up your holsters."
He smirked as he drew back, but his concern quickly returned as he watched her sputter and weep. "Hey… You're all right now," he said, his tone smooth and warm. "We're all right. All of us."
She gently shook her head as the tears continued to fall. "It ain't that."
"What is it then?" He brushed a tear away from her cheek with the back of his finger. "Hm?"
She sniffed, her eyes still gathering tears as she looked up into his. "You're just so good to us," she said, her words broken by sobs and hiccups. "So good to me. There ain't no comparison. And it's never been so clear to me." She sniffed and looked up into his eyes. "You're a gentle and kind husband and father. Who could ask for anything more?"
He watched her swallow as she placed a gentle hand to his cheek.
"You don't know how wonderful you are." When she closed her eyes and took a breath, the tears in her eyes quickly fell down each cheek. "I love you." She looked back up, and his gaze couldn't escape hers if he wanted it to. And she whispered again, "I love you, Arthur."
But he just sat there, looking back at her, his mouth and voice struggling for the words of response.
As he watched them huddled together on the bed, Arthur sighed and dropped his face in his hand. "What the hell is the goddamn matter with you?"