Arthur Morgan was an outlaw. Had been since his parents had died, and he'd been put on the street barely older than the age of ten. In the life of an outlaw, one gets used to the concept of running away from things. The law. Other gangs. People who don't understand the life.

For the first time in a long time, Arthur was running toward something, chasing something. Or in this case, someone.

When he'd first met Sadie Adler, they'd rescued her from O'Driscolls after they'd killed her husband, Jake Adler. Neither of them had really wanted or needed the other for any reason, so they'd been distant, connected through the gang and not much else.

The biggest pivoting moment for them had been that outing to Rhodes, when they'd defended themselves from Lemoyne Raiders. Sadie had shown herself to be quite capable in combat. They'd worked together to eliminate the enemy. Overall, they'd had quite an adventure.

After that, it had been all uphill. They'd enjoyed their time around camp, hunting together. Their trip to the mountains had been one long emotional rollercoaster for them. At the end of it, at Hanging Dog Ranch... some shit had gone down. They'd done things that couldn't be undone. They'd helped each other through it and made it out the other side.

All of it compounded to make him even more confused as to why Sadie was now avoiding him like he had the plague. Which he didn't. He kept himself as clean as he could, going so far as to make stops to the hotels whenever he was in town for baths. Simply as a point of personal self-esteem.

He didn't understand it. One moment, it seems like she wants to maybe move forward, try for something more. The next, she's acting like he killed her dog or something worse.

The mystery of woman. Boggles the mind.

Today, he was planning to do some hunting, and he had hoped she might want to tag along. Just as friends, like they used to do. But there was nothing. He simply couldn't find her.

Little Jack ran up to him, tugging at his gloved hand. "Uncle Arthur!"

He jolted from his pondering at the boy's outburst. "Sorry, kiddo, just lost in thought way up here." He knelt down to meet Jack's eyes. "What's going on?"

"Are you and Auntie Sadie having a fight?" The child posed the question with such bluntness, Arthur was flustered for a moment.

"Uh, well Jack, that's a complicated question."

"No it's not." The child showed the wisdom he'd gained in his short, tough life. "Are you having a fight?"

Arthur took a deep breath, noticing how it shook just a little. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know why she's avoiding me. All I know is that she is, and I'm confused, and I'm sad, and I'm hurt, and I'm afraid that she doesn't like me anymore." The words tumbled out, the emotions going with them. By the end of it, Arthur was holding back tears.

"I think you should talk to her," Jack replied simply.

Arthur chuckled at the simplicity of the child's suggestion. "I'll get right on that, kiddo."

Jack gave him a quick hug and scampered off, no doubt to make trouble elsewhere. Arthur looked around, taking in their Clemens Point camp. He'd have to set it up so she couldn't run away. He could lasso her and just drag her along; he'd done that enough times to uncooperative bounties, but he didn't want to make a public spectacle. He didn't need Micah jeering at them. Well, any more than he always did.

He moved his gaze to the boat and it clicked. There were some islands not too far from the camp. If they went there, he could talk to her without her being able to leave, and without the chance of being overheard.

He asked around for her current location, finally getting it from Hosea. He began moving toward Pearson's chuckwagon. Something must be really wrong for Sadie to be willing to work with Mr, Pearson.

As he walked, his mind raced trying to figure out how to get Sadie to one of those islets.

He rounded one end of the wagon to see Sadie in an argument with Mr. Pearson about the right way to cut some of the venison Pearson was going to cook. Not exactly surprising.

"Miss Adler, Mister Pearson," he announced himself to them. Sadie jumped at his voice and whipped around, a forced smile on her face.

"Arthur!" she said, feigning delight. "What brings you here?"

He nodded to her and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Fishing trip. You and me."

Her eyes narrowed, an emotion flashing through them that Arthur couldn't quite name. Hate? Fear? Disgust? It was hard to tell. "I-I've got a lot of work to do around camp - I'm not sure-"

"Hosea's orders." It was a blatant lie, but Arthur knew Sadie wouldn't dare disobey a direct order from one of the two gang leaders. "Unless you have something better to do that you need to tell him about?"

She shook her head vigorously. "No, no. All good here."

They stood there, neither moving. Arthur stepped to one side and gestured behind him in the direction of the boat. "After you."

She walked past him, grumbling to herself. Arthur followed her to the boat. He let her get in first, then followed. He took the oars and pushed them out into the water.

Arthur spent most of the boat ride to the small strip of land trying his best to look over his shoulder. He had to avoid looking straight ahead of him, toward the stern of the boat.

Where Sadie was seated.

Of course he had to be drawn to the woman who currently wanted nothing to do with him. Why couldn't it ever be easy for poor old Arthur Morgan?

He snapped himself out of his self-pity and dragged his focus, kicking and screaming, back to where they were going. If he glanced back, he could tell Sadie was looking everywhere BUT where they were going. Probably because that would've required looking forward, at him. They were on a straight course for the small island, more a sandbar than anything else. He'd chosen it for its small size, its complete lack of terrain features, and its distance from camp. There would be no eavesdropping. Not from Clemens Point, at least.

He stowed the oars just before landfall, the sudden jerking motion pulling Sadie from her thoughts. She took one look at where they were and immediately started trying to get away, moving from the stern seat to the hull of the boat itself.

"No! God, no!" She screamed, putting her hands up as if to defend herself. Arthur tried to calm her down.

"Sadie, just hold on a second-"

"NO! Get away from me!" She shrieked in response.

"Sadie, I'm not going to hurt you." Arthur unholstered his sidearms and placed them on the seat between them. "See? You're safe."

Sadie lunged for his new Volcanic repeating pistol, but he saw it coming. Taking her by the wrist, he pulled her over his shoulder and picked her up. He carried her, quite literally kicking and screaming, onto the beach where he dumped her unceremoniously.

She laid on her back, coughing from the impact. "Take me back to shore!"

"Not until we talk!" Arthur yelled in response. His patience was nearing its end and his voice was hardening. "Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on with you!"

"What's going on with me?!" Her hysterical laughter filled the air. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"What are you talkin' about, woman?"

"I SAW you!" She shouted, her furious visage cracking as she remembered. "I saw your face when you killed the O'Driscoll. The one that took me." Tears spilled down her fearful face.

"My face?" Arthur squinted at her in confusion. What was she talking about?

"How long has it been?" She sobbed. "How long ago did you kill him?"

"Him who?"

"Arthur fucking Morgan, you devil!" She screamed, shoving him backward.

Arthur looked at her incredulously. "I'm... I'm Arthur Morgan."

"No, you're NOT!" She shoved him again. She drew her own Schofield from its place at her side, using both hands to aim it straight at Arthur's chest.

"Sadie..."

"I'm sorry," she said.

Time slowed to a crawl. Arthur's vision turned a warm monochrome. He watched Sadie's finger tighten around the trigger in time with his own heartbeat, which dropped to frightening levels. With all the speed bestowed by this... whatever it was, Arthur drew own of his throwing knives. Taking careful aim, he threw it. It impacted the revolver just below the barrel on the frame. Time sped back up, and the gun was knocked from her fortunately unharmed hand.

She clutched at her wrist with a yelp, taking stock of what injury she must've sustained. Arthur moved forward, and she jerked her gaze back up, scrambling away.

"Stay away!" She sobbed. "Please... please don't hurt me!"

"I'm not going to..." Arthur trailed off. He wasn't going to convince her with words. He looked back to her, cowering in fear. What was causing her to do this? He looked around, finding no one else nearby. "What do you mean my face?"

"Don't play dumb, you bastard! You just showed me, when you hit my gun!"

"When I..." it clicked. Arthur turned away from Sadie, moving toward the water. He looked into the water, seeing his own rugged, coarse face reflected back. He took in a long breath, then let it out.

He never knew exactly what it was he could do or what it was, but he knew how to turn it on, and that it eventually turned off. He looked through the monochrome world at the face that was now reflected back.

A white skull, coated in grime so it looked dappled with gray. Over the face, a black X crossed the bridge of his nose. Where his blue-green eyes had been, there now flitted black orbs, with irises of red and gold intertwined.

Arthur's world returned to color, and he stumbled back. Is that what Sadie had seen when he'd saved her?

He turned back to Sadie, new understanding in his mind.

"Sadie."

"Whatever." Her voice was dull now, indifferent. "Just get it over with."

"Sadie, look at me." He knelt next to her, reaching toward her.

"No. I'm not looking at the face of the man I loved while you drag me down to hell, you demonic-"

"Sadie, look at me!" He grabbed her roughly by the sides of her head, his patience gone. She opened eyes red from tears, tracks leading down her cheeks. "My name is Arthur Morgan! I was born on the 22nd of June, 1863! I'm American born, with ancestors from England and Wales, that's why Sean calls me English! I can't stand Micah Bell, I'm afraid that Dutch is going down a bad path, taking the whole gang with him! I'm afraid that Hosea won't be able to talk sense into him! I love this gang, and I..."

He rested his forehead against hers, closing his own now-teary eyes.

"...and I know that I love you more than life itself, and that I can never hope to compare myself to Jake. My only hope is that you can accept me as the second man you've loved in your-"

His next words were cut off by Sadie, wrapping her arms around his neck and capturing his lips in hers. He let her hold it as long as she wanted, letting her take the lead for this.

She pulled away after a moment, returning her forehead to resting against his. Tears returned to her eyes, but Arthur suspected they might have a different cause. She let out a watery laugh. "It is really you, isn't it?"

"That is what I've been trying to tell you, yeah," he chuckled in response. He kissed her again, and she returned it.

They slowly broke apart, looking into each other's eyes. Arthur was the first to break his gaze away. "We should probably get back."

"I suppose you're right," Sadie replied, a thoughtful look on her face. "Though we might need to go out together soon."

"Eager to pick up where we left off, eh?" Arthur teased. Sadie elbowed him in the ribs.

"Maybe," was her sultry reply. "But not until after we've talked a bit more. I have a lot of questions for you."

"With an incentive like that," Arthur replied, laughing, "I will be happy to answer any question you have, Miss Adler."

They both got into the boat, and put back out to sea. They made sure to fish a little before they got back, so they wouldn't disappoint Mr. Pearson.

They pulled the boat into shore and got out. Immediately they were noticed by Lenny, who had been passing by.

"Welcome back, Arthur!" He greeted them. "Miss Adler, a pleasure as always."

"Heyo, Lenny," Arthur replied, giving the young man a hug. "How's camp been?"

"Boring as usual," Lenny said. "You two was gone a long time." He gestured to the now setting sun.

"That supposed to mean something?" Arthur inquired.

"Nothing at all," Lenny replied nonchalantly. "Just hope you two had fun, wherever you went."

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ah, shit. I'd better go tell him what really happened before the entire camp thinks we..."

Sadie shrugged in response. "Let em daydream." She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down for another kiss.

Arthur didn't complain. He could get used to this relationship thing.

And that's that! Chapter 4, a big one! I'll be honest, I have no idea where to go after this. My initial plansended with this chapter, so I have NO clue what to do now. Any suggestions are welcome, I'm gonna take a few days and just... brainstorm, I guess.

Thank you to those who reviewed! I will admit, the whole "skull with an X" thing might seem a little over the top. I was going for a little Ghost Rider '07 kinda look. I needed to make it for two reasons, the second of which comes up in this chapter. The skull is a bit more visible from a distance than just a change in eye color. And in the monochrome of Deadeye, a skull will actually be noticed, while Arthur might have just glossed over a change in eye color. That and a skull is a LOT more terrifying, especially in 1899. Motion pictures aren't even that big of a thing yet! (So I guess that makes three reasons. You get the point, yeah?)

Chapter 5 will be in progress for a bit longer than previous. Stay tuned!