"What I wasn't to talk to you about is the fact that bounty hunters found us, Dutch." She raked her hand through her hair tiredly, not really wanting to have to have the talk that she was having to have with him. It really seemed that she had to talk to him about laying low all too often and it only made her appreciate the time they had had with Hosea more and more. It really did seem like that old man was the one doing the keeping Dutch in check until she had come into the gang all those years ago. She broke out the crayons, figuratively speaking for the outlaw before her, "If you keep going on heists, putting us in danger... putting James and this new baby in danger... I am going to have no choice but to leave, Dutch." She shrugged at the look of disbelief reflected in his dark eyes and exhaled deeply, "I don't know what to tell you at this point. I am well and truly at a loss."

Dutch swallowed and stared at her nervously, was she serious or was she just blowing steam? He was afraid to ask but from her body language and the fact that her face was about as red as a tomato, he figured that she wasn't just blowing steam. She had had several 'talks' with him before over the fact that she believed they couldn't afford to be pulling off anymore heists but she had never outright threatened to leave him if he continued with the way of life he was so used to. Could he do it? Could he really put his urge, his near need to rob aside so that he could keep her in his life? He sure hoped so... then again, he wasn't quite sure. She had fallen in love with him knowing the life he led. Did she really have ground to demand that he turn from it? What he found himself faced with was quite the ultimatum. He took a deep breath and looked her up and down for a long moment, he knew that he was probably quiet for too long just as he knew that his next words would dictate what happened in the next few moments, "I," He started to compose his answer carefully, was it really the one he wanted to give? He had to be sure, he had to be completely sure as he didn't think in her current state, Celina would allow him to take back his words even if he wanted to. If he said that he could do it, truly give up the outlaw life and yet not actually do it, there wasn't a question in his mind that she would leave with the kinds without so much as a goodbye. Last night had brought her to the breaking point with the life he was attached to, he could see that. It had been too much, it had all been too much. He diverted his eyes from the woman that was carrying a child which was his with a sigh before meeting her gaze again slowly, "I have fought change all of my life. I have fought for this life, for freedom and equality, against the law... against the brainwashed opinions of society."

Celina felt her heart beginning to sink down towards her stomach and she did her best to brace herself for what he was going to say. How he was starting it, she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what she heard. The look on his face, she knew that look, it was the look Dutch got whenever he was unwilling to budge in his decision. The words that were leaving his mouth now, they were thought out carefully. He knew that this was going to be their final discussion regarding whether to rob or not to rob and he was making his side on the topic clear. Still, she listened as the man she had spent the last five years with spoke without attempting to interrupt him, "This life that I live, I live it to provide for this gang, you understand that, don't you? I have to, do you know how expensive it is to provide for so many people?" His face softened at that, "Or at least how expensive it was... and I had to... change." The look on his face was one of amazement, "Change doesn't always have to be bad, it can be good." He twisted the ring on his finger, "I see that. I know that we are getting by, living like we are, small, private robbery here and there, selling crops in the winter. Using our livestock, fruits and vegetables for food... it's working." He spead his arms wide with a smile and light laugh, "Its... it's working. I see that and I couldn't be anymore happy. I am not a man who changes my way of life easily though, Celina. If you knew how hard it is for me to change then perhaps you would understand more..." He sighed, "But, seeing that we can get by without the big heists, "I am willing to let them go for now at least... I can't promise that they won't happen again." He stared into her eyes, looking for any sign that she had stopped listening to what he had to say but finding none much to his relief, "What I can promise you is that I will try. I will do my best to be the man you deserve, to me the man you need, the one you want. I will try to live this life that we have built in a good and honest manner." He raised his hand to stop her when she finally went to speak, "Please just hear me out and stick with me through this. We won't attract any more attention and we will let the law and bounty hunters get off our backs again. We have enough money now after that bank to make it through this winter. At least, I think we do." He laughed, "Point is, we always can use more money. There's safety and security in knowing that we have enough cash to face whatever is thrown at us. Next year... to get through the winter, we will do something else... maybe expand the number of crops and livestock we sell... raise the prices..." He shrugged, "I don't know, I just don't know. We will do our best though to prevent having to rob to get by."

Celina stared at the man before her for a long moment quietly as if she was not motivated to even say anything back to him. She looked disappointed despite what he had said, completely. The color in her face had paled to the point that she looked sick. She nodded slowly though, inhaling just as slow, "I see." That was all she said for a moment. Dutch couldn't promise her that they were done with the heists. For her, in her mind, that meant that they would be done with them for a bit and then when he really started itching for one, he would come up with excuses as to why getting another score was needed. He would then start trying to convince her that they were in the clear and that they weren't going to get busted by the law not bounty hunters for one reason or another. He would start wanting to go on more and more heists after getting comfortable with the smaller, less frequent ones and then they would be right back where they were again. He may believe the words that left his mouth at the present time, and she believed that he did believe them.. or at least she hoped that he believed them. If he didn't mean them, then that was another situation entirely. She highly doubted that Dutch would lie to her, in fact, she thought that what he said stemmed from his attempt to be nothing but honest with her. The honest truth was that Dutch may never change and that it was only going to be a matter of time before he was robbing a bank again, or possibly a train. She looked down at the floor with a heavy heart. Could she really leave him? Celina glanced over at the door of their bedroom when she heard James outside it doing what sounded like knocking something over. She shook her head and met his gaze with tears in her eyes, "I love you, Dutch. Why... why can't you just stop? For me... for us... for the kids?" She sniffled, "Thank, you, for being honest with me, but... I... I wouldn't be so upset over the robberies if it weren't for the kids... you and I are used to this life, the gang is used to this life, we would be able to get by, we would hopefully be fine..." She took a shaky breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down, "There are kids in the picture though and them growing up in a life of crime? That is dangerous, that is so dangerous and I... I can't stand the thought of them paying the price for our actions. This... this life was supposed to be a chance to life quietly, to keep our freedom but be safe about it and making as much noise as we had lately... that is like throwing it all out the window. I can't keep doing that, Dutch... I." She bit down on the inside of her cheek in thought and shook her head yet again, "I need time to think about what to do as far as us... as far as whether I need to leave and wish you all the best or stick it out with you all... I," She couldn't keep the fresh tears from rolling down her cheeks, "I don't want to leave, Dutch. I love you, I love this gang and I love this life.. but... the kids," She sighed and glanced over at the door again, "Maybe I'm a bad mom because I can't make the snap decision to leave for James' sake... or for the sake of this new baby. You've got to understand though, Dutch, this isn't an easy decision for me... I..." She wiped at her tears, "I am so sorry."

Dutch hesitated for a moment before saying anything himself, he couldn't promise that he wouldn't ever go on a heist such as he loved to do ever again. He couldn't and Dutch couldn't break yet another promise to her. He should be able to be done with the life that he lived, he should be able to turn from it and not go back, ever. He had a good life at the homestead with Celina and the kids and the gang.. but he just couldn't shake the desire to live the outlaw life he had lived for over thirty years. It was who he was, it was what he stood for. If he didn't do what he did, then what exactly would life hold for him? He didn't need to rob all the time, he knew that to do something like that would be truly stupid and reckless but every once and a while? He needed that, he needed the adrenaline rush, the satisfaction of bringing in yet another score... the satisfaction of knowing that he had pulled one over on the law which he hated with his entire being yet again. He wanted to be a father and he wanted to be the man in Celina needed, so why couldn't he just choose her over the life he lived. He groaned, he couldn't not right then and there, he couldn't make a promise that he wasn't for sure that he could keep and he truly hoped that his promise to try to leave that life behind could possibly be enough to get her to stay. Shen she turned to leave the room without another word, he reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her, Celina turned around and looked up at him with the blue eyes he loved so dearly, "What do you want?"

He was almost at loss for words as he looked down at her, he opened his mouth only for one word to find its way out, "You." It sounded stupid, he knew it did, but he couldn't help it, it was the truth more than anything in the world. He wanted her, he really, truly wanted her. He couldn't help it if he couldn't promise change. He was the same man whom she had fallen in love with all those years ago, couldn't that be enough? She wouldn't leave him, not truly. Not over something like that. She loved the outlaw life, she had admitted that to him many times before. They could keep the kids safe and they would be fine, he just had to prove that to her.

Apparently saying 'you' weren't enough because after that, Celina pulled away from him and started at him with disbelief written across her face, "You do realize that I ripped out a man's throat with my teeth trying to get us out of a situation that you had gotten us into, right? What makes you think that that is who I want our kids to know me as?"

When Dutch couldn't think of a response quick enough for Celina, she scoffed at him and swung the door open and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. James ran up to his mother upon seeing her exit the bedroom and a smile immediately formed on Celina's face through her tears, "Hey baby, what are you doing?"

"Playing." James held up a stick that she had reluctantly allowed him to bring into the house the previous night, "I'm battling."

"You're battling?" Her voice rose in interest as she humored the young child, "Well who are you battling?"

"Pinkertons." Celina laughed out loud at that, he sure was a son of the Van Der Linde gang, "You're battling Pinkertons... with a sword?"

"No!" He huffed as if what he was doing were obvious and looked down at the stick, seeing it as something entirely different than what it really was in his young mind of imagination, "It's not a sword, it's a gun, mommy."

"Oh," Celina went along with it at the drop of a hat, "Is it a gun?" She gently took if from him and turned it over in her hands, pretending to assess the 'gun' with approval, "I am sorry, I didn't realize that before. It's a nice gun, Jimmy. Where did you get it?"

He took it back from her, excited that it received her approval, "Uncle Arthur gave it to me."

"Oh did he?" She laughed. So, it was Arthur who had given him a stick and convinced him that it was a gun. Of course it was Arthur who had done that, who else? She shook her head, still with the smile of adoration on her face for her little boy. She thought back to what had happened the high before and what could happen... the Pinkertons could find them where they were at. She hoped to God that they wouldn't, but they could. If they did, Dutch would be killed for sure and the rest of the gang would likely be taken into custody or go down fighting the law. Where would that leave James? In a foster home? On the street? Dead? Turning to a dangerous life of crime himself? Vengeful and against the law because he had known without doubt that they had invaded their home and killed his family? Celina took a deep breath and ruffled his dark brown hair, "Mommy is going to go for a walk, ok buddy? I'll be back soon, keep your daddy company and make sure he stays out of trouble."

James nodded up at her before running off with his gun and pointing it at random inanimate objects in the house, making fake gun noises. Celina watched him for a moment and took another deep breath before looking down at her stomach which didn't yet show a hint of pregnancy. If anything happened to James... or to the baby which was currently growing inside her because she loved Dutch too much to stand her ground with him, she would never forgive herself. Never. Leaving... leaving didn't have to mean that Dutch was out of her life or even out of the lives of the kids, it would just mean that they were independent from him.. that she was no longer with Dutch and he no longer had a direct impact on her life or her choices. If she left, she would no longer have to stress over her relationship with Dutch on a romantic scale and that thought was both saddening and somehow slightly relieving.

She felt a tear prick at the corner of her eye and raised her hand to wipe it away before it fell. She didn't want anyone to see her crying over Dutch, not again. She didn't want anyone to see her crying over anything. She wished that she could chop her tears up to pregnancy hormones... of course she could lie and tell everyone that that was what they were... Of course there would be no fooling herself though, unfortunately. The young woman made her way outside, looking over at Javier who was in the pig pen for one reason or another and then at Bill who sat on the fence of the pig pen, watching Javier do whatever he was doing. She couldn't help it, whatever the men were doing peaked her interest and she found herself approaching them in curiosity, immediately doing her best to block out the decision she was sure would keep her awake at night, "What are you guys doing with the pigs?"

Bill looked over at her first, "Just checking on them."

She climbed up onto the fence and sat beside Bill, watching as Javier was finally successful in pinning the smallest of them to the ground. He pried its mouth open with his fingers and reached in to remove fabric from it's mouth. He looked over his shoulder at the two who sat there watching them and held up the nearly swallowed cloth, "She almost had this for dinner."

Celina couldn't help but laugh at him, "All of this just to keep a pig from swallowing cloth?"

The Mexican nodded and climbed over the fence to exit the pen, "Well yeah, she couldn't have digested that."

Celina was quiet for a moment, staring directly at Javier who looked entirely convinced that what he said was the truth, "You know..." She looked over to Bill who looked just as convinced that the pig had nearly sentenced herself to certain death, "Hogs can digest anything... even bones."

"What?" Bill asked, his voice raising a few octaves as it typically always did when he was surprised, "How is that even possible? Digesting... bones."

Celina shrugged and hopped down of the fence, "They just can, it's nature. They were designed that way. Heck, I've heard of murders feeding dead bodies to hogs to dispose of the dead bodies... they're savage animals."

Javier stated back at the pigs for a moment in thought and pursed his lips, "There's something I didn't know."

Celina nodded with another small laugh, "And now I know that you both are big softies."

"Oh, shut up," Bill whined as he climbed off the fence and back to the ground as well, "Just because we didn't want to lose our livestock doesn't mean that we're softies."

"I think otherwise, I saw how intensely the two of you were focused on that little pig, you're softies." When they both stared at her, ready to defend themselves, she laughed even harder and raised her hand in admittance, "It is actually pretty cute. Do that and the two of you might actually be able to pick up women." She smirked when Javier stepped threateningly towards her and skipped backwards just out of his reach, "That's wrong? Too close to the truth? I'm telling you... women like sensitive men like yourselves."

Bill shook his head and raised his hand dismissively before walking away, Celina staring at him with a mischievous smile, she loved to get under their skin. They wouldn't do anything about it either... ever, no matter how big and tough they liked to act, she would never relent. Celina leaned against the fence lazily and looked out over the land that they owned. It was beautiful, truly and time got away from her as she slipped back into her thoughts.

Bill started back towards her after she watched him speaking with Dutch who had glanced over her way more than she would have liked. The veteran called out to her as he approached, "Dutch wants to speak to you."

Celina scoffed at those words, "Yeah, well, I think me and Dutch are just about done speaking."

Bill's eyes widened at that claim, "What does that mean?"

Celina shrugged carelessly, "He would rather be an outlaw than a husband to me or a father to James or this new baby." She had said 'new baby' without much thought, actually without thought at all that she was saying it out loud and that Dutch had been the only other one to know about her new pregnancy prior to revealing it to Bill.

He was quiet for a moment before nodding, "You... you're pregnant... you're pregnant again?"

She swallowed and nodded back at him, feeling a surge of emotion at the look on his face, he looked hurt. Maybe... maybe her thinking that he looked hurt at that information was just what she thought, maybe he wasn't hurt. Maybe he wasn't upset at all although it seemed to her that he was at least mildly disappointed. It was awkward, talking to Bill about her relationship with Dutch especially after they had spent some time as a couple themselves. She looked at the ground rather awkwardly as she tried to get her thoughts straight. She hated having to admit to Bill that Dutch had gotten her pregnant for sure this time around and she really hoped that he wasn't hurt by that undeniable fact, "Yes," she confirmed it verbally, meeting his gaze, "I am pregnant again."

She could almost see the wheels in the veteran's head turning, his brow furrowed in thought and he made eye contact with her, "What makes you think that Dutch would rather be an outlaw than a husband or a father?"

Celina gestured back to the house, "We just got in an argument yet again over him and his heists. I'm scared, Bill, I'm terrified that we're all going to continue living like this and eventually one of my kids are going to get mixed up in and hurt by it." She shook her head at the thought that scared her more than anything, "If it were just all of us living this way then it wouldn't be as much of an issue. Innocent kids though? They deserve better than this, they deserve to be safe and Dutch... I'm worried that as long as I stay with Dutch, I'm never going to be able to ensure their safety." Fresh tears rolled down her face and she wiped at them quickly.

"Hey," Bill reached out to her awkwardly, "Don't cry, it'll be alright." He stared at her for a moment and then turned back to look in the direction of the house himself, "If-" he exhaled heavily, "If Dutch don't want to- or can't be the father those kids need... the man you need... I." He looked into her eyes as if he wished that she could just read his mind, "If he won't do what needs to be done to keep them safe..." He glanced down at her stomach and went silent.

Celina waited for him to finish saying what it was he was trying to say but when he made no effort to continue speaking, she spoke instead, "If all Dutch is going to to is put these kids in danger with the life he just can't turn from no matter what, I think I'm going to have to leave... I think I'm going to have to go off on my own for the safety of my kids. I don't want to leave, I want to stay here with all of you but as a mother, James and the baby I'm pregnant with now have to come first."

Bill nodded, "I get that, but you would really leave Dutch... permanently?"

She did her best to keep from crying more and nodded, "If keeping me and the kids around isn't enough to get him to change... then I guess after all these years I know where I stand with him. It breaks my heart, Bill, but I don't think he's capable of loving me as much as I love him... if he did, he wouldn't let me go." She scoffed and raised her hands in exasperation, "How hard can it be to not rob a bank or a train or anything of the sort?"

"... It ain't hard." Bill shook his head, "It ain't hard, not at all. You have to do what you have to do, for love."

Celina eyed him for a moment and reached out to him, grasping his hand gently in her own and looking down at their hands, "I really did love you, Bill. I was in love with you. I wish you could have believed me."

Bill stared down at their hands and pulled his away slowly, "If..." he looked back over at the house again, "I ain't real good for you." He said it matter of fact, "And I ain't real good for a kid... I... If..." He was quiet for a moment as he tried to get his words in order, "Dammit." He spat the word out bitterly, "Maybe if you leave, I'll leave with you... if you want.. maybe..." He whined, not exactly being able to make up his mind right then and there, "I don't know. I don't know if it's a good idea but... I... I never thought I'd make a good father. I'm just a drunk like my own but if the kids need a father and you leave... maybe I'll go with you and..." he sighed, "Maybe I'll work on my drinking problem."

Celina could hardly believe the words that she had just heard come out of Bill Williamson's mouth. Back when she was pregnant with James who lately she had been in the habit of calling Jimmy, she would have been ready to go right in that moment. Her heart soared at the thought of what Bill had proposed, it sounded so great that she could almost see it. Still she was confused, could she really up and leave like she was talking about? Could she leave Dutch in the past or possibly change how she viewed him to only as a friend? She licked her lips, could Bill really quit drinking so much? If he could that would definately be great for his health and maybe he could make a decent father out of himself. She took a deep breath, "I'll... I'll let you know what I decide but that... that sounds nice, that sounds really nice."

Bill nodded at her, looking a little nervous himself that he had just put himself out there like that, "Well, I just... I don't know, I just figure that it's as good a chance of James being mine as there is him being Dutch's... and if Dutch ain't going to be a father, then he's in need of one and... Well, it might as well me me, and for the other one too."

Celina still was having a hard time processing what he was telling her, "Ok... I'll... I'm going to think about it. I'll let you know, ok?"

Bill nodded, "Yeah, you... you just let me know and we can figure something out. Do something."

"I will." She walked off slowly, a million thoughts racing through her mind, "I will."

...

A/N: There's the next chapter you guys, we're getting closer and closer to the events of RDR1 and I expect the next time jump is going to happen within the next couple chapters. Anyway, let me know what you think as always, it truly makes my day.

What do you think/want Celina to do?

Any predictions about Fort Mercer?

Hope you all enjoyed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption 1 or 2 or anything associated with it.