Dear Hamish,

Thank you again for taking Hosea and me fishing. I certainly am going to take you up on your offer of hunting some time.

I'm writing you from Strawberry with a request. In my travels, I came across an outlaw that had quite a price on his head. We got into a fight and I killed him, and I got to collect the bounty. Unfortunately, the sheriff didn't have enough money to cover the bounty. I have to be moving on from Strawberry, so I told the sheriff that I trust you to take care of until I can make it up to your cabin.

The money will be for Arthur Callahan. Feel free to take some money if you should need it. And don't be too concerned if no one shows up. I have my own troubles with the law in certain areas, and they might not be too keen to pay a bounty to someone who owes one, if you get my meaning.

Thank you,

Arthur Morgan

He addressed the first letter to O'Creagh's Run, then started writing the second.

Dear Mary-Beth,

I know Sadie, Hosea, and I left in a rush, but I wanted you to pass on to Abigail that we have found John and he is fine. We plan to head back to camp soon, but hopefully this letter will reach you first and put your minds at ease.

Arthur

He scribbled the name Tacitus Kilgore and Rhodes on the second envelope before handing them to the clerk. It would probably take a while for his letter to reach Hamish, but if the mail picked up in time to meet a train, Abigail would receive news about John before they returned.

Marston was recovering well, well enough to ask Arthur about the now inaccurate future of Colm O'Driscoll being hanged. Arthur tried to brush it off as talking for time, but he could tell that John did not believe a word of it.

The doctor seemed reluctant about letting Sadie leave so soon, but the glare the woman sent in his direction held his tongue. Arthur supported her with an arm around her waist, but she still walked her way to the horses, John moving stiffly behind her. Hosea frowned. Arthur knew he was uncomfortable with moving so soon, too. But it was only a matter of time before Pinkertons showed in Strawberry to confirm the death of Colm O'Driscoll, and both Hosea and Arthur knew they had to be long gone by then.

Sadie tried to move to Bob, but Arthur steered her to Dakota. "Are you kidding me?" she complained.

"You're not riding by yourself."

"Marston gets to ride by himself!"

"Marston has a bump on the head. You were stabbed. End of discussion."

She grumbled but relented. It was a long ride back to Rhodes. Arthur turned to Hosea.

"I'm glad to be getting out of this town."

"Really? I think Big Valley is beautiful. Great land, I wouldn't mind living there."

"No, Big Valley is good. But Strawberry? This tourist town for rich folk back East? It just makes me worried, Hosea."

At that moment, one of the rich tourists in an impractical suit wandered past. "Worried about what? Him?" Hosea chuckled.

"No, people like that make our job easier. No, it's just," Arthur paused, trying to get the words right in his head. "It's just the idea that the West is going to be one big tourist land one day. All that nice, virgin land we always dream about? That it will just become this thing for rich folk to stare at, to run around and pretend to be a cowboy, and then go back to their nice, cushy lives. And people like us? There won't be any room in the world for us no more."

Hosea said nothing, just kept a melancholy smile on his face.

Arthur turned to mount up in front of Sadie. "We should get going."

The ride back was slow, and they stopped for the night on the shores of Flat Iron Lake. They were actually near Jeremy Gill's lakeside house, which Arthur pointed out to Hosea with a laugh. He shot a few rabbits for dinner, and they all enjoyed a peaceful night for once. Hosea entertained Sadie with stories of Arthur and John growing up, embarrassing the two men. But he eventually had to stop when he had Sadie in such stitches that she pulled on her injured side too much.

Sadie drifted into sleep, John soon after, which left just Arthur and Hosea next to the fire.

"You OK?"

"Things are going to be so different now," Arthur said.

"I know."

"I might punch Dutch in the face when we get back to camp."

"Arthur-"

"He believed Micah! Over us! We were there telling him that something was wrong and he just rode off back to camp! When it was me-" he cut off, quickly checking to make sure both John and Sadie were asleep.

"When it was me," he whispered, "I was just so glad to get away from Colm that I never asked Dutch what he was doing while I was gone."

Hosea leaned forward, head in his hands. "Before then, I couldn't really see the Dutch you warned me about. But now I'm afraid that he might already be lost."

"Should we leave? I hate to ask the gang to choose between Dutch and me, but I don't want to leave them behind. John, Abigail, and Jack, I want them to be safe. I'm sure they would come with us, but Sean? The Girls?"

"We will think about it later. Let's talk to Dutch, try to get him to see the error in his ways."

"Thank you." The fire flickered, starting to die out. "Go to bed, old man. I'll keep watch."

Pink and orange streaks covered the sky when Arthur shook the others awake. A few hours ride, and they would be back in camp, and Arthur would have to get ready for the next challenge. Mainly, keeping Sean or anybody else from being killed in the Gray-Braithwaite fiasco.

They trotted through the trees at at Clemens Point, Charles standing guard nearby. "Glad you are back!" he called to the four of them.

Abigail ran up to them. "I'm so glad you are alright!" she said to John, before turning to Arthur. "Mary-Beth told me about your letter. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Abigail." He helped Sadie down, the woman pushing him off and stumbling to her tent by herself. But she was unable to escape the sight of Miss Grimshaw.

"Mrs. Adler! What did those boys get you into?"

"I'm fine!"

"Don't let her fool you, Miss Grimshaw. She was stabbed in the side, but she'll be alright."

"Stabbed?" Abigail shouted, drawing some attention from the rest of the camp. "I thought you said everything was fine! What happened?"

"She will be fine, Abigail," Arthur said. "John too, he got hit in the head a little." Abigail began to fuss over John, when he heard it.

"ARTHUR!" Dutch strode over quickly, the other camp members carefully moving out of the way. "Where have you four been? And why is Mrs. Adler injured?"

Hosea stepped forward, a hand on a furious Arthur's chest. "Dutch, let's talk in private."

"No, you three go looking for John and you disappear for days! Tell me where you were, now!"

Arthur was done. "Fuck you, Dutch."

The camp took a collective step back, Dutch's face livid. "Excuse me?" he growled.

"If you had given enough of a shit to look for John when he went missing, you would know exactly what we've been through. But no, you listened to Micah and left."

Arthur glanced at Micah in the corner, daring him to make a sound. But this time it seemed that Micah was being smart and shutting up.

"Colm O'Driscoll is dead!" Arthur announced. "Sadie managed to get the drop on him while we were rescuing John from their camp. I appreciate it, by the way, considering Colm was seconds from killing me. And probably John right after."

"John," Dutch said, looking past Arthur to the other man. "John, I didn't know." Dutch took a few steps forward, but Arthur moved to stand between them. "If I had known-"

John apprehensively asked, "Were you even worried?"

"Of course, son" Dutch held his hands in front of him, almost seeming like he was pleading.

"But not enough to look for me? You just left me?" John's anger was rapidly leaking out. When Arthur and Hosea explained that Dutch had gone back to camp, since John had overheard Colm's plan and was frightened of Dutch falling into the trap, he had been both relieved and hurt. Now, the built up tension was being released.

Hosea, ever the mediator, tried with, "You should have listened to our concerns at the very least."

But Dutch was beyond reason already. "I don't need doubt from you, Hosea." Which was the last word Arthur could handle hearing. He surged forward, grabbed Dutch by the jacket and backing him into a wagon.

"You keep saying that, keep worrying that people are doubting you, and you are too full of yourself to ever admit that you are wrong!"

"Hey, get your hands off the boss!"

"Micah, I told you I would kill you. You want me to make good on that now?" Micah backed off, though Charles and Sean getting in the way might have had something to do with that.

"Arthur, I'm sure you are just angry about Colm-"

"Oh no, Dutch. I got to see Colm die, I'm not angry at dead men. I'm angry at you! You claim to love this gang like family but lately when you talk its just that snake's voice that comes out. Don't think I haven't noticed that you agree with everything he whispers in your ear. And look at where we are!"

"Arthur, I-"

"Let me guess, Dutch. You've got a plan! Well, your plans have been shit lately, and they are only getting worse. Those two families? There ain't gold at the end of it. We have Leviticus Cornwall on our tail because YOU robbed a train that Hosea and I told you not to. We are being chased by Pinkertons because MICAH got you all excited for that boat, even when Hosea and I had something in the works! No, Dutch. I don't believe in your plans no more!"

That shut Dutch up. The entire camp was silent, watching Arthur unload all his frustration, anger, and anxiety in one moment. The crickets stopped chirping, the flies stopped buzzing, even nature held its breath as Arthur gathered his next words.

"The only reason that I'm still here is because I care about this gang. I love them all like family. Except for you, Micah, I can't fucking stand you. But the rest of them? I will do anything to protect them, Dutch. So you start listening to someone that isn't Micah for a change, because if he or you put any of them in danger again? I'll protect them from you."

Dutch swallowed and nodded. Arthur sighed, and released his hold on Dutch's jacket. He returned to John and Abigail, and slowly the rest of the gang went back to their day in camp. Only Micah and Bill stood with Dutch, but other than that, he was alone in the middle of camp.