No one was entirely sure whose shot actually killed Micah.

Not that Hosea particularly cared in the moments after Arthur collapsed into him, Hosea sinking to the dirt with his arms wrapped around his son's chest. Arthur was terrifyingly still. His head fell back against Hosea's shoulder, shallow, rapid breaths ghosting past Hosea's cheek, eyes closed. Around them, however, chaos erupted.

Miss Grimshaw fired her shotgun at Micah. At almost the same time, Javier turned his gun on Micah. Even Dutch was shocked out of his stupor, firing off a round even as Micah fell to the ground. Jack was crying, Abigail holding him close so he couldn't see what was happening. Muffled shouting came from the tents as Charles went to free their friends. Eagle Flies and Paytah ran down the hill, bows drawn and ready.

Hosea found out later, after Charles and Eagle Flies pulled a barely breathing Arthur from Hosea's grasp and carried him back to Wapiti, after their doctor kicked Hosea out, after it took John dragging him away from the tent, what had actually happened.

Miss Grimshaw, having been pushed out by Dutch and Micah for revealing that she knew of Arthur's plans, had stayed near Shady Belle long enough to see the Pinkertons show up. She confirmed that both Molly and Strauss were dead with tears in her eyes, and they continued to fall long after. Uncle and Mr. Pearson had disappeared, but as far as she was aware they were still alive. Reverend Swanson helped her move Lenny out of the city, just to be safe, and then she left to find and warn Arthur. She hadn't known Micah and Dutch had tracked them to Wapiti as well.

The doctor emerged later, said he had done all he could for Arthur. All they could do now was care for him, and wait.

So that's what Hosea did, with the help of everyone else. Not that it seemed to do much good. Every rasp from Arthur's lungs seemed to shatter Hosea's heart again and again, as well as the rest of their family as a steady rotation of visitors entered his tent over the next several days. But they kept holding his hand, though he didn't seem to notice. Kept placing cool, damp towels over his forehead to keep his fever from getting worse, since it never seemed to get better.

Except for Dutch.

Dutch stuck to the edge of Wapiti, never too far that he didn't hear any news, but clearly uncomfortable being with the gang. He sat thinking, first caught in anger, then sorrow, and then regret. It took a crying Miss Grimshaw yelling at him to get him to check on Arthur himself.

He entered the tent, and his heart leapt at the sight of Arthur sitting up. Until he realized Hosea was holding him up, leaning uncomfortably against a pole, Arthur's pale head tucked under his chin.

"He's having trouble breathing," was the only explanation Hosea could give.

"Hosea," Dutch started, crouching down next to him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know about Micah."

Hosea couldn't say anything, just tightened his hold on Arthur's trembling form.

"Please, I can fix this. There has to be something-"

"We're going to lose him, Dutch." Saying it out loud caused fresh tears to fall from Hosea's eyes, and they didn't stop. "There's nothing we can do."

"No. No, you don't mean it."

"All he wanted was to save this family and he did and now I can't save him."

Hosea pulled the blankets up higher around Arthur. Dutch tried to think of assurances to say, but he came up empty-handed. But there was something he was dying to know.

"Arthur changed so much since Blackwater. I didn't see it at first, but he did. I just don't understand how he knew about Micah."

"All of us knew Micah was dangerous, except for you, Dutch."

"He never trusted me after Blackwater. I had a plan, and he always doubted it!"

"Enough about your plan, Dutch! It never would have worked! I… Arthur…" Hosea's eyes drifted to Arthur's satchel. He reached over with one hand and clumsily pulled out the journal. He held on for a second, wondering if he should allow another person to violate Arthur's privacy, but sadly, he knew in a few more hours it might not matter. "Here. Read it. Don't ask questions. Just read it from the beginning and don't say anything until you are done."

So, Dutch read Arthur's journal, cover to cover. Then flipped back to the beginning, and started again. Switched back and forth between different events and different times. A few times he opened his mouth to ask a question, but a glare from Hosea stopped it.

When he finally closed the journal, Dutch was confused and flustered.

"It wouldn't have ended like that. I never would have-"

"You did. You would have, Arthur saw it! I wasn't sure at first either, but you changed, Dutch!"

"He said I left John to die!"

"And look what happened with the O'Driscolls. It was all happening again and that's why Arthur left!"

"How long have you known? How long, Hosea?"

"Since he shot those Pinkertons," Hosea admitted. "Dutch, if you had seen him, he was so scared of losing everyone again. Of losing me, and you. I know it's hard to believe from just reading it, but it's all true."

For once, Dutch didn't have anything to say. He just sat in silence, fingers brushing over the front of Arthur's journal, and thought. And then…

"I'm sorry."

He stared at his son, unable to do nothing but knowing how to help. But a grimace of pain from Hosea when he awkwardly shifted didn't go unnoticed.

"You need rest. Here, let me take him," Dutch said.

"I want to stay."

"You'll ruin your back if you stay like that. Let me help. Please."

Hosea relented, carefully shifting Arthur so that Dutch could take Hosea's place. He stretched, stiffly walked around for a few minutes, then settled in the spare bedroll. He kept his eyes open long enough to see the tears falling from Dutch's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I'm so sorry," Dutch whispered. "Just keep holding on."

When Arthur finally pulled his eyes open, he had no idea how much time had passed. But Hosea's hand was curled around his own from the sleeping man's bedroll on his left, Dutch was lightly snoring on his right, and Susan was carefully sewing up a hole in a pair of pants at the foot of his cot. Despite how tired he felt, he managed a small smile, and focused his energy on squeezing Hosea's hand back.

Of course, the peaceful scene didn't last. As soon as Susan glanced up on Arthur and saw him awake, she leapt up and shouted, "You stupid boy! If you scare me like that again, you will wish you were dead!" Dutch and Hosea woke up in a panic, which turned to relief with Arthur's exhausted reply of, "Yes, Miss Grimshaw."

Despite the overwhelming number of apologies, questions asked too quickly for him to even think of an answer, and the confusing chatter when the entire gang tried to push into the tent, Arthur kept smiling.

"We should probably discuss where we are heading," Hosea said one morning about two weeks into Arthur's recovery. That had been going rather well, all things considered, though Arthur still slept a good portion of the day and couldn't wander far from their camp. But Lenny had made his way up north to join them and was keeping Arthur company. And the rest of the gang was helping keep Wapiti safe from Colonel Favours, as subtly as they could. They moved the horses closer to the tribe and kept them under guard. When that only angered Favours to the point of withholding vaccines, Karen and Sean went to rob the wagon. Karen put on such an excellent show of needing the medicine for her sick mother and twelve younger siblings, as she put it, that the army sergeants practically wished her well as they handed over the vaccines (though they were still at gunpoint). But to top it all off, Josiah Trelawny joined them and planned an impressive con with Hosea involving a rather well forged letter of promotion that required Colonel Favours' immediate return to Washington. Trelawny had some friends who were going to rob Favours at some point on his journey east to cover up the true intent of the ruse.

Of course, their tricks would only help so much. Arthur and Rains Fall knew they had only bought a little time before a threat appeared that they couldn't scare off. Still, the chief had been grateful for the lack of bloodshed.

"Besides looking for land out west, not a damn clue," Arthur replied. "But we need to move fast if we are going to go over the mountains." Summer was quickly turning to fall, and the risk of an early snowfall was building in Arthur's mind.

"Well, it's just that I recently saw an ad for land, but its too close to Blackwater. I don't want to be near Pinkertons for a while. Then there was a plot of land north of Strawberry, up in Big Valley. I always though that it was a beautiful bit of country."

"Where is it?"

"Right here by the creek. Good access to water, open spaces for horses or cattle or whatever we decide to raise."

"I don't know, Hosea. I hate Strawberry, though a quiet town might be good for us. But if we went here, we would have to clear out Hanging Dog Ranch first."

"Why?"

"It's owned by the O'Driscolls."

"WHAT? You've known where an O'Driscoll hideout was this entire time and you didn't tell me!" Dutch looked up from his reading and shouted.

"Think there are still some O'Driscolls there?" Sadie asked. She and Kieran were also part of the conversation, since Sadie had actual homestead experience and Kieran was rather intent on raising horses with Arthur.

"We could just send Sadie to take care of it," Hosea half-joked, but the determined look in Sadie's eyes had Arthur saying, "Just be sure to take someone with you."

"But what do you think of the land?" Hosea pressed.

"It's a good bit of land, but it's still too close to the Pinkertons. I want to get back out to the Pacific."

"We need to leave soon, then. Think you might be alright to ride next week?"

"I hope so."

"Well, I say we follow this trail to here," Hosea said, pointing to a small outpost and train station. "Then, we can catch a train west. As far as we can go. What do you think, Dutch?"

"It's a good plan," Dutch said from the corner, a sad smile on his face. Many long discussions and apologies occurred after Arthur woke up, but there was still a lingering awkwardness between them.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"I'm not coming with you."

"What? Why not?" Hosea shouted, but Arthur just waited. Dutch hesitated, but then finally opened his mouth.

"I think it is time I figure out where I fit in this world. And I need to do that alone, for now. Maybe it is Tahiti, or maybe it is right here. But living on a ranch is not my path, for now. And before you say anything, Hosea," Dutch said just as the other man started to speak, "you don't need a wanted man with a bounty like mine hiding in your home. It's better this way."

"I understand, Dutch," Arthur said.

"I can't believe it," Hosea said. "After all these years…"

"You deserve a home, Hosea. All of you. I trust Arthur to get you there." Dutch reached over to squeeze Arthur's hand, and Arthur returned it.

"Just, stay in contact alright? We are going to write to Tilly to let her know where we are going and where we settle. You write to us, you hear? And if you are in trouble or need a place to go, you better come find us." Dutch chuckled at what could be his last lecture from Hosea.

"Of course," he laughed.

As their family began to prepare to leave for the west, they all said their goodbyes to Dutch. Susan threatened to track him down if he didn't keep in contact. And even after everything that happened, Arthur truly hoped they would see him again.

They settled in California, after weeks of travel and searching for the perfect plot of land. A creek ran through to the small pond in the center of the large field, and a herd of deer grazed amongst the wildflowers, and Arthur knew he was home.

And so, they set to work. Arthur was able to put down a good portion of the money immediately, and with some signed paperwork from the nearby bank, he owned the land. The town itself was small and quiet, just what a bunch of ex-outlaws would want. They were able to buy lumber for a few houses and a barn, some cows, and of course the horses.

The argument over which breed of horse to raise was a battle that lasted days. Kieran argued for work horses like Dutch Warmbloods, Arthur and John both wanted to raise Hungarian Half-Breds like Dakota and Old Boy, Hosea and Sadie believed the Turkoman would get them the most money. The eventual compromise was the Missouri Fox Trotter, whose quiet temperament combined with high speeds seemed to be the best compared to the other three.

Tilly responded to the letter they sent, with an announcement as well. She was getting married! And she wasn't the only one.

The first couple was Kieran and Mary-Beth, and it didn't come as a surprise to anyone. She was a writer now, Mary-Beth, though she chose to publish under a pen name. And Kieran was an expert with the horses.

The next, which did surprise them all, was Lenny, who found a girl in town. Arthur still had vague memories of the party that followed, and while he didn't get as drunk as his last outing with Lenny, it still made for a terrible hangover the next morning. It didn't help that a week later, the party repeated itself when John asked Abigail to marry him properly. Jack had been ecstatic, running around with Cain barking at his heels.

And the last turned out to be Arthur himself! After months of dancing around each other, Karen, Abigail, and Mary-Beth took it upon themselves to force Sadie and Arthur together. It started on the journey to California, with a still healing Arthur and a happier Sadie spending more time together. But he didn't want to rush her, and she was unsure of how to move forward with him, so it took a little outside intervention and a well planned hunting trip to get either of them to admit it.

And so, on a warm morning with a gentle breeze, Arthur stood on the porch of their new home, steaming mug of coffee in his hands. Javier and Charles were out repairing a broken bit of fence. He was glad that his friendship with Javier remained good, despite what happened with Dutch and Micah. Kieran was brushing horses, Mary-Beth was probably inside at her new writing desk. Karen and Sean were off arguing, as they were prone to do in their sometimes rocky relationship. Lenny and his wife Alice were in town, Sadie was exercising the horses, and John was teaching Jack some farm chores with Abigail watching nearby. He looked out over their ranch, and sighed.

"You OK, Arthur?" Hosea asked from where he had been sitting with Susan.

"I'm fine, Hosea. Just enjoying the view."

Things were changing, always. But they had their piece of the world, and finally, a real home.