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As Arthur leads Trelawny into camp, frustrated by the air of mystery that follows Trelawny (Arthur was the one to bump into him, and Arthur took him all the way to camp, but Trelawny still won’t tell Arthur about the ‘important business opportunity’ that Trelawny wants to tell Dutch about), he points towards Dutch’s tent. “He’s over there.”
“Thank you, dear boy,” Trelawny says, but he glances to the side. And, upon noticing George stood nearby, feeding Baylock (Arthur still can’t believe that Micah’s horse lets the boy near him), he gets distracted from the very reason he came here to begin with. “Oh, who do we have here?”
George turns his head, eyes widening. Seeing Arthur stood beside Trelawny, he wanders over. “Who’re you, Mister?”
Trelawny chuckles. “Well, hello, young man. My name is Josiah Trelawny.”
“Hi,” George says, waving. “I’m George Bell.”
“Bell? Oh, are you related to Micah Bell?” Trelawny asks, unaware of the gravity of George’s words.
Unlike everyone else in earshot.
George flinches, silently opening and closing his mouth as though he didn’t plan on saying that. And Arthur just looks at Micah, who had been strolling past, but now freezes on the spot, his cup of coffee falling to the ground. Micah glances at George, briefly meeting Arthur’s gaze, and Arthur can’t read his facial expression.
“Are you all right, George?” Trelawny says, frowning quizzically at the child.
“I, uh…” George sees Micah looking at him, the boy’s face flushing bright red. “Yeah, he’s my Papa.”
Arthur watches Micah, waiting for his reaction. Micah has finally relaxed enough around George to let the kid call him ‘Papa’, occasionally pats George’s back, and Arthur once saw the boy snuggled against Micah’s side at the campfire when they thought nobody was watching. But, at the end of the day, he is still Micah Bell. Even when calmer and less of a dickhead, Micah still has a short temper and doesn’t know much other than how to kill a man. And Arthur doesn’t know what Micah will do after hearing his son use Micah’s surname for the first time.
Dragging his feet, Micah approaches George. He reaches out a hand (trembling like he’s drunk), and George bows his head nervously. Arthur holds his breath. Micah swallows hard, his lower lip twitching, before a truly delightful smile spreads across his face.
Patting George’s head, Micah’s sweet smile becomes a familiar smirk as he says to Trelawny, “Yeah, that’s right. He’s my boy. Got a problem with that?” He puts his other hand on George’s shoulder, squeezing with a level of care he usually reserves for his guns.
George giggles, smiling even as his cheeks glow red. Arthur exhales slowly, his stomach fluttering as he watches Micah do his best to be a good father. There’s something almost… cute about the sight, and Arthur tries not to dwell on the feelings he may or not have.
“Of course not,” Trelawny says, puzzled. “It’s wonderful to meet you, George Bell.”