Chapter Text
Torquemada 1903
It was a hot summer of thieving, scheming and menacing. Isaac would he lying if he said he was only in this line of work because he was desperate. He loved it, loved inconveniencing the law, the rich, of course thats who they stole from, those who could share.
Rosita was even worse, she lived for the thrill. Her bullets were always the first and last to leave her gun and she somehow still looked damn fine to Isaac by the end of it. Neither of them had ever felt like this, the thrill of being chased, missing a bullet by a hair, finally making it away and sleeping out under the stars with eachother and Midge. Miriam Bridget the pillar of strength she was, still dealing with the young couples shenanigans and mishaps, always a reliable get away and her fearlessness was undeniable.
The three of them together were unstoppable.
"Hah! We got away look at those suckers go!" Isaac dived behind a building, the tight nature of the village architecture and the cliffs at the side made for a surprisingly easy get away. More than once now the police managed to reassure the locals by telling them they'd fallen off the edge - despite not taking the bounty posters down.
Rosita followed soon after him, tucking herself behind him and peering over the corner. The law was still running in the direction they had been before Rosita and Isaac made the sharp turn.
The boy didn't take his eyes off the tile path watching for any more law, tilting his sombrero up every so slightly for a clear view, his back turned to Rosita. The girl however seemed a million miles away, staring off before suddenly doubling over and holding her stomach, her pretty face covered by her shiny curls as she clutched the fabric of her frilly white shirt. She slid down the wall, guiding herself into a kneel while keeping her eyes tightly shut. Before she knew it she was throwing up, spewing into the ground, now holding herself up on all fours.
"Okay, my love, I think it's-" he turned, still grinning at the police blunder, smiling down at where Rosita once stood. When he looked down to see her on the ground, his smile instantly dropped and he moved to grab all of her hair at once and twirl it into a mass that would lay on her back, out of the way. Crouching down beside her, he looked down at the spew and back at her, while Rosita's world still spun.
"Are you okay?" He said quickly, putting a hand on each of her shoulders to support her.
When she only groaned in response again, Isaac saw her top half start to lower as her arms started to give out.
"Hey- hey- can you stand?" He moved his hand to her cheek to see her face, her usual bright eyes were glazed over and her lips were dripping with sick.
Without waiting for an answer, he got behind her and hooked his arms under hers, hoisting her up gently. She wasn't that small anymore - neither of them were. Isaac took a growth spurt and towered over mostly everyone now, one time the law caught them because they spotted his hair peaking over a fence, back when he hadn't quite realised how tall he'd gotten.
He pulled her up, and when she was an ideal height he hooked one arm under her knees and held her 'bridal style', looking down her ill face. Quickly, he hurried her out of the area they were being searched for and where he'd parked Midge. When his beloved horse spotted the couple, she immediately thrusted get nose toward Rosita, assessing the issue.
"I know, girl, I know, we gotta get outta here quick, though," He quickly perched Rosita onto the saddle, watching her sway while he climbed up onto Midges rump - which had gotten conveniently easy since his growth spurt. He wrapped his arms around Rosita to support her, letting her lean against his chest while he kicked Midge into a trot, hoping not to alert any by standers with the thud of her hooves.
...................…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
The sun set over Diez Coronas, night air was starting to kick in, making the heat alot more bearable for Isaacs ghostly complexion. As always, his freckles lay on a bright red canvas as he fried under Mexico's sun. He'd always thought they'd fade as he aged, but they never did, much like his mother.
He'd gotten Rosita some water and told her to rest while he set up camp in a hidden away Ridge. Safe from a trail path someone might recognise their faces. The occasional pronghorn bounced by and the wind picked up, throwing some sand in their direction occasionally, nothing they weren't used to. There was a comfortable silence between the two, Rosita had suddenly got better which they were both thankful for, and Midge was pulling at some shrubbery after Isaac took all her tack off. He was just hammering down the pegs of the tent when,
"I think I'm with child."
He stopped in his tracks, mallet suspended in mid air, the hairs on his arms risen, the now not-so-comfortable silence so unbelievably deafening. It was so out of nowhere... Isaac was nineteen... probably, wasn't like he could remember his birthday. He was a thief who came from a long bloodline of thieves. He never seen himself as being anything else, let alone a father. He stood up straight and turned to Rosita slowly, noticing how she was doing everything in her power not to look at him. He didn't like that, didn't like that she seemed scared, he loved the fiery, mischievous girl he'd 'married', he hated seeing her all beaten down.
Isaac took a deep breath, carefully considering his next words, "okay... So... What do we do now?"
She pouted, "I don't know. "
"Okay...okay, well first, how do you know? Was that what that was back there?"
She nodded hesitantly, and reached down her side for Isaacs hand. Ofcourse, he never denied her. Rosita led the boys hand over to her belly, letting him feel it through her skirt. It was firm, not big, but firm, maybe slightly rounder? A little lumpy - he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a pregnant lady, never mind felt the belly of one, although he'd hope no one goes around doing that.
He could tell she was waiting for an answer, so he gave her one, "you got any name ideas?"
"Isaac!"
"What?" He was confused on why she'd taken such a loud tone all of a sudden.
"What about a house? A crib? We can't raise a baby like this!" Ah, so this is why she seemed so panick-y, she wasn't as scared of telling him as she was on the babies welfare once it got out.
"Well why not? Them traveling people do it, don't they?"
"They got wagons, and they ain't thieves!"
"What, you have a baby and you loose the ability to nab' an apple or two from a market?"
He shut up real fast when she gave him that look.
"Look all I'm saying is... Maybe we could make it work, living with a baby out here, I can see it."
"Okay...maybe you do, but maybe I don't, maybe... I want a house with four walls, some chickens, a fireplace, a table and a bed..." She admitted, looking down at her feet again.
Isaac sighed, "but I thought you could never settle down into the domestic type o' life?"
"Well I never saw myself falling in love either, Never saw myself in nice dresses or doin' my hair every morning, I guess... The thought of being a mama, changed my mind."
"changed your mind?" Isaac searched her expression, "So... Now what?"
"What?"
"Well, I suppose you want that good honest type of life, suppose I'm now partially responsible, What do I do?"
He noticed an honest, happy smile form on her face when he said that, "Well... A house would be a good start."
Isaac nodded, "Okay... Okay a house... A house..." He hadn't lived in a 'house' since he was a boy.
He thought to himself for a while, he was barely twenty, did he really want to be a father? Did he really have a choice? He supposed it was an opportunity. To be better than his own father, despite still loving him so dearly. Hoping he was atleast alive somewhere, maybe given up his gang life and on a homestead with his friends. Didn't matter now anyway, couldn't risk going back, and now he had a baby on the way.
Jesus christ.
He had a baby on the way.