OOM: Room #100 - drinking aftermath (part 2)

[ikissdhimbck]

[following this:]


It's a long and restless night, both for the outlaw, and for the Russian astronaut.

Once or twice, Kate jarred Esfir from slumber by waking with a start and lunging for that trash can. Who knew a body that tiny could survive being sick so many times in one night?

Esfir finally decided to forsake her spot in the armchair after the last time Kate was sick, settling next to her in bed.

"Momma?" Kate had murmured, half asleep and disoriented.







"Go back to sleep, Katyushka."

It wasn't long after that when dawn broke.

.

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

"Shit."

[scurlock]

Doc offers her a tight smile.

"S'exactly what I was thinkin' many times over."

[ikissdhimbck]

She blinks slowly, still unsteady.

She doesn't know what else to say.

She's mad, but she doesn't have the energy to yell. She's confused, but she's given up trying to figure out the bar. She's hurt...

But those feelings never really go away.

Groaning, she goes back to hands and knees.

[scurlock]

"Focus," he says helpfully, putting one arm around her midsection, both steadying her and trying to keep her from going back to a position her mind connects with being ill.

"Focus on me, not on your stomach or the room. Y'aint gonna be sick. Just try'n get a few easy breaths for me."

[ikissdhimbck]

She follows instructions.




"Feel like I've been hit with somethin'."

Blearily, she runs through her memories of yesterday morning's fight with Ramon, trying to recall if maybe she had been hit.

[scurlock]

"Bein' that y'had enough to drink to put a man my size down, I ain't surprised you're feelin' it."

Doc looks over at the table.

"I got somethin' that's supposed t'help the hangover from Bar, but I think y'might be better off with the water."

He knows about the fight with Ramon, but not all the details.

[ikissdhimbck]

And aside from the bruise on her right wrist from where he jerked her aside, and a hint of discoloration around her neck, there's not a mark on her.

Bill, she remembers in a panic. The rush of adrenalin makes her groan, and squeeze her eyes shut. No... it wasn't his blood. He's okay, too.

"Make th'sun go 'way."

[scurlock]

"Alright."

Doc moves slowly so that he doesn't jostle the bed, and plants a gentle kiss against her shoulder before he slips off the mattress to head for the windows.

Making it as dark as possible doesn't take too long.

[ikissdhimbck]

Bela picked out awesome curtains... at least by Kate's current estimation. She'll have to send her a fruit basket for this.

When Doc returns, he'll find Kate faceplanted back in her pillow again, scarcely daring to breathe.

[scurlock]

Doc will suggest some of those little orange spikey fruit things (from Africa) that he found years ago in the produce department of Wheelsy's only grocery store.

(Those are fruit that would fit in, nestled in a fruit basket assembled at the end of the universe)


He carefully climbs back onto the bed and adjusts the sheets and blankets around Kate, before he settles close to her - not too close, of course - and begins to rub her back once more.

[ikissdhimbck]

She might brush him off, if it didn't feel so damn good. Also, she's not entirely sure she can move her arms.

She moans quietly, feeling simultaneously hot and clammy, but can't bring herself to kick the blankets off.

(Even if she did, she'd probably complain about being cold only minutes later.)




"Why'd y'come back?"

[scurlock]

"I was always gonna come back," he replies. "It just took me a helluva lot longer than I expected it to."

Doc is careful to keep the touch soothing, and slow - knowing how sore your muscles get after a long night of trying not to curl in a ball and die while throwing up your stomach's entire contents helps in this case - as he works at her back.

"I wanted to."

[ikissdhimbck]

She turns her head slightly so she can look at him, though the periods her eyes are open are hardly as frequent as they are closed.


"Hate it when y'leave without a goodbye. 'Specially when I'm th'one in trouble for it, always."

Her words might sound more aggravated if she could bear to raise her voice right now.

[scurlock]

"I'm sorry," he whispers, voice a quiet rasp as he leans over to press his lips briefly to her hair, apologetic. "I was only plannin' on bein' gone a few hours but that don't make leavin' without lettin' you know acceptable."

[ikissdhimbck]

That's the second time he's kissed her in the last few minutes. She reaches a hand out and weakly pushes at him.





"Don't."

She squeezes her eyes shut.

[scurlock]

He nods without making a sound, then settles on the bed.

"Y'should try and sleep a bit more, then we'll git you some more water."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Okay."

She's already halfway to the point of sleep, anyway. If her head wasn't aching so badly, she might have already drifted off.

Not knowing what else to say at the moment, as there's so much blood throbbing in her brain there's not room enough for coherent thoughts, she falls silent.

And falls asleep.




About an hour later, she wakes up again.

[scurlock]

Doc glances over when she stirs, pausing mid-turn of a page in that book he placed earlier.

He reaches for the water from where he's sitting against the headboard, offering it to her once she seems somewhat more aware.

[ikissdhimbck]

She's groaning (and grumbling) as she fidgets, taking a long stretch to work out the soreness in her every muscle.

She scrubs at her eyes with the backs of her hands, watching and listening from somewhere deep underwater.

After a second, she notices the glass.

And frowns.

[scurlock]

"The more water you get, the less dehydrated you're gonna feel," he says.

Doc's expression says 'I know this isn't what you want but it will help' as he glances at her.

"Don't got to finish it, just a few sips."

[ikissdhimbck]

She slowly pushes herself up into a sitting position, whining complaining as her head throbs with renewed vigor.

She reaches for the glass, and finishes it off.

Mumbling, she hands the glass back to Doc, and scrubs at her face in misery.

[scurlock]

"What's wrong?"

He takes the glass back.

"Other'n the headache."

[ikissdhimbck]

Her hair is still damp in places where she slept on it wet, which might help account for the muggy, clammy feeling. She needs another bath. No -- not a bath. The idea of sitting in water, like a dirty stew, makes her feel even worse. Shower, then. She needs a shower. And--

She stops mid-thought, moving her hands away from her face sharply. Her expression is equal parts shock and horror.

Completely forgetting that Doc is sitting next to her, she hisses aloud:

"I ain't wearin' any knickers!"




















Now she remembers Doc is sitting next to her.



And her face flushes bright red.

[scurlock]

"I..."

Doc feels his face heat, ears turning pink at the tips.





He clears his throat.

"...I was unaware of that."

[ikissdhimbck]

Her face goes right back in her hands.

This is awful.

"M'sorry, I didn't mean..." she muffles.

Quickly -- too quickly, as she suddenly lurches for a bedside table to keep herself upright -- she jumps out of bed, taking care to make sure her chemise stays where it's supposed to.

She swallows a few times, her mouth feeling cottony despite all the water she just drank, and stands still for a second to let the nausea pass.

"I think I need a shower."