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]

"Nothin'."

She shakes her head once, bracing herself against the chest of drawers when the sharp action makes her head swim again.

It was more than she intended to say, on an issue too near her heart, egged on by her hangover. He hasn't made her feel particularly special, or loved, despite his floundering efforts. Her insecurity makes her suspicious to his true intent.

(He left his wife; why not her, next?)

[scurlock]

He narrows his eyes when she has to balance herself on the furniture, shifting on the bed.

"Obviously it ain't nothin'," he says. "But why don't you come back'n lie down a bit more?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She continues around the side of the dresser, placing a hand on the draperies around one window.

"M'fine."

[scurlock]

"You don't look it," he replies, not giving up the fight quite so easily.

He pauses.

"But if y'say you're fine then I'm gonna trust your judgement, since it is your hangover and not mine. I just think you'd feel better if y'came and laid down again."

[ikissdhimbck]

She's stubborn, and he's always backed down before. So what if she's being petulant? Right now, it's more about winning the 'fight.'

She always does.

"Jus' can't wait t'git me back in bed, hm?" she mutters under her breath, putting most of her weight against the piece of furniture.

[scurlock]

Doc only catches a few words of her mutterings - but it's more than enough to sting.

He rises off the bed, and moves towards her.

"I have spent the last ten years without bein' with a woman," he says, voice on an even keel as he approaches. "And I won't deny that I find y'incredibly attractive, or deny that I want you. But right now, you need to go lie down 'fore you fall over, Kate."

He fixes her with a look that speaks volumes. Yes, he wants her. Yes, he finds her gorgeous. Yes, he's spent years dreaming about being with her in bed.

But right now? He's concerned about her welfare.

[ikissdhimbck]

For some reason, being under the force of his gaze affects her so much more than it does coming from anyone else.

(But it has nothing to do with love, of course.)

She shrinks away timidly, clutching her arms around her middle more snugly. Nodding almost imperceptibly, she steps around him and moves for the bed.

And doesn't say another word.

[scurlock]

He doesn't like having to be so stern with her at times like this, but he has to.

(And of course it has nothing to do with love.)

"Thank you."

He turns down a corner of the sheets for her (on 'her' side) and then moves back to the other.

"If havin' me sittin' there makes it hard for you to sleep, I got no problem with movin' to the chair."

[ikissdhimbck]

She pulls the blankets up to her chin, feeling suddenly cold and spent. Her knees curl slightly to her chest.

Not looking at him, she shakes her head.

It's obvious she's still very much upset, with both herself and him, but she doesn't want to tell him to leave.

[scurlock]

Doc settles carefully on the bed once more, resting against the pillows at the headboard and picking up his book.

"I ain't gonna go nowhere."




He stays quiet for awhile, until he thinks she's drifted off, glancing over at her back as he whispers.

"I spent ten years tryin' t'git back t'you, I ain't goin' nowhere."

[ikissdhimbck]

She isn't asleep.

But she doesn't say a single word.




Silently, she lets herself cry until she does, eventually, drop back off again.

[scurlock]

He only moves from the bed twice - once to refill her water glass, and the other time to answer the door to a waitrat who showed up bearing a light breakfast.

The food was placed on the small table, across the room, and the water on the bedside table.

And Doc remained sitting on the bed.



(Eventually, he abandoned the book for a small notepad and pen, working on a few lines that came to mind.




He might be murmuring them out loud, to make sure they sound right.)

[ikissdhimbck]

What she does sleep is fitful at best. Mostly, she just tosses and turns, kicks blankets off and paws them back on. She doesn't speak, or open her eyes, or make any indication of being alert -- not even when food arrives.

Not even when he starts murmuring.

She hates being this close to him, and this far away from him at the same time. Any other day, under any other circumstances, she would leave. But she has nowhere to go.

She dreams now and again, visions unpleasant in her mind's eye. Her face is still flushed, and her hair damp around her skin.

[scurlock]

He watches over her.

When she seems to be hot, he adjusts the blankets. The same goes with when she seems chilled. Or uncomfortable. He doesn't wake her from any bad dreams but he wishes that he could make them stop.

After awhile, he gathers a damp, cool cloth from the bathroom and settles back on the bed to gently wipe the sweat from her hairline.

[ikissdhimbck]

She jumps slightly when the cool cloth touches her skin, blinking up at the hand that is applying it.

[scurlock]

"Howdy."

He offers her a slight smile, moving the cloth away.

"You feelin' any better?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She closes her eyes.

"Not especially."

She shivers, pinching the collar of her top shut around her neck with her right hand.

[scurlock]

"Can git you some more painkillers if that'd help with the headache," he offers, moving to gather up the blanket and adjust it over her. "Or are you havin' chills?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She shakes her head slowly, swallowing a few times to moisten her dry throat. She rubs absently at her wrist, where the bruise is tender and beginning to itch.

"Feel feverish," she mutters, lifting her arm awkwardly to place her hand over her forehead. "...An' cold."

With her immune system working overtime to ward off the ill effects of her binge last night, she wouldn't be surprised if she's caught herself a little something from standing out in the rain so long, as well.

[scurlock]

He instinctively moves to check her temperature, fingertips moving her hand aside to replace it with his own.

"You're probably runnin' one, and got the chills. You were soakin' wet."

[ikissdhimbck]

She opens her eyes again when he brushes her hand aside, focusing her attention on those stormy green irises looking down at her.

She doesn't brush him off or move, but eventually she does mutter:

"Why're you here?"

[scurlock]

"Because I want to be," he replies. "And because y'needed someone t'watch over you."

He pauses.

"And...because it's been so long since I seen you that I've missed you like hell."

[ikissdhimbck]

It's hard to tell at the moment, but the flush of her cheeks deepens a bit.

"There no better place t'read yer book?"

Her voice is quietly wry.

[scurlock]

"I was actually hopin' we could talk once you was feelin' a bit better, this mornin'."

A beat.

"Once you were, feelin'."

[ikissdhimbck]

She hesitates.

It's been a long time since he's stopped to correct himself in front of her. It reminds her of the nervous boy she had met, when she was still a proper lady. A schoolteacher. His ears would hint crimson if he let his tongue slip.

She turns her face away, heart beating a little fast.

"About what?"