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]

She's quiet for a long while. She's still upset, but unsure of what else to say.

Shivering, she eventually pulls back so she can gather the blankets back up around her.

[scurlock]

"Do you feel up t'maybe drinkin' a bit of hot tea?"

He's not sure what to say either - he feels better, slightly, about the entire situation - but it's still not settled as he'd like it to be. He moves the blankets slightly to tuck them in.

Once he figures out what to say next, he'll say it.

[ikissdhimbck]

"No."

She curls on her side, looking away from him.







"Well, maybe."

[scurlock]

"I can get some from the bar, do you have a flavor in particular you like better'n others?"

His fingers itch to run along her shoulder, and he has to curl them into a fist to keep them still.

[ikissdhimbck]

"S'been a bit. Jus' black, s'what I usually git."

It isn't easy being so nonchalant, when seconds earlier they were so very serious. She closes her eyes to the dull throb in her head, which has been aggravated by her tempestuous emotions.

[scurlock]

"All right," he replies. He doesn't move right away, however.

"Kate, I..."

[ikissdhimbck]

She slowly opens her eyes, her blue irises churning with hope.

"Yes?"

[scurlock]

The words stick in his throat, and he has to swallow to clear the tightness away. He feels guilty, all of a sudden, and a bit ashamed at the way things have happened between them.

"I'm sorry for makin' you feel like I was just lookin' for someone to replace Yen. That was never...never what I wanted us to be. Not who I wanted you to be. I love...you. Kate Barlow, and everything she is."

[ikissdhimbck]

Her stomach flips.

It's been such a long time since she's heard him say those words.

'I love...you. Kate Barlow, and everything she is.'





"Everythin'?"

[scurlock]

"Every single piece of you," he murmurs, conviction strong in his words even with the quiet tone he keeps. "Every piece of your heart and soul, every scar and mark, every ounce of fire and every shred of passion and love you have...every single piece of you. Everythin'."

[ikissdhimbck]

Her eyes glisten, but she does not shed a tear.




A small smirk.

"You really are a fool."

[scurlock]

A fool for you, maybe.

He dares a hint of a smile.


"I'd say you're right."

[ikissdhimbck]

She reaches out and calmly draws her fingertips along the back of his left hand.

[scurlock]

Doc feels a spark run down his spine at the touch - she's touching him not pulling back - and that smile grows as he ducks his head and looks at their hands.

(The tips of his ears are absolutely flaming with heat, at the moment.)

After a moment, he wraps his fingers lightly around hers.

"Everythin'."

[ikissdhimbck]

"I...I don't need tea. If y'don't wanna... bother yourself. With the trip."

[scurlock]

"Wouldn't be a bother, but y'ain't gonna hear a peep of complaint outta me if I don't gotta leave your side, to be quite honest."

[ikissdhimbck]

She smirks, nestling back against the pillows, eyes trained on their hands.

[scurlock]

He runs his thumb over her knuckles, tracing the bones in her fingers with a delicate touch, once more putting the feeling of her flesh to memory.

(It never left, but a refresher course isn't something Doc's going to turn down, right now.)

His eyes wander from their hands to the empty space beside her in the bed, and then to her face.



"Y'mind if I laid down 'gain?"

A beat.

"...promise not t'read the whole time."

[ikissdhimbck]

That smirk tugs on her lips, but she doesn't raise her eyes to him.



"Okay."

[scurlock]

He's reluctant to let go of her hand, but he has to if he doesn't want to climb over her to get onto the far side of the bed. So eventually, he does release her fingers from his, and circle around to the other side, before he settles on the bed.

After a brief pause, he reaches for her hand once more.

[ikissdhimbck]

And she turns over to accept it.

(She's not quite ready for spooning, just yet.)

Facing him, her hand laying lightly in his, she lets her eyes wander every contour of his face. It's different -- ten years will do that to a man -- but the same, all at once. There are more lines around his eyes, a nick or two she doesn't remember from before. The scar on his cheek is still there, albeit faint. She misses the way his long hair used to fall in his eyes.


Her eyelids grow heavier in the silence, every blink lasting longer and longer.

[scurlock]

She's going to fall back asleep - which he's fine, with, because he knows how exhausted she is. But he's going to keep his eyes on her face until she does.

"I love all of you, Kate. And I'm not goin' nowhere."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Mm."


She sighs, tightening her fingers around his briefly.


"Jus' wan' y'safe. N'happy."

[scurlock]

"I am."

She'll keep him safe, and she'll keep him happy. It's the best of both worlds.

Gently, he moves their hands up to his lips, brushing a featherlight kiss across her knuckles, eyes still open to hers.

"I've got you."

[ikissdhimbck]

Her eyes are closed, but the words echo around her skull.

'I've got you.'

'I've got you.'


'I've got you...'



She quickly slips off again, feeling safer and more protected than she's felt in a very, very long time.