ikissdhimbck | OOM: Room #100 - Visit from Bill, following fight with Ramon

He told Kate he was going to talk with Katherine, knowing she'd assume it was about Demeter's offer and leaving, and not telling her there was more he wanted to talk with her about.

He's surprised at first to hear Doc's voice behind the door, but recovers quickly. It makes sense, and it's also a good thing in many ways.

"It's Bill."

Doc unlocks the door once the familiar voice has been recognized, gun in the hand near the doorframe - if Ramon is holding Bill hostage, then he'll be able to shoot the drug lord in the face within a half second.

Bill is alone.

Nobody gets shot. Yet.

"C'mon in."

Doc steps back and out of the way, letting Bill enter the room.

Kate slowly peels herself away from the wall, relieved to see Sheriff Pardy step inside and Doc quickly lock the door behind him.

"Bill."

Her voice doesn't quite work.

To be honest, she wasn't expecting she would be seeing Bill again for a very long time.

If not ever.

Bill gives Doc a nod before stepping in, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling he gets when he sees the gun and has Doc to his back.

He stops a few feet short of Kate, looking her over to verify that's she's okay. Now that he's here he's not quite sure how to start this or what to say.

Her looking more surprised than angry to see him helps a bit, but his voice is only slightly more louder than hers.

"Kate."

Doc holsters the weapon as soon as he shuts the door, and then moves back to Bill's field of vision, looking the man over for injury without saying a word. Kate had told him what Ramon had done, and the thought of one of his friends, lying on the ground and bleeding...

Should have shot that son of a bitch.

He contains the thought and stays silent, moving through the room to find something to drink - as much as he wants whiskey, he settles on water.

There's a moment of silence between them, until the sound of running water seems to shake her free from her stupor. She slowly holsters her weapon, dropping her head to avoid Bill's eyes.

"M'glad yer up an' about. How y'feelin'?"

It's idle, polite chatter, edged with obvious nervousness. She steps away from the wall, gesturing obscurely to offer him a seat.

He'd like to ask Doc for a drink, but doesn't. It's morning, after all.

"M'alright."

He's still sore, and his movements are stiff through certain actions, but the healing has taken away any other signs of his injuries; leaving no bruises, swelling or broken bones to see.

"How're you?" Idle and polite, same as her.

He takes the offered seat, turning his head to look down at the chair as he sits; trying to hide his wince with the action of checking the chair before he settles into it.

Doc settles at the small table with his glass of water, keeping an eye on both of them.

There's a lot to think about, and he's not sure how much he has to offer, but he's not leaving the room, or Kate.

He leans back in the chair, balancing it on two legs.

"Y'look good," he offers to his friend. "Considerin'."

"M'fine."

She moves to the chaise at the foot of her bed where she had laid her socks and belt while getting ready.

She's currently barefoot, and as she moves you can occasionally catch the glint off of a golden snake anklet around her right ankle.

'Y'look good. Considerin'.'

She doesn't say a word. She simply sits, crosses her legs, and sets to work pulling on her socks.

"Yeah."

Considerin' I got my ass kicked.

"Got lucky the right people were around who could help."

He goes quiet a moment, looking down at his hands, rubbing at the knuckles on the back of one.

"Y'get Kate's note?"

"Helps t'have pals with talents."

Doc glances at Kate, and nods when Bill mentions the note - but he'll let her respond.

She doesn't look up.

"Yep."

She's braced herself for this; or, rather, for what she thinks 'this' is. Another argument; another fight; another conversation about how she went wrong.

He's about to open himself up for the criticism he knows he's due; when she berates him for what he's done and throws back in his face how she was right.

After the way he yelled at her and argued for his decisions, she deserves to say 'I told you so'.

He glances at Doc, but keeps his eyes away from Kate, turning his gaze back to his hands.

"After everything that's happened, an' the way things are I'd -- I'd like t'know what you're gonna do."

Doc sips from his water glass to clear his throat.

"Well, we've talked 'bout that," he answers. "After Kate's taken care of things here, we're lookin' to head t'Colorada."

She pauses in the middle of fastening her belt around her waist, fingers stiff against the buckle.

It's not that she was going to hide that from Bill -- not at all -- it's just that the words out in the open like that make her feel even more like a failure.

I can't do anything for you.

His head turns back to Doc quickly, and there's actually some relief in his expression.

"Y'are?"

He takes a slow breath and gives a small nod.

"That -- that's probably the smart thing t'do."

It helps knowing that Kate won't be staying here, now that Bill's made things worse, and he's glad to hear that she'll be going with Doc.

It helps him make his decision about what he's going to do, but he still feels like a damn failure, and like he's running away.

"It's all gotten outta hand. It's too hot right now, no tellin' what's comin' next."

The words are to himself as much as they are to the other two in the room, as he tries to convince himself he's making the right choice this time.

"He ain't hard t'handle when he's a tree, but we seen what he can do when he's angry, and God Almighty knows after gettin' turned into a tree, he's gonna be out for blood."

Doc looks between them.

"The safest thing for all of us is t'git out until they've gotten a handle on him. I don't want t'see nobody gettin' hurt when there's no tellin' what he's capable of."

Katherine, Kate, Bill, or Boo.

"I'll handle it."

She finishes with her belt, purposely keeping her eyes on the floor.

"I know I didn't do things right. Didn't do 'em the way I should'a. But I'm gonna set it right, this time. Been thinkin' it through."

She's been over this with Doc. He knows how much she hates this; she hates leaving them, she hates that she's drug so many people into this stupid problem now. She hates admitting she's in over her head.

But she knows it'll be best for everybody involved if she just leaves. It's the only way.

He's agreeing with what Doc is saying, and then Katherine speaks. He looks at her, and there's a wariness in his expression and tone.

"Handle it how?"

He doesn't want another argument, but if she means to do anything other than what they're talking about now, there'll be one.

He glances at Bill - the man's wariness is easy to pick up on, and it does strike a nerve, simply because Doc's been feeling wary about this for weeks, now. Then he looks at Katherine.

You ain't running scared, remember what we talked 'bout.

"Gettin' help."

She sucks in a breath, shooting Doc a quick look before she finally lets her eyes settle on Bill. Her normally vivid blue eyes are the color of slate as she speaks.

"I'm gonna talk t'security. Turn myself in. Hopefully, they'll contain him once Lady Demeter turns him back human 'gain."

She lets her gaze fall once again, slowly pushing herself up to her feet.

"Then I'm leavin'."

There's a note of finality in her voice that might make one think she doesn't just mean leaving for some holiday.

That's what he should have done from the beginning, gone to security. He had wanted to protect Katherine, but he sees now he hasn't protected her at all, and now everything is completely out of control.

"Kate -- "

He's not sure what to say. While he's trying to come up with something she finishes.

'Then I'm leavin'.'

The way she says it...

He looks up at her, searching for signs in her expression to go with her tone that says she's leaving, and not coming back.

Doc looks down at his glass of water, wishing again that it was whiskey instead, but he makes no move to change. He simply nods, but it doesn't matter - Bill's paying attention to Katherine, not him, at the moment.

She'd agreed to come to Colorado, with him. Leave Texas behind.

He can't help but feel like even though he's protecting her, he's taking her away from her home.

She doesn't have a home anymore.

"You an' Kate'll be safe. Your friends here have everythin' well in hand, and once Ramon's released and I ain't here no more, there'll be no more reason t'fight. He won't be stupid enough t'stand up 'gainst gods t'git t'you. It was never about you, from day one. It was about me."

She moves to her chest of drawers, where she'd put her little brass makeup kit earlier, and takes out her tube of lipstick.

She doesn't want to leave Texas. It's a part of her, no matter how much she's trying to ignore it right now. But it makes more sense to head to a time and place where she's not going to be hunted, with someone who wants to build a life with her, than to run out of the frying pan and into the fire.

It will be fine.

This is the only way.

"If I remove myself, then I remove the problem. You an' Kate can git on with your lives," she concludes, carefully applying the bright red color to her lips.

"But, Kate -- "

He glances at Doc and looks between the two of them, and he doesn't know what to say. He doesn't know how to feel about this.

She's leaving, and his first reaction is to try and convince her to stay, but she's going with Doc, and it won't be back to Texas.

It's what he's been trying for since he found out about Katherine's situation at home, ever since he first ran into her as an outlaw, but this way... it feels wrong.

It's by force, not by choice.

He watches her with the lipstick, then speaks quietly.

"Are you sure?"

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