ikissdhimbck | OOM: Outside, Early morning

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OOM: Outside, Early morning

They had discussed it. Kate had said she wasn't going to leave the bar until she knew that Bill, Boo, and Kate Warner were safe with Demeter. So when Doc got word that they were leaving, early in the pre-dawn hours when most folks would be sleeping, they agreed to get their belongings in order and see them off.

Satisfied that things were well in hand, she answered with a nod when Doc squeezed her hand, silently asking if she was ready to go.

She paused to drop off a few notes and things with Miss Bar, and once settled, she shouldered her duffel -- stopping to hush the kittens nestled carefully within -- and followed Doc out through the backdoor.

She watched his long strides in the gray light, his black duster occasionally billowing and allowing glances at the gleaming sixshooter at his hip. He reached out for her hand, and she gave it to him -- a bond that felt impossible to sever as they made their way towards a new life.

Together.

.

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He interlocks their fingers as they make their way down the path along the lake. He's quiet, for the most part - his mind is alert to their surroundings, keeping at eye on things. The outlaw can't be shut down, and in times like this, it's near impossible to hide.

(There's no reason to hide it.)

Doc's not sure what to say, with so many words tumbling around in his head, so he stays quiet and takes in the early 'Scottish' fall, the muted light and hint of fog hanging low over the lake and in the trees.

"You'll like Colorado," he settles on, finally. "The nature. S'very clean."

It's still too dark to see much, but Kate finds herself taking in everything she can -- wanting to imprint the image of this place in her mind forever.

Just in case.

"Yeah?" she smirks, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as they make their way along without dawdling. "Bet it's cold there, this time of year."

"S'got a good nip in the air. Leaves are just startin' to change up on the aspens. Ain't had a snow, yet, though."

He smiles, glancing over at her.

"Might be a bit of an adjustment at first, desert girl like you."

"Y'kidding? My first winter here, I thought I was gonna turn t'ice."

She whips her head around when she hears the snap of a twig--

--followed by the scampering of tiny feet.

She lets out that breath she had been holding, relaxing.

"S'fun t'play in, though."

"There's a little creek that runs though the place, water comes down out of the snow pack up on the top of the mountain, clean and clear as ice and cold as you'll ever want it to be."

Doc watches the rabbit scamper off into the woods, ignoring the demonic red eyes that stare back at him before it disappears into the fog.

That is one thing he hasn't missed, all the years he's been out.

"But what if I want it t'be warm?"

She grins up at him, all six inches of difference between their heights painfully obvious with the one, simple gesture.

Doc laughs, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead after knocking his hat back off his head, letting it hang around his neck by the wind-string, cord pressed lightly against his throat.

"I got a fireplace, and a real good kettle, I'll have y'know."

She smirks, letting her own hat fall back off her head.

"Good."

She gives his hand another squeeze.

"And a real comf'terble bed too, I hope."

"Ain't the world's biggest bed, but we can fix that soon 'nough. Trees all 'round, I got plenty t'build it with."

He glances over his shoulder.

"But s'comfortable, yeah."

They're nearing the stables, and aside from a few horses who always stay outside, the paddocks are empty and quiet. He reaches down to his hip, once they reach the doorway.

(The smile on his face fades to a neutral expression as they both quiet and slip inside. They've got work to do.)

"Don't need t'be big and fancy, so long as y'can keep me warm at night."

She doesn't need much. She never has.

The small smile slips from her features when they reach the doorway, replaced by an almost grim determination as she steps inside. They made some preparations last night, soon as they knew they would be needing to make a quick exit come early next morning, so there's not a great many things to be done.

But the quicker they go, the better.

(She hopes Bill and Kate and Boo are safe.)

"Which one's the door Miss Bar promised, d'ya think?"

"I'm not quite sure," he admits. "Probably the back one - s'bigger, anyway. You want to grab some of the gear and we can throw it on through, once I find it?"

The advantage to just slipping out and not having to ride off on the other side of the door is obvious - all they need to do is grab the gear, throw it over the backs of their horses, and lead them on through the doorway -- right into his living room. It'll take a few trips, but it'll be quick.

"Won't throw the boys," he adds, mentioning the kittens. "They might not take too kindly to that."

Even if it is early, and they are probably still asleep in Kate's bag.

The tack room is still the tack room. The feed room is also, still the feed room.

"Jus' lemme set this down, an' I'll help y'git them saddled up. I'll carry the boys through myself," she smirks.

Oh, they're definitely not sleeping. Walking outside in the cold pre-morning got them all a-twitter -- Kate's amazed one or both of them didn't belly flop out of the bag and pursue the demon bunnies they 'hunted' with wide eyes from the safety of her duffel.

Kate slips into an empty stall opposite Beaut, where they stashed a few packed bags the night before and hid them under fresh hay. She brushes the hay back and sets her duffel next to the others, reaching in and giving Roz and Goldie a few calming scritches before instructing them to be good and stay put.

"Tack first, bags second? Or does it matter?" she calls, walking over to where he is.

"Doesn't matter to me," he replies, turning his back on the room as he opens the small door that's set into the larger slider that leads out to the paddocks -- spotting hardwood, instead of dust and grass.

"Found it," he adds, pulling the door open fully, and turning around to watch her walk the last few feet towards him. "Guess we're really goin' 'out', t'git out."

He'd seen them come out of the bar. It's not unusual for Ramon to stay up into the small hours and it's been happening more since the fight with Bill. Being turned into a tree will leave a mark on anyone, and his ego isn't compatible with that kind of humiliation.

But it's not Demeter he blames, not entirely. He knows who really started this and since the moment he was switched back, she's all he's thought about.

That's why this situation is nothing short of a gift, to him. He was out by the lake too, smoking and staring over the water. He saw them exit the bar and for a moment, he thought she was going to come right down to the path into his firing line. But no, they moved off to the stables and that's just fine with him. He'll like it better if she doesn't see it coming.

He'd followed them and slipped through the side door and then waited, listened to them collecting their things and it doesn't bother him for a second that they're obviously planning a life together. All he can think is she has got to pay and that's what he's thinking right now. He can't hold himself back any more. The gun's been in his hand since the moment he saw her and now he swings out into that long corridor between the stalls and just starts shooting.

He catches movement out of the corner of his vision, as his focus shifts from Kate's eyes to the person coming around the end of the stalls.

Instinct takes over.

oh no

His fingers are wrapped around the handle of his revolver the instant Ramon pulls the trigger -- but he doesn't have enough time to even speak before the crack of the first bullet breaking the sound barrier reaches his ears.

She's only a few steps away from him when she sees his expression change, and she doesn't have to guess why when his eyes are conspicuously focused on some point over her shoulder.

A chilly hand clenches around her insides as she rushes to grab her own gun and turn around, but there is no time.

The first crack makes her duck on instinct, but the second? The second is followed by a thud and a grunt as she's suddenly knocked forward, legs twisting beneath her.

She collides with him as the next few bullets send wooden splinters raining in the air as the boards beside his head explode from the contact.

He doesn't remember when he got his gun free but his focus is on Kate, his left arm wrapped around her.

stay with me

please for the love of god

don't fall

His right arm comes up in a blur of motion as he fires; a bullet skims across the side of his head, nicking his scalp (but by some miracle not blowing off part of his skull) and sending a thin splash of blood onto the wall.

god damn you salazar

Ramon's not aiming anywhere but at Kate but he's not taking care, not making sure his bullets hit. He knows one did and that should be good enough. But he doesn't stop, not even when Doc starts shooting back. His face is set in a hard line and all he sees is that woman falling forwards. A swell of triumph starts to rise through him and just keeps going, not stoping until the clip is empty.

Unfortunately for Ramon, Doc has different ideas about this entire situation.

He can see the hardwood floor of his cabin beyond the doorway, if he can just get them there then they can be safe --

-- his breath catches in his lungs as a sudden wave of red-hot pain stabs into his side, everything in his brain going static as sensory overload blocks out his vision and his hearing.

Somehow, he makes it -- they make it -- to the doorway, but he's already falling, and is very vaguely aware that he should brace himself for the impact with the floorboards, but nothing actually registers in his mind except for the pain in his side.

And static.

She doesn't think she's breathing, but somehow she still manages to scream.

A second later, it's silent, a splintered and hole-riddled door the only thing left in their wake.

He stands for a quiet moment, arm still straight out and holding the gun, as though waiting for something. In these situations, there's usuallly a body but here...nothing. The only blood he sees is the tiny splash that came from the graze to Doc's head. But he heard her scream. He saw her buckle when that bullet hit her in the back. And he heard her scream. She must be dead, right?

Eventually, he lowers his arm and wanders down the corridor, ignoring the restless horses in their stalls. He can smell the gunpowder in the air, it hangs heavy through the place. But that, and the holes in the walls, is the only evidence of what just happened.

He opens the door they fell through. Nothing that shouldn't be there.

Closes it.

Well, that's that. Done.

He heads back to the door. A nice walk outside to remove himself from the area sounds like a good idea.

Edited 2009-10-05 18:30 (UTC)

After spotting Ramon through the window Bill is proceeding with caution He doesn't see Ramon when he steps out onto the porch, so he heads towards the stables knowing that's where Doc and Kate are, and hoping that's not where Ramon's gone.

He wishes like hell he had more in his hands than a stuffed hedgehog, or someone else with him, but his guts are telling him to get out and warn Doc and Kate.

The sudden crack of gunfire makes him jump and his heart leaps into his throat.

No.

He breaks into a run, panic clawing at his insides as the air continues to thunder with gun shots.

They stop before he gets there.

When the stables come into sight he sees Ramon step out. Bill's mind finally shouts out above the adrenaline and he slides to a stop. Ramon is armed and has already nearly killed Bill once.

Doc and Kate could be dead or dying in the stables, but there's no way Bill can go in there now without getting himself killed.

Gritting his teeth he turns and runs back to the bar for security, praying that he gets back in time to help Doc and Kate.

The swell of satisfaction only gets bigger as he walks. To finally be rid of her after this last month or two - it doesn't get any better than that. And to be handed such a perfect scenario; no witnesses, no incriminating body to deal with...perfect.

He heads to the forest. An hour or two to keep himself away from the sight of other people who might have heard the gunshots should do the trick.

Meanwhile, inside the bar proper --

X does not sleep much, maybe an hour or two every night. It makes working two jobs in Milliways easier, in addition to being an X-man and having an apartment to take care of.

That lack of a need for sleep is what has herdownstairs so early, making her careful way through breakfast. It is impossible not to notice Bill running in, and X drops her spoon back into her oatmeal and is on her feet and moving without thought.

"There is a problem? Outside."

Is it another dead body?

Edited 2009-10-05 19:38 (UTC)

He's out of breath and nods rapidly, gesturing towards the door he just came in from.

"Yeah, I need security -- there's been a shooting outside an' I -- I think my friends were involved."

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