Victoria County, Texas, 1888 -- OOM for Ben Wade

[ikissdhimbck]

[following this:]


The door dropped them off out in the middle of nowhere -- right were Kate was, the last time she'd been 'home.' When she'd left Green Lake after confronting Trout, she'd ridden north with little thought in mind other than putting some distance between the Walker estate and herself. If she had any point of reference, she might have known this put her right in the middle of the 44 Ranch, but there was nothing to see for miles but brush and scrub and river water and dirt.

She and Ben had mounted up and kept going north, following the river until nightfall. Their ride had been somewhat reserved, quiet, and somber. The both of them had a lot to think about, after the morning's events back in Milliways.

Setting up camp was also a quiet affair, punctuated by brief discussions of where they should tie the horses, who should build the fire, what they should cook and eat -- anything they could think of that didn't touch on the subject of Doc, or the limp in Kate's step.

Ben took first watch following supper, offering to also take the third. But after he woke Kate for her turn at second watch, she was up, and didn't bother waking him when the time came around for him to take over. Her eyes were on the horizon, and the clear night sky overhead.

She had missed her Texas sky.

.

Comments

[almosthonorable]

He doesn't know what time it is when his eyes open, but he knows it's later than it should be.

He sits up and runs a hand through his hair, the other checking the Colt in the holster at his hip.

Standing, he squints past the circle of firelight, eyes adjusting while he locates Kate.

[ikissdhimbck]

She's not far off. She's been coming back to feed the fire every now and again, but the light distorts her view of the heavens, so she settled herself in the dark a few yards away.

She's sitting on a small hill that falls away sharply on one side, where it meets the riverbank. Knees tucked under her chin, she takes turns watching the water and the sky, only following the horizon when the occasional rustle through brush and leaf catches her attention.

[almosthonorable]

He's careful to make plenty of noise as he approaches, not wanting to startle her.

"Worried I was gonna kick if you tried wakin' me up?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She considers this with some degree of seriousness.

"Would you've?"

[almosthonorable]

He shakes his head.

"And don't listen if the Lieutenant tries to tell you different."

(Besides, it was an unconscious Fira who elbowed him in the jaw that one time, when all he was doing was rolling over to wrap an arm around her.)

[ikissdhimbck]

The corner of her mouth twitches so subtly, it's hard to see it in the dark.

"Guess I got lost in thought. Saw no sense in disturbin' you."

[almosthonorable]

"It ain't disturbin' if it's my turn to take watch."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Wasn't sleepin'."

This seems to make all the sense in the world, judging by her expression.

[almosthonorable]

"Long day, though."

He takes a seat nearby -- close, but not close enough to crowd -- and rests his forearms on his bent knees.

"I'm wide awake now if you wanna hit the hay."

[ikissdhimbck]

She turns her face back toward the horizon when he begins to sit.

The only answer he gets is a slow shake of the head.







"It's strange bein' home after so many months away," she murmurs after a long pause.

[almosthonorable]

His eyes are on the stars, overlaying the sky he's seeing with the constellations on his side of the door.

"The good kinda strange?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She shrugs.

"I don't know yet."

Her voice is soft and distant.

[almosthonorable]

A nod, and he's quiet, the muted crackle of the fire audible in the silence.

[ikissdhimbck]

The silence affords her time to think, but she still isn't sure what to say to him.

Her eyes fall to her knees.

[almosthonorable]

At length, "I ever tell you my daddy got killed over a shot of whiskey?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She isn't sure what to make of this, at first.

She glances at him from the corner of her eye, and shakes her head.

"You ain't told me much."

Most of their earlier conversations revolved around teasing flirtations about her job, her students, and her spiced peaches. After that... well. Conversation got real strained, real fast.

Ben's life, besides the "outlawin'," is a bit of a mystery to her.

[almosthonorable]

A one-shouldered shrug.

"Ain't much to tell. Happened when I was a pup."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Your mama raised you by herself?"

[almosthonorable]

"Nope -- been on my own since I was eight."

He smiles a little, thinking about that train station and that Bible on his lap, and reaches for the flask tucked inside his jacket pocket.

"Made my way to Dodge City, raised myself up right -- "

A huff of a laugh.

"Or wrong, dependin' on who you ask, I reckon."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Oh, Ben."

It's not said with so much scolding or sorrow as it is quiet recognition. She always knew it; he only confirmed it.

She shakes her head a little, trying to imagine it, before she realizes she doesn't want to.

"Folks in the bar don't know what it's like out here."

[almosthonorable]

"No Bennin' me, now -- it was what it was. I don't know what would've happened any different, so I'm not sorry for it."

He takes a pull from his flask and offers it to Kate.

"People in the bar've got hard times behind their own doors, I'd imagine."

[ikissdhimbck]

She considers the offer carefully before reaching out and taking the flask from him.

"I'd wager they do, but in my experience there ain't too many people who understand what it's like t'live in a world where folk get shot over whiskey."

She takes a long draught, wincing against the burn, and hands the flask back.

"Or kissin' the wrong person."

She could mean Sam, or Doc, or both, at this point.

[almosthonorable]

"Dunno if any time's all that safe, from what I've heard from some of 'em around the bar."

Another slow swallow of whiskey.

"And besides," he says, chortling under his breath, "knowin' my daddy, he deserved that bullet and then some."

[ikissdhimbck]

"You take after your mama then, huh?"

It's a gentle taunt, accompanied by a very slight quirk of her mouth.

[almosthonorable]

He offers the flask again as he shakes his head.

"But even bad men love their mamas."