AU: Oakville, Texas - Gene Hunt - 1888
May. 26th, 2011 07:04 pm**NOTE: This is part of a plot arc that was meant to occur in Milliways over the Spring/Summer of 2011 in Bar Time. It has since become an AU, and should be treated as a standalone plot not associated with any game, and not fitting into Kate's continuity.**
"There she is."
The town of Oakville swings into their line of vision as they ride around an outcropping of rock, trees sloping away, the barren expanse of flat-lands and desert seen crawling along the infinite horizon. Miles, and miles past town.
They've been riding all afternoon, and for the better part of the evening. Kate had afforded them a late start, though she woke with the dawn as she always does. She'd wrapped herself around him sometime in the middle of the night, once the fire had died out and camp really started to cool. It's the first time she's woken up in a man's arms for more than a year, and in that first hazy moment when the world is still irresolute and undefined she'd imagined it was Doc. She ended up watching Gene for close to a half hour as he slept, cataloging every twitch of his face, every flutter of his eyelids. She let him sleep. By the time he was up, so was the sun; and Kate had already scraped and washed the skin of their alligator, done her washing, and boiled some coffee.
Gene had been in particularly high spirits, to the point where it bordered on being embarrassing — for Kate. But it had filled the morning and subsequent ride with conversation, cheeky banter and cheerful chattering both. He asked her once more if she was all right, and when she smiled and nodded her head that had been the end of it.
"Told you we'd get here before nightfall."
She grins. Her muscles are sore and aching, and she's looking awful forward to a real bath and a real bed.
"There she is."
The town of Oakville swings into their line of vision as they ride around an outcropping of rock, trees sloping away, the barren expanse of flat-lands and desert seen crawling along the infinite horizon. Miles, and miles past town.
They've been riding all afternoon, and for the better part of the evening. Kate had afforded them a late start, though she woke with the dawn as she always does. She'd wrapped herself around him sometime in the middle of the night, once the fire had died out and camp really started to cool. It's the first time she's woken up in a man's arms for more than a year, and in that first hazy moment when the world is still irresolute and undefined she'd imagined it was Doc. She ended up watching Gene for close to a half hour as he slept, cataloging every twitch of his face, every flutter of his eyelids. She let him sleep. By the time he was up, so was the sun; and Kate had already scraped and washed the skin of their alligator, done her washing, and boiled some coffee.
Gene had been in particularly high spirits, to the point where it bordered on being embarrassing — for Kate. But it had filled the morning and subsequent ride with conversation, cheeky banter and cheerful chattering both. He asked her once more if she was all right, and when she smiled and nodded her head that had been the end of it.
"Told you we'd get here before nightfall."
She grins. Her muscles are sore and aching, and she's looking awful forward to a real bath and a real bed.
