We saw you headin' back with a shovel, Miss Katherine

Over the Spring/Summer of 2011, a plot arc with Gene Hunt (Life on Mars) visiting Kate's Texas, c. 1888, was meant to occur in her milliways_bar timeline. After a few months, the plot was abandoned. 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.

Since several people have shown an interest in reading it, I have organized each post here in order from first to last.

•   May    6th        †   Western Texas, 1888   †   The pair arrives in Texas, and Gene visits his very first Old West town... and encounters the local wildlife. [144 comments]
  
•   May  14th        †   Western Texas, 1888 (pt. 2)   †   Camp the next morning. The two share breakfast and a few angry words. As you do. [49 comments]
  
•   May  17th        †   Choke Canyon, 1888   †   They make camp for the night, and Gene has more adventures with local wildlife — to put things lightly.* [176 comments]
  
•   May  26th        †   Oakville, 1888   †   At last they arrive in Oakville, and Gene meets some local color. [133 comments]
  
•   June 12th       †   Oakville, 1888 (pt. 2)   †   That night, Gene and Kate go on their first date. [156 comments]
  
•   June 25th       †   The Morning After   †   After things the night before get awkward, Kate's distressed to find Gene's gone by morning. He returns drunk, and she leaves him to his foul mood, exploring Oakville instead. Later, Gene has a bone to pick with a certain man in black, and when he returns to the hotel he and Kate find a way to reconcile.* [230 comments]
  
•   July    9th        †   Oakville, 1888   †   A morning that could have been spent fooling around is interrupted when a town meeting is called. [91 comments]
  
•   August    1st   †   Just Outside Oakville, 1888   †   After Gene volunteers to catch cattle rustlers, Kate takes him to a private place where she can teach him a thing or two about being a cowboy. Gene is easily distracted by other needs. Later that night, the two are accosted on their way back into town. They spend the night together.* [313 comments]
  
•   October 2nd   †   Oakville, Morning   †   It's Gene's first day on the job. Kate rouses him so he won't be late, but he manages to coerce her into a little morning hanky-panky. Thread never completed.* [52 comments]

I'm rather proud of what did get accomplished, all in all. Many thanks to the impeccable Gene Hunt! Feel free to leave comments below.


* Adult content

She passes the two clean glasses to Gene so she can fish out her key, and opens the door to room #100.

"There. S'like no time's passed at all."

Hopefully he remembers his way around the place.

**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.**



Kate doesn't sleep well. Once she gets to her room and undresses (for the last time tonight), slips on her chemise, and slides into bed (alone), she finds she can't stop playing their conversation out again and again. As she stares at the ceiling in her darkened room, driving their words so deep into her memory it'll be a while yet before she can erase them, she finds herself growing more and more agitated.

Stupid man.

Stupid drink.


Stupid her.


She wakes up later than she normally does. The light outside her window is already starting to yellow, hinting closer to seven o'clock than to six. She rises and gets dressed, mind still cranking, making sure she looks a smidgen more 'respectable' than when they first rode in. More womanly. More businesslike. And by the time she's finished she has a rehearsed speech all set in her mind. This constant arguing is pointless, and she won't do it anymore.

She steps out into the hall, catching sight of her wearied boots on worn and shabby carpeting. The rug was likely quite fine in its day, but like the knotted old wood it's trying to hide it's grown bedraggled and thin. She contemplates knocking on his door and quickly dismisses the idea. Her day doesn't hinge on whether or not Gene Hunt is happy with her.

She makes her way down to the dining room where the senorita from yesterday is cleaning shot glasses and tumblers, asks for a hot breakfast, and sits herself down at a table.

"Has my associate been down this mornin'?"

"No, ma'am. Only you."

Kate nods.

And waits.



By noon Gene still hasn't come down. She wonders if this is ordinary for him, but she's run out of reasons to linger in the bar without looking like a fool. She leaves a few coins for the barmaid, and debates whether she should go on and head out and just hope he gets the idea whenever he comes to. No. Things are mendable, ignorable, and shouldn't be left to fester simply because of their pride.

She scales the stairs and stops in front of his door, takes a breath, and resists rolling her eyes. She reminds herself that this is the last time this is going to happen. By god, this is the last time. And she knocks.

There's no answer.


She knocks again.


Perhaps he slipped out early, and no one noticed he left? She figures he wouldn't bother to tell her, especially if he's upset about last night. He could've just decided to take a look around town, or — 

Her heart sinks.


Or he could've gone back to The Bar.


She opens his door — it's unlocked, just like he said it would be — and takes a look inside.

"Gene?"

He's definitely not here. Perhaps it should be comforting to note that his bags are still in the room. It doesn't look like he bothered to pack or clean up. But he's gone, along with his coat, which leaves only two equally unhappy possibilities. He's gone back to Milliways, left, had enough of her and this; or he's out, and likely been out all night. All night with...


She rubs at her forehead. Sighs heavily. Sits on the edge of his bed and just... just sits.

Her rehearsed apology and the amendment she planned to offer suddenly feel utterly childish. She feels utterly childish, for so whole-heartedly believing she was going to set things right. For actually believing, after so many failed attempts to overcome her doubts, her worries, this  —  this curse she can't ignore despite how fervently people tell her to, that she could get it together long enough not to mess another good thing up.

She considers feeling angry. For the briefest second, she does. But then all she feels is disappointed. It was never going to be part of the deal to let him in enough for her to get hurt. She wasn't going to care when everything went to hell. And eventually it would, she knew that, and that was okay. It is okay. This all blew up in their faces, just like it was always going to. And she's still okay with it. It's fine.


Just don't mind the gnawing ache in the pit of her stomach.

**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.**



The desert is muted by gray light. It's still early, a bit of a chill in the air while the sun takes its time creeping past the horizon. Somewhere nearby an owl is hooting, taking its last survey of the desert before it returns to its hole for the day.

The fire is crackling, warming up salt pork and grits, three eggs Kate managed to bring from the bar, and a small cast iron skillet of fresh cornbread. The horses are munching on their own breakfast, half the saddlebags have been repacked, and Kate's washing her face with cold water before she slips on her blouse. She's well and covered by a clean chemise and plain corset, but she's still mindful of Gene as he sleeps.

[following this:]


It's a nice, stately room, put together well, and clean. There are two food dishes by the bathroom door, and a bottle of bourbon on the round table in the far corner of the room.

Kate's at her desk, trying to knock over as many green pigs as possible. They're getting smarter.

The last several weeks have been -- well, to call them odd would be the understatement of the millennium. Kate's been turned upside down and inside out, figuratively and literally.

Normally when she feels like this the only solution is to get out and go home. But 'home' right now is a bloodshot Texas, all heat and grit, and the possibility of getting caught while she figures a way out of Kenedy is something she hasn't wanted to ponder. It keeps niggling at her, becoming ever more and more a fact, a surety, an inevitability. Still, staying here means sitting around, feeling like an old woman with aches and pains; coming down with strange illnesses; and getting into spats with what few friends she still has. She hasn't seen hide nor hair of Gene Hunt since their last little discussion. Part of her is relieved that he hasn't been around for Miss Bar's shenanigans. The other part? Is agitated, and melancholy.


She's been out practicing at the firing range, but -- unable to keep the tremble from her fingertips -- she's given up and come to the stables. She's brushing down Concession, the horse she brought back from Colorado that nobody seems to love but her and a sweet little Japanese girl she's been giving riding lessons. He's not the prettiest stud in the stables, but he has spirit. And he helps Kate remember.