oom: room 25, millitimed to halloween night

[scurlock]

Doc leads the way up the stairs to his room, Katherine trailing behind him (because this way, he's not tempted to check her out) and while he's expecting both of their costumes to disappear...they don't. So he opens the door to his room, which has been cleaned up nicely since the last time she was in it.

The bed is made, the weapons are all put away, his desk still looks like a bit of a disaster area (but that's to be expected, given the books and papers and the fact that he's been writing a lot lately) but it's generally a lot better than it was last time.

"I got somethin' you can wear," he tells her. "Let me get it and then I'll run back down and get us somethin' for dinner."

He rifles through the dresser for some drawstring pants, socks, a t-shirt and a button down, all of them getting put on the polished surface, next to those folded paper cranes. "You may have t'roll the sleeves up a bit," he apologizes. "But that should work."

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

She regards each face carefully as he mentions their names, trying to picture them all on Tunstall's farm in her head, trying to imagine what it might have been like.

She smirks at his closing statement.

"You mean you got into a helluva lot of trouble together," she corrects.

Though, deep down she knows it's the same thing, really.

[scurlock]

Doc chuckles quietly at that. "We were damn good at that too," he admits, as he ponders that for another moment, before he leans over to put it down on the table and then in the process, picks up both plates of food.

Now that it's not fresh burn your mouth hot she'll actually be able to eat it.

He hands her one, and then sets the water bottles between them as he kicks his feet up onto the coffee table.

"Now. The thing 'bout pizza is, sometimes the cheese tends to stretch a bit, but you don't gotta feel silly 'bout it."

[ikissdhimbck]

She eyes the plate of food in her hands curiously for a moment. It certainly doesn't look very appetizing, but she's eaten things that looked stranger before.

She quirks her brow at him.

"Where is the cutlery?"

[scurlock]

Right.

"You don't use any."

Doc demonstrates by lifting the slice by the crust and biting the end of the piece, pulling it away slightly and tugging to break the cheese to keep it from sliding all off the slice of the pie, other hand on the plate to catch any toppings that might want to fall.

They don't. Bar makes her pizza right.

He chews, and swallows, then speaks.

"It's portable."

[ikissdhimbck]

She watches with no small measure of wonderment.




"...Like hotdogs?"

She remembers that lesson, as well.

The pizza gets one last suspicious look before she carefully picks it up and takes a bite.

The cheese is rather surprising. She blushes as she tugs it away from the slice and into her mouth, a dainty hand covering her lips as she chews.

[scurlock]

"Like hotdogs."

Cheese and ham and pineapple and tomato sauce and pizza crust, and for Doc, it is a wonderful combination of perfection.

"I like it with ham and pineapple," he says. "Will tends t'eat his with tons of vegetables and sausage and stuff. You can put anything on it, really," he repeats.

And then has another couple of bites, before he sets it down and cracks open his water bottle.

[ikissdhimbck]

She chews slowly, eying the slice as she does so.

"It's... it's good," she nods. "It's different."

It would be better if she had more of an appetite.

She makes it about halfway through the slice before lowering the plate to the coffee table.

[scurlock]

He cracks the top open on her water bottle and hands it over to her, without saying a word, before he settles back into the couch.

"Reckon you could say I'm tryin' to expand my horizons," he says.

Doc'll press her about eating later. Water is important too.

[ikissdhimbck]

She accepts the water graciously, smiling patiently.

"Could say that about a lot of things. S'pose it doesn't surprise me much to know it applies to your diet as well," she says, glancing about his room as she takes a few careful swallows.

[scurlock]

Not much has changed. There are a few different books on the desk, medical type texts, and a few stacks of papers, but other than that (and other than the fact that it's cleaner) not much is different.

"Plus I'm grateful for gettin' to eat somethin' other than hard tack and salt pork," he admits, as he starts in on a second slice. "Could have used a jar of those peaches of your's, that's for certain."

(The jar Doc had at one point has long since been eaten, during a late night snack craving with biscuits and honeybutter.)

[ikissdhimbck]

"Guess I'll just have to make you some more," she murmurs absently, watching the condensation drip down the outside of her plastic water bottle.

Her eyes skate up to his face again.

"Don't tell me you went those two months outside on nothin' but hard tack and salt pork?"

[scurlock]

"I had me some jerky, too. And as I was goin' some nights I'd stay with folk and they'd offer t'cook me dinner, especially when it was snowin' and I needed t'stable Nova somewhere for the night. But most of it was just tack, jerky, salt pork...I shot a turkey 'round Christmas, though, cooked him up one night."

Doc shrugs.

"Ain't like I was carryin' much. Change of clothes, bedroll, tarp t'sleep on and my guns."

[ikissdhimbck]

The expression on her face is a mixture of shock and concern as she listens to him speak, her blue eyes wide and unflinching.

"God almighty, Josiah," she murmurs, picturing him wandering, by himself, through the snow and the cold, unwrapping bits of fat and chew from dirty brown paper around a lonely campfire.

I shot a turkey 'round Christmas.

"It's a wonder you didn't catch your death of cold!" she scolds, her voice imbued with worry.

[scurlock]

"I had places t'get dry," he says. "Best I could. And when y'got a fire and a good coat, well, y'make it work the best you can. Plus, you can make tea outta most anything. Pine needles, if you steep 'em long enough, actually get pretty good..."

Right.

Doc shrugs a little.

"I had to go somewhere, didn't see the point in hangin' around."

[ikissdhimbck]

She sighs, shaking her head.

"Still don't sit right with me," she mutters. "You being out there by your lonesome all those months, not takin' proper care of yourself."

[scurlock]

Doc looks at her. "And it don't sit right with me that you've been in here, not takin' proper care of yourself," he adds gently, before he has another drink of water. "Which is why I'm gonna make certain that you do."

[ikissdhimbck]

She blushes softly, knowing he's caught her good.

"Haven't had much say in the matter..." she murmurs, shaking her head.

To be honest, she could have forced herself to eat more, but when you're so highly wound, sometimes the last thing you want to do is argue with your appetite.

[scurlock]

"The one thing you're in control of is your own actions."

Doc nods slowly.

"So it's alright, just...I don't want y'falling to pieces on me, you hear?"

[ikissdhimbck]

"I'm not falling to pieces," she sighs, laughing that quiet laugh one utters when they're just so tired they don't know what else to do.

One hand goes to her face, and once she's sure her water bottle won't spill in her lap, the other joins it.

She's quiet.

"All right," she mutters into her palms. "I'm falling to pieces."

[scurlock]

"It's alright," Doc leans over slightly after he tosses his plate on the coffee table and caps his water bottle, one arm going around her shoulders. "Because I'm damn good at pickin' up pieces after they've hit the ground."

A small smile, hopeful.

"And I'm not gonna give up on you."

[ikissdhimbck]

She jumps when his arm goes around her, hands sliding to her neck so her eyes can focus on his chest.

He's fine. He's whole. No unsightly wounds or stains of dark red.

"...did we decide that I was still an upstanding gentleman?
I can't remember."

"Thank you."

It's the only thing she can think to say.

[scurlock]

"You don't have to thank me," he says. "But, you're welcome, Katherine."

Doc's still worried. She's not acting right.

"You tired? I can sleep on the couch and you can take the bed, 'less you want...to share."

[ikissdhimbck]

"No!"

The answer comes out a little too quick, a little too sharp, her body going rigid as she looks up at his face. When she makes contact with his eyes, she forces herself to relax.

"I mean, no, I'm not tired. I'm just... I'm not tired."

It's a blatant lie. But the very thought of going to sleep right now terrifies her beyond rightful explanation.

[scurlock]

If she would just tell him that, he'd understand.

Doc leans back just a little.

"Well then what do you wanna do? I..." He glances around the room, and tries to think of things that they could do. He's not nearly awake enough for origami folding. His eyes fall to his books. "I could read, I guess, until y'were tired?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She looks down, forcing her breathing to even out.

Slow, careful hands find that water bottle of hers and move it cautiously to the coffee table. Beside her unfinished meal.

She can tell he's getting weary himself.

"Maybe I should go," she whispers. "Let you get some sleep."

She's worried about his health, and besides, at least one of them should get some sleep if they can.