Josiah 'Doc' Scurlock

[previous: four]



"M'surprised y'still got it in you, Doc."

Doc lifts his gaze from the fencepost he's crouched in front of, focusing on the backlit figure standing above him, eyes narrowing to protect against the hot glare of the sun's rays. "Just because I spent the last few years livin' on the run don't mean I've forgotten how t'mend a fence, Frank."

"Based on those nickel books, y'done more than been livin' on the run."

( Raton, New Mexico Territory )

[OOC: Co-written with Kate's mun. :)]


Doc is sitting on the edge of the bed, watching as Kate moves around the room and packs their bags full of gear - she'd offered to handle the task, and he'd accepted.

"We're gonna have a hell of a time gettin' out of here without nobody noticin', especially with gear and a horse the size'a Beaut, Kate."

She stops mid-step, turning her head to gawk at him.

"What're y'tryin' t'say? That my horse is fat?"

( Read more. )

They haven't been spending much time downstairs or outside, the last few weeks - it's simply not safe. And even if Ramon is currently trapped in tree form, there's no telling how many allies the man might have roaming the bar. Precaution wins, when it comes to the notorious habits of outlaws and their safety - despite many tales to the contrary, just because they act wild and carefree does not mean they're not careful.

Doc is upstairs, but not in his room. Instead, he is stretched out on his back, on her bed - boots left by the door, of course - with his gunbelt draped over a chair near the side of the mattress, within reach if he needs it.

By all appearances, he was at some point reading, given that he's got a book resting on his chest. But at the moment, the outlaw-stablemaster-poet is currently having a light nap, thanks to the amazingly comfortable bed that Kate picked out when she redid her room.

[after this thread]

Normally, Doc would never even consider doing anything like this, but this is not a normal situation. Thanking every god he knows for the fact that it's still very early and that the stables are deserted at the moment, he backs his way out of the stall, carrying her weight easily.

(With the way she's clinging to him, her legs around his body and her arms tight around his neck, it's like she's a part of him, anyway - making it to the tack room is surprisingly easy.)

The door shuts with a solid thud and then his lips are on hers again, his mouth still desperate for her kiss.



[Adult content below, obviously...]

[follows this]

She's peaceful.

Doc stays awake once Kate has fallen asleep, choosing to watch over her and keep 'guard' instead of getting his own rest. He's not particularly tired, even after not getting any sleep the night before thanks to the conversation with Bill. His mind is alert, and awake - yet his thoughts wander, and time passes without him really knowing how long it's been.

Approximately a half-hour after she's drifted off, he decides to fetch the tea he promised earlier. It won't take long to run downstairs and make a quick stop at Bar.

When he moves from the bed, he's careful not to jostle the mattress or make a sound as he pads across the room to the desk. He pens a note and leaves it beside the one from Esfir, just in case Kate wakes while he's gone:

Getting tea. I'll be right back. - J

He continues on through the room and unlocks the door without making a sound. The only noise that echoes faintly is the click of the door being unlocked, and then he steps into the hallway--




-- and nearly into Esfir.

A pause.




"Good timin' or what?"

[previous: two]



It had become easy to settle into a routine, even if he'd stopped obsessively looking for the door back to the bar - maybe that was his problem, that he was trying too hard - weeks ago.

He'd spent the early evening out in the desert on horseback, putting Nova through his paces down in a wash, before he'd returned and ridden back into town. He took a bath, then headed downstairs for his cup of coffee.

The bartender smiled. "Evenin', Mr. Gordon."

"Christ, Jonas. If you call me that one more time, m'gonna have t'bust your head in," he teased.

"Figure things out, yet?"

( Not yet. )

It was only supposed to be a quick trip.

He'd left early one morning for a quick ride out in the desert - his desert - in an effort to get Nova readjusted to the desert heat and the dry air.

(Secretly, another reason for heading back to his world was that Doc was attempting to fight off the feelings of not 'fitting in' anymore, and he'd hoped that a brief excursion to a place where he did might help.)

The problem with not staying in any one place for very long was that the door to Milliways never really had a chance to catch up with him and settle down. Finding the Bar was a matter of luck (or accident) at the best of times.

So when the sun had set over the desert at long last, heat-drenched air only cooling a few degrees, it was no surprise to Doc that the barn door he'd slipped Nova out of earlier that morning opened not into the crowded bar he was hoping for, but...well, a barn.

He had his pistol, but no long gun. His saddlebags were packed with a few days worth of provisions (out of habit for being ready to move at a moment's notice) but little else.

Doc glanced over his shoulder at the horse, who seemed to be waiting impatiently for something. The street near the livery barn and stable was quiet, and he took a moment to run his fingertips over Nova's nose, steel-green eyes meeting dark brown ones. Thinking...and wondering.

The horse was still sound - getting exercise back at Milliways, long stretches of open land to run over, trails and trees to navigate - but there was something else on his mind entirely.




Was he still sound?










There was only one way to find out.

The first thing that reminds him that he's 'not in Milliways anymore' is the way the heat sticks to his skin from the moment he steps out of the stables and livery into the hot, blazing Texas sunshine. Cortez exhales a warm breath against the back of his neck, and Doc can't help but smile.

( It feels good to be back. )

June starts with Katherine still being gone, and Doc speaks with both Kate Warner and Jasper Whitlock.

Later, he talks with Coyote, who helps him look for Katherine. A few days after that, he talks with Coyote again and makes plans to come with her to Las Vegas to assist in a distraction.

He talks with Ramon and with Teja, before leaving for Las Vegas before he gets back.

A few days later he talks to Bill and finds out that Boo has been kidnapped, and then the next morning he talks to Kate Warner about the same thing. He also talks to Mia about her upcoming pregnancy.

For July, Doc makes the choice to go home, and he talks with Will and Charlie before he leaves some notes and goes out.

While he's out in Tascosa, he finds some things he's been missing, before finding out that they aren't really missing at all. (Second link has threads with Will, Ben Wade, and Atton.)

Shortly after that, he speaks with his old pal Billy, and then finally gets a chance to talk with Kate on their 'anniversary', before he meets Henry Wellard.

He and Guppy discuss his new charges

TBC

After they leave White Oaks, they find what Doc might consider one of the best hangover breakfasts in the world at a Denny's on the road back towards Albuquerque.

The only thing that could have possibly made it better would have been more whiskey, in Doc's opinion - but he refrained from mentioning that in favor of drowning his waffle in extra strawberries instead of whipped cream.

(It's no secret that he has a fondness for fresh fruit.)

Once breakfast is done, they hit the road and swing back up towards the airport, with the top peeled back and the radio up, and for awhile Doc even ignores his hat, choosing to let the sun hit his skin.

It'll be nice to have a tan.

A few dozen miles outside of the city, there's a roadside rest stop / gas station / liquor and convenience store / restaurant and they pull in and head inside in search of souvenirs.

To say that they hit the jackpot (a full tank of gas, 5 postcards, one t-shirt (in Spanish), and two bottles of 'Gatorade' later) is an understatement, even if Kate has to spend almost a half-hour assuring Doc that the bright orange beverage is not made of alligator byproducts.

They see a sign in Old Town advertising a very popular candy store, and since boys will always be boys - meaning, that they'll always love candy - they decide to stop in.

Doc goes for the hard candy - it doesn't melt as easy, and he's always had a soft-spot for 'rock candy', and the flavors here are incredible. Lime that actually tastes like lime.

(Kate may be required to do some online-ordering once Doc runs out of the stuff, if Bar can't just get it for him.)

But the real prize of the afternoon is when Doc spots a bright pink t-shirt hanging behind the counter, emblazoned with the words 'THE CANDY LADY' beneath a pinup-esque drawing of a woman in an apron. On the back is the tagline and address of the shop.

His lips quirk into an amused smirk, before he turns and goes to find Kate.






"...what's Bill's shirt size, again?"