Dec 2nd fic prompt
Title: Taking the Watch
Summary: William keeps a vigil
Rating: PG
Characters: William Evans (3:10 to Yuma), Bill Pardy (Slither), Kate Warner (24); with cameo type appearances by Demeter (goddess), and Jack Bauer (24).
Disclaimer: characters no belongy to me.
Warning: Um... nothing major. No spoilers.
A/N written for ceitfianna as a holiday gift from me to her in answer to one of her prompts: Bill, William- Blood in your mouth.
"Sheriff Pardy?"
Bill's in a chair near the front door, more slumped than sitting, and William isn't sure if Bill's heard him as he approaches, until the sheriff turns his head to look over at William when William gets close.
"Hey, William. Y'seen Kate?"
Bill's face is pale, and he has one hand tucked inside the jacket he's wearing. The letters 'CTU' stencilled on the back and breast of the jacket don't mean anything to William, but the empty holster on Bill's hip tells William a few things.
"No, I'm sorry, sir."
"Bill," he murmurs, turning to face the door again. "Y'can call me Bill."
William glances at the door, then down at Bill. He wants to get a look beneath that jacket and see how bad Bill's been hurt, and moves closer to try and do so.
"What happened... Bill?"
Shaking his head, Bill holds the coat tighter around him, shifting on his chair.
"It was a bad setup. I shouldn't've-- "Bill shakes his head, and works his throat. "I'm waitin' here... for him t'bring Kate back."
Frowning to himself, William pulls out a chair and sits next to Bill.
"Who?"
"Jack. He promised-- " Bill winces, eyes closing and head bowing. "He promised if I didn't make it, he'd bring her back."
William reaches out and touches Bill's shoulder.
"Bill... "
The hand that's not tucked inside his coat comes up and Bill is clutching a rag. Bill touches the cloth to his mouth, and William sees the bright red it picks up before Bill closes his hand back over it.
"I'm gonna wait for her. I can't see the door anymore, but I know it's there, an' I know she's gonna come back through it."
The lines around Bill's mouth are tight, and William can see perspiration on Bill's skin. William can also feel Bill trembling beneath his palm on Bill's shoulder.
"Of course she is," William says, signalling a waitrat. "but we ought to make sure you're alright before she gets here."
Bill lifts his eyes to William, and in them William sees a haunted look of anguish washed over in remorse. The look freezes William's blood, and he can't help thinking of his father lying in the dirt by the train platform.
Breaking his eyes from Bill, William orders a bottle of whiskey from the rat, and asks for a clean cloth. The rat scurries away, and Bill's eyes are locked on the front door again.
"Y'know, I ain't never regretted bein' a cop." Bill's voice is low, his breathing slow and shallow. "All the things I been through, everything that's happened, I always been proud t'wear my badge."
William listens as he moves his hand from Bill's shoulder down to the front of Bill's jacket, trying to pull it back and see what's beneath. Bill's eyes lifting to catch his stops William, and all he can do for a moment is stare.
"But all that trainin' an' experience didn't help any when she needed me most."
The rat returns and William passes the bottle it brings to Bill.
"Here, sheriff, take a drink of that, it should help."
Bill accepts the bottle and takes a drink; grimacing as he swallows. He swipes his mouth with the side of his hand, and it leaves behind a streak of red on his skin.
William glances towards the hallway leading to the infirmary, knowing he needs to get Bill there.
"I think we ought to get you in t'see a doctor."
"Yeah... I reckon."
Bill nods weakly, and then he starts to slip forward on the chair. William moves quick, leaving his chair to catch Bill who's gone boneless and falls into William's arms like a sack of flour.
William's arms go around Bill, and William's hand finds a patch of sticky warmth on Bill's lower back. Bill's hand falls free of his jacket, and William sees that it's slick with blood.
A cold mass forms in William's belly like he's swallowed a pound of river mud, and William fights down panic.
"C'mon, sheriff, we gotta get you some help."
"Kate she'll-- she's gonna c'm'back. I-- I gotta be there f'r her."
Squatting low, William steels himself to take Bill's weight. He drags Bill's arm across his shoulders and holds on tight as he rises. Putting an arm around Bill's waist, William supports Bill and gets them moving towards the infirmary.
"I'll be here for her Bill. I promise, s'gonna be alright."
William's words are strained as he carries Bill across the bar, and he grunts when Bill's legs give out and they nearly fall. Steadying them, William tightens his grip and keeps moving.
"Hang on, I got ya."
Bill tucks his head against William's shoulder, mumbling something William can't make out.
"Ain't far," William says to reassure them both.
Bill passes out when they reach the doorway, but fortunately there's a staff member nearby to help, and others show up quick to see to Bill.
They take Bill into the back and leave William standing in the waiting room; blood on his hands.
When someone comes out to tell him they're working on Bill, and that it'll be awhile before they know anything, William gives them his name and where to find him, then walks out.
Back in the bar he pulls out a chair beside the one Bill was in, and sits down facing the door. A rat brings by a wash cloth for him, and William cleans his hands while waiting for the door to open.
*****
For three days William sits watching the front door.
When he's not in a chair near the door, he's in one beside Bill's bed.
The sheriff doesn't wake during that time, but he stirs; mumbling in his sleep, shifting beneath the thin starchy sheet.
Kate's name comes up again and again in Bill's restless mutterings.
William does his best to settle Bill, giving soft reassurance that things are okay, even though he's mostly sure they're not.
William passes the time with dime novels; catching himself reading aloud more than once in the quiet of Bill's room.
It seems Bill rests easiest when William talks, so he keeps it up; going through one chapter after another in the faded yellow books; marking their place each time he leaves to sit by the front door in the bar, and resuming when he returns to Bill's bedside.
*****
Bill doesn't seem to be recovering, and William feels helpless, the doctors telling him there's nothing else they can do.
Sitting alone with Bill, William tries to read, but the words shift and blur under his eyes, and he keeps glancing up to take in how pale Bill is; how the rise and fall of Bill's chest becomes more staggered, and shallow with each breath.
William thinks of Mark, and the weak and wheezing breaths Mark pulls in after a fit. And he thinks of his father, and how cold he turned after that last gasp left him.
A train whistle howls in the back of William's mind, and he's so lost in memory that the sight of the old woman startles him.
Looking up swiftly, William blinks and for a moment can only watch as she moves to Bill's side, brushing a gentle hand across Bill's forehead.
"Oh, child."
Her face is weathered, but kind, and William feels in her presence something that tells him she's much more than just a gray haired old woman.
Her eyes turn on William, and he snaps out of his daze, standing and reaching up quick to remove his hat.
"Evenin' uh, ma'am. Are you-- are you a friend of sheriff Pardy's?"
She gives him a smile, and nods.
"I am. I have seen he and his Kate through a number of hard times. I fear, though, that nothing in my power or my family's will aid him now."
A lump crops up in William's throat, and he has to work hard to swallow it.
"What do you mean?"
"The body won't mend if the heart isn't in it, and I'm afraid his is waiting on anothers."
William's eyes drift down to Bill, and he watches the old woman take the sheriff's hand.
"How long has he got?" William asks quietly.
"I do not know. It is not an ability of mine to predict such things, but I do know he'll hold for as long as he can for her."
She grazes her thumb over Bill's knuckles, then gently replaces his hand at his side. Turning to William, she steps forward and presses a kiss to William's forehead.
"It is a good thing you do, keeping watch, and I know they shall both be grateful for it."
William bows his head, and when he looks up again she's almost to the door.
"Who are you?" he asks, still feeling warmth from where her lips graced his skin.
"I am Demeter, and as the goddess of things that grow I can tell you this: life and love can weather any storm."
Her parting smile is both fond and sad, and then she leaves out the door like a summer breeze.
William looks at the machinery surrounding Bill, watching the lines dip lower on their light-up scales.
He doesn't know exactly what they're showing, or how they work, but he does know that as long as they keep chirping, it means Bill is still alive.
And, as long as Bill is still alive, William knows he can't give up on him.
Setting his hat back on, William touches Bill's forearm just above the bandage and tube there.
"Just keep hangin' on, Bill. I know she's gonna come back t'you."
William pulls the sheet up higher on Bill's chest, then leaves the room for the bar.
*****
With great resolve William takes his seat near the front door; as determined to keep this spot until Kate walks in as he was to follow his father to Contention and see Ben Wade on that train.
He asks a waitrat to bring him coffee, and it's the first of many cups that he drains to help him through his watch.
*****
William doesn't remember falling asleep, but a cool, salty breeze wakes him, and he opens his eyes to see a grey, predawn sky through the open front door.
A man walks in first, scanning the bar before turning to guide the woman behind him in.
She's limping slightly and disheveled, one arm in a makeshift sling, but when she steps through the door and the bar's light hits her blond hair, William recognizes her immediately.
William gets up and approaches, a rock in his throat and a mixture of worry and relief grinding around in his belly. William pauses a moment as the man, Jack, looks him over before turning to close the door, and William steps up to Kate.
"Ms. Warner?"
She glances around the bar, then settles her gaze on his, and he sees a tremor in her lip, and fear in her eyes.
"William. Where is he?"
William swallows hard and nods towards the infirmary, stepping to her side to help walk her there.
"He's waitin' for you."
William and Jack get Kate there, and William takes her into Bill's room. William holds back near the door as she approaches Bill's bed, and he can't help a watery smile when he sees her take Bill's hand.
He leaves them together, backing out of the room while Kate speaks to Bill. And, maybe he's only imagining it, but it seems to him those little lights are brighter, and the lines are higher on the machines around Bill.
If there's one thing William''s sure of, it's that he sees Bill's hand turn to take Kate's before William shuts the door on them.
Summary: William keeps a vigil
Rating: PG
Characters: William Evans (3:10 to Yuma), Bill Pardy (Slither), Kate Warner (24); with cameo type appearances by Demeter (goddess), and Jack Bauer (24).
Disclaimer: characters no belongy to me.
Warning: Um... nothing major. No spoilers.
A/N written for ceitfianna as a holiday gift from me to her in answer to one of her prompts: Bill, William- Blood in your mouth.
"Sheriff Pardy?"
Bill's in a chair near the front door, more slumped than sitting, and William isn't sure if Bill's heard him as he approaches, until the sheriff turns his head to look over at William when William gets close.
"Hey, William. Y'seen Kate?"
Bill's face is pale, and he has one hand tucked inside the jacket he's wearing. The letters 'CTU' stencilled on the back and breast of the jacket don't mean anything to William, but the empty holster on Bill's hip tells William a few things.
"No, I'm sorry, sir."
"Bill," he murmurs, turning to face the door again. "Y'can call me Bill."
William glances at the door, then down at Bill. He wants to get a look beneath that jacket and see how bad Bill's been hurt, and moves closer to try and do so.
"What happened... Bill?"
Shaking his head, Bill holds the coat tighter around him, shifting on his chair.
"It was a bad setup. I shouldn't've-- "Bill shakes his head, and works his throat. "I'm waitin' here... for him t'bring Kate back."
Frowning to himself, William pulls out a chair and sits next to Bill.
"Who?"
"Jack. He promised-- " Bill winces, eyes closing and head bowing. "He promised if I didn't make it, he'd bring her back."
William reaches out and touches Bill's shoulder.
"Bill... "
The hand that's not tucked inside his coat comes up and Bill is clutching a rag. Bill touches the cloth to his mouth, and William sees the bright red it picks up before Bill closes his hand back over it.
"I'm gonna wait for her. I can't see the door anymore, but I know it's there, an' I know she's gonna come back through it."
The lines around Bill's mouth are tight, and William can see perspiration on Bill's skin. William can also feel Bill trembling beneath his palm on Bill's shoulder.
"Of course she is," William says, signalling a waitrat. "but we ought to make sure you're alright before she gets here."
Bill lifts his eyes to William, and in them William sees a haunted look of anguish washed over in remorse. The look freezes William's blood, and he can't help thinking of his father lying in the dirt by the train platform.
Breaking his eyes from Bill, William orders a bottle of whiskey from the rat, and asks for a clean cloth. The rat scurries away, and Bill's eyes are locked on the front door again.
"Y'know, I ain't never regretted bein' a cop." Bill's voice is low, his breathing slow and shallow. "All the things I been through, everything that's happened, I always been proud t'wear my badge."
William listens as he moves his hand from Bill's shoulder down to the front of Bill's jacket, trying to pull it back and see what's beneath. Bill's eyes lifting to catch his stops William, and all he can do for a moment is stare.
"But all that trainin' an' experience didn't help any when she needed me most."
The rat returns and William passes the bottle it brings to Bill.
"Here, sheriff, take a drink of that, it should help."
Bill accepts the bottle and takes a drink; grimacing as he swallows. He swipes his mouth with the side of his hand, and it leaves behind a streak of red on his skin.
William glances towards the hallway leading to the infirmary, knowing he needs to get Bill there.
"I think we ought to get you in t'see a doctor."
"Yeah... I reckon."
Bill nods weakly, and then he starts to slip forward on the chair. William moves quick, leaving his chair to catch Bill who's gone boneless and falls into William's arms like a sack of flour.
William's arms go around Bill, and William's hand finds a patch of sticky warmth on Bill's lower back. Bill's hand falls free of his jacket, and William sees that it's slick with blood.
A cold mass forms in William's belly like he's swallowed a pound of river mud, and William fights down panic.
"C'mon, sheriff, we gotta get you some help."
"Kate she'll-- she's gonna c'm'back. I-- I gotta be there f'r her."
Squatting low, William steels himself to take Bill's weight. He drags Bill's arm across his shoulders and holds on tight as he rises. Putting an arm around Bill's waist, William supports Bill and gets them moving towards the infirmary.
"I'll be here for her Bill. I promise, s'gonna be alright."
William's words are strained as he carries Bill across the bar, and he grunts when Bill's legs give out and they nearly fall. Steadying them, William tightens his grip and keeps moving.
"Hang on, I got ya."
Bill tucks his head against William's shoulder, mumbling something William can't make out.
"Ain't far," William says to reassure them both.
Bill passes out when they reach the doorway, but fortunately there's a staff member nearby to help, and others show up quick to see to Bill.
They take Bill into the back and leave William standing in the waiting room; blood on his hands.
When someone comes out to tell him they're working on Bill, and that it'll be awhile before they know anything, William gives them his name and where to find him, then walks out.
Back in the bar he pulls out a chair beside the one Bill was in, and sits down facing the door. A rat brings by a wash cloth for him, and William cleans his hands while waiting for the door to open.
*****
For three days William sits watching the front door.
When he's not in a chair near the door, he's in one beside Bill's bed.
The sheriff doesn't wake during that time, but he stirs; mumbling in his sleep, shifting beneath the thin starchy sheet.
Kate's name comes up again and again in Bill's restless mutterings.
William does his best to settle Bill, giving soft reassurance that things are okay, even though he's mostly sure they're not.
William passes the time with dime novels; catching himself reading aloud more than once in the quiet of Bill's room.
It seems Bill rests easiest when William talks, so he keeps it up; going through one chapter after another in the faded yellow books; marking their place each time he leaves to sit by the front door in the bar, and resuming when he returns to Bill's bedside.
*****
Bill doesn't seem to be recovering, and William feels helpless, the doctors telling him there's nothing else they can do.
Sitting alone with Bill, William tries to read, but the words shift and blur under his eyes, and he keeps glancing up to take in how pale Bill is; how the rise and fall of Bill's chest becomes more staggered, and shallow with each breath.
William thinks of Mark, and the weak and wheezing breaths Mark pulls in after a fit. And he thinks of his father, and how cold he turned after that last gasp left him.
A train whistle howls in the back of William's mind, and he's so lost in memory that the sight of the old woman startles him.
Looking up swiftly, William blinks and for a moment can only watch as she moves to Bill's side, brushing a gentle hand across Bill's forehead.
"Oh, child."
Her face is weathered, but kind, and William feels in her presence something that tells him she's much more than just a gray haired old woman.
Her eyes turn on William, and he snaps out of his daze, standing and reaching up quick to remove his hat.
"Evenin' uh, ma'am. Are you-- are you a friend of sheriff Pardy's?"
She gives him a smile, and nods.
"I am. I have seen he and his Kate through a number of hard times. I fear, though, that nothing in my power or my family's will aid him now."
A lump crops up in William's throat, and he has to work hard to swallow it.
"What do you mean?"
"The body won't mend if the heart isn't in it, and I'm afraid his is waiting on anothers."
William's eyes drift down to Bill, and he watches the old woman take the sheriff's hand.
"How long has he got?" William asks quietly.
"I do not know. It is not an ability of mine to predict such things, but I do know he'll hold for as long as he can for her."
She grazes her thumb over Bill's knuckles, then gently replaces his hand at his side. Turning to William, she steps forward and presses a kiss to William's forehead.
"It is a good thing you do, keeping watch, and I know they shall both be grateful for it."
William bows his head, and when he looks up again she's almost to the door.
"Who are you?" he asks, still feeling warmth from where her lips graced his skin.
"I am Demeter, and as the goddess of things that grow I can tell you this: life and love can weather any storm."
Her parting smile is both fond and sad, and then she leaves out the door like a summer breeze.
William looks at the machinery surrounding Bill, watching the lines dip lower on their light-up scales.
He doesn't know exactly what they're showing, or how they work, but he does know that as long as they keep chirping, it means Bill is still alive.
And, as long as Bill is still alive, William knows he can't give up on him.
Setting his hat back on, William touches Bill's forearm just above the bandage and tube there.
"Just keep hangin' on, Bill. I know she's gonna come back t'you."
William pulls the sheet up higher on Bill's chest, then leaves the room for the bar.
*****
With great resolve William takes his seat near the front door; as determined to keep this spot until Kate walks in as he was to follow his father to Contention and see Ben Wade on that train.
He asks a waitrat to bring him coffee, and it's the first of many cups that he drains to help him through his watch.
*****
William doesn't remember falling asleep, but a cool, salty breeze wakes him, and he opens his eyes to see a grey, predawn sky through the open front door.
A man walks in first, scanning the bar before turning to guide the woman behind him in.
She's limping slightly and disheveled, one arm in a makeshift sling, but when she steps through the door and the bar's light hits her blond hair, William recognizes her immediately.
William gets up and approaches, a rock in his throat and a mixture of worry and relief grinding around in his belly. William pauses a moment as the man, Jack, looks him over before turning to close the door, and William steps up to Kate.
"Ms. Warner?"
She glances around the bar, then settles her gaze on his, and he sees a tremor in her lip, and fear in her eyes.
"William. Where is he?"
William swallows hard and nods towards the infirmary, stepping to her side to help walk her there.
"He's waitin' for you."
William and Jack get Kate there, and William takes her into Bill's room. William holds back near the door as she approaches Bill's bed, and he can't help a watery smile when he sees her take Bill's hand.
He leaves them together, backing out of the room while Kate speaks to Bill. And, maybe he's only imagining it, but it seems to him those little lights are brighter, and the lines are higher on the machines around Bill.
If there's one thing William''s sure of, it's that he sees Bill's hand turn to take Kate's before William shuts the door on them.