[[ oom : wheelsy, south carolina ]]

[itwasjustified]

[ "I really need you to tell me exactly what the hell is goin' on." ]



Raylan wakes in a vacuum.

He lets his eyes adjust to the darkness, and takes silent stock of himself.

He's in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. These sweats aren't his. His head feels like a bag of cotton balls left to dry-rot in Death Valley, and the rest of him is hardly any better.

He has no idea where his boots are, let alone his gun.

He gets up, keeping his movements slow and quiet, but the bed creaks in spite of his efforts.

A few long minutes later, he limps out of the bedroom, and shuffles toward the unmistakable smell of coffee.

Comments

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill's features grow sterner, and he shakes his head.

"You can call me. You can't just go in blind, Kate. There's no real tellin' what's goin' on over there."

Any bad thing you can imagine, Raylan had said, and Bill doesn't want her anywhere near that.

"The door isn't even reliable right now. Raylan is from Kentucky in 2010, we got no idea how he ended up here, or where the door might take you if you used it."

[justdidntseeit]

She presses her lips together briefly, more stubborn than upset.

"How are you any better prepared to walk in there than I am?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He hates it when they do this, but he's going to stand his ground.

"Because I'm a cop."

He's firm and blunt about it, because he has to be.

"I've got the trainin' an' the experience here, an' in Milliways that you don't."

[justdidntseeit]

Her jaw sets.

"That's not fair, Bill. You walk in there the same way I do, without any kind of magic or special powers. All bets are off for both of us, badge or no badge."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"I'm not tryin' to be fair. I'm bein' realistic."

And protective.

"All I want to do is assess the situation first, an' all I'm askin' is for you to give me the chance t'do that before you do anything."

If it's too dangerous he'll of course keep her out, but he understands how much she has in Milliways, and how hard it is not knowing what's going on there.

[justdidntseeit]

"Are you really asking? Because it sounds a lot like an order."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He takes a step back, and his hand falls to his side.

"I'd order if I thought you'd listen, so I guess I'm askin'."

[justdidntseeit]

"Okay," she says, her expression softening.

"Thank you."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Exhaling a quiet breath, he nods then studies her.

"So what're you gonna do?"

[justdidntseeit]

"The only thing we can do, sheriff."

She licks her lips, her eyes never leaving Bill's.

"Play it by ear."