[ an officer and a gentleman ]
Mr. Spiny is missing.
Kate's searched
everywhere -- beneath her bed, in Boo's room, even the
freezer, just in case -- and he's is nowhere to be found.
On a quick recon mission, she zips down the hall to see if he's in Bill's room, and --
Oh my god.
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Leaving him there like they did is still gnawing on Bill's conscience, but it looks like Ramon either got up or had some help, which is good.
Rifle still in hand Bill heads back up the stairs. He needs to clean up the mess in his room, and change his clothes. He's got some blood on his shirt front, and more with dirt on the knees of his jeans.
Then he needs a drink.
He's already inside the doorway to his room before he realizes it was unlocked, and his heart immediately accelerates. Lifting the rifle, he forces his hands to steady as he turns the corner and aims the gun into the bathroom, eyes wide when he sees her.
"Kate-- "
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She looks up from the blood-stained sink and goes corpse-cold and still.
oh my god don't shoot
Her eyes move from the barrel of the gun to lock on his face.
"Put it down."
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"Kate, m'sorry I -- you alright?"
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"Are you? What happened?"
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"M'fine."
He backs out of the bathroom and moves to check and lock the front door.
"It's not mine."
Heading back to the desk he places the rifle back down beside Ramon's gun, removing his hand slowly.
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You're not fine.
"What's going on?"
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He hadn't even thought about having to tell Kate, yet. Now he's not sure what to say.
"Kate Barlow got in a fight with someone down in the stables, an' I tried t'break it up."
Beat.
"Both of 'em had guns."
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"Some guy named Ramon. They didn't like each other an' she said she was standin' up for herself."
He frowns; her explanation was more complicated than that, but he still can't get behind it.
"The guy was crazy."
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There's only one Ramon she's met here, and if it's him --
"Salazar?"
She swallows, unknotting her vocal cords.
"Bill, this is important. Was he Latino? Did he have an accent?"
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"Didn't get a last name, but yeah, he had an' accent an' all. Why? What's wrong?"
If he's done anything t'you--
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She closes her eyes.
"Remember when I told you he said he met Marie here once?"
Her left hand is trembling, and she balls it into a fist at her hip.
"He's dangerous. He's a drug lord."
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"Yeah, I remember, but you never said there was a problem with him."
Dangerous.
Bill's seen how dangerous Ramon is, and now he knows it's the same man who talked to Kate.
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She never wanted Bill and Ramon to cross paths, and now --
"He's -- we've talked a couple of times."
Her eyes trace the drying blood on his shirt and pants.
"What happened?"
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"Couple times-- Kate, what did he do?"
She's looking at the blood again and, ignoring her question for now, he starts unbuttoning his shirt so he can get rid of it.
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Her eyes widen.
"Doc's here. An older version of him -- he's 34, and he looks more like Jack than ever. I'll have to leave a note for him."
She rakes a hand through her hair, gathering it into a knot at her nape.
"Is that his blood or Katherine's?"
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He sheds the shirt and moves to the dresser to pull another, still talking, but it's hard to tell if it's still to her.
"You're sittin' there talkin' to him, Katherine's arguin' with him, knowin' full well how bad he is, drawin' first-- "
As he's going he keeps pulling shirts from the drawer, unable to pick one he wants to put on.
"If Doc didn't keep that rifle behind his desk the both of 'em would be dead an' she don't even care, an' I can't -- I left him an' I shouldn't've, I got no way of knowin' where he's at now, an' he knows you -- Christ -- "
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She steps closer to Bill, putting a light, careful hand on his forearm as shirt after shirt flies from the drawer.
"Bill, I never wanted you to meet him, let alone -- "
A breath.
"Why did Katherine draw on him?"
And why did you put yourself in the middle of it?
"What happened out there?"
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Her touch stills him and his eyes move from the dresser to her hand on his arm.
"An' when did you find out what he was?"
He looks up at her and his jaw is tight, but it isn't anger in his eyes.
"Make me."
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Terrorist.
She falters, seeing Marie in her mind's eye.
"From what he said, I think he's some kind of arms dealer."
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He moves away from the dresser, leaving it hanging open. He needs a shower first, and then he can change and talk to Doc, then he'll have to see if he can find out about Ramon and --
He scrubs a hand across his face, pacing near the bed.
"Kate shot him. I walked in lookin' for her an' they both had guns on each other. I-- I didn't have nothin' so I shouted out, told him I was with security. That didn't faze him none an' I'd seen Doc's rifle behind the desk before so I went an' grabbed that."
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She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose; getting angry isn't going to help anything here.
Opening her eyes, she takes a breath.
"With everything else going on at home, I didn't see any point in worrying you, and I never thought you two would -- "
She pushes past the panic rising behind her rib cage.
"Katherine's arguin' with him, knowin' full well how bad he is, drawin' first -- if Doc didn't keep that rifle behind his desk the both of 'em would be dead an' she don't even care ... "
"Why did Katherine -- "
Another breath.
"This isn't the Wild West, things don't work like that here."
She shakes her head and refocuses on the more pressing issue: Ramon.
"How bad was he hurt?"
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He stops and looks at her, an edge entering his voice. He knows an argument isn't where they need to go with this so he shakes his head and starts moving again; trying to draw back his anger.
"They were fightin', started with somethin' 'bout a horse an' he was pushin' her an she didn't wanna back down, an' it all got outta hand. That's what she told me, said that's what she's doin' now, standin' up to teach people like him that they can't get away with everything an' -- I dunno."
He moves over to the desk and starts to unload the rifle, then pauses and puts the shots back in.
"When I went back to try an' stop it again the both of 'em started firin'. They were strugglin' with each other an' she grazed him on the side. Wasn't bad, an' he was still goin' an' I -- I had the rifle on him. He's crazy, I was gonna have to pull the trigger, but she came in an' clubbed him with her gun."
He sets the rifle back on the desk, and brushes his hand against his side.
"He was out when we left."
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"I didn't want to worry you. It wasn't an issue because I'm not any kind of threat to him. I'm in finance -- there's no reason to waste his energy hurting me."
But you --
She wills her voice to stay steady.
"But now he's gone, and Katherine's a target, and so are you."
Maybe Security can help, maybe Jack's here somewhere --
"The man told me he shot his own brother, and now -- god, Bill, it's bad enough you're going back to work. If you're not safe here, I -- "
I don't know how I'm supposed to keep my promise to your mom.
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Money, power, the connections her father has could all be useful to a man like Ramon.
Her last words stop that train of thought and turn him back to her.
"What do y'mean, 'bad enough'?"
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She wraps her arms around herself, hesitating when he turns.
"I didn't mean -- "
She shakes her head and presses her lips together before she speaks again.
"I worry. That's all I meant."
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"I'm sure."
His head is already pounding and the sting from her words on top of that is making it impossible to think. He has to figure out something, though. The situation is completely out of hand and Kate's right about Ramon being out there and how he's a target now. He can't just sit on this and hope it blows over, he has to fix it. Somehow.
"God, damn it."
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The Old Kingdom. That stupid bull. The night in Everett's station.
She swallows the words and shakes her head; this isn't what either of them need right now.
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He should have known, but he thought she was okay, he thought she understood.
This isn't what they should be doing right now, his train of thought keeps getting derailed and he doesn't have a solution for anything.
"I can't do this, Kate. I need to figure out what's goin' on. I don't wanna argue with you I -- I gotta think a second."
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Her expression softens and she lets out a quiet breath.
"I don't want to argue, either. You need to find Doc -- maybe he's been to the stables. And he knows Ramon better than I do, he's patched him up before."
She takes another steadying breath, forcing herself to focus on the solution, not the problem.
"Maybe talk to Security, too -- they might be able to help somehow."
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The adrenaline from the fight with Katherine and Ramon is long gone and now all Bill has is a huge headache and more problems that he didn't need.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Bill lifts his hand to his face and rubs his temples.
"I need to talk to Doc, see what he knows an tell him t'keep away from Ramon. An' then -- "
The words break off and he turns his head sharply as a realization hits.
"Does Ramon know 'bout me an' you?"
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He's shaken and pale, and he looks so worn; she closes the distance between them and puts what she hopes is a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"After the things he told me -- god, sweetheart, I didn't want him to know about you. And I'm sorry -- "
Her voice cracks.
"I'm sorry."
I'm sorry you're in this position. It's a fight that wasn't yours to begin with.
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"S'okay. He doesn't know 'bout us, so you an' Boo are safe."
He hopes, because God, if anything happened to them--
"I'll be fine, I'll figure somethin' out. Security is good here in the bar, so I don't see him tryin' nothin' here. S'gonna be alright."
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Welcoming the contact, she wraps an arm around his shoulders, and his skin feels clammy against hers.
"I want you to be safe."
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Bowing his head against her his thoughts are part prayer against the worst; this could so easily come around to hurt her.
"We'll have to be careful downstairs, might be a good idea not to go down together for awhile. Just t'be safe."
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"I was gonna have to pull the trigger"
She dips her head to press her lips against his hair.
"It's not me I'm worried about, sheriff."
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"I'm okay. Bit stressed I guess, but I'll be alright."
He takes in a slow breath and tightens his arm around her.
"S'gonna be fine."
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If the situation weren't so serious, she'd breathe out a laugh at the understatement.
She threads her fingers into his hair and closes her eyes.
"Yeah."
As much as she wants to believe him --
Nothing about this situation is okay.
She pulls back just enough to look down at him, her fingertips smoothing back his hair at his temple.
Apologetically, "I should get back to Boo."
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"Yeah. I'll be back in a little bit, gotta take a shower an'... stuff."
He glances towards the guns on the desk then looks back at her.
"Probably best she not come in here for awhile. Gonna give Doc his rifle back, but Ramon's -- "
Giving it back doesn't seem like the smartest idea, not that Bill believes for a second it's the only weapon the man has.
"Just better t'be safe."
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"I'll make sure she -- "
She pauses, spotting the tip of a familiar fuzzy muzzle beneath the desk; retrieving Mr. Spiny, she manages a tiny half-smile.
"I was looking for this."
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"Didn't know he was in here. She's got so many critters it's hard t'keep track."
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She tucks Mr. Spiny beneath her arm and cradles Bill's pale cheek, tracing his cheekbone with the pad of her thumb.
God, I love you.
"Be careful."
Please.
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"I will."
When she's gone he sits in silence awhile, still trying to gather his thoughts, before heading in for a shower.
After he'll clean the rifle.