A Late Gift

Participants:

doyle_icon.gif kaylee2_icon.gif

Scene Title A Late Gift
Synopsis Kaylee tries to sneak out of the safe house, but is stopped by Doyle. She ends up giving him a gift she totally forgot about in all the insanity.
Date January 04, 2010

McRae's Safehouse


She's been bed ridden for 5 days… 5 Days! That is an awfully long time for Kaylee… Miss busy body herself. To her she felt fine.. I mean sure she felt a bit sluggish, felt flashes of hot and cold, and her chest felt like there was a brick on it, but she's felt much worse. Hell she was on deaths door once and ran around everywhere and even worked, this was nothing.

However, the blonde telepath has some rather insistent friends… People who she does trust and care a great deal about, but right now… she's tired of being held down… literally. Silently as she can, Kaylee steps through the hallway from the room she shares with several others, which is kinda getting on her nerves in itself, listening to the silence of the darkened house. She winces as she tries to pull on her winter jacket carefully, but to her ears the sound of rustling fabric is loud.

Once the jacket is tugged on, she lets out a soft sigh, thought it actually comes out as a cough. Oh shit. She picks up her pace heading for the front door, trying to get out before anyone notices.. She gets outside she's home free. A quick zipping up of her jacket, Kaylee reaches for the door and slowly turns the handle and open the door.

Almost there.

Then the handle's turned back, slowly, and her hand pushes the door closed again. Fingers release the knob, lift up and turn the bolt with a muffled clunk into place. Kaylee turns, unzipping her jacket and shrugging it off before walking back along over towards the couch.

Where she sits down.

"You know, blondie," Doyle drawls out from the hallway, his hand lowering as she sits, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to sneak out on us with a hundred and one degre fever."

Damn.. the Warden is awake.

The young woman has a pained look as she watches the distance grow between her and it, she's not even fighting it as she's dragged back and deposited on the couch. "Hello, Eric." She murmurs sheepishly, head finally turning his way, giving him a resigned look. She attempted to add a heavy sigh, but ends up trying not to cough.

"I'm fine." Kaylee starts stubbornly from her seat, shoulders finally slump a little in defeat. "I've been in bed five days, I'll be fine. I already feel better." A lie, bold faced lie. "Come on… there are things to get done at Summer Meadow, Joseph to find, and new employment and I'm sitting… no laying down on the job." She grumbles a bit, head dipping forward.

"No, you're on sick leave," Eric declares, "And you aren't getting away from me, blondie, I'll tell you that right now."

A pair of fluffy bear's paw slippers, a little raggedy on the edges, shuffle over the floor as he walks along into the room, stopping himself in front of the couch and folding both arms over his chest as he looks down at her, eyelids raised and brows lifted over them.

"Do you know what I did at Moab?"

Her head drooping forward, Kaylee can only see the fuzzy bear paw slippers, which actually makes her smirk with amusement. He was so much like a big kid most of the time, probably why he liked him so much. Giving another sigh, this time with no cough, Kaylee looks up at the portly man. She starts to think of arguing, but decides better of it.

"What did you do at Moab?" She asks blandly, scooting back on the couch, so that she can lean against the back , pulling her legs up with her and wrapping her arms around the knees.

"The 'security system' for the prison," Doyle tells her, knees bending before he seats himself on the coffee table, arms resting on knees and fingers weaving together as he tells his story, "Was a lovely young woman that was my doctor when I was down in Level 5… of course, they didn't know who she really was, but that doesn't matter. Anyway, she could control time. So if there was a breakout, she'd freeze everyone so they could put them back again. The only way they kept her from escaping… was… me."

He grins, a cocky little smile, "We had some good times, her and me. This one time, she asked if she could shower, so I took her down there and— "

A pause, a glance back to Kaylee, and he coughs into his hand, "Ah— right— anyway. If she couldn't get away from me? I know you can't, blondie, so just give it up."

Lips press together in a fine line as Kaylee listens, looking less then thrilled, but she is a good girl and sits there. So many things going through her mind. Though when he starts that little story, a small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth with amusement. She probably should be creeped out, but Kaylee's been around some odd people.

So when he falls silent, Kaylee's legs unfold and drops to the floor with a thump of her boots, so that she can scoot forward on the couch. She grips his large arms and gives him an amused look. "First off.. thank you for stopping that story." A hand lifts to rest against his cheek in friendly affection, nothing overly so, but her hand is hot… Oh yeah she has a fever, "Cause as much as I like you.. and your one of the closest friends I have.. I don't need to hear about your exploits." She gives his cheek a gentle pat before both hands drop away, "TMI and all that…. And second… why keep me down? You were not this stubborn about me doing anything when I was dying."

"Come on… I was just gonna go to Shooters or something.. A girl can only take so much of being stuck in a room with that many women without wanting to makes them all jump in a lake." That last she says with a smirk, trying to make a joke of what happened to her.

"You weren't dying, you were just—- being stubborn," Eric states with a roll of his eyes, and a faint smile, "But now? Now you will be dying, if you keep this up, and I'm not losing any friends. Not now that I have one." He leans forward, smile fading, "So, just stick around and rest, all right?"

Kaylee watches him for a long moment and smiles at the big guy. Leaning forward just a touch more, she concedes "Alright, Puppet master.. but only for now. Once the fever is gone.. I'm up and out of here" She points out, shaking a finger at him. "And I'm not sitting out when we go for Joseph. I did enough that shit with Adam." The look she gives him is a meaningful one, giving a bit of a sniffle as her nose starts to threaten to run.

Her expression sudden brightens and she grins. "Oh! Oh god.. i can't believe I almost forgot." She starts to rise from the couch, but then stops and sits. A brow arches and she motions towards the hall, "Can I get up and get something?" The telepath asks very politely. She hold up her hand like she's taking an oath, "I promise not to skip out the door."

"As soon as the fever's gone," Eric chuckles, shoulders shaking a bit as he smiles faintly back to her, both brows lifting, "I promise." A hand lifts, brows raising, "Scout's honor." He leans back a bit, then pauses, "Alright, alright. But don't walk too much, you're sick!"

Normally, Kaylee would pop up and hurry off, but now that she's not trying to be overly quiet, she carefully climbs up on her still tender feet and starts to hobble away. Stopping she points at him, "Stay there.. don't move." Then she's hobbling out of the room, He can hear a muffled complaint in the direct where she went, but it isn't Kaylee's voice.

" Oh hush.. I'll be out of here in a moment."

Now that was Kaylee, who then finally comes hobbling out of the room again, a medium sized long box covered in red shiny wrapping. "So much going on.. I totally spaced. So this is way late." Dropping to sit in her spot again, she offers the package to him, giving him an apologetic look, "Forgive me?"

Doyle leans back, craning his neck to look after her as she hobbles down the hallway, his brow furrowed a little as he frowns in bemusement. As she returns with a shiny package, he blinks — twice — hands lifting up to take it uncertainly. He tries to say something a few times, glancing to the present and then back up, stuttering to a halt each time.

"Wait, it's a— present? You mean, for, for me?" Brows lift, as he jerks a thumb at himself, seemingly confused and surprised.

"Pfft, No… for the other Puppet guy.." Kaylee teases as she flops back on the couch, crossing one leg over the other trying to look smug, but a sudden wracking cough totally ruins the image. She folds hands on her knees and waits eyes lifting in expectation. "Even Santa deserves a gift. Course, it works better if his elf isn't a forgetful wench."

Motioning to the package, Kaylee grins. "I think you'll like it… " She sounds completely certain of this.

"Well— I mean— you didn't have to— " Eric looks up and down from the package to the telepath, seemingly overwhelmed, and then he manages an uncertain but genuine smile, "I mean.. thanks, blondie. Really, you didn't— didn't have to."

Then he's tearing into the wrapping paper like a five year old handed a present on Christmas Morning.

Crossing her arms, Kaylee watches him tear at the wrapping with a grin, "Maybe I didn't, but once you see, you'll agree it would have been a crime to walk by the window." She actually moves to lean over to watch as the box is opened, eyes flicking up to watch his face.

Within the box is a pair of string puppets, one dragon and one princess. Both very old by the looks and made of wood. Probably going back to a much earlier time, and the workmanship is fairly decent. Only thing they are missing is the wires that guide their movements, though the handles lay in the box.

"I know they are not new… but I saw them in an antique store window." She explains softly, as she reaches to run a finger along the wooden ridge dragon head, with it's faded and yellowed finish that barely allows the green to show through. She gives Eric a sad smile. "You left sooo much behind when you started living here. I thought you could use these too… and I thought you might enjoy fixing them up."

A brow arches as she sits up straight. "And.. of course, I got them for the kids too since they love your stories." Flashing him a bright smile.

"Oh…"

The puppeteer's breath catches in his throat as the box comes half-way open and reveals the contents therein, and he slowly lowers the lid to sit to one side, reaching in with reverent fingers to pick up the aged princess marionette in both hands. The head of the puppet is cradled gently, thumb brushing lovingly over the fading paint upon its face, and then he sets it back within, reaching to caress the chipped green scales of the dragon.

"You didn't…" As he looks up, there's tears in his eyes, "You didn't have to— these are beautiful, Kaylee…"

"Ah.. see… that's why I got them." Kaylee explains giving him a small smile. "Who better would appreciate them then you, puppet master?" The smile fades at the corners, eyes dropping to the box. "I know the others brought you here… but I feel like you just knowing me, put you into danger and made it where you couldn't go back." She motions to the box, and looks at him, "This is me, trying to help out the first true friend I've had in a long while. One that wasn't using me to get something they want."

Rubbing fingers across a suddenly sweaty brow, Kaylee glances down and away. "Anyhow.. I'll get back to bed, now. I'm.. sorry I tried to sneak out." She murmurs sheepishly.

Doyle twists slightly, very carefully lifting the box and setting it onto the table near where he was sitting, and then he nearly lunges over to the couch to pull her up a bit from it and into a massive bear hug, crushing her in those big arms of his. He doesn't say anything, face hidden from her as he pulls her into that embrace. Maybe he'll remember, eventually, that she's supposed to breathe.

There is a soft, oof of surprise as Kaylee's pulled into the hug, something she had totally not expected from the large man. Her whole body overly warm from the fever, in fact, she seems to radiate it. Takes her a moment, but she returns the hug awkwardly, blue eyes blinked to hold back her own tears….. or at least until she feels her spine creak… or she think she does. A hand pats him behind his shoulder and she croaks out a, "Ah.. Eric… I need to breath." Her tone slightly teasing.

"Oh, oh— right, right," Eric pulls back, cheeks flushed as he sits her back down - literally, although he doesn't use his own hands to do it - with a waving gesture, ducking his head, "Um, right… here, you should get back to bed, I mean, you're sick, right?" A faint grin, a nervous little chuckle, "You'll feel better soon, I'm sure."

Climbing to her feet again under her own power, Kaylee leans over a gives him another half hug, feeling good about the reaction she got for her gift, "Get some sleep yourself, buddy." She says softly, patting his shoulders before starting to hobble off again. "I promise.. scouts honor and all that I won't try to run away…"

Tonight, anyhow.


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