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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: A to Z Challenge Chapter 25: Yearning
Fandom: White Pine original fiction
Pairing: Travis Murphy/Ethan McDowell (together again at last!)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,204
Summary: Ethan is finally home, but comfort is still a world away.
Author’s Note: Written for the A to Z Challenge at 1_million_words. Halle-freaking-lujah. I am so close to finishing, I can taste it. YAS.
Continued from here.
In the aftermath of everything that had come before, Ethan finally found himself cuddled in bed with Travis, Brennan and Ryan. Because of course those two fuzz balls couldn’t be left out of anything. It was a feline rule, or so he’d been told anyway. Brennan had curled up on Ethan’s chest impeding the progress of his late dinner while Ryan prowled the foot of the bed looking for the comfiest spot.
“Mama wanted us to stay,” Travis said, shoveling rice into his mouth. “You wouldn’t have a cat on you right now if we had.”
Ethan knew that he’d upset Aracely when he’d declined her offer of a hot meal. Even though he knew she understood his need to get home and crash, her maternal instincts were much stronger. “She wanted to mother me,” he laughed, nudging Travis with his knee. “We can go over for dinner tomorrow and she can shower me with all the motherly glory I never got as a kid.”
Travis smiled back at Ethan, holding out a bite of chile relleno. Ethan managed to take the bite without dislodging either the cat on his chest or the one that had taken up residence on his lower legs. “She loves you,” he said, taking a bite for himself. “All she wants is to make sure that you’re okay.”
“I know,” Ethan said, motioning for another bite of something – anything. “I’m just so damn tired. Reid drained me when we were together, being in his vicinity after all these years only sucked more life out of me.”
“He was definitely a soulless demon,” Travis agreed. “But you’re here now, with me.” He looked at Ryan who was currently kneading Ethan’s kneecap. “And them. But you’re home.”
Leaning over and kissing Travis’ mouth, Ethan smiled. “I am home,” he said. “Better late than never, right?”
“Right,” Travis nodded. A knock at the door had them both looking towards the front of the house as if they could see through walls. Grunting, Travis kicked off the covers and slid out of bed. “I’ll go see who that is.”
“Okay,” Ethan said, holding out his good hand. “Leave me the food, would ya?”
Travis handed the plate of food over and padded out of the bedroom. Ethan fed himself clumsily and listened to Travis’ footsteps on the hardwood floors. He heard Travis answer the door, mutter a few words and return to the bedroom.
“You need to get up,” Travis said, leaning against the wall. “McCallum’s here to see you.”
“I am not working tonight,” Ethan grumbled. He held out the plate for Travis to take and got out of bed. Following his husband down the hallway, he ran through a million reasons why the sheriff would come all the way out here tonight. What couldn’t wait until morning?
“Ethan,” McCallum said as he and Travis appeared in the living room. “So good to have you home.”
He reached a hand out and Ethan shook it as best he could with his forearm in a cast. “I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am to be here.”
“Alex had nothing but good things to say about you,” McCallum continued. “Asked if I’d be willing to give you up full-time, especially now that he’s down an officer.”
Ethan winced. “As much as I like and respect Jordan, I am more than content with my life here.” He glanced at Travis and smiled. “If it were only the two of us, it’d be different and I might have said yes. But with Travis’ parents here in White Pine, there’s no way he’ll leave and the commute is a bitch.”
A broad grin spread across McCallum’s face. “You have no idea how relived I am to hear that. I was honestly worried you’d change your mind about small town living after your time in Garret.”
Truth was, Ethan had loved his stay in Garret. Minus Travis and his parents, it had been the perfect place. Not too horribly large, but not so small you couldn’t think without your neighbor hearing it. But he liked his job in White Pine, loved the solace of the woods and the feeling of community he got anytime they went into town. “You don’t have to worry about losing me, sheriff. I like it here.”
“Good,” McCallum said, ending the discussion. “You ready to come back to work or do you need a few days off?”
Ethan’s face scrunched up. “You don’t mean like tonight, do you?”
Laughing, McCallum shook his head. “Heavens no,” he said. “You had quite a day. I figured we could at least give you one night off, McDowell. That was some damn fine work you did helping those poor girls.”
Relieved, Ethan smiled. “How about I start back on my regular shift?” That was Sunday night and gave him some time with Travis – and his family – before falling back into their old routine. “Will that work for you?”
McCallum nodded. “It works perfectly. We’ve been training a new officer while you’ve been away and he’ll be happy to get off the night shift.”
Briefly, he wondered why he didn’t get to switch to days and then remembered that the night shift worked better with Travis’ internal schedule, so he held his tongue. Until a thought occurred to him. “Your new recruit,” he asked, “it’s a local person?”
“It is,” McCallum confirmed.
Good lord. “It’s not Kyle, is it? That little shit shot me, you know.”
“Yes, Ethan,” Travis said, patting his husband’s arm gently. “We can’t ever forget.”
“No,” McCallum laughed. “Not Kyle. For now, the boy’s content to clean up the station and learn from the rest of us, you included.”
That made Ethan feel better, knowing that he’d been able to get through to the troubled kid. “So, if it’s not Kyle, who is it?”
“The nephew of our postmaster,” McCallum told them. “His name is Connor and he’s Joe’s sister’s son. Good kid and has been really taking to the job.”
“Not that there’s much to dislike,” Travis joked. “This is a pretty quiet town.”
“Thankfully for us, it is,” McCallum agreed. “Now that you’re home, Ethan, we can send Conner to the city to train at their academy so that he has an actual police background when he returns.”
It made perfect sense to Ethan and he said as much. McCallum, being the intuitive person he was, took the hint, reiterated his gratitude to Ethan for helping out Jordan and bid the boys goodnight.
Locking the door behind the sheriff, Ethan turned off the porch light. “Maybe no one else will think we’re home,” he teased. “I want to curl up with you and go to sleep.”
“Already,” Travis asked, eyebrow cocked in question.
“Well,” Ethan hesitated, “maybe I can spare you a few minutes before I crash."
“You’re so damn generous, E,” Travis chuckled, pulling his husband into a tight hug. “Let’s go kick the damn cats out of our room so we can snuggle without the fear of having our feet attacked in the most inopportune moments.”
“Deal,” Ethan said, sprinting down the hall.
“Hey,” Travis hollered after him. “Wait for me, you jerk!”
Ethan just laughed.
Concludes here.
Fandom: White Pine original fiction
Pairing: Travis Murphy/Ethan McDowell (together again at last!)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,204
Summary: Ethan is finally home, but comfort is still a world away.
Author’s Note: Written for the A to Z Challenge at 1_million_words. Halle-freaking-lujah. I am so close to finishing, I can taste it. YAS.
Continued from here.
In the aftermath of everything that had come before, Ethan finally found himself cuddled in bed with Travis, Brennan and Ryan. Because of course those two fuzz balls couldn’t be left out of anything. It was a feline rule, or so he’d been told anyway. Brennan had curled up on Ethan’s chest impeding the progress of his late dinner while Ryan prowled the foot of the bed looking for the comfiest spot.
“Mama wanted us to stay,” Travis said, shoveling rice into his mouth. “You wouldn’t have a cat on you right now if we had.”
Ethan knew that he’d upset Aracely when he’d declined her offer of a hot meal. Even though he knew she understood his need to get home and crash, her maternal instincts were much stronger. “She wanted to mother me,” he laughed, nudging Travis with his knee. “We can go over for dinner tomorrow and she can shower me with all the motherly glory I never got as a kid.”
Travis smiled back at Ethan, holding out a bite of chile relleno. Ethan managed to take the bite without dislodging either the cat on his chest or the one that had taken up residence on his lower legs. “She loves you,” he said, taking a bite for himself. “All she wants is to make sure that you’re okay.”
“I know,” Ethan said, motioning for another bite of something – anything. “I’m just so damn tired. Reid drained me when we were together, being in his vicinity after all these years only sucked more life out of me.”
“He was definitely a soulless demon,” Travis agreed. “But you’re here now, with me.” He looked at Ryan who was currently kneading Ethan’s kneecap. “And them. But you’re home.”
Leaning over and kissing Travis’ mouth, Ethan smiled. “I am home,” he said. “Better late than never, right?”
“Right,” Travis nodded. A knock at the door had them both looking towards the front of the house as if they could see through walls. Grunting, Travis kicked off the covers and slid out of bed. “I’ll go see who that is.”
“Okay,” Ethan said, holding out his good hand. “Leave me the food, would ya?”
Travis handed the plate of food over and padded out of the bedroom. Ethan fed himself clumsily and listened to Travis’ footsteps on the hardwood floors. He heard Travis answer the door, mutter a few words and return to the bedroom.
“You need to get up,” Travis said, leaning against the wall. “McCallum’s here to see you.”
“I am not working tonight,” Ethan grumbled. He held out the plate for Travis to take and got out of bed. Following his husband down the hallway, he ran through a million reasons why the sheriff would come all the way out here tonight. What couldn’t wait until morning?
“Ethan,” McCallum said as he and Travis appeared in the living room. “So good to have you home.”
He reached a hand out and Ethan shook it as best he could with his forearm in a cast. “I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am to be here.”
“Alex had nothing but good things to say about you,” McCallum continued. “Asked if I’d be willing to give you up full-time, especially now that he’s down an officer.”
Ethan winced. “As much as I like and respect Jordan, I am more than content with my life here.” He glanced at Travis and smiled. “If it were only the two of us, it’d be different and I might have said yes. But with Travis’ parents here in White Pine, there’s no way he’ll leave and the commute is a bitch.”
A broad grin spread across McCallum’s face. “You have no idea how relived I am to hear that. I was honestly worried you’d change your mind about small town living after your time in Garret.”
Truth was, Ethan had loved his stay in Garret. Minus Travis and his parents, it had been the perfect place. Not too horribly large, but not so small you couldn’t think without your neighbor hearing it. But he liked his job in White Pine, loved the solace of the woods and the feeling of community he got anytime they went into town. “You don’t have to worry about losing me, sheriff. I like it here.”
“Good,” McCallum said, ending the discussion. “You ready to come back to work or do you need a few days off?”
Ethan’s face scrunched up. “You don’t mean like tonight, do you?”
Laughing, McCallum shook his head. “Heavens no,” he said. “You had quite a day. I figured we could at least give you one night off, McDowell. That was some damn fine work you did helping those poor girls.”
Relieved, Ethan smiled. “How about I start back on my regular shift?” That was Sunday night and gave him some time with Travis – and his family – before falling back into their old routine. “Will that work for you?”
McCallum nodded. “It works perfectly. We’ve been training a new officer while you’ve been away and he’ll be happy to get off the night shift.”
Briefly, he wondered why he didn’t get to switch to days and then remembered that the night shift worked better with Travis’ internal schedule, so he held his tongue. Until a thought occurred to him. “Your new recruit,” he asked, “it’s a local person?”
“It is,” McCallum confirmed.
Good lord. “It’s not Kyle, is it? That little shit shot me, you know.”
“Yes, Ethan,” Travis said, patting his husband’s arm gently. “We can’t ever forget.”
“No,” McCallum laughed. “Not Kyle. For now, the boy’s content to clean up the station and learn from the rest of us, you included.”
That made Ethan feel better, knowing that he’d been able to get through to the troubled kid. “So, if it’s not Kyle, who is it?”
“The nephew of our postmaster,” McCallum told them. “His name is Connor and he’s Joe’s sister’s son. Good kid and has been really taking to the job.”
“Not that there’s much to dislike,” Travis joked. “This is a pretty quiet town.”
“Thankfully for us, it is,” McCallum agreed. “Now that you’re home, Ethan, we can send Conner to the city to train at their academy so that he has an actual police background when he returns.”
It made perfect sense to Ethan and he said as much. McCallum, being the intuitive person he was, took the hint, reiterated his gratitude to Ethan for helping out Jordan and bid the boys goodnight.
Locking the door behind the sheriff, Ethan turned off the porch light. “Maybe no one else will think we’re home,” he teased. “I want to curl up with you and go to sleep.”
“Already,” Travis asked, eyebrow cocked in question.
“Well,” Ethan hesitated, “maybe I can spare you a few minutes before I crash."
“You’re so damn generous, E,” Travis chuckled, pulling his husband into a tight hug. “Let’s go kick the damn cats out of our room so we can snuggle without the fear of having our feet attacked in the most inopportune moments.”
“Deal,” Ethan said, sprinting down the hall.
“Hey,” Travis hollered after him. “Wait for me, you jerk!”
Ethan just laughed.
Concludes here.
