Wheelsy AU ~ Phonecall 1

[noteasytobepink]

Starla tapped her fingers on the counter and held the phone tucked next to her ear. It was clean, and neat, but not exactly the color she'd wanted for her kitchen. She'd have to see if the rental agreement would let her change the counters to something lighter, something less black marble and more wood perhaps? A light pine? Regardless, it was something to think about while the phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Of course Bill wasn't home, it was the middle of the day over on that coast! Why had she thought he might be? She nibbled a lip and heard the distinctive rattle of the answering machine getting ready to click over. All the money the government had thrown at Wheelsy to get it rebuilt from it's 'natural disaster' and Bill still hadn't upgraded to a better machine. "You still have a tape, Bill?" she laughed when it finally clicked on. "Still? Haven't I been telling you to upgrade since before I came out here? What happened to the one I got you for Christmas? I eve put a nice recording on it for you!" He was still Bill. Ever, and always, Bill.

"Anyway, that part I told you about? I got it! Not even an understudy, isn't that great?" She was beaming ta her kitchen, a bright, accomplished smile. "It's just like I dreamed back when we were little!" Oh, click, message ended. Oh she hadn't even...

...right, dialing back, listening to the rings. "Sorry about that. You need a better machine Bill! Anyway, I was wondering if you could get the 15th and 16th off next month? I've been saving a bit and I do still need an escort to the premier of our movie. Call me back alright?"

Comments

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Exactly," he agreed on what's important.

With the biscuits cut out, he set to putting them on a baking sheet; a shadow of a frown crossing his features on her questions.

"Growin' up, I didn't pay much attention to what my mom was doin' in the kitchen. I'd help out once in awhile, but I never learned what I should have."

The sheet of biscuits goes into the oven and Bill picks up the plastic chicken kitchen timer on the counter and sets it.

"It wasn't 'til later, when I realized I wasn't gonna have anyone takin' care of me, that I went back an' asked her to show me how."

Pulling out a pot, he starts the burner on the stove and begins making Southern style gravy.

"Sometimes y'just need a little bit of home."

[noteasytobepink]

She folded her good arm on the table and rested her chin on her wrist, watching him, then chuckled. "Mr. Creed used to say, all the time 'Sure, it's nice to think someone will take care of you but you gotta face it. People get hurt, people leave, and people die. In all those cases you're left alone, so you are going to damn well learn to do for yourself, and just be grateful when someone else offers'." The impression was full of rumbly snarling, as if Mr. Creed was just this side of a humanoid tiger or lion.

Either that or a really angry man most the time.

"Damned if he wasn't right."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill chuckled at the impression, and nodded in agreement to the words.

"Livin' alone ain't so bad, but y'gotta know how to do it."

The gravy was thick and creamy (and lump free!), and Bill turned off the burner just as the chicken on the counter 'dinged'.

Laying a clean dish towel into a bowl, Bill plucked the biscuits from the hot baking sheet and dropped them into the little terry cloth nest; wrapping them up and passing them over to Clarice to set on the table.

The gravy ended up on the table, along with a jar of strawberry and one of grape jelly. And of course, butter.

Passing Clarice a plate and a fork and butter knife, Bill sat down with his own and a cup of coffee.

"Alright now, this is how we do it."

Slicing one of the warm, flaky biscuits in half, Bill spread butter on both sides before putting it back together. He then set the biscuit on the middle of his plate, and ladled a healthy serving of gravy over it.

[noteasytobepink]

"Well, Mr. Creed is a very skill oriented person. If it can be learned, it should be learned, that way no matter what happens you're not helpless." She chuckled and eyed the whole biscuit setup. Butter she could agree with, sometimes jam, sometimes not...gravy was with meat and stew though and there was a complete lack of either.

"You know your ancestors here in the great South lands started eating this in order to trick their bodies into believing they'd had meat right?" Yep, teasing, but hell if she wasn't going to try it.

"Eh,".

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

That 'eh' was like a slap, and Bill looked for a moment like he'd received one.

"Hm. Sorry it ain't what you're lookin' for. If I weren't so hungover I'd of made it with sausage."

He'd have to try that next time and see if it rated any better.

The truth was, though, that this was comfort food. She was right about the meat thing, but it wasn't just his ancestors. Growing up, Bill and his mom didn't have a lot, and so biscuits and gravy was something warm and heavy to fill an empty belly.

"I got honey, or mustard, if you'd rather have some of that. Or you can have somethin' else an' I'll handle these. Looks like I made a lot, but if I take 'em down to the station they'll get snatched up quick."

[noteasytobepink]

She reached out to pat his shoulder consolingly. "I grew up with Mr. Creed. He is a mutant, like me, but different? Very much a carnivore. He would get sick if he skipped meat too often, so I guess I'm used to it? If it isn't on hand I tend to hunt it just out of habit, but I really do prefer store stuff these days." Because living off squirrel was doable, yes, just not a lot of fun.

"I'll finish this, don't fret." Another childhood lesson: Never waste food.

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I don't hunt, but if you feel the need you'll have t'get a permit." Ever the cop, even half dead.

Grabbing the aspirin off the table finally, Bill swallowed them and chased them down with some coffee.

He polished off one biscuit, and helped himself to another; heaping on the gravy since it didn't seem like Clarice was going to mind.

[noteasytobepink]

"Nope, I am well acquainted with the store now, which means no hunting." Thankfully! Unless when the proper season came he wanted her to hunt of course, to stock his freezer back up.

To be fair she tried his biscuits with every topping he supplied (both jams, butter alone, mustard) and settled for biscuits with butter (and maybe cheese) as the best route. Gods alone knew where she put all that food, she had to have a hell of a metabolism, but she did give everything an equal try. "Mustard. I'm pretty sure you suggested mustard as a joke now." Ew ew ew. Yes, she was finally leaning back in her chair with the rest of her beer.

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Not really. The venison she'd found was a gift from someone, and the fact that it'd been sitting in his freezer since last deer season was a show of how often he actually ate the stuff.

Bill had three biscuits and all of the gravy, and half of one with some jam on it before he pushed his plate aside.

Hunching on his elbows on the table, he gave a short chuckle and shook his head.

"Nope. Some folks like 'em that way. 'Course, some folks like mustard in everything; biscuits, grits, fries... I like it with baloney sandwiches myself, but not on the rest."

He sipped his coffee, nursing the warmth between his hands.

"I reckon you'll find a lot about us strange, an' vice versa. Don't know if you've got that kind of regional differences where you're from, but they're pretty strong here."

[noteasytobepink]

"Some folk I will be sure to talk to about the appeal of it if I ever meet them." Clarice chuckled and toyed with the crumbs left on her plate.

"Hmmm...where I'm from it's more a question of 'Where did you grow up?'. In a cage, well, you'll eat anything, only years later will you have the nerve to say you don't like something. Wild and free? They have their favorites, most variations on how to cook a damn squirrel. If you grew up before Apocalypse, well, you missed things and waxed nostalgic...and if you grew up privileged, favored lords of the order, you had whatever you damn well pleased and made sure everyone knew it."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"That all sounds pretty screwed up. Y'must be pretty glad t'be away from all of that."

It's hard to believe someone so cheerful came from a world like that.

"What about where you been? Before here, anything better out there?"

[noteasytobepink]

"Survival of the fittest," she shrugged. "As Law. The 'fittest' were given free rein in anything and everything. Everyone else did as they could, often that meant dying, or learning to survive in virtual slavery." And no,m it hadn't been a good place...

...

"I miss the people I knew." Simple as that. It had been her world. Her fight. Her people. She tried not to wonder about what the long term effects of being worldless were.

"Some better, some worse, some just different. There's anything, and everything out there as far as I can tell."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

He listened, and nodded, and hell, in the face of all of that how could he complain about anything going on with him.

"Can't imagine somethin' worse, but I'm glad you got t'see better."

He hoped Wheelsy proved to be a better place for her while she was here.

Picking up his plate, he stood and went to the sink to start washing.

"Y'outta get some sleep. M'sorry you didn't get none last night."

[noteasytobepink]

He could complain because it was current, and real, and very much of immediate import. Hers wasn't. Simple as that. It did tend t give her views and insights on things though, which led to action usually. Or at least advice.

"Law of the universe Bill. No matter where you are, what you're doing, or what you're going through...there's always something worse out there somewhere. Always something better too, but hey, sometimes knowing your problems are not the worst is nice?" She grinned, that simple, radiant smile despite her words.

"I didn't sleep because I'm an idiot, nothing more." Mr. Creed had once counseled never trying to sleep angry. It led to MORE nightmares than usual and she hadn't wanted that.

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Sure, I've heard that before." He nodded to the way things were.

He gathered the other dishes he'd used in making breakfast and washed them.

"Today's gonna be one of them couch days I told you about before, so I won't be makin' any racket or nothin' if you wanted t'grab a nap."

[noteasytobepink]

"Yeah, well, sometimes it's a lesson that gets crammed down throats," she chuckled and stood to dry things again. It was a habit! She had to help!

"And yes, I believe I will take a nap, since I wouldn't want to interrupt your 'lump on a couch' moments with my 'zombie need brains' moments."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

The zombie comment sparked a cold feeling at the base of his spine, but Bill recovered in a heartbeat and handed over the last dish.

"Sounds like a plan. An' I reckon one of us'll get around to makin' dinner at some point." So he wasn't going to worry about it until that time came.

[noteasytobepink]

"One or the other of us will," she agreed easily. "Dinner tends to be a 'serve when hungry' affair anyway!" She grinned and dried the last dish.

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

He nodded in agreement, and held out his hand for the dish towel when she was done with it so he could dry his hands.

"Yeah, an' I'm gonna be good for awhile."

Dropping the towel onto the back of a chair, made his way to the living room.

[noteasytobepink]

And she dropped a cheerful pat on his shoulder and headed toward her room. What? Naps started NOW. "Biscuits are filling, thank you, etc, enjoy the couch I'ma url up on a bed."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill took a minute to clear his empty bottles off of the coffee table and chuck them in the bin, then flopped down on the couch and started channel surfing.

He ended up on a M*A*S*H marathon, and drifted off before the first episode was over.