(no subject)

[inthetapestry]

Dave knows by now the way that Kim likes her coffee - strong and black, staple of med students everywhere - and he's got it boiling as he waits for her to show up at the apartment.

The cautious way she sounded on the phone, he thinks it might come in handy.

Comments

[bannion_sight]

"-- you'd still have won?"

Kim pushes a lock of white hair back from her face (rather ineffectively, as it falls forward again not three seconds later) and grins impishly at him.

"I don't think there's anything you couldn't tackle. Literally."

[inthetapestry]

Dave resists the urge to push it back again.

"Believe it or not," he says, deadpan, "there are one or two things that doesn't solve."

[bannion_sight]

She gasps in mock horror.

"You're kidding, right?"

[inthetapestry]

Dave breaks into a grin.

"Yeah, actually. The opposing counsel have started bringing football pads."

[bannion_sight]

Delighted laughter peals out.

"Now all you need is are cheerleaders."

[inthetapestry]

"You volunteering?"

[bannion_sight]

"Are you kidding?" Kim makes an eloquent face, still laughing. "Can you see me in one of those outfits?"

"I'll stick to being the team medic, thanks."

[inthetapestry]

"That'll be hard when you're in England."

Dave says it without thinking, and could kick himself after.

[bannion_sight]

Her smile fades.

"Dave..."

There's an ache in her voice, in her throat, in her heart.

[inthetapestry]

"- sorry," Dave mutters, his gaze dropping.

[bannion_sight]

"Don't," she says, helplessly. "Don't apologize. It's not -- just -- "

Impossibly hard, she thinks, on the verge of tears. First Meg, and now this, and how had she ever thought any of this could ever be simple?

"-- I can't stay here, I can't, but it's not fair that I should-- I can't leave you alone with only the memory of, of everything, and I don't know what to do!"

[inthetapestry]

It's not just me who'll be alone, Dave thinks, but he doesn't say this.

He puts his hand out over hers - it more than covers it.

"Look. Kim - Kim, it's okay. If you need to go away, I get it. I'll miss you a whole hell of a lot, but I get it. I just -

"Maybe - maybe don't rush into things. Go away for a while. Come back in a bit. See how you feel."

[bannion_sight]

"The paperwork's already done," she tells him. Even as she confirms that she's leaving, Kim unconsciously turns her hand under Dave's, linking her fingers with his.

"I've even quit my job -- both the clinic and the hospital shifts."

[inthetapestry]

"Without telling me," Dave says, "you did all that."

It's not accusation in his voice. He's just laying it out.

[bannion_sight]

She winces anyway.

"I didn't know how to tell you. Or -- or anyone, really, but--"

[inthetapestry]

"Yeah."




If there's nothing keeping her here, then there's nothing keeping her here.

But he still doesn't understand, really.

Glastonbury Tor is just a place, now.

"I guess I still don't under-Kim, if this is permanent . . . hell, what are you going to do?"

[bannion_sight]

"I thought I'd start a little practice of my own," Kim says, quietly. "Family medicine; kids with colds and the like."

[inthetapestry]

"By yourself. Alone, where you don't know anyone.



"Is that really what you want?"

[bannion_sight]

In the silence that follows, Kim lowers her gaze. Her hair falls forward, hiding her face as she stares at the floor.

She hasn't said a word, but it may well be an answer all the same.

[inthetapestry]

"Kim - after everything -

"Haven't you been alone enough?"

[bannion_sight]

For several seconds, it doesn't seem as though she's going to answer him, but then--

"I need space more than I used to," Kim says softly. She lifts her head, looking up at him. "Like Ysanne did. That's why she lived by the lake; well, in part. The place itself matters, too -- and that's part of it as well. That's why I chose Glastonbury."

She takes a small, ragged breath and continues,

"You're-- you're not wrong, Dave, but I don't know what else I can do, and I have to do something."

[inthetapestry]

Yes, and look where Ysanne ended up, Dave thinks, grimly.

He takes a breath.

"Well. If you get - if you're out there, and you feel that you need company . . . just call me, all right? Anytime. I mean it. I'll figure out a way to get there."

[bannion_sight]

She squeezes his hand, smiling.

"Careful what you offer," Kim teases. "You might find me trying to pack you along in my luggage."

Her smile softens, becoming more serious, as she adds,

"But thank you, Dave. I mean it, more than I can say."