for Raylan - Halloween plot

[sluttylyingliar]

 It's a calm day, considering. No monsters have crawled out of the fucking bushes and she actually feels okay sitting outside on the porch, like it's just another day. She should go see Danny, later. There's still this lingering feeling like he could break all apart and she wishes she could do anything to make it better. Make him magically okay.

She settles against her chair, eyes closed with her bare feet up on the table. She hears Raylan coming before she sees him, used to his gait after all these years. Things are still awkward between them, but she's trying to hope. Hope it'll be okay. 

"Hey babe," she murmurs, opening her eyes as he walks up. He just stares for a long moment, enough that she starts to fidget. Without warning he kicks the leg of the table. "Get your fucking feet off the furniture," he mutters before turning to walk inside. Her breath gets caught in her throat, whole body going cold as she sits in stunned silence. "Raylan!" she calls, pushing up and following him inside. "Raylan, what the fuck was that? Are you okay? What the hell was that?"

He whirls around, eyes flat and angry as he stalks up to her. "Don't back talk to me," he says before backhanding her across the face, hard enough to send her to her knees. She chokes out a cry as Jess starts to fuss, fingers digging into the hard floor as he moves to Jess's room. "Shut the fucking kid up, right now." 

"Stop!" she gasps, pushing up onto wobbly legs.  It's not...it's Raylan. Raylan hit her. Jesus Christ. Jesus fucking Christ. "Leave him alone." She lunges forward, grabbing at his arm as hard as she can. "Fucking stop right now." This time, he hits her with his fist closed, right across the cheek, splitting the thin skin around her eye open as she crashes to the ground. She moans, hand cradling her face as sticky blood runs between her fingers before crawling towards Jess's door. He turns back around, thank God, shoving her out of his way with his boot before slamming the front door open hard enough to pull it off its hinge and leaves her. On the floor, alone. She scrambles into Jess's room, backs against his crib and starts to shake, hands smearing blood on the light, wooden floor. He hit her. He hit her.

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[angriestman]

It hasn't been easy. He's sporting a graze on his forehead from a bullet that he barely dodged in time and his shirt's got a ragged hole it from a blade. His ribs are rapidly bruising and he's hoping that he isn't carrying any cracked ribs. He's seen more of Mags and Arlo than he'd like, but he's lost them for now.

And he has to get home. He has to get home.

The door's off its hinges and Raylan's got his gun in his hand when he steps into the hut.

"Rach? Rachel, are you here?"

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel chokes on a gasp, flinging one bloody hand against the crib as she gets up on her knees. She doesn't know what the hell she can do to protect Jess, but human shield seems like the best first option.

Maybe he'll just go away if she stays quiet. Jess, of course, doesn't feel the same and starts to fuss as soon as he hears Raylan's voice.

[angriestman]

He hears the sound from Jess' room and makes a bee-line, his gun still in his hand. When he sees her crouched there like that, he freezes.

"What the hell..?"

[sluttylyingliar]

"Don't," she moans, flinging one hand up like she could stop him. Not now that he's got his gun out. Jesus God.

She scrambles a few feet to the right, gripping Jess's small, wooden bat. Raylan had brought it home for him. Her husband had brought it home for him. "Stay away from him. Don't touch me."

[angriestman]

He's frowning, confusing, but he does stop, dead in his tracks, the gun still in his hand as he watches her, head tilted slightly to one side.

"Rach," he says, quietly. "Sweetheart. What happened?"

[sluttylyingliar]

"What?" she breathes, tears falling as she watches him. Watches the gun. "You. You hit me. You...what do you mean what happened?"

The bat is still gripped tight as she tries to catch her breath.

[angriestman]

"I...what? I hit you?" Raylan shakes his head, knuckle white as he grips his gun. "I didn't...Rach, I wasn't even here. I only just got here."

He freezes.

"Shit. It was me, wasn't it? It...looked exactly like me?"

[sluttylyingliar]

She nods slowly, still not moving even as a tiny bit of hope flares. Hope that she wasn't completely fucking wrong about her entire relationship.

But it still could have been him. Possession or who the hell knows. But his face wasn't banged up last time she saw him...

"You hit me," she murmurs, carefully wiping away a mixture of blood and tears. "Twice. You kicked me. It was exactly you."

[angriestman]

"Jesus, Rach, that wasn't me," he says, all of the colour draining out of his face as he puts the pieces together. He's lost blood on his way here and, for a moment, his head spins dizzly.

"Listen, I know it's hard right now but you're going to have to trust me. Because if you ran into...that me already then Arlo and Mags aren't going to be far behid him and I've got to get you to somewhere safe." His jaw tightens. "It's Harlan, Rachel. It's everything I managed to leave behind when I was nineteen years old."

And he's so, so sorry he didn't warn her sooner. He had no idea how bad this was going to get.

[sluttylyingliar]

"And this is what you've been seeing this whole time," she says, voice dull as she doesn't relax her grip on the bat one bit. It wasn't him. It wasn't him and she should be fucking overjoyed but all she can think is that he should have seen this coming. And a tiny part of her is still scared of him getting too close.

"Did they do that to you?"

[angriestman]

He looks down at himself, barely even aware of any damage that he's taken. He nods, shifting his grip on the gun in his hand.

"Yeah," he says, nodding. "Listen: we have to get you safe and then I am going to go get some help and I am going to put this down for good," he says. "I'm sorry, Rach. I'm really, really sorry, but I need you to trust me right now. I need you to bring Jess and I need you to trust me."

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel slowly rises to her feet, watching him closely before turning to scoop Jess up. "Fine," she says, nodding at the door. "You take me somewhere I can keep him safe and then you go end this. Then you come the fuck home in one piece and talk to me. That's what I'm going to need."

[angriestman]

"I promise," he says and he doesn't lean in to kiss her, but he does meet her eyes for a moment. "C'mon, I'll get you to the compound and then I'll double back and try and find Andrea or somebody."

Somebody who knows what they're doing with gun.

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel nods, eyes wide as she wonders if they're really going to say goodbye like this, but unable to bring herself to touch him. She believes him, but she still wants to flinch every time those fists get too close.

"You have to come home," she says, voice breaking as she moves toward the now broken front door. "Please, Raylan."

[angriestman]

"Listen to me, Rach," he says, his hands still at his sides, not touching her, but ever inch of love he's ever felt for her is right there in his eyes, "I am coming back to the two of you. Do you hear me?"

If Harlan didn't get him before, he's sure as fuck going to make sure it doesn't get him now.

[sluttylyingliar]

She nods again, carefully reaching out to brush his hand before they head up to the compound. It's a long, tense walk as they move as quickly as they can. She's got Jess as shielded as she can and she'll be damned if anything gets within five feet of him. She's scared and she's pissed but right now, Raylan and Jess are the only thing on her mind. The rest can come later.

[angriestman]

They get there without any real incident and he leaves her with people he trusts, people who know what they're doing. Before he leaves her, heads out to find Andrea, he steps in close He still doesn't touch her, though. He's waiting for permission.

"Keep your head down, okay? I'll be back. I promise."

[sluttylyingliar]

"I'll wait for you here," she promises, voice starting to choke up as she steps up, placing a hand on his chest for a moment before leaning up for a quick kiss. Her heart is still racing, and she's not sure how long it will take for her to be comfortable with him touching her but she can't let him leave like that.

"Kiss your kid. Then get back here."

[angriestman]

"Yes, Ma'am," he says, and then he bends, free hand cradling the back of Jess' head as he kisses curling reddish hair.

And then it's one more glance at Rachel before it's time to go.