🂱 • 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚢 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 • 🂱 ~ 𝒹ℴ𝒸 𝒽ℴ𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒹𝒶𝓎

chapter eighteen - perspective

Doc's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Cheyenne. He couldn't believe his eyes. She looked as if she had gone through hell and back. Doc slowed his horse down to a jog to meet Cheyenne, a relieved smile tugging at his lips.

Cheyenne's face appeared slightly more relieved at the sight of Doc, but she loped right past him, constantly looking behind her as if she were being chased.

"Doc! Let's go!" Cheyenne yelled over her shoulder, spurring her horse into a gallop.

Without a word, Doc urged his horse on to keep pace with Cheyenne.

"It's about Ringo!" she yelled over the wind breathlessly.

"What did he do this time?" Doc asked, grabbing the crown of his hat to keep it on his head as they zoomed through the desert.

"I'll tell ya later."

~

"This should be a proficient spot to make camp. It's out of the way from the cowboy's path." Doc said, dismounting his horse. "Just don't make a fire. It will be a smoking 'Here we are!' sign."

Cheyenne nodded, sliding off of her horse.

"May I ask where you got that stallion?" Doc asked, taking inventory of his stock.

Cheyenne shrugged in indifference, petting the blue roan's neck.

"Best if you don't know."

Doc decided not to ask questions. He unsaddled his horse and let the quarter horse graze for the night.

Cheyenne removed the bedroll and shotgun from her saddle. Laying the bedroll down, she slid the shotgun underneath. For safe keeping.

"Doc?"

"Yes darling?"

"Is there a creek near here? Could've sworn I heard some runnin' water."

Doc nodded, pointing down to the riverbank some yards away.

"Alright. I'm gonna take take a dip while we still have some light." Cheyenne decided, glancing at the setting sun in the west. "Oh yeah and Doc— can I have your coat for a bit? I'm gonna wash this dress."

Doc barely took in what she was saying. He just stared at her. The golden sunset shone on her sun kissed face, her midnight blue eyes sparkling like diamonds. Although her blonde hair was caked in dirt and her arms and chest were scratched and bruised, she looked beautiful as ever. She looked untouchable.

"Doc?"

"Yes?" Doc's cheeks flushed pink. "Yes, of course." he shrugged off his black coat and handed it to Cheyenne. She thanked him, taking off towards the creek.

~

"Damn." Doc cursed under his breath as he collected firewood, dropping one of the pieces of kindling.

"Hmm?" Cheyenne mused behind him, reappearing from the creek.

Doc turned to see Cheyenne standing there in his wool coat. It was about two sizes too big, reaching her ankles. Her hair was wet and untangled, her feet bare. She held her wet corset and dress in hand.

"Quit staring, Holliday. Honestly." Cheyenne rolled her eyes, walking over to a mesquite and hanging the dress on the lowest branches to dry.

Doc gulped, regaining his composure quickly.

"Night." Cheyenne said, climbing into her large bedroll, fit for a cowboy.

Doc stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. He didn't get the chance to tell Cheyenne he had forgotten his bedroll. So, he just laid down in he dirt beside her, using his saddle pad as a thin pillow.

~

Cheyenne woke a few hours later to cool wind in her face. The desert air had shifted, going from warm to frigid for the area. She opened her eyes, finding herself staring right at someone's back.

Doc Holliday's

He wasn't in her bedroll, but in the dirt beside her. He appeared to be shivering in his sleep, without a coat. The coat that Cheyenne was wearing. She instantly felt a pang of guilt. She tapped Doc on the shoulder. He woke up and turned over, blinking his brown eyes.

"Rise and shine, Holliday." Cheyenne grinned, patting the space in her bedroll beside her. "I don't want you freezin' to death on me."

Doc just stared. He didn't know what to say.

"Come here." Cheyenne mumbled.

Doc shook his head.

"I should keep watch, darling." Doc sighed.

He couldn't risk to lose her again.

~

There was one thing Doc didn't know. How the hell he was going to tell Cheyenne about Morgan. How would he say it? When would he break the news? How would she react? Was it even his place to tell her?

Doc noticed every freckle that dusted Cheyenne's face in the moonlight as she slept. Her long, wispy eyelashes. Her golden blonde strands of hair framing her face in such a way that she looked like a princess out of a fairytale.

Doc knew that Wyatt trusted him to take care of his sister. He would never let him down.

~

"Get up, Holliday!" Cheyenne laughed, waving his coat in his face. Doc slowly opened his eyes, squinting as blinding sunlight hit his face. As his vision focused, he saw Cheyenne staring down at him. She wore her black dress, still ragged but much cleaner, her curly blonde hair tied in a long ponytail down her back.

Groggily, Doc pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was right in the morning. They should have already been on their way back to Tombstone by then.

"Why didn't you wake me, darling?" Doc asked, slowly rising from the dirt.

"You looked so peaceful." Cheyenne shrugged, picking up her bedroll and tying it to her saddle.

"I guess we should be going now." Doc decided, looking over their temporary campground one last time.

"Christ almighty, I cannot wait to change out of this dress and put actual clothes on!" Cheyenne sighed heavily, mounting her horse. She looked over at Doc, who seemed more distant than usual. "You alright Doc?"

Doc didn't say another word.

Anxiety chewed his stomach into pieces. Potential words that he could say jumbled in his brain like alphabet soup. He wasn't one to get nervous like this.

But when it came to the Earps, it made all the difference.