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Fic: Slice of Apple and a Chunk o' Cheddar
Title: Slice of Apple and a Chunk o' Cheddar
Author: Erin (erinm_4600@yahoo.com)
Characters, Pairing: Gulch and Carter (mention of DG)
Rating: G
Summary: Another year, another birthday; Gulch reflects on life since DG.
Warning: post-series *Written for Round 14A at tm_challenge.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
Elmer Gulch always was considered an odd duck. Of his four brothers, he was the only one who didn't go out for the high school football team. Of course, he still trained with them, every Saturday. Looking back, the scrimmages and workouts did come in handy when he applied to the Sherriff's Department. Tackling really came in handy, once he was having to subdue criminals. However, spending all his time in the patrol car didn't give Gulch much opportunity to work out.
Every evening, following his shift, Gulch found himself in the weight room of the recreation center. He knew all the regulars and they always took a few minutes, before and between repetitions, to catch up on the news of the day. Some of the other deputies would come in, on occasion, and they'd discuss the excitement of their days - not that there was much excitement in their one-horse county.
Gulch enjoyed having a set routine - right down to having his television set to the same channel every night, so that, when he got home from a shift and his workout, he was set to simply turn on the television in his small apartment, start dinner and relax. It wasn't the most exotic life for a man to live, but he was content.
Every day rolled into another; time passed, laws were broken and tickets were written. On occasion, Gulch would sit at a red light and wonder where he'd be if he'd followed in his brothers' footsteps, left PoDunk for bigger and brighter... asked Louanne Dobbs to the Halloween Dance his junior year. And, once the light changed to green, he'd shake off the thoughts and continue about his day.
Life had become boring and, just when it had become boring enough for him to consider another line of work, he met a brunette on a motorcycle. From that moment on, his life had been far from boring. She was his Ahab, his Marley... and, part of him actually liked it. She kept his life interesting and, whether either of them would admit it, they had become friends. Not friends to hang out with at the mall - which was two counties away - but acquaintances, who liked to rib each other, throw out insults and generally irk each other.
On his birthday, DG's senior year of high school, she... got caught. Her crime wasn't exactly due the punishment of life in prison, but Gulch wanted to teach her a lesson. The girl was reckless and, if she wasn't careful, would find herself in prison. Hank and Emily had gone out of town overnight, leaving DG home alone. He wasn't about to let her go home alone - the weather had turned and there was a tornado watch (and, he'd promised Emily that he would keep an eye on her) - so he locked her up.
She'd complained about her dinner, to which Gulch asked what she'd prefer. When DG replied that she'd rather eat a slice of apple pie with a chunk of cheddar on top, he simply laughed and walked away, leaving DG with her Hungry Man meatloaf dinner. After that night, every time she got caught breaking the law - or, at least, thought she got away with it - he'd show up at the Hilltop and order a slice of apple pie, with a chunk of cheddar on top. It wasn't the most appealing meal in the world, but, if one took the cheddar off the pie before it started to melt - and ate them separately - it wasn't so bad.
One particular evening, on the way home from his workout, Gulch threw tradition into the wind and pulled into an empty space at the Hilltop. Carter gave him a slightly-concerned nod as Gulch took a seat at the counter. It was late, so there weren't a lot of customers in the place. Carter came from the kitchen and nodded again.
"Sheriff."
"Carter," Gulch nodded in return. "Can I trouble you for a slice of apple pie?" Carter raised an eyebrow, but nodded and moved toward the refrigerated case. Gulch leaned against the counter and watched for a moment, before adding: "Throw a chunk of cheddar on there, too, would you?" Carter looked back at Gulch and nodded. DG had been gone for a while, so the order had him a little baffled - Carter had figured it out after the third time DG huffed and moaned about a ticket, not ten minutes after he'd been given a similar order.
Moving back down the counter, Carter set the plate in front of Gulch and offered a roll of silverware. "Coffee?" he asked curiously, as Gulch didn't remove the cheese. Gulch shook his head and dug the fork into the pie, getting apple and cheddar together for one bite. Gulch held the fork up to Carter and gave him a nod, then stuck the fork in his mouth. As he slowly chewed the combination, Gulch poked at the pie again, prepping another forkful.
"Happy Birthday, Deeg," he muttered, then took another bite.
My thanks! \O/
Author: Erin (erinm_4600@yahoo.com)
Characters, Pairing: Gulch and Carter (mention of DG)
Rating: G
Summary: Another year, another birthday; Gulch reflects on life since DG.
Warning: post-series *Written for Round 14A at tm_challenge.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
Elmer Gulch always was considered an odd duck. Of his four brothers, he was the only one who didn't go out for the high school football team. Of course, he still trained with them, every Saturday. Looking back, the scrimmages and workouts did come in handy when he applied to the Sherriff's Department. Tackling really came in handy, once he was having to subdue criminals. However, spending all his time in the patrol car didn't give Gulch much opportunity to work out.
Every evening, following his shift, Gulch found himself in the weight room of the recreation center. He knew all the regulars and they always took a few minutes, before and between repetitions, to catch up on the news of the day. Some of the other deputies would come in, on occasion, and they'd discuss the excitement of their days - not that there was much excitement in their one-horse county.
Gulch enjoyed having a set routine - right down to having his television set to the same channel every night, so that, when he got home from a shift and his workout, he was set to simply turn on the television in his small apartment, start dinner and relax. It wasn't the most exotic life for a man to live, but he was content.
Every day rolled into another; time passed, laws were broken and tickets were written. On occasion, Gulch would sit at a red light and wonder where he'd be if he'd followed in his brothers' footsteps, left PoDunk for bigger and brighter... asked Louanne Dobbs to the Halloween Dance his junior year. And, once the light changed to green, he'd shake off the thoughts and continue about his day.
Life had become boring and, just when it had become boring enough for him to consider another line of work, he met a brunette on a motorcycle. From that moment on, his life had been far from boring. She was his Ahab, his Marley... and, part of him actually liked it. She kept his life interesting and, whether either of them would admit it, they had become friends. Not friends to hang out with at the mall - which was two counties away - but acquaintances, who liked to rib each other, throw out insults and generally irk each other.
On his birthday, DG's senior year of high school, she... got caught. Her crime wasn't exactly due the punishment of life in prison, but Gulch wanted to teach her a lesson. The girl was reckless and, if she wasn't careful, would find herself in prison. Hank and Emily had gone out of town overnight, leaving DG home alone. He wasn't about to let her go home alone - the weather had turned and there was a tornado watch (and, he'd promised Emily that he would keep an eye on her) - so he locked her up.
She'd complained about her dinner, to which Gulch asked what she'd prefer. When DG replied that she'd rather eat a slice of apple pie with a chunk of cheddar on top, he simply laughed and walked away, leaving DG with her Hungry Man meatloaf dinner. After that night, every time she got caught breaking the law - or, at least, thought she got away with it - he'd show up at the Hilltop and order a slice of apple pie, with a chunk of cheddar on top. It wasn't the most appealing meal in the world, but, if one took the cheddar off the pie before it started to melt - and ate them separately - it wasn't so bad.
One particular evening, on the way home from his workout, Gulch threw tradition into the wind and pulled into an empty space at the Hilltop. Carter gave him a slightly-concerned nod as Gulch took a seat at the counter. It was late, so there weren't a lot of customers in the place. Carter came from the kitchen and nodded again.
"Sheriff."
"Carter," Gulch nodded in return. "Can I trouble you for a slice of apple pie?" Carter raised an eyebrow, but nodded and moved toward the refrigerated case. Gulch leaned against the counter and watched for a moment, before adding: "Throw a chunk of cheddar on there, too, would you?" Carter looked back at Gulch and nodded. DG had been gone for a while, so the order had him a little baffled - Carter had figured it out after the third time DG huffed and moaned about a ticket, not ten minutes after he'd been given a similar order.
Moving back down the counter, Carter set the plate in front of Gulch and offered a roll of silverware. "Coffee?" he asked curiously, as Gulch didn't remove the cheese. Gulch shook his head and dug the fork into the pie, getting apple and cheddar together for one bite. Gulch held the fork up to Carter and gave him a nod, then stuck the fork in his mouth. As he slowly chewed the combination, Gulch poked at the pie again, prepping another forkful.
"Happy Birthday, Deeg," he muttered, then took another bite.
My thanks! \O/