“I got that old fashioned love in my heart~”

Allen walked through the entrance to the Orchard, being greeted by Priscilla Lockhart’s voice smoothing over the dance hall and the dancers. She was singing a catchy tune he had heard on the radio a few times, by a woman outside of Westfield called Cecil Mack. It must have been more popular than the ( Read more... )

“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been…”

A long pause stretched, awkward and uncomfortable, and the priest on the other side of the confessional screen coughed lightly as if prompting his confessor.

“Jeez, I don’t even remember - I think I was ten? Eleven? Cut me some slack here, Father, I’m really out of practice.” Zebediah sighed, ( Read more... )

He woke up to the sound of knocking.

Forcing his eyes open, the doctor was greeted with the sight of tanned, scarred flesh, Zebediah’s chest rising and falling slowly as he slept. Thin beams of sunlight managed to peek through the curtains hiding his window, giving the room and the occupants a nostalgic sepia tone - as if they were in the world of ( Read more... )

Hallowe’en had come and gone, the Orchard still closed and so whatever event that had been planned had to be cancelled.

Weeks passed by, soundless and dull with only the occasional visit from Rachel or Cooper to fill his free time. He took more shifts at the hospital, talking to Liam Donovan at lunch hours and learning all the hospital gossip he had ( Read more... )

Zebediah was woken from his nap by the door suddenly opening.

Moving immediately, Zebediah rolled off of the bed and dived for his clothes piled on the floor, grabbing hold of his gun and pointing it at the doorway. He noted a little belatedly that Allen was nowhere to be found, and he wondered for a moment when the doctor had slipped out of the ( Read more... )

The days were getting shorter, so the nightlife that Allen was slowly getting used to came about earlier than usual.

Walking down the street, shoulders hunched up around his ears to keep the chill off his neck, Allen avoided eye contact with men and women lounging on the street corners and propping up against buildings. Girls with rumpled hair and ( Read more... )

((Quick note of thanks to Grace - thank you for pointing out my historical blunder! If anyone ever notices a slip-up in the history, let me know. I'll fix it soon as possible. Enjoy!))

“Gawain’s coming by tonight.”

Zebediah paused in cleaning his Colt, looking up from metal and cloth to meet Ezekiel’s gaze from across the room. His cousin was leaning ( Read more... )

They ended up in a steakhouse, which confused Allen more than anything else.

It was a nice enough establishment, to be sure. The interior was tasteful and modern, every table was full of patrons, and it appeared that the service was good. But why Zebediah had brought Allen here, the doctor couldn’t be sure. He wouldn’t describe the steakhouse as ( Read more... )

Waking up the next morning, Allen wondered if it was possible to survive your head splitting open completely in two.

Groaning out in pain, the doctor pushed his head under his pillow and curled up into a tighter ball onto his bed. He briefly wondered why he was asleep in his suit, before thinking of a question about fifteen times better.

How had he ( Read more... )

Later that night, feeling heavier than he had anticipated feeling, Allen made his way to the side door entrance of the speakeasy, knocking on the door as he remembered Cooper knocking and stepping back patiently. After a moment, the little slit in the door opened and Aiden’s brown eyes appeared before him, narrowing on him.

“Yer alone tonigh’?”

“S-so ( Read more... )