It wasnât clear to Tyler whether this was something to talk about. He wasnât trying to pry. What was going on between them was new and felt fragile, some rare flower that only bloomed once a decade, but he also didnât want to be that guy who shied away from the hard shit and sheâd been through it, well before El Reno.
(There were old pictures at her momâs house that included a guy who was probably Kateâs dad, but neither Kate nor her mom had mentioned him. Tyler knew enough not to broach the subject the first time he showed up at the place, even if heâd fucked up the guest-gift, handing over some Wranglers merch to Cathy whoâd given him a look so bemused, heâd caught himself about to say, My mama didnât raise me to have such poor manners, maâam as Cathy had shrugged and smiled her thanks. So, Kateâs dad was most likely dead, a while back, unless Cathy was the most forgiving woman in the world and kept photos of the guy whoâd ditched her on the front hall table.)
So yeah, he hadnât mentioned anything, just asked her one time about the way she took her coffee and memorized the answer, making sure to have a mug ready when she woke up, adding the milk once he heard her stir in the bed, the creaky frame finally a plus. He didnât try to wake her up if he woke up while she was dreaming, but not because of the conventional wisdom that you shouldnât wake someone up during a nightmare. He had no idea what heâd say to her other than, you were dreaming, Kate, and sheâd either know that or not as soon as she opened her eyes. He didnât see it helping.
She wept by the end of most of them. Heâd tasted the salt of her tearstains the first morning heâd woken her up to fuck at dawn. The tears had run into the hair at her temples and heâd kissed her there first, big spoon wrapped around her. Heâd been drowsy himself, hadnât had the awareness to say anything and now there was nothing to say.
She needed to cry when she slept because heâd never seen her do it awake, not concussed, not even when sheâd had too big a mouthful of Daniâs jalapeno dip. They didnât talk about that either. They talked about storms and the music on the radio, what she missed about New York, his old dog Sassy and how he wanted to get a new dog but he didnât think it was fair, how she only read non-fiction and he had a soft spot for old school sci-fi, with lots of aliens and lasers, and also the Vorkosigan saga because he had some standards, no matter what she thought.
Sheâd grinned then and asked what she should read. He told her Cordeliaâs Honor and that he didnât expect her to read any of the others.
She fell asleep with the book held in her hand. He used a receipt from the hardware store as a bookmark so she wouldnât lose her place. He turned off the light and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of her breath. Heâd always been a light sleeper and heâd wake up if the pressure changed, a storm on the horizon a lure more than an interruption.
Heâd wake up when she had a nightmare. It amounted to the same thing.
If she wanted to, sheâd tell him sometime, what she dreamed about.Â
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Length: 6,875 words (2/3)
Rating: T for language and distressing themes
TWs: nightmares, PTSD, non-graphic descriptions of pain
âYou doinâ okay?â
Kate chews the end of the pen as her mouth goes dry, then swallows hard and wets her lips. âIâm not sure how to answer that.â
Her mom shrugs a little. âHonesty's always a great start.â
âWell, I'm honestly not sure how to answer that,â she barely avoids snapping.
âKatieâŠâ
The words explode out of her before sheâs even processed them.
âI left New York to come home for a week of tornado research, and instead Iâm looking at a month of itchy medical shit, and a couch thatâs older than I am, andâand stupid fucking reruns,â she finishes, breathing a little too heavy, and chucks her pen at the TV. âAnd thatâs not fair.â
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Length: 4,158 words (1/3)
Rating: T for language and intense themes
TWs: non-graphic injuries, panic attack, vomiting
âI get it,â she interrupts and tries not to glare at the knee brace, or at the few inches of scar that it doesnât quite cover. âSapulpa until further notice.â
Cathy pats her hand. âTry not to sound too excited about another month with your mom.â
Kate takes a breath to steady herself. âIâm sorry, I didnât mean it that way. Being back here has just beenâŠâ
âHey,â she soothes and squeezes Kateâs hand now. âI get it, and I wish this place would stop puttinâ you through the wringer. But maybe the downtime will do you some good,â she suggests. âTake a break from chasinâ. Give Oklahoma a chance to make amends. Who knowsâyou might just fall in love again.â
Suddenly the door opens and Tyler shoves through with a coffee cup in each hand. âTwo creams and two sugars for you,â he says and offers one to Cathy, âand black for me.â He lifts his own cup to his lips but stops mid-motion when he finally realizes what heâs interrupted; starts to speak, changes his mind, tries again, then his expression softens. âHey, Kate,â he greets just above a whisper.
.
(An alternate ending, three parts, title from "Out of the Woods" by Taylor Swift.)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Twister (Movies 1996 2024), Twisters (2024)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kate Carter/Tyler Owens (Twisters)
Characters: Kate Carter (Twisters), Tyler Owens (Twisters)
Additional Tags: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Literal Sleeping Together, Nightmares, Storm Chasing, Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon
Summary:
The doctor who had come to give Kate her discharge papers had been very clear: until she was fully recovered â four weeks at minimum â she was to do very little physical activity, lift nothing over five pounds, and she was expressly forbidden from even thinking about chasing a tornado.
The hospital should have added phone calls with Tyler Owens to the list.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
FANDOM: Twister (1996) / Twisters (2024)
PAIRING(S)/RELATIONSHIP(S): Kate Carter/Tyler Owens, Jo Harding/Bill Harding
CHARACTERS: Tyler Owens, Kate Carter, Jo Harding, Bill Harding, mentions of: Javi Rivera, Addy, Praveen, and Jeb
ADDITIONAL TAGS:Â Post-Twisters (2024)
STATUS: Complete, One-Shot
WORD COUNT:Â 2,583
LINKS: AO3
SUMMARY:
"Jo can see something in his eyes though, in the look heâs giving Kate, that says itâs so much more. It reminds her of the time Bill had done the same for herâ Confronted her with the past in the face of losing her to it. Helped her learn to live with it, to let it go. "
Or, Kate pays a visit to Muskogee State.
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