Five(+) Strangers Who Never Visited McKaye's Tavern
By Carla Jane
Rated: PG for one slashy-suggestive bit
Summary: Five TV shows get crossed-over with Whistler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The X-Files
Two weeks in Quebec at a competition had Ethan out of practice at being behind the bar. As much as he enjoyed sharing stories of Beck's latest triumph with the locals who came into the bar, the tourists where getting on his nerves. Actually, just one of the tourists was getting on his nerves. The man had been sitting in a booth in the back corner of the tavern all night smoking one cigarette after another, enough so that a bluish cloud seemed to hang over that part of the bar. The guy was drinking scotch enough to justify being in the bar, but he was still giving Ethan and most of the regulars the creeps. The way the man stared, it was if he was judging Ethan's every move.
Just before 'last call' two younger guys joined the smoker. The way the three of them acted made Ethan glad that Jen wasn't working tonight. They lingered, pushing the limits of closing time. It was bad enough that as Joe Manning, the last local there, was heading out the door he leaned close to Ethan and said, "I get on the cell and call the cops as soon as I'm out the door, Ethan." The offer earned a grateful smile and a nod from Ethan.
Wiping his hands on a dish-towel, Ethan made one last try at cleaning the problem up before the RCMP showed up. "We're closing up, gents. I can give you directions to a decent hotel if you don't have a place for the night."
Butting out yet another cigarette, the oldest of the three men looked up and gave Ethan an oily smile. "We won't be staying in town, Mr McKaye. We've just one thing to collect and then we'll be heading back where we came from." Watery eyes shifted direction and the smoker issued a quiet order. "Take him."
When the Mounties arrived the front door of McKaye's tavern was swinging open and Ethan was nowhere to be found.
Roswell
"Let's see some ID, boys and girls," Ethan looked down at the six kids that had crowded into one of the booths. Out of the bunch of them, Ethan wasn't sure if even two of them were old enough to drink.
One of the boys and his dark-haired sweetheart were practically curled around one another already in the back corner of the booth. They were the slowest to dig out small cards that showed their ages. All six of them were twenty-two years old and up from Texas according to their IDs. Ethan wasn't sure if he actually believed the cards, but it was enough to cover his ass if someone reported him.
Strangely, only three out the six ordered beer after that. Two of the boys and the model-gorgeous blonde girl wanted soft drinks.
Beck wandered over to the table when he popped into the tavern to tell Ethan and Jen that he'd be spending the night at AJ's. Beck, two of the guys, and the shorter blonde girl ended up in front of Beck's trophy case laughing at a story Beck was telling. Beck had a way about him. He could make friends at the drop of a hat. The dark couple stayed snuggled up together and oblivious to the world.
Surprisingly enough, the model-lovely blonde girl offered up a killer smile when Ethan stopped over to set some chips on the table for them. "You kids here to do some skiing or are you going for seasonal jobs?" Ethan traded a smile of his own.
"Do you know of any?" She didn't bat her lashes or anything obvious but the look she gave him was enough to make Ethan nearly blush at the thoughts she was provoking.
"The hotels go through a lot of workers and some of them provide room and board. It's about the best way for kids your age." Ethan had his pad out and he was scribbling down a name for her within two breaths. but it wasn't just because she was beautiful, he tried to lie to himself.
Supernatural
The end of the night had drawn close and the bar wasn't busy. Ethan had said he could handle the small amount of traffic that was left. Jen left easily enough, maybe tired of the tension between them. Lisa had been a little more reluctant to leave, but she had a touch of cold so Ethan had chased her out. It's not like he had planned to be alone with the rough looking, but strangely fascinating American that had wandered in near closing time. It had just happened. The conversation had started out with just typical 'bartender chats with a patron' talk but it had turned into flirting as the tavern emptied. Ethan still hadn't decided what the hell he was doing. even when John Winchester asked for directions to the washroom while staring just a little too intently into Ethan's eyes.
Ethan swallowed nervously. "Just back there." The hand that waved was shaking a tiny bit as a surge of panic struck Ethan. It was an innocent enough question but the body language that accompanied it... Ethan was almost certain that John was offering something in response to Ethan's awkward hints. What if Ethan was misunderstanding? The guy looked like he could pound Ethan into a pancake, maybe empty the till and leave Ethan dead on the floor if Ethan were so bold as to clear the bar of patrons so he could be alone with John? And what about Jen? If it was a mistake... she and Quinn... and what would people say, but...
Ethan's stare was both desperately hungry and little on the terrified side. John turned in place and Ethan got a good look at the man while he was walking. It'd been years since Ethan had felt this out of control and turned on at the same time. Guys used to do that to him. Jen was safe. Jen was true love. This was just... so damned good, feeling this alive.
The door to the bathroom closed. Ethan cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Any of you need a ride home tonight... Kay? Joe?" All four of the remaining patrons knew it was their cue to call it a night. There was only a bit of liquid left in their glasses. Single swallows cleaned up the remainders. Feet shuffled and Kay looked at her watch with a sigh. Ethan was offered a few 'we're fine's as jackets were pulled on. Joe asked if Ethan wanted a hand with putting up the chairs but he knew that Ethan wouldn't accept. It was just part of the end of the nightly ritual.
Another wave of second-guessing himself washed over Ethan as he turned the lock on the door once it was shut it behind Kay. The fear was part of the excitement though. Skiing the bunny hills never was fun. It was the tricky curves and slightly dangerous drops that make the blood rush.
This was taking too long. John had likely decided Ethan wasn't taking the invite to follow along. Ethan was across the floor and hesitating near the pool table when the door to the washrooms opened back up. Ethan's chest was tight and his breathing was fast. In the next few seconds he was either going to be robbed or he was going to lay hands on another man for the first time since he'd married Jen and he wasn't quite sure which prospect frightened him more.
Dexter
The map was spread out on the bar between Ethan and Harry Morgan. Ethan traced his finger along the street-lines that would take the Morgans where they needed to go.
"It's not the best time of year to be travelling," Ethan grimaced slightly. Harry had said they were up from Florida for a funeral. That would make driving in the snow all the more difficult since the man hadn't done much of it.
The daughter seemed sweet enough, swinging back and forth on a bar-stool and sipping at a coke while the men sorted out directions. It was the boy who was giving Ethan the creeps. When Ethan actually looked the boy's way he seemed normal enough but there was a disturbing stillness to the way he sat when Ethan glanced out of the corner of his eye.
"If we're going to be a while.. Wanna go play in the snow, Dexter?" the girl asked with a bright grin.
The boy, Dexter, paused and looked to their father.
"I won't be long, but you two should go ahead. Just don't get yourselves too wet." Harry inclined his head toward the door.
"Kids and car trips," Ethan shared. "My boys get impatient too when we're on the road. Kids are a handful."
Harry nodded. "Some... more than others." His expression was as hard to read as his son's. "So down this way about three miles?" His finger followed along the black mark on the map.
Earth Angels
Odd reflections had been bothering Ethan for days. Too often when he walked by the display case full of Beck's trophies and medals Ethan thought his own reflection didn't look quite right. He blamed it on being overtired, on the mood that hung over the bar, on the tensions of too-tight finances and grief. It was worse at closing time than in the afternoon when they opened, but the daylight didn't completely banish the strange twists of colours and light.
Late in the evening, Ethan paused by the case to look at Beck's gold medal. Everything was cleaned up. Jen was waiting at home. There was no reason to linger in the bar any longer. His focus shifted from the medal to his own reflection with a slight frown of confusion.
Reaching up, Ethan fingered the wool collar of the coat he'd pulled on in preparation for leaving. In the glass of the case, his reflection reached up and touched the lapel of an expensive looking black suit jacket. "The hell?" Ethan squinted as he stared. Ethan in the glass smiled out at him, looking decidedly predatory. "I'm losing it. I'm screwed up." Rushing to door, Ethan purposely avoided looking back at the display case.
Two nights later and Ethan practically chased everyone out the door to have a few moments alone in the tavern. Planting himself in front of the glass, Ethan stared, daring his reflection to misbehave. It seemed normal enough. There he was. The same green shirt. The same exhausted, shadowed eyes. Ethan shook his head and laughed at himself, and then the image in the glass wavered.
His mirror image seemed to size Ethan up, looking out from the glass with slightly hooded eyes. Ethan watched as the optical illusion reached sideways to pick up Beck's Olympic medal and study it. "You miss him so much it's hard to breathe?" The voice was a faint whisper inside Ethan's own head. "I can help the hurt go away, Ethan."
Ethan's mouth hung open until ghostly fingers seemed to press on the underside of his chin. "What are. I've gone crazy." Ethan shook his head violently. Staring harder didn't make his reflection return to normal, instead the image of that sleeker, more sophisticated version of Ethan grew more detailed.
"It's going to be all right, Ethan. I'm Maximillian. and I'm here to fix everything. You can trust me."
That's it, Milk & Cookies Time
~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~
| Alex Annex | Characters | Stories/Alpha | Stories/Author | Home |