Not Like Him
Future Fic. When Clootie gets ahold of Bobo to use as bait to lure out Wynonna, the last thing the Revenant expects is for her to come for him.
The blow to the head had left his vision pulsing, but it had been the hit to the back that had driven him to his knees, hitting the frozen ground hard. He couldn't move, couldn't straighten himself up in time to see the steel toed boot that slammed into his ribs, sending him crashing the rest of the way to the ground.
Bobo Del Rey lay on his black in the snow, desperately trying to draw air into his lungs even though each breath brought new spikes of pain with it. His vision was going in and out and he knew he needed to pull himself up or the next blow would hurt even more.
Not that he'd get very far, and Clootie knew that.
He heard the demon's low chuckle before he was able to focus in on where he'd leaned into his line of sight, nudging his battered ribs hard enough to draw a pained gasp from him. Bobo swallowed it back, clenching his teeth stubbornly and narrowing his eyes up at him.
They had gotten ahold of him on the edge of town, the newly formed alliance with the Earps still on shaky ground when it came to handling them and the handful of Revenants that had remained loyal to him when Clootie had called them all in. He was still fighting Bulshar's control himself, and he'd missed… something. Even now he wasn't sure what, but if they had caught up to him just five minutes later they would have had Waverly as well. He was questioning his ability to get himself out of this at the moment, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to get both of them out.
Clootie had never been fond of being ignored. He bent down and took hold of Bobo's dual-coloured hair, hauling him up and drawing pained yelp from him. "You will useful to me, Robert, if you choose to be or not."
Bobo dragged a painful breath in, the air burning his lungs and he could almost feel the cracked ribs shifting dangerously. He struggled to get his feet under him to keep from being held up by his hair and his boots caught a patch of ice. He heard the satisfied laugh that left the demon as he released him, Bobo slamming hard back to the ground and he writhed for a moment, no room in his mind for anything but the overwhelming pain.
Slowly it started to creep back, letting him work through it enough to focus his eyes. He didn't like the look on Clootie's face.
A howl echoed across the field as the heavy boot slammed down on Bobo's outstretched leg, the blow strengthened by Bulshar's demonic powers and Bobo could feel the snap radiate through his entire body.
"There we go," Clootie chuckled. "We need them to hear you."
The words took a moment to work through the pain, but even as the spots dancing across his vision blocked out the cloudy sky above him, a rough laugh managed to escape. Joke was on Clootie if he thought he was using the Revenant as bait. There was no way in hell Wynonna Earp was coming for him.
He wasn't sure how long he was out, but he came around to voices. They filtered slowly through the fog of pain that came with consciousness, and he was having trouble opening his eyes so that he could see who the voices belonged to belonged to.
"You can't just move him! What if his neck is broken or something?"
"Waves, he's a Revenant. Even if he did break it, it'll heal. We have to get him out of here."
"Or we can just leave him."
"That's not an option."
"I'm just sayin' they didn' leave him out here for nothin'. Bulshar's usin' 'im for somethin'."
A low groan escaped Bobo and he finally forced his eyes open. He found three faces coming into view immediately: Waverly, Haught, and…. He groaned again, this time louder. "Didn't think you'd be that stupid," he managed, his gaze catching Wynonna's.
"We came to rescue you. You're welcome, asshole," she snapped.
He knew he should be grateful. He hadn't expected it, hadn't dared to hope for it. It seemed like every time they had a chance to choose to trust him or not, they went with the latter. But here they were, leaned over him and trying to help, and it had to be the one time that it could get the Heir killed and blow everything to hell.
"Clootie knew you would," he managed through gritted teeth. "That was the point."
A strange expression crossed Wynonna's face and he thought it might have been guilt. "C'mon. Dolls, help me get him up."
"If they're coming, you need to go," the deputy marshal said as he moved towards the injured Revenant. "Doc and I will get him someplace safe."
Bobo tensed immediately at the reference to John Henry and he turned as menacing of a glare as he could manage on the gunslinger who was proving to hold a grudge as strong as Bobo's own. This was going to hurt.
"I'm not going to-" Wynonna started, but was cut off.
"We got this," Holliday said firmly. "We're not what Clootie wants. Go."
Well, at least he could depend on Holliday having one priority set.
Wynonna hesitated a moment before turning a stern look on Bobo. "He doesn't get to win and he doesn't get any of us in the fight. You got it?"
"He gets you then he's won," Bobo said lowly, his voice more strained than he was comfortable with. He could already feel his body pulling him back towards unconsciousness, the brief conversation sapping his energy.
She watched him for a long moment before Waverly pulled her back. "They're coming."
He watched indecision flash across her face, but it was brief. She nodded firmly, shot Doc Holliday a look, and was in her way.
Suddenly Dolls had ahold of his arm. "This is going to hurt," he warned, and hauled Bobo to his feet. The Revenant felt gravity try to fight him and moved to catch himself, but is leg wouldn't hold his weight and he found himself pitching forward and back into darkness.
If Bobo came to at any point in the escape, he didn't remember it. The next time his brain was able to register that there was anything happening around him at all he found himself staring up at a ceiling, not an open sky. He shifted, regretting it instantly as pain exploded and it took a long moment for him to get his bearings back. He laid there, jaw clenched and eyes squeezed shut against it. As the worst of it finally eased he could feel sheets wrapped up in his death grip and he forced himself to loosen his hold, making sure to lie very still this time.
He had no idea where he was. He was lying on a bed in a room, but past that he didn't recognize it. Slowly and very, very carefully he turned his head to get a better look. There was an old, painted bedside table pushed up between the bed and the wall, the white and green checkered lamp and a teddy bear that had seen better days the only occupants to it. The ceiling had been normal enough, but the walls were a pale yellow, almost as if they had faded over the years. He let his gaze follow the wall around, having something to focus on helping to pull him around a little better.
There were a few other odds and ends scattered within his line of sight, but for the most part the room looked like it hadn't been lived in in some time. It certainly didn't look like some place Clootie would have stored him away if he'd gotten hold of him.
Movement at the door startled him and he grunted against the pain, trying to focus through it to see who was standing there. Blue eyes finally focused in on Purgatory's sheriff, standing with his arms crossed irritability across his chest. "Nedley," he managed, his voice hoarse and scratchy as it left his lips. He cleared his throat, pushing down the urge to sit up. It wouldn't help the balance of power if he passed out again.
"You know," the other man drawled, "I really need to start asking before I agree to one if Wynonna's favours."
Bobo blinked at him for a moment. "Where am I?"
"My house. Wynonna needed somewhere off the beaten path to let you heal up."
"And you volunteered?" the Revenant asked skeptically.
"Like I said, need to clarify favours before I agree." He took a step forward as Bobo started to try to move. "Listen, you're not in great shape. That leg's... what?"
A smirk quirked Bobo's lips and he held Nedley's gaze long enough that the other man started to shift uncomfortably. There he was. The years had toughened him up, but Bobo could see the signs of the young cop that had worked under Ward, fumbling through trying to figure Purgatory out from the lawman's side of things and getting no real help from the half-drunken Earp. The one that had desperately tried to regain control over the town after Ward's death and had learned the hard way that it couldn't be done without Bobo Del Rey. He had tried, but it had crashed into utter chaos for several weeks following the Heir's death and the Revenant leader had let it, his attention focused elsewhere and perfectly happy to leave the new sheriff to realize just what Purgatory would be without him. The lesson had been hard learned, but Nedley had finally realized just where the power lay in town and he had stopped trying to topple Bobo off his throne.
Bobo needed that power now. Even laid out in a bed that could have only belonged to a young Chrissy Nedley growing up, the healing process barely begun even though it had been hours since the injuries had been dealt, he refused to look as weak as he felt.
Nedley pulled in a deep breath, seeming to try to steady himself. He met Bobo's gaze and pushed the air back out through his nose. "You know, I remember the first time I came across you. Fresh into the police department you look like everything that shouldn't be happening in our town. I thought Ward was working some sort of angle with you for a while, and then nothing. Every time I'd come close to one of your boys he'd stop me."
"Ward knew how it worked," Bobo answered, the words riding out on a low growl and he didn't miss the way Nedley flinched when his eyes flashed red.
"Got him killed in the end," he managed after a moment. "His father too, and I imagine his father before that. Now Wynonna is striking deals with you."
"And you don't approve?"
"Wynonna Earp will do what she's gonna do, but you don't have the best track record with helping Earps."
Bobo settled a little deeper into the pillows under him, narrowing his eyes as he did.
"She trusts you though. Hell if I know why. You're not different than any of the others, maybe worse."
"Oh I'm much worse," Bobo agreed with viscous grin. "Comes with the territory, but you know that much by now."
"I do. I know what you are - knew even before Dolls came to town - and this may be my one chance, so I want to make something clear." He didn't step any closer, but Bobo thought he saw the sheriff square his shoulders a bit. "I'm not going to let you do to Wynonna what you've done to the others."
The statement was simple enough and the threat was clear, even if they both knew there was no way to back it up. As soon as Bobo was on his feet again he would be fully capable of crushing the sheriff at his whim if he so chose. Even so, there he was making his opinion abundantly clear. Bobo wasn't sure if he it was bravery or foolishness.
After a long moment of silence from the Revenant Nedley cleared his throat awkwardly, pulling his attention back around. Bobo was actively and openly working with Wynonna now, and with that - if he liked it or not - meant working with those around her. Even those that he had purposefully kept out of the loop up until that point. That wasn't weakness, he reminded himself. That was just the price of alliances.
Bobo winced and grit his teeth stubbornly, shifting so that he forced himself up in his elbows, the closest he could get to sitting. There was a rush of pain, but he didn't black out. That seemed like a good sign. At least a step in the right direction, even if he could still feel the painful pull against his battered ribs and even into his leg with the shifting of weight. He swallowed hard before speaking. "At this point, we all survive this together or we all die together, and I ain't goin' back to hell."
Nedley eyed him for a moment. "And you think Wynonna's got what it takes to beat this…. demon."
"She better or we're all screwed."
He could see the sheriff weighing the words, trying to decide what he thought about them and the whole ordeal. He didn't know Bobo's past. Few did beyond Wynonna. Nedley certain't didn't, and Bobo had no interest in sharing that particular bit of history openly even if it might make things a little easier in that moment.
Nedley's phone began to buzz in his pocket and he pulled it out,glancing at the ID before turning what was likely supposed to be a stern look on Bobo. "Don't move."
The sarcastic response never quite made it from the Revenant's lips as he eased himself back against the pillows, the conversation and movement leaving him spent. At least he could feel the healing starting to take place. It was slow, but there'd been plenty of damage done.
He must have dozed off again, because when he worked his way towards wakefulness again he could hear two voices at the bedroom door. One was Nedley's, gruff and irritable, and as Bobo listed harder he thought the other belonged to Wynonna Earp.
"...was that son of a bitch Benny."
"You thought it might be."
"It was too convenient that he just happened to know where Bulshar had Bobo that last. Loyalty my ass." Wynonna huffed a mirthless laugh. "He got what was coming to him. Maybe that'll keep others from turning."
"I wouldn't count on it. They're not exactly the honest types." Bobo could feel Nedley's gaze slide over to him, but he didn't move. "I know you say you trust him, and he knows what to say to make it sound like the truth, but I still can't place what he's getting out of this."
There was a stretch of silence and Wynonna sighed. "It's…. complicated, but I trust that he's going to do whatever he thinks he has to to bring Clootie down."
"Why?"
He wasn't sure if she was holding back on his past out of respect to his privacy or if she just didn't think anyone who hadn't seen it would believe it. It didn't matter. Randy Nedley didn't need to know. "Just like I said," Bobo said, drawing their attention to him as he forced his eyes open, "I have no intention of goin' back to hell. Breakin' the curse should handle that."
Nedley huffed and shook his head, moving out the door and leaving Wynonna standing there awkwardly. She stuffed her hands in her pockets. "He might-"
"Easier the devil you know than the one you don't," Bobo murmured and she nodded.
"I guess." She turned her gaze down to her boots. "How're you feeling?"
"Healing. Slowly, but healing."
"Yeah, you're slow healing is still something humans would be jealous of."
"Steep price for it."
"Do you really think killing Bulshar will end the curse?"
Bobo let his eyes slip closed for a moment, considering his words carefully. "Hope so."
"What happens to you then?"
"Don't know for sure."
"Just not hell."
He opened his eyes and they flashed dangerously. "I'm not goin' back."
"Gotcha," she said, raising her hands in a nonthreatening manner. "Listen… I should let you get some rest. I just wanted to check in and…."
"Ain't your fault," he breathed and her gaze snapped to meet his. He could see it there. It was the same look she'd had as she stooped over him lying in the snow, broken and beaten and bleeding. Guilt. They didn't have time for her to wallow in it. "You got enough on you. What Clootie did to me was about my part in it. Him getting a chance at you was just his bonus." He narrowed his eyes. "A chance you shouldn't have given him."
Wynonna's gaze hardened at that. "Listen, asshole. You're part of this team now. We're not going to leave you to die. I'm not Wyatt."
The last statement took him by surprise and he let the words rattle around his mind for a moment. "No," he finally breathed. "No you are not."
She nodded. "Get some sleep and don't give Nedley too much hell. I think he's still pissed at you for poisoning the whole damn town."
Bobo's lips quirked up. "Gotta learn to let things go. Not like anybody actually died."
Wynonna rolled her eyes and shook her head, but he thought he saw the smallest flash of amusement in her eyes as she grumbled at him to get some sleep and that she'd be back later.
He settled back, left alone in the quiet room. No, Wynonna Earp was not her great great grandfather. She was better. He never thought he would admit it, even if just to himself, but she was better, and if he had read the situation right, that was how they were going to win.
Notes: I realized that we've never actually seen Nedley and Bobo interact face to face in canon and I feel like that needs to change in S3. It could be a lot of fun.