Summer 3 - action on the farm

[forever_jack]

Jack is not and has never been a farmer. But he does know the value of vigorous physical activity in helping to deal with psychological pain, and so this morning brings him over to the farm to help out with the potato harvest.

For Einar

He shows up perhaps a little later than some of the others (he's not naturally a particularly early riser, especially when he's on holiday!) and ambles up the path towards the farm buildings, looking out for the farmer.

Open

He's worked hard and by the time the bus comes round again on its way back to the village, he's ready to hitch a ride with some of the others rather than walk. They haven't talked all that much while they were working, and there are several he hasn't spoken to at all, so he grins round at the person settling into the seat across the way. "Feels like a good day's work, eh!"

Comments

[norrhamn_residents]

Einar is an early riser. Ridiculously so, one might say, and it's no surprise that he's for the most time fueled by several cups of black, strong, tar-like coffee. He's already gotten a good amount of work in before any of the current guests on the island showed up and it doesn't look like he'll stop anytime soon.

"Hello! You here for th' potatoes?"

[forever_jack]

He'd caught a glimpse of Einar and his family at the party on the first night, but it was only from a distance.

Now, however, he's getting a very, very good look at the burly man heading towards him, and he can't help gaping somewhat, because Einar really does look incredibly like someone he used to know, five or so years ago, trapped in an underwater dome prison called MarinaNova.

After a moment, he realises he's staring and takes a breath, pulling himself together as best he can. "Uh, yeah, Captain Jack Harkness," he introduces himself rather absently, and then, because he can't help it: "Hey, I don't suppose you have an identical twin brother called Aidan, do you?"

[norrhamn_residents]

"Nice to meet you, Captain!" He greets with a sunny smile, makes a start for a handshake but that question throws him off it.

"A twin brother?" He says, rubbing his beard as if he actually has to stop and give this a proper think. "Can't say I do. Not that I know of, anyway."

[forever_jack]

"Huh." He stares a moment longer, and then pulls himself together with a wry grin.

"Sorry, but you really are the splitting image of someone I used to know! Separated at birth, maybe?" he suggests comically, with a cheerful wink to show he's joking, even if beneath it all his brain cogs are whirring, wondering about doppelgangers and alternative universes and other pairs of people who share a face, like Spike and John Hart.

Thinking too about Aidan, realising he hasn't thought much about him lately, wondering how he and Rebecca got on after they parted ways from the dome.

[norrhamn_residents]

"Eh, who knows. Maybe you're right. I sure can't get my head 'round all this multiverse stuff."

If he does have a doppelganger out there, Einar doesn't seem too bothered by the thought. He's gone through the employee training, he's read all the material, he's... made an executive decision not to sweat it too much and just tend to his beloved farm.

"So. Potatoes?"

[forever_jack]

Jack gives him an amused look, and gallantly doesn't pursue the multiverse subject but instead tries to look interested in farming.

"Potatoes, yeah." He flashes Einar a grin. "I have to warn you, I know next to nothing about farming, but I'm fairly fit so if you can just show me what to do, I can hopefully be of some help!"

[norrhamn_residents]

Somewhere, in a galaxy far far away, Einar's doppelganger is deeply regretting not putting Jack through farmer school while he had the chance.

"It ain't too hard. You ever use a pitchfork before?"

[forever_jack]

Oh, Aidan would have enjoyed that, wouldn't he? Watching him dig, all hot and sweaty, maybe taking off his shirt when he got too hot so all those powerful muscles would be on display...

Jack grins. "More to try and fight off troublesome aliens than actually for its proper purpose, but yeah, a bit."

[norrhamn_residents]

"Then you know which end goes in th' dirt, at least." He grins, stepping away a bit to fetch a pitchfork, tossing it to Jack.

"Pointy bit in th' dirt around th' potato plant, pull 'em up, give 'em a little shake. That's really all there is to it."

[forever_jack]

"Okay, sounds do-able," he agrees, grinning, catching the fork easily (nothing wrong with his reactions, even if he's never used this precise took for its intended use before) and then looks down to study the potato plants.

"Easier than digging graves with a spade, at least," he observes dryly, because given his line of work that's mostly what he's dug in the past.

He gives it a go, and manages not to stab too many potatoes with the fork.

[norrhamn_residents]

"Oh yeah. Much easier."

What, you think he's never dug a grave before? Cows die, man. Sometimes you need to dig a cow grave.

"That's not bad! Now, gather 'em up in this basket and we'll have ourselves a proper feast tomorrow!"

[forever_jack]

You bury your cows, Einar?

He quirks Einar a wry grin, and picks up the potatoes, shaking off the worst of the dirt as instructed and tossing them into the basket, then going for the next plant with the pitchfork.

"Great!" Definitely easier than graves. "So, Einar... Have you lived here long? Looks like someone's put a lot of work into this farm!"

[norrhamn_residents]

Someone's got to! Cows don't bury themselves!

"You could say I've lived here for a while - actually, I was born here. Right in that house over there." Just like all his kids were born in that house. "It's a family farm, we've been tendin' to these lands for generations."

[freedomordeath]

North gives him an unimpressed look as she swipes a hand over her forehead. There is no sweat there and nor does she look exhausted, but she does look disgruntled and now there's a smear of potato field dirt on her brow.

"It's been something useful to do." She shrugs slightly, then lounges back in the seat as much as you can in bus seats. I don't like sitting around doing nothing."

[forever_jack]

One eyebrow quirks upwards a bit at the vibe she's giving off.

"Yeah, me neither," he agrees, angling his body towards her and giving her a once-over. He saw her out in the fields earlier, but only from a distance and now that he's getting a better look at her, taking in the lack of fatigue, sweat, flushing or anything else that a normal human would be displaying... He's definitely curious.

But formalities first. "Captain Jack Harkness," he says, with a warm smile but without the sometimes over-the-top flirtatiousness he often employs, in deference to her manner. "And you are...?"

[freedomordeath]

There is no matching smile on her face but she doesn't look unfriendly either, mostly just curious. "I'm North."

She looks him up and down, brows arching a little. "What are you a captain of?" Her eyes sharpen a little. "Military? Police?" Neither of the two her favorite groups of people right now, with her and her friends having been hunted by them just a couple of weeks ago.

[forever_jack]

"Nice to meet you, North," he says easily, and gives her a disarming smile when she starts to look faintly nervous about his title.

"Time Agent originally, but that was a long time ago. These days, it's mostly just an affectation. Goes with the coat." Which he wasn't wearing earlier in the fields but has donned again in the bus. Blue eyes twinkle at her. "Nowadays I'm strictly freelance. Travelling around, defending people wherever they need it."

[freedomordeath]

"Hmm..." Time Agent, that means nothing to her. Some kind of top-secret intelligence service? More likely something from a world completely different from hers, which is, quite honestly, perfectly fine with her.

She gives a quick nod. "Freelance, I see..." She leans forward, challenge as much as curiosity sparking in her eyes. "What do you defend people from?"

[forever_jack]

Different world, different time, different dimension probably. She doesn't seem likely to have run across him anywhere but here!

He meets her challenge with an enigmatic smile. "Whatever they need defending from! Oppression, alien invasion, environmental disaster, serial killer - you name it, I've probably done it."

[freedomordeath]

If anything, her blatantly displayed skepticism only grows more blatant at that. With some new suspicion sneaking back in, her mind already looking for ways to find something sinister in the tasks he has just described.

"That's a big claim, sounds like you can be everyone's hero at once." She leans back, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Most people would be busy dealing with just one of these things."

[forever_jack]

His expression turns more serious. "No, no-one can be everyone's hero at once. But I do the best I can, one at a time." He shrugs. "I'm just not picky about the type of saving, you know?"

[freedomordeath]

"At least it sounds like you're never going to be bored," she offers, as much of a peace offer as she can bring herself to offer. That Captain is still rubbing her wrong, if she's perfectly honest with herself. Of course, getting over knee-jerk reactions to other people is exactly why she is here so...

She drops her arms, placing her hands on her knees. "Did you enjoy the day of farm work? It was my first time."

[forever_jack]

"Oh yeah, I never time to get bored," he says wryly, watching her soften slightly, and relaxing a bit himself in response.

"My first time too, but hopefully I didn't butcher the potatoes too much." He grins wryly. "It's not exactly the most exciting day I've ever spent, but I do like to feel useful."

[freedomordeath]

"I'm sure the potatoes won't hold too much of a grudge..."

She gives a little shrug, lips quirked in amusement. "It's been nice. I have spent all my life in the city, I've never been in the countryside at all. And I sure didn't think I would ever get to visit a farm."

[forever_jack]

"I hope not! I understand we're supposed to be eating them tomorrow!" he grins, and then raises his eyebrows. "Wow, this place must be quite an adjustment for you then! Can't really get any more rural than this."