kollo_rpg | Summer 1 - Greetings and Welcome

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Summer 1 - Greetings and Welcome - Action

[ It's a mild sunny day when the first group of guests make land at Norrhamn. A gentle breeze rustle the birch trees and tangle in the bunting that's hung across the buildings in celebration of this very special occasion. Aina has been busy gathering up guests over the last few hours and now the ferry is approaching the port, waves breaking gently against the bow.

Olivia is waiting on the jetty, clipboard hugged close to her body. She's excited and nervous all at once, anxious to get to meet these people that she's read so much about, the faces behind the pleading letters. This is the first day her new job becomes hands on. Hopefully she'll be good at it.

As the ferry lands and lets the guests off, Olivia raises a hand in a cheerful greeting. ]

Hello! Welcome to Norrhamn!

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Martha had seen Jack on the ferry. Of course she saw him. But she had hoped it wasn't actually him. This was her vacation. A vacation away from everything home. Particularly those things that involved aliens and world saving.

It had been easy enough avoiding him in the hullabaloo of the disembarking and general room finding. Of course, sooner or later, she would run into him. In this case, as she made her way up towards the cliffs. Martha was tossing pebbles off the cliff, and didn't notice him til she was too close to creep away.

She found an easy enough smile for him as she called out. "Fancy meeting you here!"

However distracted he'd been on the way over, he couldn't fail to notice Martha amongst the passengers and the sight of her had made him smile fondly, but he'd kept his distance, wanting to give her space if she wanted it and let her make the first move. Once he'd made that decision, he hadn't thought much about her at all. He had his own troubles crowding his mind, after all.

That didn't mean he didn't have a great big smile for her though when she came upon him on the clifftop.

"Martha Jones!" he cried, spreading his arms wide. "Wasn't sure I'd ever see you again!"

He hadn't been back to Earth in years, not since getting Spike re-souled soon after they'd escaped MarinaNova. Not until now (if this was actually Earth).

Martha stepped into the hug with a grin. "Wasn't sure you'd ever see me again? When are you from that that's a concern?" Because that is really the only explanation for that statement.

It honestly hadn't occurred to him that she might be from a different time, which was remiss of him, considering his vast experience of time-travel.

He hesitated as he realised this, covering it with the hug for a moment and then stepping back, studying her, trying to work out if she looked younger than the last time he'd seen her, but it was a while ago and complicated further by her having been in a virtual body for most of that time!

"When are you from?" he asked, hoping she'd understand that there might be a good reason for his caginess.

Martha knit her eyebrows together a moment as he studied her and laughed. "You really haven't seen me for a while, have you? We destroyed the Osterhagen Key a couple weeks ago. I finally have the opportunity to take a vacation." She left the fact that she was currently out of a job unspoken. If he was from the future, he already knew.

Thank goodness for Martha also being a time-traveller and understanding how these things worked! Even so, it took him a moment to mentally track back along his own timeline and work out how everything fitted in.

"Right, I'm a good few years ahead of you, then," he said eventually. Also potentially now from an alternative dimension, given how he, Spike and Ianto had headed out from MarinaNova instead of going back to their own previous timelines. If nothing else, Ianto and Spike both cheating their own deaths should have changed a few things, but none of them had been back to check. There were some things you just didn't want to know.

He shrugged, grinning. "It's good to see you, though! And good for you, making the most of being on the open job market to take a vacation." He definitely approved of her taking some time for herself for once.

"A good few years! I'd ask you what you've been doing in all that time, but I imagine you won't tell me," she exclaims.

Martha looked out over the the horizon and squeezed his hand.

"It definitely felt like it was time for a vacation. I haven't had one since I was a kid. Didn't think it'd ever happen actually. But it was time."

"Ianto, mostly, although not exclusively!" he grinned, because some quips were automatic even when he was lost and grieving. At least he wasn't mourning Ianto this time.

Not that Martha would know about Ianto's impending (for her) death, he realised. He was going to have to be careful to keep his timelines straight - something he'd got out of practice at over the last few years of linear living.

He squeezed her hand right back. "I'm really glad," he said sincerely, his gaze swinging in from the horizon and round towards the quay and the little cluster of cabins. "This is place is quite a find, isn't it? No idea how they know to offer us sanctuary, but..."

"An answer worthy of you," she replied with a laugh. "He's not here too is he? For a romantic getaway?"

Martha of course didn't know what was up and coming, and she was curious if she had somehow missed the other man on the boat ride over. There's weren't that many of them.

Her gaze follows his to the cabins. "But they definitely chose the right time. I'm not going to let it bother me. And I have to say, I'm intrigued by these lily pads they've warned us to keep away from. Might have to take a look after a couple days rest."

He laughed. "No, he's--" with Spike. Which relationship she wouldn't know a thing about, so no point in even mentioning it. "He stayed home. It's just me."

He gave her a smile to show her he was fine with that, but it came out a little bit unconvincing. Not because he wasn't fine with being without Ianto just now, but because he was grieving for two other lovers, and talking about Ianto couldn't help but remind him of Saavi and Taiana.

Gratefully, he latched onto the second subject she had raised. "Aw, come on, don't go trying to find mysteries and danger where there isn't any! This is supposed to be a sanctuary! We're not travelling with the Doctor any more, you know."

The hitch about Ianto caught her attention and she searched his face at his unconvincing smile. She almost asked about it... opened her mouth and took a breath to even when he instead latched onto her second subject. Martha took another beat to consider before ignoring his unspoken discomfort.

"Perhaps not, but I still do love mysteries. But you're probably right. There's likely nothing there other than maybe some obnoxious bugs that like them or something."

Yeah, he knew he hadn't completely fooled her with that smile (even without all the extra time in MarinaNova, Martha was probably the one of the Doctor's companions who knew him best, and besides she wasn't stupid) but he also trusted her not to push it. At least for a while, until they'd settled in, which should be long enough.

Eventually, he knew he'd want to talk to someone about his loss, but not yet. It was all far too recent and raw.

"Oh, I really hope it's not obnoxious bugs!" he declared, with a deliberately outrageous shiver. "I was planning on doing a lot of swimming while I'm here - I don't want to come out of the water all covered in bites! That's really not a good look on me."

"Then I suggest you stay away from the lily pads," Martha replied with a laugh. "Or perhaps I'll come too and draw them away from you. If they can resist your pheromones."

"Oh, I bet they'd go for my pheromones!" he sighed dramatically, and then laughed. It felt good, and he realised he hadn't done much laughing lately.

He smiled at Martha, warm and affectionate. "I'm glad you're here. I hadn't realised how much I've missed you."

His laugh was infections, and Martha couldn't help but join in. She was still chuckling when he commented on his happiness that she was here.

"Thank you Jack. I'm glad I've made enough of an impression on you that you do miss me!"

She couldn't quite say she missed him since they'd seen each other very recently in her time. But she understood.

"Oh, you definitely make an impression," he grinned, and left it at that. He really wanted to tell her how much more time they'd spent together, but she was here for a spot of healing, and stressing her out by telling her she later got trapped in a virtual prison dome, not to mention all the trials she went through there, was hardly going to help her heal!

"So, I assume you'll be going to the party tonight?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow in a vaguely suggestive manner. "I hope you'll save at least a dance or two for me?"

Martha vaguely wonders what future her has done with Jack to have him grinning at her like that. She raises an eyebrow, her grin quite self-assured. But she realizes he's not going to elaborate, so she turns to the next subject.

"Have you ever known me not to turn up at a party? Of course I'll save a dance for you!"

Oh, you know, several hot tub sessions, lots of dancing, helping him see how much he loved his boyfriend, being there for him when that relationship ran onto the rocks, including throughout twenty years in a fake future... They'd had their bad times too, but he'd grown a lot closer to her, enough to really value her as a friend, as well as potentially (in dreams and fake futures) a little bit more.

He laughs. "Fantastic. It's a date!" He tipped her a casual little salute. "See you then, Martha Jones!"

((OOC: Leave it there and assume they did indeed dance a bit to Ingvar's music later on? I'm hoping to put up a Jack swimming post soon, which obviously Martha would be very welcome to join!))

[Totally good with leaving it. Sorry I've not been around... just posted an OOC post about it.]

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Summer 1 - Greetings and Welcome - Action

Scenario 3

Aww, poor Martha - he's sorry for intruding on her holiday! :-D

Oh she'll live.

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