(no subject)

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

[OOM: Same lake, same tree, same man, one year later.]

Jack's sitting out by the lake, enjoying the quiet and the scenery, but not averse to company.

Comments

[silvia-broome.livejournal.com]

And soon there is a Silvia walking quietly outside.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack's drawn away from his thoughts by the peripheral awareness of someone moving around nearby. Looking up, he spots Silvia, giving her a slight smile.

"Hey, Silvia," he says with a nod of greeting.

[silvia-broome.livejournal.com]

"Hey." She slows to a stop near him. "You know it's the fourth here."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I know. Odd considering it's September for me outside," he says, a little wryly.

[silvia-broome.livejournal.com]

"It's December for me." She tilts her head. "Are you all right?"

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

He nods. "Yeah, just...realizing how much changes in a year. Or two."

[silvia-broome.livejournal.com]

She sits down next to him. "Like what?"

[beyond-therest.livejournal.com]

I out by the lake with a cigarette. I see him. He must be here for the silence as well. Not sporting a bathing suit or anything. That is the lake's real purpose, I suppose. It's quiet enough to think and it's also pretty just to look at.

"What's stressing you out, then?"

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

He doesn't notice the young woman nearby until she speaks, and he looks up, blinking. "Hmmm? Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

[beyond-therest.livejournal.com]

"This is good for that. I mean, forget all the people from your own world, people in the bar, and all the dramatic shit that takes up everyday life. Sometimes you need space. I'm a stranger to you, so technically I don't count."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

There's a very slight eyebrow-raise on his part at her directness, but he's not finding it grating at all, so his tone is still pleasant when he replies.

"Yeah, sometimes you just need to get somewhere quiet and think. Though there haven't been as many people I know arond lately." He holds out his hand to her. "Jack Bauer, nice to meet you."

[beyond-therest.livejournal.com]

No point in sugar coating it.

"Yeah, maybe that's it. I been here for about five or six months myself, I'm just quiet."

I watch people, really. I'm aware of my surroundings. I shake his hand, temporarily moving my cigarettes to my left hand.

"Wendy, you as well."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

he tkaes her hand, his grip firm, but not too tight. "I've been here...well, by the calendar in this place, such as it is, a year and a half. But I've spent about another year and a half outside, since I first came in," he says, watching her, wheels turning in his usual first-time evaluation of someone.

[audieraines.livejournal.com]

"Hey, you're back," Audrey tries to say casually.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack looks up, giving Audrey a slightly awkward smile as he sees her. "Hey, Audrey. Yeah, the recon mission didn't take long; I've been going in and out quite a bit since then."

[audieraines.livejournal.com]

"It went okay?" She glances at him, looking for new bruises.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"It went fine," he says, reassuringly, though his smile is a little exasperated. "No problems, no fights, just in, found the right ship, got the confirmation Mal needed, then out again. What have you been up to?"

[audieraines.livejournal.com]

"I'm glad to hear that, did you get to see much of space?" She has to smile at the absurdity of the question, even though it's a logical one.

"Thinking," she admits. "I've been...I have to...I can't love someone I'm never going to see again."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

His smiles broadens just a little more. "Yeah, some of it, from a shuttle not much bigger than a largish RV."

It fades as she continues, though. He's silent for a moment before he asks, softly, "Physically can't or more that you shouldn't?"

[nita_callahan]

Nita's been out of the bar, Jack's been busy, and what with one thing and another, it's been way too long since they talked.

"Happy Fourth."

A cheerful teen wizard flops down next to him.

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack looks over, smiling at her as she drops to the ground next to him. "Happy Fourth to yourself. Though outside, I'm seeing more bright colours on the trees than in fireworks."

[nita_callahan]

"It's Fall for you? Nice that you can get summer at the same time." She glances out at the faux-Scottish lakeside. "Well. You know. 'Summer' being relative."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

He snickers. "Very relative, around here, but it's nice. If it's too cold back there, I can just come here and enjoy the sun for a while. What have you been up to? When did you get back?"

[nita_callahan]

"I've been coming in and out for a couple weeks. Not real often -- I've got work at home."

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"What kind of work?" he asks, perhaps looking just a little concerned. Really, he tries not to worry. That doesn't mean he doesn't.