Ficlet: Relaxing Hobby
Title: Relaxing Hobby
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Suzie.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada. Set pre-Season One.
Summary: It’s late, but Suzie is still at work even though the others have already left.
Word Count: 453
Written For: My own prompt ‘Any, Any, “Welding is relaxing”,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Jack strode out of office and pulled up short; he’d thought everyone had gone home, but no, his second in command was still beavering away down in her work area. He could see the sparks flying from where he stood, so he made his way down to see what she was up to.
“Suzie, why are you still here? It’s gone ten, time you packed it in for the night. Go home.”
“Sure, I will in a bit; I just want to finish this first.” Suzie raised her voice to be heard over the roar of the blowtorch she was using, but didn’t look away from whatever it was she was working on.
“Everyone else left over an hour ago. I hope you realise I won’t be paying you overtime for this.”
“Wasn’t asking for it.”
“You know, most people, end of the work day, they can’t wait to get away, leave the job behind, maybe go out on the town and have some fun.”
“I’m not most people.”
“I noticed. It’s why I hired you in the first place.”
Suzie turned off her blowtorch and set it on its stand before raising her welding goggles. “If that’s the case, then why are you trying to send me home?”
“Torchwood is your job; it shouldn’t be your life too.”
“Why not? It’s yours.”
“That’s because I’m the boss; I have to be here, you don’t. Wouldn’t you rather be out there, having a drink, seeing a movie, hell, even getting an early night? The things we do and see here every day; it gets stressful. The whole idea of having time away from work is to live a little, kick back, rest and de-stress. What d’you do for relaxation?”
Suzie shrugged. “Welding is relaxing. I enjoy it.”
“Welding is work.”
“What can I say? I love my job. Was there anything else, or can I get back to what I was doing?” She stood there, dark hair tied back from her face, chin tilted defiantly, challenging his authority over her. He’d liked that feistiness from the moment he met her.
“Fine. Fifteen more minutes, then you put your toys away and get out of here or you’ll be too tired to concentrate when I need you to. Got it?”
“Yes, dad. Now shoo and let me get on.”
“Fifteen minutes,” Jack reminded her as she pulled her goggles over her eyes and fired up the blowtorch again.
“Heard you the first time!”
Shaking his head, Jack headed back to his office. “Welding is relaxing,” he chuckled. Anywhere else, Suzie would be a misfit, but here she was as normal as the rest of his little team. He wondered what that said about him.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Suzie.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada. Set pre-Season One.
Summary: It’s late, but Suzie is still at work even though the others have already left.
Word Count: 453
Written For: My own prompt ‘Any, Any, “Welding is relaxing”,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Jack strode out of office and pulled up short; he’d thought everyone had gone home, but no, his second in command was still beavering away down in her work area. He could see the sparks flying from where he stood, so he made his way down to see what she was up to.
“Suzie, why are you still here? It’s gone ten, time you packed it in for the night. Go home.”
“Sure, I will in a bit; I just want to finish this first.” Suzie raised her voice to be heard over the roar of the blowtorch she was using, but didn’t look away from whatever it was she was working on.
“Everyone else left over an hour ago. I hope you realise I won’t be paying you overtime for this.”
“Wasn’t asking for it.”
“You know, most people, end of the work day, they can’t wait to get away, leave the job behind, maybe go out on the town and have some fun.”
“I’m not most people.”
“I noticed. It’s why I hired you in the first place.”
Suzie turned off her blowtorch and set it on its stand before raising her welding goggles. “If that’s the case, then why are you trying to send me home?”
“Torchwood is your job; it shouldn’t be your life too.”
“Why not? It’s yours.”
“That’s because I’m the boss; I have to be here, you don’t. Wouldn’t you rather be out there, having a drink, seeing a movie, hell, even getting an early night? The things we do and see here every day; it gets stressful. The whole idea of having time away from work is to live a little, kick back, rest and de-stress. What d’you do for relaxation?”
Suzie shrugged. “Welding is relaxing. I enjoy it.”
“Welding is work.”
“What can I say? I love my job. Was there anything else, or can I get back to what I was doing?” She stood there, dark hair tied back from her face, chin tilted defiantly, challenging his authority over her. He’d liked that feistiness from the moment he met her.
“Fine. Fifteen more minutes, then you put your toys away and get out of here or you’ll be too tired to concentrate when I need you to. Got it?”
“Yes, dad. Now shoo and let me get on.”
“Fifteen minutes,” Jack reminded her as she pulled her goggles over her eyes and fired up the blowtorch again.
“Heard you the first time!”
Shaking his head, Jack headed back to his office. “Welding is relaxing,” he chuckled. Anywhere else, Suzie would be a misfit, but here she was as normal as the rest of his little team. He wondered what that said about him.
The End