(Untitled)

[lastof_five]

The rain had faded away approximately a week before but Helen hadn't really had the chance to get out in the sun and just enjoy it. First, it was wanting to finish a book she'd found in the Compound, then it was clinic duties...but on a Sunday afternoon, even she had to admit there was very little in the way of work she could contrive. She had,

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[anger_sideways]

When it had been raining, Hawkeye had been desperate to be able to get back outdoors again. Now he was able to, he found he didn't have much to do when he was out there. He'd spent much of the afternoon ambling by the water's edge, looking for interesting things that might have washed up on the shore and skimming stones around the morning. It reminded him of summers back home in Maine, loitering by the seashore and annoying the fishermen.

He slowed his pace a little when he caught sight of an attractive woman in a swimsuit sunning herself by the beach. She said something Hawkeye could only just catch.

"Working? I wasn't aware people round here paid you to sit on the beach and look out to sea," he said, coming to a stop behind her. "Who's your boss? I think I'd like a piece of that."

[lastof_five]

"I'm my own boss, actually," Helen said, smiling up at the newcomer. "And I've been told I work far too hard, but I think it's just a difference of opinion. I merely like to see beyond the veneers of everyday life and think deeper than base wants and needs."

She gestured toward the book. "That said, I think I'm reading too much into the book and not enjoying it."

[anger_sideways]

Hawkeye himself preferred not to think deeper than base wants and needs, because it usually made him feel rather depressed. Still, he liked a woman with smarts; the clever ones were the best at keeping up with him.

"So what are you reading?" he said, crouching down and peering round so he could read the cover. "'The Lord of the Rings'? So it's about an aristocrat who collects jewellery? No wonder you're bored."

[lastof_five]

"Not exactly," Helen said, laughing again. This man had quite the quick wit; that was always a positive quality.

"It's about a ring of absolute power and the way it corrupts those around it. Interesting allegory for life and everything after, I suppose, if you're going to read into it. The author didn't intend for it to be interpreted that way, but it happened anyway."

She tilted her head a little and assessed the other man. "Do you offer a cure for boredom, then?"

[anger_sideways]

Interesting concept. Hawkeye could think of a few people that could apply to, from women who went crazy from their desperation to get a snazzy rock on their finger, to men with stars on their shoulders and West Point class rings on their hands who thought the whole world was their plaything. Maybe this author had a point, though the corrupting influence of power and the desire for it was hardly limited to jewellery.

And then the woman asked another question, and that was much further in Hawkeye's home territory than literary chit-chat. He grinned widely.

"Oh, I can think of several cures for boredom," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "I wouldn't be much of a doctor if I couldn't deal with an affliction that common. What are your thoughts on martinis?"

[lastof_five]

"Rather lovely, in the right context," Helen said, laughing a little. "I was always more of a wine enthusiast though. Can't imagine the island has much in the way of a vintage and I've been known to make do when I can."

Her smile curled up a little more. "And as for how I take them, rather dirty. And gin only...there's this damnable trend now to put vodka in them. Can you imagine? A vodka martini? It's blasphemy."

[anger_sideways]

"Vodka?" Hawkeye said, reeling back with shock. "Okay, okay, I came here from 1952, and I've learned that a lot of things have changed. Women's liberation? All for it! Homosexuality both legal and acceptable? About time! But vodka in martinis? That, I cannot be standing for."

He shook his head despairingly. "It's a good thing I have a still in my hut. I don't have any vermouth or olives, so at the moment my martinis are essentially cold, conical glasses of gin, but that's the key thing. None of these new-fangled vodka business."

He flashed the woman a winsome smile. "Don't suppose you'd care to join me for a cold, conical glass of gin right now? It's always cocktail hour somewhere."

[lastof_five]

Helen tilted her head and tried to consider it, weighing the pros and cons, but honestly, what else was there to do? She wasn't performing surgery or seeing a patient and Will was God knows where, so there was nothing preventing her from having a friendly drink. Nothing at all. She shifted to stand.

"You've convinced me. I don't know if it was the gin or the company, but I suppose if you've a photograph of vermouth we can stare at it while we drink and pretend it's a proper martini. Better than this vodka business all around."

[anger_sideways]

"I do like a woman who appreciates the right kind of drink," Hawkeye said, getting to her feet and, with a certain degree of unnecessary flourish, offering her his hand.

"It's only a short walk up the beach," he said. "By the way, my name's Hawkeye - I think it's usually considered polite to know somebody's name before you get drunk enough to forget it again."

[lastof_five]

Helen took it and smiled broad, broad enough to show her dimple. "Helen, then, since we're going to be on a first name basis now. I think that's a good rule of thumb, learning the names before getting inebriated. It can save you a lot of embarrassment and heartbreak later."

Helen let her smile slide into a smirk. "But I'm not normally this easy, so you know. Normally I need a lot more before I go out for a drink with a man."

[anger_sideways]

Hawkeye smirked right back, his already oversized ego inflating a little notch with the revelation that Helen wasn't this friendly with everybody.

"I'm not a normal man," he remarked casually, letting his grasp on her hand linger a little before letting it go. "Or rather, I wasn't. By island standards, there is no normal, which is a far healthier state of affairs."

He tilted his head slightly, frowning. "On the other hand, it does take some of the fun out of being outrageous when nobody is ever outraged."

[lastof_five]

"There is no such thing as normal," Helen echoed, personally thinking the sentiment had a good bit of merit. She, after all, had seen a century and a half of life and that wasn't normal by anyone's standards.

"I think, as cliched as it will sound, that variety is the spice of life and everything's just a touch bland without it. I might be English, but it doesn't mean I want my life completely staid and boring. I like a little adventure."

[anger_sideways]

"Good thing you're on the island, then, this place has plenty of adventure. Possibly too much adventure sometimes," Hawkeye said, and paused as they came to the porch of his hut. He turned to face Helen, leaning against the railing.

"Well, this is it. Chez Hawkeye," he said, and hopped up towards the door. He kicked it open and gestured inside. "As depraved and decadent a den of iniquity as you will ever see on this island, providing you haven't seen much of the rest of it." It was a bit messy in there, but he was sure she wouldn't mind. People forgave a lot when there was a free drink in the offing.

[lastof_five]

"I've been in worse," Helen said, smiling faintly. Much worse, if she was honest, but she'd always preferred to surround herself with nice things. That said, it was no different from her own hut, especially with Will's things strewn about.

Really, that man was just too messy. Still, this was a chance to get away from the nest and spread her wings a little, so to speak, so Helen grasped it.

"It's actually a little charming. Company helps."

[anger_sideways]

"'Tis humble, but mine own," Hawkeye said. And though it was a shambles, it was still a vast improvement on the Swamp, in that it had solid walls and it didn't have a pervasive smell of damp socks.

He strolled across to the still and filled a glass with freshly brewed gin, turning to offer it to Helen.

"Here," he said. "Take a seat, if you can find one."

He picked up the rest of the jar of gin and sprawled back across his bed, leaving the only indoor chair for Helen. As afternoons went, this one was taking a definite upward tick.

[lastof_five]

Helen gave him a smile before sipping at the gin, trying to keep from wincing. It'd been a long time since she'd drunk gin straight and it certainly hadn't been gin from a still.

"It's been a very long time since I've actually stepped back from my work and enjoyed an afternoon for once. Thank you, actually, for...this, I suppose."