[ guess who's back, guess who's back ]

[wegotwork]

Sam is very actively not dealing with his problems - namely, the part where the last couple of weeks have taken all of his control not to go out and find some kind of demon to feed on. Barring that, he's not even sure finding a willing demon here would give him the same satisfaction as one back home - and he's also pretty sure that asking nicely

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[pwnspatrickjane]

Shawn recognizes the 'find a job' shuffle anywhere. He has spent most of his adult life doing it, and it brought him some of the most rewarding experiences he's ever had. It's why he can do his job so effectively now. Once you learn a skill, you never forget it.

He sees the girl where she's sitting under a tree, and makes his way over with a smile. Making friends was the name of the game, and the sooner he got to know most of the people in the area, the better off and less bored he'd be.

"Having fun?"

[doneanddoner]

Fred looks up, her glasses sliding up the bridge of her nose and making it a little difficult to spot who's approaching - especially when the sun glares through the trees that way. Now she's reduced to squinting, which isn't exactly the most attractive expression on anyone.

"I'm not so sure fun is the right word," she admits, rolling her shoulder in a casual shrug. "But it's somethin' to do."

[pwnspatrickjane]

"What?" Shawn looks shocked. Not that he didn't expect that answer, but he needs to play it up.

He quickly moves to sit down next to her under the tree so that she doesn't have to squint, and gives her a grin. "Then forgive me for saying so, but ... you're doing it wrong. Job hunting should always be fun."

[doneanddoner]

"Oh." Fred tucks a dark strand of hair behind one ear. "Guess I am doin' it wrong, then."

She looks down at the list in front of her - some postings circled, some vigorously crossed-out - and then back to the guy sitting next to her.

"What's your strategy?"

[yourwonderings]

Jo's at the library for an entirely different reason. Research, mainly.

Since that night at the bar, she hasn't seen Sam.

Sam's pretty hard to miss. He's so tall, and that's still apparent despite the fact he's slumped in a chair. Jo doesn't know if she should bother him or not. He doesn't look like he wants to be but heck if that usually stops her from prying.

She's carrying a few load of books. Part of Jo is an inner geek child. "Hey," she says quietly.

[wegotwork]

"Jo. Hey."

Sam's trying not to find the entire situation awkward, but given that their last conversation had been a full-on reminder of the pre-Rift meeting they'd had (my daddy shot your daddy in the heeead), it's a little difficult to stay completely casual.

Still, he can be pretty convincing when he tries to be.

"What're all those for?"

[yourwonderings]

It's okay, Sam. Jo's trying to do the same thing, and she may find the attempt moderately successful. She's been here for five months now, and hell if Chicago doesn't change someone's perspective.

Besides, he's someone she knows, someone from back home. It's familiar and that beats the awkwardness.

For her, at least.

She flashes him a faint smile. She doesn't sit next to him in case he wants to be left alone, but she'll try to at least see how he's doing. "Research. Workin' on something. You?"

[wegotwork]

"Research, huh? On what?"

Nice deflection, Sammy. We'll pretend that you did a better job of brushing right on past what you were doing - which is, for the most part, absolutely nothing at all. Besides, he's half-convinced at this point that whatever Jo's looking into is much more interesting than his biography-browsing.

[inventandforget]

Fred, you are getting presented with a cookie.

Millie smiles down at her, expre3ssion open and friendly. "Here," she says. "For trying." And if she has assumed wrong and Fred isn't actually looking for work, then she just gets a free cookie for hanging out in the park. Yes, Millie will pass out cookies for all sorts of reasons.

[doneanddoner]

Fred looks up, shoving her glasses (which are currently in the process of slipping down) back up her nose before her vision focuses in on the cookie - and then her gaze follows the cookie up the arm of the offering person.

A girl person.

"Oh, well, that's kind of you," she says, unprepared for that kind of spontaneous generosity but immediately charmed by it.

[inventandforget]

She plops down in front of her, peering at the paper with interest. "Are lookin' for somewhere to work? 'Cause if you are, I might be able to help out. I mean, if you're lookin' for somethin' else I might be sable to help too but well, I know I can help if it's work you're after."

She should probably say hello properly first or, at the very least, introduce herself but her head is on what Fred seems to need and then, after that's taken care of, they can get to stuff like names.

[doneanddoner]

"You could say that," Fred admits, nibbling on the cookie as sort of an afterthought. "Actually, you are sayin' that, and that happens to be the truth, so."

She shrugs somewhat helplessly.

"I haven't really found anythin' that looks remotely like a good fit, though, but that's not entirely surprisin'."

[themaelstrom77]

Miles is walking through the park, coffee in hand. Elizabeth's successfully snapped him out of his week-long drunken stupor, but he still doesn't have anything to do with himself. He's bored.

Maybe... a job.

He doesn't know it yet, but Miles is in the same boat as Fred.

He also doesn't know she's sitting under the tree he's walking past as he sips his coffee.

Thankfully, when he trips over her legs, his coffee spills on the ground, rather than on either of them or the newspaper. Thankfully, he barely lands on her, too. But it still can't be too pleasant to be Fred right now.

[doneanddoner]

Fred's default response isn't anger, or frustration - but complete and utter embarrassment.

She practically leaps to her feet, clapping one hand over her mouth, eyes going wide behind her glasses - and gasps apologetically, reaching out to steady him without really even thinking about it. Given her abilities, she doesn't break a sweat helping him to balance.

But she's not exactly thinking about that right now.

"Oh, gosh! I'm so, so sorry. Are you alright? You hurt anywhere? I - I'll buy you another coffee or somethin', it's the least I can do."

[themaelstrom77]

Miles kind of stares helplessly as his coffee sinks into the earth for a moment, before he turns to look at Fred.

Before the island, on the island, and after it, his default reaction would have been pissed. It was his response to almost anything. But this is a different world where he doesn't have to be a self-loathing fuck up (as he liked to call himself when he was an emo teenager, sweet Jesus). He doesn't have to be an asshole.

"No, seriously, that was completely my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going - are you okay? I didn't spill on you or step on you or anything, right?"

[doneanddoner]

"No, no," Fred assures him, letting her hand drop from the crook of his elbow after a respectable amount of time has passed in which she was making sure he was alright.

"I guess you could just chalk it up to group clumsiness," she admits, smiling shyly.

"But I was serious about buyin' you another. I could probably use one myself. These classifieds are startin' to blur even with my glasses on."