(Untitled)

[assured_of_this]

It's surprising to Nate how natural it feels to sit behind a desk. All things considered, it should probably be at least a little disconcerting, but he's of the firm opinion that not all desks are created equal. Doing his time in the Council office is hardly the same as pushing paper in a nameless cubicle

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[nothingtomiss]

Brad never has any trouble finding Nate, which is comforting, when he thinks about it. He's spent the morning working on the engine and he's wiping his hands on a rag as he walks into the council office. He's been thoroughly enjoying getting his hands dirty and it shows on his face, underneath smeared oil.

"Busy?" he asks, leaning against the doorframe.

[assured_of_this]

When Nate lifts his gaze at the sound of the familiar voice, his smile is slow, almost tempered, as he takes a long moment to consider the towering length of his boyfriend, covered in dirt and grime and sweat. He blinks once like he's coming to, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Absolutely not."

[nothingtomiss]

There's a world in a smile like that and, for a moment, Brad finds himself transfixed.

"I was on my way to take a shower," he says, still leaning with one shoulder against the doorway. "But I thought I'd drop in and disturb you while you were at work."

[assured_of_this]

For a moment, there, Nate had thought Brad was going to issue an invitation to join him. Under his present circumstances, he can't decide whether he's relieved or disappointed that Brad didn't.

"Not sure I would call this working," replies Nate, and takes a final glance at the papers on the desk before closing the folder. He settles his hands atop it, gives Brad his full attention. Silently, he nods to one of the empty chairs.

[bennet_beauty]

This was not her first choice. Jane wanted nothing more than to avoid such officious business, but she had lain awake and could not do anything but think until she had been driven to arriving at the office with questions upon her mind. In her best dress, she knocked politely on the door, anxiety buried deeply so that she merely presented a calm.

"Mister Fick?" she politely addressed him. "May I have a moment?"

[assured_of_this]

Nate glances up from his paperwork with slight curiosity, and then stands upon recognizing who precisely had shown up in his doorway. You don't get approached by a Jane Austen heroine and not stand up to greet her.

"Of course, Ms. Bennet," he says, and waves her towards one of the chairs. "What is it that I can do for you today?"

[bennet_beauty]

Jane made her way to the chair and bowed her head with due respect as she was most aware of her manners in such a situation. "I am here merely to ask questions. I am not sure, precisely, that anyone has the answer, but I believe that a Councilman is my best option," she noted calmly. "Will you be able to help me?"

[assured_of_this]

"Well, I can certainly try," Nate responds as he settles back into his own chair. "It's hard to say for sure until you tell me what it is you have questions about, but I'll do my best."

[abbysciuto]

Abby liked Lt. Fick. He was the good kind of a Marine officer, not the bad kind. Granted, the good kind was 95% of them and the bad was 5%, so the chances of him being good rather than bad were really high, but the bad ones always seemed to be the ones she dealt with, not surprisingly. Plus, Brad loved him, and so Abby liked him on the basis of that too.

When she walked into the council office to check in on things, she wasn't surprised to see him studying what looked like the island records and smiled. It was another reason she liked him - he wanted to know how the island worked, though he might have been doomed to failure in that one. No one really knew how the island worked, maybe not even the island.

"Afternoon, Lieutenant," she greeted him cheerfully. "Anything interesting happening today?"

[assured_of_this]

Nate glances up and then smiles broad and bright when he sees that it's Abby. "Not at all, but judging by what I've been reading, I'm thinking that's just fine," he answers with a quiet huff of laughter. "You've been here a long time, haven't you? I imagine you've seen your fair share of insanity."

[abbysciuto]

She always had to think about how long she'd been here since it pretty much seemed like forever now. She'd been here longer than she'd been in grad school and almost as long as undergrad, so it kind of was forever, in a relative sense.

"Quiet is good around here. And I've been here, um, four years next month," she confirmed. "February 25, 2006 I walked out of an elevator and onto a beach. It just got weirder from there, believe me. What are you reading about now?"

[assured_of_this]

"When the dinosaur fence failed," Nate answers with a glance back to the open file folder. "It's a little scary how easy this place makes complacency when there are literally giant, carnivorous lizards less than ten miles away. You were here, what? About a year, then?"