Juliane turned the corner towards the boatyard, smiling kindly for an old salt with rheumy eyes who was repairing a net. The thaw would be upon the fishermen soon enough and the docks were stirring with activity. A whistle was given by another as she passed. "Goin' out ta sea are ya, miss?" the lad inquired. A shake of her head as she kept her eyes forward. Stepping inside the dry storage where the L?ir Mothan was stored, she paused at the jaunty singing and unexpected sight of the Scot.

?Oh, I?m a rover and seldom sober ? I?m a rover, o? high degree; And when I?m drinking, I?m always thinking ? How to gain my love?s company.? Jaunty indeed, the tune in Hudson?s low tenor as he stood in the prow coiling a line and occasionally tugging on it to check for soundness. His shirt was draped over a nearby crate, and he had slung down the great plaid from his shoulder as he worked. Without the shirt, lean muscle was revealed, along with a stray scar or two. It was only when he realized the light from the door had dimmed that he looked up with surprise, the song dying away.

He looked like a child caught being wicked and she could barely restrain the chuckle. "And here Sianna told me tha' there weren't a Scot tha' couldn't hold his drink. She forgot ta mention that all th' men were self-proclaimed rovers." Averting her eyes so that he couldn't think her staring, she attempted to steer the conversation into safer waters. "So ya gettin' set ta sail soon?"

Taking the teasing with good humor, Hudson recovered from his surprise to laugh quietly at Juliane?s remark. After a moment he went back to coiling the line with the sharp tugs against it every few feet. ?Rovers tae th? end, I fear. Aye, I be making her ready for th? break-up.? Black eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled across the distance to her, briefly. ?Thank ye for th? name tae her, Juliane.?

She had taken to leaning against the door-jamb, eyes following the curve and curl of the ship from her current angle. Picturing the ship with the waves cresting up against her hull, moving sleek and swift through the water. Juliane dropped the box of supplies to rest on a crate and grinned at his confession. Her head shook, however, to dismiss the gratitude. "No thanks needed, yeah? Ya did th' namin'. I jus' did a 'wee' bit of paintin'." Attempting to mimic a Scots accent with the last bit and falling short.

Tucking the end of the coil back on itself, he shook his head at the attempted accent with another quiet laugh. ?Far more than a wee bit o? painting, Juliane. Ye be most talented, and I be verra glad ye took on such a wee thing when ye ha?e more important things tae take up yer time. But with that done, what dae ye here taeday?? Hudson gave the inner hull behind the nameplate an affectionate slap, and then swung down from the prow to grab his shirt.

The sight of the shirtless man prompted her to turn her head out towards the sea and added a bit of color to her cheeks. Used to seeing men at work on the farm, it seemed rather improper to watch him since she had disturbed his work. It was not as if he had dressed for an audience. Another shrug lifted her shoulders. "Jus' thought ta check tha' th' freeze an' thaw didn't bubble th' paint and mar it all up, yeah? Thought ta see if ya had liked it or painted it over fer me ta do over."

?Nae, I wouldnae paint over such a masterwork. I ha?e nae checked for th? weather tae make a difference tae it, though I should ha?e ? th? rest o? th? paint, as well. Would ye care tae help me inspect it, since ye remind me o? th? chance?? Wiping away sweat with a rag, he pulled on the loose linen shirt, although he didn?t tie the neck, or reseat the plaid on his shoulder. Another look at the Mothan turned to a look out at the harbor, where large chunks of ice still crashed into each other with the waves.

"I think I can handle tha' easy enough, yeah?" She straightened from her lean and squared her shoulders. "Even brought a bit of varnish ta seal th' nameplate if ya like. Not sure what th' salt will do ta th' paint and figured it couldn't hurt ta protect it, yeah?" A hand ran over the rib of the boat, the smooth painted wood cool and solid to the touch.

Net-scarred hands ran over the nameplate in a similar gesture, and paused on one of the small clusters of flowers she had added to the plain elegance of the name. ?Aye, that it can?t. Salt and sea will wear away th? paint, fade it down by th? end o? the season, and th? dark blue will look th? color o? th? dusk-light. Next winter, will all be tae be done again. But she?ll be bonny for th? season, she will. Where did ye come tae ken o? the name, Juliane, or th? flowers tae paint them sae well?? His voice was quiet, barely audible over the rush of water from outside the storage area.

She had walked around her side of the boat, not noting anything that needed repair. Pausing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the man, she gave her work the once over. "I had stopped ta see Sianna an' m'brother one night. She was teachin' him ta cook and invited me ta stay and risk... I mean, share a bite with 'em." Her grin was one of sisterly teasing. "Heard her mention that ya'd picked a name for it and she explained what it meant, yeah?"

?Aye, I see. Older brother though I be, Sianna always had a care for us. She?d ken th? name well.? With another affectionate slap to the side of the dory, Hudson looked over at Juliane with a slightly mischievous smile. ?I dinnae suppose I could talk ye intae staying out th? day here tae aid me? There be a few tasks that be easier with two than one tae dae. I?ll repay ye in better food than yer brother is likely tae be able tae provide, if ye wish, or sommat else o? yer choosing.?

Brows lifted, she tried to judge and measure the level of mischief. "Do th' tasks have an'thin' ta do wi' drinkin' or rovin'?" Chuckling softly as he sadly shook his head in the negative. "Ahh, then I suppose I can handle a bit a work wi' no trouble. Although ya might be hard pressed ta beat Johnny in th' payment. Ya know he'd have Si do th' cookin' fer him."

Hudson shook his head sadly, although laughter brightened his black eyes. ?Then ?tis nae fair trade at all, if ye give up Sianna?s cooking for mine. But I?ll take th? help with thanks nonetheless. Ha?e ye e?er worked around a boat at all before?? Hudson swung himself back up into the dory, and then bent to offer his scarred and callused hand to Juliane. ?There be naught truly difficult left tae dae, but things that gae faster with more than one pair o? hands.?

Setting the linkage box well off to one side, he noticed the avoidance of half of the topic, but let the matter rest as he bent to look at the actual linkage mechanics. Instead he answered her first remark. ?Then yer mother be a wise woman ? but I ha?e nae always th? temper tae keep tae th? sweet words first. Bloody ? see here, this piece?? When he pointed, it was obvious what he was referring to. A bearing had rusted so badly in the salt water that it had locked in place, allowing the cable to run past it without hindrance.

"Ah, heard a rumor of sorts about th' Scots and their tempers, yeah? Guess it wasn't a total fabrication." A small giggle as she leaned in to inspect the bearing. " A glance to the toolbox and back again. "Do we hav'ta take th' whole thing apart or jus' fix it in stages?"

Stepping back so he could straighten, Hudson ran his hand back through his hair and frowned. ?Unfortunately, th? only way I ken tae fix it be tae drop th? whole assembly out, tae take it apart. At least we shouldn?t ha?e tae drop th? whole rudder.? Bending to pick up a pair of wrenches, he offered one to Juliane. It would take both of them working carefully to remove the assembly without dropping it onto the ground.

Taking the offered wrench, she saluted him with it. "Well thank th' Lor' an' Skies fer small miracles, yeah?" Bending at the knees, she set to work, moving as instructed to loosen various points. Working in tandem, they murmured apologies for bumps and missteps, and before two long the assembly was removed, albeit awkwardly, in one piece.

Shaking his head, Hudson looked at the assembly before he began to take it apart carefully, setting aside each piece as it came free. His voice was distracted as he reached the rusted bearing. ?Th? rest o? this needs tae be scraped and oiled well afore it goes back taegether. Dae ye feel up tae a wee bit o? borrowing, Juliane? Or would ye prefer tae take a wee file and a bit o? sandpaper tae these parts while I step out for another o? these??

Thinking back to the comment and gazes she'd received, she shook her head. "I'll do th' filing while ya go fetch what ya need." As if to prove her point, she lowered herself to the ground, long legs folded up beneath her and picked up a piece of metal ligature and the file. Quick, light strokes sent a flurry of red dust over her lap as she began to remove the layers of many years. She smiled softly up at him. "Hope ya find one easily enough."

He had to chuckle quietly as the flurry of red dust settled down on her upturned face. ?Aye, ?tis back soon I?ll be.? Brisk strides took him out of the building, bouncing the rusted bearing in one scarred hand. He was taken aback when one of the lads working on a boat in the next slip raised his hands over his head in a silent cheer. After a moment, Hudson shook his head and walked on to a salvage area run by a very clever trader.

Left to her own devices, with the surf and the gulls for company, she started with the smallest pieces first. A growing pile of cleaned bearings gathered to one side as time passed. Allowing herself to get lost in the motion, her mind wandered a bit. "Nothin' like takin' th' residue off ta make one feel useful again, yeah?"

Searching through the piles of scrap and reclaimed parts finally turned up a bearing of the proper size. It took longer than Hudson had anticipated, as did haggling over the price with the trader who ran the area. When he finally returned to the building, he was impressed by how much progress Juliane had made ? and amused when he overheard her addressing the piece of metal in her hand. ?There?s something tae be said for taking off th? rust, aye.?

Startled by his reappearance, the file glanced off the metal and against the side of her finger sharply. Dropping both as if they were hot lead, she wiped the injury against a relatively clean section of her shirt before placing it to her mouth to stop the bleeding. She grimaced at the metallic taste before resting her hand on one knee. "I suppose." Blushed with embarassment at being overheard. "Did ya get what ya needed?"

Hudson held up the replacement bearing in answer to her question. He crossed through the room and crouched to put the part down and take her hand with a frown. ?I didnae mean tae startle ye intae injuring yerself. I be most sorry for that.? His expression cleared when gentle examination revealed it to be a deep scrape, and nothing more serious. Replacing her hand on her knee with a brief smile, he shook his head. ?And now I most certainly owe ye sommat, that ye injured yerself tae aid me taeday.?

She blushed again, now the center of attention, the familiarity of his actions catching her off-guard. "Don't mind it, yeah? Jus' a scrape an' m'own doin' at tha'. I coulda jus' as easily injured myself doin' somethin' else. Papercuts are far worse than this, I promise ya." Picking the file and ligature back up, she worked right-handed this time, so as not to aggravate the injury.

Hudson looked at the pile of cleaned parts, and then straightened to fetch a small bottle of oil, a clean rag, and a scrap of sailcloth to lay the cleaned and oiled parts on. Beginning with the just-acquired bearing, he moistened the rag with the oil and then set to wiping the parts. It left a thin coat of protecting oil over each one. After working a few minutes of companionable silence, he began to sing again, quietly.

?By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes, where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond, where me and my true love were ever won't to gae, on the bonnie bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.? It didn?t have the jaunty lilt of his earlier song, but some habits were hard to break. He sang as he worked, and the time passed more swiftly. ?O' ye'll tak the high road and I'll tak the low road, and I'll be in Scotland afore ye; But me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie bonnie banks o' loch Lomond?

"Ahhh, so all Scots are rovers, have tempers and are singers, yeah?" She interjected teasingly as his song drew to a close before dropping another clean metal bit to his pile to be oiled. Clenching her fingers, she allowed her hands a brief rest as she sat and watch him work meticulously. "I may jus' have ta start a list if ya keep addin' to it like ya have."

?I dinnae ken if we all be singers, sae dinnae be sae fast tae make that list. I think in our family it be a habit from our Gran and our Da. Dae ye think ye recall enow o? how this fit taegether tae begin reassembling th? pieces? There be only a few more tae finish oiling.? Hudson was taking great care with each part. Three miles onto the open ocean would be entirely the wrong time to find that something had gone awry.

She shook her head, momentarily baffled. "Not enough ta be brave enough ta attempt it m'self. How about ya let me finish that and ya get started connectin' it all together again." Holding out her hands for the rag and oil.