Aja entered her work shop carrying blue prints for the small bumper boats she was going to build for the Children's Day event. Her guys barely looked up, as the bosses presence was nothing new. She tacked the blue prints to the wall, shed her over shirt and got to work.

Midday, Steve stopped in just as she was finishing the first boat. He dropped the tub of rubber she had him cut for her. "Nice timing!" She gave him a grin seeing the bin of rubber. "I jist finished dis one up."

Steve himself was dressed for working, in battered and grease-stained coveralls, and with more than just the requested rubber strips. The smile he offered was affable, but distracted, and for some time there was very little talk unprompted as other recently machined implements were brought in from the truck outside. If anything, the man appeared tired despite the somewhat easy workload.

"Once I authorize the overtime, the boys'll be poundin" away on this stuff. Should make for a fun day for the kids."

"Aye." Aja said as she tugged a strip of rubber out of the tub, rolling it out and clamping it down then starting to take measurements of the boat so she could cut the strip right. "I think things like dis are good fer RhyDin." she moved the tape measure and jotted down the number. "So much disaster, it's nice ta have somethin light hearted ta focus on."

"No argument there," he conceded with a curt nod. "Seems like shit hits the fan all the time and most folks are more interested in finding something to kill over it than lookin" out for the people who can't look out for themselves. Sometimes it's nice to be the good-guy in those understated ways."

Aja unclamped one end of the rubber while Steve was speaking, taking in what he was saying. She recalled the recent GAC meeting.

"Not fer nuffin, but I want ya ta know dat I am honored ta call ya a friend." she marked on the boat where to put the rubber. "All that stuff ya did fer people during da storm." she looked at him. "Even if no one else seemed ta notice."

The machinist seemed to neither wilt nor puff up beneath the offered praise, but instead countered the words with a wan smile that bordered on something more....ambivalent. For some time he didn't say anything, his breathing lost beneath the din of the parts he separated and categorized before words finally came to him only half-unbidden. "You know, a year ago I would have scoffed at the idea of anyone wantin" to call me their friend. I probably wouldn't have cared. I'm not exactly the easiest guy to find somethin" likable about and keepin" everyone at arm's length has been pretty standard."

He considered his own words for a moment (perhaps longer), before falling silent.

"I have a hard time seein ya as anti-social..given how much ya try ta get me inta trouble at da meetings." she gave him a grin.

"That was once," he barked a laugh, a clipped sound. "Shylah's more your partner in crime for that."

"Shy's a riot." Aja laughed as she turned towards the work bench to grab a tool. "Seriously, I can't see ya bein dat closed off."

"Blame Fionna." That small smile widened, without a surly mien, until something more meaningful resided on his rough features. "Time spent with her reminded me what it's really like to be a person again. To be somebody. To wanna really rejoin the human race, metaphorically speakin"."

"I should send her some flowers in dat case." she grinned over at him. "Yer a good man ta know." she looked

back to what she was doing. "I can't say I don't get where ya wuz though. I think we all go through a phase like dat." she moved the level to a spot to check something. "I know I spent a couple years so focused on other things, dat people took a second chair."

Aja's guys if they heard any of the conversation between the two made no indication of it as they carried out their duties.

"The lady deserves a lot more credit than she's given....for a lot of things. This place takes her for granted, when it truth she manages to work miracles in a place where, realistically, her authority is limited. Can't say I'm sorry that she's not runnin" for third term, but those're gonna be touch shoes for someone else to fill." Steve's blonde brows dipped together pensively and the silence threatened to linger uncomfortably between them before he finally found his voice again. "I'm not proud of the guy I was long before she took a chance interest in me, but havin" her in my life has been the first and best of a lot of blessings that've come to me since."

"So yeah. Send her flowers." There was that surly grin. "And maybe a note thankin" her for just being her."

She listened while he spoke, working along so not to make him uncomfortable with her looking at him.

"Funny how a single person can alter yer world view, ain't it?" she said picking up her hammer. "I thought da kids would be the last of the changes....till I found Padriq...or he found me, rather. " smirks at Steve. "I wasn't exactly lookin ta get involved with anyone." she started to attach the rubber to the boat.

A wolfish chortle was caught in his throat, but his own emotional prattling and the candid talk did produce a more definable peel of deep laughter. "Wouldn't call it altered so much as I'd venture to say that she reminded me that under all the booze, loose women, and....carnage....that there was still a man worth knowin" beneath all the bullshit. Geez, look at me. I'm gushing. I don't gush. Now I need to talk about how she's a hot piece of ass or somethin" just so I can keep my street cred as a douchebag!"

Aja chuckled at his laughter and comments. She glanced up at him and his smile then went back to working. "Maybe tuck a few singles in da servin wenches tops?"

"Somethin" like that." There was another bark of amusement as he levered open another crate full of supplies. "I can't be all sunshine and rainbows all the time, afterall."

"Nah." she said as she moved along the side of the mini boat attaching the rubber strip. "Me either. Well..." she paused and motioned to her shop. "Not here anyway. Cost of bein da boss." one of her guys made a noise that sounded suspiciously like stifled laughter and quickly left the shop. "Yer on da list, Jack!" she called after him with a grin. There was a slight thumb jerk in Jack's general direction. "Dey work fer me but I try ta make sure dey know I'm one of dem." she just smiled as she finished up the mini boat. Then she laid out a roller conveyer and moved the boat down to another section of the work bench.

Her guys moved in to take it off to the paint shop and she started on the next one. Steve leaned against the work bench and watched.

"So. I should be able ta get two more boats done today. Tomorrow da other two." she glanced up at Steve. "A day ta let da paint dry, then move "em ta da site. Keep "em in a storage container till da day. Less ta move later." That was Aja logic for you. Do it all now, then store it away for later.

"Sounds good," he nodded and moved on to the next crate for unpacking. "My pal Sergei's agreed to help construct the water pump engines and Fionna's daughter Lirssa's gonna be around, so I imagine she'll be up for gettin" put to work too."

The work itself proved to be a nice distraction, broken occasionally by more random conversation that resulted in more than one crude joke, but it all seemed to keep the machinist more than affable. A few more hours under their belts and then Steve was finally getting himself cleaned up to head for home. "You know, this was fun, Aja. No pressure and good conversation. I usually only get that at home or with a very select few people. Thanks."

She smiled at him as she twirled a socket wrench around. "Aye, It's nice ta work along with someone who don't expect nuffin from ya." she set the wrench down. "Better dan a therapists office." her grin widened. "Not as posh. But it gets yer head straight.?

They ended their day with a few finished boats, a six (or two) of beer and a solid foundation for a life long friendship. Which is RhyDin, could mean a few months or a few decades. Depending on the amount of mayhem a person was exposed to.

(( Written with Steve Armstrong's Player. Dig it, Man))