Hey, it's been a while huh? Well I was on flight last night and had an old iPod with me that had old stories and videos which got me to thinking about Aaron/Jackson again and this was born. Not sure if it's going to be continued but its plagued me all day/night.
Here goes nothing.
Plot: Jackson didn't die, (He didn't alright?! Shut up) Aaron got with Robert but a certain pretty builder reappears in the village, what will Aaron do? Coming face to face with his first love after letting him slip through his fingers all those years ago? I'm not entirely sure of the timeline so for arguments sake we're going to say three years, okay? Ok.
When he'd taken this job Jackson told himself it was because it was just that, it was just a job. Nothing more, nothing less, okay so it happened to be in the same village a certain ex of his lived in but that didn't matter. He wasn't thinking about that ex, he was thinking about the money and being a builder he couldn't afford to turn a job down just because of its location and the last thing he'd heard Aaron had ran off to France with some guy he'd just met. Jackson wasn't bitter though, not really, he just often wondered about Aaron and about when and where it had all ended for them years ago.
When he'd first gotten the call it had been from a number he still had in his phone, listed under Declan Macey but when he answered it had been a completely different person on the other end, in fact it had been a woman and when he'd mentioned working for Declan previously she'd just said she had bought the house from him. Not wanting to pry Jackson had let it drop and told her he would meet her the next day to quote the job.
It was an old farm that was situated on the outskirts of Emmerdale. It was run down and having met with Chrissie he came to understand that someone had recently died in a tragic accident, turned out that he knew her too, from his time in the village. He felt bad about Katie and for Andy; he had lived with him for a short time. He didn't know whether or not he should go to the village to pay his respects, just to say sorry. He took the job, after Chrissie explained that she wanted it habitable so that no one else could or would accidentally get killed.
"You can do it?" Chrissie asked "Yeah, there's a lot wrong with it though, could take up to four or five months, I'll have to get other guys on it too"
"Whatever it takes. I just don't want anything horrible to happen again"
"Course, I get that. Yeah. I can start next week if you're up for it? I'm just finishing a job this week and can start right after?"
"Great, here's the keys, we can sort the paperwork later" handing him the keys Chrissie looked genuinely pleased to be getting the farm back to working order. "I'll swing by yours tomorrow night with the paperwork? It that okay?"
"Yeah" Chrissie answered, then after a beat Jackson could see she was thinking something over "Actually, we'll be at the pub, Robert wants to have this thing with his family, could you… would you mind coming to the pub in Emmerdale? You know it? The Woolpack?"
Closing his eyes briefly Jackson exhaled, yeah he knew it and if he wanted this job he was going to have to man up and not avoid it. "Yeah, I know it. I'll see there, what time is good for you?"
"Six pm?"
"Sounds great" Jackson tried to remain upbeat and not to allow his nerves or hostility to show and it seemed to have worked because Chrissie left looking happy. Now all he had to do was navigate The Woolpack without bumping into anyone he knew, such as Chas, Paddy or Marlon but he knew he was kidding himself. Two of out three of them worked in the pub. It was bound to happen. There was nothing for it, he would grit his teeth and go through with it. He needed the job and Aaron was years behind him. He wasn't worried and he shouldn't and wouldn't allow the relationship to dictate what pub he went into. Tomorrow and this job were a new day, a fresh start with the village and the people in it. He was going to grab it with both hands and make the most of it.
Here endeth the intro. Did you like it? Let me know.