A/N: Okay where to begin. . .Well first off I don't own anything, I am purely doing this for my own amusement and no money will be made from this work of fiction obviously...

Otherwise I would be living on 80 acres with the most beautiful barn, fields of emerald, my own private lake, cellars... Oh yeah and the house would be nice too! But I digress (naturally) This little plot bunny is probably the oldest in my herd (in fact, to be honest, I am surprised it's still around). The funny thing was I could just never get the logistics of this one quite right and so I kept putting it back where I couldn't think of it for another day. Until one day I got it right and you will see what I mean. Huge shout out to inkblottales for putting up with my ramblings and incoherencies you rock!

...and here we go!

Odyssey: Of Two Heartbeats

"Oy! Chris."

"Yeah, Matt."

"There's some feller o'er at te house." He said walking into the barn, "He says he wants te talk to ye."

Chris turned towards Matt and leaned against his pitchfork. "What's he wanting?"

"Won't say. Just seys it's important that he talk to ye."

"Well. . . " Chris shrugged and forked another load of hay into the manger. "What's he look like?"

"No one I've ever seen before. Fancy feller, boots so shiny they look as if they'd never seen a pile a shite in their life." Matt said laughing. "Bit on the pale side too. Must be too privileged to be in the sun."

Oh, hell! "Well send 'im down to the barn here. He could be the guy who owns that stallion we were wanting to buy a few weeks back."

"Ah, aye! He might be. Seems the sort." Matt said scratching his chin. "Sellin horses instead of raising them. I'll, err; send 'im down to ye. Yeah?"

"Yeah. Cheers Matt."

Easy Chris. It's just a coincidence. Nobody knows where you are. And besides he's dead and this is the last place on earth those idiots would even consider looking for you.

"Damn!" She cursed stabbing at the hay. "I like it here."

Throwing more hay into the manger she glanced out the door to see if this 'fancy feller' as Matt called him was any closer to the barn. Not seeing anyone yet, she thought back to the first day she met Matthew Connolly.

She had been fresh off the boat and didn't even know the name of the town she was in. Hoping she would be able to find some kind of work because she had very little money left her escape from Paris and boat ride to England had cost her dearly. Going back was not an option so she had to find something and fast.

She had found a copy of the local paper on the ground. On the back of it in the bottom corner there was an advertisement of a man who wanted a farm hand for a small horse holding halfway to the next town. Screwing up her courage she walked to the farm and knocked on the door.

"Can I help ye Miss?"

"I'm answering your advertisement in the paper for a farm hand." She said rather confidently but her nervousness was beginning to show.

"Well what can ye do?"

"I can cook and clean and keep a house." She answered quickly.

"I don't need anyone to clean and cook for me Miss. I already got me a wife." Matt said, "What I need is help in the barns with te horses. I'm afraid, Miss, I got no work for ye."

"Please monsieur, I'm desperate." She begged. "I'm a fast learner. Whatever you teach me I'll get right the first time around. I'll work hard. Please I'm begging you."

"Do you know how te ride at least? Proper like?"

"Oui, I do."

He sighed heavily and scratched his chin, "All right tell ye what we'll do. I'll take ye on for a month say sort of a trial like. I'll pay ye in room an board. If. And only if it works right I'll pay ye three shillings a week on top of room and board."

"I'll take it."

"I err. . . don't suppose you err. . .don't happen to have any other clothes with ye?"

"Non monsieur this is all I have."

He looked her up and down, "Well my boys have both headed off te be in de Kings Army. An you look as if you're about the same size as my youngest boy. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if ye borrow his clothes till ye can get some of yer own."

"Thank you Monsieur. You wont regret this."

"What's yer name girl?"

"Christine."

"Chris it is then. Ye. . . err. . . wouldn't mind cuttin yer hair would ye?"

Chris chuckled at the memory. That was four years ago now and she never did cut her hair. She didn't have to. She earned every ones respect fairly quickly or so it seemed for a woman. It certainly wasn't easy. It was mostly thanks to Erik's' tutelage and the way he demanded perfection that she achieved anything at all. Learning how to do it right the first time instead of encuring his wrath. Even more thanks to him that she knew how to ride "the proper way" as Matt put it.

She rubbed her sleeve over her eyes. Best not to think of him right now or else she'd never be able to deal with who ever it was. Come on Chris your 're tougher than this. Tougher than any man who has ever worked on this farm. Don't start crying now!

" 'es in the barn ye can talk te 'er there." Matt said pointing with his thumb over his shoulder.

"Thank you." He replied with a nod. And turned to head in what he assumed was the direction of the barn. A thumb pointed over a shoulder could hardly be called accurate directions.

He looked around himself as he walked. The locals had called it a farm but what he saw now was leaps and bounds over the image that the phrase had conjured. It looked to be a very large and well-employed stable. Very good-looking stock. He thought as he looked over a field of mares and foals. They were obviously well kept the mares had gleaming coats and the colts were spry and lively. The outbuildings he noted were also in good repair the paint looked fresh and they were tidy, no make that, impeccably kept.

He came up to what he assumed was the main barn, another impeccably kept building, where a young man or rather boy was forking up the last of some hay.

"You there." he called, "Would you be able to tell me where I can find Christine?"

She looked up at the mention of her name and it seemed as if everything caught in her throat at once.

"Erik?" she whispered as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted into his waiting arms.

A/n: please review! It's that pretty little blue button at the bottom of the page.