#Long-lasting Construction

[equalonline]

What You Must Know About Choosing The Right Ladder

Most people, in and out of the trade, use different types of aluminum ladders on a daily basis. For households it can be a step ladder to reach higher shelves, changing the bulb, or even changing smoke detector batteries.

For the DIY projects typically embrace extended reaches. It can be as easy as splitting a panel (I would like my arms were longer) to assembling an elevated deck. Here, the necessity for various ladder types exists, depending on the work on hand.

For the professional, it’s a ladder collection like Step, extension, and multi-purpose ladders are all required. In some cases, scaffolds and pump jacks match the bill. Therefore here may be a primer on the criteria once choosing a ladder.

Types of Ladder

This may seem to be such a basic question, however different ladders are designed to securely guide you through different project types. Finding and choosing the correct ladder is your first step (pun intended) to obtaining the correct tool for the work.

Some basic types embrace household ladder, industrial ladder, multipurpose ladder and scaffolding ladder, telescopic ladder (a must-have specialty item that saves professionals on Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines). The list will prolong with specialty ladders like attic ladders, step stools, rolling ladders as well as accessories that create your ladder do more.

First, let’s take a glance at the four most common ladder types:

Household Ladder

Have you shifted to your new home recently? From cleansing up the spider net on the ceiling, fixing the bulb or changing the curtains, a ladder is required to do some basic work at home. Imagine not having a ladder for home; going to those zones would be such a frightening task. Explore EQUAL household Ladder to search out a perfect ladder to fit your needs.

Many people have a basic step ladder or a ladder reception to induce the essential jobs done, wherever a little bit of extra height would facilitate. Our ladder must be helpful for doing all such ménage work with ease.

Industrial Ladder

The industrial ladder is the strongest sort of ladder that you can buy. These types of ladders are designed for onsite use and are designed to be in use perpetually. An industrial ladder is a superb alternative for the one that has to work on-site constantly.

EQUAL industrial ladders follow the EN131 standard for safety and build with T5 grade aluminum. EN131 is the most important certification for any ladder because it is that the sole way to make sure that the ladder meets the security requirement for trade and domestic use.

Multipurpose Ladder

A multipurpose ladder is a must for any tradesperson – multi-functional, economical and infrequently cost-efficient, they’re one amongst the top items of kit we suggest. Any ladder than may be accustomed to accomplish the tasks of 2 or more kinds of the ladder is taken into account multi-purpose.

Scaffolding Ladder

Scaffolding Ladder allows you to store the tool more expeditiously while also adding the flexibility of adjusting the peak as required. Different variations of this tool are straight, or hole ladders, which are the only section wherever a collection length is used over and over (think library ladders for the employment of one-height needed)

Extension rung locks take the bulk of the abuse on this ladder-type and may contribute to early failure. Some corporations are using advanced polymers to strengthen this key part. Polymers have replaced steel and aluminium in several applications nowadays, together with cars and trucks.

Telescopic Ladder

This aluminum telescopic ladder has been designed to telescope and retract succinctly, making it easy to store and maintain around the home. The extension is simple to use, and additionally, the retraction is usually created with a lock at the foot, that closes the ladder with a no-pinch system. It has been manufactured to a trade normal which will be used by each industrial contractor and for at-home projects. The Extension & Climb ladder may be a wise and easier-to-use solution to chunky ladders. This ladder is lightweight and durable as a result it has been designed especially for simple transportation.

It features an integrated carrying handle that produces transport and storage even easier. The telescoping ladder has been designed to be time-saving and easy to use. It features applied science designs and lockup tabs for safe and secure use. That’s why it's nice for each house or business. It’s manufactured from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy for strength and sturdiness. This ladder is definite to look at you through every job or task you've got at home or work.

The main advantage of telescopic ladder is the simple fact they can be simply stored. The sleek style means they can be slotted right down to a size smaller than a deck chair, creating them excellent for putting in the rear of a work van, a small storage cupboard or a shed.

We have designed our telescopic ladders to be as compact as doable, we have a tendency to additionally put in Associate in the nursing anti-pinch system to safeguard your fingers. All of our telescopic ladders are created from aluminum which means they are terribly light-weight, this makes them glorious for transporting, domestic use, industrial use, and for a great deal of. The aluminum does not simply make the telescopic ladders durable and lightweight, they additionally mean they need a rust-resistant surface.

Ladder Height

That’s right; there are two factors to think about while selecting the correct ladder. However, they’re calculated depends on the kind of ladder that you are using.

Step ladders would come with the length of the ladder once open likewise as a maximum height you wish to reach, calculated for an average person’s height of 5’9” with a vertical reach of 12”.

So if you recognize how high you wish to reach, let’s say 10’, you would doubtless purchase a 6’ step ladder permitting you to safely stand virtually 4’ on top of the ground.

Selecting a ladder height is a combination of Step ladder size, approximate highest standing level, and maximum reach.

Extension ladders have a number of different concerns. Here, the utmost operating ladder length and highest standing level come in to play, based on similar physical characteristics of the individual delineate above.

Since there's a user-defined angle of use on a ladder, an overlap of the sections and also the projection of the ladder on top of the lean point, selecting the correct product here could be a bit trickier.

Weight Capacity

Most of the house users do not need a heavy duty ladder. Professionals, in distinction, need to ensure the ladder they use will support them and their tools. This can be all simply resolved by knowing what duty ratings really are.

Duty rating is a class assigned to an aluminium ladder. It’s a way to simply tell how much total weight a ladder can bear in each of its steps without any risk. It’s written in Roman Numerals going from lighter loads to heavier ones. They begin at III and head to I, then adding IA and IAA for even heavier loads.

Remember that these ratings include all of the load the ladder can support. Some individuals make the mistake of mounting a ladder because they’re below the assigned weight limit, not pondering the serious tools they’re carrying.

Here’s a duty rating reference chart:

TYPE IAA – 375 lbs. Load Capacity | Professional Use | Extra Heavy Duty | Suitable for MRO and Industrial construction

TYPE IA – 300 lbs. Load Capacity | Professional Use | Heavy Duty Use | Suitable for Roofing, Building Maintenance

TYPE I - 250 lbs. Load Capacity | Industrial Use | Heavy Duty Use | Suitable for Building Maintenance, Sheetrock

TYPE II – 225 lbs. Load Capacity | Commercial Use | Medium Duty | Light commercial and General Repair | Painting & Cleaning and Household Usability

TYPE III – 200 lbs. Load Capacity | Household Use | Light Duty | Light Cleaning and Painting

Weight Capacity

EQUAL ladders make all types including step, extension, multipurpose, scaffolding, and telescopic using the aluminum material. Here are some features of aluminum:

Lightweight

Long-lasting Construction

Resists Corrosion

Ideal for Painting, Roofing, and Siding

They are not suited to use near electricity, as they are conductive, and doing so may cause accidents

At the end of the day, choosing the correct ladder starts with thinking about what kind of job you’re going to be using it for. Then ensure you’ve taken all of the previous steps to confirm your product won't underperform, or, on the opposite hand, you’ll purchase a ladder with features that you simply won’t ever be using or plain previous overspending thanks to a lack of knowledge.

Interesting Facts About Ladder

Ladders are one of the oldest and widely used devices that change us to achieve high places and points safely. Despite its presence, though, not many of us apprehend a lot regarding it and sometimes take it and its safe use for granted.

It is assumed that ladders have been in use since the Mesolithic era, about 10,000 years ago.

Falling off a ladder is the most common injury a person can suffer from while climbing a ladder.

There are more than 21 types of rigid ladders available in the market.

John H. Balsley invented the first folding stepladder in 1892.

Aluminum is the most common material used in the manufacturing ladder.

Thanks for reading this. We are the leading manufacturer of aluminum ladders, platform trolleys, and weighing scales. If you have any questions, let us know. 

[azertyrobaz]

Competent Joel is best Joel

[onemoreattempt]

If elves had texting/social media hcs:

Sophie: Kinda went over this here. horrible about getting back to ppl. Will accidentally leave you on read. Thinks she responded but didn’t. Her social media notifications are through the roof. If you need her urgently, you should probably just call. Very occasional posts. She’s doing her best.

Dex: Usually good at responding to messages, depending on how busy he is and if he’s around the triplets. Fast typist/texter. One of the few helpful ppl on Reddit.

Fitz: fast responder, usually no typos. Rarely uses shortened words or acronyms

Biana: I feel like Biana would cringe internally at misused homonyms/grammar errors, but she’d be nice about it. She types with pretty good grammar, other than the obvious texting things like acronyms, initialisms, and other word shortening things. If the elves typed in English, she’d never use the wrong ‘your’ or ‘there’ and she’s a firm believer in the Oxford comma. She’d also be a Pinterest/Instagram girlie.

Marella: types in all lowercase. knows about everything that’s happening anywhere. has all the social media. Occasionally trolls flat earthers claiming that the earth is actually shaped like a Klein bottle.

Keefe: gif city. Silliest Instagram ever. Fs blurry selfies and pictures of things him with things Sophie brought him from the forbidden cities. Yt haver. Might troll human politicians on twitter without knowing what he’s talking about. Definitely gets in on trolling the flat earthers. Claims the earth is shaped like Schrödinger’s cat (or Uranus, depending on the day).

Maruca: Probably on tiktok. Terrifying to text with if you have any kind of social anxiety and you are not close friends. Very direct texting style. Unnecessarily ends things with periods, and is a slow texter. It reads as pissed off until you get to know her. She’s an absolute riot in friend group chats. Like super funny.

Stina: If a message reads as pissed off it’s bc she is❤️ Absolutely bounces off Maruca in the gc. Stina = a voice memo person?? I also feel like yt and tiktok are her main social media. She doesn’t post on yt, but she does post on TikTok showing the work she does with unicorns. Definitely puts cuter moments on Instagram too. She and Maruca ft while going through their hair care routines.

Linh: I don’t necessarily think she would, but she has the potential to make one of the most aesthetically pleasing Instagram accounts (Linhstagram, if you will). Idk I feel like Linh would be into hiking and posting photos of that, plus her and Tam, or her and Marella. But, honestly, she probably just posts photos of her mercat😭 She also has the vibes of using the little press and hold mini responses a lot (like ❤️👍❓mostly until Tam goes off and Rayni shows up)

Tam: I feel like Tam is a bad or at least scarce texter. Maybe a gc ghost too. Everyone is surprised and excited when he responds in the gc bc he hasn’t done so in 4 months. Dude has no social media. Really only has his phone to communicate with Linh

Jensi: so much love for him, but he definitely has fast typing, lots of typos vibes. Early on in the series, he was very excitable, and the audiobook narrator makes him talk fast, so that makes me think he’d probably speed type his texts and send them without checking for typos first. Gets back to you in a snap🫰. Probably sends a lot of messages in succession when telling a story. May send videos explaining things as well, or voice memos that get off topic very fast.

[sannehnagi]

Is there a place or specific post where I can start learning sannena'iši?

Unfortunately the only place is in all of my documentation. I've never intended it to be learned, at least not until it is finished to my standards, which considering how I think about it and work on it will be never. In my fantasy where I am motivated and hard working I would write a fantasy novel set in the world of the people, and I've always conceived of it as told from an explorer from another continent's perspective, so the reader learns of the world along side the narrator. And they would learn the language beside them too. So, the ideal would be a book that slowly replaces words as you learn them until at the end the narrator's journal is entirely in the new language by the end.

[froginninjago]

Day 192: His First Soulmark

@ninja-knox-ur-sox-off

So, I won't be formatting every comic like this. Every one afterwards will just have important sentences over the drawn scenes.

[screambirdscreaming]

I used to like saying "gender is a social construct," but I stopped saying that because people didn't tend to react well - they thought that I was saying gender wasn't real, or didn't matter, or could be safely ignored without consequences. Which has always baffled me a bit as an interpretation, honestly, because many things are social constructs - like money, school, and the police - and they certainly have profound effects on your life whether or not you believe in them. And they sure don't go away if you ignore them.

Anyway. What I've taken to saying instead is, "gender is a cultural practice." This gives more of a sense of respect for the significance gender holds to many people. And it also opens the door to another couple layers of analysis.

Gender is cultural. It is not globally or historically homogeneous. It shifts over time, develops differently in different communities, and can be influenced by cross-cultural contact. Like many, many aspects of culture, the current status of gender is dramatically influenced by colonialism. Colonial gender norms are shaped by the hierarchical structure of imperialist society, and enforced onto colonized cultures as part of the project of imperial cultural hedgemony.

Gender is practiced. What constitutes a gender includes affects and behaviors, jobs or areas of work, skillsets, clothing, collective and individual practices of gender affiliation and affirmation. Any or all of these things, in any combination, depending on the gender, the culture, and the practitioner.

Gender encompasses shared cultural archetypes. These can include specific figures - gods and goddesses, mythic or fictional characters, etc - or they can be more abstract or general. The Wise Woman, Robin Hood, the Dyke, the Working Man, the Plucky Heroine, the Effete Gay Man, etc etc. The range of archetypes does not circumscribe a given gender, that is, they're not all there is to gender. But they provide frameworks and reference points by which people relate to gender. They may be guides for ways to inhabit or practice a gender. They may be stereotypes through which the gendered behavior of others is viewed.

Gender as a framework can be changed. Because it is created collectively, by shared acknowledgement and enforcement by members of society. Various movements have made significant shifts in how gender is structured at various times and places. The impact of these shifts has been widely variable - for example, depending on what city I'm in, even within my (fairly culturally homogeneous) home country, the way I am gendered and reacted to changes dramatically. Looping back to point one, we often speak of gender in very broad terms that obscure significant variability which exists on many scales.

Gender is structured recursively. This can be seen in the archetypes mentioned above, which range from extremely general (say, the Mother) to highly specific (the PTA Soccer Mom). Even people who claim to acknowledge only two genders will have many concepts of gendered-ways-of-being within each of them, which they may view and react to VERY differently.

Gender is experienced as an external cultural force. It cannot be opted out of, any more than living in a society can be opted out of. Regardless of the internal experience of gender, the external experience is also present. Operating within the shared cultural understanding of gender, one can aim to express a certain practice of gender - to make legible to other people how it is you interface with gender. This is always somewhat of a two-way process of communication. Other people may or may not perceive what you're going for - and they may or may not respect it. They may try to bring your expressed gender into alignment with a gender they know, or they might parcel you off into your own little box.

Gender is normative. Within the structure of the "cultural mainstream," there are allowable ways to practice gender. Any gendered behavior is considered relative to these standards. What behavior is allowed, rewarded, punished, or shunned is determined relative to what is gender normative for your perceived gender. Failure to have a clearly perceivable gender is also, generally, punished. So is having a perceivable gender which is in itself not normative.

Gender is taught by a combination of narratives, punishments, and encouragements. This teaching process is directed most strongly towards children but continues throughout adulthood. Practice of normatively-gendered behaviors and alignment with 'appropriate' archetypes is affirmed, encouraged, and rewarded. Likewise 'other'- gendered behavior and affinity to archetypes is scolded, punished, or shunned. This teaching process is inherently coercive, as social acceptance/rejection is a powerful force. However it can't be likened to programming, everyone experiences and reacts to it differently. Also, this process teaches the cultural roles and practices of both (normative) genders, even as it attempts to force conformity to only one.

Gender regulates access to certain levers of social power. This one is complicated by the fact that access to levers of social power is also affected by *many* other things, most notably race, class, and citizenship. I am not going to attempt to describe this in any general terms, I'm not equipped for that. I'll give a few examples to explain what I'm talking about though. (1) In a social situation, a man is able to imply authority, which is implicitly backed by his ability to intimidate by yelling, looming, or threatening physical violence. How much authority he is perceived to have in response to this display is a function of his race and class. It is also modified by how strongly he appears to conform to a masculine ideal. Whether or not he will receive social backlash for this behavior (as a separate consideration to how effective it will be) is again a function of race/class/other forms of social standing. (2) In a social situation, a woman is able to invoke moral judgment, and attempt to modify the behavior of others by shame. The strength of her perceived moral authority depends not just on her conformity to ideal womanhood, but especially on if she can invoke certain archetypes - such as an Innocent, a Mother, or better yet a Grandmother. Whether her moral authority is considered a relevant consideration to influence the behavior of others (vs whether she will be belittled or ignored) strongly depends on her relative social standing to those she is addressing, on basis of gender/race/class/other.

[Again, these examples are *not* meant to be exhaustive, nor to pass judgment on employing any social power in any situation. Only to illustrate what "gendered access to social power" might mean. And to illustrate that types of power are not uniform and may play out according to complex factors.]

Gender is not based in physical traits, but physical traits are ascribed gendered value. Earlier, I described gender as practiced, citing almost entirely things a person can do or change. And I firmly believe this is the core of gender as it exists culturally - and not just aspirationally. After the moment when a gender is "assigned" based on infant physical characteristics, they are raised into that gender regardless of the physical traits they go on to develop (in most circumstances, and unless/until they denounce that gender.) The range of physical traits like height, facial shape, body hair, ability to put on muscle mass - is distributed so that there is complete overlap between the range of possible traits for people assigned male and people assigned female. Much is made of slight trends in things that are "more common" for one binary sex or the other, but it's statistically quite minor once you get over selection bias. However, these traits are ascribed gendered connotations, often extremely strongly so. As such, the experience of presented and perceived gender is strongly effected by physical traits. The practice of gender therefore naturally expands to include modification of physical traits. Meanwhile, the social movements to change how gender is constructed can include pushing to decrease or change the gendered association of physical traits - although this does not seem to consistently be a priority.

Gender roles are related to the hypothetical ability to bear children, but more obliquely than is often claimed. It is popular to say that the types of work considered feminine derive from things it is possible to do while pregnant or tending small children. However, research on the broader span of human history does not hold this up. It may be true of the cultures that gave immediate rise to the colonial gender roles we are familiar with - secondary to the fact that childcare was designated as women's work. (Which it does not have to be, even a nursing infant doesn't need to be with the person who feeds it 24 hours a day.) More directly, gender roles have been influenced by structures of social control aiming for reproductive control. In the direct precursors of colonial society, attempts to track paternal lineage led to extreme degrees of social control over women, which we still see reflected in normative gender today. Many struggles for women's liberation have attempted to push back these forms of social control. It is my firm opinion that any attempt to re-emphasize childbearing as a touchstone of womanhood is frankly sick. We are at a time where solidarity in struggle for gender liberation, and for reproductive rights, is crucial. We need to cast off shackles of control in both fights. Trying to tie childbearing back to womanhood hobbles both fights and demeans us all.

Gender is baked deeply enough into our culture that it is unlikely to ever go away. Many people feel strongly about the practice of gender, in one way or another, and would not want it to. However we have the power to change how gender is structured and enforced. We can push open the doors of what is allowable, and reduce the pain of social punishment and isolation. We can dismantle another of the tools of colonial hedgemony and social control. We can change the culture!

[longagoitwastuesday]

Every day I am haunted by the fact JJK could be amazing but it will be just idk Bleach or something

[transrevolutions]

as much as I can appreciate the interpretation of enjolras as being a naturally kinda quiet and calm guy, I tend to prefer the idea that he had to teach himself to be charming. he isn't necessarily cruel by nature, but he's intense. the force of his passion can scare even his closest allies as well as his enemies so he learns to file the edge of his knife sharper and smaller and sharper and smaller until he can hide it in a bouquet of flowers.

[coquelicoq]

wakes up. takes out earplugs. ah yes. another fine day in sensory hell.

[dorkousloris]

its end of pride month so happy pride to me who listened to that song (its a bit of nsfw in that song just to be warned) bc it was for anita themed (i know.) that four years later.

here i am. actually feeling that mood-

[silverskye13]

I don't think it was specified before and if it was then bare with me bc I haven't been in the Hermitcraft fandom for long but does RnS play in season 9 or 10? ~Fanon

RnS is in Season 9! It hasn't been mentioned in a hot minute, but the story takes place during the construction of Decked Out II

[bietrofastimoff23]

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how Aegon won't have the opportunity to bid farewell to his brothers, sister-wife, son. and the funeral of Jaehaerys will be the first and last for him, not because others will be saved, but because the bodies of most of them will not be found.

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

“Kaine,” Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 3/2024), #1.

Writer: Steve Foxe; Penciler: Greg Land; Inker: Jay Leisten; Letterer: Frank D’Armata

[herawell]

.

[ghoulgeists]

when your squishy sorcerer manages to live long enough to get an outfit change... bless

[galacticlamps]

I'm going to uno reverse card you and say: for the fic guessing game, 'light'?

lol that's fair

apparently I talk about light a lot (go figure) so have this one that happens to be in the middle of its story's 'Oh' moment:

But perhaps, somewhere along the line, Jamie had slipped, and now . . . well now, standing on the balcony of a palace on another planet, with the Doctor dipping his head nearer just to hide his eyes from the light - nearer, and not farther, which would've been just as easy - no, now he had to admit something was different. When it had changed or whether it hadn't at all and he'd simply been too fool to realize it before he couldn't say, and it didn't matter anyway - he knew it now, and that scared him.

-

And just for kicks, under the cut I'm gonna put a longer excerpt from a totally different fic that came up while I was ctrl+f-ing 'light' in my wips - mainly because it happens to be part of a scene from a longish 'the Doctor & Jamie reunite with Zoe in 6b' story which is nowhere near completion, but feels relevant given the boxset Big Finish released last week (not that I've gotten a chance to listen to it yet, but still).

Zoe sat across from Jamie, her elbows on the table, her chin resting atop her hands - but she wasn't relaxed. She stared at him intently, and actually narrowed her eyes as he watched.

"What?" he asked, already defensive, and following through on an old self-conscious instinct, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. With no mirror in sight, he looked to the Doctor to check if he'd somehow gotten something on his face already, but he looked just as baffled. Zoe hadn't broken her concentration yet.

"I'm trying to figure out if I'm older than you," she announced, still deep in thought.

"Ah--" the Doctor began, grinning wickedly, but whether he was going to answer her or merely tease they never found out, because Jamie shot an arm out lightning quick, as if to hold him back.

"No' so fast, you. Let the girl work it out."

He finished chewing and settled himself squarely in front of her for inspection. She continued to stare. "Y'know, I'm surprised you're having such trouble telling," he taunted. "After all, how old are you now?"

She opened her mouth at first to protest that she was under no obligation to announce her own age while he continued to keep his secret, but she still thought she might figure it out - and if she couldn't, she at least had the Doctor to rely on to make Jamie tell the truth.

So she shrugged. "I'm 41. But everyone here thinks I'm 39. I was born 39 years ago, of course, but counting chronologically from the time I left the Wheel with you in the Tardis, I aged two years before the Time Lords returned me to my own time. That was twenty-one years ago, now," she added, unable to judge if the faint waver of wistfulness in her voice was truly audible, or if it was just her own imagination. Thankfully, neither of them pressed her on it.

"Well, y'see, Zoe," Jamie began slowly, still chewing his last mouthful after she finished her explanation and sat waiting calmly for his reply. The Doctor leaned forward too, seemingly intrigued, though it must only have been to see what answer Jamie would try. "I was born in 1724," he paused and washed down his food with a swig from his glass, and for a moment Zoe had the grace to assume he was just working through his calculations, as she had done. "So I'm pretty sure I'm older than you," he finished, setting the glass back down on the table triumphantly.

All at once she felt a young girl again, a devilish light in her eyes. She wanted to jump across the table and tackle him - but that wasn't what Madam Presidents did. "Why, you--"

"They don't traditionally swear at their guests either, Ms. Heriot."

She turned on the Doctor, shocked. "You read my mind," she began, more impressed than accusatory, but he did at least have the decency to look sheepish.

He coughed politely. "Only to, ah, verify your math. And I'm sure you could feel my presence there, if you think about it."

"I could but I didn't know that's what it was. You've gotten so much better at it."

"Had to," he said simply, and shrugged, his eyes downcast.

Well, there was more to that, clearly, she thought, filing his deliberately nonchalant expression away for closer inspection later - but for now she was not about to be deterred. She snapped her eyes and her attention both back to Jamie.

"Still, we both know the Doctor obviously continues to value honesty and accuracy, so surely he'll tell me how old you are, even if you won't."

"Not if I ask him not to - right, Doctor?"

"Well . . . " he began, noncommittally drawing the word out so long that Zoe actually had time to wonder what his plan was for once he ran out of vowel. Jamie looked so genuinely horrified it was downright comical, and she had to force herself not to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"We're married, Doctor," he reminded him, indignant.

"Oh, but it's Zoe," he complained, sounding every bit the petulant child she remembered he could be, all those years ago. "And as far as I can remember, none of the ceremonies we ever partook in had anything in the vows about obeying. Although I might be wrong . . ." he added under his breath, scratching his head.

"Charming," Jamie grumbled.

"Well, when we've had as many weddings as we have it can be quite a lot to keep straight in your head. You know, I sometimes wonder if we might qualify for some kind of an all-time record. If we hadn't the need to be covert about so many of them, of course."

"Stop that!" she snapped, and the Doctor turned back to her, the picture of confused innocence.

"Stop what?"

"You're trying to help him without helping him, just by distracting me. Naturally, I want to hear everything about all these weddings of yours, and I will see to it that you'll be having another one while you're here, like it or not--"

"Yes ma'am," Jamie quipped, mock-serious.

"--But first, I am going to find out how old you are, James Robert McCrimmon, and if you force me to use your husband to do it, then that decision is on you."

Jamie mopped his face with his napkin and came out of it smiling. He stretched and dropped an arm around the Doctor's shoulders, perfectly relaxed. Already, Zoe felt her heart sink, but she was careful to keep her composure.

"I'm only pullin' your leg. I'm 44."

"What, really? And you expect me to just believe that?" She raised an eyebrow in challenge but then glanced at the Doctor to confirm, and when he nodded she allowed her facade to crumble, rolling her eyes. Of course she had known when she'd first laid eyes on them that they'd be cutting it close, but Jamie still had quite a bit of that boyishness about him that had made it frustrating enough being his junior the first time around, and she really thought she might genuinely have enjoyed being just a hair older than him, for a change. After all, if you had to be ripped apart from your family and sent to separate timezones to live out your lives forever wishing for an improbable reunion, it might as well be good for something. But Jamie was far too smug looking now to be pretending, and Zoe knew it. "Oh, some people have all the luck," she groaned, dropping her arms and collapsing back dejectedly against her seat.

"Aye," Jamie said, leaning in over the table to follow her, "and some people live 22 years on Earth before they meet a time traveler, then spend 5 years with him before his people erase their memory and send them home to live another 5 before he's allowed to come pick them up again, and then force the pair of 'em to've spent 12 years so far working for them. Some people, eh?" he finished hotly, swiping his glass off the table again and raising it to his mouth in one fluid motion to take a long drink. But even so, his face was not so totally obscured from view that Zoe couldn't make out the amused curl at the corner of his lips, and when she caught his gaze again the glimmer in his eye was all fondness, just as it was with Doctor's and, she knew, her own.

Yes, no matter the circumstances, it was certainly good to see them again.