This is based off of the song Ordinary World by Katharine McPhee. I don't own the song or the characters. I just borrowed them. I wrote this a year ago but I finally figured out how to submit stories here after several years. Enjoy!
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She's sitting on a bench in the middle of an ordinary garden.
It's rather silly, when she thinks about it, why she's here. It had been any other day at Torchwood, sitting at her desk, when a secretary walked by and the people rushed around trying to get all of their work done.
That's when it hit her. Her life had become so normal. When she was with him she'd never be sitting anywhere in the middle of the day just watching people walk by. She'd be getting arrested on some strange planet with a name she couldn't remember or running for her life after the Doctor managed to say the wrong thing to the locals.
The sun can't remember how to shine
And the colors all have faded into shades of grey
There's no life in this hollow heart of mine
Ever since you went away
Her life was ordinary. The thought struck her as odd as she realised that it was true. Her life had become so dull that she watched the people walk by for entertainment.
Close your eyes and feel me hold you
Can you lead me through this ordinary world
She missed her life and she missed him.
Let the sky cry restless rain
To wash away the miles between us
'Cause without you it's just an ordinary world
Something totally uncharacteristic happened next: she started to tear up. Before a single salty drop could fall she rushed out of the building. She didn't really go anywhere, just walked through the streets and watched everyone else. They weren't all doing the same things, but they may as well have been. Everyone led the same life. Get up, go to work, get off work, go home, go to sleep, wake up, and do it all over again.
If time could find a way to turn around
I would walk along the stars 'til I was back at your door
This happened day after day after day. Even to her.
It was sad when she thought about it. Everyone was so caught up in their own little ordinary worlds that they didn't even care about a crying blonde girl in the street. The man at the street corner gave her a quick look before darting to the other side of the road during a traffic break. The little girl with curls holding her mummy's hand gave her a cute little smile, but the mother didn't see a thing.
Every word, every word
Was spoken but without a sound
And I found out what my heart is for
No one new what they were missing in life. The adventure, the thrill of new places, the joy you felt when you saved a planet or even a lost puppy. Now she was close to sobbing. She ran down the street, past all of the oblivious people and right into the public garden and sat on the bench, her head on her knees.
Close your eyes and feel me hold you
Can you lead me through this ordinary world
Let the sky cry restless rain
To wash away the miles between us
'Cause without you it's just an ordinary
World
So now she sits there, crying, because her life has become so normal that all she can do is sit on a bench and cry her heart out.
Hold your breath
Here I come
Down the road
If the Doctor were here he'd be holding her close and cheering her up with some silly comment. But he isn't here. That's the problem, because she misses him so much. Ordinary wouldn't be so bad if he were with her, but ordinary without him is unbearable. She can only regret the words she never said to him.
I'm winding back
To your arms
'Til we melt
Underneath the blinding sun
It's been almost a year since they were separated. A year of pretending she's okay in front of her family and throwing herself so hard into her work so that she doesn't have to face reality. She's never stopped to think about it for too long, convinced that if she does she won't have anyone to pick up her pieces.
Can't remember how to shine
The life in this hollow heart of mine
Close your eyes and feel me hold you
Can you lead me through
Through this ordinary world
It has all built up to this moment, sitting on a bench in the middle of a garden.
Then she realises something else: she's waiting for him. She has been for a year. She never really noticed until now, but she's always listening and watching just a bit. Just enough to hear the TARDIS or see him out of the corner of her eye, even though it's supposed to be impossible.
Let the sky cry restless rain
To wash away the miles between us
'Til love can come redeem us
She shouldn't be waiting anymore. She should be moving on with her life, not sitting here like a nervous wreck waiting for something that won't ever happen. He's not coming for her.
She stands up, wipes away her tears, and looks around. There's a boy chasing a butterfly and a woman talking frantically into a mobile phone. Everyone's still in their world.
She sits back down. There isn't anywhere she needs to be and she's not ready to move on.
'Cause without you
It's just an ordinary
World
Because without him, it's just an ordinary world.