It was a Sunday afternoon when Matt decided, quite suddenly, that he would go over to Jenna's apartment and pay her a long overdue visit.

By 'long overdue' he meant that it had been about a week since he last saw her. But that was longer than usual, now that filming for the 50th and the Christmas special was over. He had grown used to seeing her almost every day for hours on end; the last week had seemed strangely empty when she wasn't there to fill the hours with her lively chatter and glowing smile.

But then again, she hadn't been all that lively and glowing recently. She seemed more vacant, stressed, and when she thought nobody was looking, he would see her smile drop and he thought that she looked incredibly sad. But maybe he was just imagining it – he expected that all it was was the stress of getting the 50th anniversary and the final episode with him as the doctor exactly right. They were, after all, two very crucial episodes. And even Jenna, professional as ever, had to be stressed sometimes. After struggling to find work for a while, she had confided in him, this was her first big role and she was under a lot of pressure to make a good job of it. There was also the fact that she had just broken up with her long-time boyfriend, Daniel. She hadn't talked about him very much – she also hid the relationship from the press, so consequently Matt was almost the only person who knew about him. She had only told Nina - her best friend - and him. But now they had split up – she was unwilling to talk about the details of the relationship and he didn't press. He had asked her if she was all right, of course, and she had told him- 'Oh, I'm fine.' When he'd seemed doubtful, she'd added, 'You know me. I'll cry a bit tonight, maybe tomorrow. But I don't miss him, not really. I'll be all right soon enough.'

So he chalked her recently less cheerful mood down to pressure at work and maybe feeling a bit down in the dumps after the arguments with her boyfriend she must have been having before the break up.

He thought he really ought to see how she was doing, though. Just a check in. As a friend. Definitely as a friend. Nothing more. Not that it could be anything else, anyway- they were as close as can be and Matt was sorry to say that it meant that he had been, for want of a better word, friend-zoned. Not that he didn't like being friends with her – quite the opposite. In fact, he could go so far as to say that he trusted her more than anyone else; she made him laugh more than anyone else; he respected her and admired her more than anyone else; but then again, he supposed, anyone would feel that way towards the person they were in lo-

No-

no

No, musn't think like that. Stop it! You know it can never happen. Don't dwell on it. Move on. Don't destroy the perfect friendship you have with her.

He berated himself angrily, annoyed at what he had nearly admitted to himself.

Being in love with Jenna was simply not an option and he definitely would not allow himself to go there.

Maybe going round to her apartment wasn't such a good idea after all – but then again, he felt as if he just couldn't go another day without seeing her again. He paced the floorboards of his sparsely furnished flat – he never could see the point in dressing up a place he barely stayed in – and ended up pulling on his coat and stepping out of the door while telling himself, I have a duty to see if she is all right. After all, I am her friend.