John hurried over to Rose's flat, quite unable to remove the smile from his face at the prospect of an evening in her company. When he arrived, his stomach tumbling with nerves, he knocked swiftly on the door and rocked back and forth on his feet.
Rose opened the door to find him a ball of nervous energy and her first response was to laugh. "Hey, you," she greeted, her eyes warm.
"Hello," he replied, voice rich with feeling.
They stood still and staring for a brief moment before Rose extended her arm, tugging on his hand to lead him inside. "So, I was thinking maybe calling for a takeaway?"
"Sounds lovely, I'm starving," he replied, still smiling, eyes bright as he watched her take his coat and hang it up on a hook in her hallway.
"What do you fancy?"
"Hmm," he mused, his eyes travelling down her body when she turned from him to rummage in a kitchen drawer for a takeaway leaflet. She was wearing those jeans of hers, the skinny ones that hugged her arse and legs in a way that he really shouldn't be noticing, should he? He shook his head at himself. She was his friend.
"Well?" she prompted, turning around with an armful of coloured flyers.
"You, er, you have quite the collection of those," he chuckled.
"Yeah, well, you know by now that I'm quite the reluctant cook," she smirked, "Anyway, I'm doing my bit for the community, you know, supporting local businesses."
"Right, yeah," he said, nodding his head mock-seriously, "No, I completely get that, how very considerate of you."
"I know, right?" she laughed. "So…Indian? Or pizza?"
"Hm, yeah, could do with a good curry."
"Indian it is," she smiled. "Mind if we order now, it's just, I've not eaten all day."
"Go ahead. I'll have the madras, ta." He hadn't eaten all day either, apart from a few biscuits on his break at work earlier. He'd been too nervous about tonight to eat anything more substantial. He wondered if it had been the same for her.
"Like it hot, do you?" she teased, shooting him a flirty grin.
Blimey. "Yep! What about you, Rose Tyler, can you take it?"
"Please," she said, rolling her eyes at the mere intimation that she couldn't. "I could take you for breakfast."
His eyebrows rose and she hurried to add to her statement.
"That is, in terms of eating hot food. Um. Anyway, yeah, I'll just…" She gestured to the phone, her cheeks flushing as he kept watching her, tiny smirk on his face. She dialled the number, and whilst she was placing their order, she pointed at the bottles of beer on the counter. John nodded in agreement and popped them open, taking them into the living room. He plonked down on her sofa like he was making himself at home, and glanced over at her to see her smiling fondly at him. Once she was off the phone she came and sat down next to him, and he handed her one of the beers.
"They said it'll be an hour, that all right? It's the good one and seeing as it's Friday night, they're a bit swamped."
"Yeah, that's all right. You'll just have to keep me occupied to distract me from my rumbling belly."
Rose laughed. "Challenge accepted. So, how was work?"
She'd taken a sip of beer after asking her question and his gaze lowered to her throat as he watched her swallow. "Um, well, same as usual. Glad I got out of the night shift."
"Yeah, I bet A&E is a bit hectic this time of the week, right?"
"Oh yes. Lots of pleasant drunks ambulanced in," he said, tilting his head with a 'what can you do' expression.
"Any weird cases today? That guy who has a habit of coming in attached to various home appliances didn't show up again, did he?"
John laughed. "Nope, thankfully he seems to have gone a week without accidentally gluing himself to anything. How was your day?"
"Bleh. Nah, it was all right. It's just so competitive, you know? And I thought working in the shop competing for commission was bad. The journalism world is so much worse." Rose casually inched herself closer to him as she talked, and he wondered if she was doing it thinking that he wouldn't notice. He lifted his arm and placed it along the back of her sofa, welcoming her into his personal space.
"How's your boss, though? She's good to you, right?"
"Oh yeah. Sarah Jane's lovely. There's this pillock called Adam, right, who thinks he should get the reporting gigs every time, but she soon sets him straight by getting me or Maria or someone else to go instead. For a small paper, he really does think he's some big star. But what he should get into his head is that we could all work together, you know? Help each other out, with contacts and that. But no, he has to make a big show of it, like he's got some macho pride thing going on."
"He sounds like an idiot."
"Yep. And then he has the gall to ask me out!"
"What?"
"He's been acting like a tosser ever since I got there, trying to steal my scoops and everything, and then yesterday he comes out with this whole, 'So, fancy a drink on Friday, Rose?'"
John lowered his arm so that it was resting all the way along her shoulders, his corresponding hand angled so that his fingertips brushed her upper arm. Taking a quick sip of his beer, he asked, "So, what did you say to him?"
"Told him that I was busy," she replied. "That I'd always be busy."
"Ah."
"Anyway, let's not talk about him anymore, he's not worth it. Oh! Did you hear about Martha and Mickey? I was gonna ring you to tell you but I thought you'd probably see her at work anyway."
He shook his head. "No, she was in some bureaucratic meeting thing while I was on shift. She gets that joy now and then now that she's Clinical Lead."
"Ohh, well, I heard from Trisha that apparently they've got together."
"Really? Mickey? Mickey and Martha?"
"Yep! Weird, eh? Knew he liked her, didn't think he was her type though."
"Oh, well, she did mention something about having her eye on someone. Heard her sister ask her about it when she picked her up from work the other day."
"Interesting," Rose grinned. "So, like, do you think it could work between them? They're quite different. You know, where they come from and their jobs and all that." She looked up at him meaningfully. "That won't hamper things, will it?"
John gave her a reassuring smile even as his pulse started to increase. She had to be hinting at something, right? About them. Him and her. Under the guise of talking about Mickey and Martha. Which meant she felt - she felt it too. He took another sip of his beer then placed the bottle on the coffee table. "I think they'll be brilliant."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. That stuff you said, whatever makes them different, that…that won't get in their way, not if they really care about each other."
"I think they do. Care about each other," Rose murmured.
"I think so too."
His phone buzzed with a text message, then, and he drew his phone from his pocket and opened the text without thinking. Rose was tucked into his side so she couldn't help but read it as he did.
don't forget to pop to the shop after work. you better not have lost the list, dumbo. little one says hi, btw x
"Who's that, then?" asked Rose casually, as he exited out of his messages in a hurry, realising she'd already seen.
"Ah, right. Well."
"John?"
"There's something I should have told you sooner," he said, swallowing hard. "Something I've been planning to tell you but just…didn't know how to bring up."
Rose drew her eyebrows together in a confused frown. "What's wrong?"
John ran a hand through his hair and stood, pocketing his phone and starting to pace. "It's - there's nothing wrong, exactly, it's just, there's something you need to know and I should have mentioned it before we got all - all caught up in each other." He paused, and looked at her helplessly. "Because we have, haven't we? We've…well, I know I have, anyway. Got caught up in you."
She stood up, and grabbed his arm in a loose hold, pulling him to a stop and standing in front of him, staring at his face anxiously. "Are you - " She paused, and took a steadying breath. "Are you married?"
"Oh," he murmured, realising what she must be thinking. He shook his head quickly. "No, no. It's not - there's no one else. Well, not in that sense."
"I don't understand - "
"I have a daughter," he blurted out, then squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see her reaction. He felt her hand slip from his arm and sighed. "It's okay," he continued, opening his eyes, "I know this isn't…"
Rose bit her lip as he trailed off. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know. Maybe because…because I didn't think this would, I dunno, go anywhere if you knew. You're young, and - I'm - " He heaved a sigh. "I should have told you."
"Yeah."
They just looked at each other for a few moments.
"Is she - what's her name?" Rose asked, stumbling over the words.
"Jenny."
"How old is she?"
"She turns two next week."
"Oh, she's - she's young. I thought maybe - " Rose shook her head. "I thought maybe she was a teenager or something."
"No."
"So, her mum…"
"She doesn't have a mum."
Rose's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, I - "
"No, I mean, she does, obviously. Somewhere. But I don't know who she is. I adopted Jenny when she was a few weeks old. Well, no, I was her foster father first; didn't adopt her until about a year ago."
Rose looked confused. "What, just you, or with someone - "
"Just me." He paused. "Listen, I know what you're thinking. Usually couples do that sort of thing together, not a single person. Much less a single man. It's unconventional, I get that. But it was what I wanted."
She started to smile, slightly. "You wanted to be a dad?"
He nodded.
"And you didn't have a girlfriend or a wife or - "
"Nope. In the past, there've been girlfriends, yeah, but not - not lately. Not for years. Anyway, one day at the hospital, someone brought in a baby girl they had found left in her carrycot in the park." He sat back down on the sofa, and urged Rose to join him. They sat close together, hands seeking and entwining, as he told her what happened. "There was a letter; the mother wrote that she was desperate, she was in a bad situation, had to get away, had to leave Jenny behind. But she'd been left outside for, well, half hour at least, by my reckoning, before anyone found her, and she was shivering, this poor little tiny baby, barely a week old. We treated her, fed her, warmed her up, made sure she was all right. The police and social services were contacted, of course, but they couldn't find any relatives. I was already on the waiting list - applying to be a foster parent is a very long process. So…Jenny had to be looked after, and I was right there, so that's what happened. And they were going to find her a nice couple to adopt her but, well, turns out I'm not cut out for the giving-the-child-back part of fostering."
"You already loved her," Rose smiled, swallowing against a lump in her throat.
"Of course. She…" He looked down as Rose squeezed his hand, smiling to himself. "She's perfect. She talks so much, all nonsense of course, just random words strung together right now."
"Bit like you," Rose teased, nudging him with her elbow.
"Oi," he replied, laughing good-naturedly.
"Where is she at the moment?"
"At my sister's. Donna - that's who that text just now was from - she looks after Jenny while I'm working. Except for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, when she goes to a playgroup."
"You're not working right now," Rose pointed out, lifting her eyebrows. "Does Donna know you've been seeing me when she thinks she's babysitting 'cos you're on shift?"
John rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand. "Er, well. No, actually. I'm part-time now, because of Jenny, but, well, Donna might have it in her head somehow that I've taken on a few extra shifts these past couple of weeks." He caught Rose's look and added, "I know, I know; I'm an irresponsible parent and an awful brother. I just - there's - Rose, I don't know why but I'm just so drawn to you."
"Charming," Rose snorted. His brow furrowed and she clarified, "You 'don't know why' you like me?"
"Oh! Right, that was rude. No, I mean, I know why, of course I do. You're brilliant and…and…"
"And?" she grinned, tongue touching the corner of her mouth.
John cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, you know…beautiful, and all that."
Rose laughed. "Ta. Not so bad yourself." She squeezed his hand again. "What happens now?"
"Hmm?"
"Now that you've told me about Jenny. Does this all stop? You and me?"
John's breath caught. "I - well, I thought maybe it would, that you would want it to, once you knew I have a daughter, but I don't - I don't want it to. Do you want it to?"
"No, but I just need to know where we stand, really, that's all. It's been a bit…confusing, lately. I can't tell where we're going, whether this is a just friends thing or - or something more."
He stared at her wordlessly for a few seconds, then reached his free hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking the tender skin beneath her eye. Leaning in slowly, he watched closely in case she didn't want this. "Rose, can…" He saw her eyes flutter closed and her lips twitch into a smile and his sentence trailed off as he aligned his mouth against hers.
They kissed slowly, softly, and his hand slipped backwards, through her hair, to land on the back of her neck, as he angled his body better to deepen the kiss. She released his hand so that all of her fingers could slide through his hair, grasping lightly, nails gently scraping against his scalp as she urged him to move with her. She laid back, her legs coming up to the sofa so that she was lying across it horizontally, and he shifted to accommodate her movements. They broke the kiss briefly to rearrange themselves for maximum comfort, and he settled between her legs as he returned his mouth to hers, feeling her knees brush his sides, hearing the slide of her denim jeans against his suit as her calves crossed behind him, securing him to her.
He hadn't kissed anyone for ages, not like this, not proper snogging. Especially not proper snogging whilst lying on top of the other person on their sofa, touching and moaning at one another like teenagers. And, he considered, as Rose's hands landed on his bum, her hips arching to meet his as she encouraged him to move against her, he definitely hadn't grown this hard this quickly for a while. Certainly not whilst still in his trousers.
"Rose," he breathed out roughly, as he tore his mouth from hers to get some air. "Should we really be, um. Doing this. Right now, I mean. It's…"
She was breathing heavily beneath him, her chest rising and falling, and his eyes might have dropped to her cleavage once or twice by accident. But when he met her eyes again, to see her staring at him with such a foreign depth of emotion, his heart jumped in his chest.
"I don't know," she admitted, answering him at last.
He swallowed. "It's just, we should probably talk more about how you - how you feel about what I've told you tonight."
She fiddled with a strand of his hair that was hanging over his forehead. "Well, okay, but that'll take two seconds. I'm a bit annoyed at you for not telling me sooner. But not so much that I'm put off you." She closed her eyes. "I really, really like you, and I want whatever it is that's going on between us to carry on."
"And Jenny?"
She opened her eyes. "I'll meet her if you want me to. But we can just see how things go, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Do you?"
"What?"
"Do you want me to meet her?"
"Of course."
"Good."
"Is it?"
"Yeah. I want to meet her. But, I mean, I'm not - I'm not exactly used to being around kids, so I might be useless." She bit into her bottom lip. "She might hate me. What if she hates me?"
"She won't hate you," John smiled.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. How could anyone hate you?"
Rose ducked her head, her chin to her chest. "Dunno though, I'm not exactly maternal."
"You don't have to - I'm not asking you to be her mum, Rose. We'll take things slow."
"I know, but," she started to mumble, shrugging a shoulder, "You and her come as a package and I want to be…" She looked up, met his eyes again, smiling bravely. "I want to be with you."
"Yeah?" he smiled back.
"Yeah. So, it's important that she likes me. Right? Because I want this, me and you, I want this to be more than just a quick, casual thing. D'you get what I'm saying?"
"Long-term. A future together. That sort of thing?" he asked, his voice tinged with hope.
Her smile grew wider. "Well, yeah."
"Rose."
"Mm?"
"I know this is mad, that it's all happening so quickly, but I…" His eyes flickered between hers. "I don't think I've ever felt like this before."
"You mean - "
"About someone. I've never…this, with you," he let out a whoosh of breath, and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek with the backs of his fingers with the motion. "It's new."
"John?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you too."
He beamed, relief and happiness flowing through him, and when he kissed her again, there was laughter muffled between the slide of lips against lips.
(By the time their food arrived, John was wearing nothing but Rose's dressing gown. Rose had commandeered his boxers and shirt. The delivery driver, who had seen his fair share of half naked customers, didn't bat an eyelid.)