To be fair, five hours of sleep wasn't all that bad. Jenny could hardly complain. She would anyway of course. She should have got in a solid six, maybe even seven, if she didn't have to take care of Vastra.

At the thought of Vastra she shot up in bed. She was still in the flat. Or should have been if she'd done as she was told. She really didn't want to wake her up by accident, she didn't strike her as a morning person.

She dressed as quietly as possible. She didn't put on her shoes, instead electing to carry them to the front door so she could tread carefully. En route she peeked over the back of the sofa to check if her guest was still there. Much to her surprise she was. Vastra was sound asleep. She didn't snore or anything, though her breaths had more of a sibilance than any human she'd heard before. She looked peaceful.

She looked at her watch. She had some spare time. So she put on the kettle and fished out another blanket, placing it on one of the radiators while the kettle boiled. She'd have to leave the heating on all day since she had no idea when Vastra would wake up and with the weather continuing as it was she didn't want her to be uncomfortable, if she needed a little extra warmth when she did wake up she could take the warmed blanket and replace it with the one she was using. Jenny really did have excellent bedside manner.

The kettle boiled loudly, the button clicked even louder, rousing the resting Silurian. Jenny hadn't noticed and made herself a coffee using cheap own-brand granules. She really didn't like coffee but she needed that caffeine hit and she couldn't justify the dent in her bank account if she bought it on the way to work.

"Good morning," Vastra groaned from the sofa, now fully covering herself with the blanket in an effort to keep the looming day at bay (and the bright light directly overhead stung her eyes).

"You're awake?"

"A sorry state of affairs, I agree."

Jenny made her a cup of tea and left it on the coffee table in front of her. Vastra didn't remove her cover.

"I'm leaving in a minute, but you can stay here. The weathers even worse. If it's still this bad when I get back I'll drive you home yourself."

"Drive in London in rush hour? Jenny I'm many things but I'm not cruel. I'd never make you do that," she said, finally showing her face, temporarily forgetting her veneer of humourlessness at such an early hour.

"Do you want me to take a look at your arm before I go?"

The warmth in her host's tone immediately set her on the defensive. "I'm fine. I can leave," she said too quickly, still thrown by the fact that she really believed Jenny cared. She untangled herself from the blanket and made to stand up before seeing that the weather really did leave quite a lot to be desired. "I'll be fine. I'm leaving."

"Don't be ungrateful. I even made you a drink." Vastra looked at the coffee table. It didn't at all fit in with the rest of the (sparse) interior décor. She wondered if it came with the place or if Jenny just had poor taste. Both were equally likely. She eyed the drink before taking it in her hands, cursing the comforting warmth. "How many times have you come to me for help?"

"Is that rhetorical?"

"Of course it is- you've kept count haven't you."

She didn't answer.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and crossed her free arm. "You're ridiculous, you know that, right?" Instead of answering Vastra got up again.

"I haven't even changed your dressing." A sigh, it was much too early for this and she didn't really have the time. She shouldn't have offered. "Come here, I've got to leave soon so let's do this quickly."

Silently she sat back down and allowed Jenny to treat her again.

"You heal really quickly, are all of your lot like this?"

"Everyone in my clutch healed relatively quickly, it was desirable."

"Hmm." She was interested, she wouldn't have asked otherwise, but she didn't have anything to add and since Vastra wasn't great at understanding facial expressions she felt the need to give an audible response.

"Are you going to let me leave or do I have to stay until you return?"

She tutted as she finished redressing her arm. "Don't act like I'm keeping you here by force, we both know you could have left at any time last night, you stayed because I was right and it was in your best interests."

"That wasn't an answer."

"If you want to leave then leave, you're welcome to stay if you think you'll be better off here than at whatever dump you're living in at the moment."

"I resent that."

"Resent away."

"Why are you so intent on helping me?" Her curiosity was borne of sincere lack of understanding just why she was so kind to her. No other human she'd met would do this. Barring Jack of course, but he didn't count.

"Why do you always come to me for it if you don't want help?"

"I don't want your help I just happen to need it."

"You're acting like a brat and I'm leaving."

Jenny wanted to slam the door, or at least close it with some force, but it was early and she was mindful of her neighbours. She would rather not have a complaint come through her door again, the last one being about having guests at odd hours, not that it was any of their business.

Her days were usually long and tiresome, getting to the surgery at least half an hour before it opened (a task made particularly painful when kept up late by the arrival of a certain lizard in need of medical attention) wasn't her ideal way to start the day. Then having to make conversation with the other staff, none of whom she particularly disliked or anything she just hardly knew them and found their talks awkward and forced. Not to mention the number of people she had to see, London was a big and well-populated place after all. Most of her patients were people with chronic illnesses, diabetes, arthritis, and the like so she saw them regularly and most of them were very nice and appreciated her help be it writing up a prescription or giving them a referral but she had to admit that it got monotonous. Perhaps that was why she put up with Vastra. A big green break from the norm, her manners and gratitude could be improved though.

Honestly, she didn't expect said green break from the norm to still be in her apartment by the time she returned but she was fairly certain that she would come back in a week or two with anything from a twisted ankle to a broken rib, the latter of which Vastra coped with far better than the former. She had to know she couldn't keep relying on Jenny forever, she had a life and what if she couldn't help? It was a real difficulty to get her hands on the supplies she kept tucked away under her bed and she thanked the stars she had a friend at the hospital willing to smuggle out a few things on the understanding that she wasn't getting herself involved in anything questionable in a court of law.

It wasn't until late at night, later than usual too, that she returned home take-out in hand. Take-out she nearly dropped when she saw Vastra in the kitchen taking great interest in her host's foodstuffs.

"Good evening," she said flatly whilst reading the back of a tin of beans. There was a lot of sugar in such a small can.

"You're still here."

"I'm aware of that." She put the tin down on the countertop along with most of the rest of the contents of Jenny's kitchen cupboards. She could at least put them back where they belong she thought. "Why don't apes simply get their food fresh? It seems like more work than it's worth to prepare all of this. We preserved our food too," she began, referring to silurians, "but only seasonal foods, you seem to do it on a far larger scale."

"Right," she wasn't paying full attention and decided it would be better to just let her talk. "Before you go you can put all that back."

"Why do you have that? You have plenty here why waste your money?" Vastra asked, not bothering to gesture to the bag in her hand.

She put the bag on what little space there was left on the countertop and dug through her drawers for some cutlery, apparently her guest had taken it upon herself to go through her (formerly) neat and well-arranged drawers too. "I didn't feel up to cooking," she answered "Just clean up and put everything back where you found it while I eat and I'll sort you out something after," she was too tired to sound anything but exasperated, funnily enough she didn't feel quite so mentally exhausted before she came in.

After a short while Vastra came into the living room and took the seat closest to the radiator which had been on all day, Jenny wasn't going to like the bill. "Thank you for offering but I don't require you to prepare me anything to eat, I appreciate the offer however."

Appreciation? She thought, and she didn't even have to coax the gratitude out of her. "Why are you still here? I know I said you could stay but I didn't actually expect you to- I mean I would have got you something as well," she gestured to her almost-empty plate.

"I just told you I don't need anything to eat," she said almost harshly, apes had a habit of not listening. And just like that, all semblance of a good house guest and patient… gone. "I still need you to check my arm, as you said, I'd rather not be forced to return due to complications."

"You'll be forced to come back anyway, you seem like get yourself in trouble a lot," she half-joked before taking her plate to be washed up, leaving Vastra pouting until she returned.

"What even is it you do to get yourself hurt like you do?" She removed the bandage and was careful to avoid touching her scales, she was used to them by now but had learnt that the less contact she had the less likely it was that'd she'd accidentally pull a scale and cause further discomfort.

"A few things," she answered honestly, bracing herself for any pain that might come as Jenny began removing her bandage.

"Vague," she said absently.

"Truth."

"Still vague."

"I could be in serious trouble for just letting you know about my existence, for both our safeties I can't go into any more detail." Jenny pictured a Men In Black-esque setup, or something equally covert.

"And how much trouble would you be in for regularly coming to the same human for medical attention without proof you can trust her?"

"You'd probably find yourself in more trouble, perhaps danger too, than I would."

"So you've willingly put me in harm's way?" her tone was somewhat jovial and Vastra wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

She donned a sheepish expression. "When you put it like that it sounds worse."

"It is pretty bad."

"You could have turned me away at any time."

"You're big green and intimidating, I'm not sure turning you away would be the wisest decision." Her tone turned more serious, "Plus I'm a doctor, I can't just refuse to help someone."

Jenny finished redressing the injury that she was satisfied was healing well she stood and went to fetch the other woman's large hooded coat. When she returned she found Vastra messing with the gauze around her arm which earned her some admonishment. She passed her the coat and waited for her to finish zipping it up before leading her to the door.

"Thank you, for my arm and making me stay," she said sincerely.

"Any time, if there's something wrong you know where I am. And don't stay out too long it's cold out and I'd hate for me looking after you to go to waste."

Vastra laughed. "I'll be fine."

"I'll see you next time you break something."


I'm actually having a really fun time with this

Please please r&r home slices