The next day the sun shone brightly over London, showing off Tower Bridge and the city skyline in all its glory. Osgood had breezed into her lab with a smile on her face, said hello to Malcolm and McGillop who were left with stunned expressions and made herself a nice cup of tea before logging onto her computer. She'd left some tests running overnight that she needed to check on and record the results as soon as possible. McGillop raised his eyebrows at Malcolm who simply shrugged in puzzlement. It wasn't that Osgood was unfriendly but she was usually so serious and focused that she barely spoke to her colleagues other than to discuss work, especially first thing in the morning. Malcolm continued to work on the raven that sat in front of him, adjusting some of the fine motor control settings and upgrading the on board weaponry. McGillop had his own office further along the corridor but made it his business to know what was going on in the rest of the Scientific Research department.
Kate had spent the rest of her evening thinking about her father and the painful, wasted years while they hadn't been speaking. She regretted that time so much now, even though they both had their own reasons for it at the time. They had both put a lot of effort into repairing the damage since they were reunited nearly twenty years ago and it meant that Gordy had a positive male influence and role model as he had grown up. And then there was Osgood; a woman with so little confidence in herself yet she was brighter and more intelligent than half of the people that she worked with. Underneath she had such empathy for people and the aliens that they encountered and a charming, attractive personality to match. Kate wasn't stupid, she understood her own feelings well enough and knew that there was an underlying attraction between them which had grown stronger over dinner the night before. It was whether she did something about it that was her next dilemma. She'd only ever had one conversation with her father about relationships; when she'd had a brief affair with Sarah Jane Smith shortly after they'd met while dealing with The Intelligence. The Brigadier hadn't been surprised but he hadn't really understood it either. He'd struggled with Kate's absolute need for independence and forthright feminist thinking even before their quarrel. She had put him in mind of the aforementioned Sarah Jane Smith who was twenty years her senior. After that, Kate hadn't had time for relationships and had instead become embroiled in UNIT and worked her way up the ranks under her father's guidance. There was a nagging thought that she'd wasted so much time already but she was also afraid of not living up to someone else's expectations; she was her father's daughter after all.
Osgood appeared sometime around mid-morning. She was Kate's assistant but she also had her own projects that she was responsible for. Kate usually let her know when she was needed and had phoned half an hour earlier to request her presence.
"Hi." Osgood greeted her boss nervously and squeezed the inhaler in her lab coat pocket for reassurance.
"Hello." Kate looked up from her computer and smiled, she hoped that it reassured her colleague and didn't betray how nervous she was feeling herself. She gestured to the seat opposite and Osgood made herself comfortable. "I've got a meeting with the MOD this afternoon at two-thirty. It might get a bit contentious because they feel we're encroaching on some of their intelligence work. I'd like you come with me. McGillop has written a report outlining our current projects, obviously not the top secret ones, and he can brief you on its contents. Is that alright?" It wasn't unusual for Kate to have to undertake a bit of damage control with official government departments and for Osgood to join her as back up.
"That's fine with me; I haven't been over there in a while." There was a brief silence and Osgood could feel her lungs burn ever so slightly as her nerves threatened to get the better of her. "I was wondering, it's a nice day... Would you like to have lunch outside, on the bench…together?" Kate felt a little more at ease and smiled widely at the younger woman.
"That would be wonderful. I don't often get a chance to have a proper lunch break but I'll make the effort for you."
"Oh that is marvellous!" Osgood beamed at the older woman, pleased that the previous evening hadn't just been swept under the carpet.
They sat on the bench facing Tower Bridge where Kate could occasionally be found having her lunch, or taking a few moments away from the office. She loved her job and the fact that it was all-consuming but everyone needed a bit of downtime occasionally. She was in the middle of telling a silly tale from somewhere in her past and animatedly waved her hands around to emphasise certain points in the story. The blonde arrived at the punch line and unconsciously rested her hand on top of Osgood's knee as they both doubled over and giggled. It took a matter of seconds for the younger woman to realise where Kate's hand was and she halted her laughter in an attempt to stop herself turning beetroot and having an asthma attack. Kate noticed and followed her colleague's gaze, immediately retracting her hand when she realised.
"Sorry..." Osgood woke herself up from her stupor and shook her head as she smiled shyly up at the older woman. She grabbed Kate's hand, put it back on her knee and entwined their fingers. Kate smiled in relief and Osgood returned it brightly. Something had most definitely changed between them from the day before. Kate squeezed Osgood's hand gently and swallowed to lubricate her suddenly dry throat. "I'm not sure what this is…" The usually confident and assertive Head of Scientific Research found herself well outside of her comfort zone.
"Neither do I but it will be fun finding out, don't you think?" In a surprising contrast, Osgood seemed more at ease with the situation than Kate; all she had needed was confirmation that Kate felt something for her. It wasn't as though she was a complete novice with relationships; there had been a girl at university and a couple since then, although it was true that it had been a while since the last. They looked at each other at length, goofily smiling and took in the weight of the moment.
"Yes, I rather think it will." Kate responded eventually and reached up to brush Osgood's outgrown fringe from her eyes. She started to lean into the younger woman's personal space but was stopped by one of her officers clearing his throat from behind them.