Chapter 6
Rose arrived at the Nobles' at a quarter till seven the following evening and as she stood at the edge of the driveway listening to the cab pull away behind her it took all of her resolve not to turn back around, flag down the driver and leave.
'S' jus' dinner,' she reminded herself for the umpteenth time as she slowly made her way up to the house.
But even after having repeated the mantra in her head throughout the whole ride over she still hadn't managed to quell her nerves or calm the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach. Yes, it was just dinner but unlike the last time she spent an evening with the family John would actually be there. And while that thought both thrilled and elated her, she was also worried about how her reaction to seeing him again might be perceived.
As if practically dominating her every waking thought wasn't enough, ever since their impromptu date John had also begun to make nightly appearances in her dreams and that, coupled with the fact that it had been pointed out to her by both Martha and Mickey that the feelings she had been harboring for him were not as discreet as she thought they were, just proved that one wrong move in front of his family would make it blatantly obvious to them as well. That is if they weren't already suspicious with how much time she and John had been spending together.
Shaking her head, Rose silently scolded herself for being so daft. There was no real reason to suspect that the family thought she considered John to be anything more than a friend. Although… Wilf knew the truth about her and Jack. What if he also started sensing something between her and John as well? Or started noticing the way she looked at him or how she blushed when he smiled at her or how Jack seemed to slip her mind every time John was near? 'Stop it.' she chided herself once more. She was completely overreacting and allowing herself to get worked up by letting her irrational fears play upon her guilty conscience. Nothing more.
Stepping onto the porch Rose took a breath and schooled her features staring resolutely at the door. Standing outside all night worrying about what might or might not happen wasn't going to solve anything. She could do this. She would just simply have to play it cool and try to think of John in more of a 'brotherly' type of way.
'Pretend he's Mickey.' she told herself. She scrunched up her face at that thought but at the moment she was willing to try anything. 'He's your friend and Jack's brother, nothing more. You are not attracted to him at all.'
The door swung open before Rose even realized she had knocked and Sylvia smiled brightly. "Rose, you're right on time." she greeted, stepping aside to allow her to enter. "Come in." Shutting the door behind her she took Rose's coat and hung it on the rack before leading her into the living room where Donna and Geoff were sitting on the couch laughing as they leafed through a large photo album. "Dinner should be ready in about five minutes." she called over her shoulder on her way back to the kitchen.
"Rose!" Donna waved her over. "We were just going through some old family photos. Come join us." she patted the cushion beside her.
Taking a seat beside her, Rose leaned in for a better look and immediately began giggling. Almost every photo on the page contained a small dark haired little boy in nothing but various pairs of superhero underpants grinning and doing some sort of pose for the camera.
"Let me guess," Rose laughed. "Jack?"
Donna rolled her eyes good-naturedly and nodded. "Yeah."
"He never liked wearing clothes." Geoff chuckled as Donna flipped to the next page of what looked like vacation photos taken on a beach in which all three children were building a sandcastle.
Donna continued to flip through the book, occasionally pausing to make comments about where a specific photo was taken or to tell a funny anecdote that went along with the picture while Rose basically watched the trio grow up right before her eyes in stop motion. As the pages continued to turn, she couldn't help focusing on the pictures of John. There were quite a few of him building various contraptions, a couple of school photos of him holding what looked like a science fair trophy, a teenage John lying on the couch; his hair slightly longer and more shaggy, wearing a set of head phones while reading a physics book followed by graduation photos, some more perm pics and finally a candid shot of John and Wilf stargazing out in the back yard next to a large telescope.
"I took that one." Donna said when she noticed Rose's eyes lingering on the photo. "John was home from Uni for the weekend and he and Granddad decided to camp out under the stars."
"They're always out there with that thing." Sylvia interjected, sounding somewhat disapproving as she stepped out of the kitchen and dusted her hands off on her apron. "In fact, they're out back right now setting it up which means they'll be out there all night again. Honestly, the pair of them are gonna catch their death sitting out in the cold like that. I don't know why…"
The sound of voices and the back door sliding shut cut her off mid-rant and Rose looked up from the album just as John walked into the room. Her breath hitched at the sight of him and all of those "friends only' thoughts she had been trying to adhere to for the evening immediately flew out the window.
John's hair was in its normal artful disarray and he was wearing a maroon oxford with the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone, dark blue skinny jeans and a pair of maroon chucks. As she slowly dragged her eyes back up to meet his, a warm smile began to spread across his face, mirroring the one she was now sporting and for a few moments it was as if they were the only ones in the room.
Movement out of the corner of her eye quickly reminded her that they were most definitely not alone and she glanced over to see Donna looking between the pair of them curiously. Thankfully John managed to create an instant diversion by groaning loudly and all eyes turned on him.
"Donna, why do you insist on pulling out that album every time we have a guest?" he complained.
Donna rolled her eyes. "What are you so worried about spaceman? You said she'd already seen a picture of you with your perm. It can't get much more embarrassing than that. Besides it's not like you're naked in any of these." Donna leaned over towards Rose. "I save those for special occasions." she whispered conspiratorially making Rose giggle.
"Oh okay, you want to talk about embarrassing hair pics?" John shot back and Donna's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
"Alright, knock it off you two." Sylvia chided, stepping into the room. "Dinner's ready."
John narrowed his eyes at Donna as if to say 'this conversation isn't over' and she retaliated by sticking out her tongue before hooking her arm through Rose's and dragging her into the kitchen. As they gathered around the table Rose took a seat beside Donna and looked up to see John sitting down directly across from her. Both of them blushed lightly as their eyes met and they exchanged a nervous smile before turning their attention back to the rest of the family.
The evening seemed to pass by fairy quickly and Rose had even found herself starting to relax a bit as she listened to the exchange of pleasantries, lighthearted family stories and spirited debate. As dinner winded down she found herself a bit surprised by John's lack of contribution to the conversation. Although she hadn't spoken much herself, except for a word of agreement every now and then or a bout of laughter where appropriate, it was strange to see him so subdued. Normally with that unstoppable gob of his it was hard to get a word in edgewise, especially since he tended to talk about anything and everything at about a mile a minute but tonight he just seemed…different. Almost as if he was nervous about something. Donna seemed to notice as well, shooting glances their way whenever there was a lull in the conversation.
As they finished up their dessert Rose caught John's eye and they exchanged another smile, staring at one another perhaps a bit longer than necessary judging by the fact that they had drawn Donna's attention once more and ended up avoiding eye contact for the rest of the meal.
"Do you need any help with the dishes?" Rose asked as they began to clear the table.
"No, we got them." Donna told her as she joined Wilf at the sink.
Nodding she picked up her drink and turned to see John leaning up against the sliding glass door, gazing up at the sky. As she stepped up beside him he glanced down at her, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Hello." he said softly.
"Hello." Rose breathed out, her heart skipping a beat as she stared into his eyes.
"You're not leaving yet are you?"
"No." she laughed nervously and shook her head. "No, I can stay for a little bit longer."
"Oh good. That's good." he nodded. "Um," he reached up and began tugging lightly on his ear. "If you want I could give you that tour of the stars I promised. I've got the telescope all set up."
"Oh um, yeah sure, that'd be great." she said, nervously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
His grin widened at her response and she couldn't help but return it before setting her drink down and gesturing towards the door.
"After you, Doctor." she drawled flirtatiously as she moved to follow him outside which caused him to blush fiercely, tinging the tips of his ears pink.
John led her across the yard to where the telescope was resting on its tripod and pulled a leather bound journal from the duffel bag on the ground beside it.
"I've documented all of the constellations and planets that we've already mapped out in here." He waved the journal at her and then pointed towards the ground where she noticed three small white X's, one beneath each leg of the tripod. "And we marked the area to make sure we set up in the correct spot every time. Okay, let's see here." he murmured to himself as he flipped through the first few pages. "Ah, here we go."
After adjusting the scope with the proper calculations on the page he stepped back and gestured for her to take a look.
"S' a bit blurry." she commented as she pressed her eye to the lens.
"Hold on." He stepped up beside her and she could feel the heat of his body as he leaned in, a stark contrast to the cold night air, and she tried to hold back a shiver as his arms came up around her to adjust the position of the scope.
"Is that better?" he asked, his warm breath caressing her cheek.
Pulling back she turned to look at him, their faces mere inches apart, his warm brown eyes transfixed on her hazel depths.
"Much better." she whispered, her gaze falling to his lips.
The sound of the back door sliding open and Sylvia announcing that Rose's cab had arrived caused them to spring apart guiltily.
Rose gave a breathless laugh. "Well um, I better go. I've got work in the mornin'."
"Right." John nodded and she almost thought she saw a brief flash of disappointment in his eyes before he quickly turned away and tucked the journal back into the duffel bag. "I'll just walk you out then."
"Okay." Rose agreed, offering him a smile.
"You know you didn't have to call a cab." he told her as they made their way back to the house. "I would have driven you home."
"Oh that's okay. I didn't want to put you to any trouble."
"It's no trouble Rose. I'm happy to do it."
"Yeah but S' an hour drive there and back and it would be takin' time away from your family that they should be spendin' with you while you're home."
"Well, technically you're almost family now too." he pointed out, sounding a little bitter as he slid the door open for her.
His tone made her pause for a moment and she was tempted to ask him if he was bothered by that when Sylvia walked up and handed her a couple of containers. "I packed you some leftovers for dinner tomorrow as well as some pie."
Rose glanced over at John in amusement and he just shrugged and grinned.
The family followed Rose to the front door where hugs and goodbyes were exchanged and as John moved to grab her coat, Donna took the containers from her hands so he could help her into it. Taking back the containers, Rose gave Donna a quick hug and then turned to say goodnight to John but before she could even open her mouth Sylvia spoke up.
"Oh, look at that." she chuckled glancing up at the doorway.
Both John and Rose followed her gaze and the minute Rose's eyes landed on the small sprig of mistletoe hanging above the door, she felt her stomach drop.
"Well go on and kiss her then." Sylvia instructed her son.
"It is a tradition." Geoff reminded them.
Rose glanced over at Donna, who chose to remain silent, watching them with that same look of discernment she had been all night while Wilf, who was standing beside her, just looked apologetic and somewhat sad.
Filing their reactions away to reflect upon later she turned back to John, whose 'deer in the headlights' expression was practically a mirror image of her own, and smiled nervously up at him. She was starting to feel lightheaded and the butterflies that had been casually flitting about in her stomach all evening were now fluttering wildly and looking for the nearest exit. While it was true that she had fantasized about kissing him at least a dozen times over the last few days, none of those fantasies included doing so in front of his entire family while his parents egged them on.
John took a tentative step forward to close the distance between them and leaned in to press his lips to Rose's cheek when Sylvia stopped him.
"Oh now none of that." she chided. "Do it properly."
John swallowed audibly, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he looked into Rose's eyes as though searching for permission. Seeming to have found what he was looking for he leaned forward again and quickly brushed his lips over hers before pulling away, a light blush coloring his cheeks.
It could barely even be called a kiss, but it left Rose with an intense tingling sensation that she felt all the way down to her toes and she had to duck her head to hide her embarrassment. With one last "goodnight" and a quick wave to the rest of the family, she turned away and practically sprinted out the door and down the steps. Her face felt like it was on fire and even the bitter cold of the wind couldn't soothe the burning in her cheeks. As much as she wanted to turn around and look behind her for his reaction she couldn't do it. Quickly slipping into the cab she gave the driver her destination, forcing herself to keep her eyes forward as the car pulled away from the curb before finally slumping back in the seat in frustration. What the hell had she been thinking? She had kissed him. She had kissed John. It was bad enough that she had been fantasizing about it but then she had to go and allow herself to be pressured into actually carrying the fantasy out, with an audience no less, and what's more she had liked it. Great, just one more thing to add to her guilty conscience.
-oOo-
John swallowed roughly as he watched the cab drive away, his heart beating out a samba in his chest. He had wanted to call out, to run after her, to take her in his arms and give her a real kiss. One that would leave her panting and breathless and show her exactly how he felt about her. Sighing, he shut the door and leaned back against it as he ran a hand over his face and attempted to push those thoughts aside. She was Jack's fiancée for god sakes. Things were already complicated enough with the realization that he was in love with her and then on top of that he just had to go and kiss her. He knew it was a bad idea, he knew he shouldn't have done it and yet he allowed himself to be goaded into it anyway. At least when he had only been fantasizing about kissing her he could lie to himself, try to pretend that the reality could never be as good as the version he had concocted in his head in order to help force his feelings aside and at least try to be happy for her and Jack. But that kiss, that one, brief, seemingly insignificant little kiss had only managed to turn his world upside down once more and selfishly, all he could think about was how he very much wanted to do it again.
-oOo-
"Oh my god, so you're finally gonna do it then?" Rose asked in disbelief staring down at the ring.
"Yeah." Mickey chuckled. "Tomorrow night actually. Not a bad way to ring in the New Year eh? "
"Well S' about time." she grinned giving him a playful shove.
"Hey, the only reason I held off was that so Martha could finish her residency without all the added stress of planning a wedding. But the minute I saw the ring I knew I just had to get it." he met her eyes hopefully. "You think she'll like it?"
"She'll love it." Rose assured him. "S' perfect."
Mickey blew out a breath of relief and smiled as he tucked the ring box back in his pocket. "I've been so worried the last couple of days that somethin' was gonna come up and she'd end up having to work tomorrow but so far it's all going according to plan. We'll have the party and then at the stroke of midnight I'll get down on one knee in front of all our friends and ask her to marry me."
"That sounds lovely." Rose murmured, trying to keep the wistfulness out of her tone but failing miserably. "M' so happy for you guys."
"Hey," Mickey's voice was laced with concern as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"M' fine." she replied a little too quickly, unable to meet his eyes.
"Right." he said slowly and sounding completely unconvinced. "Pull the other one while you're at it. Come on Rose, tell me what's wrong? Did somethin' happen at dinner with Jack's family last night?"
Rose's mind was momentarily flooded with the memory of the all too brief kiss she had shared with John the previous evening and she quickly tamped down the feelings that accompanied it. She never should have let the kiss to happen in the first place but she allowed herself be badgered into, as Sylvia had put it, "keeping with tradition" which ended up only making things worse. By allowing herself to indulge in that one moment of true happiness she had only succeeded in piling more guilt onto her overburdened conscience. She met her friend's eyes. It was really no surprise that Mickey could easily see right through her. Having grown up together he was more attuned to her than anyone but this was definitely not something she wanted to discuss at the moment so she attempted to brush off the subject.
"No, nothin' happened. It was jus' a normal dinner."
"Mmm hmm." Mickey still sounded skeptical but sensing that she didn't want to talk about it, allowed the matter to drop with a change of subject. "So for the party tomorrow, Martha wanted me to ask you if she could borrow your punch bowl. You are still comin' right?"
"Of course." she gave him a genuine smile. "Can't miss seein' my two best friends get engaged now can I? Are you guys gonna need any help with decorations?"
"Nah, Martha's pretty much got it covered and Jake and Rory are gonna come by early to help set up the sound system."
"Oh that's good. How's Rory doin' by the way?"
Mickey leaned back against the railing, draping his arms over the top. "Well we haven't had much chance to talk since he got back. The funeral arrangements took a lot out of him and now he's havin' to deal with that whole mess with his dad's estate."
"Yeah, that's gotta be rough on him." Rose agreed. "But I meant with the other thing. Ya know, the big news?"
"Big news?" Mickey's brows furrowed in confusion.
"You didn't hear?" she asked incredulously and he shook his head. "Amy's pregnant."
"What? No way. When did this happen?"
Rose laughed. "I didn't exactly ask for the conception date."
"Cheeky." Mickey retorted as Rose moved to lean up against the railing beside him, neither of them hearing the sound of the footsteps coming up the stairs. "Wow," he blew out a breath. "So… pregnant."
"Yeah." she replied with a breathy laugh.
"And when did you find out?"
"Yesterday."
"Wow. I mean, that's great. A bit unexpected, but still great."
"You're tellin' me." Rose agreed. "After everythin' he's been through S' about time somethin' good happened for a change." she paused, a soft smile forming on her lips. "He's gonna be a really great dad don't ya think?"
"Definitely." Mickey concurred as a loud buzzing sounded from his pocket. "That'll be Martha." Pulling out his phone he checked the screen and nodded in confirmation. "I better get going. I still have to go by Tesco's to pick up a few more things on the way home."
"Okay, well come on," she said pushing off the railing. "I'll get you that punchbowl she wants to borrow."
As they headed down the walkway back towards her flat neither of them noticed the shadow creeping out from behind the concrete wall of the staircase or the man it was attached to as he finally came into view.
John stared after the pair in utter disbelief, trying to swallow against the lump in his throat as he attempted to process what he had just heard. Suddenly overtaken by an overwhelming urge to run, he turned and bolted down the stairs.
-oOo-
John pulled into his parent's driveway as dusk was starting to set in. After leaving Rose's flat, he had driven around for a while in an attempt to clear his head but to no avail. Putting the car into park, he slumped back against the seat. She was pregnant. Rose was pregnant. The moment he had heard the words leave her lips he was in shock. He had wanted to go after her, to confront her and get further confirmation but then of course that would only make it look like he had been spying on her. He thumped his head against the headrest. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop. He really hadn't. The only reason he had even dropped by was because he was in the area picking up something for his dad and on a whim thought he might surprise her with an offer to join him for dinner, only he was the one who ended up surprised. With a heavy sigh he stilled his head and closed his eyes. Oh who was he kidding? He dropped by because he wanted to see her, whether he had happened to be in the area or not. She was all he could think about ever since he met her. The ghost of her kiss from the previous evening, brief as it was, still lingered on his lips and he longed to feel it again but now with this revelation he had to force those thoughts from his head once and for all. She was with Jack. She was going to marry him and have his child. It was over.
A light tapping on the window startled him from his reverie and he cracked one eye open to see Donna staring down at him with her hands on her hips. Raising a brow she nodded pointedly at the window and he reached over and flicked the switch to roll it down.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Blinking, he took a moment to process her question. "What?"
"You've been sitting out here talking to yourself for half an hour. The neighbors are gonna start thinking you've gone round the bend."
"Rose is pregnant." he said quietly, dropping his gaze to the steering wheel.
"What?" Donna's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Oh my god! How do you know? Did she tell you? When is she due? Did Jack already know?"
"Donna." he cut in. "Take a breath will you."
"Well excuuuse me for being excited spaceman." she held up her hands in mock defense. "I mean, this is big news. Does mum know yet? What am I saying of course she doesn't. She'd have called half of London by now. And how come you already knew? Were you with her when she found out or did she just tell you?"
"Blimey you can talk." he grumbled when she finally broke for a breath. "No she didn't tell me. I... sort of overheard her talking to her friend."
"You what?" Donna stared down at him incredulously. "As if you haven't put that poor girl through enough with all your interrogations, now you're spying on her?"
"W-what?" he sputtered. "No. I was picking up something for dad in the area and I stopped by to…" he ran a hand through his hair in frustration and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Listen Donna," he turned in his seat, his hands gripping the top of the door as he gave her a pleading look. "You can't say anything. It's her news to tell. She doesn't even know I know."
Donna nodded her agreement, miming a zipper being pulled across her lips but was unable to hide her giddy smile. "Oh but this is bloody brilliant!" she blurted excitedly. "I mean, I'm gonna be an aunt." she paused, her eyes softening as she took in his sullen expression. "This is good for them though right? I mean it's happy news isn't it?" she asked, placing her hand on top of his.
"Yeah." he said forcing a smile before glancing away again, completely missing the sympathetic look that passed over her features.
"Come on," Donna said gently, patting his hand. "Let's go inside before mum sends out the search party."
Nodding dejectedly, John climbed out of the car and followed her into the house.
-oOo-
At the sound of her name being called Rose looked up from the icy patch in front of her staircase that she had been carefully trying to navigate across to see John leaning casually up against his car, hands tucked in his pockets with one foot crossed over the other, and a slow smile began to spread across her face.
"What are you doin' here?" she asked as she made her way over to him.
His answering grin faltered a bit and something indiscernible flickered in his eyes before he quickly looked away and cleared his throat. "I uh," he reached up with one hand and began rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well, seeing as how it's New Year's Eve and all and with Jack still in the hospital, I wanted to see if you might want to do something. You know, maybe grab some dinner and talk."
"Oh," she replied, slightly surprised. "Well actually Mickey and Martha are havin' a party so..." she gestured vaguely behind her.
"Ah." he nodded eyebrows lifting as he pushed off the car. "Well then can I give you a ride?"
"That's okay," Rose shook her head. "They jus' live down the block." At the clear dejection on his face she quickly added. "You could come with me though if you want. I mean, if you don't have any other plans."
"Nope." he popped the 'p', his face breaking out into a grin once more. "Free as a bird."
She smiled back, tilting her head in a beckoning motion and he followed her onto the sidewalk as they began to make their way down the street. They fell into a companionable silence as they walked along with him casually steeling glances at her every so often while she attempted to collect the myriad of thoughts rushing through her head. She had no idea what had come over her when she blurted out the invitation for him to join her. Okay, so maybe she had a slight inkling, but that was beside the point. How could she even remotely think it was a good idea with everything that had been happening between them to spend an evening with him where there would be drinking and dancing and kissing… oh god, what if he wanted to talk about the kiss. He had mentioned wanting to go somewhere to talk. What would she even say? Should she apologize? Laugh it off? She hadn't even managed to process her feelings on the situation so how the hell was she supposed to talk about it?
"So, how are you feeling?" he asked pulling her from her thoughts.
"Fine." she replied quickly. "You?"
"Oh, good." he nodded rapidly. "I'm good."
They fell into silence once more, neither of them seeming to be able to find the right words to begin a conversation so Rose was extremely grateful when Mickey and Martha's building came into view.
"This is it." she announced, leading him up the walkway.
As they drew closer they could hear the faint thumping beat of music and there were several people in party hats milling around the grounds with drinks in their hands. Rose stepped up to the door and knocked loudly and a few seconds later it was opened by a young man in a military style jacket with spikey blonde hair.
"Rose." he greeted happily, sweeping her up in a tight hug.
"Hey Jake." Rose giggled as he set her back down and then turned to John. "This is my friend John. John this is Jake. He works with Mickey down at the garage."
"Nice to meet you mate." Jake extended his hand and John shook it.
"Likewise."
Jake stepped aside to allow them to enter and then closed the door behind them as John began to help Rose out of her coat.
"He's cute." Jake murmured in her ear giving her a wink and a smile before making his way back across the room.
"What did he say?" John asked, stepping up beside her.
Rose blushed and shook her head as she spotted Shareen, Keisha and Amy off in the corner before turning back to him. "M jus' gonna go say hi to some friends real quick and I'll be right back. Help yourself to a drink." She pointed towards a table of refreshments on the opposite side of the room and he nodded his assent as she headed over to the small group of giggling women.
"There she is!" Shareen cheered, raising her cup in Rose's direction. "Told you she'd make it."
Rose laughed exchanging hugs with the trio before turning her attention on Keisha. "So how's maternity leave treatin' ya?" she shouted over the music.
"Oh no one cares about that." Shareen interjected. "What we want to know is who that gorgeous piece of arm candy you walked in with is." she said and the other women nodded in agreement.
Rose bit her bottom lip and glanced back over her shoulder trying not to let herself become flustered by their questioning. "That's John. He's… a friend."
John must have noticed their eyes on him because at that moment he looked up and waved.
"A friend huh?" Keisha snickered. "The way he was looking at you when you came in says he's a little more than that."
Rose rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Trust me, we're not like that. We're jus' friends."
"Well if you're not gonna tap that…" Shareen began but Rose cut her off.
"Don't even think about it!" she warned.
"Yeah," Amy drawled in her thick Scottish accent, putting up air quotes. "Just friends." And the group began giggling once more.
While Rose was busy catching up with her friends, John was attempting to make small talk with Jake and Rory; a tall lanky fellow with sandy hair he had just been introduced to, in order to take his mind off of why he had really come to see Rose tonight. He knew they needed to talk but he was also aware that this wasn't the best venue for them to have that type of discussion. As he tried to focus on the conversation the other two men were having regarding some footie match, a wave of laughter filled the air and he looked up to see Rose and her friends staring back at him. It was quite obvious that they were talking about him so he gave them a quick wave and a warm smile before turning away again. Although he'd much prefer to be by her side right now he also knew that following her around all night like a puppy dog wouldn't exactly be appropriate either. He didn't want to be that guy. Returning his attention once again to the conversation in front of him he had his cup halfway to his lips when he gave a quick glance back across the room and froze, his face paling as he watched Mickey hand Rose a beer. Quickly excusing himself, he set his cup on the table and crossed the room in just a few short strides and snatched the bottle from her grasp.
"John… what?" Rose started.
"Are you crazy?" he half-shouted, staring down at her in disbelief and immediately drawing the attention of the rest of the party goers. "You can't drink that!" He turned to Martha and Mickey whose faces mirrored her bewilderment. "And the two of you should know better." he chastised the couple angrily as he thrust the beer bottle back into Mickey's hands. "You're a medical doctor for god sakes." he directed at Martha. "You should know the dangers and risks of drinking during a pregnancy."
The music shut off as his statement resounded throughout the room leaving behind a deafening silence as John slowly became aware of the ramifications of his sudden outburst. Swallowing roughly, he gradually took in the shocked faces all around him before daring a glance back at Rose who was staring at him in complete and utter mortification and he cursed himself inwardly.
'Bollocks.'
-oOo-
"Rose, wait." John called out as he chased her down the sidewalk and caught hold of her arm. "It was a simple misunderstanding that's all."
"You call that a simple misunderstandin'?" she scoffed. "You jus' told all my friends I was pregnant."
"I know." he said softly, his warm brown eyes pleading for her forgiveness. "And I'm sorry Rose. I am so sorry."
Rose sighed, shaking her head in disbelief as she began walking again and he fell into step beside her, tucking his hands in his pockets.
"What in the world made you think that in the first place?" she asked him as they made their way back to her flat.
"Weell," he drawled, pulling one of his hands from his pocket to tug lightly on his ear as he stared down at his feet. "I had stopped by to see you yesterday and I sort of overheard a bit of yours and Mickey's conversation. I wanted to talk to you about it then but I also didn't want you to think I had been purposely eavesdropping on you so I just turned around and left."
"Oh my god," Rose laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "We were talkin' about our friend Amy. She and her husband jus' found out she was pregnant a couple of days ago. They'd been goin' through a rough patch 'cause Rory's dad recently passed away so we were jus' sayin' how nice it was for them to get some good news after everythin' they've been through these last few weeks."
"Ah." John replied with a sheepish smile before returning his attention to his feet. "I'm sorry to hear that." he offered after a moment. "About your friend's dad I mean."
"Yeah." Rose nodded in agreement. "He was a good man."
They lapsed into silence once again as they neared her building and then he gallantly offered her his arm as he led her across the slick patches of ice and up the stairs.
Upon reaching her floor, Rose finally dared a glance at him. "You know, you coulda jus' asked me outright on the way to the party instead of announcin' it to all my friends." she told him, trying to ease the tension by playfully bumping his shoulder with her own and giving him an amused smile.
"Well, I was trying to figure out the best way to approach the subject. Although I can assure you, blurting it out in front of everyone like that had not been one of my choices." he added with another sheepish grin. "And then I thought maybe I shouldn't say anything because you might not want us to know yet. I mean seeing as how you and Jack had gotten engaged so quickly I figured maybe..."
Rose's face paled at the implication of his words and she suddenly found herself becoming angry again. "So what," she cut him off. "You think that the only reason Jack would want to be with me is 'cause he knocked me up, is that it?"
"What?" John choked out. "No."
"Yeah it is." Rose stopped abruptly and turned to jab a finger against his chest. "You jus' practically admitted it. You overheard me talkin' to Mickey about the pregnancy out of context and automatically assumed that was the reason Jack and I had gotten engaged. S' that how you see me? That the only way some little shopgirl from a council estate like me can get someone like Jack to marry her is by gettin' pregnant with his baby?"
John looked sincerely taken aback. "No! Rose, that's not what I meant. I could never think that about you."
"Then what exactly did you mean?" she asked, crossing her arms in exasperation.
"I just meant…" he deflated. "Look, it's just that Jack has never been the type to want to settle down with anyone so it just made sense that he would want to do the right thing by you if you both suspected you might be…" Seeing the angry look on her face warring with the dejection in her eyes he groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not explaining this properly. Look, I'm sorry alright. This whole thing has just been one giant misunderstanding."
"That's the understatement of the year." she huffed turning towards her flat.
"Rose." Reaching out, John caught hold of her hand and turned her back around to face him. "I just didn't want the two of you to be doing this for the wrong reasons. You deserve more than that. I just want the best for you."
"Yeah, well maybe you should start worryin' about what's best for you instead. Have you even tried talkin' to your dad about what you want to do when you get your degree?"
John's expression hardened and he released her hand. "That's not really any of your business."
"Oh really?" Rose crossed her arms defensively. "Well you sure as hell seem to have no problem pokin' your nose into mine."
"You don't know what you're talking about." he snapped. "You have no idea what goes on in my family. You've barely known them a week."
"Yeah, so what's your excuse then? You're their son and you're too afraid to tell them that you don't want the life they've planned out for you."
"Look who's talking." John shot back. "You were saying you wanted to go back to school and travel but I don't see you taking any initiative." he was practically yelling now. "Do you want to be stuck working in a shop for the rest of your life?"
Rose's face crumpled and she quickly turned away to hide the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "No." she replied after a moment as she attempted to unlock the door with shaky hands.
John immediately deflated at the brokenness in her voice, contrition replacing his angry facade as he hurried to apologize. "Rose I…I'm sorry."
Shaking her head, she held up her hand to him. "Go home John."
As she stepped inside, he put his hand against the door to keep her from shutting it.
"Rose, please."
She could hear the remorse in his voice but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes for fear of breaking down. This last week had taken its toll on her but she refused to let him see her cry.
"Go home." she repeated firmly and this time when she moved to shut the door, he let go. Pressing her back up against the hard surface she shut her eyes and allowed the tears to flow as she listened to the sound of cheers and fireworks filling the air, signaling the arrival of the New Year. So far, it wasn't living up to her hopeful expectations.
-oOo-
The ICU was buzzing with activity as the staffers assigned to the night shift gathered in front of the small television mounted above the nurse's station. Donned in their party hats and sipping non-alcoholic cider the group began to count down along with MC on the tele, horns poised to sound off at the stroke of midnight. When the counter on the screen reached zero cheers erupted from the small crowd before transitioning into a chorus of 'Auld Lang Syne' as they welcomed in the New Year and amidst all the commotion, just a few feet away in a dark hospital room, Jack's eyes fluttered open.
