"Sorry this is taking so long," Amy told Rose as they handled the daunting task of filling out wedding invitations together.
"I'm happy to help," Rose smiled at her, "isn't that what I'm here for, to help you with these things?"
"Still, if you're helping shouldn't we have the boys working on a few as well?"
Rose snorted, "would you really trust those two to do this right?"
Amy broke out into laughter, "you're right, James has awful handwriting, nobody would be able to read 'em."
Rose blushed as she thought back to the card with James' phone number on it. A card that she still carried in her purse for unknown reasons.
"Besides, I haven't heard from him for a while," Amy continued, "probably two weeks or so. Rory told me that he barely sees him at the hospital either. Then when the day is over, he said he's rushing out the door as if he's late for something."
Rose wanted to admit that she hadn't heard from him either, but Amy still didn't know about their little meetings and text conversations that were becoming more regular over the past few weeks. At least they were becoming regular, Amy was right, he had suddenly grown quiet.
"I'm sorry," Amy broke Rose's lingering silence, "he's my cousin and I can't help bringing him up from time to time."
"No, it's fine," Rose grumbled, "I haven't seen him around much either…thank god." She exaggerated the last bit, hoping it sounded convincing enough.
"You don't think he has a secret girlfriend," Amy asked excitedly, "he always says he's rubbish with women, maybe he doesn't want to spoil it."
Rose choked on the water that she had been drinking, that thought never occurred to her. So, why was it starting to bother her now?
Amy laughed at Rose's reaction, "I know you find him so disgusting, but Rory said he's been getting quite a bit of attention from many of the nurses and female doctors at the hospital."
Rose forced a disgusted face, "can we please change the subject."
"I suppose," Amy gave Rose a playful push on her shoulder, "how about you, have you been seeing anyone lately?"
Rose slowly paced the classroom as she supervised her students who were quietly working. She tried to stay focused on her class, but her mind continued to wander to what Amy had said. What if James really was seeing someone secretly? Maybe it was an affair that nobody could know about. If any of that could be true, Rose wondered if maybe he needed to be caught, just to get things out into the open. It was not jealousy eating her up inside, she told herself, it was determination.
Although she didn't know where he lived, she did have his address after helping Amy with the invitations. Now she just needed an excuse to show up at his door without looking suspicious, then she remembered the book. She hated to admit that James was right, but she had already finished book three of the series and needed to return it to get the fourth.
When her day was over with, she returned to her flat to grab the book, then left for James' place. He lived surprisingly close, she never realized. Of course, neither did he, it's not like he ever came over because there was no way she was going to tell him where she lived.
At his building, Rose stepped onto the lift and nervousness panged her stomach as she watched the numbers above her climb. Then she wondered if she should just call him, showing up unexpected seemed rude. But that was the point, she wanted to catch him off guard, because…well, she'll figure that out later.
She reached his floor and checked the address again for his flat number, which was 3E, and headed down the long hallway. She saw his door up ahead and as she drew nearer, the door suddenly opened. Only, instead of seeing James there, a young, blonde girl stepped out, talking on her phone while she locked the door behind her. She was too busy to notice Rose and chatted away while Rose re-read the address, maybe she was in the wrong building, or the wrong floor because whoever this girl was, she couldn't be more than sixteen.
"Hi, Doctor Noble, I'm just leaving now" the girl said sweetly. She laughed, "yes, I remembered to lock it this time."
Rose ducked behind a corner, this was definitely the right place, unless there is another Doctor Noble living in 3E of a similar building. Not likely, so who was this girl and why was she in James' flat?
The girl strolled down the hall as she spoke, "I went ahead and washed the blanket so it doesn't stain..."
Rose was horrified, is he having an affair with a child? She was getting sick just thinking about it, unless this girl was older than she looked, much older. Judging by the school uniform she was wearing, that didn't seem likely.
The girl hit the button for the lift and waited, "thank you for letting me do this, between you and Jack, I'm learning a lot." She stepped onto the lift and the doors shut behind her.
Rose was shocked, she must have misheard or something, because that sounded ridiculous. Maybe she should call him, come over later, or something. She took the stairs down, hoping to avoid the girl, and when she reached the ground floor she didn't see the girl anywhere.
Rose wondered where she went and glanced around before hurrying for the door. She checked back over her shoulder once more then ran right into a wall. Except it wasn't a wall, she walked straight into James' chest, she never realized it was so hard.
"Rose, whoa," he grabbed her upper arms and steadied her, "what are you doing here?"
"I came to bring back your book," Rose snapped. She couldn't even look at him right now, too many emotions stirred up inside her.
James was used to her foul mood toward him and paid it little attention, he just smiled as he took the book from her, "not what you expected, was it?"
"What," Rose asked then realized he meant the book, "oh, yeah, it was great."
"You got a minute," he asked, "I can lend you the next one if you're up for it, plus there's something I want to show you."
"I don't know," Rose glanced at her wrist before realizing she had never once worn a watch in her life. She then reached for her phone to check the time, as if she had a busy schedule to attend to.
James crouched lower since she wouldn't look up at him and he got in her line of sight, "it will only take a minute, I've been dying to tell somebody, but I didn't want to speak too soon. Cautious, me."
"Fine," Rose huffed, maybe now she could get some answers.
She followed him onto the lift and didn't speak the entire way up. When they reached his floor, she silently followed him down the hall toward his door. She felt sick all over again thinking about it as watched him unlock the door and guide her inside.
His flat was neat and organized, with a large bookcase that filled an entire wall, packed with books along with a few decorative items. An oversized, plushy chair sat across from the bookcase and at the opposite side of the room sat a sofa where the dining table should be and a television was mounted on the wall in front of it. It was not the sex dungeon she was picturing a moment ago, it was just a normal flat.
He put the book back onto the shelf, in a very specific place next to his other ones, then walked to the next room eagerly. As she waited, Rose walked over to the bookshelf, looking at all the books he had. He had lots of sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery novels. As well as a few medical journals and other books related to his work. Nothing unusual about it.
Amongst the books she noticed a framed photo of James from his time in Haiti. He had a huge smile, which she was beginning to enjoy, and he was surrounded by a group of children. Some were hugging him, one sat on James' knee and another boy was draped over his back playfully. They all seemed to admire him by the way they all smiled and huddled against him.
Rose didn't hear James walk up behind her, so he tapped her shoulder to get her attention. When she turned around, she saw James cradling a small, grey, kitten against his chest while beaming proudly. He carefully handed it to her, "I found him when I was out jogging a couple of weeks back, I barely heard his little cry from a storm drain." He pointed to his ears and joked, "I guess these do come in handy."
Rose giggled at his comment then turned her attention to the little fluffy kitten, handling him carefully. His eyes were a gorgeous blue, almost like James'. "How old is he," she guessed he couldn't be very old, he was so little.
"Four weeks maybe," James said, "barely had his eyes open when I found him." He stood close to Rose as he stroked the kitten's head with his finger. The kitten let out a tiny mew making James grin adorably.
Rose watched James' smiling face, "so, just one?"
"Yeah, I searched around and didn't see it's mother or any other kittens. I took him to my friend Jack right away and he showed me how to feed him and take care of him."
"You took him to Jack," Rose questioned.
James nodded, "he's a veterinarian. I even got a cat nanny, she lives downstairs and comes by every couple of hours to check on him."
Rose glanced up, now it was making sense, "a cat nanny?"
"Yeah," James chuckled, "she wants to be a vet someday too, she's been helping my friend Jack after school so this is good experience for her."
"Ohhh…," Rose said in realization.
"Oh?" James glanced up, "did you meet her?"
"Yes…well…no," Rose laughed now that she understood, "I just saw her leaving your flat when I first got here."
James didn't see the humor, "she didn't tell you why she was here?"
"No," Rose laughed, "I just heard her on the phone thanking you for helping her, it sounded like…"
"Like what," he asked innocently.
Rose blushed and glanced away, "that you two were…"
"You thought I was violating her…" he sounded appalled, he wasn't sure how this was funny, she was just a kid.
Rose laughed, "it sounded like you were giving her lessons or something." She noticed James glance away and felt a little guilty, "sorry, if you were on my end of the conversation you would see the humor in it."
"Maybe," he stepped away looking a bit offended, then finally chuckled, "thanks for the compliment though." He walked off to the kitchen and disappeared.
"What do you mean," Rose called over to him.
James made a rustling noise from the kitchen and yelled back, "thinking I was so good that I could teach other people."
"Please…" Rose said, rolling her eyes even if he couldn't see it, "I'm sure you've picked up a woman or two."
"Maybe when I was younger, but I've been busy," he stepped out of the kitchen with a tiny little bottle, "medical school isn't a walk in the park, then my time in Haiti was no time to be finding love either."
Rose giggled and handed the little cat back to James and he sat on the sofa, settling the little kitten on his chest and began to feed him. "Now, look at me, a single dad who rushes home after work every day to tend to his little one."
"So, that's why Rory's been seeing you hurry out the door at the end of the day," Rose asked, "everyone's been wondering what's up with you and where've you been."
"Yet you are the only one who bothered to check on me," James said dejectedly.
Rose could hear the lonesomeness in his tone, "they didn't want to bother you, they know you like your solitude."
James rolled his eyes, but kept them on the kitten, "why does everyone assume that about me?"
"Because you tend to push everyone away," Rose explained, "they aren't going to come bother you at home."
James glanced up at her, "do I seem bothered to you?"
"No," Rose mumbled then sat down next to him and watched the hungry little kitten drink his milk. "What are you going to call him," she asked and laid her head on his shoulder. She then realized she was growing to appreciate the smell of leather.
"I don't know, I hear Stormageddon is already taken," he joked, but was very aware of her sudden closeness.
Rose laughed, still watching the kitten, "maybe so, but how about Stormy?"
"Hmm," James hummed while looking at him, "seems fitting, since I found him in a storm drain." He ran his finger along the kitten's back, "he sorta looks like a storm cloud too, all grey and fluffy, I like it," he glanced down at Rose, "good job."
Rose glanced up at him from his shoulder, "thanks," and her eyes met his.
He's never seen her this close before and he never looked long enough to notice the little gold specs in her eyes, it was fascinating. His eyes trailed down to her lips, they were so plump and gorgeous. Instinctively, he ran his tongue across his own lips to wet them and he watched her eyes trail down to his. Time seemed to stand still and James wondered if he remembered to breathe.
A little mew from the kitten broke the tension and James looked down, seeing the bottle empty. He glanced back at Rose knowing he wanted to stay, but she had no idea what feelings she was stirring up inside of him. He didn't want to do anything to ruin this new friendship they seemed to be having.
He stood up, giving Rose very little warning, and she had to catch herself before tipping over. "Sorry," he told her, "I need to clean him up then put him back to bed, now that his blanket is fresh and clean." He began to walk away and stopped, turning back to Rose, "I thought you had somewhere to be?"
"Huh," Rose looked up, "oh, you're right." She stood and got her purse, "thanks for reminding me." She hurried to the door as if she were late for something, although she had nowhere to be, then stopped at the door, "I'll talk to you later?"
James nodded and when the little kitten mewed loudly he chuckled and glanced down, "you'll get your turn." He looked back up to see Rose headed out the door, "bye."
"Bye," she said back and closed the door. Her heart was racing and she needed to start walking or she feared it would stop. She stepped onto the lift and as she rode down she thought of James, tending to his little kitten and how tiny it looked in his huge hands. "Could he get any more adorable," she thought to herself irritably. Still, it amazed her to see him like this, with either small children or tiny kittens, James seemed to melt when he was around them. When did it all change?
She got back home a short while later and went straight to the kitchen to heat a kettle, she needed to unwind. Her phone went off and it was a message from James.
James: You forgot the book.
Rose remembered that was her reason for stopping by in the first place, but she got distracted. With the way things were headed, she needed to make a fast escape.
Rose: I guess I'll have to stop by some other time and get it.
James: Fantastic
