Party- day ten
It was Christmas again, but he knew that for him Christmas didn't mean peace and quiet at home around the table. The only Christmas like this that he had was at Rose and Jacquie's, but even then they were able to do that after a great Christmas disaster. Still they all were gone now. And now Martha and Jack were gone too. One to her family and the other to his team, and yet again he was left alone. He had just come out of another Christmas disaster, with that Titanic ship and hoped to get somewhere nice and worm. But his TARDIS wouldn't move and he had to spend in on Earth.
What he didn't have to do , but what he still did to himself was stay hidden at the back of a restaurant and watch Torchwood's Christmas party. He was just too tempted to watch Jack and Martha on the side and make sure that they were ok. He wouldn't go over to their table and show himself to the group. They had left him and probably were better off that way. He didn't want to ruin it for them. Then Jack laughed to something that someone from his team said and the Doctor saw the look Jack gave someone who most likely was Ianto since Jack looked at him with such a passion. The Doctor's hearts clenched. He could have been on the receive end of this look, but he had burned his bridges.
Christmas parties had always been a disaster for him he remembered. This one looked that it could be an exception, but maybe only as far as Torchwood didn't know he was there. It was still a disaster for him thought only this time because he came back to check how his companions had moved on. And the thing that hurt no matter how selfish it was for the Doctor was that they had moved on pretty quickly and pretty good. Martha's family needed her, and Jack's team needed him the Doctor tried to reason with himself, but it still hurt when he had to watch them having a party oblivious to him standing just a few meters away. There was a point in which he was sure that Jack's gaze fall upon him and he held his breathe. But then Jack turned back to Ianto and he let out the breathe that he was holding.
Better pay the bill and go out on his way the Doctor thought, before someone had actually spotted him and demanded for him to join.