Chapter 9

James

Monday was a painful blur for James. It wasn't a physical pain, but a vicious, soul-searing emotional angst such as he had never known. He picked up the bracelet he had ordered and it was perfect. It was a delicate silver chain with larger links spaced throughout for charms. There were only four charms on it for now, but there was space for quite a few more along its length. He made arrangements with the limo company to have Rose picked up at six thirty for their seven o'clock reservation. After that, there wasn't anything for him to do but worry.

He had never prayed before, but he found himself praying to the universe, or any deity out there who might be listening, that she would still come. He wanted to call her but he didn't want to try to explain Reinette's behavior over the phone. Particularly since he didn't exactly understand what had brought it on in the first place and he didn't care. He wanted to go to Jack's flat and beg for her forgiveness, but he didn't want to crowd her in the only place that she could possibly see as her own here. At one point he tried to write out a list of the things he needed to take care of if he wanted to leave the country, but he got more depressed thinking about the fact that she might not want him to come to the states so he gave that up. He could deal with all of that after he talked to her.

He made sure to arrive at the restaurant early, but he waited outside so he could be there to greet her when the limo brought her. The box with the charm bracelet was in his pocket. At five minutes until seven his phone rang. His heart sank when he saw that it was a number attached to the limo company. "Hello."

"Is this Dr. James Noble?"

He sighed. "Yes, this is Dr. Noble. Who is calling?"

"Hi, Dr. Noble, my name is Craig, I'm the driver with the limo company you hired for tonight."

"Yes, Craig. Is there a problem?"

"Well, I'm at the address that you specified for pickup, but there doesn't seem to be anyone here. Are you sure we have the right address?" He recited the address for Jack's flat to the man. "Yes sir, that's where I am. I've rung the buzzer several times over the past twenty minutes, and no one has answered. I don't believe that anyone is here, sir."

His head filled with a buzzing as he realized that she was gone. Gone. She hadn't just skipped dinner, she had gone. Home. She had left London. He never told her… never explained… He realized the limo driver was waiting for a response to some question he hadn't heard. "Oh. Right. Sorry for the mix-up." He told the driver his services wouldn't be needed, but that yes, of course he would still pay the full fee, then he was hanging up and staring at the phone in his hand. The box in his pocket felt like a hot coal. He dialed her number (please, pick up, please) but it went straight to voicemail.

He drove home with a single word echoing in his head. Gone. She was gone. He had ruined relationships before. He'd made a lifelong habit of it, really. But killing one before it even began was a new record, even for him. Feeling devastated about it was completely unprecedented. He walked into his house and collapsed on the couch. Usually, when a woman became disgusted with him and walked away, he would just move on to whatever the next thing was that had captured his interest. He hadn't ever become emotionally attached. Intrigued, yes. Attracted, certainly. But not invested. So it was never a problem for him when they became bored or felt neglected and said goodbye. Often it came as a relief, as it had with Reinette.

He couldn't even consider walking away from this. He should have listened to Donna. He should have let them explain, or waited at Amy's so that he could explain in person, right then. Now she had gone home, and Jack was going to hate him, too. Jack! He sat upright. Jack could help. He could go to Jack, and he would help him get Rose to listen. Jack knew all about Reinette. Surely he would help. He'd just have to keep Jack from pounding his face until he could explain what had happened.

He jumped up and grabbed his phone, his mind running rapid-fire through the things he'd have to do to make this plan work. She had to listen. After, if she still wanted to walk away, he would let her. But he couldn't let her think that he would treat her the way those other men had. He couldn't. And he couldn't let her think that Reinette was anything, anything at all to him. "Donna. I need you. Rose is gone. She must have left early, because there's no one at the flat."

"Oh, James. I'm so sorry. I wish you'd let us explain Reinette to her."

"I know. I'm going to follow her. I need you to take care of my house until I can make other arrangements."

"Of course. Let me know when you get there, when you know something, okay?"

"I'll call when I can."

Rose

Even though it was only early afternoon, Rose felt like it should be early morning the next day already. Tuesday afternoon she was dragging her luggage into the tiny apartment that she called home. It seemed particularly small after two weeks in Jack's luxurious flat in London. Leaving almost eighteen hours earlier than planned had resulted in her arriving home only about twelve hours ahead of time. Moving to an earlier flight had meant taking longer layovers, but Rose had been eager to put the fantasy behind her and return to her own reality. She had chastised herself, both before and after the incident at Amy's house on Sunday, not to read anything into his intentions. He'd never promised her anything, or even implied anything. He was far above her and she was lucky he had taken an interest in her at all, even as a friend.

But Amy had seemed convinced that he was interested in her romantically, and the time they had spent together had felt… Well, it had felt special to her. Her traitorous heart had simply had to get attached. It had felt almost like a fairytale. But it couldn't have been special to him if that kiss was any indication, regardless of Donna's insistence that it hadn't been what it looked like. Even though he had never given her a reason to think that there was anything but friendship between them, she still felt like her heart was shattered into tiny shards when she saw him kissing another woman. They hadn't even been together and she didn't know how she was ever going to get over Dr. James Noble.

She left her luggage just inside the bedroom doorway and fell into her bed, still fully clothed. She could deal with everything tomorrow. Right now she needed the grounding reality of her own bed, in her own home, in her own country.

Jack

Wednesday afternoon, Jack was trying to decide what to do with his anger. He had sent Rose to London hoping that she and the Doctor would find a kindred spirit in each other. He had been sure that his two friends would be great together and for each other. He had not expected to send Rose to London to get over one cheating bastard only to have her heart broken again. She was in an even worse state now than when he had sent her. He had had no idea that James had had a girlfriend (thought you were done with women, Doc) and he had certainly not expected him to lead Rose on and then make out with his girlfriend in front of her. Jack was tempted to fly to London himself and kick some sense into the man. Instead he was going to stay here and help Rose pick up the pieces. He felt responsible, in a way, for introducing them in the first place.

He had decided to leave the office for the day when his phone rang. He was utterly shocked to see that it was the Doctor. That bastard! "What do you want, Doc? Haven't you done enough already?" he answered.

"Jack! Please. Just listen. I know you're probably furious with me right now, and with good reason. But just listen."

"I'm not sure how you're going to explain completely destroying the dear friend that I sent to you so that she could heal. Why would you spend time with her, make her think you were interested, if you have a girlfriend, James? I never thought you were cruel. And after Reinette-"

"That's it, Jack! It was Reinette! It was not a girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend. It was Reinette."

"So, what, you got remarried, and you still spent all that time with Rose, holding her hand, leading her on? That is sick, James. I think I'm done."

"NO! Jack, do not hang up! You have it all wrong. We did NOT get remarried. I want nothing to do with Reinette. She showed up, out of nowhere, that night. I have no idea why. And I don't care. She kissed me. I was so shocked by that that I froze for a second, then I shoved her off. I did NOT kiss her. Rose must have walked by just in time to see the kiss, but she missed my reaction and I never got the chance to explain. Please, Jack. Please. I need to see her."

Jack closed his eyes and sighed. "So, let me make sure I'm understanding your side of this story. Reinette showed up and kissed you, for some unknown reason. Rose saw, and she misunderstood, because you are not still involved with Reinette. Or involved with her again. Is that it?"

"Yes. I never got to explain, because she was really upset and she, she asked me to leave so I did. We were supposed to have dinner on Monday before she left and I'd hoped to explain then. But she never came. She went home a day early instead. I need her to understand."

"And what exactly do you want with Rose? Why is it so important to you that you get to explain to her? She was quite clear that there were no promises, or implications between the two of you and that she must have misunderstood your interactions, although, frankly, I find that hard to believe. Why not just chalk it up to another relationship blunder on your part and move on like you always do? In short, why should I give you the chance to hurt my friend again, Doc?"

"I need her, Jack. Please. Don't make me say it when I haven't even told her. Please."

"I don't think she's gonna want to take a call from you, you know."

"I know. I'm here. I followed her as soon as I knew that she was gone. I just got in, haven't even found a hotel, actually."

"Wait. You're here, as in here in the US?"

"In this state, in this town, yes Jack. I'm here. I need to see her, Jack."

"Don't bother with a hotel. I'll text you my address. I have an extra room. I'll meet you there. If you mean it… If you're serious, I might help you. Might. You're gonna have to convince me you're serious about her first though, Doc. I sent her to London heartbroken; she came back shattered into a million pieces and I'm not putting her through that again."

Rose

Even though she wasn't due back at work until the following week, Rose forced herself to go into Jack's office Wednesday morning. She intended to thank him for the trip, and the use of his flat, and the spending money, and everything that he had done for her. And she did that, but she also had a breakdown in his office when he asked her about James. It wasn't Jack's fault, and she didn't want him feeling guilty. She made sure to point out that James hadn't actually done anything wrong. He'd been a gentleman the entire time, and hadn't done anything inappropriate. It was only her own… Her own fault, for misreading him. She found out that the man behind the genius she had read about was far more desirable than she had even imagined, and it wasn't his fault he was so damn appealing. So perfect for her. Or so taken.

Thursday Rose had lunch with Martha to talk about the wedding plans, and so that the two friends could catch up. Rose was surprised to find that she was able to be excited for her friend despite her own semi-depressed state. She was able to set aside her heartache while they talked about flowers, and colors and the places Martha had been considering for the reception. Eventually, though Martha asked for more details about her trip and the sadness returned.

She felt herself growing morose as she answered Martha's question. "Oh. Well, I met some lovely people and made a few new friends. There's not much to tell, really."

Martha's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Doesn't sound like not much. In fact, you look pretty upset about something. What happened?"

"It's silly Martha. It was all me, just got caught up in the… experience I guess. I met a Scottish woman who owns the café I went to on my first day, and her fiancée. They were fantastic, just sort of adopted me like family or something. There was Donna, too. She works in Amy's café sometimes. She's…" Rose sighed. I will not cry, I will NOT cry here. "She's Dr. James Noble's sister. He was the one Jack arranged for me to meet there. The encryption specialist friend of his. We…" She paused to swallow and try to collect herself. "He and I, we spent about three days together. He was…" Sexy. Brilliant. Perfect. Taken. "I thought we were heading towards something more than friendship, but I got it wrong. He has a girlfriend. I accidentally interrupted them kissing, and I just…" she trailed of as she fought to remain in control of her emotions.

Martha reached out across the table and grabbed her hand. "Oh, Rose. That is… I'm sorry. Why would he lead you on like that?"

"That's just it, Martha. He didn't. It was all in my head."