"You will stay to tea, at least? Strax has been toiling away in the kitchen. The cucumbers at present have failed to escape." Vastra's voice seemed to come from a long distance away.
"What? Oh, yes, of course," the Doctor answered distractedly. He'd been doggedly attempting repairs of the TARDIS console since landing in Victorian London. There was a pesky power flux, nothing life threatening of course but it would certainly be-just-the-thing-to-fix-the-Chameleon- circuit-once-and-for-all, that he was certain he could repair if only-
"Doctor!" He had the impression Vastra had been calling his name several times."Yes, what now?" Perhaps he was a bit too loud.
Vastra seemed to be on the verge of saying something, but apparently changed her mind. "Don't be late," was all she said as she swept out the doors.
After dropping off Clara, the Doctor had returned to the TARDIS to find chaos. Vastra was nowhere to be seen, Jenny was telling him all about himself, and Strax was preparing a full scale assault upon the neighborhood. Yet the trip back to Paternoster Row had been relatively uneventful. The TARDIS had argued with him, of course. Vastra was typically mysterious about her earlier disappearance. Strax had threatened him and Jenny wasn't speaking to him. So, business as usual.
"I presume you'll return to your cloudy exile?" Vastra had demanded, after a day of silent puttering about the TARDIS. Off to sulk in your box again, went unsaid. The inactivity had begun to drive them all mad. Strax had begun, quite literally, climbing the walls.
The Doctor felt a light hand brush his cheek, and realized he'd been standing there, unmoving, screwdriver in hand, for several minutes. He looked down, startled, as Jenny brushed a tear he hadn't known he had shed from his face. "She'll come back Doctor, I know she will," Jenny promised him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before she ducked out the TARDIS doors.
"I predict he will disappear the moment our backs are turned." Vastra wasn't prone to fretting, but she preferred to keep the Doctor under observation for the time being. Especially after what she had learned on Bannerman Road.
"I don't think 'e's goin' anywhere just yet," Jenny told her, flashing that grin Vastra so cherished.
"And why is that, my dear?"
Jenny grinned wider, and held up the gleaming TARDIS key she'd palmed from the Doctor's pocket.
A/N As always, reviews are deeply appreciated. Thanks again to Kosovaheartland, my beta!