John could have sworn that this was the slowest cab driver in all of London. Time felt as if it weren't moving at all as he kept frantically checking his watch. Donna was trying to reassure him, that he didn't know for certain that River was at the school, but he wouldn't hear it. He knew what he heard and there was no doubt in his mind that the background noise was Clara's school. Finally, after about twenty minutes they arrived and John rushed out, leaving Donna to settle up with the driver. He ran into the school and straight to Clara's classroom, where he found the lights off and the room empty. It looked like her stuff was gone, so he had no idea where she could be. He took out his phone to try and call her again, but it went straight to voice mail, so he sent her a quick text, telling her to call him as soon as possible. He then rushed down the hall in search of the staffroom, hoping she was in there or at least Amy. When he finally found it, he found Amy instead of his fiancée.
"Amy!" He called her name to get her attention. She turned around, along with two other teachers John didn't recognize. They just stared at him completely awe struck, but he didn't have time for fans right now. "Have you seen Clara?"
"No." Amy said as she got up and walked towards John. "I assumed that she rushed out of here to see you."
"Damn it!" He exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Amy questioned. "I'm sure she's fine."
"I'm not. I'm afraid River might do something drastic." John replied. "I've gotta go and find her Amy. If you hear from her tell her to call me."
John rushed out, not even giving Amy a chance to respond. He ran back out to the front of the school and saw that Donna was on the phone.
"Okay, let me know if you find her." She said as she hung up and looked at John. "River's agent hasn't heard from her since yesterday after she got fired."
"God Donna, what if she's gone and done something really stupid this time." John said as they walked towards the street to hail another cab.
John gave the driver his address, hoping that that was where he would find her safe and sound, but the longer time went by and he still hadn't heard from her, the more worried he got. He kept trying to call her, but it just kept going through to voice mail. When the cab finally arrived at his house, he got out and sent Donna to check her flat, just in case she went back home after work. He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time and quickly unlocked the door.
"Clara?" He yelled as he walked in.
"In the kitchen." She replied back. A wave of relief washed over him as he ran into the room to see that she was okay. He immediately flung his arms around her, thankful that she was safe and sound.
"Whoa!" She said surprised by the greeting.
"I'm so glad you're okay." He answered as he pulled away from her to look at her, but still not letting her go.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked.
"I was worried that River, might try and hurt you."
"That's crazy! You don't really think that do you?" Clara said surprised.
"I don't know. The way she was the other night, I had never seen her like that. Then she made some comments about, if only you weren't in the picture, it all would have worked out. And I wouldn't be able to make it to her in time. She really sounded like she didn't know what else to do."
"Do you think she might try and hurt herself?" Clara asked.
"As much as she's been a pain in the arse, I hope not." He got up and walked towards the stairs. "I'm going to go see if I can find her aunt's number to call her. She's the only person I can think of that River might go to."
John walked into his office and started rummaging through his desk drawers until he came across a small blue address book. He opened it and was relieved to see that he still had Gertrude's number. He immediately called her and after a few rings, she picked up.
"Hello." River's aunt said.
"Hi Gertrude, it's John."
"John!? What a surprise! First River drops by and then you call."
"You've seen River?" John asked.
"Yes, a few hours ago. She stopped in to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? What do you mean?"
"She was on her way to the airport, but she wouldn't tell me where she was going. Just that once she got settled she would call. John do you know what's going on? She said she got fired from your show."
John told Gertrude what had happened, leaving out some details he didn't think she needed to know, such as seducing a PA. By the end of the story River's aunt had a much better idea of why her niece had left. John asked her to call him if she heard from River, just so he had a peace of mind. He ended his call and the sent Donna a quick text, before going back downstairs to Clara.
"Did you find her?" She asked as he entered the living room.
"She left. Her aunt doesn't know where, just that she was going to the airport."
"The airport? Would she really just leave the country?" Clara questioned.
"I think she would. The BBC isn't going to be able to sweep this under the carpet, especially since they made such a big deal about her joining the show. Now they're going to have to explain what has happened and knowing River, she isn't going to want to deal with the negative press."
"So, that's it? Just like that she's gone." Clara said surprised.
"It would seem so."
"Well pardon me, if I don't fully believe it. She was so out of control that I honestly thought she was never going to stop."
"I know, but I really think that losing her job like this was an eye opener for her at just how crazy she let things get. I know it's hard to believe Clara because you only know this crazy woman, but she was never like that. If she had been I would have never married her."
"You're right, it is hard to believe. I think it's going to take a few days to sink in that she's really gone." Clara answered.
"I understand that. I'm just happy that I can go back to work and know that I don't have to see her again. It'll be nice to enjoy my work the way I used to before her." John said.
"So, does this mean you resigned your contract?" She asked.
"Not yet, but I think I likely will. I'm making them worry for a bit before I give them an answer." He replied as he smiled at her and got up from the couch. "Come on, let's go make some dinner."
Clara followed him into the kitchen where they prepared a nice supper and spent the rest of the night relaxing with some music. It had been awhile since they had felt this kind of peace and they wanted to enjoy it before John went back to Cardiff again.
The next night John was in his office packing up his desk drawers when he noticed he had received an email on his computer. He opened his account and immediately saw that it was from River with the subject line, Hello Sweetie. He clicked on it, nervous as to what it was going to say.
Dear John,
Let me start by saying that I am sorry for everything I did, including my affair and all the pain I caused after. I never meant for things to get so out of control, but I guess seeing you happy with someone else sent me over the edge.
When everything started falling apart in America, I thought that I could come back and make amends with you now that I knew what it felt like to be cheated on. I could now relate to the pain I caused you and I thought that sharing that understanding could help us heal together and rekindle our love. What I didn't take into consideration was that you had moved on. I guess if I really examine our life together that was the real issue of our marriage. I was selfish and never considered your feelings. I took the opportunity of having a family away from you and I broke your heart. You said a lot of things the last time I saw you that started to sink in, especially after I lost my job.
I'm starting to see that I need to do some soul searching and get my life back on track. Look at what I want and getting that without hurting others. I'm truly sorry for the anguish I've caused both you and Clara. She is exactly the kind of woman you need in your life John and although I'm not happy that you've found love again, I'm going to work on finding that peace.
I just wanted to write to you and let you know that I won't be causing you any more issues and I'm going to work on getting the closure I never got before. I'm going to travel for a bit and then go back to LA and try and make a go of it again. Perhaps putting an ocean between us might be a good idea.
I wish you the best of luck with your future and know that despite how things ended with us, I did love you and will always hold a spot for you in my heart. I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me, but I understand if you never do.
Love always,
River
John just stared at the screen shocked. He was still processing everything in the message, when Clara walked in.
"Do you really want to keep this holey jumper?" She asked as she had been going through his clothes deciding what to keep and what to donate. John didn't even notice that she had walked in or heard what she had said.
"Hey," She said as she came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Did you hear me?"
"Ah no, sorry." He said as he turned to look at her and then got up out of the chair. "Read that."
Clara sat down and started reading what John had been looking at. After a few minutes she turned and looked at him.
"Wow. Do you believe this?" She asked shocked that this might finally be over once and for all.
"I do. That sounds more like the River I once knew and I think that she has finally seen the error of her ways." He said.
"So how do you feel?" She asked him.
"Relief, I think." He said as he took Clara's hand and pulled her out of the chair and placed his hands on her hips. "But mostly happy because she's gone and we can start planning our wedding."
"Yes, we can." She answered as she smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with.
