Part 6
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In no time at all, Jenny had been introduced to everyone and trying out her charms on all sundry. Soon she was giggling with Dr McGann whilst being egged on by Dr Davison's fond attention.
"I see the Noble gene is predisposed to flirt with Dr McGann," John quietly noted close to Donna's ear.
"Give over," she whispered back. "Jenny has only picked on him because he's young." And good looking, she didn't add.
"I'm young," he felt the need to point out.
"Well, yes," she reluctantly agreed, "but you're not available."
Had she singled him for herself? "Why is that?" he cheekily pondered.
Donna quirked a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "Surely you haven't forgotten already. Everybody banged on about you pining after whatshername the first chance they got. It was part of the whole 'not to be allowed' business."
"Ah. You are referring to the hot chocolate scandal," he corrected. "And my previous erm… dalliance had nothing to do with their objections."
"Then what were their objections?"
"Simply that you are not one of us," he clipped.
She was about query that but changed her mind. It wouldn't do to show up how thick or uncultured she was, again. "Doesn't matter now, does it," she reasoned. "I was warned off, so it's a good job I don't think of you like that."
She didn't…? Oh. He'd been 'friendzoned', he believed it was called. Not that he was seeking to entice her into a romantic relationship or anything, because he most certainly was not. Their friendship was enough all on its own.
Yet, as he watched Donna walk over to interact with Dr Eccleston, chuckling at his silly jokes, a familiar twang of jealousy reared up. Okay, John had to admit to himself that being in a romantic relationship with her would be quite appealing, if it were allowed.
For once, the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth; and he vowed to himself that one day he would break free from the restrictions placed upon them. Whatever it took.
-0-
John could easily hear them giggling together in the adjacent bedroom as he finished dressing for the day. It was easy to imagine the hairdryer going or makeup being carefully applied. Quite a different dimension to living in the House of Gallifrey, he cheerily considered, now that they had more women about.
To his delight, he was the only doctor in the dining room when he got there, giving him the chance to find out some insider information. "Idris, can I ask you something?"
Idris stopped setting out teacups and gave him her full attention. "What is it you need to ask me, Dr Smith?"
"I needed…," he faltered, and readjusted his thoughts. "No, let me rephrase that. Do you think Donna, I mean 'Ms Noble', likes me?"
Stifling a smile, Idris replied, "Of course she does. She is a very amenable young lady. What makes you think she wouldn't?"
"No no no no, you are mistaken. Although I agree with your estimation of her," he blustered. "Do you consider it is possible for her to find me… Not 'attractive', that's the wrong term, but 'worthy' of her affections. Her romantic inclinations."
Romantic? "Dr Smith, it is not my place to say where Ms Noble's heart lays," Idris cautiously began, "but I do not think it would be foolish for you to enquire yourself. She is certainly as fond of you as I suspect you are of her, so it cannot be too terrible a task to ask."
John nodded at the wisdom of asking such a question. If she thought little of him, she would brush the thought away with a polite dismissal. And if she actually cared for him in a more meaningful way, a joyful grin would light up her face.
Today, he promised himself; today he would be the reason to make her smile, no matter what it took. Because he was going to acknowledge her fondness for him. Blow what the others kept insisting he did! His life was for him to live, in whatever way he chose, especially now that he'd been given a second chance to get it right. If anyone could help him face up to his responsibilities with loving support, it was Donna Noble.
"Morning John!" Jenny trilled as she entered the dining room, and then caught herself being glared at by Idris. In a much calmer voice, she changed the greeting, "Sorry. Good morning Dr Smith."
"Good morning, Jenny," he responded. "How are you today?"
"Fine," she replied as she watched him help himself to some cereal for breakfast. Once he sat down, she immediately sat opposite him and leaned earnestly forward to ask, "Is it you or Donna who is making our sandwiches today? Only, can I please not be given any pickle if it turns out to be cheese again. And if there's any cucumber, I'm not keen on the skin. Ugh! Puts my teeth on edge."
"Dr Smith makes you sandwiches out of the kindest of his heart," Idris commented before John could swallow down his spoonful of granola.
"I know," Jenny half whined in reply, "but if we are going to be sharing lunch for the next how many weeks, it pays to get it right."
"Well, you could make them for a change," Idris suggested. "Have a rota and arrange things in a fair way."
"Mum would kill me if I went in her kitchen and just started making sandwiches willy-nilly," Jenny proclaimed, "so I don't mind helping out. Just don't put me in charge." She then did a little shrug that had charmed the pants off adults in the past, getting her let off all sorts of chores.
It clearly didn't work on Idris, and John's thoughts were elsewhere. Mainly on Jenny's status as official gooseberry. "Are you going to be around this lunchtime?"
That caught Jenny off-guard. "I should be. I don't see no reason why not."
Ignoring the confusion her usage of a double negative caused in his brain, he plodded on. "I thought Ace had something she wanted you to do."
"She does?" Jenny frowned. "First I've heard of it."
Swallowing down another mouthful, he pulled out his mobile phone from his trouser pocket. "Let me check with her," he insisted, and pressed the relevant buttons.
Jenny sat there gaping at him. What the hell was going on?! And Idris was no help. She had fled to the kitchen, clutching a tea towel to her mouth.
"Hello Ace. It's me, Dr Smith… I'm alright… There's no disaster, I just wanted to confirm you were going through the explosives stock check today… Well, young Jenny has an interest... Yes, she'd love to… Thank you. I'll send her right over after breakfast. Bye!"
Expecting to get an angry tirade from Jenny, he reluctantly glanced her way and was pleasantly surprised to see her eyes shining with delight.
"Explosives!" she exclaimed. "You never said Ace had a cupboard full of explosives. Why didn't I know this? I thought she was nothing but a boring mum."
"Just shows that you never know the hidden talents of people until you ask," he crowed. "Motherhood doesn't change the person beneath, and Ace has blown up more things than you've had hot dinners."
"This place is bloody brilliant," Jenny enthused and then reached over to grab some toast. "I'm going to learn loads from you."
"Oh yes," he smirked.
Mission accomplished! Jenny would no longer accidentally play gooseberry later and Ace should provide a welcomed task to distract her with. Now all he had to do was create a fantastic picnic lunch for him and Donna, and his romantic quest was back on track.
Yet something happened just before noon that shattered his carefully laid plans.
He received a series of text messages.
-0-
They were sat out on the lawn, enjoying their lunch, as per normal these days. All seemed calm as the breeze rustled through the nearby trees, and bumble bees hovered amongst the flowering honeysuckle, clematis and buddleia plants.
It was rather too good to be true, Donna thought as she contemplated John's face. He was anxious but desperately trying to hide it.
"What's up? We got all the exam results posted up properly, didn't we?" she sought to confirm.
"Yes," he said, somewhat distractedly. "Everyone got what they needed."
"Then what's the problem?" she continued. "You don't look a happy bunny."
"Don't I?" He tried to smile but it was in vain. "To be honest… I've had a message." He paused for some seconds before adding dramatically, "From Rose."
Her brain desperately attempted to catch up with this news. "What, your Rose? The Rose you lost at Canary Wharf. Back from the dead. How does that happen?"
"No, I never said she died," he reluctantly explained. "That's where I lost her. Torn away from circumstances. She's still alive. Somehow, she made it back here, and she wants to see me."
"Oh. When?"
Swallowing harshly, he murmured, "Today. Now. She's on her way this very second."
An icy hand gripped Donna's heart. Bang went her nice time with him. Probably would never get to sit like this again. She looked around to see if anyone was walking towards them or not before commenting, "But if Rose is coming back to see you, that's good, isn't it?"
He huffed a laugh. "I don't know," John quietly admitted.
"You must know," she reasoned, wondering how she could help him face this new potentially upsetting experience. "How does she make you feel?"
"I…" He threw his hands in the air to show his confusion.
As he floundered, Donna turned her head again towards the main building. There was someone coming, grinning confidently at them as she walked. A thin young blonde woman, probably old enough to have been a graduating student.
Something inside Donna told her this must be Rose, and he obviously had spotted her yet. He was too busy having a brown study moment. Seeing the advancing figure get within shouting distance, she leaned forward to suggest, "Sorry for forcing this upon you but let me try doing this to nudge things along."
What was she doing? Was she really…? Oh. His eyes fluttered shut as she pressed a sweet kiss on to his lips. There was hardly any time to respond with a similarly sweet kiss when she pulled away, leaving him looking shocked and stunned.
'Wasn't he adorable?', she thought, as his soft tender gaze questioned the unfinished action. But she'd started this with a plan, so she whispered, "If you want her, then explain how much me doing that made you realise that you love her and only her. But if you don't want her in your life, then you can use me as your excuse to leave things as they are."
He hadn't got further than the word "Do…?" when the girl was upon them; her expression thoroughly miffed.
"Rose!" he blustered as he attempted to stand and greet her on one smooth move. "I wasn't expecting you yet. Hello. This is Donna. My friend Donna. We work together."
Rose threw her arms around John, giving him a hug that he eagerly accepted.
"Hello," Donna politely greeted Rose as this went on. "I'm sure you've got loads to talk about, so I'll leave you to it and see if Idris needs a hand."
But the couple in front of her weren't interested in paying attention to anyone else as they babbled news snippets to each other, so Donna slunk away as quickly as she could and left them to it.
-0-
Unfortunately, the first person she met when entering the house was Jenny.
"I thought you were spending the day with Ace," she stated.
"She had to go home thanks to a phone call from her daughter's school to say she's not well," Jenny despondently answered, "so the delights of playing with boxes of chemicals will have to wait. I said I might help her file the latest place applications tomorrow if she has to bring her daughter in with her."
"Nice to see you're gutted," Donna sarcastically noted as she checked the hall table for any relevant post delivered.
Now was Jenny's chance to say her piece. "I saw you," she immediately accused. "You and John. Getting all smoochy on the grass just now."
Donna lifted a tired hand to rub her forehead. "Can we leave it for now? I'm sure you will tease me rotten later but can you just not, for the moment."
Keen to get her prey, Jenny eagerly followed Donna up the staircase and towards their room. "What do you mean 'later'? You're just trying to avoid admitting the truth."
At this point, Donna had opened the door, and closed it decisively behind Jenny to stop the rest of the house from hearing them. "And what is the truth exactly, Jenny? Do tell me because I'd love to know."
But Jenny scoffed at her sarcasm and plonked herself down on the nearest part of the double bed to scowl at Donna. "Don't give me that. I know you're merely stalling. You've got the horn for John."
"The what?!" Donna exclaimed from her seat on the bed.
"You fancy him rotten. Yes, I know you keep denying it but who are you kidding? You threw yourself on him just now and tried to snog his face off."
"I didn't…," Donna hotly denied. "That was a friendly kiss. A quick peck on the lips and nothing more."
Snorting her scorn, Jenny commented, "Didn't look like nothing to me."
"Then you need to go to Specsavers and get yourself some decent glasses," Donna retorted.
Jenny mocked a laugh. "Yeah, that way I'd be able to see you stick your tongue down his throat more clearly."
Anger blazed within Donna. "For the love of Pete, I was not full on snogging him. Alright?"
"But you wanted to," Jenny confidently persisted.
"Aargh! I'll want to commit murder in a moment if you're not careful," Donna threatened. "Why do you think I'd, as you put it so delicately, 'have the horn for John'?"
How could she not know? "Because he clearly wants to…" Jenny did a wavy gesture with her hand. "He wants you."
"Oh, do be serious!" Donna protested. "He's with his girlfriend right now."
"He's with…?" Jenny's eyes went wide. "Oh Donna. I'm so sorry."
Trying to hide her tears, Donna wiped desperately at her face with her fingertips. "You and me both so don't bring it up in front of him or anybody else."
Shuffling closer on the bed cover, Jenny placed a comforting arm around Donna's shoulders. "Sorry. I really am. I thought you were getting on alright with him and had finally grabbed a romantic moment," she whispered, heartbroken at the tears in her sister's eyes. "I would never have said all that if I'd known he'd gone off with someone else."
"I know," Donna quietly admitted, and leaned her head against Jenny's. "He's my friend. Nothing more. And as his friend, I have to help him cope with all this. Plaster on a smile and pretend I'm not jealous that he's back with the woman he loves."
"I really thought it would be you," Jenny confessed. "He seemed so smitten, but it just goes to show that you can never tell what's in someone's heart."
"We all hide secrets," Donna agreed. "And now I'd better stop hiding away in here. Idris will need some help, and you should keep her sweet if you want to carry on staying here."
"Yeah." Jenny smiled at her sister's bravado. One day she would find the perfect man for her. She was determined to. "I'll go on down and give you a minute to freshen up. If you want, I'll ask if I can make us your favourite chocolate cake."
"You're an angel. Now go earn your keep," Donna joked, and managed a small laugh.
-0-