Dinner that night was an extravagant affair. Jack and John arrived in a limousine, drawing a crowd from the estate that Rose and Clara lived at. Rose was thankful that her mother wasn't home to see it, though she knew she'd hear all about it later. She, Clara and Martha wore brand new cocktail dresses, courtesy of Jack's much abused credit card, and Martha's boyfriend Mickey had even managed to get dressed up for the occasion. Jack and John took on the roles of overprotective big brothers and put poor Mickey through the Spanish Inquisition by the time they'd even arrived at the restaurant, much to Martha's delight. But by the time they were all seated, Mickey had earned their grudging respect and everyone was in high spirits. They'd opted for a Cuban restaurant and Jack made sure pitchers of Sangria never ran out as he and John regaled them with stories from the industry.
"So there we were, pretending to be in the middle of a bloody battle, but you know it's really this abandoned warehouse with green screens on the walls, and I turned around and John was just gone! I mean, gone! And there's only so many places to hide in one of these big rooms. They had to halt filming for 45 minutes because we couldn't find him anywhere!" Jack was saying.
"Oh my God! Where were you?" Rose asked, giggling as she took another sip of her drink.
"He was, wait for it, TRAPPED!" Jack exclaimed.
"Trapped? How could you get trapped, mate? You were in a bloody open warehouse?" Mickey asked, incredulously. John mumbled something unintelligible. "I'm sorry, mate, I didn't catch that."
"He was trapped in one of the prop coffins!" roared Jack, clapping his hands and laughing until tears started to come out.
"Why were you in a prop coffin in the first place?" queried Rose, after the laughter had died down a little.
John, whose face was tinted red from the drink and embarrassment, muttered, "Fancied a kip," causing the whole table to roar with laughter once again.
"All right, all right, but then there was the time that Jack surprised the male lead with a kiss right before he was suppose to film a serious scene and they had to call an early lunch break because no one could stop laughing. Pretty sure you got fined for that one, whereas mine was just an innocent mistake."
"Yeah, but it was worth it. He couldn't film a scene with me with a straight face again."
"That's probably why you stopped getting as much airtime," snickered John.
"No, Uni is why I stopped getting as much airtime. We can't all be geniuses who get their degrees before they hit puberty," Jack joked, smiling warmly.
"Wait, you're actually a genius? I thought that was just on the show?" interjected Clara.
"Well, I don't like to brag…," started John.
Rose interrupted with a grinning, "Liar!"
"Well, yes, I do love to brag. It just hadn't come up yet."
"What are you doing acting, mate? You could be running the world!" exclaimed Mickey.
"Are you saying the noble pastime of acting is beneath the likes of a genius?" teased Jack.
"You almost have to be a genius to remember all those lines, I reckon," added Martha, flagging for the waitress to refill their pitcher.
"Too true. Which is why John tended to make up a lot of his own, back in the day. Drove the writers up the wall, he did," Jack added.
"Yeah, but don't tell anyone I said that, I don't want to end up like that bloke from that American sit-com."
"Kinda hard for them to have your character fall down an elevator shaft when your show's been off the air for several years," teased Rose.
"Yes, but there's always syndication and editing, my young, naive friend," John replied, somberly.
"You're impossible!" she exclaimed, grinning widely.
"So I'm told. Who wants to dance?" he asked, reaching out for Rose's hand.
"Nah, count me out," Clara said, sadly. "I think it's time I had a talk with Kris."
Rose, who was holding John's hand, turned back to her, surprised. "Tonight? Can't it wait, love?"
"No. I'm gonna do it now while I've got the liquid courage and the good vibes from tonight."
"All right, then. Good luck, check in after, yeah?"
"I'll walk you out," said Jack, looking uncharacteristically serious.
"Thanks. Bye, you lot! Have a good time!"
Jack led Clara outside to where the limousine was parked. "Take the limo, if you want to do it in person, he'll wait for you. If you'd rather do it over the phone, he'll just take you home. If I need to, I'll order another one. But listen, don't take no for an answer. If you want out, tell her you're done and don't let her disway you. If you want to give her a chance to choose you, give her a specific deadline and don't go back on it. I know it's hard to stand up for yourself, but you'll be better for it," he said, pulling her in for a brief hug. "And we'll all be here for you afterward, okay?"
"Thanks, Jack. Really. You're the reason I'm doing this. After we talked the other day, I knew it was time. And being out tonight, being happy, well...it made me realize how little of that I'd had in a while."
"Well, there's plenty where that came from. Now go, before your courage fails you - or, God forbid, you sober up," he added, winking, before tapping the top of the limo to signal to the driver. "Good luck, Impossible Girl."
Clara laughed at the nod to her screen name that first night they'd met, and waved as the limo drove away.
Rose and John had danced through two upbeat salsa songs, laughing mutually at John's two left feet. "Honestly, mate, I thought actors were supposed to be able to dance? Triple threat, and all that?"
"John never was one for singing and dancing. He left the 'triple' parts of that phrase to his brain and his ego," said a voice from behind Rose, causing them to break apart and spin around to see who was there.
John looked gobsmacked. "River?" he asked, then broke into a huge grin. "River Song, I never thought I'd see you again! How was the expedition to the ruins of….oh, what was it this time? Brazil?"
"San Andres, El Salvador. But for you? Close enough. It was fascinating, well - no, it was bloody boring but they can't all be undiscovered tombs," she answered, then turned to look at Rose. "Do you mind if I cut in?"
Rose hesitated, but John gave her shoulder a squeeze, "Just for a bit, Rose. River and I have known each other forever, but I haven't seen her in years."
"Sure, no problem. I'll just…" but River had already pulled John away towards to bar before she'd finished her sentence. "Go find the others, I guess," she muttered, glumly. She turned and saw Martha and Mickey dancing nearby, so she went in search of Jack. After a quick tour of the restaurant, she couldn't find him so she ended up at the table by herself. She pulled out her phone and texted Jack.
"Mystery woman has kidnapped John. Where are you?"
Jack replied after a minute:
"Figured that would be your job. ;) Just finished seeing Clara off and giving her a pep talk. Be there in a minute."
Rose poured herself another glass of Sangria, her gaze straying frequently to the bar where John and River were talking animatedly.
"So, who's the mystery woman?" Jack asked, approaching from her side.
"Dunno, they're over there. Someone named River Song, he said he'd known her his whole life."
Jack laughed, "You mean Melody?"
"John said River…?"
"Yeah, he calls her that. Her name's Melody Pond. She's an archaeologist, but she hates kids, and I guess one of the kids in a village she was working in was trying to remember her name and used word association but got it mixed up - then the entire village took to calling her that. It pissed her off, royally! Which, of course, is why he almost exclusively calls her that, now."
"So how'd they meet, then?"
"She used to babysit him."
Rose choked on her drink, "Really? I know she's a bit older than him, but I thought they'd gone to Uni together or something."
"They did, actually. But before that, she used to babysit. But, I mean, it was a whole Mrs. Robinson thing and too gross for me to think about."
"WHAT?" exclaimed Rose.
Jack laughed, "Not that bad, but they 'dated' for a while after John came of age. Didn't work out. Between you and me, I never liked her. She's a bit….predatory. And that's coming from me! Anyway, when John got his next job after the show, he had to travel to America for it and she flipped out, didn't want him to go, and basically ended their fling. She's been roaming the world ever since."
"Oh," was all Rose could come up with, trying not to be obvious about glancing over at them again, and trying not to bristle as the woman ran her hand up John's arm.
Jack sighed, having followed her gaze, "Come on, looks like they're gonna be busy for a while, and I think Martha and Mickey gave us the slip. Let's dance?"
Rose gave one last look towards the bar, then took his offered hand.
