Chapter Four

It was late in the day and John and Rose were simply lying on the sofa together watching television. It was some reality programmed that Rose enjoyed and John indulged because he loved Rose. He wasn't paying attention and although he was awake he had his eyes closed. Rose was leaning against him, her back on his chest so she had no idea he wasn't watching and when she spoke to him he would murmur his agreement with whatever she said.

He was drifting, he could hear the television but it was as if it was in another room and then he could hear it again, as if it were in stereo. He opened his eyes and looked, the stereo effect immediately dropped away. He planted a kiss in Rose's hair before closing his eyes and relaxing again.

Almost immediately he could hear two televisions again and when he concentrated a woman's voice. A shrill voice. It was criticising.

"It's time you got a proper job, how you and Sean hope to manage financially is beyond me." And then a man's voice, a much calmer voice,

"Oh leave her alone Sylvia, how they manage is up to them." And then a voice that jolted him out of his reverie,

"Yeah thanks Gramps, we'll manage, we've done the sums and we don't need much it's just the two of us after all."

He physically jumped and almost pushed Rose off himself.

"Hey! What's up? Did you fall asleep?"

He shook his head,

"No no I'm sorry I just felt as if someone walked over my grave…" He was fishing for an explanation, "A kind of shiver?"

"Well you leapt about 6ft in the air!"

"I think I might take a walk."

"John are you alright? It's almost 11 o clock. Wouldn't you do better going to bed?"

"Yeah OK, that might be better. Are you coming up?"

"I'll stay and finish this; I'll be up soon though."

"OK I might be asleep. I'm suddenly tired."

Rose frowned,

"Are you sure you are alright John?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just a bit tired. I'll have a quick shower and get some sleep."

A few short minutes later he pulled on a pair of boxers and after drying his hair one more time on a towel he lowered himself in to bed. He was still shaken. He could see her too… but then maybe that made sense; it had taken both of them to make him. *He* and Donna were in a way his parents. He chuckled to himself as he remembered Donna asking *him,* "You want to mate?" And her subsequent, "You're a long streak of alien nothing." He fancied he could hear her in his head now laughing with him. Oh he missed her, not the way *he* had missed Rose but he missed her caring ways and he wondered how she was faring now back as she had been before she had met *him.* Would she be back to seeing herself as insignificant and railing against the world anyway? Or could *he* have left something of *himself* in her?

He shook his head slightly and tried to get comfortable. He really was tired. His dreams hadn't been his own for several weeks now and as much as that was his fault he could do with an uninterrupted night of sleep.

He wasn't sure how to achieve that. When he let his mind go blank and drift when he was awake that let them in maybe now he needed to keep his mind busy with a mundane task… Counting sheep! That should do it! He settled himself again and started counting… 1 2 3… He felt his body sink in to the mattress, he really was very tired… 4 5 6 … he was dropping away… 7 8 9…

He didn't hear Rose come upstairs or feel her slide in to bed next to him and spoon up to his back. For several hours he slept deeply and well and then he saw it. A bus on a desert planet.