Thank you for the reviews :) Now, curious about that med school student?

Chapter 28

John led the woman into his office and gestured towards the seat that was usually occupied by patients. She seemed nervous when she sat down and John decided to observe her for a moment to figure out what kind of person she was.

"Why do you want to shadow me this week?" he asked after a moment.

"So, uhm, basically I was just walking home from class when I saw this girl and she was totally gorgeous," the woman beamed at him, "And I followed her and she just happened to walk into your practice and then the bald fellow-"

"Nardole," John explained.

"Nardole asked me what I was doing here and I said I wanted to shadow you for a week and he wanted to send me away, at which point you came in and said it was fine. I asked the girl out for coffee after that, but she was a bit weird. It didn't really work out. Shame though. She seemed nice at first."

John frowned at her. "And how does that explain why you want to shadow me?"

"Well, we have to. For class," she shrugged, "You seemed awesome. I'm Bill, by the way."

"John Smith," he replied.

At that Bill suddenly burst into laughter. "John Smith?"

"Yeah," he frowned, "Why?"

"Your name isn't John Smith, is it? I mean, what sort of parent would name their kid John when the last name is Smith? It sounds like a murderer. You're not a murderer, are you?"

"If it makes it easier for you, you can call me Doctor," he suggested, his bewilderment growing with every passing second. The woman was strange, but in an amusing way.

"Now you sound like a drug dealer."

John shrugged. "Seems you'll have to choose between two types of criminals."

Bill didn't even seem to hear his comeback when she leaned forward a little and inspected his desk, her eyes resting on the photo of Clara and himself. His heart ached when he looked at it. She knew he was waiting for her call, didn't she?

"Is that your wife?" Bill enquired curiously after a moment.

"Yes," John replied, unable to tear his gaze away from Clara's face, "Yes, that's her."

"Lucky you!" she exclaimed, gawking at the photo.

"Yes," he said, his voice sad, "Lucky me."

Bill turned her head, looking right at him, and she was grinning. "She doesn't have a sister, does she?" Bill chuckled.

"Uhm," John paused, "As a matter of fact, she does. So, is there anything you'd like to know before we start the shadowing bit?"

"Yeah," she said, "Why do doctors wear white coats?"

He frowned at her in reply.

"They never tell you that stuff at uni. I mean, seems a bit stupid, doesn't it? You cut someone open, blood gets everywhere, you bandage a guy, blood gets everywhere. White seems like a stupid choice, doesn't it? Wouldn't black be a bit more appropriate?"

"I, uhm," he stammered, unsure of what to say next, "I've never thought about that. I suppose you get a fresh coat when there's blood on it."

"Good point," she shrugged, "Still a bit of a waste though."

John inhaled sharply, thinking that he probably had a very tiring week ahead of him when suddenly there was a knock on the door and when it opened, his heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight of Clara's face. He opened his mouth to say hello, but then realized what he had failed to notice the last time. The clothes, the posture. Not Clara.

"It's Bonnie," she said immediately, "Don't get excited."

"I, uhm, I know," John spluttered, "I noticed."

Then he turned towards Bill and he didn't fail to notice that she was making heart eyes at Bonnie, gawking at the woman who resembled his wife so very much. If it had been Clara, John would have probably told her to stop staring. "Bill, could you give us some privacy?"

"I, uh," she paused, "I'm supposed to be shadowing you all week."

"Yes, except that this is a private conversation, so please," he gestured towards the door and finally Bill budged and started moving across the room.

He saw that she still smiled at Bonnie while she passed her. "Hi," Bill uttered nervous.

"Hey," Bonnie smiled back.

Then finally the door closed from the outside.

"Sorry to interrupt," Bonnie said instantly, still smiling, "Who's the girl?"

"Oh, that's Bill," he explained, "Med school student."

She grinned. "Future doctor. Nice."

"What brings you here?" John demanded to know, "I don't suppose you've had the habit of visiting me at work before my accident."

"Not really, no," she replied.

Then she opened her bag and retrieved a small box from inside of it before placing it neatly on his desk.

"What is that?"

Bonnie inhaled sharply. "That's all the things I have of our mother, some old photographs, her ring, that kind of stuff," she said and suddenly John noticed the sadness in her eyes and her voice, "I took them when I ran away from home as a reminder."

John frowned at her. "And you want me to. . .?"

"Give them to Clara," she told him, looking straight at him, "Tell her to take it as a sign of good will. She should have them."

"Clara and I," he hesitated, "We're not speaking right now. But if we do, I'll give her the box."

"Is it because of the kiss?" Bonnie wanted to know and the idea seemed to shock her.

"No, not because of that."

"Good," she concluded, "I'm sure you'll patch things up. I mean, I don't know Clara so well, but she'd be stupid not to. You're like the only decent guy I've ever met."

John chuckled. "You're not so fond of men, are you?"

"God, no," Bonnie laughed, "A guy made me run away from home. A guy landed me in prison. I'm done with that."

"Seems like a wise choice then," he smiled, "Could you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"When you leave, tell Bill to come back in, okay?"

Bonnie grinned at him in reply. "I can most certainly do that. She'll be here all week, yeah?"

He nodded.

"I'll best be in my way then," she said, "See you around, John."

"Take care."

It took several minutes and John kept a close eye on the clock, but eventually Bill walked back into his office and she was grinning from ear to ear.

"She gave me her phone number," she announced happily.

John smiled at her in reply and couldn't help but think once more that the following week would be very, very tiring, but at least Bill was nice and brightening up her day had brightened his by extend, if only just a little.