Shelter (10.5)
Rose spent more time at her dad's than she usually did. It was better than going home to an empty flat. But at night, when the quiet settled over her bedroom, she wondered if it were better that John Smith was gone. She missed... Every time she tried to finish that thought, it ended up so warped and confused that she'd given up. It didn't hardly matter, anyway. She finally accepted what John Smith was telling her the day he'd left: her Doctor didn't need her. Her Doctor was done with Rose Tyler. And now, so was John Smith.
It'd been eight weeks and three days since John Smith left. There was some relief in not seeing his face every day. Occasionally, she'd catch sight of him at work, sometimes escaping his notice, sometimes not. Both of them had lost weight, but the darkness under his eyes grew deeper every time she caught a glance of his face. They never spoke.
She wasn't proud of spying on him, of using her father's connections to clandestinely find his new address, to learn what he'd been working on... to check up on him. It was true that her Doctor had made John Smith an unwanted responsibility of hers. Now that he wasn't her responsibility anymore, she wanted him to be. No, that wasn't quite right... But she felt responsible, all the same.
So when she overheard that John Smith hadn't reported in for work the last two days, Rose made it an early day out and used that new address. She found the flat above the fish and chips place just a block away from Torchwood. From the street, it looked like nothing special. She swallowed her nervousness and headed up, knocking first, then ringing. When no answer came, she did it again.
Then she pulled out a credit card and jimmied the lock - a trick Mickey'd shown her years ago. She closed the door quietly behind her.
It'd been eight weeks and three days since John Smith left. There was some relief in not seeing his face every day. Occasionally, she'd catch sight of him at work, sometimes escaping his notice, sometimes not. Both of them had lost weight, but the darkness under his eyes grew deeper every time she caught a glance of his face. They never spoke.
She wasn't proud of spying on him, of using her father's connections to clandestinely find his new address, to learn what he'd been working on... to check up on him. It was true that her Doctor had made John Smith an unwanted responsibility of hers. Now that he wasn't her responsibility anymore, she wanted him to be. No, that wasn't quite right... But she felt responsible, all the same.
So when she overheard that John Smith hadn't reported in for work the last two days, Rose made it an early day out and used that new address. She found the flat above the fish and chips place just a block away from Torchwood. From the street, it looked like nothing special. She swallowed her nervousness and headed up, knocking first, then ringing. When no answer came, she did it again.
Then she pulled out a credit card and jimmied the lock - a trick Mickey'd shown her years ago. She closed the door quietly behind her.