Short Stories: Behind TARDIS Doors

Part Two: Doctor, who?

He knew exactly where he needed to leave the tablet with the message for Rose - he had watched it arrive at Torchwood as it re-entered his time stream. He materialised the TARDIS in the space shuttle, just out of sight, and left the tablet where he knew they would find it. A message to Rose. A message to himself. A stark realisation on his part - there was no running from his feelings now. Love... Had it really come down to love?

***

It was mid-February and Iris was walking into work with Jethro, hand in hand and excited for the weekend ahead. It was Valentines and Jethro had planned a weekend away for the two of them - he was taking them to the Lake District for a bit of camping and she was looking forward to a couple of days being locked away with him.

They hadn't told anyone of their relationship yet although there was quite a few suspicions. It was still fairly new and they hadn't talked about exclusivity but Iris felt happy, like she was finally settling in.

"I'll see you tonight," Jethro leaned in and whispered in her ear. Iris took advantage of having him that close and pulled at his jacket, pulling him into a kiss. She could've stayed like that for hours but heard someone clear his throat behind them. They quickly broke off and Iris turned around to see John, hands in pockets and looking... annoyed?

"Oh! John! Morning!" Iris exclaimed, wiping her lips and raising a hand in greeting. Jethro was trying to suppress a giggle as the interruption had left her rather frazzled and Iris had to slap his arm to get him to stop.

"I guess the cat is out of the bag!" he shrugged and leaned in to kiss her forehead before giving her hand a last squeeze. "I'll let you explain to John." With a wink he left her on the street and made his way to the office.

John felt anger rising in him, his cheeks becoming flushed and a sharp pain in the palm of his hand. He looked down to see his fist clenched and quickly shoved it in his pocket before he reached Iris. Kissing her forehead like that had been his thing!

"So you and Jethro, huh?" He tried his best not to mention his name through gritted teeth but he caught the venom in his voice and guiltily looked away. He couldn't face her like this. Not when he knew what was going to happen - what he was making happen. His jealousy was written in stone and there wasn't an ounce of him that even remotely liked himself right now. There she stood, undeniably happy and falling in love with someone else. Had he not promised himself that her happiness would come above anything else?

"Yeah... it just kinda happened over Christmas," Iris shrugged, seeing clearly how the discovery had affected John. She had always felt close to him but she had never expected him to carry any feelings for her other than friendship.

John breathed slowly, trying to calm the anger and the hurt. He had lost so many people before, people he had loved and cherished, but this felt like nothing he had ever experienced before. He had two hearts and they ached. They ached so bad that he was sure his body would soon start to regenerate. "Are you happy? You seem... happy," he said, taking a deep breath.

"I..." Iris started, feeling the urge to take John's hand. "Yeah... I am. I have felt so out of place, you know?" She lowered her head and looked at her shoes, finding it difficult to be this honest with him. "And now it feels different... like I finally have a place and somewhere to belong. Like I have been travelling the stars for years without having a place to call home. Jethro... I guess... he makes me feel grounded. Safe." She bit her lip and tried to hide the little school girl smile.

"Oh, Rose, I..." John sighed but quickly caught his mistake. "Uhm... I'm glad. It looks good on you. Better get in! Wouldn't want to be late!" and he left her there as he hurried towards the office.