Relevant Information
Chapter Three
Author's Note: Right, so I've got a beta! My lovely friend Lizzy has been cheerfully forced to edit my rough drafts for me, and she's been doing a very nice job catching my idiocies. So now I can blame screw-up's on her! Nah, just kidding, but major thanks to her for helping me out. This one is shortish, but it helps me set up the next chapter, so be patient kiddies :) Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, they really made my day. And now...it continues:
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Jack was trawling contently through the internet, trying to decide what colour his little space would look good in, when the door swung open.
A woman, tall and maybe part Indian by the look of her, walked into Jack’s office, apparently not noticing his presence. She set her briefcase on a chair next to the wall and began to rifle though it, her back to him.
“Excuse me?” Jack asked, more than a little confused. The woman started and turned to look at him.
“Oh! I…you’re Mr. Harkness, are you? I didn’t think you were staring until tomorrow.” Her eyes were wide, and Jack didn’t think he was imagining the panic in them.
She shut the case with a snap.
“I’m Suzie…Costello, that is. I didn’t think anyone would be here, and I just – I wanted some place quiet to work, and –”
Jack cut her off.
“It’s all right, Suzie. I’m sorry if I frightened you.” He smiled. “You can still work in here if you want; I’m not too dreadfully noisy, at least not in the morning.”
“No, no,” Suzie assured him hurriedly, and turned around to get her briefcase. “I’ll leave you be, then. I am terribly sorry about barging in like that, and I –” she cut herself off, look very uncomfortable. “Goodbye.” Then she quickly turned tail and fled.
Jack watched her go with some semblance of disbelief, and then turned back to his computer. He wondered vaguely if he was actually going to be working with any Welsh people at all. Tosh, Adam, Suzie and the Doctor all sounded – to varying degrees – like Londoners. Not nearly as obvious as Donna though. It was a shame really; he had really been looking forward to hearing those beautiful Welsh vowels every day.
Hmm, speaking of Donna…
Jack remembered with a sudden rather unpleasant jolt that he had told Donna he would call her the day before, and had never gotten around to it. He hadn’t checked his messages at home either, but he was willing to be big money that she had left several messages on his threatening to make the two hour train journey down to check on him if he didn’t call back. He wouldn’t put it past her, and it really wouldn’t do to have his big sister run in and embarrass him in front of his staff on the first day.
Quickly, he grabbed his mobile and punched Donna’s speed dial number, praying that she wasn’t on the train already.
She picked up on the second ring.
“JACK!” she yelled, so loudly he had to move the receiver away from his ear. “Why haven’t you called me? I’ve been out of my head with worry!”
It was greatly to Jack’s credit that he didn’t roll his eyes.
“Hello to you too, Donna.”
“Don’t you take that tone with me! You never called me back. I thought you had been run down by a herd of rouge Welsh sheep or somethin’. I was right about to come down there myself to check on you.”
“Donna,” Jack heard Donna’s best friend Martha saying in the background, “he’s thirty-five, he doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“Mind your own business,” Donna snapped, and Jack heard Martha call to him:
“Sorry, Jack!”
“S’okay!” he yelled back, before Donna jumped back in.
“Right, stop siding with Jack on this. He’s my baby brother, I care about him.”
“I am NOT a baby!” Jack protested loudly, and then checked to around surreptitiously to see if anyone had heard him. “You’re only three minutes older than me anyway, so you’ve really no right to –”
“ANYWAY,” Donna cut him off again, “I just wanted to know how you’re settling in there. John told me Wales is very beautiful in that…uh…uncultivated sort of way. Shagged any sheep yet?”
“Donna!”
“I’m only joking,” Donna protested, laughing. “You’re at work now?”
“Yep,” he scrutinized an online paint swatch then shook his head and moved on. “Would you believe it, though? My boss and it seems my entire staff, are Londoners. At a Welsh University! No amazing vowels, Donna. My heart is crumbling into a million pieces as we speak.”
“Hmm.” Now that Jack had been established as one of the living, Donna’s interest had wandered slightly. “Isn’t your land-lady Welsh?”
“Well, yeah. But she’s, like, eighty.”
“You’re wringing you’re hands, aren’t you, Jack?”
“No.” He abruptly stopped wringing his hands.
“Liar.”
“No!”
“Anyway, what does it matter if she’s eighty? The accent is the same.”
“I…well, yeah, but…”
“Oh, no.”
“‘Oh, no’ what?”
“Jack, you can’t!”
“I can’t WHAT?”
“You can’t seriously be looking for someone new. Not after the whole John debacle. Please, Jack, don’t do this.”
Jack’s good humour suddenly waned.
“Donna,” he fought to keep his voice controlled; it was difficult to keep his emotions in check whenever anybody mentioned this particular subject. “Relax. I’m not looking for anyone new. Not so soon anyway. When, and IF, I am, you will be the first to know.”
“You promise?” Sometimes Jack could swear that she had never fully made it out of primary school.
“I promise.”
“Good. Well, I’m very sorry that I jumped to conclusions, and you know that I’d love to chat, but Martha is getting anxious that we’ll be late for our shift, so we’ve got to be going.”
“Bye, Jack!” Martha called.
“Bye, Donna, by Martha. Stay out of trouble, all right?”
“Good bye Pot, Kettle signing off.” And then Donna hung up on him.
Jack shut the phone using one hand, and then turned to look up at the clock. He hoped desperately that it was lunch time.
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Jack was trawling contently through the internet, trying to decide what colour his little space would look good in, when the door swung open.
A woman, tall and maybe part Indian by the look of her, walked into Jack’s office, apparently not noticing his presence. She set her briefcase on a chair next to the wall and began to rifle though it, her back to him.
“Excuse me?” Jack asked, more than a little confused. The woman started and turned to look at him.
“Oh! I…you’re Mr. Harkness, are you? I didn’t think you were staring until tomorrow.” Her eyes were wide, and Jack didn’t think he was imagining the panic in them.
She shut the case with a snap.
“I’m Suzie…Costello, that is. I didn’t think anyone would be here, and I just – I wanted some place quiet to work, and –”
Jack cut her off.
“It’s all right, Suzie. I’m sorry if I frightened you.” He smiled. “You can still work in here if you want; I’m not too dreadfully noisy, at least not in the morning.”
“No, no,” Suzie assured him hurriedly, and turned around to get her briefcase. “I’ll leave you be, then. I am terribly sorry about barging in like that, and I –” she cut herself off, look very uncomfortable. “Goodbye.” Then she quickly turned tail and fled.
Jack watched her go with some semblance of disbelief, and then turned back to his computer. He wondered vaguely if he was actually going to be working with any Welsh people at all. Tosh, Adam, Suzie and the Doctor all sounded – to varying degrees – like Londoners. Not nearly as obvious as Donna though. It was a shame really; he had really been looking forward to hearing those beautiful Welsh vowels every day.
Hmm, speaking of Donna…
Jack remembered with a sudden rather unpleasant jolt that he had told Donna he would call her the day before, and had never gotten around to it. He hadn’t checked his messages at home either, but he was willing to be big money that she had left several messages on his threatening to make the two hour train journey down to check on him if he didn’t call back. He wouldn’t put it past her, and it really wouldn’t do to have his big sister run in and embarrass him in front of his staff on the first day.
Quickly, he grabbed his mobile and punched Donna’s speed dial number, praying that she wasn’t on the train already.
She picked up on the second ring.
“JACK!” she yelled, so loudly he had to move the receiver away from his ear. “Why haven’t you called me? I’ve been out of my head with worry!”
It was greatly to Jack’s credit that he didn’t roll his eyes.
“Hello to you too, Donna.”
“Don’t you take that tone with me! You never called me back. I thought you had been run down by a herd of rouge Welsh sheep or somethin’. I was right about to come down there myself to check on you.”
“Donna,” Jack heard Donna’s best friend Martha saying in the background, “he’s thirty-five, he doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“Mind your own business,” Donna snapped, and Jack heard Martha call to him:
“Sorry, Jack!”
“S’okay!” he yelled back, before Donna jumped back in.
“Right, stop siding with Jack on this. He’s my baby brother, I care about him.”
“I am NOT a baby!” Jack protested loudly, and then checked to around surreptitiously to see if anyone had heard him. “You’re only three minutes older than me anyway, so you’ve really no right to –”
“ANYWAY,” Donna cut him off again, “I just wanted to know how you’re settling in there. John told me Wales is very beautiful in that…uh…uncultivated sort of way. Shagged any sheep yet?”
“Donna!”
“I’m only joking,” Donna protested, laughing. “You’re at work now?”
“Yep,” he scrutinized an online paint swatch then shook his head and moved on. “Would you believe it, though? My boss and it seems my entire staff, are Londoners. At a Welsh University! No amazing vowels, Donna. My heart is crumbling into a million pieces as we speak.”
“Hmm.” Now that Jack had been established as one of the living, Donna’s interest had wandered slightly. “Isn’t your land-lady Welsh?”
“Well, yeah. But she’s, like, eighty.”
“You’re wringing you’re hands, aren’t you, Jack?”
“No.” He abruptly stopped wringing his hands.
“Liar.”
“No!”
“Anyway, what does it matter if she’s eighty? The accent is the same.”
“I…well, yeah, but…”
“Oh, no.”
“‘Oh, no’ what?”
“Jack, you can’t!”
“I can’t WHAT?”
“You can’t seriously be looking for someone new. Not after the whole John debacle. Please, Jack, don’t do this.”
Jack’s good humour suddenly waned.
“Donna,” he fought to keep his voice controlled; it was difficult to keep his emotions in check whenever anybody mentioned this particular subject. “Relax. I’m not looking for anyone new. Not so soon anyway. When, and IF, I am, you will be the first to know.”
“You promise?” Sometimes Jack could swear that she had never fully made it out of primary school.
“I promise.”
“Good. Well, I’m very sorry that I jumped to conclusions, and you know that I’d love to chat, but Martha is getting anxious that we’ll be late for our shift, so we’ve got to be going.”
“Bye, Jack!” Martha called.
“Bye, Donna, by Martha. Stay out of trouble, all right?”
“Good bye Pot, Kettle signing off.” And then Donna hung up on him.
Jack shut the phone using one hand, and then turned to look up at the clock. He hoped desperately that it was lunch time.