Born of Fire (Doctor Who AU)

Chapter 27 Candy Floss

Five of the longest days of his existence drew to a close when Daniel collapsed in bed at midnight on Friday. He'd redone a guest room to make it slightly more child-friendly and after ignoring the good-natured teasing from Jake and Nick, he made sure a room for Nora was as comfortable as possible. He stretched out and stared up at the ceiling wondering just how to handle having her presence -- in his house. In a room so close to his. Was there an etiquette for that sort of thing? He really couldn't use the middle of the night to rebuild an engine. He closed his eyes trying to keep fantasy at bay. The very idea of the possibilities was intoxicating, but the last time he'd given into the fantasy of possibilities, disaster resulted. Trying hard to maintain a proper level of self-control, he breathed. Long slow deep breaths, matched with the steps required to replicate his progenitor's sonic screwdriver with the aid of TARDIS circuitry. Starting with the wiring, connection by connection, circuit by circuit in agonising detail, he built the device in his mind's eye until exhaustion took hold and sleep claimed him.

His next conscious thought came at seven AM thanks to the whroop of his alarm. He jerked awake taking a second to focus and then smiled. It was finally Saturday. Today he would wrap his arms around Nora, kiss her and.... The possibilities brought a smile and a flush of warmth resulting in a low groan. Today, he would not take the chance. He forced the feeling into stretching every muscle until they burned. When his control was in place, he scrubbed his hands over his face, counted to ten and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and stood up to strip off the sheets.  

Addie insisted sheets be changed every Wednesday and Saturday, and for once, she wouldn't have to fuss. He stuffed the dirty linens and skivvies down the laundry shoot and reached for the brand new bed set he'd bought-- just in case. If anyone heard him whistling whilst changing the covers over, they would no longer question if he'd gone mental. They would know. He stopped at the full-length mirror for a quick check of his physique.  For as much as he wished different, despite the outdoor activity that defined his muscles, he still didn't have hips and per Donna's description, he was too skinny for words. Were blokes even supposed to have hips?  

"You're an idiot," he muttered as he padded across the carpet to the loo for his morning needs and a long hot shower. The pulsating water beat against every muscle shaking the last vestiges of sleep away. By the time that he stepped from the shower to towel off, he was sure he'd prepared for a perfect day. The persistent ringing of his mobile interrupted the plans running through his head to ensure a great day. A second of fear rose as he grabbed the thing before it managed to vibrate off his nightstand. 

Rose's Torchwood ID flashed on the screen ramping the fear into a moment of full blown panic.  "Rose, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Calm down. I just wanted you to know that Nora and Robbie got off without trouble. But, I wanted to catch you up since Don figured you might be worried. From the sound of your voice; he was right."

"I knew something happened. When he called last night, he didn't sound right. What is it?"

"Ewan and Bryce were on surveillance at Nora's parents. They ... caught the Filsons at the house last night. They were night demanding to see Robbie. While they waited for the coppers to show up,  grabbed enough shots of Mrs Filson cursing Nora's mother to warrant additional charges of harassment. Don and Nora were on their way back from Edinburgh when we called to tell them and he told us not to call you."

"Why not? You should have," Daniel snapped.

"So you could do what exactly? You would have just obsessed all night for no reason."

"What are we going to do with that family?" Daniel's voice trembled with rage

"Well right now, they have figured out the MacGregors and Nora aren't sitting targets. Other than that, I don't know, but it's a good thing she's coming up. On a lighter note, we found Ned's ship."