Born of Fire (Doctor Who AU)

Chapter 32 Life is in the Details

Fully expecting another lecture on moving too fast, Daniel managed to arrive at work, with enough spare time to tell Sarah Jane about Nora. Bosses, he thought, needed to know so they could adjust the paperwork. He was never going to figure humans out. Instead of lecturing, she'd grinned and said 'about bloody time.'  Sure, he'd managed to keep further details private, he walked to the teachers' lounge for his morning cuppa to find everyone shouting congratulations. He glared at a decidedly guilty looking Mary as co-workers pummelled his back, kissed his cheeks and pumped his hand. The most private details of each other's lives fascinated them: it was embarrassing. He never discussed his private life, well not much anyway. Just to tell them that Nora had finished her job early and Robbie's team voted him the most valuable player for the six and under league. And the last bit he'd only told the football coach.  

He avoided the lounge for the rest of the day, spending the time in his classroom grinning in nervous waiting for the end of the day. When it finally came, Sam handed him his rucksack and helmet and smiled. He was tempted to kiss him right there. He made the fifteen-minute ride home to trade out the bike for the SUV. Before much longer he would have to park the bike for the winter anyway. Daniel cranked the radio up and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the duo singing I've been so sad since you said my accent is bad. He loved this duo. Since discovering their quirky music collecting their music had become a passion. He belted out the next set of lyrics; I'm just going to have to learn to hesitate to make sure my words on your Saxon ears don't grate. He loved this part of the lyrics, especially with all the ribbing he'd taken over his Scottish Accent. It had gotten a little bit thicker since moving to the Highlands. No one would know he'd.... He almost thought born. His singing ended. He focused the rest of his drive on what he needed for the house.

Sometimes the universe shined in tiny ways; like finding a parking spot in An Gearsadan's only box store close to the entrance. With the tourist season in the in-between time of the year, he would only have to contend with the locals rushing into the store for the late afternoon shopping. He watched a lorry pull out of a prime parking spot and managed to manoeuvre the SUV into the vacated spot just ahead of a competitor, He almost felt guilty for beating the person into the slot. Almost, but not quite. Ignoring the hand gesture by the other driver, he grabbed a trolley that someone had left shoved next to a pole. He put one foot on the bottom shelf and pushed off, skateboarding across the parking lot. With a bit of luck, he could grab what he needed and get home within an hour -- an hour and a half tops.  

It was easy to blame Donna's DNA for his love of shopping, but truth told it was the doctor's love of bartering that shined every time he entered a store. It took a bit to get used to shops refusing to alter their prices. He wished Howie worked at this Ribaldis'. At least then, he'd get the employee discount. A withering gaze and an angry shout from the security interrupted his train of thought, bringing his trolley skateboarding to a halt. 

If the Doctor could see him pushing a cart down the linen aisle, he'd fall over the console railing, and regenerate from the laughing. He tossed several packs of sheets, a duvet and two pillows in pretending not to notice a girl tossing purple silk sheets in her cart. I'm not the only one, he thought weaving his way to the home décor department. Shelves lined with wall decorations, wallpaper and various stickers became the focus of his attention next. He studied various designs, trying to decide what looked better; the rocket or the outer space theme. His fingers slid under the edge of box tab for a better look at the paper.  

"I wouldn't if I were you," a woman's voice behind him cautioned.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't open the box, they get testy."

"Do you work here? I really do need to look at the entire pattern. I suppose I could take both, but that might be too spacey -- don't you think?" He waved both boxes like batons hoping to distract her.