A Man Named John Smith (10th Doctor x OC)

Chapter Twelve

“Are you serious John?” Willow said, laughing.

“Very much so,” John shouted back from on top of the seven foot fence he’d climbed. “Now hand me that pizza box!”

“The gated neighborhood beside our apartments was not what I was expecting when you said secluded,” Willow said. She climbed onto a pile of stray bricks and stretched as much as she could to hand him the pizza. 

“You didn’t want to walk far, so this was our only option,” he explained.

“There’s something called a taxi.”

John took the pizza from her hands, climbed down, put it in the grass, then climbed back up. 

“Now, you!” He said, outstretching his arms. 

“You can’t be serious.”

John shrugged, and he nearly toppled off of the fence. “Do it yourself then,” he said, jumping back down.

“Oh, well fuck me then,” Willow grumbled, gripping the fence and hiking one leg over. Unfortunately, her legs weren’t as long as John’s, and she was stuck in an awkward split position.

“Goodness, you’re short!” John said teasingly from the other side.

Willow stuck her middle finger proudly in the air before unhooking both legs and landing with ease. She walked past him, grabbed the pizza, and intentionally tossed her curls in his face. 

“Hey,” he cried, running up from behind and scooping her in his arms, bridesmaid style. She shrieked as he carried her to a dense group of bushes and trees. He set her down and both of them were now in a laughing fit. 

“That made me feel like a kid again,” John said happily as he opened the pizza box. The pizza was battered, and bits of toppings were splattered all over the cardboard, but none of it mattered. They were both happy with each other. 

“So, how was the first day?” Willow asked, taking a bite of pizza. 

John gave a half shrug. “It was mellow. I assisted with a few patients. You know, check ups, paperwork, the regular kind of thing,” he swallowed. “How was your little visit today?”

“Huh? Oh,” she said. “It was fine. A nice little reunion.”

John nodded and looked to the side. Just bringing up Jack, made her think about their conversation in the TARDIS once again. She stared at the sky, deep in thought.

 How could he expect her to not share intimacy with a man who loved her, then replace him with a man that thought nothing of her? 

"Let me see something," Willow finally said.

She rolled onto her side and looked into John's eyes. Her hand traveled to his chest and moved to the left.

"What're you doing, Will?" he asked.

She gave no response and searched for those two beats. One following another, almost simultaneously. There was nothing but one. One heartbeat. He was just as human as her. There was no Doctor inside of that body.

It almost broke her heart. Almost. But here she was, with a human who looked like him. A human who wanted her.  

She kept her hand there, feeling that single heart rise and fall. Willow licked her lips and let out a small smile. 

"John," she said before gently touching his hair and tracing his sideburns. 

He took her hand, brought it to his lips and placed a small kiss on her knuckle with a wink. 

"Do you like my name that much?" He chuckled, and his warm breath hit her hand.

"Maybe," Willow said before slowly laying her head on his shoulder.