Willow glanced at the clock as she waited for Captain Jack. John had gone out to get groceries, giving her about 30 minutes before he'd return. As she stood there, something in her heart stirred the more she thought about what she was about to do. She felt regret. She shouldn't have been feeling that way. The Doctor needed to come back for the sake of every being in existence. He was the one who'd save people, not John.
Flashes of when he kissed her flooded her mind, but she suppressed them. He'd done what he was meant to do. This man believed he was John and she was his girlfriend. So why did it feel so real?
Someone knocked on the door, pulling Willow out of her thoughts. She quickly opened the door, revealing Captain Jack.
Willow nodded a greeting before inviting him in. "We've got 30 minutes before John-er, the Doctor returns."
Jack surveyed the apartment from where he stood, nodding the longer he stared.
"The Doctor made sure you were taken care of," he said approvingly.
Willow pulled at her dress. "Well, I'd rather not be stuck here in 1981 than live in this gaudy place."
Jack looked downwards. "Right. Sorry about that."
She shrugged before motioning for him to sit down at the kitchen table. "How exactly did you know that he was the Doctor? I mean, I didn't see you when we'd first landed."
"I was walking by when I heard the sound of the TARDIS. The moment I did, I came running. I saw you walk out, to survey a place to live, I'm assuming. I figured you were his compan- er, co-pilot, so all I had to do was look for you. It was quite difficult, considering the fact that the Doctor looks completely different from when I knew him, so you were my only lead."
Willow frowned. "What do you mean different?"
Jack paused, his face showing that he knew more than he was about to say. "He hasn't told you yet. Hm," he murmured, folding his fingers. "It really isn't my position to tell you."
Willow sighed with annoyance. "I'm getting tired of not knowing."
"Trust me, he'll want to tell you himself."
"If we can get him back."
"Which we will."
She stood from her chair. "Well then," she pointed at the door. "Let's go to the TARDIS."
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Willow stepped behind the dumpster and made a grand gesture at the blue box.
"Here she is," she said, patting the blue wood gingerly. "Poor girl has been powered down for the four days we've been here."
She looked at Jack, who had a massive grin on his face. "Oh, I've missed you!" he exclaimed to the TARDIS before his happiness trailed off. "Though you might not be too happy to see me."
Willow gave a quizzical expression to Jack, but he ignored it. When she went up to the door and pushed, it opened with a groan.
Jack looked at her with surprise. "You opened it without a key."
Willow raised an eyebrow, content with his amazement. "There's a key?" she asked in a flat tone, like some kind of professional.
She spun around and went inside.
"Hey girl," she whispered. The TARDIS made a shuddering noise, like she was deciding whether she should be happy or annoyed with Willow's plus one.
"Yup. She doesn't like me," Jack said, going with the second option Willow had thought of.
"And why would that be?" she inquired.
"You ask a lot of questions," Jack replied, studying the large room. Willow couldn't tell if he was saying it lightly or not.
Willow put a hand on her hip. "When I ask a bunch of questions it means I want answers, Captain. You won't tell me anything else, so please, spill."
A faint smile formed on his face as he gathered his story together. "There was a time when I traveled with the Doctor, like you." As he spoke, his smile began to fall. "We were up in the stars, doing this... thing."
Willow could tell by the tone of his voice that it was more than just a thing.
"While trying to defend a space station called Satellite 5, I was killed by a Dalek. Nasty things," Jack scoffed. "But somehow... I'd gotten brought back to life."
"It would be a very long time before I found out I could never die. But the Doctor knew that. I don't know how he did, but..." Jack's voice trailed away for a moment. He blew out the breath he was holding in and continued. "So he left me. The Doctor left me in the year 200100."
Willow's heart dropped.
"I was stranded. I tried to use this-" he held up his wrist, revealing a leather watch-like device with miniature control pads on either side- "my vortex manipulator, to get back to the 21st century, but it was screwed up from the Daleks, so I got stuck in the 19th. I tried to use it again, but this thing burnt out. Had to live through the whole damn century just to find the right Doctor that would just talk to me."
He said the words so casually, as if this was completely normal. However, the more Willow thought about normality, the more that became absurd. She almost laughed at herself for not freaking out about the fact that this man was immortal. Everyday with the Doctor threw weird and wild things at her, it was impossible to have time to question every little thing she saw.
"The Doctor left you..." Willow repeated. "Alone."
Jack picked at the worn edge of the vortex manipulator. "Yeah."
They sat in silence until Jack clasped his hands together. "Anyways, although this is going to seem a bit awkward, let's focus on getting him back, shall we?"
"Y-yeah," Willow murmured, forcing herself out of her head. She went to the console of the TARDIS and grabbed the hanging screen that had displayed the Doctor's message to her. She pressed the play button on the keyboard and the screen blinked to life, showing a paused Doctor.
"He gave me this as instruction. I was supposed to take something to turn him back, but the video kind of..." Willow tried to find a way to explain it, but she gave up. "Just... let me show you."
She pulled up the video, and her heart leapt the minute she saw him. She quickly played it and in the end, the video glitched like usual.
"Hmm," Jack said, eyes trained on the video. "It's like a wave distortion. Like the video's signal clashed with another's."
Jack stepped forward, and Willow moved, allowing him full control of the board. He slowly began to type.
"Those guys were hot on your heels. Their annexation scrambled the ending of this video like hell!"
Willow furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm just going to nod my head and act like I know what that means."
Jack chuckled at this and shook his head. As he typed, Jack glanced at her. "So, what's your deal?"
Willow looked at him. "My deal?"
"Yeah," he said lightly. "How'd you find him?"
"Actually, the Doctor found me," Willow took a seat on the TARDIS' chair and propped her chin on her hand.
"Really?"
Willow shrugged. "I was a sobbing wreck on a sidewalk. How could he resist?" She joked halfheartedly.
"There was something special about you in his eyes, so don't sell yourself short."
Jack grinned and returned to his work. Willow laughed softly, but her smile soon trailed away.
"Jack?"
"Yes ma'am," he replied cheerily.
Willow bit her thumb nail as she watched him type. "Would the Doctor leave me if I ever did anything, you know, wrong?"
Jack stopped typing and looked at her. "No. You're different from me, Willow. He would never. Could never."
Willow didn't say anything to this, so John continued to speak in.
"If I could just alternate the nodular interface component with another wave component..." his fingers moved quicker on the keyboard. After a moment, he pressed a final key and stepped back. "And result!"
The video relapsed for a second before playing back to when the video had glitched. Willow jumped up from the chair and went to Jack's side.
They leaned in, enriched with anticipation, waiting for the outcome.
On screen, the Doctor had the giant metal helmet on his head.
Willow smiled at his face. She took in those shining brown eyes of his and his suit. She glanced at Jack, who was looking at her with a smirk. She flushed a bright red and forced her stupid grin away.
"Now, if you need me, if they find us... take this watch. It contains everything I am, my Time Lordiness, if you will. Time Lordiness. Huh..." he sat for a moment, thinking about the ridiculous word he'd just said.
"A watch... a watch..." Willow squinted her eyes, trying to remember. She looked up at Jack as if he knew the answer. "Where the hell was the watch?"
"Just open it, and I'll be back. Now, once that happens, the things following us will be able to find us, so use it wisely. As in 'absolutely everything is falling apart and there is no hope left' wisely. The TARDIS has been programmed to find any non-human ships in the area in case they arrive. Try not to use the watch until they've gone, alright? Give it about two months, then open the watch. That's the longest I'll leave you alone here. I promise."
The Doctor's hands flew around the console, frantically steering as he spoke. "Oh! And one more thing. Don't let me eat a pear. I hate pears. I don't want to wake up from being John Smith and taste that."
Both of them smiled at that.
"He's such a dork," Willow snorted, but she kept her gaze stern and focused.
"Take care of me, okay? Be brave Willow," he put his hand on the screen, and Willow did the same, not caring that there was someone watching her do it.
"You miss him, don't you?" Jack asked tinderly.
"Of course," Willow replied, trying to act casual. "Why wouldn't I?"
She went to stop the video, but she unintentionally pressed the key next to the pause button. Another video of the Doctor appeared, the pixelated display of a digital clock was in the top right corner of the screen. It was dated at 4/3, two days after Willow left the Doctor.
"Oh," she said in a small voice.
"She's gone, Doctor," he murmured, pacing around the room. "Get over it. You'll find someone else to travel with."
Jack's eyes widened and he went to press the pause button. "Do you want me to-"
"No." Willow whispered, unable to move. She watched the Doctor with sad eyes.
"It was just one trip anyway, nothing special." He spun around and looked up. "She left by decision, and she's not coming back...
"I don't like her. I never have, and I never will!"
His voice bounced along the walls of the TARDIS, repeating the last sentence over and over again.
No.
Willow's heart shattered at the tone of his voice. It shouldn't have. She hadn't realized her feelings toward the Doctor until now, how was he to know that she liked him? Deep down, though she didn't want to say it, she loved the Doctor, and now she properly knew it. But he didn't love her.
She felt a tear prick her eye and she quickly wiped it away.
Jack took a small step from the screen and gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder for a second. "We've been here for quite some time. He's probably returning soon."
"Yeah," Willow tried to say in a casual manner. "I should go."
Jack nodded as he went to the TARDIS door. "I'll come back tomorrow. We can start looking for the watch."
Willow kept her back facing him. She didn't want him to see another tear fall from her face.
Finally, after a moment, he left, leaving Willow alone again.
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Willow soon left the TARDIS and went up to the apartment, shielding her eyes with her curls so that people couldn't see that they were red from crying.
She'd almost made it, but Jamie opened her apartment door and happily waved at Willow.
"Hey... Willow, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Willow mumbled, trying to avoid conversation.
"I just want to say that it was so kind of you to say hi earlier today. It meant so much to us-" her voice stopped as her eyes searched Willow's face. Willow tried to avoid her gaze, but it was too late.
"Oh goodness honey, what's wrong?" Jamie asked, alarmed.
Willow shook her head. "It's nothing."
Jamie gently placed her hand on Willow's arm with pity. "Was it John?"
Willow looked at her with a frown. "God, no!" she said defensively. This woman was too much for her taste. Yes, she was trying to help, but it wasn't her place to be so imploring.
"I've had a long morning, and I just want to relax," Willow said, pulling her arm away and walking away from Jamie.
"Oh, alright," she said in a small voice. "Just let me know if you need anything."
With her back still turned, Willow gave a small salute and unlocked the apartment door. She closed it behind her with a sigh and closed eyes.
"Will?" John's voice called from the bedroom. He walked out with his hands behind his back.
"Hey," she said, relieved to see him. "I went on a walk while you were out."
"It's a shame you didn't invite me," he said with a smile as he encased her in a big hug.
"I wish I could've," Willow replied, her voice muffled by his shirt. She broke the hug and looked up at him.
Flashes of the Doctor crossed her mind, but not as strongly as before. This man loved her. Why couldn't she enjoy it for a moment? This was the closest she'd ever get to the Doctor, clearly stated by himself in the TARDIS' video.
Screw it, she thought.
Willow stood on her tiptoes and gently pulled him down till their lips met.
When they pulled away, John looked down at her and frowned. "Were you crying?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.
Willow shook her head. "I'm fine."
John tilted his head. He clearly wasn't convinced, but he didn't say anything more about it.
"I love you," John whispered.
Willow pulled closer and went for another kiss, this one a bit stronger than the last.
"I know," she replied with a smile before pulling away.
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A single stream of light trickled from the lamp on the bedside table, cutting through the night.
Willow had slipped on a baggy t-shirt for bed before John walked into the bedroom.
"That couch is literal hell for my back," Willow commented as she pulled the ends of the grey shirt.
John gave a half shrug. "I mean, you could sleep in here if you want."
Willow stopped what she was doing and looked at the bed hesitantly.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"I mean," John rocked on his heels. "It's not like we never have."
She debated for a second before nodding. "Fine, yeah," she said slowly.
They awkwardly stood in place for a moment until John gestured towards the bed.
"Well...?" He questioned.
Willow slowly made her way towards the side of the bed she had fallen out of the first night they'd gotten here. She shifted uncomfortably in the silence before climbing into the sheets a second later. It was a hundred times more comfortable than that cursed couch.
"Better?" John asked, getting into the opposite side.
"So much better," Willow murmured, burying her head into a pillow. She turned on her side, facing John. His soft gaze was merely inches away from her's. She hadn't realized how close they actually were until now.
"What?" Willow asked him, trying to shake his eyes away from her's.
"I didn't even think I could land the first date with a girl like you Will," he whispered, a smile forming on his lips.
Willow scoffed. "Does flattery work on the ladies or something?"
"Well," John scratched the side of his head. "It worked on you."
She let out a surprised chuckle before turning onto her back and folding her hands across her chest.
"Goodnight, John," she murmured.
"Goodnight, Willow," he replied, reaching onto the bedside table and turning off the light.