ashes ➝ Doctor Who²

III

She couldn't breathe, could barely see. Jasper was relentless and her entire body ached.

"Come on Penelope, we can't give up just yet." He wasn't nearly as breathless as she was, and watched her closely.

"I'm not giving up, you just haven't given me a break." He sighed and threw a water bottle at her, she struggled to catch it and glared at him.

"You said you wanted to get fitter before you joined Torchwood again, I'm just helping you do that."

"This is torture."

For the past 2 months or so, Jasper had been coming over - as usual - but getting Penelope up and moving. It had started with Wii sports, the girl being overly competitive when playing tennis. And then it turned into a weekly walk, then daily. Until suddenly, she was joining his daily runs and trying not to think about all the ways she'll get him back.

It definitely helped her, but she wasn't going to willingly admit it. She felt healthier, she looked better as well. Still not how she was before, but as Jasper keeps telling her, 'we don't want you from before, we want a new you'. She couldn't tell if he was helping her or insulting her, but she valued him greatly.

"Do you think you'd be ready to start meeting members of Torchwood? They're all aware of your condition and they want you to get better, but they still want to meet you. They've been setting up as best they can, and they're already used to calling you their boss." She thought about it for a moment and Jasper could feel the inkling of hope diminish. He'd tried so hard to get her to this point and he might've just ruined it.

"Alright. I think it would be good." He smiled at her before taking back the water she was drinking and setting off again.

"Come on then, let's get you moving." She groaned loudly and took a moment before chasing after him.

Letting her eye line stray from Jasper's back, she finally took in her surroundings. They had been to this park several times, but she felt that she had finally gotten to the point where she could focus on something other than her breathing.

It was gorgeous. Trees lined the path they were on, creating a tunnel that let in almost the perfect amount of light. Every few steps there was a tree covered in blossoms that fluttered to the ground at a particularly strong breeze.

At every crossroads they had come to, there was a bollard marking which path was what, but Jasper didn't need to look anymore. And Penelope trusted him to know where he was going.

It was very hard to feel the underlying grief under the shelter of nature. Maybe that's why he brought her here, or why he comes here himself.

Sucking in a rather painful breath, she sped up so that she could run next to him. A little breathless, she smiled up at him, he looked so peaceful.

"Why do you come to this park?" He smiled and shook his head, she had tried before to stop their runs by asking questions. But this time she didn't show any sign of stopping.

"My dad and I used to come here. There was a kids park around here that he used to drop me off at as he ran around. I loved it, have a lot of happy memories." She nods, barely keeping his pace.

"He sounds like a good man, your dad."

"Yeah, you'd think. That was until he dropped me off at that park and then never came back for me. I avoided this place for years." She was silent and for a moment he felt like he had shared too much, until a comforting hand was placed on his shoulder as they continued to run on. "I made my own happy memories here, that's what counts. Can't let that man ruin this place for me."

"That's.. good. It's a good mindset, and it's clearly worked." Her hand slipped away and he looked down at her. Forehead wrinkled, and a little distant, maybe he did say too much.

"What about you? We didn't actually know anything about your parents, we could only ever connect you to your cousin." She stopped frowning and rubbed her forehead, it had started to hurt. Could be a headache, but it's probably from frowning a little too much.

"I don't know my dad that well. But I always assumed he was the worst person to have ever walked this fucking planet." She could feel herself being watched and forced herself to breathe. It was hard to run and be emotional at the same time. "Now, though, when I think back. I don't actually remember a lot of the bad stuff surrounding him. I'm not sure, probably spent too much time having adventures and now I'm looking for something that isn't there."

"We could search him up if you want?" She whipped her head towards him so fast it actually hurt for a moment.

"We could?"

"Of course. It can't be that hard to find him, when we're settled at Torchwood we can look for him. Now come on, we're getting slower."

He sped up and Penelope tried to keep up with him, mind reeling at the thought that she could meet her dad in her own universe. Could she finally figure out what the hell happened with her mother?