Born of Fire (Doctor Who AU)

Chapter 7 Date Night

"Stevo, can you hand me the spanner, it's right there." Daniel's voice echoed from inside the pod's bulkhead. He stretched his hand out behind him, waiting for Steve to slap the tool against his palm.

The spanner stung as it smacked, surgeon style against his palm. "Bollocks, not that hard! Damn, " he yelped, as he struck his head turning around.

"Sorry," an unexpected feminine voice echoed in the narrow confines of the conduit.

"Um, sorry for the language," he apologised, rubbing his head whilst trying to back out so that he could face her "Hi. What are you doing here?" he asked. His tentative smile matched the shy smile returned by Rose.

"S'alright, I've heard worse. I thought I should check on you. It's been two weeks -- and -- this is my case. You write very thorough reports, but in-person inspections are a part of my job."

"Right," he answered as he wiped his hands on his overalls. "Well, Agent Tyler, inspect away." Arms crossed, he leaned against the bulkhead opening and stayed firmly in professional mode. "With a bit of luck, we'll have power to the computer by tomorrow. We can bring up the schematics, and maybe, finally, get in the cockpit." 

"Good, that's good, innit?" She peeked inside the opening at the mass of cables laying everywhere, and then straightened to meet his gaze then glanced on the way out. "Can we -- I don't know, maybe, go for a walk?"

"Um, yeah, sure. It's almost time for lunch anyway. Watch your head on the way out."

Daniel took her hand and led the way out of the cramped interior. It amazed him how such a tall race used such cramped escape shuttles. They managed to work back out of the wreckage to find six curious, grinning techs staring at them. Suddenly Rose pulled her hand from his "Em, Steve," Daniel said. "I'm -- that is, Agent Tyler and I. We're -- gonna grab lunch -- a bit early. You and the others try to trace the patch signature and then you can, em -- you know -- kick off."

"Right, okay. I'll run a quick trace, and you enjoy --whatever. Just, Boss, your monitor ...." Steve tapped his own wrist nodding toward the band on Daniel's wrist.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll be back," he said nodding toward the warehouse door.

The light breeze from a fan caught the scent of her shampoo mixed with her perfume, reminding him how much he'd missed her. He contemplated taking her hand. He imagined the stunned looks of others whilst running across the quad with her. He was too much a coward. He kept one eye on her as they walked like brother and sister toward the door, hoping she would reach for his hand again. He couldn't read her anymore. Maybe she thought that it made her look less like a boss if they caught her in such a simple act of holding his hand, or maybe she was a coward too.

Whatever her reason, she walked straight toward the exit even picking up her pace out of the warehouse. He stayed next to her not caring if the guys saw the small grin on his face when he pushed the door open to follow her outside to the warm, bright spring day. They made their way across the quadrangle to the employee gardens. They found a table under one of the trees, grateful for its shade. He waited for her to pick a side before sitting down to face her. He smiled when Rose waved at a young woman. He hoped the woman was a friend, hopefully even a confidant. She looked so lonely in this world. A woman yelling his name made her sit up and take notice.

"Looks like you're getting to know people. She seems a little overly enthusiastic, though, doesn't she. Waving hello like that? Maybe, it's her red hair," Rose said.

"That's just Constance," Daniel answered the questioning look on her face. "What's wrong with her red hair, I like it. She's very nice." He sniffed deeply. "I think she fancies me," he said waggling his eyebrows.