b0nes

Spring

"Be patient with her," Shirley had whispered before she introduced you to the blonde on the sofa. "she's had a rough year."

Haven't we all? You'd wanted to say, but you bit your tongue.

It had been eight months or so since you'd watched your beloved (if ancient) car get crushed beneath a rusted shipping container that had fallen from the sky. A few weeks later, you'd lost your job. Well, you'd been made redundant on account of the company you worked for having to fork out for so many home insurance claims it couldn't function. It wasn't personal, they told you. But as you stood outside the central London office with a brown box of miscellaneous stationary and three plastic succulents and answered the phone to your girlfriend telling you she was getting on a train to the Cotswolds to "find herself", it really did feel like a cosmic joke.

"It was all that shit falling from the sky, Y/N," she'd said, her voice barely audible over the tannoy announcements and the click of her vape. "Makes you think, you know? That maybe...maybe we're all just shit falling from the sky."

At least you'd paid ahead on the new allotment. When you'd finally managed to clear the remaining plastic debris, it was almost picturesque. At least it would be, if you'd managed to plant anything. So far all the plot contained was a cracked lawn chair, which did a marvellous job of keeping upright as you slumped in it, evening after evening, watching the sun go down over the rooftops, fag in hand, sobbing.

So when your neighbour Shirley invited you over for a dinner party and introduced you by claiming you were a green thumb, you didn't feel particularly prepared.

The woman on the sofa looked up at you with a combination of boredom and disappointment.

"This is who I mentioned earlier, Kate - the one with the little allotment just down the way."

Kate, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart as you soon found out, didn't seem interested in small talk. When Shirley left you two to get acquainted, she cleared her throat to mask a sigh. You sipped your drink. The seconds were painful.

"So...you like allotments?" you ventured, immediately wanting the floor to swallow you up. Kate glanced at you for long enough to give you a pitying look.

"Used to keep one, a few years ago."

You nodded. "Veggies?"

"Yes."

She took a long, shallow sip of wine. Mercifully, more guests arrived.

She only looked at you properly when the first course was finished. Soup. It wasn't the best, but Lawrence had clearly tried and that was what mattered. As you dabbed away a speck of seasonless pureed tomato, she glanced across the chaotic table of claret bottles and plastic foliage and gave you a curt nod.

"Tell me what you grow."

Her voice wasn't quite bored, but you felt like any answer you gave would be a disappointment. You opened your mouth but Shirley piped up from the head of the table.

"She's amazing! Marrows, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes..."

You blushed.

"Not for ages, Shirl'. I haven't quite got the new plot set up yet."

Kate eyed you over her glass.

"You'll want to crack on if you want to get any decent summer harvests." she said dryly, her expression unreadable. You felt yourself blush deeper.

"Noted."

"Don't waste it." she added.

The table shifted with vague discomfort. You frowned.

"I won't. Thanks for the input."

Kate's eyes narrowed. You drowned the rest of your wine.

Lawrence decided it was the best time to announce the somehow even less seasoned second course.

As you pulled your coat on to leave later that evening, Shirley caught you.

"Sorry about Kate, she's just a bit..."

"Bloody rude?"

"She's...well, like I said, she's had a rough time of it." She ran a hand through her hair with an exasperated sigh. "Really rough."

You softened an inch, glancing back to the sofa where Kate had returned, nursing a mug of tea. She looked smaller somehow.

"Give me a moment." you said thoughtfully, almost to yourself.

***

You didn't think she'd actually turn up. When you turned the corner to your little allotment and saw a blonde stranger in a wax coat tilling soil, you almost had a heart attack. Upon realising it was Kate, your pulse didn't settle.

"This isn't the best location, you know," she said gruffly, wellington booted and brisk. "you'll barely catch the sun when you need it. And those nettles aren't going to be easy to shift."

"Well, good morning to you too."

She didn't humour you, instead handing you a pair of gloves and some shears.

"Cut them back first," she said, nodding at the explosion of nettles on the eastern side of the plot. "we can compost the heads, then dig up the roots."

You grinned, dazed.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking lettuces along here, beans over there, tomatoes would be a treat but unless you've got a greenhouse hidden in that backpack, we might have to go without."

"Do I get any say in this?"

"You had your say when you admitted to wasting this entire plot whilst paying for it. Ridiculous."

You scoffed, slipping on your gloves.

"Got any strong opinions on beetroots?" you asked, starting to hack haphazardly at the nettles. Kate frowned.

"Never had a decent borscht anywhere west of Minsk, but they should grow beautifully with enough attention and - oh, be careful."

You hissed, rubbing your nettle-stung wrist. Kate sighed, stepping over with exasperated efficiency and leaning down to pick dock leaves from the tangle of brambles. She held them to your reddened wrist, rubbing until the sting eased.

Up close, she smelled of magnolia and too little sleep. Her hands were strong, freckled. When she released your wrist, you flexed your fingers.

"There," she said softly, discarding the dock leaf. "Back to it."

When you got home, you noticed her fingerprint smudge in dark mud. You didn't wash it off right away.

***

The rain came all at once on a Saturday morning.

Kate was already at the allotment, of course, hand on a shovel, hood up in a vain attempt at keeping dry. Raindrops slid down her nose and pirouetted into the soil.

"Lovely day for it!" you called as you hopped over the fence. She didn't respond.

When you saw she wasn't digging, you paused. Petrichor hung heavily in the air. Her knuckles were white.

You went gingerly to her side and poked her arm. "You alright?"

She sniffed, her free hand immediately rising to wipe away the tears that were cascading, her expression mortified. You blinked.

"Hey...it's fine. Just me."

Your hand hovered above hers as she gripped the shovel before settling on the cool skin, thumb tracing her knuckles.

She shook her head at nothing in particular before sticking her shovel deep into the earth. You tended the seedlings in silence.

Summer

"You never told me how your date went," Kate said with a teasing lilt. "What was her name again? Doreen?"

"Darlene. Who the bloody hell do you know called Doreen in 2026?"

"You're avoiding the question."

"Alright, alright. It was fine. Quiet, actually. We had cocktails, and..."

"Bull and shit." Kate grinned. "You look miserable, tell me what really happened."

She was collecting fat lettuces, scraping off the most offensive looking dirt from the outer leaves. A streak of sunscreen lingered on her neck, just below her earlobe. You smiled faintly.

"I don't know. She was pretty. Works over in Hackney, does competitive paddle boarding on the weekends. Good cook, apparently. Seemed really keen to see my flat."

"Oh, I bet."

"So that's when I panicked, naturally. Told her I was up early for work in the morning. And she reminded me I'm still unemployed."

"She saw through your web of deceit, how shocking."

"I know, right?"

You slumped down in one of the two lawn chairs that now occupied the corner of the plot.

"Have you ever considered...getting out?" you asked idly. Kate laughed, that gravelly, unexpected bark that made your stomach flutter every time you heard it.

"No, I mean..." you grinned. "Meeting people, having fun...enjoying someone's company. How long has it been, since...?" you trailed off as you watched her face fall, stomach dropping. She cleared her throat. You swallowed.

"Fuck, sorry. Not what I meant."

Kate was silent for a while, then she turned to you.

"No, it is what you meant. That's alright. I suppose it's a fair question. It's been a while since I had a date. If I'm being honest, I'll say the thought of it makes me want to fall out of a plane again."

"Oh, come on, don't say...wait, again?"

Kate laughed once more, softer this time. Then she paused.

"I know Shirley told you about him. He was...he...he's missed." she swallowed dryly. "I miss him."

You stayed silent.

"I think I'm just...well, I'll manage." she said finally, her voice edged with glass like it had been the night you met her.

She ripped up a particularly unctuous lettuce, and held it up like a prize.

***

You'd been chewing the runner beans for several minutes before admitting defeat, politely discarding them into a napkin.

"How are they?" Lawrence asked anxiously. "Last time I did beans Shirl' told me they were basically mushy peas, so I didn't cook them for as long this time."

"Or at all." Kate mumbled, her face contorted.

"They're nice, Lawrence, thank you," you said quickly, washing away the taste with more chardonnay.

"What a waste of our bloody beans," Kate hissed after dinner, nudging you enough to make you giggle like a schoolgirl at the back of a classroom. "next time, I'm cooking."

"Don't be mean, Kate."

"I will be mean! The man doesn't even hide the fact he doesn't like me. The beans just felt personal."

You snorted into your wine glass. Shirley smiled at you from across the room.

"So, you and Kate?" she whispered later. You rolled your eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing. Just nice to see you both smiling."

Autumn

The grey skies made you both short tempered. When the caterpillars ate the cabbages, you fought.

"If you'd put netting down like we discussed..."

"You told me you would do it, Kate. You forgot."

It wasn't about the cabbages, of course. The caterpillars could have eaten the ground beneath your feet for all you cared at that moment.

"Do you really think I spend all my time building my schedule around you and this bloody allotment?"

It stung more than it should. You blinked, wrapping your arms around yourself. Kate pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm going home," she sighed. "Put down the netting. Maybe you can save the rest of the cabbages."

You spun on your heel as she breezed past you, suddenly livid.

"You're not a commander here, Kate. Just stop it, will you?"

She paused at the gate, then left without another word. She didn't turn up the next day. The caterpillars ate the rest of the cabbages, and you cried as you dug up the roots and threw them to the compost.

When you found her in the allotment a week later picking blackberries from an overhanging hedge, she didn't say anything. But there was a packet of custard creams left on your lawn chair.

***

"There now!" Kate trilled triumphantly, pointing to the middle of a tangle of leaves. "What did I tell you?"

You peered into the green murk, the fading sunlight making you squint. In the middle of the patch was a solitary orange shape.

"One pumpkin?"

"Don't say it like that! Do you know how long it took me to get a pumpkin patch that wasn't completely overrun by slugs? I thought I'd never see the day. Now, be useful and haul it up here for me."

You sighed, giving the pumpkin a firm pull that resulted in a satisfying pop, the stem cracking. Kate knocked on the orange globe, smiling so hard her dimples appeared.

"I think it's my influence that helped her grow," you said with a smirk, eyeing Kate's besotted expression as you patted the pumpkin like a prized show cat. "I've created a nurturing and inspiring environment."

Kate scoffed.

"Come on then, Alan Titchmarsh."

You'd built a small bonfire for Halloween night, the air thick with woodsmoke and unspoken things, the sun dipping below the horizon and painting the allotment with burning strokes.

On your lawn chairs, you drank Kate's favourite whisky from chipped mugs.

"Are you going to carve her?"

Kate looked at you, blinking. "Sorry?"

"Our little pumpkin."

"Absolutely not! She's perfect as she is. I won't deface her."

You laughed, taking a long sip, the warming liquor making you snuggle deeper into your thick jacket. The burning bracken in the firepit spat into the night. Kate looked wistful.

"It's peaceful." she whispered.

As Kate moved her chair closer to yours, your fingertips brushed. Neither of you flinched. By the time you realised you were holding her hand, the fire had burned low and the plot was covered in a blanket of night.

Winter

You watched the robin do a little tap dance across the cracked soil, pausing for a moment before triumphantly pulling a worm from the depths. Kate dipped her biscuit, nibbling the edges with precision. You cleared your throat lightly.

"What are you doing for Christmas?"

It was a harmless enough question, but you saw the way her shoulders squared with brief irritation.

"I'll go to Gordy and Lisa, I suppose," she said, sipping tea.

"Oh, nice."

"Mm. They've given the spare room an en-suite, all grey paint and Baylis and Harding. Very a la mode, I'm sure."

You pulled a face. Kate snorted quietly.

"I shouldn't be such a snob. Lisa tries hard with me, always has. But..."

"But you're hoping something falls from the sky and you're tragically called away?"

Kate smiled thoughtfully. "Perhaps."

You finished your mugs of tea in silence.

Later, as you were clearing bracken from the fences, you felt the words leave your lips before you could rear them back.

"You could always spend Christmas with me, you know."

You heard her pause her work, shearers hovering in mid-air. Seconds stretched before she scoffed with a level of warmth you didn't expect.

"I could, could I?"

Your stomach fluttered.

"Why not? My folks are cruising around Greek islands. My plan was to sit around in my underwear eating Quality Street."

Her eyes travelled down your body when you said that, and for a whisper of a moment you were certain you saw her cheeks flush, the corner of her mouth curled upwards.

"No other plans but that?"

"Well, I'll probably do some crying for good measure."

She smiled, turning back to the bracken. You waited.

"So," you pressed after a while. "How about it?"

"Scantily clad chocolate consumption and minimal responsibilities? Sounds too good to be true."

"And yet, it could all be yours."

She laughed then, that laugh that seemed to carry over everything else. You watched her decant her gardening gloves, her breath evaporating in the still air. She lay her hands across the apples of her cheeks, gasping at the cold.

And then she crossed the plot, standing before you so she could cup your face.

"Look at you," she mused. "like a little cherry."

You blushed, turning your face away in mock-disgust. She looked at you thoughtfully.

"The truth is, Y/N...I might go away for Christmas. Do some thinking."

Your smile faltered.

"Oh."

"I was planning on Dorset. Scotland, maybe. Somewhere quiet."

"Right."

"By myself, you know?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Y/N?"

You swallowed hard, the lump in your throat clutching your voice with sticky hands, forcing you to nod silently. Kate scanned your face, her eyes misty.

"I'm glad we met." she said lightly.

Her earnestness hit you square in the chest. You wanted to cling to her and breathe her in, but she slipped her hands back into her coat pockets, and all at once the moment was gone, pooling into the icy sky like smoke from a chimney, unreachable.

***

You got her message on Christmas Eve. Fresh from the shower, hair wet and wrapped in a towel, her name popped up on your phone for the first time in all the months you'd known her.

I'm leaving tonight.

Your stomach twisted, and your fingers hovered above the screen, all at once wanting to call her, to scream, to crack the phone in two. And then it buzzed again.

things you’ll find here:

new who + misc

the diary of river song (series 1-12)

the death and life of river song (series 1)

the tenth doctor and river song (series 1)

the tenth doctor adventures (series 1-3)

the ninth doctor adventures (series 1 + series 4 vol. 1)

unit incursions (episodes 8.04 + 8.05)

unit nemesis (series 4)

missy (series 1-4)

the eighth of march (3.01 + 3.02)

masterful + terror of the master

rose tyler: the dimension cannon (series 1-3)

the paternoster gang (series 1-5)

master! (series 1-3)

time lord victorious (008)

once and future (005)

call me master (series 1)

tenth doctor adventures: dalek universe (3.02)

classic who

the eighth doctor adventures (series 1-4)

stranded series (series 1-3)

doom coalition (series 1-4) (exc. 3.02.... working on it)

dark eyes (series 1-4)

ravenous (series 1-4)

classic main range (134, 135 + 168)

companion chronicles: the second doctor (vol 1-3 / series 10, 12 + 14)

gallifrey (series 1-3)

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You watched as the numbers counted down as the elevator . The second you hear the ding of the elevator a voice calls out to Kate. You see Kate tense just slightly, and you feel her hand make contact with your back.

You feel the heat of her hand seep through your sweater and a man in his mid 60's,-receding hairline and all- comes into your view.

"Kate, it good to see you." The man bellowed out. You shuffled closer to Kate nervously, still twisting the right around your finger. "and who is this sweet young thing?"

You swallow roughly as you feel Kate's hand move to your waist and press you firmly into her side.

"This is my wife." Kate tells the man and you rest your head on her shoulder. You stop twisting the ring and try to find another way to ground yourself. You place your hand on Kate's hand still resting on your waist.

You just had to play along. You could do that. You're just undercover, yeah that's what it is.

"Wife? When did you get married?" The man questioned. You and Kate look at each other. One of you needed to come up with something quick.

"Just a couple months ago. Kate's been so busy with work this was the only chance we had to get away. It was kind of just a spur of the moment thing." You tell the man as calmly as you could. It wasn't technically a lie.

And besides you didn't even know who he was. Kate seemed to know him, but it looked like she didn't like him very much. You could understand why, he was quite rude.

"Newlyweds. Congratulations." After that you stopped listen to him. He just rambled on and on about things that you couldn't bring yourself to care about. All the while, Kate's hand never left your waist.

You unconsciously buried your head into her shoulder.

"Something the matter?" Kate whispers

"I'm just tired." You mumble, almost incoherently.

Kate starts to rub small circles on your waist, in an attempt to comfort you.

"We should get up to our room," Kate tells the man as she reaches over to call the elevator back. "She's tired."

The man nods and wanders off into the well-dressed crowd. Kate ushers you into the elevator and you grab your suitcase dragging it inside with you. Kate follows you in and hits one of the buttons in the elevator.

"Do you want to explain everything now?" You ask her as you lean against the back wall of the elevator.

"Right, these things tend to be under tight lock and key. They're very strict about who we bring." The elevator stops on your floor. Kate steps out first and you follow her down the short hallway.

"I usually come alone, but with the non-human sighting in the area. I thought it was best to have some backup." She looks over her shoulder at you.

"I told them I would be bring my significant other," She slides the key card into the slot and the door unlocks. "Most of the men bring their wives anyways. So they must have thought nothing of it."

Kate lets you into the room first. It was bigger than you were used to, not that you left home much anyways. You were very much a home body.

"That's honestly a little concerning, but I guess most of their wives don't do much work." You tell Kate as you tuck your bags next to the sofa against the wall. You glance around the room, only one bed. Makes sense, you're supposed to be newlyweds.

"That would be a correct assumption." Kate closes the door behind her and places her bags next to yours.

You pull your sweater sleeves over your hands, trying to think of any way you could avoid sharing the bed with Kate, pretending to be her wife was already proving to be to much for your heart to handle.

"Everything alright?" Kate asked, you were more anxious than usual today. She's obviously noticed.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just there's one bed and I-" You fumble with your covered hands. "I can just sleep on the sofa." You tell her as you look over you shoulder at the small sofa. You could sleep on it, but your body would hate you for it come morning.

"You don't have to do that. The sofa is small, you would be up all night." Kate says and you hear that tone in her voice. That tone meant arguing would be useless. You nod you head and start to pick at the fuzz on your sweater.

"Do you want to use the bathroom first?" She ask, you hadn't even realized that she had started to unpack her things.

"Um, no you can go ahead and use it." She nods and walks into the bathroom with her toiletries bag in hand.

You slip your shoes off, and settle onto the sofa with your tablet, going through the file Kate had gone through on the train.

You looked through the blurry pictures of the non-human, trying to make out what it could be. When Kate said the report was vague, she wasn't kidding. You kept zooming to the small aspects of it.

Something in your tired brain clicks. You pull up to of the pictures side by side. It definitely wasn't a Zygon. It was some kind of shape shifter, and it looked like someone familiar. You couldn't place it though.

At least you had figured out what it was. You set your tablet down and the sofa next to you.

You lean your head back and look up a the ceiling. A week of sharing a bed with Kate, you don't think you'd survive.

You sit up and dig your phone out of the front pocket of your weekender bag and the first thing you see is a message from Mel.

—> So, how is it going?

It's going as well as it can be <—

How is everything at HQ? <—

—> Things are running smoothly.

—> It's late, I'll let you get to bed. See you when you get back! Have fun!

You place your phone into your lap. The sound of the bathroom door unlocking draws your attention. Kate walks out in a white robe, her hair dripping wet.

"You can use the bathroom now." She gestures behind her and you nod, trying not to stare.

You grab your own toiletries bag and rush into the bathroom. The second the door was closed you pressed your back to it.

Kate in a robe with wet hair. That's an image that won't be leaving your mind anytime soon.

You undress and step into the shower. You opted for a cold shower.

You were in the shower for what seemed like forever, you were running the entire day over in your head. Her not pushing you off on the 2nd train, she probably knew you were tired. Her pressing you into her side when that weird man came over to talk to you both, it was just her playing the part. Her being all too comfortable rubbing circles into your waist to try and ground you. That you couldn't come up with an excuse for her doing that.

A knock on the door startled you out of your thoughts.

"Everything all right in there?" It was Kate. How long had you been in here?

"Yeah, I'm fine," You peak your head out of the shower. You had forgotten to bring your clothes. Your eyes fall to the door you had forgotten to lock it. "Uh, Kate. Could you bring me my luggage. I forgot to grab my clothes, The door's unlocked.

You turn the hot water on, trying to get the glasses to steam up so you could at least try to hide from her.

You heard the door open and a slide wheels on the tile. You suitcase. Then the click of the door, telling you she had closed it.

You turn the shower off and dig through your suitcase to find your pajamas. A big t-shirt and a pair of shorts. You dry your hair and head out, putting your suitcase in ti's original place.

The sun has set, the only light on is the one on the nightstand next to Kate, who has her glasses on. Her pajamas are simple and stripped. The glow of the tablet illuminates her face.

You walk over to the left side of the bed, and slide in under the sheets.

"I was looking over the file. I think I figure out what the non-human is." You tell Kate as she looks at you. "I was looking at the pictures and I think it's some kind of shape shifter."

"Really?" Kate raises an eyebrow. "What made you come to that conclusion?" You hold your hand out and she hands you the tablet. If there was one thing that you were surely confident in, it was your work.

She hands you the tablet and you pull the pictures up side by side. The same way you had it earlier

"See, the pictures are blurry and rushed like someone was running away from the subject, and it looks like it's changing." You hand the tablet back to her and she scans over the pictures.

"I'm glad I brought you along." She looks at you and smiles. "I'm going to send this to Melanie, and have her look at it. I'll probably stay up a little longer and see if I can find anything else." Kate tells you and you nod. You place your head on the pillows, and try to keep as much distance as possible between you two.

"I don't need you falling off the bed, you can be a little closer." Kate says and you scooch closer to her, still facing way from her.

"Goodnight Kate."

"Goodnight."

It didn't take long for you to fall asleep. The sound of Kate's breathing somehow made it so much easier to fall asleep that first night.