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It was one of those days when Chris was bored out of his mind. He was leaning back in his chair, fiddling with a pen and had his boots resting on the desk in front of him. Shirley had already told him off several times for distracting her in some way, but there was nothing better to do.
UNIT was relatively quiet. There wasn’t a crisis. All regenerations of the Doctor were off-planet, so they weren’t bringing the usual mayhem and destruction that followed them. Chris had finished all his training. And perhaps most importantly, Kate had been pulled into government meetings all morning, needing to calm twitchy politicians who had caught whispers of a possible alien uprising on the Welsh border.
So, Chris was left to twiddle his thumbs until Kate got to leave her meeting or something exciting happened. As much as he didn’t want a crisis, as he had plans after work, he was dreading being bored all day.
“Chris! Have you seen mum?” Gordy asked, walking up to the soldier.
“She’s in an emergency meeting with the defence secretary,” Chris responded, dropping his feet to the ground on instinct—Gordy’s tone too much like his mother’s. Then looked up at the younger man, brows furrowed. “She messaged you this morning that she had to cancel lunch.”
Gordy pulled his phone out of his pocket, showing the smashed screen. “Dropped it when I got off the train this morning. I dropped by the house, but you’d both left already.”
“I’m sorry—did he just say you’d both left? Why would you be at Kate’s?” Shirley interrogated from beside them. “Shirley Anne Bingham.” She smiled up at the man, holding her hand out.
“Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, and because they live together?” Gordy said cautiously, shaking Shirley’s hand. He frowned when he noticed Chris wincing. He’d clearly just stuck his foot in it.
“Gordy! What are you doing here?” Kate’s voice sounded from behind them as she entered the Ops room. She was visually tired from having to reassure government officials, but her face had brightened on seeing her son.
“My phone broke, so I didn’t see your message.” He accepted the hug from his mother.
“Circling back to what your son just said. You and Chris live together?” Shirley looked between the two, raising her eyebrow as Kate faltered. “How long have you two even been dating?”
“Shit, they don’t know? I am so sorry,” Gordy mumbled apologetically, keeping his head lowered and hoping his mother wouldn’t be too mad.
“A while. We didn’t feel the need to put an announcement in the weekly briefing; it’s not a big deal,” Kate stated, rolling her eyes—whether at her son being the one to let the cat out of the bag or Shirley’s need to know everything, she hadn’t decided.
She had hoped that by downplaying it and not reacting, Shirley would be less interested. She didn’t take into account that this was Shirley, and the scientific advisor would do anything to find out about things she could later use to tease people or for blackmail...
“A while!? That’s all you’re giving me? I just found out you and Chris are seeing each other, living together, and he knows your son, all in the space of less than five minutes, and all you are giving me is ‘a while’?” The advisor looked at her Commander incredulously.
Kate glared at her son as he let out a snort. He was obviously finding how they were handling the situation amusing. Gordy raised his hands in a placating gesture, gesturing at Shirley, who was waiting for an answer.
The couple made eye contact, silently communicating how honest to be. They hadn’t planned on letting the team know about their relationship any time soon. They weren’t even trying to hide it; it just wasn’t something they felt needed sharing with colleagues. Neither of them had let it affect their work to the extent that no one suspected anything, so it wasn’t a problem. With a slight nod of Kate’s head, it was Chris who answered.
“We’ve been living together for almost a year, and started dating seven months before that.” He kept his face blank, anticipating the potential indignation at hiding it from the team.
Shirley spluttered in shock. She knew they got on well and they often joked he was the Commander’s pet, but she hadn’t expected them to have been together for over a year and a half. For once, she didn’t even know what to say; she just sat there staring at Chris, confusedly.
Letting Shirley process the information, Kate turned to Gordy, nudging him with her elbow. “You never did tell me what brought on this unexpected visit…”
“Can’t a son visit his wonderful mother?” Gordy teased, hooking his arm around her shoulders. At Kate’s unimpressed stare, eyebrows raised with suspicion, he sighed. “Fine, my stepfather kindly agreed to take me shopping after work. I need a suit and asked Chris for help.”
Shirley snorted, finally finding her voice. “Stepfather, seriously? He’s closer in age to you than Kate!” Teasing, she could do.
“He’s treated mum, my sister and me better than any of the previous douches, so I’d be proud to call him my stepdad,” Gordy defended. He’d felt how his mum had tensed against him and seen Chris clench his hands at his sides.
Shirley backed away with her hands raised and an impressed look gracing her facial features. They chose to ignore Shirley’s mumble about Kate calling Chris daddy under her breath as she exited the room.
***
The next day, after Gordy had left to go back to his own home, the couple were curled up on their sofa. The fire crackled in the hearth, and an old film was playing on the television; neither was paying much attention to it.
Kate was leaning against Chris’ chest, glass of wine in her hand, deep in thought. Something didn’t feel quite right about his shopping trip with Gordy yesterday. There wasn’t anything obviously wrong or suspicious—Gordy had bought a suit—but something wasn’t sitting well with her. She was relieved that Gordy had not only accepted but also approved of Chris. However, that didn’t explain why he would ask him to go suit shopping. Chris rarely wore suits. When he did, all he would do was complain, even if he did look ridiculously attractive in them.
“Why did Gordy ask you to help with his suit?” She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“I’m not sure. Maybe it was an excuse to show that he was accepting me, or to make you happy that we can spend time alone with each other?” Chris shrugged and took a sip of his wine.
“I know that, though. His rant at Shirley shows how much he likes you. He’s dragged you to the football before,” Kate pointed out. She shifted to look up at him, eyebrows furrowed.
Chris had to stop himself from fidgeting, knowing she was already suspicious of him. “I’m not sure, babe; you’d have to ask him. It was nice to see him, though. He seems happier in his new job.” He hated that he was throwing Gordy under the bus, but he was much more equipped to lie convincingly to Kate.
“You’re right, he does seem happier,” Kate murmured, turning back to rest on his chest. She was still suspicious, but willing to let it go for now.
Relief flooded Chris, thankful that she was letting it go. He could feel the perspiration that would have given him away; it would have been that, or he’d have broken under the pressure of her gaze first.
The ring box still lay safely hidden at the back of his bedside table for now. He just had to make it through to Saturday without giving anything away.