Ian/Barbara

“So you were out on some sort of date?” chided the Doctor.

“Of course not,” said Susan. “Ian would never go out on a date.”

“Why not?”

She stared at me in horror.

“No, it wasn’t a date, but you were out with a woman,” said Barbara, cold fury in her eyes.

She was angry because I’d worried them, I thought. “We were talking about books and physics and teaching. Hypatia is a teacher.”

“Hypatia?” said Barbara. “Oh, Ian. How could you be so stupid?”

I was surprised by her tone. “I’m sorry, I should have let you all know where I was.”

“I don’t care where you were,” said Barbara. “Of all the women.”

“Barbara has every right to be jealous,” said the Doctor.

“I’m not jealous.”

I would have made a joke but Barbara grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the next shelf of scrolls. I don’t think she thought anything of it at the time, taking my hand like that. Nor did I. We were just good friends. But looking back there was the beginning of something more. That’s why she was so furious when weeks later I was so foolish.