Rose

[dr_robchase]

There was a part of Chase that had come to believe that if you avoided a situation for long enough, you could pretend it didn't exist. That was his father's lesson to him. His mother's lesson was that you buried your head so far into a vice that you were too deep to get out when you realized it was too late (if you realized

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[unitethem]

"Hallooo-" Rose's voice echoed in the TARDIS as she walked in, pulling her hair back with a piece of elastic (salvaged from a pair of sweatpants) between her teeth. The word was a bit muddled, but it's meaning was clear enough, and not long after she'd come up the ramp only to stop, blinking.

".... You're not- Well." She smiled, and it was three sort-of-bouncy steps until she'd extended her hand. "Rose Tyler. You're..." She tipped her head to one side. "I'm going to guess, and if I'm wrong, just promise not to hold it against me for the rest of eternity, but... Rob Chase? Yeah?" He was pretty much how Jack described him, although knowing this place there were probably two blonde men who could be doing paperwork in the TARDIS.

She didn't much bother to hedge her bets on things like this, though. "Was wondering when I'd run into you - I've sort of been... avoiding the world just a bit since I got here, I'm afraid. Sorry, should have probably actually... found... you." She bit her lip, and rubbed the back of her neck with a hand, pulling a face. "Better late than never, yeah?"

[dr_robchase]

"I've probably been avoiding things in turn," he admitted with an apologetic look on his face. He felt a bit frozen yet, unable to actually offer her a smile because he was stuck wondering if he looked like a complete idiot, still sitting there with his papers and staring at Rose Tyler, again.

He was never going to get over the feeling of being completely unwanted, he figured. He hated that it didn't seem like it was going to change. "I'm Rob Chase, yeah," he agreed. "It's been a while since I've seen you."

[unitethem]

"The Doctor told me that I should meet you on day one," she admitted, and then she crouched next to him, shifting to sit, her arms around her knees. "It's been forever since I've seen you," she said, raising an eyebrow. "When-" She paused. "This is sort of... weird," she hedged, "But when I ask when you knew me, I don't really mean for... you. When... was I, that you knew me?" She leaned her head on her shoulder. "If you don't mind me asking."

She rubbed the back of her neck with one hand, trying to look less... uncomfortable and more normal.

[dr_robchase]

"There was a beach?" Chase remembered that much. He felt a little terrible about avoiding her, but the truth was that he just didn't want the drama. As much as he had grown, he still felt like the kid who nobody wanted, most of the time, and it was hard to grow out of that. "There was a beach and you were upset."

[unitethem]

"... Ah." She cleared her throat. "That... could be one of two times, but... yeah. That... that was a long time ago. Or a longer time ago, depending. But... Long time. Not really upset anymore." Which was sort-of a lie, and sort-of the truth, but Rose wasn't splitting hairs, or wanting to make a bad impression.

He was the Doctor's husband. The fact that she didn't even know which... when he'd met her- She'd assume the worst. The first one. "Although, have to say, I don't think I'll ever really get rid of the beach bits, not so long as I live here." She smiled, hoping she'd get one back from him. "But I was just holding my shopping, going into my house. I'm twenty-six. It's a bit... of a change."

[dr_robchase]

When Chase had turned up on the island, he'd been twenty-six. It seemed so long ago, especially after all the mistakes he had made. He'd felt young then. He didn't know that he was allowed to feel that young anymore and he definitely wasn't allowed to make those kinds of mistakes. "You can say that again," he exhaled a wary laugh. "Are you holding up okay?"

[unitethem]

"Me?" She seemed genuinely surprised that he'd asked. "Oh, I'm- I'm fine." It had that sort of emphasis that made it very clear that she didn't know if it was true or not, but she'd make it true, either way. "Just sort of... settling in. Getting past the whole 'leaving everything you know behind' stuff. And- I mean. Everyone who knows me - everyone who really knew me, I mean, that was all from a really long time ago. Jack. And everyone." Everyone just being the Doctor.

She nodded, and then shrugged. "You? I mean - I don't know how long it's been for you, but... you're holding up alright, too?"

[dr_robchase]

"I've had better weeks," he had to admit with a bit of a laugh. "But it's not all one thing. Sometimes, there are weeks in this place where everything seems like it's conspiring to undo you," he warned her. "And this is one of those weeks. I try to look on the bright side, but..."

Maybe he would feel better now that he'd spoken to her. "Where are you staying?"