Smitten 2/?
“Really, Amy, feel free to stop asking…” the Doctor trailed off.
They had left the chip shop, the rain reduced to a drizzle and Amy had not stopped asking who the blond in the shop was. Rory was following beside her, quiet.
“No, but really Doctor, who was that? Because the way you both reacted to her got me thinking that maybe she was some sort of alien or sorceress or…"
At that, the Doctor turned on his heel, causing both Amy and Rory to bump into him.
“Rose…is no such thing,” his voice was low and with an edge that briefly startled Amy.
After a pause, she continued, “So, you do know her,” there was some pride at the discovery showing in her wide eyes.
This Pond sure knows how to push, he thought.
The Doctor glanced briefly at Rory who had also been startled by his sudden claim. He was back at being silent and his eyes were unfocused, his mind miles and miles away.
And Amy didn’t even notice. The Doctor sighed before turning towards the Tardis again.
This ordinary stop was meant to drive them closer together, not further apart. Leave it to his luck that he’d placed them smack in the middle of Rose’s teenage life.
He was stepping in puddles as he walked - could have stepped in a crack to the core of the earth and probably wouldn’t have noticed.
He’d just seen Rose. A young, beautiful Rose. A Rose from before he met her. It was a sight to see, that was for sure.
And she hadn’t even looked at him.
Well, that wasn’t true, she had looked at him once - but with a look of complete…lack of interest. The look was foreign. He remembered her looking at him as his Ninth and Tenth self with absolute adoration in her eyes. He hadn’t known how to name the look at the time, but had realized later on what it was…
He sighed heavily, shaking his head. It didn’t matter anymore. Feeling a pang of guilt in his hearts, he realized yet again, but for the first time in his current body, that he’d taken that look for granted.
And then there was the way she’d looked at Rory.
Instantly he chided himself for thinking the Pond’s name with such…no, he refused to accept it. It wasn’t Rory’s fault how Rose had responded to him. It was no one’s fault. How could he expect for Rose to look at him the way she’d always looked at him? She didn’t know the Doctor when she was 16 years old. And even if she did, she didn’t know this face. This face that matched her age so much better than the previous ones did.
The Doctor chuckled without humor - now it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of something.
They would just leave this time and place and he’d let go of this particular Rose memory (as he liked to term them). He had enough (he would never have enough) memories to store away for whenever he needed them.
Finally reaching the Tardis, the Doctor unlocked the door and barged in wasting no time in heading to the console - pressing buttons and lifting levers. Anything to get away from what was beyond those doors.
Amy followed him around the console, that look on her face telling him that she wasn’t done with her incessant prodding. Her dutiful fiancée pulled up the rear, eyesight more focused than before but he was still too silent, even for him. With a shooting pain in his chest, the Doctor understood that look and feeling…he remembered feeling it the first time he met her too.
This body had never touched Rose Tyler.
It had never held its hand to hers.
These arms had never encircled Rose’s body, enveloping her so tightly against him. These eyes had never seen her cry in sadness or relief.
So, if he’d never touched, seen, felt and smelled her in this skin…why did the whole menagerie of events seem to make his nerves sting, and his chest ache?
He pushed it away.
“Doctor-,” Amy started.
“Now then! Always moving on…where to next,” he yelled louder than usual, the words rushed from his mouth and he cringed briefly at the familiarity of those exact words from his previous regeneration. They attempted to drown out the oncoming questions. He smiled up to the ceiling, waiting for his new but still ol’ girl and where she’d take them to next.
Where he expected a worp worp and a ding…he got, at most, a gurgle and then quiet. His brow furrowed as he looked to the console screen. She wasn’t telling him anything - no messages were coming through. This was wrong and not just oh-look-gingerbread-house wrong (there was that pang again), it just…couldn’t be happening.
Amy leaned against the railing, “Something tells me…that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The Doctor ignored her, choosing instead to stare at another screen. He found that he wanted to look at Rory and fought each attempt at doing so.
“What’s happened?” Oh, so now he speaks, the Doctor thought, surprised and yet not at the vehemence in his thoughts.
“Well, Rory, it seems that…,” his forehead crinkled as the force dribbled out of his words, “something’s gone a bit wrong.”
At that, Amy removed herself from the railing and straight towards him, and jabbed a finger at his shoulder. He winced and looked at her, slightly afraid of the ginger-haired Pond.
“That isn’t very much information, is it Doctor?”
The Doctor moved away from her and joined Rory on the opposite side of the console…away from any future jabbing.
“I…don’t know. New Tardis! New body!” he looked at Rory, waiting for him to agree (they were blokes weren’t they? they were supposed to bond or join forces…or something). All he got was Rory’s slightly panicked and entirely confused expression.
The Doctor pushed the thoughts that rushed in just then down low in his massive brain. Instead he let the realization kick in.
These humans knew nothing of his new Tardis and body. All they knew was what the saw and not what came before.
He suddenly felt quite out of place in his own ship.
**
For the first time in this regeneration, he was tinkering underneath the console, below the clear floor. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows and his hair got into his eyes. The Ponds were sitting at the opening, watching him.
“So, what is it?” asked Amy…and not for the first time.
The Doctor was about to open his mouth when Rory’s voice stopped him, “I think I’m going to go look around.” He pulled himself up as both Amy and the Doctor stared at him, the same baffled expression shared on their faces.
“What do you mean?” the Doctor noted a twinge of a familiar something in Amy’s voice. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at the tone.
That was until he comprehended what Rory had said.
“And just where do you think you’re going? Rule number one - don’t wander off!” he hadn’t meant to shout…but there it was.
Rory looked down at him and then at Amy, “There are rules? Seriously?”
Was it so hard to accept that? No wonder no one ever listened, thought the Doctor.
“Where are you going?” The tangent wasn’t distracting Amy.
He watched the young man look at Amy with the same adoration as he had since the Doctor had met them. However, now there was hesitancy in the look - he looked eager to leave. This only made the Doctor’s hearts beat a bit faster.
Looking at Amy and then back to the Doctor, Rory said, “I just thought…we’re not going anywhere anytime soon…so, I just wanted to see…what was out there.”
Or who, the Doctor concluded.
“You could go with me…,” he suggested, looking at Amy.
She hadn’t smiled or laughed once at him, which was odd for her. Tucking a strand of ginger hair behind her ear, she finally responded, “No…no that’s fine. I’m sure you’ll be okay. Just London outside those doors.” She looked at him as if she was doing so for the first time.
“All right, won’t be long, I’ll bring us back something to eat,” he smiled down at them, bent down to give Amy a quick kiss on her forehead and then turned around to quickly walked to and through the Tardis doors.
The Doctor stared at the doors, fighting the urge to go running after Rory. He looked back to Amy who was also staring at the doors, a strange look on her face.
“Doctor?” she whispered.
He swallowed hard and croaked, “Yes?”
Her bright eyes were back on him, wide and full of…anger, confusion, or that something else - he couldn’t tell. Maybe all three.
“Who was that girl,” it was no longer a question, but a demand.
The Doctor straightened up and tugged on his bow tie.
He suddenly found that he highly disliked gingerbread houses.
This…was going to be interesting.
***
Three
They had left the chip shop, the rain reduced to a drizzle and Amy had not stopped asking who the blond in the shop was. Rory was following beside her, quiet.
“No, but really Doctor, who was that? Because the way you both reacted to her got me thinking that maybe she was some sort of alien or sorceress or…"
At that, the Doctor turned on his heel, causing both Amy and Rory to bump into him.
“Rose…is no such thing,” his voice was low and with an edge that briefly startled Amy.
After a pause, she continued, “So, you do know her,” there was some pride at the discovery showing in her wide eyes.
This Pond sure knows how to push, he thought.
The Doctor glanced briefly at Rory who had also been startled by his sudden claim. He was back at being silent and his eyes were unfocused, his mind miles and miles away.
And Amy didn’t even notice. The Doctor sighed before turning towards the Tardis again.
This ordinary stop was meant to drive them closer together, not further apart. Leave it to his luck that he’d placed them smack in the middle of Rose’s teenage life.
He was stepping in puddles as he walked - could have stepped in a crack to the core of the earth and probably wouldn’t have noticed.
He’d just seen Rose. A young, beautiful Rose. A Rose from before he met her. It was a sight to see, that was for sure.
And she hadn’t even looked at him.
Well, that wasn’t true, she had looked at him once - but with a look of complete…lack of interest. The look was foreign. He remembered her looking at him as his Ninth and Tenth self with absolute adoration in her eyes. He hadn’t known how to name the look at the time, but had realized later on what it was…
He sighed heavily, shaking his head. It didn’t matter anymore. Feeling a pang of guilt in his hearts, he realized yet again, but for the first time in his current body, that he’d taken that look for granted.
And then there was the way she’d looked at Rory.
Instantly he chided himself for thinking the Pond’s name with such…no, he refused to accept it. It wasn’t Rory’s fault how Rose had responded to him. It was no one’s fault. How could he expect for Rose to look at him the way she’d always looked at him? She didn’t know the Doctor when she was 16 years old. And even if she did, she didn’t know this face. This face that matched her age so much better than the previous ones did.
The Doctor chuckled without humor - now it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of something.
They would just leave this time and place and he’d let go of this particular Rose memory (as he liked to term them). He had enough (he would never have enough) memories to store away for whenever he needed them.
Finally reaching the Tardis, the Doctor unlocked the door and barged in wasting no time in heading to the console - pressing buttons and lifting levers. Anything to get away from what was beyond those doors.
Amy followed him around the console, that look on her face telling him that she wasn’t done with her incessant prodding. Her dutiful fiancée pulled up the rear, eyesight more focused than before but he was still too silent, even for him. With a shooting pain in his chest, the Doctor understood that look and feeling…he remembered feeling it the first time he met her too.
This body had never touched Rose Tyler.
It had never held its hand to hers.
These arms had never encircled Rose’s body, enveloping her so tightly against him. These eyes had never seen her cry in sadness or relief.
So, if he’d never touched, seen, felt and smelled her in this skin…why did the whole menagerie of events seem to make his nerves sting, and his chest ache?
He pushed it away.
“Doctor-,” Amy started.
“Now then! Always moving on…where to next,” he yelled louder than usual, the words rushed from his mouth and he cringed briefly at the familiarity of those exact words from his previous regeneration. They attempted to drown out the oncoming questions. He smiled up to the ceiling, waiting for his new but still ol’ girl and where she’d take them to next.
Where he expected a worp worp and a ding…he got, at most, a gurgle and then quiet. His brow furrowed as he looked to the console screen. She wasn’t telling him anything - no messages were coming through. This was wrong and not just oh-look-gingerbread-house wrong (there was that pang again), it just…couldn’t be happening.
Amy leaned against the railing, “Something tells me…that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The Doctor ignored her, choosing instead to stare at another screen. He found that he wanted to look at Rory and fought each attempt at doing so.
“What’s happened?” Oh, so now he speaks, the Doctor thought, surprised and yet not at the vehemence in his thoughts.
“Well, Rory, it seems that…,” his forehead crinkled as the force dribbled out of his words, “something’s gone a bit wrong.”
At that, Amy removed herself from the railing and straight towards him, and jabbed a finger at his shoulder. He winced and looked at her, slightly afraid of the ginger-haired Pond.
“That isn’t very much information, is it Doctor?”
The Doctor moved away from her and joined Rory on the opposite side of the console…away from any future jabbing.
“I…don’t know. New Tardis! New body!” he looked at Rory, waiting for him to agree (they were blokes weren’t they? they were supposed to bond or join forces…or something). All he got was Rory’s slightly panicked and entirely confused expression.
The Doctor pushed the thoughts that rushed in just then down low in his massive brain. Instead he let the realization kick in.
These humans knew nothing of his new Tardis and body. All they knew was what the saw and not what came before.
He suddenly felt quite out of place in his own ship.
**
For the first time in this regeneration, he was tinkering underneath the console, below the clear floor. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows and his hair got into his eyes. The Ponds were sitting at the opening, watching him.
“So, what is it?” asked Amy…and not for the first time.
The Doctor was about to open his mouth when Rory’s voice stopped him, “I think I’m going to go look around.” He pulled himself up as both Amy and the Doctor stared at him, the same baffled expression shared on their faces.
“What do you mean?” the Doctor noted a twinge of a familiar something in Amy’s voice. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at the tone.
That was until he comprehended what Rory had said.
“And just where do you think you’re going? Rule number one - don’t wander off!” he hadn’t meant to shout…but there it was.
Rory looked down at him and then at Amy, “There are rules? Seriously?”
Was it so hard to accept that? No wonder no one ever listened, thought the Doctor.
“Where are you going?” The tangent wasn’t distracting Amy.
He watched the young man look at Amy with the same adoration as he had since the Doctor had met them. However, now there was hesitancy in the look - he looked eager to leave. This only made the Doctor’s hearts beat a bit faster.
Looking at Amy and then back to the Doctor, Rory said, “I just thought…we’re not going anywhere anytime soon…so, I just wanted to see…what was out there.”
Or who, the Doctor concluded.
“You could go with me…,” he suggested, looking at Amy.
She hadn’t smiled or laughed once at him, which was odd for her. Tucking a strand of ginger hair behind her ear, she finally responded, “No…no that’s fine. I’m sure you’ll be okay. Just London outside those doors.” She looked at him as if she was doing so for the first time.
“All right, won’t be long, I’ll bring us back something to eat,” he smiled down at them, bent down to give Amy a quick kiss on her forehead and then turned around to quickly walked to and through the Tardis doors.
The Doctor stared at the doors, fighting the urge to go running after Rory. He looked back to Amy who was also staring at the doors, a strange look on her face.
“Doctor?” she whispered.
He swallowed hard and croaked, “Yes?”
Her bright eyes were back on him, wide and full of…anger, confusion, or that something else - he couldn’t tell. Maybe all three.
“Who was that girl,” it was no longer a question, but a demand.
The Doctor straightened up and tugged on his bow tie.
He suddenly found that he highly disliked gingerbread houses.
This…was going to be interesting.
***
Three