Oh, fantastic...

[timelord_lastof]

Sometimes, entrances do not begin with an opening door.

Sometimes, they begin with a low-pitched whirring (which doesn't entirely describe the sound, but it's impossible to understand unless you've heard it anyway) and a flashing blue light

Comments

[theresme]

Rose would hear that sound if she were five miles away. It probably comes, partially, from travelling in the TARDIS - she can practically feel that it's close.

So, of course, she pulls on a pair of jeans that shows up conveniently and one of Jack's shirts (too much trouble to get back into the pink getup that took them so long to get her out of) and scrambles out and downstairs as quick as she can. Jack's a heavy sleeper, apparently.

And then she sees him. Him. Her Doctor, as he hasn't looked since the Game Station.

So... sorry, Doctor, but you have a blonde throwing herself at you and latching on... rather tightly.

"Doctor!"

[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor had really not been expecting that.

He frowns and steps back, shaking her off him - or at least, tries to. He discovers she's clinging a bit too tightly to be shaken off, so what really happens is that he takes a step back and bumps into the TARDIS, while Rose remains attached to him.

That worked well.

"Hello. Do I know you?"

[theresme]

Oh.

Well.

Maybe he doesn't recognize the top of her head?

She lets go and steps back a little, straightening the shirt that is way too big for her. "It's me. Rose."

This is her sadface, Doctor.

[timelord_lastof]

Cue the Doctor's confused face.

He doesn't recognize her. Or the name, so he's fairly sure she's not someone he should know...

So, naturally, he settles for the logical course of action and... repeats himself. "And do I know you?"

[theresme]

Rose is Not Amused.

Hee. That makes her think of Queen Victoria, and she actually almost giggles. But then she remembers that, oh yes, it's her Doctor, but he apparently hasn't met her yet.

She sighs. "It's... wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. You haven't met me yet."

Grrr. At least the endorphins from the... proper reunion with Jack are still there. Keeping her from getting too grumpy.

[timelord_lastof]

"Ah." That makes sense, obviously, or at least he seems to think it does. He's doing that 'understanding nod' thing. "Happens to me a lot."

There's a pause as he considers and frowns, and then he asks, "Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff? What kind of a sentence is that?"

He'll get to the 'who are you?' and 'how do I know you?' questions later. Just now, he's apparently more concerned with sentence construction.

[theresme]

Sheepish grin.

"Um... you kinda regenerated about six months ago? You're a little more..." Spastic? Puppy-like? "Quirky."

[timelord_lastof]

"Oh." Frown. "Well, that's disappointing."

But apparently not too much, because he gets over it in the space of about two seconds. "How'd I meet you, then? Don't worry about messing up the timeline. I'm a Time Lord, I know what I'm doing, and anyway, I've met myself more times than I can count. Mostly because it gets complicated, remembering it from multiple timelines..."

[theresme]

Rose laughs. Yeah, that's her Doctor. "Um... there was this living plastic that was trying to take over Earth, and I worked in a shop, and I was down in the basement and I got cornered by shop window dummies, and you grabbed my hand and got me out."

Beat.

"And then you blew the building up."

[timelord_lastof]

"Sounds interesting. Can't wait to see it."

He smiles at her brightly, and then steps around her, surveying the Inn. "Where's this, then? The TARDIS keeps getting turned around lately, and between you and me, I think she might be going a little daft in her old age."

Not that the TARDIS is that old, relatively speaking. Or that he even means it. But the TARDIS is pretty much his only friend right now, and all he's got. She's as much a person to him as anyone else - which means she gets teased as well. She doesn't ever seem to mind.

[theresme]

Rose steps around the Doctor to look at the TARDIS, touch the doors, and then lean against it with a fond smile. Really, she's had a special bond with the TARDIS ever since she looked into its heart - not surprising, when you think about it. She loves her, probably more than anyone not the Doctor has.

But that's pure speculation.

"I'm... not entirely sure," Rose admits. "It was supposed to be New York in the 1950's. For me. I think someone said it was outside of space and time." She shrugs. "It's interesting, at least."

And, y'know, Jack's here.

[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor shakes his head, frowning at the Inn. "This is not outside of space and time. That's what's called the Void, and it doesn't have tables and chairs and windows and all that."

He walks to one of those windows to look out. "And snow!" he exclaims, apparently pleased by that. "They don't have snow outside of space and time."

[theresme]

Rose rolls her eyes. "Well, wherever it is, it's between a lot of different universes, and time apparently stops in your world while you're here. Or it just lets you out right when you left, either way."

[timelord_lastof]

"Huh." He's still staring out at the snow, as if that's the most interesting thing about this whole Inn thing. Or maybe it's just that he hasn't seen snow in a while, the places he's been traveling. That's a possibility too.

"But why is it? Places like this don't just appear, you know, they get..." He frowns as a thought occurs to him. "...Created."

[theresme]

Rose looks around thoughtfully. "Huh. Never though of that. I've only been here a few hours, though." Frown. "This time. I think I've been here before, but I'm not sure."

[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor stares outside for a minute longer, looking thoughtful. And then you can practically see the lightbulb going off.

"You know what? So have I!"

He spins away from the window, beaming in an ear-to-ear grin. "I've been here a lot. And you," he says, turning to point at the TARDIS. "You shouldn't be playing with our memories like that. For one thing, it's very impolite."