Don't Blink - 42/?
Title: Don't Blink - 42/?
Characters: Ten, Rose
Summary: AU. What if Rose had stayed through Doomsday and was the one to end up in 1969 with the Doctor? How would they get back to their proper time? Would they want to?
Rating: PG
Beta: nattieb
You know it has been a long time between updates when you log into lj and are shocked by the new changes. I solemnly swear that this fic isn't abandoned. It's just really hard to find time to write and edit at the moment.
1~ 2~ 3~ 4~ 5~ 6~ 7~ 8~ 9~ 10~ 11~ 12~ 13~ 14~ 15~ 16~ 17~ 18~ 19~ 20~
21~ 22~ 23~ 24~ 25~ 26~ 27~ 28~ 29~ 30~ 31~ 32~ 33~ 34~ 35~ 36 37~ 38~ 39~ 40~ 41
Three weeks after the Doctor told Rose Tyler that he loved her, he forgot all about her.
The day gave no indication of ending that way. Rose woke up to find him already gone. She stretched and yawned her way out of bed, eventually ambling out to the rest of the flat. There was a damp towel in the bath, the remains of toast and tea in the kitchen. The morning papers were spread out on the table.
Rose sighed, at once charmed and annoyed by this display of male domesticity. He had all the time in the world, she thought to herself. Surely he could manage to pick up his breakfast before leaving.
She got ready for work as she watched the morning news shows. No mention of the disappearances around London, she noted. The police had stopped by the previous week to see if anyone remembered anything about the postman’s disappearance, but had come up with no new clues. The replacement postman Rose had described was found working on the other side of the city, and proved just as unhelpful.
The Doctor had reminded Rose about the importance of not walking around on her own, especially in the evenings. She’d agreed to make sure she was never alone, all the while trying not to roll her eyes. Sometimes the Doctor reacted in a way far out of proportion to the situation.
She drank the last of her tea, brushed her teeth, and peered out the window for a weather check. It looked cold and grey, and snow was falling. Rose put on boots, stowed her shoes in a bag, and headed out the door while buttoning up her coat.
Mrs. MacMurray was already up and about, fussing at the snow in the front hallway.
“Just look at this slush!” she complained to Rose as she wielded a broom. “I need to order new mats for the floors again.”
“And it hasn’t even picked up, has it?” Rose glanced outside.
“It’s not supposed to be too bad today, but you mind the snow anyway. Don’t forget your hat!”
Rose laughed and went outside, pulling up the hood of her coat.
Iris was already at the shop. She let Rose in, and like most of the previous three work weeks, they spent their free time discussing aliens, Jim, and what Iris was going to do now that the shop belonged to her.
“I still can’t believe it!” Iris said. “It’s like a dream.”
“A nice dream,” Rose added as she unpacked a new shipment of stock.
“It’s just all so much at once. The shop, and aliens, and Jim.” Iris’s voice trailed off as she said Jim’s name, and she smiled. A moment later a troubled look came over her face as she unlocked the till. “My mother doesn’t think it’s suitable for a woman to be in business like this.”
Iris had completed the necessary paperwork to have the shop put in her name, just as Mr. Troy had wanted. She now owned it outright and wholly in her name. It was a circumstance that her mother had not been happy about.
“Your mum is a pain,” Rose stated. “Maybe if you’d tell her that once in a while she’d stop bothering you.”
Iris looked shocked at the mere suggestion. “I don’t have that kind of relationship with her. It’s bad enough I’m...seeing someone she hasn’t met yet.”
Rose felt a flare of defensiveness on Jim’s behalf. “Does she think Jamie is beneath you?” Despite calling the grown man Jim for months, the moment she’d learned who he was she’d started calling him Jamie.
“No. He’s going back to school, and she respects that. I just don’t know that I’m ready for him to meet my family,” Iris confessed in a rush. “His parents are so nice, and his sister is so sweet, and my family loves me but they can be a bit cold sometimes.”
“My mum wasn’t too crazy about the Doctor when they first met,” Rose confided with a trace of a sad smile. “She thought he was too old for me. And then we left and didn’t come home for a year, so that didn’t make her any happier. It was an accident!” she added hastily upon seeing Iris’s shocked face. “I wasn’t meant to be gone longer than a day. The Doctor’s no good at driving.” Rose forced away the pang she always felt when she thought about Jackie.
Iris had truly been trying to understand how the Doctor looked like a man but was really an alien. It had taken several days for her to grasp the mechanics of time travel and how Rose had met Jim as a child with the Doctor who looked like a different man. As a matter of fact, it had taken her a few days to understand why Rose’s John Smith was now called the Doctor, and why he preferred not to be known as the Doctor in public.
Rose suspected Iris sometimes wished she had never hired her on. Life would have remained much simpler. Poor Iris.
Iris just nodded and changed the subject, which was what she usually did when confronted with something she could not wrap her mind around.
“My mother believes that the only suitable profession for a woman is either a teacher or a wife and mother. And she’s not too keen on teaching.”
“You’re a grown woman, Iris! You’re capable of doing whatever you want to do!” There were times that Rose could not wait for the women’s rights movement to fully kick in.
“I know. The right thing to do is just ignore her. Goodness knows that’s what my father does.”
Rose smothered a laugh.
Iris decided to change the subject again. “Shall we think about decorating for Christmas? And then we can go over your new pay rise.”
“My new what?” Rose repeated.
Iris smiled. “As my new assistant manager you’ll have a few more responsibilities.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Rose was surprised to find herself actually speechless.
“Just say you’re willing to hire some new help for the weekends. Those two girls have got to go. Do you see how messy the sales floor is on Monday mornings?”
Rose managed a smile, but she was confused by her own ambivalent response. Of course a promotion and a pay increase were wonderful. But were they a silent admission that she wouldn’t be going back to her own time?
As they locked the shop up for the night, Rose couldn’t help peeking outside for a glimpse of the Doctor. He was nowhere to be found. Not for the first time, she wished that mobile phones weren’t still decades away. What she wouldn’t give for a quick text over the course of the day, just to make sure all was well.
“Is he not here yet?” Iris asked as she added up the day’s cash. “That’s not like him.”
“No,” Rose agreed. “Maybe the train’s running late.” She waved to Mr. Shaw, who ran the bakery across the street, and closed and locked the door.
“I didn’t see him walk you in this morning. Did I miss him? I know he doesn’t like you walking about alone.”
“He left before I woke up. He’ll probably be late coming by.”
Rose sighed to herself. As insistent as she was that the Doctor didn’t need to watch over her, it stung that he could so easily leave her on her own. Although there hadn’t been any more disappearances around their building, the police had not come up with any answers.
The Doctor still hadn’t appeared by the time they were ready to leave the shop. Rose slowly buttoned up her coat as Iris locked the back door to the shop.
“I’m meeting Jim for dinner,” Iris said, “but let me -”
“No.” Rose interrupted her before she could finish her thought. “I’ll be fine. The flat’s just around the corner.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am! Have fun tonight.” Rose waved as Iris headed off in the opposite direction. Her smile faded as Iris disappeared from sight. The Doctor had always met her at night, no matter the cost or inconvenience of traveling over an hour away.
Night came earlier now that it was winter, and the evening was cold. Rose adjusted her hat and scarf, glad that the snow had stopped, and set off, deciding to stop and grab something to eat at the local chippy. The streets were momentarily deserted, and she hadn’t gone more than a few meters when she felt someone rush by her and a tug on her arm where her handbag hung.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, turning in the direction she was being pulled.
A tall figure dressed in dark clothing was holding on to her bag. He grabbed her arm roughly and growled, “Shut up!”
The dark of the clothing made him blend in with the night, but Rose could clearly see the flash of a knife in his hand.
She struggled despite the warning, and for her trouble was hauled against his chest, the knife cutting into her cheek.
The fiery pain cut through her shock. Something hot began to build in her chest, and Rose broke away and whirled around to face her attacker. He in turn gave a yelp of surprise, releasing both her arm and her handbag.
Her vision was suddenly bright and golden. “You will not harm me or anyone else,” Rose stated clearly, and the knife in his hand melted, simply melted, into a puddle of silver goo that made him shout as it burned his skin.
He looked back at Rose and there was just enough light from the street lamps for her to see fear cross his features. He turned and ran, bumping into a group of people that had just entered the street.
Shaking, Rose headed for the safety of the flat. As she hurried past a newsstand she caught sight of the evening’s headlines. To her shock the letters rearranged themselves as she watched.
Rose sobbed out her breath and started to run.
She was fast asleep that night when the bedroom door flew open and the light switched on.
“Rose?”
“Hey!” she mumbled, hiding her head under the pillow.
The light switched off again. She caught a glimpse of him in the moonlight before closing her eyes again.
“Oh. Sorry,” the Doctor said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. “I didn’t mean to be so late. Are you all right?”
“I was sleeping,” she muttered into the pillow.
“I am so sorry I wasn’t there tonight,” he said to the back of her head. “I know I promised to always take care of you. Something came up with a student, and I got into a discussion about the merits of - You don’t care about that,” he finished hastily as she lifted her head to glare at him in the moonlight. “Sorry.”
Rose gave up. “What time is it?” She rolled over to look at the clock and groaned. “Two-thirty! What on earth have you been doing?”
“I just told you. But it’s the trip home that takes forever. I caught a ride with one of our cabbie friends.”
Rose sighed. “Doctor, you really can’t keep this up. It’s ridiculous to travel an hour each way for a job you don’t even need. I don’t care if it is Cambridge. I mean, you can calculate and theorize rings around everyone there.”
The Doctor kicked off his trainers and settled down beside her on the bed.
“I know. I’ll be done in a few weeks, and then I can move on.”
“Why don’t you just, I dunno, leave? Why does it matter if you defend anything or not?”
“I don’t want to do anything out of the ordinary, and leaving at this end stage will definitely be out of the ordinary. If we do end up staying in this time, I want to leave as little for Torchwood to trace me as possible. I’d rather not do anything that might trigger a response from them.”
She propped herself up on one elbow. “Well, then we’re all right. It’s not like there’s anything at Cambridge that could be a problem for us.”
He glanced at her and then looked away quickly. “No, of course not.”
“Doctor.”
“Mmmm?”
“What’s wrong?” She knew him well enough that she could tell there was something about this entire academic pursuit that was bothering him.
“Nothing. But I was thinking...London is a bit busy, isn’t it, what with my former and future selves roaming around, and Torchwood ready to jump. What if we relocated to somewhere quieter while we wait this time period out?”
Rose stared at him. “What? What about my job?”
“You can get a job anywhere, Rose.”
“Because I’m just a shopgirl?”
It was late, and he was very hungry, but he was by no means a stupid man. He backtracked quickly.
“You are not just a shopgirl. You know I would never say that. But I reckon you wouldn’t have any trouble finding a job.”
“I like the one I’ve got. Iris made me assistant manager today.”
“No, really? But that’s brilliant!”
“With a pay increase!” She named a figure that made him laugh.
“Rose Tyler, you’re amazing! Far be it from me to interfere with your career.”
“Shut up,” she said, pleased that he was so proud of her.
“We won’t think about moving, then,” he decided. “Plenty of time once I leave uni to plan our next step. Perhaps we’ll have a new development on the TARDIS by then.”
“Oh, I hope so.”
“Oh! Christmas is coming,” he said suddenly. “The department is having a party week after next. Fancy going?”
She was seized with terror. “To Cambridge? Me? To meet all the professors and scientists? I don’t think so.”
“It’ll be brilliant! They’ll love you.”
Rose clutched the covers to her chest. “There’s no way! I never even finished school!”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Are you mad? I can’t! There’s no way!”
“It won’t be at Cambridge. I believe the venue will be a bit closer to home.”
“That’s not why I don’t want to go!”
“It’s late. We’ll talk about it later,” he compromised.
They lay together in a peaceful silence for a few moments.
“I’m sorry I left you to go home alone,” the Doctor said quietly. “I shouldn’t leave you alone like that. I made you promise to wait for me and then I never showed up.”
“Oh, I’ve wandered off plenty of times without a problem,” Rose murmured sleepily.
He snorted. “Hardly without a problem,” he muttered.
“I heard that. Mostly without a problem,” she amended.
“I’ll try to be better. We still don’t now what’s causing all these disappearances.”
“I’m fine on my own, Doctor. It’s not a big neighborhood. And no one’s gone missing for weeks now. But I promise I’ll be super careful.” Her voice broke a little, but she hoped he didn’t notice.
He didn’t. “There’s just something about this whole business I don’t like.”
“Maybe you could work it out on your own,” Rose suggested. “Out in the flat. While I sleep.”
“Well. Plenty of time to worry about all of that,” he said as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’m starving! Fancy a bit of pizza?” he asked hopefully.
She pulled the covers over her head. Go away.”
He laughed and pulled the covers back to kiss her head. And then he was yanking the blankets off of the bed.
“Doctor!”
He turned the lights back on. “What is this?” he asked in a dangerously quiet voice. “What happened to your face?”
She tried not to flinch. “Nothing.”
“Nothing! You’ve a slash on your cheek, clear as anything! What happened?”
“It was nothing!” she started to say, but her voice broke again and she started to cry.
“Rose!” He put his arms around her and drew her up against his chest. She buried her head against his shoulder and cried, panicking him like nothing else had ever panicked him before. He pulled her away so he could get a good look at her. “What happened?” His gaze scanned her frantically, looking for more injuries. “Rose? What happened to you? Who hurt you?”
She managed to explain through her tears, and with each word she felt the Doctor grow more and more rigid.
“Could you identify him?”
She shook her head. “It was too dark. I barely saw his face.”
He gently tipped her face to the side to examine the cut. “It doesn’t look deep.”
She sniffed and wiped her face with his shirttail. “It’s not. I cleaned it up.”
“I should never have left you on your own.” His voice was full of the remorse and blame that he did so well.
“It could have happened anywhere. And it might have happened with you there.”
He scoffed. “Doubtful. I’m so sorry, Rose. I promised to keep you safe.”
“You did. You are.” She leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his chest. His hand came up and began to rub her back in slow circles.
They sat that way for a long time before he spoke again.
“Why did he run? If he had a knife, what made him change his mind?”
She took a deep breath and tilted her head so she could meet his eyes.
“Don’t be mad.”
He looked down at her in surprise. “Why would I be mad?”
She whispered the words so low he had to lean in close to hear them.
“It was Bad Wolf.”
Characters: Ten, Rose
Summary: AU. What if Rose had stayed through Doomsday and was the one to end up in 1969 with the Doctor? How would they get back to their proper time? Would they want to?
Rating: PG
Beta: nattieb
You know it has been a long time between updates when you log into lj and are shocked by the new changes. I solemnly swear that this fic isn't abandoned. It's just really hard to find time to write and edit at the moment.
1~ 2~ 3~ 4~ 5~ 6~ 7~ 8~ 9~ 10~ 11~ 12~ 13~ 14~ 15~ 16~ 17~ 18~ 19~ 20~
21~ 22~ 23~ 24~ 25~ 26~ 27~ 28~ 29~ 30~ 31~ 32~ 33~ 34~ 35~ 36 37~ 38~ 39~ 40~ 41
Three weeks after the Doctor told Rose Tyler that he loved her, he forgot all about her.
The day gave no indication of ending that way. Rose woke up to find him already gone. She stretched and yawned her way out of bed, eventually ambling out to the rest of the flat. There was a damp towel in the bath, the remains of toast and tea in the kitchen. The morning papers were spread out on the table.
Rose sighed, at once charmed and annoyed by this display of male domesticity. He had all the time in the world, she thought to herself. Surely he could manage to pick up his breakfast before leaving.
She got ready for work as she watched the morning news shows. No mention of the disappearances around London, she noted. The police had stopped by the previous week to see if anyone remembered anything about the postman’s disappearance, but had come up with no new clues. The replacement postman Rose had described was found working on the other side of the city, and proved just as unhelpful.
The Doctor had reminded Rose about the importance of not walking around on her own, especially in the evenings. She’d agreed to make sure she was never alone, all the while trying not to roll her eyes. Sometimes the Doctor reacted in a way far out of proportion to the situation.
She drank the last of her tea, brushed her teeth, and peered out the window for a weather check. It looked cold and grey, and snow was falling. Rose put on boots, stowed her shoes in a bag, and headed out the door while buttoning up her coat.
Mrs. MacMurray was already up and about, fussing at the snow in the front hallway.
“Just look at this slush!” she complained to Rose as she wielded a broom. “I need to order new mats for the floors again.”
“And it hasn’t even picked up, has it?” Rose glanced outside.
“It’s not supposed to be too bad today, but you mind the snow anyway. Don’t forget your hat!”
Rose laughed and went outside, pulling up the hood of her coat.
Iris was already at the shop. She let Rose in, and like most of the previous three work weeks, they spent their free time discussing aliens, Jim, and what Iris was going to do now that the shop belonged to her.
“I still can’t believe it!” Iris said. “It’s like a dream.”
“A nice dream,” Rose added as she unpacked a new shipment of stock.
“It’s just all so much at once. The shop, and aliens, and Jim.” Iris’s voice trailed off as she said Jim’s name, and she smiled. A moment later a troubled look came over her face as she unlocked the till. “My mother doesn’t think it’s suitable for a woman to be in business like this.”
Iris had completed the necessary paperwork to have the shop put in her name, just as Mr. Troy had wanted. She now owned it outright and wholly in her name. It was a circumstance that her mother had not been happy about.
“Your mum is a pain,” Rose stated. “Maybe if you’d tell her that once in a while she’d stop bothering you.”
Iris looked shocked at the mere suggestion. “I don’t have that kind of relationship with her. It’s bad enough I’m...seeing someone she hasn’t met yet.”
Rose felt a flare of defensiveness on Jim’s behalf. “Does she think Jamie is beneath you?” Despite calling the grown man Jim for months, the moment she’d learned who he was she’d started calling him Jamie.
“No. He’s going back to school, and she respects that. I just don’t know that I’m ready for him to meet my family,” Iris confessed in a rush. “His parents are so nice, and his sister is so sweet, and my family loves me but they can be a bit cold sometimes.”
“My mum wasn’t too crazy about the Doctor when they first met,” Rose confided with a trace of a sad smile. “She thought he was too old for me. And then we left and didn’t come home for a year, so that didn’t make her any happier. It was an accident!” she added hastily upon seeing Iris’s shocked face. “I wasn’t meant to be gone longer than a day. The Doctor’s no good at driving.” Rose forced away the pang she always felt when she thought about Jackie.
Iris had truly been trying to understand how the Doctor looked like a man but was really an alien. It had taken several days for her to grasp the mechanics of time travel and how Rose had met Jim as a child with the Doctor who looked like a different man. As a matter of fact, it had taken her a few days to understand why Rose’s John Smith was now called the Doctor, and why he preferred not to be known as the Doctor in public.
Rose suspected Iris sometimes wished she had never hired her on. Life would have remained much simpler. Poor Iris.
Iris just nodded and changed the subject, which was what she usually did when confronted with something she could not wrap her mind around.
“My mother believes that the only suitable profession for a woman is either a teacher or a wife and mother. And she’s not too keen on teaching.”
“You’re a grown woman, Iris! You’re capable of doing whatever you want to do!” There were times that Rose could not wait for the women’s rights movement to fully kick in.
“I know. The right thing to do is just ignore her. Goodness knows that’s what my father does.”
Rose smothered a laugh.
Iris decided to change the subject again. “Shall we think about decorating for Christmas? And then we can go over your new pay rise.”
“My new what?” Rose repeated.
Iris smiled. “As my new assistant manager you’ll have a few more responsibilities.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Rose was surprised to find herself actually speechless.
“Just say you’re willing to hire some new help for the weekends. Those two girls have got to go. Do you see how messy the sales floor is on Monday mornings?”
Rose managed a smile, but she was confused by her own ambivalent response. Of course a promotion and a pay increase were wonderful. But were they a silent admission that she wouldn’t be going back to her own time?
As they locked the shop up for the night, Rose couldn’t help peeking outside for a glimpse of the Doctor. He was nowhere to be found. Not for the first time, she wished that mobile phones weren’t still decades away. What she wouldn’t give for a quick text over the course of the day, just to make sure all was well.
“Is he not here yet?” Iris asked as she added up the day’s cash. “That’s not like him.”
“No,” Rose agreed. “Maybe the train’s running late.” She waved to Mr. Shaw, who ran the bakery across the street, and closed and locked the door.
“I didn’t see him walk you in this morning. Did I miss him? I know he doesn’t like you walking about alone.”
“He left before I woke up. He’ll probably be late coming by.”
Rose sighed to herself. As insistent as she was that the Doctor didn’t need to watch over her, it stung that he could so easily leave her on her own. Although there hadn’t been any more disappearances around their building, the police had not come up with any answers.
The Doctor still hadn’t appeared by the time they were ready to leave the shop. Rose slowly buttoned up her coat as Iris locked the back door to the shop.
“I’m meeting Jim for dinner,” Iris said, “but let me -”
“No.” Rose interrupted her before she could finish her thought. “I’ll be fine. The flat’s just around the corner.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am! Have fun tonight.” Rose waved as Iris headed off in the opposite direction. Her smile faded as Iris disappeared from sight. The Doctor had always met her at night, no matter the cost or inconvenience of traveling over an hour away.
Night came earlier now that it was winter, and the evening was cold. Rose adjusted her hat and scarf, glad that the snow had stopped, and set off, deciding to stop and grab something to eat at the local chippy. The streets were momentarily deserted, and she hadn’t gone more than a few meters when she felt someone rush by her and a tug on her arm where her handbag hung.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, turning in the direction she was being pulled.
A tall figure dressed in dark clothing was holding on to her bag. He grabbed her arm roughly and growled, “Shut up!”
The dark of the clothing made him blend in with the night, but Rose could clearly see the flash of a knife in his hand.
She struggled despite the warning, and for her trouble was hauled against his chest, the knife cutting into her cheek.
The fiery pain cut through her shock. Something hot began to build in her chest, and Rose broke away and whirled around to face her attacker. He in turn gave a yelp of surprise, releasing both her arm and her handbag.
Her vision was suddenly bright and golden. “You will not harm me or anyone else,” Rose stated clearly, and the knife in his hand melted, simply melted, into a puddle of silver goo that made him shout as it burned his skin.
He looked back at Rose and there was just enough light from the street lamps for her to see fear cross his features. He turned and ran, bumping into a group of people that had just entered the street.
Shaking, Rose headed for the safety of the flat. As she hurried past a newsstand she caught sight of the evening’s headlines. To her shock the letters rearranged themselves as she watched.
Rose sobbed out her breath and started to run.
She was fast asleep that night when the bedroom door flew open and the light switched on.
“Rose?”
“Hey!” she mumbled, hiding her head under the pillow.
The light switched off again. She caught a glimpse of him in the moonlight before closing her eyes again.
“Oh. Sorry,” the Doctor said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. “I didn’t mean to be so late. Are you all right?”
“I was sleeping,” she muttered into the pillow.
“I am so sorry I wasn’t there tonight,” he said to the back of her head. “I know I promised to always take care of you. Something came up with a student, and I got into a discussion about the merits of - You don’t care about that,” he finished hastily as she lifted her head to glare at him in the moonlight. “Sorry.”
Rose gave up. “What time is it?” She rolled over to look at the clock and groaned. “Two-thirty! What on earth have you been doing?”
“I just told you. But it’s the trip home that takes forever. I caught a ride with one of our cabbie friends.”
Rose sighed. “Doctor, you really can’t keep this up. It’s ridiculous to travel an hour each way for a job you don’t even need. I don’t care if it is Cambridge. I mean, you can calculate and theorize rings around everyone there.”
The Doctor kicked off his trainers and settled down beside her on the bed.
“I know. I’ll be done in a few weeks, and then I can move on.”
“Why don’t you just, I dunno, leave? Why does it matter if you defend anything or not?”
“I don’t want to do anything out of the ordinary, and leaving at this end stage will definitely be out of the ordinary. If we do end up staying in this time, I want to leave as little for Torchwood to trace me as possible. I’d rather not do anything that might trigger a response from them.”
She propped herself up on one elbow. “Well, then we’re all right. It’s not like there’s anything at Cambridge that could be a problem for us.”
He glanced at her and then looked away quickly. “No, of course not.”
“Doctor.”
“Mmmm?”
“What’s wrong?” She knew him well enough that she could tell there was something about this entire academic pursuit that was bothering him.
“Nothing. But I was thinking...London is a bit busy, isn’t it, what with my former and future selves roaming around, and Torchwood ready to jump. What if we relocated to somewhere quieter while we wait this time period out?”
Rose stared at him. “What? What about my job?”
“You can get a job anywhere, Rose.”
“Because I’m just a shopgirl?”
It was late, and he was very hungry, but he was by no means a stupid man. He backtracked quickly.
“You are not just a shopgirl. You know I would never say that. But I reckon you wouldn’t have any trouble finding a job.”
“I like the one I’ve got. Iris made me assistant manager today.”
“No, really? But that’s brilliant!”
“With a pay increase!” She named a figure that made him laugh.
“Rose Tyler, you’re amazing! Far be it from me to interfere with your career.”
“Shut up,” she said, pleased that he was so proud of her.
“We won’t think about moving, then,” he decided. “Plenty of time once I leave uni to plan our next step. Perhaps we’ll have a new development on the TARDIS by then.”
“Oh, I hope so.”
“Oh! Christmas is coming,” he said suddenly. “The department is having a party week after next. Fancy going?”
She was seized with terror. “To Cambridge? Me? To meet all the professors and scientists? I don’t think so.”
“It’ll be brilliant! They’ll love you.”
Rose clutched the covers to her chest. “There’s no way! I never even finished school!”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Are you mad? I can’t! There’s no way!”
“It won’t be at Cambridge. I believe the venue will be a bit closer to home.”
“That’s not why I don’t want to go!”
“It’s late. We’ll talk about it later,” he compromised.
They lay together in a peaceful silence for a few moments.
“I’m sorry I left you to go home alone,” the Doctor said quietly. “I shouldn’t leave you alone like that. I made you promise to wait for me and then I never showed up.”
“Oh, I’ve wandered off plenty of times without a problem,” Rose murmured sleepily.
He snorted. “Hardly without a problem,” he muttered.
“I heard that. Mostly without a problem,” she amended.
“I’ll try to be better. We still don’t now what’s causing all these disappearances.”
“I’m fine on my own, Doctor. It’s not a big neighborhood. And no one’s gone missing for weeks now. But I promise I’ll be super careful.” Her voice broke a little, but she hoped he didn’t notice.
He didn’t. “There’s just something about this whole business I don’t like.”
“Maybe you could work it out on your own,” Rose suggested. “Out in the flat. While I sleep.”
“Well. Plenty of time to worry about all of that,” he said as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’m starving! Fancy a bit of pizza?” he asked hopefully.
She pulled the covers over her head. Go away.”
He laughed and pulled the covers back to kiss her head. And then he was yanking the blankets off of the bed.
“Doctor!”
He turned the lights back on. “What is this?” he asked in a dangerously quiet voice. “What happened to your face?”
She tried not to flinch. “Nothing.”
“Nothing! You’ve a slash on your cheek, clear as anything! What happened?”
“It was nothing!” she started to say, but her voice broke again and she started to cry.
“Rose!” He put his arms around her and drew her up against his chest. She buried her head against his shoulder and cried, panicking him like nothing else had ever panicked him before. He pulled her away so he could get a good look at her. “What happened?” His gaze scanned her frantically, looking for more injuries. “Rose? What happened to you? Who hurt you?”
She managed to explain through her tears, and with each word she felt the Doctor grow more and more rigid.
“Could you identify him?”
She shook her head. “It was too dark. I barely saw his face.”
He gently tipped her face to the side to examine the cut. “It doesn’t look deep.”
She sniffed and wiped her face with his shirttail. “It’s not. I cleaned it up.”
“I should never have left you on your own.” His voice was full of the remorse and blame that he did so well.
“It could have happened anywhere. And it might have happened with you there.”
He scoffed. “Doubtful. I’m so sorry, Rose. I promised to keep you safe.”
“You did. You are.” She leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his chest. His hand came up and began to rub her back in slow circles.
They sat that way for a long time before he spoke again.
“Why did he run? If he had a knife, what made him change his mind?”
She took a deep breath and tilted her head so she could meet his eyes.
“Don’t be mad.”
He looked down at her in surprise. “Why would I be mad?”
She whispered the words so low he had to lean in close to hear them.
“It was Bad Wolf.”