Balloons
Balloons
Ten/Rose, G, 1,648
A whisper of a breeze greeted Rose as she stepped out of the TARDIS. Dawn was just brightening up the sky with streaks of pink and purple touching wisps of clouds. She pulled the jean jacket slightly tighter as the chill of morning reached her and gazed at the sunrise.
The Doctor grinned as he took in his surroundings. "Aw, is this a football field? I think it is! Either that or a rather large stretch of grass for no apparent reason. But who's in the habit of taking care of a stretch of grass for no apparent reason? If you have a manicured lawn, then you must have a reason. Therefore, this must be a football field. Or a golf green. But that's not nearly as fun."
Rose took his arm and pointed to the sun peeking over the horizon. "It's beautiful. Where are we?"
He scrunched up his nose and took a huge sniff. "I smell farmland with a hint of onions...sweet onions. I'm thinking Walla Walla, Washington?" He slowly spun in a circle, taking note of his surroundings. "Yep, definitely Walla Walla...near the beginning of May, if I'm not mistaken."
"Walla Walla? Are you serious? What kind of rubbish name is that?"
"Now, now. Don't be rude. You didn't think New New York was rubbish. Well, not too rubbish anyway."
"So...they liked the word so much they used it twice?"
"Actually, Walla Walla was a tribe of Native Americans. Though before the city was called that, they named it Steptoeville after a colonel but still, wouldn't you like to step-toe around Steptoeville?"
Rose giggled at the thought. "I will if you will."
"I'm thinking we should step-toe in that direction," he pointed to a nearby hilltop. "I seem to hear a bit of commotion going on."
"Trouble?"
"Nah, at least it doesn't sound like it. Though we could practice a little 'step-toe shuffle' on the way up?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“How’s that different from the soft shoe shuffle?”
He gave her a cheeky grin. “It’s not really. You just do it on tiptoe, that’s all.”
Rose gave him a look. “So you want us to dance uphill on our tiptoes?”
“Brilliant, isn’t it? Almost as much fun as hopping for our lives, but you can’t have everything.”
Rose laughed and nodded. “All right then. You’ll catch me if I start to fall, right?”
“Always,” he promised, becoming serious for a moment. “I won’t let you fall.” He pulled away from her, bowed deeply, and extended his hand in her direction. “May I have this dance, Dame Tyler?”
Mustering all the self control she had to keep a straight face, she accepted his hand. “You may, Sir Doctor.”
It took over ten minutes of tripping over each other’s feet to reach the top of the hill. Even though it took them three tries to make it, they did manage to be on tiptoe the entire way. There was one moment when they both nearly tumbled backwards, but the Doctor never relinquished Rose’s hand.
Breathless with laughter, they collapsed together on the grass. Catching their breath, they gazed at the brightening sky and watched the final colors of dawn fade away.
“Now that’s the way to travel uphill!” Rose exclaimed when she could speak again.
The Doctor grinned at her mischievously. “And do you know the best way to travel downhill?”
She eyed him with mock suspicion. “What?”
“Rolling! It’s the fastest and most enjoyable way down. And a downhill race has got to be amazing. It’s been ages since I’ve had a race. What do you think, Rose? Do you fancy a rolling down the hill race? Of course we’ll have to have a rematch and that means we’ll need to dance up the hill again. Perhaps a couple of times. Can you think of a better way to spend a morn-Rose?”
She had propped herself up on her elbows and was peering intently at the sky, using her hand to shade her eyes. “Doctor…is that what I think it is?”
The Doctor rolled over on his side and brought his head close to hers. After a moment, he spotted the object in question. “I think it is! Oh that’s brilliant! A hot air balloon….”
“It’s beautiful,” Rose breathed, watching the red and blue balloon slowly rise into the sky. They sat silently, tracking its progress until Rose saw a splash of color in the corner of her eye. “Look at that one!” she exclaimed, pointing to a multi-colored balloon to their left. It had a mixture of colors in a checkerboard fashion of red, blue, green, and yellow.
“Marvelous…. Rose, look at that one,” he pointed to the right, “it looks like a tiger with its orange and black stripes.”
“It’s grrrrrreat!” She giggled while trying to imitate the tiger from cereal advertisements.
The Doctor laughed delightedly and she couldn’t help joining him.
“Doctor,” Rose started with their laughter had subsided, “what is going on? Is it normal to see hot air balloons here?”
“No, I…oh, clever old girl. The TARDIS has set us down in May! Of course, why didn’t I remember sooner? This must be the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede! It was established in 1974 and has…oh about thirty or so balloons? I’ve always wanted to see a hot air balloon event but never managed to.”
“I’ve never seen one either. Never even been this close to one before. Will you look at all that?” Rose slowly stood to take in the commotion below. Small groups of people stood off to the side as several hot air balloons were unpacked, spread out, with the baskets set on their sides. She watched as the burners were ignited in a blue balloon and it began to inflate. Once it had almost puffed out fully, the wicker basket was set upright and the balloon wobbled slightly since it was no longer supported by the ground. Rose watched as the pilot stepped inside and did his last moment checks. Within a minute, the balloon had risen into the air and was slowly leaving the ground behind.
“Will you look at that?” the Doctor asked, standing at her side, hands in pockets.
“Mommy!” a high pitched voice shrieked, attracting their attention. “Mommy look! That one’s pink!” The voice belonged to a little girl near the foot of the hill, bouncing up and down and grinning from ear to ear. “It’s so pretty!” The little girl spun in a circle and couldn’t stop her happy dance while watching a pink balloon attached to a wicker basket set upright.
Rose chuckled. “I remember being that way.”
The Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Never forget that feeling, Rose. That childlike awe and wonder of the universe. Losing that and being ‘too grown up’…I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”
She wrapped an arm around his waist and snuggled a little closer to him. “That’s why I love travelling with you. It’s more amazing than I possibly could’ve imagined. I still remember looking up into the sky and wondering what was out there when I was little. I had no idea what an adventure it’d be.”
He smiled down at her and pulled her into a hug. “So,” he said into her hair, “what do you fancy? Rolling downhill or watching the balloons float by?”
“Both. But balloons first and rolling after, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” he replied, tugging off his long brown coat. He smoothed it out on the grass and they laid down on it, gazing at the sky.
“I wonder what it’d be like…floating in a hot air balloon,” Rose pondered after a while. “Watching the world get smaller from underneath your feet. Would I feel taller? Or would I feel insignificant as the world that’s fading away?”
“You’re not insignificant. Not at all. Besides, you won’t be looking at your feet. You’ll be looking up at the sky, just like you did when you were little.”
“Right…why look down when you can look up?”
“Exactly. We’ll try it sometime.”
“Yeah? Ride in a hot air balloon?”
“Yes, it’ll be just you and me with nothing but the sky ahead and the earth below. Hope above and troubles beneath.”
“Sounds perfect,” Rose mused, gazing at him. After a moment, she felt compelled to ask, “Can you fly a hot air balloon?”
“What?” the Doctor asked surprised. “Of course I can. I fly the TARDIS don’t I?”
“Sometimes I wonder if the TARDIS is flying herself and we’re just along for the ride.”
“That is ridiculous and quite possibly true,” he ruffled his hair with his hand and caught her merry eyes. His expression softened and he touched the tip of her nose. “I can do anything I set my mind to, Rose Tyler. And one day, we’ll be floating in a hot air balloon.” He wrapped his fingers around hers and gently squeezed in a silent promise.
They were quiet for a time, watching the balloons fade away into the distance. A red and white one lingered for a time before it too vanished. The commotion below had diminished as the crowds wandered off to find other activities. The Doctor and Rose were left on their own, lying on top of the hill watching the clouds float by.
“So…” Rose ventured after awhile, “care to race me down the hill and then dance back up again?”
He grinned at her, “I’d go with you anywhere.” And then promptly rolled off his coat and down the hill.
“That’s not fair!” Rose laughed as she started after him and tried to catch up. “Cheating will cost you a plate of chips!”
The Doctor wobbled to his feet at the bottom of the hill and caught her as she tried to stand. “Worth it,” he grinned and she couldn’t help smiling back at him.
Ten/Rose, G, 1,648
A whisper of a breeze greeted Rose as she stepped out of the TARDIS. Dawn was just brightening up the sky with streaks of pink and purple touching wisps of clouds. She pulled the jean jacket slightly tighter as the chill of morning reached her and gazed at the sunrise.
The Doctor grinned as he took in his surroundings. "Aw, is this a football field? I think it is! Either that or a rather large stretch of grass for no apparent reason. But who's in the habit of taking care of a stretch of grass for no apparent reason? If you have a manicured lawn, then you must have a reason. Therefore, this must be a football field. Or a golf green. But that's not nearly as fun."
Rose took his arm and pointed to the sun peeking over the horizon. "It's beautiful. Where are we?"
He scrunched up his nose and took a huge sniff. "I smell farmland with a hint of onions...sweet onions. I'm thinking Walla Walla, Washington?" He slowly spun in a circle, taking note of his surroundings. "Yep, definitely Walla Walla...near the beginning of May, if I'm not mistaken."
"Walla Walla? Are you serious? What kind of rubbish name is that?"
"Now, now. Don't be rude. You didn't think New New York was rubbish. Well, not too rubbish anyway."
"So...they liked the word so much they used it twice?"
"Actually, Walla Walla was a tribe of Native Americans. Though before the city was called that, they named it Steptoeville after a colonel but still, wouldn't you like to step-toe around Steptoeville?"
Rose giggled at the thought. "I will if you will."
"I'm thinking we should step-toe in that direction," he pointed to a nearby hilltop. "I seem to hear a bit of commotion going on."
"Trouble?"
"Nah, at least it doesn't sound like it. Though we could practice a little 'step-toe shuffle' on the way up?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“How’s that different from the soft shoe shuffle?”
He gave her a cheeky grin. “It’s not really. You just do it on tiptoe, that’s all.”
Rose gave him a look. “So you want us to dance uphill on our tiptoes?”
“Brilliant, isn’t it? Almost as much fun as hopping for our lives, but you can’t have everything.”
Rose laughed and nodded. “All right then. You’ll catch me if I start to fall, right?”
“Always,” he promised, becoming serious for a moment. “I won’t let you fall.” He pulled away from her, bowed deeply, and extended his hand in her direction. “May I have this dance, Dame Tyler?”
Mustering all the self control she had to keep a straight face, she accepted his hand. “You may, Sir Doctor.”
It took over ten minutes of tripping over each other’s feet to reach the top of the hill. Even though it took them three tries to make it, they did manage to be on tiptoe the entire way. There was one moment when they both nearly tumbled backwards, but the Doctor never relinquished Rose’s hand.
Breathless with laughter, they collapsed together on the grass. Catching their breath, they gazed at the brightening sky and watched the final colors of dawn fade away.
“Now that’s the way to travel uphill!” Rose exclaimed when she could speak again.
The Doctor grinned at her mischievously. “And do you know the best way to travel downhill?”
She eyed him with mock suspicion. “What?”
“Rolling! It’s the fastest and most enjoyable way down. And a downhill race has got to be amazing. It’s been ages since I’ve had a race. What do you think, Rose? Do you fancy a rolling down the hill race? Of course we’ll have to have a rematch and that means we’ll need to dance up the hill again. Perhaps a couple of times. Can you think of a better way to spend a morn-Rose?”
She had propped herself up on her elbows and was peering intently at the sky, using her hand to shade her eyes. “Doctor…is that what I think it is?”
The Doctor rolled over on his side and brought his head close to hers. After a moment, he spotted the object in question. “I think it is! Oh that’s brilliant! A hot air balloon….”
“It’s beautiful,” Rose breathed, watching the red and blue balloon slowly rise into the sky. They sat silently, tracking its progress until Rose saw a splash of color in the corner of her eye. “Look at that one!” she exclaimed, pointing to a multi-colored balloon to their left. It had a mixture of colors in a checkerboard fashion of red, blue, green, and yellow.
“Marvelous…. Rose, look at that one,” he pointed to the right, “it looks like a tiger with its orange and black stripes.”
“It’s grrrrrreat!” She giggled while trying to imitate the tiger from cereal advertisements.
The Doctor laughed delightedly and she couldn’t help joining him.
“Doctor,” Rose started with their laughter had subsided, “what is going on? Is it normal to see hot air balloons here?”
“No, I…oh, clever old girl. The TARDIS has set us down in May! Of course, why didn’t I remember sooner? This must be the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede! It was established in 1974 and has…oh about thirty or so balloons? I’ve always wanted to see a hot air balloon event but never managed to.”
“I’ve never seen one either. Never even been this close to one before. Will you look at all that?” Rose slowly stood to take in the commotion below. Small groups of people stood off to the side as several hot air balloons were unpacked, spread out, with the baskets set on their sides. She watched as the burners were ignited in a blue balloon and it began to inflate. Once it had almost puffed out fully, the wicker basket was set upright and the balloon wobbled slightly since it was no longer supported by the ground. Rose watched as the pilot stepped inside and did his last moment checks. Within a minute, the balloon had risen into the air and was slowly leaving the ground behind.
“Will you look at that?” the Doctor asked, standing at her side, hands in pockets.
“Mommy!” a high pitched voice shrieked, attracting their attention. “Mommy look! That one’s pink!” The voice belonged to a little girl near the foot of the hill, bouncing up and down and grinning from ear to ear. “It’s so pretty!” The little girl spun in a circle and couldn’t stop her happy dance while watching a pink balloon attached to a wicker basket set upright.
Rose chuckled. “I remember being that way.”
The Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Never forget that feeling, Rose. That childlike awe and wonder of the universe. Losing that and being ‘too grown up’…I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”
She wrapped an arm around his waist and snuggled a little closer to him. “That’s why I love travelling with you. It’s more amazing than I possibly could’ve imagined. I still remember looking up into the sky and wondering what was out there when I was little. I had no idea what an adventure it’d be.”
He smiled down at her and pulled her into a hug. “So,” he said into her hair, “what do you fancy? Rolling downhill or watching the balloons float by?”
“Both. But balloons first and rolling after, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” he replied, tugging off his long brown coat. He smoothed it out on the grass and they laid down on it, gazing at the sky.
“I wonder what it’d be like…floating in a hot air balloon,” Rose pondered after a while. “Watching the world get smaller from underneath your feet. Would I feel taller? Or would I feel insignificant as the world that’s fading away?”
“You’re not insignificant. Not at all. Besides, you won’t be looking at your feet. You’ll be looking up at the sky, just like you did when you were little.”
“Right…why look down when you can look up?”
“Exactly. We’ll try it sometime.”
“Yeah? Ride in a hot air balloon?”
“Yes, it’ll be just you and me with nothing but the sky ahead and the earth below. Hope above and troubles beneath.”
“Sounds perfect,” Rose mused, gazing at him. After a moment, she felt compelled to ask, “Can you fly a hot air balloon?”
“What?” the Doctor asked surprised. “Of course I can. I fly the TARDIS don’t I?”
“Sometimes I wonder if the TARDIS is flying herself and we’re just along for the ride.”
“That is ridiculous and quite possibly true,” he ruffled his hair with his hand and caught her merry eyes. His expression softened and he touched the tip of her nose. “I can do anything I set my mind to, Rose Tyler. And one day, we’ll be floating in a hot air balloon.” He wrapped his fingers around hers and gently squeezed in a silent promise.
They were quiet for a time, watching the balloons fade away into the distance. A red and white one lingered for a time before it too vanished. The commotion below had diminished as the crowds wandered off to find other activities. The Doctor and Rose were left on their own, lying on top of the hill watching the clouds float by.
“So…” Rose ventured after awhile, “care to race me down the hill and then dance back up again?”
He grinned at her, “I’d go with you anywhere.” And then promptly rolled off his coat and down the hill.
“That’s not fair!” Rose laughed as she started after him and tried to catch up. “Cheating will cost you a plate of chips!”
The Doctor wobbled to his feet at the bottom of the hill and caught her as she tried to stand. “Worth it,” he grinned and she couldn’t help smiling back at him.