It was supposed to be a nice day. Well, that's what he'd told her when she came bouncing down the stairs that morning.
"So what adventure do we have in store for us today, chin boy? Helping Columbus discover the New World? Saving the space whales?"
"Clara, don't be ridiculous. The space whales have already been saved. Besides, I thought we'd do something more relaxing. There's this little marketplace on a planet about a hundred thousand light years from Earth. To most people it just seems like an intergalactic flea market but believe it or not, it's some of the best chips I've ever had."
"Chips?" she questioned flatly.
"Chips," he confirmed.
And so with a quick twirl and the flip of a switch, they were off to the little intergalactic flea market with great chips. Clara had been around for a while now but the Doctor still knew very little about her. He knew she liked to make soufflés, that never changed, and he knew she liked to go off to her room after a particularly long adventure and blast classical music while running a shower. He knew she was slowly but surely making her way through the destination books in the library. But he still couldn't figure out the biggest mystery: who the hell is she?
He would never admit it to Clara, but that's the real reason they were off to the marketplace. He'd brought her all over time and space. There was the psychic in Vegas, which they eventually made it to, after a small detour to both poles. Then there was Emma, the empath in 1974. They went back to ancient Rome and talked to the Oracle at Delphi and then forward 66 centuries to a witch doctor on Chrion Alpha II. None of them had any answers for him. So now they were off to the marketplace. Clara can do some shopping, some eating, just have a nice day. And then just on their way back to the TARDIS "Oh look, Clara. A fortune teller! You should go, it's always fun to see how wrong they are." How would she know that this happened to be the one man who actually had some form of gift? But no matter what the Doctor's plans, today was supposed to be nice. Clara deserved it after what happened when she got stuck in the TARIDS. It was just supposed to be a nice day.
The Doctor and Clara had just left the TARDIS and were making their way to a tent that seemed to have a lot of pottery when it happened. That's when he heard it, a quiet giggle from somewhere amongst the crowd. He may be over a thousand years old but he'd recognize that laugh from anywhere. The Doctor didn't even need to look around for confirmation.
"Clara, get back to the TARDIS," he quietly commanded her.
"What? No way!" She protested, continuing down the walkway.
The Doctor sighed and tried again. "Clara, listen to me. We need to get back to the TARDIS now." He grabbed her by the arm and tried to pull her back.
Clara shoved the Doctor, breaking free from his grip. He was sent tumbling back into whoever was unlucky enough to be exiting the tent. Both he and the patron were able to catch themselves before hitting the ground. Unfortunately, the patron's vase wasn't. The Doctor whipped around at the sound of ceramic crashing on the ground.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. Here let me-" the Doctor trailed off as he looked into the patron's face. His eyes grew wide and his mouth sat agape as he just stood there frozen.
"S'no problem, mate. Don't worry about it. You alright?" the pink and yellow girl asked the same way she always used to. Rose smiled up at him. Well it was actually more like smiled straight at him. She was taller than he remembered. Then again, this regeneration was shorter than his last.
"What… um… yeah. Yeah I am. Thanks for asking," the Doctor stammered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some credits. "Please let me pay for a replacement." He tried to put the money in her hands.
"Keep it, I don't need it." Rose put her hands over his and pushed them back towards his body. For a minute, their eyes connected and she looked at him inquisitively. "You didn't happen to be at the coronation ball for the High Emperor yesterday, were you?" she inquired. As the Doctor was about to respond, he heard another familiar voice.
"Rose, is everything okay? I heard something smash," his previous self rushed out of the tent and quickly followed the gaze of his companion. The realization spread across his face immediately.
"Doctor, do you recognize this man? We must have met him somewhere. He looks so familiar."
"I doubt we've have. I'm not from here. I just got to the city today. I missed the coronation ball," The Doctor lied, never breaking eye contact with Ten.
"Yeah, Rose," Ten confirmed, "I don't think I've ever seen him before in my life. Come on, if we don't go now, we're not going to make it to the play in time."
"Oh," Rose sighed. "Okay then. Well, it was nice meeting you!"
With that, the Doctor watched his pink and yellow girl walk away for a third and final time. Ten remained behind, still looking at Eleven. The Doctor knew he was wondering about Rose. About why she wasn't there.
The Doctor looked at him with the straightest face he'd ever worn. "You're going to be late." Ten nodded with understanding, not saying a word. He turned and went to follow Rose who was quickly disappearing into the crowd.
"Wait!" The Doctor stopped him, pulling the credits from his pocket again. "Get some chips on me."
Ten took the money, nodded again, and left. The Doctor just stood there without moving until they were completely out of sight. That's when he realized the small hand wrapped around his own.
"Doctor, who was she?" Clara asked quietly.
"A ghost," he answered, still staring off into the crowd. The Doctor took a deep breath and then looked at his companion. "So… what now? Hey look! There's a fortune teller! We should check it out! It could be fun!"
Clara laughed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. Come on, chin boy. Let's go waste our money on the fortune teller."