Disclaimer: Not mine - it's the BBC's. Even the idea wasn't primarily mine. Thanks go to Built on the Horizon, because although this story is pretty much completely different to hers, I got the idea for it after reading one of her stories, and I think it's probably my initial influence. So I literally own nothing here.
Set: Now, if I told you that, the story wouldn't surprise you, would it? Okay...it's set after Rose but before the Master. I'll tell you that much.

Okay, this story has developed from a number of things, namely:
1. My rewatching a certain series 3 episode a few days ago (so Braceface Freak may have an idea, hint hint).
2. My reading the story 'Knowing Rose Tyler' by Built on the Horizon, which reminded me of...
3. That series 3 episode again. I'm saying nothing more.

Basically, I pretty much don't have a clue what's going on anymore than you do. You'll get the idea of the story as it goes on. Enjoy! (Oh, and first one to guess who the man is gets a jelly baby. Just 'cause they're awesome.)

Chapter 1: Not Quite The Doctor

The first thing he noticed was light. So much light - reflecting off cars, windows, walls, anything it could find that would relay its pattern of blinding whiteness. He was sure it hadn't been this bright in…wherever he had just been. He rubbed his eyes, squinted up at the sky, and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He groaned as his head gave an overwhelming lurch of pain, and clutched the sides of his head frustratedly. After a moment, he slowly pushed himself up so he was standing, grabbing the side of a bin for support. He blinked numerous times, adjusting to the new light, then opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings.

The place was completely empty of life, and the tall figure released the bin and staggered over to a bench to sit down, relief washing over his mind and he rested. Looking around once more, he could see objects that, although he was sure he recognised, he knew he had never seen before in his life. With the question of 'Where the hell am I?' beckoning, he glanced around nervously, trying to identify anything. There was a wall - a threatening, looming wall, stretching into the sky for an eternity - and a lot of crates. Hundreds of boxes and cases surrounded him, on forklifts or in piles, seemingly waiting to be transported somewhere.
So, a warehouse of some kind? He glanced up the wall that was stood so far in front of him; it consisted of many, many windows, reaching right up to the top, and a single door in front of him. But the light from the sun bounced off the wall and hurt his eyes, so he looked away quickly. Looking around once more, he made a mental note of everything he saw. There were crates - lots of them - and the ones to his left were labelled, but the ones to his right were not. The ones to his right seemed disorganised, whereas the boxes to his left were ordered and arranged systematically, with signs above each cluster of boxes that his mind couldn't quite make out. There were a few more benches and bins around the place. By looking around the corner, he could see a car park, and by looking back at where he had stumbled over from, there was just a strange blue box, hidden away in the corner. Everything seemed so familiar, yet he had no idea where he was. But when he saw the blue box in the corner, he felt the slightest hint of recognition.

Without another moment, a loud claxon sounded, and the man flinched at the loud, sudden noise. He heard footsteps approaching and went to hide, but there was nowhere to go. He realised suddenly that he had no reason to hide, and instead sat patiently on the bench, waiting for someone to come along who he could ask where he was. Sure enough, after a while, people started filing out of the building and walking over to the crates. Some workers appeared from around the corner; others seemed to have been standing outside all the time, just out of view. Needless to say, they all started talking after seconds, and began moving the crates around, labelling them and writing things on clipboards as they went.

After a short while, a professional looking man wearing a smart, business-like suit walked up to him.

"'Scuse me, sir, can I help you?" he asked, and the man recognised him from the accent to be from London.

"Is this London?" he asked, suddenly not sure of where he was once more.

"Yes." the stranger replied cautiously. "You okay? You do look a bit pale. D'you need to lie down?"

The man nodded. "I think I do, yeah." The stranger nodded understandingly, and led him into the building, observing the other workers as he went.

"What's your name?" the worker asked as he led the man quickly down the corridors, and he felt a name on the tip of his tongue, though he wasn't sure what it was until he'd said it.

"John. John Smith." he replied simply, and jogged slightly to catch up with the man.

"You work here?" he was asked, and nodded, though he wasn't sure why, as he only had a faint recollection of ever being in the strange place. "ID?"

He instinctively reached into his suit pocket and fumbled about, before his fingers closed around a small metal disk. He released the object, as if scalded, and continued to search around in his pocket. He felt leather…yep, definitely leather - a wallet. He opened it and held it up to the man without bothering to check what it said, but he seemed to accept it. He turned the wallet towards himself, but found that it was blank. He frowned, and was about to ask why the man had just accepted a blank ID card, when he realised the person he was following had disappeared.

"Hello?" he asked hopefully, stuffing the wallet back into his pocket.

"Lift." he heard from a few metres away, and he dashed into the lift just before the doors closed. The two men stood in silence while the lift ascended, but only John stepped out when it ground to a halt.

"You seem better, I need to go back and check on my employees." he said in a way of explanation. "Medical room is down the corridor, then to your left, then second door on the right." The lift doors closed before John could ask anything else, and he was once again alone, in a place that seemed familiar but most definitely wasn't.

Forgetting all about the blank identity card, the blue box downstairs and the man's directions, he set off down the corridor and turned right.

- - - - - - - -

"Look, would you just stop?" she insisted, punching her fist down on the table for effect. "We're going in there -" she indicated to a point at the side of the map with her pen, "- and that's final." One of the people she had been arguing with started to protest, but she cut him off. "Mickey, leave it! I'm project manager, and my word's final." He glared at her and she glared back. "Look, if we go in there -" she pointed to a different place on the blueprint, "- they'll slaughter us." The girl smirked but Rose glared at her too. "And don't you start." she added, wiping the smile of the girl's face. "If we go in where you said, we'd be sitting in the engine room of their ship when we blew it up."

The woman walked away, brushing her fingers through her blonde hair, and walked back over to her own desk, tapping the pen on her hand subconsciously, and leaving her two team-mates to whisper arguments and laughter in each other's ear whilst pointing frantically at different places on the map.

She looked up as the door opened to reveal John, who walked in looking confused and slightly worried. She let the pen fall to the floor clumsily and Mickey and Kate looked up from their 'subtle' flirting match to see what the problem was. The open doors were blocked from their view by Rose, who was stood frozen in the middle of the room, staring at the man, who in turn stared back at her awkwardly.

"What, Rose?" Mickey asked, trying not to laugh and the face Kate was making behind Rose's back. "Rose?" he tried again, but she didn't answer, transfixed on the face of the man at the door.

John turned his head to look behind him, but there was no one there. Dodging to one side, then the other, he found that the woman's eyes followed his every movement.

"Uh, hello, there." he said awkwardly, seeming quite distracted. "Not…really sure…uh…Where I was going, I mean. Kind of, lost my…sense of direction." he glanced down the corridor to either side of him, then turned back to face Rose inside the room, who was still staring blankly at him.

"Doctor?" she breathed out, almost inaudibly, and he snapped back into life, startling her.

"Doctor!" he cried, and she jumped back an inch, but John seemed to have hurt himself with his outburst. "Ow…okay, there's that headache…again. Sorry. Bad migraine. It…comes and goes. But that's what I was looking for - medical! Thanks." and with not another word, he turned calmly to the left and let the double-door fall closed in front of him as he walked calmly away to the side.

Seconds later, the door was pushed open again, and once more, John was on the other side. "Sorry, but uh…what-what's with the…" he trailed off, signalling to his own face, and Rose took that as a sign to mean she had been freaking him out by staring at him. But when she didn't answer, and kept staring at him, he dropped his hand to the side calmly. "Okay…well, goodbye."

Rose became suddenly aware that she wasn't breathing, and she choked on a breath when she tried to take one. She noticed that Mickey was stood to one side of her and Kate was on the other.

"Medical? Too right - what a freak." Kate let out a high-pitched, girlish giggle and prodded Mickey's side behind Rose's back. "Psychiatric, more like." But this time, Mickey didn't retaliate to Kate's childish games.

"That was…" He raised his hand and pointed to the door that the man he knew as the Doctor had so recently walked away from. "The...the Doctor." he finished quietly.

Rose nodded weakly, feeling the blood rushing from her face. So she almost expected it when she felt herself falling to the ground. And she almost expected it when she woke up in the medical room, with someone who looked like her Doctor, but wasn't quite aware of it. Yet.

Whoo! Hope you liked it, and that it didn't confuzzle you too much. Hey, I just realised, I do own something! Kate! Kate is all mine. I made her up. (She's Rose and Mickey's field partner, if you didn't guess.)
Anyone guess who the man was before the name was mentioned? It was pretty obvious. Still, as promised, jelly babies go to all who did. So...theories anyone? Which series 3 episode am I talking about? Who's John Smith (yeah right, like you don't all know)? Where's the Doctor - or his mind, at least? What's the hell is going on? Anyone want a jelly baby?
And before you say it, think it, or even think about thinking it...yeah, I love jelly babies at the moment. Not sure why.

Oh, and here's a sneak peek at the next chapter:
"Do you know your name?" she asked.
"Of course I do." he replied, offended. "John Smith, nice to meet you. We didn't really get the chance to say hello yesterday." He held out his hand and she took it nervously.
"Rose Tyler." she muttered, just loud enough for John to hear. When he did, he looked into her eyes, just for a second, and it was as if something stirred inside him. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

Wheeeee! Now, review please!