1. Adventure

The TARDIS landed with a satisfying 'THUD'. As soon as Rose had regained her equilibrium, she bounded outside, but lingered just beyond the blue double doors waiting for the Doctor.

He poked his head out presently, taking Rose's hand and shutting the doors behind them. When he'd surveyed their surroundings briefly, he turned to her with his trademark grin.

"Welcome to La Femme d'Argent, Rose," he said. "Colonized by the French in the year two billion, so named for the mineral resources. Intergalactic El Dorado in the making," he added, cheerfully.

His companion had been taking in the local scenery while he talked. A road too smooth to be paved with concrete wound through sleek black buildings that were flecked with gold, sparkling when light from the two suns glanced off of them. Looking a bit out of place on the roofs of the elegant skyscrapers were lush, tropical gardens. Overflowing from one building to the next, the effect was almost that of a canopy. It was odd, Rose decided, but nice.

"What're the people here like?" she asked the Doctor. "Are they all French?"

"Nah," he answered. "Plenty of the native Argents stuck around, though they're not really what you'd call 'people'. Fully sentient, but not much head for business. Probably why they put up with being colonized in the first place."

"What d'you mean they're not…" Rose started to say, but all such thoughts were chased away by a gust of wind and the curiously tantalizing scent that met her nostrils. It was deep and spicy but with a sweetness that reminded her of ginger.

"What's that smell from? Those plants?" she wondered aloud.

The Doctor sniffed the air cautiously and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. Watching absently as he waved it around, Rose couldn't help but take in one deep lungful after another, enjoying the way it warmed her body from the inside.

After examining the results of the scan, the Doctor turned to her and shrugged. "Doesn't seem to be harmful. Shall we?" He inclined his head towards the road heading into what looked like the heart of the city.

With a nod and a smile which he returned, they set forth; ready to take in the sights and sounds of a new planet.

***

It would have been a lovely walk, Rose thought, had they not had to stop every time the Doctor saw something that caught his fancy, which was often, so that he could spend several minutes poking at it with his screwdriver.

Even so, it was nice. Just the two of them, the Doctor and Rose. Every so often they would catch each other's eye and wide grins would spread across their faces. Occasionally, they saw a person or two, usually hurrying to and from the buildings, and it made her smile to see that businessmen still sported briefcases even in the year two billion.

She was just opening her mouth to share that thought with the Doctor, when they turned a street corner and all she could manage was a squeak of incredulous terror. He followed her gaze, which was glued to the building at the far end of the street, or more accurately, at the gargantuan creature standing beside it.

"Oh. Right," he said, glancing at his suddenly pale companion and clearing his throat. "The natives."

Rose could only stand frozen in place, unable to tear her eyes from the alien. At first glance, she'd thought dinosaur, but on closer inspection it seemed to more closely resemble a giant, green, scaly giraffe. The creature's body consisted mainly of four very long spindly legs, and a neck that must have stretched twenty stories high at least.

The Argent paid absolutely no notice to Rose and the Doctor. Neither did it seem to notice anything else, other than the rooftop garden on which it was grazing contentedly.

"Is that what they're there for, then?" Rose asked, nodding towards the groves of plants. "A nice snack?"

"Looks like," the Doctor agreed.

"Ah," she answered, trying to sound politely curious rather than frightened out of her wits. She might have succeeded better if not for the fact that she was hanging on to his hand for dear life.

It wasn't that the alien looked particularly dangerous (in fact, it looked positively benign), but ever since she saw Jurassic Park as a kid, anything over 10 metres tall that was covered in scales and could move on its own sent her into a bit of a panic.

The Time Lord smiled down at her reassuringly, but there was a twinkle of amusement in his blue eyes.

"All right there, Rose?" he asked.

She gulped. "Yeah, 'm fine," she told him, but wasn't quite able to pull off the nonchalance she was going for.

It was then that the Argent stopped eating, swiveling its ropey neck in their direction.

"It's okay, Rose," the Doctor assured his nervous companion. "Just havin' a look, that's all it's doing." He spoke in his calmest, most condescending tone, the one he usually used when he was trying to sound superior.

The alien opened its mouth, and with a ground-quaking belch, spat out several metres of flame.

For the briefest second, the two companions looked at each other, disbelief and horror mirrored on their faces, before yelling instantaneously –

"RUN!"

***

Several streets away, the pair collapsed against the outside wall of a skyscraper, Rose gasping for breath and the Doctor still looking somewhat in shock.

"Okay," he said after a few seconds. "Wasn't expecting that to happen." He grinned enthusiastically at her.

Rose groaned. He had that look on his face, the trouble look. "There is absolutely no way in hell we're goin' back there to see that thing again, so don't even think about it."

A slight pout formed on his face. "Just a little peek?"

"No," she answered. A girl had to draw the line somewhere, after all. "I am not dyin' by a flamin' giraffe, all right?"

The Doctor wasn't giving up just yet. "We'll go for chips after, my treat…"

"NO!"

He sighed. "I'll take you shopping, any planet you want."

"And actually go with me, not swan off or stay in the TARDIS?" she raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"That a deal, then?" He looked surprised, as though he'd expected her to put up more of a fight.

"Tempting, but… nope. Sorry." She grinned, not feeling sorry at all. She was enjoying the game, and had a feeling he was too, despite all he tried to hide it.

He scowled, crossing his arms. After a moment, he glanced back at her, a dangerous smirk on his face, but when she tried to catch his eye he looked away. Rose caught him looking at her twice more before her curiosity got the better of her, and she had to ask.

"What is it, then?" She tried to sound cross, but for some reason it was always hard for her to stay mad at him, even just pretending.

The smirk transformed into a full-fledged Doctor grin. "Did I ever tell you that I give a fantastic massage?"

Rose's breath caught in her throat, but she kept her tone off-hand. "Oddly enough, it's never come up in discussion."

Now she was the one unable to meet his gaze as she played for time enough to get her racing heart and thoughts under control. What the hell was wrong with her? It was the Doctor, for God's sake! Getting excited about him touching her, thinking about the two of them, alone, with no distractions… she shook her head, trying to clear it. It was just wrong, a bit like fancying your teacher or something.

Why did it feel so right?

Rose looked up just in time to see what looked remarkably like real disappointment on the Time Lord's face. He thought she'd shaken her head to say no, she realized. She sighed. Once again, she'd gone and hurt his feelings, probably, though she really didn't want to read too far into that idea. Emotionally, the man was (more so than physically, ironically) completely alien to her.

Telling herself it was just because she didn't want a stroppy alien on her hands, she quickly said "All right. Ten minutes, that's it."

The Doctor's face was a picture of surprise and then delight. He laughed aloud before pulling her into a quick but close hug.

"Fantastic!" he exclaimed. Then, fingers laced tightly together, off they ran, in search of a giant, fire-breathing giraffe.