The School Reunion
"I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you" – Friedrich Nietzsche.
"You remember Sarah Jane, I mention her all the time," the Doctor said, staring at Rose. She was caught up whether to tell Sarah Jane the truth, if she really could break someone's heart so calmly.
"Course I do," she replied, smiling innocently back, "Yeah, I've heard loads about you."
"You have?" Sarah Jane asked with surprise.
"Course, he's always talking about you." The Doctor silently thanked Rose as she walked off with Sarah Jane ahead.
"So, Sarah Jane Smith. Didn't expect to see her here," Mickey told the Doctor, "From what I heard she was still with UNIT."
"How did you know she was with UNIT?" the Doctor asked curiously as they followed Sarah Jane and Rose, his hands in his pockets.
"Followed UNIT up when I was trying to find out about you, after Rose disappeared," Mickey replied, watching Rose carefully, "You know, that year was one of the worst of my life. Not knowing if she was even alive, being considered a murder suspect. And then you come swanning back, save the day and off she goes again. This time at least, Jackie and I know where she is, but doesn't mean we still don't miss her. Jackie gets the odd phone call once a month, a visit every couple of months, and Rose is her daughter! And I can tell Jackie's lonely because every Sunday I get invited round for a Roast dinner! And trust me, I was never exactly in Jackie's good books because I used to go out with Rose –"
"Ssssh!" Rose whispered as Sarah Jane put her head next to the door, listening to what was inside.
"Something's breathing in there," she whispered back. Sarah Jane stood up as the Doctor walked over, unlocking the door. He gently pressed on the door handle, opening the door. Inside were about twelve large bats, hanging off the ceiling. Mickey took one look and sprinted back out of the school. Rose rolled her eyes and followed him, calmly walking out with Sarah Jane just behind her. The Doctor silently closed the door behind them, just before one of the Krillitanes woke up.
Sometime later…
They all ended up in a small café, Rose and Mickey sitting at a small table near the back whilst Sarah Jane and the Doctor sat at the front, trying to fix a small metal dog.
"So, the Doctor's back with his ex, hey?" Mickey asked, grinning at Rose.
"Oh, give it a rest Mickey," she fired back, "I'm not really in the mood." There was silence until Rose stood up, having finished her chips and headed towards the Doctor.
"A minute Rose," the Doctor said as she walked up. Rose glared at him, putting her hands on her hips impatiently.
"Done!" the Doctor yelled happily, standing back from his work.
"Doctor –" Rose started.
"Now, we just wait for K9 to analyse the sample –"
"Doctor!" Rose yelled, grabbing his attention. He turned around sharply to see her.
"What?" He asked, "Can it wait?"
"No, it can't. I've got to go, now! My mum called earlier, she wants me to come round and stay the night. Something about not seeing me often enough so I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow."
"What about the Krillitanes?" Mickey asked.
"There's three of you, you can stop them! Anyway, if you need me, call my mobile." Rose said her goodbyes before rushing out of the café. Mickey and the Doctor exchanged looks.
"Well, she's not lying about her mum – she did call earlier and asked for Rose to come round from this evening till tomorrow. Nothing to worry about probably," Mickey said hopefully. "So, a metal robot then."
"It's not a metal robot!" Sarah Jane protested, "It's my dog!" The Doctor gave Mickey a similarly patronising look as K9 processed the data.
-*-
Rose woke up the next morning, refreshed after a night's sleep. Rose put a dressing gown on and walked into the kitchen, her hair suitably messed up.
"Morning!" Jackie said cheerily as she walked into the kitchen, "Now, I've just boiled the kettle, so tea will be ready in a minute. What do you want to eat?"
"Just toast, thanks," Rose replied.
"Sure? It's your birthday after all, and I've got a treat for you later – it's your birthday present! I'm taking you down the Arcade so you can go get a nice new outfit to wear today, and you can buy yourself a lovely gift."
"Mum, you don't have to," Rose said, grabbing some bread and putting it in the toaster.
"Nonsense, you're my daughter. I've got to fuss over you! Now, eat quickly. We've got a long day ahead of us."
-*-
Oh, Mickey was annoyed, and it couldn't be anything to do with a certain Timelord who had managed to get them in trouble with an alien, and the said alien locking them up in a deadlocked room, with no possible escape routes (even though the Doctor had tried.) They had to use their trick card – Rose. The Doctor brought out his phone and quickly dialed her number.
"Hello?" a gaggle of female voices answered.
"Erm, can I speak to Rose please?" the Doctor asked hesitatingly.
"Are you the Doctor?"
"Yes. Yes, I am, do you know where she is?" he asked impatiently.
"Yeah, Rose is here with us. We're just giving her a make over –"
"Is it the Doctor? Shareen, give me my phone back," he heard Rose shriek as she chased Shareen.
"Yeah, we're giving her a make over," Shareen yelled down the phone, "Birthday make over, tradition. As well as getting drunk -" Shareen stopped suddenly and there was a loud thud, and the sound of the phone being grabbed off someone.
"Hello?" Rose asked down the phone.
"Yeah, Rose, it's the Doctor. We've got a slight, err, predicament here –"
"He's got us trapped in a supply cupboard in the school," Mickey yelled towards the phone.
"Right, so I guess you want me to come and get you out of the cupboard then, or was this just a social call?"
"Tell me, are you as gorgeous in the flesh as you are in the pictures Rose has got or is it just your good side or something?" The girls yelled at the phone. The Doctor blushed.
"Yeah, Rose, if you could."
"Still at Deffry Vale then?"
"Yeah, yeah we are."
"Ok, I'll call you back," she replied, hanging up quickly.
"So it's Rose's birthday which is why she wasn't here today. Solves one mystery," Sarah Jane said.
Mickey grinned happily as he finally got the chance to tease the Doctor. "And creates a giant problem that he's forgotten her birthday –"
"Mickey shut it," the Doctor snapped.
-*-
Rose ran out of the room, after muttering a quick excuse to her friends. She sprinted to the school and stood outside, dialing the Doctor again.
"Rose, is that you?" he asked down the phone.
"Yeah, it's me, where are you?"
"Locked in a store cupboard, you know the one Mickey found the vacuum packed rats in. And Rose?"
"Yeah, what?" she asked breathlessly as she tried to get back her breath.
"Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?" he asked quietly.
"I didn't know?" she bluffed.
"Why?" he repeated.
"You were busy. Anyway, it's a bit domestic for you, birthdays and all that."
"You still –"
"Doctor, do you know where the Krillitanes are?" Rose interrupted.
"No, they said they were going to keep the school open and finish off with us after the children had gone. They've locked all the external doors except the front door and door to the playground but both are being guarded."
"So, I've got to avoid the Krillitanes, and the doors into the building."
"Pretty much," he agreed.
"Right then, so there's got to be some sort of access into the building other than the ma –" She paused, grinning. "I think I've found somewhere to get in." Rose started to run round the outskirts of the building, until she reached a large tree, and she quickly climbed up the tree, sitting carefully, hidden from sight by the trees.
"Rose?" he asked again desperately.
" Yeah, sorry, still here. I'm almost into the school, give me a couple of minutes and I'll be able to get to you."
"Care to tell me what's going on?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm climbing up a tree to climb through an empty classroom so I can get into the corridor, avoid the Krillitanes and get you out of your closet before getting back before mum's noticed I've gone. Any problems with that plan?"
"It's not my closet for starters. And the room's deadlocked, looks like no way out."
"Well then, I'll have to get some help them, won't I?" Rose ignored the Doctor's next few comments as she leapt from the tree to the window, grabbing on tightly before swinging herself in. She held the phone back up to her ear, telling him to shh before creeping over to the doorway, pressing her ear to the door.
"Rose, what are you planning to do?" the Doctor whispered.
"Like I said, improvise. Now, this is going to be a bit loud…" She snuck out the doorway, breaking the glass on the fire alarm before sprinting down the corridor, avoiding everyone. She some how managed to avoid the Krillitanes, and she hid behind the door of a classroom as Mr. Finch left his office, initiating the fire routine and quickly walking away. Rose took her chance and crept to his office, which was still open. She noticed some keys on his desk and grabbed them, sprinting to the supply cupboard. Rose went down the corridor and saw Mr. Finch in the distance, and dived into the nearest classroom, pressing her ear to the door.
"Silly girls," he said loudly, "Silly girls come to find an even sillier girl. Someone else is coming to try and rescue some stupid idiots." One other Krillitane was following Mr. Finch and offered his key to Mr. Finch. Mr. Finch snatched the keys off him, unlocking the supply cupboard and shoving two people in the cupboard, before closing it.
"What do we do now?" the other Krillitane asked.
"Get all the children back into school like normal. We'll deal with them all later." The footsteps faded into the distance and she slowly opened the classroom door, quickly running across the hallway and fitting several keys in the lock before finding the right one, twisting it sharply and opening the door suddenly.
"Rose, what's going on?" Shareen asked impatiently.
"Shareen what are you doing here – Wait, never mind that. We've got to get out quickly." Shareen and Ellie quickly hurried out the cupboard, Mickey, Sarah Jane and the Doctor following behind.
"Right, everyone get out of the building, get out of the grounds. I'll get the teachers in one place, you get the children out," the Doctor ordered. Everyone hurried off, forgetting Rose standing there, her arms crossed as she glared at the Doctor.
"Don't you dare even think about trying to blow up the school while you're still inside it," she told him furiously.
"Course, nothing was further from my mind," the Doctor promised. "Go on, go and find your friends again."
"How about no. How about I'm still furious with you about having to cover for you – You shouldn't lie to people, especially not your friends. She deserves not to have people lie to her. And yes, I did lie; I knew it was my birthday. I just wanted to be away from you during my party so I could have fun; not having to worry if everything you were doing was just a lie as well!" With that Rose ran in the opposite direction, the Doctor feeling guilty as that one white lie's effect hit him. The one white lie he had asked Rose to tell may have just wrecked their friendship. He froze, before running to the kitchens. He had just lied once again to Rose – he was going to blow up Deffry Vale - that was true, although he was planning on escaping the school before it actually blew so he wouldn't be inside it when it blew… So it wasn't technically lying.
Once in the kitchen, he pulled two Nitro Nine explosives out of his pocket, putting them on a timer for three minutes. That would be enough time for the Krillitanes to come to the kitchens to get him, and enough time for the children to leave. He carefully hid the explosives before using the sonic screwdriver to call the Krillitanes to the kitchen. Then he ran, straight out the backdoor, sonicking it as he left and quickly sprinting towards the front of the school into the playground.
He was only just in time as the school exploded, narrowly avoiding being killed. The school children were jumping outside as papers flew out of the school windows from the force.
Sarah Jane walked over to him; following is line of sight as he gazed at the school.
"You've stopped them," Sarah Jane said softly, "And you saved everyone here."
"Maybe," he murmured back, before quickly snapping back to the real world. "So, do you come with us in the TARDIS?" he asked her.
"Oh, I think my life is on Earth now," Sarah Jane replied. "But thanks for the offer.
"Can I come?" Mickey asked.
"You always need a Smith," Sarah Jane added. The Doctor briefly considered it.
"Alright then," he agreed. "You know where the TARDIS is parked, don't you? We'll all meet there tomorrow, just after lunch. That ok with you?"
"Course Doctor," Mickey agreed. There was a pause as the Doctor looked around.
"Has anyone seen Rose?" he asked.
"No, I thought she was in the school with you!" Sarah Jane replied after a pause. The Doctor looked around sharply, finding Rose standing with Shareen and Ellie. He hurried over towards them.
"Rose," the Doctor asked, "Can I have a word with you? It'll only take a couple of minutes, I need to explain –" Rose grabbed his arm and dragged him away, behind a near by tree.
"What do you want, Doctor, because I just want to get this over with," Rose said sharply.
"I came to apologise."
"What?" Rose asked.
"You know, apologise. I shouldn't have made you lie, I realise that. And I should have remembered your birthday."
"And you shouldn't have blown up that school – what if we hadn't managed to get everyone out? What if someone had died in there?"
"I know, I'm sorry," The Doctor apologised. "How can I make it up to you?"
"Never, ever, make me lie for you other again unless it's a matter of life and death," Rose said forcefully, poking the Doctor. "That, and you've got to come to the rest of my birthday party. Knowing my mum it'll be a disco or something."
"All right then," the Doctor agreed, "As long as you promise not to leave me alone with your friends –"
"What a tempting thought," Rose replied. She smiled at the Doctor, "Fine, I promise not to leave you abandoned too long with my friends, although, if you do get bored you could always go help Mickey – I overheard him talking to Sara and Jess about DJing so maybe you could help him do that, as long as you don't try and upgrade the DJ equipment."
"I promise." He held out his hand and she grabbed it. "By the way, that dress looks really nice." She was wearing a fairly short dress, which ended just above her knees with black leggings underneath, and black sandal-like high heels.
"Thanks," She replied as they walked towards the main group, "Not very easy to run in these shoes though."
"They look nice though."
"Is that all you can say? Nice?" Rose asked jokily.
"Rose, come on, we should really be getting back," Shareen pointed out as they re-entered the group, "We've got about half an hour to get you ready and then you've got to open your presents."
"Have a good birthday Rose and I'll see you around," Sarah Jane said, "And if you need to, find me one day. Bye Doctor, Mickey."
"Oh, by the way Sarah Jane I fixed K9 last night. Good as new, he's in the TARDIS."
"K9?" Ellie asked.
"TARDIS?" Shareen asked at the same time.
"Why don't you go back to the TARDIS with Sarah Jane and give her K9 and whatever else you need to do and you meet back at my house in half an hour?" Rose asked, diverting their attention from their unanswered questions.
"Yeah, I'll do that," the Doctor agreed. "So I'll see you in half an hour then." He started walking away from the school, Sarah Jane alongside him.
"So I'll see you later," Mickey replied, kissing Ellie quickly before leaving.
"What was that about?" Rose asked Ellie curiously.
"They're going out, didn't you know?" Shareen said loudly as they started to walk back to the flat, "How long've you been going out?"
"Since Easter," Ellie replied, "Yeah he came round with these beautiful flowers and asked me out. We then had a burger each and, well, you know. Things progressed pretty quickly, he stayed over the night and we just started living together."
"So you two have been together for –"
"13 months on Sunday."
"It's May already?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, how can you forget? And where were you on Sunday, I kept calling your mobile but it said out of range," Shareen asked curiously.
"Oh, I've been traveling. Must have been in an area with low signal," she bluffed nervously.
"Since Easter? I haven't been able to contact you since then, and trust me, I've tried. So where have you been exactly?"
"Here and there," she replied, "Far, far away to the most beautiful places imaginable."
"Right," Shareen replied, not believing her. "And how exactly did you get the cash to fund this trip then?"
"Went to a "not just a London hopper" which travels round, free of charge," Rose replied day dreamily. She then snapped quickly back to reality. "I just met the Doctor, he offered me the chance to come traveling."
"So you vanished off for a year to go traveling, and you never thought to call anyone?" Ellie asked quietly.
"It honestly wasn't that long for me!" she protested, and then murmured in an undertone, "More like two days."
-*-
The party erupted as Rose entered the hall, the people yelling "Happy Birthday." Soon the party was in fall swing, Jackie providing the drinks and Mickey DJing, just as Rose predicted. The Doctor avoided Rose's friends as much as possible, choosing instead to try and stay close to Rose. Jackie managed to pour the Doctor several glasses of red wine and he was feeling decidedly merrier. He had somehow been dragged into Rose's friends little gang, listening to them laugh and joke to one another. Rose joined the group just as a new song came on.
"Go on, you two go dance!" Shareen yelled over the music. Shareen pushed the Doctor into Rose before shoving them into the main dancing group. There was an awkward moment where neither knew quite what to do.
"We could… dance. Only if you want to –" he stuttered.
"Yeah, only if you –" she stammered back. They both smiled innocently at each other before delicately taking each other's hands and swaying in time to the beat.
"Would you tremble, if I touched your lips?" the Doctor sang softly in her ear. "Would you laugh? Oh please tell me this. Now would you die, for the one you love?"
"Yes," she whispered to him, "I would." The Doctor beamed at her, gently leading her away from her friends, outside the church hall.
"Rose, I just wanted to tell you… I love you." He quickly leaned in towards Rose, his lips barely touching hers before a disapproving cough was behind them.
"Is that entirely appropriate?" the dark skinned woman asked.
"Yes, I do think it is," the Doctor replied, wrapping his arm around Rose's waist and quickly kissing her on the cheek.
"Mum, don't be embarrassing – just leave it!" the woman's daughter protested, dragging her away. Rose grinned at the Doctor, leaning in towards his body.
"So, what shall we do now? Go back inside?" the Doctor asked.
"Nah, they'll all be drunk in there. Can we just go home? I mean the TARDIS?"
"Sure," he promised, "And how about I take you out somewhere special? Just us two," he asked.
"What about chips?" she asked.
"Chips, Rose Tyler, are not very romantic," he pretended to protest.
"For me they are. Never underestimate the good 'ol chip. It's amazing how many times I went out with different boys and we never ate chips."
"So, chips it is then!" the Doctor replied, as they walked away from the party. "That lovely carbohydrate substance, potatoes. You can mash 'em, fry 'em, roast 'em -" Rose just laughed and leant into him as they walked along.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"You're rambling," she explained. "But the rambling's good. It's very you."
"Good me or bad me?" he asked her. Rose smiled.
"Oh, good you definitely," she agreed. They continued to walk in a comfortable silence until they reached the chip shop.
"Two portions of chips please," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Rose, do you want anything to drink?"
"No thanks," she replied. The Doctor dug his hand into his pocket and brought out a very battered five-pound note. "Wow, you've got money for once, you tight wad."
"Oi!" the Doctor protested, putting the change back in his pocket and holding the two portions of chips in his other hand. "Come on, let's go outside." Rose followed him out and grabbed a packet of chips off the Doctor.
"So, where shall we go now?" Rose asked him, biting one of her chips.
"Well, I thought we could go back to the TARDIS if you want," he replied in between mouthfuls of chips. He then quickly took one of Rose's chips, sinking his teeth into it so that half of it stuck out of his mouth.
"Oi!" she protested, going in front of him and biting the half of the chip sticking out of his mouth. He grinned back at her, allowing himself to be completely absorbed in her smile. Rose looked at the river in front of them, and the street lights reflecting against its surface. The Doctor looked to where she was looking and smiled.
"You know, sometimes you don't even need to go to other planets, times or universes to see the most beautiful sites," he turned to look at Rose, "Because sometimes they're right in front of you." Rose turned round to look at the Doctor, beaming at him. They both looked back to the water, keeping their hands firmly entwined.