Did I Mention…?
Notes: Welcome to betterwiththree! We are LilCosette, Morph, and Eeveekitty85, and we have been doing some co-writing for your enjoyment. Spare your sympathy for Cossie and Morph, who were up at an ungodly hour in the morning because of the time difference…we live on different ends of the world y'know! So we've worked and worked and translated and laughed, and we now deem it ready! So without further ado, Did I Mention and the quote that started it all…
The thing is, Adam, time travel is like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guidebook, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers... or is that just me?
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She said no. He almost couldn't believe it. He had been so sure she would say yes. The Doctor was alone once again.
He'd got his hopes up, that was the problem. He'd allowed himself to think for a few minutes that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to travel alone anymore. That maybe fate, or whatever was toying with him, would let him find solace. And now he was right back where he had started, only now he couldn't get that 19 year old shop girl out of his mind.
Anger began to bubble in his mind, his thoughts running wild as he glared at the TARDIS screen. He watched her and her stupid boyfriend begin to wander off. How dare she reject him? He had offered her the trip of a life time! She seemed to become so alive when faced with danger. He could tell she wanted so much more then her ordinary life. The boring old routine would kill the spirit he had glimpsed in her eyes. Why anyone would not want to escape from that…the Doctor didn't know, could not explain. Why would she say no? What could possibly be keeping her there?
The Doctor glanced around at the console room. It was empty of life save for him and the interior of the TARDIS. He could feel his ship in the back of his mind and that was a comfort. It was only a small comfort though, like a band-aid on a broken leg. He longed for contact. There was a hole in his consciousness that was once filled, even without him realising it, by other Time Lords. And now that empty space was aching, almost to the point where he just couldn't bear it any longer. He remembered when he took Rose's hand. For a second, that hole in his mind had seemed to be filled by her touch.
But she said no. She wasn't there with him to fill that stupid little hole. Anger and frustration bubbled in the Doctor once again. He felt like he wanted to hit something, but that didn't seem characteristic of his personality. No, he would do something else, something less violent. He keyed in a random location, a random time and place, into the TARDIS. He needed a distraction, something to get Rose out of his mind.
It took a few seconds for the TARDIS to react and fly him through time. In those empty moments the Doctor battled with the thoughts of Rose in his mind. He wanted to forget her. He was almost desperate to. He would do anything to forget her, forget everything. Even if it was only for a few minutes.
There was a sudden bang and the Doctor found himself thrown to the metal grating of the floor. He cursed to himself and got to his feet. His distracted mind had just caused him to crash land his ship. He muttered a not very heart-felt apology to the TARDIS and looked at the screen to see where he was. Paris, France, the year 5050. New Year's Day. He shrugged and went to open the door.
He was almost blown back by the force of the party just outside the door. It was night and there was a loud and lively street party in full swing. Music thumped from drums and speakers and lights of every colour were flashing. Every now and then a firework would go off, illuminating the black sky. The Doctor noticed that he couldn't see any stars, but decided to blame that on the smoke and the smog. The Eiffel tower was still there, but it was dwarfed now by three towers that were easily twice as high as it. There were over a thousand people running around in a huge variety of coloured costumes, perhaps even two thousand. Certainly every party animal in the district had turned up to take their part in the celebrations. A fire breather was performing on a small stage, with several other performers dotted throughout the street. There were noise makers and balloons and general chaos. It was certainly a distraction, but it was a little too much.
"Of all nights of the year, you had to pick New Years?" the Doctor muttered to the TARDIS. He sighed. Oh well. Maybe there was a quiet little restaurant or something he could go to.
He locked the door behind him and stepped onto the street. He approached a couple of girls in fluorescent dresses who were showering a passer by in streamers.
"Excuse me ladies, could you tell me where I might be able to find a nice, quiet restaurant?" he asked with a smile.
The girl's mouths dropped open. They scowled at the Doctor and the one closest to him raised a hand and slapped him across the face. Then the girls stormed off.
The Doctor was in shock. He rubbed his sore cheek and wondered what he did wrong. He was polite. He hadn't said anything to offend them. They were ladies, weren't they? "Not sure I deserved that," the Doctor muttered.
Two thoughts crossed his mind. One was the possibility of cross-dressing. The other involved the translator in his TARDIS. The crash must have jarred something to make him use the wrong verbs, but he really didn't want to bother tinkering with that right now. He needed a drink, and some of the fine Parisian cuisine he sampled so rarely.
The Doctor threw caution to the wind and walked down the street, choosing a direction at random. Eventually he found what he was looking for. It was definitely a small restaurant, maybe not as quiet as he would have liked, but he stepped inside anyway.
Sitting in there, surrounded by candle light and soft music, he began to relax. It was an old fashioned place, with beautiful wooden furniture and artistic oil paintings on the walls. The waiters wore prim suits, and the only people in here were polite, sophisticated gentlemen and their wives. This was the sort of place that would have been wasted on that silly shop girl. He could barely remember her name, he pretended. Daisy something, or maybe Lily. There was still a slight pounding from the streets outside, but he could just about ignore it if he focused on the menu.
"Steak and chips," he announced with a grin. "Been a long time since I had a good steak."
"Etes-vous servi?" asked a waiter slowly, turning his doleful eyes on the Doctor. "Are you being served?"
"Steak and chips for me please," said the Doctor, handing him the menu with a grin. "And may I just say what a relief it is to get away from the noise," he said in his most polite French. "I've heard recommendations," he carried on, hoping to charm his way into a free pudding. "And everyone in the know says this place is the best restaurant for a good dessert."
The waiter went quite pale and dropped the menu and his notepad. "I assure you sir, you will find none of that behaviour in here!" he said primly, stalking off.
The Doctor blinked. "No dessert?"
He noticed the rest of the café had gone completely silent. He shifted awkwardly and decided to just eat and leave. However, when the bill arrived he was most affronted to see he had been charged double.
"Oi you," he said to the waiter angrily. "I don't know what I'm supposed to have done, but I only asked for a pudding! You have no right to charge me double!"
The waiter went swiftly from shocked to angry. "How dare you bring such foul language in here? Pay your bill and leave, at once!"
The Doctor slammed down some Euros without bothering to check if it was the right currency. This was technically stealing, but he was about to save their world. Probably.
He stormed out of the restaurant furiously, and immediately got swept into a conga line. Alarmed to find an oddly handsome looking woman groping him, he tried diligently to escape.
He pulled away hopefully, the woman catching him before he could get
very far, forcing him to move with the line. "Oh this is just too much," he muttered as he was carried along, forced to stomp in time to the music.
"My name's Jackie," the woman murmured drunkenly in his ear, her voice deep and shaky as they moved up and down. The music sped up, and so did the line.
Letting go of one hand from the conga, person by person passed a bottle of some kind of alcohol down the line, taking a swig each. The Doctor looked at it hesitantly but shrugged. What the hell, he'd just been rejected. He creased up his forehead as he took a swig, the power of the drink pulsing through him, making his head pound. The woman behind him giggled and took two swigs before passing it back. She leant forward and started to whisper in his ear.
"I'd love for you to come back to my spaceship… I can give you lots of," her fingers trailed along lower parts of his anatomy. "Dessert…"
The Doctor tried to turn his head to look at her, wondering what the hell dessert actually meant. The TARDIS translator was definitely playing up. No wonder the waiter had been offended.
But his neck was pulled back by the movement of the conga and he couldn't quite catch her features.
The bottle was travelling back, and he swigged it without hesitation this time, and wishing he hadn't. The drink had changed in transition. This one was stronger and more vulgar than the last drink. Or maybe that was just him. He shrugged and passed it forward, meanwhile noticing a bench just in reach with little cups of clear liquid in them. He sighed and smiled. That was more like it, water was what he needed, just to clear his head, to flush out the horrible taste of the vulgar alcohol. He sculled the liquid in one swallow and then wished he hadn't.
"Hyper-vodka," he muttered, a disgusted tone to his voice.
"I like a man that can hold his drink," whispered the woman in his ear. "And it's not just vodka. It's a Hyper-VCB." The Doctor looked back at her, his expression blank. "A Hyper-vodka champagne beer."
He believed her. The potent mix of alcohol was beginning to affect him, he could feel it. He grinned, because suddenly he didn't care about stupid shop girl Rose and the stupid waiter. He grabbed another Hyper-VCB and Jackie laughed encouragingly as they broke free from the line. She tugged at his jacket tails, and he allowed himself to follow her as she moved to a flat area where people were dancing. Grabbing his hand, she attempted to get him dancing, then laughed at his evident lack of coordination.
"Just relax," she said over the noise, offering him another drink. He accepted graciously and swallowed it down, enjoying the burning sensation it left in his mouth.
"I just remembered, I can dance," he slurred to her. She looked up at him quizzically. The Doctor noticed that she was very tall. And quite butch.
"So where are you from babe?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and making them sway slightly to the music.
He leant his head down to whisper in her ear. "Another planet," he said. "I'm a Time Lord…"
"I bet you are," she laughed, her breath hot on his neck as she kissed him.
"I'm ssserious," he said, not at all bothered by her attention. "You should see my time machine."
"If that's an invitation I'll take it," she said. For a moment, the Doctor could have sworn her hair had slipped sideways slightly as he took her hand, leading her back to the TARDIS.
The streets were less crowded here, and the cold night air hit them as they swerved their way to a deserted street corner.
"A police box," said Jackie as she looked at the TARDIS, licking her lips. "So…retro…"
And with that, she grabbed his collar and shoved him against the door.
The Doctor fumbled with the lock, trying to access his pockets to find his key. Jackie blocked all access, her body pressing in closer.
"I'm not what you think I am," she murmured, her eyes sparking slightly. The Doctor raised his eyebrows and allowed her to continue. "I…" She slipped her hand under the top strap of the dress, finding her way to her chest. "Do you want to see who I really am?" The Doctor hesitated and pulled the hand out of the dress, closer to him... "Why don't we save that for later..." he whispered softly. He reached out and stroked her hair, and it fell off in his hand. The Doctor's eyebrows skyrocketed and he tried to dive to the side, his numbed senses telling him to leave. The man blocked him and he relented quickly, giving into a sense of joy.
"My name's Captain Jack." The man whispered seductively in the Doctor's ear. Jack's lips moved quickly from the Doctor's ear to his lips, and he plunged the Doctor firmly back onto the TARDIS, his lips pressing hard at first, then softer and softer as he drew back. A spark shot off in the Doctor's dull mind.
"Wait a minute," he breathed, drawing out of the kiss. Everything was spiralling out of control. The alcohol had already began to wear off, and his mind was sending alerts through his body. He blocked them as much as he could, trying to force the footing back onto his own terms. He pulled the TARDIS key from his pocket and opened the door, inviting Jack inside.
"You really don't want to do that," a voice suddenly said. Jack stepped back and looked in the direction of the voice. He couldn't see the person's face located in the shadows, but he could make out his clothes. He wore a long brown jacket over a darker brown pin-stripe suit. He also wore sneakers. Before Jack could say anything to the stranger, he was swept up into the party once again. Another hyper-vodka was passed his way and it wasn't long before Jack forgot all about the Doctor, and too drunk to ever remember.
The Doctor peered into the shadows, part of him feeling immense relief. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Just a friend, passing through," the voice said. "Here's some advice, okay? Give her a second chance." There was a small chuckle. "Try telling her it travels in time. You won't regret it."
The Doctor was suddenly alarmed. "Wait! Who are you? Give who a second chance?" He ran into the shadows but the stranger had vanished into the night. Thoughts began to surface through his clearing mind. He knew who the stranger meant he should give a second chance to, or at least he had a strong suspicion. But how would he know about that? Unless…
The Doctor sighed and looked at his ship. Things had gotten a bit out of hand, he realised. This wasn't who he really was. He wiped Jack's saliva off his lips. His thoughts returned to Rose once again and he made a decision.
He walked inside his ship and set the controls to go back to London. The TARDIS hummed happily in his mind, helping him clear away the alcohol's fog. The Doctor made a quick stop into one of the TARDIS bathrooms. There he found a sober-pill which he gratefully popped. He splashed some water on his face and returned to the console room. His mind cleared rapidly, an idea already forming of where and when he could take her first.
It was one of the TARDIS' best landings. Not even half a minute had passed from when the Doctor left London to when he returned. Feeling more alive then he had in some time, the Doctor opened the door. Rose and Mickey were just walking away. They looked back at him, awe and confusion on their faces. He was happy to note a hint of hope in Rose's face as well.
"Did I mention, it also travels in time?" the Doctor asked them. He stepped aside, already knowing what Rose's decision would be.
There was a pause as she said good bye to her boyfriend. Then, with a smile wide enough to match his own, Rose ran into the TARDIS.