The Doctor said a quick farewell to Jackie before climbing into the TARDIS. There was a strange silence for a moment as The Doctor leaned against the door, looking at Rose who sat near the console. He smiled at her a moment then walked to the console and took a deep breath. With a bit of flourish, he flipped a switch then ran his fingers along the edge of the panel to a knob which he turned three times then pressed a button. VWORP VWORP and they were off.
"I hope Mickey is okay." Rose said after a moment. The Doctor turned to her and took a deep breath.
"I'm sure we'll be seeing him again. He's a good friend to have, that Mickey Smith." The Doctor said.
"It just feels odd. I thought I lost my mother and then I ended up losing one of my best friends." She said, twisting her fingers together. "And Mickey…He and I were close." She said with a nod.
"It was his choice. He is serving a much larger purpose, but that's the way it works out sometimes, y'know?" The Doctor said with a nod. "That's the way the cookie crumbles."
"There was this one time, Mickey and I—"
"Proverbial cookie." The Doctor interrupted a moment. "Well…Unless, we're in Graphalacken 74. Then it could be an actual cookie. Strange people, the Graphalackenites."
"Have you ever been on a date?" Rose asked. The Doctor looked at her and thought.
"There was possibly something with the Good Queen Bess, but we didn't really 'date' it was more just—"
"No, when you were a kid. Or something like it." She said with a laugh. "When you were young. Did they not have dating where you were from?"
"Gallifrey? Oh, no, no." The Doctor said, shaking his head. "We weren't really the courting type. The traditional Gallifreyan would find a nice girl and maybe settle down after a while. Have a few Time Lads or Lasses."
"So, you've never gone one a date?" The Doctor shook his head, shrugging a bit. "Well, you're missing out, Doctor."
"Well, Rose Tyler, how about you show me? You said, dinner. Alright. How about…" The Doctor smiled and glided to the console before flipping a couple of switches and then spinning to the other side. He turned a crank a couple of times and then pulled a handle carefully three inches out of the panel. He turned it exactly 12 degrees and then pushed it back in. They shifted a little and the TARDIS took off.
A smile crept onto his face as he listened to the TARDIS zoom through space and then finally stop. He quickly pulled a few levers on the TARDIS and swept to the door, opening it and peeking out. The faint sound of commotion entered the chamber before being harshly muted when The Doctor closed the door again and leaned against it. He turned around again and looked at Rose, bearing a toothy grin.
"Well, here we are. Anxintrincalophy 12B7." The Doctor said before walking over to Rose. "Shall we?" Rose smiled and took his hand.
"What exactly is awaiting us on Anx—Anxin—"
"Anxintrincalophy 12-B7." The Doctor said, leading her towards the door. "The finest restaurant in this section of the galaxy. That's according to the Zagat guide."
"There's a galactic Zagat guide?" Rose said in surprise. The Doctor nodded a little.
"Well…Zagat as in the race on Saturn. Not the human couple. The fact that they both deal with restaurant guides is a completely coincidence." The Doctor said before opening the TARDIS door and stepping out, bringing Rose along.
He closed the door then the two of them looked in front of them. They were tucked into a corner of a large corridor, lined with torches and an open ceiling showing a bright sky of swirling blues and greens. The Doctor smiled up at the sky for a moment before turning to Rose. He offered his arm and she took it with a smile before heading down the corridor. They finally entered a large room lined with tables of varying sizes and shapes, seating almost every race one could think of. Sontarans and a couple of Racnoss sat at a table while what looked like 3 clouds of gas sat around another. The Doctor spied a nearby table that looked appropriate for humans and he quickly sat down. Rose sat across from him and looked around some more.
"I feel like I should have dressed up a little more." She said quietly. "I feel so out of place."
"Don't worry, Rose. Our food will be here, soon. We don't even have to deal with waiters or waitresses."
"How does it know what we want?"
"Well, it registers your tastebuds as soon as you open your mouth and then whatever food would be most appealing is what they sound out."
"Well, but what if I'm in the mood for a pizza, but my taste buds give me some Thai takeaway food or something?" She said with a little laugh.
"Rose Tyler, I bring you to the nicest restaurant in the galaxy and you want pizza? Maybe I'm missing this whole dating thing." He said with a laugh. Rose opened her mouth in defense, but their food came, interrupting her.
"Wow. That was fast." Rose said quietly, looking down at the food in front of her. She assumed it was food at least.
"Popplers. With the gravy." The Doctor said, looking at her plate. He looked down at his and smelled it. "Galklaron potatoes with breaded Kalceron."
"This is food here?" Rose asked quietly. "Mine looks disgusting. Yours looks like food, at least. Like…fish sticks and custard or something."
"Fish sticks and custard?" The Doctor said, making a face. "Revolting. So, is this no good? Do you have better idea?" Rose thought for a moment and then grinned before standing and taking his hand. She dragged him out of his chair and back to the TARDIS.
"London. Old Street and City Road." She said and The Doctor quickly set the TARDIS on course.
"So, in all the galaxy, you would rather have some human restaurant food?" The Doctor said, puzzled a bit at his companion. She smiled at him and when the TARDIS stopped she took his hand again and walked out.
"Not just any restaurant." She said, exiting the TARDIS and dragging him along. They walked down the street aways and she finally stopped at a hot dog stand. "Two, please. With everything."
"A hot dog stand?" The Doctor said, staring at the sign in front of him.
"My dad and I would always walk down here a lot. Before he uh…Before he died." She said, quickly paying for the hot dogs then handing one to The Doctor. He examined it carefully, even taking a quick second to sonic it then finally took a bite. She laughed at his facial expression and took a bite of hers and took a deep breath. "So, what do you think?"
"It's better than fish fingers and custard." He said with a laugh. "How intriguing. You humans are interesting little animals, I will say." He said, taking another bite.
"Us humans?" She said, playfully shoving him a little. "Well, how about you Time Lords? Not knowing what dating is. Never having a hot dog before." The two of them laughed for a moment and finally sat down on a bench nearby.
"I guess, I should thank you then, Rose Tyler. Giving me further insight into the mind of human culture. With dating and hotdogs. I think to your standards this would classify as a good first date?"
"It's a little short, Doctor. Any two people can go out to food. What makes this a date?"
"Well, how about a concert? What do you think Elvis Presley? Ed Sullivan Show. 1953? New York?"
"Now, that's a date." Rose said with a smile.
"Get on your poodle skirt, doll." He said in his best impersonation before standing up and offering his hand. "Don't be a wet rag, now. It'll be a blast."
"Let's go, Daddy-o" She said with a giggle before taking his hand and taking off toward the TARDIS.