Hello sweeties! Here's Chapter 2 for you. :)
Chapter 2
It was only a few seconds before the TARDIS landed. No, CRASHED is more like it. The crash threw both Rose and the Doctor to the ground.
"Oof!" Rose rubbed her knee. "Not one of your smoothest landings."
The Doctor grinned.
"Not one of the worst, though."
Rose eased herself to her feet.
"Where are we anyway?" She said as she straightened out her shirt.
The Doctor ran over to the TARDIS doors with excitement equivalent to that of a schoolgirl's. With a grand flourish, he threw open the doors and gestured to the scene that lay before him and Rose. The awestruck companion stared for a moment. She could only say one word under her breath.
"Wow."
There were thousands upon thousands of stands selling a large variety of goods, making Rose's mouth water. The Doctor observed the sheer delight in Rose's face.
"My God, you're such a girl! Look at you; you're practically drooling at the sight of it all!" He laughed.
Rose narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, shut up."
The two walked into a chaotic scene of bidding and bargaining aliens. The Doctor looked around for a moment before looking over his shoulder at Rose.
"A bit busy today, yeah?"
"You think?" Rose said sarcastically.
He shrugged.
"Oh well. Just make sure you stay close by me, so you don't get lost."
As soon as the Doctor spotted a stand which caught his interest, he started pushing and shoving through the crowd. Rose tried her best to follow the man, but no one was letting her push through, making her incrementally more and more frustrated.
"Doctor!" she shouted. She could barely see the top of the Doctor's head. "Doctor!" So much for staying close by.
Just then, Rose was knocked down to the ground.
"Oi! Watch where you're going!"
As she struggled to get up, she noticed a hand outstretching towards her. Thinking it was the Doctor's, she grabbed the hand and was pulled to her feet.
"Thanks, Doctor," she said as she ferociously brushed herself off, still pissed off about the whole situation.
An unfamiliar voice answered her.
"The Doctor? I wish!" the voice chuckled.
Rose jerked her head up, startled. She blushed as soon as she saw who had spoken to her. He was a handsome man who looked about her age, with red hair and a goatee that matched it. He happened to be wearing a tight shirt, so it showed off his very muscular build.
"Oh… h-hi," she responded sheepishly.
The man looked at her with an almost godly glow about him. Or to her it was godly.
"A bit nervous, are we?"
Rose blushed, making the man chuckle.
"Well, let me break the ice. I'm Bernard. And you are…?"
Rose cleared her throat.
"I-I'm… Rose."
"Rose. What a beautiful name. It suits you."
Rose giggled. The two gazed at each other, when all of a sudden, the Doctor came barreling through the crowd, making people shout and curse in his direction. When he spotted Rose, he put a hand on his chest.
"Oh Rose! Thank God! I was at the stand and I turned around and you weren't there and… who's that?" the Doctor looked at Bernard.
"Oh! Doctor, this is Bernard. Bernard, this is the Doctor." Rose answered with a certain giddiness about her.
The Doctor examined the man.
"Bernard, huh? How long have you two known each other?"
Rose kept smiling.
"Only a couple of minutes. But he's such a nice man!"
It was then that Bernard stuck his hand out at the Doctor, hoping for a handshake.
"Bernard White," he smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, Doctor."
The Doctor made a big deal of avoiding the handshake.
"Yeah, hi."
He grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her to the side.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he said in a hushed tone.
Rose looked offended.
"Flirting, that's what!"
"On an alien planet?!" the Doctor said, clearly miffed.
"I've been single for a long time! It's time I met a man like Bernard!" she whispered harshly.
"You barely know him! You don't know what kind of man he is!" the Doctor argued.
"Why do you think I was trying to talk to him?! I WANT to get to know him, Doctor. He seems like a nice guy."
The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair.
"Look, I've got what I need. Let's just head back to the TARDIS."
"But-" Rose began.
"Let's just go back!" He broke into an angry shout.
Rose was shocked at the sudden anger in his tone.
The Doctor rubbed his temples for a moment. "I just want to get back to the TARDIS, alright?"
Rose sighed and reluctantly grabbed the Doctor's outstretched hand. As he dragged her along behind him, she looked over her shoulder and waved shyly at Bernard, who blew a kiss back at her, making her turn a deep shade of red. Suddenly, Rose was pushed into the TARDIS, Bernard now out of sight. Before she had a chance to look at him once more, the Doctor had pulled the doors shut with a hearty slam. Almost immediately, she heard the TARDIS taking off.
"Well, I hope you're happy! You just whisked me away from a potential lover!" Rose shouted angrily.
"Listen to yourself! A 'potential lover'? You really are lovesick, aren't you?"
Rose sighed.
"I just… he was… he was the first man I've met in a while who's actually liked me back. I've missed that."
The Doctor swallowed the lump in his throat. He wanted to tell her he loved her. He couldn't. He just couldn't.
"I'm sorry for yelling Rose. I just want you to… ah… choose carefully… when it comes to men. Plus, you just met, and… well… life isn't exactly like a Disney movie, you know…"
There was a long, awkward pause. After a while, the Doctor finally spoke up again.
"Let's forget the whole thing, yeah?" The Doctor smiled, "How does Barcelona sound? The planet, not the city."
Rose was still frowning.
"Sounds great."
The Doctor sighed a frustrated sigh. Rose wasn't going to let this go so easily.