LONELY TRAVELERS

Rose and Mickey entered the pub together, they'd been back together for nearly six months and tonight Mickey had a surprise for her.

"Rose" he said looking at her across the table they shared. "I've got something to ask you"

"Yeah Mickey" she looked up at him; his voice had brought her back from her memories of the Doctor and TARDIS. "What is it?"

He stood up, walked round and kneeling in front of her,

"Rose Marion Tyler, will you marry me?" he offered her a rather cheap gold band with an obvious cut-glass setting

Rose was silent for a while, she considered Mickey her best friend, a casual boyfriend, someone to joke around with; but someone to father her children? No. As much as she loved Mickey she couldn't help feeling like she'd betrayed the Doctor that she belonged on the TARDIS with him.

"Well... Rose" Mickey looked up at her

"Um...Okay, yeah sure"

The Doctor sat watching a Tudor sunset, it was so much purer than at most later periods, even after six months he still looked round to see Rose's reaction to some of the most amazing sights, he sipped on the wine he'd been given and found himself considering what the TARDIS had said to him just after Rose had left. She'd been teasing him of course but they'd both noticed that the Post Time War depression had returned with a vengeance as soon as they'd arrived at their next destination.

"Rassilon" he muttered draining his glass. "Is this what's meant for me, a lonely old Time Lord rattling around in a Time machine that was meant for at least two"

He shook his head. "Oh well, I can't force her to come back and mate with me"

He stood up, left some shillings on the table and walked out.

It was night and the Doctor hadn't left the TARDIS in the nicest of London areas. He'd landed in the place that the Powell estate would be in a couple of century's time.

"Hey handsome," a black haired girl dressed in very revealing clothes stroked his cheeks seductively. "What's your pleasure?"

"Blonde, beautiful and won't be born until the late twentieth century" he muttered too quietly for her to hear, he swept past her and towards the TARDIS.

Rose moved out of her mum's flat as soon as she and Mickey told her about their engagement. They didn't yet share a bed, which pleased Rose; she didn't want to bed Mickey until it was too late for her to back out.

She was supposed to be in love with Mickey, deep enough in love for them to spend the rest of their lives together. If that was indeed the case, why did she feel so terrible, why was her heart beating.

'Doc-tor, Doc-tor, Doc-tor'?

"Babes" Mickey stood in the door way of her room carrying a mug of tea. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mickey" she attempted a smile. "but I thought you said that I wouldn't miss the Doctor"

At the sound of his name from her tongue, her ears burned and her heart ached. Mickey looked at her, she hadn't smiled at him like she was smiling now since she'd left with the Doctor, he frowned; he loved this woman and had thought that she loved him too; now however he could see the truth.

"Please don't leave me Rose" he gave her the puppy-dog-eyes, sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "Please babe"

"I'm not going to" she told him, she was worried about him, his big brown eyes were full of longing for her, "I miss the excitement but that doesn't mean anything"

'I wish I could believe that' Mickey thought as he handed her the mug and walked out of the room, 'I'd certainly be happier if that were true'

The Doctor looked at the door of Rose's room. He hadn't been able to bring himself to enter it. His hand hovered over the handle but fell back at his side with a muffled leather covered thump. He walked on, left and right then past the bins and into the wardrobe. It wasn't his favourite place to go, too much of all of his previous companions, his former lives. Black suits? Straw boaters? Decorative vegetables? Question marks? What the hell had he been thinking? The only things he used these days were his leather jacket, shirt and slacks so why he routinely passed pinstriped suits; brown ones with pale blue stripes and dark blue ones with brown stripes, when he'd never worn them before nor could see himself in them the future was a mystery to him. He strode on, just walking through the vast ship; a black shape caught his eye. He stopped and looked at it; his hearts missed a beat... that dress, the sleeveless Victorian affair, the last time it had been worn was the only time he'd told her she was beautiful.

He was doing a little routine maintenance on the TARDIS when she'd returned from her first visit to the Wardrobe. He glanced up at her momentarily, not really noticing her, his head flew back up and he stared at her dumbly his mouth agape. Rose Tyler the twenty first century council estate shop girl, was wearing that dress that he'd been considering getting rid of, her long blonde hair was fixed to the top of her head with a sober purple ornament, She had a ladies opera cape which fell elegantly around her arms.

"Blimey!" he exclaimed before he could stop himself. "You look beautiful"

Rose stared at him sceptically a sly little smile on her beautiful face

"For a human" he added sounding calmer than he felt

"Rassilon!" he cried out. "It's true"

'I said so didn't I?' The TARDIS announced smugly

'You certainly are perceptive aren't you?' he frowned

The TARDIS rumbled an affirmative. 'So what are you going to do about it?'

"What can I do?" he demanded aloud. "I can't go back to her, she asked to leave!"

the TARDIS didn't reply but the Doctor distinctly heard her chuckle, she hadn't laughed since his granddaughter Susan had been a small child and had been in a phase of soaking in the humour of the planets he'd taken her to, earth humour had really had an effect upon her, The TARDIS had been young then but he'd been old and grumpy (towards the end of his first life)

More to come soon :)