Hello again! Lovely weather we've been having! What have you been...
No?
Oh, alright then. Chapter below. Glad you liked it, by the way.
Still disclaimed, as if it matters.
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Chapter Two: You're Rose, aren't you? - Chiswick's Burning
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"Run!"
They both catapult down the road, running towards the fire, in the same direction as the shouting. It's a strange choice, Donna just about has time to think, but she dismisses it as soon as it registers as a thought in her mind. She's been with the Doctor for the last three months. Of course she's heading towards the dangerous part of... Well, the area. Even if it is her hometown. Fire or no fire, Chiswick is still Chiswick. The danger feels minimal, even when there's shouting and windows smashing and girls with space age fire extinguishers and... Does that man running the other way have a flaming torch? That can't be good.
Still, the aforesaid girl has no excuse. Even if she did just... appear, with an ice gun. And seem utterly unfazed by it.
God, this is weird.
Seriously. Where do you even get a flaming torch?
And now she has a stitch. Which is just great, isn't it?
"Oi! Oi, stop!"
She slows to a stop, hunched over, hands resting on knees, taking a moment to catch her breath. After a moment, the girl backs up to her, and Donna just about manages to straighten enough to see her face, eyes squinting towards the end of the road as the shouts continue.
"Who... Who are you?"
The girl doesn't look down at her and doesn't answer the question, her eyes still screwed up in an effort to make out whatever's happening near the green. When she finally looks down at Donna, she seems almost defeated, and her voice seems deflated when she speaks. Perhaps it's because she's not smiling anymore.
"Do you know what's going on?"
Donna gives a small shake of her head, lungs still heaving. "I've not been around for a while, I've been travelling and I only got back five minutes ago."
They stand side by side, gazing at the ever increasing flames that appear to be threatening to engulf Donna's local. Which she takes rather personally, in actual fact.
"Did you not see anything on the way home? This place looks..." The girl trails off with a sigh, defeated. "Like nowhere I've ever been before." She looks at Donna, "Like Hell."
"Er, it's Chiswick, actually." Donna looks up at her. "Since when did Hell look like Chiswick on fire?"
The girl shrugs disappointedly, then glances sideways at her, a rueful look on her face.
"What did you mean about aliens? And time?"
Donna pauses. Ah, well. No harm. This is weird enough as it is. It's probably alright to throw the Doctor into the equation. This girl appears to be mad enough that she won't throw a total wobbly at the idea of... the Daleks and such. Though Donna's yet to meet a Dalek. Or even learn what they are, besides "Great space dustbins, Donna, great big terrible space dustbins that want to kill everything that isn't their own bloody race"! It's just a bit hard to live with the Doctor and not sense some kind of hostility toward the race called the Daleks.
"It's a bit complicated." She pauses, but the girl carries on staring at her, and the intensity is such that she feels urged to continue. "It's like... I've got this friend, right? And he's... a bit weird."
The girl is still, not interrupting, silently egging her on.
"He's um..." Rip off the plaster, Donna. If she's as barmy as she looks it'll all be fine. She's mad, it's all going to be okay. "Look, his name's the Doctor, and-"
She's cut off by a sudden hug that practically winds her, almost lifting her off the ground. The girl's ice gun presses against her thigh uncomfortably. She could think of about fifty jokes right now, but she doesn't think the girl would notice. Or care. What the HELL is going on?
"Alright, what now? He's not that great, I can tell you." The squeeze tightens painfully, and she can feel the girl giggling. "The bastard seems to have buggered off at the first sign of trouble, for one..."
The grip suddenly loosens, and the girl's arms drop, a look of something between horror and surprise ghosting her features. The smile's still there, though. It doesn't look like it will ever fade.
Horror, surprise, and joy, Donna thinks, looking back at her. Isn't it just like him to summon up that expression in total strangers?
Well, perhaps not total strangers. Presumably.
"You know him, then." Bit confusing, but may as well run with it. "The Doctor's gone off somewhere and I can't find him. I left the tardis, and..." She makes a noise like a car speeding off on a race track. "Can't find him anywhere." There's another pause, where the girl's expression darkens. Donna stares at her. "Look, did you travel with him or something? 'Cause I swear..."
"You don't know me." The girl cuts her off sharply. "Trust me. He won't have mentioned me."
Synapses fire.
"What?"
Her expression becomes rueful. "He never mentions us."
More synapses fire, links are created, brainwaves... wave. Man alive, this is surreal.
"What's your name?"
There's haste and no small amount of fear in the girl's voice as she stares at Donna like she's looking at a long lost relative. Or something like that.
"It doesn't matter." Something down the road explodes. Something noisy. Donna jumps, but the girl doesn't flinch. "Is he... How is he?"
The question is so breathless Donna can't help but stare back at her. It's got to be, it has to be. Surely. Because this certainly sounds like love.
"You're Rose, aren't you?" It's a statement, not a question. A statement with a question mark at the end of it.
The girl- no, wait, Rose's face is strange, like she's sad, but she's trying not to laugh. Like Donna's said something so unexpectedly, painfully, wonderfully, unexpectedly lovely she isn't sure how to react, what to do with herself.
"Has he mentioned me?"
Donna shrugs. "Well, yeah. Is that a surprise? He's pretty hung up on you, you know that? Still loves you, I reckon." A slow smile spreads across her face. "He's gonna be so happy to see you."
Once again, the thought's cut short as something else explodes, even louder this time, and a piece of rubble comes speeding towards them. Donna starts to run again, this time away from the fire. Rose just stares at the space she's vacated, a half smile on her undeniably very pretty face. The Doctor's got good taste, she is fairly beautiful, even if she's barking.
"Oi, Rose! You coming or what?"
She finally looks up, face filled with excitement and happiness. Excellent.
They both know what Donna's going to say next.
"Run."
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I know, it's pretty short- probably the shortest of the twelve. And a bit weird. And hard to write. Sorry if you didn't like... Tell me why! Or perhaps you did like it!
Push the button and let me know! Sigh of frustration as the Sugababes gets transplanted into her head for the rest of the day