Rose rolled her eyes. Of course. God forbid her one night of normality in her life. But then again, looking into the Doctor's eyes she couldn't help but smirk. That little glimmer of wanderlust was sparkling in them, anticipating the pump of adrenaline.
He continued to shuffle through his bottomless pockets, casting an apologetic look her way.
"Sorry, Rose. We can try again tomorrow."
"Don't worry about it, Doctor. Life with you wouldn't be right without the eventual 'run for your life' situation." Rose smiled at him, brow creased just a little. Ever since she had been back it had seemed like the Doctor was trying desperately to please her. To keep her happy no matter what, even at his own expense.
Their first adventure together had been a holiday to the long promised Barcelona. The planet, not the country. Rose's air conditioning in her room had broken; leaving the bedroom in a sweltering heat that Rose swore made her make-up melt. The Doctor had marched her out of the room promptly to place her in his. She spent the night in the most luxurious bed that she had ever been in while the Doctor had curled up on the sofa. Even though she had insisted he join her, he was reluctant to 'disturb her' as he said.
And there it was. The thing that worried Rose the most. They flirted more than ever now she was back, the carefully built boundaries that they had both placed around their relationship before had crumbled and vanished. But even with this new found closeness, the Doctor would refuse to do anything that seemed too intimate.
They would hug and snuggle together when watching a movie. But sharing a bed which was something that had come so naturally to them before was avoided completely. It confused Rose as well as alarmed her. She wanted things to progress, not step backwards. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that they would have to talk it out. As difficult as it would be for him.
He sent her another sorry looking smile before peering into his pockets, frustration at the hidden objects reluctance to be found. Rose sat back, plucking a piece of chocolate from the egg in his lap. As she chewed on it, she caught the dark haired girl looking at her. Their eyes met for a silent moment. As she swallowed, Rose knew she was hiding something. She was too shifty.
Her eyes kept flicking to the window before coming back to her. Fingers twitched in her lap, breathing was slightly elevated and the biggest giveaway of all. She was biting and pursing her lips. Every signal was minute, something that she would have never noticed otherwise. But in a year of training in body language at Torchwood, you picked up a few things.
A distraction came in Rose's analysis however, as a siren started to pick up volume.
"Can you hear that, Doctor?" She pressed her hands against the glass, straining to hear the distant wails. They were police cars, she was sure of it. Soon enough the blue pinpoints of light in the distance confirmed it.
The Doctor shoved the half empty packet of Easter Egg into her hands, ignoring her question.
"Doctor?" Rose insisted. The dark haired woman across the aisle seemed to be getting more and more nervous. She must have caught on to her scrutiny, as she now avoided Rose's eye.
"Yeah?" He said absentmindedly, eyes lighting up as he seemingly came close to his desired object.
"Sirens! You hear them? Maybe someone's hurt?" The Doctor looked up at that, leaning over her to look out of the window. Rose huffed as she was pushed back in her seat.
"Maybe." He pulled out the device from his pocket in triumph. Rose drunk in the sight of the sapphire lights blinking wildly and the dials spinning in frenzy. She was taking more effort to recognise his little gadgets he had lately. She had some basic training in circuitry and technology, her knowledge on the subject amplified.
It made her feel better to know that she could help the Doctor with the skills she had picked up. She was less useless. She would never admit it, but the years in a parallel universe had done her some good, educated her a bit more. Made her wiser.
"Excitation..." He muttered vaguely as he observed the little machine.
"If it's detecting particles then shouldn't that little dish be moving?" Rose asked, basking in the smile he sent her.
"Exactly, it should...wait...look at it! The dish, it's going mad." Rose looked at the little silver disk and sure enough, it had started to spin wildly. A familiar sensation of dread and excitement began bubbling up inside of her.
"What does that mean though, Doctor?" His eyes found hers, gleeful with this new adventure.
"It means that you should hold on." She didn't need to be told twice. The Doctor placed an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Her hands gripped the cold metal bar in front of her as she buried her face in his neck.
"Everyone, hold on!" He called out to the other passengers on the bus. Each of them gave him a sceptical, somewhat alarmed look as they regarded him. It was evident that they had changed their minds however, when the bus started to shake violently. As the bus shuddered and jerked, Rose barely registered the cries and screams around her.
Her eyes were locked on the dark haired girl who was staring at the Doctor, an accusing glint in her eyes.
Her vision was lost however, as a blinding white light filled the bus.
Rose groaned. The first thing she was aware of was a searing heat. Her dress suddenly felt stifling and constricting instead of stylish and sexy. Immediately she regretted wearing heels. In the journey she had somehow lost her hold on the Doctor, but she could hear him sighing beside her.
"Be careful, Rose. There's glass everywhere." She felt his hand take hers, guiding her to her feet carefully. She took a moment on shaky legs, leaning against the Doctor's steady body. It didn't seem as if the journey had shaken him in the slightest. After a moment, she looked into his eyes.
"You alright?" He said, fingers tilting her head this way and that, observing for any signs of bruising or concussion no doubt. Rose gently took his hands away.
"I'm fine, Doctor." Rather unhappily, he nodded.
"Tell me if you feel any different." He insisted, and Rose gave a slow nod. It was strange, she thought. He never usually worried about her that much.
"Where are we?" She asked, looking at the different passengers collecting themselves together. She was satisfied when she saw no one had been grievously harmed. The Doctor took her hand, walking her carefully out of the bus, avoiding tarnished pieces of metal and wire sticking out from the machine.
He stopped her however, when they got to the door.
"You might want to take your shoes off." He said, a slight smile in his voice. Rose frowned and stuck her head out of the door.
Sand.
Everywhere.
"I knew I shouldn't have worn heels." She sighed, taking off each heel dutifully.
"Wear these." The Doctor pulled out a pair of flat dolly shoes. Rose took the silk things, examining the colour with a wrinkle in her nose.
"I don't think that orange is my colour." The Doctor threw her a grin, watching as she slipped them on.
"Well, it's either that or you burn yourself on the sand." Rose glanced down at the luminous shoes before looking back to the scorching sandy landscape.
"I think I'll take the sand." He waited for her to take her hand again before he ventured on outside, shoes sinking into the thick sand.
"Call it a hunch...but I think we've gone a bit further than Brixton." He muttered. Rose's eyes swept the horizon, frowning as she saw nothing that even resembled civilisation. She spun around in a slow circle as the Doctor fell to his knees. She heard the sifting of sand as he ran it through his fingers.
"It's still intact though." Rose squeezed the Doctor's shoulder as she wandered off to join the rest of the passengers.
"You're the bus driver, right?" She smiled at an older man in a blue jumper. He gave her a brief glance.
"Yeah. I was just telling them...my boss is gonna kill me." He said in disbelief. Rose followed his line of sight to the mangled top of the bus.
"I think he can give you a bit of leeway." She grinned, despite herself.
"You reckon?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." They were interrupted however, as a blonde woman in her thirties tentatively spoke.
"Can you still drive it?" Rose observed the smoking machinery and somehow doubted out.
"Nah, the wheels are stuck in too deep. We'll never get it out." The bus driver supplied for her. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose could see the dark haired girl heading towards the Doctor, shrugging off her jacket as she did so.
"If the bus is destroyed, why aren't we?" A young dark skinned boy directed to her. It seemed that he was almost suspicious of her calm demeanour.
"What's your name?" Rose shot back.
"Barclay. You?"
"Rose." She supplied back. He nodded back towards the destruction.
"What do you reckon then?" Rose walked around the bus, observing the twisted carcass of the machine.
"I think...it acted like a Faraday cage. Taking the brunt of it and protecting us." She finally said.
"I've heard of that. In Science class. Never really paid attention to it though...kind of wish I had now. Maybe I could figure out a way to get back if I had." Barclay sighed, squinting up at the bus in the sunlight. Rose's heart went out to his dejected look.
"Don't worry. I never liked school either. Hated it. I used to bunk all the time with my mate." He laughed with her.
"How come you know so much then?" Rose paused before giving a shrug.
"I...Spent some time away. I travelled a bit, read a few books. You don't have to go to school to learn things, Barclay." She said softly. Truth be told, she saw a bit of herself in him. Her teenage self who skived off and fooled around at the back of the classroom. All the potential she knew he had.
"Try telling that to my mum." He muttered with a smile, and Rose grinned back.
"Were you going anywhere special?" A brief look passed over the young boys face, and Rose recognised it all too well.
"I was going to see Tina."
"Girlfriend?" Rose nudged his shoulder, tongue poking through her teeth. He looked down bashfully.
"Not yet."
"Good man. I tell you what, I promise I'll get you back to her." Rose said sincerely, all traces of humour gone. Barclay smiled. His eyes left hers for a moment, roving around the area. A flash of rage sparked in them as he saw the Doctor.
"You! You had that thing, did you do this?" He demanded, walking unevenly to where he stood. The rest of the passengers followed in kind.
"What? No-" The Doctor raised his hands, glancing to Rose for help.
"What was that thing?" He demanded again.
"Hey, no! Barclay, it's fine! This is the Doctor, he's with me. He's fine." She trundled through the sand to stand by his side, hand reaching unconsciously for his.
"What was he doing then?"
"Who is he?"
"Who are you?"
The wave of questions almost deafened Rose.
"Alright! If you would like to be quiet then we'll answer all of your questions, just calm down." She said, looking at each passenger individually. She gave them all a smile as they obeyed her.
"I've got a question." An almost bored voice reached her ears, and Rose turned to face the dark haired girl she had been watching earlier. This time her eyes were hidden behind a pair of stylish sunglasses. Even through the dark glass Rose could almost feel her gaze.
"What the hell are you doing wearing those shoes?"
Rose decided almost immediately that she didn't like her.
