Dealing with the Doctor Chapter Four-Birthdays
DISCLAIMER: I, LaurenRenee12, do not own anything found in this fanfiction, other than the ideas. Those rights go to the original creators of Doctor Who, as well as the current writers.
Rose threw her hair into a messy pile on top of her head. She kicked on a pair of trainers, and buttoned her pants, which she had neglected to do as she had just woken up.
She had been having the most wonderful dream. She was eating the most exquisite piece of cake that had ever touched her taste buds. Then the Doctor came out of nowhere and poured her a glass of champagne. Cake and champagne? She thought while taking a sip from the glass. Not bad.
After enjoying her meal which ended all too quickly, she began to hear her mother's harsh voice cutting through the amazing dream. She was shouting something, but Rose wasn't too worried about it. Dreamy, cloud-like smoke swirled around the floor and the lights were dimmed to the perfect low-light that gave everything that mysterious glow. It was like something out of an old-fashioned movie.
Suddenly her mother's voice got more intense, as though she were shouting right in Rose's ear. Jackie then entered the picture, wearing a ridiculous party hat that made her look like an upset five year old.
"Why did you forget my birthday, Rose?" She boomed, looking fierce. She was about to make an excuse when the Doctor entered the dream room, also wearing an absurd party hat. He had a tray with a single piece of cake on it. He set it down in front of Jackie, but she then proceeded to pick up the plate and chuck it at Rose. Right before it splattered all over her face, she woke up panting, covered in cold sweat.
She took a look at the clock beside her and the Doctor's bed. 3:14 a.m. Taking a deep breath, she moved to the Doctor's side and jiggled him into consciousness.
"What happened?" He asked dreamily. His hair was matted down on his face where it had been resting on a pillow.
"Get up, we're going out," Rose said, picking up her little red satchel.
"Going out?" He asked, looking at the clock. "Whatever do you need at such a ludicrous hour?"
"Just get dressed; I'll explain it all on the way."
After about twenty minutes, she was dressed in an old pink tee-shirt and a pair of sweat pants topped off with a pair of old trainers. The Doctor was clad in a brown tee-shirt and a pair of jeans. As always, his feet were covered in his favorite red converse.
She led him silently into the kitchen. On the way through the front hall, Rose snuck over to Jackie's doorway and pulled her door closed as quietly as possible. At the last possible second, the hinges let out a loud squeak before being shut all the way. Rose flinched, sensing they'd been caught, but Jackie only stirred in her sleep. They snuck out the front door and down the stairwell to the parking lot.
"So what are we doing?" The Doctor finally asked as they walked down the sidewalk into downtown London. The air was unseasonably chilly and the breeze seemed to blow right through them.
"Tomorrow's Mum's birthday. She's turning forty-five and I haven't gotten her anything. If she wakes up tomorrow, and we haven't gotten her anything, she'll think we forgot and be devastated," Rose explained, moving her blonde hair out of her eyes.
"But we have forgotten, haven't we? I mean that's why we're sneaking out at three in the morning right?"
"Yes but she doesn't need to know that!" Rose slapped him playfully on the arm.
"So what does the enigmatic Jackie Tyler like anyway?"
"Well, she has been talking about this new curling iron for weeks. That's what I'm aiming for anyway."
"But what store would be open this time of night anyway?"They turned left onto a street that seemed automatically darker. The Doctor looked up. The lights seemed to be working perfectly fine. It was just naturally shady, in every sense of the word. There was this stench in the air of pollution and body odor that clung onto his nose. He wrinkled it in distaste.
"I don't like it here," he said, moving closer to Rose. He was either protecting her, or hiding behind her and he couldn't decide which.
"Me neither, but this is the only part of town that will have what we need at this time of night," she took his hand and led him down the street. The sidewalk beneath their feet squelched sickeningly, and they shuddered with each step. Even the moon was hardly visible through the dense smog cover. The Doctor would know because he'd rather look up and try not to toss his cookies rather than down at the unexplainable stains underneath their feet.
She turned down a dark alleyway that looked more suspicious than the street, and that was saying something.
"Must we go this way?" The Doctor asked, willing his eyes to adjust to the filthy pathway.
"Yes, it's a shortcut, now hush up. I'm trying not to trip over someone else's crime scene," Rose muttered. He said nothing, but took hold of her arm, drawing himself closer to her.
He could slightly make out a dark, lumbering figure standing about off to their right. He seemed old, judging by the way he walked.
There arose a nasty, wheezing cough from that direction and the Doctor held his breath out of fear of catching an unknown thug disease. The end of the path could not come quicker.
They stepped into the semi-lit street. They both took in deep breaths, gratefully. There was an electronics store across the way with a neon green sign hanging over the door that read 'All Night Electricals'. They crossed the street and Rose sighed thankfully.
"Now then, let's get this over with so we can go sleep! Oh-"her hand flew to her pocket where her mobile buzzed. She turned pale.
"It's Mum, here take this and go find the thing," she stuffed ten quid into his palm. He nodded and walked into the store, leaving Rose to deal with her frantic mother.
The little bell jingled over his head when he entered the store. A sleepy looking cashier dozed by the register and the small TV on the counter was on some random food network. Moving quickly, he scanned the shelves of televisions, radios kitchen appliances and power tools with no sign of the curling iron. All hope was lost by the time he made it to the back of the store.
On the last shelf sat a single cardboard box with a picture of a sleek, purple curling iron on the front. He didn't even care if it was the right one or not, he plucked it off the shelf and practically ran to check out.
He dropped the box down in front of the sleepy cashier and looked out the window at Rose who was making a rude gesture with her hand at the man across the street. The Doctor recognized him as the wheezy thug from the alleyway. Go Rose, he thought happily.
"Your girlfriend's a feisty one," the cashier said, swiping the box over the little scanner.
"Tell me about it," the Doctor muttered.
"Twenty quid," the cashier held out his hand. The Doctor looked at his own hand.
"I've only got ten," he mumbled, embarrassed.
"Well sorry then, mate. Can't buy it if you don't have enough money," he began to slide the box off the counter and behind the desk when the Doctor slammed his hands on top and slid it back towards him.
"You don't understand, we need this curling iron," he pleaded.
"Mate, it's just how it goes," the cashier started, but the Doctor wasn't listening. He had already slid the box off the counter and tucked it under his arm. He threw open the door and marched out of the shop. He could hear the cashier shouting angry threats, but he wasn't paying attention.
"Yeah Mum, we'll be home in a few. Yes, I love you too. Go back to sleep Mum. Yeah bye," She ended the phone call and turned towards him."Mum is livid. I told her we just popped out to get you some pills for your massive headache and, you didn't get a bag for that?"
He held out his hand and she took what was in it. It was the ten quid. "It was twenty. I think we reached an understanding, actually. But that may not be what the police think so…" he trailed off. Rose just nodded and they ran towards the alleyway.
Soon they were back at the flat and Rose was trying to open the front door as quietly as possible. Her mum had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for them, which was a huge relief. As soon as their heads hit the pillows, Rose and the Doctor fell asleep.
The Next Morning:
"Happy birthday Mum!" Rose said, trying to sound up beat over how horribly exhausted she was. She could tell the Doctor felt the same because he cringed whenever the sun hit his face from the open window. He smiled painfully as he set the unwrapped curling iron box down on the table in front of her.
"Oh I hope you two didn't go through any trouble getting this wonderful gift." Jackie smiled sincerely.
"None at all," the Doctor grimaced.
"Good because," she stood up and disappeared into her bedroom for a few moments. She came back out with another curling iron box of the exact same brand. "Brandy Curtis downstairs got me the exact same one! Isn't that funny?"
The Doctor looked at Rose.
"Hilarious," Rose smiled painfully.
I'd like to thank my readers for all the wonderful support and reviews! Unfortunately, I won't be able to upload any further chapters until Monday, so bear with me. Hope everyone has a great weekend!