I know, my update pace is rubbish. But no fear, I have loads more to tell!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who (unfortunatly).


Chapter 9

The whoosing stopped and the Doctor, not wanting to waste another second, grabbed his coat and ran to the doors.

"Come on!"

Rose were quickly at his side. He opened the doors and gingerly waltzed through.

"Ah, excellent!" he exclaimed, putting his hands in his pockets.

Rose closed the doors and looked around.

"It's a storage." she said, unimpressed.

"Not just any storage." Spinning around, making his coat swirl, he gesticulated. "It's BBC's storage!" His eyes fell on something lying on a bookshelf. "Oh hello, look at you!" He grabbed it and showed it to Rose.

"That's your sonic screwdriver." she decided.

"It's a sonic screwdriver. But this one is just a prop."

"But it looks like yours."

"Yeah, well, it should. They used my design when they first made it."

That made her raise an eyebrow in spite of herself.

"That's doesn't make any sense. How could they possibly know what yours looked like?"

"Because I let them see the original." He flapped the fake screwdriver in his hand. "It's a bit lighter, but a fine copy all the same."

The confusion was written all over Rose's face.

"Youlet them see it?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"But why? And how? Do they know you?"

He looked very satisfied. "Ha! Now you're curious!"

"Yeah. But I bet you're just making it up."

"Nope, not one bit."

Rose laughed. "You're so full of yourself!"

"Sort of, yeah."

Familiarity hit Rose like a tidal wave. That what ninth Doctor said to Billie Piper's Rose in the first episode of the reboot in 2005.

"Oh, come on. You're messing with my head again."

He smirked and then took her hand in one easy move.

"Let's go meet David Tennant."

She had to smile. Yeah, he obviously wanted to impress her. She didn't want to give in though, didn't want him to think her that easily swayed. Of course, she was, but there was no reason he should know that. She had surrendered ages ago. Probably about the very moment he asked her to come with him.

But even so, there were no way they could meet David Tennant. Because the Doctor had said he was a character he him up. David Tennant was just an act.

Besides, she had already met him in the only possible way she could. Outside the theater, getting his autograph. But that was really meeting the the Doctor for the first time.

She bit the inside of her cheek and stole a glance at him. Almost as if he sensed it, he instantly returned her look, and a very giddy one too.

"Pretty excited, you."

"Blimey, am I really that obvious?" she said, mostly to herself.

"Yep."

The storage seemed to go on forever and oddly enough it was stuffed with Doctor Who props. Rose thought she even glimpsed a bit of a Dalek behind a cupboard. Finally they emerged outside, on to a large park. The weather was eerie, the clouds were heavy and rain was hanging in the air. And the whole place was full of trailers and movement.

"Doctor..."

"Yes, Rose?"

"Are we on a set...?"

He smiled widely. "Yeah."

As everything was coming together for Rose, she could not but feel some anxiety. Why that was, she didn't know.

People were all over the place. Staff, caterers, camera men, make-up artists, all around them. It made Rose nervous.

"Doctor, what are we really doing here?"

He didn't answer. Instead he removed his coat and folded it on one arm.

"This way." He took her hand again and ran with her to the backside of one trailer. Then he looked seriously at Rose and grabbed both her shoulders.

"Rose, do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then, from now on, you'll have to follow my lead. It is crucial to our success."

"What do you mean 'our success'?"

"I can't tell you. It might change events more."

"More?"

He sighed. "Rose, just listen."

She nodded.

"Whatever I might say, or do, just play along. Okay?"

Even with the knot gathering in her stomach, she couldn't say no to him.

"Alright, Doctor. This better be worth it."

He let her go and smirked. "Oh, it will be."

Taking her hand once more he looked up, searching the perimeters. Suddenly he dashed around the trailer's corner, with Rose hardly keeping up behind. Stopping abruptly he once more searched his surroundings. When satisfied, he turned to Rose again.

"Take my coat."

She obeyed and had to hold it in both her arms not to make it touch the ground. Out of nowhere, the Doctor tore the seamline in the neck of the coat.

"What are you doing?" Rose pleaded.

"Helping you meeting David Tennant. Just play along. Come on, the costume department is just over here."

Leading her into a cottage-like barrack next to a trailer, they passed a few people that said 'hello' or waved to the Doctor.

"Tom, nice to see ya'!" the Doctor called back to one of them, with a heavy Scottish accent. Rose looked at him with large eyes. God, he was playing David Tennant again, and she had to play along.

Inside the house a blonde middle aged woman greeted him and looked at Rose with raised eyebrows.

"Hi Liz. Sorry, had to pop in before we shoot. The seamline on the coat seems to a have been torn. Oh, and this is Rose by the way. She won a be-my-assistant-for-a-day-challenge."

Rose blushed from the comment. No getting out of this. She moved towards the woman and raised her hand under the coat to greet her properly. Liz however, was focused on the coat, and quickly looking over the damage said "Don't worry David, it will be ready when you need it."

"Lovely, thanks Liz. Can I leave Rose with you? I have to go to make-up to get ready."

"That's alright, love." the lady said, not looking at either of them.

The Doctor winked at the stunned Rose before he disappeared as quickly as he spoke in Scottish. The costume maker was soon gone but her assistant, a brown haired woman with a friendly face walked up to Rose.

"Liz have gone to fix the coat, but she told me who you are. Would you like some tea?"

Rose sighed of relief.

"A cuppa would be lovely."

"I'm Anne by the way."

They shook hands.

"Rose."

They spent the first ten minutes exhausting all kinds of subjects, from Doctor Who to the weather. Finally Anne had to get back to work and Rose sat by the door slurping the last of her now cold tea. After another ten minutes a familiar face showed his face in the doorway. She smiled brightly at him and ran to the back room to get the coat from Liz's workplace. Inside the costume lady's room, she stopped when she overheard the voices at the door.

"Anne, who was that then? New girl?"

"Oh, come on, David, your memory really can't be that bad. She won some challenge so she could be your assistant for today."

"Oh, right."

"That's why she is getting your coat. Thought you always remembered a face."

"I usually do."

Rose pondered over the conversation, feeling pretty confused. The coat was neatly fixed and she walked back with it. Even with all that fabric in front of her face, she saw the waiting Time Lord still talking with the dressmaker. She handed the coat over without a word and with a low 'thank you' he slipped it on, looking as comfortable in it as usual.

"Gotta dash. See ya, Anne!" He disappeared again. Rose wasn't sure what to do. He had told her to follow his lead. But now what?

Then he popped his head back in, looking directly at Rose.

"Are you coming?"

She nodded and hurried after him.

They walked side by side once more, but this time the Doctor didn't take his hand. His thoughts seemed elsewhere. Trailers passed and where soon behind them. They walked towards a huge building, probably where the set was.

From nowhere, he talked, and made her blood freeze in her veins.

"Sorry, what was your name again?"

She looked at him with a look mixed with fear and bemusment. Nothing in his face revealed any recognition of her.

"Uh...Rose."

He smiled politely.

"That's nice."

He had never seen her before in his life.

"Thanks..." She swallowed hard. "...Mr. Tennant."

"Oh, David is fine. Oh, sorry, perhaps you would like me to call you Ms...?"

"Tyler. No, Rose is enough." Her body was trembling but thankfully her voice was steady. Her full name made him frown somewhat.

"Is your name really Rose Tyler?"

"Yes, Sir."

"No, please, it's David."

"I mean, yes, David."

"That is... that is a big coincidence!" he proclaimed, turning his face away.

"To me, it seem to be lucky to have that name." Rose face was on the ground and her thoughts far away. She wanted to ask 'is your name really David Tennant?' but she dared not. If he still was the Doctor, wouldn't she mess up if she told him she knew? The only explanation (unless he still messed with her head) was that she now met a younger version of the Doctor. Which, in that case, ment, that she had to act oblivious to the fact that she knew he was the Doctor. Time streams and all that. But isn't that what he would say? Why would he even put me in this situation? It seemed absurd. Perhaps there really was two of them after all, one Doctor and one Tennant.

"You think?" he said, solemnly. "You don't think it's tragic that the Rose Tyler got stuck in a parallel universe?"

"Yeah, it was. But she was lucky. Lucky to have travelled with the Doctor." she said with a sad smile. He looked back at her and smiled back. They were almost at the door.

She wished dearly the Doctor had told her something, anything. What could she tell him, if this was the old him? Weren't he changing his own future? Wasn't that forbidden?

But then, this man, was so different from the Doctor she had begun to get to know. He was human, he talked like David Tennant.

"You are really different from the Doctor." she blurted out. His eyes glowed oddly.

"Obviously. He is everything I'm not and I'm everything he isn't." The broad scottish accent seemed to have a bit more punch here.

Rose gathered her courage.

"Do you really believe that?"

They were startled when the door opened and people came rushing out. Some were greeting him - The Doctor, David Tennant or whoever he was - and he nodded back, but not once did his eyes dart from Rose. When the way was clear again he walked up to her, with a serious and contemplating air.

"I do. That's why I'm here. Why do you question that?"

She had no answer. She had to thread lightly. It felt like the slightest mishap could change the course of the future. Still, she was starting to get really curious to why he was here, if he really was the Doctor.

"Because..." She tasted the words, then said with a smirk. "I'm not just a fan girl. I'm a believer. The last of them."

"What?" he exclaimed. "That's not an answer."

Still trembling, but quietly smiling, she walked ahead of him into the studio.


Confusing? It will all be explained in the next chapter (well, not exactly everything...). I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!