Thanks to you wonderful supporters for all of your encouraging reviews! Also your patience with my chronic procrastination. They should declare it a disorder! I haven't forgotten my stories or that people are waiting. I never do.
Back in the TARDIS, Alexa had kicked Rose's wet clothes into a pile in a corner and rolled up the blankets, throwing them off to the side. It was boiling hot inside the TARDIS. She tried to adjust the temperature but every time she pushed the orange button, it only seemed to increase it.
The longer the Doctor took, the more frustrated she became. Did he not realize she could give him anything that blonde could? He wanted adventure, she'd proven she could handle any situation he threw at her. She was stronger than that weak, pathetic creature he'd run after! He wanted kisses, she was well equipped to give them. She knew he was a bit of a goody-goody, but that didn't matter too much. She was willing to put up with that since he had his very own time and space machine. No other man she ever met could boast anything quite so elaborate!
Rose had already appeared to have won the Doctor over without even trying. She'd earned it long before Alexa came along. The fear that the Doctor would quickly abandon her as many others had, just to be with Rose, was growing by dangerous leaps and bounds.
Alexa knew she couldn't compete in the goody-goody department, which she feared that Rose could. She couldn't win him over with a shared history or playing the damsel in distress. Although, if she could have, she would have. What she did have, was sex. It had rarely let her down in the past. It was the one thing she'd found men fell for quite easily.
Alexa was once a victim. That is how predators are made. Not all victims become predators, of course. But with the possible exception of head injuries and degenerative brain diseases, all predators were once victims. This does not make them any less accountable for their actions once they cross that line, become adults, and refuse to change their behaviors. Accountability escaped Alexa's reasoning entirely.
She refused changes. She crossed a line and stepped over into being a user instead of being used. That is a line that stamped a coldness into her heart that even someone as caring as the Doctor was unlikely to be able to penetrate.
Alexa preferred using others and getting what she wanted, whatever it took. Rather than learn better ways of coping and living, she kept on with the ones she was comfortable with. Sex being fairly close to the top of those things.
She unbuttoned the top few buttons on her cherry red blouse to show off some cleavage for when he returned. She'd never thought to approach him from a sexual angle simply because he hadn't struck her as the sort to be interested. The first time they'd met, he had poked her nose and patted her head like she was a four year old. So she'd assumed he was a hands off kind of guy. Until he had his hands and other parts of himself all over that blonde!
That meant all bets were off.
She rifled through her things up in the wardrobe and pulled on a mini-skirt, ditching the jeans. She put on a dark pair of heels, leaving the sneakers off. The blouse was good as it was now that she'd unbuttoned it. She pulled her hair down from a ponytail and brushed it out, making it look softer.
She was ready for him now.
She could tell he hadn't been into the kiss, but he hadn't exactly not kissed her back, so that had to mean something, didn't it?
Alexa heard noises and quickly rushed back down, placing herself against the railing once more. Only this time she leaned back, tossing her hair back as well, and stuck her lips out in what she hoped was a naturally seductive looking pout.
The Doctor lead Rose back inside, quickly closing the door behind them. He grabbed one of the blankets and allowed her some privacy behind it so she could drop out of the wet blanket and pull the nice, clean, dry one around herself.
Rose sank down onto the floor again, exhausted. She spied Alexa and her very hot look, and tried not to burst into fresh tears. She really didn't want to be here, watching them get it on. Too much had happened. Sure, she would have been jealous in the past as well, but she would have handled it better than this. She'd lost too much now.
The Doctor used his sonic once more to look her over, reading the results with a frown. The heat would warm her up fast enough, but there were other health issues to address here.
"Rose, when was the last time you ate anything?" He asked, watching her.
"Don't know. Earlier." She mumbled tiredly, rubbing her head.
"By earlier, you mean two or more days earlier, don't you." He wasn't really asking her. He could tell. It had been far too long and far too little. He glanced over at Alexa.
So, he finally bothers to notice I'm still alive over here! She thought resentfully.
She gave him her best, sexy smile. The temperature in the room was so high, her cheeks and chest were flushed, and glistening slightly, which only added to the sexy image she was trying to portray.
"Alexa, can you run out to the nearest open shop and get her some food?" If the Doctor noticed she'd changed clothes or her current attempt at seduction, he didn't acknowledge either. He grabbed an old toolbox and pulled some money from it. He then stepped over to her to hand her a handful of cash. Far too much for a few groceries. Not that she'd bother to return any of it.
The smile slipped. "What am I, your maid or something?" Sex appeal, she may have had, but charm was something she lacked immensely.
"No, of course not! You're Alexa. And you're going to run and fetch her something to eat because we don't let people die of starvation in the TARDIS." He informed her.
They were close now, heads leaning toward one another. They were close enough to Rose so that she could see them, but far enough away so that she couldn't hear what they were saying to one another. She could just imagine the conversation would only make her feel worse.
The Doctor flapped the sides of his jackets up, allowing a bit of air underneath. It was rather hot in here. She hadn't turned down the temperature on the controls, he realized. He decided not to touch them until Rose was well warmed up.
Alexa casually leaned forward, revealing her bra as she slipped the bills into it. "No pockets. Do you think this is a safe enough place to hide money, Doctor?" She asked, practically pushing her breasts at him.
She couldn't have been more obvious were she to strip herself naked and declare herself his for the taking.
Rose tried not to stare. Why was he looking at that girl, Alexa's, chest? She couldn't see that she'd tucked money in there. All she could see were the Doctor's eyes dipping down with a look of interest on his face.
His eyebrows rose as he eyed where she tucked the money. "Uh...That's..." He stammered. "Well, certainly a place I wouldn't think to look for it." He concluded, pulling his eyes up to hers. He smiled politely.
Rose thought his smile looked strained, as if he were trying to not drool over her. It was painful to watch. As was the way he wiped sweat from his brow. Rose's core body temperature was still slightly low and she couldn't tell that the temperature inside the TARDIS was far too high. She thought the pair of them were just both getting quite worked up.
He was looking at that dark haired girl and Rose hated that she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She never could.
"Now, be sure to get her something filling. Something with plenty of protein. Also, she likes chips." He added the last part softly.
Alexa tried not to frown. A frown wouldn't be sexy at all.
"Fine, Doctor." She plastered on a wide smile. "If you don't mind my going out in that storm and getting soaking wet, possibly freezing to death too, and maybe even falling and breaking my neck." She pointed to her heels. "Then I'll go get her some food." She agreed with a nod.
He glanced down at her heels, his eyes skimming over her to appraise her current outerwear. "Why are you even dressed like that?" He questioned. There was something he was missing about Alexa, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Why is he looking her up and down like that? He must like what he's seeing... Rose self consciously tugged the blanket tighter around herself. The way the Doctor's eyes had trailed over the girl's body made her feel sick.
"A girl is entitled to wear whatever suits the occasion, isn't she?"
"What occasion would that be?"
"Do I have to have a special reason? Can't I just dress how I want to dress?"
The Doctor certainly wasn't about to argue fashion with her. "You could always throw a coat on over that?" He suggested.
Sticking her bottom lip out further, her eyes opened wider, almost doe-eyed. "But I don't know this place and might get lost trying to find a shop. What if I lose my way and end up out there, alone, with just a coat to keep me warm for hours while you try to find me?" The Doctor didn't look as if he was too concerned about that. She'd shown herself to be tough, rough even, and capable of handling some very pressurized situations in the past. She couldn't pull off little miss dainty and afraid now. He wasn't buying it.
Alexa decided to switch tactics. "If I can't find a shop fast enough, she might pass out or something from lack of food."
The Doctor's eyes clouded, then cleared as he mulled that one over and made a decision in the same instant. "Okay, I'll just have to get the food myself. But you need to stay here and look after her while I'm gone." He wagged a finger in her face. "Promise me." He demanded. "You'll be nice." He didn't feel very positive about leaving Rose alone with Alexa. It was the main reason he'd planned on sending Alexa out for food and not go himself. But he was too preoccupied with Rose to really give much worry about Alexa. And right now, Rose needed food.
"She's a friend of yours, so I'll be nice, Doctor." Alexa promised, batting her eyes at him. Already she was imagining all the ways she could quietly destroy the competition while he was gone.
He paused, leaning in even closer.
Is he going to kiss her? Rose tensed up, at least her trembling had lessened to a degree, and the pink was coming back to her skin. But watching this was far worse than facing a slow death. It was a sort of death in it's own right.
He peered deeply into Alexa's eyes. She smiled brighter as she batted her eyelashes heavily at him.
"Is something the matter with your eyes?" He asked, gazing in one eye than the other.
Her smile dimmed. "No, they're fine." She sighed. What's it going to take to get him to notice me!
He nodded dismissively, then dug around in his toolbox for more money to buy some food for Rose. He didn't want to ask Alexa for the money he'd given to her, for fear she would go rooting around in her bra right in front of him again. While he was no stranger to the female anatomy, he'd been getting an uncomfortable feeling from Alexa ever since Rose tumbled into the TARDIS.
"Okay. I'll be back soon." He smiled again and stepped over to Rose who was watching them with a blank expression.
He bent down in front of her. "I'll be right back. Just going out for a bit of food. Don't listen to a thing she says." He gestured toward Alexa. But he said it in such a way that Rose wasn't sure if he was joking or not. He reached out and affectionately slid a hand down the side of her head and cheek, as though reassuring himself that she was safe, here, and real. He stood up and headed out.
The TARDIS door slid shut behind him, leaving Alex and Rose alone together.
This is a shorter chapter than I would have liked. I was going to make it longer and include some of the things I have for the next chapter, but I didn't have a good cut off point to segue into another chapter from any other spot.
Up Next: Well, you'll just have to wait and see this time. ;)