A/N: Short chapters make for a longer story lol. So... short chapters there will be :P And plus... I'm too lazy to make them any longer.

Chapter Ten

An Unlikely Passion

Ashley woke up with a start and an unflattering snort. She wiped her hand over her mouth to discover that she had been drooling, and then pushed her mane of bright red hair from off her face. She had just had the weirdest dream that she had been back in Deadstone, only it was like she had been in a musical. She had woken up just as the Doctor and Sheriff Lockely had finished their rendition of She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain. She wondered how long she had been secretly insane and managed to swing her legs off the cot and sit upright. She rubbed her face with both hands, and was just about to stand up when she noticed something on the floor beside her feet. She peered out from between her fingers, and frowned.

On a blue flowery tray there was two slices of toast with jam, and a glass of orange juice. She blinked at it for a moment, and then picked up the piece of paper that was underneath the glass. She raised her eyebrow at the small picture of, what she thought was, a sun with a smiley face and a speech bubble that read 'Rise and Shine!'

Ashley frowned in confusion. If that was from Manny it was out of character. If it was from the Doctor then that was even more out of character. There was something seriously wrong going on around here. The Doctor was acting so strange, almost like he was a different person.

But that would be ridiculous.

Ashley paused in front of the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. She had forgotten to remove her eye makeup the night before and now she had huge panda rings around her eyes. Her hair was all over the place. She had creases on the left side of her face from the pillow. She had been deliberating on going straight up for a shower when she heard a strange noise.

It was the Doctor.

Laughing.

Curious, Ashley followed the sound to the kitchen and peered around the door. And there, in the middle of the kitchen, stood the Doctor and Manny. Manny was beaming happily as the Doctor adjusted the red cloth scarf around his neck. Dumbstruck, Ashley could only watch.

'It's a tricky thing,' the Doctor was telling him as he tied the scarf around Manny's neck. 'If you tie it too tight then you look strangled, and it makes your face look bigger than it is. Too loose, and then it just looks shabby.'

'You didn't strike me as the fashion conscious type.' Manny beamed up at him.

'Well there's been a few nights when I've found myself with nothing to watch but UKTV Style. But I suppose that's the bad thing about having a dodgy TV connection.'

Both of them laughed, and Ashley decided that she had to interrupt. The whole surreal scene was making her feel nauseous. She cleared her throat, and the pair of them looked around. The Doctor let go of Manny's scarf quickly and smiled.

'Morning.' He said, looking a little flustered. 'Did you sleep well?'

Ashley blinked at him. 'Were you readjusting his scarf for him?'

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. 'Well… yeah. I'm good with scarves.' Before Ashley had a chance to say anything else on the matter, he spoke again. 'Did you enjoy your breakfast?'

Ashley just looked at him for a moment. 'I didn't eat it.'

The Doctor looked momentarily disappointed. 'Oh.'

'But um… the thought was nice.' She didn't even know what she was talking about. The confusion was just far too… confusing. This couldn't possibly be the Doctor. Or was it that she was just seeing a new side to him? She hadn't known him for very long after all…

'Well I think you should go get ready,' the Doctor grinned at her. 'And I'll go and start sorting through your stuff ready for the move. Then we can go fetch the Tardis and pack it all up.'

Manny looked at him curiously. 'Do you call everything 'Tardis'?'

The Doctor looked at him questioningly. Ashley stepped in. 'Pretty much.' She went to head out of the room. 'Okay, well I'm going to go in the shower then…'

'Oh!' the Doctor cried suddenly. 'Oh I nearly forgot. I'm just popping out, I'll be two ticks.' He moved past Ashley towards the front door and she started after him.

'Where are you going?' she frowned.

The Doctor turned with a grin and an unfamiliar twinkle in his eye. He tapped his nose with his finger, and then disappeared out of the door. Ashley stood and stared at the closed door, one eyebrow cocked and one lowered. Manny joined her side and looked at the door also. He sighed and smiled a little.

'Ashley Chambers,' he sighed. 'I was wrong. You have to marry that man.'

Ashley shot him a horrified look but he didn't notice. She turned and looked at the door again with her mouth ajar, before shaking her head and heading upstairs towards the bathroom.

Something weird was definitely going on here.