Chapter Fifty
After inquiring at the front desk, Rose and company walked a few blocks towards the CVS to pick up her prescription.
"So, we'll go here first and then there's an Avis a couple of blocks down from that," Rose said.
Alan frowned.
"Are you sure you can walk that distance?"
She smiled.
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me. My back still aches, but not as badly as it did last night. I can handle it, I've had worse, you know."
Awinita frowned.
"How long have you been seeing these monsters and things?" she asked her.
"Well, I met the Doctor when I was nineteen and we traveled together for two years until I got stuck in this universe and then there was a two year lapse until I found him again and then I met Alan while I was a prisoner on the Crucible."
"Was the Doctor with you when you met him?"
"Yeah, we were imprisoned in these force fields and we were a couple of feet apart from each other, so we could see and hear one another but couldn't touch."
"Bet that was rough."
"Oh yeah, it was. I hated it. Especially when Davros was taunting him, I wanted to just go to him and put my arms around him. There was this thing called a reality bomb that was going to wipe out all life in the universes and we thought he was going to succeed and use it when suddenly we heard the TARDIS and the door opened and there was Alan standing there with this gun he made. I didn't know what to think. At first, I thought he was some kind of hologram, but then he ran outside and got zapped by Davros and I realized that he was real. I was just gobsmacked and I was even more stunned when I realized he was half human. I mean, in these four years since I've known the Doctor so many weird and wonderful things have happened to me that it's hard to believe that I'm awake and living through it. Me and him really didn't talk much though until we were stranded in Norway and then we got to know each other."
"I was keeping my distance out of respect for the Doctor because I figured you and he were going to be together and I didn't want to…intrude on that, I guess. When I saw that he was going to leave her with me, that's when I became more…approachable because I wanted Rose to be happy with me even though I wasn't the original Doctor, but then I made the decision to stop referring to myself as the Doctor and become a whole new person so Rose wouldn't have to spend her life with this pale copy of the man she loved. Then, happily, she fell in love with me as an individual and the rest is history."
They reached the CVS parking lot and walked inside the building.
"Ah, air conditioning," Awinita gasped.
"Yeah, I'm beginning to like the idea of renting a car. It's been hotter than hell these past few days," Rose said.
"Yeah, August is usually the dog days of summer," Awinita said. "It gets really hot and sticky especially in the south. If I were you, I'd reconsider going all that way on foot because it'll be hell going through the deep south for the next few months, trust me."
"How long can you rent a car?" Alan asked as they headed back to the pharmacy.
"For as long as I need to. I can rent it by the week. Why? Have you changed your mind again? I know how eager you are to get to Disneyworld," she teased.
Alan grinned and nodded.
They reached the counter and Rose gave the pharmacist her prescription. Alan glanced at Awinita and pulled her away out of earshot.
"Don't tell Rose this because I want it to be a surprise," he whispered. "She thinks I'm in a hurry to get to Disneyworld because I want to ride the rides, but that's not the reason. I want to propose to her and I think it would be romantic if I did it at Disneyworld."
Awinita's eyes widened with delight.
"Oh my God, I love that idea," she whispered back. "I think you should. I'm sure Rose would say yes."
"I hope so because there's no one else I want to spend my life with."
Rose glanced at them.
"Alan, what are you doing?" she teased. "I thought you wanted to see how to get a prescription filled."
"Oh yeah, right, right, I did, didn't I?"
He winked at Awinita and walked back to her side. He watched while Rose filled out a form and gave it to the pharmacist.
"So, that was all your information?" he asked, gesturing to the clipboard.
"Yeah, you have to fill that out so they can put it in the computer."
Alan's mouth formed an O. He looked at the different medicines on the shelves along the back wall and studied them with interest while the pharmacist filled her prescription.
A few minutes later he returned with a small white sack.
"This is for ten days," he said, giving it to her. "Take one every six hours as needed and if you need more after the ten days then you'll have to call your doctor and ask him to give you another prescription."
Rose nodded, took the sack and put it in her purse. She thanked the pharmacist and turned around. She glanced at Alan.
"Do we need anything else?" she asked. "Do you need any toiletries?"
He shook his head.
"We might need soft drinks for tonight though. We only got you the Coke because we couldn't carry a bunch of drinks with the sacks."
"Okay, we can get that and perhaps a couple of bags of crisps. If we're gonna be driving, then we can afford to stock up a bit and get snacks and things for the drive. I was thinking about getting a people carrier since that would give us all some room. I don't want to sit in the back with three rucksacks shoved up against me."
Alan made a face.
"No, me neither. Plus, if you had that space you could stretch out a little and rest your back."
"Yes and the same with your ankle. I know it still hurts you because I've seen you make a face from time to time."
"Yeah, but your back and your arm are more important," he said. "I want you to recover fully so your mum doesn't string me up by my intestines when we get back to London."
They headed down an aisle towards the front. On the way, Alan spied the boxes of Puffs and let out another giggle as he grabbed one.
"No, Alan," she said.
"Yes, Rose, I have my own money and you said I could get whatever I want, so I'm getting a souvenir."
Rose rolled her eyes.
"Oh wonderful, here come the fart jokes," she muttered.
"Nah, I won't do that. I just want this box as a little memento."
"Are you gonna stop at Wendy's then and get some biggie fries as another memento?"
He laughed.
"Maybe," he said with a wink.
They paused by the food section. Rose gestured to the bags of potato chips.
"Get whatever flavor crisps you want. I'll get some soft drinks.
Alan studied it while Rose walked over to Awinita who was standing nearby. She told her what they were doing while Alan picked up a bag of Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips, a bag of Lay's Dill Pickle chips and a bag of Lay's regular potato chips and brought them over to her.
"How about this?" he asked them.
Rose glanced at the bags.
"Sounds good…wait, dill pickle?"
"Those aren't too bad," Awinita said. "I've had them before."
"I thought I'd try them," Alan said, shrugging. "I figured you might like the salt and vinegar ones and Awinita can have the plain."
"Works for me," Rose said. "Now, what sodas do you want?"
"Coke's fine with me," Alan said.
"Yeah, me too," Awinita replied.
"Okay, we'll get a couple of two liters and then get a couple of the 16 ounce sizes and we can refill the empty bottles then. Anything else you guys can think of?"
Awinita frowned when she noticed the box of Puffs.
"Are we getting those for the car?" she asked, pointing to them.
Rose rolled her eyes when Alan giggled.
"No, he's getting them for a laugh," she said.
Awinita frowned.
"Why?"
She smiled.
"In England, puff is slang for a fart."
"Seriously?"
Rose nodded. Awinita giggled.
"Wow, I didn't know that. I'll never look at Puff's tissue the same way again."
Alan grinned when she started giggling uncontrollably.
"Oh man, you shouldn't have told me that. Now I'll be laughing for the rest of the night," she said.
Alan's eyes twinkled as he held the box close to Rose and put his hand on the flap.
"One false move and you get a snoutful of flatulence," he said. "Just surrender the Cokes to me and no one will get hurt…hey! You come back here this instant. No one walks away from me and my box of Puffs. How dare you defy me! Get back here this instant, Rose Tyler."
Rose ignored him and walked up to the cash register. Alan and Awinita followed her. Alan gave Rose a playful poke in the back while a woman rang up the items.
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Twenty minutes later they found the Avis car rental and went inside. Alan listened while Rose requested a minivan for two weeks and filled out the forms.
"We can start with two weeks and then decide from there," she said to Alan and Awinita.
They nodded. Alan leaned his arms on the counter and watched while Rose filled out insurance forms.
"Better get these if you're driving," she said.
Alan shot her a look as she put her tongue between her teeth.
"I can drive, Tyler, as shocking as that sounds," he said.
"Well, we'll see, won't we?" she said.
She giggled when Alan rolled his eyes. They got the keys to their minivan and walked outside to find it. It was a candy apple red 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with Onstar and a DVD player. Alan whistled when he saw it.
"Very nice, Tyler," he said.
"Yeah, well, I've never had a car of my own and I figured if we're gonna rent one, we might as well get something nice."
"You never had a car?" Alan asked.
Rose shrugged.
"Before I met the Doctor, I took the bus and when I came here, I drove one of dad's cars because I was hoping to get back to the Doctor and I didn't want to pay for a car and then just leave it here when I went back with him."
"You always had that in mind, didn't you, getting back to him," Alan said.
She smiled.
"I thought of nothing else from the moment the gap closed."
Alan seethed inwardly at that and he cursed the Doctor for breaking her heart when she had spent all that time trying to find him again. He quickly let the anger go, knowing that Rose was happy again and he concentrated on the here and now while she unlocked the doors. Grinning, Alan quickly jumped into the right side of the car.
"I'M DRIVING!" he yelled.
He held his hands out and feigned confusion as he stared at the dashboard in front of him.
"Hey, where's the steering wheel? There's no steering wheel in this car!" Rose, you better go inside and tell the man…oh wait, there it is, what's it doing over there? It's on the wrong side!"
Rose giggled as she climbed in the driver's side.
"Rose, they put the wheel on the wrong side!" he said as Awinita climbed in behind them and slid the door shut.
"I know and here's a shocker, we're gonna be driving on the wrong side of the road as well," she said with wide eyes.
Alan's mouth dropped open.
"The barbarians! Driving on the right side of the road, how uncivilized can you get?" he said as Rose bent over the steering wheel, laughing.
Rose looked back at Awinita and shook her head as she started the car.
"Wait, I wanna drive!"
Rose stared at him.
"If I do this, you will remember that we have to drive on the right side, right?"
Alan gave her a patronizing look.
"No, Rose, I'm gonna drive on the left and when I nearly hit people I'll do what Kevin Kline did in 'A Fish Called Wanda' and scream "ASSSSSSSSSSSSHOOOOOOOOOOOOLE!" at them."
"I wouldn't put it past ya."
"Just…get out and let me get in the driver's seat," Alan said.
Rose looked at Awinita.
"Buckle your safety belt, I have a feeling you'll be needing it," she said as Alan flipped her off.
They quickly changed sides. Rose got in with Alan and made a big show out of buckling her seatbelt. Alan sighed when she trembled so much she looked like she was having a seizure.
"You know, I have an urge to run this car into a tree now," he said as Awinita and Rose laughed.
Rose watched as he fiddled with the buttons and switches trying to familiarize himself with everything. He hit a button and watched while a tiny monitor came down behind his head.
"Ah, I can't watch the movie while I drive?" he said.
"No, Alan, I think the other drivers would love for you to keep your eyes on the road and not on the movie," Rose said.
He shrugged.
"Doesn't matter anyway, we don't have any DVDs."
"Um, I thought about finding a couple of cheap ones we could watch to pass the time," Rose replied.
"Brill," Alan said.
He put the car into reverse and slowly backed out while both women watched him closely.
"There's a car behind you, Alan. There's a car!" Rose yelled.
Alan stopped and gave her a dirty look as she giggled.
"I know, Rose. I'm not gonna hit it! I do have depth perception, you know. Just relax. I won't wreck the motor, okay?"
He grumbled under his breath while Rose patted his leg. He finished backing up and put it in drive. An evil grin spread over his face as he suddenly stomped on the gas pedal and the car took off at full speed. He slammed on the brake and giggled when Rose gave him a look of death.
"Sorry, couldn't resist, dear," he said.
He stopped, looked both ways and eased the car out into traffic.
"Now see," he said as he drove. "I can drive a car."
"I see that now. I'm sorry I ever doubted you."
"Yeah, right," Alan mumbled as she giggled.
"Is this a lot like driving that TARDIS thing?" Awinita asked.
"Oh no, TARDIS is much, much different," Alan said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "It's huge for starters. And it requires six people to fly it properly."
"So, the Doctor had six people then?"
"Nope, just him and the occasional companion or two. He never had six people at once except after we defeated Davros and the Daleks and then he only let the six of them fly it because we had to haul the Earth back to its proper orbit."
"So, if it takes six people, how does the Doctor fly it?"
"Half-assed," Rose said.
Alan gave her a look as she and Awinita giggled. They pulled into the hotel parking lot and Alan found a spot outside their room.
"There!" he said, parking it and turning off the ignition. "I drove all the way to the hotel and no one's dead or mangled. Now can I help drive it?"
"Yes, you can."
"Thank you."
"I'm sorry I doubted you."
"No, you're not," he said.
"Yeah, you're right, I'm not."
She kissed him on the cheek when he mumbled under his breath. They got out, grabbed the sacks of food and took them indoors.
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After a short nap, the three of them watched TV for awhile before they decided to play cards. They pulled the table over to the bed since there were only two seats and Alan sat on it while they played Euchre and ate some of their meal.
"So, where are we going once we get out of here," Awinita asked. "Besides heading for route 9, I mean."
"Well, we'll have to take a look at that info I found, but…"
"The bug museum," Alan said.
Rose rolled her eyes as he sniggered.
"We don't have to go to the bug museum if you don't want to. I keep telling you that was just a suggestion," she said.
"If we're going down along the coast, we oughta at least stop at one of the beaches," Awinita said.
"Yeah, but…we don't have any swimsuits. I suppose that's something else we'll have to get. Blimey, we will need the car by the time we get done shopping for everything we need. It seems like more and more a little rucksack isn't going to cut it."
"Well, if you're gonna get movies," Awinita said, "there are some video stores that will buy used DVDs. So, when you're done with them, you can sell them back and get a little money."
"That's what I was thinking too. I know a lot of stores have DVDs on sale and older DVDs aren't that much, we can get a few and then while one of us is driving, the others can watch if they want. Plus, you know, there's always puzzle books or regular books or…"
"Singing," Alan said.
He gave Rose a pointed look.
"Singing," he said, slowly.
"You sing?" Awinita asked her.
Rose sighed.
"I don't think I'm that good a singer, but Alan does."
"Too right I do. Go ahead and sing something for Awinita."
"Alan!"
"What? You're a fantastic singer, Rose. I told you that the other day. Now sing."
Rose was speechless.
"Here, you want me to sing with you? I'll start you off, alright?" Alan said.
Rose nodded. He thought for a moment and then smiled.
"I made it through the wilderneeeeeeeess, somehow I made it through-hoo-hoo. Didn't know how lost I was until I found yoooooooooou…"
Rose hesitated a moment and then began to sing with him. Alan instantly switched to harmony and Awinita listened quietly while they sang 'Like a Virgin' together. She clapped enthusiastically when they finished.
"He's right, you can sing," she said. "That was great."
"Told yoooooooooou!" Alan said to Rose. "So, you see, we can do that whole family sing-a-long thing and tell stories and have lots of fun. We don't have to just watch DVDs or read. That's nice, but human interaction is always better, I think. Why have friends if you aren't gonna talk to them?"
"And of course, you love to talk," she said.
"Oh yes, and besides I haven't finished telling you about the Doctor's adventures with Donna and now I'm sure you'll wanna hear about his exile on Earth when he actually did drive Bessie. Besides, Awinita probably wants to hear about it too, right?"
"Oh yeah," she said, nodding.
Alan frowned when Rose gathered up the cards from the pile.
"Did someone win just now?"
"I did," Rose said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to this game. I know poker a bit better."
"Well, do you wanna play poker then?" Rose asked.
Alan shrugged.
"It's up to you. Poker, Euchre, it's all good. Just as long as I'm with you guys, I don't care."
Rose and Awinita smiled at that. She arranged the card so they were neatly in the pack, shuffled them and dealt them out as they started a hand of poker.
