Chapter 50

They hung around for dinner, but then they left in the TARDIS, not wanting to stay there any more, after Rose had a word about shutting the leisure centre down and marking the planet as off limits.

Once in the vortex, Rose shared a look with Donna who nodded, and quietly left the console room, heading to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea before going away to read in the library. She had already assumed the couple would want some alone time, well Rose would want some alone time to check on the Doctor, and wasn't put out by it or anything.

"Come on." Rose said, holding out her hand to the Doctor, just as he had pulled his jacket off and rolled his sleeves up to tinker with the TARDIS.

"Rose?" The Doctor asked, taking her hand.

"Med-bay." Rose replied.

"I'm fine."

"No arguing." Rose led him off. She sat him on the bed and grabbed the scanner thing he had shown her how to operate that was for scanning the mind's health and held it up. "This will work, yeah?"

"Rose," the Doctor gripped her wrist. "I'm fine."

Rose gave him a look and said, "I don't care if you think your almighty Time Lord brain is incapable of being damaged, for the sanity of my mind, you're going to let me scan your brain, got it?"

The Doctor's lips twitched as he attempted not to smile and he nodded. "Got it boss."

Rose flicked the scanner on and let it do it's thing.

"What you did today," the Doctor said, as the scanner scanned. Rose had set it to do a deep scan, to check for anything and everything, so it was going to take a little bit of time to completely finish. "I don't know how you did it Rose. It shouldn't have been possible for your mind to do that, forcibly, to mine. It wasn't like being connected, you literally shielded me from something attacking my physical body."

"Well you're lucky I'm so brilliant and you are welcome." Rose grinned.

"Yes, thank you," The Doctor grinned, "But also, you have to let me scan you as well. Don't think I don't notice that headache you have been hiding."

Rose rolled her eyes, "M'fine."

"No way hosay. I let you do me so now I do you." the Doctor announced.

Rose sighed and shrugged, "Fine. If you must." The scanner beeped and flashed green, indicating nothing was picked up. She handed it over and the Doctor ran it over her head. It flash red and for a moment, Rose felt an echo of terror from the Doctor that was quickly suppressed by him and her own rise of panic before the scanner flashed purple (the colour to signify it was still scanning) then flashed green. The Doctor frowned, checked the scanner with his sonic then scanned again, this time the scan went for longer and then flashed green straight away.

"See, all good." Rose shrugged. "I just have a headache, it'll go away with some rest."

"Right," the Doctor put the scanner down and pulled Rose into his chest, hugging her. Rose hugged him back, clinging to him tightly, as he clung tightly back.

"You're alright." Rose whispered, "I thought," she broke herself off from continuing in case she lost control. She was meant to be comforting the Doctor, not letting herself break down and force him to comfort her.

"Shh, it's fine, we're good. We're always good, you and me." The Doctor whispered back, running a hand gently up and down Rose's back for comfort.

"Never ever let me stay somewhere and let you go swanning off into danger. At least if I'm with you, whatever happens to you, I can do something to help." Rose whispered.

"Deal." the Doctor promised.

"Now, let's go find Donna and watch a disney movie of some kind." Rose said, pulling away.

"Lion King?" the Doctor suggested hopefully, as Rose chuckled and the pair left to find their friend.

xxx

"Surely it's my turn to pick where we go?" Rose spoke up the next morning, as Donna came out of her room, dressed and ready. "Let's go shopping!" Rose grinned.

The Doctor pouted at Rose, but Donna grinned and nodded excitedly. "Two against one space man, shopping!"

The Doctor sighed and flipped a switch, "I am but a humble servant, here to submit to your wishes." the Doctor mockingly bowed, "If shopping is what miladies want, shopping it is."

"Oh shush you, you enjoy going to the different markets just as much." Rose shoved him, "You can go looking for spare parts."

The Doctor perked up at that and sent the TARDIS tumbling through space.

"Here we are!" The Doctor announced, although, all three of them knew that as the lurching and swaying that accompanied the TARDIS had stopped. "Shan Shen, the whole planet is covered with markets and festivals, there's something always happening. There are a few spots that are for locals only, towns where people work and eat and sleep and don't have markets but they're spoilsports and don't believe in good old healthy tourism." the Doctor announced.

"They said no to you, didn't they?" Donna asked.

"No!" the Doctor looked shocked, then he rubbed his hair and shrugged, "Weeeeeelll, maybe, a little. Yeah ok, so they did. But all I wanted was just one teeny tiny favour and I was going to pay them in some sort of method and - " The Doctor rambled on.

"Right." Rose interrupted, chucking a jacket on and opening the doors. "Shopping time." She stepped out and Donna followed. The Doctor pulled his coat on as he stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

"This way first!" The Doctor announced. He led them through aisles and stalls, showing them fruits and trinkets and drinks and arguing with the stall tenders about the facts and information of their wares, stating it from this planet with this function only to argue when they tried to say otherwise. He was like a kid in a candy store, showing off to Donna and Rose, well, mostly Donna, as Rose had heard the same sort of spiel at every other market they'd been to, but both were enjoying it. It helped that the Doctor was enjoying himself as well, recovering from the scare yesterday.

The Doctor passed a stall that made him grin and hold out the appropriate form of money, holding up three fingers, and accepting the drinks that were handed back, handing them out to the girls.

"You are gonna love this... one two three!" The Doctor grinned at them, and all three downed a mouthful at the same time. Rose and Donna looked up and burst into laughter at the sight of the Doctor with foam covering his nose.

"What?" the Doctor asked, confused.

Donna kept laughing, as Rose recovered enough to wipe his nose for him, causing him to laugh as well.

"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed, before moving through the crowds to go after the mechanics section.

"I've got my phone if you need us," Rose told Donna, "I'm going to go keep him out of trouble, but you can keep looking at the good stuff, he's gonna go annoy people about bits and bobs now."

Donna nodded and grinned as Rose trotted on off after him. Donna watched as Rose reached him just in time to stop him from licking a rusty old looking piece of metal, as Rose smiled apologetically at the shop owner, who Rose had started a conversation with as the Doctor browsed.

Donna shook her head as she laughed to herself over her friends. The both of them were head over heels for each other, and it showed, but Donna also got glimpses of the pair of them acting and arguing like an old married couple, as if they'd been together for years and years. It was rather endearing.

"You want to buy shukina? Or peshmoni, most beautiful peshmoni in all of Shan Shen?" a woman offered, holding out what looked like a spiky watermelon.

"Ah, no, thanks." Donna said, moving past the stall as the woman fished about for something else to try to sell to her. She realised she should have gotten some money off Rose but shrugged it off, figuring she could message Rose should she find something she really wanted to buy.

"Tell your fortune, lady... your future predicted, your life foretold." a woman called out.

"Oh, no thanks." Donna shook her head.

But before she could move away, the fortune teller continued speaking, "Don't you want to know... if you're going to be happy?"

"I'm happy right now, thanks." Donna nodded.

"You got red hair. The reading's free for red hair." the fortune teller insisted.

Donna laughed, you had to give this one props for effort, and gave in, "Alright then!" Donna knew it would be a load of rubbish, but figured it wouldn't hurt if it was free. If the woman complained about money, she'd just quote her back and leave.

Donna entered the tent and sat down opposite the woman, preparing herself for some laughs. She held out her hands and the woman turned them palm up, running a finger along a line. "Oh, you fascinating... ah, no, but you good... I can see... a man. The most remarkable man. How did you meet him?

Donna huffed, "You're supposed to tell me."

"I see the future. Tell me the past... when did your lives cross?" the woman asked.

"It's sort of complicated. I ended up in a spaceship on my wedding day. Long story."

"But what led you to that meeting?"

Donna frowned, thinking back on it. The tent was hazy, like she was sort of dreaming. "All sorts of things. But my job, I suppose... it was on Earth, this planet called Earth, miles away... but I had this job, as a temp - I was a secretary at a place called HC Clements..." Donna jerked forwards as she had a flashback then was jerked out of it. "Sorry."

"It's the incense. Just... breathe deep. This job of yours - what choices led you there?" the woman asked, leaning forward slightly.

"There was a choice... six months before... because the Agency offered me this contract with HC Clements. But there was this other job. My mum knew this man."

"Your life could have gone one way or the other. What made you decide?" the woman asked, leaning forward more, eyes wide open.

"I just did." Donna said, confused. The conversation was intermittent with flashbacks and memories and words, swirling around her head and she was struggling to keep track of what was happening and what she was remembering.

"But when was the moment? When did you choose?" the woman paused. "You turned left. But what if you turned right, what then?"

"Let go of my hands." Donna tried to order, suddenly trying to get free and leave. Something was wrong, something wasn't right. This wasn't going right at all.

"What if it changes, what if you go right, what if you could still go right?"

"Stop it!"

Donna gasped as something crept up her back.

"What's that? What's on my back? What is it, what's on my back?"

"Make the choice again, Donna Noble, and change your mind... turn right." the woman ordered.

Donna lost herself in the vision, and as she sat in the car, her mum yapping away, she felt her hand move to change the indicator. "Yeah. Suppose you're right." she heard herself say to her mum, and she turned right.

"Turn right, and never meet that man. Turn right, and change the world!" the fortune teller hissed into her ear.

TBC