Thrills
Chapter Eight: Thrills
The chapter the whole thing was based on! Big big thrills in store for new new Doctor ... and Rose!
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
xxx
Waiting in the queue, the Doctor was quaking. Badly. There was one pair before them, which might have been a good thing, only he didn't really want to see another set of horrified faces.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Rose asked for the sixth time.
"No, not really, but I don't want you to go on that thing alone." The Doctor moved forwards as the two people went to get in the cage, "If it was anyone else I'd leave it, but ..."
"You're just too soft for your own good," Rose finished for him. She slid her arms round him in a big hug, "Thank you. I know how much you don't want to do this."
"You don't know the half of it," the Doctor replied shakily, but he hugged Rose back.
They were still hugging when the screams of the people who'd been in front of them told them they'd been released.
"Don't look," Rose whispered, while watching the scene over the Doctor's shoulder. It looked so brilliant. "I'm not forcing you to go on it, you know."
"I know, but like I said, as it's you -"
There was a very long silence.
"It's us," Rose said quietly in his ear, "It's our turn."
"Is it? Good," The Doctor stepped up. Rose followed him quickly. The people getting out of the cage looked shaken, but satisfied.
"What's it like?" Rose questioned them nervously.
"Petrifying." The man shuddered, "In a really cool way though, but you sort of can't help thinking 'I'm on a catapult' all the way through."
"I can't wait now!" the Doctor fibbed. He was whiter than the ice cream being sold at the stall next to them.
He and Rose were strapped into the cage, with a headrest to stop their heads wobbling about. It still didn't feel very secure.
"I'm going to die on a catapult," the Doctor said.
"If it makes you feel any better, so am I," Rose agreed. She was feeling a bit wary now - now the adrenalin had worn off, it hit home that in a minute or two she was going to be thrown up into the air, "I'm scared," she admitted with a swallow.
"Do you want to get off?"
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
The cage was steadily pulled down to earth. Stretched and ready to go.
"I've changed my mind, you can worry about me now," Rose gulped. The last time she'd said something like that, it had been followed by a hug. She'd been hoping for another, although obviously this wasn't possible.
The Doctor was intelligent enough to sense this. He found her hand and took hold of it. Rose smiled at him. The Doctor smiled back.
And the catapult was released.
Rose couldn't possibly describe how it felt to rush higher and higher into the air at breakneck speed. All she could see was a blur of lights as the fair got further and further away, all she could hear was herself screaming, and all she could feel was the wind rushing past her.
The ropes have broken, she told herself, I'm gonna die, right here, right now, with the Doctor ... at least I'm still holding his hand ...
It was as if the whole thing was being rewound - with an almighty jerk the cage began to fall freely down to the ground. It felt again like they would never stop - like they would make a huge crater in the floor.
When they ran out of rope, the cage jerked again, and hung in the air, swinging to and fro. Rose's hands hurt from squeezing her headrest and the Doctor's hand much too tightly.
The Doctor was still pale. He was staring straight ahead, his expression totally unreadable.
"H - how was that?" Rose croaked. She cleared her throat.
The Doctor thought carefully and swallowed several times before replying, as though about to be sick. It was a relief when he opened his mouth and talked.
"Bad, but only a little bit worse than I expected it to be."
Rose smiled. Her hand was damp with sweat - whether it was hers or the Doctor's she didn't know.
"I'm glad I went on it," she said, "If I'd left it I would've regretted it, I know."
"I wouldn't have done. Mind you, now I know never to go near one of those things again, at least."
"Good point. I think once is enough."
The cage started to sink to the ground. When it stopped, an attendant came over to raise the headrests, unbuckle the seatbelts and let them out.
"Land!" the Doctor gasped as soon as his feet touched the floor. Rose was also happy to be back, but she'd definitely enjoyed the ride more than the Doctor. Once she'd forgotten how scared she'd been, she realised that being thrown into the air was, under the right conditions, fun.
The metal steps made a horrible clang as they walked down them. The sad-looking grass was a relief.
The Doctor leant against the control box. They were behind it now - the fair was heard but not seen. The two arms of the catapult cast an eerie red glow onto the floor around them.
"You OK?" Rose said gently.
The Doctor managed a small smile.
"I will be."
"All that food's going to stay down?"
"Probably."
He didn't look well, though. Rose felt terrible. She still found it a bit strange that someone who'd had nine hundred years of time-and-space travelling experience should hate a fairground ride, but it was her fault he did, after all. She put her arm around him.
"You didn't have to go on it -"
"I know."
"I didn't force you -"
"I know."
"You shouldn't have gone on -"
"Yes, I should've done."
Rose took a moment to take in what he'd just said. She shook her head.
"Why?"
The Doctor turned to face her. Rose could see, even in the light, that his pale face had a greenish tinge to it.
"Do you want me to tell you?" he asked, "Or do you want me to show you?"
Rose was baffled. How was she supposed to know? She took a guess.
"Go on then, show me. Why?"
As soon as she'd said it, Rose knew exactly how the Doctor was going to show her. Not ready, she barely had time to gasp before the Doctor's lips were on hers.
He was kissing her.
He was a great kisser as well - as good as he was a dogem driver.
It seemed like forever before they broke apart, though it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. Rose, dazed looked at the Doctor. He avoided her eyes and buried his face in his hands.
"Doctor?" Rose prompted, worried.
The Doctor launched into his trademark apology.
"I'm sorry, I am so sorry ..."
Sorry for what? You haven't done anything wrong!"
"Haven't done anything wrong? I just snogged you without your permission, didn't I?"
"I don't care!"
"And for no apparent reason!"
"It wasn't for no apparent reason though, was it?" Rose wasn't stupid, and she'd guessed the truth, "That's really how you feel about me, isn't it?"
The Doctor groaned loudly, still into his hands.
"Yes! I just couldn't resist ... and I'm still all shaken up from that stupid thing ..."
"It doesn't matter!" Rose assured him, "I'm glad you did it!"
She gasped. The Doctor froze.
"You mean -?"
Rose, blushing, slowly nodded. The Doctor's hands weren't obscuring his face any more.
"Rose -" he began, but Rose anticipated what he was about to say. And she found she didn't have to hear it. At least, not right now.
"Don't say it." She took his hand, "Just - let's go back to the TARDIS, hm?"
The Doctor took a deep breath and swallowed.
"Alright then. But first, I'm going to win you a fish."
xxx
Sorry it took a bit longer than usual, I've been back at school ... enough said.