Hi!

I honestly didn't expect to be back so soon!

Thank you to everyone who has given this fanfiction a shot. It means a whole lot to me.

And, to clear up any confusion, this IS a Doctor X OC fanfic. It's not going to be that obvious in this story because it's just the beginning, but this series will turn more romantic later. If you don't like that, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

Anyway, here's the first chapter of Rose! I usually write a lot more than I have to so I had to break this episode into four chapters.

There was a large time skip between the last chapter and this one, so there is some exposition at the beginning of the chapter, just to establish everything that has sort of happened so far.

I won't keep you for any longer. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5
Rose Part 1

Night had fallen on London, 2005. June Harlow sat behind the cash register of a department store. Her brain felt numb. She scanned various clothing items and stuffed them into bags. She quickly glanced at the elevators. She handed a customer their receipt and plastic bags full of clothing. June glanced back at the elevators. She closed her cash register line, ready for the work day to end. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

June had been traveling with the Doctor for what felt like two—maybe two and a half—months. It hadn't been easy to tell time since she had stepped onto the time machine. It had been difficult to adjust to everything at first. There wasn't a set night and it was easy to appear somewhere it was the middle of the afternoon, so her sleeping schedule had been completely messed up. She could only talk to her friends and family through phone calls because video chats in her room would surely bring up suspicion. And normal, everyday things like eating and working became just background thoughts in her mind. A normal life really seemed impossible in the TARDIS, however, June got used to it after a while.

The Doctor had promised that their travels would be fantastic, but June had no clue how fantastic they would really be. They kept going places looking for a fun afternoon, but always ended up having to avoid death. One moment, they were faced with danger: angry aliens and exploding spaceships. And the next moment, they were sitting with their feet dangling over the side of the TARDIS, drinking sodas and watching stars explode.

When the Doctor had asked her where she wanted to go first, June hadn't been able to think of anything. But then she caught a glimpse of her tee-shirt. So, they had gone to a Beatles concert in the 60s. June had been so stunned that she had barely been able too say anything. When they got back to the TARDIS, June had gotten to hang up a picture of her with a large grin on her face while she stood with the Beatles.

The adventures didn't slow down after that. On her first willing trip to an alien planet, an alien King had heard June sing and decided that he wanted her as a musical slave. After June and the Doctor had escaped, they had visited the future. June had stumbled upon a Video Game Temple and had played a future version of Mario Kart called Mario Kart 27K50. She had been terrible at it. They had visited Ancient Greece for a day. June had to change into a Toga to blend into the past, however, the Doctor hadn't change at all, which had made June wonder what the point of changing into a Toga was in the first place. They saw Zeus come down from Mount Olympus to curse a mortal. However, that Zeus was a fake. A race of war hungry aliens had been impersonating Gods and Goddesses so they could kill humans as they wished. The Doctor had managed to stop them, of course. They had also visited a large space museum full of instruments from around the universe. June had been allowed to play the instruments until she almost broke a fancy space accordion. And all those adventures had happened only in the first two weeks.

The Doctor was still somewhat of a mystery to June, although they got along well. He had been vague and mysterious at first and June still didn't know a lot about him. However, she assumed that she knew him better than most people did. She knew that he liked bananas and that he wore his leather jacket everyday without fail. He wouldn't take it off even when they were stranded out in the middle of a blazing desert. June knew that whenever he got stressed or annoyed, he would go off on grumbling rants, insulting different alien species and sometimes humans. June would usually have to nudge him and remind him not to be mean. The Doctor acted happy a lot of the time and liked showing off. But sometimes he would drop the happy act and he would look so sad, like he was just missing everything that he had lost and June would try her best to take his mind off of it. Most of the time, she couldn't get a hold of how his mind worked but still tried to understand him regardless.

The biggest mystery about the Doctor was his past. Every small clarification of who he was and where he was from only brought more questions. What he had told her about his past was like the blurb on the back of a book. Vague, but she understood what had happened. He never went into detail and June never pushed him to. He became sad whenever he talked about his past. June had decided that it was best to let him tell her more when he wanted to. She could live with a summary. He would tell her one day when it was right.

June didn't realize how much she would love the whirlwind she would be caught up in. Nothing slowed down. The adventures kept coming and coming and she just had to go along with them. The Doctor never seemed to slow down either. She wasn't sure how often he paused or even slept. He was always active, always pushing for a new adventure. Even on those nights that June slept he would go out on his own adventures. June learned to be ready for anything at the drop of a hat. They would escape death, turn a corner, and be pulled right into another adventure. June constantly had that feeling that she got on rollercoasters. Thrill, adrenaline pumping through her veins, always just going along with the ride no matter how crazy it was. It was all incredible.

The department store June now worked in was called Henrik's. Every time she stepped through the doors, she felt the same feeling of dread and annoyance that she had felt during high school. The feeling made her hate Henrik's even more. Henrik's was a major downgrade from the last few jobs she had had. But, she worked there for a reason. The store—the building itself—had something to do with the Autons.

The Autons, yet another name on the 'aliens the Doctor has run into before' list, were living plastic creatures, usually in the form of store dummies and mannequins. June hadn't been scared of store mannequins before, but the Autons sent a chill down her spine. The memory of that Twilight Zone episode she had seen didn't help much. She had assumed that the issue with the Autons would be solved within a day or two, but they had been having trouble.

A few days into dealing with the Autons, the Doctor had disappeared from the TARDIS. June had been used to him disappearing from the TARDIS, but still felt slightly annoyed with him. She decided against going after him and seeing what he was up to. She had been running almost all day, attempting to help the Doctor and feeling just a bit useless. She had been tired that night and decided that she would rather just go back to her room.

June had stopped by the console room again after a few hours. He still wasn't there. But before she had turned back to go to her room, the TARDIS doors had swung open and the Doctor walked inside. He had wasted no time to start the TARDIS.

Before June had gotten the chance to ask him about what he had been doing and what had happened, he had already started to talk about something else. That was when he had told her that he had gotten her a job. A part-time job in a department store called Henrik's. He told her that the building was connected to the Autons somehow. He wouldn't tell her how he had gotten her the job without her being there.

So, during the day, June usually ran around with the Doctor, attempting to sort out the Auton issue. During the late afternoon and night, June sat behind a checkout counter at Henrik's, not only working as a cashier, but also keeping tabs on anything that could relate to the Autons.

June had to make sure everyone got out of the store safely at closing, including all the employees and the security guards. She also had to keep everyone out of the basement around closing because that's where all the Autons sat, waiting, only daring to move as the store closed. And she had to check for anything out of the ordinary while she worked. June didn't even get paid in money for her work. She got paid in hugs and compliments. She was sure that the Doctor was genuine with the compliments and all the variations of 'Thank you,' he gave her. However, she thought she not only deserved the money for being a decent employee even when she didn't need to care about the job that much, but she also needed it because travelling with the Doctor didn't pay her rent.

"This is a customer announcement. The store will be closing in five minutes. Thank you."

June groaned because she wouldn't be able to leave immediately along with anyone else. She would have to sneakily hide in the middle of a circular rack of clothes so she could watch the employees and security guards leave. It took almost an hour and no one even went close to the basement so she didn't do anything but hide and watch. But once everyone left, she would be able to sneak out of the back door. The back-door's alarm didn't go off anymore. The Doctor had soniced it.

June pulled her backpack out from under her checkout counter and rummaged through it, trying to find the denim jacket she had brought with her. Her hand hit against her baseball bat (a non-murderous weapon she kept around just in case), and then against a bottle of water. She felt a little ridiculous shoving her whole arm into the backpack. She had found it in the TARDIS' wardrobe. The bag had been sitting perfectly on a dresser, like it had been waiting for her. So, she was even more surprised when she discovered it was bigger on the inside— an apparently common feature of clothes and accessories in the wardrobe. She kept basic survival things along with her instruments and her baseball bat in the bag just in case she was ever stranded somewhere or needed to fight anyone off.

Her hand grabbed the jacket's fabric just as she caught something passing by out of the corner of her eye. June looked up and yanked her denim jacket from the backpack. Rose Tyler walked across the store, towards the elevators in the back. June gulped, quickly pulled on her jacket, and chased after the girl.

June did not know much about Rose Tyler. She knew that the girl was college age (or university as they called it in England), worked at the store full-time and didn't enjoy working there. They hadn't talked much. It was mostly June's fault. Rose had tried to talk to her when she began working at the store, but June wasn't social on a normal day much less on the first day of a job she never asked for. They hadn't talked for long.

"Rose!" June called. She jogged towards the girl, swinging her backpack over her shoulders.

The blonde stopped right in front of the elevator. "Yeah?" Rose asked.

June shoved her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket and rocked on her heels. "Where're you going?" she asked, giving an awkward smile to the girl. "I thought left by now." She pointed her thumb towards the door.

Rose held up a plastic bag full of British money. "I've got to give this lottery money to Wilson," she said. June frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. She hadn't heard of a Wilson working there before. "You know, the chief electrician?" Rose asked. "His office is just in the basement."

June gulped. She could guess why she had never seen Wilson around before and didn't like what it meant. She pushed aside the dread she felt because she had to get Rose away from that basement so she wouldn't meet the same fate.

June had no clue how to stop her. "Here let me," she blurted, reaching a hand out for the bag of money. June wouldn't be going down to that basement at all, but if she could convince Rose that she could deliver the money, she could leave and then June could just sneak out like usual.

"You haven't met Wilson, though," Rose said. June froze. She hadn't bought it. June didn't know what else to do. To Rose, there wasn't any reason not to take the five-minute trip down to the basement to give the money to Wilson. June couldn't change that, not after the girl had declined her offer to take the money down herself. The elevator dinged and the doors opened behind Rose. "How about you come with me?" she asked. "You can meet him. He's a nice bloke."

June shrugged. "Sure." She couldn't let Rose go down to that basement alone.

The two girls stood in the elevator together, neither of them talking. June fidgeted with the straps of her backpack. The elevator crawled down floor by floor, taking as long as physically possible. June hummed to fill the absence of the elevator music and wondered if Rose was annoyed with her for doing so. Neither of them spoke. June just wondered how she would get the both of them out of this situation.

The elevator dinged. The doors opened to reveal one of they grey, concrete hallways of the basement. The second June stepped out of the elevator, a chill ran down her spine. She shivered and rubbed her neck. She felt very inclined just to turn around and leave.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked. She had a sort of concerned look on her face, but the sort of concerned look that also seemed confused as to why the tall brunette seemed so anxious.

"Stellar," June said. She took a moment to glance down each side of the hallway. It seemed to go on forever and ever, the end getting lose in fog and bright light. She couldn't tell if any Autons were out and about and June didn't really want to find out if they were or not.

"Wilson?" Rose called out, her voice echoing through the tunneling hallways.

"Shh," June hissed, shooting the girl a tense look. Her eyes flickered around every area in the hallway. She still couldn't see any signs of the Autons. She somehow only felt more nervous.

Rose frowned at the woman. June's whole body seemed tense. "Are you sure you're alright?" Rose asked. "You seem scared."

"I'm fine," June insisted, her tone coming out much harsher than she meant it to be. "I just don't think anyone's down here. We should just go back upstairs."

"We haven't even tried looking for him yet," Rose said. "Come on." She turned down the hallway and headed off. June groaned and swore under her breath, reluctantly following her. "Wilson!" Rose called again. June winced slightly. She was so loud that the Autons would easily be able to follow her voice. "I've got the lottery money!"

They stopped in front of Wilson's office. June kept glancing around everywhere, trying to seek out anything that hid in the dark. "Wilson." Rose knocked on the door. June knew that there would be no answer. "You there?" Rose asked. "We can't hang around 'cos they're closing the shop."

"Hey," June said, waving her arm to grab Rose's attention. "Let's just get out of here. He's not down here." She nodded towards the elevator.

"Hold on," Rose muttered to her. "Wilson!" she called again. Silence greeted them again. Rose gave June an annoyed look, nodding towards the door and rolling her eyes. June awkwardly nodded and shrugged as a sort of response although she wasn't sure what Rose was attempting to say in the first place. "Oh, come on," Rose muttered.

A loud clatter rang out through the hallway. June jumped and immediately swung her backpack off, digging for her baseball bat. Rose spun on her heels in the direction of the noise. The girls exchanged looks. Rose's curious eyes went from the hallway to the baseball bat June drew out from her backpack.

Rose crept carefully down the hall. "Hello?" she called.

June slipped her backpack on and crept after the girl. "Rose," she hissed. Rose didn't pay any attention to her. June attempted to summon the most adult sounding voice she could muster. "We need to get back to the elevators. Now."

"It's probably just Wilson," Rose whispered to her. She walked further down the hallway, much to June's quiet protest. "Hello, Wilson, it's Rose and June!"

June could've sworn that the further they walked, the sound of an eerie whisper became clearer and louder, surrounding them. Panic alarms wailed inside June's head. She knew that she should run, but that she couldn't. Rose still wandered down the hall in front of her.

Rose stopped near a door, leaning in close to it. Her ear almost brushed against its bright blue. "Wilson?" she called.

When she opened the door, she frowned. A wave of worry settled over both of the girls. The hallway was pitch-black. June had a bad feeling about what lay hidden under the blanket of dark. And still, no matter how much her instincts told her to run, June couldn't abandon Rose.

"This is a bad idea," June whispered to the blonde. "We need to go. Please."

Instead of listening to what June thought was very reasonable advice, Rose turned on the lights. They flickered before turning on all the way, casting dull light on the hallway. June's heart dropped. Autons lined the hallway, all stiff and plastic. They seemed to be leering at her. June held up her bat but knew that she wouldn't be able to fight the whole crowd.

Rose stepped out into the hallway, creeping down along the crowd of plastic aliens. "Wilson?" Rose called.

"Rose," June hissed. Her fingers gripped the door as she stared helplessly after her. "Get back here," she demanded. She stared at the back of the blonde's head as she ignored June's desperate words.

June let go off the door and reluctantly jogged to catch up with her. She watched the Autons wearily, attempting to keep track of all of them at once. None of them moved and she didn't want to be there when they started. The exit kept getting further and further away with more and more Autons close enough to close it.

The girls continued to walk, their footsteps slow and careful. The silence June wanted to maintain was broken by Rose. "Wilson!" she yelled. June silently gaped at her. She wanted to slam a hand over the girl's mouth, keep her quiet, but there was no reason to anymore. The Autons were watching them.

Rose stopped by a red door and attempted to open it. June turned away from her, deciding to face the crowd of plastic creatures, trying to spot any movement. Rose kept trying to open the locked door, pulling at it desperately. June tried to hold her bat and seem as threatening as possible.

Slam.

June nearly jumped five feet into the air. Rose whipped her head around to face the noise. The door they had gone through, the nearest exit, had been slammed shut. June's stomach filled with uncomfortable dread. The Autons were attempting to lock them in the room. Rose, not knowing this, sprinted to the door. June reluctantly ran after her.

Rose pulled desperately at the door but it wouldn't budge. "You're kidding me," she grumbled. She yanked on the handle some more. June glared in the direction of the Autons, attempting to look threatening. She didn't usually look intimidating at all, but she could sure try.

More clattering and clanging echoed from further down the hallway. Rose looked to June, eyes wide, hoping that the woman had a way out. June didn't look at her. She seemed prepared for a fight. A fake fury blazed in the woman's forest-green eyes.

"Is that someone mucking about?" Rose yelled. She pushed past June and crept down the hallway again. June inched after her, wondering why she didn't just stay in one place. "Who is it?" Rose called.

A menacing creak cracked echoed the hallway. A shutter ricocheted down June's spine, making her jump. Both girls spun on their heels. One of the Autons leaned out of the shadows, leering at them. June lurched back, her stomach dropping. The plastic creature slowly began to approach them as more and more of the beings in the room came to life.

"Yeah, you got us," Rose said, attempting to sound confident despite how her voice shook. "Very funny."

June stood her ground and swung her baseball bat. It smashed against the Auton's plastic skull. It staggered away. The sudden attack only made the Autons around them quicker, wanting to get rid of the threat as quick as possible.

June hit another Auton in the head, sending it staggering backwards only to fall. June paid no attention to how Rose shrieked her name in shock, she didn't have time to.

The Autons closed in around them. June quickly realized that she was losing this battle, but she still swung at them with all her might. She swung and hit and fought as she and Rose were backed towards a wall. "Get away from us!" June shouted. The Autons never stayed down for long and June wondered how long she could fight against them.

She prepared to swing again, but her bat was suddenly yanked out of her hands. June gasped and spun on her heels. An Auton held her baseball bat in its large plastic hand. June sneered and lunged for it. Another Authon stepped in her way, sending June staggering backwards, not wanting to let them get a hold of her.

A clattering echoed from the dark hallway next to them. Her baseball bat was gone. June gulped, the ball of dread in her stomach growing bigger.

She grimaced as her back pressed against the cold basement wall. The Autons stood inches away from her and she stood completely defenseless. No more backing up, no where to run. That's when a hand wrapped around hers. Rose. Rose was probably more scared that June was. June had faced aliens, Rose hadn't. She glanced at the blonde only to see that she had braced for the worst. June shut her eyes tight, hoping for a miracle.

"Run."

That voice. His voice. June's eyes snapped open and her feet moved without her thinking about it. She was pulled down a hallway after Rose. Most of the dread and fear left her. They were escaping. June wasn't exactly fond of having to rely solely on him, just in case. But without her baseball bat or anything else to defend her and Rose, she didn't know what else she could rely on. And thankfully, he came through like he usually did.

They stopped in a service elevator. June got the chance to catch her breath and Rose backed away from the doors. June's legs still shook a bit, but a relieved smile spread onto her face.

"Catch."

June turned in time to catch her baseball bat. She gaped at the Doctor, who wrestled with a plastic arm that kept the elevator doors from closing. "Picked that up for you," he grumbled absentmindedly. June couldn't help but smile at him.

June turned to the plastic arm's side, raised her baseball bat above her head, and slammed it down on the arm as hard as she possibly could. The arm fell clean off its body and the elevator doors finally shut.

The Doctor turned to smile at the girl as she put her baseball bat back into her backpack. "Good job," he complimented. June just shrugged and grinned lazily at him. He quickly pulled her into a tight hug. June happily hugged back, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I told you to keep people out of the basement at closing," the Doctor whispered as he let the brunette go. He nodded towards Rose.

"I tried," June whispered back. "She wouldn't listen to me." She pouted at him.

Rose gaped at the two of them. June nervously met her eyes. "You chopped his arm off," Rose said.

"Not really," the Doctor said. June glared at him. She could talk to strangers sometimes, especially when they were talking to her. "Baseball bats don't chop." He tossed the arm to Rose. "Plastic," he said with a smile. He turned away, crossing his arms.

"Very clever," Rose said. "Nice trick! Who are they then, students?" she asked. "Is this a student thing or what?" Rose asked.

The Doctor glanced back at her. "Why would they be students?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Well, you said it," the Doctor said. "Why students?"

Rose hesitated for a moment. June glanced up at the Doctor. She couldn't help but wonder why he was in the building in the first place. He hadn't mentioned having to go to the store that night. She furrowed her eyebrows at him and wondered what he was planning.

"'Cos to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students," Rose explained.

The Doctor smiled at the blonde. "That makes sense," he said. "Well done."

"Thanks," Rose said.

He turned to the elevator doors again. "They're not students."

June grabbed one of his crossed arms. The Doctor looked down at her, confused. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a harsh whisper. He immediately looked away from her. She tugged on his sleeve, glowering up at him. "Doctor," she complained.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's going to call the police," Rose said. June winced. How could she have forgotten Wilson?

"Later," the Doctor whispered to her, although June's mind was on something else now. "Who's Wilson?" he asked Rose.

"Chief electrician," she said.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "Wilson's dead," the Doctor said. June shuttered.

The Doctor took June's hand and they walked out of the elevator. "Bit insensitive," she muttered to him. He ignored her and pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

Rose stormed out of the elevator after them. "That's not funny. That's sick!" she exclaimed.

"Hold on." The Doctor stopped her and made sure both of the girls stood on the opposite side of the elevator doors. Rose gave June a confused look and June smiled slightly and shrugged. "Mind your eyes," the Doctor said, turning back to the elevator button. June turned fully on her heels, facing the empty hallway.

Rose didn't bother to heed the Doctor's warning. "I've had enough of this now," she said. The sound of sparks shot through the silent hallway. Rose shrieked in response.

The Doctor took June's hand again and pulled her down the hallway after him. June glanced back at Rose, who stood frozen in place, gaping after them. June glanced up at the Doctor. She couldn't guess what he was up to.

"Who are you, then?" Rose called after them. "How do you know June?" June winced awkwardly at the sound of her name. "Who's that lot down there?" Rose demanded. "I said, who are they?" She ran to catch up with them.

"They're made of plastic," the Doctor told Rose as they walked through the empty basement hallways. "Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He stopped and let go of June's hand. He pulled a small device out of his pocket. June couldn't recognize what it possibly was. She couldn't help but take notice of the exit doors just behind him. "So," the Doctor continued, darting up a small staircase and holding the exit doors open, "I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me." He pushed Rose through the door.

June gaped and glared at him. He smiled cheerily at her. "I didn't agree to this," she argued. How could he think that she would just let him go and possibly blow himself up?

"Then it's a good thing you're not going to be here," the Doctor said. He pushed her through the door and out into the parking lot. He ignored the brunette's clear anger and looked back at the still stunned Rose. "No, you go home," he said. "Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast. Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."

"Doctor." June started towards the door. She couldn't just let him blow up the building, not by himself at least.

He held out a hand to stop her. "You get back to the TARDIS," he said. June opened her mouth to protest, but he shut the door in her face. June reached for the handle, ready to go after him, but the door swung open again. June staggered back as it almost hit her. The Doctor frowned at her. "Careful." June glared at him. He looked at Rose. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"

"You're doing introductions?" June grumbled, glaring at him.

"Rose," Rose muttered.

"Nice to meet you, Rose," he said. He grabbed June's hand and squeezed it. She met his eyes, her eyebrows furrowed. "June." He gave her a small smile. June stayed quiet, gaping at him. She didn't like the look in his eyes. The one that made her uneasy because he was about to do something dangerous. The Doctor dropped her hand and held up the small device—the small bomb. "Run for your lives!"

The door shut. June pulled at the handle, but it didn't budge. She swore to herself and yanked it a bit harder with no results. He must have soniced it. She couldn't go after him. She turned to the stunned Rose. "Come on, let's go," she grumbled, pushing past the blonde.

"You know him?" Rose asked. They walked out onto the sidewalk by the back of the store.

"Yeah." June glanced back up at the store and bit her lip. "We have to run."

"What?"

June already ran down the street. Rose sprinted after her. June kept glancing at the store, waiting for the explosion she knew was coming. Rose had to grab her arm and pull her across the street. A car almost hit them as they crossed, but June was more focused on the building.

They rushed onto the nearest sidewalk. June recognized the street. The TARDIS stood parked a little down the way, in a small gap between two buildings. She would've let out a sigh of relief, being so close to safety, but couldn't. The girls stopped on a street corner for a moment and watched the building.

Both of them jumped at the sound and sight of a large explosion. The roof became engulfed in a cloud of red flames. June's heart stopped for a moment. She winced, but couldn't tear her eyes away. The top floor's line of windows shot out of their places, again, engulfed by fire. June wondered if the Doctor had made it out okay. She considered going to check but knew stepping closer to the explosion would be a bad idea.

Rose tried to pull June away from the scene, but the woman absentmindedly hit her arm away. Rose left her on the street corner and ran. June watched the store burn for a moment. There was nothing else she could do. She took a deep breath and walked over to the shadowy outline of the TARDIS. She pulled the small, bronze TARDIS key out of her pocket, glanced back at the burning building, and then pushed her way into the TARDIS.

How'd you guys enjoy the chapter?

I really hope the exposition wasn't too much.

Anyway, I'm in the middle of editing Rose part 2, so I have no idea when it'll be up. I will hurry and try to get it done asap.

Thank you guys so much for reading!

Review and follow and favorites are always appreciated.

Until next time,

~ C.C.