I'm really happy that you guys and gals are enjoying the story so far. I'm trying to keep it within the confines of the time period it's written in so, as I'm sure you've noticed, there are some changes, but I'm also trying to stick to the context of the episode. I hope you continue to enjoy reading this. Thank you so much for all the favs, reviews, and follows! You're all brilliant! :)


Rose was startled awake early the next morning by her mum who practically bust through her bedroom door all billowing skirts and bellowing voice.

"Did you 'ear what happened to Wilson 'enrick?" Jackie asked. Then waved her hand as if to wave off the question. "Course you didn't. You've been lazing about while I've been out." She walked over to the windows, pulled the curtains aside and threw them open. "Not to mention the explosion. The 'ole town's in an uproar."

"Sorry?" Rose asked, sitting up and blinking at the onslaught of daylight. Memories of last night, the pirates who weren't pirates, the Doctor, and that package trickled back.

"Wilson 'enrick was killed last night at the tavern," Jackie continued. She sat down on the bed forcing Rose to scoot over as there wasn't much room to begin with. "Good thing you weren't there. You could've been killed."

Her mum reached down and pulled her into a hug.

"Wait," Rose mumbled into her mum's chest. "Wilson's dead?"

She remembered the Doctor telling her, but she wasn't even sure who the Doctor was so she didn't really believed him until now. Jackie released her and then stood up.

"Run through with a sword while 'e was in 'es bed. 'E didn't even get to stand up, poor dear. Now up with you," her mum ordered. "Get dressed."

"Get dressed, why?" Rose asked, confused.

If Wilson was dead then surely she wouldn't have to work today. That being the only good to come from last night's events. Not that Wilson's death was good. He'd been nice enough.

"They're reading the will today," Jackie replied as if that said it all, which it didn't.

"So?"

"So, I'm sure 'e mentioned you."

And there it was. Money. It always came down to money. Her mum seemed to think she'd get something from Wilson's death, some compensation of sorts.

"You think the owner of the pub I work at mentioned me in his will?" Rose replied followed by a sarcastic laugh as she flopped back down on the bed.

"'E was always glancing at you and gazing down at your - "

"Mum!" Rose snapped.

"Well, 'e was a man wasn't 'e?"

"He wasn't like that."

"All men are like that." After a moment Jackie threw up her hands. "Fine then, 'ave it your way. I'll go in your stead, but you're going to market in mine."

All Rose wanted to do was lay back in bed and go back to sleep. Something she hadn't been able to do since she was very little. Then she remembered the rest of her mum's news. She sat back up.

"Did you say something about an explosion?"

"Oh, ya, it must've been 'uge. Can't believe I slept through it. Took out a 'ole ship!"

"A ship?" Rose asked, remembering what the Doctor said about finding the ship that belonged to those soldiers and taking care of them. Did he blow up their ship?

"There isn't much left of it, but the gossip is that it was a pirate ship docked right on the Thames. Big as life. Some people think that's who killed Mr. 'enrick."

"Why would pirates kill Mr. Henrick?" Rose asked, her stomach knotting at the Doctor's warning, Don't tell anyone. If you do you'll get them killed.

"Maybe 'e owed them money," Jackie guessed. "I always thought 'e looked a bit Irish."

Irish? Rose rolled her eyes. That didn't have anything to do with anything. And besides…

"He grew up down the road," she said, voicing her thought.

"That's what 'e said."

"Why would he lie?"

Jackie only shrugged. Rose was about to flop back down when her mum pulled the covers from her.

"Mum!" she exclaimed.

"You're either going to the reading or going shopping. Either way you're getting dressed."

Rose sighed in frustration, but she knew she was stuck.

"Fine."


An hour into shopping and Rose was sure she heard every story being passed around about Wilson's death. They ranged from extraordinary to unbelievable.

"Did you hear the news?" Betsy Ferguson asked as Rose looked over the selection of fish Mr. Ferguson was selling.

"News?" she asked, pretty sure she knew were this was headed.

"About the curse," Betsy replied, the last word nearly whispered as if to say it might bring some evil raining down from the sky.

Now, this was new.

"Curse?" Rose asked, quirking her brow.

"Shhh!" Betsy hissed, glancing up and doing the sign of the cross.

"Um…sorry," she replied, trying to keep her eyes from rolling.

"I heard from Mrs. Simpson, who heard it from Mrs. Shnebley, who heard it from Ms. Wicker, who everyone knows is involved in dark things," again whispering the last two words, "That Mr. Henrick was killed by a curse."

"What? A curse with a sword?" Rose asked and then snorted as a laugh escaped her.

"Well, if you're not going to take me seriously then - "

"No, no…sorry," Rose replied, trying to gain control of herself, but when she glanced at Betsy she noticed someone she never thought she'd see again.

The Doctor. He walked through the market glancing around. He looked different in daylight with his dark hair and wearing his dark leather jacket, white billowy tunic tucked into tight leather –

"Rose! Rose Tyler, are you even listening to me," Betsy fumed.

Rose blinked, her eyes focusing on the woman standing in front of her.

"Right, sorry, got to go," she said before sidestepping Betsy and heading toward the Doctor who was already moving away.

She hurried after him, trying to keep her basket from hitting anyone in the process. He must be a complete idiot to saunter around town like that. What if someone saw him last night? What if someone were looking for him? What if he was arrested? Her mum was right. Men could be completely foolish sometimes.

Of course men weren't the only ones she found as she sidestepped a woman and nearly collided with the man she was giving chase to. He grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

"It's you," he said.

She glanced up at him, feeling like an idiot.

"Yep," was all she could manage.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"Shopping," she replied, indicating the basket, which held a small amount of cheese, dried meat, and greens.

"What're you doing that for?" he inquired, sounding as if he had no idea why anyone would ever shop.

"It's something people do."

"Right, okay then, bye," he replied, turning to walk away.

She grabbed his arm before he could get far. There was no way she was letting him get away before she found out who he was and what was really going on.

"Are you just going to go swanning off without telling me anything?"

"I was, ya," he replied with a nod.

"But…you can't do that."

"Sure I can," he said, giving her a grin. "This is me, swanning off."

He turned and began walking away. She hurried to catch him up.

"Wait." He glanced at her, but didn't stop. "I could've died last night."

"Could've, but you didn't."

Okay. The guilt card didn't work. She'd have to try something else.

"You can't just leave and not tell me anything."

He walked a lot faster than she did and she had to nearly jog to keep up.

"Sure I can," he retorted.

"But that's not fair," she insisted. "You have to tell me what's going on."

She was paying more attention to keeping up with him than she was to her surroundings. She bumped into a woman and nearly tumbled to the ground. The Doctor caught her before she fell.

"No I don't," he said, as he righted her.

"All right then," she said, dusting her skirt off before catching his gaze. "I'll tell everyone what really happened and you said if I did that I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me or I'll start talking."

He made a pfft sound as he strode off. She once again found herself hurrying to catch up.

"Is that supposed to sound tough?" he asked.

"Sort of," she replied, unable to stop herself from grinning because it was rather ludicrous.

"Doesn't work," he brushed off, grinning back.

"Who are you?"

He ducked down an alley. She followed, determined to get answers to her questions.

"I told ya, the Doctor," he replied, glancing at her.

That didn't tell her anything.

"But Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor," he said with a grin.

He was being infuriating! She knew he was a doctor. That's not what she asked.

"No, but that's a title, not a name. What's your name?"

"The Doctor."

He gave her another grin and now she wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious.

"You're name's the Doctor?" she asked.

"Hello," he said with a wave and a grin.

She couldn't help grinning back. Obviously she wasn't going to get a name out of him.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" she inquired, raising her brow.

"Sort of."

"Come on then. You can tell me," she said, taking his arm. "What's really going on?" He glanced at her and didn't reply so she bumped his arm playfully, giving him a cheeky grin, which he returned. "Do you work for the crown?"

"No, I was just sort of passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"But then how did you know? Why were you at the tavern? How did you know I was in trouble?"

The questions burst out of her as if they had a mind of their own. She knew it was a lot, but she couldn't take them back now.

"Oh, all the sudden the world revolves around you?" he asked, glancing at her.

He was right, of course. He couldn't have known she was in trouble, but…

"No, well, I mean, you did save me," she said.

"Bit of luck, that's all that was," he shrugged off as he turned down another alley.

"So, what? You were lucky to save me?" she asked, giving him another cheeky grin.

"No, you were lucky I was there. That's all."

She dropped his arm.

"I was lucky you were there?"

"Sort of, ya."

"So you're saying the entire world revolves around you?" she asked, teasing.

"Sort of, ya."

He glanced at her with a gin, which made her laugh.

"You're full of it."

"Sort of, ya."

All teasing aside she wanted to know why he was still there. Not that she was complaining, mind.

"But those soldiers. Are they gone?" she asked.

"No, I blew up the ship, but they have another."

"So, they're still here somewhere?" Rose asked, glancing around, her stomach knotting.

"I'll find them. Don't you worry."

"But there are others, ya?"

He must have other people there too. He said he didn't work for the crown, but he obviously worked for someone.

"Others?" he asked, confused.

"Other people with you," she explained. "Ones who know about them."

He shook his head.

"No, there's no one else."

No one else? He was there alone trying to stop all those soldiers? That couldn't be right.

"What? You're on your own?" she inquired.

"Who else is there?" he dismissed. "Most people just go about their daily lives, go to work, eat, go to bed, get up and do it all over again. They don't pay attention to anything else."

He was there on his own? He was trying to save everyone by himself? What would make someone do that? Who was he?

"Hey," she said, taking his arm and pulling him to a stop. "Tell me who you are, Doctor, really."

He looked at her for a moment, as if he were trying to decide. Then he nodded.

"You know how the first time you were told that the Earth's round and you just can't quite believe it because when you look out at the horizon it looks flat and it just keeps going and going, like it goes on forever," he took her hand. "But it's more than that. It's not just that the Earth is round. It's moving. It's moving in a black sea and those lights that you see in the sky at night, the stars, they're moving with us. The Earth, it's a planet, one of many and it's not standing still. It's moving like a ship at sea. It's traveling around the sun. We're falling through a black sea, you and me, clinging to the skin of this planet, and if we let go," she pulled her hand back in fear. It was too much. Was he right? She glanced up at the blue sky, recalling the night and the stars, the black sea. "That's who I am." She gazed into his blue eyes, sad eyes, but eyes that seemed to know far more than anyone she ever met. "Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home."


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