Chapter Eleven:
The Doctor watched Rose out of the corner of his eye as he set the Tardis for yet another destination. It had been non-stop for days now – she was definitely getting the most out of her new body's energy levels. For days she'd wanted nothing more than to just keep moving –to go to new places, see new things.
Problem was, she didn't seem to be enjoying any of them.
It had all started at her Mum's, that's when the spark had left her. She'd come in, obviously upset, face wet and eyes red, refusing to tell him what had set her off. Oh, he'd tried to coax it out of her as soon as he had the Tardis set in motion, taking them away from her old neighborhood just in case whoever had upset her came looking for her again. Rose didn't want to talk about it, however. All she wanted was to be off, to have an adventure. Then another and another.
He knew why she was being like this. Had done it himself on occasion and had seen others do it, too. Stopping meant that she would have time to think; which, of course, meant that her thoughts would eventually stray to whatever had hurt her in the first place. It happened every time they stopped for even a few minutes, she'd become quiet and the sparkle would leave her eyes.
Like right now. Where once brightness had sparkled and leapt, there was nothing but a well of sadness that he didn't even begin to know how to pull her out of.
That didn't mean he wasn't going to try.
"Rose –"
"Wha'?" she responded automatically, not turning her head towards him. It was hard to say whether or not she was even paying attention to him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothin'."
"Don't give me that," the Doctor said, frustration causing his tone to rise. He was worried about her – couldn't she see that? It was hard to believe they'd overcome her potential death and now something like depression was going to come between them. "You've been a wreck since you visited your mum. Now – Tell me what happened or I'll go back there and ask your mum for myself."
Rose flinched and turned away completely now, so that he could only see her back. He stepped forward and put and hand on her shoulder, squeezing; unsure of whether she wanted more comfort than that. Then he felt her begin to shake. Would Rose version one have tried so hard not to let him in? Would she have fought and kicked every step of the way to keep him from seeing what had upset her?
He thought the answer was probably 'yes'. She'd never been much of a blubbering girl. A little emotional at times, but not like so many others her age, who wrapped themselves in dramatic airs like it was the latest fashion.
No, Rose version one would have done just what this Rose was doing.
"Was after you went back to the Tardis to tinker around," she finally murmured so softly that at first he thought he'd imagined her speaking in the first place. Then she cleared her throat and continued.
"Mum called Mickey and…well, he came by, of course."
Already he had a sinking feeling about where this was going, just from those words. He could remember all too well what Mickey had been like when they first met, but he'd thought the other man had moved past that somewhat. That was the human race, for you, though. Always going right back to their bigotry and prejudice. Their hatred of anything different. The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to stay calm while he waited for Rose to continue, almost positive that he'd want to do serious harm to the human for whatever she was about to tell him.
"He…" Rose paused and sighed, her shoulder drooping under his hand. "He said some things – made it seem like it've been better off if I had just died. That not bein' human any more made me… you know."
And he got it. Oh, did the Doctor get it. If it wasn't sex or skin color, it was something just as equally ludicrous. She was still i Rose /i . To treat her as if she'd be better off dead – that much he couldn't understand at all. Not in the least. Oh, it wasn't surprising, but that didn't mean that he understood the twisted pitfalls of the human mind, either.
"I know," the Doctor whispered, nodding his head mostly to himself, already planning. He and Mickey were going to have a nice long talk next time he could get away from Rose long enough to do so.
A very, very long talk.
One during which he planned to use his hundreds of years of experience and will to restrain himself from injuring Mickey.
"It just hurt," she sniffled. "After mum accepting me, I guess… maybe I was too optimistic."
"No," the Doctor said, voice firm. With firm hands on her shoulders, he turned her until she was facing him. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up, forcing her to look at him through her tears. "He was wrong to say those things."
"'S just what he feels," she said with a shrug.
"Well it's the wrong way to feel, then," he instructed with a half-smile. "You're still you. Still that person that you were before this."
"'Cept, I'm really not," she said. "I don't look the same, don't feel the same, don't like the same things –"
"But you're still Rose in every way that matters," the Doctor said. "He's the one with the problem if he can't see past something like species to what's still in here." He placed a gentle hand on her chest.
"What's in there," Rose said dryly, "is one more heart than should be. One more'n I was born with."
She had a point there – a somewhat sarcastic point given that she knew what he'd been trying to say – but a point nonetheless.
"Mickey's an idiot."
"Yeah, but he was my friend The Idiot. Now – he's not."
Even at that moment, wanting nothing more than to make sure that Mickey never talked to her again so that he couldn't open his mouth and say something moronic, the Doctor knew that he could honestly reassure Rose of one thing, "He'll get over it and you'll be friends again."
"You think?"
The Doctor nodded. "If you let him, that is. Personally, I think you should let him stew a bit when he gets around to apologizing."
A half-smile curled at her lips. "Make 'im beg for it?"
Somewhere in the last ten seconds, Rose had apparently decided that this conversation needed to take an altogether different bent. Her voice had dropped to those low, smoky tones that he'd come to associate with her being in a flirty mood. This incarnation of hers enjoyed flirting. It was almost an art form for her.
Right now, he was getting the feeling that when she referred to 'begging', she might not be talking about Mickey the Idiot.
"Don't know about all that," the Doctor murmured. There was a little urge at the back of his head, telling him to run away from this creature before him – she was a siren that could lead him astray.
Well, it wasn't like he'd never been led astray before, he told himself.
"He might enjoy it if you make him beg," he continued.
Rose laughed. It was rich and pure and the happiest thing he'd heard from her since she'd returned from her mum's. The sound of it was enough to make him smile in return.
Or maybe that was the way she was plastering herself to him, her lips dancing up against his, the merest whisper of touch.
Oh, this Rose, she was a tease, he thought to himself as she pulled back.
"So – where to next?" she asked, running her tongue along her lower lip, before sucking it into her mouth. The Doctor followed the movement, lost for words. He dragged his eyes back up to hers, noting that her pupils were dark.
This Rose apparently also could switch emotions faster than any female he had ever met.
He was tempted to say that the Tardis could just sit in the Vortex, take her to his bedroom, and show her all the things that he'd learned during his lifetime.
Instead, what he said – against the protests of his body and heart – was, "I was thinking we could try the sky elevators on Paura."
"The what?" Rose looked pale.
"Sky elevators," he repeated. "They go up a few kilometers in the sky. It's a full day event, you know."
"Elevators. Kilometers?" she repeated.
The Doctor gave her a curious look, tilting his head to the side. Yes, she was definitely pale. "They're large elevators. It'll be like a party – with food vendors and entertainment. You'll love it."
Rose swallowed and looked away, leaning against the console. She shut her eyes and shook her head.
"What?" the Doctor asked. He leaned against the console next to her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Finally tired out?"
Rose cracked an eye open to look at him, her expression alone denying that she was in any way exhausted. "No, s'not that."
"Then… what is it?"
She shrugged and gave him a weak smile. "Pretty sure I'm afraid of elevators. Or heights. Possibly both."
END CHAPTER