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Dancing with the Past
The Doctor gulped and looked at the couple.
A few minutes before his head had been full of what he was going to do but now his legs were jelly and his hearts were beating fit to burst.
"Rose," he whispered to himself.
"It's my Rose." No, no. Not his Rose. She was still his past self's Rose. She still had the pain and the heartbreak of his regeneration to go through, she still had... oh, it was endless.
Nevertheless, he held out his hand and was shocked to see that it was shaking.
"Pull yourself together!" He muttered. The couple were looking at him curiously now. Oh great. The nutter who talked to himself. "That's Rose, he's you, you're him! Get on with it!"
The man in the leather jacket frowned, scrutinising this stranger who walked towards them, noticing the way his eyes roved, the tear streaks that ran down his face, the way he hadn't looked like he'd brushed his hair for at least a week, or maybe that was the style, and the way he was speaking to himself.
"Rose," he said quickly, tightening his grip on her and steering her quickly around.
The suited man spotted the two figures turning around and sighed.
"Oops," he muttered, running a hand through his messy, untamed hair. "Oh. Well. No time like the present. Or the past. Or the future... or.. oh, just get on with it," he sighed, walking on.
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Rose looked over her shoulder, seeing a tallish, middle aged man walking behind them. She looked into his eyes for the briefest of moments, and shivered. Those eyes seemed to hold a thousand memories, a thousand regrets... so similar to...
"Rose, COME ON!"
The Northern accent broke through her thoughts and she found herself following the Doctor, frowning as he pulled her along.
"Can't even go for a walk without a nutter following us."
"What?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder to see that the man had picked up his pace.
"I said-"
He drew to a halt, squaring his leather clad shoulder, pushing her back slightly, walking towards the pinstripe suited man.
"Look," he began bluntly, folding his arms and leaning back, a grim smile on his face in the confident, cocksure stance she'd began to recognize as a danger sign. Uh oh.
"Ah." The suited man took a step back, as though fearful he would be pounced upon, attacked, or just slapped.
"You can ah all you want," the Doctor said, a false smile upon his face. "But really. Stop following us, mate, alright?"
The younger man chanced a look at Rose, who was thinking hard. Where did she know him from?
"Well," he began. Rose recognized his accent- it was similar to hers, with maybe just the hint of a Scottish brogue. Oh good. He wasn't about to leap out at them or something, then. You didn't get nutters with an accent like that. Or maybe you did...
"I'm sort of... lost."
The man's voice became more clear, more confident. The Doctor was squinting at him, screwing up his eyes as though he had a headache.
"...And you see, I couldn't help noticing yourself and your-your- girlfriend-"
"She's not my girlfriend," the Doctor snapped automatically. Rose gave a tiny sigh, and the stranger seemed to notice this and risked something that looked like a smile in her direction.
"Oh. Well. Anyway. I'm lost. Do you know your way around here?"
"Nope," came the blunt reply. The Doctor turned around, taking Rose's arm and walking in the opposite direction again.
"Sure?" the stranger asked.
"Positive," the Doctor replied.
"Really sure?" he asked, still following him.
"Really sure. As sure as the pinstripes on your suit are pinstripes and not beetles, or maggots, or-"
"Doctor!" Rose protested, squirming. "Don't. I fancied noodles, too."
"You did?" he asked. "Sorry. Anyway, you know how it is. Just go away, would you?"
The stranger looked as though he were going to agree for a moment and actually turned to go the other way, before stopping. "No," he replied.
"Sod off!"
"No."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and took a step towards the weirdo in pinstripes, raising his arms so that he could just shove the man away. The stranger backed off.
"Don't touch me."
The Doctor stared. Rose smiled. It was odd to see him like this, so cagey, so defensive... over her?
"What?"
"I said, don't touch me," he repeated, standing his ground.
"And why not?" The threatening Northern toned Doctor asked. Whilst his voice seemed to be calm, his face gave away the anger that he felt. He was scowling, his eyes a blazing, a vivid electric blue. The other man gulped but held his ground.
If Rose were in this stranger's shoes, she'd leg it as quickly as possible. Preferably in the other direction. She'd outrun Linford Christie!
"Just don't touch me!"
The Doctor's anger was obviously about to blow. Rose saw it in the way he seemed to relax. She couldn't help feeling sorry for the man that was about to feel the full force of his wrath.
"You come here, follow us around, generally annoy us and then you have the cheek to say-" He took a breath then spoke in a seemingly helium fuelled way. "Don't touch me". And THEN expect me to listen to you!"
He threw his hands up in the air. "Why should I anyway?"
The pinstriped man sighed loudly and muttered something inaudible to himself. Rose thought that she caught the words "I wish I didn't have to do this" before his eyes flickered towards her. He rubbed his face and looked up.
"I know who you are."
The Doctor sighed. He put his hand into the pocket and brought out the paper that Rose recognised as the psychic paper. The other man smiled and shook his head, as though amused, then sobered up when he looked properly.
The Doctor was putting the paper away so it was only Rose who noticed the man's lips mouth the words, "Psychic paper." Rose looked up to the Doctor. The Doctor smiled sarcastically to the stranger.
"I trust that it is all settled now?"
The question was calm, but Rose didn't like the underlying tone of 'Back off'.
"I suppose it is," the pinstriped man replied. All the bravado had been washed away from him as he looked to Rose. She found herself entranced in his gaze once more.
"Yes, it is."
The Doctor smiled properly and looked at Rose.
"Chips?"
The spell was broken. She looked away once again. Lunatic. What was she doing, getting involved with this man, however good-looking she thought him?
"Who could refuse an offer of chips?"
Rose smiled and walked off arm-in-arm with the Doctor, taking one last look over her shoulder at the man. He was still where they had left him, his mouth open, his eyes filled with unshed tears, though Rose couldn't understand why. He put his arms around himself as if bracing himself to do something.
It was when they were at the end of the street that he finally spoke. It was a loud call, a war-like call, as though its owner was used to such combat.
"Time-Lord."
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The Doctor turned slowly, his shoulders squaring as though preparing himself to run into the Lion's Den.
"Rose," he said quietly, his tone different, a tone she'd never heard before. It was one of resigned sadness and pure annoyance, abruptness- and was that almost hope?
"Yes?" she asked him, unlinking her arm, staring at him and taking a step back, mesmerised now by how he stood, how he looked at her, as though she were the most special thing in the world to him.
"I have something to sort out with our friend here," he replied, giving her that cocky grin again. "I won't be long."
She frowned. Something wasn't right.
"But..." she began, putting out a hand. He shook it off impatiently.
"Go," he told her. "Get me some chips too, like. You know, plenty of vinegar. Can't stand that salty stuff you're all so fond of!"
She nodded, almost against her will. "Yes."
He smiled at her. "Fantastic."
As he hugged her, she briefly caught a glimpse of the suited man, who's tears finally shed themselves and he just raised his hands lazily to wipe them away, as though any fight he'd once had had gone.
"See you soon!" she smiled, taking a step back and rounding the corner, pausing once she was sure he couldn't see her.
"Who are you?" she heard the Doctor, her Doctor, ask.
It may have been a trick of the oh-so-still evening air, but she could have sworn she heard the other man reply, "The Doctor."
Written by Let'sDoTheTimeWarpAgain and Scout Girl
BETAed by Scout Girl and Let'sDoTheTimeWarpAgain
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