Day 2
Rose awoke slowly, feeling groggy but well-rested. As her eyes gradually adjusted to the harsh light of the unfamiliar planet, she glanced over to the Doctor's bunk and was pleased to see that he actually appeared to have slept. She stood up, hoping she could sneak out and grab a bit of breakfast before the Doctor woke up, but as soon as her feet met the floor, the Doctor's eyes snapped open.
"Sleep well?"
"Pretty well for being on a movin' train, yeah"
"Yes, that'll be the stabilisers, makes railroads run smooth as a dream."
The Doctor stood up and stretched, then attempted to flatten his hair.
"Fancy some breakfast then?" he asked.
Rose's stomach grumbled, but her nap had left her feeling like she needed a long shower.
"How 'bout you head to the dining car and order while I wash up a bit. Meet you there in 15 minutes, yeah?"
The Doctor nodded and left the small room.
###
In the bathroom, Rose had almost finished washing up. She opened the cabinet above the sink, in search of a tube of toothpaste, or even just some mouthwash. On the top shelf he spotted a metal canister approximately the size and shape of a small pill-container. Though it was unlabeled, it's placement next to a toothbrush on the shelf led her to believe it was a toothpaste of some kind. She fiddled with the clasp on the end for a minute, but it was unyielding, and she placed it on the counter resignedly. As she set it down, her finger brushed a smooth indentation set in the center, and before she had a chance to react, the clasp had popped open, squirting translucent, blue toothpaste all over her hands. She sighed and exited the room to find a towel. As she was leaving the sleeper room, Rose spotted the male medic from the previous day making his way down the corridor. When he saw her, he jogged to catch up to her.
"Hey, we never actually met, but you were in that car when that man died, weren't you?" his heavy accent was unmistakably Irish.
"Yeah, I'm Rose. Hi," she smiled.
He smiled back, offering his hand to shake. She noticed he was still wearing his green latex gloves.
"Dr. Hiram Rogers."
Rose showed him her toothpaste-covered hands and shrugged helplessly. For a second Rose could have sworn she saw a flicker of anger cross his face, but when she blinked it was gone, and she figured it for a trick of the light.
"So I thought you might like to know what we found out in our investigation," Rogers offered, "The man's name was Jackson Poole. He died of heart failure. If I had to guess I'd say it was an adverse reaction of medications."
"Oh that's horrible," Rose said, feigning horror, "But thank you for letting me know."
Rogers smiled sincerely, and Rose thanked him for his time, then escaped to find a towel.
###
When she arrived in the dining car she sat across from the Doctor at the same table as yesterday. He was digging into a large plate of chips. Catching a whiff of them, Rose was reminded of her own hunger and began eating greedily. For a few minutes there was silence at the table as the two attacked the plate of chips, then the Doctor swallowed and cleared his throat noisily.
"Ahem… So, I did a little digging last night," he glanced around at their fellow diners then lowered his voice so only Rose could hear, "it turns out that the man from yesterday was poisoned."
Rose raised an eyebrow at this, "That's funny, because I just ran into one of the medics, and he said that the man- his name was Jackson Poole by the way- died of heart failure."
The Doctor nodded knowingly, "Not a complete lie, but the heart failure was simply a result of the toxin. They likely won't release the details of his death, to avoid a mass panic. Anyways, I got the room number for the woman who found the body, I figured we could pay her a visit, ask a few more questions."
Thought it wasn't phrased as a questions, Rose knew the Doctor was asking her permission to investigate the incident further. Rose nodded her affirmation, careful not to appear too eager.
"Alright Mister, we'll dig a little bit. But not too much, this is supposed to be a vacation."
The Doctor's face lit up, and he grabbed another chip.
###
5 minutes later, Rose and the Doctor stood outside Room 28 in the fifth sleeper car. The Doctor gave a sharp rap on the oak door. After a few moments of shuffling from behind the door, a middle-aged woman wearing a burgundy plush robe opened the door, blinking owlishly at the two visitors.
"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am, did we we wake you?"
"No, no I've been awake for ages! What can I do for you two?"
The Doctor pulled the psychic paper out of his jacket and handed it to her for inspection, "We're with the Railway Union, we're conducting the semi-annual Railway Census, you wouldn't happen to know if an Edith Peters is staying here?"
The woman handed back the psychic paper and nodded, "Yes, that's me, Edith Peters."
The Doctor's eyes narrowed and he exchanged a puzzled glance with Rose, "Ah- are you quite sure..?"
The woman chuckled, "Yes, quite sure. I'm not that old yet."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, it's just…" he coughed, "Must be a mistake made by the Union. Yes, we'll clear it right up! Our apologies for the disturbance, ma'am. Have a nice day."
Apologizing, the Doctor and Rose retreated back down the hall.
"Now that's bizarre," Rose said.
"Yes, quite," the Doctor agreed, eyebrows lowered in thought.
"So the woman we met yesterday was an impostor?" Rose suggested.
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, "Must have been, yeah. Interesting… well, for now all we can do is mingle among the passengers, maybe ask around and try to find out who she actually was. She has to be on board still, there's no way to get off while the train is moving, unless…" he trailed off.
""Unless" what, Doctor?" Rose prompted
"Unless she has her own form of transport.."
"You mean like a TARDIS?"
"Something like that," the Doctor shrugged, then began walking back towards their room. Rose followed. When they entered, the Doctor closed the door quietly and turned to Rose, eyes dancing.
"Rose, I need to ask you a favor. We're going to need to do a little bit of burglarizing."
###
The Doctor outlined his plan to her. It was fairly simple. Rose would lure the two medics out of their room- by way of faking a medical emergency or something equally distracting- leaving the room wide open for the Doctor to slip in and swipe whatever samples of the poison the two doctors had collected from their autopsy. The Doctor explained that he needed to analyze the substance so they could track down the killer. Rose figured she could fake some manner of fit or seizure easily enough, and the Doctor only needed two or three minutes. The two time-travelers exited their room, and set off towards their respective destinations.
###
Rose was sitting in the dining car, which was the most populous area on the train, and therefore the best place to stage a distraction. She sat in a booth near the middle of the car, sipping her ginger beer as she waited a few minutes for the Doctor to get himself situated. She noticed a young woman returning from the lavatory looking a bit green. Food poisoning? As she was passing Rose's table she faltered and sank to her knees clutching her stomach. Rose jumped out of the booth and knelt next to her, "Hey, mate you all right?"
The woman, who didn't seem to hear her, only moaned pitifully and continued clutching at her abdomen. Other diners began to notice the spectacle occurring in the middle of the dining hall.
A tall, fair-haired man stood up and came over, hovering nervously over the woman, "What's wrong with her? Should I get help?"
Rose was still trying to get a reaction out of the woman, but to no avail. She looked up at the man and nodded gratefully. He ran off towards the front of the train. Rose continued to attempt to bring the woman into conversation, but she seemed oblivious. Within minutes, the two medics were at her side, checking the woman's pulse and temperature. Rose stepped back to give them access and found herself standing next to the tall, fair-haired man.
"Hi, I'm Hank," he offered his hand
"Rose."
"Do you know her?" he gestured towards the young woman.
Rose shook her head, "No, I was just sittin' when she collapsed in front of me."
Hank nodded and the two lapsed into silence as they watched the medics work. Rose's apprehension grew as no visible improvements were made in the patient's condition. The medics had administered a general anesthetic, but the woman still appeared to be in agony. As the minutes passed, things only got worse, as the woman's heart stopped beating and she did not respond to resuscitation attempts. After a while, the medics were forced to give up and they covered the woman's body with a tablecloth. As they were lifting her onto a stretcher, the Doctor sauntered into the car, then stopped dead when he saw the body being carried away.
He approached Rose, his expression fixed, "What happened?"
She ran up to him and buried her face in his shoulder, "Oh, Doctor she just collapsed in front of me, I tried to help her, I did, but I didn't know what to do… she just died, Doctor."
She couldn't help the tears that now came.
The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her's, "Shh, it's ok. It's alright, there's nothing you could have done," he soothed.
They stood this way for a long time, until Rose withdrew, sniffing. The Doctor turned her around and put his arm around her shoulder, leading her gently back to their room.
###
After settling Rose in bed with a hot cup of tea, the Doctor headed back to the TARDIS. As he entered the time machine he tossed his long, tan coat over one of the bars near the door and went over to the console. He pulled out the small vial containing the sample of the toxin the medics had taken from the victim's stomach. He noticed an alcove now present in the console that hadn't been there before, and he placed the vial into it.
"Thanks girl," he patted the console as a door slid up to cover the alcove.
He estimated the analysis would take only 15 minutes or so, so he elected to hang around in the TARDIS until it was done. He picked up the closest book, Murray's A History of Chess, and began reading.
10 minutes and 2000 years of chess later, the alcove slid back into place with a click, causing the Doctor to jump up and stoop to examine the console screen.
Juice extracted from the fruit of the trochodendron drachuckii plant. Genus trochodendron. Only known holotype fossil housed in Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, USA, Old Earth, 2007 ECE. Sample destroyed in Earthquake 13321, 2234 ECE. Post-2234 ECE no known holotypes exist.
But the juices are harmless to humans… this can't be the poison.
The Doctor retrieved the vial from the console and gave the TARDIS another pat on the way out. He returned to the room to find Rose's bed empty, the blankets pulled back and rumpled. He sighed, Why do they always wander off?
But he wasn't too concerned, there weren't many places she could have gotten to on this train. He left the vial of poison in the bedside drawer and set off in search of Rose.
The first place he checked was the shop. The tiny souvenir shop was located about halfway between the engine and the caboose, and although the selection was small, the Doctor knew it would draw Rose in like a gnat to a lamp. To the Doctor's dismay, the shop turned out to be devoid of Earth girls, although he didn't leave empty handed. The Doctor set off towards the cafe wearing his new I visited Diadem and all I got was this lousy t-shirt shirt over his pinstriped jacket. The Doctor sauntered into the crowded cafe, taking in the multitude of couches and tables squeezed into the confined space. It could almost be described as cozy. Ah, so this is where everyone comes during the day. The Doctor scoured the crowd of people for Rose, and eventually spotted her seated at one of the small tables. He pushed his way through a large group of people and plunked down in the seat next to Rose.
"Hey Doctor, I was hoping you'd catch us up," Rose greeted him with a grin.
"Feeling better then?"
"Yeah, thanks. Oh, Doctor! I'd like you to meet Hank," she gestured towards her right, and for the first time the Doctor noticed a man sitting there.
"Doctor, Hank. Hank, Doctor"
"Nice to meet you Hank," the Doctor reached his hand out to shake.
Hank, a young, lanky, blonde responded with a polite smile and took the Doctor's hand.
"You too. Rose has told me a lot about you."
"Oh has she?" the Doctor quirked an eyebrow at Rose.
The tips of Rose's ears reddened slightly, "Oh yeah, y'know, how we're visiting Diadem also, and about the man who collapsed earlier. Hank was there when that woman died."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, then looked back to Hank, "Hank, d'you think I could have a moment alone with Rose?"
"Of course, I'll just go get us some coffees. Cream and sugar?"
The Doctor nodded absently, grasping Rose's elbow and leaning closer, "Listen, I ran the analysis on the toxin. It's from an ancient Earth plant that was destroyed millennia ago. But that's not all; according to the TARDIS, the juices of the plant are nonlethal when ingested by humans."
"Then it couldn't 'ave been what killed those people, yeah? Maybe it was some bad fish or something," Rose mused.
"No, no, they were definitely poisoned… I think it's high time we talked with Drs. Lee and Rogers."
Rose nodded in agreement, just as Hank returned, balancing three cups of coffee precariously in his arms.
"Order up!"
He placed a cup in front of the Doctor and Rose, then sat down with his own.
"Thanks, Hank," Rose said, taking a sip, "Ah, that's some good coffee!"
The Doctor took a sip of his own, and was inclined to agree. For the next hour, the three passengers drank coffee and chatted amiably, until the Doctor eventually got up, declaring it time for bed. Rose protested weakly at first, but accompanied the Doctor back to their room without much complaint.