Rose returned to the front door of the shop first. She reached for the handle, intending to get some fresh air, and was startled when it wouldn't turn.
"Doctor!" she called.
The Doctor ambled out, looking bored. "Possibly the most uninteresting place I've ever set foot in – and that's saying something."
"Doctor –" Rose gestured towards the door. "I think we're locked in… God knows how."
The Doctor frowned, and reached for the door. He had no more luck, despite a large amount of impatient jiggling and tugging of the door handle. Not even the sonic screwdriver could unlock the impenetrable door – which Rose took to mean that it was a dead lock seal.
After a few moments the Doctor gave up, and, looking utterly bewildered, glanced at Rose. Rose wanted a few things explaining.
"Who would lock us in at this time of night? The shop was already closed! Also – how many humans know about dead lock seals?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Who knows? Wish I did, actually." He stared into space for a second, then sat down abruptly. Rose stared at him, a sarcastic look on her face.
"Not much use when your gadgets don't work, are ya?"
"Oi, you!" The Doctor waggled a finger at her. "I once found my way out of a 100 mile maze. No gadgets, no nothing." He grinned proudly, as if expecting praise.
Rose looked interested. "Seriously? Are there mazes that big on Earth?"
"Nah! Not Earth – Fraptona. Great planet. Full of circus freaks, juggling all around me. The snorting got a bit annoying, though."
Rose stared at him. "Erm… snorting?"
"Yeah – the people communicated by snorting rather than talking. I'd temporarily disabled the TARDIS' translator in my head, as I do sometimes – just out of interest."
There was a pause.
"Well, I was right when I said every conversation with you just goes mental," Rose murmured. She suddenly groaned slightly. Her legs felt full of pins and needles – she was tired, and had been on her feet a while now.
The Doctor noticed her discomfort, and nodded to the floor opposite him. "Here. Park your bum. I don't know how long we'll be here so you might as well get comfy."
Rose sat down and looked at him in alarm. "I don't want to sleep in a shop!"
"You may not have much choice. We don't know what's out there – could be dangerous. And I'm not really the brawling type."
"I could give them a run for their money." Rose put up her fists, and they both immediately burst out laughing.
"Anyway," the Doctor continued, when they had recovered a little. "We'll be alright. You can always use my trusty coat as a blanket when you want to sleep."
Rose yawned loudly. "Sleep doesn't sound like such a bad idea, actually. That last adventure we went on was pretty exhausting."
The Doctor grinned. "Is this the time we scratch our chins and gaze dreamily into the distance, remembering past adventures?"
"No, this is the time we dreamily remember what a comfortable bed with pillows feels like," Rose moaned.
"Quit nagging, you – this isn't my fault. Tell you what," and with this he stood up and turned to sit down next to Rose. He placed his coat round her and gently put his arm around her, letting her head rest on his shoulder.
Rose was almost asleep by this time, but she still couldn't suppress a shiver that shot through her spine at the Doctor's touch. He felt warm and comfortable, though she couldn't help making a joke.
"There's not much padding to you, is there?" she said sleepily.
The Doctor looked down at her, and couldn't help but notice they were just inches away from each other. He swallowed, then made a face. "I know – being this skinny is hard to get used to. Although it is nice to eat whatever the heck I want, and still look like a bean pole."
Rose gave a tired laugh, and murmured, "but a very nice bean pole…" and with that she was asleep.
The Doctor sat still for a few moments, then ruffled the back of his hair with his hand. He looked down at Rose, fast asleep on his shoulder, looking incredibly serene and peaceful. For a moment he just stared at her, his hearts beating rather fast, then instinctively reached out a nervous hand and touched her silky blonde hair. Running his fingers through it gently, the Doctor felt quite breathless. Then suddenly, as if realising what he was doing, he snatched his hand away, feeling quite annoyed at himself.
Hours passed, and the Doctor sank into a sort of stupor. He was too curious to sleep, he told himself – wondering how on earth he and Rose were locked inside a takeaway at midnight. However, when time passed and no solution formed in his head, the Doctor gave up. He couldn't deny that he felt very warm, comfortable and safe, and felt himself drifting off…
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Rose woke with a start in the early hours of the morning. At first she was unsure what had woken her, but as she glanced to her side she noticed the door was ajar. They were free! She shifted slightly, and realised with a grimace that her legs and backside were both completely numb. She sat still for a while, squinting slightly at the bright light filtering in through the blinds on the windows. There was a strong odour of fatty foods that Rose was quite keen to get away from, so she stood up very slowly, being careful not to wake the (to her surprise) deeply asleep Doctor, who was breathing gently. Rose glanced at him, unable to tear her eyes away. It wasn't often she saw the Doctor like this – utterly helpless, dead to the world, unable to defend himself against anything that might come his way. It was quite mesmerising, and yet slightly unnerving for Rose. She could always go up to him now, and … she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts before they entered unfamiliar territory.
Stepping outside, Rose almost drank in the fresh, non salty air, feeling relieved. As comfortable as she may have been the night before, being trapped in a small room was not an experience Rose was keen to re-live.
The streets were deserted, and the sky was a beautiful pale orange. Rose figured it must be just after dawn. She found it rather peculiar, the stillness of it all – she wasn't used to her surroundings being so quiet. You didn't get that very often with the Doctor; it was excitement and danger, all the way. But I wouldn't change it for the world, Rose thought to herself with a grin of pleasure.
Out of curiosity, and to pass the time, Rose decided to examine the lock on the shop door. She wasn't pretending to be an expert in this area, but she was basically looking for anything out of the ordinary – a gadget perhaps, or a large box that could resemble a dead lock seal. There was nothing. Rather than alleviate Rose's suspicions, however, this only increased them. Definitely alien, she thought. And she felt a shiver go down her spine.
"Boo," said a quiet voice behind her, nearly making Rose jump out of her skin. She turned, and saw the Doctor standing there – looking surprisingly awake for someone who only minutes ago had been completely struck dumb. He was wearing his trademark smile and his hair was messily tousled. Rose glanced at this for a moment, then looked away quickly.
"Morning," she grinned. "Sleep well?"
The Doctor looked affronted. "I wasn't sleeping! I was just resting my eyes…" he trailed off, and gave her a slightly sheepish smile.
"Anyway, yeah – I can't see anything on the door to suggest a dead lock seal or anything – can you have a look?"
The Doctor nodded, suddenly becoming business-like. He took his glasses out of the inside of his coat, and put them on. Rose left him prodding and poking at the door, and wandered off down the street. There were a few people in the distance, and a few cars driving around, but everywhere was still quite peaceful and still.
There was a sudden noise behind Rose, and she turned abruptly. Nobody was there, however, and she was about to turn back when she noticed something moving on the ground. Stepping closer to it, Rose noticed it was a grate - leading to the sewers, no doubt. She reached down to it, and suddenly from beneath the grate, two horrible large purple eyes gleamed out from the darkness. Staring at her.
Rose shrieked in shock, and stumbled backwards. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. What was that thing? Where had it come from? And why was it down in the sewers?
"Rose?" Rose felt the Doctor's hand on her shoulder. She turned, still breathing rapidly, and saw that the Doctor was looking at her intently, his honest brown eyes appearing slightly worried behind his glasses. "What is it? What happened?"
Rose laughed, trying to cover up the fact that she was still trembling slightly. "Sorry, nothing – I didn't mean to scream or anything, it was just a surprise, that's all."
The Doctor frowned. "What was?"
"The weird creature thingy that peered up from under there." Rose pointed at the grate in slight trepidation.
"Creature thingy?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Mmm."
"Or is that creature whatsit? Creature doodah? Or maybe creature whoosit?"
Rose couldn't help but grin, although she tried not to. The Doctor seemed to take this as confirmation that she was alright, and knelt down beside the grate without any sign of fear. He began to unlock the bolts securing the dirty grate to the road.
Rose hung back, not burning with curiosity like she usually was. She couldn't shake off an unpleasant shaky feeling – the feeling she had experienced when the creature had appeared under the ground. She felt quite sick and her legs were jelly-like. What was the matter with her? She'd seen all sorts of things – some of them even uglier than this creature – so why was it affecting her like this?
"And we're in," the Doctor muttered as he lifted the grate clean away from the ground, and threw it aside. He shone his sonic screwdriver down the hole, and recoiled slightly. "Ugh! Talk about stinky-dinky. Well, at least we know it's definitely the sewers…"
"Yeah," was all Rose managed to croak, feeling worse by the second, much to her confusion. She suddenly bent over and vomited on the pavement. The Doctor finally seemed to notice something was wrong with Rose and crossed over to her. He didn't look too worried, however, and instructed Rose to sit down on the pavement.
"I bet it was that nut loaf your mum cooked for us earlier – I feel sick just thinking about it…"
Rose gave the Doctor a half-hearted prod in his stomach. She was already starting to feel better – it was as if the sickness had reached its climax and was gradually decreasing. She felt embarrassed for having made a bit of a scene.
"I'm fine – get back to your sewer searching," she assured him, smiling slightly. The Doctor looked her up and down closely.
"You sure? You still look a bit pale. Maybe going down a stinky sewer searching for a 'creature thingy' isn't the best thing for you right now."
Rose looked insulted. "I'm fine! You're not leaving me behind; you've done that too many times before. Just give me a minute."
The Doctor grinned, and sat down beside her. "I knew you wouldn't stay. Typical Rose – always wanting a piece of the action."
"That's me," Rose said, and she grinned back at him.