London
"Marvellous things Zeppelins," the Doctor beams. "Designed for war of course, I last flew in one over Hamburg, obviously before the Cybermen incident. Great band as well, Knocking on Heaven's Door is just brilliant."
Rose smiles at him because he sounds the same, the same mannerisms except he can't seem to say brilliant the same way his voice is too hard for it now. It's such a small thing that shouldn't matter but it does. "Better than that Britney Earth classic?" Rose asks thinking back to the song played on satellite 5 as the Earth died.
"Oh much better, not even in the same league," he smiles sounding like her Doctor again and it's all so very confusing.
She wonders why he seems so adamant to prove that he's the same when he isn't, he didn't go to satellite 5 and never went into the Big Brother house or even met Max they are all lies set to trick her. She woke up with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her stroking her hair, her Doctor would never have done that. It felt nice though like he was still there in that hand.
She needs to learn to trust him.
The Doctor looks at her wondering what she is thinking because he can see the clogs whirring behind those eyes. He remembers the first time she looked at him with the eyes of an equal, not just a child looking for a teacher but how a woman looks at a man. He was scared of what it meant because he could never give her that life no that was the other Doctor. The original could not love Rose even though he did and he couldn't help falling for her. He loved her before she even knew that she loved him back, he still was from the North then with his stupid ears and he was scared of how he felt for her so he was harsh with her to distance him to save her from that pain that comes with being left behind.
"I'm still the Doctor," he says aloud making her look at him. He is still the Doctor when he looks at Rose, he wants to be more for her than he is, knows that the thing he did back on the Crucible upset her even if he can't see how it was wrong the Daleks were evil to the point that to let them live was intolerable. He knows that distanced himself from the real Doctor in Rose's eyes because he would never have done it, would have left them alone so they could regroup and be a threat to the universe again. The Doctor was the constant pillar of virtue in Rose's eyes but then she never understood what the Doctor really was, how did Tommy put it 'rage?'
"Are you though?" She asks, "Really?"
He nods, "I have his memories and we think the same way-
"He would never have done that, he wanted to save Davros not leave him to die!"
"He held a gun towards the Dalek in Van Stratton's basement and would have pulled the trigger if you hadn't talked to him, the Doctor was better with you and maybe one day so will I."
"I hope so,"
The new Doctor nods sadly and misses the turn of the planet under his feet, at least he could take comfort in its silent promise of progress but instead he's alone in very familiar company.