Chapter Three

Rose was getting freshened up inside her bedroom. They'd just left Deffry Vale High School and the Doctor was taking Sarah Jane back home. She and Mickey were on board and Rose didn't know where they were at the moment but she knew that the Doctor was comforting Sarah Jane about the loss of K9 the last time she saw him.

She was in her en suite bathroom cleaning her face with a flannel, getting the dirt and grime off it. She finished with that, cleaned her teeth and checked herself over. She then left the room and froze when she saw the Doctor standing by the front door.

"Is Sarah Jane and Mickey okay?" she asked him.

The Doctor didn't reply. He stood there, gazing at her intently. Rose shrugged and tried to put away some clothes but the Doctor kept staring at her and finally she turned to him with a sigh.

"What?" she said to him. "What do you want?"

"It has come upon me," the Doctor said in an ominous voice.

"What has?"

"The Hunger."

"The what?" Rose said.

"I tried to get you away from me," the Doctor said in the same ominous voice as he walked slowly towards her. "I prayed it wouldn't happen again. But The Hunger has come."

"Doctor, stop it," Rose said, not liking the way her lover was looking at her.

"I cannot stop it," the Doctor said with wide eyes. "It is time to feed."

"Then go and get something to eat," Rose said.

"No. You don't understand."

Rose gasped when he seized her wrist.

"For the most part, I pass through life without the need to feed on human flesh but once every few centuries, a Time Lord is possessed by The Hunger and I must eat."

"Doctor, stop it!" Rose said, trying not to show the fear she was feeling. "This isn't funny."

"No, it isn't," the Doctor said, his eyes boring into her. "Now you know why I took you with me. Why I take all companions along with me. Because I must have a ready food source when The Hunger takes hold of me. I'm sorry, Rose, I never meant for it to go this far. But now you must serve a far different purpose for me. You must sacrifice your flesh to me or all Earth will be consumed in my feeding frenzy."

"Doctor, let me go," Rose said, panicking, as she tried to jerk her wrist out of his grasp.

"My poor Rose, I cared for you so much," the Doctor said as he slowly backed her up against the wall. "I never wanted this to happen but now you must die or Earth will suffer my cannibalistic wrath."

"No! Leave me alone!" Rose said, now genuinely scared at the scary look on the Doctor's face as he backed her up against the wall.

The Doctor kept her press against the wall while he took his sonic out of his jacket pocket.

"See this? I have a setting that will allow my sonic to cut through flesh and bone," he said as he stared into her eyes. "I will be merciful and decapitate you first because you've been so good to me. But I will have you for my meal, Rose Tyler."

"MICKEY! SARAH JANE, HELP!" Rose screamed.

"Oh, they've already been dispatched," the Doctor said in an ominous voice. "They're in my stew pot as we speak."

"Then eat them!" Rose yelled, trying to wiggle out from behind them.

"But I need more sustenance. I'm sorry but I must eat you as well."

Rose wriggled her hand out from the Doctor's body. She tried to smack his face but given their closeness, it wasn't very hard.

"No one can escape The Hunger, Rose," the Doctor growled, his eyes hungry as he gazed at her.

Rose opened her mouth, intending to bite down on his nose and draw blood in the hopes she could escape him. But then the Doctor began to giggle and Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're extremely gullible sometimes?" he said, the ominous look transforming into his usual warm and loving look.

"You git!" Rose said slapping his chest when he stepped away from her. "Oh, you are a arse sometimes, Doctor, you know that?"

"I couldn't resist," the Doctor said. "After everything that happened today, I needed a laugh. Besides, I used to do this to Sarah all the time. I was a bit impish, especially in my fourth life and I loved winding her up. You're just as good. You really thought I was a cannibal?"

"I didn't know. You're an alien."

"I seem to recall you thought I was capable of rapid weight gain as well," the Doctor said.

"Just go away," Rose said when he sniggered.

"Love ya, Rose, you're always good for a giggle," he said, patting her on top of her head. "Bless your little cotton socks."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get back at ya one day, Doctor, and you won't find it so funny then," Rose muttered when the Doctor left the room.