Chapter Three : You had me at 'hello'

They stepped out into the night and found themselves in dark, damp, evening air. Thickening clouds had swallowed up the moon, and streetlights illuminated the damp pavements. The faint pulse of music drifted on the night as a stirring wind that carried the promise of rain danced around them, greeting them like a dog does its master, and Rose couldn't help but shiver a little.

The Doctor immediately shrugged off his leather jacket, holding it out to Rose. "Here, put this on."

"It's okay, I'm fine. You… "

"Put it on."

Maybe if her dress hadn't been so short, or if the air hadn't been quite so damp, she might have refused his offer a second time; but she didn't. She took the jacket from his hands and put it on.

It swamped her body, but she was suddenly glad of the warmth that it offered, and wrapped herself up tightly in it. She inhaled the scent of the leather and smiled as she realised that the body heat held in the jacket was his, this mans', this strangers'. She thought about pushing her hands deep into the pockets, but dismissed the idea immediately, instead reaching out and taking hold of his hand again.

He looked first at Rose, then at her hand in his, and he smiled a little before meeting her eyes again. "So what do you want to eat? Anything you want. Just ask."

"Anything?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Anything."

"Chips?" she said hopefully.

He grinned easily. "Chips it is."

She beamed back at him, but when he took a step, she tugged at his hand. "Hang on… wait."

"Something wrong?"

She licked her lips, suddenly nervous. "I can't… I mean… I don't even know your name."

He frowned a little. "You need to know my name before you eat chips with me?"

Rose frowned right back at him, sure that he wasn't as stupid as he was pretending to be. "I need to know your name before I go running off down the back streets of London holding onto your hand."

"Why?"

"Because… I just do." She bit her lower lip as she contemplated him, and wished she'd kept her mouth shut. "You might be an axe murderer for all I know."

"And knowing my name will mean that I'm not an axe murderer?"

She pulled her hand free of his, angry and embarrassed and confused. "This… this is a mistake. I shouldn't have…" She made to take his jacket off, but he stopped her.

"I'm not an axe murderer."

"How do I know that?"

He let out a breath. "You don't. You're just going to have to trust me."

"How can I trust you if you won't tell me your name?"

He sighed, too tired to continue the battle. "Fine. You want my name? I'm the Doctor."

"That's not a name," she said in frustration.

He was silent. For a moment he looked up at the night sky before returning his attention to Rose. "You don't want to know my name," he told her. "What you really want to know is if I'm the man your mother warned you about; the stranger you should never accept sweets from." She stared back at him, silent, and he knew that he'd touched a nerve.

"Are you?" she asked quietly.

He closed the space between them. "Yes."

His hands slipped past the leather jacket to rest at Rose's hips. Pulling her against him, he stroked his hands up her body to cup and caress her breasts as she closed her eyes. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her deeply as she wound her arms up and around his neck. Only when she began to push her body against his, moaning into his mouth, and the scent of her arousal caused his blood to burn with wanting her, did he pull back to look at her.

He stroked his thumb across her soft, full lips, remembering how sweet she tasted. He looked back to her eyes, now blazing with a dark fire he knew he had set alight to.

He took a step back. "I'm everything she ever tried to protect you against. I'm the monster in the shadows, Rose." He took another step back from her. "She was right to warn you about me."

Rose stared at him for a moment, losing herself in his eyes, then she took a step forward, reached out and threaded her fingers into his.

The Doctor looked at her hand then lifted his eyes incredulously. "Rose, didn't you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, I did." She smiled up at him, her eyes bright with stars. "You said chips." She tugged his hand and together they ran across the road. "An' lucky for you, I know where they do the best chips in the world."

On the other side of the road he stopped her, spun her around and caught her face in his hands as joy burst through him. "You're fantastic, do you know that?" His hands left her face to slide over her shoulders then down her arms as he drew her closer to him. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

She shook her head, spellbound by him. "Are you going to kiss me again?"

He let her go, looked at her, saw every impossible temptation that she was. "I want to," he told her honestly. "Is that okay?"

Her beaming smile was immediate. "It's more than okay." But instead of moving closer, she drew back a little, stepped out of her shoes and picked them up. She took another step back, then turned on her heel and set off running. "But you're gonna have to catch me first!"

He gave chase instantly, but Rose darted around a corner. The Doctor lost sight of her for a second as a crowd of people spilled out into the night. But he kept running, kept gaining, until eventually he caught up with her. He reached out, grabbed her around the waist and turned her in his arms as he walked her backwards a few steps so that she was standing with her back against a brick wall.

"You cheated."

Breathless, she shook her head. "Did not. You've got longer legs than me. I needed a head start."

He breathed her in. "I'm nine hundred years old. I'm the one who needed the head start."

Rose laughed, dropped her shoes to the ground, and slid her arms around his neck. "You caught me," she reminded him.

"I did," he agreed.

She held her breath, licked her lips. "So you can kiss me."

He leant a little closer, his lips hovering close to hers, but not touching. "Yeah, I can."

She closed her eyes, waited. Her eyes fluttered open and looked into his. "Kiss me."

Slowly, he pressed his lips against Rose's in a tender, soft, chaste kiss, that melted away like a snowflake on warm skin. He drew back, held her gaze and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

Rose stared up at him, her heart racing and her eyes wide. "Who are you?"

"I told you, the Doctor."

She licked her lips. "Yeah, but Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor," she repeated quietly.

"Hello."

Unable to stop herself she smiled. "Hello."