9 Jack in the Box
The Doctor escorts Rose out of the alley and into the adjacent bustling area where she sees that they're in a space station or ship of some sort. A large structure that's all metal and enclosed with an artificial atmosphere, but this area is obviously designed for the social life. It's ceiling is higher, and there are shops, cafe's and vendors everywhere. No vehicles, but she can see some in the distance. Leading Rose to a lift at the corner of one of the buildings, they pile in with quite a few other people. They are the last entering, and the last to press a button; taking them to the top floor. They are the only ones headed that far up, and receive a few interesting looks from the working class looking inhabitants who must not venture that high on a regular basis. As the car rises, it deposits its cargo through the strata of the structure. Rose isn't sure yet what sort of vessel they're in, but it's huge. They are alone for the last six floors, and just before the bell tones their arrival, the Doctor releases Rose's hand and her mouth, as he has her cover her eyes.
Doing so with a giggle, she's vibrating with anticipation and determination not to peek. At the tone, the doors swish open and the Doctor gently guides Rose from the car by her elbow. He murmurs to someone, and then lightly tugs her forward a couple more steps. Intrigued, she steps forward dropping her hands, still keeping her eyes closed. She takes a moment to 'feel' the space around them. The rustle of fabrics, the tinkle of utensils on dishes, the low murmur of voices matched by the hum of non-telepaths. Oh wait, what's that? There are a couple of Sensitives. The Doctor had taught her about Sensitives when she'd embarrassingly projected a filthy comment to him, apparently wide-band, while they were on the cruise ship. He promised her that anyone able would have only received the general intent of her projection, but she'd been mortified, and refused to leave the TARDIS for a couple days. They have since worked on her sending skills as well as her shielding, but she still blushes at the unfortunate memory. Pulling her shields up tighter, she ignores them completely. Sniffing the air, she knows that they're in a seafood restaurant, and the cuisine smells divine.
"Alright Rose. You can look now," the Doctor whispers in her ear. She can hear the anticipatory smile in his voice, and through their link she feels excitement and a little awe. Opening her eyes and blinking a little at the initial brightness, she stiffens as her vision swims into focus. She's a mere handrail away from the window and what has her so astonished is what's on the other side. The lower portion of what she sees is filmy buffs and blues, browns and pale pink clouds. Above that and bisecting her view of deep dark space is a wide swathe of brilliant white, grey, and silver. Rings! They're rings around a planet, and she's in a ship or something floating in the clouds below them. Completely incapable of speech for the moment, she reaches for the Doctor's hand. Taking it, he steps up to her side.
With a wave of his arm he states grandly, "Welcome, Rose Tyler to Saturn's floating city of Chelsea 426, in the year 2593. It never gets old Rose, no matter how many times you see it...it never gets old."
She's still awestruck, but pushes gratitude and amazement at him, with perhaps a hint of hunger as her stomach growls, breaking their reverie. Looking at the Doctor with a grin, "Saturn! You brought me to Saturn. It's my favourite of my own planets, you know. I love the rings, and look at them. Right there, almost like I could reach out and touch them." Leaning toward the window, so she can look down at the planet proper, all she can see is the wispy strands of cloud, and various ships moving in their lanes around the city. A city...an entire city floating in the cloud tops of Saturn. This was already starting out to be a great night.
Thoroughly delighted with her response, the Doctor allows the maÎtre'd seat them. He wonders if Rose picked up on the Sensitives in the room. He thinks she might have, but doesn't really want to draw attention to them in case she hasn't. He smirks to himself at the memory of the incident on the cruise ship, but as he finishes mentally scanning the room his expression grows more serious. Something doesn't feel quite right, but it could be almost anything. There isn't a specific thing that feels so wrong he needs to act, just an undercurrent of tension. Could just be a busy night, or maybe they're out of Venusian crabs. He hopes not, they're sooo tasty! But the impression of burgeoning anticipation, keeps a part of him wary.
Moving to their table, the Doctor watches how Rose is turning heads. Feeling protective, and maybe a tad possessive, he moves his arm to her waist. She does look magnificent. He'll have to remember to thank the TARDIS later for the dress...and for the table next to the window. Ahh, the two most important women in his life-he's the luckiest guy in the Universe. Looking at the menu, he's decides to order several things and they'll try them all. It's much more fun that way. Taking Rose's hand they attempt to pick what to eat.
On the other side of the room, two men are seated and appear to be chatting. The slim sandy-haired one is expressing himself with his hands, while his friend looks on amused, but keeps checking something on his wrist. They seem very focused, and tense, maybe waiting for another member of their party. They're acting like they're enjoying themselves, but something about them seems off.
"Wow! Would you check out the chocolate and vanilla that just walked in." This is said by the slimmer of the two men. The darker haired and more muscular of the pair looks up from his wrist computer and glances over.
"You'd have be stone dead not to notice those two! They're awfully chummy, must be...'in love'," he says this with derision tinged amusement. Rolling his eyes the other man continues watching the couple.
After some time, the first man notices something weird about them, and he can't seem to stop watching.
"Hey, scan that couple, I think they're telepaths."
"Telepaths, they look human. There aren't any telepathic humans in the 26th Century."
"Idiot. Maybe their not from here, either. Scan them," Slim demands, starting to get annoyed.
Not caring for his partner's tone, but curious despite himself, Muscles discreetly aims his wrist towards the table. He can't be too precise without being obvious, and they're undercover for a reason. He can't believe they're wasting time in...Hold up...What the hell?
"Get up. We're going." Muscles slaps his wrist-comp shut, and moves to stand.
"What. We're here on purpose, and I.."
"Stop talking. We are leaving," Muscles interrupts him, not caring about his confusion at the moment.
Leaving the restaurant brusquely, with his partner trailing behind cursing softly under his breath, the tall muscular man barely remembers to wave his wrist at the payment receptacle on his way out.
The Doctor and Rose are stopped mid-sentence in her story by a strange sensation. Rose looks around and then back at the Doctor. He has a slightly unfocused look on his face and a crease in his brow, like he's looking for something.
"What was that Doctor? It suddenly felt tight in here then like the floor moved, but that's impossible and no one else seems to have noticed." Confusion is evident in her voice and her expression.
"That Rose, was a shift in the timelines. I can't see anything amiss amongst the timelines here clearly enough. There are too many potentials, but some of them just winked out."
"Is it dangerous? Do we need to leave, or stay, or whatever?" She might be trying out the runability of these shoes after all.
"I don't know. Whatever caused the shift isn't in the area now, so maybe it's nothing. Let's stick to our original plans. I'm having too much fun to worry about another stuck puppy." Raising his glass he toasts his lovely date. Laughing and starting up again about Barcelona, Rose continues her story. The Doctor on the other hand, while paying attention to her has also broadened his senses, and no longer feels the Sensitives in the room. Interesting.
Stalking after his infuriating partner, Slim can't get him to talk until they're in the lift heading down.
"Now are you going to tell me what the hell is going on? Were they famous people or something, fixed points, what?"
"Worse. They're Time Lords."
"Shut. The. Fuck. Up! Time Lords don't exist. There is no way that th..."
Shoving his computer into Slim's angry face, Muscles presses a button.
The screen reads: Probability—Time Lord 98.9864%.
"I shit you not. Once we made them, they would have known, so we had to leave."
"Holy shit! Are we going to tell the Agency, or do you want to bring them in? There might be a hefty reward for showing up with real live fairy tales."
"I think your fairy tale just grew up, and we are leaving them...alone."
"What?!" There's an angry glint in Slim's eyes.
"Alone, and that's final." They stare at each other a moment before Slim backs down.
"So what are we going to do about our contact?"
"I'm rescheduling," he says, tapping at his wrist comp. "Telling them our position was compromised, and moving the meeting point to that club we saw last night. Let's go."
Slim follows along, but he's not happy. Time Lords. What's he not being told? All he knows is that they'd disappeared, just like the Daleks. Good riddance. He didn't really care. He isn't sure what he's going to do about it, but if an opportunity arises, he may just have to take it.
"Oh Doctor, the dinner was divine, well except for the Venusian crabs. Those are disgusting," Rose says scrunching her face up as they walk.
"Rose Tyler, how can you disparage the fruit of the Goddess of Love? The nectar from Venus herself. There are very few things tastier than Venusian crabs. You're taste buds must be still developing," he says with a superior expression and taunting smile.
"Few things tastier than Venusian crabs is it? Tastier things like...say, pears? I would love some pears right, now. Juicy, sweet, crunchy..." Rose is having a hard time staying upright, she's giggling so hard.
"Gahhhhhh! Rose Marion Tyler stop it; right now. I will leave you here if you bring one single solitary pear anywhere near the TARDIS! NOT. A. ONE!" The look on the Doctor's face is priceless.
Laughing as they walk arm in arm along the lane in the shopping district, Rose is having a great time teasing the Doctor. It's sooooo easy! He doesn't need to know that she thinks pears are gross, too. This is much more entertaining. This has been the best date of her life.
Catching sight of a club and the thumping sound of music,"Oh, look! Let's go there. You did promise me dancing, Doctor." Rose looks up at him through her lashes.
"I distinctly remember saying maybe, only maybe..." She bats her lashes at him. "Oh alright! Let's go dancing. How can I deny you when you're having some strange eyelid seizure."
"Oi!" Smacking him in the shoulder, they come to the entrance, where apparently there's a line.
"Place must be popular," Rose says, impressed with the number of people standing around.
"Well, I have the remedy for that!" Pulling out the psychic paper the Doctor stands up straight striding forward, and hands the man at the door the wallet. Rose mirroring his posture, puts on an affected and bored 'I'm too good for this place' expression. Taking the wallet the man reads it, stares at it, glances wide-eyed back at them, and hurriedly pulls the rope, letting them inside. Taking the wallet from the Doctor, Rose reads: His Honorable Lordship Devon Glenn, Secretary of Defense, Mars Colony.
"Well, aren't you flash." With matching mischievous grins they push their way inside.
Outside, Muscles has his back to the entrance scanning the area. Slim on the other hand sees the Time Lords enter the very same club they are trying to get into. Well, when opportunity knocks... Looking over at Muscles, he needs to figure out how to get them in before their contact arrives. Orrrr...maybe he could slip away and get in quiet all by himself. He doesn't really care about the Rutans. There shouldn't be any of them left here this late in the Century anyway-his partner can deal with them.
There's something his partner isn't telling him about these Time Lords. They look rather harmless. Hell, one of them is a girl! He wonders how valuable they'll be to the Agency. Maybe he'll get promoted. Then he can have a different partner. One that's a little more...open minded...a little more available for the black market side business they could be running. Ancient artifacts in pristine condition...ammaaaaazing! With a twisted smirk, he ducks behind the crowd near the door, and slips in passed the doorman while a hugely fat Zalcorian is arguing to get in.
"Where the hell is that Rutan?" Muscles whines out loud. Looking around, he can't see his partner. Checking his display, he looks up just as Slim slips behind a Zalcorian who's gesticulating wildly at the door.
"What the hell is he playing at?" Muscles mutters to himself. Taking out a small black wallet, and his uniform cap, he steps out of line and walks straight up to the door. Flashing his ID at the doorman, he gets waved in with a look of exasperation. Checking what it says—Bob Miller-Bar Security.
Well, that explains that. He didn't like using the psychic paper. Sometimes it backfired. Luckily this time, it worked perfectly.
Thankfully he's tall, so he's able to flirt his way through the crowd without too many problems and still have a good view. Finally reaching the bar proper, he tries to look around for Slim.
Why does that bastard always have to make everything more difficult? When they get back to headquarters he's going to ask to be transferred. They were supposed to be meeting up with a Rutan, who allegedly had a lead on some weapons trafficking in 40th Century guns somehow making their way out here. Not good. Not good at all. Now, instead of doing his job, he's chasing his idiot partner around. Oh, there he is! Just catching sight of his coat as he heads upstairs, Muscles pushes his way through the milling intoxicated horde till he reaches the same stairs. Taking them two at a time, he comes out on the second floor, which is much quieter, and set up for dancing. There's a secondary bar, but none of the socialising thats happening downstairs. Even if he wasn't trying to catch up with his errant partner, this would be a welcoming respite. Looking around he unfortunately does not see his errant partner.
Finally making it upstairs to the dance lounge, Rose is ready for a drink...or six. That took almost too much work. They're both enormously thankful for telepathy at this point. It was their only method of communicating all the way from the door to here. The Doctor situates them at a table near the back, and heads off to the bar, to get them a drink. Rose is hoping it's something strong. She's still working on controlling her metabolic rate, and she would really like to have a buzz right now. A little relaxation after forcing their way through that crowd would be welcoming, then dancing!
While she waits for the Doctor, Rose is looking happily around the room. These patrons are much more subdued. The music is more melodic and less crash bang, perfect for dancing. Her current Doctor is an excellent dancer, and much less reticent to do it with her than her first. Thinking back to that first night, she remembers getting him to dance with her first in that Hospital for a moment just before Jack teleported them, and then properly on the TARDIS later. He was so happy that day. "Everybody lives, Rose!" Sometimes she really misses him—that him, and Jack. That was when they first met...
/What the hell?! That guy looks just like Jack!/ Rose thinks to herself incredulously as she looks toward the bar in the corner.
Making his way to the bar, the Doctor is glad that he remembered the psychic credit card. Ordering two drinks: A gold coloured one with unknown contents, but it has a pretty picture and it matches Rose's dress, and his: a frothy banana concoction guaranteed to please (so says the bartender). Of course it will...there's bananas. Pleased with himself, he starts to make his way back toward their table. He's looking forward to resting a moment. Maybe he'll let the alcohol take the edge of his nerves for a bit before metabolising it. Forcing his way through that crowd downstairs was not his favourite thing. Too much touching, and way too much noise. Having Rose in his head making snarky comments was the only thing that kept him moving forward instead of grabbing her hand and sprinting back to the solitude of the TARDIS. Finally catching sight of Rose, he's about to reach out and get her attention, when he sees her face and senses her mental tension. Not knowing what's wrong, he picks up his pace.
-Rose! What is it?-
-Jack, it's Jack. He's here, but it isn't our Jack. He's too young. At least he looks just like Jack!-
Harkness. Hmmm... That could be problematic. If he's too young, then he's still a Time Agent. So is this before, during, or after the missing two years. He's not sure he wants to find out. He'd really been enjoying having Rose all to himself.
Almost to Rose, the Doctor is about to ask her something else, when he feels a sharp sting on the back of his neck. Looking to his left he sees someone duck around a wall. Setting Rose's drink down on a convenient table, he reaches up and feels his neck. Pulling his hand away, he stares at the spot of blood. Setting the other drink down, just as the world starts to swim, he hears Rose frantically calling to him in his head just a some bloke catches him under the arm.
-Doctor!-
-DOCTOR!-
"Here mate, let me help you,"the man says solicitously.
"I don't think you're here to help me," are the last words he gets out before his world goes dark.
Standing up on her chair and looking frantically everywhere for her Doctor, Rose thinks she might just have seen his coat. It had looked like he was being helped out of the bar...like he was drunk, but that isn't possible; he was on his way back from the bar. Not thinking of her personal safety, she stumbles when turning on the chair to get down, and starts to fall. Before she can even register that she's no longer standing, she's caught. Looking up into the handsome face, she knows exactly who catches her.
"Hello, gorgeous," the handsome man with the gorgeous blue eyes flirts.
"Jack!" Rose blurts out.
"What?" His facing scrunching up in a look of confusion.
"Oh, sorry. You look like someone I know. Look, put me down! I have to go, some bloke just kidnapped my friend!" Setting Rose back on her feet, she steps away from him.
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on sister. What do you mean kidnapped?" Muscles has a really bad feeling as he asks.
"I don't have time for this!" Turning she starts to make her way to the door and the stairs. She has to find the Doctor. /There's no way that was voluntary. What if he's been shot or drugged. Focus. Get out of this place, so you can see where they've gone,/ she thinks as she's winding her way through the patrons.
Muscles realises that this is the blonde he saw earlier at the restaurant, the Time Lady, and she just said her mate has been kidnapped. Dammit! He knows exactly who's behind this. That stupid, stupid bastard. He has no idea the world of hurt he could be in. Lucky dumb-ass took the right half though. If he'd taken the girl first, that Time Lord would have dismantled this entire city to get to her. Maybe, he can reach them first and free her Time Lord before he wakes up; then maybe, just maybe, they could make it off this space heap alive. Dammit! Going as fast as he can, he has to catch up with this Time Lady and his soon to be ex-partner, before all hell breaks loose and people start dying.