Travelling With the Doctor

4:3 The Doctor and River

Part Four: Birthday Surprises

Chapter Three: The Doctor and River

I munched on a piece of cheesecake as my parents and I wandered through a mall, this one specializing in weapons. It had caught my eye for some reason, the ads for swords and the like especially appealing to me. Well that was new.

I wore my hoodie with the hood up, panda ears sticking out and my hair on either side of my face. I was silent as we walked, the cheesecake taking up a lot of my attention. I was eating it slowly, savoring the flavour and texture.

"What do you want for your birthday this year?" Mum wrapped her arm around my shoulders and steered me around a group of teenagers from Chiplee, a planet in the galaxy next to the Milky Way. I glanced up just enough to see their blue skin and red hair.

I thought about it for a minute, taking another bite of my cheesecake that was almost gone. I looked around a bit and spotted something as we passed a store full of Japanese ninja weapons. Amongst the throwing stars and knives, poison darts and paper bombs, sat a lone blade. I migrated towards it, handing off my cheesecake to one of my parents. It was sheathed in blue, the colour of the TARDIS, and the handle was wrapped in the same colour. I reached out for it, wanting to see the actual blade.

Almost there....

I tripped a few feet away, colliding with another customer with their arms full of throwing stars. I was pulled up quickly, and the poor kid looked.scared.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?! I'm so sorry, I was thinking about something, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and I-"

"Hey, I'm alright, calm down!" I grinned to prove it, but winced when my right cheek stung. I touched my cheek, and brought my fingertips away wet and sticky.

"Oh my gosh you're bleeding! I'm sorry, let me find you a first aid kit, there should be one around here somewhere, seeing as there's sharp objects everywhere..." he spun around to find something but was stopped by my mum.

"It's alright, we've got it handled." Mum smiled and led me away, fussing over the cut. "I hope it doesn't scar..."

"I'll be fine, mum. I've had worse." I cringed, remembering just how I'd gotten my current look. A few days ago.

"Don't remind me." My mum went real quiet then.

"Right. I'm gonna go somewhere safer, I'll meet you guys in the food court?" I attempted a smile, wanting to be alone. I was embarrassed at my sudden clumsiness, wondering if the fall that had caused my regeneration stuck with me. I ran off before she could answer me, leaving the mall and heading to another.

My hood had fallen, letting my hair flow freely, and by the time I found a mall that interested me, my hair was wind blown. I entered the mall, finding it to be a toy store. I didn't get very far before I tripped, again.

"Ow... this is complete rubbish..." I mumbled to myself, pushing myself up and sitting on my bum. Where I discovered that I had skinned my knee.

"Oh God, are you alright?" I looked up into the face of a blonde girl, barely older than myself. She was reaching her hand down, offering to help me up.

"Um, yea, thanks." I smiled and placed my hand in hers, and she pulled me up quickly. She helped me to a nearby bench, and I winced.

"Oi, you're bleeding!" She tilted my face so she could see the cut, digging through her pockets with her free hand. "I've got a bandage somewhere..."

"Oh... it's alright, really. I got this cut back there." I hooked my thumb towards the weapons shop, smiling sheepishly.

"Where the weapons are? What, you fall on something sharp?" One of her eyebrows raised, and she finally pulled out a green band-aide.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and I bit my lip. "Something like that, yea." I averted my eyes from hers. "Thanks for the bandage. My name's Adrian, by the way. Adrian Pond." I looked back up and watched her apply disinfectant to the scrape on my knee.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rose Tyler." She smiled as she bandaged my knee. That name sounded familiar... "Where are your parents?"

I blinked at her, sighing. "I left them behind. But I'm nearly eighteen, I'm not a kid."

"Oh, sorry. You just look so young!" She smiled and sat next to me. "Why'd you leave them behind?"

I chewed on my lip a minute before answering. "I was embarrassed. I... had fallen a few days ago, and ever since I've been tripping over my own feet."

"Ah." She was quiet a moment, before she completely changed the subject on me. "So where you from?"

"Ah, That is..." I blinked, then looked at her. "My mum never told me where I was born. But I was raised on a planet called Kodomo. I might have been born on Earth, actually. I'll have to ask." I shrugged.

"Okay. Where are your parents from?" She leaned over, and our shoulders touched.

"My dad... Dad is from a far away galaxy, and is the last of his kind. Well, until recently anyway." I smiled over at her. "My mum was born on a different planet... but my grandparents are from Earth."

"Adrian! There you are!" I looked up to see my mum standing in front of us. "Why'd you run off?"

I shrugged and stood. "Well, it was Nice meeting you, Rose. I'll see you around, maybe." I smiled at my new friend and went to my mum, limping just the slightest.

"Yea, I'll see ya." She waved and walked off, and I leaned into Mum.

"Who's that?" She watched Rose leave, wrapping her arm around me.

"A friend."

~third person POV~

The Doctor handed over the correct amount of credits, grinning. "She's gonna love this!"

~pic is what the Doctor purchased, the katana Adrian had been mesmerized by.