Reign of the World

Chapter 8

The Doctor's jaw dropped as he looked at Rose.  Mr. Kelly nodded in approval.  "I know you value Miss Tyler's opinion, Doctor Smith," he said simply.  "So maybe that will inspire you?"

The Doctor stood for a moment, looking confused and not quite sure of what to do.  Slowly, he nodded.  "Yes, I suppose that does change things.  But she helps me with any decision that must be made, is that clear?"

Mr. Kelly voiced the affirmative.  "Before you ask, there has been a group sent into the woods to gather food.  I trust you know what would be poisonous on this island?  You seem to know many of those sorts of things... Things none of us seem to know."

"Maybe I look older than I am," the Doctor joked, and Rose snorted out a laugh.  He tossed her a grin in reply.  "I'll check the food when they get back."

It didn't take long for Rose to get bored.  Irreversibly, incredibly bored.  They tended the fire, checked the food for edibility, tended the fire some more.  She watched without drooling as the Doctor shucked his coats (finally, it was starting to get suspicious) and laid them across a large rock. 

She helped boil water, avoided Tiffany at all costs, but decided not to cling too closely to the Doctor for fear of seeming desperate.  She needn't worry, though, because the Doctor lingered near her whenever the chance, probably fearing imminent danger. 

They tried to make a flare, it didn't work.  Tiffany told the Doctor "don't worry, you'll figure it out", and Rose stewed quietly at the edge of the woods for about three hours after that, but it didn't seem to matter because the Doctor didn't joke and nudge and touch Tiffany like he did Rose, and that affirmed her a little bit.

Eventually, in the middle of the afternoon, one of the more buff survivors decided shelter needed built.  The Doctor blinked and reminded them that it was going to be very difficult to do without any sort of cutting devices.  The man scoffed and said he'd figure something out, leaving the Doctor standing and looking very confused indeed.

"D'you think he can actually do that?" Rose asked as she came up next to him.

The Doctor jumped in surprise.  She had come up so suddenly and he had been preoccupied and when had Rose Tyler been able to sneak up on him anyways?  He turned to her and tried not to show how startled he was.  "I don't know, maybe.  I'm certainly not going to try to stop him."

Rose snorted with laughter.  Then she stopped.  "You know, you said you thought somebody wanted us here." She looked at the horizon, where the sun was starting to set.  "Maybe tomorrow we should split off from the group and investigate."

"So you don't want me to be the leader?" the Doctor asked, picking up some of the fruit that the survivors had left, and Rose helped carry the load back to the campsite.

"I wanted you to be the leader when I thought we'd actually be doing something," Rose responded.  "But we're not doing anything to try to get back, and there's some sort of intent behind us being here, and... Let's be honest, by 'us' I mean you and me, because we're always an issue."

The Doctor laughed.  "You're probably right.  As the leaders, we can set off tomorrow in search of a mess.  And we'll appoint a new leader, how about that?"

"I like that," Rose replied as they started distributing the fruit to the survivors.  They seemed very tired, like just trying to stay alive in a strange and barren place, and Rose supposed that would be normal.  They'd lived posh lives, comfortable, free of any sort of danger, unlike herself and the Doctor. 

On some level, she felt bad for leaving them alone, but she knew that no being was helpless.  All have some sort of survival instincts, she knew that.  And she knew they'd have to announce they're leaving so that they would be prepared.

The Doctor seemed to have read her thoughts, because he cleared his throat and rolled his sleeves up.  "Rose and I are going into the forest tomorrow morning to see what our reason for the crash was," he said simply.  "It's not up to debate.  Put burly-shelter-man in charge while we're gone.  He's a go getter."  He smiled.  "We'll be gone by morning.  Eat up and get some sleep."

There were little cries of protest, but the Doctor silenced them all with a look.  It wasn't up for debate.  he'd said that and he meant it.  They ate their dinners with quiet murmurs and stole looks at the Doctor.  Even though they had known him for only a little while, people trusted him, they wanted him to lead them.

If help never came, they'd want the Doctor around.  But Rose knew that they couldn't sit there and not find out what they were supposed to find, who had brought them there.  It was more important than playing house with people who could play it just fine without them.

The Doctor double checked on where his coats were, intending to pick them up before they left the next morning, and waited until everyone else had settled in to go to sleep before leading Rose to the end of the forest.

"If we sleep here, no one is going to be disturbed when we leave," he explained.  "I'll wake you a bit before dawn, is that alright?"

Rose nodded.   "Doctor, what do you think it is?  Really, I want to know what you think."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment.  "I don't know." He said, sounding shocked that he was even saying that.  "I don't know what it is at all, and that's odd for me.  But I think you're right, I think we need to find what it is.  And who better than us?"

"Nobody," Rose grinned. 

She was afraid of what they'd find, she often was, but she knew they might need to find it to protect the people they had managed to save.  And if they didn't do it, if the Doctor and Rose didn't figure out this mess, well, who would?