A River Of Stars [On Hold]

Chapter 3 - Cold Water and Chocolate Croissants

"NO!" The Doctor gasped as his stomach gave a nasty lurch. Had she committed suicide? He stared at the spot she had been before she had simply hopped off of the edge, pulling her arms up into a perfect dive. A dive.... Concentrating, he really, really listened.

Suddenly, a blinding pain came from his right arm, and he whirled around. His feet gave up clods of dirt and calmed his breath and hearts. The irritating creature held an arsenal of sharp rocks. Sickened, he looked down at his arm. One of them had glanced off and left a deep gash. Another came at him and he backed away slowly. Before he knew it, he was tumbling through the air and into the icy water.

"DOCTOR?" Rebecca yelled at him as he came up for air.

"Rebecca? Where in the world did you lead us?" he was quite angry at her. The water had torn at his clothes, gotten into his eyes and nose and mouth and lungs. It was freezing.

She just smirked and pointed up with a bare arm. "Look."

The creature was zipping back and forth erratically, wavering overhead. It quivered and tumbled into the middle of the river, right next to them. Rebecca reached out and grabbed it by the coveralls.

"How did you figure that one out?" the Doctor's tone was incredulous.

"Erm... Well. I read about maglev trains, and I know that you could theoretically enhance the repulsion enough to use a smaller version of a train - well, in this case, shoes. So, the shoes could basically float on any small amount of metal. Like steel beams in buildings or... metal pipes running under the town." She brushed her wet dark hair away from her eyes and grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, you are a genius!" he returned her smile.

"We should get out, or else we'll get hypothermia."

They swam against the current to the opposite bank and rolled heavily onto the beach. Their clothes had stuck straight to their skin and Rebecca adjusted her shirt, not liking the way it stuck to her stomach.

"You're hurt" she pointed to his arm, where the shirt had torn open to reveal a long, thin gash.

"Don't worry about me. I heal fast."

"Doctor," a question was in the back of her mind "Since we're off the river, will the shoes start to work again?" she stood unsteadily, and the Doctor followed suit.

"Well - yes. But Volvians are cold blooded, so he should be sluggish enough for us to make it back to the TARDIS safely." He responded and took of his tweed, wringing out the water.

"TARDIS?"

"Yes. It's my ship." He wrapped the Volvian in his tweed and hefted it up.

"Ship? You're an ALIEN?" Rebecca looked at him with her eyes practically falling out of her face. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly acutely aware of how cold she felt. Oh Dear God, if he's an alien, I don't know what I'll do, she thought to herself.

"Well, yes. I'm a Time Lord." He seemed very casual about it, and to Rebecca's surprise, she was actually okay with it.

"Hmm. You're very human looking for an alien." Her tone was altogether too unfussy. She began walking briskly, tempted to get her muscles moving to warm her up.

"Well, yes. I suppose so. Actually, we came first. So I should be saying you're very Time Lord looking for a human." He beamed again.

"I need hot cocoa" Rebecca replied, and jogged to the nearest shop.

"Becca!" he ran after her "We don't have any cash."

"Oh. Damnit. And stop calling me Becca"

She peered into the store. They stood on the cobblestoned paths which wound their way throughout the National Park. Small shops lined the paths, selling small goods, mostly muffins and coffee and such. The shutters had been flung open, and business had begun. A portly red - faced woman stood in the window, grinning and passing out steaming cups and warm baked goods. Rebecca inhaled deeply, she desperately craved the cinnamon raisin toast she could smell. Occasionally, she would buy a slice and have it with a knob of melted butter. But only sometimes - otherwise it would lose its specialness.