Bad Wolf (Entry One of The Diaries of a Teenage Time Lady)

The Long Game

What's this? The Doctor says something that isn't a figure of speech? Family outing number five, if you don't count the crossover. ;)

Enjoy "The Long Game!"

***

The trio stepped out of the TARDIS onto an observation deck, but it was much sooner than the end of the world. "Where are we?" Rose asked, looking around.

"Mara?" the Doctor looked at his daughter. "Want to try?"

Anna scrunched her face up in thought, making Rose giggle. "Two hundred thousand," she said slowly, looking around the room, the Doctor nodding encouragement. "I can hear the engines . . . so this is a spaceship - " She paused, almost leaning down closer to the floor to hear the engines better. "No, space station."

"Good girl!" the Doctor praised, giving her a hug, the girl grinning ear to ear. "Come on, let's go."

"Wow," Rose breathed as they walked through a metal gate to see Earth out the observation window. "What's this?"

"The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire," the Doctor answered. "And there it is, Planet Earth at its height, covered with megacities, five moons, population ninety six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle."

Rose tilted her head. "Adam would've fainted if he'd seen this."

The Doctor snorted. "You were so sure he was your boyfriend."

Rose snorted as well. "No, he definitely wasn't."

"Come on," the Doctor tugged her off, and grinning, Anna skipped alongside him, Rose taking her other hand. "You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners - "

"Out of the way!" a man shouted.

Rose quickly dodged a crowd swarming the massive room, and wrinkled her nose when she smelled fast food. "Fine cuisine?" she repeated, gesturing to her nose.

"My watch must be wrong," the Doctor frowned, looking at his. "No, it's fine." He looked around the room, confused. "It's weird."

"If Anna said it was two hundred thousand, it's got to be," Rose folded her arms. "So, what's wrong?"

"Where're the aliens?" Anna peeked around and through their legs, looking around the room. "I only see humans."

"Good question," the Doctor beamed at her. "Want a kronkburger?"

She blinked. "What's a kronkburger?"

"No idea." The Doctor looked into the serving window. "Oi, mate, how much is a kronkburger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the chef answered. "Now join the queue."

"Money," the Doctor looked around. "We need money. Let's use a cashpoint." He stepped up to one of them and used his sonic screwdriver on it, and he caught the plastic stick that dropped out. "Pocket money," he handed it to Rose. "Don't spend it all on sweets."

"How exactly does it work?" Rose examined it.

"No idea," the Doctor smirked. "Important lesson, Rose: time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book. You've got to throw yourself in."

"How do you throw yourself into a guide book?" Anna frowned. "Aren't we bigger than most guide books?"

Rose giggled as the Doctor continued. "Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?"