Necessary Evils

Chapter One: Train

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters therein.

Chapter One: Train

There she was: Rose Tyler. I don't understand how or why the TARDIS managed to cross into this universe or the reason it brought me here. I also did not understand why I reverted back to my tenth generation upon leaving the police box. I stepped back inside, and I was myself, but when I stepped back out again, I changed back to my tenth incarnation.

Even more shocking than that, however, was the fact that I watched Rose Tyler crossing the supermarket parking lot.

I saw which car she headed toward and then I slowly crept between the rows of parked vehicles. I reached the other side of her red sports car and crouched there, feeling mischievous. When she began fumbling for her keys in her purse, I straightened upright, smiling at her over the roof. She glanced up, then back to her purse, then back to me with wide eyes.

"Joh—Doctor, sorry. I meant Doctor," she stammered, smiling. "I picked up something good for supper. Want to follow me home or—"

"Don't you want to know why I'm here, Rose?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Maybe she hadn't quite understood that I was the real Doctor yet.

"Of course. Yes, of course." She bit her lower lip, looking off to the side. "For me?" she finally tried, meeting my eye beneath her mascara-laden eyelashes.

"I'm not really all that sure, myself," I told her, grinning. She swallowed, her smile flickering like faulty electrical wiring.

"Maybe you want to go out to eat...?" she said carefully, watching me with suspicious eyes.

"You're really interested in dinner, aren't you?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it immediately.

"Yes. Yes, let's go talk over a bite to eat, then, Rose," I invited, sonicking the car door and unlocking it.

"Oh," she gasped, eyes brimming with tears. She raised her head to face me, full on. "You're...you're the..."

I smiled, spreading my arms wide to either side in invitation. She remained standing where she stood.

"But how...?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Where's the TARDIS?"

Her phone rang just as I began to answer. She scrambled to withdraw it from her purse, checking the display, and quickly answered. "Doctor?" She waved to me, sending me a brief smile. "I'm on my way home right—yes, right. Yes, I know. Okay. Okay, I'm coming. I'll be there—hello? Doctor? Hello?"

She sounded highly distressed. "Rose? Is everything all right?"

"Yes, sorry. Yeah, everything's fine," she said, smiling and inhaling deeply. "He was just worried about me. Guys, right?"

"Well, how about that bite to eat, then?" I offered, opening the car door and sliding into the passenger seat.

She opened the driver's side and bent down to look inside. "Doctor, about that?"

"Yes?" I opened the glove box.

"I...I think I might have to take a raincheck, just this once."

I turned to her, my eyebrows shooting up. "A raincheck?" I tilted my head to the side at her. Then, I smiled. "You two hitting it off well, then?"

"Yeah, yeah, we are," she said, sitting down in the driver's seat, but facing her back to me. "He's making me into a real proper housewife, that one."