**A Ten and Rose adventure that takes place sometime after "The Satan Pit". Good fluff, with some angst-y bits thrown in because I couldn't help myself. Hopefully I'll be posting more chapters soon.**446Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqYUp0RnCe
It had been one of those rare sunny days in London, with tourists swarming every meter of shade beside their favorite monuments. This was especially true in Hyde Park, where children and young couples crowded the lake in their rented paddleboats and canoes. It had been Rose's idea to take a break from her and the Doctor's strenuous lifestyle by touring Hyde Park. The Doctor had protested against such a domestic trip, but even he had to admit that one day of rest wouldn't mean the end of the universe. And he was rarely in a position to deny Rose Tyler anything.
They'd tried to talk Rose's mum, Jackie, into coming with them, but she was adamant. "You want me to believe that daft alien's not up to something? Mark my words, Rose, something'll happen and you two will end up running for your life. No, I'll stay here and take my chances with the mailman."
Looking back on it, Rose wondered if she should listen to her mum more often. They had been walking through the park, hand in hand, when a boy kicked a football widely and accidently destroyed a pigeon's nest, as well as the eggs inside. Suddenly the boy was attacked by a whole flock of the colorful birds. A well-aimed stone was all it to save the young human from the birds, but naturally, that meant the birds had found themselves a new target.
"Run!" The Doctor yelled, and he and Rose dashed across the pavement in an effort to outrun the aggressive pigeons. "Don't run in a straight line! They're capable of flinging their feathers at us like knives!"
What? Rose thought, What kind of birds are these? Then, as if on cue, one such feather struck the road, barely missing the heel of the Doctor's white converse.
Rose ducked quickly as one bird overshot her head by a few centimeters. She shouted back, "To the TARDIS?"
"To the TARDIS!" Despite the peril, the Doctor shot Rose a maniacal grin and they reached out to clasp hands again. They veered sharply to the right, and Rose found herself laughing with him. Here they were, in the middle of Hyde Park, on a casual Tuesday morning, and doing something that was completely out of the ordinary in the life of a normal human being. Dangerous adventures like these were one of the many aspects of life with the Doctor that Rose had grown accustomed to.
They reached the top of a small hill, and there, beside a mighty English walnut tree, was the TARDIS. No matter the circumstance, the sight of the Doctor's fantastic blue police box made Rose breathe a sigh of relief. And she knew she wasn't the only one who felt that way. The bond between the Doctor and his ship was nigh unbreakable. Rose could only imagine the events they've witnessed, or the private jokes that might pass between them on occasion through the Doctor's telepathic link.
But this was looking to be a very tight escape, even for them. The deadly pigeons had already begun to overtake the duo, and started pecking and pulling at Rose and the Doctor's hair and scalps. The Time Lord heard Rose bite back a yelp of pain as a beak nicked her ear, and his thoughts immediately turned to insuring her safety. It wouldn't be long before their eyes would be in danger. "Get down and cover your head!" he shouted to his companion.
Rose barely heard him over the sound of angry pigeons, but she heard his tone of voice. She threw herself down beside the Doctor and felt his arm raise over her protectively.
The pigeons circled and pecked at their targets a moment more, before they flew back into the canopy of trees. The Doctor and Rose slowly raised their heads, and they smiled and chuckled at their luck as they watched the multi-colored birds circle their location. "Not bad. Not bad at all," the Doctor hummed, flipping from his belly onto his back.
"And we were having such a lovely walk." Rose replied, propping herself up on her side and resting her head on her hand. They had been enjoying themselves. No monsters to face or plots to foil meant that the Doctor had time to do what he did best: awe and amaze his companion with his multitude of knowledge about everything and everyone. He'd been right in the middle of telling Rose about the Suffragettes, who had staged one of their protests in the middle of Hyde Park. "Where'd you learn to throw like that?" she asked him.
"Oh, here and there." He scratched behind his ear, where an errant piece of grass had poked him. "Live as long as me and you tend to pick up a few tricks."
"Is that so?" Rose laughed, and the Doctor's grin widened. Oh, how he adored Rose's smile, almost to the point of craving it. It scared him sometimes, those moments when he was suddenly filled with a thousand reasons why Rose was the most brilliant human in all of creation. They scared him as much as the moments where he could not stop running through the tortuous list of all the reasons why being anywhere near Rose, on that level, was not a good idea. But the way her tongue poked through her teeth just so…he could be lost for centuries in that smile and never wish to be found.
So lost was he that the Doctor barely registered the nearby tourists, some of whom had seen the chase and were confused as to why pigeons were attacking Hyde Park visitors. Rose happened to notice a few who looked like young, single women curious about the handsome stranger. But they quickly rethought their fantasies when they saw the look in Rose's eyes.
Was she being possessive? Perhaps, and rightfully so. What happened in 18th-century France was not something that could easily be forgotten.
"So what are those birds, Doctor?" She asked, flopping down on her back beside him. She was grateful for the quickly-dispersing crowd. "Are they some breed of intergalactic pigeon?"
He chuckled. "You could say that. They're commonly known as Klights, and travel through the stars on passing comets. Or at least, they used to. One of the Klight flocks found Earth, and word spread throughout the universe that this planet was the place to go for good food and relative safety. Coupled with the fact that they fit in perfectly with the local pigeon population, and they chose to stay here for good. They're usually pretty peaceful, but they can hold enormous grudges, especially if someone's responsible for killing a flock member."
Rose nodded and looked back up to the birds. She squinted at them. "What are they doing now?"
The Time Lord glanced upwards, and his smile faded. The birds were still circling in their own little flock, but with every pass they drew closer to the TARDIS. "Hold on…" he muttered, sitting up.
Suddenly the Klights let out a raucous cry and dove at the TARDIS. In seconds they had the box surrounded. The Doctor jumped to his feet and charged them, screaming, "What are you doing? Stop!"
But the birds had already managed to somehow lift the TARDIS off the ground by the time the Doctor and Rose reached them. A sharp wind picked up, and Rose thought she could detect a slight humming sound as the Klight flock picked up speed. Then, all at once, the birds seemed to collapse in on themselves, and they vanished, taking the TARDIS with them.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" The Doctor swatted at the space where his ship had been and scowled. "You didn't have to do that!"
Rose took a small step forward, but didn't attempt to encroach on the Doctor's space. A Time Lord's anger need room to vent. But then again, if she didn't calm him down soon, someone might think to call the police, if they hadn't done so already. "Doctor", she asked him, "Doctor, where's the TARDIS?"
"Minor temporal displacement hole," he muttered darkly, "A primitive jump in space and time, used by even the most basic of species for a quick getaway. But unlike the emergency temporal shift machines use, beast creatures like the Klights need a large reserve of power for even the smallest of leaps. A flock of Klights could generate a little more energy…but now they've got the TARDIS. They can go anywhere, anywhen."
"So we're stuck."
"No, we are not stuck." The Doctor didn't even pause to consider that possibility. "Because those thick-headed space pigeons have forgotten that my ship isn't just a battery that anyone can use as they please. She's a sentient being. Right now the TARDIS is flying through the Time Vortex, trying to shake off those birds. She'll try to land as close to our location as she can but I have no way of knowing where or when that might be."
"But you'll know where the TARDIS lands once she re-enters our time stream, yeah?" The Doctor nodded, still staring at the square-shaped pattern of squished grass where the TARDIS had stood. Though he was as distant as ever, Rose felt her shoulders sag in relief.
"Could be worse," Rose said, grinning in spite of the situation. "At least we're on a hospitable planet. And we can stay with my mum."
The Doctor's eyes widened in mock horror, and Rose laughed out loud. "Oh no. Anything but that," he whined.
"Oh, don't be like that. Sure, we don't have an extra bed for you to sleep in, other than the couch. And the fact that mum won't be too happy with having to provide food for two extra people. And I doubt she'll have time to deal with us, given her two jobs and everything…" Rose groaned and rubbed her temple. "God, she's gonna kill us, isn't she?"
"She might not have time to. We could only be here for an hour, or a day or two."
"Or a whole week," Rose retorted, but she regretted her words as soon as she saw the effect they had on the Doctor. If possible, his mouth set itself into an even thinner line, and his eyes betrayed terror that her words might come true. Rose couldn't blame him. A Doctor without his TARDIS? The mental image alone felt unnatural and distinctly wrong.
Though she doubted the TARDIS would be gone for more than a day (how long did it take to dislodge a flock of space pigeons?), Rose hoped the ship's absence didn't stretch on longer than that. She didn't want a repeat of the impossible planet incident. Not when the memory of red-eyed Ood and a forlorn Doctor was still so fresh.
Rose looked up and, seeing the look in the Doctor's eyes, clasped his hand tightly in hers. No doubt his sudden black mood was brought on by similar memories. "Hey," she said, drawing the Doctor's gaze back to her. "We'll take it one day at a time, alright? Just like we've always done."
The Doctor smiled slightly and returned her squeeze. His smile, no matter how tight, was an improvement, though, and Rose was glad for it.
"And besides," Rose continued, grinning, "being stuck with you ain't so bad."
Her repeated phrase made the Doctor chuckle, but Rose was worried as to what the Time Lord's lingering silence meant. Hand in hand, they began the long walk through Hyde Park and back to the Powell Estate, both hoping Jackie Tyler would be receptive to their situation.
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