PREDATOR AND PREY
Chapter Nineteen "What's wrong?" Rose said while she followed River. "It's nothing bad," River said. "It's just a secret I want to share with you and…also a request. Um…is there somewhere we can go that will give us privacy?" In response, a door appeared beside them. River and Rose stopped short, glanced at the door, glanced at each other and River opened it. She peeked inside and was surprised to see the inside of a café. The door was at the back of the café and across the room was a large picture window with a view of London outside. "Wow, the TARDIS is just so amazing," Rose said as they stepped inside. There were several little wooden tables with matching high backed wooden chairs. River closed the door and they chose one directly in front of the picture window. When they sat down opposite each other, a plump waiter came out of a door on the right side of the building and approached them with two menus. "Welcome to Chez TARDIS, mademoiselles," he said, handing them the menus. "Everything is free for the Doctor's companions. Can I get you something to drink? Appetizer to start?" Rose and River grinned at each other and opened the menus. Rose ordered a coffee and River ordered tea with milk with no appetizers. The waiter asked them if they wanted something to eat and Rose ordered fish and chips while River ordered chicken soup and salad. The waiter took their menus and promise to return with their meals. "Yup, the TARDIS is wonderful," River said before taking a sip of her tea. "Um…well, I was just going to sit down and tell you the secret but this has thrown me for a loop," she said while Rose laughed. "I wasn't expecting lunch with my secret." "Well I am a bit hungry after lying in that scanning machine not to mention everything else that's happened today. But go ahead and take your time, I'm listening." River nodded. She was intending to tell her only about being part Time Lady but something made her decide that Rose could be trusted with everything. After making Rose swear not to tell anyone what she told her, she told her about her true identity and her life. Rose sat spellbound while she listened. When the food finally arrived, she absentmindedly picked at it with her fork while she listened. When River finally reached the end, Rose sat for a moment in a stunned silence. "And you don't know why you're going backwards in the Doctor's timeline?" Rose said when she finally found her voice. "No idea. I hate it because I'm never sure where I'm at in his timeline and I keep having to check diaries with him," River said, grateful that at last she could tell someone everything. "But please don't tell the Doctor or Amy and Rory, they can't know about this stuff." "Your secret's safe with me, I promise," Rose said. "It's just amazing to meet someone else who's part Time Lady. But you said being in the TARDIS when you were conceived made you this way?" "I think so, yeah." "I've always wondered about this Bad Wolf and whether it really was a part of the TARDIS. If you became part Time Lord because of the TARDIS, maybe that's what happened to me as well. I just thought the Bad Wolf was some god-like thing that was in me or in the TARDIS and the energy from the TARDIS activated it." "Don't know, I've never heard of the name "Bad Wolf" before but it's worth looking into," River said. "And now you'll have centuries to find it out." "I wish you did," Rose said. "But I'm grateful that you sacrificed yourself to save the Doctor." "So knowing him, I can't imagine not having him in my life," River said. "And now that I've told you my story…I have a request." "Yeah?" "Since you will live on past this life, I want you to take care of the Doctor after I'm gone from his life. Going backward, I know there'll come a time when he won't know me and that'll be it. That alone will kill me but I'll feel better knowing that after I'm gone, he won't be alone in the universe. So I just want you to look after him." "Absolutely. That was my fear as well. That's what the Bad Wolf read in my mind and that's why it changed me. At least that's what my dream said." River nodded. "So, what about you? I've now bored you with my life. What about you? What were you doing before you met the Doctor?" The two women ate their meal while Rose told River about her early life, how she met the Doctor and some of her adventures with them. When they finished, they looked around wondering what to do with the dirty dishes but they vanished from the table. River and Rose glanced at each other before getting up and going back to the console room. "Ah!" the Doctor said when they entered the console room. "There you are. Good." "Sorry, sweetie, just having a friendly chat," River said. "And lunch," Rose added. "Excellent. Now that you're filled with food and chat, we can fill you in on what's happened since then. The TARDIS found a rift that's big enough for us to go through." "That's wonderful," River said. "Yes, we're speeding there now. It was ten billion light years away from where we were so the TARDIS is going hell for leather to it before it closes. I've checked the stabilizer and I think it'll hold. All we need to do is hold on tight when it does go through because it'll be a hell of a bumpy ride. But it shouldn't take too long and once we're through, we can get down to business." They looked around when the TARDIS started to flash her lights on and off. "That's the signal that she's nearly there. Come with me. We'll go into another room while she's doing it so we're not rolling all over the console room. Follow me!" Everyone hurried out of the room. They went to the living room and sat down in the chairs. The TARDIS temporarily affixed them to the floor so they wouldn't move around and when the shaking started, everyone held on tight while the Doctor yelled out, "GERONIMO!"
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