ROSE'S DAY OUT

Chapter Three

"Now…" the Doctor said when they found a nearby bus stop. "Before we get on the bus and find some fun things, you must learn about bus safety so you don't die."

"Okay," Rose said.

"Rory, sing the bus safety song," the Doctor said after a few seconds of silence.

"Me?" Rory said while Amy snickered.

"Yes, sing the bus safety song so Rose will know what to do," the Doctor said, giving him a pointed look.

Rory was nonplussed. He looked at his wife for help while Rose giggled and the Doctor tapped his foot impatiently. Amy held up her finger and began to sing.

"When you're in a rush and on the go," she sang. "There's some things that you have to know…"

She trailed off while trying to think of the next line of the song.

"If you don't want to end up dead," Rory sang while Amy tried to think. "Then you have to use your head. Get on the bus without delay but be careful, that's what I say."

"Because if you ignore the safety rule," Amy sang. "You'll land up dead and look like a fool! So be smart and stay alive, don't leap on the bus while it's still in drive…the end," she said.

Rose laughed and applauded while the Doctor grinned at them with a twinkle in his eye.

"Wow, that was very informative," Rose said. "And to think that entire song was rehearsed and not just made up on the spot."

"Yup, we rehearsed it back at the ministry," Amy said. "It's our safety song. We go to schools and police stations and sing it for everyone."

"Safety first, that's our motto," Rory said.

"And here it comes," the Doctor said, pointing to a bus as it slowed and began to pull over. "Now remember, wait till it stops before you run inside like a maniac."

"Gotcha," Rose said, giving him a thumbs up.

The bus stopped and opened the door. The Doctor looked behind his shoulder as he pulled out his psychic paper and noticed Rose was pulling her oyster card out of the wallet in her pocket. He used the psychic paper like an oyster card and it accepted it. He went to the back of the bus and found several empty seats. He waited till Rose sat down beside him before pointing to her oyster card.

"What is this? You're not supposed to have this," he said to her.

"Oh! Um…it blew through my bedroom window one day. I worked out how to use it from the telly," Rose said while Amy and Rory sat down in front of them.

"Okay, good. For a moment, I thought you had forbidden knowledge of traveling," the Doctor said.

Rose chuckled.

"Seriously though, who are you lot? I've never seen you before," she said as Amy and Rory turned in their seats.

"I'm a friend of Mickey. We all are. He told us about you and we wanted to meet you in person," the Doctor said.

"You work at the garage then?" Rose said.

"Yes, we do," the Doctor said. "And you, do you have a job? Or are you really on the dole?"

Rose snorted.

"I might as well be for the amount of money I get paid," she said dryly. "No, I'm a shopgirl at Henrick's."

"And your mum?" the Doctor said.

"Mum is between jobs at the moment," Rose said.

"So you support everyone, you poor waif," the Doctor said.

Rose giggled.

"Nah, mum has…boyfriends that help out," Rose said.

She laughed when the Doctor cocked his eyebrow at that.

"Well, she does," she said. "I mean, she's not a prostitute or anything like that. But she is a bit of a smooth talker."

She frowned when the Doctor snorted at that.

"Mickey talk about her as well?" she asked.

"A bit," the Doctor said, making a mental note to keep his reactions in check. "He told me that he thinks you're meant for better things than being a shopgirl."

"Yeah?" Rose said.

The Doctor nodded. Rose thought about that for a moment.

"I do want to travel," she finally said to everyone. "I would love to get out of London and see the world."

"Well, maybe it'll happen," the Doctor said. "Despite my waif comments, you do seem like an intelligent woman. Maybe good things are coming for you."

"That's so odd," Rose said.

"What is?" Rory said.

"Couple months ago, a bloke told me that this year would be a great year for me. It was on New Year's Day, just after midnight, and I saw this drunk bloke up against a wall. I remember him because he was so pissed he didn't know what day it was. I told him it was January 1st and he told me he thought I'd have a great year."

Amy noticed that the Doctor looked a bit uneasy while Rose was telling them this. She wondered about this strange woman ever since they met her. She wondered if the Doctor knew her and while she listened to the woman and stared at her, she had a revelation. She suddenly realized she'd seen her before. She was one of the female companions in the TARDIS database. Her photo had flashed a couple of times after she asked the TARDIS how many women had traveled with the Doctor. She suddenly wanted to get the Doctor alone so she could ask about Rose and why he was keen on seeing her again.

The Doctor noticed something out the window and signaled the driver to stop. Amy put her hand on her husband's arm and let the Doctor and Rose go first.

"She traveled with him, Rory. I saw her photo on the TARDIS monitor," Amy muttered to her husband as they got up. "I think it's time we learned the truth about the disadvantaged waif in our midst."

Rory nodded. He took her hand and they hurried to catch up with the Doctor and Rose while they got off the bus.

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