SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Forty Nine After about a half hour Rose felt well enough to get up and have a shower. The empty hotel room was unnerving to her. After two months of constantly being with Alan, she finally realized just how empty the room felt without him. She was used to his boundless energy, his teasing and his singing. She suddenly realized just how much she missed him and how deeply she longed for him to return. She quickly rushed through the shower and hurried back to the bed so she could let him and Awinita back in. She flipped through the channels until she found the Food Network. She started watching Ace of Cakes when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. Her heart leaped knowing that Alan was back and she bounded out of the bed eager to see him again. She flung open the door and saw Alan standing there with Awinita behind him. “Hello there, miss,” Alan said. “I’m working my way through university selling magazine subscriptions. Can I interest you in a one year subscription to Time Travelers Monthly?” Rose grinned. “Nope, sorry, not interested.” Feeling impish, she slammed the door in his face and giggled when she heard him saying, “Hey!” He knocked again and she waited a moment before flinging the door back open. “How rude,” he said. She slammed the door again. He knocked again. “Open up, you door slamming minx!” she heard him yell. Rose giggled. She ran and got her bathrobe, tied it around her and then assumed a seductive pose as she opened up the door again. Alan paused with his fist in mid-knock while he stared at her. “Hello,” she purred. “Are you housekeeping? Have you come to make my bed and leave me a mint on my pillow?” Alan lowered his hand and stared at her. “Is this a normal reaction to Darvocet?” he said as Awinita laughed hysterically. “Because if it is, then by all means, keep taking them.” Rose laughed and stepped aside, letting them in. Alan grinned as he sat the bags down on the table. “I see someone feels better,” he said. “Oh yeah, although I missed you,” she said. “Me too.” He gave her a kiss on the lips. “He did hurry back here,” Awinita admitted. Rose smiled. “He’s very protective of me,” she said to her. “The Doctor was as well. I think both of them are scared that I’ll be taken away from them again at some point.” “No,” Alan said, “I just love the pleasure of your company, my little plus one. I’m not making the mistake of letting you go into the void alone if that ever comes up again. Nope, next time I’m letting go and going right in after ya.” She gave his back an affectionate little scratch. “So,” she said to Awinita, “he explain everything to ya?” “He explained quite a bit.” “And you’re still here, so I guess that means you’re okay with it.” “Hey, like I told him, I just saw some weird creature try to kidnap you. I’ll believe anything at this point. Besides, he’s a nice guy.” “Yes, he is. A little wacky at times, but you get used to that and…” She gasped when Alan shoved a cup of Coke under her nose. “Oh, I forgot, I got ya a Coke, enjoy!” He giggled and ran to the other side of the room when Rose grabbed it and shot him a look. “Thanks, Alan, I was wanting a straw up my nose just then,” she said. She looked at Awinita. “See what I mean? Worse than a two year old, he is.” “Wow, a two year old, that’s a compliment considering I’m barely two months old,” Alan said as he stood in the bathroom. She grinned and rolled her eyes while she sipped her drink. “So, you guys went to McDonalds then?” she said. “Oh yeah, we got a bunch of things. Alan wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for, so we got you a salad and a couple of cheeseburgers and some fries.” “And a Coke, don’t forget the Coke!” Alan said, pointing at her cup. “Yes, I realize the Coke is mine now, Alan, thanks,” she said as he snickered. He gave her a big toothy grin and shut the door. A few seconds later, he flung it open and stuck his head out. “I’m going to the necessary room; do you need to pee in the next thirty seconds?” “No, dear, I can hold it. Just go ahead and pee.” “Okey-dokey.” He started to shut the door and then had a thought. “Hey, Rose?” “Yes?” “Are we at the point in our relationship where I can leave the bathroom door open and just pee in front of you?” “No.” “Just checking.” He slammed the door as the two girls giggled. “He’s so cute,” Awinita said. Rose nodded. “Yup, he’s my adorable little boy,” she said. “I couldn’t get through the day now without him here. I just missed him terribly when you guys were gone.” Alan flung open the door and flounced over to her. “I missed you too, starlight,” he said, laying his head on her shoulder. “I wanted to just hurry back here in case someone came along and romanced you out from under my nose.” “What, the hotel management, you mean?” “No, just any random stranger off the street.” “What do you take me for, Alonzo Timelord? You think I’m that easy?” “Oh, no, no. I’m not saying you would just willingly go with someone. I’m saying that someone could come along with an aphrodisiac ray and make you their slave. Just little ol’ me planning for all possible scenarios.” Awinita snickered when Rose rolled her eyes and took a sip of her Coke. “So, did you guys eat?” she asked. “No, not yet, Alan got to talking and I was too busy listening to his story to eat.” “Yeah, it is pretty interesting, isn’t it?” “Of course it’s interesting, I’m a master storyteller,” Alan said. “But, no, neither of us has eaten yet.” “Well, there’s a shock, Mister Bottomless Pit.” She giggled when Alan shot her a look. Smiling, she turned and began to rifle through the bag while Awinita went to use the toilet. “Rose, Awinita and I want to talk to you,” Alan said. Rose pulled out the salad and one of the cheeseburgers. “About what?” she asked. Alan looked at the closed bathroom door. “Wait a tic until she gets out here.” Rose frowned as she sat down at the table. “Is it bad?” “Um….I hope not, but it does require you spending money which is why we wanted to talk to you.” “You guys wanna go somewhere, is that it?” “Weeeeeeeell, yeah, but it’s not what you’re thinking.” He looked over when the bathroom door opened. “Ah, good. Awinita, I’m going to ask her and I wanted you out here so you could be in on it as well.” He faced Rose who was pouring ranch dressing on her salad. “Rose, we were thinking that, at least for awhile, we might rent a car.” “You don’t wanna walk anymore?” “Well, I do and so does Awinita, but you were badly hurt last night and we want to give you a chance to recover, plus neither of us fancies going back into the woods after seeing that thing.” “No, I don’t either,” Rose said, quickly. “Well, we though we’d take a car, at least until your back was well enough that you could handle the rucksack again.” Rose chewed on her salad while she thought. “Your ankle as well,” she said, pointing to his leg. “Is it still bothering you?” “A little, I guess, but I’m more concerned about you.” “Plus, we really would like to get past New Jersey before we go back in the woods again,” Awinita replied. “If we did this, would you like a lift to North Carolina?” Rose asked her. “No, I already told Alan that I wasn’t in that big a hurry to get there. I would like to do some more hiking before I got home.” “But, actually, I also put forth the suggestion that she just continue on with us,” Alan said. Rose frowned. “But, I thought you had to go take care of your gran,” she said. “Well, like I told him, no one asked me to do it, it’s really my choice and to be honest, I’m doing it more out of a sense of duty than anything else. The problem with that is if I went I’d be a burden on you and I don’t wanna do that. You guys are so nice and I don’t wanna mooch off you.” “And I told her she can help out when she can. I mean, we’re paying for her now and really all it would cost is extra food since she’s sharing a double room with us and she gathered those mushrooms, so she can do that for us. I mean, I’d rather she came along with us than have to go be miserable taking care of her grandmother.” “If you want to come along with us, Awinita, I think I can handle the extra person. My step dad is paying my credit card bill every month and I have a lot in my bank account, so there’s no danger of us running out of money anytime soon, but it’s up to you, don’t let Alan talk you into it if you’re don’t want to do it.” “I would love to do it, Rose. I just don’t want you to think I’m mooching off of you.” She grinned. “Don’t worry about it. This bugger is mooching off me anyway, so what’s another person,” she said, winking. “Well, I’m sorry I’m being a leech, Rose. But unfortunately, Doctor daddy didn’t leave me a biiiiig trust fund when he kicked me out the TARDIS door, which means I gotta rely on you.” “Which is why I’m trying to give you extra money so you don’t have to rely on me as much,” she said. Alan smiled. “She’s such a sweetheart,” he said to Awinita. “Yes, she is. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” Rose blushed at that. “Thanks,” she said. “And, getting back on topic about the car, yes I’ll agree to that because I’m not in any hurry to go back in the woods and risk seeing that thing again and my back and your ankle can use a rest. Besides, if we have to cross over to route 9, that’ll save us loads of time. We’ll just have to ask if a car rental place is nearby.” “And I get to find out how to rent a car,” Alan said. She giggled. “Yes, you can learn how to rent a car. And then you can sit back and enjoy the ride while Awinita and I drive it.” “What about me? Can’t I drive too?” Her eyebrow rose. “You can drive?” “Yes, I can drive. The Doctor had a motor when he was exiled to Earth in his third life.” “He did?” “Yes, he had a little yellow roadster called Bessie.” He eyed her when Rose snickered. “What?” he said. “He called it Bessie?” “Yes, he called it Bessie,” he said as the girls laughed. “And, he loved that car dearly.” “Okay, but when you say he drove, did he actually stay on the road at all times or was he up on the pavement taking out bystanders?” “He kept it on the road!” Alan said as Rose bent over the table laughing. “And, since I have his memories, I know how to drive and I promise you, if I take the wheel, we won’t be off in a field somewhere.” “Well, that’s good,” Rose said. “Okay, Alan, out of sheer curiosity, I’ll let you drive as well.” “Gee, how magnanimous of you, Tyler,” he said while she snorted out laughter. “I guess I’ll just have to run the rental into a lake so I can prove you right.” “Um, no, you don’t have to go that far, dear. The road will be sufficient.” She tousled his hair when he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, are we staying here for the day then?” Alan said, changing the subject. “You mentioned you needed to go to the chemists. Do you want to do that now?” Rose took a bite of her burger while she considered that. “I think I will. I’m bored right now and my back isn’t too bad and if we are getting a rental I want to go ahead and see about getting it so that way we can just drive off in the morning. Just let me finish my meal and then we can go.”
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