WRAITHS OF THE RIPPER

Chapter Three

(Later on that evening…)

John breathed out a contented sigh as he and Rose walked out of the fancy Italian restaurant near the city center of London. She looked beautiful in a black strapless evening gown with her hair done up in a tight bun. He was wearing a black suit with a maroon shirt and black tie and trainers, an outfit that was turning a few heads as they walked down the pavement. His hair was gelled and spiked up and looked perfect, at least in his opinion. His belly was full of spaghetti and breadsticks and the most beautiful woman in the world was by his side, what more could he want?

"Ah," he breathed out, "I am satiated."

"Oh?" Rose said, glancing at him.

"Almost," John said, a gleam in his eye. "I think afters will come later tonight in bed."

"Ooo, can't wait," Rose said as he waggled his eyebrows at her.

He crooked his arm and she threaded her arm through it. She felt at peace tonight. Walking arm in arm with the man she loved through London. If it weren't for the zeppelins above them, she could have sworn it was her old London and her old Doctor. Her thoughts drifted to him and he wondered if the Doctor was alright, if he was happy and at peace. She hoped so, she hated to think of him alone and miserable.

She slowed down when she suddenly heard a soft wheezing sound on the wind. She coulda sworn it sounded like…

She was going to dismiss the soft sound as coming from her imagination, except she could see that John had heard it too. Both of them were stood in the middle of the pavement with annoyed people walking around them. They looked at one another.

"Did you hear that?" Rose said to him.

"Yeah…I thought I was imagining it," John said.

"If you're imagining it, I am as well," Rose said. "Do you think he came back?"

John's face darkened.

"I don't know but if he thinks he's coming back here to get you…"

"John, I'm with you now, I'm not going anywhere," Rose said. "But he might need our help. We need to find him."

John nodded. They headed off towards the direction of the wheezing or what they thought was the right direction. They scanned the alleys each time they passed one but so far no luck. But as they were nearing one alley, a young man with sandy colored hair stepped out and looked around.

"We landed in London, Doctor," the man said, turning back around and speaking to someone in the alley before walking back down it.

Rose stopped John.

"Let me go first just in case he's still sore with you," she said to him.

John shrugged.

"Take your time, I'm not in any hurry to see him," he said, leaning against a brick wall.

Rose walked up to the alley and peeked inside. She saw two men and two women milling around the TARDIS. The young man was dressed in normal clothes but the other man looked like a university professor.

"Let me guess, the university professor is the Doctor," Rose muttered to herself.

Her heart lurched when she realized if that was him, he regenerated again. She regained her composure though, straightened her spine and walked into the alley. Everyone caught sight of her but only the university professor registered surprise and any sign of recognition and Rose's suspicions are confirmed.

"Rory, were there zeppelins in the sky when you checked," the Doctor said to Rory as Rose walked over to him.

"Zeppelins?" Rory said.

"Did you look up?"

Rory shook his head. The Doctor looked at Rose.

"Pete's World?" he said to her.

"Yup," Rose said. "Is that you, Doctor?"

"Yes, it is."

Rose smiled and embraced him. The Doctor hugged her tightly, thrilled to see her again. As he hugged her, he scanned his surroundings.

"My clone, where is he?" he said to Rose when he let go.

"Just outside, I told him to wait in case you were still angry at him," Rose said, stepping back.

"Why would I be angry?" the Doctor said, confused.

By now, Amy, Rory and River had gathered around Rose. She glanced at them.

"Hi, I'm Rose Tyler, I used to travel with the Doctor," she said to them.

"Amy Pond, I think I saw your photo once on the TARDIS monitor along with eight zillion other women," she said as the Doctor blushed. "This is my husband, Rory, and our daughter, River."

Rose did a double take when she looked at River and noticed she looked older than her parents.

"She's part Time Lady," Amy explained when Rose gave them a questioning look. "This is her third life."

"Oh. He's like my fiancé then," Rose said.

Now it was Amy, Rory and River's turn to be confused. They looked to the Doctor.

"Rose, can you go get my clone so they can meet him?" he said to her.

Rose nodded and they let her pass.

"Clone?" Amy said when Rose walked out of the alley.

"Yeah, long story but she's with a clone of myself," he said to them. "We're in a different universe, we crossed the void, the empty space between universes. That's why we had a bumpy ride going across."

"And this clone is part Time Lord?" Rory said.

"Yes, part Time Lord, part human like River," the Doctor said.

He gestured to him when Rose and John came into the alley. John paused a moment and stared at his counterpart when Rose pointed him out.

"Well, at least there'll be no trouble telling us apart now," John said as he and Rose resumed their pace.

"I'm not angry at you," the Doctor said, holding up his hand. "And I'm not here for Rose. To be honest, the TARDIS brought us here when I asked her to help me sort out something that's been bothering me recently."

John relaxed when he told him he wasn't angry and wasn't there for Rose.

"What is this…something then?" he asked the Doctor.

"Something that's affecting me and my other lives. I don't know what it is but I can sense the evil that's beginning to surround me and whisper into my mind. I don't know what it has to do with here but this is where the TARDIS took us," the Doctor said.

"Why don't you come with us then," Rose said. "We have a flat now and you can tell us what happened there instead of standing here in an alley."

The Doctor thanked her. John took Rose's hand and told everyone to follow them back to their flat.

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