THE ENCOUNTER

He didn't mean to do this. He didn't mean to run into her but there she was, young and beautiful, just as he remembered her and so he followed her, the aching in his hearts too much to bear.

He was glad River wasn't with him at the moment since he was sure she'd deck him one if she saw this but he missed her so much. He loved his wife but this…this was the woman who captured his hearts first and she was several feet away from him now.

She was sitting with his past self at a table in the food hall of Harrods. They were eating tacos, her and his other self. It was surreal seeing him, his thin, lean body, the spiky brown hair, his brown suit and trench coat. It had been a few short years since his regeneration but it seemed like another lifetime to him now. Thankfully, neither of them knew who he was and would never know so he could observe and listen in complete anonymity while he ate his burger and chips. Her hair was shoulder length, blonde and shiny and probably smelling like strawberries since that was shampoo scent she often favored. She was wearing a mauve t-shirt and jeans and her trainers but to him, she looked gorgeous. She was fixated on his other self while he regaled her with a story about a daring escape in Medieval England. He remembered this day clearly. He hadn't noticed himself sitting here the last time but then again, why should he notice since he didn't know what his future self looked like. Eleven sipped his soda while he gazed at the woman he loved. She was staring at his other self with naked love in her eyes, an adoring look that was extremely familiar to him but he noticed that his other self was so wrapped up in the telling of the story that he was oblivious to it. He snorted. His other self had been a fool, pushing his beloved away until she found herself trapped in another universe with a clone of himself and then he couldn't go back for her.

After they finished eating, they carried their trays to a rubbish bin and emptied the waste before setting the trays on top of it. Then they walked out of the food hall. Eleven quickly finished his burger and chips, keeping his eyes on Rose while she followed his other self. Then he got up and shadowed them, keeping his distance while keeping them in his sights. He followed them until they came to the lavatories. Rose and Ten went into them and Eleven waited nearby. When Rose came out, he made his move.

"Excuse me," he said, walking over to Rose.

Rose turned and gave him a quizzical look. Eleven put on his most charming smile.

"Sorry to bother you, I'm new to London and I've never been here before. I was wondering where the food hall was?"

"One floor up," Rose said, pointing up to the ceiling.

"Ah, cheers," Eleven said. "Sorry but…you're very beautiful."

He smiled when Rose blushed at that. Eleven longed to take her in his arms but before he could say or do anything, Ten emerged from the lavatory. He slowed down when he spied Eleven and gave him a wary look for a few seconds before walking over to Rose.

"Who's your friend?" he asked her.

"Dunno, he was just asking me for directions to the food hall," Rose said, gesturing to Eleven.

"George Thomas," Eleven said, extending his hand and using an alias that Ten wouldn't know.

"The Doctor, this is Rose," the Doctor said, shaking his hand.

Eleven immediately realized it was a mistake since the moment his hand made contact with his predecessor, Ten's face told him that he felt something strange pass between them. He quickly told them he had to be going but he could see the wary look return on Ten's face. He turned and hurried off towards the escalator, hearing Rose ask Ten what was wrong. He was so fast his predecessor's answer, if he gave her any, was drowned out by ambient music and crowd noise. He found the escalator and started up but he looked over and groaned when he saw Ten and Rose were following him. Ten's eyes were directly on him and Eleven jerked his head around and acted casual.

Then he felt Ten probing his mind and he sighed inwardly, figuring he might as well let him know before he punched him for flirting with Rose. He could feel his predecessor's shock and then his anger. He looked back over his shoulder and noticed Ten had left Rose behind and was now stomping up the escalator, a look of fury on his face. Eleven made room for him while Rose got on the escalator.

"What are you doing here?" Ten snarled at him through gritted teeth.

"I was just visiting," Eleven said in a terse voice. "Nothing more."

"Oh? Didn't look like it to me when I came out of the lavatory," Ten said as they stepped off the escalator.

"So you're jealous of yourself then?" Eleven said with a sneer. "Bit childish, don't you think?"

"Doctor?"

Ten looked back at Rose who was nearly to the top.

"What's going on?" she said to him.

"Just…having a conversation with George, Rose," Ten said dismissively.

"So you know him then?" Rose said as she stepped off the escalator.

Ten looked at Eleven while Rose walked up to them.

"Well?" Ten said to him while Rose came up to Ten's side and frowned in confusion.

"Well, what?" Eleven said.

"Are you going to tell her the truth then?" Ten said to him.

"What truth?" Rose said.

"I wasn't planning on it, that's why I was leaving," Eleven said, ignoring Rose. "You insisted on following me so why are you blaming me for this mess?"

"What are you on about?" Rose said.

The Doctors looked at her and then looked at each other.

"Ball's in your court, mate," Ten said, nodding at him.

Rose looked at Eleven and he sighed, figuring it wouldn't matter if Rose knew the truth.

"I'm the Doctor, Rose. The Doctor after him," he said, pointing to Ten.

Rose's eyes bulged. She looked at her Doctor for confirmation and he nodded. She looked back at Eleven and walked over to him. Both Doctors watched while she walked around him and inspected his suit. Then she stopped by his right side and looked at his face.

"You came here to see me?" Rose finally said to Eleven.

"Not really, I was looking around and saw you and him," Eleven said, gesturing to Ten. "I couldn't help myself; I had to see you so I followed you, figuring you'd never realize who I was. Unfortunately, Time Lords can sense each other's identity if they probe their minds and that's what your Doctor did. I shook his hand and he got a sense of who I was and probed my mind while I was on the escalator. I wasn't trying to disrupt your day and I apologize. Now if you'll let me go, I'll go back to my TARDIS now."

He turned and hurried away before anyone could say anything. He was heading to the escalator, intending to go back down to the ground floor and get out of Harrods but he felt Rose take his hand and he sighed when Rose came around to the front and stopped him. He looked back over his shoulder and noticed Ten hadn't moved but he was observing them very closely.

"You acted like I wasn't with you any longer," Rose said to him.

"You're not," Eleven said.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?" Rose said softly with concern in her eyes.

Eleven considered that for a moment.

"Yes and no," he finally said. "You did something wrong but nothing that made me angry and toss you out of the TARDIS."

"Can what I did be prevented then?"

Eleven considered that before shaking his head.

"No, I think it's fixed because something else happens later on that needs your involvement," he said as vaguely as he could.

"Do you miss me?"

"Terribly," Eleven said. "But you're safe…as far as I know," he added quickly.

Rose nodded. She looked over his shoulder and Eleven turned to see Ten was still observing them. He sensed Ten's impatience though and he turned back to Rose.

"Don't tell him that you're not with me any longer. He might erase this meeting from his mind anyway since he's not supposed to know about his future but if not, don't tell him anything major, yeah?"

"Yeah," Rose said.

"Look, I better go before my other self comes over here and kicks my arse out of jealousy," Eleven said. "I don't think he likes you being over here with me, judging from his face."

Rose nodded. She hesitated a moment before kissing him on the lips. Eleven eagerly returned it, although he sensed Ten wasn't too pleased with it.

Screw him, Eleven thought to himself as he kept on kissing Rose.

Rose stepped back after thirty seconds and laid her hand on his cheek.

"Be careful," Rose said.

Eleven nodded and smiled. He gave Rose's hand a squeeze and then watched while she let go and walked back to Ten. He waved to his predecessor and Ten nodded. He and Rose stood together and watched while the Eleventh Doctor forced himself to walk away from Rose and head back to the escalator.

THE END.

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