Bad Wolf and the Oncoming Storm [Book One: Back in Time]

.:Chapter Thirteen:. A Compelling Scent

When they stepped out of the doors, The Doctor looked around at his surroundings. The sky was blue, like earth, but there was a red sun that shone down on everything, tinting it a subtle shade of red. A quick pang of sadness flashed across his hearts; the sight reminded him of Gallifrey.

He walked forward, Rose still by his side. There were humanoid creatures walking around, some with green skin, and some with yellow, and many of them were pushing trolleys full of various things. The architecture was incredible, with tall clay buildings towering over everything. Where they landed looked like a marketplace for all kinds of things.

Rose thought it was incredible, too. She had never seen anything like it before. She missed the feeling of discovering new things and new places with The Doctor.

“Where are we..?” she asked.

The Doctor was confused, too. “I don’t know. I’ve never been here before.” He grinned. “That’s new. Not knowing. Makes things funner.”

Rose wandered off, looking at everything with great interest. The Doctor sighed, thinking They always wander off. He followed her, checking out the items on display as he walked. Rose went over to The Doctor, and pointed towards a display case full with different trinkets.

“I’ll be over there, yeah?” She said.

The Doctor nodded. “Alright. Just don’t go too far.”

“I won’t,” Rose said sweetly, and walked off. Suddenly, a salesman approached him.

“Do you want something that will have her never leave your side again?” asked the salesman. The Doctor looked at him questioningly.

“What?” The Doctor asked, unsure.

“You heard me!” said the salesman. He whipped out a small, pocket-size bottle of cologne. “This will make her never wander off again.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. A mysterious, sketchy, salesman offering him cologne that keeps people from wandering off. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly interested in it.

“And why should I trust you?” He asked.

“Have I given you a reason not to trust me?” The salesman inquired and mocked the Doctor by raising an eyebrow as well.

“Er- well- no..” Said The Doctor.

“Exactly!” said the Salesman, clapping his hands once. “So what do you say? I’ll give it to you for free!”

What harm could it do? The Doctor thought. “I’ll take it.” He said. The salesman handed him the bottle. “Good choice, sir.” He said, and walked away.

The Doctor nodded hesitantly, slipping the bottle into the inside pocket of his coat. Rose came back, holding a bag of trinkets. She had bought quite a few of them with the unlimited credit stick, since Earth currency obviously wouldn’t work here.

“Having fun?” Asked The Doctor, noticing all the trinkets.

“Definitely!” Rose exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Find anything at the shops and vendors?”

“No.” She said sarcastically, looking at all the things in her hands. The Doctor laughed softly.

“What did you get?” He asked.

“Some things for Mum and Tony, if I ever get to see them again,” She said with a slightly sad look on her face. The Doctor felt terrible.

“I’ll find a way for you to see them again.” He promised.

“I would jump, but I don’t want to rip a hole in the universe and have a repeat of you-know-what.” Rose said.

The Doctor nodded in understanding. He didn’t want anything like that to happen again, either. “I’ll think of something.”

“Let’s get back to the TARDIS, yeah?” she asked.

“Yeah.” The Doctor agreed, taking her hand. He walked back to The TARDIS with her, still thinking about the strange cologne that the salesman had given him.

“I’m going to go read a book,” said Rose when they got back inside The TARDIS. She smiled and walked to the library. She sat down in one of the arm chairs, throwing her legs over the armrest. When she was situated she picked up a random book, and began reading.

The Doctor nodded, and went to his room. He did a few tests on the cologne, but he couldn’t find a single thing wrong with it; it seemed to be normal cologne. He shrugged and went to his en suite, setting the cologne on the vanity.

He took a quick shower, and when he got out, he got dressed in his usual pinstripe suit. He stared at the cologne for a moment before putting it on. He thought it smelled okay, and he still didn’t see how this was going to keep Rose from wandering off. He shrugged, and made his way to the library.

“Hello, Rose!” he greeted her.  

“Hey!” Rose said, glancing up at the Doctor with a bright smile. Suddenly, she got a whiff of something that smelled very nice. She got up, and went over to The Doctor. She sniffed slightly, and the scent became much stronger. Without warning, she grabbed the lapels of his suit, and kissed him. He was very taken off guard. This reminded him of the time when Rose was possessed by Cassandra. When Cassandra had found him, she did the same exact thing.

Rose knew that this shouldn’t be happening, but she couldn’t control her actions. She pushed her body against his slightly. She felt everything, her mind was working and her thoughts were her own. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she really couldn’t protest either. She had always wanted to do this, but she never wanted anything to change between them.

The Doctor ended up kissing back a little bit, and they wrapped their arms around each other, but after a few moments, he pulled back slightly, a bit flustered. “Rose..” he murmured in slight warning.

“What, Doctor?” asked Rose innocently. She kept herself close to him. He resisted the urge to kiss her again and finish what was started, but he knew that this wasn’t her, this was the cologne.

“This..I..” He stuttered, not able to find the right words.

“You what?” Rose pouted and looked up at him, blinking innocently.

“I- er- I’m tired and I’m..uh..sleep. Yeah.” He said, pulling on his ear. His voice was considerably higher pitched. Rose continued to pout.

“I know something else we can do instead of sleeping.” she said. She had no control of what she was saying. As soon as the words left her mouth unintentionally, she wanted to go hide in a corner and cry.

He had to get out of here, before he did something he would regret. “I...er...no..too tired..” He said, forcing a yawn.

“You’re no fun.” said Rose. The Doctor didn’t protest this time; instead he went back to his room without a word.