Out There ✿ The Doctor [1]

2- Avery and Rose (pt. 2)

Avery followed Rose and a man named Clive into his shed. She thought this entire thing was unnecessary, but she wasn't going to stop her sister. "A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive. I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it, if you know what I mean." Clive said, "If you dig deep enough and keep a lively mind, this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just the Doctor. Always The Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son. It appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" Clive pointed at a computer screen.

Avery and Rose lean closer to the screen. "Yeah." Rose replied.

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive just last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original." Avery leans in to look at the photo. The original is a picture of Kennedy's cortege going through Dallas. The Doctor is just one face in the crowd. She stepped back and allowed Rose to look as Clive continued, "November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy. You see?"

"It must be his father." Rose says. Meanwhile, Avery hid her slight smirk. She knew the truth of the Doctor. She knew he was alien and probably had a far longer life span than her or her sister.

"Going further back. April 1912. This is a photo of the Daniels family of Southampton, and friend. This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World on the Titanic, and for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived." Clive handed the photo to Avery to look at before grabbing a sketch, "And here we are. 1883. Another Doctor. And look, the same lineage. It's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion."

"Who's that?" Avery asked, speaking up for the first time since she arrived.

"Death." Clive said seriously, "If the Doctor's back, if you've seen him, Avery, Rose, then one thing's for certain. We're all in danger. If he's singled you two out, if the Doctor's making house calls, then God help you."

"But who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose questioned.

"I think he's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world."

***

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had jobs going in the canteen. Is that it then, dishing out chips. I could do A Levels. I don't know. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him. Look where he ended up. What do you think?" Rose asked, completely oblivious to her sister's worried face and her boyfriend's very plastic appearance.

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" Mickey asked.

"I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?"

"Because I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Was he something to do with that?"

"No."

"Come on."

"Sort of."

"What was he doing there?"

"Rose." Avery tried to warn but was ignored.

Rose said, "I'm not going on about it, Mickey. Really, I'm not, because, I know it sounds daft, but I don't think it's safe. I think he's dangerous."

"But you can trust me, sweetheart. Babe, sugar, babe, sugar. You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really want to do, sweetheart, babe, babe, sugar, sweetheart."