Reign of the World

Chapter 3

The dining room was actually magnificent.  It was something Rose would've pictured from the Titanic, ornate and spacious and gorgeous.  The walls were a deep maroon, chandeliers hanging throughout the giant room.  Everything glittered and was classy and suddenly Rose felt a bit underdressed.

After seeing how some of the people (or sort-of people) were dressed, her nerves were calmed.  The Doctor seemed to sense her thoughts and squeezed her arm.  "Don't worry," he promised, "No one's going to judge you.  They're all big fans of yours."

Mr. Alfred Kelly, who the Doctor had spoken to earlier, stood up from his table and waved them over, a smile lighting up his face.  The Doctor offered a wave and tugged Rose along towards the round table where the man stood.

"He's human, right?" Rose asked around her blinding smile.

"I think so," The Doctor replied, "But one can never be too sure about species stuff." He pulled Rose the rest of the way to the table, where Mr. Kelly had sat down again, with his assistant Tiffany, next to him.

Based on the fact that the small, rounded table had only four seats, Rose could guess that they'd be dining alone.  She didn't really know these people and was a little nervous about making small talk with them.  She'd had 'assistant's chats' with Tiffany and she seemed very nice, but she wasn't quite ready to get through a whole dinner with her.

The Doctor pulled out her chair for her and Rose took a seat, smiling up at the Doctor in thanks.  He threw her a grin in return and sat next to her after shaking Mr. Kelly's hand.  She noticed it only took about two seconds before he was grappling for her hand under the table.

"Miss Tyler," Mr. Kelly nodded to her.  "I trust you know Tiffany."

Tiffany, who was a brunette human girl that made Rose jealous of every single bit of her, smiled lightly at Rose.  Her hair fell in effortless waves over her shoulders and she had eyes to match, and Rose was afraid that if the Doctor were to ever fall in love it would be with someone like Tiffany.

Granted, she wasn't the most clever person, but that train of thought just led to Reinette and Rose had to tamper that down before it continued on too far.  She was a little disappointed she couldn't hate the other girl, because she was just so nice.  Rose forced a smile in return, squeezing the Doctor's hand as jealousy surged through her.

"Yeah, we've spoken before.  Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Rose."  Tiffany flashed a wider, white smile at Rose.

"This is Doctor John Smith, Tiffany," Mr. Kelly gestured to the Doctor, who smiled politely.  "He was in the meeting this afternoon.  Well, physically that is."

The Doctor squinted and tugged his ear with his free hand, looking a little embarrassed.  "I tend to get, well, a bit distracted.  Miss Tyler can attest to that," he smiled sheepishly.  "I do my best, though, you must know that."

"I do," Mr. Kelly said reassuringly.  He turned his attention to Rose and gave her a small smile.  "You came up in the conversation after the meeting, my dear."

Rose couldn't resist cocking an eyebrow.  "Oh, I did?  I'm no Doctor, or anyone super important, you know, but-"

"I meant to talk to you about it, Rose," the Doctor cut in casually.  "A rousing discussion.  Everyone seemed rather interested in you."

He tried to shoot Mr. Kelly a warning look, a 'back off the blonde' look that was usually reserved for one Captain Jack Harkness, but the other man acted as though he hadn't seen it and continued right along.