Dancing Across Time (Book Two of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Interlude: Love and Monsters

He turned to do so when Jessie burst out of a wall, and the Doctor's eyes widened at the bucket she was carrying, and before he could warn her, she threw it all over the Hoix. "Wrong one!" he shouted at her as the Hoix roared even louder. "You made it worse!"

"You said blue!" she shouted, waving the bucket.

"I said not blue!" The Hoix shoved the young man off to the side, and Jessie shrieked, turning tail and running off. "Hold on!" the Doctor shouted, running after them.

For the next few seconds, he couldn't tell who was chasing who. It was all a jumble inside of the warehouse, but soon he saw Jessie grab a red bucket this time, and he gave her a quick nod as she took chase to the Hoix. He sighed, then skidded to a halt when he passed the man again. "Hold on," he said suspiciously, looking him over, sure he was familiar. "Don't I know you?"

The man just stared at him, and then Jessie ran out from another wall. "Done," she gasped.

The Doctor smiled at her. "Brilliant!"

They ran out for the TARDIS without another look behind them.

***

"Idiot!" Jessie shouted only a few hours later as they ran yet again, but this time from Trojans. "Why did you have to say how much you admired Achilles?!"

"I didn't know they were Trojans!" the Doctor protested, dodging another spear thrown at him.

"How could you miss the fact they were Trojans?"

"They didn't have the horse!"

Jessie ran inside the TARDIS, and the Doctor closed the door behind them. "OK, you are taking me to London right now so I can cool down."

The Doctor nodded, heading for the console. "Got it. Ice cream on me, then?"

"You still owe me for the chips we got after the end of the world."

The Doctor made a face. "I'll pay that up eventually." He flipped a lever. "Here we go!"

Jessie held onto the coral structures as the TARDIS jerked around, then fell silent a few seconds later. "Here we go!" the Doctor announced cheerfully. "London, England, June 2014!"

"You'd better have that right," Jessie warned him, grabbing her backpack and opening up the door to the TARDIS. She breathed in the smell of London - that part's right, at least - and she walked over to a newspaper stand, looking at the date. "June 17, 2014. Two weeks after the Hoix." She smiled at the Doctor as he walked over. "You got it right."

"Häagen-Dazs this way," the Doctor announced, taking her arm and dragging her off.

Jessie laughed and followed, checking her phone. "Häagen-Dazs, huh?"

"Of course!" The Doctor looked at her in shock. "Don't tell me you've never been to one?"

"I've been busy."

The Doctor shook his head. "This is mandatory. Before we do anything else, you are getting Häagen-Dazs."

Jessie laughed as he ran, dragging her with him. She saw the ice cream shop logo overhead, and the Doctor pulled her inside. "All right, you got me in here. What am I getting?"

The Doctor promptly walked up to the cashier. "One medium Belgium chocolate and one medium chocolate midnight cookies."

Jessie found a seat down outside and pulled out her tablet, flicking through recent SHIELD news. HYDRA agents are still being found was the first thing she saw, and frowning, she opened the file, and her jaw dropped when she saw who the most recent agent found was. "That bastard!" she sputtered.