tampered | Log; Complete

Log; Complete

When; Wednesday morning to avoid curse shenanigans.
Rating; PG-13 to Adult depending on conversation
Characters; Rose Tyler

sheisstilllost and Romana

lady_wandering
Summary; Two former companions to the Doctor sit down to have some coffee and tea and chat.
Log;

Romana had arrived at the cafe early so as to avoid any crowds. It had been a very long month and her nerves were getting a bit frayed at the edges from all the activity. For someone who considered herself to be reserved, the month's curses were showing her sides of herself she didn't know existed, and furthermore, wasn't sure she liked. Releived that the day seemed to be curse-free so far, she hoped it would stay that way so she wouldn't have to worry about embarrassing herself further.

Idly stirring her coffee as she waited, Romana considered the woman she was meeting. The Doctor hadn't told her much about Rose Tyler, but what he had told her was promising. Bright, quick-witted, and a pleasure to be around. Her reputation had certainly held up after their first few encounters, but something had happened between the Doctor and his friend recently. Something that had wounded them both. After some digging, Romana finally got the Doctor to admit to having an argument with the young human. It had sounded serious, and Romana wondered if perhaps her new friend's troubles were more serious than her own.

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Making her way towards their meeting destination, the former time travelling companion walked calmly seemingly in no rush with her hands buried in her slack pockets. She was going to be meeting a former companion and Time Lady no less and while it certainly wasn’t the first time she was meeting with someone from the Doctor’s past, it was something different and new since she was of course alien like him.

She was trying so hard not to think about the current situation with the Doctor. It was wrenching, really. She had half expected him to actually go after her and explain, not just let her be with her tears. In the past he would’ve done so but now it seemed like he had changed. Reinette had probably changed him. Not wanting to think on that anymore, she focused on the building up ahead.

It didn’t take her long to spot the Time Lady walking towards the table with a smile and pushing any and all Doctor thoughts away. "Hello," she said with a smile pulling out a seat and sitting. "Hope I’m not too late. I’m not late, right?"

"You're right on time, Rose, I'm glad you could make it."

Romana returned Rose's smile, thin though it seemed, and waved to the nearby server.

"They have an excellent selection of teas and coffees here, as well as a number of breakfast items if you're hungry. Would you like something?"

"Good then," the younger woman replied with a smile. At least she hadn't been late though that had been far from her mind really.

Giving her words some thought, she instantly knew what she wanted. "Think I'll go for a cuppa." Tea was always good with her and she wasn't really all that hungry to begin with but that would do.

She glanced at the waiter who was already at their table with notepad in hand asking Rose what she wanted. "Just tea, thanks." she informed him before the server looked at Romana asking her if her coffee was alright and if she wanted anything else.

Romana waved off the server with a smile and turned her gaze to Rose. It was obvious to see the young woman was unsettled, but Romana didn't want to pry - if anyone could understand the value of privacy it was Romana, but still...

"You look almost as tired as I feel. It's been a long month, hasn't it? And you only here for, how long now?"

"A couple of weeks so far," she responded guessing of course since she hadn't really been keeping tabs. Too busy wandering around and figuring some things out when there wasn't curses. "Is it that obvious?" She gave the woman a half of a smile. She was slipping wasn't she? "It's just been a hell of a week." And it wasn't even over.

"So, how'd that thing work out with your boss?" she asked in an attempt to change the topic.

Romana was willing to let Rose guide the conversation for awhile, after all she was the only person other who knew most, if not all of the situation and a fresh, non-Doctor perspective might do her some good.

"It's...complicated. He acts like he has something to make up to me, almost as if he feels like he took advantage of me - which he didn't, mind you, but still." Romana took a sip of coffee as she decided to phrase the next part. "I fear it's compounded by the fact he thinks I don't remember most of it - that I'm upset because I don't know what I did."

Everything was always complicated wasn't it? But at least from she could figure out of the situation so far things didn't like they were going that bad for her.

"Well," she began. "It's a curse. So of course he's gonna feel guilty. Suppose you're not used to deal with us humans like that, yeah? You should probably just let him make it up to you and just see where it goes." she suggested.

"Hmmmm." Romana was rather curious, she had to admit, but still... "Would that even be appropriate? 'Seeing where it goes' with someone you work for? I'd always heard it was bad form to mix those sorts of things."

She really wanted to hear Rose's opinion. Despite what the Doctor said about love and hope and excitement, Romana wasn't convinced that even considering whatever it was she was considering would be appropriate. Even with his hundreds of years' experience there were still improprieties he just DIDN'T understand.

Rose's human advise might end up being the only she could trust.

Rose had seen her fair share of office romances back in her parallel universe among some of her co-workers and knew that in some cases it could be awkward if it came to the worst of the worst but some things were worth taking the risk for and who knew what would happen. Maybe if it didn't work out, they could still be friends like her and Mickey. Though it was really another story with them.

The server stopped by the table again, setting the mug of tea down by Rose. She nodded her thanks and he vanished again to another table.

"It can be bad, but not always. Sometimes it's interesting and you can remain friends if it started out well and you left on good terms," she said reaching for her mug and taking a sip. "Not that it's going to go bad for you but you know you just have to give it a chance. Just close your eyes and fall." She took another sip before going on. "You really fancy him, yeah?"

"...I don't know. Had we gotten to know each other during what I would imagine would be normal circumstances I suppose I'd have a better idea what I felt. Such as it is, it's all a rush and a blur."

Romana not so subtly looked at Rose. "But I suppose you'd know all about relationships forged of rushed circumstances, wouldn't you?"

"A thing or two, yeah," she admitted setting down the mug and shifting a bit in her chair.

"But you know..." Her voice trailed off as she thought for a moment recalling what Sarah Jane had said once. "Just try it and who knows." She couldn't believe she was giving this sort of advice of all things. "Just accept whatever he's gonna give you and just see where that leads." It was probably going to be something simple or she imagined not really knowing the bloke.

"Perhaps I may, he's sending me flowers at any rate, I suppose that's a start."

Romana studied Rose for a few moments, occasionally sipping at her drink. "Do you mind if I'm a bit forward?"

"Oh flowers that's lovely." she said with a bit of a grin before getting back into serious and curious mode.

She could take a guess at what was coming. "Um, sure go ahead."

"He told me you argued, he even told me what it was about. I'm terribly sorry you had to find out like that - it must have been...a shock. Not always the most tactful, is he?"

Romana watched Rose carefully, trying to make sure she didn't overstep any boundaries with the hurt woman.

"Did he?" Her eyebrow shot up. She hadn't really expected for him to talk then again...She didn't really know him now did she? Or at least as well as she thought she did. She glanced down at the table sadly, pushing some of her hair back. "It's fine. Had to find out sooner or later, yeah?" she said trying not to let it bother her though it did heavily on the inside.

She firmly believed he never would've told her otherwise, if she hadn't stumbled upon things like she had.

"Sooner or later, yes, but from him and upfront, not through...not by any other means." Romana considered Rose's downcast expression for a moment. "He certainly owed you that."

Romana took another drink and guessed at Rose's apparent discomfort. "He wasn't gossiping behind your back, Rose. I more or less made him tell me what was bothering you so. I was worried abut you. I don't have too many people I'd call friends here and I dislike seeing the few I have upset."

"I really don't think he would've told me," she retorted though she did agree with Romana's statement that he had owed her that much. If only he had found the time to tell her. She had been there for awhile already. What had been keeping him?

Gripping the mug, the young woman brought again to her lips to sip before lowering it just slightly. "Oh, I wasn't implying that." She gave the woman a nod. "It's hard to get him to admit to things, yeah?" A small sad smile played on her lips and she shook her head.

"I'm not gonna say that it doesn't hurt but we were never really together like that. Suppose, I just got it wrong. Silly daft blonde me. But, um, thank you." She appreciated the Time Lady's concern since she didn't have many mates in the City except for Mickey, really.

"He would have told you, Rose. It would have hurt him, but he would have told you...in his own time. Of course you might have had to push him to it, he doesn't like...giving bad news."

Romana looked down into her cup, remembering how the Doctor had tried to put off telling her about Gallifrey, how she'd had to remind him that there was something he was supposed to tell her. It wasn't the most pleasant of memories, but there were certain parallels.

She mentally shook herself off. "I'd hardly call a woman who stood toe to toe with Daleks silly or daft. You seem quite accomplished to me."

"Maybe." She mimicked the other woman's actions staring down into her own mug. She'd never really know now would she? "Unless it's too late. Really last minute." Her mind drifted briefly to Bad Wolf Bay. So much sadness that day. So much loss. But this was a different sort.

"Yeah, well, that was a bit scary at first." she admitted her gaze still fixed on the remaining tea in her mug which by now wasn't much. "I traveled to different dimensions too you know? Before this place. There's so many different versions of Earth out there."

"I can imagine, the practical physics alone beg the existence of a number of..." Romana stopped herself. She wasn't here to talk physics, that she could to at work with...other people. She was here to hear about his woman the Doctor was so worried about.

"Sorry, I'll go on all day if I start now. What kinds of Earths did you see?"

For some reason Rose found herself laughing for a second or so at the other woman's words. "I'm sure that you can." And she really wouldn't mind it. Rose loved to listen most times. Even if she wouldn't probably understand it all. "And it's fine. Really." She could go on and on about the dimensions as well.

"Well there was this one Earth that had two moons. I mean two moons. It was nutters!" she said with a grin, keeping her mind off the terrible situation. "Didn't really stay long there since there's a limit." The mug went back on the table and her shoulders relaxed. "There's about..." She started to count it off in her head before continuing, "32, so far that we cataloged back home. The last one I visited still had stars for a bit. And then we had to fix that."

Romana was puzzled. "Still had stars? Were they going somewhere? And how, precisely, does one fix that?"

"Yeah, they were going out in lots of worlds. It starts slowly at first and then well--" She paused for a moment a frown edging on her lips and she shook an oncoming thought away. "Darkness. We really don't know what's causin' it." she informed. It was still all a mystery. "In that one world I visited it was tricky. I had to get Donna to turn left." And that had seemed to do the trick there.

"I've met Donna, she's..." Romana wasn't quite sure how to finish that sentence. Donna was a bit of an oddity to her, memory-wipe nonwithstanding.

But there had been something else in Rose's expression, something she couldn't identify. Something that worried her a bit.

"Rose, you are alright, aren't you?"

"Made quite the impression on you, yeah? She's really brilliant." she said and then frowned. It bothered her that the woman couldn't really remember and then the Doctor's warnings about keeping away. Well she wasn't going to do that anymore now was she? "It's just that whole memory wipe thing. But maybe she'll remember someday." She wasn't sure if Romana knew or not.

Rose's gaze fell back on the table sadly. She could lie sure. It was simple enough. But she also knew that keeping things inside for too long had certain results from past experiences. "Not really alright." Maybe in the coming weeks and months. Just maybe. "No." But she didn't really want to just burden the Time Lady like that.

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