Doctor Who_ Winner Takes All - Jacqueline Rayner [71]
The door opened. A young lad poked his head out – and saw Daisy.
‘Bobbles!’ she screamed. ‘Oh, my darling, my darling!’
The lad put up with her massive embrace with fairly bad grace. ‘Mum,’ he said, ‘my name is Robert.’
Then the Doctor appeared, still the same as ever, grinning away. ‘Rescue party!’ he said.
He turned to Daisy, and seemed to be checking her out. Rose coughed, pointedly.
‘Is this your mum then?’ he said to Robert. ‘Funny, that. She’s not really how I imagined her from your description…’
Robert shrugged and made a face.
‘Hello,’ said the Doctor to Daisy, holding out a hand. ‘I’m the Doctor.’ She grabbed at his hand with both of hers, thanks pouring out of her mouth. It took a while for the Doctor to extricate himself. Then he turned to Rose. ‘There you are then. All right?’
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I’m all right.’
They went into the TARDIS.
* * *
I couldn’t have done it without you, Robert. You really are special. You really are a Chosen One. Some might even call you a hero.
Thanks, Doctor. But it was nothing.
Oh, Robert. You were wonderful. You saved my life, truly you did. Doctor…
Yes, Rose?
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
I think I am, Rose. Robert – would you do us the very great honour of staying with us? Travelling round the universe with us? Doing good and having fun. That’s what we do. That’s what the three of us will do.
You mean it? Really? Me, travel with you? With you and Rose? Being the hero, being the special one? Of course I…
But there’s your mum, now. Look how upset she was. And she’d know all about it. She might even want to come with you. You can’t take your mum on an adventure. That’s not how it works, that’s not right.
And the Doctor won’t ask you. And you can’t ask him, because you couldn’t bear it if he said no. You’d be so mortified, and ‘mortified’ does actually really mean ‘killed’ and you would have to kill yourself. And there’s only the two of you, you and your mum. And you couldn’t really leave her on her own. Not really.
* * *
Now the four of them were on their way back to Earth. Rose, the wonderful girl, seemed a bit quiet. He’d imagined her more happy, more bouncy. But then maybe she was, normally. Holding his breath, not quite believing what he was doing, he went over to her.
‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I’m Robert.’ Stupid, stupid! She knew that already!
‘Hello, Robert,’ she said, smiling and making his heart jump up and down like a yo‐yo.
‘Are you… are you all right?’ he asked her.
She waved a hand. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. The Doctor’s got rid of all that stuff from inside me, all the bits that went inside my nerves.’
There was silence. Robert desperately tried to think of something to say, something witty and charming, something to show that he was perfectly at home in her company and perhaps they could be friends…
He still hadn’t thought of anything when Rose spoke again. ‘Well, maybe I’m not fine. You – you had one of those things stuck on your head, didn’t you?’
Robert told her that yes, he had. But not one that had been activated. Not one that had made him do things.
‘It was horrible,’ she said. ‘Not being in control. Makes you think, though. Makes you wonder if you’re going through life like that, anyway.’
Robert gaped. ‘But you’re going round the universe saving it!’
She shrugged. ‘Yeah, right. But I’m only Robin. And I don’t mean I have a thing for tights and underwear on the outside.’
Robert tried not to think of Rose’s underwear. But he remembered what the Doctor had said when he’d suggested the same thing.
‘Actually, I’m not even Robin,’ said Rose. ‘I’m more Lois Lane. He –’ she nodded at the Doctor, who was busy at the console – ‘gets to be the superhero. I get to be rescued.’
‘That’s what you think?’ asked Robert.
‘It’s what I know,’ she replied.
Robert grinned. ‘Funny that he doesn’t know it,’ he said.
Rose’s mouth fell open. ‘He’s been talking about me?’
‘Might’ve,’ said Robert, hardly daring to believe he was actually