Untitled - TARDIS Big Bang

Rose smiled at her computer screen. Perhaps Jake was taking the whole thing better than she thought,
or perhaps he'd had some time to come to terms with everything.
prenticere: You're brilliant. My favorite tactical expert.
simmondsjw: i'm ur only tac ex love, but i'll take the complement.
Mr. Winslow forwarded her the documents necessary to register the Doctor as an alien national—
apparently Pete hadn't gotten around to those yet—but the weather was lovely and Rose decided this
was one occasion when she could just take the whole mess home with her. "Out early today, Ianto," she
said as she passed his desk. "I'll make it up from home, I promise."
"Of course, ma'am," Ianto said. "I'll forward all your calls to your mobile."
"Stop calling me ma'am," she said automatically, and then called over her shoulder, "And thanks for the
coffee!" She was rewarded by seeing Ianto, ever so slightly, blush.
~*~*~*~*~
She stopped off at a shop along the way—they still, improbably, had some food from the party left over,
but she also thought they probably ought to eat some things with fiber and vitamins in them, too—and
decided to walk the rest of the way. She called the flat along the way, but got no answer. Huh. The
Doctor would've have gone out, would he? She realized he didn't have a mobile yet, and resolved to get
that sorted out first thing, because if he'd gone out to buy himself a fancy car or something like that she
would really like to know about it. Though she wasn't sure if it would be to remind him that she didn't
have any parking near her building or to help him pick out the upholstery.
Her amusement went cold as soon as she entered the flat, however. A cheerful "Hello...?" died off in her
mouth, and her grip on her keys automatically shifted so they protruded between her knuckles, the
better to scratch with. The chairs at the table had been pushed around haphazardly, and one had been
placed in the center of the kitchen floor for no clear purpose. The refrigerator and freezer hung open,
merrily defrosting all over the floor, and their contents (along with most of the dishes Rose owned) were
strewn across the counters. The other furniture was subtly out of place as well, as if it had been moved
and then put back in a hurry, and the vacuum cleaner stood lonely and unplugged on top of the
television
It was the vacuum that convinced Rose she wasn't looking at a robbery—well, that, and the fact that all
her electronics were still in place. She shut the door behind her and called out, "Doctor? Are you here?"
From the direction of the linen cupboard, she heard a distinct thump.
The door of the cupboard hung partway open, blocking Rose's view of the inside, so she approached it
with caution. She didn't have a weapon except her keys, which weren't much of a weapon at all, so she
switched on the small LED torch that hung from her keyring and led with that. In a smooth motion, she
opened the cupboard door the rest of the way and aimed the light straight into the murky depths.
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