Whitechapel
CHAPTER SIX
The Whitechapel Police Station was beginning to come into vision as the Doctor and Rose drew nearer on the back of the Horse and Carriage they'd been on. It'd taken an hour, but then this wasn't the twenty first century, which is just what Rose needed to remind herself of as she looked at the streets she was surrounded in. She'd been to this era before, but it hadn't hit her then at just how different it was. Not really anyway, but then they had been busy attempting not to die in a cellar full of gaseous corpses.
"So," Rose said looking at the Doctor, "What's our cover story? I mean Ginger said last night that the Police had sent for an Inspector... but how do we know that they didn't already have someone in mind?"
"Welll..." The Doctor said, extending the lll's at the end in a way that always made Rose giggle. This Doctor truly was very different to the one she'd once known, and she found that she was even more attached to this version of him.
If that was remotely possible.
"We don't," The Doctor said and laughed softly, "But we can work around that, we've gotten out of worse scrapes that this haven't we?"
"I suppose we have yeah." Rose grinned, leaning her head on his shoulder as she watched some women walking past with what looked like some kind of baked products. "What about Ginger though?"
The Doctor hopped off the carriage as it came to a stop looking at her, "I suppose we'll deal with her as well." He said softly holding his hand out to her, "Her friends are dead, she's the only one left. We can't just run off somewhere..."
"Good job I wasn't planning on it then isn't it?" Rose said, chuckling softly as she took his offered hand and stepped down to the cobbled street.
"What do we tell her though? I mean it's hardly the nicest of ways to have gotten murdered is it?"
"The truth." The Doctor said looking at her, "What else can we tell her? It's hardly the nicest thing to hear... but she's their friend, and she deserves to know the truth. I mean I know I wouldn't like it if something had happened to you, and they lied to keep the details to a minimum."
"Well," Rose said looking at him, "Same for you, I'd hate to not know something..."
"No matter how painful it is?" The Doctor asked looking at her.
Rose nodded seriously meeting his eyes in hope that he'd realise she was being serious about this. "No matter how painful it might be... it's always better to know the truth... right?"
Rose hadn't realised that they'd wound up inside the Police Station as they're little conversation took place. It could have gone in so many directions, she wondered whether there was something behind what the Doctor was saying that she didn't quite understand.
"Doctor I..." she trailed off, meeting his eyes again. She didn't know what it was, but there was something deep in them. Something deep, confused, scared, happy, annoyed... every emotion seemed to flash through his eyes so quickly that if she'd had blinked then she wouldn't have noticed. His hand in hers tightened slightly; once again she didn't know why, but there was something about it that un nerved her ever so slightly. Rose automatically moved closer to him, her other hand coming to his, his face appeared to be getting closer to hers and she closed her eyes. Ready to take whatever it was that he was about to do, it was as if he was going to kiss her, but she soon found herself looking him in the eye again.
"Don't worry about it..." The Doctor said softly, rubbing his thumb along her cheek ever so slightly.
And then the door banged open.
The Doctor and Rose sprang apart.
"Ginger!" Rose said running over to the red head and embracing her. Although they'd known each other barely twenty four hours, they'd become quite close in the Pub last night. And it certainly hadn't been one of those awkward silences, and Rose didn't think that'd be the case now either.
"Do you know what happened?" Ginger said looking at her, "Oh Rose, I have such a 'orrible feelin' in me gut... tell me it's not true? Tell me my friends are alive and well, not as the rumours say... please..."
Rose could only stay quiet as she watched Ginger grow more and more hysterical. The Doctor squeezed her shoulder gently, and Rose found the comfort she needed from him to be able to say what she needed to.
"I'm so sorry Ginger... I really am." Rose said looking at him, "But the rumours are true...come on, lets get some tea and we'll explain what's going to happen now..."
The fire roared gently whilst Rose looked at Ginger in some kind of office whilst the Doctor was somewhere. She didn't quite know what he was doing, but he pulled the Steward who'd found one of the victims aside and appeared to be having a rather hushed conversation with him.
But she wasn't too worried, he'd fill her in on it later...wouldn't he?
"Here," Rose said sitting down next to Ginger gently and putting the cup of tea in her hand, "My Mum always made me one of these when I was upset. Works wonders I swear."
Ginger only smiled slightly before taking a sip of the drink, "I 'avent' 'ad tea in a long time Rose, not something' you tend to get when you're livin' on the streets or in Inns all the time."
"Don't you have a house?" Rose asked looking at her.
"I 'ave a room I'm rentin'..." Ginger replied looking at her, "Lodgin' with one of the girls."
"Anyone nice?" Rose asked smiling at her. Perhaps taking Gingers mind off her friends murders was going to be the best thing to do at the moment, once Rose had managed to calm Ginger down slightly, the conversation seemed to flow gently again.
Rose just hoped she could attempt to keep the conversation flowing long enough, and not make Ginger burst into tears again. But then again, if Rose were in her position, then she wouldn't be in the best of states either.
She dreaded to think if this sort of thing happened to the Doctor.
She'd be a complete wreck if she wound up being spilt up from him for whatever reason.
"I'm not sure really." Ginger said looking at her, "Only been there a couple of weeks, 'aven't really talked to 'em."
"Maybe you should, might take your mind off some things." Rose said smiling at her. "What about a boyfriend? Got one of those?"
"Well," Ginger giggled, "I 'aint seen much of 'im really. But... well he's better than some of the blokes you meet on the streets! That is...well..."
Rose gulped slightly looking at Ginger, she looked as if she was about to burst into tears again. Rose put her arm around her again looking at her.
"Well what?" Rose said looking at her.
"Well... unless the guy gets me as well." Ginger sniffed looking at Rose, "All my friends are dead. What if 'e comes for me one night as well?"
Rose stayed quiet for a moment as she held Ginger close to her, letting the tears work their course once again. "Ginger, I'm so sorry about your friends." Rose said softly looking at her, "But it's not going to happen to you okay?"
"How do you know that?" Ginger asked quietly, "It's the same guy Rose... I know it. 'Ow else would everyone be getting killed?"
"Look," Rose stopped for a moment before looking her new friend in the eye. "The Doctor... he's good at these things. We've solved so many things and you wouldn't even imagine, trust me. He'll sort this out, we both will. And you're not gonna die Ginger... I promise you, you're not gonna die..."
Rose hugged Ginger again as more tears began to flow from the woman's eyes. Rose looked over at the Doctor, who'd at some point given a cup of tea to the Steward and was currently leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he looked at her. The same look from earlier was passing over his features again; as if something was going to happen and he knew about it. That was the thing about the Doctor, he was a man, just a man who travelled all over the place. But he knew so much, he looked what mid thirties and yet he was so much older than that and so much wiser.
And sometimes, just sometimes, he knew something that Rose didn't. As if he was one step ahead of her, but constantly.
But just because he was one step ahead of her, didn't necessarily mean that the outcome of all of this was going to be good.
Because what Rose hadn't realised was that they were in London. In Whitechapel, in 1888, anyone who'd studied Victorian History would know that this was the time that Jack The Ripper was around.
That this was the year where five women were murdered brutally, all of them in the same part of London.
All of them friends.
Was it really safe to become friends with someone? Was having a best friend really going to keep you safe when all of this was going on?
Rose and The Doctor were best friends. Best friends that travelled the universe together. Best friends that travelled together, and just happened to be getting themselves into a murder mystery of five women that would have fatal consequences.
But which woman was next?