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Body Language

Chapter One: Scratches

Rose stood in front of the TARDIS doors. "Remember our deal, Doctor?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

He grinned at her and nodded, putting his finger over his mouth, and she acknowledged the beginning of the contest with a matching pose.

She turned around and opened the blue doors, stepping outside. It was really bright, and the dry grass crunched under her feet. She closed her eyes and whirled around, smelling the strong scent of flowers. The Doctor silently laughed at her, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

The Doctor had explained this planet to her before the contest began. Lixon, it was called, was a planet of free, domesticated wildlife. The Backyard Activists for Dogs', White Owls', and Leopards' Freedom, the union that also supported the guard dogs on that one memorable planet, had gotten a whole ton of money together to buy this planet. No civilized species were allowed to live on Lixon; it was a sanctuary for domesticated animals. Anything from abused animals to litters too numerous to fit in a house ended up here to live in peace.

Rose absolutely loved it.

A bush rustled as an animal stepped out towards them. It looked a lot like a dog, except for its missing nose, extra tail, and bat-like ears. When it saw them, its eyes lit up, its tongue flopped out of its mouth and it loped over to see them.

The Doctor stepped protectively close to Rose, knowing how unpredictable Barcelonian dogs can be. Rose knelt down, however, smiling at the dog and holding the back of her hand out, her fingers tucked in.

The dog licked it.

As she rubbed the dog behind an ear, Rose slipped the Doctor a look - an eyebrow curved high over an eye, with a smile that reached one cheek, reading See? I don't need your help.

The Doctor smiled as he looked down at her, stepping away. He closed his eyes and breathed in, the same as Rose did earlier, just without the twirling.

The bush rustled again, but this time the animal was much bigger. The dog looked towards it, perking up its huge ears. It heard something it didn't like, evidently, because it bolted in the opposite direction as if the bush had suddenly caught fire and grown fangs.

Instantly the Doctor stopped smiling, walking over to Rose and taking protective stance again, facing the bush. Rose dropped her smile as well, her eyes widening, as he removed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. He bit his tongue lightly, and instead of telling her to be careful, he shot her a warning glance.

There was something in her responding eyes that told him that she didn't need the warning.

Suddenly, something emerged from the bush. He was human, or at least humanoid. His skin was as pale as Jackie's best china, and he sniffed the air audibly as he looked from the Doctor to Rose with two bloodshot eyes.

Neither of them moved as they watched him, both ready to spring into running action at the first sign of trouble.

The Doctor sent a questioning glance to Rose, his mouth barely open, looking between her and the man. She pursed her lips as she sent a stern response, knowing what he wanted and saying no. His eyebrows met in the middle and he clenched his teeth, giving in, knowing what would happen if he lost the bet.

The man let out some kind of soft, animal sound as he inched his way closer to them. They didn't move, but tensed their muscles even more, the Doctor raising his sonic screwdriver and Rose bending her knees a little to make her takeoff stronger.

Suddenly, like a starter pistol, the man leaped toward Rose with his mouth open, bearing his sharp teeth. Both her and the Doctor sprung into a long, solid run. The man, missing his target, turned toward them and began to follow.

While they ran, Rose almost asked the Doctor why there was a human here but gritted her teeth. Instead, she tapped him on the shoulder so he would look over, and sent him a question, her eyebrows inching closer to the bridge of her nose and her eyes flitting from him to the closely following man. She tilted her head a little to give her question more meaning.

The corners of the Doctor's mouth turned down and his eyes widened a bit, his arms taking time off from moving back and forth uselessly while he ran to raise themselves in a shrug. After doing this, he glanced back at the man, who was gaining on them incredibly.

Patting Rose's shoulder, he pointed back at the Tardis and sent her a meaningful glance. She nodded in return, and suddenly both of them stopped, turned around, and began running in the opposite direction, towards their transportation.

The man hesitated, caught by surprise, but was back on their trail quickly. His arms reached out for Rose as he ran, and she noticed how sharp his nails were.

As soon as they arrived at the blue doors, the Doctor unlocked them and ran in. A loud growl made him turn around, and he saw that even though Rose made her way in, her empty jacket was caught in the hand of the pale man. She was trying to close the doors on him but his arm was still reaching for her through the gap, one of his fingers carrying the jacket through a ripped hole.

As he ran over, the Doctor was surprised how much this reminded him of when he first met Rose. He first tried to push the man's arm through the gap, not wanting to open the doors and let more of him in, and when that didn't work he pushed his sonic screwdriver through the gap above the man's arm, close to where his head should be, and nearly made the man's ears split in two. As he pulled out rapidly, the man's sharp nails pierced the Doctor's wrist.

He closed the doors as soon as he could, panting. Leaning on them, he looked over at Rose. He opened his mouth to say -

Rose put a finger to his lips, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head. When she removed it, the Doctor let out a breath of air, rolling his eyes and letting his body sag a little. The contest was still on.

The Doctor winced as Rose cleaned his scratches, and she smirked a little. He gave her an exasperated look, and she lifted an eyebrow - yes, this is necessary. When she was done, he rubbed his wrist, face scrunched up in annoyance.

She sent him a questioning look, and glanced at his wound. There was worry in her gaze.

He shook his head confidently. Nothing was going to happen to him, it was just a scratch.

As soon as she would let him, the Doctor hopped up from the infirmary table and sauntered toward the console room. Rose followed as he made his way toward the door.

Rose caught his attention and sent another questioning look, glancing at the door this time.

He gave her a look that clearly said well, what did you expect? and continued on his way.

She grinned and laughed quietly, following the Doctor back out the door.