Smitten

"Brilliant!" cried the Doctor as he stepped out of the brightest blue police box anyone would ever see. It was raining and his companions trailed out of the box behind him.

"How, is this brilliant?" emphasized the incredulous redhead as her maybe-sorta-kinda boyfriend wrinkled his brow in confusion while trying to balance the bright green umbrella above their heads against the beating rain.

"It's…London," stated Rory.

Amy smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she agreed, "Exactly. So, Doctor, what's so 'brilliant' about London?"

The Doctor strolled unhurriedly to a nearby sidewalk, paying no attention to the puddles that littered the street. Memories of autons, an explosion and a young blond girl flashed through his mind. His hearts beat faster in a different way than when he faced down Angels and Daleks. He hadn't felt them beat that way in awhile, but he tried to ignore their rhythm.

"Well, Pond, lots of things look ordinary that really aren't. Not all that's gold doesn't glisten and all that," he smiled back at them, "besides, some of the best chips right around that corner." The Doctor walked ahead of them, rain dripping into his hair. It did nothing to ruin his steady stroll toward said corner.

Amy and Rory watched him go, both looking drenched and miserable despite the umbrella and coats they were wearing. Rory turned to look at his more-fickle-than-usual girlfriend.

"The Doctor…eats chips?" it seemed too ordinary to be attached to the man who traveled the stars.

"Yeah, well," paused Amy as she tugged on his coat to follow the Doctor, "he is alien."

xoxo

The Doctor's impromptu walk landed them in front of a greasy chip shop – a few patrons sitting by themselves occupied stand alone tables. Amy couldn't believe that, compared to what she'd seen, the Doctor would think this was brilliant. She figured it simply added to his strange character and left it at that.

Besides, alien or not – bloke-wise, greasy food was forever a staple in their diets.

Without saying a word, the Doctor strolled in as if he owned the place.

Nothing different there, thought Amy.

He went directly to the counter to order their chips so Amy led Rory to a nearby booth. She sat down and slid over to make room for him which he quickly made use of. She wanted to look in the Doctor's direction, but could feel her boyfriend's (she felt a small, tiny really, guilty feeling at the pit of her stomach) eyes on her. Thoughts streamed through her mind involving the kiss that had taken place between her and the Doctor.

Well, the one she planted on him. Rather…aggressively.

But, he didn't exactly throw me off at first, did he? she chuckled at the memory.

"What's so funny?"

She turned to look at Rory. Sweet, loyal Rory.

There was that guilt feeling pooling in her belly again.

"Nothing, nothing."

Before he could inquire further, which Amy just knew he'd do since he was doing that crinkly forehead thing he did when he was confused or extra pensive about something, the Doctor returned balancing 3 small steaming Styrofoam containers full of piping hot chips. His mouth was set at a pout.

"Wha-," she started before being (rudely) interrupted.

"They don't have them in newspaper," the Doctor whined, "they used to have them in newspaper."

Amy knew that he was answering her unspoken (interrupted) question, but it felt (and sounded) like he was talking more to himself than to her…uh, them.

The Doctor set down the containers and sunk into the seat across from them. He stared at the chips while Rory smothered his in vinegar and salt. Everything seemed very quiet around and between them. It unnerved her.

Amy took hold of the vinegar. Preferring them a lot less drowned, Amy sprinkled the liquid on her chips.

"Really Rory, I don't know how you can eat that, they're practically mush," she said it with a loving teasing tone that she was accustomed to using around him since they were kids.

Rory grinned at her, his smile shining with love and devotion, "Just the way I like them, you know that."

She smiled at him, getting lost in the brightness of his smile. Then, hastily, she remembered the Doctor. Amy looked towards him and was about to say something when the look on his face made her stop.

He was staring at Rory's chips like they were something from another world. Something else entirely. He had been raving about the chips but had yet to touch his own – preferring to stare almost wistfully at Rory's drowned ones.

"Doctor," Rory said, "are you all right?"

The words seemed to have broken whatever spell he'd been under. In its wake, however, was a different kind of look. If Amy didn't know any better, she'd call it…almost painful.

"Doctor?" she heard her voice quiver at the name.

"What? Oh, yes. Yes! I'm…I'm always all right," exuberance tried to find its way into his sentence, but was quickly lost.

Amy was about to argue with the Doctor when Rory's mumbling, due to his full mouth, derailed her thinking.

"What is it?" each word came out sounding annoyed. She tried to bite back the tone.

Rory rushed to swallow the lump of chips in his mouth. Wiping the grease off his lips with a napkin, he tried again, "I said, 'Think I'll get us a drink.'"

He reached to the back pocket of his jeans to his wallet when it suddenly slipped from his grasp. Amy heard it flop onto the dirty ceramic floor. She saw Rory begin to bend down when a voice…a young, girlish voice stopped him.

"I'll get that for ya' mate."

She was pretty. About 16 years old and covered in a bright pink top, purple zip-up and jeans. A bag the shade of a darker pink was slung across her chest. She radiated sunshine and youth. And something else.

She was also smiling. Brightly. The brightest smile Amy had ever seen.

And she was smiling down at Rory, handing him the wallet.

Amy felt a twinge of something funny in her chest. Her cheeks felt warm all of a sudden.

Rory was looking at the girl as if in a trance and he had yet to take back his wallet. Amy nudged his side hard with her elbow. That seemed to have brought him out of it.

"Uh, yes, tha-, thanks," he stuttered.

The girl placed her hands behind her back and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Amy heard a gaggle of girls waiting for her at the door of the chip shop. Why hadn't she noticed them before?

"Yea', that's all right," she kept on smiling that smile of hers.

Amy looked toward the Doctor, realizing that he had yet to interrupt the little exchange – something quite odd for him.

But if she hadn't been confused before, she was more than baffled when she saw the Doctor's face.

He was staring at the girl in a trance like Rory had been spun into, but it was different somehow. His eyes were shining, mouth agape and his hands, which were calmly placed on the tabletop before, were held rigidly against it.

"Doc-," she started, but was, again, interrupted.

"Shhh!" he suddenly snapped at her, his eyes flaring with something she had not seen before. Not ever. Amy, the girl who never obeyed, was instantly quiet.

The short interaction got the attention of the young blond who momentarily turned to look at the Doctor and Amy. Her smile dimmed, just a bit. Not as bright, but still sweet.

"'ello," she greeted politely.

"Uh, hi," Amy replied, confused by the entire situation and the reactions this girl was getting from her men.

She turned to look at the Doctor and saw that he couldn't really speak. His Adam's apple was bobbing up and down – a hint of an attempt at speaking. If Amy wasn't so (a) astonished and (b) a bit terrified at his reaction, she'd laugh and tease him.

Oh, but this was different and it scared her that she didn't know how or why it was different.

"Uh, don't mind him…he's a bit…off his game today really," she told her.

Rose looked at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow, and a smile of indifference. At Amy's explanation she turned to look at the redhead and smiled sympathetically before returning to Rory – who was still staring at her in wonder.

"My name's Rose," she said in a low voice, the smile back in full effect.

Pretty name, thought Amy….before she connected the dots.

She's flirting with Rory! her thoughts practically screamed at her. The twinge she felt before flourished into something a bit larger.

"H-hi," Rory coughed, his grip hard on his wallet, "I'm Rory."

Amy cleared her throat loudly and jabbed his side again with her elbow causing Rory to jump.

"And this is Amy! And the Do-"

"SPOILERS!" yelled the Doctor suddenly, causing the three young humans to stare at him like he'd grown another head.

He tugged at his bow tie and then ran his hand through his thick hair – clearly avoiding the blonde's eyesight.

Amy wanted to tell him that he didn't have to worry since the blonde's amber eyes were not even on him – they were completely on Rory.

"Right, so, be off then. Bye – Rory," Rose said before pressing her tongue against her teeth and whirling around to walk away.

She reached her friends and looked back to Rory as they giggled around her. Then they rushed outside into the rain, pulling their hoods to cover up.

Once they were gone from sight, Amy looked back to the Doctor and Rory. Rory was still staring at the door Rose had gone through and the Doctor was staring incredulously at Rory. Not just surprised, but with a twinge of…anger in the depths of his eyes. Amy realized that his grip had not loosened on the table.

"Who," she paused for effect, "was that?"

"That was Rose," said Rory - a dreamy quality in his voice.

Trying hard not to be offended, though at what she didn't know, she said, "Yes, know that, thanks – Doctor, who is she? Don't tell me you don't know her…I see the look on your face."

The Doctor tore his eyes from Rory to glance at Amy. Something in his eyes told her to shut up, but she never listened to the look before.