A/N: Hello all! I have no idea what made me want to start this story now. I'm actually in the middle of working on three other stories. *Sighs* So, this is my first AU and it's one I've wanted to write for a long time now. I really hope you guys like it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related. That goes to the BBC. *A few lines in this story may be borrowed from certain episodes of Doctor Who. Credit for those lines belong to their respective writers.*

To say Rose Tyler was exhausted was an understatement. In fact, she couldn't remember a time when she had ever been more tired. Working double shifts every day will do that to a girl though. She (for the hundredth time that day) cursed Jimmy Stone for leaving her in the position he did. Bloody bastard. She really needed to find a second job. Something that paid her better than Henricks Department Store would be nice. Although how she was supposed to find anything decent with no A-levels to her name... Ugh. Why did she have to be so stupid? Why couldn't she have just stayed in school? No. One bat of that damn rocker's eyelashes and she was done for. Mickey warned her. Her mother warned her. But did she listen? Nope! Now here she was, nineteen years old and still drowning in debt and living with her mum on a counsel estate.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally able to clock out for the night, although grimaced when she realised she had already missed the bus and would have to walk home. That or pay for a cab, which, financially, was not an option at the moment.

Walking out the double doors of the department store, Rose was shocked to find herself in the middle of a mob scene. What the hell!? she thought to herself. She shivered when she noticed that everyone around her was dressed up like the plastic mannequins Henricks used to display the new arrivals. She was pretty confused as to what the purpose of that would be until it dawned on her. Protesters. She saw the signs they were raising in the air telling the fine folks of London not give any store that used plastic mannequins for display, their business.

"Excuse me," Rose said politely, just trying to get past the group. "Seriously, I just want to get by."

No one was moving. If anything, they were surrounding her more and pushing her towards the wall of the building. One of the dressed up protesters ripped Rose's name badge off her shirt.

"Oi! Do you mind?" she shouted at them and began to reach for her mobile. "If this is some sort of sick joke, it's not funny! I'm going to call the police!"

Suddenly there was a hand in her's. A man, not dressed like the others, appeared next to her. "Run," he said.

And she did.

Dr. John Noble liked to walk around London at night. Especially after a rough shift at the hospital. He looked up at the night sky, wistfully wishing he could see the stars better. Perhaps it was time to take a trip somewhere. Somewhere where the stars shone brightly. It might be nice to travel again. He hadn't actually gone anywhere since... Well, it's been a long time. Donna thought he was barmy for strolling around at night, calling him "spaceman" when he told her it was because he liked to look at the night sky. "God, you sound just like Gramps," she would tell him lovingly. "Seriously though," she would continue. "You need sleep."

He didn't really though. He had always been somewhat of an insomniac and got used to running on little sleep. It had been that way ever since his days at the Academy. And it wasn't like he had anyone to get home to. Not anymore. So why shouldn't he be allowed to take walks whenever he wanted? These were the thoughts running through John's head when he turned the corner and saw a group of protesters surround a young woman.

"Oi! Do you mind?" he heard her yell.

Never one to be able to walk away from a damsel in distress, John pushed his way through the group and found her hand as she threatened to call the police on the group around her. He squeezed her hand gently and gave her one command.

"Run."

And she did.

Rose wasn't sure why she was still following this man, but she couldn't help it. He was a total stranger and could be a complete psychopath for all she knew, but, for some reason, she completely trusted him.

Finally he slowed their jog to a halt and let her catch her breath. "You alright?" he asked kindly.

"Yeah. Fine," she answered. "Thanks for that."

"No problem. Do you know what that was all about?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Must be a student project or something."

He crossed his arms and observed her. "What makes you think that?"

"Cause to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students," Rose rationalised.

"That makes sense. Well done!" He grinned.

Rose beamed under his praise. For some reason his approval meant the world. She took a moment to look at her savior. Tall with short, brownish hair and he was wearing a dark leather jacket over some hospital scrubs.

"Well then," he said, breaking her observation. "It's pretty late. You should be heading home." He turned from her and whistled for a cab. Amazingly, one pulled up immediately. Knowing she had nothing on her to pay the driver, Rose turned and began walking away. "Where are you going?" he called out.

"Walking home," she told him shyly.

"Will that involve you having to walk past the lot back there again?"

"Probably. But I'll just slip around the building. Doubt they'll even notice me."

"Oh no," he told her. Come on. You're taking the cab."

She blushed in embarrassment. "I can't. I don't have anything on me to pay."

He gave her a small grin. "It's already taken care of."

Rose walked back towards him. "And what about you? We gonna share?"

"Nah! We're just a few minutes from my place. I'm going to walk. You just tell the driver where to take you and he'll take care of everything." With that John began to walk away.

"Wait!" she cried out before he could get too far. "I never asked... Who are you?"

He lowered his head for a moment and took a deep breath. He looked back up at her and answered, "I'm a doctor. That's all you need to know."

She frowned. That had not been the answer she expected. "That's all your gonna tell me?"

He nodded and then asked, "What's your name?"

"Rose."

"Nice to meet you, Rose."

John smiled as the girl spilled her theory about the protesters being students. Oh, she showed promise. If he was younger, he would have definitely found himself smitten with this girl. He probably would have even asked for her number and then somehow convinced her to be his assistant when travelling. But he didn't do that anymore. He couldn't.

He saw her embarrassment as she admitted that she couldn't pay for the cab, and felt his heart break a little.

He felt his a flutter in his chest when she asked if they were going to share. And, oh, he wanted to. But, for that reason alone, he knew he couldn't.

"Wait!" he heard he call out. "I never asked... Who are you?"

He wanted to tell her. He wanted to say Dr. John Noble Smith. He wanted to tell her that he worked at Royal Hope Hospital and to come and see him sometime. But that would be wrong. She was so young and so full of life. And he felt so old and broken. So he gave her a simple answer.

"I'm a doctor. That's all you need to know."

"That's all your gonna tell me?"

John nodded and then asked, "What's your name?"

"Rose," she answered sweetly.

"Nice to meet you, Rose."

Coming Soon: Five years later.

Reviews? xoxo