?????? ? Tenth Doctor x OC

Once they were outside, Rose bombarded the Doctor with more questions, clearly unhappy with how he had left the conversation.

"You were that close to Sarah Jane once. And now, you never even mention her. Why not?" There was a certain pain in her voice, a pain that conveyed her fear of losing the timelord. Losing their adventures and her access to all of space and time. Estelle understood, she felt it too, even after such a short time. He had given them everything, offered them everything they could ever wish to see, to experience, and the idea that he could just drop them off, never see them again, was gut wrenching.

She stood by Rose, refusing to look into The Doctor's eyes, but listening all the same. She didn't want to speak to Mickey or argue with Sarah Jane anymore, she was drained. Had no energy left to give. She wanted to go to bed.

"I don't age, I regenerate." came the timelords reply, using that funny word again. He continued without letting Rose speak further, "Humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to people that you..." he glanced over towards Estelle but she didn't notice, too stubborn to meet his eye.

"What Doctor?" Rose questioned, voice trembling, on the verge of tears.

"You and Estelle, you can spend the rest of your lives with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Timelords." The heartfelt moment ended as soon as he uttered that single word.

All of their eyes directed to the opposite rooftop where the headmaster and one of the bat things stood. Noticing them watching the bat swooped, getting as close to them as it could screeching the whole time, before looping up and becoming a silhouette against the beaming full moon.

"Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah Jane asked, fear thick through her voice. Previous arguments momentarily forgotten, the group huddled, The Doctor pulling Estelle and Rose behind him.

"It didn't even touch us, it just flew off. What's it done that for?" Rose's words were frantic, desperate for answers. No one spoke, just watched the Krillitane as it flew up above them, the timelord's eyes following its every move.

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It was the next day, and the next phase of The Doctors flimsy, rushed plan. He didn't really know what he was doing, none of them did. They were going with the flow, to be honest.

Getting out of Sarah Jane's car, the group mixed amongst the arriving students, all entering the school on the sound of the bell.

"Rose, Sarah, Estelle you go to the maths room, crack open those computers. I need to see the hardware inside," Reaching into his coat as he talked, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, handing it to Sarah Jane, "Here, you might need this." Roses face was priceless as her hand fell, expecting him to give it to her as usual. Estelle was in a marginally better mood that day. Considering they were not doing any actual teaching, The Doctor had informed her she could go back to wearing whatever she wanted and could reapply her beloved eyeliner. She felt more like herself.

He then told Mickey to essentially just stand outside, under the excuse of needing surveillance. Bit mean, Estelle thought. She had barely met Mickey and definitely hadn't spoken to him much, but she figured he was smarter than the timelord was giving him credit for. So, she shot him a sympathetic smile, earning a grateful one from the boy in return. Sarah then decided to make it worse for him by throwing him her car keys and suggesting he keep the K9 company. Mean.

"Leave the window open for him." The Doctor shouted over his shoulder.

"What? But he's tin!" Mickey replied.

"I didn't mean for him."

As mean as it was, Estelle and Rose couldnt contain the small giggles they let out. It was funny. The Doctor seemed to notice, shooting Estelle a relieved look she didn't notice. He had been waiting for that smile to be back on her face.