Searching for the Doctor [attn: Rose] cont

Making her way back out of the office and toward the front door, Donna looked over her shoulder to make sure Rose was following. "Yeah, actually, I think I've seen one of those a few blocks up. Hope you don't mind walking. Sorry...I'm entirely useless today, it seems..." she said softly, voice trailing off as she opened the door.

Donna swept a hand out, gesturing Rose to go first so that she could lock up behind them.

"We might want to get off the stop before, though," Donna said, "and walk the rest of the way so no one sees where we're going. I'm fairly certain it's a restricted area, by now."

Rose shook her head as she walked past, stopping a few feet past the door. "Nah, I'd probably still be trying to find my way out of the building. Little walking never hurt- give us some practice for the running, yeah?" She added with a smile.

"Probably a good idea. We wouldn't want to draw any extra attention if we don't have to." If it was restricted, it was possible that the bus driver could've been told to keep track of anyone who got off at that stop.

Little walking never hurt- give us some practice for the running, yeah?"

Donna smiled at Rose as she joined her just off the front stoop and then started to walk down the street. "I like you, Rose," she said sincerely. "Your youth is practically contagious. No wonder he was so broken up about your leaving..." she added, thinking aloud. She gave Rose a small smile. "Let's get going."

She led the way to the nearest bus stop she could remember and looked up at the sky. "It's getting really dark, now...d'you suppose it's safe to use the bus this late?"

Rose followed along, quiet for the moment but smiling back. She couldn't help a hint of amusement at the idea that with what they'd both seen, she'd done, there was still reason to be wary of something as simple as a city at night. But there it was. She looked up at the sky for a moment, calculating.

"We should be okay I think. See how long it takes a bus to get here." Rose told her after a moment's thought.

Donna dropped down onto the empty bench at the stop and sighed. "You know, you'd think I'd be a little more hardened for what I saw...the Racnoss and all that, but..." her voice drifted off and she looked up at Rose. "The whole thing with Lance just made me even more afraid of trusting people," she admitted. It was the first time she'd said it out loud to anyone and she couldn't figure out why she felt like she should be telling Rose of all people, but there it was.

She looked down at her watch and then back up at Rose. "How often do these things come, anyway?" she asked.

Rose gave her a sympathetic smile, sitting down on the bench herself. "Hey, it's okay. Not like there's a set reaction. You've got a good reason."

She took a moment to glance up the street, as if a coming bus would save her answering the question. It didn't. "Depends. Every fifteen minutes at the earliest, or up to around every hour. Depends on the bus. They come a little less often when it gets late, but I don't think they'd have started that just yet. Seeing as we don't know when the last one came by..."

"We just have to wait and see," Donna finished Rose's sentence for her, frowning. "Yeah, I was sort of afraid of that. What to do in the meantime..." she thought aloud.

She wished Rose's phone would ring or the TARDIS would materialize in front of them...it'd make things much easier and less awkwardly silent, either way, though admittedly, she'd prefer the latter to occur if forced to choose.

"So...I never asked you," Donna said slowly, trying to think if that was a truth or lie...she couldn't remember if she'd asked out loud. "How did you manage to get back here? To this universe or whatever? I mean, do you have a teleporter or something?" She paused. "And what's it like over there? Same as here?"

"Something like that." Rose told her, taking a moment to think it through. "There was something we...found, probably belonged to something along the lines of a Time Agent in the other universe." She tried carefully to phrase it right. "Made something that had a sort of slingshot effect, shooting back to when the walls of the universes were sort of like swiss cheese, and crossing over then, and then shooting forward"

"That's how I understood the explanation anyway. As far as I could tell... It was just disapearing in one place and appearing in the other." She smiled sheepishly.

"As far as what it's like... It's pretty much the same. Some changes in technology and history and little differences. Like my Dad over there living and being successful, and my namesake being...a dog."

"As far as what it's like... It's pretty much the same. Some changes in technology and history and little differences. Like my Dad over there living and being successful, and my namesake being...a dog."

Donna frowned a bit at that. "Your father here...he died, then?" she found herself asking before she could stop herself. "Like...if I went to the other side - your side, now - would my father be alive there?" she asked, adding, "and do you think I exist at all?"

The screech of brakes and the rumble of a large engine caught her attention, then. Just up the street, the bus had stopped at a stop signal and was now coming toward them.

"'bout bloody time," she said softly.

"Yeah. I don't know, honestly. I didn't really look up people I knew over here to have any other comparisons. I could check, if I went back but..." Rose shrugged slightly. "I'm not sure how good and idea that'd be though. Really one of the most noticeable things are the zeppelins."

She stood up and read the destination listed off on the front of the bus, glancing back down at Donna. "That the right place then, or near enough?" She still hadn't told her exactly where they were going.

"Zepplins?" Donna asked, furrowing her brow slightly as she stood. "What...?"

She followed Rose's eyes to the list of destinations proceeding Rose's next question and nodded. "Yeah, that's about right. We can get off at the second to last stop and walk the rest of the way," she said. "Have you got money for the fare?" she asked, taking her wallet out and fishing for her own fare.

"Zeppelins, they're these airships. You've heard of the Hindenburg, right? Like that. They're all over the place." Rose rifled through her pockets one by one, somewhere she had gathered up, the cash she and her Mum'd had on them when they went through. That Rose'd insisted on saving 'in case', despite the fact that it'd been worthless over there. Which it might, she realized in hindsight, have been a better idea to hunt down before the bus was in sight.

"Got it, yeah. Leftovers." She proclaimed after she'd unearthed as much as she thought she'd need.

"Airships..." Donna repeated thoughtfully, trying to picture it. She couldn't. "Bet that's interestin' at least," she added with a smile.

Donna watched as Rose rifled through her pockets in search of cash and frowned a little. "Oi, you know what? I've got it," she offered, putting a hand on Rose's to get her full attention. "You've done enough just by coming with me and helping me out. I'll take care of the fare.' She smiled genuinely at Rose and then took her wallet out again, fishing out another fare's worth, holding it out to Rose.

"You've been the one doing most of it. I haven't really done much since I've gotten back over here." Rose objected, mentally adding that she hadn't done much before that, either. At least in so far as practicallity was concerned. She hesitated for a moment, but finally moved what she'd acquired back into a pocket, and smiled back at Donna, accepting the offered fare.

"But thanks." She'd reasoned if it all worked out, neither of them would be particularly worried about some busfare, and if it didn't she'd need it later.

The doors of the bus swung open and Donna looked over at Rose briefly, nodding and replying to her gratitude with a 'you're welcome' before starting up the steps and handing the money over to the bus driver. "Two," she said, feeling a bit foolish because she didn't know if she sounded like an idiot speaking the way one would when buying cinema tickets.

After the woman took Donna's money, Donna headed toward the back of the bus, instinctively, so as not to be heard by the few people still randomly placed in the other seats. She sat down and waited for Rose to join her. "You helped a lot more than you think you did, Rose," she said gently in reply to Rose's statement before boarding the bus.

It took a moment for Rose to join her at the back of the bus, but when she finally did she sat down. "Kay then. I'll take your word on that." She smiled slightly in response, though she still wasn't quite sure how she had. After a moment she thought for a subject to return to.

"The zeppelins... they were impressive to begin with but, eventually they're just sort of there. The novelty fades, and it's like seeing a plane drive by." She paused for a moment. "Though they sort of remind me of barrage balloons sometimes..." Another moment passed and she added on, thoughtfully. "In sort of a good way."

The bus pulled away from the stop and trundled down the streets of London unknowingly taking Rose and Donna to a place that Donna was fairly certain was completely off-limits to non-authorities.

"Yeah, I suppose anything would get old after seeing it for a while, huh?" Donna asked. "Do they replace cars or...are they just sort of there...?" Donna was curious about Rose's world, mainly because it was different than Donna's. What better time than now, when they had at least a twenty minute ride - if the bus didn't have to stop too many times - could there be to have Rose illuminate her to things she may or may never get to see with her own eyes?

"They're just sort of there. There're still cars and everything, and generally it tends to be the higher classes with them. They're a bit big for personal transit." Rose could understand the curiosity, even if her own interest in that universe had withered. The twentieth time you were informed that no, this historical event never occured, or this star never made it big, or these things were never made could really get on your nerves.

Especially when people ended up looking at you like an idiot for mentioning them. The Titanic's lack of sinking on its maiden voyage over there had gotten her a ton of looks after an 'unsinkable' joke. Turned out it was still in service over there, go figure.

"It sounds fascinating for a day trip," Donna joked. "Dunno if I'd want to stay there...be a bit weird, wouldn't it? Just small, insignificant things changing? Insignificant in the grand scheme, that is," she added quickly, remembering that Rose had said her father was alive on that side and to Rose, that was probably anything except insignificant. Donna could fully understand the feeling.

The bus was taking its sweet time, stopping every few blocks even when there was no one waiting at the corner. Donna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Be nice if we could hurry it along, yeah?" she muttered, annoyed.

"Alot of places are like that...just good for a day trip. Sometime's a day's even too long. It's weird though, definitely." She couldn't help agreeing. "But, things that're insignificant in the grand scale of things can have really big effects when they're changed." Rose hoped her voice didn't betray that she'd learned that the hard way, once.

"That'd be nice. Can't though, can we? Short of taking it over but that wouldn't be a very good idea." Rose joked, but glanced out a window herself, trying to hide some impatience.

"But, things that're insignificant in the grand scale of things can have really big effects when they're changed."

Donna looked back over at Rose. There was something in the younger woman's voice that made Donna want to ask her what sort of effects, but something in the back of Donna's mind told her that might not be a fantastic idea, so she bit her words back. "I suppose you're right," she said, instead.

"Taking over the bus wouldn't be such a great idea, no, but it would make the trip faster..." Donna replied lightly, smirking a little. "And alleviate the walking," she added with a laugh.

"Trust me." Rose told her, the last she planned to say on that particular topic. Maybe another time, if it was vital, if the topic came up and it was vital. Maybe.

"Alot less walking. It'd draw attention though." Rose pointed out. "They'd know where we were headed, and if the Huon Particles d- took too long to work, we'd be in some serious trouble." She laughed along, ruining the rather serious tone she'd tried for beforehand.

Donna smirked at Rose's attempt to be serious. "I suppose, yeah, it'd draw attention," she replied, laughing.

"We're getting there, though, at least," she said. After a moment of pause, Donna looked out the window again. "Anything on that phone, yet?" she asked hopefully.

Rose freed her phone from her pocket, pressing buttons as she looked at the screen. A few moments later though, she shook her head, sticking it back into her pocket. "Still nothing. Might be having a late night, or just didn't check her messages..."

She hoped it wasn't because Sarah Jane thought the call was faked. Though she realized there was a chance if that was the case that they'd still end up talking to her, but probably they'd start on more unpleasant terms.

"Bollocks...hopefully she'll call soon..." she said softly, feeling slightly crestfallen.

The bus stopped again and Donna stood. "Let's just get off here," she suggested. "We'll be able to walk the rest of it faster than this bloody bus will be able to drive it," she added.