What It Is And Isn't

Chapter 3

The Doctor and Rose had plenty of time to think while they were waiting for Governor Gren to bring out whatever food he was preparing for them. 

 Rose kicked her feet under the booth and waited for something to happen, for someone to say something.It seemed that the Doctor was lost in thought as well, chewing at the inside of his cheek and looking right at her but looking like he wasn't really seeing her at all. Just staring blankly, his eyes pushing right through her to the wall beyond. She waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him back to reality. He blinked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's the Rake?" She asked abruptly, "I've never heard of it."

The Doctor sighed, acting very much as though this wasn't something that he was planning on telling her. But she had asked, and he was now obligated to do so. "A creature," He said slowly, "Close to your time, not quite. I'm not terribly surprised that you haven't heard of it," he scrubbed his hand over his cheek. "You don't believe in ghost stories, do you?"

Rose shook her head. "You know I don't. Is that what it is? A ghost story?"

 "No, more sinister than that," the Doctor said, leaning over and taking her hand. She wasn't really sure if it was support for him for saying what he was about to or for her for having to listen to it. He didn't speak for a few moments, and Rose waited patiently, knowing that when the floodgates opened words were going to tumble out of him at full force and she was not going to be able to stop it. "It's a legend, an urban one. Urban legend," he furrowed his brows, seemed to be calculating. "Yes. It's a creature that attacks humans and if they survive, causes great psychological trauma."

"Does it sound like an alien you know of?" Rose asked, "That might be a good place to start."

The Doctor shook his head weakly. "It's humanoid, but it crawls on all fours, knees bent up to the shoulders, and that's how it attacks you. Springs up. I've heard about it for eons, the legend grows and builds when all the others fade away. We're far past your time though, Rose, and it seems to have grown to the point where people think it's real."

 Rose bit her lip and thought about that for a moment before inhaling sharply. "Did you ever consider that maybe people think it's real because it is?" She asked. 

 The Doctor opened and closed his mouth before regarding her with a stern glare. "Now, you stop that. It's not real." 

"It's killing people."

"Something is killing people. And it's not a legend from the world wide web." 

"That you know of."

 "Rose." 

"I'm serious! You're on the internet too, you know." 

The Doctor blanched. "What?" 

Rose nodded. "Yeah. The first time I went you there was an article on the internet about you and I visited the guy that wrote it. He'd been studying you for a long time, he knew you were real, and I knew you were real, but do you think any other person in London, save Sarah Jane, would believe us?"

 He set his jaw. "I didn't know any of that."

 Rose furrowed her brows at him in confusion, "It wasn't really important."

He sniffed, and she could tell that, within that sniff, he was meaning to say, "well, I think otherwise" which made her roll her eyes and squeeze his hand. 

"Now, you listen to me," She said, "Just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean it's out there. I think Gren and everyone else who feels fear in this town, or in the city, is relevant. I think maybe this thing is just something you might be scared of," she softened her tone, "A creature from your own nightmares, Doctor?"