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Current Location: Deck 10; Section 1: Ten Forward

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The Doctor is at a table in Ten Forward, idly staring at a chip on the end of his fork.

Days keep passing here without anything changing. That room. The Tardis. This situation. The unchanging answers and non-answers to the ever growing pile of questions, and temporal captives.

It's not even that he's specifically hungry, as he twists the fork absently between his finger and thumb, turning the chip in midair. The Enterprise is a stunning ship, but even a facsimile of a chip that Rose was impressed tasted just like home still tastes like a brand new creation of something that was never a potato to him.

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The man at the table intrigued Henry. And despite everything else going on around him, he watched him incessantly instead. He was staring at that chip as if it was going to come alive and eat him rather than the other way around. Had Henry felt braver, he would have possibly said something to the man. Some quip like he would his father. It's probably edible, you know? or They're not usually poisonous here.

But no, Henry just stared until he got caught and then found himself another target for his notes.

Edited 2014-07-13 00:46 (UTC)

The Doctor is absolutely more aware of his surroundings, and the people in it, than he ever lets on. Even if he does let the staring go on for a good while first. It's not new. Not in this room. Not with these people. Who were still taking every bit of the situation, the ship, the crew, and each other in with multifaceted array of emotions and reactions.

The same way he's not surprised when the boy looks away, incredibly fast, when he does finally look over.

Henry hadn't want to get caught staring so he'd looked away from the man once he'd been seen, but he had managed to get quite a few notes before he did so. He moved onto a woman and did the same before moving onto someone else. But the man still interested him and every so often, he would go back to staring at him and wondering if he was going to eat that chip or just waste the food.

There was something different, Henry could almost sense it, about the man. He wasn't sure if it was just living with Rumplestiltskin for his entire life or if this place held people similar, but he wished he had the courage to go over there and talk to him. Maybe he'd come to Henry if he stared enough?

He's a precocious little boy, isn't it? Dedicated to his study. And his notes. The scritch of his writing implement, and pages turning slowly, quietly. But, also, dedicated to trying not to get caught. Or to not getting himself too much attention. Even though he was sitting over there, ringing like a beacon asking for it. Staring straight through the people around him.

"If you'd like the chips, you can have them." It's an offer, with a slide of a glance. Slow this time. Considering.

"They're good." Good enough. Good enough for Rose. He's just preoccupied. With the Holes in Time and Space.

Since he had been concentrating on another subject, Henry almost jumped when the man spoke. He quickly turned and looked a little sheepish, shaking his head because he wasn't exactly hungry. But at least they'd started a dialogue between them, which was something he would reciprocate.

"N-No thank you, mister." He was still very wary but there was no reason not to be polite, so he did his best to give a smile as well as the words.

"Your sure?" The Doctor grinned, foolish and bright in contrast with the young man's seriousness.

"Rose -- my friend, who just left, said they taste just like the best chips in London."

"Not hungry." He'd had his snacks on the coach to Boston and he still had some left in his bag. He wasn't sure he wanted to trust the food here anyway.

"You're from London then?" He knew where that was, having studied his own geography after spending so long learning the same thing in the cursed school.

"Have been." The Doctor grinned. "Once or twice."

He did love the place. He had gotten stuck there several times. "But not in a good while now."

"Well." He hedged, with a zanny grin. "I did come just from there, before here, too. Pitstop really. Christmas."

He was busy dying and not dying, while aliens were trying to take over London again. Same old. Great place. London.

Edited 2014-07-22 05:15 (UTC)

"So where are you really from?" Henry gave a small smirk at that. He felt clever working that out.

"Christmas? It was October when I left." But he shrugged. They'd be thrown into the future, why not from different months?

"Everywhere," The Doctor said easily, before bobbling is head a little consider. "And nowhere."

It might sound like a brushoff but it was as true as true could be, too. Gallifrey was no more. There was nowhere he was from now. Nowhere he'd been from for centuries now. And even then, he'd spent endless centuries before that being once from it, but hardly ever on or near it or even claiming it more than in title. Yet it was still a deep wound to touch.

It's easy for him to roll right on further without stopping, when the boy was commenting on the details not matching up. When they were of the smallest one The Doctor spent staring at not matching up. "That's probably the parallel universe, and space and time pulling part. Very few people here are from the same place or time."

Henry ignored the brush off about his origins. He didn't want to go into his own so why should he push others into it? But the man did seem very knowledgeable about the situation, so he moved a little closer.

"You appear to know a lot about this. What's your name?"

"I happen to do a lot things likes this," The Doctor replied, broad and easy, with a nod.

It was what he spent his time doing, what he ended doing, and what he chased down. It wasn't singular. There were any number of miraculously things he witnessed just as often, maybe even more often, but they both stood in relief from each other. Chaos and Kindness, the universe gave it with both hands.

"The Doctor." Who picked up a chip, without looking away. "And you? What's yours, then? Something illustrious to go along with all your curiosity? "

Henry studied him for a moment. "Doctor what?" Because that wasn't a name, it was a profession.

"I'm Henry. Henry Gold. Nice to meet you." And he held out his hand to shake.

"Just The Doctor." There's a broad, cheeky grin to go with it.

"And you. Very nice to meet you, too, Henry Gold."

"But you have to have a name. Everyone has a name. Your parents couldn't have just decided Yup, we're calling this one The Doctor when you were born." Well, they could have but that wouldn't have gotten Henry anywhere so he neglected to inform the man he believed it.

"Ah, but it is." He said, grinning, watching the wheels in the little boy's head turn. His very child-like attempts at manipulation written across his face like a clear code. "It's what we do. My people. We choose our own names. It becomes everything." Beat. "Nearly everything. Been this way for almost all of my time."

Which was true. As true as their being another name, no one could know or hear.

He'd chosen this. He's made the promise. Made it enough to know what it was to break it and keep it.

The promise, and this name, that the universe whispers on billions of lips. That meant him, and the storm, and eternity.

"You were aware enough of the world when you were born to choose your own name?" Even after everything that has happened in Henry's life, and before it, he can't believe that.

"You might fool other's with that story. But I know better."

"Of course, I was. Everyone is." Ten said back, easy and fast, dauntless amusement and utter honest.

Even a little pity for the kid. But only barely. It wasn't as though it was within his realm to understand. Human. Child. Both totally had a hampering effect. "It wasn't the same kind of name, sure. But they never are. This one was a little beyond that one. More informed."

Like you'd have to be at that point. Once you've seen through the fabric.

"But what about you, hey?" Ten cocked his head. "Aren't you a bit young for judgmental nomenclature relativism?"

Henry cocked his head at the large words. He was clever yes but he didn't know everything.

"No?" He didn't think he was a bit young for anything.

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