Second Chances
Pairing: Doctor x Rose
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Humor
Summary: He was a man who gave no second chances. Well, the universe decides to be kind and gives him one. And his lady love.
It wasn't that long into the future. Just about a decade later. In the year 2015, there was a man. Well, not really a man. A teenager, perhaps? Or a young man for the sake of formality.
In the year 2015, there was a young man. This young man was completely normal, lived in Cardiff, and went to high school. He was insanely smart though. 'Nothing special but his brain' they'd say about him . Nothing but his brain and his dreams. Though no one knew about the dreams.
His dreams were extraordinary. He dreamed of his blue box that could travel through space and time. He had wonderful adventures with wonderful companions. He even had a few different faces, thirteen to be exact.
He was an old man with a cane, a granddaughter and a stolen spaceship.
He was a man with black hair and a seemingly permanent frown.
He was a man with gray hair and a bow tie who worked for UNIT.
He was a man with a long wacky scarf and an eccentric attitude.
He was a man with a stick of celery pinned to his suit and an insane love for cricket.
He was a man with a rainbow coat and umbrella.
He was a man with a vest filled with question marks.
He was a man with a velvet coat.
He was a man, all black and leather and in mourning with trophy ears and big nose.
He was a man with a pinstriped suit, trench coat, plimsolls and quite a gob. This was him. What he looked like, how he acted, same likes, dislikes and everything. This man was him.
He was a married man in a tweed jacket and thought bow ties were cool.
He was a man who couldn't stop eating the pears his tenth self loathed.
And then he was a ginger man.
He wasn't sure how he knew but he was sure that was the correct order of his faces. He wasn't sure how he knew but he was sure that they should be figments of his imagination... but they don't feel like it.
The one thing or person very prominent in his dreams was a blond girl with a cheeky smile. Her name was Rose and he was just certain the Doctor loved her.
So all in all, he was a very normal bloke living in Cardiff with a family, baby pictures and everything proving his existence. No way he could be a man called the Doctor, right?
It was a completely normal school day, except for a little bit of it.
News of a transfer student spread throughout the school. Everyone was excited. It really wasn't that often that their school got any new students. Instead of getting new students at the beginning of the year, some of the old students just left the school. So naturally, seeing a new face was the headline of the school newspaper.
"Do they have nothing more interesting than a transfer to write about in this 'newspaper' we have?" Many questioned but nonetheless, everyone was excited. Even him.
Everyone was on edge the next morning. Him included. Luckily his locker was near the school's entrance.
He stood around with his friends, chatting away about anything and everything. He did have quite a gob, remember?
He was in the middle of explaining quantum physics when he saw her.
Rose, was the first thing he thought. But it couldn't be. Rose wasn't real. She was just a figment of his over active imagination. And yet she was there, looking a little lost and trying to avoid the stares of all the students in the hall by looking at her shoes.
Her hair was golden with brunette roots. Just like in his dreams. Her eyes were a soft, warm brown with golden flakes in them. Just like in his dreams. She wore plimsolls, much like his, and he had a feeling she barely ever took them off. Just like in his dreams.
She was literally the girl of his dreams.
Unconsciously, he was stepping towards her. Before he knew it, he was right in front of her, introducing himself.
He stuck his hand out to shake. "David Tennant," he said.
She looked up and for the first time he looked into her eyes. Everything came back.
His dreams, suddenly in full clarity, flashed before his eyes. But they weren't dreams anymore. They were his memories. Where there were gaping holes in the series of events in his dreams -or should he say reality- timeline, there were no more.
Gallifrey, his home planet. The TARDIS. Regeneration. Time Lords, his people. And the worst of all, the Time War.
But there were happy memories. Memories of his companions. Memories of his wonderful adventures. Memories of the laughs and the jokes and all the quirks of everyone he met. Somehow, it made all the pain worth it. But just barely.
Everything was clear and he knew what had happened. He was the reincarnation of a thousand year old Time Lord given a second chance with his lady love. Rose Marion Tyler.
All realization happened in about two seconds flat. Unbeknownst to him, she had undergone almost the exact same experience he had been through. Came to the same conclusion, even.
Recognition flashes in her eyes. And probably in his too. Their mouths simultaneously formed into 'o's.
She grasped his outstretched hand. "Billie Piper." She smiled that now-familiar grin of hers. Teeth shown and tongue in between. "Although I would have expected a 'John Smith'. Not really a David Tennant."
He grinned, loving the fact that she remembered too. "Don't have to hide behind that name anymore. It's actually my real name. I'm human. I'm actually human! Got parents too. Normal body and all. I have the Doctor's memory though. Or at least I just got it back. Literally ten seconds ago so to speak." He let go of her hand and reached for the one hanging lazily at her side. He entwined their fingers. "Still fit perfectly. You and me." He said with a serene smile.
She raised their hands. "And we always will. To the office then, Doctor? I need my schedules and everything."
"I'm still the Doctor then?" She grinned at his reference to that Sycorax fiasco. " And you're still Rose."
"That's right. But I'm Billie now too."
"Of course. And I'm David. And the Doctor." He paused for a moment. "Actually, he's Theta to you now. He has always wanted you to call him that."
She stilled and looked into his yes. "That his...?"
"Name?" he continued. "Yep. Weeeellll, depends on your point of view. He's Theta, the Doctor, John Smith, The Oncoming Storm, Destroyer of Worlds, Last -weeeellll, not really- of the Time Lords. Hmm, what other titles did the Doctor have?" He trailed off and she smiled.
From the corner of his eye, he saw everyone staring at them quite peculiarly. "We've caught everyone's attention, haven't we, Rose my dear? Or Billie. Oh, this is confusing."
Billie looked around. "It seems we have, David. Seems we got them quite confused too."
"To the office then?"
She gave him a funny look. "That's what I said!" She laughed and gave him a light shove to get him moving. "Lead the way."
They walked like they always used to. Like they always will do. Hands swaying, grins almost too wide for their faces, steps in synch and him chatting away.
"He was ginger in his last incarnation, y'know. Lucky him! Still a talker but not quite as hyperactive as Ten -or me- though. Turns out only his tenth incarnation had an oral fixation. Rose was right. He even had a regeneration where he thought bow ties were cool! Would you imaging that? And he said 'Geronimo!' How weird is that, Billie Piper? No, doesn't have the same ring as 'Rose Tyler'. How strange is that, Rose Tyler?
"You're still a talker, I see." She grinned. "What else is the same? Do you still lick things?"
"Nah, my senses aren't as sharp as a Time Lord's. But enough about the Doctor, what about Rose? How was her life with..." His grin faltered and he gulped, " ... other him."
She smiled sympathetically. "They had a fantastic life, David. But it wasn't the same. He wasn't the same," Billie took a deep breath, "Rose still loved the Doctor, the real Time Lord one."
They continued walking in silence, David leading the way. The mood had gone somber, contemplative even. The silence was in some peculiar way in memory of the days they could've had but didn't have the courage to pursue.
He voiced his opinion, "They could've had that. They could've had all that."
"Yes, they could've but they didn't. And now, we can. For them, for us; we need to live a fantastic life.
"What's up with you and Billie?" James, his friend asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" David and Billie were separated at the moment. She had music class while he had advanced physics, their last classes of the day.
"Are you together or something?" He wiggled his eyebrows, probably expecting some lewd answer.
David shrugged and smiled, "We're meant to be. Simple as that. Not even death can break us apart."
James then proceeded to look at him like he was crazy.
Billie's first day was wonderful, mostly because of David's constant guidance and presence.
He had introduced her to some of his friends earlier today after they made their trip to the office. They were nice but they kept on glancing at their entwined hands. Especially James.
Come to think of it, James reminded her of a certain Captain Jack Harkness. Both were huge flirts and the Doctor probably didn't want either one of them around her.
Oh! They should really visit Jack one of these days.
"How was your first day of class?" He asked as soon as they were reunited. He was grinning from ear to ear, just happy to see her again. He bounced on his heels trying to contain his excitement at her first day on her behalf.
She laughed, "You were there for most of it, David. Surely you'd know how my first day turned out." Billie loved it when he was like this, enthusiastic and positively brimming with energy.
"But I wasn't there for your last class. How did that go then?" He smiled softly as he watched her speak about her passion for the piano and for singing. He nodded encouragingly when she talked about a lovely girl she had met. Claire, she was called. At this he said, "Nice girl that Claire Williams. Reminds me too much of Amy Pond-Williams, though."
David then proceeded to tell Billie all about the Doctor's brilliant companion, Amelia Pond.
Life was relatively easy the next few months. Nothing exciting or dangerous was happening and everything was peaceful. And naturally, David and Billie could barely stand it.
"At this rate, we better go and join Torchwood just to get a little action." David joked as they were lying on the grass in a park near their school.
Billie perked up and grinned, "That's a great idea!"
His eyes widened and he frantically waved his arms around. "No! Under no circumstances are we ever going to join bloody Torchwood." He hoped she would just give in to his protests and see reason. Going to Torchwood would mean seeing Jack and seeing Jack meant him flirting with his Billie. No way was that ever going to happen. Ever.
"Language." She reprimanded mockingly, "We're not going to join Torchwood."
He breathed a sigh of relief. His nightmare was temporarily avoided. "We're going to visit Jack!" He really shouldn't have thought that he had escaped trouble.
Billie stood in front of a security camera she knew was linked to Torchwood Three's computer, grinned and waved. A few passersby stared at her peculiarly. 'What is that mad girl doing?' some thought.
David stood a few yards away silently dreading what was going to happen next but he knew there was no stopping it.
A door opened somewhere to their left and a handsome American man emerged. Billie ran full sprint towards him. David trailed unenthusiastically behind her but you could see a faint smile on his lips. Jack wasstill one of his friends, contrary to popular belief.
He watched as Billie and Jack (bleeding) Harkness hug the air out of each other. He stood next to them, silently letting out and exasperated sigh. Then, he was unceremoniously pulled into their hug.
"Lemme go!" He struggled and protested but Jack held him firm in his grasp.
"Now, Doc. This is the first time I've hugged you in a long time. You can't actually expect me to actually let you go really easily." Jack grinned and hugged tighter.
Jack pulled back with a confused frown on his face, "One heart...?"
Billie grinned, "That's what we're here to tell you about!"
"Bloody hell..." Jack breathed as he tried to process what he'd just been told. Incarnations? Bloody, really? It seemed like some kind of fairytale.
"I know!" Billie enthused with a huge grin on her face. "Can you believe our luck? The universe is being so kind after being a big pain in the arse for such a long time."
David sat quietly, observing the scene before him. There was the man he could potentially consider to be his best mate (next to Billie of course) digesting the best news in the universe and the love of his life grinning from ear to ear because of said news.
"Lemme get this straight, your name's David Tennant now?" the Captain asked looking at the Doctor's reincarnation. David nodded. "And your name's Billie Piper now?" Billie nodded her head.
Jack grinned, "Can I still call you the Doctor and Rose?"
They quickly nodded their heads. Life was looking it's best right now.
They lived the most fantastic life ever. To say fantastic would actually be a huge understatement. They loved, laughed and lived life, the perfect life.
There were a few bumps, but they came through with only a few bruises that healed with time and tender care. They built bridges across trenches and tried their best to make it through any hurdle that came their way. And boy was it worth it. Heck, joining Torchwood wasn't actually that bad!
Now, as he lay on his deathbed (a real, actual deathbed. The Doctor would've hated this) in a bright-not-dark room, he smiled because he knew that he finally got the chance to live the life he could never have. He finally got to be with his love that was ripped away from him too many countless times before. Yes, he was very content. So he smiled, what else was there to do? He was 86 years old. He couldn't very well jump up and down now could he?
Billie was seated next to David, holding his hand with no tears. Her eyes were dry. Why? Because she knew it was his time and besides, they made sure that every waking (and sleeping actually) moment was lived to the fullest extent. She was happy that they got to be together and that they could have this life.
It was enough and being sad was just pushing the universe to make it harder for them. It would be like showing the universe that even after it gave them a second chance, it wasn't enough. No, she was grateful.
"We had a great life." He murmured, his voice raspy. He coughed and hacked for a minute. I really am sick. This is real.
"Don't say that." He shot her a confused look, "We still have a great life."
He nodded in agreement. "Have to agree with you on that one."
One by one their three children came in, all with their own families. Their grandchildren sniffled and cried, whining that they didn't want their Grandfather to go. Yes, they were all very close. Even his in-laws were crying. Yes, he was that lovable. Their children themselves just smiled and said that they'd miss him. Yes, they knew their parents' story. And yes, they all felt the same way as their mum.
Billie and David were left alone in that brightly lit room. "I'll miss you, love" Billie started, "But I know I won't be far behind. I'll follow you, even after death. Unless you're going to some kind of heaven for Time Lords, then I'm afraid I can't follow you there."
David chuckled, "Nah, I'm pretty sure you'd follow me there too." He felt his strength leaving him. He spoke two words.
"It's time."
Billie nodded, "I love you."
"Quite right too. I love you…" And he was gone.
Done! I actually got this done months ago on a sheet of paper… but well, I was too lazy to type it up :)). It's here now! If you've read this, thank you so much. This is my first DW fanfic and I hope it's good enough for the fanfic community. Do y'all think it's good enough? Leave a review!
*I know the Doctor's name isn't Theta but for the sake of putting something there, I just made it Theta. Sorry 'bout that.