Dust Bunnies
By Sonic Jules
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A/N: Many thanks to my beta and dear friend, Catharticone, who has helped me with this story and so much more. You are truly one in a million.
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"Where do these things come from?" Rose asked with a huff, looking at the Doctor briefly before returning to her task - cleaning a cobwebbed corner in her room.
She was getting better at detecting him, he noticed. He hadn't said a word - thought he hadn't made a sound. And yet, when he poked his head through her bedroom's open doorway, she'd begun talking to him as if a trumpet had heralded his arrival.
"Well," he began, hands in his pockets as he casually walked over the threshold, "depends on what it is you're talking about."
Rose straightened and turned to look at him, then pointed at a little dust bunny that had escaped from where she was cleaning, rolling lightly across the floor. "Those. Everywhere ya go, even on different planets - they're always around."
"Ah - you mean dust bunnies. Cute little things, aren't they?" the Doctor asked, bending down to look at the fuzz ball more closely. "Hello there," he directed at Rose's nuisance.
She promptly stomped on it, not amused with the Doctor's attempt at wit.
"Rose Tyler! How rude. I was only being friendly," his tone was a bit indignant, to which Rose snorted in a very unladylike fashion. The Doctor merely looked at her expectantly.
"What are you doin'? Makin' fun of me now, are you?"
"Me?" The Doctor shrugged. "I wasn't doing anything of the kind. Just speaking to the little fellow before you so rudely interrupted me."
"What? It's not like it's really alive or somethin'." She eyed him closely. They stood silently for a moment, appraising one another as the Doctor raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
"Oh - oh no. Don't tell me they're alive. Oh come on - next you'll be tellin' me I've killed the little ball of fluffy dirt."
The Doctor gave her his patented all-knowing stare. "Well, not killed. But maimed him up quite a bit. It'll take him some time to get that form back."
"No way - you're not gonna hook me into believin' that. Next you'll be tellin' me they're related to the Easter Bunny. Oh yeah, not fallin' for that one." Rose looked pointedly at the Doctor, watching as he stood straight, a small grin tugging at his lips.
"I suppose then, that I'll just have to show you."
The Doctor took Rose's hand and lead her into the hallway, quickly making their way to the console room. Only when they were standing at the center console did he release her, at which time her hands went straight to her hips.
"Seriously, we're not really goin' to some world of dust bunnies, are we? 'Cause I've got a feather duster and I know how to use it."
"Oh, I wouldn't threaten them if I were you. Those innocent looking little creatures might get quite upset if you try and harm them - especially on their own planet. Besides, they live a very peaceful existence. And I think once you see them in their natural habitat, you might be able to learn to coexist with them instead of mangling them up as easily as you do."
"You're makin' this up - you've got to be. Either that or you've gone completely 'round the bend." Rose looked at the Doctor closely, watching as he turned dials and ran around the center column. A sudden look of concern crossed her features. "Doctor? You're not sick, are you? I mean, you'd tell me if you weren't feelin' good, right?"
He turned to face her at the same moment the TARDIS slipped out of the vortex, the landing much smoother than most. He was instantly touched by her concern and took her hand. "I'm fine - always am. No need to worry about me."
"You're sure?"
"Yep! Now come on," he said excitedly, pulling her hand as he abruptly turned and headed for the door. "Time to meet some new acquaintances!"
'It was a dark and stormy night' ... Those were the first words to come forth in Rose's thoughts as they walked outside of the TARDIS and into the land of dust bunnies - formally known as Dustrious Five, the Doctor had said, though she was too busy looking around to acknowledge his words with more than a nod.
The air that hit her face was dry and warm, but the lightning that streaked severely across the sky lead her to believe a downpour would occur at any moment. The clouds on this dusty planet rolled angrily through the sky and the thunder produced by them seemed to shake the ground beneath her.
"Suppose we've landed in the middle of a storm, yeah?" she asked, watching the natural show with awe.
"Oh, it's always storming here - keeps the little fellows happy. Perfect climate for them," the Doctor answered, looking at the sky above them.
Rose nodded, caught up in the moment as a breeze warmed her face and blew her hair. It wasn't so bad. "Guess we should find some shelter then, prob'ly gonna rain cats and dogs any minute."
"No need to worry about that," the Doctor said softly, his words practically humming with the air that blew around them. "Never rains here. That's what makes it so perfect for them, really."
"No rain? Ever?" Rose asked, truly surprised.
"Nope. They don't need water to survive, in fact any sort of moisture would probably hurt them."
Rose turned to the Doctor then, understanding crossing her features. She accepted his words and was about to turn to watch the lightning again when she felt something crawl across her shoes, making her yelp and jump back. When she turned to see what it was, she saw a ball of dust about the size of a softball rolling just beyond her feet, moving with the direction of the wind. She looked at the Doctor questioningly.
"Welcoming committee, no doubt," he told her, grinning from ear to ear.
"They really are real, aren't they," she said quietly, watching the dust bunny as it disappeared from view.
"Told you so," he said, squeezing her hand.
They strolled across a flat of dry dirt and sand, following the direction the dust bunny had taken. Their hand-in-hand walk took them towards a thick tree line, following more of the little dust bunnies as they were swept up with the breeze across the ground.
"How is it there's trees here if there's no rain?" Rose asked as they continued walking.
"Well, not all plant life needs water to sustain it, some merely need air, or sunlight, and some need nothing - just like those, because they're petrified."
After reaching the stone crop, Rose reached over to touch one of the trees, amazed by the idea of petrified woods. She smiled at the Doctor and he smiled back at her, then they continued following the balls of fluff.
The view became even more amazing as they soon walked to the end of the line, so to speak, finding themselves at the top of a stone cliff. Rose watched, stunned, as dust bunny after dust bunny jumped off of the cliff, ignoring their visitors.
"Oh no!" she exclaimed, running towards the cliff and catching several of the little creatures before they jumped to what she assumed was a terrible fate.
The Doctor stood where he'd been, staring at Rose with an affectionate smile.
"What are you grinnin' like that for? Come over here and help me!" she exclaimed, trying to catch the cute fuzz balls as they continued to roll over the cliff, even the ones she'd 'rescued', which were learning quickly to go around their new obstacle.
"They don't need rescuing, Rose."
"Shouldn't we stop 'em?" she asked, her worry clear as she thought she realized their intent.
"Stop them? No, they aren't harming themselves. They're having fun."
"Fun?"
"Oh yes - every sentient being has some form of entertainment - and theirs doesn't harm them - in fact, I'd be willing to bet that this is like sky diving for you lot. Exciting and fun - just no parachute."
"But won't it hurt them when they hit the ground?" Rose asked, unable to stop watching them rolling of the cliff.
"Nope. They're not skin and bones like us - no weight to their forms to speak of either. Just fluff and air, picking up a few ionic particles along the way to help keep their form thanks to these lovely storms."
"So the storms - they give off electrical charges to help the dust bunnies form together, am I gettin' this straight?"
"Yep. That's how they get their shape - static charges in the air help them to form those nice little shapes they have, and the wind helps them round up a bit, which allows them move around."
"Unbelievable!" she said, smiling excitedly at the Doctor. He returned her smile.
"It is, isn't it?" He extended his hand to her and they turned and began heading back towards the TARDIS. Rose 'oohed' and 'ahhed' along the way, pointing to different dust bunnies they passed, making sure not to step on any as they made their way back to the ship. Once inside, the Doctor took them into the Vortex, grinning smugly.
Rose grinned back at the him, but her smile faded as she glanced around, a question forming on her lips, easily read by her expression. The Doctor waited for her to speak, but instead she simply looked around more.
"What is it? Something bothering you?" he asked gently.
"Yeah. I get that those dust bunnies live there and have the perfect atmosphere and all to survive. But I what I don't understand is how they got here, on the TARDIS. I mean, sure, they could've snuck in on one of your visits - I guess that'd be believable. But how'd they get everywhere else? They're like, on every planet we've been to. And yeah, I know that there's dust on all of them. But it's not dry everywhere. And it's not windy everywhere. And there's not storms goin' on all the time either. So how is it that those little creatures are all over the place, everywhere we go?"
The Doctor shrugged a bit, but instead of meeting her eyes and giving her a long and overly-detailed explanation, he cleared his throat, mumbled something, and began puttering around at the center console.
"What'd you say, Doctor?"
His shoulders slumped slightly as he looked up at her, a knowing defeat on his features as he realized he'd have to tell her.
"I did it." he said quietly.
Rose looked at him for a good ten seconds, her jaw slack. Then a grin began forming on her lips. "What?"
He heaved a deep sigh then squared his shoulders. "I said I did it."
Rose couldn't help the little giggle that escaped, her eyes growing wide. "You?"
"It's not like I did it on purpose. They didn't ask permission to board the TARDIS, just snuck in here like it was their right! I didn't know until I'd landed somewhere else. Maybe a few somewhere elses. By the time I did know, they had spread themselves all over the universe. I'm telling you Rose, they breed faster than any form of rabbits I've ever known, and considering all the planets that I've been to, that's saying a lot!"
The Doctor looked slightly ashamed, but then his expression changed to defensive when Rose started laughing at him.
"What?"
"My Mum's gonna slap you good if she ever finds out you're the reason she's cleanin' dust bunnies all the time!"
"Jackie doesn't need a reason to slap me. Does a fine job making them up as she goes. Besides, if she ever did find out, you can kindly explain to her that she's not cleaning them, but maiming them," he pronounced.
"You want me to make her feel guilty?" Rose asked, still smiling.
"Well, you're the only one that could tell her I was the reason they were there in the first place. Only fair you explain everything to her, for my personal safety, of course."
"Of course."
The Doctor looked expectantly at Rose, and she stared back at him. When he pouted just a little bit, she soon gave in. "Oh, all right. I'll keep your secret safe."
"Fantastic!" he beamed with relief.
Rose shook her head and turned, walking down the corridor. The Doctor smiled when he heard her departing words:
"I'll never stomp another dust bunny again."
The End.
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