Five Fairy Tales
By: lunarsilverwolfstar
Disclaimer: I hold no claim over Doctor Who.
Note: A little birdy told me it was samihiggins' birthday, so came up with this little thing. Hope you enjoy your day of days! Happy Birthday!
Sleeping Beauty
The Doctor sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the lovely face of one Rose Tyler. He tried not to, really, he did. It's sort of creepy, wasn't it? To watch someone as they sleep, especially when they didn't know you're there? He couldn't think of one planet or region anywhere in the universe where it's thought of as 'okay'. However, right now, he didn't give two figs (there went the TARDIS again, censoring foul words, even in his mind - he's going to have to talk to her about that) about what's right or wrong. He'd almost lost her today.
True, there have been many instances where he'd almost lost her, but today cut a little close. How many more times was he going to put her in danger? Maybe it was best if he took her back…
Immediately, his hand sought for hers and, even in her sleep, Rose gripped his in return. It's as if she knew what he'd been thinking and she was reassuring herself of his presence just as much as he was reassuring himself of hers. He couldn't, wouldn't, do that to her. If she ever went and stayed in London, it would be her choice (oh, he said this now, but if they were ever in any immediate danger where he had a choice, he would always choose Rose Tyler's safety).
For now, however, she was with him. She was safe, asleep in her bed, on the TARDIS. She was where she belonged.
His other hand came up, brushed the back of his knuckles over her silky, blonde hair before moving down to caress her face, making sure everything was in place: dark eyebrows, pert nose, full lips… His thumb grazed over the bottom lip, his breath hitching. Without even realising it, he was already leaning down, ready to take…
The Doctor hovered for a second too long and tilted his head up, pressing a kiss to her forehead instead. With that, he stood and, with a final glance at his precious human, he left her room.
She continued to sleep.
Little Red Riding Hood
Bad Wolf here, Bad Wolf there.
Rose didn't know exactly what the words meant, but a niggling in her mind told her they're familiar. That she'd seen them even before she met the Doctor, but had promptly forgotten them.
Everywhere they go, there's always some vague reference to Bad Wolf. Once, without even realising it, she was wearing a red hoodie and felt so much like Little Red Riding Hood when she and the Doctor happened upon a festival celebrating the Moon Goddess, the natives of the planet all dressed up as wolves, worshiping her, while the 'bad' wolves were tied in the centre of the town square. If they howled along with everyone, they were free to go. If not… Well, she and the Doctor were able to put a stop to the slaughtering.
Then came the time when the words surrounded her. The Doctor had sent her away, grounded her while, two hundred thousand years away, he was dying. That's when she realised.
She wasn't Little Red at all. She was the Bad Wolf.
Bathed in gold, she and the TARDIS went to save their Doctor, ready to huff and puff and atomise anyone who stood in their way.
Cinderella
The clock struck twelve and yet Rose didn't turn into a pumpkin. She marvelled at that. Sometimes it felt as if this were all a dream and she'd wake up one day still working at Henrik's instead of travelling with the Doctor, and more recently Jack.
With a flute of champagne in her hands, she set out to find the Doctor, who was currently brooding against some wall while she'd danced the night away.
The three companions were at a New Year's party in London, the year newly 8,390. Though she might as well be alone for all the Doctor had participated. Jack had gone off to dance with every man, woman, and other he could get his hands on; though, to be fair, he'd danced a few songs with her at the beginning.
It was a grand event, a charity the elite of London were throwing. Everyone was dressed to the nines as orphans were matched up to families who wished for a child or sponsors who didn't want children in their homes but still wanted to support the cause (or to look good).
Someone touched her shoulder and it was so sudden, and so light, that she whirled around immediately, spilling her beverage on the dark blue evening gown she wore.
Just as the echo of the final chime that welcomed the new day and year simultaneously, she stared up at sharp blue eyes. Her reaction to the intensity glowing in them made her feel quite heady, her hands coming to grab the lapels of the Doctor's leather jacket. "Happy New Year," she mumbled, unable to look away from him. There was something in his eyes tonight, something she'd only ever had glimpses of before he would turn away.
He wasn't turning away now. Instead, a hand came around her waist and pressed her closer to him. She could almost feels his hearts increase in speed before he lowered his head, capturing her lips with his. There was nothing simple about this kiss, their first kiss.
It was like they had all the time in the world and none at all in that same instance. With this kiss, they finally revealed to one another just how deeply their feelings ran for the other.
The Doctor's groan reverberated through her when her hands slid up his chest and her arms looped around his neck, fingers coming up to massage and scrape at his short, dark hair. She began to protest when he leaned away, but it was lost in a gasp when he suddenly scooped her up. Rose's hands automatically tightened around his neck. Her gown rode up a bit as he strode towards the nearest exit and she felt one of her shoes dangling from her foot. She wiggled a little and tried to get it back on, but her movement caused the Doctor to walk faster. She sighed when she finally felt the shoe drop, but didn't bother to ask him to stop. A lost shoe would be worth it if it brought her a night with her Time Lord.
Jack watched the couple leave posthaste and quickly realised, much as he loved the two, he'd have to find his own outlet for the night. He grinned cheekily at a couple and asked them if they were ready to ring in the New Year properly. They happily accepted his proposal, so he left with them. On their way out, however, he noticed a silver shoe near the doorway, scooping it up and grinning when he identified it as his blonde companion's.
When Jack would finally make it back to the TARDIS, he would leave the silver heel outside the Doctor's bedroom where it wouldn't be found for a good while.
Snow White
"I can't believe I almost got poisoned by a bloody apple," Rose mumbled, her voice raspy.
"Technically it's a-" The Doctor promptly shut his gob when Rose shot him a withering glare.
They'd been having a grand old time at an outdoor market. They were Rose's favourite, the Doctor knew, and he'd been excited to take her mind off what the beast in the pit had supposedly prophesied. She would not die, not under his watch.
And yet, here they were, in the medical bay after Rose had almost been poisoned by a Glaspit. Well, he said almost poisoned, but indeed, has it not been a slow-acting toxin, he wouldn't have been able to wake her. Ever.
A Glaspit was similar to an apple, just as crispy, but… Well, alright, it was an apple. It was just called a Glaspit in Sector Five of the Desfhie Colony on the planet Kesdepo that contained a couple of organic molecules that were too different for a human of the twenty-first century to handle.
Rose had wandered off while he tried to haggle with a short man who kept falling asleep in the middle of their bargaining. When he finally turned around, the triumphant smile on his face fell off when he noticed her missing. Turned out, she'd bought a Glaspit off an older woman, thinking it to be just like a regular apple from Earth. He himself hadn't paid it any mind, buying one for himself as they headed back to the TARDIS.
It wasn't until he wandered into her room this morning (relatively speaking) to find her sweating and shivering, and brought her to the infirmary to run some tests that he realised the fruit was not compatible with her physiology. He'd berated her for not coming to him as soon as she felt the side effects when really he was castigating himself for not realising the fruit was poisonous to her.
She was lucky, they were lucky, that the fruit acted more like a regular virus during the first stage of consumption. He'd sighed in relief when he finally had the solution needed to stop the more fatal symptoms from manifesting.
Rose sneezed and he handed her a tissue before making sure the blanket was wrapped around her properly.
"How about I drop you off in the library while I make you some soup and tea? We can watch something when I'm done," the Doctor suggested, getting ready to pick her up.
"I can walk," she protested, pushing off the bed. As soon as she took a step, however, she stopped, shut her eyes, and would have collapsed on the spot had he not caught her and lifted her into his arms as if she weighed nothing. "You're a lot stronger than you look," she mumbled into his neck and he suppressed a shudder.
"Time Lord," he replied haughtily, but he deflated quickly when Rose simply snuggled closer to him without a cheeky respond. Carefully, he walked to the library and settled her on the large, plush sofa, frowning at her pale cheeks. "I'll be right back," he whispered.
It would be a few days until she was feeling one hundred percent better, but he took great care of her. Even if he almost burned the galley down trying to make chicken soup from scratch.
Princess and the Pauper
The four stared at one another, distinctly uncomfortable.
"So you're… me?" Rose, a Rose with a more refined accent asked, trying to understand this strange turn of events.
Rose nodded. "Sort of. I'm Rose Tyler from a different world and he's the Doctor, same as yours," Rose, a different Rose but Rose all the same, clarified.
"From a parallel world?"
"This should be impossible," a distinctly Northern accent cut in, crossing his arms and staring at the pair before him.
Rose and her Doctor, the Doctor in brown, simply sighed. Truth be told, neither had thought this was possible either, but, well, they'd learned to roll with the punches. When the two had, once again, crashed into another parallel world while looking for a crack with which to communicate with Jackie, they thought that was it. They were stuck in another world for good. Until the sound of a TARDIS, not just any TARDIS, but their TARDIS reverberated and out stepped… well, them.
Except, Not Them. The Doctor here still looked like his ninth self, all ears and leather jacket while the other Rose, although dressed similar, obviously wore clothes a little more tailored. Still, from the way her brow furrowed as she tried to discern what was going on it was obvious to the pinstriped Doctor that she was still Rose. Why else would he be travelling with her, even if it was a parallel version of himself?
The Doctor who didn't belong to this world turned his attention back to this world's Doctor and two began to discuss the careful details of getting the pair who didn't belong in this parallel world back to their proper universe.
The two Roses stood side by side, eyebrows cocked, and lips forming eerily similar smirks.
"Want to go get some chips?" the Rose of this world asked her twin, getting tired of hearing the two men arguing.
"Sounds like a plan. Don't think these two will be agreeing on the proper way to get us back home anytime soon."
"I don't doubt it. Next then you know they'll be comparing screwdrivers!"
The two laughed and, though it was rather odd to hear the echo, they rejoiced in their Doctors antics.
It was obvious to the two women that they came from different backgrounds, but one thing was even more apparent: They both loved the Doctor, so they would take the unusual incidents, face the monsters, and fight the good fight. They would face untold dangers with him. Together.
They wouldn't change their lives with their Doctors for the world and neither was poorer or richer for it.