Hello. This is my first fanfic in this section, though I am a long time reader :-) First of all- I write fanfics in spurts. Because of this, I try to finish all my fanfictions before even uploading them. Because of this, my fanfics tend to be dated. This leads me to #2...
A couple things you need to keep in mind with my fanfic:
#2- Because this was written over a year ago, it takes place during Season 3/Martha's season. So let's just think of it as an alternate universe? Sure.
#3- I do have this fanfic pretty much complete, but I'm only going to upload a couple chapters at a time. Like all writers, I'm a shameless review whore. So please, even just a "that was good." or hell, a "I read this chapter." review helps to get the next chapter up!
Otherwise, please enjoy!
Chapter One: Have We Met Before?
"What are you up to, ol' girl? And what does it have to do with Rose?"
Zeppelin Universe
Lifting her head, she glanced around. Such a strange way to look at things, with these eyes. Two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth.
She was human.
She got to her feet. She had those now. At least in this world. But this was a special exception, of course. She wouldn't normally be like this. But many special exceptions were made for her.
"Are you all right?" said a voice. She knew that voice. She knew that voice very well. Her head snapped up and she was met with brown eyes and yellow hair. A very concerned expression. All of it familiar. "Miss?" The voice continued, "Are you lost?"
"Lost?" She said. Aloud. With vocal cords. Oh, she was enjoying this! She smiled widely. "Oh no, I'm not lost."
She had found Rose Tyler.
"Our" Universe
"Come on, ol' girl, what's wrong with you?" The Doctor frowned at the main consul of the TARDIS. Martha stood next to him, looking at the mess of buttons of switches with mild curiosity.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Her." The Doctor corrected firmly, "And I've no idea. She just…won't listen to my coordinates. It's like she doesn't want us to go anywhere."
"Maybe she wants us to take a vacation." Martha said with a smile. The Doctor glanced at her.
"Maybe you're right!" He said cheerfully, "Grab your coat, we'll go say hello to your mum!" Martha went off to grab her coat and the Doctor looked back at the consul. "Come on ol' girl. Usually you tell me what's up. Why are you clamming up so suddenly? It's like you've lost your voice." He frowned, the wheels turning, "It there something wrong with your connections?" He asked. "Come on, give me a sign, give me anything! Don't worry me like this!"
A charred bit of paper fluttered down to land on the consul. The Doctor snatched it up, looking at it critically. He gasped.
The tiny burnt piece of paper was a section of a famous play by a famous man. It read:
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
The Doctor looked up.
"What are you up to, ol' girl? And what does it have to do with Rose?"
Zeppelin Universe
"Oh, come on Tess! You'd look great in this! You've got the perfect body, perfectly colored hair! I'd kill for hair like that!" Rose said, shoving the green dress at her newfound friend. The newly named Tess. Tess smiled at Rose, taking the dress. She was enjoying all of this human stuff. She went into the dressing room and pulled off her coral colored tunic-like dress, tugging the green one on.
"Um, Rose? I can't tie the back." Tess said nervously. Rose burst into the dressing room, and Tess tried not to suddenly feel shy about her body. She'd never experienced these emotions before and they confused her. Rose took the sash and gently tied it in the back.
"There you go." She smiled brightly at Tess.
"Are you sure it's okay that I come to this…party?"
"Oh yeah, it's real informal about guests. Plus, can't leave you alone in this city!" Rose said with a giggle, "You're like a tourist. Who knows where you'd end up?!" Rose grabbed her hand and tugged her to the counter, paying for the dresses they were both already wearing.
They were apparently in a hurry.
Tess was surprised to find Rose so happy, immersing herself in all sorts of social events and gatherings. But she was happy to see Rose so happy. She had missed Rose.
They arrived at the large house, and Rose knocked on the door, keeping Tess's arm linked with her own. A dark haired young woman opened the door.
"Rose! How are you?" She said, pulling the blond into a hug. Tess watched curiously. She had never seen Rose around any friends except Mickey. Rose smiled at her, but Tess observed closely that the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"This is my friend, Tess." Rose said, pulling Tess forward, "She's new to town, so I thought this would be a good way to get her used to the area!" Both women laughed. Tess forced a smile. This woman wasn't really Rose's friend, just an acquaintance. The fond greeting was all an act. They entered the house, Rose leading her to a large living room where music was blaring, the bass beating rhythmically. She was immediately pulling them both onto the dance floor, her hips starting to sway. Tess watched with wide eyes. She was not used to such music. Glen Miller was more to her taste.
"Come on!" said Rose, grinning widely at her. Tess noted, with surprise, that the smile Rose gave her was genuine, even though she had known Tess for a much shorter time than the dark haired woman. It was all so confusing.
"I…don't know how to dance." Tess said, with some embarrassment. Rose blinked, then laughed.
"It's not hard, I promise! Just get the beat down, then move those hips!" She shouted over the music. Tess closed her eyes, listening carefully to the music. She started moving slowly, before she got the hang of it and smiled, getting her hips and whole body into it. Rose let out a cheer.
"Well, look at these two pretty ladies." said a voice. Tess blinked, recognizing it. She saw the look of confusion on Rose's face as the blond looked behind Tess, to the source of the comment. Rose's face drained of color. Tess turned around.
Jack Harkness grinned back at her. Tess frowned. Though she was human looking, she was not actually a human. She still retained some sensing from her original self. And this was not the Jack that belonged in this dimension. This was the one that should be dead. That Bad Wolf had brought back. And Rose didn't even know that she had brought Jack back during that state. She still thought he was dead. Tess spun back around to look back at Rose. In time for the blond to fall towards her in a dead faint.
"Well, you sure are strong for a girl." Jack said, smiling at Tess. Tess nodded.
"Yeah, I'm not your average woman."
"I'll bet." He said with a flirty smirk. Tess ignored it, focusing on Rose on the bed before them. The dark haired woman had let them have one of the guest rooms for Rose, after Tess had caught her. Jack had carried her upstairs, with Tess following worriedly.
"So…care to explain why your appearance made her faint?" Tess asked. She knew, of course, but she wanted to hear it from Jack. Make sure she wasn't making a mistake.
"Well…I'm sort of an old friend. She uh…might think that I'm dead…" He said, chuckling, "It's a long story. You wouldn't believe it, anyways."
"You'd be surprised." Tess said seriously. Jack tilted his head at her.
"You look familiar. Have we met before?"
"Possibly." She said, honestly. Jack saw her serious eyes, and didn't pursue the subject further. Instead, he looked at Rose.
"Is she going to be all right?"
"Of course." Tess said, leaning over. "Rose. Rose, come on, wake up!"
"Doctor?" She murmured. Tess pulled back, as if stung. Rose shouldn't have been able to remember her voice…could she? Much less connect it to the Doctor.
"Rose?" Jack said, his eyes narrowed on Tess. He was suspicious of her. Smarter than he looked. Rose's eyes fluttered up, glancing up at Jack.
"Jack?" She murmured. She struggled to sit up, and Jack's hands went to her shoulders.
"Now now, sweetheart, be careful. You almost had a nasty spill there. If it weren't for your…friend here." He looked at Tess, frowning. Tess kept her expression carefully concerned, her eyes locked on Rose.
"Tess?" Rose said, her eyes focusing on the woman. Tess smiled.
"Hey there. Are you all right?"
"Yeah…I just…" She looked back at Jack, "What- Are you- Have we met before?" She asked carefully. Jack burst out laughing. Rose's eyes widened in surprised.
"Oh yes, darling. It was World War Two. You came swinging in from a barrage balloon. I had an invisible spaceship." He said with a grin. The color drained from Rose's face again. Tess started to get worried. If she couldn't accept Jack, how could she ever be expected to accept…
"But…the Doctor said you died. You…didn't survive the Da-" She cut herself off, seeing Jack wince. He smiled bravely at her.
"Yeah, but somehow I was saved…I'm not exactly sure myself."
"Okay…so that barely explains that, but uh…how did you get here? This isn't…our world." Rose said quietly, cutting a glance at Tess. Jack looked at Tess also. Tess looked back, her expression solemn, and blank. Jack frowned.
"I think first we have to deal with your friend here. She seems…"
"Familiar?" Rose said. Tess looked at her in surprise. She didn't think Rose had realized it.
"Yeah."
"I think…we can trust her." Rose said, looking at Tess carefully, "Somehow I just know…"
"Oh, I know that. I know she isn't a threat to us. But I still want to get to the root of this pesky déjà vu feeling." He said, narrowing his eyes, "And something tells me that Tess here knows more about why I'm here than I do."
"Actually, I don't." Tess answered honestly. "You were a surprise. A pleasant one, I will say, but a surprise nonetheless." Jack frowned and Rose stared.
"A pleasant surprise?" Jack said, "Usually I have no problem being called that, in face, I'd say I love it, but coming from you, I don't think it quite has the same meaning. I asked you before; have we met before?"
"Sort of." Tess answered honestly. Rose blinked at the familiar words, said in a familiar tone. Jack looked frustrated.
"Would you just give us some answers?!"
"No. I can't yet." Tess said, looking away. She leaned over to look at the watch on Jack's wrist. "We have about an hour yet. Then everything will be explained. Now, come on. I'm starving." She got to her feet and strode out of the room. Jack smiled widely.
"Well, whoever she it, she's got a fantastic figure." He cut a smirk at Rose, who was wrinkling her nose.
"The same feeling that tells me that she's familiar is telling me that you definitely shouldn't hit on her."
"Yeah, me too. But it isn't stopping me." He helped Rose to her feet. She stood still for a moment, before she threw herself into Jack's arms, hugging him tightly. "Rose?"
"Oh, I'm just so happy to see you!" She said, her voice slightly choked up. Jack smiled gently.
"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too. When I saw that you were on the deceased list back home, I didn't believe it for a second. I knew the Doctor would have figured out something. He sent you here for a bit, huh?" Jack said with a grin, "Smart guy, he is."
"Not for a bit." Rose said, her tone morose. Jack raised an eyebrow. "He…didn't mean for me to get stuck here."
"Stuck here?" Jack asked, "Then…the Doctor…?"
"Is still in our world, sailing around in the TARDIS and stopping evil plots." She gave a half-hearted smile, "I haven't seen him for two years now."
"Oh Rose…" Jack said, hugging her close, "I know…how it was with-"
"Please don't…" Rose said, disentangling herself from him, "Anyways, I'm fine now."
"Did he at least say goodbye?"
"Yeah…" Rose said, looking away. Jack frowned.
"Properly? Like I did?" Jack said, in all seriousness. Rose shook her head, not meeting his eyes.
"I…got stuck here and he could only come as a hologram-type thing to say goodbye. And he ran out of time before he could say what he really wanted to."
"Which was?"
"I have no idea." She said, her tone stubborn.
"I'm sure you do Rose." Jack said quietly. She didn't reply.
"Come on guys! I'm still starving!" Tess called from outside the room, pretending she hadn't been listening. Pretending Rose's words didn't break her heart.
"Our" World
The Doctor and Martha re-entered the TARDIS after having spent some time in regular modern day London. The Doctor went quickly to the controls, Martha following quietly. She had noticed that the Doctor had been strange since they'd left. He was looking closely at the buttons and switches, muttering to himself. Suddenly he pulled back.
"Come on, ol' girl. Let me set the course. We're not going to just sit here forever! It isn't like she's going to just appear!" He glanced back at the controls, "So you've changed it so we'll move to Cardiff, yeah, that's real great. Martha has no interest in Cardiff. Neither have I, for that matter!" He said angrily. The controls still wouldn't move for him. "Fine. We'll go, but you'll see there's nothing there! Certainly not her!"
Martha frowned, suspicions rising. She wasn't stupid. She had a very good idea which 'her' they were referring to. But she was momentarily distracted by the TARDIS powering up. She saw a switch twinkle on the consul, by her left arm, just as the whooshing sound started. It switched over on its own.
"Doctor!" She shouted over the noise, clutching the control board.
"Yes Martha?" The Doctor shouted back.
"What's this?" She pointed at the switch and the Doctor looked at it for a moment before he gasped.
"Oh no!" He heaved himself upwards, moving towards Martha and the switch. "What are you doing, ol' girl?! You're going to kill us all!"
Very comforting words, thought Martha.
Ta Dah! And now...