Teatime of the Living Dead

ch1

It was her mum that doomed them, really.

She and the Doctor (she supposed it was all right to call him that) were fine with walking. The Doctor might have been brand new but he had been built for running, just like Rose, and the slow pace they were setting was as easy as breathing for two people way too comfortable with sprinting for their lives.

Jackie Tyler, however, wasn't having any of it. She started trying to flag down cars, waving her hands and hopping around. Rose caught the Doctor smothering a snicker and gave him an elbow in the ribs. He grinned at her cheekily, his hair mussing in the wind, and Rose thought for a moment how massively unfair it was to be manhandled so...expertly.

The other Doctor had to have known she wouldn't be able to resist him. He was the Doctor, of course she couldn't resist him. Arrogant prat. Rose stuffed her hands in her pockets, watching her mother give a passing car a glare, and thought seriously of disliking the man (Time Lord...whatever) walking beside her. It would serve him right. Granted, he wasn't the Time Lord she was annoyed with, but he did happen to look just like him, which was enough to be going on with. Rose tried on a scowl, just to see how it felt on her face. For a moment, she thought of maybe hoping the other Doctor (Proper Doctor? Doctor One?) would be miserable and wretched without her. Gnashing of teeth and all that.

Then the Doctor beside her held out his hand for her to hold, wiggling his fingers with light in his eyes. Rose, with the thought of girlish vengeance fresh in her mind, hesitated a moment. It hurt him immediately; She could tell by how his face went carefully blank and he looked away from her as if he'd never heard of hand holding. Rose bit her lip, feeling like a heel, and bumped him lightly with her shoulder, her hand snaking out to curl around his.

The Doctor looked at her with a sort of pleased and giddy expression on his face. His eyes crinkled with a smile before it hit his mouth, and he was suddenly effusive, swinging her arm and skipping along.

Pushover, Rose thought to herself with a sigh and a smile. She was a right pushover...

"Ah, here we are," the Doctor crowed as a dirty sedan swerved to a halt in front of them. "Lovel-" He stopped mid-word, his feet halting. Rose glanced up at him, startled.

"Oh, you lovely man," her mother was cooing through the open passenger side window. "Thank you!"

"Doctor?" Rose prompted, hanging back. She recognized the look on his face. The Doctor stared at the car in the manner of a man prodding a sore tooth, and his eyes had gone a bit spooky. She hadn't known he could still do that, what with the human bit in him. It was probably mad, considering where that look had always led her, but she found the sight of it weirdly reassuring.

"Jackie," the Doctor said with a warning in his voice. He lifted his free hand and beckoned to her. "Come away."

Her Mum didn't react. She was in the middle of chatting up the driver, though, and it was conceivable she'd just missed it. Then she turned back and rolled her eyes at him, and Rose put that little theory to bed.

"Come on, then, he speaks English." Jackie opened the car door.

"Mum," Rose said, glancing at the Doctor's expression. Jackie leaned on the door and pulled a face.

"Look, I'm not walking to town, and you're not telling me he's an alien." She jerked her head in the driver's direction. "That's too many aliens in one car," she added firmly, and hopped in.

"Right," the Doctor said tightly, his eyes strange and dark. He gave Rose a very false smile. "Shall we?" he said brightly.

Rose moved when he tugged at her hand, following him around one side of the car and clinging to his fingers tightly. When he opened the door for her she planted herself in front of it and gave him a searching look.

The Doctor gazed down at her and shook his head minutely, for a moment letting frustration flicker across his face. He glanced over her shoulder at the driver, looking...unsatisfied.

Nothing concrete, then. Just standard spooky Time Lord premonition stuff. Rose bit her lip and got into the car. She hated the vague premonitions of doom the worst. Not least of all because he was usually so right about it.

Of course, given the Doctor's lifestyle, he could get a fortune cookie every day that said 'explosions in your future' and make the restaurant that sold them a mint for accuracy in predictions.

"Thanks for the ride," Rose told the driver, interrupting her Mum as the Doctor scooted in after her.

"And this is my daughter, Rose," her Mum said, "and the Doctor."

"Hello!" the Doctor said, cheerfully enough.

The man, who was grizzled and gray, smiled at Rose and then looked a bit surprised.

"Oh," he said in a heavy accent, glancing at her Mum. "Are you sick?"

"Sick of walking," Jackie said with a sweet smile, and Rose shook her head a bit. She shared an amused look with the Doctor. Even happily married in this world, her mum was still a horrible flirt.

Rose listened quietly to her mother chatter on, glancing over at the Time Lord (was he still one?) sitting beside her. She tried to pretend it wasn't deeply weird even though it was.

Really, deeply weird. The hand she was holding was the one he'd got chopped off, and kept in a jar of all things. He grew out of that hand...and he was looking at her now as if he could see what she was thinking.

Rose wouldn't put it past him.

"Still a bit creeped out by the hand thing," Rose said sheepishly, glancing up at her Mum and keeping her voice down. This was not a conversation she wanted her mother included in. The Doctor cracked a grin and squeezed her fingers.

"Love that hand," he said, and as he looked at her his smile got warmer and gentler, as if he was thinking about what else he loved. The expression made Rose go over a bit tingly, and she grinned like an idiot.

"But really," she said, her smile fading but the affection still going strong, "will you be okay?"

The Doctor gave her a bit of a frown and shook his head as if he wasn't following her. Rose tilted her head sympathetically.

"No TARDIS," she prompted. The Doctor's face cleared and he looked at her as if she was the most brilliant thing he'd ever seen. Considering some of the things he'd seen, Rose figured she was allowed to get a bit flustered at the expression. He let out a breath as if she'd just flummoxed him, and reached over to touch her cheek.

"Rose Tyler," he said softly, impressed. Rose had no idea what for. He shook his head a little. "After all that, you're worried if I'm all right."

Rose shrugged, and the Doctor gave her a look that made her think he'd like to kiss her again.

"Yes," he said, answering her question instead. He opened his mouth as if he was going to toss the question back at her, so she spoke quickly.

"And the other Doctor?" she asked. "Will he be all right?" The expression on his face changed very quickly, and she didn't like it one bit. He lied like a pro, but she'd known him too long to buy it anymore.

"Oh, well," the Doctor began with patently false assurance, and took a breath, probably about to say something about the other Doctor having all of time and space. Or worse, that he was always all right...

"Doctor," Rose said sharply, staring at him. The message was very clear. She was not accepting any of his rubbish this afternoon. Doctor's face fell, and he looked at her with blank eyes that always meant bad things.

"No," he said softly, and looked away from her. For a moment they sat there in silence together. Together. Rose suddenly was a lot less annoyed with the other Doctor, and a lot more sorry for him.

"He's got Donna," Rose said, and was surprised that her voice was thick. "She won't let him mope. He wouldn't dare." She smiled a little at that, at the picture in her head of Donna just laying into him. She reminded Rose a bit of her Mum, actually. Not that she would ever, EVER tell the Doctor that...

Then she caught a glimpse of the Doctor's face out of the corner of her eye and froze.

"What?" she asked, appalled. The Doctor hesitated, his eyes flicking up to gage her expression. Rose's eyes widened in alarm. He turned in his seat so he was facing her, and she mirrored him. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, looking down at it for a moment.

"Rose," he said, as if he would rather do almost anything than tell her what he was about to tell her, "Donna has all the knowledge of a Time Lord packed into her head. That's never happened before," he said patiently, "for a reason." He shook his head slightly, his eyes searching her face. "It's too much. She'll burn up."

Rose felt her heart react to that as if someone had poked it with a stick. You're gonna burn...

"You're telling me she's gonna die?" Rose said incredulously. The Doctor's eyes were grim.

"Not if I take it away. Every thought, every memory she has of me, of the TARDIS, time travel... everything she's seen has to go." The Doctor continued, sounding heartsick. "Because if she remembers, she'll die."

Rose stared at him in horror.

"You're going to go into her head and take her memories away," she said, appalled. She thought the Doctor might have flinched a little. It was hard to tell. Her eyes were full of tears.

"Yeah." The Doctor's voice was rough.

"But she was brilliant," Rose breathed, blinking a tear down her cheek. The Doctor nodded mutely, dry-eyed and looking wretched. Tightly closed up and absolutely miserable.

"And what's the matter with you, then?" her Mum asked, pausing in her conversation with the driver, glancing back and catching the look on the Doctor's face. She looked over at Rose, and her manner changed instantly.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked gently, looking alarmed. Rose shook her head and wiped at her face.

"It's nothing...just, a friend of ours, in the other universe. She got hurt," Rose said, making herself sound as if it was something minor.

"Oh, that's a shame. She going to be all right?" her Mum asked.

"Yep," the Doctor cut in. He gave her Mum a fake, tight smile. "She'll be fine. She's safe at home by now." Rose's heart gave a lurch and she reached over and gave him a hug, not caring if her Mum rolled her eyes. Her mother had already turned back around, though, and missed it.

"Well, that's a relief," her mother said, as Rose buried her face in the Doctor's shoulder. He smelled exactly the same. His arms around her felt the same, too. His heart sounded odd, though. Pounding along like that, all on its own. Sounded a bit fragile, and she didn't care for that. She squirmed a little against him, and pressed tight. She could tell he was looking at her strangely but she stayed quiet, listening.

There it was. Two heartbeats. Funny that it was harder to hear her own. Beating out a samba together, she thought and smiled a bit.

"Oh!" the Doctor said, catching on. "Oh, now, I like that." He relaxed against her, looking unreasonably happy. He had to lean back slightly to look down at her face. "The one heart's still a bit weird," he said confidentially, scrunching up his face.

Rose laughed at him.

"Well, we'll just have to go around like this everywhere, then," she said, grinning. The Doctor looked suddenly doubtful.

"All right," he said, hugging her tightly to him with one arm as if getting used to the idea. He jerked his head toward the front seat, mischief in his eyes. "But your mother's going to be-"

"Going to be what?" her Mum said sharply. Then, more softly with a hint of amusement, "I'm not going to be able to turn my back for a second on you two, will I?"

"Oh, we've stopped," Rose said in surprise, pushing away from the Doctor a bit and looking around. They'd pulled into a petrol station.

"Not that you'd notice," her mother scolded. "He's gone in to see if there's a phone, the sweetheart. Can you imagine, not having a mobile in today's day and age?"

"Maybe he likes the peace and quiet," the Doctor murmured.

"Don't you start," her Mum said. She put an arm on the back of her seat. "I suppose when we get home you'll be staying with us. God knows we can afford it...speak up, then!" her Mum urged obliviously.

The Doctor had frozen for a moment in entirely uncharacteristic indecision.

"Mum!" Rose said sharply, rescuing him.

"What?" she asked, turning to her daughter. "He can't be running about the universe now. Fixing things he's already cocked up. He's got to live it once through just like the rest of us."

"Mum," Rose groaned, "it doesn't work like that. You can't go back on your own personal time line, you'd cause a paradox and destabilize your entire..." Rose glanced over at the Doctor, remembering who she was with. He was beaming at her, his mouth holding back a smile that was already shining from his eyes. He made a small encouraging noise. "...causal, ah, nexus," Rose finished, squirming a little in her seat. She hoped she wasn't blushing.

The Doctor grinned like the dawn breaking.

"Listen to you," he said delightedly. Rose bumped him with her elbow, smiling despite herself.

"Shut up," she said, ducking her head.

"You see that?" her Mum said flatly, looking at the Doctor and nodding her head at Rose. "That's your fault. I can't understand a thing she says half the time, these days."

The car door opened then, effectively ending the conversation.

"Today you have no luck," said their good Samaritan, sliding back in.

"What, no phone?" the Doctor asked, surprised. "No phone, in a petrol station?" He frowned skeptically. "Seems a bit unlikely."

"He says the power has been out for hours." The driver shrugged, and started the car. "There is a town along this road, not far. There is a hotel, an inn, if you need to call."

The Doctor got very tense and quiet. Rose glanced at the back of the driver's head and then leaned over, her hair falling over her face, keeping her voice low.

"Havin' the power out shouldn't do anything to the phones," she said very softly, suspicious. It wasn't really a question, it was more like clarifying their situation, and the Doctor leaned in, scratching the side of his head to hide his mouth from being seen by anyone in the front peering into the mirror at them.

"No, it shouldn't," he said faintly, a warning in his eyes. Rose smiled in a cheerful fashion that didn't reach her eyes, and the Doctor squeezed her hand once in reassurance.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, Rose thought suddenly, with a swell of amusement. She caught the Doctor eying her, looking a bit concerned. She tucked some stray hair behind her ear.

"Like old times," she said, smothering a smile, feeling slightly mad. The Doctor stared at her a moment and then flashed her that high-wattage grin of his.

"Yeah," he agreed, sounding delighted.

Well. At least they were mad together...

"So, tell me--I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," the Doctor began in a friendly voice, leaning forward between the seats to talk to the driver.

"Too busy snogging my daughter," Jackie muttered. Rose frowned. They hadn't been (well, on the beach, sure, but not in the car...).

"Now," the Doctor corrected sharply, "To be fair, she snogged me."

Rose choked on a laugh. She couldn't really argue with that. On the beach, she'd definitely started the snogging. The driver snorted.

"But, as I was saying, I haven't been properly introduced," The Doctor said smoothly, in that marvelous tone of voice that had a tendency to just rollercoaster over everyone's common sense and get people to do the most outrageous things simply because he said so.

"Jarno," the driver replied, still chuckling. "And you are the Doctor?"

"That's me," the Doctor said pleasantly. "And where are you from, Jarno?" Rose watched as he pulled a sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and stealthily started to scan the driver, holding it behind the seat. Rose's eyes widened as she saw the screwdriver, and she actually opened her mouth, half ready to ask him if he'd nicked it. The Doctor caught her eye with a warning look and she stopped herself.

"I'm from Finland," Jarno said. "A town called Seinajoki."

"Ooh, you're a long way from home," the Doctor commented.

"Do you hear something buzzing?" Jarno asked, frowning. The Doctor flicked the screwdriver off and had it back in his pocket in a flash.

"I don't hear anything," Rose offered. "What brings you to Norway?" Jarno looked at her in the mirror.

"My sister, she lives not far from here. Thirty, thirty-five miles away," Jarno explained.

"That's wonderful of you, to come all this way for a visit," her Mum said sweetly.

"Oh, look. Are we here?" the Doctor said suddenly. They'd been passing houses here and there and were now coming up on a funny looking town. The buildings were something like row houses, shoved together tightly. Clusters of them would share a roof line, then break away and leave one house standing alone. They were perfectly square with little triangle roofs capped on top. Like life-size doll houses, nearly. Three or four stories, close as Rose could tell, and most of them had shops on the street level.

"Yes, there should be a hotel here on the left," Jarno said.

Rose frowned with a ripple of unease. The streets were totally empty. There wasn't a single person about. No one getting out of their cars, no one looking into the little shops. They passed a car that had been left by the side of the road with the door open, still running.

"Doctor," she said in warning, looking back at it as they passed.

"I know," he murmured, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"It looks deserted," he said, louder.

"It is Sunday, but...it does seem quiet, yes," the driver said with curiosity. He braked in front of one of the houses standing alone. There was a sign in front that she couldn't read. "Your stop," Jarno announced.

"Oh, lovely," her Mum sighed. "I could do with a bite." She turned to the driver. "Come in and have something with us, won't you? It's the least I can do."

"I suppose..." Jarno began hesitantly.

"That's settled," her Mum said, giving his arm a pat. "I'll just run in, shall I? You can park the car. Coming, Rose?"

Her Mum hopped out and made for the front door, pleased as punch.

"Yeah," Rose said slowly, getting out of the car a lot more reluctantly than her mother had. She looked over the roof of the car and saw that the Doctor had frozen in place. She went around to him quickly, shutting the door after her.

He was wide-eyed and still, staring out at the deserted street.

"Can you smell it?" he asked her. Rose frowned and sniffed. She noticed another car down the road a little way with its door open and the lights on, and got a chill.

"I don't smell anything. What is it?" she prodded. The Doctor narrowed his eyes.

"Trouble," he said.

Behind them, there was a sudden hollow thud and Jarno started to bellow in fear. Rose and the Doctor whipped around to see someone (something?) beating on the windshield of the car. It lifted a hand, brought it down and cracked the glass like it was breaking a toy.

From the front porch of the hotel, her mother shrieked.

Jarno put his foot on the gas and jerked the wheel, screeching off down the street. The man (thing?) did not dislodge and fall away for at least a block. Jarno did not stop the car.

After a moment, the thing crumpled in the road staggered to its feet. It started to stumble back towards them. It was person-shaped, but...there was something in the quality of the movement that scratched at the back of her mind, lifting all the hairs on her arms.

"What...what is it?" Rose asked, realizing that the Doctor had put himself between the creature and her.

Her Mum, who had been pounding on the door for someone to let them in, suddenly yelled out indignantly.

"What! Let go-" Rose looked to see several pairs of hands dragging her mother inside the building.

"Mum!" she shouted, ducking around the Doctor and tearing up the steps. They'd slammed the door, taking her mother, and the sound echoed down the street like a gunshot.

"Rose!" the Doctor cried from behind her, though she couldn't think why. She'd just lifted her hand to beat on the closed door when she saw, out of the corner of her eye...something moving in the bushes. Not two feet from her. There was something in the bushes...

Rose felt a hand snake around her waist, and the Doctor jerked her back just as a flailing white hand reached out from the greenery to snatch at the air where she'd been standing. The Doctor's one heart was pounding a staccato beat against her back as the thing stepped forward out of the shadows.

It was a person. It...had been a person. The Doctor pulled her down the steps as she gaped at it. It moaned, faintly, eerily, and staggered after them, staring at them with dead eyes. There was all this greenish...stuff clinging to its skin. Mold or fungus...rot.

"That's not," Rose said faintly, and saw with rising alarm two more stumbling out from behind the building. She lifted a hand and pointed, turning to look at the Doctor's face. "They can't be..." Zombies? Couldn't possibly be.

"Yeah," the Doctor said tightly, his head swiveling around. Rose turned to look and saw another one, stumbling in at them from the side. She felt his hand dart down and grip hers, hard, and she knew what that meant. "Run!" the Doctor urged, and they took off together down the empty street, a growing horde of impossible monsters staggering after them.

Author's Note:

My first non-drabble Doctor Who. So, I'm pimping for a beta. Anyone?