1 And We have Liftoff!
DIMENSION CANNON FIRING IN 9…
"You have your stunner, Rose?"
"Yes, Micks."
8…
"Your pack?"
"Yes, Micks."
7…
"Remember to breathe, Rose."
"Micks, really. This isn't any where near my first jump."
6…
"I know, I know; I just worry about you."
"I love you, too Micks."
POWERSOURCE LOCKED
5…
"We have a good lock. Power source frequency is a touch off, but we're compensating for the distortion of dimensional folds."
4…
"Thanks, Malcolm."
"Sure thing, Boss!"
3…
"Rose…"
"Yes, Mickey?"
2…
"Be careful."
"Always!"
DIMENSIONAL JUMP COMMENS…
ZAAPPP!
Rose finally bursts into a dark interior corridor, stumbling as usual at the vertical difference between one floor and the next. That had been the weirdest jump yet. She'd felt suspended between two tugging forces for what felt like an eternity. She'd been worried about suffocating for a couple of seconds, when she was finally pulled here-wherever here was. At least she wasn't being shot at this time.
The walls around her appear to be older and of stone. The lighting looks modern, and by the evidence of the darkened windows, it's nighttime. Placing a hand to her chest, she presses the TARDIS key to her skin, and is disappointed at the lack of heat. It would have warmed up if the TARDIS were near. Why would she have been drug here if the TARDIS wasn't close? That's weird.
Well, if she's in the right Universe, the TARDIS will know and hopefully come to her. That's her hope anyway. Rose doesn't feel even a hint of the TARDIS' song in her head, though. This is probably another wrong Universe; she'll know for certain in another few minutes. It's a new skill she's developed recently. It's like each of the Universes has a certain vibration, and they feel just a touch off to her own. It takes a bit for her to settle down after a jump for her to notice.
Suddenly, she hears something that sounds like humming and a small crash through the doors nearest to her. She also hears whoever is in there curse, "Fudgesticks!" It sounds like a man. Sliding up to the door, Rose attempts to peer through the glass, which is somewhat frosted with age and who knows what else. One of the doors is open, and she's moving to that side, keeping to the shadows when she hears a cow…moo.
What the hell? she thinks to herself.
"Gene, it's past your bedtime, go to sleep. No milking for a few more hours," the man says…to the cow?
Rose leans into the doorway to glance inside. She sees what is obviously a lab. There are various pieces of equipment littering the space and every clear bit of table is strewn with computers, monitors, a telly, beakers, glass vessels, bits and bobs of wiring and gadgets, and an easy bake oven.
Her attention is so arrested by the odd assortment of scientific debris and a toy from her childhood that she hasn't noticed a man coming from a doorway further down the hall and into the corridor she's in. Freezing in place, Rose holds her breath, hoping he won't look her way. He doesn't notice her as he comes humming through his door and turns right. Rose sees that he's older, mid 60's maybe, and wearing a lab coat over his clothes. Hearing the door close after him, Rose slips into the poorly lit lab.
Obviously this bloke is working late by himself. The main lights are off with lit lamps strewn around the varying tables. Passing one of the tables, she can see the computer monitors are showing all kinds of data. One is displaying the interior of a brain with different lines of blinking colour. Another seems to be analysing a sound wave of some kind. Having earned her A-levels and gone to University in the last five years she's been trapped in Pete's world, she feels like she can almost parse out the emissions that are being analysed, but not without taking more time than she's sure she has. She needs to find the Doctor or the TARDIS. The vanishing stars aren't waiting around for her curiosity. The thing is though, maybe these people can help her. That is, if they aren't interested in immediately shooting her.
Rose means to move around the lab a bit more; doing a little recon, before the scientist comes back. She needs to find a place she can lay up and think about how best to approach and make allies. Time never moves the same between Universes, but the new jumpers are able to match her up to land within a 24 hour period in Pete's world. No matter how much time she spends here, it will be less than a day back at Torchwood. She's only had this new tech for the past three jumps, but it has made her observations much more thorough. Sometimes the Doctor hops around a given temporal location. Having a little extra time to suss out the trouble, greatly raises her odds of finding him.
Of course, sometimes she lands in a war zone and that initial hour for recharge can mean life or death. That had not been a fun jump. Appearing in a foxhole with three dead soldiers ranked pretty high as one of her worst days ever. Realising they were also children, children with guns had only made it worse. The hour of being pounded by mortars near at hand and the winging of bullets just over her head had earned Rose her first day off in a month. The look on Mickey's face when she'd jumped back covered in some poor kid's blood, unable to hear and obviously in shock herself had been one of his worst days. But no one else had the chance that she did of finding the Doctor—it had to be her.
These thoughts are coursing through Rose's mind when she's arrested by the equations on the whiteboard. These are seriously complex. They are working on a dimensional project as well. Those chunks of variables are definitely representing the flux of energies between two parallel universes. She would recognise these anywhere. They are nearly identical to the first round of trials that lead to the cannon. Her new degrees in theoretical temporal physics and electrical engineering gave her a wide base of knowledge to build from. The tertiary degree in psychology rounded out her ability to also talk to people about what they were doing with the cannon, so she didn't come off as just some rude know-it-all—unlike her favourite alien.
Rose is so caught up in her perusal of the mathematics spread across the board that she has completely forgotten what she's about or the fact that she isn't alone. Reaching for the cloth to make a correction, she's startled by a voice behind her.
"Oh, hello. Can I help you, my dear?"
"Oh! Umm, sorry, maybe..I don't really know. Hello, I'm Rose, Rose Tyler," she says, stepping away from the board and painting on her most charming smile.
"Rose, what a lovely name and you're British. My wife was British. I just love the Brits. Best french fries, but they call them…What do you call them, my dear? I'm Dr. Walter Bishop, this is my lab and I am pretty sure you shouldn't be here. Would you like a liquorice?" he asks holding up a small white bag of red liquorice strings.
It is at this moment that Rose realises that he no longer has any trousers on.
"Chips, we call 'em chips. Umm, sure…thanks," she says reaching for the bag. "You don't have any trousers on, ya know?"
"Oh I know; it helps me breathe."
"Not wearin' any trousers helps ya breathe?"
"Indeed it does, they're so constrictive. Do you like Led Zeppelin? I was feeling like a little Battle of Evermore tonight, or maybe some Puccini. Your choice, Petunia," he says as he wanders over to a very old, but apparently still functional record player. Vinyl, now there's something she hasn't seen since her mum sold their collection for groceries when she was little.
"Uh, sure, Zeppelin sounds good, unless you have the Ramones," she asserts, grinning at the strange old man.
He sort of reminds her a bit of the Doctor when he's in one of his distracted 'figuring out how everything ought to work' moods. This reminder gives her a pang of loneliness. Five years is a long time to pine away for a bloke, but as if any other man could hold a candle to her Doctor. She'll find him, that's all there is to it. She needs to save the Universe anyway, finding him will just be the bonus for all her hard work. Even if he's moved on, a life traveling with the Doctor is still worth it. Maybe she'll have the nerve to make him finish that sentence he'd started on that damn beach.
"The Ramones! Violet, you are a girl after my own heart," he enthuses, digging through his collection. With an exclamation of victory, he pulls End of the Century from his box and after fiddling with the player, Do you Remember Rock N' Roll starts playing at a volume that renders conversation impossible.
This was the second time he'd gotten her name wrong, which makes her grin at his forgetfulness. She's really warming up to this adorable scientist, but the music is going to hinder her ability to charm him into helping her. Moving around the table to where he has his back to her, Rose pulls on his sleeve to get his attention before turning the music down to a more palatable level.
"Oh! You startled me. You're still here, and you're real. Interesting. What are you doing here again?"
"Yeah, I'm real. Is that an option around here?"
"Well, I dropped acid yesterday and I thought you might be a leftover. Have you ever done LSD, my dear? If not, you should; my most recent batch was quite…exhilarating," he says with a daft little smile.
"Ahh, no, thank you. I'll just have to take your word for it. I'm actually hoping you can help me." The nutter did acid yesterday. What sort of a scientific lab was this?
"Oh, helping. I like to help, but we are rather busy at the moment. What do you need? What were you about to do to Peter's equations? He's been working on that for weeks."
"Weeellll, have your stars started goin' out yet?"
"Our stars," he repeats, a little blankly.
"Yeah, have any of your scientists started freakin' out about disappearin' stars and galaxies?"
"Not that I know of, but I am not a cosmologist. Currently we are working on inter-dimensional travel between our universe and the alternate universe next door."
"I know. It says that right here," Rose says, pointing at the white board. "It would help your equations to have the dimensional coordinates, as well of the space time fold differential. That's the part that's missin'…here," she says, pointing to a specific place between integers.
"How could you know that? I've never met you before," he states, beginning to get agitated. "You are probably still a figment of my mind You should go away now. I think I have to urinate again." And before she can even formulate a reply, the trouser-less Walter exits the lab again in the same direction as before which must indicate the direction of the loo. Good to know.
Okay, so who's Peter? These are apparently his equations. He must be another scientist, but really, what are they doing down here? Rose isn't really sure where here is, though she could guess America by his accent and his reference to British people. He's a bit barmy, but mostly sweet.
Walter reenters the lab, and is surprised again by Rose's presence. "Are you still here, Orchid? What are you doing?" he asks, hurrying to her side at the white board, where she's making some adjustments. "Peter will be angry, you must stop."
"It's Rose and yes, I'm still here. I am adding the differentials I just mentioned; this will help with the travelin'. What I don't understand, though, is this large variable. Is it a machine? These variations here at the top of the board are all about what seems to imply an inter-reality gateway. One that is apparently functioning. These are all about bein' able to travel between without the gateway. I can tell ya right now, it isn't fun." Looking over to him, Rose can see that Dr. Bishops's mouth is hanging open. Whipping his head around to look at her, he starts backing away from her slowly.
"Oi, you alright, mate?"
"Are you an alien?" he asks quietly, the look on his face fluctuating between fascination and fear.
"Well, not in the way that you mean, but yeah, I'm not from this Universe. I'm from another parallel. The stars are going out. I finally made it far enough away that it hasn't started here yet, but it will. It's happening everywhere, and I need to get back to my original Universe. I have a friend there who can stop this."
"Your original Universe and you have a friend who can stop the stars from going out?"
"Yes."
"Is he a scientist?"
"Yes, and so much more."
"Is he an alien?"
"Have you met any aliens, Dr. Bishop?"
"Oh, I don't know, dear. Not in my lab, though we have had some very strange things lately. Would you like to see my porcupine man?" he asks, his desire to show off his work winning out for a moment. Typical, Rose thinks, but then he becomes agitated again and says angrily, "No wait! You need to leave. This is all classified by the FBI. You must go…immediately!"
"Rude! Trust me, I have clearance where I'm from. And, technically, everything I've told you is also classified; but I need your help, Dr. Bishop. I was pulled here by a power source that's similar to the one I'm…err, tracking. I have to stop the stars going out or the Universe will end…all of them; including yours. So, Dr. Bishop will you help me?"
"How about I make us some tea? Tea would be nice, don't you think, Daisy? Do you take lemon or milk? Oh, I'll make breakfast, too! I know I have some eggs somewhere and Gene will have the milk ready. I'll just…"
"Dr. Bishop, please," Rose interrupts his ramble that he's trying to distract her with. "I can leave anytime I want, but I was really hoping you could help me. I'm must be here for a reason."
The indecision is clear on Walter's face. He doesn't know what to do. Why did it have to be so late? Another few hours and Peter would be here. He would know what to do with this strange young woman. How did she get in here? The University is locked up for the night and there are usually agents around. What if she's working for that Jones fellow? He's told her too much already. Maybe he should call Olivia, no wait, she's out of town.
Wringing his hands, he turns from Rose and chooses to ignore her completely. Pulling out the kettle and tea, he begins the process of making tea. Perhaps she will vanish the same way she appeared, either way he gets a cup of tea.
He's just about to pour the water when he hears the doors in the hallway open and close and in walks Peter. Walter's so happy he could kiss him.
"Peter, Peter, I'm so glad your here!" Walters begins excitedly. "There is a strange woman here, who just popped out of thin air an hour ago. She's fiddled with your equations…stars going out…aliens, Peter. And she knows about the machine. I don't know what to do. What if she works for him?" Rose feels bad about worrying Walter. She realises now that he must not be quite right in the head. Seeing him cower next to the man who just walked in, the aforementioned Peter, saddens her.
Rose had turned from the board as soon as she also heard the doors. She and Peter are currently sizing each other up as Walter blithers on. Peter is about 6' 2" and very fit. He moves well, and he's pulled his hands from his pockets, keeping them free at his sides. Though as Walter throws himself to Peter's side in anxiety, he spares an eye to look at Walter reassuringly, placing a hand to his shoulder while still watching Rose warily.
"Walter, calm down. I'm sure everything's fine. She doesn't look like she's going to hurt us or your work. I'll find out, okay? Just calm down."
"Yes, son. You're right," he says, shaking his head. Leaning in close to Peter, he loudly whispers and rolls his eyes towards Rose, "I think she's an alien, Peter." Walter then moves past Peter and out of the room.
"Oi, mate, she's right here and can hear you," she says, rolling her eyes and taking a couple of steps towards Peter. "I'm Rose Tyler. I'm not exactly an alien, thank you." Pointing at the board behind her, she asks, "These are you equations? Impressive work you have here." Putting her hand out to shake Peter's, he stays where he is, continuing his scrutiny. Seeing he's not ready for friendly gestures yet, Rose leans back against the counter, arms crossed, waiting.
"Could you remove your gun and your pack?" he asks her, eyeing her movements.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she says, "I could set my stunner aside, s'not a gun with bullets. Will that make you feel better? My pack stays, but I won't go for it. Nothin' in there I need at the moment anyway."
Uncrossing her arms, she reaches in under her jacket and slowly unclips her standard issue Torchwood stunner, setting it out on the counter. Peter follows her with his eyes, but stays loose and ready about a meter away.
Peter glances at the gun and instantly knows it isn't like anything he's ever seen before. It's sort of shaped like a regular gun, but has an attached power source and more than one barrel. That's interesting and actually relaxes him further. She could have used that on him or Walter at any point. She moves like a soldier. She calls it a stunner, which should mean non-lethal and he can tell she isn't carrying any more weapons; other than herself maybe. She reminds him of Olivia a bit—the attractive exterior hiding the dangerous person beneath.
Taking another few moments to asses her, he opts to accept her offer and takes his own step forward, hand extended. "Peter Bishop. I apologise for the hesitancy, but we've dealt with some pretty weird circumstances lately…"
"Usually," pipes up Walter from the other side of the lab as he reenters.
"Usually, and it's made us a bit leery of strangers. Truthfully, I should call the FBI and have you arrested for trespassing in a classified lab, but I won't…for now."
A grin bursts across her face with a hint of tongue poking out, and Rose takes his hand firmly.
"Thanks, Peter. I don't really fancy a stay with your feds, nor a detention centre probably crawling with people that will want to poke me with needles and find out how I tick."
"Actually, you are in just that sort of place where we would poke you full of needles to find out how you tick," Walter tells her succinctly. "I've never met a real alien before, well of the outer space variety anyway. Does this mean I can have a blood sample? That would be lovely." With obvious enthusiasm, he picks up a hideously huge syringe.
"Just hold on Walter, let me talk to our guest a bit before we start with the dissections, okay?" Peter asks eyeing the syringe and looking amusedly at Walter.
"Oh, fine," he pouts. "I'm going to go milk Gene." Grabbing a pale and leaving in a bit of a huff, Walter heads over to the corner containing the cow. A startled moo follows a few seconds later causing Peter and Rose to chuckle.
"So, Miss Tyler, Walter said you were interested in my equations, and what do you know about the machine?" he asks Rose directly.
"It's just Rose. So...you and Walter, he your dad?" Rose asks first, nodding toward where the sounds of milk splashing into the pale can be heard.
"Yes,…he is." Rose notices his slight hesitation and files it away. In a sense, he's just inadvertently answered one of her questions and she's about to put it to good use. The affection and smile reassure her that Peter does in fact care for Walter. This makes Rose want to trust him, so she decides on all or nothing. This is the first jump she's had that's placed her in a situation that could potentially help her more than just pointing her in the right direction.
"Alright Peter. I feel like I should trust you. Not really sure why, but I trust my instincts and I think you can help me, or maybe I'm here to help you. I'm not from this Universe; I come from a different one and not your parallel through the gateway either. So, if you have some time, I have a story to tell you," she says to him, cocking her head to one side and smiling at him. Then she drops her little nugget to drive her point home. "Then I'm going to ask for yours, because I know for a fact you aren't from here either."
A/N: Had this idea bouncing around in my head and it would NOT leave me alone! I hope you enjoy it. It is more or less canon compliant with both shows and NOT part of my Sphere's 'verse. If you haven't watched Fringe, please do! All of them are on Netflix. It is smart, crazy, gorgeous, and the acting is top-notch. I loved it so much, I actually miss it. Being a Doctor Who fan I was amazed at how much similarity there was at times. And often I would think, "Oooo that would make the Doctor MAD!" Anyway, I hope you enjoy this crossover and any thoughts or criticisms are much appreciated. :-)