Blips
Blips
"Who else?" Rose Tyler demanded, hands leaning on the Tardis console and fixing the Doctor with an angry gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mickey as he awkwardly poked around the control room, pretending he wasn't there. She didn't blame him -- not long ago, they shared feelings. But now, things had changed. It was her and the Doctor.
A man Rose Tyler knew almost nothing about. Save that he was a time traveler, and was drawn to trouble like a moth to a flame.
"Who else." The Doctor said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his baggy brown pinstriped pants. He shifted from one foot to the other. Gaze falling on the rise and fall of the router in the center of the console. "Who else, who else, who else…."
The console was mushroom shaped and a mish-mash of gadgets -- ranging from a high tech laptop for a monitor to a turkey baster. It was organic looking, and yet crystalline in nature and at the same time relied on electronic relays and wires to conduct power. It amazed Rose, every time the seemingly kitchen sink control panel managed to direct them to countless times and planets.
"Yes, dammit, who else, besides me?" Rose folded her arms. She watched him do a circle in place and adjust his tie. His light brown bangs fell in his eyes, making his boyish face look innocent, rather than worn with centuries of loneness.
"Why is it so important to you?" The Doctor suddenly asked.
Typical. He always turned the question around, putting her on the spot. Rose eyed him, feeling a pang of hurt. They had traveled together on countless adventures and she knew virtually nothing about the man with her and he did everything in his power to make sure that was so. "Sarah, she traveled with you?"
"You can't avoid it, mate." Mickey piped plopping himself on a chair in front of the console. "Now that she's met the other Mrs. you're in trouble."
"Yes, trouble." The Doctor waved a hand, fixed Rose with a glare. "I did say you could bring him, didn't I?"
"Yes." Rose nodded. "I believe to Sarah, and now that I think of it, it's not a bad idea."
"Well, at least someone agrees!" Mickey announced. He leaned back in the chair. Rose could tell he had been apprehensive about going along with them, as if not welcome. Not that Rose blamed him; she had been very uptight since their last debacle and not exactly accommodating to Mickey since he requested to go with them.
"Who else." Rose stood fast. "I thought I knew you."
"You don't." The Doctor circled the console and studied the controls as if he was trying to determine their course. "Who else what?"
"Traveled with you?" Rose threw up her hands, now allowing annoyance fill her voice.
"Rose wants to know if there are any more ladies." Mickey informed him. He was enjoying this, Rose thought, and she felt a pang of annoyance. This was about the Doctor and her, not Mickey, the Doctor and her…
The Doctor stopped walking, and kicked the floor with his shoe. "Oh, that. I don't talk about that. Why?"
Rose heaved a breath. He never talked about anything that would allude to his past. And it hurt, she couldn't explain why, but a part of her ached when she thought about him with another. It was irrational and very childish, but she did. "Because knowing who you traveled with would help me know you more."
There was a glint of pain in his gaze. The Doctor looked down. "Rose."
"Doctor. Please." Rose gave him a weak smile. "I know it hurts." She told him gently. "But after Sarah, I… Would like to know who else you've touched."
"Sarah was special." The Doctor said distantly. He gave a weak laugh. "I suppose they were all special." He looked away, and touched the console affectionately. "Many." He said simply. "All of them special, all of them gone. Blips in time, Rose. What else do you need to know? My granddaughter, two teachers, a Sailor, a Swinger, a Highlander and a girl looking for a father… A physicist. Those were the days, weren't they? I was young, not a care in the world, it was all about the adventure and good company… But I learned the hard way, Rose. When it ended, it was indeed the hard way." He paused, the silence filling in his grief. "A scientist, and Jo, dear, dear, Jo, Sarah, Harry, Leela, K-9, Romana…"
Those eyes filled with dark lonely pain that made her ache for him. Rose wrung her fingers, looking deep into his eyes. She could almost see the expanse of space in them. He had seen so much and lost far more than she could imagine. "Romana was one of my people." A smile split his face and she saw affection fill his eyes. "I'm so proud of her, struck out on her own you know… She, she was a Timelord…" His fingers trailed down the controls, touching, fiddling, feeling the switches and dials. "She's gone now. Time war, took everyone you know."
"I'm sorry." Rose wanted to go to him, but she sensed his pause was only to shed a brief tear. The Doctor, he loved those in his life while they were there, shed a single tear when they were gone and moved on.
And he did. "A mathematician, a stewardess, a princess, an exile…. A student, and computer programmer, and delinquent… So many, Rose. I miss them all…" He dropped his hand away, and turned to face her and Mickey. "Now you, Rose, I'm traveling with you… And Mickey… Blips in time."
"I'm not a blip." Rose said, she glanced at Mickey who was now watching with interest. She crossed over to the Doctor. "I'm more than a blip." She gathered his hand into hers and squeezed his fingers. "I'm Rose Tyler, your friend. Friends aren't blips, Doctor. We are worth remembering."
Just for a moment, the hurt faded and he touched her face. The Doctor heaved a breath, surrendering to her logic. "Yes, yes, of course you're right. I've gotten cynical in my old age, haven't I." He scratched the back of his head, and gave a nervous chuckle. "Well then, where do we go next?"
It was the best she knew she'd ever get out of him. Rose Tyler gave a tired sigh. "You are impossible."
"I suppose I am." He replied. And turned his attention to the console once more. "But I did answer your question, didn't I?"
"I suppose." Rose sighed. She leaned her hips against the console and watched him. Well she did know a little more about him -- that was better than nothing. "It's the best I'll ever get? That you like collecting people, different types of people. I suppose that makes you eclectic."
He paused, blinking, and brushed his hands though his hair "I let you keep Mickey. So I suppose so. Eclectic… Sounds quite right to me. Now, I really hate repeating myself, where to next?"