Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. *SOB*
A/N: Okay, first off, "Asylum of the Daleks" and "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"? WOW. Please PM me with any theories, thoughts, or just ranting, since I'm basically spending all my time trying to figure out what's going on.
Anyway, this was just an idea I had. Not sure if it'll be one part or two, still deciding.
"This isn't Arcadia."
The Doctor sighed, stepping out of the TARDIS. Amy was looking around at what was presumably a town in England, or at least somewhere on Earth, a frown of disappointment gracing her features. "Really, Doctor, you might actually carry through on a few of your promises."
"Now, now, Pond, I did manage to get you to space Florida." He admonished, sniffing the air. "Cardiff… Cardiff, of all places. Sometime in the nineties." The last was part was aimed rather balefully at the TARDIS.
Amy had completely ignored him, aside from the space Florida comment. "Yeah, and then the sand came alive and attacked us. Great trip, really. Nothing like getting your skin rubbed raw by vicious sand."
"It happens on occasion!" he protested, heading down the street. He wasn't sure why, or where he was even going. He just felt like there was something he needed to see. "Wasn't my fault we arrived the very day that lifeguard decided to use his evil genius for… well, evil."
"See, you say that, but somehow I reckon you do it on purpose." Amy said. As he sped up, she did too. "Where are you off to so fast? It's just Cardiff. Nothing ever happens here, not that I know of."
"Yes… well, while your entire life was being unwritten from time, aliens were attacking Cardiff." He reminded her gently. "Canary Wharf, Sycorax invasion, plastic mannequins." Oh.
That was the moment he realized that he was heading towards the Powell Estate. It hadn't even been a conscious choice, his legs had just started out of habit, of reflex. He hadn't been to Cardiff since his regeneration.
Amy was still chattering away by his right ear. "So we're going to stay here and hope aliens show up? I knew it! I swear, you look for trouble."
"No." he told her. "I just… there's something I want to see. Someone that I…" he decided to leave it at that.
"Okay." Amy found his behavior odd; he was being unnaturally serious. "Who?"
"Just a family that lives here. Don't know how old they all are, or how many are still living here—since I can't pinpoint the exact year."
"I thought that you didn't do domestic. You practically cringe at the mention of homes."
"I most certainly do not cringe! But no, I don't do domestic, I just happen to know this family."
Powell Estate loomed only ten or twenty feet away. The Doctor wondered how old Rose was. She'd never said when she was born, not the year. He wondered why it had never come up. Then again, time all blurred together in the TARDIS. She probably hadn't even know when her birthday was since it was hard to count the days.
"What is this place?" Amy asked. She recognized it as an Estate, somewhere for those who were poorer than most to live. She wondered who the Doctor could know that lived there.
"Powell Estate." He said.
There was a scream, high-pitched and childish, from just behind the closest part of the building. Amy sighed. "Don't tell me it's aliens?"
"Let's find out! Geronimo!" the Doctor cheered, grabbing Amy's arm and urging her to run faster. Oh, of course there would be aliens. This building seemed to attract them like large humans attracted Slitheen.
As they rounded the corner of the building the Doctor was surprised—and slightly disheartened—to see the backs of two or three teenage boys. "Oh, now that's no fun!" he grumbled to Amy.
The aforementioned companion jabbed her arm into his ribs. "Look."
"What?"
"Look!"
He did. The boys were towered over something or someone… a crying someone.
"Sad little baby, too poor to afford any real school things!" one of them taunted in a high-pitched voice not unlike a small girl. The boy was holding a tiny pink backpack in his hands, which he proceeded to hand to one of his cohorts. The boy who now held the backpack grinned unpleasantly and walked over to one of the dumpsters, dropping it in.
The first boy snickered. "Oops."
Then, with suddenness and ferocity that made the Doctor's vision burn red with anger, the boys pulled sand, dirt, and pebbles from their pockets and began to pelt the small figure in front of them with it. The small child's cries were muffled.
"Doctor, do something!" Amy ordered, in an almost bossy manner.
He wanted to, oh, he wanted to so badly. But he had frozen, because the boys were yelling insults, calling the poor, terrified child "baby Rose" and "worthless Tyler" and a hundred other degrading names, and he knew who she was.
And just like that he was the Oncoming Storm. He strode through the crowd, his stance so menacing that they ceased tormenting Rose. He just looked at them, his face so horrible in that moment as he said, "Stop. Now." Amy found that she was very afraid of him for a second, and had to remind herself that he wasn't addressing her.
The bullies left, never looking back, and the Doctor made sure to calm down so he wouldn't frighten Rose.
She was no older than maybe seven or eight. She was so skinny… he hair hung limply around her face, a darker color than he'd last seen it. She was curled into a ball on the ground, whimpering and crying because there was dirt in her mouth and eyes, and because some of the pebbles had been less like pebbles and more like rocks.
"Rose?"
Little Rose lifted her head warily, still wailing at an impressive volume. She wriggled away, looking at him much like a caged animal would look at its captor. He felt awful, that she was so scared she thought he might harm her.
"No, shhhhh, it's okay." He soothed. "I won't hurt you. Just… let me help. Please."
He didn't know how that had changed her mind, but she allowed herself to be scooped up into his arms, sobbing furiously. He wasted no time in trying to rid her face and stinging eyes of dirt and sand, then checking to make surer the rocks hadn't hurt her. She seemed too upset and disoriented to really care who had saved her. He knew she probably couldn't see well either, with her eyes puffy.
"Doctor!"
He glanced up and saw Amy gesturing at him to come over to where she was. She stood beside a door, and a middle-aged woman was watching Rose with concern.
"She says Rose can come in her and get cleaned up." Amy explained.
The Doctor nodded, cradling the little girl close as he quickly went inside. Amy vanished, while the woman smiled at him and said she was Mrs. Seville, a neighbor of the Tylers.
When Amy appeared again she held out her arms for Rose. "I drew a bath for her."
The Doctor was wildly reluctant to hand Rose over to anyone, even someone he would trust with his life. Little Rose, still softly crying into his shirt, clung to him even more tightly as though in agreement.
"Doctor…" Amy repeated, sternly. "Please, she'll be safe with me." The last part was added in a much kinder voice.
He nodded. "Rose, you have to go with Amy. She's very nice, and she'll get all that dirt off of you."
He couldn't tell if she was saying yes or nodding, but her hands loosened from his jacket enough that he could gently pry her hands from him coat and hand her over to Amy. Rose was distraught enough that she didn't seem to mind the exchange, clinging to Amy as Amy carried her to the bathroom.
The Doctor tried to settle himself on the couch, but his entire body was jittery. It took him five minutes to realize that Mrs. Seville was talking.
"... always calling her names and tryin' to hurt her, poor little thing." She finished, watching him expectantly.
"What? Oh. Yes. I know." He blurted. "I mean, I saw just then, but it's not like I knew, not really…" the thought struck him with sadness. Rose had been bullied when she was little, and she'd barely mentioned it to him?
Mrs. Seville chattered on about how law enforcement ought to do something about it, but his mind was already far away…
… He and Rose had been visiting Jackie, as they often did whenever Rose felt herself getting homesick for her mum, or just didn't want to do the washing. He was seated next to Rose on a low, cement-block wall, waiting for Jackie's two gossipy friends to leave. They had practically attacked him when he'd walked inside with Rose, chattering on about how he was so handsome, was he Rose's boyfriend? Oh, they travelled together? How interesting.
Suffice to say, the Doctor had suggested to Rose that they wait outside while the two women bid goodbye to Jackie.
"They're not that bad." Rose was saying, far too amused by his plight. She hadn't even tried to rescue him from the sloppy, Jackie-esque kisses! "Really, I've known them since I was little, and they were always nice to me."
"Hmmph." He grunted, glaring balefully at her. "You could have given me some warning."
"Don't feel bad, they've gotten Mickey a couple times too."
"I'll bet they have." He was about to say more, but he'd noticed that Rose was frozen. He half-expected to see a Dalek in the distance, but there was nothing. No danger. No reason for her to be so petrified. In fact, he'd never seen be afraid of anything like that, not even when she was faced with unimaginable monsters.
"Rose, what is it?"
Her eyes were trained on two boys—well, men, actually—who were probably in their late twenties or early thirties. As they walked by, the youngest gave her a venomous glare but didn't say a word to her.
"Rose, why was he looking at you like that?"
Rose shook her head mutely, body visibly shaking.
He was overwhelmingly concerned. "Rose, please, tell me why you're so scared. I can help!"
"S'alright." she responded at last, finding her voice."It's nothing, I swear. He's no one."
She was still trembling, and he knew what she said was a lie. He put his arms around her, drawing her close. She buried her head against his chest, little whimpers escaping her throat despite herself.
"I'm fine." She insisted into the fabric of his coat."I'm always fine." It was an echo of what he said whenever he was hurting. She knew that, and it was her way of telling him that she was hurt and scared, but that she wouldn't always be.
"'Course you are." He agreed, kissing the top of her head.
The rest of the day had been nice and normal. Rose had shaken off whatever scared her, and they'd soon left for another planet. It had never occurred to him that the man had been one of the boys that bullied her.
His head shot up when Amy entered the room again, Rose snuggled in her arms and no longer crying. As she took her back and sat on the couch she hiccupped softly, then yawned.
"Thank you." she mumbled in a tiny little voice. "You made them go away."
"I did." He agreed. "And I can promise you that I won't let them hurt you again."
"I don't think that's—" Amy started.
"They're not going to hurt her again." he repeated. He said it in the gentlest tone he could muster, not wanting to scare Rose, but Amy saw the determined glint in his eyes.
She nodded, reluctant. "Okay."
He looked down at the little head, nestled into his jacket. Rose was drifting off to sleep already. "Hey, you feel better?"
Huge brown eyes looked deeply into his. "I guess. But… what if they do come after me again?"
The Doctor knew Rose well enough to know that it was code for, no one believes me, no one can protect me.
"And besides, I'm just an Estate girl." She added in a tiny, sad voice.
"Oh, Rose." He wished he could tell her about all the wonderful, amazing things she was going to do. He wished he could take her to the stars with him right then. But he couldn't, so he settled for second best. "Don't think for a minute that means you don't matter. Just because you're poor, because you're little and everyone says you'll never be able to get anywhere in life… you can do anything you want, Rose, anything. You could go see the stars. You could travel anywhere. Oh, you're going to do so much!"
Rose's eyes were wide and wondering. "Really?"
"Promise."
Exhausted, she grinned at him one last time before her eyelids fluttered shut. He realized with regret that he would have to leave. Poor little Rose was going to have to struggle through life like she'd done before he met her.
It was Amy that finally forced him to leave Rose, peacefully slumbering on the couch in the care of Mrs. Seville, who promised to bring her home when Jackie came back from work. As they left, he kept an eye out for any of the boys. None of them were there.
"Who was she?" Amy asked, when the Estate was out of sight.
"Rose." He said simply. "I travelled with her when she was older."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." He forced the tears away. "She was the stuff of legends."
Amy nodded in understanding. "And she's gone?"
Silence.
"So, where to next?" she piped up, hoping to brighten the mood.
"I have somewhere in mind."
DW~DW~DW~DW
He'd remembered another part of that day, when he and Rose had seen her bullies but he hadn't know them. Rose had gone off somewhere, and when she'd come back her mascara had been smeared below her eyes. He'd tried to ask her why she'd been crying, but she brushed it aside and changed subjects, effectively distracting her.
Something that day had been wrong.
He made sure to park the TARDIS far away from the past one. Even so, he could feel the walls humming with nervous energy, his ship clearly uncomfortable being near her past self. It was wrong, very, very wrong. But he had to do it.
He made his way to where she'd disappeared; it was behind the Estate, where the trash bins were. Amy crouches low behind him, confused as to why they were at the exact same building as before. "Doctor, what—?"
He shushed her. "I saw her tormentors, but I didn't know them then. Something about this day… I can't explain it. It's wrong."
Amy nodded though she still didn't understand.
The Doctor's breathe caught in his throat when he saw her. Rose was a mere twenty feet away, carrying a black plastic bag. That was right, her mum had asked her to throw it out. She was about to, when the men came from around the corner, right behind her. Rose heard their heavy footfalls and gasped, dropping the bag.
"Well, well, well… if it isn't Tyler." One of them hissed. "I thought you left—went travelling, your neighbors said. With a man, a much older man."
The Doctor was indignant at what they suggested. He wanted nothing more than to throttle every one of them.
Rose was trembling. "Please…"
"Nothing changes, then. Still a dirty little Estate slut." He smirked. "Whoring yourself out just so you can go places. You know what? I think you need a lesson."
The three advanced on Rose, who tried her best to muster a furious look. "I'm tellin' you, you shouldn't do this! My friend, he's right upstairs with my mum. If I just yell—"
With a startling suddenness she was pressed against the cement-block wall, a hand over her mouth. "Go ahead." The man teased. "Yell. Scream. Fight. It'll only be worse for you."
The Doctor could take it anymore. He sprang from his hiding place, Amy hot on his heels. He ripped the first man's hands away from Rose's shirt, freeing her. As for Amy, she had taken down the second one with terrifying efficiency—he hadn't know she could fight so well. Rose started at them both with wide eyes, watching as they forcibly removed the three men.
"Leave." The Doctor commanded. "Don't hurt her again."
They were smart enough to know that they should get out. They stumbled away, shooting Rose venomous glares.
"T-Thanks." Rose stammered. She was glancing between the two warily. "Who are you?"
"Rose." murmured the Doctor.
"Yeah, I… how'd you know my name?"
He shook his head. "Nevermind. You're safe, that's all that matters."
Maybe he should have been carefully. Maybe he should have pretended he didn't care. Maybe he should have walked away… because she soon as those words escaped his lips she looked at him with recognition, and launched herself into his arms. "Doctor!"
"What?! No, that's ridiculous, don't be silly!" he stammered, trying to extricate himself. Then again, it was absolutely brilliant to be able to hold her. His will crumbled to bits, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Okay, yeah… that's me."
"You look different." She observed thoughtfully. "And…" she started at Amy.
"Hello." Amy said, suddenly nervous.
"She… oh." Rose's face fell. "I'm not with you anymore, am I?"
The Doctor realized that he should have already gone. Of course Rose was smart enough to see what had happened. Through death, or danger, or parallel worlds, she had lost him. Lower lip quivering, she had to take her eyes away from his, before he heart burst.
"Did I die?" she finally asked. Tears streamed silently down her face.
"No, Rose." He was about to do something he would forever regret. "You just can't see yourself, that's all. You know, timelines and all that."
"Really?"
He nodded, pulling her closer, so she could rest her head against his chest. "I promise. You're back in the TARDIS, waiting."
When she let go he dabbed gently underneath her eyes, trying to rid her of tears but instead smearing mascara everywhere. "Sorry."
"'S okay." She assured him. Biting her lip, she added, "How'd you know to come here?"
"Future you told me I had to." He said. "So… don't say anything about it to your Doctor now. Not until I regenerate, okay?"
"Okay!"
He watched her head back to her Doctor with heavy hearts. It was a terrible lie, but it was better than the truth. She would find it out eventually.
Amy managed not to say a thing until they were back in the TARDIS. "So… you love her?"
"She's gone." Was his only reply.
"You love her." Amy concluded. She didn't ask what "gone" meant, because she had her own theories. She didn't want to make the Doctor relive it.
When Amy was gone he leaned wearily against the console. He was so old now… sometimes he wondered why he kept going.
But of course, he had to. Mustering some strength, he dashed about and started to hit buttons and pull levers at random. As he did, he smiled a little himself and whispered, "Allons-y."
A/N: So this was written over three days because I was busy and then it morphed into this weirdness. I apologize for any typos. Also, I've now seen "A Town Called Mercy" so PM me about that too, if you want!
Review please?