[ I do not, in any way own Doctor Who; the BBC owns this wonderful series. :( ]
Please be gentle! I'm working with no beta - and I'm really proud of this story and how it's developing. ^_^ Comments are great! Comments keep me writing!
NORWAY, OVER BAD WOLF BAY, PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Rose was asleep on his shoulder, her lips parted in an unbelievably adorable pout, as the plane rumbled on towards Heathrow. She was exhausted…hadn't slept in days, she deserved this moment of bliss. The Doctor shifted softly beneath her, not wanting to wake Rose Tyler for the world. Snoozing, blessedly silent, Jackie Tyler sat across from them in another row. "Are you sure you'll be okay without traveling," she'd asked him. He'd promptly told her he perfectly adored the idea of spending the rest of his life with her, and that was the end of that. Besides, it's not like he had the choice to "travel," not like they would have before anyway. The Doctor, the half-human, half-Time Lord Doctor on this plane now, flying towards the London in the parallel universe had no TARDIS by which to do said traveling, besides that…they were stuck in this universe whether they liked it or not. But how could he not like it? For two, torturously long years, he'd pined for Rose -- desperate to have her near him again…and now he had her. Oh sure, there are some that might argue that he's not the "proper Doctor," and bollocks to that, he'd say. He had the same memories, the same thoughts, hell -- even the same desires. As he told Donna on the Crucible…"I am the Doctor."
Rose murmured something about the Slitheen in her slumber and the Doctor, now calling himself John Smith, of course, couldn't help the grin that traced along his features. Oh, the stories we can tell our grandkids, he thought absently to himself. Wait…did he just think that? "Grandkids?" Well, that would pretty much imply, by force of biological law…that he and Rose would have to…Oh, he thought to himself, suddenly a little more aware of Rose's hand innocently resting on his thigh. "Oh." John Smith said out loud.
"What'd you say?" Rose asked in groggy tones, bringing the Doctor out of his thoughts as she turned her sleep heavy eyes up to him.
"Nothing, Rose. Go back to sleep now." The Doctor coaxed. Please, just go back to sleep, he begged silently…suddenly wishing he was half-Time Lord, half-telepathic. Bugger that, if I was all time lord, I'd be a telepathic…he grumbled, smoothing Roe's hair as she fell back to her plane-ride slumber.
Oh this was going to be a long flight. The Doctor was most certain of that.
TORCHWOOD HUB, CARDIFF, WALES
"Tea?" Ianto asked the Doctor, bending slightly at the waist to offer him one of four cups on the silver tray he presented.
"No," the Doctor said solemnly, "thank you."
Ianto quickly moved on to Gwen and Jack before taking his own cup of tea and settled down to the meeting room table. It was odd, to have a visit from the famous "Doctor" they'd only just half-way met via Harriet Jones, yes we know who she was, and her brilliant sub-wave network. But as amazing as the Doctor seemed…something was a bit off.
"So, just a refuel then?" Jack asked, trying to prompt the silent, skinny man with two hearts for any kind of conversation. The TARDIS had materialized in the middle of the hub…the Doctor stepped out, and aside from his polite refusal of tea…he'd not said a word.
Nodding to Jack's obvious probing, the Doctor steepled his fingers in front of his lips, his eyes narrowing in a severity of conscious thought as he remained vigilantly silent. Jack was getting the feeling that this had more to do with the recent events than with soaking up the energy of the rift for the TARDIS batteries.
"Gwen…Ianto, if you'll give the Doctor and I a moment?" Jack asked for privacy politely…desperate to get in the Doctor's head. He'd not seen the Doctor wallow in pity, not ever…and it just didn't sit well with him.
Gwen and Ianto, eager to mix conversation with their new, famed friend…but diligently loyal to Jack, gave him his requested privacy with only a slight pout.
"Right," Gwen started, tugging at Ianto's shirt sleeve, "we've got that thing…that material to go over. Right. We'll just be going over material." Horrible at improvisation sometimes, she was at least trying.
"Right," Ianto agreed, "'material.'" And off they went.
Jack moved from his seat, stepped around the Doctor's chair and shut the meeting room door behind Gwen and Ianto. For a moment, he stood there…his back to the door, staring at the bowed head of the grand Doctor.
"Alright, I'm listening. Spill it."
The Doctor, finally giving some sign of life, looked up to Jack and Captain Harkeness thought he might die of a broken heart, for the look he was given.
Now he knew exactly what was wrong.
"Doctor," Jack sighed, taking a seat right next to the mourning man as he placed his hands on the table, "she's safe…Rose is safe." He reiterated, making sure the Doctor knew he was talking about her and not Donna, though -- that was a conversation that was surely to come.
"I know." Was the Doctor's only response, though it sounded as if a Death March had just struck up and the Doctor was here to give the eulogy. "And she's got…" well, just how to word this one, "…me."
"Destiny's a bitch." Jack shrugged, not really thinking anything he said would help the Doctor struggle through this difficult time. "But, you know she'll be loved…he loves her."
"I love her!" The Doctor argued, causing Jack to blink repeatedly in shock. Never had he heard the Doctor speak of such intimacies before, and though he was definitely not opposed to hearing it from the most selfless man he'd ever met…it was a shock to the system. "Sorry." The Doctor apologized, his tone diminished, his face red in embarrassment.
"What are you sorry for?" Jack smiled…he couldn't help it. "I love her too," Jack confessed, "of course, in a strictly brotherly way," he quickly amended so as not to trigger any latent jealous, possessive act by the love-sick man. Who knew what this Time-Lord would do at the slightest quip now that he felt all was lost.
"Of course. Sorry."
Jack sighed at the hopelessness in the Doctor's voice and shook his head, "look it's not what you want to hear, but there's nothing we can do. She's gonna be happy, taken care of, and she'll finally get to love you, the way she's always wanted to."
"But she loved me. Me! Not that murdering, genocide inducing clone!" There was true anger in his eyes, but…anger at what? His "other half," or the universe for fucking up royally, just one more time?
"You know, as much as I love and respect you Doctor, if we keep on at this, I'm afraid my head will explode, and I'm not too sure I'll come back from that one." Jack groaned, this "it's me, but not me" business really tweakin' his logical thinking. "Come on, I'll show you around the hub…Ianto and Gwen are dying to…Doctor?" Jack paused, as the look on the Doctor's face turned from fury and hurt to a look of relaxation and "far-offness."
"Doctor." Jack stated, touching the Doctor's arm with a concerned look on his features.
"What? Oh, right! The hub. Shall we? Dying to see what a non-evil, void creating Torchwood looks like!" The Doctor responded, his full, vibrant attitude back in full-swing.
"What -- " Jack started, flabbergasted as he stood staring at the Doctor, "-- what just happened?" He asked…to which the Doctor smiled.
"Moving on, Jack ole boy…moving on."
How come I don't believe that in the least, Jack thought as he followed the Doctor through the hub, with an arched brow.
SOMEWHERE OVER LONDON, PARALLEL UNIVERSE
"Rose? Rose darling." Jackie whispered, gently shaking her sleeping daughter, rousing her from her slumber, as the plane landed.
"Ma'am…I'm sorry, but you'll have to return to your seat and fasten your safety-belt while the plane is landing." The stewardess stated, a clear look of annoyance on her face.
"Alright, hold your knickers, I'm just trying to wake up Sleeping Beauty over there."
"Ma'am, please." The stewardess asked again, this time a bit more firm.
Jackie stuck out her tongue and returned to her seat in a huff, fastening her safety-belt as instructed…though not without a few well-put-together insults for the chipper little flight-attendant.
"Sleep well?" The Doctor asked gently, in a whisper just meant for Rose as he helped her sit up.
"Yeah, I think I did." Rose answered, still sleepy, her mother's arguing waking her from her "nap." "First time in ages." she added, yawning for effect as she stretched her hands above her head.
The Doctor's eyes traveled down the length of her form only to rest upon the little slip of flesh between her shirt hem and the waist band of her pants. "Ages…" he agreed, tearing his eyes from her body as the planed jolted at touch-down.
"We've landed." Rose announced to her mom, wiping at her eyes, as if the sleepy contentment just wouldn't dissipate. "You're gonna love it here." I hope, Rose thought dreadfully…wondering if this would be too much for a half-human, half-Time Lord with all the memories and feelings of a proper Time-Lord.
"I already do." The Doctor answered, interlacing his fingers with hers, bringing a half-shocked, half-giddy smile to Rose's face…which, of course, prompted a purely Doctor giggle that made her forget for a long moment, just which man she was dealing with here.
TYLER RESIDENCE, LONDON, PARALLEL UNIVERSE
"Pete! Where's my Tony!?" Jackie called out once she entered the front-door of the large manor.
"Rose!" Pete Tyler exclaimed as he rounded the corner with the bouncing two-year old on his hip.
Rose smiled to see her mother's husband, technically her "father," but technically not. Clinging desperately to the Doctor's hand, suddenly things just seemed…different.
"Don't look so worried sweetheart," Pete started…handing Tony off to his doting mother, "your mother explained everything over the phone. You two can stay in the guest room." Jackie gave Pete a look of approval and disappeared down the hall with Tony, towards the nursery.
"Uh -- right, thanks." Rose nodded, nibbling nervously on her bottom lip…a habit the Doctor was starting to love.
Offering his hand to the Doctor, Pete Tyler smiled gratefully, "Thank you for helping our Rose get back home."
The Doctor had so many things he wanted to say in that moment, as he took Pete's hand, but…all he could think about was that he and Rose had been put up in the same room.
"Rose? Exactly how many guest rooms is there here?" He asked, to the side, as he waved and smiled to Pete who headed off to the nursery.
"Juuuust, one." Rose nodded, giving the same "farewell" to her "Father."
Suddenly, the Doctor didn't feel so well…
…Rose felt like she might lose consciousness.