Tunnels Through Creation
She hated Pathing. It was painful and took all the energy she had, which these days wasn't all that much. In fact, she'd been camped in this tiny cave for almost three years waiting as she gathered enough strength to Cross the Path. That's what passing from one universe to another felt like to Rose, only watching for traffic wasn't an issue. The Energy from this Earth was strong, though there were not yet humans on it. There were a few species that reminded her of Homo Erectius, but that was all. The local predators around here were pretty smart, it was understood within a day or so that she was more dangerous than they were because she could not only kill, but do so at a distance...long before they got near her.
They kept their distance once it became clear she didn't have to actually see him...her instruments gave her accurate warnings and she sprang traps around would-be hunters.
The scrapped together, if sturdy barrier over the small cave-mouth was closed for the night and as she moved into the front room of the two room cave to get the fat candles lit and put meat on the fire, start some dinner...a strange, once familiar feeling began to echo in the woman's soul. As she packed up once more, for her last night in this universe something made her stop, pause, her head came up and every muscle tensed for a reason that had once been familiar, treasured even, but which she no longer understood. She was resonating to a half forgotten vibration in creation. Something sang through the air, oh, it wasn't anything most people would call music or singing, it was a grating, grinding, laborious sound, but to Rose it was the finest symphony ever created. She began to tremble as a memory made distant by centuries made it's way to the surface of her mind.
Hope warred with disbelief and smacked it right out of her heart and mind.
He opened the door and looked at the woman whose face was filled with wonder, welcome and a great deal of emotion. Many, in fact, They followed each other over her face like the cars of an Earth train...such long things, trains. Some of the ones in America could go on for five miles in length, sometimes. Literally.
"Doctor." She breathed. "Oh my God, Doctor." Her tone put an odd expression on his face. He'd never heard someone call his Promise Name quite like that before. With all the love and devotion it was possible to infuse a voice with. Behind him, he could hear his TARDIS' voice rise in welcome and greeting to the human looking up at him from her knees next to a pit fire, more love in her eyes than he could have ever imagined. He shivered, not quite knowing why this little pink and yellow human was so important to him, but she was.
"Normally, about now I'd introduce myself and tell you that I'm The Doctor. But, um, you already know that. What I'd like to know is...how?"
She closed her eyes as his voice sank into her soul where it should be, rocking forward, then downward with a suddenness that brought a cry of alarm from her Time Lord and caused him to leap forward to prevent her from falling head first into the fire. He eased her back, then against his side and she stayed there...shivering.
She knew she was perfectly safe, even if one of the predators came through the barrier, he would let her take no harm. She was free...she could be obviously, visibly weak in front of this being in utter safety and that is something she had not had the freedom to do in four centuries.
He frowned, feeling her shed Strength...of a particular type that was only used by those that used the Paths Between Universes. It was needed to Cross and Crossings were only possible by Seekers. Once a Seeker found what they were looking for, the weird Strength fell away on it's own...unused.
She would not have shed it as soon as he spoke unless he were the Sought. Nothing harmful could Seek. No one of ill-intent could Pass. Indeed, only someone who needed something to complete them on a soul deep level could Seek or Cross...and he was the Found of a Seeker.
This meant that this young woman needed him like she did her own blood. His hearts ached for her, wondering what universe she'd begun this trek in, where she'd lost him in some unstoppable disaster, surely. He rearranged her to a position that was a lot more comfortable for both of them.
"Doctor."
"Yes."
"Ten."
"Yes."
She turned her face into his pinstripes, played with the laces on his converses and let the tears come. Ordinary strength was draining away as well and it disappeared even faster when he got an arm around her. With what little remained, she dug into the neck of her hoodie and pulled out a chain. On it was a small Yale key, warm and glowing gold.
"Four hundred and two year ago, there was an accident in my home universe that resulted in my being trapped in the wrong universe and in which I had no time line. My Doctor was the last, the very, very last Time Lord in our universe...there was a war, you see, with Daleks, and the Time Lords...lost." She whispered the words, finally raising her head to look at the compassionate brown eyes of this Tenth Doctor. "He couldn't..."
"He could not reach you. Could not bring you back, get you home." He understood immediately and his arm, already snug around her waist, tightened.
"Earth had stopped being my home about...eighteen months or so before that incident. My you, he was my home. Nothing else mattered." She swallowed hard. "But you don't show up in caves without a good reason, so...what did I do wrong? Let's get that out of the way, 'kay?"
"The Mucakta wanted me to examine the latest goddess on their lands." His eyes twinkled at her. "It seems that humiliating their best warriors with defeat wasn't bad enough, she had to trap them in cages, too, like fish, the next lot that dared to annoy her."
"Yeah, well, I didn't hurt them. They never got close enough that I needed to...made sure of that."
"That's what they're complaining about. They want me to take you off with me and let the old gods which love to fight have this period of Earth's history back."
"Yeah, see that's the thing...I'd love it if you took me off...and those old ones can have it. I can't Cross now, anyway."
"Very true. I felt the Strength dumping as soon as I'd spoken." He admitted."It was pretty obvious, almost didn't manage to grab you before you smacked the fire with your face. So...who are you?"
"Rose Marion Tyler. Once of Earth, 21st Century, London and in a universe...hell. I couldn't even begin to give directions that thing. Too much distance...five hundred Crossings and all of on linear time." She sighed, leaning the back of her head against his shoulder. "I'm not supposed to have a brain that can think in those terms. Should've never had to develop that much hind-brain. Wasn't designed for it. It's all in the memory area instead of in my frontal lobes and it causes...problems." She muttered. "Gives me headaches, but I have to do it anyway."
"Well, no, actually, you don't. I'll be doing it for us both from now on, with a brain that is designed for it, but at least when I say something, you'll understand what I'm talking about."
"As long as I don't have to do the computations anymore..."
"Yes well, about that. I think I'd prefer it if I did that, too." He agreed, smiling at the top of her head. She sounded exhausted...and rather sleepy.
"Feels so good to be with you. So relaxed right now I could just about nod off on you."
"Literally, I think. I had noticed that. Let's get you to a bed, shall we?" He got to his feet and didn't ask first, he just picked her up and carried her into the TARDIS. She lay her head on his shoulder, tucked one arm between them and let the other cup his neck, her thumb stroking his jaw.
She did have him pause by the console, running her hands over it, greeting his TARDIS and left her mind open to the great ship, to her sister's variant, trusting her.
The Doctor drew in a sharp breath as this odd human Traveler connected with his TARDIS, spoke with her, not to her or at her and opened her mind to the ship fully. There was an unlocked door on the side of her mind that simply said 'Doctor'.
"Not yet, let's get you settled and then I'll pack that cave up."
"Careful. Got several hundred packs nanogene based anti-Dalek nano-devices intended to take out as many as required at the same time and a few other items meant for dealing with Cybermen at the regimental size." She warned. "That was mostly the reason I didn't want the local hunters near the cave. Far too dangerous for them."
"True. Those would be. I'll have a care." He didn't miss the way she rubbed her face against his suit jacket as he laid her on the infirmary cot and got her comfortable. "I'll check you out as soon as I get that stuff packed up. What do you have?"
"All the dangerous stuff is in a colored Mauve pack I got long, long ago...from the TARDIS of my youth. Everything else can go in the red pack except clothes and those go in the blue one. Both are bigger on the inside. Sexy took really good care of me. I miss her too."
"She's right here."
"I know. She feel good too."
He did ask his ship what she knew of this strangely dependent, independant human woman as he headed out to get the girl's things. The ship's ship's answer was detailed and she spoke of exactly what this human had done and why she was as bound to herself as he was.
The TARDIS gave him Rose's Nine's Memories as well as Rose's Ten's, and the meta-crisis'...and then she gave him all of Rose's for the past four hundred centuries. She wasn't cruel, she didn't overwhelm him with it...but she fed into this Doctor, who still had a healthy homeworld, the mental history of a self who had no people...and why that was.
For a few moments, he found it difficult to separate himself from the Doctor Rose had known and the other didn't leave him entirely, nor would he ever...not now. Not now that he understood her bone deep...and loved her. So, so much.
Because all Doctors were pretty much interchangeable with any other, particularly those of the same regeneration. She had enough firepower to wipe Daleks from creation, in this universe. There was enough devices to kill billions of them if need be. She wanted him safe, he understood now.
The last memory he received, was the one when Jack had handed him the child, Rose's daughter...and suddenly he understood. He was Rose's Doctor, every bit of it, in fact. As memory flooded the Doctor's mind, the TARDIS convinced her wolf to take a nap...that would make sure she stayed put. Which she needed to, because this was going to take a while.
* ~ TBC ~ *