The Mirror and the Other

by KeplersDream

Post-"Journey's End," Rose and the Duplicate Tenth Doctor deal with Darlig Ulv Stranden the best way they know how: they run. Meanwhile, a seventeenth-century mystery threatens to destroy Pete's World. Can the Doctor and Rose work together to save the multiverse? Rose/OC; eventually Rose/Ten II.

1. Author's Notes

Ami Lecteur

I wrote this story primarily as a reaction to the characterisations of TenII and Rose. I'm a fan of ALL of the companions, so Rose-bashing, River-bashing, Martha-bashing, etc., is particularly irritating to me. Blame Steven Moffat or RTD, not the character. Moreover, a lot of TenPetals fics I've read here, on AO3 and occasionally Whofic make Rose into this compliant, whiny, perpetually pregnant character that always goes along with what the Doctor (Ten) says or does. If that is your cuppa, then so be it. But stress from a thesis and a passion for hard sci-fi made me want to read something else.

This is my vision of what happened after Darlig Ulv Stranden. I always wanted to see how Rose negotiated the effects of time travel and her proper time, meaning how did she "grow up" after being separated from the Doctor? As for Ten II, as the Duplicate/Human Version of the Tenth Doctor, he has some major apologising to do: both Rose and Donna got screwed and he carries a lot of guilt as a result. Not to mention the question of Who am I that every regeneration (or partial regeneration) must answer for himself. How does he become human and still remain the Doctor?

As for Rose, I've introduced some competition for the Doctor in the form of another (male) character. I thought that in order for Rose to actually have a relationship with TenII as a human (not the alien superhero) and move on in the parallel world, she needs life experience romantically as well as intellectually. If you're a hardcore Ten/Rose shipper or Doctor/Rose shipper who cannot bear the thought of Rose having a relationship with someone else, even though it will eventually be TenII/Rose, this fic is not for you. If you're not a Rose fan, then again, then you probably won't like this one. If you're into companion bashing, then this is not a good fic for you. I do have some fun at Ten's expense, but nothing vitriolic or mean.

Finally, there will be discussions of PTSD in this story, so if this is a trigger, fair warning. I'm not a writer of graphic material, so most of this should be Teen-rated.

Now, Ami Lecteur, if you're not frightened, allons-y: read and review.

Disclaimer: I don't own and never will own "Doctor Who."