Divide

By All Teeth

I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood. Please review.

Rated Teen for language and sexual suggestion. This rating may be subjected to change upon further development.

After an unfeasible anomaly, the TARDIS lands the Doctor in a parallel world that he may never escape from, forcing him to not only cope with the fact that he is trapped but with the truth that in this world, our world, he is nothing more than fiction.

Robin Larson blinked tiredly at her screen and shook her head. This would be a complete and total waste of life if it weren't so addictive. She needed the mindless, numbing affects and addictiveness of a good sci-fi just to keep her going in the boring and relatively dull world. The mind could only handle so much disappointment before spiraling into depression and to Robin's overactive and creative mind, all of humanity was a bit of a disappointment. Not saying that she despised the race, seeing how she was part of it and hardly a self-hater, but in comparison to the fantasies her mind could offer, the life of a human just seemed rather…lackluster. She wanted an adventure; a true, hardy, exciting and dangerous adventure with the lords and ladies of the impossible to see, face and aid the equally impossible. What she had was a so-so job, a so-so house and a so-so life; most of which was just moseyed through with the help of mental pain-killers such as television, fan-fiction and the occasional taking apart of some electronic device that had the misfortune of being no longer functional.

Recently she had hooked onto the utterly famous British sci-fi, Doctor Who. She had actually gotten into it through a spin-off series called Torchwood, which in turn she had gotten into out of her interest and support of the LGBT community. Torchwood was open like that. A great sci-fi with no qualms about throwing a wrench into normal television sexuality was like a dream come true. The character Captain Jack Harkness was the man that set it all into motion. A 51st century, immortal Time Agent who was hot, funny and would shag anything with a postal code led a team against alien threat on earth. A seductive concept. And for Robin, this led to that and she found herself buried in Doctor Who like a tick; not to mention that she had a personal goal to watch as much as she could for the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special. A Doctor Who Christmas Carol, who could resist?

Despite the fact that she had tried to turn herself onto the new fifth season of Doctor Who and the Eleventh Doctor in time for the Christmas event, her Torchwood roots lead her elsewhere, namely Captain Jack's other adventures with the Time Lord. At first it had just been the episodes that filled in the gaps between the first and second season of Torchwood, but the odd goofiness of a certain Tenth Doctor perked her interest, just a little. Next up were Bad Wolf and The Parting of Ways, where Jack becomes immortal. Robin had to admit, she actually wasn't all that impressed with the Ninth Doctor, but when he regenerated into the Tenth Doctor it was a catch. It was onto Christmas Invasion and beyond.

So that was that. She had gotten hooked, just like always. It had her craving adventure even more, something she sadly knew would never come. And in a way, it didn't. Not really. No trilling adventure or terrifying aliens. But what did happen was close enough. And to think it all started with a rather loopy sounding theory, an unexpected trans-dimensional rift in time and space and a yogurt cup.

Robin sighed as she paused her writing. It really was pointless, writing fan fiction in the dead of night, tucked away in her room as though she expected the parents she no longer lived with to pop in and scold her. It was probably just instinct left over from her teenage years when she did have to hide away to use the computer so late. That and lying in bed was comfy. The Eleventh Doctor's bit about getting the Weeping Angels to say 'comfy chairs' popped into her mind, making her snort for a moment. She turned back to her writing and decided to let it drop, opting to go get a snack for a minute and come back to her work with a fresh mind.

She hauled herself up quickly, instantly regretting doing so as a dizzy spell set in. Having low blood pressure wasn't something she enjoyed having. It wasn't a major case, but enough to make her dizzy and her vision go dark for a few seconds if she got up too quickly. It had elevated to much worse circumstances in the past, but that wasn't now. Now was better. She still had to occasionally steady herself on a doorframe, but it was better that passing out cold in the middle of the floor.

Shaking it off, Robin resignedly trudged to the kitchen, flicking the lights on as she went. After raising an eyebrow at her dog, who lay curled up on the couch; a place the canine knew better than to be in, the young woman finished her trek to her refrigerator and pulled open the door. So much to choose from, so little she cared to eat. Finally, she settled on a cup of strawberry yogurt, plucked up a spoon and wandered about her house as she ate. The moon was full and bright that night, so she hadn't needed to turn on as many lights to see. The silver sphere drew her attention out the window as the ice maker hiccupped into a hum from the freezer behind her. For a moment, she shook her head at the noise.

"You know been watching too much Doctor Who when your ice maker start to sound like the TARDIS." She mumbled with a sleepy smirk. Robin's brown eyes flitted back to the beautiful silvery moon, smiling at how content it seemed. Life would surely be out in the starry field beyond somewhere, it had to be. She refused to believe otherwise.

It was just then that movement below pulled her sight from the sky. A figure moved along the street in a disjointed fashion. At first she figured it was some poor fellow who had had a bit too much to drink and was just trying to work his way home, but upon further inspection that didn't seem right. From the way the man moved, it seemed that it was pain that impaired his coordination, not substance. She instantly grew worried. Had someone attacked him? Had he been in an accident? Robin bit her lip as she watched him stumble along until she couldn't take it anymore. Leaving her yogurt on the counter, she hastily pulled on some slippers, flicked on the front porch light and hurried out the door. The closer she got to him, the easier it was for her to tell that he was indeed in pain. He seemed very tired and was limping a little. She kept her distance as not to startle his and mustered up the courage to speak.

"Sir?" She called out to him. The man stopped and propped himself against a tree to allow her to catch up. "Sir? You don't look very well. Have you been in an accident?" She asked him cautiously as she arrived at his side. The moonlight only seemed to cast an eerie shadow on his face and in her worry, she had forgotten a flashlight. He slowly looked up at her, seemingly unaffected by the light quality.

"Hello." Was the first thing he said, a British accent hugging his voice.

"Hello. Sir, I think you need help. I'm afraid I can't see you very well. Seeing in the dark isn't something we humans do naturally."

"True that." He managed with a half chuckle that died into a gasp of pain. Robin placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, you're hurt. Do you need me to call an ambulance?" The man shook his head.

"No, no. Don't do that. It would screw up your history." The young woman nodded, completely unaware of the strangeness of his sentence.

"Right. Then what do you need? I'd like to help you."

"Just a place to rest. I heal rather quickly as long as I just have a place to lie down." Robin bit her lip, hesitant about what she was about to do.

"This may be odd, considering you're a complete and total stranger, but my house isn't far, just up the hill. I'm willing to take you there to maybe get you something warm to drink and a place to sit, get you all sorted out. To tell you the truth, I've needed someone to talk with lately. I can't promise you a place to lie down until I'm sure you absolutely need it."

"Fair enough. Quite a bargain even, considering the circumstances. I might need a little help though." Robin nodded again, feeling the cold air starting to get to her and most certainly him.

"Alright. Just lean on me if you need to. Come on." She gently took his arm and led him up the driveway with practiced tenderness. When they finally got to the steps, the man sat, out of breath. Robin still had yet to make out his face, despite the porch light. "Come one, we're almost there. We can't have you out here like that. It's too cold."

"I'll be fine, just give me a minute to sit."

"Well…if you're sure. I'll go in and make something warm to drink. If you need me to help you, just holler." She said with a sad smile. Sometimes it was useless arguing with the helpless. Their condition tended to make them stubborn, giving them a feeling of being in control by being defiant.

"Thank you. Tea if you have it." Robin acknowledged his request and hurried inside, setting about the task of finding a suitable tea for the man. After about fifteen minutes she heard him enter slowly but something stopped her from turning to face him as she heated the water and got out the cups.

"I'm Robin, by the way. Robin Larson. And if you're wondering, no, I don't always take in random strangers and I don't intend to make it a habit either."

"Never said you did." Robin shivered in a pleasant sort of way. His voice seemed familiar and she could almost feel him smiling at her.

"So, you've heard what I'm called, what about you?"

"Well, I'm called the Doctor. And it's just the Doctor, mind you, nothing else." Robin almost dropped a cup. She shakily put it down, every fiber in her body shaking.

"What did you say you were called?"

"The Doctor. Just…the Doctor." The young woman whipped around from where she was standing and stared at the man, eyes wide. She almost fell over. For there leaning against here kitchen wall, all tattered and bruised, was a man that looked exactly like David Tennant.

"I have a Time Lord…in my kitchen." This time the Doctor returned the look of shock.

"Now how the devil did you know that?"

"You know that theory that once a universe is created fictionally, it exists physically as a parallel universe?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, one of the more out there theories, but I suppose nothing's impossible. But why…oh. You mean.."

"Yeah…"

"So you know who I am because…"

"In this universe, you exist as a fictional character." He slumped further against the wall.

"I take it you're a fan then?" The Gallifreyan with a slight glance to the side.

"More or less."

"Do mind if I take a seat? I have the feeling this is going to be a long night."

"Be my guest and let me know if you need an aspirin or something"

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"Oh, sorry. Forgot…You know what I mean."

"Right. Right. Sorry." He placed his fingers at the bridge of his now, his head obviously bothering him. Robin noticed a cut at his temple among other places, his sideburns beginning to mat with his off-color blood. The poor man's suit was torn and equally bloodied.

"Just tea and maybe some antiseptic for now then? I could also see what I could do about dredging up some cloths for you." The Doctor gave the woman an odd look.

"Robin. I have to admit, you're taking all of this very well."

"I know. It's usually normal to freak out or something, right?"

"Or something…"

"Well, the water's boiling; it'll take a little bit. I'll go see what I can do about cloths."

"Alright." He said with a tired smile, watching her head down the hall. He then looked to his watch as though expecting something to happen. It only took about a minute.

"HOLY SHIT! THERE'S A TIME LORD IN MY HOUSE! THE DOCTOR IS IN MY FUCKIN' HOUSE! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Robin rushed out into the kitchen, waking the dog with a start and ran up to the Doctor, taking him by the shoulders. "This isn't happening, tell me this isn't happening! I'm dreaming! I must be!"

"You're not dreaming. This is really happening." He told her calmly as he could. Despite his gentleness, it was just too much for Robin to take. With her eyesight going dark, she passed out and would have fallen to the floor had the Doctor not grabbed her arms in time.

"Like I said. Long night." The Gallifreyan said with a sigh.