Chapter 1
Prologue- Going Back
(A/N: Hey guys and welcome to the sequel! This prologue is almost an interlude, or maybe "the calm before the storm". No timeline for this chapter, although we get dropped into the story on the episode Trick or Treat, Freak. Assume that for Doctor Who, it's in between any two non-chaotic series 6 episodes. I really need to rewatch, but oh well. Anyway, in our intro, we get a glimpse of what El's life with Rose and the Doctor is like.)
Three hundred and fifty-three days. That was how long it had been since El had seen her friends, and it had been at least ten months since she came to live with the Doctor and Rose. Her hair had grown back somewhat, she was no longer in danger, and she knew more things, but it wasn't the same as living with her friends in Hawkins. Even though she had two very nice people to keep her company. Amy and Rory weren't there- Amy had wanted even more time at home after finding out that she was pregnant.
Currently, Eleven was in the console room, preoccupied with an odd sort of toy in her hand- the Doctor had gotten it for her during a visit to a planet she had forgotten the name of. She often fiddled with various objects when bored, but this one was by far her favorite- it had plenty of pulleys and buttons and other things to mess with. She spun a tiny gear around, watching other parts connected to it move.
The Doctor suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as he often did. He looked as though he had just woken up, though he didn't sleep often. "Morning, El," he told her cheerfully, grinning. She smiled back, but didn't look him in the eye.
"Morning," she mumbled, still focused on the toy. "Where's Rose?"
"Still asleep," he replied quickly, before chuckling a bit. "You like that thing, don't you?"
El shrugged. "Yeah."
"You hungry? I know Rose is still sleeping and we usually eat together, but I can get you something if you want it."
The Doctor smiled to himself- if, a couple years ago, someone had told him he'd be taking care of a child- with Rose, no less- and almost treating her like she was his own, he would have thought they were mad. And yet, here he was, asking a thirteen-year-old girl what she wanted for breakfast while Rose was sound asleep in their room.
Eleven brought him out of his musings when she grinned and nodded. "Eggos?" she asked excitedly.
The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes- that was all she ever wanted to eat. "You had that for breakfast yesterday. You can't keep eating them all the time; 's not good for you. Pick something else; preferably something healthier."
She tried to protest. "But-"
"Jane," he said, slightly stern. "No arguments."
Jane. That was still somewhat foreign to her. She found out about her name one night when she asked the Doctor if she had a mother- he had said something in passing about his own. He told her that yes, she did have one. Couldn't have really been born if she didn't. When she asked if her mother was gone, he had said, "More or less".But he also told her that he knew her mother would have loved her very much, and mentioned that her mother would have called her Jane had Brenner not given her the name Eleven. She, in turn, requested that he and Rose call her that, at least sometimes. But the new name still made her jump slightly.
In the end, she decided not to argue with the Doctor.
Rose made an appearance in the galley when El was about halfway done with her meal- eggs and bacon, the latter of which the Doctor said he hated. Referred to it as "poison", much to El's amusement; considering she liked it quite a bit.
Rose mumbled "good morning" to the both of them sleepily, before stumbling over to the teakettle. She nearly dropped it, however, when the phone suddenly rang shrilly, making her jump.
"Why do we always get phone calls at an ungodly hour?" she groaned, despite the fact that there was no real concept of time on the TARDIS.
"Ah, I'll tell them to get lost, don't worry," the Doctor replied, before walking over to Rose and kissing the top of her head. She grinned, but shooed him away. "Go answer the bloody phone! God!" she snapped, though she was giggling.
"Oi, language!" he said teasingly, laughing as he made his way to the console room.
By the time the Doctor got there, the phone had stopped ringing. He wondered whether he should pick it up anyway, but that question was answered for him when it began ringing again two seconds later.
"Must be important," he mumbled to himself before picking up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hey, Doc," came the drawling voice on the other end. "Took you long enough to answer. And you would not believe the bullcrap I had to deal with yesterda-"
"Why are you calling me, Hopper? Hmm? What's the problem?" he shot back impatiently, cutting him off.
"Yikes. What's eating you? Don't answer that, by the way. I don't wanna know. Look, there's this...weird thing going on. A bunch of farms had their crops go all rotten overnight, and nobody knows for sure what happened to them- I sure as hell can't figure it out. I'm a little worried it might be related to the other dimension. Also, Will's been having some trouble. The doctors said that post-traumatic stress has been bothering him- nightmares, flashbacks, that kind of thing. I think he might enjoy it if you guys visited to cheer him up a little- he likes you two. I'm sure Joyce would appreciate it too."
The Doctor nodded, but sighed in frustration. "You're probably being paranoid, Hopper. But, lucky for you, I'm very cautious when it comes to that place. So, I'll come and help you figure this out. And I know Rose wouldn't mind visiting Will. Now, I need coordinates. When and where?"
"Anywhere in Hawkins is fine, so long as you're out of sight. I can drive you guys to the farm where it first happened. Then you can check up on Will and Joyce. As for the when, come around three."
"I need the date, Hopper. Including the year."
Hopper rolled his eyes- time travel definitely made things like this conversation very weird."October 31st,1984. And do not bring the kid, remember that. Get a damn babysitter if you have to, just don't risk her being seen."
"Yeah, I know the drill. Bye," the Doctor said shortly, not bothering to wait for a reply before hanging up.
When he put the receiver back in its place, he sighed. Going back to Hawkins but convincing El to stay behind in the TARDIS was going to be difficult. Very difficult. Oh, well. He supposed he'd better hurry up and try to work things out.
"We're going to Hawkins?"
The Doctor almost felt sorry for El on account of her hopeful tone. "Technically, yes. But you can't come with me. You have to stay behind in the-"
"Why?" she almost whined.
"You know why, Jane. We can't risk you being seen. 'S not worth it. Remember, risks- well, most risks- are very stupid. And..." He gave her an expectant look.
She almost glared back at him. "We're not stupid."
"Exactly. Rule number one- don't do anything stupid. Well, rule number one for you, anyway. Don't worry, Rose will keep you company while I'm gone. Right?"
Rose smiled and nodded. "Right. We'll have fun, El. You'll see," she said cheerfully.
El said nothing in response, instead choosing to shrug, get down from the table, and walk off in the direction of her room.
Rose gave the Doctor a concerned glance when they noticed that. "Should we try and talk to her, or..." she said uncertainly.
He sighed, sitting down next to Rose. "Let's give her a minute first. I don't think she wants to talk right now."
He was definitely right about that. When El got to her room, she collapsed onto her bed, sighing heavily. She didn't know whether she was angry, sad, or both. Probably both. Rolling onto her side, El allowed her eyes to linger on her bedside table, which was covered in framed photographs and trinkets from various planets and time periods they had visited.
She picked up the photo that was in the center of the table. It was one of her favorites- the three of them at a diner in 1956, taken about a month ago. (Rose had wanted to go to that year, and snapped the picture when no one was looking.) All three of them were smiling and laughing like idiots, she and Rose both with sunglasses on their heads.
El remembered that not long after the picture had been taken, an older woman had come up to Rose and the Doctor and told them that "their daughter was very beautiful", and they had smiled and thanked her.
Sometimes she closed her eyes and tried to pretend that they were her real family. That she'd been with them all her life. And sometimes she could convince herself that, but only while her eyes were shut. For when she opened them, it all came rushing back.
El was broken out of her thoughts by a soft knock on her door. "El? Can I come in?" the Doctor called out. His tone of voice indicated that he wasn't angry, only concerned. So she opened the door telekinetically.
"You know, you should really stop doing that; you'll get lazy," he said jokingly upon entering the room.
When El stayed quiet, her back facing him, the Doctor walked over to her and sat down on the side of her bed. "Hey," he whispered softly. "We're only going back there to make sure there isn't a problem with the other dimension, alright? Kind of like a check-up. That's all. And when it's safe, I'll take you back there, and you can see your friends."
"Promise?" she murmured, rolling onto her back so she could look up at him.
He gave her a tiny smile and took her hand. "Promise." He paused, sighing. "Are we good?"
That was the question he always asked her when they had a disagreement- if the answer was no, she could tell him what was bothering her. But this time, she smiled and nodded. "We're good."
The Doctor's hint of a smile turned into a grin as he ruffled her hair affectionately and she tried to swat his hand away. "Hey! Cut it out," she said between laughs.
"Oh, all right. Now, I'm going to take the TARDIS back to Hawkins. Rose will keep an eye on you while I'm gone, as I said earlier. You two can do whatever you want- within reason, obviously. No trying to fulfill a death wish."
She laughed at his joke before replying, "Okay."
(A/N: Yes, this chapter was extremely self-indulgent for me. I had to write a couple of cute moments to get them out of my system, okay? But I hope you liked this chapter- as I said, calm before the storm.)