Tales From the Other Side

Previously in Chapter One:


The Doctor grinned and closed his eyes, pleased that her appetite had returned as he enjoyed the sun's warmth on his face. He opened them again upon hearing Rose returning, just in time to see the canvas bag she carried.


"What's in there?" he asked expectantly as she sat down beside him.

"Well, I brought some sodas," Rose began, handing the Doctor one as she pulled them out. "And some chocolate," she continued, taking out a bar for herself and him. "Oh! And some ranch dip."


She pulled out the plastic tub and opened it, missing his frown as she set it carefully on the arm of his chair so they could share it. When Rose dipped her chocolate bar into the creamy mixture, the Doctor closed his eyes in what appeared to be his own bout of nausea.


He watched her as she actually ate the mixture and seemed to enjoy it, and was about to make a no-doubt crude comment. But as he'd begun to speak he was silenced by a loud explosion coming from the TARDIS.


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Chapter Two

Stranded

Rose and the Doctor jumped simultaneously from their chairs, turning to see the smoke that poured from the open doors of the time traveling ship.

"Oh my God!" Rose exclaimed as they both began running towards the ship.

The Doctor was the first to get there, but upon reaching the vessel the doors that were openly allowing smoke to roll from the interior suddenly closed. Frantically, he pulled on the handles. But it was of no use. The doors wouldn't budge. When he gave up his efforts, Rose pulled on the handles, offering her help.

"Dammit!" the Doctor exclaimed, slamming a hand against the side of the TARDIS.

Rose jerked away from trying to open the doors, the Doctor's outburst startling her. "Why can't we get in?" she asked, concern clear on her features.

"Because she won't let us. It's obviously too dangerous to go in there right now. The TARDIS is just keeping us protected."

"Protected from what? Doctor, what happened? I mean, I was just in there and nothin' seemed wrong."

"I don't know. I'm just grateful it happened after you came back out here," he replied solemnly, looking over the TARDIS as if a clue to what happened would appear. Suddenly he turned to face his companion, each hand grabbing hold of her shoulders. "You are all right, aren't you? You didn't get hit by any debris or anything, did you?"

"Yeah, 'm fine. You?"

"Oh, no damage to me. As for the old girl though ..." The Doctor turned back around and placed his palms on the faded blue panels, one on each door. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his task. For a moment Rose couldn't tell if he was even breathing. He seemed frozen to the spot, which only concerned her more. But she didn't interrupt him; he obviously knew what he was doing, whether she did or not. She'd learned that a long time ago and trusted his actions implicitly.

It seemed an eternity before the Doctor took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking at Rose as he removed his hands from the TARDIS. He sighed deeply.

"Doctor? Are you all right?"

"What? Me? Oh yes, I'm fine."

"And the TARDIS?"

"She will be."

"Will be." Rose took a deep breath as she echoed his words, feeling little relief. "What happened to her?"

"Residual ionic fluctuations from the black hole. She contained as much of them as she could until we got here, trying to keep us safe."

"What? But there were no alarms. No warnings. Why didn't she tell you somehow?"

"Apparently she was focusing on getting us out of the Vortex and safely on land. Once we exited the ship, she put herself into a sort of automatic cleansing state, trying to rid herself of the infestation of ionic particles. But something went wrong, obviously."

"Is she, is the TARDIS gonna be all right?" Rose asked quietly.

The Doctor smiled for her benefit. "Yes. But it may take a while."

"So, we're stuck here?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Well, could be worse. At least we've got beaches and sunshine and no one chasin' after us."

"That is very true," he grinned.

"How long?"

"For a few days, I suppose. She's repairing the damage, but I can't calculate how much there is from her because she's a bit busy fixing things."

"So, beach vacation it is, yeah? Good thing I brought lots of stuff to eat."

The Doctor looked at Rose with a grin. "Yes? Just what all did you bring out?"

Rose grabbed his hand and walked him back towards their chairs. She sank down on her knees beside the canvas tote and began pulling things out. "I got sodas, and crisps, and candy, and ..."

"A smorgasbord of junk food," the Doctor beamed as he sat down.

"I didn't know I was packing for a week, besides, I was in a junk food kind of mood."

"And I thought I was the sugar junkie here. Got a hankering for a few sweets, do you?" he teased.

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

"Well, I suppose it won't hurt for a day or two. Besides, there's plenty of fruit similar to that on Earth to be had here, which should keep your sugar levels high enough to comfort your cravings and give you sufficient nutrients to keep me from worrying very much. There's also a fresh water stream about a half a kilometer towards the north of us. We'll be fine."

"Good. Vacation it is, then. Sort of like a campin' trip, yeah?"

"Yep! We'll make the most of it, you'll see," the Doctor replied with a wink, earning a smile from his companion.

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Rose opened her eyes to the deep golden hues of sunlight dancing across the mauve sky above her. She and the Doctor had set their towels across the sand to rest after a long day of exploring and foraging in their tranquil new temporary vacation spot, and that was all she remembered. Apparently sleep had claimed her easily.

Resting, the Doctor had realized, turned into a full sleep cycle for his young companion.

Rose realized this too, when she leaned up on her elbows, seeing a new day in its beginnings. She looked over at the Doctor and smiled.

"Wow, didn't realize how tired I was. 'M sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. We did walk quite a distance yesterday, and the whole purpose of bringing you here was for you to relax and let your body recuperate. How do you feel?" he asked sweetly, his fingers softly touching her cheek.

"I'm fine, Doctor. Really, that's all ya ever ask me here lately. You don't need to worry about me. I feel good, and if I didn't I'd say so."

"Can't help it," he quipped before leaning towards her and placing a chaste kiss on her lips. He leaned back and looked at Rose, smiling in response to the grin she gave him. But then she looked away from him, a slight frown crossing her features, and concern instantly crossed his.

Rose sat up suddenly, glancing quickly at the Doctor with a hint of confusion before her complexion paled. "Oh God," she whispered, then ungracefully stood in the soft sand before running towards a corpse of trees.

The growing worry was clear on the Doctor's face as he, too, stood then ran after her.

It wasn't long before he was following the sounds of Rose becoming ill, and he ran that much quicker until he was standing behind her.

"I'm really, really trying not to take this personally," he joked as he rubbed a hand across her back in a comforting gesture, hoping she'd take it as such as she stood up and nodded, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

The Doctor looked her over with a critical eye. Her skin was pale even though she'd been in the sun most of the day before, and her eyes were a bit bloodshot. There was a fine misting of sweat across her forehead as well, before she swiped it away.

"You don't look so good," he told her, wrapping a hand around her wrist, discretely taking her pulse.

"Yeah, well you're lookin' a bit fuzzy yourself," she offered back, blinking rapidly for a few moments. "I'm fine, really. I jus' think some of that fruit from last night didn't agree with me. Didn't seem to digest very well."

The Doctor bent himself over just a little to look around Rose toward the ground, but she stopped him. "Eww! Jus' take m'word for it, will ya?"

"Rose ..."

"Come on. I feel all right now, yeah? I just want to go sit down for a bit." With those words Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand and lead him out of the woods.

As soon as they were back on the towels again Rose grabbed a warm soda and opened it, taking a swig and swishing it around, then spitting it out quickly to rinse her mouth. A few moments after that she was reaching for a banana, peeling the planet's orange-colored equivalent and eating it in just a few quick mouthfuls. Once finished she happened to glance at the Doctor, finding him staring at her incredulously.

"What?" She watched as his left eyebrow lifted just a tiny bit.

"I thought you said the fruit here wasn't agreeing with you?"

"Hmm," Rose began, wrapping the peel in a napkin before meeting his eyes. "Well, I'm hopin' not all of it's that way. B'sides, I'm starvin'."

"You're sure you're all right?" the Doctor asked skeptically.

"Yep. So what are we gonna do today?"

"I think we should relax and do nothing. Enjoy the surroundings."

Rose giggled as she lay down on her side, facing him. "You? Do nothin'? You're not serious, are ya?"

The Doctor lay on his side as well, facing her. "Why not?" he grinned.

"You can't. I mean, physically, I don't think you can do it - ya know, doin' nothin' all day. But, I guess it'll be fun watchin' you try." With that she smiled genuinely at him then flopped over on her back, closing her eyes as she got comfortable.

He stared at her as she relaxed, acknowledging to himself the beauty he found within her. Of course she was physically attractive, but there was an inner beauty about her as well. Almost as if she were glowing. Glowing. Like ... oh.

Oh no! No! No! No! NO! How could he have been so stupid?

The Doctor stood suddenly as if he'd been burnt, a mix of horrified bewilderment crossing his features as Rose sat up just as quickly and looked at him.

"Doctor! Are you all right? What's wrong? Did somethin' bite ya?"

"Um. Uh no, nothing's wrong. Ah, just got a cramp in my calf, that's all. I'm fine. Right as rain. Hunkey-dorey. Just peachy. Yes."

He calmed himself quickly, getting his emotions in check. It wouldn't do to presume such a thought was true without doing a little investigating. One couldn't go on mere hunches, after all. He would have to be scientific about this and know all the facts rather than just making a presumption. Knowledge was the key and jumping to conclusions could be catastrophic. Still, he was really smart, and his hunches were 96.7 percent correct. But no, he'd have to confirm this brilliant deduction rather than just assume he was right. But, if he was correct ...

"Yeah? You're sure you're all right?" Rose asked. The concern on her face was very endearing.

His Rose Tyler. She was going to make a great Mum.

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