Degrees and the Doctor
Thanks for all the reviews. They made me smile. I'll update this as often as possible but it might stretch this weekly updates as I'm kept busy. I won't abandon it though, no way. Hope you enjoy part two.
Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me
The TARDIS landed with barely a shudder, making Rose look up in surprise. "What's wrong?" she immediately wanted to know,
"Rose Tyler, you wound me!" the Doctor said, placing his hand over one of his hearts, "Just because the TARDIS lands smoothly for a change doesn't mean something's wrong!"
Rose raised her eyebrows and grinned, "But we never land smoothly!" she replied, "The TARDIS is infamous for it!"
"Don't hurt her feelings!" the Doctor gasped, as the lights seemed to dim,
"Sorry," Rose quickly apologised, patting the console, "So, are we here?"
"We're always here," the Doctor replied, with a smirk.
Rose rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Are we at the University of Mars?" She watched in excitement as the Doctor looked at the console screen before nodding. "I believe so."
"Fantastic!" Rose beamed, before running to the door, eager to see what it looked like,
"Rose, no!" the Doctor and Jack shouted together,
"It's a vacuum- there's no air out there," the Doctor then went on to explain.
Rose frowned. "How do people breathe then?" she asked, "Do we have to go around wearing a helmet with an oxygen supply?"
"No," her lover said, "We're not actually in the university yet. We're still on the surface of Mars."
Rose's frown deepened for a few seconds before her mouth opened in realisation. "Life on Mars- they live inside the planet, don't they?" she said, "Not on the surface like humans do. That's why scientists back on Earth have never discovered any life. The probes they sent up only searched the surface!"
"Got it in one," the Doctor said, proudly, "Humans only discovered this in 3308 and they've only started visiting Mars in the last five hundred years or so…"
"Cool," Rose nodded before turning to Jack, "Did you come here?" she questioned, "It's around in the fifty first century, right?"
"Right," Jack agreed, "I didn't come here as I went straight into Time Agent training plus you need top qualifications to even stand a chance of getting in. One of my friends did though. He loved it,"
"Oh," his female friend said before another thought occurred to her, "How are we supposed to get into the university then?"
"Easily," replied the Doctor pressing a button, "Get ready,"
"Welcome to the University of Mars' visitor's entrance," came a mechanical voice, echoing inside the cavernous control room, "Please state your name and your business,"
"I'm the Doctor," he announced importantly, "I received a message telling me to come. My companions are Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness."
There was a pause before the mechanical voice spoke again. "You have been verified. You are now entering into the university lobby where an official will be waiting to assist you. Please have a pleasant day,"
"Thank you!" called the Doctor, grinning at Rose as the TARDIS began to shudder, "We're descending," he explained, "Then we can find out what's going on."
It wasn't long before they stopped and there came a polite knocking at the door. The Doctor went to open it, closely followed by Jack and Rose. Outside stood a man who looked human. He was of medium height, slightly on the plump side, held himself regally and had thin reddish hair covering his head and a handlebar moustache.
"The Doctor, Miss. Tyler and Mr. Harkness, I presume," he said, in an upper class voice,
"That's us!" replied the Doctor enthusiastically, eyeing the man's hair. Rose could almost see his jealousy.
"I am Professor Philip Hilton," the man continued, "I am the Principal here at the University of Mars and it is my great honour and pleasure to welcome you here,"
"Thanks," said the Doctor, "So Philip… it is OK for me to call you that, right?"
Professor Hilton nodded. "Of course, Doctor,"
"Great! So, was it you who sent me the message?"
Philip seemed to take a nervous look around before beckoning them out. "Please come to my office. We won't be overheard there."
The Doctor took an intrigued look at his companions before following him, pausing only to lock the TARDIS securely behind them.
A few minutes later, Philip showed them into his office. It was a nice room; rectangular with a huge window at one end. Rose immediately went to look out and gasped in delight. The view wasn't that spectacular but what she could see looked amazing. There was a small city, made up of many buildings and roads, all lit up by the light of the sun. Peering upwards, Rose saw to her astonishment that she could see the sun and feel its warmth on her skin.
"It's sort of like a glass roof, except it's not glass," said a quiet voice in her ear. She turned to look at the Doctor, who put his arm loosely around her waist. "You can't see it on the surface but its there. It kind of acts just like the Earth's O-Zone layer so there's oxygen down here,"
"It's amazing" Rose breathed, "You'd never know you were inside the planet,"
"We are rather proud of it, yes," spoke up Philip, gaining their attention again, "Please, won't you sit down?" He gestured to three comfortable looking armchairs that sat in front of an enormous wooden desk, behind which the Principal sat.
The three time travellers took their seats, with the Doctor in the middle. He looked expectantly at Philip.
"Well," Philip coughed, "Thank you for coming so promptly. It was me who sent the message. You see, I have a situation arising this semester and I needed your help…"
"Go on," requested the Doctor, a small frown appearing on his face,
"One of the new undergraduate students is in the centre of an abduction plot. She is the heir to the Labeaut family and there have been rumours of a plot to abduct her and hold her to ransom, forcing Lord and Lady Labeaut to abdicate from the throne of Piripi. Naturally, everyone is extremely worried but they don't want Lavia- that is the young lady's name- to stop with her education. She has no idea of the plot, however,"
"Right…" said the Doctor, slowly, the frown on his face now even more pronounced, "So; what do you want us to do?"
"You will be her unofficial bodyguards if you choose to help us," replied Philip, "I don't mean guarding her all the time but just being around and keeping an eye on her, so to speak,"
"Why can't you use proper bodyguards?" asked Jack. Rose nodded at his question; the same thing had been going through her mind.
"It just isn't possible," Philip explained, with a shrug, "It would be much easier to use you three,"
"And that means what?" asked the Doctor.
Philip looked at them steadily. "If you choose to accept, then the three of you will be going undercover so to speak. There is a role for each of you to play. You, Doctor, will become our Physics lecturer; Mr. Harkness, you will be a janitor and Miss Tyler, you will have the most important role. You will be a new undergraduate- the same as Miss Lavia- and actually be a student in her halls and on her course." He looked at their faces, waiting for their verdict.
"How long will we be here?" the Doctor asked,
"I honestly do not know. It shouldn't be too long as there are teams working on the case as we speak and as soon as we discover the identity of the culprits, you are most welcome to leave. Of course, you don't need to even do this if you'd rather not but your help would be gratefully received."
The Doctor glanced at Jack and Roe, who both nodded back. They had made their decision.
"Alright, we'll do it," the Doctor stated.
Philip breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am indebted to you all." He smiled and straightened some papers on his desk. "Now, if you would like to follow me, I will give you a tour of the campus and explain a bit more…"
Rose looked around her new room and then back to the Doctor who was sat on her bed.
"Why can't we sleep on the TARDIS?" she asked,
"She's going into storage," he said, "and won't be easily accessible. Plus its university policy that all students and staff live in halls."
Rose sighed. "I can't believe I'm becoming a student again! I thought I'd done that at college,"
"It was your own choice," he gently reminded her, while holding open his arms. She collapsed onto his lap gratefully and leaned her head against his chest.
"Mmm, just listening to your hearts beat; it's so comforting," she murmured,
"Well, they're all yours," the Doctor replied, squeezing her slightly,
"I'm gonna miss you," Rose said, quietly, "I know I'll be able to see you everyday an' all but it won't be the same. It's gonna be weird us sleeping in separate rooms after nearly two years of sleeping in the same bed,"
"I know," the Doctor said, "I'm going to miss you too but it won't be for long. You coped when me and Jack went away for a few weeks,"
"Yeah," Rose sighed, "I love you so much, you know that?"
"Course I do. I love you too. I love you lots and lots and lots and lots…" grinned the Doctor, with a cheeky smile, before finding her lips for a long and passionate kiss. "Now, I better go and sort out my room as the other students will be arriving soon. You remember where it is?"
Rose nodded. Philip had shown them on their tour.
"And don't forget you can call me on the university network if you need anything, whenever. Remember the number?"
Rose grinned. "007. Like James Bond."
The Doctor pulled a pose and put on a deeper voice. "The name's Doctor. The Doctor."
His angel laughed and affectionately shoved him with her shoulder. "Go on, get outta here!" She stood up so he could do the same.
"Alright. Stay safe, my angel and keep alert," he said, leaning in for one last kiss and then he was gone.
Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received
