Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.
A/N Thanks for the amazing response to the first story in the series. I am really, really grateful by your feedback and your amazing suggestions.
As promised, this one is a Fourth Doctor and Victorian Governess!Rose Tyler. With a guest appearance from K-9 Mark II and Professor George Litefoot.
Summary: The Doctor follows a curious signal to Earth and reunites with his old friend, Professor George Litefoot. Rose Tyler is a governess in London 1892, who gets caught up in a thrilling adventure very close to home.
Happy Reading!
Silent Night
The Doctor finished assembling K-9 Mark II and grinned widely. "Begin testing phase alpha," he said.
"All systems ready to go," K-9 piped up. "Awaiting orders, mistress."
The Doctor's triumphant grin slid off his face. "Needs a bit more work," he muttered to himself. "Mistress indeed," he added with a scoff and a quiet glare at the dog.
"Detecting interference," said K-9.
"Well considering that you just called me 'mistress', I doubt the interference is real, K-9," said the Doctor, patting the dog with an air of condescension.
"Correction, master. The interference is undoubtedly real," said K-9.
"Well you got my name right, that is something," grinned the Doctor as he stood up and went over to the console. He did a quick scan for the interference that only K-9 could detect. Funnily enough, the TARDIS seemed to agree with K-9. There was some sort of electronic interference coming from...London in 1892.
"Unusual, don't you think K-9?" asked the Doctor, frowning slightly. "That is far, far advanced than 19th century technology."
"Affirmative, master," agreed K-9.
"Very well," nodded the Doctor as he set the course for the destination and then wandered into the TARDIS wardrobe to find the Victorian clothes he had worn back in Weng-Chiang's London. He felt a brief sense of nostalgia as he thought of Leela, who had just recently stayed behind on Gallifrey.
By the time he had emerged back in the console room, the flight was almost over. He quickly started the landing sequence, chattering with K-9 about Victorian London. That is, until K-9 interrupted saying that his databanks were fully updated on Victorian London.
"Well that's gratitude for you," murmured the Doctor sulkily as the TARDIS landed. "Stay here, I won't be long."
"Suggestion, master! Take me with you," said K-9.
"Sorry, K-9," said the Doctor. "Snowy London roads might be too much for your systems." He sounded as if he was trying very hard not to laugh.
K-9's ears drooped and his head fell sulkily. The Doctor watched with raised eyebrows and walked outside. As if it wasn't bad enough that he had only a dog to keep him company, the dog was developing an attitude on top of it. The first K-9 hadn't been so temperamental, had he?
The Doctor shook his head and observed his surroundings. It was quite late in the evening and snow was falling softly on the cobbled streets of London. The Doctor tapped his cane on the ground twice and then held it up in front of him. He was positive that the signal was coming from his right but it was very faint, as if it was at a distance.
Before he could debate what to do, he saw a gentleman emerge from the gentleman's club across the street where a cab was waiting for him. It wouldn't have been significant except the Doctor recognised the stout gentleman shivering lightly as he walked up to his cab. Besides, the valet who opened his cab door greeted him with a familiar name. "Good night then, Professor Litefoot."
The Doctor hurried over to the cab and smiled widely when Professor Litefoot's mouth fell open upon seeing him. "Good lord, Doctor," said Professor Litefoot. He extended his hand hastily. "How are you, my dear fellow?"
"Splendid indeed," said the Doctor warmly, shaking his hand. "I trust you are well."
"Yes, quite," said the Professor, still sounding a bit shocked at the Doctor's arrival. "Come in, come in, Doctor," he said, once he realised that the Doctor was still standing on the street.
"Oh thank you," grinned the Doctor as he climbed into the cab.
"Isn't Miss Leela with you?" the Professor asked curiously as the valet closed the cab door after the Doctor.
"She recently found herself engaged to another gentleman," answered the Doctor.
"Unusual woman," said Professor Litefoot wistfully. "Feisty. Braver than any woman I ever met."
The Doctor chuckled. "I would have to agree with that," he acquiesced.
"Back to Sir Edward's estate, Professor Litefoot?" asked the cab driver.
"Yes, indeed," the Professor agreed and the cab set off. He caught the Doctor's curious gaze. "I'm afraid a tree crashed through the roof of my house three nights ago. Thankfully, Mrs. Hudson was visiting her sister in Wessex and I was out on a call. I have been staying with a dear friend of mine, Sir Edward Willoughby."
"Ah," nodded the Doctor. "You see, Professor, I am afraid I cannot oblige. I was rather engaged in tracking down an anomalous electronic signal."
"Is it Greel again?" asked the Professor warily.
"Oh no, I don't believe so," said the Doctor reassuringly. "But I must investigate, you understand."
"Very well, Doctor," agreed the Professor. "But do indulge an old man and accept a bed for the night. You can begin your search in the morning."
The Doctor was touched by the gesture. "Are you certain Sir Edward will not mind an uninvited guest?" he asked.
"Oh yes, quite certain," agreed the Professor. "Sir Edward is an inventor, you see. Quite an extraordinary mind."
"An inventor?" asked the Doctor with interest.
The Professor nodded heartily. "He might be able to assist you in your search for the anomalous signal. As I understand it, electricity is his expertise."
"Indeed?" asked the Doctor with mild interest. If Sir Edward was meddling with something beyond the scope of the scientific capabilities of this era, it might explain the anomaly. Perhaps he would take the Professor up on his offer and stay at Sir Edward's house. It couldn't hurt to investigate.
The cab pulled into the driveway of a Victorian mansion, quite a distance from London. It was dark along the way and there were almost no lights coming from the house.
"Oh dear me," said the Professor. "We must be quite late."
They left the cab quickly and hurried over to the door. Professor Litefoot rang the bell as they waited for someone to open. There were quick, hurried footsteps on the other side as the door was slowly opened. Instead of a butler, that the Doctor had been expecting, it was a young blonde woman, dressed quite modestly in a dark green dress with full skirts.
"Professor," she said, smiling in welcome.
"My dear Miss Tyler," said the Professor, his eyes beaming. "I do apologise for the lateness of the hour."
"Oh no, it is quite alright," said Rose as she let them in. Her eyes fell on the Doctor and the Professor cleared his throat.
"This is an old friend of mine, Doctor John Smith," he introduced. "This is Miss Rose Tyler. She is the governess to Sir Edward's daughters."
"How do you do, Miss Tyler?" said the Doctor with a wide grin.
"It is nice to meet you, Doctor Smith," she said with a bright smile. She turned to the Professor. "I'm afraid Sir Edward has retired for the night. But the cook did leave some supper for you, sir."
"Even the staff has retired?" asked the Professor as Rose helped them both out of their cloaks.
"Yes Professor," nodded Rose. "I was awake because I was preparing the girls' lessons for tomorrow. Shall I set the table for you both, sir?"
"Yes, if you would be so kind," said the Professor before the Doctor could protest. "I would also like to trouble you a bit further, Miss Tyler."
"Yes?" asked Rose as she lit the lamps in the dining room and started to set the table.
"Doctor Smith requires a bed for the night," said the Professor.
"If it is not too much trouble," said the Doctor, at once. The girl was being kind but she was not a servant.
"It is no trouble at all, sir," said Rose with a smile. "I shall make arrangements while you gentlemen enjoy your supper, shall I?"
"I am very grateful, Miss Tyler," said the Doctor with smile. Rose returned his smile and with a quick curtsy, left them to their meal.
"Charming young woman," remarked the Professor. "I was delighted by her company."
"You said she was the governess?" asked the Doctor curiously.
"Oh yes, quite an intelligent one too," said the Professor. "As I understand, her father was an old friend of Sir Edward's father. She was only 16 when her father was taken by illness and the same illness took her mother a year later. Sir Edward took her in and employed her as a governess to Caroline and Mary. Sir Edward had just lost his wife at the time."
The Doctor nodded along as he ate the small but filling supper. He decided that he might as well accept the Professor's offer and wait until morning. Perhaps it was only one of Sir Edward's experiments that was the anomaly...
Rose fetched some fresh linen and put it in the guest suite. It was a wide and spacious set of rooms and she was positive that the Doctor would have no problems with it.
She frowned as she thought of the gentleman that she had just met. He was unlike anything she had ever seen. Not in his appearance-no, he was dressed as a proper gentleman should be-but something about his face was very old.
Shaking her head, she went over to the windows and gazed outside. The moon was full tonight and Rose was getting restless. It had been nearly a week since Sir Edward had offered her a proposal.
"You are already like a mother to Caroline and Mary. Our fathers were old friends. It would make sense."
It did make sense. Rose could almost hear her mother shrieking at her to accept Sir Edward's proposal. She would be a proper lady and everything, and she adored Caroline and Mary. But did she really want to settle for something simply because it made sense?
She knew what she really wanted. What she had always wanted. Of course, that was completely foolish. "Setting your eyes to the stars, Rose," she murmured to herself.
"There's nothing wrong with the stars," she heard a deep voice behind her and Rose jumped.
"Doctor Smith," she squeaked in surprise. "I am sorry I didn't hear you come in, sir."
"Oh no, I should be the one apologising," he said cheerfully. "After all, I interrupted your introspection."
Rose flushed and ducked her head. She hadn't meant to sound...well, like she was complaining. "It wasn't introspection, Doctor Smith," she said, regaining her composure. She cleared her throat. "I brought some fresh linen and the fire should be warm enough now."
"Thank you, Miss Tyler," said the Doctor with his wide grin that made her smile involuntarily.
She curtsied quickly and turned to leave. As she neared the door, she heard him call to her. "Yes, Doctor Smith?" she asked politely.
"Just the Doctor, please," he said. "If you don't mind, Miss Tyler, I was actually hoping to ask you about Sir Edward's work."
Rose looked surprised but nodded with a quick smile. "It is fascinating, is it not?" she said. "He is certain that he shall be able to build a device that can transmit our voices across distances without wires."
"Indeed?" asked the Doctor, interested. "How does he propose to do that?"
"It's far too advanced for me to understand, sir," said Rose with a wry smile. "But he did mention something called satellite communication."
"Satellite communication? Are you sure?" the Doctor asked, his eyebrows flying into his curly hair.
Rose frowned at his surprise but nodded. "I assumed he meant the moon," she said. "He monitors the moon cycle without fail. Which is curious," she trailed off.
"Curious?" asked the Doctor with interest.
"Full moon," said Rose. "He usually spends his nights working in his laboratory but on full moons he retires early. Something disrupts his experiments, he says, which makes his results unclear. The entire household is quiet as a dormouse once he has retired."
"Curious, indeed," agreed the Doctor. "I would have thought that a full moon would make his results more accurate."
"I suppose not," said Rose, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself as much as the Doctor.
The Doctor watched her kindly and smiled. "You don't really believe that, do you Rose?" he asked. "May I call you Rose?"
Rose nodded. "Sir Edward, sometimes he says things that I do not underst..." she shook her head, flushing red when she realised that she was blurting out her employer's secrets to a man she had met not an hour ago. "I am sorry, Doctor. Ignore me. My mum always said I read too much into things. I should let you rest. It's quite late," she rambled on, looking ready to bolt.
"Miss Tyler. Rose," the Doctor interrupted and Rose fell silent, looking at him through wide eyes. "Did you hear that?"
Rose's brow wrinkled but then she heard it too. It was a low howl that echoed through the moonlit night. "What is that?" Rose asked in a low whisper.
The Doctor rushed over to the window and peered out. Rose hesitated only briefly before joining him. The grounds around the mansion were bathed in moonlight but there was no around. "Sir Edward does not own any dogs, I presume," said the Doctor.
"No," answered Rose, still looking at the grounds.
"Yes, I was afraid you would say that," said the Doctor. The howl rang through the air again, louder this time and the two of them jumped.
"It came from beyond the garden," said Rose quickly. "Near the Brackenworth copse."
"Right," said the Doctor as he picked up his cane and ran quickly from the room.
Bewildered, Rose followed him quickly. "Doctor, where are you going?" she asked in a low whisper as he ran down the wide stairwell.
"To investigate, of course," said the Doctor. "Come along if you want to."
Rose came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs and watched as the Doctor opened the back door and let himself out into the garden. Right before he left, he grinned at her over his shoulder. Rose realised that she had just been offered a choice. Stay in the safety of the house or join the Doctor in the unknown.
With a determined look upon her face, Rose gathered up her voluminous skirts with one hand and ran after him.
Snow was blanketing most of the garden and Rose shivered lightly. She ought to have grabbed a cloak before leaving the house. There was no sign of the Doctor but Rose could see his footprints leading through the ground and towards the copse beyond the gate. She followed them with quick steps and was soon past the gate. It was quieter now and she could barely see through the night. The moon slid behind some clouds and darkness descended upon them. "Doctor," she whispered, trying to look for him in the dark.
There was no reply, so she extended a hand in front of her and started to take tentative steps forward. "Doctor?" she called again. Her hand met something quite furry and she frowned. Had the Doctor put on a different cloak with fur lining? She moved her fingers but she only felt more fur under her hand. It took her only a moment to realise that it was not the Doctor.
"Rose! Rose!"
Rose screamed loudly as she heard the Doctor call from behind her.
The furry thing in front of her growled loudly and the moon slipped away from the clouds, bathing them in moonlight. Rose couldn't contain her scream as she saw an enormous wolf with shaggy dark fur standing on two legs before her. Rose tore her hand away from the towering beast and ran. She could not tell if the thing was pursuing her, she was only focused on getting away. She didn't even know if she was going the right way when she lost her footing and slid to the ground. She heard a loud howl echo behind her as everything went dark.
The Doctor had heard Rose scream right after he had called out for her. It was getting steadily darker and the moon was peeking in and out at inopportune moments, making visibility that much harder. He followed the direction of her voice as best as he could in the growing darkness. Thankfully, his vision was more advanced than that of a regular human's.
Just as he started to wonder whether he was losing direction, he heard Rose scream again. He quickened his footsteps in the direction that he was heading in but came to a halt when he heard a long howl, followed by a rustling through the trees.
The Doctor stood stock still as a furry beast emerged from the darkness, carrying an unconscious Rose in his arms. The Doctor turned his blazing eyes on the beast. "Stop!" he commanded in a quiet yet menacing voice. "Put the girl down. Gently." The beast roared angrily at him but at the Doctor's steady, furious gaze, it lowered Rose down to the ground. "Now," said the Doctor in a calmer voice. "What are you?"
The beast threw its head back and howled loudly at the moon. "You are not of this world, so where do you come from?" the Doctor tried again, looking at the half-man, half-wolf. "Can you not respond?" he realised. The wolf looked at him with intelligent eyes and bowed its head. "Do you need help?" asked the Doctor as he moved forward cautiously.
The wolf looked a bit wary as the Doctor came closer. The Doctor looked encouragingly at him and the wolf nodded slowly. "Okay, is there a way for us to communicate properly?" he asked.
Before the wolf could answer, a loud shot rang through the air, missing the wolf by inches. The Doctor turned around and saw Professor Litefoot wielding his trusty rifle to shoot at the wolf. "Get out of the way, Doctor!" he yelled.
"No! Stop!" yelled the Doctor as the wolf growled angrily.
Professor Litefoot appeared to not have heard him and was loading the rifle again. With a last angry look at the Doctor, the wolf howled and turned around and vanished into the darkness.
"No, wait," said the Doctor. "Come back!" But the animal was gone.
The Doctor hurried over to Rose's unconscious form and lifted her up in his arms. His face set in a frustrated glare, he started to carry her back. Professor Litefoot looked relieved upon seeing them but his gaze turned concerned when he saw Rose unconscious.
"This way, Doctor. Bring her in," he said, at once. The Doctor followed Professor Litefoot up to Rose's rooms and laid her down on her bed. Professor Litefoot was immediately checking her pulse. "Get the fire going. Poor thing is nearly frozen," he said.
The Doctor obeyed and quickly started up the fire in Rose's room. "Is she alright?" he asked, his annoyance at the Professor temporarily forgotten.
"Yes," answered the Professor. "She doesn't appear to be injured." Turning away from his patient, Professor Litefoot looked at the Doctor. "What was that thing in the copse?" he demanded.
"I don't know," answered the Doctor. "Your gunfire scared it before it could answer."
"You mean...it was friendly?" asked the Professor in astonishment.
"It appeared so, yes," said the Doctor, looking slightly admonishing.
The Professor had the grace to flush. "I apologise, old chap," he said. "When I saw the beast towering over you, I assumed..."
"It's quite alright," said the Doctor with a smile. He knew Professor Litefoot was a kind man at heart. He was doing what he did best; protecting and caring for the people around him. The truest doctor that the Doctor had ever met. "I think it's time we woke up our host, don't you think? He appears to have a lupine problem."
"Right, of course," said the Professor at once, rising from the chair at Rose's bedside. "I shall wake Sir Edward. He'll have to be informed about Miss Tyler too."
"I'll stay with Rose while you fetch him," said the Doctor. "I don't think he will quite appreciate a stranger bursting into his rooms at midnight."
"No, no, quite right," said the Professor, as he ambled out of Rose's room. "I'll be back soon."
Rose regained consciousness and realised quickly that she was back in her own bed. What a terrible nightmare that had been. Meeting a strange man called the Doctor, howling through the night and then a werewolf in the copse...
She turned in her bed and gasped when she saw the Doctor sitting calmly by the fire. She sat up quickly, her head protesting at the moment.
"Careful there," said the Doctor as she clutched her head in pain. "Are you feeling alright?"
"That was real, wasn't it?" Rose asked, her eyes wide as she looked at the Doctor. "There really was a werewolf back there."
"Werewolf? Interesting thing to call it," said the Doctor with some amusement. "Yes, I'm afraid it was. But I think our friend Professor Litefoot frightened it off."
"Good," she nodded decisively. "What if it wandered onto the grounds? I take the girls for a walk there sometimes. Thank goodness they weren't there with me."
"I don't think it is quite as simple," said the Doctor. "Before Professor Litefoot frightened it off, it asked for my help."
"It spoke?" asked Rose in astonishment.
"Gestures, mostly," said the Doctor. "But I rather think it meant you no harm. It brought you out of the copse."
Rose stared at him in disbelief. "It...didn't harm me?" she asked. "Then the poor thing must really need help. How do we help?"
"I intend to find out," said the Doctor.
"I should check up on the girls," said Rose, getting to her feet. "Where is the Professor?"
"He went to wake up Sir Edward," said the Doctor. "Come to think of it, that was a while ago," he added with a frown.
"Sir Edward's chambers are on the other side of the mansion. It will take him a while to be back," she explained. "I'll just...check on the girls."
The Doctor nodded at her to go ahead and Rose hurried over to the girls' room, trying not to shiver because of her damp dress. Fainting in the snow had not been a smart thing to do, she realised with an embarrassed flush. She reached the girls' door and opened it just a crack. The room was plunged into darkness, so she walked inside slowly.
"Caroline? Mary?" she whispered. She got no reply. She was about to call again when she realised how silent it was in the room. She couldn't even hear the girls breathing. Rose quickly lit the small electric lamp on Caroline's side table that Sir Edward had invented himself.
Light flooded the room and Rose gasped when she realised that the beds were empty. Frightened, she ran back out to her own rooms. "Doctor! Doctor!" she called but was surprised to find him gone too.
"Miss Tyler!"
Rose turned around and sighed in relief when she saw the Professor. "Thank goodness I found you, Miss Tyler," said the Professor, bustling over to her.
"Did you wake up Sir Edward?" she asked.
"I tried to but the man wasn't in his bed," said the Professor.
"Neither were Caroline and Mary," said Rose, sounding scared. "And now the Doctor is gone too. Maybe I should wake up the rest of the staff."
"I tried ringing for Blackwell but he did not answer," said the Professor about the butler. "I think they too, are gone."
"But gone where?" asked Rose, distressed. "And where is the Doctor?"
A loud howl rang through the air and the Professor and Rose glanced at each other. To their enormous surprise, several howls followed the loud howl. "What the devil is going on?" asked the Professor.
"There you two are," they heard from behind them and jumped.
"Doctor! Where have you been?" Rose asked, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Oh, I was just looking for some string," he said, holding up an odd device that looked like several cobbled bits of wires and machinery held together. "I have been raiding Sir Edward's laboratory. Fascinating experiments."
"Doctor, I am afraid Sir Edward is gone," said the Professor gravely. "So have his daughters and the rest of his staff."
"Yes, I thought that might be the case," said the Doctor as if the Professor had mentioned the weather. "But they are not as gone as you think."
"Then where are they?" Rose asked and jumped when a loud howl echoed through the air again.
"I think that answers your question, doesn't it?" said the Doctor with a wide, manic grin. "Come along now, let's go speak to Sir Edward and his household." He finished tying up the string around the mechanical device in his hands and began to make his way back downstairs.
Rose and the Professor exchanged a quick look before running after him. By the time they got downstairs, they found that the Doctor was already out into the garden. In front of him, were seven werewolves. The one that Rose had seen before, was the largest one and he was standing slightly ahead of the rest.
"What the blazes is going on?" murmured the Professor as he and Rose joined the Doctor.
"Ah, Rose, Professor, meet Sir Edward and his household. Those two," he pointed to the younger wolves. "Those must be Caroline and Mary. And if I'm guessing right, the rest of them must be the butler, scullery maid, the cook and the chauffeur. Am I wrong?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Doctor," said the Professor. "They cannot possibly be."
"Oh but they are," said the Doctor. "Just this one thing," he said, fiddling with the contraption in his hand and there was a distortion in the air around the wolves before they transformed back into their human selves. "A perception filter affected by the gravitational pull of the satellite."
"What?" Rose asked, still looking very pale at the idea that the household where she had stayed for so many years was actually a house of wolves.
"He means that the moon affects how we look," Sir Edward answered, looking at Rose apologetically. "We are not of this world, my dear Rose."
"But that cannot be true," said Rose, shaking her head. "I have known you all my life. Our fathers were friends."
"Our ancestors crashed to Earth generations ago. With no way back, they assimilated themselves into the society," said Sir Edward regretfully. "We are just the newest generation. We used the perception filter that your friend just pointed out, to keep our true selves hidden. But on full moon, the filter is more difficult to hide."
"You mean, all this time?" asked Rose, tearfully. "And the girls..." she said, looking at the girls who both had tears in their eyes.
"We are sorry, Miss Rose," Caroline, the oldest said. "Daddy told us that we couldn't tell you the truth."
"We wanted to," said Mary.
"They care for you," said Sir Edward. "That is why I asked you to marry me."
Rose ignored the look that the Doctor and the Professor sent her. "But how could...I mean, you..." she wondered how she could phrase it delicately.
"If you had accepted, I would have told you the truth," said Sir Edward hastily. "There are ways to...become like us."
"That may be," interrupted the Doctor. "But I found this in your laboratory," he said, pulling out a small black box with a myriad of wires tangled around it.
"What is that?" asked the Professor. The Doctor had to admire his fortitude. Poor man had had a lot sprung onto him in a very short amount of time.
"That is what you would call a radio," said the Doctor. "Well," he amended. "At least you would call it that once it has been invented."
"What does it do?" Rose asked curiously.
"Remember when you told me he was making a device to transmit our voices without wires?" asked the Doctor with a grin. "This is what he'd meant."
"I am almost successful, Doctor," said Sir Edward. "If I can finish making that device, I can transmit a signal back to our home planet. There might be a chance for us to go home."
"Well then, you are in luck," said the Doctor cheerfully. "I happen to be an expert at satellite communication and I just managed to fix this device up." He flipped open the black box and a cacophony of voices rang through the air. "It appears that your people are eager to have you back home."
As if to punctuate his words, a low groaning sound began to ring from the skies. Everyone raised their eyes up, just to see the clouds part and a large saucer-shaped ship descending slowly to Earth. A bright light shone like a spotlight around them, as if searching for something.
"Go on, Sir Edward," said the Doctor happily. "Wave at them."
Sir Edward was almost overwhelmed with happiness as he and his household waved frantically at the ship. The spotlight moved to them and stopped. He looked back at the Doctor. "Thank you, sir. Whoever you are. Thank you so much!"
"Oh, it was no trouble at all," said the Doctor with his manic grin.
Sir Edward tore his eyes away from him to look at Rose. "Rose...?" he asked, holding out his hand.
Rose blinked back tears. "Oh Edward," she said sadly. "I am so sorry."
"Miss Rose?" Caroline asked as Mary stared at her beseechingly. "Please, come with us."
"I can't, my dears," said Rose, openly crying now. "That is your world, not mine. I would make a very bad wolf."
Sir Edward sighed sadly and placed a hand each on his daughters' shoulders. "It's alright, girls," he said. "Miss Tyler is right. It is not right of us to ask her to leave her world, never to return." He raised his eyes to Rose and gave a small smile. "I do think you would have made a fine wolf, Rose," he said. "But I respect your wishes and wish you the best."
Rose nodded tearfully as she raised her hand in farewell. The girls waved back enthusiastically and even the staff waved back shortly. Rose had never been too close with them, being neither proper staff nor a proper member of the family, so she was surprised at the gesture. Sir Edward bowed to her and repeated the gesture towards the Doctor and Professor Litefoot.
The spotlight brightened for an instant and then all of the seven people in front of them vanished. The spotlight vanished a moment later and the ship began to move up and up into the sky before the clouds covered it. Soon, it was lost to the night.
Rose lowered her gaze and wiped at her tears. Professor Litefoot patted her shoulder sympathetically. "There, there, my dear," he said. "Come on back into the house. You need some brandy in you," he said.
"What shall I do now?" Rose wondered as she let the Professor lead her back into the house.
"Don't think about it now, my dear," said the Professor kindly as he made her sit in an armchair in the parlour and lit the fire. The Doctor was silent through the whole exchange but he followed the Professor out of the parlour when the Professor gestured for him to come with him.
"Yes?" asked the Doctor in a low voice, aware of the distraught young woman in the parlour.
"I do think you should take Miss Tyler with you, Doctor," said the Professor bluntly.
The Doctor's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I do not cart around people with me, Professor," he said, sounding quite firm.
"But you had Miss Leela with you before," the Professor pointed out. "Instinct tells me that she had been in a situation not unlike Miss Tyler's."
The Doctor had to admire the Professor's perceptiveness. "Yes," he nodded. "But I don't think Miss Tyler is quite ready to leave her world yet and my travels, forgive me, are not always around Earth."
The Professor's eyes went wide. "Are you suggesting that your travels are...in space?" he asked.
"And time too," said the Doctor.
"Can you come back to Earth once you go into space?" asked the Professor, recovering from his shock with surprising grace.
"Of course I can," said the Doctor.
"Then ask her," said the Professor firmly and went back into the parlour.
The Doctor processed his words and then followed him slowly. He saw some colour returning to Rose's cheeks as she drank the brandy that the Professor had poured for her. Upon seeing him, her face burst into a grateful smile and the Doctor couldn't help but grin back.
Yes, he thought. Perhaps I would not mind her company at all.
A/N So, what did you think?
We had werewolves, well some form of them at least. And Professor Litefoot who appeared in 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' and later got his own audio spinoff with Mr. Jago. I have a very soft spot for Professor Litefoot. Plus, he had a housekeeper named Mrs. Hudson.
We had Four, who is very difficult to write because he is made distinctive by the way Tom Baker acts rather than his actual lines. On top of that, there was no scarf in this one since he wore the same clothes that he wore in 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' i.e. his Sherlock Holmes get up. Seriously, that whole episode is just basically Classic Wholock.
And a Victorian!Rose. I had fun writing her. It was weird to write her being so meek but I hope I managed to capture her other attributes better.
The next one shot is going to be based on a prompt given to me by Raven Luparyu84. The prompt was Six and Peri, Queen Rose and Vampires. Should be fun.
I have a lot of amazing prompts from you guys already but if you think of more, do not hesitate to let me know. I am going to write as many as I can along with any that I think of.
Let me know how this one was. See you soon!
~ Phoenix