Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. You've been putting a smile on my face on a regular basis. Any suggestions are always welcome. This chapter is slightly fluffy I think, seeing as my fingers seemed to avoid typing towards the actual plot but hey, that'll show up soon.
Keep in mind this is without the invaluable help of a beta, seeing as I'm a relatively new author on the site. Anyone who thinks they're up to the job is welcome...heheheh.
Jane's sister climbed the stairs of their small house, intending to check once on her sister before retiring for the evening. Cassandra knew Jane better than anyone, and she knew that her sister had a tendency to make light of things concerning her own well-being.
She pushed open Jane's door just a crack and called in softly, "Jane, how are you feeling? Do tell me all is well before I go to bed."
Hearing nothing, she opened the door further and took a step inside. It was dark, the candle having since sputtered out. "Jane?" Cassandra squinted, trying to make out the shape of her sister's sleeping form on the bed. Still, there was no answer, and she moved forward, intending to retrieve a candle. She tripped lightly over something on the floor, causing her to glance downward. She screamed.
"Father! Father! Help! Anyone, help, please, help!
…
"Right." Rose took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "Well." For a moment, the Doctor looked at her with an expression of such sadness, she didn't know if she could stand it.
"I'm sorry, Rose. I am so, so sorry." He took a step forward and placed his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. He whispered, "I just seem to keep on breaking that promise to your Mum. I told her I'd bring you back to her."
Rose blinked, and she choked back the beginnings of a sob. "Oh god. Mum."
Then, suddenly, he took a step back, thinking. "Ohhh!" Making the sound of discovery and surprise and delight that only the Doctor could make so well, he grinned. "Rose Tyler, you are in the company of a very clever man."
She knew it. Spirits lifted, she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Mum. Your mum! She's brilliant! Can't shut up to save her life, or mine when I come to think of it, but she's absolutely brilliant!" He turned on his heel and started rifling through the console, looking for something. He grabbed a wrench and started gesturing with it wildly.
"That last parallel world took a real toll on the TARDIS power cells. But remember at Christmas when my regeneration went a bit awry and some of that spilled tea of your mother's fixed up the ol' synapses and voila! Good as new?" He was tugging at a section of the floor, and when it lifted he hopped down into the space below. Rose saw him crawling around the junk and machinery, pointing the sonic screwdriver out in front of him.
"Well, that tea did some damage to the power cells over in this sector so I rerouted power to Sectors 2 and 3 and let the cells over here go dormant for a bit. I never really had a chance to work on it again, so we've been running on a sort of low power mode. Made the TARDIS a bit sluggish really. I haven't had time to work on them, and, actually, I forgot about them for a bit. But since these cells have been flipped off, there's a chance they might not have been damaged in the world breach. Let's just see he…ahh! Ha!" He popped his head up through another trap door in the floor about 3 meters from Rose's feet. With a wide smile spread across his face, he held in his hand what looked like a rather large, green, glowing diamond.
"Hook this little bugger up to the main circuit, and we'll be recharged in 24 hours. I'm starting to get this whole impossible parallel world travel thing down pat." His head disappeared for a moment and Rose heard the buzz of the sonic screwdriver and him puttering around in the works. Pulling himself back up onto the grating, he wiped his hands on the front of his pants and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up more than usual. "There, all set. In the meantime, what do you say to meeting Mr. Darcy?"
Walking through the front park of the Longbourn Estate, Rose fidgeted with her hair. She may not have read Pride and Prejudice, but the mention of Mr. Darcy jogged her memory of seeing a movie version on television once. She didn't remember much, but she thought there had been a scene with Colin Firth in a wet, white shirt, and that was enough to make any girl nervous.
"What can the psychic paper say to make 18th century aristocrats like us?" she asked, trying to fix the bow on her bonnet.
The Doctor glanced down at her, amused. "Stop fidgeting. Mr. Darcy isn't here now; we're not at that point in the story. If Lydia's run away…" he stopped to do some calculations in his head. "He probably won't be here until tomorrow. And trust me, at any mention of nobility and Mrs. Bennet will be thrilled to see us."
"But if Darcy isn't here, what are we doing here? If we're stuck inside of something I was supposed to have read in high school, I at least want to meet the main characters. My ancient, boring, English Lit. teacher would be disappointed otherwise."
"Maybe he wouldn't have been disappointed if you had read the book in the first place. You know, you probably would have gotten a lot more out of that class if you had done the assignments. I always found Earth to have a great supply of interesting reading material. There's this great encyclopedia on the beetles of the South American rain for-"
Rose cut him off. "Doctor. Just answer the question."
"Yes, well, in order to follow the proper rules of society, we must form an acquaintance with the family before we can be introduced to the 'decidedly unpleasant' Mr. Darcy." He smirked. "With any luck he'll 'be in humor to give consequence to a young lady of your caliber.'"
"You better watch your step. You never know how fictional characters will react to meeting a time lord. They might not be able to handle it. Don't do anything to ruin the story, like telling them the ending or anything." Rose stopped walking and looked at him. "Doctor, what point are we at in the book?"
"About the middle. Well, later part of the middle. Why?" Rose looked relieved.
"I'm just glad we have some time left. I'm not sure I want to know what happens to the world inside a book when the story ends."
The Doctor chuckled at the thought and nodded in agreement. Inside, however, he was thinking the same thing.
"Whoa, these people have got it good. Must be rolling in it." Rose said, rather awe-struck, as they stood at the large front door of Longbourn.
"Actually, for a gentleman, Mr. Bennet isn't really that wealthy. That's a rather large factor in the book; it means that his daughters need to marry into money." The Doctor replied as he reached out and pounded the knocker several times.
Rose grinned mischievously. "Gold diggers."
The Doctor returned her smile just as the door opened and a middle-aged, haggard-looking, female servant opened the door. "May I ask who's calling, Sir?"
"Yes, hello." He turned his smile to her, full-force, and reached inside his coat for the psychic paper. "I'm the Doctor and this is my…" he floundered for a moment, looking rather awkward. "This is my wife, Rose Tyler. We're distant, very distant, cousins of a Mr. Collins, and he gave us such a complimentary review of the Bennet family, that we decided we simply must meet them ourselves. We've just come up from town, and were, um, passing through."
She curtsied. "I'll show you in to the drawing room, Sir."
As she turned and led them down the hall, a shrieking voice echoed down the stairs. "Hill! Hill! Oh where is Hill? My nerves are all frazzled to pieces, and I have such fluttering all up and down that I do not know what I shall do. Hill!"
The servant stopped in front of a door and curtsied again. "The mistress is not well at present I'm afraid." She opened the door and stepped in.
"A Dr. and Mrs. Tyler to see you, Miss. They say they're distant cousins of Mr. Collins." She nodded towards an unseen figure in the corner of the room. She curtsied a third time, held the door open for them, and left the Doctor and Rose standing the drawing room in Longbourn to meet the Bennets.
There were several girls sitting in chairs about the room, and they stood as the two travelers entered. The eldest looked to be several years older than Rose, and had a gentle-looking face framed in many small, blonde ringlets. The girl next to her looked quite a bit younger and held an unfinished bonnet in her hand. Another stood on the other side of the room next to a small piano; she wore glasses and looked displeased. And there, in the center of the room, stood a girl about the same age as Rose, with dark hair and intelligent eyes.
The blonde girl spoke first. "You are very welcome. I'm sorry that you find us in such a state of disrepair; our mother is indisposed and our father has gone to town on a family matter. I'm afraid we were not expecting visitors."
The dark-haired girl came to stand beside her. "I do not believe we've met before. I am Elizabeth Bennet and this is my sister Jane. My sisters Mary and Kitty sit over there."
"Miss Bennet." The Doctor bowed slightly. He was beaming. "Miss Elizabeth Bennet." His grin seemed to stretch even wider. "I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you."
"Is that so, Dr. Tyler?" the black haired girl asked. She looked surprised.
"Just the Doctor. Oh, and this is my Rose." He stepped aside, still beaming.
Rose was suddenly nervous again. She was meeting the heroine. "I find it, uh, utterly charming to make your acquaintance in this, uh, very well-managed establishment you have here."
The Doctor leaned down and shook his head. "Don't do that. Really, don't do that."
Jane and Elizabeth smiled warmly. "We're charmed to make your acquaintance as well, Mrs. Tyler."
Rose knew it was silly, but she felt a little fluttering in her stomach when they mentioned her being married to the Doctor. "Oh, just call me Rose."
The younger girls exchanged a look of surprise. She felt immediately as though she'd done something rude. Saving her faux pas, the Doctor interjected. "We've just been up from London. Calling acquaintances by their Christian names is all the rage this season."
"Oh, I see. Then by all means, do call me Elizabeth." She smiled at Rose again.
"Yes, and I Jane."
There came a cough from the corner. Rose turned to see a rather stout, greasy-haired man in black smiling fawningly in their direction. Jane hastened to make the introduction.
"Please forgive our rudeness. You say that you are distant cousins of Mr. Collins? Here, you will be so pleased to find him visiting at this very moment." She gestured toward him with a rather forced smile.
The Doctor looked surprised for a moment, but then as if he remembered something, and just as Mr. Collins opened his mouth to speak, he rushed over and started shaking his hand wildly. "Collins old fellow, we haven't seen you in so long. Tell us, how is Mrs. Collins? No, you will never guess who I saw at St. James' Court! Let me just say, Lady Catherine sends her regards."
Rose had to stifle a laugh as she saw the look of extreme confusion pass over the man's face at this strange man who he'd never met before in his life change to a look of sheer gratitude and pass once more into a look of such self-importance that he could have been the King of England himself. Obviously, his trouble processing his memory of his imaginary cousin was forgotten at the mention of this Lady Catherine.
"My dear Doctor, thank you so much for this extension of familiars from my esteemed patroness. I have no doubt that Mrs. Collins will be thrilled to hear it when I return to her this very afternoon."
The Doctor wore an expression of mock horror. "Collins! Do not tell me that you intend to keep her in suspense from this news for another minute! Surely Mrs. Collins would never forgive me if I let you keep her waiting. You must start for home at once, for Lady Catherine informed me also that she wanted to wish Charlotte a late happy birthday."
It looked as though Mr. Collins were having trouble breathing. "Lady Catherine de Bourgh is sending Mrs. Collins a happy birthday?" The Doctor nodded gravely. "Yes, yes. I shall start away at once. She will be so pleased to hear…" He made sharp bows to each of his cousins, so quickly that Rose thought his brain must be sloshing around from all the up and down motion. Then he turned and scurried out the door, muttering apologies for his abrupt departure.
The Doctor turned to face the sisters, who looked such a mixture of shock and pleasure that Rose let out the laugh she'd been holding. The Doctor shrugged.
"He's not a favorite cousin."
An hour or two had passed, while Rose and the Doctor sat and chatted with the Bennet sisters. The Doctor had been entertaining them with stories of the time he had met St. George and the dragon. They all laughed merrily, thinking him a wonderful storyteller. Rose told herself to be sure to ask him about the truth of that later.
"Where are you staying? I had been told that all the rooms in Meryton were full." The younger girl, Kitty, asked. She earned a harsh look from Jane for her rudeness in the personal question.
"Uhh…" The Doctor looked towards Rose in question. "We weren't quite sure actually. I guess we thought we'd sort of move on tonight."
"No, you mustn't! Do stay! They can stay with us, can't they, Lizzie?"
"Yes, if you'd like." Elizabeth welcomed. "I don't wish to force you if you'd made other arrangements, but I believe we can easily make room."
"We don't want to impose." Rose objected.
"Nonsense!" Jane chimed in. "You are both such delightful company, we shall be very pleased to have you. We will dine, and then Hill will show you to a room."
"When you put it that way…" Rose looked at the Doctor, smiling. He raised his eyebrows with a grin and said, "Great. We'd be delighted to stay."
Dinner was yet another pleasant affair, full of joking and laughter. Rose got the feeling that this was a break in some tension; that the two eldest especially were letting loose after being under a lot of strain. She supposed it had something to do with what the Doctor had said about Lydia running away.
Afterward, she and the Doctor followed Hill up the stairs and down a hallway. She stopped in front of a doorway and opened the door for them. "Your room, Sir, Ma'am."
Rose looked into the room and saw a plain room with a single bed up against the wall. One small bed. "Oh, uh…"
The Doctor cut her off. "Thank you, Hill. Rose?" He ushered her into the room. "Goodnight!" He shut the door.
"We're married, remember? You can't go asking for a separate room, it'll look odd."
"I make us look odd?" Rose was indignant. "It was just unexpected; I wasn't going to complain. Besides, look at you. You're wearing trainers in 18th century England, and you're saying I make us look odd?"
He sighed. "Right. Sorry."
They were silent for a moment. Then he spoke again, "Well, I'll take the floor than, shall I?"
"Oh, no. You don't have to." Rose blushed slightly. "I mean, I'm sure we can both fit."
"No, no. I'll take the floor."
"Come on, Doctor. This is hard wood, and I'm not giving up my blankets for you to sleep on. Just scootch over and it'll be fine." She went over to the bed and climbed in. She patted the space next to her. "See? Plenty of room."
He walked over and lay down next to her. He wiggled around to get comfortable, and they ended up lying back to back. "'Night, Rose."
"'Night."
A couple of tense minutes passed, while they listened to their breathing getting in sync.
"Hey Doctor?"
"Yeah?"
Rose propped herself up on one elbow so she could grin at him.
"We're sleeping in Elizabeth Bennet's house."
…
The Austen family sat worriedly as they listened to the doctor.
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. I've never seen anything like it. Medically, there doesn't seem to be much wrong with her. And yet…" He paused to look down at the pale figure in the bed. "Just keep her warm and try to keep her fever down. I'll call back on the morn."
Cassandra leaned forward to dab with a cool cloth at the beads of sweat on her sister's forehead. She heard her father shutting the front door after the doctor. Her mother left the room to meet him in the hallway. She heard them talking quietly, trying to keep her from hearing the fear in their voices.
Jane turned her head restlessly in her sleep, her breathing heavy and labored. She moved her lips slightly as if she were saying something in the delirium of the fever.
"Jane? Dearest, can you hear me?" Cassandra held her sister's hand tightly. She brushed a sweat-drenched curl off Jane's forehead.
Her lips moved slightly again, and Cassandra bent forward to hear her. The words chilled her heart.
"Stop...them. They're coming."