a/ns: sorry for crappyness of this chapter, it may seem a little slow going, but stuff will be happening soon, i promise! thanks for the reviews.
"On sleepless roads the sleepless go." -Hear You Me, Jimmy Eat World
Rose stepped out of the TARDIS, staring in amazement at her surroundings.
Metropolis looked exactly as its name would suggest; it was just like one giant city. There were spaceships zipping past her in neat lanes and various aliens on walkways, high, high above; Rose could see their shapes, moving. Huge buildings like sky scrapers stretched right up into the clouds, so high Rose couldn't see where they ended. The clouds were lower than any planet she'd ever seen, sitting thick and heavy barely fifty metres above them. For a moment she wondered how they had any light, with such thick cloud, then she saw the huge lamps, attached to long thin posts. They were bright, brighter than some suns, and cast everything in a luminous glow.
Everywhere was busy, and it seemed to Rose like the planet might never sleep. It reminded her strongly of one of the Star Wars films, she had no idea which though. Mickey had once tried to make her watch them all and she'd fallen asleep half way through.
"Wow," she gasped. "This is…amazing."
The Doctor grinned, stepping out of the TARDIS behind her.
"I thought you might like it."
He pointed over her shoulder, towards a huge round building, that seemed to be actually built like a giant spiral. It reminded of Rose of the circular levels that went up to a multi storey car park, only this was way nicer than any car park Rose had been to. It was made of thousands of what looked like tiny mirrors, all of which glittered and sparkled in the bright lights.
"That is the biggest shopping centre this side of the Tronoen Galaxy. Most likely the other side too."
Rose gaped.
"You mean that, all of that, is a shopping centre?"
"Yup." He winked at her. "Told you you'd like it."
She spent the morning dragging the Doctor from shop to shop, marvelling at styles and fashion from across the universe (she was very taken with a particular shop from the planet Demisos, which specialised in fabrics that changed colour to match your mood) and it wasn't until well past lunchtime that the Doctor begged her to stop and have some lunch.
"I'm starving!"
Rose felt vaguely put out.
"But we've barely even looked at a tenth of it yet."
"Well maybe if you didn't insist on trying everything on twice…" he muttered.
She glared at him.
"I only did that once. And you weren't being very helpful, you know, going on about some one or other you met three hundred years ago who looked just as good in that dress, if not better."
The Doctor sighed.
"That is not what I said. I merely mentioned that I happened to know someone who had the same dress, and that she looked nice in it. I never said she looked better!"
Rose rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand without thinking, pulling him toward a nearby restaurant.
"Well, come on then. I thought you said you were hungry."
"I am hungry…"
It was only when she realised that she was holding his hand, she realised how strange it felt. Which was stupid, because she'd held the Doctor's hand a million times before.
But then, before, it had felt almost like it was something forbidden. She'd felt a thrill, a frisson of excitement every time she'd touched him, almost like there was some kind of electricity between them.
Now she felt nothing. She could have been holding the hand of the fat, bald man who owned the shop around the corner back home. There was no electricity.
"What kind of food do they have here?" she asked, trying to distract herself from the sudden feeling of loss.
"Anything you like," the Doctor replied brightly.
"Chips?" Rose barely dared to hope.
He laughed.
"Fat cut, thin cut, curled, crinkled, seasoned. Even those wedgy things you liked so much."
Rose giggled, partly from delight and partly from his misuse of the world wedgy.
They took a table at the café/restaurant type thing and the Doctor ordered them both drinks and three different types of chips.
Rose was less impressed when the drinks actually arrived, and they turned out to be electric bright blue.
"What is this?" she asked, eyeing her drink doubtfully.
"This happens to be a specialty of a little planet just off the main Holarey System."
Rose rolled her eyes.
"That tells me absolutely nothing."
The Doctor took a sip of his drink.
"Go on," he said, gesturing to her glass. "I dare you."
Rose shot him a glare for good measure, then raised her drink to her lips.
It was like a sweet, tangy fruit was bursting across her tongue. It was amazing. It made her feel suddenly filled with energy, as if she hadn't just spent the entire morning walking around the galaxy's biggest shopping mall, or woken in the hours of the early morning haunted by yet another dream of Daleks chasing her down a hallway with no doors and no end.
She felt like she could never feel sad or tired again. Her grief over Jack, a constant weight in her chest, seemed to be pushed to the back of her mind. She felt suddenly beautiful, amazing.
"I like this stuff," she murmured, and the Doctor laughed.
"I thought you might."
Rose couldn't even feel guilty about eating far too many chips when they arrived, because the magic juice had made her feel so good that getting fat seemed like a distant possibility, and a rather unreasonable one at that.
After lunch they did even more shopping, and then the Doctor took her out to dinner in a restaurant that revolved thirty feet up in the air, with all glass walls and floor.
When he insisted they stay in a hotel, as opposed to just spending the night in the Tardis, Rose knew something was up.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked sleepily, as he led her into the elevator for the seven hundredth floor. The magic energy juice was just beginning to wear off, and she suddenly realised how tired she actually was.
"I'm always nice to you," the Doctor replied.
"Not like this," she murmured, leaning heavily into his side. "The dinner, the hotel. Are you trying to sweeten me up or something?"
He laughed softly, and she felt his hand rest briefly on her hair.
"Oh, I don't think any amount of shopping or hotels could possibly ever sweeten you up enough."
"Haha," she punched him lightly, but doubted he even felt it.
"I don't think I've made the wrong decision," she said. "I'm exactly where I want to be."
His moment of answering silence told her she'd hit the nail on the head.
"I know," he said after a few beats. "But I know losing Jack has been hard for you…"
His voice trailed off and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, pressing her face against his jacket shoulder, not moving until the lift pinged to indicate they'd arrived at the right floor.
"Thanks," she said, as they stepped out into the hallway. "For bringing me here. I'm glad you did."
For a moment there was a genuine smile on the Doctor's face, then it slipped effortlessly into a cheeky grin.
"I'm not so sure I am," he said, trying to lift his arms, heavily laden with Rose's shopping bags.
This time when she hit him, she made sure he felt it.
The man called Captain Jack Harkness couldn't sleep.
He lay on the floor of his glass prison, staring blankly at the glass ceiling, wondering why he couldn't see the prisoner above him if it was all made of glass.
He didn't want to sleep, because apparently something strange happened to him when he slept and he ended up being sedated a lot.
Plus, he was afraid if he went to sleep, when he woke up he wouldn't be able to remember who he was again.
Not that he really knew now. He only knew his name, or at least what he thought was his name, but that was better than nothing. He was pretty sure it was his name, because when that cute doctor with the concerned eyes (he was slightly worried that he'd noticed this before he noticed he'd lost his memory) had asked him, he'd replied instantly. And it felt right, it felt like his name, who he was.
But beyond that, he had nothing.
Every time he tried to remember, it was like someone had thrown a blanket over his mind. It was like a little black cloud covering everything. He knew it was there, he just couldn't get to it.
I love you. Hold on to that.
Who spoke those words? Those words he heard in the few moments before waking, every time?
And who was the Doctor?
Why had he asked about the Doctor? He had a doctor, a doctor with cute brown eyes. Why would he need another doctor?
Jack closed his eyes, and then wished he hadn't, because he really was tired and now he was trying to fight it.
Why was he here?
They said he'd killed people, lots of people. But he didn't feel like he could have killed people, especially not lots of people.
What if he had?
What if he had killed those people?
If that was the truth, did he even want his memory back?
Rose woke up with a gasp, and for a moment lay very still, trying to reassure herself that the creatures in her nightmares were not still chasing her.
She had been having them, the nightmares, ever since Satellite 5, a lot of which she still couldn't remember properly and probably never would.
Sometimes, in the dreams she'd had since, she heard that beautiful singing she remembered, and there was lots of gold light, and a feeling of such awesome power she woke up crying.
Then there were the other dreams, the ones in which the Daleks were chasing her and she couldn't get away, not matter how far or fast she ran, they were always right behind her.
She sighed now, rolling onto her side and curling her legs up against her body, clutching the quilt a little tighter.
She wanted to go home, but she knew if she went back now she wouldn't leave again, and that wasn't what she wanted, not really.
Perhaps if she could convince the Doctor to take her to Earth at a different time, just so she could be somewhere familiar, maybe to London.
She didn't go back to sleep, and at first light crept through the connecting door into the Doctor's room, not at all surprised to see him sitting in an armchair by the window, watching the huge lights slowly brighten, almost giving the impression of a sunrise.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Morning," he replied, but didn't turn to face her.
Rose chewed her lip, and wondered if he wanted to left alone.
"I was thinking," she started uncertainly. "Perhaps you could take me to London. Not my London," she added hurriedly, "but maybe a London in the future. Just, you know, so I could, um, see what it's like."
The Doctor turned his head slowly to face her, and even in the dim morning light she could see that he looked tired.
"Alright, if that's what you want." He waited a beat, then, "I could take you back, if you wanted. Back home."
Rose smiled, and loved him for being selfless.
"I want to stay. With you. I just…I just need something I know right now. Something I can hold on to."
The Doctor smiled as well, and Rose thought he looked suddenly more alive, less exhausted.
"Well then. We'd better get packing."
Rose grinned.
"I'll get dressed."
It was an hour later that she emerged from her room, freshly showered wearing one of her new outfits, and the Doctor was looking impatient in the armchair.
"You been sitting there all that time?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Well, if I knew you were going to take hours I would've gone for a walk."
Rose pretended to ignore him.
"Come on. You can carry my bags."
She led the way back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor unceremoniously dropped her bags on the floor.
He looked thoughtful.
"Let's go to the year 200,100."
Rose raised an eyebrow.
"That's very specific. Why? What's in the year 200,100?"
The Doctor shrugged.
"Nothing much. Just wanted to see how the planet's getting on. You know, after all the kafafel."
Rose laughed, though she couldn't help but feel there was something going on.
"Kafafel?"
"Yeah, you know, like falafel, only k."
"Doctor, falafel is a food."
"Really? I never would have guessed."
She sighed.
"I'm going to put my shopping away. Call me when we reach 200,100."
"Will do."
He was already spinning the complicated dials and pressing a million buttons Rose didn't know the function of. She shook her head. Boy and their toys.
She deposited her bags on her bed, then went quickly back to the control room. The floor had stopped shaking, which she took to mean that they were there.
"London. The year 200,100."
The Doctor was standing holding the door open for her.
She stepped cautiously out.
It was silent.
That was the first thing she noticed. Compared to the constant buzz of Metropolis, London seemed deathly silent.
Rose stared.
"Where are all the people?" she asked. "Where are all the cars, the space ships, the aeroplanes? Where are the shops and cafés? Where's…anything?"
The Doctor frowned beside her.
"This isn't supposed to happen. Something's not right."
"You think?"
She had wanted familiarity. Not more confusion and mysteries and fights.
"Well, no good standing here. Let's go and take a look around."
Rose followed him as he began to walk down the deserted street. She looked up at the tall buildings either side. They were empty, the windows dark and blank. The wide street curved around to the left ahead of them, and with a sudden rush of recognition, Rose realised she knew where they were.
"Oh my God," she murmured. "This is Regent Street. That's Piccadilly Circus, down there. What the hell happened here? Why is it so deserted?"
"I don't know," the Doctor said grimly. "After the Daleks bombed the human race was supposed to get together and rebuild everything. Not desert the planet. Come on, let's find out."
His stride quickened, and Rose found herself running slightly to keep up. Why was it that this Doctor had shorter legs than the other one but he could walk faster?
"Doctor, wait up, what's the-"
She stopped suddenly.
"Hold on. 200,100. I know that year. Oh my God, you've brought us back. Last time we were in this year we nearly died! You changed! Jack did die! What the hell do you think you're playing at?"
The Doctor stopped, and turned slowly to face her.
"You remember the first time we came to Satellite 5? I didn't stay, to help clear up the mess. I just jumped in my ship and went on my merry way, not a second thought. And look what happened. The Daleks invaded. Jack died. Because I couldn't wait around five minutes to help. I'm not going to let that happen again. I at least owe Jack that."
He half turned from her.
"Besides, I could feel that something still wasn't right. And now we have to find out what it is."
Rose bit her lip.
"I guess finding some people would probably be the best way to start," she ventured.
He shot her a grin.
"You're right. People. Good plan."
He began marching down Regent Street again, and Rose hurried to follow.
It was so different. The buildings were shiny or made of glass, and she had no idea what any of them were for. There had been shops here before, in her time. She was sure Lush was around here somewhere, and wasn't that meant to be a Starbucks?
"This is so weird," she muttered.
They rounded the large corner where Rose was used to seeing all the bus stops, and hurried past what was once a Virgin Megastore onto Piccadilly Circus, where Rose stopped, suddenly, in shock.
Where there used to be a roundabout and road and traffic there was now a river. A river that was a strange yellow colour and seemed to be hissing.
The Doctor sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"Jupiterian acid," he said. "Which makes no sense. Who would want to put a river of Jupiterian acid right through the middle of London?"
They made their way cautiously along the edge of the acid river, which seemed to be flowing through a rather hastily dug passage. The edges were all jagged.
"Who do you think did it?" she asked.
"No idea," he replied. "But I think we need to-" He stopped suddenly. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Voices. And they don't sound very pleasant."
Rose strained her ears, and she too could hear the voices. Gruff voices.
"Quick," the Doctor indicated the abandoned entrance to the old tube station. "Down here."
Rose eyed it doubtfully.
"Are you sure we shou-"
He yanked her down the stairs after him, cutting off her protests.
"Shh."
The voices were above them now, and Rose could make out what they were saying.
"Did you hear their screams? Lovely. We keep disposing of the rebels like that, and this place'll be clean in no time."
"Don't be too hasty," said another voice. "We want to have a little fun first."
Rose felt the Doctor pull on her hand, drawing her deeper down the old tunnel. The end had been blocked off with a metal gate, but someone had sawed off a few of the poles, leaving a gap big enough for a person to squeeze through. The Doctor gestured her first, and she gladly went, wanting to be as far away from those voices as possible.
Beyond the gate, Rose had to stop again to try and take in her surroundings.
The station looked different than it had in her own time, more modern, with flashy barriers that had a hand print on them instead of ticket slots. The maps, posters and security warnings were all gone, as were the ticket machines and information stands. Plasma screens were in their place, and Rose wondered what they were for, how they worked.
However, despite being so different, the place had such a strong air of neglect to it, it made Rose want to choke. It was clear no one had been down here for a long, long time.
"What happened to the transport system?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"They invented new ways, faster, more convenient."
"And they just left all this?"
The Doctor nodded.
"Looks like it, come on."
He led her further in, ducking under a broken barrier, and she followed him to what should have the escalators, but was now lots of little platforms, just big enough for one person to stand on. They seemed to be standing in midair, ummoving.
"Hover pads," the Doctor. "Broken now. We'll have to find some other way down."
He looked at them thoughtfully. "Unless…"
He stretched a leg out, carefully testing on of the platforms with his weight.
He grinned.
"Excellent. We can just use them as ordinary stairs."
He began bounding down them, and Rose followed a bit more cautiously, terrified that they would collapse under any sort of weight.
They reached the bottom, and the tunnel split into three different directions. There were signs, but in a language Rose couldn't understand.
"Why can't I read it?" she asked. "Why isn't it in English?"
The Doctor frowned.
"It should be," he said. "Even with the amount of aliens now living on your planet, there should still be English."
He ran his fingers over the words on one of the signs. His hand came away with a grey layer of dust attached to it.
"This one says to the Microdome."
"The Microdome?" Rose repeated. "What's that?"
"No idea. Maybe it's like the Millennium Dome. Just as big and just as useless."
He shot her a wicked grin, but she refused to rise to the bait. She strode past him peering down the dark tunnel. Whatever kind of lights they'd had here, they were long gone now.
"Which way then?"
The Doctor closed his eyes.
"Eeny meeny miny moe."
He stopped, pointing at the tunnel opposite them.
"Ta dem."
Rose gave him a 'look'.
"You're trusting the future of our lives to eeny meeny miny moe?"
"Well, if you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it."
Rose held up both of her hands.
"Go on then, lead the way."
The Doctor began to move down the dark tunnel, and she followed close behind.
"Doesn't that screwdriver of yours have a torch on it or something?"
"It's a sonic screwdriver Rose, not a survival screwdriver."
Rose rolled her eyes and wished the new Doctor wasn't quite so sarcastic.
She walked rather heavily into his back when he stopped suddenly.
"Doctor!" she snapped. "What are you play-"
"Shh," he hissed. He reached back a hand to still her.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Shh," he repeated.
She held her breath, and then she could hear it to; a slight scratching sound coming down the tunnel.
"Maybe we should get out of here," she breathed against his ear.
She felt him nod, stepping back into her, and she took the hint, taking a few steps back down the tunnel.
Stepping right back onto the point of a blaster, held firm against her neck.
She froze, not daring to move, and the Doctor stilled too, sensing something was wrong.
"Rose?" he whispered.
A light flared suddenly in front of Rose's eyes, and she could see the Doctor staring back at her in the tunnel, feel the blaster pressed against her neck, the iron like grip holding her secure.
"Make one move and I blow her head off."
tbc
