San Francisco's secret
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, the BBC does. All I own are my own characters and my own plot (except for the part of the plot that's inspired by San Andreas… I don't own that movie either.)
Chapter 2
San Francisco
Oakland, California, USA
Tim sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He stood in the middle of his daughter's room, not sure of where to look for what she had asked for him to bring. It had been months since she had stayed with him in his house and the room was slightly dusty. It was a big room, the walls painted pink. She had wanted to repaint it for a while now, but Tim had never gotten himself to do so. The colour brought back memories of his daughter when she had been a little girl with wild dark locks framing her perfect face. She had pushed her parents into painting her room pink instead of the blue colour it was at first and he still remembered the happiness that had filled her eyes that day when she got back from school on a Friday, buckets of pink paint having been placed in her room so that they could, all together, paint her room the way she wanted it.
Those were the days when Tim still felt happy inside. His little girl had meant the world to him but things changed. Things always change. And the happiness he felt disappeared. His wife couldn't stand not being able to reach out to his heart anymore and left him and his daughter was now barely with him anymore. She'd grown up fast and was near a young adult now, nearly nineteen. Although a part of him felt like his daughter never passed the age of eight.
He opened up a few drawers, finally finding what he had been searching for; the keys to his daughter's bike. They were in fact the spare keys, but she had lost the other pair of keys and so, he had to go and give them to her. His job started in two hours and he reckoned he'd have time to go up to meet his daughter, delivering the keys, before going to work.
As he walked to the front door, his gaze caught sight of the divorce papers that were placed on the kitchen table. He froze slightly, feeling guilt wash over him. He still loved his wife and he didn't want to let her go. But sooner or later, he was going to have to. After all, she'd already found someone better than him.
San Francisco, California, USA
"This truly is impossible," said the Doctor, frowning.
"Why is this impossible? This has happened before, the TARIS wanting to go somewhere else, right?" asked Rose as they both walked down the streets of San Francisco.
"Yeah… Somewhere else is fine, but a different year is something completely different," said the Doctor, placing his hands in his pockets, a serious look on his face as he thought of the possibilities of why the TARDIS had taken them to the year 2578 and why things that weren't supposed to happen were happening. Had she picked up a strange energy source that was creating a flux in time and space? Was there something else behind this than the TARDIS? "Any way!" he said, putting on a fake smile which Rose couldn't see through. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving!"
Oakland, California, USA
The drive to his wife's house was not too far and so, he was there within ten minutes. He stepped out of the car, seeing that his daughter was already standing there, waiting for him. She had a large smile on her face as she ran over to him, hugging him tightly.
"Hi, daddy," she said before breaking the hug. "Thanks for coming. I really need these."
Tim handed her the keys, smiling at his daughter. "No problem, sweetheart. Anything for you."
His heart warmed at the sight of Avery's smile, her blue eyes sparkling slightly. "When does your shift start?"
"Oh, not yet," said Tim as Avery took his hand, starting to lead him indoors.
"Then stay for a while. Tell me what you've been up to lately," she said as she dragged him into the living room.
Tim was, as always, surprised at how large their living room was. Compared to this living room, his back at home was nothing. They had all the latest things, a comfortable leather couch that barely looked used, a large Weyland-screen on the wall and no already used glasses and empty beer bottles standing on the small side table. Everything looked perfect and neat and for some reason, this made Tim both feel amazed and nauseated. What kind of family house looked this clean?
"I haven't done much lately but work, to be honest," said Tim, sitting down with his daughter on the barely used, leather sofa.
"Fixed a lot of engines?" asked Avery, a smile still on her lips.
"Oh," said a voice from behind Tim, making him and Avery look back at the doorway.
Emily and Richard were standing there, hand in hand. Emily, Tim's "wife", looked rather flustered at the sight of Tim while Richard simply smiled. It looked as though he brought Emily slightly closer to him, almost in a threatening way as to tell Tim that she was hers now, not his. Though the smile on his lips looked sinister and so, it only left Tim confused. He stood up, nodding his head at Emily and Richard.
"Sorry to just burst in here," said Tim, earning a shake of Richard's head.
"No, no, man. You can come in here whenever you want," said Richard, waving Tim's words away with his free hand before he dragged Emily back inside as she had tried to walk away. "I'm taking Avery out to San Francisco today. She wanted to see where I worked."
Tim forced a smile onto his lips, nodding his head. "Sounds like fun." As he looked back at Avery she was looking anywhere but at the three older people in the room, seeming to be feeling uncomfortable with this entire situation. He wondered if she regretted letting him inside the house.
"You want to come?" asked Richard, sounding genuinely kind as he asked it, almost as if he actually wanted him to tag along. Though Tim knew that he was a lawyer and that they were good at lying. He didn't buy his kindness at all.
"No, I have work today," said Tim, earning a nod from Richard.
"Yes, sorry. I forgot," he said, the British accent he had starting to bother Tim.
"Maybe I should go," said Tim. "Again, sorry to intrude."
Avery stood up, wanting to say something but decided against it. "And again, it's okay of you to come around her whenever you want. Especially now that me and Emily are moving in together."
The room went silent as the words seemed to echo against walls the same way as they echoed inside of Tim's head. He was shocked to hear this, seeing as they had only been together for a few months and for some reason, rage appeared inside of Tim's heart. At least, he thought it was rage as it felt much more dark and fiery then jealousy. He caught himself staring at Emily, her eyes going from the floor to him as Richard held an arm around her waist.
"You're moving in together?" asked Tim, not a hundred percent sure as to why he was asking it again as he had heard it quite clearly.
"Yes," said Emily. "I wanted to tell you but you're always so busy-"
"Yes, put the blame on me again," said Tim before sighing at his rash words. Avery was in the room. "Sorry. You know what, I should just go. Work starts soon and-"
"I'll walk you outside," said Emily as Richard walked away towards the kitchen, seeming to have a smirk on his lips though Tim dismissed this.
"Buy, dad," said Avery, her voice soft and her eyes seeming to tinder less than they'd done earlier.
"Love you," said Tim, earning a nod from Avery as she sat down on the sofa again, avoiding eye-contact with Tim.
His heart dropped slightly as he walked away from his daughter, wanting to spend more time with her though knowing that it was impossible at the moment.
"You know I was going to tell you sooner or later. It's just that things have been going too fast lately an-"
"Sorry, Emily," said Tim as the front door closed behind them. "But I honestly don't want any excuses."
Emily just stared at him, her eyes blank and dull. He knew she was fighting back a snappy remark and he felt like he should apologise at the same time as he was proud of having said what he said. He still loved her, but something inside of him just made him despise her sometimes.
"I'll sign those papers for you today," mumbled Tim as he walked to his car, opening the door and sitting down.
She didn't reply, just stared at him with the same blank expression. He scoffed, closing his door and turning the engine on. Through the rear-view mirror, he could see her lips moving as if she was saying something, but the engine made the sound of her voice go silent and he simply drove off, not bothering to ask her what she had said.
Avery sat in the car, having driven for almost half an hour now in silence. From time to time, Richard would hum a little, though other than that, he hadn't been talking. It wasn't the fact that Richard wasn't her real family or the fact that he tried to take her father's place – as no one could take her father's place -, it was simply the fact that he was who he was. An arrogant man with no sympathy for others. She didn't understand how her mother hadn't seen it yet and wondered if her mother only was with Richard because she wanted to show her father that he was not the only man she could be with.
She hated her mother for that.
"You know," said Richard, breaking the silence after thirty tedious minutes, the car driving to a stop in front of the red lights that were placed near the end of the San Francisco Bridge. "I'm not trying to take your father's place."
He glanced over at her as he had said this but quickly looked back at the road as the traffic lights turned green. Avery looked at him with narrowed eyes. It was almost as if he had read her mind about what she had been thinking about the past thirty minutes.
"I know," she lied.
"It's just that… well, me and your mum," he began, earning an eye-roll from Avery which he didn't see. He was going to have that talk with her. "We like each other a lot. And you're her daughter so… I feel kind of responsible about taking care of you as well."
Avery stared at him for a while, hoping that her eyes didn't show the anger that flared inside of her as he said this. He didn't look at her though, just simply stared at the road ahead of him as he drove towards where he worked.
"Why did you never have kids? With Laura, I mean," said Avery, surprised that her voice didn't sound harsh or angry but more curious.
"I suppose…" said Richard as he parked the car alongside the road. "Those have always been my children."
Avery looked over at where he pointed, seeing a long line of people standing in front of the sky-scraper that was designated to the law and order firm that Richard worked for.
"My clients," he clarified. "Work has always kind of come first for me."
You forgot to add; that's why Laura left me.
Avery nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself as Richard exited the car, Avery doing the same.
"You can wait outside," said Richard, surprising Avery.
"I thought I was all-"
"Only people with authorization can go inside," said Richard, straightening his suit, not looking at Avery. "It'll only take an hour or so."
Avery's shoulders slumped as she watched him walk away, a suitcase in his hand and a pride smile on his face as people in the line in front of the building waved at him, seeming to recognize him from either former occasions or from the news.
Why did I go with him?
California Institute of Technology, California, USA
"This is impossible," said the Professor as he ran towards the computer screens. "Did you check it?"
"Twice," said his colleague. "And then I rebooted the system… and checked it twice again."
"This can't be happening. Not now," said the Professor. "We don't have the technology to stop this yet! We can only see it happening… We gotta evacuate the city."
His secretary nodded, immediately running away in order to call someone that could make the order go through to the city itself.
"We're gonna feel it all the way here, I 'spose," said the colleague, placing a pen against the screen, pointing towards where they were. "It's spreading already. It's not just the city of San Francisco anymore."
"What's causing it?" asked the Professor, more to himself than to anyone else.
"Beats me," said the young man as he took a sip of his coffee. "Maybe something wants out. Maybe the superstitions of the church finally came true. The devil is rising!"
"Stop with your nonsense. This is real life; real people that are in danger," said the Professor, earning a shrug from the other man.
"Just reciting what Erik said, man," said the colleague, before leaning back in his chair.
The Professor ignored the ignorant tone that his colleague had used towards him and focused on the screen instead. Everywhere underneath of San Francisco and all the way up to Oakland and around that area, was shaking with tiny earthquakes. Once that the people living there couldn't feel yet. However, their machines were seeing these earthquakes as the sign that a larger earthquake was going to occur and if that happening right there, a lot would have to be evacuated.
Was there anything they could do?
"Professor!" called a voice from the doorway, causing the stressed, old man to turn towards the sound of the voice. "We… we got a signal."
"A signal?"
"Yes, a signal."
It was one of his media students. His cheeks were flushed from the running he had done and his breath was hitched. There was something about his eyes that made the Professor tense, knowing that what the student wanted to tell him was indeed important…
San Francisco, California, USA
The Doctor walked with Rose next to him. Although Rose was looking around, seeming to take everything in as if she had never stepped outside before, the Doctor looked serious. He didn't look up at the impressive buildings that stretched high up into the clouds nor did he look at the strangely clothed people that walked past them. Instead, he stared ahead, lost in how own thoughts. That earthquake which he had seen on the news was never meant to happen. It was set in time now, but it wasn't supposed to happen. Something had caused it, and he was intent on finding the reason. After all, that was why the TARDIS had dropped them off there, wasn't it?
The Doctor was so deep in his own thoughts, that he didn't notice a young girl stepping out onto the pavement, looking rather fed up with everything as she stared at the tall building ahead of her. She had come from a car that was parked next to the pavement and she didn't see the Doctor either. Her eyes were on the door that led inside of the building, a massive queue lined up outside of the door with equally fed up people as the young girl.
Rose saw her, though wasn't fast enough in grabbing the Doctor's arm, which made the Doctor walk straight into the young girl, causing her to lose her balance. Her angered expression turned into a horrified one as she realized she was about to fall, though the Doctor's hands snatched the girl's arms, hindering her from falling over.
"I am so sorry," said the Doctor at the baffled girl, her brain still processing what had happened.
"Oh," she said. "That's okay."
Rose looked between the Doctor and the girl, feeling rather awkward as she just stood there, watching her companion talk to the young girl.
"I should've watched where I was going," said the girl, waving it all off with a sweet smile on her lips.
"No, I should. I was up high in my own thoughts-"
"I was up high in my own thoughts," said the girl and the Doctor at the same time, causing them both to pause their talking for a while.
Although the Doctor talked with a British accent and the young girl talked with an American, their voices had sounded as one and for some reason, this had made the Doctor look at the young girl in a strange way while she simply blushed. The Doctor's look wasn't an unfriendly one, it was a simple, shocked one. Though he recovered quickly, smiling at the young girl.
"I suppose it was both's fault then," said the girl as the Doctor released her.
"Yes, I suppose so," said the Doctor, a huge smile on his face. "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose."
He reached out his hand towards the young girl which she shook, smiling back at him. "I'm Avery. Nice meeting you. Are you on vacation here?"
The Doctor and Rose looked at Avery for a while, seeming to contemplate what to answer. Avery got nervous by their stares and started explaining why she'd asked what she had asked.
"I mean… the accents and you're not really dressed like all of us an-"
"Yes," said Rose, smiling. "We've always wanted to go to America and here we are!"
"That's nice," said Avery, smiling back at the blonde. "I've always wanted to go to England."
"Avery!" called a man's voice, causing her to turn around, her smile fading as a man walked up to her. "You okay?"
"Yes," she replied, looking back at the Doctor and Rose. "This is… the Doctor and Rose."
"Okay," the man replied, looking them over once before placing a hand on Avery's shoulder. "I'm finished here now. Let's head back home."
"I thought we were going to do some sightseeing? You told dad that-"
"Yes, about that… something's come up. The earthquake from this morning made lots of people want to sue the Californian Institute of Technology for not seeing it coming and they also want to sue Weyland for not coming out with the information earlier and so on… In other words, I have a lot of clients!" said the man, rubbing his hands together.
Rose watched the man, hearing the unsaid words that were said by the man: Lot's of potential money.
"Sorry," said Rose, making Avery and the man look at her. "You said something about… seeing the earthquake come? But, that's impossible, right?"
The man stared at her for a while, the Doctor simply looking the other way. "Are you daft or something?"
"Oh-I," stuttered Rose.
"Never mind her," said the Doctor, placing himself in between Rose and the other man, who the Doctor already didn't like. "She's just forgotten I suppose."
"Whatever," said the man, placing his hand on Avery's shoulder again. "Come on, let's get going."
Rose and the Doctor watched Avery walk away with the other man. Before she entered the car, she waved at them, smiling an apologetic smile at them which they returned with a small wave of their own.
"I see people haven't improved a lot," said Rose as they continued walking.
"He was one of many," said the Doctor. "Don't pay attention to him."
"What was that all about though, with being able to see when and where an earthquake will happen?" asked Rose.
"Well, it's a technology that kind of already exists in your time though they're still working on it," said the Doctor. "Before an earthquake reaches the level of something that the scientists in your time can see on their computers, the ground gives off a certain vibration that only can be felt by advanced technology. These are below the Richter magnitude scale and can be used to see where the next earthquake is going to hit. If I'm not mistaken… semiologists can also see on what level the earthquake is going to be in this time."
"Right," said Rose, nodding her head. "I understood half of that."
The Doctor grinned at this.
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