AN: Once again I would like to pass my thank you's to everyone who has reviewed, alerted or fave'd. Its really nice to know that this is being well recieved. :) Thanks! Also hasn't been beta'd - so sorry if there are any mistakes.
And here is the next chapter of:
Coffee Stains and Growing Pains
Chapter Three: Hey Sexy … and Pete
In the depths of Torchwood, hidden from sight, hidden from office gossip (which was probably the greatest achievement one could ever claim to have accomplished – being deadly serious here, especially since this was Torchwood where espionage equipment was in the bountiful and so nothing stayed secret for long), and locked up tighter than Fort Knox was a very special lab. It was more than Top Secret, more than need to know. Only those with the highest authority could enter – and that authority was from someone outside of Torchwood, outside of the mould.
The authority was Johnny.
Only three people were aware of what was going on in there and that was how Johnny liked it – at least in these early stages but even so he wanted to keep it on the down low. What he was creating, growing in there had the potential to change his and Rose's life.
Oh and other peoples, but that was hardly important.
He had gotten permission from Pete to set up the lab. The older man had sworn to secrecy and allowed the Doctor to set it up how he wanted to – free of any standard protocols as long as it didn't result in the Doctor blowing up anything. It had taken two months of solid work to make the lab secure to his standards and only then he had moved his heart, soul, one true love (a different sort of love to Rose though) into the lab.
Then he had hit a road block. He knew how he could logically accelerate the growing period, knew how to do it and yet he couldn't and so when Tosh, the Torchwood Three tech had arrived, he had hijacked her and made her help him.
He trusted Torchwood Three. Strange but because he would always think of them of Jack's Torchwood … even though the Captain didn't run it in this world; he could trust them to do the RIGHT thing. Torchwood One though … that was still a sore point to him even though he knew this Torchwood had been set up in his (or rather the other Doctor's) honour rather than to capture him.
But back to hijacking Tosh – he had pulled her to his lab, sworn her to secrecy and then asked for her help … well not exactly. He needed a sounding board for his ideas. He was brilliant enough to do it himself but having another mind there helped. He had felt guilty about not telling Rose but he didn't want to get her hopes up.
Rose wanted to travel space and time – go to the stars. She did. He knew her longing, could see it when she looked to the night sky. At first it had worried him. It had caused doubt in him and what he was doing here in the other Doctor's place because essentially that was what he was doing: slipping into another's role. He was the other option, not the first choice.
But over time he saw that even if he hadn't been the first choice originally – he was now. She had just needed to get used to him – get used to the concept and he didn't blame her. But because of this side, a side he was frightened off (even though he knew it wasn't anything) … well, he was scared. He was alone in the universe and he didn't want to lose her to his 'father', for lack of a better term. And so he kept this a secret until he was assured that this was going to work.
He supposed it was a bit like someone not saying they were pregnant until they were completely sure. He didn't want to get her hopes up and then have to tear them down. He couldn't do that to her.
He could deal with his own loss but he couldn't do the same with her.
The Doctor bypassed the security: DNA testing, verbal and typed passwords being inserted and then he entered. The lab wasn't white like others but a warm gold, with a specific blue noted throughout. There was stereo system, three computers, a kettle and a mini fridge as well as a Coldplay Poster. Oh and the usual tools and pieces that were needed.
In the centre, in a cake tin, was a piece of TARDIS coral – no bigger than his fist now, but bigger than it had been. It was emitting a low hum, something he could only hear because he was Time Lord. It was speaking, singing faintly to her pilot through space, time, matter and everything. It called for him, wrapping itself around him as it pulled at Time itself. The TARDIS wanted her pilot.
"Hey, Sexy," he said walking towards his TARDIS.
His and hers – they belonged to each other.
He shrugged off the leather jacket, dumping it, going to sit cross-legged beside the coral. He put on his glasses and smiled. It was growing – slowly but faster all the same. He reached out, slowly, cooing to his Sexy in dead and non-existent forgotten languages: the words just rolling off his tongue and singing back to her. His finger touched the coral – a tingle and shock racing up his arm and sparking his body.
Time pulled him and his vision blurred. This was pleasure and pain, the beat of the universe coming to him and going thump, beat, kick, exhale, inhale all at once as an infinity of life forms from what was, what had been, and what would be coursed and withered together.
Life, death: the flip of the coin and a minute decision.
Feeling the turn of the planets, the burn of the stars, the deep emptiness of a dark hole and how time wrapped itself amongst this was what a Time Lord was. Everything that made them was this, right here, what he was feeling. He didn't always feel it, he couldn't. Being a human made it so much harder but here with Sexy … it felt right, it was right, it was everything.
Everything, everything, everything, be-beat, be-beat, spark, catch alight, the worlds rip through, everything …
Come, come, come – flow to me … come!
He was alive.
SHE WAS ALIVE
He chuckled at that thought – maybe he should rent out Frankenstein for the two of them to watch.
The Doctor pulled back from her – a challenge because she didn't want him to but he whispered at her, and the pull weakened as she let go. He looked at her fondly: oh she was going to be a rebellious TARDIS, no doubt, flinging him to and from the ends of time and space the moment she could fly.
After a few minutes of just watching Sexy, he slowly got up and began turning on all the monitors. He ran through the diagnostics, checked the temperatures and the dimension stabilizer, making sure it was running at the power of 59. All his calculations had to perfect with this – otherwise things could go wrong.
Very wrong.
Not that he had come up with the calculations to begin with. It had taken Donna Noble, the Doctor Donna, to figure it all out. As they were dropping everyone home, saying goodbyes – or rather the other Doctor had because everyone wasn't sure at that point how to treat the impossible twin, she had stood beside him and winked.
It was a wink that spelt trouble and since she was him now … sort of anyway … that spelt big trouble.
"What are you planning, Donna Noble?" he had asked.
"Well, Skinny Boy," she had said slowly, "I just wanted to check you are okay … with everything that is to happen,"
"Yeah I am," he said, watching his-to-be Rose chatting with Jack, "One life after all …"
"You'll be fine," she said.
A moment passed between them.
"But I know how much you love the stars – and so," She had pressed something in his hands, something tiny and small – the size of a fob watch – but something that sung to him and pulled him.
"Grow her, make her your own – and before you say 'it will take thousands of years' might I remind you that if you shatterfry the plasmic shell and modify the dimensional stabiliser to a foldback harmonic of 36.3, you accelerate growth –
- by the power of 59!" finished the Doctor, grinning, "But that's brilliant, Donna! That is … fantastic!"
"Oi – time lord brain remember?"
He nodded. Time Lord and Human – oh, Donna Noble, she was a genius no doubt (even without the Time Lord part but with it exponentially more so). All that knowledge, all that power concentrated in there. It must be tremendous; because though they were both Meta-Crisis Doctors he had a bit of Time Lord biology to help stabilise him while she was … he swallowed deeply, his stomach knotting together and had looked at his twin.
Please let him know about this and fix it otherwise I won't go, he thought. He could not, and would not leave her if the proper Doctor didn't know. He looked, pulling on a mask, at his best friend and prayed to Time for her to be okay.
Please.
Donna had started talking again, pulling him from his thoughts, "I can't see you staying put, space man, you are him after all – well …"
"Not completely," he had said, bitterly, watching as THE other Doctor entered the TARDIS again.
"Oh don't be so hard on him," said Donna with a soft expression, "He's really just acting like any parent,"
The Doctor Johnny looked at her, brow furrowed.
"Oh you know, realising that their kid is all grown up, if they raised him right or not – he has a hard time accepting that kind of responsibility – you know that,"
"So … he's just …"
"Yes,"
He looked at his 'father' who was jumping around, pressing buttons no doubt to take Jack back next.
Then a grin had broken out on his face. "So if he's my dad … does that make you … my mother?"
"Oi,"
"Oi, Mum," he replied with a grin.
"If you keep saying that, space-boy, I'll take away your –"
He pouted "But Mum that isn't …"
"Oi – you two – get up and help!" called the other Doctor to them, "I swear – I finally have people who can pilot and all they do is chat and go on and on …"
The Doctor Johnny (well not Johnny then, then he was the Doctor's impossible clone/twin/whatever who happened to be also called the Doctor) had fought the urge to respond with 'yes, dad' but caught Donna's eyes and they both smothered laughter, going over to help.
"Does he know about –" he had started to ask.
"Not a word," she had said. "It's the equivalent to stealing his car for a joy ride … if he had one …"
He had mimed zipping his mouth shut before she could go on.
Not before saying. "Thanks, Mum,"
And the other Doctor had remained oblivious to all of this. When he had given Johnny the necklace (which even Johnny could see that the shard was just too small to ever really flourish into a proper TARDIS), Johnny had fought the urge not to grin too widely, knowing that that would give the game away. The other Doctor had also assured him that he knew about Donna and would make sure she was okay.
They had both held each other's gaze for an eternity – or was it a second – it was hard to tell sometimes, before heading out into the other universe, Johnny's new home.
And so the game hadn't been given away and here he was – growing his very own TARDIS in a cake tin in Torchwood's basement. He couldn't wait until it was big and stable enough to take home so that he could have it near him all the time. On Gallifrey there were so many checks, so many Time Lords helping them to grow it was a safe practice – there was someone always there for the young TARDISes. Here, there was just him.
But the two of them would be fine.
Satisfied with the technical side of things, he went and got out an old drum. While drumming was something he associated with the Master, he still knew the importance of bringing out the rhythm of the universe – especially for the TARDIS, an alien TARDIS, to get the swing of this universe quickly. He started to tap, running through ten thousand beats, watching his Sexy.
Sexy pulsed with tap, hit, tih tih tih tah tah raaarrhhhh-ummmm-beeelll and he whispered to her in old Gallifreyan, whispered the secrets of time, of space, of himself.
He lost himself.
Until his stomach rumbled and he looked over at the clock.
"She's going to kill me."
He bolted up, and yelled good bye to Sexy, locking up and racing like the Devil was on his heels.
He sprinted, tearing up the staircase when the lift took too long to come. His chest was heaving and all he could think about was how much easier this running business had been when he was a Time Lord – and not fearing for his one life.
Grapping the stairwells railing he pulled himself up and up before he reached the ground floor and barrelled into it, bursting into the wide marble foyer and promptly bent over to catch his breath. Strangers looked at him oddly (and who could blame them because his hair was wild, cheeks flushed and his clothes weren't that they expected of a government agency) while Torchwood employees took one look at him and moved on.
Except Jake, who came up to him after having just finished his own lunch, and said. "She's left – went with Pete,"
The Doctor looked up at him with pained expressions. "Where?"
"Two blocks away – the little Chinese place,"
"But I was only –"
"Twenty minutes late,"
Well fair point. She only had an hour to eat but still … why hadn't she called?
"Why didn't she call me?"
"The real question is, Johnny: did you remember your phone?"
"Maybe," he said slowly, "Potentially … I had a lot of things on my mind – I should just run and catch her, yeah?"
"Could be a good idea,"
The two men looked at each other and nodded.
And then the Doctor was off again.
"I am so sorry,"
"Once again that really loses its affect when it isn't in a life threatening situation," noted Rose as she chewed on some noodles.
The Doctor had come upon them when they were just finishing up; arriving in spectacular fashion as always before collapsing in the chair beside Rose and draining three glasses of water in one go. Fortunately they had ordered just a little too much and so the Doctor soon found himself eating left overs – he was quick to note that they had eaten all the spring rolls and Peking duck.
"What were you doing anyway?" asked Pete.
The Doctor shrugged, and attempted to pick up his noodles – whoever invented chopsticks were insane – and said. "Stuff,"
Rose looked over at him and sighed. He really was being a teenager today – oh the joy. She would've thought him having to stay in one place, get a job would make him act like the adult he was but instead he just had to be a teenager.
Then again he was only three months old.
"Enjoying your noodles?" she asked him.
"Yes," he said, lifting one up and then swearing as it dropped back into his bowl. He growled and re-attempted and re-failed again. He placed one down and then attempted to twist the noodles like a kebab around his chopstick to no effect.
"It really isn't that difficult," commented Pete.
"I disagree," said the Doctor, "If they were easy to use we would all be using them – and we aren't. No, instead we are eating with knives and forks which are the easiest eating utensils in existence – trust me, I know,"
"Well if that's the case we can always get you some," said Pete, glancing over to the waiter.
"No," said the Doctor – who hadn't failed to notice the only person in the restaurant who wasn't using chopsticks was a ten year old. He sat up a little and said, "I will persevere,"
"Meanwhile some of us have work," said Rose looking at the clock. She shook her head, picked up her own chopsticks. She picked up a long strand from his bowl and looked at him, "Open wide,"
"Seriously?"
Pete chuckled.
"We can do this the aeroplane way or the cute couples way,"
The Doctor considered it for a moment. "Is it sad to say my mother never ever did the aeroplane way with –"
"Just eat it, yeah?"
The Doctor smiled, "Of course, my darling Rose Tyler," and leaned forward, accepting the noodles with the grace that every man in this restaurant could wish to achieve. When he swallowed, he leaned in and kissed her lightly. She grinned against him.
"Oh please," said Pete.
Rose shot him a glare. "And you and mum are any better?"
"Rose," said the Doctor mildly, "I think the difference between us and them, is that as your parents they are meant to embarrass you – and there are worst ways trust me,"
"And you know this from …?"
"There is a reason I stole a time machine and left home," said the Doctor, shuddering at the images that came to mind – not that it had just been his parents but they HAD played a small role.
Turning up sky clad to a ball honestly …
"You stole the TARDIS?" said Pete, eyes widening. He leaned back, looking at the Doctor as if with new eyes, "That really puts a whole new spin one everything,"
"In what sense?"
"Well, instead of the lonely god defending the innocent, defeating great evil and saving young damsels in distress – no offence, Rose – in his magical blue box, we have the punk who decided to go joy riding and along the way got into a few fights and picked up some girls – once again no offence but well …"
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that really does put things in a different light – but I really think the 'few fights' in a disservice. Yes, I did steal a time machine but she stole me as well – and yes that is completely possible – and I was hardly irresponsible with it,"
"Hardly?"
"Well saving the world does get boring sometimes – everyone needs a break,"
"But how did the TARDIS steal you? It's a machine,"
Rose had to praise her dad for not inserting the sometimes comment of 'you … well the other you' that occasionally cropped up.
"My ears are bleeding,"
"You haven't answered my question, Johnny,"
"Because the bond between a TARDIS and her pilot is a complex measure of cosmic and sonic as a TARDIS can see all of – listen it's too complicated – you wouldn't get it … just know it's all timey wimey and that she stole me just as much as I stole her,"
Pete frowned. "Sounds like you are just trying to justify your crime – that is like saying the victim asked to be attacked,"
"It is completely different – and the TARDIS really did …"
Rose sighed as the Doctor and her father continued on in circles.
This was going to a long lunch.
Oh well, work could wait, she thought, as she leaned back and stole some of the Doctor's noodles.
AN: Any thoughts: good, bad, inbetween, are very much appreciated especially on characters etc but anything is helpful and nice! :) I really hope that you enjoyed this :)
And I may or may not have been watching The Doctor's Wife just prior to writing a vast majority of this ... bahaha/ which is also why I added in the TARDIS ... I'm unsure of adding that in because while I can't see the Doctor and Rose not having wild adventures I do think some of the charm of the two together in Pete's World is what they can find there. But I love the TARDIS ... oh well ... we'll see what my muse does.