Flux
By Kimmzie
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I had this one on the back burner. Read, review and enjoy! Edited for grammar.
The pair made their way silently into the bowels of the TARDIS. "So Rose Tyler, are you ready?" The Doctor asked, as he adjusted his cravat. "The Eye of Harmony is complicated," he said with a frown. "Just maintain focus and you will be fine. The Time Lords don't even know that I figured out how to do this." He pushed some golden locks from her face. She was biting her lower lip. No tongue and cheek today.
"Find where our timelines separate, yeah?" she asked, shakily.
He nodded. "I've inputted the data you have collected on Donna Noble so you should be able to see where her timeline went astray."
"When I find it what do I do?" she asked with a small shrug. She hesitated and slowed her step a little.
"Call out for me and I will pin point it. If we know how time is mutating we can fix that point in time. The original timeline won't stay prominently established for long…" He gave her arm a gentle tug. "It's now or never, Rose."
"Yeah." She started to fall in with his brisk pace. The timelines were changing and cracking faster than the Doctor had anticipated. Donna Noble must be one important woman. The most important woman in his original Universe.
Rose settled into a comfortable position so she could look into the Eye. The Doctor fell back and went to his database. She gave him two thumbs up and went about opening the eye. The process was simple. What happens after the singularity opened was the problem. The Doctor braced himself for the maelstrom of temporal energy. He shuddered as that odd golden energy barraged his shields.
Rose Tyler was everywhere and nowhere. Images flashed faster than she could comprehend. Everything was happening at once. There were more thoughts, people, and places than she could grasp. She was nothing. She was everything. The stars, moon, night and day were hers to control. Something was burning. Her skin was blistering and cracking under the heat.
"Concentrate," said a faint scream.
The blisters on her hands broke as she clenched her hands into fists. She concentrated on somewhere safe. Home. The blurs of timelines faded away and a golden light revealed her TARDIS. She sat herself on the jump seat and looked at the screen. "Now what?" she questioned out loud.
"Well, you most certainly should start looking for Donna Noble," a familiar voice said from behind her. She didn't know what to do as a lanky figure in brainy specks leaned over her to look at the screen.
"What? It's you, Doctor…. Y'you're gone. Is it you? How can it be you?" She reached out her hand to the pinstriped suit and it was solid.
"So yeah. Well, quite right," he stammered.
"Doctor!" Rose looked him in the eyes. There were more smile lines at the corners of his eyes. The dark orbs seemed wearier.
"Sorry. Sorry, your mind is trying to process what I am so I can tell you. Yes, there! Remember in the twentieth century, or so when Microsoft had that annoying paperclip in the word processing program? Think of it like the TARDIS back drop is your word document and I am your guide. The Paperclip."
"So you're a piece of software?" she sighed as he nodded his head in acquiescence. "Ok."
"Yup," he replied with an extra pop to the p. "But forget all that, we need to sort through the timelines. Look at the screen. That gold stream is yours, see how it divides into so many possibilities that is from all your travels. The blueishy one is mine, or his; however, you want to put it. You can move through them just by thought. Think of it like you're fast forwarding a film in the media room. Now, think of the last time you saw me."
"I…"she stammered.
"The Eye can't stay open for long so you have to," the paperclip Doctor urged her on.
She dug deep and started to picture the sand. It had been so cold under her feet that it clumped in an odd fashion as she walked to where the Doctor called her. She had a red hiking pack in the back of the jeep just in case. The water had reflected the sun on his hologram and he had looked dim and opaque, even with some sonic. He couldn't… He couldn't save her from Pete's world. She was trapped on the slow path, alone. Her future would be mortgages and houses that had carpets without him.
He was about to say it. Utter the words of their unspoken bond. They were what they were. And yet, words had power. They shaped reality. The right or wrong word could change a whole causal nexus. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she could hear the blood rushing through her veins. Then he was gone. The two lines on the screen diverged.
"There." She pointed to the screen. The false Time Lord gave her a joyful laugh.
"Now you have to follow the blueishy line. Keep a look out for Donna." The Paperclip Doctor spread out his hands and a purple line appeared. Rose didn't quite understand why but she felt as if the line was yelling at her. "Yeah she does that."
He was alone. Was there a tear going down his cheek? She could kind of feel that yelling at the back of her neck. She shivered. There! In a wedding dress was Donna. She had seen her a few times before. All attitude and fiery, red hair. How'd she get into the TARDIS? The Doctor went from devastated to confused. She loved how his freckles danced when he scrunched up his nose.
Oh, he tried so hard to get her to her wedding. Rose wasn't certain if the events were around her or just on the screen. Huon energy had brought Donna to the TARDIS. But how'd it get there? She smiled as they ended up at H.C Clemens, and they got to ride Segway scooters. Now she had to put that on her list. The events continued to flash before her eyes. It had been her fiancé that had poisoned her. She didn't want to go into the motives behind that kind of relationship or villainy. H.C Clemens was the key.
"You get that?" Rose asked her Paperclip.
"Right almost there now. What changed? Why didn't she get the job?" his voice echoed faintly.
Rose focused on the purple timeline. The images raced past her as she saw Donna work as a temp at the posh firm. She fell in love with Lance Bennett. That ass. He and Jimmy Stone were two peas in a pod. It just took a cup of coffee. It was poisoned coffee, but Rose couldn't help but ponder how tiny gestures changed lives. She looked away and pictured an odd man in leather grabbing her hand and saying, "Run."
"Oi, Rose you gotta keep on track. No time for that now," a Northern accent said. The software Doctor had changed to a face she hadn't seen in ages. "Can't you see he, I am disappearing. The Eye can't sustain his likeness anymore. Nothing good can come of that." Rose nodded a bittersweet yes.
"She's in the car with her Mum. Man, those are harsh things to say. Reminds me of my Mum when I worked at the shop. Then you blew up my job and I had nothing to do." The purple line started to vibrate. "There! Originally she went into the city, left! Now she is turning right to talk to this Jival Chowdry chap about the personal secretary job at the photocopying business."
"Right, now you have to focus on this moment. This is the wound where time is bleeding, June 25, 2007! Remember that Rose. My timeline ends December 25, 2007. Donna Noble needs to turn left. Time is mutating around her. There is a great big alternate reality forming around her because something changed this small event. She must be important if all of reality is in flux because of this. Something else is coming." The leather-clad Doctor had a reassuring hand on Rose's shoulder.
"That's a lot for a paperclip to say," Rose said cheekily.
"There isn't much time. But no, I am not just a paperclip. Apparently, I turn into a git. The Eye of Harmony is synced into parts of my time stream at the moment. In a way, a bit of my consciousness can appear as an interface. The walls are so cracked that my consciousness can bleed into this Universe. Since time is bleeding, I will remember this if or when you need to contact me. But you have to go. The Eye shouldn't be open this long."
"Doctor?"
"Yes?" The image was starting to fade.
"Oh it's nothing really… Thank you. I do miss the old face, y'know." Rose wrapped her arms around the diminishing figure.
"Fantastic." Rose could feel him smiling into her hair.
"I only wish I could've stayed with you longer. Oh well, same man different face," she felt the slight pressure of lips on her forehead.
"You have to go now, Rose Tyler."
She closed her eyes and felt as if the pit of her stomach was in a freefall. There was an immense pressure behind her eyes as she tried to blink them open. Then it was gone. Everything was just normal reality again.
"Rose?" The Byron-esque Doctor was offering her his hand. She let out a small laugh as he gently swung her into his arms. "Let's not do that again for a while," he whispered into her hair. She nodded. They stood still for countless breaths and beats of their heart(s).
"Did you get it?" Rose ask finally stepping away from him.
"Yes," he replied with a sigh.
"You were in there." The Doctor arched a brow. "Well, my other two versions of you," Rose added quickly.
"We opened my timeline and everything is in flux so it's possible that part of their or my consciousness were aware and tried to help. It seemed that I got the information a little too easy. Turn left. It's burnt into my mind like fireworks." He rubbed his temples.
"My current Doctor said he was a software program or guide. He disappeared."
"He might have been a remnant from the original time line. He probably didn't want to upset you. You humans and your emotions are complicated. You're so delicate." The Doctor winced even before he finished the last sentence. "I told you I can be inconsiderate." He put his hands up in surrender as Rose stared him down, arms akimbo.
"Then my original you explained it and said he would remember if we need him. I thought you loved us apes. Brilliant and creative you call us."
"Yes, the human race is marvelous." The Doctor stretched his arms out wide. "I have been known to grow attached to a select few now and again." He took Rose's hand from her hip and returned her into his arms with a spin. He looked down at her face and her eyes were sparkling.
"Why are you alone?" she asked in earnest. He stiffened and she saw hints of the On Coming Storm rearing his ugly head. "Sorry," she murmured.
"The War. The Time War. You've seen small parts of it. The problem is we are losing and with that comes desperation. The Time Lords are becoming almost as bad as the enemy. I have a sense that the War doesn't end well." Rose was about to speak up and the Doctor shook his head. "I'm trying to ignore the glaringly obvious fact that it would be simple for me to come rescue you with another Time Lord. I don't need to know."
The sparkle had left Rose's eyes and she was just shuffling her feet on the floor. "The walls are closed."
"That shouldn't matter, you just need two TARDIS. It's child's play. That is why my race only exists in one reality. Rassilon made it so we are trans-dimensional. All of time and space."
"You're rubbish on your own," she tried to say with a smirk. He didn't know what to think about her tongue peeking out the side of her mouth.
"Yes, I'm not alone now. The problem with humans and most companions is they leave. I run and they return to their lives; mortgages, families, children, jobs, and watching tele." His hands were cautiously exploring the planes of her back.
"Not me," Rose said as she molded her body closer to the Time Lord's. "I'm going to have to handcuff myself to you or something. So we don't get separated." She laughed as the Doctor gulped. Where the hell were her hands going? He let out a yelp as the girl playfully grabbed his arse.
"Always wanted to do that," she said. "Last time I waited and you see how that turned out. I'm not holding back anymore." The Doctor twitched as the golden light went against his shields again. There was something faintly familiar tugging the back of his mind. He smiled.
"I would expect nothing less," the Doctor smirked.
He lowered his mouth to hers and brought their bodies in closer. Humans had such body heat. This time there was a sort of frenzy. Their tongues played with each other, teasing, trying to outdo the other. He tried to out finesse the girl with a fancy swirl. She playfully nipped at his bottom lip and then did a move he couldn't describe. His head was buzzing and he felt as if there was fire running through his veins. This body had always been more physical, more human. Her hands were stuck in his hair and she was pulling him in closer. The gold light at the back of his mind was knocking against his shields louder. He lifted them partially and the warm gold light wrapped around his mind. It was full of that acceptance and warmth that he felt in cinema. He pulled away some and looked down at the girl.
"W'what?" Rose said a little thrown off.
"Are you sure we haven't done anything like this before? Can you remember anything?" Rose shook her head as she twisted a curl around her index finger. She was moving in closer. "Rose, we have to get going. Time is accelerated here. The TARDIS can compensate for now. I didn't realize it would be compromised here. It's probably because my timeline is changing." They both turned their heads when a panel started to light up. "Also your data is ready," he said with a smile. "Don't you have a report or some such nonsense to do?"
"Yup," she said with a pop on the p. "Guess what? Even better, you getta meet my Dad." The Doctor stiffened.
"Have I done this before?" He usually didn't do parents.
"Oh yes! You getta probably meet my Mum too. She slapped you once. You took me home a year late. Oh and Mickey is going to love this and Tony, my brother, knows all about you."
"I'm a Time Lord. I'm always on time. Who is Mikey? You have a brother?" he asked as he started downloading the data into Rose's "wrist watch."
"He was my boyfriend. Then you came a long and things got complicated." She couldn't help but wonder if the Doctor was smirking. His shoulders seemed straighter; if it was even possible for his posture to become straighter.
"And now?"
"What do you mean? We're just mates, best mates." She shrugged. The Doctor handed her the device and smiled. "Um Doctor?" Rose asked quietly.
"Yes?"
"Could you do me a favor? I know time is pressing, but can you change your outfit?" The Time Lord looked puzzled. "I work for Torchwood. It's kinda like Unit. We deal with aliens. My Dad runs it. But he only has so much power. If you waltz in there looking all Victorian –or whatever- it's going to make things difficult. Please, I don't want to do the paperwork." The Doctor shrugged.
"I guess I've gotten into quite a rut. Early twenty-first century?" he said with a fake sigh. The Time Lord undid his cravat and shimmied out of his jacket. "This will be quick. I'll meet you in the control room and we'll go make your report and meet your parents. Remember Rose, this is your goodbye. It's a one way trip and we're going to establish the walls again. If I couldn't get to you before… It'll be like it was." Rose nodded and grabbed his hand as they exited the room.
Rose was leaning back in the reading chair playing with her new data. They had found Donna Noble. Part one was accomplished. She was going home.
She forced a surge of emotions back. Was she happy or sad? It was bittersweet. There was a deep ache in her chest from seeing the Doctor dead. Then the paperclip Doctor had been him! He helped her. But even he faded. Her Time Lord was here. This new or earlier version of the Doctor was the same man. There was the same manic, brilliance behind his eyes. Their hands fit together the same way. It felt the same. He was going to help her. She was traveling with the Doctor again. She wasn't sure how Time Lords kept all this information straight.
Then, the Doctor appeared and her jaw hit the floor. Rose had to admit that she did miss the cravat. He was wearing a similar leather jacket to her first Doctor, but the buttons were gold. It also looked new. It was very black and very shiny. The breeches had been exchanged for normal jeans, and he had a messenger bag.
"Where did your hair go?" She ran her hands through the shortened locks. His curly hair had been tamed into a more modern look. Some locks still popped up defiantly.
"What? I cut it. More modern and all that. Don't want your parents thinking I'm some hoodlum." Rose had to hide a smile.
"How'd you do that in 5 minutes?" He shrugged at her and started pushing buttons and pulling levers.
"I'm a Time Lord," was his only reply. "There we go Old Girl, it won't be long now." He lightly caressed the console. "Come on Rose Tyler, let's go meet your parents," he said with a grin.