Chapter Two

I Need … Something To Do!

The sunlight was filtering through the tiny gap where the drawn curtains didn't quite meet and it sliced through the darkness like a knife, illuminating the dust motes that were lazily drifting through the air, only to be disturbed into a chaotic whirl whenever one of the three people in the room turned to pace some more. Then he would stop for a moment, staring at the prone figure for a time, before turning on his heel and starting again.

After ten minutes of this a second person sitting by the unconscious woman sighed and looked up at his fellow. "Will you stop that?"

"Is there any change?" The man stopped his pacing for a moment.

"You know there isn't, John,"

"Then no, I'm not going to stop." The man named John resolutely turned around and continued his pacing, shoes creaking loudly on the wooden floorboards as the seated man grumbled and leant forwards toward the woman lying on a small bed in the centre of the room. She was hooked up to countless wires and tubes, all connected to something that looked like a life support unit – but with several different monitors and computers added on for good measure. Her heart was registering as a perfectly stable and relaxed beat but that was where all normality ceased. The other monitors listed different results from the wires and tests that had been carried out on the woman and none of them were good, in fact, judging by the brain activity, the woman in the bed should have died already.

John followed his pattern another two times before he sat down on the seat on the other side of the bed, reaching out to take the woman's hand. He pressed it lightly. "Ella."

"You know she can't feel you..." The seated man pointed at the monitor to the right of the heart monitor. John nodded and did not look up. With a sigh, the second man rose to his feet and walked toward the mass of screens at her bedside, taking in all the details. "I can't figure out what's wrong with her... in all my years of medical history, I have never seen the like. We need to find someone else."

"Like who, Lewis? Who could possibly help her?"

"A better doctor than I?" Lewis ventured, hopelessly.

"She is beyond the help of any doctor..." John murmured and he lowered his head to the pillow occupied by Ella, listening to the steady beep of the heart monitor, measuring each impossible heartbeat.

O

"Okay! Jackie! I need you to throw that bobble thing over here. No, over there! There! Yes, by your feet... a paper ball? Really? Oh well I want you to throw it at me, and throw it good, you missed me by about four feet last time!"

Jackie took two steps back and then began what looked like a run up until she stopped and flung a little ball of paper straight at the Doctor and as it neared him he batted it away with one hand and it landed in the waste paper basket I had sitting on my lap a few yards to the right of him. He grinned with satisfaction before instructing Jackie on finding another object to throw at him. I looked up and saw my previously absent dad standing in the doorway, holding my younger brother and staring open-mouthed at the three of us. He shook himself and then approached me.

"Experiment?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor who grinned in response.

"Yes! An experiment testing the imagination of a human brain when faced with extreme boredom! So far we have constructed a game of trying to get as many objects into the bin that Rose is modelling. So far we have hit nine out of fifty-three inanimate objects and only two of them ended up in the basket. What else have you got Jackie?"

"A ball of wool." she shouted from behind one of the sofas. She stood up and blew her hair out of her face and looked questioningly at the ball of bright pink wool she had in her right hand. "I don't knit, what the hell do I have wool for?"

Pete sat down next to me and let Tony down, who immediately scrambled to his feet and toddled toward the Doctor. "Miranda used to knit, she was one of the cleaners before you told her to get a new job." Before Jackie could react, Pete had turned to the Doctor who was now involved in a game of Peekaboo with the giggling toddler. "Doctor. I can't believe I'm about to ask you this but... Are you... bored?"

"Yes!" The Doctor almost wailed. "I need something to do! I would propose an adventure but without the T.A.R.D.I.S it's a little bit on the impossible side... though I always liked impossible." He turned around, his arms wide expansively. "I just need to travel the stars again! Find distant planets with impossible circumstances! Back in time to when the pogo-stick was first invented! I need to see, smell, hear, taste and touch new things. I've never been bored and so far, I don't really approve of the whole endeavour."

I watched him as Tony started demanding the attention of the Doctor again and the confused half-human looked between the window and the boy until he relented, sitting cross-legged in front of Tony and continuing his game of peekaboo. It was nearly six o'clock in the evening and the high that I had ridden through most of the day since that morning had all but disappeared, leaving a sense of wanderlust in its wake that I supposed had everything to do with the half-human Doctor sitting on our rug with my little brother like he belonged. I wasn't used to staying in one place for long with the Doctor. It was always run here, hide there and run away again before the Ood showed up to zap you. It wasn't ever... this. Domesticated. Seeing the Doctor play with a two and a half year old baby was something I could barely stand to watch.

But there was an odd feeling of rightness having him close like this. With my family. It felt easy. Right.

He raised his eyes to mine and I felt the desperation he was trying to convey to me and I knew that wherever he wanted to go, he wanted it to be as it was before... with us both. I had been trying to ignore the little voice in my head that was snidely reminding me that this man wasn't the same man I fell for so long ago, but I found it was getting easier the more time I spent with him. He was so Doctor I couldn't think of him as a different man, but I'd never seen him so bored.

Adventuring through time and space left little time to be bored and it had only been a day and a half since that life had been taken away from him but it was obviously hitting him hard... however, maybe, just maybe... he could start seeing this life, this life with me as an adventure itself? I shivered at the thought, but surprisingly, it was a good shiver.

I could deal with this pace... I could deal with slowly getting used to the idea of this Doctor and I being together. Slowly.

An hour later, none of us had really moved. I was sitting on the floor now, my back against the sofa as I tapped away on the laptop while my dad snored, taking up the whole of the sofa, before falling asleep. Mum had lifted up one of the magazines she had bought after breakfast and was relaxing in the armchair just beside the fire and the Doctor was sitting where he had all along, at the foot of the room with his back against the French doors. He had Tony curled up sleeping in his lap and he was watching him warily, like he was too scared to move in case he woke him. We had settled into a strange sort of silence that was both comfortable and strange at the same time. The fire was crackling merrily in the grate and as winter was fast approaching it was already dark outside and the whole room was lit with a warm orange glow. No one wanted to move and I didn't want to take my eyes off the Doctor.

Smiling, I set the laptop aside and crawled over to where he sat and settled down next to him. "How are you doing?" I asked him, conversationally but keeping my voice low.

"My leg's gone numb," He told me, wiggling his foot a little under Tony's weight. He had removed his blazer and was now only wearing his white shirt that my dad had probably thrown at him as it was a size or two too big for his slim body, and the way he had left a few buttons undone at his collar made it very easy for me to mark the contours of his chest and imagine the rest. My eyes drifted to his shoulders from his collarbones and then down his arms, the rolled up sleeves that rested on his forearm and then to his hands, one of which was absently cushioning Tony's head. My eyes flicked up to his face and I realised he was watching me and I felt my cheeks burn and I looked away, toward my mother who was smirking at something she was reading.

"Do... do you want me to take him?" I asked when the silence became too much for me to bear. "He can be a bit of a lump at times."

"He won't wake up?"

"He's a bloody log." He smirked at my words but scooped the boy into his arms and offered him to me. I took him from the Doctor and held him carefully, stroking down the rebellious tuft of ginger hair as I shifted him into a comfortable position, still sitting beside the Doctor. We slipped into silence for a time as we both watched by little brother sleep before I sighed.

"I have to go back to work at some point," I said, biting my lip. He looked up surprised, obviously forgetting but then understanding crossed his face.

"Torchwood. You're still... there?"

"Try getting her to leave." My mum said as she closed her magazine. She looked at us both. "She was always saying that they needed her and if there was a chance she could see you again, she would find it. When she did it was the last I saw of her for ages." She smiled and stood up. "It's past Tony's bedtime. I'll take him off you and have a bath." She lay her magazine on a side table, bent to take Tony out of my arms and left the room, giving the sofa dad was sleeping on a sound kick as she passed it. He jerked awake, looked around for a moment, before settling down and falling straight back to sleep. I smirked and then looked over to the Doctor.

"It was the only life I could live. After what I'd seen, after what you showed me, I couldn't go back to a normal life," I said, glumly, drawing my knees up to my chest. The fire was beginning to burn low and the darkness penetrated the whole room, taking the warmth with it. I shivered and the Doctor stood up and threw a few more chunks of firewood on the embers, along with a scrap of newspaper to help it catch. "There was so much to do and it made it easier. I stopped thinking about the pain and started thinking about what you would do. Half the time it was like you were there with me." I looked up at him as he returned by my side and sat down. "I missed you,"

He nodded and pulled me closer to him, resting his head against mine. "I missed you too. Every time I saw something that reminded me of you, like a rose in a public garden or a blonde girl at a shop... an image of a wolf... my hearts would skip a beat each. Ever felt two hearts skipping? You feel like you're vibrating."

I laughed, despite myself. "I only have the one."

He didn't laugh. Instead he took my hand and pressed it against his shirt, where I could feel the heat from his body all too well. "So do I," He whispered. Under my palm I felt the strong heartbeat of his single heart and I closed my eyes, basking in the feel while being very aware that my own heart rate was increasing. His hand stroked my wrist for a second before travelling up my arm slowly toward my shoulder, which he brushed with his fingertips that same jolt of excitement shocking my body. I felt him calmly stroke up my neck, his fingers gently tracing upon my skin as he finally cupped my face with his palm.

I opened my eyes and felt my own heart skip a beat when I saw the Doctor had shifted onto his knees and was leaning so close I could smell the washing powder my mother used on his shirt, I could feel his heart racing under my palm and I could feel his deep breathing caressing my face. Automatically I leaned closer into him and my fingers clenched around his shirt, pulling him closer, and I heard his sigh before his lips crushed against mine. My other hand threaded through his hair, my mouth opened under his and I could almost taste the desire on his tongue as it swept my mouth. I gasped and pulled him closer to my body, and he responded, gladly it seemed, holding me in an iron grip and kissing me harder, passionately, his fingers curling around the base of my skull and tilting my head a little to better reach my lips.

I had forgotten about dad. So I almost yelped in alarm when my dad suddenly sat up and yelled something intelligible, suddenly awaking from whatever dream he was having. The Doctor released me like I was the pointy end of a snake jumping back into his previous position as he watched my dad rub his head sleepily.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, rubbing his head.

I checked my watch, trying not to laugh at the Doctor's expression. "It's half seven. Mum's already taken Tony to bed,"

He sighed and stood up. "Okay, I'm going to get some food while she's busy. Are you two hungry? We've got burgers,"

I looked at the Doctor and he grinned a little sheepishly but then he nodded. "Nothing like chewed up cow to make my stomach rumble! Give me some of that meaty goodness Pete!"

Pete laughed and looked at me and I nodded, trying not to laugh at the Doctor's words. As Pete ambled off to the kitchen, I looked up at the Doctor. He smiled at me then moved a little closer to tuck my hair behind my ears and I smiled shyly back up at him.

"I said I'd give you time to get used to me. But all I want to do is just... touch you. It's so hard not to! It's almost impossible, Rose." His voice was breathless and he leaned forward to press his forehead against mine.

"You like impossible." I reminded him.

"Not when you're involved, Rose Tyler. Impossible with you kills me."

I blushed and looked down at the rug we were sitting on and he touched my hand, tentatively. Yep, there was the shock again.

"But I'll try harder to resist, from now on..."

Did I want him to? I watched him for a moment as he grinned at me and I felt my heart beat quicken. He wasn't the real Doctor... it was true... but at the same time, the only thing that was different was that we couldn't go adventuring through time and space and that he would age. With me. The thought of it filled me with joy. I could live with my Doctor and we would never be without one another... he would never have to see me wither because he'd be right beside me, doing it with me. The Doctor, the real one, was always at the back of my mind, and my heart beat weakly at the thought of him, but there was something else to think on. What was best for me? And him?

Brrzt. I yelped in surprise but then lay a hand on my suddenly heaving chest as I realised what it was. I leant back and pulled my phone out of my jeans, flipping it open to answer it. The Doctor looked at me curiously but shrugged and lay down on the carpet instead, closing his eyes.

"Hello?" I couldn't take my eyes from him and he probably knew it.

"Rose! Hey, it's John, have you got a moment?"

"Umm," I looked down at the Doctor again and made a very quick decision. "Make it quick, what is it?"

"I know you booked the fortnight off but something has come up. Do you think you could cover our department for the next few weeks? Ella... isn't feeling too great," There was something off about his words but I did not press the issue. John loved Ella to distraction and they both ran the Alien Research department together as husband and wife. It was that department I had entered upon my employment but as soon as I realised there had been issues with the walls of reality I had requested a transfer. I had been moved within two weeks but I still spoke to Ella and John regularly. The last time I spoke to Ella, she had been excited about some tests she was making on some alien plant-life that apparently fell to earth a few months ago.

"Is she okay?" I gripped onto the phone worriedly. There was silence for a moment and I checked my phone to see if the call was still connected.

"She's... ill, but it's nothing too serious. Lewis told us not to worry." Lewis was John's brother and an accomplished doctor. "Can you cover?"

"Sure, of course, take a breather, do you need me tomorrow?"

"Please Rose, I owe you. Massively." And the call disconnected. I looked at it for a moment and then sat back down on the floor beside the Doctor, who sat up with a groan.

"Work?" He asked.

"I have to go in tomorrow, something has happened to one of the girls on ETR, so I'm going to cover her." I explained, leaning back on my elbows and watching the flames lick the few logs that the Doctor had fed to the fire. "But it's my holiday," I sent a mournful look up at the Doctor and he laughed, reaching out and brushing my hair from my face again.

"Could I come with you?"

I sat up, shocked. "What?"

"I'm curious as to whether the Torchwood in this world differs much from the one in the other world. Besides, if they want you for your alien expertise, then they'd practically worship me. Maybe I'll be able to help?"

"With plant-life?"

"Why not? My brain works in a different way to yours. I have thousands and thousands of thoughts all zipping about at the same time. I'm practically a super-computer, just a little squidgier,"

"You've always been squidgy!"

His smile faded a little and he touched the back of his hand, as if trying to feel the difference between the skin of a human and the skin of a Time Lord. I wondered if there was any. "I'm a little more squidgy than before now though. It hits me every so often that I'm getting old. I'm dying."

I smiled sadly at him. "It's hard thinking of you as part human." I told him.

He grinned then and I relaxed a little. "Because I'm still so amazing?"

I shoved him with my hand but laughed. "That, yes. But it's because you're so breakable now. You're like me. Before, if you got hurt before you could just... change your face but now, you won't be able to fix yourself, you could die."

He watched me for a moment before drawing me close. "You're scared I'll get hurt?"

I didn't reply but I let my body language speak for me. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. Yes I was worried for him. I was terrified. After all we had been through, I could not stand to lose him again. Not now.

I had accepted that this Doctor was mine. Pretty much. The Doctor gave him to me so I could make him a better man and make a better life for myself. But I couldn't imagine how hard it would've been for him. Could I watch the Doctor walk away with a replica of me? If it meant he would be happier, yes... but it would break my heart into pieces.

"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered.

I believed him.

The next morning, I woke early. I showered quickly, dried my hair, threw on some clothes like was my usual routine before I had went off searching for the Doctor. I ran down the stairs and bounded into the kitchen, taking two steps before I stopped dead when I saw the Doctor, standing in the kitchen with a cup of tea wearing a long brown coat that was so similar to his old one that it made my heart stop. He took a sip, his eyes on me, as if daring me to say anything.

"You're up early." I commented, moving forward to take an apple from the bowl.

"I told you," He said, lowering his tea. He grinned. "I'm coming with you!"

"What?"

"Today, is bring your extra-terrestrial-friend-to-work-day!"

I could only stare as he finished his tea, placed the mug in the sink and then approached me, leaning close in and whispering in my ear in a way that made my head spin.

"I think you missed the memo."

Thanks to:

A Who Down In Whoville: I love Jackie and Pete. They're Rose's parents and they went something very similar to what Rose now has to content with. It helps give Rose a little perspective. So yes, I totally agree with you! As for the Doctor being beautiful... oh hell yes ;) thanks for your review :) x

Dreamcatcher49: I didn't want to make this story too angst-y. Which is hard because of the conflicting feeling Rose has. Her desire to be with the Doctor and her own feelings toward the real one. So there will be things to contrast against it :) and then there is the main big-bad ;) x

licoricecascade: Well here it is ;) Thank you for your review! I really appreciate the feedback! X

Ally: I fully intend to! If you lovely people continue to read, I will not stop writing!