Title: The Drums
Author: Sailorneo
Characters: Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jake, the rest of the Jones clan except for Leo, OC…so basically a bunch of people…
Summary: Rose Tyler is the head of a team for Torchwood, saving the universe. After one particular mission, things go a little wrong. Reunion fic.
Chapter Six:
If Jackie Tyler noticed in the morning that Rose and the Doctor came down from Rose's room at exactly the same time, he looked rumpled, and both had smug, satisfied grins on their faces, she said nothing.
Ryssen and Jack though, exchanged meaningful looks and began snickering. The Doctor gave them his patent-pending "Oncoming Storm" glare, though with the way his hair looked worse than ever, it set them off into full peals of laughter.
"Will you two shut up?" Rose said, smacking them both on the back of the head as she walked by them.
"That hurt!" Ryssen said. "See if I ever do anything nice for you again."
Rose rolled her eyes and went to go get breakfast from the sideboard. "It did not hurt. And you didn't do anything nice for me other than bringing me back here. Your family did the rest."
"Which reminds me," the Doctor said. "How exactly do we get to them?"
"Go back over there, I take us to Romula, beg entrance by yelling at mom so everyone can hear, and then we're in," Ryssen said.
"You have to beg entrance?" Mickey asked.
"Yup. It's so everyone can stay safe. They've got this weird thing there. But I have to ask to let us in. Though once I do that, they'll let me in," Ryssen said.
"You sure about that? Because I'd hate to get there and not get in," the Doctor said.
"They'll let me in. Now shut up," Ryssen said, digging into her breakfast once more.
"So, you'll be going then?" Jackie asked. Rose heard the dull edge to her mother's voice, and so did the Doctor.
"If Ryss will come with us, Rose can come back whenever she likes," he said.
"Like I'm letting you over there alone. Plus, mum's over there," Ryssen said.
"You're both leaving?" Mickey asked.
"Oh, don't you worry. I'm coming back often, probably more often than Rose. But you all could come meet my family if you wanted to," Ryssen said.
"I think I'll stay here," Jackie said, much happier now that she knew her daughter would be returning probably more often than she had before with Ryssen's help. "I do have Jared to watch. And Pete's busy with Torchwood."
"Busy how busy?" Rose asked.
"Oh, just another lab exploded," Jackie said. "But apparently it was the one that had all of the oil in it."
"It under control?" Mickey asked, rising.
"It's fine even though they woke us up at three o'clock," Jackie said. "You all should go though. I imagine the Jones will wanting to be getting home."
"All right then," the Doctor said. "Off we go as soon as breakfast is over."
"You mean off we go to pack as soon as breakfast is over," Rose said. "Mickey? Jake? You two want to come along?"
The two men looked at each other. "Why not?" they finally said.
"Ah! That means packing later!" the Doctor said. "And besides, Rose you still have clothes on the TARDIS. And Ryss, all you ever wore was out of the wardrobe anyways."
"Fine," Rose sighed. "We'll go after breakfast."
Twenty minutes later everyone was in the TARDIS and Ryssen was standing at the console. "So, where to?" she asked.
"What do you mean, 'where to?'" the Doctor asked.
"I'm going to assume that the Jones don't live here in our universe, smarty pants," Ryssen said. "So, Martha, where do you live?"
"London," Martha said.
"London it is," Ryssen said. "Fire her up, Doctor."
As the Doctor did his magic, Ryssen closed her eyes. A crashing thump later and they'd landed right in front of the Jones's home. "There you are," the Doctor said. "I'm sorry, so, so sorry for what you had to go through," he told Mrs. Jones.
"But everything worked out in the end," Martha said.
Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones, and Tish walked out of the TARDIS. "Martha, come along," Mrs. Jones said.
Martha looked at the Doctor and made a decision. He had Rose now and didn't need her. "It's time for me to go," she said.
"Oh, don't leave on Rose's account. Or Ryssen's. Or Jack's," the Doctor said.
"It's not them. Well, it is and it's not. You don't need me with you anymore. You've got them. And I've got exams coming up."
"You sure?" the Doctor asked.
She nodded. "Yeah." She tossed him her phone as she left, saying, "When that rings, you better come back," with a smile. The Doctor smiled a half smile at her and she closed the doors.
"So…" Ryssen said after an awkward moment of silence. "My family?"
"Yup," Rose said, sliding her hand into the Doctor's. "To your family."
"Fun," Ryssen said, darting around the console and punching things in.
"You gonna let her do that?" Mickey asked.
"She knows this ship as well as I do," the Doctor said. "And she actually knows where we're going. I've never been there."
"How have you never been there and don't know where it is?" Jack asked.
"Romula is a closely guarded secret—close as the location of Gallifrey," Ryssen said, pulling a lever down.
The TARDIS jolted to a dead stop, throwing everyone on the floor.
"Who are you?" reverberated through their minds.
"I'm Ryssen. Now let us in," she said flippantly.
"Ryssen. That name is unfamiliar. Leave now."
"Oh f'r cryin' out loud!" Ryssen said and began shouting in an unfamiliar language—one the TARDIS wouldn't translate.
"What's she saying?" Rose asked the Doctor.
"I don't know. It's Romulan. TARDIS doesn't know it," he told her.
"There's a language the TARDIS doesn't know?" Rose asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.
The Doctor did the same and nodded. "Ryssen won't bother to translate either," he added as his sister continued yelling.
"Is she going to shut up?" Jake asked in annoyance.
"Probably not," the Doctor said.
"Shutting up would be nice, Ryssen," Mickey said.
"Sounds like she's cursing now," Jack said.
"She probably is," Rose said. "She's got the 'I'm incredibly mad' expression on her face."
"Should be a while then," the Doctor said.
Five minutes later Ryssen was still shouting. "This is getting old," Jack said, leaning against one of the columns.
Rose nodded. The Doctor reached out and pulled her into him as he said, "She can go on for hours when she's mad enough."
"I don't want to see that," Jake said.
"Nobody does," Mickey added.
Five minutes after that, Ryssen was still yelling. "I think I have a headache," Mickey said.
"I think we all do," Rose whined, burying her head in the Doctor's neck.
"ARGH!" Ryssen said, slamming her hands onto the console. "Just because they don't like me because I'm not a bloody full Romulan doesn't mean they can go and not let me in!"
"We can't get in?" Jack asked.
"Oh, we can," Ryssen said, "but it took that long to convince them I really am me."
The TARDIS jolted to a start again, and the Doctor stood, pulling Rose to her feet as well. "Well then, let's go."
"Um…We have to wait a tic for the convoy to come to us," Ryssen said.
"Convoy?" Rose asked.
"Yeah," Ryssen said in irritation.