I do not own Doctor Who
Chapter 6
"Rose Tyler. We've been expecting you." His cool American drawl was not lost on her, but in an instant she suspected it wasn't the Jack she knew. Parallel Jack. The words came instantly, unbidden to her mind, and she knew that she barely knew this man. However when he winked at her, she suddenly wasn't sure. Maybe this was the Jack she knew. She would have to ask him later.
The elevator shuddered to a halt, and he gestured for her to step out.
"Straight to the point." He said conversationally, "Word around here is that you know more about alien species then the rest of this planet put together." He caught her confused expression and continued. "And that includes us lot. Well except maybe me. Seeing as we've travelled together before I'd say we're about even" He flashed her a toothy grin and he grabbed her in a big bear coat.
"Oh!" She was caught off guard by the sudden familiar-ness of it all. "It's the real you"
"You thought I was some parallel version right?" He released her, beaming. "I've lived through things you've never had the chance to witness Rose Tyler, and I finally found my way across the void to meet you."
"What about Him?" Saying his name out loud would force the tears upwards. "Can he come across?"
"Rose… After the 'Year that Never Was' he set off alone again, travelling time and space. I don't know where he is. I left him to his travels. I had a team who needed me at the time. But once I get some stuff with my void travel method sorted out, I promise to take you back. Because it's been at least a year for him and he's still hurting. He's hurting badly and he needs you Rose."
Tears traced soft lines down her face as she thought of him, the man she had fallen in love with, what seemed like forever ago. "Was he alone the whole time?" She managed to cough it out. "And what's "The Year that Never Was".
Jack studied her, almost warily. "I think you should sit down and I'll fill you in."
She obliged hesitantly, wondering if she was dreaming. It wouldn't surprise her.
"Okay, in my world- well what once was your world, I lived a whole year that never existed, and in that year, I found out what had happened to you, and why he left me behind."
Rose flushed- she had assumed the Doctor had had a decent reason for it, but the truth was she'd never thought to ask him. "Why did he leave you behind?" She asked somewhat hesitantly.
Jack seemed to regard her warily, as if he was carrying some great secret, and her expression turned angry. "Oi, I think I've seen enough to deal with whatever happened."
"Alright. You remember the Bad Wolf game station?" Her mouth turned dry: the Doctor had regenerated and she had doubted him for the first time. She still wasn't sure what had happened.
"Yes."
"You absorbed the Time Vortex, and brought me back to life" His blue eyes met hers in a blank stare. "Permanently." She didn't look to shocked- perhaps she didn't realise the full implications of the conversation. "As a Time Lord, the Doctor was pretty annoyed- he called me an "Impossible thing"."
"He didn't kick you out of the TARDIS?" Rose said, assuming Jack had found the Doctor again.
"No" Jack laughed "I chose to leave; he had got over his little prejudice during the course of the year". He was smiling at some distant memory. "But anyway, the year that never was". He paused. There was another Time Lord."
Rose's eyes grew wide. "But he said he was the last one."
"Apparently not. The Master- that's what he called himself. He had disguised himself as a human during the Time War, and that's when the Doctor, Martha and I found him, at the End of the Universe."
"Martha" Rose rolled the name around in her mouth, clearly unimpressed at her replacement. "Does he, you know-"
"No." Jack said. "He can't stop thinking about you, and in the end even Martha left, because there was no room for her in his heart." He didn't notice the tears rolling down her cheeks, he was so lost in his story. "Anyway the Master hi-jacked the TARDIS, and became Prime Minister- Harold Saxon he called himself. He built a Paradox machine and enslaved the earth. And there was nothing the Doctor could do, because the Master used some sort of aging technology to make him 150 years old. We managed to stop him, but not without a whole year going by- the Doctor had to reverse the whole thing so no one remembered. But he's alone Rose, and that's why I've dedicated the last year of my life to finding you." He finally noticed she was crying and put his strong arms around her in a protective hug. "What's wrong sweetheart?" His American accent was full of concern.
"Everything" Rose sniffed, her voice choking up with the effort of it. "You can't die because of what I did, and the Doctor- I've been dreaming about him, and sometime's I think they're real, but a part of me says it's not; and I don't know what to do." Jack never released her from the hug, and waited until the girl was calm before talking.
"Rose it's not your fault. Things couldn't have happened any other way. I'm going to take you back Rose Tyler, just you wait and see."
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The Doctor paused at the first cupboard like door he found, Lyrai trailing after him, still wondering about her own past, and her own memories. She wondered about the man before her, and how much grief he had experienced since he had lost the one he loved. She sensed it wasn't the only thing he had lost, there was something more. She wasn't sure why she felt that, and didn't feel too keen on sharing her sentiments with the Doctor.
The Doctor was tapping resolutely on the door, obviously wondering whether it would open or not. "It's at times like these you really appreciate the need for a Sonic device" He was saying; Lyrai wasn't sure if he was addressing her, or the world in general. "I don't know how I managed without one. In fact I did destroy it once, got frazzled out by some sort of hospital tech. of course that was just after I lost Rose..." The sadness in his voice was unmissable.
"You could kick down the door" Lyrai was standing right behind him, her amber eyes looking the door over. " I could kick down the door. Or if you have a hair pin or something I could use that old Earth trick. Same sort of lock. After all it's just a cupboard. Nothing high tech."
The Doctor beamed at her, and stepped aside. Without any hesitation, she thrust her leg out, aiming for the doors weak spot. There was a crash as in fell forward, Lyrai stepping neatly out of the way to avoid.
"Excellent!" The Doctor was already in the cupboard, which turned out to be much larger than either had anticipated. "It's my suit!" He was holding up a brown pinstripe jacket and some trousers, whilst rummaging around in various piles of clothes. He handed her whatever he found, and soon she was holding a tie, a shirt, a pair of cream coloured sneaker type shoes, a key and what looked like a pen, but what she assumed was really the Sonic Device he was on about. Once he had done, he took them all off her, and emerged from the cupboard five minutes later, looking very much different. The various bits and pieces had come together to form a perfectly decent out fit, and he was pocketing the TARDIS keys as he came out.
"There we go" He was beaming "Fantastic. Nothing quite like your own clothes". He glanced at her. I can't imagine your clothes will fit, but there's plenty of stuff in there if you want to change out of those old things." He was waving a hand around vaguely, and feeling slightly self conscious, Lyrai stepped into the dimly lit room, not really having a clue where to start. The Doctor had removed the Sonic Device from his front pocket and was fiddling with it- it seemed to let out a high pitched whine.
"Doctor" she said, still thinking it was a stupid name, but hardly feeling up to debating that small point. "Even when we get out, are we going home? Or you, I don't know where my home is, but -can I come with you?" She sounded nervous and outside the cupboard the Doctor smiled to himself. She reminded him of Rose a little bit, she was bold, brave and when it came down to it she wasn't afraid to voice her thoughts.
"Well, if, when we find your memories- and I do intend to find your memories- if you haven't got a home, or you don't want to go back, I'd be happy to have you on board." Satisfied that his Sonic Screw Driver was working, he put it back in his pocket folding his arms and leaning against the wall. In his experience, girls took a long time changing.
Lyrai was looking at some old combat trousers, black and comfortable looking. She wasn't sure how she ought to dress, but she couldn't be bothered to ask the Doctor.
"The only thing I wonder is- they knew I was a Time Lord, right from the start. Well as soon as my duplicate hearts came up at any rate. The must have known the drugs might not effect two non humans."
"Maybe they didn't know I was a non human." Lyrai responded. "I didn't even know I was a non human until last night." She seemed a little down.
"Oh they knew" He replied off handedly, "Right from the minute they took your memories they've known. It's almost a mark of their cruelty that they erased that knowledge from you. Although, I'll be very interested to find out where you come from, and what you were doing on earth, and how they got you." She remained silent, pulling on a black long sleeved top, feeling different now she was out of the slave clothes.
She was about to step out of the cupboard when it closed very suddenly, leaving her in the pitch black.
"Not out commanding the troops then?" It was the Doctor, and he sounded angry.
"The worst that can happen is they lose. It just means I'll have to start from scratch" It was a voice she's recognize anywhere. The voice of her Master- the Princess.
"And the slaughter of thousands of innocent people."
"They are dispensable" There was a sort of shocked silence from the Doctor, Lyrai didn't want to imagine the fury on his face. "And as for you, Time Lord , who are you to rule over us? Tell me what makes your decision the right one."
"Last time I checked, any decision that did not involve the unnecessary slaughter of thousands of people was the right one." There was a silence from both sides. "So what happens now?" The Doctor sounded angry, but managed to sound civil at the same time. "Because I really need those memories of mine you took."
"Why?" She sounded amused. "So you can remember how you lost the last of your kind, who chose to die rather than stay with you."
"What?" For once there was a trace of uncertainty in the Doctor's voice. "You're lying. If there were any left, they'd stay."
"But not the "Master"." At this point, Lyrai had made to step backwards, and tripped on an unseen obstacle, which she later realised was her old clothes. The sound seemed to have alerted the Princess to her presence, and the door was flung open once more.
"Ahh yes" She hissed, and Lyrai recoiled from the sound, wondering what was going to happen next. She was pulled roughly out, and broke free of the cool skin to stand by the Doctor. "I see you've met the other little loner. Last of her kind you know." She said it so unsympathetically, stating it as a fact.
"What happened to her planet?" The Doctor spoke, obviously still brooding on what she had said before, but too scared to find out.
"It was destroyed by the Time War. So the legends went. But you are living proof that it wasn't. It was pure luck that we found her on Earth- her previous Master's had raided he planet before it's destruction. I should have realised her blood wouldn't be compatible with the drugs."
"This will stop" There was such certainty in his voice that the teen was beginning to wonder how anyone dared defy him. "Now. When you return my memories in some shape or form."
Princess Kerine simply smirked. "Gladly". He raised an eyebrow at her. "You two are no use to me now anyway."
Yeah- The Year that Never Was became a part of the story! I couldn't help it. I feel silly because the Doctor never really thought about it before, but maybe he's just had other things to worry about since Martha left xP
Thank you Mad Eye Maddi for putting me on Story Alert