Chapter 7
Apologies and Discoveries
(A/N: When inspiration hits, I churn out chapters like Ford churns out F-150 pickup trucks. Rewatching Stranger Things is probably helping.)
Rose and the Doctor walked closer to the front of Joyce Byers' house. Something about the place felt...odd, to the Doctor. Like something had been altered. And that's when they noticed it- a gaping hole in the front wall.
"My God," Rose whispered. "What d'you think happened?"
The Doctor shrugged, unsure. "Who knows? When we get inside, we can ask Joyce or her other son or...whoever else is here. Anyway..."
When they got to the front door, the Doctor raised his hand to knock, but hesitated. "Now, Rose, you're a hundred percent sure you want to do this?"
Rose nodded. "Oh, just knock at the door already," she snapped, feigning irritation. Instinctively, the Doctor tightened his grip on her hand. A moment's pause, then he knocked sharply on the door frame.
He heard a woman speak- Joyce- from inside the house. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."
They heard the sound of footsteps coming toward the door. A few seconds later, it opened to reveal Joyce, whose eyes widened in shock.
"Doctor Smith?" she spluttered out. "I…I wasn't expecting you. Not this soon, anyway..." She stood aside, beckoning them in. "Come on, get inside. I don't want the neighbors to see you- no offense."
"None taken, ma'am," Rose replied politely, entering the house with the Doctor beside her.
Joyce gave them a small smile, but there was a panicked look in her eye. "Please don't ask about the..."
"Hole in the wall?" the Doctor finished for her.
She sighed and nodded. "I, uh...got a little carried away with...something."
Rose smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, we're not judging you. One time when I was sixteen I accidentally drove my mother's car into a mailbox, so..."
Joyce sniffed slightly, her voice cracking. "You ever intentionally take out a wall with an axe?"
Rose pursed her lips. "Um, no...but like I said, I'm not judging you."
Joyce shrugged her shoulders. "Well, if you want, feel free to. I don't care. Now, um..."
She turned to the Doctor. "I think I forgot my manners, Doctor Smith. Would you and your wife like something to drink?"
Rose raised her eyebrows while the Doctor chuckled. "Oh, well...she's not my wife. And as for wanting a drink, I'm fine."
Joyce's eyes widened in surprise even as she turned to Rose. "Alright, uh...do you want anything, miss?"
Rose nodded slightly. "Perhaps some water? My throat's a little dry."
"Okay, you two. Come on into the kitchen. You can sit down, if you want."
All three of them headed for the kitchen. Joyce went to the sink and picked up a glass, while Rose lowered herself into a kitchen chair. The Doctor moved to stand next to her, his hand still holding hers.
After Joyce filled a glass with water from the tap, she set it down on the table in front of Rose, who smiled in thanks. Joyce then sat at the table next to her.
"So...is there anything you want to tell me, or..." She didn't give them time to answer. "Sorry I thought you were married; it's, well, I just assumed..."
The Doctor shook his head, grinning. "Don't worry about it, Ms. Byers. You're hardly the first who thought we were married. Or engaged, or dating...you get the idea."
Rose spoke up for the first time since she asked for the glass of water, which was now half empty. "There was a time when I got mistaken for his sister," she added. "That was just unpleasant."
"Yes; it was indeed, Rose."
"No better than people assuming we're married, I suppose. But-"
Joyce cut her off. "-Sorry for interrupting, but...did he say your name was Rose?"
The woman in question nodded. "Yeah, Rose Tyler; that's me. Unfortunately," she said with a sigh.
Joyce let out a soft gasp. "Y-You're the one...who was with Will...aren't you?"
Rose nodded, a tear threatening to spill over. "Yeah. I found him a few hours after I got stuck in that...that place. He was just lying on the ground...curled up in a ball. He looked so scared, so I...I got his attention; took care of him."
Rose's voice began to crack. "But when I found a way out, he wasn't...he wasn't with me. He was...waiting for me, back in our...well, I guess you could call it a shelter. I was able to get out; I wanted to be sure it would work. But before I could go back for him, I...I passed out. And then the Doctor found me in the woods. He's still stuck in there, an' it's my fault!"
With that, Rose burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Gently, the Doctor placed his hand on her shoulder. Joyce, in turn, embraced her.
"Oh, honey...it's not your fault. You couldn't have known that that was gonna happen."
Rose just sobbed harder while Joyce hugged her tightly. When she finally stopped crying enough to breathe normally, she pulled away. Joyce gave her a small smile, cupping her cheek.
"Like I said, it's not your fault. Without you...I hate to think about it, but...he could've died already. He'd probably be in really bad shape, at the very least."
Rose sniffed, and returned the smile slightly. "You sound like the Doctor," she murmured, looking at the floor.
Joyce gave her one last hug, before turning to glance at the Doctor. "I'm assuming that 'the Doctor' is you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, all my friends call me that. You can, too, if you like," he muttered, smiling to himself.
Joyce continued to look him in the eye. "So, Doctor, what do we do now?"
The Doctor sighed. "I have...a few things in mind. We'll find your son, Joyce. I promise you that," he said firmly.
Joyce nodded. "If you want, I could...get you in touch with the police-"
"No, we'll be alright. Thanks for the offer, though. We prefer to do things on our own, don't we, Rose?"
Rose nodded. "Yep. That's how we've always done things." She paused, sighing. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
Joyce shook her head. "I mean, I could use some company, but since you're gonna be looking for my son, I think I can handle being alone for a few more hours."
The Doctor's eyes went wide. "Rose, I just had a brilliant idea. Come with me for a second, would you?"
When Rose stood up, they headed for the front door, the Doctor mouthing "be right back" to Joyce.
Once they were out of the house, Rose spoke up. "Your idea, Doctor?"
"Well, Joyce said she wanted company. We're gonna be busy, the two of us, so we can't stay. But there are two other people with us- and they've already met Joyce."
"Amy and Rory," Rose said, grinning.
"Yep! I'm sure they would agree to keep her company for a little while. And...if they stay here, we'll have eyes on this house. Most of the weird stuff happened around here, so using them as lookouts could be useful."
"Alright. Y'know what, Doctor? You really are brilliant. Don't let it get to your head, though," she put in quickly.
He shook his head, smiling. "Never, Rose Tyler," he replied, and took her hand.
Rose, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory headed back to Joyce's house, while Amy badgered the Doctor with questions about what to look for and what to do or say. As they got to the treeline, however, they stopped walking.
For Joyce was standing there, looking behind them. No doubt she'd seen the TARDIS. Had she...followed them?
"W-What...what's a 'Police Public Call Box'? And how in the world did you fit in that thing?"
The Doctor sighed, put his hands in his pockets. "That...um...well, it's a simple question with a very complicated answer...Rose, help me out here."
Rose let out a huff, rolling her eyes. "Ignore him. Why don't I show you?"
When the Doctor sent her a look of alarm, she snapped, "What? Did you actually think she was never gonna know? The clever ones always find out, Doctor."
"F-Find out what?" Joyce asked nervously.
Rose grinned. "Follow me, and you shall see," she replied.
Joyce groaned. "This is against my better judgment, but...okay." They all turned around and headed back to the TARDIS.
When Rose opened the front door, Joyce's eyes popped out of her head. "Oh my G-..."
Rose grinned. "I know. Isn't it amazing?"
Joyce nodded distractedly. "Can I...go in?"
The Doctor cut into the conversation. "Sure, if you want. Better be quick, though. We've got places to be."
"Right..." Joyce breathed, stepping into the TARDIS cautiously. "Mind explaining to me how this is possible?"
The Doctor grinned before replying, "Alien technology. It's transdimensional- the interior exists in another dimension."
Joyce looked as if she hadn't understood that last part. "Sorry, did you...did you say alien technology?"
"Yep!" the Doctor said brightly.
"So...are you...or are any of you...aliens?"
Rose grinned. "Amy and Rory are human. I was born human- something changed my DNA a bit. The only actual alien here is the Doctor."
Said alien nodded in agreement. "She's right about that. Which reminds me- I need to run some tests on you later, Rose. So we can determine exactly what changes to your biology occurred, and what caused it."
"I already know the basics, but alright. I'll humor you."
"Thank you, my dear," he replied, smiling at her. She rolled her eyes in response.
Joyce spoke up then. "Figures. An alien is the only one that believed what I said about the lights and the wall...all of it, really. Human beings just think I'm crazy."
The Doctor laughed slightly. "Yeah, that's because most human beings don't dare believe in the inexplicable or the impossible. They haven't got any imagination."
"Why waste your time with us, then?" she asked, smiling halfheartedly.
"Well, I believe- and it's been proven, in the case of humans- that every rule has an exception. There's always gonna be someone who believes in the impossible. I like those kind of people." He paused. "Plus, dangerous aliens really like to invade or try to destroy your planet for some reason. Earth has a long lifespan, and I want to keep it that way."
Rose grinned at him. "Nice speech, mister."
The Doctor chuckled. "Thanks. But back to more pressing matters. I- er, we...have a general idea of how we're gonna find Will. So, here's the plan..."
Hand in hand, the Doctor and Rose walked through the woods. In Rose's free hand was a compass that pointed north. They had been walking for several hours now, and it was dark- they had stopped several times to listen to reports from their "spies". Other than some noisy neighbors near Joyce's house, the fact that Mike's sister Nancy was apparently "dating a huge jerk", and Eleven supposedly helping them deal with the school bully, though, nothing remotely interesting had happened. And they hadn't found out anything related to where Will was trapped- the only possible exception being that Nancy hadn't seen her friend Barbara all day and was starting to worry. If she was in the other dimension, though, the Doctor and Rose knew they'd find her.
Leaves crunched underneath their feet as they continued to follow the compass. The needle had started to spin in multiple directions, which was a good sign, in this case- the magnetic disruption meant they were close.
The Doctor had a flashlight in the hand that wasn't holding onto Rose. He could tell that there was an obstacle in front of them- a chain-link fence. He pointed the flashlight at the small sign that was on the fence.
h n l
Hawkins National Laboratory
US Department of Energy
NO TRESPASSING
Rose grinned. "I s'pose we're about to break the law again, Doctor?"
In turn, he smiled back at her, nodding. "Breaking and entering; that's my specialty. The entrance has got to be in there. Stand back, now; I don't want to accidentally zap you." He aimed the sonic screwdriver at the fence, intending to tear a hole in it, when a gruff voice interrupted them.
"Hey! What're you two doin' out here?!"
They turned to see an angry-looking man in a police uniform.
"Why are you here?" the man snapped. That was when the Doctor noticed the bolt cutters in the officer's hand.
"Oh, same as you," he replied nonchalantly, a small smile on his face.
The man tilted his head in confusion. "You...you're here to break into the lab?" he asked hesitantly.
Rose smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
The police officer smirked. "I should arrest you, but since you're not from here; and since I'm doing the same thing, I think I'll go easy on you."
He paused, studying their faces. "So...English, huh? Didn't think a couple of Brits would be interested in the affairs of a small town in Indiana."
The Doctor shrugged in response. "Well, we have a...tendency...to stick our noses where they don't belong. Usually, it works out in our favor, though." He grinned.
"Usually," Rose repeated, giving the Doctor a pointed look. "Shall I remind you of what happened to us in Scot-"
"Oi, we don't speak of that! And that only happened because of your stupid bet-"
"You're just mad 'cos you still owe me ten quid."
Their conversation was interrupted when the man snapped, "Hey, hey, hey! I didn't ask to mediate an argument, but it looks like I'm gonna have to. Geez. Can you please chill? I hate it when married couples fight- especially in front of me."
The Doctor and Rose shared a glance, laughing slightly. "Oh, we're not married. We're just friends," Rose replied.
He smirked and chuckled to himself. "You sure about that?"
Rose looked slightly offended at those words. "Um, yes."
He clicked his tongue in response. "Okay. Then why on Earth is he holding your hand?"
The Doctor looked at the ground, a half-smile on his face. "Oh, um...no one's ever really asked that before. Habit, I suppose? Need to keep her from wandering off."
"Oi!"
The officer smirked again. "Ah, forget I asked. What're your names, anyway? I'm Jim. Jim Hopper."
The Doctor grinned at him. "Well, Jim Hopper, you can call me the Doctor, and that's Rose," he replied.
Hopper tilted his head, a smug expression on his face. "Alright. Doc, you, uh...you got a last name to go with that title?"
He shook his head in reply. "Nah. But if anyone asks, just say that my name's John Smith."
"Okay...I mean, that definitely sounds like an alias, but okay. Your funeral," Hopper replied. He then turned to Rose, giving her a tiny smile. "What about you, little lady? You have a last name?"
Rose rolled her eyes, irritated. "The name's Rose Tyler; but if you're gonna try to talk to me like tha', you better stop right there."
He grinned at her. "Alrighty then. Now let's...break into government property, I guess."
They both nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's," the Doctor said excitedly.
(A/N: So, we've finally reached the end of The Body! Oh, and a bit of trivia: The reason I used the word supposedly when referring to what Eleven did with Troy was because when the boys told them about it, they didn't tell the full story- they were laughing too hard to get it out. To be fair, I think I'd laugh too.)
