Chapter 10
"Ah there you are," Jake said to the approaching duo of the Doctor and Rose at Torchwood after their hasty drive back. He beckoned them forward to his desk with a wave of his hand. "For some unknown reason two employees from level two, Doctor Cummings and Agent Rawlins, left of their own accord two hours ago. Shortly after that their badges stopped transmitting data. We pulled up the CC footage from a local shop. Have a look at this." The Doctor leaned over Jake's shoulder as he pulled up surveillance of a black sedan on a grainy city street on his computer terminal. "At exactly 3:22pm their badges stopped transmitting their location. We tried tracing their ear pieces but we're not getting anything. And if you look at the footage..." he pointed at the corner where the sedan had just disappeared behind. "There!" A bright flash shone reflecting on the buildings but whatever it was hid just out of view. "This was the exact moment we tracked a signal in earth's outer orbit. There's something up there, and whatever it is, it's taking Torchwood agents."
The Doctor wasted no time whipping out his very much needed glasses, his face alight at the chance to crack a mystery once more. "Ah, very clever. Teleportation. Hm, at first I thought maybe the signal was coming and going but now..." He rudely commandeered the computer from the agent next to him, shooing him off, as he analyzed the data from the signal. Rose rolled her eyes and mouthed an apologetic sorry to the perturbed man left without a means to do his work. "Now I think whatever it is is still up there. Hidden maybe? But what would have that kind of technology here?" the Doctor asked, holding his chin in his hand.
"Well I wanna know why they left together. What do Rawlison and Cummings have in common?" Rose asked.
Jake tugged at the back of his collar. "Nothing from what I can tell. Cummings was a scientist working on NOVAE, Rawlison was working security."
"The signal," the Doctor interrupted them, focused on the screen before him. "I've never seen anything on that exact frequency before. It's something new. I don't recognize it."
Rose bent over beside him, getting perhaps a bit closer than she ought to. "Doctor what if it's not something new, it just looks new? Like Mickey said, blue traffic lights instead of red? Maybe the signal is something we've seen it's just a slightly different frequency in this universe."
"Of course!" he said. "Oh Rose Tyler you are brilliant!" He feverishly began typing away. "Hello there," he said with a smile as he amplified the signal. "Looks to be within the range of a cloaking device if you allow for two or three points difference for parallel universe variations. Whatever it is, if it's cloaked it's possible that it is visible briefly when it sends out a signal. If we calibrate the settings on one of the communications satellites orbiting earth we may be able to get a view of it the next time something happens."
"Can you get access to that from here?" Jake asked incredulously.
"Watch him," Rose said. "He thinks he's so impressive."
The Doctor paused. "Oi! That's because I am so impressive," he retorted haughtily clicking away once more. "Ha! Done," he said over emphasizing the word for effect and clicking the last key loudly.
"In the mean time we should go to the area and see if anyone has seen anything that might help," Rose stated.
"Ah yes," the Doctor replied swiveling his chair to face them, his arms crossed. "The domestic approach."
"You two go ahead. I'll monitor from here in case we get any more pings," Jake said.
"Righto. Off we go, Sarge!" Rose said beckoning the Doctor to join her with a nod of her head.
He grinned madly. She didn't have to ask him twice. Investigating alien abductions with Rose Tyler? What could be better?
Night had fallen by the time they reached the street in question. While they had combed the area most of the businesses and industrial buildings that had been opened during that time had just closed for the evening. Finding witnesses was proving difficult. They walked past the locked up store fronts and chained garages, his sonic in hand, the blue light raking across their surroundings.
"Well, no unusual energy readings from what I can tell, although, my sonic hasn't been entirely tuned to this universe yet," he murmured in concentration as he gave it a few taps.
She pulled her black jacket closer around her neck for a bit more warmth. "What do you mean, not 'tuned'?" she asked curiously.
"Well, it's like you said, each universe has it own slightly different resonances and signals. So the sonic needs some adjusting." He looked upwards at the night sky. While the lights of the city had crowded out most of the stars a stalwart few were still visible. He smiled, pointing in the air leaning close to her. "Like that star there, Bellatrix. Do you see it? Makes up part of the shoulders of the constellation of Orion. Lovely star, been to visit before. But here, in your universe it's a fraction out of place. Well, I say out of place, but here it's right where it ought to be. Back home it would be half a degrees to the left."
She gazed up in fascination. "Huh. Well I'll have to take your word for it, 'cos I sure can't tell."
"And you see that there?" he asked, his face was full of wonder as he pointed to a star just to the east.
"Go on then. What is it?" she asked with a grin bobbing on her toes. She wouldn't have thought it possible for his smile to widen but it did.
"I have no idea. It's a whole new universe out there."
She couldn't help but get lost in his enthusiasm. It was something of him she missed so very much.
For a moment he allowed himself to forget his task, taking in the dimmed light of the stars aloft as they leisurely ambled along. Though they shone poorly against the oppressive city glare he was nonetheless captivated. The extraordinary circumstances which brought him there, at that precise moment, to watch the night sky in that parallel universe began churning unanswered questions within.
His subtle change in expression did not go unnoticed. "Go on then, tell me what your thinking," she requested, bumping lightly into his side. "Got it sorted already?" Knowing him, he likely did.
He shook his head, pursing his lips in contemplation. "Nope, actually I was thinking of something entirely unrelated. Something I never did quite figure out."
"What's that then?" she questioned.
"Well," he began, shoving his hands in his coat pockets for a bit of warmth, his upward gaze unbroken, "How did the crack appear in this universe in the first place?"
"Well it was the darkness, wasn't it?"
He didn't answer, concentration upon his brow.
"Well if you don't think it was the darkness, then it must've been the Dalek void ship. It punched a whole in our universe, didn't it?" She often had to remind herself that time wasn't as linear as she had once thought. Even though the ship had appeared after they had found their way to Pete's World, the cracks could still very well span across all of time and space.
"Doubt it."
She blinked in surprise.
"Something else was at work there. That void ship didn't come from this universe, it came from ours. I can understand the crack from the void to our universe, but how did it cross all the way over here? It takes an awful lot of power to rip a hole spanning the entire void. Not even I have the power to do that. And why this earth, this time period? It's proximity to your native timeline is uncanny. That's why I doubt the void ship was involved. Statistically speaking it's a near impossibility."
"Yeah but I've traveled between all sorts of parallel worlds and times but only after the darkness came," she contended as they continued down the sidewalk.
"Well... the darkness was responsible for the cracks that let you travel across universes and time, yes, but not the one that originally led us here. That was caused by something else, something that predated the darkness. That's the mystery I'd like to solve."
"But the crack is sealed, isn't it?"
"For now," he said thoughtfully.
Her heart stopped. "What?" she asked tensely. He had told her it would be sealed forever, her Time Lord, that day on the beach.
"Well bad wolf bay seems to be a weak point. The crack started in London, and ran all the way to Norway. I didn't realize it at first, but considering we ended back there a few weeks ago now I suspect it's a time scar. One more disturbance large enough and the crack will rip open again. Like popping open a stitch," he carried on before realizing she was no longer in step with him. He turned to look at her inquisitively. Something about her stance and the expression on her face unnerved him.
"You mean, we could get back?" she croaked, her voice quivering in sync with the shiver now running down her body.
He swallowed hard. "Not without putting both universes at risk." And to do so would take cosmic forces much stronger than he was capable of producing nor would he be willing to try.
She eyed him tentatively before accepting his answer with a nod. "I don't understand though, Doctor. Don't you... want to go back?" she asked quietly. He was separated from the TARDIS, from everything. Things hadn't exactly worked out the way he had planned. Surely he would want to go home and have his life back if given the chance.
He didn't answer. In fact, he thought he had been rather clear about this topic while they were eating ice cream by the river earlier. Had she'd already forgotten? Instead he asked the immediate question which popped into his mind though he suspected he already knew the answer. "Do you?"
Her eyes fell. "It doesn't matter anymore," she said with a shrug and a small smile.
He nodded, the simple truth speaking volumes despite her deflection. Of course she did.
"I'm sorry, 'bout before," she said suddenly with a sniff, her still upon the ground. "For telling you off 'bout the dimension cannon." She stole a quick glance at his face, rimmed with the light of the street lamp behind him.
He nodded once more. "I understand what it means to you, what it represents."
"Yeah," she whispered, looking up at the stars again.
"Please destroy it." He knew he was asking for more than just a way to prevent catastrophic universal collapse; he was asking her to move on, to choose him.
She cut him a sideways glance. "I... will. Tomorrow. I'll take care of it tomorrow."
"Thanks," he said with a warm smile.
Rose's eyes then shifted to the graffiti covered walls about them, the glow of the streetlights casting an orange hew upon stacked boxes, lose newspapers, and trash bins as they started walking once more."It's odd," she noted as she scanned the tops of the buildings, "you'd think there would be at least one camera that would have caught this thing by now. It's as if it waits until it won't be seen before acting."
His mouth twisted in thought. "Very good. I think you're onto something. But who would know exactly where a Torchwood agent was going to be unless..." they both stopped walking abruptly and looked at each other.
"Someone from Torchwood is directly involved in this," she finished for him. "We've got to tell dad."
"Don't use your phone. Whoever is doing this may be listening in. You should tell him when you get home."
"I've got to let Jake know. We can trust him," she spoke softly.
Slowly the Doctor nodded. "But the fewer the people we let in on this the better."
Casually a figure in black snuck past fellow Torchwood employees before descending down the stairs, around the corner, and into a sound-proof holding cell. Nothing but the faint red glow of an earpiece combated the darkness.
"Report," echoed a monotonous voice from the glowing device.
"The personnel have been delivered and the requested files have been uploaded.," whispered the figure in reply. "I also have confirmation; the scan of the subject indicates trace levels of unknown energy source matching that discovered two weeks ago."
"Understood. Secure a bio sample of the subject and acquire further intelligence on the transmat blocker protecting the facility."
"Copy." With that, the door shut and darkness claimed the space once more.
Aboard the ship, the armored general stood behind the creature as the communication disconnected. "Time is wasting. Have you anything of worth? What of the weapons schematics?"
"The files and prisoners should provide all the information we require." With a soft click the screen on the wall lit up.
"Interesting. Primitive, but intriguing. Is this the source of the energy we pinged?"
"Negative. Energy readings are centralized around one subject. Could be biological or external."
"Bring it on board and study it then, why wait?"
"The subject displays characteristics beyond human capabilities. Further testing within the native environment is required before the proper species can be identified."
"I fail to see the merit in pursing this... creature. Surely determining the strength of their stolen alien firepower is a better use of our time."
"Energy readings from the subject suggest regenerative capabilities. If harnessed the power could have military applications."
A sneer grew upon the face of the commander revealing a row of pointed teeth. "Promising. Very promising. Very well, we will allow this to continue."
With that the door opened and the room stood empty and still once more.
After two hours of continuing to search the area and questioning the stray passersby they were no closer to solving the case. Whatever had occurred, the signal had once again stopped without explanation. It wasn't long before Rose complained of an empty stomach (and admittedly he was hungry too but really that was a constant). Determined to try again in the morning, they found themselves parked by a bright neon sign partly burnt out flickering in the cool night as they entered a nearly empty burger restaurant.
The day had gone better than he had ever hoped. She was obviously warming up to him, holding his arm, referring to him instead of the other him when talking about his past, flirting even. And he had the perfect excuse to work with her for the foreseeable future now that their investigations were one in the same. Perhaps this was the catalyst he needed to once again enter her life. Now here they were, eating burgers and chips like old times. It was the perfect date. Well, at least to him. He watched her fondly as she slid off her coat and started munching on her chips.
She looked up at him curiously and immediately felt a wave of self-consciousness. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked embarrassed, holding her hand up to her mouth.
He snickered. "No no, it's just... I..." he started, unsure of what to say. "It's just... I miss this," he finally replied. "Sight seeing, investigations, chips, all of it." His soft eyes looked at her earnestly.
Another wave of flutters settled into her insides. "Me too," she replied truthfully.
He nodded as a lopsided smile stretched upon his lips. "Good."
"So tell me then, what went on after me? Plenty of adventures I'm sure," she asked before taking a bite of her burger.
"Oh well... you know me, lots of trouble in between occasional sight seeing," he grinned mischievously. "I saved the earth from poison, helped new earth, oh and stopped the Daleks again. Went into hiding in 1913 to starve off a family of aliens, got trapped in 1969, stopped the Adipose from turning the earth's population into living fat creatures, freed the Ood, stopped the Titanic from crashing on Buckingham Palace, oh and let's see... visited Agatha Christie!" He smiled once more though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. There were some things he just couldn't bring himself to tell her because they were just to raw or painful to discuss, like the Racnoss, Pompeii, Jenny, and the Master.
"Blimey, you did do a lot! I knew about some of your adventures, things which messed up the timelines and such, but not all of them."
"Oh yeah?" he asked curiously, popping a chip in his mouth.
"Yeah, like I said, the cannon could measure timelines and detect anomalies," she began. "We were able to track which universe was my home one based on whether or not there was a gap in my personal timeline. From that I was able to jump from reality to reality to determine what was supposed to happen and what wasn't so I could help Donna get back to you and set things straight. Sometimes I was even pulled through when I hadn't meant to be without the cannon at all. I reckon that was Dalek Caan's work. I ran into Donna a couple of times that way. And there were so many times that I had just missed him, just barely." Her eyes had fallen every so slightly, overcome with the images and memories of dark alleyways coupled with the faint sounds of the departing TARDIS. That had been the worst, knowing that he had just been there, just walked where she had walked and yet the powers of the universe decreed that she could not see him. Sometimes she wanted nothing more but to go back on her own timeline when she was still traveling just to catch a glimpse of him from afar, even for a second, but she knew it was far too great a risk. "I tried sending messages to warn him but he never noticed them," she added dispiritedly, her eyes on the table.
"Really?" he asked, lowering his soda. "When?"
"Several times," she whispered, her eyes momentarily focusing on the unseen before flicking back up. "Guess it worked out the way it was meant to though. We stopped the darkness and that's what matters most. It was all traveling through time fissures, tracking down nexus points, and trying not disrupt the time-space continuum in the process," she said with cool casualness, brushing her feathery hair to the side ever so slightly.
He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at hearing her discuss how she managed to figure out the complex nature of time in order to find him again. Several adjectives popped into his mind when describing the woman in front of him: genius being the one forefront on his mind followed closely by fearless, loyal, spunky, and fun. And sexy. Oh yes. He found her talking timey wimey goobly gob to be quite attractive indeed.
"But that was only the past few months," she said, slurping from her straw quickly before continuing. "The five years before that were similar to your adventures, 'cept we didn't have the luxury of time travel until the cannon started working. Still though... there was a fair bit of saving the earth, well this earth anyway." She let out a laugh before continuing. "There was this once time, we uh, we saved the world from the Scepter of the Flited Silthfae," she said quoting the air with her fingers. "It came out of the rift. It was full of these... these energy beings but we didn't know it at the time. Someone set it too close to an outlet and the aliens inside got loose. The blackout of 2011, if you ever hear about that, that was us! We had to cut the power in order to lure them in a containment box. You should have seen me! Ooo I got singed! I got the shock of my life, I did! My hair was standing straight up!" she giggled, her hands splayed above her hair in gesticulation.
He chortled at the thought as he grabbed another chip. Oh he wished he could have seen that.
"But if you thought I looked bad, you should have seen Jake! He got shot across the room. Did you know, he tried to go without electricity for a week after that?!" She laughed heartily leaning closer to him.
His smile shrunk ever so slightly. He looked down at his food before asking,"So you and... Jake?"
She looked at him a bit confused before her eyes drew up in understanding. "Oh! Um... no. We're- we're just partners," she said with a nod. "Well, now anyway. When Mickey was with us we called ourselves Team 3, team of three." She let out a sigh as she picked up a chip from her plate, her eyes once more seeing into the past.
Ah yes, Mickey. She had just been with him until a month ago. He had already forgotten. Of course he was always doing that when it came to Mickey. For his part, Mickey the idiot had proven himself to be so much more than even the Doctor had thought was possible. He was proud of him, but that still didn't make him any less envious of what he had. It had been Mickey to see straight through his pretense of friendship with Rose. But things had changed between Mickey and Rose since then, or at least he'd thought so. He now wondered if things had picked up between them in his absence. Six years was a relatively long time for a human to be out of a relationship after all.
"You miss him." He wasn't really asking but rather stating. Or perhaps he was probing for the answer to the question he now wasn't sure he really wanted to ask.
She nodded, looking down at her food. "It's just that, well he was my only friend here for a while. I mean there was mum, and dad, and then Tony. But Mickey and I, we had been through so much together."
His gaze fell to the table. Perhaps she did still have feelings for him then.
"But, he's moved on now," she said inhaling. Good for him, she silently told herself as she looked down, swirling a chip in a bit of ketchup. He was starting a new life while she would never be able to move on. "But no, there's no one now. Things with Mickey just got complicated. That ended long ago. Before we even came here."
He nodded secretly relieved, much as he had been the last time he had said goodbye on Bad Wolf Bay. She had actually teased him into thinking she was pregnant before clarifying it was her mother who was expecting. Although he was sure he was never going to see her again and he truly wanted her to be happy, he was nevertheless pained by the thought.
"And it sounds like he's moved on then, I mean, from me..." she said attempting to sound somewhat neutral and upbeat but unable to hide the hurt in her voice. "New adventures, new... companions." She bit her lip.
"Oh, um, right. Well, there was Martha, and Donna. Both of them, brilliant they were," he said affectionately before a stab of regret pinched his nerves.
"What?" she asked seeing his expression fall. "What is it?" She had thought that things had ended well with them both, though she didn't really know much about either of them, perhaps Donna a bit more than Martha.
"Oh, it's nothing," he said, staring off with a sniff trying to shake it off. It was a lie of course. Actually he felt awful about the pain he caused Martha and her family and for the unspeakable act which had to have happened to Donna by now to preserve her life.
Rose couldn't help but feel frustrated. When he wasn't honest and upfront she always assumed the worst. And now she couldn't get the thought out of her mind that maybe her Doctor had been involved with someone like Martha, or who knows, maybe even Donna as well. She curled her hair in between her fingers and fidgeted with her food lost in worry.
It was a painful silence for both of them until he once again spoke. "But they weren't you," he finally whispered, almost inaudibly.
She eyes shot back up at him, her stomach dropping. He was still looking out of the window, his face so very full of sadness.
"After... you were lost, I- It was... hard," he finally managed now absently tracing the lid of his soda. Talking about it was so very out of character for him, but if he was going to work towards a relationship with Rose he was going to have open up to her, especially when it came to his feelings where she was concerned. "Just wasn't the same old TARDIS without Rose Tyler aboard," he said with a half smile finally looking her way once more. What a cop out. It was so much deeper than that and he knew it.
She nodded. She planted a polite smile upon her mouth. Though she was glad to have made at least some impact she still couldn't help but feel he had moved on so very fast, something that she clearly was unable to do. Her every waking thought the past six years had been of him, her every effort trying to get back to him, and here he was off having adventures and inviting other women to live with him on the TARDIS. Obviously he had a much greater impact on her than she had on him. In the end she had in fact just been one in a long line. It was disheartening. She tried not to let it show as she took a deep breath.
"Did he... did he ever mention me?" she asked.
He nodded with a warm smile.
She bit her lip, pleased for at least that small comfort. "I often wondered if things would be different, if I came back as a companion," Rose said suddenly, looking off to the side. "Part of me hoped that... that if I got back maybe we'd be together, like a proper couple, you know? But I knew it was long shot. I mean, he's a Time Lord. He doesn't do that sort of thing with companions, does he? I also realized there was a good likelihood that nothing would have changed. It would have been: 'Welcome back, Rose. Your room is just how you left it, down the corridor to the right. Settle in and on to the next!' He was always on the go. And there were just these unstated rules, invisible lines between us that were implied but never spoken about. I never knew if it was just him or if it was an alien thing. There was so much I didn't know, still don't know, about Time Lords. And to be honest, I hardly knew him. I bet no one does. Not really."
"You more than most."
"But that's just him, innit? 'S just who he is. The 'lonely god'." She snorted silently. "He was so... private for a man who managed to talk so much."
He laughed. "You realize I am right here, don't you Rose? I mean, that's me you are talking about."
"Yes, well, not anymore, right? I mean, you are different now. I can tell," she asserted, plopping a fry in her mouth.
"Can you?" he asked rather surprised, not sure whether such a thing was good or bad.
"I can, yeah. You are more open with me than he ever was. You let me get so much closer than he ever did, than he ever could." Her eyes fell to the table, tinged with sadness.
Troubled, he mulled over her observations before answering."It's just a matter of circumstance, Rose, not a difference in our personalities. When he saw you again, he had every intention of being upfront with you about how he felt. As a matter of fact, if that Dalek hadn't been in the way, that reunion in the street would have ended very differently."
Her heart started to flutter then instantly sank nauseatingly at the implications of his words. She had many questions but couldn't find the strength to ask them. Instead she let out a yawn, the weight of the day finally culminating on her weary body. "Well, 's getting late. Time to get back, yeah?"
"Yep," he said popping the "p" in agreement.
It was nearly midnight by the time they had made their way back to the grand Tyler Estate, the familiar white columns lit up in the night. He pulled up to the circular driveway as Rose opened her door letting in the chilly air.
She paused before leaving. "Thanks, thanks for everything. I haven't had proper fun in... a long time," she said not wanting to admit that it had been years. "Goodnight, Doctor," she uttered, her breath hanging in the frigid air.
"'Night, Rose Tyler," he said drawing out her name sending a shiver up her back that had little to do with the cold as she shut the car door.
Leaning against the closed mansion door with a sigh, she watched as his headlights threw light into the hall, bouncing off mirrors and vases until the sound of tires on gravel faded. There were so many feelings swimming through her in that moment. She was both hurt and happy, if such emotions could coexist. Amidst the confusion stood one unclouded truth: she was undeniably drawn to this man, this new man. But it was more than that. She felt alive, more alive than she had felt in years.
At first she thought seeing the new Doctor day after day would be too painful, but with the smarmy crooked grins and adorable laughs, constant factoids, pinstripes, and converse came a taste of the familiar, doing far more to fill the large void left by the life she once knew in one day than any daring adrenaline inducing mission or mundane day with her family ever could hope to do over the past six years. And while she still had plenty of healing to do, healing that would undoubtedly involve occasional bouts of pain at seeing his face, she realized that living a life without him the past few weeks had been no life at all. Maybe he was right. Maybe she needed more in her life. Maybe, just maybe, there was a bit of room for a new friendship.