I know what you're thinking - this can't be montypython203. Montypython203 would never update so quickly. Well believe it or not, here I am. Just don't get used to it!
Lots of references to the classic series in this one.
Rose felt the excitement swelling up inside her as her father put his hands over her eyes. She felt herself quickly disappear, then materialise in, presumably, the location of her "present".
"Can I open my eyes yet?" she asked.
"Almost," replied Pete, walking her over to a door. "Okay – now." He took his hands away, leaving Rose to look at the door in front of them. She read the sign on it aloud.
"'Companions, Assistants and Associates of … the Doctor!'" she exclaimed, turning to face Pete.
"That's right," Pete confirmed. "There are a number of groups here for every hobby and obsession, and I wondered if there'd be one for people who had been in your situation. I was right." Rose grinned, then froze.
"When I met Sarah Jane, I realised that I wasn't the first of the Doctor's companions," she said. "Now I'm going to find out just how many there have been before me."
"Not that that matters," said Pete. "Think about it – would you only go out with someone if they'd never gone out with anyone else?"
"I suppose not," reasoned Rose. "Okay, I can do this. Wish me luck."
"Good luck," said Pete, giving his daughter a hug. "Tell me how it goes." Rose nodded, and opened the door.
Rose had to admit – she'd expected a few more people than this. There were only about half a dozen people in the room. Even worse, they were all fairly young. Had all these people died as a result of travelling with the Doctor? As if to answer her thoughts, a young man wearing a kilt strode up to her.
"I know what you're thinking," he said in a Scottish accent. "Did we all die young?"
"Er, yeah," said Rose.
"Don't worry, lassie," the man assured her. "This room is designed so that we all look and feel as young as we did when we travelled with the Doctor. I didna actually die when I was with him."
"Speak for yourself," muttered a girl from the back of the room.
"Och aye, sorry Katarina," said the man, before turning back to Rose. "Hello, I'm Jamie McCrimmon."
"Hi, I'm Rose Tyler," said Rose. Jamie froze.
"R-Rose Tyler?" he stammered. "The Rose Tyler?"
"Rose Tyler?!" cried a commanding voice from the corner of the room. "Did someone say Rose Tyler?"
"Aye, it's her Brigadier!" exclaimed Jamie. A tall, distinguished looking man with a moustache walked up to Rose.
"Good lord, it is!" he said. "By Jove, it's good to meet you! We all know so much about you! Come in, come in!" Rose followed the Brigadier into the room, while Jamie closed the door behind her.
"How do you know who I am?" questioned Rose as she took a seat at the table in the middle of the room.
"How do we know indeed," said a kind looking young woman sitting opposite her. "We like to keep as up-to-date with the Doctor's adventures as possible. He changed all our lives." The man sitting next to the woman took her hand in his.
"So true, Barbara," he said. "He made us see things in perspective and realise what was truly important in life." He squeezed Barbara's hand, causing her to blush and murmur, "Thanks Ian."
"Right," said Rose. "So you're all the Doctor's past companions?"
"Well…" said Jamie, "technically the Doctor has had many more companions than us. We're just those who died some time before the present day."
"Or in the future, but were originally born in the past so went back to the time when we died," added Katarina.
"Or were born in the future, but decided to stay in the past, so when we died our spirits went to the time period we desired," said a young girl who was sitting next to Katarina.
"I think that's a bit much for her, Vicki," said Katarina.
"And we're not just companions, young lady," said the Brigadier. "I was technically the Doctor's employer and superior back in the day. He always went gallivanting off in the TARDIS when he was under specific instructions not to go anywhere."
"That sounds like the Doctor," said Rose, smiling. "But, back to me for a sec. You all seemed quite … let's say in awe when I told you who I was."
"How could we not be?" said Jamie. "You've been through so much with the Doctor. You looked into the time vortex to save his life. I wouldna even be able to figure that out, let alone do it."
"I only wish I could have been around to stop that wretched Torchwood from causing the Battle of Canary Wharf," said the Brigadier. Ian and Barbara slightly lowered their heads.
"What is it?" asked Rose. Ian sighed.
"That's how we…" he began.
"Oh," said Rose, realising immediately what he meant. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, we're still here, aren't we?" said Ian, laughing slightly. "It just gets a bit hard sometimes watching my son and not being able to help him."
"But anyway," said Jamie quickly, "when you disappeared through to the parallel universe, we didna know what happened to you. We couldna see what you were up to, or how you were coping."
"Ah," said Rose. "Admittedly, it was hard. Really hard. But I tried to move on, and that was why I joined the parallel Torchwood. That's what ended up killing me, sort of." Just then, the door opened, and a young girl wearing a Victorian dress entered.
"Hello everyone," she said.
"Hey Victoria," said Jamie. "How are you?"
"Not bad," replied Victoria. Jamie turned to Rose to explain.
"This is Victoria," he said. "She used to travel with the Doctor too, but she couldna cope with the pressure and ended up leaving."
"I visit sometimes to catch up on news, but I'm not desperate," said Victoria. "Say, you look familiar…"
"Yes, it's Rose Tyler," said Barbara. "Remember her?"
"Yes, of course!" realised Victoria. "You're one of the most devoted companions I've seen."
"Oi, I was pretty devoted," defended Jamie. "I lost my memory because of those bloody Time Lords." Rose gasped.
"The Time Lords…" she said, "…are they here? The Time War…"
"Well that's a rather complex matter," said the Brigadier. "The Time War was held in the far future, with all of existence at stake. The Doctor had found a way to kill the Daleks – he had in his possession a weapon that could, effectively, mean that they and their planet never existed. Unfortunately, using that weapon meant sacrificing Gallifrey as well. That's why the Doctor can never even see his planet again – because it technically never existed. But everything that happened up until that point still happened. The Doctor and the other Time Lords was still born, the Daleks still invaded Earth several times, etc. But the chances of running into another Dalek that pre-dated the Time War would be impossible." Rose scratched her head.
"That sounds like a paradox," she said. There were a few nods from around the room.
"I think," said Jamie, "as the Doctor would say, it's a wee bit timey wimey."
"Anyway," said the Brigadier, "to answer your question Miss Tyler, the Time Lords would have come to Heaven at their time of death, which was, or will be, around the year 5 billion." Suddenly, the realisation dawned on Rose about just how significant her first trip in the TARDIS had been. At first she'd thought that seeing the destruction of Earth was the Doctor's way of showing her how he'd felt. But then she realised – he was using the experience to re-live the pain himself. Rose went to speak, but no sound came out.
"Take your time, we all know how you feel," said Ian. "Even for those of us who didn't know the Doctor for very long, we've been following him very closely to better understand him. Barbara and I have only been here a short time, and already what we've seen is overwhelming."
"I'll bet," said Rose. "So is that what you guys do? Meet up here and discuss the Doctor?"
"Basically," said Vicki. "He's the one thing that we all have in common. Mind you, we may talk about other things, like people we've just met or what's happening on Earth at the moment. When you think about it, it's quite similar to Elton Pope and his group, L.I.N.D.A." Rose's brow furrowed.
"He upset my mum," she stated.
"Aye, as you've said several times," said Jamie. "Well, if you're interested in coming back, we meet here every Wednesday at 10 p.m. But don't worry – normally if we're free at any other time we'll let you know. The timing's just in case you've got other things on. Which reminds me – I've got to go. I've got a reconciliation meeting with some Red Coats."
"And I've got to see some old army friends," said the Brigadier. "Have you joined any other groups yet, Rose?"
"Can't say I have," admitted Rose. "I was just an ordinary person until I met the Doctor."
"We've all been there," said Barbara. "Don't worry – from what I've seen you're a lovely girl, and I'm sure you'll be making friends in no time."
"Thanks," said Rose. "Well, I guess I'll be going too. Thanks for talking with me." She waved, then headed out the door. And she couldn't stop smiling.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A lot of people have requested that Rose meets past companions, but I had to consider those who came for the future.
BTW, my idea for the Time War is just a theory.