Time stands still in the TARDIS. The Doctor is frustrated that he can't move. The aliens aren't responding.
"Not enough energy collected," reports his human double from beside the console, where he's been monitoring the system they've rigged together.
"What do you think this is? I've never seen anything like it."
"They want us for something."
"Pleasant thought." The Doctor slides out from beneath the grating, where he'd been trying to force controls to do his bidding without success.
"Did it work?" Rose's voice brings their heads around.
"Not yet," her husband says.
"Did you say that they want us for something? Who wants us for something?"
"I was speculating, Rose. Conjecturing, if you will."
"You mean aliens. Why is it always aliens?" she demands.
The two Doctors open their mouths and then stop at the same time. It's always aliens because that's how it is, but they both know she would not be happy with that answer.
"Gelth and Daleks and Cybermen," she says, more to herself than to them.
"Don't forget the Sycorax," the Doctor reminds her.
She glares at him.
"Er, sorry."
"Rose, this is a mere setback. We'll take care of this and be home before you know it."
Rose stares at her husband. "We can't move. The TARDIS is stuck here. The TARDIS."
"Yes, well, we'll be unstuck any moment."
Rose turns to the Doctor. He is forced to shrug. "We may as well sit back. I don't think we'll be going anywhere any time soon."
The Doctor has been in many strange situations in his life. Rose Tyler is back on his TARDIS, but with a husband and coworkers in tow. If he sat around for a year, he could not have dreamed up this scenario. Once again, he ponders the universe that likes to cause him pain.
Although, it's not as painful as it was. He will always love Rose, will always regret losing her. Seeing her with people who care about her, knowing that she still has Jackie, well, that's not so bad.
Watching the product of a biological meta-crisis, that's something else. His family is long gone. This is the closest he's come to another Time Lord since he watched the Master die on the Valiant. Not that he considers that one family, or a full-fledged Time Lord. He's half human. Half Donna.
The pain of losing Donna is greater than the pain of losing Rose. Rose is still herself, still retains her memories of him. He may have treated her poorly at the end, but her experiences with him made her life better, and she knows it. He knows it.
Donna is lost to him, and the unfairness of that will never leave him. Even if he did it to save her life, it's still so unfair. She was brilliant, and now she's gone.
He wishes he had kept traveling, and not stopped at Torchwood when these disturbances first began. He might have avoided Tony Tyler entirely, might not have been put in this position.
Oh, well. What fun would life be, without these unexpected twists and turns?
The humans have scattered. Tony was tired, and Rose sent him to a bedroom to take a nap. Riley and Simon soon followed. Rose and...that one left the console room some time ago. He doesn't know if it was to find a place to sleep or go play a video game in the library. He leaves them all alone, knowing from experience that sleep-deprived humans are rubbish.
He also understands that pregnant females require more sleep. The notion of Rose with a child makes him smile. If he ever doubted that he did the right thing, he's sure of it now.
Rose awakens slowly. The hum of the TARDIS is familiar and comforting and also incredibly alien. Her husband is still sleeping beside her. It's something that never would have happened before, Rose and the Doctor sleeping in the same bed in the TARDIS. The thought makes her smile.
Rose stretches a bit and brings the blanket up to cover her legs. She doesn't move any more for fear of waking him. Tony is asleep in the next room. She doesn't think about how she knows that, only that she does. The TARDIS is telepathic, she recalls, and she doesn't fight the knowledge it gives her.
She knows that somewhere on this ship, on some dimension, waiting for her, is the room she used to inhabit when they were traveling together. She can picture it in her mind: pink walls, hot pink bedspread, dressing table littered with cosmetics and costume jewelry. Her clothes are still there, hoodies and trainers and jeans. Pictures of their travels, souvenirs and all the odds and ends she liked to keep with her.
They're memories of a lifetime ago and more, belonging to a girl who no longer exists. If she wanted to, she could find that room right now.
She knows her husband could have brought them to that room last night.
Neither of them wanted that. It's a time long gone, and they've moved beyond it, so far beyond it that to try and go back would defeat their entire life together. The Doctor she traveled with is not the one she married, and even now, trying to make sense of that gives her a headache.
The TARDIS seems to hum a little louder, and Rose looks up. Her husband is leaning up on one elbow.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I was just thinking."
"About what?" He lies back down and she cuddles next to him, realizing that she was cold only when confronted with the heat of his body.
"It's weird, isn't it, being here? Being here again. Like everything's gone all wrong."
"It has gone all wrong," he points out. "We're stuck here and none of us have got a clue. That is very, very wrong."
"What are we going to do?" she whispers. "We've faced monsters and aliens and demons...none of that was like this. We were pulled across to this world and we weren't even trying to come here."
"Well, we were at first," he points out fairly. "But only because your brother was here. I wasn't trying to get back here. Were you?" he asks after a beat.
She moves closer to him, breathing in his scent and closing her eyes. "No. But here we are, yeah? On the TARDIS."
"Rose, we weren't looking for him. But now that he's here he can help us. This universe stands to lose as much as ours if these breaches or rifts aren't closed up."
"I don't want to hurt him. I don't want us to get hurt."
"How can we hurt him? We did what he wanted, didn't we? He pulled our strings and we danced his tune."
"Stop it, love. That's not what it was."
"It was."
"You promised you'd stop that. Don't bait him and hurt him."
"I'll try to stop," he says, not really meaning it.
She stretches up to kiss him. It's a bit hard to do in the room's darkness, but she aims as best she can and kisses his cheek. He moves his head to reach her lips.
"I love you," she whispers.
"Love you too, Rose Tyler."
They talk in whispers for a while longer, serious things and frightening things and silly nonsense, and Rose eventually falls back asleep.
He wishes he could, but he doesn't.
He was the Doctor, once, on this ship, traveling through time and space with just a teenage girl for a companion. Such a long, long time ago. And then they landed on Earth, in London, so she could go to school. The beginning of the end, he thinks now. They brought on new companions, and discovered people and places, and lost and gained companions.
He lost that girl, his Susan, lost her to another man. Lost and found more companions. Lost his friends and family. Lost his planet. Found Rose. Lost Rose. Found her again, at the last. Got to keep her, this time.
He's not an idiot, even if he is human. He has Rose because she chose him in this human form, over the Doctor who was and still is a proper Time Lord.
There is an irony in life that he doesn't always understand, but he can appreciate.
This was his TARDIS. He remembers flying it, living in it, repairing it. He regenerated here, twice. Once after the Time War, once after he drew the time vortex from Rose to save her life. Wandering the halls, he feels the familiarity of the TARDIS. The humming speaks to him, reaches his mind in a way that has been empty for a long time now.
And even though it was his ship, he feels like a stranger, trespassing in someone else's home.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Turning, he sees the Doctor, the proper Doctor, leaning against a wall, arms crossed. He's still wearing the brown suit, although his tie is gone and the jacket unbuttoned.
"I'm human but I don't sleep the night away." He stops a few feet away and shoves his hands in his pockets. "What are you up to?"
"Jack and I were playing cards for a bit. He got a call from one of his team."
"How are they doing?"
"Things are under control."
"That's good."
The Doctor inclines his head. "Want to sit?"
They go to the observatory. In relative space it's easy to sit under the stars, a telescope at your side. It's dark but for the stars above. It's very quiet there, and crickets chirp off in the distance.
"I haven't looked at the stars for a long time," he says without thinking. "Not these stars."
"Are they different? Back on your world?"
"Some of them. You get used to it, after a bit. Rose says it was impossible at first, to remember events that hadn't happened or turned out differently."
"We're still stuck here. I don't know what's causing it."
"As holidays go, I've had better. What do you think it is?"
"I don't know." And that is a sobering admission for the Doctor to make. "I've got all these people on board, and I have no idea what I'm facing."
"It's night now. In the morning we'll be able to see outside and take action."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
The Doctor eyes him through the darkness. "You used to taking action? Are you working for Torchwood?"
"I am." Rose's Doctor leans back. They're sitting on the ground and he rests on his elbows, legs kicked out carelessly in front of him. "It's a challenge. Not a bad thing to do, if you have to. More fun than UNIT, I'll give it that."
The Doctor smiles faintly. "Good old UNIT. Did you find a fancy car to drive around in?"
He's surprised into laughter. "No. Haven't thought of Bessie in a while."
"She was a good car, wasn't she?" The Doctor is sitting up, back straight. His hands are loosely clasped in his lap. "Everything comes to an end, doesn't it?"
"Some things are meant to."
"What's it like, being human?"
"You've been human before."
"That doesn't count. I didn't know I'd been anything else before."
"It is a bit different," he allows. "It's hard, sometimes, watching seconds tick away, counting down to the end."
The Doctor clears his throat uncomfortably.
"It wasn't your fault. So you sent all your regeneration energy into that hand, and Donna touched it. I wouldn't be here at all if it hadn't happened."
"Yes. Still."
"It's not always fun and it's not always easy. But it is sometimes. Don't worry about me. Don't pity me, certainly." He pauses. "Where is she? What happened to her?"
The Doctor sighs and looks up at the stars. "There'd never been a human-Time Lord biological meta-crisis. Not before, not since."
He is very still, looking up at the same stars. "Did she live?" he asks quietly.
"Yes! She lived. She lives still."
"But she doesn't remember, does she? It would have killed her."
"I did what I could. She didn't want me to." The Doctor's voice is dangerously close to cracking, and he stops to clear his throat. "I couldn't watch her die."
"Where is she?"
"In Chiswick, with her mother and Wilf. Living out her life, I hope."
Rose's Doctor sighs. "I'd suspected that's what happened. She was brilliant, wasn't she? It's not fair, how things turned out."
"No. It wasn't. But she's alive."
"Sometimes there's more to life than being alive."
The Doctor looks down at his hands. "I did what I had to."
"There's more to life than that, too."
Is it awkward for them, sharing the same memories and experiences, being able to sense what the other is thinking and feeling?
It is and it isn't, because they both want the same things, and they both know that they're not meant to have everything they want. They don't mention Rose, because there's nothing more to say. Choices were made and consequences were lived with, and it's a little late now to go changing things around.
"So when did you start going by John Smith?"
"I'm human. Seemed the thing to do. Plus, turns out when you have to do paperwork for a new job, you need documents and..stuff. All this stuff you have to file away and carry in your wallet and show to people. Times have changed since we worked for UNIT, way back when. But I'm still the Doctor. Except for Tony. He didn't like going in for checkups, and if you even said the word doctor he'd have panic attacks. Strange little boy. Jackie for a mum, well, not his fault, is it? So I let him call me John."
"He's a good kid. Pete must be a good influence."
"He is. Jackie's a good mum, to be honest."
The Doctor raises his eyebrows, conveying astonishment and disbelief.
Rose's husband squirms a bit. "She is. Don't tell anyone I said so. But she is."
The Doctor looks up at the sky. "I'm not surprised. She did a good job with Rose, didn't she?"
Rose's husband stands up. "Let's go break away from whatever's holding us here. I'm ready to go fix the universe."
This is easier said than done. When Rose joins them in the console room some time later, rested and cleaned up, they're still tinkering with the TARDIS' controls.
"How's it going?" Rose asks.
"It's not," the Doctor says, trying to force some mechanical parts to do his bidding near the floor.
"Are we still trapped?"
"Trapped or stuck," her husband says, "depending on your point of view."
"I told you," the Doctor says, "'stuck' sounds purely incidental, like we happened upon a place and couldn't move. 'Trapped' implies a sinister connection."
"Which one are we using?" Rose can't help asking, trying not to grin.
"Trapped," her husband says definitely, while the Doctor states, "Stuck. But only for a moment."
"As you also said a few times before. And yet we're still here, trapped and stuck and not moving."
He's barely finished talking when the TARDIS lurches to the side.
"They've released us!" the Doctor says, running to the monitor.
"You've made that pronouncement five times before so far," Rose's Doctor murmurs.
"Shut up and come over here. Look at this."
Rose waits patiently while they both slide their glasses onto their noses. Identical looks of intense concentration appear on their faces.
"They've released us," Rose's Doctor confirms.
"Yes, but why?" the Doctor demands.
Jack and Simon appear, neck and neck, in the console room.
"Did you feel that?" Jack demands. "They've done something."
"Let's go." Simon gestures to Rose and her Doctor. "Let's take care of this."
"Stay here!" Rose tells Tony, who's followed with Riley. "Do not come out!"
The tone of her voice is absolute. Tony doesn't argue with her this time.
"Hit them with their energy," Rose's Doctor says. "If they're out there it may buy us some time."
"When did you start talking like an action hero from a B movie?" But the Doctor activates the energy he's been conserving.
"Got them!" He sends a blast out, and then the TARDIS doors open.
"Here we go!" Jack calls, and heads out with his gun drawn.
"No guns!" the Doctor shouts after him. "Honestly, you humans just don't listen!"
Riley and Simon have their guns drawn, too.
"No offense, Doctor," Riley tells him, "but it's better safe than dead."
The spaceship has rocketed back up in the air. It hangs there a moment before slowing turning around and moving upwards. They watch as it disappears through the clouds.
"Just like that?" Rose's Doctor sounds disappointed.
"It's gone!" Jack yells.
"There's a perimeter here," Riley calls. "Where they were holding us in. Look, it's all around."
"What caused it?" Simon starts to walk around the circle.
"This was a massive ship," Riley says in admiration. "Think of the firepower."
"Think of where it got to," Rose's husband says slowly. "Where were they heading?"
"It could be another part of Cardiff," Jack says. "Or London."
"It might be another world entirely. This universe or yours." The Doctor frowns. "We need to follow them. Rose, get Tony. I think I can get you all back home and close the breaches before those aliens return."
"What? We're not leaving - not until we know everything is safe." Simon shoulders his weapon. "If we go home we may only get pulled back - now that Tony's clean we don't know what's causing this."
"I've seen what the problem is. I can correct it now. You don't have to be here."
"No, we don't. But since we are here, we'll help you. That way we'll avoid worrying about what's going on over here."
"Simon is right," Rose's Doctor says decisively. He meets the Doctor's gaze. "Don't make this about yourself. We're here and you can use our help. Now that we're here we'll do what we can."
"You wanted her to go home! Now I'm offering you the chance and you won't take it?"
"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do. Don't tell me what's the best thing for my wife." He emphasizes the last two words. "I know what stands to happen if we head home on our merry way and disaster strikes here. You may not close the breaches in time. Something else may come through. You may die and have regeneration sickness and be picked off by an angry alien. We stay."
"This is not about me," Rose says. "Or Tony. He's safe in the TARDIS, yeah? So let's take care of this and get it done."
"Agreed," her husband says briskly, and moves off to the perimeter. Simon and Riley follow, each pulling out different pieces of equipment.
Jack stands there, hesitating. This is his Rose and his Doctor, and they shouldn't be arguing. "Guys, look, we're here, like the Doctor said. We can do this together and heal the breaches."
"It may get incredibly dangerous."
"When has that ever stopped us?" Rose demands. "Doctor, what's come over you? We may not have time to argue over this."
Jack's cell phone rings, and he reaches for it. Glancing at their faces, he walks away.
"Talk to me Gwen, what's going on?"
"Rose, you're pregnant. You need to get back home safely."
"Don't you make this about me!" she says again.
"You've been saying all along that you need to get your brother home. Are you changing your mind now? If your baby's safety isn't important, what about his?" The Doctor can't quite stop the words from coming out of his mouth, but at the same time there is a rising anger in him that he can't control. It's anger at himself, for putting Rose in this situation in the first place, back on the beach with his double. And anger at Rose and that double, for coming here and putting themselves in danger. And for being forced to see what he's given up, what he gave up on that beach, so they could have a chance at a life together.
"You made it about yourself the moment you came through knowing you were having a baby. You're putting us all in greater danger because of the need to protect you."
"How dare you," Rose breathes. "Protect me. Protect me? If anyone can protect themselves, it's me."
"How dare I what? Point out how dangerous this may become? You're all humans - I have a chance at doing what's needed and surviving."
She takes a deep, deep breath. She can see her husband, obviously monitoring the two of them but working at the same time. How she loves that man.
She loves this one, too, standing in front of her in brown pinstripes and a look of great upset on his face. She knows why he's so upset with her, knows that he must be feeling things about her return that he can't admit to now. But she also knows that he's out of line, and an unreasonable anger has been building within her.
Rose did not intend to have this conversation with the Doctor. It's hardly the time or the place. "You are an arrogant, pompous Time Lord," she hears herself say. They are words her husband has used hundreds of times, but she's horrified to hear them come out of her mouth. At the same time, it's a relief to finally say them. She could almost laugh at the look of astonishment on his face.
"I understand why you did it. I get it. It doesn't mean that I can forget it. You took away my right to choose for myself. You think it's your job to save the universe, and it's not."
That accusation stings. "You know that's not what I think. I'm the only one who can fix things sometimes. That's all."
"That's not all. How can you say that's all? We walked into places not knowing what was happening. We never saw what could happen. Queen Victoria created Torchwood because of us!" She shakes her head. "Maybe I'd have gotten tired of traveling with you. I never got the chance to decide on my own."
He looks away. "I saw what the future would be like if you stayed with me. It was better this way."
"I saw what the future would be like, too! Better? For who? Not me! Not him!"
"You're human! He's human! He's human and he's me and he was the best chance you had to be happy. He could give you what I couldn't. You deserved to be happy, Rose."
"I deserved to choose for myself. If I wanted to stay with you, I should have been able to. If I wanted to leave I should have left. You played with our lives like we were paper dolls."
"Rose..."
"It worked. He and I made it worked. It wasn't easy and it wasn't fun but we did it. Do you know why I even bothered? Because he loved me. He told me that he loved me, and that's how I knew that he wasn't you. Because you never loved me, did you? A man who loved me would never have left me behind."
The anger on his face isn't new to her. She's just never seen it directed at her before. He grabs her arms, pulls her up on her toes.
"I'm not a man, Rose! I never was!"
Before Rose can manage to reply, a sharp crack of sound is heard. They jerk around, the Doctor's hands frozen on her arms.
Rose's Doctor, starting to walk towards them to put a stop to their argument and remove the Doctor's hands from Rose, halts in his tracks. The others have frozen in place.
Out of the beam of energy emerge two small figures, one slightly taller than the other. They walk forward in perfect unison.
Rose's heart skips a beat. "No," she whispers.
The figures come closer. As if in a dream, Rose backs away from the Doctor. His hands fall to his sides. Rose moves slowly, feeling like she's underwater. She quickens her pace the closer she gets.
Her husband, by sharp contrast, simply falls to his knees.
Looking at him, the Doctor frowns in confusion. The look on his face is one of sheer despair, utter helplessness. What is causing that look?
The two small figures come closer and turn into two small humans. They run to Rose, who kneels down on the ground and gathers them in an embrace.
"Mummy!"
