Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
A/N: Hmm, I promised that I'd post this earlier and I really meant to but this ended up being only like 20 minutes earlier than the last posts. I probably need to work on that. I look at this chapter as more of an interlude than anything really. The first half of it is giving more of an insight into the thoughts of the characters. The real fun begins next chapter.
Enjoy!
The Doctor shivered, not from the temperature but from the look in his older regenerations eyes. He looked desperate to see Rose. How long had he been away from her? What happened to cause that? The look of loneliness and longing in his eyes broke his hearts. Rose was gone, she had to be. Had she left him? Had something happened to her? He closed his eyes from that train of thought. He needed to focus on the time he had with her now. He cherished every moment spent with her; he would give a regeneration just to see her smile. What cruelty in the universe took her from him? He couldn't even imagine the pain that caused. The thought of being without her made him wish he wouldn't regenerate. It made him wish he could just stay with her. Surely, after all he's done for the universe, he deserved that much. He sighed and leaned his head on the wall of the TARDIS. He could only hope that they parted on good terms if they couldn't have their forever.
Rose placed both hands calmingly against the TARDIS wall. Love.
My Wolf?
Rose steeled herself to ask the question that's been on her mind since her encounter with the Doctor's next regeneration.
What if this doesn't work?
I do not understand where your doubt comes from, my Wolf.
The Doctor, the next one, he didn't look like he was used to seeing me. Why?
The TARDIS let out the mental equivalent of a sigh. He may be part of a future that will happen should we fail to keep the shadows away. Or, he could possibly have been acting. He may have just been parted from you for a bit for some unknown reason. As much as you think I do, I do not have all the answers my Wolf.
So this could all be for nothing? Rose sighed, hating the feeling of helplessness.
Time is never certain. It can twist and turn and rise and fall but you can never choose your path amongst it, only the passing of it will tell. Rose smiled softly at the TARDIS's words. Where would she be now without this magnificent time ship? London, early 21stcentury. Rose rolled her eyes.
I didn't mean literally. The TARDIS replied with the equivalent of sticking her tongue out. The distinct sound of someone clearing their throat rang out around her. Rose looked up at the white, curly haired man who stood before her in a suit with a cape.
"Doctor?" Rose asked. He sent her a small smile.
"Hello." He said as greeting.
"The past I take it?" Rose questioned. The Doctor nodded shortly.
"The third." He answered. Rose nodded in contemplation.
"Not giving me much of a break I see." Rose teased.
"I'm afraid not, my dear." The Doctor agreed. Rose stood up to go tell the Doctor of her discovery when the third Doctor held out a hand to stop her. "You need rest, begin tomorrow." She nodded.
"I'll see you then, Doctor." He gave her a single bow of his head before fading away.
My Wolf…
I know, I know. Rose closed her eyes as the onslaught of pain began, her mind focusing solely on what her next visit with the Doctor will be like.
Mickey was worried in all aspects of the word. There was something going on with Rose. She didn't seem herself lately; she looked sicker, more alert, sleep deprived, and downright frightened. Whatever was happening with her, she seemed to want to work through on her own. There was no way he was going to let that happen. Rose was still his best mate and if something was going on with her, then something was going on with him. Whatever it was, the TARDIS definitely had something to do with it. At first, Mickey thought it was Reinette. Now, he wasn't so sure. She didn't seem entirely bothered by the French girl's presence. It has something to do with the shadow things too. He couldn't piece together everything but he had a relative idea of what was going on. Nevertheless, he was determined to help his mate in any way he could. If that meant waiting until he could talk to her alone, then so be it. He rested his head against the pillows on his bed; it was going to be a long night.
Reinette had slowly begun to realize what the Doctor had said about his past lives was true. Some part of them, no matter how distant it was, was him. And in the game of winning the Doctor's hearts, she was losing severely to Rose right now. What did that girl have that she didn't? Reinette sighed frustrated. She had to work harder to achieve her goal. She couldn't win the Doctor's affection if she failed to overcome her biggest competitor. She may be lacking in the department of the older or younger versions of the Doctor but she could definitely do something about the one she was with right now. He seemed more distanced from Rose than the others. She just needed to use that to distance Rose from him. He didn't seem the type to take being ignored by Rose too well. She'd just need to keep him occupied and figure a way to keep Rose away from him. Maybe something a little more primal like staking a claim could keep her away.
"Morning." Mickey greeted Rose as she walked into the console room.
"Hey, Micks!" Rose returned the greeting with a wide smile.
"Somebody's happy." Mickey commented. Rose stuck her tongue out to him.
"Any particular reason?" The Doctor asked. Rose shrugged.
"Is it a crime to be in a good mood now?" She raised a brow at him. He held his hands up in surrender.
"No, not at all." He replied. Rose looked around the console room, noticing a distinct lack of overdone ball gowns and rich perfume amongst the brilliant glow of the TARDIS.
"Where's Reinette?" She asked.
"I'm here." Reinette's voice answered as she walked into the console room wearing a sundress that was most definitely from the same century as Rose. If Rose had thought that the ball gown dresses Reinette had worn were showy, she clearly didn't remember walking around in her own century. "I thought I would blend better." Reinette answered the three unspoken questions.
"Okay," Rose drawled the 'o', "the next regeneration is the third." She directed to the Doctor. The look on the Doctor's face was anything but joy at the news. "Not a particular favorite?" She guessed.
"He's just so-"
"Pompous." Mickey supplied.
"Charming." Rose added.
"Thick." Mickey commented.
"Childish." Rose supplemented.
"Loud." Mickey provided.
"Crazy." Rose delivered. The Doctor sent a glare to both.
"I was going to say talkative." He sniffed.
"This other you, what is he like?" Reinette asked.
"He's older and can be a bit of a grouch." The Doctor replied.
"I don't know why you're saying that," Rose began, "he seemed quite polite to me." The Doctor looked to her like she'd dribbled on her shirt.
"But that's you," he continued, "he's not been known to be the most pleasant around other regenerations." Rose and Mickey laughed at his comment.
"You didn't seem too nice to yourself either." Mickey contradicted.
"You were acting like a child." Rose giggled. The Doctor pouted.
"I think you were quite mature." Reinette said. The Doctor smirked.
"See, he was the immature one." The Doctor spoke proudly. Rose rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, just start the sequence. The TARDIS has been so kind to put the coordinates in already." The Doctor looked up at Rose in surprise that she knew that. Rose looked to the very visible monitor with coordinates dashed across the screen causing the Doctor to smile sheepishly.
"Hmmm," the Doctor looked to the coordinates, "we're going to UNIT."
"UNIT?" Mickey questioned. The Doctor nodded. At the questioning looks he elaborated.
"It's a top secret government program used to research and aid with aliens." Rose smirked.
"I suppose you helped them with that then, yeah?" He returned Rose's smile as the TARDIS landed with a jolt.
"What can I say, I couldn't resist." Rose laughed heartily and sprang to the door.
"What's this then?" A deep voice asked. Rose smiled to the man she had saw last night as she opened the door.
"Ah, Doctor, pleasant surprise." She said.
"Yes, fine surprise indeed." The tenth Doctor said as he stood behind Rose.
"Will you two just move out the way?" Mickey asked, pushing his way through Rose and the Doctor. Reinette wrapped her arm around the Doctor's.
"What are you doing here?" The third Doctor questioned, confusion evident on his face.
"Who's this, Doctor?" The man to his right asked.
"I'm afraid that's another me, Brigadier." The Brigadier's eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't understand." He asked.
"Neither do I." The third Doctor said. "Why are you here?" The tenth Doctor walked fully out of the TARDIS with Reinette on his arm and Rose right behind them.
"We've got a bit of a situation, nothing to get too worked up about." He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "We just might need a little cooperation."
"Cooperation with what, exactly?" The third Doctor question. The tenth Doctor's eyes caught the time rotor outside of the TARDIS.
"Is that the time rotor?" Rose inquired.
"Oh, I haven't seen the time rotor like this in years." He detached himself from Reinette and ran up to the rotor with excitement shining in his two brown orbs.
"Get your hands off that." The third Doctor admonished, moving towards his future regeneration. The tenth Doctor pulled the rotor closer to his chest.
"I'm not going to damage it, only trying to get a look." He replied. Rose rolled her eyes at them and looked towards the Brigadier who looked absolutely lost.
"Hello, my name is Rose." She held out her hand to the Brigadier. He shook her hand, still not fully paying attention. "This is Mickey and Reinette." She introduced.
"Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart." He greeted.
"I apologize for his behavior," she nodded in the tenth Doctor's direction, "he can be a bit of a handful sometimes."
"I can still hear you." The tenth Doctor called over the complaints of his younger regeneration.
"You were meant to." Rose teased. She looked back to the Brigadier. "We shouldn't be bothering you for more than a minute." She promised. "We just need the Doctor's help for a mo before we can solve something." He nodded.
"And that is the Doctor, yes?" He said, pointing to the tenth Doctor who was pouting at his younger self at the moment. Rose nodded.
"Most people mature with age but the clock seems to be working backwards with him." The Brigadier laughed enthusiastically. Both Doctor's stopped their arguing for a moment to send Rose a look of superiority.
"Rose has got a point there, boss." Mickey added. Rose smirked to him.
"Told ya." The tenth Doctor stuck out his bottom lip and looked to Reinette.
"I'm not immature, am I?" Reinette shook her head.
"You are a lord." She said sternly. Rose, Mickey, the third Doctor, and the Brigadier all burst into laughter. The tenth Doctor pulled the time rotor out of the third Doctor's hands while he was distracted with laughing. The third Doctor immediately stopped and went to pull the time rotor out of his future self's hands. He missed the whole of it, hitting only a wire instead. That seemed to activate something causing both the third Doctor and the tenth Doctor to disappear in a flash with the time rotor. "What happened?" Reinette questioned, her eyes wide. The other three looked to where the Doctors had been standing previously. Rose felt the prodding of the TARDIS.
"Sent back in time." She murmured allowed the words of the TARDIS. The Brigadier looked to her.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" He asked.
"They were messing with the time rotor," Rose elaborated, "they may have been sent to a direction in time."
"Well look at what you did now." The third Doctor stated petulantly.
"Me?" The tenth Doctor questioned incredulously. "That was your fault!"
"Arguing isn't going to make much of a difference." The third Doctor said moodily. He looked around the deserted area they found themselves in. It was without a doubt Earth, albeit a slightly more apocalyptic looking Earth.
"When is this?" The tenth Doctor was on the same track as his previous regeneration. "This looks like the Earth has been destroyed by something."
"My thoughts exactly." The third Doctor mumbled. "But by what?"
"Maybe we should ask them…" the tenth Doctor's voice trailed as he pointed to the figures sprinting towards them in the distance.
A/N: Would you look at that, it's the third Doctor! He's pretty high up there on my list of favorite Doctors. He's not my absolute favorite but definitely up there. I thought he would be the perfect Doctor to use to accomplish what I wish to accomplish in the next few chapters. He's definitely made it a whole lot easier than it would have been with other Doctors. Let me know what you thought of this interlude/chapter. Thanks for reading! Also, last chapter this story passed over 10,000 views which is awesome! Thank you guys so much for that!