This interlude includes events from Father's Day. I figured Rose would still want to be there with her father when he died, but I refuse to believe that she would make the same mistake twice. Hopefully, this will make up for some of the sweeter moments that were passed over by skipping the episode. And, as always, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who are following, favoriting and reviewing this story.
oOoOo
The market district trips had taken longer than expected. The Doctor had tried to explain that he was looking for something in particular, and had to find the right person to specially make it. Rose hadn't believed him, but she'd let it go. He knew she assumed he was just trying to put off making the trip to see her father, but in reality, that was just a happy bonus.
"Where's this come from, all of a sudden?" he'd asked.
"All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or something, then never mind," she'd said, looking away hurriedly. "We'll just leave it."
"No, I can do anything," he'd replied, which wasn't entirely true, but he was willing to stretch the definition for her. "I'm just more worried about you."
She'd been insistent, though, so when he finally had his hands on what he wanted, he'd taken her to her parents wedding. They both smiled when her father got her mother's name wrong. They'd bundled back into the TARDIS before her parents could spot them. That's where Rose had told him about the day her father died, and the way he'd died alone. So close to home, but with no one there, not even the driver.
"I wanna be there," she'd said. "So he doesn't die alone."
He'd been hesitant, but he'd finally relented after a long talk about fixed events versus events in flux. For whatever reason, her father had to die that day. They couldn't save him. She had nodded with tears shining in her eyes but a determined look on her face.
"That's so weird," she'd said when they arrived. "The day my father died... I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy, it's just an ordinary day."
"The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wight," he'd told her. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah."
They'd made their way to the street where it had happened, and as they watched, she explained what had happened. The Doctor had stood by grimly, wishing he could stop this, save her from this pain, but knowing that she needed this.
"Hold me, Doctor," she'd said softly. He'd looked at her questioningly. "If you don't, I won't be able to stop myself."
He'd nodded then, and stepped behind her, gingerly wrapping his arms around her waist. She'd clung to his arms, and he'd held on tighter when the impact occurred, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek to her hair when she let out a scream. He let go of her then, telling her to go to him. The young man who had been driving had stopped when he saw that there were witnesses. The Doctor had quickly made his way to a phone booth to call emergency vehicles to the scene while Rose kneeled next to her dying father, tears streaming down her face. When the ambulance arrived, the Doctor had pulled her gently but firmly away. She had only glanced back once before they stepped around the corner to the TARDIS.
Now they were in the library. He'd held her as she wept, stroking her hair and rocking gently. He spent much of the time marveling at the strength of this young girl, to stand by and watch something so painful because she knew it had to happen.
Just like you did, said a quiet voice in his head.
No, not just like him…she hadn't caused it, and she'd only been there to make her father's last seconds less lonely. Still…something about it made him feel less alone, just as he felt Rose burrow still deeper into his hearts.
Eventually, her sobs quieted. Shortly after that, realizing that she had cried herself to sleep, he carried her to her room, placing her gently on her bed. He left, only to return a moment later with a glass of water and paracetamol. He placed these on her nightstand and looked down at her for a moment, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. He sighed and left again, retreating to the console room to distract himself with repairs.
oOoOo
Hours later, he heard her enter the console room.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, not looking up from the twisted wires he had strewn across the console.
"Better for the fact that apparently the god of hydration blessed me," she told him as she stepped next to him. He smirked. "Thank you, Doctor. For taking me, and…you know…staying with me." He glanced down at her and nodded. "I never asked, do you…did you have family?"
His hands shook as he toyed with the wires. He thought of his wife, the one he'd grown to care for deeply after being promised at an early age. Of the children that had been Loomed and that he had loved fiercely. Of Susan, dear Susan, who had meant so much to him and he had abandoned for her own good. All gone.
"I'm sorry, I'm sure that's none of my business," Rose said after a moment, looking contrite. "I shouldn't have asked."
He didn't acknowledge this at first. He couldn't. Those memories were so painful. The loss was excruciating. He kept himself from examining his past for this very reason. He didn't talk about it, ever, because it wasn't anyone else's burden, and talking about it was useless. They were all still gone, and no amount of talking about them was going to bring them back.
He glanced down when he heard her turn and begin to move away, and suddenly he wanted to talk. He wanted someone else to know…he wanted her to know. He wanted someone to be real outside his own head again.
"I did, yes," he said finally, making an effort to sound nonchalant while his eyes stayed trained on the wires he was working with. "Long time ago. I…I used to travel with my granddaughter, back when I first 'borrowed' the TARDIS."
Her eyes widened a little as she turned back and leaned on the console next to him. "What was her name?"
"Susan," he said, and coughed to clear the hoarseness that had somehow come into his voice. "She was called Susan. Although…" he frowned, then allowed himself a small smile as he added, "Her birth name was Arkytior…it means 'rose'."
"You're joking," she said, astonished.
"I'm not," he said in mock insult. Some of the sadness drained away with this. "It's her fault I started taking humans on board the TARDIS. Couple of her schoolteachers followed her home one day, and then they travelled with us for a time."
"You had her enrolled in school?" Rose asked, laughing.
"She wanted to!" he said, still bewildered by his granddaughter's decision to play human. "She wasn't very good at blending in, though. Knew too much."
"Sounds familiar," Rose said, snickering.
"Oi! Are you saying I don't blend in?" he asked, feigning outrage. Rose burst into real laughter at that. He smiled at her, finally giving up on the wires to turn around and lean against the console. "Confused the hell out of her teachers. She understood advanced physics, but couldn't tell you how many shillings were in a pound."
"How many shillings are in a pound?" Rose asked, lost.
"Twenty," he said with a grin.
"Good to know. When was all this?"
"Um…1963, or thereabouts."
"Wow," Rose breathed. He raised an eyebrow. "I knew you'd been around a while, it's just…hearing about you there, then…" He nodded. "Was she on Gallifrey…?"
"No," he said, straightening up again. "She fell in love with someone on Earth, a very long time ago in the distant future," he said with a sad little smile when Rose rolled her eyes at the timeline inconsistencies. "I don't think that she survived The Moment. Even if she did, I can't…she's happy," he said finally. "Happier than she could be with me, happier for not knowing."
He brooded for a moment over that lost girl before he felt Rose touch his arm comfortingly, and he put his hand over hers. They stood like that for a moment, before Rose said, "You know, Doctor…borrowing implies that you planned to bring the TARDIS back…ever," she commented, and he laughed, the tension from the admission draining from him.
Over the next couple of weeks, she peppered him with questions at odd moments about Susan, Ian, and Barbara. She never asked anything more personal than adventure highlights, for which he was grateful. He avoided specifics as to how Ian and Barbara had become part of the crew, as well as the nature of Susan's final departure…both memories had too much guilt attached to them. Instead, he told her about the schoolteachers finding them in the junkyard, first meeting the Daleks on Skaro, travelling with Marco Polo, and getting accidentally engaged to an Aztec. She had delighted in every story, and he had to admit, if only to himself, that it felt good to talk about some of those old adventures with someone without bitterness.
It wasn't until they were on Woman Wept that she asked about her key. They were reclining on a blanket amidst the frozen crests in the sea, looking at the stars. She had developed a habit of asking him about the stars in each new sky, enchanted by the fact that he knew almost every one she pointed to. If he was honest with himself, he would have admitted to making them up a time or two just to see the look on her face.
"So am I ever going to get my key back?" she asked during a lull in the conversation.
"Of course you are," he scoffed. "I gave it to you once…it's yours. It just slipped my mind."
"Doctor," she said, looking at him pointedly. "Nothing just 'slips your mind'."
He sat up, making a show of checking his pockets. She was right, of course. He'd spent a lot of time and thought on this. But he had been uncertain about giving it to her, arguing with himself whenever he thought about it. It was too much. It…revealed too much. But then, he always seemed to reveal more than he intended where Rose was concerned.
He finally sighed, pulling the chain out of his inside pocket and holding it up for her. It gleamed in the moonlight.
"Special alloy," he told her. "Brighter than platinum, stronger than titanium. It'll never rust, never tarnish, and the clasp can only be opened or closed with a sonic device. No one is going to take that off you without your permission without taking your head off."
She sat up as well, taking it from him and examining it. The key was already on it, along with…
"The TARDIS?" she asked, fingering the charm. It was made of the same metal and a glimmering blue stone, exactly the shade of his ship. He nodded, watching her. "Is this what you were looking around all those different market districts for?" He nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Doctor," she said softly before throwing her arms around his neck. He didn't even have a chance to hug her back before she sprang away, asking him to help her put it on. He took it again, opening the clasp with his sonic screwdriver while she turned her back to him and held her hair up. He slipped it around her neck, his fingers lingering for just a second on her skin as he closed the clasp again.
She turned around again, asking for his opinion. He studied her, then swallowed hard before telling her the truth.
"You look beautiful, Rose."