Well, sorry about having such a long AN last chapter, I was really in the Christmas spirit. Gives you some insight into Aussie Christmas time, doesn't it? BBQs and beaches, that's us… well, me and mine, anyway. People outside Sydney may not do the same… and yes, we do have normal Christmas carols and songs. I personally like White Christmas. We're very accepting of EVERYTHING down here. Kind of ironic that I sing it almost every day, though, because my one experience with snow was around my birthday about two years ago. It should be 'I'm dreaming of a white birthday, just like the one I used to know.'
Well, for anyone who thinks it doesn't snow in Australia, let me just say YOU'RE wrong! You just have to know where to look. Just doesn't snow at Christmas, coz its summer and all.
Oh! Hey! I thought of an interesting and fun layout for this chapter. Brace yourselves people, coz I'm gonna give some answers. (but it's all gonna make you think: what the heck is she smoking? Interestingly enough, I don't smoke, and I do a minimal amount of drinking, so this is all just my demented mind)
The Doctor didn't particularly want to knock on the big wooden front door that was in front of him and be met with either the face of Mickey Smith or his girlfriend, but he really had no choice. He hadn't really wanted to throw an icy bucket of water over Jackie while she was sleeping just because Pete said it was the only way he could wake her up so early, either (well, actually, he had wanted to do that one, and he would give anything for another bucket of icy water to throw over whoever answered the door).
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Rose found the note from The Doctor and realised that he probably finally missed his TARDIS. She went out to find him and the TARDIS; it had to be somewhere near her parent's mansion, after all. She was met at the front door by Sim. She wanted to get The Doctor back, now completely sure of who she was going to choose, but invited him up anyway. They had to have some kind of talk before she just disappeared.
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"You're not… you're not really here." Mickey stood shaking in the doorway before he realised that to get rid of his vision of The Doctor, he could just shut the door. He was dismayed when he found that he couldn't close it and so The Doctor on his front doorstep had to be real.
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"There's something I have to tell you." Rose took a deep breath and was about to explain when Sim interrupted her.
"There's something important I have to tell you."
"Sim, I was going to say that-"
"I think what I have to say is infinitely more important than the revelation that you're finally going to choose The Doctor."
Rose could only stand and blink at Sim in confusion. What was he getting at?
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"You've met Sim, then?"
"Yes and I need to-"
"You've actually SEEN Sim, then?"
"I really don't understand why you seem so shocked that I-"
"You talked to Sim and Rose was-"
"Stop interrupting me, would you! I don't know why you're so surprised that Rose would actually let me meet Sim, but questioning me over and over is not doing anything for my patience."
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"You're kidding me, right Sim? Don't tell me things like that. I don't think I can take it right now."
"I am not kidding you and I think that it is now or never. Something is going on, Rose, and I've only just figured out what it is. I should have seen it before. I should have known it from the start, so why haven't I?"
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"Rose was going to move in with him? How is that even possible?"
The Doctor was beginning to get agitated.
"Because she's an adult and perfectly capable of making her own choices without consulting you."
"That's not what I meant." The Doctor brushed off Mickey's comment, not wanting to drag this conversation into a meaningless argument when he just wanted to get the information and get back to Rose.
"Well, to get to my point. I have a problem with Sim being around. Rose has a choice to make between myself and Sim, and personally, I want her to choose me."
Mickey was staring disbelievingly at The Doctor, and he reached out a finger to poke him in the shoulder.
"Oi! What was that for?" The Doctor complained.
"You're really here and you're really real, aren't you?" Mickey asked.
"There's only one way to find out if you're not seeing things, ask your girlfriend to confirm it all for you."
"No, I don't want to freak her out right now, so I'm going with the assumption that you are real."
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Rose was sitting on her couch, her head in her hands.
"You see, this is completely not possible. Don't tell me things like that. I need to… I feel insane enough already Sim. Please don't tell me that I am crazier than I originally thought."
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"So, you've really seen Sim?"
"Yes already." The Doctor growled through gritted teeth. "I even had a fight with him yesterday. Gave him a good jab in the face."
"Well Doctor…" Mickey started, leaning on the doorframe and looking concerned. "I think it is safe to say that I have no idea what's going on."
"All right, we've known that from the beginning. Just tell me what you know about Sim and I'll be on my way to claim my Rose."
"That's just the thing, Doctor. When I met Sim… I didn't meet him. There was no Sim. I just saw Rose talking to no one."
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"You have to believe it. Look at me, I'm not real, and I suggest you find The Doctor."
"How can you not be real? I can touch you. You can touch…"
"The door?"
"Well…"
"The remote?"
"You never wanted to change the channel."
"Rose, I'm not really here, just like The Doctor wasn't really here before."
"But… but… I've never met you before, Sim. The first time I met anyone like you was that day in my office. You're not like The Doctor."
"I don't know about that…"
"But there's something wrong here. Maybe I am completely nuts. I should have gone to that institution when my mother suggested it. I have schizophrenia."
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"Did you ever see Rose talking to me?"
"No. I would remember if I saw you."
"No, I wasn't here. Rose had… an… imaginary version of me."
"Well, if she knew you weren't real then why would she… oh…" There was silence as both men considered what they had just shared. "Why would she know that you weren't real, but be completely sure that Sim is?"
"No, that's not what I'm worried about, Mickey-boy. Why can I see the guy if he was never there to begin with? Why could he see the vision of me when I wasn't here?"
Mickey visibly shuddered. "There's something freaky going on here."
"And I think that, whatever Jackie says, Rose is most definitely not mad."
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"You are not real. I have been talking to some random, not real person and I look like I am completely bonkers to anyone who looks at me-" She took a few steadying breaths. "Oh my gosh, that's why Mickey hasn't come to see me any more, he thinks I've gone completely off the deep end."
"Maybe…" Sim trailed off thoughtfully.
"But what about… what about The Doctor. Is he real, then? He could see you and touch you… Oh, maybe he was just going along with my little made-up world."
"No." Sim told her forcefully. "I had started to think that maybe I wasn't real for a while before The Doctor came back, and when he came… he could see me, touch me. He hit me and made me bleed. He can see me, too. Which is why I'm completely convinced that you are not out of your mind, Rose."
"Then what's going on?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "I don't know anything because up until last night I was completely convinced that I was real."
All right, I don't think there was ever a more confusing chapter in the history of my confusing chapters. Took me forever to put all of this confusing stuff together, and if anyone has any idea of what might be going on, please share. I haven't followed this thought all the way through. Hehe. Although if you check in earlier chapters or Without You by my Side, you might catch a couple of the clues that I left around. Check out my reviews coz some people were deducting throughout.
It's funny to think that at the end of chapter 14 I said that I'd need a new chapter. Guess things are just funny that way, never expected to still be going. At least there's an end in sight. :)
Ooooh. By the way, I have 6000 hits now. It's much more fun to count my numerous hits than my dwindling amount of reviews for whatever reason.
Well, keep reading, keep reviewing. Luv ya all.
Mikkifavo