CHAPTER 49
I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this. I also mean nothing but complete respect to all of the actors portrayed in this chapter because I absolutely adore them all.
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THE DOCTOR AND ROSE GO TO A DOCTOR WHO CONVENTION
"Can't this car move any faster, Eliza?" The Doctor complained for what to Rose seemed to have been the hundredth time that day.
"Doctor, leave her alone," Rose said with a sigh.
"This car is going entirely too slow though. Bessie would have already had us there by now. I modified her engine personally so that she could go at least 300 miles an hour. If I had known that this car was that slow, I would have done the same thing to it," The Doctor complained.
Eliza gave the Doctor the evil eye as she said, "Yes, like I'd let you anywhere near my car after what you did to the lamp."
"I don't know what you mean. I improved on the lamp. Now it burns brighter and uses far less power. You can light the entire house with it," The Doctor said.
"You made it so bright that it almost burned out my retinas when I went to turn it on. I was afraid that I was going to wind up blind forever," Eliza protested.
The Doctor looked at her in surprise as he said, "How could that have happened? I'm certain that I wired it up right. Oh, of course. It wasn't my mistake at all. It's one of your human defects. I forgot all about you humans and your weak eyes. They're entirely too sensitive. That level of light would be considered far too low to see by on some planets."
"And what planets would those be, Doctor? Mercury?" Eliza said in an extremely angry voice.
"Eliza, I'm sorry. He didn't mean any harm," Rose said.
"I know he didn't. I know that he actually thought that he was being helpful. That's the only thing keeping me from killing him. I'm warning you right now though. If you touch my car, Doctor, I will slap you into next week," Eliza said.
To both women's surprise, the Doctor actually smiled for a brief moment.
"Why is he smiling? I'm being completely serious," Eliza said in disbelief.
It was Rose's turn to smile now as she sensed exactly what the Doctor was thinking through their link and said to him, "Yeah, she does sound like your mother doesn't she?"
Eliza looked mortified as she said, "Oh, please don't say that. Crys ribs me enough as it is about acting more like her mum than her sister."
"You're not so bad, mate. He could make anyone want to strangle him after just spending five minutes with him. Believe me on that," Rose said to Eliza with one of her face wide grins.
"You never get angry at him though. Not really. You're so patient with him that it's almost unreal. I don't know how you do it," Eliza said in an appreciative voice.
"I've had centuries of practice," Rose said with an enigmatic smile.
"Right. You look like you're twenty to me if you're a day," Eliza said skeptically.
"I'm 232 actually but thanks for the compliment. That's very sweet of you," Rose said happily.
"I never know whether you're being serious or not. Even if you are mad, I don't think that you're dangerous though. You're far too nice," Eliza said with a perplexed look on her face.
The Doctor laughed as he said, "Don't let her normally kind nature fool you. She's even more dangerous than I am when someone threatens the people that she cares about."
Eliza looked at Rose in surprise as Rose quickly said, "You definitely have nothing to worry about, Eliza. I promise."
"Yes, Rose already cares about you a great deal. I can tell. She was always much better at making new friends than I was though," The Doctor said.
"Really? I know dozens of old traveling companions of yours who would say otherwise," Rose pointed out to him with a smile.
"I didn't say that I couldn't make friends. It's just that I only make friends with the very best. You make friends with everyone. You even tried to befriend a Dalek once," The Doctor said.
"I didn't remember what they were then. Besides as it turned out I was right about them in the long run anyway wasn't I? Dalek Caan did help us to save the universe, remember?" Rose reminded him.
"I wasn't saying that it was a flaw, Rose. I actually love that about you how you always treat everyone exactly the same and welcome them all with a warm smile. That's one of the many things that I love about you actually," The Doctor said just before he gave her a tender kiss.
Eliza smiled as she watched them kiss and all of her anger at the man's earlier rudeness was immediately forgotten. He may have been a pompous arrogant windbag, but anyone that loved his wife that much couldn't possibly be all bad in her book.
"This is how I deal with him, Eliza. I see the side of him that no one else sees. I know him for the good man that he really is deep down," Rose finally said after they finally stopped kissing.
"She always sees the best in everyone, Eliza, whether it's really there or not," The Doctor said in a dismissive tone.
"I think that she may be right in your case though. You're nowhere near as gruff as you pretend to be, Old Man," Eliza said with a grin.
"Don't tell anyone or you'll spoil his image, okay?" Rose said making Eliza laugh while the Doctor frowned.
"Are we almost there now?" He said in a grumpy voice.
Eliza laughed as she said, "Yes, we are if you can just stay patient for a few more minutes. We only have two more miles to go now. You'll find out if this actress is really a part of your friend or not in no time."
Rose looked at her in amusement as she said, "So you're finally starting to believe us now, yeah?"
"Let's just say that I'm willing to go along with you for now and see where it goes," Eliza said.
The Doctor looked at her with renewed respect as he said, "You're extremely open-minded and intelligent, Eliza . . . for a human."
Eliza looked at him with a small smile as she said, "Was that a compliment?"
"It's probably as close as you're going to get to one. He must really like you. He isn't that nice to just anyone," Rose confirmed with a mischievous grin.
"I'm touched. Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate that. I like you too . . . when you're not driving me completely up the wall," Eliza said as she gave the Time Lord a quick kiss on the forehead.
The Doctor's eyes widened and he winced as Rose said, "I forgot to tell you. He doesn't like to be kissed or hugged or touched in general really, Eliza. It's nothing personal. He's that way with everyone."
"Not with you," Eliza pointed out.
"Rose is . . . different," The Doctor said even as he continued to stare at Eliza strangely which started to unnerve her slightly even as it bothered Rose.
She knew that look. He had worked something out or at least he thought that he had. Something about Eliza. She knew that he wouldn't tell her what it was until he was ready though so she didn't even bother to ask him about it yet.
"He only lets me or Clara hug him and he only lets me kiss him. Well, Clara kisses his cheek sometimes," Rose immediately said as she tried to divert her attention.
"And you're okay with that?" Eliza asked as she seemed to forget the Doctor's expression for a moment.
"Clara's family," Rose said as if that explained everything which to her it did.
Eliza nodded with a smile as she let it go at that.
She didn't seem to notice or at least she pretended not to notice the fact that the Doctor continued to stare at her in silence for the rest of their trip to the Doctor Who convention. Rose wasn't sure which.
When they finally arrived, Eliza said, "I'll just wait out here in the parking lot for you. Please try not to take too long, okay? I have to go to work in a few hours and I'll need a little time to rest."
Rose looked at her with an appreciative smile as she said, "Thank you, Eliza. Thank you so much for everything that you're doing for us."
"It's no problem. Really. I'm glad to do it," Eliza said.
"Why though? Why are you helping us when you don't even know us? Most people wouldn't go to this much trouble for two strangers," The Doctor asked as he finally spoke once again.
"I – I honestly don't know. It's just a feeling that I have. I know that I'm going to sound like the mad one now but it's almost as if . . . there's some kind of connection between us somehow. I feel like I need to do this for that reason. I can't explain it any further than that," Eliza said as she gave him a confused look.
Rose nodded as she mouthed the words 'Web of Time' to him behind Eliza's back. The Doctor shook his head though. He thought that it was much more than that Rose realized.
What though?
"Come along, Rose. We have to find that actress who looks like Clara and talk to her. I definitely need to ask her some things now," The Doctor said in a disturbed voice.
Rose waved good bye to Eliza and quickly followed the Doctor as he headed towards the convention with a determined look on his face. She knew that he was already working out what was going in his head even as he moved or at least trying to anyway.
As they entered the building, they heard audible gasps coming from all around them, and several people started to smile immediately and squeal with excitement. Rose couldn't figure out why at first until she heard them talking to one another.
"Oh, my God! I can't believe it! It's not just Jenna. They have Billie and Peter too," One of them said.
"I can die now," Another said with a huge smile on her face.
"These humans are acting very strangely, Rose. Do you think that they've had their minds taken over? Or perhaps they're Zygons," The Doctor said with concern as he scanned the fans around them with his sonic screwdriver.
"It really does make that noise. I always thought that it was a sound effect," A fan said with a surprised look.
Rose grinned as she saw him continuing to look at the humans oddly and said, "They're fans, Doctor. Think about who we look like to them."
The Doctor frowned and sighed as he said, "Are you telling me that they think that I'm . . . him?"
"I'm afraid so," Rose said with a chuckle.
"Isn't it obvious that I'm the real Doctor though? I look more like me than he does after all," The Doctor protested.
"I'm sure that made perfect sense in your head even if it didn't to anyone else here," A familiar voice said behind them.
They both turned to see Clara's lookalike smiling at them warmly.
"Hello, Peter, Billie. No one told me that you were coming. I'm definitely glad to see you though. You're really getting into the act today I must say, Peter. You sound just like the Doctor," Jenna Coleman said.
"Yes, and there's a very good reason for that," The Doctor said with a snort.
"He's doing method acting to get into the role. That's the reason of course," Rose quickly added in her best impersonation of Billie Piper's natural accent.
Jenna smiled at them as she said, "Of course. I know how serious that he takes the role, Billie. You don't have to tell me. Come on. You can sit with me. I'll make sure that they give you some chairs."
"Well, actually we're not staying, Jenna," Rose said in a slightly nervous voice.
"Why not? I'd love to have you with me even if you aren't scheduled to be here," Jenna said in confusion.
"You don't recognize us, do you?" The Doctor asked as he looked deeply into Jenna's eyes.
Jenna was really confused now as she said, "Uh, yeah I think should. I've only been working alongside you for some time now, Peter. Are you having me on or something?"
"Yes, that's exactly what this is, Jenna. He's just playing a little joke on you. Only it's not very funny is it? Come on, Peter. We really shouldn't be bothering Jenna right now. Let's go," Rose said to the Doctor as she tried to pull him away from her.
"No, it's alright. We always kid around with one other like that. Are you sure that you have to go? I really wouldn't mind if you stayed," Jenna offered.
"Listen to me. We are not who you think that we are. I am the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler," The Doctor said in a serious tone as he refused to allow Rose to budge him.
"Right. I have to admit that you're definitely going all the way with this one, Peter," Jenna said with an uncertain look on her face.
"He's telling the truth. We really are the real people not actors," Rose said in her own accent with a sigh after she realized that the Doctor wasn't leaving.
Jenna looked worried about them now as she said, "Are you two alright? Should I call a doctor or something?"
Rose smiled at how much like Clara she was acting even as the Doctor said impatiently, "No, you don't need to call a doctor because I'm already here. I'm the definitive article."
Jenna smiled as she said, "You're quoting Tom Baker. I love it, Peter. This is your best one yet."
"Part of you must remember who you really are. You're an echo of Clara Oswald. Clara must be in contact with you in some way even if it's subconsciously or why else would you be acting out her part on this show about my life?" The Doctor insisted.
"You know that's a good idea, Peter. I could turn out to be an echo of Clara in an upcoming episode. Wouldn't that be a weird twist? Did you come up with that by yourself?" Jenna asked in an impressed voice.
The Doctor groaned in frustration as he said, "I don't think that she is an echo of Clara's after all, Rose."
"Really? What tipped you off, Doctor?" Rose said as she shook her head at how long it took him to come to that conclusion.
"Doctor, huh? You've really gotten into this prank, Billie," Jenna said with a chuckle.
"Call Billie, Jenna," Rose said.
"What?" Jenna said in surprise.
"Just call her and tell her that Rose is here. She'll know what you're talking about," Rose insisted.
"I'm glad someone will," Jenna said as she pulled out her phone and called Billie's number.
Jenna's mouth opened in shock as Billie Piper answered her call. Rose smiled at her warmly as she silently tried to calm her down.
"Hello?" Billie said.
"B – Billie? How?" Jenna asked.
"How what? What is it, Jenna? You sound upset. Is everything alright?" Billie asked.
"No, it's not. Do you have a twin or something because I'm looking right at you while I'm talking to you," Jenna said.
Rose grinned as she heard Billie sigh and say, "Put Rose on."
"Sure," Jenna said in disbelief as she handed Rose the phone.
"Hello. Sorry to bother you like this but I have a very good reason," Rose said as she answered it.
The Doctor looked at her in surprise. So she knew this universe much better than even he had realized.
"Of course you do. You always do. Just like you did before when you wound up taking me to your universe to help fill in for you when you had to act in that anniversary special," Billie said.
"I had to save the universe so I couldn't do both," Rose protested.
"I already did that role in my universe though," Billie said.
"That means you already had it memorized then, yeah? I think that you did it even better in my universe to be honest which I didn't even think was possible since you did such a good job here," Rose said.
"Don't try to flatter me, Rose. Let's just get this done already. What do you need this time?" Billie said.
"Billie, I – The Doctor and I are trapped here and I don't know what to do. The Doctor thought that Jenna was a part of Clara, our Clara, somehow and I went along with it on the chance that he might be right. Obviously he's not though. Do you know if there's any connection between your show and my universe?" Rose said in an upset tone.
Billie's voice immediately became gentler as she said, "I'm sorry, Rose. I didn't know that it was that serious or I wouldn't have given you any attitude. I honestly don't know anything about any connections between them or I'd tell you."
"Thanks anyway," Rose said as she started to hang up.
"Wait! I do know something that might help. I found out about it during the anniversary show," Billie said.
"What?" Rose asked eagerly.
"Well, I'm not supposed to tell anyone but I was told the real truth then. You see there's someone who works on the staff here as an unofficial consultant for the show and has for its entire existence even while it was off. They have to have the final say over everything to do with it before it can hit the air or go to print," Billie said.
"Really? Who are they and where can I find them?" Rose said in excitement as the Doctor looked at her questioningly.
Rose's eyes widened as she said, "Thank you, Billie. I owe you one."
"Only one?" Billie asked with a chuckle.
"If I ever get back home, I'll pay you back somehow for helping us. I promise," Rose said.
"Just having you get back home okay is all that I need, Rose," Billie said sincerely.
"Thank you," Rose said as she handed the phone back to Jenna who continued to look dumbfounded.
"It must be Spatial Genetic Multiplicity after all," The Doctor said as he saw this.
"Yeah, I really think that it must be," Jenna said as she began to smile now.
"You know what we're talking about?" Rose asked in surprise.
"I know the show so I have some clue, yes. I just look like your Clara though. I'm not her. So that's the only answer that I can come up with too," Jenna said.
"You're just as brilliant as my Clara. Still not as brilliant as me of course, but you've done quite well at figuring things out for a human," The Doctor said with a fond smile.
"Thanks. I appreciate the compliment," Jenna said happily as she hugged him.
The Doctor stiffened as Rose laughed.
"You really are like that," Jenna said as she laughed along with her.
"Rose, what did she tell you? Who is it that's kept this show so accurate over the decades?" The Doctor asked as he tried to recover from the surprise hug.
"You're going to love this, Doctor," Rose said as she told him.
"That makes perfect sense actually. Well, it does by Doctor Who logic anyway. It's very timey wimey as Matt might say," Jenna said.
"I said it actually. I came up with it first," The Doctor said with a frown.
"Whatever," Jenna said with an amused smile on her face.
"Come on, Doctor. Let's meet the consultant behind the show all these years. Good bye, Jenna. It was very nice meeting you," Rose said.
"Same here. Maybe next time you could bring the real Clara. I'd love to see her in person," Jenna said.
"She's even shorter than you are if you're curious," The Doctor said.
"Good to know," Jenna said with a laugh as she waved good bye to them as they left.
"They're leaving?" A fan asked Jenna in a devastated voice.
"Sorry. They're a bit . . . busy," Jenna said sympathetically.
"You know Peter's so good that I could swear that actually was the real Doctor, "Another fan said.
"You never know. Maybe it was," Jenna said as she winked at them.
The fans all laughed even as Jenna smiled at her private joke.
Rose swiftly led the Doctor to a secret corner of the building as she said, "Billie said that he would be back here. She said that he made sure to let everyone know that he would be at this convention in secret in order to supervise it for accuracy."
"Let's hope so," The Doctor said impatiently.
"In a hurry are we?" A voice called out to them that made Rose smile from ear to ear.
"Yes, I am. Could you please just get this over with and send us on our way back as quickly as possible?" The Doctor asked in an irritated voice.
"No, I can't and you know why. Or at least you expect why anyway, don't you?" The old man who came up to them said.
"Yes, I do. It's Eliza isn't it? We're here because of her aren't we?" The Doctor asked.
"Exactly. Now let me tell you all of the details or at least everything that I can tell you at this point anyway," The other Doctor said to his past self.
Rose smiled as she watched them talk. Who else could it have been behind the incredible accuracy of the show but the Doctor himself?
Then she listened closely as the future Doctor explained exactly why he was there and the entire importance of it all.
Meanwhile back in the Doctor and Rose's home universe, Cassiopeia was lying slumped in a semi-conscious state against the TARDIS' console as Shawn stood over her completely terrified. He had no idea what to do because he didn't know how to fly the ship in order to get help.
If only she hadn't taken off after she was injured.
"Cass, can you understand me? Cass, you need to tell me how to land the TARDIS. Cass!" Shawn shouted at her.
Cassiopeia didn't answer him. She just swayed back and forth in a daze instead.
"Oh, Cass! What am I going to do?" Shawn said in an upset voice.
It had all started out innocently enough. The two of them had decided to go on a simple trip back to the past to meet one of Shawn's favorite writers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. What should have been fun quickly turned into a nightmare though when they got involved in the middle of a plot by an alien race to kidnap the famous writer. They never did know why the aliens wanted him. All that they had learned was that they would go to any lengths to get him as Cassiopeia learned the hard way when one of them violently threw her across the room and into a nearby wall.
Shawn knew that she had been badly hurt but she just shrugged it off and acted like she was fine instead. She defeated the aliens and sent them back to their home dimension in no time afterwards. Then they said good bye to a worried looking Sir Arthur who had offered to help Cass but had his help politely refused as she took Shawn and quickly left in the TARDIS.
That was when she had collapsed against the TARDIS and became catatonic.
Shawn tried to pick Cassiopeia up and take her to the medical bay, but she resisted all of his attempts to move her. She wasn't violent but she definitely didn't want to be moved in her confused state which she demonstrated by lightly pushing him away every time that he tried. He soon found that his own strength was useless in an attempt to move the much stronger Time Lady when she didn't want to be moved.
"Looks like you could use some help, Mr. Cass," The Matriarch said as she teleported into the middle of the Console Room with a huge smile.
"Stay away from her! I won't let you hurt her!" Shawn screamed as he tried to get in-between them.
The Matriarch laughed as she said, "Yeah, like you could really take me, Mr. Cass. Besides that I think that she's already hurt enough as it. Don't you?"
She gestured at Shawn and immediately sent him falling to the ground as she paralyzed his legs. He watched now in horror as the Matriarch headed straight towards Cassiopeia.
"Please, don't. If you're still Clara in any way, don't do this," Shawn pleaded.
"Don't do what? Help her? I don't think you want that, Shawn. If I don't help her now, you'll both be stuck here on the TARDIS for days until she recovers. Of course if that's really what you want is to be stuck here alone with a vegetable as company for a week, then I'll just be on my way I suppose," The Matriarch said.
"You want to help her? Why? You're the bad guy," Shawn said in confusion.
"Am I? Or is that just easier for you to believe? Yes, I do have questionable methods and my motives are mysterious, but you could say the same thing about the Doctor couldn't you? Now please shut up and let me help her," The Matriarch said with a frown.
The Matriarch gestured at Cassiopeia and smiled as the Time Lady began to glow all over. The glow immediately faded and Cassiopeia's eyes opened in confusion almost immediately.
"What? What happened?" Cassiopeia asked.
"You went and almost got yourself killed. That's what. Sloppy, Cass. Very sloppy. You need to watch that in the future, okay?" The Matriarch said in a chastising tone.
Shawn looked at her in surprise. The Matriarch almost looked upset when she had said that. Why? Why would she care what happened to Cassiopeia?
"Are you . . . helping me? Why?" Cassiopeia asked the Matriarch as she finally realized what was going on.
"I have my reasons," The Matriarch said.
"Shawn! What did you do to him?" Cassiopeia said as she realized that Shawn was on the floor now.
"He's fine. I temporarily paralyzed him to keep him from interfering. It'll go away soon. Don't worry. You're both safe," The Matriarch said in a reassuring and almost gentle tone.
She sounded so much like Clara, their Clara, now Shawn realized.
"If this is some trick, it won't work. I won't let you take the TARDIS if that's what you're after," Cassiopeia said defiantly.
The Matriarch snorted as she said, "Yeah, I don't think so. If I had wanted the Old Cow, I could have easily taken her a few minutes ago. I'm just here to help whether you believe it or not, Cass. Now go lie down in the medical bay until you feel better. You should be completely back to normal in a few hours."
Cassiopeia hesitated as she looked at Shawn in concern while the Matriarch rolled her eyes at her.
"Your boyfriend will be fine. Go lie down and rest. That's an order," The Matriarch said in a no nonsense voice that sounded just like their Clara's.
Then her tone became surprisingly gentle as she said, "I won't hurt him. Just rest, alright?"
Cassiopeia nodded believing her for some reason that she couldn't quite explain and left.
"So are you going to kill me now?" Shawn asked from the floor.
"No, I wasn't lying to her. I'm not going to hurt either of you. I only came here to help her and to stay with her until she recovers," The Matriarch said.
"Why? Why do you care?" Shawn asked.
The Matriarch only smiled and said nothing in response.
This was going to accomplish two things at once. First, she was changing Cassiopeia's timeline if only by a little bit. Even that slight change might make all the difference though to her overall plan. Second and perhaps most important though was that she was slowly earning Cassiopeia's trust by helping her while she was in a vulnerable stage in her life where her parents were gone.
If she could succeed in gaining that trust, then that would be absolutely invaluable to her overall plan. In fact, that could be the key element that would finally win her absolute power.
Then the future would finally be hers to reshape exactly as she wanted it at last.
Next: It's the 50th chapter of this story and we're celebrating it in style as the Doctor and Rose find out exactly what the future Doctor has been up to concerning the Doctor Who show and why they can't go home just yet. Plus we'll find out exactly who Eliza Newman is and why she is so important to the Doctor. Oh, and Cassiopeia recovers just in time to find herself right in the middle of a battle with a completely mad version of Clara who's determined to wipe out the Earth and it's not the Matriarch. Oswin readers will already know who it is. The rest of you will find out soon enough next time.
