A/N: Hello all! :) This is a continuation of my AU retelling of my Academic Series, featuring my OC the Professor, Bonded of the Doctor. Originally I was only planning to do an AU of that series up to where the actual main series began, but quite a few people have requested the AU to continue and so I'm going to try my hand at it :)
The Rewritten stories will feature into separate stories per series. For instance, I've renamed my original Rewritten as 'Rewritten: Series 1' and so this is Rewritten: Series 2. I do not, however, have the first few episodes of Series 2 here as they were at the end of my prior story and, due to the reviews on them and being in that story, it didn't make sense to move them here and delete them from the other. So this story will begin on The Girl in the Fireplace and just might take the Doctor down a darker path ;)
Some quick things to keep in mind:
1. This story will only be updated on Saturdays.
2. This is an AU of not just my OC but the Doctor as well, the new 10th Doctor, in this series, looks something like Dominic Cooper.
3. I would recommend reading Rewritten first to understand the changes in the story and the Doctor's relationship with Rose.
4. I would also recommend having read the original Academic Series, though as it's an AU, it isn't needed to really follow what's happening as it's a new version of the story :)
5. Quick physical description of the Professor: She's tall with straight blonde hair she tends to wear hanging over one shoulder. She has brown eyes and tends to favor wearing short sleeved dresses that go to her mid thighs, with a colored vest over it, and long boots that go to just below her knees :) For a reference, an actress I picture as being similar to her is Sarah Carter :)
Some notes:
~8~ is a scene break
~/~\~ is a flashback (three per story)
'italics' is the Doctor/Professor speaking telepathically.
"italics" is Gallifreyan.
This story will be based around the Doctor and Professor's POV, so some scenes might be missing, and since we're all fans of DW I'm hoping we've all seen the episodes and know what's going on in those scenes :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or the Master (or even the Rani) would have been around much more...
~8~
The Girl in the Fireplace
The Professor hesitantly stepped out of the TARDIS, looking around warily at the spaceship it appeared the Doctor had landed them in during this mystery tour. It was dark, looking rather disused and dusty, almost abandoned if she had to guess. She looked over when she felt the Doctor take her hand and offer it a reassuring squeeze and tried to give him a smile. She…wasn't doing well, she could tell this wasn't going to be an easy trip.
Coming face to face with the Krillitanes only a short while ago had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. She hated the aliens for what they'd done to her, for using her, for stealing her Cerebral Fluid and torturing her the way they had. She had expressed to the Doctor just after he'd rescued her that she wasn't comfortable around other aliens now, and he'd tried to get her on safer trips by keeping them centered around the Earth. It hadn't quite worked because the very last aliens they'd encountered during that endeavor ended up being Daleks…and he'd died as a result of that encounter, changed into the man he was now, his 10th self, with his dark hair and dark eyes and hint of stubble.
She had to smile at that at least, he was quite dashing and rather handsome, but it still bothered her that he'd died due to that trip. She'd wanted to try a new start with him, let him know that she might be able to handle the aliens, that she wanted to try, to start heading a little more away from Earth.
And then the Krillitanes happened and she just…she didn't want to be there. She wanted to go somewhere lighter and brighter and not a spaceship. But she knew she had to try, she had to push past this. If she didn't, then the Krillitanes won and she was not going to let that happen.
The Doctor seemed to sense her thoughts as he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to it.
"It's a spaceship!" Mickey cheered as he and Rose stepped out of the TARDIS behind the Time Lords, "Brilliant, I got a spaceship on my first go!"
"It looks kind of abandoned," Rose murmured, glancing over at the two for confirmation, "Anyone onboard?"
"I was just about to check," the Doctor nodded, moving over to a computer in a nearby control panel. If it was just a spaceship then it might be better for all of them, for the Professor especially, to be able to wander without fear of more aliens popping out at them. It would be a good start to helping her get over her shock at seeing the Krillitanes again, they had certainly set her back in her progress.
"When are we?" Rose looked at the Professor, "Do you know how far into the future or um…past, we've gone?"
The Professor took a deep breath, letting herself sense their location and time, "3,000 years into the future exactly," she nodded, gesturing to the side, to a small porthole in the wall, "You see those star clusters? That's the Diagmar Cluster. Which is about two and a half galaxies away from Earth."
Mickey's mouth dropped open at that as he slowly made his way over to the window and looked out at the stars drifting past, Rose moving to his side and taking his arm, the two of them just smiling in awe at the sight.
"It's so realistic!" Mickey breathed.
"Well, as it is real space," the Doctor called dryly, "I would assume it would be realistic as well."
The Professor shook her head and moved to join him at the control panel, "Is it very damaged?" she inquired as he threw a piece of tech over his shoulder, frowning at the wires before him.
"Whoever's ship this was they did not take good care of it," the Doctor agreed.
"Much like you and the TARDIS," she teased.
"I take very good care of her actually."
"Boys and your toys," she rolled her eyes playfully.
The Doctor just reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to sit on his lap, "Boys and their girls really," he looked at her, "I take care of the women in my life, with everything in my hearts," he placed her hand on the center of his chest.
She blushed a bit at that, "And I like to take things from the boys in mine," she murmured, making him frown…until she held up the sonic she'd nicked off him in her hand. He gave a soft chuckle at that, letting his hand fall down onto her knee, his hand just barely ghosting over the skin at the hem of her black dress as she turned to flick the sonic at the control panel, managing to power it on, "Warp engine…" she frowned slightly, "I don't understand. It's running at full capacity but the ship isn't moving…"
"So where is all that power going," the Doctor hummed in agreement.
"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose called, looking back at them.
The Professor gave her a smile, "Very good question Rose," Rose smiled at that, before she turned to press the screen of the computer, shaking her head a moment later, "No life readings onboard," she glanced at the Doctor, "I'm not sure if I should be pleased or concerned by that."
"Let's start with pleased," he patted her knee, "Gives us more privacy."
"We have a box with an infinite amount of rooms," she reminded him, "Doesn't get more private than that."
"And yet the humans STILL managed to find our room," he grumbled, shooting Rose and Mickey an irritated look over her shoulder.
"I told you," Rose sighed, "The Halls shifted us right to your door. The TARDIS did it."
"The TARDIS helped kick you out last time," the Doctor threw back, "I doubt she'd want to help you."
"She'd want to help Mickey though," the Professor pointed out, knowing that the Doctor was still rather…displeased with Rose travelling with them after the events of when she'd tried to save her father.
"Oi, you lot," Mickey called, "Do you smell that?" he inhaled deeply, "Someone's cooking Sunday roast," he laughed, "Can't be all that abandoned."
"Hmm…" the Doctor reached out to flick a switch on the control panel that was blinking, only for a door to open behind them.
The Time Lords exchanged a cautious glance before standing and walking through the doors, into another room. It was fairly basic, as high of tech as the other room…save for the 18th century fireplace of French make that was sticking out of the wall looking very out of place.
The Professor reached out to touch it briefly, feeling it solid beneath her fingers, not a hologram then, "French," she nodded, "18th century. Wood. In a metal spaceship?" she looked at the Doctor, that didn't make sense.
The Doctor stepped closer and moved to examine it with his sonic, "And not a reproduction," he added, "Authentic. Double-sided…look," he held out a hand to the Professor to join him crouched before it, "There's another room through there."
"But that can't be," the Professor hummed, "There's only space through there. I saw it through the porthole," she gestured at the wall where one of the windows was.
"Hello?" a voice called, making them look back at the fireplace where a young blonde girl was peering through at them, moving to sit before the fireplace as though she'd heard them speaking and come to look.
"Well hello," the Professor smiled, "I'm the Professor," she gestured at herself, "What's your name?"
"Reinette."
The Professor nodded at that, "French," she murmured to the Doctor quietly, assessing the girl's speech and accent and outfit, "Paris, at a guess, 1727."
"Are you psychic, mademoiselle?" Reinette asked, staring at her with wide eyes.
"No," the Professor smiled, "Just very observant."
"She uses her eyes," the Doctor added, smiling warmly at the Professor, "Her gorgeous, lovely eyes, notices everything they do. Notices every little detail."
Reinette nodded at that, not quite sure what to make of it, but shrugged, "May I ask, what are you doing in my fireplace?"
"Oh, polite," the Doctor looked at her, "A polite human. That's a first."
"Oi!" Rose called behind him.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Reinette," the Doctor gave her a small bow of his head, "Sleep well," before he moved to stand, helping the Professor up as Reinette called a goodnight to them as well.
"You said this was the 3,000 years in the future," Mickey frowned.
"I did," the Professor nodded.
"But it was 1727."
"Well, it appears we've found where the power's gone then," the Doctor shrugged, moving his hands behind his back and inhaling deeply, "It must be being sued to generate a spatio-temporal hyperlink."
"What's that then?"
"Time Lord for 'magic door,'" the Professor giggled, making the Doctor roll his eyes at her.
Rose had to smile, "And on the other side of the er, 'magic door' is France in 1727?"
"She was speaking French," the Professor began to list the reasons why it was likely exactly that, "Proper accent, right period for the time, and based on her clothes, they're authentic for the year as well."
"No," Mickey shook his head, "She was speaking English, I heard her!"
"That's the TARDIS translation matrix," the Doctor waved him off, turning on his heel to observe the fireplace more closely, "Gets into your head and makes everything look and sound English."
"Even French?!"
The Doctor paused and looked back at him, then to the Professor, "I did say 'everything' didn't I?"
"Well, it doesn't actually translate everything," she reminded him, "Not our TARDIS at least, not the museum pieces. There's the Judoon, that doesn't translate…"
"That is true," the Doctor nodded, turning to look at the fireplace again, reaching out to run his hand along the mantel as the Professor moved to his side.
He glanced at her a moment before a sly smirk spread across his face and he reached out to brush his fingers along the side of her ribs, making her squeal and jerk away from him, her knee coming up to knock the side of the fireplace, making the section of the wall spin around with the both of them on it as Rose and Mickey called out to them. They managed to grip the mantel tightly enough to not fall off, the Doctor's arm wrapping around her waist to keep her steady till the spinning stopped and they were deposited in Reinette's bedroom, the girl asleep on the bed in the middle of the room.
The Professor frowned, before moving over to the nearest window and looking out, getting a sense of the time, it was winter judging by the snow falling. She turned, about to tell the Doctor her thoughts when something over his shoulder caught her gaze and she slowly approached him, reaching out to touch a broken clock on the mantel, the front shattered, the hands not moving at all…
Yet there was a rather loud ticking in the room.
'Far too loud to be from this little clock,' the Professor warned the Doctor in his mind as he nodded.
They spun around when a gasp sounded to see that Reinette had woken up from the noise outside her window and was clutching her blanket towards her at the sight of two shadowy figures standing by her fireplace.
"It's alright," the Doctor told the girl calmly, holding up his hands, "It's us," he moved over to a candle by the girl's bed, using the sonic to light it.
"Hello Reinette," the Professor greeted, "I'm the Professor, do you remember? You saw us," she gestured at the Doctor, "Through your fireplace a few moments ago?"
"That was weeks ago!" Reinette told them, "That was months!"
"Was it?" the Professor blinked, "Well, how about that…"
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
"Reinette," the Doctor began cautiously, "A question for a question, yes?" he inquired and the girl nodded, "This clock on your mantel…how long has it been broken for?"
Reinette shrugged, "It was working before I went to bed…"
"You see that it's broken now though," the Professor gestured to it, Reinette nodding again, "Then how is it ticking?"
Reinette tensed at that, as though sensing something else was going on.
"It's still ticking because that is not a clock's tick," the Doctor answered, starting to move more into the room as the Professor remained by the broken clock, "You were right," he pointed at the Professor, "You can tell by the resonance that its' too big."
"Then what is it?" Reinette frowned.
The Doctor glanced back at the Professor and held out a hand to her which she took with a deep breath and stepped beside him.
"First rule of camouflage," the Professor murmured, "Ensure that what could give you away doesn't. Break the clock, so that no one notices two tickings. Second, hide where you won't be noticed," she tugged the Doctor back as he began to head for the curtains by the windows, shaking her head at him, "Where you wouldn't notice a ticking noise because you're used to hearing it," she looked over at the bed and held out her other hand to the Doctor who silently handed her the sonic, "Hide there because Reinette would hear it, but think she was just hearing the clock ticking in her head," she stepped closer and flicked the sonic on, a high pitched noise making Reinette put her hands over her ears, but there was a thump on the ground from under the bed.
Reinette half jumped off it, scrambling towards the Time Lords that pushed her behind them, watching as a figure in period clothing crawled stiffly out from under the bed and stood, wearing a white clown-like mask over its face.
"You stay exactly where you are," the Doctor threatened, taking the sonic back from the Professor and holding it up threateningly, taking a step before the woman as well, feeling her tense beside him at the arrival of what was likely an alien. He glanced at the sonic a moment though when it beeped, taking in the reading before glancing at Reinette and back, "You've been scanning her?" he shook his head, "What for? What could possibly exist in a child's mind that you would need to build a ship like that," he jerked his head towards the fireplace, "Just to look?"
"I don't understand," Reinette whispered from behind the Professor, "It wants me?!" she peered out a bit more, looking at the figure, "You want me?"
"Not yet," a very mechanical voice replied, "You are incomplete."
"Incomplete?" the Professor repeated, her voice shaking at that, her mind racing back to the War, to the training program she'd been forced through, they hadn't let the Academics stop because their training was incomplete, "What do you mean by that?"
"If you're willing to answer the girl, you can answer my Bonded when she asks you a question," the Doctor told the figure threateningly.
Instead of answering, the figure just took a jerky step towards the Doctor, waving its arm out as a blade extended from it to swipe at the Doctor's sonic.
"Monsieur, be careful!" Reinette gasped at the same time as the Professor cried out, "Doctor!"
"Reinette go to the window," the Doctor ordered, the girl scampering off across the room, hiding behind the curtain to watch on as the Doctor used the Sonic to block another blow and held a hand out to the Professor, "Care to dance, my love?"
The Professor just blinked at him, but he took her hand and used it as a spin to her, pulling her into his arms as they pseudo-waltzed before the figure that kept striking at them, the moves of the dance just missing the swings.
"This is just a nightmare," the Doctor spoke, more to the Professor than Reinette, though his words could apply to her as well, "Just look at me," he encouraged the Professor to keep her eyes on him as they lured the figure towards the fireplace, "This is just a nightmare. Everyone has them, even our greatest monsters," he smiled, "And you know what the monsters have nightmares of," he turned, dipping the Professor to the side just as the figure struck out once more, the move avoiding the blade swinging down, allowing it to get lodged in the mantel of the fireplace, "Us," he un-dipped her, allowing her to move to the same place she'd nudged before and sending the three of them back to the spaceship.
"Doc…what is that?!" Rose gasped the moment they were back in the hall.
The Doctor just jumped past her, grabbing a gun-like device off the wall behind her, firing an icy spray at the figure as it tried to jerk its arm free, making it twitch and convulse for a moment before it finally grew still.
"Excellent, ice gun!" Mickey beamed at it.
"Fire extinguisher, actually," the Professor swallowed.
The Doctor immediately handed the extinguisher over to Mickey before moving over to the Professor, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
"Where did that thing come from?" Rose eyed the figure.
"I think it's a droid from the ship," the Professor took a breath, it had been moving far too stiffly for it to be anything other than a robot…which was a bit more relieving to her, to know that it wasn't actual aliens there but just droids, she could deal with that…she could, she was sure she could. Maybe.
"So why is it dressed like that?" Mickey eyed it's rather impeccable outfit.
"Camouflage," the Professor shrugged, "When in Rome and so on."
The Doctor eyed the Professor a moment, "Do you want me to…" he gestured at the droid and she nodded, stepping to the side to allow him to examine it more. He reached out and pulled the mask and wig it was wearing off, his eyes widening slightly at the intricate clockwork mechanism that made up the inside of its head, a head that appeared to be a clear egg of sorts, "Now that is something," he hummed, glancing at the Professor, "What do you think?"
"It's…impressive," she shrugged, "But it's basic as well. Only way to tell what it's doing is to get a look at its programming. We need to crack it open."
Just as she said that though, the ice seemed to melt enough for the droid to jerk its arms together, pressing something on its wrist and teleporting away.
"And that?"
"It would have to be short range as far as teleports go," the Professor nodded, "It's likely still onboard."
"Join me?" he held out a hand to her to take, nodding towards the fireplace.
The Professor looked at him and then over at Rose and Mickey before shaking her head, "I think I should stay with them," the Doctor tilted his head at that, a small frown coming to his face, "If the Droids are still on the ship, I don't feel comfortable leaving them alone."
"But they're humans," he shook his head, a concerned look in his eyes.
She smiled seeing it, knowing that it was his way of saying he'd rather her be with him where he could protect her. She stepped closer to him and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, "And they need more looking after than you do," she murmured against him, "Go," she gave him a small nudge towards the fireplace, "We will try to get a lay of the ship, you go make sure Reinette is safe. Neither of us want the children in danger," her playful, if slightly tense, smile was what had him nodding, giving her one more kiss before he moved to the fireplace and nudged it to spin around.
"Hold on," Rose blinked, getting the Professor's implication a moment late, "Children?"
The Professor shrugged and turned, picking up a second extinguisher from the wall and holding it up to Rose with a small smile.
Rose rolled her eyes but took the extinguisher, the three of them slowly making their way out of the room.
~8~
The Doctor placed his hands behind his back as the fireplace stopped its turn, taking a step off of it to look around the room. It was a testament to how ruptured the ship had made the holes in time that it was now daylight just outside. He was silent as he observed the room, not calling out. No one was there yet and he wasn't about to draw attention to himself, a strange man in a little girl's bedroom, for no reason. His attention, however, was pulled to the doors across the room when he heard a gasp.
A young blonde woman in a period gown, her hips artificially wide, started to a stop, her eyes wide, her hand on her chest as she caught sight of him standing there.
"My apologies," he bowed his head to her, "I was looking for Reinette, do you happen to know where she may be?"
The woman was silent though, slowly entering the room more, observing him with a curious expression. She opened her mouth to answer him when another woman called from outside the room, "Reinette! We're ready to go!"
The woman gave him a small, humorous smile before shouting, "Go to the carriage, mother, I will join you there," she nearly laughed at the slight widening of the Doctor's eyes at the revelation that she was Reinette just…grown up some, "It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one's childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence."
The Doctor didn't seem put off his stride though, merely gave her a bow of the head, "How do you do, Reinette."
"Incredible," Reinette murmured as she drew nearer to him, "You do not appear to have aged a single day. That is tremendously impolite of you."
"Well," the Doctor cleared his throat, "I merely came to ensure that you were safe. You should be along, best not be seen alone with a strange man."
Reinette laughed at that, "Strange? How could you be a stranger to me? I have known you since I was seven years old."
"I suppose you have," he agreed, but stepped back when the woman tried to touch his face, his hand coming up of its own accord to lightly grab her wrist to stop her, "It's rude to poke," he chastised lightly, despite the fact that he himself would be likely to poke at anything interesting that moved.
Reinette cleared her throat as he released her hand, a faint blush on her cheeks, "You seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate, but this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real."
"Reason can be skewed at times," he countered lightly.
"Mademoiselle!" a man called for Reinette from the halls, "Your mother grows impatient."
"A moment!" Reinette huffed over her shoulder, before turning to face the Doctor once more, her eyes narrowed in question, "So many questions. So little time."
"Perhaps another time then," the Doctor suggested, stepping back from her at the same time she tried to take a step towards him, not feeling comfortable with how her gaze had flickered to his lips just before.
"Perhaps," Reinette nodded, but took no further step towards him, seeming to realize why he'd stepped back.
"Mademoiselle Poisson!" the man yelled once more.
Reinette let out a heavy breath before she turned, plucking a small pouch off her vanity, before running out of the room.
The Doctor shook his head at her before he turned to examine the fireplace again, feeling a sudden desire to find the Professor and steal a kiss from her. He was just about to nudge the control to get him back to the ship when he realized something, "Poisson?" he murmured to himself, his eyes widening slightly, "Oh, Madame de Pompadour," he nodded, "Now it makes sense."
Just as a servant reached the room, about to shout for Reinette once more, the Doctor nudged the fireplace and spun around, back to the ship, pausing a moment as he stepped off it, 'Kata?' he called out, hoping to hear a response from her.
'Theta,' she responded.
He let out a breath at that, that she had responded, but frowned a moment later, hearing a tense quality in her voice, 'What is it? What's wrong?' he started to head down the hallway even as she explained all that she and Mickey and Rose had discovered.
Though he came to a rather abrupt stop when, upon rounding a corner, he found himself face to face with a white horse.
~8~
The Professor cautiously walked behind Rose and Mickey as they headed down the halls of the ship. She was…starting to regret not waiting for the Doctor and exploring the ship with him. She wanted to help keep the humans out of trouble, but at the same time…they were inept, when it came to defense, against aliens, and robots, and she doubted they'd be able to make her feel safe with the droids running around. True, they had the extinguishers, she could grab one and use it, buy time, but she really wanted the Doctor beside her, she felt safe with him.
Mickey seemed to sense her unease though, he was trying to lighten the mood, making jokes and do some tricks and stunts to make her smile. Currently he was rolling around the ground, doing a tumble with his extinguisher, before moving onto his feet. She couldn't help but think his form could use some improvement, if he tucked in more, used his shoulder to help, he'd be up faster, but as it wasn't meant to be a serious roll with a gun she said nothing.
"Are you looking at me?" Mickey called to one of the cameras in the corner of the hall, spotting it, the Professor was sure he was trying to quote something but didn't know what. Mickey, for his part, jerked back with a small squeak when the camera came out of the wall and moved closer to him, making her and Rose hurry over to him…and stare in shock at the eyeball that was in place of the lens of the camera, "That's an eye in there," Mickey swallowed, "That's a real eye."
They watched as the eye slowly retreated back towards the wall, stationing itself in the corner once more.
"Shh…" the Professor frowned, "Can you hear that?" she turned, moving along the hall, a small thumping noise getting louder to the humans as they went. She moved to crouch before a circular cover in the wall, reaching out to quickly pull the vent open, ignoring the slight twinge of heat on her finger tips. She leaned in, grimacing when she saw a heart, a human heart, inside the vent, attached to wires and tubes, beating away.
"It's like it's wired in," Mickey breathed from behind her, he and Rose crouching over her shoulders to see.
"That's a heart," Rose scrunched her face in disgust, "That's a human heart."
"Come on," the Professor shook her head, standing, hearing the Doctor starting to speak in her mind, "We should get back to the Doctor."
"Maybe it wasn't a real heart?" Mickey looked at the Professor, hopeful, as they headed down the hall the Professor slightly taking the lead.
"Course it was a real heart," Rose muttered back to him.
"Is this like normal for you? Is this an average day?"
"Life as a time traveler," Rose shrugged, "No more average days."
"This isn't even a normal ship," the Professor added as they slowed to a stop before what appeared to be a full-sized window in the wall, revealing a lavish room of 18th century décor.
"It's France again," Mickey leaned in, tapping the glass, "We can see France."
"I think we're looking through a mirror," Rose remarked as the doors to the room opened and a father pompous looking man entered with two servants.
"Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?"
"King of France," the Professor spoke, at the same time as the Doctor's voice drifted over to them.
They glanced back to see the Doctor walking down the hall towards them, heading right for the Professor, "Bout time you showed up," she smiled at him.
He gave her a grin in return, leaning in to kiss her quickly as he moved his arm around her waist, glancing past her at the king who was now looking through the mirror at them, though they knew he was seeing just his reflection, "Care to give the history lesson, Professor?" he tugged her closer, her back to his front, moving his other arm around her as well, letting her lean back against him, practically feeling her unease with the situation.
"Care to explain the horse?" she countered, nodding to the side even as he swayed her slightly, making the humans look over at the white horse that had followed the Doctor.
"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey blinked at it.
"What's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship?" the Doctor countered, "These windows," he gestured to the one before them, "I've seen them all over the ship on my way here. All of them focusing on her," he nodded at the window, at a blonde woman that had just stepped into the room with the king, "Why?"
"Who is she?" Rose squinted at the woman, as though she wanted to hear what was being said between the king and woman but they were too far away from the window.
"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson," the Doctor stated.
"Madame de Pompadour," the Professor added for explanation.
"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?" Rose guessed.
"France already has an established Queen," the Professor shook her head, "She's to be his mistress."
"This appears to be the night they met," the Doctor remarked as the king left, Reinette remaining alone in the room, "The night of the Yew Tree ball."
"Queen must have loved her," Rose frowned, just the thought of a mistress, of doing that to your wife, even if it was royalty where, in that time period, they likely married just for politics.
"They were actually quite good friends," the Professor hummed, making the Doctor smile as he saw her almost drifting off in his arms, her eyes closed, leaning on him more, just relaxed.
He loved that he could make her feel so safe that, even in the middle of an alien ship, with droids running around and body parts appearing everywhere, she felt secure enough to even relax as she was.
"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey gave the Doctor a look for that, seeing the Professor wasn't likely to catch it.
"It's France," the Doctor shrugged, "And they're royalty. Not much for marriages of love at this point in time."
The Professor's face scrunched, "I can hear ticking…" her eyes opened and they looked through the window, the ticking noise getting louder as they spotted what looked like the figure that had teleported out before standing in the shadows in the back of the room.
Reinette, how had moved to check her appearance in the mirror, seemed to realize what was happening the same moment they did for she spun around with a gasp, seeing the figure standing there, "How long have you been standing there? Show yourself!"
She stumbled back to the side as the figure moved into the light, dressed just like the other figure had been save in a different color, its mask still the frightful clown one. The Doctor pressed a kiss to the Professor's temple in apology before he hurried through the mirror, pushing it aside while grabbing the extinguisher from Mickey on the way, not saying a word to Reinette as he hurried at the figure and fired the icy spray at it till it froze before he tossed the extinguisher back, leaving Mickey to catch it.
"What's it doing?" Mickey shifted with the extinguisher, getting a better grip on it.
The Professor swallowed, approaching more slowly with Rose, "It's trying to thaw the ice and switch back on."
"And then what?"
"Then it tries to kill everyone that knows it's here."
The Doctor watched, not even flinching when the figure tried to jerk its arm out to him, knowing that it would be frozen and too stiff to truly move to harm him, "Who are you?" he demanded of the figure, "Identify yourself."
The Professor frowned as it remained silent, "Reinette…try to give it a command."
"What?" Reinette turned to her, "Why should it listen to me?"
"It didn't answer us earlier, when you were a little girl, but it did when YOU asked it."
Reinette hesitated but turned to the figure, taking a breath, "Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you."
"I am repair droid seven," it stated, its arm jerking down.
"If you're a repair droid why have you let the ship fall into such disrepair?" the Doctor put his hands behind his back, turning one of his hands flat with its palm open for the Professor to take, knowing that she was struggling to be in the same room as the alien droid.
"Ion storm, 82 percent systems failure."
"You should have been able to repair it by now," the Professor squeezed his hand, "The ship's been immobile for a year."
"We did not have the parts."
"Always comes down to that, doesn't it?" Mickey remarked, "The parts."
"The crew should have been able to get you the parts," the Doctor shook his head, "Put out a distress call at least. Where are they?"
"We did not have the parts," the droid repeated.
"A ship that big would have well over…"
"50," the Professor offered.
"50 people working on it," the Doctor continued, "Where did they go?"
"We did not have the parts."
"50 people…" he trailed off a moment, a thought hitting him, "And 82 percent damage…" he grew tense, frowning at the droid, "You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew."
"The crew?" Mickey gaped at the droid.
"The camera with the eye," the Doctor nodded, recalling what the Professor had told him they'd seen, "The machine with the heart. On a basic level it makes sense, human bodies operate like well oiled machines. But on a realistic level, it's not compatible."
"Why are you here though?" the Professor shook her head, "What's in 18th century France that you could need?"
"One more part is required," the droid stated, its head jerking to the side to look right at Reinette.
"Why haven't you taken the part yet then?" the Doctor inquired, making Reinette gasp at how nonchalant he was about the question.
"She is incomplete."
"And you think you can get by by opening more time holes?" the Doctor scoffed, "You'd have been better spent using the power you're wasting on this to get the ship moving to a safe port of harbor."
"Why Reinette though?" the Professor frowned, "All of 18th century, all of France, all the world and the Universe and all the time in between and you pick her specifically?"
"We are the same," it stated.
"We are not the same!" Reinette cried, offended, "We are in no sense the same!"
"We are the same."
"Get out of here!" Reinette ordered, "Get out of here this instance!"
The Time Lords were silent as the droid did just as commanded and teleported back out, knowing there was little they could do to stop it.
"I'll…I'll go try to find it," the Professor turned to the Doctor.
"You don't have to," he told her, taking her hands fully, "Mickey and Rose can handle it."
The Professor smiled smally at that, "I'm a better tracker," she countered, "And…I…" she took a breath, "I need to get over this, I need to be able to do this on my own one day. The droids are simple and weakening, I…I can stop them if I have to."
"And we won't let anything happen to her, boss," Mickey added, moving to put an arm around the Professor's shoulder…pulling it away a moment later when the Doctor gave him a narrow-eyed look for the move.
"And you'd kill 'em if they hurt her anyway," Rose added.
The Doctor let out a breath and nodded, of all the situations, this was relatively safe. The Droids were simple and slow and she would have two other people with her with extinguishers to help her, "Fine, fine," he muttered, "Take Mickey and Rose and Arthur, follow it, but don't get too close," he squeezed her hands, "Just…observe. Use those big beautiful eyes of yours."
The Professor's smile grew more real at that, "I will," she promised, leaning in to kiss his cheek before turning to head out with the humans.
Rose paused, looking at the Professor as they went, "Arthur?"
But the Professor just shook her head, leading them out of the room and leaving him with Reinette once more. He waited till the doorway in the wall had shut before he turned to Reinette, "Reinette, I must ask your permission to check your mind to see what they're looking for. May I?"
Reinette blinked, not sure how he could do such a thing, but nodded.
He reached out and touched his fingertips to her temple, closing his eyes as she did the same, gasping a moment later, "Fireplace man…how are…you are inside my mind!"
The Doctor was just silent, frowning slightly in concentration, not very comfortable with this. There was only one mind he wanted to have access to like this, and it was not quite the blonde standing before him but another.
~8~
Mickey and Rose silently followed the Professor through the halls of the ship, letting the woman focus and do as she'd offered to do in helping them track down the droids.
Mickey frowned, seeing how tense she was and started to talk just to help ease the tension slightly, "So, that Doctor, eh?"
"What are you talking about?" Rose glanced at him as the Professor was silent, moving over to a monitor in the wall and seeming to be hacking into the security system.
"Well," he shrugged, it was more awkward to say what he thought to Rose than the Professor, "Madame de Pompadour. Sarah Jane Smith. Cleopatra…"
Rose snorted at that, "Cleopatra? He mentioned her once."
"Yeah, but he called her 'Cleo,'" he joked.
"I have to speak to him about that one," the Professor murmured, before frowning, "The security's shot," she told them, turning around, "We won't be able to…Mickey!" she gasped, spotting one of the droids behind him.
Mickey spun around, trying to use the extinguisher on the droid, but it stuck him in the neck with a needle, another droid managing to do the same to Rose as it snuck up behind her.
"No!" the Professor moved to try and stop the droid from getting Rose, as she was closer, but it turned and fired a dart at her, getting her in her neck.
'Theta!' she managed to shout out before her world went black…
~8~
"You are in my memories," Reinette murmured, her eyes closed, the Doctor still sifting through her mind, "You walk among them…"
"If you wish for me not to see something, imagine a shut door and I won't look," the Doctor muttered, trying to catch a trace of the scanning the droids had clearly been doing for quite a while.
"To walk among the memories of another living soul," she shook her head, "Do you ever get used to this?"
"I only walk among the memories of the Professor," he countered.
"Why do you walk among them when you are already a part of them?"
"What age are you?" the Doctor asked, ignoring her last question.
"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation," she teased, "How promising."
"No, it's what they want to know," he frowned more, "You are 23 at present, but that isn't old enough for them…" he felt her flinch under his hands and murmured, "Old memories may resurface, apologies."
"Oh," Reinette breathed, her voice full of such sorrow, "Such a lonely childhood…" he was silent, letting her work through it, "Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone."
"You were never alone," the Doctor shook his head, "Always surrounded by…" he cut himself off and stepped back from her, looking at her with a deep frown, "No one's called me 'Doctor' around you."
But Reinette wasn't looking at him, still with her eyes closed, "Such a lonely little boy. Lonely then and…" she smiled, "And then you found her," she let out a small laugh, "Your little tutor," she opened her eyes, her expression growing sad, "But you lost her, and then you were even lonelier than ever," her eyes filled with tears, "How could you bear it?"
"How did you do that?" the Doctor asked, a hard edge coming to his voice, for all he knew this could have been an elaborate trap by his enemies to get access to his mind.
"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction," was all Reinette could offer, "Oh, Doctor," she stepped towards, him, "Doctor who? And the Professor of what?" she smiled a bit, "It's more than just a secret, isn't it?"
"What did you see in my head?" he demanded.
Reinette could only give him the saddest of looks and he knew, she'd seen too much, too much of him, too much of the Professor. He opened his mouth to try and say something he knew not what…when a scream sounded in his mind.
'Theta!'
~8~
The Professor winced as she slowly started to wake, blinking rapidly to clear her focus as the room became clearer. Which was not necessarily a good thing when she realized she was strapped to an examination table, her arms and legs and middle bound two it with the droids surrounding her.
"No," she swallowed, starting to struggle in her restraints, "No. NO!"
She could barely make out Rose and Mickey shouting for her from other examination beds, could barely register that they were there with her. All she could think of was that she was strapped down, on a board, with aliens looming over her, even if they were robots they were not of human make.
"You are compatible," one of the droids stated, a cutting tool shooting out of its hands.
She struggled more at that, knowing she was likely damaging her wrists and legs with how they were rubbing and twisting against the metal that was holding her down but her mind just kept flashing to the Krillitanes, to what they'd done to her. She was back there, in her mind, strapped down post-regeneration, too weak to break away, with the Krillitanes surrounding her, cutting into her head, inserting their collection devices, setting her up to that horrible machine and hurting her and…
"Get. Away. From. Her."
She couldn't even hear the Doctor as he entered the room, his sonic raised in threat to the droids, his teeth bared in a terrifying snarl at the sight of her in such distress and restrained, the Droids around her. He strode in, flicking his sonic at one of the droids that dared tried to stop him, shorting it out so badly that it sparked and fell to pieces before the others, which led them all to quickly fall back.
He hurried over to her side, "Kata," he called to her in Gallifreyan, knowing that was the only way she'd believe he was actually there with her, "Kata, Kata, calm down, it's me, it's Theta, I'm here, you're safe. Kata, I'm here," he flicked the restraints on her, breaking them and freeing her, gathering her into his arms instantly as she practically threw herself at him, crying into his shoulder as he held her shaking form, "Shh," he held her close, "Shh, I'm here. I'm here. You're safe. No one is ever going to harm you again, I swear it."
He rocked her back and forth in his arms a moment, flicking his sonic at the humans before they could ask him to help them, releasing them from their restraints and they hurried closer to him.
"Hey," he murmured, trying to distract her, "Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?" he hummed in her ear, smiling when he felt a small nod against him, knowing he had to get her mind off of what the droids had nearly done to her, "Her milometer."
"Her age?" the Professor mumbled against him, both of them still in Gallifreyan.
"Apparently the ship is…"
"37 years old."
He chuckled at that, "They seem to believe when she is 37 she'll be compatible," he glanced over her shoulder at the droids, switching to English, "You're missing the command circuit, the brain and you want Madame de Pompadour's."
"The brain is compatible," the droids stated.
The Doctor tightened his hold on the Professor, feeling her flinch in his arms from the Droid's words and the subject of it, "Compatible?" he scoffed, "Enough of this stupidity," he muttered, flicking the sonic over his head, moving his other hand over the Professor's ears as he turned the sonic on, letting a high pitched noise fill the room that had the humans wincing but caused the droids to shake before they slumped forward, still.
"Did you kill them?" Mickey looked around.
"Minor scramble," the Doctor shook his head, "They'll power back up soon enough. Now," he looked around, "We need to find a way to turn this ship off."
"It's a control room," the Professor swallowed, pulling away from him slightly, smiling softly when he reached up to brush the tears from her cheeks, so tender, his eyes boring into her with such passion and protectiveness that she could feel the familiar sensation of security settle over her once more. She forced herself to look away though, knowing he'd need her eyes, "The windows should be controlled from here. If we close them all down…"
"Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was 37?" Rose asked as the Doctor helped the Professor off her small board, holding her hand tightly as they moved towards the controls.
"The ship was too badly damaged," the Doctor remarked, "It was trial and error to find the right point in her life," he frowned, finding the right controls but seeing they were unresponsive, "The windows aren't closing."
The Professor moved to his side when a beep went off, "Incoming transmission," she identified, "A…report from the field," she looked at the droids, stepping closer to the Doctor, "One must be in France still. The ship must have an override that it can only be closed when all crew and droids are on it."
Rose gasped as one of the droids sprang to life just beside her, nearly sending her into Mickey's arms as they backed away.
The Doctor looked up as the beep sounded again before focusing on the active droid, subtly moving the Professor further behind him, "Message from one of your little scouts?"
"She is complete," was all the droid stated, "It begins," before they all teleported out of the room.
"Ok, what's happening?" Rose turned to the Time Lords.
"I would think that would be obvious, Rose," the Doctor sighed, "'She is complete?' They found the right window. They're going after Reinette."
"And they won't stop till they've gotten their last part," the Professor added.
~8~
The Doctor and Professor worked as quickly as they could before the time window that the droids had used. They'd been able to locate it relatively easy when they'd heard Reinette screaming through it for help, about how the clock was broken and it was time, trying to guide them to her. They'd found another window along the way, one that was a few years earlier than the one they were looking for and had tasked Rose with telling Reinette to be careful and warn her about what was coming for her and when.
"You found it, then?" Rose called as she ran back into the room, having finished speaking to Reinette.
"They knew we were coming," the Doctor answered, "They've blocked the connection to the ship."
"They can come here but we can't go to them," the Professor sighed.
"I don't get it," Rose looked through the latest window, seeing a ballroom, seeing the droids pulling Reinette in and surrounding the other guests, "How come they got in there?"
"You saw them, Rose," the Professor glanced at her, "They teleported. So long as that glass remains intact and connected to France the connection to the ship is working. They've focused all their power on this window, closed all the others just after you finished Rose. This is the only connection to the ship left."
"Can't we just go in the TARDIS?" Rose turned to them.
"We're part of events now," the Doctor shook his head, "We won't be able to go within the chain that way."
"Well, can't we just smash through it?" Mickey moved over to the mirror and began to press against it, testing it, "It's just glass isn't it?"
"Hyperplex," the Professor corrected, "On this side. Plate glass likely on the other. We would need a massive amount of force to break through it."
"How much force?" Rose asked, pointing behind them.
The Time Lords looked over their shoulder to see Arthur the Horse trotting up slowly, sticking his head in through the doorway and neighing at them.
The Doctor looked at the Professor who blinked, "That would do," she nodded.
The Doctor held out a hand to her, silently asking if she wanted to come with him, see this through.
She hesitated for only a moment, knowing that it would mean going to the Ballroom where ALL the droids of the ship were now gathered. But…she'd be with the Doctor and it would be to stop them. She'd be able to go there and watch them be defeated, be stopped, and…that was what she really needed. She hadn't had that with the Krillitanes the first time. The Doctor had gotten some of them, but not all. This time she could go there and ensure they were all stopped.
She reached out and took his hand, allowing him to help her up as they hurried over to Arthur, quickly getting on his bare back a moment before the Doctor set the horse running at the window…
Allowing them to crash right through it, landing safely in the ballroom from a mirror that was attached to the wall. The Doctor led Arthur up to one of the droids standing before Reinette, two others holding her down while a handful were scattered around at the edge of the crowd. He hopped off, resting a hand on the Professor's let to tell her to stay on Arthur if she would feel better, which she did, as he turned to face the Droids.
"What the hell is going on?!" another man, the king, demanded before the Doctor could even begin to address the situation.
The Doctor just ignored him, focusing on the droid as they were the far more threatening problem at the moment. He reached out and grabbed the droid's wig, pulling it and its mask off, looking at its clockwork device within. He rolled his eyes as the droid tried to hold up its weapon, "Enough of this," he told the droid firmly, "We've broken your connection to the ship," he gestured at the shattered mirror, "You have no way back now and you don't have the parts here to continue to maintain yourselves," he watched as the droid started to push on its teleport on its wrist to no avail, "You're going to power down eventually, and I will not be powering you back up, ever. So you may as well surrender while you can," his expression grew hard, "You threatened my Bonded. You should count yourselves very lucky that I'm allowing you the chance to surrender instead of tearing you apart cog by cog."
The droid jerked a moment, as though it was staring him down, before it slumped forward, the clockwork slowing till it remained unmoving. The other droids weren't quite so lucky as they fell and shattered on the floor.
The Doctor gave a nod at that, glancing at Reinette still kneeling on the ground, "Are you alright?" she nodded so he moved back to the horse, reaching out a hand to help the Professor down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "And you?"
"Better now," the Professor murmured.
"What's happened to them?" Reinette asked as she slowly stood.
"They've stopped," the Doctor said simply, "They have no purpose now."
He and the Professor glanced over at the mirror, wondering what their purpose would be now that the link to the ship was shattered. They had no way to get back to the TARDIS now. The box would undoubtedly bring Mickey and Rose back to their proper times the moment they stepped inside her. But she wouldn't even be able to home in on them, not now that they were literally a part of events.
~8~
Reinette paused in the hall of Versailles, taking a moment to look at the two Time Lords standing at the window and looking up at the stars. The Doctor had his arms around the Professor, her back to his front, his chin resting on her shoulder as they just…had a moment. She could see it clearer now than she could as a child how much love they had between each other. As a child she'd just thought he was a funny man dancing with a pretty lady. Now though, now she saw the tenderness and devotion between them, the care and the love. It brought tears to her eyes to see such a moment and she hated to intrude, but it was time for them to go home, they didn't belong in this time with these people and she might just have a way to help them.
"You know all their names, don't you?" she called as she moved to join them, looking up at the stars herself, "I saw that in your mind," she reminded the Doctor, before smiling at the Professor, "You taught him the name of every star."
"Took him a while," the Professor joked, "But he got there."
"Names are just titles," the Doctor defended, "Titles don't tell all that much about you."
"Says 'the Doctor,'" the Professor nudged him, "The man that always makes people better."
"Counters the Professor," he quipped right back, "The woman who enlightens all around her."
The Professor smiled at that.
Reinette observed them a moment later, seeing the wistful look in their eyes as they looked at the stars. She had seen that in his mind as well, the stars going out, a planet lost, the stars were their home now…and they were cut off, all because of her, "In saving me, you trapped yourself. Did you know that would happen?"
"We were aware," the Professor sighed.
"Yet, still you came."
"Well," the Doctor took a deep breath, "My Bonded has a keen sense of honor."
The Professor rolled her eyes, he was just as bad as she was, he just didn't admit to it.
"There were many doors between my world and yours. Can you not use one of the others?"
"Shattering the mirror shattered the connection," the Doctor shook his head.
"You'll probably find some random broken mirrors as a result," the Professor warned, "There were quite a few doorways."
Reinette nodded, "So, here you are. Stuck on the slow path, with me," she hummed but sighed at that, "It's a pity, I think I would've enjoyed your company on it," she smiled at their confused looks, "Come," she nodded to the side, turning to lead them down the hall and towards a room on the end, opening it to reveal her personal quarters…with a very familiar fireplace stationed at the other end of the room, "It's not a copy," she told them, "It's the original. I had it moved here and was exact in every detail."
"The fireplace from your bedroom," the Professor recognized it as she and the Doctor slowly approached it, "When was it moved?"
"Many years ago. In the hope that a door once opened, may someday be opened again," she observed it, trying to see any of the signs the Professor had mentioned about the broken connection, "It appears undamaged, do you think it will still work?"
"You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it," the Doctor murmured, pulling his sonic out and flashing it along the mantel, "So it was offline when the rest of the connections were severed. The first link may be there…" he grinned as the sonic beeped, "Found it," he turned to the Professor, holding out a hand to tug her closer. They looked over at Reinette, "Thank you Reinette."
"You're very welcome," she told them with a sad smile.
"Goodbye, Madame de Pompadour," the Professor gave her a small wave.
"Farewell," she nodded her head, watching as the Doctor nudged the fireplace, the entire portion spinning around, depositing them back in the ship.
"Doctor!" Rose cheered, jumping off of a crate where she had been sitting, watching the fireplace, Mickey jerking away from where he'd fallen asleep beside her, "Professor! You're back!" she rushed over to hug them quickly.
"How long was it?" the Professor asked.
"Five and a half hours," Mickey told them, hugging the Professor quickly despite the Doctor's glare in protest, shaking the man's hand as well, ignoring the second huff of protest.
"Did it work?" Rose looked between them, "Were you able to save her?"
The Professor nodded, "She's fine, and the droids have all been shut down and disposed of."
"Did they say why they thought Madame de Pompadour would fix their ship?" Rose asked as the Doctor led them over to the TARDIS doors, opening them to let them inside.
"There had to have been massive damage to the ship's memory," the Doctor shrugged, "Likely the programming got skewed."
"Or it could be that the ship is the SS Madame de Pompadour," the Professor smirked at him.
The Doctor laughed at that, winding his arm around her waist as they headed for the console, "Or that," he agreed, starting to flick a few controls as they reached it.
"The TARDIS can close down the time windows now that the droids are gone," the Professor remarked.
"Rather dull work," the Doctor murmured, glancing at Rose, "Why don't you take our Mr. Smith and show him the rest of the TARDIS?"
"Sure," Rose nodded, turning to lead Mickey up the gantry and through the door at the top.
"You know," the Professor remarked, turning to lean on the console as the Doctor pulled one of the grilling up to pluck a small white box out of the bottom of it, "You're not nearly as sneaky as you think you are. Why'd you send them off?"
"Because I wanted to be alone with you," he said simply, taking her hand and leading her over to the Captain's chair, sitting beside her and resting the white box that she now saw had a bright red cross on it on his lap.
"What's that for?" she frowned.
He just squeezed the hand he was holding and held it up, pressing the lightest of kisses to her wrist which was turning pink and red from the chafing the restraints had done as she tried to break free, "For you," he told her, opening the box, and starting to lightly clean the newly raw skin, "I'm sorry you were hurt," he murmured, looking up at her, "But I swear to you, Kata, you will never ever be truly harmed again, not while I still draw breath in this body, in every body I will ever have."
The Professor smiled, moving her hand to touch his cheek, stroking her thumb over his stubble, "I know," she leaned in and gently kissed him.
She really did know, the Doctor wouldn't ever let anything happen to her, she trusted him. And not just because he was 'the Doctor,' but because he was her Bonded, her Theta, and that was so much more important than just being the Doctor.
A/N: I hope you liked this first little chapter :) Just to refresh, this story will only be updated on Saturdays as I have other DW series, the Main Series, being updated daily so this will be more like a special treat for now :)
I hope you liked the AU Doctor and Professor's return :)
Some notes on reviews...(from the end of Rewritten: Series 1)...
The Doctor didn't come back for the Professor for a few reasons. He thought she was going to be furious with him for 'hurting' her cousin and he couldn't bear that :( He DID try to see her when he was on planet, but the High Council kept them separated. He very much was always thinking of her (as seen in Recollections) in various incarnations and wanted to travel with her, but he was never able to get back to her till after the war :( The Professor was never just waiting for him, she had a life that she got on with in his absence. She made a name for herself and lived, now she gets to be with him though :)
Yup, we have a chapter of Recollections about the Doctor meeting the Professor in the war :)
Oh we'll definitely see a Venice chapter of Recollections ;)
The AU Rose will be more follow orders due to her promise to the Professor :) But there will be a twist coming very soon that will involve Rose and her future in the TARDIS, and it will very much relate to her maturity and the way she's grown up both during her travels and after being kicked out :)
I know the Doctor in the show has brown hair, but this is an AU, it's a NEW 10th Doctor, so he has black hair in this one :) And yes, I'm also aware that the Doctor, in the show, said 'Don't you think she looks tired' but in the story the Professor was able to get the point across in just four words, 'Doesn't she look tired?' which is the same question but with fewer words ;)
I think the tired line was meant to make them question if Harriet was capable of being Prime Minister, that she was wearing out and getting tired and therefore would make mistakes :(
That's cool :) The Professor was the first OC I've ever made, I'm going to make mistakes with her and, in seeing where I go wrong with her, hopefully improve her later incarnations and other OCs away from Mary Sueness :) That is an interesting idea for Rose to become a Time Lady, I encourage you to try your hand at writing it :) I'm sure you'll do wonderfully ;)
I haven't seen the TV movie yet :( But I do plan to eventually do rewrites of the Classic Series which would eventually include the movie in it :)
I understand your feelings :) In my story there are other circumstances that influence the Doctor's feelings on things, regenerating into an entirely new Doctor makes his thoughts on things different. The current 12th Doctor doesn't seem to care for other human life save for Clara's so my AU 10 isn't too far away. I don't believe I missed the entire point of DW, I think I took a more extreme look at how someone might react to certain circumstances, I fully understand the point of the Dalek episode was to show that the Doctor needed humans to keep HIM human, and that's where I wanted to stray, to a 'what if' there was just an alien with him, an alien that's done much worse than the Doctor and destroyed more planets and people and taken more lives than him, how would that change who he is compared to who Rose made him :) You should actually check out my Heart of Time Saga series, Rose is just an absolute wonder and joy in that story and very close :) I like to challenge myself to write characters in a different perspective. While Rose might have been found lacking with the Professor, she's basically like family to another Time Lady :) I sort of take the Doctor as yes, he loves humanity, and he will fight to the death to protect it, but if it ever came down to that or the very last of his kind besides him, the thing that keeps him from being 100% alone, he might find himself considering a terrible choice of not picking humanity, after being alone for over a century, he may crave not being alone, it does things to people :( I do different outlooks and reactions to the same situation in all my stories. Where the Doctor might be completely horrified by something in one story, he might be considering it in another, I try to vary the stories so, while I may have 'missed the point of the show' in exploring one possible perspective of it here, I probably didn't miss it in another series ;) Overall though, the AU Academic Series is meant to take the Doctor down a darker road as the show itself seems to progressively get darker as we go :)