The Christmas Reunion

Chapter Five: Granddaughter's Eyes

By Lumendea

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any spinoff material, and I gain no income from this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

….

Her Grandfather was so much older than the last time Susan had seen him. For Gallifreyans, especially those who became Time Lords, there was an understanding that the physical body was the least important aspect. The mind, the core that remained, mattered. And her Grandfather's had aged. Weight and grief flickered in his eyes.

He smiled more freely now than he had when she'd first met him, but Susan was no fool. It masked pain and loss. And hid a history that she knew so little about. While he had finally returned to see her after many years of her worrying and wondering, the Doctor never shared the full scope of what he had seen and done with her. It wasn't a matter of trust, and she knew that. Susan knew he feared burdening her, and she'd never found the words to convince him otherwise.

Susan wasn't sure what to think or feel about his newest incarnation. Her Grandfather had appeared again after a few years to see her once again. After his flight following Alex's death, she'd resigned herself to never seeing him again. It had hurt, but not much in the light of her beloved son's death. She loved all of her children dearly. Adopted or biological, it hadn't mattered because she'd raised them with David, and they'd been a family. But Alex had been an unexpected blessing. Someone who carried a bit of her and David on in the world. And he'd looked up to his great-grandfather so much, and Susan, while she'd had concerns, had been grateful to have Alex acknowledged by someone on her side of the family.

But the universe was shaking. Susan wasn't a Time Lord; she'd never finished her education due to the discovery of her incompatibility. She remembered her own fear following that day and the way that her professors had looked at her. There'd been an investigation into the looms, into her bloodline and everything about her past. Even now, decades later, the memory made her uneasy. The sudden fall that came with no matching what the Time Lords wanted.

Her Grandfather hadn't disowned her, hadn't given up on her. He'd taken her from Gallifrey, along with a few items that Susan hadn't dared to ask about, and they'd run. Even during the most terrifying adventures, it had been better than being on Gallifrey with those judgmental and disappointed eyes on her. The Doctor had discussed passing the TARDIS onto Alex and had told Susan of Gallifrey's acceptance of his former companion Ace into the Time Lord Academy. But Alex had decided Earth was his home and settled for exploring Europe instead of space.

It hadn't kept him safe. Another Dalek invasion, one that Susan now recognized as another part of the Time War, had led to his death. It was everywhere, and despite what her Grandfather thought, Susan had never blamed him. Alex would have always fought for Earth. He was his father's son. He was her son. The Doctor had nothing to do with that.

But he'd felt guilty about it. Susan wasn't sure when his sense that everything was his fault had developed, and she hated it but was powerless to stop it. Her Grandfather had left, leaving her with an aching heart at the death of her child and a planet that was once again in need of rebuilding. Thankfully, the damage hadn't been as severe the second time, and she and the rest of the Earth Council had a population that knew who to rebuild.

Now he'd returned, clearly older and having passed through whatever crucible was waiting for her and clawing at the edges of the reality she could perceive. Susan had fears. While she'd never finished her education at the Time Lord Academy, she possessed enough temporal senses to know that it was bad. At least, she knew that regardless of whatever might be coming for her, that her Grandfather would make it through. As long as he was alive, Susan had faith that the universe and Earth where her children lived would survive and they would have the chance to live out their lives.

She watched her Grandfather set up the disrupter and use his sonic screwdriver to get a closer reading from the rift. The screaming was coming and going, fading in and out as the minutes slowly ticked by. Sounds below drew Susan to the edge of the building, and she watched with no small amount of relief as Earth Defence Forces arrived and began to evacuate people. There were defences in place by the rift, her Grandfather was working on a solution, and her human neighbours were being evacuated.

And then there was Rose Tyler. Susan wasn't sure what to make of the woman. Turning back towards the rift, Susan studied the woman thoughtfully. She looked fairly young, in her mid-twenties, but carried herself proudly and with confidence that most people that age could not in Susan's experience. Long blonde hair was being tugged from a French braid by the wind, and she was dressed practically in low boots, jeans, and a long red coat. Her eyes were strange, amber in colour with hints of gold that caught the light and held great age to them. Susan had almost mistaken her for a Time Lady thanks to those eyes and her mental shields.

She knew her Grandfather, despite their years apart, to dismiss the relationship as a fling or poorly considered. Susan had met his dashing prior self and observed the way some people look at him, and yet, he'd ignored it all. Mostly at least. Now that had changed. Her Grandfather hadn't remained married to her biological grandmother, and Susan had only met the woman once or twice before their flight from Gallifrey. She'd wondered about her from time to time, but in general, had felt the same disinterest that the woman had always demonstrated towards her.

Rose Tyler was special to her Grandfather, and Susan had so many questions. There was none of the protectiveness that she might have expected to feel nor the suspicion. They were comfortable and, based on the brief demonstration she'd always seen, worked well together. Her Grandfather had found a partner, it seemed. While she was happy with that revelation, it did make the lingering ache of the loss of David hurt a bit more.

Her musings were sharply cut off by the rip shuddering. Light refracted violently, twisting between blues and reds and violets. The scream was suddenly loud and echoing around them, only to be followed by growling. Rose shifted in front of the Doctor, bringing up her sword.

"Almost got it, Rose," the Doctor shouted over the noise. "Be ready. Just thrust your sword into the tube."

"I remember," Rose said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Thoughts on closing it."

"This isn't localized," the Doctor replied. "According to the sonic, the rip is here, but the source of the temporal anomaly is another point in time and a small shift in space."

"Small shift? It's on Earth?"

"Maybe," the Doctor called back.

"So, how can we close it?" Rose asked.

"Any chance you can manage that?"

"I skipped basic training!" Rose laughed. "Sorry, I'm not sure I can."

Then Susan saw Rose shiver and was certain that it wasn't from the cold. Objectively, it was warmer near the tear. She was certain that it was a few degrees higher than it should be. But the wrongness of what they were witnessing made her cold to the bones. Rose was certainly not a member of their species, but Susan thought that she was experiencing the same effect.

"With some time, I can put a temporal manipulator together in the TARDIS," the Doctor replied. "It won't deal with the source point of whatever is causing this," the way he said it worried Susan. "But we can close this rip and make sure no more Neverweres come through."

"How much time?" Rose called back.

She was completely calm. Rose sounded more curious than worried despite the fact that this plan would have the Doctor returning to the TARDIS and leaving her to once more guard the rip. Susan told herself not to judge, but it was hard to imagine David ever being willing to leave her in such a situation. Then again, she had never owned and controlled a Star Knight's blade. Susan's fingers itched to touch the artefact and inspect it.

"Part of me is wondering if the Silver Lord is connected to this," Rose said softly. "I mean… there's no guarantee with his plans against me happened in order."

"But he was trying to stop you from ascending," the Doctor said gruffly. "This is after that in your timeline and hundreds of years after you were living on Earth. An attack here and now doesn't make sense." He shook his head. "These rips we've been seeing… they seem natural, if bad. I'm inclined to think it's after-effects of the…" the Doctor stopped himself and huffed. "Knowing would be helpful, but we still need to close it."

"Is it spilling out Artron energy?"

"Some, but we aren't to dangerous levels yet. So far, it is about the same size as the rip on the Moors. But it's around a lot more people." The Doctor glanced at Rose. "We haven't got a temporal anomaly to feed this rip. How did we close the one I built the disrupter for?"

"Well, the Silver Lord was trying to collapse the Web of Time through Earth by pulling into the Time Vortex. You set up an Arton Energy gatherer to use as a temporal manipulator, but then Neverweres came through. We used the disrupter to hold them back while the manipulator gathered energy. I fought the Silver Lord while you closed the rip."

"Well, maybe that one is still rattling around in the TARDIS too," the Doctor grumbled. He stood up and eyed the disrupted. "Alright, Rose, it's ready. If Neverweres start coming through, this will let you disrupt them all at once rather than risking a fight."

"Understood," Rose said with a nod. She offered the Doctor a soft smile. "I'll be alright, love. You go and do what you need to do."

Love. The endearment made Susan smile wistfully. Her Grandfather kissed Rose quickly, likely having forgotten that she was there based on the way his ears reddened when he caught sight of her again. Susan smiled and nodded to him.

"Susan, are you coming?" the Doctor asked.

"I'll stay here," Susan replied. Rose turned and looked at her over her shoulder. "I know the area, so if we need to retreat, I can advise Rose."

Her Grandfather hesitated, watching her carefully before nodding and heading for the stairs. Susan wished it was possible for him to stay close but understood that he needed the supplies back at the TARDIS. Besides, it gave her some time alone with Rose Tyler.

"I'm sorry our visit couldn't be peaceful," Rose said.

Susan laughed. "His visits rarely are." Susan eyed the rift. "Though, this is a bit more complicated and unusual than his other visits."

Rose shuddered and nodded. Susan found herself studying the blonde woman's profile. Given her romantic relationship with her Grandfather, which was enough to make Rose stand out, it was clear that there was more to her than either Rose or her Grandfather were sharing. The sword was one was interesting. Susan had vague memories of the stories of Star Knights on one of the planets they'd visited, and the sword that shifted into a bracelet and back fit the stories. That still didn't explain Rose's apparent temporal senses. The woman was clearly being affected by the rip in time and feeling cold from it in a similar way to Susan and her Grandfather.

They didn't say anything at first, settling into a comfortable silence as Susan considered everything that had happened. Rose was standing near the disrupter, clearly ready for whatever came through. Susan took heart in that and eyed the disrupter that was supposed to work with Rose's sword. How her Grandfather wasn't constantly poking at the sword, Susan didn't know. She was a curious creature and knew that, but she'd always figured her Grandfather to be worse.

"Has he ever studied the sword?" Susan finally asked.

"Not really," Rose replied with a chuckle. "I'm fairly protective of it. As much as I love him, I'd be annoyed if he damaged it. This sword has gotten us out of a lot of trouble."

"You do love him, don't you," Susan said softly. "That's good to see in your eyes. So many love the idea of him."

"What, the thousand-year-old stubborn being who avoids any conversations about emotion?" Rose asked with a smirk. "That brilliant, manic man?"

Susan laughed. "You see him a bit more clearly than most of the people he travels with. I think a lot of people get lost in the idea of a genius who saves planets."

"Well, that part is definitely true," Rose agreed. "But he's… well, he's a person beyond that. With strengths and faults and a history and worries. The idea of him is brilliant, but the person is better."

Susan smiled despite the situation they were in. "How long have you known him?"

"I've known him a long time," Rose confessed. She was looking at Susan carefully, weighing her next words. "To him, the first time we met was not long after he left you on Earth. It was in Rome, and he was… torn about what happened. I didn't recognize him at first, and we had a conversation about change and that he did right letting you live your life."

"Yes," Susan agreed. "He did. I had mixed feelings at the time. The change was hard, but he was right; if he hadn't forced the issue, I wouldn't have ever left." Susan shook her head. "When we left Gallifrey… I was so scared. We barely knew each other, had never spent any time together, but when I became the target of rumours and inquests, he was there. I know, looking back, that there was more to it than that," Susan noted Rose's slight nod of agreement. So, Rose knew something of what had been going on with her Grandfather that was interesting, "But he tried so hard for me. I would have felt dreadfully guilty turning my back on that."

"I'm just glad that you've been happy," Rose said softly. "Even if it hasn't always been that way."

"No life is always happy," Susan replied. "That's not how it works."

Rose's lips quirked with amusement that Susan didn't understand. "No," she agreed. "It isn't. My condolences for your son, though. I can't imagine."

"Thank you. He was brave, and despite what Grandfather seems to think, it wasn't his fault. There was another Dalek Invasion, and Alex… did what most humans knew needed to be done. He fought back. It's hurt, but I'm proud of him. I wish Grandfather didn't blame himself."

Rose sighed, the sound so loud that for a moment, it drowned out the churning of the rip and the distant screaming. "Sadly, the Doctor excels at blaming himself for things he had no control over."

Susan could only nod sadly to that statement. When he'd been younger, when travelling with her in his older first body, that had been less the case, but already some of that had been present. As he'd grown to care more and more about the rest of the world, it had only grown worse, it seemed. Looking back at the rip once again, Susan listened to the distant scream and wondered who or what was on the other side of the rip, causing all the Neverweres and frightening her Grandfather and Rose so much. Likely, it was in his past and Susan's future. She tightened her coat around her body, and Susan did her best to ignore the fear growing in her chest.