The Trip of a Lifetime
Father's Day
Thanks to hadrianlopez1 for following and favouriting this story
Rose wandered into the TARDIS' lounge, where the Doctor and Gazelle were both lounging on the settee, watching a movie on the widescreen telly. "Ah, morning, Rose." Gazelle greeted their friend, "What's that?" she asked, noticing something in Rose's arm. It was a photo of a man with auburn hair, brown eyes and a cheeky grin.
"Peter Alan Tyler, my dad." Rose explained, "The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th of September 1954, died 7th of November 1987. He was always 'aving adventures. He'd 'ave loved to see me now. That's what mum always sez. So, I was finkin'... could we? Could we go back an' see my dad when 'e was still alive?"
"Where's this come from, all of a sudden?" the Doctor asked
"Alright then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or somefink, then never mind, we'll just leave it." Rose mumbled
"No, no, we can do it if we're careful." Gazelle told her, "We're just worried about you."
"I wanna see 'im." Rose said determinedly
The Time Lords got to their feet. "Your wish is our command." the Doctor said, "But be careful what yer wish for." And the trio made their way to the console room.
"Where d'ya wanna start?" Gazelle asked Rose as they took up positions at the console.
"Um, their wedding." Rose replied, "3rd of September 1985, Southwark Registry Office."
"Right, Southwark Registry Office it is." the Doctor said, inputting co-ordinates.
~8~
The trio were soon sitting at the back of the registry office, witnessing the marriage of Jackie and Pete.
"I, Peter Alan Tyler..." the Registrar instructed, "Take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice..."
"I, Peter Alan Tyler..." Pete began, "Take you, Jacqueline Suzanna... Suzette, Anita..." he tailed off, embarrassed at his mistake
Jackie rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, just carry on." she told the Registrar, "It's good enough for Lady Di."
The Doctor and Gazelle both grinned at Pete's little slip-up and turned to Rose. "I fought 'e'd be taller." she commented. Gazelle squeezed her hand in comfort.
"... to be my lawful wedded wife, to love and behold 'till death do us part." the Registrar instructed Pete, who managed to repeat it successfully this time.
~8~
After the wedding, Rose and the Time Lords quietly returned to the TARDIS. "He died so close to 'ome." Rose sighed, "He was goin' to a friend's wedding an' he got 'it by a car. Mum said it was a 'it an' run. He was dead when the ambulance got there. No one was wiv 'im. He died alone. Mum wished that someone 'ad been there for 'im. I wanna be that someone, so 'e doesn't die alone."
"November the 7th?" the Doctor asked
"1987." Rose confirmed
The Doctor in-putted the co-ordinates and Gazelle started the TARDIS' engines. Rose watched them apprehensively, then looked to the door.
~8~
On 7th of November 1987, the TARDIS materialised on a London suburban street. The trio stepped out of the box and looked around. It was a still, quiet sort of day. "That's so weird." Rose murmured, "The day my father died... I fought it'd be all sorta grim an' stormy, it's just a normal day."
"The past is another country." the Doctor said sagely, "1987's just the Isle of Wight."
"Now are you absolutely sure about this?" Gazelle asked Rose, "No one should see a loved one die."
"Yeah." Rose nodded, and the trio walked on.
~8~
They were soon standing on the curb of a road near the Powell Estate, with Rose in the middle, the Doctor on her left and Gazelle on her right. "This is it, Jordan Road." Rose explained, "He'd been round to get a weddin' present, a vase. Mum always said, 'that stupid vase'." She sounded like she was fighting back tears.
A green Ford Escott rounded the corner, with Pete Tyler at the wheel. "He got out of 'is car an' crossed the road." Rose murmured as they watched Pete's car pull up on the curb nearby, Oh, God. This is it."
The Time Lords took her hands as they watched Pete, oblivious to what was in store for him, pick up the vase from the passenger seat. He then got out of the car, unaware that a beige car had come round the corner and was now approaching at full speed. Pete stepped back right into it's path, not noticing it until it was too late. Rose hid her head behind the Doctor's shoulder as she heard the screech of brakes, followed by a thud and the sound of the vase shattering. She lifted her head to see the beige car speeding away and her father lying on the ground twitching.
"Got to him. Quick." the Doctor told her gently, but Rose couldn't bring herself to. She turned and ran off round the corner.
The Time Lords followed her and they all leaned back against the wall as they heard sirens in the distance. "It's too late now." Rose sniffled, "By the time the ambulance got there, 'e was dead." The Doctor looked away in respectful silence, while Gazelle gave Rose a comforting hug. "He can't die on 'is own." Can I try again?" Rose pleaded.
"Rose, we can't." Gazelle told her gently, "It's risky to have two sets of us in the same place at the same time."
"Please?" Rose sobbed
The Doctor and Gazelle shared a look. They knew it was a bad idea, but neither of them could bring themselves to say no.
~8~
After another quick hop in the TARDIS, the trio were stood round the corner, watching the first set of themselves standing by the curb. "Right, that's you and us." the Doctor told Rose, "It's a very bad idea, two sets of being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs off and they follow, then go to yer dad."
They watched Pete's car pull up for the second time and heard the first Rose say; "Oh, God, this is it."
"I can't do this." the present Rose quivered
"You don't have to do anything ya don't want to, but this is the last time we can be here." Gazelle told her kindly but firmly.
Rose watched her father get out of his car, breathing heavily. Then, she ran out.
"Rose, no!" the Doctor called
"No, don't!" Gazelle cried
Rose ignored their cries. She ran past the first set of the trio and knocked her father out of the way of the oncoming car. They both tumbled to the floor. The first set of the trio looked bewildered for a few seconds, then disappeared into thin air, while the Time Lords' present selves looked on in mounting horror.
Rose stared at her father as he picked himself up. "I did it!" she breathed, "I saved ya life!"
"Blimey, did ya see the speed of it?!" Pete commented, "Did ya get 'is number?"
Rose continued to stare at him. "I really did it. Oh, my God, look at you! You're alive! That car was gonna kill ya!"
"Well, give me some credit, I did see it coming. I wasn't gonna walk under it, was I?"
"I'm Rose." the blonde said, looking at him expectantly.
"That's a coincidence." Pete remarked, "That's my daughter's name."
"That's a great name." Rose smiled, "Good choice, well done."
There was a few seconds silence between them, then Pete spoke up again; "Right, I'd better shift. I've got a wedding to go to."
"Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?"
"Yeah, are you goin'?"
Rose thought for a moment. "Yeah."
"You, ya friend an' 'er boyfriend need a lift?" Pete asked, gesturing to the Time Lords.
The Doctor looked furious with Rose, while Gazelle looked worried and disappointed with the blonde.
~8~
Pete led the trio to the Tyler flat. "There we go." he said as he put the vase down, "Sorry about the mess. If ya want a cup of tea, the kitchen's just down there, milk's in the fridge... well, it would be, wouldn't it? Where else would ya put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sil outside. I always fought that if someone invented a window sill wiv special compartments, ya know, one for milk, one for yoghurt... make a lot of money outta that."
Rose still couldn't take her eyes off him. She smiled at him in delight as he rambled, while the Time Lords just nodded politely.
"Sell it to students an' things." Pete pondered, "I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that, excuse me..." He went off into the master bedroom.
Rose looked around the living room. "All the stuff mum kept." she sighed, "His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard, she used to show me when she'd 'ad a bit to drink." Neither Time Lord said anything, they just leaned against the doorframe. "Here it is. On display." Rose continued, "Where it should be."
The Time Lords still didn't respond. The Doctor just watched her with his arms folded and a dark look on his face, while Gazelle examined a wedding invitation taped up on the wall.
Rose picked up a trophy and showed it to them. "Third prize at the bowling. First two got to go to Didcot." She examined it for a few more seconds, then replaced it. Her eye was drawn by a group of large bottles in the corner of the room, so she bent down to look at them. "Health drinks. Tonics, mum used to call 'em. He made 'is money sellin' this Vitex stuff. He 'ad all sorts of jobs. He's so clever." Still no response from her friends. She looked around and spotted some blueprints on the coffee table. "Solar power. Mum said 'e was gonna do this. Now 'e can!" She looked to the Time Lords smiling, but neither of them smiled back. "'Kay, look, I'll tell 'im you're not a couple."
The Doctor finally spoke, his voice suspicious; "When we first met, I said 'travel with us in space.' You said no. Then Gazelle said, 'time machine.'"
"It wasn't some big plan." Rose defended, "I just saw it 'appening an' I fought... I can stop it."
The Doctor shook his head. "I did it again. I picked another stupid ape. I should've known. It's not about showing you the universe, it never is. It's about the universe doing something for you."
"So it's ok when you two go to other times, an' you two save people's lives, but not when it's me savin' my dad?" Rose bit back.
"We know what we're doing, you don't." the Doctor told her, "Two sets of us being there made it a vulnerable point."
"But he's alive!"
"Rose, our entire planet died." Gazelle said, trying to make Rose see reason, "My whole family, the Doctor's family. D'ya think it's never occurred to us to go back and save them? But we can't. That's not how the laws of time work. Some deaths have to happen, no matter how much we wish they didn't."
"But it's not like I've changed 'istory." Rose protested, "Not much, I mean... he's never gonna be a world leader, 'e's not gonna start World War Three or anyfink."
"Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before." the Doctor said, taking a few steps towards her, "An ordinary man, that's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive."
"What, would ya rather 'im dead?" Rose spat
"Of course not." Gazelle tried to pacify her, "That's not what we're saying, but..."
"No, I get it!" Rose cut her off, too stubborn to listen to reason, "For once, you two ain't the most important people in my life."
"Let's see how yer get on without us then, give us the key." the Doctor demanded, having lost patience with the Human, "The TARDIS key. If we're so insignificant, give it me back."
"Alright then, I will." Rose shot back, and slapped the key into the Doctor's hand.
"Well, you've got what you wanted so that's goodbye then." the Doctor said harshly, and with that, he turned on his heel and stalked off towards the door. Gazelle shook her head at Rose and followed him.
"Ya don't scare me." Rose said, pursuing them, "I know 'ow sad you are. Both of ya. You'll both just 'ang around outside the TARDIS waitin' for me." The Time Lords ignored her and went outside. "And I'll make ya wait a long time!" Rose shouted after them, then slammed the door shut and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Pete poked his head round the bedroom door. "Friend trouble?" he asked.
~8~
Outside, the Doctor leaned on the balcony rail and exhaled. "She 'as no idea of the damage she could've done." he huffed
Gazelle rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "We might be lucky." she said, "Pete Tyler's death isn't a fixed point in time."
"I know that, but it was vulnerable point." the Doctor replied
Gazelle didn't answer that. She was just as worried as the Doctor that Rose's meddling with time could have caused serious side-effects
"We'd better get back to the TARDIS." the Doctor decided, "See if we can damage control, and let Rose stew for a while." And so the two Time Lords set off.
~8~
Presently, Rose was picking up peanut shells off the coffee table and putting them on a plate when Pete entered, now dressed in a suit. "Excuse me, d'ya mind? What're ya tidyin' up for?" he questioned
"Sorry..." Rose mumbled, "Force of habit."
"Listen, don't worry about them. Friends 'ave rows all the time."
"I fink they left me." Rose sighed, sitting down on the settee.
"What, a pretty girl like you? If I was going out wiv you..."
"Stop right there!" Rose cried
"I was just sayin'."
"I know what ya saying, an' we're not goin' there. At no point are we goin' anywhere near there. You aren't even aware that there exists. I don't even wanna fink about there, and believe me, neither do you. There... for you... is like... pfft, it's like the Bermuda triangle."
"Blimey, you know 'ow to flatter a bloke." Pete remarked dryly
Rose jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket. "Right, are we off?" she asked, offering her arm to Pete.
"So that wouldn't be a mixed signal at all?" he asked, gesturing to her arm.
"Absolutely not."
Pete sighed and took her arm resignedly. "I'll take ya back to the loony bin where you belong." he said as they walked to the door, "Still, I'm sure I've met ya somewhere before..."
~8~
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Gazelle rounded the corner to the road where the TARDIS was parked. The Doctor had cooled down, but he was still worried. Gazelle was constantly looking at the sky, an unsettling feeling coming over her. "Theta, I know I'm probably just being paranoid, but I swear it feels like we're being watched." she said.
"Yeah, me too." the Doctor replied, casting a look around, but seeing nothing, "Better do a scan and see what's been changed." He unlocked the TARDIS' door and opened it to find that the interior of the ship had gone. It was just an ordinary police box.
Alarmed, the Doctor stepped inside and began frantically feeling around the walls, while Gazelle just stared wide-eyed at the empty shell. "This is impossible." she breathed, "Unless..."
The Doctor stepped out and met her gaze, both of them coming to the same realisation. "Rose!" they both exclaimed and ran back the way they came.
~8~
Meanwhile, Pete was driving his car with Rose in the passenger car, while Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up played on the radio. "I met this bloke at the Horses an' 'e's cuttin' me in on copyright." Pete was saying to Rose.
"But I fought you were a proper businessman an' that..." Rose frowned
"Oh, I wish!" Pete scoffed, "Ah, I do a bit of this, a bit of that, I scrape by."
"Right..." Rose muttered, "I must've 'eard wrong. So really you're a bit of a... a Del Boy?"
"Oh, shoot me down in flames. You're not related to my wife by any chance?"
Rose suddenly realised something; "Oh, my God... she's gonna be at the wedding."
"What, Jackie? Do ya know 'er?"
"Sort of."
"What's she told ya about me, then?"
Rose smiled, remembering what her mother used to tell her about Pete; "She said she picked the most fantastic man in the world."
"Must be a different Jackie, then." Pete muttered, "She'd never say that." Suddenly, the radio changed to playing a hip-hop song. "This stuff goes right over my 'ead." Pete grumbled.
"That's not out yet." Rose frowned, recognising the song as one that Mickey liked, a song that was definitely not from 1987.
"Good job an' all." Pete grimaced
Rose reached for her mobile. "I'm just gonna check my messages."
"How d'ya mean, messages?" Peter quizzed, then he looked at the mobile. It was nothing like the brick-like things he was used to. "Is that a phone?"
"Yeah..." Rose waved him off and lifted the phone to her ear.
"Watson, come here. I want you." a voice said over the other end, "Watson, come here. I want you."
Rose furrowed a brow in confusion and glanced at her father, who also looked puzzled. Then, Pete looked into the mirror and saw a beige car behind them, a car that looked familiar to him. He shook those thoughts out of his head and turned a corner, while the beige car went straight ahead, before promptly vanishing into thin air.
~8~
Presently, they arrived at the church where the wedding was to take place. Suddenly, a familiar beige car came out of nowhere right in front of them. "Dad!" Rose hollered.
Pete swerved to avoid the car and pulled up by the curb, then turned round to look at the car speeding away, while Rose sat looking straight ahead of her, shaken by the near miss.
"It's that car!" Pete realised, recognising the beige car as the one that had nearly ran him over. "The same one as before." They both got out of the car and Pete looked around. "It was right in front us, where's it gone?" he wandered, then he realised something else; "You called me 'dad.'" he said to Rose, "What did ya say that for?"
Rose was saved from having to answer that awkward question by a familiar voice; "Oh, wonderful. Here he is, the accident waitin' to 'appen." There was Jackie Tyler, a baby's carry-cot in her arms, and wearing a face like thunder. Rose could only stare at her younger mother. "You'd be late for ya own funeral an' it nearly was!" Jackie stormed at her husband.
"No damage done." Pete huffed
Jackie glanced disdainfully at the gawping Rose. "An' who's this?" Rose continued to stare. "What you lookin' at wiv ya mouth open?" Jackie demanded
"Your 'air." was all Rose could say
"What?!"
"I've never seen it like..." Rose babbled, while Jackie looked at her, confused and insulted. "I mean... it's lovely, ya hair's lovely" She then spotted the baby in Jackie's arms, Rose's one-year old self. "An' that baby ya holdin'... that would be... your baby."
"Another one of yours, is she?" Jackie sneered to Pete
"She saved my life!" Pete defended
"Oh, that's a new one!" Jackie scoffed, "What was it last time?"
"I didn't even know 'er. She was a cloakroom attendant. I was 'elpin' 'er look for my ticket. There were three duffel coats all the same, some'ow the rack collapsed. We were under all that stuff."
"Were you playin' around?!" Rose stared at Pete
"What's it gotta do wiv you what 'e gets up to?!" Jackie spat
"What does 'e get up to?"
"You'd know!"
"Oh, cos' I'm that stupid." Pete rolled his eyes, "I play around an' then bring 'er 'ome to meet the missus. You silly cow..."
"But you are that stupid!" Jackie retorted
"Can we keep that stuff back 'ome? Just for now?"
"What, wiv the rest of the rubbish?" Jackie fumed, "You bring 'ome cut-priced detergents, tonic water, Betamax tapes, an' none of it works! I'm drowin' in your rubbish!" She turned to Rose. "What did 'e tell you? Did he say 'e's this big businessman? Cos' 'e's not. He's a failure. Born failure, that one. Rose needs a proper father..."
"Jackie, I'm makin' a livin'." Pete cut in, talking over her, "It keeps us fed, doesn't it?"
"STOP IT!" a distressed Rose cried, causing them both to stop. "Ya not like this. You love each other."
"Oh, Pete, you never used to like 'em mental." Jackie huffed, "Or I dunno, maybe you did."
"Jackie, wait." Pete began, "Just listen..."
But Jackie wasn't interested in listening. "If you're not careful, there'll be a wedding and a divorce on the same day." And she stormed off to join the bride and some friends, who Rose recognised as Jackie's friends Bev and Suzie.
"Right, wait 'ere." Pete said to Rose, "Give us a couple of minutes wiv the missus." He began to walk away, then turned back again, taking the vase from Rose and giving her the car keys. "Tell ya what, straighten the car up. Stick 'er round the corner or somefink. Don't cause anymore trouble." He walked off, leaving Rose standing by the car with tears in her eyes.
~8~
Rose soon sorted the car out and stood watching her parents talk from a distance. "I'm not listening." Jackie was saying, calmer than before but still upset, "It's the duffel coats all over again."
"Jackie, sometimes a duffel coat is just a duffel coat." Pete said earnestly, "Things will get better soon, I promise."
"I've 'ad enough of your daft schemes. I never know where the next meal's comin' from."
"I'll get it right, love. I promise, one day soon I'll get it right. Come on..."
Rose smiled softly as she watched them reconcile. Her attention was then caught by a little black boy in a suit running around the corner looking scared for his life. "Monsters!" he cried, "Coming to eat us!"
"What sort of monsters, sweetheart?" Suzie asked him, "Is it aliens?" She, Bev and the bride all laughed, while the boy ran into the church.
Then, Rose heard a pair of familiar voices calling her name from behind her. She turned to see the Doctor and Gazelle running like mad down the road towards her. Rose couldn't help but grin smugly.
"GET IN THE CHURCH!" the Doctor urged, sounding frantic.
Rose's smile dropped upon hearing the urgency in his voice. Then, she saw Gazelle looking to something on her left. Rose followed her gaze to see an enormous black winged creature with a tail like a scythe appear out of thin air just above them. The creature opened it's wings and dived straight for Rose. The Doctor managed to tackle her out of the way just in time.
"Everyone in the church, quick!" Gazelle ordered the others as the Doctor and Rose picked themselves up.
The crowd outside the door tried to run for the door, but stopped in their tracks when another creature appeared in front of them. "Oh, my God. What are they?!" Suzie cried
The guests inside the church came to the door to see what the commotion was. "Inside!" the Doctor warned them
The creature began to bear down on the group outside. "Sarah!" the groom cried, beginning to run towards them.
"Stay in there!" the Doctor ordered
The groom stopped trying to get away, but his father didn't listen and tried to run for it. The creature swooped down on him and tackled him to the floor, devouring him as he screamed blue murder. The bride tried to run for the church, only for a third creature to appear in front of her. It turned away from the terrified bride and devoured the vicar.
"In!" the Doctor ordered, he and Gazelle ushering group inside the church. The first creature tried to chase after them, but the Doctor shut the doors just in time and bolted them shut to keep the creatures out. Once inside the church, the guests babbled in panic. The Time Lords looked around at the shadows of the creatures outside the windows. "They can't get in." the Doctor rambled, more to himself than anyone else, "Old windows and doors, ok. The older something is, the stronger it is. What else?"
"Go and check the other doors, quick!" Gazelle urged everyone, then she and the Doctor hurried over to check some doors on their right.
Jackie ran after them. "What's happening? What are they?" she babbled, shaking Gazelle's arm, "What are they?"
"Reapers." the Time Lady replied, not really paying attention to the hysterical Human at the moment as she was busy, "Used to think they were just a story made up to scare us, but obviously not."
"There's been an accident in time, a wound in time." the Doctor rambled, rushing to check a side door, "They're like bacteria, taking advantage."
"What d'ya mean, reapers an' time?" Jackie glared, "What're you two jabberin' on about, time?"
"Oh, I might've known you'd argue." the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Jackie, I'm sick of your complaining..."
"How d'ya know my name?" Jackie demanded, cutting across him.
"Jackie, we haven't got time for this." Gazelle tried to cut in.
"I've never met either of you in my life!" Jackie continued to argue.
"No, and yer never will unless we sort this out." the Doctor said bluntly, "Now, if yer don't mind, I've waited a long time to say this... Jackie Tyler, do as I say. Go, and, check, the, doors!" he commanded
"Yes sir." Jackie blinked and scuttled away to do so.
Gazelle shook her head at the Doctor. "You enjoyed that, didn't ya?"
"Yep." he grinned, pleased with himself, "I should've done that ages ago."
The groom came over to them. "My dad was out there."
"We'll have to mourn him later I'm afraid." Gazelle told him gently, "Right now we need to focus on keeping ourselves alive."
"My dad had..."
"There's nothing we can for him." the Doctor said gravely
"No, but he had this phone thing." the groom said, showing them an 80's brick phone, "I can't get it to work. I keep getting this voice..."
The Doctor dialled a number and raised the phone to his ear. "Watson, come here. I want you." he heard on the other end, "Watson, come here. I want you."
"That's the very first phone call, Alexander Graham bell." the Doctor realised, handing the phone back to the groom, "I don't think the telephone's gonna be much use."
"But someone must've called the police!" the groom reasoned
"Police can't 'elp yer now, no one can." the Doctor told him grimly, then addressed the whole group; "Nothing in the universe can 'arm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilise the wound." He went up to Rose and looked her right in the eye. "By consuming everything in sight."
"Is this because..." Rose began shakily, "Is this my fault?"
The Doctor didn't answer, he just clenched his jaw and walked past her to check the windows. Pete had overheard their exchange. Brow furrowed, he looked from Rose to his daughter in her carry-cot.
~8~
Presently, Gazelle went into an anteroom where Pete was checking the doors. "There's smoke comin' up from the city, but no sirens." Pete said urgently, "I, I don't fink it's just us, I fink these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world."
Gazelle didn't answer. She looked grimly out of the window as the car that should have killed Pete appeared out of thin air, screeched round the corner and disappeared again.
"Was that a car?" Pete asked
"It's nothing." Gazelle waved him off, "Don't worry about it." She turned and left.
Pete stared out of the window for a moment, then went off into a back room where Rose was sitting alone and red-eyed. "These mates of yours..." Pete began, "What d'ya mean, this is your fault?"
"Dunno." Rose sniffled, "Just... everyfink."
"I gave you my car keys." Pete said, "Ya don't give ya keys to a complete stranger. It's... it's like I trusted you. Moment I met ya, I just did. A wound in time..." It steadily dawned on him, "You called me 'dad'. I can see it... my eyes... Jackie's attitude... You sound like 'er when you shout." He reached out and touched Rose's face tentatively. "You are. You are... you're my Rose. You're my Rose grown up." He threw his arms around her.
Loosing all control, Rose's tears began to flow again. "Dad... my dad." she sobbed, "My daddy."
~8~
Meanwhile, the Doctor was busy checking all the doors in the church when the bride and groom approached him. "Excuse me." the groom began, "Mr..."
"Doctor." the Time Lord corrected, not looking at him as he was busy at that moment.
"You seem to know what's going on." the groom continued
"I give that impression, yeah." the Doctor shrugged, reinforcing the lock with his sonic screwdriver.
"I just wanted to ask..."
"Can you save us?" the bride cut across him
Those words grabbed the Doctor's attention and he stopped sonicing and turned to them. "Who are you two, then?" he asked
"Stuart Hoskins." the groom replied
"Sarah Clarke." the bride added
"And one extra." the Doctor commented, nodding to Sarah's baby bump, "Boy or girl?"
"I dunno." Sarah replied, running her hand over her bump. "I don't wanna know, really."
"How did all this get started?" the Doctor asked
"Outside the Beat Box Club." Stuart replied, "Two in the morning."
"Street corner." Sarah added, "I'd lost my purse. Didn't 'ave money for a taxi."
"I took 'er home."
"Then what?" the Doctor asked knowingly, "Asked her out for a date?"
"Wrote 'is number on the back of my 'and." Sarah smiled
"Never got rid of 'er since." Stuart laughed, "My dad said..." He faltered, remembering that his dad was no more.
Sarah bit her lip nervously as they heard the Reapers screeching outside. "I dunno what this is all about." she said tearfully, "An' I know we're not important..."
"Who said yer not important?" the Doctor interrupted, genuinely shocked that someone would think that about themselves, "I've travelled to all sorts of places. Done things you couldn't even imagine, but... you two... street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi 'ome. I've never 'ad a life like that." He looked over to where Gazelle was looking after baby Rose. She had had a life like that before the Time War had destroyed it all. "Yes. I'll try an' save you." he told the couple.
~8~
Meanwhile, Rose and Pete were sat in an anteroom talking. "I'm a dad." Pete murmured, still trying to get his head around all this, "I mean, I'm already a dad, but... Rose grows up, an' she's you. That's wonderful. I s'pose I fought you'd be a bit, useless, what, wiv my useless genes an' all but... How'd ya get here?"
"D'ya really wanna know?" Rose asked
"Yeah."
"A time Machine."
"Time machine." Pete repeated after a stunned pause.
"Cross my heart." Rose smiled
"What, do they all 'ave time machines where you come from?" Pete smiled back
"Nah, just the Doctor."
"An' 'is girlfriend, what's 'er name?"
"Gazelle. An' they're not a couple." Rose told him, though she suspected otherwise.
"Did ya know these things were comin'?" Pete asked
"No."
"God, I dunno, my 'ead's spinnin'." Pete said incredulously, "What's the future like?"
"It's not so different." Rose replied
"What am I like?" Pete asked, "Have I gone grey?" He laughed at that, but Rose didn't reply. Pete's smile faded slightly. "Have I gone bald? Don't tell me I've gone bald!" Rose still didn't answer, so a wrong-footed Pete changed the subject again. "So, if the Doctor and that Gazelle girl ain't a couple, are you an' 'im...?"
"God, no." Rose replied immediately with a slight snort.
"Good." Pete nodded, "I'm glad cos' being ya dad an' all, I think 'e's a bit old for you..." They both laughed slightly. "Have you got a bloke?"
"No, I did 'ave..." Rose began, but was cut off by approaching footsteps.
Then, Jackie's voice rang out in the background; "Mickey!" And the little black boy came running in and clamped himself to Rose's leg.
"Do ya know 'im?" Pete asked her
"I just didn't recognise 'im in a suit." Rose blinked, realising that the boy was a young Mickey Smith. "You'll 'ave to let go of me, sweetheart." she told young Mickey.
Mickey returned to Jackie, who had just entered the room. "He just grabs 'old of what's passin' an' holds on for dear life." she commented, "God 'elp 'is poor girlfriend if he ever gets one."
"Me an' Rose were just talkin'..." Pete began
"Oh, yeah? Talking?" Jackie interrupted, getting the wrong idea again, "While the world comes to an end, what do ya do? Cling to the youngest blonde. Come on, Mick." She took Mickey's hand and led him away.
Pete made to follow but Rose stopped him. "You can't tell 'er." she said
"Why?" Pete questioned
"I mean... I really don't want you to tell 'er."
"What, d'ya don't want people to know?"
"Where I come from, Jackie doesn't now 'ow to work the timer on the video recorder."
"I showed 'er that last week." Pete grinned. Rose nodded and Pete stopped grinning. "Point taken."
~8~
The Doctor had finished checking the doors and joined Gazelle. "Now, Rose, you're not gonna bring about the end of the world, are you?" he said to the baby, "Are you?" he repeated sternly.
Baby Rose just stared innocently up at him. Adult Rose joined them at that moment. "Jackie gave her me to look after." Gazelle explained, "Times have certainly changed."
"I'd better be careful. I fink I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken." Rose remarked, trying to make light-hearted conversation.
She reached out to touch her baby self but the Doctor swatted her hand away. "No." he warned, "Don't touch the baby. Yer both the same person and that's a paradox, and we don't want a paradox happenin'. Not with these things outside. Anything new, any disturbance in time makes 'em stronger. The paradox might let them in."
"Can't do anyfink right, can I?" Rose mumbled
"Since yer ask, no." the Doctor retorted bluntly, "So, don't... touch... the... baby."
Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm... not... stupid." she bit back
"Yer could've fooled me." the Doctor retorted
Gazelle elbowed him in the side. "That's not helping." she reprimanded.
The Doctor took a breath and turned back to Rose; "Alright, I'm sorry. We weren't really gonna leave you on yer own."
"I know." Rose replied
"But between us, I haven't got a plan. No idea." the Doctor admitted, "No way out."
"You'll fink of somefink." Rose said quietly
"The entire Earth is being sterilised." the Doctor told her seriously, "This, an' other places like it are all that's left of the Human race. We might hold out for a while but nothing can stop those creatures." He looked at the shadows of the Reapers circling outside the church. "They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old. And there's nothing we can do to stop them. There used to be laws stopping this kind of thing from 'appening. Our people would've stopped this, but they're all gone." He lowered his head gloomily.
"And we're gonna go the same way." Gazelle finished for him.
"If I'd realised..." Rose began, the full impact of her mistake hitting her.
"Just... tell us you're sorry." the Doctor said, lifting his head.
"I am." Rose said sincerely, "I'm sorry."
The trio shared a group hug, when Rose suddenly pulled away. "Have ya got somefink hot?" she asked the Doctor and reached into his pocket. She flinched her hand away suddenly and something glowing fell to the floor.
"It's the TARDIS key!" the Doctor realised. He slipped his jacket off and used it as a glove to pick up the glowing hot key. "It's telling me it's still connected to the TARDIS!"
"Is that good?" Rose asked
"Very good." Gazelle replied, checking her own key, which was glowing too.
The Doctor took both keys and stood up on the pulpit to address everyone. "The inside of our ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use these to bring it back." he announced, holding up the glowing keys, "And once we've got our ship back, then we can mend everything. Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anyone got a battery?"
Stuart noticed his father's phone on the chair in front of him. He grabbed it and stood up. "This one big enough?"
"Fantastic." the Doctor replied, hurrying over to him.
"Good old dad." Stuart remarked, taking the battery out of the phone, "Here ya go." He handed the battery to the Doctor.
The Doctor went back over to Gazelle. "Just need to do a bit of charging up..." he muttered as Gazelle pressed her sonic to the battery.
"And then we can bring everyone back." she finished.
~8~
While the Time Lords worked on the keys, Rose and Pete sat down at the back of the church. "You, um... ya never said why you came 'ere in the first place." Pete said, "If I 'ad a time machine, I wouldn't 'ave fought 1987 was anyfink special. Not round 'ere, anyway."
"We just ended up 'ere." Rose shrugged
"Lucky for me, eh? If you 'adn't been there to save me..."
"That was just a coincidence." Rose said quickly, "That was just... Really good luck... it's amazin'."
Pete didn't quite believe this, but decided not to press the issue. "So, in the future, are me an' 'er indoors still together?"
"Yeah."
"You still livin' wiv us?"
"Yep!"
Pete smiled and nodded. He looked at her intensely for a few seconds then asked a question that he'd wanted to ask ever since he'd found out that she was his daughter from the future; "Am I a good dad?"
Rose swallowed hard, unable to bring herself to tell the truth. "You... you told me a bedtime story every night when I was small. You were always there... you never missed one. And, um... You took us for picnics in the country every Saturday. You never let us down. You were there for us all the time. Someone I could really rely on."
They were both silent for a moment then Pete spoke again; "That's not me."
Rose turned to look at the front of the church, where the outline of the TARDIS was just starting to materialise, the Doctor's key in her lock. Grinning, the Doctor slipped his jacket back on and ran back to the pulpit to address everyone. "Right, no one touches those keys." he ordered, "Have yer got that? Anyone touches those keys, it'll be, well, zap. Just leave 'em be and everything will be fine. We'll get out of here, all of us. Stuart, Sarah, you're gonna get married, just like I said." he grinned encouragingly at them.
~8~
Slowly but surely, the TARDIS began to materialise. Everyone sat waiting for her to appear fully. The Doctor, Gazelle and Rose sat at the back of the church, Pete on a seat behind them, while Jackie threw them dirty looks over her shoulder.
"When time gets sorted out..." Rose began
"Everybody here forgets what happens." the Doctor told her, "And don't worry, the thing that you changed will stay changed."
"Ya mean I'll still be alive." Pete spoke up, causing the time travellers to turn to him, "Though I'm meant to be dead. That's why I 'aven't done anyfink in my life. Why I didn't mean anyfink."
"You do mean something." Gazelle tried to assure him, but Pete wasn't having it.
"Rubbish." he waved her off, "I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all this 'as 'appened."
"This is my fault." Rose said, reaching over and putting a hand on his arm.
"No, love." Pete replied, "I'm ya dad. It's my job for it to be my fault."
"Her dad?" a familiar voice said, and they looked up to see Jackie standing there. "How are you 'er dad? How old were you, twelve?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes and distanced himself from Jackie's trademark domestics.
"Oh, that's disgusting!" Jackie burst out
"Jacks, listen." Pete tried to reason, "This is Rose."
But Jackie misunderstood yet again. "Rose? How sick is that? You give my daughter a second 'and name? How many are there? D'ya call 'em all Rose?!"
"Oh, for God's sake, look!" Pete rolled his eyes, "It's the same Rose." He took the baby from Jackie's arms and placed her in adult Rose's arms.
Rose, NO!" the Doctor and Gazelle yelled together, the latter rushing forward to take the baby, but she was too late.
She pulled the baby out of Rose's arms just as a Reaper materialised in the middle of the church. The guests screamed and leapt to their feet. "Everyone behind me!" the Doctor urged them and they all gathered behind him.
"Doctor, no!" Gazelle hollered, realising what the Doctor was doing, but the Time Lord ignored her.
"I'm the oldest thing in 'ere." he called to the Reaper, which promptly opened it's wings and charged straight for him.
"Doctor!" Rose cried
"Theta!" Gazelle screamed in the Time Lords' language as the Reaper consumed the Doctor.
With the Doctor gone, mayhem ensured. The Humans all screamed and ran in different directions as the Reaper swooped about the room, looking for it's next victim. Gazelle just stood rooted to her spot, in shock at the loss of the Doctor and at the empty feeling in her head without his telepathic presence. The Reaper collided with the semi-transparent TARDIS and disappeared, taking the TARDIS with it. The key fell to the floor next to Gazelle's, both of them no longer glowing.
There was silence for a moment, then Rose ran down the aisle to the spot where the TARDIS was, while Gazelle dropped to her knees and curled on the floor sobbing, the grief and emptiness overwhelming. Rose picked up the keys. "Cold." she said numbly, "They're cold."
Pete approached her cautiously from behind, all the while looking nervously around the church. Gazelle was still curled up on the floor, crying her hearts out.
"Oh, my God, he's dead." Rose breathed. Pete reached out to her but she shook him off. "It's all my fault." she said shakily, turning to look at the crying Time Lady, then at the others. "All of you." Her voice cracked as the full impact of her actions hit her. "The whole world.
The sky outside darkened. Jackie held baby Rose closer to her while the other guests looked around scared. "This is it." Bev breathed, "There's nothing we can do. It's the end.
Silence fell over the church, with the only sounds to be heard were Gazelle's wracked sobs and the Reapers' howls from outside.
~8~
Pete entered the anteroom to check that the doors were still secure. They were holding for now, so he went and looked out of the window. He saw the car that had nearly ran him over appear out of nowhere, screech round the corner and disappear into thin air. As he watched this happen twice, he swallowed hard, coming to a realisation as to what had happened and what needed to happen to fix this mess.
~8~
Rose sat alone in the dark church in silence. She could see that Gazelle had stopped crying, but was still curled up on the floor with her head hidden in her lap. Rose considered going over to comfort her, but decided against it as it was her fault that the Doctor was gone and nothing she could say or do would make it right.
Pete approached Rose. "The Doctor really cared about you." he began, "She does too." He gestured to Gazelle. "They didn't want you to go through it again if there was another way. Now there isn't."
"What're you talkin' about?" Rose asked as she stood.
"The car that should've killed me, love, it's here." Pete replied gravely, "The Doctor and 'is partner worked it out way back, but they... they tried to protect me. Still, he's not charge anymore, an' she's in no state to be in charge, so it's up to me now."
"But you can't..." Rose breathed, realising what he was implying.
"Who am I, love?" Pete asked gently
"My daddy." Rose sobbed as Jackie came over.
"Jackie, look at 'er." Pete instructed his wife, "She's ours."
Jackie looked wide-eyed at Rose, the truth finally dawning on her. "Oh, God..." she breathed and threw her arms around Rose. When she let go, she looked at Pete.
"I'm meant to be dead, Jackie." he said, "Ya gonna be rid of me at last."
"Don't say that." Jackie said tearfully
"For once in ya life, trust me." Pete said gently, "It's gotta be done. You've gotta survive, cos' you've gotta bring up our daughter." He gave his wife one last kiss then turned to his daughter. "I never read ya those stories. I never took ya on those picnics. I was never there for you."
"You would've been." Rose sobbed
"But I can do this for you. I can be a proper dad to you now."
"But it's not fair."
Pete smiled bravely. "I've 'ad all these extra hours. No one else in the world 'as ever had that. And on top of that... I get to see you." He took her face in his hands. "And you're beautiful. How lucky am I, eh? So, come on... do as ya dad says." Tearfully, Rose handed him the vase. "Are you gonna be there for me, love?" Pete asked. Rose nodded and Pete put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Thanks for saving me." He pulled his wife and daughter into a tight embrace.
~8~
The Reapers were still clamouring outside of the church when Pete ran out of the doors, the vase in his hands. He stopped just outside of the gate and looked at a Reaper, which was hovering overhead, as if it was daring him to carry on. He turned to see the beige car appear from thin air around the corner and ran straight out in front of it "Goodbye, love." he breathed and braced himself.
There was a screech of brakes, followed by a thud, then the vase crashed to the ground and shattered. The Reapers disappeared one-by-one now that time had been restored.
Rose stood outside the church doors with her head bowed, eyes closed and taking deep breaths in the slight breeze. She felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see the Doctor standing there. "Go to him. Quick." he encouraged
Rose ran out of the church gates, down the road and kneeled next to her dying father. She held his hand and lifted his head slightly off the ground. They looked into each other's eyes as he took his last breaths. Finally, his eyes rolled into his head and his head fell back.
As Sarah, Stuart, his father, Jackie and the rest of the guests emerged from the church to try and see what had happened, the Doctor turned round just in time to see Gazelle launch herself at him. "You stupid, selfless man." she sobbed into his shoulder, "I thought I'd lost ya. I couldn't carry on alone. Don't ever do that to me again."
"I'll try not to." the Doctor said gently, rubbing soothing circles in her back, "It's alright now. I'm back, an' I'm not planning on going again any time soon. C'mon." He took her hand and they went over to join Rose.
Rose placed a kiss on her father's forehead and stood up. She looked down at Pete's body for a few moments then lifted her head to meet the Time Lords' gazes. They both had looks of sympathy and forgiveness on their faces. Gazelle took Rose's hand and the trio walked towards the TARDIS, which had appeared over the road from them.
~8~
A little later, Rose was roaming the corridors in the TARDIS. As soon as they'd left 1987, they'd all gone their separate ways, with Rose retreating to her bedroom to mull over the day's events. After a few hours, she'd decided that she needed to talk to someone, so she went for a walk. She saw that the Doctor was busy with his model railway, so decided not to disturb him.
Presently, she came to a door with Time Lord writing on it and a picture of a gazelle on it. Realising that this was the Time Lady's bedroom, Rose knocked, wandering if Gazelle was in there. "Come." the Time Lady's voice came from the other side, confirming that she was, so Rose entered. Gazelle's room reminded Rose a bit of Mickey's flat, with clothes and bits and bobs strewn all over the place and posters for films and rock groups on the walls. Gazelle herself was lounging on a leather recliner, dressed in a pale blue cami top and pale blue and black flannel pyjama bottoms, and holding a small piece of paper in her hand. "You alright, Rose?" she asked
"Yeah, um, fine." Rose mumbled, "Wos' that?"
"One of the few things left from home." Gazelle replied stoically and turned the paper around to reveal that it was a photograph showing two people standing beneath a burnt orange sky.
"Was that your planet?" Rose asked
"Yes. And that was my family." Gazelle answered, indicating the people in the photo, "That's my husband, the Leone." She indicated a rather handsome blonde-haired man. "And that's my son, the Artist." She indicated a younger man with dark hair. "Everything that happened today got me thinking about them."
"You miss 'em, don't you?" Rose sighed understandingly
"All the time." Gazelle sighed, "Still, can't bring them back so no use moping." She put the photo on a table. "Are you ok, Rose? Today was a very hard day on you. I'm sorry about ya dad."
"I'm fine, really." Rose insisted, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all that to 'appen. I didn't fink..."
"Rose, we understand." Gazelle held up a hand to stop her, "Really, we do. Tell ya the truth, I'd have done the same myself if I'd been in your shoes. I suppose we should've explained to ya about how the laws of time work. See, the thing is, time travel is complicated, but to try and simplify things, time is in flux the majority of the time and be rewritten with no problem. But there's also fixed points and vulnerable points. Fixed points can't be changed, no matter what, while vulnerable points can be changed, but it's very risky to do so."
"That's what the Doctor said." Rose observed, "That it was vulnerable point."
"Yes." Gazelle confirmed, "It wasn't at first. If you'd have saved ya dad the first time we went back, then the timelines would've adapted to the change and we'd be laughing, but because we went back a second time and had two sets of us there, it became a vulnerable point. Then when you saved him, it created an opening that the Reapers were able to come through."
"So, how'd you an' the Doctor know what's fixed an' what's not?"
"We're Time Lords. We see time differently to other species. We see what can happen, what has to happen and what must not be allowed to happen."
"Must drive ya mad." Rose stared
"Oh, we're used to it." Gazelle replied nonchalantly, "Time Lord minds are meant to understand it. We try to avoid fixed points where possible, though. Best that way."
"Um, there's somefink else." Rose said, "History's been changed, an' my mum now remembers my dad dyin' outside the church, an' me being wiv 'im, but I can still remember the old story, about 'ow 'e died close to 'ome an' on 'is own."
"That's because you're a time traveller now, Rose." Gazelle told her, "It changed your perception of the universe. Is that alright?" she asked, remembering how Rose had freaked out about the TARDIS' translation field on Platform One.
"Yeah." Rose nodded, "Um, sorry if I disturbed ya."
"No, not at all. You know you can come to me anytime ya want." Gazelle assured her, "My door's always open. Goodnight, Rose."
"Night." Rose reciprocated and left the room, now feeling better at having talked and a bit tired from the day's misadventures, so she returned to her room to turn in.
Author's notes: And here's V2 of Father's Day. I'd like to think that this version is a significant improvement over the old one. The original version was quite difficult to write, but this version was much easier. Note that we now get to see a photo of Gazelle's family from Galifrey. I felt that they deserved a bit of attention, since although her son has been mentioned a few times in my stories, her first husband only got mentioned twice, and I never revealed their names, so I decided to remedy that. In other news, I've now got the Big Finish audio Ravagers. Gotta say, it's great hearing Christopher Eccleston's voice again. It's like he's never been away! I'm pleased with how this rewrite's progressing. I think you'll all agree it's a significant step up from the original! See ya all next time!