Title: Domestic Space
Rating: T
Notes: Sequel to 'Domestic Battleground'. You must have read that in order to understand this.
Notes 2: The Doctor doesn't do domestic, not even now he's married to Rose. But he's about to find out just how domestic things can get – and Rose will find out just why he and the TARDIS don't do families…
Day Two
There was something moving around in the TARDIS that didn't belong there.
Even Rose knew it didn't belong there. Every sense she had attuned to the TARDIS over long months was screaming at her that something was wrong.
She poked the Doctor. "Wake up," she hissed. He mumbled something and rolled over. "Doctor! Wake up!"
The Doctor opened one eye. "I'm trying to sleep," he said pointedly. "Somebody kept me up half the night."
"Listen," she said sharply. "Listen to that."
"What are you on ab-" He stopped. "Oh." He frowned, that peculiar frown that was half-smile and full of anticipation. "That's not right."
"I didn't think so," Rose nodded. She rolled out of bed and grabbed the nearest pair of clean jeans. "I'll take the lower floors, shall I?" She paused. "Oh, and you weren't objecting last night as I recall."
"Ha ha," he muttered. "Don't do anything stupid," he warned then, pulling on his trousers. "It can't be anything too bad – can't think how it got on board…probably turn out to be a stray cat, or something." He glanced at her and paused. "That's my shirt," he objected.
Rose shrugged, rolling the cuffs over several times. "It's nice," she said. "Get on, then. We'd better find this thing quick."
He rounded the bed and caught her sleeve. "Hold on," he said quickly. "Just…" He bent his head and kissed her. She hummed happily into his mouth, her hand reached up to clutch his shoulder. "Morning," he said softly when he released her. "Happy birthday."
Rose smiled. "I love you, Theta," she said quietly. He touched her cheek gently, and she hummed. "C'mon," she started after a moment, "let's find our stowaway. Then I can go get my presents!"
"Bloody child, you are," he grumbled, grabbing a shirt and pulling it over his head as he moved towards the door. "Feed Charlie while you're down there, will you?"
"S'your turn," she objected.
"Yeah, but he likes you better," the Doctor countered, heading towards the stairs. "Meet you in the control room. Half an hour."
"Yeah, yeah," Rose murmured, walking down the corridor to the other flight of stairs. "Half an hour my arse." She went down all six levels, then started her search. She couldn't hear the noise down here – she thought it was more likely that the Doctor would find the intruder. How the thing – whatever it was – had got in, she didn't know. The TARDIS was usually quite particular about who she let in.
When she'd searched the lowest three floors, she entered the labyrinth of corridors that was Charlie's home, and made sure there was food out for him.
"Charlie," she called out. "C'mon, boy, where are you?" She frowned when there was no answering call. "Charlie?" The intruder might have scared him off, she reasoned, but that wasn't very likely. Charlie wasn't scared by most things.
A wave of nausea swept over her suddenly, and she leaned against the wall for long minutes, waiting for it to pass. Eventually she managed to slowly push herself upright, then she dropped to her knees and threw up.
"Great," she muttered when she was done, pushing herself away from the mess. "Happy birthday, Rose."
She almost knocked over a glass of water that had appeared; she took a drink and gave an absent smile.
"Thanks, Charlie," she called out. She fought the urge to throw up again. "Must have eaten something off," she murmured, and dragged herself to her feet. "I'll come see you later, Charlie," she called out.
She returned to the stairs and slowly made her way up; the Doctor met her halfway to the control room.
"Rose? You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I, uh, threw up…" She waved off his supporting arms. "Didn't find whatever it is. Any luck?"
"A bit," the Doctor nodded. "Infirmary."
"I'm fine," Rose protested. "Probably just some bad Chinese." He looked at her patiently. "I'm fine," she said again. "So, you know what this thing is?" She moved past him to the nearby bathroom, and rinsed her mouth and washed her hands as she waited for an answer. He watched her carefully before speaking.
"Yes," he said at last. "I do. It's trouble."
She looked up at him, drying her hands. "You don't look as excited as normal," she commented. "Bad trouble?"
"Yes," he confirmed grimly. "Fairly bad." He held out his hand, and she took it. "I'll explain in the control room," he went on. "Better go see your mum, too."
"So it's a kind of space-time hitch-hiker?" Rose tried to clarify, leaning on the Doctor's shoulder to try to see the screen.
"Sort of," he responded absently. "Only it doesn't ask to come along, it just…grabs hold of the slipstream we leave behind us. Dunno how it actually got in…"
"So what's it look like?"
"Humanoid, only…miniature."
Rose blinked. "Like a dwarf?"
"Sort of," the Doctor nodded. "Good thing it is in here, actually, they cause all sorts of trouble." He grinned. "Your mum'd kill me if I let it get loose."
Rose pursed her lips. "Oh, and that's why you had your 'bad trouble' look?" she questioned gently. "I don't think so." She slipped her hand into the back pocket of his trousers. "What is it? What does it do?"
He pressed a button and the screen went blank. "Nothing very nice," he admitted. "It had a tendency to rip holes in time."
Rose winced; she had a vague idea of what that meant, after over two years of travelling with the Doctor.
"But it's in the TARDIS, right? So it can't cause too much damage," she said, trying to be optimistic.
"Yes, for now," he nodded. "If it gets out…"
"If it does, we'll deal with it," Rose said practically. "But it's in here, so it's alright. Now. I want my presents."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think I got you anything?"
"You disappeared for three whole hours on Jupiter Seven," she reminded him. "There's nothing there but shops." She drew him around so he was facing her. "And last year you got me presents, and since we're together this year you ought to know better than to not get me anything." She leaned up and kissed him. "So, presents?"
He grinned. "Third study," he admitted. "Think Charlie got you something too, just to warn you…"
Rose raised an eyebrow. Last year, Charlie's present to her had been a box of rusted and dust-covered nails that he'd apparently found somewhere in the TARDIS. She thought it was quite sweet, really, but…
"Ah well," she shrugged. "S'the thought, right?"
"I love you," the Doctor said softly. "Did I tell you in the last minute?"
"No."
"I love you."
"I love you," Rose told him. "And you're so mushy."
He grinned. "Yup." There was a knock from the outer door of the TARDIS, and his grin turned into a frown. "Your mum's not coming in here," he said firmly.
Rose detached herself from him, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She went to the door and pulled it open to reveal Izzy. "Morning," she greeted.
"Morning," Izzy said, peeking over Rose's shoulder to catch a glimpse of the time ship. "Um, Auntie Jackie sent me to fetch you…better come quick, before Tim comes out asking questions."
"Sure," Rose nodded. She turned to the Doctor. "It's safe to leave that thing in here, right?"
The Doctor looked slightly apprehensive. "I'm not sure," he confessed. "It should be." He checked the key was in his pocket, then pulled his jacket on. "Right, let's go," he said. "Sooner we go, sooner we can leave."
"Time isn't going to speed up for you," Rose said, amused. "You can try, but –" She was cut off as something raced past her, knocking her against the door of the TARDIS. Her eyes widened. "Damn, that's it!" She took off after the creature at a run.
"Rose!" the Doctor called. "Don't, Rose!" She didn't listen to him. "Bloody human," he muttered, leaving the TARDIS and locking it quickly. "You, stay here," he instructed Izzy. But Rose returned before he could follow her.
"I lost it," she reported, disgruntled. "Runs fast, for such small legs." She put her hands on her hips. "Dammit." Her mouth dropped opened suddenly, eyes fixed on a point past the TARDIS. "Oh…shit…"
"What?" Izzy demanded, and turned to see Tim standing, gaping at them. "Oh." She turned back to Rose. "What was that thing? It looked like a leprechaun or something."
"Cousin of," the Doctor corrected, leaning against the blue box and watching Rose carefully. "What you gonna tell him?" he wanted to know.
"Um." Rose scratched behind her ear and slowly took a few steps towards Tim. "Tim…hi…"
"That…was a child?" Tim questioned, moving towards the three. "It ran out of that box."
"Not a child," the Doctor told him. "Humanoid, sentient life form from the other side of the universe."
Rose sent him a scolding look. "Oh, great, thanks, Doctor. That's really gonna stop him panicking." The Doctor shrugged unrepentantly, and she shook her head. "Tim…"
"I'm confused," Tim said slowly. "If that was an alien…and you three know what it was…"
"I don't," Izzy chimed in.
"There's something you're not telling me," Tim addressed Rose. "What's going on? Why are you standing outside with a –" he glanced at the box, "telephone box?" He looked at the Doctor, who looked to Rose for his cue. She shrugged.
"I'm an alien from another planet," the Doctor announced. "That thing was another alien. Rose has been travelling around time and space with me."
Tim blinked several times. "O-kay," he said slowly. "Um…Rose?"
She grinned. "Sorry, Tim, but it's true."
"Oh," Tim nodded. "That's nice." He looked at Izzy. "Did they hit their heads?"
"Idiot," the Doctor muttered. Rose glared at him. "Well, honestly, how stupid can you be?"
"It's a logical question," Rose tried to excuse her cousin. "But, um, no, we didn't hit our heads," she told Tim. "Aliens are, uh, real."
Tim opened his mouth to speak, then looked at the Doctor and frowned. "Actually…that makes sense," he allowed.
"No."
"Doctor."
"No!"
"We can only find it quicker with four," Rose coaxed.
The Doctor looked almost scared. "Rose! I don't do domestic."
"Bloody liar," she said bluntly. "We can't just leave Tim like this – at least Mickey got to see the inside – and if we take Izzy for a spin, she'll stop nagging at me about it."
"But – but –" he sputtered. He waved his arms in the general direction of Izzy and Tim. "But they're – they're – "
"Yes?" Rose asked, eyebrow raised. "Look, I'll make sure they don't get into any trouble."
"Oh, and that's supposed to reassure me?" he asked with a smile. He leaned back against the TARDIS. "Your Mum'll kill us both," he foretold. "It's not going to be pretty, Rose. This creature's no dwarf, even if it looks like it."
"I just don't think it's fair on them," Rose said softly after a moment. "To just leave them without a proper explanation. You didn't do that to me."
"You're different." They looked at each other, then finally the Doctor nodded. "Alright. Just while we find this thing," he warned. "And you make sure they keep out of my way."
"It'll be fine," she soothed him, stretching up and kissing him gently. "I promise."
He gave a put-upon sigh and slipped his arms around her waist. "It better be," he muttered.
Rose kissed him again, then slipped from his grasp and went over to Tim and Izzy. Her cousins were standing by a garage door, Izzy talking rapidly and Tim nodding as if he understood.
"Hey," she greeted. "You alright, Tim?"
"Yeah, fine," the elder cousin nodded. "I just, uh…it's a lot to take in, y'know. That Josh was right, that aliens exist…that you're married to one."
Rose gave a wry smile. "Yeah, well." She bit her lip. "Um…we've got to go find that thing. The Doctor thinks it's jumped through a weak point in time, or something, and we've got to catch up with it before it does any damage. So…"
"So you're off?" Izzy grimaced. "You only just got here yesterday."
"This is important," Rose shrugged. "Do you…d'you want to come?"
Tim blinked. "Into space?" he clarified.
"And time," Rose nodded. "Well?"
Izzy let out a breath. "What does the Doctor say?" she wanted to know.
"You're allowed. Just for this one trip, to find the creature. Then back home." Rose grinned. "Figure it'll get you off my back about it, Izzy."
"I…um…space travel?" Tim questioned.
"Yes," Rose said, slightly impatient. "In the TARDIS. With me and the Doctor and Izzy."
A slow grin spread across his face. "Oh yeah," he agreed. "Let's go!"
"The TARDIS is…odd," Rose warned as they returned to the blue police box. The Doctor had disappeared into it. "It's…bigger on the inside."
"So…this is it?" Tim checked, looking at the box. "It's…"
"Tiny," Izzy agreed. "But inside, it's huge."
"You've been in there?"
She nodded. "Yeah, last time Rose was here, for Bella's wedding." She pushed the TARDIS door open. "Knock knock, Doctor," she called cheerily. "You ready for us?"
"Not hardly," the Doctor retorted. "Come in, then, if you're coming."
Izzy entered and glanced around. "Hasn't changed," she grinned.
"Wouldn't, would it?" Rose said, pulling Tim inside and shutting the door. "Not with him in charge of decorating."
"Alright!" the Doctor said defensively. "Can we get a move on, please?" He glanced at Tim, snorted, and returned his attention to the screen in front of him. "Rose, c'mere."
"You alright?" she checked with Tim, who nodded, then joined him at the console. "What is it, then?"
"I can trace where it jumped," he told her, "but after that, I don't know. It leaves a trail, we'll have to follow that."
"Bumpy ride?" she questioned.
He grinned. "Yup." He spared a look for her cousins. "You two, grab hold of something, don't ask questions, and don't get in the way," he instructed.
"I –"
"Don't. Get. In. The. Way," he repeated slowly and clearly.
"Sit down, hold tight," Rose advised, grabbing onto the console. The Doctor pulled a lever and the TARDIS whirred into motion. Rose nearly fell; Tim stumbled into Izzy and they collapsed in a heap on the floor.
"Bloody hell," Rose sputtered. "I know you said bumpy, but…"
"Hold that button down," the Doctor told her.
"I'm holding it already!" she protested.
"Well, pull the lever, then!"
Izzy watched, bemused and amused from her position on the floor, as the Doctor and Rose coaxed and controlled the TARDIS. The ship shook and jolted for what seemed like minutes without end before the Doctor finally have a happy cry.
"Got him!" he exclaimed. "Fifteen forty-one – no, wait, that's not it…where's he going? Now he's in twenty-five thousand and six…"
"Not helpful, Doctor," Rose said. "How close to it are we?"
"Nearly there." He grinned at her. "And…" He pushed a lever, and the TARDIS shuddered to a halt. He frowned. "Oh, wait…"
"Wrong place?" Rose said, entirely too cheerful.
"Not exactly," the Doctor said. "Wrong time." He looked over at Tim and Izzy. "You alright?" he asked.
Tim stood up carefully. "I think," he began carefully, "that I might be sick."
The Doctor made a face. "Not in my TARDIS, you don't," he said with conviction. "Out the door, if you please."
"Uh, I'll go first," Rose interjected hurriedly as Izzy started for the door. "Just in case…
"Oh, and I'll feel so much better if it's you that gets eaten, not your cousins," the Doctor muttered.
"Is that likely?" Izzy asked, looking curiously between her cousin and the alien. "That we'd get eaten, I mean?"
"Nah," Rose shook her head. "We're still on earth." She grinned. "Only thing likely to eat you here is Auntie Julie, and she's thousands of years away." She opened the door and poked her head out. "Oh, I've been here before." She stepped aside and let Izzy and Tim leave the TARDIS. She crossed the control room to the Doctor. "What is it?" she asked softly. "Something's wrong."
"In this time, it can cross space as well as time," he explained in a low voice. "So much space travel going on, it's easy. But it makes things a lot more difficult for us."
"Damn." Rose chewed her lip. "Can you track it, though?"
"Probably, yeah," he nodded. "We'll have to go quick, though. Get them two in here, would you?"
"Sure," she nodded, slipping her arms around him and resting her head against his chest.
"Sorry," he said after a moment.
"What for?" she wanted to know.
He shrugged. "S'not turning out a great birthday, is it?"
Rose smiled. "Idiot," she said fondly. "You still don't get it." She went after Izzy and Tim.
Please review! Day Three up as soon as I can write it. Can't give you an estimate, 'cos I'm currently suffering from a nasty cold, plus my exams start on the sixth, and my revision has been sadly lacking so far...