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…
Notes 3: Okay, so this has gone and got complicated. Basically, the Rose in my head decided that she was Bad Wolf, that PotW happened in an AU kind of way, and that Jack was with them for a while. So basically, that all happened between Domestic Battleground and Domestic Space. There is going to be a sequel to this fic, moving away from the domestic roots and delving into Bad Wolf, Gallifrey, and the Doctor – not to mention the baby. So, um. points at Steviesun it's all her fault!
Day Six
Rose busied herself with making tea as the Doctor, Tim and Izzy had an argument. They were sitting at the kitchen table, having finished breakfast – which the Doctor had insisted on cooking. Rose had managed to keep it all down, for which she was very grateful.
After she'd told the Doctor what she'd heard, he'd whisked her off to the infirmary and run a battery of tests on her and the baby. He'd refused to tell her what half of them were for, choosing instead to distract her with a steady stream of chatter. Rose had allowed herself to be distracted.
She'd slept badly, dreaming of Jack and the Daleks and the tiny baby growing inside her – and she'd woken alone, which she hated.
Now her family were arguing about whether or not the Doctor should take Tim and Izzy home, and she had nearly had enough.
"You brought us, and we want to see this through," Izzy was saying. "This is so unfair!"
"I never said I was fair," the Doctor shot back. "It isn't safe for you two."
"But it is for Rose?" Tim countered.
"Rose is different," the Time Lord said implacably. "She knows the risks."
"Well, if you'd just explain to us what the risks are," Izzy began. Rose slammed the empty teapot down onto the kitchen counter. It smashed. She hissed and sucked at a cut on her palm.
"You alright?" the Doctor asked mildly. "What did the teapot ever do to you?"
"I'm fed up of you lot fighting," Rose said, not turning to look at them. "Doctor, Izzy's right. We brought them along, we can't just dump them home now." He started to protest, but she cut him off. "Doctor, please." She turned then. "I think we're going to need help," she whispered.
The Doctor leaned back in his chair, glancing away from them all. "You might be right," he admitted in a low voice. "I did some scans last night, after you'd gone to bed – I think Jack is in the rift. On Gallifrey."
"Who's Jack?" Tim asked.
"What's so bad about him being on Gallifrey?" Izzy demanded.
"Damn," Rose muttered, and wrapped her arms around herself. "It means we can't close the rift from the outside," she said in answer to Izzy.
"Which means we have to go inside, and see what's there," the Doctor added grimly.
"Which we really, really don't want to do," Rose completed. She crossed the kitchen and sat on the Doctor's lap, tucking her head under his chin. "Theta…"
"It'll be alright," he assured her. "Nip in, nip out. No problem."
"It's Gallifrey," she reminded him.
"I still don't understand it all," Tim spoke up. "So the planet was destroyed, yes?" The Doctor nodded wordlessly. "But you said that all its possibilities were destroyed – what does that mean?"
"It means that Gallifrey doesn't exist in any time," the Time Lord explained. "So there's no going back in time to a point in its past." He glanced down at his wife, who was pressed close against him. "But the possibilities have been reopened," he continued. "By Bad Wolf."
"And what's Bad Wolf?" Izzy asked.
"Me." The word dropped from Rose's mouth like a stone into a pond, rippling outwards. "I'm the Bad Wolf." Izzy blinked. Rose gave a small smile. "It's complicated," she added.
"Is this about what you were saying yesterday?" her cousin asked. "About you not being all human anymore?"
"Rose isn't human?" Tim said dumbly.
"Not really," Rose mumbled. She fiddled with her watch – the special time watch the Doctor had given her. "I should go feed Charlie." She pushed herself off him.
"You up to it?" the Doctor asked casually, catching at her hand.
She rolled her eyes at him. "He won't get fed, otherwise. I know you, Doctor."
"He likes you," the Doctor pointed out, entirely too reasonably. "And I can explain things here." A look passed between them, volumes being spoken. She nodded. "Right then, off you go," the Doctor directed.
Rose left the kitchen without a backwards glance and made her way down to the levels where Charlie roamed. She hadn't seen him since before they'd decided to go to Earth for her birthday, and she hoped he was around now. He was cuddly.
There weren't any signs of him in the usual places – no gnawed bones or discarded nests. The TARDIS cleaned most things up, Rose knew, so she didn't worry. Charlie would find her when he wanted to be found.
Apparently he wanted to be found five minutes later in the greenhouse on the fourth floor below the control room. Rose had bent over to pick up an abandoned mug – courtesy of the Doctor – and when she straightened, Charlie's furry arms wrapped around her.
"Hiya," she greeted. "You alright, Charlie?"
Charlie gave a soft wuffling noise that meant 'hello' and 'I'm alright'. She sighed and turned her head to rub her cheek against his soft fur.
"Sorry I haven't been down, things have been a bit rough," she told him. One of his furry paws patted gently at her stomach, and she nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to have a baby."
Charlie released her, and she turned to face the large, blue furry creature.
They'd found Charlie in a zoo on some far-flung planet, crouched into a cage far too small for him. Rose had immediately protested – the Doctor hadn't been far behind her, and they'd swiftly kidnapped the juvenile Sumptafarian. Charlie had since learned to trust the couple, and Rose in particular found him a very empathic companion at times.
Now he gave a soft grumbling growl, lilting upwards in a question.
"No, everything's fine," Rose assured him. "You're still safe. There's just been a few problems, is all." She stroked Charlie's arm. "Just some problems with time, that's all."
Rose found the kitchen empty on her return, so she made her way to the control room. Her family were gathered around a screen, the Doctor in between Tim and Izzy and pointing to something.
"That there, that's the physical evidence of the rift," he was explaining. "That's where we'll have to go to get Jack back."
"And Gallifrey's inside it?" Tim asked, trying to understand.
"Yeah, sort of," the Doctor nodded. He glanced up and smiled at Rose. "Charlie alright?" he checked.
Rose smiled warmly back at him and approached the group. "Yeah, he's fine," she said, answering the unasked question. "So what's going on? What're we doing?"
"We're going into the rift," he told her. "Soon as you're ready." He moved away from Tim and Izzy to slip his hands around her waist. "You alright?" he asked her in a low voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. "Fed Charlie." She tilted her head for a kiss, which he gave to her before bounding back over to the console.
"Right then," he said, "into the rift we go. Might be a bit of a bumpy ride." He glanced up at Rose. "Sit down, strap yourself in," he advised. "Don't want to risk you falling over." Rose obeyed, causing the Doctor to raise his eyebrows slightly at her. He'd been expecting an objection. After a moment he turned back to the console and pulled a lever.
The TARDIS lurched sideways. Tim fell against Izzy, and the Doctor sprang around the console to twist a dial.
"Sorry," he called out. The TARDIS stabilized slightly. "Uh oh."
Rose clutched to the chair, hoping that the seatbelt wasn't quite as old as it looked and wouldn't fling her about. Nausea rose within her, and she closed her eyes against the flashing lights of the control room. The whole world seemed to tilt. Izzy was flung against one wall, Tim against another. The Doctor clung to the console with fierce determination.
"Shouldn't be long," he yelled. "Just a bit tricky, navigating rifts."
"I know," Rose called back, her stomach feeling as though it were ten feet above her. "Can we hurry it up a bit?"
The Doctor didn't bother to answer, but scarcely a few minutes later the TARDIS made a grinding sound and slowly shuddered to a halt.
"Are we there?" Izzy ventured into the silence that ensued.
"I think so," the Doctor nodded. He pulled a lever and went to Rose. His hands roved over her restlessly. "You alright?"
"Fine," Rose said, a little impatiently. "I've done this a hundred times before, you know."
"Over five thousand, actually," he threw out casually. "S'different now, though." He stood back as she undid her belt and moved to the console.
"This it then?" she asked. "We're on Gallifrey?"
"Yup." He joined her, and Tim and Izzy came closer as well. "Hold on." He tapped at a key, and the display screen lit up. "We're in the president's rooms," he muttered. "I wonder – " Someone came into view on the screen, and the Doctor gave a startled exclamation. "Impossible!"
"All of this is impossible," Tim interjected. The Doctor threw him a glare, and he shrugged apologetically.
"Who is she?" Rose asked hesitantly. "A Time Lady?"
"Yes," the Doctor answered briefly. "And I suppose if anyone might have an answer for me…"
"Doctor?" Rose prodded him. "Who is she?"
The Doctor didn't answer; he strode to the door of the TARDIS and flung it wide.
"Romana!" he declared in a loud, cheery voice. "Wonderful to see you!"
The woman standing over a desk at one side of the Presidential Suite had looked up when she heard the familiar sound of a TARDIS materialising. The sound itself alarmed her – no TARDIS was supposed to materialise in someone else's private rooms, and considering everything that had been going on, her security was supposed to have been doubled.
When the TARDIS did materialise, however, she gave a surprised cry and raised her hand to her mouth in a very human gesture.
The man that practically exploded out of the TARDIS was not someone she had seen before, but she knew who he was.
"Romana!" he greeted. "Wonderful to see you!"
"Doctor?" she said cautiously, testing her conviction.
"Yup!" The Doctor crossed the room to her in a few strides and swept her into his arms. "You've no idea how good it is to see you!" Romana, not quite knowing how to respond to this, held herself stiffly. After a moment, the Doctor released her and looked her over. "You're doing well on regenerations," he approved. "Still on your fourth."
"And you," she managed, "this must be your…eighth body?"
"Ninth," the Doctor told her, a strange look crossing his face momentarily. A gentle cough distracted him, and he turned to his TARDIS. "Ah, Rose. Come on, then!"
A humanoid woman, evidently called Rose, came to stand next to the Doctor. Two other humanoids followed her – there was a family resemblance, Romana noted.
"Romana, these are Tim and Izzy," the Doctor introduced, waving a hand at the pair. "And this is Rose. You lot, this is Romana. Or Romanadvoratrelundar, properly."
Rose glanced Romana over, and moved slightly closer to the Doctor. "Hi," she said quietly.
"Hello," Romana greeted. "You must be the Doctor's latest Companions."
"Not exactly," Rose said, a hint of prickliness in her tone. The other humanoid female – Izzy, Romana reminded herself – reached out to touch Rose's arm.
The Doctor glanced from Rose to Romana and back. He rolled his eyes, and put his arm around Rose. "Rose is my wife," he said firmly.
Romana had known the Doctor through several regenerations, but she realised with that sentence that he still had the capacity to surprise her.
"But – it's not allowed," she said weakly. "She's not a Time Lady."
"No, I'm not," Rose said, raising her chin defensively. Romana closed her eyes briefly, then sighed and pulled herself together.
"Not that I'm not pleased to see you, Doctor," she began, "but we're in the middle of a situation, and I don't think your presence here would be appreciated by everyone."
The Doctor looked away from her for a moment. Rose leaned against him, letting her weight reassure and support him.
"I can't leave," he said in a low, hollow voice. "There's…it's complicated, Romana." He looked back at her, straight at her in a way that he rarely had in the regeneration she had known best. "I can't leave. Not until I've sorted it out."
"Sorted what out?" Romana demanded. "Doctor, why are you here?"
"That's the thing," the Doctor said uncomfortably. "I can't tell you." He glanced at Rose. "But while I'm figuring some things out," he said slowly, "we may as well get Rose checked out."
Rose raised her eyebrows. "Oh, may we? We don't even know –" She broke off with an awkward glance at Romana.
"Everything's the way I remember it," he assured her. "And what better place to make sure you and the baby are alright?"
"I thought you did that already," Rose objected. "I don't want more tests, Doctor!"
"Baby?" Romana interjected, hoping that she was actually having a dream, and that none of this was happening. "She's with child? With your child, Doctor?" She moved around the desk and sat down, ignoring all the protocol she had ever learned. "Oh, Rassilon preserve us."
"What is it?" the Doctor demanded.
Romana looked up at him, lips pursed slightly. "Doctor…I should not tell you."
"Romana, I've known you for years," the Doctor reminded her. "Don't you trust me?"
"It's more than you and me," Romana said forcefully. "All of time is at stake! The very fabric of the universe!"
The Doctor took a step towards her. "Tell me," he said commandingly. "Right now. This could be worse than you think."
Romana drew herself up. "I hardly think –" she began haughtily, only to be interrupted by her old mentor.
"You don't understand," he snapped. "This shouldn't exist! None of this! It was destroyed! All of Gallifrey was wiped out, and you and every other Gallifreyan went with it!" He stopped, breathing heavily, and strode away from them. He leaned against his TARDIS, against the familiar blue police box, and Romana stared at him. Rose wrapped her arms about herself, wanting to comfort him. Tim and Izzy stood awkwardly, remaining silent.
Silence ruled for long moments, and Rose almost felt as though her husband was purposefully slowing time in the room, so as to give himself precious minutes to regain his masks. Finally he turned back to Romana, face still a picture of agony.
"I shouldn't have said that," he said quietly. "Please, Romana, forget I said that."
Romana rose, rounded the desk, and moved towards him. She didn't touch him – both because of her training and because she knew Rose would take it the wrong way – but for once, she wanted to.
"What happened?" she asked gently. "You can't have come back to change the timeline, you know better than that when it comes to Gallifrey."
"The war," he muttered after a long moment. "With the Daleks." Romana's eyes widened slightly.
"But there is no war," she told him. "Skirmishes, yes, but no real war."
"There will be. There was." The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS again. "Gallifrey's possibilities were wiped out, then a rift was opened, leading here."
"That's impossible," Romana said with certainty. "If a planet's possibilities are wiped from time, there is no way of reaching that planet."
"We were wrong," the Doctor told her curtly. "We were wrong about a lot of things. And it happened, Romana. This – Gallifrey, you, the president's rooms – none of this should exist." He looked at her with jaded eyes. "I don't know if you're really the Romana I knew," he told her candidly. "Or how this happened."
"It's impossible," Romana repeated.
"Tell her that," the Doctor said with a sudden grin, nodding his head at Rose. She smiled slightly and moved next to him. "Somehow she directed the rift here."
"How?" was all Romana could say.
"Rose is complicated," Tim remarked dryly. "I don't suppose there's any food around here, is there?"
"Always thinking with your stomach," Izzy ribbed him. "There's important things going on here."
"So?" Tim wasn't fazed. "I'm hungry. And Rose should eat something too, she didn't have breakfast."
The Doctor turned a reproachful gaze upon Rose, who raised her eyebrows and looked at Romana.
"So we're here to figure out what I did," she said. "And close the rift. Somehow." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans and looked at the Time Lady earnestly. "Will you help us?"
For a moment, Romana felt drawn to this human woman. It was as if invisible currents in the air – electricity, perhaps – were pulling her towards Rose, making her want to help.
She shook herself free.
"Of course," she said. "If what the Doctor says is true, then it is my duty as a Time Lady to help." The Doctor nodded at her. "And," she added, "my honour as the Doctor's friend."
"I'm sorry about earlier," Rose offered to the slender Time Lady, later in the day when they all sat eating an evening meal. They'd spent the day mostly in the TARDIS, with the Doctor explaining what had happened to Romana. It had been stressful, and more than once Rose had yelled at Romana for being insensitive.
"It's just…I started travelling with him just a short time afterwards, and I know how hard it's been for him," she continued.
"That's quite alright," Romana reassured her. "I let my curiosity run away with me. It is a unique situation, you understand."
Rose nodded, glancing up at the Doctor. He was on the other side of the room, just out of earshot, gazing out of a window at his homeworld. She suspected that there'd be tears later, in the privacy of their bedroom, but knew that the Doctor would keep his mask in place for as long as possible.
"I know," she answered Romana. "But still…be careful, yeah?"
"Of course."
Izzy wandered over to join them, nibbling at something that was a little like a prawn cracker.
"So, when did you travel with the Doctor?" she asked Romana, sitting down without invitation. "And what was all that earlier about regeneration?"
"It's something Time Lords do," Rose answered her cousin.
"And I travelled with the Doctor many centuries ago," Romana added. "When he was in his fourth regeneration. He is on his ninth body now."
Izzy clearly didn't understand this garbled explanation, and she shrugged and leaned back in the chair. "Right. And now you're president here?"
"President Elect, yes."
"And who's here that you didn't think would be pleased to see the Doctor?" Izzy asked shrewdly. Rose sighed. She'd hoped that her cousin's notoriously perfect phonetic memory wouldn't be used in this situation.
"Izzy," she said quietly. "That's probably not a good idea."
"It is highly unlikely that you wouldn't know them anyway," Romana pointed out to both women. "Most of them are Time Lords."
"Most," Rose nodded. "But not all. I know for a fact that Captain Jack Harkness is here somewhere."
Romana tried to remember that the day had been full of surprises, and that she should expect as much from anyone travelling with the Doctor. But –
"How," she asked wearily, "did you know about that?"
At the window, the Doctor stared out at the reddish landscape and screamed inside.
To be continued...!