Title: Domestic Travels
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise from 'Doctor Who' episodes, books, or general canon, is not mine. Izzy, Tim, Rose's extended family and the storyline are mine, however.
Notes: Sequel to 'Domestic Battleground' and 'Domestic Space'. I highly recommend reading at least the latter, because otherwise a lot of this won't make any sense. This is the third instalment in the larger 'Domestic' universe.
Notes 2: Gallifrey is back, through means unknown to any except Bad Wolf. Old friends have appeared, and more will come, as time and space are woven into knots by Bad Wolf. Something is very wrong with the fabric of the universe, and the Doctor is torn between protecting his wife and unborn child, and saving Gallifrey. Things are going to get a lot more complicated. He never really planned for domestic.
Chapter Five
"This happens far too often with you two," Jack complained, shortly after regaining consciousness.
He had awoken to find himself in a large room aboard the Master's TARDIS. There was only one exit, and that had no handle on the inside, or visible lock of any kind. The room was furnished with a motley collection of chairs and couches, and on these sat a variety of people. Some were talking quietly, some were staring in bemusement, and one – a robotic creature of some sort – was turning around and around crying 'danger'.
Jack took in all of this in a glance, then turned his attention to Rose.
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" he demanded urgently.
"No, I'm fine," Rose said quickly. Jack noted that one of her hands didn't move from her stomach. "He just threatened me, that's all. And the baby." She lowered her head, and her hair fell like a curtain over her face.
"He won't hurt either of you," Jack swore. "I promise, Rose."
"He thinks you're the father," Rose said abruptly. "And he says he's an enemy of the Doctor's, so I thought I should let him…"
Jack nodded. "Good idea." He pushed himself upright and looked around. "Who are these people?"
"No idea," Rose answered quietly. "We've not been in here long." She looked around. "I think…I think they might have travelled with the Doctor," she admitted quietly. "Some of them – I caught some names, and the Doctor's mentioned some of them…"
"Well, let's go introduce ourselves," Jack said. He stood up, and helped Rose to her feet, and went to the nearest group of people – two women, one about Rose's age and the other slightly older – and a young man. The women were sitting close together, holding hands. The man sat opposite them, leaning forwards and talking intently.
"Hey there," Jack greeted. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, this is Rose."
"I'm Tegan," one of the women said. She had auburn hair and a pronounced Australian accent. "This is Nyssa," indicating the other woman, "and Turlough." Nyssa nodded; Turlough looked them over cautiously.
"So what can you tell us about what's happening?" Jack asked easily.
"What do you want to know?" Nyssa inquired, guarded.
"Why we're all here, for one thing," Jack suggested.
"There's got to be something we all have in common," Rose put in. "I'm just guessing here, but…did you used to travel with the Doctor?" All three of them nodded. "And I'm guessing these others did, too."
"I've met some of them," Turlough offered. "That woman over there, she's Sarah Jane Smith." He jerked his head towards the woman with the robot.
"Right," Jack nodded. "And Rose and I travel with him now." He thought quickly. "First things first, we need to get names."
"And find out which Doctor they travelled with," Rose put in.
"Ours was the fifth regeneration," Tegan told them. She glanced at Rose's stomach. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt the baby, did he?"
"No, I'm fine," Rose assured her. "Jack, you take that side of the room, and I'll take this," she told him, and moved towards the woman with the robot.
"Danger!" the robot declared as Rose approached.
"It's alright, K-9," the woman – Sarah Jane, if Turlough was correct – told the dog. She gave a hesitant smile to Rose. "Hello."
"Hi," Rose smiled faintly. "It's Sarah Jane, right? I'm Rose."
"Yes, that's right," Sarah nodded. "The Master brought you here too?"
Rose nodded. "Jack and I are gonna get everybody's names, find out which Doctor they travelled with," she explained. "Hopefully then we can come up with some sort of plan to get us out of here." She looked down at the dog. "What's this?"
"K-9 – the Doctor built him," Sarah said, with a wry smile. Rose's eyebrows shot up. "I worked with the Doctor…I think he said it was his third body? And then he changed. So his fourth, as well."
"I'm with the ninth," Rose said. "You just…stay put, yeah?"
"I could help," Sarah offered, but Rose shook her head.
"It'd just get confusing," she pointed out. "That guy over there – Turlough? He said you've met. Why don't you go sit with them?"
She moved on, not waiting to see if Sarah Jane did as she suggested. A man and a woman – possibly a couple, Rose assessed – were sitting in one corner of the room.
"Hi, I'm Rose," she greeted.
"Ian Chesterton," the man introduced himself.
"Barbara Wright," the woman said, with a smile. "I don't suppose you know what's going on?"
"You travelled with the Doctor, right?" Rose asked, instead of answering. The couple exchanged a guarded look. "It's alright, so do I," she added. "Everyone here has, I figured." She looked them over closely. "How long have you been here?"
"Not long," Ian said. "A few hours – you and your friend there arrived not too long after we did."
"Right." Rose took another look around the room. "So which Doctor did you travel with?"
"Excuse me?" Barbara said, frowning faintly. "I'm not sure I follow…"
"What does the Doctor look like?" Rose asked, taking a different tack.
"Well, he's…an old man," Ian said, confused. "White hair, uses a stick. Has a granddaughter called Susan."
"I've met Susan," Rose nodded, smiling. "She's lovely, isn't she?"
"Yes – she was a student of ours," Barbara offered. "Listen, do you know what's going on?"
"An enemy of the Doctor's has us," Rose said succinctly. "I think he's trying to trap the Doctor. We've all travelled with the Doctor at one point or another, so I think he's trying to get at the Doctor emotionally."
"Psychological warfare," Ian nodded. "It can be very effective."
"Yeah, you have no idea," Rose muttered. "Anyway, are you two alright? Jack and me are getting names, and then we're gonna think up a plan."
"I'm sure you should be resting," Barbara said, slightly hesitantly.
"I'm fine," Rose said, slightly irritably, and left them as she caught sight of someone very familiar.
"Ace," she pronounced.
Ace – older than she had been when Rose had met her – looked up. She'd been sitting in the centre of the room, sulking slightly.
"Do I know you?" she demanded.
"No, not really," Rose said, with a smile. "We met once, but you won't remember. You travelled with the Doctor, yes? The one with the umbrella. The Defender of Time."
"Yes, that's right," Ace nodded. "The rest of this lot travelled with the Professor too, didn't they?" Rose looked slightly startled. "I'm not stupid," the older companion added.
"Right," Rose said. "D'you have any nitro-nine, or did the Master take it?"
"Took my bag," Ace confirmed. "He's done his research, this one, hasn't he?"
"Oh yes," Rose said grimly. "But not enough of it."
Susan watched in alarm as the Doctor slammed the TARDIS door shut, strode to the console, and started the dematerialisation sequence.
"Grandfather, what's wrong?" she asked. "Where are Jack and Rose?"
"The Master has them," the Doctor answered grimly. "You met him, in the Death Zone on Gallifrey."
"I remember," Susan nodded, eyes wide.
"I thought he was dead – I saw him die!" the Doctor exploded, bashing the console in anger.
"But all of Gallifrey was gone," Susan pointed out. "Surely he would have come back when Rose brought back Gallifrey."
The Doctor shook his head. "No, he died before the war." He paused, hand hovering over a dial, and looked up at her. "I have absolutely no idea how he's alive," he said truthfully. "And in this form. But I know one thing."
"He's got Rose, and you're getting her back."
"Fast as I can."
"Will he hurt them?" Susan demanded. The Doctor's hands were flying over the console again; Susan clung on as the ship rocketed through time and space.
"Yes," he answered bluntly. "He'll do anything to get to me." He glanced up at her. "You gonna help, then?"
Flying a TARDIS was like riding a bicycle for a Gallifreyan; once the skill and knowledge had been learned, it was very hard to forget. Susan helped her grandfather with alacrity.
"We're chasing him," the Doctor told her, although she could already tell that from the displays on the console. "Following the trail his TARDIS is leaving – it's leaking energy all over the place. What's he up to?" He frowned even more. "And what he said…" He shook his head and pulled a lever.
"What did he say?" Susan asked. The Doctor disappeared from sight under the console for a moment; sparks flew, and he reappeared.
"About losing companions from time and space," he said. "If I know the Master – and I do, far too well – he's gone after my previous companions."
"What, all of them?" Susan demanded, startled.
"He can't have had time – Gallifrey's not been back long – and he wouldn't be able to find all of them." The Doctor uttered a long stream of curses as the TARDIS let out a screech of protest at something. "C'mon, girl," he coaxed.
"What are we going to do?" Susan asked, hitting a button just as it lit up.
"Find them, of course," came the terse reply.
"But I mean – " Susan broke off as the TARDIS lurched first one way, then the other. "You can't just storm into his TARDIS," she continued after the ship settled slightly. "He'll hurt them."
"He wouldn't think twice about killing them," the Doctor agreed. "But we've got an advantage."
"We do?" Susan demanded quizzically as the ship started the materialisation sequence.
"We've got Rose," the Doctor said with a manic grin.
Rose sat down heavily.
"He's a bastard," she grumbled. "Can't even provide a loo!" Jack, leaning on her chair, tried very hard not to smirk. She caught his expression. "Well, you try having this little thing kicking at your bladder all the time," she suggested.
"Uh, no thanks," Jack said hurriedly. "So, they've all travelled with the Doctor, right?"
"Right," Rose nodded. "I got some from the first regeneration, the third and fourth, and the seventh. How about you?"
"Two from the third," Jack informed her. "One from the first. And one doesn't know anything about it – I think he's had a memory wipe. Jamie, from Scotland." He winked at her. "Nice guy."
"What would Susan say if she caught you flirting?" Rose murmured. Jack raised an eyebrow at her and wisely said nothing. "Right. So let's start planning."
"No one has any weapons," Jack said. "Some of these people aren't going to be a lot of help."
"But some will," Rose pointed out. "Ace can take care of herself, and Tegan looks like she can give a good fight. So that's four of us. Four of us can take out one guy, even if he is a Time Lord."
"Woah, hold on," Jack said. He moved to stand in front of her. "You're not saying that you're going to be helping us disable the Master?" Rose nodded simply. "No way. Not a chance in hell, Rose."
"Jack's right."
Rose and Jack both turned to see Nyssa standing there, a determined look on her face.
"You can't get into a physical fight with the Master, it would put you and the baby at far too much risk," she continued. "The Master won't hesitate to use your pregnancy against us all, and against the Doctor." Rose flinched and looked away. "Please," Nyssa added. "I know the Master. The body he is in – he stole it from my father. Let me help."
"Alright," Jack nodded. "Sure, if you think you can cope with it."
"I've coped with a lot more," Nyssa said determinedly. "I lost my home due to the Master."
Rose lifted her head and looked straight at Nyssa. "Traken," she said softly. "You come from Traken."
"Yes," Nyssa said slowly. "How did you know that?" Jack frowned down at Rose thoughtfully. Rose gave a shrug. "Traken was destroyed some time ago, by my timeline. Several years, in fact," Nyssa added.
"I'm a bit different," Rose said with another awkward shrug. "It's not important."
"It might be," Jack said under his breath. Rose glanced at him, frowning faintly, then looked at Nyssa again.
"I don't think we should do anything yet," Nyssa suggested. "We might help him without meaning to."
"I agree," Jack nodded. Rose murmured her consent. "Until we know what's going on, we can't stop him."
"I've got an idea," Rose said suddenly.
"Oh no," Jack muttered.
"Oi! Cheeky!" Rose flashed him a grin. "I have good plans."
"Sure," Jack nodded. "You have good plans like the Doctor wears Hawaii shirts." Rose reached out and poked him. "I'm sorry. But if it's anything that'll put you or the baby at risk, I'm not even going to let you finish."
"There's something I learned how to do," Rose began. "While I was staying with the Brigadier."
"The Brigadier?" Nyssa said, startled. "On Earth? Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart?"
"Yes – it's a long story," Rose grinned. "Anyway. I can do this thing – it's to do with Bad Wolf."
"Bad Wolf?" Nyssa repeated curiously.
"Even longer story," Jack grimaced. "What can you do, Rose?"
"I can manipulate time."
Nyssa and Jack stared at her.
"Just on a small-scale level," Rose added hurriedly. "Like Time Lords could manipulate time around themselves – slow down rain, or speed up the growth of a plant that they were touching. Things like that."
"And you can do this?" Jack said slowly.
"But you're not Gallifreyan," Nyssa said, frowning. "Are you?"
"No, I'm…human," Rose said haltingly. "It's really, really complicated."
"I see," Nyssa said slowly. "Well…how can this help?"
"Directly? Not at all," Rose told her.
"But indirectly," Jack thought aloud, "you could seriously distract this guy."
"Exactly," Rose grinned. She looked, Jack thought, scarily like the Doctor in that moment.
"But wouldn't he know that's what you're doing?" Nyssa wanted to know. "He's a Time Lord, won't he be able to tell that you're manipulating time."
"The only way anyone can tell when I'm manipulating time is when I let them see it," Rose said bluntly. "Do you need a demonstration?"
"I don't know about need, but I'd like to see this," Jack nodded.
"Okay. Um." Rose dug in her pockets for a moment, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She smoothed it out and held it on her palm. "Watch," she instructed.
For a long moment nothing seemed to happen. Rose stared intently at the paper, utterly still. She scarcely seemed to breathe. The silence spread throughout the room, and the other companions were drawn to watch.
Minutes passed. Rose's lips parted very, very slowly. Time itself seemed to stop.
Then suddenly time resumed its natural course. Rose started breathing again. The piece of paper in her hand was yellowed with age, the edges curling. The scrawl of Rose's handwriting on it had faded. Jack reached out to touch it wonderingly, and it fell apart at his touch.
"Cheap paper," Rose said with a smile. "Couldn't do that with Egyptian papyrus."
"What was that?" demanded one of the other companions – Jo Grant. "One minute it was there, and the next…"
"It aged," Turlough observed. "I saw the Doctor do that once."
"But you're not a Time Lord," Tegan protested.
"No," Rose shook her head. "I'm not."
"Then how is that possible?" Sarah Jane asked.
"Are you saying the Doctor can do this?" Ian wanted to know. "It's against the laws of physics!"
"Not by the Doctor's standards," Ace told him with a grin. "The Master'll never expect this!"
Rose smiled slightly, then covered her hand with her mouth.
"I think I'm going to be sick," she said faintly. A moment later she threw up over Jack.
"You like him."
Susan looked up from reading something on the monitor. "Grandfather?" she questioned.
"You like Jack," the Doctor said. He was on the other side of the console, punching something in on his keyboard.
"Grandfather, I really don't think this is the time," Susan said hesitantly.
"There's no better time," the Doctor contradicted. "We're not going to do anything until the Master makes a move – I'm not going to put Rose at risk like that. And while we wait, you can tell me what's going on with you and Jack."
"Nothing," Susan claimed.
He shot her a withering look. "Susan, please. We've been in the same TARDIS for a week. I've seen you looking at him." He shrugged. "Don't blame you. He's an attractive guy, charming." He looked away from her. "It's not the smart thing to do, though."
"Oh, and I suppose marrying Rose was the smart thing to do, was it?" Susan demanded tartly. "Please, Grandfather. You're hardly one to talk about the smart thing to do – and I'm not a child any longer."
The Doctor gave a tight smile. "I know that, Susan." He sighed. "It's been centuries since I saw you last," he said, more to himself than to her. "I've walked into the jaws of Death and out in those years. I was left alone. And then I met Rose."
Susan watched him as for a moment he seemed lost in memories.
"Everything changed after that," he murmured. "Rose…she opened my eyes."
"Love does that," Susan offered. "It makes you see things in a completely different way."
"What if that love shouldn't be?"
"Morality is a matter of perspective," Susan pointed out. "You taught me that, Grandfather." She moved around the console and rested a hand lightly on his arm. "Grandfather – is this about Jack and I, or you and Rose?"
He stiffened. "I don't know what you mean," he claimed, not looking at her.
"What I mean is," Susan said slowly, "are you concerned for me and Jack, or do you think you and Rose are better off apart?"
"No," the Doctor said instantly. "No, I've learned that lesson!"
"Then why are you so determined about this?"
"Because you're my granddaughter, and I won't let you get hurt," he snapped. "Look, he's coming out of his TARDIS."
Susan looked down at the display screen, and sighed internally. "Yes," she agreed. "So what are we going to do?"
"I have absolutely no idea," the Doctor muttered. He watched the dark figure as he walked around his TARDIS, and then re-entered it.
To be continued.