Alienness by Sian

Synopsis: Rose wonders why the Doctor looks Human
Characters: Rose, the Doctor (nine)
Episode/Spoilers: Anything up to Father's Day
Rating: PG (a little angst)
Notes:No, this has nothing to do with the claims in the movie that the Doctor is half Human.

The Doctor was trying to fix the wiring that controlled the hot water supply. Rose was taping up another rip that had appeared in the seating.Once she finished she sat down and watched the Doctor. There was something she'd been wondering for a while.

"We've been to a lot of planets, yeah?"

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed.

"And we've seen a lot of aliens?"

"We have."

"But none of them look Human, they all look ... alien."

The Doctor suppressed a smile, he could see where this was going. "From your perspective."

"Compared to you and me, they all look alien," Rose amended.

"They all look different to you and me, yes."

"But you're alien."

"I am."

"Yet you look Human, you sound Human." Something occurred to her then. "Or is that the TARDIS translating? No it can't be 'cos I understood you before I ever went in the TARDIS. Do you speak English? I mean it can't be your first language."

It's not my first language, no, but it's the language I choose to speak." He turned to look at her. "I actually speak millions of languages you know."

"You're so full of yourself!"

"Yes," he agreed.

"Why English?"

"It was England I came to when I first left home," he shrugged.

"You had the entire universe at your fingertips and you chose England?"

He smiled a little sheepishly. "The TARDIS chose England, I wasn't a very good pilot back then."

"Just back then?" she teased.

"Oi, careful. What happened to not insulting the designated driver?"

"I know you better now. So your people all looked Human then?" she asked carefully. She was never sure whether mentioning his home was a good idea. Sometimes he'd tell her things, but more often he'd clam up.

"I think you'll find it's Humans who look Gallifreyan. We were exploring the universe when you were still single celled amoeba," he corrected her. "But yes, your people and my people look alike ... looked alike."

She heard the slight change in his tone when he corrected himself to the past tense, but she decided to press on. "Don't you think that's strange?"

He did, always had. When he'd fled Gallifrey, he'd had no idea where he and Susan where going to be able to hide, but the TARDIS had known. "I haven't met many aliens who look like us, or different species who look like each other, and I've met a lot. So yeah, it is a little odd that two species from different sides of the universe should look alike."

Rose hadn't been expecting that. She'd often wondered if, under the black jeans and the leather jacket, he might not look Human at all. "Why d'you think that is then?"

"You might not like it."

"Try me."

"When life was first forming on your planet, my people were already traveling the universe, even before there were Time Lords. Some may have settled on Earth."

"But what about evolution?"

He shrugged, "Time's in flux. Gallifreyans, more likely Time Lords, settle on Earth, it changes the planet's evolutionary history. Suddenly Earth isn't going to be populated by three legged, two headed swamp dwellers, but by bipedal explorers instead."

"Wow, that's... we could be related."

"Or it could just be a massive coincidence. Maybe when the universe was created the same matter that formed Gallifrey also formed Earth," he suggested.

"So what you're saying is, you don't know."

"Not got a clue," he agreed. "Why the sudden interest in my alienness?"

"I dunno. You meet a man, he has a blue box that's bigger on the inside, and I still don't understand that by the way, he tells you he's an alien but he looks Human and sounds like he's from Manchester. I was curious."

"Well I may look and sound Human, but I promise you I'm not."

The Doctor was pulling the shutters down again, Rose could feel it, so she quickly changed the mood. "More intelligent than most Humans I suppose?" she teased.

"Most?" he asked.

"You really have an ego don't you. Alright, all, you're more intelligent than all Humans."

"I am," he agreed smugly. "Is that the end of the questioning? Can I get back to work?"

The Doctor was already turning back to the wiring he'd been fixing, but Rose did have one more question. "What was your planet like?" she asked quietly, nervously.

He stopped what he was doing and didn't move for a few seconds. It was too soon to remember Gallifrey without seeing it burn.

"Sorry," Rose said. "I was just... I didn't mean to upset you."

He climbed down from the platform he was working on and walked over to the console without saying a word. He didn't trust himself to speak, but maybe it was time to look at the pictures again. He found the file he was looking for. "Here."

Rose joined him at the console. He was unnaturally still, was staring at the orange planet on the screen. The image changed to a picture of a landscape that looked almost Earth-like, apart from the orangey coloured sky. "It was beautiful," she said.

"Yeah," he agreed in little more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you." Rose said. When he still didn't move, she placed her hand on his. "I'm sorry," she said again.

He blinked and swallowed. Strived to change the subject. "Thanks. I really need to fix that wiring or it'll cold showers tonight and possibly no gravity."

Rose followed his lead. "No gravity could be fun. But I can't wash my hair in cold water, so get to work. You want a drink?"

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Okay." She walked across the console room, leaving him standing at the monitor. When she reached the door she turned back to him. "Thanks, for showing me."

END