Ok this was an idea that came into my head and had to be written. Not sure that its that good and I hate the title but anyway. Reviews are always welcome.
Oh there is implied sex and some nudity and mild swear words.
Characters: Rose, 10th Doctor, Captain Jack, some Mickey, Jackie and Pete.
Settings: Pete's World, what shall be known as The Real World and the Void.
Disclaimer: I own nothing...well I own a mini David Tennant action figure but its not as cute as the real thing. In short I just play in the places others make :-)
Spoilers: Its set post-Doomsday and there are a few references to other episodes along the way but only tiny ones.
Always and Forever
Pete's World.
Rose Tyler sat on the park bench and threw the last of her sandwich to the ducks on the pond. Regular earth ducks. Not alien ducks. Nothing like that here anymore.
She sighs and rubs her eyes with a hand. Got to go back to work soon. Lunch hours always seemed so short. She always spent them alone too. People knew better than to ask her what she was doing for lunch. It was her time to muse about the fact that today's alien research had shown her no sign of what she hunted so desperately. The one time of the day when she let herself think about him. The rest of the time she got on with her life. She had too. He'd wanted that for her, and who was she to deny him that.
She starts to pick up her bag when a man slings himself onto the seat next to her. She looks up, slightly annoyed at her privacy being intruded upon and finds herself staring into a pair of very familiar eyes.
"What you doing sitting alone beautiful?" Jack Hartness drawls at her with a grin.
"Jack?" she breathes, thinking that she is dreaming.
He looks a little unsure for a moment. "Yeah?"
"Oh god…" she breathes out, and then grabs him around the neck in a bruising hug.
He hugs her back tightly. "I missed you too Rose."
He practically has to prise her arms from his neck when he realises she is sobbing into his shoulder. "What?" he pushes her away enough to look at her face. "What's wrong? What is it Rose?"
"You're not real," she mutters staring at him as though he has two heads. "You can't be." Her voice is a whisper now.
Jack stands up and does a little twirl on the path in his tight dirty blue jeans and white t-shirt under a black leather jacket. "I'm real so far as I know."
She shakes her head miserably then looks up and yells at him. "You can't be real! You can't, you can't!"
"I am. Remember I took you dancing. Bit of Glenn Miller, Big Ben, air raid, invisible spaceship." He waltzes a few steps across the path.
Rose presses her hand to her mouth and sobs into it.
Jack stops dancing and frowns at her. "What happened Rose? Where's the Doctor?"
Rose's face freezes, like a mask. Then she shakes her head, blonde hair bobbing. "He's gone."
"What?" Jack stares at her in complete disbelief. "Stop kidding around young lady." He sits back down next to her, grabs hold of her hand. "Where is he? I'm going to kill him!"
She hiccups. "Gone. Left me." She swallows heavily. "End of the world. I died…there…" Her brow suddenly furrows. "We're not there, so how? How are you here?"
Jack blinks. "Here? Because here isn't London, Earth?"
"It is, but it's not my London. Parallel universe. So how did you cross the Void?"
He shrugs. "Don't know what that is. Just came to London. Wanted to visit a girl." He curls his fingers around hers. "Found her," he grins.
Rose gives him a watery smile. "Yes."
"So why did he leave you?" he presses concerned.
"Couldn't save me and the world. Couldn't take me back." Rose remembers that windswept beach. "He burnt up a sun to tell me…to tell me…that he…" She dissolves into fresh sobbing and Jack pulls her against him again.
"Ssshhh Rose. Don't cry. Please don't." he rubs his hand up and down her back.
She mutters into his shoulder. "He's not the Doctor you knew Jack. He's changed. Literally. He regenerated."
Jack shrugs. "Heard he could do that."
"What?"
"You left me on that satellite place, thanks by the way, so I had to start hunting for something. Galaxy has rumours Rose. I just chat to the right people."
"I'll bet," she smiles again. The realisation crosses her face. "If you can cross the Void, then maybe I can too!"
She leaps to her feet, bag in one hand, and a handful of his jacket in the other and hauls him up with her. Then kisses him firmly on the lips. "You Captain Jack Hartness are a genius!"
He grins in surprise. "Why thank you Rose. Of course I already knew that." He pauses. "Why?"
She wraps her hand around his with a smile that seems odd against the shadows Jack can see under her eyes. "I'll fill you in. Fancy coming home for a cup of tea?"
Jack eyes the hallway critically. "Well just a handful of this stuff could buy me a ranch on Otaga 9." He catches Rose's look. "Sorry."
She leads him into the kitchen, sits him down on a chair and starts preparing the tea.
"Rose! Rose is that you? Why aren't you at work?" Jackie shrieks entering the kitchen. She stops short when she spots Jack. "Why hello."
Rose rolls her eyes. "Mum…"
Jack speaks before she can finish. "Captain Jack Hartness ma'am. Well you must be Rose's sister." He kisses the back of Jackie's hand.
"I'm Jackie Tyler," she says sounding flattered. "Rose's mother. Not that you could tell to look at her."
"Mum!" Rose moans.
Jack steps back and slings an arm across Rose's shoulders. "Well I think you daughter is a real pretty sight for sore eyes."
Jackie narrows her eyes at the pair. "Did you bunk off work to sneak home with this man? Are you having some secret affair?"
"Mum no!"
Jack grins at her. "Now there's a thought!"
Rose slaps him on the arm. "No its not," she says sharply. "Jack is…an old friend."
Jackie frowns. "What do you mean Rose?"
"He's an old friend." She swallows and Jack can here the catch in her voice. "He knew the Doctor."
The sharp intake of breath from Rose's mother makes Jack decidedly nervous. "What on Earth happened?" He grabs Rose by the shoulders. "Tell me everything!"
The Real WorldHe hasn't been back to London. He hasn't been back to Earth. He's been everywhere and done everything and it still gnaws away at his insides. He let the girl he loved die because…he shakes his head and returns his concentration to the underside of the control panel of the TARDIS. The sonic screwdriver is clenched between his teeth as he uses both hands to readjust a wire above him. Something starts beeping loudly. The Doctor grins round his mouthful of screwdriver, and scoots himself out from under the console and hops to his feet. He leans over the console looking at the now blinking white light. "Fantastic!" He does a little jig and scoops up his coat from its flung position on the console. He has one arm in the sleeve when he notices the screen he has just uncovered. "No. Oh no."
He leans over the screen, coat hanging off him forgotten. That screen is telling him what he never wanted to read. Never ever again. London. The breach is open. He knows what he has to do. Again.
The TARDIS appears in the same white room he left over a year ago. He steps out to face that wall. He hates that wall.
The room is deserted and the wall is the same plain white wall it was when he left. The levers to open the breach are long gone.
The Doctor walks forwards towards it. No swirling open breach, no Cybermen, no Daleks, No Ro…He slams his mind on that thought. He's got a job to do. But there is screaming echoing in his head. Hers and his.
He reaches the wall and puts his hand onto it slowly. Stretches his fingertips onto the white surface.
"Rose…" the word comes unbidden to his lips. She's been dead a whole year. One year, one month, two weeks, four days, twenty-one hours, seventeen minutes and thirty four seconds to be exact. And he's counted every nanosecond. He can feel every single one burning. Now is the only time he has ever regretted having two hearts because both of them are broken.
He leans and rests his forehead against the wall, and tries to steady his breathing. He suddenly feels very alone in this big universe.
The breach isn't open. That is very very obvious. He pulls out the sonic screwdriver and aims it at the wall. Nothing. He's right, as usual. The breach is still shut. But something has changed. There is something different here. But that something seems familiar somehow and he doesn't know why. But it isn't her. Never can be her. She's dead. The Doctor rests his cheek against the wall and feels a tear run down his face. Do they want nothing more than to torture him?
Pete's WorldJack listened to the whole story in silence until Rose falls asleep on the sofa in their living room, exhausted from crying. Jack removes his jacket and covers her up. He sits on a chair and watches her sleep for a while, resting his elbow on his knee and worrying a fingernail with his teeth. Eventually he tiptoes out to the kitchen where he finds the others sat round the large pine table.
Jackie is bouncing her two-month-old daughter – Lily – in her arms. A man Jack can only assume to be Pete Tyler cradles a cup of coffee with a frown. And in the other chair is…
"Mickey boy!" Jack exclaims.
Mickey looks up. "Hello Jack," he says stonily. "Doctor send you?"
Jack shakes his head. "I came looking for them. I didn't expect this." He looks at Jackie. "Is she happy? Really?"
Jackie hesitates for a moment before replying. "No." She shakes her head. "She's not. She pretends to be. Whatever magic that Doctor worked on her is still there. She's broken without him."
Jack closes his eyes momentarily and wonders exactly who the Doctor is now to have such an effect on Rose. "Let me take her with me," he finally says.
"No!" Mickey stands up and bangs his hands on the table. "Leave Rose alone!"
Jack turns to face the younger man and notes the blaze in his eyes. "She isn't yours Mickey. She's been his a long time. Don't I know it."
"No! Captain Innuendo. Just let her live. Don't keep hurting her. Not for him."
Pete, who has been silent the entire time, sets down his coffee cup. "Let her go. Mr Hartness I give you permission to take her whether you need to go."
"But…"
"Jackie she needs this. Are you content to watch your daughter waste away? She loves him. I won't stand in the way of that. If she needs to go she needs to go."
Jackie nods slowly. "Alright. But you two will say goodbye. Proper send off. No sneaking off in the middle of the night!"
"We will." Jack nods. "Thank you. With that I'll take her to bed."
He catches Mickey's open-mouthed look and winks at him cheekily.
"Not under my roof!" Jackie screeches shrilly.
Jack smiles as sweetly as he can manage. "I'll try and behave myself ma'am."
He goes back and scoops Rose from the sofa, still under his jacket. She murmurs and leans her head into his chest. Jack remembers when they first met and she fainted in his arms. What has happened to that sweet innocent girl since then? He takes her to her room and lies her down on the pink covered double bed there. She murmurs again. Jack yawns and thinks he'll just watch over her for a while. He takes off his boots and lies down next to her, leans over and kisses her forehead, before lying on his back. "Sleep well Rose."
The Real WorldHe sits on the London park bench and eats chips out of a paper cone that he has just bought from the nearby burger van. He'd even paid cash, real English sterling; ever since Rose had once mockingly compare him to the Queen he had taken to carrying some cash. The smell has caught him first and he just could not resist. But they didn't taste right when he wasn't sharing them with her. He swallows with difficulty and stares around for a long moment. The sky is grey and heavy and threatening rain. It seems strangely appropriate today. He throws the rest of the chips to the ducks quacking annoyingly around his feet and stands, sending them running. The Doctor straightens his coat roughly and walks quickly along the path, head down as the wind bites that little bit colder than it used to. He pays no attention to the few people walking their dogs or jogging on this chilly autumn evening, for some reason the human race doesn't interest him the way it once did.
He has parked the TARDIS in a quiet corner; he couldn't stay near that wall. He opens the door with his key and busies himself with mundane things, domestic things, in a vain effort to tear his mind away from that girl. But it won't help. Never does. He rubs his eyes violently before the tears come. Why did he come back here? He's had dozens of companions, maybe hundreds, over the years, and they've all left him one way or another. But not one of them has ever gotten to him the way little Rose Tyler, human, has.
His feet take him to her door before he notices where he is. He rests a hand on the handle for what seems like an eternity before pushing it open. It's the same as it always was. He has not even opened this door since she…he steps inside and eyes the big four-poster bed. Right smack bang in the middle of the bed cover is a small fat chocolate brown teddy bear. The Doctor picks it up and remembers winning it for her at some carnival three hundred years in the future, and five hundred and forty days ago. He'd forgotten this bear, that day. Is he forgetting her bit by bit? Is that possible? The tears come now and he can't stop them, as he crushes the bear to his chest. He has been alone before. So many times alone and it has never felt like this.
He lies down on the bed and swears that the pillow still smells like her, even after all this time. He closes his eyes and cuddles the bear. It's all he has left of her. A teddy bear and pillow smell. It isn't enough. It can never be enough.
Pete's WorldRose opens her eyes. Four hundred and fifteen days today. Every morning the number comes to her, unbidden and unwanted, but always there.
She wonders for a moment where she is because yesterday seems like some strange blur. She blinks a couple of times, and realises she is laying on her left hand side in her own bed, staring at the wall. Then she becomes slowly aware of a presence behind her. There is the sound of light snoring. Male snoring. She lies very still, not even daring to breathe. For one panicked moment she wonders if she got drunk last night and slept with Mickey…or went out and met someone. Oh god I didn't did I? She thinks worriedly. She slowly moves her head to look down at herself. If that was what happened then why is she still wearing her black work skirt and pale blue blouse? And whose strong arm is slung across her waist with the dark brown leather wristband?
The firmly planted kiss right behind her ear startles her slightly. "Good morning beautiful. Sleep well?" he drawls softly.
Jack. Thank god. Yesterday comes flooding back as she feels him sit up behind her. He yawns and stretches.
"Yes thank you," she says to fill the silence, as she rolls on to her back.
Jack's hair is sticking up at a strange angle, which he is trying to press down with one hand. "Don't be formal with me Rose. You know me better than that."
She snatches up her pillow and swats him with it. He laughs and grabs it out of her hands.
"Time for us to make our appearance at breakfast after our night of passion," he informs her.
She gapes at him, open mouthed for a moment. "What? We…I..? Didn't…did we?"
He shakes his head with a wicked grin that is pure Hartness-of-old. "No. Unless you're asking?"
She shakes her head firmly. He shrugs good-naturedly.
"Anyway," he continues sliding off the bed to his feet, looking sexily rumpled. "I think Mickey thought I was going to take advantage of you."
"He's protective…since…" she stops and get up.
Jack just nods. "I understand."
Rose gestures for him to turn around so that she can get dressed. Jack obediently does so but continues talking. "Well honey, I talked to your beloved mother and well you're coming with me. They gave their blessings you see, even Mickey eventually. One goodbye party and we…"
He never finishes the sentence as he is hit from behind by a rib-crushing hug.
Rose's mind is flying. She is going with Jack. And her family are happy for her to do it. She'll find him again. Her Doctor, her Time Lord. Just Him.
This is the moment Jackie opens the door. "Rose? You up? Oh." The sight of her daughter wearing only her jeans and a bra, ecstatically hugging Jack's back, meets her.
Rose grins sheepishly and blushes slightly. "I'd better get dressed hadn't I?" she says letting go of Jack.
Jack smirks and looks round at her. "If you say so honey."
Jackie aims him a fierce look. "I'm watching you!"
The Real WorldBlackness. Then the words, "Something's gone wrong."
Then a loud screaming alarm and he catches glimpses of a room in the flashing red alert light. Rose. She looks beautiful, but scared and her hands are clamped over her ears. Her mouth is moving but he can't make out the words. What's wrong Rose? Please tell me, he thinks desperately. Something terrible is happening to her. Tears track down her face now.
A metallic screaming voice cuts in suddenly, startles him. "Bad Wolf." The words make him shudder even now.
Then a softer voice, male, makes Rose smile despite the fear and tears. He feels the cold stab of jealousy somewhere near one of his hearts.
"Martini?"
The Doctor opens his eyes instantly awake. The bear is still clutched in his hand. Rose is in trouble. The breach must be open into her world. When had it stopped being Pete's World and become Rose's World? He pays no mind to the offer of martini. Dreams are silly things sometimes.
He leaps to his feet and throws the bear back onto the bed. He has no idea whatsoever what he is going to do about it, and that excites him more than anything has for a long time.
Time for a rescue mission. Of sorts. Of course he can never see her. But he can keep her alive. He can give her her life and that's all he wants for her. To be happy. To be free. To live. To live a fantastic life.
He sprints to the control room and starts hitting things with his hammer.
"Fantastic!"
Pete's WorldJack takes her hand and leads her briskly through the sunlight towards a patch of trees in the middle of Green Park in central London.
"I don't see anything," she protests as he drags her off the path towards the trees. Rose stumbles a little on the damp grass.
"You know better than that Rosie," he chides gently. "Parking an alien spaceship in central London in broad daylight? Whatever next!" He grins at her and pulls what looks like a tiny remote control from the pocket of his jeans, aims it at a space on the grass. A small door opens from nowhere and he hauls Rose inside.
The ship is golden coloured mostly and seems oddly familiar. "Where did you…?" she starts.
"Dalek."
Rose stares at him in silent horror. "What?" she finally whispers.
"Stole it. They're not gone Rose. Not completely. Wish I didn't have to tell you this. Went hunting for the Doctor, trail led to them. Barely escaped with my life."
Rose's hand goes to her chest, her fingers clutch desperately at something around her neck.
Jack frowns. "What is that?" He gently pulls her hands towards him and forces open her fingers.
In her palm lays a pebble, rounded, smooth with a hole drilled through the middle, strung on a piece of leather cord knotted round her neck.
He frowns again. "What is…?"
She snatches it back. "Bad Wolf Bay. Last place he stood." She tucks it back under her top. "Last thing of him I have."
Jack decides it is wiser to drop the subject. He shows her round the ship, a proper flying saucer shape, small like his last one, barely room to pass each other in the aft section, but the cockpit is bigger and has had a pilot's chair welded in place.
"Daleks, not know for sitting," Jack supplies helpfully.
Rose nods. Feeling the tears burning hotly behind her eyes, but she blinks hard until the feeling subsides. Jack pretends not to see and talks techno babble about everything the ship can do. She can see Jack's handiwork in everything, right down to the sexy female control voice.
"So how exactly are we dimension hopping?" she finally asks.
He scratches his head. "Not exactly sure. Just power up and aim for the stars. Hope we don't land right back here."
Rose looks at her watch. "We'd better get back. I've still got to pack and get ready for this party."
Jack raises an eyebrow. "I thought it was going to be just your mum and stuff."
"A Jackie Tyler party? Fat chance!" she retorts with a grin. She grabs his hand. "Come on."
The Real World"Right, where is the weak spot?"
He spins a small hand wheel and darts round the console to press first one button then flip a switch and then pulls a lever.
"Come on!" He yells hyperactively, jumping from foot to foot.
There is a pause then a whine and a beep. He stares at the screen. "What? No this isn't fair!"
He bangs his hammer down onto a panel in frustration. "I won't go there!"
The TARDIS whines a little.
"You know why!" Then he sighs. He will go there. He always goes headfirst into trouble. Why should today be any different? "Norway here I come," he mutters darkly.
Pete's WorldRose fishes the tiny key out of the back of a drawer in her bedroom from under some t-shirts. She then goes to her wardrobe and roots through the pile of discarded shoes and handbags in the furthest darkest corner. She pulls out a small wooden jewellery box, then moves to sit on the edge of her bed. She inserts the key and closes her eyes as it clicks open. Rose takes a deep breath, opens her eyes again and opens the lid. Inside lay two items. Seemingly insignificant but meaning so much for her. Firstly a key, a little trivial door key. The key to the TARDIS. She removes it reverently, looks at it for a moment then shoves it into the pocket of the jeans laid out beside her. Ready for tomorrow.
The second item is a folded photograph. Take at Christmas; it is of her and Mickey, grinning cheesily for the camera on Christmas day. But in the background is the Doctor. He isn't looking at the camera, staring attentively off to the side at something. His boyish features which were so unfamiliar on that day are all she longs to see now. He looks more thoughtful than she is used to. There is no trace of his cheeky grin there but she knows that those lips can break into it easily enough.
Mickey had the photo in his wallet, hence the folding over of the part where the Doctor is. She had found it one day lying on her bed. Mickey had just given her his sad little smile the next time she saw him. Carefully she tucks the photograph inside a pocket of her already packed bag.
She is ready to go. Rose blinks before the tears come. No use ruining all her make up now. She will be ready for him. She smoothes a hand down her black wraparound dress and checks her reflection in the mirror one last time. She is ready to say goodbye to them all.
The tap on the door startles her. "Rose?" Jack's head appears round the door. "Ready?"
She nods and fixes him with a dazzling smile as he steps into the room. Jack in a suit. She never would have believed it.
"Very James Bond."
He wrinkles his nose. "What?"
"Never mind." She takes him arm with a smile.
The farewell party as arranged by Jackie Tyler is rowdy. As Rose fully expected it to be. The booze flows freely as the house is invaded by about a hundred people Jack doesn't know. He doesn't think Rose knows all of them either.
Jack hovers near Rose all night, flirting with her and her friends. Trying to keep her smiling.
Rose has told everyone she's going travelling. With Jack. To Asia, Australia, maybe New Zealand. Yes Jack's a friend. No he's not her boyfriend. Although she doesn't think many people believe her what with Jack's antics. Her bosses at Torchwood aren't too happy with her going away, but she hasn't had a day off since she started there. So Rose figures that they owe her something.
Jack gets cornered by Jackie while Rose is in the bathroom.
"You take care of her you hear? Or I swear…"
Jack raises his hands. "I will look after her I promise."
Jack purses her lips. "When you find the Doctor give him this from me. For keeping her alive." She steps forward and kisses Jack on the lips.
He blinks. He doesn't remember the Doctor speaking that highly of Jackie. "Ok."
Then Jackie slaps him sharply round the face. "And add that for breaking her heart!"
Jack holds his cheek. "Yes Mrs Tyler."
"Good."
Pete walks over, smiles at Jackie and stops in front of Jack. Jack shifts his weight nervously. Pete is the one he is most worried about having this conversation with. This man has said nothing to him, since giving permission to take Rose with him.
"Captain Hartness?"
Jack nods. "Yes?"
"You keep an eye on her. She may not be my real daughter but she's…well she's what I'd wish my little girl to be. I know what young men like you think Jack. If you don't find Him, don't break her heart."
Jack stares at him for a moment. Not even having thought about what they might do if they don't find the Doctor. "I will look after her. I swear."
Pete nods and clasps his hand in a firm handshake. "Good man."
Mickey is next, a few minutes later when Jack has just poured himself a double, possibly triple, whisky over ice. Mickey grabs Jack's arm roughly.
"Anything happens to her and I'll come for you. I did it once. He hurts her and I'll…"
Jack prises Mickey's fingers off his jacket. "I know."
Mickey stares at him for a moment. "Make her happy. For me."
He turns and walks away without another word. Jack watches him go and swallows the whisky in a couple of gulps. He sets the glass down and scans the room for Rose. She is stood with a knot of girl friends, chatting away…or rather yelling over the noise they call music. Jack goes over to the CD player and starts sifting through the stack of CDs next to it. Rubbish, rubbish, hmmm perfect. He changes CDs and presses play. Then jogs over to Rose.
"Rose baby, may I have this dance?" he asks holding out a hand to her.
She looks round at him, then at his hand and then twigs what CD he has put on. Glenn Miller. Their song. From so long ago. "Of course Captain."
She places her hand in his and he yanks her into him. He puts his arms around her and they start to move more slowly. Rose is acutely aware of everyone staring at her.
"Everyone's watching us," she murmurs in his ear.
"So they should," he retorts. "Its your party Rose."
He twirls her without warning. She gasps a little. "Jack!"
"Shut up and just dance!" he growls at her with a grin.
The Real World.
He stares out to sea. Grey flat sea. Hardly a wave. Great. This place was even more depressing in real life, is that was even possible. The Doctor shrugs his coat a little further round his body and walks back to the TARDIS slowly, the sand and stones crunching under his plimsolls. He unlocks the door and steps back inside. Ok, time for a sort of inter-dimension u-turn, he figures starting up the TARDIS. If he can open the breach in this world then maybe he can sort of 'suck' the Cybermen and Daleks back from Rose's world, and into the Void. Or maybe not. It isn't the best plan he's ever had.
The TARDIS whirs softly as he pulls the controls, his face set grim.
There is a resounding bump that sends him sprawling across the controls. "Welcome to the Void," he mutters sarcastically. "Your exits are everywhere and nowhere."
He winces at how bitter he sounds when the voices start.
"Bad wolf, bad wolf, bad wolf…"
The low screaming electronic voices cut him to the bone. They are coming from everywhere. Not inside the TARDIS but all around it. The Void is full of it. They want the Bad Wolf. And the Doctor knows exactly who that is. He remembers her golden eyes as he went to kiss her, that first time. When he regenerated. When he realised he…The Doctor pushes himself fully to his feet and starts a scan for Rose's World. There is nothing.
"What?" he mutters, his brow furrowing in confusion. Then he spots it, the tiny glowing chink of a gap. But only one thing has passed through that and it hums with familiarity.
"Doctor!" the voices suddenly scream deafeningly. "Exterminate, exterminate, EXTERMINATE!"
Pete's WorldRose threw her arms around Pete and gave him a tight hug.
"Look after my mum," she whispered in his ear.
He just nods. "Be brave Rose."
Jack stands off to one side and silently watches them all. They are stood in the seven a.m. brightening of Green Park.
She grabs Mickey next and kisses him firmly. "Thank you for everything."
He gives her a lopsided smile. "Love ya babe. Have a fantastic life."
Rose stares into his wide brown eyes for a long moment. Someone else said those words to her such a long time ago and she really had tried for him. "Bye Mickey."
Mickey squeezes her hand tightly before he lets her go.
She turns to her mum and they both start crying. Jackie hugs her closely. "I love you."
"Love you too mum."
"You be careful alright? And don't let that Doctor get you into anything dangerous!"
"I will," Rose nods, tears streaming down her face. "Take care of Lily. Tell her," her voice cracks. "Tell her about me. And the Doctor and Jack."
She bends and kisses baby Lily on the head in her pushchair. "Love you."
Lily just gurgles. Rose hugs her mum again. "Bye mum."
Jack coughs gently, realising that this could go on for a while and the sun is rising steadily. Rose looks at him, eyes all red-rimmed. Jack swallows the lump in his throat.
"Come on baby."
She lets go of her mother and walks the few steps towards him. Jack holds his hand up in a high-five.
"Time for some thrilling adventures in time and space?"
She can't help but grin, and high-five him back. "Yes sir Captain Hartness sir."
Jack grins. "Good girl."
Mickey remembers when he moaned about that particular display but if anything can make Rose smile then it must be good.
Rose waves frantically to them all until the door closes and she disappears. There is a whirring from the silent ship and then a whoosh of air as it takes off. Mickey puts his hands in his pockets and starts to walk. He hears Jackie shout behind him.
"Mickey!"
He ignores her and carries on walking. Rose is gone. For good. Back to the Doctor. Because Mickey wasn't enough anymore. Because he couldn't make her happy. But the Doctor will. If they find him, he will.
The VoidJack Hartness has been sentenced to death nineteen times. He's known men who've had longer lists but not many. And he's been in situations where it is highly probable he will die more times than he can count. And to be completely honest he got scared witless every single time. That is why hypervodka came in so handy. But he always got scared then just accepted that everyone dies. His time might well be that moment. So why does it feel right now like he has been kicked in the stomach? He turns his head and looks over his shoulder at the girl sat on the hastily bolted in bunk. She has her hands clamped over her ears and is staring at him, her face terrified. It's because of her. He doesn't want to see her die.
Jack turns back to the controls and pounds the button until the side of his fist starts to turn red.
"I'm sorry!" he yells.
"What?" she yells back.
"I'm sorry Rose!" he shouts louder. He punches the control panel for effect. "Something's gone wrong."
"It isn't your fault Jack!" she yells back. But he can see the tears wavering in her eyes.
The alarm ceases suddenly. Jack turns back to the controls and asks the ship a question. "Probability of death?"
Rose's eyes go wide. "What?" she whispers.
Jack jumps up and strides the few paces to her. He grabs her hands in his. "Rose listen to me. We've only got as long as the air holds out. Which is only as long as the engines keep going. You said that the Void was nothing Rose…well that's all we got. That and each other. I'm sorry."
The tears overspill onto her cheeks, and she clutches at the stone pendant around her neck. Jack steps away and flops back into his chair.
The sexy computer voice does nothing to appease Jack as it says, "Ninety eight per cent probability of the deaths of Captain Jack Hartness and Miss Rose Tyler."
They look at each other.
"So…" Rose starts, twisting one hand into Jack's blue grey blanket.
He shakes his head. "Stop right there. I ain't listening to an 'oh no we're gonna die' conversation. Rose you are amazing. So come here."
She stands and walks towards him. Jack grabs her and pulls her onto his lap. He hugs her firmly. Then looks in her eyes. "I always said I'd see you in Hell."
Rose's stomach flips. Jack looks so sad. "Least we tried. Thank you Jack, thank you for the chance."
Jack blinks hard. "Don't set me off. I promised your mum I'd take care of you." He shrugs. "I never was one for keeping promises to women."
Rose smiles and loops her arms round his neck. She hugs him back. "I know."
He looks round at the control panel. "Emergency protocol 417."
A small panel beside the chair slides open and two cocktail glasses come sliding out. "Martini?"
---------------------------------------------
"Oooohhh not good," the Doctor leaps sideways as he reaches for a lever.
There is an explosion near by which sends him sprawling onto the floor. "Ow!" He has banged his knee on the floor. He pushes himself back to his feet and hangs onto the console as the TARDIS is rocked again. "Come on old girl! Time for that U-turn!"
He doesn't pay that much attention to exactly what is in his path and he programs the TARDIS onto an escape path. He's paying no attention the familiar ship that is unconsciously dragged, tumbling over and over, in his slipstream.
The Real WorldThe Doctor falls over again as the TARDIS hits the beach a little hard than he anticipated. He rolls over a couple of times as the TARDIS whines piteously. He pats the floor tenderly and stumbles to the door, suddenly desperate for air. He doesn't know why. He pulls it open and then spots the ship.
Dalek.
The word flashes through his mind as he draws the sonic screwdriver and advances, sonicking all the way. He approaches slowly over the wet sand. He slips a little on a shiny flat rock but keeps going. He scans the ship carefully looking for signs of Daleks. He hopes there aren't any. All he's got is the sonic screwdriver. What he wouldn't give for a sonic disrupter right about now? And it's a damn long run back to the TARDIS. Nothing, no Daleks.
Odd, he thinks to himself, straightening his coat with a decisive flap. Maybe they all went floating about the Void looking for me. Well they should fear the Oncoming Storm, he thinks slightly fondly as he sets to work opening the door. It opens slowly with a grinding noise on damaged servos.
"Come out come out wherever you are little Daleks," he calls in a singsong voice, poking his head round the doorway. The words die on his lips when he sees them.
Captain Jack Hartness is slumped over the control console, groaning softly. And on the floor at his feet is Rose Tyler. His Rose Tyler. His Rose. Her hair is all over her face. The Doctor feels his brain have a mini meltdown. There isn't much that scares him and for some reason the sight of them chills him inside. How did they know? How did the Daleks know exactly what to punish him with?
"Why you?" he murmurs aloud. "Why did they have to use your images?"
He turns and exits the ship and heads for the TARDIS. He isn't quite running, but he's not far off it.
Rose feels the chill air on her face and smells salt and blinks. She looks up groggily feeling like something heavy has fallen on her. She crawls to the hatchway. Then she sees the shape crossing the beach. A familiar shape. In a long flapping brown coat.
"Doctor!" she screams stumbling to her feet. Her words get whipped away by the wind.
"What?" Jack sits bolt upright in surprise. "Where are we? Rose? What's going on?"
"Doctor!" Rose yells again, disappearing out of the door.
"Doctor? I need a doctor?" Jack wonders aloud, then realises. "Doctor? Doctor! Damnit!"
Rose runs up the beach towards the figure and the blue box beyond that. Suddenly she slips on one of the flat wet rocks landing on all fours. Ow, she thinks. Her vision swims with tears. The Doctor hasn't even stopped. "Doctor please!"
A shape in black goes sprinting past her. Rose thinks she might be sick. She has grazed her wrist bone and her knee is scraped beneath her jeans. And the man she loves is walking away. The tears drip from her eyes onto the stone.
Jack races after the man Rose was screaming at, whom he can only assume is the Doctor. He stumbles as the sand moves beneath his boots. Jack grabs the back of the Doctor's collar and hauls him to a skidding stop. The Doctor makes a growling noise low in his throat as Jack swings him to face him.
"What's your problem?" Jack snaps eying the man in front of him. He's younger. Got a face that looks like it would nearly always be on the verge of a smile.
"You're not him. You're a trick."
Jack frowns. Maybe this new Doc has lost his marbles. "No trick. I'm Jack. That's Rose. Her mother sent a message for you." Jack grabs the Doctor's face between his hands and kisses him firmly on the mouth. The Doctor blinks in shock. Then Jack slaps him round the face with a crack. The Doctor stares at him for a long moment, the handprint reddening on his cheek, before Jack continues. "That is Rose Tyler. Rose! Look at her."
They both look back at the girl crying on the beach. The Doctor's eyes soften a little, and then he looks away. "No. Rose is dead."
"She's not!" Jack yells hauling the Doctor roughly down the beach towards Rose.
The Doctor struggles against him, twisting like a cat, all in vain as Jack's determination takes over.
"Let me go!"
Jack growls and shakes him by his shoulders roughly. "For a goddamn genius you are so dense sometimes!"
He drags him to a stop in front of Rose. "Just look at her," Jack says softly. "Please. Look her in the eyes and tell me that isn't your Rose."
Rose has looked up, her eyes puffy and pink. They stare at each other for a long moment. Jack lets go of the Doctor. The Doctor's eyes are tormented and he has the slightest frown between his eyebrows. Rose slowly gets to her feet, ignoring Jack's offered hand. The wind whips her hair across her face. Her eyes are a strange mix of pain, fear and anger.
Jack suddenly feels like he is intruding on something. He swallows and retreats further down the beach towards the grey waves rolling up the sand.
"You can't be Rose. You died here. I watched you die." His voice cracks. "I grieved for you…"
Rose's eyes overflow again. "Doctor. It is me." She smiles but it wobbles alarmingly. "Remember the first words you ever said to me?" a pause. "Run." She grabs hold of his hand the way he did so long ago. "Then when you changed you talked about new teeth, and whether you were ginger." She smiles properly. "You had an apple in your dressing gown. My last words to you were 'I love you'." Rose's words tumble from her lips faster now. "Your last word to me was Tyler. Rose Tyler. You loved me once. You never got the chance to say it to me. Ever."
He stares at her, letting the words sink in. For so long he's told himself that Rose Tyler was dead. That way he could grieve and not harbour the ideas of dimension hopping that plagued him for days afterwards.
Rose stares at him. His mouth is hanging open slightly, and two tears are tracking silently down his face.
"Oh Rose!" he cries suddenly as he grabs hold of her and lifts her off her feet in a crushing hug. He is laughing and crying at the same time. "Rose, Rose," he keeps murmuring. He buries his face in her hair and nuzzles against her neck. "Rose I love you."
He looks up and kisses her hard.
"I love you too," she gasps when he finally lets her go.
He sets her down on the stones carefully, keeping one hand looped round her back. "My Rose," he says fondly.
"My Time Lord," Rose says with a smile.
The Doctor looks down the beach. "Jack!" he hollers. "Come here!"
Jack comes loping back up the beach looking slightly wary. The Doctor treats him to a huge bear hug.
"How can I thank you? You brought my Rose back!" he plants a kiss firmly on Jack's forehead. "You are a genius!"
After blowing up the Dalek ship – which Jack thoroughly enjoyed. Men, thought Rose, they are all little boys inside; – they ordered pizza and accepted it from a very confused pizza boy sent to deliver it to a blue box on the corner of one of the roads in Rose's old estate. The Doctor digs out four bottles of very old French wine, although it isn't that old since he collected them personally. He grabs some wineglasses from the kitchen and they sit around the main console since that is where Rose wants to be. Jack manages to drop melted cheese all over one of the Doctor's favourite buttons. Rose manages to spill nearly a whole glass of wine over both herself and the floor. They all get outrageously drunk. And when the Doctor drunkenly flies the TARDIS, Jack snorts wine out of his nose.
They land – rather haphazardly – on a deserted beach that stretches for miles. At the top are a few scattered palm trees and beyond the white sand the sea unfolds a dark glittering navy reflecting the twin moons.
They all walk along the beach; Jack and Rose still clutching wine bottles in their hands. Rose holds the Doctor's hand in her other one tightly.
They are laughing together when Rose suddenly announces, "We should go swimming!"
The Doctor, who is already sobering up, starts to say, "That isn't a very good…"
"Race you!" Jack yells heading for the water.
Rose drops the Doctor's hand and sprints down the beach.
"Rose we haven't got any suits!" The Doctor yells following them more sedately.
"No need," Jack grins peeling off his jacket, then his t-shirt.
The Doctor rolls his eyes skyward, mostly to avoid seeing Jack naked. Nine hundred years and he's never been skinny-dipping. He looks back to see Jack's naked behind disappearing into the surf. And Rose is peeling off her vest top. He jeans are already piled in the sand next to the dropped wine bottle.
The Doctor suddenly feels very hot and has to loosen his tie. Rose throws him a coquettish drunken look over one shoulder.
"Coming Doctor?"
He pulls his tie undone and shrugs his coat off. His feet take him towards the sea and he doesn't take his eyes off the blonde head bobbing about in the waves. He swallows hard as he thinks about what is below the water and takes off his suit jacket. He drops his clothes to the sand and feels a light breeze caress his skin.
"Wahey!" Jack hollers.
The Doctor feels his cheeks flush and sprints into the safety of the waves.
He looks over and sees Rose grinning at him.
"I think I'm gonna be sick." Jack falls onto his back on the sand, his t-shirt sticking to him wetly.
The Doctor stares down at him, a smile on his face. "You'll be fine."
"I'm gonna die…" Jack moans softly.
The Doctor laughs at him and takes Rose's hand, half hidden by the too long sleeves of his coat. "We're going back to the TARDIS Jack."
"Bye Jack. See you in the morning." Rose leans over the drunken man and waves. "We'll get you later. You'll be fine."
Rose walks unsteadily back up the beach to the ship. The Doctor's hair is all spiked up wetly. It looks cute like that.
"He will be fine won't he?" she suddenly asks.
"Yeah…as long as the tide doesn't come in."
The Doctor takes her back to her room. He stops outside her door, the tension suddenly feeling like it may crush him. "Well here we are," he finally says. "Let me take that for you."
He removes his coat from around her damp shoulders and folds it over one arm. Rose's jeans and top still cling wetly to her curves. He swallows and averts his eyes and opens her door. He will be a gentleman. He. Will. Be. A. Gentleman. The Doctor follows Rose into the room as she sways a little unsteadily on her feet. He still feels a little dizzy but he can deal with that later.
Rose stops at the foot of her four-poster bed, turns and looks at him. The Doctor struggles to keep his eyes above her neck. His hair is still stuck up and his hands are shoved deep into his pockets. He looks awkwardly towards the door.
"Well then. Goodnight Rose." He steps forward and plants a chaste kiss on her forehead.
He turns away to leave and Rose bursts into noisy drunken tears. The Doctor jumps and turns back to her. "What is it Rose?"
She sees the instant concern flash in his eyes.
"You don't want me!" she hiccups.
"What?"
He steps to put his arms around her. Rose dodges his outstretched arms and moves out of reach.
"How long has it been for you? Minutes? Days?" she knows her words hurt him. She sees them bite.
He blinks, stung at the spitefulness coming out of her mouth. "It was exactly the same as you Rose." His mouth is pursed into a little pout.
"And that makes it alright?" she spits. "You make me love you and I find you and you don't even want me! You met someone else didn't you?"
He blinks at the drunken girl logic and quickly tries to work out what is happening exactly. The he is forced to duck as Rose chucks something at his head. He scoops the necklace from the floor and straightens up.
Rose is still ranting at him. "'Quite right to' isn't that what you said? Why didn't you just say it back? You should have just said it, instead of mistiming your stupid hologram thing!" Tears are streaming down her face, while she gestures dramatically with her hands. "You leave me and I get a stone! That stone. From where I could pretend you stood."
The Doctor stares at the innocent stone lying in his palm. Rose darts to her bag and snatches out the photo and throws that at him too. "Mickey had that."
He catches it awkwardly, crumpling it further. "Christmas…" he murmurs staring at it.
"I thought maybe I'd imagined you."
The Doctor's head snaps up and he stares at her. "What?" his voice is a whisper.
Rose continues, sniffling drunkenly. "That I was just some girl who had an imaginary friend who travelled in a blue police box." She laughs bitterly. "That I was going insane. But there you are." She gestures to the photo. "Making it harder to go on breathing every day! And I want you more than anything and all I get is 'goodnight Rose'? Why don't you want me?" she whirls away, her hand pressed over her mouth.
The Doctor stares at her back for a moment, stunned by all he is hearing. "I do want you Rose. Hell if burning up a sun had given me one night with you I would have done it."
He moves behind her and pushes her wet hair to one side and starts kissing her neck. "I. Want. You," he says between nibbles, "Now."
He pulls her roughly round to face him and kisses her hungrily.
Rose snuggles up against the warm male form beside her and sighs contentedly. "You'd better not be Jack."
She opens her eyes to meet a quizzical hazel gaze. "Is there something I should know about?" but a smile is tugging at the corners of his lips. "I may have to hit him," he muses to himself.
Rose smiles and snuggles up to his chest. "Behave."
"Maybe I should be saying that to you," he grins, and folds one arm behind his head. "I feel…fantastic!"
Rose plants a nibbling kiss on his collarbone. He shivers and twists his head to look at her properly. "I'm sorry Rose. I wanted to come get you. I know I mucked up that transmission. Rose…"
"Shut up," she pulls him down to kiss her.
"I have one more question. Did you…I wanted you to have a fantastic life…so did you?"
"I did…nearly. I tried. But I missed you."
"And now?" he asks.
"Now I feel fantastic."
He smiles, all sleepy and cute. "I love you. My wonderful fantastic Rose."
"My Doctor," she murmurs against his shoulder sleepily. "I'll love you always."
"Always," he echoes softly. "And forever."